The Day Is Calling Me...But So's The Job

I slept in on what turned out to be a gorgeous, 80-degree September day. I finished Wild Ride and wrote my journal. When I finally rolled out of bed, I made oatmeal and watched last year's Pixar opus, Up.

Up is another Pixar original tale. An old man whose beloved wife has just died takes off for South America via hundreds of balloons attached to the house they lovingly fixed themselves. His adventure really starts, though, when he discovers the young boy on his porch who has inadvertently joined him for the ride, and that boy becomes attached to an exotic bird and a dog who can speak...

I absolutely loved this one, and like Ponyo, may end up buying it. It was mainly lauded for the heartbreaking opening sequence that depicts the 50-year relationship between Carl and Ellie Fredrickson, and justly so. That sequence is one of the sweetest, most realistic things I've ever seen in a movie, especially an animated one. Unlike the rather dark Wall-E, which I loved but found too intense to watch again, this is one that I could see me putting on often.

I also enjoyed Wild Ride. Mary Anne "Mab" Brannigan, a professional restorer, is working on an amusement park, Dreamland. It turns out, however, that there are some decidedly unamusing things going on there. It's a hold for five demons, guarded by five demon hunters whose spirits have been passed on through the generations...and Mab finds herself in the middle when one of the demons falls for her. An unusual blend of fantasy, action, and comedy, I had a lot of fun with this one. As someone who grew up around small-time amusement parks, the setting in particular was one I could relate to.

It was such a beautiful day that I went for a walk after Up ended. I'm so glad the weather's been nice for the past few weeks, especially after the horribly hot summer we had. There was a nice, cool breeze. The sky was so blue, it hurt my eyes just to look at it. I walked down to Newton River Park and back around through to the park's back entrance on East Beechwood. After that, I headed home, figuring I'd spend the rest of the afternoon having lunch and editing the role play.

I did do those things...but without as much time to do them as I thought I'd have. Turns out the Acme had called. They wanted me in by 1:30, but it was almost 1:30 when I got home. I did some computer work and had a very quick lunch, but I did get in a little early, at 3 instead of 3:30.

Work was the same as yesterday - busy and a pain. There were several chop-shop people clearing out our sales (and disregarding the fact that other people might actually want to buy some, too). There were old ladies who gave 500 orders on how to bag without being much of a help themselves. And there were a surprising amount of huge orders for a Tuesday, some numbering as much as $600. I'm assuming it's people coming back from vacations or stocking up for school. There's no major holidays coming up until next month, and the weather is supposed to stay fairly nice through the week.