Chan is Missing is truly greater than the sum of its parts: very big-city and ahead of its time in lots of ways. I especially loved the Mexican bolero music ("Sabor a mi") accompanying the dance party at the Filipino old folks' home. We used to see the preview for it over and over again at the old Varsity but we never saw the movie. Today was the annual trek up north. We did not find the tamale lady, perhaps because it's Sunday, but we did sale-price bulbs at Smith & Hawken, we did get some left-over Crane holiday items at Northwest Pharmacy, especially good because I'd used up my last items of the kind writing holiday letters. How we miss VBL&J. The right socks were found at Sam's and at a very good price. The Container Store did not ensnare us; we acquired all the necessary items and in record time.