Comixtravaganza Time Again

As a last hurrah to hurry me on my way to my new branch, We will be having the 3rd Annual Comixtravaganza at the University Branch Library. Doors open at 2, with the workshop with Matthew Southworth starting at 2:30.  The draw-a-thon starts at 4 sharp, so don't be late!

Dancing Around (The Subject)

So I am back, and I made it through 4 full days of work without going insane. It was difficult, but I did it. This was the first vacation I have had where I wasn't even tempted to check work email. I barely even thought about work. It was awesome. And nothing exploded while I was gone. I had the Google Maps class last night and it went swimmingly. People even showed up! The only bad thing was that I forgot to do a survey. Again. You would think those would be first on my brain, but somehow I always think "I should have had a survey" hours later when I contemplate the various ways that people could have found out about the program. You know what would have fixed this wondering???? A SURVEY!

And I am done with Twitter. I tried it, it bored me. It was nice to be able to update from the road without a computer, but in reality, I just don't have time for that horsepucky.

When I got back from vacation I had one day left to do with as I pleased--after I took The Boy up to school in BFD way early in the morning. What did I do with that day? Well, after my 4 hour nap, I read in the sun for an hour, sipping an iced coffee I made with my own spresso maker, the spent a couple of hours getting the p-patch ready. Weeded and fertilized and watered. Tomorrow I will go back and plant some corn, green onions, collards (we'll see which plantings win, inside or outside), then maybe I will get some volunteer time in--we have to do 8 hrs a year, which isn't very much unless you start in June and have to be done in October.

Before I left for vacation, I took pictures of a certain business of ill repute that was closed around a year ago and recently sprouted amazing amounts of graffiti. Please excuse me for feeling pride in something that I only took a picture of:



I told Dr. T that I was going to clean tonight, but now I just feel like curling up with my book. I don't even feel like eating dinner.

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!

Blame it on the Fever

Wow, 8 days without a post. That is a long time for me, and a lot has happened.

I had a program where we basically had a party in the meeting room. There were video games, board games, crafts and snacks. Everything was really popular and I had almost 30 people come. It was a lot of fun.

Went to Chop Suey to see the Bird and the Bee and they were great. One of the band members has another band, who opened, called Obi the Best, and I got their cd. Sister R and I went and met a few library friends.

I also went to Spokane for my niece's first birthday. She is such a sweetie. There were almost 40 people there, which attests to how well loved my brother, his wife and daughter are by their community.

Sister M got engaged last week, which is really exciting. We spent most of the rest of the weekend looking at wedding venues and dresses. It was fun to see her transformed into such a beautiful creature--not that she isn't anyway, but there is something different about putting on a wedding dress. Especially when you find the "right one."

Now I am sick. I went to work the last couple of days, but today really kicked my butt. I feel like there is a mass pressing into my head in the right side. Pressure is building... I just finished Season 4 of Battlestar Galactica and I don't know how I am going to wait for season 5.

Brief Encounters with Teens

The Boy asked to have a friend over, and not at the last minute, so we have his Friend E over. Last night, on our way back from BFD I was enjoying the chatter of boys, understanding about 1/3 of what comes out of their mouths. Occasionally I would cut in with some wisdom, or more likely some snarky remark to keep them on their toes. At some point, I told them we were going to the Central Library in the mornning to go to the comics program.

"Cool," one said "We can run around and play hide and seek!"

"Yeah, last time we almost got kicked out."

Me-"What, almost kicked out?" (I hadn't heard this part)

"Yeah, we were running around on the 5th floor and this lady said she was going to call security"

Me-"Oh, yeah, no running. She was going to call security?"

"Yeah, it was so cool!"

Hmmmmm, yeah. "Trying to get me fired? You can't do that tomorrow, I am working and you can't get kicked out."

The Boy-"We can just wait in the car."

Me-"We're not taking the car, we're taking the bus."

The Boy-"Oh no."

Friend E-"Cool!" He seemed genuinely excited about the prospect of taking metro.

I have to remember to tell him not to bring his butterfly knife. But that's a different story.

Mentoring, Researching and Programming

Today my mentee is getting out of juvy. I don't know if she wants me there, but I am going to her release meeting at the Juvenile Rehabilitation Center, where she meets with her parole officer and members of the community who support her. A woman from the Orion Center will be there, and a drug and alcohol counselor. These are two parts of her life that she hasn't told me about, I don't know if it is because she thinks I won't respect her, or if she just doesn't feel that comfortable with me yet. I am both excited for her and scared, because so much can go wrong at this point. But she is out, and ready to start her life. She has to be an adult now, for her child. She has the right attitude for sure, and hopefully she will be able to follow through. I hope I can help.

I had a nice lazy day at Casa de la Dr. T, yesterday. I spent most of the day researching the Virgin Islands. It snowed here, and today it is sunny, but only 28 degrees. Something has soured the research process for me today, so I need to give it a day off before I make the plane reservations tomorrow. Edit: We gave the gift back. There was more information to be found about the situation, and we decided that it was more important for the grandparents to be there than us. We will likely take a trip this summer to Las Vegas that all of us can enjoy.

The Reading Marathon went great. We had between 70 and 100 middle schoolers all in one room, bundled up in sleeping bags and blankets, reading. There were many periods of complete silence, where everyone, including me, the teachers and the parents that came, were reading. We took breaks for snacks and pizza. I had an embarrassing moment when the first round of pizza came and it just wasn't enough. There wasn't a piece for every kid! The teachers banded together some literacy funds and ordered more, and I had a few more come later, so everyone got fed. I have half a page of notes on how to change it for next year, and number one is "order more pizza". The other branches doing this also had good turnout; 50 at one and 40 at the other, so the schools were pretty evenly represented. I feel like I got a lot of good face time with the kids that come into the library after school. They will feel more comfortable coming up to me now. I wonder how many new ones we will see.

Sutra and a short recap

Last night a few friends from work and I went to a neighborhood restaurant. We had been talking about it ever since the owner's house was burglarized in November last year and they had come in to print off their menus in the library. The woman is our neighbor and she and her partner run both Sutra and Rain City Yoga.

None of us that went are vegetarian, but the food at Sutra is, and is actually vegan as far as I can tell. At Sutra everything is created and crafted with a lot of care given to how the foods look, taste, and go together. Each dish was beautiful and tasty with a nice blend of flavors. Nothing tried to pretend to be meat, which is where some vegetarian places go wrong. Also, everything was fresh, much if not all of the food was locally grown and it was filling. (The full menu of what we ate is on their website right now, but will change next Wednesday). I didn't get hungry after I got home. The chef/owner was very welcoming as was the server. He seemed delighted that we were from the library and so had ties to his community. There was a moment of thankfulness at the beginning for, well, everything good including sustainable farming that was not awkward at all. The whole experience was wonderful. I would eat there more often if only I could afford it. My co-workers felt the same. Since I can't eat there often, I will recommend Sutra to everyone I know ;)

Since my last post, I have cut my hair off above the shoulder. Also a local endevor--I went to Dandelion in Wallingford. Lindsey is wonderful. I also went to Silent Movie Monday with Sister U and saw The Magician. I have only gone to one of these about a year or so ago, again with Sister U, but I really like them. They have a live organist and other musical back up to fill in for the silent movies, and while their datedness is comical in many ways, I like the feeling of watching history. The Magician originally came out in the 20's, so I suppose my grandmother might have seen it then.

And finally, Comixtravaganza at my branch is tonight. I am both excited and scared. My headliner for the night almost had to cancel due to illness, but now assures me he will be there with helpers. Everything is purchased and now I just have to get there, remember my camera and be a good hostess. Wish me luck!

Comixtravaganza Coming to a Library Near You!

You might have already seen the article in the Times, but it is that time again. Comixtravaganza time! We have a lot of cool programs in this series, including the Toon-In at the Queen Anne Branch tomorrow night. There will be several drawing workshops at various branches and it will all culminate at the Central Library on January 31st, where there will be a workshop with Davey Oil and Linda Medley (of Castle Waiting) will be discussing her work. Also, Seattle-based Slide Rule Comic Strip Slideshow Players will mix digital video and hand-drawn cartoons, live music and electronic sound, and animation and live performance to create a theatrical experience. For more information go here and put comixtravaganza into the search box.

It seems that University Branch will be the only library in the system that will have a Draw-a-thon contest. That is happening next Thursday, January 15th. Doors open at 5pm, short drawing workshop at 5:30, contest starts at 6 and judging happens at 7. Winners will be able to choose among prizes such as comic books, a comic artists art set and action figures. Door prizes will be drawn throughout the event and everyone will leave with a little something to make their inner comic lover swoon. Oh, and snacks. There will be snacks.

So yeah, you should totally come and check it out.

Fantasy Land

Last night, Dr. T, Miranda and her nanny and I went to see the Nutcracker performed by the Pacific Northwest Ballet. I was pretty excited, as I haven't been to see it before, and a little nervous that we were going to be late. I got off work at 6 and the show started at 7:30. We had to stop for some food first--I am pretty sure that my grumbly tummy had something to do with my mood. We made it just fine, of course. I have had the experience where you have to sit out the first act because you are late to the theater. I didn't want to do that again. I always seem to get antsy when things turn out fine, and am more nonchalant when things turn out badly.

The ballet itself was beautiful, I liked the Maurice Sendak staging quite a bit--I wished I could take a picture during a couple of the scenes, but that was a no no. The first act was as I was expecting and lived up to the praise that I'd heard for this year's performance. The second act was hard to follow though and the medly of dances put on by the "pasha's" servants felt more like a cry for attention. The dancing was beautiful, as I said, but after each bit, they would stop and bow to the audience and everyone would clap. These were not that long and the clapping would sometimes run through an entire piece. I stopped clapping after the first one and felt a little annoyed as it went on and on. Then, the ending. It was really disappointing. I understand that the Nutcracker has been interpreted in many different ways, but I haven't heard of any others where the Nutcracker prince abandons Clara to the foreign ruler in a strange land. He just rides off in a boat, waving to her cheerily as she looks after him in sadness and disbelief. She then wakes up to find that it is all a dream, but I still had a hard time swallowing the ending. The moral of the story seemed to be that a woman should never hesitate in her path or her man will abandon her. Weird.



Libraryland has been a little busy lately. I feel like I don't stop from when I get there till I leave. I have a to-do list the length of my arm and I know there are things that aren't on it that should be. I know that it will be more laid back in a week or two and I am certainly looking forward to the slower pace.

Pictures didn't happen on Wednesday, but everything went well. I had a large group of teens at the beginning and then a whole bunch of toddler/preschoolers came. It said "school aged children"... and teens of course. Recurring theme.

Programs and Quality Time

Today is the Winter Celebration at one of my branches. We are playing games and making crafts. I am bringing Apples to Apples, Banana Split (imagine racing at scrabble), and Connect 4 and we will also have the Wii and PS2. Should be fun.

We are also having our employee appreciation lunch today at a local Thai place. It was sooooo hard to pick the restaurant. One person at least will not be happy with Thai food, but most of us refused to eat at Julia's--the service there is terrible and the food only mediocre. I probably would have had to call in sick (jk).

The lunch is right before the program, so I will be racing around like a chicken with its head cut off in preparation. Although I did utilize my volunteers to good end yesterday cutting out felt for crafts. That was fun too because it allowed me to spend an hour with them, chatting about their futures and what holidays they celebrate this time of year. I have a pretty diverse bunch and I like it that way. All three of the boys are really smart too, and interesting to talk to. I have to do more one on one with The Boy like when we cooked together--gad, was it over a month ago? I will lay my trap for the holiday break. Hee hee, he won't know what hit him.

I'm off to libraryland. I will take pictures!

Tonight in Libraryland

My comics writing program went really well tonight, despite a snaffu with the news release (wrong date) and the weather. Only 5 people made it, not counting me and Brandon, but the program was definitely a success. Brandon Jerwa was a lovely speaker, funny and full of information about the comic industry. We had a lively discussion and I even felt somewhat knowledgeable, at least about graphic novel genre and Joss Whedon.

EXCEPT! Brandon let me in on a little known factoid. Did you know that Joss wrote Toy Story? Yes, REALLY!!

Now I have to watch that again (for the 50th time, I have a son just the right age to have really liked that movie) with that in mind. I can already see parts of it in a different light.

Thank you Brandon for a delightful evening.

Thank Goodness, Captain Hammer is Here!

Best new web based time wastage: Dr. Horrible's Sing-Along Blog



I know that I am a little behind on finding this one, which is sad because it written by Joss Whedan. Guess I am a bad fan--is there a rating scale for being a fan? I would probably get a 2/10.

In Libraryland: The writing workshops have not been horribly successful. Brandon Jerwa is leading my comics writing workshop on November 6, 6:15-7:45. Hopefully I will get some attendance for that.

I am going to kidnap the attendee's of the local YMCA's after school program for my next event. I think it will be a holiday party. I was just going to do crafts, but it keeps expanding/changing. So now I will have the Wii, the chance to make some holiday gifts (whatever holiday you celebrate) and have pizza or something. I still have some programming funds left.

Blogging Programs and Biking to Work

I rode to work on Tuesday! I was running late when I left but I made it on time. I rode along the Burke Gilman Trail on the way there; the canal section was beautiful and I love seeing the big, orange Wall of Death. I couldn't stop to take pictures, but hopefully on Thursday. I rode home too, but went along the North end of Green Lake that time. I think it took longer, but it is hard to say. The hills weren't as long, but they were pretty steep. The new bike is working out very well. It is nice and light, I don't feel hunched over and it is comfortable. My hands get a little numb, but it was less on the way home, so maybe I just needed to get used the the new posture.

I had a blogging class yesterday. I only had one teen, but an adult came and I had my directed fieldwork student and my teen volunteer there, so it didn't feel too lonely. I talked about online identity, compared blogging sites and types of content. A student from the UW came and talked about Puget Sound Off--a local social networking site for teens interested in social issues and change. By the end, my voice was fading, I had talked so much.

Today's class may not go too well if I can't get the internet to speed up. Last weeks class had to switch from modifying MySpace to building a simple web page using Notepad and Explorer--not on the internet. We still had a good time, but the younger kids didn't like it as much.

Another beautiful day in Seattle. Who would have thought we were even going to have a summer a month ago? I love 70 degree weather.

A Little Bit of This, a Little Bit of That

My computer class yesterday went well, with 5 attendees. I taught one teen how to build a basic webpage from scratch, with HTML and CSS. We had some trouble getting the computers to connect with the internet, but eventually it started working. Of course, everything worked perfectly over at my other branch on Tuesday, where no one came to the class... Next week's class is on blogging and likely to be less popular.

Amazon has been having some amazing (heh) deals lately. I barely missed the gold box deal on Buffy--the entire series for $89. I was so sad. But today I got all three seasons of Veronica Mars for $20 each and yesterday I got the entire series of Angel for $62. Somebody needs to take away my clicking privileges.

The gaming tournament on Thursday went great. We had about 5 participants, with a couple more kids showing up late. We got our two teen winners, but only one under 13 winner, but he was a champ. He had never played DDR before, but by the end was getting a ton of perfects. I had two older teen volunteers there and they were wonderful help, along with our Directed Fieldwork Student. I have a hard time delegating in these situations, but all three appointed themselves tasks and really followed through. I will need them even more at the finale.

The garden is looking great. I thinned the lettuces today, so we will be having a baby lettuce salad later on. I wish I had some tomatoes ready, but they will be soon.

I finally got a bike, despite being thwarted by Bike Nashbar. I even got something a little more sturdy and reliable than I would have. It is the Trek 3700 Three Series:

Now I need to start riding!

We tried to go see North Twin at the Sunset last night with my friend and her dentist husband. The music didn't start until 10 (which should have been a bad sign to this old fogey anyhow), so we all chatted at my place for an hour or so before. We watched the first band, which were ok, the second band totally ticked me off. I think they got a little too tipsy, took about 45 minutes to set up and do their sound check, so they didn't start until almost 11:30. This meant that North Twin wouldn't be going on until after midnight. I also didn't like the second band, so we left without seeing the headliner. Quite a disappointment. I finally got my old butt out of the house after 10 and I didn't even get to see the band I wanted to see. Guess I am just not as hard core as others.

Libraryland Update

School visits are done and aside from getting ready to be gone for 2 weeks, my work days have settled down a bit. I'd better enjoy it, because when I get back I will be thrown into a frenzy of programs.

These will include computer classes (html and css for myspace and other sites, blogging and data hosting sites), a gaming tournament for ages 8-18 and zine drop-in days providing space and resources for zine enthusiasts. We will also have a book binding class, but that isn't until August and will require little work from me, although I hope to be able to learn a little something there.

During the ALA conference, I will be blogging on our SPL-ALA blog, so I might not blog here as often (as if my postings are usually something you can set your watch by...), but that is a little way off and I have posted a link to the page under my favorite blog links to the right.

Some of you may have heard that Deborah Jacobs will be leaving her post as City Librarian at SPL to work for the Gates Foundation. If you have any input as to what traits we should look for in a new City Librarian, go here and follow the links to make sure your voice is heard.

Non-Library related: The garden is moving along well. I planted strawberry plants and put down stepping stones and pea gravel to avoid the lake that forms in the walkway when I water.

Dr. T is coming home on Thursday! I am so excited to see him--it has been about 3 weeks since I visited him in Spokane.

Schwinny, where are you?

This is going to be my new ride. I got a really good deal at Bike Nashbar.com. They are having a 15% off sale. So now I just have to wait for it to get here...I hate waiting for shipping, don't you? We have this great system of instant gratification with the whole point and click thing, but then it totally lets you down with the follow-through.

I had a gaming event yesterday and it was a lot of fun. I had my only regular teen attend and we spent the 2 hours figuring out Dance Dance Revolution. Of course, I am still terrible at it, but I had fun jumping around doing the lessons. For some reason when my set of arrows are next to another set of steps, I get totally confused. We had a great time and laughed a lot. A couple of younger kids joined us a bit later and helped mix things up a bit.

I have used the word totally twice (3 times...) in this post. That doesn't bode well.

I really miss Dr. T right now. He is about 300 miles away and I haven't seen him in over a week. The Boy and I are heading that way this weekend to visit him and the family. Sis and her man are going to be there too, along with (gasp!) my mother and grandmother. We are doing a big birthday shin-dig bbq since about half of us are born in the month of May. August must be a slow month for us. We will also hang out a bit with Dr. T's family while we are there and they will meet The Boy. I met them when we were there for xmas. Wow, that was 5 months ago.

Lots of shake ups around libraryland. Somebody is interviewing for a different position, my manager is going to manage other people for a while, and, well, I guess that's it, but really that is plenty. Change is the spice of life...I think my stew has too much pepper right now.

Spring Time Update

Writing workshop number three got a whopping 1 teen in attendance. He really seemed to like it though. When I asked him how it went he got a big grin on his face and said "great!" The instructor told me that he found out about it from a flyer sent home by the school, so it looks like I didn't waste my time there.

I have started a little indoor greenhouse, thanks to my Mom's early birthday gift. I have 10 lettuce, 5 yellow tomatoes, 5 red tomatoes and 5 basil plants started, plus a jalapeno plant, some spearmint and sage to add to my herb planter. I dropped by the pea patch the other day and chatted with the gentleman that helps run the place. He put me on a list to receive emails about work parties etc, so that I can be involved before I get my plot (which may be some time after I move away at this point). I have already been on the waiting list for a year... Right now all of my "garden" is in planters. When the seedlings are ready, I will have to buy more and give some plants away.

I finally bought half of my plane tickets to Cali for the ALA conference. The Boy and I are going to stay with a friend in Long Beach for a few days before he heads home and I go into anaheim. I am going to rent a car for a journey to Disneyland one day and the ride to and from the airport. We are going to spend most of the time at Seal Beach and get a surf lesson one day. I finaly used those stupid American Airlines vouchers. I swear they are the hardest company to work with, and they have the worst policies and highest prices. I doubt I will ever book with them again. And luckily our flight is actually on Alaska, whom I don't mind so much. So, one down, many tasks to go.

Writing Workshops for Teens!

I am feeling much better, although I capped off my week with an infection in my thumb that had a red line going down my arm. Fun times spending a couple of hours in the walk in clinic. Thank goodness for insurance!

I input the calendar entries for my computer workshops this summer. They probably won't be posted for a couple more weeks. I am sure that their workload with all of the Summer Reading Program stuff must be overwhelming.

I still have two writing workshop dates left. Here is the lowdown:

'Writing the Supernatural Story' workshop for teens at the Wallingford Branch Saturday, May 3, 2008, 1 - 3pm

Event type: Class
Where: Wallingford Branch
Audience: Teens
Language: English
Summary: A writing workshop with Mindy Hardwick covering the art of writing a supernatural story.

Full Description: Ghosts, vampires, and surreal stories that scare-come explore the world of the supernatural. We'll explore elements used in creating the supernatural world, including: developing strong atmosphere and moods with setting, establishing ground rules for the ghost, and building character when our characters are not of this world. We'll look at stories by children's writers Avi, Jane Yolan, and Paul Fleischman and try our hands at a few writing exercises designed to find the ghost lurking in our stories.
Class Notes: Library events and programs are free and everyone is welcome. Registration is not required.

'Creative Journaling for Young Writers' workshop at the University Branch Saturday, May 17, 2008, 1 - 3pm

Event type: Class
Where: University Branch
Audience: Teens
Language: English
Summary: Poetry, art, and writing—come explore the many ways of creative journal writing, taught by Mindy Hardwick.

Full Description: Poetry, art, and writing—come explore the many ways of creative journal writing. Whether you are currently keeping a journal, or have never kept one, this workshop will give you new ideas for how to express who you are through writing. Participants are encouraged to bring a journal to the workshop.
Class Notes Library events and programs are free and everyone is welcome. Registration is not required.

If you know any teens interested in writing, send them my way!

Sick :(

I am home sick today, roving the internets, staring at the screen with bleary eyes. The gigantic headache that I came down with yesterday just before my gaming program (yay :( has mostly subsided now and I am left with a raspy voice, puffy eyes and achy-ness. I set up for the program and high tailed it home to my bed. I slept most of yesterday--probably the most sleep I have gotten since the last time I was sick--whenever that was.

In my delirium last night, I pre-ordered Mario Kart for the Wii. Luckily I was going to do that anyway, so it wasn't a terrible thing. I got an extra wheel and we will probably end up using it for our tournament this summer. I hope to have most of the races unlocked by then, although I am unsure how to transfer that between Wii's.

And from way back in March, here is a link to a YouTube video of some of my family making sillies of themselves attempting an Irish brogue (stolen from Monkeyhead).

Update on poor Robby. To add insult to injury, Robby has sprung a leak of baby spiders. Here she is, struggling along anyhow and I come to find little specks crawling all over her. I think they must be inside her, because I can't find them anywhere else. They seem to particularly like the screen. I keep squishing them and they just keep coming. Usually I hate spiders, but these are really just moving little dots. Reminds me of an old video game, trying to make sure none of them make it to adulthood.