53 and counting...

So, my dad turned 53 yesterday and I decided that, despite them having come up to surprise me earlier, that I'd go down to visit and have our semi-standard family meal. My immediate family's birthdays are nice and neatly packed together: mine and my dad's are 9 days apart in April, my mom's and my sister's are the same day in November.

The trip began Friday afternoon after a celebratory luncheon (for something that I'm still not sure we're officially supposed to talk about) with some of my co-workers. 3 hour drive to my parent's house with a quick stop by my old college town along the way. I started out listening to Fear the Boot #97, then switched to listening to some music - mostly Switchfoot, I think.

That evening we sat around, enjoying the Starz preview weekend that DirecTV was having. Too bad that, like all movie channels, they pretty much repeat the same stuff over and over. Of course, once 2100 CDT rolled around we watched Galactica. TV and Books are really the only consistent entertainment at my parents, since they don't have access to high-speed internet, short of satellite for which I don't think they'd pay.

On Saturday, Dad and myself lounged around for most of the morning. Mom and my sister went to a baby shower, and the plan was for us to meet them and The Olive Garden around lunch. Such was the plan and such occurred, complete with Dad getting embarrassed by the Garden's lunch crew singing their little birthday song. Sung with cake, but no candle - apparently they'd run out. Then, after a brief stop by K-Mart, the three of us who were going home went there and crashed. (My sister was going to the Senior Art Show at our Alma Mater about and hour and a half away.) Later that evening, dad popped in the DVD I'd brought: The New Frontier, the animated adaptation of Darwyn Cooke's look at the period between the Silver and Golden Age of comics within the DC Universe.

Earlier today, after getting up and watching CBS Sunday Morning, I went grocery shopping with mom - something I hadn't done in a long time. So much stuff ended up in the cart, less than when I lived with them, understandably, but still quite a bit. It's kind of amazing though, when you consider that they've mostly cut out the truly snacky foods. At the time we left, until about 1530 (I was gone by then), the power was out, which made for some pretty quiet periods. After some lunch, cooked on their gas grill, I left, saying goodbye until at least Memorial Day weekend.

So anyways, that was my weekend. How about yours? I've got approximately 1 week to finish Persona 3 before FES comes out, so that's where I'll probably be spending a good deal of free time this week.