A house is just a place to keep your stuff while you go out and get more stuff.

Tonight was spend time catching up with friends night. M and I went over to the local mall (I know, I know - you're thinking "B-b-but...you hate the mall!"). But it was nice. Really. We had Starbucks frappuchinos - real Starbucks, not that faux B&N cafe crap! I got some tops for work (since, while I may not be too fond of the mall, I can never pass up a sale), we found a new costume jewelry store to rival the Claire's franchises, and I bought a couple of books since my copy of The Hollow Chocolate Bunnies of the Apocalypse hasn't arrived yet. No - I don't really need more books, since I'm always pawning my paperbacks off on one person or another so that piles don't take over every flat surface in my house (I rarely feed my voracious appetite with literature in hardcover, unless it's a first run and I really must have it). I got a Tess Gerritson book that is one of a series I found myself unintentionally reading backwards. It's the literary equivalent of a time machine. But much less useful than an actual time machine would be. M and I also bought the same Douglas Preston/Lincoln Child book, which seems silly when you figure I could have gotten it and loaned her mine when I was done reading it...but, as she said, we don't know if we're going to see each other anytime soon. Living in different cities and having all these "grown-up" responsibilites sometimes makes maintaining long-distance friendships a challenge. We have started making more plans to spend time together, since it looks like Miami isn't going to be a go this year. There are a couple of movies that we are talking about seeing. Stardust is the big one. Maybe The Golden Compass. And maybe a show or two later in the year, depending on who's coming to town. One thing's for sure - Sbarro has some good pizza. Their garlic bread sticks could use some cheese in the middle, though. You know what I miss? The Steak Escape. They had great cheesesteak sandwiches (I'm from PA, but not Philly, so I just call them either "steak sandwich" or "cheesesteak", and if you ever try to tell me that cheeze whiz belongs on an authentic cheesesteak I'm going to have to punch you in the face), and delicious fries, which were wonderful with malt vinegar, ketchup and lots of salt - and were fried in peanut oil before "healthy fast food" went from just an oxymoronic trend to dining requisite.

I watched Reign of Fire last night (again!), so for those awaiting the next Batman movie with baited breath and bells on, here's a little something for you...I'm such a tease.



M - please send me a text or an e-mail to let me know you found your way to downtown, and you made it home safely, m'kay?