Sunday, December 31, 2006

End of Year Wrap Up

Yep, I'm following the meme which I've seen on so many blogs. It's good to look back and just assess everything, even in a cursory manner.

1. What did you do in 2006 that you’d never done before?
Visited Orlando, New Orleans, and East St. Louis, Illinois.
2. Did you keep your new year’s resolutions, and will you make more for next year?
Hah! It is to laugh. Of course I'll make more.
3. Did anyone close to you give birth?
Nope.
4. Did anyone close to you die?
No, but the night is still young.
5. What countries did you visit?
None. Although New Orleans almost counts.
6. What would you like to have in 2007 that you lacked in 2006?
More money. But that ain't very likely, being that I'm in Grad School.
7. What dates from 2006 will remain etched upon your memory, and why?
Can't think of any.
8. What was your biggest achievement of the year?
Surviving the first full-time semester of Grad School!
9. What was your biggest failure?
I have two incomplete grades to clear up.
10. Did you suffer illness or injury?
Broke a toe, twisted an ankle, a few colds, and the normal asthmatic episodes.
11. What was the best thing you bought?
My MacBook! And bedroom furniture.
12. Whose behavior merited celebration?
Mine! I donated blood for the first time ever.
13. Whose behavior made you appalled and depressed?
Our President's, in general.
14. Where did most of your money go?
Rent, food, car. Bah.
15. What did you get really, really, really excited about?
Going to Pennsic for the first time in about 6 years.
16. What song will always remind you of 2006?
Can't think of any.
17. Compared to this time last year, are you:
a) happier or sadder? happier
b) thinner or fatter? about the same
c) richer or poorer? poorer
18. What do you wish you’d done more of?
Traveling! I like it so much. And public singing. Now that the bars here are going to be smoke-free, I'm sure I'll have more opportunities.
19. What do you wish you’d done less of?
Procrastinating on school assignments.
20. How will you be spending Christmas?
With my two cats in my own place. But that was planned, so it was okay.
21. Did you fall in love in 2006?
How about falling in deep like? In that case, yes.
22. How many one-night stands?
None. Which is a nice change from last year.
23. What was your favorite TV program?
Lost, Arrested Development, and The Daily Show.
24. Do you hate anyone now that you didn’t hate this time last year?
Nope!
25. What was the best book you read?
Maybe Spook: Science Tackles the Afterlife by Mary Roach. Or Y: the Last Man by Brian Vaughan.
26. What was your greatest musical discovery?
I've been introduced to lots of good stuff like Devotchka, Iron and Wine, and Dead Can Dance.
27. What did you want and get?
My MacBook! I'm so materialistic.
28. What did you want and not get?
A new car. Bummer.
29. What was your favorite film of this year?
Probably Stranger Than Fiction. Sooo good.
30. What did you do on your birthday, and how old were you?
I was 34. And I have apparently contracted CRS, because I really can't remember beyond going out to lunch and dinner with friends. It was low key.
31.What one thing would have made your year immeasurably more satisfying?
Finishing the previously mentioned classes.
32. How would you describe your personal fashion concept in 2006?

Jeans and tshirt, just like always. And nicely painted toenails.
33. What kept you sane?
Talking with my friend Steph A. over brunch at Perkins on many, many Sundays.
34. Which celebrity/public figure did you fancy the most?
That guy from Casino Royale. Hummina hummina.
35. What political issue stirred you the most?
Sigh. Too many to count.
36. Who did you miss?
My best friend C. I wanted to talk to him so many times this year.
37. Who was the best new person you met?
Three of them. My team from LIS 451, Wayne, Hana, and Lori!
38. Tell us a valuable life lesson you learned in 2006
Just breathe!
39. Quote a song lyric that sums up your year
"Good times never felt so good!"

Friday, December 29, 2006

Hair today...

...and much less of it, uh...now.

I got a haircut on Wednesday. For those who haven't known me all that long, perhaps you do not understand just how momentous an event this was for me. I have a slight hair-cutting phobia, you see. I even have dreams (nightmares, really) of my locks being snipped off by strangers or it getting caught in things and ripped out. This is the first haircut I've had in over two years; the last being the day after my best friend C died, September 2004.

I've had the Dorothy Hamil bowl cut, the Little Orphan Annie perm, the "I'm only learning how to cut hair, oops, let me just wipe that blood off" trim. Not a lot of good hair experiences in my youth. When I left home, I decided to just ignore my hair and only cut it when it really, really started to annoy me. So, since I was about 20 or so, my hair has been down to my tailbone, which seems to be the extent of its natural length. But letting it go without even a trim means that it can get pretty scraggly, even if it is still gorgeous.

Now, instead of super-long, my hair is simply normal-long, hitting at about the middle of my back. I am currently still panicking whenever I notice that I can't feel my hair brushing my elbows. But I'll get used to it ("It'll grow back, it'll grow back..."). There's much less of it to shampoo, which feels weird, but will save me a tiny bit of money. Except that I did buy some product at the salon, because I have no willpower when it comes to such things, so there went the shampoo savings. Oh, and the natural wave in my hair is much more pronounced, now that there isn't as much weight pulling it straight. Overall, I'm pretty happy with it. I should've chopped it off this summer, when I could have appreciated the breeziness more.

I lost about ten inches of length total. Shea thinks that I should have gathered up all the clippings and given them to Richard as a Christmas present ("Here! See how much I like you?! Never go away again!!!"). But I refrained. I didn't think that would go over so well, for some reason.

And now for the pics. You can go to the Flickr set, too.

Before the cut, my hair all spread out and making me look like a Hindu goddess. I can relate to that.
Before the cut, all spread out

Before

Side views
Before the cut, view 3

Before, view 2

And now what you've been waiting for...

After the cut!
After the cut

After the cut, 2nd view

This is the only front view that looked decent, sorry.
After the cut

And here it is today, with my natural wave showing a hell of a lot more. The day of the haircut the stylist ironed my hair straight and put lots of product on it. Yeah, I don't usually go through that much trouble, but we'll see. Now, how long before the next cut...?
Wavy

Thursday, December 28, 2006

I just found a new use for my camera

Oh, baby. I've always known that librarians were hot (I'm one of them, after all), but I just found something just as nice. Babes With Books.

Sweet. Now I just need to find a site with pretty boys and books, just to be balanced, you know. Or maybe I should suggest a calendar as a GSLIS fundraiser. But which student group would be most appropriate/have the most willing models? ALA? ASIS&T? SLA? Hmm...

Sunday, December 10, 2006

End of semester, pre-final wrap up thingy

Almost done with my first semester as a full-time grad student. Feeling tired and annoyed at my (lack of) study habits, and vowing to do better next semester.

I'm taking an incomplete in my Collection Development class, with the agreement that I finish up before the first day of Spring classes, which is entirely reasonable. I'm not very happy with myself for having yet another incomplete under my belt (I had one last semester), but according to my fellow students, this is not an unusual occurrence. I just don't want to make it a habit.

I'm getting together with my Intro to Networking team this week to finish up our group project and prepare for our Thursday presentation, and I have no worries that everything will go fine (knock on virtual wood). And I have to remember to make something for the class potluck that follows the final presentations. Something vegetarian, I think.

The annoying (required) and unorganized (ironic) Information Organization and Access class is almost over. I am finishing up my part of the group presentation and have completed the web site. I hate group projects. Or, rather, I hate that I volunteer to do too much on group projects and then get behind in everything else. And that my teammates get to put up with me being a neurotic procrastinator-perfectionist. Bad combination. But the website looks pretty.

And to boot? I've been smelling cigarette smoke all day and it's giving me a headache. Where is it coming from? My neighbors. The insulation/duct work/whatever is so poor in my duplex that the smoke from next door is coming through the heating ducts or cracks in the walls or the ether or something. Not. Helping. With. The. Writing!

Back to the Info Org and Access writing. Sigh.

Sunday, December 03, 2006

Washing the floor, the hard way

I am back safe and sound from our second and final trip to East St. Louis. More on that later. For now, I am stuck at home cleaning up my utility room because my washer has decided that it is more fun to spill water all over the floor instead of into the sink, where it should go. The cats were not amused, especially since that's where their litter boxes are kept.

Can we say "ick?"

My jeans and shirts are clean, but I have no clean underwear, and I'm not washing another load until my landlord comes over to unclog the sink. Guess I'm going commando tomorrow.