Delayed Reaction

Have you ever had this super exciting thing you've looked forward to for months and months, but it takes so long to actually happen that by the time it does you forget to even mention it to anyone?  

Hurray!!!!  About a year and a half ago we started snowballing our student loans (which are the only debts we have) and after paying off Drew's solitary (small) loan, we moved on to mine...which are more plentiful...  ANYway, two down and two degrees paid for, now it's just two loans (for one degree) left!  I hope we can pay them off before we ever buy a house, but we'll see how it goes. 

(Not even an exclamation mark, UHEAA?)

May: It Was Big

I'm really not even sure how to begin this post. May was one of the more eventful months in recent history, probably the most eventful since I last did the graduation thing at BYU in 2006. At any rate, I've been putting this post off for a while now, but I'm leaving for Disneyland tomorrow and I know I'll want to post about that as soon as I walk back in the door. So I have to do this post now. You know? Hmm. Well let's get to it.

I finished classes, as you all know. A few days later about half my family came to town and we picked up this fellow at the airport. More on the termination of our long-distance affair to come...I should say termination of the long distance aspect, since the affair part is still in full swing.


A few days later, I graduated. It was great, though a bit sad as these kind of conclusions often are. I think this one is still kind of sinking in, and it will probably still be sinking in until a) the fall, when I am not in school and/or b) my degree gets me a job. But it was good, and it was nice to have my family around to fawn over me and take me to dinner. My last graduation was a little overshadowed by other, less pleasant circumstances and so this one seemed even more celebratory. Also, Drew got me a pink Shuffle and I named it Miranda. I suspect this was all a ploy to get me to use iTunes. To sum up: graduation=fun and good.


This is maybe one of my favorite candid pictures ever. It's a caption contest waiting to happen!

So that was graduation. It was fun. This was also my last weekend in Bloomington. Maybe I was little crazy to have this idea to graduate and move in the same weekend, along with having family about. Still, it all worked out, and William and Marissa were so helpful in carrying anything and everything I put in their hands out to the cars.

In the end, it was sad to say goodbye to Bloomington. I never planned on really settling in there, since I knew I'd only be there for 2 years at the most. I just wanted to get in and get out without forming any serious attachments. But confound it all, it happened anyway. So, my list of people to miss just got a lot longer, but life goes on in this way, I suppose. One of the very best things about Facebook is that it makes it so much easier to stay in touch with people. So, thank you, Facebook.

So then it was back to Rolla, where we stayed from Sunday night until Friday morning. It was nice visit, though it went by so fast I forgot half of the things I meant to do/pack. I also got a cold on Thursday and was pretty much out of it all that day, but la dee dah, it was a nice place to stop for a bit. We saw fish, ate delicious foods, played some Lego Star Wars, petted the kitties, Drew showed off his mad puzzle skills and I, for one, stared around at all my belongings in awe. On Thursday night we put a portion of these belongings into trusty little Leeloo, and headed off on Friday morning. Oh, by "we" I mean myself and Drew.



The roadtrip to Utah was pretty uneventful. No bad weather, no mishaps, just rolling hills/flat plains/moutainous mountain scenery and roadkill. We stopped at two little diners in an effort to find one of those magical local places with food like unto perfection. While we did get some good food, we also got this rather wretched Milky Way pie in the middle of Kansas:


The texture was weird and gelatinous, it didn't taste like a Milky Way and it was just kind of goopy. Also, there was a ridiculous amount of unnecessary meringue on the top. It didn't even look pretty! Then again, once you've had Slice of Pie, every other storebought pie is bound to be a disappointment.

So now here I am, back in Utah, right where I never thought I would be again. I still feel pretty transitory, since I don't have a place to live or a job and all my things are in piles and boxes. Still, hopefully I will soon have both of those things and clothes on hangers to boot. Pretty much everything is still sinking in: no more school, no more trips to MCPL, no more permanent living in Missouri, no more webcamming (phew), etc. etc. But so far, so very good and I have survived my transplanting with only a wee bit of trauma.

Oh, and did I mention I'm going to Disneyland this week?

The End of Days

School days, that is. At approximately 2:45 AM today I finished my last assignment.* Last week my last class was scheduled for Friday afternoon, and it was going to be with my favorite SLIS professor. My very first class was with him so it seemed like such a lovely way to bookend my graduate experience. I was guaranteed to have a great last class with doodling, funny things from M. and probably some good librarianish information to boot. But it was not to be! On Thursday afternoon he sent an e-mail that said he was cancelling class for health reasons.

So instead of my last lovely class with M., my Tuesday class became my last class and I had spent that class Facebooking and not paying attention to presentations. That was my last academic experience? Not a note taken? Not a single doodle drawn? All I have to show for it is a few photo comments on Facebook and chat records. Sad. I feel a little incomplete about it still. Where's my closure? I guess I will get that on Saturday afternoon when I get to wear my $80 rented robes and get a yellow (yellow! *grumble*) tassel. I'm sure I'll blog again about the conclusion to my long affair with the academic world when I have pictures of myself as an official librarian, but it seemed like I should mark these occasions too. Well, as Norrington would say, consider them marked.

*My emotions on that project are a little mixed...I'm glad it's done and I'm relieved that I don't have to act like I care about it anymore. I'm also a little peeved at myself not realizing part of it was supposed to be done and turned in a few weeks ago...d'oh!.** A few years ago I think I would have cried when I figured that out, but I seem to have matured. Or something.

** In my defense, this date was not on the syllabus or anywhere else, except a form that I didn't even need to fill out or anything.

Countdowns: I Like Them

I have a lot of countdowns going at the moment, but my favorite is thus: 7 days until this is no longer necessary.

Now time to work on the homework countdown...

Lucky: That's What I Am

Last night on Facebook I changed my status to say that I'm the luckiest girl in the world. People seemed to interpret this (understandably) as a reflection of my current romantical status. That is true, but it's actually not what I had in mind when I wrote that status. I will enlighten you all now, since it is a pretty good resolution.

For my web design class we've been making websites for a client all semester. Mine was mostly together on Sunday night, and I was just going to add some things on Monday afternoon before class, when we were all going to show our websites to the class. But sometime in those hours before class the whole site kind of fell apart and it looked like garbage. So I sat there and cried to myself and emoticon cried to Drew and decided to skip class and lose 5% of my grade. I did get it all back together and nice looking after about 2 hours, but class was over. Sad. But! As it turns out the SLIS server was down just during class and no one could present and class was cancelled! And now we're just doing all the reviewing and commenting of each other's sites online! Magical! I really couldn't believe my good luck.

I have been feeling pretty lucky lately. Here are some reasons why:

• I found the entire second season of Battlestar Galactica for $35. Normally it is sold in halves for that price. SCORE.
  
• I passed the website along to my client last night and she raved about it. I do believe the phrase she used was that she "kind of loves my guts."
• I'm almost done with school for good! Less than two weeks to go.
  
• I'm going to Disneyland next month! I predict it will be the BDTE.
• I have three kinds of delicious cheese in my fridge. Gouda is so gooda.
  
• I found jeans at Kohl's that were on sale and in my size. Needless to say, I bought them.
  
• Hugh Jackman made a movie for me and it comes out next week.
  
• I came to work today and got a mini cheesecake.
  
• There are flowers everywhere!

If I were a really irritating and inexplicably popular blogger, I might say something about being seriously so blessed. Instead I will say I am the luckiest girl in the world. There are a number of things coming up in the next couple weeks that I'm really not looking forward to, but that's okay. Life is good.

Art: Breathe It In!

There is an art museum here on campus, and I have never seen all of it. It's right next to the main library, and I've even used the art library several times (it's attached to the museum). My first semester I went to one of the three floors and saw their ancient things, which was fun, but there were two unexplored floors. (In my defense, I tried to go a few times when I first came here but, for example, they were fumigating.)

So today I had an hour and a half to fill up, and I kind of wanted to break up my 11 hours of sitting with some walking...so off I went to the art museum. I started in the "Western Art: Late Medieval to the Present" collection. Once inside I stood there for a minute, breathing in art-filled air and suddenly all I felt was relief. And then I remembered that that always happens in a museum. I walk in and see beautiful things; they instantly start seeping into my being and all is right in the world.

In honor of museums the world over, here are some of my favorite paintings that I can remember off the top of my head (I have a folder of them on Vera so I may post an addendum later):




Maxfield Parrish's Lantern Bearers. American Illustration...I love it so! It's so unappreciated, especially by art historians (except me, of course. Hah!)





Caravaggio, for all his many, many flaws, has a special place in my heart. Is this best illustrated by a painting about decapitation? Maybe not, but it's just so mesmerizing.
Judith Beheading Holofernes





Things I have soft spots for: Jacques-Louis David, Napoleon and drama.
Napoleon Crossing the Alps, and, just because I love you, here is another version.






Sometimes I think Waterhouse doesn't get enough respect because his paintings are so popular with the common people, but really, his paintings are beautiful and wistful.
Lamia






Rain! I love rain. And I love a good rainy atmosphere captured in a painting. Thank you, Caillebotte. This is also the only painting in this list I've seen in person.

Paris Street, Rainy Day

The Words: I Don't Want to Read Them

I've been doing my reading for class this morning and here are the opening sentences of two of my articles:

"Bronzed skin over rippling muscles, the gleam of oil smoothed over strong bodies...got your attention? Well, it's time to continue wrestling with the search process. Back to the mats!"*

and

"The information needs and information-seeking behavior of social scientists have been the focus of inquiry within library and information science (LIS) research for decades. Folster reviewed the major studies that have been conducted in this area over the past three decades. She found that research methods had developed through several stages."**

I can't decide which is worse.

*"Inside a Searcher's Mind: the Seven Stages of an Online Search" by Barbara Quint
**Information Seeking in Academic Research: a Study of the Sociology Faculty at the University of Wisconsin-Madison" by Yi Shen

2008: I Liked You

2008 is gone forever and there will never be another one, isn't that sad? I don't generally tend to be a fan of one year more than the other--they are all good for different reasons usually--but I did really enjoy 2008. 2007 was all right for the most part but 2008 had some really great things. Here a few of my favorite 2008 things/happening/stuffs (luckily 2008 included a new camera so I am not without a visual record of these lovely things):

• Adult Reader's Advisory. Still my favorite SLIS class...which maybe is not saying much, but it is my very very favorite!
  
• Sundry foods: Haagen-Dazs Fleur de Sel, Gatorade Rain lime flavor, oatmeal chocolate chip cookies (aka BCE), Inn-n-Out burgers, gummi coke bottles and probably some other stuff.
  
• Travels: Chicago, Washington, Utah (twice)
  
• Summer in Bloomington. Just in general.
  
• D'CALC! The best librarian apartment that ever existed.

I also did a number of new things, and they were all fun and exciting so I'm putting them in their own special section of specialness:

• Disneyland! Oh how do I love thee... In some ways I'm jealous that I never went as a kid, but I also wouldn't trade my maiden voyage for anything. I'm still hoping they'll have a librarian job at the Beast's Library in May...
• Las Vegas. OK, so I never actually got out of the car, but I saw the city from the ground and that is the closest I have ever been. Maybe next time I go down that way I can stop for the loo at Caesar's Palace.
  
• IKEA. What was my favorite part? Probably seeing those wooden drawing figures available in a variety of bright hues.
  
• I got to introduce the Boyfriend to my parents which was...not a big deal at all as it turns out.
  

Other runnerups (runners up?) for interesting events: turning down a co-worker (sorry, Nemesis), dying my hair red, nightswimming with a frog, the museum in Ohio, a crazy awesome first half of season 4 of Battlestar Galactica and some other stuff I can't remember. Anyway, 2009 is looking full of nice things as well. Since I like lists, let's look at a list of things I'm looking forward to, in rough chronological order:

• Spring.
  
• Spring Break! (Disclaimer: ! is not an accurate indicator of the level of excitement.)
• Graduation foreverty ever from school
• Moving to Utah, where I never planned to live again
• Disneyland! Again!
• Getting a job? Maybe? Making real money? So I can start paying those loans back.
• Spring Break! (Disclaimer: Multiple listings do not accurately indicate level of excitement.)

So until one of those things happens, I will try in vain to enjoy winter and salivate over pictures of Disneyland. What, illustrious readers, are some things you look forward to in 2009?

Who Needs Food?

Ah, school is here again. Just four little classes stand between me and permanent academic freedom. Unfortunately raging cases of senioritis and pining also stand between me and that freedom, but hopefully I can coax a few more good grades out of myself. In the meantime, I will be living on a diet of these two things:

Roommates: I am sorry.

The Days: They Pass

(Song for this post: "Hogwart's Hymn")

So, another semester has come and gone, and with only one more to go, my days in Indiana are rather numbered. I could probably do some math and figure out just how many days, but I'm not that motivated. Anyway, during my last year at BYU I found myself taking note of all my last times for things...last Fall Fling, last time seeing the tree in the Quad, last pumpkin thing at Jamba Juice (what was that name?), last time smelling those crazy trees that I love* and the like.

So, around October this year I started doing the same thing here. Last fall scenery at Brown County, last Halloween with Ferskner, last December breakfast for the program (mm, bagel), last work shift with Marcue and such. Basically I am being preemptively nostalgic half the time and the other half of the time I'm counting down days until things like Friday, the day I go home, Christmas and oh yeah, the 26th. Not to mention things way more in the future like the day I graduate, the day I get my tax return and the day I finally see Half-Blood Prince.

I can't really remember the point of this post except to say that it's hard to be full of anticipation for the future while still reveling in the moment and all the while sighing over things I'll miss in six months. Even though I'm excited about the future and all of those plans, I'm already getting sad to move. At least I will have plenty of time in the car to cry my eyes out with only a small audience.

*Bradford pear trees! People think they stink, and maybe they do but I love that smell. They're my favorite part of spring at BYU. I want to inhale the smell right now, but all I can smell is my bagel.

Alas

Why is it that blogs are so much easier to write than papers, even papers that are mostly written? Or is that writing about conflict management is just inherently repellent? Somehow, it will get done, though it may take a few more hours before I start to feel the urgency. It'll get done. Right?

I picked up X-Men: the Last Stand at the library yesterday. Which is good for the following reasons 1) I will get to see the parts (or it is part? I guess there is more than one) I liked 2) I won't have to think about how I paid money for it during all the many parts that make me crazy. One day I will have to make a list of grievances, but it is not this day.

Every morning I walk past a bunch of different flowery trees and bushes, and I only know what two of them are. But there is one bush type in particular next to the BCC* that has little white flowers and it smells heavenly. One day I will get a book about Indiana foliage, but today is not the day for that either.

In other news...going to Seattle this weekend, hurray! Some small part of me wishes I could just hang around for the weekend and revel in my lack of homework and just veg out. But I know that small part of me is awesum** and will change its mind as soon as I get on the plane. Besides, I have a whole summer afterwards to revel in my lack of homework and just veg out. So take that, awesum small part!

*Is that the abbreviation? I don't even know but I know all those letters are in the building's name.

**Is not the same as awesome.

Some stuff about some Stuff

It's been a long time since I blogged, and maybe now I'm just blogging because I've been in the pits of nostalgia lately. Whatever, the motivation isn't the important thing, right?

I'm back at school again, and, once again, motivation is hard to come by. Library stuff is cool but reading about library stuff is not so cool. If I had been thinking about working at an academic library, I would have changed my mind after reading about citation studies. Just let me read books and give other people books, okay? I don't need authority. I don't need to manage. I just need to be around books and get paid well for it. Or paid at any rate.

I have readers advisory this semester, which is all about how to suggest books for people, and I think I would like this skill in terms of movies as well. Not so much for other people as for myself because that would be handy. Naturally I would use these powers for good.

In other news, my desk chair is really cheap.