Dec
27
2010

Order Tara's Bicycle Touring Cookbook Today!

Going to the Movies

by Tara

This evening, with the help of our friends who are both highly motivated to see the new Harry Potter film, we mobilize to go to the movies. Catching a taxi, we arrive at the nearby movie theater / shopping mall with plenty of time to spare. On the top floor, Tyler's eyes light up when he spots a video arcade.

Smacking Pete on the shoulder excitedly, he exclaims, "I'M GOING TO GET SOME COINS! LET'S PLAY!" First up, they attempt (and fail miserably at) a round of DDR on a machine whose speakers don't work. Turning to something more familiar, they settle on a game that requires a bit less coordination: shooting bad guys.

Tyler & Pete Playing DDR Pete Prepares to Play DDR Pete & Tyler Failing At DDR Tyler & Pete Shooting Stuff

While Tyler and Pete are busy saving the world, Natasha and I get some ice cream and check out the rest of the arcade.

Natasha w/ Ice Cream Tara w/ Ice Cream

Natasha then suggests we play a racing game, and so, tokens slipping into the slot, music starting, hands swinging the steering wheel wildly around, pixelated car crashing into the median, we pretend to drive. It is then that I remember why, when I was little, I assumed I would be a terrible driver, thanks to many confidence-destroying sessions of Mario Kart with my older brother.


This is the first time we've been in a real movie theater since Bucharest so we're easily spell-bound. Popcorn and soda in hand, we get comfortable for what turns out to be a fantastic movie.

The movie began, a riot of encompassing sound and fancy graphics, and we were soon swept up in the big screen. As much as I love real, slow, intentional living and the simple pleasures therein, there is something to be said for instant gratification and the occasional colorful, sugary rush of commercialized life.

Instant Gratification

When the lights come up two hours later, all we can say is: Damn, that was a good movie. It was so engaging and fun to go to the theater with our friends that, as we make our way back across town in a taxi, we joke about the question we get asked sometimes: "So, what is the best thing you've done on your trip across Europe and Asia?"

Right now, we're tempted to reply, "That time we went to the movies!"

Previous Entry
Vietnamese Funeral
PG
Topics:

7 comments

i like how bored natasha looks while pete and tyler are shooting stuff :)
Posted by Jesse on March 12th, 2011 at 12:34 AM
Haha, I totally missed that when we were editing photos!
Posted by Tyler on March 12th, 2011 at 8:36 AM
Jesse you confuse boredom for concentration:) Tara and Tyler we made it home safe and sound and have just woken from a 56 hour coma. Hard to get back on this time schedule. Love reading your journals, not only because they are very entertaining, but because we get to relive our trip through them. Hope Bangkok is treating you well.
Posted by Natasha on March 13th, 2011 at 2:57 PM
JmcJJ - I know, right? :-) Thank you for your email; I don't know how you do it, but you always know what to say. I miss you and can't wait to visit you and give you the biggest hug ever!

Natasha, I'm so glad you two made it home safely. We've been thinking of you! Thankfully, we still love Bangkok and it wasn't just some post-Mongolian fluke. Still, we're making a point of finishing our journals with a couple weeks to spare so we can go to Ko Lanta for a journal-less vacation!

Oh hey (this applies to both of you) I signed up for a motorcycle training course, so once I get my license, I'll have to see about riding down to TN! Can't wait to come visit Knoxville and hang out with all four of you. Miss you guys!
Posted by Tara on March 13th, 2011 at 3:39 PM
I hope you guys do go to Ko Lanta....I think you will love it. Thats awesome about the motorcycle training course, I am planning on doing the same. We are so going to become a motorcycle gang......we need jackets....and a name......something tuff and scary:)
Posted by Natasha on March 13th, 2011 at 3:51 PM
I loved that movie! I went alone - and I was literally on my own in the movie theater... until a couple snuck in a little late. It was already getting a bit scary - the thought of me on my own with Voldemort... yikes! :D
Posted by Mia on April 20th, 2011 at 4:45 PM
Oh Mia that sounds like fun! I love going to movies by myself-- you get so INTO the film. Although being alone with He Who Cannot Be Named doesn't sound like my cup of tea. :-)
Posted by Tara on April 25th, 2011 at 2:11 AM
Bookmarks