Effie From The Trot

Real Life

2006-02-15T10:49:00.000-08:00

It's been a while. I'm semi-sure most people have pretty much stopped checking my blog- but for the rest of you dedicated cats, I'll bring you up to date. Before I start, let me just give a little tangential commentary on campus life. As I sought the career that would fulfill me it was pretty obvious that somehow, some way, I wanted to stay on college campuses. As I look out my office window at this guy who shows up pretty regularly to tie up some rope-like thing to practice tight-rope walking in front of the union (I'm not kidding), I am reminded why. College campuses unite this amazing variety of people for one reason, they want to learn something. Now, of course, they have varying levels of actual dedication to actual learning, but the opportunity to learn is here, and they are here, and that is cool. Tangent done. Oh- except the cool thing is the very variety of the people. I mean come on- you have people from Arkansas who've literally never left Arkansas. Literally. Then you have people from Saudi Arabia who want to learn English. Then you have people from New York who went to Columbia for undergrad but ended up here for grad school. I mean what? It's so sweet, I'm telling you. ANNNND- tangent done.
Ok- so it's been two months and I haven't updated my blog because I've been pretty much just having surgery, being in a lot of pain, going to work and going to doctors and just getting by. That's the very short version. The good news is I think I'm coming out of that valley- so thank the Lord. yay! I'm having to work a lot and catch up a lot and do a lot of physical therapy and that will go on for a long time, but I think I'll be ok and that I'll make it just fine. Thank you all for thinking of me and praying for me...I'm on my way back. Oh- the coool thing that's going on though- is that my good pal meg is sooo throwing me a sweet bday party with a Trailer Trash theme- so don that trashy outfit and meet us at the apt- it'll be ridiculous and fun!
later, effie

I hungri, I hungri

2005-12-18T11:58:00.000-08:00

Well, all I've been doing these past weeks is working a whole lot and going to doctor's appointments- but anyhow- the day has finally come- I am having the first of at least two jaw surgeries tomorrow at 10 am. They wil make one long incison in front of my ear on both sides and access the jaw joints, find and repair both discs, attach the disc with pins and then repair all the ligaments and tendons. It will take about 3 hours. That is assuming that everything goes well, which I'm very hopefully trying to assume at present. Rather than go into all the contingencies of what is going to happen and could happen, I think I'll tell a funny story from my last jaw surgery. I had been on a soft diet for a week or two and hadn't had much to eat and was pretty darn hungry when I finally convinced Goatie (my mom) to go accross town to pick up this delicious sweet potatoe casserole that this restaurant makes (well- used to make). So, after she came back my sister was loading up a 60 CC syringe (my teeth were wired shut for three months with the last surgery so I had to eat using a syringe to shoot pureed food through a whole in the wire and braces). Well, the stopper got stuck so she turned it upside down and was tapping it ever-so-gently on the table upside down when it went WHOOSH- the stopper had slipped and sweet potatoe casserole went shooting all over the ceiling in a beautiful arch. Now, we were at my grandma's house and as she keep's a very nice house so she came running in the room to see this sight and was up in arms about it, naturally. My grandpa and mom found it to be quite funny and were laughing it up. I, on the other hand, just looked forlornly at the ceiling at my much-anticipated lunch and said over and over in a pathetic voice "I hungri, I hungri"... and that's my story from my last surgery. good times. I was really hungry and mostly I just really wanted some food- but everyone was so busy laughing or yelling about the mess to notice that all I wanted was some taters. just a girl wantin some taters. I have a feeling I'll just be a girl wanting some taters once again here pretty soon. sweet.
ok- effie out. I'll try to blog while I'm recuperating, fo rizzle.

We'll start with the good

2005-11-29T20:51:00.000-08:00

sorry to those of you (gilia) who care- but I haven't blogged so much lately cause things have been pretty surgery-stress focused around here lately- mostly I've been spending a great deal of time dealing with doctors and insurance and parents and the surgery dilema in general- and that's not so fruitful in the way of blog material. so- we'll get to the good news- after much thought and deliberation- I am for sure having surgery (Arthroplasty or disc repair) on December 19th. This is awesome- finally- after 2 years of working towards this goal- I'll have surgery and hopefully get the process started that will HOPEFULLY lead to pain relief and good function in my jaws. Anyway- after the surgery I'll then spend 2 weeks at the farm with my mom crocheting, brushing up on my Hebrew, and pureeing up all kinda goodies. mmm- delicious. As far as the surgery itself-assuming that my discs will be viable- I'll be able to get braces on within four months- and then about a year after that- I'll have a combined double surgery on my upper and lower jaw. Both docs have agreed now that the likihood is there that I'll have to have the double upper and lower jaw surgery- which stinks. This second surgery is a WAY bigger deal as I've mentioned before- and will take 6-9 months total to recover from totally. This is all to say that basically come to find out- I won't be able to go to Library school until 2008- which is a blow. But- I'll deal with that and all the decisions that go along with it- like whether I should consider getting my masters in History at the U of A while I'm here- after I recover from surgery #1. Really that depends on how much I can handle. I mean working and going to all these doctors and all of that is taking a toll- and I need to take care of myself. But I feel time going by too.
Anyhow- other than surgery drama the main things in my life have been moving- the girls and I are moving this weekend- so that's crazy. Work's been ok- the work itself has been off and on pretty stressful because i'm behind- but my bosses are so nice and supportive and funny that I can handle anything I think. I'm pretty blessed.
k- keep it real.

Surgery is nigh...

2005-11-16T06:55:00.000-08:00

So, it seems that if my parents and I can raise some serious funds by December 5th, then I will almost certainly be having the first of two jaw surgeries on December 19th, 2005. This is pretty good news actually, when I can forget about the money for a minute. Finally- after two years of working toward this goal- I'll be able to hopefully make a big step towards getting my jaw problems solved. After this first surgery (during which they will make incisions in my ears and find my slipped jaw discs and put them back in place and attach them with a steel pin to the condyle- that bone that goes up into your jaw joint) I will go through about a year of splints (that plastic thing in my mouth) and braces (not again! but oh yes- again) and then I'll have a second far more serious and hard-to-recover-from surgery next winter...IF, that is, everything goes well- which I'm hoping and praying it will. SO- if that's all happening as it should then I might be good to go as far as starting grad school at UT or UNC by Fall 2007. So- that's the plan. Just thought I'd try to get people up to date in a non-long-winded fashion.

I'm a WINNER!

2005-10-31T13:28:00.000-08:00

I've never been more sure of it! Yep- it's true- I came in second in the big costume contest at work. There was actually some stiff competition and I was pretty worried- but I guess I was pretty inspiring- walking that carpet- looking like an idiot. I won NOT ONLY a 25 dollar gift certificate but also a Harry Potter mug with an owl on it- hoooot....said mug was filled with the requisite candy of course. SUWEET.
"i'm just effie from the trot- used to have a little- now i have a lot"

My Keys Got the Shaft

2005-10-28T13:07:00.000-07:00

so i was hurriedly making my way to my office before the bell tolled 9 o'clock yesterday morning (i know- it's sad that i'm that ridiculously late every day pretty much) when my friend Catherine encountered some problems with a cart full of books on the elevator. I proceeded to help her by giving the cart a hefty shove. it was at that particular juncture that my keys (which were, indeed, perched precareously in the palm of my hand) took a dive for it. Catherine and I did that "Nooooooo" gasp thing and watched as they slipped poetically through the gap in the elevator door and went falling three floors down to the cavernous elevator shaft of death (thoughts of mcgiver- how would you spell that name? yeah- that one guy who did all those seemingly death-defying tricks with dental floss went through my head when i thought about how i might retrieve my keys if i had to do it on my own). at this point i went on what was to be a long trek to various offices (i think they did this on purpose) where i had to admit my idiotic mistake and tell the whole embarassing story. in short- 7 hours later the elevator repairman stopped the elevators and retrieved my rather nasty keys from the depths. and you thought the life of an archivist was boring- HA! as if!

A Big Dork in a Pond of Big Dorks

2005-10-26T14:48:00.000-07:00

so last year i heard tell that the library has a big halloween party with a costume contest and the whole nine-yards. i was in my "i hate my job" phase and therefore blew it off post haste. i was, thusly, quite amazed to show up to work on halloween and see librarian after librarian dressed up in costume. and i don't mean they just threw some old weird outfit on and called it done- they were DRESSED IN COSTUME- with make-up, all of it- you name it- the librarian's had it going on. it was nuts. so this year i was mildly intrigued by the idea of participating...but i wasn't gonna just show up dressed like a clown (some of you know why that's funny). so it was with some amusement and excitement that i got my inspiration this weekend (with the help of yessisita). i am going to be an "over-processed document"....i will be wearing a sandwich board replicating post-its (my fav. office supply) and will then put post-its in my hair, etc. I will then put some OCD descriptions of a pseudo-document on the posterboards. not only is this so dorky that it may even confuse librarians, but it should look downright ridiculous. sounds perfect. i can't miss. i'll win it for sure. woohaw! i can't wait. my made up document is a letter to "gus trivvers" from his aunt plopfish. sound recockulous? good- it should.
in other news- plans are afoot for a huge farm weekend. we are going to drive out and help goatie build fence for the baby goats. yipee. my mom's so excited she can barely contain it- and to my great relief and happiness (better word for it?) lots of people are climbing aboard for the expedition. it'll be good times. if you're down- let me know.
in other other news- my sis is traveling to paris today- suweet.
as far as the medical drama- yeah- no good news to report. may be looking for a new new orthodontist and starting over.
k- cheerio,
effie

What do Albert, Hank Hill and I have in common?

2005-10-10T14:41:00.000-07:00

my mom? hahah- good guess.
most of you know that i'm a child of divorce. not just any divorce, but a big, ugly hate-filled divorce that got going when i was a scant 4 years old- so my dad wasn't around much most of my life. that's all to say that there are certain things about my dad i really don't know much about. so this weekend, we were hanging out and I was all like, "so, do grandma or grandpa have green eyes- cause I don't know anyone on momma's side who do?" and to my great surprise- he's like "well, sometimes I do." now this is weird- cause my mom and sister look a lot alike and have the same eyes, and I thought my dad had the same eyes as my sister- I swear most of the time they are pretty much blue. but apparently they change color- from blue- to green- to grey. this may seem boring and stupid- but it's important because that's how my eyes work. most of the time my eyes are green and sometimes they are blue and sometimes (my sister swears this up and down) they are grey. this is weird because seriously NO ONE else in my family that I know has eyes that change color or that are even green at all- so to find out- at age 24- that your dad has the very same eyes- is kind of weird. i mean it's cottin pickin obvious (and annoying) that i have his rather imposing forehead- but never did i think that i had his eyes. hummm. (I'll add to this that when Jessica read this post she commented that my forehead DOES have a slight slope- which is her nice way of saying it has an obvious and annoying slope that makes her want to vomit!)
on to funnier things. my bosses are stinking hilarious and awesome in every way. today i was hanging out with boss #2- who is new and cool and closer to my age. we were talking about how bill clinton's handwriting is kind of girly (which is true) and I was saying that this is no surprise to me seeing as he shakes hands like a girl. I went on to explain that i've had the pleasure of shaking the good former president's hand twice and both were perfect disappointments of limp-horror-handshakeness. kind of like trying desperately to hold on to a wet noodle. imagine it. then throw up. so yeah- i was telling all of this to boss #2 in gruesome and hilarious detail and we were laughing it up when boss #1 (uh- the head of special collections- oops) comes walking in to investigate what all the laughing is about. well- i quickly repeat all of the details which he enjoys fully and then boss #2 adds to the mix by telling about the king of the hill episode in which hank joyfully lines up to meet and shake the hand of George W. and is horribly disappointed to find that he too has a limp handshake. hahahah. He goes "Peggy, I can't believe the President doesn't know how to shake a man's hand" or something of the like....anyway- so turns out BOTH bosses watch King of the Hill. could it get any better? man I am one lucky girl. whewie. it's true. and yes amber- i know i'm a name dropper. but i can drop hank hill and bill clinton in one post- that ain't bad eh?
speaking of- i best get to work filing for the stars...

A New High (low?)

2005-09-30T12:02:00.000-07:00

So everyone who is near and knows the stuff probably thinks I'll get things going by talking it up about my medical drama- but no, no- the title is about my second most-discussed topic- the supply room...yes, supplies are great. I love post-its best, but folders and paper and nice new desk organizers are all most excellent in every way. When I was a kid we didn't have money but my mom would try to scrape together enough money to get us at least a few new school supplies, so it was one time when we could buy some things- and my sis and I loved it sooo much. Buying school supplies is probably in the top three of what I miss about school. So the fact that the library pays for supplies, and that I'm friends with the fellas down in the supply room and that I can go down there and pick out whatever I want is awesome beyond compare. HOWEVER, today I was down there perusing my favorites, the post-its, and Dave was talking it up, and complimenting my "your-momma" jokes- and I was like "so- am I like the most egregious user of supplies in the library" and I was secretly afraid of the answer but also really hoping that he'd say "oh, no, definitely not" but then he's like- "yeah- actually- we're thinking of making you an award and framing it!" WHAT, this may ruin my whole twice weekly trek down there. crizap. I can't get outed as the worst user of supplies. I mean I don't take them home or anything- I use them for work- and they make me happy. The pathetic thing is that mostly I sit around thinking up reasons to go down there cause they are funny and I'm lonely up here hanging out with Asa- seriously- can you blame me?

The Schwesterlein and the Jawness

2005-09-02T14:38:00.000-07:00

Hey Hey my pretty babies-
i know, you were all like "ohmagosh- will she ever blog again?" and then i was all like "yes, i just had to work some this week" and then you were all like "well that seems unlikely" and then i was all like "SHUT IT!"
obviously that's enough of that...let us get to the point...the major points in my life at present are the facts that a) my little sister/best friend/single ally in our insane family is leaving for France for a year and b) my surgery may indeed NOT happen this year which may IN FACT prevent me from starting grad school THIS CENTURY/ prevent me from getting this pain-filled drudgery over with any time soon. so yeah. humph.
yep- the sister is leaving on monday for an entire year. it's pretty crazy. it's been in the works for years, and it's pretty crazy that it's upon us now, like RIGHT NOW. it was different when i went to Graz. she had been at the magnet high school for 2 years anyway, so we weren't that close and were used to not seeing each other. but we've been roomies and very close for two years now, so this will probably shake our worlds up a bit. but it'll be so awesome for her and i am ueber-ueber-excited for her. i mean obviously it'd be way better if she were going to Austria and were going to be speakin the deutsch, but I guess this is cool too.
as far as the jawness, the good news is that after roughtly 3 months of wrangling just about every day with doctors and insurance, I found out on my daily call to my good friends at the insurance company that my surgery has been approved. which means that they will pay for the first 10,000 bucks, leaving me with anything from like 5,000-10,000 more to pay on my own. but really- 10,000 is more than i could get on a lot of insurance plans- so it is a mega-huge help, for real, and I am thankful. the bad news is that they took so long to approve it that i might not be able to have surgery until like march-april-june next year because i have to have orthodontics first (the plan WAS to have it in December, which is what I still want- so now I am just dreaming and praying that it is still possible- and I have an appointment with the orthodontist on Sept. 15th). this situation, would, in turn, would probably prevent me from moving to wherever I want to go to grad school come August 2006. this also means that it would become very imperative that i get another job, seeing as my present job is a one year position ending july 3, 2006. so that's complicating my life-plans. for real. but i just gots to have faith-a-faith, faith.
ok- hope all is well in your worlds. if you live in NWA and want to help out the Hurricane victims - I know some people who are connected with people who are arriving from La and staying here in AR, so I can hook you up. They are collecting $ and clothing and shoes and toiletries for the families. By next week there will be over 200 families here! 2 families are related to people at the library...
k- later.
Effie

We know how to make a 12 hour trip in 18 hours!

2005-08-18T08:06:00.000-07:00

So, after loading up the car - strapping in the kid (Lisa's son Sam) and head due west on 412, we were confidently setting forth for Denver, Colorado, we thought...sad to say, however- we had somehow managed to NOT bring a map of any sort. I suppose we thought we'd use our female intuition to find our way 800 some odd miles accross this fair land of ours- apparently we intuited incorrectly because we soon took a wrong turn and were completely off course. about 3 or 4 hours later- we managed to get back on course and were careening smoothly over the plains of Kansas. By this time it was early, early in the morning Saturday- and we were all pretty tired. This made for good conversation and some fine giggling. We also had the wisdom to purchase some commemorative bracelets. Lisa's read "Intelligence" which is revealing seeing as she recently wore flip-flops whilst weed-eating, mine read "Love and Romance" which was by far the more embarassing and was also well, pathetic really. and Yessie's read "Harmony and Balance" ahhah- a goal we should all strive for. Amber's gift from all of us read "Peace"- again- a good goal to have. These bracelets were fine pieces of craftmanship- carved out of one hunk of plastic. oh- the finery.
well- anyway- after arriving and chatting it up with Amber's grandma- we all crashed and napped until amber came home. The next day we got up and went to this HUGE open air market. I bought old books and an owl...hooooot...and some awesome antique glasses and a gift for the tolberts that they shall treasure for always. the next day we drove out to Estes Park and the Rocky Mountain National Park- and then we hiked to this massive gushing waterfall- it was phenomenal. truly majestic- i don't know any other way to put it really. yeah- so we had a lot of other experiences, but really i should go shuffle some asa papers- but i will say that i expertly guided us back to arkansas in just at 12 hours of driving- so it is possible WITH good directions and a map- so don't doubt us pretty babies!
k- much love,
effie

SCRIBE OF DOOOOM!!!

2005-08-08T15:57:00.000-07:00

So, after spending all day saturday writing my paper and doing laundry, I suited myself up in pirate garb- including a ceramic pirate attached to mee bra strap, and a genuine, sharpened pirate's sword and set sail for Red Pearl's Isle of Sin and Sun (set). Oh- the wind was a wippin around and I knew fun was afoot, but I set to concentratin', trying to summon my pirate name. Unfortunatly the best I could come up with were things like: Lavender Pearl (which would just make Red Pearl mad- which has it's benefits) or Felicity of the Sea (which is, admittedly, sadly lame)...but finally I had a stroke of GENIUS- but unforunately it twas for Red Pearl's mom's Pirate name -- Mother of Pearl- hahah. Then, as we approached the shore- I finally settled on my name for the evenin' -- SCRIBE OF DOOM-- in honor of my long-overdue paper. The party was a hit, and fun was had by all mates aboard. I'll skip ahead though to the next adventure (oh- and in case you were wondering- swashbuckle is another word for adventure- i actually had the gaul to look it up- AT the party)...anyway- i was talking on my phone, making my lonely way home after working on my paper at the library until 11ish last night when I was attacked by 2 baby skunks!!! seriously!!! They came running at me and when I hastily turned around and started running away, they gave chase!!! It was terrifying! This isn't my first run-in with skunks near my home-base. One of their parents lives near our house and is sighted every day at dusk- usually when you are going out the door- and you walk out and are 2 ft. away from a ginormous skunk presenting her stripedy tail of death to you. Lance, our neighbor and friend, has been known to climb out of windows to avoid this very circumstance. I've been known to slam the door and run through the house screaming skunk-alerts- which- I might add- are rarely taken seriously. All's I'm saying is that I might just call animal services while my vermin-loving roommate is in Indiana. Yes, that's just what I might do. Don't hate me Yessie- hate the never-really-gone stink that marks you and yours for life.
I think that one pretty boy, what's his name? who is dating Demi Moore? should do a reality show called Skunked! that'd be way more funny and mean than Punked. Seriously.
Effie Out. I must walk home. Wish me luck.

Laugh it up Laughy

2005-08-07T16:42:00.000-07:00

So my friend Amber says such things as: "laugh it up Laughy" all the time, usually when she's about to punch you in the arm. And that's why we love her. I was thinking about that- yes, instead of starting page 6 of 15 on my paper about Moses Maimonides and Thomas Aquinas (Mom's and friends start cursing my laziness...now!) and I remembered how this funny thing always happens when I go to the doctor. I usually get gasps about two things. One good- one bad. The bad is my jaw- they can't believe I operate with the pain and the malocclusion as it is, etc, blah blah blah. The good is way more funny though- they ALWAYS, and by ALWAYS, I mean every doctor's visit for years and years make some comment about my blood pressure. It is always right on the money. Like it couldn't be better if I tried perfect. I've even had people check it again cause they couldn't believe that it was that perfect. Not even kidding. This is surprising to me for two reasons: 1. my mom's been on blood pressure medicine since she was like 32 and 2. until I started praying for real I was pretty much horrifically stressed out all the time. The only explanation came from Goatie's lips believe it or not. She said, and I quote: "well, it must be because you laugh all the time." humm. I guess the Goatster's right (Goatie being my mom for like whoever wouldn't know that). I have always laughed pretty much all day, every day. Mostly at myself- much to the chagrin of people like my sister- and also at the people I gather around me, who are really wicked funny people. And, as has been medically proven, 3 things in the world make your blood pressure do good things- like stay normal or go down- and those things are: 1. laughing 2. bunnies and kittens and puppies, etc and 3. pills. I love my dog, but she can't live with me, and I take enough pills for the headaches, so I'll stick with laughing til I cry and my abs hurt. yes indeedie. awesome.
ok- now- back to Maimonides and Aquinas and their HILARIOUS thoughts on the divine attributes of God. hahahhah! woooot!

AAAAAAAAAAARRG- A Pirate Party is NIGH!!

2005-07-29T12:11:00.000-07:00

Red Pearl and Cap'n Louie Slackjaw are celebratin' their birthdays and wish to extend an invitation to ye, ye scurvy dogs

When: August 6th
Time: 7:30 p.m.
Where: 73 Dakota Trail in Farmington

Pirate garb is absolutely required

Feel free to bring ye other brethren off the coast...

(this here invite has been extended to ye from the lovely Meghan and she wants LOTS of people to come:)

Most Genius of Ideas

2005-07-29T11:27:00.000-07:00

So- my good friend Meghan is a freaking genius at making up tshirt ideas- i mean seriously. so she came up with a pee-your-pants-funny idea for ACL tshirts yesterday which yessica, meghan and I WILL be sporting come September 23-25th. you'll have to wait an see. if you EVER need advise on a t-shirt design- just talk to Meg- not even kidding.

An Earth-friendly Faux Pas

2005-07-22T10:52:00.000-07:00

So I was wheeling a cart-load of boxes of papers up to my office today and I ran into David Pryor again and he said "hey, those boxes look familiar." Now, this statement puzzled me at first. I figured that he just meant that they were labeled in a similar way to his own collection- but then I figured it out- they in fact WERE his boxes. We librarians are big fans of recycle/reuse (yes, read it and love it Yessie and Gilia and Jonathan). So, when we were starting the Asa collection and wrapping up the Pryor collection we reboxed the Pryor collection in nice acid-free boxes and used the old throw-away Pryor boxes for Asa's sorting boxes. Mystery solved. I realize no one cares- but that's about the most dramatic thing that's happened to me today. Other than that I've just been a sortin' boxes and avoidin' the heat. Tonight I think I'm going to go see a singer/songwriter show featuring Shack, however. And tomorrow I'm going to go to the Buffalo river with friends to swim and escape the heat. It'll be HOT, and by HOT, I mean HOT!
Much love,
Librarian to the stars

The Who's Who of State Government

2005-07-21T14:42:00.000-07:00

Just waltzed through my office- I was introduced to David Pryor, a former Arkansas senator and the present director of the Clinton library, and his wife Barbara, and a great assortment of other important folk. Apparently you can fit a lot of important people in my office- like 10- and apparently right when I'm lounging at my computer about to take out my splint because my jaw was hurting really bad is a GREAT time for them to come in without knocking or calling or anything approaching the proper pomp and circumstance. oye weh. But it was cool and all. Oh- and my desk was messier than it has been all week. figures. But I looked busy:) Well- and I have been- really busy- I'm processing papers that haven't been touched in a long time so now I have to look at each individual page which takes FOREVER- but that's what I was hired to do- so I'll do it. Suweet.
ciao ciao,
Felicia

A Sad Realization Indeed

2005-07-13T12:46:00.000-07:00

So I just realized today that this will probably be the nicest office I'll EVER have. It's bigger and nicer than a) all of the reference librarian's offices & b) most professor's offices. I realize this is an accident of fate and that I should just be grateful, but it is pretty humbling to realize that this is as good as it will ever get. wow. it is pretty sweet though... my first office is the best...there ya go...perhaps it is all downhill from here- I guess I might as well say weeee! (dorky- i know- leave me alone- I've been digging through files all day)
ciao ciao

sweeter than the sweetest office of my dreams

2005-07-07T14:19:00.000-07:00

Most auspicious dudes, my office is dreamy- not even kidding. I LOVE it. I shouldn't focus so much attention on material things- but I love my office so much I want to kiss it. It's beautiful and decorated (sans the curtains, after further reflection I decided that might drive me over the edge into the shadowy river of kitchy librarian/sad, sad hobby-lobby enthusiast) anyhow- you almost don't notice the towers of boxes in every corner and under every table. mmm- boxes full of yummy, yummy asa hutchinson musings. I can't wait.
Back to the point- I got all the office supplies a little girl from Office Depot-less Possum Trot could ever desire, and I even got to order Business cards (even though that seems a bit much even to me- but my boss told me to). And I'm presently trying to burn some music to my computer, organize some files, and read up on Asa all at once. The reading up on Asa bit seems to be the part that suffers. hmmm. interesting. With that, I must away...I love you all and think of you often in my high-rise office in the sky.
Much love,
Effie

PartAY up in 'BrarAY

2005-07-01T12:04:00.000-07:00

so my co-workers totally threw me a partAY up in the 'brarAY. my boss made like a zillion egg-rolls from scratch and they were GENIUS- and my pal gwyneth had everyone sign a card wherein everyone begged me not to go and there were cupcakes and the requisite fruit punch. it was awesome times ten. it made me feel loved- which is always nice. anyhow- it was certainly an improvement on the first half of my day which included lots of coffee and hurried studying in preparation for a final in Jewish Philosophy- the last class I'll ever have to take at the U of A. bittersweet really.
Ok- much love. the girls and I are chillin and making jewelry tonight- so that'll rock out.
the next time i rap atcha (oh brother- i even think that is ridiculous)- I will be an archivist. curazee.
ciao ciao

An interesting tidbit or forty...

2005-06-24T12:01:00.000-07:00

Have you ever: (check all that apply)
(X) smoked a cigarette? (this is going to shock a lot of people, but once, many years ago- I smoked A cigarette with Amanda Henry and Julia Bachellor behind Yocum- it was gross- and I proved my point- although now I realize I could've proved it without smoking...older and wiser now, etc)
( ) smoked a cigar?
( ) smoked anything else?
(x) kissed a member of the same sex? (Kristi- that memory will never leave my mind- nor the minds of certain friends of ours...)
( ) crashed a friend's car?
(X) been in love?
(X) been dumped?
( ) shoplifted?
( ) been fired?
() been in a fist fight? (i have wrastled a goat and have been forced to punch a cow before- all in the name of self-protection of course)
(X) had feelings for someone who didn't have them back?
( ) been arrested?
(X) made out with a stranger? (I wouldn't say made out with so much as kissed on the lips by a Kazakhstani man at Oktoberfest in Munich...it was like week two of my year in Europe and made me realize that European men would be a little different than your traditional American fellows)
() gone on a blind date?
(X) lied to a friend? (it was horrendously funny, eh kristin?)
(X) had a crush on a teacher? (I'd say that's a common theme in my life as an ueber-dork)
(X) skipped school? (during my thesis I strategically skipped a class every day- it was genius)
( ) slept with a co-worker? (seriously- have you met my co-workers? what a question!)
( ) saw someone die (not on TV)?
() drank till you puked?
() been in an abusive relationship? (like other than with my parents?)
(X) been attracted to someone that your friends thought was unattractive?
(X) cheated while playing a game? (listen- if you ever play Monopoly with Meghan and Easy E- you will understand)
(X) been lonely?
( ) used a fake ID?
(X) had deja vu?
() felt an earthquake?
(X) been robbed? (at work actually)
() robbed someone? (unless you count my sister's earrings, then yes)
() been suspended from school?
(X) been in a car accident?
(X) witnessed a crime? (I saw a SUV being stolen in Chinatown in NYC)
(X) had deja vu? (that's funny, haha)
(X) questioned your heart? (if you haven't- you might want to consult your heart more often)
(X) been lost? (I have the horrible habit of always thinking the direction I am walking or driving is North- this is faulty reasoning)
( ) been to the opposite side of the country? (Sadly, no)
(X) swam in the ocean?
( X) cried yourself to sleep?
( ) sung karaoke?
(X) not had enough money for food?
(X) paid for a meal with only coins?
(X) made prank phone calls?
(X) laughed until some kind of beverage came out of your nose? (yes, and Diet Coke burns like the dickens)
(X) kissed in the rain? (believe it or not)
(X) crashed a party? (haha, the most fun I ever had crashing a party was probably when my pals and I crashed the Young Democrats party- hahah- that was good times- they know how to have fun I tell you what! of course the fact that local incumbants buy them kegs helps out a lot)
( X) have traveled more than 5 days with a car full of people, or a bus full of people, or a train full of people?
( X) had a wish come true?
() told a complete stranger you loved them?
() had sex in a park? (certainly not, but- i did see a couple in Zagreb, Croatia going at it once- and my friend mark didn't believe me so he went back to see if i was making it up and no indeed I was not- crazy eastern europeans! did I mention it was about 11 AM at the time?)
( X) had a dream that you married someone? (you can't do flowers for weddings as a part-time job and avoid such- plus- who am i kidding- i'm a girly girl- day dream, night dream, it's all happened)
(X) worn the opposite sex's clothes? (my favorite jacket for 8 wonderful years was a guy's green corderoy jacket with long sleeves that went over my hands- it finally wore through to the threads and ripped...so, so sad...)
( X) ever felt the presence of a ghost? (i actually don't believe in ghosts per se but i'm awefully good at freaking myself out)
(X) worn a really ugly outfit to school? (being poor and a little chubby is a bad, bad combination for a little girl in the 1980's)
( ) gone streaking?
(X ) been pushed into a pool/lake with all of your clothes on?
(X ) pushed someone into a pool/lake with all of their clothes on?
(X) been told you were hot by a complete stranger? (yes, well mostly by older men in eastern europe and Italy- but I suppose it still counts...)
(X ) broken a bone?
(X) caught a fish then ate it?
(X) laughed so hard you cried? it happens about twice a day
(X ) cried so hard you laughed? it happens about twice a year -- not a bad average when combined with the opposite above
(X) mooned/flashed someone? the second one ("put em on the glass" - that's for carl even though he doesn't read my blog)
() cheated on a test?
() gone skinny dipping?
( ) been kicked out of your house?
() felt crushing defeat?
(X) felt thrilling victory?

Austin City Limits- Shall We?

2005-06-21T07:32:00.000-07:00

So- it is my utmost desire that all those dear to me go to Austin City Limits this year. It rocked out major last year- and promises to do the same this year. The headliners include freakin Coldplay, Oasis, Keane, etc...and various assundry 100+ additional mouth-watering bands to make your life better. 8 stages, three days, Austin, TX, me, Jessica, we can (hopefully- please, please, please) stay with my pal Brian, and it will be more fun than any one person really deserves to have in a weekend. So- go check it out at www.aclfestival.com and if you're down- call me at 479-879-5271 or email me a effiet@gmail.com or comment on my blog pretty babies cause there ain't no stoppin the righteous good times that will be had come September 23-25th!!
If you want tickets- it's better to go in on them together as there is a purchase and shipping charge- so let me know by July1 and I'll buy them and we can divy it up lata. Suweet. And we're road-trippin-it so get in on that too!

Banchee Tee's

2005-06-21T06:44:00.000-07:00

Upon realizing that I'm going to have a "real job," and will no longer be allowed to wear my present wardrobe of jeans and various t-shirts, I have opted to use the intervening two weeks to showcase my crazy banchee look. To pull this off with certain aplomb, I have opted to leave my coiffe uncombed (this isn't that unusual- just ask my grandma who has commented on it with abandon my entire life), and I have set my T-shirts on a rotation, and set my jeans out to be worn the whole duration. This plan seems awesome and perfect in every imaginable way. Other than that I've been busy doing some recon. I used my keys to break into my future office only to find out a spot of good news and a spot of bad news. The good: my office is fantastically huge! and has a window! and is three floors above that of my boss which will allow much tomfoolery! The bad: my desk is a small, drawer-less, hunk-o-junk. So my present pursuits are all aimed at doing some under-the-table (pun intended) dealings with my connections to score a new, sweet drawers-included desk for my office. So far I'm doing some fact-finding missions. I'm about to move forward though into requests and maybe some begging. Very exciting stuff. Other than that I'm waiting to hear from the docs in Dallas. Then I'll be going to war with the Insurance company...oye weh. My present goal and focus NEEDS to be on Thomas Aquinas and Maimonides however. I have a 15 pager due in a week and a half...and I haven't so much as cracked a book. oops?

Asa Hutchinson Papers Archivist

2005-06-17T07:59:00.000-07:00

Apparently my new title is duh dum duuuh: the "Asa Hutchinson Papers Archivist"!! Sounds important eh? or vomitous? well- we all have to start somewhere. And it's very probable that his next step politically will either be to run for governor or for the head leadership position of the Dept. of Homeland Security...and my position could likely extend into archiving papers from those political roles...which would be more cool...depending on how you define "cool"...so yeah- i'm pumped. I'm even more pumped about having my very own desk and computer and getting to request and actually RECEIVE office supplies- it's a freaking dream come true. Not even kidding. "I love technology, and pens, and post-its, and you, and technology..."

What a Special Collectionist does?

2005-06-15T13:09:00.000-07:00

In response to Matthew's query, here's a description of Special Collections and what I'll be doing in my new job:
Special Collections contains all of the rare books the library has, as well as donated papers and artifacts of important Arkansas citizens- such as Asa Hutchinson, whose papers I will be processing. It is another term for Archives. Special Collections at the U of A, however, specializes in collecting papers and publications pertaining to Arkansas history and Arkansas political "big-wigs"...I will be combing through about a hundred or so boxes of Asa Hutchinson's congressional papers, organizing them, cataloging them, and indexing them, and then creating a "Finding Aid" which will enable the patron to locate the item they seek with as much ease as possible. They intend for this project to take me about a year to complete.

I Got the Job!!

2005-06-15T12:18:00.000-07:00

So- after the 10th interview in a row- it seems that my patience has finally paid off- and they have hired me for a Library Academic Technician III position in Special Collections/ Archives here in Fayetteville!!! It was my number one pick and I am Ueber-excited!! And so very thankful- because this means the following- a) I can stay in Arkansas b) I will get some more money to pay my medical bills and c) I can get some great experience in archiving historical works!! This will be awesome!! So- this is a two-jump promotion which looks pretty good on the ole resume and my boss is really nice and supportive. Circulation took it pretty hard- which is to be expected since I pretty much run the place on 7 bucks an hour...but I am going to be allowed to come back upstairs and help train my replacement- which is nice. I already told my new boss about my upcoming surgery which he was concerned about but I think I'll just pretty much need to have it over xmas break- which is fine- and will give me more time to recover. oh- and my class ends three days before my new job starts- so that's perfect as well. woohoo! yipee! le chaim! ok- thanks for all the prayer, love and support. see- God does have a plan and it does work out for the best. gotta love that. ok- love to you all.
I'm just effie from the trot- use to have a little- now I have a LOT!!!

Jobs on the horizon...

2005-06-08T11:16:00.000-07:00

So it seems the winds of change are a blowin'...finally! I just got a call letting me know that I got an interview for a second position at the University of Texas - San Antonio. This job would be as a Reference Desk assistant which would be my DREAM job. It would also pay 21,000 (ie 6,000 more than my present position) which would certainly help a lot with my billZ. I am leaving for San Antonio Saturday after I deliver flowers for my work colleague's wedding in Siloam Springs at 1:00. I will probably attend her wedding as well and set off at 2pm. I am hoping to meet up with Brian in Austin so as to visit with him a little Saturday night and then drive to Carl's church which is halfway to San Antonio and easier to find on Sunday morning. Then I have the first interview for the Catologing position at 10:00am and then I'll hopefully be able to schedule the second interview for the Reference position early that afternoon. Then on Tuesday I'll have to get up at 4 am so I can drive the five hours to Dallas to get xrays and molds done of my jaw and mouth so that I can have a second consultation at 1pm with Dr. Triplett (the super doctor at the medical school there). Then I'll drive home Tuesday evening. I talked to the insurance lady and apparently (so they say...) they will pay for the first 10,000 dollars of the surgery and I will be responsible for the rest. The rest could amount to as much as 10,000-20,000- but getting 10,000 from insurance is certainly better than nothing. Another development is that I may be able to continue on with this insurance even if I did take a job in Texas using the Cobra laws...so that's a thought- althought I'd have to check that out more. Also- I have an interview in Special Collections tomorrow at 9am. Wish me luck/pray for me. If i get that job I may very well stay here. Basically I'd be ecstatic if I was hired for the Special Collections position here or the Reference position in Texas. That would be awesome. Other than that- it would be an amazing blessing if insurance would come through with approving Dr. Triplett to do the surgery and with the 10,000.
Ok- pray that the travels I undergo this weekend go well and that I interview to the best of my ability.
Thank you all for your support and love.

The Onion is true to life...

2005-06-03T08:18:00.000-07:00

So this little news item appeared in The Onion this week and was so true to my experience that I decided to include it in my blog. So here ya go:
"Entire Napoleon Dynamite Plot Pieced Together Through Friends' Quotes:
AUSTIN, TX—Although he has never seen the 2004 indie hit Napoleon Dynamite, Michael Osman, 23, has cobbled together its entire plot via his friends' endless quoting of the film. "Well, Napoleon's brother said, 'Don't be jealous that I've been chatting online with babes all day,' and then got a visit from his Internet girlfriend," Osman said. "Then Napoleon told his Uncle Rico that he could make 120 bucks 'in like five seconds,' and went to work on a chicken farm. Then Napoleon gave Trisha a drawing, said, 'It took me like three hours to finish the shading on your upper lip,' and asked her to the dance." Osman added that he has a pretty good idea what a liger looks like."

Humph....

2005-06-02T13:22:00.000-07:00

So there's news on the jaw and job front. I have an interview for the sweet LAT III job in Special Collections a week from today (Thursday June 9th). If I get it- I would be processing the Asa Hutchinson papers for the archives which would give me invaluable experience for library school and my future in general. It would also give me roughly 4,000 more a year for my medical billZ which would be awesome. As far as the surgery front- I called the doctor in LR and apparently he's pushing for me to go ahead and have the surgery with the doctors at the medical school in Dallas. He'd prefer it that way if I'm going to commute anyway. So I don't know what to think about that. They also expressed doubt that insurance would pay for it either way- which is pretty discouraging. I've been calling insurance several times a day and have yet to get a call back- so that's not going so well. I really need some strength and forebearance. Ok- that's about it. Other than that- my class and work are going pretty well.
Much love,
Effie

An update for those who didn't get the email...

2005-05-24T08:23:00.000-07:00

Well- apparently my little jaw problem causes "real" doctors, even chiefs of surgery with years of experience, to shake their heads a whole, whole lot. The doctor in Dallas (Dr. Triplett) was really great though and he was able to give us the direction we needed and we ended up getting two opinions because he took my MRIs and went and showed them to his "buddies" and brought another surgeon in to check out my jaw to verify if what the MRI was saying was really true...so that was good. Both of these surgeons agree that I should definitely NOT have Arthroplasty (that's where they either replace or remove my displaced jaw discs) but rather should have at least the upper jaw surgery and maybe a combination upper and lower jaw surgery (this is called orthognathic surgery) so that my jaw bones and basically my maxillofacial structure can be reorganized surgically so that my jaws and teeth fit together again. This would, hopefully take the force off my back teeth and thereby off my jaw joints which would, hopefully, relieve a) my jaw pain and b) the pretty horrible muscular strain it takes to close my mouth each time. so- even though this surgery option is in itself scarier and a bigger deal- at least this means that 3 surgeons agree strongly that i should follow this route- leaving only one surgeon- namely Dr. Bolding- who messed up my first surgery- out in the cold as the only surgeon recommending the arthroplasty. so as far as WHAT surgery to have- I think it's fairly clear that I should have the upper jaw surgery (aka orthognathic). this means I need to get an orthodontist and oral surgeon that work together and also get my insurance to pay for it. no easy task indeed. my first step is to contact insurance and get on that. it could take a while. meanwhile I am applying for a job in special collections here in my library. if i get that job i will almost certainly stay in arkansas, try to get the surgery done in a year- and start grad school in aug 2006. this would be my ideal situation. if this worked out i would have dr. anderson in LR do the surgery and just commute and use my vacation days for the surgeon and orthodontist appointments which would be hard but ok. if i don't get the special collections job- I will just keep applying for texas jobs and move if i get one. the doctors in dallas said that finding a really good surgeon and orthodontist in san antonio would take about 2 seconds- so that option is still definitely in the works. i have about 15 applications out right now- and assuming i don't get this special collections job- i am certainly still very interested in moving to san antonio- but i haven't gotten call backs from any of the applications yet. i mean it's early in the running for many of them- but it's a little disheartening nonetheless.So i'm really thankful for the direction we got and now I just need to figure out insurance and my job and I think i'll be able to move forward successfully.i start my class in jewish philosophy today which ROCKS. oh and we did go see the exhibit on the emperor of china and it was really good. and the rest of the dallas museum of art was also quite good. i recommend it if you get the chance.ok- thanks for everything. much love,felicia

Splendor's of the forbidden city...

2005-05-20T11:31:00.000-07:00

Well, well, well- seems the time has finally come for yee old familial juggernot (sp?) to sail off for Dallas to see the surgeon there about my little, iddy-biddy jaw which may or may not be a sinking ship. Sick of the oceanic imagery? me too. Anyhow- so Sunday- if all goes well- my mom, dad and I are going to load up the van and head down to Dallas. It is my supreme desire to get my museum fix by visiting the Dallas Museum of Art- which- it so happens- is holding a world-reknowned exhibit entitled "The Splendors of China's Forbidden City: The Glorious Reign of Emperor Qianlong"- which- being the grand Duchess of the eurASIAN landmass- is of course of utmost interest. Plus- it's been many moons since i've taken in a good museum. So- hopefully the rent's'll cough up the 15 smackers it costs to get in and we'll go enjoy it together.
Then it's to the hard stuff- no- not jack daniels- the oral surgeon. Monday morning we'll carry the stack of MRI's and x-rays and records and medical letters and all that jazz and see what the good doctor- and by good doctor i hope i mean the BEST- he's pretty much the best guy in the field- and we'll just lay it all out there and see what he can come up with. Best case scenario- he'll say it can be fixed with the easier surgery and that I can move on with my life in a year. Worst case- we're looking at 3 years and two surgeries and a move. Either way- I just need strength and some answers.
Ok- thanks for your support. Be thinking about me- i'll need some help through this. I've got God and a sense of humor and you guys- so with all that- i'll make it.
Love ya,
Felicia

Catepillars in my GUT!?! + AIN'T GOT no JOB

2005-05-18T08:02:00.000-07:00

So i've been a waiting to hopefully hear about getting the job here before posting- and I just finally found out that I didn't get the job. She said that personality-wise she thought I was by far the best candidate (that makes about the fifth or sixth time i've heard that one). I've resigned myself to that and have continued applying for other jobs in Texas- most of which are secretarial which isn't ideal- but if it would get me insurance- I'll take it i suppose. I've got my hat in the round for a job with Special Collections here at the U of A which would be good for me professional-development wise as well as monetarally (adding 3,700 a year)...and I've got about 5 or 6 applications out to jobs in Texas. Other than that I have this weird thing where for the past 2-3 weeks I've felt the constant urge to puke. yep, yep- never-ending nausea- which is weird cause my stomach is the one thing that was in working order for me. so yeah- i don't know what the problem is- but the onion horoscopes (by far the most HILARIOUS horoscopes out there) have offered me one explanation:
Leo: (July 23—Aug. 22) If you'd only learned to exercise patience, those caterpillars you've been vomiting up all week would've had a chance to become lovely stomach butterflies.
Now that's a lovely thought.
Anyhow- I go to Dallas for that super-duper third opinion on my surgery on Monday so then I'll know a lot more about my problem and about my near future. that'll be good. hope everyone is doing awesome! much love- effie from the trot.

Shall we all ameliorate something today...

2005-05-11T05:09:00.000-07:00

Word of the Day for Wednesday May 11, 2005:

ameliorate \uh-MEEL-yuh-rayt\, transitive verb: To make better; to improve.

intransitive verb: To grow better.

Among the pressures provoking these distresses were a father's financial inadequacy and a growing awareness that, by finding employment himself, he could ameliorate the family's exiguous circumstances.--Terence Brown, [1]The Life of W. B. Yeats

Forgotten Prime-Time Momentitos

2005-05-09T11:35:00.000-07:00

So the lovely Yessie reminded me of two BRILLIANT moments from this weekend. the first came when were perusing that isle of crap that you find in every grocery store- ya know the one with yard ornaments and kitchen gatchets and tshirts that say #1 grandma and stuff like that? well we were gazing in awe-filled silence at the bounty when we caught site of the PURRRfect gift for miss kristin rose- and what is, dare i say, to become our campus house mascot- pretty kitty. it's a chalky white cat figurine, slightly beat up from being picked up and quickly rejected, and it has a pretty scary face- and by scary- i mean BEAUTIFUL AND PURRRFECT!!! oh man it's great. it's lips are painted pink except the painter missed the mark a bit and dribbled some and so it looks as though pretty kitty is dribbling some blood- eewwwweee- and then- here's the best part- it's eyes look CREEEEPY- they are shockingly blue and are looking up with eery dread. yep- eery dread. you have to see it to believe it. as you might imagine- kristin loves her present. and we couldn't be happier about it.
the second prime-time, good-times moment came when yessie and i found out, that- though "i'm just effie from the trot- used to have a little- now i have a lot" - i'm NOT the only effie around! you simply MUST go to www.effie.com.au it's freaken hilarious. we can't really figure out what this girl does for a living- but we can discern that she's a true megalomaniac. and don't be thinken she's a stripper just because of the boa on her intro website- it's not dirty- just interesting- i promise- and i wouldn't lie to ya pretty babies!!!
k- ciao ciao.
effie

Oye Weh!

2005-05-09T06:13:00.000-07:00

So I'm at the ole 'brary just chillin' and thrillin' like a villain- you know how it is...and i thought i'd get everybody who wants to know up to date. The job interview went swimmingly- but- as per my usual- i have zero idea what that actually means. I mean it's the 8th interview I've had, and the chick loved me- but that means nothing in the real world of getting real jobs...so anyhow- i'll find out if i got it this week barring some disaster of library HRness. In other news- I so finished my huge paper and am now done with my class much to my bittersweet relief. The relief is easy to understand- who likes writing papers? the bittersweet comes from the fact that my classmates were really cool people and I got to know all five of them and a) it's rare to find cool history grad students and b) now my excuse for hanging out with them is somewhat weakened- ie no class for which to gather. I am excited but somewhat weary of my next class- Jewish Philosophy- eeek. we'll see what tortures and discoveries await.
yeah anyway- so as most of you know- I've been seeing a lot of doctors as I try to figure out exactly what surgery to have and what surgeon is the lucky slicer-and-dicer (to put it succinctly). So upon the recommendation of the surgeon in LR I went to see a Rheamotologist to make sure I didn't have the early stages of Rheamatoid Arthritis (which would be mega-no-bueno). Thankfully- I don't have that. But- I do have Fibromyalgia- which turns out is a sleeping disorder which means I don't ever get deep sleep which means my body doesn't heal correctly so that's why i'm sore and in pain a lot....hummm- i thought that was just a normal part of the whole jaw-pain/chronic headache deal so I guess it's good that there's an actual explanation. so the only thing to treat it is medicine so i done started that up. and they're also doing a lot of test for this other rare arthritis that attacks your very low spine and jaws and it only occurs in women. so that's weird. but like i said- it's rare- so i probably don't have it. woohoo. anyhow- so that's what went down last week. oh and we had this huge campus house cook-out which rocked major. I made brats and kraut and goatie's famous baked beans. it was good times i tell you what. ok- keep it real- but not too real. oh- and if you want to watch some quality movies- go rent "Finding Neverland" and "Enigma" cause they're both genius. not even kidding. lata.

Das Job in F-town

2005-05-02T09:55:00.000-07:00

So there's a sweet job opening up in my library and I applied and I have an interview this Wednesday. Wish me luck. It pays over 7,000 more a year which would make a huge difference on my medical bills- so if I find out from that big-shot doctor in Dallas in three weeks that the doctor up here can do the surgery AND I get this job it is possible that I could stay up here. We'll see what God's got cooken' eh? Meanwhile I haven't made much progress on the 15 page paper for my class which is technically due TODAY so I need to get cracken' seriously (I got an extension:(). I mean I read a lot yesterday but yesterday was supposed to be write-a-lot time. oooops.
guten tag noch.

News on News

2005-04-28T05:58:00.000-07:00

As most of you hopefully know, I am 99.8% sure that I am moving to San Antonio as soon as I find a job with insurance. For those of you who didn't know this, it's because of my health problems. I recently went to Little Rock to see an Oral surgeon and he let me know that my jaw problems may be severe enough that it might behoove me to seek treatment in a larger city from more highly trained doctors and he recommended that I first go to the head of surgery at the medical school in Dallas (my appointment is in 3 weeks). I was very resistant to the idea of moving seeing as I love it in Fayetteville- but after a lot of thinking and praying about it- it's become clear that if in fact I can't have the operations I need to fix my jaw problems in Arkansas, which is why I've stuck around in the first place, then I really can't justify staying here and it really does make sense to move on to a place where I can a) make more and save more money and b) I can be treated by better doctors and c) I can be closer to the UT Austin Library School and maybe begin taking courses part-time. Carl's parents are really great people and have agreed to let me live with them- which will really help me both because they can provide support and also because I'll be able to save money for my medical bills- which isn't so easy here making so little and having to pay rent and so on. So- I've started looking for jobs and preparing myself and my friends and family for my eventual uprooting. Anyway- to the point- I've started applying for jobs and last week I spent all this time applying for this job but then it was filled the DAY AFTER I APPLIED which was discouraging but the good news is that yesterday I found two new jobs that are really promising so I'm going to apply for them today! yay! One is for a Library Assistant I position in Cataloging which is the same level as here but I would make 3,000 more- which would help out a lot! and the other is a LA II in Archives which would bring me 6,000 more- which would probably allow me to stay completely out of debt throughout this medical bill mahem ...which would be an amazing blessing. So yeah- please- keep me in your thoughts and prayers- specifically that I be strong and brave enough to do what I need to do to take care of myself and that if that includes moving to Texas, that I get a good job down there. Thanks a zillion- and don't worry- a big part of this blog phenom is that I do intend to keep in contact. Why? because I love you!

Don't be so pusillanimous!

2005-04-28T05:54:00.000-07:00

pusillanimous \pyoo-suh-LAN-uh-muhs\, adjective: Lacking in courage and resolution; contemptibly fearful; cowardly.

Evil, unspeakable evil, rose in our midst, and we as a people were too weak, too indecisive, too pusillanimous to deal with it.--Kevin Myers, "An Irishman's Diary," [1]Irish Times, October 20, 1999

Wedding in Galilee

2005-04-26T11:59:00.000-07:00

So last night a couple of us watched this movie made by an Arab from Israel about a Palestinian wedding taking place in the Galilee. I heard about this on NPR because basically this director caused a stir because he is ethnically Arabian, yet he lives and directs in Israel, and yet he made a movie in Palestine, about Palestinian AND Israeli issues, using both Palestinian AND Israeli actors, and most of it was in Arabic. It was pretty crazy- but very interesting to say the least. I think the most interesting contribution to my worldview is that the Palestinians live with so few rights. Their day-to-day is constantly interrupted by the Israelis. More than that- they can't even express joy or celebrate the milestones of life without interference. Conversely, the Palestinians are have so many conflicting and sometimes outright wrong views on how to deal with the issue. Violence comes up again and again as the answer and yet for every Palestinian that wishes to fight- there are two who want the opposite. The whole conflict is so painful and confusing and the emotions run so wild and so deep. I definitely want to cultivate more historical knowledge about this. I recommend the movie by the way- but it's not a hollywood blockbuster.

wizord to the wizebster

2005-04-25T08:30:00.000-07:00

I feel it necessary at the outset of this blog to give a short explanation of my treatment of the english language. You see- it is my view that language is here for my pleasure and enjoyment. To that end- I manipulate it, expand upon it, and often just make up words to suit my whims. There are three main types of words that will appear in my musings that could be unfamiliar to the untrained eye.
Type I:
The origins of the first type are Teutonic- which is another way of saying German. I'll do my best to translate- and I do hope you'll all take notes because nothing could be better than learning German- I hope you'll all agree! Ausgezeichnet! (Oustanding!)
Type II:
The second type of word is probably the most entertaining and the most common- it is the word that I, or one of my esteemed compatriots, has made up. I'll give you an example, and oh what an example it is! RICOCKULOUS! Perhaps it would help if I used it in a sentence: "It is simply ricockulous that I am spending precious homework time blogging in the library." Now for the explanation. My friend Kristi from MN was once listening to Loveline back when she was in 9th grade (I think) and when Loveline was on the radio and the one guy who isn't Dr. Drew- you know him- the crude one- what'd his name? anyway- that guy was talking about how if you switched the second syllable of the word ridiculous you got the word ricockulous- which means the same thing as ridiculous (sorry to be so lewd and crude to the ladies among my readers). Anyway- so this is pretty funny- but it gets WAY better- because my poor friend not ONLY thought that ricockulous was a REAL WORD but she also USED IT IN A PAPER!!! hahahaha and the teacher just handed it back to her with no markings on it. isn't that crazy funny. oh man.
the ricockularity of that situation is pretty high I tell you what.
Type III:
The third type of word that might throw the reader are words that come from my odd vocabulary- most of which I have gathered through years of reading books that are almost out of my league. To help myself and whoever else is interested in learning new cool words- I'll try to put "words of the day" in my blog every once in a while. words are mega-giga-geil (super-duper-cool)

First Word of the Day!

2005-04-25T06:31:00.000-07:00

euphonious \yoo-FOH-nee-uhs\, adjective:
Pleasing or sweet in sound; smooth-sounding.
She combines alliteration and deft word choices with thegrace of an oral storyteller, creating euphonious andprecise sentences that are perfect for reading aloud.
--Amy L. Cohn, "Children's Books," [1]New York Times, March10, 1991

A computer whiz is born/ Intro to bloggity blog time...

2005-04-23T13:02:00.000-07:00

well, it's hard to believe that in a new low, or high depending on your particular views on the matter, I have come to a point in my life where the desire to procrastinate- aka postpone DOOM- is so sincere that I have created a blog. Rather than compose a brilliant paper on the phenomenological approach to religious history for my grad class, I am sitting in the library tinkering around admiring other people's blogs and, somewhat obviously, have decided that I too have something to contribute (tuhut, tuhut). some of you will be thrilled beyond compare, while others will roll your eyes to such an extent as to risk spraining your pretty faces. if i were not so directly involved in the current folly, I would probably fall in the second group. ah yes- to the point- this is my blog. bloggity blog time. wouldn't it be cool if there were a frog-like amphibian that was just a little more ugly that was called a blog...not that blogs are ugly- well mine is nothing to look at- but some are nice- anyway- I just think blog is a good amphibious name is all I'm saying. so- I hope to put funny things and important things and so on in this here blog so as to keep up with my assorted collection of pals who happen to be strewn accross our fair land. Feel free to communicate all manner of things on this blog, and I'll feel free to sit here in the charming library and read and respond to my heart's delight.
much love,
effie from the trot (Felicia)