the dude date

Eric and I hadn't been on a date in awhile, so we decided at the end of work on Friday to reschedule my chiropractic appointment and have a night to ourselves instead. We ended up going to Southcenter for dinner and a movie, and halfway through eating, I realized that we were on a "dude" date.

See, we grabbed food at Johnny Rocket in the mall, then we went to see The Avengers, which, I have to say, is an amazing movie. LOVE Joss Whedon. :) Anyway, burgers and an action flick definitely make for a good time for guys, and although I highly enjoyed our evening, I told Eric that the next time we go on a date, we're totally getting pedicures.

HA! Just kidding, the idea of a stranger touching my feet squicks me out. Even though I probably could use a professional pedicure, I ain't gettin' one if I can help it!


Anyway, if you haven't see this movie yet, I highly recommend it as it is absolutely delightful. The action sequences were stellar, there were great one liners, and most of the acting was pretty dang spectacular.

On a side note, this film doesn't pass the Bechdel test because even though there are multiple women in the film--with names!--who talk about things other than men, none of them--as far as I can remember--talked to each other, and that is a shame. They are strong characters, except for the form fitting jumpsuits and wedge heels they all seem to wear, and I would have liked to see them in the same conversations. Still, I appreciate that they aren't always needing rescuing.

On another side note, after we got to the mall, I realized that I hadn't brought chapstick, so we spent 20 minutes roaming the mall to try to find a place for me to buy some--I'm kind of ocd about chapstick--and all we found were tubes of lip balm for $8. Srsly? Lip balm?

On an even different side note, I also noticed once I sat down for dinner that the jeans I was wearing had a tear under the right butt pocket that I had forgotten about prior to dressing for the date. I was VERY glad that I had brought along an extra large sweatshirt so I was able to wear that and hide the hole easily. Phew!

If you've seen The Avengers, what do you think about it? Like me, did you fall in love with the Hulk? He easily became my favorite character, and I didn't know it was possible to love a villain as much as I enjoyed watching Loki be, well, Loki.

Date at the Pops

Today, Eric and I went on a date to Benaroya for a Sunday matinee performance of "Sci Fi at the Pops" with the Seattle Symphony, Victor Vanacore (conductor), and Jonathan Frakes (host). In case the name Jonathan Frakes doesn't ring a bell, you might recognize him as this:

Will Riker of the U.S.S. Enterprise, Star Trek: The Next Generation

I heard about this concert only a couple of weeks ago, and although I didn't know what all would be played during the concert, I felt like the basic premise of sci fi themes couldn't be bad, so I talked to Eric about it and voila! A date was born.

We went to the early service at church, then took the bus into Seattle to avoid traffic and paying way too much money for parking in the city. Then we got to Benaroya Hall about an hour and a half too early, so we chilled inside the lobby with some Starbucks and some treats and enjoyed the Dale Chihuly glass chandeliers.

While waiting for the doors to open, we enjoyed people watching, which turned up one particularly unique specimen, a woman (at least mid-thirties), wearing booty shorts over some fantastic tights with knee high, high heeled boots. Her get up--although I'm sure it was her style--was altogether distracting, and Eric and I had a very difficult time not staring. An elderly couple sat next to us and we didn't interact for awhile, but then just before they got up to leave, the woman leaned over and said something about "that whore over there"--um, what?!--and then said, "Enjoy the show!"

About this time, we drained the last dregs from our mochas and as the doors were open to the auditorium, we headed inside to our seats. Our seats put us right about here:



Oh hello, Mr. Bassoonist! I can just about pick your nose. (We got cheap tickets, but they were still fun seats!)

The overall vibe in the packed music hall was relaxed, but excited. Only Seattle can summon this many enthusiastic geeks, I tell you! :) The program was as follows: Star-Spangled Banner, Star Trek theme (introducing Jonathan Frakes), Adventures on Earth (E.T. Theme), Independence Day Suite, Thriller/Beat It/Thriller (with accompanying zombie dancers!!!), Ghostbusters, Superman Returns Suite, INTERMISSION, Mars ("The Bringer of War") from The Planets, Name that Sci-Fi Theme (included Jaws, Psycho, Bewitched, I Dream of Jeannie, Addams Family, The Exorcist, and an R&B rendition of 2001: A Space Odyssey), Battlestar Galactica, Suite from Avatar, and Throne Room and Finale from Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope. They also performed an encore of Raiders of the Lost Ark.

Jonathan Frakes was a great host. He was light-hearted, he shared some genuine stories and emotions about each piece that he introduced, and he had a great attitude about the various pieces introduced. He shared a story about how he was with Christopher Reeve when he got the call from his agent that he was going to be Superman. (How cool!)

The conductor was super charismatic as well, entertained the crowd, and sang the words to the Ghostbusters' theme, cuing the audience to chime in "Ghostbusters!" at the appropriate times. Seriously, how awesome is that? :)

It was such a wonderful day, but we ended up spending a lot of time away from home, so we are both very much wiped out right now.