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Hoyts are worse than Ticketmaster, I swear. (For non-Aussies, Hoyts is the major movie theater chain in Sydney.) On Wednesday I saw in the newspaper that Return of the King tickets were going on sale the next day. I am a big nerd and I want to go to the first possible showing. Accordingly, yesterday I headed over to the Broadway to procure four tickets for the 9:30 am premiere on Boxing Day. First off, there weren’t any signs or posters about the ticket sale. I was confused. I figured they’d have something. So I waited in line and when I got up to the counter I asked the guy, “Are you selling Return of the King tickets today?” And he’s like, “Yeah, uh, I guess so.” Ooookay. So I pull out a fifty and wait for him to add it up. “That’ll be $61.20,” he says. I choke. I dig for more money. As I’m putting the tickets away, I hear the next couple behind me buying two tickets for a show about to start… and their total is less than $30. Something doesn’t jibe. I look down at the tickets in my hand and note that the $15.30 price includes sales tax and “public holiday surcharge”. What? They’re actually charging me extra to come in on what will probably be their biggest day of the year. What, do they think they’re doing us a big favor by being open that day? Snookums reckons it’s because they have to pay their employees extra to work over Christmas, but I think that’s bull. The cinema should suck up that cost since they’re easily going to make it up with all the extra refreshments they’ll sell that day. Money-grubbing bastards!

After the food orgy of last year, the Snook and I decided to have a low-key Thanksgiving, just the two of us. We roasted a turkey breast and had pumpkin, mash*, asparagus, broccoli, and green beans. It was pretty darn good. I also baked a pumpkin cheesecake – substituting Splenda for the sugar – that turned out well. (I wasn’t thrilled with the low-carb pie crust though.) We washed it down with a lovely Australian chardonnay. It wasn’t Mom’s cooking but it’ll do. 🙂

Things I’m Thankful For This Year:

• My brother came through his surgery fine. Thanks for your positive thoughts!
• I’ve been employed for nearly a year now, and though I don’t love my job, I like the people I work with and at least it’s a paycheck.
• The Snook and I are finally settled in a place that should suit us for awhile. Our apartment is in a great location and has all the amenities we were looking for. We have a home.
• My family continue to amaze me. My mom is raising a toddler, my Dad is coping with two new stepsons, my brother is only a year from getting his college degree, and my sister has created a new life for herself in California. (She’s also impressing the hell out of me with her marathon training and fundraising.) On one hand it’s awesome that we’ve all got such great things going on in our lives… and on the other it’s weird that we all *have* such separate lives right now.
• I’m healthier than I was this time last year. I feel better. I don’t think so negatively about myself. In fact, occasionally I catch a glimpse of myself in one of the mirrors at the gym… and I think I look pretty good.
• Whenever I feel homesick or sad at being so far away from my old life, I have this wonderful community of online friends that cheer me up. Thanks for being there!
• My Snookums. He’s the best.

Note: We don’t eat mashed potatoes, of course. Way too many carbs. Instead we steam the heck out of cauliflower and then whizz it up with our hand blender. Add a dollop of sour cream, a dash of salt and pepper, and you’ve got a much healthier mash alternative. It’s gotten to the point now where I even prefer it to the old version!

Test your digital IQ. I scored 125. I am a nerd. I actually missed a lot of them though… sadly I never learned to use PowerPoint. (Link courtesy of John.)

I’m a little homesick so I’m Googling for information on my hometown back in Indiana.

• History of Lagrange county
• More history
• Photos of courthouse and Amish buggies
• Pictures of Indiana buildings and historic sights
• History of the Amish in Indiana, written by my old newspaper colleague Dave Bainbridge
• An interesting archaelogical report on Lagrange county
• Looks like they might get a spiffy new library!
• My high school
• Politicians who were born, lived, and died in Lagrange county
• A report on a possible link between drinking nitrate-contaminated well water and spontaneous abortions among Lagrange county women
• History of the Ku Klux Klan in Indiana, including photo from 1998 Lagrange rally

Okay, those last few aren’t so nice.

“An invitation to join the Blogosphere…”
This could well be the lamest promotional idea ever. This is a scan of a clipping that I found in our mailbox last week:

That’s right. It’s a real piece of paper that someone put in our actual physical mailbox. I couldn’t believe it. I’m assuming that one of the three people listed – best Aussie bloggers??? – did it to drive up traffic. (I somehow doubt it’s Ev’s new viral marketing scheme for Blogger.) It’s even tackier than that brokenman.net guy who chalks his URL all over Newtown. What’s next, wearing an “I’m a ‘Blogger’ – Ask Me How?” button?

And who says “Blogosphere”? I mean, really.

“Fellowship of the Nitpickers.” Peter Jackson responds to bloopers found in the first two LoTR movies. Pretty funny!

Steve Waugh, my not-so-secret cricket crush, has announced his retirement. I would’ve liked to see him hang on for the India Tour, but how cool would it be to go to his final match in January? I’d love to be there.

What? Apparently it’s illegal to use an iPod in Australia. You’re not legally allowed to rip from CD to an mp3. What the hell? I didn’t know that. Guess I’m breaking the law all over the place then.

Please send all positive thoughts to my brother Anthony, who’s having surgery today… Get better soon, Bruder.

I finally saw Spellbound tonight. I loved this film. I identified so much with the kids. (I think I mentioned before that I missed out on going to Nationals by four places myself.) God, they all looked so awkward. Were we really like that? It was like watching Welcome to the Dollhouse all over again. But in spite of my own over-identification and mortification, I loved seeing them try and cheering their successes. They’re good kids.

More interestingly, the movie made me terribly homesick. Yes, it poked some gentle fun, but I think it also emphasized the very best of American values and traditions. I started out feeling uncomfortable with the Australian audience around me (who sometimes seemed to be laughing a little too hard at people that bear more than a passing resemblance to my own family) but by the end I was incredibly proud of the film’s message. (And those same Australians were audibly gasping at the difficulty of the words and cheering on the contestants.) Now I just wish I were home for Thanksgiving… *sniff*