Best wishes – to those who deserve it, of course – and many happy returns in the coming year.  It seems 2012 just flew right by, so I’m looking forward to the next 11 months and hopefully when December rolls around next year, I’ll be better prepared.  I can’t promise there will be tons of blog posts though.

I’m Catholic so I’ll say Merry Christmas… whatever you’re celebrating, hopefully you have a merry one too.

I know Bell is technically a massive media company too. And I know a lot of people have a hate-on for them the way I hate Rogers, but at least now I don’t have to feel as if I’m contributing to the “Let’s Re-Name the SkyDome” fund or pay for all that make-up Dina Pugliese smears on her face before she goes on Breakfast Television every day.

(Can you tell I really don’t give a shit about how many bridges I burn now?)

Yes, it’s quite liberating to be Rogers-free after so many years. No more bad customer service. No more crappy channel packages. No more of everything I so strongly disliked about them.

When I first moved into this townhouse, I had my Bell ExpressView dish, and while the service was alright, there were the days when it didn’t work. After a while, I gave in and got Rogers Digital Cable. I was reluctant to go back to Bell for TV — especially after a few friends who have had FibeTV for a while, complained about the blotchy signal.  But it seems all of those problems have been worked out and Bell is fast-tracking a FibeTV roll-out in Toronto and Montreal.  My neighborhood became available and as soon as you could say “I hate Rogers”, the Bell trucks were here and I’m one happy redhead.

Now, naturally compared to Verizon FiOS and Comcast Xfinity, television service in Canada sucks – and is way over-priced. But I’m still pleased with what I have and the bundle deal I got for putting all my services into one bill.

My friend told me about a coupon offer from Red Lobster where I get $10 off two adult entrees. Having grown up in southern New Jersey and surrounded by seafood my whole life, I hadn’t given much thought to Red Lobster. In fact, I haven’t been into one of their restaurants in nine years.  But a $10 coupon might persuade me to try it again.

And I did finally get around to seeing The Dark Knight Rises. Even with all the controversy surrounding the movie and what happened in Colorado, I wasn’t about to miss out on a comic book movie.  Again, I found it to be less of a super hero film and more of a caper or crime drama (as these new Batman movies are) but it was clearly the best one of the three.  Personally, I think they should stop the series now and if need be, reboot it in a few years.

Although I treat every weekend as a long weekend, so it makes no difference to me, I hope that those enjoying Simcoe Day Weekend have a happy and safe one.

Truth be told it wasn’t completely ‘nothing’ as in sitting around the house or not getting up during daylight hours – both of which I have done too, by the way. My week of so-called ‘nothing’ consisted of some messages, late night drives to nowhere, a few stores visited just because I felt like I needed to buy something (which I didn’t end up doing) and a few beers enjoyed at a local bar.  But other than that, I wouldn’t say it was my best week when it comes to contributing to society.

It was however, a reminder of 2002 when I was 27 instead of my ripe old age of 37. Days when I would be done writing before most people even took their morning shower and I would spend afternoons going to movies (that didn’t suck), walking through stores to see if there was anything cool or just pissing the day away.

Yet I also felt I should probably do more productive things and I certainly couldn’t see myself slipping into a sluggish routine, but if at all possible, it’s good to channel your inner sloth sometimes and just see where the day takes you.

And that’s what I did.

I rule.

I remember back in 2002 when I first moved here, I would frequent the local cinema sometimes as often as three times a week to see whatever was playing. Sure some of those gems included Welcome to Mooseport, Mr. Deeds and Pluto Nash, but much like pizza, even when movies are bad, they are good.  Or at least passable.

For five bucks I could escape for a couple hours and enjoy a movie – something I will probably end up forgetting I saw years later when I catch it on MoviePix or see it in the discount DVD bin at the supermarket, but going to a movie during the day was a great pass-time and there were tons of films to choose from.

These days, in the era of the 100 million dollar movie, studios don’t seem to be so liberal with the green light any more and fewer silly films are being made in favor of films they hope will make a billion bucks and turn out to be big turds. (Larry Crowne, Mirror Mirror, Wrath of the Titans, Rock of Ages… the list goes on.)

I was so craving the days gone by when I would stroll into the theater and see something that looked half decent, that last summer that the only silly film I could muster up the strength to see during the day was The Smurfs. That’s right, I went to see the Smurfs. That’s how bad it has gotten.

Because every second piece of crap that comes out now is in 3D and every other film costs 60 to 100 million dollars, we aren’t going to see another Daddy Daycare or The Rundown or Four Brothers. So I know I’m not wrong when I say there aren’t as many good films out there these days… it’s true, there aren’t.

But I could also be growing crotchety, too.

In the last 365,032 days (give or take a few) I’ve since done renovation ranging from new cabinets in the kitchen (truth be told it was the property management that handles the heavy lifting) to changing almost all the light fixtures. With the exception of my guest room (the infamous second bedroom) I’ve changed the furniture in every room (so once again the whole place looks like a modern IKEA showroom) and changed my wall art several times.  I’ve also managed to clean out my storage room in my basement which was more than I bargained for.

It’s funny how a place I just happened upon all those years ago has become more than just my home. It has become the place I have lived in the longest while in Canada and the second longest since I was born. (My family home in Sea Isle City still holds that title.)  It is a place where I have had some of the best memories of my life and learned some of the more upsetting and tragic news.  It’s a place where I feel safe and a place where I feel creative.  It’s my home – and from the looks of things, it will continue to be for quite a while.

Subscribing would probably be a good idea, that way you’ll know if anything exciting happens.

I just felt that at this point in my life, it was time to make some changes. I’m not giving up my web based adventures, I’m just pulling back a bit. Feel free to come back and visit and see what I’m up to. And yes, for those who will be asking, the blog will be shelved under “archives” for old time’s sake.

But enough about that. Stifler pissed me off… yet again.

In American Pie, Steve Stifler was the typical a-hole jock/bully that everyone hated. Seann William Scott nailed the role so well that you actually cheered when Finch slept with his mom at the end. He was the perfect secondary character, and that’s where it should have stayed. But because audiences liked his one-liners, he was invited back for American Pie 2 and given a substantially bigger role. He also mellowed out (a bit). He still chases hot girls, hates Finch and enjoys seeing the four friends get into trouble, but he was somewhat still likable – even as a the resident jerk.

But it was American Wedding that ruined Stifler for me. Not only is he back and again, with a much larger role, he is suddenly a good guy. He teaches Jim how to dance, he saves the wedding and actually cares about what a girl’s feelings.  We could have done without all of that. But just imagine how upset audiences would have been had Stifler not shown up. Without a doubt in my mind, the writers made every effort to give the Stifmeister all the best lines and gags in a otherwise horrible sequel.

Stifler had officially sold out.

Following Wedding, Stifler became so “popular” that when the direct to DVD spin-off movies were made, they focused on other members of his family (cousins and brothers) and gave wannabe actors a chance to do really bad Seann William Scott impressions in hopes of collecting a paycheck.

Naturally Scott reprises his frat-boy persona one last time in American Reunion, and in some ways, brings Stifler back to his roots, but as he has done before, ends up being somewhat of a good guy complete with glimpses of a young Stifler hanging out with the four guys.

Thing is, in the first film, the four main characters (Jim, Oz, Finch and Kevin) never liked Stifler and he certainly didn’t like them — and that’s what worked. They went to his parties, but he treated them like something he scraped off his shoe. You laughed at his jokes and found him amusing, but that’s where it ended. He was raw, funny and unapologetic when it came to saying what was on his mind. Seeing him watered-down was nothing short of a disappointment.

The promised “final slice” of the Pie series (at least for the original cast members) was tainted with a final scene that has the five friends toasting each other and saying “until next time”, which I hope doesn’t happen. And if it does, the Stifmeister is more than welcome to sit that one out.

All that being said, I figured I should post something as the last thing that was up before this (assuming that I will finish writing this and click “publish” without losing the use of any more fingers) was my rant about the need for subways in this city and how certain people don’t actually listen to what the citizens of this city really want.

Before hobbling my index finger, I spent the last week helping a friend put up wallpaper (yes, I’m shocked people still use wallpaper in the 21st century) and planning out the next stage of my career.  As you may have guessed, I didn’t end up going to Atlantic City for the opening of the new Revel Casino. I figure I’ll just see it this summer when I go down to visit my family.