Work was somewhat of a downer today. My 1.5 hour conference call with the Austin and Santa Cruz folks ended with criticism of my PPD template guideline work. I don’t mind them pointing out things they didn’t like about it, but what I don’t like is that they don’t have anything better to use, and they didn’t offer anything to make mine better.
I stopped by Sam’s on the way home and bought energy bars, two 4-packs of Lean Cuisines, Cape Cod chips, and bagels. The energy bars are for Robert, as are half of the chips.
I lied on the couch for about a half hour waiting for Robert. I fell asleep and woke up several times, having wild, wild dreams during each little nap. One was that I was in someone’s living room, sitting on their carpeted floor, lit a match to light a candle, and when raised the flame over the wick found the end of the match broken off. I looked down, and there it was smoldering into the carpet. I tried to mash the carpet around so the host wouldn’t see the burn.
Robert arrived, and he offered to drive to dinner. We went to Cameron Village, and stopped by the Bluckbuster first to see if they had Capturing the Friedman’s on DVD. They did, so we rented it.
We got in line at the K&W, and then Robert said, “I noticed on Irregardless’s website today, that they have the Spicy Chicken Ravioli on their menu.” That’s what I had last week at the business dinner I hosted. “Let’s go!” I said.
Since it was still early (6:00), we got seated right away in spite of it being a Friday night, and us not having reservations. Once again that meal was unbelievably delicious. Robert loved it, too. We had a cup of coffee and headed home.
I straightend up the computer room a little, and we pulled the bed up to the computer screen so we could watch the DVD. What a fascinating movie. It really engaged me, and at times made me think of “the unreliable narrator” in literature. What a compelling story. I’m glad I heard NPR’s Fresh Air segment on it, which is what made me want to see it.
Movie Synopsis: CAPTURING THE FRIEDMANS is a non-fiction feature film that explores the elusive nature of truth through the prism of one of the strangest criminal cases in American history. The Friedmans seem at first to be a typical family. Arnold Friedman is an award-winning schoolteacher, his wife Elaine, a homemaker. Together, they raise their three boys in the affluent Long Island town of Great Neck. One Thanksgiving, the family is gathered at home preparing for a quiet holiday dinner. In an instant, a police battering ram splinters the front door and officers rush into the house searching every corner, seizing boxes of the family’s possessions. Arnold and his 18-year old son Jesse are both arrested, and subsequently indicted for hundreds of shocking crimes. The film follows their story – from the public’s perspective and, most remarkably, through unique footage of the family in crisis, shot contemporaneously by family members inside the Friedman house.
Before sleep, Robert and I did the crossword puzzle from the N&O, the page of which I took from the trash bin at the Bo Jangles on Thursday night. We also did the word jumble, and the cryptoquote.