2002-04-27 - 10:24 p.m.
Vacations are wonderful things.

Ah, Saturday night. I love long weekends. It feels like the weekend should be over already, and the fact that it's not is like a huge bright shiny bow wrapped round my evening.

Hildegaard got in just after midnight Thursday. She's the only person I know that can get almost to her destination perfectly well and then WHOOPS! miss the bridge not two miles from my house. (How on earth do you miss a bridge?) Oh well. She has a mobile phone, I have access to MapQuest, thank God I've learned to decipher maps over the last few years. =)

Friday we slept in until about 9:30, spent another couple of hours being lazy, then drove to meet my mother for lunch. We went to pick her up at her office, and she managed to suck me into half an hour's worth of Access work on the database I built her. "Can you just add one more thing to this report ..." Hee. She said she told her boss when I first made the thing that she was finally getting her money's worth out of my education! How about that?

We hit the dollar store, went by the courthouse, ate Mexican with Mom, then headed back here to hang out with Jocasta for a little while. No, I didn't get my passport ... they've stopped processing them. Hello, county seat? I guess their equipment must not be able to handle the new digitally processed ones; there are a lot more security features in them after 9-11, I suppose to prevent counterfeiting. I'll have to do a little more investigating to find out where to go now. I did, however, register to vote. Go me.

Jocasta was here for about three hours. We went to the used book store again (always fun!) and I found the third book in Dick Francis' Sid Halley series for Mom. Then we went to the mall and spent my Meier & Frank birthday certificate. That was fun. I had $20.00 to spend, and I decided that we would each get something; much more enjoyable than just trying to spend it on myself.

Hildegaard and I ended up each getting one of those little Zen sand gardens. I've always rather wanted one, but never saw a reason to spend the money on it. This time, I had an excuse. Especially since they were on sale half-price. *grin* We had $4.02 left over, and Jocasta decided she wanted an enormous soup mug. That left us with exactly three pennies, and I made great ceremony of giving the girls one each. It almost felt like college days again.

Jocasta had to drive back early to do some sewing. She's been making a recital dress for SOR, whose wedding I was in over a year ago. I hope she takes pictures of it; I'd like to see it, but I don't think I'll be going. Anyway, after Jocasta left, Hildegaard, Azash and I went to the cineplex and watched The Scorpion King.

Hmmm. Not exactly a stellar movie. Not even on the order of The Mummy and The Mummy Returns. However, there were several excellent moments in it, and there was much of The Rock to admire. He snuck in The Eyebrow, and the scene with the arrow in his back was just awesome. I won't buy it, but I won't object to seeing it again if my brother does pick it up.

We had to stop by Best Buy on the way to the cineplex to buy a mouse for my brother's spare computer, so that Hildegaard could play Everquest. While we were there, with all the Mummy characters rattling around in my brain, my eye chanced upon a DVD copy of Sliding Doors. John Hannah was in that! I'd completely forgotten! I knew there was a reason I liked him besides his portrayal of Jonathan Carnahan! So of course I had to buy the DVD. Silly me.

Today was a bit lazier. Lots of Everquest. Lots of movie-watching. I unloaded my woes on Hildegaard, she gave me sensible advice, and then she cooked a nice chicken-and-rice dinner. Much relaxation and low stressage involved. Aren't best friends great?

Anyway. Azash put in a Monty Python video, and I'm going to go relax some more. Blessings!