Baked. Good. Baked. Bad.

CHI-TOWN! - parts 1 & 2

2012-02-13T11:53:00.001-07:00

Where to start?! If you have ever had the pleasure of visiting Chicago, you know how it would be a hard place to sum up in a wee blog entry. Still, if I could do it with London, I can do it with Chicago. Here goes.

It was a 3 part visit. One part visiting a dear Austinite swimming friend of mine (and meeting her sweet babe), one part tourist adventuring, and a final part work. To be utterly honest, I am not sure which of the 3 parts was the superior. It all was something great and at the risk of sounding over-dramatic, the trip was transformational when it came to the work part. But we will get there yet. First! The visiting and touristing!!

As has been stated in other forums, I am one to enjoy a good read while exploring new that references where I am. For this trip, I had "Devil in the White City" recommended to me. It was a great read on the plane - I was being introduced to the city with lines like: "New York City was the undisputed center of cultural and social refinement for the United States, and although Chicago was certainly a city of great wealth, it was still considered a societal backwater." (forgive me for not citing the page # as I read it on my Kindle). This built up all kinds of excitement for my touristy part of the trip - wish I could have been able to snap a picture of the Morton's Salt Factory I saw from the train going into town from Evanston. It would have been perfect to insert right after that quote.

And so the trip began in Evanston to visit my dear swimming pal from the Austin, TX era of my life. We enjoyed all kinds of chatting and a leisurely, windy walk on the Kellogg campus (where her husband is attending business school) along the shore of Lake Michigan.

It was such a thrill to see the skyline from afar.

Julie and Nathan, being the stellar hosts that they are, were also sure to introduce me to what they thought was the superior deep dish pizza you could get in these parts. Apparently, the 2 competing chains are Lou Manati's and Giordano's. This particular pie came from Giordano's and I really couldn't imagine anything more from a pizza.

The next morning Julie and I had the ambition to go into town together with wee Ginger Belle to adventure up the Willis (Sears) Tower. When we arrived, the tower looked like this:

and we were informed that the fog was all anyone could see at the top. We both opted that the $18 could be better spent on a different day. So I checked into my super fancy hotel (seriously, I don't think I have ever stayed anywhere so nice) that was less than a block away from the tower. I felt like such a poser checking in and when they "Mrs Sweeney this and Mrs Sweeney that" at me, I had the inclination to whisper to them clandestinely, "I was a housekeeper last year. There is no need to treat me so highfalutin'." Not only that, but being a public librarian is not necessarily a power play kind of profession and here I was with all these important looking folks with briefcases. Needless to say I was glad I had packed my tweed side bag so that I could put my orange backpack away and play the part. But not before playing the tourist.

Again, I was only a few blocks away from Michigan Ave (and thus the Art Institute, the bean, etc etc). There were all kinds of highlights. Too many to narrate really.

The Art Institute was truly all it was "cracked up to be". And though I always get the line from people "oh you only spent 4 hours there, that wasn't nearly enough time was it?!" If I am honest, it wasn't enough time to see the whole place or absorb everything, but what amount of time can anyone even stand to be in such an artistically intense place as their modern and contemporary galleries? I don't know of anyone who is up for more than 4 hours in a museum and so I felt right proud of myself taking so much in for so long. One of my favorite bits of the museum was the American furniture spanning from 1700 and on. Couldn't help but notice:

"library table"

"library staircase"

And though I found those to be neat archetypes of my profession, the next few days at my meetings made me proud of how far we have come in the public library tradition. More on that in the next post....

Going Postal for Swimming

2012-01-29T09:47:00.003-07:00

Being new to the swimming culture, specifically the master's swimming culture, I am not positive why they call the swim-as-far-as-you-can-in-one-hour the "Postal Swim" but I can take a guess. At any rate, I can honestly say it was far less painful and boring than I thought it would be. Less painful because I am comparing it to "Brute Squad" from the fall (200 Fly, 400 IM, and 1600 swim - all back to back) which is 300m straight of fly, mind you. And less boring because when you are still getting the hang of flip turns in a 25 yard pool, there is always something to think about. I felt like I was constantly either recovering or preparing for a flip turn. Still, I was pleased with myself that I made it the first 40-45 minutes with all flip turns. A feat for someone like me.

Here were my splits, courtesy of my swimming pal Tom's wife who did double duty in recording both my and Tom's splits with a fancy iPhone app.

Right when I stopped doing my flip turns at around 45 minutes, Tom started to pull ahead of me to a solid 50m (an entire down and back pool length) in the 15 minutes left of the timing. Though I simply couldn't have maintained what I needed to because I was dizzy and mixed up with flip turns, I have a renewed sense of motivation to get that quick turn down to absolute muscle memory. In the meantime, there is something so nice about doing a hard swim like this and not feeling like I took something from my cartilage or joints that I am not going to get back (I love running but this often seems the case after a long or hearty run). Still, I like the muscle confusion that comes with doing lots of sports. Right now my perfect mix is swimming, running and yoga - in that order.

Three cheers for trying new sports and partaking in a new culture! Everything feels fresh and motivating and all my times are a PR.

Birthdays are a Season!

2012-01-27T13:44:00.001-07:00

Someone once told me that "birthdays are a season" when I felt bad bringing a double layer birthday cake by a day late. I like that idea and I think it is true - well, that is to say that I think the best birthdays are celebrated in that spirit.

My problem is that January can be a cruel month in general. The days are short, cold and devoid of much sunshine. It is the month when tuition is due and I feel like I am barely recovering from the energy and finances Christmas demanded from me. And as my birthday falls on the 23rd, someone once pointed out to me that my birthday is the day before "the most depressed day of the year".

In the past I have tried to even displace my birthday to a more hopeful and happy month. While living in Austin, I had to be on campus for a MLS "web institute" over my birthday weekend. I decided it was time to try something new. So I told Matt that I wanted to go out for birthday celebrations April 15th this year. We would hold off on gifts, dinner, etc until then. Seemed like something worth trying out. Problem was, April 15th came and went and I completely forgot that we were going to celebrate my birthday. Woops!

This year seemed bound for the most epic of birthday fails too. January 23rd was officially declared "Bluest Monday" of the 2012 year. But it turns out a good birthday doesn't have to come from good weather or ideal placement within the calendar year. I learned that pretty quick while eating Pho then frozen yogurt with Matt and my dear friend Claire who came down from Fort Collins in honor of the upcoming "Blue Monday", or my birthday. We finished off the evening with a fire and Freaks and Geeks. Life seemed it couldn't be sweeter.

But then Blue Monday came around and my RS president came by with a card, chocolate bar and a visit. Throughout the day I got a handful of phone calls, text messages and loads of loving FB postings - I was feeling right loved and up to the brim with happy birthday feelings! Then I came home to a card from Luling and a wee birthday shrine Matt had put together (shopping on foot since I had the car at work).

The happy birthday Cate vibes kept coming from all kinds of places for the rest of the week through parcels, cards, messages and phone calls. So indeed birthdays are a season and I can't help but send out a huge THANK YOU to everyone you has made my birthday special this year or in years past. I am one lucky girl to have been born in January:)

Did I mention Chicago?

2012-01-16T18:30:00.000-07:00

My first paid work trip. Airfare, my own room in a Marriot downtown, per diem - I feel like such an adult!

It is the first meeting of the IMLS tech grantees and it is going to be held in Chicago so as to give us a chance to explore all the super awesome things that CPL has done with the funds and give inspiration to drive success for our own communities. I wasn't sure whether or not I would get to go on the trip as only 3-4 or of the 7-8 people on the committee would be able to come. Though I think few were as keen as me to head to Chicago in February, I couldn't be more thrilled. They gave me the option of heading out a couple of days earlier in case I wanted to stay and visit friends/family/etc. Lucky me - one of my best pals from my Austin days has moved up north while her husband is attending Kellogg for his MBA. Just $1.75 and a one hour bus ride away - we are already making some plans to maximize the 30 hours I have in the area before my meetings start. Any suggestions from you folk what should be on the itinerary? No doubt pizza and the art institute - I am also thinking some cool pics up Willis tower? We will see. Though I have to admit, it helps that I have to spend a lot of time at the public library there for work. That saves my leisure time a bit since I would probably want to take some time there anyway.

Three cheers for new adventures in new places!

What is an Experience Zone you may ask?

2012-01-16T18:14:00.002-07:00

One of the most defining (and in my opinion, coolest) Anythink methods is the "Experience Zone". It is a hard thing to define, we are constantly trying to do just that at meetings. Still, the best way I can describe one is by saying that it is sort of library meets museum or book display meets program. It should be a discovery for library users when them come into the library that in a creative way brings the collection alive - a self-guided way of learning and much less structured than a program. It should be an "experience" where they indirectly experience the "lifelong learning" phenomenon all public libraries seek to promote. Need an example?

Well, I have done several experience zones since starting this last August including zombie magnetic poetry set up by a paranormal and poetry book display, magic eye and optical illusion pictures throughout the teen area, origami, etc etc. The one I did this month though is what I think is my best yet and it warms my librarian heart every time I see someone "experiencing" the community puzzle I made with one of the shelvers I worked with (a theater, media arts major - great with diverse materials!). It was quite the process to make...

I developed a mighty callous during the exacto-knife cutting phase with the foam boards. I think Sarah did too.

And figuring out the mounting logistics was a wee bit tricky. But it worked in the end - here is the result thus far. Only a few more pieces left!

We made sure the board was sticky so that once people decorated their pieces they would readily stick up on the framed puzzle. The numbers helped people match up the right pieces to the right place. So far I would say it has been a great success with surprisingly few mishaps. I have to admit, I just can't get over how great the metaphor is of having the community put together a big puzzle like this. Such a great message to library users:)

I am already thinking of the next experience zone a couple months down the road. I am deriving inspiration from these incredible videos one of my co-workers showed me of the Glass Harp.

Not that I could set up anything as elaborate as this but I am thinking of having these videos available to watch somehow and then have several crystal goblets set up with a wee bit of water in them for them to explore the different sounds they can make with them. The logistics are always the tricky part - must think of a way to attach them to the table so they can't be stolen, broken, etc. But I have a couple of months to figure it out. Any ideas? Suggestions?

Tell me this isn't funny -

2011-12-19T13:41:00.001-07:00

I am not sure why...but it is. That said, may I recommend adding "The Trip" to your Netflix Instant Queue? It's brilliant really.

Reminds me of a plaque I read while exploring an installation art exhibit in Glasgow last winter:

"I think the best kind of humour is the kind where you don't understand what you are laughing at - you intuitively know there's something that is both funny and 'other'."

-David Shrigley

Though I know why this clip is funny:

But the question that remains for me is who has a better handle on Michael Cain in this one. Impeccable. What is your vote?

Marbling Marvels

2011-12-18T19:47:00.001-07:00

Anythink has a big program during the holiday season each year called "Gifts from the Heart" where each Guide (or librarian) at the branch has a craft program going on in different parts of the library. Our Tech Guide had dress-up polaroid photo shoots, our Children's Guide made felt "Merry Mice" with the kids, our Adult Guide made paper beads, and I chose to do paper marbling.

Though it turned out to be the most involved of the program of the day (not to mention logistically tricky), it was really marvelous to see all these tweens and teens get so entranced by what they created.

It was cool to realize at the end of the day that although I was initially attracted to the academic aspect of promoting literacy in the community, I am beginning to see that I enjoy how broad the term "literacy" can be. What a cool opportunity I have to bring together the materials that help youth in the Thorton community have new experiences whether it is recommending a great book they can appreciate or helping them create their own uniquely marbled pattern. There are some discouraging days on the job but this last Saturday certainly wasn't one of them.

Nutcrackin' Good Time...

2011-12-18T19:30:00.002-07:00

To satiate our festive feelings this season, Matt and I went to Colorado Ballet's production of the Nutcracker this last weekend. Matt had yet to have the Nutcracker experience, so it was fun introducing him to something I have such fond memories of as a child. And as you can see from the program, it was an grand production - complete with chest bumps from the malevolent mice.

After years of watching Ballet West perform this, it was fun to see a different interpretation. I turned into a bit of an amateur connoisseur of the thing, pointing out the differences in choreography and costumes. Though I missed a few things from Ballet West, I loved Mother Ginger and the baby bons bons in this one. It was guffaw funny and I laughed probably a little more than was appropriate for a ballet.

Other highlights of the evening included a walk down lovely Larimer that was lit up with a canopy lights.

And just the unique pleasure that comes when spending time with such a dapper chap.

Blackout Poetry and Knockout Doodles.

2011-12-14T18:17:00.001-07:00

Don't be surprised if your tween and teen writers turn their newspaper blackout poetry into something like this along the way....

The thing is, it can add some flavor to their writing.

On the same note, I had 11 - that's ELEVEN - tweens and teens at writing club today! They all participated and truly came up with some stellar pieces. Feeling pretty pleased:)

Merry Colorado Christmas to all!

2011-12-11T17:48:00.001-07:00

...but how can these neighbors of ours sleep?

I heard this could happen...

2011-12-02T15:28:00.001-07:00

The ALA puts out a "Top Ten Banned Book" list every year to represent the most challenged books in school and public libraries across the U.S. Though I am against censorship, like any decent librarian, I can sympathize with parents or other library users on why they may be offended by a handful of books that make it to that list. Of course, I would never sympathize enough to take them off the shelf but I do see why people would want to have their kids avoid some of these titles, especially until they are the appropriate age to read them.

But a few of the titles that make it onto the Top Ten Banned Book list are truly baffling for me to understand where the offense lies. For example, did you know that the following books have been challenged in a public and/or school library collection?:

1. Bridge to Terrabithia
Okay - so this is certainly a boring and heavy handed book that few kids can even enjoy. But offensive content? Do you want to guess why it was banned? It's has been seen as "paganism" in reference to the imaginary world that Jess and Leslie create.

2. To Kill a Mockingbird, Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, Roll of Thunder Hear My Cry, etc
Indeed these are the "racist" books. Too many "n-" words to be decent reading. Of course, these are for the most part canonized school reading fare but challenged nonetheless.

3. Captain Underpants
Stupid - even intellectually offensive but to be censored from a collection based on it's potty humor? Truly...

4. Lord of the Rings, A Wrinkle in Time, Harry Potter
Yep. These are in the "occult" challenge category.

I always found this fantasy/"occult" category to be among the most disconcerting and even baffling of challenges. Okay, so you are looking for an excuse not to have to read "Bridge to Terrabithia" - fair enough. Okay so you aren't keen on exposing yourself to the uncomfortable realities of racism. Okay so you think potty-humor is offensive in its own right - but to basically rule out the fantasy genre because of your backwards sense of imagination v. religion? This is hard to wrap my mind around. Surely this doesn't happen - and if it does, it is in a land far from me.

But this last week I feel as if I have been officially christened into professional public librarianship. While placing a hold on Fablehaven (a fantasy series by a BYU grad Mormon) for a customer, I made a passing remark how this was a fun series. She asked me what it was about. I began explaining it was sort of like Lion, Witch and the Wardrobe meets Harry Potter. Kids get thrown into an alternate universe while visiting their grandparents where they have adventures with magical creatures, etc. "Oh really? Maybe we shouldn't get that afterall. I don't want him reading that kind of stuff."

I then attempted probe her a bit, as a chance to turn this into a "reader's advisory" moment, assuming that she thought the book might be too much fluff or something. Perhaps I could find a happy medium for her agenda and her young son's taste...

"What kinds of things would you like him to read? Maybe we could find a good series that would have the escapism and fantasy in it that he would like but would suit more what you are interested in him reading."

Diplomatic enough right?

"Well, we just don't believe in that kind of stuff. We don't read Harry Potter and those types of books that have magic and satanic stuff in it like that."

?....Wasn't sure how to respond to that immediately. I couldn't help but pause briefly to ponder how we lept from magic to "satanic stuff" in reference to Harry Potter. When I came to, I tried to play up the Lion, Witch and the Wardrobe thing, thinking that no one can accuse CS Lewis of being satanic. In the end, she decided that she would read the book before deciding whether it was appropriate for her son.

Though I got the feeling that she left feeling satisfied with our interaction, I was a bit rattled. Could it be that here in Colorado there are library going folk that would find as much issue with their kid reading HP as they would in having them play a Ouiji board? I can't help but think living in a world where fantasy is not only taken seriously but challenged on religious grounds would prove to be an exhausting lifestyle after awhile. In spite of how unfortunate I find that thought to be, there is something really satisfying about having my own ALA moment where I witnessed the need for "intellectual freedom". I am thanking my lucky stars that the librarians who served me while I was growing up didn't let people like that filter out what I could read.

Traditionally Unconventional

2011-11-27T16:28:00.002-07:00

It's funny how living in lots of new places during the holidays makes you less loyal to maintaining traditions. I know people who have an annual obligation for every day of the week leading up to and the week following a holiday. It becomes overly ritualistic and though I have a handful of promises I keep to myself for events from year to year, lately I have really embraced the freedom of knowing that I really don't "have" to do anything the same this year as I did last. When I think about it, I have spent the last three Thanksgivings in unconventional ways:

2009 - Austin, TX - Matt and I went to Fredericksburg and stayed at a B&B, ate at Rather Sweet bakery twice, watched movies, rode a tandem bike around (how hipster of us - I know) and then hiked Enchanted Rock.

2010 - Edinburgh, UK - Ran on the Chariot's of Fire beach, explored St Andrews and ate fish and chips with Matt and my mum, as it were.

2011 - Denver, CO - Did a crazy holiday workout with the Jeffco Aquatic Master's swim team in the am, enjoyed a heaping bowl of Pho at one of the many Vietnamese places in town, made and ate Maple Pecan Pie and watched The Outsiders.

The one aspect of this phenomenon that is proving to be a bit painful is that each year I am pining for past experiences. Perhaps this is how traditions start. A tradition is the closest, the next best, thing to making sure you get to relive all that was great and memorable from the year before. When every year offers something different, that means there is something to miss. There's the rub. Still, I imagine that future eras of my life will offer the same-ness, the tradition moreso than my life does now. In the meantime, I am going to collect a heap of limited time only experiences that add to all that I have to be grateful for the next year. I believe that would be under the umbrella of "grateful for such a fulfilling and opportunity filled life".

Big Library News!

2011-11-18T10:09:00.003-07:00

I don't want to sound like a pessimist or anything but when I heard about how we were applying to for the IMLS computer learning grant I didn't let myself get super attached to the thought of us getting it. Maybe it was because I got an email before my first day of work saying that I would be on the project planning team if we were to get it. Not to be overly self-deprecating or anything, but I am not used to be associated with stuff as objectively cool and exciting as this. Tell me, do you have to be a public youth services librarian to think this is awesome?!

Let me also say that the types of places that have received this $100,000 tech grant have been library systems like:

Chicago Public
San Fransisco Public
Nashville Public
Free Library of Philadelphia Foundation
Da Vinci Discovery Center (a big name in the modern library world)
etc

Do you see the trend? In other words, these are all places that are more readily recognizably on the map than Adams County or Thorton Colorado. But the thing is, out of the 98 applicants for this grant, we were one of the 12 chosen to do something exciting with this money. And we have big plans for it - and I get to be a part of it! Not only will this mean paid training opportunities with all kinds of cool Apple film and music software but there are even rumors that the project team will need opportunities to "research" the ways this grant is used in places like Washington DC and Chicago. Three cheers for lifelong learning!

Want to learn more? Check out this article Anythink put up announcing their big library news...

Onion inspired writing

2011-11-14T11:35:00.001-07:00

Though many may think that a 4 person turnout isn't much to be excited about in a program, I was thrilled last Wednesday to have that many show up for Huron Street's first writing club. They were all in middle school so it was easy to target the exercises for about the same age group. We open up with a game of "Death By" which basically is an association/word vomit game to help get things verbalized. It begins with everyone writing a noun on a scrap of paper (or maybe several nouns on separate slips of paper) and putting it in a bowl. Then each kid is responsible for saying the first thing that pops into their head. If they hesitate or falter then we draw a paper out of the bowl and say that they experienced "death by....." It is perfect for the tween crowd and I kept it a secret until someone actually experienced "death by" what the slips of paper were for. Then someone was appointed to describe how this death happened and as we were eating cookies through the game it turned out that the funniest inspiration was "Death By Cookie Monster". That ended up be a recurring theme in everyone's writing that day. Great fun. Below is what I typed up as fast as I could of their associations in the game.

Let’s go ride some ponies. Okay I love some ponies. I love tacos. I want to play some tacos. Wow.Awesome. I heart doors. Flying tacos. Cool. Awesome. Unicorns. Let’s go eat a car. Let’s go to mcdonalds. I’m loving it. Halloween crunch. Candy food. Hungrayu. Braces hearts. You’re mean. Awesome cool. I’m loving it. Think outside barn. Hearts. I love me. Cookies. Heartache. Chocolate. Crunch. Trash can. Banana. Fun? Bag. Tree. Omg pickle carroyt. Banaa. Picking my nose. Ew yummy. Hairthings. Anybody have chocolate. Sorry. Capri sun. I hate it. I love it. Trains fire drill. Duh I hate that orad. Suitcase. Trees. Traintrack. Life. Popcorn. Chair. White board. I do complete sentences everyday. Alexis is a weirdo. \I love roads. I hit my head with a door. I hurt my finger. Ow my ankle. My tooth is missing. Who hates braces. I do. I love cups. I love chocolate. I love eating. Braces.

My favorite bit: I love eating. Braces. Sums up what I remember about middle school in 2 sentences:)

After the warm-up, we moved onto writing fake newspaper headlines and accompanying stories. Though a lot their ideas involved talking toilets (probably the biggest hit of the day) and other like-minded prompts, I have to say that I was utterly impressed with their tireless sense of inspiration. At one point I even tried to touch on the notion of "writer's block" and most of them let me know that they simply never get it. They always know what to write about. Impressive - right?

I participated in the exercise to be a good sport and although my article didn't get nearly as many laughs as the talking toilet one, I was glad I did it. Here's what I had time to put down in the 10 minutes we had:

Scientist realizes that he is a nerd.

After years of working at the top of his field, noble prize winning scientist John Malgrem realizes that he has nerdy tendencies. Suspicions arose after his interest in the Lord of the Rings trilogy grew into an obsession. “It all happened so quickly. One minute I was a fan of the books and the next minute I started critiquing how well Peter Jackson movie adaption was.” Things quickly started adding up after that. His bad haircut, thick glasses, high rise pants, and his love of jokes that usually included the periodic table as the punch line.

So yeah. It was a good kick off for our monthly Huron Street Writer's Club. It warmed my library heart when, on the way out, one of the wee writers let me know, "This was great! I can't wait until next time. I always want to read things that I am writing for other people but my teachers never give me the chance to do it..." Of course he didn't at all realize it but he just validated the role of my profession in his community, in his life:)

Not everything needs to be made from scratch...

2011-11-06T18:27:00.002-07:00

Thus begins the month of gratefuls and I have an overflowing list. Just below the gratefuls of health, Matt, jobs, gospel comes great friends. After several years of being transplanted to new places with foreign faces, I grew accustomed to starting from scratch in making new friends. In the last while I have become "fit" for moving to new places, much in the same way one would get in shape to make a routine out of running up a sturdy hill and getting the adrenaline rush that comes with it when they reach the top. It isn't an utterly comfortable process but there is something thrilling and exciting about it. In this way, going to a new place and making new friends is a great adventure to be sure and not one to miss out on. But it takes a good push of effort and energy when trying out your sense of humor on a new personality and the like. And like exercise, it always takes so much more time than you want, expect or would hope.

All that said, I was prepped, ready, open-minded and determined to set out and find me some new friends when we moved out here to Colorado. I kept reminding myself that they come in unlikely places, often when you least expect and who you would not necessarily have thought would have been someone you would "get on" with so well. In Austin it was fellow swimmers in lanes next to me at the Amherst pool, in Edinburgh it was a spunky Polish housekeeper I worked with and an ex-Sailor Welshman (about 75 years old) who greeted me every time I made it through the rain to the Dalry Public Baths. So I anxiously looked around me in my first months here to see who I would make my new friend out of.

True to previous experience, it was in a most unexpected way that I found a great friend. What struck me as most surprising about it though was that it was a dear friend I already had! What luck! What surprise! For all you Anne of Green Gables fans out there, my "bosom" friend of yore, Claire, just lives an hour north of me in Fort Collins. And, like all best friends, though it had been an age since we had chance to reconnect, we picked up right where we left off. And though a visit can make for a bit of a pilgrimage, I have to say that it is an easy thing when meeting up and having a laugh is utterly effortless. And once again, I am amazed at the mysterious ways that good friends come about in new places - and there is something really lovely about when they don't always have to be built from scratch.

A perfect example of this, is when Claire gave me a tour of her Chemistry lab on campus and showed me around all her PhD projects, I immediately knew what there was to appreciate about the moment when in her torn and faded Princeton running clothes she reached in the fridge and pulled out a vial of orange crystals. With a shameless smile and great pride she shared with me: "Hey Cate! Check out these crystals I made this morning! Chemistry can be artistic you know." Such an utterly Claire-moment. And I had to agree - there was something artistic about the crystals and the event of her showing them to me as well.

So a tour of the CSU Chem lab, a wintery walk in Fort Collins and dinner with a bunch of nerdy Chemist friends of a great friend this last weekend is a perfect start to a grateful month.

The Bowler Derbies Take Silver!

2011-10-23T16:02:00.000-06:00

In the team costume contest that is. Our bowling score bottomed out but we made up for it with team spirit.

I often refer to October as "the most wonderful time of the year" and it seems I work for an organization that has much the same sentiment. Apparently, costume bowling night is the biggest Anythink social event of the year. All kinds of people showed up to it too - including:

David Bowie

the Tooth Fairy (Rosie the Riveter too)

and The Dude (*gold star to anyone who can guess what she made her beard out of...)

Matt originally planned to go as Alex DeLarge from the Clockwork Orange (as he had white temple clothes and a bowler to work with) but he opted out when his eye makeup failed and went for this look:

Though we originally thought that he would be my "sugar daddy", we decided that he was way too under dressed to match my flashy look and perhaps even a decade too late. We decided he could be the middle class banker look of the 30s. An interesting costume in today's economic context I think but it just came together on its own when we found a cheap waistcoat at Unique Thrift Store and a black tie at TJ Maxx not more than half an hour before bowling time. Still, we were told more than once we made a dynamite couple's costume. It was fun hanging on his arm with one hand with my straw cigarette in the other. I felt absolutely smashing.

So indeed, it made for a most wonderful time this autumnal season. There are still many festivities to anticipate too! Glow-in-the-dark party with my tweens and teens on Thursday, ward Halloween costume and chili event on Saturday (they asked us all to dress up from the scriptures. Matt is planning on going as the iron rod and me the mist of darkness. perhaps more on that later), and library movie night on Halloween itself. Oh and we have been eating squash and pumpkin everything these last few weeks thanks to our friends garden. A very happy October to us all!

*Karo syrup and tea leaves...

And in other news, I have officially joined a master's swim team. I now swim in the wake of Amazon women and am learning all kinds of things that are wrong with several of my strokes. It is humbling and inspiring and I believe the best way to improve. Though I find myself constantly reminding myself what my cross country coach used to say "what doesn't kill you will only make you stronger". Hopefully I can remember that the day we swim 4K.

We've Reached the Star Trek Threshold People...

2011-10-18T22:02:00.000-06:00

The week before Matt and I left for Scotland, we had only just finished the 1st season of Mad Men and had all kinds of Instant Queue shows waiting for us once we got back to a stateside IP address. When we first got back we had a bit of a smorgasbord of television series to catch up with. And with the new seasons of Parks and Recreation, Modern Family, and The Middle it seemed like there would be plenty to keep us busy. But it turns out that when you move to a place where you don't know anyone (read: don't have many friends) and have limited funding, well, you can burn through that kind of stuff pretty fast.

And so, we have reached a new avenue in our lives together (or should I say a new frontier?) and have climbed aboard the Star Trek wagon (or should I say space ship?). You know things are intense when you hear "Whoa, cool! They just added "Deep Space Nine" to Instant Queue. They took it off for awhile but then put it back on." I made fun of Matt until I realized it was my turn to come up with an idea for a show to watch before we went to bed tonight and I couldn't come up with anything. Matt offered "Hey, well. Star Trek is pretty good if you can get over the space thing."

So here we are tonight, watching Star Trek: the next generation. Disclaimers aside ("Yeah the special effects aren't good, so that is kinda distracting sometimes." Matt admits. "And their uniforms are kinda funny..." etc)

Other than that, we have reached the Star Trek threshold. And so far, I have to say, it is an okay place to be in life. Maybe we can add this to our list of things that make us more "adult" (afterall, we do own a Subaru and have 9-5 working schedules...) Either way, it has spurred a number of questions we are now seeking to answer like:

"What do the different colors of uniforms refer to?"

"Is Data sentient afterall?"

"What happened to Jordi Laforge's eyes anyway?"

"Do some of these characters have X-Men-like powers? What's the deal with the lady that can read minds?"

Full Immersion Language Learning

2011-10-16T20:19:00.000-06:00

When I moved to Texas, I learned the art of using terms like "y'all" and "fixin' to" and "mess of..." etc.

When I moved to Scotland, I learned the art of British English. "Y'all" became "Yous" and "Pants" quickly became "Trousers" (the learning curve was much sharper on the later).

Though Colorado is not known for its rich culture and linguistic intrigues, Anythink makes up for it three fold. And being culturally committed to where I am planted, I am immersing myself in the "Anythink" way so that I can count myself not only a "team player" but also be part of "The Revolution of the Rangeview Library District".

And so these are things I am learning to say:

- I am not an "employee" - I am an "Anythinker"

- I don't serve "patrons" - I serve "customers"

- I am not a "Librarian" - I am a "Guide". This one was a wee bit tricky for me as I worked hard for two years in school to earn the official "librarian" title but a "Teen Guide" I am.

- Nonfiction is not organized by Dewey or Subject, rather it is "Wordthink".

- I don't do "book talks" - I do "book pitches" or give the latest "book buzz"

- I don't wait for questions at the "reference desk". I hang out close to the "front perch" or "tech perch" or "children's perch" etc so that I available to answer questions when they arise.

It may all sound funny at first but I think I am finally starting to get the hang of it. One thing is for sure though. The easiest way to adapt to a new culture, no matter how foreign, is simply to embrace it. I am a full immersion learning when it comes to things like this (judging by my last 3 moves in the last 3 1/2 years). Though that may give you some kind of explanation if all of the sudden my terms for things get a wee bit "hip" or "Anythinky" for the likes of myself. I am not a poser. It is just that, at the moment, I am an Anythinker...

So much to love about cold weather...

2011-10-09T21:19:00.000-06:00

Cold autumnal running, hot baths with a crossword puzzle, herbal tea!, soup, pumpkin and squash everything, flannel pyjamas....

And for some reason, it just seems so fitting to watch my fill of Pingu these days. If you are unfamiliar, may I direct you to Netflix instant queue? They have the definitive collection I believe. For anyone who possibly knows this character already, may I pose the question: Is it "NOOK NOOK" or "NOOT NOOT"?

Sweetbreads.

2011-09-27T19:33:00.000-06:00

Matt came home tonight from the library with a handful of CDs, the 3rd HP movie and The Country Cooking of Ireland. The cookbook has a beautiful cover with gorgeous accompanying photographs of the dishes, as every good cookbook should.

Though the book is full of some appealing savory soup recipes (leek and oatmeal soup - intriguing...) and comfort foods done right (proper shepard's pie!), there are a fair share of untouchables woven throughout. While paging through some of the recipes I came across the following:

- Roasted Loin and Venison
- Collard Head (exactly what it sounds like)
- Creamed Sweetbreads
- Lamb's Liver with Whisky Cream Sauce
- Michalemas Goose
- Leek and Black Pudding Pizza

It is a hefty book. Perhaps even comprehensive of the Irish culinary culture (there is certainly things from all over the spectrum). And it got me thinking. Perhaps I should do my own Julie and Julia narcissistic musings and cook my way through this cookbook - variety meats and all.

Then I got thinking again. That is actually a terrible idea. How about I just cook the things that appeal to me in that cookbook and not write much about it since there is really nothing significant about how it relates to my life. Afterall, I find no life metaphors in head cheese or blood sausage and no doubt you wouldn't want to hear them if I did. Still, perhaps if something goes right with one of the more approachable recipes, I'll let you know about it:)

In the meantime, here is what Mr. Andy B has found profound about such novelties.

Daniel Radcliff v. Hugh Grant

2011-09-25T22:01:00.002-06:00

Watching "4 Weddings and a Funeral" tonight. Tell me that Hugh Grant in his "height of the 90s" hair and charm phase isn't Harry Potter at age 35...

Can't help but picture him saying something like "Expecto Patronus!" here.

SCIENCE! museum

2011-09-25T20:22:00.001-06:00

So a good friend of mine is really keen on science. So keen on it in fact that she studied it to become a science teacher to boot. Not only was she known for sharing her insights on a hike when she saw a weird bug or something the like but she also tried her darndest to get middle schoolers excited about all things science while student teaching. You can imagine how quick this would take even the greatest enthusiast to wits end though when trying to instill passion for science within an adolescent. Out of desperation she started giving out bonus points (if I remember my story right) to any kid who would just yell out the word "SCIENCE!" while looking through a magnifying glass or reading something from the textbook. I am not sure how this "experiment" worked out but it seemed like a valiant effort if nothing else.

I thought of her this last weekend when I went to the Denver Museum of Nature and Science. This is my 3rd time there, my first time being about the age that teachers were making me yell out their subject areas like explictives to get me enthused about learning. Though I am most definitely an art museum goer-type, this place is truly awesome/cool/interesting enough that I indeed felt like shouting out "SCIENCE!" more than once while walking through.

Truly this is a place where "learning is fun!" and not in a School House Rock sort of way either. This is beyond that. I thought my favorite bit would be the rocks....

Or perhaps learning about flightless birds in the taxidermy animal learning area...

That was until, though, I got to the special T-Rex exhibit. Would that my wee nephew Tom could have oooohed and aaaahed over the animated, roaring dinos and ogled over the T-Rex bones! Man was that stellar! Lucky for me, I didn't notice the "no pictures please" signs until I had already snapped a few...

So yeah. SCIENCE! can be fun stuff . It just takes a bit of vision or someone to bring it to life sometimes to reach a few of us. But well worth it once it does.

A New Blog is Born...

2011-09-18T16:43:00.003-06:00

So to spare BakedGoodsandBads from becoming a solely library/booky blog, I have decided it is time to expand these adventures into their own forum. What will this entail? Well, I suppose I will see where it goes but to start there will be stories, book thoughts and a wee bit of programming brainstorming and probably musings on life metaphors found in library work. Though some of these things may make in into BakedGoods, this will be an exclusive forum for all things library. Let me know if you are interested in antics such as these. Leave your name, number and short message (or actually just email address) and I will get back to you with an invite to:

NonfictionInFiction.blogspot.com

Otherwise, BakedGoods will be sure to keep the latest updates on how the Sweeneys continue to take the Mile Hile City (or its suburbs if we're honest - ha!) by storm.

Cheers,

Cate

Tasting Colorado...

2011-09-11T14:55:00.001-06:00

Aside from my library life, Matt and I have been trying to sample some of the Denver offerings to help us fall in love with this place, and thus stop mourning how much we miss Edinburgh and Austin... Labor Day weekend included a few exploits in the name of adventure, including a trip downtown Denver for the "Taste of Colorado" festival.

We had pretty high hopes for what we may experience with a festival promising newbies like us some good Colorado flavor. I'd like to say that the glorified carnival it ended up being was all we had hoped for, but alas, it was a bona fide disappointment. Though it turns out that disappointments can be entertaining fare when you stumble upon weird phenomenons set up like this children's activity:

booths that leave much to the imagination (any ideas on what this is getting at? or are the Scots suddenly the Amish woodworkers of home improvements these days?)

and someone inexplicably dressed up as a shrimp.

It is hard to say the effort was a wash as Matt and I never cease to be surprised at how much fun it is to have a laugh at the absurd and the disappointing. Needless to say, it was a entertaining night out together.

Not to be discouraged by last weekend's let-down event, Matt and I took a trip up to Boulder for a tour of the Celestial Seasonings factory. This ended up being an hour of filled with all kinds of interesting tea trivia (Did you know that the tea leaves grow best at humidity, altitude, and high temperatures? Or did you know that white tea is simply picked first while the leaves are white while green tea when they are more ripe and black are oxidized?). It also included some overwhelmingly marvelous smells (the mint room made your eyes water with heaven itself!), cool views of robots and factory people at work (worthy of a Mr. Roger's Picture Picture episode), and a thrilling opportunity to for Matt to sport a beard-net. It was a proud moment for us both:)

We also got to feel like real connoisseurs in the tea tasting room.

The whole experience left us with even more enthusiasm for herbal tea drinking. We are now anxiously awaiting cooler weather...

In other news, Matt bought himself a red bow tie at a Labor Day sale at Dillard's. He is still learning how to tie it but man! I think he is going to be one smart-looking fellow when it all comes together.

A Public Librarian's Star Trek Convention

2011-09-04T20:17:00.000-06:00

So can I nerd-out on you right now? Public librarian-style, that is. While meeting with HR this week to set up the ol' health benefits and a few things, I asked about an upcoming training the library would be having for Columbus Day. They told me that it was going to be a pretty cool set up and in passing mentioned that the keynote speaker would be Nancy Pearl.

"Nancy Pearl?!!"

Oh yeah, didn't I already know that?

No. I didn't. But I am glad to know that I can spend my next couple months becoming Trekie-level of excited about getting to hear from the legend herself. Afterall, this is a public librarian who not only has her own Wikipedia page and series of hugely popular reader advisory reference books. Not only has she contributed to NPR on subjects like the upcoming Harry Potter installments. But this lady has been made into her own action figure. Come on - admit that is pretty cool. Tell me, do you have to be a library nerd to think that is impressive?

In the meantime, I need to come up with a list of books to do some "booktalks" or "book pitches" for that training day as well. I am think of doing a series of books under the theme of ...

"Books for Reluctant Boy Readers":
1. Airman by Eoin Colfer
2. Looking for Alaska or An Abundance of Katherines by John Green
3. The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian by Sherman Alexie
4. Shakleton's Stowaway
5. Percy Jackson and the Lightning Thief by Rick Riordan
6....etc

or

"Great Classroom Read Alouds to Recommend to Teachers"
1. The Truth About Georgie
2. Most any Roald Dahl book
3. How to Eat Fried Worms
4. The Graveyard Book or another Neil Gaiman
5.....etc

Any suggestions to add to either of those lists? Would love your good reads input. Though maybe that Nancy Pearl will also offer some last minute inspiration:)

Life is like a library...weeding makes things grow.

2011-08-28T17:32:00.002-06:00

One of the hardest things that any librarian will tell you they have to do is "weeding". Do you know what I mean by weeding? It is a lot like it sounds. In fact, I recently read an authoritative article about weeding in a library that likens a collection of books to a garden. The basic idea is that you have to preen a good collection of books. Things that were once well thought out purchases or generous donations to accept at one time gradually become irrelevant, outdated, unappealing, even inaccurate. So the time finally comes when the harsh judgement call needs to be made about what stays, what needs replacing and what is simply no longer useful to the rest of the collection. And as pretentious as it may sounds, it really does take a professional to do that. Not because it is "rocket surgery" or "brain science";) but rather because you really need to take the emotion out of throwing out a book for the good of the collection. Or for the good of the library. Indeed, there is even a science behind being discreet while going through a thorough weeding process because there are all kinds of well meaning people who will do everything they can to stop you (some public users or teachers just can't tell the difference between necessary weeding and Fahrenheit 451). But the librarian must persevere. A whole collection of resources is at stake.

It is a well known phrase in the library world that "weeding makes things grow". In real terms, getting the weeds out of the collection bring ups circulation and betters the entire collection. Truly, a well weeded collection is a healthy one and thus creates a healthy library. Leaving the weeds in the collection makes resources not only less appealing but less accessible. It forces the library users to search through more than they would need to find what they are looking for (you can see how this could be a serious problem for an institution that can only compete with Google in the quality of results they offer and not in the quantity).

Can you see where I am going with this though? The whole life metaphor and everything?

Matt and I got home last month with just 2 suitcases each, from which we had lived for a year. It was hard to only have that much space to work with up when we headed out to Scotland but surprisingly easy our way back home. The surreal part began when Matt flew out to OK to load up a Penske truck with everything from our storage unit. After moving the stuff into our apartment and unpacking it, we had forgotten about so many things that we had once owned. Everything from clothes and shoes to kitchen utensils and books. How had I never realized how much stuff we owned? And as irony would have it, we have seen fit to send at least half a dozen boxes of some of this stuff to Goodwill after having moved it here! I hear it is easier to do this before a move but I suppose I will just have to keep that in mind for the next time.

Just like the book weeding process, weeding out the stuff from life can be an ongoing process or prolonged until it is a big annual project. At any rate, I think it really ought to be done at least once a year and ongoing may make it more of a habit than an emotional event to have to dread every spring.

And also like book weeding, I think I could have benefited from some kind of unbiased business professional a couple of times. There is guilt with getting rid of stuff. Things people gave you as a gift - things you appreciated but simply no longer need. Things that you once found useful but just no longer can think of a reason to keep. Things that remind you of something significant you never want to forget but really just doesn't have a place in your everyday life now. I feel like I am waxing a Real Simple article here (may I should submit this to them? ha!) but seriously, it can be tough stuff to get rid of things. But what I have found useful to remind myself of is that not only do I have a Master's Degree in knowing what is useful and what is not in a collection of information, I also probably have loads of pictures, blog entries, or dear friends to remind me of whatever I think I may forget. And for all the rest, it was nice while it lasted but I need the space for new things to grow.

Scrumptious Living.

2011-08-21T21:16:00.002-06:00

So, in an effort to feel at home and begin to embrace what this place has to offer, Matt and I decided to spend our Saturday evening exploring "Scrumptious" in Old Town Arvada. The missionaries recommended we check the place out after talking to them about all of the sweet and chocolatey wonders we discovered in the UK. The elders promised quality bottled sodas, ice cream and of course Roald Dahl-esque (my words not theirs) variety of sweets. With the description they gave us, we knew it was our duty to check this place out in a timely manner.

Indeed, the shop did offer a good spread of our favorites - both the classics to the delicacies, the new and the old, the American staples and the international specials. This included Curly Wurlys and Chico Sticks, M&M and Jelly Belly assortments, Nerds Ropes and Gummy hotdogs/ hamburgers/ fries/ etc, Boston Baked Beans and Black Jack Chewing Gum. It was your basic collection of confectionary delights you would expect from a proper "candy shop". What truly caught my eye though was the Valomilk...

Maybe it is just because I am coming off of year of the Tunnock's Teacake but still, good use of mallow is hard to beat when it comes to confectionary and I had to give this one a go. It took a bit of commitment too as this indulgence costed me a whopping $2.25 (the Curly Wurlys were $1.50 - UK price was 30P!). For this reason, I am not so keen on the "Scrumptious Scene" as they were charging this same Valomilk price for a simple Snickers bar...shameless really. That said, I will indeed be looking for another source for this wee treat. It was this impressive mix of chewy and sticky, chocolatey and creamy and of course oh so sweet. It may just be able to make everything right about coming back to the Teacake-ignornant U.S. Now to find something which fills my sultana scone and clotted cream empty soul here...though perhaps with me driving a car to work again, I may need to find contentment without as much British influence in my diet.

PS - Do you like conversing on candy? Do you fetishize it like I do? If so, may I suggest a listen to Chase's Kandy Korner? Matt is even featured on Episode 3: Milky Way Simply Caramel. Listening may inspire you to try something new that could change your candy paradigm.

New Places

2011-08-11T17:38:00.009-06:00

Looks like buying a car, driving to Denver, finding an apartment, getting the car temporarily registered, doing (and passing!) emissions/inspection, flying to OK to truck up our stuff (I forget we have more than 2 suitcases of possessions sometimes), finishing up school, getting a license renewed, moving in and starting a new job really is doable in 2 weeks. Though I wouldn’t whole heartedly recommend trying it unless you were in a time crunch like we were. What I am trying to get to though is that we are now Denver folk these days and even have the address to prove it:

7805 Allison Way #107
Arvada, CO 80005

Okay, so I suppose we are technically “Arvada” people since we chose a place halfway between the city and my job in Thorton. Still, I have to say that this area offers some nice rolling hills that can’t be found too central or East of city centre.

The drive over on Sunday was actually one of our easier days. We only had to complete one pretty straight forward goal that day as opposed to all the other days that were full of bureaucratic catch-22s that befall anyone ambitious enough to try and get legit enough for employment and housing after not living in the country for the last year. That said, we tried to take it in stride and appreciate all the sites of Wyoming along the way – especially while having our lunch snack of Appleauce, Cheeze-Its and Red Cream Soda (nothing like eating like the locals:)...

No doubt you have road tripped through Rawlins, Wyoming. Is it not the most poetically sad Western spots you can think of? That sky! That landscape! All those out-of-business hotels – can’t help but think of the poor housekeepers that once tried to keep the place tidy and neat looking...

Needless to say it was nice to see the geography change to the familiar Rocky Mountain fare that looks like the homeland. It was funny to me that I am moving to Denver for a couple of reasons. First, I realized that I had always lived in a capital (Salt Lake City, Austin, Edinburgh, now Denver). But what struck me as funny when driving in past the skyline that normally gives me a thrill when going to a new place is that I didn’t know what this place was all about. It seems like when I have moved to a new place in the past I have always thought that I would be taking in a new, unique, rich culture. SLC – the Mormon culture! Austin – the liberal, hippy Texas culture! Edinburgh/Scotland – just about the richest culture you could expect for a place that size. But when I think of Colorado my mind just goes blank. What does Colorado do exactly? Aside from mountains – what are they known for? What do they eat? How do they talk? What offends them – other than all the general things that would offend any other average American? Although, I did get my first wee taste of the flavors I might get here while at the pool last night swimming laps. A mother called to her daughter who was swimming about, “Aspen! Don’t go that deep!” So they name their kids “Aspen” here. Now that is something unique. We will see what else unfolds…

The lack of cultural identity I perceive Colorado has is not at all to say I am not keen on being here. All I seem to hear every time someone figures out I am moving here (whether past or current locals) are all kinds of great reviews. Oh the recreation! Oh the fun things to do! Oh the sporting events! I am hanging on firm to all of that right now because I keep reverting to the dangerous but tempting practice of comparing everything to Austin. I must be careful that nostalgia doesn’t ruin the great things of now. It can be a damaging exercise to indulge in, if not kept in check. Must let this place grow on me instead of wishing it was someplace else.

So I think my Matt and I are up for the new experience (or perhaps less new and more just easy and familiar as it may be) that this Colorado place has to offer. I have said it many times since my big move of ’08 – the more cities I go and stay, the more I realize how many great places there are to live. Though, there are some exceptions…and I think one of those would have to be poor Rawlins Wyoming.

Madam Librarian

2011-07-30T21:23:00.001-06:00

So people have been calling my "a librarian" for several years now. But I am a purist - I have only worked up to the "assistant librarian" title. Calling myself a bonafide librarian before now would have been like wearing my race t-shirt after I get it at registration. I have always been the type to wait until I have completed the 10K to feel worthy of broadcasting myself as an official race participant/finisher. So it is with the title I have long coveted: "librarian". I wasn't even prepared to take it on after finishing library school. Nope, not until someone hired me to work as one.

And would you believe someone did? That is, someone hired me to be their librarian. Just 2 days after graduating with my MLS on Aug 13th, I will become the newest Teen Librarian in the Rangeview Library District. Maybe that doesn't sound super impressive to you, but for library folk it is something to feel right proud of.

And speaking of nerdy library news - this place is pretty cool. Aside from winning the 2010 National Medal for Museums and Libraries (a pretty impressive feat in this obscure field), they are often published about for their "cutting edge" philosophy about modern public librarianship. I actually read about this place in library school long before ever even considering applying for a job there. Yeah, that sounds really stupid - "cutting edge" librarianship, especially to those people who think I just memorized the Dewey decimal system for 2 years in school. But let me tell you, this is a business model for a library you would be keen on having in your community. They have a drive-through "pick up" window for reservations and books pulled off the shelf ahead of time. They have a media area for teens to watch movies. What's more - there is no Dewey Decimal system! Everything is arranged by intuitive topics, the same as you would find in a bookstore. The space is intended for comfort (fireplaces, bean bag chairs in youth areas, giant multi-colored domino building blocks for the young ones, etc). So yeah, I am going to be a librarian in one of the hippest public libraries around. You knew me back when....:)

So what will I be doing? Mostly loads of teen programming and readers advisory (such a dreamy/wonderful part of the job description - recommending good books to people). For the interview I was asked to present the first 10-15 minutes of a teen program I would like to implement as a Teen Librarian. I racked my brain for a week trying to think of something "catchy", "in-the-now", even a bit of a spectacle. Afterall, I really wanted the job - got to be memorable in the interview. Matt came up with the idea of doing a "Zombie Contingency Planning Night" for it and the moment he said it, I knew it was just the thing. To pull out all the stops, I learned how to create a presentation using "Prezi" software online and consulted many authoritative zombie resources which included my brother TR, Shaun of the Dead and other zombie flicks, Max Brooks books and even CDC.gov on their zombie preparedness webpage (which I screen captured for effect and emphasis in my presentation). I practiced my tone until I got just the right deadpan effect "Thank you for coming tonight. It is great to see such concern in the community. We have seen this in our history." < hold up a copy of Pride and Prejudice and Zombies> "As you are here tonight, you undoubtedly realize that is not a question of "if" there is an uprising in the community....it is a question of "when"." I sealed the deal I think when I called a local Tae Kwon Do business in the Denver area to talk to them about doing self-defensive training demonstrations. They were keen on helping if I ever got to do the program. And that was that.

I start on Aug 15th, so onward to Denver we go! The layover capital of the West! We hear great things about the area and we are looking forward to explore this new place for ourselves. And perhaps most importantly, you can now call me Madam Librarian.

Taking the Cake Dome to a Garden Tea Party

2011-07-30T20:37:00.000-06:00

What perfect weather it was for garden tea party last Thursday! So fun to catch up with friends over sweets. I think it is just about my favorite past-time these days. How grand that I have found yet another opportunity to wear my senior prom dress (it is almost always my last resort for a Halloween costume).

The menu included:

Chilled Lime and Mint Tea

Chilled Cucumber Tea

Radish and Chive Herb Butter Sandwiches

Cucumber Sandwiches (thanks Laura!)

Egg and Rosemary Sandwiches

Coreopsis Fairy Cakes

British Butter Scones (served with clotted cream)

Wee Ginger Cake and Lemon Curd Trifles

It was a delightful evening - a shame I don't have the energy to do something like that more often! The turn-out was modest but made for rich company. So many leftovers! I forget to compensate in my baking when I make it an "girls only" affair.

Back for good...

2011-07-30T20:16:00.002-06:00

It's nearly 2 weeks now since I arrived back stateside and I have that funny feeling like I have been back for ages. It is odd talking with Matt on the phone while he is still in Edinburgh and I am living the Utah life. It is almost like I am talking to a person who is still living in this intense and memorable dream I once had. Before I left, I did all that I could to try and find closure on leaving so that I could feel ready to move on. After having moved several times in just the last 4 years, I have gotten pretty accustomed to finding ways of feeling ready for the next step and much of that involved looking forward to what lay ahead. But this was difficult to do this time around because I really wasn't quite sure what lay ahead aside from a shot at a librarian job in Denver, a tea/cake dome party with some of my girlfriends, and some outdoor swimming. Truly, I had little left in me to stay much longer in Edinburgh: my legs were starting to constantly ache from the walking and housekeeping, too many clothes were worn to threads, my teeth were telling me they needed a dentist appt, and every job I applied for was put off by me living in Scotland - I made too inconvenient a candidate, etc. I was really doing the best thing - not overstaying my welcome there - but I still get a tight feeling in my throat and a pinch in my eyes every time I hear Matt talk about all of the things he is going through as he packs. That year really passed as if it were a dream.

I am quick to remind myself though of how I started to get British teeth while I was there (the hygienist literally had to sand off the herbal tea stains off my teeth!) and how my faith in coming home when I did resulted in a job here. And I really have been greeted by so many comforting routines and marvelous company as I have come back. But there is this feeling I am constantly battling as I settle into my American lifestyle again and meet up with my dear friends I have known so long. I have this inclination to want to stay a bit sad about being back. I almost want the a homesick melancholy to stay with me because somehow it feels as if I am closer to that year of living Scottishly than if I were to just whole-heartedly take to my new life back here. I don't wish myself miserable but I can't help but embrace the sad feeling of missing the people, places and routines from Edinburgh that are so different from my life back here. As a result, I have been playing the soundtrack from Submarine on Grooveshark or listening to endless folksongs sung by The Corries, music that very much reminds me of my time in Edinburgh as it often was what I often listened to while cooking or walking to the supermarket.

Still, it is hard to stay too despondent when I have been up to my favourite trails, baked in a kitchen with a normal sized conventional (not convectional, celcius) oven, stared towards the Wasatch front while backstroking in the Alta Canyon Pool, been able to spend money without thinking in terms of a merciless exchange rate, and constantly experience the incredibly freeing feeling that comes with no longer being an outsider wherever I go. Life is good. Once again it is forcing me to move forward before I quite feel ready but I think that is probably just as it should be - at least it is as it always has been.

Comic Relief?

2011-03-14T16:11:00.001-06:00

While prepping for an interview for the Austin Public Library Teen Centre, and racking my brain to figure out some programmes I could do for "at risk youth", Matt and I got to browsing comic making websites. Indeed, our FHE turned into making elaborate comic strips:

Matt's was much more involved. I was impressed.

My comic is probably more realistic for the crowd I will be trying to appeal to (short attention spans for the afterschool types). Mine references an almost daily (and funny every time!) occurance in the teen centre when kids try and get in the "queue" on the computers. Maybe sorta an inside joke but the folks I will be emailing this to will hopefully get it.

Fingers crossed they won't be just "having a laugh" when I present it to them. Oh how I would love to be Austin bound for the next Sweeney chapter...

So you like robot voices?

2010-10-28T13:31:00.001-06:00

I have tried to explain, to lots of people, why law school was such a bad bad idea for use. It is hard to articulate it but I have to say that this cheap video says it all. It may not be true for the lawyer friends you know. To that I say, this is good for them and I give them my best wishes in their future endeavors. For Matt and I though, I give you: "So You Want to Be A Lawyer".

I know it seems like a bleak statement about things but really it is funny now. It is funny because we understand now that what happened to us isn't personal. It just happens. And actually, it feels pretty good to have entered the laughing about it stage of dealing with a trial. I think that now that we are able to have a laugh about it means that we are going to be okay.

Since when is it cool to look angry and sloppy?

2010-10-22T05:40:00.000-06:00

If I had to describe the dress code to attend a hipster concert, I would say that everyone must dress:

Grumpy Casual.

In case you are wondering...

2010-09-08T11:18:00.002-06:00

why I don't seem to update this blog much or what life might be like if you were to move to Scotland to attend uni, then might I suggest you check out my new blog: Temporarily Tartan.

It's free.

It's easy.

And it's what the Sweeneys are up to these days.

I will most likely be updating BakedGoodsandBads now and then, when the news isn't Scottish. Otherwise, regular posts will resume upon my return to the ol' USA.

Cheers,

Cate

stupid bats...

2010-08-23T09:00:00.005-06:00

Remember that bat bridge I once heralded as an awesome local wonder of Austin? Well, I still think it is pretty cool....sometimes. The thing is, it has almost always proved to be a great place to take out of towners to show how Austin "keeps it weird". Turns out though, that the bat bridge can have an off kind of night.

We took some great friends of ours who were new to the area to check it out. We described the novelty of it with such wonder and intrigue. We made of night of it - stopping at Big Top Candy Shop on South Congress before hand and then spouted off all the trivia about the bats we knew as we walked and ate Aussi licorice and gummy alphabet letters. It was a great time.

Then we got to the bridge. We waited. We waited. We waited. It was getting pretty dark. The sun was well down (the cue to the bats to come out). The bat watching tourist boats were lined up all in a row. It got darker.

Matt got mad. "Stupid bats! What the heck? They're not coming out. We should just go...stupid bats..."

I stayed optimistic. "Come on Matt, it always takes longer for them to come out than we think. We just got here kind of early and so we just feel like it has been a long time."

Darker. Bat boat annoucers running out of jokes to make, trivia to say...

Then a dozen bats flew out with the reek of guano. The guy next to me says "Oh ho...Here We Go!" Much anticipation. Everyone leans over the bridge waiting for more.

Darker. Then another dozen bats. This repeated itself until our friends convinced us that it was a-okay. The candy and company was good enough to call the evening a success. Matt and I felt a bit dumb still.

It got so bleak even the bat boats started to head in toward the docks. We headed home.

Luckily our friends are talented folk with a good sense of humor. They documented our experience together by doing what they do best.

It says it all really.

How did Abraham do it without Craigslist?

2010-08-19T17:35:00.007-06:00

Life has sped up to what seems like warp speed since coming back to Austin. So much to do to move out of the country! No wonder not many people end up doing it.

I have started to get over the scary, sad "I am going to miss everything I can't bring with me phase" into the "let's purge this apartment and never look back!" Of course I will look back with nostalgia to the experiences I have had but having a good and proper Exodus of sorts is pretty healthy to do every once and a while. In the words of a dear, spiritual friend of mine this is "my Abraham experience". Perhaps I am overdramatic to claim such things but it is really quite liberating. Gets you to thinking about how there is very little we take with us after this life. So few things are important besides experiences, relationships and what we learn. Yep. I am waxing biblical now but this experience is making an impact on me - what can I say?

And oh the wonders that craigslist can bring when you are ready for an "Abraham experience"! We are shedding stuff so quick it gets a little addicting and I have to remind myself that some things really ought to be kept around for when we return. The thing is, I am having a hard time planning more than a year, a month, a week in advance - which is an unusual thing for me indeed. It is a truly an immortal experience to rid yourself of so many things and just start to lean into the curve a bit. Less stuff can somehow make you feel a bit more powerful. Without stuff, all I have to worry about is me and Matt and I have taken care of me for a long time now - even a 1/4 a century; Matt and I have figured out all kinds of unexpected, difficult things in 3 1/2 years. I can do that! Even in a different place.

In other news, housing has had some hiccups. Turns out the most likely scenario for Matt and I to find a place is going to have to be when we get there and can represent ourselves "in person" at the apartment viewings. I started to hyperventilate a bit when trying to come to terms with a scenario of staying in a hostel for a week, navigating bus routes through a city I never been to and trying to keep up with 12 credit hours worth of coursework. Again, I am learning to take a deep breath, lean into the curve and get a "what the Hell - why not?" kind of feeling. Yep. I am pretty much getting invincible right now.

I still could use some extra prayers for our visas though....

Matt giving his bass some goodbye chords. I started to feel a bit sad he was giving it up (his first instrument). I asked him if he felt sad and he just responded by saying, "I just want somebody else to play it." Then I realized this was the first time he had played it in a year and there many worthy financial causes in Scotland to look towards!

When has the livin' been easiest?

2010-08-16T13:26:00.013-06:00

First off, did I mention that I had some terrific times with my fam for 2 full weeks of August? Let this collage (compliments of Picassa) show you how easy livin' was in the ol' SLC and Reno.

Maybe I am just imagining things but it really seems like this has been the best summer of my life. Is this too bold of a statement? I remember a wise Redfish coworker once pointed out that "summers are sacred". This thought has the potential to be a very true thing indeed so I don't take my aforementioned statement lightly. Still I think that this has very well been just about the best summer ever.

It surprises me to realize what a good life it has been these last 2-3 months being that I have worked a respectable amount of time through June and July librarianing summer school in Round Rock ISD. I spent the hottest hours of the day in an cool library reading some of my favorite books like Elephants Can Paint Too, Rattletrap Car, I Stink and loads of other read aloud gems to some very enthusiastic 5 and 6 year olds. A good confirmation that you want to be an elementary school librarian is when you sing "One Elephant Went Out to Play" or "Going on a Lion Hunt" until you are hoarse and still wonder why you are getting paid.

When I got off at 3:30 (such a luxurious time to get off of work), it was often off to Town Lake to take Matt to his rowing class and me to my Deep Eddy Pool. How had we not partaken in these local recreational marvels until this summer?! Deep Eddy Pool is the loveliest marriage of spring fed water into a multi-lane lap pool. It has been just about the only relief around for this Austin summer heat but 2 or 3 jumps into that pool a week was enough to keep my thoughts cool while crossing a Costco parking lot on a Saturday. That is one powerful rush!

Yep. Swimming in spring water, watching Matt row from the docks, reading youth fiction for leisure, attending a handful of Paramount Summer Film Series flicks, lots of Sonic happy hours, being wined and dined by friends saying farewell, having a helluva Cake Dome Party with some great Utah folk and knowing that I have to soak up all the Austin flavor while I can has made for a great "carpe diem" kind of June-August. This summer was just about as sacred as it gets.

For your viewing pleasure, here is Matt stearing for his graduation row last month.

Remember Forever Plaid?

2010-08-16T12:44:00.003-06:00

If you care to follow some of our adventures then feel free to check out my new "web log". It took a while to decide on a name. On our hike to Cecret Lake up Little Cottonwood Canyon, Matt, my mom and M. Swirly Patterns all deliberated over the right title. Some of our musings included:

-Temporarily Plaid

-The Sweeneys go McSweeney

-Tea and Cakes

-Writings from the Highlands (problem is, I will be about 2-3 hours from the actual highlands)

The rest we came up with escape me now but I settled on a catchy "Temporarily Tartan: a year of living Scottishly". Not sure what will end up being posted there over BakedGoodsandBads but I thought this new era needed a new look and feel. So a new blog is born.

Nothing says farewell like...

2010-08-15T14:17:00.007-06:00

Good cake and good company is the bees knees of farewells. In case you missed the Highland Games Cake Dome Party, let me give you more reason to mourn your absence. If you were there, let me give you reason to already begin reminiscing. It was some great festive fun complete with:

a delicious spread with some tasty shortbread and cake,

a Scottish Pub and Bartender in Tartan Trousers,

some good jokes,

and a riveting "Caper" Toss.

It was a bittersweet kind of Cake Dome Party as it got Matt and I excited for our new Scottish adventures but sad at the thought of how we will miss our great American pals this upcoming year. Still, I believe it has made us one step more ready to say "Guid Cheerio the Nou" when Sept 3rd rolls around. Let us pray for our those visas in the meantime!

What have you selectively forgotten about adolescence?

2010-08-08T23:56:00.006-06:00

It never ceases to amaze me about the inevitable but endearing awkwardness attached to visiting the home ward. On the one hand, it is the large part of the community that raised me, sent me off to school with the highest hopes and then excitedly planned bridal showers and put on a well catered reception for me when I finally got married (even though I was the tender age of 22 when that happened, I think that they all gave out a big exhale since before Matt I showed less hope than my hip, American Eagle wearing girls camp peers).

Make no mistake, they did lots for me. But on the other hand, it is always alarming to me how much they remember about the most poignant (and therefore worst) moments of my adolescence. Maybe it is the selective memory kicking in, but I have managed to forget many of my terrible one liners I got so comfortable spouting off at activities like I was the child star of some bad 90s sitcom. They recount my gawkiest, graceless, vulnerable moments with such fondness which I am not sure how they could be going for anything but the ironic amusement route.

I will spare you the details of these stories that make up my mutual activities, girls camp outings and pulpit points I made as a youth speaker. The thing is, if you really wanted to hear any of these stories, you would be better off asking Granite Ward's newest Relief Society president or my mom's old visiting teacher - they honestly know these stories better than I would myself. And although they would tell them to you with the honesty and accuracy that would make you flinch like a replay of The Phone Call, I still have the dignity of not having participated in the talent show lip sync to Hansen's MmmmBop at girls camp.

This picture could be worse I guess - at least I opted out of wearing my overalls on the hike.

Don't Be Scared

2010-07-11T14:29:00.010-06:00

Don't Be Scared compliments of Andrew Bird.

This last week I have started to get a fresh and more potent wave of "man I am going to miss so many people and things about Austin" feeling. I think having an increasingly bare apartment opened the flood gates to this realization a bit. Whatever it is, I have been trying to find ways to channel it so that I don't burst into tears everytime I get out of my pool on Amherst Drive, watch Matt rowing on Town Lake, or talk with "mes amies" in the "French Corner" during Relief Society.

I haven't posted about my French Congo friends yet but one of them got baptised yesterday and I spoke at the event. It was such an incredible experience that I had to write a few lines about it since I more diligent online than in the ol' journal. This family moved to Austin in the late fall of last year. I'm not sure how exactly but they ended up in the Shoal Creek ward one Sunday when I was conducting in Relief Society. The ward clerk came up to me right before I was supposed to get opening excercises rolling and said "I heard a little rumor that you speak French". I told him honestly that I spoke French about as well as I play the piano - in a pinch I can make a few things happen but I certainly don't think anyone should try and count on me for something consequential.

Well, turned out we were desperate enough to use my "skills" and I ended up tete a tete with this family in Relief Society the following Sunday. There was a whole lot of staring blankly at each other and frantically turning to any scriptures in "Livre de Mormon" that remotely related to the lesson being given. I kept thinking, surely there is someone who could be more useful to these people than me! As horrible as this sounds, I just kept thinking that they probably would lose interest in the church (especially with any help from me during the 3rd hour).

I am happy to say though that I was wrong. Gladys, one of the daughters, decided to be baptised this last January and the whole family continued to come to all 3 hours. I became Gladys's Visiting Teacher with a liberian companion that spoke some crazy patois French. We were a good team though. Decontee, my companion, would work as a liason between me and Gladys when I lost the words for our conversation topic. I would follow along as best I could to make sure that nothing was being said that wasn't quite right (there were a few false doctrine moments we had to sort out since Decontee is a new member herself and doesn't have some of the details on the pre-mortal life quite down). I think everything got worked out though in the end.

Over time, I got super diligent with my French study and in my prayers*; there have been some pretty intense answers I have received along the way. I learned how to talk French with this family. In some ways I feel like I have learned a new French language with them. Suffice it to say, I now have a very real testimony of the gift of tongues and interpretation of tongues. If you ever want to hear about it, I will be glad to tell you some cool stories.

Speaking of cool stories, we have had some great times up in our "French Corner" of the RS room. One time this included a writhing bat that was inexplicably dying in a garbage can at the corner of the room. Gladys and Odile kept talking about a "chauve souris" which made no sense to me until they showed me the depths of that plastic can and I suddenly learned a new vocab word for bat. That word has stuck with me too. Vivid memory I guess.

One of the coolest experience yet came yesterday when I had the chance to give a talk in French for Odile, the matriarch of the family, who got baptised. Seriously, this was such a super great experience. I honestly don't know what to say about it except include my talk at the end of this post. C'etait incroyable.

How does this relate to figuring out about the sad time I have had in letting go of this great place and era of my life? Well, if you have even gotten this far in the post, then I will tell you. I have realized that I had this same feeling when I left my fam, friends, mountains, great job and lots else when Matt and I moved to Austin. Had I not come to this hot hot, mountainless, nobody but strangers for miles town 2 years ago then I would not have: found my year round outdoor pool on Amherst, eaten the best gingerbread pancakes there are around, taken deep wiffs of the "forest primeval" smell that pervades the mornings here, or met my dear friends from the Congo. Of course the list goes on. Perhaps it would even go on further if I stayed here another year but it looks like there are some things to be done, people to meet, places to be, things to learn in a brand new place. It's a bit scary but I've got a reference point now that helps remind me what it takes to have some noteworthy adventures.

*I would think quickly, in franglais, dans mon tete. S'il vous plait Dieu, how can I circonlocute une facon de descrire how personal revelation marche? M'aide spit out the right pronunciation of "temoingage". It is a great thing indeed that God can understand all languages - including my version of French.

ENGLISH VERSION

This is a very happy day Odil. Everyone in this room is happy for you. I am happy for you. I know that you are happy. Most importantly, the Lord is happy for you. Everyone is happy that you decided to be baptized.

In some ways this event reminds me a bit of my college graduation day and I will tell you why. At my graduation, someone spoke about what a significant day it was for us graduates. How we had worked hard to be ready for this day and that it wasn’t always easy getting there. The speaker went on to say that we should celebrate our efforts that day but that what we had achieved was also a privilege that not everyone had. As a result, we needed to look forward soon to see what we could now do with the knowledge and blessing of our education. I was impressed with this message. That is a lot like what our Heavenly Father councils us on the day of our baptism. He begins by celebrating with us and then he expects us to do great things with our new gifts.

Do you know what gifts you will be receiving today, Odil? The first gift will come as you are baptized in the water. When you are baptized, you will be receiving forgiveness for your sins. Another gift you will receive today is the gift of the Holy Ghost. This gift will come as the priesthood holders lay their hands on your head and confirm you a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints. What is also wonderful about what you receive today is that you will always have the opportunity to renew your commitment to your baptismal covenants by taking the sacrament each Sunday. The joy you feel today is something that you can feel every time that you take the sacrament. Because you have chosen to be baptized, you know that these are powerful gifts. These gifts are going to change your life Odil; in fact, they already have.

Now that you know the gifts you will be receiving today, do you know what the Lord expects you to do with them? We can find the answer to this question in the scriptures as we read in Mosiah 18:8-9:

v. 8 "...ye are desirious to come into the fold of God, and to be called his people, and are willing to bear one another’s burdens, that they may be light;

v. 9 "Yea, and are willing to mourn with those that mourn; yea, and comfort those that stand in need of comfort, and to stand as witnesses of God at all times and in all things, and in all places that ye may be in, even until death, that ye may be redeemed of God, and be numbered with those of the first resurrection, that ye may have eternal life—"

We know from this verse that there are great responsibilities that come with baptism. As you progress in your testimony of the gospel, you will have many opportunities to serve. You may be asked to serve as a Visiting Teacher or it may be helping to translate something into Congolese. Whatever it is the Lord asks you to do, you must commit today and each Sunday as you take the sacrament, that you will honor your baptismal covenants. I know that as you do Odil, you and those around you will be continually blessed. I know I have already been greatly blessed by your spirit. I have a testimony of this and the truth of the restored gospel. It is true Odil. In the name of Jesus Christ, amen.

FRENCH VERSION

C'est un jour très heureux Odil. Tout le monde dans cette salle est heureux pour toi. Je suis heureux pour toi. Je sais que vous êtes heureuse. Plus important encore, le Seigneur est heureux pour vous. Nous avons beaucoup de que tu as décidé d'être baptisé.

D'une certaine manière cet événement me rappelle un peu de mes journées d'études collégiales et je vais vous dire pourquoi. Quand j’ai reçu mon diplôme, quelqu'un a parlé du fait que c’était une journée importante pour nous qui recevait un diplômes. Comment nous avons travaillé dur pour être prêts pour ce jour et qu'il n'était pas toujours facile d'y parvenir. L'orateur ensuite nous a dit que nous devrions célébrer nos efforts, mais ce de ce jour-là que ce que nous avions atteint était aussi un privilège que pas tout le monde avait. Par conséquent, nous devions nous réjouir de voir bientôt ce que nous pourrions faire pour les autre moins beni que nous avec la connaissance et la bénédiction de notre éducation. Ce message m’a fait une grande impression.. C'est un peu comme sa que notre Père Céleste nous conseils sur le jour de notre baptême. Il commence par fêter avec nous la joie de notre baptême et puis il attend de nous de faire de grandes choses avec ce dons du baptême que nous avons reçu.

Savez-vous quelle bénédiction vous allez recevoir aujourd'hui, Odil? Le premier don viendra quand tu seras baptisé dans l'eau. Lorsque vous êtes baptisés, vous allez recevoir le pardon de vos péchés. La deuxième bénédiction que tu que tu recevras demain sera le don du Saint-Esprit. Ce don viendra de la prêtrise quand les mains seront posées sur ta tête et tu seras confirmer un membre de l'Eglise de Jésus-Christ des Saints des Derniers Jours. Ce qui est aussi merveilleux et ce que vous recevez aujourd'hui, et c'est que vous aurez toujours la possibilité sera de renouveler ta promesse au moment de ton baptême en prenant le Sainte- cène chaque dimanche. La joie que tu ressens aujourd'hui est quelque chose que tu pourras ressentir chaque fois que vous prenez le Saint-cène parce que tu as choisi d'être baptisé, tu sais que ce sont des dons puissants. Ces dons vont changer ta vie Odil, en fait, ils ont déjà changé ta vie.

Maintenant que tu reconnais les dons que tu va recevoire aujourd'hui et demain, est-ce-que tu comprends ce que le Seigneur attend de toi? Nous pouvons trouver la réponse à cette question dans les Écritures que nous lisons dans Mosiah 18:8-9:

v.8 « ….Et maintenant, puisque vous desirez entrer dans la bergerie de Dieu et etre appeles son peuple, et etes disposes a porter les fardeaux les uns des autres, afin qu’ils soient legers »
v.9 « Oui, et etes dispose a pleurer avec ceux qui pleurent, oui, et a consoler ceux qui ont besoin de consolation, et a etre les temoins de Dieu en tout temps et en toutes choses, et dans tous les lieux ou vois serez, jusqu'à la mort, afin d’etre comptes avec ceux de la premiere resurrection, afin que vois ayez la vie eternelle »

Nous savons, par ce verset qu'il ya de grandes responsabilités qui viennent avec le baptême. Comme tu progrès dans ton témoignage de l'Évangile, tu aura de nombreuses occasions de servir. Tu poura être invité à servir en tant que « Visiting Teacher » ou peut être aider à traduire quelque chose dans congolais. Quoi qu'il en soit le Seigneur te demande de faire, to dois t’engager aujourd'hui et tous les dimanches que tu prends la Sainte-cène, que tu va renouveler tes promesse baptismaux. Je sais Odil, toi et tous ceux qui t’entourent seront continuellement béni. Je sais que j'ai déjà été grandement bénie par ton esprit. J'ai un témoignage de ceci et la vérité de l'Évangile ré-établi. L’Évangile de Jésus Christ contient la vérité Odil. Au nom de Jésus-Christ, amen.

Listing the last minute details...

2010-07-07T07:14:00.006-06:00

Things that must be done before 9-3-10:

1. Finish visa application for Matt (by this weekend)

2. Do visa application for me (once Matt is applied)

3. Sell blue car - not too soon though because I still need to work and get groceries.

4. Sell bike, Matt's bass & amp, several other things...

5. Make a "Best of Austin" photo album so we can miss this place good and proper overseas.

6. Cancel phone plan, gym membership and Netflix mail-in plan for beginning of September.

7. Swim in Amherst pool and Barton Springs as many times as possible before leaving.

8. Give away a ton of stuff to Goodwill.

9. Get to the temple while I still have a car

10. Find a furnished studio flat to rent that is closed to campus.

11. Decides what little comes to Scotland like: clothes, COAT!, hand mixer, 9" layer pans, couple of framed pictures, travel guides, New Best Recipe cookbook, Scrabble game & Matt's new English history face cards, traveling Chess set, laptop, speakers, salt crystal from the Salt Flats, camera, iPods, important documents...

Decide what will not come to Scotland: any cake domes, most books, desktop computer:(, so many useful kitchen utensils, portable record player, our comfy bed...

12. Have some quality Brooks time

13. Sign up for Fall classes

14. Highland Games Cake Dome Party 8-10-10!

15. Learn about the best temp agencies for getting a job in Edinburgh

Things that have already been done to be ready to leave:

1. Bought the 1 way plane tickets.

2. Sold the black car (thanks Ellen!)

3. Moved a ton of stuff to the Sweeneys.

4. Swam lots at Barton Creek and the pool on Amherst

5. Had some quality Sweeney time

6. Found good paying summer job to help take the financial sting out of the move

7. Starting saying some farewells to people and places I love here

8. Spent lots of time feeling overheated so that I can remember how frustrating heat can be when I am cold in Scotland.

9. Come to terms with how little that I can bring there

10. Be released from RS presidency

11. Updated my passport

Okay, well, the Things To Do list is much longer than the Things I've Done list but I finally feel organized enough (with my calling over and no summer courses) to even know what I still need to get done. About a month + ago, I would lay awake in bed night after night of after an 11 hour work day, finishing up classes and calling stuff where I would be thinking "I know there is lots to do in order to be ready to move but I am assuming it will somehow get done because it has to - not because I will be able to do it". Well, mostly thanks to Matt and a little to the reprieve in my schedule, we are finally seeing the logistical details come into place.

In the meantime, we are still enjoying life in Austin. Just last night, Matt starting his 6 week rowing course down on Lake Austin. It was hot hot hot and took all kinds of will power to not jump in the river instead of taking a few pictures but Matt seemed to enjoy learning the art of rowing. It something he had been interested in doing for a while. Thanks to dear ol' Dad for knowing what to get him for his birthday this year;) Look at this guy! He's a natural.

And he's happy doing it - you may even be able to spot the smile hidden in his beard. It is hard to catch that on camera sometimes but I promise you it's there.

What are adult things these days?

2010-05-23T08:55:00.002-06:00

While driving past a store that sells "all things Adult" on the highway, Matt posed an interesting question.

"Do they sell adult diapers?"

Good question, I thought. It got me thinking and so I asked in response,

"Maybe they sell responsibilities. Those are adult things."

Matt pondered on that. "If they sell those then they must sell mortgages too."

With that, we both decided that the "all things Adult" store didn't sound like any fun at all.

Meet Ignatius....

2010-05-23T08:34:00.006-06:00

"I dust a bit," Ignatius told the policeman. "In addition, I am at the moment writing a lengthy indictment against our century. When my brain begins to reel from my literary labors, I make an occasional cheese dip."
~ John Kennedy Toole in "A Confederacy of Dunces" (p. 7)

How is this not required high school reading? I ask you.

It's not easy being Cate (sometimes)

2010-05-14T18:08:00.004-06:00

If you have yourself a bad week. A week where you get a bit beat up by the "benign indifference of the world" (merci Camus) - may I suggest listening Mr. Andrew Bird croon this number?

I recommend inserting your name where he says green or "vert". It may just help you get back on your feet.

For full effect do this exercise while running until your lungs get a cathartic burning sensation.

You may be surprised at how much better this makes you feel.

Austin events anyone?

2010-05-09T20:13:00.006-06:00

It's been an eventful weekend here in Austin. Yesterday, I hosted the Bluebonnet Elementary bookfair at Barnes and Noble. We did stories, face painting and a Mothers' Day poetry reading but the real attraction was our bulldog mascot named Peaches. She is a great inspiration for books and reading as she herself is a literate dog. Deaf from birth, Peaches learned to read commands from her persistent owner who happens to be our principal at Bluebonnet. The school had bulldog pride way before Peaches or Mrs. McVey, the principal, came four years ago. It was providence it seems that Peaches would inspire this Title 1 school to stretch their reading skills. Many ESL kindergartners have found great inspiration in routines such as these that we saw at B&N yesterday. Click here to read more about Peaches. I tried super hard to upload a video of Peaches doing her tricks but it just wouldn't work. So sad.

In other news, Matt and I hopped on the trendy punk rocker band wagon by attending the Austin Roller Derby last night. Guilty as charged, we only became aware of this underground phenomenon after watching Drew Barrymore's sensationalized "Whip It" flick. It was great fun though; and we became much more absorbed by the game, tactics and rules than expected. It was the Holy Rollers v. the Hellcats. If the sport was based on costumes/jersey's alone then the Hellcats would have had the Holy Rollers beat with their greasy Steve Buscemiesque coach and their skanky short pink smocks with leopard underware and fishnet tights. The Holy Rollers had a less flashy get-up with mini pleated plaid skirts and white shirts. They did have a curvy black pleathered Mother Superior shouting out plays - which was pretty impressive. So maybe this costume and coach competition ended in a tie...

The game had some impressive athletic manuvering and made for a compelling show. It was so rough and tumble that when a ref called a penalty on one of the players, it was unclear which of the thrown elbows and body slams was not "legal". Still, penalties called for a spin of the Penalty Wheel that determined whether or not the penalized player would have to arm wrestle, pillow fight on skates, long jump or simply wrestle (what all the other penalties ended up becoming in the end) the other girl. It may seem like WWF staging but it is for real. These roller derby teams are mainly comprised of underpaid working class gals that make their living off of waiting tables and such. In fact, lots of them are uninsured and when they get an injury from the sport the audience usually passes around a can to help pay for the medical bills. That's how it goes in Austin at least.

At any rate, these girls are the real deal - trying to get the lead out maybe. So they demand respect and they put on a great show. I would recommend partaking in the culture if you ever get the chance.

Get an MLS to learn MBWA

2010-05-04T19:57:00.006-06:00

One of the best things about being in a graduate school, that is more like trade school than anything academic, is that you get assigned to such riveting texts as:

Yep. In this book you will find text that is as as uninspiring as an instruction manual on typing (not the Mavis Beacon sort either). You will also find explanations on endless theories of how to motivate employees (turns out that better pay is one of the best incentives along with compliments) and why "synergy" and "vision" from a leader is key for a happy workplace. Well, maybe I could have assumed as much, but I never expected to learn about MWBA or "Managing By Walking Around".

Want to learn more?

Managing By Walking Around
"Another good way for managers to supplement information received from formal channels of communication is for the managers to get out of their offices, walk around the organization, and spend some time with employees. This means of ensuring informal communication is usually referred to as managing by walking around, or MWBA. Just as managers should be aware of what is being circulated on the grapevine, they also should be aware of what is going on in parts of the organization away from their offices" (p. 376-377).

This is revolutionary. Really. Not only that but it explains why my mom has looked over to her classroom door window recently to find the school principal's face pressed up against it, looking in. It is simple what he was doing. Clearly he read Stueart and Moran's text and learned the ol' MBWA technique. Every manager is doing it nowadays....

Future collegues?

2010-04-21T20:29:00.006-06:00

For the Texas Library Association meeting held last week in San Antonio, a bunch of the librarians I work with (including my mentor and my supervisor) participated in the TLA Book Cart Drill competition. This is up there in weird librarian humor with the Texas Tattooed Librarian Calendar. Well, without further ado, I give you...not quite sure what to call it honestly...

I think my favorite part about this whole thing isn't even that they threw it together in a week and got last pace (but crowd favorite) against a bunch of even nerdier librarians who had been practicing for a solid year. No. My favorite part about it is that youtube tried to restrict their audio on the video since they claimed it violated copyright laws. Of course, not to be pushed around, the librarians went into hyper-nerd mode and brought all their resources on parody copyright rules to their attention. As you can see, the audio is now back.

Highlights to expect...

2010-04-15T18:07:00.002-06:00

when working as an elementary school librarian.

#1 - Getting a kiss blown my way from a kindergarten boy walking in line to the bus after school.

#2 - Being approached by an eight year old asking where she could find books on JFK. When I inquired about her unusual interest for a second grader she replied "I just find him to be a fascinating man." Quite so.

#3 - Feeling a shoulder tap from behind and a young researcher holding up her pencil that looked like this:

then asking me if I could go sharpen it for her because it was worn down. She even let me keep the little treasure.

This short stint as a permanent substitute librarian at Bluebonnet Elementary is making me think it just may be worth certifying and going through the two years of teaching. Sigh...so many hoops to jump through in order to have that dream profession...

A Decree for Tea!

2010-04-11T15:31:00.009-06:00

Who knew I would find my match to themed parties in Austin? This week I received a formal invitation from my Amherst pool pals to attend The Queen of Hearts Tea Party. My invite came on the back of a playing card. It was cordial but to the point: "Don't be late for the important date! You are invited to tea with the High Queen. Be there or it's off with your head!"

In honor of the event, I wore my best hat with my favorite scarves and made Off With His Head Tarts! They were well received, even by The Queen herself. Of course, the event was well catered and I had two mugs of tea along with black and white finger sandwiches.

That woman is demanding but she throws a party with such class!

Prospera Pascha Sit

2010-04-03T15:03:00.002-06:00

Hope y'all found a way to celebrate this Easter weekend! Matt and I hosted a Ukranian Egg Dying party. It was festively fun.

Since when has Crispin Glover been a "Mystery Man"?

2010-03-27T17:16:00.013-06:00

Granted, "Yahoo News" is not the best source for well informed journalism but this article confirmed that these writers don't know enough about their readers (ashamedly - that being me). Since when is Crispin Glover a "mystery man" to films? Why, I've been following him over the years. He's not just the fellow from Back to the Future. Let us remember the classics, Rubin and Ed, The Beavery Trilogy, What's Eating Gilbert Grape, (the new) Alice and Wonderland, Charlie's Angels...the list goes on. Okay, so the last one was not one of his finest moments and the first couple are pretty obscure if you aren't a Brooks, but let us just clarify that Crispin Glover is one to have paid attention to throughout the ages.

Yeah, he's a crazy person but surely one to follow for those that like some quality off-beat flick watching. Here's him as "Rubin", from Rubin and Ed on Letterman.

Needless to say, there is more to Crispin Glover than Hot Tub Time Machine or even George McFly.

Great News!

2010-03-05T17:02:00.002-07:00

Matt went and got himself a dream of a job today that will last until this August. Starting on Monday he will be working 20 hours a week as a library assistant in the Harry Ransom Center archive. What is an archive exactly, you ask? It is sort of like a museum that meets a library*. An archive focuses less on objects and more on documents, letters, books, etc. The materials in an archive, like the Harry Ransom Center, are available for both research and curated exhibitions. Most of Matt's work will comprise of moving some of the permanent collection into an annex and creating finding aids for the materials so they can be easily retrieved when needed. This is pretty exciting stuff for a fellow like Matt who collects caligraphy inks and pens, fetishizes typewriters and enjoys solitude in projects.

More on the Ransom Center. If you are not library nerds then you may not be as familiar with it. To give you an idea of how cool this is though, I once heard this place described as a "kick-ass archive". I thought that was a pretty silly thing to say until I went to one of their latest exhibits on the history of film. This exhibition was pretty incredible. It included all kinds of treasures like the actual red dress Scarlett wore in Gone with the Wind and the preliminary storyboards from Martin Scorcesi's Raging Bull. They also have, as part of their permanent collection, an original Gutenburg Bible. I think we can all agree this adds up to a pretty cool archive, maybe even kick-ass job...?

*Funny that I didn't end up in an archive but I think it is mainly because I need a little more "people time" than Matt does.

In other news...

2010-03-02T13:01:00.003-07:00

Matt shaved. His skin was getting a bit irritated in spots so he decided to rid the facial hair until he felt it was again time for the beard. Here are a couple of different stages along the way. I was at work when he did most of it and he sent me this pic in an email. It got me laughing so hard in the Teen Center that all the kids were looking at me like I was a crazy person (actually that probably had nothing to do with me laughing on second thought since all look at me that way).

Well, without further ado, I give you stage #1 of shaving process:

The G'Day Gov'nor stage

And stage #2. I am not sure what to say about this one except that this is what I came home to last night and after taking the obligatory picture, I demanded that something happen in a timely manner to take care of this creepy stache. Sorry Matt, even you look like a fascetious chump in a moustache.

SCIENCE!

2010-03-02T12:43:00.003-07:00

Do you remember doing stuff like this?

For the Austin Public Library's Teen Center, I worked at the Science Festival this last Saturday. It was a great time and I kept thinking of how spot on my Jack Smaz friend was about having her students spontaneously yell "Science" during biology class to foster enthusiasm. Turns out that learning about science can be quite exciting, as seen in one of my favorite tri folds below...

It reminded me of my 6th grade science project when I use the ol' scientific method to determine whether a dog's or a human's mouth was cleaner. My dad hooked me up with 3 "blood auger petri dishes" (he made me spell the whole thing out in my project rather than just using petri-dish). Then I got an "inoculator" (a wire hanger that had been sterilized on the stove) to swab around in Geezer's, my dog, mouth and then onto the petri dish. Then, after sterilizing the hanger again, I did the same with my mouth for the second dish. The third I swirled the inoculator in the air a couple of times to make the "control dish".

Two or three weeks later I got the shock value I wanted, and the justification that it wasn't in fact gross that my dog licked my face, the dog's petri-dish grew far less gross looking stuff than mine. By 6th grade science fair standards, that meant that my mouth was clearly dirtier than my dogs. Infallible logic really. The funny thing was that the control dish grew a huge blob of something terrible looking. I wasn't quite sure what the deal was with that except that maybe it had something to do with me waving it around in the air above a pot of bubbling Hormel chili (it was on the other burner - the one not being used for sterilizing a hanger). On second thought, maybe what I proved was that Hormel chili is actually much "dirtier" than both a dog and human mouth... Who knows? Science can be so elusive....

It's a mad mad mad mad world of words!

2010-02-18T20:13:00.007-07:00

After fiddling around online to try and come up with an activity to do with the Teen Center kiddos at the St. John branch I stumbled across a madlibs website. Since the theme next month is fairy tales, I thought this might match up well. So I tried it out myself and this is what I came up with. Without further ado, I give you the.....

THE TALE OF LITTLE RED FREEZING COLD HOOD

Once upon a rubix cube, there lived a striped girl
called "Little Red freezing cold Hood". Little Red freezing
cold Hood just loved to practice in the forest.

One day, her sister-in-law called to her and said, "Little
Red freezing cold hood, would you please bring this basket
of forks to your polka dotted grandmother in the woods?"

Little Red freezing cold Hood started off down the bathtub,
but on the way she met a big bad yogi. "Where are you
going?" the yogi asked her. "Oh," she replied, "I am going
to bring these forks to my grandmother, so that she will
become less polka dotted!"

The yogi quickly ran down the bathtub to grandma's house, and
when he got there he slapped her in one gulp! He quickly put
on her cardigan and got in the eyelash.

When Little Red freezing cold Hood walked in, she was
horrified to see the yogi in grandma's eyelash. "Why
grandma!" she said. "What big slippers you have!" "The
better to jogging you with, my dear!" he yelled, and jumped
out of the eyelash.

Luckily, at that very moment a handsome scrunchie happened
to be walking along the bathtube and heard Little Red freezing
cold Hood fighting with the yogi. He ate the door down, then
smacked the yogi with his own panty hose. The yogi begged
for mercy and ran away. Then Little red freezing cold hood
and the scrunchie shared some forks, and lived playfully
ever after.

See! Literacy is fun!!! Don't believe me? Check out this fairy tale madlib yourself. It's fun too. http://nick.omp.net/madlib2.html

The only thing uglier than wearing running shorts in public...

2010-02-03T07:18:00.002-07:00

It's cooled down to around 40 degrees here in Austin. Yesterday I saw half a dozen girls wearing spandex pants with runner shorts on top. Seriously guys?

Good music?

2010-01-29T08:43:00.004-07:00

Swirly Patterns and I once had a conversation that spinning classes must be the same all over the world. Our reasoning was that since while Mr. S.P. was hiking through the bucolic moutainside surrounding Andora, he heard a jarring tempo and foreign shouting from inside one of the fitness centers in town. It didn't take long for him to realize that it was a spinning class at full volume (as all spinning classes are). Taking that and my own personal experiences spinning at various places, we concluded that spinning instructors pick the same music and speak a universal language. If you want to get an idea of what that is like, remember this?

I have found an exception, however. Austin spinning classes are much much better on one account. The music is super good. I guess I should have expected that. Still, it made for a nice surprise this morning when Ted Nugent's Cat Scratch Fever and over played one hit wonders were replaced by M.I.A., Spoon and the like.

PS Sorry this pic is so so terrible. I had to drive the point home somehow...

Day 4

2010-01-25T09:55:00.012-07:00

It is the final day of the final "web institute" I have to attend for this here library science degree. Let me just say the good news first, I think I will actually be able to build a database during this semester. The course material is actually pretty neat. If anyone of you gets spontaneously interested in deciding authority control, building a classification scheme or working with any type of metadata, for that matter, then we should talk. It's a more approachable and thought provoking conversation than you may think.

Still, the charm of 8 hours a day, four days straight of power point lectures wears off before it even starts. That is not to say, however, that there has been a demise though along the way.

Day #1 Disoriented trying to find class. Walk in late. Seat selection not made wisely. End up sitting in between a snorting, coughing smoker and a girl taking copious amounts of notes on everything said. Get nervous that I should be taking more notes. Smoker smell ends up being overcome by some bad, bad cologne. Some guy up front keeps asking obscure questions - I only know who is talking because he moves his big head around like a muppet when he talks.

Day #2 Pretty tired. Arrived early enough for back row seat + moved away from cologne scent and smoker man. Lady who asks tons of questions comes in late and sets up camp in the back - using a garbage can as a desk for her computer and water bottle. Takes her nearly and hour to get situated. After the break, garbage can lady finds a spot in front row so that her questions can be answered.

Day #3 So so so bored. Leaving the lecture hall makes me squint from the light like a ninetendo gamer who has been playing for 3 days in a dark room with stale air. Room begins to smell faintly of burgers after lunch. Why don't these people leave the room to eat?! Lots of more questions from garbage can lady, muppet head and a bunch of soft talkers. Coughing, burping smoker sits behind me. Lady next to me comments "some of these people need their own bubble".

Day #4 Room smells like burgers before lunch. Garbage can lady gives up but muppet head just won't stop, without consideration to how he adds to the lecture. The stink of someone's hard boiled breakfast eggs waft through when people walk by or open the doors. About 1/3 of the class is reading novels from their kindles. One blatantly listens to her iPod with both headphones. Approaching dangerously close to wits end.

3 more hours....

First Austin Cake Dome Party!

2010-01-19T07:45:00.008-07:00

It was marvelous! We went with a Dr. Seuss theme to assure success. There were just so many possibilities with a theme like that and it was great fun. Kudos to Christina and Julie for baking up such a thematically impressive cake that tasted terrific! In spite of set backs like the cake spilling in the oven and burning the edges, it turned out tasty and impressive, not to mention how it added so much to the Seuss cheer. Well done! I stood amazed. I just stuck with my trusty carrot cake recipe. The two complimented each other quite nicely though I think.

The spread was fun with multicolored "1 fish - 2 fish" Swedish fish, "Star Belly Sneetch" Snacks, "Big Hearted Moose" cookies, green deviled eggs, and the works.

It was a good time throughout but the party really got going when "Thing 1" and "Thing 2" arrived in full garb. Man! they were the life of the party. You wouldn't believe it!

Julie and Christina came up with a ingeniously Seussy game that was great fun. Sort of "a la" Balderdash, each person wrote down a couple of Dr. Seuss passages on a card then made up one of their own. It was surprisingly difficult to figure out which ones weren't Seuss. He was a prolific writer, afterall. Wanna play? See if you can figure out which one I wrote of the 3:

"But that nooth brush on my tooth brush...Him I could do without!"

"If you find yourself with a case of the Blue Freckle Face, then fear not good pal...for cure it we shall!"

"You will learn about Jake the Pillow Snake and all about Foo Foo the Snoo."

I think everyone learned a little something new about Dr. Seuss and I for one gained and almost Jackie Smaz-like admiration for him by the end. If there is one town that can fully appreciate Dr. Seuss and welcome a Cake Dome party as well as the ol' SLC, it turns out to be Austin. I am surprised it took me so long to get this Texas Town hooked on cake!

There goes Mr. Humbug...There goes Mr. Sneer!

2010-01-11T18:03:00.002-07:00

So Matt and I recently made it through the 12 episode BBC series of Oliver Twist. It was an authentic experience shot on video - the pure BBC experience. Once I was able to get over the expectation of the characters bursting out with tunes such as "Food Glorious Food", "Consider Yourself", "Who Will Buy" etc., I was able to enjoy it lots. Although, every once and a while I would make Matt stop the episode so that I could go to youtube.com and get my fix for the fitting song before we moved on in the plot.

Since it was the Christmas season at the time when we were watching it, we started thinking about some of the songs from the musical rendition of another Charles Dickins musical adaption, The Muppet Christmas Carol. Naturally, our thoughts turned to what muppets could play what characters from Oliver Twist. This is what we came up with thus far....

Oliver - Kermit

Artful Dodger - Gonzo or Animal (if we dare go that route)

Mr. Bumble- Statler and Waltdorf (suppose we could just duplicate this character)

Nancy- Miss Piggy

Fagin- Fozzie Bear (Wocka Wocka Wocka!)

Mr. Brownlow- Sam the Eagle

Since all muppet movies get at least one human character, Matt and I decided that would need to be saved for Bill Sykes. I am just not sure if the muppets could pull off the dark and the deep of this character. Don't get me wrong, those muppets are good at what they do. They just have a different appeal in what they do well. Also, we could throw in the Swedish Chef as himself during the "Please Sir, I want some more" scene. Beeker could be a beggar on the street somewhere in London. Scooter could be the Dodger's sidekick, etc.... Well you get the idea.

What are your thoughts? Any suggestions? Corrections? This is an open forum here.

Welcome 2010!

2010-01-05T17:53:00.000-07:00

2010 is awesome! Even small towns like Ada, Oklahoma know how to celebrate this new era with high tech movie options like 3D. No better way to usher in the new year than with a "Coraline" in 3D in your own living room. Check it out!

Pinata time at the Austin Public Library!

2009-12-10T09:27:00.009-07:00

When I stop and think about it, I am pretty surprised I got through an entire school year as an elementary school art instructor in a 60% Hispanic school and never thought to make a pinata. Well, with some trepidation about busting out copious amounts of watery glue to mache in a library, I took it out with those great kids at the Oak Springs Library. It has been a month in the making - with 4 layers of mache on an inflated punching bag, a couple of poster boards mached on for horns, as well as lots of colored tissue and crepe paper for decorations. And I have to say, that I am totally impressed with how they turned out.

One of our Oak Springs pre-teens was hard at work in making a tissue paper longhorn. Everyone that saw his contributions marveled at the creativity and precision of his work. He started taking it very seriously after that. So much so that when I asked him if I could get a picture of him smiling, he got a little stiff and said "I'm sort of...um... concentrating on this." It was a great moment.

Here's Gabby hard at work on her pinata.

We finished decorating and filling them last night, only a few minutes before the Oak Springs Christmas party started. All three were filled to the brim with bookmarks, stickers, chicklet gum (that busted up all of the concrete when they fell), weird foreign candy that came from the dollar store, and plastic animals. I can't describe the excitement of the evening. So so many kids chose pinata breaking over Santa pictures, an elf folding balloons, and listening to school choirs. Yep. It was quite the "hit". Terrible pun. Sorry...

Still, can you see the excitement on Daniel's face and the way he is standing in this pic?

When it got down to the last shreds holding onto the rope, I was consumed with anticipation. It would just kill me every time! Then when it broke, OUT OF THE WAY EVERYONE!

Usually the way it went was some disoriented kid with a bat would still be swinging while Lee, the security guard helping me, would try desparately to get the a hold of that swinging bat and take the blind fold off before any of the candy rushers got smacked in the face. Whew! There were some close ones too and I was just thanking my lucky stars that Lee was there. Here he is trying to explain the rules to an anxious girl who now has the bat, while wearing a blindfold.

Well, fun was had by all. I just love these Austin kiddos. Heck. Last night was so fun - I can't imagine anyone who attended would argue that it wasn't so bad to support your public library! Promoting literacy and community understanding can actually be lots of fun.

What Makes You Hard Core?

2009-12-04T18:24:00.007-07:00

Today I went for a swim in that pool I love on Amherst Avenue. I thought twice before getting into my swim suit as the weather forecast called for snow. Which here in Austin the forecast of any kind of snow creates somewhat of an apocolyptic frenzy in everybody. People prepare for snow in much of the same manner that they do for hurricane - making sure they have food storage in case they get "snowed in", calling into work to make sure they can come in late in case the roads are dangerous, etc. The only difference is that when there is a hurricane, it is actually kind of scary and destructive whereas the snow we get is more comparable to a romantic flury you would see setting a mood in some cheesy chick flick scene on an ice skating pond or a carriage ride. It is more like that kind of snow than "The Shinning" but you wouldn't know it if you talked to anybody. Nope, any snow in Austin is as threatening to daily routine as a whiteout blizzard or golf ball sized hail, which is something that is actually known to frequent this region.

Back to my swim. Well, there isn't much to say except that it turns out that there is nothing more thrilling to me than swimming the backstroke with flurries of snow hitting my goggles and face. That pool is just magical in the winter.* The colder the day the better. Once temps drop below 50 degrees you are guaranteed a lane to yourself if not the whole pool. On those days, steam swirls up from the water so thick at night that you can't even see the other side of the pool clearly. Of course the transition from towel to pool is brisk and you learn how to put your cap and googles on in few short motions but once you get your stroke into a rhythm...well...it's a good time. Like running, I don't think outdoor winter swimming is for everyone but if it is for you then there is nothing that could make you happier than this pool was today.

When I got out and started heading to the car in my towel and flip flops a girl in a parka and scarf called to her dog through the tall collar of her coat. Then she took one look at me and said, "Did you just go swimming?!" I told her "yeah, the pool's heated though". I could tell she was thinking about whether or not that made seeing me in a parking lot with wet hair, a swimming suit, towel and flip flops normal. "Oh. Huh. Really?" I don't think she was "really" surprised by the fact that the pool was heated so much as the idea that somehow this would make up the difference enough in 35 degree weather for a person to jump half naked into a pool of water and swim around for an hour. That's fair enough though. I felt like telling her though that this is the only remotely "hard core" thing I ever do with myself. I will never be the type of person who will parachute out from a plane for the thrill of it. I don't jump off cliffs into deep water. I brake down every hill, no matter how small, when I am on a bike. But I swim when it's cold obligingly and even in cold water when there isn't a pool around. Yep. Maybe that's not that cool but I still think I fit Jack Black's definition of being hard core because outdoor winter swimming is living hard core.

*As long as it is heated of course. This experience wasn't nearly as enchanting on Tuesday when they decided not to turn the heater on that day even though it was only 45 degrees outside.

Can I tell you about our Scotland Secret?

2009-11-21T13:45:00.008-07:00

It's been all I could do to keep mum about it but Matt gave me the go ahead so I am in the clear for announcing.

First let me give you a hint, it has to do with where Matt and I will be most likely be living from the Fall 2010-Fall 2011

One more hint....

Well, you probably are getting the jist of it. The thing is, Matt applied to do the LLM exchange program for his final year in law school at the University of Edinburgh. Getting his JD from UT and his Masters of Legal Research from the University of Edinburgh seemed like the perfect fit but when he applied for the program a couple months ago, it seemed as if it was too good to be true. The student exchange office was packed with peeps interested in the various programs. We were really not sure if any of it would pan out. Still, Matt applied. Of course, being a reserved and shrewd fellow in all things, he told me not to tell a soul that he did. I did my darndest not to and stayed good on my promise, until now obviously. That was at the end of September. Until then we have been waiting. And waiting. And....waiting.

It got to be too much for Matt last week, so he stopped by to the student exchange office a week ago and asked if he could update his information with a relevant course he wanted to add to his resume. They let him know that it was unnecessary as decisions had already been made and the emails would be sent out "on Monday". That started last weekend out with a bit of tension but we tried to distract ourselves well enough so that we didn't pass out from holding our breath for 3 days.

This last Monday came and went without an email. Same with Tuesday. It seemed that all hope was lost. I was ready on Monday night for the worst and was sure to stop at Whole Foods on the way home from work to buy Matt some organic Reese PB Cups and fancy Martinelli's apple juice as consolation. He accepted it all with a weak smile and didn't even have to tell me that the juice would still taste a bit bitter for a day or two. Still, he enjoyed the PB cups on Tuesday and we both found ways to convince ourselves that "we didn't need that stupid exchange program anyway"..."moving is such a pain"..."if they don't want us then heck! we don't want them!" You get the idea.

Well, of course, Matt still needed closure; so he stopped by the office a final time to get a sure answer. The office was closed but on the door was posted the list of all accepted applicants to their respective programs. And sure to Sweeney form, in such matters, we had assumed too much too quickly. Listed next to the Edinburgh Scotland exchange were the two accepted applicants. Mr. Matthew Sweeney was one of them. The email didn't officially go out until Thursday but it indeed came and we are oh so thrilled!

So I suppose it is off to another adventure. I hope that Edinburgh is as keen on "keeping it weird" as Austin is. From the stories that both my dad and Mr. Swirly Patterns have said from their missions, they keep it weird there in a whole new way. I will let you know the baked goods and bads of what that will mean for Matt and I next year. Stay tuned then I guess...

***Matt wishes me to post one disclaimer about all of this and that is that there is still one more step to finalize whether this actually happens. That is, University of Edinburgh needs to have two interested law students wanting to come to UT in order for the exchange to work. We won't know that until March, so there is still a slight chance that something could come in between us and Scotland. Still, I can't wait until March to get excited for this. In any case, it seems likely enough now that Matt has been accepted.***

Just in case you were wondering

2009-11-18T15:50:00.006-07:00

Here is a short list of things that get on my nerves lately.

1. The absurd number of girls on UT campus (and neighboring areas with the same age group) wearing running shorts like they are regular clothes.

2. How it seems that 1 in 3 girls between the ages of 16-25 think that wearing running shorts is not at all sloppy or stupid looking.

3. Girls wearing running shorts with a sweatshirt and flips flops. Can anyone validate how this doesn't make sense?

4. Girls wearing running shorts who clearly .... how can I say ... do not engage in anything that includes physical exercise. Wearing the shorts does not make your legs look like a runner's. Far from it.*

5. The realization that running shorts are the new pajama pants of the south.

Oh well, I suppose it makes it a bit easier now that I have left BYU campus, as most of these girls have reasonably un-big hair and don't tend to wear an unholy amount of mascara. Still, let it be known that running shorts were not designed for fashion. They are clearly designed for a specific function and no amount of "built-in underwear" or colorful stripes on the side can compensate for failure to wear actual clothes to school. The sooner people can begin to respect this principle, the better this Austin community will be.

*Sure. You may say that I am being exclusive about runner's apparel since I wear running shorts when I run. By no means am I suggesting that my legs look any better than most of these girls, even though I do run. I do, however, respect that running shorts are utilitarian. As a result, I avoid wearing them in public at all costs. I respect that running shorts were created by the running geek and for the running geek.

For your convenience, I have included an image of the appropriate use of running shorts.

Dogtoberfest!

2009-10-26T07:14:00.015-06:00

Get it?! It's a dog festival in October!! The second annual in Austin, in fact, and man was it fun! Matt and I met up with some friends just in time for the costume contest. When Matt heard that there was a costume contest he was a little reticent on coming. "What do we do? Dress up as dogs?" When he learned that it was the dogs who were competing with their costumes, he was all for attending. My goodness, it was a good thing we did. Otherwise we would have missed out on one of the most festive events of the season. It was a good time for all. Take a look...

Get it?! The dog is dressed up as a chicken!

Apparently this dog only needed a hood to pull off Chebacca.

Yappy dogs were even worth interacting with when they had on a costume.

In between rounds of the contest, the dogs decompressed by socializing,

getting a few belly rubs,and even dancing!Of course, what would be a dog costume contest without Wiener Dogs dressed up like a hot dog or a banana?
Is this cute or really upsetting? I'm not sure what yet...

And the grand prize winner, for good reason, goes to the Mad Hatter.
Such dignity.

What is great about this event, is that it turns out that dogs are not at all camera shy. Granted, they get easily distracted by things they can sniff and reeling in people who could potentially pet them, but they are easier to photograph than a happy group of children. Not only that but no body thinks you're a creep for wanting to photograph how great they look. Yep. This event was a marvelous idea. I can't wait until the 3rd annual Dogtoberfest! I think I will rent me a dog to dress up just for the evening....

Be Prepared! for a good Halloween season...

2009-10-18T19:40:00.005-06:00

When Mr. Swirly Patterns came for a visit last week, I was struck once again with cult classic fever. There is not one person who can better help you catch the "Ed-Wood" bug than my brother. It's a good thing that he came in time for Halloween season.

For me, this is the most wonderful time of the year; but I have found that in order to experience the depth that Halloween has to offer, eating Abba Zabbas and Bottle Caps is just not enough. Lets be honest here, in addition to the candy and a costume, there needs to be some other things in order to assure a complete Halloween season. I have found that I need substantial time spent in drugstore aisles looking at bad makeup and rayon costumes. I also have found that including something pumkiny helps a great deal too. This can be applied in many ways (ie pie, cookies, bread, carving, seeds, gourds, etc). And of course, viewing at least one terrible (or very dated works too) Halloween flick is a necessity. I'll play viewer's advisory media librarian a moment here and recommend a handful:

- Shaun of the Dead
- The Fearless Vampire Killers
- Ed Wood
- Ghostbusters
- Teen Wolf (but not Teen Wolf Too - unless you are going for terrible and dated)
- Lost Boys
- Sleeper
- Revenge of the Body Snatchers
- Plan Nine From Outer Space (I don't have to have seen this one to know it should be on the list)

I have no doubt that you all would have some good suggestions to add to that list too. Feel free to fill in the gaps I have left. I think I have my main monsters covered here, except for trolls. Okay, I suppose I will throw in Troll 2 just to keep my bases covered.

And for good measure, I thought I would share some key insights we public library folk are trying to share with our community about how to survive a zombie attack. The teen users are particularly receptive to this information at our various "ZombieFest" events. Still, I thought all you "adults" out there might be interested in getting some tips about this too. I mean, you just never know when this information will come in handy...

1. Organize before they rise.
2. They feel no fear, why should you?
3. Use your head: cut off theirs.
4. Blades don't need reloading.
5. Ideal protection = tight clothes, short hair.
6. Get up the staircase, then destroy it.
7. Get out of the car, get onto a bike.
8. Keep moving, keep low, keep quiet, keep alert.
9. No place is safe, only safer.
10. The zombie may be gone but the threat lives on.

Red Hat Society off Burnett Road

2009-09-29T17:55:00.004-06:00

Today when I went to get my hair trimmed at Baldwin Beauty School around 9:30am, I was a little startled when I went to take my seat in the waiting area. All I could see were two rows of white and grey headed ladies waiting to firm up their wispy permanents or get their weekly wash-and-style. It kind of stressed me out for a minute as I sat down to bobbing heads chattering about coconut cream pie and dropping lines like "just leave that government alone and they'll fix it" in my periphery. After a minute though I realized that this was the group I fit into this year. That is, the at home during the day group with no kids to keep me from getting things done; and most importantly, I am in that women's league too cheap to pay more than $5 for a haircut. Yep. I suppose I belong to this old lady club for the time being.

Heck. I already drink Yogi Herbal Tea.

2009-09-25T09:14:00.012-06:00

I am going on an all yoga fitness 10 day diet starting next Tuesday. There's this yoga studio close to my apartment that gives a promo offer of 10 days of yoga for $10. If any of you out there have every tried to take yoga classes at a studio, you can vouch that this is a pretty sweet offer. I am not entirely sure why I think this is going to be something I enjoy or can even do as I have only done yoga maybe four times in the last five or six years. And the times that I did go I had a feeling that was pretty comparable to the one or two awkward middle school dances I attended with my BFFs as a tween. Like yoga, the room was uncomfortably hot and humid with sweaty bodies. I was so terrible at doing what I was supposed to be doing that I was conspicuous. People told me no one was looking at me but since I was looking at everyone else I knew that was a lie. And I noticed that even the people that were "good" at this ridiculous activity looked very stupid, maybe even more so than I did.

So why is it that I am so excited about taking up this offer? It started when I got talking to our Relief Society yoga class instructor.* She is a very convincing lady about her yoga ways and I couldn't help but get pretty...well convinced. Yep. That's all it took really. I wish I could say I had more reasons why I have come to the irreconcilable conclusion that I must devote more of my mind, body and spirit to the yoga way; but that was all there was to it. What can I say? She was very convincing.

Now I have checked out books, read the wikipedia entry on the different forms of yoga, started watching DVDs and of course signed up for this class. I feel like this new "lifestyle" in which I am about to engage adds a pretty cool mystique to my very extroverted self. I can especially feel this mystique when I carry around my book Yoga: A Return to Wholeness. I feel downright esoteric actually. And I like that.

But still, I can't help but think it is going to be a really great thing to do this. Ten days of Yoga might even change my life. Well, at least a little. Also, it's nice to try something new. Get involved in a new community of people. Yoga followers come in throngs here in Austin. Maybe it's the hippy "keeping it weird" factor but I like to think it is something a little bit bigger than that. Can I qualify the word transcendental with a "kind of"? Either way, wish me luck. I will be going on a running and swimming fast for the next 2 weeks. I just thought I would let you know about all of this too, just in case you are wondering why I am wearing stretchy gaucho pants next month.

*Yes we have a RS yoga class that I inadvertantly started when I started the "Fitness" mini-enrichment group for walking and running. Which ironically, the walking and running group has been sturggling along since May and the yoga group has been immensely popular. Another reason this whole yoga thing seems sort of cosmic for me to be doing.

Mind your scripture reading...

2009-09-07T20:40:00.004-06:00

I was just reading from the Bible Dictionary a few minutes ago about the definition of the word "Zion". There was a passage that reads: "Enoch built a city that was called Zion". And for a moment my mind misread the passage as: "Enoch built his city on Rock and Roll". I was quick to correct myself and tried to better focus my reading. Still, I can't help but think that the Enoch's story might be been even cooler than it already is had built his city Zion on Rock and Roll.

Learn to be a Librarian

2009-08-28T06:58:00.011-06:00

Well, I survived my "web institute" in Denton to jump start my MLIS program with them Eagles at University of North Texas. If that doesn't sound very impressive, let me just let you know that this institute consisted of four days straight of meeting and listening to 8 hours of power point lectures. The auditorium was full of about 200 other people and we all sat together learning about all the assignments we will have (it turns out to be lots) and hearing the professors go back and forth with the "you are going to absolutely die in the course" to the "oh don't worry - lot's of people have done this and so can you". I'll go ahead and say that it was actually helpful at first. You may even say there was some "synergy" in the room on the first day but that fades after going through the perpetual cycles one starts in those settings: eat, sit and drink, sit and drink, freeze from the AC, break - go to the bathroom, walk around outside, overheat and get a bit sweaty, return, sit and drink, sit and drink, freeze, lunch and so on. It was pretty cruel towards the end but I made it through. I think it may have even prepared me for the semester ahead in such courses as "Introduction to the Information Profession", "Public Library Management", and "Information Access and Retrieval" (why can't they just call that last one "Reference Work"? They seriously make us all sound like nerdy jerks when we call it that around other people.) The classwork will be pretty cool as I have a boatload of interesting sources to make into "annotated bibliographies". I also get to do these weekly "quests" for the reference class where I look up repudiable sources to find answers to questions like what a SAFFIR-SIMPSON DAMAGE-POTENTIAL SCALE is and how a HURDY DURDY instrument is played (if you're interested browse here under "stringed instruments"). Yep, it turns out that info science was a good choice for me. Despite the Medieval Club-soundingness of a quest, it turns out to be loads of fun. I'm not kidding. If you're interested in doing some yourself. Let me know and I will make up one for you.

Heck, I'll do it right now. You can refer to this Super Duper Resource List my professor gave me. You won't be able to access the UNT sites but I'll make up a question that doesn't depend on those sources.

Okay let's see...

Try this one:

#1 Using an encyclopedia only (either print or electronic), find out who is the wife to the Norse god Thor. Who are his parents? Cite your source(s) used (either URL or title and page # of book used).

Did you like it? Here's one more and then I have to start actually doing my homework. (Only Swirly Patterns can tell me if this one is really true).

#2 Using a dictionary only (either print or electronic), find out what term(s) the British use to refer to a Senior Citizen. Cite your source(s) used (either URL or title and page # of book used).

Aren't you jealous you aren't in library school? Hey, you can still come up with your own quests though! Post any that strike your fancy while exploring that Super Duper List of mine. Research is fun!

Summers get you through all the other seasons.

2009-08-19T18:30:00.013-06:00

Yep. It's been awhile since I've last posted and with my library science program starting this weekend, two jobs that are now in full force, all the churchy stuff that goes along with being the R.S. enrichment lady, and getting enough "Cate time" (ie swimming and running time) and Matt time - I think I am going to be hard pressed to be a frequent blog poster. So I best not apologize as this is one of many late blog posts to come.

Still, that is not to say I haven't been enjoying myself these last few weeks. There has been a cake dome party, some scenic running, a reunion with my beloved Austin, TX (after a 6 week hiatus of living in OK), plenty of quality Matt time, and all kinds of great activities that leave you with a slight sunburn. The heat has been oppressive but I am getting so accustomed to swimming instead of running these days I have been able to weather it well enough. Still, hitting our 58th triple digit degree day today has made me welcome hurricane season with open arms (sorry Houston but that is just one less thing you have going for you).

When the going gets hot and I find myself spending an increasing amount of time under florescent light at work and soon to be school, I remember 2 things:

My watermelon cake

and my run up Ephraim Canyon on Skyline Drive with some great company and balmy, cloudy weather.

It was a great day to end all summers.

I hope the rest of you had a few days like that this summer to get you through the rough seasons ahead (well unless you live out our way in which case the summer is the cruelest season). Regardless of weather there is something about summer that all the Redfish folk of 2006 said that is sacred. If you haven't had a sacred summer there is still time for a skinny dip in a glacier lake, a Tiger's Blood snow cone in a hot parking lot, a tin foil dinner up the canyon, park picnic or something the like. If you have had a few sacred moments, then keep them safe. You'll never know when you're going to need them.

Which version would make it onto your iPod mix?

2009-07-20T21:04:00.004-06:00

The Original from Europe?

or The Remix from Ash and Mom?

What books should you have read by now?

2009-07-16T08:26:00.006-06:00

How was it that I was able to get through my entire public education and never had to read "The Grapes of Wrath"? It makes me a bit sad at the thought of having come this far in life without ever having read the book. I must admit though that if I had read it in high school rather than while living in Oklahoma this summer I would not be able to have such deep appreciation for passages like this...

"Al steered with one hand and put the other on the vibrating gear-shift lever. He had difficulty in speaking. His nouth formed the words silently before he said them aloud. 'Ma--' She looked slowly around at him, her head swaying a little with the car's motion. 'Ma you scared a goin? You scared a goin to a new place?'
Her eyes grew thoughtful and soft. 'A little,' she said. 'Only it ain't like scared so much. I'm jus a settin here waitin. When somepin happens that I got to do somepin -- I'll do it.'
'Ain't you thinkin what's it gonna be like when we get there? Ain't you scared it won't be nice like we thought?'
'No,' she said quickly. 'No, I ain't. You can't do that. I can't do that. It's too much -- livin too many lives. Up ahead they's a thousan lives we might live, but when it comes, it'll on'y be one. If I go ahead on all of em it's too much. You got to live ahead cause you're so young but -- it's jus the road goin by for me. An it' jus how soon they gonna wanta eat sore pork bones.' Her face tightened. 'That's all I can do. I can't do no more. all the rest'd get upset if I done any more'n that. They all depen on me just thinkin about that.'" ---page 124

It's better because it's in Texas America.

2009-07-03T14:10:00.005-06:00

One of the most overlooked places for the Momon "you've been called on your mission to..." joke is none other than Paris, Texas. I mean, we make fun of Paris and Moscow Idaho all the time in that context. Why have we been overlooking Paris, Texas all this time? After having to take a pilgrimmage there to get my fingerprints (it's a bit of a long story and not particularly interesting) I found myself in Paris, Texas. Not a bad place really. In some places it had an utterly quaint feeling and in others some dumpy features. It was Small Town, U.S.A.

When I went there, I kept in mind something that I had learned from a friend that I had worked with at Redfish Lake. She was from Paris, Texas that is*, and she told me there was a replica of an Eiffel Tower there in town. So when I stopped at a gas station once I had arrived, I was sure to ask the clerk at the register where I could find this little tourist attraction. She gave me some rinky dink directions that I tried to follow in my head. When I asked a couple of questions she assured me, as you would probably expect, "It will be on yer left. Ya just cain't miss it!"

That got me confident enough to leave with her directions and go exploring a bit. I followed her instructions as best as I could and after a having to take a U-Turn at the very end I realized that the only instruction that had led me astray was the "ya cain't miss it" one. Really, it was about as easy to miss as a lone telephone pole out in a parking lot because...well...that was more or less what it was. That is not to say that it was a disappointing sight to see in the least. After all, there was a red cowboy hat on top AND it was in Texas. As far as I'm concerned, it was much cooler than that stupid looking thing in France. They charge you money to go up in that thing and there isn't even a beret on top. Seriously, who would take stinky cheese over pit BBQ? I ask you honestly...

*See how funny that joke can be - try it next time you see an opportunity!

Pop Hero Native to America

2009-06-26T13:46:00.006-06:00

Really there is a lot to mourn with Michael Jackson's death yesterday. I think that had Sherman Alexie written his book Reservation Blues after yesterday afternoon, I am pretty sure he would have included Mr. Jackson in this passage...

“Still, Big Mom had her heart broken by many of her students who couldn’t cope with the incredible gifts she had given them. Jimmy Hendrix, Janis Joplin, Elvis. They all drank so much and self destructed so successfully that Big Mom made them honorary members of the Spokane Tribe.

Late at night, Big Mom’s mourning song echoed all over the reservation. The faithful opened their eyes and took it in, knowing that another of her students had fallen. The unbelieving shut their doors and windows and complained about the birds howling in the trees. But those birds weren’t howling. They all stood quietly, listening to Big Mom, too. She didn’t teach just humans how to sing. And those birds heard her mourning song, they also wondered which of their tribe had fallen.”

---- (page 201) Reservation Blues by Sherman Alexie

June Padre Island

2009-06-18T12:13:00.015-06:00

Seriously, I just don't know what people are talking about when they say, "I just don't like Texas beaches". I've heard it a lot actually and it wasn't until last week when I visited Padre Island and Port Aransas with Momma Brooks that I was able to get the authority to respond to a line like that with, "what the hell is wrong with you?" It's true, there is no "surfer dude" about it but there is a lot to love on from a Texas beach. Why if you want to:

... stalk some neat looking birds like this one....

or learn about neat ocean things from a ranger who knows...

or see the release of the world's most endangered sea turtles (the Ridley sea turtle) when they are only 24 hours old and smaller than the size of a silver dollar...

or walk aboard the "Blue Ghost" - the U.S.S. Lexington - aircraft carrier...

or get a close up look at a Portuguese Man-of-War...

or just take some great pictures

Well then I suggest that you take a trip down to the gulf with a kite and a different expectation than what you may have gone to San Diego with. Don't worry you can still get a dynamite shrimp taco there.

Oh and one last thing....captions for this photo anyone?

WHEW!

2009-05-31T12:33:00.008-06:00

What a month! Can I turn this campy blog of mine into a scrapbooky-like Sweeney update? Please? I'll make you a promise. I will make sure not to add a personal radio station that will blare my favorite 90s band out of your speakers (which you didn't even know were on). If I promise not to get weird scrolling features or die-cut decor ....

That's the last of the promises. Here is the post of the Austin Sweeneys update.

#1 First off, and perhaps most relevant to why I haven't had a minute to post a blog as of late, I got a new calling in my ward to be the 2nd counselor in the Relief Society. Yep, the fightin' Shoal Creek Ward of the Austin Stake has asked me to plan their enrichment activities and the like. No more painting wooden blocks to look like Christmas packages with phrases like *"Today is a gift. That's why it's called the present." Well, I suppose they weren't really doing that before I was called but still...I suppose I will keep us strong in not ever doing that. That said, I am actually super enthused about it all even though has been like accepting that a spiritual firehose of responsibilities gets sprayed at your face. Once I get the hang of it, who knows? Maybe I can anticipate becoming much like one of these stalward R.S. souls?

#2 I saw my mom get hooded as a "Master of Education" as the girl who likes Cheese on Rye described it. It was a pretty thrilling moment. She's a smart gal and I hope I grow up to be as smart and stunning as her.

#3 I also got to meet that delightful Thomas that made his debut just this last winter. It was pretty happy getting to know him a bit and catching up with his really awesome big sister - who does a great Pomp and Circumstance dance. That Ash is so nice. Besides just being great to talk to, she was always willing to share her Fig Newtons with me when I got hungry. I hope I grow up to be as nice as her.

#4 My dear friend Laura married her Phillip and I got to rendezvous with a few of the best folk from my P-Town days.

#5 Matt finished his finals and when he did that, officially survived his first year of law school. It's too bad he only survived with a mustache. He is already looking like a pretty sleazy lawyer.

#6 Over the best pâté and a knee buckling good chocolate hazelnut torte with apricot preserve at Chez Nous, Matt and I celebrated our 2nd year of marriage. And we both agreed it was the best year we had ever eaten...I mean lived (that one goes out to Swirly Patterns and the rest of you Brooks folk out there).

*Who said that anyway? Was it Joan Rivers or Eleanore Roosevelt? Whenever I don't know to whom I should attribute a nice sounding phrase like that, I default to Mother Teresa or Nelson Mandella. You can't really question either of those people can you...

How does one cope?

2009-05-25T19:06:00.003-06:00

In the last couple months at work I have been taking inventory of the library's collection and weeding out old books that seemed to have too much florescent color and adolescents in tight rolled pants on their covers to still give relevant information on teens' social habits. I also took notice of titles like "America Online: and the new age of the internet", which gave away potentially outdated contents. Although it was tedious at times, I have found it be a good exercise for me to get a more comprehensive view about trends in our non-fiction and audio visual collections. For example, I caught onto one recurring theme which I first noticed while going through the science and health books.

A series kept popping up called "How to Cope with...". It was a pretty ambitious set of books that treated "How to Cope with": Depression, Bi-Polar Disorder, AIDS just as seriously as the most pressing topics of "How to Cope with": Dating, Moving, Suburban Gangs and Teenage Moodiness. And although it struck me as funny that the last one was written for the students to read rather than for the rest of us that work for them at the school, I don't think it struck me as any funnier than the fact that I later found another series of "How to Cope with..." from the Agriculture class's audio visual collection. This series veered away from the emotional and physical concerns of teenagers in affluent Texas suburbia and focused on pressing issues for which seemed universal to us all. Indeed this series covered the ageless question of "Coping with Feral Hogs". Finally someone has found the courage to tackle this urgent issue and although I have not had the chance to view this film as it is in VHS format, I invite you all to learn more about how you can overcome the literal and metaphorical feral hogs in your life and become free of their ravaging effects.

Church Wisdom

2009-04-12T14:26:00.003-06:00

I can always count on the church marquee along my running road to give me catchy and inspiration advice for the season. This Easter it has given me this to ponder...

"Christ had a grave....but it was only for a weekend."

A couple of months ago it read:

"Patience on the road, prevents patients in the hospital."

Try this one out loud for full effect. It took a second for me to even really get it at first but once I did, it was most rewarding.

More to come I am sure.

Neko

2009-04-05T17:24:00.008-06:00

A week ago, Matt and I lived up to the Austin "live music capital" reputation and spent the evening with that soulful Neko Case at Stubb's BBQ. It was a great night for an outdoor concert. Aside from the wonderful 70 degree weather with overcast skies, the soft dirt ground made it not too painful to stand through the opening band, Shearwater. It turns out these guys are local favorites and although I didn't seem to quite catch their musical vision, I was totally compelled by this guy's performance.
Can you guess by which "guy" I was compelled? I'll give you a hint. Had he not been playing clarinet in a sleeveless pleather shirt I would have sworn he was missing from the 1988 filming of Willow. He must have been Madmartigan's stunt double. One way or another, he had presence. No matter how many veins surfaced in the lead singer's neck from wailing vocals, or how mysterious the bass player tried to play herself off as, I could not divert from the Willow man. I am still not sure whether or not it was a positive or negative fascination with him. Matt would call this "The Mime Effect"; it is so odd that it is nearly upsetting but you simply cannot take your eyes from it.

Willow man played all kinds of instruments from drums and clarinet to even a dulcimer for one song. When he hammered out that thing, he closed his eyes in some Transiberian kind of trance and his hairy bare arms and head acquired a blue halo-like outline from the back light. It was like unintentional performance art. I really don't know how to describe it. It was creepy-weird maybe transcendent kind of beautiful? Hmmm...I'll just stick with a confident "Mime Effect" description.

And Neko? She was beautiful (in a non-Mime Effect kind of way, of course). She really was beautiful. When she came out with her bright red hair and kelly green sweater, it was all I could do not to decide then an there to quit everything I was doing to play guitar and learn to sing something great. Sigh...I suppose the next best thing to being being a indie babe with powerfully haunting vocals is to promote research literacy in a library. I have to admit though that it was hard to remind myself that when I woke, up on less sleep than I should have gotten, that next morning and go to work.

Golf Ball Sized Hail?

2009-03-25T18:52:00.005-06:00

Yep. It's real.

THE BAD NEWS: it's big enough to dent your car; it's also nearly deafening when it hits the hood or the top.

THE GOOD NEWS: it adds the most impressive touch to an Orange Spritzer (65% Sprite and 35% Orange Juice - try it)!

All us swimmers from the Amherst Community Swimming Pool found the good news to outweigh the bad.

A Case of the Lazies...

2009-03-18T21:39:00.010-06:00

It seems like everytime I head off to Ada, OK to visit those delightful Sweeneys, I contract a serious case of "the Lazies". Have you had it before? My symptoms overwhelm me the moment I wake up from a 10 hour sleep (yep, 10 hours every night I sleep there)*. I have this moment when I try to conjur my "to do" list up in my head as I stretch and begin to come to my sense but it comes up utterly blank. In fact, there simply is no list of that sort to be found in my mind. There's a "I could do this ... if I felt like it" list or something the like but it is just not the same and it triggers this staggering torpor.

I think it can be a good thing, the case of the torpors/the case of the lazies. Maybe it just needs to be in moderated amounts like fats on sweets on the top of the active health pyramid. And since it was only four days of puttering around the Sweeney house, going for leisurely runs through Wintersmith Park, and watching an extravagant amount of television I am going to go ahead and say that it was a moderate case enough for good health. In fact, back home in Austin, I have never felt better.

I did get a chance to learn the secrets to a no-fail home made bread recipe from my dear mother-in-law.

And along with his brother Chris, Matt seemed to have anything but the "lazies" when their dad got out "Barry's Boot Camp." Don't take my word for it though...

So I suppose, if you find yourself with a case of the Lazies, you might let it carry on a couple of days before you try and shrug it off. Moderated laziness can prove to be most refreshing in the end.

*There's this magical thing that happens in Ada that I really can't seem to recreate anywhere else. I can sleep-in to astonishly late hours no matter how bad my "can't sleep past 7am" habits have been at home. What can I say? It's remarkable.

To have a good 24th birthday,

2009-01-23T21:12:00.008-07:00

I recommend that you try any one of the following...

1. Take the day off of work

2. Go for a leisurely run through Great Hills Trail

3. Buy yourself an orchid.
4. Find yourselves some great friends and family to send you birthday love through messages like:
"Happy Birthday Brooks! I hope you have a party the size of TEXAS!", "HAPPY HAPPY HAPPY HAPPY OH HAPPIEST OF HAPPY BIRTHDAYS!Love you to bits--", "Happy Birthday! Here's hopin' that you were able to rock that candy shop.", and "Hey Cate. So glad you were born...Love you."

5. Of course I would recommend getting some great cards that have lovely double layer birthday cakes on them dreamy beautiful cake stands, or cards that actually say happy birthday when you open them...you get the idea

6. Take some generous donations to your "Road Bike Fund" (only if you have one of course)

7. Try a Hut's burger and most importantly their cracked pepper onion rings.

8. Eat a slice of La Madeleine's "Sacher Torte"
Yep. That about does it. You are bound to feel pretty dern special if you do any one of these things. Happy birthday to me! Thanks everbody!

Who is this guy?

2009-01-12T19:16:00.003-07:00

From left to right, actress Amy Poehler, actor Will Arnett, an unidentified man, and actress Drew Barrymore at the HBO Golden Globes after-party on Sunday, Jan. 11, 2009, in Beverly Hills, Calif., U.S.A.

Kudos for the stealthy insertion of yourself with a bunch of famous people. Nice hat.

One man's trash is another man's junk.

2009-01-11T11:34:00.001-07:00

This is treasure of a place Matt, our friends the Costellos and I stumbled upon while trying to get some ideas for our new "Johnson Film Fest" movie. Indeed it is called the Cathedral of Junk and it is not too far from our beloved Austin. Just head a little West of South Congress and you will find yourself all kinds of junkie treasures. I would recommend taking the time for a visit as there is nothing quite like this anywhere I've been. All you do is show up the and pay what you feel the experience is worth - it's worth more than you might think. The guy who started this whole thing in his backyard must be the creative kin to Mr. Smith and Mr. Edwards.

And just so you know, the sight really lives up to its spiritual name. Truly the Costellos and us Sweeneys received great inspiration for our upcoming film. More to come on that shortly...

To Look at Any Thing

2009-01-04T17:38:00.014-07:00

To look at any thing,
If you would know that thing,
You must look at it long:
To look at this green and say
'I have seen spring in these
Woods,' will not do - you must
Be the thing you see:
You must be the dark snakes of
Stems and ferny plumes of leaves,
You must enter in
To the small silences between
The leaves,
You must take your time
And touch the very peace
They issue from.

-John Moffit

Is it really December?

2008-12-30T16:57:00.008-07:00

Austin, TX gave my mom a hearty, warm welcome when she flew in for a visit. With sunny skies and highs in the mid-seventies, I had all kinds of things to show off here. Weather like that makes everything so utterly charming and pleasant.

We walked the green belt along Town Lake, ate some great soul food and fish tacos, walked South Congress Avenue where my we were given a timely sighting to Leslie wearing a mini skirt and faux sheep skin boots. There were all kinds of adventures to be had.

Yep, there was even some tree climbing. It turned into a bit of an extreme sport.

It's too bad she has to leave tomorrow morning because I really believe there just won't be no sunshine when she's gone...

Christmas time is here...

2008-12-24T16:18:00.019-07:00

DO DEE DO DEE DOooo

I have to say that this season has been a good reminder at how marvelous it can be to push obligatory Christmas traditions aside and do whatever it is that seems like a good idea. Really, it was so liberating to not feel like I had to bake a huge number of cookies to send out to all friends and neighbors while listening to every single Christmas album I have collected over time. Nope. There was no necessity to watch my favorite Christmas flicks or make sure I found myself a glazed ham to have a slice of before the 25th. Nope. And thank goodness I got through without even so much as watching one scene from "A Christmas Story". Sorry, I know it's a classic for lots of you but for me it has become as cliche and painful to try and enjoy as it is for many to receive a fruitcake or an ugly reindeer sweater on Christmas morning and feign excitement.

This is not to say I have ba-humbugged the whole season. (I've tried that somewhat before and it really just left me as frustrated as it had buying in to every little Christmas requirement) Quite the opposite happened really because with all those demands pushed aside I was able to make way for some great new events that gave me all kinds of holiday cheer.

Austin's "Trail of Lights" was one. I guess this could be considered a pretty traditional Christmas activity but it felt like a new experience to me. After rounding up some of our favorite peoples from the Shoal Creek Ward:), we headed downtown to pick up a shuttle that took us to Zilker Park's light spectacle. You can just imagine how excited we all got when we saw this amazing little number waiting in line for the shuttle. We knew there would be something really breathtaking when we got there if we were already seeing such fine holiday light workmanship...

It was really pretty dazzling though when we got there. With the meticulous lighting and the thematic scenes every few feet it seemed a bit like the Temple Square lights met up with O.C. Tanner candy windows. I was pretty overwhelmed.

And would you believe that this year it turned out to be the best idea ever to have a Crab Boil for Christmas Eve dinner than a ham or a turkey? Well, maybe that doesn't apply to everbody but it seriously applied to all us Sweeneys here in Ada. My gosh! Kielbasa, King Crab legs, corn on the cob, boiled potatoes and shrimp really was the good and proper way for us all to celebrate this fine season. There were traditional moments. We did use nut crackers to open up the crab claws and we ended with homemade pecan fudge.

YACK!

2008-11-08T20:24:00.006-07:00

Today I grocery shopped to a mix of flamboyant Christmas songs. I know. I know. The controversy of when it is time to bust out Christmas yore is an old one. You either find Christmas the delightfully ubiquitous holiday that should last all year long, or you find it is insufferably dominating of any event after the 4th of July. All the same, I have to express my two concerns about shopping to "Santa Clause is Coming to Town" and "Let it Snow" this afternoon.

1. It is November 8th.

2. It was 81 degrees today.

Keeping it weird this Halloween season.

2008-11-01T10:01:00.006-06:00

Yep. It's true. Austin just broke the record for the largest Thriller dance in the world. Something like 880 people? Check it out.

Texas Football Season

2008-10-11T19:05:00.004-06:00

Football gets a whole lot cooler when you move to Texas. I still can't tell a holding penalty from a first down or what determines whether the clock is running or not - and who came up with the scoring system? No matter really. Because when you move to "Longhorn Country" all you have to know is how to eat several hotdogs in one sitting and when to yell at the refs with your fist in the air. Once you've got that down and put on your burnt orange T-shirt you fit in with all the rest of the veteran crowd. A big thanks to the Livingston's next door for showing us how it is done this afternoon. It was a pretty sweet upset when O.U. got hooked by them horns. Sorry Sweeneys. You chose yourself the wrong state to live in this season.

GRE scheduled for Dec 6

2008-10-04T12:35:00.008-06:00

Right before I signed up last Saturday I took a verbal practice test. I did fine, I think, for a first time but I can't help counting on the non-competative nature of library science schools to calm my admissions-thoughts. Given the choice what would you guess about me and tests?

Cate : Computer Adaptive Standardized Tests

A. Peas : Carrots

B. Andy Rooney : Misanthrop

C. Humanities Undergraduate Degree : Lucrative

D. Michael Moore : Weight Watchers

E. Black Cats : Augury

Could it be true that I the most in common with Michael Moore and his eating habits when it comes to test taking abilities? I don't know. Maybe you have a better idea of the relationship between the stem pair...

Happy Autumn to y'all!

2008-09-22T18:20:00.003-06:00

It doesn't feel like Fall yet here and not just because we are still getting highs in the mid 90s during the day. Well, that is part of it I guess, but I can't complain being that this last Saturday was perfect Barton Creek swimming weather. I spent nearly an hour stretching out my strokes back and forth in its balmy 67 degree, 1/8 mile long splendor.

I'll admit though that putting on my goggles and staring straight down to what was below my feet gave me a bit of a start. Okay, so I even choked on some spring water. Truly, it was not much different from what a serene snorkeling experience would be like among reefs in azure water I guess. But instead of blue the water it was slightly green and in place of intricate corals there were swaying leaves of plants that seem to reach up to me. When the sudden beds of algae appeared after several strokes of green nothingness and then fish would unexpectantly wiggle below my torso I began to feel a bit threatened. There was so much coming and going, rising and falling below me when I swam. It was just not at all like the blue stripe I normally follow while moving back and forth afloat a chlorinated, cement bottom swimming pool. I'll admit, I got really panicked down there.

I had to take a break after about half an hour and lift my face from the water. While I was drinking from my water bottle on the side of the pool I heard some local swimmers talking about their swim they just finished together. They seemed to know a lot about the pool and so I started asking them some questions about etiquette: what side to swim on to help traffic flow, whether one can swim during the winter there, and well...how are do you feel about the... uh... wildlife below?

In addition to telling me that this is the greatest place in the world to swim and that just like with most things in the city "there are no real rules" about how and what direction you swim in the pool, they also started telling me about encounters they had had with fresh water eels at times in the creek. Apparently, one of the swimmers had swam above one as long as her 5 foot frame. I tried not to respond too much before hearing what she had to say about it. "Yeah, it was one of the neatest things I have ever seen. It wasn't too excited about me one way or the other. It was just poking its head around in the silt and didn't seem too interested in my activities."

It took a minute to calm my initial horror at the thought of swimming in stride with an eel as long as me but then I got to feeling kind of like she did about it. It was pretty cool to be swimming with all these green creatures. I was sure I still needed some adjusting time and so I took another dive into the creek to test out my new approach. With a bit of effort the creepy turned to curious and then to absolute fascination and serenity. I mean swimming among band-aides swaying like algae and flailing babies in water wings all the sudden seems much more threatening.

Cinematic Pest Encounters

2008-08-23T11:23:00.005-06:00

Does Utah even have cockroaches? I swear I don't remember any. That is to say that I don't recall any experiences like the one from this last Wednesday morning when I was opening my eyes after rinsing the soap out of my hair and coming nose to antennae with a roach on the shower wall. There is nothing quite like it really. It makes me think that maybe all those crazy terrible sci-fi movies like...I don't know maybe The Cockroach that Ate Cinncinati or RoboRoach seem a bit more relevant and threatening. I will say though that the cinematic drama of this experience was a little anti-climactic when the pest control guy came and he was nothing like the hard core John Goodman exterminator. But he did fill up our apartment with something toxic smelling and the roaches have been gradually emerging from their dark hiding places, laying on their backs, and going stiff on our floors. So he did get the job done as far as I can tell. It's just seems a shame that Mr. Ed Wood wasn't around before we gased them. I am sure he could have used this for some raw footage to make a new film to add to his repetoire.

Yee Haw!

2008-08-09T09:40:00.006-06:00

How is this for feeling like a good and proper Texas resident? Matt and I got our Lone Star plates...

Now all I need to do to fit in more on the roads here is to abstain from using my blinker while changing lanes.

Oh and the best news. The super greatest part about Texas life now is that I have a job doing this. You see that lady's name Marilyn? Well, I am the new Marilyn. That is to say I am the new cataloguer and assistant librarian at Cedar Park High School. Yep, and thus I am awesome ....er... something.

As requested...

2008-07-27T15:41:00.018-06:00

So I got tagged for the same-ish kind of thing by two different people. The questions are a little different (so I'll combine them a bit) and one said to use "flikr" to get the images while the other said "Picasa". I'm more familiar with Picasa so that's what I'll use, unless of course I don't like the looks of their pictures. That said, this goes out the Lance/Jenn combo and Joy. Anyone interested in answering these questions on their blog and attaching their favorite images to each answer, I would love to have a look see at how it turns out.

What is your first name? Cate-spelled like the beautiful Blanchett.

Favorite thing to do? Be outdoors...especially places where I can smell pine.

Favorite color? Most of the time I would say Yves Klein blue but the only image search I can do pulls up a stupid looking guy with a baby in an art gallery. So, how about when it comes to shoes? In that case I say red.

Dream career? Academic librarian.

Favorite time of year? Autumn

Guilty pleasure? Pop-tarts

Dream vacation? Petra, Jordan.

One word to describe myself? Keen!

Ba na na na na na na na...Ba na na na na na na...BAT BRIDGE!

2008-07-20T16:20:00.006-06:00

Perhaps you are not yet familiar with the Bat Bridge here in Austin. If that is the case then please click here. And if you missed the above reference in the title then may I just point out that Bat Bridge sounds a lot like “Batman”. You know…the theme song…I know that it kind of ruins the joke when I have to tell everyone why it is funny but it also kind of ruins the joke if no one gets it. (NOTE: Mr. Swirly Patterns may disagree with this logic as he continuously makes jokes regardless of whether or not people understand them or find them funny but I am not Mr. Swirly Patterns. I cannot pull it off as he does.)

That said, Matt and I decided to celebrate our 1 week “living in Austin” anniversary by visiting the Congress Avenue bridge downtown at dusk. Maybe part of it too was that we had to console ourselves that all you Salt Lake jerks got to be at the FREE Andy B. and Josh Ritter concert at the Twilight Concert Series. You jerks. Yeah well, Matt and I went and saw 1.5 million bats fly out from under a bridge we were standing on…44 species y’all…that’s a lot of bats! And it really was a great evening to go and see them. I’ll tell you why.

The first day we moved in, Matt and I met a super nice couple named Cole and Holly. They really are great and not just because they are our only friends here so far but also because they love to tell us why exactly Austin is so “kick ass” (in the words of Cole). It really isn’t “Texas pride” as much as it is an “Austin pride” thing with them. And why shouldn’t it be? True, Matt and I were not nearly as enthused about the 4 block long street of bars and lounges in the heart of the city as Cole and Holly. But seriously, what other city has Mexican Vanilla ice cream, an art deco style power plant, half a dozen different farmer’s markets, or offers camping sites downtown along their rivers? Seriously people: this is a cool city.

If there is anything that these Cole and Holly folks like more than telling us about the “kick ass”ness of this city it is taking us around and proving it. Matt and I have found this to be a really great set up, especially on Bat Bridge night. C&H took us to get wraps at “The Freebird” on Congress Ave. so that we would have a place to park that wasn’t more than 3 or 4 blocks away from the bats.

Over dinner Cole, who is king of being the 1st to tell us about anything and everything Austin, brought up the “Keep Austin Weird” campaign. Sadly, I think it disappointed him a bit that Matt and I had already learned a little about it. But it was good to be reminded to expect the unexpected in this place as we exited the restaurant and crossed onto the sidewalk. About 5 meters ahead, a bearded and densely freckled 60+ year old fellow crossed onto the sidewalk about the same time. He led the way to the bridge in nothing but a g-string with a clothe devil’s tail hanging out the back, a halter top that covered his strikingly developed breasts, a garter pulled up his skinny left thigh, and of course stilettos. We all let him gain some distance as he hurried through a light to cross the street. When he got to the other side he started waving and blowing kisses at the cars passing by. “Just keeping it weird, here, Austin. Just keeping it weird…”

When we got to the bridge, there were peopled lined up all along the East side waiting for the bats to come. Below at a park along the bank of Town Lake kids begged their parents to buy them a light savers from the vendors as if it were Disney Land. Just when the edge of dusk began to sink into the city, the tourists boats lined up facing the bridge. Then, as if on cue to their 15 minute nightly gig, the bats came flying out from beneath the bridge. They came out in three different streams and then aligned into one thick current. It was really creepy, neat. Check it out.