Whew. I think I'm reaching my holiday feasting limit. I feel like I'm not going to have to eat for about a month after I go home as it is, and I still have a couple of new year's parties to go to! Help! I'm going to need a plain, light diet for some time to recover this year, I think.... :)

Interesting to see my brother's band, Nothing At All, last night. He is a pretty charismatic performer--one of the more interesting people to watch in his band--and he really gets into the music. I don't listen much to the kind of hard-rock/"alternative"/whatever they're calling it now that he plays, so I'm probably not the best judge, but I thought they were really good. They have a female lead singer who reminded Michael and me a little bit of Gwen Stefani, which makes them stand out a bit in the male-dominated world of hard rock bands. They did a good job, and sounded really good despite the fact that I'm not sure the sound guy did them too many favors (guitars drowning out vocals in places, everything very very loud, etc.). They did ask him to change their levels more than once, but...what can you do. Probably the only thing more irritating than being a sound guy who keeps being told what to do by the band is being a performer who also knows how to do sound and not getting what you want for your show.

Anyway...there was a fair crowd of people there, and Patrick's band was really the only one that got them up moshing/"hardcore dancing"/again whatever they call it now/not that I'm feeling out of touch with youth culture, oh no. He seemed pretty happy when it was over. Hopefully this went well enough to compensate for the bad performance at their last gig. Patrick has been doing a lot of songwriting in the past year or two, and I hope that some of them make it onto their new album.

Strange to think that we'll be flying back to hell in a few days. I don't really feel like I've been here almost 10 days already. Not really looking forward to leaving winter and being back in SoFla, though it will be a bit of a relief to get back to my own apartment. I love my family but I'm not used to living with other people anymore! Plus the freedom of a vehicle is always a bonus.

Ahhh....minus 14 celcius, hoarfrost, and a light snow. I feel great!!!

trying to find some bellydancing shows to go to before we leave...unfortunately it looks like weekday shows at restaurants are sparse. I suppose that's really something I should have anticipated...we'll have to plan to go out the night before we leave, I guess.

Well, here I am in Edmonton, posting from my dad's computer. Dial up connections...whew...forgot how slow they can be! I'm trying to check my hotmail, and it's a sllloooowww process. I'll probably be done writing here before my inbox loads!

We've had a pretty good Christmas. The weather has been neither as cold nor as snowy as we'd hoped--it's only been a few degrees below zero--I haven't had to wear my winter coat once! We spent Christmas Eve on our own this year, instead of the usual visiting with cousins, and then had people over Christmas Day, instead of being on our own, which has made the holiday seem a little different and strange. Boxing Day we were out to see Michael's family, and I was out with friends yesterday. Today we're just hanging out at home. Michael is over, finishing the chess game he and my dad have been conducting over email for the past month or so. Nice to have time just to relax...I always anticipate visits here as being restful, but then between jet lag and running around trying to get to see all my friends enough before I go there's not much down time!

The thing I'm really excited about is going to see my brother's band play at the Sidetrack on Tuesday. They have been touring here and there, and they just got a grant to record a CD this year, which is cool. I've actually never really heard him play, past the annoying electric guitar practice when we were teenagers, so I'm really looking forward to seeing them, and i'm impressed they have a gig at what is a pretty major venue for local music here.

Woo hooo! Getting on a plane to go home tomorrow!! Why do I get the feeling I'm not going to get much done at work today.... :)

Michael and I had a pretty full weekend. We hosted our annual pre-Christmas get-together at my place Saturday night. Ergo, I spent all of Saturday catching up on my housecleaning, which has been sorely neglected this past week or two...it turned out to be a bit smaller of a gathering than we had originally anticipated, but we still had enough guests to make it feel like a party, and we also got to see some people that we hadn't got together with in a while, so it was all good. I made my family's traditional christmas apple cider--cinammon sticks, allspice, cloves, brown sugar, and sliced lemons and oranges simmered in apple juice and served with rum--which went over pretty well.

Sunday Michael and I exchanged Christmas gifts (only time we could devote to it before we left), and as usual, though he always complains that he isn't good at shopping for gifts, the things he got me were great! I have a new set of instructional bellydance DVDs to play with, as well as a couple of good CDs to dance around to. I got Michael a drum to learn to play Middle Eastern rhythms on, as well as an instructional CD, so we can do stuff together. He was also really happy with the tickets to the Panthers-Rangers game that I gave him. Hopefully Messier won't retire before March!

Of course, the big thing this weekend for me was that I made my solo improvised bellydance debut at the holiday performance party my teacher threw at the Chocolate Moose cafe. It went pretty well, I think, probably in part because I had so much else to do and think about this past few weeks that I didn't have much time to get nervous about it. I started out with a slow veil piece--which is my stronger suit, I think--and then a shorter faster section. I finally had a chance to use one of my newer silk veils! I also ended up kind of improvising a duet with one of my teacher's more advanced students for part of one of the open dances, which was neat--it's fun to have a partner to play off of just to see what happens. Of course, I did so much dancing that my back is a little sore today...but it was worth it! Michael took lots of photos--if I have a chance I'll scan some at my parents' over the holidays, and post some links for you.

t minus 4 days and counting...and boy do I need my coffee this morning. I didn't have time to make my usual thermosful before leaving for work today, and considering the amount of sleep I got last night I'm anticipating a day of grumpiness and caffeine withdrawal headaches. Times like this I really wish I could stomach the Folgers crap that is sitting in the workroom across the way. Unfortunately, the watery, bitter, acidic taste of canned coffee that's been sitting open in a cupboard for months (they buy in bulk) just doesn't sit well somehow.

one of my favorite retailers, despair.com, was featured on NPR this morning. Apparently, more people than just me can actually be motivated by demotivational merchandise. Who knew.

Weather has been "colder" in SoFla lately--going down into the 40s and 50s at night, with highs in the 60s during the day. Of course, at this point, that's not that much different than what's going on back home, which pisses me off to no end. I've been looking forward to winter for a couple months now, only to find that when I finally get back up north they're going to be in the middle of a thaw. grumblegrumblegrumble...

with apologies to T.M. Shine...

Typical day in my life this week:

• 4:00 am: neighbor's alarm goes off, dragging me from a deep sleep.
• 4:05 am: beep beep beep....
• 4:10 am: beep beep beep...
• 4:15 am: I'm outside, wandering through my apartment complex, looking for the alarm that has gone off for an hour every day at this time for a week, to the accompaniment of beep beep beep...
• 4:18 am: found the place. Of course no one is home. beep beep beep...
• 4:20 am: I'm back at the house searching for paper, pen and scotch tape. beep beep beep...
• 4:40 am: affix a note on the apartment door. Go home to the sound of beep beep beep...
• 5:00 am: beep beep be--...quiet. FINALLY.
• 5:30 am: still not asleep. Stomach is in queasy knots from tension and lack of sleep.
• 6:00 am: now the rest of the neigborhood starts getting up. beep beep be--. Car starting up. People talking outside my window. beep beep beep beep be--. There's a radio. There's a shower...
• 7:00 am: Well, there's the sunrise...
• 10:48 am: drag myself out of bed, after managing maybe 2 hours more sleep. I have a vague memory of being partially wakened by the phone, but there's no message so I disregard it.
• 11:30 am: phone rings. Again, I disregard it, figuring it's the usual telemarketer or wrong number.
• 12:05 pm: pick up the message from a half hour before. Surprise, it's the one call in a thousand that was actually for me. And both my calls this morning were from work. Guess who was supposed to come in early today? Oops.
• 1:00 pm - 6:45 pm: drag myself, exhausted, through a normal work day, which at this point essentially means babysitting teens after school until their parents deign to pick them up in the evening.
• 6:45 pm: taking a break on the balcony with my immediate supervisor, with whom I have a friendly work relationship. We're bitching about the ineffectiveness of a committee we have to work on.
• 6:46 pm: said supervisor's wife drives by in the parking lot and beckons him to come down. I return to my desk.
• 6:48 pm: said wife is now in my office space. "I want to tell you something, and you are going to listen. You are not going to speak to my husband again."
• 6:49 pm: Maybe you don't understand. I have to talk to him. He's my boss, and we have to work together.
• 6:49:30 pm: "but you are not going to talk to my husband again."
• 6:50 pm: whatever.
• 7:00 pm - 9:00 pm: learn waaaaay more about my supervisor's home life than I ever really wanted to know.
• 10:00 pm: get home, fall into bed, thinking about all the things I have to do but have no energy for. My house is a mess, my dance solo for Sunday unplanned, my Christmas party on Saturday night unprepared for, my sink is full of dishes...but I'm too tired to move.
• 10:30 pm: call Michael, who is still at work, and speculate about who smashed his car's rear window earlier in the week.
• 12 midnight: desperately tired but still can't sleep.
• 1 :00 am: ditto.
• 2:30 am: finally drift off.
• 4:00 am: beep beep beep...

oh well...

But here's the good news:

1. t minus six days and counting till I'm home in Edmonton.
2. Southwest Regional's Adopt-a-Family holiday project was a success. My co organizer and I collected over $400, and we were able to provide 2 toys from each child's wish list, new clothes for each of them, and gift certificates for the grocery store and Bath and Body Works (a store like the Body Shop) for the mother. We had a lot of fun collecting, shopping, and wrapping; hopefully the family will enjoy their gifts.
3. we're finally getting new security at work, to replace the old guy who was totally ineffectual and spent all his time reading the dictionary and compiling lists of people in the library he hated rather than keeping the kids in line.
4. I finally finished my Christmas shopping!
5. Did I mention I'm going home soon???

whew... life is getting busier over here! I'll update the review pages sometime...honest I will...

Breathing a bit easier this week, for the most part--I can get to sleep all right at least, except when my neighbors play their rap music till 4 am :( Anyway, being able to put the sinus medication away for a while is a relief.

My Christmas shopping is finally getting done...though a couple people are proving difficult and, as usual, I'm finding it easier to find gifts for myself than for them! I should just never go into SteinMart at all, I guess, even when I'm shopping for other people. It's the kind of place where you find something for a ridiculously low sale price, and bring it up to the register only to find there's an additional discount today, and, well, faced with such cool stuff, what else can you do? This week I found a sleek black lamb's leather jacket, regularly $290, and I only paid $100!! woo hoo! I've also been shopping for my library's adopted family, which has been fun. We managed to collect quite a lot of money for the project, so we should be able to do pretty well by them, I think.

Michael and I were at a hockey game last night...we usually go see the Oilers when they play, but this year they didn't come down so we had to settle for the Habs. I enjoy watching hockey live much more than on tv, but I must say that it seems like Canadian hockey teams are getting pretty depressing. Florida is not a good team at all, yet they seem to win just about every game against a Canadian team that we go to see. I mean, honestly, what kind of world is it when FLORIDA and DISNEY WORLD beat Canada at it's national sport???? And a WINTER sport at that??? Argh....

My other big news is that I got my hair cut this week. Those of you who've known me for any length of time will understand exactly how much of a loaded statement that is. I haven't been in a salon chair for over 2 years. It's not much different, just missing some split ends and cut in some long layers, but somehow it's still a big deal :)

Hey, that medicine you're taking? Odds are it doesn't work. And little did we know it, but while we were sleeping, some developing nations tried to convince the U.N. to take over the Internet. Isn't life fun?

Back to work this week after a relaxing Thanksgiving vacation. We spent most of the first two days on the beach at Naples and Marco Island, swimming, reading, and collecting seashells. Saturday was cooler--quite chilly for Florida, in fact--but we had already planned to spend that day shopping so we didn't mind. We managed to get a bit of our Christmas shopping done, and I don't think we thought about work once! What a relief! Now, if only I could have the hotel's hot tub in my backyard...

Been busy with holiday planning this week. I decided to volunteer to organize my library's participation in a County Holiday Project, so we arranged to adopt a family with four kids for Christmas. We get to provide each child with two presents, and we're going to include a Publix gift certificate for the mom as well. Morale has been a little low at work lately--we've been shortstaffed for a while now, as well as dealing with various policy changes and edicts that seem designed to make our work lives harder--so I thought that this project might be one way to raise people's spirits a bit as well as doing something good for the community.

Life has been harder on other fronts lately, as I'm still battling what now seems to be chronic sinus problems rather than allergies. Without decongestants, I can't breathe through my nose at all, and experience a lot of discomfort from sinus pressure/swelling as well. So, in the short term at least, I have a choice between dealing with constant unbearable symptoms, or drugging myself up with OTC products 24 hours a day. Boy is my doctor going to get an earful when I finally get to his office in January!

Well, thank goodness for that.

3 more hours and Michael and I will be on the road to Naples. Can't wait to get away and not have to think about work for a while. Just going to read by the pool, walk on the beach, and shop for Christmas gifts in the historic district. We had a few invitations for Thanksgiving dinner, but I can't really get into it this late in the year. Thanksgiving for me should be a three-day holiday in October, not a four-day one in November. Oh well...I'm certainly not going to complain about the extra weekend off! Though if one more person asks me if we have Thanksgiving in Canada...sigh...the "what do Canadians have to be thankful for?" question ranks right up there with "does Canada celebrate the Fourth of July?"

And yes, I've been asked both, at various times, by people ostensibly smart enough to know better.

Ugh. A barely tolerable day today, after not being able to sleep all last night. My allergy symptoms decided to flare up in a massive way last night, with the end result being that I couldn't breathe through my nose at all for most of the night. Gave up around 2:30 am and took some Claritin, which then proceeded to keep me awake for the rest of the morning without making a measurable difference in how I felt. I seem to remember having similar problems around this time last year...though sinus congestion is now a year-round thing for me, and the only allergy my dr's tests can find is household dust. Right.

On the bright side, our new security guard started today. Or, rather, the guard who is filling in for the guard we hired, who happens to be on vacation right now, started today. All of us are now gleefully rubbing our hands together picturing the snot-nosed teenage regulars that make our lives miserable getting the boot from someone in uniform. And, I had a pretty relaxing weekend. Myriam's monthly bellydance party was this past Sunday, and since I got my mehndi supplies from Castle Art & Import earlier in the week, Michael and I got to play around with that as well. I did a design on my palm that stained really well, especially considering that the paste was only on for about 3 hours! The ones on Michael's arm and my back are not as dark, but that's to be expected given the different skin texture, I suppose. Didn't do the best work with my palm design, but it's not too bad considering this is the first time I've done any mehndi in 2-3 years! Maybe someday I'll be this good....

This is too weird.

So, art meets life in strange ways. First, this poor guy at The Onion had his mom find out about his blog. Next, a Microsoft employee gets fired for posting innocuous-seeming information about work. However, if you're worried about getting caught blogging by your boss, you can always check out the web fire escape :)

Good news at work this week, as CTC staff learn that we can *finally* limit the use of the only terminals in the building that have Office products to no games. Normal people would think that it wasn't all that strange to have library computers reserved for library work like looking up books, using databases, and typing assignments or resumes. But, here in Broward County, the norm is to have fifty terminals tied up by kids playing Age of Empires or giggling in chat rooms while the lineup at the reference desk of people who need to know where the books are stretches out the door. Does this make sense? Well, no. Is it typical Broward County decision-making? Well...

Anyway, the good news is we can start clamping down on what I still insist on believing is misuse of library resources, if only in a small way. Between that and the security guard we're getting back after a disasterous first term, perhaps the hours between 2 and 5 will seem like less of a zoo. Maybe reference desk staff will even be able to hear the patrons who call in on the phone! Am I asking for too much?

It had to happen sometime, I guess...darcysworld is now officially listed in google. Still doesn't come up in the early listings if you just type my name, though, which is good. Searching on my first name brings up some...interesting...selections. Like Dame Darcy. Or the Darcy School in New Jersey, that aims "to promote intellectual and emotional intelligence of the highest quality for children of all abilities by creating a nurturing environment that celebrates and values each child as a unique learner filled with extraordinary potential." Not to be confused with the Jim Darcy School, of course, which "believe[s] each student belongs and has a right to be safe,respected, and successful ... [and] create[s] a caring place where students maximize their unique talents and capabilities on a life-long learning journey." Darcy Hordichuk plays for the Florida Panthers...who knew?

You can get your daily dose of culture from the D'Arcy Museum of Art. If your tastes are more lowbrow, check out the movies of Darcy Demoss, who "has spent much of her time becoming your quintessential B-movie actress, her roles include getting killed, beat up, and/or naked." Even seedier than that, I suppose, is darcy-escort.co.uk, which is for those 18 and older and which I don't dare open at work.

And before you leave, don't forget to pick up your pollution control equipments and absorbents from Darcy Products--"The most comprehensive range of equipments to enable you to avoid incidents likely to result in prosecution"!!

So I'm having these recurring dreams in which I am about to participate in a bellydance performance, but I've forgotten my costume, I'm struggling to get it on properly as my musical cue comes up, or I can't find a place to change in time to go on. I know I agreed to do a small solo at our performance party in late December, but could I really be working out nerves so soon? what's up with that?

Read in the news today that Michael Jackson wants to adopt more children. A lot more children. Am I the only one scared by this prospect?

well, back to work. Thanks to the midweek paid holiday, I'm a little bit thrown off schedule...like I have no feeling for what day it is. Weird...

Went to my zill workshop this weekend but unfortunately it was too basic for me to learn much. I seem to be in a bit of an awkward phase with my dance classes now. Due to my former dance and music experience, I don't have a problem learning choreography or zill patterns. But those are the points that my classmates all have the most trouble with. So we end up going over and over things that I already know, instead of doing the things that I need to do, like work on isolations and technique. It's not that I'm a more advanced dancer than the others in class...I just need different things and I'm not getting them. Trying to find another class to supplement what i've got, but everything is either on days that i work or waaaaay down in Miami. Sigh...

Irrational Patron Incident today. A woman was in the lab, with a noisy baby. Somehow one of our staff member's request to keep the child quieter or take him out of the lab was interpreted as her and her child being kicked out of the library. So after her very long-winded complaint I now know all about her lovely, just-divorced, used-to-work-in-library-tech-services, non-functional-home-DSL life. Oh, did I mention how much of today was spent discussing the incident and writing up reports, seeing as how she threatened to write one of our senior administrators?

And just don't get me started on the daily after-school antics of our 500 Charter High School freshmen...hello, my name is Darcy, and yes, I got a Masters degree so I could yell at other people's teenagers all day. Oh, and do the cleaning crew's work, because the new contract says they "can't do" a bunch of things...like clean the lab computers. Tell me again why I prefer academic work?

Doesn't this say it all...

Been back to work this week after a thoroughly unexciting weekday off spent housecleaning. I love living alone, I really do, but the downside is there is no one to help me with the chores, so I get to spend most of my time off doing them. And, one can't even really sit back and enjoy the fruits of one's labour, because the reward for cleaning is just starting all over again...argh...it would almost be enough to make me consider doing the normal South Florida thing and hire a cleaning service now and then, except I know all about the standards of "clean" those companies adhere to, and they are not anything close to mine. Oh well....

Four more days till my zill workshop!

This is ridiculous.

whew...feeling a wee bit slow on the uptake today. Michael and I hosted a Halloween party with friends last night; we got in late and then he had to get up early to go to the airport. Of course, I woke up when his alarm went off and had trouble getting back to sleep...and I had to be at work myself at 9am! Ack! Well, the party went well anyway. We ended up putting a lot of work into it, making food, creating costume contest prizes, assembling treat bags, and covering the house in decorations. Now I just have to live through working all weekend...

Hal Niedzvieki may stir some controversy with his article of a few days ago, but I think he has a point here.

One of the big stories here lately is the saga of Terry Schiavo. She has been in a vegetative coma for years, and her husband has been fighting her family in court for the right to take her off life support. He won his latest court challenge, only to have good old Jeb Bush step in and, courtesy of the Florida legislature, order her feeding tubes reinserted. So, I decided that the best way to celebrate Samhain this year is to write a living will . Just for the informal record: anyone who dares keep me in such a condition is acting against my wishes, and yes, I will come back to haunt you.

So...Michael and I were at a friend's wedding this weekend. Interesting how the (seemingly) American tendency to micromanage one's life can extend even to celebrations. This is the second wedding we've attended down here, and both times, the couple has hired a DJ/MC to "manage" the wedding reception. So instead of being able to just relax, hang out, and dance, you have to deal with all these mandatory games (hokey pokey, chicken dance, kick lines to New York, New York, line dance lessons), exhortations for everyone to "get up on the dance floor now--this is for good luck for the bride and groom!!!!!", and so forth. Not that we didn't have a good time, and not that the notable absence of hours of speeches is not greatly appreciated, but it feels a little weird to be shepherded through a party rather than just allowing it to happen!

What else is going on otherwise...I have, whether foolishly or not, said I would dance a solo at December's Bellydance Performance Party. I feel okay about it right now, but I'm sure I'll feel not so okay as the time draws nearer!

Here are some librarian blogs for you to peruse...

• the pod bay door
• Male Librarian Centerfold
• the ShanMonster*
• Library Avengers
• HeSaidSheSaid

Who knew there were so many librarians blogging?

(*note created 18 November--somehow got linked to ShanMonster's site thinking she it was a librarian site...but it's not. Check it out anyway, at shanmonster.com.)

Well...another chapter in the continuing Royal Saga...

A witch in Norway has been granted state subsidies--on the condition that she doesn't do any "harmful spells." Guess the Norwegian government has never heard of the threefold law.

Don't you think the American hegemony thing is going a bit to far when people in other countries start taking their kids in for surgery on their tongues in an attempt to get rid of their accents? I'm with the professor of adolescent psychiatry quoted in this one: what the heck is the matter with accented English anyway?

Hey, I keep on forgetting to tell you--I have an Amazon wish list now.

Okay, so who couldn't see that this was a PR disaster waiting to happen??

Found a link to Spider Johnson's Globe & Mail about the decline of SF on my friend Randy's blog, the pod bay door. Thanks Randy!

Back at work after a hectic but enjoyable weekend. The dinner-and-performance on Friday night was really fun--a mixed bag of talent and style-wise but lots of good dancing and good food. The Indian buffet could have used more spice in my opinion, but was still very enjoyable. I even tried the goat curry and the bean dishes, believe it or not, and they were all very tasty! My friend Diana danced a fusion Indian-bellydance duet, to live sitar music, which was in my opinion one of the two best numbers in the show.

Ended up cooking all day Saturday for my dinner party, of course, but we had a good time and had enough leftovers for a day or two afterwards so it was worth it. I made curried squash and mushroom soup, salad with balsamic vinagrette, and galettes with a leek and goat cheese filling and asparagus on the side. I wasn't sure the main course was going to turn out, actually, because the crust for the pastries had enough butter in it it was almost like a shortbread, and I was afraid there was something wrong with the recipe. But luckily, I was worrying unnecessarily.

Sunday was Myriam's performance party. Wish she would just call them Haflas, but then I guess a lot of people wouldn't know what they were...there was a guest musician in from Boston, who plays drum and clarinet. My classmates did a good job with their solos, and I got to get up during the free dances, which was fun. Interesting moment: there was a male dancer there with Myriam and Joe, who got up during the last free dance, and we ended up doing a sort of impromptu duet for most of the set. He's a really good dancer; I was just mirroring him for the most part, but it was really fun to dance with someone like that. Myriam told me afterwards that she had told him that she would dance a duet with him at some point during the party so I ended up being her "substitute", which in itself is somewhat of an ego boost!

Is it just me, or are there so many things wrong with this article that it isn't even funny? Must be the shoddiest, most assumption-ridden piece of reporting I've ever seen...and this comes from someone who reads the The Weekly World News for fun!

So, Ah-nold won the California Recall. Surprise surprise. I was pulling for the porn star from Florida, personally...oh well!

Life is pretty same-old over here right now, but I've got a busy weekend coming up. On Friday night, I'm going to a dinner-and-bellydance performance that a friend of mine is dancing in; it's supposed to be Indian food and some Indian-influenced dancing, which should be interesting. Saturday, I'm having some friends over for dinner, so the day will be spent in frantic housecleaning and cooking. Sunday is Myriam's monthly bellydance performance party, at which a few people from my class are doing solos. Myriam is bugging me to do one this month, too...I keep on putting it off for the next party, and keep on chickening out...sooner or later I guess I'll get my courage up.

Okay. Isn't this taking that whole national security thing a bit too far?

Whew! Long time no blog...

Hope the comment feature is up again by now. Apparently there was some sort of virus attack on the service, either fixed now or in the process of being fixed.

News over here....let's see....finally got out to the beach last weekend, for the first time in ages. Water is starting to cool a bit, so it's more bearable even with the hot sun. I'm starting to check the job ads again, but there's not much to apply for. It's either paraprofessional jobs I'm overqualified for, or directorships and specialized positions that I'm underqualified for. What can you do, except to keep looking?

Oh, and Happy Birthday to my brother!

Want an RSS primer written for a non-technical audience? Check here.

Then surf over to this site to find out why librarians are just too darn hot.

hmmmm....so where can I get a copy of this deck?

Poor Encyclopedia Brown...

So, how do I feel about being a blight on the republic, part of a profession that should be exterminated right after we "kill all the lawyers? Not sure how to answer that...but then as I'm a librarian, I am, by definition, a thoughtless and unreconstructed leftist. Right, Rich?

Harold Bloom is upset that the National Book Foundation's annual award for distinguished contribution went to Stephen King.

Oh, it's official, by the way. I didn't get the job in Saskatoon. Not that that was unexpected. Back to the search, I guess.

Okay, the car has been back in and belts have been adjusted, so she's finally running without any noise. What an ordeal. I am so glad that tomorrow I finally have a day off. I swear I'm not going to do anything but laze around and watch movies! Finally, a day that I don't have to get up early to call anyone, or take my car in, or run errands...finally...

Still no word...

You know, this is one of the few times in my life that all signs unequivocably pointed towards a specific outcome. The yearly Tarot reading I always do on my birthday indicated a new beginning in the physical realm (jobs, money, etc.) this month. Even my fortune cookies have been consistent, saying I was going to move, that I would be successful in a new project, and even, yesterday, that a phone call would lift a burden. Yet, despite all this good news, I still don't be seeming to get the job. One would think something like this would cure superstition...but probably not.

In other news, I took my car in for servicing yesterday and ended up spending over six hundred dollars to get the brakes and the drive belts fixed along with my regular maintenance. They also cleaned the leaves out of my a/c fan, and now, of course, the fan is making squeaking/chirruping noises sometimes when the car idles, so I'm going to have to take it back again. I love my car, I really do, but having to dump this much money into routine maintenance really hurts!

I knew those Olsen twins were evil...

University of Saskatchewan Library Search Committee met yesterday. I'm still waiting to hear. Every time the phone rings, my stomach clenches with anticipation...and every time, it's a hangup or someone for the fugitive Nadine. Well, a few days more will tell the tale...in the meantime, I'm trying not to think about engaging, meaningful work, the Nitotem coffee house, and the feel of autumn wind on my face.

So Dubya finally tells us that there's no Iraq-9/11 links. Surprise! Somehow all these hypocritical "well, we can see how people might think that...but we never actually said it" statements make me ill.

Are they sure these ROUSs are extinct? I think I lived with them....

So, the Bolshoi Ballet has fired this woman because she's....wait for it....too fat.

Whatever.

Ashcroft mocks librarians for opposing the so-called "Patriot" Act. Too bad his spokesperson couldn't even get the name of our association right. But luck is on our side, because we're not totally stupid...just "somewhat duped."

Would you like placebo with that?

Well, in an amazing act of hubris, I've added a comments feature to this site, in case anyone wants to leave a comment on any of the entries. Powered by BlogSpeak, which, like all good things in life, is free. Thanks to Randy for the idea...

So, the WTO talks have broken down. Isn't that a crying shame? So, so sad. Because I was such a fan...

So how'd you like an open source desktop?

Are any of the tomes on the Terrorist Reading List on your nightstand? Better watch out...

Well....back from Saskatoon. The interview was strange. I'm still not really sure how I did. Not so many questions about my job, skills, history, and abilities...and not so much information offered on exactly how the position works. Plus, there was no break from the grilling at any point during the day. The "informal coffee breaks" consisted of sitting in a formal boardroom atmostphere with whatever library staff could come shooting questions at me to answer for the whole room. And I even ended up fielding questions through lunch. At the end of the day, the library director did tell me I'd done a good interview, and did comment in particular on the quality of my presentation's visual aides and delivery, but who knows how much that counts for, or how I stack up in general against the other three candidiates. Overall, I left with the feeling that I'd done an interview for position at a much higher level than this one was described as, and that I hadn't been totally successful at it.

I also began to wish that I'd never brought up virtual reference, because there was so much focus on that, to the point that at times it seemed they wanted me to speak as a representative for the software or a defender of the service itself to the exclusion of other things. That's only part of my experience, and only part of what I can do. And my resume makes clear that I'm involved in providing frontline service rather than resolving technical issues, evaluating competitors' products, etc. Maybe it's just a "hot button" issue there, but ...

And, of course, much of my perception of the day stem from the fact that I learned early on that the person who has temporarily been filling the position is also an applicant for it. The director was adamant that no preference was being shown to her, and that they were giving all interviewees a level playing field, but it's obvious that she would have the advantage over me or any other applicant. She was already chosen as the best candidate once. She has first-hand knowledge of who the students are and how the position works. She already knows the people on the search committee and the librarians on staff. She probably went in having a good idea of what they wanted to hear, points to particularly hit on, and so forth. It's hard not to believe that the search process was really over before it was begun despite the fact that they took the trouble to fly me up for interview.

The search committee reconvenes to make a recommendation for hire on Wednesday. Apparently, if I've heard nothing by the middle of next week, that's an indication I am not the recommended party.

The hardest part of this whole thing is having been in Saskatoon again, going through old stomping grounds with family and new areas with the city tour the librarians gave us, and being able to see how great it would be to be there again. I can see the coffee shops I'd hang out in, the places I could take yoga, the parks I could go to when my brain needs clearing, the river valley walks I could take. And that makes the thought that this whole thing is probably predetermined hurt. These reminders of how much I want to get out of Broward, and into a place that suits me better, get harder to endure with every trip out of the county. Yet if I am job hunting, and no one is biting, what can I do?

I'm telling myself that at the least I will have gained experience with how these types of interviews work, so next time I can prepare differently and do better. And U of S will have other positions opening in the next few years, so it's not even like this is the only opportunity I would ever have to go there. Just going to be waiting on tenterhooks for the next week or so, I guess.

Whew ... hectic week. Still working away on preparing for my interview--seems no matter how early you start, there's always that rush to finish at the end. I'm freaking myself out worrying that I'm going to finish and then find out it's too short, or that I'm going to end up not saying what they wanted to hear, etc. etc. etc. See how fun it is to be a worrier?

On top of that, weird things floating around at work. Entire departments getting called on the carpet for one person's mistake. The rumor mill working overtime. I ask a clarification question on policy only to find myself branded as part of a conspiracy to undermine authority. Anonymous notes left on my desk for no apparent reason about how the greater part of our happiness or misery depends on our dispositions rather than our circumstances. Whatever. Don't feel like I've been so negative that I need anonymous little messages to "cheer up"; didn't think that clarifying policy was a challenge to authority. Not that I'm not of the opinion that respectfully questioning or disagreeing with authority is always a bad thing, either. Just might have to wear that one as a badge of honor rather than a reprimand ... :)

I got the silk veils I ordered within a week--they are gorgeous, and I'm having a lot of fun playing with them. If I ever manage to get dancing pictures taken, I'll do some with them and then put links up. I was finally in town to go to Myriam's monthly Bellydance Performance Party--it was packed this time, mostly because a local flamenco teacher and some of her students came to perform. I went with Michael, another woman from my class, and her family, and we had a lot of fun. Still thinking of signing up to solo in September, but to be honest I'm still not sure I can get my courage up. I'm so not good at improvising ... we'll see.

Last big of news is that Michael and I had our annual Sugar Party at his place last night. We were afraid that not very many people would show up, but we ended up with a full house! I finally got to see a lot of people that I'd lost touch with recently, the rain held off for once, and I'm pretty sure a good time was had by all. We have so much candy left over we won't have to worry about Hallowe'en, that's for sure!

Okay, today makes it official: I am an eBay Bellydance Whore. I sometimes wish that I'd never discovered eBay shopping....but then if I had, I guess I wouldn't have found so many cool things for so little money, would I? Latest purchase: hand-dyed silk veils (so evocatively named Fire Flight and Sea Hummingbird). I was talking to a friend who just got herself one silk veil, for more than I paid for both of these...see how this can get addictive? Don't know how long the links above will last, so look at them before they're gone!

So, what do you think: is the internet over?

Here's an interesting article you should read from the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette.

Life around here has been chaos lately. Computer worm and virus infections, multiple power outages closing down the library, overbooked schedules, and the usual problems with being treated like shit by every office and organization I have to contact with routine requests. I don't know if this is a South Florida problem, or an American problem generally, but people down here tend to treat you like you're an unwanted interruption to their work day, instead of the reason that they are in business for the first place. If I could just make one phone call without being placed on hold midsentence, constantly interrupted, or otherwise treated with total disrespect, it would be a miracle. If people could do the simple, basic, no-brainer tasks that comprise their jobs without having to be hounded for days it would be even *more* miraculous. In Broward County, however, that seems too much to ask.

I've been gathering research for my presentation at USask...hopefully it will go well and I won't look like a total idiot! I decided to focus on two major trends--consortia/partnerships between universities and other types of libraries, and online reference delivery growing increasingly interactive. Fortunately, I just happen to have experience in both areas as part of my jobs here, so I won't be talking totally theoretically.

Sorry for the infrequent updates lately. I never should have said anything about not having much to do--now I'm running around frantically trying to gather research and informational materials for my interview presentation, plus put together a couple more classes and training sessions for other staff at work. Ack!

Interesting health care report on NPR early this afternoon. Apparently the United States, with it's private health care system, spends 31% of health care money on administrative paperwork. Compare this to Canada, with it's public system, which only sees 17% of health expenditures go to paperwork. The culprit? Your good old HMO. Now, repeate after me: government-run health care for the people is bloated, bureaucratic, inefficient, and communist. Government-run health care for the people is bloated, bureacratic, inefficient, and communist. Government-run health care....

Whatever.

Tired today. Sooooo tired. Someday I will learn that it's really not a good idea to stay up until 2am reading when I have to go to work the next day. But that day is not today.

My interview with the University of Saskatchewan is set for September 12. A full day of meeting library staff and administration, going for lunch, fielding questions, making a presentation on trends in library distance services, and so forth. I'm a little nervous on the presentation, so I guess I'd better start digging into Library Literature. Thank goodness we still have access through NSU...otherwise researching would be a little more difficult.

Put out a couple of other applications to Ontario this week, too. Cross those fingers for me, okay?

Did you know that there's a Harry Potter Automatic News Aggregator?

Sorry, it's been a little while. Mostly due to computer problems caused by the RPC hole. Isn't technology fun? Hope everyone's got the patch by now.

I got some big news this evening. I got home to find a message on my answering machine....and it was about one of my job applications! The University of Saskatchewan is requesting an interview! I'm trying not to get my hopes up too high, but I would love to get this position, which fits my qualifications perfectly and looks both challenging and exciting. Anyone reading this can send some good luck thoughwaves down south...

Remember the six degrees of separation theory? Well, apparently it works for the online world, too. Neat, huh?

I know there's not been much info here lately, but, frankly, my life hasn't been all that interesting. We are going through an air condidtioning crisis at work, which means fluctuating indoor temperatures and periodic building closures. I got back to my bellydance class this week; we are doing some cane dancing, which is neat, even if it does feel part-cheerleader/part-Fred Austaire at times. Other than that...pretty uneventful. So why bore you with details? :)

Still think filters are an easy, failsafe solution? Read this.

Guess what everyone! Survey says that Almost 75% of Americans believe that people should be allowed to express unpopular opinions. There now, doesn't that make you feel much better?

Times are tough all over, it seems. It wasn't that long ago that New York Public Librarians were celebrating a pay raise that got them closer to being able to live on their salaries. Now they are facing massive budget cuts. "Especially hard hit have been literacy programs, instruction for those who do not speak English and services for the disabled." Ugh.

You should read this article on Libraries, Books, and Academic Freedom.

Well, I did try to post here before I left on vacation last week, really I did. But Blogger was down, and I was headed for a blissfully technology-free week, so what can you do? Sorry to all my legions of fans for leaving you darcysworld deprived for so long :)

Michael and I just got back from a trip to Spokane, Washington. Overall, it was a relaxing trip. We visited Lake Couer d'Alene a couple of times, went kayaking once, drove out to the Bowl and Pitcher in Riverside State Park, and managed to just take things a little slower. Of course, spending time away from Florida is a little difficult for both of us, as each time we leave it gets harder to come back. I'm really hoping something will come through job-wise up north soon, before we both go insane.

Speaking of which ... my ego took a bit of a blow today when I saw that one of the jobs I'd applied for in Ontario has be re-opened. I'm not quite sure what the etiquette is on re-applying for a job you've been rejected for once, but I figure they can only say no again, so I'm going to craft another cover letter and try again. I'm also going to break my Canada-only rule and send in an application to Oregon State, where there are multiple positions open.

Here's a rather thought-provoking Harry Potter story from the Boston Phoenix, picked up from the L.A.C.K. newsblog.

Before I went on my trip last week, I had the pleasure of attending a masterclass held by Anahid Sofian. We spent the morning on Turkish-style movesto the Chefitelli rhythm, and the afternoon dancing with veils. The day went by really quickly, and it was a lot of fun, even if a few of my muscles did protest a bit afterwards! Anahid herself was a little unexpected--this tiny little lady that looks like someone's grandmother yet could shimmy, undulate, and spin the rest of us into the ground! She's definitely an expert. The Turkish style she was teaching us is quite different from the things I usually do in class--much more uptempo and "bouncy," for lack of a better word.

That's all you get for now. I'm still jet-lagged and needing to unpack and buy groceries!

So.....Google's not perfect. Who knew?

If you'd like an ironic web experience, click on over to From Thinkers to Clickers: The World Wide Web and the Transformation of the Essence of Being Human. Don't tell them I sent you.

Well, I was already having a really depressing day before I read this article on MSNBC. Hunting for Bambi is likely a hoax promoting a pornographic video, but the fact that anyone would be interesting in purchasing it, or in booking one of these "hunts" like many people have reportedly tried to do, is in my mind a really pathetic statement about the state of our supposedly "enlightened" society.

Haven't posted much about my life lately but that's mainly because so much of it seems so blah. I really don't know what's up with me lately. I'm feeling tired and full of ennui all the time, with no energy to to much of anything, even activities I enjoy. I have little to work on at the library, but I feel constantly burnt out, and my days off don't seem provide any relief. I'm also making really embarrassing slipups like forgetting about doctor's appointments and other meetings. Today, for example, I was registered to go to a SEFLIN technology conference, and I totally forgot about it until I was heading out the door for my usual evening shift at the library. I don't think my supervisors are going to make too big a deal about it, but it's not too good for the professional reputation, and it's not the first time lately I've forgotten changes to my schedule--just the most obvious one. It's almost getting to the point where if someone doesn't call and remind me of what I have to do, I forget. Don't know what's going on in my brain, but I wish this fog would lift already...

Noted on lisnews: Barbara Ehrenreich's Nickeled and Dimed: on (not) getting by in America is being attacked by North Caroline Senators as "intellectual pornography." Whatever.

I think everyone using IE should try the Beta version of the Google Toolbar, which actually blocks popup advertising windows.

Hey, guess what? Librarian Avengers is back! Surf over and check out the reasons why you should fall to your knees and worship a librarian.

Does the world really need a librarian action figure?

Well, well, well. Seems that A.S. Byatt has actually had the temerity to question the reasons grownups read Harry Potter, as well as the series' literary merits. Really now. How dare she question the growing infantile/regressive aspect to modern adult culture? Personally, though I have read and enjoyed the Harry Potter series myself, I found Byatt's well-written article to be a good criticism, accurate on many points, and quite relevant to a society where grown men and women vacation at Disney, furnish their entire home with Hello Kitty merchandise, and play with Lego. Not everyone agrees, of course, including Charles Taylor at salon.com (my apologies if you have to sit through the adverts to get to the full article).

This seems to be the day for coming across references to weird body modifications. First, msn has an article about people who are voluntary amputees, then I find the book Pagan Fleshworks, then a link to the not-for-the-squeamish Body Modification ezine, complete with articles and photos for everything to tattoos to tongue splitting to urethra displacement. Is it just me or are subcultures getting weirder all the time?

Yet more articles on CIPA and internet filters. Pierre Tristam of the news-journal online feels they insult his intelligence. Mary Gooding found that her anti-filter articles were themselves blocked by the software. Aren't we glad we have the goverment to protect us from these things?

Meanwhile, msn's career section has an article on what to wear for an interview that I find mostly ludicrous. I'm going to lose out on a job because I dared wear an outfit I bought last year, or, heaven forfend, and ankle bracelet?? Brown is a "suspect colour" for business purposes??? Whatever....

I'm glad to report that, after a totally demoralizing dance class last week, this week's class was much better. We were still having to improvise, with veils and zills simultaneously, all the while giving our instructor "structured" dancing, but the music was easier to dance to and I didn't look like quite such an idiot. I have to admit that after last week's class I was so embarrassed that I was actually reluctant to go back yesterday. However, now I'm glad I did. Our instructor is still bugging all of us to sign up to dance solos at their monthly dance performance parties; I'm not there yet but maybe in a month or two...

A lttle something passed on to me by a Canadian colleague, about the new land of the "free".

And while we're at it, how's this for a revealing quote?

The government uses research funding as a carrot to induce people to refrain from speech they would otherwise engage in. If it were a command, it would be unconstitutional."

Read the full context, full of other little "gems" like that, "here.

Woo hoo! Strike one for free scientific information!

I stumbled across an article in The New York Times this week about Blogs in the Workplace. Seems it's not just for slackers anymore...

In a weird bit of Weekend Reading Synchronicity, I finished the book No Logo and started Jennifer Government on the same day. Warning: trying this at home may lead to extreme cynicism.

The Friday Five was tailored for librarians last week, I see:

1. My favorite childhood stories were fairy tales, no question. Though in the ones like Robin Hood, I always wanted to be the male characters instead of the female ones.
2. My Treasuries of children's stories and children's poems, as well as just about anything by Alan Garner and Susan Cooper. For older kids, my favorite YA novel, The Changeover, by Margaret Mahy.
3. I'm not usually surprised by the early childhood stories, but I am often surprised by what I missed in books I read and loved as an older child or early teen. For example, a religious relative gave me a book for christmas called Crispin's Castle. It was, of course, about a young boy finding God, but when I read it as a child (and I read it multiple times), that aspect did not seem prominent to the story. When I went back to it as an adult, I saw that Crispin's conversion was in fact central to the story. Don't ask me how I missed that...just goes to show how much the act of reading is informed by the needs of the reader, I suppose.
4. I started to read before I started school, thanks to extremely literate parents and a healthy dose of natural aptitude. The first thing I clearly remember reading on my own was an Exit sign in a store. I was, I think, around 3.
5. The first "grown up" books I remember reading was the first 13 books of the Xanth series by Piers Anthony. They passed for really sophisticated literature at that stage...I was in grade 4 or 5 I think, so say somewhere between 10 and 12.

Finally, click over here for news on the technology that could resurrect the medieval Chartres library.

Okay, this is too funny, and you all have to try it: point your browser to Google. In the search box, type weapons of mass destruction (no quotation marks). Then instead of hitting "Google Search," choose the "I'm feeling lucky" button. Read the page carefully....Go ahead, try it!

So, which crime would you think carries the longer sentence? Beating your wife, or spitting on a police officer?

Think again.

And then you can read some veeeery interesting revelations about the late Senator Strom Thurman.

"When did intellectual curiousity become a scourge to Congress?"

Good question.

Here's a couple more stories illustrating just how well filters work.

Happy Canada Day to all you Canadians out there! Check out the status of celebrations on the Hill with their Web Cam.

Michael and I are back from Toronto. We had a pretty good conference all told, though the placement center was disappointingly small and I did not find a job. Or even a good job to apply for, for that matter. I did get my resume critiqued, though, as well as some ideas from the session about alternative careers for MLIS holders. I have seen more postings coming up on the CLA and FIS sites, so hopefully it will not be too long before something comes up.

Overall the conference was hectic but good. I got to see quite a few people from library school days, and some of the speakers were really good. There were some big names for the opening/closing/president's program sessions, including Gloria Steinem, Rex Murphy, Ralph Nader, and Naomi Klein. The last two in particular were especially interesting; I'm reading Naomi Klein's book, No Logo, right now. I hoped to see one of my favorite authors, Charles de Lint, too, but I missed him! He was only there for part of one day, and I visited Tor/Forge's booth the day after. Oh well...

On the whole, we seemed to hit the ground running on Friday night and hardly pause for breath until we got back on the plane to go home. Besides the big talks, I attended sessions on publishing, intellectual freedom, reference service, and library history. We had a day and a half after the conference ended for sightseeing, which we spent exploring downtown Toronto. We visited the St Laurence Market, and had a facinating tour of the CBC buildings--we saw the reference library as well as the radio and television studios, including the set of The National. Michael visited the Hockey Hall of Fame and picked up a couple of souvenirs. We were thinking of taking a day tour to Niagara Falls, too, but we had to leave that for next visit.

It was great to be able to get around on foot again--I haven't walked so much in a long time! It was also refreshing to be back in a city that takes recycling and public transport seriously. Hard for us both to face coming back to Ft Lauderdale, really.

Just a quick note to say that after a very uneventful flight, Michael and I are in TO safe and sound. We got in too late to register for the conference today, so we've pretty much just been wandering around downtown Toronto, orienting ourselves with directions to the hostel, the conference sites, etc. Plus we went to a really good Greek restaurant for dinner.

Already we are finding that the climate change makes us both feel more energetic and much more at home. No sweltering heat...no disgusting humidity levels...ahhh...

Anyway, hopefully I'll find the time to post a couple more times while we're here. Send some good jobfair vibes if you can, please! :)

Well, after writing my first, very amateur, review for my movie page, I can see that it's not all that easy to do well. I hope you'll all bear with me as I figure out how to create a good one!

An interesting story on msnbc today about the changes the war has made in the life of an Iraqi bellydancer. Having read about the proclivities of Uday Hussein, I have to say I don't envy her her gigs at his parties, no matter how many times she says he's a nice guy...

Noted on lisnews.com: The Guardian reports on a monastic book theif.

Two more days to Toronto! I'm getting excited about the trip, and nervous about the job fair. I don't like to pin all my hopes on one event, but at the same time I really hope that I find at least a lead or two while I'm there. Don't know if I will be able to find the time or the hardware to update the blog while I'm at the conference, so there may not be much added here until after I get back.

In other news, I plan to add some more content to this site. As you can see from the top navigation bar, you will soon be able to read reviews of books I've read and movies I've watched. I've noticed this is a common feature of other blogs, so I thought I'd join the crowd, so to speak.

Addendum for today: Take that!, Tim LaHaye!

A depressing theme to my news this morning. I heard an interview with the author of Honor Lost: Love and Death in Modern-Day Jordan on NPR's Morning Edition on the way to work. Norma Khouri used to live in Jordan, and she had a close friend who fell in love with a Christian man. The friend dated the man in secret, and when her father found out, he killed her for shaming their family. Apparently, Khouri herself had to run away from Jordan, as she was in danger of being murdered by her own family for helping the couple meet in private. Then, while looking at the daily news on the desk, I ran across this story on CNN about an Egyptian woman who, fearing her husband would make good on his threat to kill her if she had another baby girl, drowned herself after giving birth to a daughter. The sad thing is, while I don't know all that much about Islam, even I know enough to know that many of these supposedly religiously-based actions and attitudes are actually neither proscribed nor endorsed by the Koran. So before one even gets to addressing the possibilities for equal treatment of women within Islam, one has to disentangle what is actually Islamic from a whole host of violently misogynistic tribal beliefs and practices that the leaders of these cultures simply do not want to give up. All in the name of "resisting Western influence."

But is equal treatment for women really only a "western" value? (I'll leave the question of the true state of Western women's equality and safety within their culture for another time.) Would allowing women to be people rather than chattel really be un-Islamic? Did Mohammad want women to be treated like children, or be secluded within the house for their entire lives, seeing so little sunlight and getting so little physical activity that their bones get soft and their health suffers terribly? Are Eastern values really about women getting mutilated by their mothers, beaten by their fathers and brothers, and killed by their husbands?

I don't know. It's just sad to see a culture that has so many beautiful aspects and such an interesting history enshrine and normalize such terrible practices.

You can't see it from your end, but Blogger has a new user interface, LoFi. And honestly, I liked the old one a lot better! They say I'll be able to override the automatic redirection to this application soon...the sooner the better, I say.

I got a call from the director of Sweeney Todd this weekend ... offering me a role in the chorus. I turned it down. I would have had to make major adjustments to my work schedule, and taken focus away from dancing and jobhunting, and it's not worth it just for another chance to be The Tall One Standing In The Back Hitting The High Notes. I had enough of the window-dressing-for-the-divas routine in Edmonton Musical Theatre, thank you very much.

I read the latest about the latest cuts to funding for upgrades to my old High School in the Edmonton Journal today. Vic was supposed to be the "Julliard of the North," but I don't know if it will make it at this rate.

Did you know that Canada has one of the highest UFO sightings rates per capita? Delve into the weirdness with the CBC's Special Report

And, in the Only In Alberta department... Darlene Heatherington and UN investigations of Provincial labour laws.

Here's some more Friday five

1. Learn survival skills and go hole up in a remote area and live off the land for a year or two.
2. I try to be honest but tactful. I won't say I like it if I don't, but I won't be mean if I can help it either.
3. Yes. What happened? We're no longer friends.
4. I would probably live in Charles de Lint's Newford. Or Guy Gavriel Kay's Fionavar. Because I want the magic, eh.
5. Natural self-discipline and the ability to be un-selfconcious.

No word yet on the Sweeney Todd results. I believe they're making decisions tomorrow...

The SARS situation in Toronto is still iffy. Here's the latest from The Globe and Mail. So far they've managed to avoid another travel advisory, and things may be improving, so I hope there will not be any impediments to my trip to CLA/ALA next week. Though I'm more worried about things like the possibility of the conference being cancelled than catching the thing.

I went to a full moon drumming and dancing circle on Pompano Beach last night. A friend from my dance class helped organize it; they used to go to one in Ft Lauderdale but wanted to create a gathering with a more Middle Eastern/bellydancing theme. It was pretty fun, though I was somehow not prepared for all the tourists/bystanders/gawkers, which made me a little uncomfortable. I'm not that great a dancer yet, especially when improvising, and so I don't like lots of strangers watching me when I'm dancing. Some of them were even taking photos ... without permission I might add. At least as far as I know. I guess after blowing my audition, and then going to dance class the next day and feeling like I blew the make-an-entrance-in-front-of-everyone-while-dancing-and-playing-your-zills exercise, I'm a little more self-conscious at the moment.

There haven't been many links here lately, I know....for now, why not take a look at the photos from the Bellydancer of the Year competition.

Well, I feel like I totally blew my Sweeney Todd audition last night...as usual. As I mentioned before, auditions are never good for me. My voice never sounds right (even if it sounds okay, it never sounds right), and I get nervous so I always end up acting like a total idiot. Unfortunately, they've yet to create an audition process where you can explain that you perform well but always choke on the tryouts, so I guess I'm stuck.

Like the Broward on Broadway auditions, this group has you sing in front of every one else who's there to try out, plus they allow onlookers and people who are auditioning on other nights to attend. So on top of everything else you have an audience for your decent into hell. I sang second. I did...okay, and they asked me to stay back to sing some stuff from the show later. Then when they called me again, I swear the accompianist played the song twice as slow as he did for anyone else. I got off to a bad start, as far as tone quality goes, and didn't recover, and then was stupid enough to interrupt myself partway through because I thought I might have gone off key (I hadn't). When I asked if they wanted me to contine they of course said no. To complete my humiliation, someone literally half my age auditioned for the same role last night, and did an absolutely stunning job, so I got to see her perform perfectly (in the correct tempo) and hear the audition panel murmer things about how perfect she was.

Not that getting a part in this show is the be-all and end-all of my life right now. I went into it knowing that there was a good chance I would not get cast, and considering the stories I've heard about the politics of the group it was completely possible that either I would not get a part no matter how well I did, or that even if I did the experience would not be as positive as the one I had with Forum. I just wish that I'd done well so that I could have been proud of my performance and that, one way or the other, they were evaluating me on what I really could do. As it is I feel like I came across as hopelessly amateur.

Oh well. Boring self-castigation over.

Here's along, but interesting article on the image of librarians.

Feels like I haven't updated this blog for a while...three day weekends will do that to you I suppose! Plus there hasn't been a heck of a lot of interest going on here. So what can you do.

A little late, as I was off on Friday, but here's my answers to the Friday Five:

1. Truly? Only once.
2. He's himself, most of all, and he's still here despite the numerous obstacles life threw in our way.
3. The ability to change and grow along with you. The ability to love you for who you are instead of who they want you to be. The ability to face the fear and do it anyway.
4. Unfortunately, I probably have.
5. That it's a never-ending process of learning and discovery. Like the rest of life, I guess.

A report on NPR's This American Life led me to the web site for Found Magazine, a publication based on found photos, notes, etc. that run the gamut from sad to hilarious.

Other news down here: I registered for a Middle Eastern Dance master class by Anahid Sofian next month. It's going to cover Chifitelli/2/4 rhythms and Classical Veilwork. I'm glad that one of these events is finally going to be happening at a time when I can actually attend, and I'm really looking forward to it. I also went dance shopping this weekend and bought some new, better-sounding zills, and found that another studio near my house has classes on Thursday mornings, so I may try those once my time with Mariem is up next week.

Finally, I have an audition with the Pembroke Pines Theatre of the Performing Arts tomorrow for their fall production of Sweeney Todd. Finally chose a song to sing for it, but I haven't had much time to practice, so I'm pretty nervous. Who am I kidding here--I hate auditions and I would feel nervous regardless of how prepared I was! Well, we'll see how it goes...stay tuned and I'll keep you posted!

I'm a little sleepy this morning, after attending the Forum DVD release party last night. We got together in a warehouse/playroom in Ft. Lauderdale, which gave us the opportunity to watch the everything on a huge wide-screen projector. The editors did a great job with the opening and closing credits, and the recording of the show itself turned out really well. It's strange--there was so much stuff going on onstage that I'd never seen before that at times it was like watching an entirely new show! That's what happens when you spend so much time in Senex' house waiting for "martial law," I suppose... Anyway, we all had a good time and I have a copy for posterity now.

Not much else happening here lately except for more rain. I heard a report on NPR last night that suggested there was a very good chance of a hurricane hitting land this season, either in Florida or the Gulf. Needless to say this does not make me happy, though I am glad that I don't live closer to the beach!

It looks like the second wave of SARS in Toronto may be on the wane, finally, at least according to canada.com and the Toronto Sun. Not that that's stopped my employers from banning official travel there anyway. But, I'm going to attend CLA regardless. I want a Canadian job too much to consider not going if at all possible!

Just realized I forgot to answer the Friday Five last week. And, the questions are actually quite a bit harder this time. But, I'll take a stab at it...

1. I most want to be remembered for: making the right choices even if they're not conventional or popular. Fulfilling my potential in at least one arena. Being a person of integrity and honor.
2. Quotation that sums up my outlook on life: what doesn't kill you makes you stronger.
3. Achievement most proud of in the past year: managing to face up to a difficult personal mistake.
4. Achievement most proud of in the past 10 years: graduating with my MLIS and getting published, surviving the various situations being in South Florida has thrown at me.
5. Advice: Be brave enough to be true to yourself no matter what other people may think.

Happy Anniversary, Queen Elizabeth.

Want some fun? Go visit Library Girl!

Or, if you're in the mood to be depressed, here's a NY Times article on the ongoing plunder of Iraq's archaeological artifacts. Despite everything, a global market still exists. Which begs the question: who's worse--the one who sells, or the one who buys?

Noted, with disgust, on librarian.net: UNESCO advisor and librarian denied a visa to visit Iraq and inspect the damage to the national library. Why? Because he's French, of course, and France opposed the military action. idiotes!

Well, I'm at work all weekend. Saturday and Sunday. The price I pay to avoid the silliness of Staff Development Day and get three days off next week. It'll be worth it in the end, but right now I wish I was at the beach!

Good news updates: I got my registration from CLA/ALA today, and not only is one of my favorite authors, Charles de Lint, going to be there, but CLA's President's Program features non other than Rex Murphy! Gloria Steinem will also be speaking. This looks like it's shaping up to be pretty interesting all around...also, my copy of El Amar came in the mail today. I'm listening to it right now.

Still raining....my place is okay so far, but Michael came home to a few inches of standing water yesterday. It is easing off, fortunately, but with the ground so saturated it wouldn't take much to flood again.

Did you know that the University of Calgary has a program on how to write computer viruses? If you want to catch a thief...

In other news, Canada's proposition to decriminalize possession of small amounts of marijuana made NPR's Talk of the Nation yesterday. Some of those callers sounded a wee bit upset.... and it was more than a little strange to hear discussion on whether the Bush administration would "take steps to prevent such legislation being enacted" if they didnt' like it, and whether Canada would "have the guts to stand up to them." Sad, isn't it?

We're underwater here in SoFla. 11 inches of rain in one day, with more on the way. They even closed the airport! I, and most of the people I know, barely made it home through the floods last night--what are we going to do today I wonder? Canoe home?

At least my car is okay. I've been nervous of driving in flood conditions ever since last year, when I tried to drive through what I thought was a shallow puddle and turned out to be a knee-deep lake. Macha was in the shop for 2 weeks getting her engine rebuilt, and I'm sure if I get another claim like that on my insurance they'll drop me like a hot coal. And rates here are astronomical as it is, even for people with clean records and no claims!

In other news...Toronto health officials now humbly admit that they "closed the book" too soon on the SARS outbreak out of hubris. Oh really. What a surprise. I'm sure the quarantined students in Markham feel so much better now.

Ordered your librarian pinup calendar yet? I think I just might do that, if for no other reason than to see how many of the models I recognize. I've always felt that Alberta Librarians are the best, anyway...or at least the most fun! Read more in the Calgary Herald.

I finally got my Hossam Ramzy CD, Rhythms of the Nile, from amazon yesterday. This is a 2 disc set that teaches Egyptian percussion rhythms. Now I can annoy my neighbors with drumbeats and zills till all hours, woo hoo! Can you tell I'm looking forward to it?

Back after a relaxing three-day weekend... not quite sure why the US needs Remembrance Day (sorry...Veteran's day), Armed Forces Day, and Memorial Day, but we get a paid holiday for it, so who's complaining.

Unfortunately, Toronto has been put back on the WHO's list of areas with recent local transmission of SARS. They are not recommending travel restrictions, but the CDC in the US has issued it's own travel alert. Not sure what, if anything, this will mean for my trip to CLA/ALA in June, except that I'll probably have to take personal vacation time. That's assuming, of course, that the reports saying that this situation is under control and will soon be contained are true, and we don't get hit hard enough to outright travel bans... the Canadian Medical Association is not convinced that the country's health community has the tools to handle these situations properly. I'm hoping they're wrong.

More response to the Patriot Act: Vive la resistance!

more Friday fiveness:

1. Crest
2. Anything made of recycled paper
3. Anything that looks good when I go shoeshopping
4. Classic Coke--and Canadian tastes better than US
5. Extra

These questions are a little uninspiring so far....

Interesting news today is that we now have the first images of Earth as seen from another planet! The photos were taken by the Mars Global Surveyor spacecraft, currently orbiting the Red Planet. See them here. In another unearthly story, some scientists are speculating that The SARS virus may have come from outer space, and some historical pandemics may have the same origin. Certainly more exciting than the civet cat theory, at any rate.

The US Justice Department, the FBI, and terror investgations. @ your library, among other places. Do we feel safe yet?

Jayson Blair just gets more appealing all the time. Now he's bragging about his genius in fooling his "idiot" editors....

Just for fun, I've decided to start participating in the Friday Five. Every friday, they post questions for bloggers to answer in their blogs as a fun community exercise. This week they're asking about food. So here goes....hope you don't get too bored.

1. I prefer filtered, refrigerated water. Tap water here is too warm and tastes funny, and bottled water is often full of impurities.
2. Favorite chip flavour: salt and vinegar, of course!
3. My preferences are too variable to choose one favorite recipie. Right now I'm exploring a middle eastern cookbook so I'm into couscous, tabouleh, kebabs and spices.
4. Sunny side up, but I prefer omelettes with mushroom, garlic, and cheese...
5. Michael made me breakfast this weekend. And despite his eternal protestations, he cooks pretty well!

I went to a new bellydancing class last night, taught by Mariem. I'm not sure if I'm going to continue it beyond the month I already paid for, though. Mariem is a really great dancer--I met her when I saw her dance at a bellydance party last month--but at this point her teaching style seems to consist of getting up in front of the class, dancing on her own to a piece of music, and expecting us to follow along. This instruction style works in Hollywood, but in real life I spend a lot of the class frustrated, not being able to keep up or even figure out what she's doing before she switches moves. And she seems to spend more time looking at herself in the mirror than noticing what her students are doing. I like her as a person and would recommend her highly as a dancer, but I'm not paying for lessons to watch someone else practice her routines.

It's been a bad time back home in Canada. First the SARS outbreak in Toronto, and now, a case of Mad Cow Disease has been confirmed in Alberta. The US has banned all imports of Canadian beef and cattle. This will be devistating to Alberta ranchers, who are still suffering the effects of years of drought conditions. Read the Calgary Herald article here. See the US perspective at the New York Times.

Noted on librarian.net: Iraq's library may be safer than was previously thought. Check out the Boston Globe article here

Some news: I managed to lose the Broward County Library Association Vice Presidential election yesterday. It went to a co-worker instead. The funny thing is that neither of us were really sure we wanted the position, so I was campaigning for him, and he was campaigning for me! So by losing the election, I actually won. Go figure!

I've been wading my way through Kenneth Branagh's massive Hamlet this weekend. And unfortunately it is a bit of a long haul. I was predisposed to really like this movie--I must have seen Henry V in the theatre 4 or 5 times, and I really liked Much Ado About Nothing as well despite the wooden performance by Keanu Reeves. But this one is leaving me cold. The sets, costumes, lighting, and much of the camera work is gorgeous, but I keep on thinking something to the effect of, "gee, that's not the right way to play that scene," or, "boy, the impact of that moment was totally lost the way he directed it," and so on. Oh well....I'm only halfway through the four-hour marathon; perhaps the last half will be better!

Expat strangeness: I heard a spot on Cape Breton fiddler Ashley MacIsaac on NPR on my way to work. Totally different perspective than the info I've seen in the Canadian press! At home, we get reports about him swearing onstage and berating his audiences, erratic behavior that includes wearing kilts the "traditional" way and then allowing himself to be exposed, and his numerous financial problems. Within the last 6-8 months, I've read stories of his numerous debts, complex bankrupcy proceedings, and apparent racist comments during a concert a few days ago. Whereas on NPR, he's a "good businessman" who's moved past his "early mistakes and bad-boy behavior" which mostly stemmed from not being able to handle the pressures of fame at such a young age! I've got nothing against the guy, and I respect him as a musician, but I think I detect some major spin going on here! If you're interested, see and hear the story Here.

More metareporting on the Jayson Blair debacle, this time from UPI.

I got notice today that Peel's Prairie Provinces, 3rd ed. has officially been launched. For those of you who may not know, this book and its corresponding database of citations and images is the project that I worked on for the first year of my professional life. Got me into BIP anyway...take a look and see how you like it.

The Ancient World Web is a blog that focuses on news about archaeology and the ancient world. Enjoy!

I can't believe it's only Wednesday! I don't think this week could get any slower! I don't know if I'll make it to the weekend! Help!

A friend recommended this site to me this week: FetchBook.Info. Type in a title, or browse the subject categories, and it will give you recommendations on the cheapest place to buy the book online. Kind of cool, eh?

I heard a great track from Dar Williams' latest album on WLRN's Folk and Acoustic Music program last weekend. You should be able to listen to some of her music on the site, which uses a flash player. In case you're wondering, the song that got to me was "The One Who Knows" from The Beauty of the Rain.

I can't believe that I forgot to link to htmlgoodies on this site! I'm updating the sidebar today...if you want to teach yourself html, javascript, or just about anything else, I can't recommend this site and it's tutorials highly enough. Clear, well-organized instruction at all levels from beginner to expert, and best of all, it's One Hundred Per Cent Free. Who could ask for anything more?

I've been reading about the Jayson Blair controversy today ... see the exhaustive NY Times article Here. For an interesting, if pointed, critique from another perspective, try reading this.

If you're a librarian, you've probably already seen The ALA Library: Terrorist Sanctuary by Paul Walfield. But, just in case you missed it....there you go. A total misunderstanding of the issues, if you ask me, but then, he didn't, did he?

Well, I got the DVD/VHS player. What a process, though! First getting a machine that added high-pitched squeaks and chirps to DVD sound; then going to the store to be told I need an adapter to use the RCA jacks because "no DVD player will work with a coaxial cable;" then going home to find the new method of connection blocks any connection between the two machines; then at least a half-hour of troubleshooting on the phone with a totally inarticulate salesboy who advised me to buy even more equipment to make the setup work; all to take it back to the store again to be told I was right the first time and the machine was defective! This is only the short version of the story, of course, as the details would be way to boring to read. But it sucked up hours of a day that I should have spent at the park relaxing, and pissed me off at salespeople who don't know their products and try to make me feel stupid for having a machine that doesn't work. Technostress. Joy joy.

I've read most of the blogging book I mentioned earlier, but I'm finding that it doesn't quite meet my needs. The author's intended audience seems to be total web novices, and so she spends a lot of time on definintions, shoring up the potential blogger's confidence, talking about blog community and philosophy, outlining proper netiquette, helping you set up a blogging schedule, and so on. On the positive side, she's got a warm, approachable tone, a supportive attitude, and the book is full of good links and advice for those new to web publishing. Not great for specific DIY tips and tricks, which is what I was hoping for when I checked it out, but if you are thinking of looking into the whole weblog thing and don't know where to start, this book might be a good place. The title? The weblog handbook: practical advice on creating and maintaining your blog, by Rebecca Blood. See the author's blog at Rebecca's Pocket

One of the good links included in the book is that to librarian.net. Surf to your heart's content....

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