throughout the day it felt like a friday to me. with most of my neighbors already having left for the long weekend, it seemed like i was the last man standing. i replied to client S about a possible summer project, and filled out my health insurance form to see if i'd qualify for lower cost coverage this year. i went to union square to mail off the package at the post office and to deposit a small state tax refund check. at market basket i grabbed a case of soda and a head of lettuce before returning home.
in the mid-afternoon i took a walk down to harvard square to witness the congregation of graduates. one surprising detail is the amount of different languages i heard being spoken, from greek to korean to russian to swedish, a very international contingency.
in the late afternoon my mother came by and we went to the dollar store followed by rite aid, where my 2nd aunt and uncle were meeting us so they could get a ride back to the cafe. i didn't buy anything, but my mother did leave me some noodle soup which i heated up for dinner later in the evening.
i finally disconnected my VCR tonight. i haven't used it in many years, and the only reason why i still had it on was for the clock feature. there was still a tape inside but i didn't bother ejecting it. end of an era! i've been eyeballing my dvd player too, haven't touched that in a while either. i do all my movie watching from my computer nowadays.
watched book of eli tonight, not a movie i would've thought i'd like with its post-apocalyptic and religious themes, but it wasn't bad. it had a twist ending that made for a good reason to see the movie again. close to the end, when eli the hero (denzel washington) and the girl (mila kunis) are under siege in a desert house, there's a 3 minute long continuous tracking shot during the ensuing firefight. it's no children of men, but it's still a pretty crafty piece of cinema, as the camera flies through bullet holes and then back out again. they cheated a few times though, with explosions that take up the whole frame, so it's not entirely 100% seamless. i wonder if the tracking shot will catch on as a common technique during action sequences, because it definitely heightens the tension in a subtle way that the audience might not even notice.
1 spoke too soon! my upstairs neighbors came back tonight! but i'm sure it's only for one night. i'd be surprised if they're here during the weekend; i'm sure they want to get a early start summering in martha's vineyard.