I’ve done it

I have seen the finale of the Lord of the Rings trilogy, Return of the King. I had restrained from writing about any of the three movies until after seeing the third. All three movies were equally and stunningly the most beautiful movies I have ever seen, both separately and all together. The images were pure magic, the characters so real you could almost touch them by simply reaching out; and for a lack of better words, the books and their story seemed to just … come alive … right before my very eyes.

I’ll be the first to admit that I cried throughout the whole movie, in fact there did not seem to be a dry eye in the entire theatre. Even the two grown men sitting beside me were sniffling and dabbing their eyes. It was the most moving experience I have ever had inside a theatre … just watching a movie.

Needless to say, I now hungrily await the release of the extended version DVD so that I may attempt to re-live my experience and in hopes that more footage may satisfy my hunger for the tale. I’ve always been a fan of the books, and it was so easy to be sucked in by the movies.

This trilogy is undoubtedly my favorite movie of all time, but only because I cannot choose just one … I have to have all three.

Well, duh!

Well, now I know why CompUSA didn’t have my tablet anymore … my honey bought it for me for Christmas!! Needless to say, I’m in “hawg heaven”! Want to see it? It’s an Aiptek HyperPen 12000U.

It’s 12″x9″, with 512 pressure levels, 3048lpi, 0.42mm accuracy, standard wireless stylus and mouse, and connects via USB. Includes software bundle: Ulead PhotoImpact 5, USB Tablet driver, Free Notes, Office Ink, Ulead PhotoExpress, Microsoft NetMeeting, Art Dabbler, and CADIX.

Me happy.

Some general geek and happenstance

Attended the last Microsoft Server 2003 seminar for the year. It was nice, mostly techie, no sales pitches. We came back to work after lunch and pitched moving our network to Server 2003 to the CEO. Got the OK to do it … now just need the time to sit down and configure the server. (ugh)

Jessica’s getting better, but she was NOT happy about going back to school. She’s cried every morning this week, wanting to stay home and watch cartoons. (UGH)

My weekend visit to my parents went OK. My dad and I are still at odds, but he was pleasant for the most part … only a 20 minute lecture this time. (UGH!!!!!) But at least I came home with a sackful of good food and a bunch of my mom’s Christmas ornaments. I’m not just talking ANY ornaments … some of these things have been in our family for at least a couple generations!

Jim and I went out last night. He had a darts tournament, and I got up and sang a couple songs at the karaoke bar. *LOL* I sounded terrible and off-key … being around a bunch of smoke absolutely kills my voice, plus I couldn’t hear worth a flip. *shrugs*

Christmas is in 15 days … I still haven’t shopped for anyone other than Jessica. I just haven’t had anything for time lately. I think I’m going to go next weekend and knock it all out at once. I hate malls. I hate crowds. I especially hate Christmas shopping, which is mostly why I’d been putting it off.

I’m a little peeved at the moment because a tablet that I wanted that CompUSA had all summer and up until last week is apparently gone. I couldn’t remember the name of the maker, so I called them to ask if they still had it. The dude on the phone kept telling me about the Wacom tabs they had in stock … I told him I had one already, and they had a bigger (and cheaper!) tab by another maker, and I wanted the name of the maker so I could look them up — I figured I’d research it before I bought it … I need to buy a gift for me too!

Anyways, the guy wouldn’t walk back there and look on the shelf. The only thing he would tell me was that it was not in his inventory anymore and that it “must have been a clearance item” … right, and I’m Margaret Thatcher. It wasn’t marked down the last time I looked.

Oh well, looks like I’m going by CompUSELESS tonight to look for it myself. It might be a piece of crap, but it looked just as nice as a Wacom Intuos 12×18, was the same size, and included pretty much the same software bundle … but was a fraction of the price. (Bottom line wins every time) My little Wacom Graphire is just too small for me now. I need something bigger!

Ugh, the holidays are always so busy!

Another quick update before I go off to bed: Jessica’s been sick the past 2 weeks … started with that flu bug that’s been going around, and now she has an ear infection. Dr. prescribed some antibiotics, Jess hates the stuff — getting her to take her medicine is an uphill struggle. Plus she’s got this “pitiful little sick girl” routine down pat, LOL.

We had put off getting Christmas decorations out until she started feeling better, so we finally got to it today. Granted she whined the whole time, and went to sleep before we were done. (awwww)

She’s pitiful when she’s sick … and a bear to deal with (like I’m any better!). It’s funny how kids can be so trying, then just melt your heart in an instant. On a semi-sorted side note, some of you might find this amusing. I found it while looking up vampire news. (hehe)

Other news: once again, I’ll say it. I hate BellSouth, or should I say, BellSloth. My internet service was out for about a week and a half … and to make a long story short, every time I’d call, I’d be given a different excuse and time frame on when it would be up. It ranged from “about 30 minutes” to “sometime next week, we’re not sure” … ARGH!!!

I can cope with my internet being out (well, not really … but I had to!), but what really burned me was the incompetence of BellSloth’s support staff — one rep in particular was a condescending rude little twit who desperately needed to have his cranium extracted from his posterior.

But I digress …

The holidays are finally here. I spent a stress-free Thanksgiving (with the exception of my internet being out, grr!) for the first time in years. My parents had gone to Hawaii to see the Alabama vs. Hawaii game. We spent Thanksgiving with Jim’s father. We ate a lot of food, played computer games, and watched a lot of football … life is good!

I’m off to see my parents tomorrow (wish me luck). I have been putting it off for a while due to many factors, mainly I didn’t want to fight with my dad. On the other hand, I miss the relationship I used to have with my mother. The past 2-3 years have damaged our relationship and sometimes I wonder if we’ll ever be as close as we were before? I guess only time will tell.

Anyways, it’s nearly midnight now and I’m pooped. Another quick cute thing I’ve picked up: Limecat.