where i've been

oh boy -- moved, got a new job, and have been runnin on empty!

but life is good. the new library is challenging, to say the least!

Home Again

So - before I begin what I thought I would blog about, let me tell you... This is my 100th post! Who knew?! I didn't even know until I just logged in right now and saw on my dashboard that I had written 99 posts... so then this must be number 100. How cool. For other bloggers, I suppose the 100 milestone may not be all that important -- they can do that in just a few months, while for me, its taken years -- but you have to understand that I am the kind of person where doing ANYTHING for the 100th time is a miracle. As you can already tell from the sporadic and downright disturbing infrequency of my blogging... I dont stick with things as a "regular" thing... I am, should I say... Disheveled!

So - back to what I came here to write about... The Jersey Girl is back in town! As some of you know, I recently moved away from the great Garden State to become a director, but, the draw of the ocean was too much for me,.... Nah! I'm really here because of prior commitments to the NJLA Spring Conference. And its funny to see old friends, old "enemies!?" (do librarians really have enemies?? I'd like to just call them "haters"), and old acquaintances. The past 2 days have been really great, and we have one more to go tomorrow.

Which leads me to the question of today .... What songs make you think of returning home again? Here are 3 off the top of my head:

Thin Lizzy: The Boys Are Back In Town
U2: A Sort Of Homecomming
Simon & Garfunkel: Keep The Customer Satisfied

A rather hodge-podge of old and older, if I do say so myself! Can you think of those quintessential tunes that remind you of coming back home again? Drop me a line if you do!

Also - Lastly -- Since this Jersey Girl has made her way to a new state and a new job, she's also created a new blog to document the journey. If you are interested in reading all about it, send me an email and I'll send you the link. In the meantime, I will try to post to Disheveled when I can -- I can't say it will be with any regularity, but it (hopefully) will be worth it!

I am Green Lantern!

Your results:
You are Green Lantern

Green Lantern 90% Spider-Man 80% Batman 80% Superman 75% Supergirl 75% Wonder Woman 65% Robin 57% Hulk 55% Iron Man 55% Catwoman 50% The Flash 20%

Hot-headed. You have strong will power and a good imagination.

Click here to take the "Which Superhero am I?" quiz...

Coming Home

Welcome back, O Faithful Reader! Sorry it has been so long!

I have been truly sick lately. Even a trip to the ER has not been able to remedy whatever it is that is running amuck in my belly. Its like swallowing fire, and having mini volcanoes exploding all the time in my intestines -- sometimes its by my ribs, sometimes by my back, sometimes in my mid-gut.... Its just awful. I had my gallbladder removed almost 15 years ago, and if I didn't know better, I would swear I grew another one that has gone bad!

So - Being sick, I've been trying not to be too ornery. No one likes a person who is sick and miserable. So since the traditional things of cheering up, such as comfort food, have been out of the question, I've been doing other things.

For instance - I watched Holiday Inn with my kids. Oh Bing! We feel so sorry for you! And Fred Astaire! What a jerk to be so mean to Bing! It was so sweet to curl up with my kids under the big blanket and watch all the dancing and singing.... Just great. Its been too long since I've seen just a regular good old movie. Lately everything we've seen has been trash. I'm too old for things like SuperBad. Totally Not Funny!

For instance, part two -- I went to the bookstore and bought myself one of my all time favorite books, and am reading it again, because it is just so awsomely great. Now, before I tell you what it IS, I will tell you what it ISN'T: My usual authors are Tess Gerritsen, Harlan Coben, Kathy Reichs, the guys that do the Agent Pendergast books (Preston&Child?),... You get the picture -- I like creepy, page turning, suspenseful, and gory... But with character driven plots.

But even having said this, I also love books like Cold Sassy Tree, the Stephanie Plum books, the vampire books by Mary Janice Davidson...books by Joe R.Lansdale... books that are simplistic, silly, or just plain old good reads.

And yet - the one I am reading now is like Coming Home -- It is so familiar (even though I've only read it once before), and so warm and welcoming, it truly is a comfort read, and it is so completely Not what I normally read. It is Outlander by Diana Gabaldon. Haven't picked it up yet? What are you waiting for? Run! This book is fantastic. No -- The Series is fantastic. I can't remember how many there are -- 5? 6? They are each over 600 or 700 pages, but I tell you, it goes by too fast! I just started Outlander yesterday, and I'm on page 242. You will love this book. Pretend that I am Oprah for a moment and I am shouting "Ouuuutttlaaaandeer!!!" to the audience (You!) It's That good. I daresay its in my top 5 - No - top 3 of all books I've ever read.

But I warn you -- Don't go looking on the Internet for other fans of the Outlander series -- I did that once, and it was scary. Fear the Outlander ladies. They're all like "Oh Jamie, Oh Jamie," and yes, the character Jamie is completely gorgeous and Hot does not even cut it, but the book really is about so much more. Claire, the main character, is a woman like no other. The adventures she has are like no other. And yes, the love they have is like no other... But its just so freakin great, you will easily put aside your dislike of romance, historical fiction, blah blah, and get over it quick --- this book is a page turner that will stay with you - truly - as one of the best books you have ever read.

Ahhhh. I feel better already!

Short of stable

I heard 'Shimmer' by Fuel today and it just seemed so fitting, and yet it didn't fit at all. I was thinking more about work at the time rather than relationships, but somehow it all meshed.

Anyway. I am having a cell phone problem. I dropped my phone the other day and broke the battery. So I got another battery, but now my phone persistently says I have a voice mail, when I don't. Everytime I turn the phone on, it has that voice mail icon all lit up and in the way. I can't seem to lose it -- So , I now Hate My Phone.

Speaking of phones, I was on a train the other day from Baltimore back to NJ, where I overheard the most disturbing thing. I think this goes into the Number One spot in the Top Ten Countdown of Most Inappropriate Things To Say On A Cellphone When There Are Other People Present. Brace yourselves, people.

The man across the aisle from me was explaining to someone (a friend, perhaps?) about how he and his wife had sat their 2 children down (Lilly and Jake) to tell them that mommy's baby had failed to grow and was now not going to be coming into this world. "We told them, sometimes babies just stop growing,"....pause..."yea, Jake didn't understand, but Lilly was a little upset over not getting a baby sister,"...

!!!!!!

Is it in any way disrespectful to the wife that this guy was spilling all this in public on the train to New Jersey? Or, is this kind of a thing OK, and our lives are no longer private? Is it just me?

If you can't say it yourself...

Then let someone else say it!

And so -- Words to describe my thoughts are brought to you tonight by that fantastically gravelly voiced Jim Reid of the Jesus and Mary Chain

Makes you want to feel
Makes you want to try
Makes you want to blow the stars from the sky
I can't stand up
I can't cool down
I can't get my head up off the ground

what a great track -- go take a listen if you don't know what I mean

Road Trip Part II

So we made it home. What a fantastic trip! I'm not much of a gambler, and I didn't know what to expect at Mohegan Sun -- but the place was beautiful, very clean, and an amazing amount of fun.

We got there early -- around 3 ish, and headed to the bar. Drinks and people watching. Perfect.

Next up - Gambling -- Slot machines, more drinks, smoking in public, hanging out and laughing.

Time for food -- Sliders at the bar were de-lish. Again, more drinks. By this time I'm starting to feel a little sick, but a walk about, another smoke, and I'm feeling much better.

We wrap our way through Mohegan, and find ourselves in like the Disney of gambling paradise. The place is freakin huge!

Off to the concert then - Joan Jett & the Blackhearts opens. Fan-F-Ing-Tastic, that band can rock. It was everything you wanted to hear, plus a few new ones that were just as good. She had the crowd going, and it was hilarious to watch them from our high in the upper decks view!

Then - lights come up - we make a quick beer run - and then back in for Aerosmith. Only down note was that to get a beer you had to show id. Period. No id, no beer. My sister is 50 years old! But I was the only one carrying an id, so I had to buy a beer on one line, then snake my way through to another line, and buy a beer there... You get the picture. I mean, how dumb is that?

Anyway - So the old boys get on stage, and I have to say, the first 3 or 4 songs were fantastic. Then, I don't know what happened. Next thing I know, Joe and Steve are sittin in chairs, and then Steve's off to the side of the stage for quite a while as the guitars are playing, and then from there I just kinda got bored.... I hate to say that, but they did a Lot of posturing, posing, making faces into the camera, I guess they were being.... Aerosmith! They did do an interesting version of Dream On, and the guy in front of me almost had a heart attack from flailing his arms around so much. The crowd really did make the show so much fun -- there were people of all ages just having a good time, acting goofy, and it was fun to be a part of it all.

So the show ends, and we make our way down the steep stair, and the chick in front of us totally nerfs down the steps, falling into a bunch of those hard plastic melded to the concrete chairs... Unbelievable, and, Hilarious. We waited for her friend to heave her up and onto her feet, and headed out of the stadium.

Coffee, smokes, bed, breakfast, on the road again, and home by mid-morning. Perfect.

Next weekend -- Dude Ranch in Upstate NY with 27 family members -- Stay tuned!