Christmas 2012 +Addendums

Went up to NoVa for Christmas. My sister had everyone over for Christmas Eve eve dinner. Then on actual Christmas Eve it was just my sister, brother-in-law and nephew. Went to see Rust and Bones. Pretty good – 3 out of 5 stars.

On Christmas Day, first we went to see the movie Les Miserables and later we were invited to dinner with Dave and Jane.

To be upfront – I’m not an opera fan. Just because you sing the dialogue – doesn’t make it better. Les Miseables is not a musical – it’s an opera. Much better than Evita, but for me – still no more than 2 or 3 stars out of 5. But that’s my taste – your mileage may vary.

The drive home was kind of stressful. Started out with snow which then turned into a heavy rain from Richmond all the way to Moncure. Traffic was slow due to the rain – as in really slow. Usually there are slowdowns in the NoVa area but it typically clears up as you get close to Richmond. Yesterday – it got as slow as 40 mph all the way into NC until I left I-95 at US-64. A couple times, the traffic was so bad it actually stopped briefly for no apparent reason. Took a solid extra hour to get home.

I had planned to take some vacation but I think I’ll go into the office some today and tomorrow.

Basketball games Saturday and Monday – so there’s still stuff to do during the holidays.

May try to get an additional movie in there as well.

Friday Addendum

Went to see Django Unchained. Mix Pulp Fiction, Kill Bill and Silverado together - stir in extra violence - and you have a movie. Good - but . . . .

But - much too much excessive violence. Quentin Tarantino felt the need to out Quentin Tarantino himself - so he threw in all sorts of extra blood and gore. Totally unnecessary to the plot.

Samuel L Jackson was superb as was Leonardo DiCaprio.

Nuke showed up today. He's here for the basketball season. Should be a good one.

Saturday Addendum

NC State won big over Western Michigan. Next warm up game is New Year's Eve vs. UNC-Greensboro.

Then . . . . it really starts. 20 point wins are not going to happen in the ACC.

First two ACC home games are Georgia Tech and Dook. I'm really looking forward to the Dook game.

Friday Update 12-14-2012

Nothing noteworthy has happened. Really - just work and then home and then back to work.

The only thing out of the routine is I've had two service calls in the past two weeks.

First, the hot tub started leaking. There was a very small crack in the plastic housing around a valve. Rapid Spa Repair (Four Oaks, NC) came out and fixed it right up. Cost was about $275.00. Excellent service at a reasonable price. Highly recommend Rapid Spa Repair.

Second, when I got home from work Wednesday, the refrigerator was not cooling. Most of the freezer compartment items had thawed out along with almost all the ice in the ice maker. The refrigerator side was warm too.

Rick Stone of Appliance Discount Service in Sanford (A rated on Angie's List) came out yesterday and replaced a control module. Showed up right on time and provided excellent service at a reasonable price. $168. Also, Highly recommended.

Also - today after work - Chip and I shuttled my truck back to my house. It was in the shop earlier this month for a coolant system reservoir replacement (small crack with very slow leak). About $275. Cameron Village Car Repair, who I've been using for almost 20 years, provided their usual outstanding work. The truck has been parked at Chip's house after the repair.

That's about it.

I have to go grocery shopping this weekend as the refrigerator and freezer is empty. I threw everything out as it had been 24-hours of no refrigeration or freezer.

And - there's a basketball game tomorrow afternoon.

Hmmmm . . . . I've spent a ton o'money this month on repairs and maintenance. Just in time for Christmas.