One of my favorite "Makes me look smart" quotes is from Lord Byron who states, "I only go out to get me a fresh appetite for being alone." Quoting Byron actually makes me sound literary, right until someone asks me to quote anything else from Byron. Then it's back to quoting stuff I know like Star Wars, Highlander and Looney Tunes.
The reason I brought this up is because I find that I rarely leave my little comfort zone anymore. I'm busy, cranky, not a member of a lot of clubs, whatever. I think a lot of this just comes from getting older. Today's Cinco de Mayo, for example. Yeah, there's drinking, bars, parties and all that going on. I've never been a huge party guy, but I've got my own booze and the bars will be there when everyone else leaves. There was an episode of The King of Queens where Doug sabotages his wife's attempts to make new friends. Apparently, she wants to bring new people into their world and Doug wants to keep them out. He just wants to build a dome over his world and stay there. See, I can quote sitcoms without having to look them up. Anyway, My wife and I both related to that sentiment except we refer to our enclosed little world as the bubble. After an hour or two of being out in the world, we look to each other and express our desire to return to the bubble. People sense what aisle we want to go to in Target and swarm there. They even pick the EXACT spot of the damn shelf one of us wants to visit and they cluster tightly around that particular item like ants on a discarded ice cream cone. "Back to the bubble. NOW!"
And this isn't me just being paranoid. I've tested it! I've stood in the grocery store and eyeballed a section frozen veggies while thinking, "Damn those cauliflower stalks look GOOD!!" Sure enough, boom! Here come a few random folks or just one pushing one of those gigantic plastic fire engine carts to block the freaking cauliflower stalks!
So the summer movie season has kicked off. With DVDs, affordable home theater options and my well-documented aggravations at movie theaters, I rarely go to theaters anymore. Buying a DVD and watching it once is cheaper than going to a theater where a good portion of my time is spent praying for someone to shut up or turn their cell phone off. I don't own a colossal tricked out system, but it's pure bliss to sit on my couch with my cheapo surround sound speakers set up on clearance stands, watch a movie and NOT have anyone around me who doesn't have permission to be there. Megan is allowed and now Abby curls up on my lap and watches quietly while I rub her belly. How is that NOT awesome? Maybe this also makes me an old codger at the age of 37, but I'm cool with that.
The only movies that I still want to see in the theaters are the big summer action-tacular ones. X-Men Origins: Wolverine came out and I haven't gotten around to seeing that yet. I probably will in the next few days, though. This weekend the Nevermore folks and I will see Star Trek. There's no getting out of it. The tickets are bought and I will venture from the bubble. It should be pretty great. I don't mind seeing geeky movies in big crowds on opening day because the crowd is made up of geeks (like me) and the occasional innocent bystander who got dragged to the movie out of curiosity (like Megan). Either way, the crowd is there to see the movie and nothing else. No matter how much commotion is going on, when those lights dim and the movie starts, we all sit and watch. Why can't all movies be like that?
I'll let you know what I think after I return from my dramatic sojourn.
