Happy Columbus Day!!

Ellen Degeneres, one of my heroes (heroines?) made my day today, when she called up some guy from Minnesota, whose name happened to be Christopher Columbus, to wish him a Happy Columbus day. I wonder if he even knows who she is, but when she asked him to name his boat after her (his boat had no name!) he considered it. It made me think of Garrison Keillor and good old Lake Wobegon.

New things: I have added a ton of new blogs (not a literal ton) to my "blogroll." It was fun messing around with the html--I need a book or something though--I did create my own website once upon a time, straight html, no editors like wonderful blogger. I'll have to find it--now that I have this blog and all this webspace....that was 4 years ago, in library school. Wow. Time flies, whether or not you're having fun...but I mostly believe in having fun.

Also, my mom visited my blog yesterday. She said she thought it was very "21st century." Thanks Mom!

This is the first day in 7 that I haven't had to show up for something paid. I have to go to the dentist to get fitted for a crown--why not a tiara? I always wanted a tiara. There's a book... that came out my last year working for good old Fox books (I mean Barnes and Noble). Anyways, it feels so wierd not having a place to go until 2--I have tons I have to do, including a bippity boppity boo clean up of my apartment--the sibs are coming to see U2 in 2 weeks and my apartment looks like Pakistan, or Hurricane Rita, or Hurricane K. (Except all my stuff is here, there is no actual rubble or water.)

So I'm still in my jammies...at 12:27. I may go to the movies...after the dentist, but really, I have errands...making a list helps...

More friendship quotes: "A cup of tea together will make us glad and a little friendship is no small matter." --Japanese Folk Song.

I should have gone to bed hours ago...

In helping my friend nurse her broken heart, I'm blogging all sorts of stuff to keep her occupied. So here are so more "blog things."

She is a hybrid of: Academic Girl Progressive Girl Click on the pictures below to read more: Take the 'What Kind of Girl Is She?' quiz at CookingToHookup.com just letters: very cool, thanks bobbie! Okay, I am going to bed--hopefully sleep will come soon and waking up will be easy...

Charles Schulz lives on in us all.

You are Schroeder!


Which Peanuts Character are You?
brought to you by Quizilla

I've been blogging for awhile now, and learning that the internet can be "just another way to get rejected by woman" (from my fave movie You've Got Mail). But I've also been learning that the same thing about life is about blogs. It takes about three years in life to get to know a place, make friends, put down some roots. In blog time, I guess it takes x amount of months. You try stuff, you envy your friend's html guru, you stop blogging for a while or just post life stuff or just post quotes or photos...and then you find your style. I think I'm getting there, and I hope to continue meeting people through my blog...I really only meant it to be an outlet, for me, to get back into writing. But people have responded and that's cool. Really cool. I do censor myself--there are some posts that stay in draft, even though I'm pretty anonymous, there are people that know who I am and I'm not crazy about total internet intimacy...I mean, on the Internet, we get to be who we want to be....like the New Yorker cartoon where the dog says to the other dog, "On the Internet, no one knows you're a dog." It's getting late, but I wanted to share these thoughts...tomorrow is coming soon and someday Sunday will be a "day of rest," but for now, I'll settle for that afternoon nap. May I wake up with or before my alarm tomorrow, unlike most of this week...

Ta!

It's a rainy day in Georgia

Actually, it's a rainy day in Pittsburgh, but I love using song titles as titles for my posts. I'm in my cataloguing mode, so there are no windows--the only way I knew it was really raining was my trek out to the stacks to see what movies I could scrounge for tonight. So I think it will be Save the Last Dance for me and City of Angels. This is my 6th day of working in a row and I need to blast off some steam!

http://www.grimmfairytales.com/en/main This is one website that always makes me smile...

Also, I got some Schubert. I've been reading Think Denk, the blog of this concert pianist, and he was listening to Schubert while sorting his mail. My knowledge of classical music is minimal, so I always take recommendations. I'm familiar with Beethoven, Bach, and Mozart, but beyond that... I do like Aaron Copeland a lot. And Gershwin. There's this one Gershwin piece that is called "Walking the Dog" or something like that, and it truly is that. I heard it at the Kennedy Center a few (could it be almost five?) years ago when they had their Memorial Day concert. It was rained out and therefore inside...I don't remember, but it was a free concert and wonderful.

I once dated a guy who loved opera. His parents gave him season tickets for his birthday and so while we were a couple, I went along as his date. I fell asleep almost every time. I hate the fact that they give you the English--the translations are always so horrible, I'd rather just listen to the music. I love the Magic Flute as an opera, have seen it three times (once in Pittsburgh, twice in Warsaw, Poland) and I have to say the Pittsburgh Opera didn't do it service. In Warsaw, the opera was part of a summer-long Mozart festival (it was the anniversary of his birth or death) and the costumes were fabulous and the venue was a smaller, more intimate one than the Benedum Center. I did like going into town though; we'd usually have a fancy restaurant dinner (with wine, hello, did you want me to fall asleep or not?) and then go in. We'd get all dressed up, which I love doing--something I do so rarely now--the OD is much more a jeans and t-shirt type church, and children's librarians mostly wear pants. I remember once wearing my green Liz Claiborne dress which had been a bridesmaid dress for a winter wedding (the only bridesmaid dress I own, actually). I am such a girl (well, if the pink sneakers didn't tip you off...). Well, back to work. I have about a half hour to go...and then off to the grocery store. I'm thinking it's a Dijourno night...although I'll be having pizza for dinner tomorrow night too...I have to start cooking again!

Ta!

lyrics I love: for educational purposes only

My bonnie lies over the ocean
My bonnie lies over the sea
My bonnie lies over the ocean
Please bring my bonnie to me

My story is much too sad to be told, But practically ev'rything leaves me totally cold The only exception I know is the case When I'm out on a quiet spree Fighting vainly the old ennui And I suddenly turn and see Your fabulous face.

I get a kick ev'rytime I see You standing there before me. I get a kick though it's clear to me You obviously don't adore me.

My shadow's the only one that walks beside meMy shallow heart's the only thing that's beatingSometimes I wish someone out there will find me'Til then I walk alone

Sail on silver, girl Your time has come to shine All your dreams are on their way See how they shine Oh, if you need a friendI’m sailing right behind Like a bridge over troubled waterI will ease your mind

I am a rock, I am an island...if I never loved, I never would have cried.

Wake up little Susie, Wake up! The movie wasn't so hot, it didn't have much of a plot. We fell asleep our goose is cooked our reputation is shot, wake up little Susie, we gotta go home!

Mama pyjama rolled outta bed, she ran to the police station
When the cop found out, he began to shout, he started the investigation
And it's against the law, it was against the law
What what mama saw, it was against the law

Music is playing inside my head Over and over and over again My friend, there's no end to the music... Ah, summer is over But the music keeps playing And won't let the cold get me down Pictures are forming inside my brain Soon with the colors they'll rain together and grow Then don't you know, don't you know there'll be music... Ah, it's not always easy But the music keeps playing And won't let the world get me down.

And my absolute break your heart favorite: The awful truthConcerning meThe creature-feature mysteryIs simply thisIn the worst wayI wanna playMRS. DRACULAThe challenge is toughBut I know I've got the stuffTo be just spectacularCan't you see it in lightsROSIE REALLY MEETS DRACULA!So close your eyesAnd visualizeMe in a capeAnd fangs in my headLoving a guy who's mostly dead(I don't see him often'Cause he sleeps in a coffin)Nothing could be zanierThan our lives in TransylvaniaWe're fabulous one dayAnd rotten the nextVariety saysTHOSE TWO MUST BE HEXED!At six in the morningWhen my sweetie is yawningI feed all the batsA mush made of ratsThen I tidy the tombCover all the trap doorsAnd wash any old blood stainsOffa the floorsDON'T YOU SEEThis juicy partWas meant for me!I got the looksI got the styleI got the bloodshot eyesAnd a ghastly smileIt's the dream of my lifeTo play DRACULA'S WIFE!The reviews will all raveThis movie's a whopperA super show-stopperAnd no one can top herNot Rosie!Dear Academy,Take noteI should get the Oscar voteIf I don'tI'll bite your throat!Signing off nowQuote, unquote

Silly me...

Laughter is love lived outloud

The verse that I have pinned to my bathroom wall says, "I praise thee for I know that I am fearfully and wonderfully made." It's from Psalm 139, the psalm that brought me home. My senior year in high school, I came across a verse of Ps. 139: If I fly on the wings of morning, even your right hand will find me there. The poetry just got to me, like the line in the hymn that says there is no place that God is not present there.
***************
There is a girl over there who is half my age and wearing the exact same pink sneakers I'm wearing now. I got them at Payless!
***************
Tonight I have helped an art teacher who comes in a lot, an aunt whose niece is coming to visit ("she loves to do crafts"), and a boy who wanted a book on making your own rockets. I love my job!! I also troubleshooted with our help desk and told them what I thought the problem was and they called me back to thank me coz I was right!! (Total ego boost.)
***************
A friend of mine got her heart broken today. Luckily, hot chocolate was near. Chocolate always soothes a broken heart. So does laughter. When I called my sister tonight to fill her in on my day and the events of the week, a story I told her made her laugh and she said you make me laugh and I said life is not worth living if you can't laugh. Which is really true.
***************
I said I'd post poetry, and I just realized I have a poem stuck in my email account, so I'll dredge it up. It's about basements. My friend's heart was broken in a basement, a basement where she has played ping pong, piano, debated politics, practiced speeches, had great conversations...and the beat goes on. Geography can be redeemed.
****************
I'm kind of excited about thinking about the Writing Program at Carlow. If I could finish the novella I've been working on since college (too long ago), what a birth that would be--I've been in labor for over 15 years!!

**************** 2 Poems by Sarah Louise*************

Ode to a Basement: on the occasion of my Birthday at the Open Door

This basement has been one long party:
The candles on my nineteenth cake,
The Easter breakfasts, wedding receptions, Alpha dinners.
Cornerstone began the fest:
We faced the other way and sang choruses to a lone piano.

When upstairs was being beautified, church was here, Lou at the helm--
He could always count on me to laugh at his sermon jokes.

Now we journal, paint doors with glue and candle wax,
Offer communion and community one to the other.
Pray--we always prayed, and this hasn't stopped yet.
Now we have candles and anoint each other with oil.

Basements have always been fun:
When at six I gave Lydia the purple dress and Jesus freckles during Sunday school.
Making eyes at cute guys across the Bible verses,
and singing, always singing.

"They will know we are Christians by our love" was my song,
and I knew I was in the right church
when I worked Saturdays side by side
Unionly, at Stanton and Negley.

Ode to a basement: this one and my past and future.
Who knew a cellar would be at the root of it all?

***********************
Trial Size

Who are they kidding?
Three ounces of something
is supposed to get me
through
this?

*********************2 of my favorite Knock Knock Jokes
Knock Knock
Who's there?
Oswald.
Oswald who?
Oswald my gum.

Knock Knock
Who's there?
Iguana.
Iguana who?
Iguana hold your hand...

***********************
I visited a lady today to talk to her about Seminary, even though I decided yesterday that I'm probably going to do the Carlow writing thing, and she had a picture of a girl dancing and the words "I hope you dance." In her office, she had drums that she had purchased from one of the drummers from the band Rusted Root. She runs a summer institute for high school students and one of the classes the past coupla summers has been a drum class taught by this guy. Pretty cool. I would love to learn drums. I like to think I'd be pretty good. (Hee hee.)

I wish I had a picture to post...I'll have to work on that.

Memento mori

I just found out one of my writing teachers from college died two summers ago. We're just about to "close" on my grandmother's house, so I'll probably not see it before the new owners move in. Friends of mine just bought a house of a guy who died. This guy was a shop teacher and so a lot of his stuff is related to building or cars, etc. It reminded me of all the stuff that used to be in the basement of my grandmother's house--Grandpa died my senior year of college and Grandma just died in December.

It's wierd--I even got the issue of "Pitt Magazine" that listed her as "in memoriam," but I'm not used to reading that page for Pitt. I'm still young enough...yet so was she...only 2 years older than my dad is now! (She was 65!). I'm considering going back to school either for writing or for seminary and if I did writing, I'd be back at Carlow, where there is now a Pat Dobler Writing Center in her honor. Wow.

I'm not sure what the focus of this post is, or if it has one, but I just needed to get that out. Tomorrow I'll be talking to some folks at the Seminary to see if it's what I want to do, but a writing program that makes you go to Ireland for 11 days? I don't know if I could resist...

It's official--the OD at UP!

I love the fact that the initials for my church are also the initials for Over Dose...(and we're right across the street from a drug store) I guess I have a weird sense of humor. UP stands for Union Project, the building we are renting worship space from. It was like having a birthday, anniversary, reunion, and therapy all wrapped in one. We did a lot of praying, singing, shaking hands, hugging, and I did a lot of "I can't believe...how great it looks, that we're here, that this is happening..."

The sermon was all about light, and so we got glow sticks. Our waitress at Sharp Edge said to BJ, did you guys just come from a rave? No, we just came from church. The most fun at church was watching some of the guys go crazy with the kids, having "laser sword" fights and just messing around. Guys that are crazy about kids are so attractive to me. (Which would make sense, since women and children make up most of my life...) (I couldn't be with someone who didn't think kids and kids books etc weren't cool.)

Watched You've Got Mail for my afternoon nap, and there's the scene where Meg Ryan says, "well, there's the boat thing..." and Tom Hanks says, "What boat thing?" And she replies, "I could never be with someone who had a boat." He at this point knows she is his online buddy but she doesn't find out til the end so he messes with her and says, "I could never be with someone who liked Joni Mitchell: it's clouds illusions I recall, I really never understood clouds at all--is she trying to be a pilot?"

5 things I did this weekend:

• Installed DSL--woo hoo!
• got a thing-a-ma-bob that allows me to hear CDs in my car (it uses the 88 or 89 frequency and attaches in and the sound comes out your speakers--I don't understand it but it's great!)
• babysat for three lovely children (and made them dinner, something I rarely do for myself)
• slept in front of PBS Friday night: did you know Alan Alda wrote a book?
• took a bath--woo hoo!

Another friendship quote:

He drew a circle that shut me out--Heretic, rebel, a thing to flout. But Love and I had the wit to win: We drew a circle that took him in.

"Outwitted" by Edwin Markham

Gardens

Gardens are great...I hope to get one someday, but for now I wander in the community gardens at the end of my street. They remind me of the community gardens in Warsaw, Poland, where my parents lived for three years at the end of the Communist era. I can't hop a plane to walk the streets of Warsaw, but I can walk down my street and visit the gardens.

Fall is coming...I don't have a favorite season coz I like them all, but I like Fall for all its beginnings: schools, activities, sports.

Here at the library, we have scarecrows and witches all around...and upcoming, the staff pumpkin decorating contest!

Great Kids book of the week: Moon Runner, about a girl who doesn't think she likes sports, discovers she loves to run, has to compete against one of her friends who is used to winning all the time. There are a lot of fun literary twists in here, like the use of the moon and the use of the project the girls are working on about tree frogs. I love kids books because they are short but pack so much in there!

The library is very busy this morning--another fall thing--all summer on Saturdays it was dead.

It's a boy!

Well, Babelbabe had her baby, and we're all tickled pink. I have half a mind to take my walk today by their house and deposit a baby gift...it might be the only way to get myself motivated..the weather here is windy. I promise a better post tomorrow.

Pittsburgh Gray

There's a name for what you get most of the year here in Southwestern PA: Pittsburgh Gray. It's heeerre! It infects you, makes you feel gray, blah, like nothing will ever be sunny again. Not as bad as the Dementors, who suck all of your happiness, but it's enough to explain why Pittsburgh is a beer town with a football problem. You need something to do! Something to cheer, or jeer...please not another rhyme with beer!

My blog was unavailable just now--I was "forbidden" access to it (how bizarre!).

But it's back now.

September Books

Since I have no idea if this will ever get posted in time to our library website, I thought this would be a good forum for it....so far my boss is not crazy about the blog idea (for the kid's dept) but has tasked me to make lists of five books (new in each category.) This is my rebellious creation: low circ/great books that our library owns that has to do with the month of September.

5 Books for September


J PIC WIN September Roses by Jeannette Winter. On September 11, 2001, there were three terrorist attacks in the U.S.: the Trade Center in New York, the Pentagon in Washington D.C., and Flight 93 in Pennsylvania. This book tells the story of two sisters who traveled from South Africa to New York on September 11 for a flower show. They brought roses. But the flower show was cancelled when the Trade Center was attacked. This beautiful book, small enough to hold in one hand, tells the story of the sisters and how they used the roses to heal some of the pain experienced on 9/11.

J PIC MIL Rent Party Jazz by William Miller. A few weeks ago, Hurricane Katrina paralyzed New Orleans. This book tells the story of a young boy who lived in the French Quarter during the Depression, and how he helped his mother pay rent by throwing a “rent party.” The illustrations are bold and bright, with broad brush strokes. You can almost feel the music jumping off the pages.

J PIC FIN Miss Malarkey’s Field Trip by Judy Finchler. September is a time for back to school. Back to school means field trips! This book tells the story of Miss Malarkey’s field trip to the science center. The best picture is when Miss Malarkey puts her hands on the electricity machine that makes her hair stick out.

J811 S Neighborhood Odes by Gary Soto. September is Hispanic History Month. Gary Soto is a poet and writer who grew up in Fresno, California. This book of poetry celebrates his childhood neighborhood, mixing English and Spanish words. Soto writes about piñatas, sprinklers, and tortillas. At the back of the book, there is a glossary which gives the English for each Spanish word used in the book.

J PIC TUN Mailing May by Michael Tunnell. On September 26, 1789, the United States Postal Service was founded. This book tells the true story of Charlotte May Pierstorff who traveled by mail train classified as a baby chick for 53 cents in 1914. The illustrations are a mix of large color pictures and smaller sepia tone pictures that are meant to mimic old photographs. The story is a sweet reminder of what can happen when people think of different solutions for what might seem difficult problems.

Peter Paul and Mary and the guys

Tonight at the Open Door, Peter Nevland did our music. His guitarist is Paul, and the guitar is Mary. I had a chance to hang out with them later, at BJ's favorite watering hole, the Sharp Edge. I always want to call it the Sharper Edge--I think because there was that store that had amazing massage chairs called the Sharper Image.

Peter's style is amazing--singing mixed with poetry and he dances with his hands and his mind...I bought a CD for my brother. I'll of course listen to it first...

I am ever grateful that God has brought me into this band of pilgrims called the Open Door. We talk about the hard issues and no one shuts each other down--at one point I was the only female, and I brought up an issue that we had been talking around and someone took it up and turned it around--it was like our conversation was a pot of clay and we all were getting our hands dirty trying to make it into the best bowl it could be. My life is a life of women and children--librarians are mostly female, and my other two positions are mainly dealing with childcare issues, so it is a rare treat for me to even listen to men talking. To be considered on the level, a participant in the discussion, was beautiful. I am in awe of the caliber of men that I know right now. Thanks, guys.

(The picture is one I used in a collage we made about the mission statement of the Open Door. Water is often connected with the Spirit of God, so I used this photo for "Spirit-Led.")

Just like heaven....

West Virginia, Blue Ridge Mountains, Shenandoah River. Life is old here, older than the sun, da da da da da da da dum. Country Roads, take me home, to the place where I belong, West Virginia, Mountain Mama, take me home, country roads... --John Denver

Reese Witherspoon is one of my favorite actresses, and tonight she did not disappoint. I went to the movies (yes, alone, and I don't care who knows!) to see her latest movie with Mark Ruefelo (Thirteen going on Thirty). Oh it was so great! I laughed, I cried, it was better than Cats! I had the most fun I've had at the movies in a long time. It was beautiful through and through, and the ending was...just like heaven. It actually reminded me of Sliding Doors, another movie where a woman is living in two realities. The best preview for a movie I'll probably not go to: Uma Thurman falls in love with a man ten years her junior. Her therapist encourages it, but lo and behold, it turns out it is the therapist's son. A little too strange for me. I don't generally like movies with therapists...they are so often so stereotypical. The first one with Billy Crystal...Analyze this, that was good, and Freaky Friday (the 2003 version) is great, but in general, I can't watch them. What about Bob? was recommended--I was grateful I got it free from the library. I don't think I'll ever watch One Flew Over the Cuckoo Nest...and I also decided today to give up on Joanne Harris' latest tome, Holy Fools. I thought it would be good--a former circus performer now turned "heretical" nun, living in an abbey in 1610. But bring in her former lover and the power struggle and the revenge just isn't worth it. I mean, I have at least 3 tapes left (yes, it's an audio book) and I am sick of it! I didn't like the way she ended Chocolat, so I'm not sure I trust her to end this one well...I don't even think I'd go to a movie of this book. I mean, if I want an angry audio book, I'll listen to the Nanny Diaries (which I also have out right now.)

Oh my--DSL can't come quickly enough--I can't even hear the audio on the movie website (click the post title, it's a link!) Apparently Verizon has my line now, but I still don't have the DSL stuff (you know, those things you hook on your phone jacks.)

Talked with my mom--she wants to see my blog, asked if I posted any poetry. "You used to write nice poetry." So here's a poem, because it's getting to be fall and I'm still on that friendship theme, and because Ma asked.

(That is, if I can find it...) Which at the moment, I can't seem to. It's called "your friendship hand" and I wrote it as a freshman in college. It's here somewhere...stay tuned. Right now I think I'm going to try to re-scan my profile pic.

Ciao!

Greeting Cards and Lipstick

When I was in Mary Kay, one of the things they always said was that even in hard times, women will buy their lipstick so they can look nice. This devotional from a Purpose Driven life expounds on that, talking about N'Orleans women who are going to get their hair done.

The other item that is "repression-proof" is greeting cards, and I stand testimony to that--I make my own more now but I am always tempted to purchase cards for friends when I'm in the grocery store. Yesterday's Circuits in the New York Times referenced an article about stationery and the "lost art of letter writing." I have a friend from high school who over the course of more than 15 years we have kept in touch by letters. Often we write letters on the fly and then mail three in one envelope. Her latest PS on the envelope read: Quite possibly the mail's equivalent of "cleaning out the fridge." For years, we lived by "no blank space," decorating the envelopes or if we ran out of time, writing in big letters NO BLANK SPACE. I cherish her letters and am grateful that I have at least one friend who uses stationery and gel pens. My stationery is more often white or yellow legal pad sheets from notes I write haphazardly as I'm doing other things.

It's important to have extravagances--life can get blank without them. I indulged in watching parts (but missed the vows--was on my walk) of Today Throws a Hometown Wedding. Hopefully my friend Tivo'd it.

Have a good Friday!! Here's another friendship quote: A friend is a gift you give yourself. (Robert Louis Stevenson)

Sing...sing a song

"See you in September" is what one of my bosses always says as a closing when she talks to her husband on the phone.

Songs I heard today: "King of the Road" by Roger Miller, one of my top 10 favorites. I heard it first on vacation in the Poconos, on a rinky radio in the loft room that was mine for a week. "Trailers for sale or rent, rooms, fifty cents...I'm a man of means by no means, King of the Road."
"Freedom (is just another word for nothing left to lose)"--Janis Joplin, I think. It's not a song I have any specific memory of, it's just a great song to sing at the top of your lungs as you drive down Rte. 19.

Music is really important to me. This morning, on my walk, I trailed a fellow carrying a guitar. I wondered where he was going--he was headed for the residential area, was he going to give or get lessons? When he turned around (the old man at the corner said hello to us both) I saw he was quite handsome. But I imagine he is 23--all men seem to be these days.

My brother is almost 23--he's really gotten me into more eclectic music than I already was listening to, as he listens to a lot of older music, like old blues and old folk music from the sixties.

There's a quote from my favorite of all time book, Dicey's Song (read over 25 times, I'm sure), where Dicey and Mina are talking about what they look for in friends. Dicey says music. Lemme see if I can find the quote for ya:

"So bravery is one of the things you choose by?" Mina asked.
"Sure," Dicey said. "And music."
"Music's not a quality," Mina protested.
"It is too," Dicey insisted.
"You can't be music," Mina argued.
"But you can have it, don't you," Dicey asked. "Don't you?"
Mina started laughing instead of saying anything. "That's what I like about you, Dicey. With everyone else, they want to talk about boys, or clothes, or having babies. You know?" Dicey didn't know. "But with you--"
"I don't know anything about boys, or clothes, or having babies," Dicey pointed out.
"But if you did, you wouldn't talk about them the same way, I bet," Mina said.
[Dicey's Song, by Cynthia Voigt, p. 166]

I admire Dicey because I have always talked about boys, kind of like Mina. I wish I could think about them less...but I've gotten off my topic of music. Whenever people ask me what kind of music I listen to, I tell them, most kinds. Which is pretty much true.

Sarah Louise's top ten songs: (not in any particular order)

1. I wonder as I wander (Appalacian Christmas song)
2. Do you hear what I hear (Christmas song)
3. King of the Road, Roger Williams
4. I've had the time of my life (from the Dirty Dancing soundtrack)
5. I'm walking on Sunshine (Katrina and the Waves)
6. Love Shack (the B-52s)
7. Music (Carole King)
8. Be thou my vision (Celtic Hymn)
9. Show me how to catch a fish (from the Picture Perfect soundtrack)
10. Tomorrow (from the Annie soundtrack)

This is, of course, incomplete, but it shows the eclectic range of my tastes. I really like standards, I've discovered, in the past five years, ever since Steve Tyrell came out with his album, "A new standard." I listen to an am radio station that plays "nostalgia music" which is mostly standards. My sister says she wants "At Last" by Etta James played at her wedding. Me too. But let's not get on that track right now...

Since I'm still thinking about friendship a lot these days (and I'm meeting a new friend today) I'll close with this quote from Camus:

Don't walk behind me; I may not lead.

Don't walk in front of me; I may not follow.

Just walk beside me and be my friend.

Albert Camus

Fidelity and Flowers; High and Broken

God made people because He loves stories. --Elie Wiesel

DSL, you are coming soon! I just lost a post because I forgot that I had "fallen offline." Agh! Well, it was a post that probably was just going to sit in the draft piles--it was a little too personal.

Listening now: Storm by Fernando Ortega
Watched over the weekend: Discs 1&2 of Friends: The Complete First Season.

In thinking about the movie Broken Flowers, (see BJ's blog), it occurred to me that it is similar to High Fidelity, a John Cusak movie based on the Nick Hornby novel. The idea that you can "go home" to former relationships and learn about where you are today (screwed up) because of where you were twenty years ago (screwed up).

Nicole Maris: Prince Charming's a [jerk]; bring on the frogs!
Chase Hammond (slurping): Rib-bit!

from Drive me crazy, starring the chick from Sabrina the Teenage Witch.

I have often said Men is actually a four letter word: the final n is silent (Menn).

A story I pull out often to work on begins with this line: my life has been an amphibian kingdom. In it, I tell the (true) story of a friend who so entranced by a guy who picked up a frog from the road that she had a two year affair with him and how it affected our friendship (for worse).

I am doing my best to not stew, but rather stir the pot in a healthy way--I have dredged out some old journals from high school. In them, I hope to unravel some more truth about a man-boy whose memory I thought I had long buried, but who revealed himself in almost human form to me over the weekend. It's amazing--you think you've dealt with something and zing! you come face to face with your past, through a conversation with a friend, through an encounter with an acquaintance. As a writer, I am prone to writing the end of the story of my life, brewing and concocting plot turns in my mind. This may be healthy for a manuscript, for the next Harry Potter, but it is not the best way to analyze one's life.

How do we unravel the strands of God's will, what He allows, and what is dross (not gold)? How do we face and exorcise the demons of our past lives so that we do not re-live them in new stories? As I think about what I want my life to be, I know that I want to clean house now!

So ends one of my more personal and cryptic posts...

I have no more words.

I have a profile pic!

It's not the one I wanted--which is a photo of my retired pink sneakers, and I don't look like this anymore (my hair is close to a bob length) but I really wanted to have this part done, so here it is, subject to change.

Musings on FRIDAY!!!

Oh how I love Friday, let me count the ways...

1. I have tomorrow off (a rare treat) and I'm going to Storywalk and then a goodbye party for a dear friend.
2. Sunday is almost here!
3. Monday will be over before I can blink (Monday will be sooo busy for me)

I think it is so poetic that Ophelia was a hurricane, wandering the coast, has now been downgraded to a tropical depression, but may pick up power and become a hurricane again. It reminds me of when I went to see the Complete Works of Shakespeare (Abridged) a great play that tries to cram all of Shakespeare into two acts...I was a randomly from the audience picked Ophelia, which was tons of fun.

Today I vowed to not turn on the Today show, because every morning when I do, I flood my mind with more images of the wreakage. I couldn't resist, though, and was pleasantly surprised to catch a segment on Today throws a Hometown Wedding, where they were showing the couple the hairdo the bride got to wear in the wedding which airs live next Friday. It was exactly what I needed, just girl-y fun.

It also occurred to me, as I was sitting in my thinking chair, this morning, that Sunday is September 11. We've all been so caught up in Katrina that we haven't had a chance to contemplate 2001. A lot of times, people write really lame children's books to commemorate something big like 9/11. I have to say that there are at least two great books about 9/11. The first one, The man who walked between the towers, tells a story of a tightrope walker who put a rope between the two towers and, well, walked between them. It's based on a true story that happened in 1974, when the towers were brand new. The other book, September Roses, is also based on a true story, of two women who came to NYC from Africa for a flower show that was scheduled for September 11, 2001, and was cancelled. They came with their roses and the book chronicles what they did with them...it is so beautiful, and not at all cheesy, partially, I'm sure because it really happened. (I have to admit I love it when I can put keywords into the Barnes & Noble keyword search and the book I want is the first item.) (It must be a librarian thing.)

Housekeeping: I now have links!! I intend to add more....very exciting. Today I'm actually going to take a class on blogging because I think it would be cool for our library to have a blog for the children's department.

Gotta shelve...we are so behind!!

Refridgerator magnets on your computer

Try this! It's like having one of those magnet things on your refridgerator, only, it's on your computer! Just think how many hours could be wasted (I mean spent usefully, juicing those creative juices...)

Or this site, which posts prompts...actually, this prompt makes me want to find the book it came from...

This site links to a lot more...

This is also cool...

Ciao...off to surf some more...

Girl Captures Gator in Tarentum

Sorry, I don't propose this site to become the next "National Enquirer" or a sensational news forum, but I heard this girl on the radio this morning. It was quite an amazing story. And guess what? Allegheny county doesn't have a county ordinance against alligators! Maybe it needs one...anyone remember that wierd animal that they couldn't even classify that was found a few years ago? I think it was when I was in library school, so four years ago...well, I can't find it on google.

(Btw, the posting title is a link to the story.)

Happy 50 Posts!!

Well, I've done it. I've clicked and put a photo on my blog! Before you know it, I'll have a picture with my profile. (Well, I'll have to scan the image first...) But for me, this is very exciting! This picture is of me with one of my favorite author/illustrators, Kevin Henkes (pronounced like hankies). When I worked for Barnes & Noble, I sometimes took home the promo stand-ups, like the one in the picture, for Lilly's Purple Plastic Purse. Kevin signed the stand-up on the purse. (Can you imagine me, in the dead of winter, carrying this cardboard stand up into the lecture hall, sitting with it, and then standing in line with my friends to have him sign it? It was a sight to see!) Somewhere I have a picture of him signing it. This was a picture taken by the promo lady for the lecture series, which is called Read, Black and White (or something like that...) and features children's authors and illustrators on Saturday mornings. Peter Sis is coming this year--I have to make sure I'm not working that morning!!

Hurrah!

Got this idea from "there are no bad ideas." Thanks David. I was looking for something to do this afternoon. These are the top 100 songs from 1989, the year I graduated from high school. I don't know how to do strike out or underlining, so I just bolded the ones I liked/remembered fondly. Oh that was a year for strange music...Love Shack is the only song I still have a copy of...all the others I hear on the radio occasionally. It's wierd to think that Guns and Roses is considered Classic Rock. When I was in high school, I listened to Classic Rock (like BTO, Grand Funk Railroad...). Now my brother (11 years younger) listens to the music I listened to in high school when I wasn't listening to Bachman Turner Overdrive; he listens to the Police, U2, Guns and Roses. He also listens to the Byrds, Talking Heads, and everything. He has the most diverse music library I know. Oh, and he's always toting and strumming his guitar. It is rare that a roll of film taken by me doesn't have a picture of him, and it is rare that that picture doesn't have the guitar. So here they are, the songs of 1989. A lot of them I have forgotten completely.

1. Look Away, Chicago
2. My Prerogative, Bobby Brown
3. Every Rose Has Its Thorn, Poison
4. Straight Up, Paula Abdul
5. Miss You Much, Janet Jackson
6. Cold Hearted, Paula Abdul
7. Wind Beneath My Wings, Bette Midler
8. Girl You Know Its True, Milli Vanilli
9. Baby, I Love Your Way/Freebird, Will To Power
10. Giving You The Best That I Got, Anita Baker
11. Right Here Waiting, Richard Marx
12. Waiting For A Star To Fall, Boy Meets Girl
13. Lost In Your Eyes, Debbie Gibson
14. Don't Wanna Lose You, Gloria Estefan
15. Heavan, Warrant
16. Girl I'm Gonna Miss You, Milli Vanilli
17. The Look, Roxette
18. She Drives Me Crazy, Fine Young Cannibals
19. On Our Own, Bobby Brown
20. Two Hearts, Phil Collins
21. Blame It On The Rain, Milli Vanilli
22. Listen To Your Heart, Roxette
23. I'll Be There For You, Bon Jovi
24. If You Don't Know Me By Now, Simply Red
25. Like A Prayer, Madonna
26. I'll Be Loving You (Forever), New Kids On The Block
27. How Can I Fall?, Breathe
28. Baby Don't Forget My Number, Milli Vanilli
29. Toy Solider, Martika
30. Forever Your Girl, Paula Abdul
31. The Living Years, Mike and the Mechanics
32. Eternal Flame, The Bangles
33. Wild Thing, Tone Loc
34. When I See You Smile, Bad English
35. If I Could Turn Back Time, Cher
36. Buffalo Stance, Neneh Cherry
37. When I'm With You, Sheriff
38. Don't Rush Me, Taylor Dayne
39. Born To Be My Baby, Bon Jovi
40. Good Thing, Fine Young Cannibals
41. The Lover In Me, Sheena Easton
42. Bust A Move, Young M.C.
43. Once Bitten, Twice Shy, Great White
44. Batdance, Prince
45. Rock On, Michael Damian
46. Real Lov, Jody Watley
47. Love Shack, B-52's
48. Every Little Step, Bobby Brown
49. Hangin' Tough, New Kids On The Block
50. My Heart Can't Tell You No, Rod Stewart
51. So Alive, Love and Rockets
52. You Got It (The Right Stuff), New Kids On The Block
53. Armageddon It, Def Leppard
54. Satisfied, Richard Marx
55. Express Yourself, Madonna
56. I Like It, Dino
57. Soldier Of Love, Donny Osmond
58. Sowing The Seeds Of Love, Tears For Fears
59. Cherish, Madonna
60. When The Children Cry, White Lion
61. 18 And Life, Skid Row
62. I Don't Want Your Love, Duran Duran
63. Second Chances, .38 Special
64. The Way You Love Me, Karyn White
65. Funky Cold Medina, Tone Loc
66. In Your Room, Bangles
67. Miss You Like Crazy, Natalie Cole
68. Love Song, Cure
69. Secret Rendesvous, Karyn White
70. Angel Eyes, Jeff Healey Band
71. Patience, Guns N' Roses
72. Walk On Water, Eddie Money
73. Cover Girl, New Kids On The Block
74. Welcom To The Jungle, Guns N' Roses
75. Shower Me With Your Love, Surface
76. Stand, R.E.M.77. Close My Eyes Forever, Lita Ford
78. All This Time, Tiffany
79. After All, Cher and Peter Cetera
80. Roni, Bobby Brown
81. Love In An Elevator, Aerosmith
82. Lay Your Hands On Me, Bon Jovi
83. This Promise, When In Rome
84. What I Am, Edie Brickell and The New Bohemians
85. I Remember Holding You, Boys Club
86. Paradise City, Guns N' Roses
87. Iwanna Have Some Fun, Samantha Fox
88. She Wants To Dance With Me, Rick Astley
89. Dreamin', Vanessa Williams
90. It's No Crime, Babyface
91. Poison, Alice Cooper
92. This Time I Know It's For Real, Donna Summer
93. Smooth Criminal, Michael Jackson
94. Heavan Help Me, Deon Estus
95. Rock Wit'cha, Bobby Brown
96. Thinking Of You, Sa-fire
97. What You Don't Know, Expose
98. Surrender To Me, Ann Wilson and Robin Zander
99. The End Of The Innocence, Don Henley
100. Keep On Movin', Soul II Soul

School Days

Whenever I visit other people's blogs, if there are 0 comments, I always feel like it's my God-given duty to comment--so it won't be so lonely. Besides, I'm such a writer, and I always have an opinion (which is why i got my own blog). I have friends that send me emails about my blog instead of commenting on my blog...I have sporadic comments but I do not have the following babelbabe and gina have (blog jealousy). But I also am doing this for me, a way to just write write write. I'm almost at the 50 posts mark--I think I'll throw a blog-party. I wonder what that would look like. Hmmm.

Babelbabe is awaiting her baby, so I thought I'd link to "the one where Rachel has a baby" (Well, there are no baby scenes in You've got Mail, I have to defer to my next favorite "show/movie") Here is the link to the entire script, if you're as nuts as I am.

I've started watching "Runaway Bride" again, and over the weekend I watched "Jerry Maguire." School starts today for most everyone that didn't start last week...what do I hope for this school year? A bouquet of sharpened pencils? Daisies? I'm not in school, but a lot of my friends are, so I wish for them good teachers and good comrades.

I'd better get back to typing labels and other librarian-type things.

Blogging...

I really don't want this to be just: this is my life today, this is what I did. I have a "tag" to catch up on from babelbabe, but I think I want to dredge some of my "paper blogging" from my vackay.

Here's one:

I'm from the backyard at 311 Washburn, before you get to the rabbit hutches. There are clothes hanging on the line, which my father disapproves of greatly. No one I know lives there now, the place is full of memories, though...of Uncle K.'s jukebox and his buckets of 45's. Christmas pictures taken in the basement, the pictures taken two years before Grandpa died at Gradma and Grandpa's 50th anniversary. They won't be at my wedding. Neither will Uncle K., the one male that I could count on to tease me about having or not having a current boyfriend. I won't be able to dance with him--my father will insist on "Sunrise, Sunset" (Is this the little girl I carried?). I'm from broken down ball bearings and my tense shoulders. I'm from the me that cannot sit with the people that are as broken as me.

Aug 23 My parent's 36th anniversary!!
Teaching my mom the value of libraries. She was going to call 411 to get a phone number and I told her to call the library. (Although the city of Pittsburgh libraries will no longer offer this service.) She didn't know it costs like $2.00 to get directory assistance on a cell phone. Our library thankfully still considers this a valid reference question. This is being written (originally) longhand, I just found out we can't get online. I write longhand less and less--a friend of mine does everything longhand first and I find that kind of romantic--I'm just so bound to my computer. There is a connection with the pen and the paper and the hand that you just don't get when you type on a screen. Of course in the HP books, everyone uses parchment and quills...

We went to a talk on Monarch butterflies. I took 4 pages of notes (mainly b/c that's how I pay attention). More on that later.

Make new friends, but keep the old; Those are silver, these are goldd. New made friendships, like new wine, Age will mellow and refine...

Am re-reading Duplicate Keys by Jane Smiley, a wonderful thriller that has a librarian protagonist. It reminds me of While I was gone by Sue Miller in the "communal living who did the murder" theme. I love these two women writers, though not all their books are favorites. These two would make my "list," though.

Here's a horrible quote from Stalin that could describe how it could feel when we get overwhelmed with Katrina: One death is a tragedy; a million deaths are a statistic.

On the up-side, the Open Door is going to get to help out with 30 families that will be transported from N'Orleans to Pittsburgh for temporary housing at the Pittsburgh Project. I'm excited that we can dig in and really help!!

Here's one from Nitcka (Nietzche, I mean): "You must have chaos in your heart to give birth to a dancing star." I wonder if that applies to my apartment....

This is one I've been re-reading each time I open my book of quotes: "Borges said we only make one work in our life; we just give it different names." Gonzales Palma in Radio Taxi

As Samuel Pepys said, "So to bed."

11:17

I bet anything you have some of these in your family, and I'm not going to spill any family secrets, but 11:17 is a family code word. Our family owns a house at 1117 C-- St. and so whenever it is 11:17, we say oh look, it's 11:17!! Or the fact that when I was five, I thought "Happy Valentine's Day" was the same as "Have a nice day" and so for months, I would say "Happy Valentine's Day" to my dad when he left the house. Even now, at a quiet moment, I'll say "Happy Valentine's Day" and he'll break into a grin. Writer Cynthia Voigt (one of my favorite writers) had some code word that had to do with The Runaway Bunny. It had to do with carrots...can't remember it at the moment, I'll try to dredge it out.

This morning I did some impromptu gardening...I went down to the Union Project for my walk, basically because I didn't walk to church yesterday and I wanted to see how long it would take me...about 10 minutes, but I walk fast. I imagine it's about a mile. I sat at the bus stop for a while, just to catch my breath and relieve the stitch in my side and I was listening to Jack Hayford talking about binding and loosing on my Disc-man. A guy waiting for the bus picked some trash up and I thought that was cool. Something (or Someone?) told me to go over to my brown eyed Susans. Not mine, really, but I am a brown eyed Susan, so I have a soft spot for them. So I unchoked them from some ivy and pulled out some dandelions and wild strawberries and clover and other weeds--I'm not a gardener, my mom has always done that. I guess it was me saying, the church is not a building, but I am the church at this building so I'll pull some weeds. Someday I'll get to the point where I understand the software that is Blogger and I'll start posting photos.

Since I'm still chewing on the friendship theme, I'll close with this quote. It has been true so many times in my life.

"A friend is one who walks in when the rest of the world walks out."
--Walter Winchell

Walking and Friends

Just finished leaving a comment about his posting on Friendship on John's blog, and it occurred to me that I had a favor I hadn't returned to a friend. So here it is: (mostly verbatim because I figure why not? and I don't have time to edit, as I have to go eat breakfast and other things)

from my friend Susan Fry:

HEY !


Put this on your blog link



Hi

How ya doin


I am not one to send "letters of request" so to speak but that's really what this is....

I need a personal favor.

This is a big one but so easy to do.......


Tell everybody you know......

about Mark J Cundy, "The World Walker"

Please don't sigh and delete. Really. This is a good thing that wouldn't take much energy. A few minutes to spread the word... make a phone call perhaps...

Maybe you know somebody that could REALLY help this guy out.........

Go to
www.worldwalker.co.uk

for the details.

My story........

My sister met him in California. She lives in Fontana CA. He stayed with her for 3 nights.


My plan is to meet him in New York. How cool is that for him... to have met the Fry sisters from coast to coast. LOL!
How cool is that for ME where I am a cancer survivor. He walks for ME.


My request of you.........

Who do you know that lives along his walking route?
Do YOU live along his walking route?
Can you give him a bed for the night? Some food to eat? A shower?
Can you contact the local media to get the word out?
Who do you know that knows somebody that knows somebody that can get the word out???
Who do you know that lives along his route.

If you were to be a host you might do this....

My sister picked him up in town A
He stayed with her family for the night.
She brought him back to town A
He walked and walked and walked til he got to town B ( about 7 hours of walking )
She picked him up in town B and brought him back to her house where he stayed the night.
Morning - she brought him back to town B
He walked and walked and walked to town C
She picked him up in town C
He stayed the night.
She brought him back to town C in the morning.

He has a schedule at his website. You ( or whomever you know ) does not need to live IN the town .. as long as he starts/stops at same general point to keep on the path... where he beds down for the night does not need to be in the same town.


People like me.......People like you........ can help him out.

Spread the word.

Tell EVERYBODY.

Who do you know?
What can you do?

I need a favor.
Can you spread the word?

Susan

while I wait for files to download...

I have socks again! Thank goodness for laundry!!

I think it's cool that Pgh has stepped up and said, we will welcome hurricane survivors into our homes. (Sorry, my third floor walk-up has no extra room). Also, we could have N'Orlean's conventions here...like next summer's American Library Association convention?

I am ever grateful to be living on high and dry land!

Street names I like:

Emily
Ellen
Blessing (I want to get a picture of the sign)
Woodworth
Carmine (name of college philosphy prof.)
Costar
Walnut (I know of this st in Falls Church, Shadyside (Pgh), and Baden (out by Cranberry)

I think it would be cool to have one's picture taken next to the street name that bears your name....

Later, yins! (I always like to point out that yin is Scottish for "one" so yins is the correct spelling of the Pittsburghese version of y'all.) (Such a librarian/English major...)

Friday--Thankfully!!

Reasons I'm thankful it's Friday:

1. Payday: As my father always said, I've never had a bad pay day!
2. Lunch with my friend at Adzema's Pharmacy (I love the fact that there still are drugstore lunch counters here in da Burgh)
3. My last Friday working 9-5 (after Labor Day it's 10-6)
4. Did I mention pay day?
5. Okay, this is a boring list.

3 things in my fridge:

1. bones from my chicken casserole (it was better than putting them in the trash before vacation)
2. old milk and new milk (see above note on vacation)
3. tapioca pudding (a great comfort food.)

3 Audio items I'm listening to these days:

1. Kutless: Strong Tower (a great praise CD, with songs like Come, Jesus, Come, and Better is One Day. My favorite is "Take me in.")
2. The audio book of Crooked Little Heart by Anne Lamott
3. A mix tape I made of folk music back in college. Favorite song: Chained to these loving arms by Patty Larkin

2 movies I've seen this week and 1 I intend to see on Labor Day:

1. You've Got Mail: are you surprised? i should rename this blog you've got a blog!
2. Sleepless in Seattle: I was surprised at the similarities between the two Ryan/Hanks movies--I could write a posting but I think I'd put yins to sleep. (ha ha, sleepless, get it?)
3. Broken Flowers--the website for this is sooooo cool, sort of like a video game. BJ described it as a mix between Garden State (which I've seen) and Lost in Translation (which I've not) on his blog.

3 random books:

1. Chasing Grace: a book I read before I became Catholic, and still cherish now that I'm Presbyterian again.
2. A Two Part Invention: a book about Madeleine L'Engle's marriage to Hugh (not Grant) while he is dying. Very good.
3. Rose Daughter: a Beauty and the Beast novelization that I adored and own in hardcover.

3 more random books:

1. Briar Rose: a Sleeping Beauty novelization that ties in the Holocaust. Beautiful!
2. Tam Lin: a picture book of the fairy tale, wonderful!
3. About the Sleeping Beauty: quoted much in Briar rose, written by PL Travers, of Mary Poppins fame.

Last set of 3 random books:

1. The Friend who got away: a book that keeps getting away from me, currently in the back seat of my car. I've had a lot of friends that got away, so I'm not sure I want to open the wounds by reading this book, but at the same time, I think it is an important topic that is rarely addressed: it's okay to break up with a boyfriend but girlfriends are forever, right?
2. Something Blue: sequel to Something Borrowed, a wonderful book I posted on earlier this summer. I'm waiting for my co-worker to finish it.
3. You can do it: the merit badge handbook for grown-up girls: a book I meant to take on vacation but it was too hefty. It has "merit badges" on dancing, finances, fix the car...

3 Random things:

1. The Friends episode where Rachel messes up the Thanksgiving dessert and Phoebe screams "I love Jaques Cousteau!"
2. Next year's summer reading program is Paws and Claws, Tails and Scales.
3. Boon, our children's dept mascot, is sporting some lost-and-found sunglasses and looks pretty cool.

Happy Friday!!

Restless

I've lost this post twice already due to technical difficulties. It is after midnight, and therefore a new month. I wrote about angst, and quoted from my common book, where I keep quotes from books I like. I raged about wanting to publish a novella I've been tweaking since college but wondering if I dared, knowing there are critics that would say it wasn't "Christian" enough (this, after having a conversation with an acquaintance over the fact that though JK Rowling claims to be a Christian, her characters don't go to church.) (Lewis and Tolkein sidestepped this by creating completely fantastical worlds, goody for them.)

I raged about having a librarian exterior but a Valentine red heart beneath, wondering if anyone besides dear old Dad will send me red roses on my birthday.

I remenisced about the last boy who thought me pretty enough to buy me dinner and walk through Annapolis in the rain...and how his steadiness reminded me of God's transcendence.

I shared many quotes, including these few:

Ultimately, we know that on the other side of every fear there is an answer. --Anon.

Too tired for company, you seek solitude you are too tired to fill. --Dag Hammerskold, Markings.

I love living. I have some problems with my life, but living is the best thing they've come up with. --Neil Simon

All great art comes from a sense of outrage. --Glenn Close

A sense of outrage...I'm getting close to that.

The Open Door Swings East

Since my return to civilization (ha ha), ie a place where I can access my blog, I have been waking up and doing google searches, checking email, blogging, instead of getting up, going for my walk, going on with my day. Well, is two days a routine? Because I did go for my walk on Saturday, and I did not blog. And today I didn't check my email. It may be raining outside...everyone is afraid of the effects of Katrina. I know someone named Katrina, so it makes me laugh, to think people would be afraid of her effects.

I had a conversation yesterday about Google, and about rankings. Neil Gaiman, author of the Sandman graphic novels, is the first Neil (i.e. if you type in "Neil" in Google, his is the first listing). I couldn't remember Gaiman's last name, so I interrupted another friend and said, [friend's name], what is the guy who writes Sandman's last name? It was a great librarian moment, using my wiles to get to the source of the information as quickly as possible.

I'm sorry, this is going to be a pretty lame posting. I want to get out and take my walk. Overnight, my hormones have changed again, and this melancholy I've been feeling could easily overtake my morning and turn it into another love lorn morning at the computer. Ack Ack Ack.

Stay tuned for my "paper blogging" from last week.

If you don't "get" the title, it's the slogan for the Open Door's move from Bellefield to the Union Project. (From Oakland to the East End.) I am not ready to write about it, but I thought it was a pretty good title for a posting. The title is a click-able link. (A trick I got from Babelbabe.)

I'll say this in closing: as love lorn as I feel lately, I have great friends, and a pretty cool life. Time for my walk!!

Vacation rocks

This is a quick post, but I've been gone, so I feel a need to just say "Hiya!" Things that happened on my blog while I was at the lake:
I've been spammed (I didn't know this could happen), visited by friends, and linked. (Check out my mention on the Open Door website!)

When I got back from my week of what my mother called "trapped in the woods with my family" which consisted of no internet access (wow!) I had 1404 messages in my email spam box. I have really got to make some changes 'round here.

Books I read while I was at the lake:

The Historian (good, but confusing)
Must Love Dogs (I think the movie must be better.)
Skating Shoes (a favorite, lemme see if I can find the Meg Ryan quote from You've Got Mail)
Did you know entire movie scripts exist free online? Actually, I think I may read it, there are interesting deletions (the mention of Homer Price and a reference to Krispy Kreme). I can't find an absolute link to the quote, but I have found the quote. Here it is: (forgive me, I just love this movie too much!) (Where is my Joe Fox?)

INT. FOXBOOKS SUPERSTORE - CHILDREN'S DEPARTMENT

As Kathleen walks into it.

It's huge, of course. With its reading area, and stage, and
room for displays, and child-size furniture, and so many
books and so many customers.

Kathleen sits down on a little child-size chair, completely
wilted.

KATHLEEN FROM ANOTHER P.O.V.

And now we see Joe watching her, from a distance. She doesn't
see him.

A woman browsing, stops a sales person.

WOMAN SHOPPER
Do you have the "Shoe" books?

SALESPERSON
The "Shoe" books? Who's the author?

WOMAN SHOPPER
I don't know. My friend told me my
daughter has to read the "Shoe" books,
so here I am.

KATHLEEN
Noel Streatfeild. Noel Streatfeild wrote
Ballet Shoes and Skating Shoes and
Theater Shoes and Movie Shoes...
(she starts crying as she tells
her)
I'd start with Skating Shoes, it's my
favorite, although Ballet Shoes is
completely wonderful.

SALESPERSON
Streatfeild. How do you spell that?

KATHLEEN
S-T-R-E-A-T-F-E-I-L-D.

WOMAN SHOPPER
Thank you.


oops, it doesn't mention that Skating Shoes is out of print. Hold the phone.

KATHLEEN: Noel Streatfeild. Noel Streatfeild wrote Ballet Shoes and Skating Shoes and Theater Shoes and Dancing Shoes and...I'd start with Ballet Shoes first, it's my favorite, although Skating Shoes is completely wonderful (cries). But it's out of print. from: http://64.233.179.104/search?q=cache:uCWGgg9INAIJ:ccms.ntu.edu.tw/~karchung/You%27ve%2520Got%2520Mail2.doc+skating+shoes+you%27ve+got+mail+out+of+print&hl=en



(okay, while looking for link found great quiz on YGM, here it is.)

Started:

book about Bathsheba by Francine Rivers (she rocks!)
The 5 Love Languages for Singles (which my mom started reading and now thinks we all should read)
The Confessor (don't bother--it portrays the Catholic church as a Jew hating spy organization)
the latest issue of Latina

Re-reading:

Writing Down the Bones (what a great book on writing!)

What I learned on my summer vacation: my siblings get older, I get younger.

My sister stepped on my glasses (hey if the first time that happened was at 33, I think I'm doing pretty good)
My sister borrowed my nail polish remover (asked) nail polish (didn't)
I borrowed her shoes to go get my brother at the lake for dinner (didn't ask)
She borrowed my shoes to wear at dinner (didn't ask, got permission)
We held hands and jumped in the water
She tried to teach me how to dive (unsuccessfully and humorously).

I love my family. I had a chance to sleep in my old room in Virginia before hopping a Greyhound from Frederick, MD to Pittsburgh, I came home and fell asleep in front of the TV after I called everyone to say I was home.

More later. I "blogged on paper" while I was in the woods.

I am tea! What are you?

Cor blimey, I taste like Tea. I am a subtle flavour, quiet and polite, gentle, almost ambient. My presence in crowds will often go unnoticed. Best not to spill me on your clothes though, I can leave a nasty stain. What Flavour Are You?

Harry at the Open Door

So here's the 5-7 minutes talk I gave at the Open Door last night. It was well received, and the millions of revisions paid off, because some of my earlier versions would have overlapped too heavily with the actual sermon (which was fabulous.) I'm a real fan of the guy who gave the sermon. He's a seminary student and truly blessed with the gift of preaching.

The scripture is Acts 17:16-34. The version I linked is The Message, a modern paraphrase/translation. So here's my talk:

In the passage we’re about to hear, Paul is connecting with the Athenians on their turf. He comes at them with their literature and points out where their culture has made room for the one true God. So that’s why I thought it was important to bring up Harry Potter. Harry Potter is this huge cultural icon and if you have read any of the books or seen any of the movies, you instantly have something to talk about to most American adults and children. So that is why I suggested to BJ that I could make a pamphlet and he suggested I come up here and give you five minutes.

You know, as a Christian, and a librarian, I shouldn’t say this, but I have not read all seven books in the Narnia series. But I have read all six Harry Potters. Why? Because JK Rowling is a fabulous writer and she’s funny. I love to laugh. If someone had said to me you have got to read Harry Potter, it’s a really funny book, I might have read it in 1997 when it first came out. As it was, I didn’t start reading the books until 2002. Because if you’re going to tell me Harry Potter is about wizards and witches, and all that stuff, I’m not instantly sold. JK Rowling hasn’t read all seven Narnia books either, and halfway through writing the first book, she was appalled to realize she was writing a fantasy book, because she’s not particularly fond of the genre. But JK Rowling can turn a phrase and draw an image in your mind, and she can make you laugh. Don’t get me wrong, I was an English major; I read serious books, but these days, if I’m reading a book for pleasure, it had better have some jokes. For me a book has got to be about relationships and it’s a bonus if it’s funny. Harry Potter has both of those things and more. For one, he is so human: he is just as messed up as the rest of us. He falls in love, he’s got a crush, it doesn’t work out, he fails in class, teachers are mad at him, and I mean this is the everyday sort of stuff. Don’t mistake me—there are scary parts, and Harry Potter isn’t for everyone. I’ve read book six, but I read it quickly, to bypass the unpleasant parts. Right now I’m having a real hard time listening to the last two tapes of the audio book. If art imitates life, we know there are hard times, things we don’t understand and things we have to overcome. I’m not coming here as an expert on why you or anyone should read Harry Potter. I recommend Connie Neal’s book as a resource, What’s A Christian to do with Harry Potter? Her book is an invaluable tool and I would recommend it heartily to anyone who is curious about Harry Potter. I’d like to read the last paragraph of her introduction.

"Not every Christian who will read this book will arrive at the same conclusion. I designed it to help you come to the right decision for you as you seek to please God and follow the leading of the Holy Spirit in your life. In keeping with 1 Timothy 1:5, the goal of our instruction is love that comes from a pure heart, a clear conscience, and a sincere faith. Whatever decidion you come to about Harry Potter, my prayer is that this book will help us all obey Ephesians 4:3: 'Make every effort to keep the unity of the Spirit through the bond of peace.'"

As a Christian, I have had to defend my love of Harry Potter to friends that would make JK Rowling out to be an occult writer and the books themselves textbooks for dark magic. So I’ve read articles, and books and I’ve searched the Internet. The truth is, there are a lot of Christians that think Harry Potter is pretty cool, and not only that, his books are great evangelistic vehicles. Rowling has smuggled the gospel, some say, and her books clearly point to Christ. JK Rowling believes in God. She goes to church. (She's even a Presbyterian.) When asked if there is Christian symbolism in her books, she has said, “Well, it’s not like Dumbledore is Jesus or anything.” There are pamphlets in the back that give information about why Christians find these books important. There’s one for adults and one for parents and kids to share, and the one for kids has a booklist. It’s not a typical Harry Potter list, with books like the Narnia series, or even Lord of the Rings. The books on my list are mostly funny books that I have read with kids that have great friendships.

The story of Harry Potter is a story often told, of an orphan who finds that he comes from a great bloodline. Just about the time when kids are really being mean to kids that cry easily, Harry discovers that he is special. That he had a mother and father that loved him; in fact his mother loved him so much that she died so that he, Harry, could live. In book three, Harry discovers something else, that he had a godfather. I didn’t have a godfather, but I had a grandmother. She died this year. She was ninety-nine. We had three great years before she got sick. I was twenty-five and she was ninety-one, and in these three years she was the grandmother I’d always wanted—I called her on the phone and we talked, she wrote me letters and told me family secrets. My grandmother adopted a sea turtle in my name. She was a special person to me; she was family at a time when I didn’t feel really connected to my parents.
Before Harry meets Serius Black, his godfather, Harry longs for family. He now knows his parents loved him, but they’re dead. Sure, his professors dote on him, and are often parental figures, but they don’t give him outrageous gifts or call on him at odd hours or send him letters. Serius did all these things. Unfortunately, Serius was only in Harry’s life for a short time. But for that short time, Harry got to know what it was like to have an adult that cared for him with a fierce love. My relationship with my grandmother was special. She knew more about life than anyone I knew, and had made more mistakes than I had. My grandmother’s wide range of life experiences gave her an honesty that penetrated my life. I will never forget her. The love she expressed for me in those three years before she got really sick was radical. Isn’t that what the Christian life is all about? Radical love? Christ himself knew the pain of loss, knew he would die for all of us, and loved us, taught us how to love. This is the story of our faith, told time and again: Ruth lost a husband, married Boaz. Abraham lost his native land, and gained a nation for us all. David sinned, lost a son, and became the father of King Solomon. Job lost everything and gained it all back, double fold. We have all lost love, yet if we know Christ, we know that we will find love again. And that is why I love Harry Potter. Because he knows what it is like to love someone and lose them. He knows what it is like when the letters and phone calls stop coming. Harry Potter loves and loses, but he always loves again. This is the real magic of Harry Potter: he is the boy who continues to love.

Bibliography: Neal, Connie. What's A Christian to do with Harry Potter?. Colorado Springs: Waterbrook Press, 2001 (p.9)

Mary's Day

I was Catholic for a few years, so I was surprised to realize today is the day of Mary's Assumption. It's a huge holiday in Poland, you get the day off work, and I think Catholics are required to go to Mass. This is a poem that I found on http://www.sacredspace.ie/ a prayer site run by some Irish jesuits. When I get around to fixing the links on this blog, it will be one of the links. It's a pretty cool way to just sit at your computer and meditate for a bit. Anyways, I really liked this poem. The poet is Czech.


Forgive me, God, but I console myself
that the beginning and resurrection of all us dead
will simply be announced by the crowing of the cock.
After that we'll remain lying down a while...
The first to get up will be Mother... We'll hear her
quietly laying the fire,
quietly putting the kettle on the stove
and cosily taking the teapot out of the cupboard.
We'll be home once more.

--Vladimir Holan

Baby on Board!!

The Open Door Baby has been born! Tea Jane--what a lovely name. I'm so excited and I'm not even a blood relative! Now we're just waiting for the Union Project baby, any day now...

Harry Potter talk, brochure, and Parent & Kid brochures are done! So I feel like, umm, what do I do now? I need to get printer paper, I need to make sure my printer is working, minor details...but I'm in a little anti-climax at the moment.

I need to work on getting a focus for this blog...but tomorrow is another day.

Anna K?

You're Anna Karenina of Anna Karenina by Leo
Tolstoy!


Which Classic Female Literary Character Are you?
brought to you by Quizilla

I got this from behindthestove.blogspot.com

Nancy Pearl rocks!!

Here's the link from LIS News with an interview of Nancy Pearl, librarian extraordinaire.

Also, I have the final draft of the HP talk I'm giving on Sunday. I'll post it Monday...if you want to see it "live" come to Bellefield Presbyterian Church @ 6:30 on Sunday evening.

Now I have to work on the pamphlets...

pink is the new black

Well, I've been working on this 5 minute testimony on Harry Potter for the Open Door, and today on my walk, it hit me: I want to give people something they can't get from the Internet or from reading the books: I want to give them my personal story. All the stuff I've been reading online and in books (Invested in a copy of Finding God in Harry Potter)(Fabulous!) I can put in the pamphlets. So I'm going to talk about Serius and the importance he had in Harry's life, and relate it to my life. Sort of.

Finished Every Boy's Got one by Meg Cabot: I love her!!

Watched Washington Square on Saturday with Babelbabe and Gina--I would not have finished watching that movie alone, but it was a beautiful film. There are some pieces of art (film, books) that I need someone to hold me accountable, drag me along, and then I realize I did like it.

Chick lit, for instance, I don't really think is good fodder for a book group discussion. It's WYSWYG literature--what you see is what you get--no major symbols there. But a book like the Time Traveller's Wife, or Morality Play, or A Patchwork Planet--these have more complex issues and characters, and not everyone's going to like the book, but everyone's going to have something to say. Which is why I was so glad I had two friends who really wanted to finish watching Washington Square--I never would have done it alone. I'm babbling--I'm waiting for my lunch pal to show up and I'm a little giddy from sleep disturbance.

Other movies I'd not watch alone (at least for the first viewing):
Bridget Jones at the Edge of Reason (Renee Zellweger)
Philadelphia (Tom Hanks)
Restoration (Meg Ryan)

Be the church

Tonight the Open Door didn't have a service. Instead we helped out and attended an outdoor jazz concert at the Resevoir at Highland Park. It was nice. I got to see some folks I hadn't seen all summer. I got to meet a friend's new girlfriend (aww). I also got a lemon ice from the Italian Ice guy. Joe Negri played (from Mr. Rogers, Handiman Negri) and the music was amazing. So, since I knew I wouldn't have "church" in the evening, I went to church at the Hot Metal Faith Community, which is on the South Side of Pittsburgh, across the Mon river. I had to take the tenth street bridge, which reminded me of when I dated a guy who lived on the South Side and we would walk from where we worked (Barnes and Noble Downtown) to his house, across the bridge. I am a very geographically oriented person when it comes to nostalgia...it gets easier to cross the tenth street bridge each time I do it. Actually, speaking of nostalgia, on my morning walk I walked by some community gardens near my house. It reminded me of the community gardens in Warsaw, Poland, where I spent some time when I was in college. And all of a sudden, I was crying, wishing I was at Wasenki park, where the palace is surrounded by water, and peacocks walk the grounds. On Sundays, there are piano concerts at the huge statue of Chopin. They play Chopin, of course. I haven't been in Warsaw for over ten years, but it all flooded back and I wondered when I'd ever get to go back. I'm doing research for a 5 minute talk on why Christians should at least be educated about Harry Potter for the Open Door on Sunday, and so I spent a ton of time doing Internet research yesterday. Not being a child that fancied she was magical, it never occured to me that kids would imagine themselves doing the things Harry does--but for the first time, on my walk this morning, I wished I could apparate to Warsaw. I wished I could use a wand and clean up the litter. And today, when I was snubbed, I wished I could create a weather disturbance (like a rain shower) to cascade on the person who snubbed me.

So I've been thinking about magic and miracles--the sermon I listened to on the way to church was about how in this age we dismiss miracles...a kid was describing the parting of the red sea to his parents and described it as a military exercise--the air force took care of the Egyptians and then Moses got the Israeli's over the sea in a pontoon boat. The parents were like, really? We need to talk to your Sunday school teacher...then the kid said, if I told you what my teacher really told me, you wouldn't believe it! I thought about an episode of Friends, where Ross dresses up as an armadillo (they ran out of Santa costumes...) for his son and said, "I'm the Holiday Armadillo, Santa's part-Jewish friend." Monica says, "Because armadillos also wandered in the desert?" But it was so cool, because Ross told the story of the Maccabees, who had oil only for one night but it lasted eight. So it got me thinking about miracles and magic--do we really believe in them? I mean, was it the wonder of technology and science and engineering that got the nine miners out safely of the mines three years ago, or was it a miracle? Can we explain it away? Augustine once said, If you understand it, it is not God. I was talking with a friend tonight who is in a very "I don't get it!" place and that quote came to mind. But sometimes when we can't do anything, when our hands are tied behind our backs, so to speak, that's when God works. Because we can't explain how it came to be. And I have noticed that God's timing is impeccable.

I started this entry by talking about going to Hot Metal Bridge...then I got sidetracked. So the HMBFC meets in the Goodwill building third floor cafeteria. I have never seen so many pierced and tatooed people at church! It was cool, and I was glad I had eschewed my conservative Old Navy khaki's for a black skirt and a tank top and t-shirt layered over it. I'm all wrote out right now, but maybe later I'll tell you more about the service, which was pretty cool. Hey, comment on whether you are interested in seeing more posts like this. I never know what people's reactions are when I share my faith experiences.

As BJ (my pastor at the Open Door) would say, Peace Out!

Pet peeve

Why is it that pre-teen boys will not request books from our county system? If we don't have it in hand, they are not interested. What gives?

more LIS news stuff

Hey, what's a blogging librarian to do? Nancy Pearl has her own action figure, but what about Barbie as a librarian? We've been voting for years on this...here are the lastest figures.

Bikers into Bookers? read all about it, here! (And no, it's not the prestigious British book award, which is what got me to open the link...)

Speaking of links, here's something I've noticed that has changed my searching habits. When I am looking for a corporate website, Google rarely gives you the link on the first page (if ever). Vivisimo.com has a great thing called "Clusty" which clumps the results and gives you an index of the sites found. I have found this a much easier way to find corporate websites.

From boing boing, a library worker who is collecting "unfortunate" books. Let me know what you think...at least one of these is a Reading Rainbow book (Tight Times); a few are well known fairy tales/legends...his collection is not exactly uniform...and I'm not sure what his point is. "A First Book on Salt" and "I am a Jew" have the flavor of 100 worst album covers, but others just look like the illustrations are out of style or the titles are humorous. I think there needs to be commentary, as to why he thinks they are unfortunate.

This is kind of cool, too, a tool to see who's linking to you, or how many people are. It's called Tooldigger and it's from Fred...on something.

Well, my time is drawing nigh...so I must bid you adieu.

More fun with soul baring in blogs...

1. Reply with your name and I'll respond with something random about you.
2. I'll tell you what song/movie reminds me of you.
3. I'll pick a flavor of jello to wrestle with you in.
4. I'll say something that only makes sense to you and me (maybe/maybe not).
5. I'll tell you my first memory of you.
6. I'll tell you what animal you remind me of. (David chose to pick us new jobs from ArtSearch instead, so ok...)
7. I'll ask you something that I've always wondered about you.
8. If I do this for you, you must post this on your blog.


Babelbabe did this for me:
1. I think it’s so cool that you have sayings and Bible verses and such taped all over the inside of your car.
2. Clueless with Alicia Silverstone (not that *you* are clueless, just the general vibe of that movie makes me think of you)
3. Orange or maybe the champagne/grape stuff
4. Do you really not like triple-thick milkshakes, or was it just that one night?
5. Yoga with Nitsa - you were wearing a really cute bright pink sweatsuit and trying to contort yourself into some insane yoga position that was invented for people shorter than people like us!
6. Gazelle or an okapi
7. Does it offend you if I swear in front of you? Because you are a Christian, and a good person, and I am a degenerate who often curses like a sailor…I’m so self-conscious about it, and I wouldn’t want to annoy you.

My notes: 4. I really don't like triple thick milkshakes--I want it thin or I'd ask for a Frosty. Don't give me something in between!! I am still not happy with McDonald's switch to thicker milkshakes...esp when I want a drink and they give you an open top with a spoon, not a straw, and you're in the drive thru...
7. I swear too...I think there are things that would offend me more than you cursing in front of me. I try to be a good person...It's nice to of you to say I am.
6. Gazelle? Really? And of course the few of us that have read the Poisonwood Bible know what an okapi is. Actually, I saw one at the Philadelphia zoo and I was so excited (this from a non-zoo lover!). The best part of the Philly zoo is the paddleboats that look like huge white swans. Ah, it was one of my last weekends with my cousin before she left Philly--the last time we really did a "girls" weekend. She's married in Reading now...alas. Isn't it silly that it is closer for me to visit my parents in DC than it is to visit my cousin in Reading, when Reading is in the same state!!

Sigh...I love blogging...it sort of brings out the sleepover party back to life...

Meg Cabot rocks

Okay, I did say (was it on Babelbabe's blog) that I was getting tired of Chick Lit (gasp!) but then the newest Meg Cabot book came to my "in" box at work. I love her because her books are not straight text but also include "shots" of store reciepts, airline tickets, emails, faxes...and there are usually 5 characters all talking to each other via email/blackberry/passing notes (on the plane, as you can't use electronic devices). I was reading Every Boy's Got One at lunch and laughed out loud.

I'm listening to Harry Potter and the 1/2 blood Prince in the car...I am retaining so much more than when I breezed through the book last week in 2 days. JKR has such a great sense of humor--and the books seem more like mysteries than straight fantasy/sci-fi. (The kids are always trying to find out who's up to what...kind of like Scooby Doo.)

Street Cleaning tomorrow--cars on the other side!

So I finally watched Shop Around the Corner, with Jimmy Stewart. It was rather nice. I was not disappointed, but I am a modern girl, I prefer You've Got Mail. I was amazed at how quickly the ILL went through (Inter Library Loan). I requested it on Monday and got it today! (Wednesday!) Well, it's bedtime, but I did want to pass that on...

Ciao for now!

word to the wise

Okay, I admit it, I am a magazine addict. If you were to visit my third floor walkup (though in August, you'd be pretty daft), you would find issues of InStyle, Interview, Real Simple, Budget Living, Money, und so weita (German for and so on). But I get too much junk mail. (Including magazines I don't read.) So yesterday I attempted to stop these mags (and hopefully get a refund?). Well, I think I have succeeded at a) but failed at b). Don't subscribe to magazines except through the magazine unless you want to talk to a inane electronic woman who has 2 different phone numbers (at least.) I don't even know how all my magazines got the same acct number, because I did not order them at the same time from the same company. (Or so I thought...) Anyways, it was a mini-nightmare, but I think I will be getting less mail. Now I need to tackle the guys who think I live in Apt #33. (As if you could fit even one more apartment in this old house.) I need to send an email or something to the powers that be that run the mail racket. I have to say, getting caller ID has saved me so much agony--I used to be at the beck and call of telemarketers because...ah, the phone ringing! It must be Ed McMahon with my million dollars, or that cute guy down the street wanting a date on Saturday night. Instead, when the phone rings and I'm at home, I pick it up, and if I see "unknown caller," I just wait to see if they leave a message! It is a wonderful thing!! Ugh, it's getting to be 9:20. I better eat something, shower, and off to work. Today when I went on my walk, at the edge of the trees, I came into a field and I felt the heat. Ugh. I was so glad when I reached my air conditioned walk-up oasis. I'm ready for fall..."If I knew your name and where you lived, I would send you a bouquet (bewqay) of sharpened pencils..." (Tom Hanks, You've Got Mail). I'm soon ready to unveil a picture of sorts...I like Gina and BabelBabe's solutions...