Today was a pretty relaxing day. Actually, it was nerd-tastic: we spent most of the time lazing around the house while Dustin worked on his Java project, Katie laid back and read, and I spent most of my time agonizing over trying to get Linux on my iPod. Why in the world would i want to do that? It's because then I could play Doom on my iPod. The idea sounded great at the time, but the iPodLinux support wiki gave out bad installers and none of the forums were of any help. Putting the nightmare aside for a moment, I gave grilling another shot. We still had a bunch of uncooked steaks left over from the other day, so I threw some fresh coals on the grill and tried lighting them up. I didn't let the lighter-fluid soak, though, so I basically kept having to relighting the grill and the lighter-fluid ran out. This proving just as annoying as the iPod thing, I left frustrated and took a shower while the coals (hopefully) started warming up. By the time I got back, Katie had managed to find some more fuel, soaked the coals, and got the sucker lit. After a few minutes I threw the steaks on and grilled 'em up--they weren't half bad. Normally at this point I'd be wondering what we're doing, why we're not out exploring the great bounty California has to offer, but I didn't care--we were going to watch the new Transformers movie that night at 8:00pm, and that's all we needed.
The movie was showing at Del Amo mall, the sixth largest mall in the United States according to Wikipedia. Inded, the shopping center was enormous, stretching across several blocks with sky-walks over a few roads. Unlike the Mall of America, which has about four levels and an amusement park, Del Amo has about two floors, including an outdoor section, and simply expands out over Torrance. The mall was pretty nice, especially the outdoor part of the mall, sporting contemporary architecture and a neat glowing-fountain. Signs everywhere denoted new attractions under construction, as well as proclaiming Del Amo mall "fashion central." Unfortunately, they took this statement too seriously: looking at the mall directory, a good third of the mall's stores were clothing oriented, and had only three electronics stores. What're three geeks to do? Well, the movie was going to be starting in a little over an hour, so we went ahead and grabbed some food. We each grabbed something from different establishments in the eatery and sat down together. I was in the mood for Mexican food, so I went to Mexican Express... but after seeing them microwave it in front of me, I was even less sure about the quality of my meal. After I made a few unflattering comments about the food, Dustin made a valid point: "Think of what Mexican food basically is--now put 'express' at the end of it." Oh well, at least we had fun with the salsa they gave me.
We left for the mall's theater shortly afterwards, hoping to get decent seats. There were lines gathering outside for the 9:00pm and 10:00pm showing of Transformers--ours already went inside. We ran into the theater and found ourselves in an interesting situation: there were plenty of seats, but they were scattered about everywhere. It was next to impossible to find three adjacent seats where one of them wasn't being saved. Luckily, we managed to find some in the back right corner of the theater with a good view of the screen. When the movie started, everyone was glued to their seats. We had one of those audiences that woulud yell and cheer when something great happened--sometimes it makes a movie difficult to watch, but this just galvanized the awesomeness of the experience. The theater roared with applause when the title showed, and erupted whenever one of the robots transformed. I was afraid that the movie would be one of those fans-only flicks that wouldn't appeal to anyone but those familiar with the franchise. I was completely wrong. Transformers was an all-around great movie, and at no point did I ever wonder what time it was, or how long the movie was going on for. The movie's momentum refused to stop until the credits finished rolling. By the time it let out, everyone basked in the afterglow of a communal nerdgasm. I mean, Transformers wasn't better than sex, but it beats the hell out of masturbation.
The rest of the night floated down in a gentle deneumont. Dustin, Katie, and I visited a bowling alley and lounge adjacent the theater to wait for Charlie, who hit the 10:00pm showing. I thought the alley was like any other I've been to, but there were bouncers at the door checking I.D.'s. Once inside, I noted the low lighting, live music, trendy couches and groups of club-goers among the lanes. Basking in the cool ambiance, we each got a drink and some chicken tenders, saying very little, simply because there was nothing that needed to be said (we had expended the phrase "Transformers is AWESOME") . After drinks and whatnot, Katie and I managed to convince Dustin to come and explore the area neighboring the mall. Unfortunately, there was no such thing as night life in Torrance, so we headed back to Del Amo and enjoyed the cool night air together.
Today was a pretty relaxing day. Actually, it was nerd-tastic: we spent most of the time lazing around the house while Dustin worked on his Java project, Katie laid back and read, and I spent most of my time agonizing over trying to get Linux on my iPod. Why in the world would i want to do that? It's because then I could play Doom on my iPod. The idea sounded great at the time, but the iPodLinux support wiki gave out bad installers and none of the forums were of any help. Putting the nightmare aside for a moment, I gave grilling another shot. We still had a bunch of uncooked steaks left over from the other day, so I threw some fresh coals on the grill and tried lighting them up. I didn't let the lighter-fluid soak, though, so I basically kept having to relighting the grill and the lighter-fluid ran out. This proving just as annoying as the iPod thing, I left frustrated and took a shower while the coals (hopefully) started warming up. By the time I got back, Katie had managed to find some more fuel, soaked the coals, and got the sucker lit. After a few minutes I threw the steaks on and grilled 'em up--they weren't half bad. Normally at this point I'd be wondering what we're doing, why we're not out exploring the great bounty California has to offer, but I didn't care--we were going to watch the new Transformers movie that night at 8:00pm, and that's all we needed.
The movie was showing at Del Amo mall, the sixth largest mall in the United States according to Wikipedia. Inded, the shopping center was enormous, stretching across several blocks with sky-walks over a few roads. Unlike the Mall of America, which has about four levels and an amusement park, Del Amo has about two floors, including an outdoor section, and simply expands out over Torrance. The mall was pretty nice, especially the outdoor part of the mall, sporting contemporary architecture and a neat glowing-fountain. Signs everywhere denoted new attractions under construction, as well as proclaiming Del Amo mall "fashion central." Unfortunately, they took this statement too seriously: looking at the mall directory, a good third of the mall's stores were clothing oriented, and had only three electronics stores. What're three geeks to do? Well, the movie was going to be starting in a little over an hour, so we went ahead and grabbed some food. We each grabbed something from different establishments in the eatery and sat down together. I was in the mood for Mexican food, so I went to Mexican Express... but after seeing them microwave it in front of me, I was even less sure about the quality of my meal. After I made a few unflattering comments about the food, Dustin made a valid point: "Think of what Mexican food basically is--now put 'express' at the end of it." Oh well, at least we had fun with the salsa they gave me.
We left for the mall's theater shortly afterwards, hoping to get decent seats. There were lines gathering outside for the 9:00pm and 10:00pm showing of Transformers--ours already went inside. We ran into the theater and found ourselves in an interesting situation: there were plenty of seats, but they were scattered about everywhere. It was next to impossible to find three adjacent seats where one of them wasn't being saved. Luckily, we managed to find some in the back right corner of the theater with a good view of the screen. When the movie started, everyone was glued to their seats. We had one of those audiences that woulud yell and cheer when something great happened--sometimes it makes a movie difficult to watch, but this just galvanized the awesomeness of the experience. The theater roared with applause when the title showed, and erupted whenever one of the robots transformed. I was afraid that the movie would be one of those fans-only flicks that wouldn't appeal to anyone but those familiar with the franchise. I was completely wrong. Transformers was an all-around great movie, and at no point did I ever wonder what time it was, or how long the movie was going on for. The movie's momentum refused to stop until the credits finished rolling. By the time it let out, everyone basked in the afterglow of a communal nerdgasm. I mean, Transformers wasn't better than sex, but it beats the hell out of masturbation.
The rest of the night floated down in a gentle deneumont. Dustin, Katie, and I visited a bowling alley and lounge adjacent the theater to wait for Charlie, who hit the 10:00pm showing. I thought the alley was like any other I've been to, but there were bouncers at the door checking I.D.'s. Once inside, I noted the low lighting, live music, trendy couches and groups of club-goers among the lanes. Basking in the cool ambiance, we each got a drink and some chicken tenders, saying very little, simply because there was nothing that needed to be said (we had expended the phrase "Transformers is AWESOME") . After drinks and whatnot, Katie and I managed to convince Dustin to come and explore the area neighboring the mall. Unfortunately, there was no such thing as night life in Torrance, so we headed back to Del Amo and enjoyed the cool night air together.
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