Friday night personal

Got back from my outing at 8:15. Luckily I didn't get rained on, since I'd forgotten to bring my umbrella - and it was rainy.

The sky was going black and the thunder cracking when I caught the 2:44 express bus up to Aventura Mall. There, I walked down to the theaters to buy my ticket for Rise of the Planet of the Apes, starring James Franco and Andy Serkis as Caesar the super-intelligent chimpanzee. (The movie started at 4:20 - I was an hour early.) I then had dinner at Johnny Rockets, across the way. No problem finding a seat at this time of day. I had a chili dog with chopped onion, onion rings with a ranch dip, and a strawberry malt. Ate everything. The onion rings were nice and crunchy but, without the dip, didn't taste like much. Sat reading a magazine as I ate. The hot dog and malt were delicious.

Finished dinner shortly before 4:20, so perfect timing. There was hardly anybody in the theater, which is why I went today at the time I did. The movie started after a few previews. (Would like to see the new Justin Timberlake movie - "In Time" - coming out next month.)

Loved the movie and would see it again. The digitized monkey makeup was flawless. David Denby at The New Yorker called the film "terrific." You can read Denby's review here. (It was in the magazine I'd brought with me, though I hadn't yet read it. Maybe I should have - but on the other hand there's a spoiler in it, so it's just as well I didn't.) I highly recommend the movie. (One monkey to remember!)

Entrance to AMC Aventura 24

After the movie, I walked up to JCPenney, at the opposite end of the mall. (My father had given me a $50 JCPenney gift card for Christmas, and I needed to use it.) Spent quite a while there trying to figure out what to get. I finally decided on a Cuisinart 7-cup food processor (same size as the one I have). (You can see the old clunker above.) I really didn't need a new one, since the one I have works fine for my purposes. I bought it at an auction around 25 years ago, so it's vintage (almond with the burnt orange pulse button). The Cuisinart was on sale $50 off (from $149.99). Adding in the $50 gift card, I paid $50 out-of-pocket for it. Couldn't resist that deal. A brand-new $150 Cuisinart food processor for $50! And it's white, too, like everything else in the kitchen. [As you can see, I haven't yet installed the colorful iridescent glass tile backsplash, which is still sitting in boxes on the sofa.]

Shopping makes me tired and the food processor was heavy, so I caught the next bus home without further ado.

I'll give my old food processor to my supervisor, who doesn't have one and could use it for the cooking she does. (She'd never go out and buy one.) I'll make sure it's clean before I give it to her.

Now it's about time to watch a new "Four Weddings."