"Pimping" the library

As you saw in my previous post, the students are back. Thus begins the week of "pimping" the library. The next week or so is devoted to tours, orientations, a library social, and just about anything else you can think of to introduce the library to students and entice them back to use our resources and services. These activities are for freshmen as well as returning students, transfers, new graduate students and even new professors.

Today was the freshmen orientation tours. In small groups they get a tour of campus given by an upperclassman, which includes a stop in the library. This stop is at most 15 minutes. People (including me - go back room tech services folk!!) volunteered to give a little spiel about the library and its services. We were instructed to highlight certain things, including our incredible reference librarians and the library social event, and to do it all in about five minutes.

That's not a lot of time to wax poetic about our services and staff. Not a lot of time at all.

Groups came in in waves. The volunteers led groups away from the lobby-entrance and gave their talks. The groups then left us to wander to another part of the library and we went back for another group. Being able to project your voice was key. It got rather loud with 8 librarians pimping the library all at once in a not-so-big area.

And bonus points if you got your group to laugh. Usually telling them to come to the library social so they could dance with the librarians did it.

Tell me, why is that so funny?? When are librarians going to shake the image that we are all stodgy and stiff and shushing people all the time? I mean, really, librarians are a bunch of crazy people who generally love what they do. Why else would we choose to do what we do for the salaries we get paid? And we're fun! Trust me. I swear. We're a fun bunch. Really.

Ironically, I did have one student comment on the number of holes I have in my ears (3 on one side, 4 on the other). It seemed to earn me an extra measure of respect from him. Maybe I should have worn a shirt that showed my tattoos (ok, maybe showed just one)...I wonder what kind of response that would have evoked!

Chaos (and senselessness) abounds

The students are back. Classes start next week. Right now, the freshmen are arriving on campus with their families to move in. People are everywhere. What's more, these are people that have no idea where they are going. The state of things can be summed up in one simple equation:

campus = chaos

To make things even worse, the chaos extends at least a ten blocks radius from campus. During a regular week, traffic is pretty heavy during rush hour. Add a couple hundred extra cars containing students and their families and it's gridlock.

It's times like these I'm so very very glad I commute by bike because I'm not trapped in that gridlock. Very. very. glad.

But the flip side is that I'm on a bike in this nasty traffic with people in cars that, again, have no idea where they are or where they are going. They're dangerous because they could turn or stop at any moment. But at least they are looking around. They are very conscious of pedestrians and bikes and other vehicles on the road that quite possibly are as lost as they are.

The other group on the road are the regular commuters, the locals, that are generally in a foul mood because of the extra traffic. Those are much worse than the out-of-towners because they are cranky and are going to do crazy/senseless things often without looking so they can get home. To prove this, I offer up the following case study:

I'm on my way home. I come to an intersection. The light is red for me. I stop. I realize that despite the fact that the light is green for the cars on the cross street, people are going nowhere. Pure gridlock. There's a big delivery truck part way through the intersection. The light at the next street one block to my right turns green, but traffic is backed up so far down the street that the truck only gets half way through the intersection. He moves forward as far as possible, realizing he's blocking the crosswalk. The light at the next intersection turns red, effectively trapping him there. I have sympathy for the truck driver. Really. He's trying. But the cards are stacked against him this afternoon and the back end of his truck is still sticking out into the intersection.

The woman in the car behind him, on the other hand, is, frankly, a b*tch. She's on her cell phone. I'm certain she's a local (no stuff in her car, city parking sticker in her window). Her light that was green now turns yellow. She's not in the intersection yet. She's on the other side. When the light turns yellow, she guns it, propelling her car into the intersection, effectively blocking ALL traffic for the cars on my street. Yeah. This qualifies as a doing a crazy/senseless thing. She's now stopped in the middle of the intersection, nowhere to go, the delivery truck immediately in front of her. My light turns green. The drivers in the cars next to me look irritated. I would be too if someone pulled that move and blocked me from moving anywhere.

Fortunately, I'm not in a car.

So I start pedaling and assess the situation. Basically, I have two options: A. go between her an the truck like the pedestrians are now forced to, or, B. cross in front of cars to go behind her.

I choose option A. Crossing in front of traffic on a bike unless it's your light is, frankly, stupid. Especially when it's not cross traffic but cars on the same street as you trying to go in the same direction as you are. For all I know the car in the far lane might decide to try and go around behind her car to get through the intersection and I don't want to put myself in front of that, thankyouverymuch. As I'm crossing in front of her, between her and the truck, just like the pedestrians are doing, she starts to roll forward (where to, I don't know, the truck hasn't moved). She then glares at me and honks her horn.

She. honked. at. ME.

WTF?? Are you kidding me woman?? Where are you trying to go? You're the b*tch that ran the yellow (again, an asinine move on your part) and got yourself stuck there. Don't be honking at me for crossing the street on MY green!

I do believe this case study of the woman on her cell phone that blocked traffic by making a idiotic move illustrates why the local daily commuter is the bigger problem in the traffic chaos surrounding campus right now.

Thank the lord that classes start next week and the mass of extra cars will be gone.

The mouse is still stirring

Dammit! Dammit! Dammit! The mouse I caught was definitely not acting alone. I've seen subsequent evidence that one of it's family members is still infiltrating my kitchen.

So I bought live traps. You know...the kind that once they go in they can't get out? I carefully baited them with peanut butter AND a piece of dog biscuit (since they seem to have a fondness for dog biscuits). I really don't want to kill them.

It's not working. I apparently have a clever mouse. Unlike its sibling that I trapped in the box of dog biscuits and exiled to the dumpster using a plastic bag, I can't seem to catch and evict this one. [FYI, to assuage concerns that the mouse in the plastic bag suffocated, it was one of those grocery bags. The ones that always have those little holes in the bottom. So I'm assuming it escaped into the land of plenty of the dumpster.]

The mouse has explored the traps. Thoroughly. I've seen evidence that it has crawled over, around, and through the little tunnel that the opening is in since I put them out (a little over a week ago now). But it has not gone in the trap. The bait is still intact a week later (might need to freshen it come to think of it - or do mice like rancid peanut butter?).

Since I have a clever mouse that has thus far evaded capture in the live trap, I'm going to try another method: repel it. There's these sonic repellent devices that emit a high frequency noise that's not supposed to bother humans, canines, or felines, but rodents hate it. I've heard conflicting reports and read conflicting reviews that they've worked and that they're worthless. I'm going to find this out for myself in the next week. Good think I don't have pet gerbils anymore.

To Aussie's credit, she's actually shown some interest as of late. She's not watching for them, but if she sees movement she'll go after it. She cornered one the other day. Had it trapped behind the trash can in the kitchen. Unfortunately, when I walked into the kitchen to figure out what she was up to nosing around the trash can like that, she took her eye off of the mouse to look at me questioningly ("why are you yelling at me?"). The mouse took advantage of the lapse in observation and made a dash for freedom and I saw it run under the radiator in the kitchen and disappear. The accusatory look I got from my dog was priceless: "MOM, look what you did! Now I've LOST it!!" Aussie then spent the next 30 minutes lying on the kitchen floor peering under that radiator. A knock at the door pulled her away, otherwise I think she would have continued to lie there waiting for it to reappear.

The downside: it escaped. The upside: I might know where it's getting in. There's a crack right along the baseboard behind the radiator that I didn't see before. But I see it now. Soon I will make that crack disappear. I live in an old home. There are lots of cracks and gaps due to settling and previous tenants. I spent a good hour the other day crawling along my baseboards with a flashlight looking for holes to plug (with steel wool...they hate it and can't chew through it) and obviously I didn't find them all. Unfortunately, steel wool isn't going to work with the crack, it's too long and oddly shaped.

So my plan is to journey once again to the hardware store and this time make two purchases: expanding insulating foam to try and plug the crack, and, one of those sonic repellent devices in case there are more holes/cracks that I missed.

Like I said, I don't want to kill it. I just don't want a mouse stirring in my house!

Identity theft update

I received a letter over the weekend telling me that the person responsible for stealing my identity has been caught. What's more, they plead guilty to "Fraud with Identification Documents" (apparently the official Federal crime). Now they are awaiting sentencing. The letter also told me I can submit documentation declaring my "losses" and petitioning for restitution/compensation.

Yeah. Kind of anti-climatic, no? I had resigned myself to not ever knowing who the person was. Instead I focused on "fixing" the problem and re-establishing my name. And despite the fact that they've caught the person, I still may never know how they stole my information, which is infinitely frustrating.

I've cleared myself of financial responsibility for everything the individual opened using my personal data (almost $50,000 in loans). All loans the individual took out have been removed entirely from my credit report. I've cleaned up my credit report, removing all other erroneous data such as false employers and addresses. Actually, I'm still working on removing the person's address, almost a year after things first started. But there's no telling what impact this has had on my credit rating. There's been a lot of activity on my credit report in the past year, including several "fraud alerts." Anytime a new line of credit is applied for, they have to call me and verify before anything is done. And I have to make sure my contact information is kept current to make this happen. It's an extra layer in the already complicated world of personal financial health.

But the question remains: how and for what does one ask for compensation? For the stress? The lack of sleep? The anxiety? The tears and frustration? The continued (and, let's face it, perpetual) vigilance? The time taken to fill out piles and piles of paperwork and submitting reports? The time spent on the phone in the countless phone calls to various individuals, offices, and companies? The abuse/rudeness I received from some (not all, some were very nice) of the people I talked to (like I did this on purpose)? The time spent doing research? The fear that this person was using a driver's license with my information, potentially impacting my insurance and legal record/status? The fear that still sits in the back of my brain and probably won't be going away anytime soon despite the fact that they've caught the person?

It's really hard to shake that fear and anxiety and stress...it will probably take years for me to feel comfortable and solid that my identity is really mine.

The number of victims of identity theft is staggering. And it's growing. Almost 10 MILLION Americans each year are victims. It's nice to know I'm not alone, yet, proving my identity has not been easy. It sounds so ridiculous, having to prove I am who I actually am. But I've spent the last 10 months doing just that.

How does one quantify that into a number?

OZOMATLI!!

Ozomatli came through Philly last night. This time as part of a tour called Summer Haze with two other bands: Slightly Stoopid and G Love & Special Sauce. The show was outside at the Festival Pier down on Penn's Landing. [note: parking fees down there are a racket!!] My friend AH (who I introduced to Ozo at the show in April) and her husband DS joined me. While waiting in line to be let into the venue, I was treated to the sounds of the band warming up. I got to hear "City of Angels" twice, once at a distance and once right in front of the stage!

As always, Ozo ROCKED it. Seriously, OMG and WOW! My post-show Ozo-high is still going strong (aided by my iPod and some serious at-work chair dancing, of course). They had the full band there this time, all nine current members (Jabu was absent at the April show). They all are just so much fun to watch. AH commented about how they smile the entire time they are on stage and it's obvious that they are having so much fun up there. And the coordinated playing and dancing done by the band members is always impressive (how do Raul and Wil-Dog do that??). They only had use of about half the stage as the instruments for the other two bands were set up behind them. Unfortunately this meant that some band members were less visible than normal (Jiro, Mario, and Justin when he was on percussion). But this did not stop Ozomatli from making use of every inch of stage they had available to them. At one point Raul left the stage and leaped over security and the barrier to jam in the middle of the crowd!

The set itself was quite short, at just under an hour of Ozo time. So not enough. They could play for 4 hours and it wouldn't be enough. I couldn't get a copy of the set list this time (bummer!) because of the barrier in front of the stage and security between the barrier and the stage. That and the crew started breaking down the Ozo set as soon as they left the stage for the traditional "party in the crowd" to prepare for the next band so by the time Ozo was done with the end of show jam in the crowd the set was already half gone.

They mainly played songs off of the latest album Don't Mess with the Dragon, but none of the ballads, only the faster paced higher-energy songs. They did play "After Party," which I do believe is my favorite song on the new album, and "Can't Stop," which is AH's favorite, so we were both very happy. Ozo did play some of their older stuff, including "Saturday Night" (always a favorite). In the middle of "Cumbia de los muertos" they played a medley of random non-Ozo '80s and '90s rock songs. And of course they ended the show with "Como Ves" before picking up their instruments and heading into the crowd. Justin played an incredible drum solo at the very very end that garnered quite the response from the surrounding crowd.

The crowd was a bit disappointing. It felt kind of like a big frat party and there didn't appear to be very many Ozo fans in the audience. And most people weren't even dancing! What's up with that?? There's something wrong with those people, I swear. Ozomatli is probably one of the most "danceable" bands out there!!

Various band members jammed with Slightly Stoopid at the end of their set, which followed Ozomatli. First Raul joined them on stage for a hard-core rock song. I've never seen him play like that! For the last song in Slightly Stoopid's set, they were joined by Shef, Asdru, Uli and Justin. Last up for the evening was G Love & Special Sauce (a local Philly funk band).

My favorite things during the evening include the girl that had never seen Ozo before and is now, in the words of AH's friend, their slave. She was beyond excited and thought the traditional end of show drumming circle/snake through the crowd was the best thing ever. And during the post-show "party in the crowd" I saw Shef grab some guys blunt while walking through the crowd and was alternating smoking and playing his trombone before passing the blunt off to someone else. Classic. The man is crazy, but we love him anyway.

Quite possibly the most disturbing part of the evening was sitting around between bands and having it proved once again that AH and I have the librarians' curse of "information here" tattooed on our foreheads. We kept getting asked for directions. Sigh.

Photos of various concerts are here on Flickr.

Oh, and we went for dinner afterwards at Standard Tap. Yes, dinner at 10:30pm at night. This is not unusual in other parts of the world, I promise. I had the absolutely delicious "Standard Burger." It was perfectly cooked, and includes lettuce, tomato, mushrooms, a grilled onion slice, and cheese. So very very good. And it arrived with excellent fries, liberally sprinkled with salt AND pepper. AH had the soft-shell crab sandwich, and given the amount of finger licking that occurred I'm certain she really enjoyed it! DS had the yummy squid, which is fried in a batter that also includes the "standard" salt AND pepper. We topped it off with nice cold beers. I'll be going back there, guaranteed.

Incredible music and dancing to one of my favorite bands followed by good food...what an excellent evening! Too bad I had to work the next day. My alarm went off painfully early this morning. God willing Ozomatli's next show in Philly will NOT be on a weeknight.

Lunchtime entertainment

The weather today is finally not so dreary and damp, so my friend AH and I headed outside for lunch. There's a set of benches far enough away from the library entrance without being a hike and kind off the main pathways that are surrounded by trees and some nice landscaping (ivy, Hosta plants, etc.). It's very peaceful. Now and then you get accosted by birds or various bugs (like bees or big creepy spiders), but such is the price you pay to sit outside.

Today we were entertained by a squirrel. I'm fairly certain it was a rather young squirrel, and quite bold. At one point s/he jumped onto the back of the bench right behind AH, making us both jump! We watched the squirrel forage around, sometimes only inches away from us. This is obviously a squirrel that knows that people on these benches mean goodies. So we decided to be obliging. I had finished eating my peach (delicious sweet juicy fresh local peach!), leaving only the pit with a very small amount of peach flesh sticking to it.

I threw the squirrel my peach pit, figuring maybe it would force it to back off and not scare the bejesus out of AH by jumping on the bench behind her again. What resulted was one happy squirrel that went to town on that peach pit. It found it in the ivy, and sat there and cleaned all the peach flesh off of it. Next it scampered part way up the tree, and hung there by it's hind legs, facing downwards, and continued to nibble on the pit!

Upsidedown squirrel

Now that's squirrel talent. It never dropped the pit! Finally it scampered farther up the tree to a nice branch and sat there in the fork gnawing away until it decided it was done. It then dropped the peach pit and came down the tree and right back over to our bench looking for more. Um, sorry buddy, that's it. AH threw her plum pit into the ivy, but it landed a bit too far away for the audacious little squirrel to find it.

Who knew cheeky squirrels and fruit pits could make for such great lunchtime entertainment!

Balancing books and the environment

I'm a bit of an environmentalist. Always have been. I recycle everything I possibly can. I thought curbside recycling was the coolest thing ever when we moved to the Pacific Northwest when I was a kid. I hate throwing away things that can be recycled. What I can I donate (or Freecycle) rather than throw things away. I try to use reusable containers, refillable pens, rechargeable batteries, cloth napkins, etc. I take my travel coffee mug everywhere, along with my well-used (and abused) Nalgene bottles. I try to buy local produce (so easy when the grocery stores here carry New Jersey produce all the time and there's farmers markets all over the city). I commute by bike and try to use public transportation whenever possible (my car doesn't move sometimes for weeks at a time). I don't profess to go as far as No Impact Man (wow! that's extreme), but I do try. I choose to do these things, and everyone has to make their own choices (in other words, you are free to make your own decisions about such things and it's not my place to judge your choices).

But there are some things I can't get away from and aren't exactly environmentally friendly. I love books. I always have. I could never switch completely to an electronic book reader, I need to hold the nice paper book. It's as much about the tactile experience of the book as it is the reading (I've discussed my love of reading before). Yes, I use the library all the time, but there are some books I desire to own. And then there's the books I read for classes (both for my BA and the in-process MA in Spanish) and other various textbooks. I can't give up my books. Yes, I buy used (some of you know my love of Powell's Books and feel the same), but sometimes that's just not possible.

Today I saw a post on a blog (my apologies for the lack of a reference, if I could remember where I'd tell you) about a great and relatively new idea. It's a group called Eco-Libris: Plant a Tree for Every Book You Read. I absolutely love love love this!! It's brilliant. And it's so very cool. And it's affordable. For each book you donate only one dollar, and they work with their "planting partners" around the world to plant a tree. This is somethings I can support whole-heartedly. It blends perfectly my love of reading and books with the environmentalist in me.

Those of you that get books as gifts from me, you can pretty much guarantee that from now on all your books will arrive with a pretty little sticker that says "One tree was planted for this book" (made from recycled paper and non-toxic ink, of course).

Now I need to go home and count all my books so I can balance out all the books in my life with new trees...I'm definitely going to have to save up some money for this one (says the woman with never enough bookshelves).

Which Jane Austen heroine are you?

Take the Quiz here!

"You are Elinor Dashwood of Sense & Sensibility! You are practical, circumspect, and discreet. Though you are tremendously sensible and allow your head to rule, you have a deep, emotional side that few people often see."

I can live with that, especially since she's probably one of my favorite Austen characters (and I loved Emma Thompson's portrayal of her). I admit that it also leans in the frighteningly accurate description direction...but let's not go there.

So, who are you?

Adventures in NYC, part 2

After our late night of dancing, CH and I got a slow start on Saturday morning. Of course, there was coffee and a walk through Washington Park with the dog, and a bit of time at the dog park.

Once the coffee started to hit me, we realized we needed food. And soon. We dropped the dog off and headed out up Broadway in search of a diner. We ended up at the Cozy Soup & Burger (739 Broadway). For you movie buffs out there, Adam Sandler filmed the diner scene in one of his movies there (I think Big Daddy, but I can't remember for sure). I knew I wanted breakfast food, even though it was definitely lunch time. And CH wanted lunch food. So the diner was perfect and satisfied both of us. It's not large, but clean and bright, and we didn't have to wait long for our food. The staff is very good and there was steady traffic of people in and out the entire time we were there. I got pancakes and eggs and CH got a reuben. The reuben was huge. So were my pancakes. They even came with REAL maple syrup, not the fake stuff. And good. Very very good. I definitely recommend the Cozy Soup & Burger. Next time I'm going to have to try a burger...I saw one the table next to us ordered and wow did it look good.

After stuffing ourselves silly, we knew we needed to walk a bit. So we continued up Broadway to Union Square park. They have a big farmers market there every weekend and several days during the week. Lots of local fresh produce, local vendors offering everything from bread to cheese to meats and eggs. Despite how full I was from my pancakes, I found myself drooling as we walked around. One vendor was offering 12 ounce cups of cold fresh apple cider for a dollar a piece. It was so sweet and delicious. And lucky for us, the weather cooperated beautifully. Sunny but without being scorching. After a few hours, we wandered back down Broadway to the apartment for a nap. Between the food and the walking, I needed it. Who knew relaxing could be so tiring?

We had a nice rest, and decided to go see a movie before grabbing some dinner. Neither one of us had seen the Simpsons, and it proved to be an enjoyable few hours. Definitely not serious (come on here, people, it's the Simpsons), but definitely entertaining. I was impressed they managed to continue the same thread for the entire time without losing it. Of course, like any Simpsons episode, it had it's high points and its low points, but it was definitely worth seeing and it made me laugh. What more could I ask for?

We walked back through the insanity that is the Village on a Saturday night. People everywhere. Everywhere. Craziness. At times we just walked in the street because the sidewalk was packed. Instead of joining the insanity, we opted to pick up some beer and take out. Unlike Pennsylvania, you can actually buy beer in the grocery store in New York. What a concept (feel the sarcasm...having to go to a beer store here drives me nuts!)! For food, we decided on Indian. CH loves this place called Indian Bread Company, which puts a new twist on Indian by serving it as Naan sandwiches or wraps. I understand why he loves it. OMG it was delicious. They put your filling (traditional Indian dishes like Saag Paneer) between two pieces of Naan and then grill it up like a panini. We each got a "naanini" and split a stuffed paratha (flat bread). Absolutely fabulous. I had the leftovers for lunch on Monday and they were just as good cold as they were warm. I think I'd eat there all the time if I could (no joke). Dinner was accompanied by more Food Network. TV about food goes well with eating food.

Sunday morning we slept in a bit. I think we were both tired from our late night on Friday and all the walking on Saturday. The coffee and trip to the dog park was now our morning "routine" for the weekend, and I certainly didn't hear the dog complaining.

Since we had walked up Broadway on Saturday, we went the opposite direction and walked down Broadway on Sunday. We took Canal street over to the Hudson River bike path along the Hudson River Park. Gorgeous. What a setting for a nice run or bike ride. We walked along the path down to the edge of Nelson Rockefeller Park where the North Cove Yacht Harbor is. Great views of the Hudson River. Beautiful weather. A nice long rambling walk. I do believe those are the ingredients for a near perfect relaxing day, despite the mild sunburn I ended up with from being in the sun almost the entire time. We cut back through into the city by the site of the World Trade Center, which I hadn't seen in person. Still just as mind-boggling now as it was almost 6 years ago. We took the subway back to Bleeker Street, where CH's "favorite block" in Manhattan is. In one block is a great bakery, a cheese shop to die for (on par with the local DiBruno Bros. here), a butcher, a fish monger and a market. Everything you need. And all walking distance from his apartment. Incredible.

Unfortunately, it was time for me to head home. CH had a soccer game to get to, and I didn't want to get home too late. So back to the apartment to load up the car and get the dog. One last walk around the block for the dog and away we went. As expected, traffic heading into the Holland Tunnel was bumper to bumper. I think my favorite sight while sitting in traffic was the man reading his magazine. And I had to laugh when I saw the signs for "alternate merge" as they brought up all sorts of memories from the weekend I visited EM. Other than the expected Holland Tunnel traffic and some shore traffic heading back into Philly, my drive was uneventful. Amazingly, I didn't get lost on my way there or on my way home. That's new for me. Maybe I'm getting better at not getting lost...nah, who am I kidding, I just got lucky this trip.

It was a wonderful weekend in NYC. Relaxing. Full of good food and friends and lots of fun. Exactly what I needed. So a big thank you to CH.

Adventures in NYC, part 1

So my weekend in NYC was full of food and activity. After arriving on Thursday evening at CH's place (in the Village), we drove in circles to find a place to park. We lucked out and found a spot not far away. By this point, the dog was a bit freaked out with the car ride and being in a new place, so rather than leave her alone, we decided to get take out and just vegetate on the couch to some Food Network (the foodies in us strike again). We ordered from Suzie's on CH's recommendation. Some of the best Chinese take out I've ever had, actually. So good. Always trust a foodie's recommendation. Always. We won't steer you wrong. That's advice to live by.

CH lives in a high rise building, and on the upper floors. This was Aussie's first experience with staying a place that required elevators and was really high up. She did just fine with the elevator. Didn't bother her at all. CH's porch, on the other hand, freaked her out. Now, the porch has a fence all around, and this is not Aussie's first experience with a porch, but it was her first experience being more than 2 stories above ground. I've now learned my dog is afraid of heights. I'm not sure she ever got closer than one foot from the edge. She'd stand there, and extend her neck as far as it would go to kind of peer over the edge. It took her two days to be willing to even do that! The first day, whenever CH and I went out there (great views by the way), she'd stand in the doorway and give us this "you two are absolutely crazy" look. Overall, she was very well behaved, which confirms what I've always believed: my dog would be an excellent big-city-apartment-dweller dog. Coolness.

Friday morning we got up and took the dog for a walk and got coffee (beverage of the gods, by the way, second only to beer). Washington Square park isn't too far from the apartment, so we grabbed coffee at Think Coffee on the way (so good...and the iced coffee is cold brewed!) and headed for the park. Like most parks in NYC, Washington Square has a fenced in designated dog park in the park. Awesome! Figuring Aussie needed to blow off some steam, we decided to make use of the park. I think it freaked her out a bit as it's been quite a while since we've been to an off-leash park. She stuck pretty close to me and CH, and just kind of observed all the activity. I think she was more thrilled with all the attention she got from people than the other dogs. Nonetheless, the trip to the dog area in the park was a regular part of our weekend.

After our walk, we headed back to the apartment. CH generously agreed to watch the dog (he also had work to get done) so I could meet up with a friend I hadn't seen in years. AP and I have been friends since high school, but tend to only see each other infrequently. Now that we are both on the same coast, hopefully that will change. We met up at St. Marks Place, an area near the East Village with lots of good restaurants and little boutique shops. Unfortunately, the weather was less than cooperative, so instead of walking around in the rain, we headed for food first. We ended up at an Afghani restaurant called Khyber Pass (34 St. Mark's Place). Good. Not excellent, but good. We both got kebabs, but different varieties. I tried a lamb one, and she got a combo with steak and seasoned beef. Both came with rice. We also got coconut cream lattes, which is a latte made with coconut milk. The latte was delicious. Slightly sweet without being a dessert and the flavor of the coffee didn't overwhelm the drink. The kebabs were well seasoned, but a bit on the dry side. The rice, on the other hand, was delicious. Brown basmati rice topped with carrots, raisins and almonds and I think a bit of citrus juice. There were plenty of other things on the menu that interested me, so I'd definitely try Khyber Pass again.

After lunch and several hours of talking, we realized the rain had stopped and so we decided to walk around and find dessert. We found our way back over to the West Village via a stop at her apartment and then the subway (thank goodness I kept my Metro card from my last visit to NYC!). AP knows of my love of cupcakes, and wanted to take me to her favorite place, Tonnie's Minis. They are known for their carrot cake cupcakes. YUM. Unfortunately, when we arrived, they didn't have any, so we had to settle for a red velvet heart (yellow cake with a red velvet center and butter cream icing). SO GOOD. I love cupcakes...little single-serve bundles of sweetness all wrapped in a cute package. After demolishing our cupcakes, we sat and talked a bit more. As we were leaving, we ran into a guy standing on the porch eating a carrot cake cupcake! Freshly made!! So we turned around and headed back into the shop to get some to go. I got extra, knowing CH's love of carrot cake and to thank him for being so nice while his guest (me) disappeared on him for the entire afternoon.

AP and I parted ways, she off to meet a friend in Chinatown and me back to CH's apartment. It was so good to catch up and find that even after years of not seeing each other we can still be so connected. Hopefully I'll see her again soon!

The plan for Friday evening was food and dancing. Knowing it would be a late night, I realized that I: A, needed more coffee, and B, needed a nap (not necessarily in that order). After a brief nap, CH and I grabbed more coffee and took the dog for another long walk. She explored a bit more this time, but Aussie was still pretty mellow about being around lots of dogs. Ah well, she is almost 12 years old now (when did that happen??!!).

We headed out for a late dinner, deciding to just walk around and read menus until something struck our fancy. We overheard some hilarious conversations, including one where a young woman was explaining to an owner why he needed to put up with her drunk friend that was making a scene and not kick them out. Her defense: on a "corporate level" they bring lots of business to the bar! OMG that was just too funny. As we walked by one place, one of the owners was out front trying to draw in business. She told us the food is good, not to expensive, no waiting for a table, so come in! There was a couple leaving at the time, and the confirmed everything she said, so we figured we'd give it a try. Ciao Stella (206 Sullivan St.) was pretty good Italian food. Filling, well cooked, decent flavors. Every meal includes a glass of wine. There was enough food that I had to take half of my chicken with artichokes to go! Fortunately, we weren't far away from the apartment, so we dropped off my leftovers, checked on the dog (snoring contentedly on the couch...hello! spoiled!), and headed back out for dancing.

CH had decided to take me to a place that calls itself a Bulgarian bar and is down in the East Village: Mehanata. The DJs spin a blend of world music from Latin to Middle Eastern to East European. Not your usual pop-mix or dance mixes. It was a bit crowded, but apparently they usually have a downstairs that's also open. Unfortunately, it wasn't on Friday, so everyone was crammed upstairs. The people were just as varied as the music, and everyone was having a good time! About the only thing that freaked me out was when people started jumping around I could feel the floor bounce a bit. But so much fun. Great music, and the DJ did an excellent job of blending one style into the other. After several hours of dancing (and I have the blisters to show for it), CH and I walked back and crashed out. What an awesome start to the weekend.

Triumph! (maybe)

So last night I'm doing a load of laundry. I walk into the laundry room and what do I see but a little mouse tail sticking out of the hole in the box of dog treats.

You've got to be f*cking kidding me.

I "booby trapped" the area around the treats, hoping to catch the little sucker. Yes, the same box I discovered it had gotten into while I was away. I figured I'd use it as bait to catch the mouse knowing it would be back (I'm not dumb) before I threw it away. So I booby trapped it. Seriously. I set traps. I hated doing it, but I didn't see an alternative since the dog is so not interested in helping me out and running the mouse out of the house. I set it up so the mouse had to go across the traps to get to the dog treats. Somehow, the little sucker got through the traps and into the box of treats. OK then, mouse. GAME ON.

It hadn't moved when I walked in the room. The tail is still sticking out of the box. I don't think it heard me over the dryer running or for all I know it gorged itself into a dog-biscuit induced coma. So I quietly back out of the room and grab a plastic grocery bag. Quickly, I tip the box of dog treats and cover the hole with the bag. YES! The mouse is now trapped in the box of treats. Next step. Remove the treats and the mouse from my house.

While walking through the house with the box of dog treats in one hand and the holding the plastic bag around the hole with the other, I feel the plastic bag suddenly get a bit heavy. Then I feel the bag move. The mouse had crawled out of the box of treats into the bag. Sh*t. Must. Get. Outside. NOW. I get out the door, drop the box of treats and quickly knot the plastic bag shut, effectively trapping the mouse in the bag. W00T! Go me! The mouse is now out of my house.

I then dump the treats into another bag and fold up the cardboard box for recycling. On Aussie's and my evening walk, I deposit both the bag of treats and the mouse (still trapped in the plastic bag) in the big dumpster at the end of the block, far far away from my house. I figure even if it escapes (which it might), it hopefully won't find it's way back to and into my house again. Besides, with the bounty available in a dumpster, why would it want to?

So the score so far:
Shana: 1 Mouse: 0

Once we got home, I crawled all along my baseboards with a flashlight looking for holes. I only found one behind a radiator that I hadn't plugged up before. Please say a prayer that I've now found and plugged them all so I don't have to deal with this again. And say another prayer that it was the only mouse and not just one member of a family of mice.

Frankly I am much relieved I managed to trap it and remove it alive. I didn't want to kill it. I just didn't want to share my house with a mouse.

Mouse in my house!

So, I return from my lovely weekend trip to NYC (posts about the weekend coming soon) and find out that a mouse has taken up residence. I learned this by discovering it found it's way into the *unopened* box of dog biscuits and had a little snack. Short of the dog treats, there's nothing else in my house it could get to for a snack (I keep my kitchen clean), which is why I've never had a mouse before.

Dammit.

And now I have to figure out where it got in and how to drive the little sucker out again. If I throw out the box of dog treats, then there's nothing left for it to eat, so maybe it won't come back. Nice theory, right? Think it will work?

Anyone know someplace I can rent a cat for a week or so?? I can see the ad now: WANTED: good mouser for short term employment.

[Image courtesy of i can has cheezburger?]

Taking a day off

I'm taking Friday off. It's been a week of questions and more questions and yet still more questions as everyone starts using the "new" software full time. New workflows. New procedures. It's quite the shift at work. Which means I've been very busy answering all those questions. The past month at work has been very very full with training and this migration to the "new" software. I've done a lot of teaching and even more talking.

I need this day off.

CH invited me (and my dog) to visit him in NYC for the weekend. So not only am I taking Friday off, I'm leaving town. I'm so looking forward to this weekend. I know we'll go out at least one night I'm there for some dancing, which I really need to help me de-stress right now. Dancing is my favorite way to relax. The stress just melts away.

And bonus!, on Friday I'm having lunch with a good friend I haven't seen in years. AP happens to be in NYC for the summer so we're taking advantage of the opportunity to reconnect. She and I have known each other since high school. [Hm...August seems to be the month for me to reconnect with "long lost" friends...I wonder who's next.]

I don't anticipate getting a lot of sleep (not that I've gotten a whole lot in the past month anyway), but I do anticipate lots of fun, some excellent food and lots of time with good friends. That's the best recipe in the world for relaxation.

And HAPPY BIRTHDAY to my friend Catachresis today!!!

Would you like cheese with that whine?

whine.

sore muscles. still tired. perpetual state of tired.

whine.

heat advisory. commute by bike. window a/c unit only in bedroom. HOT.

whine.

work stress. still too much talking. still behind. too much to do.

whine.

b*tch. moan. whinge. vent.

CRANKY!!

better now.

'k. thx. bye.

Wedding festivities!

The person I've been friends with the longest, HF, got married on Saturday night! We've known each other since before we were three (we figured that out this weekend). Hard to believe. I was so happy and honored to be invited to her wedding. As you all know, I had the R.S.V.P. conundrum, but in the end decided to go ahead and go it alone and not worry about having a date.

The wedding was down in Baltimore, MD, about 2 hours drive from Philly at the Baltimore Museum of Industry on the Inner Harbor. What a beautiful setting!! Since it's high season, I had a difficult time getting the dog into a kennel (either they had no room or wanted a minimum 3 day stay), and since it really wasn't that far away, I decided to just drive down and back without staying over. Yes, people, I'm crazy. Haven't you figured that out yet? Anyway, I made it down in time for the wedding, despite nasty traffic and construction. For awhile I thought I might be late! But the gods smiled on me and I made it.

The ceremony itself was outside on the back patio of the Museum, with the Inner Harbor as the backdrop. It was beautiful. As people arrived, the were given the opportunity to wander around the place until it was time to head outside for the ceremony. The first person I saw when I walked in was my friend's little brother DF! I didn't recognize him at all! Fortunately, he recognized me (apparently I haven't changed that much). The last time I saw him he was shorter than I was! Now he's definitely all grown up, and has a beautiful baby girl with his girlfriend. It's so incredible.

After a brief wander, they ushered the guests outside onto the patio for a very brief ceremony. JL and HF wanted to keep the ceremony short so we could move on to more important things...food, dancing and lots of fun! And you wonder why HF and I have stayed friends for so long...we both know what's really important in life. HF was gorgeous and grinning from ear to ear. Their vows were wonderful, and included a clause about being serious only when necessary and completely silly the rest of the time! I love it. So perfect for them.

Once the ceremony was complete (and brief it was!), we all headed back inside for the reception. The room the reception was in was huge, with floor to ceiling windows looking out onto the patio and the Inner Harbor beyond. As the sun set and all the lights in the Harbor came on it only became more beautiful. An incredible setting for the wedding and the reception.

We discovered various gambling tables had been set up (poker, blackjack, and roulette), and each guest received a certificate for $100,000 to play for fun. Of course, there was a big grand prize at the end of the evening for who won the most. I was tempted to play some blackjack (the only thing I have a chance in hell of actually winning a hand or two at), but I watched a 10 year old for awhile and he was cleaning house! I decided maybe I wouldn't be playing any games that evening. So I passed my certificate on to someone else that did want to play and migrated back to the other end of the room for food and dancing.

The food was fantastic! A beautiful selection of flavors from all over the world. Once food had been had, there were the usual toasts and dancing. HF's little sister MF was her maid of honor, and gave a great toast. Made me tear up. So did watching HF dance with her dad. It was so good to see her family. I've known this family my whole life. It had been about 10 years since I'd seen them last, so it was wonderful to catch up. Hopefully it won't be 10 years before I see them all again!

After all the toasts and dances were done, we got down to some serious dancing! The DJ was excellent, playing a blend of music that everyone could enjoy. HF's grandmother was unstoppable! That woman can cut a rug and anyone was fair game for her to snag and dance with, including me! She wore dance partner after dance partner out all evening. We all had a good time. I reconnected with people I hadn't seen since we were around 11 years old, and we laughed about all the various sleepover escapades we had as girls.

Fortunately for me, I wasn't the only person there without a date, and I ended up with an excellent dance partner for the evening. RM is a great lead and a fine dancer, with an abundance of energy. And he's funny on top of it all so there was plenty of good conversation during dance breaks. He moved to the area about the same time I left, so we actually hadn't met before, even though we both knew all the same people there! He's now out on the west coast. What a random world. Anyway, we danced up a storm and had a blast.

After dancing for awhile, it was time for dessert! The cake was delicious. Layers upon layers of chocolate. So good. Then it was back to dancing.

As things wound down, it was revealed that there was a plan for an after party at a nearby bar, Little Havana. A bunch of us wandered down the way to continue the dancing and fun. The bride and groom joined us, giving them an opportunity to hang out with their friends (kind of hard to do at the reception with all that family to talk to!). Once the bar closed down, we continued socializing back at the hotel (also only a few blocks away) for a few more hours. And we got some food (we were starving!). Fortunately, HF's friend M lives in the area, and knew a few places to get late night snacks. Who knew bad pizza could taste so good at 3:00AM? [And a big thank you for RM for treating us all to pizza and soda!! Very kind of you.]

After food and laughter and telling more stories about each other, we all finally headed out. I'm amazed JL and HF didn't kick us out sooner, but we were all having a good time. I started my drive back to Philly at 4:00AM, and made it home safely about the time the sun was coming up. I don't remember the last time I saw the sunrise after being up all night, but the all night party was worth it. I was so much fun to see everyone and catch up and dance and whew! I'm still exhausted, even after sleeping most of the day today. And sore. All that dancing worked muscles in my legs I had forgotten I had! Needless to say, I'll be going to bed super-early tonight. And not to worry, the dog is fine after being left alone all night, no problems at all. My dog's ability to roll with the punches continues to amaze me. But I won't be making a habit of it, I assure you.

So CONGRATULATIONS to HF and JL and thanks for an awesome party! I wish you many many happy years together filled with love and silliness!!

Oh, and photos from the evening can be seen here on Flickr. Enjoy!

Week round-up

This week was all about training at work. With the forced software migration butting up against a deadline, we're working really hard to get everyone migrated over as soon as possible. This means lots of training. I spent a lot of the week either preparing for a training session, giving a training session, or fielding questions that came up as people started to use the new software. By Thursday I had almost lost my voice. The training room we are using is a big box that echoes and I had to really project my voice to be heard over all the computer fans and all the other echoing noises.

But all the sessions have been really well received, and I feel really good about them. I think things are moving forward in the best way that can be expected. The next week or so will be a bit rough for everyone as we all adjust and figure out new work flows, but the feeling is generally positive, especially as people learn what the new software can do (it's quite powerful). And it's exciting to see the change actually happening after the months and months of preparation.

Needless to say, I didn't do much else besides work this past week. By the time I got home, all I wanted to do was rest my voice and not talk for awhile. On Friday I planned to attend a Shakespeare in the park event to get out (and because I love such things), but, well, it didn't happen. I got home from work on Friday, sat down to read one of the many books I have stacked up and promptly fell asleep! I woke up after the play had started. Oh well. There's always next year!