Wendi and the kids and I got together this evening for dinner and a movie. Mind you, it was later than I originally though it’d be, but that’s understandable considering they all went to the airport (with all of the delays that entails) to see the kids’ maternal grandmother off homeward. We all went out to Applebee’s, then decided to rent a DVD instead of brave the crowds and costs at the cinema. (Besides, we couldn’t all agree on a movie; I’m wholly uninterested in the Potter flick, let alone Chicken Little. Bleah. And the less said about the new Zorro flick the better, apparently.) We picked out two movies, both animated: Steamboy, and Robots.

Tonight we watched Steamboy, and because I have kids with discerning tastes we unanimously agreed on subtitles and the original language rather than suffer the dub. While the voices fit somewhat better, I’m afraid that the movie is only barely improved on account of that fact. It’s still a big, loud, beautiful mess of a film, as I’ve said before (at considerable length).

Maybe I’ll watch Robots when I go visit the kids in a few days. Then again, maybe not.

As the weather gets colder, I’ve run into a bit of a problem. Last year, and for several years before that, I had my wonderful Columbia Sportswear jacket to keep me warm in winter. The problem is that I lost the (awesomely warm-keeping) liner portion early this year. (I forgot it at a restaurant. By the time I called, it was gone. Argh.) The shell portion of the jacket by itself makes a good rain guard and a mediocre windbreaker, but even combined with the best sweater I have doesn’t make a very warm coat.

So, finally, this evening I went to Burlington Coat Factory to see if I could scrounge a decent winter coat that I could afford. All of the wool-type coats I tried didn’t fit in one fashion or another. It was a case of too much shoulder, too much sleeve, not enough room inside, or some combination thereof. In the next aisle over, however, I found a selection of trenchcoats. The very first one I tried on fits perfectly, looks pretty good on me, sports a detachable liner, is comfy as all get-out… and only cost $50. Score!

In related news, I was a very very good boy when we (Lil’ & Geoffrey & Angst) were at Best Buy (picking up a cheap little digital camera for Angst’s birthday). I looked at, but did not buy, a boxed set of anime that I’ve been considering picking up. I resisted temptation even though the sticker price was only about 3/4 the list price I’ve seen online! Go, me!

I’ll get the hang of this fiscal responsibility nonsense yet, dammit.

I’m posting this as something of a reminder to a later Me who peruses the journal archives at random, possibly searching for entries on the topic of food.

Hey, Me: When you think about what a neat idea meatloaf is in principle, try to keep in mind the old axiom that “In theory, there’s no difference between theory and practice, but in practice there is.” The theory behind meatloaf sounds appealing, but in practice it’s almost always underwhelming.

Keep this in mind when shopping in the future, won’t you? Your taste buds and digestive tract thank you in advance.