Some stuff I just have to show...

I can't believe I am writing again so quickly, but I did have a few things to say...

First off, one of my favorite books of this year, Looking for Alaska has just won the Printz award. For those of you who don't know what that is, it's the award for outstanding young adult literature, presented at the American Library Association's Mid-winter meeting every year. Very cool. Read the book.

I also have acquired a few pictures recently that I would like to share...

The plant in the silver pot has been with me since I have moved up north. I have killed it almost three times. I recently acquired the plant in the green pot. They are my babies, since I don't have pets. Their friends Snouty, Alice, and Mr. McCheese all requested to be in the photo as well. I know what you must be thinking...but I live alone (and love it).


Here are a couple of pictures from New Years...they are self-explanatory. The girl is one of my best friends, Lauren, and the boy is John. Kelly (a boy, Lauren's boyfriend), was also present for the evening.


If you read my blog, you know I love my dog. This picture has been on my desktop and I think he looks sad. My dad tried to cheer me up by sending the picture below...


He kind of looks like he is smiling.

Finally, if you know me at all, and went to UGA with me, you'd know why I love this picture....yesssss.


That is all.

Patience has its limits. Take it too far, and it's cowardice.

-George Jackson

Very true...either give up or be agressive

This past week was excellent. Besides the fact that the week only lasted three days, things were just wonderful overall. I finally found a client for my Web design class. Dr. Rosenbaum sent out an e-mail about this SLIS grad who has 8 libraries in Wyoming in need of new Web sites. Since Wyoming is my favorite state, I had to take up that opportunity. I'm totally excited about it. It's kind of sparked my interest in travel again. I hope I get to travel a bit this summer. I'm making a list of all of these national parks (like this and this) that I have to see...and there are blueberries and lobster to eat in Maine. Anyways...

My grandmother turns 80 this week. My grandparents visited my parents last weekend. My brother, who is quite the wise guy, decided to put a grand total of 80 candles on her cake, as observed in the following picture:


This leads me into my next topic...I have only one free weekend in February. Normally I am not the biggest fan of February. The past two years have been horrible in the frigid month (well last year was just horrible in general), and I've just gained a sort of pessimistic attitude for February. Well this year, I'm going to Chicago for shopping with my aunts and cousin (possibly one of the best traditions ever) on the 4th. John is probably coming up on the 10th (and he has proven that he actually comes to see me when he says he will)...with a possible three hour road trip to Waffle House-the rea one (the things we do for Waffle House). The trip will depend on whether or not Erik visits Susan though. I go to Quincy, the town where I completed my internship this summer on the 24th. My grandmother won some merit award for the town, so a good portion of the family (including my parents!) is travelling for the ceremony. So I have a lot to look forward to and keep me occupied during an otherwise nasty and yucky month.

One sad piece of news did reach me this week. Apparantly, the business is getting rid of Vanilla Coke. I only allow myself one coke (coke meaning soda in general for the mid-western readers out there) per week, but I love that stuff. Oh well, can't win them all.

I am sending off the first resume of the job-hunting season this week, so wish me luck.

Board games

Being from Georgia, it amazes me when schools don't declare MLK day as a holiday. Luckily, IU is not one of them, so I had the day off. It has been nice, except for the ella server breakdown, which means I am unable to work on an html tables assignment...or rather see the results of my coding...very annoying.

This semester will definitely be different from the past three. I am at school more, because I work at the library more. I'm also not driving to Brazil three times a week. It's different, but nice, and much more economical.

I had a great weekend. John drove from Athens, Georgia to visit me, which was very sweet. Saturday evening, Susan and I hosted a cocktail/board game party at my place. Being the insane ocd planner that I am, I had a layout of different game tables organized. Of course the 11 people (everybody we invited!...and all that can fit in my miniscule apartment) opted to play one game at a time in the living room...everything from Apples to Apples to Cranium. Overall, it was a very successful and fun night. In the future, I am looking forward to having a larger place in which to entertain...because I hate messes mingling with parties. Sunday I got to go to my favorite restaurant here (Snow Lion), and today John left and I finally got to my homework, which minus the ella incident, has successfully been completed.

Tomorrow (or this morning rather) it's back to the grind...work work work, school school, job searching, finalizing references...

Nothing much to say...I think I am going to wait until there is actually something interesting to say before I post again.

"mmm that it's all for the best...of course it is"

So my last semester of grad school has officially began. I can't believe I have been up here so long. It seems almost impossible that I have gotten this far, given the fact that I was completely miserable last year (and not just because I was in Indiana). Anyways, today was interesting. I had my Information Architecture for the Web (Web Design) class. The professor really knows his stuff. While some of the information he was giving completely went over my head, I still remained interested...which is a good sign. I'm glad I am only taking two classes this semester, since this one will definitely take up most of my time. Tomorrow I have my library automation class...hmmm.

I started my new job today...well I still work in the same place, I just have an added 10 hours of working on this specific project. Apparantly IU bought this collection from this man named Gaitoz in the 1970s. It's basically boxes and boxes of folklore books, journal articles, photographs, and everything else under the sun, from this one guy's collection. Most of the items are in french, which is good for me. The collection is going to get digitized since it is in such disrepair, and we are trying to index it before it gets sent to the appropriate place. That's where I get to help out. I am coming in kind of late, since a couple of other people were working on it last semester, but it's better pay and good experience. I also have my normal job working for Charla, with the potential for more hours, if Molly goes to the poli sci librarian. Basically I am at work WAY more than class this semester.

Break was wonderful. I had a wonderful time with my family, friends, and dog. I don't think I can remember a time in the recent past that I have been this happy. I'm still happy even up here in Bloomington. I got rid of the crappy things that used to weigh down my life. I thought I would be empty without them, but there have been plenty of things and people to fill the void spaces. I just like being optimistic not only about my future, but also my present.

Chuck Norris does not sleep. He waits.

Those Chuck Norris things honestly crack me up. Sometimes I wish I could roundhouse kick people too...put them in shape...but then I start thinking about the old Nickelodeon show called Roundhouse, and my mind is on yet another tangeant...anyways.

It's been a while, and things have been great. As I look back on 2005, I realize some amazing things happened. I got to walk around Stonehenge (no stanchions holding me back), with my shoes off (only for a second, it was cold) to feel the lines of power. I got to go shopping in Chicago. I finally got to see Crater Lake. I started working in libraries. I finally became comfortable in Indiana. It's too bad a lot of crap happened...this year had a lot of good qualities, and ended wonderfully.

Christmas was great. I am truly blessed for having my family. I did a lot of shopping, which normally doesn't happen. Retail truly is therapy...I just can't get used to it. A few days ago, my boss from collection development called me. She said that the project that I was originally hired for is finally going to start in January. They want to work me 10 hours a week, on a higher pay. In addition, she wants me to work 10 hours of the same job I had the previous semester, on my current wage. So I get 20 hours a week of work, making more money than I did last semester...and I don't have to drive an hour and 15 minutes one way, so it will all go to me (minus taxes, etc) and not my credit card bill for gas. I'm also glad I don't have to pick up a library job that pays like 5 bucks per hour. I am okay paying my dues, but it will be nice to actually be making money while I am here.

New Years was probably the best I have had in my life. I cooked dinner for my parents, nephew, and Krista. I then went to Paige and Jason's for an hour, which sucked because I couldn't stay long. I then make my final trek to Athens, where I spent the rest of the night with John, and Lauren and Kelly. We were in East West Bistro (my favorite bar in Athens) when the clock struck midnight. I got tipsy off of one long island (the strongest and grossest one ever) and was good to go for the rest of the night. The only thing that sucked about the night was the lack of godiva martinis due to the absence of ice cream...my favorite drink ever. It was nice to get to hang out with Lauren again though and talk about cool kids books and play Harry Potter Scene It (which I never won...I don't pay attention to the movies well enough).

This week is pretty busy. I'm going to try to see Danny and Adam, Krista and Ashley, Krista and Lauren (two separate occasions), John, my family, and Adrian and Paige before I leave. Luckily, I will be back in March for spring break (does anybody want to go to Florida with me?), so no 4 month absences this time. This is my first visit back here that I've truly been happy. It's nice.