An Unexpectedly Rainy Journey

Started off this morning with my dental appointment. I was supposed to get a crown put on the tooth that had a root canal on my last visit, but it was still swollen. The dentist put putty on the hole and repaired a chipped tooth with a cavity on the other side instead. The worst part was gagging over the cotton balls stuffed in my mouth, and the cleaner they used being ice-cold. Other than that, the repair work took all of 15 minutes. I was in at 10:50 and out by 11:20.

I didn't expect to be done so quickly. Since I had the time, I went a few doors down to Thriftway. I'm almost out of tea, and they have good prices. I was delighted to discover that they have the Lipton tea in the pyramid-shaped tea bags that Acme no longer carries. I chose their chai flavor. I found the large bag of Domino's dark brown sugar on a good sale, too. Also grabbed a new toothbrush (the same Oral B I got from the dentists - no more dollar store toothbrushes for me!) and Calgon "bath beads."

I didn't like the look of the weather, so I just headed straight to Haddonfield after that. In fact, it did shower on my way there, but not heavily. The rain was gone by the time I got there. I had a little extra time, so I first stopped at the Haddonfield Public Library in search of a bathroom. When I couldn't find one there, I went to Cold Stone Creamery, bought a bottle of water (which was killing two birds with one stone - I was sweating), and used theirs.

I had counseling twenty minutes later. I told Mrs. Stahl about my vacation, the fun I had with Mom in Cape May County, and the stress I've been feeling at work. I've been considering asking if I could switch to stocking for a while now, but I'm worried about two things - my salary dropping, and them turning me down because they have plenty of help and "I don't have the seniority for that," their usual responses when I want to change something. I have never liked dealing with the public. It's too overwhelming, which is a big problem I have. I'm better at dealing with things, not people. I don't even really want to work in the bakery anymore. I think even that would be too stressful. I need to get away from the front all together.

It was sunny when I left, but I noticed dark clouds brooding over Westmont as I headed to Finzio's Pizza across from the Westmont Theater. I knew I wasn't going to out-run those clouds, so I opted for lunch and to see what Mother Nature wanted to do. I munched on cheese and mushroom pizza slices while some weird game show on MTV called Silent Library ran on Finzio's TV and the rain sloshed down in torrents outside.

After I finished lunch, there really wasn't much else I could do but ride home. The rain continued on and off, sometimes heavily. I ducked under trees or train overpasses during the worst of it. The wind, which had been fierce all day, got even worse. I dodged kids coming home from school and cars that splashed through puddles and soaked me from head to toe.

Needless to say, once I did finally make it back to the apartment, I went nowhere else. I spent the remaining afternoon dusting the living room and my bedroom, then in the bath. The "bath beads" turned out to be bath salts that foamed when poured in water. I relaxed in the English Garden-smelling water, listening to Jazz for a Rainy Afternoon and going over more Christmas craft books for present ideas.

Ran The Haunted History of Halloween while cleaning. I enjoy watching the History Channel special Christmas Unwrapped that Linda Young sent me every year while preparing for the holidays. I liked it so much, I started taking this special out of the Haddon Township Library every early October about two or three years ago to perform the same function for the beginning of the fall holiday season. Halloween began as an holiday for Druids in Ireland over 3,000 years ago...and unlike Christmas, many of the fundamental rituals, from trick-or-treating to ghost stories, haven't changed a lot over the years. The emphasis on horror and the supernatural has always made this a controversial holiday, especially among those whose religious beliefs see horror and the supernatural in a less natural light.

Switched to the first half of The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey while making a simple dinner of peas, applesauce, and pan-fried tilapia that would go easy on my sore teeth. While I remember enjoying the book as a teenager and the animated film as a kid, it's been a long time since I've encountered either - long enough that any additions probably wouldn't bother me. I made it up to where they're going to talk to the elves - we'll do the rest tomorrow before work.

Oh, and the rain finally stopped somewhere around the time of my bath. It looks like the storm is gone for the moment, though there may be more rain over the weekend.