Here's a little song I wrote, you might want to sing it note for note.

Christmas Music That Doesn't Suck 2014 Edition: Day Seven

Jingle Bells - Mike Tompkins


Love this guy so much. I've posted a lot of stuff by him over the past few years. My favorites are probably Paradise and Misery, and of course Acapella. Another one I would love to see live. He actually toured with Karmin last year, jealous.

2013 was Charlie Parra, 2012 was Sungha Jung, 2011 was Glee


In fact I like him so much that I'm adding another song to my list for this post:

Up on the Housetop - Mike Tompkins


Another song I'm not sure why wasn't already on the list of songs to post. Awesome version, love him. Check out his newest mashup of Shake it Off and Pompeii.


Winter Wonderland/Don't Worry Be Happy Mashup - Pentatonix


While I usually scroll through a bunch of options and pick which one I want to post, I knew exactly which version of this one I wanted to post. If you're only going to listen to one out of this entire list of Xmas music, make it this one. Love it so much.

2013 was the Andrews Sisters, 2012 was Jason Mraz, 2011 was Dean Martin


Please Come Home For Christmas - Ben Haenow


While I haven't seen a single episode of The X Factor - mostly cause I can't stand its creator - I do love this clip. He's great. Oh and look, he won. Congrats. Well deserved.

2013 was Bon Jovi, 2012 was CeeLo Green



2011 Day Seven - Dashing through the melted snow in some untied tennis shoes
2012 Day Seven - If not for Christmas, by New Year's night
2013 Day Seven - Do you want an arm or a torso?

puck...puck...puck...i should probably move...yep, good plan.

Souvenir for a lucky fan.



Only stung for a second, though now I have a nice red mark on my side. Luckily I was wearing a lot of layers.

The lady in front of me ducked to save her beer.

Priorities.

And the boyfriend didn't even do anything to defend me, geez. Just leaned away. I'm feeling the love.

That pretty much sums up my week. Birthday included.

I spent it sick on the couch.

I'll get there. Let's start with Valentine's Day.

So I'm at the home branch, and the boyfriend is playing it totally cool. It's Valentine's Day, okay whatever. So I was all, okay whatever, and then suddenly he shows up with flowers.



Totally had me fooled.

Hockey game that night - we lost (and we lost tonight too, I'm starting to think this jersey is bad luck). But Brandon Bollig was there to drop the puck.



He's kind of a big deal now to Lincoln since he's the first Stars player to win the Stanley Cup.

We were laughing because the chicks next to us - who also have season tickets - were all decked out, like the works with makeup plus the Blackhawks jersey and they were all excited to get their picture taken with him.

Okay, so that was Valentine's Day, lots of fun, minus the loss to rival team. Then I went home for the holiday weekend and I started feeling sick Monday - it's been going around work for a couple weeks now.

I texted Queen of the Known Universe asking what her first symptoms were and went, crap cause they matched.

She told me to hit the road before it got worse so I headed back.

I already had Tuesday morning off so I could go get my license renewed but when I woke up Tuesday morning I was legit miserable.

Headache, fever, sore throat, achy, exhausted, all that. BUT I had to get it renewed or I won't be able to go to Vegas.

So I'm like sitting there in a ball in the corner and the lady behind the counter was like...are you okay?

No. But I'll survive.

So I got in removed and that was the last time I left my apartment before this morning (Friday).

Then Wednesday was my birthday so I'm like, I have to do something. This sucks. So I watched the original Star Wars trilogy on Blu Ray. With commentary. I love Carrie Fisher.

I was gonna start from number one but then I remembered I hate number three so I just went with the originals.

Yes, I'm a big fat nerd, get used to it.

But that's all the energy I had. It was that and the Olympics. Go USA. Been watching a lot of hockey, sad day that both our teams lost to Canada.

Thursday I was a little better but I was already scheduled to be off so I spent that day on the couch too.

Somehow, I was gone a week but only took 2 days of vacation. Just worked out that way with the holiday and then the day off.

Today was my first day back in a week and, since I obviously didn't finish the prep for my booktalk, Queen of the Known Universe covered for me and gave one of her own.

Felt she owed it to me since she was the one that probably got me sick anyway.

Take that.

Weight off my shoulders, for serious.

I did also miss out on the Strategic Plan meeting which I was told was "epic". Though "epic" to a group of librarians is probably something else entirely to outsiders.

Again, big fat nerds. Get used to it.

And speaking of big fat nerds, I got my diploma today.

Now I just need a frame so I can hang it up and look all important.

According to Second Sister it makes me kind of a big deal.

Again, big fat nerds. Get used to it.

And that's all I got. On to the music.

Sundown - Gordon Lightfoot


i first heard this on the blacklist - yes, i know, big fat nerd - and it was a lot more dark but i love it.

Acapella - Karmin & Mike Tompkins


0:34....and you thought i couldn't find another version to post. nebraska pride. i know, the obsession never ends. but check this out, it's epic.

that's Mike Tompkins, everything he does is all him acapella. I've posted his stuff a lot on here, but if you haven't seen anything else by him watch this:

Harder Better Faster Stronger cover


it is also epic. possibly moreso.

though this one is also catchy.

Trouble/As Long As You Love Me


he's on tour with Karmin and the Jonas Brothers. I'd go see them...if it weren't for the Jonas Brothers.

Want a plane that loops the loop.

It's official. My boyfriend is an old man.

That's right, he turned 26 tonight at midnight.

Means I'm next.

2 months and a day.

Ugh, man. A lot to accomplish before that point.

Signing up for the rec center being one of them.

Planning on following through on resolutions this year so I went to sign up and apparently I use too much sanitizer cause my prints wouldn't work.

Geez, I attempt to make an effort and this is what I get.

Guess it's just not meant to be.

Could use that as an excuse to continue to be lazy, but really playing iPad air games for 2 hours every night really isn't healthy.

That's all I got for today. I'm zonked. Worked all day. Date night with the boyfriend after.

We watched Elysium.


It was messed up man. Scale of Awesome says 6/10.

Now all I can think of when I see Jodie Foster is her 20 minute speech about privacy at the Oscars.

But it was Lifetime Achievement so really she could say anything she wanted.

"cause i have a microphone and you don't, so you will listen to every **** word I have to say!"

Christmas Music that Doesn't Suck Day Four


Deck The Halls - Mike Tompkins and friends


don we now our game apparel. see if you can name all the youtubers featured. or you could cheat and watch all the way to the end to read their names.

2012 was Pomplamoose, 2011 was Mannheim



Oh Come All Ye Faithful - Pomplamoose and friends


too cool, love these guys.

2012 was JS, 2011 was Twisted Sister



Chipmunk Song - Glee Cast


who the hell is that? am i really that behind?

2012 was Straight No Chaser, 2011 was the Chipmunks



2011 Day Four - Joyful and Triumphant
2012 Day Four - Do people actually ask Santa for hula hoops?

Don't let the pigeon drive the bus.

So, today was far more successful than I thought it would be.

Seriously.

Woke up at 8, by accident.

Forgot to turn off that alarm.

So went back to sleep until 10.

Got up in time to prep for interview - gotta love phone interviews in your pajamas.

Diversity in Libraries, interviewing diverse patrons.

Last week it was diverse librarians.

So now I've talked to a librarian from Seattle and a patron from Columbia.

Missouri.

Columbia, Missouri.

Been an interesting experience so far, I'm digging it, AND I met that professor yesterday at that meeting.

Which I neglected to mention, I think.

I neglected to mention a lot, including a fabulous map drawn by the Library Goddess so I had to go back and add stuff.

I was half asleep by the time it was posted, but that's the joy of being the post-er.

You can go back and re-post.

Anyway, so yes, met the professor, interestingly enough - and I'm pretty sure she thought I was a total nut at first because she was talking and I like was walking past her and I froze.

Like froze.

And did like one of those slow motion turns so she stopped talking.

And I was like, "I recognize your voice."

And she was like, "okay?"

So I asked what classes she was teaching and Diversity was one of them and I was like "YES!" cause she records her lectures. But it's just her voice and a powerpoint, she's not in the picture.

I was quite proud of myself.

I mean, after she stopped looking at me like I was some stalker nut.

She was great, as were the rest of the crew.

It is a really cool program for them to be able to do this, huzzah for Distance Education.

Except everyone is making me go over there and walk for graduation.

They could mail me the diploma but my friends and family will have none of that.

Ugh.

Anyway, so there was that and I added the map and the Digital Beef so I think we're good about yesterday.

So, okay, yes, phone interview in the morning. Had to record it so I can write up the transcript later. Could have done that tonight but didn't want to be THAT productive, people would start to worry.

After that I ate lunch, made soup and didn't burn the apartment down, victory, then headed to work for Reader's Theater.

Okay, I'll admit, while I do direct and write half the scripts for camp, Reader's Theater is completely different so I was a little freaked.

But it turned out awesome.

Seriously, it was great.

Basically in Reader's Theater you want to focus on stories with a lot of dialogue because the actors are literally reading from the script so I had them go throughout the library and pick items they'd like to act out.

I was expecting things like The Hunger Games but actually we ended up with a couple of picture books and a spy thriller.

Don't Let the Pigeons Drive the Bus came first. It was actually really amusing - and they're rather creative - so like we made arranged chairs to make it look like a bus. And you know half of that book is a child listening and screaming "no!" at the pigeon so the passengers did a lot of screaming.

Actually our first take they just shook their heads and sat in silence.

That was funny as well.

Anyway, if you've read the book you know, but at one point the pigeon totally spazzes out and screams "Let me drive the bus!" and like throws a tantrum. Our pigeon decided that instead of throwing a tantrum she'd throw a box instead.

At me.

So I ducked and spun and kept filming, it was awesome.

And then of course the pigeon gets left in the end - oh sorry, spoiler alert - and the bus leaves so I kept the camera in place and they're all in office chairs so they all roll off in line while the pigeon looks all rejected and then names the book and says it's available in our library system.

So that was book one.

Second came something about a green sock, like Lizette's Green Sock I think, by a Catherina V-something. I could Google it but I'm too lazy. Maybe I'll upload the videos or send you a link once they're edited.

Anyway, we made green socks out of paper bags....that we colored with green markers. And then there was a pool and a squirt bottle and it had a rabbit and a cat and a mouse and a fish and a mom.

Long story short - too late - it took us like 2 tries but we got it.

Final was called The Killer or The Killing or something of the sort - it was a spy thriller so one of our boys read the back cover while the other boy rolled around on the floor avoiding the bullets that our hitwoman was spraying at him and the other girls ran across the stage holding signs that said "boom" "bang" "scream" and the sort.

Melodrama.

Reminded me of high school.

Oh god, what was that called again?

Pecos Bill and Slue-Foot Sue Meet the Dirty Dan Gang.

That's right.

I was Clever Coyote.

I got to dance on stage.

And had a secret handshake with Slue-Foot Sue.

One of my favorite plays, but the boyfriend's LEAST favorite.

He hated that thing.

Seriously hated it.

Think Oklahoma was his favorite.

He played the skeevy traveling salesman.

And he sang.

He used to be so little and short and cute.

or maybe it was Oh, What a Tangled Web that was his favorite. I was student manager for that one, it was sophomore year and my first high school play. But I knew all the words and would fill in for people during rehearsals, even being married to myself a few times.

But that was One Act.

Where was I before this tangent?

Oh right, so he was rolling all over and she was holding the cardboard in the corner and then there was signage with narration and then he went around and shot all of us and I fell over, camera in hand.

All-in-all I'd say it went rather well.

Cause they demanded we do it again.

I'm in.

Though this time it will probably involve Cod Sparkles and his library adventures.

Don't ask.

I seriously was freaked, but I was really impressed with how it all turned out.

So, now I have all the videos, will go over them and send them on to our webmaster who can post them to the library's website.

Huzzah!

After that I stayed and set up for Teen Tech Week. Which starts tomorrow.

Well, today, as it is in fact Sunday already, though this post won't say it is. 11:50 PM all the way.

Anyway, that goes through the rest of the week.

I have a feeling that that will fail miserably, but I had that feeling about today's activity as well and it turned out okay.

and Teen Tech Week made the paper.

Like the actual legitimate newspaper.

My pet project.

So maybe people will show up and participate.

After that joy I came home and did homework.

Originally was going to go to the derby but apparently it's supposed to snow so people were bailing.

It's cool, first bout of the season there will be more.

Think I'm going to the one end of March anyway, gotta love it.

Anyway, I wrote a paper and posted it, then watched Skyfall and now I'm on to Murder in Suburbia.

Gotta love British murder mystery series.

I already had Lightman's accent in my head, Ash and Scribbs are just making it worse.

"It's like graveyard jenga down here."

Flashbacks, haven't said that in a while. Gotta love Bonekickers.

Actually broke down and bought that one.

Indiana Jones meets CSI.

There's a lot of posts on here about that show. Think "graveyard jenga" actually has its own tag.

Yep, awesomeness.

And that was my day.

So on to the music.

Maroon 5's greatest hits, take 5?

So, found this video of both Misery and Give a Little More - both performed live@home...in France.



Handy.

But if you'd like to see them separately go here...

Give a Little More


Aaannd...

Misery


another one of my top 5, but you should really check out this next version too...



this guy is great, he's the one that did the Pitch Perfect Starships video, which I posted a while ago here

this is probably my third favorite version, my second of course being Glee's cover which I post after every major assignment just because I want to throw the papers up in the air like they do.

3rd and final:

Stutter


on a cruise ship.

i will never ever take one. ever. cause you're like stranded in the middle of no where and the thing's either gonna sink or tip over.

and even if it doesn't i'll be paranoid that it's going to sink or tip over at any time and that will ruin said cruise.

see, fishing boats and small stuff i can take, cause you can still see the shore. and you aren't surrounded by crazy drunken people or spastic children.

unless you're out there with my family.

kidding.

and it's not like i don't like water or swimming, it's just i've never heard a single good thing about a cruise. cause you got the Titanic, you've got the Andrea Doria whatever that ran into that other Stockholm one, and then the more recent ones that tipped over or lost power, and then at the home branch the Glee-Loving Boss was always telling horror stories how the boat was sideways cause of the wind and waves....

never ever ever.