my (non)favorite time of year...

...is when the library descends into madness while the local junior and senior high schools have exams.

When did this trend of not having to go to school while exams are on start? I remember that in college, but not in high school...maybe my high school was just too rural. Who knows?

All I do know is that I've been snickered at by the loud kids and yelled at by the grumpy adults annoyed by the loud kids over which I have no authority to bring about a semblance of quietness. Not that I couldn't bully them into being quieter if I could, but we are not allowed. These are the children of our donors, library foundation members, and board members.

Thank you, child. May I have another?

hair of the dog

Not for me, you understand. My days of overindulgence are as over as I can make them.

My across-the-street neighbor has a big, unneutered pitbull (possibly a mix) and he runs over to my car and barks at me when I get home. Lately, he's been getting closer and closer. When a dog that big and nervous gets near you, it's disquieting to say the least. On the other hand, if someone other than myself comes in the yard, I kind of like the thought of the dog being big, noisy, and aggressive. I just don't want him barking at me.

So, the other evening when I got in, I went in the house and got a piece of cheese. The dog is still outside barking at my front door so I go out and offer him the cheese.

No dice.

He backs up when I hold my hand out. So, I bite off a piece and make an appreciative sound. His barking cuts off with a squeak and he's now zeroed in on my hand and is drooling and licking his chops.

He's mine, to a point.

I throw a piece out in the yard and he picks it up, lies down, and chews and chews and chews. I take some stuff from my car into the house and come back out. He's lying about 15 feet away, looking. That's better. This time I offer him the cheese in my hand, refusing to drop it. Not the best idea with a skittish dog but hey, you only live once. He creeps up, delicately takes it from my hand, and backs off to settle to the grass and chew once again.

When I get everything put away in the house, I peek out the window and he's lying in the grass, head on paws, staring at the door. Not a bad start!

happy today

I read on some blog or other, it may have been about a book on the topic, that you have to be more proactive about your happiness these days so it's a good idea to keep a happiness journal. At the end of every day, you write about your happiest moment.

So, here goes!

My happiest moment today was fairly subtle I think and, as usually happens, early on in the day. I had a cup of good French roast coffee, the sun shining in my office window, and a list of easily accomplished tasks set out before me. I got them all done, or nearly so. That led to my second happiest moment, leaving all that work completed at the end of the day, not to be bothered with on the morrow :-)

of course, when I got home, the heat pump had two inches of ice on it.

so it goes!

of movies, morons, and maniacally good cheese

Okay, the cheese first. I'm a big fan of goat cheese but until know I've only had the soft, almost whipped variety. Drunken Goat comes in a wedge and has a lovely purple/brown (I believe this color is called puce) rind. It is magical with a glass of merlot and that was with the cheese on a saltine. I can't even imagine what it will be like with a decent cracker. Do yourself a favor, check out your local higher end market and see if they have a brand of the stuff.

On to the morons! Last week, a coworker and I observed one of our more loathed patrons, whom I've never witnessed exhibiting signs of a disability (and I know this doesn't mean he doesn't have one), parked in the handicapped spot at the library DETAILING HIS CAR. Now, he looks like a member of the BeeGees, I mean back in the day-not contemporary, and wears these really stupid aviator sunglasses and is bent over with a spray bottle and a rag wiping his car down in the middle of the blazing 93 degree day when the parking lot is packed and people are circling looking for a place to park. I thought that was pretty tasteless. This morning, he was in the same spot, doing the same thing. This time, he was squatting in front of the car cleaning the grill. I find this EXTREMELY annoying. If you can stand out in the blazing sun squatting and cleaning a car, I'd be real curious as to why you have that placard.

Moving on! Last week I finally saw How To Train Your Dragon and fell in love with Toothless and Hiccup. Last night I saw Iron Man 2 with the Movie Meetup Group and had THE. BEST. TIME! Robert Downey, Jr. was born to play Tony Stark and I thought Mickey Rourke did a really good job as well. He and that well-worn mug make a good villain. The summer movie season is my very favorite and I'm all aflutter about most of the movies coming out. Check out my sidebar item if you care to keep tabs on me!

April Reads

Only six books read in April, a truly pitiful effort, BUT one of them was a tough cookie and it was a very busy month.

Committed: A Skeptic Makes Peace with Marriage by Elizabeth Gilbert
I loved Eat, Pray, Love and I loved this one as well. I am not married and have no plans to ever be but I love it for the chapter on the wonderful world of childless aunts if for nothing else! Gilbert explores her own feelings on marriage after the love of her life is deported. She and Felip both are very gun-shy towards marriage to reconciling themselves to it is a journey like no other.

The Dead and the Gone by Susan Beth Pfeffer
This is not a sequel to Life As We Knew It. It is the same apocalyptic event from another viewpoint. I absolutely adored LAWKI but this was a miserable disappointment. Basically, a Left Behind novel for the Catholic set and the misogynistic tone of the novel was nearly unbearable. I'll read the third in the trilogy because I'm terribly interested in this world, but I dearly hope it is a better read.

The Dead-Tossed Waves by Carrie Ryan
Another disappointing follow-up effort. This is billed as a "companion read" to The Forest of Hands and Teeth. Too much star-crossed love, not enough zombies.

Incarceron by Catherine Fisher
The buzz surrounding this is that it is supposed to be the next big YA trilogy juggernaut. I really enjoyed it. It was some outstanding world building. However, Hunger Games it is not.

Of Human Bondage by W. Somerset Maugham
This hefty tome is not for the faint of heart but it is SO much better than Catcher in the Rye! Philip Carey actually has some real world problems to rail against rather than the rather flimsy "phoneys". I have been telling everyone that this novel contains what is, to me, the MOST UNPLEASANT character I ever remember reading in literature. Her name is Mildred and that has now entered my vocabulary as a descriptor.

Cleopatra's Daughter by Michelle Moran
A very plot-driven novel about the children of Cleopatra and Mark Antony. It is very evocative of place with lots of great historical detail and I loved the author's note at the back telling what became of the characters in real life. Not what I'd call literary, but very, very enjoyable.

I'm reading 3 or 4 books and listening to 1 in the car so hopefully I can get a better count for May!

What are YOU reading?