I don't know why I feel the need to detail what I did over the weekend.

Saturday night was pretty cool -- went to Staten Island with Maryann because Victor was having a barbecue/party out on his deck. His pool was open, although I didn't know beforehand so I didn't bring a swimsuit (or shorts & a tank, or whatever), which was too bad. =( Next time I just might bring something, dunno what, but I'll figure something out. But even besides that, it was a lot of fun. Pat (Eric's friend who was at Hidden Shadows two weeks ago) was there again, with his girlfriend -- and wow, that guy can mix pretty darn good drinks! ^^ I had some yummy concoction of flavored rum, cranberry and orange juices, and lemon juice. And Victor can mix a good gin martini. ^^

We got there around 10:30pm, and Maryann went into the pool pretty quickly. ^^ Charlotte Ann was there, who's just so sweet; she's really nice and fun to talk to ~ I always like it when she's hanging out with Victor & Co. Justin was not to be found, which was disappointing. Joe was around, but he was in a really odd mood, and always disappearing with Vince(?); we found out later that Joe's now living at Victor's house 'cause he got kicked out for some reason or other... ::wince:: Joe's not the most stable-minded of people.

Chris and Carrie were there, of course. Carrie's so funny, she got drunk after one of Pat's drinks and she was acting really adorably silly. Eric was there -- he's really cool, too. He's a little flamboyant. I don't mean in an effeminate way (he's not gay nor effeminate), but he likes to be somewhat theatrical. But he's definitely not dramatic (and stupid) like Victor gets sometimes. He's really into Lewis Carroll's Through the Looking Glass, which is why he knew Jabberwocky by heart. And we had a short conversation about it and all the different movie versions and stuff; he's actually really cool ~ and it's really easy for me to feel comfortable around him, so I like hanging out with him. ^^

Anyway, we hung out and talked, most people took a dip... It thinned out a little after midnight. Then Chris and Carrie crashed in the living room until later. I eventually had a yummy grilled hotdog around 1:30 or so. And we finally left around 3:15. It was nice, though. I enjoy Victor's BBQ parties.

Of course, the next day I still had to get up to go to work.

Spent the day at the store (from 11am), but left a little early to go downtown to meet Maryann and some of her friends from the Bronx (Elise, Nancy), along with Lee & Zoila, at Washington Square Park. Victor joined us. It was funny finally meeting Nancy, I kind of feel like I know her 'cause Maryann has told me some about her; she's also really nice and cool to talk to. She's soooo~ petite! I think, shorter than Katie (4'11") and thin.

After sitting around for close to an hour, we ended up walking west, toward the pier. Walking through the West Village after the parade was pretty. So much rainbow stuff all over~ was pretty. I wish I'd known I was going to go, though -- I could've worn a tanktop or something a little cooler than a buttondown shirt & a (pretty) tie. ^^; Speaking of ties, I wish someone would make a rainbow tie. I'd prefer that over a T-shirt or flag or similar (I got a rainbow cloth backpack-type thing). I would have enjoyed it more if we'd actually had a destination or purpose, but we walked so much for nothing... and I had asked Maryann earlier if we could stop to get something small to eat, but then we didn't, so I didn't eat anything from 1pm to 11:30pm. =(

In conclusion, a long and busy and not-restful weekend. ::sigh:: I have a feeling this is going to be a long week.

I am having no luck with finding a bag for shinigami.

It's really annoying me. I got this bag in "titanium" from ebags.com, thinking I could finally condense my laptop and it's accessories/my wallet and stuff into one bag. But no. I just find that the weight is off-balance for me. The straps attach at the very ends of the bag -- it's just not comfortable; because the laptop doesn't bend, the bag is stiff and unwieldy because it sticks out too horizontally.

What I use now for my laptop is the Viz anime tote bag they were giving out for free at Otakon 2004. And since I have quite a bit of other stuff to carry, I put that stuff in my PoT handbag. But I hate carrying two bags! I can put a few things in with the laptop, but there isn't enough room for the A/C adapter on the side of the laptop and I don't want it to scratch the latptop or to apply pressure to the monitor. And until the end of July (when I stop working at the UN), I need somewhere to put my wallet since I'm wearing the kind of pants that you just can't put a bulky wallet in the back pocket (if they even have a back pocket). I hate dressing up for work. Every single fucking day. Grrragaslhdglasd!

Alright. So I've come this far; it's been about a month since I've been bringing shinigami to work, so I can go another month schlepping two bags around. After that, at least I think I'll be able to put my wallet in my jeans pocket again. I know I can fit my Zen in fine, and a book or two, but I still don't know about the A/C adapter... And although I am using a cloth bag to protect the laptop, it still does nothing in the way of padding.

But in the meantime I have to try and resell this stupid bag too.

Holy popcorn, Batman! I should have been a movie critic.

Forgot to mention, on Saturday I went to the movies with parents and Liz, to see Batman Begins.

For anyone who hasn't seen it yet, ( here's the cut. )

But the spoilers aren't very plot-specific, so it should be okay -- it's more of a style-critique than anything else. If you take the time to read my long-winded opinion, please let me know what you thought of the movie also. When I actually think of stuff like this (that is, without having to work at it), I like to hear what others think too.