Archive for September 2009
Our Movie Date at Old Town Warren
Posted on September 20, 2009 by Ching under Movies, Things to Do.
I noticed that Brian blogged about the Director’s Suite so I thought I would share some pictures. We were in there last night watching the late show of The Informant! — the new Matt Damon flick. The movie itself was okay, but I figured this blog would be dedicated to reviewing our experience in the Director’s Suite.
The prices are pretty reasonable: $12 for matinee shows (includes $4 food voucher) and $18 for evening shows (includes $8 food voucher). Brian and I paid $36 for our movie tickets last night but, after redeeming $16 in food vouchers, the actual cost of the movie ticket is really just $10 — only $1 more than watching a movie one of the regular auditoriums. At first glance, I thought it was a pretty good value. Then again, is it really worth the extra $1? We couldn’t really answer that until after we’d watched a movie in there.
Unlike the Balcony at 13th Avenue Warren, there is no assigned seating. My suggestion is to get there early so that you have your choice of seats. The problem with arriving late is that a couple of the rows only has three seats. If you get there too late then you won’t be able to sit next to your partner. This wasn’t a problem for us because Brian and I are always early to everything. LOL.
The reclining chairs are pretty comfortable. There are 22 seats altogether. Most rows consist of four seats. The suite is long and narrow. Brian and I sat in the next to the last row. I think I would have preferred to sit closer to the screen because it’s really tiny. The screen and suite actually remind me of someone’s basement home theater room. All I needed was a Snuggie. =P
It’s not too bad if the person in front of your reclines their seat. However, for a short person like me, the head of the person in front of me gets in the way unless their seat is reclined. It’s fine when they are in the recline position and I am not, but when I recline my seat also then their head is once again blocking my view. I really hate that.
While the viewing experience is not that great, the dining experience is crappier yet. Our show started at 10:15 PM, but they wouldn’t seat us until 30 minutes before. The problem with this is that the service is really slow. Our food did not arrive until almost halfway through our movie. This meant having to eat in the dark, which I really hate. At least when we’re in the Balcony, our food usually arrives before the show or during the previews (except for when we watched Die Another Day because they were shorthanded that time and it was more like Die of Starvation). Besides not seeing what you’re eating, eating during the movie makes you miss stuff because you’re eating instead of giving the movie your complete and undivided attention.
Another thing that is really distracting is when they come to pick up everyone’s plates. If the head of the person in front of me is getting in my way, you can imagine how distracting a person who’s standing there picking up plates is… Gah! Also, it’s hard to ignore it when someone enters the suite because the door isn’t quiet at all, and there’s the clanking of plates just outside. I can’t tell if the suite is just poorly soundproofed or if the door has been left open; thus allowing the sounds to come through. Though the server tried to be quiet when settling the bills, it was still really distracting because they verbally told you what you owed instead of just giving you your check like in the Balcony. It was very annoying. I think they need to streamline that whole process.
The Director’s Suite is small and intimate so I think it is more suitable for private parties than for actual movie watching. If you are movie buff, the screen is way too small to really enjoy the show. Personally, my preference would be to watch movies in one of the larger auditoriums; otherwise, it would be just like watching a movie at home and I don’t have to pay $36 to do that.
I saw some pictures of the Showcase Lounge on the Warren Theaters web site. This was previously Oscars, the theater sports bar, which has now been redone so they can show movies in there. There are actual tables instead of the makeshift plastic ones that insert into your seat’s cup holder, so the dining experience is probably better. Though, if your food isn’t delivered until after the movie starts, then I’d have the same issues. The screen in there is way bigger, though, because it is an actual auditorium. We’ll probably check that one out one of these days and report back.
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Our Close Call
Posted on September 20, 2009 by Ching under Travel.
In our rush to return home to Wichita yesterday, Brian forgot to fill up Bebot’s gas tank. We completely spaced it out until Brian noticed that the gas light had come on. We had just passed the last service area and were in the middle of nowhere when this happened so we both got really worried. We had faith in Bebot, but we didn’t want to get stranded along the turnpike either.
We didn’t know when the next service area would come up so Brian and I decided that we should take the next exit. Brian and I were both relieved to have made it to Casey’s, the nearest gas station according to Wilma. Wilma had gotten into a habit of taking us to closed streets and defunct businesses lately that we were worried she would take us to gas station that would no longer be there. Brian was looking for a Phillips 66 because that’s where Wilma was supposed to be taking us. Casey’s is no longer a Phillips 66, but at least it’s still a working gas station.
[ Wilma’s maps desperately need to be updated. We just can’t fork out the $100+ needed to do it right now. ]
After our emergency fuel stop, we were back on the turnpike and headed home. On the way, we realized that we were less than eight miles away from the next service area so we didn’t have to leave the turnpike after all. I wish we would have known of it its existence because Bebot could have easily gotten us there. Bebot is such a good car, but we should have never put him in that position. It really scared the crap out of Brian and me.
We learned an important lesson that day. We should never abuse Bebot and take him for granted. To reward him for delivering us from a potentially terrible situation, we gave him a well-deserved bath today. He needed a bath anyway, but Brian and I are bad owners. =P
We’ll try to do better by Bebot from now on, though. He really saved our butts!
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The Director’s Suite
Posted on September 20, 2009 by Brian under Life.
Last night my wife and I went to the Director’s Suite at the Old Town Warren Theater. It was quaint, small, only 22 seats total and looked a lot like the movie room I would have in my own house. When the movie started we saw the picture size and realized that it’s about as big as a home theater projector that you could pick up at any electronics store. The picture quality was a little better and the sound quality was THX perfection but other than that it was not very impressive.
I do recommend that everyone visit the Director’s Suite at least once, just to get the experience. However, that’s about all I would recommend. As for the movie “The Informant”, it was funny but I could have waited for it to come out on video.
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A Trip to the Nifty Nuthouse
Posted on September 19, 2009 by Ching under Food and Drink, Poker, Wishlist.
Brian’s coworkers Lance and Alicia joined us for lunch at My Tho the other day. Guess what is just around the corner from My Tho? Yup. You guessed it! The Nifty Nuthouse!
Since we got done with lunch pretty quickly and had fifteen minutes to spare, the four of us decided to stop by the Nifty Nuthouse on the way back to work. Alicia had never been there before.
SIDE NOTE: Kudos to My Tho for their promptness. Lunch was super quick. It seemed like within a couple of minutes of ordering, our server was back with our meals. Brian was surprised at how quickly our food was ready. I wasn’t surprised, though. I swear. I think they have vats of soups already pre-made and ready to go in the kitchen. =P
I’m actually glad that lunch was quick because we wouldn’t have had time to stop in at the Nifty Nuthouse otherwise. It is one of my favorite places to get chocolates. My other favorite place is Cocoa Dolce, but we only go when we feel like splurging (which we haven’t done lately). Cocoa Dolce artisan chocolates are pretty expensive. Your money goes a longer ways at the Nifty Nuthouse. Not to say I don’t love Cocoa Dolce because I do. They have fantastic truffles! But the Nifty Nuthouse is a good place to satisfy those chocolatey cravings on the cheap.
Brian loves their double-dipped chocolate-covered peanuts. I like their chocolate covered-pretzels. I got some to bring to poker and share with everyone. Brian got a pound of his double-dipped chocolate-covered peanuts, but he doesn’t like to share so he kept his at home.
Incidentally, I cashed in the home game at Uncle Roy’s on Thursday night. I think it was because I shared my yummy chocolate-covered pretzels with everyone and wasn’t being greedy. Further proof of my theory that the more you give, the more you get. It’s all about cultivating good karma. LOL. So much for poker skills, huh? =P
They were all still playing poker when we left (a cash game had started after enough people were knocked out of the tournament) so I just left the chocolate-covered pretzels with them. Rod seemed to really like it.
Anyway, it’s a shame that I didn’t have enough good karma to carry me through to today’s poker tourney at Harrah’s. Brian and I totally sucked. Well, we didn’t really suck but the cards sure did. The cards were just rotten. I have some theories about doing well at Harrah’s, too. More on that later.
For now, head over to the Nifty Nuthouse and satisfy those chocolate cravings!
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Twilight Saga: New Moon Trailer
Posted on September 18, 2009 by Ching under Movies, Videos.
Advanced tickets for New Moon will go on sale on Monday, September 21, at all Warren Theater locations. You can purchase tickets at the box office or at MovieTickets.com.
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