Birthday Boy

Oh, and a very happy 5th birthday to my little nephew Skylar, who is definitely more than meets the eye! ;)

Maelstrom

Began today with more cleaning. I washed the windows, vacuumed, and cleaned out the air conditioner. (Mom suggested my allergies may be at least partially caused by mold being spread by the air conditioner, which is in the window year-round. Besides, I hadn't cleaned the filter in a while, and though it wasn't that hot today, it was humid enough to still need it on.)

Work was fine for the first half of my shift. The weather was merely cloudy and humid when I rode to work, but by around 4:30, dark clouds had begun to gather. I didn't really see too much on the front end, but I heard thunder and lightning, and I did see torrential rain - crazy, heavy, cats-and-dogs rain - out the front windows and front lobby windows. The rain was so heavy, water actually seeped up through the tiles in aisles 1, 2, 3, and the front exit! All had to be blocked off in order to clean the puddles, which didn't make for happy customers.

(The lights did blink once, but thank goodness we only lost the computer for a few seconds. It could have been a lot worse. There was a leak in the ceiling in the hall between the back storage area and the back lounge room. I had to walk the bike very carefully around that! There was a huge puddle in the storage area, too.)

I went out to Fat Jack's Barbecue in the Audubon Commons Mall to celebrate the end of my long work week. (Tomorrow will be my first day off since last Wednesday!) They're in the midst of reconfiguring their menu, probably trying to add more for dieters. I decided to try one of those "light side" items, a Fat Pocket Sandwich...i.e, shredded barbecue chicken and vegetables in a pita with your choice of dressing. Alas, the filling didn't stay in the pita nearly as well as it did in a large sandwich bun. After a couple of minutes, I finally dumped the rest of the filling in my wax-paper-covered basket, topped it with the honey dijon dressing that came on the side, and called it a Pulled Chicken Salad. (The rest of the dressing was used as dipping sauce for the pita.)

There were still some puddles left when I went back to the Acme to do this week's grocery shopping. It was worth dodging the mess. There's a lot of great sales this week. I picked up a big box of Acme Toasted Oats (our generic Cheerios) for $.99, two packs of flat, soft rubber hair bands for $1.29 each, a can of tuna for $.88, Acme and Dannon Light Yogurt for $.50 each, and Acme whipped topping for $1.00. The whipped topping is for a pudding pie I'm making for my cousin's birthday party tomorrow.

A woman and her two daughters mentioned traffic on the Black Horse Pike was really bad when I was at Fat Jack's, but I didn't believe them until I headed home...and saw it for myself. The line of cars headed for the shore stretched to the Collingswood exit, probably not helped by the bad weather and all the mess it likely caused. I was sooo happy the side of the road I was on, the one going towards Philadelphia and Camden, was a little busy but nothing nearly as bad as that.

(Other than a downed tree limb next to the house that I dragged to the backyard, everything seems to be fine at my apartment as well. It doesn't look like we lost electricity or anything like that.)

And after all the fussing over my schedule last week, I barely got any hours this week, just 19 and nothing later than 7. That's fine. In fact, that's kind of what I was expecting last week. I know we don't get good hours in the mid and late summer. Getting all those hours at once is great but really overwhelming (and it didn't help that I got it last Friday, which was mostly just bad to begin with).

Clean It!

Yes, I got the kitchen cleaned today. Like the bathroom, it really needed to be done. The top of the stove was really grimy. I listened to the Monkees records I bought last week as I scrubbed.

The Monkees Present is the best of the three records produced after Peter Tork left the group, with great songs from Micky (the album version of "Mommy and Daddy," "Little Girl") and Mike ("Listen to the Band," "Oklahoma Backroom Dancer"). Davy's best showing was the fun "Looking For the Good Times."

Pool It! takes us from psychedelic '69 to big-hair '86...and unlike previous Monkees efforts, it sounds it. There's no denying when this album came out, from the goofy water-themed cover to the heavy use of synthesizers on songs like "Heart and Soul," "Secret Heart," and "I'll Love You Forever." Also unlike previous Monkees efforts, despite some not-bad material ("Heart and Soul" was a minor hit in '86), it hasn't worn well.

Work was steady-to-dead, no major problems besides a few obnoxious customers. It'll likely pick up over the weekend, when we get into the beginning of the month.

Happy to Balance

Started a busy day with yoga class. I wanted to get to the Wednesday morning class this week because the teacher, Jill, will be going on maternity leave starting tomorrow. I really like her. She's such a sweet woman, and a wonderful and enthusiastic teacher. Class was surprisingly small for what was Jill's last class. I thought everyone would come out, but there was only nine people, counting Jill.

Maybe the weather kept them away. It wasn't really hot, but it remained sticky-humid, windy, and cloudy. After class, I headed for Collingswood's post office, several blocks down from Yogawood, and sent my nephew Skylar's birthday package. I then rode over to the library to return the three DVDs and a book that was due. I had enough time to shelve some DVDs, but I'm really trying to hold off on taking anything else out until after vacation, especially since I still have two books out that I'm reading.

Made quick stops at Super Fresh (looked for batteries), WaWa (milk), and Doria's Deli (turkey and a Diet Wild Cherry Pepsi), before heading home. I'd done everything so quickly, I had plenty of time for a Turkey and Summer Veggie Sandwich lunch and to work on adding music to my MP3 player. I still had some music on there left from last September and from my trip to visit Amanda at Christmas. I pulled all of the Christmas stuff and a few other things and added the Beatles, the Who, the soundtrack from the original 1957 Rogers and Hammerstein Cinderella, and the Charlie's Angels soundtrack.

(I shouldn't really need music on this trip as much as I have during previous vacations. The train trip only takes about three to three and a half hours all together, a far cry from the 6-8 hour bus marathons.)

Work was pretty much the same as yesterday, stead-to-dead with no really major problems besides some chop-shop people. The problems were outside the store. First of all, they were working on redoing the concrete around the main entrance for some strange reason (the concrete looked fine to me yesterday), which meant everyone had to use the back entrance near Rite Aid. Second, it poured on and off for most of the time I was in work. (A bagger walked in soaked; she got caught retrieving carts in a downpour, poor kid.)

Thankfully, it looked like it was starting to break up by the time I went home at 8. The wind was gone and it was cooler, but it's remained humid. (The air conditioner is still on.)

Short But Sweet

I'm proud of me. I got a lot done in a very short amount of time today. Started the day after breakfast with a quick run to Dad and Uncle Ken's. Today is Dad's birthday (I think he's 65). Dad wasn't there, so I just left his Peaches and Cream Pudding Pie and card on the breakfast island and headed back out.

Did the bathroom in record time when I got in. It normally takes me at least 45 minutes to an hour to clean the bathroom, but I whittled it down to 30 today. I couldn't put it off. It was disgusting, especially the sink. The only thing I didn't get to was the window and the mirror over the sink, but I'll do those on Friday.

Work was dead as a doornail for most of the day. Between the 90 degree heat and heavy humidity and this being prime vacation time, who wants to run to the store? It did pick up a bit during the usual 4-6 rush hour. I had one obnoxious older woman who read the Boost sale wrong (even though the packages were clearly labeled with the right sales on the shelf), but otherwise no problems.

When I got home, I wrapped my little nephew Skylar's birthday Transformer and got his package ready to send to North Wildwood tomorrow. His birthday is Friday. Mom said they'll be having cake and ice cream then; I'd like for it to arrive by Friday.

"Do Not Forsake Me, O' My Darlin'..."

I started today with a quick run to the bank. It was hot, cloudy, and humid, which may have contributed to the emptiness of the bank. I was in and out quickly. (Lauren later told me her bank was busy. I guess people came during their lunch hour.)

Work was steady-to-dead, with no major problems...with today's customers, that is. One of the managers pulled me out of the register around 1:30 and told me a customer had called and complained about me. Said I'd been fussing about my long schedule this week and my troubles with work. I had discussed it with some regular customers on Saturday, but I thought they'd been understanding. I guess not. I didn't get in trouble beyond a friendly warning, but I'm not thrilled, either. Even the manager thought it seemed rather bizarre, especially since she said the woman was calling about Saturday.

Picked up sugar and some items to make a pudding pie for Dad's birthday tomorrow after work, then headed home. I watched High Noon while making the pudding pie and eating leftover poached chicken legs, romaine and summer vegetable salad, and cherries for dinner.

High Noon is an unusually tension-filled western of a sheriff who finds himself abandoned by the town he once protected when an old enemy returns to settle a score. The Quaker girl he's just married wonders if she ought to leave town, too...or join him by his side. Great cast - Gary Cooper won an Oscar as the sheriff, and Grace Kelly made her film debut as his Quaker bride - tackle a moral dilemma in "real time" (one of the few films to attempt this gimmick...and use it well). (The theme song that runs through the film, "The Ballad of High Noon (Do Not Forsake Me)", won an Oscar as well.)

Into the Pool

Started this morning with Peach Spice Pancakes (made with one of the last of the farm market peaches) and a call to Mom. Mom was fine. She was about to water the flowers in the boxes on her patio and await the arrival of my sister Anny and her two sons.

Mom did start her part-time cashier job at Micheal's last week...and she hates it as much as I do. Like me, she'd rather actually do something with her time besides standing around behind a register. I'm really glad she did get this job, even if she doesn't last there. There's finally someone in the family who understands why my current job is driving me nuts.

Speaking of my current job, that was comparatively quiet for a Sunday. It was steady, but not as bad as it could have been. My relief was on time, and I was in and out.

I went home, changed into my bathing suit, grabbed my laundry, and went right back out again for this week's laundry session. It took longer than I thought it would. Someone already had laundry in the dryer when I was there. I wasn't done until about 8:30.

At least I had a pretty good time. There were quite a few people at Dad's and Uncle Ken's tonight, in addition to Dad, Uncle Ken, Jodie, and Dolores - Vanessa and a cousin of hers, Keisha, Uncle Ken's granddaughter Paige, her boyfriend, and their two-year-old daughter Ella, Dolores' children and their son Blake. We had pepperoni and sausage pizza and cheesesteaks and swam in the pool. (Ella barely wanted to leave the pool, despite her blue and chattering lips. The pool was in the lower 80s this evening - not bad, but maybe a little chilly for a toddler.)

You Can Do Magic

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

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

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

They Can Drive A Person Crazy

I'm going insane. And I'm going to apologize straight off for the tone of this post.

This has been such a lousy day. First of all, I got called in this morning...which wouldn't have been so bad, but I wanted to make it to Yogawood. Needless to say, I never did, which means I didn't get my yoga class in this week, for the first time since Christmas week.

Getting my bike fixed didn't go so well, either. I ran it over to Dad's. He was cleaning the pool when I came over and said he had a thousand things to do. He did change the tire on the bike...but when I tried to take it to work, the chain slipped off. Three times. Each time, I got more and more upset. I was able to do it myself the first time. A police officer and a construction worker who were fixing the gas and water pipes on Kendall Boulevard helped me the second time. A Kendall resident helped out the third time. I cried and carried on and behaved like a spoiled child. I'm so embarrassed. And what's worse, I was late to work.

Work was busy all day. I did get out of the register for about 20 minutes mid-way through the day, though. Two new cashiers were training up front, and I got to help one of them. (She did very well, too, only forgetting a few produce codes.)

Towards the end of the day, I got a large family who was buying a huge order. (From all the cleaning supplies and brooms, I wonder if they had just returned from a long vacation or moved into a new house?) They twice tried to pay by check, but the company that handles our check cashing system rejected both checks. They'd already taken their order outside by then...but they hadn't paid for it. The managers had to chase after them. I had a very long line and I felt horrible, even though the checks not going through wasn't my fault. I felt bad about letting them go, and I hate holding up the line. I hate it, even when people say they don't have a problem with waiting. I finally got one of the managers to cancel their order. (One of the managers told me later that they did finally pay by credit card.)

At least I got a free dinner. The head front end manager bought the two new recruits (who did pass their cashier test) and another manager pizza from a restaurant a few blocks down on the Black Horse Pike. They were nice enough to let me have a few slices while I was on my break...which meant I didn't have to run to Tu Se Bella's and buy my own slices after work. ;)

Speaking of "after work," I found a lot of great sales today (making up for not being able to go to the farm market this week). Dannon Light Yogurt cups were 50 cents each. I picked up a box of Whole Fruit Frozen Fruit Bars for $1.50 with the sale and a coupon. Cherries were a $1.29 a pound, plums 99 cents a pound. (Only this weekend, though.) Smart Balance Butter Blend was $2.50.

It had been sunny, hot, and humid since this morning, but clouds were gathering as I left work. I was passing by some neighbors who are friends of Dad and Uncle Ken's when my chain came off...again. The dad and two older sons were nice enough to help fix the chain and tighten the wheel. I was able to chat with the mother and her adorable baby girl (named Emma Rosemary), who was having her own problems. She'd just started a second job she hates - it doesn't leave her enough time for her Emma.

And my schedule next week is frustrating. While it's nice to have 31 hours, every day but Wednesday is 12 to 4, 5, or 6PM. Wednesday is 3 to 8. I only needed to skim the schedule to know what was going on. Half the store decided that they wanted to take their vacations this week. Why can't they be more organized about vacations? This happens every April, too. Everyone always wants to go away at the same time, which doesn't leave much help at home. We should do it like Lauren's bank does and everyone signs up for certain weeks, so they know in advance who can go when.

I'm just so frustrated. So few people understand. I tell them I hate the Acme job, and they say "Why? It's a JOB." But...I hate it. It's driving me crazy and making me miserable. I want a good, solid job where I actually feel like I'm making a difference. I want a regular schedule, not 23 hours this week...maybe, if they don't need me...and 31 hours next week. I want to be able to plan things like laundry, library volunteering, and yoga classes for certain days, instead of praying I might have the time for them, or tentatively posting these things and then having to tell people I can't make it because oops, the Acme called in and needs me.

I'm never going to get out. No one wants to hire a baby who always gets upset over everything. I have a headache and my stomach is in knots. I wish I knew what to do now. I need to find an interim job while I figure out how I'm going to afford college, but who's going to hire me for $11.80 an hour? Doesn't anyone in the South Jersey/Philadelphia area need a writer, an editor, or even someone to organize their DVD and book collection? Isn't anything ever going to go right?

Bike Trouble Again

Not a whole lot going on today. It was cloudy, hot, and humid, and not surprisingly, I spent most of the morning working on the computer. I looked up the departure gates for my trains going out of 30th Street Station in Philadelphia and Penn Station in New York. (I didn't know the 30th Street Station was this huge, gorgeous old building. It's from 1929, according to Wikipedia, and really cool. Now that's traveling in style.)

There wasn't really anyone around to change my tires, and I still don't have the right tools. I took the mountain bike to work...which would have been great, if the seat was on right. My neighbor switched the good seat on the mountain bike to the cruiser and put the broken seat from the cruiser on the mountain bike, and it just wasn't tight enough. I had to hold on tight to stay upright on the bike, but I did make it to and from work without incident.

Work was steady, with no major problems. I had no relief and left on time. It rained while I was in work, but was just wet by the time I finished.

Good Clean Fun

I opened my eyes. The clock read 7:30. I closed them for what I thought was five minutes or so. When I opened them again, the clock said 11.

Not a good way to start the day.

I was even less thrilled when I was half-way to Collingswood to deliver some donations to the thrift shop and I discovered the back tire, which I pumped last night, had deflated again. Looks like I was right about that slow leak. I ended up walking it around Collingswood and Westmont for most of the day.

The thrift shop went better. Erica called me last night and said she'd received a big box of records as part of a donation, including Monkees records. She'd mentioned the record Davy, Peter, and Micky made when they were on tour together in the mid-80s, Pool It! The record was still there when I arrived...and it held an even more interesting surprise. The Pool It! cover contained not only the record that went with it, but the mid-80s Rhino copy of a later Monkees album, The Monkees Present. Monkees Present was the second album released after Peter Tork left the group, and it features my very favorite of the songs Mike Nesmith wrote for the Monkees, "Listen to the Band."

(I also picked up the Rhino version of the first, self-titled Monkees album, along with Jack Jones and Guy Lombardo and His Royal Canadians.)

I hiked over to the library after leaving the thrift shop, with short stops at the Collingswood Library and the 7-11 next to the Westmont Acme, picking up a bottle of water and a big soft pretzel for lunch from the latter. It was hot, humid, and sunny by the time I was out and about, and I was sweating like crazy.

The Haddon Township Library was hopping when I finally made it there. One of the librarians said she'd organized the children's DVDs yesterday and discovered this morning that they were messy again. I reorganized them again, then shelved the adult DVDs as well as I could. Lots of people wanted DVDs today, and I couldn't always answer their requests for specific titles. Not to mention, a mother and her son were looking for DVDs, and the little boy, who couldn't have been more than 7 or 8, kept dragging over titles like Rocky Balboa or I Am Legend that were way over his head.

I took three DVDs I'd been wanting to see (the original 50s version of Cheaper By the Dozen with Myrna Loy and Clifton Webb, the original High Noon with Gary Cooper, and the magic-themed The Prestige with Hugh Jackman and Christian Bale) before heading back into the hot sunshine. It was about 4:30 by this point. I made a very quick stop at Super Fresh to see if they had any low-fat peanut butter on sale (nope) before just walking home. I was hoping my neighbor would be out to fix my tire, but I didn't see him. Maybe he'll be there tomorrow.