BiblioGoddess

Happy Independence Day!

Fri, 04 Jul 2008 15:22:16 GMT

Beautiful image of the day

Tue, 17 Jun 2008 04:09:36 GMT

Congratulations to the happy couple, able to marry about 55 years together!

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Thu, 29 May 2008 02:48:20 GMT

Because I'm a lazy beeotch who can't think of anything unique to say here (which is good, because it means I haven't had much to rant about lately:

I've been engaged in the process of fitting in to my new environ, but here's a range of what's been going on:

* Tristan is in obedience classes to work on his city dog manners. So far we've done loose-leash, heel, and sitting automatically when we stop. He's not a bad pupil, but you can tell he wants to push us and get every inch he can take. Now, we just need to work on the same with Molly.

* Work is going well -- not real stressful at the moment but still mentally stimulating. I like my coworkers, and they seem to think I'm doing OK. I haven't burst into racking sobs in the bathroom yet, so that's a good sign.

* Poor Tristan keeps locking himself in the bathroom. He goes in to drink from the toilet, which is behind the door, and pushes the door shut. I've had to rescue him several times.

* OK, perhaps there is a use for black tinted windows beyond proving what a thug you are and hiding your pipe from prying eyes: The sun here is pretty brutal.

* I bought a new bike -- a Trek "fitness" hybrid. Once I get acclimated to it, I'm going to start riding to work. It's only 2 miles, along a flat paved trail along the river.

* I am coming down with the flu, I think. My skin hurts, and all my joints ache. Plus, at least a couple people at work have been down with it.

* On top of that, I've started clenching my jaws when I sleep again. I bought a mouth guard; now, if I can just use it without gagging.

* Kevin has started his woodworking projects, sort of. He decided that before he could build anything in the house, he needed to create shelving in the garage so he would have room to work. With utilitarian but time-consuming joinery work. This week, he concluded that he should put up drywall to try to insulate the garage from the heat somewhat. I have explained that any projects not completed by the time he starts school will require me to go out and *gasp* purchase shelving.

* Funny story from Kevin: He looks over this morning and notices Molly snuffling around the underside of Tris's tail in his feathering. She comes out bearing -- a stick. Kevin's question: "Wonder if he's packing a gerbil up there too?"

* I signed up for flute lessons yesterday. I want to learn all of the things I missed out on in my crappy middle school program (you know, like basic music theory). I start next week.

* I cannot believe I've been here for 2 months already.

Giggle giggle snort.

Sat, 24 May 2008 16:41:14 GMT

Peep Show

Wed, 19 Mar 2008 00:53:53 GMT

Extreme Home Makeover

Sun, 09 Mar 2008 19:30:37 GMT

For anyone who is a fan of this show, tonight's episode was filmed in my hometown. Here's hoping it doesn't do more to add to the "poor white trash" reputation West Virginia already has. It was filmed in late November/early December last year (I was actually in town visiting at the time), which is really when the state is at its ugliest.

Words you don't hear every day

Sun, 02 Mar 2008 01:03:57 GMT

"I've always wanted to make a souffle with you."

I love Kevin, if he is a little weird sometimes.

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Tue, 26 Feb 2008 03:56:27 GMT

I found out today that I got the job in New Orleans, as a senior medical editor for one of the large health systems in that part of the country. The pay is better than I had anticipated, the bennies are spectacular, and the environment is professional (e.g., I will never be expected to clean up some 3-year-old's vomit there). I'm rather excited, because as I understood it the job was down to two of us when we were required to do an editing test. I guess I won.

Basically, the plan is this: My last day of work will be in three weeks, plus a day or two. On the following Saturday I will depart in the Prius with my clothing, my computer, and my cat. Over the next week I will drive down while the cat is drugged but not tranquilized, stopping for a visit in WV with my parents. A week later I will arrive in New Orleans to stay with Kevin's aunt and uncle in their mother-in-law suite. I'll have an appointment for mandatory drug and TB tests. On the following Monday, assuming I'm clean, I will start work.

While I am still in Maine, Kevin will fly down for 11 days to look at and eventually put a contract on a house. I entrust him with this even though I won't be there because (a) he is incredibly anal about that sort of thing and his standards will exceed mine many times over (I grew up in a trailer -- what the hell do you expect?) and (b) he knows my dealbreakers: only one bathroom, an unsafe neighborhood, and no yard. He will come down with the dogs -- and our stuff via pack-your-own trailer -- when we are scheduled to close on the house.

We went to a new restaurant -- hoity-toity place down the street -- to celebrate this evening with a tasting menu complete with wine. As such, I really can't feel my fingers now, I'll bid you adieu. I'll keep everyone updated as plans progress. In the meantime, those of you who e-mail me might want to get used to using the gmail address, as I'm not sure how much longer the maine.rr.com will be in use.

You know it's Sunday

Sun, 24 Feb 2008 23:41:37 GMT

When the only sounds you hear are Kevin snoring, the washer banging its way through the spin cycle, and Cali yowling after I scootch her off the Sunday Globe for the 5th time in 10 minutes.

For Jane Austen fans

Mon, 21 Jan 2008 02:33:37 GMT

Over the next four months, Masterpiece Theater is running film versions of several Jane Austen novels, including the BBC edition with Colin Firth. I caught last week's presentation of Persuasion, which is probably my favorite Austen work. It was pretty good, but I definitely prefer the Ciaran Hinds/Amanda Root version.

News that surprises me

Wed, 02 Jan 2008 04:45:11 GMT

Kucinich Backs Obama in Iowa

Books #60 and 61

Sat, 29 Dec 2007 03:44:28 GMT

Single White Vampire: Not bad, but not exceptional either.

The Rosewood Casket: I finally got back to the Ballad novels and finished this one. It was pretty good with some interesting twists. As usual, McCrumb makes me homesick and reminds me why I don't live there anymore, at the same time.

Erm, I'm still alive

Sat, 22 Dec 2007 23:32:42 GMT

I haven't posted here in a bit because I've been lazy as of late and haven't been using it for anything other than tracking books read, but I haven't finished a book in ages (or at least one that I hadn't already read).

Tomorrow the spouse and I are heading south to Boston for three days of dog-free pampering ourselves (and gorging on ethnic food that you can't find in Portland). I hope everyone has a very merry Christmas!

Pop culture

Mon, 03 Dec 2007 23:17:55 GMT

If you haven't seen Bobby, you should check it out. A great film.
My spouse bought the first seasons of Saturday Night Live on DVD recently. In addition to seeing folks like Gilda Radner and John Belushi in their prime, it's also great to see little tidbits that I never realized existed. Like the fact that Jim Henson and the Muppets regularly did a skit on the show, involving an alien world somewhat like Fraggle Rock. It's trippy to hear a character with Kermit the Frog's voice making masturbation jokes or talking about having an affair.
For those of you who watch Extreme Makeover: Home Edition, keep an eye out for an upcoming episode in West Virginia. The show was filming while I was visiting last weekend. My brother got to meet Ty Pennington, who was touring the office where he works.

Book #59: Free For All

Sun, 25 Nov 2007 23:11:04 GMT

Meet Exhibit A in why I will never work in a public library again.

Oops

Tue, 20 Nov 2007 03:53:28 GMT

Reason #352 Why I Need a New Job:

I was late for work today because somehow it slipped my mind that on Mondays I have to be at work at 10, as opposed to noon three other days of the week and 11:30 every other Thursday. I woke up at 9:30 (cleaned house yesterday and needed Benadryl to breathe last night) realizing that I in fact was supposed to be at work in 30 minutes. I really need a job that does not require a dayplanner for me to know when I need to be at work.

Book #58: Dexter in the Dark

Tue, 20 Nov 2007 03:09:17 GMT

What happens when a killer loses his mo-jo? Find out here.

So very unproductive

Wed, 14 Nov 2007 03:50:36 GMT

Tomorrow, I'm supposed to lead the monthly book group at work, on a book I haven't read and likely will just flip through tomorrow. (I'm bitter about the vacation time crap I've been through lately, so I am very much not inclined to do any work in my off hours.) I have a German exam on Thursday. Because I don't get home until 8:30, it's unlikely that I'll be able to do much studying after work. And what am I about to do? Take a bath and then sit down to an episode of Dexter.

Books #56-57: Dearest Dexter

Fri, 09 Nov 2007 04:19:55 GMT

More than once, I've wished that we had Showtime instead of HBO, because of the great series featured on that network. I've heard great things about Weeds, and I vaguely recalled the buzz when they started a new program about a serial killer working for the police department. It started an actor who had been in Six Feet Under, which had been one of my favorite shows and about the only thing on television my husband watched other than M*A*S*H reruns and the movie channels. So, when the third book in the series was released, I ordered a copy for my mystery-loving patrons to see how it circulated and since TV exposure always ups attention to the books.

The deliciously demented topic seemed right up my alley, so I picked up the first two books: Darkly Dreaming Dexter and Dearly Devoted Dexter. Also, my parents had a lovely lab-horse mix named Dexter (who got his name from a discussion about the neighborhood perv and a reference to a porn cartoon character). Anyway, both books provide insight into Dexter's inner dialogue as well as the efforts he makes to seem like a normal everyday guy. I'm finding them interesting on many levels: the channeling of dark impulses into something approximating good works, the masks that we all wear at times, the effects of early trauma on children, and so on. Amongst all that is a lot of info about life and politics in Miami and in modern workplaces. Not to mention that the man has some whack taste in print shirts. If you're looking for something darker than Miss Marple but fun and thought provoking at the same time, meet Dexter.

Oh my word

Wed, 24 Oct 2007 02:57:51 GMT

Perusing Craiglist, I just ran across a post in which the writer sounds like she's someone interested in dog bestiality seeking same.

O-:

Books #53-55: Going trashy

Mon, 22 Oct 2007 02:37:31 GMT

I've been lax in writing reviews, so here's the past couple weeks' worth:

Hoot (CD version): I've never read any Hiassen before, though I once tried a book on CD but was foiled by all of the skipping on it. Hoot is technically a YA book, but it hits many of his usual themes: the insanity and corruption of Florida politics, environmental destruction by greedy corporatists, stupid people, all thrown together and stirred with the funny stick.

The Girl's Guide to Witchcraft: I couldn't resist a story of a Georgetown librarian who turned out to be a witch (wonder why?). Though the book is pretty clicheed author Klasky seemed to be really pissed at men at the time she wrote it, this is generally a fun piece of fluff with a few more serious themes (parental abandonment and addiction) thrown in. She gets the DC attitudes right and mention of Calvert Street made me homesick. A sequel just came out within the past month.

Love Is a Many Trousered Thing: The most recent in the Confessions of Georgia Nicolson tales, about a British teenager and her romantic exploits. As usual, it's laugh-out-loud funny, while making me want to sacrifice a cat in thanks that I am no longer a teenager.

BBC: Swearing at work can help reduce stress

Thu, 18 Oct 2007 19:15:47 GMT

No shit.

Ho-Lee Crap

Sat, 13 Oct 2007 04:27:56 GMT

So, a job came open at the university where I most want to work in New Orleans, where Kevin can get into at least one of the law schools and we'll have family close by, in a city in the south where getting pie at 2 a.m. will never be a problem. It's earlier in the process than I'd originally planned to start applying for jobs, but this one is perfect for me. It involves reference, collection development, instruction, liaison work, and Web stuff, in the social sciences. It's at a prestigious school with a gorgeous campus. The library is currently doing some renovation and a shift to electronic resources.

I'm going to explode from the excitement.

Book #52: All Together Dead

Mon, 08 Oct 2007 22:41:45 GMT

Book #7 in the Southern vampire series. This one was much darker in an overall kind of way, but it was a great book for that reason. Everything that happened earlier in the series compounded to contribute to the events here. This was meant to be the final book, although I hear Harris is writing an 8th, perhaps with the intent of dealing with the aftermath of the events here.

Thanks for the happy thoughts

Sat, 06 Oct 2007 19:10:46 GMT

Mr. Goddess's father came home from the hospital yesterday, a week to the day after having people digging around in his head. He'll have to undergo chemo and radiation, but the general prognosis is much better than expected. Meanwhile, Mr. Goddess survived his LSATs and thinks he did well enough that he'll be able to get into most of the schools he's looking at, though he noted that he'd rather go to the "Las Vegas School of Law and Truck Driving" rather than take the test again.

Alrighy then, I have a book sale to get to. My mom and her cousin have been visiting since Wednesday, and this is the first day I've had to myself. (I had to work; they went to Boston with Mr. G.)