Guardians In the Sunshine

Once that insane storm passed last night, it left a lovely, if still slightly humid, morning in its wake. I celebrated the beautiful weather with breakfast and Sailor Moon. Things heat up in the first season episode "The Shining Silver Crystal: The Moon Princess Appears." A trap leads to the arrival of the fifth Sailor Guardian, Venus, and Tuxedo Mask being hurt by a jealous Zoisite. Zoisite challenges him to a duel, but Usagi accidentally gets caught up, too. While the other girls try to free them, Usagi and Mamoru inadvertently discover their secret identities...and who they were in the past.

Threw myself into writing for the rest of the morning and early afternoon. No sooner has the Millenium Falcon pulled out of Ocean View Harbor than it stalls, just off the coast of Holly Beach Inlet (Wildwood Crest/Diamond Beach). While Charlie and Chip try to figure out if there's anything wrong with the wiring, Hank and Leia go downstairs to work on the engine. Hank finally gets Leia alone in the engine room, where she's working on a difficult bolt. As in The Empire Strikes Back, the close quarters lead to the two admitting their feelings in a passionate kiss...before Chip shows up and scares Leia off.

Meanwhile, just over the Holly Beach Inlet Bridge, Vader is sending Bobby Fett and a bunch of his bounty hunter buddies off to find the Falcon and its passengers. They can do what they want, but he wants Leia and Charlie alive. No killing or damaging. (And Vader's glad he can't smell very well. The area he met them at is based on the marinas near Lund's Fisheries, on the borders of Cape May and Diamond Beach just off the Wildwood Crest Bridge. Between the wetlands and the fishery, let's just say they don't exactly smell like a bouquet of roses.)

 Broke for lunch and to get ready for work at 1. Continued with Sailor Moon. Usagi's previous life is further hinted at in "Returning Memories: Usagi and Mamoru's Past." Seems she was once the Princess of the Moon Kingdom and the daughter of a goddess hundreds of years ago, and Mamoru was a prince of Earth. They don't have the chance to find out more before the Dark Moon Kingdom kidnaps Mamoru to be brainwashed and Kunzite attacks the Guardians.

Work was mostly pretty quiet, not a surprise on a beautiful day in the middle of the week, right before a major holiday. I gathered carts right after I arrived and right before I left, but I was mostly doing a big cart of returns. There were two bags of tortilla chips I couldn't find the shelf for, no matter how much I looked or who I asked. No one seemed to know where they went. That's why I finished the day doing carts. I was tired of dealing with the fussing over two damn bags of tortilla chips. (That and, by then, it was rush hour. The bagger who was already outside really did need help.)

At least it was a lovely day to do carts. The humidity vanished by late afternoon, leaving a perfect lower-80's day with a wonderfully cool wind. I had a very pleasant ride home from work, too.

Did one last Sailor Moon episode while eating leftovers for dinner. Having found the entrance to the Dark Kingdom's hideout, the Sailor Guardians are now ready to take on Kunzite. He attacks the girls almost immediately, trying to send them to an evil dimension. Sailor Moon's Silver Crystal protects them, sending them back in time for "Usagi's Awakening: A Message From the Distant Past." A projection of her real mother, Queen Serenity, explains the complicated tale of how the Dark Kingdom attacked the Moon, and why she sent them into the future.

Finished the night with Lego Star Wars: Clone Wars. Tried another long episode, "Legends of Destiny." While I didn't have the time to finish this one, either, I got closer than I did with "Weapons Factory." Found another extra room with a minikit piece. You have to piece together a track to bring down the mine cart with the piece to your level. Ultimately picked up three more pieces and a ton of studs.