To encourage myself

I commented yesterday afternoon that, after someone pulled the old "start shoveling, maybe there's a pony in there" saying (and sometimes I find it hard to be that much of an optimist), that I would be happier if I suspected there really WERE a pony, or at least a MLP figurine I didn't have yet.

I had to do "big grocery shopping" this weekend. As I didn't have time to go to Sherman for it (and I went last week, but I tend to use up things like milk and salad and berries at an alarming rate, and I can't shop once a month and be done with it), I went to the Wal-Mart.

I have said before of my dislike of that store. It partly centers on some of its business practices (the one that impacts me most directly being their tendency to carry a brand or item for six months and then just randomly drop it) but it mainly centers on how some of the shoppers there behave. I do not know why. The Green Spray in town seems much more civilized (but their produce section is MUCH smaller, and they do not carry the organic milk I buy). So I go as early as I can on a Saturday morning, because most of the people who try my patience seem not to be there.

Well, I found they have a few new things....they have the California Ranch olive oil that Lynn talked about. I am nearly out of the extra virgin oil (I use both extra virgin and the "light" kind - I use the "light" kind for anything needing oil but that you don't want a strong flavor in. For some reason, I find it stays good longer than the peanut oil I used to buy. Also, lately I can only find peanut oil in giant sized bottles - I suppose because people fry with it - and I don't use that much oil.)

They also now carry kefir, which is something I like and use and which used to be a rare treat from the times when I got to the Kroger. Thus far they only have two of the flavors (strawberry and blueberry) but I hope people like it and buy it so they continue to carry it. I will often drink a glass of kefir with breakfast and then eat yogurt in my lunch....that may be why I generally manage to resist the stomach bugs that seem to go around.

Before I went to pay, though, I wandered over to the other side of the store, the one selling non-food items. I did want to look to see if they had any LED bulbs....I know they're expensive but I really, really dislike the quality of the light from the CFLs I can buy, and if incandescents are going to continue to be phased out....I wanted to buy one and give it a try and see how it worked. (They didn't have any. I suppose I'll have to try either Lowe's or a lighting store. I don't want to mail order it because I'm thinking LED bulb in the back of a UPS van probably = bad idea)

So I casually swung down the toy aisle. I admit, I'm always embarrassed to do this, even though I am a woman of plausibly motherly (or even grandmotherly, now) age...and could plausibly be buying toys for a child. Or for that matter, it's an ill-mannered and nosy thing for a person to speculate on just why someone is going down the toy aisle. But at any rate....I looked for the blindbag pony figurines.

They had some. A few of the crystal line (which I have given up on, the last bags I bought were all duplicates....if anyone wants a sparkly glitter covered Trixie, e-mail me your mailing address...), a few of a purple-bagged line but different from the purple line I'd seen before, and a few yellow bags. (People with more bronydom cred than I have will know what "wave" each of those are). So I bought the six remaining yellow bags (they're less than $2 each) and hoped that didn't mean some other fan had been there first with the cheat codes, and snapped up all BUT the Mane 6 (which I already have) and I got a couple of the purple bags. I decided to open two now, and save the rest to dole out as I work on this rewrite.

(Well, I wound up opening three, because one of the yellow bags was a Twilight Sparkle. Which I have four of, now. And again: if anyone wants a Twilight Sparkle, e-mail me....or maybe I will hang on to them on the chance that the Twilight Alicorn that is rumored comes true, and save them back to give to disappointed bronies who long for the "old days" before everything changed....)

But, I DID get two new ones: Breezie (a pegasus) and Roseluck (a so-called Earth Pony - that is, a regular old horse without wings or a horn).


Pwetah po-nays! (Heh. That's from the comic book line, written by Katie Cook and Andy Price, that IDW is putting out. I've been buying the issues as they become available, which is a bit of a challenge, as my town has no comics store - then again, if they HAD a comics store, I'd probably be apprehensive going in there, as I am so far out of the stereotypical demographic of a comic reader that I'd feel really self-conscious).

The comic books are WONDERFUL. There are all kinds of tiny bits of referential humor (one of the books in Twi's library is called "To Serve Ponies" (OH NO IT'S A COOKBOOK) and another one references "Santa Mira" - and the story line is a pod-pony story) and visual gags (there are Blues Brothers ponies in one crowd scene! And an invasion-of-the-body-snatchers  Donald Sutherland pony!). So far, only issues 1 and 2 are out (I think I read somewhere that "customs problems" are holding up the delivery of 3 and 4 - and without getting too political, this is one reason why I tend to prefer things being made in my own country), but I plan to buy each issue as it becomes available because they are that much fun.

But I do have to go back to campus this morning and pound away on the paper some more. I'm telling myself that if I can get a solid hour's work on it each day (excepting Sundays, and excepting Wednesdays if the day is otherwise too long and involved - I have an afternoon lab that day and often have evening meetings), I can call it quits for the day after that hour. I think that's what I need to do rather than telling myself "You have to finish this NOW" and getting overwhelmed and maybe not doing as good of a job.