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Post by frankthetriviaman on Oct 3, 2015 21:26:39 GMT -5
Month of March; when the babies arrive!
March 1st:
We had a mild winter this year, so ice cream is now a necessity. The only problem is, I'm to burned out to write!
We are discussing names for the twins... we've chosen Edgar for the boy, but the girl's name is still up in the air...
March 2nd;
Just came back from the vet; the nine puppies are healthy and will be ready for adoption on the 15th. Amazing how they get to all stay in the family.
Got a call from the contractor that's cleaning up the factory; he said several months of neglect does take its toll, but there is nothing to worry about.
Though I do wonder; should I make a big event over the factory reopening, or do it quietly? Eh, I'll sleep on it.
March 3rd:
I've decided to open the factory quietly. In fact, I can use it as a great April Fools joke... when our customers arrive on April first, won't they be surprised!
That means we may need to sell the company shirts, though...
March 4th
I got it! The T-shirts were only sold at the Glennock Parlor, so only people from Glennock and the surrounding villages got one. We have 25 of the collared shirts... we could sell them at Crovan's Gate
I know, I know, still not quite warm yet, not a lot of business for ice cream... but the bakery end is doing well. Ah well, the 25 should sell fast.
This will be one heck of a month... the puppies go to their new homes on the 15th, and the twins are due the 25th. Which reminds me, the spare room downstairs, we gotta turn into a nursery!
March 5th:
I've got a cold, so I spent all day at home with Jen, playing with the puppies and watching "Game of Thrones". Or trying to, anyway. Those puppies do not want us watching TV, it would seem, especially Bonnie and Clyde. Those two...
March 6th,
Darn it; why can't I make heads or tails out of Game of Thrones? Ah well, there's always other shows. Good thing I have Netflix. I find myself oddly fascinated by that American show, House. I wonder why?
It's funny actually; on one end of my puppy spectrum is Calm Curtis, and on the other end is Bonnie and Clyde, although they don't bite, they are naughty in other ways.
I hope I get over this cold soon... I'm almost embarrassed that I had to call John over to put the nursery together. Ah well, we are keeping things simple, and hopefully our boy and girl won't cause too much trouble.
March 7th:
Urgh, I'm getting worse. I think I'm going to...
Later:
Well, I just vomited. I'm in no fit state to work right now. I wonder, did I catch something in Japan?
March 8th;
Doctor gave me antibiotics... He says I got strep throat, though the vomiting was probably just some bad food i ate a while back, he assured.
Justin is coming over today. Even though he's not taking Bonnie and Clyde until next week, he wants to st least meet them first. Oh boy.
(Later)
You've got to be kidding me!? He said after a couple hours with them they are "two of the sweetest puppies he's ever met." So is it just me they are naughty around? Or maybe his idea of naughty is different than mine? Wait a second... Gotta stop Clyde from chewing on a shoe again
I'm going to sleep now; if I'm sick might as well get as much sleep as I can.
March 9th:
Feeling a little better today, so I played with the puppies. I'll miss them, crazy as they are.
I've gotten a lot of get well cards. Cousin Rob, Stella, Uncle Tim, Velma, Clyde, and Frank have all sent some. I'll have to thank them personally when I'm feeling better.
March 10th,
Finally well enough to actually do stuff. Did some straitening up around the house, and began to list everything we will need to get ready before the big day.
(Later)
Hmm... I got a letter from Alan in the mail. I wonder if I should even bother opening it. I know I try to get along with everyone, but I think 20 years wasn't even long enough for that traitor. Now I can only hope that when the airport parlor reopens again, everyone will move on and enjoy delicious ice cream.
March 11th:
Well, I'm back to work today. I'm still a bit sick, so I stayed in my office doing paperwork. Our recent expansions have bumped Sudrian Select up three tax brackets!
The nursery is all finished, and the puppies are also ready to go. Poor Curtis; the other puppies always pick on him, he'll be glad to see them go.
March 12th;
Feeling better today. Been thinking, wonder if I should get a proper office. I do a lot of work in both ends of the parlor, but an office would be good for handling the business end of things. My "office" is literally a crate, a laptop, a folding chair and desk lamp crammed in the back corner of the ice cream machines room. I don't need anything too fancy, but surely a small office space can fit somewhere? But there is a safe where I keep important paperwork and the recipes.
Gotta go; Jen said she "wants to rehearse driving to the hospital," whatever that means.
March 13th:
Since it's a two-hour drive to St. Tibba's, Jen and I have decided to get a hotel in Crosby once the puppies are gone, so we'll have the shortest drive possible. The Haddock Haven looks promising, it's on the waterfront, and it allows dogs (on-leash).
Speaking of dogs, Bonnie and Clyde pulled their worst stunt yet... they completely trashed the nursery-to-be! Which reminds me... we need to discuss names for the girl baby!
March 14th;
Well it took a while, but now the nursery door stays closed at all times, too keep Bonnie and Clyde out. Ah well, at least the puppies all go to their homes tomorrow.
We settled on the girl's name Ellen. Sounds nice next to Edgar. Only a few more days to go.
Well, better make sure everything is in order tomorrow... It's going to be a big day. But at least Curtis gets to stay.
March 15th:
We're at the hospital. Apparently, the babies are early.
March 16th;
Phew, false alarm... sort of. The doctor informed us that the twins are due to arrive sooner than anticipated (the 25th). Since we live so far away from the hospital, the doctors have kindly allowed Jen to be admitted while I stay at the hotel across the street.
Dad called me; he said everyone picked up their puppies in a timely fashion and all will be well. Just one difference though: Grandma and Grandpa decided that they will only take Lily and Sasha now. Louie is going to live next door with our neighbor. Looks like Louie gets to spend more time with Arnold (golden retriever dad's name), and Curtis has a playmate in our giant, shared backyard.
Got to go now; since we don't know when the babies will come, need to be ready. Going to spend time with Jen. Everyone else would be here, but someone has to watch the dogs, house, parlor and bakery. Oh well, that's life.
March 17th:
Jen is still in St. Tibba's, but there's no word as of yet when they will be born. I've been in the hospital all day. It's kind of boring...
March 18th;
It's happening!! It's happening! Better be there for Jen right now!
March 19th:
At 10:45 PM yesterday, Edgar Daniel Wilson and Ellen Maura Wilson were born. I'm waiting for the doctor to call me back in to see them.
March 20th;
Saw them in the nursery area behind the glass. I was in tears seeing them. Jen's a proud mom. Doctors say they are completely healthy.
Mom and dad worked up the strength to come and see us. This is incredible. I'm sorry. I need to go now.
March 21:
I took the kids back home today. Molly, Sally, and Curtis seem to like them too. I'm so happy, but tired. Maybe I should take a nap after I
Oh my, I fell asleep while writing! Oh, well...
March 22nd
Back to work today. A lot of congratulations coming in. Quite extraordinary really
Jen is on maternity leave now. But at least mom and dad are around too. Back to work now
March 23, year 2:
Dear, dear Diary,
If we are going to have that sprinkle factory working by April Fools, we'll need to get cracking! Jonathan suggested that we be patriotic and wait until Sodor Surprise Day. Hmmm...
In other news, work on the Sodor Day celebrations are progressing, but they are top secret. I can't even write about them here!
The twins are fine, but I think we'll need a second car... I doubt all four of us will fit in Hildegarde, let alone three dogs!
March 24th;
I really do not like Sodor Surprise Day, especially after the incidents last year.
We will open on April 1st... and we will keep it quiet, so on April 5th, we can make a big surprise out of everything.
The dogs aren't causing any problems with the babies... that's a relief. But got to go know... smells like someone needs a diaper change
March 25th, Year 2:
Dear Diary:
How come no one told us the bad side of having babies? They constantly need their diaper changed, they wake you up in the middle of the night, etc. With twins, it's twice as bad! I scarcely get Edgar calmed down before Ellen starts caterwauling over something. I can't imagine how Jen fares while I'm at work... Speaking of which, the first test batch of sprinkles came in today, and they were delicious. I think we better make the most of our lack of sprinkles now... we won't be able to for much longer...
March 26th;
Right now we are keeping things really quiet; selling unlabeled crates of the stuff to various outlets around Sodor... No one suspects anything!
(Later)
What, seriously? Someone tried to break into the Glennock Parlor! Thankfully, the butyric acid traps worked like a charm: they would have been very disappointed anyway; I empty the registers every night before closing up shop
Uncle Tim saw everything; says the guy was within the field of view of the security camera outside; I'll review the footage another day. He reset the trap and now it's like nothing happened.
Seriously, it's an ice cream parlor, not a bank. What gives?!
March 27th:
The man was apprehended trying to board the "Courier" at Cronk. Apparently, Henry smelled the butryic acid and refused to start until the smell was gone. He's not cooperating with police and had no ID. Nothing else to report today, plus I need to go change Ellen's diaper for the sixth time today.
March 28th,
Wow, baby care is hard. It's just like they say "It takes a village to raise a baby"... or at least, Mom, Dad and Jen, lol.
9 pm- Dad said he's going to try "the technique" tonight... he said its been passed down in the family for generations, and its "guaranteed to help a baby sleep through the night." I doubt it
1130 pm- Well I'll be; it worked!
March 29:
Woke up at 2:30 AM; "the technique" failed.
I've come down with a cold, so I stayed home working on our taxes. I swear they're getting more complicated!
March 30th
11 am- Feeling somewhat better. Decided to take a drive out to visit an old friend
11:30 am- Got to the cemetery. I can't believe that Edgar has already been gone for a little more than a year.
11:40 am- found his gravestone. Sorry, I need to go now.
March 31st:
Well, well, well, Michael. Why are you writing this like a letter? "Sorry, I need to go now"? You need help.
-A friend
(later)
Wait a minute; who read my diary again?!
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Post by frankthetriviaman on Oct 16, 2015 20:44:08 GMT -5
Month of April:
April 1st-
Oh dear... April Fools Day. Well, I got the traps now, so I don't think I have much to worry about.
8 pm- Home from work. Helping Jen with the babies. Good thing we both hate pranks... its hard enough with the babies.
10 pm- In bed now. Thank goodness, not one prank. Hard day today, so I think I'll sleep well tonight.
April Second:
The sprinkles were a huge hit! We'll still need a few weeks before the supply will match the projected demand, but things should go well regardless.
Hey... I actually got a full night's sleep! Jen says Curtis was howling at the moon all night, but I didn't hear a thing!
April 3rd-
Curtis is normally quite calm. I wonder if something was bothering him last night? Eh, its probably nothing.
Kids are ecstatic over getting sprinkles... but a fair chunk of my loyal adult customers are refusing to get them, oddly enough. They say that "a purist customer to Sudrian Selects gets two scoops, with hot fudge and whipped cream... no sprinkles necessary." Eh, not everyone likes sprinkles; so I am not one to judge.
Been thinking about the loyalty program again. Recently some members have moved away and a couple others passed. So now it only has 16 members.
Velma, 88, and Mitch, 92; both retired. Mitch stays home most of the time, and I see Velma here a little more often, but every Thursday night at 5 pm on the dot they both come here and sit at the same 2-person table near the window. They don't eat much anymore, ordering small sundaes every time, but boy do they love chatting with the customers.
Daniel (35). Firefighter; nice guy through and through, been asking for "brownie-dough" ice cream for a long time... but I have to keep explaining that we only got room for 12 flavors in Glennock.
Quincy (45) and Sarah (43). Plus their kids Tommy (8 ), Timmy (6) and Tammy (4). Nice bunch of folks; but it can get annoying from time to time whenever they come in, trying to fit the five of them at one of the only two tables we have that are designed for four.
(RECAP: At Glennock, the table arrangement is 6- 2 person tables and 2-4 person tables. 20 seats total)
Sal (73) Retired. War veteran. Comes in 2-3 times a week. Real quiet though. He comes in, orders his three scoops of French Vanilla and Hot fudge, sits down at the 2 seater table in the corner for a couple hours, then leaves. Sometimes I wonder what's going on in his mind.
Bernie (65) Shoemaker. His shop is just down the street. Hands down, makes the best shoes on Sodor. I feel bad for him though, ever since that major brand name store opened in Tidmouth...
Franklin (19), Marshall (19) and Rachel (19). College students. I keep forgetting where they go, but its close enough that this group of friends stops by quite often
Susanna (43) and Stephen (42) brother and sister lawyers; helped settle disputes around town on more than one occasion. They have a meeting here every Thursday at 3.
Clyde (52) Edgar's son; been managing the toy store since he passed away. Kyle is away at college so he's going to wait to join.
Been having trouble getting more people to join. Am I doing something wrong? Eh, it's ok for now... with the babies here they are my top priority.
Lunch break is over; better get back to work. I know the place is open from 1 pm to 8 pm, and "prep time" is from 9 am to 1 pm, but I wonder if I should figure out a way to get home sooner? I should really be helping out with the babies a little more
April 4th, year 2
Dear Diary:
The others say I should stay home tomorrow and catch up on sleep, since I haven't slept much since Edgar and Ellen were born. I don't see a reason not to, so I will.
Mom and Dad moved back in to their house today. It's going to be a lot tougher on Jen without them around.
Curtis has been really on edge these past few days. I hope he's okay.
April 5th;
I was looking out the window, and I saw it! Something was moving in the bushes. I've called the police and they are looking into it... It may be someone from the burglary ring they have been trying to break. That must be what had Curtis on edge.
Glad to see that mom and dad are strong enough to live on their own... Now it's my turn to be man of the house. I don't have the heart to get rid of Dad's study on the second floor though... It's always been there and it would be a shame to get rid of it.
Good news though: dad says he can return to the parlor in about a week, and mom is retired anyway. Good thing they bought a house only two blocks away. Dad insisted on remaining close, so "the kids can grow up with their grandparents" he said.
Better get going; the trash isn't going to take itself out
April 6th:
Been in touch with Akihiro again, his son will be arriving in July. I wonder how the dogs will like him?
The police said it was a raccoon. I don't know why Curtis would be so scared of a raccoon, but animal control took it away just in case. I swear I saw a human, though... I wonder if my hallucinations are coming back?
April 7th:
Maybe its being tired that got to me. But at least I know its safe outside tonight. And Curtis has returned to his usual self. Guess its time to remodel the guest bedroom into Akihiro's son's room. Good thing he sent an email telling us what Akihiro likes; nothing too fancy, and its stuff we can get easily.
"I may be a businessman, but I made sure my son knows that if he wants something, he has to earn it" Akihiro said to me. Sounds like a good lesson I can pass on to Edgar and Ellen.
(Note to self: should we call him "Eddy" when he gets older and starts playing with kids his age? He maybe named after a local hero around here, but I don't want him to get teased... it would be like me getting called "Mickey" all over again. I swear it says Michael on my birth certificate!)
April 8th:
Jen and I are looking for a family vehicle. Day 1 went badly, because we started arguing over whether it should be sentient or not. Jen says no, claiming "Sentient cars creep me out", "it'll scare the kids", and "what if it's like Hildegarde? The kids don't need two bad role models!" I countered with "Non-sentient cars creep ME out", "my dad had two sentient cars when I was young; they didn't scare me!", and "I literally can't drive a non-sentient car. Who's going to watch the road while I drive? You can't watch the road and steer at the same time!". Even the classic "the neighbors will think we're weird" didn't work... yet. I asked Hildegarde, and she said she was a great family vehicle already, and she wasn't sharing "her garage". I mean, it's a two-car garage, and she has zero trunk space!
April 9th;
Ok, we had some time to cool down, and settled on a compromise.
"We have Hildegrade already. And since most of the cars currently for sale on this island appear to not be sentient, you can have a non sentient family car."
This works for both of us. But then we had things to get off our chest "Jen, if you don't like sentient cars, why did you have no problem with her since we got her!" She didn't have a response to that one "Well, if you don't like non-sentient vehicles, why are all the parlor freezer trucks non-sentient?" I didn't have a response either. Maybe I should go back to work now...
April 10th:
We bought a non-sentient Honda Pilot today. Hildegarde was not impressed with "Dead Ted", as she called it. "I'm not sharing my garage with that thing! It's like you sleeping with a dead body!" I can only agree with her...
April 11th,
I could not help but notice that the license plate on the Honda Pilot said "D3AD T3D" ... man I hope that is a coincidence.
Yet, I had no choice but to explain to Hildegarde that I have to honor a compromise, and we both have to live with it.
"Yes, well, just keep those babies from ruining my interior."
Went to work today as usual. Dad says he's coming back to work tomorrow... I think we'll throw him a big welcome back party. After all, he was one of the first three employees I hired here.
Jen has been getting help from Mom during the day... at least she's not alone all day. Twins may be a handful, but I tell you, one day those kids are going to grow up, and just like that they are off living their own lives. It is best to enjoy these times while I can.
Better get going... gotta make sure everything is ready for opening.
April 12th:
It's midnight, and I'm just crawling into bed. Too tired to write
April 13th;
Been thinking about Dad's technique again... he said its worked for generations, but why not that night? eh, maybe its one of those " symbolic metaphorical lessons" things.
Had to do some grocery shopping today, and Jen insisted on the Honda Pilot. " More trunk space" she said. Ugh... I mean sure, i've driven the freezer trucks, but this is totally different. it's just so weird, these non-sentient cars. Then again sentient cars are weird to Jen, so... maybe I should stop writing before I contradict myself. Good night.
April 14th:
Went for a drive in Hildegarde. I much prefer sentient cars, they're so easy to drive. With non-sentient cars, in addition to controlling the pedals, steering wheel, and radio, you have to watch the road- no one can do all four at once. Hildegarde does that for me.
Then I got a ticket because cruising is illegal. Oops.
April 15th:
Long day today, very tired. Bought earplugs for Jen and I; figure we could give them a shot one night, see if they work.
I mean, granted, they will get better with time... But why does it take so long?
April 16:
Earplugs worked okay... on the one hand, we couldn't hear the babies so we slept all night, but on the other hand, we couldn't hear the babies so they cried all night and annoyed the dogs. Hildegarde flat-out refused to start today, so I had to take "Dead Ted". I couldn't see where I was going and hit a tree in Cros-ny-cuirn. Lovely...
April 17;
Well this is brilliant.
Now that Dead Ted is in the shop for heaven knows how long, we're stuck with a non sentient rental. Jen's driving that one.
Jen keeps yelling at me "you've never had a problem with the non-sentient freezer trucks, and those you can't even see directly behind!"
I'm gonna have to get a comeback to defend Sentient vehicles... But what?
April 18th:
I've never even driven the freezer trucks! Why is that always Jen's argument? If there were any out there, you bet I'd have sentient ones...
There's a bit of a heatwave going through at the moment, so the shop is doing excellent business. But with Justin, Laura, and Sierra in school, I'm working really hard, and the tension at home isn't helping. I seriously need to just relax for a few days; my hallucinations are even coming back!
April 19th;
I tell you, hallucinations drive me crazy... Although I think I've never driven the freezer trucks, I somehow remember driving them during the nine years I ran the business alone... which are my real memories!?
Took my doctor's advice... drinking more water, and getting more sleep, when I can.
Crovan's Gate is holding up well, even though I can't visit it everyday.
Maybe now is the time to restart the narrow gauge coach? Now that Dad is back Jim can work the coach again. I'll check on it tomorrow; should just need some cleaning. Though I do need to ask permission from The narrow gauge controller to Run Little Barford again. It worked out last year so there shouldn't be a problem.
April 20th:
I was driving home from work in Hildegarde, and this non-sentient pickup came from nowhere, and... oh, Hildegarde. I hope the repair guys can fix her.
Oh yeah, I broke a leg too. But so what? Hildegarde is my car, and I care for her well-being.
I just realized... my life sure is like a soap opera, isn't it?
April 21st
That's it, I gotta go see my doctor tomorrow, these hallucinations are getting way out of hand! I woke up in bed this morning; Jen says I have been "out cold" for two days. What the heck? It's gotta be the lack of sleep from the babies. I drove carefully in Hildegrade today, got to the parlor, went about my business, and went home.
These babies gotta sleep through the night... But how do we help them?
April 22nd:
The doctor says it's sleep deprivation. Gee, you think?
I've got to do something about this- but what?
April 23rd:
Well, after the first full night of sleep in a while, I think I finally got everything under control.
I just need to take things carefully, and take life one day at a time.
Speaking of which, the Japanese businessman emailed me today, he says he needs to talk to me within the next three days or so, says its important. I mean, I already agreed to take in his son for the time period we agreed on, what else is there?
On the bright side, things are looking up for the Airport Parlor; now that the everyone has pretty much moved on from the incident last year, I can finally open it. Just about everything is in place. Just need to to some preparations and arrangements, and I'll open it in a couple weeks.
Better get going... smells like someone needs a diaper change.
April 24:
Apparently, that wasnt either of the twin's diapers. A gas line broke outside. It was horrible! And now those machines are fixing it up. How many machines do you need for a gas leak?
April 25th;
I normally don't get about these things, but the fact that a gas line broke near a house with babies inside, one spark and we'd be goners!
But now that it's fixed, we can move on. Dad was telling me about an idea he had; fruit salad ice cream. What does that even mean? I got as far as him wanting an ice cream flavor with more than one fruit in it, but after that I was lost. Decided to get started with planning the air port parlor reopening. I'll do it quietly, with some publicity, but for the most part, I'll make it a quiet opening.
April 25
Everythings going wrong!!! A plane crashed right through the wall of the parlor!!! On the upside, it was a bit of publicity
April 26th;
You've gotta be kidding me... The news of the plane crash was a prank! Well, I'll give John credit; those photoshopped pictures looked pretty real... but something did throw me off. The parlor is within the airport, so how could a plane crash into it? "I was hoping you wouldn't notice that." John told me as he laughed.
Ah well, tomorrow I'm heading there anyway; have some cleaning up to do. But I can't help but wonder how many people saw online what John posted...
April 27
Apparently the news of the crash being a prank didn't get out yet. (Maybe because I only have 2 followers on facebook) It's a huge publicity stunt for Packard and Co. because everyone thinks they did a quick job.
April 28:
I am so confused right now... so I've decided to take next week off and have a mini vacation. I've always wanted to visit Great Waterton, so I'll do that. It'll do me god good to be away from Edgar and Ellen. Maybe I'll take Jonathan, Laura and Sierra; they deserve a reward.
Akihiro called, he said that Ahumi (reminder, he's coming in June as an exchange student) had broken the rules (he didn't specify what), so I should keep a coffee close eye on him.
April 29th;
So I've been thinking about the Great Waterton Trip... Luckily, Jen agrees with it; she says considering the hallucination problem, she understands. And mom and Dad live down the street, so it's not like she's going to be alone.
Justin said he's for it and "hopes Sierra comes." Huh, guess he still hasn't worked up the courage. Anyway, they've got a report to do, so I'll call them later.
Now don't get me wrong, I love my kids... But as I said, it'll do me good to do this trip.
(Later)
Huh, it says here the town was being restored, Thomas crashed through a mineshaft and flew down an underwater River
Yea right... And I bet there's also a logging island off the coast of Sodor with a zip line bridge.
April 30th:
I don't believe it... there is a logging island with a zipline bridge!
I cleaned up Hildegarde... now I have to figure out how to fit all four of us in for the trip. Hildegarde says to tie them to the roof like a Christmas tree, and puncture her tires while I'm at it. She must be bitter about last year... who knew the tree would throw off the balance so much?
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Post by frankthetriviaman on Oct 16, 2015 20:53:40 GMT -5
May, Year 2:
May 1st
Apparently we can just take the train to Great Waterton. Who knew the SKR went that far?
May 2nd;
Anyway, I am making plans for the Great Waterton trip. I went to the station to see if I can purchase Skarloey Railway tickets to Great Waterton. On the map I saw stops in Glennock (Ah, home sweet home. I still can't believe that after nearly 11 years, some people also come here just to come to my original Parlor/bakery), Rheneas, Skarloey, Lakeside, Cros-ny-Curin and Crovan's Gate. Wait, I'm confused, I thought there was a stop in Great Waterton? I'll ask about it tomorrow... I just realized there's something important I need to do.
May 3rd:
We're leaving tomorrow for Great Waterton. Apparently at Lakeside, the line branches off on the loop, to Vicarstown, and to Ulfstead. Who knew?
May 4th, Year 2
Dear Diary,
The four of us left in Hildegarde today. It was a tight fit, but we crammed Justin and Sierra in the back together. I can't remember why I decided to research train tickets when I'd already cleaned out Hildegarde... We left pretty late, so we only just checked into the hotel. They're restored it as a working historical town, with impersonators of people who would have lived when Great Waterton was a booming town. It looks quite fascinating, I've always wondered about its history, but other than the water connection and being the terminus of Sodor Tramways, I don't know a thing!
May 5
We went to the Tramway museum. They talked a lot about it. It went from the lake to Great Waterton. They also had an exhibit about this tramway in the north, where an engine named Toby worked. Tommorow we're going up the big clock tower. THERES NO ELEVATOR!
May 6th;
Apparently, I just found out that Toby has never worked on a "Sodor Tramway" before. It seems Toby's off today so I happened to meet his driver at a restaurant for lunch (He's taking a small vacation too). I told him about Toby and Sodor Tramways, and he gave me a confused look.
"Sodor Tramway? Toby never worked there; he worked in East Anglia before Sir Topham Hatt rescued him."
Huh, I wonder which is the real story? Gotta go; time to see that clock tower
May 7th:
Hmm... apparently Toby actually worked up near Arlesdale, Arlesdale End to be precise. The line went down to Great Waterton, but the trackbed of it is long gone. Who knew?
We've learned quite a bit today. We visited Waterton Butchers, Waterton Post Office, Waterton Blacksmith... wait, why does everything have Waterton in the name? What if all the companies on Sodor had Sodor in their names?
May 8th and 9th
(no entry; busy enjoying vacation)
May 10
We went back home today. We arrived very late at night, and I didnt get to write. This morning I went back to work. Nothing too special
May 11th:
8 am: Just brilliant, we've run out of baking chocolate for the hot fudge! Now I've gotta run out and get some more before opening time
11 am: Cutting it close; hope I'll have enough in time for opening.
9 pm: Back home. That was too close; 60% of our customers ask for hot fudge, so imagine what would have happened if we ran out!
May 12th:
Well, I'm feeling much better, so I'm back to work. I've been busy filing our taxes for the year.
I hear Stella's Crovan's Gate location is closing. She's pretty unpopular on Sodor after what she did, but hasn't she suffered enough? I wonder if I can do anything...
May 13th;
I've been trying to think of a way to help out Stella... But I've got nothing. On the one hand, I'm wondering if this parlor closure is better for her, since she's not traveling every two weeks between this location and her mainland parlor. Surely such traveling put a lot of strain on her. On the other hand, she seemed really determined to have this location succeed, even if on a daily basis our Crovan's Gate location saw five times as many customers.
I know, I'll give her a call tomorrow and see if there is anything I can do; now that we've made peace, I'm sure there is something I can do to help... But what?
May 14th:
I don't know what to do for Stella, so I intend to talk to dad. He's dealt with this sort of thing before, when his first parlor went bust in 2000, so he'll have some good advice.
I've been planning for our anniversary. I'm thinking a fancy restaurant- Jen's been feeling unwell since the babies were born, so mountain climbing is out of the question.
May 15th,
Talked to Dad today. He has noticed the situation with Stella also, and gave his thoughts on it.
"I was lucky when I lost my parlor Michael. I knew I was losing business and decided to withdraw before I lost everything. I spent many years building up that place, so it was hard to see it go."
"So what do you make of Stella?"
"Right now, she's probably licking her wounds, and waiting for the right time to make a comeback. She still has her mainland parlor, so it's not like she has nothing right now."
"What should we do."
"It's been a few months, so I would imagine Stell is starting to feel better about everything. When you get a chance, you should ask her if she plans on coming back."
Dad's probably on to something; I'll give it a shot
(Later)
It seems that Stella is a bit indecisive right now. She said she likes not having to travel every two weeks, but she really believed she can succeed in Sodor. She wants a little more time to think about it. I don't blame her.
Hold on, call from Justin
... He fixed the bug on our Facebook page; turns out we don't have 2 followers, we have over 40,000 followers. I really need to figure out these things.
May 16th,
Today, our Facebook page was hacked. The password had been changed, so I couldn't get in. I'm not quite sure what to do about this. I need to talk to Justin about it.
...
Nevermind. Justin changed the password, meaning that our page wasn't hacked. Apparently, he had E-mailed me last night about it. I should really check my E-mails more frequently..
May 17th
Heh, heh. I may or may not have locked myself out of my e-mail
May 18th;
Ugh, darn it, that's the last time I get my Netflix password and email password mixed up.
Anyway, got Jen and I a reservation at this really nice restaurant for our 1st anniversary, she's going to love it!
Stella says she will have an answer for what she wants to do "in three days or so," which means she's almost finalized her decision.
And I've been thinking; people like cookie dough ice cream, and people like brownie ice cream... So what if I created an ice cream with chunks of brownie AND cookie dough in it? I'll think I'll create a few experimental batches and see if I can make it work. Can't do it now though; time has come to open up; Sudrian Selects, open Monday through Saturday, opens at 1 pm on the dot, closes when the clock hits 8. Bakery is open from 9 am to 8 pm, though... I once thought about opening the parlor at an earlier time, but that's silly; who would eat ice cream for breakfast?
Ok, ok, yes; but only once every so often.
May 19th,
For some reason, Justin's E-mails keep going missing. He keeps calling me, telling me to reply. I can't reply if I can't find them!
...
Justin's E-mails kept going into the SPAM folder. Maybe it's because he's putting links to websites in his E-mails, or my computer is just being silly. Either way, I'll have to fix it.
May 20
Apparently he has a keyword in his name! Gonna have to fix that.
May 21st;
Phew, I finally resolved the email issue, now I can put that behind me.
Mom and dad have no problem watching Edgar and Ellen on the 25th, so everything is in place for mine and Jen's evening out then.
It occurs to me, the school year is almost over, so I'll have to ask if our family friend Justin, and my cousins Laura and Sierra want their summer jobs back. They have finals to worry about, so I won't put any pressure on them for now.
I was looking through some old family albums, and I found this story called "Happy Ever After" about Mrs. Kyndley's daughter's wedding day, written by Mr. Kyndley. Wait a second, that's grandma and grandpa, and she has two daughters, mom and my aunt! I wonder which one this story is about? I can recognize either of them in these pictures; I wonder why they never told me this story as a kid? Eh, I'll ask about it later; I've got to get some sleep.
May 22nd,
I asked Mom about the story. She said it was about my Aunts wedding. She didn't tell me the story as a kid because she never got around to it.
May 23rd
Apparently, the story was that an engine named Percy got the wedding presents on his own without any previous planning.
Like I believe that!
May 24th;
Well what do you know; photos of the actual event... the foreman sure was kind to let them borrow the buffers that day.
Anyway, tomorrow is Jen and mine's first wedding anniversary; I already got a card, and everything is in place with mom and dad watching the kids and the reservations at the restaurant; tomorrow is going to be great.
May 25th
I may not have time to write an enrty tonight, so-
Mom and Dad are watching the babies, which doesn't sound like too much trouble. But then, they haven't taken care of a baby in years.
(later that night)
I came home and... what a relief Mom and Dad had everything under control
Jen and I had a wonderful evening out, and when we came home, Mom was holding Ellen, and Dad was holding Edgar in the living room.
"Wow, you certainly had things under control."
My dad just smirked and said "Michael, your mother and I raised six children in this house, including a set of twins. So two babies for one night is nothing for us."
That's right... I am the eldest of six after all. I only see my brother John nowadays, but I try to stay in touch with my other two brothers and sisters.
Carrie and Wendy called from their homes on the mainland to wish me a happy anniversary earlier, and even though Robert and William are in the Navy, they are going to video chat me later... hold on, my computer just got a video call; better go answer it.
May 26
I slept in until 11 today. Then I went to the shop, where the customers were having a safety drill. My shop is officially an emergency refuge! An honor!
May 27th;
Well, granted the shop isn't that big, with only 6 2 person tables and 2 4 person tables each in the parlor and bakery, but at least when certain emergencies strike, like a nasty storm, the building is solid, so all we gotta do is board up the windows and we are good to go.
Today I got up at my usual time; 7:00 to get to the parlor by 8:30; after thinking it over, I decided the parlor's hours will remain 1 pm - 8 pm, Monday to Saturday; I take the time to make the ice cream fresh every day, and an earlier time I fear would affect the quality.
I'll let the others know my decision at closing time; well, back to work.
May 28
It is HOT today! All the ice cream was very soggy by noon. Luckily, it began to rain hot rain at 1, and the sun couldn't melt anymore ice cream
May 29th;
John found the problem... the reason the ice cream was partially melted was because the freezer was malfunctioning. Had to open half an hour late to put some time into repairing it. It's working now, thank goodness. Luckily, my customers are loyal and understood the mishap.
Been thinking; next month marks the 11th anniversary of the parlor. Should I do something special again like last year? I'll sleep on it, no need to make this choice right away.
May 30
IVE GOT IT! I'll finally add that 11th flavor!
May 31st;
Wait, my Glennock parlor already has twelve flavors, lol. I got so excited I was caught up in the moment. But it does give me an even better idea though... What if I can figure out how to put more flavors here. Crovan's gate has room for 36 flavors, but I won't get that many here. I think if I can at least figure out how to get to 18, that'll do for the space I have.
I haven't talked much about it, but the airport parlor finally reopens tomorrow. Nothing fancy; just some family, the new employees, and a ribbon cutting. One reporter from the local paper is all that will be present. Time to get to sleep; tomorrow will be an important day.
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Post by frankthetriviaman on Oct 24, 2015 13:15:49 GMT -5
Month of June:
June 1st
Just a reporter, huh?
Someone put signs around the airport to the shop. A lot more people want ice cream after flights than I thought. I thought planes were cold? Anyway, there was a big crowd today.
June 2nd:
With things at the airport going swimmingly, I decided to put the coach back in operation on Duncan's passenger trains. I'm considering getting one for the Wild Norwester as well. Having Sudrian Selects emblazoned on the NWR's flagship train would do us good. I'll talk to the employees about it tomorrow.
June 3rd;
We have ice cream making facilities at Knapford thanks to the cart, so I proposed a simple design; given that the express is in the morning, we will just have a small counter in a coach, with chocolate ice cream, vanilla ice cream, hot fudge and whipped cream, available in cups and cones. Sir Topham Hatt likes the idea, and says if this test run works, he'll permit an expansion to be a full Sudrian Selects on the coach. Better start getting plans
June 3rd
They agree!
Jason's brother works at the scrapyard, he'll tell us when there's a coach we can use.
June 4th;
Justin asked me to stop calling him by his middle name; though he does like the name Jason, he prefers to be called Justin.
The scrapyard doesn't have an adequate coach just yet, but I have finalized plans for how to make ice cream work on the NWR. I've come up with sketches for the test run, how it will look, and the limited menu, given the resources at hand. Hatt likes the idea, and understands why we can't do a full Sudrian Selects on the rails for now. Heck, if it were up to me, I'd renovate a whole coach to be a Sudrian Selects on wheels! But that won't happen for a while.
Everyone is on board with the project... we just need to wait for a coach to renovate.
June 5
We found small brake coach! We're buying new timber and metal frames for it. Still coming up with a color scheme: I want it to match the express coaches.
June 6:
Dear Diary:
Oops, it's a branch line coach! I had a feeling it was to easy when we found it so quickly...
In other news, Hildegarde is due for an oil change tomorrow. And she's making such a fuss about it to. Jen, of course, said "well, the other car doesn't complain", but how are you supposed to know what's wrong if the car doesn't tel you? Tiny lights on the dashboard? Give me a break...
June 7
I found a way to make the Sudrian Selects car match the coaches but still stand out; Green on the bottom to be in line with the coaches, but with bright red intstead of cream on top.
In other news, Hildergarde finally shut up after the oil change. Thank goodness for that!
June 8th:
Sir Hatt says the coach is the wrong shape. He needs something more like a typical Mainline coach, or an Schubert ComfortCoach. I'll have to look into that last... I've heard the ComfortCoaches are excellent, and it'll be easy to convert a dining car to an ice cream car. If only they weren't so darn pricy...
June 9
Maybe I can add the car to a branch engine, like Thomas or Duck. I'll look into that.
June 10;
Mainline coaches are unavailable for the time being, but I can get that branch coach for a low price. Ok, I know how to make this work now. I'll take the branch line coach temporarily, and use it on one of the branch line trains, to test the feasibility of a "standard gauge railroad ice cream parlor." If you will.
I'll go see Hatt about a branch line test run, and use the knowledge learned there when building the main line coach.
June 11
We bought it and started renovating it. The coach wasnt that old, so it's just a bit of framework, and then adding the freezer and stuff.
The Fat Controller said Oliver would be happy to take it with Isabel and Dulcie. I was hoping for that line: a beach sells more ice cream.
A bit of Pramoloxy and a few nails, and Gabby the Beachside Ice Cream Coach is ready to run. We'll have her entered into service on the anniversary. Speaking of which, Justin, Laura and Sierra will be returning to work. They said they could be the workers in Gabby. I do need them at Crovan's Gate, though... maybe they have friends who can help out?
June 12;
Apparently, Uncle Tim does not want his daughters working so far from home; so they can't do the coach. I tried to explain this coach is just a temporary thing, 1-2 weeks at most, to learn what we can for the main line coach, and I have full confidence in the three of them. But Laura and Sierra are Uncle Tim's daughters, so I can't go against him. He does have a point, I will concede: getting to the little western from Glennock takes hours, after all.
I think it's probably best to hire locals from the branch line to work the coach. I'll see if I can get out there in a couple days and find out who I can hire. That's for another day though; I gotta get some sleep now.
June 13
Today was interesting. This grumpy man came into the shop today, grumbling about how Duncan was late. I was confused at why he was here instead of the platform. He said Duncan was arriving at 7:15 today. Then I pointed at the clock: his watch was wrong, Duncan had left 5 mins ago.
A nice little cameo of the grumpy passenger.
June 14th;
I feel so bad for Justin today. He was trying to tell Sierra how he felt about her... And he just fainted. Poor guy, I wish there was something I could do to help, but this kind of thing, I wonder if it is better that I stay out of it
June 15th
Gabby's test run went well, and we sold quite a lot of ice cream on the way. Solar panels make just enough for the freezer. A few more tests and Gabby will officially be in service! But we still need to find someone for her, I can't do it myself!
June 16th;
Now that we know the coach works, it is ready for its official debut on the 28th (the anniversary). It will run until July 12th; by then we should have all we need to know for the main line coach when we get it.
June 17th
Apparently, the Main Line has much higher standards than a branch line, especially Gordon with his high speeds. Gabby may have been fixed quickly, but the Wild 'Nor Wester coach's overhaul could be a long-term project. It may even be worth simply paying the Sodor Steamworks to build it for us from scratch! It'll also allow us to wait less long for the coach.
June 18th;
I gave it one last try to convince Uncle Tim to let his daughters work the coach.
"It is only for two weeks!" I said, but he would not budge... he isn't overprotective or anything like that, he just said "its complicated."
So, I went to one of the towns on the Little Western to figure this out. Given the limited menu of just chocolate and Vanilla, in cups and cones, with only hot fudge, whipped cream and (at last) sprinkles, it does make things a little easier.
I estimate that I will need six people to man the coach; three to make the ice cream, three to serve people.
Had a little luck so far; met these two guys, Chris and Xavier, they worked for a parlor in Arlesburgh that went bust some months back, and could use the work, even if it is only two weeks.
Ok, so here's hoping for four more.
June 19
I met a man who knows someone who's looking for a job at the shop. 3 down, 3 to go!
Chris and Xavier want to make ice cream, and Jack wants to man a register
June 20th
I've been thinking; Justin, Laura and Sierra definitely have the maturity and competence to work the coach, and I completely trust them. The real trouble is Uncle Tim; so I've decided that tomorrow I will do what I can to convince him that he can trust his daughters to go on the coach for the limited time frame it is. It's only two weeks, not two years!
And let's face it, once Sierra goes there Justin is going to follow not far behind; I already have his parent's blessing so if it works out, the other three positions on the coach are filled.
June 21st:
Well, I failed to convince Tim, but Laura's friends Katie Raiker and Sarah Khan agreed to join. Now I just need one more employee... but I've only got four days until the opening!
June 22nd:
I put an ad in the journal, hopefully we can find someone.
June 23rd
The good news: I found another employee; Morris. Now we have the six needed to run the coach.
The Bad news: I just realized I put out conflicting ads for the coach; agh! Now I can't remember! Was I going to start on the 25th or the 28th!?
June 24th:
I seem to be very confused these days, it must be the stress. But thankfully, I realized that it was tomorrow when it opens.
June 25th
Gabby went into service on the Little Western (apparently, it's a fancy nickname for the line on the western side of the island. Personally, I think it would fit the Arlesdale better...) today. She was a smash hit, and five was more than sufficient to keep her going. Since we pay a commission, it'll make us and the NWR some money, so we probably will get that coach on the Wild Norwester. The only problem is, Oliver's Coaches complained about being in the same train as "the snack bar". They'll come around.
June 26th;
The coach is getting great reviews; good thing I insisted on boagies; allows for a smoother ride.
13 days from now there should be plenty of data on the coach, and we will have a definite answer for should we aquire a main line coach
So far I'm noticing: less than 10 percent of ice cream sales are before 10 am, and 80 percent of the business is being done between 1 pm and 730 pm. Does this mean the morning express may not be good? I'll have to wait to decide though; no need to jump to conclusions, so I will be patient. Well, time to Go to work in Glennock
June 27th
I've decided that Gordon's morning run may not be suitable, so he will pick it up wherever he is before noon. Gonna have to look at the timetables...
June 28th
Well, its the 11th anniversary of the Parlor's grand opening. Nothing too fancy this year; just some discounted prices and slashing the price on the "membership fee" for our regulars club. All 16 of them are here! Even Velma and Mitch; glad to see the 93 year old make it out here; he seems to be coming around less and less.
June 29th:
Five memberships were purchased yesterday, but I haven't sorted through them yet. I've decided to have the planned future Express Coach permanently part of the train; sure, there's not much demand for ice cream in the morning, but there is some, so I can maximize profits.
June 30th;
I decided that I needed to take today off. The first batch of comment cards just came in about the Little Western Coach and I gotta go through them. There's over 2000 cards... Well, better get started
(Later) Well, that's 200 down; so far so good. Got to stop for a moment; Jen needs help with the twins.
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Post by frankthetriviaman on Nov 3, 2015 23:02:02 GMT -5
July: (NOTE: currently incomplete)
July 1st
I've read almost 400 now, most seem very positive (actually, ALL; no one disliked it)
July 2nd,
I've been trying to think of something to do for the breakfast hours on the coach. Uncle Alan approached me today with the answer I may be looking for. It's an idea he had for a long time, but he wanted to refine it before telling me: a Biscuit bar! He said it would be part of the bakery section.
I was confused at first, then he showed me a batch of biscuits he made. They're big, soft and taste amazing! So his idea was set up a bakery in the basement of the station, and make a lot of biscuits. (NOTE: For the sake of clarity, I do mean "American" biscuits and not "English" biscuits). Then, we set them up on some sort of rack/display case, and we sell them as a breakfast offering. He already came up with the menu:
1) The "Plain n' Simple:" A fresh biscuit, comes with butter
2) The "Simple Fruit" A fresh biscuit, comes with jelly
3) "Back to the basics" A fresh biscuit served with butter and jelly
4) Bacon, egg and cheese
5) Sausage, egg and cheese
6) Ham, egg and cheese
7) The "peanut butter jelly time" a fresh biscuit, served with peanut butter and jelly
8 ) "American Southern Style" Fresh biscuit served with breaded chicken
9) "Al's favorite" Bacon, Sausage and Cheese
I love the idea; but I want to run it by the others first; looks like tomorrow is going to be a family meeting.
July 3rd, Year 2
Dear Diary:
Well, it was well received at first, but they started arguing over what flavour of jam to use. Maybe jelly would be better...
July 4th;
Uncle Alan said that there will be 4 jelly flavored if we go down this route; he's definitely settled on grape and strawberry, but needs to choose two more.
But it's the Fourth of July, so that means family party! Since we have the baby twins, we're going to go easy on the fireworks this year; we only have 1/3 of what we had last year, but once the twins get older, we'll go back to the original amount.
They say it can be weird, celebrating an American holiday in the UK, but you know what, when you're celebrating it with family, it's not bad at all.
July 5
Who cares if it's not a popular holiday, the fun is what counts!
Alan said he's decided on a peach and apricot mix, and marmalade.
July 6th;
Oh, brilliant; Sodor Surprise Day again, my least favorite day of the year.
Well, usual drill; holiday is banned from the parlor, and after what happened last year at least the message is across that I don't appreciate pranks in my shop
(Later that night)
I'm so relieved... I saw others pull pranks, but none were directed at me. Besides, between the twins, the dogs and the job, Jen and I have no time to prank anyway. Time for bed now; at least this hectic day will soon be over.
July 7
Of course some teens had to toilet paper the shop. It took all morning to remove the TP and the eggs (how does a teen get so many eggs?)
Can't everyone play pranks on April Fool's day like on EVERY OTHER PLACE ON THE PLANET?
And cant they just cancel April Fool's day forever too?
July 8th
DEAR DIARY I've been thinking about going back to Culdee Fell this year. The weather's fine, and I (think) I've got everything under control at the shop, so it should be fine. Just have to talk it over with Jen.
July 9
Jen said we could go at the end of the month. I tried to say that the weather may have changed by then, but she said there are a few more things to do, like reading all the cards.
Now I've read all the cards, and everyone says the coach is great!
July 10,
I extended the trial run for three days due to demand, but regretfully now it must come to an end. The two week trial period is now complete, and I must say I am proud of those workers. They never gave in under pressure, and the ice cream met the Parlor quality standards. This coach also proves that an ice cream coach is a feasible project that will work for the mainline. But I had to remember what I told Sir Topham Hatt; the contract I signed only have me a 2 week period; this extra days are only "out of good faith" Hatt said.
Gabby the coach may get heartbroken, but I must go tell her the news that sadly, this is it (for now?). The contract is up and I can't run her anymore. Perhaps when I get the mainline coach, Hatt will let me have a longer contract? We'll have to wait and see.
July 11
Today I discovered the game "Akinator". It was weird, but now it knows Sodor Selects. But otherwise, nothing really happened today; couldn't break the news to Gabby because I had to stay at the shop.
July 12th, Year Two
Dear Diary:
Akihiro called again, he says Ahumi will arrive in mid-August. He warns me that Ahumi has been misbehaving lately, and I should keep an eye on him. I'm not too "chuffed" about it... how hard can it be?
I've located three coaches to use for the Wild Norwester, the Limited, and the Courier, the NWR's biggest mainline expresses. I'm filing all the paperwork with Schubert Railway Corp... I don't want to get sued like dad did!
Speaking of which, what are we going to do with Peter and Little Barford? They haven't been used in a while, and they're kind of going to waste... oh well, maybe they can restock the coaches.
July 13th;
I'm reinstating the system of using them to restock all our locations, directly picking up from the farmers, dairy plants, etc. and shipping directly to us.
This only takes 4 hours out of the day though, so perhaps I can negotiate with Hatt an agreement to use Peter for other duties.
We've got everything set up for Ahuni now; we are ready for his arrival next month
July 14th
Today I learned that Little Barford is also the name of a small engine and the power plant.
July 15th;
Oh dear, I seem to have encountered a dilemma; on the coaches, should I go with disposable bowls and such for ice cream sundaes, or Reusable? Regular plates and bowls are sturdier, but I can't put a dishwasher in the coach. Disposable does take care of that, but constant need for restocking could eat up a significant amount of the budget. I think I'll need to talk to someone on this dilemma.
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Post by frankthetriviaman on Feb 5, 2016 21:10:39 GMT -5
Continuing July:
July 16th;
I've decided to go with reusable dishes. I'll have to wash them manually, though.
Hmm... well... I don't-ugh! I don't know! Maybe I'm making too big of a fuss.
July 17th:
Well what do you know? I'm going to have to cancel the trip! My cousin is coming over quite unexpectedly, and he'll be here for a few months.
July 18th:
Actually, turns out he had to leave; he finally got the job he was looking for and can go back; that's good, now we won't have to worry when Ahumi comes.
The babies are doing well; Edgar and Ellen are reaching a point where they can sleep through the night... but they still go through a lot of diapers.
Better get back to work... it is almost 1 pm and you know what that means.
July 19th:
Man, I'm tired today. I keep forgetting things. For example, I called the little green #4 engine "Sir Handel". I'm so sorry, Duncan!
Stella called, she said she needed to talk to me urgently. We're meeting at that seafood place in Harwick tomorrow. I wonder what she wants...
July 20th,
That was a great salmon. Anyway, Stella said after giving it much thought, she wants to try again and open a parlor on Sodor. Her business on the mainland has been doing fine, so she has the money to try again. She said she wants to know what people have been thinking of her ever since the incident. I told her that for the most part, people have moved on and not a lot of people really remember that time. She seemed pleased to know that she did have loyal customers that would not come to my parlors. I told her that if anything, she should try to redeem herself to the community, try to finds things that can win them over again.
There were other things we talked about, but I can't really bring them up right now; she said there's things she needs to talk about mounted before "she feels ready". Best I can do is hear her out; she's been through enough.
There is one thing we were both confused about though. At one point she asked.
"Michael, how come now matter how many times I slashed my prices, or tried to get ahead, on any day for every customer I had, you had five?"
I... Actually didn't have an answer for that one. My current theory is that while we had an established 10 year reputation, she was just starting up, so no one knew her. Then again, I don't know how a lot of people think, so there's more than one reason no doubt.
Better get going; I wonder what else is on her mind?
July 21st
A quiet summer day; all went well
July 22nd, Year 2:
Dear, Dear Diary:
I am deliriously tired right now... for a second, I thought summer started in August!
Edgar (the baby, not the late toy shop owner) rolled over on his own today! Apparently he's a month or two ahead of normal. Jen freaked out, started yelling about "prodigies", and started mapping out the next twenty years of his life, I tried to explain that rolling over early doesn't make him a prodigy, and Hildegarde wanted to know why everyone was yelling about him rolling over when "my tires do it all the time". Vehicles and humans... we just don't understand each other.
July 23
Edgar's new mode of transportation is rolling over now. It's a good thing he's in a crib, otherwise he'd roll right out! Now he just rolls all over the floor. It makes him seem like a runaway barrel.
July 24th;
I've heard through Jen that Stella is starting small this time around; she's going to be taking a cart to various towns across Sodor, see where she could have the best chance to succeed. I'm sure her heart is set on trying to get back into Crovan's Gate again, but I'll support whatever decision she goes with.
Better get going; just set up a video chat with Robert and William and it's time we do some catching up.
July 25th;
Uh oh, Ellen is starting to take to Edgar's rolling. Good thing they have separate cribs, otherwise we might have the world's smallest demolition derby.
In other news; Stella is getting some positive feedback; I hope she does well.
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Post by frankthetriviaman on Mar 1, 2016 22:38:56 GMT -5
TGC, Toz, if you would rather continue playing this here rather than the TTTE wikia forum, just wanted to let you know the thread is here
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