Weekend Fun

As we walked the dog this weekend, my hubby noticed one of his tires had gone flat. And I am eternally grateful it did not happen on the interstate. Hubby decided we should hang out at the mall while his tires were replaced, which was a bad decision. As a pear-shaped woman who has struggled with finding the right clothes, I have debated the wisdom of splurging on a new wardrobe. I have so many other things I'd rather spend my money on. Of course, upon spying some cute skirts, I had to buy them. Now that I have the skirts, I can't wear my library shoes or flats with the skirts, so I had to buy an expensive pair of boots. So after clearing out five bags for Goodwill this weekend, I have now added more to my closet. I didn't buy a whole new wardrobe, just some new outfits. I need to avoid the mall. I have no self control.

Hubby Editing

The hubby offered to read over my latest writing project. The idea excited me to have his perspective and him involved in something important to me. He's only read the first 2 chapters, but he has given me an earful. Mind you, he doesn't read romance, so its a new genre for him. Also, I have to say he has some great advice on how I can perk up some scenes and expand the characters, but he doesn't get it.

Last night, he informed me that my characters are despicable and unlikable. For those who've heard me discuss this story idea, you know how much I love these characters. He informed me the heroine is so abrasive that no man would tolerate her. I tried pointing out that I used to act the same way and he still dated me and asked me to marry him. He says I wasn't that bad, which I doubt. He thinks the characters are elitist, yet that I should add some quips in the dialogue that even I don't get cause they're above my knowledge base. Talk about elitist. My favorite comment though was that no one has these types of conversations in a bar. Much less some loser guy roaming around hitting on women. I had to finally remind him that he didn't go barhopping like I did. That some of those conversations are similar to ones I've had and yes, the losers roam.

A part of me questions the wisdom of having him look over anymore of the story, but he did have some good pieces of advice. I'm going to have to wait for other people's opinion. This is still the very rough draft of the story, but I thought the characters were great!

Peeves of the Moment

I'm trying to understand why people think these behaviors are acceptable. Some examples that I've heard recently.

Odor du jour Seriously, please do not overwhelm me with your perfume, cigarette smoke, or body odor. All are offensive and make me want to maintain as much distance as possible so I don't get sick. Really, when I step back, its not an invite for you to step forward.

You are not as important as you think you are. If I'm speaking to someone else, please don't step between me and the person I am currently helping. I will always step around to continue talking to the other person. I'm flattered that you believe I know exactly which aisle that particular book is located, but I truly do not have total recall. Also, when you sigh heavily, mumble to yourself, it makes me and the other person want to finish our interaction quicker.

Lurker Please don't read over my shoulder as I work. I'm sure you have other things to do. If not, I can come up with a list. I have work that needs to get done and not the time to explain my assignments, especially to someone who is not my supervisor. Plus its creepy.

Gossiper If you're going to listen to my conversations and try to repeat it, please get the information correct. Creating false rumors because you mishear my private conversations does not ingratiate you to me.

Do have some recent peeves to add?

Tinglies

I saw this article on the Florida Gators and got the tinglies. I am over the moon ecstatic about the upcoming season. As the article states, Florida has the opportunity to win a back-to-back National Championship making it a possible third in the last five years. What amazed me is Florida received 58 of the 60 top votes. Florida was the underdog for so long, even after they had proven their worth, so to see some recognition was pleasing.

All the praise they give Tim Tebow also raises my love of this article. Can't say enough great things about this guy. He has honestly become my #1 college player. Sorry Wuerffel, I truly thought no one would surpass, but you're still in my top 3.

Another person I admire among this team is Urban Meyer. He is very focused in how his players should handle all the hoopla over their standing in the college football world. The fact that he wants the guys to keep a level head and recognize that one misstep means all this celebration is for naught.

So as a fan, I get to revel in the excitement and can't wait for the games to begin. But I truly admire this team for their accomplishments. I do have the tinglies though about this year. Go Gators!

Must Read

Alright, I should listen to my reading friends, but I can't help holding out due to my misguided notions. Janssen mentioned on her blog this really great book called Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins. It sounded like that horrible Arnold movie the Running Man, so I decided no thanks. Michelle and Kelly discussed the book and I asked if it was worth it. Both of them said they couldn't put it down and were upset they had to wait so long for a resolution. I still didn't read it. All the reviews I read said how amazingly great the book was and I couldn't understand the hype. When things are overly hyped, I usually find them terrible. Then Peggy, who couldn't finish Harry Potter or Twilight, said she liked the book and her advisory group was discussing the sequel, Catching Fire (they have an advance copy), I decided I had to try it.

Yes, I admit, you all were right. I read Hunger Games in 2 days and all I could think is AMAZING. I loaned it to Delia for her flight cause I was that positive she would enjoy it. I borrowed Catching Fire and almost finished it in one night, but I had to get some sleep to go to work, so I finished it the next night. Once again, AMAZING. I really can't describe or explain the series, except to say, you must read them.

Also, I promise to listen to my reading buddies from now on.

Too Young

As I get older, I muse on why I enjoy being of an age. I truly do not reflect back on my 20s and think, oh I miss it. I won't deny there are some days where I wish I could slow time down and remain in my early 30s, but I'll adjust. The one area age is a contributing factor and I've enjoyed my worldly age is in my career. I've always been too young to be in the position I find myself in. Twice I've been in management positions where people thought me too young, but I've persevered.

Currently, I work in a research center where my coworkers are older than me, a few have even worked here a couple of decades. I like my coworkers and the environment I've settled into, but there are exceptions, such as when someone questions my age, therefore my knowledge. It's happened before where a customer will ask me how long I've worked here followed by I want someone who's been here longer. I always have to pull out my vitae and explain I've worked in my specialization for x years and ran my own collection for x years and was a university instructor in my specialized field as well. So today, I was once again frustrated to have a customer inform me I was too young to know what I was talking about.

I'll try to take it as a compliment that I appear young, I've accomplished so much at an early age, or heck, I'll accept they're just having a bad day. Either way, please don't insult my intelligence.

Being Prepared

My normal morning routine includes grabbing the most comfortable outfit, i.e. baggy clothing, smathering moisturizer on my face, and putting a smidge of makeup on. Yesterday, I did the full work up, mascara and all and a cute outfit because we had a ladies night dinner after work. Lucky for me since two guys came into the collection, filming a documentary, similar to History Detectives, and asked me to show how to research a historical company. I kept thinking, thankfully, I'm wearing makeup and a cute outfit. Of course, it was thrown off by my arm brace and library shoes, but hey, I think it's livable. You all know how much I love being filmed, as I wrote last year in Filming Fear.

So ladies, I think we need to remember the old adage to be prepared when we go out cause you never know who you'll run into.

Addendum: I should have listened to my own advice. The film guys came back today to do a follow-up. Of course, I have minimal makeup and didn't even wash my hair this morning since I was up half the night readingHunger Games. Seriously, be prepared!

Moving

As many of you know, the hubby and I have tried to reasonably maintain two residents, since he works for the university 80 miles away. Alas, we have made it work personally, but financially its been a strain. We left the decision to fate and told our complex we would be interested in downsizing but only if there was an apartment in Becky's building. Less than a week later, they called to inform me that I could move into the apartment directly across the hall, but I had a limited amount of time to accomplish the move.

So here we are, me in a panic. I'm a planner, one who has to organize every thought ahead of time, before making the final decision. No time to think it over thoroughly, I went forward with the decision since it was in the building I had requested. So in a little over a month, I'll be in a smaller apartment with Becky as my neighbor. She tries to remind me that I will not have the same lovely view of the dumpster, parking lot, pool, and basketball courts, instead I'll have trees and bunnies. I need the reminder when I get panicked.

Hopefully with a change of scenery, my opinion of the complex will improve along with my budget. So here's to another fun move and adventure as well as letting fate make my decisions.

Football Season

It's that time of year again. College Football Season is upon us! I was standing in line yesterday and saw the USA Today sitting in the rack and the headline caused my pulse to race. Florida is ranked #1.. Time for the big showdown again. Time to buck up and prepare for the defending of the National Championship Title. Time to watch Tim Tebow work his magic on the field. Time where every Saturday, I'll find my eyes drifting to the tv for the latest score. Can't wait. Go Gators!

Books, Books, Books

I love reading! No, it's not the reason I became a librarian, but it's a definite perk that I'm surrounded by people who love reading. All of us have our own tastes in books and share our opinions with each other and there are way too many books to read. I have many discussions with friends concerning books and am always being told, oh, you should read this one next. I love it!

I squabble on Goodreads with several friends. Kay, my romance guru has a wonderful blog, where she reviews books. Delia and I read most of her recommendations and discuss them. Becky, Erin, and I have lively discussions concerning books we are reading. We even enticed Dawne to read one of our recommendations after a lunch conversation. Janssen critiques books on her blog that I've debated reading (I've placed Hunger Games on hold after the last review of the sequel). Michelle recently mentioned an audio book she is reading. I don't particularly like audio books, but after we discussed the original book and movies it's spawned, I decided I would try the audio version. Michelle said the reader is amazing. So I picked up Frank Herbert's Dune and can understand why Michelle wants to drive around town listening to the book. The guy is amazing.

So does anyone else have any recommendations of book discussions, blogs, or just books, in general? Have I covered all that we enjoy?

Traveling

I love to travel! There, I said it...but my hubby is iffy on traveling. He complains a lot about it, hence why I take trips with my girlfriends instead. The past week, I've been a little more vocal about wanting to travel again. I've been saving this year and holding out on big trips, but I'm yearning to plan a nice vacation. I'm jealous that Crystal went to England (I've been asking for 5 years). The hubby says we'll go one of these days. I asked about attending Comic-con next year. He says sure, we'll go. I want to go hiking in Brown County (I've been asking for 2 years) or in the Smokies (I've been asking for 7 years). Maybe this fall is the response I get. Abby returned from NYC and I asked her to take me next time (I've asked the hubby for 6 years) and she agreed. The hubby is upset because he lived there for a while and wants to show me the town. I reminded him I've waited for him to take me and he never has. He now wants me to plan our trip to NYC. Until the plane is booked, why do I question it? I guess I should continue planning my fall adventure with Michelle :)