Some are reaching, Few are there, Wandering from a hero's chair.

Today was one for the record books.

I broke a door.

Not on purpose.

I'll get there.

Staff meeting in the morning. Presented on the conference I attended before camp at the boyfriend's library.

Huzzah for new teen material. I bought two of the books tonight - I'll get there too.

I learned a lot at the conference but the highlights I relayed were: "make your fiction seem like nonfiction. if it's not believable then no one will finish it," and "if your characters say 'do it my way' you do it their way or you'll have a crappy book", but I forgot "writing is the next best thing to napping". woops.

I enjoy writers. They are highly entertaining.

After the meeting I checked in magazines, trained a volunteer on how to scan media, worked the desk, got a hamburger for lunch, and all was fine and boring until I broke the door.

Okay first off, it wasn't my fault. I was going into the bathroom and the stall door just fell off.

Like literally fell off.

Dropped and bounced.

I screamed like a teenager, so loud that a coworker busted in freaking out.

We looked and there were metal shavings on the ground. Apparently the door hinge had been on its way out for a while, it just happened to officially fall when I was there to take the blame.

The best part of the whole situation was having to explain it to my supervisor cause he had to call to get it fixed.

Of course Superwoman was gone, Girlscout was in a meeting, BossLady was at lunch, so I went downstairs to Supervisor Alley and there was the Old New Guy sitting innocently at his desk...

He found it entertaining.

I did too.

After the whole shock factor wore off.

It literally just dropped and bounced.

And what would you have done in that situation other than scream and attempt to catch it?

Let it drop I guess.

It was a lot heavier than I thought it would be so I just ended up leaning it against the wall.

And then of course I had to take a picture.



Woops.

Door Killer.

Don't know my own strength.

Anyway, after that disaster things calmed down a bit 'til Mom showed up and scared the crap out of me at the desk.

But she brought zucchini bread and catfood so it's okay.

Shouldn't mix those two up, that'd be bad.

Saving the bread for breakfast tomorrow, yay for food in my fridge!

After things had calmed down I took a break to call another librarian. For my practicum we're setting up that remote library and we're going to use BISAC instead of Dewey so on Monday - my day off - I'm going to go visit a library using BISAC and talk to their librarian.

It's the one in my college town so maybe I'll swing by campus just for fun.

Not.

And Mr. Tom aka my Mr. Bossman Sir for my practicum says it will count toward my hours as it is for research purposes.

Huzzah!

Should be fun.

After work I met up with the Queen of Awesome for supper and a trip to Barnes and Noble.

Bought far too many books, but who doesn't while in Barnes and Noble?

I need to just go in there with a set list and not sway from it.

But that won't happen.

Got Second Sister's birthday present - which was the original intent - ate some good food, talked some girl talk, it was good to catch up as we haven't in a while.

And then of course ran into Oldest Sister, Squirt and Squirt's BFF in the parking lot.

They were headed where we ate supper, but as it was freezing in there we had left and were headed back to Barnes and Noble to jam in the much warmer cafe area.

"My cat weighs 23 pounds and 6 ounces."
"I have a child who weighs less than that."

Should really turn this dinner out thing into a monthly deal just for sanity purposes.

Bought another novel while we were there cause I had forgot about it until I saw something like it.

Huzzah for Richard Castle.

He is wicked awesome.

After our night out on the town I hit up Target for groceries. Cause for some weird reason I buy them there instead of an actual grocery store. Probably because I get my media, shoes, and all that there too, I'm all about one-stop shopping.

Came home, fed the cat, now I'm jamming out and watching Wipeout re-runs cause my DVR is full.

Gonna post this and crash.

No Envy, No Fear - Joshua Radin


posted this back in 2011, the night before my last day at the home branch.

sad sad day.

really like his music.

Legitimate pre-midnight post, holy crap tag in use.

They love to tell you stay inside the lines, but somethings better on the other side.

I forgot to post last night.

Literally just forgot.

Geez.

To be fair, I was distracted...I'm hooked on Leverage. I finished season one from the library and now put a hold on seasons two and three, and I'm hoping they'll get here soon.

Kind of a cliffhanger. But I know what happens. Sort of. Cause they're still, you know, functioning three seasons later.

It's a good show. Quite humorous. Sophie's accents amuse me. Although they make me want to speak like that, and it's messing with my head.

Things from today and tomorrow. I hate driving on ice. Two days ago it wouldn't have been a problem. From yesterday and today, it's been ridiculous.

8 things in the ditch on the way back from class. One semi. The rest were SUV's. Which is actually hysterical since people pay so much more for their traction and all that. No cars. Hmm...

Then there was today, and just ugh.

I used to love snow. Sledding on the farm behind a 4 wheeler and all that.

Now not so much.

At least class and Grams thing today was fun.

Last class of the semester so I'm done until January.

Final Quotes:

Professor: "Don't be looking at your crackberry in a meeting."

Classmate: "This is a sandwich that it's not nice to be in."

Classmate about prof's office: "It's cold in there."
Professor: "I do that so people don't stay."

Professor about my name: "I remembered cause I thought of the blood on your head."
Me: "See, Stephen King, minus the pigs blood. It works."

Me about NLA: "I was just stoked to be surrounded by fellow nerds." and I was. they had presenters come in to talk to us about joining and asked about our experiences of going for the first time. green bags and nametags. pretty sure the people without them thought we were in some kind of cult. i laughed.

Classmate: "APA. I'm not a fan."
Professor: "Nobody is."

Classmate: "B-hag. It's a big hairy ambition goal."

Freaking Shackleton. I can tie everything to him now.


Then today we went to Grams for a Holiday tea thing. Santa was there. Joked around with our table for a while.

Santa sans suit: "Santa says you don't like spinach so you're gonna get it for lunch on Monday."
Grams: "He's gonna get it back in his face!"

and my aunt from the other side of the family came along, she's always hilarious. We were talking old family stories and some other goofy things.

"She left with the truck and Tommy still misses...the truck."
"She was the winner in that situation."
"She deserved the truck."
"And a load to go with it."


Funny stuff. I'm gonna focus on that today. The rest was kind of crappy.

So I'll watch Leverage again from the start. Only 4 discs so it didn't last very long. I'm hoping the next couple seasons have more. The special features are pretty detailed so that's cool.

Alright. So yesterday would have been N. Right? Which makes today O as well.

Let's see what I got.

N-Recs
Na Na Hey Hey Kiss Him Goodbye - Steam


which just reminds me of this:

Remember the Titans

people are all about ryan gosling being some underrated heartthrob, but this is what i associate him with. number 48. nice dance moves.

which led me to this:


one of the best scenes. love it. sunshine...
yeah. twelve sounds better.

No Such Thing - Josh Mayer

one of my favorites from high school

O-Recs

Oh Carol - Neil Sedaka

another high school inside joke. but i like it cause it makes me laugh.

Only You - Joshua Radin

singing with priscilla ahn, mentioned here: My Life in Closed Captions: It's just been one of those, one of those days...
love the remake.


out. long day tomorrow. long week actually. back to leverage.

A year and a half in the life of me.

Five years ago, if you would have told me that I'd be working full-time in a library, and getting my Master's in Library Science, I would have just stared at you. Heck, if you would have told me that two years ago I probably would have stared.

It's just not where I saw myself going.

Not that I really had a plan.

Or a backup plan.

I didn't like to think about the future and what it entailed. My high school roommate and I actually lovingly referred to it as "the F word" because I hated it so.

I'd try to make lists of places I could go to college, jobs I could maybe tolerate.

Librarian was nowhere on my list of things I might consider doing in the F word. (which sounds vaguely dirty but really isn't.)

It's amazing how much one person can affect your life.

Especially when you don't even know them.

You meet them at your cousin's graduation party and you talk for half an hour about the Library Science Program. Get along so well that you plan to meet up for coffee a few weeks later. That's when you learn about their caffeine addiction which you don't exactly hinder by bringing them coffee every class period.

Soon you're sending in a resume and an application form, not expecting to get three different phone calls about coming in to interview. You're used to sending out resumes as a part of a Placement Seminar Class that requires you to participate in fake interviews with real professionals. Find references. Build a portfolio.

Be an adult.

It's that class that got you the job.

Well, that and the Library Goddess.

So you go in to interview. Ramble a lot, fidget with your clothes. You know, do exactly what you were told not to do in an interview. Although you did cut down on the jewelry, black fingernail polish and hand gestures.

And then you wait patiently by the phone for a few days waiting to hear back, when you get the call offering you two jobs instead of one.

Which shocks even you.

Because you didn't expect the same woman to be supervisor at both branches you were interviewing at separately. (You later hear stories of "you can't hire her, I was going to hire her!")

You remember this next part in detail because it was kind of a big moment in life.

You're on the phone with the woman you will in the future refer to as "Superwoman" and jumping up and down in your bedroom, then remember that you're on the phone so you sit. And fidget. Because that's much quieter than knocking something down in your sudden fit of energy.

After you get off the phone you run outside to find your mother, who's about half a mile from home, doing her usual morning walk. She speeds up when she sees you, knowing exactly why you're walking quickly toward her.

"Which one did you get?" she yells.

"Both!" you yell back.

"WHAT?"

Yeah. You were confused too.

The next call you make? The Cool Aunt. These jobs are in fact her fault. She was the one to introduce you to the Library Goddess in the first place. You had plans that night with her to see "Date Night" and eat sushi. You nonchalantly mention your previous phone conversation and she flips. It would be a serious celebration evening. "I don't want the kids to live with your mother, she's awful!" quoted repeatedly on the way out of the theater.

In the meantime you've called both sisters, your brother happens to show up at the house - which he often does since he farms with your dad and lives half a mile away. After hearing the news he looks at you, says "you must really interview well" referring to your utter lack of work experience, and goes out to work. Thanks for that, by the way.

So you go in, sign all the paperwork, move in with your sister, start work at one branch first, putting books in order on carts, shelving books sideways with colored tags sticking out the sides to be checked they're in the right place. A few weeks later you start at the second branch, finding it more chaotic than the original. You got the slow mornings where no one really expected you to be a morning person although you suspiciously became one, and the fast afternoons to keep you busy and entertained by all the crazy locals.

And that's when you realize that these were the places you were meant to be.

With these people, in this town, in this library system.

You find an apartment, move in with your big fat cat. (your parents secretly cheer because lack of a certain feline means they can get new carpet) Order cable and internet.

So, you work at both branches for over a year. Get offered a full time position at one of the branches, forcing you to leave the other. Your home library. Sure, you'll still be a special guest star there every once in a while, couple nights a week for now. But it won't be the same.

No more singing George Strait while shelving in the jNonfiction section. No more morning Space Cadets with Space Cadet. Listening to storytimes by your Glee-Loving Boss. Hearing about endless trivia from Joe Studley. Joking around with the Queen of Awesome. Talking TV with Sensei. Shelving with the Quiet One. Sorting out holds for the lone adult volunteer. Who now, when she calls, asks to speak with you.

You're a family. So that sucks.

Tomorrow's your last day as an Aide.

Which means you'll be an emotional mess.

And it's not that you're not happy, grateful, even excited for your new job. You love those people and that place too. But it'll never be your home library. Your first real job. Your first real work family.

You try to rationalize, that you're not actually losing your home library. You'll still be there a couple nights a week. Be the first one on the list to go cover if someone is sick. Can stop by since you're off at six and they don't close until eight.

And that's fine.

Or, it will be fine.

You'll make it fine.

So you'll be there tomorrow, 2-8. For your last day.

Trying not to cry in the jNonfiction section.


"No Envy, No Fear" Joshua Radin


"Bring on the Wonder" Susan Enan

These are a few of my favorite things - Day One: Music

So, I spent my day off at the farmhouse. I got some more fun shirts from my truly amazing brother and my awesome sister-in-law. Then, ate some good ice cream cake with the family. There's my weekend.

Okay, so I was inspired by my last post - aka literal music video and Mindwalk Blvd - to post more of my favorite things. But, there are too many of them to post all at once so I figured I could span it into a week. Maybe it will help distract me from reality and the significance of the next few days.

I have a lot of favorite things, music, movies, tv, books, hobbies, etc. Tonight I'm gonna focus on music. Music is kind of a big deal to me. It's relaxing, it's fun, it's catchy, sometimes annoying aka "Do the Bookdrop", but still something I can't live without. One of my favorite quotes from college came from this girl I had one class with total.
Best Friend: You know the girl with the headphones who stares at her feet when she walks?
Girl: Oh yeah, she's so sarcastic I love her!
When someone knows who you are just by those descriptions it means something.
Anyway, I thought it was funny, but yes, headphones are constantly in my ears or my pockets because sometimes I just like to jam out, you know? Sometimes it drives people nuts but hey, that's me.

I thought my first segment should be about favorite songs. I have lots of favorite songs but only a few all-time favorite songs. I've lowered it down to five, some of them you've already heard on this blog but some will be new.

Here's my top five:
1. Tracy Chapman's "Give Me One Reason" I'm not much for blues, but this song, it just gets to me with the rhythm and the guitar. I wish I could play like her.


2. Aaliyah's "Are You That Somebody"It so sad that we didn't get to see her career go as far as it would have. I love the beat of this one and the awesome dance moves in the video, haha.


3. The Wreckers "Leave the Pieces"Here's the live version, you can find the official video/recording on youtube.
I loved Michelle Branch already, but when she joined with Jessica Harp to form the Wreckers she became a whole different kind of awesome. Her style totally changed and turned a bit more country which I think she pulls off pretty well.


4. Joshua Radin's "Only You" I'm more a fan of the acoustic version available on itunes but this one is good as well. Remake of a classic that he totally does justice.


5. "Out Tonight" from Jonathan Larson's broadway classic "Rent"
But, again, no embed so sending you to youtube with this:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LroABeeh99E
copy and paste

You know how you can have all time favorites and then new ones that you love but they're so new you don't think you can classify them as all time?
Some of those for me are "Forget You" the Glee cast version because Gwyneth Paltrow is wicked awesome. See this: My Life in Closed Captions: "I'll meet you there, I'm gonna go jam out to Gwyn...
And then "Lover, Lover" by Jerrod Niemann My Life in Closed Captions: What if the Hokey Pokey really IS what it's all ab...


Here's the list of honorable mentions
Reflecing Light - Sam Phillips (want to listen go here, My Life in Closed Captions: Make the lambs stop screaming!
Whiskey Lullaby - Brad Paisley and Alison KrauseGoodnight and Go - Imogen Heap
I Don't Feel Like Dancin' - Scissor Sisters
Won't Go Home Without You - Maroon 5
Bring on the Wonder - Susan Enan
More than Words - Extreme
You Don't Know Me - Jann Arden
Call Me When You're Sober - Evanescence
Band of Gold - Anna Nalick
Head Over Heels - April McLean
Something To Talk About - Bonnie Raitt
Anything by MXPX, Avril Lavigne, Eminem or the Spice Girls (yes I am from that generation)
She & Him - Zooey Deschanel is awesome.
Me First and the Gimme Gimmes remake classic songs
Johnny Cash - anything grew up listening to him
Theory of a Deadman - everything they do is epic and awesome. I've already posted one of theirs a while ago in one of my first Music Rec's My Life in Closed Captions: Happy , Happy New Year! everything they do is just epic and awesome.
Saving Abel - another good band you can jam out to
Stop Making Friends - aka Pauley Perrette is freaking awesome. Listen to their song "Fear" and tell me what you think.
Anything by Doris Day - I always listen to her stuff on Xmas, but especially the Calamity Jane soundtrack.

I'm a very soundtracks kind of girl. There's a lot of those on my playlists,
lately it's been a lot of Glee, aside from that there's
Moulin Rouge, Calamity Jane, Oklahoma, Music and Lyrics, Rent, NCIS, Hairspray, Avenue Q, Grease 1&2 Chicago, Mamma Mia (minus pierce brosnan), Rocky Horror, Sister Act, Wedding Singer, Walk the Line even Whip It had a kickass soundtrack, which was Drew's mix tape for the world.

Okay, you're probably aleady overloaded so I'm gonna crash and burn.
More favorites yet to come tomorrow. I'm thinking movies...or maybe television, I do get to watch shows online tomorrow that I missed tomorrow.