March 22, 2001
Hello, Kitty
 Last
summer at work I mentored an intern, a UConn student named Yvonne. She worked with me on
my newsletters and other writing and editing projects, as well as working with some other
departments in our area. She has a great sense of humor. I really missed her when she went
back to school in the fall.
Yvonne's on spring break this week, at
home in New Haven, so she called me up and today we went out to lunch! It was so nice to
see her again and catch up. She wanted to know all the news about work, and I wanted to
hear about her English classes this semester. (She is a double major in English and
economics.) We also laughed about the things we did last summer, like the weekend last
June when we both left our car windows rolled down overnight in a monster
thunderstorm, and had to deal with wet seats for days afterwards. How could two people
that smart be that stupid?
 But Yvonne
didn't just come for lunch today . . . no, she also brought me a present. A Hello Kitty
music box that plays "You are my Sunshine" with a kitty that spins around. It
makes me giggle just to look at it. I love it. When you open the lid, the kitty pops up on
a stiff little spring (boing!) and starts spinning. But the best part is, if you let it
play until it winds all the way down it starts to seem kind of sinister. Creepy. Like a
scary hypnotic Hello Kitty doll. I love it! (So does Ziggy.)
You know how you look back at your
childhood and remember that toy you always wanted and never had? I always wanted one of
those music boxes with the ballerina when I was a kid. Never had one. This kitty box is
like the Sanrio version. I think Yvonne may be the sweetest intern ever.
So I asked her where she bought it, and
she told me about this place in Branford called Bargaineer. I had never heard of it, so
on the way home from work tonight I stopped in for a look around. Oh man! It's kind of
like Big Lots, but not as, um, upscale. The kind of
place that Katynka loves, that Maria hates, and that I can love or hate
depending on my mood and company.
Today it was just what I needed. I poked
around for 45 minutes and came this close to buying a bunch of cute stuff I don't
really need. Besides the Hello Kitty box (which was the only Sanrio item I saw) they had
pretty vases and candles, great funky nailpolish, and some very intriguing kinds of candy.
I managed not to buy the adorable purple sunglasses for $2.99, but I did pick up a few
Star Wars Pez characters for Celeste. Overall, I got away relatively unscathed.
But that was just the beginning.
I decided after that to head for Payless
Shoes (today was my trailer park shopping day, I guess). My black flats (also from
Payless) need to be replaced. They've worn great, but they're getting worn out. But when I
was walking into the store, I noticed that the Lechter's next door was going out of
business! Everything was on sale! Lechter's, if you've never
seen one, is a kitchen goods place. Back when we lived in Pennsylvania I used to get a lot
of kitchen things there. At least one of my waffle irons came from there, as well as the
whipped cream cannister and several noodle-cutter attachments for my pasta maker.
Of course, I couldn't resist going in
there today. They still had quite a lot of merchandise and it was marked down 20% to 40%.
I imagine they'll be going lower in the next couple of weeks. I found some things I needed
(but not a new timer to replace my melted Salvador Dali kitchen timer, all they had was
digital and I don't want digital) and a couple of items for Maria's new apartment. I was
all excited about the bargains. I read on their site that they're closing 166 stores over
the next few weeks, so if anyone is in the market for, say, kitchen stuff, I'd check out
the area and see if any stores are closing.
After all that, Payless was a big
disappointment. Nothing I wanted there today. I will check out the one closer to work
tomorrow at lunch, maybe.
Rampant consumerism!
Although in the end I didn't end up spending all that much money, and I sure did have a
good time. So, nothing to feel too guilty about there.
Guess that's it for today. I'm hoping
this won't be my only journal entry for March, but where this month has gone I will never
know. |
