Weekend Report

Been having a good weekend. Yesterday, we went to a party to bid Mary Anne and Kevin and their adorable daughter, Kavi, farewell as they leave the Bay Area and head back to Chicago. It was fun, there was lots of scrumptious Indian food (there was a dish involving beets, coconut milk, and turmeric that I must try making sometime), and I got to spend time with people that I only ever see at parties.

The drive to and from the party gave us an opportunity to road-test a new gadget that we were given for Chanukah: a Garmin GPS unit. I'd used one of these when we were on vacation in Florida, and already knew that they were wonderful for travel. I have a particular uncanny ability to get lost in Oakland while trying to find the freeway. With the Garmin in hand, no problem.

In addition to the party, I managed to cross several items off my to-do list yesterday, although I still haven't cleaned my desk. (Well, okay, I recycled a few stray unneeded papers, but you really wouldn't notice.)

This afternoon we went to see The Golden Compass. It was much better than reports of the early reviews had lead me to believe. I didn't find it terribly gripping, but it was entertaining, and there were some really wonderful bits. And the armored bears were not naff, like I was afraid they'd be. (Probably helps if you get Ian McKellen to voice your lead bear.) And despite the much-publicized removal of all direct references to God and the church, it really didn't feel to me like they'd tampered with Pullman's text all that much. (Okay, the movie doesn't leave you wondering whether C.S. Lewis used to beat up Pullman and take his lunch money when Pullman was a boy. Which was what the book made me wonder. But still...)

Though, you could tell I've been watching too much Doctor Who*, because every time somebody referred to "The Master," I jumped. And then when Derek Jacobi showed up, I jumped again.

*"We knew that already!" I hear you say. Oh, hush.