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i knew when i woke up this morning i wouldn't be working. i'd cashed it in yesterday and was fully prepared to enjoy the last few days of 2005, starting today. i went with jack and bruce to see the $4 matinee of wallace & gromit: the curse of the were-rabbit at the somerville theatre in davis square. there was about a dozen people in the screening room, half of them children (which meant i had to refrain from swearing at the screen like i normally do). though animation isn't normally my cup of tea, the movie was very well-made, a great story and amazing claymation. you know you're watching a labor of love when on close-ups you can actually see the fingerprints of the animators. some of the humor is actually quite clever and cheeky (you know there's bound to be a few melon jokes when a contest about growing giant garden vegetables is the central element of the movie), a good time for grown-ups as well as kids. afterwards the guys waited for me as i got a cheese steak sandwich from subway and i returned the favor by going with them to the porter square star market.

my parents were coming over for dinner tonight, the special occasion being my mother's birthday. i dug through my past photos and came up with a slideshow featuring snapshots of my mother from the past 7 years (about as long as i've dabbled in digital photography). when they finally arrived, i made cheese ravioli with vodka sauce (actually what i was planning on making wednesday night but never got the chance). we had a carrot cake that my mother got from one of the local supermarkets. later in the evening, after my parents went home, manny came with daisy's sister anne; he was here to collect a belated christmas present (a book of advices), she was here to get some technical support on her slow powerbook. we determined the problem was due to a lack of periodic restarts and i helped her register her copy of extensis suitcase. when i noticed she was using system 10.4, i asked if she had her system disc with her (she didn't, otherwise i would've made a copy of tiger! i've been trying to score an upgrade ever since seeing it at an apple store in bangkok). (by the way, larry, i know you're spying on me! you are a stalker!)

finally, after many weeks of research and soul-searching (as anyone ought to if they're thinking about putting down nearly a grand for a piece of photo equipment), i finally took the plunge and ordered a digital SLR camera online, the canon EOS 350D digital rebel XT (black) with the EF-S 18-55mm kit lens. it should get here in about 2 weeks. get ready for some mad delicious photos!