I'm a punky flower

I am a Canna What Flower Are You?

Happy Halloween!

Well, I decided to go ahead and wear my Sally costume to work. My long red hair is getting in the way but people seem to enjoy it.

Later on today, we will be having a costume contest and a pumpkin judging event.

This place is pretty festive.

I have placed a cauldron of candy on my desk for co-worker trick-or-treaters. I hope they come so I don't end up eating the candy myself.

Here's a fun Halloween activity for you. Don't forget to click "Done" when you are finished:

http://www.cubpack81.com/images/carve_pumpkin.swf


HAPPY HALLOWEEN!!!

3-D Nightmare

So, we went into the city to see NIGHTMARE BEFORE CHRISTMAS in 3D and it was great! The movie wasn't originally intended to be in 3D so it didn't pop quite as much as I thought it would but it is always wonderful to see it on the big screen. 3D technology is getting really good. Evidently, Disney is planning on releasing more 3D projects. They will be releasing a new 3D animated adventure next summer. It adds a really fun element to it.

Gary enjoyed it so much that he insisted on taking our 3D glasses home with us instead of recycling them. Not sure what we are going to do with them but I'm glad he had a good time.

New Life Band

Today in church we were visited by the New Life Band from Tanzania. They performed all of the music at our worship service and told us about their ministry in Tanzania. They are working to build a vocational school and hostel and are almost finished. We learned so many things this morning! Most people in Tanzania are lucky to make the equivalent of $1/day. The cost of a visit to the hospital to have a baby is only $10 but most people can't get that kind of many together. Primary school is now required there and the children have a great thirst for learning. 60% fo the children qualify to attend secondary school. However, only one third are able to go because it costs $250/year for a student to go. That doesn't seem like much to us but it is a great deal of money to these people. It's amazing to think how little of our money could make such a big difference there.

When they finish their hostel, they have invited us to come and visit and see the work first-hand. I would love to do that. It sounds amazing. It isn't just about religion. They are working to educate their future leaders and workers. And they want to teach them life skills as well such as education about AIDS. We were blown away by the music and the ministry.

More info here:

http://www.newlifeband.net/index.html

BookSwap1

1. What is your favorite book of all time and why?
I have so many! But I really love POSSESSION by A.S. Byatt. It has a mystery to it but it is also romantic and very literary. Extremely well-written. I love stories that keep you guessing. Especially if they have a good twist at the end.

2. What type of book do you most enjoy reading?
Fiction mostly but I also enjoy the occasional non-fiction book. I also like mysteries.

3. What fictional character do you most resemble?
I used to joke that I am a combination of Daria from MTV, Mary Katherine Gallagher from Saturday Night Live and Lara Croft: Tomb Raider. I'm a goofy fun-loving librarian type. Maybe Evie from THE MUMMY would be a good match?

4. What is your favorite type of sweet or chocolate?
I love the combination of peanut butter and chocolate.

5. What are your hobbies?
I collect signed first editions of books. I like to knit and I'm a big movie buff.

6. Do you collect anything?
Books. And Mexican folk art.

7. What is your favorite color?
I like bold primary colors. And pink!

8. What is your favorite movie and why?
Lots of favorites but I'd have to say PRINCESS BRIDE and NIGHTMARE BEFORE CHRISTMAS. I like things that are whimsical.

9. When is your birthday?
May 25

10. What is your favorite scent?
I like light floral scents. I'm not into musky scents.

11. Do you have any allergies?
nope

12. Do you have wishlist on Amazon or another site?
nope

13. What kind of music do you like? Are you MP3 compatible?
I like all kinds of music but especially Tori Amos, Keb' Mo', Tom Petty and Lyle Lovett. (and I am MP3 compatible)

BookSwap

I am co-hosting a special internet secret pal/swap with Princess Genevieve called BookSwap. You fill out a questionnaire and get matched up with a secret pal. You then send two packages to your secret pal within a certain time frame and you should get two in return! We are asking people to send books along with other themed items. Read all about it here:

http://bookswap2006.blogspot.com

Registration opens soon! (pass it on....we hope to get 50 people)

Sandy Claws

So, Gary has agreed to take me into the city this weekend to see NIGHTMARE BEFORE CHRISTMAS in 3D. It's one of my favorite movies and I can't wait. I have always found it to be kind of romantic. I've been known to get a little weepy at the end when Sally and Jack kiss on the hill in front of the big moon. A little strange, I know. But it just appeals to me.

If I'm feeling really nuts, I may even break out my Sally costume and wear it. And then people can point at me and whisper to each other.

As Ada says in THE PIANO, "I'm something of the town freak. Which satisfies."

;)

Where is the Pride and Respect?

I work at a community college library. The library is brand-new and just opened at the end of August. It's a beautiful library. As large as my undergraduate library. And so many great resources. They library itself is wonderful and was carefully planned to include many "green" features.

Well, I was reading in the campus paper that someone defaced a wall inside the library last week with a black Sharpie. When the paper interviewed other students about the vandalism, the common response was "I don't really care. I have no real connection to this school." That just made me so mad!

I know community colleges are typically for students just passing through to a four-year college. But this one is so great and has such tremendous resources for a junior college. People just don't appreciate anything. It's this whole sense of entitlement that I often experienced at the public library. And it hard to know how to instill a sense of pride in the students. And a true appreciation of all the benefits and privileges they get by being students here. instead, they take things for granted and don't even care when their wonderful new library gets defaced.

Adopted Child Syndrome

When you work in a library, you tend to see really interesting books cross your desk. Today, I couldn't help flipping through a book that contains different viewpoints on adoption.

I am adopted. (and an only child to boot!) I was adopted when I was about three months old. I have never had any desire to find my birth parents. A few of my adopted friend found their birth mothers and it was not a good experience for them. I feel that I already have parents so I don't need to go looking for others.

Anyway...

This book talks about a term coined in the 1980's called "Adopted Child Syndrome." Apparently, a "noted" psychologist saw in "case after case" common behaviors in adopted children. He created a term for these behaviors called "Adopted Child Syndrome." The ACS behaviors most commonly referred to include:
-conflict with authority
-pathological lying
-stealing
-running away
-learning difficulties, under-achievement, over-achievement
-lack of impulse control
-fascination with fire, fire-setting
-manipulation
-shallowness of attachment
-promiscuity
-serious antisocial behavior
-an extremely negative or grandiose self-image
-low frustration tolerance
-an absence of normal guilt or anxiety

Now, this troubles me. Mostly because it makes all adopted children sound like they are on the road to becoming serial killer psychopaths. Of that list, I have had learning difficulties, lack of impulse control and perhaps low frustration tolerance. But none of the other items apply to me or to other adopted children I know. Quite frankly, I have seen non-adopted children with the same qualities. I'd say the most you could attribute to adopted children as opposed to birth children is a fear of abandonment. Something I definitely have sometimes. I get tired of psychological labels sometimes because I don't feel they reveal the big picture or take into account all circumstances.

Bring Out Your Dead

Growing up, I had some really great Halloween costumes. My mother handmade almost all of them adn they were wonderful. I remember one of my favorites was my pumpkin costume. It was really comfortable. I wore black tight and a black turtleneck and then a bubble-like pumpkin body with elastic around the base. Other years included Strawberry Shortcake (store-bought), a witch, Statue of Liberty, and a mime/clown. She also made me a poodle skirt when I attended cotillion. (a southern thing) I was really lucky to have a mom who could do things like that.

In recent years, I have gone as Vanessa from Austin Powers, Trinity from the Matrix, Lara Croft: Tomb Raider, Sally from Nightmare Before Christmas and Little
Bo-Peepshow. I'm thinking of going as Frida Kahlo this year. Or maybe Sally again. Costumes are great. But none of the store-bought ones are ever as good as the ones my mom made.

Knitting for Dummies

So, I have taken up knitting. I took a class in August. I can now do pretty basic stuff. I'm currently working on a basic poncho, a scarf and a throw. I like to move back and forth between projects. To advance any further, I will need to take the next beginner class where they teach you things like increasing and a dropping a stitch. I find it a relaxing thing to do while watching tv. It makes me feel like I'm accomplishing something.

In my class, I discovered I had issues with casting on and knitting too tightly. My teacher asked me, "Are you a pretty intense person?" That kind of embarrassed me. I don't think of myself as an intense person but I guess I am "tightly wound" and "high strung." I just didn't think it would show up in my knitting. Sigh.

Open the Box

My boss introduced me to this great website called Pandora. It's part of the music genome project. If you can listen to music at work, it's especially great. You type in artists or songs that you like and it creates a "station" for you. Then, it chooses songs by that artist along with other artists that are similar. I'm really enjoying it. It introduces me to artists I might not otherwise listen to. Go open the box...


(by the way, I finally found the hardware to my desk and shelves...it had been stuffed in the bottom of a trashcan. Sigh.)

Moving Stinks

We are currently in the middle of moving from an apartment to a rental house. We are excited to have more space but the chaos of moving is really difficult for me. I have had most of my things in a storage unit since I moved in February. We almost have the storage unit emptied out. Then, we have to empty the apartment. At least my things will finally be in one spot. But I hate not being able to find things. The worst part is that I am missing the hardware to assemble the computer desk and matching shelving units. I know it will turn up somewhere but I have no idea where it is. Grrr...

We spent the weekend working on the move. I did go to church to teach and attend services with my friend Lara. An entire Korean family got baptized which was really neat to see. I was baptized when I was 14. In my church, we had a small pool under the altar. I got to go down into the pool and get totally immersed. I thought it was a great experience. I really like the idea of people waiting to get baptized until they are older and can really make the decision for themselves.

NPR Junkie

Okay, I confess. I love NPR. Now that I have a small commute to work, I have the opportunity to listen to it going and coming. Sometimes, I am so engrossed in a story that I don't want to get out of the car. It seems that I always learn something new.

They have a series called "Perspectives" where people comment on various issues. Today, someone talked about Rep. Foley. The person was a Democrat and she talked about how people shouldn't assume that Foley was going into rehab as a typical celebrity reaction to scandal. She pointed out that Foley probably wakes up each morning thinking "I want to die" and then faces the day in rehab supported by people who have similar problems. I think that is a good point. One of the greatest tragedies of this whole episode is that it will give certain conservatives more ammo against gay people. And that's terrible. But I hope taht some good can come out of this. That we learn something from it. And that Rep. Foley gets the help he needs.

The Learning Curve

At most jobs I have had, I have caught on fairly quickly. This new job is proving more difficult than I had anticipated. There is a high learning curve. I'm doing things I've never done before. There are lots of different accounts to deal with and I have to learn how to enter things into ledgers and to process purchase orders. I'm slowly getting it. But I feel like I have to ask a lot of questions. And I worry that I am not getting it fast enough. I will probably start learning cataloging soon so I want to be sure that I have receiving and invoicing pretty well down. It is frustrating for me to go from being the person who knows everything (like at my last job where I had five years of accumulated knowledge) to being the person who knows nothing and has to ask tons of questions.