Escaping the Heat

Lauren and I spent the morning of her last day playing two more rounds of Pac Man Party. It was too hot to do anything else! It got into the 90s here today, windy and sunny (though still not that humid). I won both of these, a basic green world landscape with medieval-esque castles and a second go-around with the long desert board. I've finally gotten the hang of the mini-games. I can't seem to get the ones that involve tilting the controller, but if it involves pointing and shooting or jumping, I can generally do better.

Dad picked us up around 11:50. We got to the Cherry Hill train platform with plenty of time to spare. There was no traffic anywhere. The train was right on time. I gave Lauren a hug and watched her board the train, then returned to Dad. He had to stop at the Bank of America in Collingswood for money and at the pool shop a few streets down for chemical testers.

After that, I spent the rest of the day indoors. I really had no other plans for today besides playing my new video games, dubbing movies, and spending time in a nice, cool bath. Started with Super Paper Mario. Mario is still rescuing Princess Peach...but in this game she, Bowser, Luigi, and Bowser's usual minions have been sucked into another universe by the evil Count Bleck. Mario is the hero of the Light Prophecies and must find seven Pure Hearts in order to stop The Void and defeat the Count. Yeah, it's as strange as it sounds, but a lot of fun, too, and a little unusual in that you have to switch from 2-D to 3-D - from seeing things straight up front to seeing them from the side - to get some items or make it through puzzles.

Switched to Kirby's Dream Collection after about an hour or so. I tried some of the original Kirby Dream Land Game Boy games. They may be in black and white and have older graphics, but they're harder than they look. You can't copy villains at all in the original game, and your copying ability is limited in the second. I didn't get too far in any of them.

I went online for about an hour to just browse around, then hit the bath around 5:30. I kept it nice and cool. Spend a quiet hour leaning back and reading one of my favorite books, A Song In the Dark, on the musicals of the early sound film era. Dad did invite me to join Khai and other local kids in his pool, but after a long week of running around, I just didn't feel like going anywhere.

I made a simple dinner of tilapia and snap peas, then crocheted while watching The Great Caruso. Philadelphia opera singer Mario Lanza got the chance to play one of his idols in this Technicolor biography. The title singer was one of the most famous opera stars of the late 19th and early 20th century. He wowed audiences in his native Italy and in Europe before becoming the major tenor of the Metropolitan Opera for 18 years, until shortly before his death in 1921. Ann Blyth is his wife, a gentle socialite whose father disapproves of their union.

Checking Wikipedia reveals that, like most MGM musical "biographies," there's a lot here that's inaccurate (Caruso's children out of wedlock are naturally not mentioned, and his popular recording career was only touched on towards the end). The big draw here is Lanza and his performances of 27 songs, mostly sequences from opera. If you're a fan of opera or Lanza, you may enjoy the music here.

The Acme called me just about an hour ago and asked me if I wanted to come in tomorrow. As much as I would have liked to have kept both extra days off, I do need the hours. I'll do my grocery shopping tomorrow and move volunteering at both libraries to Friday.

Oh, and I heard from Lauren around 7, shortly after washing off from my bath. She was on the train to Albany, which is preparing to leave the station. She's more than likely either at home with her parents or on the road there by now. As of that point, everything had been on time and she had no problems anywhere.