Best Christmas Gift Ever!

Once upon a time... life started to feel like a fairy tale.

On Friday, December 25, 2009, my best friend, my love, my one and only asked me to marry him. I, of course, said yes!

The first thing people have asked me lately is to tell the story of the proposal. I'm sorry to disappoint, but I don't have a huge story to tell. But that's perfect for me :). But here's the info I have - which, I suppose - could be considered a story:

Apparently, Jim had known since Thanksgiving that he was going to ask me to marry him. My family was all up here for that holiday, but he said he couldn't get my parents alone to ask them. He did ask my brothers, though... they had a whole guys-moment-thing going on. I suppose they both gave him the thumbs up and he continued to plan.

At Christmas time, he finally got a chance to talk to my parents - or more specifically, my mom. It seems like I was hovering a bit, because (again) he couldn't get them both at the same time. So he talked to mom and she talked to dad - is what I heard. But I suppose it all worked out for the best!

On Christmas day, we did our normal gift opening and then my grandmother (dad's mom) came over for a yummy lunch. After she left, I figured we would be settling in for a quiet afternoon before the Titan's game that night. But Jim pulled me into the room he was staying in and told me to cover my eyes. When he told me to open them, he was in front of me on one knee.

He simply said, "Will you marry me?" I don't remember if I said yes right away, but there was no hesitation in my head. I'm pretty sure Jim was expecting tears, but I was too excited and happy - more smiley than weepy!

He said that he didn't want to make a big production out of proposing to me - because I'm not a fan of being the center of attention and all that. It worked a lot better for me to be just the two of us. Nice and easy! See how well he knows?!

The ring is from his family and is gorgeous. Much more than I would have ever wished for. I am going to have to get it resized, but it's pretty darn near perfect! Apparently it was hidden in our kitchen since Thanksgiving. Shows how observant I am!

A lot of people have asked if I knew it was coming - the official answer is no. But there were hints... and I kinda thought it might be coming. One being that Jim was way too excited about Christmas - like every once in a while doing the "it's almost Christmas!!!" That's not so normal for him. And there were other little things, but I'm gonna go with "no, I had no idea!"

I know that the next questions people have are all about the wedding. And I would just like to say here that no plans have been set yet. As in.... I dunno what date, I dunno where, I dunno how.... nothin. But we're open to suggestions!

Guess that's all I have for now. This has all been the best Christmas gift I've ever gotten (and will ever get, I'm sure). It's still sinking in, but I'm getting more excited the more I realize - even if my "to do" list just grew a lot.

Backtracking to Thanksgiving

Before I get too deep into the Christmas season, I feel like I need to just give the Thanksgiving rundown. This is mostly because we had such a fun time and I'm fairly likely to forget what all we did and where we went. So, this is backtracking a bit, but I thought I would share anyway.

My family all came up for the Thanksgiving holidays. As in, my mom, dad, both of my brothers and their wives. It was quite the crew! Luckily, they weren't all staying with me! I don't have that kinda space :). Helloooo studio! Anyway, they found a great hotel in Chelsea that was a great location and was right next to trains as well. I was impressed :).

They came into town on Tuesday night (the 24th, I believe). Jim and I met them at the airtrain and took them straight to the hotel. I was already wiped out cause I had worked that night - so we just left them there. On Wednesday morning, they all took a stroll through Greenwich Village down to Houston. We met them at Katz Deli - one of our favorite places to get a great sandwich! Then we walked down around Chinatown, but it started raining... so we did a little shopping and headed back to the hotel to get ready for the evening.

Wednesday night we went up to see the parade balloons being blown up. It's such a cool thing to do! I had seen it before, but the fam needed the experience. It was misting quite a bit by then, so we really didn't stay long. We then headed back down to the Theatre District because we were seeing Jersey Boys later. We stopped at Rosie O'Gradys for some warm-me-up foods and headed on to the theatre.

I have to say that Jersey boys was amazing! The music was just spot on and my entire family was pretty much singing along. I'm glad we got to see it! I have to agree with whoever said it wasn't exactly a musical so much as a musical timeline. But it was still wonderful and I'll recommend it on to others.

After the show, we went down a few blocks to Times Square to take a few pictures and things. We decided to go somewhere for dessert - and conveniently there was a place called Roxie's that was perfect! I think some people were itching for some "NY Cheesecake." I know that wasn't me! Anyway, we took lots of pictures and walked ourselves back down to the hotel. Had to get to bed early to be ready for the parade in the morning! :)

On Thursday morning, we were out and about early. We went to the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade. I believe we ended up standing around 40th on 6th ave. It was a great spot, really... I think we got really lucky! They had lots of stuff blocked off, so we had to do some maneuvering. But the parade was wonderful and the weather was pretty mild. I'm happy to report that we stayed for the whole thing - even though there was mumbling to the contrary.

Afterward, I had made reservations to have Thanksgiving Dinner at one of the restaurants in Grand Central Station. It's the one in the actual concourse that looks out onto the station- Metrazur. The food was fantastic (a lot better than I was expecting), so I think everyone was satisfied. The only thing missing was leftovers for later!

After dinner, we headed out to Queens so I could show everyone our apartment. We have tons of video games (thanks to boyfriend extraordinaire), so we set up rockband and some wii bowling and everyone went to town. That was a nice, quiet evening. By that point, I think everyone was starting to feel a bit of the tiredness of walking around the city for a few days.

On Friday, everyone sort of split up to do their own thing. Dad and Blake went to the Guggenheim, Grant and Megan went to Battery Park, Mom and Moriah went shopping in the scary Macy's :). Jim and I met up with the later and walked down to SoHo with them - specifically to go to the MoMa Store.

We all met back up in Little Italy to get a late lunch. Jim's mom actually came down from RI to have lunch with us. That was a good time and our parents got to get to know each other. After eating, I took both of our moms to see about getting some fakie purses - I may have shocked my mom though :). It's kind of a crazy area and lots of crazy people to deal with.

Mom and I took Jim and his mom to Penn Station because they were headed back to RI for a memorial service. Then I met up with my brothers, etc to go see Ragtime that night. It was pretty good! I didn't realize it was still in the first stages of being on Broadway and all that, but it kind of makes sense. It was well done (except for a few things), but it's a fairly depressing story. We stopped at a brewery on the way home and had a nice evening of chatting and such :).

On Saturday morning, Grant and Megan left early. They had the early flight that day. Everyone else did a little shopping and Dad went to the Met. We met up for lunch (minus dad) in Hell's Kitchen and went back to a place we had been to before and loved - Five Napkin Burger. Yum! We wandered around a bit more before we had to go to the airport.

It was so nice to have them all around for the holiday! We had such a good time. I wish they could come up more often! Alas. At least I'm headed down to see them at Christmas time. I was going to add pictures to this post, but it's definitely long enough without it. I have pics all over my facebook stuff, so check around to find them. There are definitely some fun ones :).

Anyway, here's to a great Thanksgiving and looking forward to Christmas!

The schedule goes BOOM!

It's kinda crazy how you can have a whole lot of nothing going on for weeks at a time... then bam! Your social calendar explodes! Well, maybe the term "social calendar" is used very loosely here. More like... we had places to go. :).

This last week has turned our normal, low-key lifestyle on it's head. Last Saturday was Halloween. And being good New Yorkers, we decided to go to the Village parade. I went a few years ago, but it's always insane. It's nice to seee the crazies gather and realize how sane you are :). I posted some pics up at Facebook - but those were only a small tasting of what it was like.

I just love that even in a parade of crazies, there is still a crazy person!!! This dude had a dog in a tutu... himself in some sort of gypsy/nomad getup that I'm not convinced was a costume... and a live bird on his head. Ahem. And he kept coming by.

This was Jim's first time at the parade and he loved it. Especially the many superhero characters, the ATHF crew, and a cobra commander. He even got so excited about a zombie Captain America that he took a picture with him.

Perhaps we just need to get out more :).

But our week of fun didn't end there! Oh no. On Wednesday we got to go to our first Knicks game! The tickets were actually free to us, so that made the game even more enjoyable. Even if the Knicks lost. It was a night of intense amounts of cotton candy, pre-torn Knicks hats, and cup columbusing. A good time was had by all!

The very next night was another event - we saw Ricky Gervais LIVE at Carnegie Hall!! That was one of my birthday presents to Jim. He's a huge Gervais fan - as in he listens to all the podcasts and performances multiple times. Not to mention he loves The Office (British version only, natch). It was also our first trip to Carnegie Hall, which was really cool. It's extremely posh and we were extremely underdressed. But our seats were great (in one of the tier boxes) and it was a great show.

The encore was Ricky singing New York, New York with ELMO! I mean, the actual puppet. Isn't that crazy? I was shocked, but they did a great job. From our vantage point, we could actually see the workings of Elmo... which was kinda weird. But it was a lot of fun, and laughs were had by all!

To top it all off, we went up to Rhode Island this weekend to see Jim's family. His birthday is coming up (see early present, aka Gervais), so we headed up so they could celebrate with him. One thing that's great about visiting families is that we end up coming home with lots of yummy leftovers - specifically his aunt's homemade banana pudding. YUM!

Tonight we're headed to a midnight release of the latest COD video game - Modern Warfare 2. Jim's been amped about this for a few weeks, so tonight should be fun. This is the second release I've been to... so I'm expecting lots of nerdy and socially awkward dudes. Pictures? I hope so :).

Inadvertant Design

You wouldn't think it, but being a Librarian has given me way more variety than I ever thought possible. Obviously the whole reference question thing is the basis of it all... but it only blooms from there. One minute I'm a computer tech and the next I'm an event planner.

Our latest event has turned me into something completely different - a fashion show coordinator. This is, of course, something I would have never expected. Particularly as fashion is obviously not my forte. Though, perhaps I can claim craftiness.

But thankfully it's not just the fashion thing (I love Project Runway as much as the next person... but I'm no guru. Obvs). Of course, I didn't realize how much more it would take to plan a fashion show rather than one of our regular programs. It significantly more, actually.

To be specific, the program is going to be BUBBLE WRAP FASHION!!! YAY! What a great idea, huh? I can't claim it - is was one of my coworkers. Genius, I say! (ps i have no idea who this chick is... it was the only non-risque pic of someone wearing bubble wrap.) Anyway, this program is going to be awesome.

That is, if I can get it together. This means picking music, decorations, prizes, etc. so much more than I really wanted to get myself into... but there it is.

It just reminds me so much that being a Librarian (specifically for teens/kids) is just tons more than just answering reference questions. I guess I'm thankful for that - at least, I will be when the stress wears off from doing these programs.

Whew! Fashion design, here I come!! w000t! :)

Fall is Upon Us!

Contrary to what you may believe, I do actually pull my head out of books sometimes. Today I've realized that Fall is upon us. I am, of course, shocked by it... because I'm pretty sure I was thinking about how hot it was days ago. And when I say "days," it's possible that I really mean "weeks." That's how time is moving for me at the moment.

I suppose it hit me mostly this morning when I woke up freezing - and then came to work to hang my Fall-themed sign for a display. Go figure. The taking-out-of-the-AC-unit yesterday only gave me a vague notion that it might not get hot anymore... but it still didn't hit home. I guess I'm unobservant like that.

Of course, Fall means that work is back in the groove of having our after school kids coming in... and then being kicked out. Always fun. I've only been cursed at twice so far - so I'm doing pretty good! And our programs and stuff are about to kick off (which has been stressful, but it will be a nice chance of pace once we get things going).

I'm really not used to needing a coat in the mornings - which has resulted in me being very cold walking to work. Maybe I'll start hanging some sort of coat on the door handle so it's impossible for me to leave without one. Knowing me, that probably won't work... but doesn't hurt to have good intentions.

Speaking of good intentions - I've given up candy. This doesn't sound like that big of a thing... if you don't know me. Lately I've realized exactly how much candy I'm attacking and it's just not good. My teeth are pretty much going to fall out, I'm sure. But yeah. I'm on day four right now - and it hasn't been easy. The darn vending machine at work has decided to be stocked with some of my faves. It's totally against me. But I'm staying strong and hoping I don't die of lack-of-sugar-poisoning :). I'm sure that exists.

Complaints, Etc.

There is something so brain-numbing about waking up early for work. By early, I mean 6:30am. I'm used to doing 7:45 or 8... but this early stuff is killing me. Especially when I worked till 9pm the night before...

You know, I used to get up early every day. My previous job was in a school, so I was always up around that time. Sure didn't take me long to get used to sleeping in. I think one of my other problems with this early stuff is that I only have to do it once a week. Meaning, I'll never get in the habit of doing it. I'd rather not... but still.

Enough complaining. This weekend I went to see 9.

Honestly, I really liked it. I didn't know much about it - but really the trailers don't give much info. I thought it was really well done and I'd definitely recommend it if you're into animated movies.

It was a lot more "steam punk" than I expected it to be. Kind of a what-would-happen-after-humans-are-taken-over-by-machines story. It was more in the action/adventure/almost thriller.

Anyway, I liked it and recommend it.

I'm really just writing about it to keep my brain-juices flowing and not drop my head on my desk for a nap. It doesn't help that our office is FREEZING. As in, I almost brought in a scarf and cap to sit in the office with. Unnecessary blowing AC is very unfortunate. I'm hoping I don't get sick from it. Alas.

I'm off to get some work done, I suppose. Wish me luck!

Milestone Time!

I've had a bit of a milestone around here. Yesterday marked two years that I have lived and worked in New York. Kind of exciting, huh?

Luckily that anniversary is pretty easy for me to remember. On my first day, there was a special activity that only happens once a year - the staff appreciation breakfast. It always happens around the same time - so really.... the breakfast is for me to celebrate my yearly anniversary.

Some days I really can't believe I've been here that long. Others, I feel like I've been here much longer. I suppose that's how it is everywhere... and everyone thinks that... I was just having my moment :).

Reading Challenge

In past years I've tried to set a number of books to read in that year - really it's taken the place of my "new years resolution." Last year I read 80 books... and i was pretty proud of myself. I think I'm still just excited to be able to read without having school stuff get in the way. Everything I've read is because I want to. It's a wonderful freedom.

This year I found an online book challenge to give me a different sort of goal. The 999 challenge. Sounds daunting, doesn't it?

The whole thing is that you read nine books in nine categories in 2009. That would be a total of 81 books - giving me a little lead on last year's number... but some people also took another level of the challenge and tried to do it by 09/09/09.... yesterday. I almost made it. I lack two books (both classics, of course). But I've read more than 9 in some categories... so perhaps it still counts as complete. Right? Right.

I figured I needed to branch out of my fantasy/sci fi/favorite authors stuff and read something else. And I have to say, it has made me a better librarian for it. I've actually been able to talk about books that I wouldn't have had any idea about before. I would totally recommend doing this to anyone who is an avid reader. It totally broadens your scope.

So I guess I'm going to write my book list here. I'll put stars next to the ones that I loved the most :). Those aren't the only ones I recommend though. Enjoy!

Young Adult Fiction Challenge

Realistic Fiction

Caught Between the Pages - Merlene Carvell

Undone - Brook Taylor

Cracked Up to Be - Courtney Summers

Jellicoe Road - Melina Marchetta

Peeled - Joan Bauer **

Beauty Shop for Rent... - Laura Bowers

Boot Camp - Todd Strasser

Brett McCarthy: Work in Progress - Maria Padian

Same Difference - Siobhan Vivian **

Mystery/Adventure

Dead is the New Black - Marlene Perez

Dirty Laundry - Daniel Ehrenhaft

School for Dangerous Girls - Eliot Schreiber

Dead is a State of Mind - Marlene Perez

Max (A Maximum Ride Novel) - James Patterson

Death By Bikini - Linda Gerber

Princess of the Midnight Ball - Jessica Day George **

Gentlemen - Michael Northrop

The Awakening - Kelley Armstrong **

Death by Latte - Linda Gerber

Science Fiction

The Hunger Games - Suzanne Collins **
Skinned - Robin Wasserman **

GemX - Nicky Singer

Dangerous Days of Daniel X - James Patterson

Catching Fire - Suzanne Collins

Leviathan - Scott Westerfeld

Neptune's Children - Bonnie Dobkin

The Carbon Diaries - Saci Lloyd **

The Adoration of Jenna Fox - Mary E Pearson

Fantasy/Horror

Dragon's Keep - Janet Lee Carey

Generation Dead - Daniel Waters **

Gregor the Overlander - Suzanne Collins

Lord of Misrule (A Morganville Vampires Novel) - Rachel Caine

Shadow Kiss (A Vampire Academy Novel) - Richelle Mead

Sucks to be Me - Kimberly Pauley

Fragile Eternity - Melissa Marr

Persistance of Memory - Amelia Atwater Rhodes

Impossible - Nancy Werlin **

City of Glass (Mortal Instruments Series) - Cassandra Clare **

Hunted: a House of Night Novel - PC and Kristin Cast

The Lightning Thief - Rick Riordan **

Evermore -Alyson Noel

Historical Fiction

Ivy - Julie Hearn

Envy (A Luxe novel)- Anna Godbersen

The Season - Sarah MacLean

Newes From the Dead - Mary Hooper

The Red Necklace - Sally Gardner

The Smile - Donna Jo Napoli

The Astonishing Life of Octavian Nothing...- M.T. Anderson

Ten Cents a Dance - Christine Fletcher

A Voice of Her Own - Barbara Dana

Graphic Novels

Watchmen - Alan Moore

Breaking Up - Aimee Friedman

Plain Janes - Cecil Castellucci

Life Sucks- Jessica Abel

Cairo - G. Willow Wilson

The Good Neighbors (Kin) - Holly Black **

Japan Ai - Aimee Major Steinberger

The Umbrella Academy - Gerard Way

Heroes (Companion to the TV show) - various authors

Urban Fiction

Hot Girl - Dream Jordan

Work What You Got - Stephanie Perry Moore

Tyrell - Coe Booth **
Shortie Like Mine - Nini Simone

Hotlanta - Denene Millner and Mitzi Miller

Push - Sapphire

Jason and Kyra - Dana Davidson

Shooter - Walter Dean Myers

Messed Up- Janet Lynch

"Chick Lit"

At Face Value - Emily Franklin

Girl v. Boy - Yvonne Collins and Sandy Rideout

Jet Set - Carrie Karasyov

Gamer Girl - Mari Mancusi **

Being Nikki - Meg Cabot

The Girls - Tucker Shaw

Peace, Love, and Baby Ducks- Lauren Myracle **

Oh. My. Gods. - Tera Lynn Childs **

Audrey, Wait! - Robin Benway **

Classics

Catcher in the Rye - J.D. Salinger

1984 - George Orwell

One Flew Over the Cuckoos Nest - Ken Kesey

Fahrenheit 451 - Ray Bradbury

Slaughterhouse Five - Kurt Vonnegut

A Separate Peace - John Knowles

The Stranger - Albert Camus

(two more classics to be added... once I read them :))

Sorry for the length... but that's how it goes, I suppose :).

Danger Cart Activities

I've been meaning to write about this for a while now. It's something near and dear to my heart. You see... my Danger Cart and I have been in a great, working relationship for over a year now.

And it just baffles me when I see Danger Carts being mistreated.

Seriously, I love my Danger Cart. For those of you who have cars and whatnot, you probably have no idea what I'm talking about. Some people call them Granny Carts... I believe the official term for them is "laundry cart." But mine! Mine is the Danger Cart!

It may not look so dangerous, but don't be deceived. It's totally dangerous in it's own way. It can totally run people over. I know. I've done it..... Kidding. Kinda.

Now, I do realize that the advertisements for such carts say things like, "has countless uses..." or "for a multitude of chores..." But there is one thing those advertisements need to specify (as silly as it may seem).

THIS IS NOT A RIDE FOR CHILDREN!!!

I know it may look like a stroller (use your imagination), but it's really not. Lately I've been noticing an increasing number of children riding along in their parents danger carts. This is NOT OKAY! We have begun to affectionately call it "Rollercoastering." The kids sometimes look like they're having too much fun.

Let me tell you - it's pretty hard to get a picture of this without looking like a stalker or something. But boyfriend extraordinaire pulled it off. I don't know if you can see it, but there are THREE kids in that poor danger cart.

I don't have proof cause my little camera phone couldn't hack it, but I have actually seen a DOG rollercoastering. It was in a kind of scared/surfing stance and pretty much frozen with terror. I would be too, little dog.

There is one other danger cart activity that I would like to take issue with - Columbusing. It's mostly seen in this area, but it's a bit disturbing. The image you are about to see could cause mental damage. View with caution.

There are people in this neighborhood that do a version of dumpster diving that has apparently been accepted as okay around here. I suppose it's easier as everyone's trash sits out on the sidewalk on trash days (twice a week).

You may be looking at this cart as a great recycling tool - look at all those cans! But in reality, those cans are going to be traded for coins. This is how you know you don't live in the most high income area. Ahem.

The moral to the story is...
If you see danger cart abuse, please report it. We've got to work together to save these useful and wonderful creatures. They don't deserve this treatment. Won't you call to sponsor a danger cart today?

Birfday Week!!

Back when I was making my vacation schedule, I did something smart. I took off an entire week for my birthday. In past years, I have taken off the day of, or a few days surrounding it... but never the whole week. And let me tell you... it's been blissful!

The first few days, we just took delight in sleeping in and playing video games and reading (well, the reading is just me). I think I've finished four books on this vacation - and started a fifth... ahem.

Then on Monday we opted to get out and go somewhere.... namely Coney Island. I had been down there before - but that was all before the big move to the city. Boyfriend extraordinaire had never been there and was anxious to see it - even though it did make him nostalgic for living five minutes from a beach (which he has had his whole life until now). We didn't so much get into doing a beach day as we did walking the boardwalk and people watching - of which there is TONS. We also found an arcade that has his ultimate, favorite, most wonderful arcade game ever... it's an xmen six player game. Apparently we're going to own it one day. Ahem.

Tuesday was really a shopping day - my choice... which it usually isn't. But I had some coupons (of course), so I decided to treat myself. So we shopped and that night we went to see Bruno. It was... uhm... interesting. That was the boyfriend's choice, but he was also a huge Borat fan. I'm indifferent, I suppose.

Wednesday was my actual birthday - and we went down to the Lower East Side to go to a restaurant I've been wanting to go to. It's called Peanut Butter Co... everything they have is some type of peanut butter sandwich. yum!!! We also went to a video game store that specializes in old stuff... and there's tons of it. Boyfriend was in heaven. I also got one of the worlds best fruit tarts for my "birthday cake" slash treat. This is why I love Martha's Bakery!!

Anyway, on Thursday I did a massive amount of laundry that I had been putting off... then I spent the afternoon being pampered. Hello mani/pedi! The place was wonderful and fairly inexpensive. I'm totally going back sometime. Then I had to pack and pack some more.

On Friday I traveled to Nashville to visit with my family for a few days. I got to see everyone I wanted to see... which is a miracle :) - even if some were only for a moment. I also got to see my lil' brother's new pad... I am jealous of all the space in their apartment... but alas. I did birthday dinner with the whole fam, which was awesome. And it was made even more awesome by chocolate mousse crepes with raspberry puree... my prefered birthday "cake." I also had the charge of going through some of my boxes that I left down there - mostly of books. I went through a few, but the boxes seem never ending. But I suppose that's the way it is sometimes.

I had the flight from Hades last night trying to get home... let's just say I finally got back about an hour and a half later than we were supposed to. I'm just glad I had a good book to get me through!

Now I have one last day to be lazy and peaceful before I throw myself back into work - which is not at all going to start off slow. It will be more like being shot from a cannon. Looking forward to that. Ahem. I'm off to enjoy my last day of freedom!

Harry Potter Wonderfulness

So, I saw Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince yesterday after work.

(this is my fave poster I've seen in the subways)

My wonderful boyfriend spent the better part of his day getting us tickets - which is lucky cause they were all sold out by the time our movie was letting in. So props to the bf!!

I've been a Potter fan since basically the beginning. Every time a new movie comes out, I've reread the books before I go see the film. This year, I opted out. The problem is that I get so aggravated at the movie because I just read the book and I know exactly what's missing. I usually hate the movie the first time I see it... and then I see it a few more times in the theatre and decide I actually do like it. It's quite the process.

So this time I decided I'd not reread the books and just see the movie with a fresh look. And that was a great choice. I do realize some of the stuff that was changed/missing/etc, but it didn't bother me quite as much this time. I honestly didn't realize some of the issues until this morning when I was discussing the movie with a coworker - then it bothered me a little, but not enough to change my opinion of the movie.



I truly loved the film. I laughed, I cried, I felt the warm-fuzzies.... it was just great. I really enjoyed that they made the teen-angsty/lovey stuff come through more for this one (which is pretty well in line with the book). There was also a bit more snark in this one - which is always fun. I already loved the story and the movie just put it on the big screen for me :).

So yeah. My vote is that this is a great movie. Now I have to decide if I want to see it again in the theatre (yes) even if I'm not having to convince myself to like it. I probably will - cause that's just what I do.

My Librarian Heart Goes Pitter-Patter

There are times when being a Librarian is very rewarding. And, of course, there are plenty of times that it's so frustrating that you start thinking people - in general - are incompetent. Other times you get a glimpse of humanity that you weren't expecting.



Yesterday I was having a cruddy day at work - one of those days where there aren't enough hours in the day to finish all the stuff you need to do... and people keep giving you more. So, I spent most of my day huffing around, being irritated, but getting stuff done.

About an hour before my day was over, I had a customer encounter that turned my entire day around. And was very surprising considering the clientele I'm used to working with around here.
An older (for this section) guy was looking for a book that we had down in our storage area in the basement of the Library. I told him I would send someone down for it, and he could hang out till they came back. While he was waiting, I had a woman come to the desk having issues with a Nursing test she was supposed to take.

I'm sure we all have fond (*cough*sarcasm*cough*) memories of those Analogy sections on standardized tests. This was the part that the woman was trying to get help on. After looking through some of our study aid books, I decided that she might need to look in GRE study guides - because I remember coming across that when I was studying for that test.

As we were talking about this, the older guy stepped in. He told us that he teaches GRE study courses and knew exactly what we were talking about. Not only that, but he said he had seen something on that over in the adult section last week - and then proceeded to walk the woman over to the area she needed to be in.

This doesn't happen. Ever. Especially not around here. I was truly impressed and grateful to that guy - luckily we found him a copy of the book he wanted. It was just something that made me smile and think that people aren't too bad.

That is, until my next customer demanded I produce a book we don't own... but that's par for the course :). But that didn't keep my heart from doing a little pitter-patter.

I'm a lightweight...

when it comes to sun-exposure. I swear, it takes me 15 minutes or less to burn to a crisp. Incidentally, I was outside longer than that yesterday. The trouble is that I was truly enjoying the day! Alas.

So, yesterday was gorgeous. Breezy, sunny, not very humid... perfect. Luckily, it was my day off. We decided to spend the day job searching for the boyfriend extraordinaire. Specifically bartending jobs. Being in NYC, one would think there would be plenty of bartending jobs. And there may be... they're just for girls :). There was an open call yesterday for this really cool place, so we decided to go.

While the boyfriend was in the interview and stuff, I found myself a place to sit and read. It was a pretty cool spot cause it was right on the Hudson - not that I wanna spend much time looking out at NJ, but whatever. It was a perfect place to enjoy the day.

I mean, beautiful water... great weather... quiet pier... fun book... Just a perfect day off. See? I was a happy girl!

Of course, I didn't realize I was burning. And I didn't find that out till late last night. At that point, I had a serious farmers burn. And no... I'm not going to put up a picture of that! Burned from wrist to upper elbow.... and tops of my knees down to my ankles. It's super attractive.

So yeah... I'm still a bit miserable from that. I would do it again though - perhaps with a tank top on or something so I didn't get all weirdly burned. Oh well. c'est la vie.

Do I get to be a "GAMER" now?

When does a person officially get to call themselves a gamer? What exactly are the requirements? Cause I've had a gamer-licious weekend... and I think I qualify.

Before this I've always loved the simple/puzzle games. Such as...
Luxor - any version works for me, but I'm currently working on 3 :) (both xbox and computer versions).

Cradle of Rome - a little similar to Jewel Quest (Wii version).

Jewel Quest - (both xbox and computer versions).


And so on.
If it's a puzzle game, I'm all there. I love that stuff - probably because it's not really all that strenuous. But the truth is that a lot of games are ruled out because of their camera angles. Anything that's a "first person shooter"... or whatever that would be for a non-shooting game... I can't play. It makes me sick. It's pretty pathetic, huh? Those are the kinds of games that my boyfriend truly loves and gets addicted to.

But he wanted to find me some stuff to play, so last year he bought the Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix game for his xbox and sat me down to it. It was good and all - I just got really stuck and I didn't get to play very often anyway. So I stuck with playing Rockband with him, and life was good. Ps... Rockband is awesome. I love it.


But lately, the next Harry Potter game has come out - Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince... and of course boyfriend extraordinaire purchased it for my birthday (yes, it came out before the movie... w000t!). Another early gift, by the way.

Ever since he purchased it, I've been extremely obsessed with it. As in, I've spent hours playing that game and have pretty much finished it - there are a few things I haven't gotten yet, but I went through the whole story and got almost all of the little reward things I'm supposed to get. So yeah! I'm feelin pretty good about it... and it was a lot of fun.

Weekend wasted, but title earned? I think so :).

Early birthday!

So, my birthday isn't until July 22... but when you're dating someone who can't keep secrets, birthdays sometimes come early. Yesterday his mom was in town - she came for the weekend + a little.

While I was working, they went shopping and stuff. He texted me a few times saying, "I might be getting your birthday present." and "YAY Birthday present purchased!" and then "I might give this to you today." He has a massive inability to keep something a secret when he's excited about it. Of course, that's not really a problem for me! That means I get gifts early :). So, yes... when I got home from work yesterday, he gave me my birthday present - 23 days early.

Have I mentioned that he's a handbag connoisseur? I think it was my last birthday when he got me my first designer bag - not that I asked for it... I was happy to stick with my Target purse, but he was embarrased to be seen near it. hahaha.

So, of course he got me a new Dooney this year. He's learning that I need to fit about three books in my purses, so we're getting progressively bigger :). I was pretty pumped this morning when I could fit a sweater in there! So fun. How cute is this?!



Anyway, so I've already had my birthday... essentially. I'm still trying to decide if I am going to be traveling on the week of my birthday. I took that week off - just cause I had the time to take. I'm soooo ready for that vacation. Now all I have to do is figure out what to do with it!

Suggestions? Comments? Beauty tips?

New York Moment

There are some things that just hit me as "Sooooo New York." Like, I'm sure this only happens here. I had one of these moments recently that just kinda made me laugh.

On the way home from work, there is a certain bodega (little, tiny grocery) that we like to frequent for necessities of the milk and oj variety. While we were there the other day, I noticed a cat wandering around the store - not that surprising as our neighborhood is overrun with cats and the door is never shut.

I, being a cat lover and all that, scratched behind it's ears for a second and got on with my oj purchasing. When I was going down the aisle, boyfriend extraordinaire said "You've got a Simon following you!" I looked behind me, and sure enough the cat had followed me. Oh, Simon is what we call pretty much every cat anywhere... it's all because of this episode of American Dad.

We thought it was pretty funny, so there's photo evidence. (sorry for the blurriness)

I'm pretty sure that cat still knows who I am when I walk in. Go figure, right? Do I still rub it's head? Yes, yes I do.

Is there really any other place in the states where this happens? I'm imagining no, but I could be very wrong.

A Ranty Day

Sometimes working on Saturdays makes me rant a little more than usual. I really don't mean to, or like to for that matter, but that's just the way it goes. The little things just irk me. Like....

Dear lady on the train: Not EVERYONE wants to hear your kid singing some song in Spanish.
Dear customer: I will never understand what you want from me if you don't SPEAK. Lists don't equal questions. Try harder.
How is it possible that the employee restroom at work is in MUCH worse condition than the public restroom?? Come on, now.
Dear other customer: It's not possible for me to read every book you put your hand on - so, no. I don't know what that one is about. Read the blurb.

And so on and so forth. This isn't including my co-worker rants... cause those might get out ;). I'm only semi-kidding there. Ahem.

Anyway, Saturday + Work = Rants. Got it? Good.

On the upside - it's not raining today. It's been a while since I've been able to say that. Yesterday Boyfriend and I got stuck in a very sudden downpour. That's always a fun walk. We. Were. Soaked. Umbrellas = not useful. See? Another rant. Sorry.

On that note, I'll leave you one last rant:
Dear oblivious customer: It's not cute that your kid is wailing on the floor and you just keep walking. That's not ok. Please come back for your kid.

Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen

It's a whole new thing to see a movie with an expert. Perhaps there aren't many experts on movies, but I'm in luck that my boyfriend extraordinaire is an expert in all things toys and comics. This, of course, includes all things Transformers.

I will give this as his answer to the 'bot movies: "My childhood has been raped on film for all to see." So yeah, as a rule, he's totally against the movies... but he still goes to see them to make sure he knows what he's against :).

I'm kinda in between on the whole liking/disliking issue. I mean, I like all of the action and the way the 'bots move and are presented... it's just kinda cool.

But I can definitely see what the problems are. I mean, there are portions of the movie that are just completely fabricated for the movies. That makes it seem a bit less authentic to the story. It's hard to piece things together with what I've seen on cartoons and comics and such - like the colors were kinda wrong for characters... the autobot/decepticon symbols were barely there (so ya never knew who was fighting whom).... and so on.

I really don't want to complain too much. I'm pretty sure my opinion has been skewed a bit because of the boyfriend. Which isn't a problem, but it's definitely made me a bit more cynical toward the Hollywood version of Transformers.

A New Beginning

There's something so refreshing about starting a new blog. I've done it a few times - and it's always cause I'm tired of the format of the old blog. But for the sake of continuity - here is the old blog url. I used that one for, like, four years... I think. Something like that. It's pretty intense, whatever it is.

I never really write about anything life changing - just basic life stuff. I've been living in NYC for a year and a half - being a Librarian and loving it! I'm still experiencing the city in different ways. Sometimes it's quite a trip, but at least that's always a trip!

Lately I've noticed that you can do anything ridiculous and people don't look at you crazy. I mean, usually you feel embarased if you trip on the sidewalk... here, not so much. The other day I accidentally ran our Danger Cart (aka the granny cart) into the ground with it packed with laundry. I looked like such a dweeb... but no one blinked an eye. Guess that's one of the wonderful things about the city.

Well, I just wanted to start out the blog and such. Hopefully I'll get back to blogging more regularly here :). One can hope, huh?