To Do List

A recent discovery in the piano bench (more about that later) prompted to me to make a list of the songs I would like to commit to memory. Here they are:

Katie Dear

Wayfarin' Stranger

You Are My Sunshine

Down by the Salley Gardens

Jesus Christ the Apple Tree Listen Here

Jesus, the Very Thought of Thee

Side Note

I just love when I'm nearly done with a long, link-happy post and the browser freezes up and I have to abort everything. Can't you see the smile on my face right now?

It's Nothing Personal

Lest you think that I'm only ignoring my blog of late, I'm also ignoring my Yahoo! account. In fact, I logged in today for the first time in at least two months, probably more.

The saddest part is, I apparently didn' t miss much while I was away, unless you count the 606 e-mails in my spam folder.

Library Memories

While I was lying awake yesterday morning at 4 am, bemoaning the sad state of my blog and wondering if any of my readers are even still reading, I hit upon a topic to share with you.

Here then, are reminiscences from my happy childhood as a library patron.

Rules I learned from my elementary school librarian in Dale City, Virginia:

• Four on the Floor (don't tilt your chair back on two legs)


• Nothing Comes Before Something (when alphabetizing, mar comes before mars)

Fondest library memory:

Discovering all the sequels to Anne of Green Gables at the Potomac Community Library.

Quirky Childhood Habit:

While roaming the stacks of the Potomac Community Library, I invariably left my library card sitting on a shelf somewhere (apparently my mother had yet to teach me the benefits of carrying a handbag). Sometimes I was able to back track through my wanderings and retrieve the card. Other times, the card had already been turned in at the front desk by the time I went to ask about it.

Favorite Childhood Library Book:

The Duchess Bakes a Cake

If You Can't Beat 'Em, Join 'Em

I've developed a disconcerting habit of late. Nearly every night, I wake up between 3 and 4 am, wide awake, Mr. Sandman having seemingly fled the county. This morning, it happened at 3:55. So, here's what I did (after turning on the lamp):

Looked through the latest James Avery catalog (lots of nice new things!)

Looked through a recent FootSmart catalog (everything's usually the same, but it passed the time)

Started my Christmas List (not the list of what I want, but the list of what I plan to give)

Looked up in my beloved Kaiser Permanente Healthwise Handbook (I've read it so many times I practically have it memorized) how to mix a salt water gargle (one teaspoon of salt in eight ounces of warm water).

Slightly New Approach

For the latest installment in the job-hunt saga, I will tell you that I turned in applications this week for two separate part-time, temporary reference librarian jobs--one at a local public library (the local library to which I've belonged the longest) and one at a local Conference USA school. I hear neither is a great place to work, but I'm obviously not in a position to be choosy. My money situation is about to be dire, despite my Target income, and I am also increasingly worried about being out of a library job for too long.

So, cross your fingers and pray for my latest endeavor. If one of these works out, it would not be a long-term solution, but it would at least give me more money, more experience, and more peace of mind.

The Slump

Remember how I said that there's nothing to stimulate the imagination at Target, and I worried that it would hurt my blogging?

I'm too tired to run a statistical analysis (yay 5080 (BTW, Starr--has Dr. Enoch left SLIS?), but I think it would prove that my blogging has declined proportionately to the amount of hours I'm working at Target. One reason for this is that I have fewer opportunities at the computer. Unfortunately, all of my computer activities have suffered of late.

No excuse, just an explanation.

Good Philosophy

You know I'm fond of magnets, right? Here's my latest purchase:


You can get your own from Fridgedoor.com

By the Way

Did I mention SweetPea, my new nephew? Oh, I guess I did.

Well let me just say that he is probably the most perfect specimen of a male baby on which I have ever laid eyes. Grandma and I went to visit him (and his big sister and parents) last week. I intended to take photos, but never did. A photo simply could not do him justice, and would be only a pale imitation of the real thing. In addition to his good looks, SweetPea is also mild and sweet-natured. We only heard him cry when he was having his diaper changed, and who could blame a boy for that?

Glad You're Back, M.

"Friend" - the finest word in any language.

-Talbot Jennings (1896–1985), U.S. screenwriter, Jules Furthman (1888–1960), U.S. screenwriter, and Carey Wilson (1889–1962), U.S. screenwriter. Byam (Franchot Tone), Mutiny On The Bounty, after hearing the Tahitian word for friend from Hitihiti (William Bambridge) (1935).

Happy Birth Day

Guess who arrived on Saturday? SweetPea weighed in at 7 pounds, 8 ounces, and was 20.5 inches long. The extra hands and hair in the picture belong to big sister.

Brief Update

Since it's been two weeks since my last job hunting update, I thought I would let you know (in case you don't already know) that I'm still in the exact same situation I was two weeks ago--waiting to hear about something positive.

They say that "no news is good news," but I'm not sure that is true in my case. Rest assured that as soon as something happens, you will be able to read about it here.

Top Five - Extinct Television Shows

Continuing an earlier theme, here are my top five favorite out-of-production television shows. I think this list is in descending order of favorite-ness.

1. Homicide: Life on the Street

2. Boomtown

3. Sports Night

4. Arrested Development

5. The Bionic Woman

Shocking

Did you know that our children are exposed to profanity and inappropriate language, sexual content, violence and horror, and other atrocities in the books in their school libraries?

I, for one, am glad that courageous parents all over Texas are standing up for censorship and suppression of freedom by challenging such vile, suggestive books as The Emperor's New Clothes, which features an "illustration of the Emperor's rear" (see p. 13 of the ACLU's 10th Annual Report on Banned and Challenged Books in Texas Schools).

It makes me happy to know that other parents are watching out for my children even though they don't know me, working to create an environment where I will never have to be involved in my children's reading lives, since I know they will be shielded from the harmful influence of Lemony Snicket and Gary Paulsen.

Top Five - Books

I was recently accused of having no opinions or favorites. So, in an attempt to remedy that situation, here are my favorite five books (in no real order, since I can't be expected to go from having no opinions to picking a top favorite, just like that). Readers, feel free to chime in with your own favorites.

1. Persuasion - Jane Austen

2. Anne of Green Gables - L. M. Montgomery

3. Peace Like a River - Leif Enger

4. The Color Kittens - Margaret Wise Brown

5. Bad Mousie - Martha Dudley

Childhood Lexicon

Bunk Olympics - contest of strength, speed, and agility enacted entirely on bunkbeds

Fangy - finger

Iddy - little brother's derivation of big sister's given name

Mailbox - space between edge of bunkbed and wall, useful for passing items from one bunk to another

Sock - knitted foot cover or mechanical device used to secure a door

Stompers - split leather high top boots worn by toddler brother

Ignorance is Bliss

Despite my claims about being an "avid reader," I have a library book that's 13 days overdue, and I can't turn it in because 1) I haven't finished it, 2) it isn't renewable, and 3) there are 30 holds on it, which means if I put it on hold again, by the time my turn came around I would have forgotten what I already read.

My problem, of course, is that I put whatever I want to read on hold, darn the consequences and nevermind what else is going on in my life, and in this case, I didn't even start reading the book until two days before it was due, so I put quite a handicap on myself. Now, I start books and never finish them all the time, but for some perverse reason, I feel compelled to finish this one before I relinquish it.

Luckily, I'm not very good at doing math in my head, so I have no idea what the $0.25/day fine is going to run me when I finally turn in the book. Regardless, I don't think it will be as bad as it is for some of these people or for this guy.

The Wait Begins

I had my phone "conversation" with aforementioned university library this morning. It lasted 28 minutes, and the outcome could go either way (of course). I don't think I tanked it, but I don't have any strong feeling that it's in the bag. It will probably be two weeks before they are released to invite candidates to interview.

So, tune in two weeks from now, SBTSBC, and I'll let you know how it turned out.

(Just in case I get to take a plane trip sometime in the next month, I ordered samples of my beauty regimen products from Paula's Choice last night. Have quart-size, clear plastic, zip-top bag, will travel.)

Reverse Bad Luck

Guess who has a phone interview with a librarian search committee at a Pac-10 school on Friday, Oct. 13?

Dream or Nightmare?

Guess what retail cashiers dream about at night?

Yup--neverending lines of customers, all waiting to check out at your register. And the scary thing is, the line doesn't dissipate when you wake up!

Word of the Day

bench scraper n. 1. tool used by bakers to manipulate dough and to clean surfaces on which dough has been worked. It is generally a small sheet of stainless steel with a handle of wood or plastic along one of the long sides.

(definition from Answers.com)

Still Here

I'm still here, though you may not know it by reading my blog. Last Friday, my first day of real "work" at Target, I decided I was going to be too depressed to ever blog again. A week later, I don't feel that way anymore, but Target has apparently robbed me of what little creativity I ever had. As Anne would say, there just isn't much "scope for imagination" at Target. I can't think of anything to blog about except Target, and to tell the truth, I'm kind of tired of thinking about Target.

As for the job, the work itself is fine, though physically tiring and often very slow in passing. Today I "amused" myself while waiting for guests by figuring out how many hours I would need to work in a month in order to pay for health insurance. Answer: Too many. In case you're wondering, I had to agree to work some Sundays in order to be hired. My first Sunday shift is this weekend. Can't you see the big smile on my face?

Turning to other news, Tuesday I took a quick trip south to visit Curly and her parents. Nothing eventful to report, but I believe a good time was had by all. I can attest that Curly has her body parts and animal sounds down pat. She's also fond of avocados. Hmm--obviously doesn't take after her father in the food department!

Intervention

Dear E.,

I can't tell you how much sorrow I felt when I saw you the other day with a tube of Vaseline Lip Therapy in your hand. I felt even worse when you said that you carry it everywhere and use it constantly. And of course, the final blow was when you said that I influenced you to start using.

I am so deeply entwined in Vaseline's devilish snares that it is too late for me to escape. I have hope for you, since you didn't exhibit too many overt signs of addiction. Nonetheless, I sense that you are standing on the slippery edge of a dangerous precipice.

I urge you to confront your problem and seek help immediately before, like me, you are in too deep to save yourself. Many others have conquered their addiction, and I know you can also.

Lovingly,

Auntie K.

The Three F's

Auntie K is now officially a part of the Best Company Ever, having attended Target Team Member orientation last night. I've read lots of comments on the Internet from disgruntled Target employees, but my first night was just fine. I got a free soda and a free banana (both times I've been in the break room, there were quite a few bananas on the counter, free for the taking). And I heard some interesting fraud stories from the Target Protection Specialist who spoke to us about Assets Protection.

I also learned that the Target experience, for both guests and team members, is supposed to be Fast, Fun, and Friendly. What a coincidence--that's just how I've always thought of myself :-)

Well, OK

I saw a picture of NordicWare's latest offering in the newspaper, a stadium-shaped Bundt pan, and was going to write a post about how silly it is, but then when I looked at the NordicWare Web site, I decided it's not so bad. It would make for a clever, if probably underappreciated, dessert for your next football-watching party.

Me, I think I'll wait for a basketball arena-shaped pan, and then decorate the cake with blue, black, and silver.

Slow on the Uptake

It only took me 36 years to realize that the perfect place to put my keyring as soon as I get out of the car at home is straight into my purse. That way, I never have to hunt for my keys when it's time to go out again.

Great Combination

While researching a particular knitting pattern online, I came across this blog post with a picture of the hat in the pattern, and the post coincidentally begins by talking about Nancy Pearl and the Librarian Action Figure. I love when I find such sympathetic pairings in the world (e.g., library-stuff and knitting).

ps - Thinking the hat would be cute for little nephew-to-be, though I had better finish his Christmas stocking before I worry about anything else.

pps - yes, if you're wondering, I do own a Librarian Action Figure and two of Nancy Pearl's books. Starr, however, owns the deluxe action figure set.

In the House of Mirrors, or, A Cop-Out Post

Birth of a Pretzel

Post-Formation

After Boiling

Fresh from the Oven

The Times They Are A-Changin'

Apparently, the local public library at which I interviewed a couple of weeks ago did not see the wisdom in offering me a job. So, next week I will become a Team Member at everyone's favorite discount department store. You may be interested to know that my hourly wage will be less than 25% of what I was earning 13 months ago.

But, I never said money was everything, did I? And, we hope that this is only a temporary situation, with bigger and better things beyond it. In the meantime, I'm investing in a mini-wardrobe of red and khaki.

It's a Calling

"What on earth d'you think [an aunt is] here for, I should like to know?

To be a pattern and example to all aunts . . .; to be a delight to boys [and girls] and a comfort to their parents; and to show that at least one daughter in every generation ought to remain unmarried, [and] raise the profession of auntship to a fine art."

Jan Struther. (1940). Mrs. Miniver. Harcourt, Brace, & Co.

(with thanks to Starr for enlightening me as to the existence of this passage)

Ugh

Did you know that if you neglect to check your Yahoo! mail account for 3 weeks, you may have as many as 566 e-mails in your spam folder?

Happiness Is

not having to set the alarm clock for the morning.

Crocs Count

Another drawback about leaving UNT is that I just hit upon the idea of starting a Crocs Count in my sidebar. It's taken a while, but just lately, I've finally started seeing Crocs on campus, probably 4-5 pairs a week. I don't see many in the general population (discounting my own house, where there are many pairs of Crocs), so I'm not sure it's worth it to start a count now.

Still, Crocs aren't threatening to take over as the footwear of choice even on campus. Way too many flip-flops, skimmers, and high heels for that.

All Good Things . . .

Today is my last day at UNT, though if I don't quit fooling with my blog and get back to work, it's going to be a l-o-n-g day. One thing this means is that I will have few opportunities to listen to audiobooks in the car. It's good timing though, since I'm almost through the current book, with no new ones on the immediate horizon.

The other thing this means is that my library item count will be back to a less-inflated number--15 once I turn in the two I still have from UNT. Guess that's good--I need all the shelf space I can get at home!

Guest Blogger

I hate checking in on Auntie K's Blog only to find she hasn't posted in three days. I suspect she has nothing to say at the moment, and is just not motivated to come up with anything. Tsk, tsk, Auntie K. I do know that last night, she had time two watch Proof twice in a row, the second time with the director's commentary, and that today she is in Denton, panicking a bit over the fact that her "volunteer" status at UNT is supposed to end tomorrow and she has barely started working on the project she wanted to finish. What else is new?

-a guest

Doesn't Make Sense

If modern civilization can put a man on the moon, why can it not figure out a surefire way to get black ink spots off an irreplaceable, much-loved stone color chino skirt?

A Bit Awkward

I love the Pottery Barn look, but I'm not sure this manner of bookshelf use would be any good for anyone who actually reads the books she owns.

Yummy in My Tummy

One more blog to add to the list . . .

Fat, Dumb, and Happy

I've long believed that there is a link, for some people, between stress and fat. So why, if my life is now relatively stress-free, am I fat (BTW, do you agree that "fat" as an adjective is an ugly word?)?

Apparently, lack of stress and fat have some connection for me as well. I seem content to meander through life these days, eating what I want and when I want, growing more and more "chunky." Certainly, I don't want to go back to the stress-filled life where I had to hide in a bathroom stall at work once a week to cry, but maybe there's such a thing as too much contentment.

Anyone's Guess

I finally had my first job interview today, at a local public library. I really have no idea how I did. It wasn't a total disaster, but I know I could and should have done much better. On the other hand, I'm often more critical of my work than are others, so I may not be the best judge of reality.

Either way, it's out of my hands now. The job is part-time, a fact that is both good and bad. So, I'm prepared to accept whatever outcome arises, and to move on from there. The selection committee will be narrowing to a list of candidates to invite for second interviews with the library director, and I should hear about that next week.

Will keep you posted!

Taken In, or, If It Sounds Too Good to Be True...

There's a reason I try not to watch commercials on television. I rarely watch any of "my shows" at the very time they air, because I refuse to sit through the commercials, and thanks to that magical invention, the DVR, I don't have to.

But on Labor Day, while doing some monotonous work on the bedroom computer, I turned on TNT to listen to the all-day reruns of The Closer. Alas, I have only an old-fashioned non-DVR receiver in the bedroom, so I had to listen to commercials unless I was quick on the mute button.

So, when Keri Russell asked if I was tired of wearing lip gloss that wore off after a few hours (uh, more like minutes in my case), I ran out to buy the CoverGirl product she swore would last for 10 hours.

Ugh. A complete waste of $7, for a toxic paint-like liquid that you apply underneath a separate, shiny balm from a different tube. Yes, it will last for 10 hours, even on your teeth (when it smudged on my teeth, the only way I got rid of it all was with a toothbrush.) Turns out, I didn't buy the exact product Keri is touting--I bought something similar--but it probably doesn't make a difference. That's what I get for listening to a commercial.

BTW, don't bother trying George Hamilton's Pita Thins either. They're too salty even for me, and I have a pretty high tolerance for salt.

Deja Vu All Over Again

I had the distinct non-pleasure of driving to my former place of employment this morning, after being rudely awakened by a ringing telephone, at the other end of which was a plea from a certain family member for someone to deliver an item forgotten at home. Since Oscar doesn't drive, I was tapped for the job. (To tell the truth, I half expected such a call, and therefore put the phone on the bedside table last night, so I wouldn't have to grope my way to my handbag when it rang.)

The beauty of unemployment, however, is that now that I'm home again, I can crawl back into bed if I wish (but of course I won't, because I don't believe in napping).

Incidentally, the reason I wasn't already awake when the phone rang at 7:22 a.m. in the morning is because I stayed up to finish Folly, a book I can't imagine anyone (with a brain) not devouring, both for its suspenseful plot and beautiful scenery (San Juan Islands), as well as for its rich, mature writing. I read it so quickly, in two sittings, that it never even made it onto the "Currently Reading" sidebar.

Another Letter

Dear A and O,

Today is the big day--the first day of your school career. Ah, the smell of freshly sharpened pencils, the shiny laminated bulletin board cut-outs, the new clothes. There's so much to love about the first day of school.

I hope you'll indulge your aunt and let her give you some advice. I went to kindergarten many years ago, but I still remember much of it as if it were yesterday. I hope you will be able to learn from my experiences and not repeat the same mistakes.

1) If your mother lets you take a tube of ChapStick to school, don't turn the dial so that the whole stick of ChapStick comes out of the tube. It will break off and you will have a mess on your hands that you will have to hide under your poncho.

2) Don't pull the chair out from under one of your tablemates as they are about to sit down. I know it's funny to watch this happen to someone, but it's not a very nice thing to do. Even if you don't get in trouble for it, that doesn't make it ok.

3) Beware of wearing sandals to school if you're going to be outside on the track. When the sandal strap breaks, it can be a real pain.

4) Don't stick your finger into a classmate's Afro hairdo to see how thick it is. Even if you think it's an innocent gesture, your teacher might not interpret it as such (I only know this from secondhand experience. When I was in kindergarten, I had more sense than to do something like this, but some people apparently didn't. Ask around your house and see if anyone 'fesses up to knowing about this incident).

5) Most of all--have fun. And go to the school library as often as you are able!

Fondly,

Auntie K

No Caption Needed

Celebrity Blogger

Did you know that Rose Levy Berenbaum blogs? I found her blog while I was looking for errata listings for the America's Test Kitchen cookbooks. If you're like me and spend more time reading about activities like baking and knitting than actually doing the activities themselves, then you'll love Rose. Her "Vanilla Bible" article for Food Arts Magazine looks like a good, albeit lengthy, read. (Don't worry--Rose's Web designers have done their job, and you can print the post with ease.)

Incidentally, America's Test Kitchen has no errata in evidence on their Web site. Do you think it's because none of their cookbooks have errors?

No, I don't think so either. In fact, I searched their site and found reference in an e-newsletter to errata for Baking Illustrated, the very book in which I'm interested. You have to be a paid Website member, however, to access the newsletter. That's what I call poor customer service.

Who Knew? (A Link-Happy Post)

Went to the Half Price mothership store this week in search of Get on the Ball and any of the Cook's Illustrated Best Recipe books (tried to give you a link to the magazine itself, but their server is down).

Struck out on both of those, of course, but came home with a few board books for Curly, a Nancy Drew (The Clue in the Diary, where she meets hunky Ned Nickerson), and The Best of Dr. Seuss.

If I had to compile three books for a best of Dr. Seuss volume, they would be Hop on Pop, Green Eggs and Ham, and How the Grinch Stole Christmas! But, no one asked me, so this volume contains The Cat in the Hat, The Cat in the Hat Comes Back, and Dr. Seuss's ABC.

Turns out, I don't like The Cat in the Hat (oh, did I say that aloud? Does it make me un-American?). It's way too chaotic and out of control for me. The Cat comes in and turns the house into a total disaster zone, almost as if he had evil intentions. Yeah, he puts it right before the mother comes home, but that doesn't make what he did ok.

The other interesting thing about this book is that it was published in England, so that it refers to "Dad's £7 shoes."

Incidentally, if you've never perused Dr. Seuss's wartime political cartoons (or even if you have), be sure to check out this exhibition.

A Letter

Dear Curly,

I hear that tonight is scheduled to be your first night in a big girl bed. Poor thing, you're probably in for a rough few nights. I know how cozy your crib is and that it will be hard to leave it behind. But, take it from someone older and wiser--once you get used to the new arrangement, I promise you will love it. There's nothing in this world to beat dropping into your comfortable, familiar, friend-of-a-bed at the end of a long hard day. Or waking up on a Saturday and then snuggling back into the comfy mattress, the covers twisted around your legs and your toes feeling the breeze, knowing that you can go back to sleep if you want.

So, dear little one, I'll be thinking of you during your transition. It will be difficult, but you'll be in a happier place when all is said and done.

Lovingly,

Auntie K

Cool

I'm not as good as finding cool fun stuff on the Web as Starr is, but this idea for a piece of home exercise equipment is pretty neat. What is even neater is the creator's idea of exercising for slightly less than the smallest amount of "schedulistically significant time," defined as 15 minutes. Scheduling calendars usually don't work at a level smaller than 15 minutes. So to exercise for 14 minutes, you're not even using real time out of your calendar. Pretty fab!

If you have more time to browse after reading about Shovelglove, check out Shovelglove's host site, Everyday Systems.

Happy Surfing!

A Bright Spot

Guess who has an interview for a part-time librarian position at a city library next week?

Oh dear - I'm much too fat to wear any of the interview-worthy clothes I own. What am I going to do? Shopping for clothes is not much fun when you are so round. Does anyone who knows my [current] body shape and [lack of] height have a suggestion about where I can go to find a hopefully flattering interview outfit?

Happy Birthday, L.!

Believing hear, what you deserve to hear:

Your birthday as my own to me is dear . . .

But yours gives most; for mine did only lend

Me to the world; yours gave to me a friend.

Martial, Epigrams, Bk. ix, epig. 52.

in Burton Stevenson, Home Book of Quotations, Classical and Modern, New York: Dodd, Mead & Company, 1934, p. 165.

Severe Crisis

It's 1 am and I really have to get home from work and to bed, so I can return in less than 9 hours. However, I was just thrown into an absolute catastrophe, so I had to stop and tell you.

While I wasn't looking, THREE of my audiobook holds at the library came in, and all three are waiting to be picked up. How on earth am I supposed to listen to four audio books in the space of three weeks? (I'm already on Disc Two of Anne of Green Gables.)

On top of that, one of the books is a sequel to Night Work, and if you've been paying attention to the sidebar, I've been sitting in the middle of that for weeks.

5 minutes later:

Oh, cancel that. I looked more closely at my account before I finished this post, and only one of the three is an audio. The other two are print versions of The Fourth Bear and Break No Bones. That's much better. I didn't really plan on reading those two anyway, because I'm on the list to get both audios. But I'll pick them up anyway, and we'll see what happens.

It's obvious that 1) I need some sleep and 2) work is starting to interfere with my "real" life.

Don't Despair

Please don't wring your hands with worry or give up reading Auntie K's blog, thinking she's dropped off the face of the earth. Locals can attest that all is ok and I'm still in one piece--I've just been extremely caught up in work (and the commute to work) for the past week. And we all know I don't blog much on the weekends.

Will return to usual witty wordiness before too long.

Card Carrier

I'm usually happy to rush home and collapse in front of the TV after work, but last night, I instead exercised my mind and signed up for a library card in Rowlett.

Rowlett is adjacent to the city in which I live, and I know you find it hard to believe that I didn't already have a card there, since I have cards in three other adjacent cities. But, I didn't. In fact, I had never even visited the Rowlett library until last night.

It's very cute, a small building, with nice furniture, lovely art displays, and a cheerful look about it. I stink at spatial estimation, but I would say it's somewhere between 6,000-9,000 square feet.

One interesting thing is that the nonfiction media (DVD's and videos) appear to be intershelved with the books, all in their appropriate subject area. Libraries usually segregate the two, so I thought this was interesting. Makes no difference to me personally, since I could find them either way, but I think it's a great idea for people who are browsing.

With acquisition of my Rowlett card, that brings to 14 the total number of North Texas libraries of which I am, or have been, a card-carrying patron.

Horrifying

Unemployment is imminent, and this weekend I came to a truly awful realization:

When I'm no longer driving 80 miles to work every day, I won't have an excuse to listen to all the audio books I have on hold at the library (waiting on four right now).

Yeah, I suppose I could listen at home, but I'll be too busy watching TV.

My Day So Far

• Arriving at work to see that there was no water in the building - Thumbs Down
• Realizing I didn't need to be at work until 1 pm, even though I arrived at 11 am - Thumbs Down/Thumbs Up (could have slept in/need the hours)
• Walking across the Library Mall to use the bathroom in another building - Thumbs Down/ Thumbs Up (it's hot outside, but their bathrooms are much nicer than ours)
• Finishing a stint of weeding on the 2nd floor and walking toward the elevator at the exact same time as a patron wheeling a suitcase and carrying an armload of books - Thumbs Up (I ran into the same person last week in the same situation, and she remembered me. Called me her "fairy godsister" for helping her downstairs with her books.)
• Friday Afternoon Headache - Thumbs Down
• Friday Afternoon Headache Remedy - Thumbs Up
• Changing a twenty dollar bill for twenty crisp new one dollar bills - Thumbs Up (I feel rich with all that cash.)
• Spending two of my new crisp dollar bills on Headache Remedy - Thumbs Down

Word to the Wise

If you're going to put your water bottle inside your bag or backpack, first check that the cap is tight.

Then, check again.

If You Think You're Having a Bad Day...

I haven't gotten much done this week because I'm deep in the middle of watching 24 Season Two from the library. I've had it on hold for several months, and it finally came in. Of course, 24 Season Three came in last week, so I watched some of that and then put it aside to come back to Season Two.

Anyway, that's what I've been doing this week. The show isn't terribly realistic, and most of the actors are not long on dramatic skill, but I do like Kiefer Sutherland, and this show has a hook like you wouldn't believe. I watched one episode, and I was sucked in, just because I had to see how it was going to end.

If you don't know, the pretense of 24 is that it depicts events in the life of Jack Bauer (Sutherland), a government agent who works with the elite Counter Terrorist Unit in Los Angeles. Events occur in real time, so that one episode encompasses one elapsed hour in the life of the characters. Hence, one season is one 24-hour day on the show.

If you're ever feeling like too many bad things have happened to you in a day, just watch this show. If you were Kim Bauer, Jack's daughter, here's what might have happened to you in the past 13 hours:

1. Boss walked into your bedroom of the house where you live as an au pair and saw you in your underwear.

2. Boss hit on you at breakfast.

3. Estranged dad came to visit you and asked to reconcile (your mom died a year ago and whenever you look at your dad, you think of her).

4. Boss came home, beat up wife, knocked over daughter, hit you, threatened to kill you.

5. Boss chased you down when you and his daughter fled the house in his wife's SUV, beat you with a crowbar, you had to abandon the SUV.

6. You and the daughter rode the bus to CTU headquarters to find your dad, only to be caught in the middle of a bomb explosion.

7. The daughter started seizing and was rushed to the emergency room.

8. The ER doctor accused you of injuring the child and called the police.

9. The dad showed up at the hospital and you called your boyfriend to come help you kidnap the daughter.

10. The dad confronted you, your BF, and the daughter in the parking lot, your BF karate chopped the dad and you escaped in the dad's Lexus.

11. The local sheriff pulled over the Lexus as you were driving out of LA to escape an imminent nuclear disaster. He opened the trunk when he spotted blood dripping from it, and you discovered your boss had killed his wife and put her in the trunk.

12. You and your BF are arrested for murder and kidnapping (not to mention car theft).

13. You cause a car crash while the police are transporting you and your BF back to LA, then you escape into the mountains only to be terrorized by a cougar and caught in an animal trap.

14. After nightfall, you are rescued by a kook who tries to trick you into staying with him in his bomb shelter by telling you the "big one" has gone off.

15. You escape from the kook, are hitchhiking with a nice lady to get out of town, and your dad calls you to say he is flying the nuclear bomb to the Mojave Desert so it doesn't harm LA, and he will be killed when the bomb detonates.

16. You see the nuclear explosion on the horizon and know your dad is dead. You get out of the car you're hitching in because you "need to be alone."

17. You get the owner of a closed liquor store to let you in to use the bathroom. A guy breaks in to buy food because he has to flee to the mountains to avoid the fallout, there's a struggle and the guy shoots the store owner with the gun the kook gave you for protection. The police show up, but the guy takes you hostage.

See, makes your day sound pretty tame, doesn't it?

Public Service Pet Peeve

OK, this really bothers me:

Phoning a public service phone number in another department at the UNT Libraries, and the staff member who answers does not give his or her name. It is very frustrating to not know with whom I am speaking. The department head? Some flunkie who isn't likely to be able to help me? I would like to know the staff member's name so I know how to best frame my question. And I feel so rude asking, "to whom am I speaking?" (but I still ask anyway).

I know that library employees are often wary of putting their name on a nametag or telling their name to people in case they might attract a stalker. If that's the case, they shouldn't be working in a public service profession. Besides, giving out your first name isn't likely to cause earth-shattering repercussions.

So come on, just tell me who you are, please. I told you my name!

Coincidence or Not?

A few days ago, my co-worker Zoey and I were working the reference desk together. She had just been to the circulation desk to check out a book, and was back at the desk looking at her library account on the computer. She exclaimed over the fact that the book she had just checked out was not showing in her account. I mused that perhaps it takes a few minutes to update, and I glanced at her computer screen, which showed the titles of the items checked out to Zoey's account. One of the titles caught my eye, and I told her that I checked out the same book a few months ago. We laughed over the coincidence.

Then, I looked more closely, only to realize that I had checked out all 3 of the books Zoey currently had checked out. Isn't that funny?

Incidentally, all three books were about reference services. So, nothing extremely "fun," like a Laurie R. King novel or anything. One of the titles is Reading and the Reference Librarian: The Importance to Library Service of Staff Reading Habits. I checked it out thinking it might be pretty interesting, but it mostly talked about how reference librarians should read newspapers and such.

Boring.

Not a Morning Person

Do you ever wake up in the morning not quite sure about what day it is? Sometimes I have to run through several days of the week before I settle on the correct day.

Not today. I knew exactly what day it was as soon as the alarm went off.

Having a time and temperature projection atomic clock, however, offers the potential for other confusing moments.

When I woke up this morning, I couldn't for the life of me figure out what had gone wrong with my clock and why it was saying it was 77.0 o'clock. Don't (non-military time) clock numbers stop at 12? I had to stare at the display for at least 20 seconds before I determined that it was in fact 77.0 degrees F, and that the time was a normal 8:00.

Yup, it was Monday.

The Report

I don't have anything spectacular to report about Commencement, other than it was a nice ceremony and everything went well. We drove two cars to Denton, me and Mom in mine, Dad, Jen, Adam, and Allie in another. About halfway to Denton, we drove into quite a rain storm, that didn't stop until sometime during the ceremony, which started at 9 am. Commencement was held at the Winspear Performance Hall in the Murchison Performing Arts Center, a beautiful 1100-seat hall with a glass panel above the stage. Allie and Jen stayed in the lobby the whole time, but they were able to watch everything on a flat-panel TV out there. I counted 153 master's graduates in the program, considerably less than the 170'ish who took Capstone in June and were supposedly eligible for graduation. There were probably about 60 graduates who actually attended, including one BS candidate and one Ph.D. candidate. In case you are wondering, I earned a master of science degree in Library Science.

For me, the highlight of the morning was when Dr. Chandler, my advisor, stepped up from the back of the stage to hood me. Two other professors did all the hooding, unless others wanted to hood particular candidates. I was hoping, but not really expecting, that Dr. Chandler would step up when they read my name. It's been 3 years since I had a class from her, so we're not exactly close. But she apparently knows me well enough to have come forward. As they read each candidate's name, they also read the faculty advisor name, and I did note that Dr. Chandler didn't hood all of her advisees, only a select few. That helps assuage some of my disappointment at not being invited to join Beta Phi Mu.

Here are a few pictures you can laugh at or admire, as the case may be.

Here are the cute and cool gifts Starr gave me on Thursday. The cap came from Michaels, and the tote bag is from the Overdue Media site, home of the funny library comic, Unshelved.



My gown and hood were the "economy" kind, without button and loop with which to secure the hood. Hence, I looked like I was wearing a choker.

Here's Dad, me, and Mom, post-ceremony:


Once home, most everyone (including me) took a nap, and in the evening we went for dinner at Cathy's Wok, followed by yummy gelato at Paciugo and a quick trip into Ulta. The service at Cathy's was far slower than usual, they forgot Adam's order of fried rice, gave Jen noodles instead of rice, failed to leave the pepper out of Mom's and Jen's orders, and Dad was mightily disappointed in his egg fooyung, but I was perfectly happy with my sesame chicken and noodles.

One last picture. In addition to buying me a lovely diploma frame from the sales table outside the performance hall, Mom also presented me with this at dinner:



Yes, as you can see, a good time was had by all, and it is satisfying to have completed such a milestone. Thank you for all of your encouragement and support!

It's Official

Yay! Just left the "graduation exercise" and am at the office for a few minutes to copy a file I need to take home. Pictures to follow later this afternoon.

The other good news is that we got some rain this morning. Our house probably didn't get anything, but we got a good soaking here in Denton.

Stay Tuned

Graduation is tomorrow, so stay tuned for exciting details about the festivities, and watch for the wording in my Blogger profile to finally change!

I Was Afraid of This

After taking the Star Trek personality quiz Starrlett made note of today, I decided to look for a Simpsons personality quiz. This isn't a cool one that gives you the results code to post on your own site, but it was short.

I'll give you one guess as to which Simpsons character I'm most like.

Where's the Calamine?

Will someone please tell me how I managed to get bit on the knee by what appears to have been a mosquito while I was wearing long Levis and sitting inside the library?

Something is not right about this situation.

Happy to Stay Home

Very glad I'm not traveling by air today or in the next few days.

You know, don't you, that after a thwarted terror plot in Britain, airports in the U.S. have banned liquids and gels from carry-on luggage? Yes, you now have to travel without water, toothpaste, hand lotion, or lip balm.

Uh-uh, not this girl. I'll stay home, thank you.

Ugh

Starr and I have previously discussed the disgusting nature of public access computer keyboards. Now, I can go even one better. How about the disgusting nature of public access computer monitors?

Yes, after nearly a year at the library, I've finally had a run-in with pornography on a public computer. Now, I'm not talking about people looking at pictures of scantily clad women on MySpace or a dating site. That happens too frequently for me to bother about.

No, what I saw today was full-out obscenity, on a 15" monitor. Looking at such stuff in a public place violates Texas Penal Code. It also violates computer use policy at UNT and at the UNT Libraries, though it's hard to figure out exactly how (illegal activities or failure to comply with laws is my guess. Pornography isn't against the law, but if you're violating the Texas Penal Code...).

Luckily, I didn't have to confront the offender myself. I just called Circulation and had them do the dirty work. On the lucky staff member's first pass, he didn't see anything beyond Google.com on the computer monitor. A few minutes later, however, he approached from another direction and apparently saw enough to stop and talk to the person, who left the building a few minutes later. As the staff member walked past me on his way out of the room, he commented, "I really didn't need to see that."

And I did?

Native Daughter

You are 84% REAL Texan!!

You're way more Texan than average. Your parents were probably from here too. We're glad to have you. You probably go to the border for Christmas shopping and are well versed in BBQ, Mexican Food and ... well, that's pretty much it.

How Texan Are You?

Thanks to Starrlett for the pointer to this quiz. Since I am a native, I'm relieved to know I scored higher than she did. Maybe if I had answered "yes" to "You've gotten drunk on 6th Street?" I would have scored 100%.

Of course, take the quiz yourself and you'll find out how much editing I had to do to the poor grammar and punctuation in the display above. So, since the quiz author doesn't display correct answers or tell you which questions you missed, who knows if the whole thing is accurate or not.

Calling all Food Lovers

Blogger's Blog of Note today is The Fanatic Cook. If you are interested in food, great digital photos, nutrition, or even just interesting observations, I urge you to take a look. At the beginning of the year, the author blogged about the experience of brining her bird (in a gallon Ziploc bag--must have been a small bird). Unfortunately, the experience didn't turn out to be a happy one.

A Poem

When sleep enters the body like smoke
and man journeys into the abyss
like an extinguished star that is lighted elsewhere,
then all quarrel ceases,
overworked nag that has tossed the nightmare grip
of its rider.

Nelly Sachs (1891–1970), German Jewish poet and translator; relocated to Sweden. “When sleep enters the body like smoke,” lines 1-6, translated by Michael Hamburger, et al. (1967; first edition in German: 1949)

The Columbia World of Quotations. New York: Columbia University Press, 1996. www.bartleby.com/66/.

Simpatico

I don't really like that word, "simpatico." In fact, until I looked it up, I thought it was spelled the same way as the prefix sympatico-

But I like the meaning: sympathetic; congenial; being on the same wave length.

It's so wonderful to have friends with whom I can share similar experiences and who articulate my own feelings and opinions even better than I myself can.

Don't get me wrong--variety is the spice of life, and it would be a dreary existence if we were all carbon copies of the same person. But sometimes when you're feeling a little beat down, it's nice to hear someone utter a sentiment or make an observation that makes you think, "exactly!"

A friend told me that, "the only thing that periodically kept up my confidence during the job search . . . was remembering that every job I've had has been better than the last, and each one was more related to what I wanted to do than the previous one. That whole sense of divine direction kinda helps. "

Yes. Exactly the same for me.

Even though I didn't really know what I wanted to do for a long time, and I'm still feeling my way through it, I know that I've been moving in the right direction all along. And I know that I will continue to do so, even if it appears from this spot in the road that the bridge ahead is out.

(please send me a link to this post the next time I start freaking out)

Apology Tendered

Dear me. If you're a regular reader, I know you might have been frightened, bored, or disgusted (or all three) by last night's (this morning's) messy display of self-pity.

Thank you for being so indulgent. Things look much better in the light of day, of course, and I'm sure that I'll soon be back to my sunny, cheerful self. After a good night's sleep, that is. Right now, I already have the Friday afternoon symptoms of dull aching head, misfiring brain synapses, and small lapses of attention, and it's only 6 pm Thursday. Guess the old body just isn't capable of what it once was.

I Knew It Was a Good Idea. Or, She Drowned in Self-Pity

Why, oh why did I not carry out my plan to torch the place a month ago when I first dreamed it up?

I'm suddenly in full-blown exploding head stage once again. This time, however, it's a combination of things:

1. My friend Starrlett just keeps coming up with more interesting stories, cool sites, fun "timewasters," and just plain-weird oddities on the Web, all of which I want to check out and few of which I ever do. If I can't even look at what she's already found, how on earth does she find it all in the first place, and make it look so easy in the process? Also, I see one of her cool finds like What's That Bug? and it makes me think of stories I want to share on my own blog, but don't really have time to be sharing right now (or maybe you've all heard about my brush with bedbugs, in which case I don't need to share).

2. It's 1:50 am, I must find a critical item before 9:30 in the morning (and also get some sleep before then), and I believe it is somewhere in the rat's nest of stuff (all belonging to me) that came out of the "guest" bedroom when we had company visit in June and ended up in various trash bags and laundry baskets in the garage. I'm too ashamed and embarrassed to tell you about everything contained in the bags and baskets. Let's just say that the situation is grim.

3. I wanted to look up a word in the dictionary a few minutes ago, but had to resort to Merriam-Webster Online after I determined that I could not physically reach the dictionary on the bookshelf in my bedroom because there are too many obstacles in the way.

4. I'm really starting to get nervous about the job search, and it's sort of been consuming my thoughts the past 36 hours or so. That leaves little room in my brain for processing the necessary tasks of daily life. This in turn leads to the "exploding head" feeling. I know temporary unemployment is not an uncommon occurrence, but I just realized that I have been steadily employed for the last 14 years. As someone who craves stability and tries very hard to avoid personal risk-taking, facing even a day of unemployment is frightening.

So, does anyone have a bigger brain they can send me? Or perhaps a bigger bedroom? Or maybe just a stronger back or a stiffer upper-lip to replace mine.

Check this Out

Have I told you how clever Starrlett is? If you aren't convinced, take a look at this nifty dictionary entry she made!

Actually, even if you are already convinced, you should still look: What some people can do on a computer is so neat. Scroll to the bottom of Starrlett's post to find a link if you want to know how to make your own groovy dictionary entry.

Wonders Never Cease

I read through my latest credit card statement last night and determined, to my astonishment, that I apparently did not shop at Target even once in the last month.

Actually, I think there must be some mistake on the statement, because such a departure from normal routine seems unlikely.

Or, perhaps I went into Target but didn't actually purchase anything (this does happen upon rare occasions). Too, it could be that I did buy something at Target but that I couldn't find my main credit card at the register and had to use the backup (which, incidentally, is a Target Visa, but I don't use it often).

Yes, it has to be one of those things. A month without a Target purchase, if it really did happen, probably would mean I'm dead.

Horrifying

Since my local readers are more news-savvy than I, they probably already know about this story, but I felt compelled to share it with the rest of you.

A couple of weeks ago a 4-year old boy in Pleasant Grove died of apparent heatstroke while on a day care center outing to the park. Coincidentally, the day care center was the same one where last year, an underage driver crashed a car through the center's storefront, severely injuring several children.

A few days ago we heard that the day care center owner had left the park during the outing to go to the bank, without informing the other workers she was leaving. We also learned that the owner has a past conviction for assault that would have kept her from being licensed as a daycare center worker if it had been discovered in her background check. The owner apparently submitted a false name and social security number for the background check.

Now, the Dallas Morning News is reporting on a police affidavit that states the boy in fact never left the center's van after they picked him up at home at 7 am and drove to the center. After his brother commented on his absence "sometime after lunch," day care workers found the boy, already dead, still inside the van in the center's parking lot. He then ended up at the park, which is where the day care center owner was when she called emergency services at 2:11 pm.

I won't comment on the horror of the criminality of the attempted cover-up, because that speaks for itself. Stories like this, however, always make me think about the inevitability and irreversibility of some of our actions. Take your eyes from the task at hand for one second, make one choice to go someplace you know you shouldn't be or do something you know you shouldn't do, say something in the heat of the moment without thinking, choose A instead of B, and none of it can be undone. Often, nothing remarkable comes of the incident. Occasionally, however, the consequences are devastating.

True, this boy's death was obviously the work of more than a second. In a hot car in 90+ degree temperatures, however, it was probably only the work of an hour or two. One hour of someone not being on their guard is all it took.

Currently Eating (and Shopping)

Since the "currently eating" sidebar is so ephemeral, I thought this find deserves its own post.

Have you tried Cocoa Booty from Robert's American Gourmet? Someone left a package on the community table in the office, so of course I tried some. It's a puffed rice snack tossed in chocolate syrup. Cocoa Booty has no real nutritional value beyond a bit of fiber, and it has too much sugar to be considered "healthy," but it is tasty. It definitely hits the spot if you're craving something sweet and crunchy. The 4 oz bag in the office cost $0.99 at Vitamins Plus.

You can order a case of Cocoa Booty from Robert's Web site, but I probably won't because I feel a need to conserve funds after having recently purchased an exercise ball, resistance bands and a small ball to go with the exercise ball, various books to entertain Curly on her next visit, and these shoes.

Perhaps a shopping spree was not the best choice for someone who may be unemployed soon. On the other hand, if I am soon unemployed, I'll have plenty of exercise equipment and books to keep me busy, and I'll already have a new pair of shoes to wear if I ever get an interview!

Enough is Enough - Part II

Recap

You may recall that in Part I of this post, I discussed the rudiments of documenting a journal name change in a library catalog. The purpose of that exercise was to provide background information for the observation which I will now make.

Observation

Did you know that The Atlantic Monthly, that venerable literary and cultural magazine, has officially changed its name no less than five times since its inception in 1857? The ridiculous thing is, the name alternates between only two variations: The Atlantic and The Atlantic Monthly.

To whit:

The Atlantic Monthly 1857-1932
The Atlantic 1932-1971
The Atlantic Monthly 1971-1980
The Atlantic 1981-1993
The Atlantic Monthly 1993-current

Pithy Parting Question

Anyone want to lay bets on when it will change again to The Atlantic?

Well Spoken

"If you have time to breathe, you have time to read."

-M.

Enough is Enough - Part I

Background

You may or may not know that journal titles sometimes change names. Therefore, if you are looking in a library catalog for a particular journal from a particular year and it appears that the library doesn't have what you want, be sure to read the catalog record closely to make sure that the journal didn't change names, instead of just assuming that they don't have what you want and walking away. If the journal changed names, the appropriate years will be listed in a separate catalog record under the new (or old) journal title.

For example, the Journal of Engineering Drawing was published from 1950 to 1958, when it changed names to the Journal of Engineering Graphics in 1959. Then, in 1970, the journal again changed names to Engineering Design Graphics Journal. These name changes are signified in a catalog record by the notes "continued by" and "continues."

Thus:

1. Journal of Engineering Drawing 1950-1958
   continued by Journal of Engineering Graphics



2. Journal of Engineering Graphics 1959-1970
   continues Journal of Engineering Drawing
   continued by Engineering Design Graphics Journal



3. Engineering Design Graphics Journal 1970-
   continues Journal of Engineering Graphics

To what important point, you ask, is this interminable post headed? Well, that will be revealed in part two of "Enough is Enough."

Oops

At work, I'm supposed to give my supervisor a journal entry telling her what I worked on for the day and listing any problems or questions I have. As I went to put today's entry in Ellen's box, I re-read what I wrote on Wednesday.

Wednesday, I was 40 minutes late and my timesheet for the entire week had already been turned in. So, at the bottom of Wednesday's journal entry, I related what happened and said that I had "40 hours of work to make up on Friday."

That would make for a pretty long day.

Overheard at the Reference Desk (on the phone)

"My dog ate my dictionary. Can you look up the definition of ..."

Disappointments: A Short List (Revised)

• Reaching into the box of Nature Valley Chewy Trail Mix Bars in the backseat of the car to retrieve a snack, only to realize the box is empty.


• Spending a dollar on a soda from the vending machine, thinking the drink will be colder than the can I put in the refrigerator a couple of hours ago, only to find out that the machine soda is much warmer.


• Coming to the end of a fabulous audio book, with nothing to listen to after.

Ready for a Change

After almost a year, I think I might actually be starting to tire of my carefree part-time student employee existence. Now, this is not to say that I miss working at my former place of employment. That is a feeling I doubt I will ever experience.

However, being a lackey with limited responsibility and little input into the workings of the organization sometimes leaves me feeling frustrated and bored. Being an inquisitive person by nature, I like to know what's going on, why things are the way they are, what changes are on the horizon, etc. In my current position, I know little of that, only what I can pick up in the air or in the small snippets of information available to me--I don't attend staff meetings, receive many e-mails, serve on a committee, etc. I'm just here. In the semi-darkness, usually.

I hope and pray this situation will change before too long, when my employment changes. When that happens, if I complain about how difficult and frustrating things are, perhaps I'll be able to hark back to this post and remind myself that I'm exactly where I said I wanted to be.

Yes

I'm Famous

Remember how I told you I had been published? When I arrived at work yesterday, the librarian at the desk said he had taken a strange call from someone purportedly looking for me. The caller mentioned my last name, asked if my name was K--- Anne or Anne K---, was I 38 or so (I think NOT), and was I involved in biofeedback or psychology. The librarian said he didn't know the answer to those questions, but that I would be in at 2 and the guy could call back.

Call back he did, and it was an investigator or an attorney looking for someone named K---- Anne W---, who goes by the name K--- or sometimes Anne. He repeated the same questions he had before, although he asked if I was born May 1972, which would not make me 38. He said he had found my name on "your Web site." I determined he meant the UNT Libraries Web site, but told him I have no background in psychology or biofeedback. He thought from looking at the Web site (a communications studies subject guide) that I have something to do with health sciences.

Anyway, I assured him I am not the person for whom he is looking, and we hung up. A few months ago, an attorney from Louisiana called me at home looking for someone with my name who had worked for Child Protective Services and had lived in Denton (home of UNT). Perhaps the two targets of investigation are one in the same?

A Friend in Need...

is a friend indeed.

Thanks, Starr.

On a Related Note

While checking out what the Knitter's Review forums posters had to say about Knit Lites, I found the flaming hot discussion thread for Knit Picks Options interchangeable needle sets. If you're interested, you can read it here. Clara Parkes, the person who actually publishes Knitter's Review and writes the reviews on the main page, has an unofficial review near the top of the thread.

This prompts me to point out that with all the end-of-term, Capstone, retrenchment, and job-hunting activities, I haven't done much knitting-related activity lately. I miss it.

Stupid Idea or Innovation?

Do you know that someone now makes light-up knitting needles? I saw them in a Mary Maxim catalog last week and made fun of them. I mean, I don't think of Mary Maxim as being particularly high-end. But today, I got an e-mail from Patternworks advertising the same thing. Supposedly, one can use them to knit in the dark.

I went over to Knitter's Review to see if anyone's talking about these in the forums. I found one item that you might want to read (if this sort of stuff interests you).

All I have to say is, they're pricey. And they probably get hot with those lights in them. I think if I'm spending that much money for needles, I might as well get some cool, sleek Addi Turbos.

Word of the Day

I've gone my entire mature life saying "with bated breath" without really knowing what it means or how to spell it. I went to type it in an e-mail and had to think for 1/2 a second about whether it is "baited" (which I knew was wrong) or "bated." Then, I realized I wasn't sure what it means. If I had thought for a minute instead of instantly leaping to Merriam-Webster OnLine, I think I could have figured out that it is a derivation of "abated, " to reduce the force or intensity of .

But, since I leaped before I thought, we'll never know if I really knew that or not.

What's the Deal? Part 2

Part Two of Two

As part of my plan to follow Miriam Nelson's Strong Women Stay Slim, I started keeping a food dairy last week.

As a way to make myself more accountable for my food choices, I also decided to incorporate part of my food diary into this blog. For most of last week, I faithfully recorded in the sidebar what I ate each day. I don't plan to continue that every day, however. It's too time-consuming, the novelty (for me) has already worn off, and it's likely to be extremely repetitive. Plus, we all know I'm not much of a weekend blogger.

On Friday I had a bit of a meltdown and used the sidebars to vent a bit. Saturday, I posted a link to my new favorite healthy food, Hodgson Mills Whole Wheat Couscous with Milled Flax Seed and Soy. Sunday, I posted a philosophical question about Cookies 'n Cream v. Rocky Road. Yesterday, I gave my answer to the question (Cookies 'n Cream), and posted some random "currently eating" info.

So, to answer a question posed last week, I think the sidebars will be an ephemeral thing. Check them while you're here. Who knows what you might find, and it will probably have changed in another day or two. Note that the sidebars are part of the current template, which means that even if you are reading an old post, the sidebar information will be current.

What's the Deal? Part 1

Regular readers might have noticed the debut of two new sidebar items last week: Currently Eating and Previously Eaten. Here's a (not so short) explanation, to be published in two parts.

As you may know, I am valiantly trying to retrench. (If you're not sure what that means, check here.) I am not much for reading the diet book du jour. I mean after all, I know the basics: whole foods, vegetables, fruits, whole grains, lean protein sources, little red meat or saturated fat or sugar, expend more calories than you consume, etc. Nonetheless, I obviously need help sticking to such a lifestyle. This time around, I'm following the advice in Miriam Nelson's Strong Women Stay Slim.

Nelson's book combines common-sense, research-backed advice on weight lifting, aerobic exercise, and healthful eating as a way for women to lose or maintain weight, improve health, and increase bone mass. The book contains an eating plan based on 1200, 1600, or 2000 calories a day; each level includes a certain number of servings or "portions." For example, on the 1600 calories a day plan, I should be eating the following portions each day: 4 grain, 5 vegetable, 3 fruit, 5 protein, 2 dairy, 6 extra. (That's not exactly correct - I did it from memory, but you get the point.) Anyway, you can see that such a plan requires one to keep track of what she eats.

Hence, I started keeping a food diary last week. More to follow in Part Two of this post.

The Job Hunt

I think the people who read my blog are the same people who already know most of the intimate details of my fascinating life. But if not, here's an update on my employment status.

• I am still employed at UNT until the end of August. Thankfully, I have health insurance through that period as well.


• None of the libraries to which I have applied to date have expressed interest in interviewing me.


• I have two applications out currently, on which I may hear something, but probably not--they're a bit old now. I was very interested in one of these jobs--it looked fabulous.


• I sent out an application tonight to a public university in the Rocky Mountain region, for which I have high hopes. Their hiring timeline seems short, so I will probably hear something in the next 2 weeks. It's a visiting position, which means fixed one-year term. But, it also means entry-level, so that is fine with me. I have further hopes for it because I found the announcement the evening before they started reviewing applications, and I only found it by searching much farther afield than I have been doing so far. Perhaps that's significant?


• Yes, right now I am only applying for professional reference librarian positions in academic libraries. At some point, I may have to modify that strategy, but I'm not ready to do so yet. I am not concentrating my search on any specific geographic location. Beggars can't be complete choosers.


• Yes, by September, it is possible I will be unemployed. I have some savings, so I don't feel undue pressure to take anything I have to just to avoid a period of unemployment. I probably can't go more than a few months without income, however.


• Yes, I would be interested in staying at UNT if possible. Right now, they don't have any openings for which I qualify.


• Thank you for all your interest, prayers, and concern. If there's anything else (about this topic) you're dying to know, just ask. Or if I can help you find an information resource...
  

It's Another Holiday

Happy Birthday to Me!

One Red Paperclip

Are you watching 20/20 on ABC tonight? They're running a story on the guy from Canada who, a year ago, traded one red paperclip for a fish-shaped pen, and a 13 trades and a year later, he traded for ownership of a house.

It's a Holiday

Happy Bastille Day!

I'm Published!

Well, ok, it's not a book chapter like this or this; it's part of a Web site that I finally finished at work, after 5+ months of having the assignment.

Here's the main page link. Any "yucky" pages that link off of this one are the pages I haven't rewritten yet (there are two of them). You can also find this page if you "Google" my first and last name along with the word UNT.

Pretty neat, eh?

ps - Thank you to my favorite librarian for providing technical advice on this project.

Errata and Updates

Erratum:

My earlier Body Mass Index calculation was skewed by the fact that I weighed myself at the end of the day (Sunday, no less, when I ate like a true PIG) instead of the beginning of the day. The recalculation shows that I am still firmly inside the "overweight" category, with a comfortable 1.7 index points between me and "obesity."

Update:

No, dark chocolate covered plum bites are not available at my local Kroger grocery store. Perhaps Auntie K's readers in other locales will keep their eyes peeled for them?

Is it Worth a Patent?

As I slept last night, I literally dreamed up two inventions. Both related to grocery stores. Alas, I could only remember one of the two when I awoke. But, I think the one I remember is pretty good.

Idea: A computer at the grocery store entrance into which you feed your shopping list. The computer reorders the items on the list according to location in the store, perishables last, of course, and prints a new copy. You can then shop the new list item by item, moving through the store in an orderly, efficient manner.

Is that brilliant or what?

Did You Know That . . .

a peanut butter and jam sandwich doesn't taste very fresh 24 hours after it's made, even if it's been kept in a zipper-sealed plastic bag? Both the peanut butter and the jam start to soak into the bread, making for a dry sandwich.

another name for the number or pound sign # is octothorpe? Depending upon who you read, the name was made up by a Bell Labs employee in the 1960's, or is a term printers used to use for the symbol. I ran across this term today in a CSS design book.

Yummy!

While researching some nutrition information for today's food diary entry, I found this:

PlumSweets: Dark Chocolate Coated Plum Bites.

They sound delish. Think there's any chance they are already at my local Kroger grocery store?

Accountability

My friend Sarah has a personal trainer whom she e-mails every day with a list of what she's eaten during the day. How's that for accountability?

Sarah's dedication has inspired me to make yet another attempt at retrenchment. I have also been spurred on by the cold realization (not a surprise, mind you), that my Body Mass Index is less than one index point away from categorizing me as "obese." So, at this point, I would be happy to just move back down to the low end of "overweight," much less into the "healthy" zone.

Now, I don't want to turn this into a diet blog or a fitness blog, but maybe there is a way I can use the blog to make myself more accountable for my actions and inaction. I know you don't want to read my daily food diary (it might give you nightmares), so I'll have to think about another way to do it. If you have a suggestion (no sarcasm allowed), let me know.

Glad to be Me

My friend Sarah blogged on a related theme this week (from a patriotic perspective), but I thought I would take a quick break out of my afternoon's work to record my observation on a certain truth. I know my thoughts aren't original, so I hope I they don't seem too hackneyed.

Truth: If you are ever feeling sorry for yourself and your lot in life, just spend a minute with someone else and his problems. If you are like me, you will always walk away glad to have your own problems instead of someone else's.

This is one of the +'s of working as a (soon-to-be) reference librarian. I have never helped anyone at work with whom I would trade places. Take, for instance, the returning student studying to take a skills assessment test tomorrow, who came to me agonizing over her study guide's advice about the serial comma. The study guide is poorly written, and its inadequate examples obscure the issue and do more harm than good. I've talked with said student before, and I know just enough about her situation to know that I would never wish to trade places with her. I'll take my own set of worries, shortcomings, and disappointments, as discouraging as they sometimes seem.

I Doubt It

It's a bit old, but I just read an interesting article about the flip-flop, that universally-loved footwear item. Much of the article focuses on the possible inadvisability of wearing flip-flops to work. At the end, however, an industry consultant is quoted as saying that she thinks the flop-flop trend has "reached the peak, they can't be any more widespread, so maybe next summer something will replace them."

Tell that to all the high school and college students around the country. Most of them wear flip-flops year-round. Regardless of what the experts say, I predict that the flip-flop is here to stay.

How many pairs do you own?

Well Said

"Wicked people never have time for reading. It's one of the reasons for their wickedness."

-Dewey Denouement

as quoted in Lemony Snicket, The Penultimate Peril, p. 226.

The Only Way to Celebrate

What's an American holiday without food? Here's what we're having today:

• barbecued steak
• Fish Eye salad
• corn on the cob
• spinach salad
• twice-baked potatoes
• Jell-o pudding dirt cups

What are you having at your house?

Independence Day

The Second Day of July 1776, will be the most memorable Epocha, in the History of America.—I am apt to believe that it will be celebrated, by succeeding Generations, as the great anniversary Festival. It ought to be commemorated, as the Day of Deliverance by solemn Acts of Devotion to God Almighty. It ought to be solemnized with Pomp and Parade, with Shews, Games, Sports, Guns, Bells, Bonfires and Illuminations from one End of this Continent to the other from this Time forward forever more.

-John Adams (1735–1826)


Respectfully Quoted: A Dictionary of Quotations Requested from the Congressional Research Service. Washington D.C.: Library of Congress, 1989; Bartleby.com, 2003. www.bartleby.com/73/.

Update

You will be relieved to know that Curly's hand, after she began her course of antibiotics, is looking much better, with hardly any redness and swelling. The dog is still alive, though I think only one person in the house still loves him.

Actually, he was probably loved by only one person even before the "incident."

Half Empty or Half Full?

You tell me: Is the glass half empty or half full?

I took the day off from work today to hang out with Curly and her parents. I have the day off tomorrow too, for Independence Day. Of course, that's two days of pay out the window, since I'm only paid for what I work.

My sister in law apparently expressed the wish that she could avoid going to Sunday School and Relief Society meetings at church yesterday (she's used to being in the Nursery during that time). She got her wish, by spending four hours at the emergency room waiting for someone to look at Curly's dog bite.

Next week, in a practically unprecedented mid-year change, our church meeting time will change from 9 am to 11 am. So, I get to sleep in a bit, but that also means less time to take a nap in the afternoon.