Trying to stay busy...I hate just sitting around

I have been a terrible blogger lately. I know...I'm letting hundreds of readers down by not being here more regularly. Ha ha... seriously...to all three of my regular readers, my regards for disappointing you.

Now that I have completed my master's degree in library science and do not have a job as of yet, I am finding new and creative ways to entertain myself. The first thing I have done is to volunteer to help with costumes for the middle school musical. Both of my daughters are in the show. I invite you all to attend it. They are doing "My Son, Pinocchio." Show times are as follows at Canandaigua middle School:

Friday 2/4, 7:30 pm
Saturday 2/5, 2:00 and 7:30 pm
Sunday 2/6, 2:00 pm

(If you come, pay close attention to the donkey ear hats...I spent a considerable amount of time sewing 12 of them. Also, one fox ear hat. And the creating of 9 animal nose t-shirts...don't ask.)

If that wasn't enough, I went to the parent meeting for the high school musical that my son is in. I had told myself that I was not going to volunteer for that one since I am up to my ears (no pun intended) with the Middle School musical...but I felt pity for the poor woman who stood up and said how they desperately need help with costumes. As soon as I am done working on the middle school show, I will begin participating in costume making for the high school. I must say that I really look up to my friend Kathy who is in charge of costumes for the middle school show. She makes all the important decisions and I just do what she asks (or tells) me to do.

This week I also attended my first school library conference. I really enjoyed myself, learned a lot and met many new people. Hopefully I will be employed by a school sometime within the next year and putting all of this knowledge to good use. Never mind my family's snide remarks about the conference. It was all said in jest of course and I can appreciate the humor. Here are some samples of what my husband and son have suggested goes on at one of these library conferences.

Husband (on a possible seminar title): "The Dewey Decimal System and You."
Son (his best stab at the same): "Should Bifocal Necklaces Be Allowed in School...or Do They Pose a Safety Threat?"
Son (his imagination of conversation during the conference...done in a falsetto voice): "I find that if I twist my hair first, it stays in a bun much better."

I have also been trying to get my name onto sub-lists for a few different school districts. One school district...which shall remain anonymous...told me that I am not qualified to sub in their district because I do not yet have my official certificate from NY state. (This was after filling out a ton of paperwork and being interviewed by a vice principal.) I told them that I have a written letter from my university stating that I have completed all requirements for certification and that I will be recommended for certification. Apparently this letter is not good enough for this school district. Who knows how long it will be before good old NY state gives me my certification? I told this story to the Naples School librarians who I ate lunch with during the conference, and they all suggested that I come down and put my name on their list because they are seriously short of subs. I will be doing that sometime this week.

Another thing I did this week was to read the book, The Grapes of Wrath by John Steinbeck. This was a book that was banned from me in my past and I just had to read it since I was so curious about why it was so terrible. (especially since I plan on becoming a school librarian) I have to say that I really liked the book! I can see how it would generate a lot of good discussion in an English class and make the church lady mad. (P.S. I am not trying to be disrespectful...I was just picturing the church lady on Saturday Night Live from years ago.)

I guess that about wraps it up for me.

bitter cold NY weather

Yesterday it was -3°F...which is the equivalent of -19°C. Yep...it was pretty cold!

So this morning when I went out to drive my daughters to school, it was about 25°F and it felt downright balmy!

A new Friend

Hi everyone! I have been trying to brush up on my Spanish since I will be taking a trip to Ecuador in April. In order to help with that, I set up an account at busuu.com where you can practice speaking with native speakers of the language you are trying to learn. I have chatted online with someone from Venezuela, but we could not speak live because his microphone did not work. It was just as well, because I am not very good. Typing out the conversation gave me a chance to think out the language a little more slowly while conversing.

Last night while I was on the site, a young woman from China contacted me to help her with her English. Her name is Grace and she lives in Hunan Province. I think it was the city of Changsha (is that right, Grace?). I told her I would post in her honor today. We had a wonderful little chat over Skype. I enjoyed meeting her. She showed me a couple of pictures of the area in which she lives. Here they are.

I think it would be quite impressive to see these tall cliffs in person. This first picture reminds me a little of Chimney Bluffs here in New York State. Grace, here is a picture of Chimney Bluffs along the shore of Lake Ontario.
Here is the other picture she sent me.

It looks like a very peaceful place to be. If it were not for the snow, I could almost hear the gentle twittering of birds in the trees. Here is a comparable picture of the Japanese Garden at Sonnenberg Gardens here in Canandaigua, NY. It is very close to where I live, only a few blocks away.
While I know Grace is Chinese and not Japanese, I thought the pictures were pretty similar.
I hope I get another chance to talk with Grace again.
(photos: the Japanese Gardens-Jason Roberts, Chimney Bluffs-tooshy, China pictures-Grace)

Can you spot Audra and me?