Little Buddies

Yes, I'm back online. The phone was still off when Rose and I went shopping for our nephew Skylar's birthday around 10...and when we came back from the party around quarter of five, it was back on. Go figure. Turns out I wasn't the only one in the neighborhood who had phone problems, either. Uncle Ken and Dad, my older friend Erica's mom, and several of their neighbors had similar phone problems...and similar problems with the phone company. I hope Verizon's aware that a lot of their customers are not terribly happy with them at the moment. I'm glad they got the phone back on, but did they have to give us such a hard time about it?

Today was pleasant in other ways, too. I ended up having a nice time at Skylar's third birthday party. The party was at a shelter and grill at the Cape May County Park and Zoo - where else would you hold a birthday party for toddlers? Skylar himself was a bit of a pain. He screamed at the top of his lungs for no reason, punched people, ran his mother ragged, kept messing with the birthday cake when his nana repeatedly told him not to, and wouldn't share his new toys with his friends Ronnie and Kaylie.

Ronnie, for his part, couldn't get on the benches. He must have fallen off four times, once very hard on his back. Kaylie was the only one who wasn't really a problem, maybe because she was sort of shy and stuck to her mother and her favorite baby doll for much of the party.

I don't know who brought the water balloons...but my sister Anny (Skylar's mother) probably wasn't too happy with them. For some reason, when everyone started throwing balloons, they were all aimed at her. She was sopping wet by the time the mini-battle was over. Actually, I think Skylar inadvertently started it when he kept throwing the balloons at the ground and someone wanted to show him how to throw them at people...his mommy, of course.

I got some great shots of the battle with an instant camera I'd initially bought for
my vacation...and then joined in. Hey, they were already getting me wet while I took the pictures. I figured if I was going to get wet, I might as well do it with everyone else.

(I also got some nice shots of Skylar blowing a noisemaker over his Bob the Builder-themed cake and getting icing all over it, and Sky's later attempt to lick the icing off. Good thing we were about to eat the cake anyway at that point.)

I Wish I Was A Lineman For The County...

...Then I could fix this mess! X(

We had a massive thunderstorm yesterday afternoon, right before I went home from work. Though there were signs the electricity had been off, other than that, everything was fine when I arrived. The phone worked and the electricity was on (though I had to reset the clocks and air conditioner). There were no problems (and no more storms) for the rest of the afternoon. I even called my older friend Erica and told her I'd be able to volunteer on Thursday from 10 to 1, the first time I've volunteered in almost a month, thanks to my schedule. There was some static when Erica initially tried to call me, but she got through and I thought nothing of it.

Everything was fine until I tried to go online around 7:30PM. The computer kept saying it wasn't getting a dial tone, which couldn't be because everything was hooked up right. I checked three times. All the wires were fine. I finally put the wire for the house phone back (I use dial-up) and tried the house phone. Nothing. No dial tone. Just some weird buzzing. I went downstairs and called my landlady, and she said she'd call the phone company and get them to fix the problem.

I figured, that's that. This is a big area, and I'll bet they have plenty of people out, thanks to that storm. They'll be here later tonight. Well, I waited. I worked on stories. I cried. I screamed. I waited. Nothing. No phone company. No dial tone. Even the buzzing eventually stopped. Nothing. No phone. No internet.

I talked to Miss Ellie (my landlady) again this morning. She said she did call the phone company, and they were going to show...sometime Tuesday! How could that be? This big area, and they didn't have a hundred people dispatched to fix things after that huge storm?

And I couldn't do it Tuesday. I'm going down to Cape May County for my little nephew's third birthday party on Tuesday. We've planned it for weeks. I called the phone company from Miss Ellie's house. (HER phone is working just fine.) Not only did they say it was probably something in the basement (when Miss Ellie's phone was working and also comes from the basement) and would cost almost a 100 bucks, but they refused to reschedule Tuesday! I ended up getting someone to come on Wednesday morning...maybe.

I'm royally ticked off right now. I can't believe how stupid the phone company is. We live less than ten minutes from two of the largest cities in the United States of America, that storm yesterday was crazy enough and noisy enough to knock out everything within a hundred mile radius, and they STILL don't have enough people out? Why haven't they called every repair person they have? They're supposed to be doing their god-damn jobs!

I hate phone companies. I hate phones.

I'm not going to be online again until maybe Wednesday night at the earliest, which means there won't be any more updates to The Monkee Knight or this blog until then. I'm typing this at the tiny Oaklyn Library down the street from my apartment now, and I'll probably be kicked off any moment, since I've been on for almost an hour and it's busy.

Hot Fun In The Summertime

Just a quick drop-in. I worked for most of today, from 11 to 5. It was steady-to-dead, surprising for a Saturday. A lot of people probably stayed at home to avoid the heat. Actually, it wasn't so much hot today as it was heavy and humid; we're supposed to have more massive thunderstorms this weekend. I worked on the Monkees story a little before work, and probably will work on it tomorrow, as I work very early, from 8:30AM to 12:30PM. I really do prefer working mornings, but I wish they had me working them consistently. I haven't worked this early since the Fourth of July.

Down Thunder Road

Just a very quick note, as I hear thunder and I was online earlier anyway. I spent most of my day off working on my Monkees fanfic and looking at job ideas online. I did see some I liked, but I haven't drawn up the courage to send resumes yet.

It was hot and humid, which is why I spent most of the day inside, though I did run to Family Dollar really quick for a few items and stopped at WaWa for fixings for meatball sandwiches and a soda from that really cool fountain with the flavored syrups.

I may start posting my Monkees story here when I get closer to finishing it; we'll see how it goes.

Summertime Blues

Sigh. It's been fairly boring since I returned from vacation. I'm not even working much. I only had twenty hours this week.

The very thought of looking for a new job scares the living daylights out of me. It's hard for me to not look in the mirror and see a child, instead of a very frightened adult who is afraid nothing will ever change. The girl no one ever accepted, because she had weird habits and liked weird things and her body suddenly turned into a woman while she remained a child.

I just don't want to be hurt again. I don't want to go somewhere and have them immediately drop me...or laugh in my face because I'm so dull, plain, and unsophisticated.

Summertime...And The Livin's Easy

It's been a quiet couple of days, which is what I hoped it would be after last week. Today, I worked on my Monkees fanfic, added my new CDs and the books my grandma gave me to my inventories, and headed down the street to Doria's Deli to pick up some turkey. It was hot today. Not even humid, just hot. I turned the air conditioner and fan back on. It started raining lightly when I swept the porch after I got back from Doria's, but I don't think it has since.

Even work was dead last night. It got a little busy around 4-5PM, rush hour time, then went right back to being dead again. I don't imagine it'll be really busy during the week again until we get closer to Labor Day.

Back To Business

I more-or-less returned to the daily schedule today. Ran to the bank and did some work on my Monkees fantasy story. I'm going to try to concentrate on writing this week, since there really isn't much else I can do. I'm too broke to do any more traveling or major shopping at the moment, and I still want to rest up that knee (which got bounced around considerably on that Raging Rapids ride at Great Escape).

Watched Grand Hotel during dinner. I have the cast album for the 1989 musical, but I'd only read about the movie until now. God, that was awesome. If the Doctor really thinks nothing goes on in that hotel, he's been looking behind all the wrong doors. The starry cast really delivered, especially John and Lionel Barrymore as a Baron desperate for money and a sweet-natured former accountant determined to live life to the fullest after he discovers he's dying. (I almost cried along with Kringelin and Flammechen at the end, when he offered to take her to Paris. That was so sweet, and Joan Crawford and Lionel Barrymore did so well in that scene.)

Also went back to work, which much to my relief was busy but not much of a problem. A lot of people are probably still on vacation.

The weather behaved, too. It rained this morning, but by the time I was finished with work, it was sunny and 75 out. "Feels like a fall day," said one woman as I headed outside. I couldn't have agreed more. It felt more like a day in early September than mid-July...and I wish every day in mid-July felt this nice.

Citrus Sweet

I experimented with a low-fat version of Betty Crocker's Lemon Cake Mix and came up with this moist, sweet, low-fat winner. (You could probably use yellow or white cake mixes, too. Just add more lemon juice.)

Lemon-Lime Cake

1 Package Betty Crocker Lemon Cake Mix (Or your favorite lemon, yellow, or white cake mix)
1 Package Sugar-Free Jell-O Lemon Pudding Mix (Or your favorite sugar-free lemon or vanilla pudding mix)
3 Egg Whites
1/2 cup Wheat Germ
1/2 cup Unsweetened applesauce
2 tablespoons lemon juice
2 tablespoons lime juice
1 cup water
1 teaspoon lemon rind (optional)
1 package Sugar-Free Lime Jell-O (or your favorite sugar-free lime gelatin mix)

Turn stove on to 350 degrees. Coat your choice of pan with cooking spray. (I used a bundt pan.) Combine all ingredients but Lime Jell-O in large mixing bowl for about five minutes or until almost smooth. Add the lime Jell-O last, mixing lightly to create swirls. (Don't mix the Jell-o too thoroughly, or you'll lose the swirl effect.) Pour into choice of pan and bake for the time indicated for that pan on cake mix box.

Makes between 12 and 24 slice or 24 cupcakes, depending on the pan used.

And We Now Return You To Our Regularly Broadcast Blog

I got in from New England last night around 9. No major traveling problems either way this time. I ran into a little traffic going into New York on Monday, but nothing that caused any major delay; I also got lost in the Port Authority Bus Terminal. (Really, whoever designed that nightmare maze ought to be smacked with a fish. A lot.) The bus coming to Pittsfield going home was late; I barely made the New York bus.

I had a fun time with Lauren in North Adams, Massachusetts. It poured during the middle of the week, which did cancel out some of our plans. We spent a lot of time wandering around in malls. We did get to do the two major things we'd planned, though - we visited Six Flags Great Escape in upstate New York on Tuesday, and headed down to Wolf Road in Albany, a mecca of malls and huge shops, on Friday.

FYE was having a buy three used DVDs get one free sale; I picked up Galaxy Quest, Grand Hotel, Superman: The Movie (the original cut on DVD), and Superman Returns, the last of which I've been dying to see. The massive FYE in Albany yielded a huge room filled with nothing but heavily discounted jazz, country, oldies, and import CDs and random weird videos. I picked up CDs for Mandy Patikin, Jeanette MacDonald and Nelson Eddy (who are impossible to find on CD), and two British imports featuring Broadway music and performers. Lauren picked up seven CDs (though two country discs were for her father).

Great Escape was probably the most fun of our excursions. Between my bad knee and Lauren's motion sickness we were only able to go on a few rides, but we enjoyed what we did. The Grand Prix Raceway-with-50s-cars Thunder Alley and the Raging Rapids water rapids rides were the biggest hits. Lauren loves Raging Rapids so much, we rode it four times, three in a row. (We also rode the carousel, snapped a few pictures of the gorgeous view from the Ferris Wheel, and saw a very good Elvis impersonator and a cute Loony Tunes stage show parodying American Idol.)

The Arcade proved to be a disappointment. Last year, it had many Skee-Ball machines and other games of chance that could allow you to earn tickets you could turn in for points. Sadly, the skee-ball machines were moved to another building (and were all broken), and the other games were gone, replaced by basic video game machines. We did win some stuffed animals on boardwalk-style games, though. (I got a white lamb. She's adorable. :) )

Making up for this somewhat was, probably thanks to gorgeous, 70-degree weather, the characters were out in full force. I think I got a shot of every Loony Tune in Warner's roster at one time or another, two or three of Daffy, my favorite. (It was so hot when we went last year, we only saw two characters, and that as we were leaving.)

We spent a lot of a rained-out Wednesday and Thursday playing Lauren's new Nintendo Wii. Once you get the hang of it, that thing rocks. We played just about every two-player game we could open in Mario Party 8, and Lauren showed me Big Brain Academy and Super Paper Mario and even made a Mii of me! (She's slightly plump, wears red, and has wavy-ish hair and a round face and glasses.)

The other big highlight was seeing the new version of Hairspray in a brand-new theater five minutes from Lauren's house. I had to talk Lauren into it, but I'm glad I did, because we had a blast. That movie so sooo fun. As awesome as Michelle Pfiffer, Queen Latifa, James Marsden, and the kids were, John Travolta and Christopher Walken stole the show as Edna and Wilbur Turnblad, the supportive parents of vivacious Tracy, a big girl with an even bigger heart and an amazing talent for picking up hot dances. Their "You're Timeless To Me" duet had the theater in stitches and was probably the film's best number. Travolta was so good, there were times you'd forget he was a man in a fat suit and really see a timid, large-waisted housewife coming out of her shell.

We ate out every day. In addition to small food court booths, we took in Uno Bar and Grill (coming back from Great Escape), Olive Garden (in Albany - the Venetian Apricot Chicken was divine), and two local restaurants that are favorites of Lauren's, Boston Seafood in North Adams and The Highland in Pittsfield. (The latter has great spaghetti at terrific prices.)

I'm not looking forward to going back to work tomorrow. I hate work so much, and this week off just emphasized it. It was so nice to spend a week with someone I felt comfortable with, who accepted me for what I am. I'm gonna miss Lauren this week. She went on her second week of vacation with her folks, taking a bus tour to Cleveland to see a Red Sox-Indians game.

Turner Classic Head

Ok, I lied. THIS is the last entry until I get back from New England.

I was so excited about my vacation, I forgot to mention good ol' Turner Classic Movies now has an entry for The Monkees' strange-but-tuneful cult film Head in their database, as well as an article on it for their new late-night cult film show Turner Classic Underground.

I knew they had good taste. ;)

http://www.tcm.com/underground/movies/index.jsp?cid=157920

Preparation

Just dropping a quick blog entry, probably my last until I return from New England. I spent the morning packing and listening to the Beatles show on WOGL. It was so nice to be able to listen to the whole show! I haven't done that in at least a month. Heck, it was nice to not have to go into work on a Sunday for a change!

I ran to CVS really quick after the Beatles ended to pick up a few odds and ends. I could have taken a longer walk, but it was way too hot! I did, however, drop by Bruce and Ken's to confirm my departure time with Bruce (who'll be driving me to the Greyhound bus terminal in Mt. Laurel tomorrow morning). I also got a chance to say good-bye to Bruce's girlfriend Jodie and Miss Nancy, my kindly neighbor who is also a close friend of Uncle Ken's. (She, her family, and my landlady will be keeping an eye on my apartment while I'm gone this week.)

I spent the remainder of the day watching travel-and-vacation-related Disney and Garfield cartoons and trying to get rid of as much food in my refrigerator as possible.

Everyone have a great week!