When I arrived home yesterday afternoon, there was a box leaning against the front door waiting for me. And another box inside on the mail table near the entryway.
The larger box from outside was a region-free DVD player from my mom and dad. The smaller box was the spatula I had ordered from cooking.com for my mother (free shipping on anything, no matter how small, when you buy with PayPal!)--weird and seemingly gender-stereotyped gift, I know, but she asked for it specifically, so she's getting it.
When I first opened the DVD box, I was a little wary about what I had received (the packaging says Region 1 all over it). But upon closer inspection, I spied a tiny sticker that said the player had been modified to play all regions. Sweet.
So I pulled the plug on my DVD/VCR unit and placed the new--and smaller--unit on top (this situation reminded me of the Foxworthy "you might be a redneck" ramble ... only they're not old TVs, so I don't think it counts--though the fact that they're sitting on top of my micro-fridge might make it count). The new one doesn't have the same hook-up as my Sony, the general single-prong cable plug. It has the old red/white/yellow three-part cable; and, on my peculiar Sylvania television, that connection is at the front rather than the back ... but the cable is long enough, so I had no trouble putting everything where it needed to be. And, having tested on a region four disc and a region two disc, all works splendidly.
Yes, I am no longer restrained by the intentional restrictions of the movie distribution industry, able to watch whatever I want that comes from wherever I want. It's awesome.
I, of course, then proceeded to ogle my Amazon.co.uk wish-list for a good while. Mmm. DVDs.
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Torchwood's "Random Shoes" was so damn sad. And there was not nearly enough Jack! ... And it was just a really, really sad episode. And, without giving too much away about the plot, the vague description of the mystery e-bay bidder makes me think it was Jack (yes, beanie babies habit and all), though that's never actually answered in the plot.
I also began watching the tenth episode of Robin Hood (yes, another BBC production)--began, but didn't finish, because our apartment ordered-in and had fat-sandwiches and fro-yo for dinner. YUM! (What are fat sandwiches? you might ask. They're subs that are stuffed with every bad thing under the sun--fries, chicken fingers, mozzarella sticks, onion rings, etc. If it's fried and awful for you, it can be put on a fat sandwich.)
Returning to the subject of telly, maybe Robin Hood is a tired concept, but it's a pretty damn funny show, actually. I'm just not sure if it's supposed to be funny where I'm laughing. And I still like Torchwood better. And, happily, I've been informed (via comment in this entry) that Torchwood is getting another season! Shows that I love actually aren't being cancelled. It's cause for celebration, I tell you.
To obtain these shows, I've been using iPodnova.net because the files are smaller than they tend to be with other sites I've used, and I can use the videos with iTunes and my iPod. I still haven't managed to get the first or second episodes of Robin Hood to finish; but they're still going, so I'm hopeful.
I'm also downloading the first season of the new Doctor Who, 40 hours to go, and the first season of Arrested Development, which reads that it still has five days to go.
Yes, I'll probably kill my hard-drive one of these days.
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And, ooh! ooh! We have a Christmas tree! It was just delivered by my flat-mate's friend's dad last night, and I'm guessing we'll be decorating it tonight. Very excited.
