Watch This

I was supposed to work today, but many of the students in my classroom are on vacation.  There weren't going to be enough there to justify the normal lead teacher and two aides, so I got to take the day off.  What could I do with a bonus day?  I checked with all my friends, but no one was free to play.  I had to make my own plans. 

When the alarm went off this morning I didn't want to get up.  However, I remembered I didn't have to go to work and that changed everything,  I jumped out of bed, ready for the day's adventures. After breakfast, a little housework, and a bit of Internet surfing, I left the house loaded down with a purse, my gym bag, and lunch. But no work bag.  That felt good.  My first stop was the ATM for some cash. The second stop was the gym for a Zumba class.  It felt deliciously decadent to put on regular clothes (instead of a work logo shirt) after my shower.  When I got in my car after the gym I was hungry, so I ate lunch as I drove.  It wasn't even 11:00, but this was MY day.  I could do whatever I wanted!

I decided I wanted to see a movie.  By myself.  I've never done it before, but I could see a couple of advantages to going solo.  There would be no one to approve or veto my choice of films, no one to dispute my seat choice, and no one to share my popcorn.  I drove to the theater complex closest to my house, a huge 14-plex. As I pulled into the lot, I realized I've never seen it so empty.  I parked right in front of the box office.  One of the two ticket windows were closed, so I was able to stand there while I figured out which movie I wanted to see.  I ended up picking Letters to Juliet, because it was the next one to start.

The story, according to the movie's Website:

Letters To Juliet is an enchanting love story -- a tale of encountering new sparks and rekindling old flames. When Sophie (Amanda Seyfried), a young American, travels to Verona, Italy -- the romantic city where Romeo first met Juliet -- she meets a group of volunteers who respond to letters written to Juliet seeking romantic advice. Sophie finds and answers a letter that has been lost for 50 years, and is stunned when its author Claire (Vanessa Redgrave) arrives in Italy with her handsome but overprotective grandson (Christopher Egan) to find the fiance she left decades before. Fascinated by Claire's quest, Sophie joins them on an adventure through the beautiful hills of Tuscany searching for Claire's long lost Lorenzo. The journey will change their lives forever, as they discover it's never too late to find true love.

I entered the building, got a bag of popcorn with butter, and headed to the theater.  It wasn't hard to find a seat; when the lights dimmed there were a dozen women and a group of teenage girls in the audience.  After all the commercials and trailers were finished, I settled in for the main event.

The movie was completely predictable.  Based on the TV commercials, I could have told you the entire plot ahead of time, but I really enjoyed it.. There were some scenes of gorgeous Italian scenery, and a lot of wonderful music, much of it in Italian.  The happy ending made me tear up (I'm a hopeless romantic), and I left the theater red-eyed.  If I'd been with someone else I would have been embarrassed, but since I was by myself it didn't matter.  I just made sure I didn't make eye contact with any of the other people in the theater!