... Likes Sands Through an Hourglass

My birthday was Sunday, and the weekend became very Me-centric. Since I turned 25, Mom and Dad felt that a celebration was in order. Friday evening, I met my parents at the Asian market near the university, and we bought salmon, halibut, grouper, and beef tenderloin for Saturday's cookout. In addition to this preparation, I baked a chocolate cake (with homemade milk chocolate frosting) for the festivities on Thursday.

The cookout was suppose to be a pretty small affair but quickly ballooned to a full-fledged party with twenty-two people, games, an impressive buffet (there's still food left), and many birthday cards. Dad and Poppy grilled all of the fish and beef as well as shrimp, chicken, and all the vegetables Mom didn't roast. My brother and his girlfriend drove up, and all the area family came. After we ate and most of the people left, we played a few games of Blokus, two games of Liverpool Rummy (the variation my family plays), and a game of Fluxx. Afterward, I was exhausted and went to bed after watching Rocky which I got as a promotional from Columbia House a few months ago.

The next morning, Dad made waffles, and I left for Jason's after breakfast. For my birthday lunch, we went out for Cane's chicken (one of my favorite places to eat). I opened gifts. Jason introduced Stephanie and me to Spades, a card game the bears a slight resemblance to Hearts. We played three games and all won one apiece. We watched the Ross Kemp episode of Rick Gervais's brilliant Extras.

We used the DruidCraft tarot deck that Stephanie got me for my birthday. She did a reading for me with a spread new to us. It was extremely interesting and fun. Sunday night, I did a Celtic Cross reading for her which wrapped up at around 5:30 in the morning.

Usually, I get very depressed and inconsolable on my birthday, but this year was different; I was in a pretty good (if somewhat unstable) mood. On the way home of Monday, I did have a moment of nervous anxiety and irrationally low self-esteem.

Last night, I was able to get away from most human contact and had some alone time. I watched Olivier's Hamlet and a 1934 Dick Powell film called Dames which was very low on plot and high on humor and spectacle.

Breakdown of birthday presents:

• Ticket to see The Drowsy Chaperon (Mom and Dad)
• White FiestaWare pitcher (Nana and Poppy)
• Autographed and framed photo of Joan Fontaine (Jason)
• Autographed Jason baseball card (Jason)
• DruidCraft tarot deck (Stephanie)
• Alone in the Kitchen with an Eggplant (Stephanie)
• Metallic necklace (Stephanie)
• Color-it-yourself tarot deck (Stephanie)
• Zen: the Perfect Companion by Seung Sahn (Stephanie)
• DK Eyewitness Film (Trish)
• Merchant-Ivory's The Bostonians (Shari)

I'm Not Good at the Internets

It's been over a month since I last updated and not because I have a lack of things to say/report. Mostly, I just don't think about updating. When it does occur to me to write an entry, I'm usually busy doing something else (ex. driving home, showering, fretting).

Added to this is my aversion to "Internet culture." Social-networking sites such as Facebook and Twitter produce all of the anxiety of more direct communication without any of the payoff. A generally water-downed version of a person is brandied about without any depth of relationship and real understanding. While they are attractively concise, these tidbit offerings leave me cold. Of course, I'm primarily interested in understanding myself and part of this process is believing that others are just as interesting and interested in exploring themselves. And personal Internet information seems transitory and smacks of unneeded compromise. Which is my way of saying, "Whoops, I'll try harder in the future!"

Onward to the news:

1. Shelter

Everything on the buying-a-condo front is going smoothly. I got a call from the realtor today, and she informed me that the condo passed the termite inspection. Last week, the house inspector gave me his report which cited only an estimated $450.00 in repairs; these consisted entirely of things I had planned to replace. After this, I sent all the paperwork and documents to the mortgage company who has since sent it to the closing company. (I had no idea this would be so complex! The image in my head was of speaking with George Bailey at the savings and loan, striking a deal, and ending with a handshake.)

Unfortunately, the entire process has been plagued with minor inconveniences: the seller was out of town and unreachable for a week, my realtor's husband is ill, the seller's realtor gave us the wrong key when my parents came to look, one of the credit bureaus put the wrong credit history on my report. Through all this I've remained relatively calm and positive. I've even had a couple days when I was excited. Still, there is a persistent, foreboding voice in my head that keeps warning that I'm going to end up messing up my life more than I already have.

2. Education

I received all the acceptance letters and paperwork. I've filled everything out and sent it in. I do need to get a student ID. I was happy to find out that I will be monetarily compensated for the workshop I have to attend in order to teach first-year composition. I also received some of the articles and essays that I will use in the class. I'm excited about how structured everything is and am beginning to feel that I may actually make a success of this little endeavor. (I'm steering clear of any teacher-schmaltz.)

3. Birthday

I'm about to start my birthday weekend. I'm turning 25 (a quarter of a century) and won't have another landmark birthday for a number of years. Mom, Dad, my brother, and his girlfriend are coming up tomorrow for a cookout that will feature all of my favorite grilled seafood and roasted vegetables. I baked a chocolate cake and made the icing for it yesterday and will assemble it tomorrow morning. On my actual birthday, I'm going over to Jason's to hang out for awhile. Beyond that I haven't any plans except to watch a couple good movies and relax.

My Reading List

Yesterday, I finished reading Jose Saramago's haunting novel Blindness which was published three years before he won the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1998, and I realized that I really haven't blogged about the stuff I'm reading (with the exception of Ian Fleming's Casino Royale) so I decided to jot down thoughts about my reading list for this year.

This is my second year to have an official reading list, and I've found that it's an interesting process. I find it helpful to have a list since Fours (such as myself) find solace in organization and direction. By constructing a list, I can better understand my reading habits and interests and also remember books I've read or want to read. (I have problems with remembering and accurately placing things in time.) Like I said, this is my second year to do this, and already I've learned so much about the process and a little about myself.

Last year, I developed a list after getting the idea from a project of Stephanie and Shari's. The challenge was to choose eight categories/genres and read eight books within those parameters. I sat down in late January and completed a list of sixty-four books.

I can say with qualms that this list was a failure. It failed for a couple of reasons. 1) I neglected to include "fun" reading. Most of the books on the list were longer than average and could be called "classics." 2) The process was very forced. I completed the list in one day and hardly deviated from it during the year. In the end, I only read twenty-two books. While having a list was really good for me, it was too limited, and I found myself unable to break away from it.

In December I started compiling a list of categories/genres I was interested in and came up with six: action/adventure fiction, literary classics, poetry collections, award-winning books, non-fiction, and book I own but have not yet read (not a genre but definitely something I wanted to address). Within these, I chose three or four books to start from, my thought being that I could build the list throughout the year. I've since added three additional categories: children's literature, religion/theology, and a free-for-all category.

The nice thing about having a freer structure and fewer initial titles is that I'm able to be inspired by the things I read or develop an interest in to pick up novels I had no intention of reading. And I don't have to bump another book from my list. There's no set number of books for each category. Thus, I've dropped the challenge aspect of the list. I don't do well with challenges. I tend to panic and shoot my self-esteem all to hell.

Another thing that's really helped me is Shelfari, which Shari introduced me to early this year (see my shelves to your right). It helps give me a visual idea of what my reading habits are. Also, if a book stays too long on my "I'm reading" shelf, I start to get antsy and quickly finish it. This year I resolved to read more than I had in 2008, and I'm already close to fulfilling that resolution.

Scones Are Really Easy to Make

I spent an extended weekend in Texas with Stephanie which was a lot of fun and more than made up for the day of swine flu jokes I endured. The trip down was relatively uneventful. On the way to her house, I stopped by Jason's condo to pick up things to deliver. The only other excitement stemmed from a particularly bad accident involving two semi-trucks which held up traffic for half an hour. Once I arrived, we had four days of merriment. We watched movies, talked about feelings, fell into Lifetime original movie territory, quickly retreated, and baked scones.

Stephanie also read my tarot with her new set of cards. I had asked her to do this since it's a subject that I've been mildly interested in for a long time. (Tarot is one of those things regularly featured on mystery shows such as Murder, She Wrote which I watched religiously for years.) Before we started, she explained that the process was not meant to be mystical or seen as an exercise in predicting the future. I expected to enjoy the reading but was surprised at how active I got in the process. The reading ended up taking roughly four hours, and several times I had strong reactions to the cards. Had I not actually shuffled and cut the deck I would have sworn that Stephanie had stacked it. The cards had very interesting things to say, and Stephanie and I also found quite a few things to say. It was nice to have such a structured forum in which to examine my life. (I didn't ask a question at the beginning since I felt too inexperienced.) Though the question of "how" could be troubling, it does not seem inconceivable to me that the cards and people are connected through the universe and thus ordered on some level. Perhaps my excessive Romanticism and pseudo-Existentialism is showing.

During all this scone-baking and card-reading, we watched quite a few movies including The Band's Visit, an Israeli film about the travails of a police band traveling to a gig from Egypt, The Taste of Others, a charming French film about the events and people surrounding one man's personal journey from being a boring office drone to a person interested in art and love, The Nines, a series of interlocking vignettes about a man who doesn't understand who or what he is and two women who are trying to help him, and Look Both Ways, an Australian film about death and the ways it effects us. We also watched filmed stage productions of Company and Sunday at the Park with George which I checked out from the library.

On the way home, I stopped by Mom and Dad's house. They showed me the new quilts including a beautiful one for me. Dad showed off his new golf club which is one of the most interesting clubs I've ever seen. I'm so glad that he enjoys it.

Remembrances of Days Past; or The Man Who Talked Too Much

Last week I happened upon a wonderful deal on Fiestaware at a pharmacy/gift shop that's merging in with Walgreens. So I coordinated Mom's birthday presents from me and my siblings. (By "coordinated," I mean I bought things and notified them that they owe me money.)

After procuring such a kick ass gift for Mom, I started obsessing about Dad's gift. My dad is notoriously noncommittal when it comes to giving ideas for gifts, and Mom's idea was socks. (I should explain that Mom and Dad's birthdays are insanely close together.) Finally, Joel told me that Dad wanted a hybrid golf club and that his three iron had recently broken. So we bought him a new hybrid three iron, and he used it Tuesday and really liked it.

Jenna was over last weekend, and as usual, we watched far too many movies. We watched The Trojan Women, My Fair Lady, and Anastasia. On Sunday, we visited Grandma and Grandpa and chatted about poetry and graduate school.

I also had a spontaneous burst of creativity and wrote three poems as well as the second part of another and the beginnings of several others. I've been writing much more than I did last year which is very encouraging. Also, I recently took a major step and actually read several of my recent poems to Nanny, Poppy, and Mom. Either they enjoyed them or imagined that I would throw myself in front of a train if they didn't. So my spirits were lifted, and while I can't let them see some of my racier poems and poems dealing with subjects they probably don't want to deal with, I feel that they now have some small idea of the things that I do with my spare time.

Monday evening, I watched George Cukor's The Women which was a lot funnier than I thought it would be. Much like Robert Wise, Cukor is one of those prolific directors who has directed quite a few movies that I've seen and love. I'm a fan of Joan Fontaine, Rosalind Russell, Paulette Goddard, and Marjorie Main so I enjoyed seeing all of them performing together. Russell especially is a riot to watch; she so ostentatious and relishes every manipulation and drama with almost irrepressible glee.

I loved the movie so much that I needed more and attempted to watch the 2008 remake. Okay, I realize this was a stupid thing to do, but how was I suppose to know that something with so much actresses I adore could be so bland. Maybe it was unfair to try watching it so soon after watching the original, but I doubt that I could have made it past the 24 minute point in any situation. It wasn't even bad; it was mind numbingly adequate.

Since the remake proved unwatchable, I watched Robert Altman's Dr. T and the Women instead since it too sports an eclectic set of actresses that I love. Now, I bought this for secondspin for two dollars, and I was expecting a bad movie and ended up completely surprised. It was so vibrant and funny.

Then I blissfully got online... People hate this film. No, I think that's too lenient. People loath this film. Even die hard Altman fans despise this film, and I have no idea why. It's not as good as Nashville or Short Cuts, but it's still Altman being extremely Altmanesque. It's hysterically funny, poignant, and whimsical. I mean Farrah Fawcett's character is suffering from a "Hespia Complex," a fictional mental condition where women who are loved too much retreat into a childlike state. And despite the ludicrous nature of her condition, the film makes the pain it causes her husband very real.

Now, I'm getting ready to spend the weekend plus Monday visiting Stephanie. (I may have to call in sick Tuesday.) All week I've been stuck at the circulation desk so I'm very tired and looking forward to relaxing. I've also been melancholy for the last two weeks. So much time at the circulation desk has been it crushingly clear that I currently have the same job I had in high school and most of college. This makes me wonder what the hell I'm doing.

Anyway, I'm over it now and hoping that this control that I've recently had over my bad moods will continue to grow. I need to learn to take my natural depression and use it to my advantage. Still, I'm looking forward to visiting Stephanie! I'm sure there will be merriment and spirits, movie watching and possible tarot reading! I've also decided not to bring a large amount of films this time. I'm bringing three things, one that we will watch and two that she can decide yes or no at her convenience. I'm such a good friend.

A Day in the Life Of...

There are many things that I enjoy talking about that the majority of people I know don't enjoy talking about. Countless times I've noticed that glazed expression develop in the eyes of family, friends, and acquaintances as I prattle on about Tracy/Hepburn films or whatever classic novel I'm current obsessed with. Now, there are things that I don't really talk that I'm sure would conversational numbness, and one of these is my job. However, I'm bored at the moment and thought that you should be bored too.

I work at an academic library, specifically in the archives and at the circulation desk.

I suppose the one thing to remember about library work is that everything is counted for statistical purposes. Half of the job is proving that the library is needed. So we mark down every question, book used, and visitor. These are ultimately used to show people that people in fact use the library.

At the circulation desk, I help people check out books, check in books, handle their fines, send faxes, and sundry errands.

I'm also part of the Interlibrary loan team (Go Team ILL!) and mainly deal with outgoing (borrowing) requests. This means processing request for materials made by our students, staff, and faculty. Basically, it boils down to asking a string of lending libraries if they would be willing/able to loan us their materials. A major part of this involves researching loaning policies to make sure that they do lend the type of materials we're seeking and aren't going to charge us fifty dollars. I also take part in managing all requests database which details all incoming/outgoing requests and their statuses. This is generally easy unless it's time for final papers or the occasional person going berserk. (For example when someone first realizes that attempting to get new releases through ILL is cheaper than Blockbuster or when someone wants every recording of an obscure Italian Cat Stevens cover band.)

I'm also the assistant to the archivist which entails lots of research into moldering tomes and newspapers. (Sometimes I get the archivist coffee.) Besides research requests, I handle a large amount of indexing and processing new acquisitions.

I generally like my job and have no real complaints beyond the minuscule pay and the lack of personal fulfillment. I'm not wealthy enough for existential angst concerning my noncareer so I try not to think about. Most positions of this type are transition jobs taken by those who wish to go to graduate school or work their way into a cushier administration gig.

So concludes a day in the working life of a archives/circulation technician. And now, Gentle Reader, I leave you to your own devices and hope that I have made some impact whether interesting you in the field of librarianship or curing your insomnia.

The borrow the mannerisms of Comic Book Guy: Most. Boring. Blog. Ever.

The Culturing Life

Yesterday I went to a poetry reading by Charles Simic who won a Pulitzer in 1990 and was the U.S. Poet Laureate (I love that word) in 2007. One of the pluses of working for a university is that you are always aware of the special guests and programs that are available.

Beforehand, I did something uncharacteristic and read at the open-mic poetry reading sponsored by the Oklahoma Arts Council. It was a pleasant if somewhat nerve racking experience. I had forgotten how apprehensive I am reading aloud in front of people who are not Stephanie. I only decided to go a few minutes before I got off from work so I just printed random poems and later thought, Really? I chose this one? I was also a bit daunted by the other people who showed up. One woman performed her poems and had visual aids. Several others expounded on the meaning of poetry. I sat there thinking, I sometimes randomly write stuff down. Mostly, I watch too much television and play around too much on the Internet. I think poetry is cool because it's something that I can do reasonably well and I can't be a doctor. But despite my anxiety, I had a lot of fun and found out about several monthly readings that go on in the area.

The poetry reading broke up about fifteen minutes before Simic entered to do his reading. My favorites were the descriptive poems about his neighborhood and apartments. He also read a wonderful poem about unmade beds, observing them as if they were a breed of wild animal. He had the most wonderful voice and accent, and I came away very inspired and in that lofty frame of mind I get after realizing that the world is full of beauty and sublimity. I'm excited to read more of his poetry and plan to buy a few of his books soon.

Last Sunday I went to a production of Richard Brinsley Sheridan's The Rivals which was excellent. The play was written in the 1770s, and most of the humor is derived through irony, class mockery, and wordplay so it was definitely the type of play I find enjoyable.

One of my coworkers played the role of Captain Jack Absolute who has come to Bath in the guise of penniless Ensign Beverly. His plan is to woo Lydia Languish, an heiress who wishes to defy her aunt and marry someone impoverished. To further complicate Jack's charade, his father, Sir Anthony Absolute has come to Bath in order to set up an arranged marriage between his son and Lydia. Once in Bath, Sir Anthony starts to fall for Lydia's aunt, the vocabulary-challenged Mrs. Malaprop. Since this is a hybrid of comedy-of-manners and restoration comedy, more people descend on Bath with their own convoluted, drawing room agendas including a country squire and an Irish lord both vying for Lydia's hand, a fretful friend of Jack's whose courting Lydia's cousin, and a host of devious and/or loyal servants.

The entire production was wonderful. It had a great set that sparsely outlined the outside of a Georgian townhouse and employed movable doors to help set up the various rooms. It also featured some of the best costumes I've seen in a college production. They had a very authentic feel to them.

So I've had a culturally charged week so far. However, I've tampered it with copious gaming (The Sims 2 has become more and more interesting to me as it becomes obsolete. The Sims 3 will come in this June and looks like as major an improvement over 2 as 2 was over the original.)
and reading children's literature. I've also been wading through the vast amount of movies I purchased a several weekends ago. So far I've only watched The Spiderwick Chronicles and Marilyn Hotchkiss Ballroom Dancing and Charm School. From the batch before that, I've watched King Kong (1933), Interview, Be Kind Rewind, and Death at a Funeral.

Next Step: Penthouse Apartment in the Sky

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Feeling Better

I still wasn't feeling well yesterday morning so I called in sick and went to a doctor to make sure I didn't have Strep throat or something comparable. He said I only have a viral inflection so I went home, drank lots of fluids and went to bed. I'm feeling much better today. I do have a slight headache.

One effect of my doctor's visit is that I now know how much I weigh. Apparently, I've packed on 20+ pounds since graduating from college. Since this has happened gradually over a span of three years, I hadn't really noticed. Unfortunately, I haven't grown any height to balance out the extra poundage. As of the writing of the entry, my plan is to "do something about that."

Yesterday, Nana and I watched the third episode of Castle, and she really enjoyed it. Unfortunately, it comes on rather late due to Dancing with the Stars. (Apparently, this season's contestants are spectacularly lackluster. I don't watch because it's a reality show and also because I refuse to believe that Steve-O is a "star.") Today, there was nothing on so Nana and I watched a first season episode of The West Wing which is one of my favorite shows.