I'll send you a postcard...

Now, how it became 10:00 in the morning, is what I'd like to know!

I'm off to Greensburg today to the Westmoreland Museum of American Art. Pre-Max, I thought, oh, it would be so great to have someone to go to museums with, to talk with about pictures, etc. And the one time we went to the Frick was great, for me. But he adamantly never wanted to go again. (He seemed to enjoy it, but you know, a guy will do a lot of things to impress a girl...)

It's gotten cold again here, so I woke up cold, as with the 70 degree weather I had turned the thermostat waaayyy down...

Went to a super-fun going away party last night. Came home, called the folks, left a message and went to bed with "The Undecided Voter's Guide to the next President." It was a lot easier to read now that there are pretty much just three choices...I read about Hillary, half of Obama, and went to bed. This morning, I finished reading about Obama, tried to read about McCain (well, I did read most of it.) My mind is set. They all sound like fine people. The book is set up to "why x will win," "why x will lose," and mini-biographies, quotes from them, quotes from other people. If you are undecided, it is written to give you information, not to sway you. (I was a little worried, since Mark Helprin, the writer, was a speechwriter for Bob Dole. I'm sure he was for some other Republicans, but I want to be factual and Wikipedia only gave me Bob Dole.)

I'm not ready to be political. But I'll post this fascinating article that Kiki posted a while back from Slate, on Bugs Bunny vs. Daffy Duck.

I am, however, getting ready to write more about being a TCK, and will tell you that Obama, McCain, and Helprin are all TCK's too.

But for now, I'm getting dressed and on the road to see some pictures. And am I ever STARVED!

letters, scrambled, with a side of toast

So my latest addiction is Scramble, a FB game. It's sort of like Bookworm, the Yahoo! game, except you only have three minutes and you don't get new letters.

I'm in the place where I beat some people and some people ALWAYS beat me. I had 82 points the other day--woo hoo (I generally score between 10 and 40 points.)

I'm exhausted. It's the end of an exhausting stretch at work, but then again, it's not slowing down any--next week is National Library Week!

So here's a letter for you: zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz

This is not a letter but my arms around you for a brief moment.*

Dear readers,

Here's a hug. (I think Katherine's words are more eloquent...)



Okay, so the first try did not work. When my dad emailed this to me and I then emailed it to my favorite folks, it was not a static image but it moved. I think this is a static image. But you get the idea. I'm off to try my hand at mall-walking, as it is raining a little here and I really want to go to the Westmoreland Museum's display of New York paintings--my reward if I walk five days this week.

Yours til Niagara falls,

SL

__________
*Katherine Mansfield

Dear dear readers (updated)

Dear readers (especially Culiann, Amy A., Sarah O., and Katrina),

Thank you for always reminding me (but especially yesterday) that giving birth is not the only pedigree for entrance to the "women's club." I had lunch yesterday with Sally, and on the way to Mad Mex (this really fun Mexican rest'raunt here in da Burgh) I said, (about Tuesday at Bible Study) "sitting there, I thought I need to get new friends." And she said, "Nah."

Having lunch with her and your comments have restored my faith in women--what is it they say? I hate people in a group, but one by one they are manageable. I needed to hear about the angst of soccer practice, T-ball practice, grumpy family members. And I needed to share the bizarre fact that two nights in a row I had dreams about Max. Dreams where we were just friends.

The bizarre thing about my schedule (I work two nights, every Saturday) is that I can attend this Bible Study peopled by married women (it meets Tuesday mornings.) I have attended it on and off since 1991 (when I was a sophomore in college) and I've almost always been the only single/childless woman but the difference between how that feels at 19 and how that feels at 36 are huge.

Amy's comment really was wonderful:

I hate that circle thing. When I run things I make people say who they are, where they are from and what their favorite 'whatever' is... perfume, food, color, etc. That way it really is about us and not about how many times we have or haven't given birth.

I love my kids and my family, but sometimes it's not all about them.

I have found this (and everyone else's comments) to be true--I'm friends with a lot of married women, I get their "it's not about the kids/the husband" vibe, but I guess I needed it extra much* after Tuesday's overwhelming event.

But I still do think I need a single friend and/or mentor, preferably someone who hasn't given birth. I have one woman in mind actually--she also went to the women's college I went to, but years before. Hmm.

Of course, I need to remember to not put a certain lifestyle choice on a pedestal or in the trash (which I think I'm pretty good about except when I'm slammed...)

Which brings me to the segue, this book I'm reading in the loo: Body Drama.

This is the book we all wish we had when we were 13-17. Put it on hold at your public library, purchase it from Amazon, go to your favorite independent or big box bookstore. It won't make up for the years of agony we had back then, but it will make you say, "really?" and "oh..." and "Why didn't I have this book???"

Nancy Amanda Redd, who was a Miss America swimsuit winner, a Harvard grad, etc. knocks down all the myths about our bodies, with chapter headings that include:

• I fried my hair
• I sweat more than other girls do
  
• I'm harming my body

(and tons of other body dramas--I'd give you the entire TOC (table of contents) but I have an allergist appt. in 20 minutes.)

You MUST at least go look at the Amazon page on this book. Some of us might still benefit from some of the topics discussed, and we all know a young woman who would benefit from some "get real" talk. I remember being the last one of my friends to get my period, not knowing a thing about shaving my legs...

Yours til Niagara falls,

SL

PS I'd do the linky thing, but hello, allergist appt!!

PPS: Moms, read the book first. I know yins to be discerning, but believe me, as great as this book is, it lets EVERYthing hang out. It assumes the national averages about teenage sex. Sorry I forgot to mention that yesterday.
_________
*it's my blog, I'll make up non-grammatical superlatives if I want to.

D-liver D-letter, D-sooner, D-better (random thoughts on lefters and a bit of angst)

One of the advantages to postal mail is that if you're waiting for something, you can blame the weather, or the post office. With email, you know there's a person on the other side that hasn't sent a reply yet.

This morning I thought I would have a couple replies, so I made sure to give myself sufficient "online time" to work on that and check FB and blog...alas, nothing.

Ah me.

********

I bought stamps on Monday. They're of pollination. The link is to a USPS press release, which I skim-read and is actually pretty interesting.

********

Mail yesterday: Ladies Home Journal, a flyer from Obama, and junk. Reading LHJ, I realized again what I realized yesterday as I went to Bible Study for the first time in months: women often relate to each other based on their children. Which is probably why I every once and a while think, oh, I want one. Because I want to be in that "club." After the third woman had introduced herself saying, I have three children, one's in junior high, etc., I introduced myself (almost on the verge of tears) saying, I'm an outsider here: no husband, no kids, I don't even attend this church on Sundays...I got a laugh and a "no you're not" (an outsider). Which is what I needed to get me through the remainder of the room, there might have been a total of twenty women. There were only two other unmarried women, but those women had children AND grandchildren. They were all pleased as punch to just gab about their progeny, nothing wrong with that. But as they went around the room, I thought, I need to get new friends.

Not that I would get rid of these, no, never, these women enrich my life, as do their children, the ones that I know. (I adore the fact that Sally's kids accept me as a piece of the furniture at their house.) But I need some women that are successful not because they have children and grandchildren, but because they've worked hard at a profession. I need women who are successfully single and childless. Where are the "Fabulous Four" when I need them? Yesterday my del.icio.us page got beefed up with a few new websites and items on singleness. Cause here's the thing: I don't want a man right now, or children. And that's got to be okay, but dammit, the only woman I know here, that I communicate with, that I know, that reflects that, is the one I see in the mirror.

Whew! Didn't think that's where I'd go when I started this post, and ding! my little chicky time clock just told me it's time to hop over to the bathroom. So more single lady angst another day.

And if you are a grandma or a momma (or a wanna-be) reading this, please know that that is fabulous, that I think you are fabulous. I don't knock your experience, it's just not my experience.

Lucy...how I love thee, let me not count the ways

Bwah ha ha!! This is my reaction to the men who think I should hold onto my dying car. They seem to have not remembered any of my earlier complaints...

(The minor ones at the moment: rear panel has started rust out and a portion of car is attached to...air; the glove compartment won't open.)

Dear men who sold me this car,

You are rotten.

Signed, Sarah Louise

This post brought to you by the letter M...

M is for Moses...RIP to Charlton Heston, died yesterday at home. He was married for 64 years, and little tidbit, the baby Moses in the Ten Commandments was HIS son, 3 mos. old.

M is for Monday...I have been screaming at my Avast! virus thingy...OMG. How geeky can you get?? (It requires more than 4 steps...) (but it's free, so...) (but still!) (yes, I woke up on the wrong side of the bed...)

M is for Michigan, as in Lake...my friend Wren writes about the Holy Spirt (misspelled on purpose by us, read more for explanation.)

M is for money--today I finally do my taxes!

M is for mail--today I will mail that package.

M is upside down W--today I will go for a walk. (I went for a 15 min one yesterday.)

M is for Mediterranean Nachos. Lately they've been making them with less cheese, so I asked for lots of cheese and got WAY too much. (Sharp Edge, how I love thee, let me count the ways)

M is for many babies. I got to meet L last night, one of the few baby girls in our extended community. What a cutie! Drool city...

A Sunday afternoon letter

Dear readers,

How are you? I am fine. The weather in Pittsburgh is warm--in the upper 50s. I haven't gone for a walk yet, but I did go to Mickey D's and got some food. I read a great book, A Crooked Kind of Perfect,* by Linda Urban, which is WONDERFUL. I read it in one sitting and on my brand new stationery from Walgreens, I'm going to write a by hand to the author letter. Having my own private mental health meltdown, it was a relief to read about a father who had agoraphobia and a mom who worked too much and a girl who like me, dreams of playing piano at Carnegie Hall, like Horowitz.

At Walgreens, I also got more Boost and some Michelena's frozen macaroni and cheese. And two magazines. Martha Stewart's Weddings (it's been years since I've bought one, it was a weak moment) and a magazine with Britney Spears on the cover. Who knew that me and Britney would ever have anything in common? I don't know if she's I or II, but she's been diagnosed with Bipolar disorder. Well, if I thought that she'd get the letter I'd write her on my Walgreens stationery, I might write this:

Dear Britney,

You will make it through. It will be a very bumpy road, but you will make it through.

Yours til Niagara Falls,

Sarah Louise, Bipolar II, diagnosed in 1998.

I had a coupon for $1 off Boost, so my total "retail therapy" session was under $40. And no, I didn't need the $8 pink pajama pants, but the clear container is a way to start a dent on my dishes (they didn't have dishpans at Walgreens.) Well, no time like the present, I'm going to go take a walk. For real.

Yours til the side walks,

Sarah Louise

P.S. I have a new blog wherein I'm me, not SL. I'll link it up soon. It's sort of bizarre to think that I'm "coming out of the closet," and what that means...but the other blog is my "professional" blog, wherein I talk about writing and librarianship, not the fact that I had a Big Mac for brunch.
________________
*Link includes an "anonymous" comment from Linda herself.

Sunday morning letters...

Years ago, I went to church on Sunday mornings. I'm grateful that my church of choice has evening services (at the moment, exclusively) as Sunday is the only day I get to lollygag in the morning, stay in bed until I wake up, get on the computer and catch up on my blog-reading...

When my grandmother was alive, Sunday before church would be when I wrote her letters. The "Sunday letters" became a ritual. I remember reading once in a magazine short story about a woman reading a letter from her sister. It arrived every Thursday, as her sister wrote her a letter every Tuesday. I remember thinking that was the way things should be. I have retained that bit in my mind for over twenty years. (Ah, those were the days, when women's magazines published short fiction.)

My life at the moment doesn't have that kind of discipline. Living alone, working odd hours, coddling my "inner child"-- all of these have ruined any kind of ritual, and I apparently can't even trust myself to take a walk five out of seven days. Depression doesn't help. Social isolation, which happens slowly and all at once, doesn't help.

But I do, for this one month, have this discipline: to write a "letter" to you, my readers, every day. Maybe with this small step, other small steps will follow. I won't fool myself that blogging every day in the month of April will solve all the ills in my life, or bring world peace, but it is a small step. It is one step.

One of my favorite singer-songwriters, Carrie Newcomer, is coming to Pittsburgh next Thursday. I work that night, so I'll miss it. Her song, "Take one step," is a reminder to me to just take the first one. (I looked, there are no online lyrics. Sorry. But her 1994 album, Angel at my shoulder is a great investment.)

As a diehard perfectionist (it's true), I often don't do things because I won't get it right. Reasons I've stayed home instead of gone for a walk: what if I don't get it right? This may sound silly, but it's true. For a walk to "count" in this study that I'm in, it has to be 25 minutes. Twenty five minutes of hard walking with a cool down of two minutes. Well, I could walk to get my brunch at Tazza (though they've stopped carrying my favorite tomato and cheddar on a croissant sandwich) but it wouldn't "count." So it's easier to stay here in front of the computer screen and starve. It looks silly in black and white (or black on pink) but this rule-ism is what rules my riddled mind.

My eyes are stinging with tears, Jewel is singing in the backround, and I think I might just have to take one step.

Tomorrow is the day after today...

So I was supposed to go for a walk after work. Yeah, that didn't happen. It was a long day. I had lunch with Marian and her beau, who is visiting from upstate New York. We went to Wendy's. And in between, I got a lot done, I did. But there was enough other stuff and negative energy in me (it's too easy to manufacture) that the good parts didn't make a dent. It's a shame.

Instead, I came home, watched Second Hand Lions (which might be a good movie when you're not in a rotten mood.) (C'mon, Haley Joel's hair was too well cut. He was living with those uncles long enough to grow corn, and they did not seem like the type to care about barbers.)

But right now, I'm sitting at my computer, watching the most brilliant sunset paint the sky pink, and writing to you, my dear readers. I'm eating a bowl of popcorn (because I was supposed to go to the grocery store.) (Let's not go there.) (Tomorrow I'll do dishes...)

The whole letter thing, I thought, well, I could give you another kind of letter. So here's one of my favorite blue monsters...



So now I think I'll put in the other movie I got from the library, Tea for Mussolini and hope the hairdressers have a little more reality.

The last bits of pink are peeking through the houses and trees. Thanks for sharing this moment. Depression sucks, but sunsets, popcorn, blue monsters, and readers make it worthwhile to get through to the next day. I don't have to feel better today. (But I am smiling as I write, because this is a really wonderful sunset.) And the popcorn tastes good, and I do like writing to you.

I just have to wake up tomorrow. And tomorrow is my day off.

The sunset is gone now. But I'm smiling, so that's worth it. I'll go for a walk tomorrow.

Cheerio...

Letters mingle souls...

Dear Readers,

How are you? I am fine. I'm in the middle of my morning blog fix...

This is off in a rush, which I know one should never do. And one should never write something for publish when one is irked.

So, [deep breath] [deep breath].

On March 31st, in preparation for this month, I searched hither and yon for quotes that might be useful (about letters.) (see title, for which I don't have time to look up author...)

One of the things I love about letters is the stationery. Now, I am a sucker for good stationery. And pens.

I remember once telling someone that I had re-written a letter five times before I sent it. And that person said, wow, you must not know that person [getting the letter] really well. Which was in fact true. I thought I did, but the fact that I had to self-censor and be sure the letter wouldn't offend was telling. While I'm no longer in contact with either party, I am grateful for the insight I gained both from the exercise and the conversation.

I often find with email that if someone writes in red (to me it feels like the English teacher correcting me) or in all bold, I get tense. And while email is short, quick, there is no way to get tone of voice. So the only way to get sense is from the words themselves--so if someone is flip, you have no idea if they're

a) being flip
b) mad at you but not saying it aloud
c) rushed and trying to get this email out.

At least with a letter, you get a sense of penmanship or stationery. There are none of those buffers with email. Which makes it hard to email with someone you don't know if you are emailing about time-sensitive issues--often the person's quick reply comes off as a rebuff when they honestly just had three seconds to dash off an answer to your email. And I generally answer time-sensitive email right away, as I know it will get buried in the onslaught of the next day's email.

So I try to remember to address the person I'm writing to. And to "sign" my name at the end. Those two things at least personalize an email that might just be, "I need a meeting room for x day." ("Try" is in bold because I often forget.)

The fact that it is so easy to send email makes it more dangerous. And the fact that you can send it to multiple people, even adding blind carbon copies...one of my bosses actually writes: Dear Marian (cc to Julie, Ann, "x" dept. staff.) So right away, the person knows who the email is going to--there's no confusion that this is a private memo, or who the other recipients are.

I have been at the butt end of too many emails--and even though I've received many more "nice" emails, the memory of the bad ones sometimes makes me flinch when I get an email from someone that doesn't often send me emails--I'm afraid I've said something and they're about to lambast me. Which makes me ever more grateful for nice emails that are like mini-letters -- recently on our neighborhood list-serv, someone said, reminder: street cleaning starts this week. And at the end, he added something about how he liked to move his truck and sweep the street on the days the street cleaners came--and the way he said it, it was like a little window into his life. It had gone beyond mere information to a moment shared among friends, a moment that stayed with me yesterday, as I walked to my car that was parked on the other side of the street and half way down (because of street cleaning).

Ah, the foibles we get into electronically. Yes, I am self-censoring--because, dear reader, I don't know you THAT well. And, because this has a million "blind cc's" -- it's called the world wide web.

Oh look at at the time. I'm off to the last Summer Reading Club training--this summer our theme is "Catch the Reading Bug!"

Have a great day, and tomorrow meet me here, we'll talk some more about my favorite things: letters!

yours til Niagara falls,

SL

I stayed in a really old hotel last night. They sent me a wake-up letter.*

After reading Katrina's comment on my last post, I want to make it my goal to have a non-letter writing reader (just one) write an actual on paper with a stamp letter. (Sorry, you'll never hear me call it "snail mail.")

But first, this awesome video from Wonder How To:

Emergency Lamp Made From A Can Of Tuna - video powered by Metacafe

Of course, I have a package that needs mailed (yes, that's Pittsburghese grammar there) and has needed mailed for MONTHS, so I better not preach what I cannot do. Hmmm, I wonder if it's a ten minute walk to the P.O. (I am in this study where I should be walking 25 minutes 5 days a week. I walked 20 minutes yesterday at the end of lunch and the endorphins all afternoon were AMAZING.) (Looking at that sentence, I think, wow, what a bizarre person I am. Partially because XP does not recognize the word endorphins as I have spelled it.) Ah, but Blogger does!!

And yet, I continue to sit here...

Street cleaning started this week, which means my car is parked halfway down on the other side of the street. Which has nothing to do with letters or getting off my rear.

Email has sort of replaced writing letters...but Lorelei refuses to correspond that way, so our once every three months (if we're lucky) letter or once every two years (if we're lucky) phone calls are how we keep in touch. I am grateful for email, as I know I'd never get an actual letter from my sister. Also, email can be two lines. Are we really going to spend 40 cents (how much is first class?) to say "Thanks for getting the notebooks"?

However, I currently have two emails (maybe three) from authors, and part of me wants to write them an email to say, can I have your address so I can send you a letter and you'll send me one back? Because yes, it's true, I have a file folder (or a very large envelope) somewhere in my abyss (the walk-in closet that is now tidier now that Sally and I decluttered it, looking for a library book that still remains on the lam) with actual correspondence from authors.

Okay, I think I need to do something about breakfast. I have two hours til lunch, some pre-tax research to do, and I'm still here talking to yins? (Granted, I slept late--I have had a persistant sore throat all week that I think must be allergies b/c it isn't acting like a cold or strep...)

You see how I can't stop writing?

Oh, well, since I'm still here, let me tell you about the books I've recently finished:

• Skinny Dipping by Connie Brockway. Oh wow! Wonderful!! I wasn't able to really "get into" her first foray into the "contemporary romance," Hot Dish, but I eagerly await her next one.
  
• Things I've learned from women who've dumped me. Fascinating. Yeah, I can tell my verbal skills are at their all time high this morning...my favorite one was about a guy wrote about how getting a dog didn't save the relationship. He's in some band. Sorry, the book is in the other room and I apparently refuse to get off my duff. Nick Hornby wrote the intro.
• Riding the bus with my sister (again.) I love this book. And am grateful that Babs did not, as I got the copy she had. Woo! Apparently that is the extent of my review.

Okay, exactly two hours and three minutes til lunch, so I am getting off this chair and starting my day. Watch me start. Yes, I am really... (cane reaches out from the curtains and SL disappears...)
_____________________
*Steven Wright

Mail from my dad...

Dear Caroline,

How are you? I am fine. The weather in Pittsburgh...

These days, mail from my dad is generally the electronic kind. He most recently sent me a NYT article about book tastes being a dealbreaker in romantic entanglements. Since I dated many a sci-fi reading male and am friends with Babs who reads books I can't stand and I read books she can't stand and we're still friends, I don't think I would break up with someone based ONLY on their book taste.

But I was talking about letters. Pre-e, that is, before I had email, my father would cut out the Metropolitan Diary from the New York Times, print out a sermon from Craig Barnes, and send them to me in a number ten business size envelope, with a "Love, Dad" on a Post-it.

My dad generally uses cool stamps, so often I will save the envelopes he mails checks in, just because I like the stamp. This astounds Sally, when she is helping me rid my apartment of its detritus, but she allows me a few quirks.

I'm kind of exited that April is "letters" as so much of my life has been about writing and receiving mail of the personal sort. Oh, I meant excited. That was one of the words my maternal grandmother would correct my spelling on in our correspondence. Later in her years, her spelling and typing got worse, so it evened out. I have a card from her on my refrigerator--she used the same manual typewriter for over 20 years.

Lorelei and I had a long correspondence that is still going, although these days the gaps between letters yawn long. When we were just getting to be close, at the end of my senior year of high school, I moved and she went on vacation, and we wrote and wrote and wrote. This was pre-email, pre-cell phones--we often would write 3 letters in one day, numbering the envelopes. We were crazy, but it meant that I had mail every day my freshman year of college. I've pulled some of those letters out and I don't know if I'll quote them, but they will at least give me things to write about when I write about letters.

***

In other news, the second therapist that was recommended only works on Tues-Wed, which are crazy days for me. So I've put in a voice mail to the third therapist on the list. The lady I saw Monday seems like she will do nicely, but since this next therapist (step right up!) will be #4 in 5 years, I'd like to do a good look around before I settle. And Ms. Monday night is fine with that.

I'm pooped! I may just turn on the TV and watch American Idol...tomorrow is soon enough to play games of Scramble, bring up my laundry, and start doing research for my taxes.

Yours til Niagara Falls,

Sarah Louise

Google's April Fools...

As I checked my morning email, there it was, in red, just asking for me to click on it. And sure enough, though it looked all official n'at, I soon could tell that this was another April Fool's prank.

Enjoy!

a letter to my readers...

Myspace Lover Letter

NaBloPoMo April: Letters!

So I've taken the jump--to post daily here at this blog. Letters is pretty broad, but I love them:

• ABCDEFG...
• missives in the mail
• typography

D'ya like the badge? You, too, can have one, oh crazy blogger, if you go to the napoblomo-ning page.

See ya tomorrow...

A random quote that I've just fallen in love with from CS Lewis

Found this by going over to the Holly and the Ivy and then Miss Erin...

"We are always falling in love, or quarreling, looking for jobs or fearing to lose them, getting ill and recovering, following public affairs. If we let ourselves, we shall always be waiting for some distraction or other to end before we can really get down to our work. The only people who achieve knowledge are those who seek it while the conditions are still unfavorable. Favorable conditions never come."

~C.S. Lewis

So, while the conditions are still unfavorable (read: dishes galore, bills to pay, stuff to do) I'm going to unpack that suitcase!

"Can I hear the magic word?"

This phrase was a refrain in my childhood. My mother would pull on her earlobe and it was my cue to say "Please!"

Today I drove thru (through?) at Burger King, under the sign that talked about having your own way. BK is big on having personal choice. At the window, the young woman handed me my coffee as I handed her my card. She gave me my receipt and said is there anything else I can get you? I said, cream and sugar. She went and got my sandwiches, passed me my bag, and said these magic words: "Please have a nice day."

I now feel obligated to do so. What a great feeling.

Having come from a conference where my favorite workshop was on Web 2.0, or "Web Two" as one of the presenters called it, I've been thinking about semantics and how the most provocative words in the English language are "Do not." Until I was about 17, I never had a desire to pull a fire alarm--I was a goody two shoes. But something turned that year, and though I've never pulled one yet, I am tempted, because of those provocative words, "Do not." Signs that say "Do not use your cell phone" or "Do not pick your nose" or "Do not smile" make me want to do the opposite. However, that magic word, "please" does WONDERS. I sit up and consider what that person or sign has to say, because they are being polite to me.

One of the presenters at this workshop talked about a sign at a local library that said "Danger, do not use your cell phone, signed by the library director." Wow. That seems to me fire in the hands of a seventeen year old girl (or boy.) **okay, the sign doesn't say that, (see link, below) but if you look at the sign, that's the sense you get.**

**pause as I find the link. Actually, the sign does use the word please, but it also uses RED lettering, which to me reminds me of English teachers...**

Anyways, here's a link to the sign, which apparently the library hopes to make less inflammatory, if you read the comments. Yay!

I think a great sign would be, "please use the vestibule for cell phone conversations and switch your phone to vibrate while you are in the library." It's a lot of words, but it's polite. It would make me want to comply...

Wow, it's 11:34! I better get a move on the unpacking the suitcase thing...

random thoughts now that i'm HOME!

A week and I haven't been here, wow! Here are some random PLA thoughts, quotes, tidbits:

quotes from Marian (we were roomies at the Holiday Inn Metrodome):

second day, very early (we got up for a vendor breakfast): "the hot water must be coming from Guam!"
next day, a little later in the morning: "someone else must have used all the cold water this morning"

Number of librarians reading Skinny Dipping by Connie Brockway at Gate D8 in the Humphrey Terminal: 3. (Marian and I were two, the librarian from WI was #3)

Gas is cheaper in MN, but we should have bought it on Tues, when it was $3.09. It was $3.15 by the time we walked back to the hotel from Open Book midday on Wednesday. We decided that taking gas on the plane was a bad idea (flammable n'at) and driving just to get cheaper gas not a great idea either.

Open Book, btw, is not a bookstore, but worse (or better, actually!) It's a network of non-profits that have to do with poetry, book arts, bookmaking, and has a very nice cafe (we didn't try) and a bookstore (yes, we plunked down some cash.) Marian got a book pin. I got a collage kit. Other things. We pulled each other out of there before we bought everything in sight.

Did I mention I was in Minneapolis? The home of The Onion? That solved the "what to get (cheap yet nice) for Max for putting my heavy suitcase in my trunk?" issue. What a relief!!

We ate at:
Grandma's Saloon and Grill, got the Fully Monte (lots...of...food), (2nd link is to a pdf of menu...yum)
Quizno's * (yes, I know, but it was cheap, quick, and open til 3 a.m. four nights a week)
Wasabi Fusion, (Marian is a real sushi connoisseur) (and this was the night our boss paid!)
the Holiday Inn (no, we didn't get the breakfast buffet),
Staccato, I had a salad, we sat at the lunch counter...

We didn't eat at Grumpy's, though we wanted to. So many books...(fill in the blank.)

I left with this many bags: 1 suitcase, 2 carryon.
I came back with this many bags: 1 suitcase, 2 carryon. Much heavier on the way back, tho.

While at the conference, I got the following "swaag" (vendor stuff) (listed in order of importance):

• OCLC bag (you have to go to one of their programs, so it's usually a nice bag and this year's flava is the nicest one yet.)
  
• HarperTeen bag (Marian snagged one for me)
• A Nooma DVD from Zondervan. I would have gotten more, but I will forever be indebted to H.W. Wilson, who kept me in their seminar until 2:59, then I forgot where the Zondervan booth was, so when the vendor chick was giving away her booth all the things I'd admired (many more Nooma) were gone. I am excited for my Ben Carson book on CD, though.
• other nice things, including Skinny Dipping (see above), which Marian snagged for me. She was a very nice friend and roomie!!
  

MTC,

SL

btw, the most interesting new swaag item is also my favorite: a "shoulder saver" which is a velcro thingy that you attach to the strap/s of your bag. I got many from Janway and FamilySearch as "swaag for co-workers."


_____________
* the link is part of the humor here...

...some bunny loves you... (random thoughts on an Easter morning)

Happy Easter!

I love in the Easter story how it is the WOMEN (thankyouverymuch) that find the empty tomb.

Today is the 30th anniversary of my brother Peter's* birthday. (He died about 20 days later.) My dad is the keeper of such anniversaries in our family, so he told me as part of the "He is risen, He is risen indeed" phone call. It was Maundy Thursday that year, that year Easter was early, too. I don't remember. I am grateful for my father's memories. And my mother's, too.

I bought hot cross buns at the grocery store and am about to go be the EB to some unsuspecting neighbors...

Which I should get on with...

Max is going to bring in my mail whilst I'm in Minnesota, so yes, it was a good Good Friday. (We spoke briefly outside our house and smiled at each other. It seemed very normal. I was able to stand listening to piano music as I pulled onto the road my library is on.) It feels good to have turned another corner in the labyrinth of healing.

I went over to Blackbird's and watched a YouTube and then another one, the Food Court musical. I'm too lazy (or too intent on finishing this post pronto) to figure out how to link to a You Tube that wasn't the original one you were looking at.

I got a manicure last night and it's already snagged. My manicure place reminds me of the Seinfeld episode where Elaine gets George's dad to translate the Korean...

I went shopping at Christopher and Banks--love that store, and got reallly many nice things, for not so much jing. Maybe when I get back from Minneapolis I'll figure out the picture/computer thing again. (I went to C&B two years ago to get my "update" on my professional wardrobe for the PLA conference. My budget of $75 got me a pair of pants and a bunch of tops. This year I got about the same, but the pants are nicer.)

One sad thing about my xpifying of the computer--I lost all my Picasa files. Not the pictures, but I had made notes n'at. Sigh. Yes, you can comment and tell me how Flickr is so much better.

I'm hungry. Maybe I'll eat something before I go be the Easter Bunny. That's it, the Easter Bunny slept late!

My dad reminded me of a story that he repeats occasionally: when I was little, I asked him if when he was little he had an Easter Bunny or was it Granny? And shocked, he looks at me and says, "I think Granny would look awfully silly hopping around delivering candy to all the houses, carrying her keys." (Not a direct quote, next year I will remember to WRITE it down.) Granny apparently got a kick out of that story.

One year (and I hold the memory on this, last year Kiki didn't remember that year I think) Easter was vera vera warm and the chocolate eggs were liquid. There is a family movie of that somewhere, it's when we lived in Silver Spring and Kiki lived in Laurel, MD, so it was over 33 or so years ago, yikes!

Sis made it home last night. Apparently she drives more like the folks on my mom's sister's side of the family (few stops.) Yeah, I would be the POLAR opposite of that, which is why NEXT YEAR when I go down to South Carolina for Easter, I will be flying. (The ALL CAPS is because I would have gone this year if Easter and the PLA conference weren't in the same 14 day time span...)

Happy Easter, all! (and to all a good morning!)



_________________________________________________________
*two peeps that will always get their non-anonymous names
are my bro Peter and my sis, Joy, as they are both in heaven.

You must read this book!

Welcome to Eudora by Mimi Thebo.

Babs would do a great job at doing a review and I probably could churn something out, but I'm weary. I was only on page 31 at 3pm when I had my doctor appointments. I came home and read, and read, and read, and read some more. I stopped for Frasier at 6:30 and indulged in Two and a half men, but then off the TeeVee went, back to the book.

I just finished. Someday I will own this book. For now, I want everyone else to READ it. Because this is a book that you could talk about with good friends for years to come. Remember when Lottie? Remember the Snow Ball dance?

Not even the din of the 2nd floor misses pounding nails into every single wall swayed me from my retreat into the tiny town that is Eudora.

I can't even begin to describe it, except to say that it is a book just like me.

Risky and funny, and with great taste in food.

If you liked the Stone Gap books, you'll love this.

I'm sure I was supposed to be doing something more spiritual as I prepare this week for Easter...

(Oh, Mom's candy and Easter grass arrived today--with a box of Samoas!! Some lucky neighbors are going to help me share them...)

Off to play some more Scramble--one of my friends keeps trouncing me...

the lost morning...or where did all the minutes go?

So I was supposed to have this work meeting this morning. On my day off. And I was well, whatever. But then it was canceled, at the last minute. So I got online.

Three hours later...these are the things that ate my minutes:

Thanks to an email from Women's Wall Street, Daily Cents,

....I discovered a new women's site, Women on the Web (WOW).

...in adding it to del.icio.us, I found some articles about it. Which took me to a blog about social networking, and I found myself...

...watching an interview with the creator of Facebook.

....which was like an hour long. I find these things fascinating, and even more fascinating that I find them fascinating...

I went onto Facebook, read some friend's notes, which led me to...

....read about the Library Journal Movers and Shakers.

I am updating my Java patches.

I have showcased my Facebook house and won some, lost some. Oh, and bought another flamingo.

I played a few turns on Scramble.

I started a new blog, which will be my professional place, me writing about stuff concerning writing and librarianship. It's still in the very experimental phases. (As in, I have a tiny first post and a blogroll.)

But to give you something, an accomplishment worthy of blogginess, something to make you glad you came over here to say hi, I came up with a great movie plot, thanks to the Official Movie Plot Generator. (Yes, while I'm waiting for Java, I actually stepped away from the screen to pick up a BOOK.)

So here goes. I think it will be a blockbuster hit.

A Fraternity of lovable slobs, misfits and drunks
Hit the Karaoke Circuit
In the Feel-Good Comedy of the year.

Now, wasn't that worth clicking over here? (No hate mail in the comments, please!)

In other news, I fell asleep with my glasses on yesterday afternoon and now they fit wonky. I wore contacts to church last night and got the usual "Did you get your haircut" comment.

And I bet you're happy to know (aren't you just jumping up and down) that my Java update is now complete. So I guess this morning wasn't a total loss...

Which leads us back to two posts ago, WHAT AM I DOING WITH MY LIFE???

Reminiscing...moments with Max

One of my favorite memories is of us sitting at my dining room table, flicking a rubber band at each other.

Silly. We were silly together. And it was fun.

I miss that.

And yet, every day, when I get in my dull red car, I want to slam it into his shiny one. Life is like that.

Jesus take the wheel...

Gah. I'm having one of those "what the h-e-double hockey sticks am I doing with my life" moments/days/weeks.

So Carrie Underwood's song applies, even as it makes me think, gah, I'm only taking care of me, not even one other person!

On to the next...

Owner of not one, but TWO ear infections...

YUK! At least now that I'm taking Sudafed the pain is less--why was I not taking a decongestant with my cold???

Not much else new, well, except that the depression broke sometime around Friday. But if you've been reading this, you might have guessed that.

Back to work...

So yes, my schedule is Tuesday-Saturday, so today would be like your Monday, if you are most people in the working world. I generally attend a Women's Bible Study (which is what we call it, hence the caps, WBS for short) on Tuesday mornings, but today I feared I would go nuts if I tried that, as at 11 a.m. I have a therapy session and from noon to four I have a work "retreat." (Um, the only "retreat"-ish thing about it is that we will be off site. It's to talk about strategic long term planning. Our library turns 40 this year in October, so the board has decided that it's time to get serious. Or something. Anyways. I figured my introvert sirens would be going at full blast anyways by the time we hit four o'clock, so to add going to WBS (which I'd be leaving early anyways, b/c of therapy...) (This, the last month of seeing my therapist, I have had to change days because she's not available on Mondays, except for our last session.) (Looking at this paragraph, I realize an English teacher would make it bleed. Which is why I'm not an English teacher. Which is why this is MY blog.)

So. I woke up at 5 am feeling feverish. I stumbled to the loo, stumbled back to bed, at some point stripping off the socks I'd been wearing. I figured a) I might sleep off the fever and b) I was not in a clear enough mind to find the thermometer, much less take my temperature. So I went back to bed. And when I woke up, I felt less feverish but more congested, still with the slight sore throat...and I'm a little disappointed that I don't have a fever... but it is completely possible that I will use some of my accumulated comp time as a sick "rest of the" day after the "retreat."

***
Pause for phone call from Dad. He and I are often each other's "internet librarians," so I'm off to find the phone number of a chiropractor/physical therapist I used when I lived in Virginia with them. Generally, the conversation starts with "are you by your computer?" The good news is my dad went to the bone doctor this morning, no longer has to wear the sling, which he referred to as a "noose" in our short (for us) conversation. There were conversational alleys I could have veered us onto but didn't because I still have much to do this morning. It is a treat though, that I enjoy talking to my father, that I'm related to this interesting and fun man.

***

Am generally amazed at how easy Google searches are. In library school, I had an entire class on "Retrieving Information" and the professor, was he ever CUTE. Sigh. But as a children's librarian at my library,* I rarely have to do searches involving online subscription journals--my dad as a library patron is more well versed in those than I (and his library has a much better online selection than ours...). So my "online retrieval skills" are not the best beyond "look up a phone number," but I'm really good at that one retrieval type. I sometimes fill in at the adult reference desk when Adult Services has their monthly meeting and some of the questions they get...gah!

Well, it is the 10 o'clock hour, so to fit in a shower etc., I must bid you, dear reader, adieu. (Which makes me think of The Sound of Music but I mustn't down any blog-writing alleys either.

STOP!

mtc,

SL

___________________
*reference work varies from library to library. Our patrons don't ask a lot of questions beyond "I'm looking for books about...." but I can't be so narrow as to say that exemplifies ALL children's reference work.

Bird by bird, breath by breath...

A few Saturdays ago, I went with a friend to see Anne Lamott, who had a cold. Yet while she stood there talking to us, we who were there to celebrate the Community of Reconciliation's 40th anniversary, she said in the middle of the talk, "I am not sick while I am here with you." Somehow our presence in her presence, she was not coughing, she was able to be her best self (which is pretty wonderful, btw.)

And that is how I felt this evening. I spent most of the day just vegging, as I am in the second week of this cold. I didn't go to any meetings, I just watched an episode or two of SATC, started reading The Namesake, and took an afternoon nap. But generally felt tired, wiped out, and glad I had nowhere to be.

However, I had an evening engagement, the Succor Soiree, an event for the Union Project to raise some money (they always raise money by eating and drinking...). And Sally encouraged me to go, esp. when I told her I hadn't been out all day AND I have a zero balance on one of my credit cards. (I got them to take the 50 cent balance to zero.)

And while I was there, talking with some old friends, sharing about how life is and my dreams, I was not sick. I felt wonderful, and people told me I looked wonderful, people were glad to see me and I felt great.

The minute I walked out the door, I was exhausted.

But that's okay. Because for an hour and a half or so, I felt wonderful.

mtc,

SL

Librarians and book lovers, unite!

So, I didn't start writing a post about Veronica Chamber's book, The Joy of Living Badly. I slept. all. afternoon. And in a few minutes have to don something so I can go to church.

And something as important as RIF (Reading is Fundamental), a program that fights illiteracy in the U.S. deserves a great post.

Which I don't have in me at the moment. Instead, I give you this article which Heidi just sent me, from the Charlotte Observer. Read it and do something.

Mtc,

SL

What I'm looking for (part deux) (with corrections)

Just finished watching Stranger than Fiction.

The first featurette is finishing playing as I write this.

What I want is a therapist that can see me as someone besides a woman who needs a date.

Emma Thompson did not marry and Kenneth Brannaugh got divorced in 1994. She is a woman of greatness, who is not married.

Queen Latifah is not married (that I know of).

(These are two women that star in STF.)

It IS possible that I am destined to fall in love and get married (and not have twelve or two point five children.) (I still think that even if I get married, I will remain childless, BY CHOICE.) (But I'm open...)

And if I am going to be spilling my life story, telling a person things that my mother would rather stayed in the closet or even in the wrapper itself, (price tag on) I need a person who believes a little bit more than me than someone who needs to "get out more."

If you, dear reader, saw the state of my apartment, you would KNOW two things. Either, a) I need to STAY IN MORE and clean my apartment, or b) I need to hire a personal assistant/cleaning person.

While, yes, the entrance of Max into my life, my very apartment, did mean it was more well kept for a time, the return to its native state of chaos says more about me than it does about the breakup.

Sally, the last time she was here, found and assembled the remote control holder that I had purchased at IKEA at least a year prior. My remotes now rarely are not in their place, in the "a place for everything, and everything in its place" schema.

One of the women who prays for me regularly suggested that I needed to get out of myself. Feed the hungry or something. Sally said, you could babysit for Kelly as she packs boxes (yes, dear reader, Kelly is moving to Virginia--sob, sob.)

So I need something in between.

I have said for many months (almost a year?) that I need to write a post about the book The Joy of doing things badly. Well, darlings, give me a few hours to work on it, and later today I will start that post.

We are hitting some significance.

As an aside, it is Sally that has continued to badger me to watch Stranger than Fiction, which I think I need to own very soon. It fell off the holds list (yes, even library computers are error prone and lose things) many times and FINALLY I got it in my hot little hands earlier this week. But knowing what I did about it, that it was in the "Truman Show" school of comedy, I didn't want to watch it in the evening, when I desperately need more direct comedy, something that is outright hysterical. And I am GRATEFUL that I didn't see STF in the theatre, because I laugh at all the understated humor and I am almost always the only one laughing at those points.

And it seems that in the movie theatre is the only place that my very unique laugh is unappreciated.

Must watch next featurette. More later, I promise.

Oh, and it snowed yesterday. The houses are coated with snow that looks like sugar. And the sun is out, melting it away. I think Max is the one that keeps our steps cleared from the snow. The girls have completely moved in now, so I can't differentiate their slamming of doors from his, mostly because I've stopped listening.

I can't seem to stop writing. I love sentences, I do!!

MTC,

SL

TGIF...and thoughts

Whew! When I said I was doing a meme because it was silly, I should have said because I'M SILLY.
I have become addicted to YouTube. I now have watched EVERY preview for the SATC movie, even the "unofficial" one, which may be the one I post.

Off to work...

What I'm looking for...

A rough draft after watching "How to lose a man in ten days." Chick flicks can be very empowering...

I love Pittsburgh, therefore, I am looking for people who love Pittsburgh. (Or wherever it is they live.)

I love my job, therefore, I am looking for other people who love their jobs.

I know where I stand spiritually when it comes to the basics, etc.

I am not sure a man or a relationship or children will "fix" where I am right now, so I'm not looking for people who think that going out to find people "my age" to date will get me out of the dumps.

I ask for a lot, YES. But I have a lot--everyone said you can't get a library job in Pittsburgh, guess what, I got one, in six months. And I have a lot of great friends who also got library jobs in Pittsburgh, some of them AT the library where I work.

Pittsburgh is not Manhattan. If you want Manhattan, move there. Pay rent for a few days. We'll still be here, paying our medium cost of living.

Relationships are great--YES. But if a man is what I need to get me out of the doldrums, then I must be depending too much on outside stuff to nourish me.

If it's so hard to find a relationship in Pittsburgh, why did I go to five weddings this summer? (Um, they were all IN Pittsburgh.)

If I'm looking for someone to listen to me, to give me guidance on how to move about my life, then I want them to know that they solidly believe in something.

These are the ins and outs of Sarah Louise. This is what I'm looking for in a friend, any relationship, and yes, a therapist.

When I told Marian that my therapist was leaving, moving on to another job, she said, "What do you do to them?" which we laughed about later. But in the past few weeks my therapist has shown a few things that I could have ignored if we were still going to be therapist and client--she was unhappy at that particular practice, told me her pay structure and benefits. So does that make me think I want another therapist at that practice? I would want to know if that particular therapist was happy, or biding her time. I am currently in a depression, due partly (but not only) to the fact that my boyfriend dumped me a few months ago. I'm not sure I want to get married, have kids, the whole kit and caboodle, but I haven't been able to share this with my therapist because her advice to me is get out there, meet people my age, and yes, you have a challenge because you're looking for someone with similar beliefs.

I am having problems with my car. So I don't need to know (after I have been told by my therapist to face my car problems) that she, herself, is trying to figure out how she's going to handle the issue she has with the guy who sold her the car she is currently driving.

It's time to get real. It's time to cut the crap. Yes, I'm angry. But anger can be a driving force.

Once more, with feeling... (10 answered, 0 to go!)

(3/9/08 update: THANKS EVERYONE, WE DID IT!)
(3/7/08 update) I don't think I've ever worked so hard on a meme...

Okay, Sarah at Lemony did it. Kim at All Consuming did it. Blackbird at SayLaVee did it. Badger did it. So, because memes are silly and right now I need silly, I give you...


The Movie Meme:

1. Pick 10 of your favorite movies.
2. Go to IMDB and find a quote from each movie.
3. Post them here for everyone to guess.
4. When someone guesses, put who guessed it and the movie.
5. GUESSERS: NO GOOGLING/using IMDb search functions. I mean, you can cheat if you want, but is it really that important?
6. One movie guess per blogger. Give people a chance to guess before you steal all of the awesome!*
6.5 try to not badger your friends to answer...
7. Thanks for playing, everyone! Just a few more, you know you can do it!!


The movies:

1. Marian the Librarian got this one, The Cutting Edge. Well, and she should have, she's the one that got me addicted to this movie about a hockey player turned figure skater.
(Father) "What about Spindler?"
(Russian Coach) "Spindler? Spindler say before he skate with her, he wear garlic from neck and sleep with cross. Who is left? I am at bottom of barrel."
(Father) "Then you find another barrel."

2. Em got this one, Almost Famous:
William: I'm glad you were home.
Lester Bangs: I'm always home. I'm uncool.
(the second Cameron Crowe movie on this list, and we are done!!)

3. Katy got this one. Home Alone. Bless this highly nutritious microwavable macaroni and cheese dinner and the people who sold it on sale. Amen. (Kevin)

4. Katrina got this one: Jerry Maguire: "Don't cry at the beginning of a date. Cry at the end, like I do." (Laurel) (the first of two movies on this list by Cameron Crowe.)

5. Katrina got this one: About a Boy "Suddenly I realized - two people isn't enough. You need backup. If you're only two people, and someone drops off the edge, then you're on your own. Two isn't a large enough number. You need three at least." (Marcus) (the first of two Nick Hornby books turned into a movie.)

6. Em got this one, A Knight's Tale. "Hope guides me. It is what gets me through the day and especially the night. The hope that after you're gone from my sight it will not be the last time I look upon you." (Sir Ulrich, in a letter to Jocelyn.)

7. Sarah O. got this one, woo hoo! High Fidelity.
"I can't fire them. I hired these guys for three days a week and they just started showing up every day. That was four years ago." (Rob) (and the second of two Nick Hornby books turned into film on this list.)

8. Katrina also guessed this one, which I wondered if anyone would. Persuasion. (The BBC one from 1995.) "Anne? You want to marry Anne? Whatever for?" (Anne's father)

9. Katrina got this one too (thanks! I was getting worried that noone had seen my ten favorite movies!) Enchanted April
Caroline: I want to just sit and not talk and not have to be the centre of attention all the time. You know what that's like don't you?
Rose: No.

10. Em also got this one. That thing you do. "When was the last time you were decently kissed? I mean, really, honestly good and kissed?" (Guy to Faye)

*I'm using Kim's asterisk thing--go for it, guess away, because I have no idea if anyone knows these (btw, GREAT) movies...but these are the ones I've watched again and again...

Update as I struggle with a bit of insomnia as I just added Katrina's answers: thank you both to Katy and Katrina for making me smile.

11. Katy got this one: Metropolitan, which is a great movie that I had to purchase because I could never find it even at video rental stores back in the day when we went to video rental stores...a wonderful movie!! When it came out at my college's movie theatre, the year I was a junior, I went to all three showings and from then on wanted pearls! Which I got in 1995 when my friend Sally became a Mary Kay consultant. (Back in the day when you got Majorcan pearls if you brought someone into the company.) (Now you just get a pearl pin.) Apparently this whole movie thing (and this vapid cold) is making me babble...

Audrey: What Jane Austen novels have you read?
Tom: None. I don't read novels. I prefer good literary criticism. That way you get both the novelists' ideas as well as the critics' thinking. With fiction I can never forget that none of it really happened, that it's all just made up by the author.

*******

(3/6/08 update:) Now, as you can see, I do not watch high profile movies. Geesh, I'm glad I didn't pick Picture Perfect! So I'll give out some hints, because you probably have seen these movies, maybe just not a gazillion times, like I have.

That Kiki...

My Peculiar Aristocratic Title is: Duchess Sarah Louise the Intractable of Old Yarkhillshire Get your Peculiar Aristocratic Title

Oh I like being silly. Got this from my silly cuz, Kiki

oh, and I ate the cookies...

for breakfast, Saturday.

Nuff said.

(Although I shared half the box with my neighbors.)

I like the library and el numero once.

It's the One Semester of Spanish Spanish love song.

the extra day...

Every four years someone has today as their birthday...I wonder if one of my readers has a birthday? (I just thought of that, and I thought, oh, now what would I give as a prize/gift?) But hey, I REALLY need to go to the post office, so why not. If today is your birthday, send me your email in the comments (I'll delete it so your email isn't on the blogospere too long) and I'll send you a gift. (But this is only if you read this on today...I know, I'm mean!)

In other thoughts, interesting how right now leap day always falls on a presidential election day. Is it an extra day to campaign? Or an extra day to wonder who we'll vote for? (No political comments, please, this is a neutral blog.)

In other news, on Wednesday, Pittsburgh lost an icon, Myron Cope. If you don't know who that is, google it, you'll find a ton of tributes. Yoi, double yoi! (He was the man who "invented" the Terrible Towel, and even cooler, all his proceeds for the Towel and other stuff he did goes to a school that helps autistic kids because his son is severely autistic. What I think is the coolest is that we never heard a peep about this before he died, the whole let your right hand not know the good your left hand is doing, etc.)

(I'm not linking it up because a lot of times if you link to something big like that, it traces you back...Sarah Louise is blogging about Myron...and while I know I have more than 3 readers, I don't especially feel the need to reach outside my audience to raging Steelers fans.) (Not you, silly!)

Well, I'm off to the big "Catch the reading bug" training, first of two. They'll be identical except for the venue and the caterers and the participants. I have six minutes to talk about the S*tuffed A*nimal S*leepover. I typed something up last night and it took *two* minutes to read. I'll ask for questions.

The cookies are still unopened. I've been too busy!

Oh, and I have a date for the "I-totally-forgot-and-so-did-NH-Sally-Anne-Lamott-event" tomorrow night. My boss originally bought the two tickets, one for me, one for Max. Sally was my next "date," she even took one of AL's books on her vackay. But her other half has something going on. She said, those folks that have birthdays on the first two days of the month never get cards from me--which is totally what happened, I was SO focused on February that I totally forgot about March 1.

15 minutes til my departure. Maybe I should try to dry my hair a little more and find out exactly how cold it is out there.

the cookies cometh...

Yes, it is that time of year. I was yesterday the recipient of one box of Samoa Girl Scout cookies. It is amazing that it has remained unopened for over 12 hours. It still has the red ribbon tied around its belly!

(Not for long, my sweet...)

Yesterday I found two books that have been on my library account for ages. I was really starting to worry I'd have to buy them and then, a "what's this? oohh!!" look at my desk and voila! They are on their way, woo hoo, and off my card.

Today is my momma's birthday! In the fluster of my dad's broken arm and my mom's trip to Mexico (with out him), I think the day has crept up on all of us, like wow! Oh yes, it's a birthday!

Oy vey. I can't believe I'm calling this a post. Better writing in March, I promise.

spoke too soon

Um, yeah.

So remember about February being great?

Yah, my therapist is leaving the practice at the end of March, I've been in "stalled" mode for the past coupla days...whine whine whine.

BUT...yesterday's weed-a-pa-looza (my friend Kelley organized some of us librarians to help another library weed its collection) was super fun.

And Juno won for best screenplay at the Oscars.

And my momma's back from Mexico.

And if I don't wrap this up, I'll be late to work. But it's been a while, I just wanted to shout out to my three readers (hee!)

MTC,

SL

A great February

Months that are hard for depressives:

• October. I had a pretty good one until I totaled my car.
• December. I had a nasty one, getting over the break-up, PLUS all the Christmas stuff
• February. Valentine's Day n'at, even though I pretty much like V-Day, but the winter blahs...

Except that this year:

• two weekends ago, my parents came up, so I took Saturday off and while I was being hostess, my computer was getting XPified.
• last weekend I went to Chicago, which was so wonderful to just GET OUTTA TOWN.
  
• this weekend I have two birthday parties--one was tonight (Saturday) and one is tomorow (Sunday). The Sunday one was rescheduled, so I can go, I otherwise couldn't b/c it was during work hours.
  

Someday soon I'll get my computer and my camera to communicate again, I promise.

Mama came home from Mexico today, but I haven't talked to her b/c the invite for the party said 6:15 (even though everyone else thought it said 7, even the folks whose house it was at...I got there at 6:45...)

I'm sure I had something brilliant to say, but I'm too tired, and it's already tomorrow on the East Coast.

xo,

SL

Fun at blogs! (and listening to the radio)

Every once in a while, I do look at my dashboard for more than "view blog" or "new post." Today I discovered the Shoebox greetings blog in the "Blogs of note." This post on the latest news is spot on!

Am listening to the "Movie Mom" on the radio and there's some new Jack Black movie coming out about two guys at a video store who accidentally erase all the flix and so have to remake the movies, starting with Ghostbusters and Robocop. Hmmm, I do like Jack Black.

Ooh, and on the Movie Mom's website, found this cool quiz on movie quotes, and found out why "I drink your milkshake! I drink it up" is appearing on t-shirts.

The Fonz is in town and is ready to go to the "O"! It's going to be a mini-reunion (not at the "O," at the convention center, silly.) Cindy Williams will be there!

I should be having breakfast with Pete this morning--well, coffee. I probably can't go without food until 10. I was considering walking until I heard the wind chill is 3. But then again, my car won't like driving that short of a distance (the Union Project) if it's that cold. Hmm.

Oh, what else was I gonna tell ya? I forgot. Oh well.

Oh--the shirt I thought the washer ate might have been stuck to the dryer wall--I found it. It still sort of fits. It definitely requires layering though.

Oh, and props to the folks that filled in some potholes in Highland Park recently. In February? I'm impressed! Usually it's May before that happens...

Open letters

To Verizon:

I paid my bill a few weeks ago. I forgot I'd paid ahead, so when I got your "reminder email" I tried to sign into the online bill paying thing I've been using since 2003. You told me I had to sign into Verizon first. I forgot my password, so yesterday b4 work I tried the "no time, just want to pay?" option and I needed my "account number" which is my phone number plus some alpha-numeric that I would know if I got my bill on paper. All of yesterday I had no time to double check this. This morning, the day the bill was due (I know...) I got up EARLY to make sure I'd be able to figure it out. I almost had a cow when you told me you had no such account but realized I had entered the wrong email. When I FINALLY got to the payment page, the payment due today was $0.00. GAH!!

Sarah Louise, who is contemplating returning to paper billing...

My dear 2nd floor neighbors:

How old are you? I could hear through the bathroom running and giggling and "there are people in this house that want to sleep" at 11:00 pm. I don't want to be a RA or something, but I hope we can still be friends after I had to come downstairs at 11:45 and rap on your door.

Sarah Louise, who has been living here 13 years, and don't you forget it!!

Dear country radio station:

Here are the songs I'm tired of listening to:

"Stay" by that band.
"Blink" by that guy (the one about turning 102).
"Letter to me" by that other guy.

If you have to play old stuff, try some Johnny Cash!

Sarah Louise, who doesn't have a CD player in this car.

Dear Lucy,

Darlin', I have no idea if I'll be keeping you. Your broken engine mount and rusted out rocker panel and cracked steering rack make you pretty unattractive to me. I understand more now about your name.

Sarah Louise, who named the car after the author of the song, Passionate Kisses, (Lucinda Williams) which goes like this:

Is it too much to ask
I want a comfortable bed that won't hurt my back
Food to fill me up
And warm clothes and all that stuff
Shouldn't I have all of this, and

Passionate kisses from you

Is it too much to demand
I want a full house and a rock and roll band
Pens that won't run out of ink
And cool quiet and time to think
Shouldn't I have all of this, and

(refrain)

In which SL has a snow day from Bible Study...

Well, it was really snowy in the South Hills, so E cancelled Bible Study. I had a 9 am appointment to get an armband (it's for the exercise study). So I came home and threw some laundry, which is probably ready to be flipped.

It was not so snowy here or anywhere else, but nice to have some extra time.

In which I have:

• started soaking some dishes
• laundry (see above)
• started loading library books into bag to take back but then realized that I wanted to record them, so stopped that. I might take them in and then scan them, as at work I can scan the barcodes into Library Thing and that might be quicker.
  
• caught up on Badger's blog (she's started thrift shopping AND sewing!)

So basically, nothing here. I will do a "SL went to Chicago" post one of these days but not now. Oh, and today I'll start using my flash drive, yo! The one I got not last Christmas but the year before that...

Oh, and I now am the proud owner of a twin box and mattress set. I'm looking for a day bed frame if you know of one, cheap or free. (We'll soon be getting rid of the sofa, I'll find an earring and probably some other stuff.) I'm thinking that it would be good to do this in March if possible, but that may not happen.

No news on the car front except that the lawyer can't help me b/c I signed an "As-is" contract. Doh! My therapist kindly said, anyone could have done what you did in your circumstances. I thanked her for that, because the lawyer made me cry when he said, "You look like a smart woman, why did you buy this car?" BECAUSE I WAS BLINDSIGHTED, you dufus.

Moving on. Better flip that laundry.

in which SL says go look at the cool picture on Katy's blog....

Yes, I'm back...

I had a LOVELY time in Chicago. More on that later. Right now I think I'll just direct you to Katy's cool picture of me taking a picture at the Bean.

We had lots of fun.

And I'm mostly over my cold now. I have to figure out whose trash week it is and if the city is picking up trash on President's Day.

But first, perhaps a nap. Which might turn into a night's sleep--I'm exhausted!!

I have pictures of the Windy City, but the computer and the camera haven't been reacquainted since the XP upgrade...

More later, I promise.

Oh, and just for the record--Katy has more yarn than I have ever seen outside of a yarn store. And we had a blast.

Oh, and now I like Breakfast at Tiffany's--not sure why I didn't before.

My sofa is calling me...

New and intriguing...or not

So the entire Pittsburgh area is riddled with snow. The public schools are closed, Bible Study is canceled, it's a mess.

I'm not sure I even want my blog to be associated with this YouTube I'm about to share, so I'm just giving you the link to the Pittsburgh news channel's website (WTAE). It is, well, going to ruin "Hooked on a Feeling" for me forever, I think. Which might not be a bad thing...

I think I lost a shirt in the laundry...is that possible? I mean I know socks get kidnapped, but this was an entire pink shirt that I really liked...

I think we will see a drastic change forward in the healing process of SL and Max, the saga. I made a list of things that bugged me. Um, I write big, and the pages of the notebook were small, and about one page was things I did like, but I filled 8 pages FRONT AND BACK. Um, maybe it's a good thing I'm no longer dating this man...ya think?! I mean, we disagreed on politics, money, religion...and that's off the top of my head.

I'm back, didya miss me?

Wow was it bizarre to not have my computer for most of Saturday, all of Sunday and most of today. Yikes!

The printer still needs installed (yes, I'm perfectly aware of my Pittsburgh-ism there.) Oh and snap, Blogger or someone thinks I need spelling help. Yuk. I think I fixed it the last time it happened.

But seriously, I have been online for over two hours, messing around on Facebook, taking quizzes, playing Scrabble, playing Scramble...

So I have no wise words.

Except these: it is time for SL to get off the computer and get ready for bed.

Hogs and quiches to you all,

SL

to xp we go...

"Why do you want to upgrade to XP?" asked one of the Sallys I work with.
"Because my computer currently runs on Me."
"Oh."

So tomorrow morning, I will dismantle my computer and take it to NH Sally's, where her hubby has generously agreed to wipe it and then install XP. Woot!

What this means is I will be without my computer... (read: without that thing that seems constantly connected to the edges of my fingertips...) But my fambly sans Bro will be here, so I'll be sufficiently entertained...

I'm tired. The stress test went well, apparently I did well. I'll get the results when I meet with the woman who is administering the study. The teleconference was...um. It was good to see CLP Main, and say hello to a woman I worked with when I did my internship there in Library School. (CLP Main is Carnegie Library of Pittsburgh, Oakland Branch, which is the main branch, connected to the Carnegie Museums of Art and Natural History.)

Then I went to work, worked, went to dinner, came back for an hour, and then went to Targét. Where I paid my bill and promptly spent almost as much as I'd just paid by getting laundry detergent and the soundtrack to Juno.

I think I need a lay down. I'll see you in a few days, unless I blog tomorrow. Oh, AND, I get to meet the Babelbaby tomorrow, woot!

It's REALLY Friday!

• I woke up to snow!!
• I'm going to a teleconference, so won't be "at work" until after 2pm. (The teleconf is 12-1:30)
• I have the next two Saturdays OFF!

The parents are coming tomorrow, but THIS JUST IN: Sis is coming with them!! We might go to the movies and stuff. Oh, this is fun!

Next weekend I'm flying off to Chicago. To visit Katy! I cannot remember the last time I took a trip that didn't involve family or work, but I read this article and emailed Katy. I haven't decided if I'm bringing *my* ice skates though.

I have (I think) the last hoop to go through today for the exercise study. So at 10 am, I go for a "stress test" (which involves a treadmill.) If I do the study, it will be 6 mos of tracking moods and working up to walking for 45 min, 5 days a week.

Well, my stomach is rumbling, so off to eat something and get ready for the "stress test." I might even have time to hang out at CLP Main before the conference, woot!

Pittsburgh weather n'at

So we had two days of 60 degree weather and now we're back to the 30s. This is why I live here. The days of 60 degrees are a welcome reminder that warmer weather is not a figment, more will come, but the return to 30 degrees is the return to normalcy.

I wonder if you can transfer that to relationships, she says capriciously. I, 36 year old Christian woman, for 6 months dated a 28 year old agnostic man. And then the weather returned to normal again. The six months were like those two days of 60 degrees. You knew it didn't fit, but it was lovely.

The only problem with this metaphor is that while I enjoyed the days of 60 degrees, I was glad to go back to 30 degrees because, hello, it's winter! But, I do know many Pittsburghers who say, oh, I wish it would stay warm. And to them, I think, um, move to Georgia. (Which most of them never will, their whole families and lives are here in the Burgh.)

I'm just rambling, playing around with words...

I'm reading Phillip Yancey's book, Prayer: does it make any difference? and LOVING IT. The thing I love about Phil (can I call you Phil?) is that he is so grumpy and NORMAL. He says all the things you've thought about prayer (why don't you answer me God) and really looks at what the Bible has to say about it (so many of the Psalms are really passionate and angry). I never read a Yancey book and think, oh, this man is so super-spiritual, he has no idea what it's like to live MY life. In this book, there are sidebars of stories from Christians and what their experiences are and one of the ones I just read was from a single woman who is probably about my age, asking the same questions I do about singleness. (Well, it doesn't sound like she just came off a six month relationship, but the other stuff.) So I am reading this book like it's a novel, knowing that I'll be buying a copy soon, so I can underline it like crazy.

Oh...Max said he never knew someone to annotate as much as I. Gosh he's a cool person, I hope we can someday be friends again. Maybe it's that waiting for when the weather is supposed to be 60 degrees.

I recently found an ex on Facebook, one of the ones I did stay friends with. It's good to have him as a FB friend.

Okay, enough blathering. Time to eat some breakfast and wash my hair--Sally is coming to help me tackle the Abyss (the nickname for my walk-in closet.)

ttfn,

SL

it's raining babies!

In case you came here first, go visit Babs! Gina has told us, a boy has been birthed.

Vera vera exciting.

(Yes, this from the girl who is not usually excited about babies.) (They have to be special babies for me to be this excited.)

Just another day in Paradise...

• I paid the phone bill this morning. I had to check something in my wallet, and in so doing, I put my wallet in the purse I'm NOT currently using. So when it came to pay for lunch, I was flabbergasted! Good thing Sally covered me. I'll pay her back tomorrow. I was so grateful when I got home to find my wallet, because of course I didn't remember putting it in the wrong purse. (Talk about an adrenoline rush...)
  
• The lawyer appt. for this evening? (About starting to pursue figuring out what to do with my car?) They called around 2 pm and postponed til next Wednesday. (But after all the adrenoline from the wallet and other earlier dramas, I was relieved.)
• Wednesday the car guy is going to do a couple minor things to my car--like lubricate my ignition, spray something so my shift won't lock in cold weather, and condition my steering rack. Basically stuff that will make my life nicer and safer. When I say the car guy, I'm talking about the guy who diagnosed my car as a not so great find.
  
• Did you know Easter is in MARCH? As in the week BEFORE I go off to the Public Library Association Conference in Minneapolis? So I might be in Pittsburgh for Easter after all. (I was hoping to spend it with my mom's side of the family in Myrtle Beach.)
• My parents are coming this weekend!! They may bring Sis!!
  
• The following weekend I may be going to Chicago!! To see Katy and go ice skating!!
• It's 8:30 and I am ready to crash into bed. Well, I do have to finish Blink for the book club tomorrow night, maybe I'll just brush my teeth and read in bed.
  

Oh, and guess who went for a walk this morning? I am SO out of shape. But it did me good to be out in the air.

Oh, and guess whose water broke during the SuperBowl? (Not mine, silly.) We may be having another bloggy baby right now or we might already have one...congrats to the Babe family!!

oh, and I know it's Superbowl Sunday, but I don't really follow football...

I'll write a football post later though. That sounds like a good idea.

Notes:

*winning tickets to playoff game (Redskins, 1984)
*Jerry Maguire, my fave football flick
*the WVU bowl game
*the year we got a TV for Christmas (Redskins vs. Raiders, 1984)

My Sunday morning...

So, it's your favorite (or not so favorite) thirty-something moderately depressed blogger.

tap, tap, is this thing on?

I wake up, knowing it must be light outside because the covers are over my head and it's bright, even under the covers.

Knowing it's not the best route to better mental health, I come to check my email. Ah, Facebook has Valentine's Cards. You know, I knew that already. Oh, and my Verizon bill is online. Thanks. Isn't that more of a "Monday morning" email? This electronic life takes away "days of the week, time of day."

And that was over 2 hours ago.

Since then, I have visited Babs, who is still blogging with a bun in the oven (she's still the mother of 3+1), Daysgoby (who won an award, twice!), and Badger, whose daughter talks mile-a-minute when she's happy. I wasn't able to be chipper about this, since it reminded me of what I'm like when I'm manic. (I'm not saying she's manic.) (I am WAY too in my head these days. It creates problems.) I posted a comment in response to someone's comment and browsed old posts on my other blog and went over to Newlywifed, who promises this will be the last post about breastfeeding. I don't comment.

I decide it's about time to eat something, so I have a breakfast drink, and decide to find a movie to watch this afternoon. We're having a "community meeting about covenant membership" at the OD at 4, so I have to go an early show. Sis has been trying to get to Atonement and I thought, yes, that's what I'll go see. Until I read the review on Yahoo! Movies and a few user reviews. Plus, the movie is 2 hours long...so I moved on. There will be Blood, no. First Sunday, no. I must have gone through all the movies that are on tap at my favorite movie house (I've seen 3, 1 is horror, 1 is Rambo, No!, two are the ones I just vetoed...) So I move on.

Persepolis catches my eye. So I click on it, read the review, read some user reviews (wowsa, there are some angry folks!), go to CT Movies, go to Rotten Tomatoes. So At 12:35 I'll be at the Manor on Murray Ave. It's 32 degrees Fahrenheit, so I'll have to get there early enough to spend ten minutes getting my key out of the ignition since Squirrel Hill isn't too far away but too far to walk and Sunday buses are notoriously slow and infrequent. Hmm, maybe I'll get lunch at Gullifties and maybe I'll go to Fox Books...

So at 10:44, I think, hmm, I could take a shower and give myself a book budget and go browse in a bookstore. When was the last time I did THAT? (For a librarian, it's a bit of a busman's holiday.) And I could have lunch at Brueggers, which would be cheaper than Gullifties. Oooh, and I could go get Winter White Chocolate at 31 Flavas...

It's been awhile since I've gone on a date with me and my city. (Hopefully I'll do better than Carrie in Anchor's Away) Yesterday as we walked out of work (we all walk out together when the library closes at 5 on Saturdays), someone said, Spring is coming and I said, "there's no rush..." and so someone and I had a conversation about how I have no family ties in Pittsburgh, if I didn't like the weather, I could get a job somewhere warmer.

Because the weather is one of the things I like about this crazy town. I know. (I'm a winter girl--which makes me miss Max, who is too. He likes how you can see further in the winter because the leaves are gone.) (Um, Max is a winter boy.)

Lent starts on Wednesday--I can hardly believe it! Which means Easter is egad! In March! So I better start planning my trip to South Carolina...

And since now my brain is about to explode and the movie is about an hour and a half away, I think I'll go take that shower.

Thanks for tuning in. (Or not.)

Books I'm reading:

• Blink by Malcolm Gladwell--for the library's book group Tuesday. It's a re-read for me. (It's NOT self help, even though the subtitle makes it sound like it is.)
• 3 Weddings and a Giggle (finished the first novella last night.) (Also a re-read)
• Prayer: does it make any difference? by Phillip Yancey. Phil is always so DOWN TO EARTH. I like that he's also a little grumpy.
  
• Getting Dumped...and getting over it. (this was a discard at our library and it caught my eye in the recycling bin. I read through it before bed and it was quite insightful. I underlined it like crazy, took quizzes and realized I'm NOT ready to talk to Max yet. I'll be re-reading this.)

Well, off to wash hair n'at.

a reminder to myself...

Be strong and courageous and get to work.
Don't be frightened by the size of the task, for the Lord my God is with you;
He will not forsake you. He will see to it that everything is finished correctly.

(from the book of Joshua.)

Are ya wearing red?

Today is National Wear Red day, the cheerful reason being that heart disease is the #1 killer of women. I think it used to be Wear a Red Dress day, but maybe someone realized that men might want to participate or that women wear less dresses now than in the past. And they can't use a red ribbon, because that was how the ribbon wearing thing started, with the red ribbons for AIDS.

I have a lovely red sweater that has been waiting patiently in the basement, dry now, after being washed. I don't think it really matches the turtleneck I'll be wearing, but the fashion police don't really take trips to my library very often. (Or ever, I guess.)

I'll be writing another installment of "This electronic life" on why email can be a really bad idea sometimes, but I need to tie up some loose ends and eat crow. Or humble pie.

from the WOH devotional:

Dear Lord, if today is a good day, hold me tight lest I grow lazy; if today is a bad day, hold me tight lest I grow faint of heart. For Jesus' sake, Amen.