evilgreenrobot

Right around when I got to the Y this morning, my lower back started to hurt. It's been a while since I had any back pain and I thought it'd stay away long-term thanks to deep water fitness. There are quite a few core-centric moves I have to demo and I always do as much as I can. I slept pretty well last night and I wonder if it happened because I spent too much time sleeping on my back because I wasn't tossing and turning so much.

In a couple of months when my job has gone from part-time to full-time for a spell, I think a new mattress is in order. Someone I chatted with after class today said a nice, new firm mattress would be great but I think it's time to get a soft one. I've had a firm mattress for years now and and the only reason I can stand it at all is that I have a topper on it. I'll go to a store and try out a soft one and make sure I can exchange it if it doesn't work out.

Everyone in class was very understanding as I struggled through the hour, just like they were when I hurt my knee. I've already arranged for a sub for Monday if I need one, but I'd really like to teach that day since my last two classes there were canceled. I'm subbing for Nelly who does the other deep water day, so I'll do that class twice next week.

I got some feedback today regarding deep water, that it can be hard to keep up with the combination moves. The transitions are supposed to be part of the challenge but I'd rather up the reps for less switching around in order to keep the class happy. I polled the class on Tuesday to see if I should introduce a new routine and people were into the idea. A couple said they didn't want to switch immediately, so I said my goal would be to introduce a new routine in three weeks. It's about time I got some more use out of the site I subscribe to for lessons.

I'm on my own for much of today so I figured I'd see a matinee. Garrett is up north and it occurred to me that I might be able to see a movie and also get lunch at District 1, a fantastic Vietnamese restaurant and bar that's close to the movie theater in Marysville, and maybe he could join if the stars aligned. And maybe I could get takeout for later if they didn't.

I went to check the menu and that's when I noticed something very interesting about District 1: there's no pho! It's quite possible I noticed that the last time I was there which would have been in 2019. But I think I didn't notice because I didn't mention it in the post I wrote. The lack of pho greatly reduces the options for Garrett since he's allergic to soy and a lot of Vietnamese dishes use it in the marinade. Pho is always fine, though.

Incidentally, one thing that's great about that place is that they have fries. More places that serve banh mi should have fries, dammit!

My future plans for us going to District 1 and a movie dashed, I decided to look at movie times here in Everett and learned there's an RPX showing of The Fantastic Four: First Steps here at 9am! The ticket I bought online was definitely not cheap, but I'm grateful for something to do this morning. This isn't the only movie in theaters right now that I'd like to see, but Garrett's interested in the Superman one and the new Naked Gun. I hope we manage to see them.

It's wild how my moviegoing habits have changed. Back in the MoviePass heyday, I also happened to be working 4am-noon, so I went to the theater 2-3 times each week. A lot has changed in my personal and professional lives, but the biggest reason aside from my schedule change that I don't go to the movies much is COVID. It's funny and appropriate that my fourth outing since COVID came along is Fantastic Four. The others were:

- A Quiet Place 2 because the first one was absolutely incredible to watch in the theater.

- Spider-Man: No Way Home because I was traveling and had time to kill driving from Long Beach to Seaside, so a stop to watch a movie in Astoria was perfect.

- Final Destination Bloodlines, because obviously I had to see the long-awaited installment in one of my favorite franchises that features a knockoff Space Needle on the big screen. I actually already bought that on DVD and it came to streaming this week, too.

I'm trying not to have too much of an agenda after the movie. I might pop into White Lotus for banh hoi, my favorite dish that's only available at two restaurants locally, theirs being the best. I might pop into Lion's Paw because one of my tattoos needs a touch-up. In other movie news, I may as well share what I posted earlier on Facebook about a series I found this week:

I recently learned about a series of vampire movies called Subspecies via some gifs I saw on Tumblr. How a cheesy horror series with five chapters evaded me so long is a mystery, especially since it's absolutely terrible, which you know is a bonus for me. Parts 1-3 and 5 are on Tubi, and I thought I had to install Xumo Play to watch part 4. Xumo Play doesn't have a search feature so you're expected to search for it from your TV's main menu, and that's how I found out it's on Roku Channel as well, which is where I'm watching it, because apps that don't have a search don't deserve the traffic.
The movies came out in 1991, 1993, 1994, and 1998. Then part 5 came along in 2023 with lots of returning cast members. I love when that happens.