Lost In the Crowds

Went into more Friendship Is Magic this morning and early in the afternoon as I ate and got ready for work. Big Mac talks Apple Bloom into letting him join her at a big sister-bonding event in "Brotherhooves' Social." He tries hard to be a cool big sis to Apple Bloom, even dressing in drag. He's not fooling anyone...but when Apple Bloom reveals how determined she is to win, he becomes a lot more aggressive to give her the blue ribbon she wants.

"Hearthbreakers" brings together Applejack and Pinkie Pie's families for Hearth's Warming Eve, the big winter holiday in Equestria. They couldn't be more different. Applejack's family is a bit on the hillbilly side, hard-working country folks. Pinkie's folks, who run a quarry, are the closest things the Ponies get to the Amish. Applejack tries to give the Pies the kind of holiday her family always have, but when they accidentally damage a Pie family heirloom, she finally learns the importance of understanding other people's traditions and ways of doing things.

Did a little bit of writing after breakfast. Poe convinces Leia to come to their Halloween party. Hank's going to be there. She does want to get back together with him...but he left first, after they argued over their son going to reform school.

Work was even more of a mad house than yesterday. We were busy with long lines pretty much the entire time I was there. I got outside for about an hour or so after I got in. They called me in around 2 to take a register...and I got stuck there for the rest of the day. I was not happy. Though the customers were in good moods and took the long lines in stride, I kept panicking. We don't normally see crowds like this outside of the week before Thanksgiving! Employees in the deli and the bakery complained that they couldn't get anything done because front-end managers constantly called their help to take customers.

It only got worse by the end of the day. We were out of the eggs on sale and almost out of the soda. I really don't think anyone was prepared for the popularity of this sale at all. They should have treated it more like a second Sunday, with double the people on the registers.

The fact that the remodeling has begun in earnest didn't help matters. Almost the entire back half of the store, where the non-food items and the bread were, is being completely reorganized. There's piles of crates on the floor and tons of shiny new black shelves standing empty and ready to either be built or filled. The dollar section was cleared out entirely, with everything that had once been there marked down. (This is the second time they've ditched that dollar section. I don't know why they had it. This is not Dollar Tree.)

I was so frustrated and upset when I got home, I broke down crying. Cheered myself up by finishing out Friendship Is Magic while eating leftovers for dinner. "The Gift of the Maud Pie" is based after the famous O.Henry short story The Gift of the Magi. Pinkie's big sister makes her third appearance on this set, joining Pinkie and Rarity in Manehattan. While Rarity searches for a second location for her boutique, Pinkie tries to find the perfect gift for her big sister. She finds it, but it comes at a huge cost. Maud finally reminds her little sis that it doesn't matter how "perfect" a present is. It matters if it's given with love.

Jodie called me while the episode was on. Seems they're inviting the whole family - Rose and her boys, Jessa and Joe, Jodie's sons and Dana - for "Taco Thursday." Could I come? Sure! Thursday's my early day. I only work 9 to 1 and had no plans besides writing.

Moved on to Lego Star Wars as I finished dinner. Gave "Rescue Princess Leia" another shot. I still couldn't get True Jedi (I kept falling off ledges), but I did get almost all the pieces. I also found a really cool area where you get to shoot down TIE fighters and earn a ton of coins.

Had less luck with "Cloud City Trap." I had a hard time with this one when I originally ran through it. I just can't time getting Darth Vader in the steam in the carbonite chamber. This is another round where I kept falling off ledges, too. Didn't get anywhere near True Jedi, but at least I got a few more pieces.

Did better on two shorter rounds. Couldn't find the red brick on the Trench Run in New Hope, but I did get some pieces. "General Grievous," one of the boss rounds from Revenge of the Sith, became the first round I completed in full. This wasn't that hard to begin with. It was just the one area, with pieces mostly scattered around cliffs...except the last piece and the red brick, which were just off the cliff to the right over a thin ledge, in a small dome. There's so few coins here, it's easy to get True Jedi. The only thing I need here is the blue piece.