Wednesday, April 25, 2007

Tagged For Seven Song Thing

11:45 p.m. / 23:45

Tagged by: velocibadgergirl @ Pardon the Egg Salad

So, the deal is I have to name seven songs that have been in my life recently. This turned out to be harder than I expected. All seven of these are songs I like, but most of them don't really have any significance, other than at some point in about the past month I got hooked on them for a few days or weeks. There is no significance to the order in which I will list the seven songs.

City of Blinding Lights by U2



This is one of my favorite U2 songs and, in polyphonic form, it has been my ring tone since sometime in January. Of course I love almost every U2 song, since they are one of my most favorite, favorite bands.

The Middle by Jimmy Eat World



I totally missed the little Jimmy Eat World phase the rest of the country seemed to be going through a few years ago. I heard the name around, and I saw T-shirts at the mall, but I couldn't have told you anything about them; not even a song title. About six months ago, I decided I really liked this song and it took me until a couple of weeks ago to find out who it was by. Today I've been listening to this song and another Jimmy Eat World song called A Praise Chorus to try and make myself feel better about not even being interviewed for a promotion that I really, really wanted. It's helped a little, maybe.

Here (In Your Arms) by Hellogoodbye



The album this is on is catchy in a general sort of way, but this is the only song that really stuck with me, and by the time I was ready to return the CD to the library, this was pretty much the only song I was listening to.

Whistles the Wind by Flogging Molly



This is a song off of what seems to be my favorite album by one of my favorite bands. I found myself skipping to this song a lot the last time this disc had a turn in my car's CD player.

Ring of Fire by Johnny Cash



I'm still exploring the works of Johnny Cash, but so far this is one of my favorites. I actually first heard it sung by Joaquin Phoenix in the movie Walk the Line, so the first few times I heard the original version, the horns kind of freaked me out, but they're starting to grow on me.

My Immortal by Evanescence



I just got a wild hair to get out the album this is one for the first time in over a year sometime last week. This is my favorite song from the album, although I like several other songs on it too. I actually like the version without the rock-ending best. The radio version (with the rock ending) is good too, though. I still haven't listened to the new Evanescence album.

Not Ready To Make Nice by the Dixie Chicks



The Dixie Chicks are another favorite band of mine, and this is my favorite song by them. They might be the only band I like this much that I can say so easily which song is my favorite.
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Tagging: norahs1213 @
The Elucidated Ponderings of An Apathetic Mind, rabidmonkey @ Another Waste of Time, j-dog (even though she's already been tagged) @ [Insert Snappy Title Here] and anyone who wishes they'd been tagged!

Monday, April 23, 2007

For Once I Had The Last Laugh / Talking Dirty

9:40 p.m. / 21:40

So, you've all seen this picture right?

















Well, some of the boys at work managed to re-create the picture with me in place of President G.W.B. . This is hilarious to them, because I'm a vegetarian. Anyway, they were all waving it around today and having some laughs, and I was told that while I was out of the room one of the dear, dear boys made an extra-inappropriate joke. It was all too easy to imagine, but I inquired anyway: Was it a pussy-eating joke? Someone indicated that, yes, it was indeed a pussy-eating joke. I nodded and turned to walk off. As I walked away, N. said that it had been funny when C. said it, but it was just plain weird hearing it out of my mouth. The others seemed to agree with the statement. I turned back around and said, "See, when I really want too, it is so easy to mess with you guys!". For once I had the last laugh.

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So, while I'm talking dirty, I'd like to get something off my chest: It is one of my greatest professional fears that someday I will accidently write Pubic Library on something. It would be bad enough to write it on anything at all, but I particulary fear writing it on something of some importance.

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Friday, April 20, 2007

Little Geek Brat

2:00 p.m. / 14:00

So, the other day at work, this woman came up to check out her books, and her son asked me if we had any monitors we weren't using anymore that he could have. It was a little presumptuous, but he was a kid and mostly I just kind of thought "Awww... a little geek!".

But when I said no, we did not have any monitors he could have, he proceeded to yell at his mom about how she needs to buy him a new computer. I was appalled.

Then he shut up for a minute, but came back with: *snotty brat whine* If you buy me a computer, are you gonna have to download a bunch of stuff before I can use it? (Mom says no)

Next, and this was my favorite and also the most appalling part, he yelled at her for giving me money ($4) to pay off part of her overdue fines, because that could have gone towards a computer.

Last thing before I finally got her books checked out so she could leave and take her little geek brat with her, he whined about how if they got a new computer it was going to take sooo looong to connect the monitor to the tower, etc. He really seemed to know what he was talking about, but he also seemed under the impression it would take hours, rather than minutes.

So, anyway, (and this makes me feel so old, it really does), KIDS TODAY! GAH!

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Monday, April 16, 2007

Stamps

11:10 a.m. / 11:10

I wonder if anyone has ever tried to make counterfeit postage stamps.

Saturday, April 14, 2007

I Hope You're In The Mood For Random

11:00 p.m. / 23:00

I hope you're in the mood for random, because I have no idea where this is going. I think I'll start by saying that I totally owe you a post. My stats have been pretty great this week, even though I've only posted once. Blogging is not about stats, I know that, but my point is you've been paying attention even though I've given you very little to pay attention to. Is anyone else finding it odd that I'm writing in second person tonight? Don't I usually write in first person? Do you see what I mean about random?

I've had a pretty good weekend so far; how about you? I got some cheap shirts at Kohls, drank a little Woodchuck for the first time in too long, ate awesome cheese pizza, listened to a university jazz band, walked in a Step It Up protest march against building yet another coal-fired power plant in the area, went to Barnes & Noble and, oh, yeah, bought another book, but also spent an unusual amount of time browsing picture books. And I had cool people with me for all of it! (If you weren't there for any of it, you're probably still cool anyway!)

So this is definitely random, but someone asked me last night if I knew of any good books about animal rights, and I was totally stumped. It was almost kind of embarrassing; I mean I'm a tree-hugging, vegetarian, pro-small farms bibliophile, and I don't know of a single animal rights book to recommend. So, I was wondering if any of you out there in the blogosphere know of any good animal rights books.

So, yeah, books. Let me tell you what I've read lately. I read a book called Love Is a Mix Tape: Life and Loss, One Song At a Time by Rob Sheffield. It's a memoir of sorts; non-fiction. It started off strong, but I was a little glad when I finished it. Some parts were laugh-out-loud, run-to-the-next-room-and-tell-someone-how-funny-it-is funny, but other parts dragged. So, I didn't love it. You might, though. I know all books affect people on an individual basis, but I think this one might be even more that way. After that I read another little non-fiction book that was hilarious and horrifying called Bad Bridesmaid by Siri Agrell (I believe I was still reading this one when I posted earlier this week, so it's down there under the what am I reading question). In a way, this book sort felt like a waste of time, but damn it was funny too. I know I've tormented at least a couple of friends re-telling some of the horrible things that happened to the former bridesmaids in the book. I have been a bridesmaid twice, and neither time was a bad experience, but if I'd read this book first, I might never have agreed, for fear of losing my friends, because that happened to a lot of the girls in the book. I also finished the book I nick-named The Jesus Book. It's real title is Velvet Elvis: Repainting the Christian Faith, and it's by Rob Bell. For the most part, I liked it. In fact I'm hoping to devote a whole post to it eventually, maybe, because I have kind of a lot to say about it.

I've been doing kind of a lot of re-reading lately, which as I may have told you before, is unusual for me. Anyway, I re-read a short young-adult novel called Homeless Bird by Gloria Whelan last weekend. I read it for the first time probably at least five years ago, and it might be the origin of my interest in India, since it takes place there. Two of my friends recently read books I recommended to them (and sort of forced on them). So, I spent a little time re-reading bits and pieces and last chapters of both, reminding myself why I loved those books so much. One was Welcome To Temptation by Jennifer Crusie and the other is The Solace of Leaving Early by Haven Kimmel.

Okay, I'm almost done with all of this randomness, I just have one more thing to tell you. When I got home from the protest today, I had a mystery e-mail telling me that Kristin Gore's new book is due out in July!!! The e-mail was a review of the book that was sent from an online database, so I have no idea who sent it to me, but I was so excited! I hadn't heard the news until then, but I've been waiting and watching for Kristin Gore to write a second book ever since I first read Sammy's Hill. Anyway, the new book is called Sammy's House, and I can hardly wait to read it.

Alright, I'm done; you're free to go now and read something with better structure.

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Tuesday, April 10, 2007

All About Books

11:20 p.m. / 23:20

This book meme (I do not like that word!) is quite stolen from velocibadgergirl who did it back in March. She stole it from someone else, so it seems less than likely she'll mind.

Hardback or trade paperback or mass market paperback? I think I own mostly trade paperbacks, but I have a lot of mass market paperbacks and really quite a few hardbacks, too. I'm not outrageously picky about the format. Has anyone else noticed that mass market paperbacks are becoming less common?

Amazon or brick and mortar? brick and mortar, mostly

Barnes & Noble or Borders? Barnes & Noble, but sometimes Borders or Books-A-Million, or anywhere with books, really. Target actually has really good prices on books.

Bookmark or dogear? bookmark or nothing at all

Alphabetise by author, or by title, or random? My fiction books are alphabetized by author, then title, but my non-fiction is vaguely arranged by type / subject.

Keep, throw away or sell? Mostly keep, but some are given away. I never, ever throw away books!

Keep dust jacket or toss it? Usually, I keep it.

Read with dust jacket on or remove it? Take it off!

Short story or novel? novel

Collection of short stories or anthology? I'm not sure I'm clear on the difference, other than "anthology" says "BIG" to me.

Harry Potter or Lemony Snicket? Harry Potter

Stop reading when tired or at chapter breaks? I prefer to stop at a chapter break, but you know we can't always get what we want.

"It was a dark and stormy night" or "Once upon a time"? I'm with Snoopy on this one-- It was a dark and stormy night!

Buy or borrow? I buy too often, but I do borrow from the library all the time too.

Buying choice: book reviews, recommendation or browse? All of the above.

Morning, afternoon or nighttime reading? anytime

Favourite series? Hmm... When I was younger, it was Beverly Cleary's Ramona books. Now I like the Harry Potter books by J.K. Rowling and the Stephanie Plum books by Janet Evanovich. I have some favorite picture book... serieses? seri? Anyway, I like the Olivia books by Ian Falconer and the sheep books by Nancy Shaw. The pigeon books by Mo Willems are pretty good too.

Favourite children’s book? Just one? Can't be done.

Favourite book of which no-one has heard? I'm not sure I have a favorite book no one has heard of, but one of my favorites that not everyone has heard of is The Solace of Leaving Early by Haven Kimmel.

Favourite books read last year? click here, then scroll down just a little bit

Least favourite book finished last year? I'm not sure I have a least favorite from last year... I guess maybe Wedding Season by Darcy Cosper

What are you reading now? Somehow I've developed this thing about not wanting to blog about what I'm reading until I'm finished, but I guess for the sake of this questionnaire I'll tell you what I'm reading.

What are you reading next? I have a similar problem with this question as the one above, but again, I'll share. Right now, it looks like it will be either Moo by Jane Smiley or Planet India by Mira Kamdar.

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Saturday, April 07, 2007

Happy Easter

3:00 p.m. / 15:00

I have even more Easter playing cards than Valentine playing cards. Why do I have four decks of Easter cards? I have no idea, really.


Bunnies and eggs, gifts from velocibadgergirl.


I guess Peter Rabbit is an all-year sort of bunny, but the cards are kind of egg-shaped too, so I think they're definitely Easter cards.


This is probably my best Easter deck. I like the chickies!


These aren't actually Easter cards, but Easter is supposed to be a religious holiday, so now seemed as good a time as any to show you my Catholic playing cards. They were developed by a priest. They're not supposed to be funny, but they are. Every card has some little bit of Catholic knowledge.

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Wednesday, April 04, 2007

What Words Do You Love?

8:10 p.m. / 20:10

Some of my favorite words are conundrum, bibliophile, aardvark, kumquat and rutabaga. I love conundrum for both its meaning and its sound. It's a fun word to say. Bibliophile is a favorite for many reasons, not the least of which is that I love books. That -phile suffix sometimes scares people, though. They're used to seeing it in bad words, like pedophile, which is a word I do not love. Aardvark, kumquat and rutabaga just have a certain humorous quality I enjoy. Onomatopoeia is a terrific word I discovered in high school English class. While talking over favorite words with a co-worker, said co-worker expressed an affinity for the word retribution, both for its meaning, and I think, its sound. He also likes omnipotent and omniscient, which can certainly be fun words.

What words do you love?

Tuesday, April 03, 2007

Ouch

11:45 p.m. / 23:45

And now for something completely embarrassing! Isn't it great that I have the internet to help me with my bizarre need to share the stupid things I sometimes do? Anyway, this afternoon, while wrapping an excessive number of rubber bands around some CDs on hold for one of my co-workers, I shot myself in the eye with one of the rubber bands, at rather close-range. I suppose it was karma or something like that since I was doing something "not nice" when it happened, but as far as I know that particular co-worker has never hurt himself doing any of the "not nice" things he's done to me. If you've never been shot in the eye with a rubber band, let me assure you that it really hurts. I can't believe it didn't leave a mark or anything. It was, however, pretty funny after the pain subsided. I remember saying at one point that I couldn't tell if I was laughing or crying and one of the shelvers said it looked like maybe I was doing both. Later I had this conversation with a co-worker who'd been out of the building when it happened:

Me: Hey, do you want hear something that'll cheer you up?

Co-Worker: *frowns* Will it really cheer me up?

Me: I think so.

Co-Worker: Okay

Me: This afternoon, I shot myself in the eye with a rubber band.

Co-Worker: *smiles* That did cheer me up!

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Giving A Whole New Meaning To "Play-Date"

11:15 p.m. / 23:15

Have you ever been hit on by a four year old? I have. Okay, so he probably didn't mean it that way, but I couldn't help sort of thinking of it that way, and apparently neither could the shelver who witnessed it.

Alright, this is what happened: a mother put her four year old son on the counter (never mind the sign about no children on the counter) while she dug around in her purse for her ID. He was scooting to my side of the counter and his mother asked him where he was going. He said "I want her". She laughed and said he couldn't have me. So, he repeated himself just a little louder, "I want her!".

Later I told the shelver who was there that I thought the child had been way too big to be sitting on the counter, even if we weren't trying to discourage that in general. He agreed and noted that the child was also far too young to be after a 25 year old.

The same little boy, upon receiving his new library card on a bright orange lanyard, clutched the library card and announced with glee that he could use it to buy his own dog. I have no idea where he got such an idea, but I know I thought some pretty strange things when I was four, so I decided not to make any assumptions about his intelligence based on that one statement, and suggested he get a book about dogs.

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Sunday, April 01, 2007

On Second Thought

11:30 p.m. / 23:30

I'm feeling much more cheerful now than I was when I posted earlier. I got some stuff done between then and now... just little stuff like starting a load of laundry, putting away some of the shoes scattered around my room and moving empty juice bottles to the recycling where they belong, but it still made me feel better. I did most of this while watching Shut Up & Sing, which is due back at la biblioteca tomorrow, and not having watched that yet was something else that was bothering me. Plus, I looked at the list I posted last Monday night, and I've done more than half of the stuff on it. So, I really don't know what I was whining about.

Sunday Nights

8:40 p.m. / 20:40

Sunday nights kind of depress me. Of course that's due in part to having to return to work in the morning, but it's really more complicated than that. It is the true weekend for me. It's when I realize (most of the time) how little I have accomplished, and notice that my to-do list for the coming week is almost the same as the one for the previous week.

Bit Of A Conundrum

1:40 p.m. / 13:40

I am on a waiting list to borrow the CD Alright, Still by Lily Allen. I have not heard any of the songs on this album, I just read or heard something somewhere that made me interested enough to place a hold at the library (a.k.a. work; I'm never sure which term to use here).

Here is the conundrum: Target has the very same CD on sale for $8.00 this week. I have seen used CDs that cost that much, sometimes more. I could by-pass the hold list and get it today. But what if I hate it? $8.00 is still a little much for a CD I'm never going to listen to again, isn't it? It's not going to be $8.00 anymore by the time I get to the top of the list, and get to try it out for three free weeks.

I realize the obvious answer is wait, then burn a copy. I don't do that though. It's not a moral thing, I'm just weird. Mix CD's are great, but when it comes to complete albums I prefer to go ahead and waste my hard-earned money on actual factory-produced CDs, complete with cover art, etc.

So, I have to decide to either buy the CD now for $8.00 or wait until I've listened to the library copy, and pay more.

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