Week in Review

Well friends, only 8 more days. 8 days until we take off on our 5 day odyssey to happiness. Do I feel a bit like Odysseus? Sure. Except there was no Trojan War, fall of Troy or evil bad dudes to fight off once we return there. I think we fought off enough evil baddies here to last a lifetime.

Almost everything is packed. We're eating off paper plates with plastic utensils, and it has never felt better. Just now doing last minute things like getting my eyebrows/bikini waxed tomorrow, picking up the dogs "Doggie Downers" from the vet, and visiting with a family that was in my Music Explorers class this past Spring. Life is good. Here's hoping that the trip goes smoothly.

Rob and I had a day off together yesterday. Yes friends, an entire day together. We walked around the mall, had lunch out, then went to see Pixar's new flick, Ratatouille.
I'm sure all of you know the plot behind this new picture, but for those of you who don't, it's about an adorable rat named Remy who realizes he has a culinary gift, that his family isn't too apt to agree with. The family gets seperated, and Remy finds himself in the City of Lights, directly under the restaurant of famous chef Auguste Gusteau, his hero who penned the Julia Child-esqe books "Anyone can cook!". He meets a young garbage boy working at the restaurant, who dreams of a better life, and the two agree to help each other out- Remy will get to cook, and the boy will, in turn, catch the eyes of the cities elite. It is a wonderful story with a stellar ending you won't see coming. I myself am a huge Pixar fan. While I love all of them, The Incredibles and Monsters Inc. still remain my favorites, but I'm pretty sure Ratatouille will be added as a third favorite. And Peter O'Toole turns in an amazing performance as Anton Ego, the Paris food critic who panned Gusteaus restaurant many years before. He is a man you love to hate, who warms your heart in the end. The music is spot on, composed by The Incredibles and Alias musician Michael Giacchino, and there are moments, like in all Pixar films, you cannot believe this is computer generated. The characters, the Paris skyline, food looks so real, it's impossible that it isn't. Of course the genius behind this and many other Pixar movies is Brad Bird. Sure the Toy Story movies were good, but once this guy came to Pixar, these movies just kept getting better and better. Now, Rob and I are kicking ourselves for NOT getting pictures and autographs when we saw three stars of this new picture in the San Francisco airport on our trip back home, Janeane Garofalo as Collette, Patton Oswalt as Remy, and Bird himself. I'm sure, however, they wouldn't be so apt to do so, as it was 5:30 in the morning. Anyway, I highly recommend. Go see it now!!