Stir Crazy

75. 30 folders + 45 books.
75 bookplates pasted
75 stamps stamped
75 barcodes stuck
120 call numbers written
45 tags cut

3 hours and 7 minutes of my life gone...
$24.12 earned.

139 hours of my life, total, spent in this manner.
More to come.

"There's more to life than that- don't ask me what!" -Chava, and the world of industry.

And to top it all off, I have to go back there today to get my iPod, which I forgot about completely, since it just sat on the desk the whole time... wearing it just feels too much like A Brave New World.
over 'n out.
KDz

One Art

For all the nasty separations life throws our way, on a night when I feel entitled to some nostalgia...

"One Art", by Elizabeth Bishop

The art of losing isn't hard to master;
so many things seem filled with the intent
to be lost that their loss is no disaster.

Lose something every day. Accept the fluster
of lost door keys, the hour badly spent.
The art of losing isn't hard to master.

Then practice losing farther, losing faster:
places, and names, and where it was you meant
to travel. None of these will bring disaster.

I lost my mother's watch. And look! my last, or
next-to-last, of three loved houses went.
The art of losing isn't hard to master.

I lost two cities, lovely ones. And, vaster,
some realms I owned, two rivers, a continent.
I miss them, but it wasn't a disaster.


--Even losing you (the joking voice, a gesture
I love) I shan't have lied. It's evident
the art of losing's not too hard to master
though it may look like (Write it!) like disaster.

Bumps & Bruises

For some unknown reason, being around kids seems to lead to an inordinate amount of bumps and bruises. I am not, by nature, a clumsy person. Forgetful, yes; Evasive, possibly; but clumsy, no. So it is bizarre that in the past two weeks I should so injure myself. I have come to the conclusion that it has much to do with hanging out with my adorable, fun-loving cousins of 9 (well, 8, but we'll give him 9, he's really close), 6, and 3. Today, I bonked my head in a rather unseemly manner on a counter. I can't even blame the counter for excessive portrusion, 'cause it was pretty decently minding its own business when I bent down to pick up my shoe, stood up, and WHACK- hit my skull. This while coming in to shod myself in preparation for watching said 3 year-old pedal around on a trike.
Then the other day, as I was getting my dear 6-year-old cousin to go to bed, I somehow managed to slip on the stairs, slide halfway down them, and acquire a bruise I can now be most proud of. I don't know that my skin has ever been such a brightly-colored canvas and this, in fact, has served me well for comforting her about her newly acquired bruise from falling off her bike.
Other bodily injuries sustained with/around/because of my hilarious cousins include mild scalding while attempting to make a cake with one of the kids, assorted bruises on my head, arms, legs, and other random body parts, acquired when being assaulted by said cousins, and some aches and pains in my toes where Mr. I-just-learned-how-to-pedal-my tricycle pedaled the blasted thing right over my feet.
I have therefore come to the conclusion that having kids- though fun in some respects- is dangerous and to be recommended only to those with a strong constitution (aka good health), a good heart, and a strong sense of fun.
Boy, am I gonna miss 'em.

Battle of the Sexes, Battle for Worth

That poor Samaritan woman,
always misunderstood.
Five times her husband died or divorced her
(she couldn't divorce him, that's not how it worked)
and the sixth one wouldn't even marry her.
Considered stupid although she caught the chance
we all wish we'd been given
to ask Jesus anything, anything at all.

We poor, we women,
asked to adore one man in our lives
asked to believe HE will complete us
as Tom Cruise foolishly tells his on-screen love.
'cause anyone who's lived knows,
that's not how love works.
And not even the most perfect love in the universe is free of pain.

We disdained, we women,
told that we aren't tempered and tested,
as boys are (John Mayer Daughters, 22-25)
we can't enter that secret world they share.
Faugh!

Men, women.
We've been fighting so long,
we no longer know
what the differences are
if there were any
what the similarities were
if there are any

Fighting for worth, we live each day.
Sometimes you see, you're small.
Sometimes it's enough to live in the moment
and so forget it all
all but the here and the now
We have a talent for making life opaque
so nothing transcendent can peek through...

We have a talent for making life opaque
so nothing transcendent can peek through.
It's 'cause transcendence hurts.
It's hard to get, and when you do,
the clarity brings much pain.

Fair to Middlin'

that's me. fair to middlin'.
kate the great
good ol' kate
katie
dependable, capable, trustworthy.

darn.

Beginnings & Lessons

That last post, though expressive in many ways, isn't how I want to start this year... so even though I never feel like new year is really a beginning, I want to record this "beginning" and it's lessons here.
Today one out of my close-knit group of friends was randomly in town, so he and my sister and I went and climbed a mountain (with the Parents trailing along) and went to see a movie, and talked. It was... calm. comfortable. enjoyable. (I find that my times are rarely spectacular. everything is middlin' to fair with me...) Even my sister was cooperative and managed to have a pretty good time.
So despite the strangeness of meeting on this continent rather than the one across the ocean, and despite the lack of other friends and the shortness of time, I am glad about the way this year has started. I don't even mind having missed the Bones marathon, which, as my best friend would tell you, is unusual. I don't mind because, silly though it will seem to say it- people are more important than television.
It's that simple. People over television. People over that extra hour of studying. People over that extra hour of sleep. That's something Kristiana brought to my attention. Thanks for that, friend. And that is what I want to challenge myself with (apart from the myriad of challenges that are coming anyway- what can I say, it makes life interesting ;) ) I want to make the time I have with the people around me (and those far away that I communicate with) meaningful. There's not really a better word for it than that.
Allons-hi, 2009!

everyone knows someone....

If she's not in a good mood, no one can laugh around her with impunity.
If she doesn't feel like being funny, no one can make a joke.
If she doesn't like what you're doing, be prepared for anger, a tirade, sarcasm, the silent treatment, a fury of texting.
If you want her to do something for you, prepare to negotiate for hours and end up getting her way instead of yours after all.
She's a tyrant. And she thinks she's the one that's being injured and put upon.