Almost Spring

I spent the morning doing classwork. We had to read a passage from the opening of the book The Perfect Storm in the discussion area. The passage went over how the author got the idea for the story and interviewed people so he could realistically write about the storm in the title and how it impacted a small boat. The problem with that is, I'm too shy to interview people. I've had a hard time finding things that interest me. Nothing seems to hold me for very long, and if it does, it's nothing I could write a story about. The teacher suggested I list the genres I read reguarly. Well, there's children's fiction, historical fiction, cozy mysteries, occasional fantasy, adventure stories. I don't know if I could write anything but the children's books, though.

I ran Max & Ruby springtime episodes as I got ready for work. "Ruby's Easter Bonnet" is her entry for the Bunny Scouts Easter Bonnet Competition. She's dying to win and loads her hat with ribbons and flowers. Max thinks it could use a little something different....like his favorite frog. Max wants to lead "Max's Easter Parade," but Ruby and Louie are trying to color eggs. He finds a way for the eggs to join the parade! "Max and the Easter Bunny" has Max hiding the Bunny Scouts' eggs during their Easter day egg hunt.

Work was not fun. Despite a sunny, warmer day, there were a lot of cranky people out. The worst was this morning. An older woman first threw a fit when I tried to tell her she bought the wrong baby food for her WIC Checks. She claimed the stock boy told her what to get. Either he didn't know what he was talking about, or she misunderstood him. Then she got even angrier when she thought she was getting 50 dollars back, but only 20 showed up on the receipt. She very likely typed in 20 accidentally when she meant 50. Did she admit that? Of course not. She just kept right on ranting and raving and whining about how terrible I was and how mean I was and how I wouldn't listen to her. No, she was the one who refused to listen. The receipt clearly stated that she was supposed to get 20 dollars back, not 50.

I was so happy when a college student came in for me right on time. I bought a bag of Dark Chocolate Chex Mix (Chex Mix is on sale for a dollar) and rushed home. When I got in, I had leftovers while watching The Snow Queen. This 1957 Russian animated film is very different from the recent Disney version. This one pretty much sticks to the original story. Gerda (voice of Sandra Dee) goes after her dear friend Kai (Tommy Kirk) when he's whisked away by the Snow Queen to her land of of ice and blizzards. On her way, she befriends a princess and a prince and runs afoul of a young thief named Angel (Patty McCormick) who ultimately lets her go. Even the weather won't stop Gerda from finding the boy who means more than anything to her. This lush fairy tale feels like a Disney movie from the 30's and 40's (or even one from the 90's). It's recommended for anyone who loves fairy tales or wants to see a more accurate telling of this tale.