I find winter is the time of the year when I can catch up on all the latest movies from the year as well as a few classic hits I’ve had in my mental queue. When I was living in New York as recent as 6 months ago, I had a Blockbuster right downstairs. It was the best thing, and kind of ridiculous for me to get late fees as I’d have a note under my door reminding me (if only they’d do that for everyone).

Now I’m in Portland and nowhere close to a Blockbuster, let alone any small, mom-and-pop store. My initial plan was to just use On Demand on Comcast, but at about $5 a movie, that adds up. Not to mention I have to watch it within 24 hrs. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve not been able to finish a movie because of that time restraint.

I saw an ad for Netflix online for a free movie rental trial and thought I’d give it a shot. Well, for under what I was spending at Blockbuster and Comcast, I was able to continue with Netflix.

I’m sure by now everyone is familiar with their free shipping and no late fees. It’s great. I get 2 DVDs at a time, though I think I’ve had “Forrest Gump” for over 3 weeks. I never get tired of that movie, nor do any of my friends.

With Christmas approaching, I’ve already set up my queue for “Bad Santa”, “Home Alone”, and “Life is Beautiful”. I love the holidays. Happy holidays to you!