Nyotaimori

my birthday’s coming up. in 7 days, to be precise (seeeevvvveeennnn daaaaayyyysssss…). and i was just thinking that if YOU were thinking of getting me anything you might want some suggestions. look no further than my amazon wishlist, people. chock full of the most delightful things that i really want (even if most of them are preorder only).

though kristen’s daydream about giving me a kitten was also pretty sweet. but i don’t want a kitten so much as i want a mini jungle cat.

let me state though that i’m really, really not expecting presents from very many of you. especially not from those of you who are joining me for birthday festivities in winery-land, golf-land, and indiana jones remake-land.

but…you know…just in case…i like gifts!

last weekend was miss america. if you were unaware of this marvel, then i pity you.

a delightful mass of people packed my reconfigured living room to watch and harass the tv screen. the interesting thing (and not apparent by winner choice) of this year’s miss america was the promise that it would be updated and modernized. to this end, they had a 4 episode reality show where they made all 52 contestants live together for a month and had challenges (like trivia quiz, national song knowledge contest, and balance beam/water barrel filling tag-team race).

what i learned from the reality show:

1. Pennsylvania didn’t know her state flag by sight

2. Washington didn’t know all the lines in the Star Spangled Banner but did have a mom, a step-dad, a dad, and a step-dad.

3. Vermont also believed in gay marriage

4. Rhode Island’s new haircut was hot but her brain was not

5. District of Columbia dad’s was addicted to crack-cocaine

6. Nebraska was MUCH cuter with brown hair

7. Florida’s face was blown off in an explosion

8. Michigan was utterly unremarkable but sang ‘somewhere over the rainbow’ for her talent and probably won for this unmodernity and behind the scenes politics

miss michigan/miss america 2008 in her non-modern evening gown

luckily i made cupcakes, little sausages, and had kittens. these things saw us through the tough times even though washington (2nd runner up–stuck in asian third place as always) should have won. or texas (1st runner up).

the one “modern” part of the pageant this year was that the Q&A section was done by people on the street. favorite question was by a bitter, middle-aged man in glasses who asked, “if your fiancee has an STD is she obligated to tell you?”

this was genius on so many levels. not least of which was that some people misheard “beyonce” for “fiancee”.

(title contributed unknowingly by matt’s gmail status quote)

ha ha ha! i love this picture

in addition to the ALA conference in disneyland that i’m hoping to go to this summer, there’s also the annual IFLA (international federation of library associations) conference. it’s in quebec this year–last year it was in south africa. and though, sure, maybe i’d rather go to africa, canada is at least a lot closer and cheaper. plus, i’ve never been and i totally am curious about our big, northern neighbor.

so, i’m probably going to submit (along with some group members) my paper from last semester on the university in kenya for one of the programs. sweet, right? but what am i thinking submitting things to conferences? am i crazy? the whole submitting part seems easy (once you come up with a title) but i think i’m forgetting the payoff part wherein i’ll actually have to stand in front of an audience and speak.

ANNNND, the SAA (sociey of american archivists) conference is in san francisco this summer too so that one’s easy to go to. but i have nothing to submit to them. YET.

with this happening next to me, is it any wonder i’m getting no work done?

i’m thinking of going to the ALA conference this summer. (it’s at disneyland.) and i was thinking of submitting a poster presentation proposal for my juvenile hall library research. but i need a really good title NOW because the deadline for submission is january 31st. ideas?

Delinquents Defined: Juvenile Hall Library Usage and Effects

Juvenile Hall Libraries: A Survey of Users

guh. i want something that’s eye-grabbing and i’m too tired to think.

today i decided to look around for moo’s cat carrier. which i bought for her special because it’s cow patterned. i saw my mom bring it out of the vet’s afterwards, but then i didn’t know what she had done with it. and i thought maybe i’d like to know where it was. and maybe i was ready to put it back in my room on the shelf. but then i found it on the bed in the sewing room and promptly burst in to tears and had to curl up around it on my couch and sob for a while.

i don’t tell you about this to make you feel sorry for me. i write it because writing is how i deal with grief and i’m trying really hard to get through this. so don’t feel bad. though thank you to everyone who has emailed/called me with comforting thoughts and concerned emoticons.

also today (for a spot of cheer) i went to my internship at the sailor academy. today was a little less fun than tuesday because they were back to normal uniforms. on tuesday there was a career fair and all the sailors were in dress uniforms.

omfg.

so fucking hot.

i told jason about it and he expressed disdain for sailors in uniforms. what kind of homo are you, jason? possibly my sailor-lust has to do with overexposure to old movies in my youth with fred astaire in a white sailor costume dancing around singing, “We joined the Navy to see the world / And what did we see? / We saw the sea.” that shit’s indelible, man. i will forever lust after sailors and wish for waltzing.

also at the sailor academy they have a training ship and this ship goes out every summer for month long cruises. AND a librarian goes with it! they’re going to the south pacific this summer! what i wouldn’t give to be on that ship full of sailors in uniform.