The Princess Who Was Tangled

I got up so late this morning, thanks to a massive series of thunderstorms last night that kept me awake, I basically had the time to eat breakfast and watch Tangled before work. Tangled is Disney's retelling of the Grimm's Fairy Tale Rapunzel. Rapunzel is still imprisoned in a tower by a witch who stole her from her royal parents as a baby...but the famous hair is now imbued with strength and healing powers. Probably stung by complaints of the colorless princes of earlier movies (and trying to attract boys as well as their sisters), the royal youth of the original story has been replaced by a very funny, roguish thief. He hides in Rapunzel's tower when the guards are after him. She catches him (with a frying pan) and tells him she'll give him the tiara he's stolen in exchange for him taking her to see the beautiful lights that appear every year on her birthday. He'd rather dump her in the nearest pit, but he doesn't really have much of a choice. Meanwhile, Mother Gothel isn't happy that her adopted daughter has run off and taken her ticket to eternal youth with her...

Tangled is basically "The Disney Aladdin crossed with Romancing the Stone with a smidge of The Little Mermaid." As such, it's probably the best movie they've done in years. Dashing Flynn and sweet-but-strong-willed Rapunzel are certainly two of their best lead characters in years. The supporting cast - including the ruffians with wacky dreams, the horse Maxmillian who is after Flynn, and Rapunzel's odd little pet chameleon Pascal - is also a blast. Some phenomenal computer animation, too. The scene where Rapunzel finally realizes her desire to see the beautiful lights released every year on her birthday is breathtaking.

Work was busy all day. There were a few problems with customers. One older lady got me confused with her payment. I thought she wanted me to put $20 on her food stamp card, then pay the rest by check. Perfectly normal. Turns out she wanted $20 back on the food stamp card. I either hadn't heard her right, or she wasn't clear enough. She threw a fit, even after I tried to explain what happened, and finally stomped off to customer service. Though the girl behind her was much nicer, she ended up putting back a quarter of her order. (I really wish people on a budget would learn to watch what they put in their carts. If you can't afford expensive stuff, don't buy expensive stuff.)

I hadn't had much for breakfast or lunch, so I decided on a special treat for dinner. I rode across the Audubon Crossing Shopping Center and behind the America's Best/Pep Boys/Audubon Post Office building to Golden Corral for dinner. I don't really eat there that often because of the out-of-the-way location, the price ($10.89 for the dinner buffet), and because most of what they serve is terrible for you. I was too hungry for just pizza or a burger, and I had two cold cuts sandwiches yesterday.

My meal got mixed reviews. The spinach salad and fresh strawberries were delicious. The fish surprisingly wasn't bad, delicately seasoned if a little too buttery. The carrots were tough and leathery, but the sweet potato casserole was to die for and the braised mushrooms were succulent and tender. The chocolate cupcake was ok, but the icing was just sweet enough and tasted home-made (even if it probably wasn't).

Stopped at work for a few groceries on my way back. Chief on my list this week were butter and chicken. Acme was having a good sale on Smart Balance 50/50 sticks and its chicken breasts were 40% off. Also grabbed cooking spray, eggs, and the Acme's tasty (and cheap) whole-wheat honey twist pretzels.