Sunday Morning Coming

I'd been awake for ten minutes around 6:30 when my phone rang. It was Rose, finally calling me back. First of all, she came to the same conclusion I have - between Dad's shaky condition and my even shakier finances, this is a bad time to move. I still want to move - like I've said, I don't feel comfortable here anymore - but not right at this moment. Maybe later this year or early next year.

Second, Rose suggested Uber for a ride on bad-weather days instead of calling or a ride. She, Craig, and Jodie don't always have the time. Only if I absolutely have to. They cost money, and I've never really done anything like a cab or Uber before.

Third, she wants to start a joint account to help me pay for my rent until I get back on my feet. It's nice of her, but I have reservations. That money should be going to her family, not to me. I feel guilty enough about having borrowed money from Dad and Jodie in the past.

It was raining fairly hard when I was talking to Rose. Thankfully, by the time I left for work, it was down to a mild shower. Good thing it did start slowing down. Other than doing a cart with a few returns, I was outside for most of the morning, rounding up carts and doing the trash and recycling. I was supposed to have help later, but I saw the teen girl for all of 20 minutes.

The rain was gone by the time I went home, replaced by heavy winds. I decided to just avoid them and spent the rest of the day at home. Had banana pancakes for lunch while listening to one of my K-Tel albums, Hot Ones. I mainly have this one for the original version of "Thank You For Being a Friend" (which later became the theme song for The Golden Girls). Other good cuts on the one disc I have (the set's second disc is missing) include "Imaginary Lover," "We Just Disagree," and "We'll Never Have to Say Good-Bye."

Played Angry Birds Star Wars for a little while after lunch. Finally finished off the Hoth rounds, including another moving one that requires you to hit Pig Mynocks. While that one wasn't too bad, some of the later ones in space were kind of hard, especially those that needed Han or Luke to aim their lightsaber and gun shots in just the right place.

I had a long week last week, including that hour-and-a-half walk on Tuesday, and I got up early today and immediately had a heartfelt conversation with my sister. Not to mention, it was totally quiet for once. No one was home downstairs or next-door. It was the perfect time for a nap. I hit my bed at quarter of 3 and didn't get up until past 4.

Read Ten-Second Staircase for a little while, then did some writing. Han pushes Chewie and Leia out of the area, then tries to find out what happened to Lando or Luke. He's blocked by Sir Boba of Gisborne before he can get far. He tries to slip away, but Boba's not about to let this bounty go...

Broke for dinner at 6:30. The blueberry preserves and cheese omelet I had earlier this week was so tasty, I made it again tonight, along with leftover green beans and almonds. Listened to the Mary Poppins Returns soundtrack while I ate. I thought this movie was really cute, and there's some wonderful music here. The touching "The Land Where Lost Things Go" got an Oscar nod; other good numbers include the big chorus routine for the lamplighters "Trip a Little Light Fantastic" and "Can You Imagine That?" for Mary and the kids as she gets them to take their baths.

Went back to Angry Birds after a shower. Instead of moving to the next level, I went to "Path of the Jedi," which is basically Luke's Dagobah segments from The Empire Strikes Back. From what I've gathered, if you complete it, Luke's lightsaber increases in length and strength. Thought that might be useful in Cloud City. Ironically, most of the rounds on Dagobah itself weren't that hard. Things didn't pick up until they tossed you back out into space with those tricky curving shots.

Spent most of the rest of the night chatting with Lauren and checking up on the Oscars. (I'm not paying to stream it.) For once, there's a couple of nominees that really interest me. I did enjoy Black Panther (and thought it totally deserved its wins for Costumes, Score, and Production Design), and am dying to see Bohemian Rhapsody (Best Actor, Editing, and - appropriately - both sound awards) and A Star Is Born (Best Song). I may look around for Green Book (the Best Picture winner) and Spider Man: Into the Spiderverse (the Animated Film winner) eventually as well.

Blown Away

I slept in and had just enough time for a quick breakfast before doing a little bit of writing. Obi-Wan and Anakin bring the twins downstairs to their cellar on their 17th birthday. Obi-Wan gives Luke a set of books of ancient magic; Anakin gives Leia his prized magical blue crystal sword. As the oldest still-living known Jedi, Obi-Wan anoints the twins Jedi Knights and tells them it's time to step up their training. Padme watches them, proud of her children, but worried that the revelation of their powers may attract Palpatine. The Queen's head adviser is an evil shape-shifter whose favored form is a crow, the better to keep an eye on his enemies.

Got so into writing, I didn't break 12:30...and I had to work at 1! Thankfully, despite the crazy wind, I arrived just in time. It was really busy when I arrived, and the carts were empty. Not only is it the beginning of the month, but when you could get out of the wind, the day was gorgeous, sunny and bright. Spent the first half of my shift helping the other baggers with carts, and the second doing returns.

For once, the trouble today had absolutely nothing to do with any human...and everything to do with Mother Nature. The wind had been so fierce on Friday, it blew the crimson plastic right off the giant "M" in the Acme sign on the front of the building! Today's howling gusts took off part of the A and the bottom half of the E. When we weren't dealing with the carts, the other baggers and I had to sweep up the smaller bits of plastic and gather the larger pieces and deposit them behind a less-used trash can so they wouldn't hurt anyone.

I ended up going home a bit earlier than I planned. I thought the schedule said 1 to 7 yesterday. I was only there from 1 to 5. That gave me the chance to buy pads at work and take a nice, long bath when I got home. I really needed that. I can't remember the last time I had a bath. I listened to one of my jazz CDs and went over a couple of self-help books.

Listened to my original Broadway cast LP for Camelot after I got out of the tub. This is the 1960 musical adaptation of The Once and Future King, with Richard Burton as Arthur, Julie Andrews as Guinevere, and Robert Goulet as Lancelot. I'm not really a big fan of this one, but once again, I had it on for the medieval atmosphere. It does have some good songs, including "I Wonder What the King Is Doing Tonight," "If Ever I Would Leave You," and "What Do the Simple Folk Do?" Other songs, including one for villain Mordred (Roddy McDowell), are dull, and Goulet sounds more like a lounge singer than anyone's idea of a virtuous knight. Still, if you're a fan of songwriters Lerner and Lowe (this was their big follow-up to My Fair Lady) or the cast, it's worth a hearing.

Spent the rest of the evening poking around online, occasionally checking out the Oscars win list. To be honest, only a few of the nominees besides The Last Jedi even remotely interest me. Considering last year was not a great one for animation, I don't think anyone really thought Coco was going to lose Animated Picture. I'm dying to see The Greatest Showman, The Post, and ultimate Best Picture winner The Shape of Water. I wasn't a big fan of the original Blade Runner...but so many people gave high marks to its sequel that I may have to check it out when it turns up on DVD. And I was a huge figure skating fan around the time the events of I, Tonya were taking place and remember them very well.

Sunshine On a Slushy Day

I awoke to the sound of dripping. I could already see the snow on my porch slowly melting around 8 AM. I replaced it with the soundtrack from Flashdance and Springtime Chocolate Chip-Cinnamon Pancakes for breakfast. Flashdance is the tale of a woman who is a welder during the day and a taxi dancer at night. What she really wants is to audition to become a professional ballerina. It was a huge hit in 1983, but even as a child, the soap opera-ish plot bored me to tears. The music is still awesome, though. In addition to the Oscar-winning "What a Feeling!" and the hit "Maniac," other songs I love include "Seduce Me Tonight" and the touching ballad "Lady, Lady, Lady."

It was still cloudy when I headed to work, but the rain was long gone. The streets were a mess, especially on Manor. Sloppy slush clogged the roads. I had to walk while I was on Manor. Once I got to Kendall, things were a little less messy. The ramp into Oaklyn was so badly flooded, I had to cut around it, even though it was open. I just barely got there on time.

Work was steady all day. The lines did occasionally get long, but nothing like yesterday. We had plenty of help and no problems besides some cranky customers (and I was late going on break again). The sun coming out around 1 definitely helped. The college boy who was my relief was on time, and I was able to head out quickly.

As I'd suspected, the roads were much better when I got out at 3. Other than there was still a little slush on Manor, everything was wet but fine, even the Oaklyn ramp. The fact that the temperatures had rose into the 40's probably contributed. I had no trouble getting home.

I spent the next hour after I got in and changed on the computer. I did end up taking another online course. I'm hoping Writerrific: Creativity Training for Writers will help me learn to focus, develop story ideas, and stick to a story and actually finish it. The first assignment was to take a line and write anything based on it for five minutes. I did one on my troubled childhood and dislike of bullying and one on riding home on my bike.

Passed the next hour or so in the bath. Oh boy, did that feel good. I needed a good, long soak after how busy we were the past few days and that long walk home yesterday. I looked over my old Wilton Cake Decorating books, listened to my 80s soft rock CD's, and enjoyed the peace and quiet.

Stuck to the 80s after I finished my bath. The big hit of Back to the Future was the Huey Lewis and the News song "The Power of Love." Though I do like that, my favorite numbers are the 50's rock. I can't hear "Earth Angel" and not think of the sequence in this movie with Marty's parents at the prom. "Roll With Me Henry" is fun, too.

I stuck with R&B and headed backwards in the 80's to 1980 and The Blues Brothers. I never understood what this movie was all about...but there is some truly awesome music. Aretha Franklin's "Think" is my personal favorite number. I also like "Shake a Tail Feather."

Tried something different after eating leftover Chinese Stir Fry for dinner. Most of the dessert recipes in the Better Homes and Gardens New Cook Book are either too fattening or too complicated. An apple recipe in one of the inserts was simple enough to work for me. Apple-Nut Torte was really more of a baked pudding, and one of the easiest recipes in the book - just 4 eggs, flour, baking powder, salt, sugar, apples, and nuts. I cut the sugar from 1 1/2 a cup to 1 cup and replaced half the flour with whole wheat flour. I didn't have any nuts, so I used dried cranberries instead.

Oh, yum yum. It was still too sweet (I may cut the sugar further if I make this again), but otherwise, came out very well, moist and slightly tart and a little sticky.

(Oh, and the Oscars are running at press time. The only movie I saw that was nominated was The Grand Budapest Hotel, but it did richly deserve it's wins for Costume Design and Makeup and Hairstyling.)

Oscar Day Razzle Dazzle

I slept so late, I didn't get up until past 11! Brunch With the Beatles was saluting George Harrison, whose birthday was in February, when I finally did get out of bed. His solo hits "What Is Life?" and "My Sweet Lord" were joined by three childhood favorites, "Blow Away," "All Those Years Ago," and "Got My Mind Set On You."

I made Strawberry Ginger Pancakes, using the last of the evaporated milk leftover from the rice pudding earlier in the week. Yum! They came out moist and rich. Tastiest pancakes I've made in a while. I tried calling Mom, but my sister Anny and her son Skylar were visiting. She'd call back later.

After the show ended, I switched from my radio to the record player. My sister Rose was the first person to introduce me to Les Miserables in the early 90s, when she picked up a copy of a cassette of highlights on a school trip to New York City. I was blown away the moment I heard it. I'd never heard a musical that was so, well, musical, or as dramatic. I had that cassette for years after Rose finally turned it over to me, and I also owned the video of the "Dream Cast" concert for a while. I finally replaced the cassette with a double LP version of the original Broadway cast I found at Russakoff's in Philadelphia a few years ago; the record set has more music.

There's a reason I don't listen to Les Mis more often, even though I love the music and badly want to see the movie. It depresses the heck out of me. It's also long, and since it's more-or-less an opera, you pretty much need to hear most, if not all, of the music to have any idea of what's going on. It's rare that I have the time to run the whole thing.

Musical fans, however, should hear this at least once. Even if it was too bombastic to work as something more than a fluke, it's a wonderful fluke, with some fabulous songs and one of the most melodramatic storylines in the history of musical theater.

Mom finally called while the records were playing. She was happy that Dad is finally starting to work out (she's worried about his ballooning weight for years), but is worried about Anny. Anny lost her job at Big Lots a few weeks ago. She claims that Anny's boss from Big Lots kept her from getting unemployment. I don't know how he did that; Anny is a single mother with a child to support. Shouldn't that matter more?

Made a quick trip to CVS after my chat with Mom. I needed milk rather badly. Also wanted to replace the headband Mom gave me a few Christmases ago. It does hold my hair well....but the plastic was so thin, it was already cracking. I bought a set of three that were not only thicker and sturdier plastic, but held my hair just as well. Grabbed some Dawn dishwashing liquid, too. (For some reason, drug stores always have the best sales on dishwashing liquid.)

I cheered myself up with a switch to the soundtrack from the Oscar-winning movie version of Chicago. I was thrilled when this won in 2002. It was the first musical to win an Oscar for best picture since 1969's Oliver. Unlike Oliver, there were no complaints about Chicago not being relevant enough for the Oscars. There's a reason the Broadway revival is still running; it's probably more relevant now than it was when the stage show debuted in 1975. (Apparently, the stage show was initially overshadowed by the runaway success of A Chorus Line in the 70s.) Catherine Zeta-Jones deserved her Oscar as Velma Kelly, the murderess who is overshadowed by ambitious newcomer Roxie Hart (Renee Zellweger). Queen Latifa was fabulous as the prison matron Mama Morton; Richard Gere was almost as good as the amoral attorney who represents both ladies and gets to sing the show's most famous number, "Razzle Dazzle." I also love John C. Reilly's "Mr. Cellophane."

Chicago ended just in time for me to head to work. It was much busier at the Acme tonight than it was last night, and a bit less dull. Otherwise, there were no major problems, and I was in and out.

The Kids Aren't All Right

I slept fitfully last night. My eyes originally opened at 6:30...and I promptly rolled over and went back to sleep until 9:30. I still didn't feel much better. The coughing had been replaced by a heavily congested head and nose. My nose was running like crazy.

Needless to say, I didn't do much today. In fact, I mostly watched movies and cartoons. Did Garfield: His 9 Lives while making French Toast for breakfast. This is a true oddity, a series of shorts revolving around how Garfield might have lived in a previous life (and needless to say, how he's living in this one). My favorite by far of these is the touching watercolor short "Diana's Piano," about a cat devoted to her mistress and her music.

In honor of tonight's Oscars, the first movie I ran after breakfast was For Your Consideration. Christopher Guest's usual crew spoofs Oscar buzz in the tale of a small independant melodrama, Home For Purim, whose cast members hear talk of possible Oscars for them. How will they handle suddenly being in the spotlight?

This is actually my first encounter with Guest's world; I've never even seen This Is Spinal Tap. I have the feeling some of the "Hollywood insider" jokes may have gone over my head. I didn't find this to be that hilarious. It was, however, a fairly accurate take on small-time moviemaking that suddenly finds itself going big time in a huge way.

I stayed in Southern California and moved to another ensemble comedy, Fast Times At Ridgemont High. More or less the same idea...only this time, we're looking at one year in the life of a typical California high school. One young teenager is experimenting with sex for the first time. Her dorky science classmate and a slick fellow student try to win her. Her best friend gives advice but waits for her fiancee. Her older brother runs through an increasingly frustrating series of hash-house jobs. Meanwhile, Spicoli, the nuttiest surfer dude in school, wages an ongoing war with a strict history teacher.

Jennifer Jason Leigh as the budding young lass and Sean Penn as Spicoli are the standouts here, as is the surprisingly insightful script by Cameron Crowe. (Apparently, Crowe spent a year undercover as a student in a real California high school, so he has some idea of the territory.) Other familiar faces to look for include Judge Reinhold (as the older brother who thinks he has it all), Phoebe Cates (as Leigh's best friend), Anthony Edwards (as one of Penn's party-hearty buddies), and Forest Whittaker (as a football player who takes his anger out on the opposing team when Spinelli damages his beloved car).

Called Mom during For Your Consideration; got Keefe first. He seems to be fine. He was just about to go over to my sister's to babysit. Mom didn't have much time to talk when she finally got on. She was cleaning out her car. I told her about my cold. She suggested DayQuil and aspirin.

Made my first granola bars during Fast Times. I threw together applesauce, two eggs, 2/3 of a cup whole wheat flour, sunflower seeds, dried cranberries, coconut, and chocolate chips. The recipe originally called for honey and raw cane sugar, but I forgot both...and the bars may be better for it. They came out chewy and just sweet enough.

Fast Times ended just as I was hurrying out the door. I probably shouldn't have gone to work, but I can't afford to call out, and I needed DayQuil, a new thermometer, and herbal tea.

Thankfully, it was very nice outside, probably in the 50s with no wind. We were busy all day. There were many large orders, some well over 500 and 600 dollars. A trio of men with two full carts and a 600 dollar order said they were working for a tugboat and needed to stock up for a trip; that, I can understand. My stepfather does that before the boat he works for goes out. I wonder about everyone else, though. It's not like we were snowed in last week. Maybe a lot of people just put off shopping?

Work did go quickly, and I was done before I knew it. I grabbed that thermometer, DayQuil, and tea as soon as I finished (along with stocking up on Polaner's fruit spread), then rode right home.

My new digital thermometer worked very well...maybe too well. I had a temperature of 100.1! I did it a second time and got 99.5, still fairly high but not as bad. I really hope I feel better tomorrow. I do NOT want to have to call out.

Of Sunshine And Dreamgirls

Congradulations to the cast and crews of Dreamgirls and Little Miss Sunshine for their deserved Oscar wins last night!

Sunshine Dreams On The Highway

Here's the best of luck to the casts and crews of Dreamgirls, Little Miss Sunshine, and Cars, the three best movies I saw last year.

(And a quick update - looks like luck's holding out for Sunshine, at least - Alan Arkin, who played the foul-mouthed Grandpa, just won Best Supporting Actor.)

http://oscars.movies.yahoo.com/news/associatedpress/20070225/1163.html