Sunday night Jim’s father and stepmother were coming over and bringing dinner. At the last minute we learned that we were also being joined by his brother Mike and Mike’s new roommate, Patrick, so it became a party. I was nowhere near ready for it, but at least we were able to get the house acceptably clean. I went out to Home Depot that morning and got the part I needed to repair the vacuum cleaner.

My strong circadian rhythm asserted itself last night. I’m pretty much used to rising and retiring at the same time every day, so when we shift the clock one hour forward or back, it throws a monkey wrench into my routine for a couple of days. While we were entertaining Jim’s family and their friends last night, I was nodding off quite often. I hope they didn’t think I was rude. During a waking moment or two I explained that my body is so used to a set schedule that it takes a few days to adjust when it’s altered. I’ll be okay in a day or two.

Anyway, Jim’s whole family are really cool people, so it was nice to have them over and to have the house looking presentable for them… or at least as presentable as is possible. They brought over take-out Chinese that was pretty good, and I got to show off to Jim that I can use chopsticks and he can’t.

When eight o’clock arrived, I had to use the remote to turn the closed captioning on for Desperate Housewives, so I could at least read it if not hear it. Jim would want an update. Everybody left around 9:30, and I went to bed. Brody was a little freaked out by all these people around, too, especially since we both had our bedroom doors closed, so he had no place to hide. He seemed to like having all the new people around.

Tomorrow night is rehearsal for the Chorus, and it’s the first time Jim won’t be able to go. Fortunately, it turns out when he gets signed up, he gets ten days off right away for “good behavior” so he’ll actually be off the monitor on November 15. That means he’ll only miss two weeks of rehearsal, which is not a problem. But another member of the Chorus who doesn’t drive is going to be needing rides home after rehearsal, so I’ll be helping him out since he only lives a few blocks away from me. That way I’ll have some company for the ride home.

For the next couple of weeks, I’ll have to be passing on everything we cover in rehearsal to Jim. Fortunately, Stan sends out a re-cap after each rehearsal, so I’ll have notes to work with. Plus it helps that Jim won’t be missing as many rehearsals as he figured. I think he’s going to do fine with this show.

So far, I’m still off the hook when it comes to driving Jim to and from work. He hasn’t officially lost his drivers license yet. Mine hasn’t arrived either, and when I look it up on the state website it shows as non-valid, but they assure me that I’m still okay to drive, even though I still owe them $739 for a check that bounced. I need to hear from them before I know where to send payment. Tomorrow night I need to use the car, because I need to get to rehearsal, and give Rick a ride home. But for today I’m off the hook, so I might head down to The Saloon for a bit. For one thing, it’s a beautiful sunny day and the fall colors are at their peak.

Ohh, She Bit Her Dog, Eh?

If you ask me what’s my all-time favorite movie, I won’t even have to think about it: The Wizard of Oz comes to mind right away. While friends of mine may have thrilled to adventures in Middle Earth or Narnia, for me it was always Oz. Although I would love to see the Oz stories rendered on film in the style of Peter Jackson’s Lord of the Rings films, this 1939 classic is absolutely timeless. It would probably have won Best Picture if it hadn’t come out the same year as Gone With The Wind.

Yesterday while shopping at Target after winning $256 at pull tabs, I picked up the 70th Anniversary Ultimate Collectors Edition of the DVD. It’s a four-disc set with lots of special features, so it should keep me pretty busy for the next week or so. So far I’ve just gotten around to watching the movie itself: it has been very nicely restored. Kansas has been converted from black-and-white to the original sepia tone, and the vibrant colors of Oz have never been more beautiful. And those slippers!

And it came with a cool watch, too!

In addition to four DVD’s, the Ultimate Collectors Edition also includes a couple of books with background information on some of the lesser-known stars (like all those munchkins) and a cool watch that I’ll probably wear for a couple of weeks for the kitsch value. It’ll be a fun conversation piece at rehearsal. It also features some old Oz movies made back in the days of silent movies. I think L. Frank Baum made those himself. But they’re on the fourth disc, so it might take me a while to get around to watching them.

While I was shopping I also decided to pick up some things to make a really nice dinner. I was craving shrimp fettucine alfredo, so I picked up the supplies, including a bottle of sherry, which was a no-no. I made sure no evidence remained. (Technically, it should be okay if I cook with the stuff, as alcohol boils at 170º so it all cooks away.) Tonight is rehearsal, when I usually do something quick like pizza, but I don’t really need to rush dinner tonight, as I’ll be home all day. Maybe I’ll cook up a Matt-loaf. One of the nice things about Jim being on house arrest is that I know when he will be home for dinner.

I went to bed pretty early, planning to wake up this morning and clean up the kitchen after cooking last night. I woke to discover that Jim had taken care of the cleaning for me.

Then I have rehearsal tonight, so it’s going to be a pretty busy day. I should also work on excavating my very messy bedroom. I should also work on studying some music today, maybe later this afternoon so my voice will still be warmed up for rehearsal.

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