I kicked off to see Spirited Away about 5:00. I was bored at home, hungry, and only partially sure of where Shirlington was. As it turned out, I found it in one shot. It's the same theatre I had seen Dancer In The Dark. (Ah, back when I was dating Heather.)
I took GW Parkway to 395 south. Interestingly, I passed the repaired side of the Pentagon. That is a much prettier building when it is clean. The rubber-necker in me wished that the gaping hole was still there. As it stand, this was the first time I've seen the Pentagon in over a year.
I arrived in Shirlington about 5:30 and bought my ticket first thing. I know this theatre and I know about Saturday nights. On a Friday or Saturday date, you buy the theatre tickets FIRST, then go to dinner. I learned that the hard way. Same rules apply if you have no date. Shirlington is a wayyy busy theatre, so double the caution.
To kill time, I dropped off at the Spanish place across the street and ate dinner at the bar. I had some stuffed peppers and some Spanish meatballs. Yum. I considered a beer, but I wanted to sit through the entire film, not get up.
I kept a lookout for my friends, because they were the ones who planned all this. They never showed up. As it turns out,
The print was pristine. I noticed no film glitches nor other film abuse. I did find myself wishing for a better sub-woofer, as the bottom end of the sounds system was not as full as I liked. The mid- and high- ranges were clear, though. I appreciated the soundtrack much better when I could hear Joe's Hisaishi's piano work.
The theatre was packed full. There was quite a good showing of children for the show, and most of them stayed quiet for the whole thing. About 1/2 the audience stayed for the closing credits.
I was expecting a dub, but instead they were showing the subtitled version.
When I left, I took the back way home. I was only partially sure of where things went. Once I got moving, all that experience dating Heather kicked back in. I wound over to Ballston, then took 66.