Advice Requested

I am in the middle of a bit of a job flux. I graduate in May with my MLS, which is super exciting (YAY!), and I am already keeping an eye out for library related jobs. I am applying for a storytelling internship at the library down the street (literally six blocks away. How wonderful would that be? And I'd be STORYTELLING!) which would be only 10 hours a week but otherwise perfect: working with youth, getting to know people at the library I would ideally want to work with when I graduate, and best of all - it ends just before my due date so I can easily take time off to have a baby!

I just got an email from one of my professors. A library way out in the suburbs is hiring a youth librarian, and they are willing to look at people who are almost done with their MLS (that's ME!). I'm definately going to apply because what is the harm in applying? There are a couple of cons for this job, the main one being that map quest says it's 45 minutes away - but I used to have a class way out their and with the construction on the Dan Ryan it's more like an hour and a half ... PLUS I'm having a baby in May. How great is it to say, "wow, this job is wonderful! Thank you! I'm gonna need a couple of weeks off in about four months. Is that ok?" Pros for the job? It's in youth services, it's part time (I was planning on taking a few months off after giving birth, but a part time job that works with my schedule would be fantastic as well), and it's in a pretty nice suburb.

Ok, so I guess I don't really need advice - I'm going to apply for it either way. I'm doubting I'll get it because it's the type of job that everyone at my school will probably apply for ... but a girl can hope, yes?

I hate writing cover letters. As soon as I am done here I am going to the library and getting a few books on writing cover letters. They always seem so awkward and formal and contrived to me, no matter what I write. Anyone out there really fantastic at cover letters who wants to give me some pointers? I'd be appreciative.

P.S. I've been reading like crazy and plan on telling y'all about them very shortly. Stay tuned for reading fun!

Barefoot and pregnant in the kitchen ...

I am feeling all domestic and kitchy and 1940s. Back during the summer, Jell-O was on sale and I thought, "who doesn't love Jell-O?" So I bought eight packages. How much Jell-O have I made since I bought them? Exactly none ... and I have had the craziest craving for Jell-O lately. I think it is brought on by the commercials they have nowadays for the people who eat the wiggly desert and start wiggling themselves. They're strangely addicting commercials. ANYWAY - I looked in my pantry and realized that three of the flavors I have - Strawberry, Apricot, and Pineapple - look very pleasing together, so I just made up three batches and am letting them cool for a bit before I pour them one on top of each other. I've never done this before, and the web is not being helpful when it comes to telling me how long to chill before mixing ... four hours total for chilling - that I know - so I've set the timer for an hour (by then they should be reasonably firm, I think), but I'm checking it in half an hour.

The ultimate goal? Red, orange, and yellow kitchy goodness!

I just realized something

I am very envious of my sister. My favorite animal in the whole wide world is the mhorr or Dama Gazelle. I love it - but it is extinct outside of captivity, so I have never actually seen one. My sister used to live in St. Louis and one of her favorite places to go there was the zoo ...

and this means that she has seen mhorrs quite a bit!

So now I have to get ahold of her and ask if they are as gorgeous in person as they are in pictures.

(edited because I am a silly Librarian Pirate)

Hmm - Blogger does not seem to be letting me update right now. I’m not sure if this has anything to do with the scheduled outage tomorrow morning or if this is just because I’m special, but either way I can’t do it! The blogger page is glitching all over the place. I’m writing this on Monday, January 8 at 3:38 pm, but perhaps it won’t be updated until Blogger feels like letting me tomorrow ...

I made eggnog cheesecake a few days ago for my husband’s birthday. I just asked him if he was ok with dinner tonight being cheesecake and milkshakes, and he said yes. WOO! Go me! I don’t know why, but it’s always more fun to have crazy dinners when I can pretend that “it’s ok. I have permission.” The permission could have come from my 12 year old cousin and that would be just fine with me, as long as I have it. This seems to me to be the opposite of what most people would want. For many, the pleasure of the deviant dinner comes specifically from the fact that dinner should not be cheesecake and milkshakes. For me, the pleasure comes from the dinner being something I shouldn’t be supposed to do - but it’s ok, because I’m special. It’s an ego boost.

Now that was a completely boring rambly paragraph that could easily be summed up as, “cheesecake and milkshakes for dinner! Woo! You do it too, I give you permission.”

Ice Cream is buy one get one free at the store right now (because really, who buys ice cream on January 8th? Me! That’s who!), so I get to spend the whole day deciding on milk shake flavors. Brandon said he doesn’t care, so it’s all up to me. I’m thinking chocolate and mint chocolate chip ... although I know Brandon has a thing for banana milk shakes (don’t ask me. Eeeew), so perhaps mint chocolate chip and banana ... or perhaps I’ll just decide when I get there.

For Christmas, Brandon got me a DVD set of movies by the Monty Python boys. Last night and this morning we watched The Adventures of Baron Munchausen which contained my new motto. Someone tells Baron Munchausen that he has no grasp of reality and he responds, "Your reality, sir, is lies and balderdash and I am delighted to say I have no grasp of it whatsoever." Overall it was a fantastic movie - one of Uma Thurman's first (one of the few times where I think she is really as gorgeous as everyone says she is is this movie), and Sarah Polley (who I loved in Road to Avonlea when I was little).

Anyway, I'm back from work and Blogger is letting me post so I better not miss this opportunity!

A hint of Philosophy at work

As most people who have worked retail for far too long, I have some standard phrases I use in certain situations. When I see a customer who looks as though they are in need of some help I walk up and ask "How can I help you today?" If I see a customer who looks as though they are finding and enjoying and probably not (but perhaps) in need if anything I ask, "Are you finding everything alright today?" Today I walked up to a customer and asked her "Are you finding yourself alright today?"

Existentialism when shopping for picture frames. Can't beat that!

In other news, I burned my hand pretty badly last night. I tried to take a picture of the gruesome blaring grossness that is my hand, but I couldn't quite get the flash to stop washing out the burn and making it look pale and wimpy (compared to the red grossness that it is), but at least you can kinda see the size of the burn. It hurts like crazy, but my loving husband bought me pirate bandages!!! Seriously - how cool is that? It would be even better if they were librarian bandages ...

Anyway! I'm off to eat carrots. I've got a crazy craving ...

Love in the library quiet and cool!

So - one of my New Year's resolutions? Update at least once a week. We'll see how it goes. We all know I'm a slacker monkey, so this might be a problem ...

Penny Arcade pointed me in the direction of the video for Everytime We Touch by Cascada (Joan?). Parts of it I like - turning the library into a dance party? Awesome. The funky dancing janitor? Groovy! The library they filmed the song in is awesomely old fashioned which makes me grin and giggle like a schoolgirl. The song itself is too Pop-y for my usual tastes, but it's somehow infectious ...

My main problem with the video? It isn't the stereotypical shushing librarians ... it's the desperate need for Miss Cascada to rearrange the library's card catalog
and then throw random cards around. How is anyone going to find their books NOW, eh? Yes, the library should have that all on computer by now (it is 2007), but they've probably invested their money elsewhere - like in keeping the library groovy and old style looking!

Ok, so I'm a huge geek ... isn't that why you love me?

In other news - first ultrasound! My baby officially has fingers and toes! YAY!