Archive for July, 2006

Falling

Sunday, July 30th, 2006

a leaf
small and brittle
floats slowly
crumbling
as it passes through
the gentle wind

the earth
grows darker and sparse
unyielding
to the wants and concerns
of people
and of their tears

a cool breeze
shakes the tree
free of their burdens
they look naked
exposed to the earth’s
brutality and wickedness

untitled

Friday, July 28th, 2006

I wish
I could be
loved tenderly
by a friend

not in a passionate way
but a quiet friendly way
a hug when I cry
a shoulder to lean on
an ear that isn’t ashamed
of what I have to say

sometimes
its hard for me
to even know
what I am thinking

I need someone
who can say
“oh I know what you mean”
and not
just stare at me blankly

I need to be loved
I need a friend

Just a quick note of interest…

Wednesday, July 26th, 2006

I was googling my name and found an article from a local newspaper that quoted me. Neat!

It’s never too soon to start readingWestside News

Parma Public Library offers blog site for Young Adults Westside News

Japanese comic books are the topic of new book clubWestside News
Fascinating, isn’t it?

Me Talk Pretty One Day by David Sedaris

Sunday, July 23rd, 2006

I just finished up listening to Me Talk Pretty One Day. This is both very interesting and bizarre. How to describe this book? David talks about his family, friends and about moving to France with his boyfriend. He talks about growing up and knowing he was different. He didn’t like sports, beating people up or doing other manly things. He’d rather bake banana bread and singing jingles in the voice of singer Billie Holiday. The title of the book stems from David’s lisp. A speech therapist tries to “correct” his problems with pronouncing s. He eventually learns to use words without the letter s in them, sometimes having to be extrememely creative in what he was saying.

He also talked about how he wanted to be an artist, and how he needed to use drugs in order to do so. It seems sad to be in such a state, and reading it, I can’t imagine how no one in his family noticed his abuse.

Eventually, he cleans himself up and falls for a guy named Huey. They move to France, and much of the later half of the book discusses his inability to communicate with the French. He take French classes, but it sounds like they don’t help too much either. It makes for quite the interesting story however.

I’m listening to Dress Your Family in Courdoroy and Denim now. Its another really interesting book, and I’m happy that I picked them up at the Ogden’s Farmer Library when I was consoling Roberta (teen services librarian) about the terrible anime selection that ADV Advocates had given us for the month.

There were TONS of boobies that month… don’t they know that public librarians are trying to show these? One of the clerks asked me if I showed that kind of disgusting pornography at my library. Of course she didn’t exactly say it like that, but I knew she didn’t like it, and I’m pretty sure that she was sizing me up with her eyes.

I keep thinking that I should write them an email. The teen librarian from one of the Irondequoit libraries took me aside at a program we were both involved in and asked me if they were all like that. I told her that USUALLY there were some save episodes to show, but you really have to be careful. Try to have a backup.

Anyway, I love David Sedaris now. Me Talk Happy Now!

Young Merlin series by Jane Yolen

Thursday, July 20th, 2006

I just finished the Young Merlin series by Jane Yolen, and LOVED IT! Unfortunately, its only a trilogy. I was hoping that the cover was lying and that she changed her mind and wrote more in the series. There are three books (it is a trilogy after all). Here they are:
1) Passager
2) Hobby
3) Merlin

In Passager, the book starts with a small boy of about seven or eight years who has been trying to survive in the woods for about a year on his own. He sleeps in trees so that the wild dogs don’t attack him. He’s malnurished because all he eats are berries and small fish. His clothes became tattered and fell off long ago. One day he spots a man in the forest, and listening him speak, he begins to recognize words. He follows the man to his home and after much work, the little boy begins to consider the man and his family his own.

In Hobby, things have happened that separate him from his new family. He meets up with a magician and his wife and upon finding out that the boy’s dreams have a habit of coming true, they find ways of using the boy to make money. After making a couple of dire predictions, he is separated from the couple.

In Merlin, the boy goes back into the woods. He has over the four years since leaving the forest, lost some of his ability to survive alone. After being attacked by dogs, he is saved by a wild man. After the wild man leaves, Merlin follows him at a distance, until they reach a clearing and Merlin sees a large group of other wild people. They find out that Merlin has profetic dreams and they cage him up. His only friend is a small boy named Cub, who we eventually find out is the future King Arthur.

I love the Authurian style fantasy. There is a little bit of fantasy, a little bit of history. I highly suggest this to anyone who is at a loss for things to read this summer. It is both serious and lighthearted.

Gamers @ Your Library

Wednesday, July 19th, 2006

First let me say I love and hate technology. I have a PDA and I use a Yahoo calendar. Unfortunately sometimes when I sync them up, I lose vital information. Today was one of those days.

I had been looking forward to this program, Gamer’s @ Your Library, which was offered through this wonderful organization RRLC (Rochester Regional Library Council). They offer lots of great programs on all sorts of topics for public and school librarians as well as administrators and others. So I heard about this program, and I thought “Great! Another way to connect with the teens!” Weeks went by and I forgot about the program.

Then I get an email from my friend Molly and she mentions that there is a program at RRLC today. I frantically look at both my PDA and my Yahoo calendar. Nothing. Then I look at my RRLC account. Nothing. Then I check out a schedule that I had given one of my co-workers. Damnit! It WAS today! So I called RRLC and they said hurry up and get here!

Sally gave me the okay to leave (she is a very awesome boss after all) and I raced as quickly as I could to Fairport. Its not exactly a ten minute drive, but I got there. In Fairport, I couldn’t figure out where the building was. I was about an hour and a half late, but I got there with a couple hours left in the program.

Unfortunately, everything was A LOT more basic than I thought it was going to be. I knew a lot of what he talked about. Color me disappointed. He went over the very basic types of games, as well as a couple of each style. I watch a porgram called XPlay on G4 TV, which reviews a lot of games and goes over the different styles. Then there was a lunch break (so I got a chance to gab with other librarians. Yippee!) Afterwards we got a chance to play all the games. We played the Game Cube, Mario Brothers version of DDR which was TERRIBLE! I also played a racing game on the Game Cube and some card games. Then I signed up for Runescape. It was interesting, but I can’t imagine playing it for hours on end, but it was cute. Someone asked about Yugioh, and he said not to have those kinds of programs at your library because fights can break out. I have Yugioh at the library EVERY WEEK and so far not one fight has erupted. Everyone is extremely polite and well mannered.
In the end, I was glad for the chance to get involved with other librarians, but the class wasn’t worth it.

Teenagers and why they test my limitless patience.

Saturday, July 15th, 2006

I work in Hilton New York, which is like every other small village. It’s small. I grew up five minutes from downtown Rochester, so if my mom was off and we wanted to do something in the summer, there were museums we could go to or Highland Park. There was stuff we could do.

Apparently, there is NOTHING to do in Hilton except:

1. Hang out in the library complaining there is nothing to do and when given things to do by the librarian such as:
a. crossword puzzles
b. regular puzzles
c. chess/cards/checkers
d. magazines
e. comic books
f. (or, god forbid) BOOKS!
They still say that they’re bored and that reading hurts their eyes. Maybe they should consider glasses.

2. Use the Internet ALL DAY with every family member’s card because we have time out software that only allows people to use the Internet for 90 minutes, until we have to tell them to get off because they’ve been on the computer for six hours and someone else might like to use it.

3. Throw books at eachother in the teen area.

4. Swear at eachother loud enough so that the kids can hear, but not loud enough for us to hear at the front desk.

5. Call me cunt under their breath so that I know they said it, but not loud enough that I know WHO said it.

6. Toss their bikes right at the door so that other people can’t get into the library.

7. Set fires, smoke, spray graffiti and make out in the alleyway between the library and the dentist office or right in the doorway of the staff entrance to the library.

8. Walk sneakily into the non-fiction section so they can look at the Joy of Sex or whatever other sex books we have and then leave them open so the kids can see them.

9. Steal the little creamers from Wilson Farms across the street and throw them against the floor in the entry way of the library so that they explode.

10. Hang out ALL day in the library, but NEVER come to any of my programs.

Hmm. I’m going to stop there before I get my blood pressure up, plus I like lists that go from one to ten.

I think it would be great if you give me ten reasons why you can’t wait for September love teenagers.

This weekend part two.

Wednesday, July 12th, 2006

We watched a movie on Sunday. It was a very disurbing and terrifying movie called From Beyond. The lead in the movie was Jeffrey Combs, who was in Reanimator and lots of other terrible… ooops, I mean wonderful movies.

In this movie, he plays a scientist who’s helping a mad sadistic man and yet brilliant scientist. He believes that you can somehow stimulate the pineal gland (sixth sense) and somehow intensify your life. They get it to work and all hell breaks loose.

I won’t go into details, but Jeffrey Combs ends up having something that looks like a male phallis coming out of his forehead and he starts sucking brains  out of people’s eye sockets…

If you like horror and disgusting depravity you will definately like this movie.

This past weekend part one.

Tuesday, July 11th, 2006

I have a new obsession. (hmm, that looked weird, but its spelled right… I think that there should be a list of weird words that you think are spelled wrong, but aren’t…)

ANYway, the new obsession is… felting purses. If you’ve read the blog before, you already know about the purse insanity. Now add in

1) the relaxation of crocheting
2) the joy of picking the colors of the yarn
3) the happy surprise of felting the bag
4) the ecstasy (another weird word) of having a new bag to lug around

I thought it was going to be hard, but after about five calls to one of my co-workers (on a Sunday no less) I finally finished my first bag.

This is how my weekend went:

Thursday – bought the yarn after finding out the wool yarn I did buy was only 20% wool and 80% acryllic… that’s called “pretend wool”, which means that it won’t felt. I found out it was on sale and danced the happy dance of joy, which is similar to the pee-pee dance, only happy.
Friday – worked, then crocheted throughout a free concert that we went to with Jeff’s sister and her family. I also chased my nieces, played a tamborine, ate a cheese burger, danced and tickled my nieces.
Saturday -  crocheted most of the day, except when we went grocery shopping so I could buy:

a) fruit roll ups
b) twinkies
3) rice krispie treats
4) gummy worms

And no its not because I’m pregnant or anything. We made candy sushi today in anime group. It was gross and yummy all at once.

Sunday – we went to breakfast with the Lotus Group or “Loony” then I crocheted endlessly, until I umm… ended. I finished Sunday evening, forgetting to do everything (go to the bathroom, eat food… you get the idea). Then I threw it in the washing machine to felt and we watched a movie. More on that in the next post.

I love my bag, and I’m going to make a little purse out of the leftover yarn. Yippee!

(I will post pictures soon.)

Baby update

Monday, July 10th, 2006

**Update**
Jeff informed me that bananas is spelled B-AN-AN-AS (in the words of Gwen Stephani) not banannas. Doh!… and double DOH now I have the song stuck in my head!

I have now changed them to the proper spelling.

This is shameful. Jack will get older and ask me (hmm, he is a boy, maybe he won’t) “Mommy where is my baby book?” I’ll look in those deep blue eyes and say “What baby book?”

My mother-in-law recently gave us Jeff’s baby book. OH MY GAWD! She really is an amazing woman. She kept track of EVERYTHING. Every new food, every step, every new word. I think she even kept track of his BMs (as my grandmother would say) when he started on a new food.

Umm. I’m really sorry Jack, but I haven’t done that. I do recognize how very adorable and fun to be with you are, so here are some fun facts about you.

1) I know that you are going to be a great kid because you are so easy going and quick with a giggle.

2) You have the most adorable laugh and hearing one of us laugh usually gets you laughing.

3) You love the water and splashing in the bathtub, and would spend the whole day in there if you didn’t wrinkle up like a prune.

4) You love making a mess of your food and rubbing it in your face and hair. Personally, I think that its so you get another bath.

5) People have told me that you should be a baby model. I agree, but I could never do that to you.

6) One of the ladies at church told me that when you were in the nursery, you very clearly said banana. Of course now you won’t do it when I ask.

7) Aunt Jenny thinks that you have said her name a couple of times… I’ll let her continue to think that.

8) Your favorite toys aren’t really “toys”. You absolutely love flipping the pages of your board books.

9) Your favorite foods are (in order of importance)

a) bananas – probably makes sense that your first word would be this.
b) graham crackers – grandma has them in a special container and you scream whenever she goes near it.
c) yogurt (key lime flavor) – you literally suck down yogurt
d) pretzel sticks – you scream bloody murder when you see the bag, and on several occasions, you have eaten them double fisted. Daddy doesn’t like when you eat them because you liquify the pretzel and half of it ends up all over the place.
e) cookies – everyone likes cookies, and you are one of those everyones (hmm…)

10) You like giving hugs and on several occasions tried to give me an open mouth kiss on the nose. Adorable and icky at the same time.

11) You make sweet little chirpy noises when you talk… they probably aren’t really “chirpy”, but I don’t know how else to describe them.

12) You put your hand up to your mouth move it back and forth repeatedly so that you can make noises.

13) You go right to sleep when I put you to bed.

14) Whenever you hear music, you feel compelled to dance.

15) You love being spun around in circles when someone is holding you tight. If you aren’t being held tight enough, you hold on to the swinger.

16) You love slides, but hate swings.

17) You love going out so that you can people watch or flirt with the ladies.

18) You know how to use a straw.

19) You like lunging yourself on the cat so you can use her as a pillow.

20) You can walk. YOU CAN WALK! You took your first steps yesterday, and now you’re walking like a real person! It really is amazing to think how fast you’ve grown. Sone you’ll be married with children of your own.
Frightening.