Celebrity Birthdays!

October 27 -
My sister-in-law turns 30!

October 28 -
My fellow Battle Plan contributor turns 72 or 16, emotionally, depending on the day. Which makes him 2 years older than me in both instances. (He's the mature one)

Also, some woman named Julia Roberts has a birthday today...apparently she's in movies. I know, I haven't heard of her, either.

Happy birthday to all!

Small town state of mind

Well, last time I briefly delved into people living in small towns. I've primarily lived in small towns most of my life, with perhaps Lubbock, Texas being my only "smaller" town I've been a resident of.

But even with Lubbock, I noticed people to be a bit friendlier than it's big-town counterparts.

Good, friendly people seemed to be the norm in the several small towns that surrounded the resort where my parents and I stayed. My parents would frequently ask locals questions about local attractions, local food, and other questions that most large town people would answer with "look in the phone book," and the locals would assist without hesitation. If we had a map on us, they would trace the path, but even if we didn't, they'd give good directions. A local had recommended Mount Greylock, which perhaps we may never have gone to by ourselves.

Even at the "tourist-y" spots where I'm sure even the friendliest person would tire of all the inconsiderate visitors and grow bitter after awhile, courtesy ruled the day. A shopowner gladly helped when we stopped by, even when my parents showed an interest in a souvenir hedgehog that many might find "tacky."

Besides the friendliness, I also enjoyed the variety in foods in the small towns.

When you live in a big city, you tend to be "stuck" with the same kind of restaurants. It's almost as if city planners think "well, we've got a lot of people, so we'd better keep things familiar as to not offend anyone." And so, Red Lobster, Applebees, Olive Garden, and the like spring up all over the place. Anyone opening a Chinese restaurant, even those with great and varied cooking skills, seems to stick to the same menu. I all gets very boring after awhile. And you only seem to run into "local" restaurants by mistake.

In the small towns, I don't recall once encountering "chain" restaurants, with the exception of maybe McDonalds and Dunkin Donuts (on a side note, Dunkin Donuts ALWAYS seemed to have a line of cars in its drive-thru, even at 2pm). Sure, there were a lot of "Italian" restaurants and "bistros," but they were all locally-owned, and I'm sure, had different menus. On a couple of occasions we went to a local coffee shop for breakfast, where they had fresh-baked goods such as scones and croissants of different varieties. They even had a delicious item called a "cinnamon rose," which was like a cinnamon roll in muffin form (if that makes sense).

Imagine finding a place like that in a large city. It's a difficult task. It would be hard for a place like that to compete with the Starbucks of the world. But I assure you if I did find one like it, I would probably be a regular there. I think it would be great to head to one and enjoy a nice Chai tea while reading a book. Sure, you can do that at a Starbucks, but it's just not the same.

My dad was pleased that we didn't see a Wal-Mart anywhere close to where we traveled. It was all locally-owned stores.

The trip definitely made me long for life in a smaller town. Would I get by without my multi-plex theaters, without my fancy electronics stores? It would be an adjustment I'm sure, but I could probably do it. It would be a small price to pay to live in a town where everyone knows your name (to quote Cheers).

Discourtesy in flight

Well, I just got back from vacation Saturday, and going there and back, I was in 3 different planes, 3 different airports, spending roughly 7 1/2 hours in flight.

I had no issues with the airports and their even-more-heightened-than-last-time security. I had no carry-on baggage, so it was just a matter of emptying my pockets, removing my jacket and shoes, and passing through the metal detector.

I didn't have much of an issue with the airline, either. The flights went without incident.Though I think having to pay $2 minimum for food of any kind after I just paid $300 for tickets is kind of a joke.

No, my only issues with the flights and the airports were my old enemies, discourteous people.

On the way there, I had the unfortunate luck of having to sit in the middle seat. The woman in the aisle seat presented no problems, but the gentleman in the window seat obviously had no concept of personal space. I kept getting elbowed by his outstretched arm. And although there was a clear division in leg room/footspace, his leg and foot kept finding its way into my space, occasionally stepping on my toes. This continued despite my protests to him.

The return flights were nothing too major. On the first flight a woman was sitting in my seat, but she was sitting next to her young daughter, so I didn't mind (besides, it gave me the singular window seat). I also sat in the window seat on the second flight, this time next to a boy perhaps in his early teens. He had a somewhat unsettling habit of leaning forward or to the side to glimpse out the window. We were over the wing and facing the sun, creating an uncomfortable glare and heat. This caused me to keep the shade mostly closed, except for some reading light. I obliged the boy when we passed over "landmarks" such as the Mississippi River,and when we were landing. He gave an annoyed grunt as I gathered my belongings before landing, as I was "blocking" his view for a whole minute. Not terribly inconsiderate, but still, a bit annoying.

Most of my ire, however, is reserved for those people at the baggage claims. I don't quite understand people there. They rush to get to the baggage claim, as if thinking that their luggage will magically appear as soon as they get there. Then, when it doesn't magically appear, they stand right against the track, blocking everyone's view and path to get to their bags. On the way home there was a nice gap that allowed me to see the bags coming off of the track and to let me get in quickly to grab my bag. I stood up against the wall, allowing a wide berth. In the course of 5 minutes 4 men came in and filled the gap. When my bag finally came, I went in to take it, and the men barely budged. Come on, people, by now you should realize it may be awhile before your bags show up. Might as well be considerate and hang back a little.

But, these minor annoyances didn't get to me too much, because the rest of the people I encountered on my trip were some of the most considerate people I've encountered in quite some time. Any time we talked to some one, they politely answered our questions, laughed at our jokes, or gave helpful directions without so much as a grimace. Maybe it's true about small town people, that they just don't have the stressors that usually create rudeness. But small town living is a talk for next time..

State Fair (unfair when it comes to prices)

Ever lived in an area for a long time, but never actually gone to some well-known event/attraction? You know, say you've lived in New York and never been to the Statue of Liberty.

Well, I've been in the Dallas area for about 5 years now, and I've never been to the Texas State Fair. My brother and his wife, who have been here longer than me, have never been, either.

Thursday night we decided enough is enough, and we headed to the Fair. Admission varied, depending on where you got the tickets or if you had a Coke product with you. We didn't know about the Coke thing, so we got our "advance" tickets at a local grocery store, for about $1.50 less than what they charged at the gate. Now that's savings!

The Texas State Fair was mostly carnival-based, with some attractions mixed in (mini-museums, etc.), as well as some other things like arts-and-crafts sales and an auto show. The area near where we came in was littered with booths selling various items from cell phone service to hot tubs.

Sadly, the "coupons = money" system that bothered us on our 4th of July excursion followed us here. But instead of 1 coupon = 1 dollar, it was 1 coupon = 50 cents. Of course you could only get the coupons in increments. We quickly blew our coupons on various things, primarily the food. If it could be fried, and even if it couldn't conceivably, you could find it fried here. This year saw the introduction of a "Fried Coke," which as it turns out, was essentially fried balls of Coke-flavored batter, covered in a Coke-based syrup, with whipped cream and a cherry.

We ended up having to get more coupons to ride the giant Ferris wheel. It was the perfect night for it. While the cage we were led into was a tight fit for the eventual 5 people in there, the ride offered a great view, plus it was a cool night with a nice breeze. We ended up spending roughly 4 hours there, and didn't see most of the attractions that people probably go there to see, like the Livestock shows and some of the museums. Would I go back to see those things? Probably not. MAYBE if I was with some people who had never been before. It's just one of those things where I had to do it, but probably won't do it again. My wallet can't take it. :)

Ahh, a new continent...makes me want to save money!

Next week, we celebrate Columbus Day - which can mean only one thing. Time to hold a huge sale!

I heard one of the stupidest commercials on the radio this morning (and that's saying a lot), which went something to the effect of, "Ever wonder what Columbus felt like when he discovered America? Well now you can at StoreName's big Columbus Day sale!"

Okay, first of all, let's throw out the technicalities such as the fact that Columbus didn't discover America, but he more stumbled upon it. Let's say he did land and go "Holy crap! A new continent! This is fantastic!"

The fact that they are comparing this feeling to a sale on house paint is ludicrous. What's next, a President's Day sale commercial that goes "Ever wonder what George Washington felt like when the United States won its freedom? Now you can when you get 30% off all batteries!"

Snail Mail?

Yesterday, I received two e-mails that were dated 2002.

When "regular" mail is delivered late, a driver can claim it fell between the seats, or something similar..

What's the excuse when e-mail doesn't get delivered for FOUR years?

"It fell between some data packets?"

Wanna see something REALLY scary?

Last year, I shared a list of movies to watch around Christmas time.

Well, it's now October, which means since mid-September, we've all been celebrating All Hallow's Eve, aka Halloween. Yes, you can't walk into a grocery store without seeing Halloween-related items. Strange for a "holiday" that isn't celebrated until the final day of the month.

With Halloween comes the obligatory scary movies. TV networks of all kinds will share slasher and monster movies galore this month. Now, I'm not a horror movie connoisseur.. heck, I don't really like horror movies all that much. But I do own several horror-themed movies that I typically watch around Halloween. Let's share some of them, shall we?

• Ghostbusters/Ghostbusters 2 - I admit I vaguely remember seeing this movie in theaters, and when I did, I got scared by the library ghost. These movies are not high on the fright-factor, but they are ghost-related, meaning they make good Halloween fare.
• The Mummy/The Mummy Returns - As with the above, these movies are not high on the fright-factor. They're not even ghost-related. And The Mummy Returns is more of an adventure movie. But still, they fit well with the month.
• Resident Evil/Resident Evil: Apocalypse - Ah, here we go, some zombie movies. But again, they aren't really high on horror. I view them more as action movies. But you don't get any more Halloween-themed than zombies.
• The Simpsons Treehouse of Horror - Ok, not a movie, I know, but the various Halloween episodes of The Simpsons are October staples. No TV and no beer make Homer something-something.
• Van Helsing - So sue me, I liked this movie. Sure, it's got more cheese than a jumbo platter of nachos, but I liked it. Vampires, werewolves, Frankenstein's monster.. it's a regular monster mash. And, as an added bonus, I purchased the deluxe edition of the movie (which I believe is out of print), which includes restored versions of Frankenstein (1931), The Wolf Man (1941), and Dracula (1931), which is just plain cool. It's interesting to watch these films.
• Alien/Aliens - They mostly come out at night. Mostly.
• The Frighteners - Peter Jackson, pre-Lord of the Rings. A very well-done movie, and delightfully dark. A nice Halloween movie.

But the creme de la creme is

Sleepy Hollow - Since purchasing this on DVD, I have watched this movie every Halloween. It's my own little tradition. Sure, the "murder mystery" behind the movie has long since lost it's luster, but it's a ghost story at it's heart. And no, kids, this is not the Disney version. Stay away!

There we go, my little list of recommended watching for the month. Sure, there are probably a lot more movies out there that could fit the bill, but these movies are what usually grace my DVD player each year at this time.