Mission: Accomplished!

You may not know it, but I have had a goal for a long time of getting my Netflix queue trimmed down. Since I have been faithfully watching movies and trying not to add more to the list, I can say that I have done it!

My queue is below 400!

Some of you might think that's plain crazy. But I look at it as a promise that I will never be able to say, "There's nothing to watch!"

Here's what I have at home right now:

And if you're really curious, here's a look at what's coming next:

Some of the movies on my list are films I never had a chance to see in theaters or that never wound up on the big screen in San Antonio. Some classic movies are also in my queue. I added them when the American Film Institute put out its lists of "bests." Also, if a movie wins an award at a film festival and it sounds remotely interesting, I add it. I've also added movies just because they involved some of my favorite actors, writers or directors.

Every now and then, I go through the list and when I don't recognize a title, I read the description. If it seems boring, I remove it. I have started a few movies recently, wondered how the hell they wound up in my queue, then promptly removed them before even getting half way to the final credits. Because I pay a flat monthly rate, I don't feel the least bit guilty about putting them back in that red envelope and dropping them in the mail. Had I paid for a movie ticket, I would have felt compelled to suffer through every torturous minute. At home, no big deal!

I know it's a long list and I'm OK with it. I know that I am one lottery jackpot or case of mono away from putting a serious dent in the list. But as long as I have movies in my queue (and arriving regularly in my mailbox), I know that I will always have something to do.