I'm making a pact with myself that I will blog more often. Mostly because I always think of things to write and never do because I'm away from my computer. The acquiring of an iPhone has helped immensely in that department. And I've figured out how to add posts from my phone to the blog! Hurray! I'm still in the testing it out phase but I'm hoping it will increase my frequency of writing.
The newest news is that Boyfriend and I are engaged! So I guess he will be Fiancé from now on. We're not really planning the wedding until I'm done with this semester but I have some really great friends helping me out with it. I also lost one of my jobs but I'm collecting unemployment. I did this mainly because it will give me a chance to focus on school without worrying about money too much. Because I'd been working so much, I think I let some of my school focus slip a little but I'm dead set on correcting that. Here's to trying harder at everything!
Showing posts with label school. Show all posts
Showing posts with label school. Show all posts
Sunday, March 29, 2009
Sunday, November 30, 2008
In which I review Twilight and In Defense of Food
I have this huge paper due tomorrow. Six to eight pages about a library observation I did throughout the semester. Naturally, I used this weekend to read two unrelated books and watch a gazillion movies. Let's procrastinate even more as I babble on about two books.
Yes, I read this book. My co-worker read it and loved it so she wanted me to read it. Apparently, while reading it she thought of me and wanted me to read it because she thought I would love it. Man, do I not want to go to work on Wednesday. To be fair, I didn't hate the book. I thought the story got more interesting as the book progressed although it ended abruptly, I thought. The writing style is not my cup of tea and I found it cliché a lot but I know that if I were a fourteen year old girl, I would drink this up like it was diet Mountain Dew (hey, I only drink diet pop now, sue me). I've never been terribly impressed with vampires. I liked Dracula and Interview with a Vampire but that's about it. I've watched specials about vampires and things because I think scary stories are great, but I also will watch them about werewolves with the same apathetic attitude. Anyway, the book. Basically, it was a really angsty teen romance in which one of the characters happened to be a vampire. The language was very flowery and dramatic and felt like a diary entry at times. Like if I were writing a diary that I secretly wanted people to read one day, I would write like this. Now, who am I to talk about good things vs. crappy things being published. I've never been published and I'm crap at writing fiction. But I read a lot of it. And I'd like to think that I'm a good judge of books. So there.
One of the reasons I wanted to read this book was because the waiting list for reading the series through my library is over 100 people long. Like the Harry Potter books, I wanted to find out what all the hullabaloo was about. And I'm impatient so I jumped on my co-worker's offer to borrow it. Now, I'm probably going to read the rest of the books, I'll admit, in the same way I had to watch all "Saw" movies: I have to know what happens. My curiosity far outweighs my low tolerance for crappy stories. But I still refuse to see "Firefly" for those keeping track at home. On principle. I found myself thinking that maybe Boyfriend's high school age niece would love these books. I am glad that there are these series of books that give young people the enthusiasm to read, however. Granted, I wish they would open their minds a little bit but I can't convince every teenager to read Neil Gaiman. I'd probably be upset if they did anyway; I'm hypocritical that way. Bottom line: if you want to know what the kids are up to, read this book. If you really don't care or are not impressed by lines like "'Yes, you're exactly my brand of heroin'" save your time. I mainly read it today to avoid my paper anyway.
The book that I absolutely want everyone to read right now is In Defense of Food by Michael Pollan. This book is amazing. It talks about the "Western Diet" and how it has lead to diseases like diabetes, cancer and heart disease. I've struggled with my weight over the last couple of years (oh, and forever) and eating healthy. This book made me really think about what I'm putting into my body. Basically, the tenets of the book are "Eat food. Not too much. Mostly plants." The author goes on to explain these sentences in more detail later in the book. He says that the best way to combat these diseases are to make sure the foods you eat aren't processed and don't have any hard to pronounce words. I've already been losing weight through eating smaller portions and slightly more often throughout the day and I think that this book can help with altering the thinking of most people.
I don't have the time sometimes to make the dinners that I want but I'm slowly learning to prepare meals once a week for all week long. I also watched "Supersize Me" this weekend and this has also contributed to my change in thinking. I'm going to try really hard to make my own food from now on as much as possible. It should also save me money in the long run, which is a good thing. I've already found sources for local eggs and I'm going to start buying meat that is only grass-fed. I really recommend this book, way more so over Twilight although they are in very different categories.
Today is officially the last day of NaBloPoMo but I am going to keep writing on a regular basis. I feel kind of guilty for not posting every day like I should have and I tried to make up for it as much as possible. I realize that writing has helped me "get my feelings out" a lot (man, it's like I'm IN that vampire book) and I think that I should continue. I can't rely solely on the Prozac in the winter. So keep reading!
Yes, I read this book. My co-worker read it and loved it so she wanted me to read it. Apparently, while reading it she thought of me and wanted me to read it because she thought I would love it. Man, do I not want to go to work on Wednesday. To be fair, I didn't hate the book. I thought the story got more interesting as the book progressed although it ended abruptly, I thought. The writing style is not my cup of tea and I found it cliché a lot but I know that if I were a fourteen year old girl, I would drink this up like it was diet Mountain Dew (hey, I only drink diet pop now, sue me). I've never been terribly impressed with vampires. I liked Dracula and Interview with a Vampire but that's about it. I've watched specials about vampires and things because I think scary stories are great, but I also will watch them about werewolves with the same apathetic attitude. Anyway, the book. Basically, it was a really angsty teen romance in which one of the characters happened to be a vampire. The language was very flowery and dramatic and felt like a diary entry at times. Like if I were writing a diary that I secretly wanted people to read one day, I would write like this. Now, who am I to talk about good things vs. crappy things being published. I've never been published and I'm crap at writing fiction. But I read a lot of it. And I'd like to think that I'm a good judge of books. So there.
One of the reasons I wanted to read this book was because the waiting list for reading the series through my library is over 100 people long. Like the Harry Potter books, I wanted to find out what all the hullabaloo was about. And I'm impatient so I jumped on my co-worker's offer to borrow it. Now, I'm probably going to read the rest of the books, I'll admit, in the same way I had to watch all "Saw" movies: I have to know what happens. My curiosity far outweighs my low tolerance for crappy stories. But I still refuse to see "Firefly" for those keeping track at home. On principle. I found myself thinking that maybe Boyfriend's high school age niece would love these books. I am glad that there are these series of books that give young people the enthusiasm to read, however. Granted, I wish they would open their minds a little bit but I can't convince every teenager to read Neil Gaiman. I'd probably be upset if they did anyway; I'm hypocritical that way. Bottom line: if you want to know what the kids are up to, read this book. If you really don't care or are not impressed by lines like "'Yes, you're exactly my brand of heroin'" save your time. I mainly read it today to avoid my paper anyway.
The book that I absolutely want everyone to read right now is In Defense of Food by Michael Pollan. This book is amazing. It talks about the "Western Diet" and how it has lead to diseases like diabetes, cancer and heart disease. I've struggled with my weight over the last couple of years (oh, and forever) and eating healthy. This book made me really think about what I'm putting into my body. Basically, the tenets of the book are "Eat food. Not too much. Mostly plants." The author goes on to explain these sentences in more detail later in the book. He says that the best way to combat these diseases are to make sure the foods you eat aren't processed and don't have any hard to pronounce words. I've already been losing weight through eating smaller portions and slightly more often throughout the day and I think that this book can help with altering the thinking of most people.
I don't have the time sometimes to make the dinners that I want but I'm slowly learning to prepare meals once a week for all week long. I also watched "Supersize Me" this weekend and this has also contributed to my change in thinking. I'm going to try really hard to make my own food from now on as much as possible. It should also save me money in the long run, which is a good thing. I've already found sources for local eggs and I'm going to start buying meat that is only grass-fed. I really recommend this book, way more so over Twilight although they are in very different categories.
Today is officially the last day of NaBloPoMo but I am going to keep writing on a regular basis. I feel kind of guilty for not posting every day like I should have and I tried to make up for it as much as possible. I realize that writing has helped me "get my feelings out" a lot (man, it's like I'm IN that vampire book) and I think that I should continue. I can't rely solely on the Prozac in the winter. So keep reading!
Wednesday, November 19, 2008
Why isn't this week over?
I hate my job. Well, one of my jobs. I came to this conclusion last weekend and today I've confirmed it. I feel so out of place there. It was different when I worked for the company in Portage, but here, I just feel like an accessory. Take today for example: one of the architects can't organize his workspace. He has old project files everywhere and they're in his way. As a project manager, he should be responsible for cleaning up his files and destroying them. But because he is so incompetent, I'm the one who has to do it. I have to physically read almost all of his files to find the ones he wants to keep and pitch the rest. The worst thing is, my boss won't stand up to him and tell him to do his own damn cleaning. I started doing this for him a month ago and when I started, I had to sit at his desk and ask him, "do you want to keep this file? what about this one?" This is so frustrating.
It's even more frustrating because I want to be able to get a paid internship or a graduate assistanceship but I'm nervous that I won't get one. And I wish that I made enough money to just quit my job. Grrr... I'm frustrated. I just want this semester to end.
It's even more frustrating because I want to be able to get a paid internship or a graduate assistanceship but I'm nervous that I won't get one. And I wish that I made enough money to just quit my job. Grrr... I'm frustrated. I just want this semester to end.
Friday, November 14, 2008
This post brought to you by: Jack Daniels bourbon. And the letter Q.
Wow. This week has been extremely stressful. I have been wrestling with HTML all week long. At first, the server wouldn't work. Then, I couldn't access my page to make edits from the Windows side of my computer. I called in sick Wednesday to work on this assignment but I was not able to get very far. I sent multiple e-mails to my teacher along with posting on the discussion board for this class. Nothing that was suggested to me helped. I didn't go to my internship yesterday to work on this assignment. I called into work again today to work on it. Last night was particularly rough. I couldn't get to sleep until 1:00 am and then I woke up at 5:30 am and I couldn't get back to sleep until 7 am. So... great. I finally got help from my wonderful friend Sarah! And everything is fixed! And I turned it in!
I decided that this occasion called for a whiskey. I'm technically not supposed to drink but that really only means I can't drink beer. I went to this really crappy bar down the street from my apartment. It wasn't quite seven so I figured it would be really easy to sit at the bar, drink my whiskey and go home. The bar was packed! The only seat I could find was between these two old regulars. So I just drank my whiskey as fast as I could and now I'm home. Thankfully done with this assignment. I totally deserved this whiskey. And I'm down a pound since Wednesday! Hooray!
I decided that this occasion called for a whiskey. I'm technically not supposed to drink but that really only means I can't drink beer. I went to this really crappy bar down the street from my apartment. It wasn't quite seven so I figured it would be really easy to sit at the bar, drink my whiskey and go home. The bar was packed! The only seat I could find was between these two old regulars. So I just drank my whiskey as fast as I could and now I'm home. Thankfully done with this assignment. I totally deserved this whiskey. And I'm down a pound since Wednesday! Hooray!
Thursday, November 13, 2008
Kids are weird. And demanding.
First of all, before I forget: I work for a library that's part of this library network. Basically, there are 90 some libraries that are linked through this system to enable users to borrow books from any of those libraries. It's a really neat system because you can ask for a book to be sent from Library A and pick it up at Library B. And you can drop your books of at any of the libraries and they'll find their way to the home library they belong to. One of my jobs is to send the books on their way as I'm discharging books. I have to write the library number and the abbreviation on a tag and wrap the book up to go. The abbreviations are four letters. One of the libraries is the Milford Public Library. I'll let you guess the abbreviation. Find the answer at the bottom of the post.*
Another thing I've noticed at the library is the number of refugees who relocate to this area. Today a couple came in to ask about using the internet and possibly getting a library card later. They were both refugees from Iraq. I'm not certain if this happened in my hometown or not but it's interesting to be aware of it. I can also notice the big difference between how I talk to these people and how my co-workers talk to them. I make sure to be nice and friendly and understand them as best I can. My co-workers immediately start talking ALL IN CAPITAL LETTERS AND IN A VERY STERN VOICE. They get frustrated by these patrons very easily. Personal differences, I guess.
I stayed home from the Opera House today because this HTML assignment has my panties up in a bunch. I cannot for the life of me figure out why some parts will upload through the Mac side of my computer and some will only upload through the PC side of my computer. I'm taking tomorrow off, too, to clear my head a little bit and focus all on this assignment. I'm pretty sure I have enough sick time to cover it and school is more important. I feel mildly bad but I need to pass all my classes. Here's to figuring this shit out tomorrow. Maybe I will celebrate with a whisky.
*the abbreviation is MILF. i think i'm the only one there who finds that funny.
Another thing I've noticed at the library is the number of refugees who relocate to this area. Today a couple came in to ask about using the internet and possibly getting a library card later. They were both refugees from Iraq. I'm not certain if this happened in my hometown or not but it's interesting to be aware of it. I can also notice the big difference between how I talk to these people and how my co-workers talk to them. I make sure to be nice and friendly and understand them as best I can. My co-workers immediately start talking ALL IN CAPITAL LETTERS AND IN A VERY STERN VOICE. They get frustrated by these patrons very easily. Personal differences, I guess.
I stayed home from the Opera House today because this HTML assignment has my panties up in a bunch. I cannot for the life of me figure out why some parts will upload through the Mac side of my computer and some will only upload through the PC side of my computer. I'm taking tomorrow off, too, to clear my head a little bit and focus all on this assignment. I'm pretty sure I have enough sick time to cover it and school is more important. I feel mildly bad but I need to pass all my classes. Here's to figuring this shit out tomorrow. Maybe I will celebrate with a whisky.
*the abbreviation is MILF. i think i'm the only one there who finds that funny.
Wednesday, November 12, 2008
Ha cha cha!
I'm going to make all of my Christmas presents this year. I have some really awesome patterns for some really neat gifts and I'm poor. So people can benefit from my creativeness. I need to get on that soon, though. Since Thanksgiving will most likely be spent with just Boyfriend and I, I'll have plenty of time to get things done then.
There's a craft fair at the Fillmore Theater that I want to go to Saturday. It's called the Detroit Urban Craft Fair and it looks super awesome. I'm excited to find some cute/funky earrings to wear when I can finally wear different ones. I've been feeling so great about losing weight and even though there are moments when my willpower weakens but I really feel great most of the time.
I'm slowly weeding out library positions I do not want. Tonight I went on a tour of the Beaumont Hospital Library. The librarian was very nice and she told us a lot of information but I just can't see myself working in a hospital. There are too many rules to follow and there's virtually no leeway. I was able to get into the special libraries class I wanted to take so I'm hoping that I'll gain some more insight after this semester. I'm still really thankful that this program is working out better than I could have ever imagined. I finally feel like the pieces are falling into place. International Librarianship seems the way that I'm still leaning and I can't wait for next Fall to take a class about that.
I do need to buckle down and finish my homework for this week. I've been wanting to finish my HTML assignment but whenever I try to, the server is down or some other bullshitty reason. Time to go to bed now, though. The Opera House is calling.
There's a craft fair at the Fillmore Theater that I want to go to Saturday. It's called the Detroit Urban Craft Fair and it looks super awesome. I'm excited to find some cute/funky earrings to wear when I can finally wear different ones. I've been feeling so great about losing weight and even though there are moments when my willpower weakens but I really feel great most of the time.
I'm slowly weeding out library positions I do not want. Tonight I went on a tour of the Beaumont Hospital Library. The librarian was very nice and she told us a lot of information but I just can't see myself working in a hospital. There are too many rules to follow and there's virtually no leeway. I was able to get into the special libraries class I wanted to take so I'm hoping that I'll gain some more insight after this semester. I'm still really thankful that this program is working out better than I could have ever imagined. I finally feel like the pieces are falling into place. International Librarianship seems the way that I'm still leaning and I can't wait for next Fall to take a class about that.
I do need to buckle down and finish my homework for this week. I've been wanting to finish my HTML assignment but whenever I try to, the server is down or some other bullshitty reason. Time to go to bed now, though. The Opera House is calling.
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