Sales Tax Holiday!

This weekend is Virginia's annual Sales Tax Holiday weekend, good on school supplies under $20 and clothing under $100. It seems like it might be a good weekend to go shopping!

Web site with potential

I read about TripIt today and it sounds interesting. When you travel, you send all your confirmation emails, itineraries, etc... to it and it organizes them and creates one big itinerary for you, which you can then access from anywhere in whichever format you prefer. You can then share itineraries with friends to see where your schedules overlap. Web 2.0 for travel, I guess. It might be worth checking out next time you travel! (via)

No wonder I'm so spoiled

As I've left Cleveland and moved to Syracuse and now Washington, DC, it's annoyed me how awful the public libraries are. I guess I grew up just taking library services for granted and I won't lie that it's probably one of the reasons I became a librarian. Here's another article that proves my point that the libraries that I grew up with are the cream of the crop. On a list of the Top 25 Most Modern Libraries in the World (the WORLD, not just the US), the two libraries I always went to as a kid are both on the list under the technology and innovation category. (via)

Cake Pans! At a Library

This week's AL Direct has a story about how a library has Wilton cake pans available for checkout and even has them in their online catalog. Turns out the library is the Reed Memorial Library in Ravenna, OH, part of the Portgage County system. Although the library apparently won't offer them for InterLibrary Loan, they do allow outsiders to get library cards to check out the cake pans. It's not that convenient for my friends/relatives back in Cleveland, but it's not that inconvenient either! So if you want to bake a cake in the shape of an object or famous character but don't want to spend the money to buy a cake pan you'll only use once, this is a great alternative! I bet a lot of the pans are discontinued too.

In other TV-viewing news...

I just got a Slingbox! I'm very very excited, as I've been interested in them for at least two years. At my current apartment, we decided to not get cable, and while it's been fine for the most part, I also do really miss it at times. But now I can watch the cable from my parents' house via my computer! The picture is pretty awesome. You can control it via a remote control image that shows up on your monitor and is identical to the actual remote control. Plus, it only costs the amount of the set-top box. It was pretty easy to set it up, too. Last night, I was excited to be able to watch the Project Runway Season 5 premiere. And next week, I'll be able to watch the second season of General Hospital: Night Shift. And also cool is that I can now watch Indians & Browns games that air on Cleveland television!

Just when I get near the end...

I've been semi-addicted to The Hills, the MTV reality show about a few girls living in the Hollywood Hills, and watched Season 1, Season 2 and part of Season 3 online in the last month to six weeks. Luckily for me, MTV.com offers every episode for free. Or, I should say offered. As of today, they took down almost all of Season 3 and left only the last four episodes! The Season 3 DVD comes out on July 29 so obviously they felt that no one would buy the DVDs if the episodes were all available for free online. Which, perhaps not, but I also know A LOT of people who do not watch TV online at all. And they've had them up this long. It just annoys me as I was so close to finishing Season 3.

So, anyway, I cannot end my obsession and get caught up on episodes until July 29th. I've already added the last two discs to my Netflix queue.

Oh really? I didn't get the job?

Here is the email I got Friday from Old Dominion University:

Dear Applicant:

Thank you for your interest in the Health Sciences Reference Librarian Position, #FA598A, with the 1LB10-Library Public Services Department, at Old Dominion University.

After reviewing your application, the hiring manager did not select you for an interview and the position has now been filled. We hope you will continue to seek employment opportunities with Old Dominion University.

Sincerely,
Department of Human Resources

Well, I don't remember when I applied for this job but I can guarantee it was sometime before April 2007 so it's been at least 15 months. So thanks so much for telling me I didn't get the position. I really thought I was still in the running.

Web site Recommendations

Time has come out with a list of the Top 50 Web sites so I went through the list and, although I've actually heard of and checked out most of them previously, there were a few new ones that sparked my interest.

Mobaganda is a no-frills invitation service without requiring registration or logging in... which is kinda nice. It's like Evite for people who don't want to spend an hour creating the invitation. Looking at it, it almost appears to be too no-frills for my liking.

Lookybook features children's books, letting you read them from the comfort of your home before buying them. It's an interesting idea, I guess. Also, it's kind of what libraries are for...

Picnik claims to be very very simple photo-editing software, letting you easily crop photos or remove red eye, those kinds of things.

Zeer provides reviews of food products and label information before you buy. I think everyone has read restaurant reviews, so it's a neat idea to have packaged food reviews too.

Book review: Whacked

I finished Whacked yesterday and it was awful. Awful! It is the first book by Jules Asner, who used to be on E! as an entertainment reporter. I actually used to really like her on there and then she left to marry Steven Soderbergh, who is adorable and talented, so I was looking forward to the book. But the main character is INSANE. She has dating problems, can't find a guy, and every guy she does go out with, she turns crazy either breaking into their email to get stock tips or to see what other girls are emailing them, changing phone numbers in their address books, stalking them, breaking into their house. It doesn't stop. Oh wait, then she murders someone... AND she doesn't even get punished or anything. In fact, she gets rewarded and lives happily ever after. I guess it's supposed to be a satire or something but it just drove me mad.

The Daily Show on Hulu

This week, Hulu.com started featuring episodes from The Daily Show with Jon Stewart. I find this exciting news because since I don't have cable, I often catch episodes of The Daily Show online. However, the video clips available on its official site always stutter and need buffering over and over again. Overall, it's not a great viewing experience. Hulu, on the other hand, is a platform that's given me very little problems in the past. And I've watched quite a bunch of programming through Hulu. The only problem is that it's only a test apparently and might not last and also, only the last few weeks episodes are up. Oh and The Colbert Report is on there too!

Here's a short clip from Hulu with Jon offering some advice:

Closet drama

Ever since I moved in to my apartment, the shelving unit in my closet has been crooked. It's not bad enough that the clothes slide down the bar or anything but it is noticeably crooked. I thought it was just installed without a level by some total idiots. But now I think it wasn't in securely from the start. On Sunday, I heard this cracking sound, went to look and saw that of the three brackets that hold up the shelf and the hanging rod, two of them are hanging by a thread. In other words, each one has more than half of their screws out of the wall. Lovely. I'm guessing this didn't happen all at once. And all I need is to have that come crashing down! So I was kind of worried about it Sunday night and called maintenance first thing Monday morning. No one came. So I was worried about it again Monday night, especially because I heard more slipping sounds. On Tuesday, they came apparently. Well, they left a note on the door saying the requested maintenance was performed. But absolutely nothing had been done! REALLY frustrated by this point, I called our management company yet again Wednesday and explained that nothing had been done. She promised to talk to the maintenance people again. Last night, I get home and there's another note on the door that they came. This time it says that they'll be back on Thursday but that I need to remove everything from my closet. Aggravating. I had removed all the stuff on the shelf and all the hanging stuff... if they really needed all of the stuff that sits on the floor removed too, couldn't they just slide it all out themselves? Also, it's worth pointing out that our apartment only has three closets - one in each of the bedrooms and one small coat closet right when you walk in the door. So it's not like I have anywhere to put all this stuff that I've now had out of the closet for four days. Also, I have a LOT of stuff crammed into that closet. Luckily my roommate is out of town so I'm using his room a little. But it really aggravates me that something as simple as coming in to re-install a closet shelf has now taken four days. And I will be livid if it is not fixed when I get home tonight.

"Lost parrot tells veterinarian his address"

What a cute story this is. Apparently, the parrot had been learning how to recite his name and address and so, when he got lost, he recited it to a vet and was reunited with his family. The cutest part is that he was captured by the police but wouldn't tell them anything.

On to Game 7 and more

So I haven't been giving game-by-game updates for the second round of the Cavs series but we are down to one more, winner-take-all game after the Cavs got their third victory of the series tonight against Boston. That will be on Sunday at 3:30pm! Exciting!! However, I already have plans for Sunday so I'm not entirely sure how I'm going to incorporate game-watching into those plans. I will either have to be crafty or I will have to tape the game and watch it later as if it were live.

I've been a little busy in the last week. I met with one of my book clubs (we read Water for Elephants) and we are deciding on our next book. I went to a reception for the local chapter of the Special Libraries Association and hobnobbed with other area librarians. I hung out with some coworkers after work and had some drinks. I watched the basketball games. I got free VIP passes to see Serj Tankian because my friend's brother-in-law is in his band. I didn't think I would enjoy that as much as I did but it was really fun! I kept up on most of my television shows as the season winds down. And work has been pretty busy with a huge assignment suddenly thrown at me this last week. But I'm surviving it all.

My first YouTube embedded link

This is perhaps the funniest thing I've seen in a long time. What if people acted in real life like they do in Facebook? (via)

Weekend in a Nutshell

I had a pretty quiet weekend. My roommate is gone, which is quite enjoyable. I love having the place to myself!

I went to the basketball game on Friday night and was so amped from that for a good 24 hours afterwards. Other than that, though, I had a really quiet weekend. I'm still getting over my cold so I wanted to rest up and have an uneventful weekend. I'm a lot better but I still have this cough that I can't seem to shake. I met some friends for dinner at Ceiba on Saturday night. I also watched some movies, did a little shopping and did some things I hadn't gotten around to doing for awhile, like cleaning my room and getting my bike put together. The weather was pretty enjoyable this weekend, too. I turned on my air conditioning for the first time; seems to work great!

On to Round 2

The Cavs won on Friday night: Cavaliers 105, Wizards 88. It was a good game and I was there in person! I got a great seat in the second row of the Verizon Center, almost directly behind the Cavaliers bench and right next to the walkway that led to the Cavaliers locker room. You can check out my pictures from the game below. Click to view them larger.

Should Have Won

Yeah, the Cavs lost again last night, 88 to 87. They should have won; it was close; balls just weren't dropping in the basket at the end. But at least they still have two more games to close it out. Now, Game Six comes back to DC and I think I'll go to the game.

"The new library fad: borrow a person"

Interesting article from the UK about a "Living Library" where patrons can come in and "check out" a person to learn about a subject, i.e. Gay Man, Immigrant, Muslim, Social Worker. You choose your person of interest and get 30 minutes to talk to them and learn about them. Kinda cool! It's like skipping through a book to only the parts that interest you... (via)

A weekend of sickness

My weekend in a nutshell:

• Came home from work early on Friday because I was sick and not feeling well with a cold
  
• Got progressively sicker as the weekend wore on... and now am doing better thankfully
• Participated in some low-key activities - naps, movie-watching, book-reading, laundry
• Watched the Cavs win on Sunday - yay! Only one win away from the next round
• Traveled to Woodbridge to return items to Ikea on Saturday - had to go since their return policy allows for returns up to 90 days and Saturday was Day 90
• Had dinner with Charlie while I was in Woodbridge
• Unable to participate in shopping, which I normally like to do in Woodbridge, because I felt very dizzy and sick while walking around the mall, although I did run into the shoe store on my way out of the mall and ended up buying two really cute pairs of shoes. I guess the good thing about being sick is I had no time for my usual deliberation, I just purchased
  
• Talked to my mom for a few hours Saturday night.... about my brother potentially moving down the street from them (good news?!) and about my uncle who passed away last week (bad news)
  

Bethesda Book Club

I'm in so many book clubs now and none of them really have any names so I guess I'll call this the Bethesda one, only because we met last night for the first time in Bethesda. Our organizer would like to call it the Oprah/NYT Book Club because she prefers to read books from those lists but I think there are plenty of enjoyable, undiscovered books out there so I'm resistant to that name. Anyway, we read an Oprah-recommended novel, The Corrections, and while as recently as Tuesday it didn't seem like I would finish the book, I actually did. I had about 260 pages to go on Tuesday but I actually managed to fly through the rest of the book in the following two days so that I was done before the meeting. I feel pretty meh about the book, parts of it were enjoyable but all of the characters were so unlikeable and annoying that it was hard to sympathize with any of them. Anyway, we really did discuss the book and the women were all pretty nice and we're trying to decide on a place and a book for next time.

Afterwards, a couple of us went to a bar/restaurant to eat and watch the game. It was a good time! The only down side was that I missed the latest episode of Lost. But I did tape it so I'll be watching it tonight.