Who's a Whore (for entertainment)? Me!

I love a good movie – especially one that makes me think about something differently, shows me things I have never seen, or entertains me for two hours with spectacular effects. But, I freely admit that last Wednesday night, I felt a little guilty, a little dirty, and a bit ashamed for having spent two hours watching the extremely underwhelming G.I. Joe: Retaliation in IMAX 3D.

Is this how it feels to sell yourself for so little?

 

The Backstory:

Since the IMAX theater is two blocks from my condo, Carl and I invested in IMAX Power Passes last November. For an initial $40 per pass investment, we can see any IMAX Hollywood Production for the low, low price of only $5, rather than $14. We can also purchase tickets before they go on sale to the general public and we do not have to pay the dreaded ticketing service charge for online purchases.

The best perk, is the VIP line. All Power Pass holders enter first, without having to wait in line for 45 minutes to get a good seat. This is really convenient, especially when planning dinner before a 7:00 PM movie. We walk in 10 minutes before the movie starts and still get prime seating.

Since the movies are so inexpensive and because Carl is a bargain hunter extraordinaire, we have seen every movie, except Top Gun in 3D. Some have been really good movies for IMAX (Skyfall) and IMAX 3D (The Hobbit, Oz the Great and Powerful), some movies were really just for fun and something to do (Jurassic Park in 3D) and some were real stinkers (G.I. Joe: Retaliation).

Basically, we are determined to see every movie shown at the IMAX theatre in order to maximize our investment. Now, in retrospect, would I have seen the 3D re-release of Jurassic Park if I were paying full price – No. Would I have even gone to the $2 theater to see G.I. Joe – Never.

Therefore, I think that I can safely and honestly say that I have become a whore - a whore for entertainment. Worse, I am a cheap whore. I sold myself for only $5. 

Is this the future?

My dad and I are heading over to Singapore to visit my brother, his lovely wife, and their two handsome boys (Ozzy and Sawyer). After a 20 hour flight, we will be spending a couple of days with my brother in Hong Kong where he has promised to blow our minds in the big city. From there we are heading down to Singapore in time for my nephew Sawyer's first birthday. We have been talking about this trip for a few months, but the go / no go decision only happened a week or so ago. The dates had to be worked out with our projects and with dad's schedule. So, I pulled out the credit card and went to work booking flights.

The United Airlines round trip flight from RDU to Kong Kong was pretty straight forward. Booking through United for all the other destinations, however added an additional $1000 to the cost, so I set off on the internet to find a bargain. My brother had sent me a list of budget airlines, so I had a list from which to start searching for our flights to Singapore, Vietnam, and back to Hong Kong. And I hit the jackpot -  HKG to Singapore on Tiger Air for $70 one way.  Heck yeah!

I got together all the passport information and pulled out my credit card.  Let's go!

Step 1: Select destination (Air fair = $70)
Step 2: Enter passenger details
Step 3: Enter credit card information
Step 4: Pre-pay for luggage (20 kg + $33) - carry on up to 7 kg for no charge.
Step 5: Select seat (+ $5)
Step 6: Taxes (+ $45)
Step 7: Convenience Fee for booking online (+$30)
Step 8: RUN - Save yourself!

The taxes, fees, and luggage charges were more than the fare. WTF?  What if my luggage went over the 20 kg weight limit? What if I needed to use the bathroom on the 3 hour flight? Or wanted to read a book? Or got thirsty? Would I need Hong Kong or Singapore dollars to pay for services?  My head started to explode and suddenly I saw a version of the future that will make traveling even more of a hassle.

Luckily, I found an "all inclusive" flight on Air Asia for about $120. And I got to select the seats for free. The flights are all booked and my credit card continues to smolder.

BTW: Not that I am counting, but I recently surpassed the 1000 page views milestone.  Now I feel obligated to provide even more entertaining fare for readers in Germany, Belgium, Japan, Russia, Ukraine, Australia, Singapore, China, Canada, and the United States.  Thank you readers for making this endeavor so much fun.