Movie Going

I'm not a baseball fan, so when I told Dan I was interested in the movie Money Ball, he was kind of surprised. To make sure I knew about the movie, he emphasized a couple of times that it was a baseball movie. Actually, I decided to go to this movie for him because I knew how much he enjoys the whole package of going to the movies in Mitsukoshi, one of the biggest department stores in Taichung.
There're three "activities" involved in this Mitsukoshi movie-going. First, we'll go directly to Floor 13 to get our tickets. When waiting for our tickets done, I'll ask for the aisle seat. Dan can't stand sitting between me and a stranger. After we have our tickets, we'll have lunch. What we have for lunch depends on what we feel like eating. In summer, we like to have pasta in Olive Tree Restaurant or steam dumplings in Shanghai Dumpling Restaurant. When the weather is cold, we'll eat hot-pot in A-Guan Hot-Pot Stand. Sometimes we just eat in the food court for some fast-food such as MOS Burger, or Korean Tofu Pot. We've done this eating for more than 10 years, so we've tried a lot of restaurants in the department store.After we finish our lunch, we would stop at the only McDonald's in Mitsukoshi for our drinks. Why McDonald's? Well, I can get one for one free. A free drink is the only reason why I can wait in a long line. How long do I usually wait? About 10 minutes! Once we get our drinks, we'll go up to the 14th floor to get our popcorn. Watching a movie without popcorn is like eating a pancake without maple syrup & butter--dry!  We usually order a medium for each one of us, but if we're too full, we'll share one medium popcorn. Having enjoyed the movie and popcorn & drinks, this trip isn't done yet. We'll have to take the elevator from the 14th floor to B2, where the supermarket is located.Spending 20 minutes strolling up and down the isles is something we'll never skip.Dan will go check his cereal and sweet items while I'm studying the different sauces or spices. Sometimes at the end of our exploration, each of us may have to wait in front of the checkout counter. Fortunately, we leave the supermarket "bare-handed". When I leave there without buying anything, I feel sooooo proud of myself because I just showed my willpower!
When movie-going is as fun and complicated as what I just mentioned, it has turned into a ritual, something Dan and I have to do regularly--once a month, or every other month depending on when a good movie is showing. We've done it since the Mitsokoshi started its business in Taichung. It's long enough for going to the movies in Mitsukoshi to become our tradition. I'm going to keep this tradition as long as I can!