A good library is a place, a palace where the lofty spirits of all nations and generations meet.

(Samuel Niger)

There was no fanfare, no celebratory cards, but woo hoo, yesterday was the fourth anniversary of me working at my library!! Although I worked for Fox Books, the company, for seven years, it was one, one, three and three in three different locations. So for me, this is a milestone. I didn't even go to college in the same place for four years!

Our library is huge (we have about 100 employees, counting the folks that only work weekends and/or nights). We serve five municipalities and we are blessed at the moment with a decent budget. We definately have an upstairs/downstairs culture, since I have no reason to go upstairs unless to buy pop in the library store or browse through the stacks. (Circulation used to be upstairs but now it's downstairs since the renovation.) Upstairs is Adult Services, so that's 90% Librarians except for a few folks in the computer center that are Library Assistants. Downstairs is more of a mix: Children's, Circulation, Administration, and Tech Serv (i.e. the rest of us, a hodge podge of Clerks, Library Assistants, Librarians, and what have you.)

Librarians and support staff are 98% women (we have 3 men on full time staff, one man who works nights and weekends, and some teenage boy shelvers) and so I've learned how to work with women. It's different--the bookselling world at least in Pittsburgh was male dominated. In Virginia it was more balanced, probably due to the fact that the job market is completely different! (There are real jobs for smart men in Virginia. In Pittsburgh, well, we're working on it, I guess.) (Sorry, let me rephrase that: men who graduated with a liberal arts not engineering degree.)

It's cool, though. We have women in every stage of life. When I broke my tailbone last year, everyone had their own "I broke mine too" story. We have many cancer survivors. We have moms and grandmas and five single childless women. Divorcees, widows, we have it all! Two moms have kids with special needs and we even have one mom and daughter that both work at our library.

I've been to one funeral (for a co-worker's husband). The woman that held the position in Tech Serv that I now hold died right after I took the job, and recently there was a funeral for a woman who worked at the library over four years ago. A lot of folks went. I just missed working with her--she retired right before I started.

People change departments, job descriptions--at least two librarians started as clerks in Circulation. Two librarians that now work in adult services used to work in Children's. Hiring from within is definately part of our culture. When I was having problems two years ago and Gabrielle was leaving to spend more time with her kids, my boss boss and my boss in the Children's dept thought I might like splitting my job between Kid's and Tech Serv. Me, who had never taken a cataloguing class in Library School, except for the core class which is now called "Organizing Information." I don't have the heart of a cataloguer and the detail oriented-ness sometimes drives me up a wall, but I do alright. The fact that I was basically handed the job means the world to me. My boss in Tech Serv has a heart of gold. (She is not universally well liked by all as she is rather talkative in meetings and stands up for her beliefs, but we in Tech Serv stand by her.)

Most folks live in the vicinity and laugh that I drive a half hour to get to work. But I like my commute, it gives me a chance in the morning to prepare myself and in the evening to decompress. When gas prices skyrocketed a year or so ago, everyone teased that I'd need to find a place closer to work. So far (thankfully) it hasn't come to that. My mom, as an elementary teacher, talks about not going to the same swimming pool as her students, not seeing them in the grocery store. I like that separation of work and where I live. Besides, my church is here in the city, where I live. I like that it's less than a mile away and if I wasn't a white woman and my church didn't meet at night I'd probably walk to church. But this post is about my library, so I digress.

I have never felt about a place that "This is the place I could retire from" and for me, retirement will be in 25 years or more, but I feel that about this library. It's a place that I know will support and encourage me when I go back to school and if marriage and a family become a part of the mix, I know that I'll be able to work my schedule around those events too. Plus, I have a host of women to celebrate each moment along the way.

And next year, when it's five years, I'll get a special certificate and a pin at the Staff In-Service Day! Woo hoo!

(No, I won't tell you where I work. It's a library in the North Hills of Pittsburgh but it shall remain nameless for the sake of this blog.)

Things we do around heah (new meme!)

Badger-->MsCellania-->Blackbird--->me!

• BOOKS BOOKS BOOKS!
• especially Eat Cake, Dicey's Song, and Girl's Poker Night
• Audio books in the car
• Wendy's for lunch--ice tea, please!
• Drive used cars
• Buy cut flowers
• Listen to a myriad of radio stations ranging from nostalgia to "variety" and including country
• Church on Sunday evening
• Morning walks
• Taking lotsa digi pix
• Staying in touch, whether by email, cell, or telephone. (In person trumps all these, though.)
• Tea or coffee at Tazza
• Cinnabons on occasion (for Miz S)
• Movies in the theatre, reading all the credits.
• Movies at home, again and again and again.
• Friends, Sex and the City, Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip, and Crossing Jordan (once they bring out the new season...)
• Sandcastle, at least once every summer
• Ice Skating

Sarah Louise's Traveling Tips for Air Travel

Well, the first stop is of course a google search.

I have my quart size bags, but what to do with my contact solution...which is not packaged in a 3 oz. bottle.

A few things I found:

Article from the San Diego paper

TSA Blog--the fact that they have one tells me we are not in Kansas anymore, baby. There's a new catchphrase that has to do with security: 311:

• 3 oz bottles
• 1 quart size bag
• 1 per passenger

An interesting website: nevercheckit.com, which offers free info and also sells toiletries with a free ziploc bag!

Hefty's website leads me to believe that quart size is not enough, the requirement is also zip-top.

More later....

"Well I guess if the van breaks down..."

(Michelle Trachtenburg, in Ice Princess)

Somehow, Miss "I never miss the credits" missed that the story was written by Meg Cabot aka Meggin Cabot, Chick-lit goddess. (It's because I don't read credits when I watch videos and I never saw this in the theatres.)

This is a silly chick flick but it makes me happy. I don't need to apologize for that, actually. I happen to be a silly chick.

The main elements: ice skating, two girls rebelling against their moms, Joan Cusack in a serious role, Kim Cattrall in a character role, and well, lots of ice skating. Oh, and a teeny tiny romance.

It's actually very feminist: Michelle's character wants to be an ice skater but her mom is opposed to it because it's a fantasy with girls wearing tiny costumes.

My favorite quote: "What's wrong with wanting to feel strong and graceful and beautiful for once in my life?" (Michelle Trachtenburg)

Kim Cattrall shines in this. It is such a crime that there are not more actual (as opposed to character) roles for women her age.

Well, the movie's about to end, and maybe I'll get a morning walk in. Have a great Saturday!

Update: I'm currently cataloguing a book called Zamboni: the Coolest Machines on Ice. My brother when he was 8 or 9 decreed that I would marry a Zamboni. Not the driver, mind you, but the machine itself. I think this is back when he was planning his own wedding at Pizza Hut.

What I should be doing right now...

...is preparing for tomorrow's Mother Daughter Bk Club on Charlotte's Web.

But my brain seems to have slowed down to the opposite of warp speed.

It might have something to do with the fact that this week I have been going a little too fast. And doing a little too much. (Or, actually, a lot. Let's see: a birthday party, a poster session for a conference, a major order for the cd-rom collection, plus working extra hours to get things done...) Oh and emotionally: a fight with a friend, the reemergence of another one, and the spectre of getting ready to fly to the beach. (Oh, I'm sorry, have I been rubbing that in?)

So...Light Up Night happens every single year. So do bagpipes. What I need is a quiet evening AT HOME! (Although **update** I just got a call from a friend who might be interested in going...I'll keep you posted)

Of course, it helps that Home to Big Stone Gap has come in--I can sit on the sofa and read!!!

I love the cover, but I'm not sure who that's supposed to be...It looks like a girl with her hair up, wearing a blue coat over her wedding dress and white fur covered boots.

Oh, and here's the link to the Tribune-Review article about the dahntahn Fox Books closing. Here's the Post-Gazette editorial on the same theme.

53 minutes to FREEDOM!

It's FRIDAY!!

So, I'm 99% sure that I'm going to Light Up Night. On my ride to work I chatted with Dana, a family friend, who has a gingerbread house in the gingerbread house competiton. It's a Victorian house with a turret and a two story porch.

Dana brought me up to speed on her family news and my family news (she and my cousin were best friends in high school) and her son Cameron made chatter in the background.

She has caller ID, so when she picked up the phone, she said, "Hey girlfriend" and Cameron said, "Who is it?"

I had a long walk today. I did not do the stairs. There is a house for sale by owner...I might call to see what they're asking...AFTER Thanksgiving.

Already I have way too much just in the next three days:

• Tonight: Light Up Night
• Tomorrow after work: catch up on homework for Beth Moore and Stewardship classes...
• Sunday: either go to Stewardship class or go see bagpipes at Bab's church...
• Monday: still don't know if my therapist has decided to work next week...

Plus, I have to pack for the BEACH (I have my quart size baggies--now I have to see what toiletriese are permissable for carrry-on for my flight from Pittsburgh to Myrtle Beach.)

Oh, and I have to figure out if I'm going to have my mail held at the post office while I'm gone and whether I'm driving to the airport....

But did I mention, IT'S FRIDAY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

For lunch, I'm doing Chinese (it means I'll have Chinese for dinner). And I need to start pushing paper on the CD-ROM order now that I have made my selections...

Oh, and I saw a very fat cardinal just as I pulled into the parking lot. I almost missed it because it was the same color as the leaves on the bush. Oh, and I saw three blue jays on my walk.

AND DID I MENTION IT'S FRIDAY?????????????

An Introverts guide to Exhaustion: or When it rains, it pours!

7:45 a.m. phone call from friend as she's driving to work. Get cut off for about ten minutes.

8:05 continued phone call. It doesn't go well. I tell her she's going to be late for work, and we hang up.

8:15 send a few emails, call dad. Refreshed and ready to face the world I prepare to...

9:15 go to grocery store. Agonize over Thanksgiving cards. Who sends these? I bought three. (I may be sending them? this year...) Oh, and I couldn't resist a magazine with Jennifer Aniston on the cover...

9:50 get home, phone rings, talk to different friend, in response to one of my emails.

10:00 cell phone rings. Put home phone down, it is Sally, wanting to know where she should park. It's not street cleaning, oh, yes, (looking at calendar) it is the 3rd Thursday...hang up cell phone.

10:01 hang up with first friend, rush down to move car.

10:05 (I had to parallel park!) Sally and I go inside.

Are you tired yet?

Fast forward: I run into guy from first floor, who wants his container back (he brought popcorn to the party Saturday). He also wants to talk, which I do not, as I have company upstairs! I discover that my landlord will be coming over soon, so I stress about the fact that the foyer still has some clutter, which landlord asked me to remove LAST week. Laundry and cleaning ensues while Sally helps me cope with my chaos.

noonish: Lunch with Sally at Chili's, where a friend from the OD is a waitress.

one-ish: Drive to work, where I work on the CD-ROM order. A few phone calls to my distributor and I discover that she DID send me a fax.

I go in search of fax, track it down where it had almost been entered as a bill even though it clearly says Quotation. (That involved two people--but it could have involved three, so I consider myself lucky.)

I call distributor back, explain that she needs to send the next fax with a cover letter. Yes, I know you circled quotation on the fax.

It is not yet 3 pm!!

Satisfied that I've done enough on the CD-ROM order, I go over to Tech Serv, where people haven't seen me for days so they want to know how went the poster session, and the party...

About 3:45 my cell phone rings. It's Marian! She needs a ride to the car shop to pick up her car. I announce that I have an errand and I'll be back in about 15 minutes.

At 4, I call the library and talk to Nan, saying I'm taking my dinner early and I'll be back at five.

Marian and I go to Wendy's for an early bird dinner.

Around 5, she and I enter the library and meet up with lots of people that haven't seen Marian in ages.

No, the day is not done yet!!!

From 5-9, I do myriad tasks, including bringing co-workers up to speed and being brought up to speed (my boss had to go out of town last weekend to take care of an ailing relative.)

At 9, I leave the library, sit in my car and call my parent's house. Nobody's home, well, except for the rodents, and they can't answer the phone. I leave a message.

I commence to drive home. At about Siebert Ave, I experience what I call the screaming mimis, which is when I just want to scratch someone's eyes out. After much agonizing, I call a friend who reminds me that eye scratching is not the best method of conflict resolution. She says she'll pray for me.

I cross the Allegheny River, finish my ride home, listening to Eric Clapton's 1999 album, Pilgrim.

At about 9:45, home at last. And now you're up to speed too.

I haven't decided yet if I'm going to Light Up Night. I love the fireworks and the whole Christmasness of it...I'll have to play it by ear, I think. Plus, I take the bus down--it's the one time I definately take the Martin Luther King Jr. Busway, which I adore. (Buses go really fast.)

Number of people talked to: At least 5 friends, 1 family member, many co-workers. (round it up to 15)
Number of topics: Myriad. Topics ranged from hair color to fax cover sheets to finding my umbrella (yes, it is still lost!).
Number of people I talked to more than once on the phone: Three.
Number of people I communicated with by more than one type of technology (phone, email, fax): At least 2
Number of people I communicated with by cell phone and then in person:Two.

Being at home, listening to the rain fall on the roof: Priceless!

Oh, and did I mention that our spam blocker at work is down again? So that I had to delete more than the usual "Hey, it's Pam, about the password" or "Meet Pittsburgh Singles!" I even had a few emails that were spam pretending to be from our Computer Administrator.

Happy Valentine's Day...

It is raining cats and dogs and "The girl from Impanema" is on the radio.

Yeah, there aren't really words. But just this: I'm learning more about my father than I am about friendship these days. And, that ain't bad.

It is not often that someone comes along who is a true friend and a good writer. Charlotte was both. --E.B. White

How I love the book Charlotte's Web. I had forgotten what a delight it was until I sat on the sofa this evening and polished it off.

Interlude

So as I'm puzzling through this friendship thing (I wrote pages and pages yesterday as I sat in the class on mediation) I had to continue living my life.

It happens. (Life, I mean.)

And I sat in the hotel lobby and talked on my cell phone to my dad, who is my hero of friendship and mediation but probably wouldn't understand this situation at all because it's a girl thing. But then again, he would probably have a different outlook than the two women who have actually heard the details. Nope, I'm not repeating them here. The woman who didn't hear the details but just that I was very disappointed and hurt said that I should speak the truth in love and remember grace. And that I should stand in my friend's shoes for at least a minute. Then she said she'd pray for me and that I could call her before I call my friend to talk about what happened and that she'd pray while I was talking to my friend. Wow. I didn't know I had someone that would walk that mile with me.

Tonight, I'll come home, flop on the sofa and watch the first DVD on stewardship (I missed the first class.) The guy who does the DVDs is a bit eccentric but a good teacher. I think this might finally get me on how to manage my money, especially since Sally and I are going to use this opportunity to use the forms in the book to look at my money, which is why she started helping me on Thursdays to begin with--the original concept was a barter: I'd babysit for her so she and her husband could have a date, and she'd help me untangle my money. But then she came over one day and the bigger problem, the mess of my apartment was more immediate and so she helped me with that.

I think I have a few gold ones I didn't realize I had (make new friends...some are silver and the others gold).

Marian is still not working--if you're the praying kind, say a prayer for her. She's not responding to us reaching out and we kind of don't know what else to do. (And I, of all people, should understand the isolation of depression.)

Yesterday it was very interesting riding the bus back to the hotel (the Rachel Simon talk was at Heinz Field--y'know, where the Stillers play!!). You could tell which women (we're librarians--we're 95% women) understood Rachel's message and which women hadn't had a situation where they were faced with a disability in someone they loved.

Bipolar isn't labeled a disability, it's a disorder. And I pretty much function like anyone else. I have an exuberent loud laugh, I enjoy life, and sometimes I get deep into the pit of the muck of my life. On the surface, I'm fine. And yet, those that know me, know that my life is hard. Harder because I have to take meds four times a day. Harder because I need to see my therapist every week. Harder because I have to deal with these inner mood swings. Harder because when I see someone who is hurting, I want to help them so badly because I know what it's like.

Rachel talked about "curism" and how a lot of folks in the disabled world hated Christopher Reeves before his death because he was so hooked on getting a cure. (They didn't so much hate him after he died.) But how his relentless search for a cure--well, some of us know that we are better people for the broken places. We are more sensitive to others with disabilities or disorders. We understand the human condition just a little differently than someone who doesn't have a disability or disorder. If someone could cure me of bipolar disorder, I'm not sure I'd take that cure. I have developed a social network because I am one of those lucky people that need people. When I hit my hard roads when the future is bleak, I have to look at my life and see where the patchwork has unravelled. I don't know that I would work that hard at my life if I didn't have the mood swings to manage. Rachel shared a wonderful phrase that I'll share with you: she is a woman who happens to have...as if it was one of a myriad of qualities. Which it is. I am a woman who happens to love pink. I am a woman who happens to love country music. I am a woman who happens to love the city of Pittsburgh. I am also a woman who happens to have bipolar disorder.

Others who broke my heart they were like northern stars
Pointing me on my way into your loving arms

(Rascal Flatts, God Bless the Broken Road)

Sarah Louise Goes Dahntahn, Part 1

Oh my goodness! I left my house at 9 am and I only just now got home. ACK! and I have nothing for breakfast in the house...

The poster session went great. Even though I dislike the word cute, I have to agree that that it is the key word for the SAS (Stuffed Animal Sleepover) so I just agreed cheerfully as each AND EVERY person said, what a cute idea!

I think it was one of the pinacles of my professional career. I even wore lipstick, and foundation, and blush and mascara today. And matching shoes with matching stockings (both black).

THEN this evening, I got to go hear Rachel Simon speak on her book Riding the bus with my sister, which you all must have to go read, NOW. (Well, I guess it can wait til morning.) More on that when I have more than one brain cell to rub together...

Let's see, I went to the dahntahn Fox Books, which is closing on Dec 30. I got to see Matt, Joe, and Gary. How bittersweet to see them--just as they are a little more than a month from losing the store...I wandered around the store and there are so many memories...

Oh, and I got to ride public transit, one of my favorite things!! Traveling while reading--how I love mass transit! (Yes, still Little Earthquakes...loving it!)

Well, I'd be more poetic n'at but I have to get up in the morning and do Mother Goose back to back tomorrow which means I gotta go to bed, like NOW. Exhaustion, thy name is Sary Lou.

So...part of what yesterday's cryptic post was about is a friend and something that happened that could really jeopardize our continuing to be friends. So I have to talk to her later this week. Since y'all were so kind in wishing me luck on the poster session, wish me luck as I muddle throught this one. UGH. Luckily, the session I attended this morning was on mediation and active listening and having difficult conversations, either with strangers, co-workers, etc.

How's that go? When the student is ready, the teacher appears?

zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz (oh sorry. I'll wait to sleep until after I hit publish!)

Skate at your own risk

I have lost friends, some by death...others by the sheer inability to cross the street.

--Virginia Woolf

Grateful am I to those that do cross the street to embrace me. Grateful am I to those that let me shower them with moments and flowers and time. There are many strong women in my life. May I be able to grow stronger too.

In other news, I have the new audio for the new Adriana Trigliani book, At Home in Stone Gap. It is wonderful, but only on CD, so I can't listen to it in the car. (DRAT!)

Wish me luck--tomorrow is the library conference and the poster session on the Stuffed Animal Sleepover.

Handle me with care

Been beat up and battered 'round
Been sent up, and I've been shot down
You're the best thing that I've ever found
Handle me with care

(lyrics by Roy Orbison, sung by an 80s band, the Travelling Willburys)

So...it's this whole NaBloPoMo thing. Badger's been doing lyrics, I've been procrastinating on adding the do-hickey to my blog (I know how to do it, it's just not my favorite thing to mess with, I'd rather write.) I've been getting some new visitors and new commenters (YAY for de-lurking!) and so last night I tried the NaBloPoMo randomizer. I found five blogs I'll probably return to, and I've found a new favorite blog because it has this amazing soundtrack. The Turning Point, written by Carol (another Pittsburgher) has this amazing thing where you can listen to music. I haven't figured the technical part yet (see above) but I'm listening right now.

So this is a hodge podge post as I wait for my coffee call from Babs. (Coffee, yay!)

Yesterday I mentioned the Paul McCarthy/Wings/Beatles joke. I guess my version would be, oh yeah, I loved Tom Petty's work in the TW. That's when you get blank stares from the eighties babies who know ALL about the Talking Heads and think they're SO into music. (Yes, I'm referring to my baby brother here. Although he might know of the TW's cause he IS that hip.) I mean, I was never into what is that band, the one that sings the Rhapsody song...wait for it...Queen! But my sibs (both born in 1982) are so into Queen and my cousin and I (late 60s and early 70s, respectively born) are like, we were never into them. Well, we were like YOUNG when they were in their hey-dey that's why.

Oh yeah, this is so hodge podge but hey, you'll get that.

So back to Carol. One of the songs on her playlist is Trisha Yearwood's "I would have loved you anyways" which is very much like Garth Brooks' song "The Dance," basically, even though we broke each other's heart, it was worth it. And as a woman who has broken and been broken, I wonder about this. Would I? And am I stupid enough to do it again?

I'm listening to the audio version of Good to Great. Jim Collins is my hero. And one of the things he talks about is how if a company has their ducks in a row (he calls them Hedgehog Concepts) they will ruin themselves from indigestion of good ideas rather than die of starvation. He repeats it. A great company will kill itself from indigestion of good ideas rather than die of starvation. I need to get a paper copy of this book so that I can ACTUALLY quote the guy. So I've thought about this, and how many good ideas are in my life and what would happen if I pursued them all. I would go crazy, that's what!

There is this one idea, though, that is just so tempting...I keep it in the closet of my mind, like a pretty dress that you take out every once in a while--if only you had a place to wear it. But it's too fancy for work, or coffee, or your life. But it was too pretty to leave at the store. I try to justify this idea and I can't reconcile it. I discuss it with friends and they can't justify it either. But it's such a pretty dress, so I put it back in the closet and wait for the right time to bring it out, may that day come.

(Actually, now that I've put it down on paper I see that there are at least three ideas like this in my mind right now, which makes me feel better. And it makes me so glad that I don't have to make any decisions today.)

I'm really digging Carol's playlist. Leonard Cohen is singing "Suzanne" right now and in the time that it took me to find that link now it's Bob Dylan. My brother saw BD in concert recently and said it was the best concert he'd been to. Or the best concert he'd been to in a while? Anyways, he liked it. And to boot, he ran into a girl he went to college with.

Pause...the music stopped, now it is...the Allman Brothers.

And that, dear friends, is not the music, but the tinkling of my cell phone, so I must bid you adieu!

Last night, I dreamt I went to Manderley again. (updated)

(Daphne du Maurier)

Last night I dreamed of death. Our library was doing a program with a woman who was dying. It bothered me greatly and I was reading her book. (It's a dream, I can't really explain it more than that.) I dreamed that my boss was related to Bobby Kennedy and he and his kids visited us and then they went on a plane that blew up. So then our library was writing a memoir for each child (he had eleven.)

So...luckily, Paula informed me a while back that dreams about death are about change, not about death. Phew!

I also dreamed about refridgerators, and going to night school, riding the bus...

I had two beers last night and some root beer and some lovely sodas from Trader Joes. (YES, we have one in Pittsburgh now.) One of my guests brought hard lemonade and Smirnoff, which was all gone by the end of the evening. I didn't try any of the sparkling apple cider, but my guests enjoyed it as it is now gone. My next to last (or my last?) guest to arrive brought me a bottle of wine. And three folks brought me flowers. Kristin brought a vase (which I normally pronounce as if it rhymes with case, but in this instance, as it is all kinds of gorgeous, it has the ahhh in the middle and rhymes with Roz.) Brie, jelly beans, mango chicken, ice cream, cake were all eaten. I have pictures which I'll post later. Other bloggers present included Eileen, with hubby, Pat and John!

I was sad to see my last guests go, but tired enough to not coax them to stay just a little bit longer. Em stayed and cleaned up and washed my dishes (though as is the case with any good party, I found a plate and a bowl this morning that had been hiding.)

And no one made an issue of my age. Tuesday, working the polls, I lamented that I didn't really want to broadcast my age, as I'm pretty sure I was the oldest person I invited (I think Katie's boyfriend is actually older, but I didn't directly invite him.) (But so glad he came!) Where did that thought go? Oh, and Jerome said, but these are your friends, isn't honesty a cornerstone of friendship? And I did the whole bit about how most of my friends are either 5-10 years younger or 5-10 years older and I don't think most people realize I'm about to be 35. It's like having that conversation (this was a joke when I was a girl) at a date about Paul McCarthy and the other person says "Paul McCarthy was in another band before the Wings?" Now, the joke would be, Paul McCartney was in a band called the Wings? I don't care how old or young my friends are! But I don't like having that part of the conversation where a person tells me they were three when I was in seventh grade. (Yes, I've been in this conversation.)

As I was preparing for my party and I called Sally (not the one I went to the urban craft sale with) and told her I'd just washed four loads of dishes and that I needed to get ice and a cake and beer and she said, can't you call someone and ask them to pick those things up?

And here's the thing. The folks I invited to my party...are pre-friends. [Or, as in the song, make new friends, keep the old, some are silver, others gold--these are silver ones.] We're still in the "getting to know you phase" (even though I've known some of them for five years) and I invited them because I want them to be closer friends. So I didn't feel comfortable calling anyone and saying, can you pick up a cake? Can you pick up some ice? So I called Em, who had said, call me if you need anything. And when I reached her, she was having a DAY. So I got in the car, got the ice, the cake, the ice cream, and the beer. (Did I mention it was raining and I couldn't find my umbrella?)

After I'd bought these, Em called, as I was bringing the beer from the trunk (I got a box of beer bottles--it was my first time buying beer at the distributor--a new milestone!) and said, "Isn't the weather crappy?" and I dropped the beer. Yes, you read that right, I bought a box of beer bottles. The sidewalk got a nice drink and I rescued the bottles that didn't break (I think only four or five did) from the sidewalk broken box as the rain came down.

But I had fun. When Em finally arrived, she said, is there anything else that needs to happen and I said, a lobotomy? because at the point when she arrived I'd just been cramming every last thing that was out into a drawer, or a closet and I was going loony!

Then her cell phone rang and I thought, I just want my mommy and she wasn't home and the other person I call when I have a crisis IS Em, so I wanted to cry. But Em was tidying whilst she talked to her friend about her horrific day so I just chilled. I think I might have poured myself a drink of water at that point. Oh, I know, I made a quick microwave quesadilla (two slices of cheese and two tortillas for about a minute) just in case no one brought dinner food. And the first guest was Kristin, who arrived promptly at seven.

Okay, I have to go eat some breakfast--I'm joining Sally at Sunday School at Bellefield--it's a class on stewardship (read=how to be good with your money).

An East End Experience...

Sally (the one who used to live downstairs from me, not the one who has been helping me clean ze apartment) and I have established a new "birthday" tradition. She started it. In August, on her birthday, we had lunch on Ellesworth at the Elbow Room and then window shopped in all the cute shops there. The shops are gallery-like and though the prices are out of our range, the items there are tons of fun to just look at.

So for my birthday, since she couldn't come to the party (her husband runs a games night every month and it just so happens tonight is that night) she and I made a "girl date." We went to the Handmade Arcade which has been running for three years now--it's an urban craft show. So, imagine the craft shows you go to with grannies and tea cozies and then put it in a warehouse in Pittsburgh, with young (cute!) men and women as the vendors, selling everything handmade from greeting cards, bracelets, skeins of yarn, hats...it was wonderfully exhausting.

I also ran into some people I knew, which is always fun. I ran into a guy I haven't seen in probably nine years, who worked at Fox Books in Squirrel Hill in the back room. I almost didn't recognize him. It was fun catching up. He was able to fill me in on where some folks we used to work with are these days.

To complete the East End experience, we went to the co-op for lunch, which was perfect, as it was buffet (I was at that point STARVING) and salad bar-ish, good for Sally as she is one of those unusual food needs types. Sally is I guess now my oldest friend. I told her my memory of eating lunch at the co-op almost ten years ago, when I was crushing on a French Horn player who later moved to Texas.

It was all kinds of fun, and I am beat! So I'm spending the rest of this rainy day (how nice to be at home on one of those) puttering around the garret. Right now the next task is the mountain of dishes.

We both agreed that the experience was so...Pittsburgh. An urban craft fair, at Construction Junction. Exactly why we both love living in the city so much.

A Hello Kitty hat--I couldn't resist.

It's 10:50, do you know where your brains are?

Okay, you know I RARELY if ever mention Britney on this blog, but this headline had me cackling: Britney's First Husband Calls Kevin an Idiot. First husband? Y'mean the one she was married to for 2 days?

Oh, and at the grocery store...Did Katie Couric get fired? And aren't the Witherspoon-Phillips getting mudslingy? The cover of one magazine: Reese, my story. The cover of some other magazine: Ryan, my story. Egads. Can we go back to worrying about Tom Cruise's baby and whether or not Jen and Vince are engaged, PLEASE????

In order so's to not have to TOUCH the poster until Monday, I stayed at work until the library closed at nine. (I had dinner at Taco Bell around 6:45, continuing to read Little Earthquakes, which I quite like.) I still wanted to clock certain people on sight, but I was able to control these impulses and drive safely to Walgreens in East Lib to purchase contact solution and lots of pop for ze part-ay!

Oh, also at Walgreens, I bought quart size bags (dude--you gotta have them if you're going to fly!) and orange nail polish that I'm pretty sure matches these lovely shoes....





Fun, no? I can't wait for summer (and you almost never hear ME say that!)

party central update--the vinyl is spinning...

The sound is not the best, but I can play records...

(yes, I'm home, remember I had to drive home for the pills?)

Okay, gotta eat ze lunch and motor back to the No. Hills....

NaBloPoMo...all the coolest bloggers are doin' it!

So what is NaBlo...

It's this cool thing that's getting me visitors from all over, that's what! Basically, instead of writing a novel in November (that's NaWriMo) we are all saying we will either post every day or de-lurk every day. How's that de-lurking workin for you? Well, I have had three new folks this week, so I can't really complain (but I'd love to, because I'm in a choice mood...)

Since I already have 401 posts for 2006 and there are only 365 days in the year, it's pretty obvious that I didn't need this to keep me blogging. But I do feel a little more responsible, esp. since this has been the BUSIEST week ever!!

I'll try to post the NaBloPoMo participant thing-y later, when I'm at home. Yes, I'm blogging on library time, but I'm watching the desk at the moment and the most strenuous question I had so far was, "Can you confirm that this is the #4 Harry Potter book?" which I did.

Procrastinating? You betcha!

Let's see, do I want to procrastinate searching for reviews for CD-ROMs or do I want to procrastinate prepping for the poster session at PALA (Pennsylvania Library Association Conference) on Tuesday? Neither. I just want to be. For one minute, if that is possible.

I woke up in time to have a lovely walk, I ran into a woman that I haven't seen in person for at least a year, but who has networked me to find my writing coach for when I prep for the Carlow M.F.A application. Belinda is a great gal who has a business helping businesses with their writing and she used to go to Bellefield. Her daughter is now 12! Which is amazing, since I remember knowing her before she had a child!!

But then I got stuck in the foyer cleaning up the mess of mail and then it was 9 when my lovely Mary Kay consultant was due to bring my stuff. So I ran upstairs, changed my shirt and shoes, and proceeded to wash my face and yes, apply foundation and powder! Jordan showed up at 9:20 because she had forgotten which block I lived on and I gave her a hug and showed her the rejected photos. But in the chaos of her being late, I forgot to pack my pills and give her the box of Rena Tarbet tapes (VHS and audio). Which means I'll
a) have to drive home for lunch (30 min each way, yum) and
b) contact Jordan to get the box of tapes to her. I do NOT want to take the box back to the basement, as my landlord suggested yesterday when he said the foyer is getting junky again.

(lalalala, I can't hear you!!!)

Last night instead of taking a half hour lunch (linner, since it was 5:30 pm) I took about an hour or more because I detoured--I dropped off stuff at Goodwill and then went in. I know. It's counterintuitive but I was so stressed I NEEDED some retail therapy. I got the best orange sandals which I'll photograph and show you later, lovely internets. They are SO CUTE!

I mean, I am like Oscar Junior--I want to bite EVERYONE's head off. I feel like I'm in this vice and I can't get out. Yuk. Maybe actually starting some work instead of procrastinating will help. One hopes.

Later, dudes and dudettes (I know, so five years ago!)

In which Sarah Louise figures out one more thing on Blogger...

...how to have my yahoo! email on my profile not my gmail account. I rarely read my gmail accounts (I now have two.) So ALWAYS if you want me to read it (and I check email pretty regularly as I work on them all day) make sure the address is a yahoo! one!

THANKS!

(btw, this was not an intuitive thing to fix.)

This, on the day when my work email gave me a message on Monday, Tuesday and today saying "Your email is closed." And I had three people: my immediate boss (wrote a note), my boss boss (library director, stopped by to tell me), and my district representative (called me on the phone) tell me my email was closed. Thanks, I knew that, and am working on it right now. Oh, internets, I need food. Otherwise I may bite someone's head off!!

My hissy fit is over now...

Thanks guys. Actually it's those 363 readers that lurk every week that I was mad at. Whatever. Although I've had at least two nice de-lurks this week--grace and gratefulness are clearly things I need to work on...

Also, now that I have a gmail account for my blog different from my gmail account for work list servs, today I found 3 emails--ack! So if you want to email me, don't just randomly click. Go to my profile where my YAHOO! mail address is listed. (Sorry V, I didn't get those emails from October!) Update: crap, my profile email is the gmail--I'll fiddle with that later--egads!!

And my apartment now has places for folks to sit and put down their drinks. The closets will be full with doors closed and the bathtub might have a few items (Sally said, no one will be looking in your bathtub--well, unless they read it here...)

All shall be well and all shall be well and all manner of things shall be well (Dame Julian of Norwich)

Oh, and Sally (another one--I collect them, remember?) and I are going to the Handmade Arcade Saturday since I'm not working on a Saturday, woo hoo!!

Buh-bye, gotta go sit in a CYAS meeting (that would be Children and Young Adult Services...)

Yer pal, SL