Word of the day: adduce

v : to offer as example, reason, or proof in discussion or analysis

My sentence using adduce: Perhaps after reading my account of my public librarian testing mistakes in the preceding post, one might adduce that I am not cut out to be a public librarian.

Doh!

I had another interview and another round of testing for a public library job today. The interview went okay - it was one of these where I wasn't entirely sure I was giving the right answers but maybe I was. The questions were weird and it was seriously the most structured interview ever. I work better with a little less structure. But it could have gone well. Hey, they only interviewed six out of 70 of the test-takers and I was one of the six so I feel like I already won.

Then came the testing for a different job but in the same library system, where I had a brain freeze which might result in me not getting an interview. One of the questions was "What is the name of the sixth book in the Harry Potter series?" Umm, I have actually read the Harry Potter books but I'm sorry to say that I am not a fanatic and do not remember the order of the book titles. I put Harry Potter & the Order of the Phoenix which I am PROUD to say is the title of... the fifth book. Oops. Close. But, hey, at least I didn't put "Harry Potter & are you seriously asking me this?" which I was tempted to put.

THEN, I had to "name three authors (currently popular) in various genres": mystery, romance, science fiction/fantasy, horror and western. Umm, again with the currently popular crap... That was on the last test too. I've been a graduate student for the last two years so I have no idea what is currently popular - this evidenced by the fact that I'm a book behind on the Harry Potter series. Ha ha.

So, anyway, mystery was easy for me, romance a little harder (I came up with two and then really struggled to think of a third when finally duh, Danielle Steel finally came into my head. She's only written about 800 books.) I went with old stand-bys for horror, hoping that these writers (Stephen King, John Saul and Dean Koontz) are still writing and therefore "currently popular", and then all I had left was science fiction and western.

Science fiction/fantasy: I was totally stumped. Umm, yes, I have dated at least six guys who are total sci-fi nerds. TOTAL fanatics and yes, even lived with one for years who read the same books over and over and over again, yet I could not come up with the name of any authors. None. Terry Brooks popped into my head eventually so there was one. After some struggle, I thought of Terry Pratchett, but I wasn't even sure if he wrote sci-fi or if that was my imagination. (Turns out he does.) I could NOT think of a third. I kind of thought of like 8 or 10 but kind of doesn't count when you don't remember their names!! Finally, I put down Isaac Asimov since I caught about 12 seconds of I Robot on cable the other night. Asimov is a sci-fi author but I doubt he would be classified as "currently popular." We'll see I guess. Who I wanted to put down was Robert Jordan, since I actually met him, but "that guy I met with the bushy beard who writes like one book every four years" probably wouldn't have cut it.

Western: Umm, are there even three authors who write westerns? Because I don't think there are. I put the obvious Louis L'Amour and then was like, umm, who else? I was desperately picturing that guy who won the Oscar for writing the screenplay for Brokeback Mountain, but could not for the life of me think of his name. (Larry McMurtry). I so wish I could have thought of him - or had the balls to write "the guy who won the Oscar for best screenplay for Brokeback Mountain." Instead, I settled for Annie Proulx who wrote the short story "Brokeback Mountain" and is so totally not a Western writer. And for the third name, I put Tony Hillerman, who I know damn well is a mystery writer but I was pretty sure his books take place in the west so I went with it.

Boy did that suck! These questions are ridiculous. The remaining 8 questions on the test were at least more like interview questions: "Explain what customer service means to you." "Tell me about your customer service experience." "Tell me about a time you made a mistake on the job and how you corrected that." I feel like I can bullshit my way with those kinds of questions, probably because there are no right or wrong answers staring me in the face.

Anyway, bottom line: I feel stupid and I have more waiting ahead of me. They told me to expect a couple week wait after the interview and I know it will probably be at least a week before I hear if my score on the test qualifies me for an interview.

Belated birthday present

Yesterday I finally got my birthday present from my parents: an Mp3 player!! It's sweet but I haven't had a chance to really look at it or try it out yet.

Word of the day: interstice

n : a little space between two things : chink, crevice

My sentence using interstice: Usually when I cannot find one of the remote controls, it ends up being in the interstice between the bed and the wall.

Muppet personality test

Which Muppet am I? Yay! I'm Fozzie. Fozzie was always my favorite Muppet.

You Are Fozzie Bear

"Wocka! Wocka!" You're the life of the party, and you love making people crack up. If only your routine didn't always bomb! You may find more groans than laughs, but always keep the jokes coming.

The Muppet Personality Test

If you don't know your phone number, how am I supposed to call you?

I have another interview scheduled for next week (I had one Tuesday in Columbus) and the director of the library who left the message said that she was setting up interviews for Friday, September 9th (when she apparently meant the 29th) and then left the wrong phone number, too. Umm, is it wrong that I find two mistakes like this in the span of a 2-minute answering machine message a little discouraging? In terms of, like, maybe that person isn't the greatest manager and not necessarily someone you'd want to work for... To her credit, though, she was nice when I called her back. After I figured out the correct phone number, that is.

Reality shows

I am SO glad that Big Brother All-Stars is ending tomorrow (well, later tonight since it's after midnight). You have no idea how much time I wasted with that this summer. Remember when I announced that I was addicted to it? That was only a couple of weeks into it. It definitely got worse before it got better, but I am proud to admit that for the last month or so, I have been a whole lot less addicted to it. Every summer I get pulled into that crap and every summer as I watch it and try to find out what is going on in the live feeds, I endlessly complain about how horrible it is. Yet, why is it so addictive?

Having been a HUGE reality fan in the past, I'm finding myself not too interested in the upcoming reality debuts. I don't know what happened. My love of Survivor (which starts Thursday) has definitely waned during the last two years. I'll probably watch it but it isn't going to be can't-miss-TV for me. I might just watch the episodes on the Internet when I get a chance. Even The Amazing Race (which starts Sunday) has little appeal to me, although that show usually sucks me in anyway. I just don't know what my problem is. Dancing with the Stars? Meh. Celebrity Duets? Ick. American Idol? I barely watched that this year. Treasure Hunters? Hated it. America's Got Talent? It was horrible. The only show that I'm really enjoying now and am eager to watch each week is Project Runway. And this is the first season I have ever watched that. What is wrong with me? Is getting sick of reality TV a sign that I'm growing up?!!

Job testing angst

I went for testing today for a job I applied for at the local county library branch. It said this was preliminary testing covering "the basic skills" needed for the job. Whatever that means. I tried studying a little, which meant I looked over the New York Times bestseller lists and the Dewey Decimal System. I thought initially we would be tested on using the catalog and I knew that would be a piece of cake. I can use their online catalog backwards and forwards. Anyway, overall, I wasn't sure quite what to expect.

Well, there were about 70 people there! I was shocked. I don't know if everyone who applied was invited to the testing or if there was some pre-preliminary qualifiers. I mean, as part of the application process, there is an online test... one of those that asks if you like to work alone or work in groups, if you are a leader or a follower, if you are flexible or rigid regarding working hours, etc... I imagine some candidates can be eliminated based on their answers to those questions. But, geez, it was kind of discouraging to see so many candidates for this part-time job!

Anyway, so there were about 70 of us and it was kind of ridiculous. The "test" consisted of five questions. The first two questions basically described the work schedule and asked if that was satisfactory (nights and weekends) and what prior commitments one might have that could impede their availability to work. A third question asked us to describe in detail our previous experience working with the public. Only the final two questions had even a little to do with those "basic skills" for the job we would be doing. The one question told us to name the titles and authors of three recently published books and tell us why we might recommend those books to others. Umm, yeah, that might sound easy but it wasn't. Recently published? What does that mean? What's the cutoff for 'recent'? I picked one that was published in the past few months but the other two are from like 2003 and 2004 because I just couldn't think of anything else, even anything I hadn't actually read but knew what it was about. It's not like I have the money to buy newly published books and if I wanted them from the library, there is usually a wait!

Okay, the fifth question was the kicker, though. It listed ten people or things and asked us to describe who or what they were. Briefly, I guess, since there wasn't a lot of space. Assuming the test gets changed up regularly and also that the few readers of this blog are not going to be taking the same test, the ten things were:

Jimmy DiMora
IPod
Call & Post
Sam Fulwood
Charlie Frye
Rachael Ray
YouTube
Broadband
Jump Drive
The 4400

Yeah. Well, some of them (like Jimmy DiMora, Sam Fulwood, Call & Post & Charlie Frye) are local things. And, considering I haven't lived in Cleveland much for the last two years, I was a little annoyed. Luckily for me, I had no problem at all with the others. Or Charlie Frye, since that's sports-related and I know sports. My guesses were pretty close, too, although I'm not sure what kind of answer they are looking for. I guessed that Jimmy DiMora was "a public official in Cleveland" when in fact he is the County Commissioner. Technically I'm right, although pretty vague. I guessed that Sam Fulwood was the editor-in-chief of the Cleveland Plain Dealer newspaper when in fact he is just a columnist in the Metro section. But kind of close, right? And I put that the Call & Post was a newspaper serving the NE Ohio area when in fact it is a Cleveland-area African-American newspaper. Close but kind of missing the key ingredient.

So, the test was kind of bizarre, not at all what I expected, and frustrating to knowingly be competing against so many others. I fully do not expect to make it to the next round at all. Did I mention that this job doesn't even require the Master's Degree that I will go into debt paying off? So if I can't get this job, is there hope for a Master's Degree job?

My dating profile...

Sometimes these quizzes are so right that it's eerie; sometimes they are so wrong that it is laughable and sometimes they just make no sense. This time, I can't get over how very accurate the 'Date Match Profile' is. Those descriptions and rankings are really pretty much dead-on what I would want in a man, based on my experience and what men I have dated have lacked. I have never dated a man I would call 'Adventurous' (hmm, maybe one comes to mind...) and I really would love that. Practical yet adventurous with some mystery that I can try to crack. Totally...

On the other hand, I don't think my dating profile is too accurate at all. Yes, I am definitely liberal but I'm not sure that would be the top identifying feature about me. And, adventurous? Not so much. Anyone who knows me would have to agree that 'Funny' should be in my top 3 and not adventurous. And there's no way that 'Shy' would get ranked below 'Religious'. I am religious in no way at all.

Your dating personality profile: Liberal - Politics matters to you, and you aren't afraid to share your left-leaning views. You would never be caught voting for a conservative candidate. Practical - You are a down-to-earth individual who is not impressed with material excess. You care about the stuff of like that really matters. Adventurous - Just sitting around the house is not something that appeals to you. You love to be out trying new things and really experiencing life.

Your date match profile: Practical - You are drawn to people who are sensible and smart. Flashy, materialistic people turn you off. You appreciate the simpler side of living. Adventurous - You are looking for someone who is willing to try new things and experience life to its fullest. You need a companion who encourages you to take risks and do exciting things. Shy - You are put off by people who are open books. You are drawn to someone who is a bit more mysterious. You want to draw him out of his shell and get to know what he is all about.

Your Top Ten Traits 1. Liberal 2. Practical 3. Adventurous 4. Funny 5. Intellectual 6. Romantic 7. Big-Hearted 8. Sensual 9. Religious 10. Shy

Your Top Ten Match Traits 1. Practical 2. Adventurous 3. Shy 4. Intellectual 5. Funny 6. Sensual 7. Big-Hearted 8. Conservative 9. Romantic 10. Traditional

Take the Online Dating Profile Quiz at Dating Diversions

Library card

You probably have to be a total library geek like me to be excited about this like I am but I got a library card for the New York Public Library today! I found out last week that all residents of New York State and students of New York State are allowed to get a free NYPL library card (otherwise, anyone can pay $100 for one) so I wasted no time in applying and I got it already. That was so fast! There are some databases accessible to NYPL patrons that I have no experience with so I'm hoping to bulk up my resume.

Word of the day: pecuniary

adj 1: consisting of or measured in money
2: of or relating to money

My sentence using pecuniary: Although I'm currently enrolled in class for the fall semester, I may have to drop out due to pecuniary concerns.

Happenings of the last few days...

I was really bummed this weekend as I was unable to access my email for all of Sunday and all of Monday. It seemed to be a systemwide syr.edu problem because I could not access any syr.edu Web pages at all, including WebCT, which houses online classes. And, yes, the first day of class was Monday. At times like that, it makes me realize that I depend too much on my email system for not only did that limit my ability to communicate with others but, since I put all the jobs I want to apply for in an email folder and since I put all the Web sites that I use to check for jobs on WebCT, I could not access that stuff either. When I was at school and relying heavily on computer labs, it was just super convenient to put information where it is always accessible no matter what computer I'm using. Maybe now that I'm basically using only one computer, I should save stuff to a more static location.

I am currently registered for two classes for this semester but I only need one to count towards the Certificate program I'm pursuing. I am leaning towards dropping out of both, though, just because my current transient situation is so less than ideal for learning. For gosh sakes, my computer is located on a TV tray!! The one class I'm in - Human Interaction with Computers - seems pretty easy, though, so I may stick with it. Is that a horrible reason to stay in a class?

My email situation was a perfect excuse not to apply for jobs, though, and that is what I did - took a couple days off from that fruitless activity. Ironically, that doesn't stop the rejection letters from coming. I got one yesterday and another one today, neither place wanting to even waste their time interviewing me. How wonderful it is to be loved!

Make a Web site work-friendly

I'm not sure where I came across this site but it's pretty cool. It's called "Work Friendly" and all you need to do is type in a Web site's URL and it gets turned into what looks like a page of MS Word. Therefore, when your boss comes up behind you it looks like you are reading a Word document rather than reading a Web site. Ingenious!

Victoria's Secret

Approximately a month ago, I posted about the free stuff I'd been getting lately. Well, duh, I forgot a major thing: free Victoria's Secret panties. My mom or dad received a coupon in the mail for a pair of free panties and then there were two coupons in two different magazines I read recently - all in all, I got three free pairs of panties from Victoria's Secret in the last month. No purchase required. It's a pretty sweet deal, considering an individual pair of panties there is valued at $7.50.

Today, however, as I was picking up my third free pair, the salesgirl conned me into trying one of their scents. I figured I would do it since 1.) I really don't have any preferred perfume that I wear so you never know and 2.) I was getting over $22 of free merchandise from the store so the least I could do is try some lotion. She gave me some Heavenly lotion, which apparently is the #1 fragrance in America (seriously? why does that make me skeptical?). She pumped some lotion onto my hands. THEN, and this is where it got good, she pumped a DIFFERENT lotion, a thicker lotion, onto my hands over the first lotion (I assume it is the luxe lotion that is advertised on that site) - which she says sets the other lotion in place!! As if spending $20 for a bottle of lotion isn't enough, now she's telling me that I need to spend $29 extra to make sure that lotion stays in place? How crazy is that? I was totally amused. These retailers, always thinking up ways to get us to buy crap!

Word of the day: climacteric

n 1: a major turning point or critical stage
2a: menopause b: a period in the life of a male corresponding to female menopause

My sentence using climacteric: When I finally become employed as a librarian, it will be climacteric since I will actually have a profession instead of just a job.

Good idea for a blog

I was thinking that it would have probably been a good idea to have kept track of all the dozens of jobs I applied for on a blog. I could have posted the job description maybe but, at the very least, it would have been good to have posted something along the lines of "Today I applied for a job as a medical librarian at Wake Forest University." (Actually, that was last week, not today!) That way, when (if) I finally get a job, I would have a good record of all I did to get one!

I guess I could start it now but considering I've been applying to tons of jobs for the last 8-10 months (I applied for like two in November; that was the start), it would be starting pretty late in the game. And while I could probably recreate some of it, I know it wouldn't be complete. Anyway, I'm just thinking out loud, so to speak.

Treasure Hunters finale

This show that's been airing on NBC this summer, Treasure Hunters, is mostly pretty bad (I'd estimate I have seen 66% of the show anyway, however) but the finale is tonight and I caught the tail end of last week's episode and their clue told them they would be going to the Library of Congress next so yeah, way to suck a girl in. I'll definitely be watching tonight and trying to see if I recognize anyone or any place NOT because I enjoy the show or care about who wins. If they run around the Library at all, especially to places that are not normally accessible to the general public, I'm going to get a little weepy. It's been exactly a year since my internship there ended.

Ikea!

The new Ikea catalog is available online. Yay!

No power, no nothing

Our power went out around 3pm today (which, sadly to say, is pretty close to the start of my day thanks to my current sleep patterns). It didn't come back on until nearly 9pm, leaving me unable to get anything accomplished today. I wanted to do some laundry and write some cover letters and send out resumes. Well, I was kind of in the midst of narrowing the jobs I wanted to apply for when the power suddenly went out and then I just couldn't work on them without the job descriptions in front of me! Yes, I considered going to the library to work on them and I have done that before but I find it such a nuisance because they only let you use the computers for one hour and I get totally caught up constantly checking how much time I have left. Duh - I suppose I could have taken my dad's laptop to the library and used their free wi-fi (I assume they have free wi-fi, but I don't even know)... but his computer has no word processing software on it.

Anyway, I was so frustrated with it all. Plus, I was waiting for a phone call and without electricity we also have no answering machine. And for the one hour I did go out, I was certain I was going to miss the call and probably did.

I hate being dependent on electricity like that. I did finish the book I was reading and got in a 45-minute walk, though, so all was not lost. AND, it was the first day I've done any walking since my injury where I didn't come back feeling some pain. Phew, finally healed. Although that toe still doesn't bend...

Word of the day: embonpoint

n : plumpness of person : stoutness

My sentence for embonpoint: I think the Cheri Stuffed Chair from Kmart (see today's other entry) would be quite comfortable for most people; however, those with excessive embonpoint might find it lacking in support.