And The Hits Just Keep On Coming

Spent the morning cleaning the bathroom and the kitchen and listening to WOGL's Top 1,000 Hits Countdown. It's a little early, but the bathroom in particular needed it. The sink and bathtub were really scummy. It was nicer out, too. It's still hot, but the humidity's gone and there's a great breeze. Scuttlebutt at the Acme says it's supposed to get even nicer as the week continues, which is good news for Fourth of July festivities. It was so cool this morning, I had the air conditioner off while I cleaned.

Work was steady-to-dead for most of the night, except for around the usual rush hour time. It won't be that way for much longer. Between the beginning of the month people and the 4th of July shoppers, I imagine the rest of the week will be far more chaotic.

Summer Sunday

Had a nice, quiet Sunday. Called Mom this morning while listening to records and eating cherries and French toast. Skylar was sent home last night. He got to Cooper too late to find out what's wrong with him. He'll be going back if he ever has another seizure like that again. No one's terribly surprised or happy with the verdict, but there's not much anyone can do besides wait and see. Mom was on her way out to the Hamilton Mall, 45 minutes from Erma, when I called. Daddy was at work and Keefe was helping Anny take care of the tired and frazzled Skylar.

Work was steady, with no major problems other than I'd like to know where everything that's supposed to be at the registers - like pens, the coupon and pricing papers for the Pick 5 meat promotion, cleaner, paper towels, and the tags for ringing up the 24 packs of water - are disappearing to. I think there's only one or two bottles of cleaner left between registers, and I kept having to borrow everyone else's tags. It's annoying. Where on EARTH is this stuff going?

I went for a walk after work. I had to run to Family Dollar for soap and Strawberry Newtons. I had the chance to stop and talk to my neighbor as I left. He said he'd look at the wheel on my older blue bike tomorrow and see if he had a tarp and some rust remover for both. Good. I really need to take better care of both bikes. They're my only transportation besides my feet and the public variety.

It was a surprisingly silent night. No one was out and about. It's still hot and muggy, but there was a nice breeze and it wasn't too bad in the shade by 5PM. Neither Family Dollar nor WaWa (where I went for a Chocolate-Cherry Coke Zero) were busy, either.

The Mouse With the Electric Personality

I ran the usual Farm Market/bank/yard sale chores this morning. It was hot and muggy, and it just didn't seem as busy as usual in the neighborhood. Even the Farm Market wasn't quite as bustling. With fewer dogs and people around, I had no problems buying leeks, spinach, whole-wheat bread, two small organic cucumbers (they were a quarter each!), blueberries, cherries, celery, and the first New Jersey peaches of the season.

There were few yard sales this week, too. They didn't have much. I did find one double-family sale on Kendall Boulevard with a nice selection of stuffed animals. I finally bought a completely adorable Pichu. Pichu is the rare "baby" form of the mouse-like electric Pokemon Pikachu. Apparently, this fellow had once been a talking Pichu, but was no longer able to talk. I was going to change his batteries when I got home and discovered his "voice box" has an on-off switch. I turned him on, and he works fine. Why doesn't every talking stuffed toy come with one of those?

I spent the rest of the morning cuddling Pichu, reading books, and listening to records. I'm actually sort of glad there wasn't much going on today. The humidity was nasty and I was sweating buckets by the time I got in.

Work was on-and-off busy, with no real problems other than some obnoxious customers. It's almost the beginning of the month and getting close to a major holiday. That's to be expected.

Summer Rain

I woke up late again this morning and had blueberry muffins, but I was almost late for work! Not a good thing today. We were off-and-on busy all day long. Thankfully, other than a lack of front-end managers, there were no other real problems. My relief was slightly late, but he said he got waylaid by a couple of old ladies looking for items on his way to the front.

The local weather reports have listed "scattered thunderstorms" every day for almost a week now. I hadn't seen a rain drop yet...until I got out of the Acme around ten of 6 after doing some grocery shopping. It poured on my way home, and I got soaked. I stopped under a tree on Kendall Boulevard in the hope it would slow down, but it never did. I got tired of waiting and decided to live with getting wet instead.

I had a message from Rose when I got in. Mom called her and told her something bad happened, but Rose didn't elaborate over the phone. I called Mom. According to her, my three-year-old nephew Skylar went into a grand seizure this morning. He was sleeping between my sister Anny and her boyfriend Mike. When she tried to wake him, his eyes were open, but he wasn't responding. Anny thought he looked like he was going to be sick, so she took him into the bathroom. He was sick there, but his limbs were all rubbery. Anny and Mike got him in the car to take him into the hospital. Three blocks from their apartment, Skylar went stiff and started to choke. They pulled over in North Wildwood and let Skylar cough up more gunk, this time frothy. Thoroughly frightened, Mike called 911 while Anny handled her son. Thanks to the popularity of the Wildwood Islands with young adults and teens, there are cops all over the islands in the summer. An officer answered their call in less than three minutes; an ambulance was there in less than five.

Skylar originally rode out his seizure in Burdette Tomlin Memorial Hospital in Cape May Courthouse, about 10 minutes from North Wildwood. Skylar gave them such a hard time after he got out of his seizure that they had to subdue him. A three-year-old waking up in a strange place and having no idea how he'd gotten there isn't a good combination with Sky's aggressive personality. Burdette Tomlin was going to let him go after they felt the danger had passed, but Anny said she'd rather wait for Sky's pediatrician instead. She was right. The pediatrician recommended he go to Cooper University Hospital's Pediatric Neurology department for further evaulation. He was there as of quarter of 7PM, resting. Mom says they haven't tested him yet; tonight, they're just observing him.

Actually, as scary as this was for Anny and Skylar, I think this might ultimately prove to be helpful for both. I'm wondering if Sky may have epilepsy. Mom told me she thinks Skylar there, not really looking or listening or moving, just a little stiff for a few minutes. She also said he's been complaining about feeling "hot and dizzy" a lot, often right before he goes stiff. I remember a few kids in Special Services who had epilepsy, and I studied it briefly when I took psychology classes in college, too.

Mom said she'll call again when they get through the tests and Sky's let go, which probably won't be until tomorrow evening at the earliest. I might see if I can get Anny's address (I forgot to write it down after she sent me that birthday card) and send Sky a get-well-soon card to cheer up him and his mother.

I went out to dinner at the Oaklyn Manor Bar down the street after that to cheer up ME. The Oaklyn Manor Bar is one of the few watering holes in the Camden suburbs. Most of the small towns around here are dry. (I think the only other "wet" town nearby is Westmont.) It was busy when I got in, but I knew it would be. Unless people feel like hiking to Philly and risking Mother Nature's wrath (the rain had stopped by this point, but it was still cloudy and damp), there aren't too many other choices. The menu is limited but tasty. I bought a chicken steak with fried onions that was very good, not too greasy and just the right size. (I ate the whole thing and didn't feel like a bloated whale afterwards, like I often do after I eat big restaurant sandwiches.)

After dinner, I was going to go for a walk, but it started to rain again and I cut it short. I made a brief stop at Uncle Ken's to see if Dad, Jess, and Jodie were back from Bethlehem. Not only were they back, but Vanessa, Brittany, Mark, Dolores, Dolores' grandchildren Blake and Mercedes, and a friend of Vanessa's named Tasha were all sitting on the porch, chatting as the rain fell. I talked to them for a while and finalized 4th of July plans (we're going to go to Uncle Ken's daughter Samantha's house in the mid-afternoon after I get in from work), then headed home.

Here, There, Everywhere

I did a LOT of running around today. Unfortunately, I discovered you have to send in a form to get the vision insurance claim benefits. Rose and I did go to the Lens Crafters at the Cherry Hill Mall today, but we decided to wait until I'd sent in the claim, so no, I didn't get my glasses replaced. I have an old pair with my older prescription. I can see well enough to get by, although these are slightly weaker and it's not as easy to see far-away print now. Oh well. That's what I get for not going to an eye doctor for seven years. We'll go back or to somewhere similar after I get my claim.

Rose and I did some other shopping. She's trying to get her clothes together for her trip to Costa Rica next month, and I wanted a dress or a nice spring skirt. I did get a skirt at the Gap. It's a knee-length, ruffled skirt that swirls when it twirls. I've always had a weakness for dresses that twirl. It's a little frou-frou, but it's cute and it does look nice on me. Not only was it on sale for $12.99, but it was a Large. I haven't worn a Large since high school! Between the price and the size, that skirt made me very happy.

I had lunch after Rose dropped me off, then went to Collingswood to say "hi" to Erica at the thrift shop, drop off a few donations, and head over to Genesis for counseling. Scott and I mainly talked about trying to control my fits of frustration around other people. It IS hard. The first thing that comes to mind when I do something dumb is that I shouldn't have done it and it was stupid. I know it's harsh, but...I shouldn't have done it. I also know I'll never get a real job if I can't calm down and not get upset at work.

After counseling, I threw caution (and the hot, muggy weather) to the wind and decided that a few hours in Philadelphia was better than none. I was able to go to my favorite FYE and Borders on Broad Street and up to the Gallery Mall. It's not what I had planned, but it's what I was able to do with the time I had, and I did get something I wanted - the newly released Sword In the Stone: 45th Anniversary Edition DVD that the local FYE didn't have.

I didn't get home until around quarter after six, and it was around 6:30 when I finally got to doing my laundry. Uncle Ken was chatting with his neighbors and listening to a Phillies game on the radio. (He switched to WOGL after the game ended.) I read The Elusive Pimpernel, ate Uncle Ken's ham and bean soup, and went for a relaxing swim with some of the neighborhood kids and their parents.

When Things Were Rotten

Today was not a good day. No, I never made it to Yogawood. I slept too late. I walked over to Dad's and gave him his share of the Christmas and Easter pictures instead. (There were a few shots of my porch in the fall and during the only snowstorm we had last year, and three pictures of Thanksgiving and Christmas decorations I took to remember how I did them so I can do them again more-or-less the same way this year. Obviously, Dad didn't get those.) Dad was still cleaning the pool, this time sweeping the bottom. I caught him at a good time. He, Jodie, and Jessa are going on a trip to Bethlehem, PA to visit relatives and to do some work for Campbell's Soup for Jodie. (Campbell's has their headquarters in Camden and Jodie is a tour guide and head of phone operators there.)

I went for a walk around the neighborhood after I left Dad. I wandered down some side streets behind West Clinton and ended up at the Oaklyn-Lions Park. I rode a few slides and goofed around a little at the playground, then headed home across the large lawn/baseball field. I wasn't even half-way there when I felt something small and sharp sting one of my toes. Sure enough, there was a huge bee dripping nasty stuff on my toes and sandal. Ugh. I managed to get both the bee and the stinger out, but I limped to Doria's Deli for roast beef and a Diet Wild Cherry Pepsi soda, and then limped home.

I remembered Mom used made a paste out of baking soda and water and apply that to bee stings, so I did that as soon as I got in. It still feels a little sore, but not as bad as when it first happened. I must have gotten the stinger out in time. I spent the rest of the afternoon looking up Free Library of Philadelphia Branches near the PATCO stops without much luck. Apparently, most of the people in the Philadelphia area who read are in northern or western Philly. I only found four anywhere close to the PATCO - one in Chinatown, two on South Broad Street, and one in South Philly. I was hoping to volunteer at one of them.

Work was going fine until an hour and a half before my shift was done. I took off my glasses to wipe them and accidentally bent the wire frames. When I tried to pull them back into shape, one side of the glasses snapped off the nose piece! I was so upset. No matter what nice things my customers said, I still felt embarrassed. I had to work almost literally blind as one of my co-workers tried to glue them back together. It didn't work. The glue just got all over the lenses. There just wasn't enough to reattach. (Good thing I can pretty much do the register by rote now.) I ended up having to call for a ride home. One of the teenage girls managed to tape them together long enough for Jodie and Jessa to get me and my bike home and for me to go over to Dad's house to see if anyone there could help.

Dad and Uncle Ken finally used something hot and smelly called Nassau to get them to stick together temporarily after duct tape and more super glue didn't hold. Rose and her boyfriend Craig were there, too. Rose offered to take me to the Lens Crafters in the Cherry Hill Mall tomorrow to get new frames and maybe even (finally) get my eyes examined. That's something else I've put off for seven years. I haven't been to the eye doctor or had new glasses since 2001. I haven't had the money! I was seriously broke for at least two years after moving to Wildwood, which was not helped by the sudden death of my laptop.

This means I'll have to do the laundry later than planned. I can't do it on Friday morning - I work at 11PM. It means I may not get into Philadelphia like I'd hoped, which means I won't be able to for the second week in a row.

This is just so, so frustrating. It's what happens when you procrastinate. I shouldn't have put off getting glasses and doing my teeth once I did have the money. It might not have cost so much now.

Summertime Dreams

What a gorgeous, perfect summer's day. It was at least 80 degrees, no humidity, with a wonderfully cool wind. I didn't have to work until 4PM, so I had a late breakfast of a cheddar and mushroom omelet and an English muffin and called Mom to say "hi," since I couldn't get her yesterday. I did catch her this time. Apparently yes, Skylar was kicked out of day care, and Anny can't afford the more expensive summer sessions anyway, so Mom and Dad are taking care of him in the mornings until his mother comes home. She seemed happy enough. She and Sky were taking advantage of the cooler day and baking cupcakes with green icing (Sky's favorite color). She loves to cook, and it sounds like Sky does, too. Maybe it helped that she had him alone. Dad's on a fishing trip and Keefe was working at a local day cooking camp for pre-teens held at the high school that he once attended himself.

I decided that since I worked late anyway, I'd do this week's library volunteering in the morning instead of on the afternoon of my day off. I already have counseling and laundry planned for Thursday, and possibly a short trip into Philadelphia if the weather stays nice (which it's not supposed to). I worked on the children's DVDs, which needed it after my absence last week, and headed out. I picked up a cookie mix from Dollar Tree, but it turned out to be a bad idea. The mix tasted weird, chalky and VERY stale, and didn't improve as actual cookies. I ended up throwing them away. (Of course, I didn't notice that the box had expired a year ago until AFTER I mixed the cookies. No more cheap dollar store mixes after this!)

Not surprisingly, given the gorgeous day, work was dead. It got a little busy around between 4:30 and 6:30, the usual rush hour time, but otherwise everyone seemed to be out enjoying the lovely day (as well they should), and there were no major problems.

I finally picked up my pictures from Rite Aid before work. They were mostly from last Christmas and Easter, with a few shots of fall foliage, the only major snow storm we had this past winter, and one picture I got of Taylere's graduation before I realized I'd brought the camera that was almost done instead of the new one. Except for the first picture (I have no idea what that was), they all came out very, very well. I'm glad I got some nice shots of Jessa in particular - like my brother Keefe, she's not fond of picture-taking.

I'm debating whether or not to try Yogawood tomorrow. They're having a half-price sale on the first class of the day, but I just got that time of the month, and you're not supposed to do yoga during that time of the month. However, I told Scott I'd go to a class three weeks ago, and I've put it off. Last week, I had a legitmate reason - I was barely up for work, much less classes - but I didn't two weeks ago and I'm not sure that I do now.

On one hand, I feel bad. I told him I'd do it, and people should keep their promises. And I do want to do it. On the other hand, I also told Rose I'd wait until the fall and go to a class with her, and I'm very nervous about it. I'm not that great at yoga, and I'm afraid that everyone will know everyone and will have the right clothes and do the right things and I'll look stupid and babyish again, just like I always do. I must sound like such a baby. I shouldn't worry about things.

Battling the Cold

I went to CVS this morning for more daytime cold medicine. (I still have plenty of the nighttime capsules left.) It was cloudy, damp, and muggy, but relatively cool. They've been threatening isolated, scattered thunderstorms for the past two or three days now, but all we've had are the occasional cloud. As long as it doesn't rain while I'm on the bike, I wish we WOULD get those storms. We need them. It's getting really dry out there.

I stopped really quick at Uncle Ken's house to say "hi" to Dad, who was cleaning the pool. Whatever I have seems to be going around, and not just at the Acme, either. Jessa's sick now, too. No wonder she was so out of it when we watched Hannah Montana together last Thursday. (I hope I didn't give it to her...)

I spent the rest of the morning puttering around on the computer and reading Cheaper By The Dozen. My head is still stuffy and I'm still coughing and sneezing, but my sore throat and any lingering remains of last week's fever are gone. Once again, I spent a busy work day sucking on cough drops. (Good thing they had plenty of help and no need for me beyond my scheduled four hours.) I stopped at the Rite Aid next-door to the Acme to pick up my film. The film turned out to be almost $13 (they're mostly Christmas pictures - I got doubles for Dad and Uncle Ken), and I only had $10 on me. I'll get it tomorrow evening.

Purr-Fect WebKinz!

Oh, and I forgot! Meet Yum-Yum, my purrr-fectly witty and sophisticated Siamese Cat! She's the queen of the KinzBeach Boardwalk, living in and running the KinzBeach Resort Hotel and Cafe. She came with a Posing Plant that will join her Settee in the lobby of the "hotel" and my first Amethyst Geode. (I have no idea what I'll do with that. Maybe it'll be a boulder in one of my yards...)

Running Hot and Colds

The cold continues. I coughed all through work today. I sucked on a LOT of cough drops. Jean called me around 9AM and asked me if I wanted to come in at 10:30 instead of 11:30. I said no. I'd just gotten up, and it was bad enough I had to cough around people for five hours, much less six. Work was busy, too, with long lines all through the day. There was plenty of help, so I'm not sure what the early call was for.

Rose called me while I was at work. She had some time off, and she wondered if I wanted to go visit the family on Tuesday? Sorry, I have work that day. She said she and her boyfriend Craig would go to the Poconos instead. She said she has a week off after the Fourth of July weekend, and we're usually dead then and I won't be going on vacation until September, so we might try again then.

Oh, and I finally finished The Greatest American Hero: Season 2 today. Started with some fairly goofy episodes, but ended strong, with two episodes in a row about being careful whom you date - Ralph's mother falls for a con artist in Who's Woo In America, and FBI agent Bill Maxwell becomes enamored with a woman who turns out to be an enemy agent in Lilacs, Mr. Maxwell. One of the first episodes was my very favorite. We learn more about the history of Ralph's infamous red super suit and question the nature of death in Don't Mess Around With Jim, when Ralph and Bill are the target of an aging multi-millionaire who knows an awful lot about Ralph's big secret. Other good episodes include the touching Train of Thought, the spooky ghost tale The Beast In Black, and the surprisingly sweet Captain Bellybuster and the Speed Factory.

Hot Summer Cold

The flu I've had all week has downgraded to a summer cold, but it's still not fun. At the very least, my headache and neck ache are gone and I don't feel (abnormally) hot, but I've been sneezing and coughing all day, and now my throat is sore again from coughing so much!

Other than my cold, today went somewhat well. I did my usual farm-market/yard sale/bank run this morning. I'll be making the Farm Market errands run every morning that I work early enough until late November, when the Farm Market closes for the year. I picked up cherries, celery, blueberry butter, a block of cheddar cheese, mushrooms, string beans, and the first New Jersey blueberries of the season from the Farm Market.

I bought two WebKinz, the just-released Siamese Cat and the Pet-of-the-Month Elephant, from the Collingswood Variety Store after leaving the Farm Market. (I was lucky to find the Elephant. One of the stock people had to go in the back and look for it, and it was apparently one of the last they had left.) I stopped in the thrift shop to say "hi" to Erica. She thanked me profusely for the card and pumpkin butter I gave her last week.

I made a few yard sale finds today, though I didn't do quite as good as last week. I bought a Beanie Baby Turkey and a Wolf with odd ruby-red eyes for fall decorations (Thanksgiving and Halloween respectively - that wolf looks more like the were variety). I found a Sailor Moon Trapper-Keeper at one sale and a stack of records at another. Picked up Bruce Springsteen's Born To Run, the original 1972 Broadway cast of Grease, more George Benson (Breezin'), Madonna's True Blue, the soundtrack for the 1969 movie version of Oliver, and Alternatives, a collection of non-hit B-sides of popular folk and rock performers of the late 60s and early 70s, including Jimi Hendrix, the Grateful Dead, Joni Mitchell, and the Mothers Of Invention.

I got in around noon and had lunch and hung out until it was time to go to work. Despite leaving on time, I was almost late. The chain on my bike came loose about half-way to the Acme. I ended up having to walk part-way. I wasn't happy, but I was (just barely) on time and no one was angry but me...and even I calmed down when I realized everyone was in a fairly good mood, customers and employees alike, and there were no problems. (And one of the teen boys was able to fix my bike, so I did ride home.)

Oh, and meet Louis, my WebKinz Elephant! Louis is a jazz-playing, joke-loving pachyderm who lives in a loft above the KinzBeach and Boardwalk. Louis' Pet-of-the-Month gift, the Sparkle-Making Machine, inspired me to finally set up a room I've wanted to make for a long time - the KinzBeach Boardwalk! I made my WebKinz their own Wildwood Boardwalk, complete with two "rides" (I finally figured out what to do with my flying saucer and two airplanes, and Louis' Big Top Cart fit in nicely, too), a food booth, and two "games" (knock-the-baseball-off-the-can and balloon darts). I'd gotten a lot of random toys lately that made for perfect game prizes. Finally found a spot for a lot of the balloons that I've gathered, too.