School's In, Rain's Out

I awoke to another rain storm and decided to sleep in a bit. After I had breakfast and watched some of Sahara, I took the fact that the rain had slowed as a good sign and headed to the Oaklyn Library for volunteering. They were busy with a senior program when I arrived, so I opted for a walk instead.

I'm really glad we've had so much rain over the past few weeks. The trees, grass, and plants look much better. The leaves on the trees are just starting to turn gorgeous shades of rust, scarlet, and gold. The grass is as green as emeralds. The mums and late roses are blooming in profusion in every garden.

Many people have started putting up their Halloween decorations, too. There's a lot more early fall and Halloween decorations out than last year! Maybe all the rain we had last year kept people from doing elaborate displays.

I was on my way down Kendall when the rain became heavier. I thankfully made it home before it started pouring again. When I got in, I finished editing the last of the three Bowery Boys fanfics Lauren and I wrote last month, The Lone Disarrangers, and posted it to the Bowery Boys Basement Clubhouse page.

Finished Sahara while dusting and washing the windows and having Persian Cucumber Salad and a grilled cheese and turkey sandwich for lunch. Sahara is a modern-day treasure hunting adventure story somewhat like a more comic National Treasure. A doctor who is trying to find the cause of a plague in Mali and two goofy treasure hunters who are looking for a lost Civil War ship join forces to stop a ruthless businessman with a lot more than gold on his mind.

If you're into more old-fashioned action stories like National Treasure, Romancing the Stone, or the Indiana Jones series, Sahara will be right up your alley. It's a little long, and Matthew MacCaughney is much too laid-back to play an Indiana Jones type. Penelope Cruz does much better as the devoted UN doctor.

Work was actually kind of fun tonight. I was only up front for the first half of my shift and the last hour. Acme Markets is holding training classes to help employees become better-acquainted with their new emphasis on customer services. While they didn't tell me anything I didn't already know, both of the district managers who ran the class were very nice. I liked the man in particular. He told great stories. My favorite was about the time he went to Burger King and ran into a fight between the cook and the cashier. Not only did the cook throw a cheeseburger at the wall, but he scraped the burger off and put it back on a bun. Yuck! And Burger King wonders why they've been losing business lately.

Everyone in the class got a GOT Five Star Service card for $5 off their next purchase for being able to scream the company motto the loudest. I'm glad I did. I was going to hold off on getting paper towels and sugar until later in the week, but I ended up getting them tonight after all. I also treated myself to low-fat coconut macaroons from the bakery.