I Survived!

I made it through yesterday and there were no casualties! The morning course downtown was great, and I made it with five minutes to spare despite the fact that the trains were delayed and the traffic was slow due to the snow & ice on the roads. There had been a car vs. train incident (the train won, of course) which closed one track and slowed things down considerably. Thankfully I had given myself an extra 20 minutes of traveling time (OCD to the rescue?) and wasn't late for the class.

The preschool storytime, my very first, went well. A couple of the younger kids spent their time playing, crawling under the display table and running around. They weren't too disruptive, though, and the other kids were very attentive. A few of the little cuties were very good about singing along and doing the hand motions with me, which encouraged the other more reticent children to join in as well. As I told one of our librarians afterwards, "It went well: no one cried, not even me!"

My probation review was a non-event. I was told that I'm doing a good job at the information desk and I'll have my official review in a couple of months. I'm no longer on probation and can put myself on the sub list to work at other branches if I wish. I think I may do that, but I'd like to see if I can just put myself on a list for the branches in my section of the city. Long commutes suck & I'd like to avoid that if possible.

The Hawaiian luau party at my sons' school was a blast. I had a chance to chat (shout over the music) to some friends I hadn't seen in awhile and the boys had fun running around and doing their versions of breakdancing to the music. We're very fortunate to have a professional DJ as a father of some kids in the school and he put on a great show. The music was great, the light show and video projection effects were dazzling and he has a real talent for getting people up and having fun. The limbo contest was hilarious. It was a late night for my boys, considering they had to get up for school in the morning, but they really enjoyed themselves. I did, too.

Big Day

It has been a busy week, and today is the big day of my big week. This morning I have another course - the second of the week - for which there was a pre-assignment and reading. This afternoon is my very first storytime program at the library. I think I'm ready. I've practised reading the stories, singing the songs and doing the activities. I should be nervous but so far I'm not. I don't know why. It will probably hit me when I'm on the train from the downtown library branch to my suburb branch. There I'll be, sitting quietly among strangers, when I'll start to sweat and shake and feel nauseated. Gawd, I hope not!

To top it off, I have my three-month review this afternoon as well. Wow, I've been at the information desk for three months already! Today I'll find out how my supervisors think I'm doing. Again, I feel like I should be nervous but I'm not. And again, it will probably hit me later - right before I walk into the office for my review, I expect my knees will be shaking and my fingers will be like little icicles.

As a reward for making it through the day, I get to take my boys to a school dance tonight. It has a Hawaiian luau theme. Since I was planning on wearing a sleeveless little dress printed with hibiscus flowers and jungley leaves, it came as no surprise to see that it snowed overnight. Hmmm, I'll have to re-think that one. Perhaps jeans and a tank top with an obnoxious Hawaiian shirt and a plastic lei. At least that way my legs won't freeze on the walk to the school and back!

Odd book titles

I came across this article about books with odd titles. You can actually vote for your favourite quirky title, which I intend to do later. Here, for your amusement, are the contenders this year:

-- "I Was Tortured by the Pygmy Love Queen" by Jasper McCutcheon;

-- "How to Write a How to Write Book" by Brian Paddock;

-- "Are Women Human? And Other International Dialogues" by Catharine A. MacKinnon;

-- "Cheese Problems Solved" by P.L.H McSweeney;

-- "If You Want Closure in Your Relationship, Start With Your Legs" by Big Boom;

-- "People who Mattered in Southend and Beyond: From King Canute to Doctor Feelgood" by Dee Gordon.

Viewpoints

A number of years ago I was driving my van (Moby the big white whale) with my then three-year-old son in the back seat. It was extremely windy, what Winnie the Pooh would call a "very blustery day", and as we were stopped at a traffic light we could see the wind whipping the treetops back and forth. I was thinking of the unpleasant effects: would the chairs on the deck be blown away, would there be power outages from tree limbs landing on power lines, what would my hair look like as soon as I stepped outside the vehicle, and so on. At this point my son piped up from his carseat, "Look, Mummy, the trees are dancing!" I think I want to see the world through his eyes.

I Shoulda Been a Receptionist?

70 words

Speedtest

I think my typing speed might actually be a bit faster than 70 wpm. This was done on my little laptop with the tiny keys, and I'm used to typing on a full-sized keyboard. I might have to try again on the other computer.

A Special Kind of Stupid

I worked at the library today, 10am - 2pm. Returning to the information desk after my lunch break, I found things to be busy. I jumped in and started helping people. As I walked back to the desk from the children's non-fiction section a little while (or what I thought was a little while) later, I glanced up at the clock. 2:25pm? Really? Oops - that takes a special kind of stupid. At least I was having fun ...

Comic Strips

I just added a Dilbert widget to my side bar. Dilbert is my favourite comic strip currently in production. Scott Adams is hilarious.

My all-time favourite comic strip ever is Calvin & Hobbes, but Bill Watterson retired it a number of years ago. It always amazed me that Watterson could portray a six-year-old so well without having children himself.