I overslept this morning, something I haven't done in a long time. Consequently, I was late getting out the door to run errands. Maybe it was just as well. Today was not the right time to be lingering outdoors. It was bitterly cold when I finally made it out the door. I knew I had a lot of errands I couldn't skip, so I dressed warmly, layering my thick black knit pants over stockings, socks over the stockings, sheepskin-lined boots over the socks, and my heavy red tunic sweater over my red turtleneck. I wore the stocking cap Mom knitted me a couple of years ago, but I might have been better off in my earmuffs. The hat didn't cover my ears very well.
While I was able to ride on the road, there were still problems getting around. Not only was it still quite blustery, but ice had coated some sidewalks and curbs where snow melted and ran off the hillsides, then froze again. I did my best to dodge the ice and the traffic on Cuthbert as I made my way to Haddon Township Library for my first volunteering session there in over two weeks.
Actually, I was mainly there to return those DVDs I took out the last time I was there. I mostly did what I could with the still-overflowing children's DVDs shelves. Many older DVDs had been replaced by new copies, but the librarians won't or can't take the old copies out of circulation. An elderly volunteer who was shelving children's books had a good idea. Why not pull the older copy and put them on the cart used for DVDs that need to be shelved? That way, they'll be off the shelf, but people can still take them out, and the librarians will see just how bad the overflow is. Even with her suggestions and reorganizing all of the various series, I still had Spongebob Square Pants sets that didn't fit. The other thing they really need to do but seem reluctant to try is weeding out the older titles of certain series. Do they really need 60 sets each of Scooby Doo, Bob the Builder, Dora the Explorer, Thomas the Tank Engine, SpongeBob Square Pants, Pokemon, and Sesame Street?
It took me so long to do the kids' DVDs, I barely had enough time to shelve the adult titles and take out a few of my own. Haddon Township had gotten the newest Barbie As/Is title in, this one another adventure with her sisters, A Pony Tale. Speaking of horses, I've heard so much about My Little Pony: Friendship Is Magic, I had to grab the new set they'd just gotten in. (They've had Equestria Girls for a couple of months, but wanted to see the characters as ponies first.) The Max & Ruby set Everybunny Loves Winter features stories about New Year's and how the bunny siblings handle the end of the holidays. Also found the just re-released Winnie the Pooh: A Very Pooh New Year.
My counseling appointment was at 1. I dashed out of the Library at almost 12:40. Not the brightest thing I ever did. The ice was especially bad on the sidewalk going past Haddon Township's junior high - I had to walk it on the street in a lot of places because the ice was too thick to ride on! Thankfully, it was mostly better in Haddonfield, but I was still ten minutes late.
Mrs. Stahl said she was more worried than angry. When I did finally get in and shed my winter gear, we discussed my eventful holidays, the past two weeks, and how I deal with the winter weather. I told her what Mom told me about my being "emotional special needs." Story of my life - I'm always in the middle, neither average enough for "regular" school or special enough for "special ed" school. It's why I have such a hard time fitting in. I never feel like I'm quite right - not enough of one thing to belong to that group, not enough of another to belong to this group. When everyone around you is this or that, what do you do when you're the "or?"
I have got to get out of the Acme. I don't belong there. It's the wrong job for me. It doesn't suit my personality at all. Which leads me back to square one. I'm totally out of ideas. I'm not keen on taking any kind of classes, but then what? What jobs would suit me? Should I start my own business? Should I do what I used to do and go from office to office, hand them a resume, and beg them for a job? What am I good at? What do I want to do? I just don't know. All I know is it isn't working retail.
Mrs. Stahl basically said "get a hold of Stockton when they get back into session and consider substitute teaching." On one hand, Amanda does it, it might earn some extra money, and I do like working with younger kids. On the other hand, it would require messing with the Acme schedule, and that's not always possible. I don't know what days I'll have off from week to week.
I'm pretty fed up with Stockton right now. I wasn't happy with them when they didn't help me much when I was going there. I am going to call them when they start up again and see if I can set up another appointment. Their career center site is useless. Lots of companies listed...with no jobs, and very little that actually interests me. And I'm not really good at the traditional "send out your resume and schmooze everyone you know for a job" approach anyway. I don't know how to sell myself well enough to pull that off. I would prefer some ideas that are more outside the box.
I went to the Bistro at Haddonfield for lunch after I left Shelly Stahl. They were surprisingly busy for 2PM, with a varied crowd of college students, professionals from the offices on King's Highway, and old people avoiding the biting chill. Despite the crowd, my wrap, fries, and hot chocolate came within 10 minutes of ordering them. I had a delicious Jerk Chicken Wrap, baked with melted provolone cheese, red and green peppers, and lightly spiced chicken chunks. The fries were incredible, thin and perfectly fried, just as good as McDonald's (without the greasy container). The hot chocolate was a little disappointing, probably just Swiss Miss, but given the weather, it was something I rather badly needed.
Went straight home after that. Thanks to all that ice and the traffic on Haddon Avenue, Cuthbert Road, and the White Horse Pike, I left at quarter of 3 and didn't get in until past 4. I wasn't originally going to cut through Newton River Park, but I did anyway to avoid the traffic on Cuthbert. The mostly-frozen river had an austere beauty that sparkled against the waning sunlight. Needless to say, the only other people I passed on my way home were another bike rider and a flock of Canadian geese who'd probably experienced worse temperatures in their native north.
(Oh, and Mrs. Stahl checked the weather app on her smartphone while I was there - it reported the temperature was 9 degrees. The marquee outside the Westmont Fire Department said 13, which is what most other reports here said.)
I had a package waiting for me in the mailbox when I got home. The final items of my Christmas Amazon.com order had arrived! I picked up the last two Rankin/Bass specials avalible on regular DVD that I don't have, Jack Frost and The First Christmas: The Story of the First Christmas Snow. I ran the former as I got organized after my ride and made herbal tea to warm up my insides.
Jack Frost is basically Santa Claus Is Coming To Town crossed with a winter-oriented The Little Mermaid. This Jack is the head of the Winter Creatures, who snip snowflakes and send them down to Earth. He falls for a beautiful human girl after he saves her from going over the falls and implores Father Winter, who is in charge of all the Winter Creatures, to make him human. He agrees to make Jack and his friends Snip and Holly human until spring. Jack will only stay human if he can get a bag of gold, a horse, a home, and a loving wife. Winning the pretty girl becomes more complicated when she falls for a handsome knight, and their poor Russian village is threatened by the evil Cossack King, who wants the girl for his bride.
The third-to-last Rankin/Bass holiday special is an oddity in their canon in several respects. First of all, while there is a rather sweet Christmas sequence and song, the majority of the show is set on and around Groundhog's Day (hence the narrator, Buddy Hackett as Pardon Me Pete the Groundhog). Second, this is one of the very few Rankin/Bass specials with a bittersweet, rather sad ending. For older kids and their parents, this is one of my favorite 70s Rankin/Bass specials and really deserves to be better-known.
Moved to The Story of the First Christmas Snow as I gave the bathroom a desperately-needed scrubbing. This is a shorter, simpler tale from the mid-70s. A little orphan shepherd boy named Lucas is struck by lightening that blinds him. He's rescued and nursed back to health by kindly Sister Teresa (Angela Landsbury, who also narrates). While the priest in her parish (Cyril Ritchard) tries to figure out what to do with Lucas, Sister Teresa, their dog, and the other kids in the town help Lucas cope. All Lucas wants is to feel a white Christmas, just like the ones Sister Teresa describes in her Christmas cards. Little does he know that he and Sister Teresa may get their wish...
I'm not a big fan of this one, but I bought it anyway to finish out my Rankin/Bass collection. While I do like Lucas' touching relationship with Sister Teresa and the dog, it's a little too melodramatic for my taste, especially the ending. It doesn't work nearly as well as the other Rankin/Bass religious specials, the two Little Drummer Boy tales and Nestor, the Long-Eared Christmas Donkey. For Rankin/Bass fans only; those looking for religious Christmas programming will want to go to the earlier stories first.
Ran Barbie and Her Sisters In a Pony Tale as I finished the bathroom and started a broccoli, mushroom, and cheese omelet for dinner. Barbie, Stacie, Skipper, and Chelsie are now in Switzerland, visiting their aunt's riding academy. The trip doesn't go well at first. Stacie thinks she can master riding as well as every other sport, but discovers handling a living horse is much different than handling a skateboard. Chelsie is upset that she can't ride the big horses, like her sisters. Skipper spends most of the trip online and on her tablet, avoiding anything but blogging. Barbie just can't find a horse she's able to bond with...until she encounters a mysterious white stallion with a pink streak in its mane in the Alps. While the nasty riding teacher at the next school over insists it's just a myth, Barbie eventually befriends it. Horse and rider eventually ends up saving the school and teaching everyone a lesson in friendship in the process.
While it's not bad, I didn't like it as much as the first story of Barbie and her sisters. I really would have liked to have seen more of her sisters and less of the horses, and the whole "magical" aspect seemed a tad tacked-on. I have the feeling horse-crazy little girls will be more into this one than me.
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