Apple core, Baltimore

I have heard from a few reliable sources that Target has a good selection of Office-themed merchandise. Seeing as I have to go to Target tonight anyway, I may just have to hunt down some of that stuff. A co-worker brought in some notepads the other day that a friend had given her--she said there were too many for her to use, so she shared them with us. I think there are 5 or 6 of us in this department who all love The Office. I snagged a notepad with a picture of Michael on it that says, "I'm an early bird and a night owl. So I'm wise and I have worms." Hee hee.

I was up late last night working, and had the Tonight Show on in the background. And who should be a guest but none other than Steve Carell. And to make it even better, they showed a clip from tonight's premiere. Of course, it didn't give away anything major, but it was still fun to watch. So staying up late has its perks.

If you think you're sick of hearing me go on and on and on about The Office now, just wait until tomorrow...

Tony (with the help of Wayne) rearranged our bedroom last night. It looks really good, and most everything fits into place the way it did before. I wish we had somewhere else to put Sasha's dog bed, though--it's just so in the way. We never even got Ivan a dog bed because we literally have nowhere to put it. I'm tempted to just get rid of Sasha's bed--the dogs seem to sleep mostly on the couch downstairs, and I know they lounge on our bed when we're not home.

The rearrangement of our room forced me to do a little straightening up, which was good. I organized my shoes and purses (I have way too many of both items) and moved a couple small things around. All in all, I like it. It will take a little getting used to, but it's a nice change of pace.

The radio is my car is on the fritz again, and I'm a little worried. It likes to just stop working on me for no reason at all--it doesn't shut off in the middle of a trip or anything, it just refuses to turn on when I turn the car on. But it usually resolves itself within 24 hours--if it's out in the morning, it's fixed when I leave work, for example. Yesterday, it didn't work in the morning, but then it also didn't work in the afternoon, and it was still out this morning. I fear this may be the beginning of the end for my precious Sentra--first this, then more major symptoms, until finally all my car's vital organs will shut down and it will go gently into that good night. My car passed the 200,000 mile mark last week, and is already over 200,300 miles (thanks to my long commute). My poor, faithful little car.

Anyway, my point was... my drive to/from work is SO boring now. I've been reduced to singing to myself, just to keep myself awake and somewhat entertained. Hey, people on the outside don't have to know my radio is broken...

Oh and the scathingly brilliant date night idea I mentioned yesterday? Yeh, nevermind, it's not going to happen. I swear, I've got the mentality of a 5-year-old when it comes to latching onto a harebrained idea and convincing myself that it actually could work. Maybe someday I'll grow up.

Suddenly the jingle, "I don't wanna grow up, I'm a Toys R Us kid..." is running through my head. Isn't it odd the weird little commercials and jingles you can remember from your childhood? When I was younger, my mom used to tape episodes of The Brady Bunch off the TV, and I can still close my eyes and see/hear some of the commercials that used to play--for Army Ants, Nosy Bears, Hooks, Push Pops, etc. Why, I wonder, did my brain feel that it was important to retain this information?

I also recently found out (thanks to my brilliant almost-a-doctor brother) that a classic Disney cartoon scene that I used to think was total nonsense actually makes perfect sense. It was an episode featuring Donald Duck, who (inexplicably) owned an orchard and was being tormented by Chip and Dale. Throughout the episode, when they finished an apple, they would hold it up and say to him, "Apple core."

To which he would reply some word I never, throughout all my childhood, understood.

Then they would ask, "Who's your friend?"

And when he replied, "Me" he would get pelted in the face with the apple core.

I thought it was just some nonsense thing that Disney made up, but it turns out it was based on a children's game. My brother sent me this Wikipedia article...

"Apple core" is a children's game and prank that was popular among schoolchildren in the United States in the middle of the 20th century.

The game proceeds as follows: a child finishes eating an apple, then displays the core for the other children to see. The child then says, "Apple core!"

One of the other children replies, "Baltimore."

The first child then responds, "Who's your friend?"

And the second child responds with the name of another child in the group.

Upon hearing the name of the "friend," the first child then throws the apple core into the face of the named child as he yells, "Not no more!"

The origin of the game, like many schoolyard games, is obscure.

Now I can sleep well at night, finally knowing that the mystery word was "Baltimore." And the miracle of YouTube allows me to bring this classic cartoon to all of you. Wait until about 3 minutes in, and you'll see the game. It also occurs a couple more times.



And now I'm all nostalgic and stuff, because, y'all, I was raised on Disney cartoons. (I once simultaneously scared and impressed a co-worker at the Disney Store with my ability to sing the entire Donald Duck theme song.) And Ari will be too, if I have any say in the matter.

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