Solitary Refinement

Amanda's in Germany for 2 weeks on a school trip. The last field trip I can remember taking, when I was in school, was to Marine Life in Gulfport, MS. Marine Life. We saw dolphins shoot basketballs. She's in Germany, where the furor (no pun intended ... well, maybe) over the upcoming World Cup they're hosting will probably be a really exciting subplot to a 2 week (mostly) free trip to another country. She'll probably run into a lot of excited Mavs fans as well.

Anyway, as this is a school trip, our other roommate Josh is also in Germany, which leaves me to enjoy and defend home base on my own. Needless to say, there's going to be a lot of TV watched over the next 13 days. I also need to make sure to work out every day, b/c I've gotten a bit lazy (lazier) over the past several weeks, and I'd like to look a little less like Craig Stadler by the time Amanda gets home. I got off to a good start last night, let's hope I can keep it up.

I've decided that I'm going to watch the first season of Lost while Amanda's gone. I started watching with the premiere of the second season (which ends tonight, by the way, and I couldn't be more upset), but I never saw the first season, so I don't know much of the back story, other than what I've been able to piece together. I rented the first 4 discs yesterday, and by the time I went to bed last night, I was halfway through disc 2. I should be able to knock it out with no problem, especially with a long weekend ahead of me. I think I'll document this with my thoughts on each disc, rather than each episode, otherwise we'd be here forever. Hey, I gotta keep myself busy somehow, in that apartment by myself.

Disc 1 (Episodes 100-102):
- Cool opening. Lot of carnage on the beach. Like Saving Private Ryan, but less intense, except for that poor bastard who gets sucked into the engine and causes the explosion.
- I will never get tired of the turbulence scene, no matter how many times they show it. When the plane shakes and that dude gets thrown into the roof and drops to the floor again, that's just awesome.
- That Shannon is pretty hot. Too bad I already know she dies in the second season. She's a huge bitch though.
- I already thought Locke was kind of a creepy dude, but now I'm even more convinced.
- I'm kind of upset about the fact that my favorite character on the show, Mr. Eko, doesn't show up until season two. You know those GPS things in the cars that tell you how to get where you're going? I'd like to get one with his voice. If you've seen the show, you know what I'm talking about. If not, it's a lost cause. I just want to hear him tell me things like "Turn left in 300 yards."

We had a great trip to San Francisco this past weekend. Here's a picture of us at the Golden Gate Bridge. If you want to see the whole album, leave me a comment and I'll send you the link.