Movies Like The Accountant

I had a goal to watch a bunch of movies while we were on vacation. We saw Transformers in person at the theater. The sound went out during the last 5 to 10 minutes. Momoko complained and got us free readmit passes. We returned to see Wonder Woman. Now I know why Diana is so strong. I won't reveal any spoilers though.

We watched a whole lot more movies at the grandparents' home. They had a questionable program that could download movies to watch on the smart TV or PC. The audio was terrible. And sometimes the picture was dark. But we saw hits like The Founder, The Accountant, and John Wick 2.

The night before we left for home, Momoko ordered up a huge amount of Chinese food. Little Kat and I drove across town to pick up the food. When we got home, we found out the bums forgot to give us our soup. I called to complain. These fools would not credit back the cost of the soup. So I had to drive back over to pick up my soup. I won't be returning to that establishment. You know I hate substandard service.

Little Kat and I were asked to move a credenza into one of the bedrooms. We were also asked to mount a TV to the wall. I rejected the idea of mounting the TV. We were on vacation, not work study. When it came time to move the credenza, I found it to be a daunting task. The thing would not fit in the narrow hall unless we turned the thing on its side. It had heavy contents inside. Plus there was another piece of furniture made of real wood on top that we also had to move.

Little Kat and I got the job done. We got cut up trying to drag the heavy items into Momoko's old bedroom. Next time I am definitely going to strongly recommend hiring some day laborers to do the dirty work. Yeah I moved my share of furniture in my life. But that was a task for when I was in my twenties and maybe thirties. No need to get our hands dirty and our backs strained when there are hungry guys out there willing to do so for some greenbacks.

The Big Vacation Begins

It was time for our big summer vacation. Went to visit the grandparents. Kit Kat drove us to the airport. Turns out our flight was delayed 4 hours due to weather. I needed to get to the rental car office by midnight at my destination. I was cutting it close.

I skipped baggage claim. The family could handle that. I ran to the bus that takes you to the rental office. There were no seats left on the bus. Guess everyone else was late too. I was the first one off the bus. Asked the lady near my rental car company front desk if she could rent me a car. She said the rep from my company was sitting down behind the counter.

The rep tried to upsell me to a larger SUV. No thank you. I just want the one I reserved at the rate I was quoted. I was sent outside to the parking lot attendant. Turns out they did not have my size SUV in stock any more. He gave me a free upgrade to a Chevy Suburban. I even got to pick the color (black).

I drove the car rental back to get Momoko and Little Kat. They were waiting in front of some other airline. I picked them up and we ate a late night / early morning meal at Denny's before arriving at the grandparents' house.

New Siding for the Shed

I had been noticing that the paint on my carport shed was all peeling. So at the end of last year, I asked my handyman to repaint the shed. He told me he could do the painting. However it was the wood itself that was the problem. Paint would not solve my issue. He recommended that I have him put new vinyl siding on the shed.

This was not a high priority task. I had my handyman build a closet for my brother. Then I had him install a new window A/C unit in our bedroom. Finally it was time to get to the shed. My handyman had to order the siding. He came and installed it. Turns out he must have misestimated. There was not enough siding to finish the job.

Like I said, this was not a priority job. So I waited for my handyman to order some more siding. After a while, I got tired of looking at the job half done. Therefore I called my handyman and asked him to step up the pace. He came this week and finished up the siding. It looks really good. The doors were the only part of the shed that had not peeled. But to match the nice finish of the siding, my handyman painted the doors.

Now my shed looks brand new on the outside. My other large shed already has vinyl siding on it. I should be set as far as sheds are concerned.

In Search of a Pizza Joint

I had worked all weekend. Then I put in some more overtime yesterday. It was time to take a small break from work. Momoko was off too. So I decided we should go out to lunch together. I had seen a local pizza place advertising on TV. That is where I wanted to go. Momoko resisted the long drive to the location that was advertised. She found a closer one. We headed out with Momoko behind the wheel.

We were doing well until we got to the street that the pizza joint was on. They had closed down a lane, making traffic really slow. Then we pulled up to the strip mall with the restaurant in it. There was no parking in front, and only minimal parking on the side. We arrived to find a total of 6 seats in the whole place. Guess it is a take out joint.

Momoko ordered a pizza plus some fried mushrooms. I tried to get one sub. But they said they no longer carried it. Instead I got an Italian sub. We picked up some 20 ounce sodas from their fridge. Strangely enough, they were not cold. The mushrooms came quick with some ranch sauce on the side. My sub also came quick. Momoko waited 20 minutes before going up to ask what the heck happened to her pizza.

The food was expensive. It was far from home. The food did not taste special, just run of the mill sub/pizza shop stuff. I don't think we will be returning. We have some sub shops closer to us. Their service, in general, is sub-standard. For those with better service, their subs are not too tasty. It is hard to find superior food combined with superior service. I guess we just have to settle for the tasty food.

Late Shift

I have recently heard about this cool movie/game called Late Shift. Initially it started playing in movie theaters. However the audience got to choose the path the story takes. They voted on apps running on their phones. Majority wins to control the direction of the movie. I watched a dude play though one run of the movie on YouTube.

The back story is that you are a late night attendant at a garage. There are a lot of fancy and expensive cars parked down there. At least in one version of the movie, you get mixed up with some guys that need to steal a car as a getaway vehicle for an even bigger heist.

I was hoping this was a game I could buy. Indeed it seems it will be in the future. Coming soon to the Xbox One, Playstation 4, and maybe even PC. For now I only seem to be able to buy a version from Apple as an app. The app is free, but it requires an in game purchase of $4.99 to run. It might just be worth it.

Paying Tolls the E-Z Way

I got tired of waiting in lines at the toll booths from the last two trips my brother and I took. The real pain was watching the cars with E-ZPasses fly by in the E-ZPass lane. So I finally broke down and ordered some passes for the family. I opted to get the kind you attached to the inside of your windshield.

Installed mine and tested it out right away. Little Kat installed his in my other car. Just gave Momoko hers today. She did have some trouble since there is some metal embedded in the top of her windshield (maybe for satellite radio or something). We will have to test out the alternate location she used to place the pass.

We are thinking about a beach trip late this summer. Should be a good time for the whole family to enjoy the fast lane at the tolls. Kit Kat is taking a long trip this summer too. I bet she will benefit greatly from the pass. I had to give her the printed directions for installing the device, since she was not in the car when we attached mine to my car.