Giant TV

My parents bought a 42-inch HDTV plasma screen television today. It's awesome and they haven't even taken it out of the box yet! They have to figure out where to put it.

Avid readers of mine might remember that they also bought one around Thanksgiving. Well, that didn't work out. My dad ordered one even though they were out of stock and it was supposed to be shipped to the store. A couple days later, my dad got an email from the store telling him that the order was cancelled. No explanation or anything. Oh yeah, and he'd already paid! But he got his money back, just no TV then. Now, they've tried again.

Psychogenic Fugue

I read this fascinating albeit brief article about a man stricken with psychogenic fugue, which is a rare form of amnesia and apparently akin to post-traumatic stress disorder. He basically went out to walk his dog and then suddenly entered this fugue state where he no longer knew who he was or where he was going and basically became homeless for the next 25 days and wandered around aimlessly, until he happened to be walking by a construction site where he was having a new home built and one of the construction guys recognized him. After the construction guy started to talk to him, the man started to slowly remember things and now he's back home safe with his memory intact EXCEPT for the time where he was missing. He only remembers bits and pieces of that time. So very very interesting. It would make an interesting idea for a novel, wouldn't it? But I also would be interested to read a biography of someone stricken with this disease, I wonder if there are any.

Interview recap

My two interviews today went okay but I really don't expect to get to the next round for either of them.

The insurance company guy was kind of a jerk, to be honest, and I felt like I had to constantly defend myself, even though there must have been something they liked about me or they wouldn't have called, right? I don't know. I do think I did okay, though. He said such things as "Librarians are kind of a dying breed, right?" and "Can't all that stuff just be automated?" and "I pretty much find everything I need from Google." Yet, they have this database that they use to evaluate risk and apparently they are in desperate need to have someone on staff who understands it and what kind of information can be retrieved from it and, most importantly, someone who can conduct proper searches for it. Yes, well, that person would be called a librarian!

The trade association guy (seriously, I think these were my first two male interviewers from all these interviews I've had) was okay and again, I think I did fairly well, but then at the end he said something like "Well, we got a lot of response from our ad and there are a number of people here in the Washington, DC, area so I'm not sure we need to be looking from outside the area." Umm, thanks. Obviously, the main question is, "Then why did you even bother calling me?"

Mystery job

And, speaking of jobs, I applied for this position today that was advertised on the Washington Post online job board. It's for a "Research Specialist" at a national trade association. The job description sounded good, like really what I want, but the odd thing is that there was no mention of the organization's name or the name of a contact person or even where it was located. There was simply a vague Gmail address as the place to apply and it said "Other VA" for the location. That could mean anything. I wasn't sure if I should apply for it - why all the secrecy? - but I did, so we'll see. I did a little investigation in the Encyclopedia of Associations and limited it to national organizations in Virginia with an economic focus (as it said in the ad) and came up with about ten possibilities. Assuming the info in the ad is accurate, any of these organizations that fit that description seem like they would be fine to work for. Still, it's odd.

Tomorrow: Two interviews

On Monday, I have two phone interviews scheduled, so that is kind of exciting. And nerve-wracking. One, which I mentioned the other day, is with an insurance company outside Boston. That's at 1pm. Then, at 3pm, I have an interview with, ironically, an insurance trade association outside Washington, DC. Two interviews on the same day, both involving the insurance industry!

It's been about a month or so since I've had an interview and I'm out of practice! I was trying to study somewhat today but I don't think I accomplished much so I'll have to try to get up early tomorrow to make sure I find time to do it then because I don't want to sound like an idiot, especially for the second one, which I'm more excited about because the job comes with a lot more duties that appeal to me. Wish me luck!

Cool site? Radio-Locator

Radio-Locator seems like a useful site, especially for a traveler. You can search in various ways, like type of music or geographical region, for both Internet-streaming and terrestrial radio stations. Also, it tells you good options for frequencies where there is no signal, which can be useful if you have one of those Mp3 or iPod adapters for your car that lets you stream your music through your car speakers. (via)

Which Desperate Housewife are You?

And on that topic...

Which Desperate Housewife are you?

Congratulations! You are Susan Mayer, the divorcee and single mom who will go to extraordinary lengths for love. Take this quiz!

Interesting Desperate Housewives article

Here is Part 1 and here is Part 2 of a pretty interesting interview with Desperate Housewives creator Marc Cherry. There are small spoilers of upcoming episodes but there is also some discussion about how, for instance, he didn't want Marcia Cross for the role of Bree.

I've been a pretty regular watcher of Desperate Housewives this season after watching it somewhat sporadically the last two seasons. I thank ABC.com for that, for its airing of episodes online.

Crowded House reuniting

I used to be the BIGGEST Crowded House fan and now they are reuniting for a world tour! I had the tape of their self-titled release and I used to listen to that thing over and over and over and over and over and over again on my Walkman (non-Sony, I'm sure) on the bus to and from school when I was in junior high.

A rare accolade for a Cleveland athlete...

Apparently, LeBron James has earned the second-highest number of votes to be an All-Star ever in the history of fan voting. Good for him, but, umm, maybe he could start helping his team win some games again. The Cavs are 2-6 over the last eight games.

The American Idol MySpace Hunt

This dude has been going through the contestants we've seen during the American Idol auditions so far and finding their MySpace pages and posting them to his blog. And then critiquing them... because they haven't gone through enough critiques already. Seriously, though, if you love wasting time by looking at other people's MySpace pages, here's a golden opportunity!

Finally, another interview!

I finally touched base with the woman I mentioned yesterday and have an interview scheduled for Monday. Phew. Even though it was the holidays and whatnot, I was starting to think I might not get an interview again after the month or so lapse.

Also, a friend of mine thinks he can probably get me hired at the public library where he just started working. They are hiring an Adult Services Librarian now, but the pay is kinda low. He's not that happy with his pay and assumes this position has equally low pay. It's in the Research Triangle part of North Carolina.

Phone tag (aka job news)

I've been playing phone tag the last two days with someone from "talent management" at an insurance company outside Boston. It's one of the places I applied over the weekend. It makes me laugh that they have a department called "talent management." Instead of "human resources"?

Make your own Peeps

Umm, this is pretty cool, a Peeps press. (via)

All praise OhioLink

Now OhioLink is well-known in the field as one of the best Library Consortia around. See, they are even mentioned in that dictionary entry I linked to... But, I had never tried it for myself. Until today. I was debating about whether I should spend the money to buy the books required for this course or not... when it hit me that I have OhioLink at my disposal and could probably get them from any library in the entire state in just a couple of days. And so I ordered them online! By myself! Without having to talk to someone at the library! And they should be delivered to my local branch in 3-5 days! And, the best part is that I'll be able to renew them up to four times so I'll have them throughout the semester. And then, I looked for a couple movies that I want to see that none of the libraries around here have in their collections. And requested them too!

I have no idea why I didn't think of any of this earlier. Duh.

Where did the weekend go?

All of a sudden, I realized that it's like 1am on Sunday night and I have no idea what I did this weekend! Let's break it down...

Friday, I spent most of the day and evening doing homework. I had a ton of things to read, plus I had to create a Web page and well, umm, I never had to do that before. It wasn't too difficult at all, actually. I know a little HTML thanks to this blog and I also was able to follow the really excellent tutorials that my friend Dan created as part of his GA-ship the last two years and it all worked out okay. It was only a simple page.

During some of Saturday, I went shopping with my mom. I love shopping and I was actually in the mood to shop, too! I got a fantastic, unbelieveably comfortable pair of dress pants for $17. They are by Dorothee Bis (although they are not on that site, as far as I can see.) So psyched to someday have a job where I can wear them...

Saturday night, I had the opportunity to go out for dinner and went to Smokey Bones Barbeque, which I think is fairly new around here, but I could be wrong. I am not that easily enticed by food but when I saw their menu, I was salivating at about sixteen different things! Yum! I couldn't decide what to get. As I wasn't that hungry, I ended up getting the Portabello Chicken Wrap and it was pretty good. I want to go back and get more. Even their alcoholic drinks were unique and sounded delicious. (I didn't imbibe.) Apparently this is a chain restaurant with a number of locations in the eastern US. There is even one in Syracuse; who knew?! Oh wait, now that I look it up on the map, I do think I knew it was there. Anyway, I recommend it.

Today, Sunday, I spent the entire day finishing up my homework for the week (SO much reading) and also applying for jobs. I applied for this cool-sounding job in Lower Manhattan, as well as two in Boston and two in Washington, DC. I am a perfect match for one of the jobs in the DC area, but will they call me? Probably not... Oh yeah, I also caught some of the AFC Championship Game. Go Colts! I LOVE that Bill Belichik lost. That was a great game.

Make your own "For Dummies" Book

Myspace Layouts
(via)

Online TV: The CW (and more)

Since I'm always updating my blog about online TV viewing opportunities, here's another. The CW is finally joining the other major networks in offering some episodes of certain series online. Episodes of such CW hits as Beauty & the Geek, Supernatural, One Tree Hill, Veronica Mars, Everybody Hates Chris, All of Us and Girlfriends will be available here, after installation of a special (and reportedly innovative) viewer. That's great news as I've constantly reported how much I love to watch TV online and the more options, the better. Right now, each show offers a few of the latest episodes. Of course, the one show that I do watch regularly on the CW is Gilmore Girls and that is not included. Boo! But, who knows, maybe I'll start watching Beauty & the Geek or Everybody Hates Chris or something.

Also, recently, ABC added Men in Trees to its online line-up, which I'm happy about because I feel like I might enjoy it yet have not had the opportunity to watch it and this could have been a chance to catch up with it. However, unlike other new shows that ABC recently added (Brothers & Sisters, What About Brian and Ugly Betty, for example, although Ugly Betty doesn't really count I guess since it's been there all season) where the entire season to date is available, only the pilot and the newest two episodes of Men in Trees are available. I have no real desire to watch the last two episodes if I'm missing all of those in between the pilot and them... Kinda stupid.

I Want One: Petal Rings

I think most who know me know I love a cool, unique ring and these definitely fit the bill. I love them! Only two problems, though: 1.) They are $69 and that is a bit much for me to pay for a ring and 2.) There are over 100 different colors to choose from! How would I ever decide? (via)

"Gates Foundation expands U.S. libraries initiatives"

This article is good news.

Before they were famous...

HardlyFamous.com offers a list of "first jobs" of famous people. It's categorized alphabetically by person's name and is a kind of fun timewaster... (via)

Second day of school

I doubt I'll provide a running commentary of my entire final semester but I thought I would share that I did indeed check out my classes last night, despite insisting in yesterday's post that I would probably wait. I was pleasantly surprised to find that there was not an overwhelming number of posts - in fact hardly any - and I got a little started with the classes. One of the courses is going to be SO much work - you wouldn't believe the amount of reading that is assigned - but I am glad to see that the professor has made minor improvements to the syllabus compared to what it had been in previous semesters. The other course is considered a portfolio course so there are just a bunch of things I need to learn and exhibit by May 1st and can basically work at my own pace, which is good but also kind of scary. I'm seriously not sure I'll be able to learn it all. One of my friends who took the course has assured me I'll have no problem with it. I hope he's right!

Good movie

I watched World Trade Center over the course of the last few days and I really enjoyed it. It totally wasn't what I expected; I thought it was going to tell the story of 9/11 on a grand scale but it basically just tells the story of two Port Authority Police Officers who got trapped in an elevator shaft when the buildings collapsed, what happened as they were trapped and how their corresponding families dealt with waiting to hear about the mens' fate. It was very fascinating and really well-acted, too. Of course, I adore Maria Bello and Maggie Gyllenhaal anyway. (They play the wives). Unusual for me, I even listened to some of the commentary that comes on the DVD because instead of hearing from the director or the actors, this commentary is from the real people who the film is about. So they are there to tell us what is accurate and what is tweaked a little and also why some decisions were made to tweak the truth a little. It's just really fascinating. I kind of wish I didn't have to return the movie to the library tomorrow so I would have time to listen to all of the commentary. The next best thing, though, is that there are interviews with the real people on the movie's Web site.

First Day of School

Today is the first day of class for the new semester and I'm registered to take two classes to finish up my Certificate program. While about a month ago I was looking forward to getting back to learning, now I am totally dreading it. I haven't even logged into the online classrooms yet, primarily because I know how rabid and insane the distance students are and when I do log in, I'll find that there are probably already 100 posts from overeager and overcompensating students. And then I'll get annoyed. Yes, I know it's kind of ironic in that the longer I wait to log in, the MORE posts there will be. Yet, I will wait anyway, possibly until tomorrow.

Cost of the War

Here is an ongoing tally of the cost of the war in Iraq. You can break it down by community and also compare it to other things. For instance, it will tell you how many people could have gotten scholarships to attend college with that same amount of money or how many public education teachers could have been hired with that same money. (via)

Golden Globe Award Predictions - How did I do?

Umm, well, after making my predictions yesterday afternoon and then watching the actual awards show last night and seeing the actual winners, I got about 9 right. 9 out of 25, or 36% correct.

That's not so bad, but I have to say that I was kicking myself a couple of times after the winners were announced because I almost got a couple more right. One trick to know is that since it's the Hollywood Foreign Press Association giving out the awards, they often reward foreigners! Which is why I chose Peter O'Toole for the Best Actor, Drama winner (he lost, though)) and why I almost chose Jeremy Irons for Best Supporting Actor on Television (and he won, too) and why I did choose Hugh Laurie from House (who did win!) and why I almost chose Ugly Betty as Best Television Show, Musical or Comedy (which won and is an international sensation with the same show airing in dozens of countries already). Ah well. The other incorrect prediction that I knew was coming was choosing Maggie Gyllenhall for Best Actress in a Motion Picture Drama. I KNEW Helen Mirren was going to win (she did) but I went with Maggie anyway simply because she played a character named Sherry. Yeah, I'm crazy like that.

A job I would love

This article from the New York Times yesterday (via) talks about how NBC employs three people who simply scour YouTube all day trying to find clips of movies or TV shows that are NBC property and are therefore violating copyright and need to be removed. Imagine how good a librarian with her supercool searching skills would be at finding the offending clips! I wonder how much it pays.

Golden Globe Award Predictions

Tonight is the start of the televised movie award season, I guess, with the Golden Globe Awards airing at 8pm EST and I thought it would be fun to make my predictions on winners! That way, everyone can laugh at how wrong I was. Keep in mind that I've seen very few of the movies nominated. I have seen some of the television shows, though, so I have a little more to go on there but I guarantee I will probably still be way off.

Here goes:
Best Motion Picture - Drama
The Queen

Best Performance by an Actress in a Motion Picture - Drama
Maggie Gyllenhall - Sherrybaby

Best Performance by an Actor in a Motion Picture - Drama
Peter O'Toole, Venus

Best Motion Picture - Musical or Comedy
Little Miss Sunshine

Best Performance by an Actress in a Motion Picture - Musical or Comedy
Annette Bening, Running with Scissors

Best Performance by an Actor in a Motion Picture - Musical or Comedy
Sacha Cohen, Borat

Best Performance by an Actress in a Supporting Role in a Motion Picture
Jennifer Hudson, Dreamgirls

Best Performance by an Actor in a Supporting Role in a Motion Picture
Ben Affleck, Hollywoodland

Best Animated Feature Film
Happy Feet

Best Foreign Language Film
Letters from Iwo Jima

Best Director - Motion Picture
Martin Scorsese, The Departed

Best Screenplay - Motion Picture
Babel (Guillermo Arriaga)

Best Original Score - Motion Picture
The Da Vinci Code (Hans Zimmer)

Best Original Song - Motion Picture
"Listen", Dreamgirls

Best Television Series - Drama
Big Love

Best Performance by an Actress In A Television Series - Drama
Kyra Sedgwick, The Closer

Best Performance by an Actor In A Television Series - Drama
Hugh Laurie, House

Best Television Series - Musical or Comedy
The Office

Best Performance by an Actress In A Television Series - Musical or Comedy
Mary Louise Parker, Weeds

Best Performance by an Actor In A Television Series - Musical or Comedy
Alec Baldwin, Thirty Rock

Best Mini-Series or Motion Picture Made for Television
Elizabeth I

Best Performance by an Actress In A Mini-series or Motion Picture Made for Television
Helen Mirren, Elizabeth I

Best Performance by an Actor In A Mini-series or Motion Picture Made for Television
Ben Kingsley, Mrs. Harris

Best Performance by an Actress in a Supporting Role in a Series, Mini-Series or Motion Picture Made for Television
Toni Collette, Tsunami, the Aftermath

Best Performance by an Actor in a Supporting Role in a Series, Mini-Series or Motion Picture Made for Television
Justin Kirk, Weeds

Which Pooh Character am I?

Umm, who's Kanga? I was not even aware of this Pooh character...


Take the 100 Acre Personality Quiz!

Randomly cool stuff found on the Web this weekend

I saw this picture of this mummified person who lived about 600 years ago with her hands covering her face as if she literally died from shock and was then preserved in this way and it was kind of interesting. (via)

Then, the same site (Boing Boing) pointed to a device that enables one to record cassette tapes into Mp3 format. How great is that for any of us with old cassette tapes that are basically useless now? I sold a bunch of my cassette tapes in a garage sale a couple years back since my car doesn't even have a cassette deck anymore. This is a great way to convert all that old 80s music to CDs or Mp3s.

Finally, with the big political talk of the last few days being the troop surge in Iraq, I came across Michael Moore's letter to George W. in response. It's really really sarcastic and also, really kind of funny. (via)

My bad

So I didn't do anything different with my blog this weekend, despite planning to look over some of the new features available to me now. I was busy helping my mom take care of my dad, entertaining my brother/sister-in-law/nephew for a lot of the day yesterday and writing cover letters and sending out resumes today. I submitted EIGHT resumes today, which I'm kind of proud about. Except, I really shouldn't be I guess since prior to that, I'd only sent out three in the last month. Hopefully a whole new batch like this will result in at least one call. And my plan tomorrow is to send out maybe six more.

Ask and you shall receive

Just yesterday, I was moaning about Google dragging its feet to switch my blogs to "New Blogger" and guess what? Today I logged in and made the switch! I guess I should have bitched about it sooner. Anyway, I guess I'll start adding tags (or labels) to my posts and see what else is new over the next few days. Yay!

Bad movie alert

Earlier this evening I watched this movie American Dreamz, which is kind of an American Idol/President Bush/Iraq war spoof (yes, right there it sounds stupid) and it was not particularly good or funny. Despite having some quality actors (Dennis Quaid, Willem Dafoe, Mandy Moore, Marcia Gay Harden, Hugh Grant), it sucked. I would estimate I chuckled maybe twice. So, don't waste your time!

I Want One: Sugar Please Automatic Dispenser

Actually, I do not want one for myself but this gadget, which looks like a salt shaker and dispenses a teaspoonful of sugar at the press of a button, would be perfect for my mom. She consumes tea (both hot and iced) constantly and is always adding Splenda to it. So a gadget that can save time and effort from having to count and rip open the perfect number of packets would be ideal. I just want to remember it for the next time I have to buy her a present. And that's what blogs are for! (via)

Dad's surgery update

My dad's surgery went well, it seems! The doctor is encouraged. My dad is just limited in what he can do and eat for the next few days and was given a nice prescription for Vicodin. Or hydrocodone, which is the generic name for that. (I never knew that. I thought they were two separate painkillers.) Apparently, the pain that seems immense right now will actually get much worse by days three through five. What kind of craziness is that? I guess it will take a little time to know if the surgery actually worked. He claims that when he fell asleep earlier, he woke himself up with his snoring (which the surgery is supposed to stop even if it doesn't cure the sleep apnea), but my mom & I had gone out so we don't know. I have to say, despite undergoing a two-hour surgery, he already seems remarkably more awake today than he's seemed in a long long time. I always attributed his constant catnapping to the fact that he often gets only 4 hours of sleep each night but maybe this sleep apnea thing has some credence.

Why oh why can't I switch to new Blogger?

Google bought Blogger awhile ago and supposedly made some improvements to Blogger and was going to eventually let all old Blogger customers (like me) switch to the new and improved Blogger. Well, it was in beta for a long time and now supposedly the switch is complete... except for some customers. Like me. Every time I log in to post, I get the "SWITCH NOW" invitation. When I click to switch, I'm then told that one or more of my blogs are not eligible for the switch yet. It says the primary reason is usually that the blog is too big. I only have like 600 posts over the last few years - is that too large? I know some people post many many entries every single day. Ugh.

Time for surgery

My dad's having surgery tomorrow and my parents are both really really freaked out about it. It's, if Wikipedia can be believed, called Uvulopalatopharyngoplasty. He's getting his uvula, his adenoids and his tonsils removed to help with his sleep apnea. According to that entry, the success rate is only 40%. But he kind of has to get it done... he has been diagnosed with sleep apnea for years; he tried using one of those machines that pump air into you but it never worked. They actually tried a couple machines and they didn't work. In order to maintain his commercial driver's license (which he needs for his job), he can't have sleep apnea. Therefore, this is the next thing to try to cure the sleep apnea. Anyway, both of my parents are extremely nervous about it all and while I have every confidence that it will go well, any prayers or thoughts of spiritual support that come our way will be greatly appreciated!

Seatwarming toilet!

I've seen mentions all over the Net of new products unveiled at the Consumer Electronics Show (which, by the way, reminds me of another awesome job I wanted but who wouldn't even give me the time of day and that is as librarian at the Consumer Electronics Association). Most of them are, you know, consumer electronics like cell phones, televisions, camcorders, etc... Here though is a new toilet that comes with a built-in bidet as well as a seat warmer and deodorizing function. That link offers a nice video of the booth woman demonstrating it. Well, not actually demonstrating it but you know, showing its features.

Free DVD

Reportedly (via), one can get a free copy of the DVD, An Inconvenient Truth, simply by going to this Web site and filling out information. I saw that movie a couple of weeks ago and thought it was really interesting and eye-opening so I went ahead and filled out the form. I'd love to have my parents and some friends watch it. However, it says that you will get an email from them to confirm the order and I have not gotten that. Yet. Although it's been nearly ten hours.

Job gripes

I have nothing to report and I'm really really cranky about the whole job search thing. I was thisclose to getting the job at the trade association in Chicago and then, nope. They really led me to believe that I was the one they wanted. I had even practically given them my firstborn child as part of the required background check and then, nope. The extra shitty part of it is that they called (when I wasn't home) and told me they wanted to talk to me as part of a three-person conference call. I figured this was good news, right? I mean, why would they need more than one person to tell me I was rejected. When I called them back the next day and left a message, instead of returning my call they just emailed me the rejection note. Pretty bizarre, right?

Other than that, though, I feel like I'm at the end of the rope in terms of available opportunities. It doesn't help that every time I sit down to actually compose cover letters these days, I cannot focus on it. (This being a prime example of that.) I guess I'm extra cranky due to this drought... since September I've had at least one interview each week, but that streak has ended here the first couple of weeks of January. I guess that's to be expected a little but it's still ultra frustrating.

Today I saw this job posting for a job in Washington DC that I totally want. This marks the third time it's been posted in the last year, though, and yes, I've already applied both prior times. So do I send my resume a third time? Either they are horrible at choosing someone or they just haven't gotten around to filling the position yet. And if the latter is the case, then why the heck don't they actually spend a little more time looking at the resumes in front of them before posting the ad again? It's so so aggravating!

Game: Guess the Google

I came across this site via PC Magazine's Top 99 Undiscovered Web Site list and unlike some of the others on there that take more time to investigate, Guess the Google was pretty straightforward, not to mention easy and fun. And it's kind of addictive.

You get twenty images collaged together and are supposed to guess what the keyword search was on Google that produced these 20 results. Some of them are hard, some of them are super easy and some of them made me laugh once I guessed the word.

Online TV: American Idol

According to this article (via), American Idol episodes will be available for online streaming after they air on television on the show's official Web site. Sweet! I LOVE watching stuff online. I hope they keep the episodes up for awhile, too, even all season, although there is no mention of that. The writer of the article is surprised that the show would risk losing viewers by streaming online but I don't think they have to worry about that. That's the kind of show that viewers like to watch live. If anything, they'll get more viewers thanks to word of mouth.

Oh yeah, the new season starts next Tuesday, Jan. 16.

That didn't go so well.

I don't have much to say about the big game. Ohio State was abysmal. At least they won a few years ago and I watched most of that game again when it was on ESPN Classic on Saturday.

Article: "The Changing Role of Library Science"

This article from the Wall Street Journal online has only a couple of interesting things to me. It talks about the supposed upcoming "shortage" of librarians, thanks to a large number of expected retirements in the next ten to fifteen years. They pounded this into our head when I worked at the Library of Congress last summer but most of the librarians there were quick to tell us that just because people retire doesn't mean that their position will be replaced. Here's the part that rings true to me: "Competition is tough" for jobs, she notes. A number of her classmates struggled to find jobs, while others had to piece together two part-time posts.

Beauty & the Geek

I've only watched portions of this show in the past but the new season debuts tonight and well, this description of the episode from my cable TV listings has piqued my interest: "One of the women is in tears when she must work the Dewey Decimal System." WHAT?!

New Year's Resolution #1: Get Well

I have been unbelievably sick the last four days, spending most of the last three in bed and trying my damndest to do something productive today (like send out resumes) but not really accomplishing that, so I really am going to do whatever it takes to ensure that I do not get this sick again, if that means taking multivitamins, eating an apple a day, getting a flu shot, avoiding contact with all other humans or whatever else anyone might suggest...

Hooray! I finished my book!!

I struggled with reading Auntie Mame forever. I seriously think it took me like a month to read it (inexcusable considering the fact that I'm not working full-time and it's not even 300 pages!) and although I could have given up, I persevered and finished it yesterday. It wasn't that I didn't enjoy it - it was okay, pretty much a slapstick comedy - it was just a slow read for me. I guess it didn't help that I got caught up with the holidays and all my television movie-watching. But thankfully I finished and can move on to something else.