I'm so sorry. :grouphug: :grouphug: :grouphug:

The Nicole Kidman villain in the first movie was one-dimensional and just plain scary. But the baddie in "2" is a very funny, scene-stealing Hugh Grant as a vain, washed-up has-been. So funny! And just yesterday WSJ had a home-page article about how "Paddington 2" is the "Godfather 2" of animated family movies (i.e., better than the first one). I heard Hugh Bonneville (Mr Brown) use the same phrase in an interview. I'm going today for the umpteenth time and taking my Spanish teacher and a friend. We are seeing the Greatest Showman next and I can't wait, thanks to the raves here! Also, I decided to skip Shape of Water based on the helpful review here; my husband saw it and agreed I probably wouldn't have liked it. I love this thread! Reviews by people just like me :)

Our honeymoon was two whole days! :)

We always love visiting the lighthouse in Pacific Grove. We often eat at the Swiss restaurant in the Barnyard, Carmel Valley. There are some fun shops there, although I agree, Carmel itself is fun to poke around in. We stay at Asilomar, designed by Julia Morgan and used for conferences of all types, but they rent out rooms when they have spare ones. You can walk right to the beach. We spent our honeymoon in Pacific Grove/Monterey :001_wub: (we were living in New Jersey at the time, but got married in CA). Carmel mission is beautiful, but I agree, I love the mission in San Juan Bautista, pretty close. Oh, we also love Point Lobos. (May be closed because of storms.) Enjoy! One of our absolute favorite places on the planet.

I must confess I haven't read the Paddington books (yet), but he was everywhere in London in November, and (after a bit of finagling – they were selling like hotcakes!) I brought home a stuffed bear and he is so cute. And I kind of wish I'd bought the Paddington slippers :)

We just saw "Paddington 2" and I can highly recommend it! It was released in the UK in November, but opened here only this past Friday. I usually shy away from movies w/animated or CG characters, and those based on beloved children's stories, but this one is so well done. To quote the review in the (London) Times which I read while we were there, the movie is a "gorgeous love letter to kindness and [to] London," and "[Paddington 2] might just be the quirkiest, most quintessentially British film phenomenon of the decade." Yes, we were the only adults in the theater without kids in tow, but we didn't care, and I'm going again this week with my mother and some friends. ... It also stars one of my favorite actors, Brendan Gleeson. Hugh Grant is a crackup as a has-been. We saw Darkest Hour again and I enjoyed it as much the second time. It felt like watching a documentary, the acting is so well done.

Sorry, dp

I posted the whole story in a recent thread, but yes, I was planning to wait until our local high school does it, but was given the chance to go twice (in SF) and loved it. Hubby even consented to come the second time and he enjoyed it. I wouldn't say it was "life-changing" like some of my cousins did, but I love history and stories and this was so well done. I cry every time when Eliza burns his letters, and the "un-deux-trois" trio (duet?) w/Eliza and their son (don't want to give any spoilers :) ). Oh, and the "It's Quiet Uptown" song is unbelievably sad. King George is a fun comic relief. The energy of the singers and dancers, and the sense of adventure and excitement (& complexity) of young people starting a whole new kind of country is, frankly, just fun. Especially when it's easy to feel depressed about the state of things these days. Oh, but no way was I willing to mortgage the house to go see it. I got "partial view" (cheapest) seats & they were fine. We were fortunate that it was in SF for about 5 months, so people not caught up in the hype (us, friends of ours) could dither and still see it. And, we personally know at least four sets of people who won the lottery in SF and LA, which gives you fantastic seats (the next day) for $10.

Livermore is much nicer than it used to be, in terms of dining options, but it still has that small-town feel (which I personally like), and it also has the self-proclaimed World's Fastest Rodeo (which is always fun – only 150 days until the big event! hehe). Honestly, I don't think it's what she's looking for in terms of a vibrant city, but it's very convenient and a lot of commuters to Silicon Valley and SF live in Livermore b/c it is right on the freeway (580) and the ACE train (to San José) has several stops in town. It's more popular with 30/40-somethings with kids; 20-somethings who work in Livermore (at the national lab, etc.) usually choose to live in Walnut Creek, Berkeley, etc. and enjoy that reverse commute ...

Well, it sounds like she has money (which I assumed, if she was working at the corporate office in SR), and anyway prices range from super-expensive to crazy-expensive, unless you go far, far east (like Stockton, Manteca, Mountain House, Merced, etc.) and brave a 2-hour commute each way – which thousands of people do, but it sounds like she can afford not to (yay!). Livermore has been paying taxes toward a BART station since 1976 (!), and the BART priority right now is the extension to Silicon Valley. My guess is that BART won't reach Livermore for a few decades. I wouldn't count on it anytime soon, in other words :) It is better since the extension to Pleasanton went in, but you still have to drive or take a bus to Pleasanton/Dublin. And there is a fair amount of opposition in Livermore to having BART come (fears are increased traffic, crime, etc.).

My mother is an Oakland native. Parts of it are not safe, and parts of it are getting outrageously expensive and pricing out families who've lived there for generations (spillover from Silicon Valley types looking for nice, cheaper housing). It would be a "reverse commute," I think, so traffic shouldn't be that bad (it's pretty awful going west in the morning). Oh, and Oakland is East Bay :) I know there are nice parts of Oakland (my brother lived there while he was in grad school at Berkeley, and commuted by bike), but I'm not sure which those are right now. Berkeley is always fun, and would have that reverse commute. Walnut Creek is close to Chevron (which is in San Ramon), and has a pretty nice downtown, with lots of shops & restaurants & young people, although it's not a city like Oakland & Berkeley are. BART does not run up that 680 corridor, but I'm sure there are buses from the BART stations north and south of Chevron that would get her to work. Personally, I'd recommend Berkeley based on what you say she likes. A great city for active people (lots of hikes in the hills above the city with views of the Golden Gate, SF, etc.), and tons of fun places to eat. Hopefully folks with chime in with better suggestions. Good luck to her! And I'm happy to try to answer any more questions. I'm also in the East Bay, but much farther east than San Ramon. ETA: It looks like driving from Berkeley to Chevron in the morning via Caldecott Tunnel (24) and down 680 would take 35-55 (!) minutes. Maybe look at Walnut Creek? (18-35 min drive in the morning) I'm a Country Mouse, so I'd choose to live in one of the cheaper places farther east, but they're not very exciting, and if she's at Chevron I assume she'd be making pretty good $$$ ...

I don't know much about cryptocurrencies, but my 22yo son who is a CS major has been dabbling in them for at least a year. I was sooo dubious, but he invested $500 back when Bitcoin was cheap (along with $500 in another cryptocurrency), cashed out some of it and made $1500 (so he has more than recouped his initial investment), and re-invested some of that. What he has is currently worth $7k (depending on what time it is, haha; it has wild swings!), at least on "paper." In fact, his senior honors project for his CS major has to do with cryptocurrencies, and he has/had a small business on the side helping others invest (which I thought was a smart move, kind of like the people who made money on the California Gold Rush not by panning for gold themselves, but by supplying the miners with food, clothes, equipment, etc.). I think his honors project has something to do with an app that tracks various cryptocurrencies (there are hundreds, if not thousands). I personally don't have any advice, b/c I'll stick with Vanguard, haha. (As I told my son, "if you can see the bandwagon, it's too late" -- but since he has made several thousand dollars, I had to eat my words.) But this thread is interesting! ETA: So that's what Coinbase is! My son and I share a phone account, so these various apps mysteriously appear on my phone – Coinbase, Bitcoin Ticker, Bitfinex, Coin Ticker, etc. ... haha

There was an Asian-American boy in our hs circle whose name was indeed Matthew See -- a source of great merriment! (to us, at least lol)

Yes, I borrowed the movie from our local library and loved it, and made my parents watch it. They then showed it to their friends (one of whom had already read the book). And no, I'm not expecting much from an American version (& would probably skip it), much as I like Tom Hanks.

NY/NJ in April to see a German singer we love (he sings 1920s classics, w/his vintage-style orchestra), visit our old haunts in Princeton, and see the Colbert show being "taped" (or however they call that nowadays), visit Fraunces Tavern, & other touristy stuff. Probably England in the summer (for work, but we'll play, too). We were there last month and I visited old friends, took a ballet class, visited Doc Martin's Cornish village, saw the excellent "Wind in the Willows" display at the River & Rowing Museum in Henley, etc. I know I am ridiculously spoiled. :) Oh, both boys graduate from university this spring, so trips to their unis, too, w/family and friends. It won't be nearly as busy a year as last year was, but travel is clearly our hobby. That, and books. :) Fun thread! I'm enjoying reading everyone's responses.

We were dubious that MoviePass would work at our local independent theater (w/ real food!) where we see almost all of our movies, but it does. Right now it's just inertia (creating an account, during the busy holiday season) that is stopping us. Just a few days ago there was a NYT (or was it WSJ?) article about how MoviePass has really taken off since they lowered the monthly price from $50 to $35 to (now) $10.

oh, just FYI ... friends of our have the MoviePass membership and like it. For $10 a month you can see a (different) movie every day, in the theater. We are a bit wary, b/c we don't see movies every month (and then some months we see several). And it doesn't seem sustainable. But our friends decided they'd enjoy it while it lasts!

I saw Coco with 3 generations of my family and loved it. Every Mexican-American I know here has seen it and loved it, too. "Darkest Hour" (Churchill) was also excellent. I soon forgot it was Gary Oldman and felt like I was watching Churchill himself. I wanted to love the new "Murder on the Orient Express" b/c I love British mysteries, but my husband and I both fell asleep (we had gotten back from England the day before, so we were jet-lagged). (We went to see it with my parents and some friends, with whom we had recently taken a train – the Coast Starlight – from Los Angeles to Seattle, so that aspect was fun!) We saw the movie again and ... fell asleep again, but for less of the movie. I've loved Kenneth Branagh ever since Henry V. But when did Johnny Depp get old???? This thread has convinced me to go see "The Greatest Showman." Thank you! I will see the new Star Wars movie only if someone drags me. A friend dragged me to the Rogue One one and it was okay.

definitely a nice new car :) thanks, that was ... fun!

So sorry to hear this, Sue ... Rats. Rats. Rats. My son had basically this exact scenario a year ago. He was almost healed and then was in a car accident (not his fault) which totaled his car and also knocked his kneecap out of alignment (impact was on his – driver's – door). Sigh. However, my son is not an athlete (although he's very active and was very depressed about the forced inactivity).

Yikes! Please keep us updated, Sue. Hoping for the best ...

Linda Carol Cheryl Sharon Karen Joanne Joan Janet Susan (but I see Susanna) Lisa Margaret/Meg/Peggy Sandy (but Alexandra and Alexis are popular) My son knows a lot of young Asian-American women (20-year-olds) with not "mom" but "grandma" (!) names -- Bertha, Shirley, etc. And "mom" names like Carol. (Haven't seen any Ediths or Mildreds, though! haha) (We also know plenty of 30-something Mexican-Americans my age w/"grandma" names like Bertha.)

I agree! "The Pursuit of Love / Love in a Cold Climate" is a book I've read several times since high school, and there's a pretty good dramatisation with (I think) Rosamund Pike. And even in high school (1970s!) I had heard of "The American Way of Death." I have several Nancy Mitford books on my shelf waiting to be read.

My son is! And you're right, it's nice being detached from the process. But everything is still up in the air. He may decide to work for a while (he already accepted a summer job at a high-tech firm in SF, which would become a permanent job if he chooses to stay), AND he just applied to work in ministry for his church (either in the U.S. or overseas) next year as a kind of gap year. I have absolutely no idea where he will be next year, but I do know he will be self-supporting, which is a big change for us. (ETA: if he does go to graduate school, he may need a bit of help from us, depending on his financial aid. Forgot that part :) )

Ellen, can you ask around & find the most capable surgeon? That might put your mind at rest about perforations. S/he might also take your concerns more seriously about the fasting aspect. J-rap, I agree with everyone else! It was actually a nice break from normal responsibilities, and you get to exhort/encourage your friends who have been putting it off. The prep wasn't nearly as bad as I'd thought it would be (in fact, I was worried it hadn't "worked" completely lol), and the procedure itself was a breeze. Waking up from the anesthesia was hard the first time, but my husband swears by Propofol and I had that the second time and had no problem. And as PPs have said, the peace of mind afterwards is priceless. I've actually thanked my parents for setting a good example in this area. My aunt never had a colonoscopy and died from colon cancer.