At work

Yes, it's a holiday weekend. I'm at work. Migraine Woman is on vacation for the next 10 days, so I will be picking up hours at the Reference Desk while she's gone. And doing her ILL duties. So I won't be cataloging much. And that's why I'm here. Not working very hard, though....

...but I'd better get started.

Ooops, meant to post this first

Re Friday: The other librarian who normally works at the Reference desk Friday mornings came to my desk at 10:10 yesterday saying, "I have a migraine coming on and I have to go home now." [Comments on migraines to come later.]

So instead of being on a service desk for 4 hours yesterday, I was on for about 6. Got a stupendous amount of sorting done, actually:

these are in our catalog, these are not
these are in First Search, these are not

And I got the demand order done, filed and sorted out. So even though I didn't see my desk for most of the day, and didn't do any proper blogging yesterday, I feel pretty good about the day.

[Migraines: I've had one migraine in my life, and couple of near-migraines. They totally suck, and I've never even actually had them cause my stomach to get into the act. However, this particular librarian takes time off at the first sneeze, the slightest twinge in her left toenail, and the day after a holiday that she wasn't scheduled to work anyway. What a piece of work. Good thing she's otherwise a joy to work with!]

---

The Beast took the day off from work yesterday, golfed 18 in the morning, and then went to friends' house at about 2:30 to help them move. He picked up Sparky in the midst of packing stuff up. I joined them after I came home to change after work. Todd, when I said I had to go change out of my work clothes, said, "Naah, we'll just find the scissors and cut the skirt so it won't get in the way." What??? I told him a needle & thread for sewing it into harem pants would make more sense.

Scissors?? We have weird friends!

The boy and I left at about 9:30; he had spent about 2 hours trying to calm the dogs down, and Mar & I had spent the same amount of time lining shelves after I just told her I was going to buy paper. She was literally standing in her kitchen spinning, trying to figure out what to do next. Typically moving-day frazzle.

----

Today we bought The Beast's Father's Day present--three weeks early--of a riding mower. It takes him about two hours every three days to walk and mow our yard, and that's before he does any edging.

The last two hours have consisted of him putting on the bumper, gassing and oiling it, and putting together the trailer. He's the happiest guy in the world right now! I was left at Home Depot for over an hour while he brought the thing home, unloaded it, patted it, started it up, etc., etc. Home Depot is not that exciting a place for me. Plus, I couldn't pay because he wanted to come back and buy some copper pipe for some other project... I was not (ahem) happy at his very delayed return....

While he was working on his new toy, I potted a bunch of new plants in new pots for the front porch. They, if I may say so, look lovely. Must remember to put bloodmeal on the big pot so the rabbits and other critters stay away... Of course, I bought too many sets, so I will have to buy another pot for them. hee hee Weeded for about 20 minutes (see above) before admitting defeat and thinking I should probably move laundry and think about food for tonight.

---

It is 7 p.m. We have not eaten supper yet. I'm not sure when Sparky is planning to come home (he's next door). The Beast has finally come in the house, but he's downstairs doing something. And I need to go switch laundry. oh ugh ick bleaahhh

Hope your weekend is as uneventful as all that!

Guess what I've been doing today

Mood: Good, but I'm going to be sore tomorrow
Hair: ...just don't ask...

It's been one of those days where I've had plenty of time to think. Woke up (at 9:15, aren't you proud of me?) thinking, in fact.

Chore I dread doing, but the separate steps aren't that bad, once I actually start on it:
Laundry. We do probably 6-7 loads a week, and thank God The Beast takes the initiative on it, or it wouldn't get done. Thinking about it makes me crazy. BUT...I don't mind folding the loads as they come out of the dryer. Maybe it has something to do with being tied to the house for 7+ hours listening for the buzzer(s)...? Whatever. I just switched loads; still not liking it.

Chore I look forward to doing, but once I actually start I remember how much I hate it/how hard it is:
Weeding. Not at all helped this year by the fact that we got grass seed spread into our garden--long story--last fall and now we have 2' high grass infesting the bushes and plants. Sigh. With all the rain we've been having, everything's growing like mad, but the ground is impossible to work with.

Chores I hate, passionately, deeply, and permanently: Anything to do with floors--mopping, vacuuming, sweeping. Don't really like dusting either.

Chores I look forward to doing:
Washing dishes and cleaning the sink. I even like cleaning the bathroom with all it's components (yes, even toilets).

Wouldn't it be nice to post a list like this in your neighborhood? "I'll clean your bathroom if you'll mop and vacuum my floors." Any takers?

;-)

It's true

Mood: OK Hair: Blown out but shaggy (...Shantell, paging Shantell, please pick up the paging telephone, Shantell)

Amy is a goddess! She and her compatriots figured out a weird database trick for the fixed fields--you catalogers know what I mean--that will save me hours of time cataloging. Woo hoo.

(Heh, I typed "Catalogres." I think I'm getting a T-shirt with that on it!!)

EDITED:
[Incidentally, I've posted both The Guardian's Best Books List and The College Board's List of Books on my book blog.]

6 hours later

Mood: That 'T' word
Hair: If I didn't know better, I'd swear it was helmet hair! Still in good shape. Weirder and weirder.

So what did I end up doing tonight?

I ate (leftover cold pizza).
I half-heartedly looked again for the source of a very (ahem) unpleasant odor in the house, one that apparently only I can smell. Amityville Horror, anyone?
I read the local weekly paper, quoting the results of the survey of teenagers to the boy. When I told him that 25% of those surveyed said they'd had sex in the last month, he wrinkled up his note and said, "That's just gross!" hee hee
We read Blitzkat.
We went on an abortive shopping expedition for a yo-yo. Pleeze--it's a 40-minute round-trip to the nearest Wal-Mart/Target/K-Mart. I got about a mile from home and smacked myself metaphorically upside the head. We came home and played catch instead.
Talked to The Beast on the phone.
Put the boy to bed.
Spent 90 minutes doing more trip lists while watching Road Rules/Real World Inferno and drinking Dr. Pepper.
Spent 90 minutes reformatting the sidebar on my books blog. Just realized I left something off and I need to go fix it.

Funny: I don't see wine or cheese anywhere on that list. Or a front porch. Or even a phone call to our friends. Sigh...

The up news is that I haven't had a single snack since dinner. Now that I've realized that, of course, getting from the computer to bed (via the kitchen) is going to be tricky. ;-)

Staff meeting tomorrow morning. {croak} Then I think I'll hit the headphones and try to actually accomplish something useful for a few hours. Wish me luck.

Wednesday

Mood: Pretty good
Hair: Clipped up and behaving for a change

Yeah, I haven't blogged here for a couple of days. It's been nuts both at home and at work, and I'm feeling totally overwhelmed. Two Little League games (a win and a slaughter-rule loss), another giant-ass cart full of books behind me. I'm tired to the bone by 6 p.m. most days.

"These are the happiest days of your life." I can hear my mother telling me this. She's probably right. I wish I could appreciate that fact.

Random thoughts:

> Sparky had to serve an after-school detention yesterday for punching someone.
> He also finally was told that his best friend is moving out of town.
> His only other friend at school has been withdrawn and is finishing the year as a home-school student, because of the behavior of the rest of the kids in his class.
> He actually swung the bat at his game last night. Not that he hit the ball...
> He got a Presidential Award for Academic Achievement today. woot
> Tomorrow night he gets his yearbook, at the end-of-the-year party at school.
> I love him a lot.

The Beast is in Kansas City tonight and tomorrow. I'm trying to figure out what to do with Sparky--who has been at work with me today since 11:15--when we leave. He needs to get some physical activity in. Besides shelving DVDs and videos for us, if that even counts....

A former page who has decided to get a MLS just stopped in; he'll be working some Reference hours this summer, along with 2 other jobs. He's a doll (although he'd shoot me for calling him that!).

I'm dreading calling our friends to find out about "Cody" tonight. Yesterday was 7 days; they should know by now if he's coming home anytime soon.

I'm going back into news-hibernation mode; I can't read the paper or even Newsweek. Everything makes me sick to my stomach. Think I'll sit on the porch tonight drinking wine and eating cheese and the hell with all the multitude of crap I really need to do. [That will last about 20 minutes till the screams of Guilt have deafened me and I have to get to work on SOMETHING!]

Billy Joel--"Shades of Grey"
Some things were perfectly clear, seen with the vision of youth
No doubts and nothing to fear, I claimed the corner on truth
These days it's harder to say I know what I'm fighting for
My faith is falling away
I'm not that sure anymore

Shades of grey wherever I go
The more I find out the less that I know
Black and white is how it should be
But shades of grey are the colors I see

Once there were trenches and walls and one point of every view
Fight 'til the other man falls
Kill him before he kills you
These days the edges are blurred, I'm old and tired of war
I hear the other man's words
I'm not that sure anymore

Shades of grey are all that I find
When I come to the enemy line
Black and white was so easy for me
But shades of grey are the colors I see

Now with the wisdom of years I try to reason things out
And the only people I fear are those who never have doubts [my emphasis]
Save us all from arrogant men, and all the causes they're for
I won't be righteous again
I'm not that sure anymore

Shades of grey wherever I go
The more I find out the less that I know
Ain't no rainbows shining on me
Shades of grey are the colors I see

So yeah, I'm still here, just reduced. Like broth maybe?

Typo

Margaret Atwood's The Handmaid's Tale (Bloom's Guides)
"Voyerism"?

The title of a section of the book: "Pamela Cooper on voyerism and the filming of The Handmaid's Tale."

Repeated in the table of contents. And in the bib record [click on Table of Contents].

Did someone neglect to tell me (and Google) that THERE IS A 'U' IN THAT WORD?

Or...has Chelsea House never heard of Spell Check?

Tuesday is Chooseday

...is up.

Monday

Mood: Tired. I'm a wreck, really
Hair: Braid (in)

Funny--I typed "Brain (in)" but I think that's wishful thinking today.

School store followed by my last day volunteering at the school library. I got a geranium from the library staff, which was nice. How could they know that I don't like geraniums...?

While I was there, the boy's teacher approached me about a "Detention letter" I was supposed to have signed. Haven't seen it. Y'know, I could really even care less: we are in the single digit countdown now. But I have to be a good parent and pretend I care that he slugged someone. He pushed someone over at daycare on Friday too.

I'm so tired. It reminds of a lot of bad periods in my life, and it's a little scary. I know I'm depressed.

THINGS I NEED TO DO TODAY:
(even though right now, nothing seems to matter at all)
...put away salt and pepper shakers, all 30-something sets
...figure out what an International Reply Coupon is
...buy myself a new belt so I have a usable one that isn't splitting along the seams
...take a nap
...get passport photos taken (just discovered my passport expired last month)
...figure out dinner (and maybe even plan them for the week)
...church attendance

OK, some of this is just not happening today.

But I did get the "plant people" called, and the builders, and I did dishes. Woo hoo for me, eh?

I need to go screw my head on tighter, suck it up and deal with life. Not that I want to; life sucks.

Sunday night

Mood: Tired. Oh so tired
Hair: Braid again, but it's falling apart. I look and feel slovenly.

I had an English teacher in high school whose last name was Sloven. She was very nice, a decent teacher, but I had a lot of trouble with her name. I doubt anyone else at my high school made any connection with her name and anything else. sigh

But that's not where I was headed at all. What did I do all day?
<[OCD ALERT]>
I spent, quite literally, 11 hours typing up charts and lists of "Possibilities while in England." That's the generic term. Most have prosaic titles like "Lonely Planet England 2004" and "Rick Steves London 2004," or "Lincoln Accom." and "Durham Eats" (which is entirely different from "Durham Bites"--my memory is that it doesn't. If things have changed, I'll be sure to title that blog entry appropriately).

E. Lev. En. Hours.

I petted the guinea pigs for awhile, ate pizza, played poker with the kid, watched another storm roll in (and around us)...but mostly I typed.

I did this every night this week, for at least 2 hours.

I'm insane.

And sad. And this busy-work keeps my mind from dwelling too heavily on heavy things. Especially if I have the TV on. Last night while I was doing the London Hotels file, we were flipping back and forth between Godzilla v. MechaGodzilla and Ghostbusters. I think they are the same movie; and I think Bill Murray's in both of them (at least doing voiceovers).

But see, now I'm dwelling on things. And I'm getting sad. So I need to go get a glass of wine and turn the TV back on and get tired enough to fall asleep immediately after I hit the sheets.

If you have kids, hug them. If you don't, find another kid who needs a hug.

Memes

...are up. I went a little nuts.

So deal. Or not (that's why I moved them).

Priorities

Talked to L last night. This is her life:

^ May 9 (Mother's Day this year) was the first anniversary of her mother's death. Most of the household didn't get the emotional significance of that. Rough day.

^ May 15 was the anniversary of the funeral. Not a great day, but survivable.

^ May 16 was her birthday. Not that anyone really noticed. A day that her household dealt with the same way they 'did' Mother's Day.

^ May 18 was a day of horror. She and her husband committed their 10-year-old son--our godson--to a psych ward. Over the weekend, he had threatened to kill her and the rest of the family if necessary. His psychiatrist met with him Tuesday in a sort of emergency meeting, and was able to get "Cody" to divulge that he had a plan completely worked out. He was immediately placed in a children's psych hospital for a 7-10 day course.

So. A little rain, a disagreement about what to work on around the house, low-carb v. high carb, cluttered kitchen counters....all put roundly in their right priority order.

Saturday at work

Mood: Pretty good for a rainy day
Hair: Braided (in)

10:00
My goal today: Catalog nothing but videos off the Gift Cart. I estimate there are about 50, mostly kids' tapes. Then, if I don't blog all day (hah), I can work on new materials. Woo hoo.

12:00
No videos done. Had to clear room to work first. But the On Orders are done and most of the titles in one of the files I sent in this week are in. Now I'm security tagging and THEN I'll start the videos. After lunch.

2:00
About 20 videos in so far. Had to take a break: THE AMAZING RACE gears back up on July 6. Yee haw. Now back to videos.

4:00
Final count: 32 videos completely finished, 14 others for which I don't have records (need to order them--see rant of Thursday past). I threw a couple of dupes into our Duplicates box. Whew.
Did I mention that the boy is here doing homework for his Independent Research project. Anything he wants, either written or PowerPoint, and as long as he wants. I hate these kinds of assignments...

5:30
All done for today. I also managed to create another file of about 90 items to work on when I get back here on Tuesday. And I've done a list of the projects that I need to accomplish early next week. My desk is relatively clear, the Gift Cart has 1-1/2 empty shelves, and I don't have to be back here till Tuesday morning.

Ciao.

Meme

Bloggerseeds is up.

Other people can write

I just found this in our "sent" email list. Guess this definitively shows that the adults in this house have writing skills (I only took out names):

"Dateline - WLLSC ([City of W---] Little League Sports Central) May 16, 2004

Game two of the Chicago Cubs season was held yesterday afternoon at S----n Field in [city, state]. The Chicago Cubs (aka [the boy]'s team) was hosted by the Florida Marlins under sunny but cool and breezy conditions. After a strong game 1 performance at home against the Diamondbacks in which the Slaughter Rule was enforced in the fourth inning, the Cubs faced an undefeated Marlins team with strong pitching and a good-hitting half of their lineup.

In a hard-fought game that found both teams in the lead a various times and that lasted the full 6 innings, the Cubs gutted out a 5-3 victory. After going down 2-0 in the first three innings, the offense finally started to show life in the fourth inning.

Sparking the three-run rally that led to the Cubs' first lead of the game in the fourth inning, [the boy's full name] was the first batter to reach first base with a lead-off walk. He stole second base on a passed ball, and reached third on a hit by one of his teammates. Another passed ball led to [the boy] being thrown out at the plate on the attempt to steal home - a play in which he was hit in the face with the ball when he jarred it from the pitcher's glove on the initial slide, only to be tagged out by the catcher seconds later.

In his only other at-bat, [last name] again walked in the top of the sixth and eventually reached third base. He was unable to attempt to score, as the Marlins stopped the Cubs threat with good infield play.

While hitless so far this season, [last name] has a .750 on-base percentage with three walks to only one official at-bat - a strikeout. He has stolen two-bases so far this season, and scored once.

The Cubs' next opponent is the Cardinals at home at 6 PM, Tuesday May 18."

This was sent to my inlaws. Obviously, you have to go to the guy(s) in this house to get the Little League details.

(Tuesday's game was rained out, as was tonight's. Last night, we had a previously scheduled event, so the boy didn't play baseball, he played and sang music.)

Spark

Spark is up.

Not a Jane-nut

All of you Mark Twain fans who are also Jane Austen fans may have a decision to make about which author retains more of your loyalty after you read this quote from Sam:

"Just the omission of Jane Austen's books alone would make a fairly good library out of a library that hadn't a book in it."

Smile!

Workflow jam

To explain my workflow a bit: when no libraries in our consortia own the specific item I've got in my hand, I am supposed to find the proper OCLC record, copy the number and send it to our system office for downloading into the consortial database.

The Great God usually drops these records in no later than 9 a.m. the next morning.

HOWEVER! I've sent several files to the G.G. over the past week or so; he has been at least one day late on virtually every one. I specifically needed to use the ones I sent to him yesterday early this morning. I even put that in the email.

So...it's 10:00 now....nothin'. I'm ok with this on an occasional basis (stuff happens after all). But this has been happening for the last week to 10 days. It totally balls up my workflow.

I also emailed the G.G. Tuesday pleading for help on connecting up with OCLC--which would alleviate the whole previous issue!--even offering bribes and (non-burnt) bakery offerings. He hasn't even emailed me back that he's working on it. Very very veryveryvery annoying.

The only saving grace at this point is Amy's mix tape (J1).


EDITED: (2:10 p.m.)
Still nothing. I've got to leave at 2:30. Annoyed? Yep.

Meme

Thursday Threesome is up.

Mood: Rarin' to go
Hair: Rid hard & put up wet

I'm hopeful that I can get a cart cleared today....any cart. Preferably my own. And maybe find the surface of my desk, too. It's a miserable day outside, and I do seem to do better work on rainy days. And NO MOUNTAIN DEW FOR ME today!

Work? Who, me?

Morpheus


?? Which Of The Greek Gods Are You ??
brought to you by Quizilla

This sort of cracks me up because I'm so NOT Morpheus right now... Remember yesterday I wrote about being twitchy? Well, I'm a r-e-a-l - s-l-o-w learner; I drank more Mtn Dew today and I'm fizzing around like a pop rock again. It's really not conducive to productivity.

And I'm really backed up again so I really have to get to work.

Hence. NO MORE BLOGS TODAY (till time to leave anyway).

library_grrls

Title: Librarian stereotypes meme

Postal chuckle

Because we never get enough laughs delivered by the US Postal Service....

...I was just routed an ad addressed--by New City Press--to "Religious Studies Librarian." Since I do buy the religion books (all 3 of them every year...growl), I guess that makes me the person who gets this. But I'm not sure we have a Religious Studies Department. hee hee

[Have they been reading my blog???]

Lunch

Mood: Hungry

Guess what it is: Kraft Natural Cheese Cubes (Mild Cheddar).

The expiration date of which is 13 Aug, 2004. Eeewww

(And sunflower seeds--wouldn't Dr. Atkins be proud!)

Moving Memes

This got too long for Comments (more irony, obvious when you read what I wrote...):

Yeah, I stole Annie's idea about starting a separate locale for memes. I'll cop to that easily, but to clarify: it is mostly because I don't like when this blog's entries are as long as my meme answers tend to be. That's a bit circular, I know. And I recognize that some of my 'regular' entries are long too, but maybe I'll start copying those into Sweet Memes. I've been toying with posting here when I update my other blogs, but still working on how to figure it all out.

It's really a matter of organization. Or compartmentalization. Blame it on the cataloger I am. My reading is elsewhere, my reflog is elsewhere, and now my memes are elsewhere. And I feel less guilt about blathering on and on when I answer the memes. Guilt isn't really the right word....in my mind, this blog is supposed to be more of a journal of the mishmash of my life, the concrete things that are going on around me, a place where I can verbally vomit when people make me want to swear at them, and a place where I can be silly and not thoughful ("thoughtless" is not the word I want--but what is the opposite of thoughtful??). Except by accident.

And the memes blog is a place where I can leapfrog from one idea to another using more skill than I'm capable of when I'm just letting ya'll know that I had too much caffeine yesterday. And I'm a little freer (in my mind) to mention people and things without feeling the need to explain it all. Like, who the hell is Laura? And what is all this stuff about Russia? And why I get weird at the sight of the word Ouray? I know what I'm talking about [ --> insert wry chuckle here].

Oddly enough, the next book I'm cataloging is Harold Bloom's series book (Major Literay Characters) on Hamlet, the ultimate navel-gazer. Life is funny.

Which just proves my point

What Color is Your Brain?
brought to you by Quizilla

Guess I know myself a bit more than I thought--I've always said blue is my favorite color; now I know why.

[And still with the cheese thing: Blue. Cheese] Jeez.

Wednesday

Mood: Need to get to work!
Hair: Curlycurly

Hump Day is up on the Memeblog.

I got nothing done yesterday, but I think I must have burned a couple thousand calories with the caffeine! So today I have to make up for yutzing around yesterday. Off to a great start eh? Actually, yes, I am. I'm listening to Jen!c@II (thanks Amy!); I'd tell ya'll what song, but I'm not supposed to look at the playlist. Aaaarghhhh....

EDITED [like, 2 minutes later]
['course I would recognize El Condor Pasa]

FYI

Mood: Twitchy

Just so everyone is clear: There is a LOT MORE caffeine in Mountain Dew than in Dr Pepper. Thank God I drank the diet version or I'd have to be hospitalized. I really am twitching.

Your Tuesday is My Monday

I have a web-workshop this morning. Very cool: phone + Internet + my own workspace = no travel time. I can safely yawn and nap if things get boring. Yee-haw.

Except, since I have no "office," I am trying to commandeer someone else's computer so I can actually hear the presenter. There is an empty office upstairs with two computers in it--I'm hoping the desk-owners don't mind me invading. This should also fix it so that everyone doesn't get to see my head explode because they can't shut the fuck up when I'm working back here by my desk.

Ahem. Sorry, that was a text version of my head exploding.

Taking a hint...

Mood: Good
Hair: Blown out

I have moved my meming to another blog, as I've seen others do. They tend to take up a lot of space (because I can't seem to condense or edit anymore as Ms. Philippe required us to do in senior English).

Now if I could just get the template edited for that blog.

Little League

Yesterday's game:

Cubs: 5
Marlins: 3

The boy has gotten to base 3 of 4 at-bats to date, each time on a walk. He's stolen second base twice, and he nearly stole home yesterday but he slid too soon.

So he didn't score yesterday, but he did get whacked in the face with a ball, and he managed to back-up second from center field when needed.

If I could figure out stats, I'd just post those, but I can't keep track of what's going on most games so I'm just happy I know this much!

My suggestion for his nickname this season: Runs Like a Rhinoceros.

So much for promises

Right. But I need a break. And this is simply too cool to pass up telling you all about.

Go here. You should see a random card from the catalog of the Russian National Library in St Petersburg.

Today is all about Russia.

How weird and fun.

Thanks LanguageHat.

Saturday meme -- & stuff

Mood: Good
Hair: ponytail with hat

I'm at work. Yes, it's my day off. Yes, the sun is shining. Yes, I should be weeding my garden, or doing a million other things. But I'm here. And I can't blog, because I have absolute BUTTLOADS of stuff to do here. On my day off. Before I go to the next Little League game. So this is my little reward to myself:

From BloggerSeeds:
Random Questions; Random Days... Friday, May 14
"Here are some interesting facts I found about ice-cream. They came from the book called "Dates with the Greats" by Susan Ohanian. May 13, 1777 was the first public advertisement of ice cream. Confectioner Philip Lenzi announces in the New York Gazette that his ice cream "may be had almost every day." During the summer of 1790 George Washington runs up an ice cream bill of about $200 - very roughly the equivalent of about $6000 in today's money. Thomas Jefferson also likes ice cream a lot. He creates his own 18-step recipe for making it. Dolley Madison is the first First Lady to serve ice cream at White House state dinners.
That leads us to today's questions: What is your favorite kind of ice cream?"

I used to not really care for ice cream. I still really don't crave ice cream.

Except for Dairy Queen blizzards. Over the past 10 years, I have developed a real 'thing' about those, primarily Cookie Dough blizzards, but also Heath bar blizzards and Butterfinger blizzards. DQ is the main reason I never lost the pregnancy weight. They are b-a-d (and they are right around the corner from work). Ice cream alone...eh, not so much. Especially not chocolate.

I also like butterscotch malts. And Kopp's Custard in Milwaukee--especially the daily flavors--is to die for. Absolutely edible heaven.

Ice cream always reminds me of Leningrad. When I was there, 19 years ago last January (yes, in January!), there were ice cream kiosks on almost every corner. Everyone was eating ice cream--grandmas to toddlers. There was ice cream for sale in Moscow and every other city as well. The difference in Leningrad seemed to be that there was just more joy in the air, and people were willing to embrace that joy and combine it with ice cream. After the ballet, after hockey games, after sledding: ice cream. It wasn't very good ice cream in our jaded Western opinion, but to Russians it was happiness in a bowl for 50 kopecks. Apparently.

And yes, I do know it's not Leningrad anymore, but that's what it was called when I was there. I'd love to visit St. Petersburg; I wonder if renaming a city really substantially changes its persona, so to speak...but that's another blog entry. I really must get to these piles of work and push them off onto someone else's desk! :-)

Word of the day

borborygmi

I love words that sound like what they describe.
(pardon the poor grammar--I'm processing encyclopedias today and my brain is in neutral)

Going home...er, not

Before I set anymore wildfires. It's safer that way.

I'm getting in my new transportation--aren't you jealous?--and leaving. (I think the original is from Irkutsk...)

FirstSearch

What is going on?? I can't get FS to load. Are they down? Ack--it feels as if someone just unplugged my PC, which for all intents and purposes they did as I can't get in to compile records. I've been saving up all day to do this huge stack.

And I just inappropriately forwarded a message with some personal stuff in it. I'm feeling very fuckwitted (thanks Robert) and useless. Maybe I should just go home...

...oh, wait, I can't. Of course not; this is a 15-hour day. I have to pick the boy up at 4:30 from his field trip and then we're all going to a minor league baseball game tonight. In the rain, possibily. Sound fun? No, not to me either.

And the naproxen is wearing off, along with my typing skills.

Isn't it Friday yet?!

(Sorry again--you know why)

Fifteen reasons I love my kid

His giggles. Even at age 11, we can still get him going.
He's still sweet when he's asleep. But then I doubt that will ever change.
He likes the Eagles and Queen. And most of the rest of his parents 'boring' music.
He's very focused--when he wants to be.
He never met a person he couldn't figure out how to talk to (he's definitely his dad's kid). And people like him (ditto).
He loves me. Even after I've spent the day being crabby and horrible to him.
He's smart. Really smart. Scarily smart.
He's not at all afraid to be a dork sometimes.
He tries so hard to make us happy.
He isn't 2 anymore. Or 3.
He isn't 13 yet.
He loves books (he's definitely my kid). He reads cereal boxes (ditto).
He can entertain himself.
He likes hugs. And he still tolerates kisses from family members.
He eats veggies and will try almost any food placed in front of him.

Translation woes

How does "Ditch That Jerk! Dealing With Men Who Control and Hurt Women" become "Women Who Suffer Too Much: How to Know if the Time to Break a Relationship Has Arrived" ?

(Almost to the bottom of the Spanish pile...)

Morning at work

Mood: Good. Sore shoulders again; hello naproxen
Hair: Blown out. This must be a record

But anyway...

Listening to the Sleek Mix.
Cataloging "El Nuevo Masaje Sensual" = "New Sensual Massage" (subtitled "learning to give pleasure with your hands"). Believe me, you don't need to read Spanish--or even be literate--to 'read' this book.
And the batteries in my Walkman just died. Burnt out??

Thursday Threesome

From the "Found on the Desk" Department:
::Fax Cover Sheets::
Onesome: Fax-- Do you have access to or use a fax machine at home? Just curious...
Nope.

Twosome: Cover-- Hey, summer's coming! What type of cover up do you use when you're out in the sun? SPF4000? Sun clothes? A hat? "What sun; I live in a cave?"
Heh, well, I work for a living, so that's one thing that keeps me out of the sun. :-) Otherwise, I use SPF30 or higher when I'm out in the sun long-term. Or wear a T-shirt and a cap/hat. Or just get sunburned....sigh.

Threesome: Sheets-- 120 count or 180? (Okay guys, you're exempt , but you could ask someone who knows!)
The higher the better. 180 is minimum, I prefer 220. ;-)

Bring Your Kid to Work Day.

Another stellar behavioral day. I'm so tired of repeating things every day. No wonder stay-at-home moms think in circles!

Plus:
It's pouring down rain. Where's my umbrella? At home, because the boy bent it Monday night and we haven't had time to fix it.

I love children....really.

Hump Day

Mood: 80% turnaround from Monday! whoop
Hair: down & curly

01. You are a character from a children's fairy tale or nursery rhyme. Who are you and why?
Little Bo Peep. Cuz I think my sheep have hit the road again.

02. You are a magic potion. What is your main ingredient(s) and what are you used for?
Pay Attention Potion. Pinch of earlobe. I think that should be self-evident.

03. Tell us your favorite joke. It can be naughty but clean up the language, puhleeze.
>Some comedian about 10 years ago--sorry, I don't remember his name--said the lyrics to Elton John's song "I Guess That's Why They Call It the Blues" sounded more like an orgy at Disneyland. I love that line. [As a memory aid: "...Laughing like children / Living like lovers / Rolling like thunder under the covers..."]
>I also like George Carlin's schtick on Two-Minute Warnings.
>And Richard Pryor's bit on his heart attack(s).
>And, let's not forget Bill Cosby's ...Funny Fellow... album, which is classic. I've had the whole thing memorized for 30 years!

04. Imagine you're in the Old West. What town character would you be and what would your colorful nickname be?
This is such a gimme: Miss Marian, the Librarian (ok, if it's a small town, I guess I'd have to be the teacher, too). Hopefully I wouldn't be the awful kind of librarian/teacher.

05. You are a mythological deity/god. What are you the god of? What offering(s) would worshippers lay at your feet? If one displeased you how would you smite them?Goddess of Completed, Quality Work. People would need to leave offerings of neatly and thoroughly completed projects at my feet. If someone tried to scam me, the punishment would be to do the same project twice over, having lost the first two attempts (due to computer problems or what-have-you). And they'd have to listen to Ulysses (James Joyce) on tape/CD while working, and turn in a detailed synopsis of the plot. If I really got angry, they'd have to do Ulysses and Remembrance of Things Past (Proust). Don't mess with me!

Hey Amy, THANKS!! I'm on track 4 of "my" mix; when can I look at the playlist?? Patience, right...

Little League

Did I mention the boy is a Chicago Cub this year? That will make some people happy.

And others, not so much.

Anyway, tonight was his first game of the season:

Cubs: 13
Diamondbacks: 1

Slaughter rule--called in the 5th inning. He walked once, stole second, and scored. No terminally embarrassing moments, tg.

Meme

Again from memeland, kid's books. The ones I read as a child are bolded; as an adult, highlighted.

Millions of Cats, by Wanda Gag
Angus and the Ducks, by Marjorie Flack
Caps for Sale, by Esphyr Slobodkina
The Man Who Didn't Wash His Dishes, by Phyllis Krasilovsky
Mike Mulligan and His Steam Shovel, by Virginia Lee Burton
Babar, by Jean de Brunhoff
Madeline, by Ludwig Bemelmans
The Runaway Bunny, by Margaret Wise Brown
Green Eggs and Ham, by Dr. Seuss
Bread and Jam for Frances, by Russell Hoban, illus. Lillian Hoban
Harold and the Purple Crayon, by Crockett Johnson
A Hole is to Dig, by Ruth Krauss, illus. Maurice Sendak
In the Night Kitchen, by Maurice Sendak
George and Martha, by James Marshall
Sylvester and the Magic Pebble, by William Steig
Harry the Dirty Dog, by Gene Zion, illus. Margaret Bloy Graham
Blueberries for Sal, by Robert McCloskey
Mr. Rabbit and the Lovely Present, by Charlotte Zolotow, illus. Maurice Sendak
Ira Sleeps Over, by Bernard Waber
A Color of His Own, by Leo Lionni
A Whistle for Willie, by Ezra Jack Keats
The Beast of Monsieur Racine, by Tomi Ungerer
Strega Nona, by Tomi De Paola
Eloise, by Kay Thompson, illus. Hilary Knight
Brown Bear, Brown Bear, What do You See? Bill Martin Jr., illus Eric Carle
Freight Train, by Donald Crews
Frog and Toad are Friends, by Arnold Lobel
Jamberry, by Bruce Degan
First Tomato, by Rosemary Wells
Hondo & Fabian, by Peter McCarty
My Friend Rabbit, by Eric Rohmann
Tuesday, by David Wiesner
Zin! Zin! Zin! A Violin, by Lloyd Moss, illus. Marjorie Priceman
Charlie Parker Played Be Bop, by Chris Rashka

My absolute favorite, must-read picture book is So Much by Trish Cook. I love reading it out loud and have been known to force children to listen way past their tolerance!!

[speaking of kids, I should go pick mine up from school]

Great kids' books...

Seems like a theme around here lately...
Some additions:
Paddington--he was sweet, although I think I found him when I was too old for him (or too young?)

The Wizard of Oz--how could I leave this off?? I read this straight through in one reading (over about 3 hours) after supper one night. My mom was out of town helping after one or another of my sister's was having a baby; I was probably 10 (so that would make it my sister Ellen). Dad obviously let me get away with staying up late reading in the living room in the Orange Chair.

The Bobbsey Twins--read as many of these as I could find, because we owned 4 of the original series and I got hooked...Flossie and Freddie?? Give me a break. hee

There was a book Jean sent from England about a girl who was on her way to relatives for the summer and decides to live in their caravan in their backyard without telling them that she arrived. She makes it about 2 months before being discovered. It was a wonderful story about being able to survive on one's own and discovering one's self. Memorable scene of her appearing "in public" (at church?) for the first time after 2 months living in the woods...I obviously don't remember the title. Maybe The Caravan??

The Book of Knowledge. Really. Almost all of the history and folk/fairy tale sections and parts of every other volume (c. 1955ish)

Tom Sawyer--having read it again as an adult, I now realize that I missed about 60% of the story, but I loved the fence scene and being ascared of the Cave. It's one that definitely holds up.

...never found a horse book I could stand, and believe me, people tried every one they could dig up...in fact, I didn't really care for animals stories too much. Or 'sweet' books. Never wanted to read "girl books." Still tend away from them...

Dude, where's my desk??

Mood: Better than yesterday. Faint praise
Hair: Blown out

There were things stacked everywhere on my desk this morning! aaaack

[you should probably know that I have an area of about 18" x 11" square that works as a functional workspace--my 'desk' is a computer table about 4 feet wide and 3 feet deep]

So first I had to unstack everything to get to the monitor to turn it on. At which point I realized Someone Has Been Using My Computer (and left it hung). So I restart...

...and may I add that I haven't been here since Saturday, so it wasn't I who "broke it" this time! ;-)

--1 "needs barcode" note
--3 books that have been repaired but they can't read the call number; please reclass
--1 book tech is arguing the call number before she types the spine label (she's right...grr)
--7 books that I forgot to source properly so the other tech can't find the right records in the database
--2 books from the kids' librarian that should/shouldn't be easy readers (one she also wants in nonfic, even though it's a story....ok, whatever)
--2 envelopes with items returned from HQ/Catalog Maintenance
--a note from scheduling person asking if I can work 4 hours on desk (Ref & circ) tomorrow morning (9-1) because "we have a class coming in at noon." Sure. Just don't expect those kids' books on my cart to get cataloged this lifetime, ok? (Schedule person=Kids' librarian) Retaliation is low, isn't it?
--note from boss asking if I can attend an online/phone training session today or tomorrow because the ILL person won't be here either day...I really can't be here for the full session for either day. Plus, the ILL person has just walked into the room and is currently sitting right next to me. So why can't she do this??

Opened my task list in Outlook and was hit with 6 'overdue' tasks. I have waded through most of them, put off the rest till later. So, 45 minutes into the day, I'm ready for work. Finally.

District concert

Last night was the school district choral concert. It was wonderful to see the kids improving from 5th-12th grades (and we stayed for the whole thing this time!). The high school chorus is so fabulous (ranked 6th in AA schools in the state, we were informed). They sang Mozart's Requiem, which meant I was lost. The other songs were good too. The boy did fine, although didn't look too thrilled to be up there. He says he's "probably" done with chorus.

The final song was "I Vow to Thee My Country" sung by ALL the kids. Great song. Had I realized they were singing it, I would have found the CD we have it on for the boy to hear. So we listened to it on the way to work/school this morning.

19 days left of elementary school. woo

Monday (and boy is it ever)

Mood: Crap
Hair: Ditto

I just want to put my head down and cry. Everything sucks.

No, it isn't PMS; I'm lucky enough to not be subject to it (long story).

I'm just sad. And tired and I can't go to bed cuz there's some one in it.

The house is a mess, the gardens need weeding. I yelled at my kid again this morning.

If I do any details I will cry. So I'm going away now.

Mother's Day

Guess I could blog about this from my own brain.

(((I must call my mother today! [If I keep repeating it, I'll remember, right?])))

This was a regular gift-giving fest this morning:

A stocking filled with grass seed. No idea what the point here is...
A plate with a drawing that the boy made. His daycare had them made so the drawing will stay on the plate forever. Cute idea.
A plant; marigold, I think. Great. heh
A new cordless phone to replace the dying one in the kitchen.
An under-the-kitchen-cabinet radio/CD player/weather radio for the kitchen ("So you can listen to music while you do the dishes!!").
A really beautiful Swarovski crystal clock, about 5" in diameter.
32 iced sugar cookies. [...omigod...]
Flowers. From The Guy On The Corner. ;-)

WOW--better than Christmas! I think The Beast is worrying because he knows he's getting a lawn tractor for Father's Day, the thought perhaps being
---on this hand we have, say, a cordless phone and a meal at Applebee's
---on the other hand we have a lawn tractor
---not exactly balanced....

hee hee hee

The Beast also found "my" salt-and-pepper collection--the one I started before I was born. Yay Beast!

More Memes

Mood: Good
Hair: 2 braids down the back, tryin' something new

Hey, it's Mother's Day so I'm allowed to do what I want (I have permission...as if).

What Would You Do?
Everyone has different reactions to different situations. So, what would you do if you came upon the following...

1. A person obviously struggling to keep their [sic] head above water in a pool or lake.
Since I can't swim...I'd call 911. Hopefully I'd have my cell phone... I'd also start yelling for someone who can swim.

2. You find a $100 bill on the floor in a store.
Yipes. Honestly? If the boy were with me, I'd definitely take it to the service desk and turn it over to them. That's the easy answer. But if the boy weren't with me...hmmm, I'd like to think I'd do the same thing, but I'm not sure I would. I've found smaller bills and I'm never sure what the cutoff between "good-neighbor" and "it's only $x; who cares?" is. But $100? Yeah, I'd probably turn it in.

3. A dog or cat with a broken leash wandering aimlessly in your neighborhood.
If I recognized the animal, and knew I was safe, I'd probably try to corral it and call the owners. If not, I'd try approaching it (with food, cuz that always helps!) but if it took off running, I'd call the Animal Control people. Actually, I'm not sure who I'd call here; we're in the country, so the city AC people wouldn't come. Hmmm....

4. A person you don't know knocks on your door in the middle of the night claiming they have an emergency situation and want to use your telephone.
Is The Beast home? If so, he handles it. Nobody messes with him! :-) If it's just me, I'd ask who they want me to call, and then I'd place the call. Or as them to wait, put the cordless phone outside the back door, and then tell them it's there for them to use. [we have no fence around the yard]

5. You see a car veer off the road and into the ditch. Stop, and put my flashers on. Call 911...thank God for cell phones! See if anyone is hurt and try to help. [been there, done this] If I didn't have my cell, I'd try to flag someone else down and see if they would call or go for help.

For those aspiring writers out there: Word Beads
"While vacationing in Mussel Shoals last year, I had to compel my best friend to discuss her recent divorce. She refused to embellish the truth, saying only that she and her husband could never reconnect after he cheated on her with his fishing buddy."

And Subliminal Lunanina:

1. Vagina:: Chronicles
   
2. Racism:: "My mom says I can't play with those kids" (one of the kids in our neighborhood talking about the two kids next door to us)
   
3. Mother's Day:: Guilt (I need to call Mom)
   
4. Fire alarm:: Fear
   
5. Elvis:: (in order) Presley, Costello, Stojko, and a friend's cat
   
6. Pregnant:: Thank God I'm not...
   
7. Vacation:: England, Maine, Galena
   
8. Waffles:: Yum. Breakfast in bed.
   
9. Perpendicular:: "Get your fanny perpendicular..." some song a la Dr. Demento from my childhood. Maybe this is why I did so poorly in geometry class?
   
10. Hospital:: Crappy food, little sleep, self-important doctors and (generally) outstanding nurses
    

Final count:

19 travel books cataloged from scratch. I'm sure at least 3 of them will come back "wrong" from the director.

Yes, that's all I did today. I still have 8 or 10 CDs to do. In Spanish.

Time to go home and drink wine. Much wine.

Mood: Stiff back, sore brain, otherwise ok

Saturday with new meme (Friday Five has stopped...sniff)

Mood: Rarin' to get goin'
Hair: Librarian Look (w/ big clip)

But first: Saw Amy yesterday, ostensibly to teach her how to catalog. [insert snicker here] She and her office-mate know what they're doing. Felt incredibly silly. Lunch was fab. Breaded cheese sticks--very good, must figure out how to make them next time I bake....

Now. Must. Catalog. Frommer's. Even DK noticed the publisher doesn't match the record!! So how come no one else has cataloged them?!

grr...

Anyway: Here's the Saturday Slant...
Going Back To School
You've been offered a full college/university grant, all expenses paid, for the school and study program of your choice. You can go to any school, anywhere, and study anything you want, without a single cent out of pocket for education, materials, or cost of living. Would you take the offer? Where would you go? What would you learn? Would you pursue a course of study related to your current occupation, or would you explore something all together new? Get your pencils and notebooks, let's go back to school.

My first stipulation is that when I finish, I haven't aged since the first day of classes...because here's the deal:

I want a full liberal arts education from Music Theory to History and everything in between, including non-English literatures. Preferred uni: Cambridge. But I'd settle for Oxford. Or even somewhere in Spain or Mexico.

Then, with all that crammed into my head, I would be off to Princeton Seminary. I have no desire to be a minister, but I would love to go really deep on the history and theology of Christianity and how it has related and continues to relate to other religious worldviews. This includes courses in Latin, Greek and Hebrew (hi, Amy), probably Aramaic too. Lots of History courses. Lots of reading. Lots of debate.

See why I need that first stipulation? I figure this would kill off about 15 years or more of my life in classrooms, and I'd like to also be able to enjoy my life while doing the studies. In other words, I'm looking at more than 20 years, conservatively, before I'd finish.

And then do what? I'd probably still want to be a cataloger! Sick sick sick.

It is time

Mood: Wow, I'm tired!

I'm off to the chiropracter. Yes again.

Then I get to take the boy for Little League pix.

Then, finally, we go home. And make dinner out of ... whatever is lying around in the pantry/freezer. Could be chicken burgers and cinnamon rolls....

I hope I get more than 2 solid hours of sleep last night. This waking up to pop a sore-throat cure is for the birds.

Blogger Code

Kinda fun.

OCLC

I've already submitted two Bib Record changes to OCLC this morning. Both in the last 45 minutes. Both items were originally cataloged by LC. What the f---??

Goals for the day

Mood: OK, just put on headphones, so should improve now ;-)
Hair: blown out
---updated---

Currently listening to Randy Newman (Good Old Boys). On my stack of possibilities for later: Crystal Bernard (Don't Touch) (because The Beast went to school with her), Ricky Martin (Sound Loaded), Coldplay (A Rush of Blood...) and Live (Mental Jewelry). And several blues CDs if I hit that mood.

*Enter all the stuff I requested records for on Tuesday (1+ shelf on my cart) ---done 10:55
*Figure out New Book of Knowledge, New Book of Popular Science, and World Book rearranging (move Ref to J, move J to JRef, move JRef to... where? What?) ---done, as much as I can, 12:00
*Reassure The Beast that it's ok to buy a new winter coat for himself [hiya--just checking] ---his email was sent at 8:36, arrived here at 12:08....same timezone...different planet apparently....
*Get stuff together to take to SPL tomorrow ---done, I guess 1:00
*Probably fight at least one email battle ---nothing yet 1:00

....if I have time....
*Sort through growing pile of project stuff and try to figure out organizational system for it [stop laughing!!] ---done, along with a list on my desktop of Ongoing Projects, 1:55
*Update To-Read list in Excel ---done 2:00
*Start cataloging the Frommer's pile. Am I really the only cataloger out there who has noticed that the publisher changed on all 30 of these titles?? ---Nope, ran outta gas, will do Sat.
*Talk to Headache Woman re continuations...wait, no, that should read "SHOOT ME FIRST!" ---Couldn't face it so put it off till Tuesday [she's standing 10 feet away talking to someone else and I can hear her through the song and headphones!]

Thursday Threesome

Might as well meme right away...

Onesome : Something old- Do you have anything that you've owned simply forever? A cherished childhood toy, an antique handed down through the family... Since books have been on my mind lately, my A.A. Milne books from Jean, which I received when I turned 6. I also seem to have inherited all my grandmas' quilts, much to my sister's (or sisters' ?) distress, and my mom's salt-and-pepper collection, all much older than I.

Twosome : Something new- Buy anything new lately? Bought some summer shorts for my son on Tuesday... whee, right? And some plastic storage bins and garbage cans for the guinea pig stuff. I think I bought a shirt for myself recently, out of necessity more than anything else.

Threesome: Something borrowed- Ever borrowed anything and never returned it? I'm sure I have. If it was from someone reading this, I apologize; please let me know and I'll send it back. Actually, we kept a CD of my nephew's for about 8 years, but mostly because we didn't see him for 5 of those years (he's on the other side of the planet--45 minutes north of us!).

Bonus : Something blue- See anything blue from where you are? What is it? The Blogger edit screen. ;-) My koosh cup for Dr. Pepper cans. My jeans and shoes (yes, those blue suede ones). A corner of a paper clip. A highlighter. And probably if I turned my head I'd see some blue books. I just don't want to look at my cart yet.

But I guess I have to sometime.

Hump Day

Wednesday Mind Hump - Week 17

I'm dispensing with the first half...sorry kids. Not good at that on a good day. Which this isn't at this point!

01. If your blog were scratch and sniff, what would it smell like? Books, with a healthy subset of ink and dust. Sunflower seeds and Dr. Pepper and a large helping of Smarties (not the British kind--just give me the sugar, folks).

02. Which horror movie monster are you most like and why?I don't watch horror movies...so I'll stick with the old classics. Frankenstein's monster, based on lack of verbal skills, especially when I get really upset.

03. If you were being sold in a Walmart, which department would you be in and what exactly would you be? Would you be on sale?Hardware. Probably a power tool...a router? A circular saw? Yes, but not marked down too much. [actually, come to think of it, if I were a power tool, I'd be a Black and Decker, so I wouldn't be at Wal-Mart at all!]

04. Earth, Wind, Fire and Water. Which element would you be. What form of that element would you be and why? Earth. Mountains--because it takes a lot to wear them down, and because they are intractable and permanent. And capricious.

05. What sitcom character (past or present) do you think you are most like and why? Gilligan. Maybe Urkel (although I never actually watched that show). Maybe Buckwheat... Because falling flat on my face is my most common activity.

Who does this remind me of? I wonder...

[off the Red Hot & Rio CD]

Tall and tan and young and handsome [okay, except not tan]
The boy from Ipanema goes walking [I think he's more likely from somewhere fairly local]
And when he passes
Each girl he passes goes - ah [well, one girl does anyway]

When he walks
He's like a samba [hmm, I'll have to watch more closely...]
That swings so cool and sways so gentle
That when he passes each girl
He passes goes - ah

Ooh, but I watch him so sadly [I don't, someone else does, though]
How can I tell him I love him ["love" is too strong, I think]
Yes I would give my heart gladly
But each day
When he walks to the sea [rather, to the mainframe]
He looks straight ahead, not at me

Tall, and tan, and young and handsome
The boy from Ipanema goes walking
And when he passes goes - ah

I smile - but he doesn't see (doesn't see)
He just doesn't see, he never sees me

Sometimes the music one listens to is eerily appropriate in a very funny way.

I hate reserves...

Mood: growly
Hair: pulled back, big barette

...but actually I enjoy doing this, it's just hard to keep track of all the questions that inevitably come up whilst looking through them. We have 678 outstanding today. See why I'm mildly insane?

But, my shoulder doesn't hurt and I'm only subjected to cold symptoms occasionally now. woo hoo!

Favorite Books, Part 1

...now posted on my Reading blog.

I've read too many books. And I've kept a list since about 1991 of what I've read, with notes. Most of them were junk. But I've culled out the good ones.

The problem is that my "good books" short list is still nearly 2 pages (small font) long! Maybe I'll do an entry of what was good each year while I kept track. And only once a week or something....otherwise I'll have to stay up all night for the next 2 weeks to type it all in. And I can't do that unless I drink lots and lots of vodka (which is the only reason I'm still moderately functional tonight).

I need to sleep.

Things I know today

God exists and is at work in the world
Hobbes was right, but life is still good sometimes
My ‘boys’ and my mom love me
Kids are very very honest. To a fault
Nobody’s always right, least of all me
People are very strange, not least of all me
Backaches suck
and
It's time to go home

(I'll try to complain less tomorrow)

And the John Callahan award for best book title, 2004* goes to...

I Had Brain Surgery, What's Your Excuse? An Illustrated Memoir, by Suzy Becker

*presented by the Uncle Briny Trust, San Diego

More Paul:

...
And when they say
That you're not good enough
Well the answer is
You're not
But who are they
Or what is it
That eats at what you've got
With the hunger of ambition
For the change inside the purse
They are handcuffs on the soul, my friends
Handcuffs on the soul
And worse

I am heading for a place of quiet
Where the sage and sweetgrass grow
By a lake of sacred water
From the mountain's melted snow


from "Quiet"
Theology in a pop song.

Welcome to married life...

Mood: Cheerier

Random quotes from "Darling Lorraine" (Paul Simon):

...
All my life I've been a wanderer
Not really, I mostly lived near my parents' home
Anyway Lorraine and I got married

....

What - you don't love me anymore?
What - you're walking out the door?
What - you don't like the way I chew?
Hey let me tell you

You're not the woman that I wed
You say you're depressed but you're not
You just like to stay in bed
I don't need you darling Lorraine

...

On Christmas morning Frank awakes
To find Lorraine has made a stack of pancakes
They watch the television, husband and wife
All afternoon "It's a Wonderful Life"

...

The doctor was smiling
But the news wasn't good
Darling Lorraine
Please don't leave me yet
I know you're in pain
Pain you can't forget
Your breathing is like an echo of our love
Maybe I'll go down to the corner store
And buy us something sweet
Here's an extra blanket honey
To wrap around your feet

All the trees were washed with April rain
And the moon in the meadow
Took darling Lorraine

One reason that "You're the One" is a great album.

Tuesday Tuesday

Mood: See below
Hair: Braid (in)

My shoulder hurts again. I haven't wanted to mention it (superstition), but it has been feeling generally better. Now that it's back to hurting, I'll even say it was about 95% better. What the hell. Very annoying. I'm beginning to wonder if I have pleurisy; it hurts to breathe. I don't want to go to Dr. B, but I may have to. This just sucks. [Naproxen isn't helping at all...]

The boy neglected to tell me that he has a rough-draft essay due tomorrow, assigned Thursday last week. It's for D.A.R.E., so Mean Mom that I am, I reminded him he was going to be in trouble with the cops if he doesn't get it done properly. I have now sunk to a new low...turning fascist to coerce my kid to do homework. The thing is, it's a very cool assignment: he has to write a letter to himself which will be returned to him by the D.A.R.E. officer upon graduation from 8th grade.

The good news so far today is that Kristen is back! Hurrah. And once again I'm not memeing (meming?). Plus, I finished a book yesterday. Not a great one, but still... OK, and both Guardian of the Horizon (Peters) and Monkeewrench (Tracy) are on their way to me. So there are good books on the horizon.

Must get back to work.

If you are a vegetarian, don't read this!

Mood: hmmm....

So, I'm ordering a quarter steer. I so do not know what I'm doing. I know we don't need any organs (blech!), but how many "rolled rib roasts" vs. how many "pot roasts" has me stumped. And...do we want porterhouse, T-bone or sirloin--well, I know what we want --and how many of each in packages of how many.

I think I'm midwest-challenged. I'll have to take this to the farm and ask them in person. What a dope.

[VEGETARIAN ALERT OVER!]
The boy is over at our neighbors' kind of babysitting the kids, 5 and 2, while their mother attempts a bit of the "rest" part of bedrest. Pregancy sucks (acutally, mine was absolutely not a problem till the very end, i.e. labor). Lisa is normally very active so she's going mad over the fact that she can't do anything: gardening, mowing, laundry, cooking, driving (aack), walking the neighborhood. The baby is due in October. If she doesn't go crazy it will be a miracle.

Meanwhile I have two meetings at 7 tonight. They both promise food. Hmmm, I'm deciding based on which one I knew about first and which one is [slightly] nearer. Luckily, that is that same meeting. The boy has to go with me because The Beast is in Boston.

On the offspring front, he is set for summer camp in June, so his summer has filled up completely between that, vacation in July and Little League (first game 5/15, last game just before we leave for England).

Obviously I'm blithering on and on....

Look ma, no meme

Mood: Good
Hair: Pulled back with band

Saturday morning was nuts. I won't bore you.

Saturday afternoon was nuts. I won't bore you, but the First Communion Mass was nice; our friends have a great priest! I'm adopting him...

We played Texas Hold 'Em poker till 3 a.m. (well, I crashed at 3 and gave my chips to The Beast, who had lost his stake an hour earlier). He beat everyone else with those chips; does that mean I won? :-) The boy took himself to bed at 1 a.m.

Sunday was even more nuts. But we got to bed a little early at least.

TODAY: School store, volunteer at the school library, to church for a chat, to chiropractor, home to clear up blogs and do some chores. Last weekend I discovered Sentry's Parmesan Garlic Toasties; bought three small boxes in Waukesha over the weekend and polished one off this morning. Now, if I want to kill someone, I just have to breathe on them and they will die of garlic poisoning!

At our friends' I saw this question:
"What do you know for sure?"
It's a good question. I'm compiling my list; will post later.

Must get going on errands...