Chill In the Air

Despite claims it was supposed to get warmer today, it was still pretty cold when I finally got out of bed this morning. I managed to get my (late) rent together and get it to Miss Ellie before heading to work. At least it remains sunny and cloudless, and the wind's gone, too. I even stopped at a yard sale on the way and bought two Beanie Bears for the holidays. Wallace is greenish-blue and wears a plaid scarf. "The Beginning," who is white with glittering silver stars, was made to celebrate the turn of the millennium. I'll use her for New Year's and call her Ginny.

Work was a pain, but less because of the customers and more because I'm just not thinking. I thought a turkey wasn't labeled correctly when it was. I tried to ring them up last week and they didn't, but now they're ringing up right. I made such a fool of myself. Even called the meat department in, because I thought they were wrong. Of course I'm wrong. I'm never right.

Everyone says I'm too hard on myself. I'd be less hard on myself if I didn't do such foolish things all the time and embarrass myself. I feel like such a joke. How am I ever going to get a real job if I don't act professional? I was even late getting out because I thought someone was coming in for me, and of course, someone else was leaving at the same time.

Grocery shopping didn't go all that well, either. I spent more than I thought I would, but I wanted to stock up on bread and cake mixes for Thanksgiving and Christmas. My brother is addicted to Pillsbury's Cinnamon Struesel Bread. I bring it to Thanksgiving every year, and he eats half of it (if not most of it). I also bought a 99 cent box of vanilla cake mix to make cupcakes for Dad and Miss Ellie next month. Needed fruits and vegetables, too - I was up too early for the farm market.

I was very glad to finally get home. I put everything away, then had a nice walk to the bank as the sun set. It was very pretty tonight, all read and purple and glowing against the bright blue sky. I was almost kind of disappointed when the sun went down.

Watched Victor/Victoria while eating tilapia with mozzarella and vegetables on a tortilla for dinner. I vaguely remember seeing this as a child, but I haven't run into it in years. Julie Andrews and Robert Preston star in this fun but kind of strange early 80s musical, about a gay man and a female singer in 1934 Paris who come up with a way to pass her off as a drag queen - a woman impersonating a man impersonating a woman. It works, and they're the toast of Paris...until she catches the eye of a Chicago mobster who sees through her disguise.

I didn't get it at all as a kid, other than seeing Mary Poppins run around in pinstripes. While it's no masterpiece (it goes on for too long, for one thing), it's fun, splashy show. Andrews has a marvelous time as the gender-bending Victoria. Robert Preston's having the time of his life as the gay entertainer who befriends her. James Gardner's not the first guy I'd think of appearing in a musical, but he works better than you might think as the gangster who suspects Victor isn't what he seems.