So when we last left off, I was in the middle of finishing my final paper and thus completing grad school. Well, I finished the shit out of it, turned it in early, and got a 3.8 on it. Not too shabby. To celebrate, I ate an entire pizza, drank an entire bottle of wine, and watched Moulin Rouge! to celebrate its 10e anniversaire.
Earlier that weekend, I picked up my former roommate Heidi and her fiance from the airport, which meant I had to clean the apartment for the first time since spring break when she moved out. (That is only mostly true.) Anyway, they had come out for the iBall, which is the big library dance party, like prom! only with (legal) alcohol. I got very drunk (I was also packing my flask) and danced my little heart out and caught up with everyone. It was a blast. On Saturday we all went to lunch with Caroline and since the day was so nice and sunny we dined al fresco. By the time I got back from dropping them off at the airport, I noticed my arms were bright red. Really, Seattle?!?
On Monday, I picked Kristen up from the airport. We caught up and talked so much that we had nothing else to discuss for the rest of the trip. But first we went to a moderately-price family-friendly (American) Mexican restaurant where we both got margs even though we hate tequila and the word margs. Then we went to the grocery store and bought way too much food especially since we ate out so much, and in the end I had to throw most of it away when I cleaned out my fridge.
On Tuesday, we were going to go on an impromptu road trip to Canada, but then I realized I had my poetry study group that night, so we delayed the spontaneous trip. Instead, we hoofed our way across Seattle largely due to a logistical error on my part. I'd rather not talk about it. After walking forever, we got lunch at Specialty's Cafe which is the most amazing sandwich chain on the west coast (and Chicago). And you have to get an item from the bakery case. I got the most amazing cinnamon roll I've ever had, and I don't even like cinnamon rolls. Later we went to poetry and read a Frost poem that was plagued with awkward syntax and then a Mary Oliver poem and realized she is a total hardass. Later that night we made mac n cheese, and then we got incredibly tired and emotional. very emotional.
So on Wednesday, we did go to Cananda and that was an adventure. Kristen had brought her passport, so we thought let's go to Vancouver, especially since I had lived in Seattle for nearly two years and had never made it to The Great White North. We had our GPS on, even though I was planning on just taking I-5 all the way to the border. However, the GPS in its infinite wisdom decided we should enter by a different way, we mere humans obeyed of course, and I'm not really sure where it took us, but we eventually made it to the border. The Canadian border patrolman drilled us (and not in the good way) and when we told him that we were from Seattle and going to Vancouver, he asked us why we had taken this very indirect route. And once we had been let in, the GPS promptly shut off. Obviously, this is because Canada doesn't have satellites. or maps.
We did find an east/west highway, Highway 1, so we took that going west and eventually we did make it to Vancouver. So then we chose an exit at random and popped off the freeway and tried to make our way to all the tall buildings. We finally made it, and found some supposedly "public" parking at a business building. Once we exited the parking garage, we realized we were completely lost. But we did find a food court, so we decided to eat lunch. We were then directed to the Waterfront Station, where we were probably supposed to take some sort of bus to Granville Island, but we were futzing around with the sky train fare, when an incredibly nice man helped us pay the fare and direct us to the station we needed to get off at. Then we had to take a little motor boat to Granville. It was a very long, arduous process. Then we arrived.
So Granville Island is basically a huge market. It's the Pike's Place of Vancouver. I also realized I am not a market man. We had already eaten and had limited Canadian cash, so we didn't hit any of the food stalls. That left us with handicrafts, mostly jewelry, and I don't know about my fellow gay men, but I don't really care that much about jewelry. Kristen, however, loved the jewelry and the touristy shops. She eventually bought a large bottle of maple syrup for her mom, only to realize it was too large to take on the plane. After a Very Long Time at the market, we decided to head back on our boat and then sky train. A bus would have been much faster and probably cheaper. This is why it's helpful to do a little research even before an impromptu road trip, especially to a foreign country.
By the time we got back to the city, I was ready to go--and we didn't even get to see the library! So once we figured out where we had parked, we had a few scary moments. First we realized we didn't have enough Canadian money for the parking fare, so we had to go find an ATM really far away. Then we realized the business building was closed. So we entered the garage through the car way, and then we realized that, yes, the parking garage was locked. There was a number for the company that owned the garage, so we called it, but they were closed. PANIC! Then we saw a number for the security guard. So we called him, dragging him away from the Canucks game, and he was able to let us in. Thank god!
However, we still had no idea how to get out of the city or even the name of the freeway that would take us home, because we had entered the "wrong" way and our GPS didn't know where the hell it was. If only we knew how to hack into our GPS. Also, did I mention there was a Canucks game? so traffic was pretty crazy. Eventually we found a bridge a drove out of the city--a really, really far way with no freeway in sight. So then we drove back toward the city this time finding a sign for BC 99 North. Now, we wanted to go south, but we had found the highway we wanted, even if it was going the opposite direction. So we drove all the way back into the city, got off 99 North, made several left-hand turns in congested traffic, and . . . we drove a really, really far way out of the city--but this time with signage! We eventually did make it onto BC 99 South and back into the country--I could have kissed the tarmac (if there was one and I was the Pope, but there wasn't and I'm not)--and drove all the way back to Seattle.
On Thursday, we went to the Elliott Bay Book Company. I was planning on buying Is Everyone Hanging Out Without Me? but that apparently doesn't come out until November. Lame. Then my parents arrived, and I had to get ready for my convocation. I made myself pretty, and we took a taxi to the campus. I sent my family off to the Ave for food while I caught up with people at the reception. At the ceremony, our speaker was the CEO of Costco. He didn't say anything relevant to librarians, but his speech was blissfully short. I did learn that Korean cuisine doesn't really contain bread, tomato products, or cheese, but that the Costco in Seoul sells more cheese pizza than Costcos anywhere else in . . . Asia (or was it the world?). Then I was hooded, fluffed, and graduated. Dirty.
On Friday, Kristen, my family, and I went to the Space Needle and the EMP|Science Fiction Museum. Then I had to go to a wedding, leaving Kristen with my family which I think was traumatic for me, Kristen, and my family. I suited up and went out to dinner with Maggie at our favorite Wallingford Pizza House which proved to be unnecessary because they had so much good food at the wedding. We arrived seconds before the ceremony started. The wedding was short and so beautiful. So we socialized and then we ate and then there was dancing, but I had to cut that short to rescue Kristen. and my family.
On Saturday, we all went to the Seattle Aquarium where they have the cutest otters, and then on a harbor cruise/tour which was actually lovely. I took Kristen back to SeaTac, and my family came to my apartment to start packing. So much packing. And on Sunday, the packing. and the cleaning. On Monday, my family was supposed to arrive around 10 am with the U-Haul, only that turned out to be more like 6 pm. It's a long story. We loaded everything in, made one last stop at Dick's and drove all the way to . . . Yakima! We woke up early the next morning and drove all day during which my sister left her purse in La Grande, OR and we finally made it home in Utah around 9:30 pm. And that my friends is the story of my last week (plus change) in Seattle.
Showing posts with label School. Show all posts
Showing posts with label School. Show all posts
Wednesday, June 15, 2011
Sunday, June 5, 2011
This Ain't No Party, This Ain't No Disco
This ain't no fooling around.
My final assignment/paper, perhaps my final academic assignment EVER, is due tonight at 11:45. It it to be 4,000-5,000 words long. I am currently at 2,500. Not to worry, all I have to due is write another 1,500+ words, edit and revise, and complete a works cited page. Easy breezy lemon squeezy, or whatever the covergirls in Britain say.
Then I'll have finished this effing program.
So here's a little video about grad school:
So funny and so painful.
My final assignment/paper, perhaps my final academic assignment EVER, is due tonight at 11:45. It it to be 4,000-5,000 words long. I am currently at 2,500. Not to worry, all I have to due is write another 1,500+ words, edit and revise, and complete a works cited page. Easy breezy lemon squeezy, or whatever the covergirls in Britain say.
Then I'll have finished this effing program.
So here's a little video about grad school:
So funny and so painful.
Sunday, May 22, 2011
O Blog, Thou Art Sick
I have neglected my poor blog, and the less I write the less it is read. (I have also been reading others' blogs less.) I am unsure if I will keep blogging in the future. I suppose I will see what happens this summer.*
I am nearly done with graduate school. On Friday I had my last lecture in 508--The History of Recorded Information. There are still two more weeks of classes, but those will be taken up by student presentations. And yesterday, I had my last class with Nancy Pearl in Readers Advisory. I am nearing the end--and I do mean The End. All I see is a great abyss in front of me. (The world may have survived yesterday, but we still have 2012 to get through.) Anyway, aside from my presentation, I also have a 20 page paper to write for 508. My topic is on Charles Dickens as the professional author and serial publication in the Victorian Age as manifested primarily by David Copperfield (and The Pickwick Papers). I have been able to handle the original monthly issues of David Copperfield which are held by UW's Special Collections. I need to finish my research this week, and then pound out a 20 page paper the week after. I hope I can still do it; I haven't had to write a paper that long since 2007 during my final undergraduate semesters at SUU.
I have been very disheartened by my experience with the iSchool and the UW and academia at large, but I really haven't been able to express my dissatisfaction. On Friday's class though, I had an epiphany as represented by Walt Whitman and Melvil Dewey. My personal experience with my high school and undergraduate education was Whitmanesque: expansive, embracing, affirming.** However, my experience with the Information School has been Deweyan, which is to say monomaniacal. It is a trend I fear is taking place in education at all levels--learning is a business with a focus on test scores and analytical intelligence. Where is the critical thinking? Where are the arts? Where is the humanism? In the end I have been buried in debt, and I wonder "Have I grown intellectually? Have I been prepared [for the MLIS is a professional degree] to be a librarian?" I really don't know.
*Speaking of the summer, I will be moving back in with my parents in June (education and the economy are in fantastic shape!). I am, however, excited to be back in Utah, for a while anyway. (And, also, I might just miss Seattle, but just barely.) I keep forgetting that it will not be summer vacation--a stasis in my personal and academic-now-professional life spent drinking iced coffees and reading books by the pool--it will be consumed by job hunting (my least favorite thing in the world), and hopefully before the summer's over I will have a real-life, professional, adult job--somewhere--and be moving again (my second least favorite thing in the world).
**I just wanted to quote the first and last stanzas of Leaves of Grass (the 1855 edition):
I celebrate myself,
And what I assume you shall assume,
For every atom belonging to me as good belongs to you.
I loafe and invite my soul,
I lean and loafe at my ease . . . observing a spear of summer grass.
. . .
You will hardly know who I am or what I mean,
But I shall be good health to you nevertheless,
And filter and fibre your blood.
Failing to fetch me at first keep encouraged,
Missing me one place search another,
I stop some where waiting for you.
I am nearly done with graduate school. On Friday I had my last lecture in 508--The History of Recorded Information. There are still two more weeks of classes, but those will be taken up by student presentations. And yesterday, I had my last class with Nancy Pearl in Readers Advisory. I am nearing the end--and I do mean The End. All I see is a great abyss in front of me. (The world may have survived yesterday, but we still have 2012 to get through.) Anyway, aside from my presentation, I also have a 20 page paper to write for 508. My topic is on Charles Dickens as the professional author and serial publication in the Victorian Age as manifested primarily by David Copperfield (and The Pickwick Papers). I have been able to handle the original monthly issues of David Copperfield which are held by UW's Special Collections. I need to finish my research this week, and then pound out a 20 page paper the week after. I hope I can still do it; I haven't had to write a paper that long since 2007 during my final undergraduate semesters at SUU.
I have been very disheartened by my experience with the iSchool and the UW and academia at large, but I really haven't been able to express my dissatisfaction. On Friday's class though, I had an epiphany as represented by Walt Whitman and Melvil Dewey. My personal experience with my high school and undergraduate education was Whitmanesque: expansive, embracing, affirming.** However, my experience with the Information School has been Deweyan, which is to say monomaniacal. It is a trend I fear is taking place in education at all levels--learning is a business with a focus on test scores and analytical intelligence. Where is the critical thinking? Where are the arts? Where is the humanism? In the end I have been buried in debt, and I wonder "Have I grown intellectually? Have I been prepared [for the MLIS is a professional degree] to be a librarian?" I really don't know.
*Speaking of the summer, I will be moving back in with my parents in June (education and the economy are in fantastic shape!). I am, however, excited to be back in Utah, for a while anyway. (And, also, I might just miss Seattle, but just barely.) I keep forgetting that it will not be summer vacation--a stasis in my personal and academic-now-professional life spent drinking iced coffees and reading books by the pool--it will be consumed by job hunting (my least favorite thing in the world), and hopefully before the summer's over I will have a real-life, professional, adult job--somewhere--and be moving again (my second least favorite thing in the world).
**I just wanted to quote the first and last stanzas of Leaves of Grass (the 1855 edition):
I celebrate myself,
And what I assume you shall assume,
For every atom belonging to me as good belongs to you.
I loafe and invite my soul,
I lean and loafe at my ease . . . observing a spear of summer grass.
. . .
You will hardly know who I am or what I mean,
But I shall be good health to you nevertheless,
And filter and fibre your blood.
Failing to fetch me at first keep encouraged,
Missing me one place search another,
I stop some where waiting for you.
Sunday, April 3, 2011
School and Sushi
So this is the end of the first week of my last quarter of school. (Well at least of library school--maybe one day I'll want to get another Master's.) It's scary because I need to start looking for jobs NOW, and I don't want to. However, apart from that, I think I'm going to really enjoy my last quarter.
I'm taking Library Technical Systems online this quarter. I should have taken it last quarter in person instead of Government Publications, but live and learn right (and then get Luvs). The word "technical" scares me, but I think it's going to be a very good, practical course and perhaps help ease my technophobia. I don't want to be a systems librarian (the people who run the technological back-end of libraries), but any and all technical skills can only help me in the job search. So far the work load is not too bad, and the online discussions have been interesting.
I'm taking The History of Recorded Information which is a humanities-style class on information coupled with special collections. It may be one of my favorite classes ever. I've never been that interested in special collections, but now I'm thinking that maybe I should have taken more classes in that specialty--it's much more interesting than I thought. It's one of the few classes in the Information School where it's okay to say that we actually like books and have concerns over the exponential growth of technology--concerns I've had since starting this program. There's going to be a lot of reading for this course and a very long research paper due at the end, but I've very excited.
My last class is Nancy Pearl's reader's advisory class. In the fall I took her Genres for Adult Readers. We haven't actually had class yet as we meet every other Saturday. I'm also excited for this class. We have to read three books--the whole class is reading The Sparrow by Mary Doria Russell, then we each get to choose a narrative nonfiction from an approved list (I'm considering The Liar's Club, The Tender Bar, or The Devil in the White City), and finally a book suggested by an reader's advisory peer--we'll see what I get. I think my favorite part of her classes is that every week I get to send the Nancy Pearl a journal entry on reading and books, and she actually reads it and responds with comments! Awesome.
Being at work every day by nine o'clock is kicking my ass. I do not care for this going to bed and walking up early thing. It is absolutely no fun. And I'm realizing that life is going to be very long and tiring as a responsible adult.
Yesterday, my friends and I decided to make sushi and watch The Lost World. Jason, Meagan, and I drove down I-5 on a Saturday (which is something I never recommend) to go to the Asian market downtown in the International District. Then we picked up Susan, consumed Dick's, and headed back to Megan's to make sushi which is a very involved process. We consumed a lot of Bourbon and made California rolls, Philadelphia rolls, and spicy tuna rolls. They were all very good, and we did not die (well, at least I didn't). We also had mochi, miso soup, and Riesling (which of these is not like the others?). Then we watched The Lost World--we had watched Jurassic Park a few weeks earlier--which I had never seen before. Since I didn't see these movies growing up, I was not all that attached. It was fun, but it made me miss my dinner/movie nights with Whitney, Dain, Elise, and Alex. Those were good times.
I'm taking Library Technical Systems online this quarter. I should have taken it last quarter in person instead of Government Publications, but live and learn right (and then get Luvs). The word "technical" scares me, but I think it's going to be a very good, practical course and perhaps help ease my technophobia. I don't want to be a systems librarian (the people who run the technological back-end of libraries), but any and all technical skills can only help me in the job search. So far the work load is not too bad, and the online discussions have been interesting.
I'm taking The History of Recorded Information which is a humanities-style class on information coupled with special collections. It may be one of my favorite classes ever. I've never been that interested in special collections, but now I'm thinking that maybe I should have taken more classes in that specialty--it's much more interesting than I thought. It's one of the few classes in the Information School where it's okay to say that we actually like books and have concerns over the exponential growth of technology--concerns I've had since starting this program. There's going to be a lot of reading for this course and a very long research paper due at the end, but I've very excited.
My last class is Nancy Pearl's reader's advisory class. In the fall I took her Genres for Adult Readers. We haven't actually had class yet as we meet every other Saturday. I'm also excited for this class. We have to read three books--the whole class is reading The Sparrow by Mary Doria Russell, then we each get to choose a narrative nonfiction from an approved list (I'm considering The Liar's Club, The Tender Bar, or The Devil in the White City), and finally a book suggested by an reader's advisory peer--we'll see what I get. I think my favorite part of her classes is that every week I get to send the Nancy Pearl a journal entry on reading and books, and she actually reads it and responds with comments! Awesome.
Being at work every day by nine o'clock is kicking my ass. I do not care for this going to bed and walking up early thing. It is absolutely no fun. And I'm realizing that life is going to be very long and tiring as a responsible adult.
Yesterday, my friends and I decided to make sushi and watch The Lost World. Jason, Meagan, and I drove down I-5 on a Saturday (which is something I never recommend) to go to the Asian market downtown in the International District. Then we picked up Susan, consumed Dick's, and headed back to Megan's to make sushi which is a very involved process. We consumed a lot of Bourbon and made California rolls, Philadelphia rolls, and spicy tuna rolls. They were all very good, and we did not die (well, at least I didn't). We also had mochi, miso soup, and Riesling (which of these is not like the others?). Then we watched The Lost World--we had watched Jurassic Park a few weeks earlier--which I had never seen before. Since I didn't see these movies growing up, I was not all that attached. It was fun, but it made me miss my dinner/movie nights with Whitney, Dain, Elise, and Alex. Those were good times.
Sunday, March 27, 2011
Spring Break '11
Well, it's Sunday evening of spring break, and the twilight is just ending. It's nice how there's still some light in the day after 7:30. I guess the Vernal Equinox and Daylight Saving will do that. Anyway, it's the end of spring break, and while I didn't go anywhere fun like last year (Portland!), it was nice to kick back and relax for a bit.
On Monday morning, Heidi drove her parents back to the airport (they were visiting over the weekend) and picked up her boyfriend--he was to help her drive back to Minnesota. Anyway, that afternoon we headed downtown--I love going downtown!--and then over to the city center to visit the Space Needle, unquestionably our country's finest needle. I have seen the Space Needle up close a few times, but I've never gone up. It was pretty fun, but I feel no need to do it again. This is us:
That night we had a farewell dinner with another classmate. Then Alex was supposed to come over for some whiskey drinking, but his wife had other plans for him instead. So the three of us sat around watching Will & Grace.
I woke up early Tuesday morning to say goodbye to Heidi. Tear. We hugged goodbye, and she left, and I decided to watch Saved! and be lazy. Then I finished Ruth Reichl's memoir Comfort Me with Apples which I love. If you enjoy food writing and/or memoirs, I highly recommend it. All memoirs are ME-moirs, but hers is less egotistical than some. It's also not a memoir about a horrific childhood which are in excessive abundance (some are good, others not). It will also make you hungry! Later that night I watched the recent Star Trek movie, and the futon which we had just repaired, broke again. *sigh* Now all my naps will be at an angle.
On Wednesday, I decided to go see 127 Hours which was playing at the (three) dollar theater nearby. I hadn't caught the film during its first run since I had little desire to see a movie about a man trapped in a canyon who has to cut his own arm off, even though I heard all these good reviews. But I thought I can spare $3 bucks, and what else am I going to do? The film was good--I didn't think it was spectacular spectacular--and it was more entertaining that I thought it would be. The part where he cut off his arm was actually gorier than I expected, but I think the film is a tribute to the tenacity of the human spirit. Mostly, the red rock of Southern Utah made my heart ache a little bit.
On Thursday I finished reading Stuck Rubber Baby, a graphic novel by Howard Cruse. It's a semi-autobiographical coming-of-age story dealing with race and homosexuality in the Deep South in the 1960s. It was very interesting. That night, I went back to the dollar theater to see The Social Network again. It's such a good movie! and it made me upset all over that Tom Hooper won Best Director. What the what? Anyway, I liked it even better the second time I saw it--everything works so well: script, acting, score, directing, editing. Amazing.
(I don't remember what happened on Friday. Probably nothing.)
On Saturday, I finally decided to clean the kitchen, something which Heidi usually did. I love to cook, but I hate doing dishes which puts me in quite a predicament. Once it was clean, I decided to make stuff--like zucchini bread and a wilted spinach salad--quickly dirtying many more dishes. It's so Sisyphean.
This morning, I decided to make cream scones (with sugared ginger!) which by themselves are a justification for life. So good. And then I had to do more dishes. Then I went to visit Lillian in West Seattle, and we had tea and talked books. I have decided I need to read Oscar and Lucinda by Peter Carey, Empire Falls by Richard Russo, and Margaret Atwood. Everybody reads The Handmaid's Tale, but I'm really into the Bluebeard story (and variants), so I might read The Robber Bride instead. However, first I'm reading some steampunk books for my Nancy Pearl book club. There's Soulless by Gail Carriger which is a Victorian romance vampire/werewolf parasol book, and it's all a bit silly, but very popular. There's also The Time Machine by H.G. Wells which is very short. and weird. I also checked out The Manual of Detection by Jedediah Berry, but I'm not sure I'll have time to read it.
Anyway, I should start getting ready for bed soonish. This quarter I'm going to be working 9 to 12. So early--nine o'clock is when I got up last quarter, if I was feeling motivated. But it'll be good to get an early start on my day. or something.
On Monday morning, Heidi drove her parents back to the airport (they were visiting over the weekend) and picked up her boyfriend--he was to help her drive back to Minnesota. Anyway, that afternoon we headed downtown--I love going downtown!--and then over to the city center to visit the Space Needle, unquestionably our country's finest needle. I have seen the Space Needle up close a few times, but I've never gone up. It was pretty fun, but I feel no need to do it again. This is us:
That night we had a farewell dinner with another classmate. Then Alex was supposed to come over for some whiskey drinking, but his wife had other plans for him instead. So the three of us sat around watching Will & Grace.I woke up early Tuesday morning to say goodbye to Heidi. Tear. We hugged goodbye, and she left, and I decided to watch Saved! and be lazy. Then I finished Ruth Reichl's memoir Comfort Me with Apples which I love. If you enjoy food writing and/or memoirs, I highly recommend it. All memoirs are ME-moirs, but hers is less egotistical than some. It's also not a memoir about a horrific childhood which are in excessive abundance (some are good, others not). It will also make you hungry! Later that night I watched the recent Star Trek movie, and the futon which we had just repaired, broke again. *sigh* Now all my naps will be at an angle.
On Wednesday, I decided to go see 127 Hours which was playing at the (three) dollar theater nearby. I hadn't caught the film during its first run since I had little desire to see a movie about a man trapped in a canyon who has to cut his own arm off, even though I heard all these good reviews. But I thought I can spare $3 bucks, and what else am I going to do? The film was good--I didn't think it was spectacular spectacular--and it was more entertaining that I thought it would be. The part where he cut off his arm was actually gorier than I expected, but I think the film is a tribute to the tenacity of the human spirit. Mostly, the red rock of Southern Utah made my heart ache a little bit.
On Thursday I finished reading Stuck Rubber Baby, a graphic novel by Howard Cruse. It's a semi-autobiographical coming-of-age story dealing with race and homosexuality in the Deep South in the 1960s. It was very interesting. That night, I went back to the dollar theater to see The Social Network again. It's such a good movie! and it made me upset all over that Tom Hooper won Best Director. What the what? Anyway, I liked it even better the second time I saw it--everything works so well: script, acting, score, directing, editing. Amazing.
(I don't remember what happened on Friday. Probably nothing.)
On Saturday, I finally decided to clean the kitchen, something which Heidi usually did. I love to cook, but I hate doing dishes which puts me in quite a predicament. Once it was clean, I decided to make stuff--like zucchini bread and a wilted spinach salad--quickly dirtying many more dishes. It's so Sisyphean.
This morning, I decided to make cream scones (with sugared ginger!) which by themselves are a justification for life. So good. And then I had to do more dishes. Then I went to visit Lillian in West Seattle, and we had tea and talked books. I have decided I need to read Oscar and Lucinda by Peter Carey, Empire Falls by Richard Russo, and Margaret Atwood. Everybody reads The Handmaid's Tale, but I'm really into the Bluebeard story (and variants), so I might read The Robber Bride instead. However, first I'm reading some steampunk books for my Nancy Pearl book club. There's Soulless by Gail Carriger which is a Victorian romance vampire/werewolf parasol book, and it's all a bit silly, but very popular. There's also The Time Machine by H.G. Wells which is very short. and weird. I also checked out The Manual of Detection by Jedediah Berry, but I'm not sure I'll have time to read it.
Anyway, I should start getting ready for bed soonish. This quarter I'm going to be working 9 to 12. So early--nine o'clock is when I got up last quarter, if I was feeling motivated. But it'll be good to get an early start on my day. or something.
Monday, March 21, 2011
Winter Quarter
On Saturday, I submitted my final project for winter quarter, made a Long Island iced tea, and went on a shopping spree at Amazon.com. Now it's spring break, and after going on the Space Needle today(!) I am going to read a lot of books and watch a lot of movies. and sleep.
One of the things I learned this quarter is that I lack the organization and motivation to do well in online classes--three of my four classes were online. Yikes. Next quarter only one of three of my classes will be online. Much better.
One of my classes was an introduction to databases using Microsoft Access. I followed the exercises in the book using controlled data--data entry essentially--but that is not the same as learning how to really make/use a database. Not that the lecturer cared--I received credit for the class before I even submitted my final project.
Cataloging is an elective course in our program, though I think of it more as a core class. Cataloging is an essential skill for librarians. Do you know what's difficult--learning cataloging online in ten weeks. Half of our class failed the second assignment (thankfully not me), but I think it's good to fail an assignment every now and then (like I did last year)--it builds character. In my experience, physical description and subject cataloging are arts of sorts, but they make sense. However, I have no idea how to Cutter a number--but nobody assigns numbers anymore. It was a hard class, and I'm glad it's over, but I'm also glad I took it.
I took Government Publications because Meagan was taking it, and there weren't really any other classes that sounded good. Then Meagan dropped the class. Excellent. Especially since it required a lot of work, and I just wanted it to be a filler class. The weekly assignments weren't too bad, but the final project was more involved. First we did a poster session--it was like science fair!--giving the spiel on our projects. Mine was about film censorship and the government--mostly told through Supreme Court cases. In 1915 the Mutual decision legitimized the prior restraint imposed on films by local and state censoring boards. In 1951 the so-called Miracle Case reversed the Mutual decision and prior restraint (mostly). Then I had to write a rather long paper about it all. Blerg. My mantra in that class was "Credit, No Credit" and I got credit.
Then there was Portfolio--it was my culminating experience in lieu of a thesis, research, or capstone project. It's new, and they're still working out the kinks which means the whole thing was a bit of a mess. At the end of eight weeks, I submitted my final draft, and did not receive credit. So I had two more works to revise it. This time I did receive credit, but the professors still had quite a few suggestions. Here is what I have so far.
At this point, I have completed all my core course, cataloging, and my culminating experience. Hooray. So for spring quarter, I am taking Nancy Pearl's reader's advisory course (awesome sauce!), the history of recorded information (a promising humanities-style class), and information tech systems (a promising practical management course). I have the highest hopes that it will be a fairly easy and enjoyable end to grad school, which is good because now I need to start looking for a job. Not excited. But for now, there is spring break. Now if we could just get some spring weather.
One of the things I learned this quarter is that I lack the organization and motivation to do well in online classes--three of my four classes were online. Yikes. Next quarter only one of three of my classes will be online. Much better.
One of my classes was an introduction to databases using Microsoft Access. I followed the exercises in the book using controlled data--data entry essentially--but that is not the same as learning how to really make/use a database. Not that the lecturer cared--I received credit for the class before I even submitted my final project.
Cataloging is an elective course in our program, though I think of it more as a core class. Cataloging is an essential skill for librarians. Do you know what's difficult--learning cataloging online in ten weeks. Half of our class failed the second assignment (thankfully not me), but I think it's good to fail an assignment every now and then (like I did last year)--it builds character. In my experience, physical description and subject cataloging are arts of sorts, but they make sense. However, I have no idea how to Cutter a number--but nobody assigns numbers anymore. It was a hard class, and I'm glad it's over, but I'm also glad I took it.
I took Government Publications because Meagan was taking it, and there weren't really any other classes that sounded good. Then Meagan dropped the class. Excellent. Especially since it required a lot of work, and I just wanted it to be a filler class. The weekly assignments weren't too bad, but the final project was more involved. First we did a poster session--it was like science fair!--giving the spiel on our projects. Mine was about film censorship and the government--mostly told through Supreme Court cases. In 1915 the Mutual decision legitimized the prior restraint imposed on films by local and state censoring boards. In 1951 the so-called Miracle Case reversed the Mutual decision and prior restraint (mostly). Then I had to write a rather long paper about it all. Blerg. My mantra in that class was "Credit, No Credit" and I got credit.
Then there was Portfolio--it was my culminating experience in lieu of a thesis, research, or capstone project. It's new, and they're still working out the kinks which means the whole thing was a bit of a mess. At the end of eight weeks, I submitted my final draft, and did not receive credit. So I had two more works to revise it. This time I did receive credit, but the professors still had quite a few suggestions. Here is what I have so far.
At this point, I have completed all my core course, cataloging, and my culminating experience. Hooray. So for spring quarter, I am taking Nancy Pearl's reader's advisory course (awesome sauce!), the history of recorded information (a promising humanities-style class), and information tech systems (a promising practical management course). I have the highest hopes that it will be a fairly easy and enjoyable end to grad school, which is good because now I need to start looking for a job. Not excited. But for now, there is spring break. Now if we could just get some spring weather.
Tuesday, March 8, 2011
Silly Rabbit
This quarter has kinda been like the final scenes of Kill Bill, Vol. 1--specifically where the Bride kills O-Ren's guards and Gogo. This quarter was hard, but I was laying waste to my assignments--and I got pretty beat up myself. And then it was almost over, and I was like, yeah! this quarter's done. So I relaxed for a bit, and then the Crazy 88 showed up, and I realized my final projects are going to be more involved than I thought. But for a second there, I really thought it was going to be that "easy." So this week I have to go collect myself some arms and then scalp a Tokyo crime boss. Wish me luck!
Wednesday, March 2, 2011
This and That
Hello readers!
It's been awhile. School has been punishing, but it's the penultimate week of the quarter, and the finish line is in sight. I cannot wait for spring break, even though that's when Heidi (my roommate) is leaving me. She decided to graduate a quarter early. Lame sauce. Speaking of spring, I hope it comes here soon. Last year, Seattle had the warmest January on record and it was spring all winter. This year winter has been (relatively) brutal--as it has been across the country, and I really shouldn't bitch since I haven't had to deal with massive blizzards. But I think we're all tired of the winter and are looking forward to warmer, sunnier days.
Oscar thoughts: I thought the intro video was really funny and well done. And then it all went downhill from there. James Franco was baked and had no idea where he was--he didn't even have facial expressions! I thought Anne Hathaway was adorable--she's a huge drama nerd but so charming. If you didn't fall in love with her in The Princess Diaries, I can see that she might be off-putting. And she did have to try a bit hard, but only because her co-host gave her nothing. There were no real surprise winners and no interesting speeches. (Do you know who always gives amazing acceptance speeches--Meryl Streep.) What to make of Melissa Leo though. That ad campaign was a mistake, and that speech was all over the place. She's kind of been turning me off lately. I think she took the whole thing a bit too seriously. It was a good performance though. Jacki Weaver also had an amazing performance, and I'm thoroughly delighted by her. I love Natalie, but I really wanted The Bening to win.
I was happy that The Social Network nabbed a few prizes including score, editing, and screenplay. I can't believe Tom Hooper won director--all of the shots in The King's Speech were good, but none of them were interesting. All the other directors were more deserving not only for camerawork but in all the ways they brought the story to life. All of the songs this year were terrible. You don't get Florence Welch to do 30 seconds of I don't even know what that was. Let her run around on stilettos and belt something fun. They should have nominated Cher--it would have made everything more interesting. Finally the most interesting part of the Oscars which sadly didn't make it to TV--Josh Brolin and Javiar Bardem soft-shoe and exchange a playful kiss:
image source
New Subject--Congress: So, I don't want to get into it too much because it makes me so angry, but is Congress declaring a war on the poor and women? A vicious, full-out attack to cut services (thank god we extended the Bush tax cuts) and regress a good 50+ years. Thoughts, comments? Stay classy, congress.
I hope to start blogging more this month as this awful quarter finally ends, and a hopefully better quarter begins.
It's been awhile. School has been punishing, but it's the penultimate week of the quarter, and the finish line is in sight. I cannot wait for spring break, even though that's when Heidi (my roommate) is leaving me. She decided to graduate a quarter early. Lame sauce. Speaking of spring, I hope it comes here soon. Last year, Seattle had the warmest January on record and it was spring all winter. This year winter has been (relatively) brutal--as it has been across the country, and I really shouldn't bitch since I haven't had to deal with massive blizzards. But I think we're all tired of the winter and are looking forward to warmer, sunnier days.
Oscar thoughts: I thought the intro video was really funny and well done. And then it all went downhill from there. James Franco was baked and had no idea where he was--he didn't even have facial expressions! I thought Anne Hathaway was adorable--she's a huge drama nerd but so charming. If you didn't fall in love with her in The Princess Diaries, I can see that she might be off-putting. And she did have to try a bit hard, but only because her co-host gave her nothing. There were no real surprise winners and no interesting speeches. (Do you know who always gives amazing acceptance speeches--Meryl Streep.) What to make of Melissa Leo though. That ad campaign was a mistake, and that speech was all over the place. She's kind of been turning me off lately. I think she took the whole thing a bit too seriously. It was a good performance though. Jacki Weaver also had an amazing performance, and I'm thoroughly delighted by her. I love Natalie, but I really wanted The Bening to win.
I was happy that The Social Network nabbed a few prizes including score, editing, and screenplay. I can't believe Tom Hooper won director--all of the shots in The King's Speech were good, but none of them were interesting. All the other directors were more deserving not only for camerawork but in all the ways they brought the story to life. All of the songs this year were terrible. You don't get Florence Welch to do 30 seconds of I don't even know what that was. Let her run around on stilettos and belt something fun. They should have nominated Cher--it would have made everything more interesting. Finally the most interesting part of the Oscars which sadly didn't make it to TV--Josh Brolin and Javiar Bardem soft-shoe and exchange a playful kiss:
image sourceNew Subject--Congress: So, I don't want to get into it too much because it makes me so angry, but is Congress declaring a war on the poor and women? A vicious, full-out attack to cut services (thank god we extended the Bush tax cuts) and regress a good 50+ years. Thoughts, comments? Stay classy, congress.
I hope to start blogging more this month as this awful quarter finally ends, and a hopefully better quarter begins.
Sunday, February 6, 2011
Life and Other Movies
My UW planner has weekly words and quotes, and the quotes are generally your usual cookie-cutter wisdom, but this was a quote from Katharine Hepburn a few weeks ago:
"Life is to be lived. If you have to support yourself, you had bloody well better find some way that is going to be interesting. And you don't do that by sitting around wondering about yourself."
So Hepburn's advice isn't all that profound, but it's brusque, and it hit a nerve with me because I've always been more drawn to the life of the mind, and I love wondering (and blogging) about myself. But I'm going to take Kate's advice, and try to live my life a little bit more.
And I hope that being a librarian will be an interesting and enjoyable way to support myself. Someone commented somewhere on Facebook that those who loved law school hate practicing law and vice versa. Maybe this bleeds over to library school, and I'll love being a librarian (because I do not care for this grad school thing). This quarter is rough mostly because I don't like any of my classes, and they all require a lot of work. Also, my part-time job splits my day right up the middle, so that's hard too. But enough bitching--I'm just looking forward to spring quarter.
I have managed to sneak in a few movies when I should be soaking up cataloging theory, but ... well, honestly, which would you prefer? I just saw The King's Speech today which is the leading contender for Best Picture. I think it's a really well-made, if traditional film, that is very Oscar friendly. I laughed, a lot, and I was touched. It is the definition of a feel-good film. We all applauded at the end. I am still rooting for The Social Network to take home the big prize though. (I also think Natalie's going to take home the Oscar for a well-deserved performance, but I'm actually rooting for The Bening.)
I also saw Blue Valentine which was quite good, in a very understated way. It's a travesty that Ryan Gosling wasn't even nominated for Best Actor because he's amazing. Maybe it just wasn't showy enough for the Academy. Anyway, if you're looking for a bruising love story, this is the film for you.
I also saw The Fighter which I thought was fine. It's also traditional Oscar fare--a boxing movie (based on a true story)--but it's done in an excellent way breathing in some fresh air. Amy Adams plays against type as a working class bartender who has let opportunities pass her by. Melissa Leo was excellent as Alice, the larger-than-life mother. Christian Bale does crazy things to his body. And almost no one is talking about Mark Wahlberg, but I think he gives the best performance of the film (and of his career). It's to O. Russell's credit that he gets such a diverse range of performances that somehow all work together.
Moving now to stuff on DVD. I saw the Joan River's documentary A Piece of Work. It's fascinating, funny, and real. It's an in-depth look at Joan Rivers, warts and all, and a revealing look at the business we call show.
The Town is really good heist movie, and who know Ben Affleck was still doing things? I didn't. Jeremy Renner is superb, playing a wild card with a short fuse. I also really like Rebecca Hall who I think is beautiful in a fresh sort of way and also quite good.
Animal Kingdom. Wow. I wasn't sure I was going to like this gritty, menacing film about an Australian crime family. But it's a mesmerizing film--you can't look away even when you want to, and it's very well-paced. Ben Mendelsohn is terrifying, and Jackie Weaver is superb, especially in the second half, as the sociopathic matriarch of the family.
The Ghostwriter was good little thriller from Roman Polanski that came out very early last year. Ewan McGregor is ghosting the British primer minister's memoirs and soon gets in over his head. Olivia Williams (Adelle DeWitt) steals the show.
Finally Winter's Bone is a faithful adaptation of Daniel Woodrell's slim novel about a tenacious teenager who must protect her family in the Ozarks. And now I'm going to watch the brilliant Tilda Swinton in the operatic I Am Love. I'll let you know how it is.
Good luck to everyone with school and life--and go see a movie!
"Life is to be lived. If you have to support yourself, you had bloody well better find some way that is going to be interesting. And you don't do that by sitting around wondering about yourself."
So Hepburn's advice isn't all that profound, but it's brusque, and it hit a nerve with me because I've always been more drawn to the life of the mind, and I love wondering (and blogging) about myself. But I'm going to take Kate's advice, and try to live my life a little bit more.
And I hope that being a librarian will be an interesting and enjoyable way to support myself. Someone commented somewhere on Facebook that those who loved law school hate practicing law and vice versa. Maybe this bleeds over to library school, and I'll love being a librarian (because I do not care for this grad school thing). This quarter is rough mostly because I don't like any of my classes, and they all require a lot of work. Also, my part-time job splits my day right up the middle, so that's hard too. But enough bitching--I'm just looking forward to spring quarter.
I have managed to sneak in a few movies when I should be soaking up cataloging theory, but ... well, honestly, which would you prefer? I just saw The King's Speech today which is the leading contender for Best Picture. I think it's a really well-made, if traditional film, that is very Oscar friendly. I laughed, a lot, and I was touched. It is the definition of a feel-good film. We all applauded at the end. I am still rooting for The Social Network to take home the big prize though. (I also think Natalie's going to take home the Oscar for a well-deserved performance, but I'm actually rooting for The Bening.)
I also saw Blue Valentine which was quite good, in a very understated way. It's a travesty that Ryan Gosling wasn't even nominated for Best Actor because he's amazing. Maybe it just wasn't showy enough for the Academy. Anyway, if you're looking for a bruising love story, this is the film for you.
I also saw The Fighter which I thought was fine. It's also traditional Oscar fare--a boxing movie (based on a true story)--but it's done in an excellent way breathing in some fresh air. Amy Adams plays against type as a working class bartender who has let opportunities pass her by. Melissa Leo was excellent as Alice, the larger-than-life mother. Christian Bale does crazy things to his body. And almost no one is talking about Mark Wahlberg, but I think he gives the best performance of the film (and of his career). It's to O. Russell's credit that he gets such a diverse range of performances that somehow all work together.
Moving now to stuff on DVD. I saw the Joan River's documentary A Piece of Work. It's fascinating, funny, and real. It's an in-depth look at Joan Rivers, warts and all, and a revealing look at the business we call show.
The Town is really good heist movie, and who know Ben Affleck was still doing things? I didn't. Jeremy Renner is superb, playing a wild card with a short fuse. I also really like Rebecca Hall who I think is beautiful in a fresh sort of way and also quite good.
Animal Kingdom. Wow. I wasn't sure I was going to like this gritty, menacing film about an Australian crime family. But it's a mesmerizing film--you can't look away even when you want to, and it's very well-paced. Ben Mendelsohn is terrifying, and Jackie Weaver is superb, especially in the second half, as the sociopathic matriarch of the family.
The Ghostwriter was good little thriller from Roman Polanski that came out very early last year. Ewan McGregor is ghosting the British primer minister's memoirs and soon gets in over his head. Olivia Williams (Adelle DeWitt) steals the show.
Finally Winter's Bone is a faithful adaptation of Daniel Woodrell's slim novel about a tenacious teenager who must protect her family in the Ozarks. And now I'm going to watch the brilliant Tilda Swinton in the operatic I Am Love. I'll let you know how it is.
Good luck to everyone with school and life--and go see a movie!
Friday, January 28, 2011
Music for Your Weekend
So it's Thursday night which means tomorrow is Friday and the weekend begins. Big whoop. My weekends are always full of portfolio, cataloging, and gov pubs. I hate the weekend. I hate this quarter. I hate school. So how's your life going?
Anyway, here are three songs I've been listening to lately, and I offer them here for your edification and/or delight.
"The Book of Love" by the Magnetic Fields
You may be familiar with the more famous Peter Gabriel cover, but I prefer the original vocal stylings of Stephin Merrit. Sorry the video's a little (lot) creepy, but it's the only decent one I could find. I love, love this song! It's probably my favorite love song. ever. "The book of love is long and boring / And written very long ago / It's full of flowers and heart-shaped boxes / And things we're all too young to know."
"Harrisburg" by Josh Ritter
I'm going to see Josh Ritter again this February (well, I'm planning on it). From his second album, "Harrisburg" is the latest Ritter I've downloaded, and from what I can gather, it's one he always plays live. I think he's just one of the greatest American folk singers working today. "Some say that man is the root of all evil / Others say God's a drunkard for pain / Me, I believe that the Garden of Eden / Was burned to make way for a train."
"This Year" by The Mountain Goats
You may have heard a clip from this song from last week's This American Life episode. The song's kind of weird--as is the video--but I can really get behind the chorus: "I am going make it through this year / If it kills me." I'm going to make it through this quarter, and another one, graduation and finding a job, moving--it might kill me, but I'm going to make it through 2011.
Bonus Song
For those who'd like a little musical number, here's Elaine Stritch (aka Colleen Donaghy) singing "Ladies Who Lunch" from the Sondheim musical Company in which she originated the role Joanne. She masterfully walks the line between comedy and bitterness.
"And here's to the girls who just watch / Aren't they the best? / I'll drink to that!
Well I hope you all have a lovely weekend--hopefully not doing homework--but if you are, I commiserate.
Anyway, here are three songs I've been listening to lately, and I offer them here for your edification and/or delight.
"The Book of Love" by the Magnetic Fields
You may be familiar with the more famous Peter Gabriel cover, but I prefer the original vocal stylings of Stephin Merrit. Sorry the video's a little (lot) creepy, but it's the only decent one I could find. I love, love this song! It's probably my favorite love song. ever. "The book of love is long and boring / And written very long ago / It's full of flowers and heart-shaped boxes / And things we're all too young to know."
"Harrisburg" by Josh Ritter
I'm going to see Josh Ritter again this February (well, I'm planning on it). From his second album, "Harrisburg" is the latest Ritter I've downloaded, and from what I can gather, it's one he always plays live. I think he's just one of the greatest American folk singers working today. "Some say that man is the root of all evil / Others say God's a drunkard for pain / Me, I believe that the Garden of Eden / Was burned to make way for a train."
"This Year" by The Mountain Goats
The Mountain Goats "This Year" from A Bruntel on Vimeo.
You may have heard a clip from this song from last week's This American Life episode. The song's kind of weird--as is the video--but I can really get behind the chorus: "I am going make it through this year / If it kills me." I'm going to make it through this quarter, and another one, graduation and finding a job, moving--it might kill me, but I'm going to make it through 2011.
Bonus Song
For those who'd like a little musical number, here's Elaine Stritch (aka Colleen Donaghy) singing "Ladies Who Lunch" from the Sondheim musical Company in which she originated the role Joanne. She masterfully walks the line between comedy and bitterness.
"And here's to the girls who just watch / Aren't they the best? / I'll drink to that!
Well I hope you all have a lovely weekend--hopefully not doing homework--but if you are, I commiserate.
Thursday, January 13, 2011
On the Verge
In the last few weeks of 2010, I had a really good feeling about 2011. Ya know, that it was going to be my year. Well my school is trying to kill me, and all my warm fuzzy feelings towards the new decade (do we start with 1 and end with 10 or do we start with 0 and end with 9?) have evanesced. Also, they just changed the Zodiac on us, and now I'm supposed to be a Cancer. What?!? I was a Leo (born in the year of the Tiger) and I felt very feline. Now, apparently, I am a crustacean. That's a big change to spring on a guy on a Thursday.
Remember how I thought that last quarter was going to be my hardest quarter it was all going to get easier from then on out? Well, I do. But my new quarter is a beast--it makes last quarter look like...I don't know, something really easy--and there is going to be a lot of bitching. Here, on Facebook, to my roommate, and even to my apartment when nobody's there.
Three of my classes are online which doesn't help since that makes me responsible for setting aside time for lectures and readings and online posts. It's much better for me to have a set class time when I just have to be there. Highly functional and motivated people will just say that I should set aside certain hours on certain days for homework, but that's just not the way it works. Sorry.
I am taking Cataloging, which is actually an elective and not a required class. Can you believe it? Professors and alums--who are NOT catalogers--continually say that it is hard and not fun but that one must absolutely take it. I think librarians are sadists. I, apparently, am a masochist.
I am also taking Portfolio which is my culminating experience like writing a thesis or doing a capstone, but it's actually not like doing those things because it is a portfolio. I haven't even started this class, but the first module is due on Sunday--the same day as the Golden Globes! Hosted by Ricky Gervais! My cataloging labs are also due on Sunday. Do they not know?! Do they not care!? WTF, iSchool? There are important things like library students learning cataloging and preparing portfolios so they can get jobs, and then there are really important things like award shows where celebrities get drunk.
I am also taking a government documents class which is my only in-class class, and is kind of my filler class (because there are practically no electives offered this quarter!) that I don't really care about. Honestly, I don't care about any of my classes. The instructor is really nice, but there's a lot of work slogging through gov pubs, so it's not a very easy filler class.
Finally, I'm taking a one-credit pass/fail database class using Access. I figure it's a good idea to have a tiny bit of knowledge about databases and Access. The first module was pretty easy, so currently it's my favorite course.
I want to say my next and last quarter will be easy peasy. I will be done with all my core classes, cataloging, and my culminating experience. It could just be Nancy Pearl, XML intro, directed fieldwork, and yoga. Isn't it pretty to think so? But if my last five quarters as a library student have taught me anything, it's that each quarter is worse and harder than one before. Somebody kill me now.
On a side note: go see Black Swan. It's so intense! You definitely need to see it theaters because it is partly spectacle. However, it's pretty visceral, so if you're squeamish, you may want to avoid it.
Remember how I thought that last quarter was going to be my hardest quarter it was all going to get easier from then on out? Well, I do. But my new quarter is a beast--it makes last quarter look like...I don't know, something really easy--and there is going to be a lot of bitching. Here, on Facebook, to my roommate, and even to my apartment when nobody's there.
Three of my classes are online which doesn't help since that makes me responsible for setting aside time for lectures and readings and online posts. It's much better for me to have a set class time when I just have to be there. Highly functional and motivated people will just say that I should set aside certain hours on certain days for homework, but that's just not the way it works. Sorry.
I am taking Cataloging, which is actually an elective and not a required class. Can you believe it? Professors and alums--who are NOT catalogers--continually say that it is hard and not fun but that one must absolutely take it. I think librarians are sadists. I, apparently, am a masochist.
I am also taking Portfolio which is my culminating experience like writing a thesis or doing a capstone, but it's actually not like doing those things because it is a portfolio. I haven't even started this class, but the first module is due on Sunday--the same day as the Golden Globes! Hosted by Ricky Gervais! My cataloging labs are also due on Sunday. Do they not know?! Do they not care!? WTF, iSchool? There are important things like library students learning cataloging and preparing portfolios so they can get jobs, and then there are really important things like award shows where celebrities get drunk.
I am also taking a government documents class which is my only in-class class, and is kind of my filler class (because there are practically no electives offered this quarter!) that I don't really care about. Honestly, I don't care about any of my classes. The instructor is really nice, but there's a lot of work slogging through gov pubs, so it's not a very easy filler class.
Finally, I'm taking a one-credit pass/fail database class using Access. I figure it's a good idea to have a tiny bit of knowledge about databases and Access. The first module was pretty easy, so currently it's my favorite course.
I want to say my next and last quarter will be easy peasy. I will be done with all my core classes, cataloging, and my culminating experience. It could just be Nancy Pearl, XML intro, directed fieldwork, and yoga. Isn't it pretty to think so? But if my last five quarters as a library student have taught me anything, it's that each quarter is worse and harder than one before. Somebody kill me now.
On a side note: go see Black Swan. It's so intense! You definitely need to see it theaters because it is partly spectacle. However, it's pretty visceral, so if you're squeamish, you may want to avoid it.
Monday, January 3, 2011
Do Nothing Day
Happy New Year people, but enough of that. It's the first day of the quarter and I've already said goodbye to productivity, hello do-nothingness!
I mean I did wake up early.ish. I mean what is early anyway? And then I went to work. For three whole hours! And I just got back from grocery shopping. That was expensive. So I've done things. I even checked my gd email. And right now I'm writing this blog--you're welcome.
But before that, I set up my Roku player! It was one of my Christmas presents--the best Christmas present ever! (There will be another post about holiday highlights. Later.) Right now I'm streaming Netflix on my television! We live in a magical, magical world people. All my fears and anxieties about technology have suddenly disappeared. I just watched like eight episodes of 30 Rock.
So basically school can rot in hell, because now that I can stream TV shows onto my TV--I may never leave my apartment again. Ever. And later tonight I'm going to watch The Thin Man on DVD (from Netflix) with a martini. I get two DVDs at a time--I may need to drop it to just one. But there are so many movies I need to see for the Golden Globes and the Oscars!, many of which are already out on DVD, others are not--like Black Swan which I am DYING to see. I should go this weekend.
I didn't get any DVDs for Christmas because I didn't ask for any, except for Tori Amos Live at Montreaux (which I did get). So then I felt a little sad and ordered 10 movies I love and 2 seasons of Will & Grace. It's going to be a great quarter.
After I spend all day in front of the TV, I'm going to need time to read my GQ and Entertainment Weekly and then some more to study some poetry, so I think I'll just have to shunt my cataloging reading and lectures. You can't say I don't have priorities.
I mean I did wake up early.ish. I mean what is early anyway? And then I went to work. For three whole hours! And I just got back from grocery shopping. That was expensive. So I've done things. I even checked my gd email. And right now I'm writing this blog--you're welcome.
But before that, I set up my Roku player! It was one of my Christmas presents--the best Christmas present ever! (There will be another post about holiday highlights. Later.) Right now I'm streaming Netflix on my television! We live in a magical, magical world people. All my fears and anxieties about technology have suddenly disappeared. I just watched like eight episodes of 30 Rock.
So basically school can rot in hell, because now that I can stream TV shows onto my TV--I may never leave my apartment again. Ever. And later tonight I'm going to watch The Thin Man on DVD (from Netflix) with a martini. I get two DVDs at a time--I may need to drop it to just one. But there are so many movies I need to see for the Golden Globes and the Oscars!, many of which are already out on DVD, others are not--like Black Swan which I am DYING to see. I should go this weekend.
I didn't get any DVDs for Christmas because I didn't ask for any, except for Tori Amos Live at Montreaux (which I did get). So then I felt a little sad and ordered 10 movies I love and 2 seasons of Will & Grace. It's going to be a great quarter.
After I spend all day in front of the TV, I'm going to need time to read my GQ and Entertainment Weekly and then some more to study some poetry, so I think I'll just have to shunt my cataloging reading and lectures. You can't say I don't have priorities.
Sunday, December 12, 2010
Blerg
Why can I write a four-page blog post (though I know you wish I couldn't) easy peasy lemon squeezy, but I can't write more than one paragraph at at time on my major paper? It's difficult, difficult lemon difficult.
Maybe I have adult ADD. or ADHD.
Do you ever just listen to your entire iTunes library on shuffle? It's fascinating the songs you forget you have.
My coffee has been laced with Kahlua. Watch out world!
Maybe I have adult ADD. or ADHD.
Do you ever just listen to your entire iTunes library on shuffle? It's fascinating the songs you forget you have.
My coffee has been laced with Kahlua. Watch out world!
Tuesday, December 7, 2010
I'm OK, You're OK
I decided to make a finals playlist that I will be playing as I prepare for my imminent psychotic breakdown: I think I might call it "The Depths of Despair." (and this is my explicit language warning. yay.)
"iieee" by Tori Amos
"well, I know we're dying / and there's no sign of parachute"
it's sort of like my theme song
"The Perfect Fit" by The Dresden Dolls
"Can't you just do it for me, I'll pay you well / Fuck, I'll pay you anything, if you could end this" I'm good for nothing too.
"Eight Easy Steps" by Alanis Morissette
to fuck up your life
"How to keep smiling when you're thinking of killing yourself"
"Livin' On a Prayer" by Bon Jovi
The title pretty much says it all.
"Woman Like a Man" by Damien Rice
"I need a piss / Wanna hate / Fuck it up / Come"
"Kiss With a Fist" by Florence and the Machine
My quarter is trying to kill me--it will probably end in our mutual destruction:
"You smashed a plate over my head / Then I set fire to our bed"
"Running Up That Hill" by Kate Bush
Because I'm running up a hill, and if anyone wants to swap places, you can steal this moment from me.
"Leave the Bourbon on the Shelf" by The Killers
and I'll drink it by myself.
"Mind's Eye" by Josh Ritter
"My day might be coming, but yours is coming first / I'll knock you out of your day lights"
"Help I'm Alive" by Metric
Again, the title says it all. But here's more:
"If I stumble / They're going to eat me alive"
"Hero" by Regina Spektor
"I'm the hero of this story / Don't need to be saved"
"Mr. Zebra" by Tori Amos
"Ratatouille strychnine / Sometimes she's a friend of mine"
There are some people I would to whom I would like to serve this dish.
To those who have finals--good luck to us. To everyone else, you suck.
"iieee" by Tori Amos
"well, I know we're dying / and there's no sign of parachute"
it's sort of like my theme song
"The Perfect Fit" by The Dresden Dolls
"Can't you just do it for me, I'll pay you well / Fuck, I'll pay you anything, if you could end this" I'm good for nothing too.
"Eight Easy Steps" by Alanis Morissette
to fuck up your life
"How to keep smiling when you're thinking of killing yourself"
"Livin' On a Prayer" by Bon Jovi
The title pretty much says it all.
"Woman Like a Man" by Damien Rice
"I need a piss / Wanna hate / Fuck it up / Come"
"Kiss With a Fist" by Florence and the Machine
My quarter is trying to kill me--it will probably end in our mutual destruction:
"You smashed a plate over my head / Then I set fire to our bed"
"Running Up That Hill" by Kate Bush
Because I'm running up a hill, and if anyone wants to swap places, you can steal this moment from me.
"Leave the Bourbon on the Shelf" by The Killers
and I'll drink it by myself.
"Mind's Eye" by Josh Ritter
"My day might be coming, but yours is coming first / I'll knock you out of your day lights"
"Help I'm Alive" by Metric
Again, the title says it all. But here's more:
"If I stumble / They're going to eat me alive"
"Hero" by Regina Spektor
"I'm the hero of this story / Don't need to be saved"
"Mr. Zebra" by Tori Amos
"Ratatouille strychnine / Sometimes she's a friend of mine"
There are some people I would to whom I would like to serve this dish.
To those who have finals--good luck to us. To everyone else, you suck.
Saturday, December 4, 2010
More Book Lust
Yesterday, I finished Collection Development. Our final assignment was turned in and we gave our presentation. There are a few more presentations next week--I plan on bringing a thermos of rum with some eggnog or maybe coffee with Kahlua.
Today I finished my genre advisory class with Nancy Pearl. Tear. We discussed science fiction and fantasy. Fantasy is probably the genre I am the most familiar with. As a young'n I read The Chronicles of Narnia (which I don't think hold up very well as an adult). Later in elementary school I read The Book of Three and then finished up The Chronicles of Prydain. In junior high I started The Belgariad by David Eddings and then continued with The Malloreon. After that I read most of the Shannara books by Terry Brooks. During this time the Harry Potter books were coming out as well (I don't really care for the last three). In ninth grade my English class read The Hobbit, and in high school I read The Lord of the Rings as the movies were coming out. In high school and college I mostly left fantasy behind as I read more "literary" books. I say "literary" because readers' advisory is not about being an English critic; it's about matching books with readers. (So hard!) At the end of college I started reading the His Dark Materials trilogy. And the summer before grad school I read Little, Big which I'll talk about in just a minute.
For fantasy I read Neverwhere by Neil Gaiman, which I've already discussed. Here is my annotation: "Richard Mayhew is an unlikely hero whose ordinary life has left him unprepared to deal with the shadowy underbelly of London--a dangerous subterranean world that exists beneath the gaps of the city."
I haven't read all that much science fiction. I do seem to watch a lot of sci-fi movies and TV shows though. Science fiction are often novels of ideas, which make them ripe for discussion. I really enjoyed reading Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?, once I got going, though I couldn't really tell you why except that it's a Philip K. Dick novel. I do look forward to watching Blade Runner. Here's my annotation: "Before there were Cylons, there were Androids, and Rick Deckard retired them for a bounty. As he hunts down the latest model, he must confront his own ideas of empathy, morality, and what it means to be human."
And then I book talked Little, Big by John Crowley, which went pretty well if I say so myself. Here's basically what I said.
Imagine you are a stranger in your own life and to your own family. That is the fate of Smokey Barnable who knows his wife's family thinks they talk to faeries, but he doesn't believe a word of it.
Little, Big is the history of this singular family who live on the border of another realm. It is a secret history of America. And it is a very great love story.
In this novel the reader will:
visit Edgewood which is not to be found on any map
learn Brother North-Wind's secret
build a house made of memory
and discover the enigmatic plans of the faerie's parliament
With intricate design and dense, gorgeous prose, Crowley works his magic on us. I believe this is not a novel to read once but to get lost in over and over. Ursula Le Guin warns "Persons who enter this book are advised that they will leave it a different size than when they came in."
So you should all go buy and read Little, Big which was actually out-of-print for a while. In terms of the best fiction written in the last fifty years, this is near the top of my list.
To finish this whole thing I want to reproduce some of Roz Kaveney's thoughts about genre. This is from a review of Little, Big called "Wit and Terror" that was published in Books and Bookmen:
"Fiction consoles, but it also disturbs, awakes unease. There are questions that have to continually be asked and fiction is one of the best ways to pose them; not least because, truthfully, its answers have to provisional and conditional. The genre and subdivisions of the novel have their obsessional questions and their usual answers; one way of judging the basic seriousness of a piece of genre fiction has to do not so much with the originality of its solutions as with the strenuousness of the efforts it takes to come to the standard ones. The thriller for example has its traditional great Matters—for example, the questions “Can a just man be nurtured by a fundamentally unjust society? Nurtured thus, can he build justice within it?” The regular answer of the thriller is yes; the best thrillers show the price the avenger has to pay as being more than a sap across the back of the ear or a bullet through the windscreen. The campus novel has its conflict of abstract knowledge and institutional power; the novel of life among the urban intelligentsia has its search for balance between sexual equality and sexual justice; so-called hard science fiction has its demonstration that by natural grace and scientific ingenuity you can escape the deaths the universe has in store.
"And the fantasy novel? Too often critics have taken as the sole and crucial matter of fantasy the preoccupation of Tolkien, the quest for a remedy to the world’s pain that will not destroy innocence with the temptations of power. Impressive and popular as The Lord of the Rings is, it manages it landscapes, vast green-leaved or slag-heaped vistas of pathetic fallacy and implied morality, far better than its people: it leaves the impression that important issues have been turned by sleight of hand and Georgian prettiness into questions of good and bad practice in urban planning and rural conservation. After all, the Grail is only worth seeking is you can believe in a god who put it there to help those who help themselves, in an Avalon to which burned-out heroes can retire with dignity. There is another great Matter for fantasy, one of more obvious resonance for the creative artist—the reconciliation of faerie and humanity; of the passion, power, and wit of a world of sensuality, magic, and danger with the requirements of a kind and ordinary life."
(Two more weeks. Two more classes. The end is in sight.)
Today I finished my genre advisory class with Nancy Pearl. Tear. We discussed science fiction and fantasy. Fantasy is probably the genre I am the most familiar with. As a young'n I read The Chronicles of Narnia (which I don't think hold up very well as an adult). Later in elementary school I read The Book of Three and then finished up The Chronicles of Prydain. In junior high I started The Belgariad by David Eddings and then continued with The Malloreon. After that I read most of the Shannara books by Terry Brooks. During this time the Harry Potter books were coming out as well (I don't really care for the last three). In ninth grade my English class read The Hobbit, and in high school I read The Lord of the Rings as the movies were coming out. In high school and college I mostly left fantasy behind as I read more "literary" books. I say "literary" because readers' advisory is not about being an English critic; it's about matching books with readers. (So hard!) At the end of college I started reading the His Dark Materials trilogy. And the summer before grad school I read Little, Big which I'll talk about in just a minute.
For fantasy I read Neverwhere by Neil Gaiman, which I've already discussed. Here is my annotation: "Richard Mayhew is an unlikely hero whose ordinary life has left him unprepared to deal with the shadowy underbelly of London--a dangerous subterranean world that exists beneath the gaps of the city."
I haven't read all that much science fiction. I do seem to watch a lot of sci-fi movies and TV shows though. Science fiction are often novels of ideas, which make them ripe for discussion. I really enjoyed reading Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?, once I got going, though I couldn't really tell you why except that it's a Philip K. Dick novel. I do look forward to watching Blade Runner. Here's my annotation: "Before there were Cylons, there were Androids, and Rick Deckard retired them for a bounty. As he hunts down the latest model, he must confront his own ideas of empathy, morality, and what it means to be human."
And then I book talked Little, Big by John Crowley, which went pretty well if I say so myself. Here's basically what I said.
Imagine you are a stranger in your own life and to your own family. That is the fate of Smokey Barnable who knows his wife's family thinks they talk to faeries, but he doesn't believe a word of it.
Little, Big is the history of this singular family who live on the border of another realm. It is a secret history of America. And it is a very great love story.
In this novel the reader will:
visit Edgewood which is not to be found on any map
learn Brother North-Wind's secret
build a house made of memory
and discover the enigmatic plans of the faerie's parliament
With intricate design and dense, gorgeous prose, Crowley works his magic on us. I believe this is not a novel to read once but to get lost in over and over. Ursula Le Guin warns "Persons who enter this book are advised that they will leave it a different size than when they came in."
So you should all go buy and read Little, Big which was actually out-of-print for a while. In terms of the best fiction written in the last fifty years, this is near the top of my list.
To finish this whole thing I want to reproduce some of Roz Kaveney's thoughts about genre. This is from a review of Little, Big called "Wit and Terror" that was published in Books and Bookmen:
"Fiction consoles, but it also disturbs, awakes unease. There are questions that have to continually be asked and fiction is one of the best ways to pose them; not least because, truthfully, its answers have to provisional and conditional. The genre and subdivisions of the novel have their obsessional questions and their usual answers; one way of judging the basic seriousness of a piece of genre fiction has to do not so much with the originality of its solutions as with the strenuousness of the efforts it takes to come to the standard ones. The thriller for example has its traditional great Matters—for example, the questions “Can a just man be nurtured by a fundamentally unjust society? Nurtured thus, can he build justice within it?” The regular answer of the thriller is yes; the best thrillers show the price the avenger has to pay as being more than a sap across the back of the ear or a bullet through the windscreen. The campus novel has its conflict of abstract knowledge and institutional power; the novel of life among the urban intelligentsia has its search for balance between sexual equality and sexual justice; so-called hard science fiction has its demonstration that by natural grace and scientific ingenuity you can escape the deaths the universe has in store.
"And the fantasy novel? Too often critics have taken as the sole and crucial matter of fantasy the preoccupation of Tolkien, the quest for a remedy to the world’s pain that will not destroy innocence with the temptations of power. Impressive and popular as The Lord of the Rings is, it manages it landscapes, vast green-leaved or slag-heaped vistas of pathetic fallacy and implied morality, far better than its people: it leaves the impression that important issues have been turned by sleight of hand and Georgian prettiness into questions of good and bad practice in urban planning and rural conservation. After all, the Grail is only worth seeking is you can believe in a god who put it there to help those who help themselves, in an Avalon to which burned-out heroes can retire with dignity. There is another great Matter for fantasy, one of more obvious resonance for the creative artist—the reconciliation of faerie and humanity; of the passion, power, and wit of a world of sensuality, magic, and danger with the requirements of a kind and ordinary life."
(Two more weeks. Two more classes. The end is in sight.)
Thursday, December 2, 2010
10 Things
Thursdays are the worst. It's the end of a long day at the end of long week at the end of a long quarter. Blerg.
That brings us to my ten things (stolen from a running series by MaryPosa):
1) School makes me sad. At the end of my three hour class tonight I wanted to jab my pencil into my brain. Two more weeks . . . I may die. Mostly I'm just exhausted.
2) Eating hot Dick's. Sometimes one just needs greasy, empty calories to make the pain go away.
3) The Jack Rose. Fast food and alcohol are a magical, magical combination. The Jack Rose is currently one of my favorite cocktails. Take 2 ounces of Applejack (Laird's is the only company that makes this apple liquor; French Calvados is also acceptable). Add an ounce of fresh lime juice, and a half ounce of grenadine (I make my own from pomegranate juice and sugar). Shake it over ice and pour into a coktail glass. Delicious town! GQ says it's the booziest cocktail you'll drink five of. My day is much better, by the way.
4) Kind things said by others about oneself. It's very gratifying and humbling. We're always so inside our own heads, that's it's always refreshing to hear what others think about us, especially when it's the good stuff.
5) I really need a manicure. I was introduced to this cosmetic treatment by Slarue and Rae. My nails were so pretty! Now they're dull and ragged. But who will go to the salon with me?
6) Speaking of cosmetics, my skin is looking pretty good. It's probably all that money I'm spending on strange chemicals and then applying them to my largest organ. Oh, and helpful tips from acne.org like using a featherlight touch and avoiding scrubs. One day I might like to try a more natural oil regimen (oil dissolves oil after all), but I'm afeard for my skin.
7) I finished reading Neverwhere. It's only the second Neil Gaiman novel I've read. I've said it before, but I'll say it again: I think Gaiman's a great storyteller but not as great a writer (he's still pretty damn good). I think The Sandman is genius and I love his short stories, but something in the execution of his novels is lacking. Now I'm reading Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep? I'm really liking it.
8) I'm betting most of you have seen the Xtranormal videos. Here's one called Library School: Hurts So Good.
There's also a pretty good one about getting a PhD in the humanities. It makes me laugh. and cry.
9) Now that I have a job where I can listen to my iPod again, I have reunited with my podcasts (and it feels so good!). Listening to TBTL, This American Life, Wait Wait... Don't Tell Me!, The Weeklings, Selected Shorts, and Planet Money makes work a lot better. I'm also more connected to current events. Win win!
10) Tina Fey is a comedy goddess. She was recently awarded the Mark Twain Prize for American Humor. It was broadcast on PBS. You should at least watch her acceptance speech. You can see video here.
That brings us to my ten things (stolen from a running series by MaryPosa):
1) School makes me sad. At the end of my three hour class tonight I wanted to jab my pencil into my brain. Two more weeks . . . I may die. Mostly I'm just exhausted.
2) Eating hot Dick's. Sometimes one just needs greasy, empty calories to make the pain go away.
3) The Jack Rose. Fast food and alcohol are a magical, magical combination. The Jack Rose is currently one of my favorite cocktails. Take 2 ounces of Applejack (Laird's is the only company that makes this apple liquor; French Calvados is also acceptable). Add an ounce of fresh lime juice, and a half ounce of grenadine (I make my own from pomegranate juice and sugar). Shake it over ice and pour into a coktail glass. Delicious town! GQ says it's the booziest cocktail you'll drink five of. My day is much better, by the way.
4) Kind things said by others about oneself. It's very gratifying and humbling. We're always so inside our own heads, that's it's always refreshing to hear what others think about us, especially when it's the good stuff.
5) I really need a manicure. I was introduced to this cosmetic treatment by Slarue and Rae. My nails were so pretty! Now they're dull and ragged. But who will go to the salon with me?
6) Speaking of cosmetics, my skin is looking pretty good. It's probably all that money I'm spending on strange chemicals and then applying them to my largest organ. Oh, and helpful tips from acne.org like using a featherlight touch and avoiding scrubs. One day I might like to try a more natural oil regimen (oil dissolves oil after all), but I'm afeard for my skin.
7) I finished reading Neverwhere. It's only the second Neil Gaiman novel I've read. I've said it before, but I'll say it again: I think Gaiman's a great storyteller but not as great a writer (he's still pretty damn good). I think The Sandman is genius and I love his short stories, but something in the execution of his novels is lacking. Now I'm reading Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep? I'm really liking it.
8) I'm betting most of you have seen the Xtranormal videos. Here's one called Library School: Hurts So Good.
There's also a pretty good one about getting a PhD in the humanities. It makes me laugh. and cry.
9) Now that I have a job where I can listen to my iPod again, I have reunited with my podcasts (and it feels so good!). Listening to TBTL, This American Life, Wait Wait... Don't Tell Me!, The Weeklings, Selected Shorts, and Planet Money makes work a lot better. I'm also more connected to current events. Win win!
10) Tina Fey is a comedy goddess. She was recently awarded the Mark Twain Prize for American Humor. It was broadcast on PBS. You should at least watch her acceptance speech. You can see video here.
Sunday, November 21, 2010
Olio
"Olio" and "oleo" are frequent solutions to the USA Today Crossword puzzle. I like that online crossword puzzle cause it's free and easy--if you enter the wrong letters it will let you know, so it's easy to cheat.
Three weeks ago or so, I had several blog post ideas, and I was going to write them just as soon as I had time. Foolish me. Now the ideas have evanesced from my mind.
So this is just to say "Hey! How's it going? What's up?"
School is kicking my butt. I hate information retrieval systems--the class mostly, sometimes the actual systems. There's lots of maths involved. I've never hated math before, I was even kind of good at math especially when I had a good teacher, but that's all over now.
In my management class, I have to write a memo letting employees know that shift might hit the fan (I don't know anything about anything and might not have a job myself), but I have to reassure everyone and keep them working. I want to write "Run for you lives! We're all going to die!" But that might set the wrong tone.
Collection development is the class that causes the entire cohort to go out drinking afterward and bond that way and over Facebook status(es). But our final assignment--in which groups have to write a selection policy--is almost done. Did I say almost done? because I meant almost due.
Yesterday in Nancy Pearl's class we talked about Westerns and whether that's even a viable term anymore. Maybe regional literature is a better definition instead. I already mentioned that I read Shane and The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford. In two weeks we'll discuss fantasy and science fiction. I currently have Neverwhere, Dune, Sunshine, Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?, and The Passage sitting on my table. We'll see which ones I read/finish.
It was snowing earlier today. It just stopped. For about ten minutes it was snowing pretty hard and even momentarily sticking. It might continue to snow throughout today and tomorrow.
Right now I'm thinking up my Thanksgiving Feast. It might only end up being me and my roommate. All our friends that we invited are going home. My roommate's vegetarian, but I'm still going to look for a really small turkey. I might end up getting a chicken instead, like Chandler (and we be watching all the Thanksgiving Friends episodes). I found this brining recipe via Megan, and really want to try it. I will be making cranberry sauce (it's tradition!), and I need to find some bottles of wine.
I also bought my plane tickets home yesterday, which means I can go to Megan's wedding and apartment Christmas and Elise's party. I can't wait!
So that's what I've been up to. Next week I hope to post my holiday playlist--ho ho ho!
Three weeks ago or so, I had several blog post ideas, and I was going to write them just as soon as I had time. Foolish me. Now the ideas have evanesced from my mind.
So this is just to say "Hey! How's it going? What's up?"
School is kicking my butt. I hate information retrieval systems--the class mostly, sometimes the actual systems. There's lots of maths involved. I've never hated math before, I was even kind of good at math especially when I had a good teacher, but that's all over now.
In my management class, I have to write a memo letting employees know that shift might hit the fan (I don't know anything about anything and might not have a job myself), but I have to reassure everyone and keep them working. I want to write "Run for you lives! We're all going to die!" But that might set the wrong tone.
Collection development is the class that causes the entire cohort to go out drinking afterward and bond that way and over Facebook status(es). But our final assignment--in which groups have to write a selection policy--is almost done. Did I say almost done? because I meant almost due.
Yesterday in Nancy Pearl's class we talked about Westerns and whether that's even a viable term anymore. Maybe regional literature is a better definition instead. I already mentioned that I read Shane and The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford. In two weeks we'll discuss fantasy and science fiction. I currently have Neverwhere, Dune, Sunshine, Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?, and The Passage sitting on my table. We'll see which ones I read/finish.
It was snowing earlier today. It just stopped. For about ten minutes it was snowing pretty hard and even momentarily sticking. It might continue to snow throughout today and tomorrow.
Right now I'm thinking up my Thanksgiving Feast. It might only end up being me and my roommate. All our friends that we invited are going home. My roommate's vegetarian, but I'm still going to look for a really small turkey. I might end up getting a chicken instead, like Chandler (and we be watching all the Thanksgiving Friends episodes). I found this brining recipe via Megan, and really want to try it. I will be making cranberry sauce (it's tradition!), and I need to find some bottles of wine.
I also bought my plane tickets home yesterday, which means I can go to Megan's wedding and apartment Christmas and Elise's party. I can't wait!
So that's what I've been up to. Next week I hope to post my holiday playlist--ho ho ho!
Wednesday, October 20, 2010
Concerning the BHAG
Right now I am writing a vision document (about the SLC public library!) for my management course. In class we discussed whether every vision needs a BHAG--that is a "big hairy ambitious goal" and also one of the worst acronyms ever. I wondered why does the goal need to be hirsute? Why can't it just be a BAG? Like a Birkin--isn't that ambitious enough?
I hate quarters. and assignments. and readings. Blerg. Oh well, back to the grind.
I hate quarters. and assignments. and readings. Blerg. Oh well, back to the grind.
Sunday, October 17, 2010
Notes from October
Today we had people over at our apartment to carve pumpkins. I carved a cat's face. It kind of looks like Hello Kitty. We also had pumpkin treats galore--Heidi made pumpkin cookies, pumpkin cake (with pumpkin frosting), pumpkin pizza (in the crust not as a topping), and we had pumpkin beer. Lots of vitamin A! We also just roasted the pumpkin seeds from the jack o'lanterns. We also had apple cider and apples with a caramel dip (it's actually just cream cheese and brown sugar). It was very autumnal.
This quarter is stressful. Last fall I took 10 credits, but 2 of those credits were basically a one weekend class. So I had 8 hours of class per week and no job. Now I'm taking 14 credits and have a part-time job. Blerg. I have to manage my time efficiently, and that is not one of my strong suits. Like I should be doing homework right now, but I'm not.
I also just ran through all my scary movies from Netflix, so I had to get some more in my queue. Also, apparently I no longer get scared which is kind of disappointing. Cat People was somewhat suspenseful but not scary, then again it was made in the forties. Alien was also a bit whatever. It wasn't really my kind of movie in the first place, and you know everyone is going to die until only Ripley's left. The alien was creepy, but aside from a few jumpy moments it wasn't scary. What Lies Beneath was actually the scariest movie I watched. It directly invokes Hitchcock and gets a bit ridiculous at the end. It also employs a lot of cliches, but those are cliches for a reason and were terrifying. I thought Rosemary's Baby would scare the bejesus out of me (quite literally), but again, nothing. The novel terrified me as a freshman in college, and the movie is a fine film, but it's more eerie than scary. Scream had it's scary/jumpy moments, but I was over it as soon as the film ended. Even The Silence of the Lambs was not super scary though Anthony Hopkins was quite evil.
I need a really good scary ghost movie that will haunt me long after the film ends. The scariest movies I saw last year were Misery and The Innocents. I also thought The Orphanage (El Orfanato) was really good and scary.The Shining of course is one of the scariest films I've ever seen and a masterpiece of cinema. Anyway, I've added Whatever Happened to Baby Jane? which I don't think will be all that scary, but hopefully dark and disturbing, and The Haunting (the original). Hopefully that will be terrifying. I'm also thinking about having a party and watching the classic 1931 versions of Dracula and Frankenstein. I don't think they'll be scary, but it could be fun to watch these really old monster movies and play games and make caramel apples or whatever. Sadly Netflix does not have Frankenstein to rent--it's only on Instant Watch. Have you seen any good scary movies this year?
Also, I need some suggestions for a costume this year. So far the only suggestions have been Mrs. White--the maid from Clue--or my professor Nancy Pearl based on her action figure. But if you have other ideas, especially ones that don't involve cross-dressing, I'd love to hear them!
This quarter is stressful. Last fall I took 10 credits, but 2 of those credits were basically a one weekend class. So I had 8 hours of class per week and no job. Now I'm taking 14 credits and have a part-time job. Blerg. I have to manage my time efficiently, and that is not one of my strong suits. Like I should be doing homework right now, but I'm not.
I also just ran through all my scary movies from Netflix, so I had to get some more in my queue. Also, apparently I no longer get scared which is kind of disappointing. Cat People was somewhat suspenseful but not scary, then again it was made in the forties. Alien was also a bit whatever. It wasn't really my kind of movie in the first place, and you know everyone is going to die until only Ripley's left. The alien was creepy, but aside from a few jumpy moments it wasn't scary. What Lies Beneath was actually the scariest movie I watched. It directly invokes Hitchcock and gets a bit ridiculous at the end. It also employs a lot of cliches, but those are cliches for a reason and were terrifying. I thought Rosemary's Baby would scare the bejesus out of me (quite literally), but again, nothing. The novel terrified me as a freshman in college, and the movie is a fine film, but it's more eerie than scary. Scream had it's scary/jumpy moments, but I was over it as soon as the film ended. Even The Silence of the Lambs was not super scary though Anthony Hopkins was quite evil.
I need a really good scary ghost movie that will haunt me long after the film ends. The scariest movies I saw last year were Misery and The Innocents. I also thought The Orphanage (El Orfanato) was really good and scary.The Shining of course is one of the scariest films I've ever seen and a masterpiece of cinema. Anyway, I've added Whatever Happened to Baby Jane? which I don't think will be all that scary, but hopefully dark and disturbing, and The Haunting (the original). Hopefully that will be terrifying. I'm also thinking about having a party and watching the classic 1931 versions of Dracula and Frankenstein. I don't think they'll be scary, but it could be fun to watch these really old monster movies and play games and make caramel apples or whatever. Sadly Netflix does not have Frankenstein to rent--it's only on Instant Watch. Have you seen any good scary movies this year?
Also, I need some suggestions for a costume this year. So far the only suggestions have been Mrs. White--the maid from Clue--or my professor Nancy Pearl based on her action figure. But if you have other ideas, especially ones that don't involve cross-dressing, I'd love to hear them!
Thursday, October 7, 2010
Igruffusa
Please humor me and click on this link to a new blog:
http://igruffusa.blogspot.com/
It's for one of my classes. You can read more about it at Igruffusa.
Now wasn't that fun?
http://igruffusa.blogspot.com/
It's for one of my classes. You can read more about it at Igruffusa.
Now wasn't that fun?
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