best parts of spring

Besides the gorgeous weather and general feelings of happiness that the spring of the year brings the best part is undoubtedly America's pastime. Baseball is by far and away my favorite sport. I've grown up a die hard Cubs baseball fan. I think you can analyze this and determine some deep personality characteristics that this has caused me. However, I still support the lovable losers.. and always will.

meta. game watching, while blogging about game watching!

 This love is something that I have inherited my father. We were always listening to games on the radio around the house and outside. There's something about the sound of Harry Caray or Ron Santo's voice that just does it for me. game over. 

As I've gotten older baseball is a great form of stress relief. I can turn it on.. tune out for a couple of hours or get work done while it's on. It just instantly puts me in relax mode. I've even taken to watching at the gym, which gets a few more hours out of me on the elliptical. Just last week I ended up spending three hours there because the Cubs were on and I got sucked in...

The same thing is happening tonight.. The Cubs are on and where did the time go?

job search blues

I think I've hit a little bump in the road...

confession: It's been exactly a month today and I haven't sent out a single job app. My resume is in a state of disrepair after I reworked it 2 weeks ago. My confidence is shaken.

I really need to get all of this fixed quickly.. and efficiently. I also need to maintain my sanity to get me through these next (final!) two weeks of class. (insert words of encouragement here)

national library week

This week is going to be great. How do I know? Because it is national library week! That means it is time to celebrate your local library and librarians. Tomorrow is when the festivities really kick-off here at the University of Illinois. The Main Library is hosting all kinds of goodies for library worker day, which means I will be thoroughly sugar-buzzed for my virtual desk shifts tomorrow. huzzah!

sicky sick sick sick

At present I am infected. I can't ever remember being this ill in a long time. I have a cough and my chest is so filled up with crap it is a struggle to breathe. My nose keeps running and I feel like I am the most disgusting person in the world.

Don't get near me.

anatomy of a tdl

my tdl today!

I've been writing lists for as long as I can remember. As I've gotten older I have now perfected my list making to a science. I usually make a list for a single day or for an entire week at a time. Depending on what I really need to get done I pepper the list with some gimme items. For me it is important to get the satisfaction of crossing something off! So if I put something easy like: take out cat liter, eat lunch!, or go to the gym... I know that I will get to cross something off. Seeing the scratched through stuff really makes all the difference. It gets the ball rolling an definitely kicks my ass in gear to accomplish the rest of the list.

trash lit

what makes a book good?
what makes a book garbage?
who decides?
If you read twilight, does it make you dumber?
Should I only read best sellers?
What is Oprah reading?
Should I read canon authors?
Is it okay to scowl and laugh at women who read romance?
Can I assume that all sci-fi lovers are nerds?
Who's to tell me what's good and bad?
Can I make my own decision?

blergh

Spring break was great, however coming back from spring break and realizing that I totally screwed myself for this first week back was not so awesome. I made the mistake of hastily reading my assignments for this week and completely overlooking the fact that I needed to read an entire book on book clubs. Usually for my literacy class we just cover about 4-5 journal articles a week and usually I get around to reading/skimming all of them.

scented markers! the joys of grad school.

Normally, this wouldn't be such an inconvenience, but this week also just so happens to be when I am leading the group discussion about one of the articles. My article covers African American women's clubs in the late 19th century. It would be great to be able to compare the book about white women's book clubs to this article, but its been a struggle to get it all read. This is just one of those times I wish I would have taken a speed reading course... or that osmosis worked and I could simply absorb all of the information possible by just putting my head on the book.. I would take either of these.

back to the grind.. literally.

I'm BACK! Vacation was glorious, but now it is back to the library. I'd been gone for almost a whole week, which is the most time I've had off since I started this job back in August. However, I came back to some intense library renovations happening all around me.

One of the library's that I currently work at is closing at the end of the semester. We've all knew the day was coming and have been preparing all sorts of reports and data over the course of the last semester. When I got back though... there were no books! They'd all been transferred out to their future homes. It is the craziest thing seeing all of these shelves without any thing on them.

So there is that, but there is also some intense brick work being done on the exterior of the main building. The structure was built in the 1920s and is definitely showing some signs of wear and tear. Apparently they are removing the grouting and then re-grouting and fixing some of the damage. This requires a large amount of drilling. Today is the day that they are doing it right outside my library. JOY. I've been enduring 3 hours of lovely drilling. Only 3 more to go...

where's the advil?

spring BREAK

This year I am headed down to Naples, FL to partake in some fun times with my amigos. The trip will be my first real spring break adventure. I feel like all of my breaks up until now are usually spent playing catch up. I think this will be a lovely diversion from the job hunt (even though I have already checked, and there IS a computer and internet for me to get some stuff done if need be). I am looking forward to some fun in the sun.. and taking a break from blogging.

see ya'll in a 6 days!

a genius idea.

I smell a new entrepreneurial opportunity. It might be too niche of a market though. 

long weekend

I am still recovering from all of the festivities of my birthday weekend. It was fabulous and filled with family, friends, sausage-making, corned-beef-eating, working out, and planning for Florida. Did I mention that I am going to Florida for part of spring-break next week? Well, I AM! This is my first time having a traditional spring break experience.. I'm going to Naples, which is definitely no Panama City or Daytona.. so I think I won't be too overwhelmed. We shall see!

24 is the new 22.

Today is my birthday... It doesn't get more exciting than turning 24. Actually as I have been reflecting back on these past couple of years I've been feeling like they've been smushed together in one huge blur. I think it has something to do with grad school.

It seems like going to grad school has added on these two extra years of not-quite-college, but still pretty much college life (if that makes sense). It seems like I've gotten a stay of execution, a reprieve from the real world if you will. I've put off getting a job in search of higher education. I am starting to understand more clearly why all of the people in my field are coming back to school or are working on their second, third, or fourth master's degree. It's rough out there. Especially if you're a baby like me.

The topic of my birthday has come up in conversations with my colleagues these past few weeks and I keep getting hit with the same response. "you're so young!" I know, I was born in the late 80s. I think what they are getting at (or what I am interpreting this as) is a remark on my laser like path towards a professional career. In a quarter of a century I will *hopefully* have managed to sorted out what I want to do with the rest of my life. This is quite an accomplishment, one that many of them have not achieved. I don't really know if they pity me or are impressed (for my own sanity, I will probably believe the latter).

Anyway, it's another birthday, another year.

I've created a kitty monster

I posted earlier this week about my kitty sitting duties and there has been a new development. It shouldn't be a secret that I love tv. My best friend is probably my dvr (is it wrong to love an inanimate object?). I watch an inordinate amount of television a week. I never really thought that watching all this television could have any side effects, but alas I've been proven wrong. My habits have obviously rubbed off on my ward. She is enamored with the television and can't stop watching!

Do they have interventions for kitties?

I might have been talked in to reading... romance

My literacy class this semester has spawned a lot of food for thought. It has broadened my horizons about all types of reading and reading practices. This week we talked about Janice Radway's "Reading the Romance." Radway did an entire ethnographic study of the readers of romance. The article was interesting, but it wasn't until we discussed it in class that it really became contextualized for me. My classmates offered up their reasoning for reading romance and what they get out of the books. It seems like Radway's findings and their feelings lined up on the literature being a form of escape. Apparently the texts are easy to read and provide them with a break from their day to day.

I admittedly have never read a romance novel. I don't know what this says about me, but it really doesn't appeal to me. It seems too formulaic and contrived. This being said, I've decided to give it a shot. I think what is really driving this is the possibility that in the future I will have to deal with readers that are interested in this genre. I want to be able to connect or at least help them find a new romance novel. So I am going to bite the bullet and get it done. I will report back...

where I do my best thinking..

the elliptical.. taken creepily from the step machine

Lately I've been all about hitting the gym and hitting it hard. I try to go for at least two hours about 6 days a week. This might seem crazy for someone who has to eat breakfast while doing her hair because she doesn't have any free time, but for some reason I cherish these gym hours. It isn't that I especially like working out all that much (who does?!) or that I feel this is something I should be doing (realistically I should be either: applying for jobs, reading, or sleeping). There is something about having these 2 hours to myself to just zone out that I really love.

I've come to realize that the while on the elliptical or on the treadmill I usually spend time reflecting on my day or what's coming up. It's in these moments that I get the opportunity to catch my breath and actually contemplate what's going on. I don't know how my life would be if I didn't take these minutes to give thought to the issues of the day. I don't get the same kind of opportunity when I am watching tv or playing around on the internet. The gym is the one place where I can actually step away from all that stimulation and internalize my thoughts.

The extra endorphins don't suck either.

kitty sitting

It's no secret I am quite the cat lover. This week I have the pleasure of watching my roommate's new kitty Emy. She's an adorable black/brown ball of energy that has been giving Juniper quite the work out. She loves playing with just about anything.. her latest conquests have been beer bottle caps, my hair, and Juniper's tale. I'm going to have to keep the mice handy. This kitty is high maintenance.

the black beauty, Emy.

It's officially... unofficial.

I don't know if ya'll are familiar but going to a state school has it's perks. One of them is celebrating obscure and totally fabricated holidays by drinking yourself to death. The University of Illinois celebrates Unofficial St. Patrick's Day every spring to the chagrin of the administration. I can't tell you how many emails I have had over the past week preemptively warning me about this celebration (at least 6 different ones). They've been everything from thinly veiled threats (you will be arrested and prosecuted to the fullest) to general warnings (campus gets a little rowdy).

As an undergrad I definitely attended my fair share of these celebrations. Now that I am a graduate student I must be to old for these kinds of raucous celebrations, right?

right. 

March is my favorite month..

It's true. I love March. Not only is it the beginning of spring, but it is also my birthday month! Now there is a whole new reason to love this time of year:

 

It's a month for reading. This poster was created during the Great Depression by the WPA to promote literacy. This selection was a poster that would have been displayed all around the city of Chicago around 1935. I think this is something that we should bring back. What better time is there to pick up something that you've always wanted to read? Do it now and ring in the spring with a great book!

"you have great style..."

Yesterday I got the shock of my life at pub trivia. Someone actually complimented me on my style! This praise came from a colleague I work with at the library. She told me that I always look adorable and very appropriate for the library. This illicited only one reaction from me: laughter.

It isn't that I can't take a compliment, which I believe I can. It's just that this is something that I used to be teased about (and by some of my student assistants I still am!). I have always dressed like a librarian even before I really knew that I wanted to be one. It's all cardigans, horn-rimmed glasses, lots of tights, and sensible shoes. It takes a lot of talent and a great optometrist to keep this look maintained.

Below I have featured some of my signature pieces..

it's all about the glasses. a great pair can be timeless and sexy. 

I am the self-professed cardigan queen. among my favorites are bold and bright colors, like this one in canary yellow.

skinny jeans, enough said.

lastly, you've gotta have some footwear that is practical and stylish

too funny for our own good.

Reading-for-Men

Yesterday I went to the 3rd Sunday Sale in Bloomington, IL (see yesterday's post on procrastination). The sale was actually a bust so I ended up heading over to an antique mall down the road called "The Golden Giraffe." While I was perusing I came across these gems. They are readers designed specifically for men's taste in the late 1950s. They feature one main story and then include excerpts from other titles in the series.

This semester I've been taking a class on Literacy and Readers. In this class we talk a lot about different reading theories and ideas that have been developed over time. One of these that we have tackled is the idea that men don't read fiction. Certain reading scholars think this is because fiction is a female dominated genre. This theory is something I just can't get behind. When I was little I felt like most of the great books I read like 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea, Gulliver's Travels, and The Red Badge of Courage were all written for boys. Another idea that is contended is that reading is a particularly feminine activity. Only girls can read for fun. Boys have better things to do like play sports, roam outside, and nowadays play video games. This seems like a horrible double standard and a theory that devalues reading.

All of these ideas were floating around in my head and then I found these novels. They confirmed for me that this is more than just a theory. This is something that was acted upon and resulted in these novels being published and explicitly called "Reading-for-Men." Today I am not so sure that this set would go over so well. I think books would never be separated in this way. The idea that one gender is disposed to like a certain type of material while the other likes something different is ludicrous.

This topic is something that I could go on and on about, but I think I'm going to save some of it for class...

procrastination is the root of all evil.. and other life lessons

These past couple of weeks have been out of control. I should be lining everything up for the rest of the semester and the rest of my life for that matter. Looking for a job *should* be my number one priority... Instead I find myself: antiquing, watching Downton Abbey, cleaning my apartment, playing with cats, taking on more shifts at work. Essentially, I will do anything other than what I should be doing.

I honestly think that one of my motives for behaving this way is that this semester is my "last hurrah." After this, (granted I graduate...) there will be no more school. I will go from living the dream to making it in the real world. I most likely won't have a schedule that allows me to take two hour naps on Wednesday afternoons and then do all my laundry on Friday mornings. I will be a participant in the rat race. Watching the clock until it strikes 5. The anticipation (or fear) of this new lifestyle has got me reeling. I am taking full advantage while I can.

This same phenomenon occurred just two years ago when I graduated college. My whole last semester was spent putting off doing things for grad school and just reveling in the last days college life. I feel like at that point in my life this was more appropriate behavior. Now, I just find myself feeling like a loser. Even though I am deeply afraid of the future and working at a *real* job, I want that life. I want it very badly.

I guess I should use this as my motivation for the job search...

job search

The culmination of my education and great time in library school is fast approaching. This only really means one thing... I'm on the prowl for a job. watch out world. I'm coming for ya.