ryanreacts

As usual, Friday is My Saturday. And so far, this one is pretty great! I went to the post office to pick up Bloodstorm and other stuff (including six small collapsible storage boxes, which made it so easy to get my top dresser drawer perfectly organized), then the general store for a bottle of wine and a few snacks, then caught the 10:30 shuttle back home, where I took a shower and then - of course - started some laundry.

This was just towels and a blanket and pillowcases. I still have many dirty clothes that I must wash, dry, sort, fold, and store before this weekend is over. 

One snack I got today was a chocolate muffin, which I'm gonna enjoy with some hot cocoa . . . while watching Stranger Things 204. It's almost literally insane how good this show was, compared to how terrible the final season is. One theory I'm inclined to believe is very possible is that one of The Duffer Brothers has an ex-wife, Leigh Janiak. They got divorced after season four had been written, and the theory is that she might have been a ghostwriter and possibly even the real mastermind of the overall story. I don't know for sure if this is true, but it is a fact that Leigh Janiak wrote the Fear Street trilogy (which happens to feature two Stranger Things stars), and that story has a fantastic ending, so maybe without her the writing team struggled to end the story? ??? ?

So yeah, at some point sooner than later I need to re-watch the Fear Street trilogy.

I may or may not watch the documentary about the making of season five, but I have seen several yootoob shorts about how fucking stupid the brothers are, and at least one comment that Netflix only released this to prove that it's not their fault--- which is fair. They should get a refund from the writers. Heh. I can't believe I said that, but in this case it really is true, the writers did such a terrible job that they should have to pay back all that money they got to make . . . this.

Other than that, I have to say that my whole "no more fun buys until February" idea has been pretty great so far! I was slightly worried about the logistics of how Amazon might deliver it all, but that's a constant fact of living here, so whatever. And in this case it's currently extra whatever, since most of it has been delivered and picked up today! In a few days Eighties Rogue should be delivered. I'm gonna open her right away so she can hang out with Mohawk Storm, Rachel, Jubilee, and Black Widow.

I am not opening Bloodstorm right away. I love her so much that I might get a second one to keep in the box forever. 

Also, she is part of a BAF series. I never have actually completed the set to Build A Figure, but have I always wanted to? Of course I have. So anyway, this BAF is Blackheart, a cute but terrifying demon (?) I'm not familiar with, but the point is it's cool enough that I want to assemble it! The other figures I will need are Brother Voodoo, Daimon Hellstorm, Dracula, Lilith, and Moon Knight. This line also has an optional Weapon of Vengeance figure; "optional" as in, he does not come with a piece of the BAF. So I don't need him like I need the others, but I do like having more Marvel horror-adjacent action figures.

My laundry only has another five minutes in the washer, so I guess I'll also say that work has been a bit more fun this week because I finally purchased a small (waterproof) portable speaker! I've been blasting Wicked, KPop Demon Hunters, a random playlist of bangers, Michelle Branch, and Wonder Woman's Wrath while I wage my war against dirt. The night of the banquet that caused a twelve-hour shift, of course the speaker's battery died --- but as I rinsed off plates in the big sink I put my phone in a metal pan to amplify the sound and it made the work so much more bearable. Obviously. I would have made this purchase long ago, but I was a bit self-conscious about my taste in music. NO MORE, EVERYBODY CAN SUCK IT.

Okey dokey, laundry is ready to get move'd to the dryer!

I think I might break my "no more fun purchases until February" rule (which I was always allowed to do if I found something really great) and buy this LEGO Snow White jewelry box.

Snow White isn't even my favorite Disney Princess or anything, but this jewelry box is fucking cool. And right now it has a coupon which will drop the price to $28.66 total?

Okay, I'm buying it.

Well, dang: I went to another tab, came back to this one, and everything I had written was gone. Would I like to restore saved draft? Yes please. Oh snap, nothing there! 

I am not going to track down every single figure whose price I had already looked up again, but some highlights I found while searching include:

* this Nightcrawler - $25

* Vile Violet Rita Repulsa - $46.06 (ludicrous amount of money for one figure, but she's worth it and usually even more); her non-VV figure, who comes with more accessories, is a few dollars less

* X-Men 97 Jean ($35), Bishop ($30), Magneto ($24), Morph (current coupon price of $23.22), Sunspot ($20.95), Cyclops ($34.80) . . .

* I found him by accident, but really like this Wolverine - $24.48

* I don't need any more TMNT right now, but an MMPR crossover two-pack (April as the Pink Ranger & Mikey as the Yellow Ranger) is a little less than $40

* Dani Moonstar (with extra heads so that she can also be Karma or Wolfsbane) - $38.88





* But really, how do you beat BLOODSTORM for only $21.48???!!?!? I am obviously definitely going to order her with haste. The only questions are, will I also get one more action figure after that? And if so, will it be a different character or another Storm?? I always say I can never have too many Storms, and I'm serious!

Okay, I'm not finding another Storm I want nearly as much as Bloodstorm right now, and I did already order that one eighties Rogue, so I think I am going to decide against ordering any more figures at the moment. But I am gonna get this fashion pack - it has been on my radar for a while anyway because of that awesome bag, but now I really want it so Dream Besties Teresa will have something better to wear! Which is perfect, because it comes with a teddy bear. She'll love that.

After having her for about five weeks, I finally opened Dream Besties Teresa last night. She is the fifth Dream Besties doll to make it to my coven, and she's definitely the biggest mixed bag. 

All of her accessories are excellent. She seems to be equally interested in teddy bears and gaming, which I love.

Her entire look is so delicate that she has I Don't Even Know How Many clear plastic bands keeping stuff in place from headphones to shoes, and this detail alone makes me think someone should have suggested re-thinking her outfit at some point, but okay. 

Obviously, the doll herself is gorgeous. 

From the waist up, other than all of the clear plastic, my only note is that I'm not sure about the giant chest bow thing. I do like the long-sleeved see-through shirt under it, but could they not have covered that up with something like a crop top? 

Before I say anything else, I just want to remind Mattel that they did such a great job with her accessories! 

But then her shorts look like a damn diaper, and I don't like her shoes at all. 

Naturally I love Teresa the character in general, so I am glad to have this doll, but photos of Skater Teresa make me think I will probably like her much better. This one will need some new clothes. Fortunately, she only cost me $10.97

Today I picked up multiple pakidges from a parcel locker. In the next few days approximately five more pakidges should be arriving from Amazon and Walmart. My next box of cannabis is not estimated to arrive until Monday, which is slightly upsetting because I am down to my last four brownies.

I don't know why I picked this date, but January tenth is the last day for a while that I might allow myself to spend a little money on something I don't need, like a toy or a book or anything fun; after that I want to go the rest of the month and save as much as possible by only spending on essentials. Well, saving money is the main reason, but it's also nice to have less need to go to the post office all the time.

Speaking of money in January, my next payday should be the 19th --- Buffy's birthday!

There are still two days to go, but so far work has been a little less annoying this week. Allegedly we are getting a new dishwasher on the 20th, which might make my schedule more flexible? I don't know, maybe I should go to Chef and ask if I can move My Weekend so that one day of it happens on the same day as a Pahrump shuttle (I think they go twice a week now, on Sunday and Wednesday: both of which are inconvenient for me) (although I do want to keep the two mornings a week when I work so Kyle won't have to, one of which is Sunday).

In other news, getting through the final season of Stranger Things is a challenge. I thought I might try to watch episode six before work, but now I'm thinking maybe I should just use that time for more napping.

All of them are witches. At this time I do not feel like establishing any world-building details more specific than that. Well, except for the fact that Heath is an elemental they summoned who accidentally becomes one of their best friends. That is a crucial detail, since Heath is probably my favorite doll right now full stop. So he has to be included, even though he is not a Dream Besties character anywhere other than my head.

None of them are straight. Brooklyn and Malibu are lifelong bffs who have been dating for about six months. Heath and Ken are both gay, but NOT dating. Not even interested in each other.

I literally love Heath so much that I should buy at least one more specifically for re-dressing. I want multiple Ken fashion packs so that he can have more fun clothes to wear. And, eventually, multiple Fashionistas Kens so that he can have more boyfriends. 

. . . Wait, is Heath too old to hang out with a bunch of teenage witches? They're all approximately sixteen or seventeen, but in my head Heath is definitely old enough to get intoxicated. Of course, they are all human witches, not immortal fire spirits . . . 

I get paid in a few days, so I may or may or may not use that as an excuse to order another doll. If I do it will be either Zia or a second Skater Brooklyn. The payday after that will definitely be an excuse to order another doll.

While I do love all of the characters that have been released so far, I wish Mattel would mix it up a bit and give us some new ones. A South Asian girl, a very pale redhead girl with freckles, another boy.

Eventually I will get these witches at least one Monster High playset. Some sort of coffee shop or student lounge, I'm not sure. If I can ever justify all of the space it would take up, I'd also love to get them this camper or maybe even a folding house from the nineties.

I only bought a Potions doll because I was hoping to get Heath.

He was definitely in the product photo of the one I ordered.

The one that actually arrived is from a different series. Heath isn’t even an option.

(I got Abbey, who IS lovely, but I’m so disappointed about the mix-up that I kind of don’t even care.) 

I guess I’ll buy him on eBay eventually. Whatever. For now, I guess I can have Scare-adise Island Heath do an outfit swap with Dream Besties Ken. That’ll be fun.

Well, it happened! I called out of work for the first time in months! Literally, the last time I called out was August 28th.

At this point I can't even remember exactly when it started, but my allergies have been kicking my ass for this entire work week. Fortunately I already have DayQuil and Vicks, and the general store sells Claritin. It's also fortunate that my week begins with two morning shifts, because those are usually easier even when we are as busy as we have been lately. (I mean, right now they're not "easy," but at least they do end at 3:00 when Alex shows up.)

But then My Wednesday is the first of two dinner shifts, 3:00 pm until 11:00 but I might actually be there later. When I arrived it was chaos, which did not surprise, so I just took a breath and then dived in and immediately focused on getting shit sorted first before even trying to wash anything. This worked pretty well, and I actually felt very good about how well I was staying on top of everything. 

Until my lunch break. The day before, I actually skipped it for the first time ever so that I could more easily keep up and leave everything looking nice for Alex. It kind of worked, but in the last twenty minutes they dropped off so many more dishes that I only barely even felt good about the state of things. Anyway, yesterday I kind of had a feeling that maybe I should skip my break again specifically to keep ahead of the chaos. I did take my break, and when I clocked back in everything was much more chaotic than I anticipated. Colleen even helped me out for a while by putting clean plates on the shelf as soon as they came out of the machine. 

So yeah, I was not able to clock out until 1:51 AM, and the first thing I did was walk to the break room, sit down, and send my calling-out email right away.

They probably handled this by asking Alex to cover for me. Tomorrow is the one day a week when we are scheduled at the same time so that I can deep-clean while he handles the dishes, so if he wants to call out then I will fully support it.

Tomorrow is also My Friday, so if I simply get through it I will have two full days of rest. My allergies are slowly getting better, although that might just be a Claritin haze. Either way, I can currently breathe much easier than I could two days ago. Most of the time.

Tonight I'll most likely stay here and make noodles, but I did go to the EDR for breakfast this morning, and it was so good. Berry sauce with waffles AND French toast! After that I ate a plate of savory stuff that filled me up, but it was so tasty that I could easily eat two waffles and two pieces of toast every day. They probably won't have it tomorrow, so I hope they have biscuits & gravy!

Yeah, now I'm hungry, so definitely gonna make some noodles!

Oh, one more update. The other night my allergies did not let me stay awake for more than the first half-hour of the second WICKED film, so tonight I am going to try again. I swear, I really am truly ridonkulously thrilled to be able to see this movie so much sooner than I thought I would! I've just been so exhausted this week that I almost forgot about it.

Oh yes, tonight is my mini weekend, and it should be a really fun one, since Wicked: For Good will be available at 9:00. It's currently five minutes until six, so if my allergies will let me stay awake that long, I will totally watch both parts back to back. 

I'm not going to start the first movie for a few more minutes, though, because I need to move some laundry around in less time than it would take to get through "No One Mourns the Wicked," and I don't want to have to pause the very first song.

Allergies are seriously kicking my ass. Somehow I still made it through work even though we continue to be way too fucking busy. Immediately after clocking out I walked to the post office to pick up some pakidges. Then I went to the general store for wine, ginger ale, and two tablets of Claritin --- which obviously I did buy to help me survive work, but I should really take one now, since I cannot literally live in a hot shower until I get over this.

I’m not sure what time I passed out, but I woke up after 6:00 and had to google to verify that it is still Saturday night, not Sunday morning when my weekend ends!