Just another Friday

In my continuing effort to be less cranky about all matters health insurance-related, I bring to you the small victories of a rather pleasant Friday.

When I was researching what HDTV I wanted to buy, I watched the electronics ads like a hawk. (I finally pulled the trigger when I saw the best deal in months.) I'm still scanning the ads for the potential post-purchase price match and spotted one that saved me about $75 when I took it to the store today. And no fuss from the customer service rep. Win!

I didn't need to get gas, but the price was the lowest it's been in awhile: a "bargain" at $3.79. I figured it wouldn't hurt to fill up. Tonight at a station near my home I saw it $4.15. Another win!

On the first of two days of Movie Catch-Up Weekend I saw Standard Operating Procedure, a good but incomplete Errol Morris doc about the abuse and torture of prisoners at Abu Ghraib; Mongol, an undercooked biopic about the early years of the man who would be Genghis Khan; and Last Year at Marienbad, a notorious baffler that could be Exhibit #1 for those arguing that French art cinema is pretentious nonsense. (Of course, it's also considered a classic.)

I've not had a lot of patience for more obtuse films over the past several months, but for whatever reason the gorgeous black-and-white imagery and widescreen composition was very soothing and cleansing to soak up. I wouldn't blame anyone for thinking it's a bunch of falderal, but it clicked for me. One major win, one minor win, and one split decision!

I had a nice walk in between the first two films and was only accosted by one panhandler while meandering up High Street. The temperature was in the high 80s, but the cloud cover kept it from feeling too oppressive for late June. A win!

I took about forty-five minutes to knit, which was enough time to finish the repeat I was midway through. I'd planned on knitting more, but getting out to stretch my legs was needed. Still, a win!

There wasn't anything in particular that made this an outstanding day, but it's nice to be at the end of it feeling like I came out on top for a change.