No Swimming

Last night didn't go as well as my midnight shift did last week. We were busy all night - we still has big orders at midnight! - and I was dead tired.

I slept in and went somewhat late to Uncle Ken's to do the laundry. It may have been just as well. It rained on and off all morning, sometimes heavily. I spent the whole morning inside. It was strange. Uncle Ken was outside (when it wasn't pouring) closing down and covering the pool area. Dad was at work (where he'll be for 2 1/2 weeks), and Jessa was at school. Uncle Ken's girlfriend Dolores came by briefly with her grandson Blake, but for the most part, it was me, the book I'm reading, and the TV.

I got lucky and caught some good shows today. TCM was having a morning Broadway movie musicals marathon; caught the last 20 minutes or so of My Fair Lady (from "Get Me To The Church On Time" onwards) and parts of Guys And Dolls. Neither are the best adaptations of a Broadway musical ever (Lady tends to be long and ponderous; Dolls lost some music and has casting problems), but they're both a lot of fun in their own right, and I got to see some of the best parts. I've always loved Lady's uproarious music hall numbers for Eliza's dad, and when's the next time I'll get to see Jean Simmons more than hold her own in a bar room brawl in Havana (and doing better than Marlon Brando)?

Uniqua, the pink bug-like tomboy of The Backyardigans, also wanted to prove her mettle this morning. In a big band/swing-fueled medieval fantasy, Queen Tasha sends Uniqua the Pink on a mission to bring a letter to King Austin. On the way, she meets Tyrone of the Misty Woods and Guardian Of The Gate Pablo, who aid and abet her on her way to King Austin's castle. The story was cute, and I LOVED the swing, not to mention admired Miss Uniqua's pluck and her encouragement of her male companions. (A scene in a "stinky swamp" did go on too long, but that may have to do with the main audience's fondness for jokes about nasty smells.)

(And interestingly, I discovered from Amazon.com that this was The Backyardigans's pilot episode.)

The Dora The Explorer episode was more typical - Dora and her monkey buddy Boots help an adorable little crab get a seashell necklace to his mother. Nothing you haven't seen in the show before, but it WAS fun to pretend to "move like a crab," and that baby crab was just such a cutie!

Go Diego Go! tried for something a little more out-of-the-ordinary. Instead of profiling one jungle animal, Diego covered four very different ones as he crosses various terrain in order to help his big sister with some sick penguins. Diego tends to be more action-oriented than Dora, and it succeeds in this episode - the ride over the mountain by llama was my favorite!

And yes, I was correct in thinking my swim last week would be my last of the year. As I mentioned, Uncle Ken started closing the pool area yesterday. It'll be warm here probably well into November, but not warm enough at night to keep the pool temperature bearable. With the kids in school and many adults concentrating more heavily on work or other pursuits, there's less time for lounging around the pool, too. It's a shame...but life and seasons roll on. The pool will be open again next June. I'll just find other ways to work out and other things to do while the laundry's going.

I waited a while after I got back from doing the laundry before heading over to the library to finally do my first day's volunteering at the Haddon Township Branch. The rain had stopped only an hour before, and the library was surprisingly quiet. I organized the travel books section and the mysteries, ironically some of the books I know the most about. I don't know why Pat, the woman in charge of the volunteers, said the job could be tiring; I would have stuck around longer if I hadn't wanted to drop by Super Fresh really quick and get dinner!

There's three options for dinner in the area around the Library besides the two fast food joints. I opted for the only one I'd never tried before, Nick and Joe's Pizzeria in the Westmont Plaza across from the Library, next to Friendly's. I had a Chicken Broccoli Wrap, Raspberry Iced Tea, and French fries, and boy, were they all good! They were delivered hot and fresh, and they tasted soooo delicious, warm and toasty and dripping with spicy teriyaki sauce. The waitress seemed a bit tired, but her smile was wide when I praised the food. I'll definitely be going back there.

And The Rain, Rain, Rain REALLY Came Down, Down, Down

Holy cow! I just went outside to get my mail (just the phone bill) and bring my landlady her newspapers (lazy people who deliver them can't get out of their cars to bring them to the porch of a very old woman who can't bend over). I was right - it really, REALLY rained out there! How did I know I was right? My recycling bucket, which was barely a quarter full, was overflowing with water, to the point where several items were floating and some had fallen out! I managed to get the water out, and it was so heavy, it must have taken me at least five minutes.

And The Rain, Rain, Rain Came Down, Down Down

We've had clouds on and off here since Saturday, and they finally burst just a half-hour ago. The rain fell hard and fast, a good thing because we're back to needing it. We haven't had a good solid rain shower since that one week of nasty weather. I'm glad it chose my late work day to rain in the morning, too. I wasn't planning on going anywhere major today until my midnight shift. (Though I do need to bring Miss Ellie her newspapers...)

I'm going to try to start cleaning once I finish here. I'm not sure what I'm doing tomorrow besides laundry - I need to call the Camden County Library about volunteering.

Oh, and as you may have guessed, I have the midnight shift today, so I won't be on tonight.

Not An Auspicious Beginning

What a long day. I forgot to set my alarm clock last night and woke up over an hour later than I planned, barely making it to work at 9:30AM. Work was completely insane the moment I arrived. Sundays are always crazy, even outside of the football season, but the Acme's having these huge 10 for $10 sales and the place was completely mobbed today. Good thing I did my grocery shopping on Friday. It was busy even after the Eagles game started. The store was only just starting to clear out when I left at 2:30.

I rode straight over to Uncle Ken's to watch the first Philadelphia Eagles game of the season against the Green Bay Packers. Uncle Ken's a huge Eagles fan and holds big parties during every daytime game. Most of the family in the area and a lot of neighbors drop by. The place was packed when I came in. My biological father's girlfriend Jodie immediately offered a hot ham sandwich and cold drinks, both of which I needed badly. I was starving, and it's still hot as heck out there.

The game wasn't nearly as nice as the food and company. Both the Eagles and the Packers played badly; the Packers won, barely.

Too Darn Hot

Ugh. It's gotten hot again. Not even stifling-humid like in late July and August. It's just been plain HOT. I spent most of yesterday running errands, including a much-needed big paycheck from last week's near-40 hours. Got my schedule, too. One really late night (Monday) and really early day (Thursday), both long days. Other than that, nothing too bad. Hopefully, some new recruits and transfers coming in should take care of the late nights.

I'm going to spend this week trying to restock my kitchen and catch up on my cleaning. I bought some basic pantry items (like chicken broth and salad dressing) yesterday, and picked up more honey and fruit butter (apple this time) at the Farm Market this morning, along with peaches, apples, and blackberries. I need to call the Camden County Library about volunteering, too.

I was off work yesterday; it was on-and-off today, steady but not too bad. Everyone will probably be in tomorrow before the big NFL Opening Day game between the Philadelphia Eagles and the Green Bay Packers. I'll thankfully be able to watch the second half at my uncle's. (There are some advantages to early work.)

I Just Can't Wait To Be King

I did my volunteering and had my counseling appointment today. The thrift shop was packed, with people and with STUFF! There were apparently some massive donations on Tuesday, including giant boxes of stuffed animals and children's books. I bought three Golden Books for me (the classic version of "Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer" and a more modern "Nutcracker," along with an adorable 50s-looking "Mickey Mouse's Picnic") and two Golden Books each for my 3-year-old nephew Skylar and 2-year-old cousin Karen. Children should learn the magic of Golden Books early.

I also picked up two American Girls books for myself ("Meet Kirsten" and "Addy Learns A Lesson") and learned at Borders in Philadelphia there's a brand-new American Girl - Julie, a tough, sassy, basketball-loving girl who joins the boys' team in 1974 San Fransisco. Julie looks cool - I can't wait until they put out more books and the dolls for her!

I also discovered a few weeks ago that not only is the next American Girls movie for my favorite of all the historical characters, Kit, but it'll be released to the big screen instead of to TV like the first three. AND it stars Abigail Breslin, who was so wonderful in "Little Miss Sunshine" last year. I don't care if I'm the oldest girl in the theater - I'll be first in line!

(Ooh, and they still have the paper dolls! I miss my American Girls paper dolls. I had Samantha and Molly and shared Addy with my sister Anny. I wonder how weird it would look for a 28-year-old woman to be buying paper dolls...)

I was more frugal with the stuffed animals. As much as I love stuffed animals, my bed's getting a little crowded! However, I couldn't resist an adorable pair of Simba and Nala toys whose noses are magnetized to make them look like they're "kissing."

Counseling went better than it did a few weeks ago, mostly because I actually showed up on time. Scott and I talked about my frustrations over my job hunt and long hours, and about Mom and Dad's move impending move and my fears of spending the holidays alone.

I tried to make my Philadelphia trip quick this time, but I couldn't help lingering at Borders. I was better in Barnes and Noble. I just ate at the cafe on the second floor, filled out an application, and told the girl at the information desk that I really, really wanted a job there and was desperate to get out of my current job. She seemed really nice, especially after I told her it's been almost a year since I put in my first application for that store with no luck. She said she'd put my application on the top of the pile.

See You In September...6th

Quiet day today. I spent the morning and early afternoon watching Sailor Moon episodes with my adopted stepsister Jessa, then went for a much-needed swim while my laundry was in the dryer. The water was cold, but not too bad, in the mid-70s according to the water thermometer tied to the metal steps on the deep end. This will probably be one of my last swims of the year. If memory serves me correctly, Bruce and Ken finally closed the pool area towards the end of September-beginning of October last year.

Oh, and I won't be on tonight. I have long, late work, from 4PM to 12AM, and I'll be straight to bed after that.

Just Plain Tired

This is going to be really quick. I was called in to work today, and ended up working for eight and a half hours instead of four and a half hours. I know, I need the money and I should be grateful...but I'm not used to working for eight hours almost every day anymore, and not only am I dead tired, but my knee hurts like hell. Doesn't help that work was busy for most of the day, too, probably because it's the beginning of the month and people are still using food stamps and social security checks...and if it's not that, they're buying their first "school-night dinner" orders since June.

After The Boys Of Summer Have Gone

Well, that's it, folks. Today's Labor Day, the unofficial end of the summer in the US (and, I believe, Canada). All and all, it wasn't the best summer of my life, but it was better than last year. The knee injury wasn't quite as nasty, we had fewer long stretches of very hot weather, and I mostly had better hours at the Acme.

Best Of Summer: My vacation in New England (still fun even with the rain) and seeing the wonderfully energetic Hairspray with Lauren during that vacation.

My ride to Haddon Heights a couple of weeks ago.

The fat-free, sugar free Only 8 frozen yogurt Leo's Yum-Yums on West Clinton Avenue carried (get the chocolate-peanut butter when it's available before they close in October). Buying ice cream on Memorial Day brought back a lot of memories I detailed in that day's entry.

Swimming in Uncle Ken's pool while my laundry was in the dryer.

My nephew Skylar's third birthday party.

Finally getting a new record player and being able to play records again.

Worst Of Summer: Another damn knee injury. While not as nasty as the one I had last year (and the knee was the only thing seriously hurt this time), it was still a literal pain, severely restricted many of my activities in July and early August, and remains sore.

The Fourth Of July was a literal and figurative washout. Early work kept me away from the parades and other major morning and early afternoon activities, and while the fireworks were nice, getting caught in a downpour going to CVS to watch them and in an even worse one walking home was not.

Though we didn't have as many long stretches of intense heat and humidity this year, they still popped up from time to time, the worst in late July and early August.

The fracas with the phone company in late July.

My knee injury, vacation, lack of funds, and weird hours at the Acme kept me away from volunteering and day trips for much of the summer.

I hope your Labor Day was a great one, folks. I spent the majority of mine working (long day, very busy - lines out to the aisles, otherwise no major problems) and doing the role play with Lauren before she went to watch wrestling. Look for our newest Monkees role-play story sometime next week!

Oh, and my mom's sending me something she found at her house I haven't seen in years - my old high school field hockey jacket. It was one of the few things from her house I didn't take with me when I moved. I thought she was still using it. Oh, well, I'll be happy to take it. It'll be nice for walks and rides to work in fall and spring, when it's too warm for my heavy jackets and too cool to go without some covering.

All Summer Long

Thank goodness after last week's humid and gloomy weather Mother Nature decided to make Labor Day Weekend gorgeous. Today was as perfect as can be, no humidity and normal lower-mid 80s temperatures.

Work was busy but fast, with no problems other than long lines that are probably unavoidable on a major holiday weekend. I treated myself to a chocolate peanut butter fat-free, sugar-free frozen yogurt from Leo's Yum Yums around the corner after I got off. Good thing I did it today, instead of waiting until tomorrow like I originally planned - they're apparently closed tomorrow. (That's a surprise - they were opened for Memorial Day.)

Go Where You Wanna Go

Celebrated the first day of September and the return of great, normal dry late-summer weather with a quick farm market trip this morning. Didn't see any blackberries, so I assume they're done for the season, but I did pick up bananas from a wholesaler, peaches, romaine lettuce, mushrooms, small Gala apples, and yellow squash.

Work was busy, with no major problems beyond that "lack of help" thing that will probably continue throughout the weekend and into next week as the kids return to school and people who don't have kids go on vacation. It should be busy for most of this week. Even after people do their Labor Day barbecues, parents will be buying kids school lunches and big after-school dinners, and everyone else will be using beginning-of-the-month money.

Oh, except for one thing. A woman got angry at me when I asked her about under the cart. Allow me to repeat what I wrote a few months ago...

I ASK YOU WHAT'S UNDER THE CART BECAUSE I CAN'T SEE UNDER THE CART, NOT BECAUSE I AM ACCUSING YOU OF STEALING. IT IS NOTHING PERSONAL. MY MANAGERS HAVE ASKED ME TO DO THIS; I CAN'T HELP IT IF I'M THE ONLY ONE WHO REMEMBERS. WE HAVE HAD PROBLEMS WITH PEOPLE FORGETTING LARGE ITEMS UNDER THE CART.