Celticangel.org

Well…it’s Thursday the 13th (depending upon your time zone), and isn’t that just the perfect day for a [tag]Thursday Thirteen[/tag]? So, to extend the fun that much further, I’ve come up with a list of topics for Thursday 13s. If you end up using one of my random ideas, please drop me a line to let me know. Enjoy, and don’t forget to visit other Thursday 13ers.

Thirteen 13s:

1. 13 Unusual Holidays – Fun Holidays that aren’t of the usual variety, like “Talk Like a Pirate Day,” “International Tuba Day,” or “Lost Sock Memorial Day.” Get a hold of a copy of Chase’s Calendar of Events, or do a little web surfing. Hmm…I wonder what it would take to institute “International Silly Sock Day.”

2. 13 Traits You Inherited From Your Family – Do you have your Mum’s eyesight and your Nana’s love of thin China cups? Well, I do. I’ve also inherited both of my parents’ sense of humor. What are your familial legacies?

3. 13 Things You’ve Been Paid to Do – My Mum used to pay me to attack the Ivy. Later on in life, I ended up being paid to spend an hour knitting once a month. I’m sort of paid to watch my favorite show at this point. Now, if I could figure out how to con someone into paying me to take a nice long vacation my life would be complete.

4. 13 Things You’ve Always Wanted to See – The Northern Lights top my list of things I’ve always wanted to see. If I didn’t add Machu Picchu, The Bodleian, and The Mona Lisa, I wouldn’t be honest. There are so many things to see out there that 13 hardly seems like a big enough list.

5. 13 Favorite Foods – I love Sushi. It has been my default answer to “What would you like to eat?” for years now. But Butternut Squash and Mundane are up there with Egg and Chips. I adore Egg and Chips. Oh, and Chicken Tikka Masala.

6. 13 Films You’ve Been Meaning to See – I still haven’t seen “An American in Paris.” Can you believe that? Well, if you know me at all that wouldn’t be too surprising. I’m fairly sure that one of my friends is making a list of films that she will force me to watch, as chances are I haven’t seen whatever film you may suggest. Generally, I’ve been meaning to, but you know how it is.

7. 13 TV Shows You’ve Loved – Apart from Doctor Who? Actually, I could go on for a while, and chances are I have the DVDs. I’ll add Buffy, The Tomorrow People, and Monty Python’s Flying Circus. You get the idea.

8. 13 Fabulous Actors/Actresses – Apart from the obvious David Tennant and Christopher Eccleston, I would add Viggo Mortensen and Jodie Foster. Actually, I could make one list for the Guys and one for the Gals. Better yet, make it of all time or break it down by era. Months of fun could be had with this one.

9. 13 Books that Have Been Filmed – Again, this topic could keep you busy for some time. You could do a list of Film Adaptations that you’ve enjoyed, such as “Escape to Witch Mountain,” “Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban,” and “Fellowship of the Ring.” This could be followed by a Don’t Bother to Watch list, and even a Most Faithful Adaptation list. You could even break it down by genre.

If I get that blog at work, watch for lists like this.

10. 13 Favorite Poems – This one would obviously be very personal. “And Death Shall Have No Dominion” by Dylan Thomas would be on my list, as would “Le Dormeur Du Val” by Rimbaud. Some of my favorites you would have never heard of, as they were written by friends or even *gasp* me. Definitely a great way to share those special verses.

11. 13 Facts About Your Favorite Hobby – Come up with thirteen random facts about something you enjoy. Did you know that Silent Screen legend Rudolph Valentino was born “Rodolfo Alfonzo Raffaelo Pierre Filibert Guglielmi di Valentina d’Antonguolla?” How about the fact that Football player Roosevelt “Rosey” Grier enjoyed needlepoint? Just choose a hobby and do a little bit of research.

12. 13 Things Your Mother Says – My Mum is infamous for asking “Where’s my mug?” Have you heard certain phrases all of your life? Mothers are certainly full of advice. “Don’t whisper at the table.” “Put on a sweater if you’re going outside.” I’m sure that it won’t take you too long to come up with thirteen things your mother says.

13. 13 Books That Have a Color in the Title – “The Blue Sword” by Robin McKinley. “Greenwitch” by Susan Cooper. These are just two titles to get you started. Really, all you need is 13 books with a theme and you’re set for a list. 13 Books with Titles that are Questions. 13 Books with a Specific Word in the Title. I could go on for years with this one.

Today started with Frisbee batting at my face every half an hour for two hours until I got up. He was not interested in that fact that today was my day to sleep-in in the morning. Nope. It was plainly time to wake up and scratch him. Therefore, it was his duty to inform me of this. Sigh. Once I got up and had my breakfast (two crumpets and 2 cups of coffee) I was in a randomly good mood and ready to go. Perhaps the coffee had something to do with it. Who knows? *bouncebouncebounce*

Anyway, today I finally managed to do some stack shifting in the A/V section that has been making me batty. It was one of those little nagging things that you know you could fix given the time. Today, I made time. Maybe it was my good mood. Maybe I was just fed up with the mess. Either way, it’s done.

My meeting on the Library blog is on Thursday, and I’m getting antsy. I’ve been waiting on this for months now, and the meeting has already been canceled once. I was asked to write up a sort of proposal for the project, and I have now revised it and sent it to my boss and her boss. I’m actually sort of surprised at the amount of information that came pouring out of my brain and onto that document. It was like: “Dude. I sound like I know what I’m talking about.” Which, actually, I do. Eek! Please note that Thursday is the 13th. What a perfect day for a blog meeting!

I made it home by 10pm, made some cheesy bacon toast and tea. Watched some food network, and headed up to the computer. I know. I’m so exciting. (snicker)

So, just to liven it up a bit here, I’ll tell y’all about the mug at the top of this post. I bought it at The Globe Theater back in May of 1999. The infamous “time I was in the UK.” I had to visit the Globe. Not stopping by wasn’t an option. (For the record, I saw an all male performance of Julius Caesar. It was fabulous.) You see, I helped pay for that building. In High School we held Shakespeare read-athons to raise money for Sam Wanamaker’s project. He even came to the school to talk to us and say thank you. I visited our pillar while I was there. Yep, we did pretty well with our fund raiser.

And now, some random trivia:

“Less than three months after he was laid to rest, Charlie Chaplin’s body was dug up and held for ransom by two Eastern European men.”

– Mental Floss daily calendar 2007

(further info here)

My Mother-in-Law is coming to stay with up for a couple of weeks, starting on the 16th. If my updates aren’t as amusing as usual until then, imagine me attempting to clean my pig sty, and you’ll know why.

Ack! I need to buy a Night Stand! (Or…maybe I can make do with a stack of boxes for a couple of weeks… It’s an option.)

I should really title this “When Two Worlds Collide.” My work life and my…real life have just smashed into each other. At work, we are being all encouraged to learn about Web 2.0 by going through an online training program. Who knows? I might learn something. I don’t see any point in getting a new blog for it though, as I already have…three? Well, four if you include my LJ.

As a result, it looks like people from work will be reading this. So…welcome.

We’ve been learning about the 7 1/2 Habits of Lifelong Learners so far, and our current assignment is to blog about which of the habits are easiest and most difficult for us.

The list of habits is:

1: Begin with the end in mind. (This one is the most difficult. It involves having a plan.)
2: Accept responsibility for your own learning.
3: View problems as challenges.
4: Have confidence in yourself as a competent, effective learner.
5: Create your own learning toolbox.
6: Use technology to your advantage.
7: Teach/Mentor others.
7 1/2: Play. (I’m going to go out on a limb here and say that this is the easiest for me.)

Personally, I think that being a Librarian requires you to be a lifelong learner. Not necessarily in this structured sort of format, but there you are. I learn something new every day.

With thanks to amypalko for the idea, here is my first [tag]Thursday 13[/tag] in quite some time. These are thirteen of my passions, but they are not the only ones I have. I am leaving out the obvious Husband/Family/Cats/Sex to make way for a bit more of an esoteric mix. Sometimes thirteen just isn’t long enough, you know?

Thursday 13 #7 – 13 of My Passions:

1. Reading – I love to read. The only problem is that I tend to inhale books. When I have a really good book in my hands I won’t notice someone calling my name, earthquakes, you name it. When I was younger I used to read by night light until my folks took it away. So…I started reading by the red glow of my clock. I still have the ‘dear heavens it’s 4am and I have to be up at 8:30 for work’ problem sometimes.

2. Writing – With my love of reading, it shouldn’t be too surprising to discover that I love to write. I’ve written poetry, blog posts, fanfiction, newspaper articles, book reviews, etc. Really, I’d love to make my living writing full time, but I think that’s a little while off. I am a professional blogger, so at least I’ve managed to get started in this direction. I carry a notebook with me everywhere I go, just in case.

3. Doctor Who – My love of Doctor Who is not an obsession. Ignore the fact that I get paid to write a blog about it. (Watching Doctor Who) I have all of the new series episodes…and all of the old series ones that are available, too. Some of the older episodes were taped off of the television, but I am replacing them with shiny DVDs as finances allow. My husband has the Doctor Who theme as the ring tone on his phone for when I call. I even have a “Time Lord” t-shirt that is more than 17 years old.

4. Silliness – Silliness is essential for life. Also, just so y’all know, I know where the Silliness.org‘s Lair of Silliness is. No, I won’t tell you. I don’t think that life should be lived in a dull or boring way. Wear silly socks. Play on the swing set. Do Mad Libs. Find joy where you can. Life is hard enough as it is.

5. Music – I have eclectic taste in music. (KoshVader says “Unfocused”, but I prefer “Eclectic.”) I love a bit of almost everything. On top of this, I sing. I used to sing a lot. Sadly, the stage fright seems to be getting to me more often lately. I’ve also taken lessons in: piano, recorder, drums, and guitar at different points in my life. I would love to learn to play the lute, but I have really small hands and a non-working joint in my ring fingers. Maybe I’ll pick up Harping at some later point. How is it possible to live without music? I have a near constant flow of music in my head. I sing to myself all the time. Silliness may be essential for life, but music is life.

6. Scotland – If the URL of this blog hasn’t already put you wise, I have this thing about Scotland. My great-grandfather was from Glasgow, so that may have something to do with it. I’ve taken Highland Dancing, and I even competed with the Highland Fling once. (I placed 5th.) I’ve been to Edinburgh, and I have to say that if I hadn’t been in love with Scotland before then, that trip would have done it. I love Scotland in some sort of visceral fashion. It just gets to me. Yes, I still like California. It’s just not the park beneath Edinburgh Castle on a Sunday morning. Bells in the air as you walk through the kirk yard of St. Cuthbert’s. Tea on the Royal Mile. Sigh.

7. History – I started college as a Medieval Studies Major. I’ve worked the Renaissance Faire. I’m a member of the SCA. Mostly, I like Ancient/Celtic/Medieval history, but I’m not really that picky. I just like history.

8. Blogging – This one should be obvious. I have three blogs and one LJ. I used to have one more blog, and I’m due to have another one for work at some point. Maybe I just like to talk a lot. I don’t care. It’s a great venue to get those thoughts rolling around in my brain written down. I’ve already mentioned my love of writing. I love blogging because it’s a conversation. …And it’s a great way to share fun and interesting things you find online with others. Oh yeah, and to keep people up do date.

9. Tea – I love this congenial beverage. It’s warm and tasty. Well, the good ones, anyway. I also love the meal called “Tea.” Little sandwiches. Little Cakes. Fruit and cheese. The full afternoon meal version. There something really satisfying about it. Darn it. I’m hungry now.

10. Order – I am a Librarian, like my parents before me. Is it any wonder that I have a need to create order everywhere I go? (Except at home where I never seem to have enough time.) I tidy shops. I make sections pretty at work. I can’t help it. It’s what I am.

11. Disneyland – Yes, I’m one of those crazed Disney people. I spent my honeymoon at Disneyland. (I even spent a night in the Honeymoon suite!) We go back as often as we can. We don’t just go for the rides. We go for the Grand Californian and for the food. Oh, and the massages at the Health Spa. I’m even subscribed to the official podcast.

12. Good Food – As I mentioned in #11, I love good food. I’m a foodie with seriously lacking cooking skills. The Napa Rose is half of the reason that we visit Disneyland. I mean, we rate restaurants. Sometimes, we are very snobby. Good Food is an event, not just a meal. Yum.

13. Museums – From Pez to Aviation, Sherlock Holmes to the Royal Ontario Museum, I love museums. Maybe it has something to do with my love of Tourist Traps. It doesn’t really matter what sort of Museum it is, I’ll have to stop by and check it out. I’m a wandering lifeform with a tropism for museums. Good thing my husband agrees with me on this one. If anyone ever offered me the chance to visit Museums and write about them as a job…well…I’d trip over my own feet to chase after the opportunity.

We’ve been trying to have children for almost 4 years now. Our main stumbling block is currently the fact that my OB/GYN is a little bit too good at her job. She’s out on maternity leave. Lately, though, people have been telling me about their friends who stopped “trying” and then got pregnant. Well…I’ve tried that, and it didn’t work.

Today, after yet another of these conversations (They don’t really happen that often, but people will persist in asking me if I plan on having children.) it occurred to me. Why am I always so stressed out? I really need to stop that. Maybe I should learn how to relax. I don’t know that it would make a difference in my fertility necessarily, but I’ll bet I’d be easier to be around. Yeah, my life is stressful, but that’s not uncommon these days. Most folks are way too stressed out. So…that’s really no excuse.

In the immortal words of Captain Malcolm Reynolds: “Huh.”

And no, I can’t just get sillier. Trust me on this one. (psst. Have you ever been to Silliness.org?) This requires some thought.

I’m just sayin’

Happy Birthday to You!

I remember this skit from The Secret Policeman’s Other Ball. These folks have done a great job in re-creating it. It’s one of those things you see as a kid that sticks with you, you find again later, and then even later go looking for on Youtube. Sadly, the original doesn’t seem to be lurking on Youtube, but this will certainly give you the idea.

Cha Cha Cha!

Do NOT Shop at [tag]Express Cameras.com[/tag]. (I have included their Better Business Bureau link, for those of you interested.)

They have no customer service skills, and that’s the good part. They over price. They revel in the hard sell. Don’t try to cancel anything, as they will threaten you.

No. I’m not joking.