Birthdays, Work and Diesel

It's Izzy's birthday today - YAY! She's now officially joined me in the Land of Those Who Have Live a Quarter Century. It's a mouthful of a name, I know - we're working on an acronym. Or something. Point? HAPPY BIRTHDAY, IZZY!!

On a less exciting note, I worked five days this week, which is nice. Four full days - two at Mount Stewart Junior School (which is quite the fun little commute), one at Gayhurst, one at Three Bridges. Tuesday I had a half day of TA work at Holy Trinity, a school over in Richmond.

Last night, after working over in Southall, I couldn't take the waiting any longer and dragged Christa to Shepherd's Bush to see Fast and Furious 6. We met up first at a pub - Oneils - where I had fish and chips, in case you're wondering. The movie more than lived up to its predecessors. It was set in London - or at least a large chunk of it - and it was beyond nifty. I mean, just imagine sitting there in the theatre and up there on the screen Vin Diesel and Michelle Rodriguez are racing down streets you regularly walk. It's just surreal. Whenever Montreal is used as a filming location it tends to get featured as a backdrop pretending to be somewhere else...or just plays host the green screens so this was a new experience.

See? This is me at Piccadilly Circle. Behind me? Those would the neon billboards and Piccadilly Circle's claim to fame. Well, one of its claims to fame. Now, pan out a lot, picture it at night, cut down on the traffic, and throw in Diesel and Rodriguez racing through in some fast cars and you get...

How bloody freaking cool is that?!

Plus, you know, this is a movie where Vin Diesel, Paul Walker, and others drive around London and Spain in fast cars  to defeat a bad guy and reunite their family. Need more really be said?

Okay, one more thing needs to be said. This movie had the best opening credits of the franchise, hands down. Actually, in terms of methodology, it may have had the best opening credits of any sequel yet thrown on the screen. They combined clips from the all the previous films, giving you a montage of key scenes that set up the story about to be told. It was a clever bit of genius on the part of the director (or, you know, whoever it is who gets credit for the credits.)

Epic.