Snow, Scratches, Taxes and Friends

When I got in last night from work it was lightly snowing. So when I got up this morning the snow continued the fall during the night and there was a nice dusting of is all over. It's the first snowfall of the year. I knew it wouldn't stick around but it was nice to wake up to a pretty sight.

Today I had to deal with my computer issues from last night. I started my computer and it didn't seem to have any start up issues. I opened my web browser and was surprised to see that all the fonts have changed. My blog, twitter and gmail.. all fonts changed and are now bold as well. At first I thought it was my computer settings but my computer is fine.. it looks to be something is wrong with the browser. Gonna have to look into that. There were a few other weird things going on so ran everything from Norton and in the end I think I got everything working right.. except the weird font thing.

I had friends coming over to day so I spent the morning cleaning the house. I also went out to clean my car. Living off a dirt road makes it impossible to keep the car clean, but I wanted to show it off to my buddy Brett so I wanted to give it a good washing. As I was inspecting it (as I do every morning) I noticed this really long scratch on the drivers side door right next to the handle.

I couldn't believe it. I haven't had the car a week and not only do I get a scratch (which I expect) but I get this six-inch scratch. My heart actually hurt. I was so sick to my stomach. As I mentioned I check this car every day so the only place it could have happened was at work. I have to valet my car and they cram these cars in like sardines. I assume someone squeezed between my car and another and something on their body scraped against my car. I hate the fact that I have to valet my car for work and there really isn't anyone I can go, to complain to.

I had to head out to do my taxes at noon. I've been going to the same guy for over 12 years and I love him. I only worked 3 months last year so I wasn't really expecting much.. all I really wanted to do was break even. Well I'm happy to say I'm getting a nice amount back, especially for how little I worked. Owning a house really helps. Kind of worried about what will happen when I sale the house.

While I was out I headed over to Pepboys to see if I could get something for this scratch. I purchased several things and when I got home I tried them all. None of them worked :( I was told I should try to wax and buff it out. So that will be my next attempt. But for now I have friends coming over to hang out so I have to get ready for them.

First to arrive was my buddy Brett; he came over not only to hang out but also to look at my Jeep to see if he could figure out what the problem was. As we were checking it out Jes arrived. BTW Brett thinks it's something internal, something in the actual engine. Not sure what I'm going to do about the Jeep.

We went inside and finished watching a ST: TNG episode I had been watching before they arrived. We then moved onto my screeners. We selected several but one that none of us had seen was Anne Karenina. Here's a synopsis; Set in late-19th-century Russia high-society, the aristocrat Anna Karenina enters into a life-changing affair with the affluent Count Vronsky.

First of all it's one of the most uniquely filmed movies. It's like watching a theater play mixed with an actual film. There are times that sets are being moved as the action is happening and actors are going about their thing and they are changing clothes at the same time. It was kind of jarring at first but after a while I started to really enjoy it.

The main story about Anne was difficult at times to watch... you are watching this poor woman slowly go insane. I actually enjoyed the B-story with Anne's sister Kitty and her relationship with Constantine. That was a very rewarding story.

In the end I loved the movie for how it was presented but there was a bit too much dragging and drama for my taste. Technically it was stunning.. the scenery, the costumes and the acting was fantastic.. just a bit too slow for me. I give the idea and look of the movie an A but the story a C. I'm glad I watched it but I don't think I'll ever watch it again.

Afterwards we went out to dinner at Outback Steakhouse.. that place was packed but after a half-hour or so we found a booth in the bar area. We all enjoyed some yummy steak.

Because dinner took a bit longer then expected we decided to postpone Life of Pi and instead watch something that we have all seen and loved.. .Wreak-it-Ralph. We got about 2/3d's of the way through it before we called it a night and we said our goodbyes.

It was a fun evening.