I started my new job last week at one of our libraries. I'm just your basic shelver/discharger, but I like it. Last Tuesday we had an exciting event, which was that pipes in the ceiling decided to start spraying water over several shelves of books. We cleared them out, fanned them out on tables and put paper towels in between the pages of the really wet ones. You would think the whole book drying process would be all high tech, but no. In the I am my mother's daughter department, someone told me, rather bitterly, that things had been a lot cheerier since I started working. I just can't help my sunny disposition!
In other news, I got the "Annual Report of Donors" from Wellesley today. Someone in 2005 is already a "President's Circle Partner" which means she gave at least $50,000. In case you were curious, Hillary is only a President's Circle Benefactor, which means she gave at least $25,000. Oh Wellesley.
Tuesday, November 28, 2006
Thursday, November 16, 2006
Tuesday, November 14, 2006
children's book disillusionment
One of the things that library school is teaching me is that several books that I enjoyed as a child are actually terrible. The best example is I Love You Forever. Okay, when I think about it, that book is kind of weird. It starts with a mother rocking her baby, eventually moves on to her rocking her grown son, and then finally he sneaks into her house when she's old and rocks her. Plus the repeated message is "I love you forever, I love you for always, as long as I'm living, my baby you'll be." A little fatalistic? Maybe. But nevertheless, I liked this book a lot when I was little and remember both my mother reading it to us and reading it to myself. But children's librarians HATE this book. Don't even bring it up to them.
Another one that I sort of liked when I was little, but didn't actually own, is The Giving Tree. Now I did I realize before I got to library school that this book has somewhat of an overly self-sacrificing message, but now it's been reinforced. Children's librarians hate this one too. I agree, but it's still disillusioning. This book makes me feel like how I felt watching the documentary about Disney movies--oh yeah! Beauty and the Beast does teach girls that they can turn their abusers into princes if they are nice enough to them!
Some librarians don't even like The Runaway Bunny. They think it's too smothering. I absolutely loved this book when I was little and I heartily disagree with its detractors. They will not ruin Runaway Bunny for me!
Feel free to let me know your beloved childhood books--I'll be happy to ruin all your childhood happy book memories with more boo hiss librarian opinions!
Another one that I sort of liked when I was little, but didn't actually own, is The Giving Tree. Now I did I realize before I got to library school that this book has somewhat of an overly self-sacrificing message, but now it's been reinforced. Children's librarians hate this one too. I agree, but it's still disillusioning. This book makes me feel like how I felt watching the documentary about Disney movies--oh yeah! Beauty and the Beast does teach girls that they can turn their abusers into princes if they are nice enough to them!
Some librarians don't even like The Runaway Bunny. They think it's too smothering. I absolutely loved this book when I was little and I heartily disagree with its detractors. They will not ruin Runaway Bunny for me!
Feel free to let me know your beloved childhood books--I'll be happy to ruin all your childhood happy book memories with more boo hiss librarian opinions!
Monday, November 13, 2006
for serious
Last week in my children's lit class this was one of our assigned readings. It's partly a "pourquoi" story about how birds all have some black on them. But that's not really the point of the story. All of the colorful birds want to be like blackbird; at one point they do a dance and sing "Beak to beak, peck, peck peck,/ Spread your wings, stretch your neck./ Black is beautiful, uh-huh!/ Black is beautiful, uh-huh!"
Some reasons why I like this book: attractive cut paper illustrations, fun sing-song text, and, number one, message. Last week when we talked about the book, most of my classmates liked it too. Some people were uncomfortable with the message, however, feeling like it left out non-black people. At the time none of us really stood up for the message, including me, even though I felt rightetously indignant about their reactions. Apparently someone emailed my professor to say that he or she was unhappy with the way the discussion had gone, that no one had stood up for the black is beautiful message.
So we talked about it again today. Several of us pointed out the fact that many children's books have a "white is beautiful, black is bad" message. Snow White is one of the most obvious examples; my professor also mentioned a 1966 Caldecott honor book, Tom Tit Tot, a Rumplestiltskin retelling that refers to the evil presence in the book as the "black thing." How many books are read to African American children that tell them, in essence, that they are bad and evil? Here is one very rare example of a book that does the opposite. I really don't think that white children, whose skin color privileges them in so many aspects of life, will be hurt by hearing the message that black is beautiful.
As my professor says, our goal should be for every child to recognize a positive image of him or herself in a book, as well as for children to learn about others who are different from them. One of the things that reading does is to teach us about ourselves and those around us. Do we want those images to be stereotypical or self-esteem building? The idea is not to insulate children from racism, but to do our best to avoid instilling prejudice or low self-esteem through the books we share with them. Unless adults are willing to have honest discussions with the children in their lives, they might want to avoid reading them books that compare African American girls to dogs.
Some reasons why I like this book: attractive cut paper illustrations, fun sing-song text, and, number one, message. Last week when we talked about the book, most of my classmates liked it too. Some people were uncomfortable with the message, however, feeling like it left out non-black people. At the time none of us really stood up for the message, including me, even though I felt rightetously indignant about their reactions. Apparently someone emailed my professor to say that he or she was unhappy with the way the discussion had gone, that no one had stood up for the black is beautiful message.
So we talked about it again today. Several of us pointed out the fact that many children's books have a "white is beautiful, black is bad" message. Snow White is one of the most obvious examples; my professor also mentioned a 1966 Caldecott honor book, Tom Tit Tot, a Rumplestiltskin retelling that refers to the evil presence in the book as the "black thing." How many books are read to African American children that tell them, in essence, that they are bad and evil? Here is one very rare example of a book that does the opposite. I really don't think that white children, whose skin color privileges them in so many aspects of life, will be hurt by hearing the message that black is beautiful.
As my professor says, our goal should be for every child to recognize a positive image of him or herself in a book, as well as for children to learn about others who are different from them. One of the things that reading does is to teach us about ourselves and those around us. Do we want those images to be stereotypical or self-esteem building? The idea is not to insulate children from racism, but to do our best to avoid instilling prejudice or low self-esteem through the books we share with them. Unless adults are willing to have honest discussions with the children in their lives, they might want to avoid reading them books that compare African American girls to dogs.
Tuesday, November 07, 2006
what a day
I was so wrapped up in my anxiety about my day that I missed the big Britney Spears divorce news. Good thing I have my friends to keep me abreast of all celebrity gossip! In other news, I am very excited about the way the elections are shaping up today. I was a disenfranchised voter this time. I didn't change my mailing address on my ballot so it was sent home. My mom sent it to me but it never made it for some reason. I did feel bad about not voting for the first time since I registered to vote, but I wasn't too worried that Washington state was going to turn Republican without my ballot!
100 things
I know this is so so cheesy, but didn't we already know that I am cheesy? Yes.
1. I was born in Portland, Oregon.
2. I lived there for two weeks until my parents moved all the way over the river to Vancouver because my dad worked there.
3. My sister and I have a complex about our hometown.
4. I love Portland even though it was recently named the whitest city in the United States.
5. I was a history major.
6. And I usually leave out that I was an economics minor.
7. I think it conjures up an image of a person that I am not.
8. I'm going to school to become a librarian.
9. I can't fall asleep until I've read something.
10. Don't ask me what my favorite book is.
11. I am a psuedo-morning person. I don't like to wake up early, but I'm not grumpy if I have to.
12. On the other hand, I am definitely not a night owl.
13. I like to bake.
14. My signature recipe is probably banana bread, but I can make a good pie crust.
15. Cooking kind of scares me.
16. I'm not really bad at it; it just worries me more.
17. My family has a second home on the Oregon coast.
18. I prefer stormy weather when I am there.
19. I am a dog person.
20. I always say that I don't like cats, but I've liked most cats I've encountered.
21. I don't like to exercise.
22. The most humiliating experiences of my childhood happened every day in P.E.
23. The only thing I was good at in P.E. was the flexibility test.
24. I ran cross country in high school.
25. I love my neighborhood.
26. Some of my best friends are my neighbors.
27. I went to a private school in Portland from second through twelfth grade.
28. I am in touch with more friends from high school than college. I think.
29. I rode overnight on a bus to go to the March for Women’s Lives in Washington DC in 2004.
30. I haven’t really done anything to support pro-choice causes since.
31. Not on purpose. And I feel guilty.
32. I feel guilty about a lot of things.
33. I apologize a lot.
34. If you tease me about something I’ve done wrong it will just make me feel guiltier.
35. I often have dreams that take place at my high school and that somehow feature my English teacher.
36. I almost never have dreams that take place at my college.
37. When I was little I claimed that I only had bad dreams. I’m not sure if it’s true, but I remember feeling like it was.
38. When I am anxious about something, I often dream about something bad happening in an airplane or airport.
39. I don’t really like to fly, but I still do it.
40. I try not to make a big deal out of it.
41. I am not afraid of bugs.
42. I am not really afraid of snakes either; they’re just startling.
43. I like to think that I can remain calm in a crisis.
44. My grandparents have all passed away.
45. I have five cousins, two of whom are named Sara(h).
46. My family has one male yellow lab.
47. We have had two other male yellow labs, a female black lab, two guinea pigs, and an assortment of fish.
48. I am pretty sure we were neglectful guinea pig owners.
49. But they lived a really long time for guinea pigs.
50. The ashes of our first dog currently sit in an urn on my parent’s mantel. Our second dog is in my parent's bedroom. The third is in the den.
51. I love my family.
52. My current favorite television show is The Office.
53. I was on an anti-tv kick for a while because I didn’t like feeling obsessed with watching every week.
54. I think it’s pretty good that I’m only obsessed with one.
55. My parents got cable after I left for college.
56. If I’m watching The Office, I’m probably watching some sort of home show or a trashy teen series.
57. I would love to own a house one day.
58. I want a yard for a dog and a place to have a garden.
59. I always kind of assume that I’ll just buy it on my own.
60. I think it’s sad that I envision my future as living by myself with a dog.
61. But at least it’s not living by myself with a cat.
62. That’s too librarian stereotypical and besides, I already told you I don’t like cats.
63. I would like to have a family, but at the rate I’m going I think the dog plan is more realistic.
64. I’m counting on you, Lynne!
65. I usually feel like I don’t deserve things.
66. I don’t think that this makes me very different from a lot of people.
67. I used to be really shy. Then my parents forced me to be more outgoing.
68. I’m glad they did because it makes life easier.
69. But I’m still really shy at heart.
70. It’s been hard to make friends here in Los Angeles. But I did it eventually!
71. Ifeel felt like I had reverted to my younger self.
72. Thismakes made me sad, so I’m moving moved on to another topic.
73. Weather! I don’t like cold weather.
74. This is one of the main reasons that I wanted to come to UCLA.
75. I didn’t know that I didn’t like cold weather until I spent four winters in Boston.
76. It’s just so…cold. And the snow gets all grey and disgusting. And it’s cold.
77. I like to knit.
78. I really want to knit a sweater, but I can never get past the sleeves.
79. But it’s still one of my goals.
80. Another goal is to become a children’s and/or young adult librarian at a public library.
81. And make a positive difference in at least one life.
82. I know that I am idealistic and I always feel kind of silly about it.
83. I’m kind of secretly addicted to the internet. I can sit on it for way too long.
84. But I’m perfectly happy being disconnected from it when I’m on vacation.
85. I really hate it when “c” words are spelled with a “k.”
86. I once prevented Lauren from going into a store because it was called the “Kandy Korner.”
87. I don’t know if she’s forgiven me for that one yet!
88. On that same trip I also insisted on going into a coffee shop that turned out to be owned by a cult.
89. I think I should let her pick our destinations from now on.
90. I always used to feel more comfortable talking to adults than people my own age.
91. Sometimes I still do, even though I guess I’m an adult now.
92. I really don’t making phone calls to people I don’t know personally.
93. For some reason I always think they’re going to be mean to me.
94. I’m pleasantly surprised when they aren’t. Which is most of the time.
95. My favorite candy is Red Vines.
96. I could eat a whole box of them in one sitting. Before the movie even starts.
97. But I almost never buy them.
98. I have a problem getting rid of holey clothes. Particularly socks.
99. I have the manuals for every appliance I own. I even have one for my garage door opener.
100. I can’t believe I could think of 100 things.
1. I was born in Portland, Oregon.
2. I lived there for two weeks until my parents moved all the way over the river to Vancouver because my dad worked there.
3. My sister and I have a complex about our hometown.
4. I love Portland even though it was recently named the whitest city in the United States.
5. I was a history major.
6. And I usually leave out that I was an economics minor.
7. I think it conjures up an image of a person that I am not.
8. I'm going to school to become a librarian.
9. I can't fall asleep until I've read something.
10. Don't ask me what my favorite book is.
11. I am a psuedo-morning person. I don't like to wake up early, but I'm not grumpy if I have to.
12. On the other hand, I am definitely not a night owl.
13. I like to bake.
14. My signature recipe is probably banana bread, but I can make a good pie crust.
15. Cooking kind of scares me.
16. I'm not really bad at it; it just worries me more.
17. My family has a second home on the Oregon coast.
18. I prefer stormy weather when I am there.
19. I am a dog person.
20. I always say that I don't like cats, but I've liked most cats I've encountered.
21. I don't like to exercise.
22. The most humiliating experiences of my childhood happened every day in P.E.
23. The only thing I was good at in P.E. was the flexibility test.
24. I ran cross country in high school.
25. I love my neighborhood.
26. Some of my best friends are my neighbors.
27. I went to a private school in Portland from second through twelfth grade.
28. I am in touch with more friends from high school than college. I think.
29. I rode overnight on a bus to go to the March for Women’s Lives in Washington DC in 2004.
30. I haven’t really done anything to support pro-choice causes since.
31. Not on purpose. And I feel guilty.
32. I feel guilty about a lot of things.
33. I apologize a lot.
34. If you tease me about something I’ve done wrong it will just make me feel guiltier.
35. I often have dreams that take place at my high school and that somehow feature my English teacher.
36. I almost never have dreams that take place at my college.
37. When I was little I claimed that I only had bad dreams. I’m not sure if it’s true, but I remember feeling like it was.
38. When I am anxious about something, I often dream about something bad happening in an airplane or airport.
39. I don’t really like to fly, but I still do it.
40. I try not to make a big deal out of it.
41. I am not afraid of bugs.
42. I am not really afraid of snakes either; they’re just startling.
43. I like to think that I can remain calm in a crisis.
44. My grandparents have all passed away.
45. I have five cousins, two of whom are named Sara(h).
46. My family has one male yellow lab.
47. We have had two other male yellow labs, a female black lab, two guinea pigs, and an assortment of fish.
48. I am pretty sure we were neglectful guinea pig owners.
49. But they lived a really long time for guinea pigs.
50. The ashes of our first dog currently sit in an urn on my parent’s mantel. Our second dog is in my parent's bedroom. The third is in the den.
51. I love my family.
52. My current favorite television show is The Office.
53. I was on an anti-tv kick for a while because I didn’t like feeling obsessed with watching every week.
54. I think it’s pretty good that I’m only obsessed with one.
55. My parents got cable after I left for college.
56. If I’m watching The Office, I’m probably watching some sort of home show or a trashy teen series.
57. I would love to own a house one day.
58. I want a yard for a dog and a place to have a garden.
59. I always kind of assume that I’ll just buy it on my own.
60. I think it’s sad that I envision my future as living by myself with a dog.
61. But at least it’s not living by myself with a cat.
62. That’s too librarian stereotypical and besides, I already told you I don’t like cats.
63. I would like to have a family, but at the rate I’m going I think the dog plan is more realistic.
64. I’m counting on you, Lynne!
65. I usually feel like I don’t deserve things.
66. I don’t think that this makes me very different from a lot of people.
67. I used to be really shy. Then my parents forced me to be more outgoing.
68. I’m glad they did because it makes life easier.
69. But I’m still really shy at heart.
70. It’s been hard to make friends here in Los Angeles. But I did it eventually!
71. I
72. This
73. Weather! I don’t like cold weather.
74. This is one of the main reasons that I wanted to come to UCLA.
75. I didn’t know that I didn’t like cold weather until I spent four winters in Boston.
76. It’s just so…cold. And the snow gets all grey and disgusting. And it’s cold.
77. I like to knit.
78. I really want to knit a sweater, but I can never get past the sleeves.
79. But it’s still one of my goals.
80. Another goal is to become a children’s and/or young adult librarian at a public library.
81. And make a positive difference in at least one life.
82. I know that I am idealistic and I always feel kind of silly about it.
83. I’m kind of secretly addicted to the internet. I can sit on it for way too long.
84. But I’m perfectly happy being disconnected from it when I’m on vacation.
85. I really hate it when “c” words are spelled with a “k.”
86. I once prevented Lauren from going into a store because it was called the “Kandy Korner.”
87. I don’t know if she’s forgiven me for that one yet!
88. On that same trip I also insisted on going into a coffee shop that turned out to be owned by a cult.
89. I think I should let her pick our destinations from now on.
90. I always used to feel more comfortable talking to adults than people my own age.
91. Sometimes I still do, even though I guess I’m an adult now.
92. I really don’t making phone calls to people I don’t know personally.
93. For some reason I always think they’re going to be mean to me.
94. I’m pleasantly surprised when they aren’t. Which is most of the time.
95. My favorite candy is Red Vines.
96. I could eat a whole box of them in one sitting. Before the movie even starts.
97. But I almost never buy them.
98. I have a problem getting rid of holey clothes. Particularly socks.
99. I have the manuals for every appliance I own. I even have one for my garage door opener.
100. I can’t believe I could think of 100 things.
Monday, November 06, 2006
Alleluia!
The fridge appears to have made a dramatic comeback! I will keep you all updated on the state of my refrigerator, as I know you are on the edge of your seats at this point.
why oh why?
On top of the fact that I have two rather unpleasant activities to undertake tomorrow, I'm pretty sure my refrigerator just died. I heard a very loud noise coming from my kitchen and upon further investigation, I think it was the fridge's fault. My fridge is now making rather pathetic sighing noises and when I opened it up to see if it would turn on, it just made more sighing noises, plus some creaky noises. I think the plan is going to be to not open it again and then call my manager in the morning. He just came by yesterday to fix the pilot light on my heater which blew out, thus causing the scent of natural gas to fill my apartment when I woke up yesterday. Fun!
why am i having a panic attack about this?
I have a midterm and a presentation tomorrow in one of my classes (the one that I posted a rant about earlier). For some reason this has sent me into a state of absolute terror. I even had one of those bad dreams where I took the test and there was a question on it about a topic I had forgotten to study. I never have those dreams! Usually I am a very calm person about such matters.
I think it has to do with a couple of factors. First of all, the fact that I also signed up to give a presentation tomorrow is scary. I basically got over worrying about presentations at Wellesley, but that is because I always felt like I had a friendly audience. My professor is nice, but he likes to ask probing questions that potentially reveal your utter stupidity and lack of deep thought.
Second of all, I had to buy my own blue books (I was so dismayed). Please note that Wellesley College never made us do such a thing and thoughtfully provided us with as many blue books as we needed during the course of a test. So I'm kind of worried because I've never taken a test at UCLA--I don't really know what to expect.
Third of all, I don't know if this is a universal grad school thing or just my department, but I have to maintain a 3.0 GPA or they can kick me out. If I think about it logically, this is not a big deal. I'm not really expecting to do that badly in any of my classes. They also have an incentive to keep me in school, I guess, so basically that requirement just means that our grades are kind of inflated (well, that's what some other people have said). And it's not like I'm taking super advanced math classes here or something--it's just library school! But illogically, this requirement really scares me. It makes me feel like I am in a precarious position and any moment I might be sent away, never to become a librarian.
I think it's that last one that is making me so worried. At Wellesley I knew that I could do badly on a few and oh well. But I don't have that comfortable little feeling to fall back on here, so I'm having nightmares about Freud (yep, I distinctly remember that the question I couldn't answer in my dream had to do with Freud). The only good thing I have to say is at least it will all be over tomorrow at 5pm!
I think it has to do with a couple of factors. First of all, the fact that I also signed up to give a presentation tomorrow is scary. I basically got over worrying about presentations at Wellesley, but that is because I always felt like I had a friendly audience. My professor is nice, but he likes to ask probing questions that potentially reveal your utter stupidity and lack of deep thought.
Second of all, I had to buy my own blue books (I was so dismayed). Please note that Wellesley College never made us do such a thing and thoughtfully provided us with as many blue books as we needed during the course of a test. So I'm kind of worried because I've never taken a test at UCLA--I don't really know what to expect.
Third of all, I don't know if this is a universal grad school thing or just my department, but I have to maintain a 3.0 GPA or they can kick me out. If I think about it logically, this is not a big deal. I'm not really expecting to do that badly in any of my classes. They also have an incentive to keep me in school, I guess, so basically that requirement just means that our grades are kind of inflated (well, that's what some other people have said). And it's not like I'm taking super advanced math classes here or something--it's just library school! But illogically, this requirement really scares me. It makes me feel like I am in a precarious position and any moment I might be sent away, never to become a librarian.
I think it's that last one that is making me so worried. At Wellesley I knew that I could do badly on a few and oh well. But I don't have that comfortable little feeling to fall back on here, so I'm having nightmares about Freud (yep, I distinctly remember that the question I couldn't answer in my dream had to do with Freud). The only good thing I have to say is at least it will all be over tomorrow at 5pm!
Saturday, November 04, 2006
thank you internet!
I found this info on stirring natural peanut butter from notmartha. Let me tell you, it is so enlightening. No really. I'm so excited about my new-found peanut butter knowledge. It had never occurred to me before to just put my cold jar of peanut butter in the microwave to make it more spreadable. I just wanted to share this with you in case you were encountering the same problems. And in case you were wondering what the point of natural peanut butter was, most of the non-natural kinds have egregious levels of trans fat in them and we can't have that!
Friday, November 03, 2006
ewwwwwwww
I just had a cockroach crawl across my floor. Yes, a cockroach. I dispatched it and hopefully that will send a message to its little friends that this is not a friendly home for them. I am going to be implementing a new cleaning regimen that involves a lot more cleaning. Not that it's that dirty around here--my theory is that it migrated here from one of those dirty undergraduate apartments. Dirty undergraduates! Ewwwwwwww.
Thursday, November 02, 2006
a difficult matter
I have come upon a difficulty here in library school. This touches something deep in my heart and I find myself very resistant to the change that it requires. This something, friends, is the fact that I am now required to use the APA citation method, after using Chicago for so many years that it is inscribed upon my soul. Last name, First name. Title. (Publication city: Publisher, Year Published), Page Number. Well, for a footnote at least. Now it's all about putting the year in parentheses right after the author's name, the name that I don't even get to fully spell out. I have to use initials! I am very resentful.
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