No One Is Alone

Started a sunny, breezy morning with Be Cool, Scooby Doo. The latest incarnation of the mystery-solving Great Dane and his teen pals dials down the darkness that permeated the last version of the franchise to concentrate on hipper, more kid-friendly ghost-chasing antics. (It also has an odd, rather blocky animation style that has more in common with Cartoon Network's current offerings than classic Hanna Barbara.) "Mystery 101" introduces the gang as they head to a prestigious college Velma is dying to get into. No one may enter it ever again if they can't find out whose behind the sightings of the ghost of the college's founder, who is chasing off incoming freshmen.

I continued to work on my writing (or re-writing) today, even after I read Tina's comment in my last entry. (And seriously, folks. If anyone has any suggestions for any story I'm working on, I'd be glad to hear them. Just keep it pleasant, please. No flames!) While Leia is glad to feel like a princess again in Lando's palatial estate, she can sense that something is wrong. Just because the gingerbread house tastes good doesn't mean it's good for them. Leia voices her objections to Han, but he reminds her that they need rest and Lando IS his friend.

(I rushed it this morning, but I'll likely re-write this part to make it more obvious that several days have passed, and Leia's been looking for Cecil ever since he disappeared.)

Returned to Be Cool, Scooby Doo while eating a quick chicken salad on romaine lettuce lunch. A friend of Fred's leads Mystery Inc on an unusual "Game of Chicken" when they follow his tracks through an old cave in Mexico. He vanished while searching for a lost Aztec treasure. Could the Aztec chicken warrior ghost have anything to do with his disappearance?

Headed to work shortly after the episode ended. I really wish I hadn't. I was in the express register all day. Though it wasn't busy when I came in at noon, it picked up around 1:30-2 PM and continued for the rest of the day. The lines got absolutely crazy, and we didn't have anything resembling enough people to deal with them. I panicked and got upset. It just seemed like the lines were relentless. I was so happy when my relief was a few minutes early and I could get out as quickly as I could.

I felt horrible when I got home. My story wasn't coming out as well as I wanted, and I was a mess at work. I just rested on my bed until I decided I needed to get out and enjoy a nice evening. I changed into regular clothes and hopped on the bike to find dinner. Ended up at Phillies Phatties on West Clinton. It was a great night to eat a Mushroom-Swiss Burger on the picnic tables outside. (Given it was 7 and a ton of kids had just let out of the dance studio next-door, they were pretty busy when I arrived. I had to wait a while in a very hot storefront for my meal.) I had Moose Tracks (vanilla-fudge ice cream with peanut butter cups) from Phillies Yummies for dessert while watching the little ballerinas and their older teen counterparts chat on phones or with friends or beg their parents for ice cream.

Finished the night in a desperately-needed bath. That felt sooo good. I read fairy tales and listened to my live Bernadette Peters CD, Sonheim, Etc. Peters performed numbers from throughout her career in this concert from the mid-90's, including songs from Into the Woods, Sunday In the Park With George, Gypsy, Dick Tracy, Mack & Mabel, Dames at Sea, and her stint on Saturday Night Live, among others.

And I'd better get off. There was a really noisy thunderstorm just 20 minutes ago (one crack was so loud, I screamed bloody murder!), and I don't think Mother Nature's quite done yet...