Winter Blues

Kicked off the morning with biographical essays and poems on George Washington and Abraham Lincoln in honor of their birthdays and President's Day from the Colliers Harvest of Holidays book. Did a late Valentine's Day cartoon I hadn't gotten to on Thursday as I ate Cornmeal Pancakes and oranges for breakfast. Pink at First Sight follows the Pink Panther as he works as a singing messenger to earn some extra cash. Trouble is, he keeps seeing the female panther of his dreams wherever he goes...and many of his clients, from a woman with a jealous husband to a group of gangsters he inadvertently delivers a bomb to, aren't exactly happy to see him.

Played Angry Birds Star Wars after I ate. Finally finished out the Death Star rounds, including a final round that involved hitting things while moving in the Trench Run. Darth Vader was back as the Final Boss, this time in the form of a TIE Fighter. Ironically, neither the last few rounds of the Death Star, nor the first couple of rounds in Hoth, were as difficult as some of the earlier Death Star rounds. Princess Leia is added to the mix on Hoth; she can pull out objects, which proves to be vital to knocking down some Imperial Pig bases and Walkers.

Decided to try something around quarter of 2. The seat on my bike has been loose since I got it. I thought I'd replace it with the seat I bought for the Huffy bike I had before the one that was stolen. Turns out it's totally the wrong seat for that bike and goes on in a different way. I have no idea how to get it back on. I tried to figure it out, but I just could not make it work. In the end, I gave up, put it inside, and went for a walk instead.

I'm really frustrated. I want to move, but I've already tried calling two apartments, and both turned me down due to my shaky finances. I'm stuck. Everything I try terrifies me. I had a panic attack just looking up how to run a freelance writing business. I haven't done spreadsheets in years, and I'm terrible at math! Trouble is, I'm not sure what else I can do to make money. I don't want another retail job that will make me crazy, and I don't have enough experience to be hired anywhere else. Everything I attempt just makes me more nervous.

I mostly just wandered around the neighborhood, hoping to see a "For Rent" sign somewhere. I can't believe there isn't a nice little cottage or a small apartment in the back of someone's house with an owner that's willing to negotiate. All I need is something simple and small. Just a kitchen, a living room, and a bedroom. Nothing large or fancy. I'm tired of going shopping every time I want to make a trip, but I don't know where else I can go.

Ended up at Common Grounds Coffee House. They were insanely busy for them...with college students on their laptops or talking among friends and older women knitting and gossiping. I just ordered a hot chocolate and a cinnamon raisin bagel with butter (they were out of jam) and looked at my phone. I wish I knew what to say to all of them, but I didn't.

The blah day matched my blah mood. It was kind-of cloudy, kind-of sunny, although it became out-and-out sunny later. The wind remains strong - the pieces from my bike seat kept blowing away while I worked on it. It was chilly, but not freezing, probably in the lower 40's.

Looked for apartments when I got home. When I saw nothing I could do here or in Gloucester County, I moved on to writing. Han's main rival in the Golden Arrow tournament is Boba of Gisbourne. Han asks him where Sheriff Vader, said to be the best archer in Nottingham, is. Boba casually mentions that he went to the main castle to look for someone.

Broke for dinner at 6:30. Had leftovers while starting season 2 of Buck Rogers. Wilma, Buck, and Twiki are all that remain of the original show in "The Time of the Hawk." They're now on board the space ship Searcher, trying to find other scattered Earth colonies. They're joined by two older doctors this time, along with a taller, rather supercilious and obnoxious robot to play off of Twiki (who has a different voice). They discover that the crew of a freighter was attacked by Hawk (Thom Christopher), a bird-man who, along with his mate Kourie (Barbara Luna), is the last of his kind after his people were slaughtered by pirates. Buck tries to convince him that not all humans are evil, and that there may be others of his species out there yet.

Finished the night after a shower with Random Harvest. Industrialist Charles Rainier (Ronald Coleman) has the most devoted secretary anyone could wish, Margaret Hanson (Greer Garson). He eventually marries her after Kitty, the girl who had a crush on him (Susan Peters), sees how crazy Margaret is about him and gives up on him. The only thing is, he's met - and married - Margaret before. She was singing under the stage name Paula Ridgeway when she found him wandering away from an asylum after World War I. He had no memory of who he was or how he'd gotten to the place; he couldn't even remember how to talk. Margaret nursed him back to health and married him, living with him in a small cottage. She's hoping that someday, his memories will return...and that he'll recall the deep love they once shared.

Melodramatic claptrap highlighted by several excellent performances, especially from the two leads. For all the ridiculousness of the plot, Coleman and Garson really do make you believe every excessive bit of suffering. If you're a fan of old-fashioned soap opera or the stars, you'll want to give this one a look.