And suddenly her winter passed

What This Journal is Good For

Wed, 22 Apr 2009 16:43:41 GMT

I really, really, really do not feel like doing homework. Do not want to do it to the point where I've actually started typing in this journal again.

So a quick rundown on what's changed since 2006.

I left the Kindergarten job and the end of the 2006-2007 school year, and spent 2007-2008 working in a high school library. The high school that I attended back in the day. Some of the same teachers still worked there (weird, right?). Basically, I decided that I'm not a fan of teenagers and that excess interaction with them in any future job should be avoided at all costs.

In the fall I started the Master of Library Science at University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. I'm not in love with the midwest and don't see myself living here after graduation, but for now it's a really good spot. The program is one of the top ranked library schools, and I'm working as a graduate assistant in the Math Library. Classes are fun, and relatively easy. The best part is definitely the people. I love everyone that I've met, and they're so fun to hang out with to talk about libraries, books, movies, knitting, everything. I think that I'd like to go into childrens' librarianship, but we'll see how that turns out. I'll be spending the summer term as a practicum student at the Urbana Free Library's childrens' department, which should be both fun and a good resume padder. But I did my Alternative Spring Break at WashU's medical library, and that was fascinating too. So many possible paths, so much to worry about in a years time when I actually need to find a job.

The weather is finally getting warm again, and I'm looking forward to the Farmers' Market returning in a week and a half, walking home to my apartment after work/class, going to the ALA's Annual Conference in July with my school friends, and just hanging out and enjoying eveyone/thing while I'm still here and can take advantage of it. Because time really is flying and this will all be over before I know it. Than I'll have to go back to being an actual adult, which is so not as fun as what I've got going on now.

A Message Sent Out Into the Void

Wed, 18 Mar 2009 00:39:23 GMT

I haven't used this thing since 2006. I just want to see whether anyone will notice that I wrote on it today.

Little Germ-Carrying Monkeys!!!!

Thu, 24 Aug 2006 03:42:05 GMT

Apparently my immune system was not ready to face off with 20 five-year-olds. How on earth could they carry so many germs on their tiny little bodies????

Yesterday I helped the kids make their hand prints, which involved using a paintbrush to put black finger paint all over their adorable little hands, pressing said hands firmly onto the paper, then immediately spinning them around so that they were standing at the sink to wash off. Today I assessed their color, shape and number recognition for the teacher by showing them markers, pictures of shapes and number flashcards. So even though it's not the most exciting job in the world (see previous entry if further explanation is needed), I'm at least getting to do some interesting things to help out instead of just opening their milk cartons at lunch and telling them to go down the slide on their bottoms instead of face first.

(P.S. Vincent and Angela, how do you get the nerve to still be on Project Runway when sweet little Allison and funny, funny Robert are gone?)

Classical Music Manifesto?

Wed, 01 Mar 2006 18:29:22 GMT

I forgot to share this story when I first heard about it, but hopefully it will still seem kinda interesting. My dad's radio station got a letter from the Unabomber a month or so again. The actual guy, and I'm really not kidding. He's in prison around Florence, CO in a SuperMax facility, within the broadcast area of the radio station, and he wrote a letter requesting that a certain song be played at a specific date and time. Naturally I assumed that he only gets to listen to the radio for a limited amount of time during his 23 hours a day of solitary confinement, but somehow the first thought that occurred to my dad was that he was trying to send out some sort of coded message. Apparently my dad's boss, who is a crazy over reactor, gave the letter to the FBI, because clearly the guy can magically send a letter no one is aware of out from one of the highest security prisons in the country. Probably should have just put it up for sale on ebay.

I Got What I Wanted!

Mon, 13 Feb 2006 22:39:50 GMT

The extra sweet part is that my all time favorite two characters are my 1 and 2 matches.

Your results:
You are Beverly Crusher

Beverly Crusher		65%
Geordi LaForge		55%
Spock		54%
Data		52%
Chekov		45%
Uhura		45%
Will Riker		45%
Deanna Troi		45%
An Expendable Character (Redshirt)		45%
James T. Kirk (Captain)		40%
Jean-Luc Picard		40%
Leonard McCoy (Bones)		30%
Mr. Scott		25%
Mr. Sulu		10%
Worf		10%

A good physician and a caring parent.
You are devoted to your children
and to your occupation.

Click here to take the Star Trek Personality Quiz

Where Have All The Tanners Gone?

Thu, 02 Feb 2006 21:36:29 GMT

So Candace is a crazy "your 'personal', forgiving god is a false idol and you're going to hell" Born-Again Christian, Mary Kate had the eating disorder and now Jodie turns out to be a recovering meth addict. Ashley, you're the only Full House girl left who hasn't completely disillusioned me: One bad step on your part and a piece of my childhood dies forever.

Loving It, Loving It

Sun, 15 Jan 2006 05:10:59 GMT

Sorry Patriots. 10-0 is as far as you go. As much as I miss everyone at Mount Holyoke, I'm glad to be back in Bronco country for the playoff happiness. Sweet, sweet football euphoria for at least one more week.

Also, I'm happy as a pig in mud with the second season of Project Runway. Barbie outfits, Nicky Hilton party dresses...OMG, why is it always so amazing?? And next week they're making figure skating costumes! To quote Nick, "I just died and went to heaven." Seriously, if you don't watch this show, I'm sorry for how sad and empty your life must be.

Speaking of brilliant television, if you are an Arrested Development fan, write many letters to the executives at FOX. You can find addresses as www.saveourbluths.com. I'm even contemplating becoming one of those super dedicated fans that send a basket of bananas. I know things seem bleak, but try to remember...There's always money in the banana stand!!!

I know this is all pretty pointless...I may post a more substantial update if I ever get motivated.

How will it find me with no address???

Wed, 28 Dec 2005 19:30:56 GMT

Somewhere in the area between Colorado Springs and Denver there is a copy of Autumn Sonata floating around helplessly. (Directed by Bergman, and starring Bergman. Two different Bergmans, and if you understand what I'm talking about then you're my kind of movie fan.) The front flap of the Netflix envelope with my address was in the mailbox stuck to another postal passenger, but the actual envelope with the movie and the return to Netflix address is nowhere to be found. I must admit this is a problem I've never faced before. I'll have to go comfort myself with the rest of the Fred and Ginger dvd set I got for Christmas.

Only a Spanking for Genocide? Sweet!!!

Wed, 07 Dec 2005 07:42:05 GMT

Dear Santa...

Dear Santa,

This year I've been busy!

Last Monday on a flight to Pakistan, I stole the emergency flight information card (-40 points). In September I gave change to a homeless guy (19 points). In November I gave olivia_circe a kidney (1000 points). Last week I signed my organ donor card (28 points). Last Saturday I committed genocide... Sorry about that, rhealitycheck (-5000 points).

Overall, I've been naughty (-3993 points). For Christmas I deserve a spanking!

Sincerely,
IthilienDweller

But I'd rather have the Easy Bake Oven that I got the first time I took this and then accidentally erased the code. Mmmmmm, cheap imitation brownie batter. My mouth is watering.

Okay, Fine, Whatever...

Fri, 02 Dec 2005 08:03:42 GMT

So maybe I did go a little overboard on my iTunes buying spree, and maybe I did actually pay for two different versions of both "O Holy Night" and "O Come, All Ye Faithful".

But I am going to have the most amazing Christmas playlist ever!!!!

Holly jolly that, Mr. Grinch.

Too Fun To Pass Up

Wed, 30 Nov 2005 00:54:17 GMT

Put iTunes on random and ask the following questions:

Do I Have Any Secrets?: Eric Clapton - Tears In Heaven

I must be strong
And carry on
'Cause I know I don't belong
Here in Heaven

Apparently if I have one it's bad enough to keep me out of heaven.

Am I A Like-able Person?: Creedence Clearwater Revival - Have You Ever Seen The Rain?

Someone told me long ago, there's a calm before the storm
I know: It's been coming for sometime.
When it's over so they say, it'll rain a sunny day
I know: Shining down like water
I wanna know, have you ever seen the rain
I wanna know, have you ever seen the rain
Coming down on a sunny day?

Probably a no, if this means I'm the rain coming down on a sunny day.

Does Someone Secretly Have A Crush On Me?: Counting Crows - Accidentally In Love

Come on, come on, move a little closer.
Come on, come on, I wanna hear you whisper.
Come on, come on, settle down inside my love.
Come on, come on, jump a little higher.
Come on come on, if you feel a little lighter.
Come on, come on, you were once upon a time in love.
We're accidentally in love.

That's probably a yes.

Should I Expect Any Surprises In The Future?: Radiohead - The Bends

Where do we go from here?
The words are coming out all weird
Where are you now, when I need you
Alone on an aeroplane
Falling asleep against the window pane
My blood will thicken

Well, that doesn't bode well for my plane trip home...

Am I a good lover?: Madonna - Justify My Love

I want to know you
Not like that
I don't wanna be your mother
I don't wanna be your sister either
I just wanna be your lover

That probably means yes, but I think almost any Madonna song would be a yes for this question.

Is there anything else to say about me?: Natalie Merchant - Wonder

people see me
I'm a challenge to your balance
I'm over your heads
how I confound you and astound you
to know I must be one of the wonders
of god's own creation
and as far as you can see you can offer me
no explanation

oh, I believe
fate smiled and destiny
laughed as she came to my cradle
know this child will be able
laughed as she came to my mother
know this child will not suffer
laughed as my body she lifted
know this child will be gifted
with love, with patience and with faith
she'll make her way

HAHAHAHAHAHA. I think I REALLY like my iTunes magic eight ball. (Sorry, I couldn't help myself for posting so many lines from that one.)

The Forgotten Plague: Pickle Juice

Mon, 21 Nov 2005 04:10:49 GMT

I spent Friday drowning in floods of blood and pickle juice.

I was walking home from the grocery store when my backpack strap broke. At first I thought it was no big deal: I just picked it up and attached the strap to the clasp on the other side. Sure it was weird to have the strap over my left shoulder after 2 years of carrying it with the strap over the right, but I figured I'd adapt for the future. About a block later I realize I smell pickles. I mean REALLY smell pickles. At which point, I remember that a jar of pickles was one of the food items I had just purchased. So I stop, put down the bags I'm carrying and open my backpack to find that there's a sea of pickle juice sitting in the bottom. The jar broke and the pickles stayed inside the boundary of the glass shards (and luckily the jar was in a plastic bag, otherwise my backpack would have had pieces of broken glass floating around inside it), but the juice filled in around the other groceries like the ocean filling in a tide pool. I had to empty the backpack, dump the juice out over a wall into some bushes, and through out the remains of the jar/pickles. Then walk home with food in that same, still wet, bag. Now I have to use my birthday money to buy a new bag, instead of using it for the cute sweaters I've been eying at the Gap for a month.

Then later that night, I was peacefully eating my donut and watching Chicago, minding my own business, when my teeth decided to pick a fight with my tongue. A really bad one too, considering it took at least 5 minutes to stop bleeding and I can still feel the ridges left by my teeth today. I thought the tongue was supposed to be one of the fastest healing parts of the body.

Anyway, I need to get up early tomorrow to finish grading the precalc midterm. I've finished the question I have to grade on 7 out of the 8 quiz sections, but one of the other graders must have had the last envelope the whole time I was in the building today because it wasn't in the cabinet every time I checked. Or maybe I'll go now. I can learn where all the blue phones are in between my apartment and the math building.

A Dark Day

Fri, 11 Nov 2005 20:49:54 GMT

So it's official. Arrested Development is being canceled. I knew it had to happen sooner or later because of the low ratings, but damn it this totally sucks. Why couldn't more people watch the funniest show ever? Why? Now what will I do when I want to see Tobias dressed in a mole costume walk up behind the mini-town Buster and Gob built to scam Japanese investors like some kind of mammalian Godzilla and then 'battle' with George Michael who's learning to operate the jet pack that was accidentally delivered to him? I haven't felt so bad about a show going off the air since ST:TNG when I was 11. (Even X-Files didn't feel this bad, because it wasn't up to it's old standards anymore.) I hate it when a really good show is cut down in its prime, just because the stupid masses can't understand how brilliant it is.

Tagged + Bored = Answers

Thu, 10 Nov 2005 21:19:42 GMT

So, I wasn't sure I was gonna do this one, but since I'm sitting in my office waiting for paychecks to show up so that I can get mine and go home for the long weekend, I present the following:

List seven songs you are into right now. No matter what the genre, whether they have words, or even if they're any good, but they must be songs you're really enjoying now. Post these instructions in your Livejournal along with your seven songs. Then tag seven other people to see what they're listening to.

1)Rent original cast recording - What You Own
2)Lemony Snicket soundtrack - The Letter That Never Came
3)Revenge of the Sith soundtrack - A New Hope/End Credits
4)Muse - Hurricanes and Butterflies (or maybe it's Butterflies and Hurricanes)
5)Modest Mouse - World At Large
6)The Killers - Smile Like You Mean It
7)Empire Strikes Back soundtrack - Imperial March

I don't think I'm actually gonna tag anyone...just fill it out if you want to. (Like if you're in your office after TAing quiz sections with nothing to do but WAIT FOR YOUR FRIGGIN' PAYCHECK.)

Lost

Thu, 10 Nov 2005 06:06:41 GMT

Okay, I promise no spoilers, but about the whole 'one of these survivors will be lost forever' ad campaign they've been going on for the last three weeks leading up to the new episode tonight I just have this to say:

I KNEW IT I KNEW IT I KNEW IT

(And I totally just had a R&G moment with the word 'knew'....it suddenly didn't look like an arrangement of letters I'd ever seen before.)

Freeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeedom!

Thu, 10 Nov 2005 00:59:11 GMT

The classes I TA quiz section for on Tuesday/Thursday had to turn in their assignments in today this week, so they don't technically have class tomorrow. I told them I'd been in the classroom at the usually time in case they want to review for their midterm next week, but I doubt any of them will show up (even though quite a few of them probably should, based on their first midterm grades). Long story short: I'm brining a book with me. However, the reason they turned their work in today instead of Friday is that there's no class on Friday, which means three day weekend and that's always a good thing.

Also, I really hope my cell phone payment makes it to Cingular on time. I'm finding the mail here rather unpredictable.

The Last Book Before the Last Book

Tue, 18 Oct 2005 20:39:26 GMT

Happy Penultimate Peril Day!!!

May all your series of events be unfortunate!

Suh-Weet!!

Sat, 08 Oct 2005 05:20:07 GMT

Happiness is having the Imperial March as my cell phone ringtone. Still debating whether I should also spring for Binary Sunset, so that I can alternate between the two. Paycheck day may be going to my head just a little.

Nervous Energy

Wed, 28 Sep 2005 05:13:38 GMT

Classes start tomorrow. I'm a little concerned because according to the schedule I have, it appears that my first class is scheduled to take place in the math department's Student Services office. I'll let you all know how this works out. The other two have more reasonable sounding locations listed. On the upside, it looks like I'll get through this quarter spending only about $140 on textbooks.

Stupid People

Sat, 18 Jun 2005 02:59:29 GMT

I went to see Batman Begins with my Dad today, and totally enjoyed the movie, but what I really have to share is something I overheard during the previews. The preview for 'The New World' played. The one that starts out, like, 'Virginia 1607'...you know what I mean? Anyway at the end of the preview I hear this guy behind us say to his family, including his kids, "I guess that's supposed to be about Columbus." I mean holy crap how stupid can people be? I admit American history is not my forte, but I know that 'In fourteen hundred and ninety two, Columbus sailed the ocean blue' and that he definitely did not land in Virginia. Ugh, sometimes I think people are going to make my brain just explode.

Oh and that robot in 'Stealth' (another preview movie) is a complete ripoff of HAL.

Question

Sat, 11 Jun 2005 16:41:27 GMT

When you're in your house alone at night, taking advantage of the solitude to stage imaginary lightsaber battles to Star Wars soundtracks, are you ever suddenly overcome with the fear that there's a zombie lurking somewhere downstairs (or in a dark upstairs room) just waiting to attack you? Just me? Okay then. I think I probably need to get out of the house.

X-Files WOOT WOOT

Thu, 26 May 2005 18:35:57 GMT

My Daddy bought me seasons 1, 2, 8 and 9 on DVD so now I have every season of The X-Files ever!!

In not so encouraging news, I have to now find room for all the stuff I brought home from college in my already overcrowded room. Where did I ever acquire so much stuff?

Being home for the summer is good in that all the food I like is here for free and the big screen TV is always at my beck and call with all the movies I could want (at least, it is when my dad doesn't get there first). But honestly, it feels like I'm going back to South Hadley in September, not Seattle. Wonder when reality will finally set in?

What Can I Really Say?

Mon, 23 May 2005 01:04:37 GMT

Fair warning: This is going to be super super lame.

Yesterday at Mary Lyon's grave we sang that the heart can starve as well as bodies, and while I abstractly understood the sentiment at the time I'm really feeling it now. I haven't even left the campus and I already feel like my heart is starving for the people I'm leaving.

So I just put my iTunes into party shuffle mode and the first song that comes up is The Beatles' 'In My Life,' which is just too ridiculous right now.

I'm not exactly sure what I expected from this weekend, and especially from today but this wasn't it. I thought I'd feel some sense of closure, but I'm really just in a haze. After I walked across the stage to get my diploma I honestly couldn't even remember if my name had been pronounced correctly. I can look at this piece of paper in its little case and it tells me that I have a BA from Mount Holyoke College, Magna Cum Laude. At least that's what I think it says. My Latin is so craptastic now that for all I know it may be saying Mount Holyoke College has the right to poop on me and all my future children until the end of time. Yet this paper, a Math major/English minor can't possibly sum up the last four years. Even though it's some of the only tangible proof I can grab onto it doesn't say anything about the people I've met and things that I've done. Last night at Baccalaureate, JoJo said that Mount Holyoke is forever, and I honestly believe her. Even though I'm leaving physically, Mount Holyoke is never going to leave me....and I don't want it too. Most people I know here have thought about transferring at one point or another, but I never did. This really was the perfect place for me during these past four years of my life. Mount Holyoke has done so much for me and now I'm left wondering if I did enough for it. Between Exam Committee, E-Board, Commencement Committee, and various other things I won't bore you by listing, I know I've tried to give back to the school, but is it going to mean anything now that I've gone.

I hope I end up really rich so that I can buy a new wing for the library or something equally obnoxious so that my name will always be attached to this campus. Or maybe I'll just aim for a bench.

Laurel Parade

Sat, 21 May 2005 19:58:21 GMT

The Laurel Parade was so excellent today. The weather was actually really good (though hopefully the good weather quota didn't get used up today, because I really really really don't want to graduate in the field house), and everything was beautiful. However, I was totally unprepared for how emotional the experience would be. I thought that maybe I wouldn't be so affected since I don't have any alumnae relatives or anything, but it was still so amazing to see all these women who have come before me. The end of the parade route (before the grave pattern) was almost surreal, as we marched down a road lined with all these former classes lined up to welcome us. Absolutely amazing.

The Phi Beta Kappa initiation was pretty fun too. All this talk about secret societies, striving for intellect and the responsible use thereof... and then after the ceremony Stan Rachootin shows a student how to do the handshake while they're still standing on the stage.

DONE!!!!

Fri, 20 May 2005 01:54:03 GMT

Final Lecture is over and I'm so excited!!! Now I don't have to worry about anything else for the rest of the weekend. I'm so glad I ended up planning the first event that Commencement Committee is in charge of! All the pressure is off now. And I think it went really well. I got to make a poster with ST:TNG lettering on it (because I decided to call it 'The Final (Lecture) Frontier'). There was a good turnout and the speakers were all excellent. Plus now I have my beloved beagle puppet back!

I picked up my Baccalaureate and Commencement tickets today. I really love having reserved tickets sitting in a little envelope with my name on it. Totally feeds my ego.

Stupid rehearsal is early tomorrow, so I should probably go to bed soon.