Princess Poddy's Paper Trail

Midwinter Agenda

Wed, 21 Jan 2009 01:39:31 GMT

Because some of my YALSA friends aren't on facebook, I'm posting the same message here I just posted there:

Here's what I've got going on. Anyone want to make plans during unscheduled time? (And if I tag you and you're not going, sorry -- I don't mean to rub it in. :-)

All the PPYA meetings are in the Westin Tabor Center, Lawrence Room. Meetings are open to all conference attendees, and observers are welcome (nay, encouraged!) to make comments on specific titles (although you don't get to vote. Sorry.) Feel free to stop by, especially during Sunday's meetings.

My library's not paying for me to go this time, so any information you have about events with free food is welcome!

Friday:
Arrive Denver 3:00
YALSA Happy Hour (Maybe) - 5:30 - 7:30
Disney Hyperion Dinner - 6:30 - 8:30
YALSA Mixer & Tech Playground - 8:00 - 10:00

Saturday:
YALSA Leadership Meeting - 8:00 - 10:00
Exhibit Hall?
PPYA Business Meeting - 1:30 - 3:30
Scholastic Midwinter Event (Maybe -- I RSVP'd for this, it's on my calendar, but I don't have any location info and I'm not sure where to get it. Anyone know?)
Penguin Dinner - 7:00 - 9:00

Sunday:
PPYA Meetings ALL DAY
No evening plans!!

Monday:
Youth Media Award (really, really early)
PPYA Meetings - 10:30 - 1:30ish (or longer, depending on how quickly we finish voting)
Afternoon free
ALSC/YALSA Join Membership Reception?

Tuesday:
Fly home at 12:00

Any other time, I'd be happy about this possibility...

Thu, 15 Jan 2009 01:40:52 GMT

I decided I was done wasting emotions on stupid people, which relieved my stress immensely. However, I now have something new to stress out about: the weather.

It is currently 18 degrees and snowing, with 2-4 inches expected to snow overnight. Tomorrow, the high is 14 degrees (the low is -1), with another inch or so of snow expected. alixwrites plane is supposed to leave Miami at noon and arrive in Pittsburgh at 3:00. I can see several possibilities, and frankly none of them are that great:

Alex's flight is cancelled. Therefore, the event is cancelled. I'm sure in this case we'd reschedule.
The library is closed. Therefore, the event is cancelled. In this case, I HOPE Alex would be able to change her flight and we would reschedule. Otherwise, I'm not sure what would happen -- if the library closes and the flight's not cancelled, I think we'd have to buy a new ticket to reschedule. Which I think we could do.
The Best Case Scenario: The flight is not cancelled and the library is not closed. Everything would go as planned (except for a likely school delay or even closing on Friday, as the awful weather continues). However, the cold weather will likely keep some people away from the evening program.
The Worst Case Scenario: The library is not closed, the flight is not cancelled -- but the library does what it sometimes does when the snow's falling fast, and closes early, resulting in Alex getting to Pittsburgh but not having an event to go to, meaning a wasted trip. I have no idea what would happen in this case.

I've asked my boss to let me know ASAP if it looks like we might be closing early. Hopefully, if we do, I'll know in time to call Alex and tell her not to get on the plane.

So, keep your fingers crossed that the weathermen are actually completely wrong and it's a balmy 25 degrees and sunny tomorrow.

MEMEMEMEME

Tue, 23 Dec 2008 15:41:22 GMT

I got tagged! Sweet!

I'm not going to tag anyone, since I don't think I even have 8 LJ friends. If you feel like doing this, go for it.

The Rules:
A. People who have been tagged must, if they choose to participate, write their answers on their blog and replace any question that they dislike with a new, original question. Please italicize the new question if you do that.
B. Tag eight people. Don't refuse to do that. Don't tag who tagged you. (I think this is a stupid rule, and I'm breaking it).

01. What are your nicknames?
When I was younger, people called me "Karen Books." That was kind of cool. Now, some people at work call me "Brooksie," and a few people call me "KBR" because that's how I sign my email.

02. How do you style your hair?
I don't. Usually I pull it back into a lazy bun while it's still wet, although it was so cold yesterday that I actually blow-dried it so it wouldn't freeze.

03. What's new in your life right now?
I have a niece. I haven't met her yet, though.

04. What colors are you wearing right now?
Burgundy, black, brown and tan pin-stripes

05. Are you an introvert or extrovert?
A little of both. I'm a "slight introvert," which in my case manifests as shy initially but outgoing once I know someone, with a tendency to retreat from social situations once they begin to exhaust me (usually about two or three hours in).

06. What was the last book you read?
Oh, jeez. I really need to get better at keeping track. The Diary of Pelly D, maybe? And I'm almost done with "Charmed and Ready."

07. Do you nap a lot?
Not really, and almost never on purpose.

08. Who are you crushing on right now?
That's a very good question. I don't think I'm crushing on anyone. My first instinct was to say "Duh, I'm married," but then I realized that marriage doesn't necessarily negate the ability to crush. But I don't think I'm crushing on anyone.

09. Is there anything that has made you unhappy these days?
Overall stress levels are high right now, especially at work.

10. What's your favorite dessert?
I don't really have much of a sweet-tooth, but I like creamy things like cheesecake or ice cream.

11. How long does it take you to get ready in the morning?
Counting a bath, about 45 minutes. When there's not hot water, less than five.

12. What websites do you visit daily?
Google, Gmail, Amazon, Wikipedia, Livejournal, Facebook

13. Do you write fic? What was the last fic you wrote?
Nope.

14. Do you like to clean?
No. Not at all. I kind of like sorting and organizing, but it goes in waves with LOOOONG stretches in between.

15. What's the last song that got stuck in your head?
My brain is a very, very dirty sponge. EVERYTHING gets stuck in it.

16. What's the last movie you saw?
I watched "John Tucker Must Die" last night. It was mildly amusing.

17. Bagpipe, didgeridoo, theramin -- awesome sounds or musical vivisection?
They're all fantastic if done well, and awful when done poorly -- and very easy to do poorly.

18. What is your least favorite thing to do that you have to do everyday?
Pretend to be a grown-up.

100 things meme

Mon, 01 Dec 2008 17:22:26 GMT

1. Started your own blog
2. Slept under the stars
3. Played in a band
4. Visited Hawaii
5. Watched a meteor shower
6. Given more than you can afford to charity
7. Been to Disneyland
8. Climbed a mountain
9. Held a praying mantis
10. Sang a solo
11. Bungee jumped
12. Visited Paris
13. Watched a lightning storm
14. Taught yourself an art from scratch
15. Adopted a child
16. Had food poisoning
17. Walked to the top of the Statue of Liberty
18. Grown your own vegetables
19. Seen the Mona Lisa in France
20. Slept on an overnight train
21. Had a pillow fight
22. Hitch hiked
23. Taken a sick day when you're not ill
24. Built a snow fort
25. Held a lamb
26. Gone skinny dipping
27. Run a Marathon
28. Ridden in a gondola in Venice
29. Seen a total eclipse
30. Watched a sunrise or sunset
31. Hit a home run
32. Been on a cruise
33. Seen Niagara Falls in person
34. Visited the birthplace of your ancestors
35. Seen an Amish community
36. Taught yourself a new language
37. Had enough money to be truly satisfied
38. Seen the Leaning Tower of Pisa in person
39. Gone rock climbing
40. Seen Michelangelo's David
41. Sung karaoke
42. Seen Old Faithful geyser erupt
43. Bought a stranger a meal at a restaurant
44. Visited Africa
45. Walked on a beach by moonlight
46. Been transported in an ambulance
47. Had your portrait painted by your mother. (does a silhouette count?)
48. Gone deep sea fishing
49. Seen the Sistine Chapel in person
50. Been to the top of the Eifel Tower in Paris
51. Gone scuba diving or snorkeling
52. Kissed in the rain
53. Played in the mud
54. Gone to a drive-in theater
55. Been in a movie
56. Visited the Great Wall of China
57. Started a business
58. Taken a martial arts class
59. Visited Russia
60. Served at a soup kitchen
61. Sold Girl Scout Cookies
62. Gone whale watching
63. Got flowers for no reason
64. Donated blood, platelets or plasma
65. Gone sky diving
66. Visited a Nazi Concentration Camp
67. Bounced a cheque
68. Flown in a helicopter
69. Saved a favorite childhood toy
70. Visited the Lincoln Memorial
71. Eaten caviar
72. Pieced a quilt
73. Stood in Times Square
74. Toured the Everglades
75. Been fired from a job
76. Seen the Changing of the Guards in London
77. Broken a bone
78. Been on a speeding motorcycle
79. Seen the Grand Canyon in person
80. Published a book
81. Visited the Vatican
82. Bought a brand new car
83. Walked in Jerusalem
84. Had your picture in the newspaper
85. Read the entire Bible
86. Visited the White House
87. Killed and prepared an animal for eating
88. Had chickenpox
89. Saved someone's life
90. Sat on a jury
91. Met someone famous
92. Joined a book club
93. Lost a loved one
94. Had a baby
95. Seen the Alamo in person
96. Swam in the Great Salt Lake
97. Been involved in a law suit
98. Owned a mobile phone
99. Been stung by a bee
100. Read an entire book in one day

Amsterdam and Away!

Mon, 15 Sep 2008 08:20:53 GMT

We leave Amsterdam for Ireland today, and I can't wait. I like Amsterdam...it's a very unique city, and has a pretty good vibe and plenty to do...but it's really just a bit much for me.

After Germany, though, where we spent every available minute DOING something, Amsterdam's been a kind of frenetic do-nothing time, appreciated. Some highlights:

The houseboat. Small, yes. Comfortable, oh yeah.
The Sex Museum. For some reason, my friends didn't want to spend more time exploring the red light district, and the tour guide from Randy Roy's Redlight Tours never showed up. Despite that, we did a short wander and went into the Red Light District anyway, although our only stop was the very cool, historical-porn-filled Sex Museum.
Cafe Chris in the Jordaan. After wandering around on Saturday night, not sure what we wanted to do, we stopped into this little pub near our boat for one beer to cap off the night. We stayed for four, and hours of conversation with Dmitri and Arian. A lot of talking about language (whichＩloved) and politics (not so much). Much fun.
Wandering through Vondelpark. After I found a bathroom, I was able to enjoy the gorgeosity of the park, and watching all the other people enjoying it, too.
Boat cruise. I'll find the name and link to it later, but it's an official tour -- they're not even allowed to charge, only take donations. But you can bring all your vices along (we had wine and beer), it's open air, and goes down some of the smaller canals the bigger tour boats can't go down. It was REALLY awesome. And really cold!

Okay -- time to finish packing and try to find the Bibliotheek before we head out to the airport...hopefully, I'll have internet there, too!

Day 3 - Now

Sat, 13 Sep 2008 10:55:35 GMT

I've finally found somewhere with internet access! I don't know whose internet it is, but I can get to it from where I am right now...a houseboat in Amsterdam. Which is awesome. Unfortunately, it's very slow, and I haven't been able to access my work email yet. However, that might actually be a good thing...

Anyway, some quick notes from the last couple days:

On Wednesday, we had an adventure. Lisa, Carolyn, Kris and I went to Schloss Hohenashau, a palace in Bavaria, and it was pretty nifty. We sprung for the English audio tour, because in rural Bavaria not too many people speak the English. The castle had a lot of old paintings and such, but the coolest things were the gauntlets and helmet you could try on, and the 17th (?) century women's clothing in which you could play dress-up. Unfortunately, I was too chubby for the clothes, but Lisa looked fantastic. Once I can get my pictures uploaded, I'll post them to Flickr. After the castle, we took the cable car up Kampenwand, the tallest Alp (yes, I said Alp) in the area to meet Arn and Michael, who had spent the previous several hours hiking up there. The ride was awesome, and we then hiked about half an hour to get to the Speillingalm. Alms on the alps are little restaurants where you can get a beer and a snack. They had FANTASTIC goullaschesuppe, and very yummy hot chocolate. Arn, Mike and Lisa decided to hike up another 100 meters or so to the summit of the mountain...and that's when the real adventure began.

You see, no one had thought to check how late the cable car ran. We were all very much on the, "hey, it's vacation! We have all the time in the world! " mentality. Luckily, I was reading a brochure and realized the last car was at 6:00. It was 5:30.

Carolyn made a funny joke -- "Well, we should leave them behind. No point in us all being stuck on top of a mountain" -- but after some discussion, we realized that was actually true. The car was at the bottom of the cablecar, the path down the mountain ended two towns over. We called Mike (yay for vodaphone, working on top of a mountain!), told them we'd meet them at the bottom, and JOGGED across the mountaintop to the cablecar. We made it with about two minutes to spare.

It only took about two hours for them to hike backdown, and when they arrived we learned something very awesome --- during their grand adventure, Arn had taken time out to ask Lisa to marry him. Congratulations, guys!

By then, we were all exhausted. We threw away our plans to visit the Rosenheim Herbstfest, had a fantastic dinner at a local restaurant, and went to bed.

The next day, we all piled into the van to drive to Munich. When we arrived, we dropped off the van at the Hertz office and took the subway to our hotel, Hotel Theresia. It was a cute little pension, very basic but clean and cheap. By then, I was very cranky and sleepy so I took a nap while everyone else did laundry. Then, I found a little cafe (Bar Giulia, I think) and drank a Rhababa-Schorle -- Rhubarb juice with sparkling water. After everyone woke up from THEIR naps, we walked to the University District, had Greek food for dinner, and went out drinking. We had one beer at Ulter Simpl, the bar where Hermann Hesse and Thomas Mann used to hang out (good beer, very rude waitress), and then headed up the road to close down the Augustiner Brauhaus in the area. The waiter there was awesome, and very helpful to the drunk, rowdy American tourists. And boy, were we rowdy...at one point, Carolyn stuffed the sex gag (a tiny, retractable plastic penis designed to look like a lipstick) we'd gotten in Bernau into Kris's mouth, causing him to spit it across the table at the locals. I don't think they were happy.

We stumbled home and into bed at around 2am. We had to be out of the hotel by 10am. Unfortunately, my dear husband had one drink too many and woke up very hungover at 6:30. Which means he woke me up too. Because he was hurting so bad, and I'm a good wife (and yes, because I was annoyed at being woken up and didn't want to take it out on him), I packed up my stuff and took it down to a locker in the train station. Then, after a surprisingly yummy continental breakfast at the hotel, we all headed down to the train station together, with me carrying Michael's bag.

We wandered the streets of Munich, Carolyn and Lisa running into tons of shops, and me so tired I could barely stand.　Then, we bought various foodstuffs at the Viktualenmarkt, a huge open-air market, and ate lunch. Lisa and Arn went to the Residenz Museum after that. While I really wanted to join them, I wanted to sit and do nothing more, so that's what we did. Then the rest of us had a leisurely wander through Munich and the Englischer Garten to the Chinese Tower, where we met Lisa and Arn.

We also met some other American tourists, and we all headed out together to go to the official Augustiner Brauhaus for dinner. But, apparently we walk really fast...we lost them before we even got to the subway station. By this time, I was beginning to get nervous about having time to eat and catch the train, so I annoyed all my friends by rushing them back down towards the train station. We did stop at an amazing bookstore to get a guidebook for C&K, and I found a new Marian Keyes book that doesn't even have a release date for the United States. I'm planning on buying it in Ireland -- woohoo! Then, after a not very good dinner at Augustiner, and a brief stop to complete Lisa's very cute Bavarian outfit, we headed back to Hautbanhof to catch the night train.

The train was okay. I didn't sleep that well, but I slept longer than any other night here and woke up very close to Amsterdam. We got off the train, got the key to the houseboat, had some very good pie, and here we are. Kris and Mike went off to find some beer to bring back. I hope they get home soon -- I have a whole new city to explore, and not much time to do it!

kbr

Day 3 -- Salzburg

Sat, 13 Sep 2008 10:25:59 GMT

We're on the road again. Kris is driving us toward the Autobahn, and since I'm not so much a fan of the fast-moving traffic, I'm writing up the last couple days instead.

On Tuesday, we took the train to Salzburg. It really is as beautiful as I'd imagined, at least once you get into the old city. The more modern area we saw, right around the train station, really looks like any other city in the world.

We did a truly remarkable amount in our short time there. We walked down and across the Salza River, passing by Mirabell Gardens on the way. This is where the famous “Do-re-mi” scene from “The Sound of Music” was filmed, and I took lots of pictures. After crossing the bridge, we had a beer and a snack at a little stand on the banks, and then headed to Getreidegeise, a long road lined with all sorts of shops – from Louis Vuitton to McDonald's. I think Lisa's the only one who bought anything substantial, coming away with a cane that conceals a flask. It's pretty neat. I did get myself a pretty cheesy souvenier: a bottle of pear schnapps shaped like a violin, in honor of Mozart's birthplace.

Festung Hohensalzburg was our next stop. Kris, Carolyn, Lisa and I took the festungbahn (incline) up to the top, while Mike and Arn walked up. And up. And up some more. When they finally got to the top, we roamed around the 900-year-old fortress for awhile. The views were AMAZING. My favorite part, though, was the marionette exhibit – lots of marionette's that have been used in plays at the Salzburg Marionette Theater, and a very cool underground pirate scene, that was only visible through portholes in the floor.

After the fortress, we caught a bus to Augustinerbrau, a brewery and beerhouse at a monastery. All the beer is brewed on the premises by monks, and it is very, very good. Then we caught the train back to Bavaria and stopped at Bernau Steub'n, a small bar where Arn used to hang out when he lived and worked in the area. The bartender, Florian, is the son of the owner and he and Arn spent some time catching up. Then we drank more beer, did some shots, and went back to Marquetstein to drink some more.

Okay, typing in a fast moving vehicle is beginning to make me a bit woozy...I'll write all about yesterday (which was pretty crazy) another time. And maybe I'll find somewhere with internet access in Munich!

Day 2

Sat, 13 Sep 2008 10:24:34 GMT

We finally made it to Germany. The plane ride was not fun, but it happened and now it's over. I didn't sleep a whit on the plane, but that's okay too. We're here.

Our luggage did not arrive with us, yet another thing to chronicle in the oh-so-nasty letter I'm planning on writing to Delta, but since it has come now (and they did an admiral job getting it to us quickly) I'm not going to dwell on it.

Instead, I'm going to dwell on how BEAUTIFUL this part of the world is. We got the train from Munich to Prien am Chiemsee, a quaint town (larger than the other quaint towns around) with only a minor detour – we missed our connecting train in Rosenheim – and met our friends without further incident. We got a cappuccino, wandered around town for a bit looking for socks and underwear, and headed back to our temporary accommodations. We're staying in a very cute little cabin on the grounds of Maerchenpark, a storybook amusement park for small children. Arn's friend from his resort-working, Germany living days is married to the man whose family runs the park, and we get to stay for free. It's beautiful, if a bit small.

The land around it is beautiful, too. After getting cleaned up (yay for showers!) we headed to the lake and took a ferry to two islands in the Chiemsee. First up was Herren Insel, where lies the beautiful place of Mad King Ludwig. Unfortunately, we didnt get to see the palace itself because time was short (we got a late start), but we did see an old monastery, including a stone church that was built in the mid 1400s. That was cool. Then we headed to another island, the name of which is escaping me, where we saw a beautiful church (part of a convent) and some of the most beautiful headstones I've ever seen. The island was full of gorgeous gardens, and we stopped for a fantastic weissbier and weisswurst at Inselbrau.

Dinner was at a very nice restaurant, and delicious. It'll take some time to get used to the European service model – apparently, it's rude to leave a tip on the table so you're supposed to round your bill up and tell your server how much to take. This is difficult since I only know numbers up to five! Luckily, Arn's basically fluent in German.

Now, we're back at our cottage, drinking wine and shooting the bull. I'm insanely tired, but since Mike and I will be sleeping in the living room we're up until either other people go to bed or we just pass out. Tomorrow we're planning on going to Salzburg, which should be fantastic...provided we can wake up in time to make the trip worthwhile.

Wireless access is proving more elusive than I'd anticipated due to our very rural location, so I'm just going to write these as docs and upload as wifi access appears. Hopefully, I'll be able to get online soon...being without email is really almost painful to me. And that's just sad.

Delta Customer Service

Sun, 07 Sep 2008 10:58:49 GMT

Hmm...the people who work at Delta's service center in Atlanta are a bit surly, and not very helpful. The people who work the gate in Pittsburgh are...well, I'm in Atlanta. The people who work their International Customer Service phone lines? Quite polite and understanding. But apparently they can't upgrade our seats, and I need to talk to someone in the airport in Atlanta for that. Hrmph.

Europe, here we come! Or not.

Sun, 07 Sep 2008 01:36:27 GMT

Well. A European vacation seems like as good a reason as any to begin blogging again, both for my own edification and to make all my friends jealous. Don't get jealous yet, though. This trip is off to an inauspicious start.

Jen got us to the airport at the perfect time. There was no line at security, we had enough time to get something to eat and a new book (Darkly Dreaming Dexter – for some reason, none of the books I brought with me were appealing), and made it to our gate with time to spare. The fun began, however, at about 3:00: instead of beginning boarding, the good people at the Delta date told us our flight was delayed until at least 6:00pm. Of course, this would mean we'd miss our flight to Paris, and then our flight to Munich as well.

It got even better about half an hour later, when we were told that because of our friend Hannah our flight to JFK was cancelled entirely – but that they had “protection” for international passengers. Mike andＩgot in line, enjoyed listening to three older women bitch for 20 minutes, and finally made it to the front. In fact, we were standing at the counter when the Delta person paged us. That was amusing.

After standing at the counter for another ten minutes or so, with no one saying a word to us, we were handed a pile of papers and told “go talk to Rick at the next gate, he'll get you seats.” Uh...seats? Turns out, we're going to Atlanta.

From what I understand, we'll be heading from Atlanta to Paris and then on to Munich. According to the itinerary they gave us, we'll get to Munich at 11:55am, only two hours after we were supposed to. Of course, the itinerary they gave us also says our plane to Paris leaves an hour before we land in Atlanta, so...well...I'm guessing it will be mid-afternoon at the earliest before we get there.

That said, this could definitely be worse. I'm reminded of flying from New Orleans to Pittsburgh after ALA Annual a couple of years ago, when a storm grounded us outside of Atlanta. We ended up on the tarmac for a couple hours, then on a bus to the Atlanta airport, then in a line for HOURS in wee the hours of the morning waiting to get rebooked. Hmm...that was a Delta flight too. How 'bout that. But, at least today we're in the air, going somewhere, only two hours after we were supposed to leave. A flight attendant just gave me cookies, and the old man next to me, who fell asleep as soon as he hit his seat, is leaning forward instead of leaning against me. Plus, I have my baby computer, which lets me write it all down.

Here's to vacation!

____________________________________________________________________________________

Later. Here's where I am right now:

Does that look like a trans-atlantic flight to you? No, me neither.

That flight we were supposed to get on? Yeah. Apparently we could have gotten to Paris, but not to Munich after that. So now we're spending the night in Atlanta and catching a 4:15pm flight straight to Munich. The good: it's a direct flight. The bad: Well, we're losing 22 hours of our European vacation. And, we had to pay $60 for a hotel room that was supposed to be comped. And another $60 for dinner in the hotel restaurant, because there's NOTHING ELSE AROUND. So yes, I could be happier. But whatever. I'm going to watch HBO, go to sleep, and we'll try again tomorrow.

G'night.

Book Meme...I like book memes.

Thu, 01 May 2008 20:50:34 GMT

From dettiot

The top 106 books most often marked as "unread" by LibraryThing’s users. As in, they sit on the shelf to make you look smart or well-rounded. Bold the ones you've read, underline the ones you read for school, italicize the ones you started but didn't finish.

1984
A Heartbreaking Work of Staggering Genius
Angela’s Ashes : a memoir
Anna Karenina
Beloved
Brave New World
Crime and Punishment
Dracula
Emma
Frankenstein
Great Expectations
Gulliver’s Travels
In Cold Blood : a true account of a multiple murder and its consequences
Jane Eyre
Lolita
Love in the Time of Cholera
Mansfield Park
Memoirs of a Geisha
Middlemarch
Moby Dick
Mrs. Dalloway
Northanger Abbey
Oliver Twist
On the Road
One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest
One Hundred Years of Solitude
Persuasion
Pride and Prejudice
Sense and Sensibility
Tess of the D’Urbervilles
The Blind Assassin
The Canterbury Tales
The Catcher in the Rye
The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time
The God of Small Things
The Hobbit
The Picture of Dorian Gray
The Poisonwood Bible : a novel
The Prince
The Silmarillion
The Tale of Two Cities
The Unbearable Lightness of Being
To the Lighthouse
Treasure Island
War and Peace
Watership Down
Wuthering Heights
Catch-22
Guns, Germs, and Steel
Life of Pi : a novel
The Brothers Karamazov
The Iliad
Ulysses
Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance : an inquiry into values
A Clockwork Orange
A Confederacy of Dunces
A People’s History of the United States : 1492-present
A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man
A Short History of Nearly Everything
American Gods
Anansi Boys
Angels & Demons
Atlas Shrugged
Cloud Atlas
Collapse : how societies choose to fail or succeed
Cryptonomicon
David Copperfield
Don Quixote
Dubliners
Dune
Eats, Shoots & Leaves
Foucault’s Pendulum
Freakonomics : a rogue economist explores the hidden side of everything
Gravity’s Rainbow
Inferno
Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell
Les Misérables
Madame Bovary
Middlesex
Neverwhere
Oryx and Crake
Quicksilver
Reading Lolita in Tehran : a memoir in books
Slaughterhouse-five
The Aeneid
The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier and Clay
The Confusion
The Count of Monte Cristo
The Fountainhead
The Grapes of Wrath
The Historian : a novel
The Hunchback of Notre Dame
The Kite Runner
The Mists of Avalon
The Name of the Rose
The Odyssey
The Once and Future King
The Satanic Verses
The Scarlet Letter
The Sound and the Fury
The Time Traveler’s Wife
Vanity Fair
White Teeth
Wicked : the life and times of the wicked witch of the West

Procrastination

Tue, 29 Apr 2008 14:08:31 GMT

It's been three months since I posted. I know I'm a lazy blogger, but that's a wee bit ridiculous. So, since I really don't want to pay attention to creative writing entries any more (don't worry, I'll go back to them) and I'm waiting for a phone call (and if it doesn't come in the next five minutes, I'll be officially pissed), I thought I'd drop in and say hi. Hi!

A few random things:

Dozen Bake Shop has the world's best scones.
Poetry written by teenagers is generally fairly mediocre, with a few random gems.
Weather should decide what it's doing so poor baby herbs aren't at risk of freezing.
Last night's House did not live up to the hype.
Last week's Grey's Anatomy did.
My birthday's in less than a week.
Julie Andrew's memoir is not particularly well written, but I love it anyway just because I love her.
I'm having issues finding books I want to read, even though there are many books that I need to read.

Toodles!

I'm made for a life of leisure

Tue, 06 Nov 2007 15:22:38 GMT

Not really, of course. There's no rest for the wicked. But I'm on my last day of my mini stay-at-home vacation, and I really don't want to go back to work tomorrow.

Yesterday I laid out most of the tile in the bathroom, and tried to cut tile to fit the edges. Of course, the tile cutter I had wasn't up to the job so last night the husband and I went to the great home improvement warehouse and got a different kind...hopefully it will work well, and quickly, and I can get this job DONE.

I also put away the hip deep pile of laundry that has been spread across the bedroom floor. Now that was an accomplishment! I got a new dresser, and hopefully I can keep my laundry under control with the additional storage space.

Today, I need to do laundry, finish cutting and laying tile, and try my hand at adhering it to the ground. I also need to make more UltraSimple broth and prep rice and veggies for lunch tomorrow. Being on this diet has been remarkably easy the last couple days, but I think it'll be much harder once I'm back behind my desk and away from my kitchen.

In other related news, I think this diet is a very good thing. I feel clear-headed and moderately energetic. I slept great last night. And I weighed myself this morning and found that I've lost three pounds since Sunday morning. That's AWESOME. I don't know if I'll keep this up completely after the week is up, but I'm definitely going to try eating mostly veggies and staying away from the processed stuff.

Okay...time to do a little cooking and make my last day off a good one.

Flax seed and borage oil and lemon, oh my!

Sun, 04 Nov 2007 14:08:51 GMT

I'm trying an experiment.

Those of you who know me know I haven't been particularly happy lately. Big fight with my husband (it's almost okay now), dissatisfaction at work (I still don't like being an administrator), annoyance with my crotchety old house. But overlaying all of my specific problems has been a sense of general discontent with my life. And, attached to that, low energy, regular weight gain, headaches, etc.

So, today starts my experiment: the UltraSimple Diet. This diet purports to raise your metabolism, help eliminate common health concerns, raise allergy and, oh yeah, can help you lose 7-10 pounds in a week.

I just had breakfast: 2 tablespoons of olive oil with lemon (to flush the liver), a glass of hot water with lemon (to take the taste of olive oil out of your mouth, I assume?), a cup of green tea (yummy), and the "UltraSimple Shake" - tofu, soy milk, frozen fruit, flax meal, combination flax and borage oil, almond butter - not a bad breakfast, although I am still a bit hungry.

For snacks I get "ultrabroth" (veggie broth...yum), and lunch and dinner are both brown rice, veggies, and some protein. I think I can do this. And hopefully it'll make me feel better.

Wish me luck!

Thank you for ruining my night

Sun, 07 Oct 2007 06:43:46 GMT

Dear Drunk-Ass Future Sister-in-Law of the Bride,

I would like to extend my whole-hearted thanks to you for ruining any fond memories with which I may have ended this bachelorette party.

It wasn't a bad night. We went to a fun little dive bar with writing on the walls, where drinks were cheap. My feet started hurting twenty minutes in, but it was okay, because we were there for the Bride and she was the most important one.

Even though I'm far more comfortable in dive bars (even in uncomfortable shoes), I was even okay with going down to the crazy multi-roomed dance club. The Bride wanted to dance...and she's the most important one.

I had some fun. We got in free, which was great. Thanks to your sister for orchestrating that. And the drinks were very cheap at first, even if they were pretty weak. Which is how I remained mostly sober. What happened to you? I bonded with a coworker, I even danced to eighties music, and got hit on -- twice. It was way more entertaining and interesting than I 'd expected.

But then, the Bride got tired. And drunk. She wanted to go home. My friends, dontfeedthetiki and the other library folks, went outside with her. We calmed her down, figured out what the problem was. Then Tiki, like a hero on a sinking ship, went back into the melee that was the hip-hop room and brought out the other members of the party.

How funny it was, Future Sister-in-Law of the Bride, when she brought you out! All of a sudden, your extreme drunkenness had made you the most important person there! The Bride was -- not abandoned, but no longer as well cared for as she was.

We bought you pretzels. We bought you water. We talked to you about how all the people in your hometown were hippies. How proud you were that you hadn't eaten! How happy that you were where you were!

As the party prepared to depart, we were asked by the actual sister of the bride what our plans were.

"Oh, we're planning on getting a cab back to Bloomfield," said Tiki and I.

"Oh, you don't need to get a cab! We've got the bus. We'll take you home."

"Uh...are you sure?"

"Yes, of course! Get in! Get in!"

And on the way to the bus, oh Drunk-Ass Future Sister-in-Law of the Bride, we continued to take care of you. I carried your shoes while two others had your arms. Tiki followed behind and when you began to fall backwards, she pushed you back up. We got onto the bus.

"To Bloomfield," I declared.

Ten minutes later:

"Where are we going?" you say.

"Bloomfield," says I.

"Is there a bar there?"

"No, we're just going to my house," I reply, thinking to myself, "you're already floating -- you need nothing else to drink."

And then the rant begins.

"Did you put in for the bus? We each paid $50 for the bus. And you're going straight to your door, and we had to pay $50, and we have to walk two miles, and I work hard for my money and it's just not fair. We each had to pay $50. And we're going out of our way and we have to walk two miles."

"We were planning to take a cab, but you guys said not to. We're happy to pitch in. Who's collecting the money?"

"It's just not fair. We each paid $50. We're going out of our way."

Stony silence then enveloped the bus, except for the continued repitition by you, oh Future Sister-in-Law of the Bride. When the bride's friend came by, I handed her my money...about four times what a cab would have cost. And yet you continued to bitch. After we'd taken care of you, brought you water, brought you food, kept you from falling over or vomiting down your shirt, you continued to bitch.

So, instead of remembering the surprisingly fun evening, what's foremost in my memory is you. You made yourself the Most Important One There. Gee, I can't wait for the wedding next week.
[Unknown LJ tag]

Help Needed, Desperately

Wed, 26 Sep 2007 17:14:06 GMT

To the three people who might read my journal:

If you are in contact with any libraries or librarians who have Gay/Straight Alliances or any other programming for GLBTQ teens (or adults, for that matter), can you please pass that information my way as soon as possible?

We are currently facing a potential challenge to a GSA started by a teen librarian and being held off-site to help the teens remain anonymous and would very much like to hear from other libraries who have done this and, if they were ever asked to justify the program, how they did so.

Thanks,
Me.

I am distressed.

Tue, 14 Aug 2007 22:12:46 GMT

First, my zucchini died. Now, I think my cucumbers are dying. I have three cucumbers on the fine, the leaves are rotting, and the fruit seems to be rotting too.

This makes me sad enough to post to my LJ for the first time in a month.

Mission Accomplished!

Sat, 07 Jul 2007 03:45:41 GMT

dontfeedthetiki gave me her old "student" violin to act as my in-the-woods instrument, since the past two years my Lady Macbeth has succumbed to humidity and required surgery to be playable again. After several months, a trip to the luthier and a couple of orders of Shar, the beater might actually be ready to use. She has:

A new bridge (a viola bridge, actually -- there's something screwy with the fingerboard, and she needed a very high bridge to work)
Entirely new strings (umm...you don't want to know how many I popped putting the new ones on)
Fine tuners (purchased after I popped the third and fourth strings)
A new chinrest
A new bow (fiberglass, durable, cheap

She's still definitely a beater instrument, and it's going to take awhile to get used to playing her. I'm not sure yet if I want to take her to the hippie wedding tomorrow or not -- I have some pride, and at this point I sound rather like a rank beginner on her. But, I don't really want to take the Lady, and I'd love to be involved in music-making if music-making is going on. Decisions, decisions. Maybe I'll wake up early and do some exercises.

Also, she needs a name. My violin is Lady Macbeth, my viola is Ophelia (I was obsessed with both Mercedes Lackey's bardic voices books, and with Shakespeare, when I was naming my instruments). I don't think this one is quite ready for a Shakespearean name. Any suggestions? I could just name her "Tiki," after the one who gifted her to me.

Hmph.

Fri, 06 Jul 2007 14:08:29 GMT

Like Maddie Gaiman, I'm not good at the whole subject thing.

Really, the point of this post is just to comment:

I find it very difficult to even start working on Friday. Forget about finishing anything.

Where the moon is dark, the fire is bright, and the food is fantastic

Sat, 30 Jun 2007 00:38:35 GMT

Some friends (hi, dontfeedthetiki!), my husband and I will be leaving in a couple of weeks to go up to New York for a festival. This is the...fourth year we've gone, I think, and every year it gets better. I begin anticipating and planning for the trip a good six months in advance, and I'm gradually getting more and more excited. My excitement has manifested in several ways -- I've begun meal planning, making sure we have all the supplies we need, and blogsearching to see if anyone else is as excited as I am.

I found a few posts from people who are going, and that made me think: this year, for the first time, the husband and I will be going up for the whole week. We're very much homebodies, and just hang out at our camp most of the time, and we don't mix and mingle much. This is a pagan festival, and I'm pagan only in the most general "not a Christian, Jew or Muslim" sense, and I often feel like we don't really fit in. We usually hang out with the druids, a very hospitable group, but I'd like to expand my horizons this year -- talk to other people, hear other ideas, try new things. I love being exposed to things I haven't been exposed to before -- I'm not a believer not because I don't want to believe, but because I'm very hard to convince. Try to convince me.

Anyway. Finding other posts made me think that maybe other people are as excited as I am, and blogsearching to see what they can find! So, I'm putting out a call -- if you are going to Sirius Rising at Brushwood in Sherman, NY, post a comment and say hi. I'm a 20-something fiddler and singer who likes few things better then reading, cooking and making music in the woods. We always camp back in the woods on the other side of the hill...a bit of a hike, I know, but we love company. And there's usually something good to eat or drink.

I need copyright help!

Fri, 29 Jun 2007 02:07:23 GMT

If a teen wants to make a music video, using a recording of "Don't Stop Believing" by Journey but writing his own lyrics, and enter it into our video contest, which does have prizes (ooh! A PSP!) does he need to get permission from Journey and / or the record studio?

And if not, can you give me documentation?

Because my reference brain is broken.

ALA Annual, Day 1

Sat, 23 Jun 2007 04:11:24 GMT

Ah, Annual. My favorite time of year.

We made it into DC with only minor drama (we missed a turn, and therefore missed Holly's hotel -- it's okay, there's a great metro system). Went to the YALSA Happy Hour, where we enjoyed absolutely zero of the Happy Hour-ness, due to sever overcrowding. However, I did meet up with the person I was supposed to, and we had dinner together and talked about teen services in general and co-convening a teen services coordinator discussion group specifically, so that was good.

Then, Holly and I went to see the Hollywood Librarian premiere. It was good, I think, but Holly and I both think it needs a name change -- although there are film clips, it's not really a critique or even a study of librarians as shown in film -- the clips are more demonstrative than anything else. But it made me cry a bit, especially when they talked about the Salinas libraries, and when book burning was involved. They took out all the stuff about the bookcart drill team championships in Chicago, however, which bummed me out a bit because I was very briefly in one of the shots. Whatever.

Then, the YALSA 50th Anniversary Party! Free Corona (with lime!) rocks my world, as does running into former coworkers who have moved onto other things. I also met Barry Lyga, and managed not to be too fan-girly, because (a) I haven't read his books, (b) he's dating a friend of mine, and (c) I had drank (drunk?) three free Coronas.

Tomorrow, I think I will skip programs in the morning and go get my badge holder and hit the exhibits. That way, I can try to catch halseanderson 's signing at 10:00.

My husband and his buddy are, I presume, safely asleep at Nate's apartment and ready to go camping tomorrow morning. Please, keep your fingers crossed that they don't get eaten by a bear. And that the weather stays nice (a gorgeous day, by the way) so they can enjoy their male bonding time as much as possible.

I'm like a little kid on christmas morning.

Fri, 22 Jun 2007 10:14:29 GMT

I'm so excited! I can't sleep! Today's the day! We're driving to DC! I get to see all my librarian friends! I get to meet authors (and get all fan-girly and idiotic-acting)! I get to pick up ARCs! I get to drink free martinis!

It's 6:00am. I don't think I've seen this hour of the morning since last year's conference, when I had a ridiculously early flight to New Orleans. So much for finishing up my reading in the car...I'll be asleep.

Also, I'm very, very hungry. I'd go to the grocery store and make a fabulous breakfast but for two things: I'd then have leftovers sitting in my fridge until Tuesday; and the husband doesn't eat real food in the morning. Maybe I'll eat a frozen pizza.

My plan for the day:

Drive to DC
Drop off Holly
Check-in to hotel
M goes to take the car to his friends and take the subway in, while I
Pick up my badge holder, etc.
Depending on time, maybe go to a museum (yay!)
YALSA Happy Hour (5-7, Old Dominion Brewery)
Hollywood Librarian Premiere (8-10, Convention Center)
YALSA 50th Anniversary Party (10 - ?, Renaissance Washington)

See you at the bar!

The perils of driving to Annual

Thu, 21 Jun 2007 17:21:18 GMT

I overpacked. Severely. Knowing I had an entire trunk to fill, I just packed whatever I wanted. Including four pairs of shoes. Excessive, I know. My only justification is, it's gonna be HOT and I want to be able to change into fresh clothes if necessary.

I realized that there are two more books I need to read before Sunday...good thing I have a four-hour car ride tomorrow!

Happiness is . . .

Tue, 19 Jun 2007 00:56:57 GMT

A date to go to the French Embassy with cedarlibrarian at Annual.
Naot shoes that are just as comfortable after a day of wearing as I hoped they would be.
A husband with semi-confirmed plans to go camping with his D.C. friend during the conference, so I don't have to worry about entertaining him.
Flowers on my pepper plants.
A belly full of left-over fruit salad mixed with lemon balm, lemon verbena, and mint.
The knowledge that Hell's Kitchen comes on in five minutes.

Aah...life is good.