The 7-Day Work Week

Currently Reading: Nightwatch by Sergei Lukyanenko

Well now that was one LONG work week. I haven't had to do anything like that in a LONG time. You see, my boss, the salon manager, wanted to take a few days off. Fine, no problem there. I was supposed to shift my days off over by a day and that was it. Simple right? Pick up one extra day here, take off one extra day on the other end. Like anything in MY universe is simple.

My boss, poor woman, is cursed, I swear. If anything bad can possibly happen, it's going to happen to her or to someone in her immediate family. This week she's been living in a soap opera. I won't go into details here but rest assured she's been through a lot.

Now, because of that, and because there are just the two of us who are groomers in the salon, and SOMEONE has to be there to shave all those dogs, guess who got to fill in? Why naturally me. Captain America to the rescue right? I really should consider changing all my online names to something like that. Then again, to refuse to work in a situation like that is really just petty, mean, and selfish. She's going through all sorts of drama and I'm gonna be a jerk and say I can't cover because I want my usual days off? Nope, not gonna happen mister! I suppose this better falls under the category of being a merely decent human being.

Speaking of Captain America, and I know how many of you out there are interested in this sort of thing (oh come on, just pretend for me ok?), there's a NEW Captain America out there. You may recall seeing stories on the news about how the original Cap was assassinated on the stairs of the courthouse where he was heading for trial in the aftermath of the big Marvel Civil War.

All those theories that it was really a double who got shot or maybe somehow they'd find a way to bring him back, all rubbish. Dead is dead for a change in the Marvel universe, at least for now anyway. Wouldn't be the first time someone died then came back a few years later.

The seeds of Cap's replacement were planted quite a while back actually. Last year they ran a storyline where Cap's old partner from WWII came back. Turns out that he, like Cap, survived the same missile launch. In Cap's case, he landed somewhere in the arctic and was frozen. In Bucky's case (his partner) he was picked up by a Russian sub and they used him for some experiments, conditioning him to be a KGB assassin and keeping him on ice until they needed him. Every now and then they'd thaw him out, send him on a mission, pick him up again and back into the deep freeze.

When he found out Cap was dead, he was out for revenge. Since no one really knew who pulled the trigger, Bucky decided to go after the guy he found ultimately responsible: Iron Man! Iron Man was on the opposite side of Cap in the Civil War (there's just too much ground to cover here, just go with it). But Bucky being basically a decent guy, darker than Cap, but still a good guy, he couldn't go through with it. Iron Man explained a few things, they read a letter Cap left behind (in case he died of course) and in the end, Bucky is now Captain America.

Why is any of this important? Uh, well, I suppose in the grand scheme of things it isn't but all the same it'll be cool to see where they take this story now and it'll be interesting having a Captain America who's a little darker, a little closer to Wolverine and The Punisher.

Getting back to the salon though, I had a REALLY slow day on Tuesday. How slow? Absolutely NO appointments were made for that day. I did end up having some walk-ins but no one had made an appointment. It's not really uncommon or even a big deal except that we now have this white board in the salon where we're supposed to welcome the day's pet guests. No appointments, no guests for the white board. Blank white board. Can't have that. Have to put something on there right? When this happened before I'd put the names of my own pets (including the hamsters) up there but I didn't feel like doing that Tuesday. Instead I opened my PDA address book and grabbed some names.


If you were one of our guests on Tuesday, I hope you enjoyed the haircut I gave you :-D

Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street

Currently Reading: Nightwatch by Sergei Lukyanenko

When I think of the work of Stephen Sondheim what usually comes to mind is romantic-comedy. This is the man responsible for such Broadway hits as Gypsy, Company, A Little Night Music, Follies and Into The Woods, to name a few. He did the lyrics for West Side Story and gave us Send In The Clowns for crying out loud. But then there's Sweeney Todd.

Sweeney is the one musical that really stands out. Hell it would stand out in just about any body of work. Let's face it, how many Broadway musicals can you name that are about serial killing and meat pies?

The latest adaptation hit the theaters a few weeks ago. It stars Johnny Depp as Sweeney and Helena Bonham Carter as his landlady. CC and I watched it on the first and I must say I was very impressed by it. For the life of me I can't understand why anyone would object to Tim Burton as the director. This story is SO his type of story.

Sweeney Todd centers around a barber who has been thrown into prison so a judge could court his wife. Years later he gets out and moves back into his old neighborhood looking for revenge. Naturally he goes completely mad and sets off on a killing spree. His landlady has a rather clever and profitable way to deal with the bodies. She uses them to make meat pies. Not exactly Sunday in the Park with George is it? More like Sunday in the Park with George Romero (the Night of the Living Dead guy).

Anyway, I remember the early press on this one. There were several critics who were set against Burton doing this movie. Granted he doesn't exactly have a lot of experience in musical theater but her certainly dishes out many a dark image and usually with a twist of humor. That's perfect for this piece. As a whole, it's so well-written that you end up rooting for Sweeney and Mrs. Lovett for a while, until you come to your senses of course. In the end, Sweeney and company make a whole bloody mess of everything and everyone gets their just desserts, if you'll pardon the pun.

I must say, if this movie doesn't prove Johnny Depp can do pretty much anything, then nothing will. CC and I were talking about this on the way home. Is there anything he hasn't done yet? She pointed out that he hasn't played a woman but we wouldn't put it past him if the right part came along. He did dress up in drag in Ed Wood, don't forget.

I don't know who will get nominated for the Oscars this year but I would certainly hope that Depp, Burton and Helena Bonham Carter all get something. It's not really the kind of movie Hollywood likes to reward of course, there are no clever allusions to politics, no nods to any fashionable social causes. But it would be nice to see some nominations spread around. It's not like this was a particularly great year in film.

So, if you've got a strong stomach, go and watch Sweeney Todd. If you DON'T have a strong stomach, well I'd advise you to not look at the screen any time he has someone in the chair with a razor in his hand. CC was in the habit of covering her eyes every time someone sat down.

It's funny. She couldn't watch as Sweeney slit throat after throat and yet, what did she say as the closing credits rolled up the screen? "I want a chicken pot pie. Do you feel like chicken pot pie?" We didn't have chicken pot pie for dinner but we did have sheepard's pie, which is close enough :-)

Post-Christmas Post

Currently Reading: The Devil's Whisper by Miyuki Miyabe

Well, we've all pretty much managed to survive the holidays, or at least the one that causes all the stress anyway. I don't recall ever hearing anyone lament about surviving New Year's. Heard a lot of complaints about not having a date or not getting invited to parties but that's about it.

Work was a major pain in the butt, as expected. This was one of those weird years where everyone waits until the last minute to do all their shopping. That seems to happen every now and then, probably tied to the economy and how much spending money people can budget for their presents. That makes the last few days before Christmas even worse and it impacts us at the salon just as much as any other retail store.

We had a really slow week ending the 15th then things picked up a LITTLE on the 16th, Sunday. Then slow more or less through the week until Maybe Thursday. Then we added a little more Friday. More Saturday. Then Sunday. OH MY GOD! Sunday!

Sunday started out slow. In fact, it looked like it was going to be SO slow that my boss started calling people on the waiting list. Well, most of them weren't home because they were in church so she left messages and so forth. Around 10 or so, still no one showing up so she decides to go home thinking it's going to be a slow day. So far pretty normal. At around 11, about the time church starts letting out, business took a rather dramatic turn. I ended up with 10 dogs that day, only a handful of which were in for a bath. Most of them were in for haircuts. Complicating things even more, the cold I had picked up on Friday or so was REALLY hammering me hard. How I managed to get through the day I have NO idea.

Oh alright it wasn't really as dramatic as it sounds. Dogs showed up, I clipped them. Went through a lot of tissue in the process and there was some stress but that's really about it. Oh, we did have one REALLY funny thing happen though. I was asked to put a mohawk on a maltese. A maltese is a small dog with long white hair. A mohawk, well you know what those are. I must say, he turned out rather well. I cut the hair just short enough along the fin that it stood up on its own. The whole time I was doing it, people would walk by the windows of the salon, look in, then grab their cell phones and take a quick shot. You'd think no one had ever seen anything like that before! :-)

Had a fairly quiet Christmas Day with the family. We spent the afternoon at my parents' house along with my sister and her family. Presents were exchanged, everyone was happy. That's about it. No drama there, which is nice when you think about it. Who really wants drama on Christmas, especially after all the rushing to get ready for it?

So now we're heading into 2008. I guess this is when we're supposed to make lists of resolutions and do some "looking back" items for 2007. Ok, here we go:

1. First, I resolve not to make resolutions other than this one! :-)
2. Secondly, I managed to read a few more books this year than last year. 33 in 2007 to 26 in 2006
3. Third, we got an unexpected surprise gift from the INS. CC's green card was extended 10 years. She's legal until 2018
4. Forth, I got an unexpected surprise gift from the Wall Street Journal. My subscription started up on the 24th
5. Fifth, while I am looking forward to another Olympics in 2008, I'm not really looking forward to another presidential election. I sense a really messy one coming up
6. Sixth, even though a lot of things changed just a little during 2007, nothing is really all that dramatically different from 2006 and that's probably a good thing

Ok so there you go, my observations for now. Maybe I'll add to them but probably not. I'll most likely forget what I posted by the time I get to post again. Things are in a slight state of flux until we clear New Year's. The work schedule is a little freaky you see, because of the holidays, and I have to work a few extra days to cover for it.

So, let's all hope that 2008 is as boring as 2007 and the only drama comes from trampy, young, Hollywood-types who just can't seem to get their shit together :-)

Death By A Thousand Paper Cuts

Currently Reading: The Hobbit by J. R. R. Tolkien

This is the season when we're probably most pulled in about a billion different directions. Lots of little things to tend to; parties to prepare for, presents to buy and ship and wrap, cards to mail. I also increases the chances you'll have a death by 1000 paper cuts. That's the feeling you get when a lot of little things start stressing you out. By themselves, these little things are never enough to bother you but when they start piling on, one on top of the other, they can really give you the blues or drive you stark raving mad.

Such is the case with me right now. Lots of little things. What gets me the most are the little things around the house that don't quite work out right or fit right or whatever. Normally it's not a big deal but SHEESH it can be overwhelming when you're trying to get everything done and the list of things that need doing keeps going on and on and on.

Yesterday, for example, I was home all day because someone was supposed to come and fix my dishwasher at 2. Did that happen? No. So I called down to the leasing office and had what can only be described as a Seinfeld moment. "I set an appointment. That means you're supposed to be here at a certain time." "Yes sir, I KNOW what an appointment is." And I SO wanted to chime in with, "I don't think you do." So they tell me they'll send someone over that afternoon but did anyone show up? Of course not. Still no dishwasher.

That wouldn't be enough to stress me out normally but I was also trying to finish up the Christmas shopping as best I could online to make the shipping deadlines. Plus, CC's still in Manila so that means her chores are my chores which means if I want to wear clean clothes I had best get them washed on my days off. This all on top of the usual stuff I do when I'm off plus the change in the weather which was giving me a SERIOUS headache, sinuses all stuffed up and everything. One by one, little paper cut by little paper cut.

Tomorrow it's back to work and I REALLY hope this little trend will stop there. Unfortunately work presents WAY too many opportunities for more paper cuts but at the same time, there are also plenty of opportunities for band aids as well. You can really make someone's day by making their dog look just how they wanted it. And they'll usually say so, especially if they had it cut somewhere else the last time and it really came out all funky and messed up. So let's all keep our fingers crossed that we get more band aids and less paper cuts :-)

Speaking of Christmas shopping, do you know I've done almost all of it online this year! It's true. CC and I still have to get some presents for office people, you know, office presents, little things you can give out to people you know from work but maybe don't know quite well enough to get them a full holiday present. But the bulk of the shopping, that's already done and they're on the way now. The poor UPS guys will be walking up and down our stairs quite a bit next week, but then I suppose they knew that when they signed up for the job. Christmas is tough on them too.

We're also hoping, speaking of next week, that things at the salon will pick up. We had a disastrously slow Monday and right now my commissions are just barely sitting ahead of my hourly wages. Worse, it happened on the longest day of my work week leaving me with a whole lot of time in the salon and very little to do. Sunday was just fine though so it will balance out a little but on the whole things were very slow and that's unusual. Normally by now things have picked up. People are having parties, they're getting ready for trips and that sort of thing. It makes me wonder if this is going to be one of those years where Christmas sneaks up on everyone and everything goes freaky nuts the week of the 25th. That's happened before. Sales across the board are down the first two or three weeks of December then it's like everyone suddenly remembers there's a holiday and BAM they go wild trying to do everything at the last minute. I really hope that isn't the case this year but I guess we'll have to wait and see.

Happy Holidays!

The slow, the fast and the cookies

Currently Reading: Nothing at the moment.

Well we're coming out of the dead zone at work but things are still not exactly running at the brisk pace we had before Thanksgiving. Mostly that was due to the repeated rains we had over the two weekends. Rain kills the walk-in traffic. Who wants to have their dog washed when the back yard is turning into one big mud puddle? Things are clearing up outside now though so we should do pretty good business.

This is also the time when people start throwing Christmas parties. And with the dogs already grown out a week or two from their Thanksgiving haircut, they'll be looking a little rough around the edges, maybe a tad shaggy. They'll need to come in for a shape up or a trim. It's happening already. Sunday and Monday, while not particularly SUPER busy, were a little better than usual. Add to that Saturday's big "pictures with Santa" and you've got a recipe for work.

Speaking of recipes, CC send me one on Tuesday. She'd gotten it from a friend of hers. It's for a cookie called a chocolate crinkle. Here's a picture . . .
I know, they don't really LOOK like anything special but they taste AWESOME! They're pretty much brownies covered in powdered sugar. I had 5 from the first batch when they came out of the oven. Yes, they're that good and surprisingly not difficult to make at all. They're a tad messy because you have to roll the dough into little balls, but otherwise, nothing worse than usual. Here's the recipe, in case you're feeling adventurous:

Chocolate Crinkles

Ingredients:
1 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
2 cups white sugar
1/2 cup vegetable oil
4 eggs
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
2 cups all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup confectioners' sugar

Directions:
In a medium bowl, mix together cocoa, white sugar, and vegetable oil. Beat in eggs one at a time, then stir in the vanilla. Combine the flour, baking powder, and salt; stir into the cocoa mixture. Cover dough, and chill for at least 4 hours.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Line cookie sheets with parchment paper. Roll dough into one inch balls. Coat each ball in confectioners' sugar before placing onto prepared cookie sheets.

Bake in preheated oven for 10 to 12 minutes. Let stand on the cookie sheet for a minute before transferring to wire racks to cool.

You can adjust the sugar depending on how sweet you would like them to be. Or you can also add extra melted chocolate chips to make it more fudgy. But the fudgier it is, the harder it will be to roll them into balls :p

* * *

About the only other thing worth mentioning since last week is Wednesday's rather long bit of shopping. I spent the first few hours of the day out at the mall with my mother. She wanted to get started on her shopping and wanted me to come along. No problem there. In fact, we were done by 1.

After she and I got back to my apartment, we met up with CC because CC and I had an appointment with INS. Actually SHE had the appointment. I was just along for the ride. Nothing dramatic this visit. They just wanted another set of fingerprints and pictures and so forth. We were in and out in 10 minutes or so.

But after that, well, CC had a list of places we needed to stop. We ended up running all over the place and by the time I got home, I was pretty tired. Needless to say I didn't do much the rest of the evening except goof off. I did have a rather long list of things to do over my days off but I pretty much just put them off until Thursday. And now that I'm finishing up my blog entry, I've also finished up my list.

Oh yeah, just a quick note. CC is heading back to Manila for her last trip to the Philippines for the year. She's leaving Saturday and she'll be back the 19th. While she's over there she'll be going to two company Christmas parties, one of which is a sort of costume party. Her department is supposed to dress 80's style. I really hope she gets pictures from that one. I'm curious to see how folks over there dress for it :-)