41

Yup, that's how old I am now. I guess after hitting the big FOUR-OH last year this one isn't as traumatic. The scary thing is one of the dealers at work also has a birthday on June 29, but she was born 20 years after I was. Yikes. Scary.

Live Free or Die Hard

And yet another sequel to subject myself to, but I was pleasantly surprised at this one. Even though there were bits of the story that were too far-fetched, I had a good time at this movie. The effects were awesome, and Maggie Q was her usual sexy self. I dare to say this was the best of the sequels I've seen this year.

RIP: Chris Benoit

I read with shock and disbelief about the death of one of Canada's most popular wrestlers, Chris Benoit. The frightening details (that of Benoit killing his family before himself) is too much to take in. Before anybody starts saying "Hey, he's just a wrestler", well, he was an entertainer. Just like we mourn the deaths of movie stars and athletes, the life of Chris Benoit was cut too short at the age of 40.

I remember vividly the last time a prominent wrestler lost his life. In 2005, wrestling lost Eddie Guerrero. I remember because it was the same day that I got news I was promoted to Relief Floor Manager. It was so surreal. It's very sad to hear of this. We may never know the whole story of why a whole family has perished, but it is sad nevertheless.

Evan Almighty

After all the disappointing sequels I'd seen in the past month, I went to this movie not expecting too much. Without Jim Carrey I doubted that Steve Carrell could carry the movie. Nevertheless, it was fairly enjoyable. There was nothing special about it, but the film was enough for a good laugh.

Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer

I went to see yet another disappointing sequel. Jessica Alba cannot act and the special effects were average. Hopefully Evan Almighty and will turn out to be a much better sequel because so far everything has been quite disappointing this year. Away From Her is still by far my favorite movie so far.

In a Row?

I've somehow managed to get two days off in a row, and I will cherish them deeply. I'm settling in more to my new "life" as a morning person. It still takes getting used to, as I've been sleeping at 2 or 3 in the morning for so long. I'm trying to get to sleep by 12 or so. It's tough getting up in the morning, but the prize is leaving at 3 in the afternoon when the sun is still out and I still have most of the day to run errands.

Meanwhile, on Wednesday night I'll be seeing Russell Peters (for the third time!) and I can't wait.

Pirates of the Caribbean 3

I went to see it two nights ago. It didn't help that I was quite tired from my morning shift and so I took a nap near the beginning. When I woke up the movie didn't get much better. It was rather bland. Chow Yun Fat needs to work on his English. Even Keira Knightley was nothing more than average. All the blockbusters this summer have been disappointing.

Alarm Clock

And so begins three weeks of morning shifts (7:15am-3:15pm). So why am I still up at 2 in the morning? Well, I'm just relaxing a bit after Kity's farewell dinner (and drinks) and I'm still wide awake. It will take time to adjust to daytime, I just hope I actually get up in the morning (in about 4 hours). They better have Red Bull at work.

Ocean's Thirteen

Grammatically I can't remember exactly what the movie is called (Ocean's 13 or Ocean's Thirteen) but OK, I went to see the George Clooney flick. It was definitely better than "12" but not nearly as good as "11". Al Pacino was smooth as usual. Ellen Barkin was ultra-hot and definitely cougar material. The plan itself was outrageous (this coming from a casino manager of course) but taking away the suspension of disbelief the film was OK overall.

Part 3

All is right with the world, as the skanky Ms. Hilton is back where she belongs. I am now at peace.

Paris Hilton Part 2

I thought the Canadian justice system was a joke but it looks like the Americans are giving us a run for the money. Letting Paris Hilton free after three days "because of a medical condition"? How much did the Hilton family pay the sheriff for this privilege? You have got to be kidding.

Just Checking In

Other than the fact that Paris Hilton is in jail for the next few weeks, there's not much else to report. I had a rare supervising shift today, which was rather uneventful. It was actually a welcome change from the often stressful managing shifts. Next Sunday will be a farewell party for Kity. It'll be sad to see her go. She's helped me a lot these past two years (thanks) and I've learned a lot from her. It'll be an interesting change when I move to morning shifts (mostly). Then on the 14th, it's the retirement party for Marlene. It's hard to believe I've known her for 18 years now.

Mixed Emotions

My schedule for the next month will be very unpredictable and mixed up, but it looks like I will be on morning shifts (7:15am-3:15pm) for the most part, with random days off. It'll be an interesting change from the mid shifts I've had for the last three months or so. The bad news is I have to wake up around 6am every day and try not to look like a zomebie when I get to work. The good news is since I'm off at 3:15, I do have most of the day left to run errands, have dinner and catch movies. The daytime floor manager has different job functions from the mid, but it's all good. I just have to get used to everything again.

May the Force Be With You

I'm sure most of you geeks will know that 30 years ago today, a movie called Star Wars opened in theaters. How time flies.

Away From Her

In between some big blockbuster movies (Spider-Man 3, Shrek the Third, and that pirate movie) I'd heard so much about this Canadian-made movie that I had to see it. And I'm glad I did. I guess I'm still a sucker for sappy sad films, but this movie was more than that. It got me thinking a lot about mortality and what life will be like in my later years. Without giving away the movie, the plot was very well laid out and as far as I know, terribly realistic. I'm glad I saw it, and I'm glad I didn't overdo it with the tears.

A wonderful and poignant line from the movie: "It's never too late to become what you might have been"

Next week is that pirate movie.

Paris Hilton

I don't write a lot of stuff about celebrities in my blog, except when I'm talking about a movie I saw. But here begins my rant on the big joke known as Paris Hilton.

Her sentence of 45 days has just been cut to 23 days "for good behavior". What kind of bullshit is this? She broke the law (twice), she's still partying, she's late for her hearings, and now her jail time is cut because of good behavior? Maybe there's a sex tape with Paris and the judge. Whoever ruled on this is on some serious sort of drugs and should be sentence himself (or herself) to the missing 23 days in jail.

Equally sad are the pathetic people who are still on the side of "the heiress". People actually look up to this lame excuse for a human being and think she shouldn't even serve ANY jail time. Well good, next time she's out drinking and driving (which should be about one day after she's released) maybe we'll have her hit and kill somebody and see where that leads.

I used to think the laws in Canada were a joke but it looks like the Americans are giving us some competition. And to think one day she's going to inherit the Hilton empire. Sad sad sad.

Shrek the Third

Last night I went to see this cute little cartoon. There was nothing special about it but at least it was pretty funny. There was some interesting casting (even if it's only the voices): Justin Timberlake as Artie, Larry King and Regis Philbin as the Evil Stepsisters to name a few.

Next week is "the pirate movie".

FREE AT LAST

My long 7-in-a-row work week is now over, and I have my precious three days off in a row. I'll be pretty busy but anything is a welcome change from work. Time to relax. Friday I have a checkup with the eye doctor, then having dinner with Kim and Chap. Saturday it's off to the States with Four-Eyes, and Sunday, hmmm, maybe catch a flick with Lily. Good night.

No Rest for the Wicked

I'm in the middle of a 7-in-a-row stretch. It started with a 2:30pm supervising shift on Friday followed by 6 straight 3:15pm managing shifts. Just finished Day 3 of 7. Nothing out of the ordinary has happened except it was Mother's Day today (Happy Mother's Day to my Mom of course). I celebrated it by being in a bitchy mood, but that's mainly because certain people were making it bitchy for me. They shall remain nameless. All I will say is I can't wait for Friday because that means three days off in a row for me. I sure could use it as soon as possible.

Spiderman 3 Again?

What the heck, I decided to go see the movie again. This time I admit I enjoyed the movie a bit more, perhaps because I knew what to expect. I think the big problem with the film is that the story focuses too much on Goblin 2.0, as opposed to Spiderman. Both seemed to get equal status in the movie. Do I perhaps sense a Goblin sequel?