Well, Tuesday saw the launch of Halo 3, the long-awaited conclusion to the Halo saga.

 

After dropping off my spouse at work, I decided to swing by the ol' company store to see how the lines were. Surprisingly, they were quite manageable, with parking full, but spots opened at a decent rate. The lines inside were about 15-20 people deep, so we moved along briskly.

 

I was hesitant to even go in the store, since I had been there the day before to pick up my RTM copy of Windows Home Server (yea!!) WHS is a very cool, Windows Server 2003-based simple backup/restore/sharing operating system. Squarely aimed at the "home consumer", I like it. There are flaws (no FAT32 support, fragile backup database, incomplete driver support), but the ease-of-use and OOBE are there, along with Server2k3's reliability.

 

But go in I did, and I picked up 3 copies of Standard edition Halo 3. There were no Legendary editions (they are all in the channel) and the Limited editions apparently had a high rate of scratched disks, so they were pulled off the floor. Who will get the other 2 copies? I wonder if Halo 3 will drive my Original Xbox-owning relatives to purchase 360s?

 

Oh, and they had Xbox360 Elites in the store too. This is the black one with the 120GB HDD and HDMI out. I couldn't resist, though I probably will not connect it to Xbox Live.

 

The Wii accessories I ordered have started to trickle in. I'll let the kids at the Wii soon, since I also want to use it to play Zelda. They've been good and they're really spoiled, so why change?

 

I need to take some time and map out what entertainment solution goes with what TV. There's a lot of entertainment at my house now

Since school started again last week, the kids have been chafing a bit. They've gotten a bit used to the slack standards of "montessori care" and haven't changed gears into "montessori school".

 

The latest adventure is talking back and general disrespect. Nathaniel was on the receiving end of a talking-to when he turned away and muttered "You're not the boss of me".  

 

He is a good boy most of the time, with a lot of intelligence. Why must he repeat all the bad things I did when I was his age?

 

p.s. check out this blog: http://mom2my6pack.blogspot.com

 

Spent the weekend in San Francisco, visiting relatives and eating good dim sum for the second weekend in a row.

We stayed at the Grand Hyatt on Stockton street, which was a decent experience except for the poor service I got at Grandviews, the hotel restaurant.

 

I ordered the T-bone steak, which normally comes with blue-cheese sauce, "sauce on the side". I'm not fond of blue-cheese (bleu cheese?) and just didn't want it gracing my steak. What did I see when they set the plate in front of me? Cheese sauce all over the steak.

 

I sent it back, and miraculously, a couple of minutes later, it came back. Of course you know what happened, they just scraped the sauce off and flipped the steak over, hoping I wouldn't notice. Haha! I sent it back a second time and starved while the rest of the family enjoyed their meals (Nathaniel had 2 servings of Mac-n-cheese, though he barely touched the second serving). Finally, a new steak was delivered, one that had minimal, if any, filet on it.

 

Did lots of walking up and down Grant street, which is the main thoroughfare through Chinatown. So touristy!

Stopped in a couple of the bakeries for pastries, which were delicious.

 

Traveling with a 5-year-old and 3-year-old is not for the weak, as Elizabeth decided to have traveler's flu for the first day and a half. She couldn't keep anything down, not even clear liquid. And the Tylenol made her sleepy. Carrying 32 lbs of 3-year-old is not easy!

 

We're safe and sound home again, but looking forward to a few more short trips through the end of the year.