Began the morning with Winnie the Pooh: A Valentine for You. I went further into this bittersweet Pooh holiday special at my Musical Dreams Movie Reviews blog in 2023.
I tried to call Uber after the cartoon ended, but I just couldn't get through to anyone. Not to any Uber driver, not to any taxis. Everyone was either taking people to the Eagles parade or at the Eagles parade. I ended up taking the bike, but I was 20 minutes late getting in.
The floral department manager was frantic when I got in. She was desperately trying to fill buckets that were constantly emptying. I ran around, gathering buckets, setting flower arrangements on the table, and gathering bouquets for Door Dash orders.
I was loading buckets with huge double-sized bouquets of roses when I ended up being pulled to do carts. The head bagger was needed in a register to handle all the people on their way to the Eagles parade. I wasn't happy about it. They told me I was in floral today. They said they had no one else...until someone came in at noon, of course. He took over the sweeping, but I still did the carts, and cleaned up a spill and put cold items away, too.
Not really thrilled with my schedule next week. On one hand, still a lot of hours (if not to the degree of this week), a rare Sunday off, and all early four-hour days. Trouble is, Sunday is my only day off. The head bagger always takes the week following President's Day for her last vacation until our cycle starts over. I don't know why one of the guys couldn't have worked one morning. It wouldn't have killed them. The early hours should still give me the time to do some things, including get a cell phone.
Oh well. At least it was a nice day for all of this. Though it was chilly and blustery, it was also sunny, with a radiant blue sky. If we could only have one nice day this weekend, I'm glad it was the day of the parade. The floral department manager even gave me and the other two employees who helped her this week $5 off reward coupons for doing a good job.
And that coupon couldn't have come at a better time. I needed groceries. Restocked yogurt, granola bars, pads (had an online coupon), and prebiotic sodas. The store has just started to stock more Poppi flavors. Decided to try root beer and cherry cola. Thought bananas would be easier on my stomach than apples or citrus fruit; had another online coupon for the organic ones. Grabbed a bouquet of red carnations as a Valentine's Day gift for a friend who loves flowers.
Went straight home after that. Changed, put everything away, and went right back out again. I texted Jessa two days ago and offered to take her out for a combination Valentine's Day/early birthday gift. (Her birthday is next week.) I know she loves Asian food, so I gave her a gift card to Benihana, the Japanese hibachi restaurant in Cherry Hill. I'd never tried them before and thought they'd be something different for dinner. They were busy when we got in, with a relatively long line, though it only took us about 15 minutes to be seated.
We ended up at a long, wide table with two dads and their adorable six-year-old son and a young-ish couple. You ordered either five or six course meals at a fixed price. I went with a five-course and got chicken with vegetable fried rice, shrimp, and veggies. Everyone got a delicious mushroom broth soup. The kid got chicken fingers. Everyone else waited for a chef in a tall hat and white coat to quickly chop, dice, and slap meat, rice, vegetables, an egg, and Jess's noodles (she had a salmon dish that came with noodles) on a long metal grill. He was hilarious, making quips and flipping bowls of rice to us. The kid was amazed, and everyone else had a great time, including me. Everyone but the kid had green tea after dinner, and then everyone but us had ice cream. My chicken was slightly dry but not bad, and I ate everything but the grilled onions and a little of the rice and chicken.
Jessa and I were the only ones who declined dessert. She's not that into sweets, and a friend of mine gave me a big heart-shaped box of chocolates for Valentine's Day. Besides, it was getting late, and the line was now three times as long. It was time to head home.
(Oh, and I think I've finally figured out where the stomach problems came from. I don't think it's a bug. I suspect that peri-menopause is to blame. Apparently, fluctuating hormones can create stomach distress. Oh swell. I hope this won't be a regular thing now.)
My Valentine's Day gift to myself was three more disc media cases from Amazon. The big one will hold cast album CDs. Soundtracks and jazz artists will go in the smaller ones. I started moving discs from the smaller cast album binder to the book while watching Be My Valentine, Charlie Brown. Linus is so smitten with his teacher Miss Othmar, he buys her a huge box of chocolate for Valentine's Day. Sally is convinced the box is for her. Meanwhile, Lucy wishes Schroeder would leave his piano and acknowledge her existence, Charlie Brown waits in vain for any kind of a Valentine, and Snoopy is putting on melodramatic and messy puppet shows.
A Charlie Brown Valentine spends its first half watching Charlie Brown desperately attempt to give the Little Red Haired Girl a box of candy, or at least try to drum up the nerve to talk to her. When he actually does call her, he accidentally ends up inviting Marcie and Peppermint Patty to the school dance instead. Sally tries to make a Valentine for her "sweet baboo" who wishes she'd disappear off the face of the planet, while Snoopy tries to keep up with the kids' demand for love notes and poetry.
I went further into the charming and very funny The Bernstein Bears' Comic Valentines on the same review as Winnie the Pooh: A Valentine for You back in 2023.
Finished the night with the Pink Panther. Pink at First Sight has him searching for a special pink panthress to spend his Valentine's Day with, but coming up short in the funds department. He buys a pile of tapes and a player and becomes a "singing" delivery cat. His Valentine's gets even crazier than mine when he has to dodge a jealous husband who thinks he's after his wife, an angry violinist who doesn't like what he did with his prize instrument, and gangsters who wants his tail after he innocently delivers a bomb.
Here's even more specials on the funny side of love, for your late Valentine's enjoyment!
And I hope you had a wonderful Valentine's Day, with a sibling, a significant other, or anyone else who's special to you!
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