Mom's new minivan, family dinner @ Champp's, gorgeous hostess

I gambled against the 30% chance of rain by riding to Manassas and back, and I won! No rain! 'bout time, since that gamble's bitten me in the ass twice before. :)

Mom's new van is nice--2005 Dodge Grand Caravan, "Patriot Blue" (very dark with metal flake, a little darker than my motorcycle), automatic side doors and liftgate, seats that fold into the floor, rear climate controls, extra storage compartments, radio that can display station/artist/song information from stations that broadcast it, and assorted other niceties. Apparently they'd been shopping around, decided on this one and bought it, all without letting the secret out. :)

I arrived in Manassas about 10 minutes late, meaning we got to Champp's a few minutes late, but it wasn't a problem--Steph & Shauna didn't arrive from work until about 20 minutes later. However, when we were seated, we were apparently placed in a section whose server was on break, due to miscommunication--so eventually we flagged a passing manager, who was very apologetic, and the rest of the service was excellent, as was the food.

The hostess, though.. she was gorgeous. Tall, slim, long straight reddish-brown hair, very pretty face, early 20s.. distracting all evening long. (Shauna and mom also had their own distraction in Rugged McHandsome, one of the waiters. :D) So, on the way out, after filling out an entry form for a mountain bike contest, I told her she was gorgeous, she thanked me, and off I went. Go me! :D

nb: I don't usually have the courage to present a compliment like that, but decided to suck it up this time. :) And yes, I could've asked if I could call her sometime, but that just seems really forward to me. We hadn't spoken at all, just seen each other in a restaurant where she works, and I found her attractive.. just doesn't seem like a solid basis for asking for a number. (Not that Nathan has a problem on that front, frequently taking advantage of a chance meeting to try to get a number. Not much success on that front, though..)

Movies and Intelligence

Two more movies viewed in the House of Nathan and Scott:

Paycheck, which had decent special effects, a plot with holes and heavy-handed foreshadowing that, I suppose, you could write off as stylistic elements due to the prophetic nature of the plot.. maybe. :) Not bad, anyhow.

Bubba Ho-Tep, the newest Bruce Campbell movie. Pretty entertaining, good soundtrack. A curious combination of dark, humor, and surreality.

Ooh, and now the tail end of Saving Silverman on Comedy Central. Hehehe. :)

---

Thought-provoking post from weeping_angel, which is ironic, given that the topic is those who would drag others down to the level of their own intelligence, not to mention the variably mindless entertainment above the horizontal rule there.