Rendered Speechless

I have now watched the season finale of Lost. I have nothing to say about it. I may never have anything to say about it, or anything else, again.

No one told me that if I watched that episode at the end of a long, information-packed day when I was already on overload, it might send me into a catatonic state zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz

I Knew It

I've commented to a few people about how many people in Tennessee seem to be cigarette smokers. I notice it everywhere--in cars, in parking lots, in restaurants (ugh).

Well, here's proof my statements were correct: according to the CDC, only Kentucky and Indiana have a higher prevalence of smoking among adults than does Tennessee.



image: [Anti-smoking sign in Zion City]. 1912. Chicago Daily News, Inc., photographer. DN-0058627, Chicago Daily News negatives collection, Chicago Historical Society. Available from Library of Congress, American Memory, http://memory.loc.gov/ndlpcoop/ichicdn/n0586/n058627.jpg

Look What I'm Eating!

Lost and Found

I knew you'd come back to me someday!

Found:

My National Parks Passport

A book that I borrowed from my mother about 3.5 years ago

10 packs of Orbit Cinnamint gum--about 3.5 years old

More books than I know what to do with

A box of books that doesn't even belong to me

Lost:

No, I still haven't watched the season ender yet

Wait a minute - these aren't mine!

Important Question

I just visited the doctor, and had to step on the scale. Ugh. I'm 6 pounds shy of my all-time high weight (no surprise there). In a week, I start a 10-week wellness program at work, that includes weekly meetings with a fitness coach, meetings with a nutritional coach, and a personalized exercise program.

So, the question is--Is Life Without Junk Food Worth Living?

One Man's Trash...

This story about college resale programs reminded me of the BYU Lost and Found sale, which I visited a few times. It also made me think about something I heard in Chattanooga a couple of weeks ago, where someone said that in the past several years (or at least the past 15-20), the student body at BYU has changed, and is much more affluent and upper-middle class, to the point where many students have cars and look at students who work on campus as being second-class citizens. Hmm. Don't know if that generalization is actually true, but it does make one think.

New Opportunities

So there I was, sitting in my office on my "lunch" break, catching up on Heroes, when my phone rang, showing a 615 number. And guess what? While I was out of town last Sunday, our ward was split to form the Blackman Branch, of which I am now a part. The branch has about 260 members, which makes it nearly big enough to be a ward. And, we're meeting in the Smyrna building.

Hmm. I will have to leave a bit earlier for Church this Sunday than I usually do. Quite a bit earlier, since I'm playing the organ (hence the phone call, though I suspect and hope someone would have called me before Sunday regardless). Any bets on whether or not I'll be called as Ward Organist?

Personally, I think this is a good thing. It's much easier to get to know people in a branch of 260 than in a ward of 500-plus. And since I haven't formed any strong attachments in the ward, I'm not as sorry to leave as I'm sure some people are.

Finally, call it coincidence or not, but I was supposed to work this Sunday. Just this afternoon, however, someone in the office asked to switch with me. Great timing, eh?

Baby Steps

So, I have finally posted two items on my professional blog. Admittedly, I'm not too happy with the posts, because they are more regurgitation than original thought, but it's a start, right? This isn't necessarily a plug for you to all become subscribers, but it's out there if you're interested.

Even if you don't want to read my professional blog, if you have 10 minutes to spare, click on over to YouTube and take a look at the copyright and fair use video I linked to in my post. The video's not necessarily a great example of film making, but it's clever and educational.

A Little Happy Pepper

This is SweetPea, age 6.5 months. Notice that he's appropriately dressed for a native Texan. Now what I want to know is, is he a Dublin Little Pepper?

Time to Pay the Piper

My trip was fabulous. The journey home, on Frontier, went fine, but it was a bit long, and when I finally got home at 1:15 am, I was glad to be there.

More, much more, later in the week when I'm a bit more caught up with things at work and home.

In the meantime, my long-waisted female readers may be interested to see the camisoles I bought at the BYU Bookstore (for $9.99 a piece, a great deal if you've ever priced other brands). Granted, I myself am not long-waisted, but I have other figure flaws that require the wearing of such an item. Enough said.

Day Two - Utah Library Association

On day two, I learned about Federated Searching, Open Access, and Citation Generators. I ate my lunch at Subway, and we were finished at 5 pm, after which I went to Carrabba's with the Millwards and my two cousins.

I followed that up with a stroll through University Mall, where I managed to make purchases at both Eddie Bauer and See's. A gold star to the reader who can name at least three of the four kinds of chocolate I bought at See's (readers in Utah are not eligible).

For those who are interested, Mr. Mac is alive and well, and Food-4-Less is now Ream's.

I Forgot...

that when you're in Utah, land of low humidity, it's possible to have great hair!

Of course, there's plenty of bad hair in Utah too, despite the low humidity.

I Told You So

I always tell my colleagues at other campuses how utterly beautiful and pristine the grounds are at BYU. Here's proof.


But I did lie about one thing--there is some gum on the sidewalks (not much, however).

A Boring Reminiscence

I wanted to take some pictures inside the Harold B. Lee Library, but I was too scared of the Secret Service lookalike security guard to risk it, so I only took this one, just to show you that even though they did a beautiful addition a while back, they preserved the old building, right down to the worn terrazzo steps in the stairwells.

Day One - Utah Library Association

Non Library-Related Highlight of the Day: Finding an-out-of-the-way Ladies Restroom that isn't mobbed after every session

Conference Related Letdown: Lest I forget, I was rudely reminded that I am no longer in Texas. This conference had 447 pre-registrants, a great number for them. The keynote addresss was delivered in a rather small hotel ballroom (no lights, music, etc). There are approximately 30 exhibiting vendors. By comparison, Texas Library Association conference has thousands of attendees and hundreds of vendors. OTH, they have "free" cookies in the exhibit hall here.

Personal Health Status: I forgot, until Mom reminded me, that the altitude adjustment can be a bear. I've had a hideous headache since I got here 24 hours ago.

Reminder About Why I Love being a Librarian: The keynote speaker, Rivkah Sass--Library Journal's Librarian of the Year for 2006. Smart, articulate, funny, and passionate about libraries and librarians' obligation to making libraries usable, useful places.

Blogging on the Run

I'm blogging from the Information Commons at BYU's Harold B. Lee Library. Pretty awesome!

Yes, I'm here for a few days to attend the Utah Library Association Meeting. I got two hours of sleep last night before leaving my house at 4:30 to catch the plane, so I'm about to head off to find myself some caffeine (oops, did I say that out loud?). More later, but rest assured that the BYU Bookstore is nearly as awesome as ever, and the library, remodeled since I was a student XX years ago, is truly awe-inspiring.

Work in Progress

The first part of "the move" is done--I'm in the apartment with all my things (well, almost all). I could not have done it without Mom, Dad, Penske, Southwest, various people at Church who showed up to unload the truck and carry everything (including the piano) upstairs, and whoever else might have been rooting for me behind the scenes.

Now comes the other part--imposing some order on the chaos in the apartment. I think that's going to take some time!

Ode to a (Brief) Era

Free High Speed Wireless Internet, I will miss you when I'm gone. All those minutes we spent together--surfing the Internet, watching episodes of Heroes and Lost, shopping, blogging--it's hard to believe that in an hour, it will all be over. My heart aches when I imagine myself sitting all alone in my new apartment, staring at a computer that can't take me anywhere, while you callously take up with the next person who gives you an access code.

I will never forget you. Will you forget me?

Here We Go

I am gobsmacked to realize I just sustained my first mosquito bite of the season--while sitting in the hotel-house blogging. It's one thing if I venture into their domain knowingly, but when the enemy infiltrates the sanctity of my home and attacks me without warning, I call that unfair.

BTW, am I the only one here who thinks Baron Davis looks too smug to live?

Different Strokes

One Monday when I worked until 9pm, I did get up "early" and go to Wal-Mart before work. Usually, however, I don't do much of anything before work (surprise, surprise).

For an account by a more industrious evening-shift librarian, click on over to starrlett's stuff.