Larocque and Roll

You need to see this

Rather than write a lengthy treatise about what I’ve been up to (short story: busy at work, busy at home) I have pictures to share with you that hopefully capture some of what I’ve been doing lately.

The weather has been spectacular lately, which has given me a chance to play in my garden. Last week, I got to play the game every new homeowner gets to play in the spring – Weed or Plant?

Weed, I think. I can’t remember what was there in the fall.

Easy! Plant – irises! And they’ve doubled in size since I took the picture.

The tulips in the back are finally starting to bloom.

These are going to be sunflowers, once they start growing.

On Saturday night, I looked out my back door and saw this.

I thought, How the hell did Bing get past me when I went outside? Turning to go get a can of cat food to lure him back in, I tripped over the real Bing. Since then, I’ve learned this guy’s name is Chicklet, and he belongs to the house around the corner.

The hat is a hatband away from being finished.

The yarn is splity and twisty, and I wouldn’t use it again. For anyone thinking of making this hat, I’d suggest you go with something comparable instead of the recommended yarn. Also, I’m thinking of adapting it to make a baby hat. (To my sister: calm down, not for you!)

And, I got new glasses!

I love them! (Please don’t ask me what that expression on my face is. It’s not quite a smile, not quite a wince of pain. It may actually be both.)

The only thing missing is a picture of the heap o’ papers on my desk at work. It’s almost the end of the month, with all its associated administrivia (statistics, board reports, timesheets, etc.) I’m also working on a presentation I’m doing at a conference next month on all the fantastic technology projects we’re doing at the library. In all honesty, some of them are pretty cool and I should share them with you someday.

March Something-ness

March wasn’t a good month for reading. I was restless, and my moods were capricious. At least four books I started never got finished, including The Omnivore’s Dilemna, which is what I was reading at the beginning of the month. Don’t get me wrong – it’s an interesting book if you’re interested in where your food comes from, and learning more about agri-business.

~ Carl Hiaasen, Nature Girl (5)

I was really disappointed because I’m a huge Hiassen fan. However, this book suffered from an abundance of characters with a myriad of personality quirks and a deficit of geography [1].

Speaking of abundances…

~ John Green, An Abundance of Katherines (7.5)

Quirky. I liked it more than Alaska.

~ Tanya Huff, Summon the Keeper (8) and Second Summoning (7.5)

Whenever I read these two (and the third book), it’s the long weekend in August 2003 all over again. I’m listening to Sam Roberts and drinking something I made up called a Funky Monkey (vanilla ice cream, milk, bananas, and Bailey’s Irish Cream), and I have the house to myself.

~ Christopher Moore, You Suck! (8.5)

I would read the phone book if Moore wrote it. This one is a sequel to Bloodsucking Fiends, runs parallel to the action in A Dirty Job, and has a tragi-romantic ending that didn’t feel cheap or like a cop-out.

[1] Why, yes I did swallow a dictionary this evening. Why do you ask?

Crackbook

One of the unexpected outcomes of the ball hockey tournament a few weeks back was the discussion which ranged around the topic of Facebook. Several people had accounts, and they were talking about who had them, who they’d found online, how they knew where so-and-so was because it was posted on their account, etc. My sisters and I didn’t have accounts, but we were intrigued. By the following Monday, all three of us had account, and were experiencing firsthand the joys and agonies of Facebook.

For the uninitiated (*ahem* Julie *ahem*), Facebook is a social networking site, where you post a profile, and look for people to be your friend (or who want to be your friend). You can join networks based on your geographic location, employer, alma mater(s), etc., as well as special interest groups. In a way, it’s a little like My Space for the 20+ crowd – it’s cleaner, more professional, and there are fewer annoyances on the page.

I’ve been playing with it for a few weeks, and I think I can fairly highlight the pros and cons so far.

CONS:
It is a huge time suck. The first day? I spent the better part of six hours I didn’t have giggling and checking obsessively to see if anyone wanted to friend me or respond to my friend request. Since then, I’ve dialed it down a few notches, but I still spend more time than necessary checking my email for updates.

I don’t think of myself as being a vain person, but holy geez, I can’t believe how much time and effort I put into trying to get a good profile pic. There are seventeen pictures of myself which will never see the light of day – I tried various angles, sources and types of light, flash or no flash, hair up, hair down, and so forth. Never have I spent so much time in the pursuit of something so meaningless. The picture I have up right now? I really am smiling, but because of the lighting and the angle my head is tilted at, it looks like I’m glaring at the camera. Or at least giving you my “your fines will not magically disappear because you called me a bad name” look. [1]

PROS:
At first, the friending went slowly. Then, I got a hit from a friend in high school, and then another one who I hadn’t seen in years. Then hits from a couple of cousins I haven’t seen or talked to in ages, and then a few more. Then more friends from high school, a few friends from undergrad, a couple from library school, and then a bunch of people I know through blogging or librarian-type places showed up. Some of those people I haven’t seen in ages, and their stories and adventures from between then and now are facinating. I’m now caught up on what everyone’s been up to since we last saw each other, and other new and surprising things. And that’s awesome.

My verdict? Worth the time suck.

[1] Sadly, if you work in a public library long enough, you will have to cultivate a look that says just that. Especially if you’re the manager and a whole lot younger than the rest of your staff.

Your crappy blog won’t write itself*

*Special thanks to the Shout Out Out Out Out song “Your Shitty Record Won’t Mix Itself” for providing me with an inspiring title to get off my tush and blog about something. Anything. (And it’s kind of an awesome song, too.)

I owe you stuff. Like,

~ What I read in March. Hey, last month I was early, so if I’m a few days late this one it all balances out on the big karma scale.
~ Why I have a love/hate relationship with Facebook.
~ Where I was this weekend.

Well, I’ll answer the last one first. I went home for Easter to see the folks and the siblings and the cats. And maybe some green grass and buds on the trees; alas, they had as much snow there as there was in North Bay. Don’t colour me shocked about snow at this time of year – yes, it was unfortunate that it fell around this particular religious holiday when you would expect to see flowers blooming and grass growing and various animals frolicking. When my sister had her First Communion many moons ago, there was a freak snowfall – in mid-May. And from credible sources, I’ve heard tell of near-freezing temps in Timmins in July. A little snow early in April? Pshaw. I sneer at it.

(An aside – you know what I miss the most about Southern Ontario, besides jokes about Dunnville and Wainfleet? The fact that there are no less than fifteen classic rock stations, and that at any given moment, at least one of them is guaranteed to be playing Led Zeppelin. So! Awesome!)

Anyway, it was a great weekend of reading, watching hockey (we are die-hard Hab fans in our family) and curling, and, as the kids say, chillaxing. We also played a lot of Heroes of Might and Magic III, because we’re old school like that.

Distraction

I was all set to write about my adventures with Facebook, but then someone sent me a link to this site, and I got sidetracked. And distracted. Needless to say, it is so not safe for work that you should not even think about opening it at work. In fact, if you open this at home, chances are good your co-workers will know what you were looking at the night before. Don’t say I didn’t warn you.