cleaned up my room today

No real reason I’ve not been blogging. I’ve been reading instead. I read an Ursula K LeGuin novel last week, The Dispossessed, and I loved it. It felt like she’d just read Atlas Shrugged and said, “I could write a way better book about individualism as a political choice than that” and then did. Now [...]

iterations on a theme

I tried to see that Stellet Licht movie at Cinematheque tonight, but I was about a dozen people away from purchasing a ticket when the place sold out. You could so tell that everyone in that line had a relationship with the language of Low German. Most people probably in the “I can understand more [...]

peggian summer

I got a bit sunburnt at the Goldeyes game yesterday but nothing too bad thanks to the expired sunblock Sean picked up and left behind. The fish lost by a bunch but the game was filled with home runs and errors, and some nice work in left field.
Our page quotient at the library has skyrocketed. [...]

there but for the grace of god goes me

I was just going to note this for my links feed over in the sidebar there, but it’s an interesting enough article to respond to a bit here. The Disadvantages of an Elite Education - By William Deresiewicz
An elite education gives you the chance to be rich—which is, after all, what we’re talking about—but it [...]

now to read about a difference engine

At the library yesterday a young woman came up to me while I was shelving and asked if I’d be able to go get some Asians to be quiet. I think she only specified their race so I’d easily be able to see who to shush, but still. Happily, shushing people isn’t my job so [...]

performance confidence

I took a test this morning. For the first time in years. I was out of practice. And hadn’t studied. But it’s not like it matters when the questions are “Name a John Grisham novel.”
The test was to see if I’d be qualified as an Adult Reader’s Advisory/Reference Library Service Assistant, Level 3. (You know [...]

even got to cash out

I didn’t page at all tonight. Just LSAing at the returns desk mostly. I checked in a lot of books and the time went much more slowly than normal. But it was probably a good thing because my legs are killing me from throwing myself around the frisbee field trying to maim friends and acquaintances [...]

the beard lady followed me partway home tonight

A condensed transcript:
Amber is your jacket. You’re very lucky. I had an orange car once from Grease but I shredded it and now I’m just a lawyer making $225 an hour. That must be nice to be rich you and I won’t be but you can’t have anything unless you’re rich and you’re the colour [...]

tranquilizer! happy folkswagon!

That’s what the crazy beard lady was shouting at people on the second floor just before close tonight. Shouting before going on at length how that’s the only holiday she celebrates.
This morning I discovered I’d bought my mom five yellow roses in a neat little vase for Mother’s Day, and then I made her the [...]

overheard complexity

I’m shelving picture books in Children’s and there are two young women with a stroller and a little kid running around/being carried. The non-stroller pusher is obviously pregnant.
Stroller: So you ready for all the diapers and shit again.
Pregnant: Eh, it’s not so bad this time. Jamie’s pretty excited. Not like last time with Marcus. He [...]