Bearthday!

Today is my bearthday! Although I'm staying home to celebrate, I can still hang out with my friends and have a little party!

"HAPPY BEARTHDAY AJDIN!"

"Thank you!" I said.

"Okay, turn around Ajdin, and don't look until we say so!" said Uncle Tibbs. I heard some shuffling noises in the background.

"Okay, you can look! Here's your present!" he said.

I turned around.

"WOW!" I gasped. "It's... A TIME MACHINE!"

"Weeeee aaaaaall heeeeeeeelped maaaaaaake iiiiit," said Ooogie.

"Now you can go anywhere you want, any place and any time!" said Miss Feathers. "Hopefully this will make things feel less cooped up since you've mostly been indoors lately."

"I've always wanted a time machine!" I said. "And look, there's a time indicator on the front that you can select from."

"WOOF!"

"Why don't you step inside and take a look?" said Uncle Tibbs.

"Er... we had to make some adjustments to the main compartment in order to fit your snout," said Miss Feathers. "But I think the little window is a nice feature!"

"This is SO COOL you guys! Thank you beary much!" I said excitedly. "I can't wait to try it!"

Bedtime story

 "Hi Uncle Tibbs, can you read me a bedtime story?" I asked.

"Sure, Ajdin," he replied.

I handed him the book Little Bear's Visit.

"Oh, it's the Little Bear series! I always loved reading these when I was little," he said. He began to read.

"One day, Little Bear came to visit Grandmother and Grandfather Bear in their little house in the woods. This was something Little Bear liked to do. He liked to look at all the nice things, the pictures, Grandmother's flowers, Grandfather's toy goblin that jumped up and down in a jar and --"

"Uncle Tibbs," I interrupted him, "can you try reading it with more emotion? It sounds a little boring."

"Oh, uh, sure. I'll try," he said.

"Ahem... He liked to put on Grandfather's big hat and say, 'LOOK AT ME!'"

"And he liked grandmother's cooking VERY MUCH!"

"That was better, Uncle Tibbs," I said. "But even more enthusiasm! And maybe use some gestures too!"

"Bedtime story standards are high these days, huh?" he said. "Okay, I'll give it another go."

He continued reading.

"He had some BREAD and JAM, CAKE and COOKIES, MILK and HONEY, and an APPLE - MMM YUM!"

"Little Bear LAUGHED - HAHAHA - and CLAPPED his PAWS!"

He was really getting into it now.

"Add sound effects!" I said. "Costumes! Props!"

"And something inside the cave went *BUMP*. What was that? BUMP! BOO! SWOOSH! And then he was so scared that he jumped right out of his shoes and began to run. PIT-PAT PIT-PAT PIT-PAT. What was that? Something was following him! OH MY!"

"...and they lived happily ever after. THE END," he finished. "So how'd I do, Ajdin? Ajdin?"

"ZZZZZZ..."

"Aww, he's sleeping. Well... *yawn*... that was kinda tiring... *yawn*... for me, also. I think I'll just take a quick ---- ZZZZZZ..."

Good night everyone! Sweet dreams!

Mail

Today I received some mail from my friend Sprinkles. It's written on some cute bear stationery. He also included some fun stickers! The letter says that he hopes I am doing well even though things seem to be a bit crazy right now! You can say that again! Yes, I am doing fine. Thank you, Sprinkles!

Ooogie's New Job

...CONTINUED FROM HERE

After Ooogie told me about getting fired from McDonald's for being too slow, I reached out to a few contacts and was able to help him find a new job - one more suited for his natural skills and talents!

Let's see how he's doing on his first day of work.

"Hi Ooogie!"

"Hiiiii Ajdiiiiiiin."

He is a crossing guard! This is the perfect job for him!

"Pleeeeeeease stoooooop youuuuuur veeeeehicle," he said, flipping to the stop sign.

I stopped my car to let everyone cross. (I guess summer school is in session.)

"Thank you Mr. Ooogie!"

"You're the best, Ooogie!"

"Mr. Ooogie is so cool!"

The kids all seem to love him. He has a beary important job, doesn't he?

"I looooove myyyy jooooob," Ooogie said.

When everyone had safely crossed the road, he flipped over the sign.

"Goooooo sloooooow," he said.

"Bye Ooogie! See you later," I said, as I drove away, slowly of course. I'm so happy for Ooogie! I think he will do much better in this job, don't you think?

I was relieved my friend Ooogie was doing much better, but later when I got home, I saw Miss Feathers in a frenzied state.

"THEY CAN'T FIRE ME...BECAUSE I QUIT!!!" she squawked.

"Miss Feathers, what's the matter?" I had never seen her so upset.

"All I ever tried to do was to make things faster, quicker, and MORE EFFICIENT," she huffed. "And what do I get for that? Fired! Are you kidding me?!"

She had crossed out "STOP" and "SLOW" on the traffic control sign and replaced them with "GO" and "FAST".

"They said I was too fast!" she continued. "Imagine that, harumph!"

"Hmm... Miss Feathers," I said gently, "have you ever thought about working someplace where it's a good thing to be fast? Perhaps... at McDonald's?"

Ooogie gets fired

This morning, I was looking for Ooogie but could not find him anywhere. Then I saw him -- or just his shell -- in the living room.

"Hello?" I said, tapping the shell gently. "Is anyone home?"

Ooogie stuck his head out, but he looked very sad.

"Oh, what's the matter?" I asked him.

"I wasssss fiiiiired," said Ooogie.

"Oh no, I'm sorry to hear that!" I said. "From which job? I know you have several jobs."

"McDonaaaaald's," he replied.

"Oh hmm, I see." (I could kind of see why he was fired from McDonald's but I didn't say anything.)

"Well, don't worry about that. Humans get fired all the time! You've just got to find the right job for your skills and talents. And you have many!" I tried to encourage him.

"Buuuut whoooo waaaaaants to hiiiiiire sooooomeone sloooooow?" he replied.

"Ahh... hmm... now just give me a moment...." I tried to think of something, but nothing was coming to mind. There must be some type of job out there that is perfect for Ooogie... something... slow...

"AHA! I'VE GOT IT!" I said. "Ooogie, I think I have the perfect job for you!"

TO BE CONTINUED...