The Misadventures of Super_Librarian
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Saturday, March 27, 2004I found out this week that I'll have a place to live in California - so a big WooHoo! Our apartment application was approved, and our move in date is April 9. The movers should arrive a few days after that, and since my boyfriend will be back at work, it will be up to me to unpack. That's right - I get to pack and unpack! Aren't I just the lucky girl? My last day at the office is this upcoming Friday, April 2. I'm getting a send-off fit for a queen - with a catered lunch for the staff at headquarters then an open house in the afternoon so any/all of the branch librarians can swing by. I've been packing (again) this weekend, but the good news is that I'm really making an obscene amount of progress. It will also help tremendously when my sister and best friend swing by tomorrow to pick up the "stuff" I'm giving away to them. My full rich day consists of errands, laundry, and more packing. After that, I hope to read more of One Dark Night by Jaid Black. Tuesday, March 23, 2004I'm tired of looking at cardboard. I'm also tired of looking around my apartment and not seeing what I've accomplished - rather all I still have left to pack. This is why I hate moving. And frankly, I'm glad it's just me and a boyfriend - not me, a husband, and 3 children. Just thinking about that scenario makes me want to run screaming through the streets. I'm also tired of not reading. Ever since I learned I was making The Big Move, it's been near impossible for me to sit down and read. Being a guilty sort of person, instead of enjoying the luxury of reading, I start to think about all the "stuff" I still have to do. And with moving day set for April 6 - time is of the essence. So my weekends have been spent knee deep in cardboard instead of in my favorite reading chair. However, I figure every girl needs a diversion and I'm currently working on One Dark Night by Jaid Black - as previously mentioned in my earlier blogging. So far - not bad. I'm liking the serial killer stuff and the hero shows promise. I also enjoy the way Black writes about the Dominant/submissive culture. She blessedly looks at the lifestyle from an intellectual angle, rather than taking a sensational viewpoint. Unfortunately the heroine has done something annoying that's starting to stick in my craw. She has just met the cop hero and decided that she hates him on sight. Why? Because he doesn't believe her pyschic best friend. Nevermind that he valiantly tries to reason with both of them. Blah. Frankly, she's just too uppity. When I want to bitch-slap a character it's never a good sign. I also find it interesting that I'm more intrigued by the pyschic best friend secondary character more than the heroine. However the book is still young at 73 pages - so at this point, anything can still happen. Thursday, March 18, 2004Happy Anniversary Mom and Dad! The old adage must be true - opposites really do attract. What other explanation would there be for the last 34 years of wedded bliss? Now for the rest of the news.... I had plans to take a sabbatical from reviewing until after The Big Move. However, TRR's editor had already mailed out books to me. While she told me not to worry about them, when I opened up the package I knew I'd change my mind. This glorious woman sent me One Dark Night by Jaid Black. For those not tuned into the romance novel universe, Black made a name for herself with upstart e-publisher Ellora's Cave. Ellora's Cave specializes in romantica (a romance/erotica hybrid) and has cultivated a loyal fan base. While I adore erotica, I have yet to try their offerings only because I don't do e-books (I'm a print snob), but now that they've published a few of their best selling books in trade paperback I may have to take the plunge. One Dark Night is the author's first print offering from Berkley, and sounds so tempting that I can't believe I'm wasting my time on blogging instead of reading! Why not read the synopsis and see if you don't agree? Sunday, March 14, 2004This should be getting easier. It seems surreal that I just found out a week ago about the job offer with Orange County. Frankly it seems like an eternity ago - what with all the new levels of stress I've been enjoying. My boyfriend keeps telling me the hard part is over (I've got a job!) - but we still have a car to buy, a new apartment to rent, crap to pack and move 3000 miles, and a myriad of other loose ends to take care of. Praise the saints I don't have children or pets - I'd probably be getting hauled away by the funny men in white lab coats by now. I should probably have prefaced this blog by stating how much I hate moving. I like a good, comfortable rut. Change and I have never been on a first name basis. So while I'm really excited about this new opportunity, and being reunited with my boyfriend - I'm also scared out of my ever-lovin' mind. To sort of highlight the level of my panic, I hadn't read one page in any book for 6 days. Not one. I went through the motions of carrying a book around, but I didn't crack it open. Not even on my lunch break. I have the attention span of a fruit fly these days. To alleviate this little issue (I cannot not read!) - I've decided to put myself on a strict diet of Harlequins until after The Big Move. And so far it seems to be working. I plowed through Dr. Dangerous by Kristi Gold in less than 2 hours this evening. Tuesday, March 09, 2004I need to have mental breakdowns more often. I was talking to my boyfriend on the telephone last evening lamenting the fact that he's in California and I'm in Michigan. We've been living apart since October, and to be honest, it's wearing a little thin for both of us. For those of you currently unemployed (or know someone who is), you can relate to the fact that the job market blows buffalo chips right about now. Frankly, it has only gotten worse in my neck of the woods. To make matters more interesting, I'm a public librarian, and with California's current budget crisis....well, it's not the best time to be looking for public library work. I'm not asking much out of life. I just want my boyfriend and I to live in the same time zone and have both of us be employed. But like I said, the current state of the CA budget hadn't left me real optimistic about finding work out there, and I know for sure that my boyfriend finding any sort of work here in Michigan would be like finding the ole' needle in the haystack. But back to the freaking out. I was settling down a bit after our phone conversation, and finishing up my current read when the phone rings. It's the (edited so my bossses don't freak out) library system. I interviewed with them back in February. Turns out they want to offer me the job!!! You're reading the blog of the newest branch manager for this library system. All that leaves is coordinating the move, buying a new car, moving to a new place in CA closer to my job, and wrapping up things here at my current job. I gave notice today, and have slowly been breaking the news. This is a big opportunity for me, and I'm terribly excited. Sunny California here I come! Saturday, March 06, 2004First things first - I've sleazed up my web site a bit by adding some velvet/satin backgrounds. I've probably been reading too much filth lately, which would explain why I was getting a little bored with the Victorian vibe I had going for some time. What can I say - sometimes a girl just feels sleazy. Now to the real news - Martha, Martha, Martha! I should probably state up front that while I've never been a fan of Martha (anyone who makes her own wrapping paper is not to be trusted in my book), I've never reveled in hating her. Actually, I've always been a little on her side. Let me explain.... I tend to resent that powerful business women are automatically labeled bitches just because they are in a position of power. Do people automatically call Donald Trump a raging asshole? Not always. But Martha is immediately labeled as a bitch. OK - so she is a bitch - but hello?! She would have to be. How else could she survive in a male dominated corporate world? As for her guilt - well really now, we all knew she was guilty, it was just a matter of whether the lawyers could convince a jury of that fact. And while Martha's foray into white collar crime doesn't come close to Enron or WorldCom - she really fudged it up for herself when she lied. Martha, darling, have you learned nothing from Bill Clinton? Richard Nixon? That was just silly. Legal and law enforcement types don't like being lied to. It tends to put them in a bad mood that now souffle can cure. It will be interesting to see how the sentencing shakes down. I say she does get jail time, but I'll be surprised if it's more than 5 years. Tuesday, March 02, 2004My drastic measures worked! I have broken the mini-reading slump with a Black Lace erotica read. While Pleasure's Daughter by Sedalia Johnson wasn't without faults, it still have plenty of steam to keep me turning the pages. Our story takes place in 1750 England and finds our heroine, Amelia, traveling to her aunt's estate after the death of her father. Along the way she crosses the Marquis of Beechwood, Lucas, and he is determined to track her down and make her his. This being erotica, good ole' Lucas decides the best way about this is through humiliation and sexual conquest. Amelia runs, Lucas chases, and they both have sexual adventures along the way. I have to say this was an interesting read if only for the fact that the author does actually write somewhat of a plot. For the most part it works, but when it comes to my particular foibles, the sex was less satisfying. I should state up front that domination and submission do not push any kind of ick buttons for me. However, the heroine's repeated running, and her inability to take the bull by the horns, got tiresome after a while. One of the more interesting aspects of erotica is when the tables are literally turned on the dominate characters, and in this case Lucas really needed his tables turned in a big way. The author does get around to this, but by the time it happens, it feels a little too late. There's also a rather rushed conclusion where Lucas admits he was a jack ass. Frankly, considering his behavior for the entire book, a brief few pages where he miraculous sees the error of his ways seemed a bit farfetched. But that's just me..... |
