Mr. & Mrs. Smith, Oscar, the grouch and the New Me

Last Friday, Vince and I had the pleasure of seeing two of the most gorgeous stars in Hollywood Brad and Angelina. (Ok, for those of you who are fans of Jen, please don't send me hate emails. I like her, too. But I must say that Angelina is scorching hot.) We chose to go downtown to catch Mr. & Mrs. Smith because all the other theaters that show it didn't have any restaurants nearby. We managed to take the bus and arrive at the theater at around 830pm. The earliest showtime that wasn't sold out was 1030pm. We knew it would be crowded later so we decided to eat at CPK down the street so we wouldn't have to worry about running late. By the time we finished eating it was 10pm already. When we got back to the theater, there was a long line of people waiting to be seated. We were both glad that we got back early enough to get good seats.

Both Vince and I enjoyed the movie and agreed it would be a good one to own in DVD. I don't want to get into a lot of details of the movie for I don't want to ruin it for those who haven't seen it yet, but there was this scene where Brad and Angelina were having therapy and Brad was saying "I love my wife, but sometimes...." then putting his hands in front of him as if he wanted to strangle someone. I heard Vince laughed at this so hard, I knew it was because he could so relate to it. Ok, it was amusing. But did he have to laugh so hard?? (Tama ba 'yun?)

It was already past 1 am when the movie finished. The stores on Magnificent Mile were closed and only a few people roamed Michigan Avenue. We were both hoping the bus ran late. Luckily, Bus 147 came. This bus takes the express route bypassing many stops. We normally take Bus 151 which is a longer route. I told Vince that we could take this one, but we'd have to walk about three blocks to get to my apartment complex. "Good, it'll take us 15 mins to get home instead of the usual 30 mins," I thought to myself. Both tired and sleepy, we quietly took our seats. When we got onto Lakeshore Drive, I realized that the bus wouldn't stop until reaching Foster Ave, which was way past our stop. But it was too late to get off. I told Vince that we took the wrong bus. He was silent. And I, embarrassed by my mistake, couldn't say anything more. I didn't realize that although the South bound bus stops near my place, the North bound route bypasses my stop. So, the moment the bus took its first stop on Foster Ave, Vince and I got off. We walked to the opposite bus stop where we waited for the right bus to come. By this time, it was already 115am and I wasn't sure whether there were still buses running at that time. The neighborhood where we ended was not in a nice area. I was really scared for our lives. I was grateful to see a police car down the street, but in a way even more afraid because it must meant that this was not a safe place. We both decided on taking the cab when we saw Bus 151 coming. I breathed a sigh of relief. Vince and I hurriedly stepped on the bus, and thanked the busdriver. We safely got home after this. But Vince asked me never to lead the way next time. :(

The next day, I woke up around 1030 am, grumpy and sufferring from cramps. I realized it was my birthday. Why do I have to have cramps on my birthday? Of course I was grouchy, which I always am around that time of the month. Vince made a reservation for my birthday dinner at North Pond, but I asked to cancel it because I was having cramps and I was grouchy. I bet you Vince was feeling the same way Brad's character was feeling about his wife. Like he was about ready to strangle me. I felt bad that Vince had to endure my sulky mood. He always calls me Oscar, the grouch whenever I get grumpy. And that day, on my birthday, my name was Oscar, the grouch. What a yucky day!

So on Sunday, when I was feeling better and my cramps were gone, I asked Vince if we could start over again and pretend it was my birthday. I didn't want to go to North Pond but asked if we could have Chinese brunch at Phoenix restaurant where they serve dimsum. So, he gladly obliged. After the brunch, we did some Asian food shopping. Vince also patiently went with me as I scoured each store looking for bead necklaces. When I didn't find what I want, we both agreed to go home but not without buying our favorite boba shakes from Joy Yee's. As I happily slurped my mango-lychee tapioca shake, while occasionally stealing sips of Vince's taro shake, I offered silent thanks to God for all the blessings He has given me: my family who never fails to support me, my friends for sharing their lives with me, and for Vince for being patient despite my grouchiness. For safety and protection when in shady neighborhood. For simple pleasures like watching movies, eating dimsum and drinking boba shakes. Another birthday has passed. Another opportunity to make myself better. Another adventure waiting ahead. Another chance to start anew.