Shopping and Shopping

I can't believe Christmas is almost here. I've been shopping up a storm but I have not been running myself ragged. As many of you know, I love amazon.com, but I also love other Internet shopping. Mostly I love the hunt. I love finding an item at the best possible price. Many times the best possible price happens because of the tremendous buying power of amazon.com combined with no tax and free shipping. At other Internet sites, I always look for coupon codes before I closed the deal. The other day I helped a friend buy a video game for her husband. I directed her to an electronics site I like because amazon.com did not have any copies available. The store was listed as an amazon.com alternative seller, but by going directly, shipping was cheaper and they had a deal that by paying through Google Checkout you saved $5.00 (and no tax). Tonight I was shopping on the company site for a product and did a quick Internet search for a coupon code and found one that saved me 30% (again, no tax and they offered free shipping). I was really surprised when the coupon worked. Finding the perfect gift is great and not paying full retail is even better! Tonight is my last chance to order from amazon.com for receipt before Christmas so I better finalize my purchases. Merry Christmas to all and to all a good night.

This Really Happened-Just now

Patron: The machine wouldn't let me...like, I couldn't...you know...get on
Me: Let me check your card. What PIN were you using?
Patron: So the other lady what was here...
Me: What PIN did you try?
Patron: That other lady said I could get on a computer.
Me: What PIN did you try to use?
Patron: PIN?
Me: What is your phone number?
Patron: So the thing is that my sister's number might be it.
Me: What is your name?
Patron: I have alot of phone numbers.
Patron: [states name that matches card]
Me: What is the phone number?
Patron: [states number that is not in the record]
Me: What is Your number, I'll update your record.
Patron: [gives me last 4 numbers only]
Me: What is the beginning of the number?
Patron: 239
Me: [I chuckle] "hi, you're nice what's your number?... and you say?" [patron finally gets it and gives me a normal number in the proper order]

WAS THAT SOOOOO DIFFICULT?

Let Me Bend Your Ear About Mine

Final update...on Thanksgiving eve day I went to the ENT for my most recent appointment. I had another hearing test consisting of word recognition and pure tones. I thought I might have some additional improvement over the last test. This time I had 100% word recognition at 15 decibels. We had been testing at 65 dB. In the pure tones test I was in normal range in all but the last three tones. On the third highest frequency I was right on the line. On the 2nd highest, I gained back 15 dB that I had lost and in the highest frequency, I have finally gained back 5 dB. Small victories. Even if I never improved from this moment, my high frequency loss would be manageable. I can use a phone and listen to music. The loss is still in the moderate to severe range for those frequencies but I have gained back the ranges that are spoken word and that is most important. Rush Limbaugh had to have an implant to correct his loss. My ENT decided not to do the second treatment of steroids into my ear. Too bad, that made my knee feel great! I did tons of research and discovered that patients with my condition have an associated increase risk of stroke (150% increase). I have some things to work on. I don't go back to the ENT and audiologist for a year. I hope you all had plenty to be thankful for last week. You know I did.

Snow at the Library

This year I have already seen snow twice. The first time was a couple of weeks ago at Disney World at Mickey's Very Merry Christmas Party. Through the magic of Disney, snow fell on Main Street. I know it was a special foam blown from the rooftops to drift magically upon the Very Merry Partiers, but as long as you don't catch it on your tongue, the illusion holds. This morning I experienced my second flurries and they were as unmagical as could be. Before we opened, ScheduleMaster and I were RFID tagging the literary criticism books that are shelved at the end of Fiction. These books are filthy; not the good kind that makes people want to ban books either. This filth caused flurries of brown dust snow with each book we moved. Gross. I prefer Disney.

Christmas Shopping

This past weekend I went on the annual Christmas shopping trip to Orlando with the Queen of TR and Grannie Annie. We had a blast. The outlets were crowded and so were the malls. I have oodles of empathy for the hearing aid-wearers who have problems in crowds and loud places with echoes. I had to put an earplug in on several occasions or leave a store because the sounds were too intense. We went to the Magic Kingdom for Mickey's Very Merry Christmas Party and saw the lighting of Cinderella's Castle with the icicle lights. I know I mentioned it last year, but the enhancement of the castle with the ice is spectacular! On Wednesday I had a follow-up appointment with the ENT and audiologist and I have improvement. Word recognition is back to normal from 10%. Low tones have hit the normal zone and mid tones are almost there. High tones still score as moderate to severe loss. So I have room to improve, but, having improved means I'm not in the percentage who won't improve. In 10 days I'll be retested and I'll have the ear injection again and we'll keep watching.

Lucky, Lucky Girl (Again)

Two Saturdays ago I was sitting on the couch reading and I noticed that my left ear was picking up whooshing noises. Over the course of the day the sounds got worse and included other white noise and my ear also felt sort of full. I thought maybe my Eustachian tube was clogged like when I had allergies when I was little. My mother says I used to tell her I had bluebirds in my ears. So on Sunday I went over to my parents to have my father look in my ears and he thought I should try a decongestant. A couple of days of that with no improvement, and in fact, a decline in my hearing and I was concerned enough to do research (of course), try a neti pot technique I read about, and consult my physician again. He recommended an ENT. I went to the ENT on Monday and after an exam and hearing test I was diagnosed with Sudden Sensorineural Hearing Loss. Boom! Just like that, almost deaf. I wear ear protection when I work with power tools, I don't have my MP3 player loud, I use noise-cancelling headphones on the airplane, I even keep earplugs in my purse for movies and concerts. SSHL is what used to be nerve deafness. Anyway, my ENT asked me to return in the afternoon for an injection of Prednisone directly into the Middle Ear, which he said would have a 30% chance of success. Based upon my research, however, I believed the chance would be higher. The procedure was 3 days ago and I can now hear a dial tone and words through the phone, although the voice messaging system voice doesn't sound quite the same in both ears. I can hear the words through my headset if I play a video, even if the tone sounds a little weird. There's still whooshing but I am interpreting this as being in the 30% so, with luck and whatever other forces people believe in that surround me, perhaps I'll have a full recovery. We are all a little wigged out about it, but to have reached 40 without any other health crisis, I know I am fortunate. Keep your fingers crossed that I remain my grandmom's lucky, lucky girl. I really need it this time.

I have a patron who attends my computer walk-in clinic. She is a really nifty 80-ish lady who is totally into politics and she wanted to learn to use the computer so that she could go to Web sites like deomocracynow.org and the huffingtonpost.com. Because of her, I have become addicted to the Huffington Post, myself. Today I was reading the Post and I saw that the Anchorage Daily News endorsed Barack Obama. What was interesting was the supporting article. I was very impressed with the argument for Obama. It was well written, even-handed, and compelling. Here it is in full:

Anchorage Daily News
Obama for President
Palin's Rise Captivates Us But Nation Needs a Steady Hand
(10/25/08 19:37:58)
Alaska enters its 50th-anniversary year in the glow of an improbable and highly memorable event: the nomination of Gov. Sarah Palin as the Republican vice presidential candidate. For the first time ever, an Alaskan is making a serious bid for national office, and in doing so she brings broad attention and recognition not only to herself, but also to the state she leads.
Alaska's founders were optimistic people, but even the most farsighted might have been stretched to imagine this scenario. No matter the outcome in November, this election will mark a signal moment in the history of the 49th state. Many Alaskans are proud to see their governor, and their state, so prominent on the national stage.
Gov. Palin's nomination clearly alters the landscape for Alaskans as we survey this race for the presidency -- but it does not overwhelm all other judgment. The election, after all is said and done, is not about Sarah Palin, and our sober view is that her running mate, Sen. John McCain, is the wrong choice for president at this critical time for our nation.
Sen. Barack Obama, the Democratic nominee, brings far more promise to the office. In a time of grave economic crisis, he displays thoughtful analysis, enlists wise counsel and operates with a cool, steady hand. The same cannot be said of Sen. McCain.
Since his early acknowledgement that economic policy is not his strong suit, Sen. McCain has stumbled and fumbled badly in dealing with the accelerating crisis as it emerged. He declared that "the fundamentals of our economy are strong" at 9 a.m. one day and by 11 a.m. was describing an economy in crisis. He is both a longtime advocate of less market regulation and a supporter of the huge taxpayer-funded Wall Street bailout. His behavior in this crisis -- erratic is a kind description -- shows him to be ill-equipped to lead the essential effort of reining in a runaway financial system and setting an anxious nation on course to economic recovery.
Sen. Obama warned regulators and the nation 19 months ago that the subprime lending crisis was a disaster in the making. Sen. McCain backed tighter rules for Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, but didn't do much to advance that legislation. Of the two candidates, Sen. Obama better understands the mortgage meltdown's root causes and has the judgment and intelligence to shape a solution, as well as the leadership to rally the country behind it. It is easy to look at Sen. Obama and see a return to the smart, bipartisan economic policies of the last Democratic administration in Washington, which left the country with the momentum of growth and a budget surplus that President George Bush has squandered.
On the most important issue of the day, Sen. Obama is a clear choice.
Sen. McCain describes himself as a maverick, by which he seems to mean that he spent 25 years trying unsuccessfully to persuade his own party to follow his bipartisan, centrist lead. Sadly, maverick John McCain didn't show up for the campaign. Instead we have candidate McCain, who embraces the extreme Republican orthodoxy he once resisted and cynically asks Americans to buy for another four years.
It is Sen. Obama who truly promises fundamental change in Washington. You need look no further than the guilt-by-association lies and sound-bite distortions of the degenerating McCain campaign to see how readily he embraces the divisive, fear-mongering tactics of Karl Rove. And while Sen. McCain points to the fragile success of the troop surge in stabilizing conditions in Iraq, it is also plain that he was fundamentally wrong about the more crucial early decisions. Contrary to his assurances, we were not greeted as liberators; it was not a short, easy war; and Americans -- not Iraqi oil -- have had to pay for it. It was Sen. Obama who more clearly saw the danger ahead.
The unqualified endorsement of Sen. Obama by a seasoned, respected soldier and diplomat like Gen. Colin Powell, a Republican icon, should reassure all Americans that the Democratic candidate will pass muster as commander in chief.
On a matter of parochial interest, Sen. Obama opposes the opening of the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge, but so does Sen. McCain. We think both are wrong, and hope a President Obama can be convinced to support environmentally responsible development of that resource.
Gov. Palin has shown the country why she has been so successful in her young political career. Passionate, charismatic and indefatigable, she draws huge crowds and sows excitement in her wake. She has made it clear she's a force to be reckoned with, and you can be sure politicians and political professionals across the country have taken note. Her future, in Alaska and on the national stage, seems certain to be played out in the limelight.
Yet despite her formidable gifts, few who have worked closely with the governor would argue she is truly ready to assume command of the most important, powerful nation on earth. To step in and juggle the demands of an economic meltdown, two deadly wars and a deteriorating climate crisis would stretch the governor beyond her range. Like picking Sen. McCain for president, putting her one 72-year-old heartbeat from the leadership of the free world is just too risky at this time.

Roaming Gnome

For a couple of months I have been engaging in Technology-Specific Roving Reference. That is, I have been wandering around our computer stations offering help to stranded computer motorists and assisting with the reservation and printing systems. I have also had the occasion to conduct OPAC training and pre-screen reference questions to make introductory hand-offs to the Reference Desk. Our public computer area is, not far, just a shushh away from the desk. So I have been doing this for a little bit. Some patrons seem to find it a little creepy that I cover ground like a screensaver but most have found me helpful. I bought a button/badge-making kit so that I can make buttons that will put the patrons at ease while I'm roaming. As a department, we have begun roving reference in the stacks with the goal of 1 hour each per week. As I rove looking for people to help, I tighten the bookends and reshelve the widows and orphans. I'm defining widows and orphans as books left on the ends of shelves outside of the bookends, either on the same shelf where they belong or an adjacent shelf. Here's what I don't understand about people...They pull out a book, look at it, decide they don't want it and then-leaving a GIGANTIC GAP WHERE THE BOOK WAS- put the book back on the other side of the book end (thus creating an orphan). Furthermore, what possesses them to stick the book on a different shelf (widow-maker). Even if you don't understand our highly technical system called alphabetical order, you just made a gap, how do you think that happened?!

Count Your Blessings

Sally wrote in her blog about feeling very fortunate and those of you who have spent any time in my blog know I feel fortunate quite often. I commented on Sally's post that what she wrote reminded me of the song, Count Your Blessings, from the movie White Christmas. I think of that song from my Ray Conniff Christmas album. I wanted to post a video of the song onto my comment in Sally's blog, but I could not, so here it is...

Another Year

It's hard to believe that a year has passed since I wrote an excited post about Nobel season. What a year it has been! The Peace Prize was announced to today. I really like that it was awarded to a man who works towards peace. Certainly the previous two winners have changed my life. As you know, I have become a great fan of microfinance thanks to Muhammad Yunus (2006) and I have tried to change my ways for my pal, Al (2007). The Nobel Prizes, especially the Peace Prize, make me feel optimistic and make me want to be a good person. I don't trod in the right places to walk in the footsteps of Martti Ahtisaari to make big changes in the world, but I do what I can with what I have. Here's to those whose reach is bigger.

Stormy Weather

Yesterday as I was finishing my last desk shift we had a huge downpour. By the time I was ready to leave, the rain had dwindled to a drizzle. As I walked to the car I had sun behind me and dark grey skies in front with showers. Where's the rainbow? Find the rainbow! There it is...over the parking lot! Not a full one, just a little arc, but a rainbow. I was the passenger so I could enjoy the view for several blocks. As we headed over the Cape Coral bridge I looked again, hoping for a new view and maybe the full show, but no luck. Instead the Rainbow Connection song popped into my head...you know, from the Muppet Movie? Why are there so many songs about rainbows and what's on the other side? Rainbows are visions, but only illusions. Rainbows have nothing to hide...I had some gaps in what I could remember but I was shocked by what I had retained. Anyway, this morning I looked up the lyrics and then discovered that Jason Mraz has recorded the song and there's a video on YouTube (everything is on YouTube). Bottom line...even when you know the physics of rainbows, they are awesome to behold. Here's the video.

Politics

Last night I watched some of the Convention. In between speeches I had commentary on and the Queen of TR, who was playing a game on her laptop quipped that it sounded like NPR. She wasn't far off, I had the PBS broadcast on. Lucky for me they taped the Gov. of Massachusetts while they were talking so we went back to him and heard his speech in full. I was impressed, of course, with what he had to say and I wondered what cabinet position he would be offered in an Obama administration. Then I thought about my own family. My grandpop only went to school up to 4th grade and then became a blacksmith apprentice in Italy. He left, alone, as a young teen to come to the U.S. and Canada where he had some family. He neither read nor spoke English. He was in the country illegally but always worked. Having lived in the U.S. and Canada, he eventually met someone and wanted to build a life in the U.S. but the quota of Italians from Italy and Canada was full so he went to Cuba and became a citizen and came back under the Italian quota from Cuba. He married my grandmom continued to work hard as a stone mason, became naturalized as a U.S. citizen, and raised 2 sons including a doctor. One Sunday he took my grandmom for a drive in Princeton, NJ to see the work he was doing near a new school that was being built in the woods by a French order of nuns. They were impressed by the tranquility of the school and wondered what sort of girls would go there. Years later, their baby boy would send his baby girl there. That's the beauty of the American Dream.

As I listened to the speeches last night I couldn't imagine why everyone doesn't like to do the right thing, the things that benefit everyone. Then, this morning, I realized that it's like driving. When you are on a road and see a "lane closed ahead" sign there are two types of drivers. One driver moves over immediately and then lets others in. Sure, the whole process slows but everyone gets where they are going on time and never has to stop. Then there is the other driver. He sees the sign and races down the lane to get ahead of everyone else and then stops traffic while he nudges in. He doesn't really gain but he prevents anyone from getting more than he does. Meanwhile, we all lose because traffic is at a standstill because we had to deal with his antics rather than go slower and alternate and we all win. I think the cooperative driver who ensures we all get to work on time is the Democrat.

The Patron

I was just summoned out to the Circulation Desk because a patron wanted to see me. I went out to find an elderly, African-American gentleman named Karl. He lit up when he saw me so I gave him a big hug and that made me feel great. He said he was at church nearby and felt compelled to stop in just to see me to say hello. I met Karl 7 years ago during the week before I closed on my house. We discussed the weather and he said it would rain on the weekend and I told him I didn't want any rain. He said we needed it but I told him I was moving into my new house on Saturday and rain would mess everything up. Karl said he would, "talk to the Man Upstairs" and hold off the rain. It didn't rain that weekend and he has been one of my old men boyfriends at work ever since. At one point I hadn't seen him for awhile and I started to worry, as I'm sure many do who become attached to older patrons, that I might find him listed in the obituaries. I was on the verge of searching for him when he showed up again, much to my relief. He always makes me happy to see him. I may have mentioned before that patrons either love me or hate me. Today the love is winning.

Facebook

I know I have not posted here in quite some time. I apologize. Things have been very strange in my online world. This blog has been an exception to the rule, but generally, I attempt to maintain my privacy. Not everyone has my personal email address. I don't plaster photographs of myself all over the Internet in a Flickr account. Even the images I use for this blog and my Ask-A-Librarian avatar are not true images. Anyway...I deviated from my usual protective sphere and I now have an active Facebook account. Not to worry, I also use my caricature as my photo there. At each phase in my life, I tend to drop people when I get my new people. I have trouble with object permanence as it relates to me. If I go away, I assume people no longer remember me and I don't maintain contact with them. There have been a few exceptions over the years, but very, very few. But here's Facebook, this explosive social networking tool and people from my past are contacting me with requests to friend me. It is so bizarre! The other bizarre thing is to have people from all stages in my life in the same space. Because of my awkwardness about people remembering me or remembering me favorably, I have not been reaching out but rather accepting invitations. I did, however, contact one of my high school classmates who was on everyone's list but mine so far. It had been weeks and she still hadn't accepted my invitation. I thought, "great, 1986 called, your subscription to Inner-Loser has been renewed." Finally today she friended me. On the one hand, I wouldn't have cared if she had never reached out to me, but having reached out to her, I felt left hanging. So now I feel better. Facebook is a strange place. I'm playing virtual Scrabble with 3 friends from college. The group of 4 of us from college with the most turbulent history interact peacefully there. I do virtual gardening to save the rainforest with past and present LCLS employees, friends from high school and college, and people I used to supervise at Barnes & Noble. There are people who friended me but have never contacted me again even to say hello. It's just WEIRD and yet I can't stay away from it.

There's No Place Like Home

I don't know if others feel this way, but the longer I'm away the happier I am to come home. My trip was successful and interesting...and did I mention long? Two and a half weeks! ALA was fine - no magic bullets to fix our woes, turns out we already are implementing many of the same ideas that other places are. I was glad to find out that certain challenges are universal and are not the result of our actions or inactions. The most amazing thing that occurred at ALA was that I found myself seated at a FOLUSA-ticketed event next to a vendor who was the first cousin of the father of the boy I took to my senior prom in NJ. When I told my mother she reminded me that's why I should always be on my best behavior because you never know who knows your mother!

Las Vegas was awesome. Our suite (remember, Mirage Penthouse) was incredible. We had a doorbell, Do Not Disturb was a lighted sign, the drapes were on automatic switches, there were jets in the tub, and turn down service included orchids. The Cirque du Soleil show, Kà, at MGM was amazing. That show was not my favorite but there were some incredible moments. Cirque excels at taking ordinary activities and making them extraordinary and there was a hand shadow section that I could have watched for hours. We at dinner at New York New York in the Nine Fine Irishmen. I have never encountered an enclosed space that was so loud. The live band must have had nuclear powered instruments. The food and drink was good but the sound was nauseating.

The rest of the California road tour was good. I had a facial in Ojai. I drank complementary chardonnay by the fire in my room at the Seal Cove Inn. San Jose was fun. Disneyland was excellent, but we like ours better. The Grand Californian was gorgeous, same architect as Wilderness and Animal Kingdom Lodges.

Here's the neatest thing that happened in the airport in Houston coming home...I saw a book display that featured Katherine Neville's The Eight and I thought that was weird because the book is 20 years old. Then I noticed a sticker that invited readers to go to the Web site to read excerpts from her new book. Finally a new book, and a sequel to The Eight, even. I said to the Queen of TR that I would give anything to review that book. So I returned to work on Monday with nothing to read at lunch and the back doorbell rang. There was DHL delivering a book to me from Library Journal. I opened the package and it was The Fire by Katherine Neville due out this October and I am the reviewer! I am so excited.

I am unpacked but the house is now a wreck. There's no place like home.

California Here I Come

The trip to California is almost upon me and I am not entirely ready. My packing thus far has been research-based. I have printed out 6 packing list templates from online, referred to 1 I had saved on my computer, and read 3 books about packing luggage. Isn't that enough?! Last night I transferred hair gel into a smaller bottle. Today I will map out my wardrobe for the trip. I leave early Thursday morning. I hate packing.

Some things that I have discovered recently are that blonds do not have more fun, but they buy a boatload of video games! I never bought this many when I was the grape sorbet librarian. Coincidence? No, it's the blonde hair. I have been playing Professor Layton on the DS and that has been really fun and will be the first video game I ever finished. Grand Theft Auto is mighty cool, but as I have told people, I have not yet built up the intestinal fortitude to bludgeon innocents to death. I also am neither stealing cars nor driving recklessly. I have been told that I am really playing Grand Auto and yesterday, I was downgraded to "Auto." It's true. So far the most violent thing I have done has been to punch a street vendor by accident when I meant to ask to purchase a hot dog. Guitar Hero for the DS came out on Sunday. Mine arrived yesterday from Amazon (I love you Jeff Bezos!). So far...I'd say it's harder than you'd think. I played at Toys R Us on Saturday and was surprised. TFM played with mine this morning and he was more jazzed about it than he expected.

Here's an update on my purchase from thesomethingstore.com...I received the Eggling. For those of you who don't click the link, the Eggling is an eggish container for seeds to create my own little garden. I think mine will be flowers. More as that story develops.

Finally, the birthday group went to Char for Smashlers birthday and I ate kangaroo. That was my 10th new restaurant for 2008. I need 12 for my list of 43 Things and I haven't gone to CA yet. I think I'll meet my goal. The kangaroo was tasty. I don't need to eat it again, though.

I hope by the time I get home today elves will have packed my luggage.

Sucker for New Things

My name is __________ and I'm a sucker for new things. I think I should find a meeting to attend. This morning on the way to work while listening to NPR I heard about this Web site that sells something. That's all there is to it, it just sells "something." For $10 you place your order and something arrives but you don't what it will be until you open it. You might get an iPod or a coffee mug. The thrill is in the surprise and shipping is free (I love free shipping). So, of course, I went to the Web site this afternoon. What would you expect such a store's Web site to be? www.somethingstore.com, duh! and I researched it. As everyone who knows me knows, "researched it" means I shopped. It's true, I plunked down my $10 (love PayPal) and gave it a whirl. I will let you know what I get.

In the meantime...my first Kiva people (the Peruvians) have paid off their loan and I had the opportunity to cash out or reinvest. I chose to reinvest in Baku, Azerbaijan in a woman who needed a refrigerator case to display her meat in the butcher shop she runs out of the front of her house. I chose her, in part, because the Star Trek movie "Insurrection" took place in a village called Baku. Socially conscious and geeky, all rolled into one tidy package.

Today I finally reserved the rental car for the ALA/California Adventure. After much deliberation and excruciating evaluation of vehicles to determine which car is large enough to transport all of the luggage needed to accommodate 2 people on such a long trip while balancing fuel efficiency, a decision was reached. What a great summer to choose a scenic motor tour of California. For my Fall vacation I will be dropping twenties out of a hot air balloon all over Idaho. I think it will be cheaper.

No Score and Seven Years Ago

Seven Years ago today I moved into my house. My very own house. They say that time flies when you are having fun. It must be true, although when I mentioned to my mother that my house-aversary was coming up and that it would be seven years, she was surprised and said she would have guessed four. Although I was not officially out of my house until seven years ago, I certainly spent a great deal of time away at school and a couple of years living with my grandmother. I moved out when the time was right. I never felt a need to flee. My mother never missed me when I was away at school until I was on my way home but she really had a hard time when I moved out even though my house is exactly 3 miles away, door to door. I left plenty of dishes, cooking, and decorative items for their use, but she cried and cried when she found my crackers in the cupboard. It's weird what we respond to. My house is nothing like I ever imagined it might be but it seems perfect for me. Maybe in another seven years I'll get some of the projects done that I started right after I moved in.

P.S. The 15th is the 32nd anniversary of my First Holy Communion. I don't know if there is a card for that but I do have an amazon.com wishlist.

Greetings from the Top of the Hill (not over it)

Birthday season has been in full swing and I have had an awesome time. On Sunday I thought I was having lunch at California Pizza Kitchen with a couple of friends but they actually fooled me into entering a Build-A-Bear Workshop where a group of our friends were waiting to surprise me with a Build-A-Bear party. What a hoot! We all built the best animals. The bear body I chose turned out to be a Read bear and part of his proceeds go to First Book. You can choose clothing and accessories to dress your bear or chosen animal friend. Mine has Skechers sneakers, cargo shorts, a surfer shirt, little white socks, and tighty-whities under it all. His name is Chester. Build-A-Bear has a very endearing ceremony for the placement of the bear's heart during the stuffing process. I did not carry a bear around as a child, but I love this bear and I continue to be full of joy. TallFunnyMan (and his wife) participated fully as did Smashler, both of whom were dreading it and both of whom came to enjoy it. ScheduleMaster and Queen of TR also made really cute animals. All of the participants in lunch turned out to be a surprise as well. I'm a very lucky person. I even had Perkins banana cream pie for dessert. When I blew out my candles I only had to wish for the continuing company of those good friends.

Birthday Candles

So the final countdown to 40 has begun. At 3:47 p.m. on Monday I will officially cross the line. I am really looking forward to Tuesday because then I will be "a day over 40" as in "you don't look a day over 40." I have been cracking myself up over that for 3 days. As is my way, I have been feel grateful lately. I have mentioned before that my Grandmom used to tell me I was a, "lucky, lucky girl" and she was right. She had no idea I would always be so.

This week I received packets from Donorschoose.org with feedback from two of the teachers I sponsored. The projects were Kid Friendly Science and starting a middle school violin program. I think I blogged about this organization and the work it does. Teachers apply for grants and people (citizen philanthropists) send money to fulfill all or part of the request. The Web site is neat because you have a portfolio and there are charts and graphs. I have sponsored 7 projects, impacted 277 students, and 1430 hours of learning. The packets I received this week included letters from the teachers, notes and cards from the children in the classes, and photographs of the children using the microscopes and violins. The letters from the kids were totally sweet, of course, and the photos were fun. The schools are classed as 85% poverty so I felt really good. Plus, the Fort Myers Friends sponsor my activities and helping another group balanced things for me, sort of on a global level.

I have already begun receiving birthday presents. How I love amazon.com! Mostly I am receiving video games. How cool is it to be turning 40 and getting video games? Actually, I had determined a while back that I would take 40 as 21+13+6 so the video games cover the 13 and going out with my friends is fine under the 21. A bunch of us all have the Nintendo DS Lite hand-held gaming console and have been playing up a storm. We can play with each other and against each other because they link wirelessly. The other fun thing they can do is called Pictochat, which is a type of wireless chatroom. They work from cubicle to cubicle and all throughout the Reference Workroom. It is AWESOME!!! Life is good.
My Nintendo DS in Crimson and Black

So I feel very fortunate. I have great friends. Better friends, on the whole, than I have ever had, great toys, and am poised to blow out birthday candles wishing more for others than for myself. Lucky, lucky girl.

Next time...news about my ALA and my summer vacation.

The Most Amazing Thing

Every Sunday morning we watch the CBS Sunday Morning Show and see fascinating segments. Yesterday I learned about about a sidewalk chalk artist named, Julian Beever. Many chalk artists can draw pretty pictures or reproduce famous paintings. This guy takes 3-D to another level and makes you believe the impossible and awesome. In the video, things that you think is a prop, is really drawn in chalk (keep that in mind, even the hose and the water). The artist sets up a camera for people to view the drawing through and then posts them to the Internet because he believes that the only way to appreciate them is through a specific perspective. Search for more on YouTube. There are videos showing the process.

It's a Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood

Today is the 40th anniversary of the 1st episode of Mister Rogers' Neighborhood. I loved that show so much. I still do. Every day when the first thing I do at my desk is feed my fish, I think of Mister Rogers. I doubt that his show would launch successfully today because the pace was slow and he did everything so politely, but I sure enjoyed it. He made me feel special, he still does.



Thank you, Mister Rogers. It's you I like.

Words

Words have great power. On "Inside the Actors Studio" James Lipton concludes his interviews with a series of questions, many of which are word-related:
What is your favorite word?
What is your least favorite word?
What turns you on creatively, spiritually or emotionally?
What turns you off?
What is your favorite curse word?
What sound or noise do you love?
What sound or noise do you hate?
What profession other than your own would you like to attempt?
What profession would you not like to do?
If Heaven exists, what would you like to hear God say when you arrive at the Pearly Gates?
Anyway...I have recently encountered a word that may be my new favorite word because I giggle whenever I see it or say it. It's "piggery." I never saw the word before a few days ago on Kiva (yes, my new obsession). I thought it was a made up word so today I looked it up and found out that it is really a place where swine are kept. So I helped a group of women in Uganda buy piglets for their piggery because I can't stop giggling every time I see that word. Piggery...it's funny!

Update

Kiva added businesses and I just got a charcoal seller. YES!

Signs

Like most years, the ringing in of the new year brought with it a new number...however, the implications of 2008 are more interesting than they have been for awhile. Virtually hovering all over the workroom this year are invisible balloons and banners reading, "Lordy, Lordy look who's 40!" ScheduleMaster was the first to cross the decade line. Her birthday was yesterday. I will join her in April and ML will join us in November. My grandmother always said that I would not become myself until I was 35; she had no way of knowing that I would move to Florida and things grow a little quicker here. If I could go back and tell my 20-something self to chill out, I'd gladly take that trip because 33-39 has been a great improvement. I don't know if "40 is the new 30" but I'm digging the way the 30s have ended up. Once I find out how ScheduleMaster's first weekend in the 40s went and if I can get my hands on a Nintendo DS Lite (have I mentioned that new obsession)...then I'll be ready to roll.

Giving - Part 2

This morning I was all set to log into Kiva and find some chickens to buy or a pharmacy to fund or something cool like that. The average Kiva lender has 2.2 loans in his/her portfolio and I only have 2. This one guy (a property tax consultant by day and sax player by night in Chicago) has 94. Anyway...when I logged in, Kiva said there were no businesses to fund. According to a banner running on the Web page the impact this week was: "3.3 hours to fully fund a business, 473 businesses funded, $322,325 loaned, 8208 new lenders, and 341 businesses finished paying back loans." So I took myself over to Donorschoice.org, also on my 43 Things list, which is a site where teachers register project proposals, request funds, and people fund those specific projects. The other day I finished off a proposal that had been on there since May and had 12 days left. I like searching for projects that just need a little bit of money to complete them and then I can swoop in and save them. Today I bought violins in NC, books for an Ancient Civ. class in Chicago, and book storage for a 1st year special ed. teacher in the Bronx. Donorschoice is neat because it maintains an account for you of the number of students and classroom hours you impact, the locations, types of students by economic need, etc. you are helping. Unlike Kiva.org, all donations to Donorschoice are tax deductible. So far I have funded 4 projects and impacted 87 students and 1075 hours of learning.

'Tis Better to Give...

Because it is AWESOME! Here's why...As I mentioned in a past post, I am a Nobel Prize groupie and when Muhammad Yunus won the Peace Prize in 2006 for the economics behind microloans, I was captivated by the concept. The idea is brilliant that small loans to real people can make a real difference in the global economy. So Kiva.org was created a couple of years ago to facilitate microloans around the world directly to the people who need it, whom you choose, through field partners. One does not donate through Kiva, one invests because the loans are repaid and then the investor can reinvest or pull out of the project. I put Kiva on my 43 Things list and last night I registered, not knowing exactly how everything worked. I found I could create a profile, including uploading a photo (I chose my caricature) and a description of what my motivation is for joining Kiva. The portfolio shows where you are invested, % countries, % female owned, and % type of business, etc. Individual businesses show what lenders are invested and then you can click to see their portfolios. Last night Kiva indicated that it was taking 4.2 hours to fund a business. Pretty fast. Right now they are holding individuals to a maximum investment of $25 per business to allow everyone to participate. The field partners show the delinquency rates of their loans so you can decide where to loan. It is amazing that the Tanzania office can have 100% repayment rate while the US has such credit problems and we are sending debt collection letters to library patrons. Last night I helped a group of Peruvian women get the final $25 they needed to get travel money to sell their weavings in the city and some Tanzanians run a restaurant. I wanted to help buy some charcoal in Dar es Salaam, but I didn't click fast enough. Competition is fierce. Maybe next time.

Happy New Year

The New Year has been rung in, all 12 Drummers have drummed, and the Wise Men have arrived. My mother migrates her Kings towards the Holy Family as the Epiphany draws near. If I were to do that in my house, as those of you who know about my collection of Wise Men can imagine, it would look like a scene out of Braveheart. I enjoy my collection of Magi. They make me happy. It also cracks me up that my parents find ways of springing sets of them on me. This year they hid 2 sets during a brief visit.

My holidays were great. I got "Carnival Games" for the Wii and a group of us played that along with board games and "Guitar Hero" on New Year's Eve weekend. We began the gathering at 2:30 p.m. with 75 Jello shots (6 varieties) and wrapped things up around 1:15 a.m. with 21 shots left. Here are some truths: champagne foam does gel and the gold flakes in Goldschlager look awesome in Jello shots, TFM is the king of Guitar Hero, and 10+ hours of playing with friends is much better than working.

I have been working on my list of 43 Things for 2008. I did 51% of last year's list. Erica did not learn to juggle and requested that she be placed back on the list. I have also relisted several others from 2007. New to the list include: use raclette grill by 2/29/08 (or I have to get rid of it), make 4 recipes from my new subscription to Southern Living, read Peaceable Kingdom, dig for shark teeth in Venice, and weed personal bookcase at home. Perhaps I will share more in upcoming posts or in response to reader demand (haha). As always, I invite you to make your own lists and share them with me.

I hope your 2008 is a happy, healthy, and prosperous one.