Home

Wed, Apr. 8th, 2009, 06:46 pm
Hey there, little boy.....

An email from a potential:

him: I loved your ad--would you consider dating a younger man?

me: how much younger?

him: 18

me: Dude--do you really need to ask?! Back to the sand box with you now and grab a cookie on your way. Good boy!

I've done the Lolita thing--I'm really not interested in the Mrs. Robinson thing.

Wed, Apr. 1st, 2009, 07:14 pm
Prostitute Cafe--now with new drive up service!

So the cops come in and we deal with our little whoring at the library situation quietly and very little mental distress to the staff--which is good because they can be very fragile and keeping their stress levels low is a priority.

Next day I take a little stroll to the corner store and notice a nice Subaru Forester in the parking lot (not that I can afford to replace my battered old bookmobile of a car, but I like to look.) Some dude is sitting in the driver's seat--"must be waiting for someone to get out of one of our classes," I naively think to myself. On my way back from the store I'm startled to see a head pop up from the passenger seat! It's one of the little hoochie mommas we'd just booted from the back stacks! This shocked even my incredibly jaded self--it was broad daylight! I must admit that while a nooner at noon does seem appropriate, don't do it in the library parking lot, fer fucks sake! She and I locked eyes and she quickly exited the vehicle and ran off up the street--the guy in the car took off too, and I was too startled by the whole thing to have gotten the plate number.

I've decided that the best way to market this is to get the hookers roller skates to make the service even faster and instead of A & W, we'll call it the B & J. My state grant will seem like a drop in the bucket compared to what I'll be raking in at 50% of the take--and I'll even throw in the skates for free.

Mon, Mar. 23rd, 2009, 09:53 pm
Sex and the single librarian

What the hell has happened to internet dating in the eight years I've been absent from it? Jeez, how old am I that I'm reminiscing about the good old days of online dating?! Maybe that's the problem--I'm way too old for this shit.

So I go on this one date--excellent guy, my physical ideal. He unfolds all 6'5" of himself out of his cool foreign car and my first thought was, "I so want to climb that!" We wine, we dine, we go back to his place for more wine in private--I mount an expedition, plant my flag and we both agree it was a wonderful evening. Two days later I get a call--he really wants to see me again but has some questions. Okay, shoot. Then he proceeds to ask me what his full name is, where he grew up, where he went to college.....

I immediately break out into a cold sweat--flash backs to all those anxiety dreams of showing up for the final when you accidentally forgot to go to class all semester long. Then reality kicks in, "You're testing me?! Dude, what the fuck?" And he tells me that I'm not interested in him (well, not any more, I'm not!) I'm just interested in the situation--whatever that means. He claims he knows everything about me and I know nothing about him. "So you know everything about me?" Yes, he assures me, "Well, did you know this?" and I hung up on the asshole.

Mon, Mar. 16th, 2009, 08:36 pm
The prostitute cafe

I've been witness to a strange new trend in libraries--well, my library at any rate. It all started when this chick started coming in--young, pretty, sits and reads the paper till we've figured she's found what she wants and now flies under the reference librarian radar. Then, a little while later a guy will come in to use the computer--they'll make eye contact and within fifteen minutes they're in the back stacks, tits out and both trouser diving. At first we figured it was young-still-living-with-the-parents-and-can't-afford-a-room lovin', but now I've found that it's much more!

There are three different girls and an overwhelming number of different guys. Needless to say, I've seen more naked tits lately than any straight girl has a right to. So I called the cops to tell them that the library was becoming freesamples.com for hoochie mamas looking to sell a "date". Can you believe the cops were actually shocked that this was happening at the library?! I just gave them a jaded chuckle and told them about the guy I had to explain bathroom etiquette to after he peed with the door open in full view of a mom and her three year old in the Children's Room. They came right over to deal with it. My only request was to keep it quiet--I don't want the first article about me in Library Journal to be my stint as the Library Madame.

Sun, Mar. 1st, 2009, 06:35 pm
I SO lost my $20 bucks.

That's right, newbie librarian didn't even make it to the New Year, just like Paranoid Tech.Services Librarian said--and since she'd picked the closest date to that in the pool, I had to fork over my $20 to her. I seriously thought he'd make it to February, at least! But he left us before Christmas for greener pastures at Library Z--and let me tell you, the going away party we had in his absence was great fun for everyone!

I hear he hit the ground running at Library Z! He's so busy chairing committees--he expressed his frustration at having so many people clamoring for his time, "everyone thinks he's a rising young superstar." Poor sweetie! It must be so hard to be the Paul McCartney of the library world! *sigh* Now I get to post the position and hire another newbie, hot-young-superstar, to replace the last one. Oh joy. I'll keep you updated on the fun resumes I'll be "keeping on file!" ;)

Sun, Feb. 1st, 2009, 06:35 pm
How to get people to stop asking you about the big game....

Tell them you don't follow hockey. Stops 'em dead every time.

Thu, Jan. 29th, 2009, 02:25 pm
Resume 101

Okay, sweetie pies, the moment all you lovely little library school students have been waiting for--what NOT to put on your resume!

Due to the fact that I've always worked at borderline bankrupt libraries, I've had the benefit of doing a great deal of hiring due to a great deal of turn over (when you can't even match a barista's salary--you're in tough shape.) Just some words of advice for the newbies among you:

DO NOT mention your work as a mystery shopper under your job experience--it amuses the shit out of administration, but it won't get you an interview.

If you blog, Facebook, MySpace or (insert your favorite social network here) for fun, do it anonymously. Nothing ticks off a potential employer more than reading about how boooorrred you are at work today. And for christ's sake, don't be stupid enough to assume that those YouTube clips of how you got those beads at Mardi Gras won't come back to bite you in your perky ass!

Write a resume--not several loosely joined paragraphs on your speculation of how your life skills as a career student will benefit the library to which you are applying. Save the nebulous crap for your novel.

And finally, no one cares if you like skiing, hiking, kittens, support groups, etc., etc. And many of us don't like knitters--so keep that nasty shit to yourself.

Wed, Dec. 17th, 2008, 08:01 pm
Keeping libraries funky!

Ah yes, it's that time of year again--time to pull down the storm windows, turn on the heat and revel in the contained aromas of the great unwashed. Unfortunately there are few things you can do about this--in the age of lawsuits, it's inadvisable to coat said patrons with a liberal spray of Lysol. Although, Febreezing the furniture on a regular basis is incredibly helpful. You could have someone at the circ desk rip all the perfume and cologne samples out of Cosmo and Vogue and place them in decorative baskets on the reading room tables--it's subtle, but someone might be inclined to give their pits a much needed rub with a little Ralph Lauren.

Or, you can do what my library did and write a behavior policy that includes a hygiene clause. It's controversial, I know, and it may seem silly in the extreme to some, but I've had patrons leave because of the overpowering aroma of another--I'm talking so strong it has a twenty foot perimeter and the potential to get its own zip code. And it's no fun being the one who has to break the bad news to the Funkmeister that he really needs to seek out some shower facilities before he visits us again. There can be angry protests that result in the waving of arms and wild gesticulating that make you wonder where you stored that gas mask you bought in anticipation of Y2K. But usually there are just lame excuses--the most popular one being "oh, that must be because of the new medication I'm on." And you just smile and nod and try not to notice that the rain has left clean streaks on their faces. Just another day in the life of the librarian/social worker.

Wed, Nov. 26th, 2008, 08:44 am
I love that new librarian smell!

I met a brand-spankin' new librarian today. She was so cute (I'm talking Sarah Palin cute,) and filled with wide eyed wonder at officially being a librarian for the past four months. It's so nice to see them before their dreams are crushed and their optimism is siphoned off by administrative bureaucracy--you know, while they still think they can make a difference in the library world.

We actually have a newbie at my library. He was cute at first, too. All that gung ho drive and ambition--but let me tell you, it got old real fast. He just came off an internship at one of those big-ass fancy libraries who can afford things like janitors and books and soap in the bathrooms. Every fricken thing that came up was, "Well, Library Z does it this way," and "Library Z has this resource." The staff was ready to lynch him on the flag pole--the boy is seriously not making any friends.

I get that the newbies want to make their mark in libraryland, but too much moving and shaking in the first few months of employment doesn't win you the cover of Library Journal, it just pisses off your co-workers. So we chatted--and I explained, in very gentle terms, that he really needed to reign in his rampant OCD, stop talking down to the staff, and stop defying my orders (why are minions so hard to find nowadays?) He seemed to be improving for a while there--then I find out today from Paranoid Tech Services Chick that he was dissing me to her behind my back. She, of course, told me all of it immediately. You can't fart in that place without it being discussed for days afterward. It's not good--the staff re-instituted their betting pool. Odds are he won't make it to New Year's. But I'm hopeful that he can pull it together and turn this around. Until then I'm slipping some valium in his water bottle to help mellow him out and, worst case scenario, I've got $20 on Valentine's Day.

Wed, Nov. 26th, 2008, 08:33 am
Library Conferences--Keepin' it Real

Programs and features I'd love to see at the next library conference I attend:

Library 2.who the fuck cares!? : how to take another stupid library catch phrase and beat it like a red-headed step child.

Becoming a change agent in your library OR retire already and give someone else a chance at a career you withered, old bat!

Knitting 1.0--they're going to do it anyway, so let them do it in private. Then show them where to put the fricken needles.

On sale in the vendor area: Library patron voo doo dolls--because sometimes good customer service just needs to stop.

Special reclamation project with a local Harley Davidson store: All novelty sweaters (or any item of clothing with kittens, puppies, and holiday kitsch) can be turned in for biker leathers.

Hot vendors = booty call. How to get your lonely ass laid, and get free shipping from Ingram, too.

Librarian extreme makeover : speakers Stacy and Clinton identify the attendees at registration and then force them to give up their Birk's and socks for grown-up shoes--bonfire of the misfit clothes will take place after lunch.

Fri, Oct. 24th, 2008, 10:28 pm
Porn! Get it @ Your Library!

It was a quiet Friday. The library was packed with facebookers, myspacers, and a couple of people reading the newspapers. The lab was packed with people using our computers to keep in touch with their loved ones. A little too in touch--I had to kick a couple of chicks out for taking pictures of their tits using the library's web cams. Yep, it shocked the shit out of me, too. There I am, just minding my own business when, out of the corner of my eye I see these two women sharing a computer to take advantage of our cool webcams to enhance their online ads with some tit shots. Granted, to look at them, these are women who are obviously used to being topless in a room full of people. Also, to look at them, these are women who are well used to not getting dollars stuffed anywhere for the privilege either.

Since I couldn't recall anything like this being discussed in any of my library school management classes, I probably handled the situation incorrectly. I picked my jaw up off the floor and said (quite loudly) "what the hell is wrong with you?!" The women looked over huffily (yes, people can look huffy--even huffily) and pulled their shirts back up as if offended I caught their personal, naked moments IN THE MIDDLE OF THE COMPUTER LAB! I followed this with, "do you know you're exposing yourself in a library?!", "did you manage to get a nice picture of the READ poster hanging behind you?", "get the hell out right now!"

Of course, my inability to handle this calmly and properly totally backfired on me. About a half hour later we discovered that if anyone flushed a toilet anywhere in the building, it all backed up into every sink and toilet in the building. So we had to close and call the plumber--and what did they find when they snaked the drains? Some skank's Victoria's Secret thong stuffed into the toilet--payback for their inability to get a boob shot for their websites. The sign went up today: "No shoes; No shirts; No webcam action, chicas."

Thu, Oct. 23rd, 2008, 05:56 pm
Online dating. Again?!



Why do so many guy's pictures look like mugshots pulled off the Smoking Gun website? Why can so few of them distinguish between "women" and "woman", "your" and "you're" and let's not even get into the "there", "their", and "they're" issues! And what the hell is wrong with typing in full sentences and actually spelling out words instead of substituting numbers and single letters?? Am I hopelessly too old to be doing this again? Or does the growth in Internet usage over the past eight years just mean there are more dipshits trolling the dating sites than there used to be? I'm thinking it's a little of both.


But I got this way cool email to a dating web site that I pathetically posted an ad to and this is the response I got from some dude I don't even know. I just thought it was hysterical to see the advertisement the site added to his message to me. Funny--but very sad. But I'm sticking to my standard rules--no dating guy-brarians, and (definitely!) no dating patrons (somehow an unlimited bus pass and eating hot pockets in some 40 year old guy's mom's garage just isn't a turn on for me.)

Fri, Oct. 17th, 2008, 08:22 pm
It's a Liberrian Conference!

So I'm soon to be off to a conference! I'm eagerly anticipating the joys of hotel living for the few nights I'll be there. I don't get the chance to do it often so I enjoy it whenever I can. First I spread out all my make up and hair accouterments in the bathroom (which is completely clean and free of teenage boy smell and Ex-Boyfriend's skanky underpants ) *sigh* all mine! Then I roll around on the bed and revel in fresh sheets I didn't have to change and wash and a TV remote that I can find because it's right where I left it. Okay, yeah, it's kind of sad that my expectations have narrowed to the point where this is all it takes to delight me.

The only part that really worries me is the drive up--it's two hours away (I know, I know, that's very Rhode Island of me to think a two hour drive requires a Sherpa guide and laying in provisions--it's a conference center, not the Donner Party) but my sense of direction is miserable. Although, stick me in a shopping mall and I'll have mapped out the best restroom facilities, coolest shoe stores, and the MAC counter at Nordstroms in thirty minutes tops. I'm a directions savant with rare moments of geographic brilliance--and those moments are truly rare! I'd love to have a GPS, but it seems so silly to need one in a state that can be described as 45 minutes wide by 55 minutes long in drive time. So I have my Google maps, am hoping for the best, and including an extra hour for getting lost. The good thing about my direction disorder is that when I do get lost, inevitably I end up going in a full circle so I will get back to where I started and can try a different path...probably to get lost on again. Pray for me. ;)

Thu, Oct. 16th, 2008, 08:55 pm
Academia

I recently started a part-time gig at a university library--"Devoted Boyfriend" had been demoted to just "Boyfriend" and is now "Ex-Boyfriend"--this means LG needs more fundage to keep herself in the manner to which she's become accustom. I like speaking in the third person--makes me feel all royal and princessy. Anyway, these academics have mad money! It is all very cool, but I'm still not over the culture shock of coming from a small, urban public library. Do you know they give patrons things?! Just hand stuff over whenever a patron asks for it! Things like scissors and highlighters and pens--and the people--they actually bring the stuff back! And they say, "thank you for helping me." Oh, brave new library that has such patrons in it! And the joint is always jumping--we have to kick kids out at closing time. Jeez, isn't there a kegger somewhere they should be practicing their beer pong at? What are they doing in the library at 10 pm on a Friday night--at least I'm in it for the money.

But college kids are the laziest fuckers around. You show them how to use one of the billions of incredibly expensive databases they have at their fingertips and you have to walk them through every damn thing. One kid had a list of questions he had to answer and he just kept pointing to the site I found for him and saying, "but where are the answers?" You have to READ the page, sweetie, I told him soothingly--he seemed afraid, poor thing. Another charming young man needed books on bullfighting in Spain--no, maybe just current politics in Spain--no, books on Franco, maybe just something Spain related, but the real stuff, not the fake stuff, "you mean non-fiction?" Yeah, that stuff! Oh, and it's due tomorrow so what do you have? So many children left behind. At least they managed to land a spot in a $60,000.00 per year university--and they're polite!

Fri, Mar. 14th, 2008, 07:56 pm
Don't be dissin' my tizzle, bitch!

This happens to me all the time. I usually don't let it get to me, but every once in a while it does. I was at a recent, librarian-esque party; a variety of librarians rubbing cardigan swathed elbows and sipping spritzers, asking each new face what kind of library they're from and where. So I'm chatting with this one chick in wool tweed who apparently never got the memo that Prince Valiant haircuts are so five decades ago--she mentions where she's working and her hopes and dreams of getting into a big, private school library (yawn) so I trade my info and her jaw drops in horror, "you work there?!" "Well, yes, they closed the leper colony ages ago and it's quite safe now." Somehow my witty quip fails to clue her into the fact that she was just really fucking rude--I contemplate telling her that she's really fucking rude, but that seems like it would confirm her bad opinion of my little city.

We all move on to dinner and I figure it'll stop, I'll throw back another vodka tonic and all will feel better. But it doesn't stop (fortunately neither do the VTs) and she continues to rag on my hometown--even after I point out that it actually is my hometown. Undaunted, she goes on and on about how she wouldn't even drive by that city on the highway without locking her doors.

I wish I could say this was an isolated incident, but I run into this all the time and it really gets to me. I work in a wonderful city--yeah, there's crime (which is pretty much the only times we make front page news), but there's a dedicated group of people who come to the library, who own businesses I patronize, who care about their kids...I could go on and on (and I frequently do) but I'll step off my soap box and just say, ''Tell it to the hand, puta, cuz the face is sick of hearing you talkin' smack--and don't be gettin' all up in my grill, either!"

Fri, Mar. 14th, 2008, 06:53 pm
Re-Fifed Redux

Not even hours after my Cohort-In-Crime announces to me that he's jumping ship to a swankier, better paying library (the bastard--we're not in this line of work for living wages!) My "security guard" announces that he's applied for a job at the Post Office. Apparently they give hiring preference to former combat veterans--well, doesn't that explain an entire fucking stereotype?! Anyway, he assures me that the library will be taken care of--by his dad, the big guy, Moe himself (see earlier entry "My big, fat Sopranos moment") Of course, my dear Barney doesn't seem the least bit concerned that "The Big Guy" is nearing eighty, barely five feet tall, and looks like a raggedy piece of shoe leather stretched over a skeleton.

One resignation I can deal with (barely) but two? And the prospect that I haven't sold my soul to the devil (which does sound way cool) but to a straight-off-the-porch extra from Deliverance who's greatest recent accomplishment is his ability to perform most of his bodily functions without the aid of machinery (SO not cool!) Anyway, after a bit of heavy breathing into a paper bag, I regain enough composure to ask Barney how his dad will manage to maintain the high level of quality security service that he's established while being slightly hindered by the large oxygen tank he drags around? He assures me that there's nothing to worry about. The rounds might take him a little longer, but he's still pretty spry and a mean bastard with that taser.

The happy day arrives--my Barney gets a job with the good old USPS and I await my miserable fate--and wonder if everyone on staff is up to date in their CPR certifications--hmmmm, maybe we can rig the 3M system to double as a defibrillator? But my stress filled musing amount to nothing. I get a call from Barney informing me that The Big Guy won't be able to make it. "He's in the hospital. Hasn't been able to urinate for the past three days and never said anything to anyone. Got some kind of prostate problem..." I cut Barney off there, assuring him that he could have stopped at "hospital" and that would have been fine. "We got a new guy starting with you--he'll be fine."

I anxiously await what will result in my most recent spin of the Wheel of Wannabe Cops. I have to say, I got what I initial asked for--a big, scary looking, intimidating guy. Unfortunately he has this gansta fashion sense going on--no uniform, just his slacked black jeans, his nicely puffed Sean John boxers and a hoodie with a badge pinned to it. To make it even worse, he's a total cream puff--the punk ass kids are walking all over him and dissing his boxers as too retro. I'll whip him into shape, I'm sure--he does have potential, he just needs a mean-ass attitude and I have a way of inspiring that in men. But I know that once I get him all broken in just the way I like, he'll move on. *sigh* Maybe that swanky library could use a jaded, cynical librarian like myself? Gotta check the want ads--right after I see if they sell slightly used defibrillators on Amazon.

Thu, Jan. 3rd, 2008, 12:04 am
That Dog and Pony Show--Librarian Style.

Well, folks, I know I've kept you waiting for this for a while and I have to say the show was a big success with only minor casualties (but they were little bums who pushed and shoved their way on the jumpy bounce, so they deserved what they got.) We netted a full $5408.00 total in donations to the event and sales of stuff at the event. This kept our program up and running through the month of December. (And lucky for us, our pathetic press about putting on shows, checking seat cushions for spare change, and selling soap we make by scraping the congealed stuff out the the hand soap dispensers seemed to garner some interest and we ended up getting enough funds to keep the program going "as is" for another year.) Of course we'll be busting our butts to write more and better grants, put on more and better shows, and pretty much dispense with the day-to-day grind of being librarians to keep the programs going (not that I'm bitter or anything....)

The day started off with a perfect, Punch Drunk Love premonition of impending weirdness that really set the theme for us for the rest of the day. Around 11a.m. a large van pulled up in front of the library, screeched to a halt, two dudes pulled out a battered upright piano from the back and dumped it on our front lawn. They glanced around (Detective Gadget like) then hopped back into the van and sped away. I called over my assistant co-hort in crime, but he looked comparably confused. Since the perpetrator of the drive by piano-ing sped off so quickly, we never had time to get a license plate number. I glanced around, but there's never a good CSI team in sight when you need them--and David Caruso is a conceited jerk anyway--I'd take a battered piano over him anyday. Bastards! I need CSI Ghetto, pronto!

So we play the piano briefly; briefly toying with the idea of taking in this poor orphan--until I realize that it can't even stand up to my mad keyboarding skilz (translation: chopsticks.) I hadn't even gotten through the first few bars when I hear two wires snap like crunchy fritos. Then I had an epiphany! I slapped a "free to a good home--NO RETURNS" sign on the side of the beast and that sucker was gone inside of fifteen minutes! Problem solved. Well, one of them.

But there's still a show to put on--we can't be sidelined by these perplexing David Lynch tricks, we have to move! Yard sale tables, food tables, raffle tables, ticket tables, stage space for the band (A Troupe of Echoes--way amazing--they're on myspace, book them!), a moon bounce, and a magician. We were ready! And we were delighted to be overrun by the charging hoardes--as long as they kept thrusting currency in our faces.

It was a whirlwind! I circulated between food vendors to make sure they were all happy; the volunteers at all the booths to make sure they were all happy; the dunk tank victims to make sure they were all happy and up to date on their latest Hepatitis boosters--that was some skanky water the fire department's pumper truck unleashed in that little tank; and the attendees, of course, to make sure they were all having a good time and spending all their extra cash. I'm a rude, vulgar person by nature; I'm not cut out for mixing all friendly like with the locals and being sweet and charming--it's not in my make-up. But I did it. We raised the cash we needed--hit our goal. Brought in donations, got a local grant, and generally did good.

It was with a tremendous sigh of relief that night that we closed up shop, retired to the library reading room and threw back as many jello shots as we could manage in order to reward ourselves for a successful event. A successful event that looks like it'll be going annual! Woo-hoo, go us! I'm thinking next year that pole dancing and massage tables might bring in a little more, but I'm not sure where to get the permits for that kind of thing--but no worries! I'm a librarian (I think I still am), I can figure out where to get all that stuff!

Thu, Aug. 2nd, 2007, 10:39 am
I have a barn....Let's put on a show!

State grants for literacy programs were put on the chopping block back in late April--everyone was notified with a curt email stating, essentially, "see ya." So the mad scramble for funding was officially on. I wrote a proposal, hit up the city and hit up some other funders, then hunkered down and looked for who I could beg to next. The city came through! The other funders managed to give a little. But the grant fell through--"many applicants," "highly competitive year," "well written but need to demonstrate sustainability...." How can we demonstrate sustainability when we're just getting off the ground and our financial rug was yanked out from under us?!

But enough with my downer whining--we have a plan! Yes, boys and girls, we're putting on a show! With bands and magicians, storytellers and face painters, food and yard sale tables for rent! Yes, I have a master's degree. I went to school to learn the importance of the library and its educational role in the community; our deep commitment to open access to information. So when the fuck did I stop being a librarian and become P.T. Barnum exactly?

Anyway, our small staff has banded together to donate their time and fundraising efforts to hit up local businesses for whatever they're willing to donate that we can raffle off. I'm scrambling to find assistance in getting our facility party-ready. We don't really have a janitor, so it's a matter of begging and pleading to see if someone will kick some community service workers our way. Unfortunately, we can't seem to find any. I wonder if there's a personals site somewhere for community service workers. We
could post that we're a single, mostly white library in a diverse
community, seeking muscular alcoholics or wife beaters who like long walks
to the dumpster and have a fondness for mops. I'm thinking this is a whole new niche market that match.com might want to explore. I should call them.

But no time for that, now, I have fundraising plans to make! We've got a donation jar bolted to the circulation desk--that seems to be doing well. And if this big party goes well, we can start looking into other funding sources with lower overhead. I'm thinking of sending some staff members outside with a metal detector to start sweeping the property for spare change and soda cans. Maybe the children's librarian wouldn't be opposed to wearing a sandwich board proclaiming, "will tell stories for library funding." And we could use those high power magnets left over from the summer reading science program to do regular checks of the seat cushions for quarters.

Yes, my friends, this is the new, sad face of library funding. But rest assured, no matter how bad it gets, I'm not hiring any clowns--they're just fricken creepy.

Wed, Aug. 1st, 2007, 07:15 pm
DCYF Watchlist.....

Photo Sharing and Video Hosting at Photobucket

This really started many months ago--about Christmas time actually. I bought Boyfriend a drinks wheel that gives recipes of a variety of concoctions with just a spin of the wheel. Well, he loved it, but his aging eyes have trouble reading the thing. My eager-to-help Little One jumped in and said, "I can read it for you," quickly followed by, "I bet I could make this for you...." Boyfriend thought this was a great idea--I was having bad flashbacks to my own childhood, but went with it anyway. Besides, The Three Martini Play Date: A Practical Guide to Happy Parenting completely advocates the practice--how can I argue with such an endorsement?!

Thus begins a long apprenticeship where Little One learns the delicate and artistic talent of a true bartender--ah, grasshopper! Actually no Grasshoppers were made, but the kid pours a mean margarita! All seemed cool, until....

The Little One and I are out one day, shopping just before the big Fourth of July celebration we were throwing. The kid loves to cook and help with the prep so we were having a good time selecting ripe melons and discussing the opposing opinions on good barbecue. Of course, the last errand on the list was a trip to the liquor store to stock up on what the guest would be drinking. We're wandering through the aisles, chattering pleasantly to each other when my bright, blue-eyed, 11 year old pipes up, "Mommy, we're low on tequila and could probably use more triple sec, too." Heads turn! Eyes glare! People start to whisper. I hustled my Little One out of there, pronto--well, after stocking up on tequila and triple sec, of course. But I felt sure they were taking down my plate number as I left the parking lot. I kept the lights off at home that night--if DCYF wants me, they're going to have to come find me. Problem is, once they arrive, LO will ask what they'd like to drink.

Fri, Jun. 1st, 2007, 06:39 pm
In all my glory!

My day was totally made when I discovered I'd been outed for being the left-leaning, militant librarian I've always aspired to be. I'd like to thank black_magdalene for pointing out the honorable mention I got from the lovely folks at
Plan2Succeed.org
. They didn't quote me because of my flagrant use of inappropriate language, but they mentioned my post entitled "I'm a porn pushing media whore." I'm so proud *sniff*!

Of course, once my flash of liberal pride had died down to just a glowing ember, I took a long look at the web site that was singing my infamy. What a bunch of wack jobs! Aren't there any fundie geeks out there to help lead them righteously down the path of good HTML and cascading style sheets? I find the intelligence of these bozos with a virtual axe to grind to be very low and now I sadly don't feel as much pride as I had initially. Maybe, someday, I'll have pushed the evelope far enough (and in an eloquent enough way) to draw the ire of some really intelligent rabid christians. Oh. Wait a second. On the reread, that last line is quite funny. Intelligent. Rabid. Christians. *snicker* *cough-oxymoron-cough*

But anyway, Plan2Succeed dudes and dudettes, thank you for this honor! I'd like to thank god, of course, but since I'm an atheist I guess I have only myself to blame. And if anyone could find any actual information in that verbal vomit you call a website, I'm sure my readership would grow by leaps and bounds. But I don't want to sound ungreatful--mostly because I've already covered that pretty well--so I'll simply say, thanks. And remember--when you send your bright-eyed, innocent little tots to a library--it could be mine :D

20 most recent