A Sty in my Eye

Today I'm at the public library.
I have a sty in my eye.
It's pretty painful.

In other news I hung out with my sister and nephews the other day. It was a lot of fun. We went to the bookstore and I bought a few new books. Haven't started any of them but hopefully I will when I'm on vacation in Utah or Vegas. I don't even remember the titles.


Not an interesting post. I know. :(

I need help...

I need some help with some book recommendations. I have $20 to spend at Barnes and Noble and I need to spend it by 4/10/11. Any ideas? All my favorite authors haven't put out anything new.

I'm looking for adult-ish books. While I love YA, I don't own much and that's okay with me.

I like the paranormal fiction genre. I like Mysteries. I like a lot..I just can't think of anything that I want to buy..

Feeling a bit overwhelmed

School and work, school and work. That's my life. I'm feeling like I'm missing out on having tons of fun because of school and work. Now, I know that this is Real Life. I get that. I just want to have fun too and I feel like at the end of the week I'm so exhausted all I want to do is sleep.

I'm also a bit behind in my reading for school. And a bit behind means...1,000 pages. Not kidding. So many articles and stuff on things that I don't really care about at all. Information Retrieval and classifications and stuff. I'm thinking that maybe I made the wrong decision to go to Library School. What if it's all stuff like this? I hate it. I'm sure it's not, I'm sure I'm being overly dramatic. :)

Dramatic.. me? NEVER!

I'm sure I'll survive. Just venting a bit here. :)

It's Spring!

Technically I'm on Spring Break right now. For grad school anyways, the school that I work at doesn't start their Spring Break until April 18. I can't wait. 2 whole weeks of not waking up insanely early! YAY!!!!!!

I can't believe it's April 1. Can you believe it? Where has the year gone? School is going to be over soon, both my classes and my job and I can't wait. I plan on relaxing a bit this summer and then hopefully working a bit more.

I feel like I never have anything interesting or funny to say anymore. I bet I do I just don't think that it's very funny or interesting. This month is going to be great, though. Lots of traveling. I'm going to Utah to see my favorite cousin graduate college. Can't wait. I'm excited to eat at all the fun restaurants he's been telling me about and I'm excited to support him. He's the second grandchild to graduate college. I beat him by a year, have I mentioned he's 5 years younger than me? That kid is crazy smart and I'm so happy to say that I'm related to him.

Also as soon as I get back from Utah, I'm home for like 4 days and then I head off to Las Vegas. I'm going with a group of co-workers and friends to see Steve Martin. Have I mentioned my love of Steve Martin? Not only is the man funny but he's a great writer (LOVE LOVE LOVE Shopgirl) and an extremely talented banjo player. He'll be playing with the Steep Canyon Rangers, who I also LOVE. Talk about talented, they are crazy good. I've seen them play with Steve twice before and I'm excited to go see them again.

The other reason I'm so excited is that I'm going to Las Vegas for the first time since I've been 21. The last time I went was with my boyfriend at the time and I was 18. I couldn't really do much. We stayed at the Venetian or the Bellagio (I honestly can't remember) and I remember going to the Star Trek thing (his choice) and seeing the Amazing Jonathan (my choice). I also got to order room service. It was fun.

I'm assuming it's going to be a whole different experience this time.

Watch out Vegas, the librarians are coming!

So I've...

Read a few more books but won't talk about them now. I've been so busy with work and school and everything.

A few weeks ago we had our book fair at the school. It was great! We sold over $2,000 dollars worth of stuff and got a whole bunch of money to go back into the library. It was just fantastic :)

Work at the public library is going good too. Even though I haven't been there for a while. I feel like I've been taking way too much time off to do the stuff for the school and work. I miss my folks at the public library.

In other news I'm interviewing for a job tomorrow. Community college library. I'm excited but super nervous. Good thoughts please! :)

I found it!

In my last post I talked about a book I read as a kid. It was about a girl who was on a TV show and was writing her memoirs at age 13...and after searching and searching for years I finally found the book online! It's called Confessions of a Prime Time Kid and it's actually a work of FICTION! AH! I think I must have been in 4th or 5th grade when I picked this book up at my school's book fair and I think I must have really thought it was true.

Over the years I have scoured the web trying to find reference to the vague memories I had of a TV show and the girl's name and I could never find anything. Well DUH! now that I realize it's fiction of course I wouldn't have found anything. I finally found the book on a used book website. I can't believe I actually found it. I'm so excited. I put it on hold at work so I can re-read it. I can specifically remember reading it in the bathtub at the house I grew up in. I would spend hours and hours and hours refilling the tub with water and reading books and this was one of my favorites.

So thrilled. Good night! :)

One I forgot

I forgot that I read Claim to Fame by Margaret Peterson Haddix. I read it while I was in Sedona. I didn't forget about it because it was forgettable but I think because I was reading so much it's all getting a bit confusing.

Claim to Fame was pretty interesting. I have always loved book about "celebrities" and child stars and their lives. I had a favorite book when I was a kid, it was written by a girl who was a child star in the 80's. It was her memoir and she had written it in her late teens. I can't remember her name except that she was named after Margaret O'Brien and her brother was Kelly and that she was in a show where she lived with an older gentleman and I think it took place in New York. I know that I picked it up at a book fair in elementary school. It's frustrating to me that I can't remember the name of the book or even the name of the actress and every couple of years I google search it but I can't find it ARG. And now I've digressed.

Basically the book was about a former child star who for all intents and purposes fell off the grid. No one knew where she had disappeared to, but in reality she and her father just wanted to live a quiet lifestyle... not because of all the fame but becuase of her gift. Lindsay Scott has a gift that allows her to hear whatever people are thinking about her. Whenever she goes out side of her house (which is one of the few places she doesn't hear anything) it's a crazy barrage of noise and thoughts all about her. I'm sure that if she was a normal person it wouldn't be that big of a deal, but if you're a child star and your sitcom is in reruns..it's kind of crummy. Some of her fans find her though and try to "rescue" her. Although she has nothing to be rescued from, this kidnapping actually opens the door to the rest of her life.

It was an enjoyable book... now if only I could find that stupid child star memoir!!!

A book and a slow down.

So I've slowed down in my reading. It's been crazy busy in my life since I've gotten back from vacation. School started and then I got sick and so even though I had the last weekend off I was in bed sleeping the entire weekend. No reading, no housework, nothing. So I've basically been trying to keep my house in order, do my schoolwork, go to work and there has been no time for reading. Except for one.


The Old Willis Place by Mary Downing Hahn is a favorite among my students. The kids love all things Hahn to begin with but we literally have about ten copies of this title and they are constantly checked out. I'll admit I figured out what was going on before I was halfway through the book but only because I could relate it to a movie I had seen. I can totally understand why kids love this book and it really is pretty freaky. I don't want to say much about it since I don't really want to spoil it for you, but if you (assuming you're an adult) would like a quick, easy, fun kids ghost story this would be the book for you.

I now have two three-day weekends this month, so I plan to read a bit more. Hopefully after I've cleaned my house, gotten AHEAD on all my schoolwork, planned my birthday party, and not get sick. Fingers crossed for more reading?

1+2+5=8

So my three day vacation to Sedona was a success! I read 5 books while I was there and it was amazing. Now that I'm back I haven't really read anything, but I've been working on a Tom Selleck cross stitch (I love me some Tom Selleck) instead. I'm take a break from the cross stitching though to get some reading done before the semester starts.

Speaking of school, it starts Wednesday! EEK! I'm excited, although I'm sure that will wear off soon. I'm really busy between the two jobs and trying to keep a social life. I'm sure the social life is going to tank during the semester but I think that's how it goes. Work at the public library is the same, same crazies, same questions. The kids at school are keeping me busy and this coming week I am going to the county of education branch meeting. I'm excited to meet other librarians and network a bit.

Now for my books that I've read!



Witch Baby by Francesca Lia Block
Continuing with the characters from Weetzie Bat, Block tells the story of Weetzie's adopted daughter, Witch Baby. We learn why she is so conflicted and she in turn learns about her family and why she should accept their love and return it.








Cherokee Bat and the Goat Guys by Francesca Lia Block
Ah!!!! The kids are all grown up! Cherokee Bat, Witch Baby, Raphael and Angel Juan all form a band while their parents are out of town filming a movie. They learn the hard way about temptation and spiral quickly out of control. Yet, of course, the spell breaks and they realize the harm they are doing to their spirits and bodies.




The Girls by Lori Lansens
Fascinating book about conjoined twins. Rose and Ruby have lived their entire lives conjoined, sharing vital organs that made it impossible to separate them. The book is written from both of their perspectives and Lansens does a fantastic job differentiating between the two. They have great voices and great stories and I couldn't read this book fast enough.





A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Future by Michael J. Fox
Michael J. Fox is a favorite actor of mine. I've read all of his previous books, mostly biographies and memoirs about his life and his disease. This book was different, mostly advice and positive ways of looking at life. Fox dropped out of high school and only got his GED after his son asked him why he didn't have one. It was fascinating to hear his take and I love his writing voice. I can actually "hear" him as I read his words.



The D.U.F.F. by Kody Keplinger
A first novel by a teenager, Keplinger's "The D.U.F.F." was a quick and fun read. It reminded me of high school reality and even though many people thought it was too sexual or not well written. I thought it was great. I'm not sure if I would recommend it to my students due to some of the decisions that the characters make, but I found it refreshing to read someone writing about high school reality.

Two books

So I've been reading reading reading! Or at least trying to anyways. I love YA books because I can get through them really quickly.

This week I read Anything But Typical by Nora Raleigh Baskin. I really enjoyed this book. It's written from the perspective a middle school boy who is autistic. The reason I really liked it is that I had never read anything written in that perspective before. It gave me a great understanding of what issues autistic kids might be dealing with and how their thought processes might work. Anyways I really liked it and I think it would be a good read for kids and adults who might have questions about how autistic kids process things.

I also read Weetzie Bat by Francesca Lia Block. I'll be honest and say that I've read all of her books before, but it has been years since I've done so. Weetzie Bat was published in 1989 and deals with issues such as deal, gay relationships, AIDs, love, loneliness and more. It's the first in a series of books about the same characters and it's a favorite of mine. I LOVED these books as a teen and I love them more now. It's whimsical and realistic and sad and happy all at the same time. When I was younger I felt really connected to these books. I wanted love and happiness and to live a whimsical life. Now, a bit older, I still want that and I still feel that when I read these books.

I leave for Sedona tomorrow on my annual girls trip with my mom. I have over 20 books checked out on my library card and plan to get a TON of reading done. The good thing about YA books is that they are short :) But I do have some adult books on my list as well.

Things are looking good so far.

My Goal for 2011

I'm not one to embrace resolutions. If there is an activity or habit that I want to stop or continue I will. But this year I have a goal. A real goal that I am going to share with you all and hopefully that will keep me on track.

My goal is.....

To read 100 books in 2011.

I know. It's not that lofty of a goal, but if you think about it it's about two books a week. I work six days a week between my two libraries and I have a lot of shows that I enjoy watching on TV but I'm really going to focus on reading more. Also, since I've started at the school I'm increasing my YA reading a bit so I can be more familiar with what my students are reading. I actually read about five YA books in the last few days of 2010 but I can't count those towards my total :( So far I've already finished one and am in the middle of two others so I'm hoping to get those done within the next couple of days.

So here is my list so far:

1. The Seventh Witch by Shirley Damsgaard
I started this series because it was about a librarian and it had that super natural feel to it. I heard that this is the last one in the series and that makes me a bit sad. I enjoyed the characters and it's a really fast read. I love historical familial ties of magic that run through Abby and Ophelia and I especially loved that the characters go back to their home towns and we can really see their heritage.

WOOT one down! :)

Happy Christmas

Hi all--

Did you have a nice Christmas? I did. I guess. I have some crazy family issues that have been taking over the family holidays so it's kind of difficult sometimes. Anyways! I'm excited to be on break from school.

I am enjoying the school and being a librarian for them but I really feel that I need to be there more hours. I feel bad for the kids because they can't use the library as much as they should and a lot of them have some crazy research projects that they are working on.

The kids are really sweet and I'm glad to be ther I just wish I was there more. I did a class on database searching. The kids seem to really enjoy learning about how to search on databases. I geeked out and showed them a lot more than they would ever want to know or hear about databses. I'm passionate! What can I say?

In other news at the public library today I overheard this conversation:

Patron answering her phone: HI BABY! I'M IN THE LIBRARY!!!!!!! YES THE LIBRARY! WHAT?! NO I'LL BE THERE IN A SECOND. I'M IN THE LIBRARY!!!!

Obviously she knows that she's IN THE LIBRARY but apparently she doens't think she needs to be QUIET.

le sigh.

Information Desk can I help you? Information Desk can I help you?

I seriously wonder about the next generation of students. Every day I deal with parents who are at the library doing the research for their children. Just today I had this lady who was here getting books on a project her son was supposed to be doing. Her 15 year old, sophomore in high school, son. Ugh

Her son was doing a paper on "How did WWI lead to WWII?" and I'm trying to explain to her that the best way to get information for her would be to look at specific things that her son has already studied that he knows lead to WWII. I found a bunch of books for her all over the library, wrote down the titles and the call numbers, and the locations and pointed them out to her. I also showed her how to access the online databases and walked her through all of that step by step.

She walked away looking like she knew what was going on. She was back within 10 minutes and apparently didn't listen to anything I had told her because I ended up walking around the library with her, pulling the books and the like.

What are these kids learning?! They for sure as hell not learning how to do research or how to use the library or even how to ask the lovely library people how to do something. NO! Their parents are coming in and doing it for them. I'm especially worried about kids today because even though there are these great projects (I think of them as great now as an adult when I don't have to do them but as a child I'd totally hate it) that force them to learn how to do scholarly research. They aren't actually doing the research. It's the parents. UGH!

In other news I am going to see Conan next Monday. And you are not. :)

Have I mentioned that I work 2 jobs and am also in school?

So sorry about the blogging break. It's been really hectic around here. I've had papers and book fairs and crazy patrons OH MY!

No, seriously though, it's been busy. I got really sick in the beginning of November which lead to me calling out of the school library job for two days which meant I only had two days to really prepare for my book fair. And then book fair happened and it was crazy and awesome and stressful all at the same time. We made almost $2000 which was great and I was really happy with it. Then it was Thanksgiving holiday and I was off of school for a week but still had the public library job to go to and now it's November 29 and I need to put my Christmas decorations up and finish my final paper for my first grad class. It's on the digital divide and needs to be 15-20 pages and I haven't done a lick of research. Did I mention it's due on Sunday? Hmmm perhaps I should get on that.

In crazy library patron news, we've had two local libraries close for some renovations. One is closed for a year and the other is closed for a month (opening December 1 woot woot). The fact that these two libraries are closed has lead to an exponential increase in our patron craziness.

Case in point:

Chatty But Silent Patron (CBSP). CBSP likes to have very elaborate but silent conversations complete with hand gestures. She sat in front of my at my desk the other day for a good twenty minutes talking and talking (silently) and point and pointing and waving and waving. It was very awkward. I even had a fun post on facebook that went like this.

Me: Sitting at the reference desk. There is a lady sitting right in front of me having a very animated but silent conversation with herself. This sums up my day.

Blah blah blah talk with other librarian about her patrons who have been arrested for assault and blah blah blah

Me: She's waving her hand and pointing at me wildly. 42 minutes and then I can LEAVE!

Coworker: Well at least she knows to be silent in the library.

HMPH.

I also had the Virus Lady (VL).

VL came to the library about 20 minutes before closing and wanted to get on the computer. Now as we all know from previous posts, our computers shut down at 15 minutes til. So I was explaining to her how if she logged on she wouldn't be able to stay on for very long and that we would be open tomorrow. Our conversation then took a crazy tone.

Me: You do need a library card to log on to the computers.

VL: Well I have a library card, but do you have a guest pass?

Me: No. We don't have a guest pass anymore we just have an Internet Only card...

VL: I want one of those!

Me: Well, those are for visitors to the library who are not state residents. You have a library card so in order to get on the computer you need to use your card to log on.

VL: I can't find my card but I want to go on the internet.

Me: We can replace your card for $2.

VL: But I don't want it under my name. When I log on it tells me that I'm on an unsecure site. They always make it so I can't go on my e-mail and they track me. They set it up so I get viruses.

NOW. Here is where I should have shut up. I don't know why I said the next part.

Me: Who's they?

VL: WELL WHO ARE THE VIRUSES? HUH? WHO ARE THEY?

Me: Um.. I don't know...

VL: I want to log onto a computer not using a card attached to my name, can you log me onto a computer?

Me: I'm sorry. It's our policy that you use your own card to access the computer.

She walked away after that and the other 3 people on desk just turned and stared at me. It was pretty crazy.


And as a side note. Someone told me the other day I was neurotic. Now I know what neurotic means but I thought perhaps they were using it in a different context. Not wanting to misunderstand them I went home and looked up the definition. I do not think I am neurotic. Thoughts?

I now have a Ms. in front of my name...

So I've started a new job. Wait, scratch that. I've started a second job. I'm the new Library Media Specialist at a middle school in a rural town about an hour away from my house. Yes, I must love to drive because both of my jobs have a substantial commute (actually, I hate to drive, I just need to work and that's where I've gotten jobs).

My first day was last Wednesday and as the principal was showing me around the library it really sunk in that I was actually going THE LIBRARIAN. Me. Like the person in charge. I came in and already has messages from the Scholastic person on setting up a book fair. I'm going to have to discuss that with the principal and the secretary. Anyways. The crummy thing was is that there really were no instructions left for me. My second day I was there for 6 hours and was able to find barcodes and figured out how to add books to the system, but other than that I didn't really do anything. I can't check anything out to students because their information needs to be downloaded into the school library system. BTW the library software is weird. It's all separate programs.

The good thing though is I'm really appreciated. Lots of kids were knocking on the doors asking if I was open yet, and all the teachers that I met were really happy to see me and very friendly. The library hasn't been open since June and everyone is very anxious to have it open again.

The next two weeks are going to be a bit crazy due the part that I'm working both my jobs on the same days until my schedule at my public library can get figured out. I might die of exhaustion because I am SO NOT used to getting up at like 5:30-6:30 in the morning to be at school. That makes for a grumpy librarian. But I'm sure I'll get used to it.

Viva la library! :)

--Ms. Teenage Librarian