Weekend Recap ... A Little Tardy

The gal about whom I wrote in a less than flattering manner recently, causing a case of self-censorship here, will now be referred to as Xbox Girl.

Last Friday night, she and I saw "The Departed," which we both enjoyed for the most part. Since the movie's been out for four or five months, I'm not worried about ruining things for you, but let's just say a lot of people were shot in the head, crimes that left awfully bloody results.

My parents saw the movie shortly after it came out in the fall, and my mom said other than the violence, it was a good movie. I figured she was just being a mom with such an assessment about the violence. But it truly was pretty bloody.

I'd never really understood the hype around Leonardo DiCaprio. I can think of plenty better actors, even better-looking leading men types. But his effort in "The Departed" was outstanding. Also good to see Matt Damon in a darker role, his abilities in such I've forgotten about since his Jason Bourne heroics of late.

Jack Nicholson played an outstanding psychopath, certainly not a stretch for him, and Alec Baldwin had a line or two that kept things light. Throw in a little Martin Sheen and Mark Walhberg, and sprinkle in a dash of Martin Scorsese directing, and this thing truly met the gargantuan potential a project with such a cast had set for itself. Go see it now before the Oscars.

I'm told DiCaprio is even better in Blood Diamond, so that's probably next on the list.

Xbox had had a late one the night before, so we were just looking for something low key for Friday. I presumed we'd call it a night after the late movie we saw, but we ended up at the Gael Pub on 3rd Ave. for a couple drinks. We were both taken aback when a drunk guy -- albeit a handsome one -- stumbled toward her and introduced himself to Xbox, right in front of me, shook her hand and then split.

Xbox later showed me a napkin on which he'd scribbled his name and number. Always a pretty respectful move. He should have used my pick-up line below.

I think I told you about my computer problems? My motherboard is fried, so last weekend I was trying to figure out how much money that I don't have that I was going to need to spend on a new one. And when I woke up Saturday, I reached into my coat pocket and found my glasses in two pieces. I guess I stepped on them the night before as the coat lay on the floor. Isn't that where you keep yours?

Fast Forward -- Health benefits at the new job rock. It only cost me at total of $91 for the doctor's appointment and new pair of glasses. I just have to wait another five or six days before I can pick up the glasses.

But back to Saturday, I had the Chinese acupuncturist, Rica, help me put my glasses back together in a mostly half-assed way. The glasses truly split in two, almost perfectly, so I held the pieces toghether while she taped them. I can't always understand what she says, but I did know what she meant when she showed me a picture of her 27-year-old daughter a month or so ago and asked if I'd like to marry her. This is coming from a 60-year-old woman who has seen me naked.

The daughter speaks no English and lives in China. Decisions, decisions.

But the rest of the day, I just hung out at the apartment and enjoyed night-time viewings of Ohio State basketball and portions of two movies I'd already seen more than once. I'm certainly a loser, and if I'd forgotten that fact, I was reminded of it when the glasses started to slip apart while I dozed on the couch. As I was trying to figure out if it was after 12 a.m. or 2 a.m. on the digital cable clock, I sat up and realized that my vision troubles were being caused by the glasses that were somehow sitting on my face though no longer being held together in one piece by Rica's tape job.

Sunday must not have been eventful because I remember nothing about it.