I had a dream last night that I bought a baby at Wal-Mart for $29.95.

Can anyone else hear it? tick tock tick tock

Florence Foster Jenkins the queen of the night

Working in a music library has given me a new appreciation for opera, as the following video shows. And no, the second voice you hear is not me.

"Already, we are told, there are young people who can't sleep at night because they are convinced that before they reach adulthood the house they live in will be 20ft underwater and that Al Gore, at the tiller of his hydrogen-powered ark, may not have room for them and their families." - Clive James

I'm back. Really. Ok, so it's been awhile, but it's not like I haven't disappeared before, and at least this time I had a legitimate reason. No matter. I'm back.

Let's see. I moved. I have a nice little apartment, not as big as the last, but it's 5 minutes from work. I don't miss the hour commute. I do miss the free rent, however. And the free cable. I really miss the free cable. I can't afford cable now. I get about 5 channels, and there's never anything on. I've taken to watching my DVDs of Buffy the Vampire Slayer, but there is only so much Buffy a girl can take before she needs a change. Thank goodness for the internet!

I've been watching Dr. Who on BBC, well actually on TV Links. David Tennant is growing on me. It took awhile to adjust to him as The Doctor, but now I think I like him better.

What else? Well, through the BBC I've been keeping up with the world. The EU treaty is exciting stuff (Yea Poland for putting a wrench in the works). And I've been reading about the snow storms in New Zealand. Oh, and the vibrating condoms in India. The world is a strange and fascinating place.

Well, that's my life. Living vicariously through the BBC. What's in like in your world?

Almost back

Hey everyone! Thanks for checking out my blog while I was on hiatus. I'm not actually back online yet, just visiting :) I'll be back for good (hopefully) come tuesday, so I'll give you a full report of what I've been up to then. Please check back.

Move tomorrow. Be back sometime.

"I'll see what you're made of by what you make of me" - Ani diFranco

I get the keys to my new apartment in 2 weeks! I've started counting days until I no longer have to drive an hour to work everyday. And I've actually started packing, which I should be doing now instead of playing on my computer.

It's been an interesting week or so since I last posted. I went to graduation for the school I used to work for. It was bittersweet. I am happy for my kids, but I won't have kids for much longer. As excited as I am to move and live like a real adult, I'll miss the students.

Random question: does anyone know how to say hello in Bulgarian?

Soundtrack of your life

I don't normally posts surveys on this blog, but I thought this one was fun. The way this game is played is to put your mp3 player on shuffle and answer each question by the song that is playing.

Opening Credits -- Drugs or me by Jimmy Eat World
Waking Up Scene -- You each time by Ani DiFranco
Getting Ready Scene -- Happy Birthday by Concrete Blonde
Car Driving Scene -- Leather by Tori Amos
High School Flashback Scene -- Cut the rope by Willy Porter
Nostalgic Scene -- Kathy's song by Simon & Garfunkel
Angry Scene -- Flavor of the Month by The Posies
Agony, Painful Scene -- Super Un-glued by Squirtgun
Break-up Scene -- Say Goodbye to Hollywood by Billy Joel
Sad, Breakdown Scene -- The more I see you by Michael Buble
Nightclub/Dance Scene -- Rush by Depeche Mode
Buddy/Sidekick Scene -- Think about you by Guns n Roses
Dreaming of Someone Scene -- Every word by Belly
Contemplation Scene -- Fuego by Bond
Love Scene -- Come to Love by Matthew Sweet
Kissing Scene -- Twisting by They Might Be Giants
Relaxing Scene -- Gee Angel by Sugar
Action/Fight Scene -- 50 Ways to leave your lover by Paul Simon
Victory Scene -- Any time at all by The Beatles
Closing Credits -- A mind with heart of its own by Tom Petty

A Day in the Life

I know, I haven't written much lately. It's mostly because there's not much to write about, but also because I spend 2 hours commuting everyday. Instead of waiting for something fun and interesting to write about, I thought I'd just give you an idea what an average day is like in the life of me. Here goes:

The alarm went off at 6:45. About 7:15 I got out of bed. I made breakfast (cereal) then got ready for work, fighting the temptation to go back to sleep. At 7:50 I began my morning commute. It was a little misty this morning, but the traffic was moving along nicely. I listened to Boomer on the Morning X for most of the drive, then switched to Mix 107.7 when The X finally faded out. It's a weird transition to go from "new rock" to "adult contemporary", but with my ipod needing charged, I had little in the way of listening options. Although, when I couldn't take the radio any longer, I put in a Regina Spektor CD (11:11). I arrived at work at 8:55. By 9:00 (my official starting time), I had made my morning salutations and checked my email.

At 10:00 I had an orientation meeting at King Library. It's nice to be on a real campus, but walking across campus, uphill, in the rain: not so much fun. My orientation was on disaster preparedness. After the meeting, I began the downhill walk, in the snow this time, back to the music library. After a little more than an hour back at the post, it's time for lunch, so I headed over to the Shriver Center and got myself some food (egg and cheese sandwich on wheat and chicken noodle soup - I'm sure my eating habits are fascinating). I took my food back to the music building and ate in the green room.

After lunch, I got back to my desk and discovered the hanging file rack I needed had arrived, so I spent a good part of the afternoon cleaning off my desk and organizing my files. I have a nice clean desktop now and I should be able to find things when I need them. I spent the rest of the afternoon keeping myself occupied, all the while thinking I should be cataloging books, but never actually getting to it. It's not that I don't like to do it, I just don't completely understand it yet. I never cataloged before this job, and it's like learning a foreign language. Anyway...6:00 finally rolled around and I clocked out. I wished a student luck on his senior recital as I walked out the door.

Before I could head home, I needed gasoline. I headed uptown, stopping for dinner on my way to the gas station (fast food, nothing to worth writing about). Gased up, I started for home. The ride home was uneventful. Again, I listened to the radio to keep me awake and entertained. I passed Jesus, but I've become so accustomed to him that I don't even notice him anymore, although some days I do say "hi" to my Jewish brother. (for those of you not familiar with the giant Jesus on I-75 check this out)

I made it safely home, where I immediately got on my computer, sent a bulletin on myspace and decided to write this post. Now I think I'm going to veg in front of the tv and hopefully fall asleep before 10:00.

Good night.

Well, I had big plans to do a day in the life post, but I got kidnapped by students who forced me to watch American Idol. Okay, so maybe that's not really how it happened, but the result is the same. I do not have the time or the energy to write a detailed post right now. Instead, you get a teaser. Sometime this week, you'll get a day in the life of me. I bet you can't wait...

Shabbat Shalom

Because I've been told I need to post something, and I'm bored, I thought I'd say hello on this beautiful, freezing Shabbat evening. Hey, I'm a reformed Jew, I'm allowed to break the rules!

Life is a wonderful and exciting adventure that has kept me away from my blog for far too long. The daily commute is a pain in the ass, and I do not envy people who have to do it indefinitely. I, fortunately, only have to do it for about another 6 weeks, which still seems awfully long. I have an apartment, well, I signed a lease and forked over money, so in theory there will be an apartment waiting for me at the appropriate time. It's a nice apartment, too. I'll have a dishwasher, so hopefully no more trips to the emergency room! I'm looking forward to my move, not only because of the commute, but it's really time to leave the dorms and see how real adults live. It might be scary out there in the real world, but there are advantages. (No offense to any students who might be reading this, I'll miss you terribly!)

Oh yeah, I had a birthday. Happy birthday to me. I had an interesting birthday. I was freaking out over being old and stressed out over life in general, and my friend had something that resembled a simple partial seizure (did you find that one yet, Critic?). We were a pair. I hope the next time I am able to visit her, we are both emotionally and physically healthy. Anyway, because I was so distraught over my birthday, I thought I would get drunk. Well, that didn't happen. I had one drink and I was done. I'm such a drinker, let me tell ya. But it was good to be with friends while I was having my meltdown. Thanks Mr. and Mrs. Critic!

I tried to write a poem today about old pictures of my dad that were mailed to me a couple weeks ago. It pretty much sucked, but I'll keep working on it, because I really think it could be a good poem. Nothing like angry, maudlin poems about deadbeat fathers.

Okay, I'm tired and babbling, but instead of editing this entry like I should, I'm just going to end it here and pretend I'm not making a complete fool of myself. Good night and Shabbat Shalom!

How you doin'?

OMG! I'm so nostalgic! I almost feel 19 again (not that my 19-year-old self would've said OMG. It would've been more like: Fuck, man, I'm so fucking nostalgic. At 19 I didn't have much to be nostalgic about, but I'm getting off track here). I've been working in a college environment for over 7 years now, so why is Miami making me feel like this? Maybe being in the music department has something to do with it. I feel like I'm picking up where I left off. It almost makes want to start over with my music degree, but I don't want to have to audition after all these years of not keeping up with my training. And I don't even want to think about music theory at this point. Although one of the students asked for help with her theory homework last week, and I actually understood what she was talking about, even if I couldn't help her.

Okay, enough babbling. "How's the job going?" you ask. It's going well so far. I'm still not entirely sure what I'm supposed to be doing, but I'm getting a feel for the environment and the people. It's so different from where I came from. The people are actually nice! The students are strange and fun. And the subject matter is so much more interesting to me. Take today, for instance. In the past when I helped with a book order, we were looking at Anatomy and Physiology or Nursing for Dummies or the like. Today, I was looking through a catalog of music books. Among all the titles for counterpoint, modulation, and ethnomusicology, there was this. I never would've found a critical study of Metallica among the Respiratory books I ordered before. My only real complaint at this point is the hour (one-way) commute to work, but I've started looking for apartments in Oxford.

Well, Critic, I hope you enjoyed my ramblings for the day.

I am swimming in the fog that is sleep deprivation, but I will soon return to tell you, my devoted reader, all about my new job.

Debate of the day: Bach or Bartok?

Where has the time gone?

You asked for it, so here it is. A brand new post. Exciting, isn't it?

Let's see, my last post was right before my bat mitzvah. It was a good day. There were a few complications, but when you have six people doing a service like that, it gets complicated. It was good, though. And my Hebrew was flawless, much to my own amazement!

Then life was boring. That's a big reason for the lack of posting. There were a few highlights: I discovered a new musician, Regina Spektor. She may not be new for some of you, but I had never heard of her until a friend gave me a CD. Highlight #2 feeds my couch potato inclination. One of the students gave me a website for tv on the web, TV Links. It's a British site, but it has mostly American tv shows. My favorite part, however, is that it has both seasons of the new Dr. Who, so I spent my winter vacation watching Dr. Who on my computer.

I spent New Year's Eve playing board games with my mother and watching Anderson Cooper on CNN. Happy New Year's to you all, by the way!

2007 started off much like 2006 ended, boring. Then on Jan. 5, one of my co-workers got hit by a car coming into work. She suffered minor injuries, but we were all dumb-founded. She will be off work for 6-8 weeks. She broke her fibula in two places, tore a ligament in her knee and had to have surgery. So, if you have the need to cross a street, watch for speeding cars!

It gets even more interesting, as this week I was offered a new job and yesterday I accepted. I will be working at Miami University in the Amos Music Library. I'm excited, but I'm depressed to be leaving the people I work with now. It's funny how I'm not thinking about the reasons I want to leave; I can only think of the things I will miss. I don't start my new job for another month, so I'm sure I'll remember why I wanted to leave before this month is up. And it's a wonderful opportunity. I'll get to work in a music library! When I was a music major at Ball State, we didn't have a music library. It will be fun to be around music students instead of health sciences students!

So that's my life at this moment.

If you happen to be in the Dayton, OH area this Saturday, Oct. 21, stop by Temple Beth Or and watch me become a bat mitzvah! Services start at 10:30.

Vive le tour

I've been neglecting my blog again. Mostly out of apathy, really. I just haven't felt like writing anything. But tonite I feel inspired, so we'll see what happens.

We just moved at work. You can't imagine what it's like to move a library. We were in two places for a couple weeks. Our books were in one library and our offices in the other. That was alot of fun. But Tuesday the two were united and now we have a brand new facility and I have a new office to clutter up! And I have my very own circulation desk! No longer do I have to share with reference. Nope. I'm moving up in the world.

Speaking of work. The position in CO was filled without so much as a "thank you for applying". I'm not really upset about it. I still haven't heard anything from Bowling Green, but I decided to stay here for the time being. Why leave this brand new library? Anyway, I have a pretty good deal in the dorms and one more year to pay for my braces. Maybe next summer. I still want to move out west, just not now.

The only other thing happening in my life right now is the Tour de France. I'm a total geek for it. I'm not a bike rider. I don't watch any other races, but I LOVE, J'ADORE, le tour. I watch every night religiously. I can't miss Bob Roll. I think I like Bob almost as much as I like the tour, even if he does make up words. Okay, most of you probably don't care, so I'll stop.

It's officially the end of the summer session. We begin 5 weeks of no students. Let the summer begin!!

Wanderlust

I've recently been a bit stir-crazy. I don't know what it is. Maybe I'm anxious about the move into a new library at work, or maybe it's the same ol' dissatisfaction with my job. I can't tell you what it is, but it's got a hold of me. I thought a little change would help, so I did what I always do when I feel the need for change. I chopped off all my hair. I have a cute little pixie cut that doesn't quite look right on me, but I like it anyway. And now I'm going a little further...
I applied for jobs in Tacoma, WA, Aurora, CO and at Bowling Green State University. The job at Bowling Green is actually pretty cool. It's in the music library and sound recordings archive. I just like the idea of going to work where there are thousands of lp's, 8-tracks, cassettes and cd's at my disposal. But the downfall to all this job hunting is the fact that I can't actually afford to move out of the dorms. I have one more year to pay on my braces and finish paying off my credit cards, then I'm home free, but can I last another year?
So there's this job in Wellington, New Zealand. Does anyone know if $39000 is a decent salary in NZ?

poetry

Because Laurie asked for it, here are some poems I wrote for my class. :)
Can you recognize this place?

Bear Lodge

As I approach this place
holy to one culture and revered
by generations of moviegoers

I am filled with awe
of the giant stone sculpted by nature
rising from its bed of trees

As I read about its sacred nature
all I can think about
is mashed potatoes and flying saucers

The monument is a mystery
but I feel at peace in its shadow
I can understand why its holy

to Native Americans
and movie aliens

Spring

Explosion of color against the gray;
the once dead earth resurrects herself.
As brown turns to green, flowers bloom
in a kaleidoscope of reds, yellow and blues,
and the blossoms scent the earth with sweet perfume.
The trees answer nature’s call
with buds and branches reaching for the sky,
welcoming the sun once again.

Give me something to talk about

Hi. How is everyone? Okay how are you, my 2 loyal readers? I'm doing just dandy, thank you. Enjoying the new car, even if I'm still suffering from the shock.
I'm at work. It's the last day of finals. The place is a ghost town. Tomorrow will be worse. I'm always so happy when the semester ends. It means no people to deal with for at least a week until the summer semester begins, but no people also means unnaturally quiet and boring. So I'm keeping myself entertained by writing to all of you, my 2 loyal readers. I thought about posting some of the poems I wrote for my poetry class, but I don't know if I should do that to you. I probably will, just not right now. I think I'll stop babbling now and do something worthwhile. I hope this post of random babbling is enough to make up for weeks of not posting.

I'm an idiot. I just want to get that straight up front. Why am I an idiot, you ask? Well, last night I went to test drive a Honda Civic. I do this from time to time. I research cars, trying to find something a little bit better than the one I own, then I go test drive them, and then I'm happy. I don't buy the car. Well, not until last night when I was bombarded by an overzealous salesman who decided I needed this car. I still don't know how it happened. But, today I have a brand new 2006 Civic with all the bells and whistles, including a moon roof and ipod port. This is ridiculous. Especially in light of my last post, talking about all those cars on the highway that are held together by tape and I'm spending more on a car per month than I have on some places I've lived! The whole experience leaves me feeling like I'm holding on desperately to a speeding bullet.