Tracy's Christmas present arrived yesterday, and it's pretty cool. Got her a Motorola MOTORIZR Z3. It's a RAZR type slider. No idea if a US Carrier is going to pick it up, and hopefully no one will, that way it can remain fairly unique in the US. But it's pretty sweet. And solid. Same size as my cell phone roughly, but put together a whole lot better. I'm even thinking of switching, it's that cool. And Tracy got the present early, well, because she needs a new phone, and better to have it sooner than making her wait. Bad thing about it? No cradle, so can't just plop it in for charging. I'm a big fan of cradles. Got a bunch on the sofa table. So the champagne tasting last night was pretty cool. Went with the Russells, which I guess was a couples date. I'm no expert, but champagne's good. Nothing over the top, but the surprise of the evening is that Dom isn't all that. I did manage to pick up a bottle of Vouvray sparkling and a Lily Pinot Noir on the Russells recommendation. Afterwards, we got dessert at Hot Chocolate. Really good stuff. Made for a great dinner. Found out the Russells got new cell phones, so congrats to them. Tonight Tracy and I get to learn Swing, not sure what kind, at dance class, and maybe dinner at Nacional 27 again, since it's right there.

No movie last night. Instead, more of The Unit. Good stuff, as always. That Mamet guy, he writes pretty well. I might have to listen to the commentary track on the S.E.R.E. episode, cause that one is freaky. Absolute power corrupting absolutely? Scary stuff. And I'm guessing most of it was based on historical events. That's probably the scariest part of it. Also tried to make langonisa last night and failed miserably. I just can't make it from scratch, at all. At all. So disappointing. So I just have to use store bought stuff. Tonight headed over the Bucktown for a champagne tasting at the Wine Discount Center with the Russells. Should be good. And of course, taking a cab over. I did manage to wear the wrong coat again, but I did remember to bring an umbrella today. Which is good since it's raining. Hopefully the temperature drop won't happen until after I get home and pick up some more clothing.

Not too much going on. Week after Thanksgiving let down or something. The awkward time between holidays too. Which actually corresponds to a busy time at work, but not for me, usually, as I should have been busy the rest of the year to get things working for the people that are buys at this time of year. Confused? Yeah, never mind. Watched some more The Unit yesterday. Dinner for myself was pasta and Sausages by Amy. Went grocery shopping around 9:30pm to make dinner for Tracy, which was pork chops with a brandy cherry sauce with zucchini with walnuts. Had that for lunch. Smaller portions, too, which means no leftovers. Definitely felt odd just using a single baked potato while cooking. Headed out to see The Prestige tonight with Bryan. Can honestly say I didn't expect the weather to be this nice this late in the season. I figured the 60 degree November days was over in the beginning, not the end. But snow's coming, so that's good. I mean, it will be December soon.

Friday night watched more of The Unit. Now I'm thinking I didn't miss any episodes from last season. Then headed out to Tracy's, in what ended up the weekend. Saturday went through a florist consultation at Kabloom of Naperville, which got us thinking about some of the stuff we actually hadn't thought of yet. Always a good thing. We headed over to Oakbrook for some shopping, which was a good idea because it was so nice out, and it wasn't nearly as busy as I thought it'd be. We ate at the restaurant in the basement of Macy's. They still have Marshall Field's stuff on the menu. Then we decided to see Happy Feet. I saw a headline off Google Reader from my cell phone that someone called it an animated An Inconvenient Truth, like liberal propaganda. I laughed that off. We went to the same IMAX theater we saw Superman Returns at, except this time it wasn't in 3-D. Should have been. Definitely some good scenes for it, and even looked at parts like it was directed for it. We had some time to kill, so grabbed some beer and wings at Buffalo Wild Wings beforehand. And the movie itself? Liberal propaganda. Definitely over the top at parts. Definitely a left wing flick. I felt it was pushed, in parts, a little too much. But still, very cute, very funny. Dancing penguins always are. Sunday actually went to mass at St. Cyril, which was fairly normal. Lunch at Denny's, more shopping, this time at Orland Park, before eventually heading back in to the city and my couch. Leftovers for dinner. Gonna try start up the whole exercising thing again, went running this morning. Just got to make sure I get enough sleep is all.

Wednesday night, enjoyed another episode of Studio 60, this time on the old cinema display with the creature speakers. Not a bad experience. Better resolution than analog broadcast that I get on my big tv. Also started downloading via XTorrent some tv shows that I've wanted to watch, like Jack & Bobby and Cupid. Mac and cheese for dinner. Thursday, of course, was Thanksgiving. Good times, even if I had to do a little work throughout the day. Also using iChat with a wireless network to see Al and Nicole was pretty cool. Got back in to the city ok, only a little traffic where the tollbooth gods decided to have only 1 cash lane, which of course blocks the iPass lanes because people move to the right at the last possible time. Working today, which was fine. Bus was pretty much completely empty this morning, which was pleasant. Got some Krispy Kreme this morning, to just complete the whole Thanksgiving gluttony thing. Really have a florist wedding consult tomorrow, so headed out to Tracy's tonight.

So I got Tracy a shower radio. She likes to sing in the shower. I also got her some jewelry. So I'm not that bad of a future husband. The pumpkin souffles came out, well, probably too souffle-like for my taste. I think I need to add flour to the other recipes I've used besides the one from Better Homes and Gardens Cook Book. Maybe next time. But also whipped up some fresh whipping cream, so that was good. Had to have some cheesecake with it. Oh, movie was good also last night. Funny stuff. Definitely a movie rather than a mockumentary. Interesting eatery downstairs though, Eatzi's is what it's called. They have microwaves to heat up the food you buy. Good stuff, Tracy thought the crabcakes were up there in terms of taste, so it's good stuff, just don't know if I get it as a place to sit and eat. Fine for stopping in and grabbing something for home though. Got caught up a little on the ultimate related gossip. Hopefully will have some place to find said gossip online soon.

I'm having a hard time coming to grips that it's Thanksgiving, and that people are already taking off for the week, and that tomorrow and Friday will be very dead downtown. Anyway, being one of the huddled masses taking the Metra in and out of the city was interesting last night and this morning. Something I could totally see myself doing if/when I move out of the city. I pretty much make a similar commute in terms of time, so that's not that big of a deal. Just a whole lot farther to go. Tasting went alright, nothing too special, which is expected considering the size of the wedding. Watched Heroes and How I Met Your Mother. Tracy asked why I hadn't gotten the Season 1 DVD set of HIMYM, and looking online today, I remembered why: it's full screen only. Ugh. Speaking of Tracy, a nice big Happy Birthday to her. I did get to have a Cinnabon for breakfast at Union Station. After the movie tonight got to make a pumpkin souffle for the birthday girl, as well as wrap her presents. Not headed out to Woodstock till Thursday morning, but only out there for the day.

I'm totally ready for the iTV, and the widescreen video iPod. Watching Studio 60, oh, a week after it aired, with no commercials, when I wanted to, well, it's awesome. I'm sold. I only wish other stuff I watch would be available from the iTunes Store. I'd buy Las Vegas (tv show). I'd probably buy How I Met Your Mother. I'm tempted to get The Office. But those would be helped by having the iTV available. I don't think Tracy likes watching on the MacBook. Also means I've pretty much given up on broadcast TV. Strictly DVD watching device for now. Anyway, spent a surprising amount of time in the kitchen this weekend. Friday night went out to Tracy's, doing laundry, watching some DVR'd tv, that had to delete previous episodes cause it was running out of space. Had to bittorrent those. Saturday, finished up the laundry before heading back in to the city to play with my new camera, and watched more Studio 60. Awesome awesome show. I can't get enough of it. Awesome. Tried to make my own longanisa, but used an Italian Sausage base, which made it a little too different. Sunday, church, the rest of Studio 60, The Matrix Revolutions, and some Friends. Made a Cheesecake Factory Pumpkin Cheesecake and some curry chicken for dinner. Today headed out to Tracy's on the train, and we're headed over to the Bolingbrook Country Club for the tasting. Tomorrow going to see For Your Consideration with the boys at the Landmark.

Wednesday night just sat at home, watched TV, and had leftovers with Tracy. Thursday night, on the other hand, was a good time. Tracy finally made it to a dance class, where we learned the Fox Trot. Afterwards, we had dinner at Nacional 27, since it's a block away. Good stuff there. Good Mojito, great ceviches. Love it when a restaurant takes its food seriously, but without any feeling of pretension. Anyway, we'd definitely go back, and probably will, after dance classes. Headed out to Tracy's tonight. Supposed to go to a party for Tanguay tomorrow night, but that pretty much sums up the weekend plans so far. Hard to believe Thanksgiving is next week, with Tracy's birthday right before. Soon it's gonna be Advent, then Christmas, then the new year. Wow. Flying by.

So WordPress? Still pretty impressive, but not amazing anymore. I couldn't find any easy way to do a post query over multiple categories by catslug, or cat_nicename, or whever it's called. Easy to do with catIds, but not with a catSlug. Annoying. Guess I could try and fix it, couldn't I? Anyway, getting closer with Tun's website, if your interested, at math.bhothinard.org (http://math.bhothinard.org), but of course it doesn't format well in IE6. Stupid IE6. And I've got to figure out how to get IE6 so I can test against it. Ugh. Beef Fajitas for dinner last night. Super easy to make. Oh, and bought my first TV Shows from the iTunes Store. Studio 60 come out with a Season Pass. Downloaded everything so far. Which means I can catch up on that soon. Which means at some point I'll be getting a video iPod, if they ever release the widescreen version, and probably mothball my nano and psp. Awesome. Love the lock-in.

Wasn't planning on cooking last night, but got the urge. Which meant I had chicken parmesan out of the oven and ready to eat when Tracy got home from work. Yes. That's me in the kitchen, making dinner for the wife-to-be, hard at work. Right. Anyway, before that I also made some Rice Krispie Treats, which I went easy on the butter with, which made them much much better. Also watched the last episode of Las Vegas (tv show):Season 3, and it annoys me that season 4 won't be out on DVD for a while. Also continued watching The Matrix Reloaded, actually trying to listen to the words and understand the overall storyline a little bit better. I think it might be time to restart the Alias show, as Season 5 is coming out soon, and that gives me a good number of things to watch. Also, it's a dead series, so I won't be left wanting at the end. Oh, forgot that I also have The Unit:Season 1, too. Anyway, broadcast TV is definitely on its last legs with me. At least until I get HDTV back. Still working on Tun's website, and WordPress isn't quite as easy to work with as I thought. Any easy way to get a page/post slug in php? Anyway, working on it tonight, before cooking dinner again, this time beef fajitas.

So Friday night met up with Russell at the Apple Store up on Michigan Ave. Passed by the new Garmin store that's opening up where the Sony Style store used to be. Really? An entire store for GPS products? Really? Anyway, I went to the Apple Store to check one thing and one thing only, if the 2nd generation MacBooks hinge squeaks. Answer: nope, it doesn't. Nice and quiet. They even had first generation back by the iPods which did have the squeak, then walking up to the new ones up front, and no squeak. They even seem a little more polished in terms of manufacture. I knew I should have waited. I wonder if I could just replace the case at some point in the future? Anyway, dinner at Bandera, which is, as pointed out to me, way too touristy. That place, like Darwin's, is now dead to me. The Last King of Scotland was spectacular, and I had forgotten why I was familiar with the story until the end, which takes place before Operation Entebbe, which I have read about. Anyway as Russell has pointed out, pretty disturbing scene in that movie. Anyway, Saturday rolls around, do some cleaning with my mom around the condo, head out to mass and dinner at Jin Ju, leaving before the Russells show up. Finish the evening up with some more Las Vegas (tv show) and some work on Tun's website. Wordpress is a pretty cool blogging tool/software/content management system/whatever you call it. Impressive. It's also been a long while since I've done any sort of web development. Sunday was more of the same, before picking up Tracy at Midway with absolutely impeccable timing, pulling up to arrivals just as my phone rings. Impressive.

Awesome news, even if I haven't been watching, but Studio 60 got picked up for a full season. I wonder if a season pass will be available from the iTunes Store now. Also, it's cool because they decided to give it a chance, even if it was getting poor ratings. That makes me happy, that someone decided to keep making something good, no matter if people were watching. That money isn't everything. Catching up with Karl was good. He's in town for a while, so will probably get to hang out with him occasionally. Most likely sushi. Plans haven't changed for the weekend. Oh, I managed to pick up some cheesecake from the Cheesecake Factory on the way home yesterday. Had the White Chocolate Raspberry Truffle last night, and saving the Oreo for later. So good. Now that I'm looking out the window and noticing how dark it is, then looking around my chair and noticing the absence of an umbrella, makes me not look forward to getting wet this evening. Ugh. Oh well. Started watching The Matrix Reloaded on the PSP. No backpack today. Good and bad choice. Good since I'm headed out. Bad because I don't have the umbrella that's in it.

Tracy's off to Vegas tonight for the weekend with the girls. So I'm left to my own devices for a while. So after dance class tonight I'm getting drinks with Karl. Yes, the one and only Nack. It'll be good to catch up with him. Been about a couple years since I talked to him. Maybe even longer. Tomorrow night headed out with Russell, Apple Store, dinner, The Last King of Scotland. Saturday hanging with the parents coming in for the weekend, and I think Sunday's off, until I pick up Tracy at midnight. So kind of busy. And here's something I've decided to go ahead and write about: I made some DVD backups of some DVDs I own via DVD Shrink and burned via ImgBurn, all via Windows XP, cause I couldn't find an easy way to do it in OS X. Why did I do it? It's because Las Vegas (tv show) Seasons 1 and 2 come on DVD-18, which means they're 2-sided. So if I wanted to put them into the DVD changer, I could only watch one side of each disc, cause the changer doesn't have an auto-flipper. So I made a copy of side a of those 3 discs, and put them all into the changer. Was that illegal? Yes. Does it make sense that that was illegal? No, not to me, at all. So I guess I'll just wait for the lawsuit. Oh, and the illegal part? Breaking the CSS encryption so I could make a copy, which is illegal under the DCMA, not the copying itself. What is the alternative? Buying a DVD changer that does flipping. Buying another copy of each season so I could have each side of the disc in a changer. Neither of which I'm willing to do. Sosumi.

Last night? Watched The Matrix. Leftovers for dinner. That's about it. New MacBooks released today. So besides not being an 1.0, the top of the line black one has a dual layer Superdrive. That's probably the only thing I wish I had. Oh, and I voted yesterday, too.

Didn't get up in time, hopefully will get home in time to do my part as a citizen. Puck's ok, which is good. Still running strong. Riding the Metra makes taking it to the dealer so much easier, well, not as easy as when I was working in Evanston, but still, pretty easy. I do find it odd that they didn't open the doors to the train until, like, 5 minutes before it was supposed to leave. Huge groups of people just waiting for the doors to open. Rather amusing. Oh, and I've started reading the Wild Cards series again. Not sure how far along I'll go in the series. Dinner last night was a one pot stop type deal, sinigang. Tracy had brought over a packet of seasoning, and well, awesome. Boil meat, add potatoes, veggies, seasoning packet, and a couple hours later, awesomeness over rice. Oh, and I also whipped together a BBQ Chicken small pizza, with a BBQ sauce recipe out of Betty Crocker, which was decent, but no mesquite flavoring. Gotta find that in a bottle.

Busy weekend. Friday night made dinner for Tracy after chatting with some friends over iChat. No video though, as I think there's some issues I might need to work out with the provider switch at the condo. Dinner was some spiced lamb loin with minty couscous, another 30 Minute Meals recipe. Actually was pretty close to 30 minutes. Saturday started up the process for getting married in a Catholic church, which was funny because I had no idea it was going to be a group meeting. Afterwards we had lunch at the Pancake Cafe before trying to check out Kabloom in Naperville for flowers. Apparently you have to set up meetings before showing up. So we have one set up now. Did some shopping at Hobby Lobby before heading back to Tracy's place to do some laundry. Caught a serious case of hiccups. Chronic like. Any time I did some walking around, more hiccups. Annoying. We went to Jesse's surprise graduation dinner at Home Run Inn, before heading back into the city and meeting up with them again at Club 720. That place is hopping, but too hopping. Hard to move around in there. Sunday had to drive back out to pick up the rest of the laundry, and ate at Cebu, a Filipino restaurant in Downers Grove. Pretty good food. We had the buffet, which was a bad idea, cause 2 bites in, Tracy starts getting an allergic reaction to the vegetable dish, and has to run over to Walgreens to get some Benadryl. So that worked, but made her pretty sleepy, so after a quick stop at Old Navy, went back to her place so she could sleep it off and I could finish off the laundry while watching the Bears lose. Then we had to drive back into the city for a meeting with a weekend coordinator for the wedding, which went well. Finally we spent Sunday night just sitting on the couch, finally. Had some leftovers for dinner, and started watching Curious George before hitting the hay. Brought Puck in for an oil change this morning.

Dance class was nice last night. Fairly simple stuff. Waltz. Beginners. Definitely remembered some of it from the class I took with Jenkins at Norris back in college. Kind of feel like that's what it's gonna be like. Slight problem last night though, Tracy didn't really make it to the class on time. She tried taking the el down from my place, but because of equipment problems (supposedly a Red Line caught on fire), she never made it down in time. Took her 2 hours, most of it waiting on platforms, before she finally just took a cab to get there. Crazy. Stupid. Ugh. Nothing really you could have done about that. And I never got a text message about it from the CTA Alerts. If I had, I would have told her to hop in a cab sooner. So that totally sucked. Anyway, after the class ended we wandered over to Hooters for some wings and beer with Junior and other pharmacy classmates of Tracy's. All Asian. With a good percentage Filipino. I never hang out with that many Asians. Anyway, hopefully Tracy can make next week's class, it's the rhumba. Tomorrow got the meeting with the priest and a graduation dinner to go to. Sunday meeting with a wedding planner in the early evening. Not sure what else we'll fit in.

Let's see, last night just came home, sat on the couch, finished up The Company, finished off Veronica Mars Season 2. Definitely felt like they had to wrap up both of those neatly at the end, like, wow, this has gone on long enough, let's wrap this up cause I'm tired of writing it. Anyway, I'm curious to see how Veronica's doing in the third season. But I'll be waiting until this time next year to catch up on DVDs. Unless the iTunes Store starts selling DVD quality widescreen files that I could, if I wanted to, watch on my PSP, unless Apple also comes out with a widescreen video player iPod, which I wouldn't be able to buy anyway because I've got this whole wedding thing and the combined finances after that. Anyway, dance class tonight. Also been trying to update my Address Book for obvious reasons (Save the Dates and Invitations). Oh, and we got the samples for Save the Date postcards from Apple the other day. Pretty smooth. Just need to add some important information, like last names and location, we'll order those up, get some addresses printed on them, and ship 'em out. Busy weekend planned, meeting with the church, flower shop, more invitation places, meeting with a possible wedding weekend coordinator. So yeah, lots to do, lots to get done. We're at 6 months, 10 days away. Gotta work on that countdown timer. Might even make a Dashboard widget instead of spending my time more wisely.