I Got a Job! Part Deux

So I had a difficult decision to make last week. My boss at the Engineering Library offered me a 9-month gig right after I found out that a Seattle children's librarian job will be opening up soon.

This triggered a debate between the two halves of my personality. One half says, "You are in no position to turn down a job, young lady. You have student loan payments to make and the economy is on the express train to Recession Town." The other half says, "Life is about taking chances! You will get the job of your dreams if you persevere! Just keep subbing and praying, girl!"

The debate raged on until my guilt complex convinced my idealistic notions that having health insurance is more important than holding out for the job of my dreams. To put it in terms of cliches, "Follow your bliss" lost out to "A bird in hand is worth two in the bush."

So this is where I'll be spending my 9-3 (I'm only .75 FTE) until June:

It kind of makes me think of Meg talking about "fuck you architecture."

Kaua'i Vacation Pics

Check them out!

Highlights were: the sun, the beach, and the crazy luau fire dancers.


I also really enjoyed eating papaya for breakfast. It's best when you squeeze lemon juice on it.



And, finally, in case you did not know, I will inform you that Kaua'i is bursting with wild chickens. They're lousy with them.

Even though our trip was at least 80% relaxing, I'm still exhausted from it. My head is pounding and my legs feel rubbery. I'm signing off. Mahalo and aloha!

Step One: Get job. Step Two: Take a vacation!!!!!!!!!!11

Working full-time for almost a month has worn me out, folks. I mean, do people really do this? Sit at a desk for 40 hours a week? I mean, I just finished grad school so I'm used to working full-time, but I'm not used to working working full-time. Ugh.

It's time to go away, and having never been to Hawaii, I figure that's about as good a place as any. So Jeff and I are off to Kauai on Saturday. It's his birthday and our anniversary, so we've got some celebratin' to do. Woot!

What I really want to talk about, though, is how a patron just shushed me in the library. Me, the librarian. I was talking to this kid about The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time (the kid thought there were chapters missing from the book and I explained that the chapters were numbered using only primes) and we're laughing and a woman in mom-jeans comes up to me all sour-faced and is like "[Ahem] Can you quiet down?"

Apparently, this lady missed the Library 2.0 Revolution. Nowadays, the public library is not just about quiet studying, it's about community-building and social interaction. Okay?

I totally lowered my voice, though. I felt a little embarrassed, and an old worry that used to haunt me in graduate school returned: Am I too loud to be a librarian?

I got a job (sort of)

So I'm not some big shot librarian with an office and ongoing responsibilities. But I do work at a reference desk and get paid like someone with a graduate degree (NB: a humanities graduate degree). I'm a substitute librarian! I get the call, I spring into action.

It's actually pretty interesting because I get to be at a different library every day and meet a ton of library people. Library library library. The obvious difficulty is that every branch is different and I have to start all over every day. Darrell said subbing is good when you're starting out because it gives you a chance to absorb a lot without having to commit. Sort of like playing the field before you settle down with one person for awhile.


In other news, today is my niece's first birthday! Happy birthday, Amelia!

My Review of A Streetcar Named Desire at the Intiman

For my birthday Jeff got us tickets to see A Streetcar Named Desire. I knew I hadn't seen the movie, but I thought I'd read the play. About 20 minutes in, though, I realized I hadn't ever read the play and then spent the rest of show feeling slightly embarrassed that I didn't know what was going to happen.

It was a really good show, too. Excellent performances, great set, etc. I hated Stanley more and more and felt worse and worse for Blanche as it wore on. And then suddenly it was nearly over and I realized I did know what was going to happen! She hadn't said that famous line yet! And I knew what it was and she said it and it ended. Redemption.

My Review of the Sub Pop 20th Anniversary Music Festival (and also the Sub Pop Comedy Show)

I got to "roll VIP steez" for the first time. Woo! The perks were: easy access to regular bathrooms (hasta la vista port-a-potty), free beverages and foods, and high-roller elbow rubbing. The major highlights for me: ice cream from the Ice Cream Man, and playing Rock Band with what turned out to be an actual rock band:

This is me with some members of a band called Foals. Apparently, they're huge in the UK. I had no idea because I'm only the girlfriend of a music expert and can't even keep track of who gets radio play these days, but these Foals guys were very nice and had charming accents. We did "Creep" by Radiohead and I got the highest score. I didn't mean to show them up, but I'm pretty good at the singing part of Rock Band from all those hours of plaing Karaoke Revolution in college.

It was also pretty fun to watch the bands, I guess. Flight of the Conchords were funny and I liked Fleet Foxes and Helio Sequence. Did I mention we saw David Cross and Amber Tamblyn? Apparently, they're dating. Jeff and I actually saw David Cross and some other comedians perform at a related comedy show last night. David Cross kind of lost his place during his routine and had to go offstage to get his notes, but Patton Oswald came on and told half a joke to cover for him. My favorite comedian at the show was actually the host who's that girl who plays Mel on Flight of the Conchords. What's her name? Kristen Schaal. She's funny.

I ran into Noah from Whitman, too. He asked me about Darrell. And then Darrell texted me a picture of how they're tearing down the Sherwood Athletic Center. He's in Walla Walla right now to see the summer musical.

It's late and I'm rambling, so I'll stop now. Your takeaway for this blog is: The most important thing about attending an outdoor music festival is to protect yourself from the sun. Also, we should've parked closer to the exit because it took like an hour to get out of there.

My Review of James Hunter at the Triple Door

It was awesome.

The thing about James Hunter is that he's this kind of square-looking white British guy that's got this unexpected soulful R&B thing going on. I had so much fun at the show because the music was so familiar and danceable and just well done. Most of the people at the show were like my grandma's age, probably because they grew up listening to this kind of music, and they were going crazy. I mean drunkety drunk drunk cheering and screaming and freaking out. And I wanted to freak out too because he was doing these Elvis-type moves and his voice kept going up and up and then they'd cool it down and play some romantic numbers and I felt like I was at the Under the Sea dance in Back II the Future.

Just great.

Jeff is also going to review the show at the Amazon music blog ChordStrike, so you can read that if you want a professional opinion. (I'm just an amateur so I'm writing my reivew much faster and with less profound insight.)

Anywho, here's an example of James Hunter I found on YouTube: