8/27/2013

Quick Update


Last week was crazy but fun with a visit from my godparents from Mexico as well as a brief visit from Younger Sister and YSF (mostly for my godparents to meet him).

Now I'm back in school mode--yes, meetings start tomorrow--and I'm a little bummed out.  Possibly more than a little.  I'm trying to prepare myself and deciding on my stock (sanity-saving) responses to questions about how my summer was.  There's nothing I can do about my lack of a tan so obviously there were not weeks of enjoying myself at the shore.  But I can talk about visiting my family and making some wedding plans with Younger Sister (sort of).  And I have plans to go to the shore next month for a family reunion, so I don't really feel my summer's completely over.

The Cat is hanging in there, although her appetite has gone funny again and she seems a little "What did I come in here for?" like an old-lady cat.  She seems to be asking for things, only she can't tell me what, exactly.  Vet visit scheduled tomorrow--doc didn't want to give her any more medication sooner than this.  That said, I might talk about pain relief with him because that's my only guess at this point as to the whole "I'm looking for something" behavior.

I'm subbing in at the public library tonight--and hopefully meeting up with my trivia team after, although I'm not sure if they settled on where they were going, because the place we have been playing regularly (since the previous place has been closed for an extensive renovation) also closed temporarily to do some revamping.  Guess I'll find out where they end up!

I definitely am sad it's the (unofficial) end of the summer, but I've already decided that next summer is going to be very different.  And very fun.  I'm putting it in writing so it has to happen, right?

  

8/14/2013

8/12/2013

A Few Things I've Read Recently


Not that it has been boring around here, but fairly low-key.  I worked at the Reference Desk on  Saturday--you gotta follow me on Twitter so you can hear all about how I taught elderly people to use electronics & get eBooks.  They tell you everything that's on their minds, from how patient they think you are as an educator, to how they're 87 and the parent of children younger than I am (don't wanna know more, TYVM).  Yesterday I cantored Mass as a substitute at my "second parish" and later my parents invited me to tag along on a trip to the casino where I proceeded to have fun and not lose too much money.  Got a pretty good turkey BLT out of the deal, too, and the leftovers made for good lunch today which I did not share with The Cat because she has been eating corned beef and cat food like a champ. (An eating contest champ, that is.)

Anyway, I have been reading a few things over the summer and I haven't gotten to talk much about them with anyone, so--here you go, in no particular order, all borrowed from the library unless otherwise stated:

  • The Reece Malcolm List (YA): Kind of a fish-out-of-water joins Glee-like school while dealing with family trauma sort of story.  I know, that sounds weird, which is why it didn't work 100% for me, but it's a fairly decent teen read.  I have to say I did enjoy the descriptions of California through a new arrival's eyes.
  • VJ: The Unplugged Adventures of Mtv's First Wave (Adult Nonfic): Let me start by saying that while I grew up without cable--Mtv's existence probably contributed to that decision by my folks--I definitely had some exposure to maybe not the first couple years but definitely the early years discussed in the book, so I know who these people are.  It's gossipy for sure, full of the cliched "sex, drugs, and rock 'n' roll," and there are some parts I wish I hadn't read and wonder why they even shared those details.  There's a little bit of history, but for the most part it's four people's (with notes about/writing by the late J.J. Jackson) telling of how becoming VJs affected their lives, both positively and negatively.  Interesting in parts, but sometimes just left me thinking, "So what?" as it seemed they expected more recognition/compensation for what they did (or thought they did).  
  • Goddess (YA, conclusion of the Starcrossed trilogy): Really tested my recall of Greek mythology, and wrapped up the story fairly well.  I really liked the first one, Starcrossed, about a girl who discovers she's descended from the original Greek gods (but not in a ripping-off-Percy-Jackson way).  So there's handling all that as well as forbidden romance (not to mention raging hormones), hiding her identity/secret powers, and protecting herself/family/friends/town.  This last book details the final war that everyone had seen coming, and while it didn't drag, it got a little confusing in parts, possibly owing to a multiple-POV problem and some finagling to make the mythology fit.  Really creative, though. *Bought this one with my own money and a coupon.
  • I'm in the middle of A Practical Wedding (for you-know-what, and eagerly anticipating a visit from the happy couple next week!) and still can't bring myself to crack open the virtual book club selection (sorry, LibraryElf).

I hope you're reading something good lately, and if not--why not try one of these?

    

8/06/2013

All in a Day's (sort-of) Work


1. After one of my car tires lost air again despite my having filled it upon noticing some flatness last weekend, my mom had me drop the car off for the whiz kid mechanic to check and loaned me the un-sexy station wagon for the morning.  Fortunately, the tire was able to be patched, so I got my car back for $10 (which is the least I've paid for car repairs in quite a while).  Of course, my car was blocked in by a little red sportscar, so I had to wait while they moved it.  And they had my car completely closed up, so the August sun had baked the dash and I burned my hands on the steering wheel.  Good thing I like these people.
Oh, and before they gave me back my keys, the whiz kid mechanic handed me an envelope he said he hadn't had the chance to mail.  I didn't open it until I got home.
I was surprised to find a thank-you note for being a loyal customer and filling out a survey (the business is technically new, as he has taken over the shop in the past few months) along with a $20 gift certificate. I think I'll wait until something bigger happens.  
Because when you have an 11 year old car--and you're, well, me--something always does.

2. I ran two errands with the un-sexy station wagon before my car was done.  One was to visit my cousin (and best Confirmation sponsor ever) who is doing a little housecleaning now that both her parents (my great-aunt and great-uncle) are gone.  She is offering me a china cabinet which has more display/storage area than my current one.  The bonus is that it doesn't have a funny smell like my china cabinet--this was not discovered until it came into my possession, after my aunt had picked it out (up in Nyack, home of many antique stores!) and had been hanging out in my parents' dining room before I moved.  So my cousin helped me take measurements for the china cabinet as well as its companion buffet, which currently is in front of her fireplace.
Not sure if I have room for the buffet, but I have measurements to mull over now and figure it all out.  I hope.

3. The second errand was to pick up more corned beef for The Cat.  That's right--I said corned beef.  Just for kicks I'd picked up a few slices, enough for one sandwich, on Saturday but didn't use it until Sunday after church.  By chance, the lunchmeat bag slipped out of my hand and the corned beef flopped onto my clean, bare foot (not the floor, thankfully), so I scooped it up.
Didn't "Miss Fussy" come around the corner right then, sniffing interestedly?  She went nuts for how my foot smelled, and then stood on her hind legs, paws on the kitchen cabinets, begging at the counter.  
She gobbled up quite a bit, so I got more today.  Her appetite's been waning again, so the vet (who when I related the story today laughed and exclaimed, "I haven't had corned beef in a while!") is going to see her for a shot on Friday.  And prescribed more corned beef in the meantime.

4. Finally, this evening I went to the library (my side job location, not my home library) and got some training from the head reference librarian on how to use an iPad and how to borrow e-books in our system.  He also showed me some photos of the conference he'd just attended--the reception was here which I imagine was very cool.  Even if it was a bunch of librarians, hee hee.

And then he sent me home with of the library's iPad Minis to practice using until Saturday when I am back there for work.  Wasn't expecting that.  Whatta day!

   
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