Yay!

I have so many things to be thankful for these days. A rewarding job that isn't going anywhere (whew), a wonderful family including my pretty good son and my lovely boyfriend, a bike that gets me where I am going and a car that is running well even though she is 17 years old--and gets good gas mileage.

I just got another thing to be thankful for. My mentee is back in the system and seems to be really interested in doing better and staying off the streets. I just talked to her and even though phone conversations can be awkward, I told her point blank that I care about her and what happens to her, and that if things did go wrong again, she can still call me and talk. You have to take these opportunites while you have them (as I learned while she was missing). It sounds like her baby is doing well and she has already had 2 visits and behaved like a parent, interested in being with her child. I am really proud that she is always so level headed with him. We talked about school; she is doing well in her classes so far and is going to join the basketball team. I was also told that while she was gone, despite being surrounded by crack and meth, the only drugs she did were pot and x. She was tested, it is true. To some that might sound like a lot, but it was recreational use (parties) and being around the other and having a history with them, it is really something.

I invited her for a family dinner at my house next Saturday. My Dad's Family* will all be there and we are planning on playing games and having dinner. It will hinge on whether her social worker can swing the permission.

Tomorrow Dr. T and I are heading for Spokane. We are having dinner at my Step Dad's with my Mom's Family*. It will be a whirl wind trip, since I have to work till 8 tonight and in the morning on Saturday, but it will be so nice to see everyone and to visit with my little niece :)

*Dad's Family=Dad, his wife and my siblings on his side, as opposed to my Mom's Family, which is really comprised of my siblings on her side, my step dad and his wife and not my mom at all. Family gets complicated.

Cold and Cluttered with a Chance of Cleaning

It is Sunday and I haven't even started the coffee pot yet. I got derailed last night when I asked Dr. T what he had to do today and he replied that he had to go to rounds at 6:30. AM. Sigh. I was going to make a big breakfast, but big breakfast for one is just not as exciting.

I came home wanting to go out last night, but ended up getting cold and I just took a bath, bundled up and went to bed fairly early for a Saturday. Proof I am getting old I suppose. I haven't ridden all week because of being sick and various errands that I had to do, so it is probably best that I didn't make that big breakfast. Tuesday I will start again.

Individually, Dr. T and I are both clutter bugs. Together, we are a mess ;) He has newspapers and receipts and junk mail everywhere, and I tend to have yarn and whatever I brought home from work sitting around. After a few days it begins to feel claustrophobic. We both need to change our ways, but that means we have to work on it. The clutter really isn't very charming. I should turn on some lights and start cleaning... and maybe some heat. It is cold in here.

Being Sick and Veteran's Day

I am home sick today and I feel regret about it. I got a free day off yesterday, which was wonderful, and now I have another because I feel rotten. I really like going to work lately. I love my branches and what I do, even with the rabble. Well, here's to feeling better tomorrow.

Dr. T has been feeling sick all week. I would like to say that I am a good girlfriend and have been taking care of him, but in reality, I have barely acknowledged his sickness. I just keep doing my thing and in my mind he is fine until I ask him something and his nasally tone comes back to me and makes me realize that I should probably offer him some tea or something. He is pretty self reliant and tends to do those things for himself when he wants them. I know it is nice to be taken care of sometimes though. Like right now. But he is away on call tonight, so I am on my own.

Being off yesterday made me think about all the veterans in my life and there are a few. My dad and step-dad, several uncles and two of my cousins have served. Actually, one of my cousins is still serving. He is stationed in Japan and pilots harrier jets. It is what he has wanted to do since we were small. He has a wife and their two children are growing up abroad and from the look and sound of things are adapting quite well. I envy them their travels--and I know they are loving it.

Another cousin who has served in the reserves got called up twice to go to Iraq. He had some really interesting stories there that I would repeat for you if I could remember them well enough. He has had some recent health trouble that ensures that he won't be going back. He is a brave man and I have always admired him.

I found myself wondering why we are in Afghanistan and what our presence in the Middle East even means anymore. The politics of the situations are lost on me these days while I am worrying about mayoral races (yay McGinn!) and city budget cuts (thanks to the city council for giving an additional $863,000 to the library budget today). Now that those two things have settled and the initiatives and referendums are where they should be, I can read a bit more about foreign policy again.

The Darkness Under the Silver Lining

Had a wonderful weekend with family this weekend. Cousin S got married to a wonderful woman and the ceremony and reception were beautiful and fun. Sister M and Husband stayed at my house and we had a lovely time, attending wedding festivities and shopping with Brother M, Wife and baby and Brother C. It was really nice to see everyone.

This weekend with The Boy was very frustrating, though. Very. I love him so much and the worst thing he can do is harm himself. He skipped checking his blood sugar for both Thursday and Friday and he also skipped a day or two last weekend. The only time he checked it over this weekend was when I asked him to show his meter to me. One of the ones he did check was a 518 (normal range is between 80 and 120). I really found all this out when I sat down to put in his blood sugar levels for the week on a spreadsheet that the hospital sent me on Sunday evening. We just had a talk with the doctor last week about how important it is to test at least 3 times a day.

I feel like there are two major factors to his avoidance: 1, he just wants to avoid thinking about it and maybe it will go away, and 2, he is still embarrassed to be seen as different than other people. There was a brief time when he decided it was "cool" and was even giving himself injections at the table in restaurants, but that time is over. Can't say I liked the "cool" factor, but it was better than whatever is going through his head now.

I wish he could join a support group with other teens with type 1. I just don't see it happening, between his dad's resistance and his sports schedule and living so far out. Sorry, I have to rant a and get this out of my system and make a plan. I know his-step mom will see this, but I already sent the information to their email. I hate being a jailer, but I don't want my kid to die or lose a limb or his eyesight. I am going to check his meter every time from now on, even if he hates it and yells at me. Even if we are out somewhere and he is embarrassed. Even if I am tired and don't want to deal with the flack he gives me. I am going to start filling out the other parts of the form too, where it asks for carbs and units of insulin taken. No more cutting corners and being lenient.

Grumpy Weekend

The weekend was a little stressful for me. The boys don't seem to be talking. They talk in my general direction instead and seem to hope that the other boy will hear.

For example: The Boy asked if there was any soda. I told him he should ask Dr. T (because he had bought some and said it was for that purpose). The boy went back in his room without saying anything.

Me: huh, I don't think he understood was I was saying.

I heard a grunt from Dr. T.

I called to The Boy: There is soda, you just have to ask Dr. T where it is and if you can have some, because he bought it.

The Boy came back out, looked at me and said: Can I have some soda?

Me: Ask Dr. T.

The Boy: Dr. T, can I have some soda? (sort of looking at him, but then looking back at me)

Me: Please.

The Boy: Please?

Dr. T: I think there's some in the cupboard...

Dr. T didn't look at either of us as he said it. He went to get it, but this whole exchange left me feeling like I am in the middle of some silent treatment that is going on. The problem is, everyone forgot to tell me. Or maybe it includes me and that's why they didn't tell me.

Both boys were total bumps this weekend. Except that Dr. T had football and I dragged them both to Bed Bath and Beyond (which still solicits "watch out for the beyond section" from The Boy) and Costco. The crowds do not put me in a good mood and going to Costco sort of did me in. We were supposed to go to a pumpkin carving/autumn party after that, but both bailed on me and when I got home, they were both in the same place as when I left. Total bumps.

So I was grumpy all weekend. On Sunday I didn't even take off my pj's or step further out of the house than to take out some recycling. I did make some amazing bread and The Boy and I made dinner together on Sunday--breaded halibut. Yum.

Fall Gratification

The rain is here. It isn't phasing me one bit. Not that I like getting drenched, but for some reason I don't mind it this year. Plus we have been having some bad ass unpredictable storms that make the season feel exciting.

***

I do a lot of reader's advisory at my branches. Many of the queries are subjects that I can speak to well, like Juvenile fiction for boys and girls. I can totally help a kid or their parent find that kid their next book. YA fiction? Yup, got that one. Occasionally someone wants adult fiction though and often I am not helpful (enough). I don't have a lot of time for reading outside of YA and J and I rely heavily on the recommendations of friends and colleagues when I do. I seem to read more non-fiction than fiction in the adult arena as well, which is terribly unhelpful in adult reader's advisory.

A woman came in yesterday asking for a non-violent, "well written" mystery. Everyone's definition of "well written" is different and I was trying to tease some more info out of her, but she kept saying "I don't usually read mysteries," and I am thinking "but what doooo you read?" Finally I got her to tell me of a mystery author that she had read everything by (I know, right?) and found her some read alike authors using our LibraryThing app on the catalog. I felt lame at that point, but she seemed happy--but one can never tell. We don't have a survey that shows up at your home after an encounter and gauges your satisfaction with our service. We just have to hope the person comes back at the right moment and tells us.

And right after that, a woman came up and thanked me for helping her the week before. She was looking for some books by Virginia Woolf and I had found her one book and one book on CD. She told me that she found VW's "stream of consciousness" style to be cumbersome and asked me what I thought of her writing. I hadn't read VW since college and a lot of what we dealt with in her writing were snippets in class. In small doses Woolf is inspiring (or depressing) and beautiful, but when you read the whole, it could become a chore. I related it to certain musical artists, where you didn't enjoy their music, per say, but you did enjoy the works that came later by other artists who were influenced by the earlier one. Yup, I was feeling pretty intelligent. Probably one of the most stimulating conversations I have had with a patron since I started at SPL (outside of Intellectual Freedom).

I think my head is back to its normal size now.

***

Not a lot going on at home right now. Dr. T and I are settling in to domestic bliss. The Boy's football games have moved days so I only have one more I can go to later in the month. This makes our weekends much more laid back, as much as I would like to be there to see him play. It is dark and rainy out so I am not doing much gardening, although I think I will have a second crop of potatoes in my planter. It is so easy to grow potatoes that I think I will continue doing it throughout the year to supplement our potato addiction.

I will be in another wedding. Sister U is getting married next September and it is fun to watch her and her beau plan. They have a blog where they throw up all of their ideas, both serious and silly. I kind of hope they get the comic book hero cake though.

Onigiri and Bento

I have been fascinated with certain aspects of Japanese culture for many years. (It must run in the dad's family). They just make everything so cute! I saw this blog post about making a suck up bento box and I just wanted a bento lunch box so bad. Then my cousin posted this video.

The combination of the two sent me over. I spent one afternoon out looking for bento boxes on the North end of Seattle. Everything was either really expensive, or really cheap looking.

My cousin saw my struggle on Facebook and since her husband is stationed in Japan and she and their children are there, she offered to send me a bento lunch box! Shipping from the base is the same as US postage. I got a whole box of fun goodies a couple of weeks later. Two bento, fishie sauce holders, fun paper cups to put food in and onigiri molds.

Today we tried out the onigiri molds. I read a lot about it before hand,(this was the best site) which was probably overkill because this is one of the easiest Japanese foods ever to make. I wasn't sure I would like the molds, because it sounded so easy to make without them--occasionally something that seems revolutionary just adds its own problems to processes. Not here. The molds made it super easy and we didn't have to burn our hands. We wore gloves anyway and it helped keep the mess down.

These are our finished product. You can check out our set on Flickr to see all the pictures. Basically, you dip your onigiri molds (or your hands) in water, then sprinkle them with salt. Press in warm (or hot, if you are feeling masochistic) japanese style rice, filling about half way. Add your filling--we used salted salmon and pickled veggies--then add more rice over the top. Press down with your dipped and salted top mold, then press it out of the mold. You can wrap the finished onigiri it in seaweed, fukikake, sesame seeds, or whatever suits your fancy. If you are making them for later, you might want to pack that part separate, as the seaweed tends to get a strange texture after sitting. Here is The Boy enjoying one of our first onigiri:

Running with the Ball

I suppose I should update after my anxious post the other day. Nothing good has happened. Mentee ran away from the group home almost right after she was dropped off, essentially abandoning her baby a second time. She was supposed to go to court about whether she could get custody back on Friday, but since she didn't show up she will have to fight a lot harder later if she wants to try. Right now, her baby is in foster care and unless Mentee gives up her parental rights and allows him to be adopted, that is where he will stay until she gets her act together. Many of the homeless youth I see at the drop in center were from foster care situations. Mentee herself didn't have a family to take care of her. I want to bang my head on the wall right now. The child does at least have a chance to have a normal life and babies have an easier time in foster care, usually.

****

I saw my old friend today, and it was just like we had seen each other last week, instead of 7 years ago. We had a god time chatting and shopping and we plan to hang out again next week. I really thought I was going to have some abandonment issues with her, since she really just dropped out of my life one day--although I allowed it to happen. I deleted her phone number from my phone and decided I wasn't going to call her unless she called me first (it had been a one sided communication line for a while). She didn't call and the rest is history. No issues though, just talking and laughing and remembering.

****

The Boy is playing football, which wreaks havoc on the weekend schedule. I get him on Friday, take him back on Saturday for his game then take him back to school on Monday. For those of you that don't know, it takes 1.5 hours one way to BFD. Good think I have books on CD to listen to. I almost want to go out and drive somewhere just so I can find out what happens to Jenna Fox. I have been meaning to read this book for over a year, and I can see what the hype was about.

Anyhow, he hasn't gotten to play a JV game yet and only played a few minutes in the first varsity game that I saw. His first JV game was canceled because the opposing team got stuck in traffic and couldn't make it. They will have a rematch in October some time. The teams seems really well organized this year and the coach has things well in hand. They play like a real team and they have won all their games but one so far.

****

I am baking bread again. Today was a semolina rosemary bread. It turned out a bit flat, but the texture and taste are amazing. No pictures until I get the rise right.

Odds and Ends

A while back I mentioned an old friend that I hadn't talk to for a long time. As I said there, I do a little online stalking now and then, and while I hadn't found much on her, I did find her daughter on MySpace. I didn't contact her because that would be creepy. Evidently the daughter also likes to find people online and she helped her mom find me. We have been emailing on Facebook this week and finally got to talk tonight. It amazes me how even though we haven't talked for 6 or 7 years, we were able to talk to each other no problem. I am not even good at phone talking with other people I know really well and see all the time. We are going to try to get together next week some time. I am pretty excited about it.

I have been to two of the DHS varsity football games now. They won both games and I was pretty impressed with the playing for a small town team. Dr. T was impressed too, which is hard to do with all the playing he does and has done. The Boy only played for a few minutes in the first game and not at all in the second, but he is definitely part of the team and he is proud of it. His first game for JV is on Tuesday, but I have to work late. I will likely make the game two weeks from tomorrow.

I finished up my last day of detox today. I feel accomplished even though I didn't go for as long as I initially planned. I think I was being a little silly with that. But there are aspects of this that I will continue. And I will cut back on the caffeine and not take my coffee for granted for a while. I didn't miss the alcohol at all, which was a surprise, but then I didn't go out either.

The garden is almost done. There are still some tomatoes growing and I have a few things at the house. I planted more potatoes in the planter, have some fennel growing, and some p-plants I started a bit later. I need to think about some winter plants that will return nutrients to the soil. The soil is so much better than when I got the plot--more like regular dirt and less clayey and rocky.

Missing My Coffee

Day 4 back at work and day 5 on a detox diet. The hardest thing has been no wheat products. If you know me, you know that I love to make scones and bread. Not really worth it without good flour--no offense to you that can't have it, I am sure I would make do with some gluten free substitute if I had to. But it is only a short while--and getting shorter as we speak.

Not just because time keeps movin' on, but also because I don't feel like going for a month, or two weeks even. I am thinking that a week is good enough. My digestive track reset itself right away, and actually wasn't too bad the week before. I think I just have to remember to eat at the right times, eat better portions, eat more whole foods. Baking at home is a good way to do that. Gotta stop grabbing the odd pastry with my coffee when I treat myself. Cut back on the rushing around and stay home more. I am not sure I will ever get the hang of that last one.

****

Work has been great. Wallingford is beautiful! I will take some pictures next week and add them to flickr. Everything is streamlined and new. We have 2 self check out computers that actually work and a staff only computer at the desk, which is streamlining delivery. The librarian's desk is way across the room, but it is good that I can see half the room and the circ staff can see the other half, so no shenanigans! We wave at each other every now and then, or dial the I/C and tell each other when we want our breaks. As the day goes on, I find more reasons to go hang out by the circ desk.

In the more general sense of my job, I feel change coming. Not sure what yet, but something.

****

Dr. T and I found some cabinets that work very well. They are behemoth in size and are challenging for putting things in that you might want to find again, like food, or dvds, which is what we are using them for. I am sure we will figure it out though. Hopefully Dr. T will be able to get The Boy's bed uncovered by the time we get home tonight.

Eh? Whats that you say?

Rereading my last post, I realized that I never mentioned that Dr. T has moved into my humble abode. The basement seems a little smaller, but much more lovely. Also, no more of that pesky packing a bag to stay over, not being sure where my shoes are and getting woken in the morning by delivery trucks at the Lake City Library. I know, he lived right behind a library. Meant to be, no?

He has been a real trooper wedging himself into my place. He got rid of a lot of his furniture and we have bought a lot of new things to try to get his stuff in here. Right now we are looking for "the perfect storage cabinet." We have found a couple on Craigslist, but either they are taken or they aren't quite right. We found our new kitchen table right away though. I closed my eyes, clicked on a link and there it was.

Ooh, funny somewhat related story. It was rent time, and we had never nailed down a price for having Dr. T here. My landlords are awesome and good neighbors too (here they shall be called LL M and LL A, because I am librarian and we like acronyms). They have been very kind in keeping my rent affordable through the last 3 years. LLM came through to bring in the mail and say hi around rent time and I asked him how much he wanted. I will preface this by saying that I just got in from a 9 mile hike and was sweaty and dehydrated. I swear to you I thought he said a bajillion dollars. My brain went foggy and I mumbled something about having to talk to Dr. T about it and how I didn't think it would be that much. We exchanged a couple of pleasantries and he went back upstairs.

I was in a total funk. I had thought I had paying my student loans and getting a lesser paycheck because of the furlough licked and backed into a corner, but here were a few simple words that made me feel like it was 6 years ago and I was unemployed again with now way in hell to pay the bills. That monster was rearing its ugly head. I pouted around and when Dr. T came home I told him the news. He looked at me a bit funny and we decided to talk to LL M after dinner. I kept putting it off, thinking it was going to be the worst, but finally we went up and talked to him. I asked how much the bills were every month (because the increase was only supposed to include half the utilities) and he showed me. I asked him a couple more questions, then finally burst out with "but how does that add up to a bajillion dollars?" He started cracking up and said "no, I said $125 more a month." I almost died of embarassment. Dr. T made a joke about how I get my hearing tested every 6 months (which happens to be true recently). How silly.

Almost Crazy, Almost There...

Once again, too long between posts.

Planning wedding showers and bachelorette parties is time consuming! I am done with everything (crossing my fingers) except food. Usually I go all out with cooking and yumminess, but I have to work. My 4 hour shift this Friday miraculously turned into an 8 hour and I get to work on Saturday too, and suddenly I have little time for shopping, let alone cooking. Amazon Fresh, take me away! Maybe the miracle will reverse itself. Wish me luck.

The 4th was fun, although we saw few fireworks. We went down to some of Dr. T's friends' for a bbq. The food was amazing--some had been on the bbq for 2 days! Yum, so good. We stopped at the dollar store on the way home and had fun scouring the aisles for useless and useful times, the first to poke fun at the second to make use of. That place looked like a mob had hit though; there was stuff all over the floor in all the aisles. What amazed me was the freezer section. Red Baron Pizza....

Today was wonderful! I met up with a friend and walked down to Fremont. We perused the Sunday Market, I got some new sunglasses--let me tell you about this in a moment--and had thai for lunch. We also stopped in a couple of really cute boutiques and I think I got someone a very sweet something. That's all I can say...

Sunglasses...I have been holding onto a pair for YEARS that were non-prescription for gods knows why, until I could finally use them now that I have contacts. YEARS. I have been using them for several months and aside from a scratch, they have been great. I wear them biking even. Well, not anymore. I accidentally set off the alarm at work the other day, partially due to my bike gloved fingers refusing to press the right buttons and my bike being unmanageable in the scuffle to turn the alarm off. Somehow (or just my usual me-ness) I set the sunglasses down in the water fountain and left them there. I didn't notice until it was time to leave. And of course they were gone. I wouldn't even have known where I left them except that a co-worker mentioned having seen them there. I hope some &*^%$ person is enjoying the hell out of them.

The Boy's basketball camp was successful--if successful means "kicked his ass everyday and made him want to go back for more." He came home and his ass was in bed except for dinner--but then he got up every morning, got himself ready and caught the bus to SPU on time. It is the most responsible I have seen him in...well...ever. He had good stories about his games and his teams got a couple of awards: 3 on 3 champions and Shooting league champions. This one might be a keeper.

Today, Tomorrow and Yesterday

So much keeps happening, I just can't keep up!

Dr. T graduated from Medical School over the weekend. There was much celebrating. His mother and brother came, as did his dad and some friends of the family. We all met up at the convocation, then everyone came to my place for a bbq. It definitely had a different feel from when I have a party, but that is probably because I don't know these folks as well, although they are all really nice. We did some sight seeing with Dr. T's mom and brother--hit the Seattle Center, the Ballard Locks and stopped in at the Fremont Sunday Market. It was a good time and I am so proud of my baby. Good job Dr. T!

On Sunday we also said farewell to our interim manager, who was with us for almost a year. We had a little picnic at the local park and talked around the circle. It was a nice evening, even if it was a little cool. The Boy had to miss all of the outings besides the graduation ceremony due to homework avoidance.

On Monday I had a driving marathon. It was a real test for Lady Gray, but she ran like a champ. I guess if she can get me to Nevada and back, she can get me all over the Puget Sound. I took The Boy to school in BFD in the morning, had about a half hour at home before I drove to Shelton to take my mentee to a bbq in Auburn. I dropped her and Little D off at the bbq, then ran some errands. She reminded me that she was a teenager when it was time to go home. She tried to talk me into leaving her there. To her credit, when I showed up at 6, she was ready to go and didn't argue at all. We had some good talking on the way back.

Rode to work this morning. Actually, to Roosevelt HS where I met 4 other librarians in an attempt to woo high schoolers into coming to Summer Reading programs--FREE BOOKS! You know you want one!

cutest bike riding librarian

This could be any of 4 of us at work. Exciting, eh? Lately life has just been work, biking, and dvd's at home. I did go see a friend's band last week at The Comet Tavern. On a Wednesday. And I couldn't sleep after so I was sleep deprived and got sick for a day or two.

Oh yeah! And The Boy had his birthday! He is 15, can you believe it? I am having a hard time with it myself. I took him and a couple of friends to Gameworks on Saturday, then they went to the movie theater next door and I picked them up after. They saw Wolverine: Origins. I want to see that too, but I didn't want to cramp their style. It was the first time the 3 of them hung out together and really seemed to enjoy it.

And, even though I haven't been writing here, I have been writing over there.

No Apologies, Sorry

I have been quite slow on here lately. I would apologize, but I don't really feel that bad about it. I just have less of that "Internet addiction" than I used to--there are many more intriguing things to do than sit in front of the computer lately.

For instance, P-Patch! I prepared and planted last week. This year I am doing all seeds, since I am starting sooner and am really nervous that nothing will come up. My indoor starts are doing fine though and I shouldn't worry so much. I went to an auction recently for a private school and won a neat little wagon with off-road tires that was filled with fun gardening tools, plants, gloves and watering apparatuses that help immensely with the p-patch. And having gone to that auction, I can tell you that some people are not hurting from this recession. It was a little disturbing, really, to watch the amounts of money thrown at frivolous things. I would think it would be cheaper to raise tuition.

Another instance, Wedding! Sister M's wedding is in a few months and we went dress shopping again yesterday. I thought I already knew which dress I was going to get, but I changed my mind yesterday. It is similar to this:

Ignore the underfed model. In fact, I just ordered this one because it was on sale on the website and will get here by May 1st, which is still plenty of time to call and order the other one if it fits badly. It was fun hanging out with the girls yesterday, trying on dress after dress and eating conveyor belt sushi. I also spent money at IKEA and The Rack. Bad me.

It is nice having Sister M visit. Tonight we will have dinner with the Mom Family and Dr. T will get a dose of the drama that invariably happens over there. I will make sure to bring my crocheting so that when things get tense, I can escape a little... or go for a walk. That is good too.

Twitter gone bad

So I had this great idea that I would sign up for Twitter and update along the road during our trip. So I did, and then I set it so that I could text in updates from my phone. I felt very smart, until I got to Portland and realized that I didn't have my phone. Then I felt very dumb.

We had lunch with friend Joanna in Portland. It was great, except that The Boy had forgotten his pen needles for his insulin pen at home, so we spent part of our lunch time trying to get Safeway to tell me what we needed to do to get them. He had already eaten some by that time and his blood sugar was going up. The pharmacy tech was very unhelpful until the end, when she finally told me they didn't even have them and we had to go to another store. I decided to let her off because she had a cold and seemed pretty miserable, but that interaction could have been so much easier.

We drove from there down to Coos Bay and stayed the night, managing not to do any more sight seeing than we could do from our car. We did go to a local restaurant for dinner and it was decent. They have a cute little strip there, but it was totally deserted at 8pm on a Monday. The Boy and I went swimming at the hotel pool--which we picked just for the pool. Nothing fancy, but it was clean and comfortable. It felt strange to just pull up at a hotel and pay full price for a room. It did cross my mind to pull out the computer, go on priceline and see if we could get a cheap rate before going in. But nah, live dangerously, I thought.

The next morning, we packed up and drove on to Nevada. The day was mostly clear and sunny. I wore my sunglasses! There was a sort of border crossing into California where they check you out for illegal fruit. He took one look at my store bought (amazon fresh) oranges and waived us through. It gave me some flashbacks to when I used to go into Canada to visit an ex-boyfriend (not ex then). This was much easier though.

We got to Carson City at 8pm. It is good to see Sister M and her fiance. We got a good nights sleep, slept in til after 10am, and am now taking advantage of the internets and the sunshine pouring in the window. It is so bright here it hurts my Seattle blighted eyes. I thought google was doing an April Fools joke when it said it was snowing in Seattle today, but friends' updates on facebook say otherwise.

So now that I found my phone (or more accurately, Dr. T found my phone) under the car seat, there will be twitter updates.

Road Trip

The Boy, Dr. T and I are running away in my little gray car to Nevada to see Sister M. The trip will start on Monday and include a stop in Portland to have lunch with a friend, then maybe an over night stop somewhere in Southern Oregon or Northern California. It really depends on how we are feeling though. We might push straight through and save our money for other fun things. Then staying in Carson City for the rest of the week. I imagine there will be some wedding shopping going on, since Sister M is getting married this summer. I am also hoping to plan a hike while she and her fiance are working, if the weather holds. Heading back this way on Saturday, but that might really be when we need a hotel room, so we may not return until Sunday night.

I am bringing my computer, but may not be in the blogging mood. If you don't hear from me in that time, just know that I will be back on Monday with lots of pics. Toodles!

Sigh...

...no one came to my program today. And it was going to be sooooo cool. I guess no one else thought so. The Seattle Times even ran a cute little blurb on it in their entertainment section. And there I was, stewing in the heat of 9 laptops, all alone...

One person did turn up, but he isn't a teen and I think he knows I am on to him, so he never came down. Well, you can't have one person doing a scavenger hunt anyway. That just doesn't work.

Tonight is an iSchool get together. Should be fun times, although I always feel a little awkward at these things. I am fairly certain there will be a person or two I would rather not see, and that there is a person or two who would rather not see me. But there are at least two peeps that I will adore seeing, even though I already see them on a regularish basis, so not all is lost. I am bringing my book as armor though.

Zine Librarian unConference this weekend is going to rock. I know people are coming to that. Not only is it going to be a ton of fun, I will have a bit more event planning on my resume. Always a good thing. And I get to learn more about zines. I am also looking forward to it being over so I can spend more time w/ Dr. T and The Boy. Time suckage! (in the best possible way...)

I haven't done my EMP post yet, mostly because I haven't found the time to upload the photos and video I took. It was a fun show, but would have been more fun if I hadn't felt chained to my table. More on that later.

Starfish.... Here Starfish!

Busy week getting caught up on stuff and adding new programs. I was offered the chance to have a class on how to make personalized Google Maps. I think that would be tons of fun, but I am not sure who to market it to. There are only 8 spots in the class, unless folks want to bring their own laptop, which I am going to offer as an option. It is probably better for people to learn on their own computer, rather than on the lab laptop. I am going to bring my laptop that day. Here is an example of a cool map that was made for the West Seattle Blog during the snow in December.


View Larger Map

If you view the larger map, you can see what the points are for.

___

Riding metro seems like a great way to introduce yourself to street culture. For example, Dr. T and I were taking the bus home from watching Coraline (yay!) we saw two very interesting events in people watching land. One was a guy talking very loudly on his cell phone. He called his roommate to tell him that he was on his way home--sounds sunny and domestic, no? Then he proceeded to tell the roommate that a "friend" of his was coming into some mad money and that they needed to get it from him. He insinuated that something would change hands for that money and that they had to do it now or the money would be gone. He left the bus saying "I feel bad, but we have to take it." Gives a whole new meaning to the sign that says "Too loud, Too much" on the bus. Where are the undercover cops when things like that happen?

The second was this kid (as in 20 something kid) gets on the bus with a huge rottweiler. He lets the dog go as soon as he gets on, so the dog runs all the way down the aisle to the back. There are some other "kids" back there and they heckle the dog, some moaning that they are scared, others baiting it to come sit with them. The guy that owns the dog finally catches up and he sits fairly close to the other kids, but they continue to heckle and he moves to the bench seats in the middle of the bus, calling the dog after him. Poor guy looked miserable, like he had just been dissed by his best friends, but the dog was pretty happy and well behaved for being able to run around free. He got off a few stops later, still looking dejected. Oh, and the dog's name was Starfish. Hmmm.

Well with those shockingly well written and driving stories, I am out!

Romance! Get some here!

Last week was a bit of a setback, as I had to take two days off sick. The thing that has gotten neglected most is my work plan, which I was mostly done with, but now I have to update with my smaller branch's plan. Shouldn't take too long, but I am always worried I will leave something out, and I can't REALLY be sure that my managers would catch it if I did. They both have a crazy lot on their plates lately.

Next weekend is the evil day of love. Dr. T, The Boy and I will be in Spokane for Niecy's first birthday. It is hard to believe it has been that long. Sister M and her man will be there. They just got engaged over the weekend, their one year anniversary. I am really happy for them. They are good people, to the core. The Boy was really happy to hear it too. The mad texting was pretty fun for a bit. Sister M asked me to be her maid of honor and I am totally honored. She has other friends, but we have become really tight these last...11 years. Ever since she nannied The Boy through his 3rd summer. BFF's! I am really excited for them both.

Oh yeah, so Dr. T, Sister M and her man, Brother M and his wife and I are having a triple date on V-day. I don't think I have even gone on a double date since I was 18. I am not 100% on that. There might have been a double date somewhere. My memory is as faulty as my hearing--ask anyone close to me. We are going out to dinner. Dr. T and I have a hotel, and I think I am going to bring the champagne I bought for New Years that we never drank. A romantic night in Spokane. Who would have thought?

Physical Therapy (feels like it should be a proper noun) is somewhat kicking my butt. Remembering to do the exercises twice a day shouldn't be that hard, but is proving to be anyway (See comment about memory above). I have managed to get most of them in, but they are making me achy, which makes me a bit cranky. I actually went to turn the hot tub up to use it today and found...no water :( I did notice that Landlord A had left on her climbing across the country odyssey. I guess she took the water with her. Sigh.