It Really Floated My Boat!

Step aside, Big People! I've got my life vest on and have some serious boatin' to do!

Hiya, Big People!  Happy Wednesday to you!

I don't know if you remember this or not, but when I was on my VacLAKEtion, I learned how to drive a boat, and to be honest with ya, I'm really good at it!

I don't know what it is about drivin' a boat, Friends, but I felt so alive, feelin' the power of that pontoon boat, cutting through the waters of Seneca Lake.  There's just something about the roar of that dang ol' engine as the propeller gurgles through the water.

You know, Friends, I got so I was really good at doin' donuts in the pontoon boat, crossin' my own wake. 

I really think that I was meant to drive a boat, Friends! 

Hey.  I love ya lots!  I'll be seein' ya tomorrow!  Muah!

Nobody Expects a Tutu-Wearin' Jedi Ninja!

I'm a Tutu-Wearin' Jedi Ninja!

Hiya, Big People!  How are you today?  It's Tuesday, and I couldn't be more excited about that!

Hey, did you know that I'm training to be a Tutu-Wearin' Jedi Ninja?  It's true.  Tutu-Wearin' Jedi Ninjas are the super-stealthy arm of the Jedis.  I can tell you, Friends, because I know you'll keep my secret.  And also, they don't get this version of the internet in a galaxy far, far away, where I do my Jedi Ninja-ing.

But why do the super-stealthy arm of the Jedis wear tutus?  Well, would YOU suspect that somebody like me, who loves frills and tutu-skirts and sparkles and unicorns and Barbie dolls and pretty cars, is, in actuality, a fierce, light-saber-wielding Jedi warrior?

Of course you wouldn't. 

And neither do the Bad Guys. 

I mean, even if somebody has an idea that I might be some kind of warrior, it still takes 'em aback to see me in action, with all my frills and ruffles and sparkliness, working so harmoniously with my mad light-saber skillz. 

So you can sleep easier tonight, Friends!  There are lots more Tutu-Wearin' Jedi Ninjas like me out there, keepin' the universe safe from the Bad Guys.

I love ya lots, Friends!  I'll see ya tomorrow!  Muah!

Pool Guard Zoe!

Hark!  Who goes there?  Not you, 'cause you aren't the Q!

Hiya, Friends!  Happy Monday to you!

Well, ya know, I'm a kid of many talents.  Many different skills.  Some of my skills, I'm better at than others, but the skills I call my own are many and varied. 

You bet they are!

One of my lesser-known skills is being an extraordinary Pool Guard.  Not the kind of pool guard that has a life ring that they throw to people who swam too soon after they eat and get a cramp in the water. 

Nope.  I'm the kind of Pool Guard that keeps all the balls on a pool table in line.  I guard against the scratch.  I guard against gettin' too close to the sides of the table.  I guard against a great shot bein' ruined because the 8-ball is in the way.

How do I do it, you ask?  Well, I'll tell ya.  If something's in the way, I just reach up, grab it, and move it to a more convenient or safer location. Boom.  Got a problem, yo, I'll solve it!

I really don't know why you Big People didn't think of that, actually.  You make things so much harder than they need to be.  But it's okay.  I sure do love ya lots, Friends.  I'll be seein' ya tomorrow.  In the meantime, I've got some pool to guard!

Muah!

Nowhere To Go

I look forlorn because my fun's waning for the weekend!

Why, hello, Friends!  Happy Sunday to you!

Boyo Boy, I'll tell ya what.  I have had an exciting weekend!  Friday night, I got to go to that magical old-timey amusement park called Eldridge Park, and yesterday, Daddy took me to a carnival-n-carshow!  It was a super, ultra, mega-blast!

I loved seeing all the rides lit up for night.  I loved the way the air was heavy with the smells of carnival food. 

I think what makes me feel so sad right now is that I don't have anything fun planned for today.  Sure, Mommy's sayin' we get to go pick up another shelf-and-bin system for my office, now that the Reading Nest has moved downstairs.  But there's nothing fun about organization, Friends. 

There's everything fun about Tilt-a-Whirls and Merry Mixers, though.  And Midway Games. 

I'm averse to the shelf-and-bin system, because that represents more work and less fun for me.  Your pal Zoe.  And I'm anti anything that's anti-fun to that degree.

Friends, I know my fun will rebound sometime, but the prospects aren't lookin' good for the next few days, anyways. 

I love ya lots, and I'll be seein' ya tomorrow!  Muah!

Old School Amusement Parks!

There's just something about a nice, old-timey amusement park!

Hiya, Big People!  Happy Saturday to you!

Well, ya know, yesterday, I had to help my folks go pick up our Jeep after its air suspension really let us down last weekend. 

It was quite a heck of a trip!  We got to eat supper in a restaurant, which you know is my Favorite, any restaurant.

And then. 

We went to an old-timey amusement park called Eldridge Park in Elmira!  I've been there before, but not when the rides were open.  It's so cool with the rides open! 

I'm in love with the place!  It was love at first sight!

I got to ride a Merry-Go-Round that's the fastest Merry-Go-Round I've ever been on in my LIFE!  I LOVE that Merry-Go-Round, because from what I understand, it usedta live in Eldridge Park, and then Eldridge Park closed, and the carousel ended up getting sold off. And then a few years ago, a buncha people got together and put their moneys together, and brought the carousel home.  I noticed that different people sponsor the carousel animals.  That's really cool, I think!

Then, Mommy and I rode a ride called the Thunderbirds, but Mommy calls 'em sail-planes.  It was the most intense ride I have ever been on in my whole entire life!  Friends, it's this plane that goes around and around, and Mommy was swinging the sail like a rudder, and it made our plane go sideways and high and low.  It was so much fun!  We rode that TWICE!

Then I rode a turtle-chase, and a horse-cart ride, and we rented a dragon boat for 20 minutes, and Mommy was tryin' to agitate the geese in the pond and make 'em fly away.  It didn't work.

We closed out our time at Eldridge Park with another trip on the carousel. 

I think that what really resonated with me, Friends, was the old-timey feel of the place.  We didn't hafta pay to park.  We didn't hafta pay to get in.  We bought old-school ride tickets.  It wasn't all slick and made-up.  It was the real deal, Big People!

I really hope they make a go of it at Eldridge Park, Friends!  I hope they bring back the midway games and cotton candy and everything.  I love that place!

If you haven't been there yet, you should go, Big People!  I love ya lots!  I'll see ya tomorrow!  Muah!

I'm Still New Around Here!

I'm not perfect, but I'm doing my best, every day.  I'm still new here!

Hiya, Big People!  Happy Friday to you! 

Well, ya know, it's pretty tough to be pertineer five.  It really is.  

Bein' pertineer five is like havin' a job that you've been at for a little while.  Everybody knows your face and your name and where your desk is.  You're a whiz at making single-sided copies and answering the telephone, and alerting your co-workers to the presence of donuts in the conference room. 

But then, somebody needs double-sided copies made, collated and stapled, and even though you were shown how to do this, and ya watched the training video, you haven't done it much yet, so you're less than slick when it comes to executing the task.  The copies come out with portrait on one side and landscape on the other side.  And then the next crack ya take at the task, you get only one-sided copies that aren't in particular order, and the staple's right in the middle of the page. 

And your co-workers and your boss lose their minds over it.  Because you should know how to do it.  You should be good at it.  Even though you haven't done it very long, and it's kind of a tricky task to master.  They don't care.  You messed up.  They're not gonna let you hear the end of it for a long time, and they're not gonna let you have any of those donuts in the conference room until you get your act together on those double-sided and collated copies. 

That's what it's like to be pertineer five, Friends.  It's kinda rough.  Big People forget what it's like to be little.  They forget that even they had to learn from the ground up.  Everybody was a beginner at some time, and some of us are beginners for longer at certain things.  I wish people would remember that.  I wish people would know we Pertineer Five Year-Olds are just doin' our bests.  We aren't tryin' to be petulant.  We're just tryin' to figure out the world the best way we know how.

You remember that, Friends, would you?  This weekend, if somebody gets something wrong, don't jump all over 'em.  Give 'em the benefit of the doubt.  If it's a Little Kid, give 'em the benefit of the doubt, too.  Even Little Kids are fightin' battles you don't know anything about. 

Be kind.

I love ya lots, Big People!  I'll see ya tomorrow!  Muah!

BYOB- Bring Your Own Beach!

I bring my own beach whenever I travel!

Hiya, Big People!  Happy Thursday to you!

Well, ya know, friends, I love bein' at a beach.  I guess more specifically, I love bein' at the lakeshore, but the Tshirts never say "Life's a Lakeshore."  They say "Life's A Beach." 

Thing of it is, sometimes Life is not a beach.  Sometimes life is a boring ol' house or an office building, or whatever else is NOT a beach.

That's when ya hafta BYOB... Bring Your Own Beach! 

I carry a beach with me when I go on vacation.  It's a tubba play-sand I can dig in and sculpt and just feel like I'm playin' shore-side.

But a beach is more than just sand.  A beach is sort of a carefree, breezy attitude.  Not at all buttoned-down.  Wavy.  Fun.  Bringin' your own beach means carryin' a breezy attitude with ya and goin' with the flow, too. 

Friends, it's easy to get a little wrapped too tight in the day-to-day fray.  Be like me, and always bring your own beach with you, even if it's just a little bit!

I love ya lots, and I'll be seein' ya tomorrow!  Muah!