I awoke to another sunny, windy day, and one in which I had a lot to do. Started off with a few horror-themed episodes of Hello Kitty Furry Tale Theater while I had breakfast. "The Phantom of the Theater" has stolen Catnip's candy stash and My Melody's teddy bear and gotten Tuxedo Sam caught in the curtain ropes. Kitty takes the group into the dark passages under the stage to investigate the spooky goings-on. Catnip's not happy to be playing "Frankencat," a mad scientist who creates a monstrous robot that befriends Melody. She's happier with the more glamorous "Catula." Kitty and the others have to find a way to stop this milk-guzzling vampire from sucking up all the dairy products in Transylvania!
Got the laundry done first around 10:30. I'd put it off for a while and had a fairly large load. I got very lucky. There were quite a few people when I came in, and it got busier just as I left, but for most of the time, it was pretty quiet. Said "hi" to one of my co-workers (who also got the day off) and wrote story notes.
Did a relatively spooky episode of Garfield and Friends while putting everything away and making a cranberry-pineapple smoothie for lunch. "Nighty Nightmare" has Garfield dreaming that he just keeps eating and eating, until he's big enough to climb buildings...and attract the attention of aliens. The animals at US Acres call Roy the Rooster "Banana Nose" when they're tired of his pranks. He takes offense and runs off, but it's that "banana nose" that helps him find the lost Booker the Chick. Garfield raps an "Ode to Odie," detailing how Odie gets locked outside and encounters several tough dogs who steal his bone.
Was off to the libraries as soon as the cartoon ended. Oaklyn was my first stop. The librarian was chatting with a few locals when I arrived, but there was otherwise nothing going on there. The adult DVD titles were fine, but the kids' shelves really needed to be reorganized, particularly the S and T discs. Took out a collection of Bela Lugosi horror movies from the 30's and the Disney horror comedy Hocus Pocus for Halloween.
Went straight to the Haddon Township Library. Nothing going on there, either. They were just as quiet as Oaklyn. It's too nice to be hanging out in libraries. I shelved and organized the regular adult movies. Wanted to take out The Rocky Horror Picture Show, but it's really late. I did find The Nightmare Before Christmas, though. Also took out another Hallmark Murders & Mysteries movie, this time based after the Fixer-Upper cozy mystery series I just read late last month and earlier this month.
Stopped at AC Moore to see if I could find makeup like I saw at Wal Mart. Nope. They're just starting to put out their Christmas stuff right now and are kind of between holidays. Didn't find any good Halloween stuff at Target, but I did pick up pads.
I had intended to do some writing when I got home. I was doing research when Charlie came upstairs with a manila folder. Turned out it was the cost for that little chip in the porch...which is $227, along with my rent. I can't do that. I can't even afford the rent, never mind an extra 200! It's just a chip! I figured it would be 50 at most.
I really hated doing it, but I called Jodie to see if I could borrow money from her. She said maybe, but she and Dad just had a burst pipe that'll cost them thousands of dollars. I needed to call Rose.
Tried to return to writing, but I just couldn't do it. I looked up selling my original stories instead. I was hoping I'd find some publication that would take them in a few days. Of course not. Most publication require weeks, sometimes months to review them for publication. I posted two more listings at Facebook Marketplace for the Molly Scenes and Settings and the red vintage prom gown from the late 90's.
https://www.facebook.com/marketplace/item/964512817073707 - Scenes and Settings
https://www.facebook.com/marketplace/item/255942505069435 - Prom Gown
I was too upset to eat much more than leftover soup for dinner. Tried to cheer myself by watching Mad Monster Party to review for my Musical Dreams Reviews blog. I go into more detail on this bizarre Rankin-Bass stop-motion feature there.
Mad Monster Party?
Rose called while Mad Monster Party was on. She said that the money should not have been due on November 1st, and that while she'd talk to Dad, Jodie, and Miss Willa, she didn't have the money to loan me, either. Everyone in the family is having trouble, which is why I didn't want to call them. I know they say I'm not a bother, but I feel like I am. I never know when anyone is going to be around, and I'd rather get things done myself.
And yes, she lectured me on finding another retail job. Oh, yeah. Get another retail job on top of the one that I already hate. I don't want to do this one. I want a writing job. I want someone to point me towards someone or somewhere who will pay me to write. I just wish it didn't involve trying to sell anything. I'm stressed enough as it is without adding another retail job to the mix. I don't care if it's what I know.
She says I lack "practical skills." I'm not even sure what she meant. I had to look it up online. I still don't know why she said that. I have practical skills. I can cook and bake, clean my household, manage my online checking account (when it has money in it), change at least the front tire on my bike, fix holes in my clothes and my stuffed animals, write and edit well, and organize media and doll clothes.
I wonder if she means "practical communication skills." I'm not good at talking to people. I get nervous around people I don't know, and I end up stammering or sounding stupid. I'm not good at coming up with something to say right off the bat.
Tried to make myself feel better with Young Frankenstein. Fredrick Frankenstein (Gene Wilder), the son of the late mad scientist, is having his own problems. He just inherited his grandfather's castle and labrotory. He'd really rather not be associated with his grandfather's experiments, until he finds his diaries and decides it might work. His assistants Igor (Marty Feldman) and Inga (Terri Garr) help him dig up (literally) a body to resurrect and get the equipment going and fend off the local police officer (Kenneth Mars). Igor's accident with a brain leaves the creature with a defective one. Frau Blucker (whinny) (Glenn Close) frees him, but while he manages to get him back, he terrorizes the town. Now he has to prove that his experiment was more successful than he acts...and head off not only the suspicious officer, but his prim fiancee (Madeline Khan) as well.
Mel Brooks' most affectionate homage pokes fun at the horror movie cliches of the 1930's with a great script and a truly spooky atmosphere (including the use of the sets from the original Frankenstein). My family taped this off cable sometime in the late 80's-early 90's, and we used to watch it every year around Halloween. I'm glad I can carry on that tradition. If you're a fan of the cast, old-time horror, or Brooks' other work, you'll want to check this one out.
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