The More Rational Me On Volunteerism

My bitter post from a couple of days ago was fun to write, but afterwards I did feel a little guilty. Not about bagging on this one particular person (or series of people even), but about making myself seem unappreciative of people who do volunteer with more genuine selflessness.
Libraries, like most other large public institutions, do rely on the work of volunteers for a number of things. What first comes to mind are the Friends of the Library group. Most libraries have them. They are more or less the fundraising arm of the library. A public library is a non-profit organization. As such, we depend on government funding and donations. Our Friends raise money for the library year round with their little used book store (stocked with books that people donate.) You look at this little enterprise and wonder how much they could possibly earn selling books at, like, .25 each. Okay, some things are more, but you get the idea... Let me tell you, they do pretty well and then they give us the money! These mostly retired people go through the boxes and bags of donations, sorting and pricing materials, store backstock, and stock their bookstore. They spend their time on that, plus they man the bookstore itself, usually about 25 hours per week or so. It is all volunteers! Now someone like Miss Thang from my mean post probably wouldn't find any of that work particularly "stimulating", but our Friends raise thousands of dollars per year. Then, they donate it to the library as needed, for programming, materials, databases, etc. So, those are some rockin' volunteers.
See now? I can be sweet as well as sour :-)

What Instrument Should I Play?

You Should Play the Harp

You are a sensitive soul, with a great admiration for beauty. You definitely have what it takes to make beautiful music, but most instruments are too harsh for you. You are subtle, shy, and even a bit spoiled. You're very picky about most aspects of your life. It's just your style to play an eccentric, hard to transport instrument like the harp that few people consider. Overall, you have the relaxed demeanor of a leisurely upper class person, and your music would reflect that. Your calm yet soulful harp playing would be sure to help people forget their troubles for a while. Your dominant personality characteristic: your zen-ness Your secondary personality characteristic: your quiet independence

What Musical Instrument Should You Play?

When I saw this quiz on Blogthings, I thought it would be fun, because just yesterday I was reflecting about Mrs. Big Hairy Woman's post on playing an instrument. I hadn't entertained thoughts of being a harpist though! I always sort of thought the cello would be cool...it's kind of sexy. I guess both the harp and the cello are your more unweildy string instruments. Still...cello = sexy and harp = angelic? I don't know. Probably I am not meant to play an instrument at all. Anyway take the quiz for yourself and find out what you would be playing in a perfectly Blogthingy world.

Open Letter to a Would-Be Volunteer

Dear Would-Be Volunteer,
Thank you for offering your services here at our library. How wonderful that you are a retired teacher and an excellent reader. I'm sorry that we do not have a volunteer based program to suit your needs. Yes, how rewarding to send an army of volunteers into the community to read to school children! No, we don't have a program like that in place. We do read to children, but at this point in time, I'm sorry, but all of our storytimes are handled by paid professionals. We do offer a large number of other volunteer opportunities. Oh, those would not be "stimulating" enough for you? You want to do something "that will really make a difference"? Thank you for implying that a good deal of what we actually get paid to do would not be stimulating or important enough for an "excellent reader" such as yourself to bother with. No, I'm not at all insulted. I'm sure you didn't mean to demean what we do here. Oh, yes, I can imagine how difficult it has been trying to offer up your services like this and finding nothing that suits you! Um, no, I wouldn't say that you are "just too altruistic". altruistic - showing unselfish concern for the welfare of others Wanting to do what you want to do, without regard for what is in place, is not altruism. But thanks for playing. You probably don't realize that volunteer programs, especially ones that involve interaction between volunteers and other members of the public are very staff intensive. What about the day you don't show up? Guess who has to do what you committed to doing? Guess who has to set up these fun loving reading sessions that you have pictured in your head? Guess who gets the heat if you do or say anything that some other member of the pubic doesn't care for? Is it you, the kindly volunteer...or is it the city institution that turned you loose on the world. Yeah, thats right. We are responsible. So, best of luck to you on your quest for a proper setting for the movie playing in your head.
Sincerely,
Laura B.
(Paid decent money to do things that sometimes aren't all that glamorous)

I Am Full of...Something

Good ideas! Yeah, thats it! It seems like when someone casually throws out that they are looking for something to blog about or they are wondering what they can talk about with someone they are just getting to know. "Oh, write about this!" I say with quick confidence. "Ask him about his this and that. Tell him about that time you blah-di-blah," I assert with conviction. In what is probably a typical complication though, I cannot give myself advice. Why is that? I like to think of myself as pretty intuitive and I do think that people think of me as someone they can talk to about anything. Why is it, though, when I need advice, nothing comes to me...or if it does, I just know I am going to disregard it and do all the wrong things? Why can't the outside me be as clever and quickwitted as the inside me? Maybe someday the two of me can get together and work this out, but until then feel free to ask for my advice. It will probably be pretty decent! Just do as I say, not as I do.

It's Saturday - SWEET!

This week's Saturday Scavenger Shots are SWEET, thanks to NotFaintHearted over at The Journey. Great choice, NFH!

Some things taste SWEET.

This would be a nicer picture if I had thought of it before guzzling it up. But it was definitely SWEET and delicious.


I am an Altoids freak. These have a SWEET chocolate coating over the curiously strong mint. They are a guilt-free indulgence.


Some things give me a SWEET feeling.

It is SWEET working around so many books every day.


Here is my SWEET Mittle Kitty. Aw!

Last, but not least, my SWEET little Handsome Lad.

Thanks for being SWEET enough to stop by. Check with NotFaintHearted for next week's theme choosing maniac. (^.^)

Notes On What Happens When Boredom Strikes

Me (after various other even less interesting note rambles): The eyes frighten me because I always feel like somebody's watching me! And Maxwell. They are judging me too. They are thinking I should not be writing notes during this very important Web 2.0 event. I should be thinking about podcasts and Youtube.

Milly: I am the eye-pod in the sky...looking at you-hoo-hoo I can read your mind. ^^^^Look up!

Me: Your mind is dark and twisty. The eye-pods in the sky are noticing who is attending to the survey monkey talk and who is drifter-ing. Hey, where is Drifter anyway?

Milly: Maybe it wasn't mandatory to attend. Maybe she is part African-American. Hey, I believe in the Civil Rights Movement.

Me: We shouldn't have to be here! I think our rights are being violated!

Milly: I know. Unfair. We get no respect.

Me: I will make a youtube video demanding respect. I will post it on the library blog page and offer an RSS feed. I will sing it like Aretha. R-E-S-P-E-C-T. Find out what it means to me.

Milly: Make a strong, respected women's network.

Me: On Ning

Milly: Of course. IM I said. IM I cried.

Me: I (heart) your Neil (diamond) Now all we need is a club and spade! I can't draw, so sad.

Milly: Full house! I can't either.

Me: Full House - Bob Saget and John Stamos (heart) to (club) baby seals. Sam (spade) works in an African (diamond) mine. No respect. That is why Rebecca Romjain is no longer a Stamos!
Oh! SF wants to be a penguin! She will eat fish!

Milly: O-some. I will be a little bear and also eat fish.

Me: I will be a big bear and also eat fish! Fish pizza. With honey. Then I will hibernate and not poop.

Milly: When you wake up, what will happen?

Me: I will poop in the woods like all good bears do.

Milly: If no one steps in it, did you really do it?

Me: If no one smelt it, then who dealt it?
I would link to my already created pages for this project, but that would make me look psychotic.

I am so sorry for this, but as I mentioned to AlienCG, it was this or a weather report...

Did I make the wrong choice?

Eight Hundred! Did She Say Eight Hundred?

I can't believe I've written 800 posts on this blog. Actually, this is post 802 because I wasn't paying attention. Post 800 was...uh....weather...my mood...new phone. I would say BORING, but I suppose that is as it should be. No false advertising here!

Pick a Good One

This picture is actually from New Years Eve. You can tell that Miss Personality and I were tearing up the town! Or just sitting around picking our noses...
Seems like everyone at work is either sick or on their way to sick. You know how these dreaded diseases get passed around at home and in the workplace. My supervisor, Smiley, is a Lysol-wielding manic. One of my co-workers, Drifter, has taken to wearing the white cotton gloves that the shelvers sometimes wear. The shelvers wear them because the books can be so dirty. Drifter is wearing them for "protection". Um, okay. Another co-worker, Camper, I think is mildly OCD with the hand washing. Me? I'm a germy pig. Really, I am the least germophobic (I'm sure there is a technical term for this) person you will probably ever meet. I have a theory about exposure and resistance. Scoff if you will, but I would say I am less inclined to fall ill than my marginally insane co-workers. It's true! (BTW, I like my co-workers. We all have out little quirks, right?) So, how do you roll? Are you super sterile, Pig Pen, or somewhere in between?

One of THOSE Days...and Newness!

I took this picture this morning when I was driving home from taking Girlie Girl to school. It has been a dark and gloomy day. Or "it was a dark and stormy night" as Snoopy would say...anyone? Peanuts? Okay, anyway, I have had one of those chicken with my head cut off days, but I am not complaining about it...just commenting. I am not in a complainy mood like last week :-)
I am happy to report that the quality of my pictures should be improving. Does that one up there look better to you? I got a new phone! And that is how this low rent broad takes her pictures, awright? Blackberry, baby!

A Working Holiday

Many people have today off. Here, the library is closed, but we are here having a sort of in-service day. This year, the topic is Web 2.0...sort of making sure we are all able to operate the latest technology available to us and to help keep the old fashioned library up to speed with the modern world. The class made me feel smart, because I have used most of the tools available...we're talking about things like blogging, Flickr, YouTube, del.icio.us, RSS feeds. Pretty basic I think, but not to everyone of course. Anyway it has made this into a rather long, strange day. But it is almost over and I promise to write a more interesting post tomorrow.

Was This, In Fact, the Worst Week Ever? AH HA!

Today I have two, two, two posts in one! Lucky dogs! Yesterday's post was a riveting cliffhanger. Would this be laura b's Worst Week Ever?



Wait for it...


Wait for it...




Nah! Probably not even close!

When I did some complex mental calculations involving depths of sorrow and heights of happiness, I found that this was not really such a bad week after all. There are so many cool people in the world, as I am especially reminded when I read your always interesting blog posts and funny, kind comments.

This brings me to the second barrel of my double barreled post. AH HA! I present to you my Saturday Scavenger Shot! (Yes, today, you know the deal....)
As I promised, somewhere out there, this is me being a winner with my Best Buy Gift Card! Look how shiny it is! Thanks, AlienCG you really did make my week. AH HA! Sweet, sweet victory!

Thanks to Tara for choosing this week's eclectic Scavenger Shot word...AH HA! Go see Tara to find out who is being tagged to choose this next week's word.

Finally, I'd like to thank the lawd, my mama, my posse, and all y'all for tolerating me during my pouts. You're the greatest.

See Me On VH 1's Worst Week Ever

Ah, I make joke for your amusement, eh? But, damn, this has been a pathetic week...the blog record will back me up on this! Well, sort of. I was a winner on Monday :-) But look! By Tuesday I was eating sad dinner and on Wednesday I had photographic angst! Awful stuff! Okay, then, last night? I sat with a bunch of my family and watched FOUR tivo'd hours of American Idol. I mean, we could bloop through the commercials, but it still took up about three hours of our precious time! And we couldn't stop. The babies passed out eventually in what was probably some brilliant evolutionary defense mechanism, and we watched and laughed and were properly horrified. I think it is probably a sort of sickness.
So, is laura b. having the Worst Week Ever? Tune in tomorrow to find out.

Trying to Love Me

I tend not to think about myself that much. I mean, my actual physical self. I don't spend much time primping or examining myself in the mirror. I do some basic grooming, put on clean clothes that fit me and head out into the world each day. As long as I feel good, I don't pay too much attention to the vehicle, you know?

Today this one librarian who has a 365 days at the library thing going on Flickr asked if she could take some pictures during my storytime. Sure, fine, go right ahead. Then after lunch I clicked the link on our homepage to see what she got...and there I was, doing storytime. It was weird though. I felt this sudden flush moving up my chest and face...I realized that I almost felt like crying...then I realized that what I was feeling were symptoms of shame. I felt embarrassed, as though I had suddenly realized I came to work naked or something. It was so odd. I tend not to love pictures of myself, but for some reason I had this really strong negative reaction to seeing myself. Well, clearly I need to lose weight. That is no secret. It wasn't exactly that though...I'm not sure what it was, but I have to say that it was an awful feeling. For the next couple of hours, while I was working on the public desk, I felt so self-conscious. I felt like apologizing to everyone who had to look at me! Shame.

The feeling has decreased and I have looked at the pictures a couple more times to sort of...innoculate myself against whatever bad feeling they are giving me. (They say you can get used to anything - haha!) Whatever it was all about, though, I am trying to remember to love me anyways...and not let myself feel shame about me!

Desk Dinner

This evening, I am eating a lame, sad desk dinner. Here it is.This means that when I get home at 9:30 or so, I will probably want some real food, but I hate to eat and then go to bed. I won't actually go to bed until 12 or so, but you know what I mean...it is late to eat a meal. Dang it Bobby! Note: You can't tell from there, but that was my Hank Hill voice. It's heelarryus, really. Um, or not.
Geez, this must be my worst post EVER and that is saying a LOT!

Lucky Lucky l.b.!

Thanks to my good luck and a very clever contest over at Alien's Planet I feel like a winner! Can't say THAT happens too, too often.
I think that me and AlienCG will be going halvsies on this little mp3 player from Best Buy...I am totally st-st-st-stoked!

I know all y'all are winners too. What is the last thing you won? And I think that, like, mental or emotional victories count too... So tell me about it!

HMMMMM...What?

Thanks to BabyBull aka Mrs. Big Hairy Woman for this week's interesting choice for our Saturday Scavenger Shots. I apologize again, and in advance, for the poor quality of my pictures. I mostly take pictures with my camera phone and also scan in old things that sometimes seem to come out a bit fuzzy. At any rate, I present things that make me go HMMMMM...
Here are my super goofy kids. The four oldest, Kick Back Dude, Girlie Girl, Secret Agent Man, and Social Animal can sure strike a pose. HMMMMM?
Oh, and since he is not in that shot, here is Handsome Lad with me. He is clearly saying, "Get a load of this doofus beside me!" HMMMMM!





This picture makes me go HMMMMM in a snorting through my nose laughing kind of way. I didn't take this picture (notice the better photo quality), but I decided it had to be here anyway. Here is Milly on her recent trip to NYC...of course Librarians visit other libraries and immortalize them in photos!
Okay, I didn't take this picture either. It was sent to me and it is one of only a couple photos I have of someone who makes me go HMMMMMMM like a purring kitten...so this one had to be here too.And that, my friends, is that! Eclectic Tara was tagged for this next week's word. Staying with the theme of extreme nebulousness she gives us...AH-HA! That should be a lot of fun :-)

Working at Playing Catch-Up

Since the holidays ended and I came back to work I have felt just slightly pushed. It tends to be that way. I don't have quite enough to do and I am mildly bored or I am moving grudgingly towards being stressfully overloaded. Possibly, just possibly, it is something I am doing wrong...some sort of balancing thing that I am lacking. Or perhaps it is just the nature of work and life.

Anyway, I wanted to catch up a little here. I never got to mention anything about Girlie Girl's birthday. She turned 15 last Friday, the 4th. We had her family dinner on Thursday, she went to a friend's house for a little gathering and overnighter on her actual birthday, and then on Saturday she and I hosted a small celebration at our house. Fortunately, WTG and Handsome Lad cleared out of town. Well, of course I wouldn't have minded Handsome Lad, but WTG did well to be gone. I treated Girlie and three of her friends to a movie and then dinner. Naturally I didn't accompany them. How uncool would that be for a 15 year old?!?! I simply provided the ride and the funding. After I picked them up at the restaurant, I brought them home for a bit of screaming and giggling time. Girls are much LOUDER than boys I find, at least at this age. Finally, they decided they were ready to go TPing. I promised to take them, but I swear, never again. Back in the day, TPing was fun. My friends and I did it as a friendly gesture on birthdays and things (whatever). Now it seems...different. The girls obsessed about getting caught and police and hard feelings. What is fun about that? Well, they did seem to enjoy themselves, but I certainly did not. Never again I tell you! Oh, yeah, and while this was going on, it was raining on and off. Yuck, really. But they somehow had a fabulous time. After those shenanigans I went off to an uneasy sleep. Through my sleep, I heard at least some of them up all night long. I am so glad THAT is over for another year. haha!

What else has been going on?

Lets see...WTG found out today he got another job finally. That is quite a relief. I just hope this one lasts and that he can find some kind of way to enjoy it somewhat. People who hate their jobs are so freaking miserable to be around. (Except you, Evil-E - heh heh!)

What else, what else...um, hoping to see Team C tomorrow. Yay!

Then, I will work on Saturday, where I am looking forward to posting my HMMMM pictures, either before or after doing my Anansi Storytime Special for my lovely young library patrons.


Right now, I am blogging and finding it quite relaxing. Alas now I must get back to die-cutting about 80 more round black spider bodies...let the good times roll!

Match Making for the Politically Inclined

91% Barack Obama
89% John Edwards
88% Chris Dodd
87% Hillary Clinton
86% Dennis Kucinich
86% Mike Gravel
85% Joe Biden
80% Bill Richardson
41% Rudy Giuliani
26% John McCain
26% Tom Tancredo
23% Mitt Romney
19% Mike Huckabee
17% Ron Paul
12% Fred Thompson

2008 Presidential Candidate Matching Quiz

I found this quiz sort of indirectly over at The Opiate of the Masses. I am okay with my results...Barack O. is cool...John Edwards, yeah, he's pretty cool too...I don't know anything about Chris Dodd that comes to mind. Hillary is my girl, mm-hm.

Please Note

I am not to be trifled with as I am now an Award Winning Blogger. Yes! Thanks to Soph over at the very fun World of Soph for this prestigious accolade. Of course, I will have this permanently displayed on my sidebar. Thanks Soph!

NEW Saturday Scavenger Shots...Now on Monday!

I feel so out of the loop-de-loop having just come back from a vacationette. My last day around Bloggerville, the NEW word wasn't yet chosen...but I am still all over it. Good one, Churlita!

Here is my NEW wall calendar for 2008. Girlie Girl gave it to me for Christmas, because we love watching Grey's together :-) Every month there is a new attractive actor/doctor to admire...
And no, you are not off the hook this week. Here is the NEWest picture that I have of Miss Personality and Love Bug. It is from yesterday when they were being minded by Grandma whilst Mom and Dad went off to the movies. Good times, good times...
Now I need to run around and catch myself up on everyone's postings and find out what's up this week!