eatin' on the man

Yesterday our jobber salesman/rep visited and the li-berry bought all of the subject librarians lunch. The lunches we get are so big that I ate my leftovers for dinner. Mmmm, giant cookie. Today I have lunch with my liaisons, which the library is also paying for, at the campus fine dining establishment. I am feeling really lucky because I was supposed to go have my teeth drilled on this morning but my dentist cancelled. I was a little worried that I'd be all Bill Cosby at lunch but now any slurring and dribbling can only be blamed on my fast talking and clumsiness.

afternoon woozy

The past two days I've felt kind of yucky in the afternoon. Yesterday I went home convinced I was getting a cold. I feel much better today but am again suffering from dry eyes, post-nasal drip and weird ears. I'm starting to think that I'm allergic to the li-berry in the afternoon.

cooking with love

I baked and cooked a bit this weekend. I tried out a new chocolate cookie recipe which has gone over marvelously. They turned out much better than the coconut bars (although these too have devoted fans) and friends and colleagues are currently enjoying them. I also made banana pancakes yesterday for breakfast. I'm not much of a pancake maker--usually I cook up waffles or eggs--and I have been known to ruin an entire batch of pancake batter, undercook, burn, etc. These turned out great: fluffy, cooked through and very banana-y. I didn't make anything for thanksgiving, but I did take two trays of relishes. I firmly believe that green olives stuffed with citrus can cure cancer. Of course, sweet potatoes covered with marshmallows probably cause cancer, but at least they're canceling each other out.

tuesday tv

So I keep thinking that Gilmore Girls has got to start going downhill, but season after season the writers prove me wrong. I think part of what makes the show work is the constant evolution of the characters while they keep many of their quirky personality traits intact. That said, did anyone else expect Paul Anka to disappear in a puff of smoke when Lorelai and Rory reconciled? He was brought into the household as a substitute for Rory and so has served his purpose, yet he continues to exist. I'm curious to see how they deal with him in the future.

Damn I watch too much tv.

the busy

The past few weeks have been over the top busy for me but beginning today I am coasting toward the holiday break with brakes off. Of course, for me that means that I now have time to do housework and yardwork (dang those ceiling fans get dusty) but also that I have time to bake cookies and send Christmas cards. (sounds of me humming "seasonal tunes")

oh great

From my horrorscope, no editorializing!

"Your wild dramatic escapades around the workplace may be good for winning Oscars, but they are not so good for earning the respect of the people you work with - especially today. Others may not say much, but they are secretly judging you."

fabby

I accidentally tricked the GE into going to sushi with a group of folks. I asked him to go and he got so excited I completely forgot to tell him who else was coming. Luckily he forgave me and came along and seemed to have a good time. There were a couple of people I don't know either so it seemed fair. Anyway, the sushi was okay. It was definitely cheap, as promised, but the quality was so-so. I kept having the odd sensation that I was eating cheese, and sushi should not produce such a sensation. Regardless of the food, it was fun to see my friends. I don't get to see some folks often enough. I really think that Americans don't spend enough time just hanging out. We all work too much and then, if you're me you go home by yourself and watch tv. It's a sad existence. Bring back the salon! Ladies' lunches! Spa days! Fun sports clubs! Getting together to glue things!

brrr

Just a few days ago it was in the mid-80s, muggy, typical H-town weather for various times of year. Then came the gigantic Alaskan cold front, which pushed away our warm weather and left us with clear skies and below-40 overnight temps. I really don't mind the cold, but I do mind the 20-30 degree temperature change happening overnight. I got home last night and huddled on my couch until I finally convinced myself I had to turn on the heat. Heck, it took me a few hours to decide that it was a good idea to close my bedroom window. I love fresh air, just not frigid air.

twitchy and sticky

Why my boss is bad:
Pursuant to the aforementioned latte excursion, my boss and I went to the bagel place yesterday and got toasted bagels with egg & cheese filling. So good and filling that I didn't eat my lunch. Today she arrived with donuts and forced one down my throat, along with more coffee. Help!

Update: uh oh, now I've had two. This is definitely going on my evaluation.

taking all the fun

One of the things I like about my job is the ability to do things, mostly fun things, in service of my peeps. The way I wrote my job description was supposed to allow me a lot of leeway in terms of choosing and implementing projects. Now I am suddenly being scrutinized by some higher ups and not allowed to do what I want, which of course makes me not want to do it at all. So my current fun project is on hold and I'm feeling pretty cranky about it. It may take more than a lunch with my faculty liaisons to make things right again.

sticker shock

Sorry for that last post--it's everything I hate about blogs! Anyhoo, my boss and I just returned from one of our many jaunts to the campus coffee establishment, unfortunately run by a big name in the coffee industry. They have their "holiday expressions" on the board and I ordered a gingerbread latte, tall. Now, the pumpkin spice latte is fairly expensive, $3.30 here, so I was expecting the same having not noticed the prices. When the barista rang it up and said, "$4.17 please" I croaked. I think I actually croaked, "Are you kidding? For a tall?" So I got a pumpkin spice latte instead. When I add up how much I've spent at that place this semester alone I get sad. I was doing so well, saving my pennies, and then I went crazy with the coffee. This is clearly a sign that I have to curtail that particular expenditure.

redox

Recovering from one of those insane weekends which went something like: get up early, clean frantically, go to work, pick up GE for date (Saturday), take GE to work really early, clean frantically & move furniture around, show future roomie around, lie on couch reading without moving, take GE the stuff he left at the house, fall asleep while watching Godard film, wake up disoriented and drive home (Sunday). While I got a bunch of stuff done, I still have an impressive list of to-be-dones, like laundry, pick up ladder, clean gutters, figure out what the hell to do about the hot water situation, find out what size filters I need, buy filters & change them, etc. Sometimes I feel like I need an assistant at home just to keep up with the maintenance.

need more brains and arms

I am sitting here looking around my office trying to decide what to do next. I have a million projects piled up, classes to prep for and just regular old work to take care of. When I get overwhelmed I have a hard time starting any one thing but today I must. One thing that helps is having swiftly approaching deadlines, like Monday and Tuesday. Below all of that stuff is a book (work-related) I just received that I really want to get into, but feel I need to delay starting until I finish some things. Perhaps what I really need is two-fold: one, a cattle prod; two, a shovel.

objects

I'm attending a dinner tonight and was asked to bring something that is important to me. I looked all around my house and office and saw many treasured objects that for one reason or another are meaningful, but there was no One Thing that I could put my hands on. I have my grandmother's candy dish which is a reminder of my grandparents and the candy (often peanut M&Ms) I'd find there, I have photographs of family and friends, I have momentos from the Jimmy Carter Library & Museum, cups and rocks and medals from various events and accomplishments, but I found that I could not pick any single object. I think part of the problem is what my mom calls my zen attitude toward "stuff": I gather it and I like to have it around but I can easily let it go. People (and pets) are way more valuable. And since I can't bring Annika, I may go to the dinner empty-handed, but full.

ketchup

Since I was gone for a few days, my email piled up a bit and I have lots to do. Unfortunately, almost my entire day is booked with activities like classes (11-2), meeting (2-3:30), possible interesting lecture (4-5) and poetry event (5:30-). I guess work will have to wait until tomorrow!

my new browser

I was complaining about how IE freaks out every time I launch a window from my aggregator and basically shuts down. It also has been making my computer grind a bit. So I have switched over to Firefox. So far so good. Transferring my bookmarks was easier than making a pb&j. I haven't started using all of the little features yet but I'm sure I will. Why didn't I do this long ago?

ooch ouch

Dear Readers, it is that time of year again: the dreaded 6th month dental visit. I get poked and prodded and praised (I do take good care of my teeth apparently) and then berated for not letting them fill my cavities. The hygientist stood behind me at the receptionist's desk until I agreed to make an appointment. The sad thing is, I do want my teeth fixed up because the cavities are big enough that they hurt sometimes, but I hate dental work so much that I have put this off for an embarrassingly long time.

Now I can get cracking on making the cookies in the Martha Stewart Cookie Magazine!

wild night at the library

I worked the evening shift last night at yee old reference desk and the following odd things happened:

1. We had to stop a patron from stealing all of the thumbtacks on the message board. She swore she'd bring them back and couldn't believe we wouldn't let her take them. I felt like an old school marm when I held out my hand for her to drop the tacks into.

2. A patron came up to tell us that a man had stolen her backpack. He had walked away before she noticed and when she yelled at him he dropped it. We called the campus police and four (4!) officers arrived promptly. It's theft season, students. Do NOT leave your stuff laying around when you go to the bathroom or out for a smoke.

3. A maintenance guy came up to ask where stairwell 10 was because someone had reported water on the floor and since we'd just had a hard rain they suspected a leak. We didn't know so he called the dispatcher who directed him to the correct location. He came back a few minutes later to tell us that it was not water but in fact someone had peed on the floor.