Happy Halloween

Mood: Good
Hair: It's the end of the day--how good could it be doing?

So yeah, it's Halloween. Hope all your ghosts and ghoulies were easily bribable with candy, as ours were. [TWO unicorns this year!]

Quick report on the weekend:

Saturday: shopping with Amy. Fun times, good food, girl-talk. The weather wasn't even totally crap, until the drive home. Just v.v. windy.
Didn't get home till the boys had eaten and were commencing on the pumpkin carving. I did dishes, hoping Sparky didn't stab himself with the pumpkin tools. He's fine. However, I managed to drop a pyrex bowl (the yellow one) in the sink and cut my (thankfully, left) hand up in a couple of places. Nothing awful, but I did get to see the difference between pink blood and dark red blood, the latter of whichwhich nearly made me faint. What a wuss. I'm now fully Band-Aided.

Sunday: Sparky went to Sunday School while The Beast and I along with the rest of the city went to lunch at Six Balls. The place was jammed. Back to church for contemp service--which was great. I think I'm going to give the trad service a pass whenever possible from now on. Left Sparky at church for youth group, came home to watch the Packer game, went BACK to church to collect him and then Trick-or-Treat began. Pizza was delivered about 5, the kids have "officially" stopped wandering the streets, the candles have burned out in the pumpkins and we are nearly out of candy. Hurrah!

Tomorrow is a calm, schedule-less day off. Please be sure to read the irony deftly scattered throughout that sentence.

In other news, I've posted a briefly annotated list of my psycho family for reference. There are only 19 to keep track of in my [as an A.C.O... friend of mine calls it] Family of Origin. Not that bad except the generations are apparently too complicated for a lot of people to follow. Personally, I think it's a perfectly normal family {insert laughter here}, by which I mean Tolstoy would find it so.

Stupid song-title award: 1978

Mood: Good all things considered (heh)
Hair: Big barrette at crown (sensing a theme here?)
Snappy Comeback NOT to be used today: I don't know what your problem is, but I'll bet it's hard to pronounce. [I'll be at the Ref Desk a lot today, hence this theme.]
Listening to: [see yesterday's entry: currently on Fly, Robin, Fly] also the Boston Pops, so I'm a little schizoid today. Today??

A Taste of Honey: Boogie Oogie Oogie

Really. I ask you. Do we need more proof that there were entirely too many drugs being used in the 70s?

Shades of my childhood (settlement CDs)

The first year I really listened to the radio, nonstop, these were the hits:

That's the way (I like it) ... Fly, Robin, fly ... The hustle ... Love will keep us together ... Lady ... Lovin' you ... Poetry man ... When will I be loved ... Wildfire ... Miracles ... Saturday night ... Pick up the pieces

I know the words--all of them--for about six of these songs (not counting The Hustle, since those amount to "Do the Hustle!" I can, however, DO the Hustle, but only under extreme duress). The rest I recognize enough to hum along.

Did I listen to the radio too much? Um, well, yeah.

Every time I hear Wildfire, I get all pre-teen weepy and want to go live in a cabin in the mountains with a guy with a bushy beard wearing a flannel shirt. My childhood was warped by this music!

Shut-In Delivery Day

Mood: Fair
Hair: Barrette at the crown
Snappy Comeback NOT to be used today: I'm really easy to get along with once you people learn to see it my way.

My cart: EMPTY! Have I mentioned that? ;-)

OK, but I still have the first go-round of those settlement CDs to deal with. So I've started that, got about 10 done and had to do the Ref Desk for an hour.

I'm really putting off the inevitable: must hit the road with books for shut-ins. Today is a short day, thank goodness. And the upside is I can stop for a liter of Dr. Pepper in my travels.

The annoying thing is that after I rush through this delivery day, I have to come back, do a half hour of Reference and then leave again to pick up Sparky from school. Wouldn't it make more sense to do the deliveries and pick up Sparky and do my desk time later (or earlier)? Yeah, but we are talking about the Schedule Nazi here... So I'll burn the extra gallon of gas instead.

Wish me luck with the oldies!

End o' the day

Mood: OK

Things improved today.

I got most of the Dreaded Bottom Shelf cleared off and original cataloging is done for awhile. My cart....

....IS EMPTY except for the ten or so oddball things that just came in that aren't in OCLC. We'll wait awhile till someone else does them!

Meanwhile, I've been blogging like mad here and here. And I've added a guestmap over there on the reconstituted sidebar. Tell me where you are, if you'd like.

I'm meeting the Beast for dinner. Sparky is perhaps coming back to the 'brary for Magic the Gathering meeting while the Beast goes to church for Session meeting and I go to church for a different meeting. Which I'm sure will kill the passably decent mood I have acheived today.

See you tomorrow.

At the Ref Desk

Mood: There are no words to express my mood
Hair: ...nor my hair...
Snappy Comeback TO BE USED oday: Stroppy is as stroppy does. [would like to say that to the boss!]


For no apparent reason other than my schedule being whacked for the week, I'm quite cranky today. Beyond cranky in fact. I feel like I should have a flashing neon sign around my neck saying: "Toxic answers given here." Sitting at the reference desk. Feeling very misanthropic. The world sucks.

OK, hauling myself out of the pits of annoyance, the weather is lovely again today, although less sunny. I'm so dreading winter, the upside being that I'm so loving and appreciating autumn this year. We bought pumpkins over the weekend (four for $9--can't beat that!). They need to be carved, probably Friday. We were given some iris rhizomes from friends on Sunday, so I have to get those in the ground, along with trimming the rosebushes back and prepping them for winter. Maybe this year I'll get motivated and do some garden planning while it's cold out.

Between that and trying to figure out baby and wedding gifts, I should be too busy to be depressed this winter. Right? OK, not likely, but one can hope.

Along with the lack of general motivation, I'm flashing like crazy this morning. And my back is sore again--not like last week, just tired and cranky. Like the rest of me. Did I mention my wrist hurts too? sigh...

I'm a joy to behold today. And my sidebar is messed up here too, so that's just something else to sort out and find the missing '/' or whatever.

Ending on a high note: Realized yesterday that Sam's Club will shop for me if I send my order in online. Then all I need to do is show up and pay, load the truck and drive it home. ROCK! Peapod is still in the running, but the prices are higher; I'm too much of a Scot to let that go easily...

Monday morning

Mood: OK
Hair: Clean, combed and damp

My day off.

Insert snort of derision here.

I just updated the books, and my kid's new blog.

Now I'm taking over a gift to one of the new babies in the neighborhood (actually, to his mom).

Then I'm off to church for two weeks' worth of attendance data entry.

Then to the chiropractor at 11:30.

Then to Sam's Club and the grocery store.

When I get home and finish unloading all that stuff, I'm taking the receipts and "ordering" the same food from Peapod. If it's not outrageously higher, I'm going to start ordering from them for real. This driving around from store to store crap is for the birds, or for people with more time and money for gas than I currently have.

That should bring us to dinnertime. Whee....

After dinner I have about 4 other things to accomplish while the football game is on.

But. HEY! The Pack won!! Woooohooooo.

Stream of consciousness after work

Mood: OK, sore and tired, but OK
Hair: Half-assed braid
Snappy Comeback NOT to be used today: I'm not being rude. You're just insignificant.

That is SO not me.

Anyway. I worked today. Got most of my Bottom Shelf sorted, about half of it is cataloged, another third of it needs copy-catting. The rest is weird shit that will never show up in OCLC and I don't want to deal with.

We're going to friends' house tomorrow, folks we haven't seen for awhile. It will be nice.

But first Sparky's acting skills have been requested for Sunday School tomorrow. I may be his partner on-stage, unless the coordinator can get another kid to do it.

My back? Hurts.

Work next week? Looks like I'll be on the Ref Desk a lot--we have lots of librarians taking days off. Great. And I have to prep for Shut-In deliveries. Ish.

Talked to my mom last night, which was depressing. That doesn't even explain how miserable talking to her is. It's like talking on a cell phone with poor reception to a very stubborn three-year-old who is also spoiled and lazy and doesn't understand English very well. At the end, I hang up and feel like putting my head through a wall; or maybe I feel as if I have just done so. I'll say it again: that woman is NOT my mother, she's NOT the mother who raised me, she's an imposter.

I wish.

Clearly, I need a vac day tomorrow. Hope that turns out better than I have reason to expect it to.
---------------------------
Must head home now and eat burgers, perhaps do some ironing, and take a bath. Perhaps I can convince the Beast to crack my back at some point....

Happy Sunday to all!

How do you find me?

• todd sheets chiropracter (separate dates, separate entries; don’t know this guy)
• subsurvient chicken tv (I think I’m out of the loop here)
• does wearing stockings nylons increase a woman's sex drive (huh??—no, quite the reverse IMHO)
• "refgrunt" –lowlights (why no lowlights? But I guess I haven’t had any… )
• sinus headace (spellcheck anyone?)
• ma*ssge st paul (that typo is getting me in trouble—btw, St. Paul probably wasn’t really into m*a*s*sages…) [edited by siteowner]
• Sweet dreams in spanish (twice)
• Sweet dreams malaysia
• sweet dreams are made of these, who had a mind to disagree (NNNN---wrong!)
• why am i the girl you wanna spend the rest of your life with (I’m probably not, and neither are you)
• preggo & denmark (on a Danish search engine)
• “texas hold'em"+"manchester NH" (never been to the latter—bet there was a tourney there though)
• voyerism…(lern tu spel!)
• WWW.TEN FACTS ABOUT SAKI'S LIFE AND WORK.COM (CAPS LOCK off and get real, idiot)
• Seamus Hainey (er, it’s “Heaney” folks…although points given for using Google in Spanish)
• Ouray hat & t-shirt combo (would like to get hold of this…)
• woman migraine scam poker (what a weird combination--who is scamming? the women? is the migraine the scam or the poker??)
• "crappy things" tactless ex boyfriend (uh, no)
• visualizing setting of the lost boy by Dave pelzer (hmmm another case of “I dunno how to do research…”)
• "Sandra Lockett" milwaukee (oops, see what happens when you mention former profs?)
• “my longest fingernail" (…is very short)
• pix[search terms deleted] tuck tape (DucT tape, pervert...—does your mother know what you’re doing online??)
• Caps "it's a good day" (nope, my cap isn’t that sweet)
• garage + organized + conn's (nope nope nope—wrong person entirely!)
• teen dating Sunday School lesson (huh)
• weight site:http://lrtshouse.blo (fascinating)
• "was skinny" site:blogspot.com (what is all this about??)
• lawyer candy mold gift boxes (I need to smoke whatever this person is smoking)
• bill murray's son's name baseball player (huh??)
• souvenir and gift shop - advertisement poster – philippines (more Spanish searching)

The moral is: Typos are funny.

As The Beast says, stick a fork in me, I'm done.

Have a great weekend. I get to eat lunch with the slightly wacky part of my family (of origin) tomorrow and work on Saturday.

T-I-R-E-D

Mood: {see above}
Hair: {see previous entry}
'Never' is indeed working for me....

I'm at the reference desk. School hasn't gotten out yet, at least not for the middle school kids, so it's nice and quiet.

Staff meeting this morning: spent much time on the concept of purchasing CCTV cameras for the building and the possibility of hiring someone to "police" the building from 4-9 p.m. Monday through Thursday. It apparently is chaos incarnate in here from 6 till 8...last night a crowd of 12 were in and out and in and out and in and out....

Sounds like a p[o]rn movie. Or some kind of religious festival.

But I'm sure it was louder than either.
----------------
Anyway, I'm calling the dr. when I get away from this desk. My neck is better, but I'm not sure if the chiropractor is helping, if I'm getting used to the pain, or if I'm getting better on my own.

Now there's a baby crying LOUDLY behind me---er, make that SHRIEKING--and still the dad sits reading and rocking her. Which, I guess is a step up from reading and ignoring her.

I'm cranky. Maybe I should try shrieking.

Before leaving for work

Mood: so-so
Hair: blown-out, the theory being 'fake it till you make it'
Snappy Comeback NOT to be used today: How about never? Is never good for you? [from yesterday's paper, an article on New Yorker cartoons]

We have a Ref Staff meeting this morning. Joyohjoy.

I'm going to try to get my cart emptied and possibly look at the stuff on the dreaded Bottom Shelf, which is growing Topsy-wise.

Watched poker on TV the last two nights. I especially love the George the Greek, who shouts,

"THE ISLAND OF CRETE! THE ISLAND OF CRETE!"

whenever he wins. I think he was our tour guide to Delphi. I also like Chris Ferguson: his hat is so very cool, and I giggle at him looking vaguely Sleeky-only-bearded (till he takes off his shades and said hat).

Marie and Jan are in town, staying with their daughter, Katherine, not me. We are supposed to be "doing something" tomorrow, don't know what, don't know where...it's messing up my schedule. :-) And there's a hint that the three of them may be staying the night tomorrow, which means massive shoveling of crap off the spare room bed in order to make it up.

But that's tomorrow. First I have to get through today. Wish I were shopping....even if it was for a tripod.

But I REALLY wish I were in Florence with Annie. How about shopping, with Amy and Annie, in Florence?? Five stars!

The middle of a useless week

Mood: ...
Hair: Braided
Snappy Comeback NOT to be used today: If I throw a stick, will you leave?

My shoulders/neck hurt.

How much? So much that I've asked someone in their 60s to do the book-delivery for me today.

Now, on top of the pain in my back, I have guilt. I should be able to do this, y'know, just suck it up and lift that tub, tote that bale! The main reason there is so much guilt, though, is that I really don't want to do these deliveries.

I used to be the Shut-In delivery person. I did this for about six years. While I can say I didn't completely loathe the job--perks included being out of the building in the middle of the afternoon once a week, driving around town with music blaring, meeting some really cool people I otherwise wouldn't know, getting to know an awful lot about nursing homes--I was really glad to give it up. The attrition rate is depressing: about 4 deaths per year. I don't deal well with that. [who does??] And my previous emotional history with nursing homes is not good. Most of the ones I visited for this were quite nice, but some were...not.

So when the current person told me he was going on vacation and asked me to pick up the slack in this area while he was gone, I grimaced and agreed. But out of a sense of duty, not because I was thrilled.

So, am I milking this back thing to get out of doing the deliveries?

Or am I really unable to do them?

It's a case of making clear my motives...

I think it's choice number 2...my stomach hurts again today as well...but there's that nagging doubt...

Irony Day

Mood: ok considering my neck is on fire
Hair: curled
Snappy comeback NOT to be used today: I started out with nothing and still have most of it left.

The weather today is drizzly, current temp at 11 a.m. is 48 degrees Fahrenheit.

The retirement home here has procured flu vaccines and is hosting a clinic today.

The line stretches out the door, down the hill to the street around the corner...traffic on the side street is out of control, no parking to be found...probably 200 people standing outside.

In the rain.

Risking pneumonia in order to get a flu shot.


UPDATE: There were, at one point 500 people in line. What's up with that??

Sunday night

This has become a bit of a boring medical blog this week. More news...

...I've done something stupid to my shoulder/neck overnight last night. I can't turn my head or tilt it without excruciatingly sharp pains in my cervical spine area. It's a bitch.

Hurts to type, for heaven's sake. So here I am at work. Typing. And doing the reserves.

I may not be around much this week again at this rate.

(But my stomach feels better. Huh)

Grr...woof

Mood: Annoyed
Hair: formerly braided, now in a ponytail because the braid came out

I'm home sick. Been home sick for two days now. It's nothing contagious, but that's about all I'm sure about.

Caught up my book blog from the 4-book extravaganza of being-home-sick-reading.

Already did this entry and Blogger ate it.

Par for the course this week.

Surely I'll feel better by Monday...

Short

Mood: Lousy. But thanks for asking
Hair: 40s -- could be the best part of the day
Snappy Comeback to be used today: How do I set a laser printer to stun?

Sparky just called. He 'forgot' to do some homework last night. He has tonight to make it up, plus rewrite a paper for another class. Plus, his regular homework, whatever he's assigned today.

I think I'm going to bed at 7 p.m. tonight, to sleep, perchance to dream. Or not.

I'm FINE. Really.

Spice and blogs

Mood: Tired
Hair: Ugh (best not to mention)
Snappy Comeback NOT to be used today: It's a thankless job, but I've got a lot of karma to burn off.

That must be true...I must have been unpleasant in the extreme in my previous life.

So. Some of you will find this funny. Others will find it perfectly normal. It will be interesting to see who is who.

In the process of compiling the grocery list for the week yesterday, I was checking on the availability of cumin in the cupboards. We have lived in our house 366 days, and the spice cupboard was one of the first things organized when we first moved. I bought the stacked racks so you can see the stuff in the back of the cupboard. Very cool, very sensible....till the first time you reach in for the bay leaves in the back and knock over the mustard seeds and garlic powder and thyme. Among other not-so-Greek tragedies.

Yesterday, I ended up taking all the spices out of the cupboard. About ten went in the trash, because they were opened over three years ago. How do I know? I mark the date I open them on the lid (either in black marker or in whiteout-pen).

[Are you getting a sense of my issues? I'll give you a hint: my mother still has the same small container of cinnamon in her spices that I used as a young teen to make banana bread 25 years ago.]

I looked in the cupboard on the other side of the stove which contains Pam spray, olive oil, coffee, tea, balsamic vinegar, etc. Lots of ill-used space. Moved most of that into the "spice" cupboard so that I could put all of the stackable racks in a row on one shelf. The salsa mix, dry onion soup and bouillon are all together on one shelf over the spices. They have been sorted and re-alphabetized in three rows:

REALLY tall containers (oregano, black pepper) in the back
relatively tall jars (bay leaves, allspice) in the middle
short containers (poultry seasoning, garlic salt) in the front.

The huge Sam's Club containers of Italian herbs and taco seasoning and cinnamon fit JUST PERFECTLY next to the racks.

It makes much more sense this way. Then I went and bought cayenne and cumin to replace what I'd thrown away.

Now I almost want to cook.

If only life was this easy to sort.

But it isn't.

How do I know? Because at 8:15 last night I was shrieking at my son because his (dirty) lunchbox and (dirty) gym clothes were still in his backpack where they were dumped on Friday. Because family (of origin) gossip will get you in the end every time. And because sometimes you want to whack your friends upside the head over their BIG life decisions. Amazing what sharing a household and making two phone calls can do for one's mood.

Started the day well, ended it...well, pretty PISSED OFF. Probably why I went to bed early.
_____________________________

Probably won't be blogging much this week. Am feeling generally overwhelmed, underappreciated, crapped out and cranky. Don't even want to be around myself. Not PMS, but the same general feel. Perhaps I'll empty and reorganize the pantry as therapy ...

Thank God (or not) for new jewelry! :-)

Misc.

Mood: OK. VERY stiff neck (see below)
Hair: blown out (but that was 8+ hours ago!)
Snappy Comeback NOT to be used today: Chaos, panic & disorder--my work here is [nearly] done.

Hold on to your hat, it's another jump-from-subject-to-subject day.

Played CivIII for 5 hours yesterday. Consequently, I have the tightest upper back in the world and my neck hurts a lot too. I had to quit. I'm insane, compulsive and stupid for even starting to play.

Have I mentioned that I've misplaced a Bible? I realized this a couple of weeks ago. My secondhand Jerusalem Bible has gone missing, along with the binder with Bible Study notes in it from the last 8 years (not that many notes, but it had a really funny joke-page with it which started MR DUCKS...). I suspect I took them out of the canvas bag they were in last spring, and in a fit of pique--I was having a lot of those directed at church stuff--put them somewhere. Obviously not with the other Bibles I use for BibSt. Not in the office at home, not in the cupboards in the living room, not in the pantry. The Beast thinks they are packed away with our other books, but I've used these things since we moved. GRRRR...

Two Sundays ago we realized that Sparky's last promotion Bible is also missing. OK, so now I'm thinking we unloaded from the last day of Sunday School last spring and dumped all three of these things...WHERE?!

Upside: I have a copy of the same Bible as Sparky (The Adventure Bible), so he can use that for Sunday School and PYPs. I have my NIV Bible, which is in better shape anyway. So I'm not doomed. Just annoyed.

Speaking of Bibles, I have at least six. I haven't unpacked those book boxes, but I suspect there are more. Versions I own: The Way, The Message, Word on the Street, NIV, RSV, NIV for kids...probably have at least some of KJV (one of those free-on-the-street-corner 3"x5" Bibles unless I threw them all away). Why? Cuz I like to see how different translations have dealt with whatever I'm studying.

Sparky is spending his first evening at home alone tonight while we do "grown-up" things. No not those. Something for church. ;-) But children are explicitly verboten. Kind of nice.

Guess I'd better get rid of this headache before we go. I'm being picked up from work to go since otherwise I would drive 20 minutes home and then turn around and drive 20 minutes right back here (around the corner). Stupid.

So, yeah, I'm at work and I've done a buttload of Spanish books, mostly ones for kids, and the rest of the DVDs. Slow but sure.

HOWEVER, guess what's left: SKINNY BOOKS. Damn.

Email from niece today: she and her new husband are coming over here for my OTHER niece's wedding next summer. Can they stay with us? So far they are camping for a week, her parents are staying for a week (probably different days...?) and possibly my brother & family are coming. Let's see, we can still fit two more people, but I think then we'll have to buy another inflatable mattress.

I really MUST get living room curtains before I ask people to sleep in there!!

Ciao.

I'm here, I'm here! {mad waving from the left aisle}

Mood: OK -- can feel my brain doing a sort of Weetabix thing though
Hair: pony behind crown
Snappy Comeback NOT to be used today: A cubicle is just a padded cell without a door.

Remember that perception is reality.

• I've cataloging a dozen potty-training DVDs today
• I've potzed around with those Booknotes I mentioned the other day (was it only Tuesday?)
• I'm done with the CDs
• There's a shelf of continuations to deal with
• There are about twenty little crapola projects that I've had "consultations" about today: how to fix one of our new chairs so Lovely Old Lady Tech can finally be comfortable, how to demarcate the Weed n Feed Grant books as they arrive, what to do about the stupid book packaged with the onesie in the cover [to name a few]
• Noon arrived at about 10:15 (already?)
• I'm mentally DONE. Toast. Restacked the junk on my cart, pushed it back and said, "Nope, can't, ick. Saturday. Yeah, I'll get it done Saturday."

I have a (forgotten) meeting tonight. Thankfully, the committee chair called and reminded me around 9 a.m., and I actually have my act together and the minutes are typed up and copied.

In any case, much running around in store this afternoon and evening:

• pick up Sparky at school (10 minute drive, 10 minutes in line waiting at school)
• go get minutes at home (15 minutes)
• drive to dentist (at least 20 minutes)
• read old magazines while the dentist cleans six months of sludge of Sparky's teeth and pronounces him cavity-free (unlike Dewey) because he's got teeth made of some diamond-like substance (20 minutes)
• drive back here (during rush hour: 20-30 minutes)
• find somewhere to eat and do so (at least 30 minutes)
• call The Beast (20 minutes?)
• go to meeting (by 7:00)

Homework??? Huh. Right.

More randomness: our library's records are about two weeks away from being clean and pristine, thanks to Zen Cataloger. She is down to about 200 "illegal" (i.e., non-OCLC) records belonging to us. When she retired [pause for guffaw] not-quite-two years ago there were thousands. There still are thousands in our database, but THEY AREN'T OURS!! This is cause for celebration, I guess, but the thought just makes me tired.

I posted this week that I passed the 350 mark in blog entries. Oddly enough, by counter still shows me (stuck) at 349. Hello? Blogger??? Anyone home?

I want to go to Florence and Venice and drink wine and eat oranges this weekend. I'd 'settle' for Greece. Instead, I get to work both days.

The Beast is coming home tomorrow. I've missed him. And my "things to do around the house while The Beast is gone" list isn't close to finished, so I guess I have to work on that a bit tomorrow, eh?

Anyway, I wish I could draw. But I found, thanks to Frilly, another reason why the Internet is very cool.

Amy and I are scheduling a shopping trip. This proves that I'm no longer a teenager. In case I wasn't sure.

Shopping may be a reward for surviving the cataloging meeting, run by the Man We All Love to Loathe, ably assisted in his attempts to look brilliant by The Cataloger Who Lives in Space and Has Limited Brain Function on Earth. They work in separate buildings, Otherwise the universe would explode.

It's definitely a reward for A. surviving life in general. And who needs a better excuse to shop than that?

So. Ciao - αντίο.

Appalling

This is what would happen if I were President.

But, see, I'm not. So it's appalling that reporters don't see particularly interested in this story. A hidden earpiece is ever-so-slightly different from a freaking TELEPROMPTER!

Or is it just that I expect honesty? Ahhh, that must be it.

Courtesy BoingBoing

Day in the Life

9:30 This CD, and specifically track 3 “Liberation,” sounds like the soundtrack for CivIII. I’ll have to check the credits next time I (or Sparky) play. It’s rather eerie, and in fact, I’ve had to swap out because it’s making me just want to go home and play – mind you, this coming from someone who turns the sound off when I play because it’s so damn annoying. Now listening to Aerosmith again (different disc though—“Toys in the Attic”).

CDs sampled today (besides those listed above):

· Grand Funk Railroad “E Pluribus Funk” (huh—welcome to my childhood)
· The Heptones “Deep in the Roots” (REAL reg—yeah, I’m a snob)
· Paul Simon “Graceland” (new version with 4 extra tracks—the “Homeless” demo is haunting)
· Würzburger Perkussions-Ensemble “Drums” (I shoulda been a percussionist)
· The Master Musicians of Jajouka "Apocalypse Across the Sky" (hmmm)
· Jenica's Mix I (because I need something "normal" after that last one)

LUNCHTIME (Over the course of two-plus hours at my desk): Several handfuls of sunflower seeds, three Babybels, small baggie of Wheat Thins (low sodium), two cookie-dough Pop-Tarts. All washed down with some of the liter bottle of Diet Dr. Pepper. Junk food princess strikes again.

2:00 Random Stuff: New screensaver today: Starry Nights. Not VanGogh. Hopefully it won’t crash my PC, or Sleek will surely say mean things about me when I’m not here on Friday. Oh well, actually, he may say them anyway, regardless of what I do today...

Speaking of technology, our PC at home has been misbehaving. So in an attack of pique, I installed Ad-Aware on it last night: it cleaned off over 300 critters. While updating ye olde book blog, I got an alert from McAfee that it had snagged a trojan. Ran the virus check, and it found three more! ack So I ended up defragging while I was potzing about, which told me that several (smallish) sectors of our hard drive are whacked.

And wasn’t that just a ton of fun? Well, I will say that it was at least better than having the trojans deploy.

Best part? Once I was done, doing ANYTHING else (even cleaning up the living room and kitchen!) looked like a barrel of laughs.

3:30 Never thought I'd say these in the same sentence: This is the order of the DVDs currently piled on my cart:

The Exorcist Trilogy, The Passion of the Christ, Once Upon a Potty for Him, Mean Girls, It's Potty Time, Heidi, Clear and Present Danger

Who says we don't buy for everyone?? Especially if you have "potty" issues.

------------------------------------
Must go get Sparky from school. He's coming back here with me for an hour, then a quick run for flowers and to church for dinner. I will probably spend the hour clearing my desk at home off: it's a disaster. And helping him with homework.

Snuffleupagus

Mood: Logy
Hair: Curly, but probably straight as a stick by noon
Snappy Comeback NOT to be used today: Nice perfume. Must you marinate in it? (this should be posted above the Schedule Nazi's desk)

So yeah, allergies suck. Big shock there, eh?

I'm allergic to (among other things) corn pollen. I live in the exurbs in the Midwestern U.S. Will someone shoot me, please?

I spend a lot of time every autumn praying for a hard frost. Just one. That kills all the baddies, including the mold (yep, that's another allergen) and the dead leaf gunge. No that's not the technical name, but the more leaves on the ground, the worse I feel....it's probably the mold, but it's some very special Dead Leaves Mold that makes my head hurt, my eyes burn, my nose feel like Victoria Falls (or the Sahara) and my lungs scream. I've been putting Patanol in my eyes at least once a day now for almost a month. It no longer seems to be working. Neither is the Rhinocort, the Allegra, the Benedryl... and the Albuterol makes me psycho. So the prayers for killing frost have begun.

Which is insane, because I HATE winter. I have cold hands and feet non-stop for 8 months of the year. Hot flashes have mitigated that a bit, but now I get cold extremeties AND a sweaty torso. I tell ya, it just bites.

When I grow up, I'm moving to Arizona, never leaving my air-conditioned condo, and wearing nothing but cotton for the rest of my life, with flip-flops.

Oh, wait. I am grown up. Shit. So much for that plan.

So back to being thankful that, unlike my sister, I'm only allergic to pollen. She can't eat anything with corn in it: no sweet corn of course, but also no corn syrup (pop, cookies, candy bars...everything sweet in America has corn syrup in it) and no corn oil (no potato chips, tortilla chips, margarine...). Read some labels sometime; it's a killer. Hint: dextrose = corn.

Gack. And thank goodness that in 2004 there are meds, because I really do think that if there weren't, I'd be dead. For real. And that would TRULY bite.

350

Yeah.

It's lunchtime. Jello, crackers, cheese and a Kit-Kat bar. Cuz I'm nothin' if not a junk-food princess.

On my 5-minute break at my desk, I came across these thanks to the Quotations Page:

• Lawyers, I suppose, were children once. -- Charles Lamb (1775 - 1834)
  Some of them were even cute, blond-haired Minnesotans, in fact. Hi A!
  
  
• Politics, n. Strife of interests masquerading as a contest of principles. -- Ambrose Bierce (1842 - 1914), The Devil's Dictionary
  Hmmm, this is a little opaque, but I do love Bierce's take on reality. Most of the time...
  
  
• My loathings are simple: stupidity, oppression, crime, cruelty, soft music. -- Vladimir Nabokov (1899 - 1977)
  Great, now I'm channelling Nabokov...
  
  
• Happiness is not achieved by the conscious pursuit of happiness; it is generally the by-product of other activities. -- Aldous Huxley (1894 - 1963), Vendeta for the Western World, 1945
  Yep. He was onto something there.

But yea--350 posts in about 9 months.

Heh

Here's something Microsoft could do to make our jobs more fun. (via LIB)

Which sort goes along with The Beast's new mantra (adapted from JPR again):
I have plenty of talent and vision; I just don't give a damn, brought on by you, my visionless leader.

Now back to work. CDs, here I come!

Yep. It's Tuesday. Notable lack of cheering heard

Mood: Tired
Hair: Maybe I shouldn't get a mirror after all
Snappy Comeback NOT to be used today: I don't work here; I'm a consultant. (Thanks JPR!)

My to-do list for the day (more realistically, the week):

• Call High School re yearbooks (ask [boss] if we sent them a check last year for the 03-04....and order 04-05)
• Explain Suppression list details to [92-year-old Tech who rocks]
• Work on CDs (new AND gift)
• Work on DVDs (new AND gift)
• Find Booknotes and do analytics (809.048, 973.0922, 973)
• Fix Board Books and Alcott bio

I'm also on call to register voters for a couple of hours, this being the last day to do so in the great state where "vote early and vote often" is the credo. Not a chance I'll get my list accomplished today. The first item alone I know will sap all my psychic energy--so glad I don't have Jenica's job! :-)

I'm changing my name...

... to Abulia.

(Thanks, WOTD.)

Because, see, I'm supposed to be cleaning toilets right now.

Instead, I'm looking at things like this, via Scribbling Woman.

Yeah, I'm supposed to be doing chores...

...but I'm not; I'm on the computer instead.

I like the quotation line-up today too--interesting mix:

Power corrupts. Absolute power is kind of neat.
John Lehman (1942 - ), Secretary of the Navy, 1981-1987

Ahhh. A man with a sharp wit. Someone ought to take it away from him before he cuts himself.
Peter da Silva

Those who can make you believe absurdities can make you commit atrocities.
Voltaire (1694 - 1778)

Say what you will about the Ten Commandments, you must always come back to the pleasant fact that there are only ten of them.
H. L. Mencken (1880 - 1956)

RE yesterday's list:

--No Ren Fair-thing, hence no Old Navy on the way (too much to do)
--Bread is about half-done (on second rising) and will take it to church this afternoon, where I will also run a membership list for CROP walk
--Laundry is in progress
--Called to order my scrapbook stuff for next month
--Shopping list created (with Sparky's "help")
--Read (E! Weekly, Eragon)
--Have started updating and coordinating the calendars for October

Last night, Sparky & I had leftovers for dinner, watched "Survivor" on tape, played Trash, watched the end of 'HP/Chamber...' on HBO (I played solitaire), talked to The Beast (in code since his mom was right next to him), had a glass of wine in the bathtub, and crashed out. In bed, by the way.

"Wait Wait Don't Tell Me" is just starting on NPR, so I have to go now.

Taking stock

Mood: Ti-ired: my feet hurt
Hair: Still pretty curly (I love when it's conditioned and clean)

Long day. It's the end of the state library conference, so between that and a couple sick people, all week we've been a little short-staffed. I was on desk for four hours today, hence the sore feet.

Spent a lot of the time sorting my cart into what I can do immediately Tuesday morning, and what needs more attention than just call numbers (OCLC records downloaded, or created). So next week, I should (ha ha) be able to sit down and plow right through about 75 things first thing.
_______________

The Beast is at his parents' house this weekend; he has a trade show about 100 miles south of there next week, so he's combining the obligations of work and parents. He really has wanted to check on his dad ever since he was in the hospital last month (or was that August...?). And Mom, of course, too. They are now saying that yes, she probably did have a stroke, but no, he probably didn't.

Sparky called me when the bus dumped him at home. No homework. He says. We'll see. He wasn't sure what to do next, since it's raining outside and that kind of puts a damper on hoops. So I suggested CivIII and he joyfully agreed: "I can do that?! Great, thanks Mom!" Sometimes being a parent is so bloody EASY! :-)

It's the Sparky and Cataloger show for the next six days. Should be interesting.

Thinkin' about going to the nearest PCUSA retreat center tomorrow for a Ren Fair-type thing, stopping by Old Navy on the way....Sunday is Communion, so I will probably make the bread tonight and take it to church on our way tomorrow....Church Sunday morning, youth group in the afternoon for Sparky....FOOTBALL!...Call my mom....Maybe do my Bible Study "homework"....Guess I should do some laundry....Clean the bathrooms....Read....CivIII, but I don't think I have time after looking over this 'graph.

So yeah, pretty thrilling life I lead. Maybe we'll go see a movie.
______________________

From "An Invitation to Poetry"

Year That Trembled and Reel'd Beneath Me

Year that trembled and reel'd beneath me!
Your summer wind was warm enough--yet the air I breathed froze me;
A thick gloom fell through the sunshine and darken'd me;
Must I change my triumphant songs? said I to myself;
Must I indeed learn to chant the cold dirges of the baffled?
And sullen hymns of defeat?

Harley Palmer

[my 1994-95]

School must be out...

This should be the "official" ALA signage and enforcement.

For the Smack Upside the Forehead File

CT says to me yesterday re a book I was cataloging (Why I Am A Muslim): "Those people are weird."

My response? "So are Christians."

+++++++++++++++++++++++

Then, this morning, I go to "my" thinking site and the Word on the Street and get this...

One of the religious law profs tries to catch Jesus out: "What've I got to do to get this limitless life?"

"You're a lawyer. What's the law say?" asks Jesus

He rolls off the pat answer: "Love God with everything you've got and love your neighbours as you love yourself."

"Good answer," says Jesus. "Do it and you'll get this limitless life!"

But he couldn't resist posing: "But who qualifies as, quote, 'neighbour'?"

Jesus says, " There's a guy leaving Jerusalem on Jericho Rd., OK? He gets mugged, left in the gutter half-naked and two-thirds dead. One of the God-reps is passing, sees him and crosses the road ... to avoid him!" (He waits for the gasps to die down.) "Then an HQ worker goes past, sees him and does the same." (Slightly smaller gasps.) "Next up a Samaritan goes past. Sees him and, what d'you reckon? Tell you what -- multiple choice: (a) walks on past, (b) goes over and sees if they've left any money so he can steal it, or (c) starts kicking him in to finish off the job. No idea? Well, the answer is ... (d) cleans his injuries, lifts the guy onto his donkey, walks him to the next country pub, pays for bed and full board, promising to cover the excess if the bill tots up to more." (Major rumbles of shocked voices.) "So who's down in the characters list as 'neighbour' then?"

The slick lawyer mumbles, "The Sama-- ... uh ... the guy who looked after him."

"So, go do the same," Jesus says.

(the trad version)

--SMACK--!