Began the morning with early work. Unlike yesterday, it wasn't busy. I ended up in the register once very briefly to cover for another cashier early in the day, and that was it. Did the trash and recycling and hung up gift cards in the morning. After lunch, I did returns and alternated sweeping the store with the head bagger. I did have to go out and do the carts every once in a while, which kind of got chilly. Despite a bright day and warm sunshine, it was bitter cold, in the lower 30's, and very windy.
Needless to say on such a frigid day, I went straight home after work. Started in on the next batch of cookies after changing and having a snack. The biscotti I make are different than the hard rusks many of you dunk into hot drinks. I roll them into candy cane and wreath shapes, cover them in sprinkles, and bake them once. This is another recipe that came out of Prevention Magazine. It originally called for dried cherries and pistachios, but for Christmas, we keep them plain.
Ran Mrs. Santa Claus as I worked. I go further into this TV extravaganza at my Musical Dreams Movie Reviews blog.
Mrs. Santa Claus
Finished the cookies at 4:30, in time to start writing...but I didn't end up writing. I thought I'd give the Roku another shot. After I set up my Roku account on my laptop and two more attempts at getting the password in, I ended up calling Comcast. The customer service guy sent me to the Internet Service people, who helped me set up a second router with a new name and password. That did the trick. It went through. Both men were very nice and helpful, and I easily finished the set-up and added more apps.
One of those apps is for Pluto TV, a free streaming service that just happens to carry Buzzr. I came in just in time to have a quick leftovers dinner and catch the last Match Game episode of the evening. Buzzr's been pushing their "Betty White Christmas" theme for a while, which pretty much means Betty is in all episodes of Match Game and Password Plus this week. She livened up an episode from 1976, including rolling up Gene's pants legs when he talked to the panelists on the upper desks.
Sale of the Century was pushed back to 7 in early November. The format here was a little different than what I watched a few months ago. In what I'm guessing was a late 80's episode, instead of playing for all the prizes in the end, the contestant plays an extra bonus round to win a specific prize and cash. The more they return, the bigger the prize. The new champ won a wide-screen TV in literally the last second during the bonus round.
I haven't seen the Monty Hall Let's Make a Deal since the mid-80's. It's pretty much the same game as the current version with Wayne Brady. People in wacky costumes are chosen from the audience and given money or a small prize, then get the chance to trade up to something else. Sometimes, they may actually get a bigger prize or more money...but lurking under boxes and behind doors are the "Zonk" prizes, goofy "prizes" like pigs or a camel that mean you win nothing. Among the contestants today were a grizzled old cowpoke, a woman astronaut, another woman who was a baseball player, a mouse, a man dressed as a pig, and his wife, who was a sailor in a flotation device. The cowpoke ended up the winner of the Big Deal of the Day, netting a washer and dryer along with other appliances.
Betty White returned for Password Plus, hosted by her then-husband Allen Ludden. White joined Joanna Gleason, the Baker's Wife in the original Broadway cast of Into the Woods, for a real duel of words. I'd seen the ladies on the show before, and they both did really well...and did even better tonight. Each managed to help her contestant get to the Alphabetics bonus round at least once, and I think they both won, too.
After two more newer Supermarket Sweep episodes, we moved on to the mid-80's version of Card Sharks. They were doing their "Young People's Week," i.e, having kids between the ages of 11 and 13 as the contestants. The little boy and girl they had on the show were just too adorable! I loved their answers, particularly the little boy. The girl won, and while she didn't really have much luck on the bonus round Money Cards, she did still manage to nab a nice chunk of cash in a savings bond.
Worked on my last batch of cookies all through the night. The recipe for Cherry Coconut Bars is another one from The Betty Crocker Cooky Book. It's basically lemon bars with a super-sweet cherry coconut custard filling instead of citrus. Even with the cooking spray I put on the bottom of the pan, the bars still crumbled when I cut them and packed them into the boxes and container to be given away.
(Those, incidentally, were the last of the cookies. Tomorrow, I'll start in on the other baked goods - cupcakes and two loaves of bread - and candy.)
Finished the night with The Match Game-Hollywood Squares Hour. Gene Rayburn joins singer Jon Bauman in this combined version of the two most famous "goofy panelists" game shows. I've been enjoying it. As much as I like the 70's Match Game, it is cool to see celebrities I recognize from my own childhood. I did hear that Gene wasn't crazy about doing this - there were apparently changes to the format of Hollywood Squares, and he would have rather worked with original Squares MC Peter Marshall - but I've had fun. (Of course, keep in mind that I've seen two episodes of the original Hollywood Squares on YouTube. I'm more familiar with the version from the late 90's with Whoopi Goldberg.)
Life is a lazy river - no matter where you are. Movies, musicals, mysteries, pop culture, and lots of other great stuff.
Showing posts with label internet problems. Show all posts
Showing posts with label internet problems. Show all posts
Thursday, December 19, 2019
Thursday, January 10, 2019
Windy Winter
Started off a chilly, very windy morning with a nice, warm bowl of oatmeal and Cranberry Flummery breakfast. Finished the dusting in the bedroom after I ate. The bedroom normally takes a while to clean. That's where I keep most of my books and collections. I just went around most things this time, though. I've got a lot of other things I want to do, too.
Ran more Hello Kitty Furry Tale Theater episodes as I cleaned. Tuxedo Sam is "Robin Penguin," who robs gum from rich Princess Catnip to give to the poor people of Knottypine. Kitty plays detective when "Hello Mother Goose" has to figure out who stole a series of famous items from several nursery rhyme characters. "The Ugly Quackling" (Chip) may look different than his sisters and mother Fangora, but he can still save them from the hungry fox (Grinder). "Pinocchio Penguin" learns a lesson in honesty when the wooden penguin and his friend Chip have to evade the wicked gypsy Catnip and her partner Grinder to get back to Grandpapetto. My Melody's in the spotlight in an Old West version of "Little Red Bunny Hood." She, Deputy Chip, and the wolf Grinder rescue her grandma from notorious outlaw Belle Catnip.
The cartoons ended just in time for me to head to work. Today generally went better than yesterday did. I did end up in the register once, but I was there for less than five minutes before they pulled me to clean up a spill. (Which was actually an especially large dirt clod that someone mistook for a spill.) Though I spent most of the day shelving candy and gathering baskets, I did go outside to do carts during the first half-hour and the last 40 minutes. While it was still sunny, it was also still insanely windy and much colder, probably in the mid-upper 30's.
Went straight home and on the computer. I ended up re-writing the opening sequence to get to the plot at hand a bit more quickly. Luke Scarlet and Friar Kenobi address Han of Locksley and his moor friend Chewbacca at a run-down tavern near Nottingham. They want to hire him as a guide to Aldran Manor, on the edge of Nottingham Forest. Han agrees to it, for an outrageous sum. The old monk tells him that they will pay. Han sends Chewbacca to tend to the horses after they leave, but there's someone else watching him...
Broke for dinner at quarter of 7. Had scrambled eggs and vegetables, then made Chocolate Chip Oatmeal Cookies while watching Robin and the 7 Hoods. I go into more detail about this 30's gangster-themed vehicle for Frank Sinatra and the Rat Pack at my Musical Dreams Movie Reviews blog.
Robin and the 7 Hoods
(Oh, and I would have gotten this up faster, but my internet went down for a couple of hours this evening...right as I was trying to get on, of course.)
Ran more Hello Kitty Furry Tale Theater episodes as I cleaned. Tuxedo Sam is "Robin Penguin," who robs gum from rich Princess Catnip to give to the poor people of Knottypine. Kitty plays detective when "Hello Mother Goose" has to figure out who stole a series of famous items from several nursery rhyme characters. "The Ugly Quackling" (Chip) may look different than his sisters and mother Fangora, but he can still save them from the hungry fox (Grinder). "Pinocchio Penguin" learns a lesson in honesty when the wooden penguin and his friend Chip have to evade the wicked gypsy Catnip and her partner Grinder to get back to Grandpapetto. My Melody's in the spotlight in an Old West version of "Little Red Bunny Hood." She, Deputy Chip, and the wolf Grinder rescue her grandma from notorious outlaw Belle Catnip.
The cartoons ended just in time for me to head to work. Today generally went better than yesterday did. I did end up in the register once, but I was there for less than five minutes before they pulled me to clean up a spill. (Which was actually an especially large dirt clod that someone mistook for a spill.) Though I spent most of the day shelving candy and gathering baskets, I did go outside to do carts during the first half-hour and the last 40 minutes. While it was still sunny, it was also still insanely windy and much colder, probably in the mid-upper 30's.
Went straight home and on the computer. I ended up re-writing the opening sequence to get to the plot at hand a bit more quickly. Luke Scarlet and Friar Kenobi address Han of Locksley and his moor friend Chewbacca at a run-down tavern near Nottingham. They want to hire him as a guide to Aldran Manor, on the edge of Nottingham Forest. Han agrees to it, for an outrageous sum. The old monk tells him that they will pay. Han sends Chewbacca to tend to the horses after they leave, but there's someone else watching him...
Broke for dinner at quarter of 7. Had scrambled eggs and vegetables, then made Chocolate Chip Oatmeal Cookies while watching Robin and the 7 Hoods. I go into more detail about this 30's gangster-themed vehicle for Frank Sinatra and the Rat Pack at my Musical Dreams Movie Reviews blog.
Robin and the 7 Hoods
(Oh, and I would have gotten this up faster, but my internet went down for a couple of hours this evening...right as I was trying to get on, of course.)
Thursday, April 26, 2018
Hair Day Adventures
By the time I rolled out of bed around 8, last night's rain had been replaced by a glorious, sunny, windy spring day. I opened the windows, then enjoyed breakfast while watching two wedding-related Three Stooges shorts. They're "Three Dumb Clucks" who escape jail to rescue their father from a gold-digger. Pop just happens to look exactly like Curly without his sideburns, leading the boys to substitute him for their dad in the ceremony. Turns out the duplicitous dame is part of a gang who intends to toss Dad off a balcony and take his money...and do the same to them, if they don't fall down first!
Shemp is set to inherit money, but only if he becomes a "Brideless Groom" and gets married within a few hours. No one's interested in taking him up on the offer, until they learn about the money...and then every woman in town wants to become his wife!
First errand on the agenda was doing the laundry. Maybe I should have done it earlier than 10:30. They were really busy when I got there. I was lucky to get a washer. It had cleared out a little bit by the time my clothes went into the dryer. At any rate, I worked on story notes and half-listened to Rachel Ray and The View.
Put everything away when I got home, then made Mandarin Orange Honey Muffins from the Alton Brown Old School Muffins recipe for lunch. Did more Stooges short while I ate and baked. "Up In Daisy's Penthouse" is a Shemp-era remake of "Three Dumb Clucks." This time, Shemp plays Pop, the guys don't start out in jail, and they end up trying on their father's clothes instead of hats. The ending with the balcony remains the same, though...
Shemp also figured into "Corny Casanovas." The Stooges are thrilled that they've all gotten engaged. Turns out their fiancee is the same girl who is only interested in their rings, not them. They all fight over her, literally knocking each other out!
Headed out after lunch. My first stop was the Hair Cuttery in Collingswood. My hair very, very badly needed to be cut and styled. I put it off for almost a year again. I really need to stop doing that. My hair is long, thick, and curly, It frizzes badly, especially when it gets really long. I had Crystal again, the same nice blond lady from last year, and she once again did a great job taming my locks into a lovely shoulder-length head of curls. (I don't mind the silver strands that have been creeping in for a decade, either. Like I told Crystal, I earned every one of those silver hairs.)
After running into the Rite Aid next-door to grab creme for my curls, I headed off again, this time to the Haddon Township Library. Not only did they not have a lot going on, but they were conducting a survey, and I couldn't shelve anything anyway. I did check the DVDs to make sure they were organized and took a few out. This week's movies are Girls Trip (sounds like fun, and it got some excellent reviews last year), the late 80's comedy Betsy's Wedding, the classic 1976 concert documentary The Last Waltz, and the latest Scooby Doo direct-to-DVD movie, Scooby Doo Meets Batman: The Brave and the Bold. I also took out one of Mercedes Lackey's Valdemar books, Fortune's Fool, and Be a Miracle, on doing the impossible.
Made another quick stop on the way home at WaWa for milk and a pretzel before heading home. I finally got around to ordering an updated modem earlier this week. It arrived today; I carried it inside before I left. Other than it's slightly lighter and has more buttons, it's pretty much the same thing as the old one and hooks up in the same way. I even got to name my network connection and set my own password this time.
Worked on writing for a while after I got the modem working. Leia attacks Palpatine the dragon angrily after he reveals that her father once worked for him before he chose his family over power. She's strong, but the dragon's stronger. He takes off her hand, and is about to knock her off the cliff when Han and Chewie burst in, riding on Falcon. Han shoots Palpatine with his mechanical bow. He gets him in his talon, but otherwise doesn't do much damage.
Palpatine grabs Han, seeing an opportunity to use him as a hostage. Boba Fett jumps on his back, and they take off into the starry night sky, the dragon still clutching the prince in his claws. Leia manages to tell Han that she loves him and get the famous "I know" reply before Palpatine puts him to sleep and she faints from pain and exhaustion.
It was almost 7 before I broke for dinner. Ended up having a tomato, cheese, and mushroom omelet while doing two animated shorts depicting what happens after the wedding. Olive Oyl dreams she finally marries Popeye in "Wimmin are a Mystery," but their four sons prove to be more than she could handle. (The kids were later switched to being Popeye's nephews and became regulars in the 40's and early 50's.) Donald has a similar nightmare in "Donald's Diary," this time about marrying Daisy. (And interestingly, his nephews do figure into it as her brothers.)
Played a few quick Wii Sports games after dinner. Baseball went very well. I ended up tying the computer 3-3. Got my best-ever bowling score, too. Lost the tennis match, but it wasn't for lack of trying. Sometimes the computer hits way too fast for me, and I still have problems aiming properly.
Finished out the night after a shower with Scooby Doo Meets Batman: The Brave and the Bold. This story, based around the same-named cartoon from the early 2010's, takes Mystery Inc to Gotham. Impressed with their skills on a previous test case, Batman may allow them to join his group the Mystery Analysts. They get the kids to choose a case to work on...which turns out to be Batman's only unsolved case, something he's a bit cagey about. The Mystery Analysts, including Plastic Man, Black Canary, and Martian Manhunter check out a chemical warehouse that's been burglarized. A mysterious man in a red cloak almost blows them and the chemicals to smithereens, claiming that Batman made him into a ghost and he's swearing revenge. It's assumed that he has something to do with that previous case Batman had trouble with. Questioning the Riddler doesn't help. Things get even worse when Batman and the kids are accused of being the ones who stole the chemicals, and the Mystery Analysts believe the cops. Now those meddling kids have to out-run super villains and heroes alike in order to clear their names and prove that they're as good as detectives as any cape-wearing crime-fighter in the Warners roster.
Uh...yeah. This was probably a bad idea for me. I'm a fan of Scooby, but I've never been into the Caped Crusader, and I never saw the show. All of this just seemed weird and a bit incomprehensible. Unless you're a big fan of Batman or The Brave and the Bold, I'd skip this one.
Shemp is set to inherit money, but only if he becomes a "Brideless Groom" and gets married within a few hours. No one's interested in taking him up on the offer, until they learn about the money...and then every woman in town wants to become his wife!
First errand on the agenda was doing the laundry. Maybe I should have done it earlier than 10:30. They were really busy when I got there. I was lucky to get a washer. It had cleared out a little bit by the time my clothes went into the dryer. At any rate, I worked on story notes and half-listened to Rachel Ray and The View.
Put everything away when I got home, then made Mandarin Orange Honey Muffins from the Alton Brown Old School Muffins recipe for lunch. Did more Stooges short while I ate and baked. "Up In Daisy's Penthouse" is a Shemp-era remake of "Three Dumb Clucks." This time, Shemp plays Pop, the guys don't start out in jail, and they end up trying on their father's clothes instead of hats. The ending with the balcony remains the same, though...
Shemp also figured into "Corny Casanovas." The Stooges are thrilled that they've all gotten engaged. Turns out their fiancee is the same girl who is only interested in their rings, not them. They all fight over her, literally knocking each other out!
Headed out after lunch. My first stop was the Hair Cuttery in Collingswood. My hair very, very badly needed to be cut and styled. I put it off for almost a year again. I really need to stop doing that. My hair is long, thick, and curly, It frizzes badly, especially when it gets really long. I had Crystal again, the same nice blond lady from last year, and she once again did a great job taming my locks into a lovely shoulder-length head of curls. (I don't mind the silver strands that have been creeping in for a decade, either. Like I told Crystal, I earned every one of those silver hairs.)
After running into the Rite Aid next-door to grab creme for my curls, I headed off again, this time to the Haddon Township Library. Not only did they not have a lot going on, but they were conducting a survey, and I couldn't shelve anything anyway. I did check the DVDs to make sure they were organized and took a few out. This week's movies are Girls Trip (sounds like fun, and it got some excellent reviews last year), the late 80's comedy Betsy's Wedding, the classic 1976 concert documentary The Last Waltz, and the latest Scooby Doo direct-to-DVD movie, Scooby Doo Meets Batman: The Brave and the Bold. I also took out one of Mercedes Lackey's Valdemar books, Fortune's Fool, and Be a Miracle, on doing the impossible.
Made another quick stop on the way home at WaWa for milk and a pretzel before heading home. I finally got around to ordering an updated modem earlier this week. It arrived today; I carried it inside before I left. Other than it's slightly lighter and has more buttons, it's pretty much the same thing as the old one and hooks up in the same way. I even got to name my network connection and set my own password this time.
Worked on writing for a while after I got the modem working. Leia attacks Palpatine the dragon angrily after he reveals that her father once worked for him before he chose his family over power. She's strong, but the dragon's stronger. He takes off her hand, and is about to knock her off the cliff when Han and Chewie burst in, riding on Falcon. Han shoots Palpatine with his mechanical bow. He gets him in his talon, but otherwise doesn't do much damage.
Palpatine grabs Han, seeing an opportunity to use him as a hostage. Boba Fett jumps on his back, and they take off into the starry night sky, the dragon still clutching the prince in his claws. Leia manages to tell Han that she loves him and get the famous "I know" reply before Palpatine puts him to sleep and she faints from pain and exhaustion.
It was almost 7 before I broke for dinner. Ended up having a tomato, cheese, and mushroom omelet while doing two animated shorts depicting what happens after the wedding. Olive Oyl dreams she finally marries Popeye in "Wimmin are a Mystery," but their four sons prove to be more than she could handle. (The kids were later switched to being Popeye's nephews and became regulars in the 40's and early 50's.) Donald has a similar nightmare in "Donald's Diary," this time about marrying Daisy. (And interestingly, his nephews do figure into it as her brothers.)
Played a few quick Wii Sports games after dinner. Baseball went very well. I ended up tying the computer 3-3. Got my best-ever bowling score, too. Lost the tennis match, but it wasn't for lack of trying. Sometimes the computer hits way too fast for me, and I still have problems aiming properly.
Finished out the night after a shower with Scooby Doo Meets Batman: The Brave and the Bold. This story, based around the same-named cartoon from the early 2010's, takes Mystery Inc to Gotham. Impressed with their skills on a previous test case, Batman may allow them to join his group the Mystery Analysts. They get the kids to choose a case to work on...which turns out to be Batman's only unsolved case, something he's a bit cagey about. The Mystery Analysts, including Plastic Man, Black Canary, and Martian Manhunter check out a chemical warehouse that's been burglarized. A mysterious man in a red cloak almost blows them and the chemicals to smithereens, claiming that Batman made him into a ghost and he's swearing revenge. It's assumed that he has something to do with that previous case Batman had trouble with. Questioning the Riddler doesn't help. Things get even worse when Batman and the kids are accused of being the ones who stole the chemicals, and the Mystery Analysts believe the cops. Now those meddling kids have to out-run super villains and heroes alike in order to clear their names and prove that they're as good as detectives as any cape-wearing crime-fighter in the Warners roster.
Uh...yeah. This was probably a bad idea for me. I'm a fan of Scooby, but I've never been into the Caped Crusader, and I never saw the show. All of this just seemed weird and a bit incomprehensible. Unless you're a big fan of Batman or The Brave and the Bold, I'd skip this one.
Monday, June 19, 2017
One Stormy Evening
Started off an on-and-off cloudy and sunny morning with breakfast, then taking down the spring decorations and putting up what very little I have for summer. Summer officially starts in two days, and I was overdue. Besides, Charlie still hadn't come back. I figured I was good to go. And when he does come back, there will be fewer knick-knacks to deal with. The only "decorations" I have for summer are a sunflower-and-heart-shaped wooden plaque, a small wreath trimmed with sunflowers, and a couple of beach and ocean stuffed animals - three flamingos, a whale, a small tomato clown fish.
Ran two beach-themed cartoon episodes while I worked. In the second season of Sailor Moon, the Guardians are on vacation on a tropical island. While they convince Rei to temporarily forgo training, Chibi-Usa befriends a baby dinosaur who rescues her from sharks. She gets a chance to return the favor - and the girls show that they can use their Guardian powers for something besides chasing villains - when a volcano erupts on the island, trapping the baby and his mother in a cave.
The Tiny Toons discover that "No Toon Is an Island" during the first season of Tiny Toon Adventures. Babs and Plucky encounter a treasure map at the beach that sets them off in search of golden booty. Even after finding the treasure, they learn a bit about the "Green-Eyed Monster"...and find a very different monster's been stealing their loot.
After I put everything away, I turned on the computer and tried to figure out why the internet wasn't working. I unplugged it and plugged it, cleared my cache, put it on Ethernet briefly. Nothing worked. I finally removed a driver, which did the trick. I haven't had any problems since.
Managed to squeeze in some writing time before updating my blog. Luke, Wedge, and Rusty go back to Dagobah to complete Luke's training. Wedge reassures Luke that everything will be fine with Yoda, but Luke senses something's wrong when he can't find the elderly Jedi anywhere...
Headed off to work at 3. Dark clouds had begun to build up during lunch. It even rained a little bit on my way, but it didn't last long. By the time I had put on my rain coat and was pulling into the Acme, it was gone.
But not done. The clouds were getting worse as I and two other baggers rushed around, gathering as many carts as we possibly could. It showered off and on while we worked. The weather didn't get really bad until around 5, by which time we'd filled both sides of the patio with carts and I was on break. Thick, dark gray clouds blanketed the sky, and the rain came down in buckets. The roof in the back storage area leaks - I quickly covered boxes of soda with a trash bag to keep them from getting too wet. (Someone removed them all together later.) Although the rain slowed down by the time I finished doing the inside trash and was back outside, it did continue to thunder and lightning for at least another hour. Thankfully, it slowed down enough around 7 for me to head home and only arrive a little wet. I needed a shower anyway, so I just got pre-wet.
After my shower, I made scrambled eggs with cheese, zucchini, and mushrooms for dinner, then watched Dead Men Tell while going online. This time, Charlie Chan is engaged by an eccentric old lady (Ethel Griffies) who owns a pirate map that once belonged to her ancestor. She's split the map into four pieces, giving one to each member of the group who's going to Cocos Island to find the treasure with her. Alas, she never makes it. She dies of fright and a bad heart after seeing a supposedly real pirate who resembles her ancestor. While number two son Jimmy (Keye Luke) keeps ending up in the drink, Charlie has to figure out who done it, before the boat leaves the dock.
Not quite as good as Opera and a little too much of Jimmy's antics for my taste, but the story and its resolution are fairly unique.
Oh, and the storms have continued off and on for the rest of the evening, though they seem to be off at the moment.
Ran two beach-themed cartoon episodes while I worked. In the second season of Sailor Moon, the Guardians are on vacation on a tropical island. While they convince Rei to temporarily forgo training, Chibi-Usa befriends a baby dinosaur who rescues her from sharks. She gets a chance to return the favor - and the girls show that they can use their Guardian powers for something besides chasing villains - when a volcano erupts on the island, trapping the baby and his mother in a cave.
The Tiny Toons discover that "No Toon Is an Island" during the first season of Tiny Toon Adventures. Babs and Plucky encounter a treasure map at the beach that sets them off in search of golden booty. Even after finding the treasure, they learn a bit about the "Green-Eyed Monster"...and find a very different monster's been stealing their loot.
After I put everything away, I turned on the computer and tried to figure out why the internet wasn't working. I unplugged it and plugged it, cleared my cache, put it on Ethernet briefly. Nothing worked. I finally removed a driver, which did the trick. I haven't had any problems since.
Managed to squeeze in some writing time before updating my blog. Luke, Wedge, and Rusty go back to Dagobah to complete Luke's training. Wedge reassures Luke that everything will be fine with Yoda, but Luke senses something's wrong when he can't find the elderly Jedi anywhere...
Headed off to work at 3. Dark clouds had begun to build up during lunch. It even rained a little bit on my way, but it didn't last long. By the time I had put on my rain coat and was pulling into the Acme, it was gone.
But not done. The clouds were getting worse as I and two other baggers rushed around, gathering as many carts as we possibly could. It showered off and on while we worked. The weather didn't get really bad until around 5, by which time we'd filled both sides of the patio with carts and I was on break. Thick, dark gray clouds blanketed the sky, and the rain came down in buckets. The roof in the back storage area leaks - I quickly covered boxes of soda with a trash bag to keep them from getting too wet. (Someone removed them all together later.) Although the rain slowed down by the time I finished doing the inside trash and was back outside, it did continue to thunder and lightning for at least another hour. Thankfully, it slowed down enough around 7 for me to head home and only arrive a little wet. I needed a shower anyway, so I just got pre-wet.
After my shower, I made scrambled eggs with cheese, zucchini, and mushrooms for dinner, then watched Dead Men Tell while going online. This time, Charlie Chan is engaged by an eccentric old lady (Ethel Griffies) who owns a pirate map that once belonged to her ancestor. She's split the map into four pieces, giving one to each member of the group who's going to Cocos Island to find the treasure with her. Alas, she never makes it. She dies of fright and a bad heart after seeing a supposedly real pirate who resembles her ancestor. While number two son Jimmy (Keye Luke) keeps ending up in the drink, Charlie has to figure out who done it, before the boat leaves the dock.
Not quite as good as Opera and a little too much of Jimmy's antics for my taste, but the story and its resolution are fairly unique.
Oh, and the storms have continued off and on for the rest of the evening, though they seem to be off at the moment.
Thursday, August 20, 2015
Cracked Windows
Started off the day with the soundtrack from the 1965 Rogers and Hammerstein's Cinderella while getting ready for work. Though I like all three TV versions of this popular musical fairy tale, I tend to listen to the 60's version with Leslie Ann Warren the most. That may be because I grew up on it. This is the one that used to turn up on cable constantly when I was a kid. I'm especially fond of the lovely "Loneliness of Evening," a ballad added for the Prince in the opening. Originally cut from South Pacific, it's a gentle song of longing that gives us slightly more insight on the Prince. (The recent stage version uses it, but moves it to closer to the end, after the ball.)
Work was still dead. It did pick up a bit during the noon rush hour, but other than that, I was standing around and working on notes again. By the time the dinner rush hour was starting, I was heading home.
I spent the next few hours working on fanfiction. Maple takes Betty shopping, showing her how complicated human clothing is. They meet Scott for lunch, and then take in one of those new "movies" at the picture show. They end their day at the beach, chasing each other and listening to Scott's stories of his travels.
What they don't know is they're being watched. Ruth has come to the surface to see this human that's captured the heart of a mermaid. She finds him very attractive indeed...enough that she decides that she wants his soul for herself.
I was lucky. I had just saved my work and was about to shut down anyway when the computer crashed. Again. It crashed twice last night after I upgraded to Windows 10. I figured it would be ok if I let it cool down. I turned it off and went right into dinner. Dinner was all the remaining leftover vegetables in my refrigerator with canned chicken. Not bad, amazingly enough. I added two carrots for color.
Ran more Faerie Tale Theatre while I ate. "Sleeping Beauty" is one of the earliest stories in the series. Christopher Reeve is the very handsome prince who hears a story about a beautiful princess (Bernadette Peters) who was cursed to sleep for a 100 years by a wicked fairy (Beverly DiAngelo), then goes to rescue her himself. While the special effects do show their age, I may actually appreciate the jokes on this one now that I'm a bit older....and I definitely like that heart-stopping final battle between the fairy and the prince.
I had nothing but trouble the rest of the night. Windows 10 didn't get better when I turned it back on. It got much worse. Now, it was going down every 5 minutes or so. I finally texted Lauren and told her what was going on. She suggested switching back to Windows 8.1. I finally did as soon as the computer was behaving well enough. It seems to have done the trick - it hasn't gone down since then. I then had to try to remember where the router number was in order to get back online, which took another half-hour. I'm on a cable modem. I didn't remember the number is on the bottom.
Cheered myself up with some Remember WENN while waiting for Windows 8.1 to come back on. In the third season episode "A Star In Stripes Forever," character actor Mackie Bloom is working as the station manager while Betty is out of town. He's taking every advantage...until an old and unwanted acquaintance from his past shows up and starts making demands.
So, yeah. Next time, I do some research before I upgrade anything. And I don't recommend anyone upgrades to Windows 10 until they figure out the bugs. I haven't had any trouble with Windows 8.1. Sometimes, more really isn't better.
Work was still dead. It did pick up a bit during the noon rush hour, but other than that, I was standing around and working on notes again. By the time the dinner rush hour was starting, I was heading home.
I spent the next few hours working on fanfiction. Maple takes Betty shopping, showing her how complicated human clothing is. They meet Scott for lunch, and then take in one of those new "movies" at the picture show. They end their day at the beach, chasing each other and listening to Scott's stories of his travels.
What they don't know is they're being watched. Ruth has come to the surface to see this human that's captured the heart of a mermaid. She finds him very attractive indeed...enough that she decides that she wants his soul for herself.
I was lucky. I had just saved my work and was about to shut down anyway when the computer crashed. Again. It crashed twice last night after I upgraded to Windows 10. I figured it would be ok if I let it cool down. I turned it off and went right into dinner. Dinner was all the remaining leftover vegetables in my refrigerator with canned chicken. Not bad, amazingly enough. I added two carrots for color.
Ran more Faerie Tale Theatre while I ate. "Sleeping Beauty" is one of the earliest stories in the series. Christopher Reeve is the very handsome prince who hears a story about a beautiful princess (Bernadette Peters) who was cursed to sleep for a 100 years by a wicked fairy (Beverly DiAngelo), then goes to rescue her himself. While the special effects do show their age, I may actually appreciate the jokes on this one now that I'm a bit older....and I definitely like that heart-stopping final battle between the fairy and the prince.
I had nothing but trouble the rest of the night. Windows 10 didn't get better when I turned it back on. It got much worse. Now, it was going down every 5 minutes or so. I finally texted Lauren and told her what was going on. She suggested switching back to Windows 8.1. I finally did as soon as the computer was behaving well enough. It seems to have done the trick - it hasn't gone down since then. I then had to try to remember where the router number was in order to get back online, which took another half-hour. I'm on a cable modem. I didn't remember the number is on the bottom.
Cheered myself up with some Remember WENN while waiting for Windows 8.1 to come back on. In the third season episode "A Star In Stripes Forever," character actor Mackie Bloom is working as the station manager while Betty is out of town. He's taking every advantage...until an old and unwanted acquaintance from his past shows up and starts making demands.
So, yeah. Next time, I do some research before I upgrade anything. And I don't recommend anyone upgrades to Windows 10 until they figure out the bugs. I haven't had any trouble with Windows 8.1. Sometimes, more really isn't better.
Friday, October 07, 2011
Back In Business
Hi, everyone! The Comcast guy just left. I'm back online! Comcast is cable-based, rather than phone-wire based, and their modem is MUCH heavier. I'm just hoping they don't go down every time there's a storm or every college and high school student has homework to do online. I'm dubbing some home movies of my stepsister Jessa for my dad, then I'm going to head to work, have lunch, and run errands. I'll give more details later tonight!
Hi, everyone! The Comcast guy just left. I'm back online! Comcast is cable-based, rather than phone-wire based, and their modem is MUCH heavier. I'm just hoping they don't go down every time there's a storm or every college and high school student has homework to do online. I'm dubbing some home movies of my stepsister Jessa for my dad, then I'm going to head to work, have lunch, and run errands. I'll give more details later tonight!
Friday, September 30, 2011
Kiss From a Rose and a Belle
I'm rather proud of myself. I got a lot done today. It was gorgeous and sunny when I headed to the Acme to pick up my paycheck and do my grocery shopping. The Acme wasn't busy at all, and I was able to buy what little I needed with no trouble. I picked up chicken legs, ground chicken, a can of reduced-fat-and-sodium cream of mushroom soup to replace the one I used for a sauce last week, a box of white cake mix to replace the one I used for the football party last Sunday, and two boxes of those Emerald Breakfast trail mixes I liked so much (I had a coupon and they were on sale).
When I got home, I put everything away, then headed back out. I wanted to make the Oaklyn Library before it closes at 2. I had just enough time to organize the DVDs and the board books, which needed it. I also took out an older Backyardigans DVD they had that I hadn't seen at the Haddon Township Library, Mission to Mars, and another one, the Bob Hope Cat and the Canary, that ultimately didn't work in my DVD recorder. (Maybe because it's a cheap public domain copy?)
Went for a short walk after that. I stopped at WaWa and bought myself a fountain Coke Zero with raspberry and vanilla syrups, a pretzel, and a small Roast Beef and Swiss Ciabatta Melt for lunch. It was so nice, I ate my meal at the tables alongside Wilcox Deli, watching people and children stroll by on the White Horse Pike. I also hit the bank and took a look at the Italian food shop across the street.
When I got home, I ran the Backyardigans disc. Probably the best set of the entire series, all four of the episodes on this one are winners. "Mission to Mars" is what the title says. Astronauts Uniqua, Pablo, and Austin take a trip to Mars to find out what's making a strange "boinga-boinga" sound while Tyrone and Tasha man (or hippo and moose) Mission Control. Singer Alicia Keyes guest-stars as the voice of the Mommy martian. The Kenyan High Life music was sort of like Latin and a lot of fun to move around to.
"Samurai Pie" and "Whodunnit?" are spoofs, of Japanese sword-and-action sagas and old dark house mysteries respectively. "Pie" has Tyrone teaching his apprentice Austin how to make the Great Pie for Empress Tasha...and keep it out of the hands and flippers of pie-snitching ninjas Uniqua and Pablo. "Whodunnit?" has Sherlock Pablo trying to solve the mystery of Lady Tasha's disappearing jewels...but with suspects like Austin Frothingslosh, Miss Uniqua Underwood, and Tyrone the Butler handy, it won't be easy!
"Scared of You" was the cutest, and the closest the Backyardigans have come to a Halloween episode. Tasha the Mad Scientist sends Austin the Igor-like assistant out with invitations to the Mummy King (Tyrone), the Werewolf (a very fuzzy Uniqua), and the Vampire (Pablo, the first vampire to wear a beanie with his tux)...but they're all so frightened of monsters, they almost don't come! Austin's upset because it's his birthday and no one seems to have noticed, but Tasha has quite a surprise for him at the end!
I made some calls while The Backyardigans were on. I finally canceled my Verizon internet and ordered Comcast. Though Verizon did say FIOS was available after all, I have had enough of them. Their customer service is horrible. Their tech reps are useless. And where in the heck is their signal anyway, South Dakota? I mean, just how far away is it that the signal goes down whenever we have even a mild storm? (They've actually gone down twice tonight, though for far briefer time periods than Wednesday night.) My Verizon Internet service will end Thursday, and Comcast will go up Friday morning. At the moment, I'm keeping my Verizon phone service, but that may change if the Comcast internet really works out.
Spent the rest of the afternoon cleaning the bathroom and the kitchen and dubbing Batman Forever. (I wanted to dub Major League as well, but it got stuck in the VCR. Turns out the spool was broken. There was no harm to the machine, but the tape wouldn't even wind back in.) Both rooms desperately needed the cleaning. The kitchen was really grungy.
I normally prefer Superman for DC superheroes, but I did enjoy this Batman outing. (Mind you, I haven't seen the two recent ones yet, but I heard they were rather violent for my taste.) Forever walks a fine line between Tim Burton's goth world and the ridiculous camp of Batman and Robin and the 60s TV show. Batman (an actually quite good Val Kilmer) fights Two-Face (Tommy Lee Jones) while adopting orphaned circus performer Dick Grayson (Chris O'Donnell). Into this comes The Riddler (Jim Carrey), a nerdy former employee of Wayne Industries who comes up with a brain-scanning machine that can manipulate minds. When Wayne turns it down, he goes ahead with it anyway, and discovers that he can drain minds as well as mesmorize them. Will the wacky Riddler manipulate Batman into admitting his secret...or will a lovely psychiatrist (Nicole Kidman) get there first?
I'm never going to be the Batman fan that my friend Lauren is, but I did have fun with this. Carrey and Kilmer come off the best as the spurned geek gone wacko and the tortured title superhero. O'Donnell and Kidman have the more thankless roles of sidekick and love interest; O'Donnell, at the very least, is little better here than in Batman and Robin. Jones' Two-Face isn't nearly as interesting as the flamboyant Carrey.
Switched to Belle's Magical World while making Chicken Meatballs and sauteed Swiss chard for dinner. This is just four episodes of a failed Beauty and the Beast TV show strung together to make a 90-minute movie. As such, it's cute and really rather funny. The characters are fairly true to the film, and some of the situations are hilarious. Worth a rental if you're a big fan of the Disney animated Beauty and the Beast or of your kids are crying for more Belle, but nothing worth seeking out.
I'm rather proud of myself. I got a lot done today. It was gorgeous and sunny when I headed to the Acme to pick up my paycheck and do my grocery shopping. The Acme wasn't busy at all, and I was able to buy what little I needed with no trouble. I picked up chicken legs, ground chicken, a can of reduced-fat-and-sodium cream of mushroom soup to replace the one I used for a sauce last week, a box of white cake mix to replace the one I used for the football party last Sunday, and two boxes of those Emerald Breakfast trail mixes I liked so much (I had a coupon and they were on sale).
When I got home, I put everything away, then headed back out. I wanted to make the Oaklyn Library before it closes at 2. I had just enough time to organize the DVDs and the board books, which needed it. I also took out an older Backyardigans DVD they had that I hadn't seen at the Haddon Township Library, Mission to Mars, and another one, the Bob Hope Cat and the Canary, that ultimately didn't work in my DVD recorder. (Maybe because it's a cheap public domain copy?)
Went for a short walk after that. I stopped at WaWa and bought myself a fountain Coke Zero with raspberry and vanilla syrups, a pretzel, and a small Roast Beef and Swiss Ciabatta Melt for lunch. It was so nice, I ate my meal at the tables alongside Wilcox Deli, watching people and children stroll by on the White Horse Pike. I also hit the bank and took a look at the Italian food shop across the street.
When I got home, I ran the Backyardigans disc. Probably the best set of the entire series, all four of the episodes on this one are winners. "Mission to Mars" is what the title says. Astronauts Uniqua, Pablo, and Austin take a trip to Mars to find out what's making a strange "boinga-boinga" sound while Tyrone and Tasha man (or hippo and moose) Mission Control. Singer Alicia Keyes guest-stars as the voice of the Mommy martian. The Kenyan High Life music was sort of like Latin and a lot of fun to move around to.
"Samurai Pie" and "Whodunnit?" are spoofs, of Japanese sword-and-action sagas and old dark house mysteries respectively. "Pie" has Tyrone teaching his apprentice Austin how to make the Great Pie for Empress Tasha...and keep it out of the hands and flippers of pie-snitching ninjas Uniqua and Pablo. "Whodunnit?" has Sherlock Pablo trying to solve the mystery of Lady Tasha's disappearing jewels...but with suspects like Austin Frothingslosh, Miss Uniqua Underwood, and Tyrone the Butler handy, it won't be easy!
"Scared of You" was the cutest, and the closest the Backyardigans have come to a Halloween episode. Tasha the Mad Scientist sends Austin the Igor-like assistant out with invitations to the Mummy King (Tyrone), the Werewolf (a very fuzzy Uniqua), and the Vampire (Pablo, the first vampire to wear a beanie with his tux)...but they're all so frightened of monsters, they almost don't come! Austin's upset because it's his birthday and no one seems to have noticed, but Tasha has quite a surprise for him at the end!
I made some calls while The Backyardigans were on. I finally canceled my Verizon internet and ordered Comcast. Though Verizon did say FIOS was available after all, I have had enough of them. Their customer service is horrible. Their tech reps are useless. And where in the heck is their signal anyway, South Dakota? I mean, just how far away is it that the signal goes down whenever we have even a mild storm? (They've actually gone down twice tonight, though for far briefer time periods than Wednesday night.) My Verizon Internet service will end Thursday, and Comcast will go up Friday morning. At the moment, I'm keeping my Verizon phone service, but that may change if the Comcast internet really works out.
Spent the rest of the afternoon cleaning the bathroom and the kitchen and dubbing Batman Forever. (I wanted to dub Major League as well, but it got stuck in the VCR. Turns out the spool was broken. There was no harm to the machine, but the tape wouldn't even wind back in.) Both rooms desperately needed the cleaning. The kitchen was really grungy.
I normally prefer Superman for DC superheroes, but I did enjoy this Batman outing. (Mind you, I haven't seen the two recent ones yet, but I heard they were rather violent for my taste.) Forever walks a fine line between Tim Burton's goth world and the ridiculous camp of Batman and Robin and the 60s TV show. Batman (an actually quite good Val Kilmer) fights Two-Face (Tommy Lee Jones) while adopting orphaned circus performer Dick Grayson (Chris O'Donnell). Into this comes The Riddler (Jim Carrey), a nerdy former employee of Wayne Industries who comes up with a brain-scanning machine that can manipulate minds. When Wayne turns it down, he goes ahead with it anyway, and discovers that he can drain minds as well as mesmorize them. Will the wacky Riddler manipulate Batman into admitting his secret...or will a lovely psychiatrist (Nicole Kidman) get there first?
I'm never going to be the Batman fan that my friend Lauren is, but I did have fun with this. Carrey and Kilmer come off the best as the spurned geek gone wacko and the tortured title superhero. O'Donnell and Kidman have the more thankless roles of sidekick and love interest; O'Donnell, at the very least, is little better here than in Batman and Robin. Jones' Two-Face isn't nearly as interesting as the flamboyant Carrey.
Switched to Belle's Magical World while making Chicken Meatballs and sauteed Swiss chard for dinner. This is just four episodes of a failed Beauty and the Beast TV show strung together to make a 90-minute movie. As such, it's cute and really rather funny. The characters are fairly true to the film, and some of the situations are hilarious. Worth a rental if you're a big fan of the Disney animated Beauty and the Beast or of your kids are crying for more Belle, but nothing worth seeking out.
Thursday, September 29, 2011
Down for the Internet Again
Yup, it happened again. My internet was down for four hours last night. When I did finally get back on around midnight, I discovered Verizon reset my entire account. I had to redo the software for their Internet network...again.
I was even less happy when I went online this afternoon and discovered that FIOS, Verizon's top-of-the-line cable-less internet service, isn't available to my apartment...but oh, let's shove the "triple play" (internet-cable-phone) down her throat! I DO NOT WANT CABLE!
That does it. Tomorrow, I'm calling Comcast and having them set up their simplest high-speed internet service, then calling Verizon to cancel their internet. I've had all I can take of Verizon. The internet goes down every time the weather gets even remotely bad, and when it's down for longer than an hour, I have to reset the whole darn thing. Not to mention, their customer service is lousy. I've long stopped calling them. They were never the slightest help whatsoever. Supposedly, Comcast's customer service is just as bad, but maybe if they actually stay up once in a while, I'll need it a lot less. I'm keeping Verizon's phone service, since that's never been a problem, but I've had it up to here with their internet.
Otherwise, things have gone fairly well. My electrical problems turned out to be the old wiring in this house and the ancient plugs in the wall behind where my mini-pantry is. I'll just have to be more careful when I'm rooting around in the pantry.
Even though the kitchen was now up and running, I still decided to go out to breakfast. I had a pleasant meal of scrambled eggs, whole wheat toast with jelly, and fruit salad, then went up the hill to the Haddon Township Library. I organized DVDs, shelved children's books, and took out two animated DVDs, Belle's Magical World and Gnomeo and Juliet.
Made a quick stop at Dollar Tree after that for sponges, then just rode home. I spent a lot of yesterday and today working my way through the dubbing. I finished up the Perfect Strangers episodes last night while the internet was down and prepared some more stories to post at my site.
This morning, I ran through two musicals and a John Wayne comedy. Mother Wore Tights is the only movie out of this batch that isn't on DVD. I'm very happy I was able to dub it...especially since Mom told me this is her long-time favorite film. It's basically a cross between Meet Me In St. Louis and Alexander's Ragtime Band. A pair of vaudevillians (Dan Dailey and Betty Grable) meet at the turn of the 20th century and get married. They raise two lovely daughters while still performing and traveling. After they send the girls to boarding school, the oldest becomes embarrassed of her parents' profession. Can they prove to her and her snobby friends that not all performers or vaudeville numbers are created equal?
Mom's not the only one who loves this movie. This was one of Betty Grable's biggest hits and was reportedly a favorite of hers. It also introduced her to Dan Dailey, who would join her for three more Fox musicals in the late 40s and early 50s. No wonder they were such good friends. They partner each other beautifully, a pair of warm, vibrant, pals-next-door blonds. The Technicolor is vibrant and rich, showing off both Dailey and Grable to best advantage.
I moved to MGM for the next musical I dubbed. Gigi was the Oscar-winning film for 1958 and the last major musical to be released by the legendary Freed unit...but what a way to go out! This is the elegant tale of the Parisian girl of the title (Leslie Caron) who is being prepared by her grandmother (Hermione Gingold) and aunt (Isabel Jeans) to become a courtesan. Meanwhile, a playboy (Louis Jordan) is getting tired of his current mistress and is looking for someone different. When he takes the innocent, child-like Gigi and her grandmother to the sea, he falls for her...but is Gigi ready to take on the adult responsibilities of love?
A classic musical with fabulous Paris cinematography, lovely music (by Lerner and Lowe, fresh off of the somewhat similar My Fair Lady), and a fine cast. Maurice Chevalier, who begins and ends the film with his "Thank Heavens For Little Girls," revived his career in the states for another decade thanks to this movie. He and Gingold have the best number, the hilarious nostalgic reverie "I Remember It Well."
Donovan's Reef is something all together different. My stepfather is a huge fan of John Wayne, and I grew up watching many of his films, especially the ones he made in the 50s, 60s, and early 70s. I have fond memories of watching this one with Dad when he bought it in the mid-90s. Wayne plays Donovan, the owner of a popular bar on a Polynesian island. He and the whole island are thrown for a loop when a snooty young woman from Boston arrives, looking for her father. Will Donovan fall for this head-strong, prim young woman, and who really is her family?
If you like other Wayne battle-of-the-sexes comedies like McLintock!, you'll love this. Basically, it's McLintock set in Polynesia instead of the wild west, and while not his best, it's a lot of fun. The cast's having a great time, too, including Lee Marvin as Wayne's sozzled bartender, Dorothy Lamour as a singer at the bar, and Caeser Romero as the island's governor.
Donovan's Reef ended with just enough time for me to hurry to work. I needn't have bothered with the rush. Other than a mild spurt during the usual rush hour, it was very quiet all night. There were some annoying beginning-of-the-month people, otherwise no problems.
Yup, it happened again. My internet was down for four hours last night. When I did finally get back on around midnight, I discovered Verizon reset my entire account. I had to redo the software for their Internet network...again.
I was even less happy when I went online this afternoon and discovered that FIOS, Verizon's top-of-the-line cable-less internet service, isn't available to my apartment...but oh, let's shove the "triple play" (internet-cable-phone) down her throat! I DO NOT WANT CABLE!
That does it. Tomorrow, I'm calling Comcast and having them set up their simplest high-speed internet service, then calling Verizon to cancel their internet. I've had all I can take of Verizon. The internet goes down every time the weather gets even remotely bad, and when it's down for longer than an hour, I have to reset the whole darn thing. Not to mention, their customer service is lousy. I've long stopped calling them. They were never the slightest help whatsoever. Supposedly, Comcast's customer service is just as bad, but maybe if they actually stay up once in a while, I'll need it a lot less. I'm keeping Verizon's phone service, since that's never been a problem, but I've had it up to here with their internet.
Otherwise, things have gone fairly well. My electrical problems turned out to be the old wiring in this house and the ancient plugs in the wall behind where my mini-pantry is. I'll just have to be more careful when I'm rooting around in the pantry.
Even though the kitchen was now up and running, I still decided to go out to breakfast. I had a pleasant meal of scrambled eggs, whole wheat toast with jelly, and fruit salad, then went up the hill to the Haddon Township Library. I organized DVDs, shelved children's books, and took out two animated DVDs, Belle's Magical World and Gnomeo and Juliet.
Made a quick stop at Dollar Tree after that for sponges, then just rode home. I spent a lot of yesterday and today working my way through the dubbing. I finished up the Perfect Strangers episodes last night while the internet was down and prepared some more stories to post at my site.
This morning, I ran through two musicals and a John Wayne comedy. Mother Wore Tights is the only movie out of this batch that isn't on DVD. I'm very happy I was able to dub it...especially since Mom told me this is her long-time favorite film. It's basically a cross between Meet Me In St. Louis and Alexander's Ragtime Band. A pair of vaudevillians (Dan Dailey and Betty Grable) meet at the turn of the 20th century and get married. They raise two lovely daughters while still performing and traveling. After they send the girls to boarding school, the oldest becomes embarrassed of her parents' profession. Can they prove to her and her snobby friends that not all performers or vaudeville numbers are created equal?
Mom's not the only one who loves this movie. This was one of Betty Grable's biggest hits and was reportedly a favorite of hers. It also introduced her to Dan Dailey, who would join her for three more Fox musicals in the late 40s and early 50s. No wonder they were such good friends. They partner each other beautifully, a pair of warm, vibrant, pals-next-door blonds. The Technicolor is vibrant and rich, showing off both Dailey and Grable to best advantage.
I moved to MGM for the next musical I dubbed. Gigi was the Oscar-winning film for 1958 and the last major musical to be released by the legendary Freed unit...but what a way to go out! This is the elegant tale of the Parisian girl of the title (Leslie Caron) who is being prepared by her grandmother (Hermione Gingold) and aunt (Isabel Jeans) to become a courtesan. Meanwhile, a playboy (Louis Jordan) is getting tired of his current mistress and is looking for someone different. When he takes the innocent, child-like Gigi and her grandmother to the sea, he falls for her...but is Gigi ready to take on the adult responsibilities of love?
A classic musical with fabulous Paris cinematography, lovely music (by Lerner and Lowe, fresh off of the somewhat similar My Fair Lady), and a fine cast. Maurice Chevalier, who begins and ends the film with his "Thank Heavens For Little Girls," revived his career in the states for another decade thanks to this movie. He and Gingold have the best number, the hilarious nostalgic reverie "I Remember It Well."
Donovan's Reef is something all together different. My stepfather is a huge fan of John Wayne, and I grew up watching many of his films, especially the ones he made in the 50s, 60s, and early 70s. I have fond memories of watching this one with Dad when he bought it in the mid-90s. Wayne plays Donovan, the owner of a popular bar on a Polynesian island. He and the whole island are thrown for a loop when a snooty young woman from Boston arrives, looking for her father. Will Donovan fall for this head-strong, prim young woman, and who really is her family?
If you like other Wayne battle-of-the-sexes comedies like McLintock!, you'll love this. Basically, it's McLintock set in Polynesia instead of the wild west, and while not his best, it's a lot of fun. The cast's having a great time, too, including Lee Marvin as Wayne's sozzled bartender, Dorothy Lamour as a singer at the bar, and Caeser Romero as the island's governor.
Donovan's Reef ended with just enough time for me to hurry to work. I needn't have bothered with the rush. Other than a mild spurt during the usual rush hour, it was very quiet all night. There were some annoying beginning-of-the-month people, otherwise no problems.
Monday, September 05, 2011
Last Day of Work
Happy Labor Day! And yes, today was my last day of work. I have a regular day off tomorrow, and then - vacation! I did get some things done today before work, too. First thing on the agenda was the laundry. It was a very small load that took less than an hour to do. Good thing, because the laundromat was busy with people doing their chores on their holiday off. I'm glad I managed to get a drier and washer.
After I got home and put everything away, I decided to sweep the porch before we get that rain the National Weather Service mentioned. It doesn't look anywhere near as bad out there as it did last month. The nuts that made such a mess a few weeks ago seem to have finally subsided. I have seen the first (huge) acorns of the season, but they haven't reached critical mass yet and probably won't for another month or so.
Ran several Three Stooges shorts about working and jobs as I ate leftovers for lunch. "Termites of 1938" have them playing exterminators who are mistaken for escorts. "Violent Is the Word for Curly" takes them to a girl's college, where they teach them their famous "Swinging the Alphabet" song. "Dizzy Doctors" has them peddling Brighto...but what IS Brighto? When they figure it out, they take their wares to a hospital, where they wreck havoc on the patients. In "Playing the Ponies," they trade their diner for a horse who turns out to be a dud...until he nibbles on Curly's chili peppers! They're janitors who are mistaken for interior decorators in "Tassels In the Air," but the house may need more than redecorating when they're through with it!
Headed for work after the Stooges ended (and after dropping a bag of clothes in the donation bins behind the Acme. Work was busy for most of the night. First of all, it's still the beginning of the month. Second, many local families were shopping for the first day of school. We had long lines and large orders all evening.
It was raining lightly when I got out. It must have just started. I barely got wet. I don't think it's even doing that now.
(And sorry this is so late, but my internet went down for two hours. There must be storms in the area of the signal.)
Happy Labor Day! And yes, today was my last day of work. I have a regular day off tomorrow, and then - vacation! I did get some things done today before work, too. First thing on the agenda was the laundry. It was a very small load that took less than an hour to do. Good thing, because the laundromat was busy with people doing their chores on their holiday off. I'm glad I managed to get a drier and washer.
After I got home and put everything away, I decided to sweep the porch before we get that rain the National Weather Service mentioned. It doesn't look anywhere near as bad out there as it did last month. The nuts that made such a mess a few weeks ago seem to have finally subsided. I have seen the first (huge) acorns of the season, but they haven't reached critical mass yet and probably won't for another month or so.
Ran several Three Stooges shorts about working and jobs as I ate leftovers for lunch. "Termites of 1938" have them playing exterminators who are mistaken for escorts. "Violent Is the Word for Curly" takes them to a girl's college, where they teach them their famous "Swinging the Alphabet" song. "Dizzy Doctors" has them peddling Brighto...but what IS Brighto? When they figure it out, they take their wares to a hospital, where they wreck havoc on the patients. In "Playing the Ponies," they trade their diner for a horse who turns out to be a dud...until he nibbles on Curly's chili peppers! They're janitors who are mistaken for interior decorators in "Tassels In the Air," but the house may need more than redecorating when they're through with it!
Headed for work after the Stooges ended (and after dropping a bag of clothes in the donation bins behind the Acme. Work was busy for most of the night. First of all, it's still the beginning of the month. Second, many local families were shopping for the first day of school. We had long lines and large orders all evening.
It was raining lightly when I got out. It must have just started. I barely got wet. I don't think it's even doing that now.
(And sorry this is so late, but my internet went down for two hours. There must be storms in the area of the signal.)
Wednesday, May 25, 2011
Overwhelmed
I spent most of a slightly cooler morning continuing the spring cleaning. I slept late again, which really only left me time to scrub the bathroom and hall floors. That was enough. They both needed it badly. I usually do them in April, but I thought I'd put them off until closer to Lauren's visit (a month from yesterday, by the way). The "hall" is a rectangle of tan linoleum that separates the living room from the bedroom, with the bathroom in between. The door on the other side leads to Miss Ellie's apartment and activates her security system (which is why there's a sign that says "Do Not Open" taped to it).
After I finished with the floors, I went for a quick walk. It was humid and warm, but not quite as warm as yesterday. In fact, it was absolutely gorgeous. It wasn't supposed to be gorgeous this week. It was supposed to be stormy again. Pfft. Please. I saw a few fat clouds, but nothing that would cause any damage. It wasn't even that windy.
The beautiful weather turned out to be a problem when I got to work. We were severely short on help...and it was busy on and off all night. There were three or four call-outs. I stayed until 8. (They asked me to stay until 9, but I didn't want to push going home in the dark.) My legs hurt so bad. Why don't they call me in this often in July, when I need the hours?
And of course, the internet went down for an hour between 9 and 10. I have the feeling it gets overloaded in April and May and September and early October...when the most people are in the area. Many people in Camden County and Philadelphia go on vacation in the winter or the summer, but are around at other times. Spring and fall is when the college and high school students are at their peak internet usage, too.
I'm just feeling overwhelmed too, I guess. I keep trying to tell myself that I have to like the Acme job, because as everyone reminds me, there's no way to get another job that anyone will pay me for. I think that's a load of sour grapes. I just haven't created the right job for myself.
I spent most of a slightly cooler morning continuing the spring cleaning. I slept late again, which really only left me time to scrub the bathroom and hall floors. That was enough. They both needed it badly. I usually do them in April, but I thought I'd put them off until closer to Lauren's visit (a month from yesterday, by the way). The "hall" is a rectangle of tan linoleum that separates the living room from the bedroom, with the bathroom in between. The door on the other side leads to Miss Ellie's apartment and activates her security system (which is why there's a sign that says "Do Not Open" taped to it).
After I finished with the floors, I went for a quick walk. It was humid and warm, but not quite as warm as yesterday. In fact, it was absolutely gorgeous. It wasn't supposed to be gorgeous this week. It was supposed to be stormy again. Pfft. Please. I saw a few fat clouds, but nothing that would cause any damage. It wasn't even that windy.
The beautiful weather turned out to be a problem when I got to work. We were severely short on help...and it was busy on and off all night. There were three or four call-outs. I stayed until 8. (They asked me to stay until 9, but I didn't want to push going home in the dark.) My legs hurt so bad. Why don't they call me in this often in July, when I need the hours?
And of course, the internet went down for an hour between 9 and 10. I have the feeling it gets overloaded in April and May and September and early October...when the most people are in the area. Many people in Camden County and Philadelphia go on vacation in the winter or the summer, but are around at other times. Spring and fall is when the college and high school students are at their peak internet usage, too.
I'm just feeling overwhelmed too, I guess. I keep trying to tell myself that I have to like the Acme job, because as everyone reminds me, there's no way to get another job that anyone will pay me for. I think that's a load of sour grapes. I just haven't created the right job for myself.
Tuesday, May 24, 2011
Outdoor Balance
The day did not begin well. Twenty minutes after I got up, I received a call from the Acme. Yes, they were calling me in. It was just 4 to 8, which meant I'd still get in most of what I wanted to do today. I wasn't crazy about the idea, but I said yes. I don't have a choice. I need to save up for my vacation and to have some money in reserve when I don't make any during the summer. (I never get decent hours between the Fourth of July and September. Everyone is either on vacation or busy with end or beginning of the school year events, and no one is around...or shopping. Which means I'm usually flat-out broke by October and November.)
I did yoga class earlier in the week than usual. I hate rushing, and I decided I'd rather get it done when I work at 4 than when I work at 1:30. The teacher was new. Cari was a replacement for the pregnant Vicki. She was nice enough, but she was also very fast, and her nasal voice wasn't very soothing. We concentrated on standing poses and knee openers. There was a lot I had trouble with. I wish I was more flexible.
For once, I did better at the Collingswood Library. There were three very tall stacks of DVDs that needed to be filed and shelved when I arrived. When I finally got those organized and put away, I turned around to find another stack! It was nice to actually be needed there for once. Plus, a lot of families were taking advantage of the decent weather to get the kiddies out of the house and to the library. I helped quite a few families find children's DVDs.
It was sunny, hazy, hot, and humid when I got out of the library. I decided, since it was hot anyway, why not eat outside? I bought a turkey hoagie, a bottle of water, and a pretzel from WaWa and rode out to Newton River Park. I settled down at a metal table about half-way to the playground and enjoyed my lunch and the view of the river.
There was a package waiting for me when I arrived home. My friend Lauren sent me the book Writing Fiction for Dummies from Barnes and Noble.com in the hope of helping me with my writing. I have a few problems with my writing for a career as of this second:
A. I can't seem to finish a story to save my life. I have at least two or three major Monkees fanfic I haven't gotten around to finishing because I lost interest. Same goes for fanfiction for Perfect Strangers and Remember WENN. I started a fantasy novel...and stopped after a chapter because I couldn't figure out how to continue and it all seemed too complicated. I started a novel on the Early Talkie movie era...and stopped after two chapters because I lost interest and couldn't figure out how to continue. I made an outline for a children's story...and lost interest. I get all these great ideas, but then I get interested in something else, and the last great idea gets put on the back burner...
B. I have no idea what to write, or what I can write. I mostly read children's action books and girls' classics, mysteries, action-thrillers, historic (non-romantic) fiction, and the occasional fantasy story. I can't seem to WRITE any of those except for maybe the kids' literature. I tried fantasy and mysteries with Lauren on the Bowery Boys and Monkees Dream World series stories, but we always seemed to trip over huge casts and plots that got too complicated for their own good.
C. I'm nervous as heck about the whole thing. The point isn't to be famous. I don't want to be famous. I don't like the spotlight. I just want to write, and maybe earn a little money from it. I just want to know one or two other people like it, too. I'm not terribly good with rejection, either.
I spent about an hour reading and resting. After I got up, I decided to keep myself awake by doing some actual moving. I'd put off spring cleaning for much too long. I finally gave the porch furniture (two plastic lawn chairs and a blue milk crate I use for a table) a good scrub. Since it was such a warm day, I scrubbed the indoor trash and recycling cans, too. I also gave my bike a quick scrub.
It usually takes me about a half-hour to do the outdoor cleaning. I don't really have much in the way of outdoor furniture to clean. Since I had some time left, I decided to go for a walk. I stopped at Doria's Deli for a Diet Wild Cherry Pepsi soda and had a chat with Mrs. Doria before I realized how late it was getting.
When I got in, I crocheted for a few minutes before packing up dinner, changing into my uniform, and heading to work. For once, they actually did need me. There were call-outs, and one of the teenage boys found a better job at Lowes and gave his two-week's notice a few days ago. We were busy and short of help all night, and I was tired and short-tempered. Several annoying customers didn't help. One older woman fussed at me to bag her bags light, after I was half-way through and her son said I could bag them heavy. Her son was the one bagging, not her. I didn't see HER making use of herself.
Coming home did not make me feel better. My internet's gone down twice for ten minutes in the past two hours, disrupting my time online. I did get the dishes done, but it's annoying. I think I might have some idea of why my Internet always goes down from mid-April to late May and from late August through mid-late October: that's when all of the college and high school students are at their peak usage. Mom gave me the idea when she told me about the constant internet disruptions they have in Erma during the summer because of the overflowing tourist traffic. I found myself wondering if my problem might be simple traffic overload.
The day did not begin well. Twenty minutes after I got up, I received a call from the Acme. Yes, they were calling me in. It was just 4 to 8, which meant I'd still get in most of what I wanted to do today. I wasn't crazy about the idea, but I said yes. I don't have a choice. I need to save up for my vacation and to have some money in reserve when I don't make any during the summer. (I never get decent hours between the Fourth of July and September. Everyone is either on vacation or busy with end or beginning of the school year events, and no one is around...or shopping. Which means I'm usually flat-out broke by October and November.)
I did yoga class earlier in the week than usual. I hate rushing, and I decided I'd rather get it done when I work at 4 than when I work at 1:30. The teacher was new. Cari was a replacement for the pregnant Vicki. She was nice enough, but she was also very fast, and her nasal voice wasn't very soothing. We concentrated on standing poses and knee openers. There was a lot I had trouble with. I wish I was more flexible.
For once, I did better at the Collingswood Library. There were three very tall stacks of DVDs that needed to be filed and shelved when I arrived. When I finally got those organized and put away, I turned around to find another stack! It was nice to actually be needed there for once. Plus, a lot of families were taking advantage of the decent weather to get the kiddies out of the house and to the library. I helped quite a few families find children's DVDs.
It was sunny, hazy, hot, and humid when I got out of the library. I decided, since it was hot anyway, why not eat outside? I bought a turkey hoagie, a bottle of water, and a pretzel from WaWa and rode out to Newton River Park. I settled down at a metal table about half-way to the playground and enjoyed my lunch and the view of the river.
There was a package waiting for me when I arrived home. My friend Lauren sent me the book Writing Fiction for Dummies from Barnes and Noble.com in the hope of helping me with my writing. I have a few problems with my writing for a career as of this second:
A. I can't seem to finish a story to save my life. I have at least two or three major Monkees fanfic I haven't gotten around to finishing because I lost interest. Same goes for fanfiction for Perfect Strangers and Remember WENN. I started a fantasy novel...and stopped after a chapter because I couldn't figure out how to continue and it all seemed too complicated. I started a novel on the Early Talkie movie era...and stopped after two chapters because I lost interest and couldn't figure out how to continue. I made an outline for a children's story...and lost interest. I get all these great ideas, but then I get interested in something else, and the last great idea gets put on the back burner...
B. I have no idea what to write, or what I can write. I mostly read children's action books and girls' classics, mysteries, action-thrillers, historic (non-romantic) fiction, and the occasional fantasy story. I can't seem to WRITE any of those except for maybe the kids' literature. I tried fantasy and mysteries with Lauren on the Bowery Boys and Monkees Dream World series stories, but we always seemed to trip over huge casts and plots that got too complicated for their own good.
C. I'm nervous as heck about the whole thing. The point isn't to be famous. I don't want to be famous. I don't like the spotlight. I just want to write, and maybe earn a little money from it. I just want to know one or two other people like it, too. I'm not terribly good with rejection, either.
I spent about an hour reading and resting. After I got up, I decided to keep myself awake by doing some actual moving. I'd put off spring cleaning for much too long. I finally gave the porch furniture (two plastic lawn chairs and a blue milk crate I use for a table) a good scrub. Since it was such a warm day, I scrubbed the indoor trash and recycling cans, too. I also gave my bike a quick scrub.
It usually takes me about a half-hour to do the outdoor cleaning. I don't really have much in the way of outdoor furniture to clean. Since I had some time left, I decided to go for a walk. I stopped at Doria's Deli for a Diet Wild Cherry Pepsi soda and had a chat with Mrs. Doria before I realized how late it was getting.
When I got in, I crocheted for a few minutes before packing up dinner, changing into my uniform, and heading to work. For once, they actually did need me. There were call-outs, and one of the teenage boys found a better job at Lowes and gave his two-week's notice a few days ago. We were busy and short of help all night, and I was tired and short-tempered. Several annoying customers didn't help. One older woman fussed at me to bag her bags light, after I was half-way through and her son said I could bag them heavy. Her son was the one bagging, not her. I didn't see HER making use of herself.
Coming home did not make me feel better. My internet's gone down twice for ten minutes in the past two hours, disrupting my time online. I did get the dishes done, but it's annoying. I think I might have some idea of why my Internet always goes down from mid-April to late May and from late August through mid-late October: that's when all of the college and high school students are at their peak usage. Mom gave me the idea when she told me about the constant internet disruptions they have in Erma during the summer because of the overflowing tourist traffic. I found myself wondering if my problem might be simple traffic overload.
Tuesday, May 17, 2011
Naughty, Naughty Internet
I slept in again. There didn't seem to be much else to do. Unlike yesterday, the gray skies said "rain." It did rain this morning...but the showers had taken a temporary reprieve by the time I finished breakfast. I took it as a sign that it was a good time to head to the Oaklyn Library for this week's volunteer session there.
The children's area was busy and messy when I arrived. A man in a t-shirt was sawing part of an old set of shelves. Apparently, the library was having it's back room/lounge/office redone. There were too many tools and pieces of wood and junk laying around for me to get into the children's area. I concentrated on the DVDs instead. Someone had realized that there are too many adult DVDs to separate by letter. I just organized the titles and pulled TV sets to put on the top shelf. Pulled TV show sets and teen-oriented movies from the kids' section and gave them their own showcases.
Went for a walk after I left the library. I bought a small Pomegranate-Passionfruit Icee and a pretzel at WaWa, then strolled around the neighborhood. Sometime during that stroll, it started to shower rather heavily. And then...it stopped. And started again. It was stopping by the time I got home, but I'd had enough of playing games with Mother Nature. I stayed at the apartment for the rest of the day.
It was not a wonderful afternoon. On one hand, Naughty Marietta and Sweethearts finally arrived in the mail. I ran Marietta this evening, and it looks and sounds quite good. Certainly better than my old video. This tale of a French princess in the 1700s who flees to New Orleans to escape an arranged marriage and falls for a rugged solider is my second-favorite MacDonald/Eddy movie after Maytime.
On the other hand, the Internet went down for an hour and a half between about 3:30 and 5...when I planned to look up how to start an at-home business and the prices of major internet providers in my area, of course. I eventually called Verizon. They claimed there was yet another outtage and it would take 24 hours to fix...and the Internet went back up about 20 minutes later and hasn't gone down since.
While I was waiting for the Internet to go back up, I swept the porch again. The piles of small, thin "fuzzies" had been replaced by long, thick pale green ones. They were especially bad under the tree in front of my bedroom windows.
Oh, and I went ahead and ordered the Seuss Celebration DVD with the last of my Barnes and Noble gift card. The audio is starting to sound fuzzy on the end of the Cat and the Hat tape I picked up a few months ago. The Seuss Celebration DVDs features the Dr. Seuss TV specials of the 70s owned by Universal - ie Cat in the Hat, Pontoffel Pock, The Lorax, On the Loose, The Grinch Grinches the Cat In Hat, Grinch Night, and a lesser-known favorite of mine, The Hoober-Bloob Highway.
(If you're wondering where How the Grinch Stole Christmas is, that, Daisy-Head Maisie, and The Butter Battle Book are owned by Warners.)
Oh, I also did some baking today. I made Oatmeal Bread and Coconut Macaroons. Both came out rather well, though I wish the macaroons made more.
I slept in again. There didn't seem to be much else to do. Unlike yesterday, the gray skies said "rain." It did rain this morning...but the showers had taken a temporary reprieve by the time I finished breakfast. I took it as a sign that it was a good time to head to the Oaklyn Library for this week's volunteer session there.
The children's area was busy and messy when I arrived. A man in a t-shirt was sawing part of an old set of shelves. Apparently, the library was having it's back room/lounge/office redone. There were too many tools and pieces of wood and junk laying around for me to get into the children's area. I concentrated on the DVDs instead. Someone had realized that there are too many adult DVDs to separate by letter. I just organized the titles and pulled TV sets to put on the top shelf. Pulled TV show sets and teen-oriented movies from the kids' section and gave them their own showcases.
Went for a walk after I left the library. I bought a small Pomegranate-Passionfruit Icee and a pretzel at WaWa, then strolled around the neighborhood. Sometime during that stroll, it started to shower rather heavily. And then...it stopped. And started again. It was stopping by the time I got home, but I'd had enough of playing games with Mother Nature. I stayed at the apartment for the rest of the day.
It was not a wonderful afternoon. On one hand, Naughty Marietta and Sweethearts finally arrived in the mail. I ran Marietta this evening, and it looks and sounds quite good. Certainly better than my old video. This tale of a French princess in the 1700s who flees to New Orleans to escape an arranged marriage and falls for a rugged solider is my second-favorite MacDonald/Eddy movie after Maytime.
On the other hand, the Internet went down for an hour and a half between about 3:30 and 5...when I planned to look up how to start an at-home business and the prices of major internet providers in my area, of course. I eventually called Verizon. They claimed there was yet another outtage and it would take 24 hours to fix...and the Internet went back up about 20 minutes later and hasn't gone down since.
While I was waiting for the Internet to go back up, I swept the porch again. The piles of small, thin "fuzzies" had been replaced by long, thick pale green ones. They were especially bad under the tree in front of my bedroom windows.
Oh, and I went ahead and ordered the Seuss Celebration DVD with the last of my Barnes and Noble gift card. The audio is starting to sound fuzzy on the end of the Cat and the Hat tape I picked up a few months ago. The Seuss Celebration DVDs features the Dr. Seuss TV specials of the 70s owned by Universal - ie Cat in the Hat, Pontoffel Pock, The Lorax, On the Loose, The Grinch Grinches the Cat In Hat, Grinch Night, and a lesser-known favorite of mine, The Hoober-Bloob Highway.
(If you're wondering where How the Grinch Stole Christmas is, that, Daisy-Head Maisie, and The Butter Battle Book are owned by Warners.)
Oh, I also did some baking today. I made Oatmeal Bread and Coconut Macaroons. Both came out rather well, though I wish the macaroons made more.
Sunday, May 15, 2011
When the Sun Came Out
I slept in and awoke around 10 to cloudy skies and heavy humidity. It looked pretty much as it had yesterday. I made Chocolate Chip Whole Wheat Pancakes for breakfast and listened to Brunch With the Beatles. They called the theme "Songs That Could Have Been Singles But Weren't." I call it "random songs from various eras." Under any circumstances, among the songs played today were "Michelle," "Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Heart's Club Band/With a Little Help From My Friends," "Dr. Robert," "Boys," "Tell Me Why," and "The Two of Us." I tried calling Mom around 11:30; ended up leaving a message.
Headed for work around 12:30. Thanks to the still iffy weather and the plethora of events this weekend, the Acme was even busier than yesterday. There were very long lines at every register all afternoon. Many high schools had their proms this weekend. The five colleges in the area (Drexel, Temple, Rowan, Rutgers, and Camden County College) had their graduations this week. Others had planned family get-togethers and barbecues before the weather forecasts came in. It didn't help that we were short on cashiers. One of the managers ended up calling someone from the back to take one register around 2:30, and someone from the bakery came in for me so I could go home.
It was still a little cloudy when I rode home...but by the time I arrived at the apartment, the clouds were quickly vanishing. I tried calling Mom again when I got in. I did catch her this time. She'd apparently been in the shower when I called this morning. I told her about my long week, about the hours planned and unplanned, the extra $100, Haddon Township's emergency closing, and ordering the much-desired Naughty Marietta and Sweethearts. Keefe apparently had his prom this weekend; I could hear Mom give direction to him in the background as he rounded up his rented tux and shoes to return tomorrow.
I went for a short walk after Mom signed off. It was still warm and still humid, but there was a nice breeze. The clouds and thunder had been replaced by sunshine and birds singing in the distance. The flowers are gorgeous this year. The rose bushes in many gardens look like they're about to bloom, and I've never seen the irises look lovelier.
Went home for leftover chicken burgers and spinach salad after my walk. I just listened to records. I tried to get on for The Dress Circle, but the Internet went down twice in less than an hour. I'm so fed up with Verizon. I don't want to call them. They keep resetting my account, which is just annoying. I need to find another company that won't give me so much trouble. Sprint maybe, or Earthlink? I've heard Comcast's customer service is even worse.
I slept in and awoke around 10 to cloudy skies and heavy humidity. It looked pretty much as it had yesterday. I made Chocolate Chip Whole Wheat Pancakes for breakfast and listened to Brunch With the Beatles. They called the theme "Songs That Could Have Been Singles But Weren't." I call it "random songs from various eras." Under any circumstances, among the songs played today were "Michelle," "Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Heart's Club Band/With a Little Help From My Friends," "Dr. Robert," "Boys," "Tell Me Why," and "The Two of Us." I tried calling Mom around 11:30; ended up leaving a message.
Headed for work around 12:30. Thanks to the still iffy weather and the plethora of events this weekend, the Acme was even busier than yesterday. There were very long lines at every register all afternoon. Many high schools had their proms this weekend. The five colleges in the area (Drexel, Temple, Rowan, Rutgers, and Camden County College) had their graduations this week. Others had planned family get-togethers and barbecues before the weather forecasts came in. It didn't help that we were short on cashiers. One of the managers ended up calling someone from the back to take one register around 2:30, and someone from the bakery came in for me so I could go home.
It was still a little cloudy when I rode home...but by the time I arrived at the apartment, the clouds were quickly vanishing. I tried calling Mom again when I got in. I did catch her this time. She'd apparently been in the shower when I called this morning. I told her about my long week, about the hours planned and unplanned, the extra $100, Haddon Township's emergency closing, and ordering the much-desired Naughty Marietta and Sweethearts. Keefe apparently had his prom this weekend; I could hear Mom give direction to him in the background as he rounded up his rented tux and shoes to return tomorrow.
I went for a short walk after Mom signed off. It was still warm and still humid, but there was a nice breeze. The clouds and thunder had been replaced by sunshine and birds singing in the distance. The flowers are gorgeous this year. The rose bushes in many gardens look like they're about to bloom, and I've never seen the irises look lovelier.
Went home for leftover chicken burgers and spinach salad after my walk. I just listened to records. I tried to get on for The Dress Circle, but the Internet went down twice in less than an hour. I'm so fed up with Verizon. I don't want to call them. They keep resetting my account, which is just annoying. I need to find another company that won't give me so much trouble. Sprint maybe, or Earthlink? I've heard Comcast's customer service is even worse.
Monday, May 02, 2011
Let's Make the World A Better Place
With the Armed Forces doing their part in getting rid of world-wide menaces (much to the delight of every front-page in the country), I started the first of three morning shifts I have this week. None of them are as long as last week's, but they're also much busier. It wasn't bad when I came in at 10, but business picked up around 11:30 and was on-and-off the rest of the day. Other than some annoying beginning-of-the-month customers, there were no major problems. My relief was just on-time, and I was in and out with little fanfare.
It was cloudy and windy when I rode to work this morning. The clouds broke up around noon-1PM. When I arrived home, it was still windy, but the clouds were replaced by bright sunlight and picture-perfect upper 60s temperatures.
I changed into shorts and a t-shirt, grabbed my laundry and purse, and headed for the laundromat. I debated doing the laundry tomorrow, but finally decided I had too much going on already. Once again, I hit it just right. When I arrived, the only person there was one of the older ladies who manages the place and NBC10 News running several pieces about local reaction to Osama Bin Laden's death. By the time I left, two couples were working on several very large loads of laundry.
When I got home, I put everything away and ran Minnie's Masquerade again. Ran through that and Max and the Three Bunnies while making Strawberry Chocolate Chip Muffins and salmon and spinach salad for dinner.
The Internet was down originally when I tried to get on. It did come back up, but I'm not happy. I'm debating what to do. I've heard that Comcast's customer service is as bad as Verizon's, if not worse. Right now, I'm debating either switching to FIOS and hoping that works better or seeing if I can find another Internet provider all together.
With the Armed Forces doing their part in getting rid of world-wide menaces (much to the delight of every front-page in the country), I started the first of three morning shifts I have this week. None of them are as long as last week's, but they're also much busier. It wasn't bad when I came in at 10, but business picked up around 11:30 and was on-and-off the rest of the day. Other than some annoying beginning-of-the-month customers, there were no major problems. My relief was just on-time, and I was in and out with little fanfare.
It was cloudy and windy when I rode to work this morning. The clouds broke up around noon-1PM. When I arrived home, it was still windy, but the clouds were replaced by bright sunlight and picture-perfect upper 60s temperatures.
I changed into shorts and a t-shirt, grabbed my laundry and purse, and headed for the laundromat. I debated doing the laundry tomorrow, but finally decided I had too much going on already. Once again, I hit it just right. When I arrived, the only person there was one of the older ladies who manages the place and NBC10 News running several pieces about local reaction to Osama Bin Laden's death. By the time I left, two couples were working on several very large loads of laundry.
When I got home, I put everything away and ran Minnie's Masquerade again. Ran through that and Max and the Three Bunnies while making Strawberry Chocolate Chip Muffins and salmon and spinach salad for dinner.
The Internet was down originally when I tried to get on. It did come back up, but I'm not happy. I'm debating what to do. I've heard that Comcast's customer service is as bad as Verizon's, if not worse. Right now, I'm debating either switching to FIOS and hoping that works better or seeing if I can find another Internet provider all together.
Sunday, April 03, 2011
Emma Redmer Vs the Internet
I wasn't able to post last night because Verizon was down from the time I got home at 8:30 until almost 1:30AM! I'm still soooo mad. The DSL light was on, but the Internet itself wouldn't go on. I finally called them around 10. Found out that a computer had gone down at headquarters and a whole swatch of Camden County and Philadelphia were out, including us. And when I did finally get back online, they made me completely re-do my account just because I called them...again. For at least the third time in the last year.
That's it. I've had enough of their nonsense. I'm going to look into Comcast or other high-speed internet browsers this week. If I continue to have trouble with them, I may check for other options for my land-line phone as well.
(I did get some things done last night. Read Zorro and worked on my half-double and double crochet.)
Other than that, I've had a very pleasant weekend. It was gorgeous and sunny yesterday morning, though windy. Perfect weather for my first yard sale run of the season.
Audubon had it's Spring Town-Wide Yard Sale. I picked up a whole stack of great albums from five different sales:
The soundtracks for The Sting, Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory, and Fame
Elton John - Goodbye Yellow Brick Road
The Doors - 13
The Original Cast Album for the 1960 Broadway hit Fiorello!, featuring Tom Bosley as Mayor Fiorello LaGuardia
Frank Sinatra - Strangers In the Night
Judy Garland - Live at the Palace Opening Night
The Spinners - Pick of the Litter
Two kids' albums, Disney's animated version of Robin Hood and The World of Strawberry Shortcake, a slightly expanded variation on the first special.
The Strawberry Shortcake record was a particularly meaningful find. My sisters and I wore our copy of that record into the ground in the 80s. The woman I bought it from said she hoped to save the records for her children, but didn't think she'd ever get around to buying a record player. She also had fond memories of listening to it over and over again.
I also found four CDs:
Natalie Cole - Stardust
Linda Rondstat - Simple Dreams
Billy Joel - Glass Houses
True Value Hardware Happy Holidays Vol 39 (I love those! I have 28-33 on cassette and CD and am always on the look-out for more.)
My best find was closer to home. I went to St. Mark's Lutheran Church across from PNC Bank in Oaklyn for their Indoor Flea Market. I found in a collection of mostly odds and ends a video copy of the 1971 movie version of the British musical The Boy Friend. Twiggy is the usherette who becomes a star; Glenda Jackson is the star she replaces. Ken Russell, who directed the truly strange Who musical Tommy, made this...which means it's probably pretty weird. Sounds like fun, though, and I do love the music from the original The Boy Friend.
Work was extremely busy yesterday and today. It was even worse today, thanks to a lack of help. No one called out; we just didn't have enough people to handle the heavy beginning-of-the-month crowds. At the very least, it went quickly both days.
I started off this morning with Brunch With the Beatles. "Rock and Roll Music" was the theme today. In addition to the remakes of "Twist and Shout", "Rock and Roll Music," and "Roll Over Beethoven," we heard Beatles songs with more of a rock edge. Among these were "Come Together," "Revolution," and my favorite George Harrison solo song "All Those Years Ago."
Mom was in the shower, but I talked to my brother Keefe for a while. He was going to practice archery in the backyard after we chatted. That's awesome. I don't remember learning archery when I was in high school in the mid-90s.
I watched Scott Pilgrim Vs. the World while making granola bars this afternoon. This is the story of the young man of the title, a slacker wanna-be rock star who plays in an alt-rock garage group with his buddies and ex-girlfriend. He's dating an effervescent teenager to make himself feel better about a recent break-up...until he meets the girl of his dreams. Turns out that mysterious, independent young lady carries a lot of very literally baggage. Can Scott defeat her seven exes in order to get the girl of his dreams...and learn that true love is really worth fighting for?
I ended up getting a big kick out of this one. Adapted from a series of indie graphic novels, Scott Pilgrim has a marvelous time sending up video game cliches, from Mortal Kombat's "Round 1 - Fight!" intros to the coins that appear whenever Scott defeats an "ex." The cast had a lot of fun, too, including Michael Cera as the confused slacker musician and Kieran Culkan as his gay roommate.
I can, however, completely understand why this was a huge bomb last year. I like it because, even though I'm not a gamer now, I played enough video games as a kid to get what they're making fun of. If you've never played video games, aren't into comics, and/or can't handle slacker teens and youths, this is definitely NOT the movie for you. This has "cult" written all over it in letters six feet both ways.
Got home in time for The Dress Circle. "The Shows of April" was the theme this week. Among the hits, flops, and limited releases that first appeared in the spring were Destry Rides Again, Carousel, Follies, the late 70s hit I Love My Wife, the 1996 revival of A Funny Thing Happened On the Way to the Forum, last year's Sondheim on Sondheim, and one that's about to debut this month, the Frank Wildhorn Wonderland (a modernization of Alice In Wonderland).
I wasn't able to post last night because Verizon was down from the time I got home at 8:30 until almost 1:30AM! I'm still soooo mad. The DSL light was on, but the Internet itself wouldn't go on. I finally called them around 10. Found out that a computer had gone down at headquarters and a whole swatch of Camden County and Philadelphia were out, including us. And when I did finally get back online, they made me completely re-do my account just because I called them...again. For at least the third time in the last year.
That's it. I've had enough of their nonsense. I'm going to look into Comcast or other high-speed internet browsers this week. If I continue to have trouble with them, I may check for other options for my land-line phone as well.
(I did get some things done last night. Read Zorro and worked on my half-double and double crochet.)
Other than that, I've had a very pleasant weekend. It was gorgeous and sunny yesterday morning, though windy. Perfect weather for my first yard sale run of the season.
Audubon had it's Spring Town-Wide Yard Sale. I picked up a whole stack of great albums from five different sales:
The soundtracks for The Sting, Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory, and Fame
Elton John - Goodbye Yellow Brick Road
The Doors - 13
The Original Cast Album for the 1960 Broadway hit Fiorello!, featuring Tom Bosley as Mayor Fiorello LaGuardia
Frank Sinatra - Strangers In the Night
Judy Garland - Live at the Palace Opening Night
The Spinners - Pick of the Litter
Two kids' albums, Disney's animated version of Robin Hood and The World of Strawberry Shortcake, a slightly expanded variation on the first special.
The Strawberry Shortcake record was a particularly meaningful find. My sisters and I wore our copy of that record into the ground in the 80s. The woman I bought it from said she hoped to save the records for her children, but didn't think she'd ever get around to buying a record player. She also had fond memories of listening to it over and over again.
I also found four CDs:
Natalie Cole - Stardust
Linda Rondstat - Simple Dreams
Billy Joel - Glass Houses
True Value Hardware Happy Holidays Vol 39 (I love those! I have 28-33 on cassette and CD and am always on the look-out for more.)
My best find was closer to home. I went to St. Mark's Lutheran Church across from PNC Bank in Oaklyn for their Indoor Flea Market. I found in a collection of mostly odds and ends a video copy of the 1971 movie version of the British musical The Boy Friend. Twiggy is the usherette who becomes a star; Glenda Jackson is the star she replaces. Ken Russell, who directed the truly strange Who musical Tommy, made this...which means it's probably pretty weird. Sounds like fun, though, and I do love the music from the original The Boy Friend.
Work was extremely busy yesterday and today. It was even worse today, thanks to a lack of help. No one called out; we just didn't have enough people to handle the heavy beginning-of-the-month crowds. At the very least, it went quickly both days.
I started off this morning with Brunch With the Beatles. "Rock and Roll Music" was the theme today. In addition to the remakes of "Twist and Shout", "Rock and Roll Music," and "Roll Over Beethoven," we heard Beatles songs with more of a rock edge. Among these were "Come Together," "Revolution," and my favorite George Harrison solo song "All Those Years Ago."
Mom was in the shower, but I talked to my brother Keefe for a while. He was going to practice archery in the backyard after we chatted. That's awesome. I don't remember learning archery when I was in high school in the mid-90s.
I watched Scott Pilgrim Vs. the World while making granola bars this afternoon. This is the story of the young man of the title, a slacker wanna-be rock star who plays in an alt-rock garage group with his buddies and ex-girlfriend. He's dating an effervescent teenager to make himself feel better about a recent break-up...until he meets the girl of his dreams. Turns out that mysterious, independent young lady carries a lot of very literally baggage. Can Scott defeat her seven exes in order to get the girl of his dreams...and learn that true love is really worth fighting for?
I ended up getting a big kick out of this one. Adapted from a series of indie graphic novels, Scott Pilgrim has a marvelous time sending up video game cliches, from Mortal Kombat's "Round 1 - Fight!" intros to the coins that appear whenever Scott defeats an "ex." The cast had a lot of fun, too, including Michael Cera as the confused slacker musician and Kieran Culkan as his gay roommate.
I can, however, completely understand why this was a huge bomb last year. I like it because, even though I'm not a gamer now, I played enough video games as a kid to get what they're making fun of. If you've never played video games, aren't into comics, and/or can't handle slacker teens and youths, this is definitely NOT the movie for you. This has "cult" written all over it in letters six feet both ways.
Got home in time for The Dress Circle. "The Shows of April" was the theme this week. Among the hits, flops, and limited releases that first appeared in the spring were Destry Rides Again, Carousel, Follies, the late 70s hit I Love My Wife, the 1996 revival of A Funny Thing Happened On the Way to the Forum, last year's Sondheim on Sondheim, and one that's about to debut this month, the Frank Wildhorn Wonderland (a modernization of Alice In Wonderland).
Thursday, October 07, 2010
Unified Balance
I rode out early into a gorgeous, sunny, windy October morning. It couldn't have been a more perfect day in early fall. It was still a little chilly, but not nearly as much as it has been the past few days. The clouds were fewer, and the sun was brighter.
Unity is the theme of the month at Yogawood, and to celebrate it, we concentrated on hip-opening and working with partners. Unity is something I still have to work on. I'm so used to being isolated and closed off in my own world. I'm not accustomed to having people around who actually like me for what I am and give me genuine support who aren't a part of my family. Most people always seemed to think I was crazy or weird, or would just use me.
On one hand, I want so badly to be a part of a group. I want to belong. But on the other hand, I enjoy my independence, too, and I'm afraid of having to give that up if I let other people in. I'm also frequently afraid to trust people I don't know. I've had people let me down before. People have taunted me, harassed me, and bullied me. I'm afraid of what people can do...but I want that support, too. I want to be loved for me.
After class ended, I dropped a bag of clothes donations at the thrift shop, then headed to the Collingswood Library for this week's session there. The DVDs were overflowing on the file cabinets where the discs themselves were kept, so I concentrated on doing those. They badly needed to be organized, too, both the adult and kids' sections for once.
I rode straight home after finishing at the library. Spent the rest of the afternoon having stew and a tomato for lunch and working on the budget. Seems I spent a little less last month than in August, but I didn't go on vacation last month, either.
The internet went down a couple of times for a few seconds, then for longer. By that time, it was too late to call Verizon. If it was still down when I got home, I'd call them then. I changed, packed my dinner, and hurried to work.
Work was on-and-off busy, though it never got quite as busy as it did earlier in the week. I was in and out with no problems.
And the internet hasn't gone down since I've been home. We'll see what happens there. I probably won't be able to afford to upgrade to FIOS until after the New Year.
I rode out early into a gorgeous, sunny, windy October morning. It couldn't have been a more perfect day in early fall. It was still a little chilly, but not nearly as much as it has been the past few days. The clouds were fewer, and the sun was brighter.
Unity is the theme of the month at Yogawood, and to celebrate it, we concentrated on hip-opening and working with partners. Unity is something I still have to work on. I'm so used to being isolated and closed off in my own world. I'm not accustomed to having people around who actually like me for what I am and give me genuine support who aren't a part of my family. Most people always seemed to think I was crazy or weird, or would just use me.
On one hand, I want so badly to be a part of a group. I want to belong. But on the other hand, I enjoy my independence, too, and I'm afraid of having to give that up if I let other people in. I'm also frequently afraid to trust people I don't know. I've had people let me down before. People have taunted me, harassed me, and bullied me. I'm afraid of what people can do...but I want that support, too. I want to be loved for me.
After class ended, I dropped a bag of clothes donations at the thrift shop, then headed to the Collingswood Library for this week's session there. The DVDs were overflowing on the file cabinets where the discs themselves were kept, so I concentrated on doing those. They badly needed to be organized, too, both the adult and kids' sections for once.
I rode straight home after finishing at the library. Spent the rest of the afternoon having stew and a tomato for lunch and working on the budget. Seems I spent a little less last month than in August, but I didn't go on vacation last month, either.
The internet went down a couple of times for a few seconds, then for longer. By that time, it was too late to call Verizon. If it was still down when I got home, I'd call them then. I changed, packed my dinner, and hurried to work.
Work was on-and-off busy, though it never got quite as busy as it did earlier in the week. I was in and out with no problems.
And the internet hasn't gone down since I've been home. We'll see what happens there. I probably won't be able to afford to upgrade to FIOS until after the New Year.
Saturday, October 02, 2010
A Humdinger of a Book Crop
It was a glorious day for this week's farm market-yard sale run. The storms had passed, and the sky was blue and gold and as sunny as could be. It was so chilly last night, I had to close the windows in my apartment.
There weren't nearly as many yard sales out this week as there have been the past few weeks, but I did find some nice things. I picked up five records in pristine condition from one sale in Oaklyn - three Frank Sinatra albums from the 50s and early 60s and two Disney book-and-record sets. I haven't listened to the Disney sets yet, but Sinatra albums look and sound great.
The farm market was packed again, which wasn't a surprise, given the nice weather. Everyone is selling piles of pumpkins this year. All of them look gorgeous. This dry weather we've had has been great for pumpkins, unlike the constant rain that rotted them last year. I picked this year's big pumpkin for my living room and two smaller pumpkins for decorations.
(I don't carve pumpkins or put them outside where they can rot. I keep my pumpkins until after Thanksgiving or they go bad, whichever come first.)
After I left the farm market, I walked a few blocks to this year's Collingswood Book Festival. The Book Festival is a street fair for authors and book sellers that Collingswood holds every year. Unlike the May Fair and Craft Show, there's no craft booths here or booths that don't relate to books in some way. They did have a block off the main street as a separate section for children, including a puppet show, games, and appearances by kid lit characters like Where's Waldo and Clifford the Big Red Dog. (And for some reason, the mascot of the local minor-league baseball team, the Camden River Sharks.)
I was disappointed to see that while there were even more author booths this year, there weren't nearly as many used book sellers. I was still able to find Christmas presents for a friend and for my nephews.
I rode around after I left the Book Festival and looked for yard sales. I only found one more, on Eldridge Avenue in Collingswood. I picked up a stuffed Scooby Doo here for my Velma Halloween costume.
Headed home after that. I wanted to get my crock-pot beef stew together for dinner. I did that and put everything away, then decided it was too nice of a day to be inside. I rode over to Capitol Pizza for lunch. I ordered a slice of broccoli and mushroom pizza and a Coke Zero. After I left, I went for a short ride around the neighborhood.
Nice day or no nice day, I had other things to do besides run around on my bike. I unfortunately discovered while I was making the bed that Verizon had gone down AGAIN. It was really bad for a couple of weeks last month, then stopped doing it. Obviously, it's back to doing it again. I really wish I could upgrade to FIOS, but it costs too much.
I wanted to get some chores done before I called Verizon. I swept the porch, which needed it again after this week's storms. I took my rag rug outside to air, and I vacuumed.
I finally did call Verizon around 5. Tech support took me through reconnecting me online. They said they'd send an automatic message if they detected anything in the next 24 hours. Well, they'd better send one a lot sooner. My internet went down again about 20 minutes ago. I lost an hour's worth of writing time and got really upset. I don't know why they can't just increase the darn signal, and that's that. It's not like I'm far away from headquarters.
After I finished with them, I worked on some backing. I made low-fat Apple-Spice Cupcakes with white cake mix made with buttermilk and egg whites and baked rye bread from a British baking book I took out of the library. I had my beef stew for dinner while kicking off this year's Halloween festivities with Garfield's Halloween Adventure, It's the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown, and another spooky Bowery Boys film, Master Minds.
It was a glorious day for this week's farm market-yard sale run. The storms had passed, and the sky was blue and gold and as sunny as could be. It was so chilly last night, I had to close the windows in my apartment.
There weren't nearly as many yard sales out this week as there have been the past few weeks, but I did find some nice things. I picked up five records in pristine condition from one sale in Oaklyn - three Frank Sinatra albums from the 50s and early 60s and two Disney book-and-record sets. I haven't listened to the Disney sets yet, but Sinatra albums look and sound great.
The farm market was packed again, which wasn't a surprise, given the nice weather. Everyone is selling piles of pumpkins this year. All of them look gorgeous. This dry weather we've had has been great for pumpkins, unlike the constant rain that rotted them last year. I picked this year's big pumpkin for my living room and two smaller pumpkins for decorations.
(I don't carve pumpkins or put them outside where they can rot. I keep my pumpkins until after Thanksgiving or they go bad, whichever come first.)
After I left the farm market, I walked a few blocks to this year's Collingswood Book Festival. The Book Festival is a street fair for authors and book sellers that Collingswood holds every year. Unlike the May Fair and Craft Show, there's no craft booths here or booths that don't relate to books in some way. They did have a block off the main street as a separate section for children, including a puppet show, games, and appearances by kid lit characters like Where's Waldo and Clifford the Big Red Dog. (And for some reason, the mascot of the local minor-league baseball team, the Camden River Sharks.)
I was disappointed to see that while there were even more author booths this year, there weren't nearly as many used book sellers. I was still able to find Christmas presents for a friend and for my nephews.
I rode around after I left the Book Festival and looked for yard sales. I only found one more, on Eldridge Avenue in Collingswood. I picked up a stuffed Scooby Doo here for my Velma Halloween costume.
Headed home after that. I wanted to get my crock-pot beef stew together for dinner. I did that and put everything away, then decided it was too nice of a day to be inside. I rode over to Capitol Pizza for lunch. I ordered a slice of broccoli and mushroom pizza and a Coke Zero. After I left, I went for a short ride around the neighborhood.
Nice day or no nice day, I had other things to do besides run around on my bike. I unfortunately discovered while I was making the bed that Verizon had gone down AGAIN. It was really bad for a couple of weeks last month, then stopped doing it. Obviously, it's back to doing it again. I really wish I could upgrade to FIOS, but it costs too much.
I wanted to get some chores done before I called Verizon. I swept the porch, which needed it again after this week's storms. I took my rag rug outside to air, and I vacuumed.
I finally did call Verizon around 5. Tech support took me through reconnecting me online. They said they'd send an automatic message if they detected anything in the next 24 hours. Well, they'd better send one a lot sooner. My internet went down again about 20 minutes ago. I lost an hour's worth of writing time and got really upset. I don't know why they can't just increase the darn signal, and that's that. It's not like I'm far away from headquarters.
After I finished with them, I worked on some backing. I made low-fat Apple-Spice Cupcakes with white cake mix made with buttermilk and egg whites and baked rye bread from a British baking book I took out of the library. I had my beef stew for dinner while kicking off this year's Halloween festivities with Garfield's Halloween Adventure, It's the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown, and another spooky Bowery Boys film, Master Minds.
Sunday, September 19, 2010
Arr, The Eagles an' The Phillies Plunder the Competition
Sorry. The Message Board at AGPlaythings really gets into "Talk Like a Pirate Day." ;)
Arr, mateys, last night gave me a whopper of a nautical headache. Shortly after I posted last night's entry, my Internet went down...for almost two hours. I was about ready to throw my modem out the window. I switched the wireless modem for my other, smaller one to see if that would improve reception. Not only did it not improve the reception, but when the Internet did come back up, I couldn't get on! Verizon wouldn't let me. They wanted me to reset my whole darn account...and then they wouldn't accept my old administration name and password! I had to call Tech Support to get them to let me on.
THAT had it's own problems. I couldn't understand Tech Support, thanks to her accent. She couldn't understand me, thanks to my spotty cell phone. She had to spell everything out. I finally just cut off the call after the Internet was up and running. It was rude of me, I know, but I was tired and it was late.
I awoke in the morning with a whopper of a headache and a nose that was stuffed up from allergies. Plus, I went to bed late last night and didn't sleep all that well. I had the last of the buckwheat pancakes and a plum for breakfast and talked to Mom
I'm not the only one who's tired. Mom's been working non-stop at Michael's for the past few weeks, and things will only be getting busier there. The holidays are coming, after all. Yesterday was no help. She wanted to take a nap, but ended up attending her neighborhood's annual block party instead. She was too tired to enjoy it.
I listened to Brunch With the Beatles while finishing breakfast. I enjoyed today's theme, "Songs from 1968." We heard cuts from The White Album and some singles from that time period. My favorite, though, was a really good rare Fats Domino recording of "Lady Madonna."
I was almost late to work. I worked at 12:15 today. I hate working on the quarter-hours. It always gets me mixed up. Work was fairly busy today, so at least it passed quickly. I was a mess, tired, cranky, and frustrated. A woman said I yelled at her son when I only asked him to give me the change he'd taken out of the cup on the change machine. It didn't sound like yelling to me, but I wasn't really paying attention.
It was a gorgeous day outside, sunny and a little bit warmer than yesterday, but not too bad. The moment I got home, I changed and went back outside for a walk and a stop at Uncle Ken's house to see how the game went.
As I mentioned in the title, the game went very well. In fact, all of them did. The Eagles beat the wayward Detroit Lions 35-32. Dad's beloved Dolphins beat up on Brett Farve and the Minnesota Vikings 14-10.
Baseball fans have a reason to give a good hearty pirate cheer, too. The Phillies continue their run for the playoffs with their seventh straight win, this one over the Washington Nationals.
I had ham and pepperoni noodle soup (Uncle Ken's own recipe) at his house and chatted with Dad, Jodie, and Jodie's son TJ, then went for a walk around the neighborhood. It was a great day for it...and the rest of Oaklyn agreed with me. I saw lots of people out and about, from teenagers slurping Icees to elderly couples strolling together. There were many people taking advantage of the nice evening weather to work on their lawns and water their gardens as well.
The internet was down when I came home from work, and it was still down when my walk was done. I worked on crocheting. (I'm hoping a new purse for Jessa will be a bit less complicated than a hat.) The Internet came back up in time to hear the second half of The Dress Circle. Their theme was "Everyone Sings Gershwin." We heard some really lovely material, including a fine Ella Fitzgerald "Our Love Is Hear To Stay"...and Ethel Merman's "I Got Rhythm" on that scary Ethel Merman disco album.
Sorry. The Message Board at AGPlaythings really gets into "Talk Like a Pirate Day." ;)
Arr, mateys, last night gave me a whopper of a nautical headache. Shortly after I posted last night's entry, my Internet went down...for almost two hours. I was about ready to throw my modem out the window. I switched the wireless modem for my other, smaller one to see if that would improve reception. Not only did it not improve the reception, but when the Internet did come back up, I couldn't get on! Verizon wouldn't let me. They wanted me to reset my whole darn account...and then they wouldn't accept my old administration name and password! I had to call Tech Support to get them to let me on.
THAT had it's own problems. I couldn't understand Tech Support, thanks to her accent. She couldn't understand me, thanks to my spotty cell phone. She had to spell everything out. I finally just cut off the call after the Internet was up and running. It was rude of me, I know, but I was tired and it was late.
I awoke in the morning with a whopper of a headache and a nose that was stuffed up from allergies. Plus, I went to bed late last night and didn't sleep all that well. I had the last of the buckwheat pancakes and a plum for breakfast and talked to Mom
I'm not the only one who's tired. Mom's been working non-stop at Michael's for the past few weeks, and things will only be getting busier there. The holidays are coming, after all. Yesterday was no help. She wanted to take a nap, but ended up attending her neighborhood's annual block party instead. She was too tired to enjoy it.
I listened to Brunch With the Beatles while finishing breakfast. I enjoyed today's theme, "Songs from 1968." We heard cuts from The White Album and some singles from that time period. My favorite, though, was a really good rare Fats Domino recording of "Lady Madonna."
I was almost late to work. I worked at 12:15 today. I hate working on the quarter-hours. It always gets me mixed up. Work was fairly busy today, so at least it passed quickly. I was a mess, tired, cranky, and frustrated. A woman said I yelled at her son when I only asked him to give me the change he'd taken out of the cup on the change machine. It didn't sound like yelling to me, but I wasn't really paying attention.
It was a gorgeous day outside, sunny and a little bit warmer than yesterday, but not too bad. The moment I got home, I changed and went back outside for a walk and a stop at Uncle Ken's house to see how the game went.
As I mentioned in the title, the game went very well. In fact, all of them did. The Eagles beat the wayward Detroit Lions 35-32. Dad's beloved Dolphins beat up on Brett Farve and the Minnesota Vikings 14-10.
Baseball fans have a reason to give a good hearty pirate cheer, too. The Phillies continue their run for the playoffs with their seventh straight win, this one over the Washington Nationals.
I had ham and pepperoni noodle soup (Uncle Ken's own recipe) at his house and chatted with Dad, Jodie, and Jodie's son TJ, then went for a walk around the neighborhood. It was a great day for it...and the rest of Oaklyn agreed with me. I saw lots of people out and about, from teenagers slurping Icees to elderly couples strolling together. There were many people taking advantage of the nice evening weather to work on their lawns and water their gardens as well.
The internet was down when I came home from work, and it was still down when my walk was done. I worked on crocheting. (I'm hoping a new purse for Jessa will be a bit less complicated than a hat.) The Internet came back up in time to hear the second half of The Dress Circle. Their theme was "Everyone Sings Gershwin." We heard some really lovely material, including a fine Ella Fitzgerald "Our Love Is Hear To Stay"...and Ethel Merman's "I Got Rhythm" on that scary Ethel Merman disco album.
Thursday, September 02, 2010
Dust and Balance
Despite all the reports about Hurricane Earl coming our way, it was sunny, hot, and slightly humid but not bad when I headed out for this week's yoga class. There were 14 people in class today, a pretty good size considering that many teachers and college students have started school this week. We worked on back bends and standing poses. My ankle's a little sore, but it generally didn't get a huge workout.
Afterwards, I talked to a friend about looking for groups to join. I was going to look at local gyms, but the ones I've been to cost as much as $100 or more for three months' worth of membership. That's ridiculous. She suggested dance classes, and I'd still like to do Weight Watchers.
Made a brief stop at the thrift shop to say "hi" to Erica, then headed to the Collingswood Library. Spent over an hour organizing the DVDs. For a library that's as neat as a pin with books and have some really gorgeous shelves for their movies, their DVDs are often a mess. And I'm wondering if labeling them by genre is a good idea. I keep finding dramas that could be labeled suspense or action, comedies that should be in with the musicals, and "classics" that aren't that classic. And I suspect half the "children and family" movies are only on that shelf because there's no room for them with the other DVDs.
Headed back to the apartment at quarter after 12 and spent the rest of the afternoon there. I had lunch. I crocheted. I vacuumed. I washed the windows, TV monitor, and laptop monitor. I dusted the woodwork around the windows. I watched three East Side Kids movies. Pride of the Bowery got a bit melodramatic, and Let's Get Tough! had some hard-to-watch World War II Japanese prejudice. Flying Wild, another war-set spy story set around an airplane munitions factory, was the best of these so-so stories.
After I finished vacuuming, I decided I'd try the pool...and actually make it there this time. I'm so glad I did. The water was cooler than this time last month, about 80, but not that cold. It felt so nice on such a hot day! I had the pool to myself, too. Uncle Ken and Dolores were on the porch, talking about the Phillies game they're going to see tomorrow night. Dad and Jodie were inside, watching Law & Order on TNT and keeping an eye on the weather reports.
I made cornmeal-battered flounder, sauteed zucchini (last of the year from the farm market), and Persian Cucumber Salad (also last of the year) for dinner. Had applesauce with honey for dessert.
My Internet has been a pain all day. It went down at least three times earlier, and it was down for an hour after I took my shower tonight. I don't know if Verizon's being a pain or if Hurricane Earl is interfering. We'll see how it works after Labor Day and the storm are gone.
My nose has been acting up, too. I've been sneezing all day long. I don't know if it's the dust, or the heat. I wish it would go away.
Despite all the reports about Hurricane Earl coming our way, it was sunny, hot, and slightly humid but not bad when I headed out for this week's yoga class. There were 14 people in class today, a pretty good size considering that many teachers and college students have started school this week. We worked on back bends and standing poses. My ankle's a little sore, but it generally didn't get a huge workout.
Afterwards, I talked to a friend about looking for groups to join. I was going to look at local gyms, but the ones I've been to cost as much as $100 or more for three months' worth of membership. That's ridiculous. She suggested dance classes, and I'd still like to do Weight Watchers.
Made a brief stop at the thrift shop to say "hi" to Erica, then headed to the Collingswood Library. Spent over an hour organizing the DVDs. For a library that's as neat as a pin with books and have some really gorgeous shelves for their movies, their DVDs are often a mess. And I'm wondering if labeling them by genre is a good idea. I keep finding dramas that could be labeled suspense or action, comedies that should be in with the musicals, and "classics" that aren't that classic. And I suspect half the "children and family" movies are only on that shelf because there's no room for them with the other DVDs.
Headed back to the apartment at quarter after 12 and spent the rest of the afternoon there. I had lunch. I crocheted. I vacuumed. I washed the windows, TV monitor, and laptop monitor. I dusted the woodwork around the windows. I watched three East Side Kids movies. Pride of the Bowery got a bit melodramatic, and Let's Get Tough! had some hard-to-watch World War II Japanese prejudice. Flying Wild, another war-set spy story set around an airplane munitions factory, was the best of these so-so stories.
After I finished vacuuming, I decided I'd try the pool...and actually make it there this time. I'm so glad I did. The water was cooler than this time last month, about 80, but not that cold. It felt so nice on such a hot day! I had the pool to myself, too. Uncle Ken and Dolores were on the porch, talking about the Phillies game they're going to see tomorrow night. Dad and Jodie were inside, watching Law & Order on TNT and keeping an eye on the weather reports.
I made cornmeal-battered flounder, sauteed zucchini (last of the year from the farm market), and Persian Cucumber Salad (also last of the year) for dinner. Had applesauce with honey for dessert.
My Internet has been a pain all day. It went down at least three times earlier, and it was down for an hour after I took my shower tonight. I don't know if Verizon's being a pain or if Hurricane Earl is interfering. We'll see how it works after Labor Day and the storm are gone.
My nose has been acting up, too. I've been sneezing all day long. I don't know if it's the dust, or the heat. I wish it would go away.
Friday, September 11, 2009
Bread and (Hot) Chocolate
The weather was lousy today. It's done nothing but rain, and it's still raining. Despite the weather, I had chores that had to be done. I rode over to the Acme in the rain for my paycheck and groceries. It showered on my way over there, and I got very wet. Good thing it was dead. I picked up yogurt, bananas, buttermilk, eggs, chicken legs, steak, a can of pineapple (which I left at the store and will have to retrieve tomorrow), a bag of wheat germ, allergy medicine on clearance, and the latest Entertainment Weekly with one of my favorite Beatles pictures on the cover, the one of John on Paul's shoulders. (I don't normally buy EW outside of the movie previews, but come on, it's the Beatles.)
Read the magazine for a little while next to the store while I waited for the rain to stop, or at least slow down. When it didn't appear to be doing either after ten minutes, I stuffed the Beatles in my backpack, rode home, and got wet again. I put everything away when I finally got in, then had lunch and did a few chores around the apartment until the guy from Verizon finally arrived.
The poor repair guy had a hard time finding my apartment. First of all, he was from New York and didn't know the area well. When he did find my house, he couldn't find the path leading to the back. It's very dark under all those trees, and the path is hard to find if you don't look for it. He did finally get upstairs and checked the online connection. Turns out the signal's too far from the main Verizon headquarters, which is why it keeps breaking up. (Also explains why whatever they did in the spring didn't take.) Good thing it wasn't something that needed to be worked on outside. This was not a day to be messing around on telephone poles and wires.
Since the computer was on and the Internet was working (for the time being), I messed around a little online. The rain let up enough by about 4:30 for me to make my last errand run of the day to the bank. The bank was busy when I made it there around quarter of 5. (Not surprising, given that's when it closes.) Since the rain was still light enough to not be soaking, I walked to WaWa to treat myself to a hot chocolate, dodging puddles and fairly heavy traffic on the White Horse Pike.
Spent the rest of the evening at home. I baked Pillow Bread, a cornmeal yeast bread from Alton Brown's I'm Just Here For More Food cookbook, had salad, potatoes, and Chicken Legs Poached In Lemon White Wine Herb Sauce for dinner, and watched the Disney Beauty and the Beast.
And yes...it's STILL raining.
The weather was lousy today. It's done nothing but rain, and it's still raining. Despite the weather, I had chores that had to be done. I rode over to the Acme in the rain for my paycheck and groceries. It showered on my way over there, and I got very wet. Good thing it was dead. I picked up yogurt, bananas, buttermilk, eggs, chicken legs, steak, a can of pineapple (which I left at the store and will have to retrieve tomorrow), a bag of wheat germ, allergy medicine on clearance, and the latest Entertainment Weekly with one of my favorite Beatles pictures on the cover, the one of John on Paul's shoulders. (I don't normally buy EW outside of the movie previews, but come on, it's the Beatles.)
Read the magazine for a little while next to the store while I waited for the rain to stop, or at least slow down. When it didn't appear to be doing either after ten minutes, I stuffed the Beatles in my backpack, rode home, and got wet again. I put everything away when I finally got in, then had lunch and did a few chores around the apartment until the guy from Verizon finally arrived.
The poor repair guy had a hard time finding my apartment. First of all, he was from New York and didn't know the area well. When he did find my house, he couldn't find the path leading to the back. It's very dark under all those trees, and the path is hard to find if you don't look for it. He did finally get upstairs and checked the online connection. Turns out the signal's too far from the main Verizon headquarters, which is why it keeps breaking up. (Also explains why whatever they did in the spring didn't take.) Good thing it wasn't something that needed to be worked on outside. This was not a day to be messing around on telephone poles and wires.
Since the computer was on and the Internet was working (for the time being), I messed around a little online. The rain let up enough by about 4:30 for me to make my last errand run of the day to the bank. The bank was busy when I made it there around quarter of 5. (Not surprising, given that's when it closes.) Since the rain was still light enough to not be soaking, I walked to WaWa to treat myself to a hot chocolate, dodging puddles and fairly heavy traffic on the White Horse Pike.
Spent the rest of the evening at home. I baked Pillow Bread, a cornmeal yeast bread from Alton Brown's I'm Just Here For More Food cookbook, had salad, potatoes, and Chicken Legs Poached In Lemon White Wine Herb Sauce for dinner, and watched the Disney Beauty and the Beast.
And yes...it's STILL raining.
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