happy birthday amelia

Yesterday was Amelia's birthday, so we celebrated all weekend long. On Saturday we went and saw a movie: Hitch, her pick. It was an enjoyable little movie, though nothing spectacular. I thought it was pretty entertaining for a romantic comedy, though there were some seriously cheesy lines. If you ask me, Kevin James was the highlight of the movie. Maybe it's just that he reminds me of myself, but I always enjoy that guy. Both on his sitcom and his stand-up, and now in the movies, he's just funny--the average guy, but in a good way. Plus, he's a big guy, and ok with that just being him, which I can relate to. So I enjoyed him, and I liked Will Smith, who actually seemed mostly subdued, which is rare for him. The low point in the film was definitely Eva Mendes, who is just not a very good actress. In some of her scenes I'd seen better acting in high school plays. But she's cute, which in Hollywood translates to lots of acting jobs.

After the movie we went out to eat to a place called "India Pavillion." It was delicious. Best Indian food I've had since London. We tried a few different dishes, and it was all just really good. Plus, it was the first time in quite a while that we went to a dining establishment without a tv in the corner, so that was really pleasant. Not that we love tv, just that most of the places we can afford (Applebee's, Chili's, Champs, etc.) are all semi-sports bar type places. So it was fun to actually have a conversation. Also, the couple right behind our table was on a first date, so we totally eaves dropped and guessed on how the evening was going. That' s one nice thing about both of us speaking Japanese; we can totally talk about people without them knowing. It's fun.

Yesterday I gave Amelia her present, which she was very excited about. For those of you who I haven't told already, I got her tickets to go see U2 in Pittsburgh in October. She loves the band and really wanted to go, but I've been telling her for months that we couldn't afford it, so she had no clue. Seeing U2 was one of the things I did while Amelia was in Japan that she really has wished we could do together, so I think it was a good present. Plus, c'mon, it's U2; when wouldn't that be a good present? Someday I'll have to get us a trip to London, which was one of the other things that she really wanted to do, but that may be a long time coming.

All in all, it was a fun weekend. I've got one last class to attend today, and hopefully I'll get my grading done by tomorrow, and then it's free time! There's actually a lot I want to do (erase our old computer and sell it, clean out storage closets, plan my summer syllabus, etc.) so I'm looking forward to free time. Plus, I'll be able to blog a little more, which is fun for me, if not for you. So keep watching this space!