Who the heck do I think I am?

It's been a busy dang weekend.

Yesterday morning, etakyma and I went to the Museum of Science to take advantage of a Groupon offering the chance to tour Cambridge - by Segway. Segways are totally, totally cool.

And wicked easy to use. Amy had a little trouble just after we left the training paddock, but within a few minutes we were both zooming around like pros. We had a fabulous time with our tour guide (Evan), who was Our Kind of Geek. And there were bits and pieces of Cambridge that I had never really known much about. The tour took in the park that was installed as part of the Big Dig, went down along one of the canals built in Cambridge (which I'd actually been to before, but it was at night and I was actually trying to find a restaurant and had taken a wrong turn), and then down to MIT. It was cool to tootle down to MIT again, though I have to say that my perception of MIT's campus and buildings is forever coloured by participating in Civilite.

We freely admit, though, that the real reason for taking the tour was simply to gain the experience of riding a Segway! Which was SO COOL! And I can now state for the record that Quidditch on Segways would be completely awesome and totally safe.

We also saw a Planetarium show (which was marred only by the rather fractious child next to us, but her mother finally took her out), and then wandered a mere half-mile away to the site of my boss's wife's art show, which was good.

A took a nap and then went home, leaving me to fend for myself for supper. More adventur ensued when I decided to have A Beer with my pizza. I chose (unwisely) to use the bottle opener on my all-purpose kitchen shears and when I had finally pried the cap loose, the beer exploded all over my PJs. I swiftly set the beer down in my kitchen sink (thank goodness I had just washed the dishes) and ran to the bathroom to strip off my now beer-soaked PJs and leave them in the tub to dry before adding them to the laundry. Except that when I go to toss the PJs in the tub? THERE'S A SPIDER IN THERE!!

A big one, too.

Yeah. Well, he was down by the drain, so I dumped the discarded clothes at the other end and proceeded to put on fresh PJs - and shoes. Because gods know, I can't be expected to KILL A SPIDER barefoot (let alone naked)! I grabbed my trusty spider-swatter and thus armed, proceeded to Battlefield: Bathroom. He tried to run into the pile of clothes, but I got him before he was able to hide in their beery folds. Terror! But I prevailed. Then I ate - and drank what was left of the beer. Half a beer is better than none?

That was a pretty full day by itself. But then I added today to yesterday.

NEW GLASSES! Ouch. $500 of new glasses (though that's both regular and a pair of prescription sunglasses). No, they were NOT very expensive frames. In both cases, the lenses were way more expensive than the frames, in fact. And guess what? LensCrafters does not accept EITHER my health insurance OR the vision care insurance I took out expressly because I knew I would be replacing my glasses! Well, I understand that I can submit claims directly to both and see what I get reimbursed. But... PITA. All-around PITA.

And of course, had to spend two hours malling while waiting for the glasses (because sunglasses take two hours, not one). Which is okay - I had a birthday present to shop for and I needed new 'intimates' - but zoicks. Those little errands (plus a couple others) set me back another couple hundred (literally). I was in the mall for 6 hours, altogether! And then I still had to hit Target for a couple other items.

Man, I'm tired.

And broke.

But I do like my new glasses. I especially like being able to see properly.

Okay, so first, there's something small and *very* fast crawling around my living room floor. The first time we saw it it was running across the wood floor and went under the recliner. Then a little bit later I spotted it across the rug by a binder on the floor. At least, I hope it was the same one. I'd hate to think there are more than one. It looked blacker than a silverfish, maybe a roach or beetle of some kind? It moves really fast. Ycch.

Next up, The Women opened yesterday and etakyma and I went to a matinee today.

So can I just say, there's a reason I hardly ever go to films in the theatre anymore? MAN, THE COMMERCIALS. And OMG, $7.75 just for a matinee? I remember when $5.00 was FULL PRICE.

However, that said, they did a GREAT job with this film. They kept almost all the best parts of the original play, borrowed a few things from the '39 film version, and for the rest, they updated it beautifully. There was no need to code Alex, and Jada Pinkett Smith did a fabulous job with the character. Who knew she was so good at physical comedy? Not just slapstick, either.

They did a really nice job of casting. Carrie Fisher and Bette Midler both did an awesome job in their small but pivotal roles. Relocating the "Reno" section to a yoga retreat, and cutting out a lot of the silliness with the actress chick, was an inspired way to get around the complications of the play's second act, and the need for Mary to go to Reno to await divorce. The updated "Molly" instead of "little Mary" was sensitive and much more believable and relevant than the original text (which was probably relevant, but even a little cheesy back then). Candace Bergen and Cloris Leachman rocked, and Debra Messing was HIGH-larious.

The movie was also produced in cooperation with Dove's Campaign for Real Beauty, and at the end of the credits each of the four central actors - Meg Ryan, Annette Bening, Debra Messing, and Jada Pinkett Smith - talk about what they consider to be "real beauty." The whole screenplay is written with an awareness of the mixed messages that women receive in our society: strength vs. femininity, cosmetic beauty vs. internal happiness, sisterhood vs. career demands, and so on. And they did an awesome job of reflecting the catch-22 women find themselves in, as well as the value of knowing one's self and knowing how to get what you want, without betraying the people who will stand by you while you get there.


So, really good.


ETA: Silverfish. HUGE one. Dead now.