date days!

sunday, january 12th, 2025.

It's been a fun three-day weekend for us— we got to have two whole date days together! My wife started their new job Thursday, so we've been adjusting to our new schedule a bit. Still, we were both off Friday, so we took the opportunity to get coffee together, visit a Mexican restaurant, and see Nosferatu in the theater.

I think we both came out of the film with mixed feelings. I enjoyed it from a "that was a great film" perspective, but it wasn't necessarily enjoyable. In that regard I think the director, Robert Eggers, nailed what he was trying to accomplish with the movie. Count Orlok né Dracula was an absolutely disgusting vampire and his feeding scenes were revolting in the way that stumbling upon a lion ripping apart its prey must be. Orlok was certainly no sparkling Edward Cullen— he was revolting and singularly obsessed with Ellen Hutter, like a stalker. The whole film dripped with sexual overtones. Put succinctly, mission accomplished as far as a film goes! Worth a watch but it's the sort of film that doesn't lend itself to being re-watched, at least for us.

Yesterday, we drove up to Atlanta so the little one could spend some quality time with her dad. We got to see snow! I should've grabbed some better photographs— the scenery was breathtakingly idyllic. We don't get to see snow too often in middle Georgia, so it certainly wow'd us.

We got a few hours to ourselves while the little one's dad took her out on the town to a trampoline park, arcade, and all that jazz. We spent some time in a coffee shop looking out the window upon the snowy landscape, then dropped by a brewery that had a bunch of pinball tables.

We put probably $25 in quarters in the various machines, most of it into the lovely Monster Bash remake pictured above. It was a great way to spend time together while we had a few hours to spare in Atlanta. Turns out, real-life pinball is significantly tougher than Pinball FX would have me believe. We never did get the band back together for the "Monster Bash!" Still had a blast, though. We also played The Machine: Bride of Pin-Bot remake and a little The Big Lebowski while we were there. The music in The Big Lebowski really tied the room together!

It was really nice spending some quality time with my baby these last few days!

back from cloud 9.

Alas, we're back to chores and errands today. Groceries, mostly. But the "check engine" light has come on in our old Subaru, so I'm going to put this little ODB-II reader to use to clear what is almost certainly a O₂ sensor fault so that we can use our cruise control again. Oh, this joys of owning an older vehicle! Well, that and old Subarus' propensity to burn a little oil.

After playing around with the ODB-II reader, I need to re-lubricate my Marin Muirwoods' chain and rear casette to get ready for the ol' bicycle commute next week. It'll be warming up next week, but rainy tomorrow. Last week, my regular morning bike commute was at about 28°F! Brr!

Tomorrow's our regularly scheduled Flesh & Blood armory with a twist: it's a draft Ultimate Pit Fight, a four-player free-for-all. I'm pretty excited about that, even if I don't get to play the Nuu Blitz deck I've been tweaking.

Alas— my wife has work tonight so it's just me and the kiddo at home for the evening. On the plus side, a friend of mine is going to give me a little tutoring session to learn her favorite Flesh & Blood hero, Riptide. I'm going to try to get really familiar with him before I buy actual cardboard cards to build a CC deck with him. Still, I really vibe with his Leatherface-like aesthetic and the ranger playstyle. Excited to get to know him!

I suppose that's all for now— until next time, be well! :)