I was rudely awoken by a squawking phone. Yes, it was the Acme. Could I come in at 9? Absolutely not. It was barely 7! I went back to sleep for a half-hour, then called them back and told them I'd come in at 11. I kind of thought I might get called in today anyway. I'm not sure why I was given the day before the Super Bowl off in the first place. Not to mention, I would have been going to the Acme later to do my grocery shopping, get next week's schedule, and drop off my cookies for the Acme's Super Bowl party.
Switched on this week's American Top 40 re-run while writing in my journal. I would have been 6 years old in early February 1986, when this episode debuted. While I was having a rough time with my first year of kindergarten, the rest of the US was singing along to ballads, soul, pop, and dance tunes. Hits from that winter included "When the Going Gets Tough" by Billy Ocean (from Jewel of the Nile), "How Will I Know?" by Whitney Houston, "I Miss You" by Klymax, "Conga!" by the Miami Sound Machine, "Walk of Life" by Dire Straits, the title song from the action comedy "Spies Like Us" by Paul McCartney, "Go Home" by Stevie Wonder, "Say You, Say Me" by Lionel Richie (from White Nights), "Talk To Me" by Stevie Nicks, and "Burning Heart" by Survivor (from Rocky IV).
That week's number one song would go on to be the biggest hit of the year. Dionne Warwick and "Friends" (Elton John among them) recorded the sweet group number "That's What Friends Are For" to raise money for AIDS research, which at that point was just becoming better-known.
I finished Oklahoma!, then ran a football-related Peanuts special as I got ready for work. It's Your First Kiss, Charlie Brown spoofs big-game antics as Charlie Brown and the other kids play in their school's homecoming game. While Peppermint Patty tries to lead her team to victory, Charlie Brown is more concerned about having to escort the Little Red Haired Girl onto the dance floor that night. Lucy's determined that Chuck will miss every kick. Snoopy and Woodstock play camera-pets and cheerleaders.
You won't be surprised to hear that it was really busy today. The warmest day we've had in over a week (up to the mid-40s) plus Super Bowl party preparations plus this being the first of the month added up to long lines all afternoon. Other than the usual annoying beginning-of-the-month people, my short shift went quickly. Thankfully, it slowed down enough by 3 that I was able to get out with no relief.
I had lunch in the back room of the Acme. The Super Bowl party was just starting when I arrived. There were meatballs, franks and beans, mini corn dogs, deviled eggs from the deli, sausage, a beef and pasta bake with tons of cheese, the pasta salad and black beans and corn salad that were also seen at Christmas, a rich buttery pound cake, chocolate peanut butter brownies, a coconut and pineapple pudding pie, potato chips, pretzels, and my Mint Triple Chocolate Chip Cookies. I had the beans and corn salad, pasta bake, a brownie, pretzels, a slice of the pudding pie, and a sliver of the pound cake later.
When I finally got to my own shopping, I mainly had to restock meat. They're still having that buy one-get one seasoned and breaded meat sale. I thought I'd treat myself to seasoned sirloin steaks, which I never eat. Beef is expensive, not all that great for you, and the huge slab steaks are often too much for one person to eat. Got incredibly lucky and encountered a meat worker putting out small packages of chicken breasts that were on a "special sale" for $1.99 a pound; I grabbed two. Picked up some salmon cakes that were also on a manager's special for a quick meal next week. Also picked up bananas, grapefruit, peanut butter (thought I'd try the Acme's natural organic brand), toilet paper, canned peaches and fruit cocktail, butter (went with I Can't Believe It's Not Butter this time; I had a coupon, and it was on sale), and cake mix (Betty Crocker's was on sale).
Also got my schedule for next week while I was there. Nothing out of the ordinary, mostly 12 to 6 or 1 to 6, and Tuesday and Thursday off (the former for counseling). I'll get to see the Super Bowl this year whether the lights go out in the middle of the game or not. I only work until 4:30 tomorrow. As soon as I got out, I called Dad and offered to help him with the Super Bowl party he's having tomorrow night.
When I got home, I changed into clothes...then realized I couldn't fit my meat purchases in the still frost-covered freezer. I also had way too many bags of frozen vegetables in there. I scooped out as much of the excess ice as I could, enough to shove everything in. When I finished that, I put away the rest of the groceries and vacuumed the apartment.
Dressed the dolls for February next. I went with slightly more formal winter outfits for Valentine's Day and President's Day. Felicity wears her Laced Jacket and Petticoat. Samantha wears her pink Talent Show Dress. I picked up Josefina's hand-made, ruffly floral-print Regency gown and lace wrap last month on eBay. Jessa also wears a hand-made outfit; Lauren sent me her pink corduroys and matching Hello Kitty shirt for Christmas. Since the Hello Kitty shirt is tight on plump older dolls, Jess has it layered over a gray t-shirt. Molly wears her plaid school jumper and white blouse with stockings and her plastic "Meet" Mary Janes.
Ran football related shorts and cartoons for the rest of the evening. Hello Kitty proves that girls can be anything, even a penguin prince's wide receiver, in "Cinderkitty" from Hello Kitty Furry Tale Theater. Popeye took on the gridiron twice, once as an adult trying to impress a football-crazy Olive in "You Got To Be a Football Hero," and again telling tall tales to Swee' Pea about how he first started eating spinach as a kid in "The Football Toucher-Downer." Mickey Mouse is an even less likely Peyton Manning in "Touchdown Mickey." Buster and the other members of Acme Looniversity's squad just want to win a game in "The Acme Bowl," from the first season of Tiny Toon Adventures, but Plucky's defection to rival Perfecto Prep may lead to a fumble. The Three Stooges are mistaken for college football heroes in "Three Little Pigskins." While waiting for the big game, they're entertained by three lovely gangsters' molls, including a very blond Lucile Ball.
Switched to Equestria Girls as I made Confetti Cupcakes for the Super Bowl party tomorrow and ate yesterday's leftover Chinese food for dinner. Twilight Sparkle is now a princess and a Pegasus, with a crown of her own. Someone isn't happy that she's being crowned, however - Sunset Shimmer, a former student of Princess Celestia. Twilight and her dragon Spike follow Sunset through a mirror and into an alternative universe, where the ponies are all high schoolers, Spike is a dog, older ponies are their teachers, and Sunset Shimmer is a bully who more-or-less runs the school. In order to get her crown back, Twilight has to be crowned Queen of the Fall Dance. Sunset Shimmer isn't going to make that easy, but Twilight has friends in this universe who are just as beloved as those in hers.
Evidently, this spin-off, created so Hasbro could start a competing line of fantasy-oriented fashion dolls, received mixed reviews from this show's very vocal fanbase. Some enjoyed the change of pace; others disliked what was done with the characters and the cliched high school setting.
I'm going to give this one mixed reviews as well. While I thought the characters here were true to their regular pony forms and Twilight's attempt at being human were pretty funny, the whole thing is still pretty weird. (And what was with the guy thrown in just so Twilight could have a crush?) It's not horrible, especially if you're already a fan of the show, but casual fans and newcomers will want to go to the regular show first.
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