Upcoming Events

The following are super exciting things/events in the near and far future:

1. The new Marie Antoinette movie! I am reading Antonia Fraser's account in preparation.

2. Books... I have so much to read now and I think it is ALL going to be good

3. Libba Bray has a name for the final book in the "Great and Terrible Beauty Trilogy"... The Sweet Far Thing. Sweet. AND they are coming out with a movie for the first book.

4. Christmas... I freaking love Christmas... and since I work at a small library, they close the place down for 2 weeks... it's like I'm still in school. I get to decorate this year (since I'm not in two different places for the holidays), and that always makes things seem even more festive.

5. Cold weather. Granted, I hate the cold and winter, but that doesn't officially take place here until January, so things can suck then as far as I'm concerned (we don't need to get into how much I loathe February for multiple reasons). I love heaters and down comforters!

6. Vacations... I have plans for a Chicago trip (the only good part of February), a Colorado trip in March, and two trips in the summer... one to the southwest, and one to the Northeast (have I mentioned this in previous posts???). Even if all but one of these trips falls through, I will still be stoked about getting out of Georgia (uh oh, I'm already getting restless about this place).

7. Not being in school. I'm taking that online class and realizing that it is going to be at least a couple more years before I pursue anything else in my education. I need to relax and concentrate on my job for now.

I have more but this is an illegal post, so I need to go!

Oh so close to being unique...

HowManyOfMe.com

There are: 2 people with my name in the U.S.A. How many have your name?

Long time no post...

It's about time that I post on this thing. I have made a few obvious changes since becoming a member of blogger beta (which I think I like so far). It is definitely a work in progress though, so if you can't read many of the earlier posts, I apologize. I also never know how this thing works in Internet Explorer (for you Windows users). So please, go get yourselves the BETTER browser... Firefox.

So what has been going on in my life? I worked 50 hours this week, which was amazingly "interesting", but I had grand periods of productivity which totally made up for how tired I still am. I do have Monday AND Tuesday off this week, which will be fantastic. I have done quite a bit and have been surprisingly popular over the past few days though. I went to Medieval Times yesterday for Adrian's birthday. I've been before (with Brookwood when the band went to New York City in 1999), so I kind of knew what was going on, but I definitely forgot about all of the combat, wenches, hot black and white knights, etc. It's cheesy, but I had fun. Today I went to Piedmont Park and participated in AIDS Walk Atlanta. It was really a lot of fun, and the weather was perfect for such an occasion. I'm glad to have been a part of it.

Tomorrow and Tuesday, I am seeing even more friends, so I've felt quite loved and comforted by friendships (even though some are leaving me so soon for the great West). Sigh.

I begin my very first online course tomorrow... Fundamentals of Acquisitions... yum. Should be interesting. I am looking for a course similar to this dealing with serials (yikes).

Life is good though.

The Great Contender

*This is not meant to be a "holier than thou" post. Take it as you want, but I don't believe in preaching. Promise.*

I'm a true believer in the fact that life is best lived when there are challenges (even if I don't realize it at the time, which I NEVER do...). Okay, challenges kind of suck sometimes, but one thing is for sure; life is way more interesting when challenges are involved.

I wrote a couple entries back about my brother getting his "dream job". He called in Saturday asking what time he should come in Monday morning, and they informed him that senior management didn't approve of the position. After all of the tests and such that he went through and all of the time they made him wait (thinking that he had a job), he receives this news. It was a real blow to the ego I would imagine, but he's remarkably strong and has a good support system. He'll be back soon, and I can only hope that the lack of professionalism that this company has showed him will come back to haunt them in the future. I think later he will look back on this challenge and realize that this is making him a different, and hopefully better person.

I believe that everybody has their great contender... Somebody/something who opposes your happy normal life in an effort to force you to change for your better good. Sort of like an opponent (I realize that I am veering outside of the definition), but they're not competing with you, they're forcing you to compete with yourself by presenting challenges. Whether it is a spouse, friend, God, fate... whatever. And it can be a combination or one person/being sometimes, and another person/being another time. Somebody or something that challenges you/pisses you off to do something that you don't want to to to help you on that road to self-realization or discovery. I don't like to talk about religion much because I do view it to be personal, not to be preached. But I feel like God (and universally, not just "Christian-ly") is often my contender (I haven't really found that earthly male challenger as of yet), and has been for my brother recently as he started attending church again. I was more than happy to go with him, especially as I'm getting away from my childhood parish.

While it's difficult at the time to realize that you're being pushed to become a better person, it's good to know in retrospect that there's someone/something out there who cares enough to kick you in the ass to get you going.

Cheers to challenges and our contenders.

Friendly Reminder...

That's right bitches, it's Banned Book Week.

Good News

My brother lost his job recently (no, that's not the good news). Ever since he was a kid, he's been obsessed with cars. So, it was natural for him to enter the automobile industry (not as a seller, but as a service writer). He wasn't producing enough numbers at his most recent job though, so they had to let him go.

So naturally, it's great that he just got a job as a service writer for a fantastic car company. I'm excited for him, because he was going insane without the job, and I don't have to worry (I drive the kind of car he services) about all of the cranky, mean service writers down here anymore (I hate this company's service people in Georgia... mainly because I was babied in Bloomington by Mike).

That is all... I'm happy for my bro!

National Talk Like A Pirate Day

ARRRRGGGGHHHH!

Walk the plank!

Thanks go to Amanda for reminding me.

Various and Sundry

I have a weird name. Not very many people spell Traci with an I and not many people have the last name of Peter (without the S). I usually don't get mad when people spell my name wrong... add letters where they shouldn't, etc. But when I send out an email with my name in like 17 different places, and I still get back "dear Tracy", etc., I have to wonder...

These past days have been busy. I can finally say though that I completed my first BI session (librarians will know what this means) as a professional. It's good to get these under my belt because it helps me get to know different departments and keep up with technology. Slowly but surely I am becoming comfortable...

Being busy also means being tired. I sleep very well these days, even with my vivid dreams. I've also been getting these crazy headaches (hopefully because of Fall coming) that leave me dizzy and with blurred vision. I have great vision, but I will be stopping by some optical center in the near future to get myself a pair of glare repellant glasses (and it would be a plus if they are super cute). I stare at the computer way too much during the day.

Nothing much to report. Labor Day was fun... got to see my friend Susan (D.C. Susan, not Iowa Susan) and her 22 year old brother and friends. Last weekend I went to Justin Dexter's (Ashley Tutton's fiance--I am in their wedding) place and engaged in pre-game activities. My grandfather and his wife are visiting next weekend, which also happens to be my nephew's birthday. Life is alright and pretty uneventul, which at this time, is a very good thing.

I've been meaning to post about this fun waste of time for a while now...

Go try it! It's funny to me because I don't look like any of these people!

"There's yer trouble..."

So one really cool (and potentially dangerous) thing that sticks out about my job is the fact that I am on amazon around 90% of my work day. It's awesome because I see all of these books, but it's also scary when I realize just how much I haven't read.

I'm a big fan of all things Alice in Wonderland. Next month the guy who created There's Something About Mary is coming out with a book entitled The Looking Glass Wars. I'm pretty excited to see if it turns out well, especially since he's spent 3 years researching Lewis Carroll and such. I still don't know how I feel about Wicked (I also love The Wonderful Wizard of Oz), so I don't know how I'm going to like the new book. Meg Rosoff, an amazing author, has also come out with a new book which I have to read. I am also anticipating Libba Bray's third novel in the Great and Terrible Beauty trilogy (okay, it's not even coming out any time soon, just wishful thinking on my part). Is it obvious that I like young adult fiction?

In addition to having big eyes for books, my favorite clothing store has recently come out with their fall line. I LOVE J. Crew fall lines... it is, in my opinion, their signature season. I had to wipe the drool off of half the pages because the clothes and shoes were so beautiful. My eyes are definitely bigger than my budget.

In less materialistic news...

College football season starts this weekend!

My only non-SLIS friends in Indiana just found out that their new bundle of joy will be a girl... and a future color guard diva.

My nephew was awarded a one year modeling contract last week... interesting.

That's about it... everybody enjoy your Labor Day weekends!

Did you hear?

SAD

Mercury, Venus, Earth, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, Neptune... Ppppppp... I got nothing.

Dear Diary,

Life is crazy.

Little Miss Sunshine is a pretty sweet movie.

I will become a member of three professional library organizations in the next few weeks (and will take a super acquisitions for dummies online class).

I attempted to acquire a green thumb this weekend by planting seeds in a Harry Potter planting set. I really suck with plants.

That's all for now. I'm looking forward to one month from now!

Oh and I almost forgot...

To congratulate everybody on their jobs (library people of course)!

-Andrew is in SoCal (as is Samantha)

-Susan is working it out in the Coralville (did I spell this right) Public Library System

-Jeff is at St. Anselm in New Hampshire

-Allison just got a job at Baylor in Texas (don't mess with Texas)

-Mary Snyder and Mary Murray are both doing Instruction in PA


wOOt!

Au Revoir Childhood

I suppose that this is my last day of childhood. I start my first real-world job tomorrow and I'm feeling all of the normal pre-entrance jitters. While I'm sad to leave the school world behind (for now), I must say that I am much better off this year than I was in August 2005.

Grad school was definitely a low point in my life. It's not like I was poor at school or that I hated Indiana or anything, but things were messed up in my personal life and I made a lot of stupid decisions, mainly in my first year. I made a few key decisions though that I am very thankful for now.

Renouncing my involvement with color guard in December was probably the smartest decision that I made in Indiana. It had nothing to do with where I was teaching (teching). The activity itself though was holding me back... from I guess moving on from other things, like friendships that weren't really friendships and such, and the stupid drama and rumors that accompany the activity. By quitting then, I am now still able to appreciate it for what it was, while still holding admiration for my real friends who are still teaching and inspiring people. I think I wouldn't be that way had I not taken a break from the drama.

I learned the importance of the apology and keeping in touch with those who are true to you. This happened a couple of times last summer, as well as this past spring semester. I think I will be learning this one for a while.

I learned (0ver and over) that things don't always turn out the way you might want... no matter how much effort you put into something (this was a first for me), how good of a person you are, how much weight you lose, how smart you are, or how just or unjust the situation is. I also learned that not getting what I wanted at the time was the best thing for me, because I wouldn't want to be that stupid, shallow, jaded, or pathetic ever again... and I wouldn't want that something anymore. vague.

I learned (again) the importance of focus and the rewards that come from it.

I finally grew (and shrunk) into my body (I don't look like a 12 year old anymore). I lost 25 pounds from my last day of senior year of college to graduation day 2006. I also got rid of any blonde that I ever had in my hair.

I learned to truly appreciate my family.

I'm not saying that I am super mature now or that I have had a "self-realization" experience. I still have a long way to go, and don't know if I will ever get there. But I will say that I have taken steps in the right direction,.

Not many people read this, but thanks for being there, good or bad for the past two years. It has made me a better person.

To Sleep, Perchance to Dream

I really have some crazy dreams...I have told a few on my blog, the most vivid being the drum corps tech Andria/Voldemort baseball thing (too lazy to search through the archives to link to it). I also had a dream about marrying my ex (twice around), where after the ceremony, he informed me that we were moving to LA, and I was furious because I didn't want to move there (in the dream). I started talking to him again because of that dream (we had lost touch), which resulted in another brief rendez-vous. I really should have listened to my dream with that situation...perhaps it was a warning?

Last night was no exception to the crazy dreams. The parts that I remember didn't connect very well, but I do recall a few main points. I was teaching color guard for Brookwood and I took some of the kids (who weren't really Brookwood kids, besides Lindsay Connor...they were prep school girls from A Little Princess) to lunch at the Varsity. Well, we saw some Northview color guard girls there, and they all met and such. After a while, everybody slowly began to trickle out very quietly looking petrified. There were two rooms to the restaurant and stuff was happening in the other room. We had to escape the restaurant because something dangerous was going down (it reminded me of a bank robbery). So we did, and the girls were hyper and I had a difficult time getting them in the car...plus, a bunch of other people were stranded in the parking lot because their drivers left in panic. I had to fit them all in my trunk, which I don't really have because I drive a CRV (because the people from the ghetto and the police, which we were scared of, were coming) and take them to my house.

Well we get to my house and when we walk inside, it's this Wall Street-esque collection development department, with books and papers flying everywhere. I then go by myself to the backyard and there's the pool at my parent's old house. My parents are out there and the pool is covered. I open the cover by myself so the kids can swim, and there are tons of violets in the water...so many that the water is tinted violet in places. There was more to the dream, but the NPR radio station woke me up at 8:30am.

I don't take dreams that seriously, but I do consult a dream dictionary when they are vivid (the violets in the water were strange but absolutely the most beautiful image that I have seen in a dream thus far in life). I looked up the terms "pool", "violet" (color and flower), and the idea of "escaping". The pool and flower told me that I would have a happy marriage (ha sure) and the escape signifies prosperity and good health. Now I'm not going to take this as truth, but it sure is a fun way of making sense of the complete mess that is the back of my mind.

Don't you just love your subconscious?

Take rest; a field that has rested gives a bountiful crop. -Ovid

So I found out that I start my job on Tuesday the 15th. I was pretty excited about it because I knew that I would have an entire week off to relax by myself (well, with my dog) and become mentally prepared for what's to come. I'm finally tan now after a week in South Carolina, and will work to progress that as well this week.

My ranking is apparently faculty, assistant professor, so my first day will basically be this huge meeting for all faculty and staff with different breakout sessions and orientations ranging from 8:30am to 5:30pm. I also have a new faculty orientation that Friday, with pictures and the like. I also have to order regalia for convocation and graduation ceremonies, get my transcripts from UGA and IU, and do a ton of other stuff before next Tuesday. It will all work out though.

Don't worry though...you definitely won't be reading about my new job all the time (it must get boring if you have no clue what I am talking about), because somebody could or has already found this blog, and writing about my day to day activities is potentially dangerous. Just know that I am super excited and honored.

I finally got my degree from IU. Yay.

My mother's birthday is this week. I am making her a super nice cheesecake (that is going to take me forever) for the celebration tonight. She'll be 54. The cabinetry was installed for the built-ins yesterday (kitchen, family room, parents' bathroom). It looks great and I can't wait to see the new LCD tv when it is installed. The house is totally coming along though and it will be even more amazing after the week of the 14th when all of the new kitchen appliances, countertops, and backsplashes are installed. It definitely feels like a home now.

More later I suppose.

Working Girl

Hello all.

I have news.

I received a job offer today!

As a result of my own perseverance and a few twists of fate, I will accept the job position of Collection Development Librarian at a university in Gainesville, Georgia tomorrow. My job description sounds crazy, but I think it will be a great experience for me. I love the small academic environment.

More to come later...

B-O-R-E-D

A silly stupid survey to begin...

1. Do you drink milk? Yes

2. Do you prefer apple or orange juice? Orange Juice…I’ve given apple juice multiple chances and it just doesn’t do it for me

3. Do your computer speakers plug into the back of your computer or your monitor? I have a laptop, so neither

4. How many clocks are in your house? Not sure

5. How about the room yer in right now? Two

6. How often do you check your email? At least once a day

7. Do you live by yourself? No

8. What's the most you've ever won on a scratcher? What is a scratcher? Is that one of those toy grabber things that you put a quarter in and you can try to claw the items out? I won a few stuffed animals from those…

9. What's the nearest food to you right now? Animal cracker jar across the room

11. Do you know what a plecostamous is? No, but google says it’s a catfish

12. Have you ever watched a sunrise rise over the ocean? no

13. How many messages are in your inbox/outbox on your phone? Not sure

14. Do you prefer wooden or mechanical pencils? mechanical

15. What's on your feet right now? nothing

16. Do you have one best friend, or a lotta good friends? A few best friends

17. Snapple or SoBe? water

18. Where do you buy birthday/christmas cards? Um, hallmark?

19. What's your take on "puppy love"? I love puppies! haha

20. Do you enjoy breaking hearts? Break hearts?

21. What date/time was the last text you recieved? Not sure

22. When's the last time you sent a text? Not sure

23. Do you believe there is only one "right" religion? Not at all

24. What's your favorite planet, besides this one? Neptune…it’s so pretty

25. Does anything special happen for you on March 15th? Ides of March

26. If you could get back in touch with one person you've lost touch with, who would it be? My best friend from freshman year of college

27. What type of internet connection do you use? DSL…boo

28. Do you vote for city-related issues? no

29. Do you say 'ya'll', 'you guys', 'dudes', or something else when addressing more than one friend at a time? Well dude is awesome, but I say both y’all and you guys

30. Would you want marijuana legalized if it meant alcohol would be illegal? I don’t really drink or smoke, so I wouldn’t care

31. Have you ever been to the Vatican? no

32. Have you ever waved at someone who was waving at you, only to realize they were waving at someone else? Yes, hasn’t everybody

33. What did you do? Get over it

34. How many remote controls are in your house, and what are they for? A lot…TV, ceiling fan, stereo, etc.

35. Do you mainly use use your house phone or your cell phone? cell

36. How many 2005 calenders are in your house? none

37. Do you take baths or showers? both

38. Do you take quizzes in magazines? Not really

40. Do you buy bananas when they're green so they won't go bad as fast? Yes, they are only good that way anyways

41. Do you do anything for a bad sunburn? I rarely get sunburnt

42. Do use mouthwash? If so, what kind? Yes, Listerine whitening

43. What noises reach your ears right now? My TV and the one downstairs as well

44. Have you ever been to Grand Canyon? No, but I really want to go

45. Have you ever been to a national park (i.e. Yellowstone, Yosemite, etc)? Lots…I have a goal to visit all the Nat. parks in the country

46. How old are your parents? 54 (both)

47. Does anyone have the keys to your heart? no

48. Have you ever had to run for your life? no

49. Is there an empty place in your heart? sure

50. Have you ever been to a family reunion? yes

51. Have you ever scraped a pipe? Um no

52. Do you prepare soup in the microwave or on the stove? both

53. Is it sunny out right now? yes

54. Do you have a catnip plant in your house? no

55. Do you use surge protectors? yes

56. Do you pay attention to the stock market? no

57. Do you take precautions against contracting West Nile Virus? no

58. Do you meditate? no

59. If your lover cheated on you and profusely apologized, would you accept them back into your life? Not sure

60. Do you eat carbs? yes

61. If you could be one animal for the rest of your life, what would you pick? dog

62. Are you the kinda person who will search the entire room for the remote because you don't wanna change it on the TV? no

63. Has your insurance gone up because of something on your DMV record? no

64. Have you ever gone too work/school drunk? no

65. Is it all about YOU? um right

66. Are you allergic to any insect bites? no

67. Are you allergic to any kind of food/medicine? Pumpkin seeds!

68. Have you ever swam in Lake Tahoe? no

69. If you could hug one person right now, who would it be? Not sure

70. Are you in debt? From grad school, but that’s it

71. When you say "often" do you pronounce the "T" or leave it silent? Say the “t”

72. If you could have a plane ticket to anywhere right now, where would you go? Greece

74. How many pairs of socks do you own? Like 15 or something

75. How often do you do laundry? Once a week

76. What do you think of Arnold Schwarzenegger? eh

77. Do you own your own car, pink slip and all? Not yet…will soon though

78. Has anyone ever given you jewelry on Christmas? yes

79. Do you count down the days till anything? Not now




And a couple of other things...

-I'm going to Brookwood's Band Camp at the end of the month (I know I said I would stop doing color guard, but Brookwood is well worth coming out of retirement for just this once...plus I get to spend the week with one of my best friends, and I don't have to choreograph or make design decisions because I'm not really on staff, yay!). And don't forget hanging out with Brett!

-My room is painted. It is an awesome green apple color. I totally proved my mother's insecurities about the color wrong, because she loves it. I now officially feel settled.

Doctors Remarks

Some of these are too funny!

1. A man comes into the ER and yells, "My wife's going to have her baby
in the cab!" I grabbed my stuff, rushed out to the cab, lifted the
lady's dress, and began to take off her underwear. Suddenly I noticed
that there were several cabs -and I was in the wrong one. Submitted by
Dr. Mark MacDonald, San Antonio, TX.


2. At the beginning of my shift I placed a stethoscope on an elderly and
slightly deaf female patient's anterior chest wall. "Big breaths," I
instructed. "Yes, they used to be," replied the patient. Submitted by
Dr. Richard Byrnes, Seattle, WA


3. One day I had to be the bearer of bad news when I told a wife that
her husband had died of a massive myocardial infarct. Not more than five
minutes later, I heard her reporting to the rest of the family that he
had died of a "massive internal fart." Submitted by Dr. Susan Steinberg,
Manitoba , Canada


4. During a patient's two week follow-up appointment with his
cardiologist, he informed me, his doctor, that he was having trouble
with one of his medications "Which one?" I asked. "The patch. The nurse
told me to put on a new one every six hours and now I'm running out of
places to put it!" I had him quickly undress and discovered what I hoped
I wouldn't see. Yes, the man had over fifty patches on his body! Now,
the instructions include removal of the old patch before applying a new
one. Submitted by Dr. Rebecca St. Clair, Norfolk, VA


5. While acquainting myself with a new elderly patient, I asked, "How
long have you been bedridden?" After a look of complete confusion she
answered..."Why, not for about twenty years - when my husband was
alive." Submitted by Dr. Steven Swanson, Corvallis, OR


6. I was caring for a woman and asked, "So how's your breakfast this
morning?" "It's very good, except for the Kentucky Jelly. I can't seem
to get used to the taste" the patient replied. I then asked to see the
jelly and the woman produced a foil packet labeled "KY Jelly." Submitted
by Dr. Leonard Kransdorf, Detroit, MI


7. A nurse was on duty in the Emergency Room, when a young woman with
purple hair styled into a punk rocker Mohawk, sporting a variety of
tattoos, and wearing strange clothing, entered. It was quickly
determined that the patient had acute appendicitis, so she was scheduled
for immediate surgery. When she was completely disrobed on the operating
table, the staff noticed that her pubic hair had been dyed green, and
above it there was a tattoo that read, "Keep off the grass." Once the
surgery was completed, the surge on wrote a short note on the patient's
dressing, which said, "Sorry, had to mow the lawn." Submitted by RN no
name


AND FINALLY!!!............. ..

8. As a new, young MD doing his residency in OB, I was quite embarrassed
when performing female pelvic exams. To cover my embarrassment I had
unconsciously formed a habit of whistling softly. The middle-aged lady
upon whom I was performing this exam suddenly burst out laughing and
further embarrassing me.

I looked up from my work and sheepishly said, "I'm sorry. Was I tickling
you?" She replied, "No doctor, but the song you were whistling was, "I
wish I was an Oscar Meyer Wiener." Dr. wouldn't submit his name

Travels

Well after a week of crazy amounts of driving and riding in a plane, I am safely home and ready to enjoy the quiet life again.

Quincy/St. Louis was great. I got to see a good portion of my mother's family. I went to the fairly new Lincoln library and museum in Springfield, Illinois on Monday. It was pretty cool and engaging, especially for people like me, who don't exactly enjoy the Civil War time period. On Sunday evening, we had a traditional fireworks show out at the farm in which both my father and brother (and myself I guess) will eventually inherit portions. My brother used to lead the fireworks shows, but since he hasn't attended in a while, a friend of the family spends around 400 dollars on fireworks, and sets off some amazing things. The fireworks which are now considered "dinky" were once our grande finale. It's pretty cool. On the 4th, my parents and I stayed in a hotel in St. Louis and watched around 10 different professional shows at different points on both the Mississippi and Missouri Rivers, which was also cool.

DC was also fun. Adrian and I did a ton...a tour at the White House, two Smithsonian Museums, Jazz in the Park, followed our friend to various bars and restaurants with senate workers, the Holocaust Museum, Library of Congress (see my favorite quote below) Howard University, Georgetown, and a melodramatic, but highly amusing ghost tour in Old Town Alexandria. I also got to briefly see an old college buddy...dating way back to freshman year (yay Hagan!). Parts of the trip were stressful, but things came together in the end and we're back in one piece.

Overall, I'm glad to be back, not eating out so much, and finally beginning to put stuff together at the new house (painting and carpeting the room this week!).

And yay for Lauren finally being in Gwinnett!