Too late, I've thought of a cool name for this blog. The Libran Librarian. Hooray for the sign of the scales! You are charming, attractive to the opposite sex and an incorrigible flirt (the first half of the horoscope personality profile found on a joke coffee mug).
p.s. the second half is negative and, or course, completely untrue.
Tuesday, March 30, 2004
The attack of the wheezies
It's the middle of the hayfever season, and I've come to realise that my hayfever medication is not working very well any more. I take a nasal spray every day, and it used to stop me from getting those horrible sinus headaches.
However, this morning I woke up with one of those horrible sinus headaches - they sometimes last three days, in spite of regular doses of paracetamol. And apparently I'd spent all night snoring, snorting, choking and fighting for breath, too.
Not particularly attractive, I'm sure - so I'm utterly grateful that he loves me anyway...
However, this morning I woke up with one of those horrible sinus headaches - they sometimes last three days, in spite of regular doses of paracetamol. And apparently I'd spent all night snoring, snorting, choking and fighting for breath, too.
Not particularly attractive, I'm sure - so I'm utterly grateful that he loves me anyway...
Monday, March 29, 2004
Difficult requests, a fitting curse for book thieves, and a break from televised Buffy
I had a bit of a challenge today, when a teenage schoolboy came to the Information desk to find 'anything' on New Zealand alpine plants. Specifically, he was after two plants known colloquially as mountain carrot and pink heather, respectively. Even more specifically, he wanted to know about biological control of those two plants. The two books I could find on NZ alpine flora weren't useful to him, so I gave him the phone numbers of the Department of Conservation. I had the biggest difficulty not calling it the Department of Conversation! As is usual in cases like this (where I couldn't find anything straight away), I spent the rest of the afternoon looking on the Internet for likely information sources (including the DoC site). It felt pretty good to eventually find some, too.
I found a website which collects curses, to be put on those fiends who steal books. The library's been the victim of a vicious DVD thief - we lost our extended version of The Two Towers a mere months after it was made available for lending - so these curses may prove well worth a try at my library...
This one which follows is supposedly from the Monastery of San Pedro, Barcelona
"For him that Stealeth a Book from this Library,
Let it change into a Serpent in his hand & rend him.
Let him be struck with Palsy, & all his Members blasted.
Let him languish in Pain crying aloud for Mercy,
Let there be no Surcease to his Agony till he sink to Dissolution.
Let Bookworms gnaw his Entrails in token of the Worm that dieth not,
When at last he goeth to his final Punishment,
Let the flames of hell consume him for ever & aye."
I just realised yesterday that SkyOne has stopped screening re-runs of Buffy and Angel, so I'm now going to have a minute of silence to pay my respects to the last (for now) of the Buffyverse re-runs.
Oh well, at least I still have seasons 1-4 of Buffy on DVD to watch, and anyway they were clashing with the latest series of What Not To Wear.
I found a website which collects curses, to be put on those fiends who steal books. The library's been the victim of a vicious DVD thief - we lost our extended version of The Two Towers a mere months after it was made available for lending - so these curses may prove well worth a try at my library...
This one which follows is supposedly from the Monastery of San Pedro, Barcelona
"For him that Stealeth a Book from this Library,
Let it change into a Serpent in his hand & rend him.
Let him be struck with Palsy, & all his Members blasted.
Let him languish in Pain crying aloud for Mercy,
Let there be no Surcease to his Agony till he sink to Dissolution.
Let Bookworms gnaw his Entrails in token of the Worm that dieth not,
When at last he goeth to his final Punishment,
Let the flames of hell consume him for ever & aye."
I just realised yesterday that SkyOne has stopped screening re-runs of Buffy and Angel, so I'm now going to have a minute of silence to pay my respects to the last (for now) of the Buffyverse re-runs.
Oh well, at least I still have seasons 1-4 of Buffy on DVD to watch, and anyway they were clashing with the latest series of What Not To Wear.
Sunday, March 28, 2004
Shotguns and Weddings
There's a big hoo-ha over an advertisement, in a hunting magazine, for rifles especially designed to be handled by children. Having grown up in the city, my own reaction to this news was probably similar to that of the people to complained, saying that the product encourages children to think it's okay to kill. While you have to be sixteen to legally own a gun, it seems that its now okay to get your grandad to buy you one instead. Surely it'd be cheaper for kids to get their kicks by killing things 'virtually' (and it's legal and doesn't leave bloodstains for your mum to puzzle over).
We went to a wedding yesterday, that of a close friend of my boy's. The bride alternated between nervous giggles and huge grins during the ceremony, while the groom cried when it was his turn to say his vows. Apparently he got a bit overwhelmed before the start of the reception too. I knew him from my old work, and had always thought of him as a bit of a smartass. So it was kinda sweet that he turned out to be such a big softy. Not a huge surprise, really. I've worked with several men who were rough and tough on the outside, and ever-so-slightly marshmallow-y on the inside. In fact, I live with one.
We went to a wedding yesterday, that of a close friend of my boy's. The bride alternated between nervous giggles and huge grins during the ceremony, while the groom cried when it was his turn to say his vows. Apparently he got a bit overwhelmed before the start of the reception too. I knew him from my old work, and had always thought of him as a bit of a smartass. So it was kinda sweet that he turned out to be such a big softy. Not a huge surprise, really. I've worked with several men who were rough and tough on the outside, and ever-so-slightly marshmallow-y on the inside. In fact, I live with one.
Friday, March 26, 2004
What the hell is Turkey bacon?
I don't know what it is, I just read about it in Last Page. It sounds kinda nice, though.
Money, oysters and boots
Yum. It's Bluff oyster season in two days. Contrary to the opinion of most gourmets and foodies, I prefer them deep-fried in batter. And here's a yummy-sounding recipe for deep-fried oysters in coriander and chilli dressing which I found in stuff. I'll do my best to get the cook - I mean, the love of my life - to use it.
We had a bit of good news at our work meeting this morning. I was lucky not to miss it actually, because today the traffic was truly atrocious. It took an hour and a quarter of mostly idling and crawling, for me to get to work - normally it's 45 minutes of pretty reasonable travelling speed. To my slight irritation, the only other workmate who lives in the same city as I, was not late for work. Turns out he'd decided to get the train in.
But the good news was that the City Council, who runs the library, are prepared to subsidize library-related study to the tune of up to $1000 per financial year. That means that if I do the MLIS over three years I'd get over half of my course fees paid for. But, there was a big but. If the subsidized employee leaves her job less than one year after she passes the course, then she'll have to pay the money back.
Which is fair enough I suppose...we'll see.
After the dizzy joy I felt at being able to get my previously muscle-y calves into a pair of mid-knee high combat boots, I've decided to go shopping for a pair of dressy knee-high boots. This is despite the fact that, after paying all my bills for this month, I now have a measly $400 until my next pay day - which is almost exactly one fortnight from now. It will, however, probably take me weeks or months to find the right pair of boots - not too high-heeled, not too casual, elegant yet comfy (impossible?).
We had a bit of good news at our work meeting this morning. I was lucky not to miss it actually, because today the traffic was truly atrocious. It took an hour and a quarter of mostly idling and crawling, for me to get to work - normally it's 45 minutes of pretty reasonable travelling speed. To my slight irritation, the only other workmate who lives in the same city as I, was not late for work. Turns out he'd decided to get the train in.
But the good news was that the City Council, who runs the library, are prepared to subsidize library-related study to the tune of up to $1000 per financial year. That means that if I do the MLIS over three years I'd get over half of my course fees paid for. But, there was a big but. If the subsidized employee leaves her job less than one year after she passes the course, then she'll have to pay the money back.
Which is fair enough I suppose...we'll see.
After the dizzy joy I felt at being able to get my previously muscle-y calves into a pair of mid-knee high combat boots, I've decided to go shopping for a pair of dressy knee-high boots. This is despite the fact that, after paying all my bills for this month, I now have a measly $400 until my next pay day - which is almost exactly one fortnight from now. It will, however, probably take me weeks or months to find the right pair of boots - not too high-heeled, not too casual, elegant yet comfy (impossible?).
Thursday, March 25, 2004
A desperate-looking guy came into the library today, looking for a particular book. When I looked up that title, I found that 2 of the 3 copies were out, and the other was being held for someone.
Desperate Guy asked whether it would be possible for him to take that copy for ten, very short, minutes, so that he could photocopy some of it. He needed it for an exam on Monday.
'Sorry', I told him, 'we can't let you take that book out of the library because we can't check it out to you. That book is being held for someone else. But since you're so desperate, I'll let you photocopy some of it here on the library photocopier at 20c per copy'. But no, he wanted to take it to a shop where it would cost only 10c per copy.
'Well, exactly much photocopying are you planning to do?', I asked.
'The whole book', he replied.
'Do you realise that would be breaking copyright laws?'
'Yes, I know the law. I work for [a Government department which I won't name]. Please - I need it for the Police entrance exam. It's on Monday'.
Yeah...
Desperate Guy asked whether it would be possible for him to take that copy for ten, very short, minutes, so that he could photocopy some of it. He needed it for an exam on Monday.
'Sorry', I told him, 'we can't let you take that book out of the library because we can't check it out to you. That book is being held for someone else. But since you're so desperate, I'll let you photocopy some of it here on the library photocopier at 20c per copy'. But no, he wanted to take it to a shop where it would cost only 10c per copy.
'Well, exactly much photocopying are you planning to do?', I asked.
'The whole book', he replied.
'Do you realise that would be breaking copyright laws?'
'Yes, I know the law. I work for [a Government department which I won't name]. Please - I need it for the Police entrance exam. It's on Monday'.
Yeah...
Wednesday, March 24, 2004
When I don't enjoy reading, and when I do
Some of the stuff I've been reading for my MLIS course is sooo dry. Things I've found interesting were:
1. Positivism vs Post-modernism as applied to information managementm,
2. Public libraries as a symbol of democracy (or is it really just a typically American thing?) and
3. Whether public libraries should deal in pop culture, or restrict themselves to the 'serious' stuff.
What I've found boring includes very long articles on models of communication, and scholarly communication respectively.
I don't think it's impossible to present complex ideas in an interesting way - Carl Sagan did it really well. But most scholars don't write like Carl Sagan. Most seem to want to prove that they know lots of really big words, and can write really long sentences. Articles like that make me reach for the Buffy books. Even scholarly Buffy writing is usually readable.
On a happier note, I've finished two of the four novellas which make up Volume III of Tales of the Slayer.
The first is about a Slayer from an Anasazi community, who is disadvantaged by a complete lack of Watcher-ly knowledge. And she dies too soon for me to get to know her.
The second one I liked better - it's about a Chinese Slayer, set around the time of the Boxer rebellion. Of course, I immediately thought she must be the one of the two Slayers whom Spike killed. But this isn't ever made obvious, so maybe there were two successive Chinese Slayers? This Slayer gets more chance to develop, and probably the fact that she's Chinese made her more interesting to me. There's also a very strong feminist theme to this story - not surprising considering how oppressed Chinese women were at the time.
I'm looking forward to the next two tales, plus getting on with the other four books I'm in the middle of (and those are just the fun reads!).
1. Positivism vs Post-modernism as applied to information managementm,
2. Public libraries as a symbol of democracy (or is it really just a typically American thing?) and
3. Whether public libraries should deal in pop culture, or restrict themselves to the 'serious' stuff.
What I've found boring includes very long articles on models of communication, and scholarly communication respectively.
I don't think it's impossible to present complex ideas in an interesting way - Carl Sagan did it really well. But most scholars don't write like Carl Sagan. Most seem to want to prove that they know lots of really big words, and can write really long sentences. Articles like that make me reach for the Buffy books. Even scholarly Buffy writing is usually readable.
On a happier note, I've finished two of the four novellas which make up Volume III of Tales of the Slayer.
The first is about a Slayer from an Anasazi community, who is disadvantaged by a complete lack of Watcher-ly knowledge. And she dies too soon for me to get to know her.
The second one I liked better - it's about a Chinese Slayer, set around the time of the Boxer rebellion. Of course, I immediately thought she must be the one of the two Slayers whom Spike killed. But this isn't ever made obvious, so maybe there were two successive Chinese Slayers? This Slayer gets more chance to develop, and probably the fact that she's Chinese made her more interesting to me. There's also a very strong feminist theme to this story - not surprising considering how oppressed Chinese women were at the time.
I'm looking forward to the next two tales, plus getting on with the other four books I'm in the middle of (and those are just the fun reads!).
Monday, March 22, 2004
Single-serve friends for a lifetime
It's funny how you can stay friends with some people for years and years even though you only see each other a few times in that whole period.
Like Claudio, for instance. I know Claudio from about 10 years ago, when I was on a backpacker bus tour of the South Island. He was travelling the world with his mate John, both scientists living and working in Newcastle, England. John was the chatty, flirty one, so it's a little ironic that Claudio's the one who kept in touch over the years. Claudio and his new wife are coming over to New Zealand for their honeymoon, and so it's pretty cool that we'll be able to catch up. I'll get to see whether his taste in spectacles has changed, and he can ascertain whether I ever got my growth spurt.
Or Mike, whom I've known since my OE backpacking days. We hung out together for 3 days in Florence, then I stayed with him for a week about 3 years later, when I went to Seattle for a holiday. And after all this time, we still send other longish Christmas e-mails. Most likely we'll never actually see each other again, but it definitely feels like I have a good friend in Seattle.
That's a long way from to the "single-serve friend" referred to by the protagonist in "Fight Club".
Like Claudio, for instance. I know Claudio from about 10 years ago, when I was on a backpacker bus tour of the South Island. He was travelling the world with his mate John, both scientists living and working in Newcastle, England. John was the chatty, flirty one, so it's a little ironic that Claudio's the one who kept in touch over the years. Claudio and his new wife are coming over to New Zealand for their honeymoon, and so it's pretty cool that we'll be able to catch up. I'll get to see whether his taste in spectacles has changed, and he can ascertain whether I ever got my growth spurt.
Or Mike, whom I've known since my OE backpacking days. We hung out together for 3 days in Florence, then I stayed with him for a week about 3 years later, when I went to Seattle for a holiday. And after all this time, we still send other longish Christmas e-mails. Most likely we'll never actually see each other again, but it definitely feels like I have a good friend in Seattle.
That's a long way from to the "single-serve friend" referred to by the protagonist in "Fight Club".
Imagining the pitter-patter of tiny feet
I'm at the age where, if we want to have kids, we have to do it now or else it will be too late (if it isn't already).
If we do it now, then my library career will be on hold indefinitely. But as long as my other half is happy to support me financially for at least the next 5 years, then I'd probably be happy to play housewife (and catch up on the reading and painting?).
If we don't do it at all, we'll be able to maintain a reasonable lifestyle, I can get qualified, and maybe improve our lifestyle. I may end up regretting not having kids, but I'd have a nephew and niece to lavish attention on.
I think what would be the worst would be to decide to go for it, get all psyched, then find that it's no longer possible.
If we do it now, then my library career will be on hold indefinitely. But as long as my other half is happy to support me financially for at least the next 5 years, then I'd probably be happy to play housewife (and catch up on the reading and painting?).
If we don't do it at all, we'll be able to maintain a reasonable lifestyle, I can get qualified, and maybe improve our lifestyle. I may end up regretting not having kids, but I'd have a nephew and niece to lavish attention on.
I think what would be the worst would be to decide to go for it, get all psyched, then find that it's no longer possible.
Saturday, March 20, 2004
They're everywhere
I went to the park this afternoon and had a very cool time just being with my friends - Vinod has just started studying law part-time, Liz is organising her wedding, Sharmilla has been enjoying the perks of being in the travel industry, and Pravin had his nose in the Property section of the weekend paper again. In the background were the smooth sounds of Jacinta, a lounge singer who calls herself the "Singapore girl", followed by a reggae band and their grooving fans.
So I was rather surprised to find that my boss and her husband (who live 45 minutes away by car), had been sitting about four feet away from us the whole time. Don't get me wrong, she's very nice. It's just that I'd already finished work for the day and wasn't in a hurry to see my workmates again. And she just happened to be loitering about, just half a block from my house, two Sundays ago.
It's as though Fate is tossing us together like an unusual salad recipe.
She's not the first boss who's unintentionally trespassed on my free time, either. A few years ago I was on holiday in Canada and the U.S. I'd just spent a week in Vancouver getting to know the Siegal's Bagels guy (platonically), and had landed on Vancouver Island. It was a three-hour stint before continuing on to Seattle, to visit my friend Mike. In that three-hour period, who should spot me but my manager Pat and his wife-to-be?
Or maybe it's just a truly small world.
So I was rather surprised to find that my boss and her husband (who live 45 minutes away by car), had been sitting about four feet away from us the whole time. Don't get me wrong, she's very nice. It's just that I'd already finished work for the day and wasn't in a hurry to see my workmates again. And she just happened to be loitering about, just half a block from my house, two Sundays ago.
It's as though Fate is tossing us together like an unusual salad recipe.
She's not the first boss who's unintentionally trespassed on my free time, either. A few years ago I was on holiday in Canada and the U.S. I'd just spent a week in Vancouver getting to know the Siegal's Bagels guy (platonically), and had landed on Vancouver Island. It was a three-hour stint before continuing on to Seattle, to visit my friend Mike. In that three-hour period, who should spot me but my manager Pat and his wife-to-be?
Or maybe it's just a truly small world.
Work and Saturdays don't mix
It's a really gorgeous day, and it's Saturday, so I'm not so pleased to be working. However, I do finish at 12.30, so I'll be able to quaff lunch (yummy banana cake bought at the local Asian bakery) and go home in plenty of time to go out for the rest of the afternoon.
My boy's out with a bunch of other boys. They're going to a stag day (that's like the more traditional stag night, but for guys who're too old to stay out really late), leaving me free to do what I want most of today. So I'm going to the park for an afternoon of free Arts Festival gigs with a girlfriend, followed by a gym session and then study.
It's not that I don't like spending time with my other half - just that there are lots of things I don't end up doing because he's not interested. Mmm...I could even go to a foreign-language movie this evening...
My boy's out with a bunch of other boys. They're going to a stag day (that's like the more traditional stag night, but for guys who're too old to stay out really late), leaving me free to do what I want most of today. So I'm going to the park for an afternoon of free Arts Festival gigs with a girlfriend, followed by a gym session and then study.
It's not that I don't like spending time with my other half - just that there are lots of things I don't end up doing because he's not interested. Mmm...I could even go to a foreign-language movie this evening...
Friday, March 19, 2004
Niggling Nasties
Tara's post reminded me of my own thoroughly unpleasant experiences with the dreaded ... cold sore. There've been a couple of times in the past when I've had to deal with continous cold sore attacks (it really is possible to get one attack after another) which lasted months or more.
This is the reason why the word 'crusty', for me, is not synonymous with the word 'baguette'.
The first time I had the continuous nasties, I thought it was because I was dying to go overseas already. Funnily enough, I was completely free of them about two months after I started my first job in Edinburgh, until I returned to New Zealand two years later.
Personally, I believe world travel cures a range of maladies from acne to loneliness and boredom.
The next time it happened, I couldn't figure out what stress factors could have caused it. I was happily in love, had just left my much-loathed (by then) IT job and was a full-time 'artist'. I'll probably never find out. Anyway, the thing that saved me from everlasting nastiness was a year-long course of Acyclovir.
Now I can do all manner of front-line customer service tasks without scaring small children (that's semi-sarcasm).
This is the reason why the word 'crusty', for me, is not synonymous with the word 'baguette'.
The first time I had the continuous nasties, I thought it was because I was dying to go overseas already. Funnily enough, I was completely free of them about two months after I started my first job in Edinburgh, until I returned to New Zealand two years later.
Personally, I believe world travel cures a range of maladies from acne to loneliness and boredom.
The next time it happened, I couldn't figure out what stress factors could have caused it. I was happily in love, had just left my much-loathed (by then) IT job and was a full-time 'artist'. I'll probably never find out. Anyway, the thing that saved me from everlasting nastiness was a year-long course of Acyclovir.
Now I can do all manner of front-line customer service tasks without scaring small children (that's semi-sarcasm).
Thursday, March 18, 2004
So many displays, so little time..
I was supposed to get a display for the library, about Race Relations Day (on March 21st). I'd rung the Human Rights Commission for posters, started gathering books, and thought about what else I could put on the display board. Turns out it's only going to be up for a maximum of three days after all, due to the need to use that space for another display on Monday. But I got the posters up, put up some pretty pictures of people looking all ethnic, and laid out some books on racism, biculturalism (in New Zealand, it's not just an attitude - it's law), and immigration on the table. I think it'll do, though it's nowhere near as fun-looking as the St Patrick's Day display around the corner (how can you beat little stickers that read 'Kiss me, I'm Irish' ?).
I went to apply for my new driver's licence today, now that I'm legal to drive the library bus. I was shocked to find that I nearly failed the eye-sight test. The test I'd done at the doctors two months ago was fine - one eye is a bit short-sighted, but the other makes up for it. Today, when I tried to read the letters on that side, they were quite hard to read and I kept getting them wrong. So, I tried again only this time with much more squinting. That seemed to work. I'd better keep my (rarely worn, only at the movies) glasses handy...
I went to apply for my new driver's licence today, now that I'm legal to drive the library bus. I was shocked to find that I nearly failed the eye-sight test. The test I'd done at the doctors two months ago was fine - one eye is a bit short-sighted, but the other makes up for it. Today, when I tried to read the letters on that side, they were quite hard to read and I kept getting them wrong. So, I tried again only this time with much more squinting. That seemed to work. I'd better keep my (rarely worn, only at the movies) glasses handy...
no cliches on me - I hope
I'm so glad that this blog doesn't contain the words 'rave', 'rant' or 'musings'.
Tuesday, March 16, 2004
The quest for misinformation
I've decided that the essay question I'll do, for my assignment, will be on misinformation - what it is, who's vulnerable to it etc. I thought I'd be able to find examples all over the place e.g. the output of the Minister of Information in Iraq, political propoganda in just about any country you can name, scientific hoaxes...
Although I thought I'd be fine with finding material in the university library, I have to admit I have been a little lost there. I haven't used Library of Congress call numbers for many many years, and that's the first unsettling bit. The next is the fact that the library is really huge compared to, say, the public library I work in. Even compared to the public library in the City, which covers three floors. So navigating the place requires, at the very least, a directory. I found it necessary to get help from the library assistant, actually. But hey, I'm not proud. Any place is intimidating for the first (or second) time, eh? Anyone got any ideas on infamous broadcasters of misinformation (plus supporting journal articles) ?
Although I thought I'd be fine with finding material in the university library, I have to admit I have been a little lost there. I haven't used Library of Congress call numbers for many many years, and that's the first unsettling bit. The next is the fact that the library is really huge compared to, say, the public library I work in. Even compared to the public library in the City, which covers three floors. So navigating the place requires, at the very least, a directory. I found it necessary to get help from the library assistant, actually. But hey, I'm not proud. Any place is intimidating for the first (or second) time, eh? Anyone got any ideas on infamous broadcasters of misinformation (plus supporting journal articles) ?
Monday, March 15, 2004
A book is a delicate treasure...
There is a post in The Spectator regarding the view of books as semi-precious objects. He gives the example of a guy who buys cheap paperback versions of classic novels - then rips off their covers so they'll fit better into his back pocket. The Spectator goes on to defend this attitude, with the fact that books are no longer made by hand and hard to come by. Therefore it's not necessary to be so precious about them.
I'm one of those people who really hate marking books with pencil, much less tear pages out of them. In general, I just love books as objects (even notebooks and other stationery - but that's another fetish story).
Well, there was one exception...
Once, I went to Bolivia and Peru, with a short break in Buenos Aires, for a 5-week holiday. I wasn't able to find a Lonely Planet guidebook which covered only those two countries. Eventually I decided to buy their guidebook on the whole of South America, but it's a really thick book. So, after much agonising, I cut the book down the spine into four sections. This meant I could take just the portions which applied to Argentina, Bolivia and Peru, and saved me half of the original bulk. And I did get disapproving gasps from people who saw how I'd mutilated a Book.
On the whole though, I really hate when people borrow books from the library and fold down the corners instead of using bookmarks. Or even worse, cut or tear out pictures or whole pages from library books and magazines.
I'm one of those people who really hate marking books with pencil, much less tear pages out of them. In general, I just love books as objects (even notebooks and other stationery - but that's another fetish story).
Well, there was one exception...
Once, I went to Bolivia and Peru, with a short break in Buenos Aires, for a 5-week holiday. I wasn't able to find a Lonely Planet guidebook which covered only those two countries. Eventually I decided to buy their guidebook on the whole of South America, but it's a really thick book. So, after much agonising, I cut the book down the spine into four sections. This meant I could take just the portions which applied to Argentina, Bolivia and Peru, and saved me half of the original bulk. And I did get disapproving gasps from people who saw how I'd mutilated a Book.
On the whole though, I really hate when people borrow books from the library and fold down the corners instead of using bookmarks. Or even worse, cut or tear out pictures or whole pages from library books and magazines.
Sunday, March 14, 2004
It's all about keeping the Dead from coming back
I finished reading ‘Sabriel’ today. It took so long because I’m also reading ‘The Lord of the Rings and Philosophy’, ‘Fighting the Forces : what’s at stake in Buffy the Vampire Slayer’, ‘Dreaming of Gold, Dreaming of Home’ (the one about the history of Chinese migration to the US) and, of course, the thick wad of readings related to my MLIS study – all at the same time.
Anyway…I thought it was pretty clever to add Chapter 1 of the sequel onto the end of ‘Sabriel’. The ending of the book was quite abrupt, prompting me to want to know what happens to her next. Discovering an excerpt of the next book was at first a pleasant surprise (because I might find out), then a slight feeling of disappointment (because Sabriel appears to be not in the sequel). That makes me want to read ‘Lirael’ anyway, just to find out what the situation is.
I’d never known what necromancy was, and ‘Sabriel’ gave me quite a good idea of the gist of it. (Obviously, fantasy writers are going to make the details of necromancy very different from each other’s.) What intrigued me were the tools used to put the Dead in their rightful place – bells. It must take a lot of practice to avoid ringing them accidentally, eh?
It’s also a bit of a coming-of-age tale, with our heroine (at the relatively ripe old age of 19) learning about her destiny, her powers and responsibility, and boys. I like Mogget – the Free Magic creature who is really clever and useful when trapped in his cat body, but dangerous and hateful when released. He kind of reminded me of the character of Angel in BtVS, actually.
Yesterday I came home with 'Tales of the Slayer : Volume 3'. Yes, I've succumbed to reading tv series-based fiction.
Anyway…I thought it was pretty clever to add Chapter 1 of the sequel onto the end of ‘Sabriel’. The ending of the book was quite abrupt, prompting me to want to know what happens to her next. Discovering an excerpt of the next book was at first a pleasant surprise (because I might find out), then a slight feeling of disappointment (because Sabriel appears to be not in the sequel). That makes me want to read ‘Lirael’ anyway, just to find out what the situation is.
I’d never known what necromancy was, and ‘Sabriel’ gave me quite a good idea of the gist of it. (Obviously, fantasy writers are going to make the details of necromancy very different from each other’s.) What intrigued me were the tools used to put the Dead in their rightful place – bells. It must take a lot of practice to avoid ringing them accidentally, eh?
It’s also a bit of a coming-of-age tale, with our heroine (at the relatively ripe old age of 19) learning about her destiny, her powers and responsibility, and boys. I like Mogget – the Free Magic creature who is really clever and useful when trapped in his cat body, but dangerous and hateful when released. He kind of reminded me of the character of Angel in BtVS, actually.
Yesterday I came home with 'Tales of the Slayer : Volume 3'. Yes, I've succumbed to reading tv series-based fiction.
Saturday, March 13, 2004
To sleep, perchance to breathe uninterrupted through the night...
I have sleep apnoea, I think. It's happened to me several times before in my life, and it happened last night. I'm not talking about snoring either - I usually wouldn't know it if I'm snoring at night.
What I'm talking about is having a fine 'ole sleep, then starting to wake up to the fact that I Absolutely Cannot Breathe. When this happens, I know that I have to change the position of my head and/or body, in order to be able to breathe again. But I don't want to, because I'm sooo sleepy. But I have to, or suffocate. So I force myself to wake up enough to move, and finally I can gasp all that precious air again.
It's bloody scary, actually.
Several years ago, a doctor told me to try elevating the 'head' end of my bed. So I brought home some wood off-cuts from a local timber yard and propped up my bed. This seemed to work for a long time. However, it happened last night and now I'm worried again. It's not like my partner is going to notice when and if it happens again, and help me:
a) he'll be asleep and
b) I won't be able to tell him.
Maybe I shouldn't worry - after all, every time this has occurred in the past I've managed to get breathing again. But there's always a first time, right??
What I'm talking about is having a fine 'ole sleep, then starting to wake up to the fact that I Absolutely Cannot Breathe. When this happens, I know that I have to change the position of my head and/or body, in order to be able to breathe again. But I don't want to, because I'm sooo sleepy. But I have to, or suffocate. So I force myself to wake up enough to move, and finally I can gasp all that precious air again.
It's bloody scary, actually.
Several years ago, a doctor told me to try elevating the 'head' end of my bed. So I brought home some wood off-cuts from a local timber yard and propped up my bed. This seemed to work for a long time. However, it happened last night and now I'm worried again. It's not like my partner is going to notice when and if it happens again, and help me:
a) he'll be asleep and
b) I won't be able to tell him.
Maybe I shouldn't worry - after all, every time this has occurred in the past I've managed to get breathing again. But there's always a first time, right??
Friday, March 12, 2004
Bus-driving and legal
I passed my class 2 driving test today. That means that I'm licensed to drive the mobile library.
The test went quite well, apart from a screw-up at the very first intersection I came to. It's one with a Stop sign, and I never really notice it - I always stop there, but mostly because there's always traffic to give way to. This morning, I got to the Stop and there was no traffic around - so I sailed on through. Oops. But he let me off that one, because it was the first time he'd seen me do it.
So from next week I'll be spending at least one half-day per week on the mobile library.
The Shane Cotton exhibition opening turned out to be in the form of a traditional Maori powhiri. That meant an hour of welcomes, blessings, singing and speeches in Maori, before we were allowed to eat, drink, converse and peruse. There weren't enough chairs around, so most of us stood through the whole thing. So it was a little tiring, especially as it was 10 pm by the time I got home. And I was too shy to go up to the great artist himself and talk to him. What was I going to say - 'hi, I love yer work' ?
The test went quite well, apart from a screw-up at the very first intersection I came to. It's one with a Stop sign, and I never really notice it - I always stop there, but mostly because there's always traffic to give way to. This morning, I got to the Stop and there was no traffic around - so I sailed on through. Oops. But he let me off that one, because it was the first time he'd seen me do it.
So from next week I'll be spending at least one half-day per week on the mobile library.
The Shane Cotton exhibition opening turned out to be in the form of a traditional Maori powhiri. That meant an hour of welcomes, blessings, singing and speeches in Maori, before we were allowed to eat, drink, converse and peruse. There weren't enough chairs around, so most of us stood through the whole thing. So it was a little tiring, especially as it was 10 pm by the time I got home. And I was too shy to go up to the great artist himself and talk to him. What was I going to say - 'hi, I love yer work' ?
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