I had off from work today, as it is the lovely state holiday of Lee-Jackson Day. Some odd southern thing I guess. We do get MLK Day off as well.

To add to the weirdness inherent in the holiday (I mean who the heck decide that it should be paired with MLK Day?) I also went to the doctor to see if they could give me anything more for the cough I've had since before X-mas. I got four perscriptions for various lovely drugs, including two types of steroids. My favorite is the purple UFO inhaler, filled with steroids. It can cause thrush, whatever that is (I'm looking at you for answers Sands), if I don't rinse out my mouth after using it. The doc then informed me that I might in fact have whooping cough.

It is not dangerous to me at this point, or to my colleague, who possibly has her own case. We both got summoned back to the doctor nest for emergency testing. This involved them shoving q-tips up our noses and then sending said q-tips to the state medical labs by a special rush courier, summoned just for that purpose. I feel extra special now. The doctor said I can still go on my date this weekend.

Plus we made a new YA area in my library. It is all pretty and full of open spaces.

Which Historical Lunatic Are You?
From the fecund loins of Rum and Monkey.

He's my favorite loon.

Things are well in my world. I have yet to crack and declare myself ruler of anywhere. And I'm finally spending a Dec. where the temperatures tend to be in the sixty's.

Woo!! Thank goodness my new state seems to have pulled it off. I think I'll dance around my apartment like a loon now. This is the first time in quite a while I've actually been hopeful about politics. Now we just have to figure out this marriage thing, and we'll be ready to tackle healthcare.

Alright, I really shouldn't get that excited, but I've gotten a phone interview. For a Reference/Reader's Advisory job in Beaumont CA. Eee!

Ok, I'm off to do my laundry.

I love our state senator. Russ Feingold is truly a man who has earned my respect over the years. He voted against the Patroit Act and against the war. He has tried to fight for the Patroit Act and actually works with conservatives to try and make things better. His newest move has made me respect him even more, because far too few people are willing to take this adminstration to task and point out the illegal activities. I'm worried for the man, but it is time that people other than citizens on web and the Daily Show try and remind us that there are still a set of laws that our governement is held to.

Go Mr. Feingold! Damn it, now I have to stay in WI to make sure he gets re-elected.

Who's up for breakfast/lunch?

Good morning to all. I'm now 24 and proud of it. May the next year hold graduation and wonderful jobs for myself and all my darling friends. And a nice kitty for me.

So one of the reasons I'm up and ready for work this morning is due to my freaky alarm clock. Lately it has been a few hours ahead of what I set it. This has been weirding me out, as I conjured up visions of some madman sneaking into my apartment while I was gone, and leaving a mis-set clock as the only sign of his presence. Ok, I have an over active imagination. The explanation is much more simple. Each 33 seconds or so of normal time, 1 minute of alarm clock time passes. This makes setting it a little hard; so, I ended waking up repeatedly to mis-set alarms and finally one was the right time.

Guess what I'm buying this weekend.

My heat is working. I've got a tiny little space heater that I'm attempting to warm me feet with. It warms the air about an inch in front of it. Real helpful. Shall curl up in my blankets soon and get some sleep. That is if Tybalt, my kitten, lets me.

Tybalt is soon to be my former kitten. It is just not working out. He's disturbed and keeps mistaking my legs for prey. And my arms. And my head at that. I love the little bugger, but he needs more beings around and more space. I have mixed feelings about giving him up, however the promise of being allowed to sleep through the night helps. I haven't had a proper night's sleep in awhile.

In about 14 hours I'm heading off to WLA. Hopefully will meet someone who would like to hire me. Or if nothing else can give me advice on how to survive the next seven months.

Maybe the heat will be fixed when I get back.

This morning I just found out something interesting. According to some concerned folks American libraries are banning books left and right. Or rather just the right's books.

"Library selection committees are systematically purging libraries of any conservative or serious Christian viewpoints and instead, loading the shelves with left-wing propaganda and pornography."

No one informed me of this. I guess I should go get rid of the serious Christian books in the public library down the road. They also seem to be behind on their porn ordering.

It is an interesting article, and looking at other viewpoints is also a good idea. But I do have trouble with the characterization of homosexuality as "a life-shortening road."

Well that's it for thoughts, deep or otherwise. Tybalt needs to be fed before he decides to come back and chew on my ankles again.

Tomorrow, May 25th, is Towel Day, a day to celebrate the late Douglas Adams. Carry a towel with you, read one of his books, and/or watch an adaptation of Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy.

Alright, coolest nerdiest kitchen gizmo of all. The George Foreman USB iGrill! Surf and cook at the same time.

I think SLIS should get a couple of these for the computer lab.
http://www.thinkgeek.com/stuff/looflirpa/igrill.shtml

There are a ton of cool kitchen gizmos out there. I'm a nerd and keeping finding more levels to add to my 551 project. I'm only on part 3, but I'm not concerned. I probably should be.

Best finds so far: Hello kitty toaster & Chocolate fountain.

Patron: Can I borrow the scissors again? I promise it will be the last time.
Me: Not a problem, it's what I'm here for.
Patron: So you have an easy job?
Me: Ahh.. I wouldn't say that. I do more than lend out the scissors.

It is just like when you tell people you are going to be a librarian. "Oh, you'll get to read all day. That'll be nice."

The wall is looking more and more tempting to bang my head against. Maybe I better just go watch Marvin do it instead.

Bloody stupid frats and rush. They did a freakin' scavenger hunt tonight that had at least two dozen people running past me talking and laughing loudly. Here is the site that lists their so called "ideals".

We also had a patron who kept the reference librarian busy for about an hour going on about how she could make things so much better in the library. She just wouldn't understand that research libraries don't operate in the same way as public ones.

Then I also had a patron that reminds me of why I do this. One that I was really able to help and that was extremely grateful. She also was understanding when I had to go yell at the scavenger hunters.

Ugh, I'm still twitching.

Belle, sweetie, did you arrive ok? You missed evaluting Jane and the class. Otherwise nothing else exciting.

Occasionally I come to realizations that make me sad. Like that banging my head against the desk hurts only my head, and fails to make patrons more logical. Or read signs.

I now feel really guilty about bitching so much about my midterm test grade. I just found out about the earthquake. Damn. I've gotten nothing to complain about. It makes me feel small and self centered that I am not more regularly appreciative of how well I have it. How tiny my problems are.

I've got some pondering to do.
Sorry to all those who had to listening to me whining about a truly insignificant grade. I just wish it wouldn't take a tragedy to make me realize such things.

I wish I could make things better for the Asian countries.

I think we all need to start springbreak by getting hit by multiple snow storms. It makes it feel everso Christmas-y.
I celebrated by making a snowman. His name is Pierre because he looks vaguely French and it was late.
( Pierre! )

It is a quiet night at work. Well other than the cell phones, but they are a given.

I blame it on the staplers being too visible. I shall hide them and then people must talk to me. mwha-ha-ha.

I think it is a bad sign when I suddenly realize that I'm singing under my breath. *In the morning when I wake up, before I put on my make-up...* I'll be going now.

The atmosphere in the library is thick tonight. One can feel the tension that the entire campus is under. Spring break is just a little over a week away. The question everyone seems to be facing, even if they aren't vocalising it, is "Can I make it to break without breaking?"

I've had multiple upset people on cell phones. You could just tell several were on the edge of losing it. One actually started crying a bit while talking to mother. Another seemed about ready to just start screaming. Not that I can blame him, it is a bad time. The weather is getting everyone down, and school has hit the point where we all desperately need to get away. Everyone is heading for a breakdown, and that is not something I want to see. But it does reassure me that I'm not the only one.

I had a bit of a screaming fit my self earlier today at traffic. I was in my car, so I don't believe it was heard. Which is good, I can't be hauled away at this point. The screaming made me feel much better, for a short time.

On the side of "good news," I got a raise at my one job. 15 more cents an hour for me. *feigned excitement* Apparently I should be impressed, because they don't usually give them out midyear. "She's not usual," said my boss of me. While that is true in many regards, I'm apparently not unusual enough to merit a real raise.