I'm back in the land of the living after three days of nasty flu. Hello, solid food. I've missed you! Let's never lose touch again, okay? Staying home from work sick is no fun. All I did was lounge around watching Tivo's recommendations, trying to keep popcicles down, and keeping up with work email. Blech.

Yesterday, I dragged myself to the vet for Nala's checkup and to get both dogs' nails trimmed and weights logged. Congrats to Abbie for losing another pound (net loss = 8lbs). I managed to escape a mere $350 later, but not without trauma. Isn't this the most pathetic sight:



Yes, she looks happy, but only because she's posing for a photo. Nala has an eye infection and, besides having to endure antibiotic eyedrops, is supposed to wear the collar to keep her from rubbing her eyes. When it's on, she's a mess. Her legs are short, so she gets stuck trying to walk up the stairs. She runs into things. She uses the collar like a cowcatcher, shoving Abbie, furniture, and people out of her way. My legs are all scratched up. The collar is coming off.



Ahhh--all better.

Washington state quarters are coming, so the joke entries have started popping up. I ganked this from Pop Culture Junk Mail.

Top: Abbie prefers stealing toys and apples from Nala and sitting on furniture. Bottom: Nala loves squeaky toys, picking apples, and making dirt forts. I have a dirty dog and a diva.

I spent the bulk of Sunday outside, alternately reading and playing ball with the dogs. They thoughtfully posed for a few photos. Actually, both of them are total hams and love to have their pictures taken. I can't imagine life without these two rascals. Even though they drive me crazy with their constant demands for attention--knocking books out of my hands, jabbing me with toys--I can't say no to them. I'm stupid crazy about them.

Job stuff

I'm trying out this post via email thing, so I
hope this comes through. I thought I'd take a
minute during my late lunch break to post that I
heard from one of the libraries I recently
applied to, and they want to talk to me. This
particular university is at the top of my short
list of places I'd like to work, so this is
especially exciting. It's just a first step, but
encouraging indeed. I know I'm fortunate to be
working in the temporary position I have now and
that I am getting awesome experience in a really
cool learning-focused environment, but it sure
would be nice to find a permanent position and
put down some new roots. More later, as things
develop.

Summertime!

It's so nice out today and I understand it will
stay this way for a while. As a good
northwesterner, I'm fond of rain, hot coffee, and
warm clothing. But there's something about
summers in this area that make me so happy. It's
like everything is more beautiful, happier, more
special, and more fleeting in the summer.

The summer after finishing community college and
before beginning my bachelor's program was really
hot. Like record hot. I had quit my horrible
receptionist job and moved in with my parents. I
had very little money that summer, but I remember
having a great time. I spent three months
barefoot, eating popcicles and playing with my
dog. My mom and I canned peaches, pears, and plum
jam. I read dozens of novels from the library and
slept better than I ever had, or ever have since.
While I wouldn't want to live that way forever,
summer makes me wish I could put everything on
hold and just hang out until fall comes.

I finally replaced the digital camera I dropped in Sweden last year, so I've been taking pictures during my lunch breaks and on my way to and from the library. The campus where I work is beautiful, especially on days like today (sunny, low 70s). It's landscaped well, but pretty naturally, in keeping with the wetlands we're located in. One thing I especially like about the campus is the great art. The picture to the left shows one of the little bronze pieces tucked into the big rock wall between two of the buildings. Books! There are at least three of these in the wall.

Time flies when I'm reading my face off. It's nice to be back in the habit of reading tons. I had to read so many theoretical articles and research studies during my master's program that I didn't read as much for fun as I usually do. My undergrad program was massively more reading intensive, but I pretty much loved all the novels, litcrit, and film stuff we covered. LIS literature, while interesting and all, generally doesn't make my day.

I guess I've been going on at length about the books I love, because my supervisor emailed me and asked for a list of what I've been reading lately. I waxed rhapsodic about Middlesex a few weeks ago, and I guess she liked it, too. Like most librarians, I looooove telling people about books I like and, as an academic librarian, I don't get to do reader's advisory very often. So, for my own enjoyment, I'll share the titles of the best stuff I've read in the past couple of weeks.

• Candy Freak: A Journey Through the Chocolate Underbelly of America, by Steve Almond (Read this book; it rules.)
  
• The Time Traveler's Wife, by Audrey Niffenegger (I'm halfway through it, but am already in love with this book.)
  
• The Secret History, by Donna Tartt
• The Librarian, by Larry Beinhart
  
• Hemingway, the Paris Years, by Michael Reynolds (I'm slowly making my way through Reynolds' five-book bio of Hemingway.)
  
• I'm Not the New Me, by Wendy McClure
  
• A Farewell to Arms, by Ernest Hemingway (not new, but awesome

Not all of these are new, but I have a couple of years to catch up on. And there are still a couple of Hemingways I haven't read. I did read the new Harry Potter this Saturday--who didn't--but it doesn't get a place on the favorites list. Don't get me wrong, it was entertaining, but I still think books 3 and 4 are the best in the series. Just my opinion, of course.

The Chronicle has an article on blogging and its possibly deleterious effects on job seeking. The author didn't say anything that anybody familiar with blogging or journaling hasn't heard before, but it's good to think about how this kind of writing can appear to those who don't like/understand/approve of it. While I am currently looking for a permanent professional position, I'm not too worried about this. I thought about blogging for a long time before taking the plunge. I definitely considered going the anonymous route but ultimately decided not to delay the inevitable and just be myself. While I might feel freer to vent if my identity were hidden, I think there's something to be said for taking ownership of my words and standing behind them.

For that reason, I won't be dishing dirt about students at the university library where I work, nor about coworkers (even though they're pretty awesome), or other professional colleagues. I figure that if I wouldn't feel comfortable saying something at work, it's probably not a good idea to broadcast it widely. That's not to say I don't have opinions about my profession, causes I champion, or people I disagree with. I just think there are better ways to talk about that stuff than to drag other people into it.

That said, there's no way of knowing if search committees will find this and what they'll think if they do. I'm going to keep blogging until I get tired of it, and will just have to live with the consequences. I think it's worth it.

I had a bunch of errands today, so work was a half day. When I go in late to work, it's hard for me to leave on time. I was working on writing projects for most of my day, so I got into a groove and suddenly, it was almost 7:00 and I was nearly late for my dinner plans.

I took a break from madly typing to talk to my awesome friend SJ today and learned that I, Asshole will be making its triumphant return very soon. AND, she has a spanking new domain!

Here we are at graduation last year. The cutest information professionals ever, I'd wager.

I should be finishing up a batch of application materials. I have about five in the works and nearly ready to go. But it's so much nicer to watch the dogs play in the sun/rain mix we have going on.

This weekend has been really calm. I can't remember the last time I got to sleep in both weekend days. It feels so nice to go to bed without setting an alarm.