Time Flies

I know that time seems to pass more quickly the older you get, but I still find an interval of only 11 weeks between my 40th birthday and today's "Senior Citizen Offer" from Sunset Publishing a bit rushed...

Letter of the Day: C

When I was an undergraduate, I worked for a private investigation firm doing filing, data entry, document delivery, etc. One of my tasks - fortunately not too often - was to take a box of manila file folders and write

OPENED:
CLOSED:

on the tab so all the investigators had to do was write the date. After 30 or 40 folders, the words started to look wrong; they stopped looking like words and I would have to take a break. I knew I was still spelling them correctly, but only because I could compare them to the first one I had written.

Okay, maybe it's just me...

Anyway, I don't have that problem today. Today the word CLOSED looks just fine. Because I just CLOSED the deal on my house. Coincidentally, by signing my name so many times that it failed to look like my name.

But the bank guy seemed fine with my scribbles, so maybe it's just me...

It's not officially official and finalized until it gets filed or some such, but it's really happening.

I'm a homeowner! Go me!


Added later: I do promise pictures as soon as I can officially get in to the house - the only pix I have now show the previous owner's furniture. I'll post when it's empty and then when I get all my stuff settled in.

Music Notes, Part Two

Toby Keith just keeps getting better and better. Every album since Shock'n Y'All (2003) I've said "This is my favorite. This is his best album." Until the next one is released. Each album has a greater number of songs that go on my I-could-listen-to-this-song-every-single-day list. Now I know that artists are supposed to improve their craft but for every album to surpass the last is extraordinary. It seems more likely that there would be at least one album that I would say "whatever" about - which has happened with both Kenny Chesney and Dierks Bentley.

Contrasting all that TK fantastic-ness are two of the worst albums I've ever heard, Zac Brown Band's Foundation and Darius Rucker's Learn to Live. I liked both first singles, Chicken Fried and Don't Think I Don't Think About It (respectively); however, neither album is worth listening to even once. A friend loaned these to me, and she's even more disappointed in them than I am, 'cause she paid money for them!

"News" Dumbness

Remember, I don't have access to network or cable, so everything I know about Jon and Kate comes from the teeny snippets I see on news websites and blogs:

• they have eight children
  
• they have a reality TV show
  
• they are talking about getting a divorce
  

Here's a thought: Try living without the cameras before contemplating life-altering decisions. Or maybe that's just me.

Updated June 23: Why, yes, I do fairly well predicting fiction. I often know what the next line is going to be - it comes from watching, reading, and writing too much...

In other "news": Scalzi reports that people are dissing President Obama because he isn't having to deal with the same staggering issues as Presidents Lincoln, Roosevelt, and Truman. Seriously, people? You may want to live in interesting times, but I'll settle for peace and tranquility, thanks.

My Profession

Do you support your local library? It's there for you...

Today Show: Libraries Lend a Hand in Tough Times (4-minute video clip)

Summer Session

I am showing an English class how to blog.

Curiosity

Out of the mouths of babes...

The next Mars rover has been named Curiosity.

In hindsight, it's blindingly obvious. Way to go, Clara!

Beliefs

The Babylon 5 episode, "Parliament of Dreams" is about showcasing different alien culture's belief systems and ends with a display of "Earth's dominant belief system." Unlike all the other ceremonies which feature stories, chants, drums, and bells, the Earth celebration introduces, one by one, a loooooong line of at least 40 people, each representing a different belief system:

Atheist (I love that this is first!)
Roman Catholic
Zen Buddhist
Moslem / Muslim
Orthodox Jew
Sioux Indian
Greek Orthodox
Yupik Eskimo
Jivaro
Bantu
Taoist
Aborgini
Shinto
Maori
Hindu
Quaker

Not all are named, and of the ones that were only shown I, sadly, recognized only a few.

I leave it to the reader to take away the appropriate lesson.

Grow, Grow, Grow!

The "Less Hair" experiment is over. My shorter 'do was wonderful for ease of care, but every now and then I would catch sight of myself in the mirror and wonder, "How long has that piece been sticking up like that?" I tried a couple different lengths of short, but none of them really worked. I don't know if it's vanity or a need to be in control - or both - but I've changed my mind (love that prerogative!) and decided to grow it out just long enough to pull back into a ponytail. For now I'm keeping the bangs, although they've been their own problem in the past - we'll see...

Unfortunately, growing out short hair is a long process. Right now it's long enough to be in the way, but too short to keep out of the way. Argh!

Welcome Alexa!

Alexa (short for Alexandria) arrived on Tuesday. This delayed announcement is courtesy of Will and Henry and the paper due today that, despite weeks of work, refused to properly coalesce until around 3 a.m. {sigh}

Anyway, I have stolen a few moments to become acquainted with my new companion and she's just as wonderful as I anticipated. I already have 17 titles downloaded - 9 of which cost me absolutely nothing - and have begun reading this month's first new release. This weekend I plan on finishing it and moving on to the second. And then maybe to a third title.... Basically, I'm going to read a lot, but not anything from or about the 14th, 15th, or 16th centuries.

Letter of the Day: E

Today is Earth Day. And I'm doing better with recycling, reusing, reducing.

But for me, today is more about another "E": Escrow. As in I made an offer to buy a house and they made a counter-offer which I accepted and now I'm in escrow.

Here's another "E" word: Excited. And a non-E word that's just as applicable: Nervous.

Cleaning Up Bloglines Feeds

I love Bloglines, but sometimes the Keep New box is just too easy to check. So here are a bunch of things I want to keep track of:

Once again, Scalzi speaks, er writes, for me - this time about space exploration.

This post from Neil contains other info, but the part that spoke to me is his take on the New Scientist article that's right at the top. Human arrogance isn't surprising, but is still depressing.

I've been trying to convince people for years that it could, and will eventually, happen - will you be prepared when the digital world dies?

Kindle

I ordered my Kindle2 - it's a present from myself, my Dad & M, and J & P who gave me Amazon gift cards. It hasn't even shipped yet, let alone arrived, but I have already picked out her name and a "stack" of books...

Birthday Dinner

Normally I take my birthday off from work, but yesterday was a busy day: my Shakespeare and history class which overlapped with the first of two meetings which overlapped, a class I was teaching which overlapped with my dinner time, and Reference Desk - 7 hours of events scheduled to take place in 6 hours.

Anyway, I decided that after all this jumble, I was going to have pancakes and I happened to mention it to J and P, who said they would like to join me. K and K overheard and showed up to "crash" our dinner. What this meant for me is that instead of having a lonely dinner with only a book, I had a mini-party with four good friends. Lucky me!

Happy Birthday to Me!

A pretty from a good friend:

Despicable

A colleague told me today that some credit card companies are lowering the limit on credit cards without notification, then slamming the customer when the new, lower limit is exceeded. I've had my limit raised and only known by looking at my statement, but I think this new trick is the icing on top all their unreasonable business practices.

My Neighbor

I haven't seen Kilauea: Mountain of Fire yet, but several people have said it's very good. Kudos to PBS for putting it online.

No Regrets?

Yet another depressing example of the depths to which some of the human race can sink (see also last year's rainbow condundrum). I didn't spend the $$ for this new book, although the public library did...

Spring Break 2009

Just in case I forget tomorrow, I'd better post this now...

I will be out of the office, and therefore without Internet access, beginning Friday, March 20 and won't be back until Sunday March 29 (at which point it will take me at least three days to get caught up). But I'm getting a 9-day break and only using 4 days of vacation time, so it's worth it!

I have a to-do list that's a mile long, so send energy vibes my way, else I'll probably blow all this valuable time just reading and sleeping...

A Good Month

This year April - always a good month for me - brings the latest releases in two(!) of my favorite book series. I always buy the hardcover of Laurie R. King's Mary Russell series, and although in the past I've waited for the paperback of Jim Butcher's Harry Dresden series, I think with this, book #11, I'll switch to the hardcovers.

Or maybe I'll use part of my tax refund and buy myself a Kindle 2. After all, I'll be turning 40 (gasp!) this year and won't be doing anything else to celebrate. To think that I could carry in my hand more books than are currently in the 12 bookcases in my house is a mind-boggling thought, along the scale of how many other galaxies, stars, and planets are in the night sky.