Let's Go Away For a While

Ahhh, the holiday weekend has come and gone and I'm plum snookered out. It turned out to be a good time as I was able to go home and see my family and all my friends from the Wood. I was able to relax a little, go to the beach, and not sleep a whole lot. A couple of things though to elaborate on.

I've decided that Thanksgiving and the Fourth of July are my two favorite holidays. Thanksgiving is great becuase I'm allowed to gorged myself on the oh-so-yummy food. I like the 4th of July because...well...its during the summer, there are fireworks, and it is the essence of who we are as Americans. That's why I like these two holidays. They are the only ones that are belong to us as Americans and to no one else. Coming off a volitile, much-divided election, the 4th of July reminds us that despite our differences, we're all together celebrating this rich history we have as a country. We still live in the best and most powerful country in the world. We have freedoms and opportunities that others in the world can only dream about. 229 years ago a group of young and determined patroits set together to create a soverign nation separate from England. Little did they know that their actions would lead to the model nation of today's modern society. Add to that a Constitution that is amazingly simple, yet has held this country together for 216 (I hope I'm doing my math correctly) years. Yes, to quote Bob Serpintini, I'm American and proud of it. Speaking of the Revolution, I've always felt that the British feel inferior to us since their "little colonies" were able to defeat them (twice) and become the strongest country in the world. It's kinda like an apprentice becoming more successful then this master.

Which brings us to the fact that I finally saw Star Wars: Revenge of the Sith. I can say I enjoyed it. The script was bad in a few places and some of the acting was pretty piss-poor (alliteration!) but what can you expect? It's Star Wars man! SPOILER ALERT! My only real complaint was that Anakin's transition to the Dark Side did not convince me. I didn't feel that he was truly torn and had to go to the Dark Side. Thanks Hayden Christensen. I did enjoy the actual physical transformation of Anakin into Darth Vader. The final placement of the helmet and the breathing! The breathing man!! It's like YES! Darth Vader is here! Increase dork quotient +100. And I did enjoy that when it ended it will flow right into Episode IV, or the original Star Wars. After seeing the movie, it makes me want to go out and buy/rent the original trilogy. I also love the music. John Williams did such a great job. The opening title is probably one of the simplist yet best sequences in all of cinema. The music starts with the original Fox fanfare. There is a brief pause and silence for what seems forever. Much like when you're at the top of the Demon Drop waiting for it, erm, drop. Then you're hit with a wall of horns and that classic Star Wars logo. It's all quite ethereal.

What else...well I ran the Bay Days 5 Mile Race on monday. I did pretty well as I took 15th overall and somehow got 1st in my age group. I can't complain about that. I could have paced it a bit better as I started out the first mile in 5:30, went :15 slower each of the next 3 miles and then finished with a 5:54. I need to learn to pace a bit better in these slower races. I think I get a trophy or prize or something. I'll have to look into that.

Lastly I waiting until after the fireworks to drive back to Michigan last night. I got to bed around 3:15 and I'm looking forward to a good night sleep tonight.