See You Soon, Big Baboon

I feel that there are few things on this earth more gratifying than reading to children.

Seriously, if *all* my job involved was storytime, I would be a happy camper.

Tuesday is my big storytime day - I have 3 groups. Though each storytime is 30 minutes, the day simply flies by. At 5PM, I am utterly spent. And utterly blissful.

It doesn't matter how many times a sweet voice calls me "Miss Laura." I can't get enough.

When a child starts at the very back edge of the storytime rug, clinging to a parent, and then by the end of our time together has crept up closer and is hanging on every word, I feel like I won the lottery.

Even when I have a particularly rowdy bunch, there is always at least one moment when everyone is silent. When a story has captured the attention of every child and adult in the room. When I sneak a glance around, taking my eyes from the pages, and see mouths hanging open and eyes fixed in concentration.

The moment passes; we jump up to sing a song. I'm a rock star surrounded by adoring fans.

At the end, right before we move to the craft tables, we sing our goodbye song. Little voices pipe up proudly, everyone knows this well since we sing it every week:

See you later, alligator; in a while, crocodile.
Give a hug, ladybug; blow a kiss, jellyfish.
See you soon, big baboon; out the door, dinosaur.
Take care, polar bear; wave goodbye, butterfly!
(Source: this lovely video)

Hugs, shy thank-you's, waves. They show me their completed crafts, bursting with pride.

My heart is so full.

An Introverted Summer (Hint: I've Been Reading a Lot)

Aaaahhhh....

Please excuse my absence last week. I was breathing a sigh of relief and celebrating the fact that I am officially DONE with my summer classes and DONE with one year of my graduate degree! One year down, one to go!

So, I've got a couple weeks of freedom (well, as much freedom as a full-time employee has) until the fall semester begins.

That means, it's time to reread Harry Potter! I am currently on Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban. Hello Marauder's Map, Remus Lupin, and Crookshanks. I've been trying to catch up on other books, too. Time off from classes = more time to read! (Since I am studying to be a *real* librarian, this is not lame. It is professional development.)

Since my vacation is long over, summer has been a smidge dull.

Not quite as horrible as Harry's summers with the Dursley's, but dull nonetheless.

A bright spot this past week was a party with friends. Outside games, delicious food, hilarious conversations...the kind of fun that I don't get to have too often. It made me miss college, when I always had people to hang out with.

As an introvert, it's always been easier and more comfortable for me to relax by being alone. However, introverts get lonely too! I have come to appreciate my time with friends, as it seems opportunities are rare these days.

ANYway, we had a bonfire at the party, complete with roasting marshmallows. It was perfect for a chilly night (what is up with this August cold??), except for the sparks zooming and crackling towards me. Yes, I am a fire wimp.

You may be surprised to learn this, as I have such a sweet tooth, but I am not really a huge fan of marshmallows. Happily, there is yet some junk food that I can resist. Even marshmallows roasted to a perfect golden brown.

Of course, I was absolutely exhausted by the time I got home. Social interaction is draining! But it was just what I needed. It's been great to get out and relax without the pressure of assignments due. I've been catching up with friends with phone calls and Skype, and it feels lovely.

So here's to summer! To Harry Potter! To friends, to fun, and to a break from classes.

Now I'd like some warmer weather, please.

Source

10 Things.

Here are 10 things to catch you up on my recent life:

1. Discovered that I could use a bit of weight training in my life. Enjoy pretending I have big muscles. Until some big guy shows me I really don't.

2. Went on a family vacation during the first week of the Olympics. Walked around tourist sites all day and tried to stay up late each night watching swimming and gymnastics. Pretended to be Michael Phelps in the hotel pool and discovered I need to spend more time on my arms (See #1).

3. Moved back in with my parents. Both because I enjoy their company AND....

4. Will be starting my master's degree next Monday. Online at the University of Pittsburgh. For Library and Information Science. (more on this later)

5. Preparing to start school again. Trying to resist buying too many new school supplies. Getting excited about studying at a different library near my house (NOT at the one I work at; that's weird).

6. Just finished rereading (rerererererereading?) the Harry Potter series. Read Deathly Hallows as slowly as I possibly could but it still ended. And now I'm not sure what to do with myself.

7. Tried running again. Got sore. Might just run a smidge so my knees don't hate me. Already lusting after new running shoes.

8. Ate a Mediterranean Veggie sandwich at Panera's. Going to attempt to duplicate it. Contemplating becoming a vegetarian....haha yeah RIGHT!

9. Went on an epic 4-hour-long shopping trip with my sister. Only fought once. Maybe twice. Mostly spent the time advising each other on outfits and finishing each other's sentences.

10. Paid about 17 bills all at the same time, including new tires (full story coming soon) and insurance and school and more car things...at least now all is squared away.

So yeah. Things have been crazy.

Hope you all had a nice summer; now it's winding down....booo.



Yeah, probably won't hear any of these things from your doctor. But then, I don't know your doctor. So who can be sure?

T-Shirt Critique

So, you know that awkward moment when you stare at people's torsos to read what they have written on their shirts?

And you try not to stare, but you really need to read it because you can't help being curious. Because maybe you're the type of person who reads everything they see.

And besides, it's not your fault if people wear those kinds of shirts. Especially ones that have tiny writing. Apparently they just want attention.

The worst is reading a shirt and then realizing it's some kind of insult to you, the reader. You're just reading, is that a crime? It's not your fault you have to squint and bob and weave.

Or, after all that work of trying to stare at a person's chest without them realizing it and the shirt isn't even that interesting. It's just a private band joke or something.

What....does....it...say...?

Look -
look away.

Look -
look away.

Oh, forget it.

Library Lending, Not Amazon Spending

I don't buy books. I borrow them.

This may seem weird since reading is pretty much my life. But why buy books when I have all the free ones I want every day at the best job ever? I'm not a book hoarder, that's all. I'm fine with borrowing and giving back.

I love looking through all the newest books at the library. Kids' picture books, memoirs, YA sci-fi, cookbooks, historical mysteries...I like to read and know about the wide variety we have available. My holds list contains dozens of new books I like to have my hands on before anyone else.

With all that's available to me, why spend money on books I'm not going to read again? Because I don't typically read books again. There's too much out there.

Ready for the exceptions? Here they are: Harry Potter and The Hunger Games (That's 10 books total). In the last couple years, these are the only books I've gotten and now own. I'm gearing up to read through the Harry Potter series again, actually. Every other book I read has a barcode and a spine label.

So much to read! So much to experience! And it's all available at the library. What other habit is so cheap, I ask you?

I love books, but I'm not attached to them in the way some people are. Those people like to own them, to collect them, to arrange them on shelves, to never ever get rid of a book...that's not me. At the library I realize you have to get rid of the old to make room for the new. Books come, books go, and I snag them as they travel through to different people's homes.

What a journey!

In My Own Little Corner

This might sound a little silly, but I need a place to read.

A place sort of like, um, a library.

Well, I already WORK at the library! I can't go there and read for fun! People would probably start asking me for help at the computers!

It's the romantic side of me, I guess, that wishes for a cozy nook somewhere special to just read and read. Usually I read during my lunch break at work and in the evening right before I go to sleep. Unless it's a really good book I can't put down, in which case I carry it around with me and devour every chance I get. But I'd like a different place.

I've thought about Starbucks, but then I'd have to buy something. And I want to go somewhere without feeling an obligation to buy anything. It's things like this that remind me of how great libraries are! Where else can I loiter around and read in a comfy chair, in a special place other than my apartment?

I don't know what I'm going to do. I especially need a good reading spot because the next book I have to read for book club is The Count of Monte Cristo. I'm excited about reading it, but it's going to take more concentration than usual. So I want to be somewhere where I can be focused.

Wanted: Reading spot. Must be quiet(ish). Cozy. Free. Must be populated enough so I can people-watch. People-watching is an absolutely must.

Hammock Reading. Without Bugs.

I love being outside. Don't get me wrong, here.

But it has always been hard for me to sit in the grass and read. Sitting in the grass can just be so...irritating. Back when I was in college, other students would study outside. But I never lasted more than a couple minute.

Bugs. Tickly grass. Wind. People walking by. It was all just too distracting.

So I admit it. I don't really like to read outside. Unless I can control my surroundings a bit more.

We have a hammock that we hang outside in a couple trees, and that isn't too bad! It's suspended above the ground so the grass isn't an issue, and those intrusive bugs that like to crawl up your shorts can't get to you. Ha! Take that, stupid bugs. Find somebody else's leg to climb up!

I remember reading the last Harry Potter book in that hammock. I didn't budge for hours. I didn't have to, since I had some necessities with me.

Phone. Water. More books. Pillow. Food.

Something you should know about me and going somewhere to read: I have to be all set up. Once I'm cozy with my book, I don't like to have to go anywhere. I like to surround myself with anything else I might possibly need.

This is especially important in a hammock all the way in the corner of our backyard. It's kind of an event getting in and out of it. The sharp rocks underneath on an incline make for an exciting adventure.

So do you like to read outside? Do you have a book list for the summer? I don't have anything in particular, since I read nonstop all the time. Although I'm definitely reading Harry Potter again before the last movie comes out.

I'll probably read them in the hammock. For old times' sake.