I went north again this past weekend to spend some time with that delightfully snarky woman I’m so attached to.

Actually, let me back up. I spent Thursday night over at the kids’ place since Wendi and Erica were out camping (I don’t remember if it was a school or church thing… hmm?) and Alex was otherwise going to be left alone. Can’t have a lonely Spud, can we? So he and I got to have some fun boy-bonding time (gaming and other geekery fueled by pizza). Half the time I’m over visiting at the apartment it’s as if I’m not there, since the kids are absorbed in what they’re doing, so it was nice to have an evening where I really got to interact with at least one of my beloved rugrats.

Anyway. The trip. I brought presents up, this time: A new video card and power supply for her compy. Once those were installed (not without some minor fuss… nothing’s ever easy, is it?) we also went and picked up this year’s gaming addiction of choice. While we were out anyway, we also did some clothes shopping. See, I’m sort of light on wearable shirts lately. It probably has something to do with the fact that I only shop once every few years. Go ahead and roll your eyes, folks.

We ended up at the mall, where I found several shirts I actually liked the fit and color of. Since someone put their foot down about who was paying for what, I also (later) picked up a new pair of shoes. (My beloved Rockports were finally becoming completely unwearable… not bad for two years or so of good use.)

The train was half an hour late getting out of Seattle, which meant we got to stand around in the cold and damp on the train platform at Tukwila. Bleah. We did get to see a rainbow, though, and that’s got to count for something. I mainly mention the train ride down on account of the in-trip movie, which I at first tried to ignore and then got sucked into far enough that for the first time I actually plugged my headphones in and listened.

De-Lovely is an odd, odd piece. It’s a fanciful biopic of Cole Porter as played by Kevin Kline (who you recognize mostly by voice since his looks are considerably altered for the role). The movie is stylized and occasionally nutty, but also at times bitterly poignant. If you’re at all interested in Jazz Age stylings, you should check this one out.

And now you’re up to date on my life. Exciting, ain’t it?