Misadventures of the Monster Librarian

It is a truth long since recognized that time drags when there is something we can't wait to get to, and flies by all too quick when we are in life's wonderful moments. That in a nutshell is this week. I have been looking forward to my planned 4 day weekend to Chicago since back in July. Not only do I want to go see the art exhibit, " Impressionism, Fashion, and Modernity ," at the Art Institute of Chicago, but there's a small chance I might get to see a fellow former Farmer, and most importantly I am going to see the Boy. But I just talked to the Boy and he was in bed at 10p.m., and had the beginnings of a cough. OH NO! I am hoping that this is not the nasty bug I had two weeks ago, which left me feeling TERRIBLE for a couple of days. I am so so so hoping and doing that Catholic thing of praying to any patron saint I think might help. Oh dear... And yet, it is hard to be worried when there is such loveliness about: "Boundaries" There is a place w...

I am home sick today. I am not really sick in the traditional sense, but rather in the my-allergies-are-going-haywire way; I blame the summer-turned-fall-turned-summer-again weather. On this first lovely day after a couple rainy days, I have been stuck in bed resting and reading and napping and blowing my nose and drinking lots of tea and sneezing. And looking out the window and listening to music--I do that a lot when I don't feel well, which is what inspired this video. For the full version of Miles Davis' "It never entered my mind," check here .  More soon.

Things are looking up. I went straight from work at the library yesterday to making dinner with Mummy Dearest; enjoying a meal with Mummy, Hubby, Big Fish and Little Fish--one of my favorite families to hang out with. :) Turkey meatloaf, roasted potatoes and (slightly salty--my bad) maple mustard Brussels sprouts. YUM! A silly movie then home to read and go to bed and then sleep late today. I normally open the Kitchen everyday, but switched with Sierra this weekend and I am closing, which is a welcome change. Seems like the extra sleep really helped as I am feeling loads better today. As I said, things are looking up. Sometimes when I am sick and in need of encouragement I turn to poetry, but sometimes I also turn to great and inspirational quotes. Here are some fun, REALLY OLD gems! Better be wise by the misfortunes of others than by your own. In critical moments even the very powerful have need of the weakest. It is thrifty to prepare today for the wants of tomorrow. ~ Aeso...

I love working at the library, but today felt like a doozie. I have one of those amazingly annoying colds with the runny nose that just won't stop, sneezing and one eye which just won't stop tearing. Aside from the congested sinuses I feel fine, though I smell terrible--that hospital-ish hand sanitizer smell lingers around me, as that is what I apply to my hands every fifteen minutes or so when I blow my nose and sound off like a flock of honking geese! The patrons have at least been lovely--very patient, many acknowledging that I sound terrible and should be home. Today has been busy, a constant flow of questions and tech related problems has helped the day pass faster. One thing I like about my job is that when I am searching for something with others I learn something too. What did I learn today in LibraryLand, you ask? Well, I learned: the call number for sharks is 597.3 Renaissance is spelled R-e-n-a-i-s-s-a-n-c-e. That "i" is tricky! In Massachusetts Form 1...

I woke up to the gentle patter of rain on a cabin roof. I guess I should mention that I requested and was granted a week's stay in a currently vacant cabin on the Farm, not far from my own house. This has been an interesting experiment of silence and solitude and a reawakening of my senses. Staying in a slightly foreign (foreign in the sense that I only ever spent minimal time there when TSO lived in this very cabin) place has given me the opportunity of getting used to new sounds: heater hisses, house groans, rain falling on moss and brush; has shown me how different and new the very same stars can seem--maybe it is the very clarity of mind which makes these stars appear more luminous? I woke up to rain softly falling on said roof, and a tightness in my throat. I have a sore throat and ear ache, and on my day off too! I stopped by the kitchen to do a weekly order and wound up doing some quick dough batches for them because they are short staffed today and just got another call...

I got the stomach bug and woke up with it yesterday at 3:30am. This is not how I imagined I would be spending my weekend. Being sick here at the Farm reminds me of how great living in community can be. As I lay in bed yesterday feeling like the Devil was trying to get out of my body, not only did roomies TSO and RugbyGirl check in on me, so did S and CJ, and Mummy Dearest via the phone, and then Amos came and kept both me and TSO company today as we recouped. Community is swell sometimes. Being sick this weekend made me think about the positive sides--is there a positive side, you say?--Umm...the Mary Poppins in me says yes, well, let's see: getting sick means being snatched by surprise and forced to lay low; catching up on a good book; watching a few movies; napping; finishing the first season of Mad Men. Being sick also means reading poetry. Falling into some Pablo Neruda poetry today made me make this weird connection with Marc Chagall. This poem, "In my sky at twilight...

I am sick. Well, on the mend. The fever of Tuesday and Wednesday is gone, but the cough is persistent. I am thankful that I don't have a sore throat, as nothing vexes me more when I am sick than a sore throat, but this cough is giving me a headache. It is one of those really hard coughs that makes your whole body just ache. Ugh. This morning as I was leaving for work my car got stuck in a rut full of snow at the end of my driveway and there is decided to stay: half in my driveway, half in the street. People drove by and stared, probably marveling at my feat. I imagined neighbors peeking out their windows and saying, "Ehh?" I had to have my car pulled out by a towing company; the same company who came and pulled me out when I slid off my driveway about a month ago. The same driver in fact who looked at me and said, "I've been here before, not too long ago, haven't I?" Yep, one of those days. I had Baby Storytime this morning and I showed up just...

Nearing the end of the week and I am finally starting to feel better. I haven’t been sick, but rather my spring/summer allergies have descended upon me to annoy the shit out of me. It doesn’t bother me that I have allergies…it pisses me off that I only have allergies in Michigan. When I lived in Massachusettes at the farm my allergies dissapeared, leaving me to believe that my allergies do not in fact stem from ragweed, pollen, pet dander, or the like; but rather stem from my contempt for the state of Michigan...and it's state bird! Not feeling good makes me feel all homesick too. So, I felt homesick for the farm and wished that I was sitting on the couch at Avalon (hope you don't mind that I fantasize about being sick at your house Mummy ), sipping hot tea, wrapped in a warm blanket with the sun pouring onto me through the windows looking out at Main House. And what sucks too about being sick is not having health insurance. Since I can't afford a doctors visit and a persc...

For those faithful four or so people that actually read this, apologies for my absence. I never get sick...ok, like once every four years. Apparently this was the year. Went to the Detroit Art Festival , (click here for photos), on Saturday. Met some friends and their kids during my lunch break from the library. I sat with them-while they ate lunch-and drank in the perfect weather. The temperature was low 80s with a breeze and the sun was so bright, simply bathing Cass Ave. in a golden warmth. It made going back to my desk difficult, but I was able to meet up with my friends again after work. We wandered around, snaking through exhibits of tile work, photography, pottery, paintings, chalk drawings, you name it. I had a lovely time. However, I think it was here that I picked up someone's cooties. Woke up Sunday morning with a high fever, sore throat, and an earache, feeling generally terrible. Spent the day on the couch watching a movie and the Tigers Game, both of which made m...