First off, I know I will be (figuratively) "kicking myself" if I do not wish everyone a belated Happy Thanksgiving, "Black Friday", "Cyber Monday", & all that jazz. (Also, my condolences seriously go out to anyone who lost a loved one in an occurrence related to any of those.) With that said, let me tell you what I've been up to over the time since last blog. I stayed away from the Mall & movies that whole time, spending a little time with my sister & nephews at their house, & most of it here where I still live.
The fact is that, like Harry Chapin used to sing it (& I believe I still have the CD to prove it), "All my life's a circle." I stay up late Sunday nights (often to watch repeats of "Burn Notice" or the E! Channel's wrestling-related show), which is why I then end up sleeping late most Mondays. (Ironically, I missed the opening of last night's "Monday Night Raw" largely due to watching the show on E! late Sunday night.) While I've had one-or-two appointments lately (& more to come; Literally, 3-in-a-row in about 2 weeks), I sleep in most days I am allowed to stay here. (I continue to say how much I hate this place, but when you're sleeping/"napping", your eyes are closed, so you largely have no clue where you are.)
Anyway, I say all this to mention I had not yet been able to finish my main two aims for the month of November: Getting a haircut & seeing the new Jason Statham movie, "Homefront."
This afternoon, I left the apartment at about 3 PM, sure I'd get to the theatre in time for what I remembered as being a 4-something showtime. I reached the mall almost right at 4, & called "Fandango", sadly my most-often "go-to" destination for movie times. It was then I was told the show had (at some point) moved to 5:20. I passed by the place I get my hair cut, but they were extremely busy. I walked a few laps around the Mall, before leaving the building for the movie theatre around 5:15.
At the ticket counter, I double-checked the film's showtime. I then asked the ticket-seller for "one to the 'Homefront' that just started". I reached for my ID, only to have him confirm out loud that he'd seen me there before, & knew I was "21". ("Long as he knows I'm old enough to get in, no need to correct him," I thought.) He told me (I never asked) I'd "only miss the first few minutes". Not a problem; Anyone who (like me) is a Statham fan knows his movies are big on action & small on plot/setup anyway.
I go to movies on Tuesdays because the local theaters are cheaper those days; The 2nd-run discounts tickets by a buck, & the other has discounted popcorn (the only movie snack people are allowed when, like me, they are popularly-believed to be Diabetic). The ticket-seller also handed me my ticket-shaped paper that earned me a $2.00 popcorn. (Note I said these theatres are "cheaper" now; There was a time years ago the popcorn for frequent customers like I then was cost nothing; It's like they're punishing me because the studios are putting out Vince Vaughn crap & Kevin Spacey is signing series deals solely with Netflix.) I therefore figured my next stop was the concession counter to get the discount snack & some size (diet) soda... Sounds like a fine plan, except I was the only one standing at the counter for long enough to watch many of the most-popular YouTube videos.
With all of that in hand, I walked into the right individual theatre. A quick glance at my watch showed "5:25". I laughed, thinking I'd mainly missed ads for Sprite & other concessions, which I was either medically-barred-from or already carrying. I walked in, & saw nothing on the screen. Twenty more minutes went by, & still blank. [The "radio" was playing; However, it was largely playing Ariana Grande (I joked to myself her FULL name was "Arian-A Grande Pain"), & bands I'd never heard of, like something by/about a White Buffalo.] Finally, at 5:45, I grabbed my currently-off cell phone out of my pocket, turned it back on, & text-messaged my mother, explaining the situation.
She texted me back, "Sumthin not right". I simply laughed, saying aloud, "Like I don't know that," before calling "Fandango" again. When they gave me the option for the building I was in, I hit the buttons to get the theatre's phone number. I memorized it, hung-up, & called it. (I reminded myself of the book I've already mentioned I read by Kevin Mitnick, as this was like something he often did; I stopped myself before sharing that with the employee who answered, however.)
I told the male employee (still now wondering if he was the ticket-seller) that I was "actually calling you from inside your building. I'm in the theater that's supposedly showing 'Homefront', but it's a half-hour past start time, & there's still nothing on the screen". He said he'd "let them know". Soon, some woman came in, looked at the screen for a few minutes actual time (like she expected that would change it, ala a "Jedi mind trick"), & then looked at me & thanked me for letting them know.
A young man (one of only two other audience members) who had headed out of the "screening" before seeing me on the phone thanked me before heading past me on the way back to his seat. I laughed, honestly responding, "No problem; I just wondered, 'What would happen if I called them from them?', & I had to try it!"
Sure enough, the movie started (with the White Buffalo song still playing over it about 10 seconds more). I usually leave the second the end-credits start, thinking, "I'll IMDB it" about any questions I might have about the cast/crew. I stayed for the first minute-or-so of these, however, perhaps expecting a bonus animated flick or something to repay us for not leaving in the wasted half-hour. (Blame "The Amazing Spider-Man", which I still can't find available on DVD in 3-D, the way I saw it in the theatre, & which also had a few more minutes after the last credit ran.)
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