sunbrae suggested. I'm also pondering the ongoing urgings of college pal Lisa In the meantime, let me talk a bit about my New Year's Eve activities. I spent a goodly portion of the day working, actually: eight and a half hours at the mall, from 15 minutes before it opened to forty-five minutes after it closed. I sold many calendars! Later, I treated myself to a late dinner at T.G.I. Friday's. The last two years, I had my New Year's Even dinner at Red Robin -- only the finest dining establishments for me! -- but this year I had a Friday's gift card.
From there, I went to the theater and saw, as planned, American Hustle, which I enjoyed very much. I have to say, though, that even after Argo, it still feels very weird to see a (somewhat) historical film about event that occurred during my lifetime. Unlike the Iran hostage crisis, I can't say I have any memory of ABSCAM, the FBI sting operation that inspired American Hustle, but I do remember the Doonesbury strips about it. I don't know that I know any more about ABSCAM today than I did yesterday; by all accounts, American Hustle is a loose adaptation of the actual historical events, and I'm dubious that the resolution of the actual investigation so closely resembled something out of a heist movie. But I like heist movies, and this was a good one. Plus it featured Amy Adams in a lot of very revealing clothes -- "offering up enough side-boob in her plunging dresses to power an entire Huffington Post vertical," as Kyle Buchanan said -- and I really can't complain about that.
And in case you were wondering: the timing worked out perfectly in terms of catching the bus home. Including the time it took to get from the door of the theater to the bus stop, I was outside less than four minutes before boarding. And while I technically rode three different routes from the theater to the stop closest to my house, I never had to change buses, which was a pleasant surprise; I was anticipating having to wait outside for a few minutes at one of the transfer points. Add that to all the rides being free and it all makes for a very pleasant evening and early morning.
