Archive for category Review
The Mystery and Addiction of Certain Movies…
Posted by nedster in Entertainment, Movies, Personal, Review on 2007/02/12
While it may have been midnight when I rolled into the Holiday Inn here in the lube state, I turned on the television for background noise while I set the room up and was going to head to be since I needed to be up in 7 hours to get ready for work….
but the channel was not on that generic auto-reset station shilling the pay movies for the hotel… it was on something else… I actually have no idea what the actual station is, but it has one of those movies… you know the ones… you stumble across them all the time while skimming through the stations and they take hold of you and they have some mystical ability to draw you in and make you watch it no matter what the situation… you may own the movie on DVD and it is sitting on a shelf 15 feet away, but you sit and watch it on TV anyway… you sit through the commercials and the edited out words and any other inappropriate things… and you watch… religiously every time… not sure why since you know the movie inside and out… every line… every scene… the ending… and everything…
Tonight it was “The Natural”, but another movie that does it to me is the Shawshank Redemption, as well as Scent of a Woman, Happy Gilmore, Evolution and a couple others that I cannot remember off the top of my head… What is it about these movies? I have no idea.. but I wish I knew….
Crack Den Red Roof Inn
So I am in a crack den Red Roof Inn, although since this is the midwest right now, it is probably more likely a meth den more than a crack den.
The door to my room has previously been busted in by the cops or the DEA or someone since I can tell by the mark where the battering ram hit the door…..
I am pleasantly surprised at the time though, it only took me 9 hours to get here from Boston, and that included 2 stops for gas, and dropping off a kid in Hartford on my way.
That being said, i am pretty disappointed in the PT Cruiser I have as a rental, while it was excellent at doing donuts in the parking lot of the Red Roof Inn, it is very poor on gas, 2.5 tanks of gas to get here. I know my car could have done it in probably 1.5 tanks, this thing only gets about 23 or 24 MPG, pretty pathetic if you ask me!
I drove through PA on 84, and then 80 to get here. PA is pretty damn depressing to drive through in the winter. I hope it is better during the summer, otherwise I have pity on it.
ummmmm oh yeah… I felt kind bad for the girl at Subway in some PA town where I stopped for gas and got a sub for dinner, she was short and cute but you could totally tell she was pissed off at the two girls who were working the gas station register partially because they were doing basically nothing, and partially because you could tell they were the “popular girls” in terms of a high school type of thing, but that was only because they were probably ho’s, they looked like ho’s, and they had all the sleazy looking “gangsta” guys stopping by to say high and flirt with them.
I so wish I had a black light to check this bed out before I go to sleep in it… although it is probably best that I do not have that otherwise I would probably not sleep!
Karma Maybe?
So yes, I am back here in California now…
and someone or something is looking out for me, 2 weeks ago when I was here Avis screwed up a bit when they were out in the garage putting the name tags in the cars, so when I went out to get my car I came across a beautiful site…. a 2006 Mustang Convertible, I was psyched and very happy for this upgrade….. so I get in and head to the exit… I get there and find out that it was not my car, they had put the tag in the wrong vehicle, I was supposed to be in a Ford Taurus. OOOOOO FUN! NOT.
So I spent a week in that Taurus and dealt with it…
Well… today I was repaid… I legitimately got a 2006 Red Convertible Mustang.
It is fantabulous!
That deep throaty sound as you rev the engine or accelerate down the highway…. yeah… I like that!
However, I do have a few complaints…
1- Trunk space just is not there, you can fit 2, maybe 3 bodies in it, unless they are Calista Flockheart, then we could probably squeeze in 6 or 7.
2- Peripheral Vision…. really small rear window… not that great…. but with the top down it is no problem… take the good with the bad…
3- The speedometer… it only goes to 120mph, what the hell? My Jetta goes to 140!
and the last one… which anyone who knows me will probably agree that this is a crime against humanity…
4- It is an automatic…. yes, a high performance traditional US made Muscle Car has an automatic transmission in it. I think the crime against humanity is the fact that they even make these things with an automatic transmission in them! I know a lot of people say, “Why does it matter?” or “Who cares?”, and to these people, 99% of them have 1 of 2 things in common, they either can’t drive a stick, or they have never driven one for any extended period of time! I shall never go back to an auto again unless I am put under the threat of death!
ANY high performance sports car or muscle car should be a manual transmission… Porsche… Ferrari… Corvette… Camaro…. Mustang… jaguar… ALL of them should only be made in manual transmissions…
but I will enjoy this car none the less, but it could have been better….
I may need to go cruise for chicks just because I can!
One Nice Thing About California
Sushi, Sushi Sushi
The quality and volume of sushi places out here is really really good, plus they are imaginative and have some really cool combinations that we just don’t have at most places around us, and it is a ton cheaper!!
I think I am gonna OD on Sushi while I am here, i have had it for at least 3 meals this week already! Plus at least 2 or 3 times the previous 2 weeks. I am almost out of things to try at Imura here in Watsonville! Hopefully I will not be back next week so I won’t have to worry about having something a second time, or getting sick of it
A Week Since My Last Update
Yeah.. busy week… to summarize….
I am back in California this week, same place as last week and it will be the same place next week.. I am coming home for the weekend though since I have a bunch of things to do and want to go get my newsed car registered on Monday.
Still trying to deal with VW on the situation with my car but I bought a Saab in the mean time to get me around when I am home. I figure once I get my car back I will either go enter a demolition derby with the Saab, or sell it. Depends on my mood at the time.
So CA is not all that interesting, I am working 11-17 hour days while I am here, and working is not really working since I sit here, and watch a computer screen and try to clear up any problems that happen.
Their system keeps locking up because of the way our programmers programmed the system, they fucked up so I need to sit and keep this thing on life support while they write new code to try to compensate for the problem.
Fuck, but on the upside, I am earning a ton of FF miles, Holiday Inn Priority points, I am not spending any of my own money on anything, and I am really cranking up the billable hours!!! I think I might almost be at my quarterly amount and I am only a couple weeks into the year!
What I am really waiting for is 11 days from now for my paycheck, that is gonna be the nice one, my 4th quarter bonus and then all the leftover from my 2nd and 3rd quarters that they held back from me last year.
I had tried to write a couple blogs earlier this week but the damn thing kept screwing up on me so I could not post em… oh well….
if you are ever in Watsonville, CA – then definitely check out Green Valley Grill and Cilantro’s Mexican restaurants. They are both really good. I had a very nice double breast of duck with a juniper, raspberry and red wine reduction with saphron rice and then at Cilantros I had some soft tacos ‘con carne asada’ and orange rice, and they were all really really good!
I am on the red eye home tonight, same as last week and same as planned for next week. That was the reason I did not make it to the show last week, I was totally drained and slept off and on Sat afternoon and was just too wiped to go out in public!
have a great weekend and hope all is well with all of you!
Not Happy with VW at the Moment
ok, so as some of if not all of you know my car is in the shop, it came down ill while in NH and started making a loud clanking noise.
I have 1500 or so miles left on my warranty, and VW does not want to fix the car under warranty because they say that it is my fault, the suspect that the damage is due to the engine running too hot, and improper oil being used, and not being changed often enough.
Now, I am a smart person, I am pretty handy, and on top of it all, I tend to be a tad frugal with my money – why should I pay someone else to do what I can do myself, right?
So, I do my own oil changes, and simple things like fuel filter, air filters, etc etc – no problem right?
I was instructed by the dealer I got my car from that I had to use a specific oil for my oil changes – Castrol Syntec(synthetic) 5W-40. Ok, no problem!
So I got the right oil and have been doing my oil changes. I even showed the quart to the mechanic and he looked at it and said, “Well, that is not the exact same stuff that we use, but it is the full synthetic, and the right type, so you should be ok”
OK, no problem right? WRONG
They want to deny my warranty because it was the wrong oil.
BUT it gets better!!!
On top of that…. they also want proof of the oil changes. They want the reciepts for oil changes at a dealer, or the jiffy lube, or the receipts for the oil and filter at someplace like AutoZone.
What? Who keeps a receipt for $30 spent at AutoZone to buy oil? I pay cash and the recipet never makes it to my car.
I was diligent about this car, I changed my oil every 3000-4000 miles, pretty damn good for me considering I usually would do it every 7000-8000 in my other cars before.
So I said that to the guy, and he tells me that in my owners manual it tells me that I need to keep documented receipts for anything like this in order for my warranty to be valid.
OH REALLY?!?! GUESS WHAT!!
My car had no owners manual! I was not given one by the dealer when I bought the car!
I specifically asked if there was anything special in it, and the only thing they told me was the oil, make sure you buy the right oil and use the right oil.
yeah, VW owes me, even if my lack of using the right oil, or not having receipts for things, Why? cuz their agents – aka sales person and service person – verbally told me what I needed to know, and they left out those things.
Yeah, I will throw them under the bus if I have to, I do not care how loyal I have been to Paul Clark Ford and Volkswagon, they deserve no loyalty at this point, for these things right here, as well as what they did to Tom after his years of service.
if worse comes to worse I will sell this car I love and never go back to VW again, if they want a loyal customer, then they need to be honorable about their part of the deal.
this will be updated……
The Lake House
I never heard much about this other than an ad here or there when it came out, and it probably is more of a DVD movie than a theater movie anyway, but I do have to say, I really like it. I have seen it 3 times in the past couple weeks cuz it is the featured movie on my flights, but I really do enjoy it, and I even figured out the plot twist long long long before it even became evident that it was going to be the plot twist, and even though I have seen it 3 times, I still get that thick throat slightly choked up feeling at the same points, just like I did the first time even though I had it all figured out.
Dear Delta
You really need to get your things figured out….
It was really nice of you to call me with the automated phone call at 6:40 this morning to tell me the flight was delayed, luckily it was only 5 minutes before my regular alarm went off, so I was not too upset at being woken from my slumber.
However, you really need to organize yourself a bit more, you told me the flight was delayed til 10:45 when you called me, but when I checked online just before 9, it was 10:30 – ok, I can see that, but when I showed up at the airport at 9:55 and went to check in, I was told the flight was leaving at 10:15.
That is not nice, I now had to run to security, cut everyone else in line and get nasty looks from them, and then sprint to the gate, and then down the stairs and then down the hallway, and they get grabbed by the ground crew cuz my bag needed to get put under the plane cuz it was a regional jet… and then get dirty looks from everyone on the plane for delaying them and being the last person to get on the plane….
Small Town Benefits
Food and Drink.
Small towns, although I think this technically qualifies as a city, they have a WalMart and a Target, and more than one Grocery Store.
but still, for example…
I went out to dinner tonight at a place called The Drake – Willie Maze Sports Bar, I had a small 8 oz fillet, Texas toast, and a Caesar salad for dinner. Then on top of that I had 2 tall Citron and Sprites with enough booze in each for 2.5 drinks and then finished it off with a piece of caramel apple pie with a scoop of ice cream(yes, I remember my blog, I have been good so I splurged a little) but the total for all that was only $16. $$16 that is practically unheard of to get all that for that money!!
And it was really really good too! I can do without the pie next time, but I think I will be back to The Drake again while I am here.
I talked to a nice old guy who was next to me at the bar, gave me a heads up on where to check out for lunch and breakfast while I am here….
and yeah… Prop planes suck….. way too much lateral movement on a take off and landing for my tastes….
So Very Nice Out Here
Very nice out here, but it isn’t Boston…
I think the drivers out here are actually worse than in Boston, I know people say Boston is the worst, but LA area has them beat as far as I am concerned, especially when dealing with 6 lanes of traffic!
Now what would a blog spot from me be without a reference to a meal I ate somewhere right?
Well I had dinner tonight in the Hotel Sushi Bar, and it was fabulous! SO much better than the sushi around the Boston Area.
I had….
California Roll(fitting don’t you think?) which was crabmeat and avocado with sticky rice in a seaweed wrap
Maguro which is raw tuna on sticky rice with a spot of wasabi
Hamachi which is raw yellowtail on sticky rice with a spot of wasabi
Sake which is raw salmon on sticky rice with a spot of wasabi
Ebi which is cooked shrimp on sticky rice with a spot of wasabi
Hotate which is scallops in a spicy sauce, baked briefly and then put on top of sticky rice with a seaweed wrap
Albacore Tataki which is albacore tuna, lightly pan seared but raw on the inside on top of cucumber strips, with a sesame dressing
All as very tasty and filling while not being too much food either. I really liked the albacore, it melted in your mouth and was practically falling apart when picking it up with the chop stix, the tuna and yellowtail were great as well, and salmon was so so, just confirmed that I am not a huge fan of Salmon in general.
I am gonna head back there tomorrow to try out some other things, Uni(sea urchin) and Tako(octopus) looked very tasty so they may be on the menu for tomorrow night.