There's been a lot going on and so I bring you a list of random bits of update like things...

• One of my favorite children's books (chapter books, probably 5th-6th grade reading level) in the last couple of years is Peter and the Starcatchers by Dave Barry and Ridley Pearson. Yes, that Dave Barry, one of my favorite writers and humor columnist extraordinaire. (And Ridley Pearson is no slouch either). Basically it is a really imaginative and wonderful story about how Peter Pan became Peter Pan (got his powers, met Hook, Neverland and fairies are created, etc). I've had a copy of the sequel for a while and hadn't read it yet. I picked up the audiobook version (I'm a total audiobook freak) and it is read by Jim Dale! This is too much goodness. It is like my birthday and christmas and flag day all rolled into one. I'm 2/7ths of the way through and it is incredible.
  
• I had a cold that completely kicked my butt and stole my voice. Storytimes were various levels of disasters to somewhat okay as I used a microphone and software that read and animated books. My voice was mostly back by Friday - just pretty raspy after some school visits. Still felt pretty sore and stuffy on Saturday, but I feel almost totally better now.
  
• I'm working my little tushie off for this Junior League project. And I'm running it next year. Scared does not begin to cover it. I'll write more later in a locked post.
  
• We're still short staffed today so I'm all alone in the children's section.
  
• They're doing major construction on the basement of my library. All I hear everyday, all day long, is incredibly loud construction noise. Right now it is a drill or jack hammer of some sort. It will be great when done, but it is far from a "peaceful library environment" that everyone else thinks I work in.
  
• I turned in an application for a job in Anchorage (yes, Alaska) this weekend. No one (save my mother and sister) actually believe I will move to Alaska. But that idea has just really appealed to me (for no vague, undefined, and indescernable reasons) for years. We'll see what happens. Can't hurt to apply.
  
• Normally I love sweater weather, I relish it. I wait until I can pull out my sweaters and let myself be enveloped in them. But this year I seem to have developped this irrational aversion to my sweaters. They all feel too big and bulky to put on. I've been avoiding them, all but the thin ones. I don't understand. I love sweaters! I love sweater weather! What has happened to me?
  
• Hey it rained last night. That's good. We needed it, but not as badly as Georgia does. Seriously google "Georgia" and "drought". It's pretty scary.
  
• Thanksgiving is being held at my house this year. My parents' kitchen is being remodeled. We thought the demolition was starting two weeks ago so all the kitchen is packed up and was going to be completely unusable. The demolition isn't actually starting until next week (after Thanksgiving) but everything is packed up so we're going at my house. My parents plan to subsist on take-out, and what can be prepared with only a microwave, fridge, and electric skillet during the renovation.
  
• Dad and I went shopping to buy Thanksgiving supplies. Turkey is my cat's favorite people food (because my father once let her "help" de-bone the turkey when we lived with them). I swear I brought home the thanksgiving food and she jumped up on the counter and started sniffing and pawing at the frozen turkey. It's amazing, normally she completely ignores grocery bags (she knows they're not for her and she's not allowed to be on the counter).
  
• Yesterday I went to Emporia to hang out with various library school friends. They were "in state" for the holiday so we all kinda converged. It was great to see them. I miss the interactions we used to have during school weekends, but it is great to see them acheiving success in their walks of the library world.
  

Okay, I think that is it for now. There's more, but that is long enough.

Tonight was the night I went to the Garth Brooks concert. To sum it up in a style of an old credit card commercial:

Ticket: $32.50 (after fees)
Chip in for gas and parking: $3
Subway dinner before the show: $4.72
Souvenir sweatshirt: $25
Greatest Hit double CD/DVD combo: $15
Knowing every word to every song: PRICELESS

I'll write more about the concert later when I'm not completely dead on my feet. Suffice it to say that I literally can't speak, my voice is totally gone. Though that isn't fair, I was sick to begin with (recovering) and the show just pushed me over the edge. Storytime tomorrow should be interesting.

There has been a lot going on in my life in the last few weeks. I keep meaning to post, but no dice. Here's what's been going on, in a list, in no particular order.

• Fall has arrived. We've had tons of thunderstorms and rain which I love. Today was cold (and I didn't bring a coat) and rainy all day. Perfect cuddle at home with soup and a book day. I came to work though.
  
• In a four day period, I saw three dead cats along side of local roads. This made me sad.
  
• Last weekend I went to the renaissance festival with H. It was the last weekend for it so we braved it despite the four hours of rain on saturday morning. It was really muddy (like soup), but lots of fun, and very not crowded. The joust was horse-less as it wasn't safe for them, but we did get splat fairy mugs. (Beautiful ceramic mugs that when you turn over appear to have a squashed fairy on the bottom).
  
• My Garth Brooks tickets arrived a few days ago. Ticketmaster always sends tickets out looking like junk mail so your tickets aren't stolen (though you have to be careful you don't throw them away by mistake). So my roommate teased, looks like you got some junk mail today, and then we both did happy dances.
  
• Always fun to arrive at work, as I did this morning, start to catch up on four days lag of email, and have your coworker ask, "aren't you going to ::local school:: today?" Oops! I grabbed some books (and I knwo this well enough to do it basically off the cuff) and headed off. I love school visits and one of the kiddos from the school stopped by this afternoon to say hello to me.
  
• My hair feels weird texture wise the last few days, not sure what was up with that.
  
• I went to a wedding this weekend that was pretty fun. I did not participate in the bouquet toss (and fortunately wasn't forced to).
  
• David was in town for said wedding, so I got to hang out with him which is always much fun.
  
• Holiday Mart was this weekend. I worked my shift (required of all junior league members) and did some shopping. There are always neat vendors and I got some fun stuff, and a little bit of Christmas shopping done.
  
• Speaking of Holiday Mart, last year I saw this really neat home decor plate thing, and I wanted it. But I talked myself out of buying it because it was slightly more money that I wanted to spend on a whim. All year long I've thought (and talked) about those plates. And determined that anything that has captured my attention for over a year, I should buy. That retailor was back this year, so I did. And I discovered that their store is about three miles from my house. Well that's irritating. However it is a wire rack that you can change out decorative plates (about the size of coasters), and I only bought one set of plates. I can always go to the store to buy more sets as the mood (and finances) amuse me.
  
• As the weather grows colder (though often still warm in the day) it is fairly reasonable to run both the a/c during the day and heater at night. (Though today is the cold all day variety). We're doing neither in our house. I get a bit cold at night (especially if I'm too lazy to get out of bed, put on flannel pjs, and grab another blanket). I found that if I stay perfectly still as I sleep, my body heat warms up the sheets/blankets right around me, and I'm in a warm little cocoon (helped by the warm cat tucked into me). So when I roll over, I try to do so in a small little space so as not to leave my cocoon and venture into the bed territory that isn't warmed up yet.
  
• I have never cared too much for chai tea but at Holiday Mart I tried this absolutely delicious fat free chocolate chai blend. It was amazing. Too much to spend on a whim (catching a theme here), but I'm still thinking about it. I checked (getting smarter with experience) and it is sold locally. I may have to go get some. Of course the cold weather makes me crave this
  
• At home I have all the makings for grilled cheese sandwiches and tomato soup (my favorite cold weather meal save homemade potato soup) except bread.
  
• I made beer bread tomorrow edited to fix: yesterday. It is yummy and a good use for older beer.
  
• There is beer in my fridge that expired a year ago. Yep, I'm an alkie who drinks too much (or not quickly enough to get through a six pack).
  

There's more random chaos in my head, but that is a good start. Plus certain people tell me my entries are too long. That's because I update infrequently. So vote: update more frequently with shorter entries, or as I am now less frequent with longer entires?

Yes, I realized that is a lot of excitement, but I have a lot of excitement. To go straight to my big news, because I really can't hold it in...

I GOT GARTH BROOKS TICKETS!

Okay, ::deep breath::, ::stops dancing and sits down:: and now the background story. A couple of weeks ago Garth Brooks announced that he would be doing a concert in Kansas City. He retired nine years ago and has not toured since 1998 (when he released Sevens). There have been sporadic appearances here and there (like at a Katrina benefit). I've always wanted to see him live in concert (he's on my short list of must-sees before I die), and couldn't see how it would happen. When he announced the concert I'd figured there would be no way. The Sprint Center (brand new venue that he is one of the main opening acts, he was there today to cut the ribbon) only seats line 19,000 people. There have been quite a few scandals about how unavailable tickets have been. Elton John (for example) sold out in a minute and a half because after the radio stations, sponsers, suite holders, etc., got their tickets there were only like 3,000 available for the public. Not much in a city the size of KC. And this is Garth Brooks who never does concerts, people would travel far to see him. So I figured no way could I get tickets or afford them.

But Garth Brooks is a really cool guy. Tickets were announced that they would all be $27 ($32.50 after fees) for every seat in the house. That's incredible as he could triple (or quadruple) that easily and still sell out. When tickets went on sale on Saturday I was at work and couldn't log in to try to get them. My roommate had no luck. But on the course of that Saturday Garth Brooks added 8 more shows, yep that is a total of nine shows! He still managed to sell out 140,000 tickets in about an hour. And they went back and anyone who had more than 6 tickets for the entire run of the show per household were going to have their tickets rescinded (and you could only buy tickets if you lived in a surrounding state - specifically Missouri, Kansas, Nebraska, Oklahoma, Arkansas, or Iowa). And so more tickets were being released all the time.

I started playing on the ticketmaster website, checking and re-checking various dates, and on Tuesday I got incredibly lucky (I really only checked every day only once before), and I got tickets. Unfortunately I couldn't remember my ticket master password, or reset my password in time, and they expired. Tried again, got seats again, BETTER SEATS THIS TIME, and got the tickets. I called my parents and my roommate (who is going with me) while I was dancing around singing I was so excited. My roommate is equally excited. Our seats are good (not great, but pretty darn good, not even the upper most level). I'm ecstatic.

And so I leave you with some Garth Brooks lyrics... (close call between The River and The Dance as both never fail to touch me)
And I will sail my vessel
'Til the river runs dry
Like a bird upon the wind
These waters are my sky
I'll never reach my destination
If I never try
So I will sail my vessel
'Til the river runs dry -The River, Garth Brooks

I'm fairly behind on my posting. Well, I'm not obligated to post, so I can't be behind. But there are things I wanted to say. Last week (two weeks ago actually August 16th - 19th), I had that rare thing of all rare things - a vacation. It's been a long busy summer, and while it has been very good, it also has been very stressful. On a "slow" week, I was doing four programs a week. Most weeks it was more than that. Plus the library was just so much busier because of summer reading program and such. It's our busy time, and it is a lot of fun. I love it, but it is fairly easy to reach critical burnout phase. And I was pretty close. I just needed a vacation. So I took myself off to Phoenix.

( read the adventure )
It was a quick visit, but in some ways it was the perfect length. There were a few things I didn't get to do that I wanted to, and not everything went exactly as planned, but it was a very good, low key, and most of all relaxing trip. I didn't need a super jam packed trip full of THINGS TO DO, I needed downtime and that was what I got.

So I'm back in Kansas City and I wonder, could I move back to Phoenix? The answer: probably. But not now, not yet. I'm happy where I am. I want a minimum of another year in my job, and probably more. I love Kansas City, love being near (but not living with) my parents, love my church, love my friends here. Not everything is ideal, but this is a good place for me now. And if I did move, I'm not sure it would be Phoenix. Washington would be nice (and has the benefit of family being there too), or Alaska appeals to my (newly emerging and growing larger by the day) adventerous side, going farther South (Texas or Georgia or Kentucky) also sound nice. However none of that is right now, now I stay in one place for career reasons, to give myself a chance to just be for a year or two. And because if I moved huckleberrycake would track me down and kill me. Plus I just made a two year committment to the Junior League so that ought to keep me in town. But that too is another entry.

I'm working today. It's not ideal, but I did get yesterday off and the next two days as well. All my Christmas shopping is done and wrapped and ready to go. (I know this is not a huge accomplishment on the 22nd - I finished yesterday - but humor me.) I've already had a great deal of fun in the holiday vein, including having the girls from high school over on Thursday. Not everyone could make it, but it was fun. We did a gift exchange and I made fondue using my new fondue pot I will be getting for Christmas (I liberated it early from it's place at my parents house for this occasion). Yummy cheese fondue and so much fun! Last week, my Junior League committee for our book drive had a holiday party instead of a committee meeting. With as much work as we did with the book drive in October and November (and some of December) we deserved it. It was fun. Last week, the girls from church had a holiday party too. It was a wine and desert party. Instead of bringing some silly gift, we had a fun theme. You brought a wine glass (I found a pretty etched one at Tuesday Morning) and filled it with something and/or deocrated it (I filled mine with homemade peppermint bark) and then we did an exchange "dirty santa" style. There was a lot of laughter and fun. The glass I ended up with is pretty, pink, sparkly, and filled with candy and lip gloss. Always fun.

At three different stores, I've been Christmas shopping at, I've run into people I know from their time as library patrons. It is always bizarre, but nice. Next week we have a ton of stuff planned for the library for the week between xmas and New Years since kids are out of school. I'm running a talent show. It should be a blast. Our computers were down most of this week at the libray which just sets the library a ridiculous amount back and creates headaches that are hard to explain to anyone who has never worked in a library. They came back online this morning though, so that is good.

And finally a little quizzie because I couldn't resist:

You Are a Gingerbread House

A little spicy and a little sweet, anyone would like to be lost in the woods with you.

Ooh! I actually made a gingerbread house this year! Okay technically I assembled one that came in a kit. I didn't bake and cut gingerbread, I used this nice all inclusive kit. However, I've never done that really before either. It's fun and pretty. The house is probably 80% decorated. After that I got rather bored, slapped the rest of the icing basics on and a few pieces of candy. The rest of the icing went on a brownie I happened to have. So except for a little bit on one side, it looks fairly decent. I think it is more fun as a group activity than just me on my lonesome.

Well first off, Happy Halloween!

Now why have I been so busy this month? Well October was just a rather busy month. During the week, I work, as usual. But I didn't just work this month, I also took a class. I graduated with my MLS in August and some of my friends were already taking bets on how long before I ended up back in school. It's either because I like to learn or I like to better myself or I like to punish myself. One or more of those. There's a reason this journal is called Masochistic Perfectionism. In my job, if I accumulate Continuing Education units, I can advance a class level (read more money for me). I have two years to accumulate x units. I took an online CE class over the month of October. It covered recent developments in Children's Literature and was only online discussion, no tests, no papers. But a massive reading list. And that took up many of my evenings in October. So even if you saw me online and I seemed distant that was why.

The thing that has kept me busy in the last two weeks is a grant related work project. We got a grant to do parent and caregiver education workshops. Those tend to get scheduled in the evenings when people are free. And that occupies my evenings to a certain extent. To a big certain extent. I have another one this week. But yay for accumulating comp time.

And Junior League has kept me busy. This month is our book drive. That's my committee/placement for the year. So I've been going to meetings, sortings (where we sort the books we receive) and such. Last year we collected around 100,000 books that were distributed to needy kids and to agencies around the metro area. I went to a sorting that was all League members and it was cool. It was an evening, everyone came from work, changed and dug in. We were moving stuff around in a filthy warehouse and no one complained. This is a "society" women type organization (like you see mocked on Gilmore Girls), but it is mainly professional women. And we're not afraid of some hard/dirty work. One of the greatest uses of those books is to homeless and battered women's shelters. So that when the parents are doing intake things, there are books for the kids to look at. Those are the at-risk kids who need it. It's a great drive, a great service to the community, and I'm proud to be a part of it.

That's what has kept my weekdays busy. My weekends were busy too. First weekend was music weekend (10/1ish) with seeing a band in Topeka and the Rolling Stones*, second weekend was actually relaxing, shopping, cleaning, etc, third weekend was a Branson trip* (10/14ish), fourth weekend I worked and it was the Holiday Mart* (10/21ish), and you get the idea.
*update coming soon, probably

Here's looking forward to a calm November.

I had a simply amazing weekend. This is part one, because one event deserves it's own entry.

Friday, I went to a lunch for my mother celebrating 20 years at her company. Congratulations Mom! It was nice (yummy bbq). My father will have been at his company 20 years in November. I think having parents who have been at the same jobs for as long as I can remember has really affected the way I look at work and company loyalty.

Saturday I slept in a little bit. Than I ran errands which is always so much fun. My shoes are really starting to kill me. I can only get away with wearing some of my heels on days I know I'll be sitting most of the day (no storytime, no presentation, no plans to go down to the plaza) and it almost always works out that I end up walking more than planned. I love the ballet flats that are in this year. I popped into a shoe store, but I didn't buy anything. I couldn't find anything I liked well enough to justify spending the money. And I kept being drawn to ballet styled heels. Grrr... I should try again.

Saturday evening, Adam and I drove to Topeka to see some of his friends play in a band. They were pretty good, mostly the first group. It was loud (even for live music). It was really cool to see Adam in his element with his friends. I had a great deal of fun, lots of people watching and music.

Sunday was the church library book sale and my turn at librarian duty. I only bought one book, one I'd read, and it is like new, so I'm pumped.

The real excitement is yet to come!

I haven't done one of those "this is what I did in the last few days" posts, so here goes. Yeah, list format so it doesn't have to be chronological or logical.

• David was in town, hung out with him some. That was fun. We tried to go clubbing, but rather chose two wrong clubs in a row. It was okay because we still got to chat and visit and that was nice.
  
• One of the things I miss most about Phoenix is this really amazing Middle Eastern restaurant. I finally tried the cafe down the street from me. Talked David into it for lunch. It's good, almost as good as the one in Phoenix. And it is very reasonably priced. I may have a new favorite and standard restaurant.
  
• When I crash, I'm tired, please don't ask me if I'm upset/depressed/angry with you. No. However, I will get irritated if that question is repeated. (Of course if I don't say I'm tired and give a smart aleck response, assume I'm tired. My sarcastic persona comes out then.)
  
• I had Friday off since I worked Saturday.
  
• We were busy at work Saturday.
  
• I saw Invincible with Adam. It's a pretty good movie, but then I'm a sucker for the inspirational sports drama and for Greg Kinnear.
  
• Church this morning we sang a lot more hymns than anything else. Have you noticed how very few people, almost no one, writes hymns anymore. It is all praise songs. There are no more hymns with four to six verses and a chorus.
  
• I had yummy Sunday Dinner with Heather and the family. Yay for homemade fried chicken, mashed potatoes, gravy, etc.
  
• Got to use some coupons and had fun shopping with Heather. It is rare to find a friend who will be honest with you when shopping. That is why I like shopping with my sister. She's honest with me. She also does a good job of keeping me from repeating my wardrobe too much. I tend to be drawn to the same type of pieces over and over again. As Susan said, how many pink striped button up shirts do I need? And most of my clothes are pink, black or grey. Today I got a greenish sweater that is an unusual color for me, but that I am told looks good with my coloring. It seems gentler somehow.
  
• Happiness is a rainy Sunday afternoon, a new book by one of your favorite authors, and nothing you have to do. I chose to do many things (including the dinner and the shopping) so I didn't get to read too much, but it was still happy.
  
• I am so desperate for Fall. I have pretty much decided that I hate all my summer clothes. I'm just so sick of them I could cry. I'm weeding my closet of clothes that are too worn out and need thrown away and things I don't wear anymore. I almost pulled out all my winter clothes, but next weekend is supposed to be in the 80s again. I have some more fallish stuff out now that I'm going to stop wearing. It's just that it is cool in the mornings and warm mid day and the evenings. It is a toss up to what it will be in my library.
  

Tomorrow, well everyone knows what tomorrow is. If you don't, look at your calendar. I'm not even sure what to say about it. I'm sure most people's blogs will be filled with thoughts, reflections, reminisces, etc.

My degree arrived. I believe it is only a diploma at high school and everything thereafter is a degree. I could be wrong, I frequently am. And it doesn't much matter. The little piece of paper certifying that I am a graduate with a Master's of Library Science arrived. It's not a very impressive looking piece of paper. It almost immediately got placed in the little protective padded leather holder thing and put with the other degrees and diplomas. I'm not a frame it and stick it on your wall type of gal. Plus I don't really have an office wall that needs one. Yet.

I've been done with school for a month now. And I'm still recovering. I thought I'd be lazy for a week or so and move on. That is my normal pattern. But not yet. And it's been a month. I'm tired a lot. I want naps (can't take them most days because I work a normal full time job). In the evenings, I far too often have something to go to (girls night, Bible study, Junior League, etc.) I usually get at most one or two nights a week home (I work one evening and one half evening). And on those evenings I don't get much accomplished. I watch television (taping interesting shows that are on nights I'm out - don't have a TiVo/DVR but I really want one), read, and play on my computer. That's it. On weekends, I do some social stuff, and read, watch tv, and play on the computer. I make it to the gym still only a couple of times a week.

Seriously I need to shape up. I had all these big projects I wanted to do when school was done. But they've only been realized in brief fits of productivity at most lasting six hours. So far all I've accomplished: some cleaning, assembled bookshelves, put away books, established a permanent scrapbooking area, reorganized scrapbooking supplies, and a few other odds and ends. Occasionally I bring home a work project (I'm going to plan my seminar on the History of English for homeschoolers this weekend) or what not. I read the professional journals at home usually on commercial breaks. Oh, I've read lots of books, and watched television, but that's it. It's rather sad how non-productive I am.*

That's the thing. I'm tired and lazy and can't seem to shake it. I have to force myself to do things with people. I go to my activities, but I have skipped some of them if I only had one night a week at home so I could get another evening of slothitude. Maybe I'm being too hard on myself. Perhaps my body, spirit, mind, and soul need a little while longer to recover from the years of abuse and overwork I've heaped upon them. But what if I don't recover? What if it turns out that underneath everything, I am a very lazy person?

In the years of trial (which is how I believe I shall refer to the time period in which I worked full time or worked part-time and volunteered heavily and went to school full time until something better occurs to me), I neglected friendships and social time so that I could suceed. One of my goals was to really focus on renewing those bonds. Hasn't happened. I mean to call people and socialize, but I haven't. It just seems so hard and I get kinda tired. I do some low key low maintenance type of things, but have to really gear up for anything bigger. That is something I really want to fix.

*Before you say that it seems like a decent amount, it isn't, not by my standards, not compared to what I was doing when I was going to school full time and working full time. Didn't watch much tv then, or take naps, or what not.

I feel like I've used that before as a journal subject line. Oh well...

I've spent more on tickets in the last few months than I think I ever have before, total. It's a bit scary. But it is not something I'll make a regular habit of, I've got a good job, I can afford it, etc. Here's a breakdown.

October:

• Rolling Stones! This one I am unbelievably excited about. In my house growing up, it was accepted as gospel truth that the Stones are the greatest rock band ever. My dad is a huge Stones fan. We've been trying to figure out how to get to one of their concerts for a few years now. When I heard they were coming to Wichita, I knew we'd be going. We bought our tickets on Wednesday during the pre-sale (thank heavens Mom and Dad have an American Express) and got floor seats! I'm over the moon. We didn't think our tickets were going to be that good. Dad's whole face lit up when we told him where the seats were.
  
• Chiefs - I've always wanted to go to one of their games. Going with a big group of friends. But oh dear, it's the same day as the Stones. I didn't know the date of the Stones concert when my friend got the game tickets. The game is at noon, the stones at 7pm. The stones are 3 hours away. Maybe I get someone else to take my game ticket? Or leave a bit early? Not sure, I'll figure something out. Stones take huge priority over Chiefs.
  
• Audio Adrenaline and Mercy Me (going with Heather) - last tour they're doing (AA), and I love these bands. I've seen both before and they're awesome. We've got good seats too.
  December
  
• Wicked - When Heather and I are in Chicago for our fun girl's weekend, we're going to see this musical. I've read the book and only heard good things about it. Our seats are great. (I got the tickets first day they were available). Very excited.
  
• Tut - Also in Chicago, going to see Tut exhibit. Excited about that one too.

That doesn't seem like that much now. I might be forgetting something. However, for me, that is a lot. I just don't go to tons of concerts and stuff. Usually one a season basically. And all of those things are ones I'm really excited about, plus they're all good seats which makes it even better.

I had an amazingly good weekend.

I wrote the entry up and realized it was kinda long (though not too bad), so I'll hide it behind a cut. ( my weekend )

Summary for those of you who could not read that whole thing. (And I've heard a couple of people say that everytime I update it is always fairly long, but I only update a couple of times a week not the daily or more I used to when my entries were shorter.) Friday, there was a very yummy dinner with family. Saturday, there was cleaning and a wedding and the running of errands. I have scarred feet. Sunday, there was church, and family, and sonic, and bookshelves.

I worked this weekend, my last weekend at my current job. Since I worked the weekend, I get Friday off. Friday morning I was lying in bed listening to it rain. It was pouring, storming, fabulous. You see, this last week or so has been unbearably hot. Over a hundred with a heat index much higher. Hot and humid and miserable. The library was so busy as people tried to escape the heat and avoid being trapped at home. Plus one day one of our compressors decided to quit and we got pretty warm too. Thus hearing the rain on Friday was the sound of (to be a little bit cliche) sweet relief. A big storm like that will break the heat. And it did. 76 as a high instead of 106. A thirty degree difference. There was a beautiful breeze, felt marvelous. I didn't have anywhere to go and just lay there and enjoyed how my bedroom already felt cooler, pulled up the comforter, and enjoyed the sound of the rain and the luxury of just sleeping in. (Okay, I was up and at my parent's house by 9 to get laundry done so I didn't sleep in that much.)

In other news, I saw the pirate movie. Yes it is an obvious set up for the third movie. Yes, it didn't have just tons of plot. And all of the other criticisms set down. But there were lines and moments that made me laugh. It is supposed to be (I hope) farce, cartoonish, and thus it was. Taken as nothing more than popcorn summer fare, it was lovely and I enjoyed myself. Plus I got to go with the always wonderful huckleberrycake and what could be better than that?

Last night I went out with this group of girls I'm friends with from high school. There are seven of us. Five of us have birthdays in a six week period in June and July. We were celebrating that. The sixth girl has a birthday in August. And the seventh girl? well hers is in January. Which is just sooooo inconvenient. Silly Carrie being born in January. From now on, we've decided to celebrate her half-birthday which falls in July. And then we can do one celebration for everyone at once. And it will be better. So there was yummy Chinese food and exchanging of presents. Amazingly enough after basically ignoring everyone for two years while doing grad school (and for four years of out of state college before that), they're still talking to me. And then buffyholic and I went to watch Project Runway. Yay for gay Oklahoma boys! I have a favorite and it is Kayne, though I love many of the other designers too. But Kayne has a pageant wear shop in Norman, Oklahoma. There is just so much to love.

One week left in my job. One week left of school.

This weekend I present capstone. I have one weekend class and one online class after than and then I am done done done with my master of library science degree. (I finally learned that that is correct, master of library science, not master's of library science as I had been saying). After graduation, I have big plans. I have put almost everything on hold for the last 2+ years. Here is a sampling of what I want to do:

• get much better at playing guitar
  
• scrapbook scrapbook scrapbook!
  
• watch an entire movie on DVD without feeling guilty
  
• go to dinner and a movie in the theatres without feeling guilty
  
• get a pedicure with my mom
  
• finish crochet blanket I started two years ago
  
• buy bookshelves
  
• assemble bookshelves
  
• put books away
  
• finish cross stitch I started three years ago
  
• take a cooking class
  
• read whatever I want whenever I want
  
• get a haircut and color since I've neglected this and have horrible shaggy triangle hair
  
• finallly read the new Harry Potter book I bought the day it came out (over a year ago) and haven't touched since (but yes I do know the ending)
  
• take a bubble bath
  
• take the dog to the dog park
  
• hang out with all the friends I've ignored for the last two years (if they're still speaking to me)
  
• try that dating thing
  
• watch tv
  
• get back on a regular gym/exercise schedule
  

There's more, but that is a good start.

I suppose I should tell you how I got sunburnt. But I've not written a good update in a while so here we go.

Two weekends ago (the one before this previous one - I wrote an entry about the concert), huckleberrycake and I went to the Greek festival. It is held at a local Greek Orthodox church about three blocks from my parent's house, you can hear the music from there. An incredible amount of very yummy food was consumed. We watched some very energetic dancers and determined that it would be cool to have that sort of dancing tradition. The musicians were quite good too. We browsed various Greek pieces of merchandise (I bought a gorgeous ring, early birthday gift for myself silver and set with pink stones). One of the most interesting things was a "tour" of the church. We sat in the church sanctuary which was beautiful and the priest explained the symbolism of the various icons and paintings. It was interesting. I hugely disagreed about many points of theology, but very interesting to learn about their traditions.

That night, after a birthday dinner for a friend, Heather and I watched Bride and Prejudice which is an lovely movie. A very good modernization of Jane Austen's classic novel

This most recent weekend, Heather and I again set out to discover some ethnic fun. We went to the Kansas City Highland Games to explore the Scottish side. It was much larger, not quite as big as say the Renaissance festival, but closer to that then to the church run festival (which is always nice) of the weekend before. We ate Shepherd's Pie (which I'd never had before) and it was delicious. The girls doing the highland dancing were amazing, so graceful, like ballet but fast and with more energy. The athletics were fairly cool. They would take these huge tree trunks (four or five times as tall as me), lift them by the bottom straight up into the air and try to get them to land such that the flipped over. Impressive. We learned a little bit of Gaelic, watched some sword fights and learned about swords and kilts. There was a sheep dog demonstration that was pretty cool. It was fairly hot and sunny (hence the sunburn I got), but a ton of fun. A lot of people were in their very traditional kilts and dress, and they went all out. They'd hang knives (dirks as they should be called) and other things from their kilts. One man had his cell phone hanging from his kilt ruining his otherwise authentic outfit. A great deal of fun was had and then I went home and studied.

Other terribly exciting things have happened in my life, but those are other updates.

I had a great weekend this weekend. I had this weekend off, I had last weekend off, I get next weekend off. It's marvelous. During the summer, we have less staff on the weekends so we can have more staff during the weekdays (and so staff gets a nicer summer) to reflect the shift of when patrons come to see us. Thus I get more weekends off. I'm loving it. (Of course July is not as much fun, I go to class or work every weekend then, but oh well).

So my weekend was much fun.

Friday night we (my roommate and I) went to Old Shawnee Days which is an adjacent suburb. There was the whole carnival/booth thing going on, but we were there for the concert. The opening band was LoCash Cowboys whom I'd never heard of. (Or as I suppose I should say of whom I'd never heard so as not to end my sentence in a preposition because you know I care...) They were a great deal of fun. Overly convinced of their own sex appeal, but that is their job, to sell themselves however. They played I'll Fly Away which is one of my all time favorite songs any genre, any reason. (Side note, Alan Jackson has a great new version of it on his new gospel album, Precious Memories and my birthday is in two weeks, I'm just saying.) Then a few minutes later they're singing a song about how much they like girls and the way they walk, smell, etc., and even when "baby got back" and yep, they launced into it. They did the first stanza super fast (and pretty good for white boys), changing the words to "even country boys got to shout"... I admit it, I'm easy, any group that can play baby got back and I'll Fly Away in under ten minutes has got me. They did a lot of mixing old songs into new or together: Beastie Boys (2 songs), classic country, classic southern rock, a great deal of fun.

The main event, the one we were there for was Trent Willmon. We saw him a few months ago, and he was good then and good this weekend. Cute, lots of energy. The whole concert was good. Not tons of people so I kinda felt bad for the performers. But they did a good show and those that were there enjoyed it. It was beautiful perfect weather for an outdooor concert. And I didn't get too many bug bites (but I had stopped at the avon counter for some of their skin so soft repellant). Plus the concert and all was free so that is always a huge plus.

Okay, I had a big day on Saturday, but I'll talk about it later. (Half the time I say that, I never do it.) This entry is long enough and I should pull clothes out for tomorrow and pack my lunch, etc.

I will begin by saying that it is still a bit chilly (mid 50s) but sunny and beautiful. Since today is my late day at work (go in and work noon to nine so I can close as opposed to 8 to 5), I had a nice free morning. I watched an Everwood episode I'd taped (so very glad my show is back), worked a teensy little bit on school, partially cleaned the turtle cage, and took the puppy on an hour long walk. She was diligent and left no scent unsmelled. I didn't remember that Tuesday is trash day in our neighborhood. Sally is getting really good at the "Leave it!" command. The only thing she wouldn't leave was a beer can. There was some beer still in the can and she stuck her nose into the can and was trying to get it all out. She also tried to pick up the can and carry it away. We may have an alcoholic puppy on our hands.

And now part two of my adventures of last week. Tuesday evening found me finally arriving exhausted in Manhattan. Wednesday morning, I get up early and head toward campus of K-State. I find it (yay!) and the information booth where I am to pick up my parking permit is not yet open. (I had gone through a ton of hassle to determine where I could get a parking permit to later discover that they were pre-reserved for us.) I pay a meter and join beeform for coffee. It was nice to get to know her and put a face with words. Then got my parking permit, and toured campus in my attempt to find a parking place near the library (I was still quite a bit early). Originally class was supposed to last from 8-5, then 8:30-4:30, and it finally ended up being 9-4. Class was okay, the subject was professional development. The morning was good, but the afternoon was too geared toward academic librarians to be of much interest to me. After class I met buffyholic and oneechan19 for coffee. Then a nice drive home going a much easier, more convenient way than google maps had led me there by.

Thursday, I worked.
Friday, I worked part day and drove to Emporia. Class on Friday and Saturday were good. Did a group presentation where everyone did their part and was relaxed and cheerful about the whole thing. This is in such stark contrast to my last experience (which I have not blogged about because it is still too fresh, too raw, and too personal). I got to go to the chocolate cafe again, so that is always extremely pleasurable. Saturday afternoon, our class had an amazing guest speaker. This elderly man indexes historical newspapers just for fun. He was really good and kept sharing all these fabulous stories he had found in the old newspapers.

Class was cancelled Sunday because our professor was ill so I got to come home Saturday night. I went to church Sunday morning. Instead of Sunday school (or Bible Class as they insist upon calling it), they had a ministry fair. All the church's ministries had booths set up and people could learn what the church is doing and volunteer for things. I maybe accidentally volunteered to be the church's library coordinator. (I was trying to volunteer to come in an hour or two a week and help label and shelve books, but how can I say no to the ninety-year-old, hundred pound woman?) Then I went to lunch with the singles group which due to work and class I don't get to do too often. Following that I took a nap (in the middle of the day, so decadently wonderful) and went shopping with Heather (huckleberrycake). We hit all the home stores and had such a blast. I am moving (more details later) and getting a bigger, queen sized bed (more details later). I found a beautiful comforter. It is pink and navy and girly without being over the top with flowers and old lady things. Heather and I had a blast just looking at all the home stuff. Such a relaxing, restful day.

More to say, but this is too long already. Later.

Sorry to raise hopes like that, I can only say mine were raised too. Perhaps I shall have something to announced in the next two weeks, but don't hold your breath. I suppose I can tell you what it is about. I am graduating with my Masters in Library Science in August, but I am eligible even now for masters level positions and I'd like to already be in a full time position before graduation. Some really neat opportunities have come available in Youth LIbrarianship in this area have opened up. I've had three job interviews in the last three weeks (two in the last two days) and I've got some more applications out there. I'm starting to OD on applications, cover letters, resumes, and interviews. I am trying not to worry because I know that God will provide for me and I put my faith in that.

On Tuesday for Mardi Gras, or Fat Tuesday as some of you know it, I went to JAZZ a New Orleans style restaurant. It took far too long to get a table due to the incompetence of the host and general business of the joint. We listened to really good live jazz and ate yummy cajun food. I had Crawfish creole. Very spicy, but good. It was really good to spend some time with my friends. I needed some time out. As I was pulling out of the driveway, I realized I didn't have my camera. I didn't go back and get it, so no pictures to scrapbook and I've decided to be okay with that.

I woke up at one point early this morning with the phrase "charboiled grass" running through my head. I realized that didn't make sense and I racked my brain until I came up with "barbeque charboiled grass". Satisfied I went back to sleep.

Now of course I have no idea what that means, but it seems to have worked.

I am in Emporia for class and as a result not sleeping well. The radio part of the alarm clock radio in my room kept going in and out and I decided not to trust it. I turned it to the buzzer for the alarm (and of course set my cell phone as back up). I had tons of trouble sleeping last night, tossed and turned for three hours. When I woke up in the morning, the alarm sounded like an alert alarm in a ship or a submarine. Danger Collision! Or warning, Nuclear Meltdown! Had me wide awake, panicked, and heart racing. I realize how much I love my ihome clock that wakes me up to a selection from my ipod. I'm so spoiled. The night before when I didn't know exactly what the alarm would sound like, every little sound woke me up thinking that might be it. I woke up everytime from 4:30am on when the heater kicked on, or the compressor in the mini fridge, or the pipes whined when the person in the room next door took a shower. Not a lot of fun. I'm not well rested (good thing I have a two hour drive home after four hours in class). And people wonder what I crash and nap in the Sunday afternoon after I get home.

This last week was pretty good. This is my busiest semester yet, but if I can get through it, I'll be within shouting range of being done. I haven't done anything at church or with my church group in a week and it will be another week or so. Wednesday instead of Wednesday Church I went to a Junior League meeting. It was interesting. It was the voting meeting for the board, new leadership positions, and the budget. As a new member I can't vote, but it was still informative. I got a fun little compact mirror that says Junior League on it.

This is my children's class (we're on break), and it is a lot fun. I didn't go out last night like I usually do in Emporia, stayed in and watched made for tv movies and read. Fun.