the client was really impressed that the e-mail i wrote to them last night was dated after midnight. that's nothing: i've been on projects where i've slept over at the office trying to make the deadline, so working to midnight is child's play. i've got feedback on the interactives today and i was surprised they're so happy with what i've done; for some reason i was waiting for the shit to hit the fan again and preparing to be chastised once more for not performing to their expectations. i think at this point i'm about 75% done with the three interactives i'm coding for them. it's starting to look more and more promising that after this week everything will be finished and my life will return to normal.

i took a break around noontime to get some holiday food shopping done before those places get too crowded. first stop was trader joe's in cambridge, where i got a tiramisu cake (i know, i was supposed to make one from scratch, but i already have too much on plate). next i went to market basket in somerville. trader joe's was crowded, but market basket was packed. i saw a lot of people buying frozen turkeys (now's the time to get them, it takes a day or two to defrost, just in time for the oven come thursday).

in the evening joel came by and we went to harvard square to catch the screening of rent. we had dinner at pho pasteur first, joined by sara, who quickly ate and left so she could prepare the theatre for the presentation. by the time joel and i got there, there was already a long line snaking around the building. we walked inside, he talked to the usher, and we went right upstairs, bypassing everyone else. we got seats in the near empty screening room, which soon started to fill up, mostly kids who seem like they're theatre geeks. they were really into the movie, clapping in unison during the introduction song, and mooing at the screen midway through the film.

i have never seen the theatrical production of rent so i didn't really know the story very well, only from what i've read. i really wanted to like the movie, especially after hearing sara rave about the play (she's seen it something like 4 times), but when it was all over, i didn't like the film. when i think musical, i think of something fun and happy, like grease or annie, two of my favorite musicals. the musical rent on the other hand is a different animal; it's very serious and sometimes sad. i found the singing sort of jarring, almost like it was making light of the sobering storyline. i personally think it would've made a better movie minus the song and dance, playing the film as a straight drama. i also went into the movie with the wrong intentions, namely i thought there'd be pretty eyefuls of rosario dawson; there really is only one good scene (at her workplace), before she spirals downward and becomes a drugged-out junkie.

it was raining by the time we left the theatre. joel gave me a ride back to my place. i caught the last 15 minutes of prison break - never turn your back on a child molester!