So last week, I decided to download Charlie and the Chocolate Factory by Roald Dahl onto my iPod (from my library's website), put on my walkin' shoes, and take a stroll through my town.
Walking through the neighborhoods was pleasant. I said hi to old people sitting out on their porches. Passed kids riding their bikes. Chased squirrels. Kicked rocks. The usual stuff.
I even walked down the main street. And a couple busier roads. This kept getting awkward, since there was a LOT of traffic. And I felt like everyone in my town drove by. And looked at me.
Doesn't anyone walk anymore? I felt very conspicuous.
Someone I know even stopped to ask me if I needed a ride. Nope - just walkin'.
I wasn't going anywhere in particular. I was just listening to a British narrator tell me the story of Charlie Bucket and Willy Wonka. Whatevs.
I really like to be outside during the summer. But sometimes I'm not sure what to do.
Well, we seem to have completely skipped spring and went straight into summer. Okaaaaay...
Last night I got to listen to a beautiful thunderstorm. Beautiful because I wasn't trying to sleep during that time. Also beautiful because it's warm outside. We had windows and doors open all through the house.
There's nothing like feeling like you're outside when you're really inside. You can hear your neighbors talking, their phones ringing, their tvs playing. It's a cozy feeling.
Listening to the light rain is soothing. Hearing and feeling the cool wind blow is refreshing. This is a summer storm, a storm that brings the kind of rain that doesn't make me feel like crying. (You know, the icy cold kind that makes me think we're back in March.)
If the thunder gets too loud, I can get a little anxious. If there's a really BRIGHT flash of lightning, I have to duck and cover my ears for a few seconds in case the thunder is going to BLARE all of a sudden. I don't like loud noises out of nowhere, thank you very much.
So last night was nice. Enjoying the storm, listening to Jennifer Hudson (wow she's skinny now, right?), and reading a Nook.
That's right, baby. More to come on this later. After I play around on it a little more (it's the library's, I just have a few days to mess around so I can learn about it), I'm sure I'll have a post about it.
So, summer. Not sure how I'm going to do posts. Probably won't be Monday through Friday like I have been doing. That's just too much when there are so many places to go! Do you have a preference of when I should post? Should I try weekends? Three days a week? Hmmm...
Something we like to say around the library is, "this is why we don't work in an emergency room!"
Library business can be stressful like any other job, but for the most part, nothing is critical. No one's life is on the line. And we are all very grateful for that.
We're giving people books, not organs.
We're calling to notify people whose books are available, not calling to notify next of kin.
We're rushing to help a long line of library patrons, not a long line of bleeding, pain-ridden patients.
We're entering fines into the computers, not medical bills.
So if we make a mistake and remind ourselves we're not perfect, we also remind ourselves we're not doctors.
Now, some patrons may think otherwise, but nothing horrific will happen if a small error is made. We do our best for the people we serve. We try hard not to make mistakes. We want to make everyone happy and satisfied with their library experience.
So when slip-ups do happen, we regret them. We fix them. And we are glad we don't work in an emergency room!
I've been sneezing a lot the past couple weeks. Maybe allergies, maybe my cold, maybe the miserable yucky weather... So I've been "blessed" numerous times this week. Does it help for five people to call out "bless you!" from all over when I sneeze? Not really, but it makes me feel pitied.
Anyway, since I've been sneezing so much, I've been sneezing everywhere. And everywhere includes the car.
So basically, my eyes are closed for a second while I'm driving. That freaks me out a little bit, especially if I'm coming up on a certain obstacle or I'm going to make a turn or something.
Have you ever tried to keep your eyes open while you sneeze? Can't be done. If anything, it just makes you look more like a deranged rodent. Lips curled, nose wrinkled, eyes bugging until the last possible second.
And having my eyes closed while I'm driving? Now that's living life on the edge. I mean, things can change in a second when you're driving. I do NOT want that life-changing second to be when I have my eyes closed.
Ah, Bath & Body Works. What a great store. If you're a girl. Although I did see a new men's section in there...
I was in there yesterday with some friends and we spent the whole time spraying and smelling and looking at the cute designs on bottles.
Well, I guess we only spent the first thirty seconds smelling.
You have to do all the important smelling pretty quick in that store, because soon the aromas become overwhelming and everything blends together and you have a semi-permanent flowery fruity stink in your nose. So get your priorities straight before your judgment fades away in a misty cloud.
I wonder what it's like to work in that store. Is your nose permanently broken? Is it too much of a good thing? I can only spend a couple minutes in there before I have to go get some fresh air.
It's worth it, though. Because I have to touch everything and pick up the sprays and ooh and aah over each soap bottle cover and play with each little rubber duck toy.
What an exciting place! As long as you don't need to smell anything important for a while...
The arrival of spring (regardless of how wet and cold and lame it is so far...) brings the arrival of bugs.
They come crawling out from who knows where they spent the winter, crawling out boldly to freak us out.
Which kind creeps you out the most? For me, the bigger they are, the scarier they are. Or if they're super fast. Or they jump. Or they have a million legs.
Actually, I hate all bugs. I REALLY hate most bugs.
If you see a bug on the floor, what do you do?
a) Scream and call for help.
b) Step on it, barefoot or not.
c) Grab random items around you and wrangle it into a container so you can release it into the wild.
d) Just walk away.
If the bug is non-threatening to me, I'll usually trap it into a container and let it go outside. Like if it's a slow little bumblebee or something.
If it's anything super scary, I'll only kill it if there is absolutely no one else there to do it for me. Otherwise, I beg someone else to dispose of it.
"I thought authors had to be orphans, or have a drug problem, or be out having lots of sex – and none of those things were me! Once I realized that the only difference between everyone else and writers is that they write, I felt I had cracked it."
This quotation is by Diane Setterfield. She wrote The Thirteenth Tale, a novel I just read for my book club at the library. I recommend it, by the way!
Anyway, this quotation makes me think about why I write.
Most days, I don’t feel like I have anything much to say. Pretty insignificant topics, ranging from squirrels to hair products to chocolate to library books.
Why do I write? I’ve never been the kind of writer who feels like she needs to. I’ve always been kind of jealous of those people who simply have to write their thoughts down. Those people who’ve kept journals since they were 9 years old. And are always writing poetry. Just because.
Sorry, that’s not how I roll.
Maybe I write because I just like something to do. I know, sorry. That’s not very earth-shattering. I like to write consistently. To be disciplined. To write even just a paragraph every day.
Also, I like to make people happy through my writing. To make them laugh. To give them something to think about. My writing is for reading.
Writing also helps me think through issues or topics or whatevers that are running through my mind. Sometimes, through writing, I realize something about myself that I hadn’t previously acknowledged or understood.
“The only difference between everyone else and writers is that they write.”
I was JUST sick a couple weeks ago. Stuffed up. Achy. Miserable. The whole bit.
Then, a couple days ago, I started sneezing.
Last night, I finally accepted it. I'm sick.
Why? Why me?
Am I developing allergies? Is it all this lame weather? Warm and sunny a couple days, then rainy and muggy and cold for a week?
It's probably all these library patrons. I give them their books; they give me their germs. Really?! This is the thanks I get for imparting my bookish knowledge?
I'm feeling sorry for myself. And also, being sick makes me mad.
But, life goes on. So I get up, blow my nose, wash my hands, squirt some hand sanitizer, sneeze, try to sneeze, squirt some more hand sanitizer...
Do you look forward to answering the phone? Is it exciting to you to hear the phone ring?
Well, to me, a ringing phone signals impending doom.
Not really. But kind of.
There's something about a phone ringing that makes me NOT want to answer it. I'm afraid it's bad news. I'm afraid someone's calling to remind me about something I forgot to do or be at. I'm afraid - well, afraid is too strong of a word. Anxious.
I guess the phone ringing is kind of like an alarm to me.
I'm a constant worrier, so I'll have little annoying thoughts and doubts poking my brain a lot. When the phone rings, it interrupts whatever I'm worrying about at the moment (or have been worrying about previously) and calls attention to it.
And when I'm at work, well, it can be risky to answer the phone! You never know WHAT you're getting yourself into.
I know, it's just the phone. But at my house, I'm the last person to answer it.
This post was published on Thursday, May 12. But Blogger messed things up for a few hours and it got "unpublished." So I'm tossing it out again. Bonus: new video that I didn't think of the first time I published this. Enjoy!
I have an obnoxious side to me.
Who doesn't?
This obnoxious side manifests itself as the kind of younger sibling who repeats everything you say. "Repeats everything you saaaaay!"
It can be glaringly annoying, to the point where I annoy even myself.
It can be a little more sneaky, where I push it a little bit or just THINK about it.
At the library, when people come up to me and whisper, I don't whisper back. I think it's silly to whisper in this library. It's clearly not a whispering library. Do I talk a little louder than normal? Perhaps.
When I'm checking out a person's books or DVDs or CDs or whatever and piling them in a stack, some people like to compulsively straighten the stack each time a new piece of material goes on top. The obnoxious side of me wants to UNstraighten it. Mess it up a little. Place the next book on top sideways or something.
So, this week it's gonna be in the low 60s and rainy.
Some summer THIS is shaping up to be.
*Sigh* Anyway, I thought I'd move things right along and brainstorm about some of the great sounds/smells/tastes of summer.
TaStEs:
1. watermelon. nothing says summer like cold fruit juice dripping down your chin!
2. strawberries. they just taste like summer!
3. corn on the cob. hmm. messy food seems to be the theme.
4. ice cream cones. now, ice cream is year-round for me. but cones are summer food.
5. grilled things. just throw it on the grill!
SoUnDs:
1. grass being mowed.
2. really LOUD birds outside my open window at 6am.
3. the sound of a bat hitting a ball. time for church softball!
4. sprinklers.
5. talking and laughing outside! as opposed to the quiet shuffle through snow and wind.
SmElLs:
1. grass being mowed!
2. lilac bushes. and other flowers.
3. laundry that's been hung outside to dry.
4. things being grilled!
5. my dog after he's been laying out in the sun. he smells like sunshine.
Now, if I can only get through this cold, rainy week...there's light at the end of the tunnel!
Yesterday, I noticed that Neville had some company. Instead of one plant in that pot, I have four or five popping out.
"Neville? Which one is you?"
With all my pinching and pruning, Neville is a little sleeker than before. A little taller. And now, it's easier to see that there are actually a few different places where he is (they are???) shooting out.
Should I name these other plants? Are they all part of Neville somehow? Does he have different personalities? That would explain the mood swings...
Is it just like Neville having multiple limbs? Is everything connected underneath the dirt?
Goodness. Who knew that owning a plant was so challenging?
I suppose the most important thing now is just being strong for Neville. He needs to see that I won't abandon him, despite his freakishness. He needs to know he has my support.
"I know you're SOMEwhere in that mass of leaves, Neville! And I'll NEVER give up on you."
I'm talking to someone - family member, friend, co-worker, etc - when I get the feeling that I've shared this particular story/fact/whatever before and I can't remember with whom.
"And so then I THREW it all the way up in the air and - wait, have I told you this before?"
When I tell people something I've already told them, they fall into one of three categories:
1) The Silent Martyr - these people may have already heard about the new scarf I got for three dollars on clearance but they are going to suffer through it again. Because they love me. Or are too shy to say anything. Or too bored to care.
2) The Glazed-Over Head-Nodder - instead of just telling me that I've already told them about the new banana bread recipe I've found, they adopt a knowing expression and nod faster and faster, in the hopes that I'll just catch on. "Uh-huh uh-huh uh-huh..."
3) The Brutally Honest Abe - pretty self-explanatory. "You told me this already."
What do YOU do when someone tells you something he/she already told you? As for me, I'm usually the silent martyr. I go along with the story because I don't want the person who's telling me to feel bad for not remembering telling me already.
I hope you all spoiled your moms! And, if you ARE a mom, I hope you were spoiled!
I'm so grateful for my mom and all she's done for me. I can't imagine life without her! My mom and I are a lot alike, so of course that's led to some disagreements over the years. Through the good times and the frustrating times, I've learned to appreciate her as not only a wise mother but also as a friend.
Seeing all the kids dressed up in church yesterday for Mother's Day had me poking my brother and pointing out each little cutie. He got annoyed, but I realized how much I want to be a mom. I love kids! And I want my own to hang all over me like a jungle gym one day too!
I'm just glad I have the example of my mom to guide me in the future, as one day I hope to be a mom. I want to be the kind of loving, creative, fun, and hardworking mom that she has been to me for 22 years.
Let me tell you a little something about this product. I can't live without it.
My hair is curly. Without Aussie, it would look kind of...blucky. Fuzzy. Poofy.
So I use Aussie every day. Multiple times. And I breathe it in a lot.
Whenever I coat my lungs with it, I think to myself, this will probably kill me.
Then I think, it's worth it. Because my curls just don't look right without Aussie.
I go through these bottles super quick. I feel like I'm always carrying one around. I wish I could buy them in bulk...
I know this blog post was pretty lame. I'm feeling uninspired. Again. It's been a busy morning and I'm off to work soon, so I'm trying to get other things done.
I get asked a lot of questions at the library. Maybe one day I'll keep track. But probably not.
"Where're the bathrooms?" (You passed them on the way in...)
"Do you have a certain book? I can't remember the author, title, or what it's about." (Okaaaay...Google, don't fail me now.)
"Can I borrow some scissors?" (Sure, just don't run with them.)
"Do I have a fine?" (*Cringe* Let me check...)
Questions, questions, questions. People just think that the library has all the answers.
Because it DOES, obviously. Spread the word.
People just driving by come into the library and ask directions to somewhere else. Because somewhere in the back of their minds they think of the library as a safe place to do that. Well, that's something, at least.
My favorite types of questions are ones I can answer. Sure, I get sick of answering totally obvious questions. But at least I can answer them. And that makes me feel pretty good. After all, the only thing I really want here is to make library patrons happy. My ultimate goal is to SERVE you, dear friends.
What's wrong with these companies? Who thought it was a good idea to purposefully misspell words as part of your name or slogan?
It's bad enough that, all day long, I have to see accidentally misspelled words by people who just. don't. care. Now, I have to have "cheezy" presented to me as an actual word?
Sloppiness should be corrected. Sloppiness should not serve as an excuse to come up with new spellings of words.
Is it "kool" to misspell on purpose, now? No one told me! And please, no one tell me. I will cover my ears.
Seriously, I'm not old enough to be complaining about "kidz these dayz." And not only kids, but adults! Make an effort and people will take you seriously.
We can have fun while spelling things correctly. Just saying.
Some Things About Me You Probably Don't Care To Know But Will Soon Find Out:
1. I am a compulsive chair tucker. If a chair is pulled out, I push it back in. It takes two seconds.
2. I hate crows. Especially in the summer. At 6 am. When my window is open. I swear, if I had a gun in my hand during those half-conscious moments...
3. I like to keep my hands busy. Currently, there is a clothespin in the library office. Why it's there, I don't know. What I DO know is that I keep looking down and realizing that I've been opening and closing said clothespin for fifteen minutes, carrying it all over the library, without realizing it.
4. I would rather have the ability to be invisible than the ability to fly. I have enough scary dreams where I'm floating up in the air to know that I would not have fun.
5. If I worked in an ice cream shop, I would gain about 250 pounds. Because if I had an unlimited ice cream supply, I would keep eating. And eating. And eating. It's frightening.
6. I have a large supply of earrings. 90% of those pairs cost a dollar. I love earrings because they always fit. And they're cheap.
7. I hate drama. I hate it if I think someone has a negative opinion of me. I overthink conversations and replay my words over and over. I have to yell at myself sometimes to let something go.
8. Mechanical pencils are the best kind of pencils. Because pencils have to be sharp all the time.
9. My legs are always falling asleep. Like, when I'm sitting on the floor for a while. My foot will fall asleep and I'll have to stand still for a minute because if I try to walk it feels waaaay too weird.
10. I have this recurring dream about bugs. Bugs, snakes, and spiders all over the ground. And I have to get through them somehow. I hate it.
So, there you have it! And now, here's a bonus thing about me:
11. I want someone to come to the library and serenade me like THIS!
Now, I'm sure you all think you know me well enough by now to say which one I'M in favor of. Well, here are some thoughts as I watch this commercial:
1. Are they seriously doing this like a Mac vs. PC commercial?
2. Are they going to insult people who prefer books?
3. People who prefer books have better arguments than folding down a page.
4. Like...actually holding a book. And smelling a book. And turning pages. And doing something fun not involving the latest technology.
5. If that girl was a REAL book lover she wouldn't have been convinced that easily.
Listen, I am not against the Kindle. Or other e-readers. If it gets more people reading, I'm all for it. And when you get right down to it, you're reading. No matter if you're listening to an audio book, turning pages, or using a device.
And I understand that it's a lot easier to take more books on trips when they're stored in one thin reader, as opposed to stuffing a dozen books in a plastic bag because you're not sure which ones you'll be in the mood for (Not that I know from personal experience...).
But I'm fairly certain I'll always just read books. It's what I do. It's what I grew up doing. It's another way for me to resist technology a little longer. I don't want to add another screen into my life. Cell phones, iPods, computers, Wii... I spend enough time staring into other screens. Books are safe for me. They seem more...organic. But that's my personal preference.
Now, as for libraries and e-readers? They're on their way to becoming good buddies. If libraries don't embrace new technologies, they aren't going to make it. My library is about to have an e-book collection; hopefully, this means more patrons using the library.
Libraries are good at adapting. They have to be. Librarians have got to see things like e-books as another way to take information and learn it, use it, and provide it for our communities. Because that's just what we do.
