Back to (New) Normal

"What do we have a coupon for...?" is something I heard all the time growing up. My family made a lot of decisions based on whether there was a deal available. Want to go out to eat? Check the coupons. Want to go do some activity? Check the coupons. Kidney beans on sale? Stock up and buy 10 cans.

Make all the snide remarks you want, but it did teach me how to look for ways to stretch a dollar! Being a penny pincher is a valuable skill to have. (I also learned that it doesn't always make sense to buy too much more than what you need - we had beans in the pantry for years...)

So I had a birthday not too long ago, and you know what that means, right? Free stuff. I did my best to take advantage of all the deals. I'm a member of Flix Brewhouse's club (whatever it's called), and their special birthday deal is a free movie ticket. COVID has complicated things all year, but theaters had been working on opening back up for awhile. I follow a friend's blog (their whole family loves Flix), so by the time my birthday came around, I heard it was back up and running. Virus be damned, you better believe I'm gonna use my free ticket before it expires!

Not too long ago, it was down to the last week I could use my ticket, so I pulled up the movie schedule. After cross checking genres and Rotten Tomatoes scores, I determined that my best choice was Tenet. Reviews said it was complicated to follow, but amazing to see on the big screen. (And hey, I'm smart! Like some movie could be over my head... puhhlease.)

I normally don't go see movies by myself (or very often at all, to be honest - ask anyone, they'll tell you how offended they are that I haven't seen <insert name of your favorite "classic" movie here>), but I wasn't sure if anyone wanted to risk a theater visit with me, coordinating schedules is a pain, I only had one free ticket, and I've read articles touting the benefits of "taking yourself on a date." Ok, sure. I can be great company sometimes. At least I won't get annoyed with myself for talking through the movie or chewing too loud or snoring. Why not?

I booked the ticket, movie day arrived, and I was excited. When was the last time I went to a theater... a year ago? Was it Frozen II? Dang. I walked in. It was empty. It felt kind of eerie and uncomfortable, like a ghost town.

I entered the theater. Now granted, Tenet had been out awhile... a month or two? ...There were a whole two other people in the theater - a father and his son. That's it. Full house.

I went to grab the menu... and it was gone. Of course. Must've missed grabbing a throwaway paper menu somewhere on my way in. Hey, remember not too long ago, when we were trying to cut back on waste and reuse everything, including straws? Haha. The stupid little things make me laugh sometimes...

Servers don't automatically come around to take your order anymore - you push the button to call them when you want something to eat or drink. That's fair. I pulled up Flix's website, figuring I'd just browse a menu on there. I usually order the California chicken sandwich (a favorite of one of my friends) because it comes with Flix's fries, which are ahhmazing. I was in the mood for an Italian soda, but was struggling to find it on the online menu. Whatever. I figured I'd sort it out when the server arrived.

She showed up, and I proceeded to find out their temporarily downsized menu does not include the Cali chicken sandwich. WHAT. I struggled to improvise on the spot, but I think she sensed my panic and helped me cobble together an impromptu take on a bacon and bleu burger. Italian soda? That's not a thing anymore either. Ugh. My blogger friend loves Flix's Golden Ale - please tell me that's still on the menu? Thank goodness. I took a page out of his book and ordered that to go with my burger and fries. When in Rome!

No one else took a seat in the theater, so it was just the three of us total. It was so quiet. The movie started, and the food and drink came. The fries were just as delicious as I remembered. 😋 (The burger and beer was good too!) Tenet was a level of mind-blowingness comparable to Inception (which makes sense, since Christopher Nolan directed both films), and all the reviews were right - it was fantastic to behold on the big screen. Even with all the brains in my head, I'm not sure I fully followed everything... but honestly, it didn't really matter. It was just plain cool. (Side note: I tried to watch a video explaining the intricacies of the plot after I got home, and couldn't stay awake through the video - so I gave it up. Sometimes, you just appreciate art for it's beauty, I guess!) I found this parody video online, though, and it's pretty great. I would of course recommend seeing the actual movie first, but it doesn't do a bad job in 3 minutes for "only $20":

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=drBXMWZqlN0

All in all, I had a great time, and I was a cheap date! It felt nice, and almost normal to see a movie in a theater again. (With only three of us total in the theater, it felt more like what I imagine it would be like to see a movie after the rapture or a zombie apocalypse - but on the plus side, it didn't feel crowded! 😉) I would definitely do it again... but I'll probably only go if I have a coupon.