Friday, February 16, 2007

Easy on the Eyes





Colorado was beautiful (hence "easy on the eyes" title). I've been there twice before, but only in the summer. The sunny winter days are equally nice as the summer days though, and any place that can motivate me to want to snowshoe in the future is definitely right up my alley. I'm excited about exploring this place more over the next few months. More pictures to come.

Speaking of easy on the eyes...

So, I've finally started Jane Eyre. I LOVE it so far (only 5 chapters in). I have no initial weariness towards the content or characters, like I did with Pride and Prejudice (please note that P & P is NOW one of my favorite books... it just took a while for me to appreciate it). Perhaps it is the Victorian time period. Perhaps, I'm just older and able to understand what's going on better. There's something kick ass about a ten year old girl telling off her cruel aunt and sticking up for herself. A lot of full grown women can't do that TODAY. I'm looking forward to my first weekend home since January. Even while my grandparents are visiting, I can sit back, relax, and read (and eat ribs to celebrate my brother's 29th birthday). It's a beautiful thing.

Thursday, February 08, 2007

"The nights were long and cold and scary, can we live through February?"

-Dar Williams

I have some updates. Granted, they're nothing major, but it's something to occupy my time.

First of all February.... I have actually enjoyed the first 8 days. February 3rd and 8th (today) are usually the most difficult, as they are the birth and death days respectively of my Grandmother. She died very young (60) of a brain aneurysm (my youngest grandparent in fact) in 1993, and it still pains me that she is gone, especially considering that she lived a rough life. I'm sure she's chilling up in Heaven though, so I'm cool just being able to remember her.

This past weekend was the annual girls time in Chicago. My mom enjoyed her first time (not to Chicago, but on this particular trip). I spent $40 on chocolate for us, but overall, stayed well within my budget. The only downside to this trip was the COLD WEATHER. I completely forgot what it was like to be really cold. Taxis were taken all weekend, as even my weather savvy aunts could not handle it.

Work is starting to die down from the busyness that it was over the past week. Last Monday, one of the Academy (the boarding high school for girls) teachers called asking for some bibliographic instruction sessions (teaching library stuff) for four of her English classes. I spent two days preparing lesson plans for two U.S. Lit. classes, and two general literature classes. I did half of the classes last Wednesday. Thursday, there was ice on the roads. They canceled school (typical Georgia), but we had to come in for a few hours. I finally completed the other half of classes today. The scavenger hunts (for books) went over well... well, mainly because I gave them candy. I have a definite respect for Instruction Librarians though... with all of the potential technology failures and classroom reception... it's so stressful. I like my collection development bubble, but am glad to be getting the experience, and working with high schoolers again now that I don't teach color guard anymore (thank God).

This weekend, I'm boarding yet another plane... this time to Colorado. I'm excited to see Jon and Ft. Collins, which I haven't visited since I was 8. Far too many future plans are taking place between us... it's kind of scary, but in a good way.

Susan, my buddy from graduate school, is coming to town in April for the ARLIS/NA conference. I get to spend a day with her, so I am excited (plus a possible camping trip to Utah in August woo hoo).

Did you guys hear about Anna Nicole Smith? Very odd...

Oh and book updates (how could I forget). I am currently reading The Book Thief, which is VERY good. It's narrated by death and set during World War II, which is a perfectly dreary February book. Next up is The Illustrated Jane Eyre. I am a Jane Eyre virgin (I know, how did that happen), so I am very excited about beginning my classics promise to myself with this book. After Jane Eyre, I will FINALLY get to Eragon and Eldest (I even bought this limited edition)... I have to read some form of fantasy at least once a month.

Alright, that's all you're getting out of me for a while. Happy and hopefully healthy and safe Februarys.

Tuesday, January 30, 2007

I'm working, really.

I always steal stuff from Amanda (she actually has an interesting blog).

Here is what I look like everyday in the library. I even have a dachshund following me around all the time...


Yahoo! Avatars

Sunday, January 28, 2007

On the Road Again...

Hello readers (I really hate the word blogosphere, or well, blog in general).

I hope everybody is surviving winter, from my friends in snowy Colorado and New Hampshire, to my friends in sunny Florida and Southern California.

Georgia has been quite agreeable. If we do ever get anything bad, it's usually an ice storm. Luckily the ice has avoided the area thus far, making me very happy. Humidity mixed in with cold temperatures, however, are not pleasant. People think that Indiana is humid, when I'd take 20 degree weather in Indiana over 40 degree weather in Georgia any day. Alright, enough about the weather.

I'm invading the mid west (it's been almost 7 months) this weekend. I know I talk/write about it wayyy too much, but I love the annual Chicago trip and hanging out with my aunts and cousin. My mom is joining us this year, so that should be a nice addition. I have to keep telling myself that I have way too many things to save for, and to NOT buy shoes and clothes. Only chocolate.

The weekend of the 10th, I'm going to Colorado to visit Jon. I haven't been to Colorado in 2 and 1/2 years, and never during the winter, so I am super excited (in addition to seeing Jon of course). I should be out there monthly from now on, and I'm looking forward to exploring the amazing nature (no mountain lions please) out there. I was so skeptical about the whole long distance thing because I've had really horrible experiences with guys in the past. Luckily, Jon lives somewhere really cool (not to mention that Jon is just a great guy in general), so I am enjoying the long distance much more than originally thought. Please don't snow!

My grandparents are coming to visit the weekend after that, mainly to see their great grandson, but to also see us. I love my grandparents, but it's difficult to watch them age. My grandmother just experienced some crazy eye surgery. She's lucky that she can still see. My grandfather got a case of gout a few years ago, and it's affecting his movement. Despite all of this, they are still very healthy (my grandmother is 81 and my grandfather turns 80 this year). I'm more worried about their minds (my grandmother has her master's in Education and my grandfather has his doctorate in biology) and dementia and such (particularly with my grandmother). That is far more heartbreaking than watching them physically degrade.

All of this is occurring in my least favorite month, February. I thought that I was going to beat February's ass last year, but it definitely took me down with vengeance mid-month. This year, I'm going to try to go with the flow and try not to remember that my only deceased grandparent died during this month, that any sort of break up, spat, whatever with a guy happened during this month, that multiple friends had different personal break-downs during this month, that it's so freaking cold and dreary during this month, etc. I hope to gain some sort of positive feeling towards February this year, not only for myself, but for others as well.

I've been reading a string of teen-y novels (besides the fact that I really like YA lit., we just moved our teen books out of the children's collection into a collection of it's own, so I've been doing "research") lately, only to start my classics promise when I finish the last traveling pants novel on which I am currently reading. More on that later.

It might be a while before I update again (maybe not), so everybody have a safe, and hopefully joyous start to February!

Monday, January 22, 2007

Choose Your Own Adventure

Does anybody remember those books as a kid? I used to read my brother's collection obsessively. My favorite book was one about Stonehenge. I think it was instrumental in launching my obsession with that place actually, so seeing it and actually being able to put my arms around the stone a couple of years ago was fantastic.

Anyways, I feel like my life is becoming one of those books... not that I'm going to die around the next corner (although I suppose that's always possible), but I get that same excited feeling about it as when I read the books as a kid. For once though, I feel like I am making good choices and not warping myself into something that I'm not to fit onto some other path. We are ultimately, the choices that we make, so why not make good ones (after you've learned from the bad of course).

With the exception of a brief trip in December, I really haven't left Georgia. This has felt incredibly confining as I am used to travel. Even as a college student, I would get away a lot for various color guard events. My last semester I drove/flew out of state every single weekend for four months. Even in graduate school, I would go visit my relatives in Illinois or travel again with color guard, or go home to Georgia. I love being home (I am a major homebody) but sometimes I need a change of scenery to appreciate home more. Luckily, I am out once a month, every month until August this year, starting in a couple of weeks. I can't tell you how much I am looking forward to it all.

So what have I been reading lately? Right now I'm into a book called The astonishing life of Octavian Nothing: traitor to the nation (young adult). It's a two volume series about this African American boy in the Revolutionary War period dealing with slavery and experimentation (experimentation at first meaning education on both his and his mother's parts, then cruelty). It's an interesting read because you can tell that the author is trying to incorporate key revolutionary events into the story. They also have an interesting thing called a Pox party, where guests come for weeks and they infect themselves with small pox and all get sick together. yum. It kind of reminds me of some Edgar Allan Poe story with colored rooms (okay it's been about ten years) and people being sick... anybody? Oh and as I was posting the link, I found out that this book won the National Book Award (EDIT: also named a Printz honor book today).

I'm so excited to hear about the Newbery, Caldecott, and Printz winners... coming soon!

Well, I am going to go enjoy sitting in bed (as my dog sleeps at its foot) for a few more minutes before getting ready to go out to lunch with friends. Have a great week!

Sunday, January 14, 2007

My Secret Life, Well, According to Jon...

I've been having trouble thinking of things to blog about as of late. There's really nothing to talk about except books (which is always a good subject for me, but I realize that 3 out of the 4 people who read this blog get bored with book talk) and where I'm going to travel. I refuse to get too involved in politics or issues that kind of matter because who knows who can actually read this thing and use it against me someday.

So I'm telling my boyfriend about this dilemma of mine. He's super creative and decided to write an entry for me, as if it was written by me. I must note that he loves to mock me for being a super dork (mainly because he's one too and can do that without it being demeaning). I must also note, and you should get this unless you're really stupid, that this story is COMPLETE fiction, and that some of the things that I say or do, I don't necessarily agree with in real life (ex. I don't catalog books and I don't database my kitchen utensils, and I would never call my dog a "rat dog", and I don't plan on leaving my job anytime soon for Colorado). Also note that the agency listed that I supposedly work for is very similar to a popular Harry Potter fan site. But here it is. I hope it is at least a bit more interesting than my previous entries.

I realize my life is not very interesting….in fact I know it is not. Why I write in this blog is beyond me. I guess it is habit, or maybe I want to believe that somebody out there actually cares about what I do with my life. Scratch that, I know there is somebody out there that cares. Unfortunately, I don’t have the luxury, the mean or the will to actually find out, say for those who comment on this blog. Is my life really worth dialogging on a monthly, no, weekly basis? I can hear my inner monologue as I write this. A witty voice inside my head reading what I write. I think I will make her British. Yeah, a cheeky Brit girl is my inner voice. I find that people respond more to elegant accents, especially one that uses fun words such as, arse and shag.


Dear god, I have just turned this entry into Bridget Jones’s diary. I am not some middle aged, lonely, British woman looking for a lover, I promise…... Where was I? Oh yes, my life. As you can imagine the life of a bibliophile, as exciting as it sounds, is not in the least exciting as I want to imagine it. As a librarian, I am limited to daily tasks such as cataloging and checking out books and the even more mundane, ordering books. If my love of books wasn’t so great, I would think that I’d hate my job. But being that my love for books is tremendous, I absolutely love what I do! I just wish I could have a change of venue, somewhere less like Georgia, and more like…let’s see…Colorado, yeah, Colorado!


I find that it is a rare thing that one actually enjoys what he does. When I am not ordering books for the small university library, I so HAPPILY work in; I spend my time reading young adult novels, and databasing my cooking utensils. Yes, I know what you are thinking how can anyone live like this? Well, unless they live with their parents, no one can live like this! As exciting as it sounds, that is my life… well until recently. What I am not telling my readers is my real life. Yes, you read correctly. Believe it or not, all this academic book-loving-bull-shite I so lovingly pretend to enjoy is nothing but a farce… A debauchery if you will. You see, I belong to a group so secret, so underground, that the secret government agencies don’t even know that we exist. Before I go, on I must warn you that what you are about to read, you will not remember once you are finished. In fact, it is impossible to remember this entry no matter how many times you read it. That is because this entry contains a higher power… This entry is enchanted. Those who look at it will remember the words when they are reading it, but as soon as they look away, they instantly forget its contents. It won’t even be a distant memory. It would be as if it never existed. I am sorry to disappoint you, but this enchantment is a must. My organization can not afford to be compromised. So enjoy this while you read it because you will never hear it again…


You are probably asking yourself why, and more importantly, how I became a part of an organization so secret that reading about it erase your memory, and why would I risk writing about it on the internet. I write about it for my protection. So, if I shall have my memory erased as well, my story will never be lost… So I can be assured that somewhere, someone, even if it is for a brief instant, will know who I am and what I was. Hell, I may even stumble across this and read about myself, a self that does not exist anymore. There may be some off chance that if this is the case this entry may jump start my mind allowing me to remember my alternative life.


Interestingly enough it was my love of books that brought me to this organization, collectively known as the Muggle Net. The Muggle Net is an organization dedicated to the survival and secrecy of witches and wizards. We are a liaison, between the world of magic and the world of humanity. We are the keepers of secrets that pre-date time. We have operatives in every branch of government and on every police force. The MugNet, works behind the scenes to protect a secret so immense that penetrates every part of life. That déjà-vous feeling you get…..that is a side-effect of coming in contact with a magical entity. The MugNet keeps tabs on the non magical folk that have in some way knowingly or unknowingly come in contact with it. You can imagine what hysteria there would be if everybody knew that magic was real. My job is dangerous. I, myself, have been on the receiving end of spells and charms dealt by those who worship the dark arts. If it was not for my protection charms, who knows what state I would be in.

As I have said before, it was my love of books that led me to join Muggle Net. One series of books in particular, the Harry Potter series is what lead me to the organization. You may think that Harry Potter is fiction. You’d be wrong. Harry is real and so are his adventures. I fact the whole cast is real. J.K. Rowling is a Muggle Net informant. Her mission is to write of wizards and witches and present them as fiction in order to help strengthen the Muggle Net cause. Her writings have helped Muggle Net bring only best brightest non magical folk to our organization. It is because of her that I believe and that I am part of MugNet. Let me explain my story.

The day that changed my life started as usual, my damn dog decided to annoy the crap out of me that morning until I woke up and put him on the bed. Then, after two minutes he decided to jump down, only to want to get back up two minutes later…….and so it went….That stupid little rat dog… all I wanted to do was sleep!!!!! I was dead tired from the day before. I had a hard day of ordering books at the library followed by a night of extensive databasing. I am proud to report that my spatulas have properly numbered and filed away. Needless to say the antics my dog was pulling that morning was undesirable. Unbeknownst to me there was a reason for his eccentric behavior. Dogs have been known to sense things that a person can not feel. Of course at the time I did not know this, I just thought He was being a pest. I finally managed to drag myself out of bed since my dog would not let me sleep. I wrapped my self in my lovely soft on sale for $7 robe, and made my way downstairs to see what the entire ruckus was about. I was startled to find that my parents had been what seemed to be frozen in time. As a matter of fact, the world around me seemed paused. My mother seemed to be in the middle of pouring herself a cup of coffee. The stream of liquid resembled a frozen brown waterfall with a billow of soft mist dead in midair. My father dressed for work was halfway out the door in mid-stride. My heart beat rapidly and I wiped my eyes hoping that when I removed my hands from my face I would wake up to find the normal routines of life moving again. But to no avail, my attempt to wake up was futile. I stood there mystified in my PJ’s. My dog came running up to me and bit the cuff of my pant leg, his attempt to pull me into the living room. Why had he not been frozen? I would soon find out.


One thing I did notice was the sweet smell of pipe tobacco. It permeated the entire house. My parents did not smoke a pipe. Where was it coming from? As soon as I noticed, a voice billowed out across the room and directly toward me.


“Are ya jist goin’ to stand there all day, or ya goin’ to come enjoy a wee bit of pumpkin juice with me?”


How did he know I was there? I had not made a noise. I cautiously made my way into the foyer adjacent to the living room. I poked my head around the door frame. On the sofa was a rather plump man with frizzy white hair and beard wearing very small round spectacles and reading a rather large dusty and worn out book. His clothes were as tattered and disheveled as his hair. He seemed fully engrossed with what ever he was reading. On the coffee table in front of him sat a rather large silver tray with a complete tea service. Interestingly enough, none of the pieces in the service matched. They weren’t even all silver. I stared inquisitively at the whole scene. Without breaking his concentration from his tome he said:


“Well, come on in lass. You got nottin’ to be afraid of.”


“Who are you? And what happened to my parents?” I asked


“Oh, I wooldn’t worry yer self aboot them. They’ll be ookay. Me name is Billings, Archibald Billings at your service. Now come here and talk wit me.”


For some strange reason I was not afraid. I actually felt like I could trust him. By this time my dog had made his way to the sofa and jumped right up on Billings’ lap. Amazingly he did not bark or growl at Billings. Those of you who know my dog know that he does not like anyone.


“Ya got ya self a mean little tike there.”


“Yeah, I am very surprised by his behavior. He never takes kindly to strangers.”


“Oh, I jist ave a way with animals, that’s all. Any way I bet your wonderin’ why I’m here. Am a right lass?”


“Are you a wizard?”


“Aye, you are a bright one. I am a wizard. In fact I lead a of a group a muggles that are very special. Like ya self lassy.”


“Muggles? For real?”


“Aye. Believe it or not thems story you read, they’re real.”


“Real!!! You mean………”


“Aye, every bit o them. And cause ya believe in them is why I’m here this morn. I want you ya to join me group. Will ya be a part of the Muggle Net?”


“Muggle Net, what is that?”

Billings poured me a cup of juice and explained to me the inner workings of magic and wizardry. He told that witches and wizards relied on muggles more times than not, especially when in trouble. He told me that from this point on, my life would change forever and the Muggle Net must never be talked about to any one.

“What ya say lass? Ya in?”

I thought about it for a moment. I don’t why I said yes. Maybe it was because I wanted to believe in something, I wanted to be special. All my life I dreamed of something better, something more. I knew there was more to this world and it had just come full force into my living room. I wanted to be part of something. Change my life? Yes it did. Do I regret my decision? Hell no. Sure dodging curses and always looking behind my back gets old, but so does databasing my cooking utensils. I am a part of Muggle Net. You know what that says? Elite! Life is more than just living…

Hold on………….Flash traffic on the Muggle Net Band. I gotta go! Official Hogwart’s business. Thank you for reading this. I am glad that you have gotten to know me. I am truly sorry that you will never remember me. Such is the life a Muggle Net agent. Maybe I’ll see you in the future… too bad you won’t know who I am…

Obliviate!

Sunday, January 07, 2007

WHY am I here???

Well, I'm in the blogosphere for a reason...

Anyways, I'm working on a Sunday. It kind of worked out well. It's one of the girl's, who typically works weekends, birthday today and the third person who used to work weekends no longer works here, and I need to make up for a day that I need off in early February (yay Chicago)... so it worked out. Very few people are here and I am advancing nicely on my prep work for the serials evaluation study that I will complete in March. I'm going to break some hearts with all of that information!

I'm actually okay with having such a flip-flop schedule at this time in my life. I have a "set" work schedule but it rarely works out that way with school holidays, times that I need to fill in for other workers, vice versa, etc. My commitments are minimal... travel dates are about it. I don't have a pet (well I do, but it's technically my parent's), my friends are usually working or available when I am, Jon lives about 1,800 miles away from me, etc. If there was ever a time to have a weird schedule, (besides college and graduate school) this is it and I'm glad to help people out when I can.

ANYWAYS, I don't really have much to update. I'm currently trying to finish up Inkspell (there really will be a third one of these... uggh) on work meal breaks, and reading Margaret Atwood's The Robber Bride. I had problems understanding her writing at first, but I am enjoying it now (I'm about 150 pages into it). The characters are all have really different personalities, but some of the same emotions. She also only gives out crucial information bits at a time, which is good because it makes me want to read more to figure it all out. I also acquired a lot of classics over the break and have decided to read them in between library-loaned current books of my liking. I think I will like the classics more this time around because a. I'm not reading them for school b. I'm not reading them in French and c. I'm older, and therefore, should be able to understand them a bit better (well, maybe). I'm pretty excited for my 2007 "read" list to start accumulating.

Well, that's about it. Besides some way-too-far-away-to-discuss-here travel plans for summer 2008, I've been pretty boring. Maybe I'll update later today with a fun quiz or something. For now, I'm back to the wonderful world of print serials.

Tuesday, January 02, 2007

Happy 2007!

I hope everybody's 2007 is off to a great start.

My break from work is coming to an end. Tomorrow I start back into the normal routine. Luckily it's only a three day week, so it won't be too depressing.

These past two weeks have been great. Christmas was wonderful, especially Christmas Eve dinner. The lobster was fantastic and the company, even more fantastic. For the first time this year, I also experienced Christmas dinner, which was equally as wonderful.

My parents fell ill with a stomach virus that is still affecting my father to this day. I have been able to avoid it somehow thus far (I'll get it on a work day and have to take time off, with my luck), but I think I have passed it on to others, so stay away from me if you can!

On the 28th, Jon and I went to North Carolina to visit Smoky Mountain National Park and Highlands. Despite a 5 hour detour on scary dark roads when they cut off the North Carolina route in the park, we had a lot of fun and saw a lot of waterfalls. It was SO nice to get away from Georgia for a couple of days.

New Years was fun too. I spent it at Paige's and hanging out with Jon, Adrian, etc. Did anybody else see Dick Clark? Perhaps last year should have been his last bash. It was depressing to watch.

Overall, I'm starting the year off on a good note. I'm looking forward to all of the travel and such!

Tuesday, December 19, 2006

Break Break Break

Oh geez, less than 4 hours until I'm FREE for 2 weeks... I can hardly contain my excitement.

The break should be fun. We have an awesome Christmas Eve dinner planned (it's the usual, but anytime I get lobster tail is fantastic). My parents and I have 3 different shopping days planned. I'm also going on a quickie vacation to Highlands, NC a few days after Christmas (yay mountains). New Year's is still up in the air, but I would like something quiet after attending parties and bars for the past 4-5 years... yeah college, I'm finished with you. :)

I decided to treat myself to Starbucks this morning for the first time in months, since it is my last day and all. I have been super hyper ever since, mainly because I rarely drink caffeine (besides tea). I also received a Barnes and Noble gift certificate today, which is more than appropriate for me. Tonight, Adrian is coming over so we can make our annual puppy chow for her office (you know that chex mix with the chocolate, peanut butter, and powdered sugar???). I also get to see Ashley and Krista for the first time in months, which is cool. My social life is looking up again without work "in the way"... haha.

I will update everybody in January... until then, everybody have a safe and happy holidays!!

Monday, December 18, 2006

2006 Favorites...

Here is my list of favorite things from 2006:

Favorite Movies: Note that I am no movie snob. I like what I like. Also note that none of these movies were released in 2006, I just saw them for the first time in 2006.
-The new Pride and Prejudice. I realize that this version was nowhere near as good as the A&E one made in the mid-1990s. However, and call me shallow if you want, the characters in the most recent (and much shortened) version were, well, prettier. I liked it for pure aesthetic and cinematographic reasons. It made me long once again, to go to England, especially to see the national parks.
-Amadeus. Yes, I realize that this movie was released in the 1980s and I haven't seen it yet. I LOVED it, even the extremely annoying Mozart laugh. I could watch this movie again and again.

Favorite Books:
- A Heartbreaking work of staggering genius, by Dave Eggers. This was a fantastic memoir, hands down.
-Running with scissors, by Augusten Burroughs. Another (bit more graphic) memoir, but a good read.
-The Historian, by Elizabeth Kostova. I think this is my favorite of the year.
-The thirteenth tale, by Diane Setterfield. My second favorite... such a unique story.
-Twilight, by Stephenie Meyer. "Unputdownable" (even if I don't like the main character much).

I can't remember what I read early in the year (I don't think I did though because I was in grad school and all), so these I've all read since July or so.

Favorite TV:
-Gilmore girls. It's the only show that I will go out of my way to watch, although, it's not the same without the Palladinos writing. I'm actually hoping that this is the last season.
-Scrubs. I used to despise this show. Now that I've warmed up to Zach Braff, I find it very funny. J.D. and Turk remind me of male versions of Adrian and I.
-Sex and the city. I know, I am a girl, and now I own that damn pink monolith of a boxed set.

Favorite People:
-My parents. The most selfless people I know...
-My co-workers. They are super nice, and they have a sense of humor too (thank God). Plus, they read and stuff, like me.
-Christian Bale.
-My high school friends. It's funny how the people that I am closest to now are the ones I went to high school with (maybe it's because I live at home again???). I hated that place for years after I graduated, but I did meet some really good people in the 'ville.

Favorite Vacations
Oh wait, I didn't really go on vacation this year...

I'll update this more tomorrow... I'm trying to load this thing with updates before break when I will likely forget about this thing!

Friday, December 15, 2006

Never again will I...

shelve in the curriculum lab. I came out of there with 5 young adult novels to check out. In addition to the 9 I have already out on loan, and the 1 I have out from the public library, I am going to be reading forever. Why do I do this to myself?

I wonder why I like young adult fiction so much. I've come up with a few theories:

-I didn't really read in high school, so I'm making up for it now
-The literature has adult content, but is rarely so graphic that I can't handle it
-The fantasy literature isn't too "dungeons and dragons"-y (although I think there are a few out there)
-I feel that I am at the age where I can still relate to teenagers, but can look at them in an introspective way (basically I can laugh at how STUPID some of the characters are... hello Bella from Twilight, a book that I loved by the way)

Right now I am reading Fairest by Gail Carson Levine. It is set in Ella Enchanted's world, so I'm pretty psyched about reading it. My cousin, who is a bigger bookworm than I am, is obsessed with Ella Enchanted, to the point where she can recite the first chapter by heart. I'm going to be reading The Robber Bride by Margaret Atwood next (my first).

I always apologize for my venture into nerddom when talking about books, but after all, as a librarian dealing with collection development, it is my job to read what's out there... I'm even considering some science books from Discover Magazine's Top 25 science books.

Thursday, December 14, 2006

You don't think I'm smart enough to work in your fucking library?

-Mary from Party Girl, and the following post has nothing to do with my heading

This week is S-L-O-W. At work, the college kids are gone, almost everybody who is employed here is gone, and an 8 hour work day seems to drag on and on and on... I was even willing to shelve today, as I'm not able to do any acquisitions work until January 10th. 30 hours and counting (until next Tuesday) until Christmas Break. I look forward to it.

I've been looking back on the year:

January: wonderful, in a new/old relationship, happy with my friends in Indiana, got a second job at IU libraries because of my kick ass boss, and only taking two classes at IU for my last semester

February: nice beginning, great trip to Chicago, mid-month 180 degree turn-around watching friends meltdown, having yet another guy "cheat"

March: php fiasco (I will never be a programmer--I spent so long on that assignment!), rough spring break at home for the second year in a row, blow out with one of my best friends (luckily we worked through that), shutting everybody out and concentrating only on school, working out a misunderstanding with yet another friend

April: another crappy birthday, continuing shut-out, working constantly on and finishing my Wyoming web site, getting good grades, a confession made to me

May: a blur, lots of working at IU, packing to leave, hanging out with Jeff and Allison, got an A in both classes that I took

June: move from Indiana to Georgia, move from 716 to 1690, my first drum corps show in 2 years (it was BORING), job interviews, feeling like a complete mess still

July: visit to Grandparents', second interview for job that I would eventually get, things finally looking up, hanging out with friends again, Read Heartbreaking work of staggering genius

August- present: band camp (my last), started job, construction projects on new house, met with my not so wonderful past one evening, watching my brother get fired, get hired, get fired again, and finally get hired (luckily he's not in the car industry at this point), seeing my cool nephew, made a new close male friend, laughed way too much for my own good, got many cases of book anxiety (still have them thanks to my coworker Amanda), becoming close again with my parents, hanging out with Adrian a lot, Midieval times, going away parties, etc.

I was quick to think that this was a good year, but looking back, it had some rough times. Graduate school was definitely not the best experience of my life (and it never really had anything to do with school, which is funny), but I am more than happy that I got through it.

I'm pretty happy with life right now... I'm starting to get somewhat smarter about the decisions that I am making. I've realized that looks aren't always going to be what attracts me to a man (looks will fade, but personality, wit, good conversation, and intelligence last quite a bit longer...), that I CAN say no to my friends, especially if involves color guard jobs, and not have to feel bad about it, and that my parents are right half of the time (as opposed to my former stance of never). I also like making money and being able to spend it on people that I care about this Christmas. I'm totally anticipating the new year, which is currently looking fantastic.

Friday, December 01, 2006

A Quiz Revisited

One year ago I took the following quiz...

Here is how I would answer it today:


1) My uncle once: Lived in Russia (he's getting ready to move there again too...)
2) Never in my life: would I be a chicken sexer ewwwww
3) When I was five: I wanted super long hair (I used to wear a purple skirt around my head and everything... my mom made me look like a boy)
4) High school was: a time when I had HORRIBLE taste in music
5) Fire is: a big element in The Thirteenth Tale
6) I once saw: Snow in June
7) There’s this woman I know who: is from Canada (eh?)
8) Once, at a bar: I saw a band play
9) By noon I’m usually: pretty damn hungry (I eat at 2pm)
10) Last night: I was super tired
11) If I only had: money (that I will keep the same...)
12) Next time I go to church: I will say the Apostles Creed
13) What worries me most: Right now? I guess doing well at my job.
14) When I turn my head left: I see a UGA print
15) When I turn my head right: I see an Olympics Poster advertising Mexico
16) You know I'm lying when: I blush...
17) What I miss most about the eighties: Neon colors... NOT!
18) If I were a character written by Shakespeare, I’d be: Lady Macbeth (that only applies to 5 days out of the month!)
19) By this time next year: I should have a new computer (I accomplished my last year's "by this time next year..."
20) I have a hard time understanding: Boys who are younger than me... glad I gave up on that one!
21) You know I like you if: I don't know?
22) If I won an award, the first person I’d thank would be: Yeah, both of my parents simultaneously
23) Darwin, Mozart, Slim Pickens & Geraldine Ferraro: yeah, still don't see the connection
24) Take my advice, never: read a Harlequin Romance Novel!
25) My ideal breakfast is: Oh there are too many good answers to this?
26) If you visit my hometown, I suggest you go to: wow, um, wow, um... Starbucks?
27) Why doesn't everyone: read more?
28) If you spend the night at my house: my dog might sleep with you!
29) I’d stop my wedding: if i found out: he cheated on me (keeping this one the same too...)
30) The world could do without: traffic!
31) My favorite blonde is: Paul Neuman (well, he's gray now, but you know what I mean...)
32) If I do anything well, it’s: baking?
33) And by the way: 24 days until XMAS!


Wednesday, November 22, 2006

Breaks and Books

Here I sit at home on a Wednesday. I worked my 16 hour week (which oddly seemed much longer than the normal 40 hour week) and now I'm off until next Tuesday. I'm looking forward to the break, as some of my friends are home. Thanksgiving is my least favorite holiday, but I'm glad to not have to drive 4 hours this year to eat a good meal (although I do miss the gathering with my extended family). Plus it's finally Christmas time.

I've been doing an unnatural amount of reading lately. I finally finished The Historian. It was amazing and I now know other people reading the book as well. If you like Dracula or European History in general, I would highly recommend it. It was interesting to me, as a good portion of my heritage is Eastern European. I will definitely have to re-read the book in a few months time, as I feel like I didn't fully comprehend certain parts in my haste to find out what happened to all of the characters. It's way better than the Davinci Code, and it frankly bothers me that anybody has ever called it the "Dracula Code". No predictable Dan Brown formulas here!

Now, I'm into The Thirteenth Tale, by Diane Setterfield (my second bestseller, oh my). The book is nothing like I thought it was going to be... I was expecting some bookish women talking about books (which is fine with me). She has created this super complicated and thrilling tale about a famous fictitious author's past. I've honestly never read anything like it, and can't wait to get to the end.

My mom and I both agreed on the greatness of The Thirteenth Tale and The Historian, which is rare, considering that her favorite author is Anne Perry (a murder mystery novelist, who actually has an interesting life... ever seen Heavenly Creatures?) and I prefer books that have bibliographies and have well, a bit less popular value (i.e. I don't read Tom Clancy or John Grisham). Needless to say, we rarely agree on what makes a good book. In fact, these two books join the ranks of the Harry Potter Series and A Wrinkle in Time. I'm happy that we could double our list.

My circulation list at Brenau shows that I have 12 books checked out (4 are not mine). In addition to some personal copies, I have 11 thick books to read between now and January 3rd... can I do this?

I can't believe that I've spent minutes admitting how much of a nerd I am....

Monday, November 13, 2006

"Happiness is a warm puppy"

I love the Peanuts. I'm in bed right now with my "puppy," who is laying on the bottom corner. He's not a puppy anymore (turned 14 this past Friday), but hanging out with my dog is true happiness. May you rest in peace Chuck Schulz.

I'm not sure if November has progressed in its former drab-ness yet. Last Tuesday I managed to leave my car lights on for a good 10 hours... so not only did I have to call AAA (happy that I have it), but I had to deal with all of this at night, in a town that I don't know (Gainesville), and in the pouring rain. I didn't even get to vote, although I'm not disappointed in the way things have turned out. The next day, after my friend's dad's funeral, I had to call AAA again, when a friend locked her keys out of the car. I'm happy to say that they are getting plenty of business. This all added to my general feeling of "sucking at life" (and I mean at ALL areas) that I have been harboring as of late.

But life goes on, and things could be sooo much worse, and I'm happy to say that after a weekend of accomplishing much and hanging out with good friends, that I feel better. I finally finished Marie Antoinette: a journey (took me 3 weeks!), which was really good, minus the graphic part about the parading of the Princesse de Lamballes' head and heart on separate pikes to the tower where the king and queen (the Capets by that time) were imprisoned. Definitely had some nightmares after that one...

I am now reading The Historian by Elizabeth Kostova, which is really cool. I get pretty scared reading it too though, as it is about Vlad the Impaler (this 15th century leader of Wallachia, which is near Transylvania), who basically scares the shit out of me from his history alone (who wouldn't be scared of a guy who liked to have his meals outside near the thousands of people he impaled). So I can only read this book during the day or when a bunch of people are at the house. Yes, I am a wimp, but I highly recommend the book, even though I'm only 100 odd pages into it.

I've been getting a lot of Christmas shopping done, so that I won't have much to do when December hits (also so I won't find myself too poor once Christmas finally rolls around). Other than that, I'm just looking forward to Thanksgiving break (starts next Wednesday!).

Saturday, November 04, 2006

When it Rains...

It sure does pour!

November has definitely not started on a good note.

Last night I got a call from Adrian about one of our best friend's dad. Basically he died suddenly and it's left us all a bit shocked. I can't even imagine what kind of pain the family is experiencing. I have known the man since I was 12. He took a lot of pride in this country as member of the military and was perhaps one of the smartest people I have ever met, with a wealth of knowledge of political science and history. It is my Christmas project to FINALLY read the only book he ever gave me, Sarum (British History). This is a sad sad event. He will be greatly missed.

My brother got another job, which was great. His old boss who originally moved him into a service writer position hired him. Well, upper management fired the boss, and then told my brother to work more hours with a MUCH lower salary. With a wife who doesn't work and a 2 year old, he had no choice but to quit. Why is this happening to him?

Bad things usually come in threes. I would say that the third bad thing, was possibly my friend Jon moving to Colorado, but it's actually a good thing because he's starting his professional career as a medical illustrator... I'm just selfish, and lacking in testosterone friendships at the moment. I'll just hope that nothing bad happens in the near future.

I hope all of your Novembers are off to a much better start!

Tuesday, October 24, 2006

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!

Wednesday, October 18, 2006

Oh so close to being unique...


HowManyOfMe.com
LogoThere are:
2
people with my name
in the U.S.A.

How many have your name?

Sunday, October 15, 2006

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.

Sunday, October 01, 2006

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.