Our guests had a good time, nothing got destroyed (I guess we had our share of destruction last night, thanks to the mongrel Bijou; see previous entry), and we have a ton of leftovers. Yeah, things went well.
Today is also my birthday (I was born on Thanksgiving, so every so many years my birthday falls on the same day as the holiday; this was one of those years). I’m a whopping 39 (and dear God, I sure do look it). I made Teresa promise NOT to plan any surprises, and for once she honored my wishes. There was a brief interlude after the feast involving a birthday cake, but that was it.
A couple of weeks ago, Teresa asked me what I wanted for my birthday. “A pony,” I replied. Well, guess what Princess Kendyl got for me?
I can’t ride it, and I can’t brush its hair, but I can grin like an idiot every time I look at it. And I do.
I also got the last remaining James Bond books from Teresa, so my collection is complete. Oh, wait. Cue the backstory!
I’ve been on a big James Bond kick lately. I remember watching most of the earlier films when I was younger (I’d ride my bike to nearby Hubbard to rent them on VHS, probably around 7th grade or so), and I recall buying a few used paperbacks from the Canby Book Exchange (but I’m not sure if I actually read them). Anyway --- I really enjoyed 2006’s Casino Royale, and I totally dug Daniel Craig as the new Bond (however, Sean Connery will always be the only true James Bond), and Quantum of Solace looked promising. Three of the Connery Bond films came out on Blu-ray, and I snagged ‘em…. And then my OCD tendencies kicked in. I decided that I would read all the original Ian Fleming novels (all 15 of ‘em) AND watch every Bond movie (all 22 of ‘em).
I initially tried to find the first book (Casino Royale) at the library, but came up empty. Of course by now I was on a mission: I HAD to get my hands on the damn book. I left work early one early November day and hit Barnes and Noble, and what I found there was truly amazing: the entire collection, 15 books in all, in gorgeous retro-style paperbacks.
I had to have them. To hell with borrowing tattered old hardback copies from the library! These editions were things of beauty, and I longed to possess them. However, money being tight and the holidays fast approaching, I held off ($14.00 times 15…. well, that’s way more than I had any right to spend). I decided to head downtown to Powell’s to see if I could score some used copies, to at least sate the new addiction that was gnawing at my insides like a gopher in heat. And, surprise of surprises, Powell’s had marked down several of the new editions to $5.98 (that’s new, not used!). Now there was no stopping me. I grabbed a copy of every marked-down title, which amounted to 8 books. I devoured Casino Royale in two days, and hungrily reached for the next one… and realized with horror that I didn’t have it. See, in my feverish rush to acquire the books cheaply, I didn’t keep track of which books I was getting. I’d bought the first book… and the final seven. There was a 7-book gap in my collection, staring back at me like a starving Ethiopian kid, evil flies buzzing about its head, cruel sun beating down like sucker-punches from God. I ponied up and bought the next two (Live and Let Die and Moonraker) at full price (I had to do it, you see; by now I was a trembling junkie in need of a fix), and read them both in a week. Teresa graciously bought the fourth book for me (Diamonds are Forever), and then gave me the remaining four books for my birthday. I’m now halfway through #5, From Russia with Love, and I’ve gotta say, I am enjoying the hell out of these books. While the rest of the world (Sierra included) is obsessed with the Twilight series, I’m kicking it old school with 007.
I am almost 40, after all. Old school is kinda appropriate, don’tcha think?
Oh, and as for the movies: I watched the first seven. All the Connerys are done, and I’m not in a big hurry to move on to the Roger Moores. I never really liked him as Bond.
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