Lois the Librarian

No Thanks.

In case you were wondering... I am not interested in pharmaceuticals at great prices over the internet.

Stop spamming my blog, drug-laden spammers.

 

contingency, you are my companion

As I mentioned before in my previous post(s), I have no job.

That said, I am working the back-up plans like a champ.

I took the dogs for a neighborhood hike this morning, knowing full well that the temperatures will be dangerous later today. Upon returning home, I mowed the lawn (sorry neighbors who want to sleep in - this is your payback for blasting rap music from speakers in your back yard until the wee hours).

Now enjoying the comforts of central air conditioning, I am digging out my front porch to return it to use as my painting studio. I have several opportunities to show and sell work coming up this summer, and I intend to get back to painting during my bouts with insomnia.

That is all. I have things to accomplish that do not necessarily include sitting with a computer in my lap all morning.

Job Search Journal

Okay. It isn't easy.

My official job search began in mid-December and still have yet to even be interviewed. The good news is, there are jobs for which to apply. The bad news is, the frustration isn't making it easy.

I have developed a spreadsheet for keeping track of my process and my progress. The latter, it is apparent, escapes me.

I have chosen to be creative, rather than frustrated or discouraged. P.M.A.

I have contacted anyone and everyone who might be able to assist me. This reassures me that I have incredible friends and great contacts. Any shyness or humility I possess must be checked at the door. By speaking up and asking questions, I have learned about some opportunities before jobs have even been posted. This may have a positive result - we'll just have to see. My resume has been sent to unsuspecting individuals about 'future' opportunites and I have received some positive feedback.

Whatever the hold-up is, I am choosing to stay confident that the right opportunity is out there for me. While I haven't limited my job search to library jobs, it seems that I have seen a fair number of library opportunities to which I could respond.

Patience, Grasshopper. In the meantime, my house is a mess.

 

 

If Georg Baselitz took a photo of my dog Wilson

They Said "Don't Go"

Saturday morning and I am off to work.

Everything seemed to want me not to go.

He plopped down with great force and refused to look me in the eye.

She also plopped down, but not without scampering around the yard in an attempt to get me to play.

I explained to the one who would not look at me...

and to the one who wanted so badly to play...

That I was grateful for the opportunity to work today.

Dog food is expensive.

Summer Reading

I find myself with NO REQUIRED READING!

There are projects that have stacked up over the years that need my attention, but maybe the best graduation gift I have received is the ability to read WHAT I WANT this summer. Summer reading? Yes, please!

Currently, this:

Admittedly, I am reading three books at once, and this is only one of them. If I find myself without a book and 10 minutes or more, I will read a bit of Call of the Wild on my phone.

MLS...? Check!

Graduated from Library School today. I'm a scientist!!

This is how I decorated my mortar board. The QR code links directly to my resume online:

I'm waiting for the job offers to roll in. any. time. now.

 

Lumberjack

I'll have to make room on my resume for LUMBERJACK.

 

A tree in my front yard was struck by lightning Monday. It fell directly into my house. As the storm continued, I used a bow saw and loppers to get the tree on the ground. No easy task.

I then set out to find someone who could loan me a chainsaw. Today my friend let me know she had one, but that it had never been used. I drove up to get it, and proceeded to attempt to start it for about 3.5 hours. Daylight was wasting, so I headed back out with my bow saw and loppers.

My neighbor came home and tried for a long tome to start it... eventually... it... started...

I cut and I cut until the engine got hot and it stopped.

There is more to do, but my back can't take any more today (not to mention the blisters), AND it is raining.

So I'll add lumberjack to my resume and head off to work at the circulation desk in the morning. Multitasking a specialty!

 

 

calmly collecting critters

I've had Lys the longest. She was abandoned at a 24hour emergency veterinary hospital after being attacked by a pack of beagles. She then went to 2 different homes before I was asked by a friend if I would take her. If I didn't, she would likely have to be put down.

She was declawed (which I would never do) before she was abandoned and has angry scars on her belly. Other than that, I am about the only person she will tolerate - and even then she can only stand small doses of attention.

Fnn came next. I had taken Olive into a pet store where a local shelter had adoptable cats in cages. This silly one-eyed cat was obsessed with getting to Olive and stuck his legs out of the cage at least three inches further than they ever should have reached. Eight months old, the store clerk said no one wanted a big cat with one eye when there were adorable, tiny kittens right next to him. Yes, the kittens were adorable, but they weren't obsessed with my dog.

I went back for him the next day. He was Olive's cat, really, and he stuck by her day and night until her last day.

Wilson sat under my table at a Humane Society adoption event as I painted portraits of dogs. I decided that if he was still at the shelter a month later (which would never happen), I would adopt him. He was adopted and returned twice in the next 4 weeks, and I took Olive to meet him and brought him home on the very day I had committed to.

I have never regretted that decision. Having Wilson when Olive succumbed to cancer rapidly and unexpectedly softened the blow in a way that only dog owners might completely understand. This dog is not for everyone, but I am glad he is for me.

Parker showed up rather unexpectedly. As I prepared to start my last semester of graduate school, I knew I would be home more than previous months and years, as most of my work could be done from home. The Humane Society acquired Parker who had been surrendered in another county (with another name) by her 'owners'. The story is slightly murky, and I don't like to go into details because of the horrific things that happened to her. She is a dog that would never have been adoptable and most shelters would have put her down.

She had a fantastic foster home, and frankly, the Humane Society knew I was a sucker for a German Shepherd Dog -- well, maybe just a sucker. Parker is a project and still has a long way to go, but her nightmare is behind her and I will do whatever is necessary to keep her healthy and allow her to just be a dog.

If, as you read this, you wonder if I would be interested in adopting a puppy or a kitten, the answer is no. It's a zoo in here. What I might want is a new vacuum cleaner.

and then there is this:

"the only people for me are the mad ones, the ones who are mad to live, mad to talk, mad to be saved, desirous of everything at the same time, the ones who never yawn or say a commonplace thing, but burn, burn, burn like fabulous yellow roman candles exploding like spiders across the stars."

Kerouac