Life in Denim and Flip Flops

No, not that writing challenge. As what feels like the rest of the world is gearing up for National Novel Writing Month, I'm gearing up for another writing challenge. There is no way I'm up for writing a 50,000 word novel this month. Because that would involve having a plot and organization and ideas and all sorts of other things I don't currently have and will not be procuring in the next hour. So instead I've decided to do something NaNoWriMo inspired. My goal is to write 25,000 words this month. No plot or novel landscape to haunt me. Just 25,000 words. Now if you do the math that's 833.3 (repeating) words a day. That's a bit of a stretch for blog posts. I'll probably end up shooting for a minimum of 500 a day and make up for it with longer posts toward the end of the month. Or maybe I'll get inspired and you'll get some longer narrative pieces by the end of the week. There are no "you must write x amount every day" stipulations. In fa...

I came home today to find a priority mail envelope in my mailbox and an Amazon box at my door. In these 2 packages were 3 copies of Hunger Games for the book club I'm running. One, a personal copy of a friend and former student, and 2 newly purchased by a friend and shipped directly from Amazon. And I still have another on the way from another friend. I seriously have the best friends ever. And boy am I going to need those books. I got 2 more requests for copies of the book today. Seriously. I'm pretty sure one more person would find me eclipsing 40 people in this book club. This is insane.

I am currently in 4 different "book clubs." I quote that, and use that term loosely, for reasons I will get into later in this post. Now, this is a new development, just 2 months ago I was only in one book club: the YA book club my coworker and I started on campus, which was on summer hiatus. But classes have started again and I'm back in the driver's seat for that one (co-organizer is still on maternity leave) trying desperately to figure out how to handle the 37 people interested in coming to a meeting about Hunger Games! (Our numbers were much much lower last year...we're talking 14 people requesting copies of the book at most, only about 7 at a meeting each time.) A great problem to have, but a logistical problem none the less. Anyway, so I have that book club, the one I co-organize and run on campus. You may be asking yourself what other 3 have popped up in two months. (Ok, you're probably not asking, as you are probably my mother or one of my friends w...

Ok I promise this time I'm back for real. I've been called out by 2 different people (Ms. Amy and my mother!) about my lack of blogging. I really shouldn't have any excuse, but I'm going to give you one anyway. Work life has been a bit insane. If you read my previous post, you'll know that some of my fall instruction has changed. I had a bit less time to get multiple versions of the class prepped. I was stressed and anxious and not sleeping. And trust me when I say that is not a time you want to be hearing from me. Anyone who heard me blowing off steam during that process can tell you it was awful. I've also been dealing with the campus wide switch to a new email system. A bit nightmarish as not all went as planned. I'm not placing fault with anyone. I know that any transition is a mess, but it's tough being the one caught in the cross hairs. People come to the library in the summer to ask questions because they know we'll be there, but when we don...

I've been a little lax about updating this blog, so I'm taking the Library Day in the Life project as a good excuse to post more frequently this week. Today was a pretty typical summer day at the library. Quiet when it comes to reference questions and people walking around, but plenty to keep me busy. I caught up my coworker who'd been out sick and dug through a weekend of email replies confirming info lit session dates. Yes, already by the end of July we're confirming dates for the fall. The rest of my morning was spent prepping fall instruction. Most of it was for our research class that focuses on a different region of the world each semester. This fall it's Africa. Normally not an issue, but we always provide a current map of the region. You might not be aware of this, but Southern Sudan was officially recognized as an independent nation July 9 of this year. So my map from 4 years ago (and by mine, I mean the previous librarian responsible for the social sc...

During the second round of BEDA we used to do a weekly roundup of media. I kind of miss that. So today you're going to get a run down of my media in the last week. Get ready for the links and video. First off, my new musical obsession: Chameleon Circuit's Still Got Legs . Their first album was good. This one is great! The production quality is outstanding. The overall feel of the album and the way it flows is fantastic. As a huge Doctor Who fan I really enjoy the songs that tell me the stories of the episodes again, but in intelligent and not obvious ways. Even if you aren't a Doctor Who fan you should check out the rock album that made the US iTunes Top 40 charts today. Another song I've enjoyed this week is the Harry Potter/Book of Mormon parody: As for the television portion of the media. I have fallen in love with Party Animals . Seriously how could I not?? It involves my former dream job of being a political research. It's set in London. Oh and it stars ...

There is nothing better than getting a hug from a great friend who's been abroad for the last year. Nothing better.