This is it, the last update to this site. All further activity will be at the new url, and there won't be any more pings on this one.

 

For those of you who have not updated your feeds yet (or bookmarks, for those who are less Web 2.0), there is a fun new post up over at the new blog.

 

Today, March 14, marks this blog's first blogoversary. To celebrate this milestone, I decided that it's time for a new look. And, as I mentioned a couple of weeks ago, I have grown weary with Blogger, especially now that it's New Blogger, so I am abandoning it in favor of WordPress.

Instead of writing posts lately, I have been spending all of my available blog time moving over and setting up housekeeping at my new pad:


Pop on over and join the party.

**Please be sure to update your feed readers** (I added an RSS link at the top right to make it easy for you). I will be taking down this site in a couple of days.

Getting WordPress installed and configured and functioning properly on my domain has been a challenge and an adventure. There is still much work to be done on the design, but at least it's up and running by my target date. Things should continue to improve over the next three to four weeks.

Comments are closed on this post because you need to head on over to the new blog if you have something to say :-) See you there!

 

I'm still here, and everything's fine, I just want to let you know that unless something major happens, I won't be posting until Wednesday morning. Explanation forthcoming :-)

 

How silly is it that I miss my boss? Because I really do. Even when we are not working in the same physical space, which is often, just knowing she is working in her office five minutes away makes it easier for me to focus on work and get things done here. I can't explain it, but it's true.

As of tomorrow morning, PublisherWoman will have been gone on her fabulous vacation for an entire week, and I have accomplished precious little in that time. I have kept quite busy and done a lot of personal things, including working out every day (yay!), but work? Not so much. Instead of panicking and feeling bad because there is so much left to do, however uncharacteristically, I think I'm just going to go with it. This week, I have put myself first. Next week, I will make work come first. And it should all even out (fingers crossed).

Apropos of nothing, I highly recommend Watkins Lemon Cream Hand & Body Lotion, which I found on clearance for $1.88 when I stopped by Target to get some laundry detergent and Magic Erasers (which I also highly recommend).

This lotion smells not like lemon Pledge, as you might expect, but just like lemon cupcakes! And I love that it's Watkins because it reminds me of my childhood. My great-grandfather, who died just after I was born, had been a Watkins salesman, and I grew up using the lifetime supply of their products that he left behind (mostly double-strength vanilla and petro-carbo salve for scraped knees, nothing as yummy as this!).

 

Since March 1, I have been on vacation, sort of. After the insanely busy start to the year, PublisherWoman is off to a tropical paradise for two weeks, and I am taking a bit of a breather. I am still working, but not every day, and no more than eight hours on any given day (a significant reduction from what has become standard).

This "vacation" is off to an excellent start. I have had lunch with a couple of friends, and I spent the entire day Saturday (10 hours!) shopping, dining, talking, and laughing with comebacknikki. Like me, that girl can shop :-) I've also done some reading, watched some videos and HGTV, worked a bit on my new blog (to be revealed this month), and sold some things on ebay.

Time is flying, and now I'm off to the gym. Go me!

P.S. If I owe you interview questions, expect them tomorrow (I hope!).

 

Here is a mini interview with me with questions supplied by Profgrrrrl. (You can see her post that inspired this one here.)

If you would like me to ask you five interview-style questions to be answered on your blog, just let me know in the comments.

1. What element of libraries most appeals to you?
I think what I find most appealing, based on my library experiences, is how most librarians genuinely want to be helpful and to share information. If you ask a typical librarian a question, as a library user or as a colleague, they will usually go to great lengths to find just what you need.

2. If you were bringing a dessert to my potluck party, what would you bring?
I would probably bring fun and festive vegan cupcakes, unless it was a more upscale dinner party. In that case, it would probably be something like a dark chocolate layer cake with raspberry filling.

3. What book are you recommending to people these days?
Because of the super-busyness of February at work, I haven't been reading or discussing books much lately. The last thing I can recall recommending was Headlong by Michael Frayn, a book I first read several years ago and would recommend to anyone who appreciates art, London, and beautifully crafted sentences. I love this book so much I have given it as a gift to a couple of people.

4. If you found $20 on the ground, what would you do with it?
I would glance around to make sure no one had just dropped it, and if not, I would use it to buy something fun that I wouldn't normally spend money on, like magazines, a DVD, or some really great lip gloss.

5. What are you having for dinner tonight?
Definitely a frozen convenience meal, probably this Kashi black bean mango dish. It sounds yummy now, but I *must* go work out first.

 

Tonight I had hoped to write about the great time I had this weekend with comebacknikki and beebs or answer the 5 not-from-Katie-Couric interview questions I received from profgrrrrl. Instead, I am mourning the unexpected and sudden loss of a friendship I valued.

J and I were workout buddies back when we lived in the same town. We worked together, and we were very close. I enjoyed her company tremendously and felt honored to be her friend. I hadn't communicated with her in a few months, so I wrote an e-mail message to her last week asking how she was doing and wanting to catch up. That's not too unusual. When you live in different areas, I think it is to be unexpected that you will drift apart from time to time.

What I got in response from her today was not the lighthearted "hey, nice to hear from you" and update on her life that I was expecting. No, it was an announcement of the end of our friendship.

J has decided to distance herself from people who have "great emotional needs" and to withdraw from friendships she has decided are unhealthy. Further, she says, "I fear for my own sanity if I continue to engage in relationships that drain me emotionally."

Until today, J was one of my very favorite people, and I had absolutely no idea she felt this way about me. She certainly never gave me any clues. Most of my interactions with her were fun and lighthearted. Yes, I had a difficult year last year, but I didn't burden her with the ugly details or even turn to her for support. And she still finds me emotionally draining. Really? WTF?

If you know me in real life, or maybe even if you only know me through this blog, you know that, in the absence of family, I value friendship above all else. I care deeply about each of my friends, even when I am not acting on those feelings. I can easily pick up where we left off with friends I have not seen for months or even years. I would *never* let a friendship end without trying my best to save it. But in this case, I have not been given that option. It's just over. The door has been slammed in my face and locked.

I don't understand. How can my friendship have meant so little to her? If I did something wrong, I do not know what it was or how to prevent it from happening in the future.

I am hurt, sad, and angry. I feel like I've been slapped. It hurts physically to have my very self rejected so harshly. It hurts so much more because J was not a casual acquaintance; she was one of the few people who truly knew and, I thought, understood me. I know I don't deserve this. I also know that we rarely get what we deserve, but still. I think I was a good friend to J, and she had to have known how much today's missive would hurt me. It would have been so much easier for me if she had just never responded.

At least she wished me a nice life at the end. Yeah, that means a lot coming from someone who has made it clear she never wants to hear from me again.

***Update: Thank you all for your kind and supportive comments. I was rather shaken by the experience yesterday, but I'm feeling much better today. As many of you suggested, this was probably more about her than me, given our limited interactions since I moved here and given that I don't really know what's so "emotionally draining" about discussing work, books, movies, and exercise, which was what we mostly talked about.

Just two more days until my sort-of vacation! I find myself with lots to write about all of the sudden, as I had hoped would happen, so more soon...***

 

Despite the fact that I'm squeaking by, my big picture financial situation is somewhat dire. There is absolutely no way that I can afford to buy a house. Period. It just isn't even an option. For dozens of reasons. I have resigned myself to being a renter for many more years to come.

And yet.

I cannot stop thinking about this house. It is the least expensive house in this area (it's smaller than it looks--two bedrooms and two baths), and it's still so far out of reach I cannot even tell you.

And yet.

I am so inordinately drawn to this house. I drive by it daily, I really do dream about living there, and I feel at home in those dreams. I see myself playing croquet on the lawn and drinking wine with some of you out on the huge back deck.

The house is bright and sunny with hardwood floors, a full finished basement, new roof and appliances, and beautiful landscaping on a quiet, historic street a block from the river (with a nice view). PublisherWoman used to live next door to it, and she keeps reinforcing what a great, well-maintained place it is, even though she knows there is nothing I can do to make it mine.

And yet.

This house feels like it should be mine. I have never felt that way before about a house. I would paint it yellow, and I would be happy there. I *need* this house. Thinking about someone else moving in makes me so very sad.

And yet.

There is *nothing* I can do. I need a miracle.

 

I read about this 5-calorie, energizing, sparkling green tea beverage in Experience Life magazine a few days ago, and it sounded so wonderful, I had to try it for myself.

Now I don't buy all the "negative calorie" hype, but I have to say the stuff is tasty. Based on my experience yesterday and today, I will also say that it does provide an extra energy boost. It's like Red Bull, only with calcium and antioxidants and fewer scary ingredients.* I have tried the original green tea and berry flavors, and they both get thumbs up from me!

_____________________
*It does contain aspartame, which I'm not thrilled about, but I'm not too worried, as this isn't something I would drink daily.

 

Name:
Repressed Librarian
Location:
Greater Suburbia

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