Sesame oil is good

S and I have kind of gotten into cooking together, mainly because we are becoming cheap (don't want to eat out) and lazy (don't want to go out to find food). Thus, I grab a lot of cookbooks from the library, or we just end up throwing yummy ingredients together and see what happens. This week, while my parents were gone, we made a rice/shrimp concoction with hoisin sauce that was quite good. Then, at the library later in the week, I saw Bruce Cost's "Big Bowl Noodles and Rice" and decided it looked like our kind of thing. I was right!

This is the shrimp fried rice recipe from the book, with some modifications because we had half the called-for bean sprouts (I added mushrooms instead) and no bean pods or shallots (onions and peas instead). It was mighty tasty, and really pretty easy. S manned the stove and I threw in the ingredients. It was a rather quick process, too, once the rice was cooked. We both really want a rice cooker someday, and I can see us getting into the habit of making a few cups of rice each week to have on hand for such impromptu dishes as this.


S enjoying the meal. We had some sauce left over from Leeann Chin (really good, quick Chinese take away with home base operations here in Minnesota) and I put some duck sauce on mine (top photo). Yum! I'm making myself hungry just looking at it again.

Not through listening to 'emo' music

Using Last.fm at work on break because my iPod's battery is dead. It's pretty slick. I don't really use the radio stations at home because I have my whole iTunes library at my fingertips, but it's great to have access to this wherever I am connected to the internet. Right now, I'm listening to Saves the Day's Similar Artist radio, and it's playing me a track from "Through Being Cool," which was one of my favorite albums in college. Rock on!

I think it may be time to get a new iPod battery for Greenie, my green iPod mini which was a gift from my cousin Simon and his wife. When she ordered a new Apple laptop a couple years ago, she got it for free and they offered it to me. I helped a bit in their engagement/wedding plans, so it wasn't just for being an awesome cousin. Heh. Or maybe I should just buy a new nano or something. S uses my 60GB 4th generation iPod all the time but that means that it's basically his iPod and I don't use an iPod all that much anymore because I'm either a) working, b) driving, or c) at home.

Look at me, becoming all adult. Oh, except for the 'emo' music.

A guessing game

Did you know that a mocha with soy milk is actually good? Well, I didn't, but my boyfriend brought me one this morning and I'm enjoying it immensely. I have this very weird illness right now which S believes will be helped by not having dairy, so I'm giving it a whirl.

Did you also know that I don't have scarlet fever? Or hives? Or shingles? Or even contact dermatitis? Or strep?

But I do have a weird rash on my hands, elbows, knees, and ankles (Not toes! Hah! I fooled you with a children's rhyme!). And I did have a low-grade fever (99.6) and a mild sore/dry throat for a few days. I also had some extreme nausea when I didn't eat regularly (like every 2 hours).

So, what do I have? Nobody really seems to know. Not the nurse help line, not the doctor, and everybody who's seen it has some theory about what it is, but the symptoms never match up once I Google it. Hmm.

Anyway, it doesn't seem to be contagious, or S would have had it by now (symptoms began more than a week ago) so I'm at work, doing my stuff. It's itchy and uncomfortable, but it helps to be distracted.

Edit: after copious Googling, I think I may have Pompholyx, a type of exzema. I may try some of the home remedies they recommend and see if that alleviates the problem. I also still believe it could be some type of virus causing the bumps, because of my other symptoms, or that the other symptoms caused the stress which could have, in turn, caused the Pompholyx. Ugh.

How introverts socialize

Last night, S and I "entertained."

The plan was to have over a couple of my coworkers and their significant others, but one couple couldn't make it, so we went ahead and had the lovely Manda and Jonathan over anyway. We introduced them to the game Settles of Catan and had snacks and a yummy bottle of Gewürztraminer wine which they brought. It was lovely to hang out with Manda not at work, and good to get to hang out with and talk to Jonathan.

The rest of the weekend was spent either at work (Saturday) or resting (Sunday) because I have not been feeling that well lately. Here's hoping all is well within a week or so.

My parents left this morning to attend the funeral of my uncle John Bahnak in St. Louis, Missouri. He had many long battles with cancer throughout his 60 years of life, so his passing is a huge blessing for my aunt Donna who took care of him for many years. We all know John is with Our Maker.

No plans and never a worry

I'm sitting in my dad's office, typing this for mysterious reasons, listening to Saves the Day, "In Reverie," an album that brings me back about a million years (rather, to 2003). I bought the album and listened to it in my sweet ride, my Saturn SL2, tooling around Lincoln, Nebraska, leaves blowing around in the streets and the weather still warm, cool nights offering free air conditioning in my apartment... the year I graduated from undergrad.

Now, it's about two weeks until I'm back in graduate classes, getting closer to being out in the ever-more-real world. I'm excited about this fall for reasons I can't explain at this point in time, or in this very public blog. I haven't got anything figured out yet, I guess is all I can say. It actually feels surprisingly good instead of terrifying. I can't plan anything right now, and it's great.

I am closer to realizing some of my goals, and further from others. It's all good, though, and all I can do is choose how I react. I feel more at peace than ever before. It's wonderful.

Whatever makes me feel better about the debt is good

This is a really false way of looking at it, but I was shelving a copy of U.S. News and World Report Best Colleges yesterday, and looked up St. Kate's. It's ranked #13 in graduate school in the Midwest. However, none of the schools ranked higher has an ALA accredited program in Library Science.

Therefore, I go to the best graduate school which offers my degree.

Note: This is probably not true, as Madison and Milwaukee (in Wisconsin) have very well established programs, but whatever.

And I'm earning interest, too

Working some extra hours this summer has been extremely good for my savings account, though I still feel like I'm going to need more of a cushion for when I graduate and have student loans to repay. Hefty student loans, at that, considering that St. Kate's grad students have the highest average amount of debt for a masters program. Ugh.

But, as I like to point out to anyone who asks, it is the only program in the state like it, and I have looked at the cost of school in Wisconsin (the nearest ALA-accredited degrees) and the very small savings would be deleted by the fact of moving and having to job-hunt and et cetera.

Being able to put a few hundred dollars into my savings each month helps me feel better about the mounting debt. Plus, it helps that I like this job and can see myself doing it until after I graduate and find a professional position.

A work in progress

No, I am not knitting a Thneed, but it sure doesn't resemble anything whatsoever wearable. I have to thank the boring and vaguely pointless movie "Wah-Wah" for the progress I made on this item in the last week. I am now six inches closer to being done with my shrug. This means that inevitably by the time the weather necessitates something much warmer than a shrug, I will probably be done, unless I happen upon a string of bad movies from Netflix.

I plan on adding some embellishments once I am done with the majority of the construction work, probably using my very favorite pattern book, The Arco Guide to Knitting Stitches. I have made a few scarves using patterns from that book, and I just love the old photographs and the simple directions. I also really love the book I'm using for the shrug pattern, Speed Knitting, which, as it's taken me months and months to get 40 inches of my project, is not exactly true for me, but probably for your average knitter. I am just particularly slow, and/or distracted by other hobbies.

P.S. Those IKEA tape measures work great for carrying anywhere to measure progress. Plus, they are FREE!

On future librarianship

Today does not feel like a Tuesday at work. It's so busy and crazy that it's more like a Monday after being closed on Saturday or something. I've helped scads of people but haven't made any new cards, which is strange. Summer is really boom time for new cards, at least at the library where I work.

I love getting little kids their first cards, they're pretty much always jazzed to be able to get as many books as they want. I think this means I would probably much prefer being a Children's Services Librarian than an Adult Services Librarian, since the hustle and bustle makes my days go fast, and is far preferable to answering reference questions.

Also, in reading Harry Potter, I've come to realize that it's pretty fun to make a story come alive by reading it aloud. Doing some voices has been cool, too.

Ridiculous

Favorite text message communication EVER with my little sister, from a few months ago:

Andrea: Where is the intersection of Highway 10 and St. Germain?
Me: ?
Me: Is this a trick question?
Me: It's where Highway 10 and St. Germain intersect...
Andrea: What is around there?
Me: Um, fast food places... it's the East side.
Andrea: But what is around there?
Me: I don't know, I never go over there.
Andrea: Fine. Nevermind.
Me: What do you want me to do, drive over there and look?
Andrea: No, nevermind.

This still brings me joy to think about.

Only up to page 272 and spoilers are everywhere

I have recently gotten inadvertently hooked on Etsy. All these people with their crafts and vintage stuff, and you just punch in keywords like 'bunny' and 'button' and voila! A set of little buttons with rabbits from children's picture books on them. I ordered a few little gifts just yesterday, and have gotten great communication from the sellers already. What a nice little community it is.

I'm currently suffering with a cold. I feel better today than yesterday, when I took off work because of the nose-blowing grossness. My cousin and his wife are coming over tomorrow for late lunch (and I have all the ingredients for my grilled chicken pasta salad ready to go), so I'm hoping I feel a ton better by then. Last night I got some good sleep, and only woke up once (at 7am) which is much better than the four times I woke up the previous night. S has camped on my floor, dutifully reading Harry Potter to me (and I to him when I can) the last two nights, and rubbing my back when I look completely miserable. "It really hurts," I whimper, and he scoops me into a hug. Tylenol Cold is my friend.

Back to school...

I had to wake up early yesterday in order to register (at 6am! Who comes up with this idea? I ask you!) for fall classes. I picked up two this time, Collection Development Issues and Trends, and Special Libraries.

I am a bit wary about Special Libraries, since it meets every other Saturday at 8am! For those of you who are tuned in, I have to drive an hour and a half to get to campus from where I live. If I stick with this class, it will mean many an early Saturday morning, but then I'll be closer to graduating than if I just took one class this fall. I am interested in Special Libraries, but I know virtually nothing about them, so it's an area I'd like to know more about. Also, the professor is one I've had twice before (she taught my intro class and Management this summer) so I know she's good.

Collection Development should also be interesting, since I know a little about how libraries develop their collections, but that's definitely an area in which I'd love to work someday.

A little daunting, but should be educational. I guess that's the idea, anyway.

Probably going to have a beer after this

Today has been one LONG day at work. A couple people called in sick, and a couple people are off, plus, it's been busy. Circulation is one of those beasts that only the strong should take on. It seems, some days, like we should have a team t-shirt with some inspirational slogan on it.

I really enjoy the intricacies of my job and the busyness of the day to day tasks. Sometimes I get burned out because it feels like it will just go on and never end, but I have a lot of flexibility in this position. I changed my weekly schedule today, for instance, which will give me another evening free. I've been working extra hours, too, which pads the paycheck and will help pay for that sweet new bike.

Not a very lazy Sunday

I took an 8 mile bike ride today, testing out the new gear (see post below), and my mom tagged along. Unfortunately, her back tire pressure was way, WAY low (20 vs. 100 will really kill ya) so I felt a little held up and she felt a little exhausted. We did the loop in about 45 minutes, though, and I wasn't even tired, just a bit warm, which makes me feel super confident about riding to work. Tomorrow, however, is supposed to be about 95 degrees. Maybe not the best day to ride, but I'll see how hot it is when I should leave and go from there.

In other news, S and I are mid-way through Chapter 5 of "Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows." When we started dating, S was reading the fifth book in the series, and in order to remind myself what was going on with the plot so we could discuss it, he'd read aloud to me and I to him. We then read book six together, because although I have faithfully read the series since the first book (started reading when the fourth book was due out soon), I had not been caught up with book five when book six came out. So, now we are both reading the brand new one together, out loud—it's the best way, really.

I have a great fear of spoilers, however, since people seem to love to tell you things like about who dies or who kisses whom or whatnot. On the front page of the local paper, there was a report of someone yelling out the name of a character who dies at the Barnes & Noble release party. Ugh. I'm glad we bailed out of that line at 10:30pm, even though we were in group D for the midnight release. All the hype and spoilers are annoying because I want to enjoy the book completely without any extra information. I want to discover the story page by page like everyone who's reading it. Mostly, though, I am sure all the die-hard fanatics are done with it by this time, and I feel I should wear a sign, "Yes, I love Harry Potter, but I'm not done yet, so don't talk to me about it!"

I want to ride it where I like

Last night I bought a bicycle. It's a pretty nice Trek road bike, which I had them deck out with a front fender type thing, a bike rack, water bottle holder, and kickstand (which they forgot to put on... but anyway). I rode it home from the store (wearing the helmet which my dad offered to pay for, since apparently it costs at least $40 to protect a brain these days). I've wanted a bike for a long time. My parents got road bikes last summer, which were great but my mom's a little taller than I am and so hers wasn't the best fit for me, so borrowing wasn't my favorite thing. Plus, I do plan on moving elsewhere at some point...

I was able to test-ride the bike before purchase, tooling around the mall parking lot and feeling my leg muscles protesting. It was great. The salesman had a heyday with me, really, and also convinced me I need a good lock, to which I definitely agreed. I called my cousin Erik before totally biting the bullet, since he's a real cyclist. He was at work, but of course had his iPhone on, and I was able to ask him, "Now, if I buy this thing, are you going to say, 'Man, Beth bought a really crappy bike for too much money'?" He said no, so that was the go-ahead I needed.

I think the last time I had a bike of my own was when I was 13. It was a mountain bike, and wasn't great for riding around town, but was nice for going to Quarry Park and racing around like a madwoman with my cousin Angie also on her mountain bike. Now, however, I would like to be able to pedal to work. It's about five miles (my route illustrated by Google Maps), but I think it's worth a shot, if not every day, one or two days a week. Plus, in the suburb where I live, everything is pretty close together, just not great for walking. Here's to less need for foreign oil!

It is what it is

The image on the left is of my hand (side note: with just about the longest fingernails I've ever had, a personal victory against biting—hurrah!). Not just any hand, my left hand. On my ring finger, you will note the pretty silver ring.

This was a little gift from S when we went to the Lemonade Art Fair on campus back in June, and he let me pick out what I wanted. I like jewelry, and I especially like silver, and things that are simple but shiny. I picked this out kind of last minute as were were leaving the fair, and it's a little too big (it's like a 6, and that finger is a 5.25, but it fits that finger the best). But it catches the light in a way I love, and it's from S, and I really like it. It has, however, garnered some attention.

One person asked if it was a promise ring, to which I said, "It's more like an 'I love you' ring..." and she seemed unconvinced.

A random dude at the library (who was probably about to hit on me) noticed it and said, "Hey! Are you married?!" in such an incredulous way, and I was like, "Me?!" and he said, "Your ring!" I didn't want to lie, and just said, "Naw, boyfriend."

The most startling, however, was the pastor's wife on Sunday, who came up to me and S and said, "Are you engaged?" I guess if you want to know the truth, it's best to ask, right? I kind of went "huh?" and she gestured to the ring, and I said it was a present from S from the Art Fair, and she said, "So it's like a promise ring."

Sigh.

Perhaps I was subconsciously looking for a ring that would be confusing for people, but mainly I think I chose this one because it wasn't some gaudy stone that would look tacky or fake. I like the simplicity of it. I'm not sure I like the attention, though. I wonder if women who do wear promise rings or 'purity' rings get the same reactions. Perhaps they wear theirs on their right hands.

Much better than what's your sign

I picked up S this morning after his early class and we went to a nearby coffee shop to hang out. We played a version of 20 questions from a marriage book wherein we answered questions about each other (things like who are your two closest friends/what is your favorite hobby/what was your favorite vacation/what stresses are you facing). It was fun because I learned that I do know a lot about S, and he knows quite a bit about me. Doing exercises like that help with my need for quality conversation (a love language of mine) and thus help me feel closer to S.

Yo from an iPhone!

This is me updating from my cousin Erik's iPhone. Typing takes some effort but I am getting much faster very quickly. Time to check out what tunes he has on here and test the sound quality. Note: I have T-Mobile for my service provider, so no new gadget for me. Boo-urns.

I'm not sorry if you're not sorry

I know I don't complain about S on this blog. I really try not to complain about him at all, since mostly he's wonderful to me.

The thing about S is that he isn't perfect, but I love him so much, I try not to hold his faults against him. I forgive him the way he forgives me. He isn't timely, and sometimes really frustrates me, and criticizes me in ways that bother me, but I know he's ultimately trying to help. He is a great boyfriend, and I never take him for granted.

Thanks, S, for being so good to me, and so good for me.

And the living is easy

The plans for this evening include meeting up with S after he gets off work, then heading to mass at the Cathedral. After that, we have 'homework' to do together (we have this relationship book that is kind of fun and has exercises in it, "Big Picture Partnering," written by a woman in Minneapolis, that we've been neglecting for a few weeks since S started classes).

Now that I've got a weekend off, it feels more like summer vacation. How weird is it to be 26 years old and think of my summer as "summer vacation"? Whatever, it's just nice to sit on our deck and read for pleasure (I'm working on three right now, "The Year of Magical Thinking" by Joan Didion, "We Wish to Inform You That Tomorrow We Will Be Killed with Our Families" by Philip Gourevitch, and "The Tummy Trilogy" by Calvin Trillin—the two former books are very serious and sad and interesting, and the latter usually makes me ravenously hungry, which is v. dangerous).

I am also on a bit of a movie theme, inadvertently so. I watched "The Queen" with Helen Mirren, a week or so ago, and the next film in my Netflix queue was "Marie Antoinette" with Kirsten Dunst, and I enjoyed both of them so much, but they showed wildly different portayals of royalty, and I had the revelation that I'd watched two movies about queens, that I felt I needed a third to round it out. I did a library catalog search, and realized that I already had the perfect movie at home, due to my recent Elizabeth Taylor fascination (I highly recommend her book about her jewelry), so I just started watching "Cleopatra" the other night. Queens of England, France, and now the Nile. There is one more movie in this queenly genre which I have already seen, but not for a while, and that is "Elizabeth," with the lovely Cate Blanchett.

Heading outside to eat more cherries and enjoy the sunshine.

Not my problems

One thing that S has taught me is that I am not in control of most things I worry about. My tactic for calming myself at night now includes listing the things I cannot control.

I cannot control people at work.
I cannot control every situation at work
I cannot control S.
I cannot contol friends.
I cannot control Dominican University/St. Kate's.
I cannot control course schedules.
I cannot control the price of health care.

Reminding myself of these things helps a lot, actually. Consequently, it's not my responsibility to worry about any of them.

Free as a bird (sort of)

My last class meeting for Management of Libraries and Information Centers was last night, so now I am free. My group got our project back as well, and we earned an A by my calculations. This is good news, since I'm a little concerned that my final paper did not include enough 'analysis' as per the rubric. Oh, well. I did what I could with the time I had left, I suppose. I asked a classmate (Liz) to pick up my paper for me in July and tell me what I got on it, so here's hoping for a good grade in the class overall.

In other news, my department at work will very likely be completely restructured within the next two months. This is slightly baffling and scary, but I have very little control over it, so I am acknowledging that fact and attempting peace about it all. I did voice my concerns/comments to the appropriate people, and found a lot of support for the points I made from my coworkers, so that was good. Solidarity is nice in a work team, which I think we are—a really great team, at that.

I caught part of "Manon Lescaut" on the radio last night on my way back from St. Paul. I knew it was Puccini from hearing about two minutes of it, but I couldn't for the life of me remember which opera it was. S called and I talked to him for a minute or two before the piece ended and the announcer started talking. The announcer confirmed my suspicicion, and I revelled in my triumph for about a second and S said, "Oh, of course you knew which opera it was." It's just a little parlor trick of mine to be able to guess which era/country composers are from by listening to a bit of music.

I love Radio Lab

Since I was a kid watching "Newton's Apple," a Minnesota-based science show, and later, "Bill Nye the Science Guy" every day after school on PBS, geeking out about stress and tension, and other random but awesome information about the world we live in, I have loved science.

High school science classes kind of whomped that love right out of me. Except Mrs. Williams, at Cathedral High School—she was friendly and made science kind of fun, relative to my other science classes.

So it makes complete sense that I love Radio Lab, from WNYC, which plays on Minnesota Public Radio and I've caught a couple times. I'm just now enjoying the podcast version of the show on Time, wherein they interview Oliver Sacks and explain Einstein's Theory of Relativity in very easy to understand terms.

It's so fun! I'm so glad this program exists.

Plan B, or This is Not the Life I Ordered

It's weird to think, sometimes, how different my life is from how I expected it to be at this same point many years ago. In college, I thought I wanted to be an editor and live in a metropolitan area and be single and fabulous.

Well, that kind of worked out, except that I was in Lincoln, Nebraska as a copy desk chief , and it wasn't glamorous, but I was pretty good at it. I was, however, terribly lonely.

Now I'm in graduate school and I've been working at the library for a long, long time (almost nine years!) and I am pretty sure I'm going to be a librarian. Also, I have this great guy I've been dating for a while, and I think there's a pretty okay chance this may work out.

I know a couple of people who have the life I thought I might end up with, after I moved back in with my parents and wasn't sure what I was going to do with myself. I figured it was a very real possibility that I would never move out, never fall in love again, and things would stay that way forever.

What a nice suprise.

More than fine

My group presented our budget proposal last night in class, and I think it went really well. We were quite well prepared, with lots of supporting documentation to back up our request for an hours increase for our fake library, and our presenting skills were fairly seamless. We won't know until next week, probably, our grade for the whole she-bang, but I'm not worried that we'll get anything less than a passing grade.

Now to work on my library description/SWOT analysis paper (SWOT=Strenthgs, Weaknesses, Opportunities, and Threats). I already have a page single spaced, and I have lots of material from my interview, so mainly I have to do a little more description and then the SWOT points, from which I have a lot to choose.

I feel a lot more at ease today than I've felt since our trip two months ago. It's that feeling of this class wrapping up, and knowing that work is going pretty well despite not having an official supervisor for the present time. I'm getting used to the changes, and I'm feeling better about potential changes.

I'm also really looking forward to July/August and no classes, and possibly picking up some extra hours at work, which will mean more banked vacation time and more to put into my savings account, which always makes me feel good. I may still live at home, but by-golly, I'm not wasting my time here.

By the way, this week I am the master of the house, since my parents left on the family's annual resort vacation on Saturday. My sister went up for a couple days and was back in town yesterday. With S's abundant help, I've gone grocery shopping, cooked some very healthy things for us, and kept the house from falling apart and the rabbit still alive. Now I just have to make sure that my sister doesn't just eat crap and fast food the rest of the week and do laundry and remember to take out the garbage tonight.

Just an idea, really

I got an e-mail from my school, saying that they are going to be offering four graduate assistantships in the Masters of Library and Information Science department, helping four professors with different projects. One is helping a professor proofread her self-published textbook.

As soon as I read it, I decided to apply. Who knows how many applicants there will be, but I took that professor's class and told her I would volunteer to help edit the thing if she wanted help. Now it's being listed as a 10 hour a week job for $10/hour. Not bad at all. I know there are a lot of writers/editors in the program already, but the ones I've met already work full time. Not the case for me. I know I could be really helpful, and would probably learn a lot in the process.

Fingers crossed and all of that!

Trying to take it easy

Yesterday evening, S and I went to see the Krista Tippett, host of "Speaking of Faith" on MPR (or, really, NPR) talk and read from her new book by the same name. It was interesting to hear what she had to say, and I'm looking forward to reading the book once I'm done with my class. Plus, S and I got our copy of the book signed together.

Today, I need a nap or some coffee before I head to St. Paul. I'm really dragging, even though I got to bed at a reasonable (11 o'clock) hour. I need to proofread my memo assignment for class, grab some dinner, and check my oil. Luckily, I have two and a half hours in which to do all that. Whew.

Needs more practice at the management thing

Well, I kind of boffed today at work. We had a bunch of people gone, and I called my sister, who also works in my department, to see if she could come in and work some make-up hours (since she was gone in Chicago over the weekend and had a day off) to help us out. She came in, thankfully, but misunderstood and I didn't communicate properly that she would be working her regularly scheduled time in addition to make-up hours, not able to go home early.

I was really trying to manage the situation, and since our department officially has no manager (his last day was last week) I wanted to find a solution to the problem of the staffing level. Otherwise, it would have been me and one other employee covering the entire department for three hours!

I really felt stupid. I don't have the authority to say she can leave early, and I also don't really have the authority to ask her to work make-up hours, but I thought I'd give it a try. I hope it works out, that she can forgive my mistake, and that she won't hold it against me that I actually am leaving early today, though my request was approved weeks ago.

Kind of intense

I have four assignments left to turn in for Management class, and only three weeks left. This means I have to turn in my fake salary allocation paper/spreadsheet today, a memo next week, our group project the week after that, and my SWOT analysis. Thankfully, I already have an interview set up for the SWOT, and I am done with the salary allocation. It's down to the group project/presenation and a short memo.

Agh.

What I am doing on 'le week-end'

Tonight I will be going out to celebrate the birthdays of two coworkers. I think it will be dinner at Sawat Dee (Thai) and then hitting the Martini Bar. Haven't decided yet if I should go home after work and come back downtown later, but am very excited to go out and have fun with friends. And to have a Mocha-tini.

I don't work this weekend but have a larger homework assignment to complete tomorrow (budget stuff, giving people raises, making a spreadsheet) before S and I go camping! I have never been camping before, so we are just going for a night somewhere so I can get a taste. This is what having an outdoorsy man will do to a woman. I love S, therefore I must go camping. I think it will be fun, and I hope it will be relaxing. I know I can sit around and read and cook for a day and a half and enjoy it, I am just a little concerned about going to the bathroom in the woods. Hmmm...

So, the goal of the weekend is to take it easy, yet still get ahead on homework for the coming weeks. Only one month of class left! Whew, it's flying by. And there's lots left to do. I know, though, that I can always take some time off work to do homework instead, and that's comforting.

Subbing tonight at a different library from the one where I normally work. A very nice change. It's just a few hours, but to see how things work in branch libraries every once in a while is good for me. I used to work in branches before I moved to the main library, and I appreciate both in so many ways.

Differences:

-In a branch, you are often the only one working at the desk. At the main library, you can "ring" for back-up help and another staff person will come to assist you.

-In a branch, the area is smaller, only one desk/point-of-service, so you are overseeing the entire library and doing everything anyone asks of you. At the main library, I am just a circulation desk worker and don't answer reference questions or place items on request for patrons.

-In a branch, if something goes wrong (from the toilet overflowing to an angry, screaming patron), you are the decision maker for solving the problem. At the main library, there's always a supervisor to make those decisions.

There are benefits to both positions. Branch staff have autonomy, but main library staff have quantity. To call in sick at the main library means the schedule might be tight--to do so in a branch might mean finding a substitute last minute. To not get a break at the main library would mean you get an extra break the next day, but to not get one in a branch (due to lack of staff) is a normal thing.

Out of break time for now!

Bad management joke

My family spent time yesterday putting up our above-ground pool, and S helped. He was in the pool after we'd gotten it standing upright, but asked, "Beth, do you know how to flatten the bottom?"

"No, but I know how to flatten an organization."

Increased dependency on foreign oil

The last two trips to the cities I've made have involved terrible traffic, a missed a college friend's wedding, more than two hours in the car one way, and being able to read four pages of an article for class while driving less than 5mph.

I really don't like driving this much when gas is at the prices that it is, and when anyone complains to me that gas prices are high and all they do is drive to work each work, I want to remind them that during the Reagan administration, gas prices were even higher than this, relative to the value of the dollar, and that I drive to freaking St. Paul twice a week to go to class for a whole three hours.

Anyway, clearly I'm venting. I like the cities, I really do, and one of the goals of going to school is to be able to move someplace else, perhaps the cities or elsewhere. It's just kind of hard, going back and forth, living at home, working not enough hours to support myself independently, and feeling productive.

Learning about management from the best (and saying goodbye)

I started my Management of Library and Information Centers class (now hereby known as "Management class" for blog purposes) on Monday night, wherein we discussed "good" managers and "bad" managers, Myers-Briggs, and the "Queen's Croquet Ground" (Chapter 8 of "Alice's Adventures in Wonderland"). I am definitely pleased about this class and group of classmates, especially since I found out that Liz from my previous class got into this class, and will be in my group for our project! Score.

In our introductions, I freely admitted to the class that this course might be hard for me, since my direct supervisor has given his notice and will be leaving in June, so if we're talking about great managers and I start to get a little misty, they'll know why. I got an "aww" from the class. Really and truly, my boss is a wonderful manager, and I will miss him.

It all came as a bit of a surprise to me, but I know that his job is demanding and I'm trying not to worry about whoever they hire to replace him. I'm sure it will all work out, and having a variety of managers throughout a career is a given variable and I am excited to see what will happen next, as I always am with anything in life.

Excuse any lack of regular posting for the next month and a half as my life is more complicated with driving to St. Paul for class two nights a week and trying to get my homework, social life and work life to mesh.

Date night?

S and I had a bit of a disagreement at the beginning of our official dating relationship (to distinguish it from our friend relationship wherein we went on "denial dates" for many months). He thought it would be nice if we had a specific date night each week, wherein we would take turns planning a date and then make each other the priority for that night.

I, however, thought this idea was lame.

I had a number of reasons at the time, but I can't seem to remember them now. I think it was the idea of being forced to plan something, even if we weren't getting along, or feeling obligated to hang out with each other instead of getting things done, or maybe it was just that we hung out all the time anyway, so why make a specific night the "date night," when practically every night we were on a date, if you define "date" as "hanging out with someone you are interested in getting to know better." Our whole time together was one big date.

S was disappointed. He has close friends who have date night, and liked the idea very much. So a few days later, I came around. S planned a date night.

And then, he changed plans last minute to spend time with some family. This was not good for my need for order, but I went along with it, because I was still getting to spend time with him. I did tell him, though, that I thought date night was supposed to be just us. Then he didn't like the idea of date night so much anymore, because he couldn't switch things around to include other people. We then dropped the idea altogether.

Later in our relationship, I complained that we didn't get to go out on dates very much, and S remedied that pretty well. Then it went to zero dates while he was gone, and then just a long of hanging out once he was back.

Last night, I was surprised when he called me in the late afternoon and said he was going to take off work and wanted to take me out on a date. He did just that and showed up at my house at 4:30, dressed nicely. We looked at movie times and decided on our showing, then waited to get hungry by watching a Japanese movie, "Densha Otoko, Train Man" which was fitting since we planned to get sushi.

One delicious sushi dinner later (awesome California roll tempura style and a couple of pieces of yellowtail), and we were at the theatre enjoying "Spiderman 3." While it seems unlike me, I think I enjoy the spontaneous date night more than the planned one. I certainly wasn't expecting to even see S yesterday since he works until 10pm and I had to be to bed early to work at 8am, so it was great to have an unexpected evening of good food and even better company.

Why is it...?

Why is it that I can put on mascara and a little extra blush, and suddenly, S is asking me what it's like to be so hot?

Why is it that I decide to wear a low-cut top because it's warm outside at last, and I get hit on at the circulation desk?

I know it's true that men are visual creatures, but man, is it ever easy to get attention that I don't necessarily want. Of course I don't mind attention from S, and I'm glad he appreciates my efforts to look nice, but I think women really do have to be careful about these things.

Photos from Nate & Julie's wedding (5/5)

A few photos from S's cousin Nate's wedding on Saturday. S served as usher, hence his lapel decoration (calla lily). It was held a the Como Park Conservatory in St. Paul, and was quite lovely.

Me and S in our classic pose from vacation:



A random person I didn't know offered to take one of us:



The Como Park Conservatory:



Exchanging vows with the help of Pastor Dom from Calvary Chapel St. Cloud:



Me and S's cousin Rebecca, in our (lovely, I would say) Asian-themed outfits:

Quite contrary

Since we got back from our California vacation, I've felt a lot better about life in general. Going to work is easier and taking another summer class is a little less daunting. I am excited for my new work schedule to begin as well, and looking forward to the Winnipeg Folk Fest in July gives me an end goal.

I think S and I are both suffering from spring allergies/jet lag in the same way. We've goth stayed up very late a few nights in a row and slept most of Sunday away after going to his cousin's wedding on Saturday night. It took me quite a while to fully unpack, and we're still working on compiling our stories into our travel journal.

I am trying to be on my best girlfriend behavior lately, but it's backfiring in a big way. Being with S for an entire week was great, and we kept it together really, really well, which most people say is a good indication that this relationship is built to last, but of course, I am a worrier. I could worry professionally, and S has an elaborate backstory wherein I actually do make money with my anxiety, working for the Department of Worry. I need to trust S, believe in him and believe what he says, and I need to trust God above all things.

Summary of San Francisco

My boyfriend and I got back from San Francisco on Tuesday evening and are back to work as usual, except that I don't have class for a couple weeks here.

The trip was a great time, and when asked what the best part of it was, I said, "Being with S." He made an excellent travel partner, even when I was not at my best or in a very good mood. We got so sore walking up and down hills and all over the city (our luck with the bus system didn't kick in until Saturday) that our routine was foot massages each evening.

We went to Chinatown, Japantown, Haight-Ashbury, the Tenderloin (kind of scary even in full daylight), and inadvertently wound up in North Beach a number of times without planning to, which became our running joke. We saw Golden Gate Park and hung out on Hippie Hill, and walked along Marina Boulevard and enjoyed the architecture. We visited the Japanese Tea Garden, Huntington Park (my favorite little park), and Union Square.

We went to the Asian Art Museum, the de Young museum, the Exploratorium (their equivalent to the Science Museum of Minnesota, but more interactive), and the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art. We went to Alcatraz on my birthday and it was cold and windy but really interesting. We saw Ocean Beach, the Sutro Baths ruins, and ate a number of really excellent little places. We had a lot of Chinese and Japanese food, and some awesome pasta on my birthday, and even ate steak at a little French bistro. We shopped and got cool souvenirs for ourselves and our families.

I posted all the best photos on Facebook (more than 300 photos!), and I will add the links here for all to see once I get a chance. Steve was a shutterbug, and had it not been for him, I don't think we'd have all the great shots we do. What a great guy, and what a great vacation.

Album 1, which includes our first days.

Album 2, which includes Alcatraz.

Album 3, which includes more Alcatraz and Golden Gate Park.

Album 4, which includes our Sunday in the City.

Album 5, which includes a lot of random things.

Album 6, which includes our last days.

Be sure to wear a flower in your hair...

Tomorrow is the last class meeting of the semester, where I should find out my estimated final grade for Reference. Then S and I are going to crash at my cousin and his wife's apartment in St. Paul (Oh, the hospitality! Thanks, 'cuz!) and fly out to our vacation destination on Wednesday morning. Where are we headed? The mystery can now be revealed:

San Francisco!

We have very vague plans, but want to see a lot of the neighborhoods (Japantown, Russian Hill, Chinatown), Muir Woods for the redwoods, the park and the bridge, and eat lots of yummy food (noodles and sushi and Italian and Chinese and on and on...). We are going to Alcatraz on my birthday (Friday) and I don't know what else S has planned for that day. I'm sure it will be wonderful. I am very thankful to be going on a trip, to be recovering from my cold/bronchitis, to be getting older (yes!), and best of all, to have S as loving travel partner. I promise photos (as long as my camera doesn't break or get stolen) and stories when I return in about a week.

Until later, ciao!

Yet another one

Unfortunately, I have come down with a rather bad cold which has kind of turned into bronchitis, so I have been laid up for the past three days with not much to do except worry that this will ruin our trip (which we are scheduled to leave for next Wednesday). I really hope and pray my chest loosens up and that I can stop coughing and be able to breathe, because I certainly don't want to ruin this trip.

A critical error

I was on my break reading a back-issue of Glamour Magazine, and I found a perfume ad that seemed kind of good. So I rubbed it on my wrists and neck, thinking, "Oh, this will be nice since I have a double date tonight and a party to go to after that!"

Man, am I regretting that choice.

It smells way too flowery for my taste now that it's all over my skin. I tried using a wet-wipe to wipe some of it off, but I can still smell it. Thankfully, my co-worker Jessie, with whom I am going on the double date (with S and Jessie's boyfriend Joe) said she didn't smell anything, so I won't be an offense.

Here's hoping S doesn't notice when we meet up for church this evening.

You must face the gazebo alone

I'm sitting here at my computer, doing my homework, trying to ignore that it's sunny outside and that S is in the other room waiting to play and run errands with me. I need to find a short summary of Goodridge et al. v. Department of Public Heath of Massachusetts and about four sources for good information on Chechnya. Gah.

I like how I've already gotten two messages from classmates on this assignment, and one of the very clear directives for this is "You must complete the wirtten source exercise alone." Offering suggestions for each other isn't cheating, since I'm not giving out the answers, it's being a helpful library student!

In other news, I have no idea where to look for information on Kim Jong Il.

All things know

I'm doing my homework for Reference class, and this week's assignment has to do with government documents. We are allowed to use online sources only for this bit of homework, so that means I did not have to spend three hours at the nearby university library in order to do my homework, rather, I just have to search FirstGov and use Google's Government Search. Also, I am cheating and using Wikipedia a bit, too, because how am I supposed to discern what these government documents are saying about anything? They are written like by a committee on confusion, so for the question about NAFTA's Chapter 11, I had to go and do some background reading. I found the actual Chapter 11 quite easily, but had no idea what it meant. Harrumph. Guess I'm not the brilliant mind I thought I was. Maybe it's all those drugs I did in high school. (Note: the previous sentence is a joke. Have been and always will be drug free. Hugs not drugs!)

Anyway, so now I have to find the text on the opinion of the Supreme Court in the case of Silkwood v. Kerr-McGee, and if that isn't your idea of a great Monday morning, I don't think we can be friends. Additionally, if you are not aware of the Posse Comitatus Act, I'm going to have to skip our plans for Friday night. Tip: FindLaw.com to maintain our friendship.

As soon as I'm done here, I am going to make a very large, very well-dressed salad for my lunch/dinner at work at—where else?—the library!

Can I just say again how excited I am to go on vacation in two weeks?

Here it goes again

I finally broke the news to my mom about S's and my trip at the end of this month, and she was astonishingly calm about it.

"Well, I'm glad you get to go on a vacation!" was her response.

When did my parents become so... relaxed?

I think the fact that S has a friend (Alexandra) he met in Alaska who lives near our destination who is excited to play tour guide for us for at least a day or so probably helped. We won't be alone in the city without knowing a soul. Or something.

In case you are reading and wondering where this potentially lovely vacation is taking place, you are not mistaken in thinking I have not mentioned it. For now, it's top secret.

This weekend, there's the usual Easter celebrations happening with my family, but I will be with S and his family. Since both events are happening in town, though, I think I can be in two places in one day. Of course, I am looking forward to the Easter Bunny visit, especially since we have a new bunny rabbit (appropriately named Luna Bean, as she is a little bean of a bunny) as a pet. Inevitably, she will be tucked into a basket with some candy.

Yes, it really is April 4th

And yes, this really is a photo of my front yard from about a half hour ago. Silly weather. Snow is for December! At the very least, it is sunny, but darn cold.

Sort of a note to self for work: on virtual content

The director of the library just approached me while I was on break to mention two items for me to bring to the next Virtual Services Team meeting, of which I am a member.

-Hennepin County Library's Bookspace offers recommendations, personalized lists, online bookclubs, and just has a really beautifully done website. We've discussed online bookclubs in the past, but this website is fantastic compared to what our library currently offers.

-Las Vegas-Clark County Library District's MyLibraryDV as part of their eMedia offers video on demand, which looks interesting. Would be especially useful if it involved popular titles which garner many requests, but I'm not sure that's the case.

I love when the director reads something and thinks, "I should tell Beth!"

Working it out

After a bit more hunting and investigating, I think we found a place to stay that will at least be okay, and airline tickets are probably as cheap as they're going to get for our destination, so we went ahead and bought our vacation package yesterday.

The day after my class finishes, we are headed to an as-yet-undisclosed location near the ocean for about a week. Some details are still to be worked out, some favors to be asked (Simon and Eve, this means you!), and some plans yet to be made, but we are definitely going, barring major illness or other unforeseen catastrophe. Whew. Exhausting! But exciting!

S's cousin Nate was there when we booked it, and seemed annoyed that we are going on this trip and he and his soon-to-be wife don't get to go on a honeymoon. I am sorry to say that we know of quite a few couples who have gotten married or are getting married and can't afford honeymoons, and I don't think I should have to justify this, but I have been saving up for almost a year in order to go someplace, and I can't think of anyone I'd rather go with than S.

Also, a wedding is not happening anytime soon, and is not a priority for me, or for S for that matter, therefore I would rather spend my money on a holiday now rather than save for something I don't really care about for later, that might not happen anytime soon.

Live in the moment and all of that. To the coast!

Deep breaths

Criminy, is it ever stressful to try to plan a vacation trip. I'm all, "I just want to go on a holiday for my birthday!" and the guidebook and the 8,632 opinions of everything available on the internet just confound me. Blimey! I don't know where to stay, but I know I want to get out of town.

It's like I'm perched on the handlebars of a blind man's bike

Things I am loving lately:

-Sue Grafton alphabet books. I'm up to her most recent, "S is for Silence," and I seem to remember starting back up in January by re-reading L through O, which is where I'm pretty sure I left off. I'm a little sad that I will almost be caught up entirely, but then I'm going to indulge in the Janet Evanovich number books, which I have been rationing up until now.

-Yarn and quick knitting projects. I got a few books from the library "Quick Knits" and "One Skein" and am getting inspired. I knitting up one and a quarter wrist warmers tonight using some stash yarn (woo!) and have some plans for some other stash yarn, and found a couple of (seemingly) great deals for yarn online which will lead to two projects I'm very excited about.

-The new Shins album, especially songs "Sea Legs" and "Split Needles," but pretty much the entire album is having me grooving and pleased about any car trip. Also, almost has me forgetting entirely the mediocre live performance I saw the Shins give at First Ave a couple years ago (sold out, too quiet, pre-smoking ban, etc. & etc.).

-The fact that I got into the required Management of Library and Information Centers course for first summer session (May 15th-July 3rd) with Marilyn Cathcart, the same professor who I had my intro course with last summer. Unfortunately, Liz, one of my back row cohorts from Reference class, didn't get in, but I hope fervently that this can be resolved. Cathcart is awesome, and once I'm done with it, I can take eight classes of pretty much whatever I want in order to complete the Masters in Library and Information Science. Whoo-whee.

-A possible birthday vacation trip to someplace interesting and fun which will include nature and urban life within budget constraints for me and my wonderful, ever-loving boyfriend.

Quick and lovely

Doing the library delivery went well this morning. It's not as warm as it was yesterday, but it is bright and nice nonetheless. I probably should have had some caffeine before setting out, but I am looking forward to getting a treat for my drive to St. Paul later for class, and Beth + too much caffeine = a bad thing, a very worried and overenergized thing while sitting in class.

I am also looking forward to sitting outside in the sunshine for a little while, and probably eating a salad for lunch, and starting the next book in the Sue Grafton series. Additionally, I will probably see S sometime today, as it seems that if I do not see that man at least once per day, it is as though I have gone without oxygen for an equal amount of time.

Oh, the excitement

This past weekend, my parents were out of town for one of my cousin's weddings. I'm tellin' ya, that's what my cousins do: get married and have kids. Can't go six months without someone doing one or the other, which I think is causing me to want to resist all of that, but anyway.

S and I kind of got to play house for a few days. The whole thing was pretty much a great success. We went grocery shopping on Friday night after going on the downtown Art Crawl with some of my library co-workers. Saturday was spent meeting up with one of S's college friends and going to mass, staying up late to watch "Super Troopers" with my sister and our friend Soren.

Sunday, we slept in and S went to work in the afternoon while I did my reference homework on the local university campus. I'm trying to work ahead a bit on the homework front, as I know my motivation will decrease as the warm weather increases.

Tomorrow, I get to do the library delivery, which was a last-minute thing, and I'm looking forward to it. And it's also back to class after having spring break last week. Excellent.

I want to remember this

From "The Ten Commandments: Laws of the Heart" by Joan Chittister, on the 9th commandment, the law of self-control:

The Buddha taught that "Just as a tree, though cut down, can grow again and again if its roots are undamaged and strong, in the same way if the roots of craving are not wholly uprooted sorrows will come again and again." It isn't what we have that makes us unhappy; it's what we want that leaves us dull to the present, unaware of what we have.

Blogs

Sometimes I think it's kind of interesting to know which blogs people read. Lately, I have been trying to avoid the blogs I read that make me worried about the people writing them, and focusing more on the blogs that just give me information I need/want and entertain. So, just for fun, I will post some of what I have in my Bloglines feed.

Tame the Web, Michael Stephen's Librar* blog, Library 2.0 proponent, and faculty at Dominican University in Illinois, posts a lot.
Dooce, the blog everyone reads. Can't get enough Leta. And stories about poop and boobs.
Mason-Dixon Knitting, my favorite knitting blog.
Stitch Marker, Larissa's blog from Portland, Oregon. Makes me want to live in Portland, Oregon, and knit a lot, with a cute baby like Sebastian and a cute dog and a cute husband. Dangerous and lovely.
Wilful Sunflower, in Malaysia. Christian, but makes me worry about her.
Sweet Juniper, and don't ask me why I read blogs that are mostly about babies. I love little Juney. And Dutch and Wood seem cool, too.
Greek Tragedy, Stephanie Klein's now mostly about Abigail and Lucas, her twins, but just a very honest writer. Love it.
May December, Melissa Morris's preppy blog from New York. I love the pink and green, I love Monty Monday, and I love her advice and recipes. She's like my Martha Stewart—I can never be that wonderful, but I like that there's someone who is.
Mimi Smartypants, whose true identity I accidentally discovered a long time ago. I started on Diaryland the same day as she did, but she's still with them and I can't stand their design compared to Blogger, but her writing is freaky good.
I also read Unshelved nearly every day, which is a comic strip set in a library.
And I check PostSecret every Sunday, along with everyone else.
And I can't wait for Jessica Hagy's Indexed book to come out.

Don't hold back

The past few days I have been feeling kind of bored, so I went to the tanning salon (gasp! skin cancer! in five minutes!) and bought some hair dye (dark brown). It's been drizzly and misting all day but refuses to rain. On Sunday, when I didn't have to work, it was cloudy and grey all day, and, back to work, Monday and Tuesday it was sunny.

I think I have spring fever. So I'm sitting here with hair dye on my head, waiting for it to be 5:17. I think I need to sing and do some yoga and possibly drink Bailey's out of an old shoe. Or a lime-gasm. Or just get over this cold that has been haunting me for more than a week now.

Ugh

So I am sick with yet another illness this week. This time, a regular honest-to-goodness (or awfulness) cold virus. I have been taking the NyQuil and the DayQuil and generally trying to lay low while also seeing to my responsibilities (see: work, school, boyfriend) but it's kind of rough. At least I can sleep, thanks to the medication, a humidifier, and my weirdly messed up brain. When I am healthy, it takes a lot for me to get to sleep, but when I am sick, it's lights out almost as soon as I hit the pillow. Go figure.

Today after work, I called S, and he informed me that his cousin Nate would be picking him up to go flying very soon, and he would like it very much if I could go with to Buffalo with them and possibly even go up in the plane. What else was I going to do this afternoon, with next week as my spring break from class? Nate is working on getting a real job as a pilot—he needs more twin engine time to apply for jobs—and also one of my former high school classmates. Kind of weirdly cool to go up in a little plane with the kid I sat behind in history class in 10th. Good times.

Now, to let the medication kick in once again and try to kick this bug.

A sad day

I got a call from my sister Andrea this morning. She was crying, very upset, and through her tears, she told me that her pet bunny rabbit, Sugar, died during the night.

Sugar wasn't sick, but she recently turned 7 years old, which is a good life span for a rex rabbit. She was a very good pet. When let run loose in our yard, she would never run far, somehow knowing what was "her" yard. She was litter box trained in the house and in her outside hutch. She liked chewing electrical cords, which angered our father. She loved oats and carrots and parsley and even Oreo cookies and graham crackers. She liked laying around the house, hopping through snow, and staying in the shade in the summer.

I don't really know what else to say. It's a pretty sad day.

Evidence

I don't care what anyone says, I definitely have the best boyfriend ever.

I have been bugging S to watch "The English Patient" with me for at least two months. Tonight we were hanging out, doing nothing, and wanting to do something, but not really go anywhere. S said, "How about a movie?" and went into the family room and put something in the DVD player before I could object.

It was "The English Patient," at last.

We paused it just now to take a break, and I suggested going out to get some ice cream. S said, "I don't really want to go anywhere and leave the movie. I'm really enjoying it and I don't want to leave it."

I said, "Are you serious?" and he insisted that he was. "It's really good!"

And this proves that I do indeed have the best boyfriend ever.

Racking 'em up

I got my first graded source assignment back in Reference class last night. S and I were running late because we stopped at an art supply store on Grand Avenue so S could look for a planner, which will come in handy when he's back in school.* Then, we were both hungry and decided to stop at a pizzeria four doors down from the art supply store. Even though we got a thin crust (so it would cook faster), I was about ten minutes late to class. Apparently, the professor had my assignment at the top of her stack to return, and when she called, "Beth?" and I wasn't there, one of my sit-in-the-back-row cohorts said, "Tardy!" Thanks, Liz. (I find this quite hilarious.)

Anyway, I got a A-, which was super satisfying, no joke. I worked hard on that assignment, answered all the questions (we only had to answer 6/9, but to attempt an A, we had to answer all of them) and found answers for every question, spending hours at the St. Cloud State University Library. We turned in our worksheets on using Dialog and as long as we answered every question, we got an A on that, as well. That's three A's so far! So, barring any unforeseen problems, and as long as I keep going to class and participating (%10 of the grade is participation; can you imagine, me, no participating in class? I think not!) I should have a nice grade for this course. Sweet.

*S got into college! He's going back to university (SCSU, home of the huskies, my alma mater!) to turn his BA in Political Science into a BS in Social Studies so he can be a teacher. At least, that's the plan right now. He's going to start with summer classes, and I am so proud of him, I could burst.

I have the best mom

Somehow, I got something in my eye at work this morning. It itched, so I'm guessing it was a particle of dust, which would not be surprising in the environment in which I work (oh, libraries). It was causing me to rub my eye, which made it itch even more. Finally, I text messaged my mom, "Are you out running errands?" because Tuesdays are her days off and she usually is out and about town doing random mom duties.

She texted back, "Yes, I am downtown right now."

I texted, "Do you have any allergy medication with you?"

She wrote, "Yes, I have eye drops and tablets."

As I was texting back to ask if she could stop by the library, she walked into my work area. She looked at my eye and offered to put the drops in for me, and gave me an Allegra pill. We chatted for a couple minutes, and when she left, she said my eye was already looking better.

Reasons my mom is the best: 1) She knows how to text message. 2) She has everything you'd ever need in her purse. 3) She is willing to administer medical assistance. 4) She is often in the exact right place at the perfect time.

Thanks, mom!

Not there yet

Last night at dinner at S's house, we were drinking some wine from a vineyard that shares S's family's last name. I had just a taste of the syrah, which was okay, but super cool to see his last name on a wine bottle. His mom was just talking casually, and said, "When you two get married, you could go visit the vineyard for your honeymoon."

There was enough other conversation happening at the table so I didn't have to say anything in response, thankfully. But I thought about it, and I've decided it's definitely kind of weird to hear your boyfriend's mom use the phrase, "when you two get married" in reference to her son and you. Or rather, me. Kind of nice, I guess, in that I don't think she would be shocked or surprised if we got married, but strange nonetheless.

We hung out as friends for a couple years before dating, having known each other in high school, lo these many years ago (a phrase I love to use when talking about S). S mentioned a while ago how it might be weird for his college friends, when they meet me, to think that I've known him longer than any of them. Like, they think they're old friends, but really, we saw "Star Wars: Episode I" in the theatre together, our "first date" in 1999. Now we spend so much time together, we joke that we live together nomadically, in the time/space between my parents' house and his grandma's house.

S and I aren't engaged, though we have been dating a little more than a year. S and I both have a number of friends who are engaged or married, and honestly, we're not at that point yet. For one, we don't fight nearly enough (hah, hah). We are both figuring out the whole career/school/life stuff, and while it's nice to think S could be part of my future, it's not as though we are in the specific planning stages of how to get from point A (dating) to point B or C (engagement and marriage).

The exciting times of me

Yesterday in the snow and bluster, I went and got a haircut and bought a couple pairs of jeans on sale at the Gap. I know, exciting life I lead. I also did some homework and had dinner of delicious vegetarian lasagna with S's family (his aunt Jen cooked, which was fabulous) and ended up watching the episode of "Wife Swap" with the pirate family. Pirat-titude forever!

Today I'm working and then S and I will go to mass, and then I hope we can do something fun, like watch "The Castle of Cagliostro" which is super overdue, or possibly go cross-country skiing at Quarry Park. We shall see. I'm up for anything that doesn't involve more reading about Boolean searches.

Validation

I finally got my paper back from the professor from the project me and my partner worked on at the end of January. I got an A, which is sweet, because I actually worked hard on that thing, collecting opinions of reference librarians and comparing and contrasting two seemingly opposing ideas.

Last night in class, we got to use Dialog for the first time. It's kind of hard to describe, but essentially it's a command-line way of accessing many databases simultaneously. It's also expensive. The library where I work used to have a command-line system (Dynix blue screen DOS-style) so it made sense to me, but learning all the one-letter commands was kind of annoying. I just have one assignment using it, so I'll have to practice and do that sometime soon before I forget everything I learned last night.

Wanting to hide

I think the stress of life is really getting to me lately. What with job, school, and a boyfriend, I have a lot on my hands on a regular basis, and it's kind of a juggling act. I'm back to some of my old sleeping problems. Mostly, I love my life as it currently looks, but I still worry and wonder and needlessly fret (about things I can't control) and purposely, needfully fret (about homework, mostly).

I wish I could take a two week vacation from reality. Someplace quiet and peaceful, no internet, just a stack of good books and the ability to sleep in.

In memoriam

This weekend has been quite draining. In addition to working on this major reference class assignment, getting over the flu, I've been feeling sad because one of S's cousins, really more like an aunt, died on Friday, probably of a heart attack. I mentioned her before here, his 'Aunt Bonnie'. She was always so cool and fun and nice to me, it's almost unbelievable that she's gone. She was 46, and her children are 20 years old and five years old. I don't feel sad for Bonnie, but I do feel really sad for little Mitchell and her husband Don and older daughter who's just in college.

The last time I saw her was at Mardi Gras, and she told me I looked so beautiful. She wanted me and S to dance more than we were, which was a lot. She always made me feel like part of the family, like one of the gang, would talk to me and ask S about me. I'm going to try to switch my work schedule a little so I can attend the funeral on Wednesday.

It's so weird that she's gone.

Round two with the flu

A bad thing happened on Tuesday evening in class. I came down with the flu. I though I had lived through it already, back in December, when I was in so much pain, even my toes hurt. Remember? Well, my sister got a really bad case, and her fever was near 103, and she got this weird fever rash on her back that looked like aliens had abducted her and poked her about 1,000 times with small needles, and she was nearly coughing up her own lungs, which led to throwing up.

So, I was not excited to come down with the same cough that she had. Thankfully, she'd visited our doctor that day and got us two perscriptions for TamiFlu, which probably saved me from getting the worst of it. Andrea felt so bad about getting me sick, and she insisted I take the medication. I am glad I did, because Wednesday was a bad day, but Thursday was better, and Friday was about the same, but my fever was about 100 (don't know exactly since I took Tylenol and ibuprofen alternately every few hours to help with the horrible achey body feeling) and I was coughing, but not as bad as she was. I also kept down everything I ate on Thursday, unlike Wednesday, where pretty much everything came back up. Gross, to be sure.

S took great care of both of us and managed not to get sick himself. He got us Gatorade and watched "The Prestige" with us. He also bought vitamins and Airborne and rubbed my achy muscles and was generally wonderfully sympathetic. I'm so grateful to have such a good caretaker.

Reference burnout happening a little too soon

I am hating my homework tonight. I found answers for everything, but dang, it was hard-won. And I'm still going to have to go to campus early tomorrow to look for print sources for all of these, too. Ugh. So many of the sources mentioned in the textbook (damn you Bopp and Smith!) are out of date or there are no online versions available. The text is from 2000, and flash forward seven whole years, and look where we are. We practically live online. I know I shouldn't, but I think I'm going to have to refuse to use anything on microfilm or fiche. I am 25 and I can do that kind of thing.

So I found out that a lot of these questions could be easily answered using Google, but much less easily answered using the approved sources. If I could, I would throw Ulrich's Web out the window. That thing is so slo-o-o-o-w and it's probably because I'm remotely using a remote server based in Illinois, via Dominican University, via St. Kate's, and so on, but wowsers, was that annoying. All to find out that the Nation (magazine) is indexed in about 20 places. Great.

Also, to answer the burning question, have any novels been written aobut librarians, the Literature Resource Center came to the rescue. At least 173 novels (for adults) have been written featuring librarians, according to that search. I wouldn't be suprised if at least half of them are disgruntled.

True fact

"You know what I love? Your hands are usually cold, and so I get to warm them up, and then somehow, when my hands are cold, yours are perfectly warm, and you can warm mine."

Procrastinating?

Hello there! I should really be doing some preliminary reading in order to do my reference homework later at the St. Cloud State library, but instead I'm here. I'm also going into work today (I know, a Sunday!) when the library where I work in normally closed, in order to help clear off our loading dock. In a nutshell, bags upon bags of books are routed through our central hub, and we unpack and repack them. We've gotten behind, as we've lost a few employees lately (due to promotions). I don't know how long I'll be there today, but I'm willing to help out since the library is closed on Monday and I won't have to work then.

I don't know why I keep putting off my reference homework. I guess one answer is that it took me about three hours of time at the library to find what I needed for the first assignment, about two hours the second time, and so I'm hoping magically it will only take one hour this time. I know this can't be true, but I'm holding onto the dream. I have to read two chapters of the textbook (Bopp and Smith, you kill me) and that's it. It's like, really? That's it? This professor could totally be throwing way more shit at us to do on a weekly basis, especially considering how much of my life was taken up by homework for my first grad class. I'm grateful, actually, that it isn't more work, but it could be, and I wouldn't complain.

Reflections on the coming Hallmark holiday

I really like Valentine's day. I can't help it, I'm a girl and I like romantic and sweet things. Lucky for me I have a great boyfriend who fulfills this need on a daily basis. I don't ask for much... just hugs and kisses and his attentions, which he gives me in abundance.

Last year, I was super stressed out about what to get S for Valentine's day, because we'd only been dating a few months, and I didn't want to overdo it if he didn't do much, but he ended up getting me a bunch of little things which made me feel incredibly special and very cared for. We also went on a nice date, which I still rank as one of our best dates. I gave him white chocolate chip cookies, some of his favorites.

This year, since S is job-hunting and soul searching for careers, I think it's going to be a little more low-key. S said something about making me dinner, but even if that doesn't happen, I have a gift certificate for him which I hope we end up sharing (for chocolates, okay? Nobody should eat more than a pound of chocolates alone, not even my dear S) and I can afford to treat him to a nice dinner out (I can write that here because he doesn't read my blog).

So, anyway, here's hoping next year S has a job and can take me out, or is in school and I can cook for him! Hah.

Well, that was dumb

On my way home from work, I tried to stop and get part of S's Valentine's day present, and traffic was horrendous, like it took me 25 minutes to get from the library to my suburb, and just as I drove up, the store closed. Crap.

So I came home and watched a two-week old episode of "Gilmore Girls" and then realized my DVR missed the latest episode, wherein the main character Lorelai possibly admits to her husband that she's in love with Luke! Oops. My mom saved me on this count, though, as she also captured the newest episode with the DVR my parents have upstairs. Phew.

Then I ate a bunch of those dark chocolate covered almonds. Man, those are good, but I think I ate about a half a cup of them, and then felt a little... odd. Not bad, just... squinky.

Andrea got home from work and I talked to her for a while, and it turned out that, while I thought I was being a nice, sweet sister by giving her my stupid Facebook "gift" (a fundraiser Facebook is doing for breast cancer research—$1 per gift, which are these little icons designed by the woman who designed the latest Apple logo, but you get to give one gift for free). Turns out Andrea already gave her "gift" to someone else. And I gave her a freaking puppy (icon)! Boo-urns.

Then, I read more of "O is for Outlaw" and because I've been up since 7am and didn't sleep well last night, I fell asleep on the couch, and my phone rang around 9pm. I couldn't move. I was paralyzed by sleep. Moments after my phone stopped ringing, I grabbed it and saw that it was S, and called him back. Except he didn't answer. He didn't answer the next five times I called. I figure he must be in some basement (it's Trivia Weekend and he was going to rustle up a team to help) and not getting service, what with his falling-apart-soon-to-die-completely phone.

So I decided to get up and do something, and ended up cleaning off my desk and eating a bunch of Nerds that were sitting there. They've been sitting there since sometime in December, so I figure I better finish eating them soon, or something bad may happen. Like... I'll spill them.

To make a long story short...

Last night we wound up at the Green Mill after all, since Jazz Night at the Tavern was cancelled due to weather. S and I had good conversation over a margarita and a bloody mary and some coconut chicken fingers and nachos. And, I learned that Leinenkugel's is not an entirely gross beer, but it's still beer, and still, therefore, gross.

The weather decided to become winter today, complete with snow, so I'm hoping that kind of wraps up by the time we leave for St. Paul. S is going with me, which greatly reduces my winter driving anxiety, but I still don't like driving when it hasn't been plowed sufficiently.

I'm excited to discuss our assignment tonight in class, since my experience in doing the homework was both interesting and fun. S and I went to the St. Cloud State library and I used the Great Soviet Encyclopedia with great success. Additionally, I read about Margaret Mead in a bunch of anthropological encyclopedias and used the Oxford Dictionary of Quotations to gather more information on some quotes. Thanks to S, I also had a caffeine charge and didn't get a parking ticket due to him plugging the meter. What a guy.

Monday's almost over

S stopped by to visit me at work and is going to hang out until I'm off at 9, and then I think we're going to hit the pubs. Not really, but I think we may go out to jazz night at the Tavern downtown, though I think I'd rather go to Green Mill and have an appetizer or two. We'll see. Maybe we could do both.

Saturday evening was a good time with S and some of his family. We got dressed up and Andrea helped with my hair and I promise I will add some photos to this post when I download them from my camera. I am told I looked pretty darn good, and S looked wonderful, of course. We ate and had tiramisu for dessert and danced until midnight. My shoes were actually quite comfortable (no blisters) but my feet did get sore anyway.

Just the way you look tonight...

Tonight, S and I are going to the Catholic Charities Mardi Gras party, for which I had to buy fancy shoes and borrow a dress from my sister. Photos to come, for sure.

S sees this as our chance to go to "the prom" together, since we didn't do that in high school. He still hasn't decided between his dapper blue pinstripe suit or his dashing black tux, but he's going to check with his aunt who's been to this before to find out what people wear.

I am not psyched about the -20 temperature for this event, and me with bare legs! But it should be fun, nonetheless.

She's just a duck

Only a handful of people I know have read this "Pearls Before Swine" strip and thought it was funny. I have it cut out and on my desk, and didn't even read the previous strips leading up to that one, which put it into context and make it even better. But, man, that's my kind of humor.

RE: S's interview

Well, they called S back about his interview last week, and while they said they really liked him, he didn't get the job. Someone else had more experience with some aspect of the job, so they offerred it to him instead. The job is an interim position, though, with a renewable contract, and that goes until June, so who knows what might happen with the person they hired.

I feel bad for S, because he really, really wanted that job and liked the idea of it very much, but I guess we don't know God's plans. I just know that S feels at his wit's end sometimes about being back from AmeriCorps since October and still not having a job or being in school. It's tough.

I find myself reminding him that he's a great guy with lots of valuable skills and abilities, and that I love him, and the job doesn't make the man.

Like regular chickens

Well, I think I'm done with the rough draft of my paper, which I am tentatively titling, "The Reference Interview: Perspectives, or, How do we know the patron really wants?" I, of course, think this is brilliant. I drew out a thought-map today at work to gather my ideas into one cohesive piece of...something. It worked. Or anyway, I think it worked. Only my actual grade on it will tell.

When I got home this evening, I just sat down (after eating some Lays Sour Cream and Onion potato chips) and gathered my quotes and wrote the thing up. I messed with it a little, reordering some paragraphs, adding some more perspectives of reference librarians I asked at work about the issue, and generally retooling the whole thing, putting in a new introduction and writing a kind of blah conclusion that works for the time being. I then ate a burrito from Chipotlé since Andrea called on her way home from work and asked if I wanted one. What a silly question. So, I'm feeling strong, like I can do this, you know? I was having some paper esteem issues and didn't know what I was doing or why I ever thought I was good at it, and now I remember. Booyah!

This means that I get to go out tonight and have some fun with my former coworkers from American Corporate Bookstore Not-So-Anonymous, a.k.a. my BN Buddies. My sis and guy are coming along, and I think the evening may involve a little vodka, a little kahlua, and a little cream, in equal parts over ice. I'm waiting for S to show up as I type this, and Andrea is getting all snazzed up in her room, accessorizing to beat the band. My hands are cold, so I am now done typing.

Maybe you will always be just a little out of reach

Well, S had his interview this morning and came to my house afterward to I could see him in his suit and tie. The guys who interviewed him said they'd be in contact by the end of today, since they had two other interviews after him. I don't know if that means they'll call either way, but I'm hoping they do, just so he can know one way or another. P.S. Does my boyfriend ever look handsome in a suit. Wowsers.

We went out for some Vietnamese food for lunch and got stuffed and then I picked up Andrea from campus. I vacuumed out my car, which was looking pretty awful, and then started reading through articles for my paper. I'm not exactly sure how to go about starting this paper, but I'm going to at least finish reading the articles I have and then try to bang out something by this evening.

Hang on, there's a twilight, a night-time and a dawn

In important news: S has a job interview tomorrow, and I'm just praying that it goes well and that God's will be done. I'm not worried about it at all, since S is good on paper but way better in person, in all his charming, intelligent glory, but I just hope that the right thing happens. If he's supposed to have the job, he will.

I've got this really annoying cold that mainly just involves a lot of sneezing. At embarrassing moments, like at work while I'm helping patrons and in class last night. At least I don't feel miserable, just sound so.

I think I'm either going to go home after work or go to S's and take a nap, either place I end up. S went with me to St. Paul for class last night, and he drove home, which was very helpful and nice to have someone else with me and to drive at night. I still didn't get to bed until close to midnight, but it was great nonetheless, but now I'm feeling somewhat ready to hit the pillow again.

This weekend is going to be fun! My dad's birthday is Saturday, Simon and Eve are going to come up for games, and I'm off work and our Secret Sister reveal party is happening on Sunday at the Book & Bean. I also need to work on my paper/presentation, but I have tomorrow for that, too.

They love to tell you, stay inside the lines

The weekend was kind of a mish-mash of work on Saturday, rushing to mass after work, Sunday studying and hanging out with S. Yesterday, we watched "The Two Towers" with his cousin and I very nearly dozed off multiple times. I willingly watch the Lord of the Rings with them, but I always know I'm in for a long, long sit-session, keeping track of characters and plot points which all lead back to one thing: it's a series of movies about a piece of jewelry.

I've gotten some very helpful information for my reference project from the reference librarians where I work. They've given me some wonderful first-hand experiences and I'm even more excited to compile my paper and present to the class. I'm really hoping it goes well.

With a glass of Chianti on my desk

Feeling a little like a lush since I'm finishing off the rest of the Chianti I didn't use in tonight's recipe, Drunken Tuscan Pasta from Rachael Ray's Express Lane Meals. I modify the recipe a bit to suit our household tastes, and will post the modified recipe shortly, but right now I've got a full stomach and need to be out the door soon for a birthday party tonight at the Book & Bean Café (Calvary Chapel's coffee shop outreach here in this fair city).

Got to hang out with my cousin Simon a bit today, as he had business to conduct with the vehicle inspection site in Royalton (where I worked one Saturday a month at the library for a year!) and tabs to acquire at the local DMV. Ah, small towns. Simon lives in the cities but they weren't able to get him in promptly, and the man needs to be able to drive his car, so he drove up here and called me for coffee this afternoon once he was free. It's been a while since I've seen him, so it was excellent to catch up and know that he needs some prayers and that S and I are informally invited for a non-specific dinner party with Simon and Eve sometime in February. Sweet!

In library school news, I am currently now very excited about my reference class, since Tuesday's assignment of partners for our project(25% of my grade—yeesh!). Me and another girl got our hands in the air to volunteer to present first, so we'll have that out of the way by the end of class on January 30th. This means I've started research on reference interviews and will need to gather some information from some current reference librarians and creatively, intelligently, coherently synthesize my ideas into a 3-4 page paper and collaboration with my classmate. It should be pretty great, actually. I am thankful for this blessing, since for a portion of my trip to St. Paul on Tuesday night for class, I just prayed for discernment about which topic to sign up for, and I prayed for some enthusiasm for this class, since I haven't been "feelin' it" this semester. Praise the Lord, because I'm now pretty jazzed about my topic and my ability to cover it.

Staying warm on a chilly day

Our dear Cata has been home for the weekend, celebrating her birthday and Christmas with us. Last night, us girls went to Chipotlé, where we got free burritos because Cata has connections. It's like the Spanish-Speaking-Network, and I'm told Andrea also gets free food there because she is recognized as "Cata's sister." Hah. Then we went to Old Navy and World Market so Cata could use the gift cards Andrea and I got her, and of course I spent money I didn't need to, but I found a sweater that reminded me of the white cable knit one Cameron Diaz wore in "The Holiday," and found a pretty Indian print scarf which is delectably soft. Cata will head back to Iowa tomorrow, but I'm glad we've gotten to spend some quality time with her.

The global warming trend has kind of stopped and it's been really quite cold outside the past few days. It's all of six degrees right now, which means I'm going to have to dry my hair before going out to pick up something for our hostess tonight—S and I were invited to dinner at a friend's, and I want to get a bottle of sparkling grape juice or something (no idea if she drinks).

Right now, I'm going to try to finish sewing together some sweater pieces and see how that goes.