Never Put Off Until Tomorrow What You Can Do Today

Though it remains hot and humid, I decided to take advantage of my early work shift and return a few more things I couldn't use. I had Blueberry Whole Grain Pancakes with honey for breakfast while listening to the first hour of the Brunch With the Beatles show on WOGL. (The movie A Hard Day's Night was in the spotlight this morning.)

I wasn't able to finish the show due to work being at 11:30. Work zipped right along today. It was busier than it has been on the weekends, and much busier than last weekend. There were no major problems, and my relief was right on the dot. I headed out as soon as he arrived.

I made a very quick stop at Fashion Bug to look at purses (the lining in my current one ripped), then rode over to Wal Mart to return the two bike inner tubes that were the wrong size. (As it turns out, Wal Mart no longer sells the right size.) I still had the receipt for the one I bought last week, but I searched all over my apartment this morning and could not find the one for the other one I bought last month. Thankfully, I was able to return it with ID. The returns went without a hitch. I looked at toys for my nephew Skylar for a little while, but I eventually just bought contact solution.

Spent the rest of the evening at home. After I got in and changed, I swept the porch. It was still hot and humid, but there was a wonderful wind blowing across the yard. When the porch was clean, I made an early dinner of pepper steak, tomatoes and cucumbers with low-fat Italian dressing, and brown rice, then treated myself to a small bowl of Banana Fudge Hand-Dipped Ice Cream from Leo's Yum-Yums around the corner.

I had a few problems getting onto The Dress Circle tonight. There must still be storms in the area, because my Internet has been going down and going slow all evening. It seems to be running fine now, but I didn't get to hear much of The Shows of July and August.

(Note the two months together. The summer is traditionally a slow time in the theater, dating back to when theaters didn't have air conditioning. This has changed somewhat with the advent of cooling systems, but most shows still opt to open in the spring or fall. Hits that braved the hotter weather include Hairspray and the original casts of 1776 and La Cage Aux Follies.)

Ain't No Cure For the Springtime Blues

I awoke to a hot, sunny late-spring day, the first we've had in ages. Unfortunately, it didn't begin well. I tried to wear my new shorts that I bought on Tuesday, but the zipper wouldn't work at all! Only one side was on the track, and it wouldn't slide onto the other side, no matter how much I tried to fix it. I was good and mad. I just bought those! Hadn't even worn them yet! Now I'm going to have to either take a ride to the Cherry Hill Mall or beg someone to take me back over there.

My errands for today, on the other hand, went without a hitch. I made it to the Acme around 10:30 to pick up my paycheck. It wasn't busy at all. WalMart wasn't busy when I bought a basket a new seat for the mountain bike, either. I had no problems grocery shopping, except for a box of Lipton Citrus Green Tea ringing up the wrong price. I went to the desk to explain the problem and got it for free.

After a quick, simple lunch of apple slices, peanut butter, and a granola bar, I headed back out to run more errands and do the last of this week's library volunteering. That's where I encountered another hitch. There was only $229 in my bank account. There should have been at least $800! I asked the teller about it, but she said nothing was amiss. I figured there wasn't anything I could do there, and left.

My next stop was the Haddon Township Library. I rode across Newton Creek Park. It was hot, really hot, and the sun was beating down on my shoulders. I really regretted wearing a tank top. My shoulders must have been burning. (I later discovered that I did indeed have some sunburn on my nose, chest, and shoulders.)

The Library wasn't really busy when I arrived. I just shelved DVDs. I also returned non-fiction books and took out four more mysteries. I picked the next Beatrix Potter novel The Tale of Cuckoo Brow Wood, a new paperback mystery, How to Wash Your Cat, and two American Girl mysteries, Peril at King's Creek (Felicity) and Missing Grace (the newest Kit story).

I rode across the street to the Westmont Plaza next. A brief stop at Super Fresh yielded nothing I needed. I grabbed sponges and cheap Windex (mine has gone missing, for some strange reason) at Dollar Tree. I rode past what used to be the Halloween Adventure/Swing Set store on my way out to Cuthbert Road. Alas, it's now a pile of rubble. They tore it down to the foundation. I'd still like to know what they plan on building there...

I was hot and getting hotter by the minute. There was a new ice cream shop on Cuthbert Road I wanted to try that would be the perfect way to cool off. It replaces the floral shop on the corner of Cuthbert and the White Horse Pike. Tables and a TV set tuned to Cartoon Network (they were running the new Garfield show when I was there) sit on the patio where there used to be floral displays and booths selling local sports merchandise. Flower pots rest between huge rocking wood booths and statues of cows. (One statue on the patio talks.) I had a chocolate water ice. I didn't like it as much as Leo's Yum Yums down the street, but it wasn't bad...and it felt really good going down. I was so parched!

(And I got my water ice just in time. What looked like a high school or Little League baseball team showed up for a treat about ten minutes after I got my kids' cup. I would have never been able to wade through a bunch of thirsty teenage boys!)

As soon as I got home, I went online and checked out my bank status. Turns out the problem was with my college payment. Someone at Nelnet.Inc, who handles my college payments, though I wrote $724.61 on the check I sent them, instead of $124.61, thanks to a tiny little line next to the 1 that probably came from the pen smudging. The words clearly say the lower number. I was mad as heck! I tried calling Nelnet at least five or six times, but I kept getting their automated phone system. I'm going to go back to the bank tomorrow morning to see if they can correct the problem.

Spent the rest of the afternoon baking and cleaning the windows in my apartment. This has been such a bad week in general. It seems like the harder I try to get things right, the more they go wrong...and I have visitors coming a week from Sunday! I feel like I'll never get everything done.

Tax Woman

Started out a partly cloudy, grayish morning with breakfast and The Mary Tyler Moore Show, then a run to the Acme and the Audubon Shopping Center. I picked up my paycheck and headed to Wal-Mart after a brief stop at Staples. On one hand, I didn't get one of the things I went in for, which was underwear. I didn't like the selection or the prices. On the other hand, I did get a spare inner tube. I like to keep one around for incidents like a few months ago where my tire blows out suddenly.

I also found that Mattel must have had a huge response to the series of decade-related Barbies they released last year. There were three more decade-related doll sets on the shelves. The 1964 Swirl Pony Tail Barbie looks like one my mom might have played with (she says she had the original 1959 doll as a child) and comes with the most adorable gingham dress with embroidered flower collar. I have very fond memories of the gorgeous 1985 Peaches and Cream Barbie. We never had her...but oh, did we wish we had! Her peach gown is still awesome. Not only that, but the front cover of her reproduction booklet helped me identify one of the vintage Barbie gowns I got from the thrift shop last year. My Princess Serena doll wears the 1985 Crystal Barbie gown (though not the ruffled stole that came with her). There was also a Black Barbie from 1980 that I don't remember, though she did have some pretty nifty outfits.

Ran back to the Acme after I bought the bike inner tube. Like last week, I didn't really need much. I was mostly stocking up on fruit and vegetables, thanks to this week's "buck a bag" sale. Bought apples, oranges, bananas, grapefruit, a bag of broccoli and cauliflower, celery, chuck beef steaks, ground chicken, Dannon yogurt that was on sale, and canola oil (also on sale).

I'd debated a train/bus trip to Deptford after finishing at the Acme, but I didn't really feel like doing a lot of running around. I decided to stick to the neighborhood and do some local chores instead. Some of them, like delivering bills to the post office and the dentist's office, were errands I've put off for longer than I should have. I also ran to CVS (got pot scrubbers) and the bank. Took a long, pleasant walk around Oaklyn after I finished at the bank, enjoying the relatively warm-ish 40 degree temperatures and the fact that it wasn't raining or sleeting, which was the original forecast for today.

After I got home, I spent the rest of the evening doing my taxes. I got my W-2s today and figured there was no beating around the bush. It's not like it takes me more than an hour to do them, anyway. I live alone, rent my apartment, have no dependents, only have one part-time job, and don't have to report on anything but the tax from my college payments. At any rate, I got them done and e-filed, and they were accepted by the IRS an hour ago. I should be getting my check by mid-February.

Golden Autumn

I awoke to an absolutely gorgeous fall morning. The sky was bright blue. The golden sun filtered through the falling yellow leaves on the trees over my porch. The air was cold and crisp and had that good woodburning smell.

I spent part of the morning doing job research. Not that I got far. I found one library assistant job for Voorhees (about a half-hour from here), but it also required handling the computer lab, which I've never done, and a handful of secretarial jobs.

The job hunting is just making me nervous as heck. First of all, I don't know if I can handle two jobs. I've never handled two jobs before. I don't have a car. Would I ever be able to find anyone who carpools? Would it be overwhelming?

I was really hoping to get out of the Acme all together. Is it possible? Can I do anything else, after 8 years of doing nothing but work at the Acme? If I can, why didn't the real estate office in Wildwood or the newspaper office in Atlantic County hire me years ago? If I can do all these things, why does no one want me to do them? How do you meet people when you're scared to death to talk to anyone you don't know well? Even just writing about anxiety is causing a knot to form in my stomach.

It was such a nice day, I went for a short walk in Veteran's Park next-door after lunch. The park looked stunning today, with it's green moss and gold and flame-colored trees. The views were amazing, with sun shining over bottle-green water and Crayola trees framing lovely homes and yards.

After that, I went to Doria's Deli for turkey lunchmeat (I used the last of it up on my lunch). When I got back, I thought I'd try to fix the chain on the cruiser bike myself, since none of my neighbors seemed to be around. It only took me about 20 minutes to turn the bike over and finally get it back on. It seems to be ok for now; it got me to work and back, anyway. We'll see what happens in the coming days. I may still try to get someone to tighten it a bit.

I left over an hour early for work. First of all, I wanted to check out the bike and make sure it ran fine (which it did). Second, I wanted plenty of time to pick up my paycheck and write down my schedule. Third, I wanted to check out FYE and Wal-Mart and see if they had the new special edition DVD for Planes, Trains, and Automobiles. Alas, neither of them did.

Work was, thankfully after the last week or so, not a problem. It was busy when I came in, dead when I left, with a few rude customers but nothing on the order of Wednesday or Sunday. I treated myself to a bag of mini pumpkin-shaped York Peppermint Patties that were half-off after work.

My schedule's pretty decent, too. Slightly fewer hours, otherwise, no really early days and nothing later than 8PM, Monday and Thursday off again, nothing too bad.

The Beast Is a Beauty

I didn't sleep well last night at all. My allergies, which haven't been bad for the last couple of weeks, came back with a vengeance yesterday evening. It was quarter of 3 before I finally settled down long enough for some shut-eye. I didn't drag myself out of bed until 10:30AM.

May have been just as well. It was once again cloudy, cool, damp, and gloomy. Not exactly the kind of day that cries out for adventure. I lay in bed for while and wrote in my journal and just daydreamed, then had a quick cereal breakfast and watched cartoons.

My cookie jar was empty again. I've been craving chocolate, so I made those Whole Wheat Chocolate Chip Cookies from the March issue of Prevention. They came out a little dry, and I burned the bottoms of the second batch a little, but not bad. I made them a bit bigger than the last batch I made back in the spring.

I'm so glad to be baking again. I miss it during the summer, when it's too hot to turn on the oven.

I went online for a little while when the cookie dough was chilling, but by the time the cookies were in the oven, I was bored. I needed shampoo anyway, so I took my bike over to Wal-Mart. I'm really not fond of our local Wal-Mart, which is unorganized and under-stocked, but it was almost 3PM by that point, and I didn't have the time to take the train and the bus to Target. Wal-Mart was having a sale on underwear, so I bought a bag of Fruit-of-the-Looms, along with the shampoo I needed and a spare bike inner tube (just in case).

Made a few quick stops after that. Went to Staples to see if they had any 1 or 2GB Flash Memory Drives. They didn't, so I rode across the parking lot to FYE. I browsed a little there, but being low on money, I just bought what I came in for, X-Men Origins: Wolverine. I avoided the traffic on both Pikes and Nicholson Road and took the long way home down Market Street in Audubon and over the train bridge into Oaklyn.

There were men doing work around the house when I came home. They're the same guys who clean the gutters every spring and fall. I hope they cleaned off the roof, too. Maybe that'll finally get rid of the ants. I've only seen a few in the bathroom since the rotten branch came down, so that seems to have solved that problem, but they're still in the kitchen.

Made a dinner of spiced beets, small beef eye round steaks, and leftover vegetables and oven-fried eggplant while watching Wolverine. As with the third X-Men film, I don't see what a lot of the fanboys were complaining about. Granted, once again, I'm not a comics fan, so I don't know the full back story here, but what I saw was mostly well-written, acted, and executed. And no wonder a lot of the female reviewers were overwhelmed back in May - there's a lot of handsome testosterone on display, from Ryan Reynolds' chatty swordsman Wade Wilson (Reynolds is so wasted in fluff like The Proposal) to Liev Schriber's nasty assassin Victor Creed.

And of course, there's Wolverine himself, Hugh Jackman, the hottest triple threat on two continents. It's worth it just for the scene where he's running around naked in a waterfall. Not that you see much, but still... ;)

You Can Do Magic

Started today at work, which went far better than yesterday. Today was my early work day, 9:30 to 3:30. It was relatively cool when I headed over, but sunny and bright. Work was on-and-off busy, and unlike yesterday, there were no major problems. My relief was on-time.

I headed over to Wal-Mart after work (with a brief stop at FYE) to buy a present for my nephew Skylar's birthday this coming Friday. Mom said he loved the Transformers I bought him for Christmas, so I picked up another one. I also bought a card for my father Bruce's birthday on Tuesday and thank-you cards for Lauren and her parents for having me over next month.

By the time I got out of the Acme, the coolness of the morning had become a blazing hot afternoon. It was really too hot to do much of anything else. After I finished in Wal-Mart, I rode home, cranked the air-conditioning, and watched The Prestige. I loved that. It's a twisty mystery about two rival magicians in the late 19th century, one a charismatic showman (Hugh Jackman), the other a dedicated and gifted illusionist (Christian Bale), whose attempts to outdo each other with feats of magic eventually turn into revenge...and then into tragedy. Unlike the more melodramatic tale of magic that came out around the same time, The Illusionist, this one keeps you guessing right until the very end, thanks to excellent writing, some amazing camera work and editing, Christopher Nolan's taut direction, and the fabulous performances by Jackman, Bale, Scarlett Johanssen (as Jackman's assistant) and Michael Caine (as a master craftsman who creates many of Jackman's illusions).

Life Is a Highway

I slept in this morning and got a late start out to the Audubon Commons Shopping Center behind the Acme. Wal Mart was my first stop. I finally got Jessa her graduation present and a card. Stopped at Fashion Bug next to see if they had anything that could qualify as work pants on sale; nope.

I didn't feel like going home. I felt like doing something. I didn't know what. It was cloudy and humid, but warm, and I didn't want to hang around the apartment all day. I just rode down the Black Horse Pike. I've never really explored the other Pike on my own before. I rode, and just kept riding. I went by the PNC Bank, went by Walgreens. (No good WebKinz there, BTW.) By this point, the traffic on the Black Horse Pike had picked up somewhat.

I stopped at a Subway in Mt. Ephram for lunch, and just kept on going. I rode out of Mt. Ephram and into Bellmawr, passing crumbling 70s-era shopping centers, gleaming new drug stores, old houses with dented brick, and that cool 50s-style McDonald's. I finally stopped at a huge Goodwill store. I cannot resist the call of anything resembling a thrift shop.

The Goodwill was mostly clothes. Some of them weren't in bad shape, either, but there were very few my size. (I guess 16/Large is more common than I thought.) I had more luck with other items. I bought a video copy of the Disney Christmas half-hour special The Small One, a lovely hardback picture book of Beauty and the Beast, and six records. Turns out the records were on sale, making my purchase a grand total of approximately $6.50 for a video, a book, and six records.

And Mom wonders why I love thrift shops?

I could have continued on the Black Horse Pike, but it was about quarter after 3 by this point and traffic, which had been heavy to begin with, was increasing. I turned on West Browning and just kept following the road, riding past mostly houses dotted with the occasional church, tavern, or school. After about 20 minutes, I finally passed by something interesting...the back of a wall that said "Sears Essentials."

Turns out that wall lead to a whole shopping center I'd only seen once or twice while on car trips down the White Horse Pike. The Lawndale Heritage Shopping Center isn't much of a heritage. There was a Wendy's, a Church's Chicken (new one to me), a massive Home Depot, the Sears, and a Fashion Bug, Pathmark, dollar store, and Chinese place that looked like they belonged to buildings that were far older than the new-ish Home Depot.

I checked out Sears, mostly because I've never seen one that wasn't in a two-level mall or didn't specialize in hardware, but it was a disappointment. It was really the same deal as Wal Mart, and even in a larger store, there was a lot less selection. The place looked like it had been remodeled recently, but it would appear no one cared. The store was stone-cold dead when I was in there, except for the employees and one older couple.

A peek at Fashion Bug wasn't much more productive. It was larger and better-organized than the one in Audubon, but I still didn't see anything I needed. At this point, the traffic on the White Horse Pike was ungodly, and I thought it best if I found a WaWa to get a drink and some money (I was also broke) and headed home.

I thought I could just ride down the White Horse Pike, but not only was it rush hour, but Lawndale's part of the Pike leads into several major highways. The streets were teaming with cars, and the sidewalks were a cracked mess. As I rode over one particularly large crack, the black nylon bag with my Goodwill purchases went flying onto the concrete...and I couldn't stop myself from riding right over it! Thank goodness I at least slowed myself. I turned around and retrieved the remains of the bag (walking my bike over my foot as I did so; ow). The video and the records were fine. The book had protected them. It's cover now had a massive hole and the cover under it was scraped, but it was still readable.

The bag wasn't as lucky. There was a huge hole in the front where it hit the sidewalk. Well, I'm miffed. That was the bag I keep in a pouch in my purse. Mom gave it to me for my birthday about two or three years ago, and I've used it constantly ever since. Granted, it's gotten rather shabby recently, but it was still very useful.

I tried riding down the White Horse Pike, but it diverged to several highways at the edge of Lawndale. I just turned around the way I came. I saw train tracks along a service road behind the mall, so I just followed them. Turns out that they're the same tracks that run through all the local towns. I rode past the big antique store in Barrington, coming out in Haddon Heights...conveniently right next to the big PNC Bank there. I took out $10 for yoga tomorrow, then went across the street for a bottle of water from a tiny pharmacy.

I was so dead by then, I just followed the tracks and rode home to Oaklyn, stopping only for cars and the few traffic lights on that road. I read put chicken breasts in a bag to marinate in light Italian dressing for an hour, then read The Chinatown Death Cloud Peril and made a lovely dinner of Italian Chicken and Tomato Skillet, mashed sweet potatoes, and sauteed asparagus and mushrooms.

Waiting for the Snow

I awoke to see absolutely nothing on my porch this morning but a few sticker balls and a squirrel. It was cloudy, but there was no snow, sleet, or even rain. On one hand, after all that fuss yesterday, it was a little disappointing. On the other hand, I really had errands I wanted to run today, and I've had enough of wandering around in lousy weather of late.

I didn't have much luck with shopping in the stores today. Wal Mart did have a CD/Cassette player, but it was $49.95, and I was hoping to find one for more like 20 or 30. They didn't have any bike baskets or brakes, either. FYE had nothing of interest. I debated getting cheap sneakers and snow boots at Payless and the Shoe Dept, but decided it could wait until my finances are better. I did mildly better at the Acme, where I picked up grapefruit, a large bag of apples, bananas, light yogurt, deodorant, shampoo, peanut butter, and a few other necessary items.

Though the bank was closed by the time I went home, I still needed to deposit my paycheck. I used the ATM machine at the PNC Bank down the street from me in the White Horse Pike, then ran to Family Dollar to check out their end-of-the-season sales. I wish I hadn't. I really don't like the Family Dollar on the White Horse Pike. The clerks are nasty, the customer service non-existent, and the shelves are never stocked. I heard the clerks yelling at each other and customers across the store, including using profanity with a half-dozen customers in ear-shot. There was a long line and only one slow and rude cashier to handle them. One fellow bought a cartful of sodas. I don't know why the cashier didn't question this; he was likely buying them for chop shops. He actually pulled his car right up to the front door to load them, nearly knocking a woman over in the process! I was going to buy those new, energy-saving florescent bulbs, but needless to say, I didn't end up buying anything. I don't think I'll be returning to that Family Dollar anymore. I'll just go farther afield and use Dollar Tree or Dollar General Plus when I need things really, really cheap.

Went across the street to WaWa for a Pumpkin Spice Latte after that. I was going to stop at Doria's Deli for brown sugar, but it was closed by the time I got over there. I just went home instead. I spent the rest of the evening using the Vermont Country Store and Barnes and Noble gift cards Lauren sent me for Christmas. It was so hard to decide on something I could get that I really wanted AND needed. I finally bought a pint of maple syrup from the Vermont Country Store and three books from Barnes and Noble, the other two Melendy Series books I didn't have and the Ethan Mordden Broadway musical history Beautiful Mornin' - The Broadway Musical in the 40s. Mordden's opinions and writing style can be insufferably snobbish sometimes, but his grasp of the history of the theater in general and musicals in particular is invaluable.

It finally started to snow as I did my online shopping. The snow was fairly heavy but, as I suspected, didn't last for long. There was a little rain after that, but it didn't last long, either. Right now, it's once again not doing anything. There's still a bit of snow on my porch, but it'll likely be gone by the time I go to work tomorrow.

Raindrops On the Mountains

Someone at the Weather Channel needs glasses. They said it was supposed to rain in the evening and be cloudy in the morning, but we awoke to a huge thunderstorm. I let Lauren sleep in and just lay around in bed and read her Monkees books.

The rain did subside long enough to take in another shopping center near Lauren. This one had a larger FYE that had just gotten in the September WebKinz. I got the Eagle. (Of course I got the Eagle. I'm a Philadelphia Eagles fan! ;) ) Lauren got the Sheep and the Bat. (I almost got the Bat but decided to hold off for Halloween.) I also found Singin' In the Rain on sale for $12.99. It costs as much as $27 reguarly; $12 with the Membership Card is a steal. Lauren also picked up the third season of The Fresh Prince Of Bel Air and a couple of wrestling DVDs and posters. We walked through Wal-Mart and Michael's, but neither of us got anything else. Wal-Mart was just putting out their Halloween items. I liked looking at the new cookie cutters (though I usually end up too busy in October to do any kind of baking).

We had lunch at Price Chopper, the huge supermarket in the same mall. Like the Wegmans' in Cherry Hill, this Price Chopper has a small restaurant section on one side of the room. Unlike the Acme's tiny "cafe" area between the bakery and deli, with it's selection of fried chicken, salad bar, and deli sandwiches, this "cafe" had not only sandwiches and a salad bar, but a nice hot foods bar. (Acme sells some hot foods, but only at the deli.) I had mashed sweet potatoes, chicken Marsala, and baby carrots. Lauren had the chicken, chicken and gravy, cheesy baked pasta, and white rice. It was all quite tasty for a supermarket salad bar, and only $4.50 each, at least two times cheaper than the Old Country Buffet across the way (with some of the same food).

Since we were out anyway, Lauren stopped by a local pizzeria to pick up the pepperoni pizzas we were going to have for dinner. While the pizzas cooked, we looked at a small used book store in the same mall. They had a nice selection of paperback mysteries. I ended up with Death at Bishop's Keep (which I've been wanting to read - my grandmother gave me the second one, and the libraries only have the newer ones) and a small cake/cookies/pie cookbook. By that point, it was raining again, and had rained on and off all day. The rain didn't stop until we got home and were eating pizza over Wheel of Fortune (of course).

Tomorrow, we're going up to Vermont to the Vermont Country Store and the Manchester Outlets. It's supposed to be really nice, so we hopefully won't have the weather problem again. (It's now saying no more rain until Saturday, which we plan on spending relaxing at home after the Micky Dolenz concert.)

Oh, and meet my three new WebKinz, Swamp Fred the Bullfrog, Mochaberry the Cocoa Dinosaur, and Westbrook the Eagle! Swamp Fred and Mochaberry live in Fred's muddy swamp home, where Mochaberry has a hearthside bread business. Westbrook will have his own Red, White, and Blue Football room and will be in charge of the KinzBee's Sports Bar and Grill. (Westbrook is, of course, named for Philadelphia Eagle Brian Westbrook.)

Braving the Wal-Mart Mobs

I spent a quiet morning doing laundry. No one is home at Uncle Ken's. Uncle Ken is on vacation with Dolores. Bruce is on a work trip. Jessa is staying with Jodie. I watched cartoons on Toon Disney and Cartoon Network (what was with that bizarre Tom & Jerry movie about the pirates?) and walked up to the White Horse Pike to check out the collectibles store The House of Fun. Unfortunately, The House of Fun is closed for the entire weekend due to a family emergency and won't be open again until Tuesday. (That's one of the disadvantages of my fondness for small stores. They tend to be opened at the whims of the owner.)

Work was less peaceful. Jill tried to call me in early yesterday, but I turned her down in order to get my laundry done. (I work early tomorrow and won't have the time, and I really needed clean work uniforms. It's not like I'm desperate for money anyway, between a lot of hours this week, birthday money, and the money I made raking the front yard.) I didn't realize why until I saw how short they were on help this evening. There weren't even any call outs. They just didn't have enough help. It was on-and-off busy but could have been worse. It's probably a good thing it was a gorgeous, 80-degree, cloudless day out there.

I ran to Wal-Mart to pick up a few things after work, but it proved to be just a plain bad idea. The store was a total and complete zoo, with lines even longer than the Acme's...at 7:30PM! We also had the usual rude customers who jostle you and shout over your head. They had no DVD cabinets, the bike area was so crowded I couldn't get to the tires, and they still don't have bath mats the right size for my bathroom. I ended up with a container for my bread flour I hope holds it all and a book, Key Lime Murder by Joanna Fluke. I'm contemplating a trip to the Target in Deptford on Thursday. They have a much better selection of basically everything Wal-Mart has, with less rude customers.

Better Shop Around

I did a lot of shopping I'd been putting off today, probably a lot more than I really should have. The first of today's errands was finally getting my tax return in the bank. Thank goodness! My account was tipping perilously towards "empty."

My next stop was the Haddon Township Library for this week's volunteering session. Did the Large Print section, which needed it, particularly the regular fiction. Made a very quick stop at Super Fresh for milk, then headed back to Oaklyn and stopped at Doria's Deli for eggs (which are cheaper there than at Super Fresh or Acme).

I stopped at home for lunch and to put away my milk, eggs, and the copy of Zorro, by Isobel Allende. The last-named is a new version of the Zorro legend that came out a few years ago, but I could never find it then.

It started out sunny, but clouds came out even before I left for Westmont. By the time I was eating my lunch, it was much darker and windier. It was also humid, damp, and smelled of wet weather; not good signs. I finally just grabbed my umbrella and just walked to the shopping center behind the Acme.

My first stop there was Staples for more Zip Discs. I then headed over to Wal-Mart, which was busy but yielded more interesting items this time. I finally got an outdoor doormat (one of those green plastic grass things with the cute daisies) and a new indoor doormat (my old one was folding up like a withered flower). I looked at bath mats, but they were all too big. I have a very small bathroom, and anything larger than a small would cover almost the entire floor. I also got cereal bars and much-needed new underwear.

I took a look at Avenue and Fashion Bug for new cullottes, but couldn't find anything I liked, so I ended up at FYE instead. I spent more than $100 on two new WebKinz (one was on sale for Easter), two WebKinz Trading Cards packs, five DVDs, and the FYE membership card (which gives you 10% off all purchases). Of the five DVDs, two replaced video copies. I'd held onto Casablanca since I was in junior high and my stepdad joined Columbia House because of the cool booklet, but then I saw the 2-disc DVD used for $15 and thought I'd take a look at that. I also found Recess: School's Out used as a replacement for the video copy I got from Blockbuster three years ago. The Black Swan was one of the movies I taped in college and recently got rid of, and since there was a buy 1 under $16, get the second under $16 half-off sale, I also picked up one of my favorite John Wayne movies, El Dorado. (My stepfather is a huge John Wayne fan, and I guess I picked up a lot of it from him.)

The latest in Disney's long line of Platinum 2-Disc DVD releases is 101 Dalmations, one of their cutest and most unusual movies. Best known today for the memorable villainess Cruella De Vil, Dalmations is a laid-back action/comedy about the London title characters, who seek their puppies after fur-crazy De Vil and a couple of rather stupid thieves steal them for dog-skin coats. Dalmations isn't my all-time favorite, but it's still a lot of fun and it's nice to have it, especially since the video and the last DVD release is long out-of-print.

(And I'm miffed Disney's putting out Sleeping Beauty again in October after all the trouble I went through last year to find the original DVD release! It'll be nice to have the long-gone Pinnochio next spring, though.)

I spent the rest of the afternoon after hiking home watching Dalmations and making a simple salmon dinner.

Oh, and meet my newest WebKinz, Sunshine the Duck and Duke the Lil'Kinz Pig! Duke was named for John Wayne's moniker. Sunnie was named for the little ray of sunshine that poked through the clouds after I finally left FYE. I only activated Duke today; one at a time. He's the "Pet Of The Month" and came with extra goodies. His Pet Of The Month loot was a Playful Picture, which went in his room. The gorgeous Antique Street Lamp exclusive was perfect for my Kinzville Farm Market; gave it that "historic downtown" feel. I also got a WebKinz Trading Card Refrigerator, a Wizard Hat, and a Space Book Shelf off the card packs.

(Oh, and it did finally rain tonight, and rather heavily, too. Hopefully, that'll get rid of the awful humidity. It's too early for that.)

Workin' On the Register

I had a very, very long day. I worked 8 hours today, from 10AM to 6PM. I haven't had an 8-hour shift in months. I found out why I suddenly had a long shift from one of the younger managers (who normally doesn't work in the mornings at all) this morning - most of the regular morning and early afternoon people attended a party for one of the managers and weren't up to working after it!

On the other hand, long shifts tend to go quickly, and you do get two breaks. No major problems today, other than a lot of the kids who had just worked the late shift the night before weren't terribly happy about having to come in at 9 and 10 in the morning.

I went to the Wal-Mart after work to find a few birthday presents and have dinner at Subway. Unfortunately, my shopping luck seems to have run out. The Subway was dingy and staffed by annoying people with annoying accents who couldn't understand a word I said. I couldn't understand what they were saying, either, which meant it took me longer to get my dinner than it should have. (I think it shocked the guy that someone actually asked for a bag of apples instead of chips!)

My trip to Wal-Mart reminded me of why I normally avoid that store unless I desperately need something. It was busy and noisy, filled with obnoxious people who scream for their friends and children over your head, push past you without saying "excuse me," and never put anything away...and that's just the customers! The small-for-a-discount-chain store was a disaster area. Empty and half-full boxes sat on the floor, with no one tending to them. Many shelves had wide-open spaces, and even items that weren't on sale were far from overflowing. The prices weren't nearly as great as everyone likes to claim they are, either. I couldn't find one of the things I was looking for. (Doesn't ANYONE make plain old underwear briefs in a size 8 with colors? Not uncomfortable high-cuts or low-cuts or rises or bikinis, just briefs!) The other, the newly-released special edition of The Aristocats, was $19.99, the exact same price it was at FYE. I decided I'd rather get it at FYE, which hopefully would be quieter. I did get a few things at Wal-Mart, including decorator candies for the cupcakes I'm going to make for Valentine's Day, birthday cards for my adopted sister Jessa (the 13th) and my stepfather Bill (today - it'll go out early next week), and a birthday present.

(Oh, and I bought a box of the new Girl Scouts Lemon Shortbread cookies. I always try to buy at least one or two boxes of Girl Scout Cookies a year, and not just because they're genuinely tasty, either. My sisters Rose and Anny were Girl Scouts when they were younger, and they never really had much luck with cookie-selling in quiet Cape May. We'd have boxes sitting around for months!)

FYE was a breath of fresh air after stuffy, loud Wal-Mart. It was just me, the kid behind the register, and the ads for new releases on the TVs. I eyed a few of the new WebKinz on their displays (I want a black poodle), but finally opted for The Aristocats, another birthday gift, and three packs of the new Series 2 WebKinz Trading Cards.

I had more luck with the cards than with the shopping. I bought a pack of Series 1 cards yesterday and was rewarded with my first piece of Trading Card Furniture, the Game Theme Table. Tonight, I got a Ballet Study Desk, a Series 2 Trading Card Dresser, and money. (The last was most appreciated. I drained my finances a bit buying Linda the Collie clothes and setting up the Pizzeria.)

Mary the Reindeer got the desk in her very pink ballet-themed room. I haven't found a place for the Game Table or the Trading Card Dresser yet. I used the money to add an Air Hockey game to the mini-arcade in my pizzeria. (And it was fun, too. Now I'll be able to practice for when I get together with Lauren next summer! ;) )

Nobody Else But Me

Despite a rainy, blustery day, I did ride over to the shopping center where the Acme is to get my chores done. I picked up my paycheck and headed for Wal-Mart first, where I finally found an affordable pair of fuzzy cat's ears (along with a tail and a rather silly bow-tie) for my black cat Halloween costume. I think I'll wear the bow in my hair and be a girl cat instead of around my neck. I already have a tail from a previous costume, and the one that came with the package doesn't close to fit, anyway.

I stopped at FYE next. I finally picked up A Charlie Brown Thanksgiving, the only major Peanuts holiday special I didn't have, and got National Lampoon's Vacation on DVD (to replace my video copy). My favorite find, though, was Kristen Chenowith's fabulous solo jazz CD Let Yourself Go, with some wonderful renditions of standards like "How Long Has This Been Going On?" and "My Funny Valentine."

Sometime between my arrival at and departure from FYE, it began to pour. It had been threatening rain since yesterday and actually began to sprinkle on the way to Wal-Mart, but nothing serious. I think I missed the worst of it, but I was still fairly damp when I headed into the free-standing Staples across the way to finally put in an application that would be on file. Got a quick slice of mushroom pizza and some water from Te Se Bella near FYE after that, then rode home.

I made one other quick trip to the bank before settling in for some writing. I worked on and edited a few stories Lauren and I wrote for the Monkees role-play, then wrote a short story for Lauren's birthday today. All can be seen at our Dream World role play site. After I worked on the stories, I made mashed sweet potatoes and had the last of the chicken soup for dinner.

It's pouring again out there now as I write this. I just closed the windows - the area around the living room window was soaked! (My bedroom wasn't as bad, though. It's protected by two houses. The living room is only protected by a few trees.)

Good. We NEED the rain, if only to get rid of this awful humidity. It hasn't even really be HOT, just HUMID.

Road To Moonlighting

Busy day. I ran errands this morning. Tried to get the record player working; it started acting weird again. I just don't know what's wrong. I've balanced it with the screw like the directions said, and it STILL won't work right, either playing too fast or too slow (and I do have it on the right speed). It can't be broken. I've had it for less than a year.

Work was on-and-off busy, probably due to the occasional showers, but when it was on, it was insane. It was backed up when we left because, for some reason, they scheduled two cashiers to leave at the same time, and another cashier wasn't supposed to arrive for a half-hour! The managers and a stock boy ended up coming in for us, which isn't right. I really wish they'd be more careful with things like that.

I ran to the Wal-Mart behind the Acme where I work in Audobon after a quick pizza dinner at a nice little Italian restarant/pizzaria nearby. On one hand, I didn't find what I was looking for, which was some nice, simple spring decorations and cardboard picture cutouts to hang on my wall. That Wal-Mart is a bit of a pain, which is why I only go there about once a month. It's always disorganized and cluttered, they're always out of most of the sales items, and while I've never had any trouble with the salespeople, the other customers are often rude and obnoxious. (Probably some of the same people who make my Acme job miserable.) Going there is like going to Big Lots or a warehouse store - you never know what you might find.

Case in point tonight - while I didn't find any good Easter stuff, I DID pick up the fifth season of Moonlighting
for $19.99, cheaper than even Amazon.com carries it, and grabbed The Road To Zanzibar out of the 2 for $11 DVD bin. "Road To Zanzibar" is the only Bob Hope-Bing Crosby-Dorothy Lamour "Road" movie I've never seen besides the rare "Road To Hong Kong."