Sunday, June 24, 2007
Monday Morning
11:58 / 23:58
I've spent the majority of the weekend enjoying a peaceful happiness. I don't know exactly where it came from, but whatever, it's been lovely. I hate to be a pessimist, but I anticipate returning to a more normal mood (although hopefully not a bad mood) when my alarm clock alerts me that it's time to get up and endure another Monday at the library. There are things to like about my job, but Mondays are not one of them. Mondays, as I'm sure you'll agree have never really been pleasant, but when I transferred to a branch library that is closed on Sundays, creating a backlog for Mondays, they got worse. A few weeks ago, I was excited because I'd switched with someone and gotten the later shift on a Monday. On a normal Monday, that would mean coming in after things have settled down. No, oh, no, it couldn't be that way that Monday. That Monday we all worked like slaves all day long, and never did catch up. Anyway, I'm not really sure what my point is here... I wanted to talk about being in a good mood... having a good weekend without boring you with the details, and somehow it ended up a Monday work rant. Welcome to my mind, I guess.
I've spent the majority of the weekend enjoying a peaceful happiness. I don't know exactly where it came from, but whatever, it's been lovely. I hate to be a pessimist, but I anticipate returning to a more normal mood (although hopefully not a bad mood) when my alarm clock alerts me that it's time to get up and endure another Monday at the library. There are things to like about my job, but Mondays are not one of them. Mondays, as I'm sure you'll agree have never really been pleasant, but when I transferred to a branch library that is closed on Sundays, creating a backlog for Mondays, they got worse. A few weeks ago, I was excited because I'd switched with someone and gotten the later shift on a Monday. On a normal Monday, that would mean coming in after things have settled down. No, oh, no, it couldn't be that way that Monday. That Monday we all worked like slaves all day long, and never did catch up. Anyway, I'm not really sure what my point is here... I wanted to talk about being in a good mood... having a good weekend without boring you with the details, and somehow it ended up a Monday work rant. Welcome to my mind, I guess.
Labels: on the job
Sunday, June 17, 2007
Summer Reading, Oh Yeah!
9:15 p.m. / 21:15
If you know you live in my county, then get thee to a library and sign up for summer reading. If you don't live in my county, get thee to a library and ask if they have a summer reading program. If you're a reader, why not take a chance at winning something while you're doing what you'd be doing anyway? I've signed up for the staff program, which has lesser prizes, but hey, that's how it goes. Like everyone doing the adult summer reading program, all I have to do is read five books by July 23rd. I've already read three!
I started with No Way to Treat a First Lady by Christopher Buckley. Have you ever wondered what the trial would be like if the First Lady assassinated the President for having an affair? Relatively funny, according to this novel, in which First Lady Beth MacMann is accused of killing her husband with an original Paul Revere spittoon, after he had sex with actress Babette VanAnka in the Lincoln Bedroom. It only gets better when Mrs. MacMann hires Boyce "Shameless" Baylor, a famous trial lawyer, and also the man she dumped back in law school, handle her case.
Around the same time I finally read Haven Kimmel's second novel, Something Rising (Light and Swift). I do not love it quite as I love The Solace of Leaving Early, but it is very well written and I can't believe I waited this long to read it. Cassie is a complicated main character, and that is always interesting. As with Solace, Something Rising gave me a bit of a thrill just for taking place in Indiana.
For the first time ever, I read a Nora Roberts novel. I read Sanctuary, one of two titles in particular that rabidmonkey recommended quite some time ago. It wasn't half-bad. It was about 30% family drama, 30% mystery / thriller and 40% romance. I had a little trouble getting into it, but once I did, it held my attention al the way to the end.
If you know you live in my county, then get thee to a library and sign up for summer reading. If you don't live in my county, get thee to a library and ask if they have a summer reading program. If you're a reader, why not take a chance at winning something while you're doing what you'd be doing anyway? I've signed up for the staff program, which has lesser prizes, but hey, that's how it goes. Like everyone doing the adult summer reading program, all I have to do is read five books by July 23rd. I've already read three!
I started with No Way to Treat a First Lady by Christopher Buckley. Have you ever wondered what the trial would be like if the First Lady assassinated the President for having an affair? Relatively funny, according to this novel, in which First Lady Beth MacMann is accused of killing her husband with an original Paul Revere spittoon, after he had sex with actress Babette VanAnka in the Lincoln Bedroom. It only gets better when Mrs. MacMann hires Boyce "Shameless" Baylor, a famous trial lawyer, and also the man she dumped back in law school, handle her case.
Around the same time I finally read Haven Kimmel's second novel, Something Rising (Light and Swift). I do not love it quite as I love The Solace of Leaving Early, but it is very well written and I can't believe I waited this long to read it. Cassie is a complicated main character, and that is always interesting. As with Solace, Something Rising gave me a bit of a thrill just for taking place in Indiana.
For the first time ever, I read a Nora Roberts novel. I read Sanctuary, one of two titles in particular that rabidmonkey recommended quite some time ago. It wasn't half-bad. It was about 30% family drama, 30% mystery / thriller and 40% romance. I had a little trouble getting into it, but once I did, it held my attention al the way to the end.
Labels: books
Sunday, June 10, 2007
Ta-Da!
11:59 p.m. / 23:59
I finished this up a bit ago, but forgot to post a picture! It's a bit skewed somehow, possibly because of some mistakes I found too late to worry about fixing them, but I think it's pretty good for my first blanket.
I finished this up a bit ago, but forgot to post a picture! It's a bit skewed somehow, possibly because of some mistakes I found too late to worry about fixing them, but I think it's pretty good for my first blanket.
Labels: crochet
Tuesday, June 05, 2007
Fourth Installment of Random Quotations
12:30 p.m. / 12:30
I haven't done this in at least a year and a half, and actually there is a theme to these, but anyway without further ado, the quotations:
"Labor to keep alive in your breast that little spark of celestial fire called Conscience." -- George Washington
"Let the human mind loose. It must be loosed; it will be loose. Superstition and despotism cannot confine it." -- John Adams
"History, in general, only informs us what bad government is." -- Thomas Jefferson
"It behooves every man who values liberty of conscience for himself, to resist invasions of it in the case of others." -- Thomas Jefferson
"No man will ever bring out of the Presidency the reputation which carries him into it." -- Thomas Jefferson
"As to the Presidency, the two happiest days of my life were those of my entrance upon the office and my surrender of it." -- Martin Van Buren
" I have no hostility to foreigners... Having witnessed their deplorable condition in the old country, God forbid I should add to their sufferings by refusing them an asylum in this." -- Millard Fillmore
"God must have loved the plain people; he made so many of them." -- Abraham Lincoln
"Whenever I hear anyone arguing for slavery, I feel a strong impulse to see it tried on him personally." -- Abraham Lincoln
"Whatever woman may cast her lot with mine, should any ever do so, it is my intention to do all in my power to make her happy and contented; and there is nothing I can imagine that would make me more unhappy than to fail in the effort." -- Abraham Lincoln
"The art of war is simple enough. Find out where your enemy is. Get at him as soon as you can. Strike at him as hard as you can, and keep moving on." -- Ulysses Simpson Grant
"Leave the matter of religion to the family altar, the church, and the private school, supported entirely by private contributions. Keep the church and the State forever separate." -- Ulysses Simpson Grant
"I love agitation and investigation and glory in defending unpopular truth against popular error." -- James Abram Garfield
"Get action, do things; be sane, don't fritter away your time; create, act take place wherever you are and be somebody; get action." -- Theodore Roosevelt
(All taken from Presidential Wit and Wisdom by Jess Brallier and Sally Chabert)
I haven't done this in at least a year and a half, and actually there is a theme to these, but anyway without further ado, the quotations:
"Labor to keep alive in your breast that little spark of celestial fire called Conscience." -- George Washington
"Let the human mind loose. It must be loosed; it will be loose. Superstition and despotism cannot confine it." -- John Adams
"History, in general, only informs us what bad government is." -- Thomas Jefferson
"It behooves every man who values liberty of conscience for himself, to resist invasions of it in the case of others." -- Thomas Jefferson
"No man will ever bring out of the Presidency the reputation which carries him into it." -- Thomas Jefferson
"As to the Presidency, the two happiest days of my life were those of my entrance upon the office and my surrender of it." -- Martin Van Buren
" I have no hostility to foreigners... Having witnessed their deplorable condition in the old country, God forbid I should add to their sufferings by refusing them an asylum in this." -- Millard Fillmore
"God must have loved the plain people; he made so many of them." -- Abraham Lincoln
"Whenever I hear anyone arguing for slavery, I feel a strong impulse to see it tried on him personally." -- Abraham Lincoln
"Whatever woman may cast her lot with mine, should any ever do so, it is my intention to do all in my power to make her happy and contented; and there is nothing I can imagine that would make me more unhappy than to fail in the effort." -- Abraham Lincoln
"The art of war is simple enough. Find out where your enemy is. Get at him as soon as you can. Strike at him as hard as you can, and keep moving on." -- Ulysses Simpson Grant
"Leave the matter of religion to the family altar, the church, and the private school, supported entirely by private contributions. Keep the church and the State forever separate." -- Ulysses Simpson Grant
"I love agitation and investigation and glory in defending unpopular truth against popular error." -- James Abram Garfield
"Get action, do things; be sane, don't fritter away your time; create, act take place wherever you are and be somebody; get action." -- Theodore Roosevelt
(All taken from Presidential Wit and Wisdom by Jess Brallier and Sally Chabert)
Labels: random quotations
Friday, June 01, 2007
There I Go Not Posting Again
10:30 p.m. / 22:30
So, here's a long-ass book meme I grabbed from velocibadgergirl.
Instructions:
Look at the list of books below.
Bold the ones you’ve read.
Italicize the ones you're planning to read.
Cross out the ones you won’t read / aren't interested in.
Star the ones on your book shelves.*
(Place parentheses around the ones you’ve never even heard of.)
Do nothing to the ones that you may or may not read.
_____________________________________
1984 - George Orwell *
(The Alchemist - Paulo Coelho)
Angela’s Ashes - Frank McCourt
Angels and Demons - Dan Brown *
Animal Farm: A Fairy Story - George Orwell
Anna Karenina - Tolstoy
Anne of Green Gables - L. M. Montgomery *
Atlas Shrugged - Ayn Rand
(Atonement - Ian McEwan)
The Bell Jar - Sylvia Plath *
The Bible *
(Blindness - Jose Saramago)
The Bourne Identity - Robert Ludlum
Brave New World - Aldous Huxley
Bridget Jones’ Diary - Helen Fielding *
The Catcher in the Rye - J. D. Salinger
The Celestine Prophecy - James Redfield
Charlotte’s Web - E.B. White *
The Clan of the Cave Bear - Jean M. Auel
A Clockwork Orange - Anthony Burgess *
(Cloud Atlas - David Mitchell)
Confessions of a Shopaholic - Sophie Kinsella *
The Count of Monte Cristo - Alexandre Dumas
Crime and Punishment - Fyodor Dostoyevsky
(Cryptonomicon - Neal Stephenson)
The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time - Mark Haddon
The Da Vinci Code - Dan Brown *
(The Diviners - Margaret Laurence)
Dune - Frank Herbert
East of Eden - John Steinbeck
Emma - Jane Austen *
Ender’s Game - Orson Scott Card
The English Patient - Michael Ondaatje
(Fall on Your Knees - Ann-Marie MacDonald)
(Fifth Business - Robertson Davies)
Fight Club - Chuck Palahniuk
(A Fine Balance - Rohinton Mistry)
The Five People You Meet In Heaven - Mitch Albom
The Fountainhead - Ayn Rand
Gone With The Wind - Margaret Mitchell
The Good Earth - Pearl S. Buck
Good Omens - Terry Pratchett & Neil Gaiman *
The Grapes of Wrath - John Steinbeck
Great Expectations - Charles Dickens *
The Great Gatsby - F. Scott Fitzgerald
The Handmaid’s Tale - Margaret Atwood
Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone - Rowling *
Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets *
Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban *
Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire *
Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix (Rowling) *
Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince *
(His Dark Materials - Philip Pullman)
The Hobbit - JRR Tolkien *
I Know This Much is True - Wally Lamb
Interview with the Vampire - Anne Rice
(In The Skin Of A Lion - Ondaatje)
Ishmael - Daniel Quinn *
Jane Eyre - Charlotte Bronte *
(Kane and Abel - Jeffrey Archer)
The Kite Runner - Khaled Hosseini *
Les Miserables - Victor Hugo
Life of Pi - Yann Martel *
The Lion, The Witch, and the Wardrobe - C. S. Lewis
The Little Prince - Antoine de Saint-Exupery
Little Women - Louisa May Alcott *
Lord of the Flies - William Golding
The Lord of the Rings: Fellowship of the Ring - Tolkien *
The Lord of the Rings: Two Towers
The Lord of the Rings: Return of the King
(Love in the Time of Cholera - Gael Garcia Marquez)
The Lovely Bones - Alice Sebold
Memoirs of a Geisha - Arthur Golden
Middlesex - Jeffrey Eugenides
Midnight's Children - Salman Rushdie *
(The Mists of Avalon - Marion Zimmer Bradley)
Never Let Me Go - Kazuo Ishiguro *
Neuromancer - William Gibson
The Notebook - Nicholas Sparks
(Not Wanted On the Voyage - Timothy Findley)
Of Mice And Men - John Steinbeck
The Old Man and the Sea - Ernest Hemingway
(One Hundred Years Of Solitude - Gabriel Garcia Marquez)
Outlander - Diana Gabaldon
(The Outsiders - S. E. Hinton)
The Pillars of the Earth - Ken Follett
The Poisonwood Bible - Barbara Kingsolver
(The Power of One - Bryce Courtenay)
A Prayer for Owen Meany - John Irving
Pride and Prejudice - Jane Austen *
(Rebecca - Daphne DuMaurier)
The Red Tent - Anita Diamant
The Secret Garden - Frances Hodgson Burnett *
The Secret History - Donna Tartt
The Secret Life of Bees - Sue Monk Kidd
(The Shadow of the Wind - Carlos Ruiz Zago)
She’s Come Undone - Wally Lamb
Shogun - James Clavell
The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants - Ann Brashares
Slaughterhouse 5 - Kurt Vonnegut
The Solace of Leaving Early - Haven Kimmel *
The Stand - Stephen King
(The Stone Angel - Margaret Laurence)
(The Stone Diaries - Carol Shields)
(The Summer Tree - Guy Gavriel Kay)
A Tale of Two Cities - Charles Dickens
The Thorn Birds - Colleen McCullough
The Time Traveller’s Wife - Audrey Niffenegger
To Kill A Mockingbird - Harper Lee *
A Tree Grows in Brooklyn - Betty Smith *
Tuesdays with Morrie - Mitch Albom *
Ulysses - James Joyce
War and Peace - Tolstoy
Watership Down - Richard Adams *
White Oleander - Janet Fitch *
(Wizard’s First Rule - Terry Goodkind)
A Woman of Substance - Barbara Taylor Bradford
The World According To Garp - John Irving *
Wuthering Heights - Emily Bronte *
So, here's a long-ass book meme I grabbed from velocibadgergirl.
Instructions:
Look at the list of books below.
Bold the ones you’ve read.
Italicize the ones you're planning to read.
Star the ones on your book shelves.*
(Place parentheses around the ones you’ve never even heard of.)
Do nothing to the ones that you may or may not read.
_____________________________________
1984 - George Orwell *
(The Alchemist - Paulo Coelho)
Angela’s Ashes - Frank McCourt
Angels and Demons - Dan Brown *
Animal Farm: A Fairy Story - George Orwell
Anne of Green Gables - L. M. Montgomery *
(Atonement - Ian McEwan)
The Bell Jar - Sylvia Plath *
The Bible *
(Blindness - Jose Saramago)
Brave New World - Aldous Huxley
Bridget Jones’ Diary - Helen Fielding *
The Celestine Prophecy - James Redfield
Charlotte’s Web - E.B. White *
A Clockwork Orange - Anthony Burgess *
(Cloud Atlas - David Mitchell)
Confessions of a Shopaholic - Sophie Kinsella *
(Cryptonomicon - Neal Stephenson)
The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time - Mark Haddon
The Da Vinci Code - Dan Brown *
(The Diviners - Margaret Laurence)
Dune - Frank Herbert
Emma - Jane Austen *
Ender’s Game - Orson Scott Card
(Fall on Your Knees - Ann-Marie MacDonald)
(Fifth Business - Robertson Davies)
(A Fine Balance - Rohinton Mistry)
The Five People You Meet In Heaven - Mitch Albom
Gone With The Wind - Margaret Mitchell
The Good Earth - Pearl S. Buck
Good Omens - Terry Pratchett & Neil Gaiman *
Great Expectations - Charles Dickens *
The Great Gatsby - F. Scott Fitzgerald
The Handmaid’s Tale - Margaret Atwood
Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone - Rowling *
Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets *
Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban *
Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire *
Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix (Rowling) *
Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince *
(His Dark Materials - Philip Pullman)
The Hobbit - JRR Tolkien *
I Know This Much is True - Wally Lamb
Interview with the Vampire - Anne Rice
(In The Skin Of A Lion - Ondaatje)
Ishmael - Daniel Quinn *
Jane Eyre - Charlotte Bronte *
(Kane and Abel - Jeffrey Archer)
The Kite Runner - Khaled Hosseini *
Les Miserables - Victor Hugo
Life of Pi - Yann Martel *
The Lion, The Witch, and the Wardrobe - C. S. Lewis
The Little Prince - Antoine de Saint-Exupery
Little Women - Louisa May Alcott *
The Lord of the Rings: Fellowship of the Ring - Tolkien *
The Lord of the Rings: Two Towers
The Lord of the Rings: Return of the King
(Love in the Time of Cholera - Gael Garcia Marquez)
The Lovely Bones - Alice Sebold
Memoirs of a Geisha - Arthur Golden
Midnight's Children - Salman Rushdie *
(The Mists of Avalon - Marion Zimmer Bradley)
Never Let Me Go - Kazuo Ishiguro *
Neuromancer - William Gibson
(Not Wanted On the Voyage - Timothy Findley)
(One Hundred Years Of Solitude - Gabriel Garcia Marquez)
Outlander - Diana Gabaldon
(The Outsiders - S. E. Hinton)
The Pillars of the Earth - Ken Follett
The Poisonwood Bible - Barbara Kingsolver
(The Power of One - Bryce Courtenay)
A Prayer for Owen Meany - John Irving
Pride and Prejudice - Jane Austen *
(Rebecca - Daphne DuMaurier)
The Red Tent - Anita Diamant
The Secret Garden - Frances Hodgson Burnett *
The Secret History - Donna Tartt
The Secret Life of Bees - Sue Monk Kidd
(The Shadow of the Wind - Carlos Ruiz Zago)
She’s Come Undone - Wally Lamb
The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants - Ann Brashares
Slaughterhouse 5 - Kurt Vonnegut
The Solace of Leaving Early - Haven Kimmel *
(The Stone Angel - Margaret Laurence)
(The Stone Diaries - Carol Shields)
(The Summer Tree - Guy Gavriel Kay)
The Thorn Birds - Colleen McCullough
The Time Traveller’s Wife - Audrey Niffenegger
To Kill A Mockingbird - Harper Lee *
A Tree Grows in Brooklyn - Betty Smith *
Tuesdays with Morrie - Mitch Albom *
Watership Down - Richard Adams *
White Oleander - Janet Fitch *
(Wizard’s First Rule - Terry Goodkind)
The World According To Garp - John Irving *
Wuthering Heights - Emily Bronte *
