Sunny Day Sweeping the Clouds Away

Began the morning with breakfast and Shirt Tales. This Hanna-Barbara series debuted around the same time as Pac Man on NBC initially in 1982. I fondly remember watching it and Pac Man on the USA Network Cartoon Express animation block later in the 80's. Five small animals in shirts that change color and light up with phrases escape their caretaker Mr. Dinkel in the park and solve mysteries or rescue each other. Their first mystery is "The Case of the Golden Armor." They have to figure out how a suit of armor walked out of a museum and who has been smuggling gold. They have to rescue one of their own when two ambitious circus owners steal Pammy Panda and force her to star in "Crumbling's Circus Caper."

Took my laundry downstairs, then listened to music while doing paperwork for the Acme's health insurance and online work. The Beach Boys' Party! is unique in their history, and frankly in rock history. The songs, though recorded as a normal album, are presented as a real party, with goofing off and chatting in the background. All of the songs were written by other groups, including four originally recorded by the Beatles. Their vibrant "Barbara Ann" was the big hit here. They also mess around with "Hully Gully," "Papa-Oom-Mow-Mow," "I Should Have Known Better," "Alley Oop," and even a bit of their own "I Get Around" and "Little Deuce Coupe."

The 1984 Olympics album, the second half of which I listened to while bringing my laundry upstairs and putting it away, was a little disappointing. The vocal selections are good, not great. "Street Thunder" by Foreigner and "A Chance for Heaven" by Christopher Cross are the best of a so-so lot. The instrumental numbers are generally better. John Williams' "Olympic Fanfare and Theme" sound more like they come from Indiana Jones than the Olympic opening ceremony. "Bugler's Dream" and Bill Conti's "Power" are a little less bombastic. In general, this is more for really rabid fans of these Olympics collections like me or huge fans of the musicians involved.

By the time I was finished, it was past quarter of 2. I didn't have the time to buy lunch out like I had hoped, so I stopped at Speedy Mart for a banana, a cinnamon muffin, and a treat. I ate the muffin on my way to the school...and even with eating on my bike and rushing, I was still five minutes late. (I ate the banana with the kids at snack time.)

Not a good thing. For one thing, there were 26 kids today, 9 at my table. For another, we're once again short-handed. Two teachers called out. The younger woman and a slightly grumpy man a little bit younger than me ended up with the younger kids while the head teacher dealt with the older ones. The kids were just wound up - in the halls outside of the bathroom, in the cafeteria. I kept having to argue with one young lady who was running around all day and not listening, though she did give me a big hug later and held onto me me as we went inside. 

Things went a little better when we got the kids outside and let them run around. Though it was gale-force windy and much chillier, in the mid-50's, it was also frankly a lot easier to deal with than the 80-90 degree temperatures we had last week. One of the littlest boys ran to me upset because the new boy wanted to play monster trucks with another boy and not him. Fortunately, he cheered up with the head teacher found the chalk and brought it to the playground. (In fact, that little boy ended up covered in a lot of chalk dust!) They all chased each other in tune to "I Like To Move It," the themes from Spongebob Squarepants, Bluey, Mickey Mouse Clubhouse, Sesame Street, Paw Patrol, and Hannah Montana, "Try Everything" from Zootopia, and songs from Moana 2, KPop Demon Hunters, and Trolls. 

We took them inside around 4:40, but they weren't inside for more than 20 minutes before most of them decided they'd rather go out on the blacktop and play ball games. I joined them, since I was leaving soon anyway. Went inside to use the bathroom, then headed back down the White Horse Pike. Stopped quickly at Crown Chicken and Gyro to get a tilapia sandwich and fries for dinner.

Ate dinner while watching Match Game '90. Most of tonight's episodes were devoted to the week with Charles, Vicki Lawrence, Dana Fleming, and Brad Garrett showing off his uncanny imitation of Herman Munster. Bill Kirkenbauer and Sally Struthers returned for the last episode, joined by Meredith MacRae (then a morning show hostess) and Rebecca Arthur (Mary Anne on Perfect Strangers) and her cute little white poodle Emmy. 

Finished the night at YouTube reliving more of my childhood with game shows I loved as a kid. Contraption was The Disney Channel's first - and for many years, only - game show. Two teams of kindergarten-age kids answer Disney trivia based on scenes from movies seen at different "stations" - Books, Animals, Heroes and Villains, and in the bonus round, Magic. The more questions the kids answers correctly, the more "Contrap-tiles" they win for their group. In between rounds, they each do a short race on a "contraption" vehicle, a hand-powered "magic carpet," a hamster wheel of "fire," or a "boat" bike, to win even more tiles. Team with most tiles at the end wins the big prize package. This is a lot more fun than it sounds, especially if you're a Disney fan like me and my sisters. Considering this ran for 5 years, I'm surprised Disney has never tried reviving it with updated movie scenes or doing anything like it again.

Double Dare went even further with the "contraptions" starting in 1986. We loved watching the kids toss gunk around in those "physical challenges" and try to get through the grueling bonus round obstacle course! I actually preferred the imitation Fun House from 1989. Basically the same idea without the "dares" on questions and the obstacle course replaced with a run through the slightly less-messy Fun House. I still prefer the Fun House run to the Double Dare obstacle course. With the Fun House run, all but the slowest kids come out with a lot of money or a really big prize, as they do here.

Where In the World Is Carmen Sandiego, which ran on PBS in the early-mid 90's, proved that kids' game shows could be entertaining and educational. At a time when world geography and history was changing daily, three kids attempted to help "The Chief" (Broadway actress Lynn Thigpen), host Greg Lee, and the members of rock group Rockapella track down one of Sandiego's bizarre hench-people and the even stranger objects they stole. In the episode here, Wonder Rat has made off with the Walk of Fame, stars in Hollywood with the names of people who have distinguished themselves in TV, radio, or movies. 

Of course, I watched the occasional adult-oriented game show as a kid, too. Some of my earliest childhood memories are of seeing The $25,000 Pyramid on CBS. I thought all those grown ups trying to describe different subjects were absolutely hilarious. It helped that I recognized many of them, too, like Jo Ann Worley (who did cartoon voices in the 80's and 90's) and Michael J. Fox at the height of his original success with Family Ties. 

Like every kid from the 70's onwards, I looked forward to seeing The Price Is Right when I was at home sick or on a rainy summer's day when the weather was too messy for the beach. This episode from 1990 is pretty emblematic of what I remember about Price Is Right in my childhood as a whole - Bob Barker has white hair, Rod Roddy is announcing in a flashy suit, and there's at least one funny Showcase (in this case, different kinds of "rocks," from a jukebox playing rock music to a car to get you over rocks). 

It was even more fun when Family Feud debuted and ran back-to-back with Price. Despite Mom saying I used to watch the Richard Dawson version with her in the early 80's, I don't remember much about it. I did love seeing Ray Combs field crazy answers from all those families as an older kid, though! 

One of the few things my family did together as a family was watch Wheel of Fortune and Jeopardy! on ABC after dinner and World News Tonight. Went with a Wheel of Fortune episode from 1987 that was, once again, pretty typical of what I remember the show being like during my childhood. They even use their winnings to go shopping for prizes between rounds, though there is an artwork prize on the Wheel at one point, too.

If you were a kid in the 80's and early 90's too, I hope you equally enjoy this fond trip down memory lane with some of my favorite childhood game shows!

Contraption (1983)

The New $25,000 Pyramid (1984)

Double Dare (1986)

Wheel of Fortune (1987)

Family Feud (1988)

Fun House (1989)

The Price Is Right (1990)

Where In the World Is Carmen Sandiego (1992)

Wild In the Library

Got a quick start this morning with breakfast, She-Ra and the Princesses of Power, and the first episode of season five. "Horde Prime" is the ultimate Bond villain, slick on the outside, the world's biggest jerk on the inside. He thinks he can force Glimmer to tell him what happened to She-Ra, but...er, there's a slight problem. Adora broke her sword in "Destiny" and can no longer become She-Ra. She's been fighting more on her own, feeling she has nothing to offer her friends anymore. The others save her and remind her that there's a lot more to her than just being She-Ra.

Soon as the episode ended, I called Uber. Unfortunately, the driver took 12 minutes, and I was just barely late to work. Thankfully, work wasn't terribly busy. The weather is improving - it was a bit misty and cloudy, but not too cold - and we're between holidays again. In fact, I spent an hour doing three online training courses. When I finished, one of the college boys was sweeping, so I focused on the carts.

After work, I bought water for later, then walked in the back to Tang Asian Buffet. Thought I'd do them in honor of Chinese New Year yesterday. They weren't that busy at 1:30. I think more people do dinner there. I watched the Olympic Women's Freestyle Skiing Aerials on TVs over the buffet counters while I ate salad, pineapple chunks, sweet and sour chicken, chilled mussels, green beans, rice noodles with vegetables, a spring roll, a cheese-filled wonton, two pork dumplings, seafood salad, spinach souffle, tiramisu (which was really more of a tiramisu pudding), and a tiny square of chocolate mousse cake. (Incidentally, I later found out one of the two Chinese ladies came in first, followed by the Australian woman. The highest the US got was fifth.)

Walked back to the Acme as the sun was peeking around the mists and read magazines until it was time to call Uber. This was the only time all day it didn't take forever to get one. They picked me up in 7 minutes and got me to the Thomas Sharp School right on time, with no traffic anywhere.

The kids were wild today. Somehow, I ended up taking the 7 kids at my table to the bathroom, plus four more who really needed to go. The girls were so nuts in the bathroom, they got water and soap all over the floor. One young lady valiantly tried to clean up the floor while the others skated on it. I finally told her that I appreciated the help, but we would leave it to the custodians. 

It didn't get much better after lunch. The head teacher was busy with a visiting inspector, which meant the other teacher and I were frequently on our own with 20 bored kids who hadn't been on their playground in over a month. I tried reading to them at the book table in the cafeteria, but they all swarmed around me, and I had to stand so they could see it. They were even crazier in the library, running around and standing on tables and hiding under tables when we'd specifically told them not to. At least three kids bonked their heads and ended up taking ice packs home with them. We were in the library for so long trying to get the kids settled down, I stayed slightly later to help them clean up and get back to the cafeteria.

Had more trouble getting an Uber home. They didn't arrive for 13 minutes, and there was a little traffic around Collings Avenue and the White Horse Pike. No trouble after that, though. 

Went straight into dinner and Match Game Syndicated when I got home. Jon "Bowser" Bauman and his big, wide mouth and sneaker-shaped bag returned this week. Small and sensible Arte Johnson was more frustrated about being caught between slightly dizzy blondes Joyce Bulifant and Eva Gabor. Eva just wished oil from the pipes over them wouldn't drip on her pretty blue dress. Gene eventually gave her an umbrella to keep the drips off.

Finished the night after a shower with more fifth season She-Ra and the Princesses of Power. While Glimmer tentatively bonds with a frustrated Catra, Entraptra and the others try to keep the Rebellion going. Adora, overworked and undernourished, takes a long nap...and follows a light figure who finally reminds her that they do have a way to save Glimmer that doesn't involve her sword. Entraptra may not be great with people, but she can "Launch" Adora and Bow into space in their stolen First Ones ship. 

Wait For It

It was still relatively sunny when I heard Lauren's parents moving around 7:30. I read, wrote, and packed until Lauren emerged at 9. We spent our last hour together playing more Rayman Origins. She'd already been working on the first level of the next world, your basic ice world. We did another ice world, then finished with the fire levels. We got one level in the ocean-themed fourth world in before Lauren realized it was time to go.

The clouds were starting to gather as we headed through the countryside of western Massachusetts and upstate New York, but they still weren't really threatening at that point. There was no traffic, and we arrived at the Albany-Rensslauer Train Station with enough time for me to buy a Chicken Caesar Salad for lunch, and for us to watch some of the Team Rhythmic Gymnastics finals, one of the last Olympic competitions. Incidentally, we did see Russia's eventual gold-medal-winning performance. I thought the crowd seemed to like the routines from Israel and the Ukraine (the latter did theirs to Madonna's "Vogue") better.

The train had no trouble leaving the station on time, around 12:05. They were crazy-full. I was able to eat my lunch before I was joined by a young man who spent most of the ride either sleeping or messing around with his phone. I listened to music on my iPod and enjoyed the spectacular view. The view going to New York is glorious, all shining lakes and green mountains dotted with mansions and cabins. It's so postcard-worthy.

We were a little late getting into New York, but it wasn't a big deal. The trouble started after we finally made it to Penn Station. I kept checking the departure monitor every few minutes. The train with my number on it was coming to Boston, and it was 50 minutes late. It took them nearly 20 minutes to figure out that the same train on its way to Washington DC was not going to be on-time. It first said 35, then switched to 45 around 4 PM. I spent most of the time reading Lando Calarissian and the Star Cave of the Thromboka, using the bathroom, and constantly checking either the monitor or the main board. When the train did finally arrive, it was so full, the line had to be split into two entrances just to get everyone on.

By the time we finally rolled out of Penn Station at nearly 5, the rain that had threatened in the New York suburbs was now coming down in torrents. The train was so darn full, I grabbed one of the last seats in the very back of the car, next to the bathroom. I was initially joined by an older woman and a man and his adorable daughter. The woman got off at Elizabeth; the man and his daughter eventually joined the rest of their family. I finished the ride with two teen boys in goth dress and a college-age girl, all of whom spent the ride playing with their smartphones and hand-held video games

Didn't make it to Philly until 6:30. I just barely had enough time to grab a hoagie at Jersey Mike's, eat it fast, and dash to the NJ Transit train. Thankfully, by this point, the rain had stopped. In fact, there was a rather nice sunset. Also, once again, we left on time but were late arriving in Cherry Hill, thanks to stopping to let another train go past. Dad picked me up at the platform and drove me home.

I called the Acme as soon as I got in, even before I unpacked everything else. I'm working 1 to 5 tomorrow. Good. That'll give me time to get organized and do some writing, and it's not too hard for my first day back in over a week.

And yes, today ends my vacation. I'm glad I did it in August this year, instead of waiting for the fall. I had an even better time with Lauren this year than I did last year. We're talking about Lauren coming to New Jersey earlier next year, in May instead of June. It's too hot in June for all the walking we do, not to mention to keep the air conditioning off. (Lauren doesn't like air conditioning. Her family has no air conditioners.) The kids will still be in school, and a lot of the places we frequently visit here will be quieter.

The Rain, the Malls, and Other Things

I was up by 8 this morning. It was hazy and sunny but not nearly as hot as it's been in Oaklyn. I finished Lando Calarissian and the Mindharp of Sharu, and wrote in my journal. Had cereal and an apple for breakfast, eating in the living room to avoid waking up everyone else. Lauren was finally up by 9; we were out the door by 9:30.

The countryside in Western Massachusetts and Upstate New York is absolutely gorgeous. They're just so GREEN for mid-August. Southern New Jersey's barely had any rain. The grass looks more like it should be piled in a barn to feed cows. Up here, the grass is brilliant and soft and smells sweet. Colorful wildflowers, black-eyed susans and Queen Anne's Lace, dot the roadsides. We wound our way through lovely historic towns with whitewashed old churches and chrome-covered diners, and rugged farming villages dotted with ancient, peeling barns and wind-blown farm houses.

An exit off the highway took us directly to our first mall of the day. Crossgates Mall has a good-sized Best Buy. I didn't see anything I wanted, but Lauren had a real reason to be there. Her stereo speaker is old and keeps sputtering. I browsed the store while she bought a new one.

I've never seen a Best Buy that opens directly into a mall. In Camden County, big box stores and malls tend to end up in separate buildings. They seem to be more common as anchors up here. After Lauren stowed her new stereo in the trunk of her van, we headed into the main mall to explore.

Our first stop in the mall proper was Jay Street Video Games, a chain that sells vintage used games along with recent titles. Lauren didn't get anything here, but I found a book with detailed maps and tips for Lego Indiana Jones 2.

We both hit pay dirt at FYE. This one was not only pretty big for a mall store, but it looked like it had been recently opened or remodeled. The sign was orange letters in simple white circles, very different than the old blue logo. I took advantage of a buy two used DVDs, get one for a dollar sale to pick up three of the four Daniel Craig James Bond movies. (Spectre is still kind of pricey, even used.) Also found the only "official" Bond film I haven't seen at all, Roger Moore's second outing The Man With the Golden Gun, on sale for $4.99. (I saw bits and pieces of For Your Eyes Only on cable as a kid.) None of the films were expensive. I got all four for around $18. (Incidentally, Quantum of Solace was the dollar movie.)  Lauren picked up wrestling t-shirts for her and her dad.

I didn't do well anywhere else. Lauren wanted to check out Bath and Body Works, but despite some tantalizing new fall scents, we didn't walk out with anything. Her local Macy's just closed a few months go. She's been trying to check out every one she can to find outfits for her job as the head teller in a Pittsfield bank. She bought two colorful blouses. I'm still mad about the pants I bought for work from the Moorestown Macy's in June barely lasting a month. She bought shirts for her and her parents at the Disney Store. I settled for admiring the Star Wars toys and Animator's Collection toddler dolls. Checked out Game Stop on the way out. Lauren found the Captain Toad's Treasure Tracker puzzle game.

It was showering when we made it out of the outdoor Best Buy entrance. We rushed to the other end of the parking lot as fast as we could. Good thing our next stop was less than a minute from the mall. Lauren's constantly been seeing ads on Albany-based TV stations for a local fast-food chain called Ted's Fish Fry. The prices seemed decent and I love fish, so we thought we'd give it a shot.

The Ted's we ate at was based in what clearly was once an older Wendy's, but left (intentionally?) unpainted and whitewashed on the outside to give it that fish shack look. Inside was more polished, with black and white checked floors and shiny black vinyl booths. We both had the Fish Fry meal. The "fish fry" turned out to be a very long, salty fried cod stick on a hot dog roll with fries and a cup of cole slaw. The fish was amazing, hot and flaky, and even better on the bun (once it fell apart enough to fit on the bun). The cole slaw was even better. I've never had such tasty fast-food cole slaw. It was crunchy and savory, with just enough mayo, and unlike the fish, not too salty. Even Lauren loved it, and she says she usually doesn't like mayo-based cole slaw because the mayo gets too soupy. Watched the US women play Japan in Olympic Indoor Volleyball as we ate. (The US eventually won.)

Headed a few minutes down the road to the Colonie Center. If it was odd to see a big box store as an anchor, seeing a grocery store anchor a mall was downright weird...and yet, we parked outside of a massive Whole Foods.

Our first stop was L.L Bean. I tried on a pair of black suede flats. They were comfortable, but way too big, and I couldn't find another pair closer to my size. Lauren looked at socks and sweaters, but didn't have much more luck.

Once again, we did far better at FYE. While not as new as the Crossgates store, it was even bigger. I settled on Zootopia and two Looney Tunes sets for Pepe Le Pew and Wile E Coyote and Road Runner for that buy two, get one for a dollar sale. (Wile E Coyote and Road Runner was the dollar title here.) Lauren bought wrestling sets.

The Colonie Barnes and Noble was the first time I ever saw that store as a mall anchor. It was even bigger than the massive freestanding store in Moorestown, with a good-sized CD/DVD area and kid's areas for toys and for books. I actually got lost in there. I couldn't find the Star Wars paperbacks, but I did pick up Indiana Jones and the Army of the Dead and found Red Velvet Cupcake Murder in hardback on the Bargain Priced shelves.

While I was book shopping, Lauren found a place for dinner. I've only seen Moe's Southwest Grill twice in Camden County, in Moorestown and Cherry Hill. It's a Mexican fast-food restaurant that lets you choose the fillings for your tortilla-based meals. I had a quesadilla with cheese, chicken, salsa, and fresh cilantro. Lauren had a layered fold-over burrito. The girls at the counter were a little rude, but the 70's and 80's music was great, and the food was worth it, hot and saucy.

Colonie has a Boscov's, one of the only ones in the area. I found a pair of jean capris for $10. (My old jean capris don't fit anymore.) Lauren bought more blouses for work. She found something unusual in with the board games in the toy area - a mini table-top pool table, It was only 20 bucks, too. I can't carry that home and have no one to play with, but Lauren thought it might be fun for her and her folks.

We browsed through the Jay Street and Game Stop next. Lauren found a Mario game; I came up with nothing. She bought more blouses at Macy's. I just used the bathroom. She wanted to look at Christopher & Banks, and I had no problem going there, either. They're one of the few boutique clothing stores who sell a good selection of plus sizes. Alas, neither of us found anything we needed.

Finished the night at Christmas Tree Shops. She bought light-up, personalized teddy bear keychains for herself and her parents. I found more cheap tea, this time the now-discontinued Bigalow's Girl Scouts Caramel and Coconut.

After hiking through two large malls for nearly 7 hours, we were both sore and dead tired. We finally headed home around 7. Thankfully, by this point, the clouds and the traffic was long-gone. Lauren got a little turned-around at first, but that had its good points. We went right by a Rite Aid...just as Mr. Miller texted his daughter to pick up something for him there. (Lauren didn't walk out with it - she said the store's stock was too close to expiration.) After we left there, we got back on the highway and went straight home the way we came, through darkened historic towns and hazy moonlit mountain vistas.

Mr. and Mrs. Miller were watching WWE Smackdown! when we got in. We showed them our finds, then joined them for the show briefly. Mrs. Miller cut slices of raspberry strudel from their local grocery store for us.

We're online now, chatting and watching YouTube videos. The weather's looking much better tomorrow. It's finally time to hit Six Flags Great Escape in Lake George, New York.

Ride Captain Ride

I wanted to sleep in a little this morning, but I was just too excited. Instead, I read short stories from the Disney anthology Storybook Land and The Paddington Treasury, the first two chapters of Felicity Saves the Day, and the first chapter of Samantha Saves the Day. Lissie and Sam demonstrate common vacations in their respective time periods. Colonial Virginian Lissie visits her beloved grandfather at a plantation. Sam and her family travel to Piney Point in upstate New York to enjoy a vacation in their private cabins by a lake.

Even before I had breakfast, I finished the last of the packing. Tossed the laptop, mouse, and all the attendant wires into a bag and loaded it into the blue rolling suitcase. Added other things I'd needed to use in the morning or the night before, like my toothbrush and hair brush.

Ran Strawberry Shortcake In Big Apple City while eating Honey Bunches of Oats and blueberries for breakfast. Strawberry is off to the title metropolis to compete in the Big Bake Off and win a fancy gazebo. The Peculiar Purple Pieman is the other contestant. He'll stop at nothing to make sure he's the winner! Good thing Strawberry made a lot of new friends in Spinach Village who are willing to help her out, including long-time series regulars Orange Blossom and Lemon Meringue.

The train to Cherry Hill didn't leave until 12:20. I didn't feel like sitting around in my apartment for two or three hours, so I took a ride to the Oaklyn Library. It was still very hot and humid (though not quite as hot as yesterday), and the heat once again must have scared people off. Once again, it was just the librarian, the TV, and me. She had on Women's Field Hockey when I came in. (New Zealand won 4-2 over Australia). They were about to go into Individual Dressage, but she changed to CNN, insisting horse-back riding isn't a sport. (I know quite a few people who would disagree with that, including my friend Linda Young, my cousin Samantha West, and her daughter Faith.) I looked over the DVDs (the adult titles were especially bad) and worked on the easy reader and picture book shelves.

Spent the rest of the morning making my bed, gathering the last few things I needed for my trip, and doing a few things around the apartment. Ran cartoons while I puttered. Garfield In the Rough takes the famous fat cat outdoors for a camping trip with Jon and Odie. He'd rather be doing anything else, including exercising. Just as he starts to wonder if nature ain't so bad, they hear that there's a black panther on the loose...and it's heading their way...

The Pink Panther has an even harder time on the road in "Pinto Pink." He's trying to find an easy way to get to California and thinks a horse is a perfect solution to his problems. The horse, on the other hand, has other ideas.

Rose picked me up at 11:45. I had far fewer problems than I did when I traveled to Albany on Columbus Day last year. None of the trains were remotely full. The train to New York was right on time. The one going to Philly was about 5 or so minutes late; the one going to Albany was almost 20 minutes late, thanks to having to sit on the track and wait to pick up passengers from another train. Had a tasty Waldorf Turkey sandwich for lunch at the 30th Street Station Au Bon Pain. 30th Street Station and Penn Station were busy, but not abnormally so. I took advantage of the extra time to color an old Care Bears coloring book (did Harmony and Cheer in a field of flowers) and work on story notes.

I learned my lesson last year. I checked a digital departure monitor when I arrived. It wasn't anywhere close to showing the gate yet. I sat down on the other side of the monitor and had a snack, then went for a walk around Penn Station, checking out a large Hudson Booksellers. On my way back, I noticed a sign that said it was the queue for the train going to Albany. I was the third person in line.

Met Lauren and her parents Mr. and Mrs. Miller at the gate. As soon as we loaded the luggage into the back of their van, we headed to a Denny's about ten minutes or so from the station. It was nearly 8 PM by then, well past the dinner hour, and they were very quiet. Mrs. Miller had a vegetable omelet. Lauren had a ham and cheese omelet. Mr. Miller had the Grand Slam. I had the Banana Pecan Pancakes, turkey bacon, and egg whites. (And Mr. Miller and I split Lauren's hash browns when she couldn't finish them.) We all had lemonade iced teas. Supposedly, Denny's had improved their buttermilk pancakes. I didn't see any difference, but they were still very tasty. I liked the turkey bacon, too. I might have to try that at home.

Mr. Miller, Lauren, and I were originally going to have Chocolate Peanut Butter Pie for dessert. Alas, they were all out. Mr. Miller and Lauren shared the Apple Crumble with Ice Cream. My Coconut Cream Pie was just as tasty as chocolate would have been. Mrs. Miller stuck to her cheesecake.

I'm set up in Lauren's room downstairs as we listen to an 80's pop station on Pandora, chat online, and enjoy the cool temperatures. It was in the mid-70's by the time we got out of Denny's, much cooler than it's been even here, and certainly down south.

We were originally going to go to Six Flags Great Escape tomorrow. First of all, the weather isn't supposed to be great. They're talking about major thunderstorms. Second, I just took three trains for 7 hours. I'm dead tired. We're going to ride back to Albany to hit up some malls there Lauren likes instead.

Road to Vacation

Was up with Lauren very late last night. I slept in this morning, then finally had Zucchini-Apple Pancakes for breakfast. Ran two vacation-themed Monkees episodes as I savored my meal and did the dishes. Mexico's "A Nice Place to Visit" in the second season opener, but the boys aren't sure they want to stay there when Davy falls for the girlfriend of a bandit. The other three dress as bandits when the group kidnaps their British friend. They're "Monkees In Manhattan" in the late first season when they're invited to New York to star in a new rock musical...but the show may never get off the ground if they can't first find a way to stay in their hotel room, then get the show a backer.

Headed out to the laundromat as soon as I finished breakfast. I had to get a big load done if I wanted to finish my packing. I'm glad I showed up when I did. About ten minutes after I stuffed my clothes in the washer, the room started to fill with families and older people getting their things done. I listened to Olympic Women's Basketball (the US walloped China 105-62) and worked on story notes.

I went home, put everything away, packed what I needed for the week, and headed right back out. I wanted to use that $5 WaWa gift card I got from the Haddon Township Library before they closed and I left town. A lot of the shelves are missing items, and the displays are gone, but I still was able to pick up a roast beef hoagie on a whole wheat roll, a bag of baked multi-grain chips, and their amazing Chocolate Banana Smoothie.

When I got home, I ate my hoagie and chips and watched most of Road to Rio. Musicians Hot Lips Barton (Bob Hope) and Scat Sweeney (Bing Crosby) stow away on board a luxury liner bound for Rio after they accidentally burn down a circus. Scat's a sucker for a sad story from a weeping female, and despite Hot Lips' admonishment, he finds himself stopping an heiress named Lucia (Dorothy Lamour) from jumping overboard. Lucia is being hypnotized by her scheming aunt (Gale Sondergaard) who is after her money. The more she blows hot and cold, the more baffled the two performers are. They do sneak her off the boat and make her part of their act with a trio of Brazilian singers...but even then, she stops the performance and reveals the singers don't speak English. The two follow her to her family's home in the country to find out what her aunt is really after and save her from a loveless marriage.

Not one of my favorite Road to...movies, but it does have its moments, especially on the boat and in the finale. Bing also gives us two standards, the lovely "But Beautiful" and the jaunty "You Don't Have to Know the Language," the latter with the Andrews Sisters. This was actually the biggest hit of all the Road movies at the time, in fact the top hit of 1948. Doesn't hold up as well today, but it's still cute if you're a fan of the Road series or Bing and Bob.

I hadn't gone swimming since Dad's birthday party a few weeks ago. I desperately needed it. The pool was empty, to my surprise, when I arrived around 3. Rose and Khai were at a birthday party for a friend of his at Chuck E Cheese's, and most everyone else is on vacation. I had it totally to myself the entire hour I was in it. It was soooo warm! The thermometer tied to the ladder on the deep end said 95 degrees. I think that's the warmest Dad's pool has ever been. It was like bath water. And no wonder - it was hot and hazy and humid again today, still in the upper 90's. The patio chairs were so boiling hot, I couldn't sit in them. I took my shoes off sitting on the faux brick patio.

Went inside to say "hi" to Dad and Jodie when I finally managed to climb out of the pool. They were both working on their computers while listening to Law & Order: Special Victims Unit episodes on USA. Jodie told me either Craig or Rose will drive me to Cherry Hill tomorrow, and I really needed to call Rose when I got home.

Which I did. As soon as I got into the shower and got organized, I rang her up on my cell phone. She couldn't talk long. She was on her way to another party with Khai. We did confirm that she'll be there tomorrow at 11:45.

Did some writing after I finished lunch. Ben explains to Luke and Leia how Empire Industries tore down many of the older and more venerable businesses on the west side of town to make room for newer hotels and condos. The twins are disappointed that many of their favorite haunts in the past are now gone forever and vow to help their uncle fight to keep more businesses from falling to the company.

Broke for dinner around 6:30. I made a simple meal of a cheddar cheese omelet and fruit salad while watching the end of Road to Rio. Ran a few black-and-white Mickey Mouse shorts while I cleaned up from dinner. Some "Wild Waves" carry Minnie out to sea. Mickey rescues her, then cheers her up on land with the help of some friendly beach critters. Mickey competes in the cross-county event of the "Barnyard Olympics." Pete's in there, too, and would do anything to get ahead of his rival and impress Minnie and Clarabelle!

Finished the night with Lego Star Wars. I looked up online how to get through "Lego City." Turns out I missed two metal items I couldn't destroy with blasters or lightsabers. Bounty hunters have to set bombs to get rid of those. Good thing I'd just splurged and bought Greedo. For once, I didn't mind if he shot first! He and Darth Maul got through it in about 25 minutes, better than the 40 it took me last night, though not as good as some experienced players online.

That's the last bonus round I'll be doing for a while. You need 50 gold bricks to get into the last bonus game, and I only have 43. I'll be going to Free Play for a while to earn more money and more bricks when I get back from vacation.

Overheated

Kicked off a hazy, killer hot morning with travel-and-vacation-themed Looney Tunes shorts. It's "All Abirrrdd" for Tweety when his owner sends him alone in a train's baggage car. Sylvester's also on board, and he's decided Tweety will be an easy lunch. This time, not only Spike the dog, but the conductor make sure he doesn't get his yellow meal.

Porky's on vacation by a beautiful mountain lake. He's hoping to paint some scenery and enjoy the view. Daffy would rather he had a view of him being crazy in "Boobs In the Woods." Porky shows him who's the real boob when he reveals his odd collection of licenses.

Made a quick run to the Collingswood Farm Market around 10 AM. It was surprisingly busy, despite the continued hot spell. (The heat index today was 105.) The tables are groaning with tons of summer produce. I saw grapes for the first time this year. My only real interest were those little yellow apples. which would be the perfect size to carry in my luggage and bring to New England. Also grabbed two small organic onions, one red, one white.

When I got home, I watched two more Sailor Moon vacation episodes, these from the first season, as I got organized, ate lunch, and did a little packing. "Last Resort" takes Usagi and her family to a hot springs, where they hope to have some bonding time. Their vacation becomes dangerous quickly when Mamoru also arrives. He unleashes a demon in the lake, hoping to harness its power, but loses control of it very quickly. The demon thinks Usagi is the one who imprisoned her there and attacks her and her family. The blond teen wants to help, but she can't transform in front of her brother and parents...

"The Summer, the Beach, Youth, and Ghosts" is what it says on the tin. We go back to earlier in the season, when the group consisted of Usagi, Rei, and Ami (and Luna). They've come to the beach for a relaxing seaside vacation...but the trip is anything but relaxing when they get lost and find themselves in a mysterious mansion. Usagi is afraid of the monsters who run the place, but they're more scared of the "ghosts" that have been randomly appearing. Ami wonders if the "ghosts" have anything to do with the young girl and her stern father who own the house.

Headed to work around quarter of noon. Once again, it was fairly dead, especially for a weekend. Everyone must be at the Shore. I did get stuck outside for nearly an hour and a half rounding up carts - and I didn't really need to go out for the half. I had plenty of help from two of the college boys. I mainly mopped and cleaned up the back room.

(I got to see a little of the Olympics while cleaning in the back, mainly rowing and women's diving preliminaries. No wonder so many people around here, especially college students, are rowing fans. The Men's Sculls final was genuinely thrilling. It was literally neck and neck in the end - the Croatian rower won by the tip of his boat over his New Zealand rival.)

When I got home, I went on the computer to work on some writing, but I was tired and didn't get far. Ben asks the twins what they know about Empire Industries. Leia explains that they're an oil and biochemical company that's branched out into entertainment and hospitality over the past few years. Her boss and idol Senator Marta Mothma has a running feud with them. They violate environmental laws and building codes and get away with it because they're influential and very wealthy.

Had the last of the leftover chicken fillets in mushroom-leek sauce with tomato and cucumber slices for dinner while watching Tiny Toons: How I Spent My Summer Vacation. The Toons are hoping for a summer filled with adventure, but they all get more than they bargained for. Plucky regrets having joined Hampton and his family for a trip to Happy World Land - they're a super-cutsey-Brady Bunch kind of a family who pick up psychotic hitchhikers, play inane games, and bring their own food to fast-food restaurants. Shirley the Loon gets stuck on a date with Fowlmouth - she'd rather toss him into the cosmic either. Fifi La Fume wants an autograph from her favorite movie star, but he turns out to be nothing like she expects. Elmyra terrorizes the animals at a safari park. Babs and Buster spend the whole trip down river after a water gun fight gets out of hand, dodging packs of wild swamp critters who think they're on the 4th of July barbecue menu.

I always liked this one as a kid, and I still enjoy most of it today. The larger stories, especially Plucky's car ride from hell, tend to work better than the cliched side stories (and the whole thing with Elmyra is just annoying), and a lot of the gags and references haven't dated well. If you're a fan of the series, by all means, you're going to want to seek this one out, too.

Finished the night with a second attempt at the bonus rounds in Lego Star Wars. I did finally get through the Vader "New Hope" round, despite those annoying buttons you have to run over to get C-3P0 taking me at least ten minutes or more to get all lit up at once. At least I've figured out how to set up the colorful "Lego" sign now. That helped a lot in "Lego City" as well. The problem there was I didn't have the right character to blow up the metal pieces needed to get the last 100,000 beads. I'll try that one again tomorrow or when I get back from vacation.

Oh, and incidentally, my schedule this week is my own vacation. I have a regular day off tomorrow. The real vacation begins Monday. I'll be visiting Lauren in Pittsfield in western Massachusetts, as I did last October. I've been waiting for this ever since we figured out when I was going to go up there in late June. We always have fun when we're together.

Olympic Heat

Began a hot, sunny morning with breakfast and cartoons. Austin is ready and raring to go on his first "Race Around the World," from the first season of The Backyardigans. Uniqua, Tyrone, and Pablo have all won medals before. Austin wants to be a winner, too, but he keeps falling behind when he helps the other kids with all of the items in his fanny pack. Ultimately, he and the others learn a lesson in being prepared when only one kid can cross the finish line.

Switched to a sports-themed episode of Tiny Toon Adventures next. "Son of the Wacko World of Sports" begins with a parody of Casey at the Bat with Buster as the infamous "mighty" star player and Sylvester reciting the poem. Buster continues into the next short, which has him buying a bike from a local dealer that turns out to be a lemon. He finally finds a way to get his refund. The final short spoofs the Olympics, as the Toons take part in everything from synchronized swimming to the marathon. Calamity Coyote keeps trying to catch Little Beeper during the marathon. As usual, his attempts have a way of coming back to blow him to smithereens...

Spent most of the morning cleaning. I kept the vacuuming quick. Turning off the air conditioners so I didn't overload circuits gave me the chance to wash the filters. To my delight, it was far easier to wash the filters for both Charlie's small machine and my older one than it was for the one that came with the house. They just slid right out and right back in - Charlie's from the side, mine from the top - with no need to open up the whole air conditioner.

When I was washing the windows, I realized that the cobwebs had gotten really bad. I haven't seen them this bad in years. The window next to my desk was particularly scary. I took a duster to them fast.

It was past 12:30 when I headed out to run errands. The Oaklyn Library was dead when I arrived. Everyone is probably on vacation. The only other person I saw the entire time I was there was the librarian. I spent an hour or so organizing DVDs and a great deal of the children's area while listening to the men's swimming preliminaries on TV.

I like to treat myself to breakfast for lunch when I finish a long story. I went to the Legacy Diner in honor of finally completing Princess Leia and the Merman. They were still pretty busy when I got in, despite it being quarter of 2. I had apple cinnamon crepes with a ton of whipped cream and syrup. They weren't all that great. The crepes were rubbery, and the apple-cinnamon filling was gluey. I was hungry, so I still finished them.

Made a quick stop at the Family Dollar on the way home. I wanted to see if their eggs were cheaper than the Acme's (which are $1.99). Yep - they're $1.25. I also found the most adorable BB-8-themed notebook.

Did writing for the rest of the afternoon. Leia has to drag Luke to talk to their Uncle Ben. Luke would rather be surfing or playing volleyball with Biggs and Wedge and his other buddies. Ben greets them on his porch. He would have gone to their cottage, but he just came from dealing with a plumbing crisis. A very young Poe Dameron tried to see if he could flush his Hot Wheels down the toilet. (Uh, he couldn't.)

Ran Summer Rental while making chicken cutlets with mushroom sauce and finally eating the last of the Cucumber-Tomato Salad for dinner. John Candy is a burnt-out air traffic controller in Atlanta. Told to take a vacation, he packs up the family and heads to Florida. Everything goes well...until he upsets one of the richest men in the area (Richard Crenna) and they discover they're in the wrong house. Their real house is a dilapidated mess in a noisy party area. After an accident lays him up with a bad knee, he ends up taking boating lessons with the crusty owner of a schooner refitted as a seafood restaurant (Rip Torn). When the rich guy tries to throw them out, he makes a bet against their remaining rent that they can't beat him. Now they have to refit the seafood shack into a race-winning yacht...and learn a lot about teamwork, listening to one another, and being a family.

A bit cliched if you've seen other summer or boating comedies like Captain Ron or One Crazy Summer (the boat race has a lot in common with the latter), but has some really fun gags, especially when Candy's stuck at home towards the middle of the movie. Cute enough time-waster if you're a fan of Candy or other 80's slobs vs. snobs comedies.

A Hard Day's Stooge

 I ran Brunch With the Beatles while I wrote in my journal this morning and got dressed. The theme was "A Hard Day's Night and the Summer of '64." We mainly heard songs from "Hard Day's Night"'s soundtrack, including the title cut, "If I Fell," and "I Should Have Known Better."

By the time I was making Plum Spice Pancakes for breakfast, I'd switched to the second disc of The Three Stooges Collection Vol. 7. The headliners here are two shorts that were made in 3-D, in response to the original 50s 3-D craze. (The set even includes glasses.) "Spooks!" is a routine haunted house story that pits the Stooges against a gorilla and a mad scientist. "Pardon My Backfire", which has the Stooges working at a gas station in order to earn enough money to marry their fiancees, is slightly better.

Most of the shorts here were remakes, thanks to Columbia downsizing the shorts department. The majority of them were just ok; one, "Musty Musketeers," actually improved on the 1948 original, "Fiddlers Three," with a better overall flow and a far funnier sword fight ending that made more sense. Of the completely new episodes, my favorite was "Goof On the Roof," which proves that it takes a lot more than Three Stooges to set up one TV set without completely destroying the house.

Chatted with Mom during the 3-D shorts. She's worried about Keefe. He's doing badly on some of his Navy tests. The Nuclear department is very demanding...even more so, now that they've cut a few extra weeks off the program so they can finish before Christmas. He's not great with language arts and is having a hard time memorizing and writing paragraphs of complicated definitions.

I worked on Belle after I got off with Mom. Poor dear! Her body looks better, but there seems to be no fixing her frizzy hair, which is in even worse shape than Larry's. I tried to brush it and used detangler, but it just ended up looking even frizzier. I'll give her a Downy dunk the next time I can afford to pick up a bottle.

It was absolutely gorgeous today. The sky was sunny and blue, without a hint of haze. While it remains hot, it's not nearly as humid as it was. I just had to take a quick walk down to West Clinton Avenue. The recent rain has helped the flora, too. Gardens don't look quite as parched; I can actually see green grass amid the dry gray sticks. Stopped at Leo's Yum Yums and picked up a Lemon Yum-Yum. Not bad; it even had lemon zest pieces.

I ran a couple of cartoons related to the Olympics in honor of tonight's Closing Ceremonies as I got ready for work. Marcie and Chuck are enlisted to be their school's representatives in the Decathalon in You're the Greatest, Charlie Brown. They both have a shot at winning...if they can get past boastful Freddy Fabulous from Fremont and the familiar "Masked Marvel." Mickey Mouse takes on the marathon in Barnyard Olympics, a 1932 black-and-white short. His competition, an obnoxious cat, cheats at every turn. Mickey, however, has Minnie and Clarabelle to cheer him on to the finish line.

Work was lines-down-the-aisles busy when I arrived. By 5, the lines had thinned dramatically. I spent the last half-hour doing returns. There were no major problems, and despite the quiet later, I was in and out quickly.

Around the World With the Stooges

It was just dark and damp when I got up around 9:30, but by the time I was eating breakfast, the storm was out in full-force. No matter. I ate breakfast, then grabbed my umbrella and went to retrieve my most recent order from Amazon.com...and given my current financial situation, the last order I'll be getting from them for a while. I couldn't find the two 60s Stooges movies I wanted to see at FYE last week. I did see The Three Stooges Collection Vol. 7, but I found it for cheaper at Amazon with free shipping.

Ran a couple of shorts as I got ready to head out. Volume 7 brings more changes to the Stooges as Columbia downsizes its short subject department and embraces new technology like 3-D. It also brings more remakes - "A Missed Fortune" is Shemp version of the Curly short "Healthy, Wealthy, and Dumb," while "Listen, Judge" combines gags from "A Plumbing We Will Go" and "An Ache In Every Stake." I once again found myself feeling sorry for the Stooges when a dame plays them all for a sucker in "Corny Casanovas." Larry's the one causing the trouble in the odd "He Cooked His Goose." He's a pet store owner chasing Moe's wife and Shemp's girlfriend, until Shemp figures out a way to turn the tables on him.

I waited until the rain stopped to head out for this week's gym/groceries run. I didn't get to Lucile Roberts until 12:30, thanks to having to go back twice for things I forgot. Lucile Roberts was dead, probably thanks to it being lunch time. There were only two or three other women there. I watched the men's basketball semi-finals (I think Russia beat Spain), men's canoeing, and men's wrestling. (The little American guy was really killing his opponent.) Did a really nice elliptical session, then a quick one on the arm machines.

Went to the Acme next for a much-needed paycheck and a short grocery trip. I rarely need a lot in the summer; when I'm at home, I eat meat, vegetables, and the occasional slice of bakery bread. I was mostly restocking things like chicken ($1.99 a pound for Acme's skinless chicken thighs!), green tea, white cooking wine, tortillas, milk, and fruit concentrate. Acme's generic Shopper's Value Ice Cream was even cheaper than usual - a $1.78 for a small, square paper package like the old Sealtest cartons? I couldn't resist. (Not only that, but it's less fattening than many frozen yogurts!) I also had an Acme coupon for two free Shopper's Value bags of salty snacks. Got two bags of pretzels, the mini twists and the honey wheat rods.

Spent the next few hours at home, doing things around my apartment. I put my groceries away. I baked brownies. I hung the new shower curtain. Amid the activity, I watched The Three Stooges Go Around the World In a Daze, one of the two 60s Stooges movies I grabbed with my Amazon order. This is a cute updating of Around the World In 80 Days, with some of the Stooges' older material (such as Curly-Joe going bezerk whenever he hears "Pop Goes the Weasel," a reworking of a Curly gag from the short "Punch Drunks") thrown in. The great-grandson of Phines Fogg must go around the world in 80 days again...this time, without spending the dime. He's joined by his three incompetent servants (the Stooges, naturally) and a lovely American woman on tour in Asia. Not to mention, two thieves have framed him for a bank robbery he didn't commit, and there's a world-wide warrant out for his arrest.

Only necessary for major fans of the Stooges or of the source material. Ok time-waster if you run into it on cable or for rental...but those interested in the Stooges will definitely want to go to the shorts first. Jules Verne fans will want to try the 1957 movie or 80s mini-series before coming here.

Thankfully, at press time, the weather has continued to be off-and-on cloudy and humid but not rainy. I got to and from work dry, despite occasional reports of wet weather from customers. Work was busy when I came in, on-and-off after rush-hour ended. Other than a few remaining beginning-of-the-month people, there were no major problems.

The Olympic Laundry Dash

Slept in again; when I did finally get up, I started the day off with that leftover burrito from Saturday night and the remaining two Peanuts specials on the Lucy Must Be Traded disc.  Charlie Brown's All-Stars and It's Spring Training, Charlie Brown are basically two versions of the same theme - Chuck and his baseball team can never catch a break. In both, they're promised uniforms by a Mr. Hennessy. The 1966 All-Stars has Chuck turn him down when Hennessy insists that the girls and Snoopy are dropped from the team; in the 1992 Spring Training, they have to win a game to get the uniforms.

I didn't make it to the laundromat until almost 12:30. I timed it pretty well. It wasn't busy when I arrived. The washers were almost full, but there were only two people watching Olympic track and field heats and synchronized swimming competitions. Track doesn't do much for me, but I enjoyed the swimmers. The Russians, with their cute Sailor Moon-esque hair styles and amazing backflips, were the deserved winners; I also liked the Spanish women. (Wasn't impressed by the less dramatic Chinese duo; the American pair were literally out of sync). By the time I unloaded my large pile of clothes and towels out of the dryer, the place was filled with at least three large families doing their weekly laundry. I ducked under and around people and squeezed out.

I got in so late, it was past 2:30 before I started my lunch of salmon and tomatoes in chicken broth and leftover cucumber salad. I ran a couple of Three Stooges shorts as I changed into my work uniform and made a quick dinner. Hurried out into a day that was on-and-off cloudy, and still  hot and humid but not as bad as it was.

Work was very busy for most of the night. It's the first Sunday of the month, so in addition to the usual beginning of the month people, we had college students preparing to return to school, and people going to or from vacations. Other than a few annoying customers, there were no major problems. A manager came in for me so I could get out on time.

Afternoon In Oaklyn

Began the day with a slightly earlier gym run than I have recently. Even at 10:30, the gym was still pretty busy. I did cardio on the elliptical machine today, alternating between watching Let's Make a Deal and men's rowing and women's swimming on the Olympics. There were a few people on the weight machines, but no one was doing arms until I was done, thank goodness.

I made a very quick stop at Marburn Curtains for a shower curtain, then went around the corner to the Acme for this week's paycheck and groceries. I didn't really need a lot of things, anyway. Raisin bread from the Acme's bakery (it's too hot to make it) and canola oil were the big ones. Also grabbed milk, chocolate chips, and fruit concentrate. Continued to stock up on chicken while it's on big sales for grilling season; got legs and tenderloins for incredibly cheap.

I'm tired of the freezer being so covered in ice, I can't get anything in there. As soon as I got home, I scooped as much of the ice on the bottom out as I could and dumped it in my sink. In my digging, I uncovered a huge bag of ice I used for my knee the last time I hurt it five years ago, a giant slab of salmon Dad gave me a while back, and at least two old frozen fruit bars. The salmon should be ok - I'll eat it this week - but I got rid of everything else. I'm still going to need to defrost the top, but I cleared off the bottom enough to be able to load my meat and frozen vegetables in there.

Ran Midnight In Paris as I made leftover chicken breast and cucumber-tomato salad for lunch. I was quite impressed with this sweet love letter to the magic of Paris and the lure of the past. Gil (Owen Wilson) is a successful screenplay writer who wants to try his hand at writing a novel. He's in Paris on a business trip with his obnoxious fiancee Inez (Rachel McAdams) and her conservative, snobby parents (Mimi Kennedy and Kurt Fuller). What he really wants is to see the Paris of the 20s, when groups of writers and artists lived in small studios and traded witty repartee with each other, but shallow Inez would rather drag him to museums to listen to her silly interllectual friends (Michael Sheen and Nina Arianda) drone on about art works they probably looked up on Wikipedia.

Gil gets his wish one night when he's out for a walk. Suddenly, at midnight, he's picked up by a vintage vehicle and whisked off to a smashing party with Zelda (Alison Pill) and F. Scott Fitzgerald (Tom Hiddleston). Cole Porter (Yves Heck) plays his own songs; Josephine Baker (Sonia Rolland) shimmies at a party for black performers. Ernest Hemingway (Corey Stoll) gives him writing advice and offers to bring his novel to Gertrude Stein (Kathy Bates.)

Gil enjoys his trips into the past, despite Inez's increasing assumption that he's going nuts. He has conversations with artists Salvador Dali (Adrian Brody) and Pablo Picasso (Marcial Di Fonzi Bo), gives screenplay ideas to director Luis Brunel (Adrien de Van), and falls for charming artist's model Adriana (Marion Cotilliard). It's Adriana who finally teaches him a lesson when she insists on doing some time warping of her own. Gil discovers that you can't live in the past, but you can live your life to the fullest, the life you have now, this minute.

This is the second time in less than a month that I've found myself thoroughly enjoying a Woody Allen movie. In a way, it has a great deal in common with Hugo and The Artist, which also deals with France in the past and were nominated for Oscars. Paris certainly deserved its Best Original Screenplay Oscar, if nothing else. Sheen, Stoll, and Bates in particular have a lot of fun with their roles; Cotilliard does wonders with what could have been a wooden love interest. If you like Allen's recent films, Paris, literary or 20th century history, or are looking for an unusual romantic comedy, this is very highly recommended.

I continued the theme of fantasizing with Garfield's Feline Fantasies. In this special from the early 90s, Garfield imagines him and Odie as everything from airline pilots to gunslingers to globe trotters searching for the fabled Banana of Bombay. No matter what scrape the cat-and-dog duo get into, they know that John will always be there to get them out of it.

I had just enough time to get the budget done while Garfield was running. I didn't spend nearly as much as I had the past few months, but I haven't had nearly as much to spend. That huge 4th of July paycheck was a big help; I actually had a little leftover. I shouldn't need much next month, either. I do want to make a few day trips to the Jersey Shore, but there isn't much I really need clothes/shoes-wise for a while.

Work was busy through about 8PM, after which the dark clouds cleared people out, despite the fact that it still hasn't rained. My schedule next week is even less wonderful. While I do have Tuesday and Thursday off, I have fewer hours and an awful lot of late ones.

Birthday Daze

First of all, two birthday shout-outs, one belated. My dad Bruce's birthday was on the 28th. My oldest nephew Skylar's birthday is today; he turns 8 years old. I hope they both had a great day!

I slept in this morning and spent an hour finishing Out West. It was near noon when I finally got moving to the gym. The mailman must have shown up early today. The mail had already arrived by 10:30. It usually doesn't come until between 11:30 and 12:30. I dropped off my nephew's birthday card and present in the "out of town" slot at the Audubon Post Office instead.

The gym was busy when I arrived. Maybe the women were just interested in watching Team USA play Germany in Men's Indoor Volleyball. (USA won, 3-0.) I even saw one of the college students from the Acme working out in the weight area. I got a really nice stationary bike session in, then did the leg weight machines. I also brought my iPod in for the first time to listen to while on the bike. It worked really well; better than the same five songs Lucile Roberts keeps playing over and over.

Went straight home after the gym. Had a quick leftover lunch while watching Snow White and the Three Stooges, then went for a short walk to Dad's to bring him his Lime Mousse Pie and birthday card. I had a short chat with him and Jodie, who were just watching one of the 900 Law & Order re-runs on cable. They just went out to lunch together on his birthday, but they seem to have enjoyed themselves.

I came home and finished the Stooges before heading to work. Work was pretty much the same has it has been - quiet when I come in and leave, very busy during rush hour. (It was so quiet when I came in, I spent an hour organizing shelves of Goya items.) We actually had plenty of help, unusual for this time of year, but we're also coming up on the beginning of the month. Some people may have gotten their money already.

Olympic Heat

Team USA aren't the only ones who wanted a workout today. I headed to the gym around 11 for a good session at Lucile Roberts. Worked on the elliptical machine while watching The Price Is Right and worked up quite a sweat. I did a quick session on the arm weight machines after that. It was surprisingly busy for a day that remained hot and humid despite the rain yesterday.

Headed to the Acme next for my paycheck and groceries. While Lucile Roberts was busy, the Acme, surprisingly, was not. I was easily able to restock eggs, milk, the Emerald Trail Mix bags, Kool Aid, and yogurt. I needed salad dressing; I had a coupon for Acme's generic Essential Everyday brand from the Giveway Game. Also grabbed two of the smaller Kraft salad dressings for a dollar each in nifty fruit flavors. I was almost out of sugar; good thing the Acme was having a good sale on their 4lb bag. Chicken was still on sale, too, as was Acme's generic Cheerios. Since I had a coupon for free Essential Everyday whipped topping, I bought things to make a mousse pie for my dad Bruce's birthday tomorrow. Grabbed cards for Dad and for my nephew Skylar, whose birthday is Tuesday. Treated myself to another Greek frozen yogurt on sale, this one called Adonia. I just went with their vanilla. It's pretty good, smoother than Ben & Jerry's - I tried a little when I got home.

I had enough time when I got home to put everything away, have leftovers for lunch, and run two Peanuts specials revolving around sports and competition. You're a Good Sport, Charlie Brown, throws Chuck into the exciting world of motocross racing. He and the other Peanuts learn that slow and steady wins the race when he's pitted against Peppermint Patty and "The Masked Marvel" in a big biking competition. "The Masked Marvel" returns for You're the Greatest, Charlie Brown. This time, Chuck and Marcie are entered in the decathalon for their school's big track meet. The Masked Marvel and obnoxious Freddy Fabulous from Fremont are determined to win. Marcie and Chuck, on the other hand, know that being a good sport is just as important as winning.

Work was steady for most of the evening. It's Friday, and we're getting close to the beginning of the month. It was actually busy until right before I left at 8:30. I even got to see a little of the Olympic opening ceremony as I was retrieving my bike from the break room to head out.

My schedule is par for the course for this time of year. My only very minor complaint is, after tomorrow, I don't get a day off until Thursday. On the other hand, this is offset by no hours as late or as long as this week. (The latest is 9:30.)