Office Space!

Both Thursday and Friday evenings I had dinner with Jimmy and stayed up too late drinking beer. Saturday morning I went back over to his house to help him load up their old washer and dryer and take them over to his daughter's house. I followed him on my Night Train, breathing in his diesel fumes. Her house is down a dicey gravel driveway with lots of golf ball sized rocks. We unloaded the washer and dryer and hooked them up. We did a few odd things around the house, which is in the middle of a complete remodel, and then had lunch in Elgin. I rode to Bastrop State Park and went for a hike, my original plan for the day before Jimmy asked me to give him a hand. Since it was almost 2 o'clock, I only did a ~4 mile hike instead of the 7-miler I would have done if I'd gotten there earlier. The only time I stopped was to take of my jacket, so it only took me about an hour and fifteen minutes. I made a loop and I passed two groups going the opposite direction twice each. It wasn't a difficult hike by any means, there wasn't much elevation change, the hardest part being walking in the soft sand of the trail. I rested and read the paper for a little bit before getting back on the bike and riding home, where I spent the rest of the day watching TV.
I was awakened to a beeping noise at 5am Sunday. I thought it was a smoke detector complaining about a dead battery, but once I got up it turned out to be the UPS on my computer dying. I played on the computer a bit, then shut it down, unplugged everything and went back to bed. I woke up again at 9, read some, got up and had breakfast and finished watching qualifying for the drag race. About 11 I left for a bicycle ride, taking my usual route up Manchaca and Lamar. I took a spin along the hike-and-bike trail, which was fortunately not quite as crowded as the last time I was there. I rode over to the Alamo to see Fanboys. I was worried about it since it had been bashed by most critics, but I really thought it was funny, as did the rest of the theater. I figured that if the movie was just okay, Kristen Bell in the Leia slave costume might make it worth it, but those shots of her were far too brief. I pretty much used the last of my energy riding down Sixth to REI and then down Lamar from there, and it was a struggle to make it all the way home.
After taking a shower and vegetating for a little while I drove downtown for the Office Space 10 Year Anniversary Reunion at the Paramount. I left the house at 7, but once I was downtown I wished I had left earlier. There was already a big crowd and several limousines in front of the theater. After I parked and got over there, I barely got a glimpse of the stars as they were making their way inside. They were taking their time, greeting the crowd, and I managed to get a closer look at some the big name stars in the lobby, most notably Stephen Root, Gary Cole and John C. McGinley. I took my seat, stage left under the balcony, and saw some of the actors who played other roles- Samir, Bob Porter, Lawrence- sitting front and center. I didn't see them until after the movie during the Q&A, but "Extreme Fajitas" Brian, Nina, and Michael Bolton were also there. It was fun to see the movie again, but half the dialog couldn't be heard over the laughter and cheers when the actors in attendance first appeared onscreen. I tried to resist, but there were a few lines I couldn't keep myself from saying along with (or right before) the actor onscreen. It was quite lively and clearly the room was full of fans, although I did overhear someone say beforehand that it would be the second time he'd seen it. There was supposed to be a short from Mike Judge's upcoming film, but technical difficulties prevented them from playing it before the feature, and I guess they didn't get it sorted out to show it afterward. Henri from the Alamo hosted the Q&A right after the movie. He started with some written questions, but almost immediately threw it out to the audience to shout out questions. Mike did most of the talking, with John and Stephen throwing in a little color. Some of the things I learned were that TPS originally comes from "Test Pattern Set" from Mike's days in engineering, and that the lines "Samir Naga-, Naga-, Not-Gonna-Work-Here-Any-More" and Lawrence pulling a bottle opener out of his pocket in Peter's apartment were ad-libs. They ended by going down the line with a question about what sorts of things seeing the movie again brought up.