Awwww...

You gotta love the smile.

*giggle*

Yay!

I got my driver's license!!! It's all very exciting.

In other news, my ticket on Elfwood went through, so those interested may find two more chapters for Night here.

My friend Russell's older sister, who I work with, is making a scrapbook for his graduation party, and she gave me two pages to fill, and some colored cardstock. I've spent some time looking through pictures that we have here, although I'm not done yet, and then I have to get some nice glue and color copies of the photos before I can really get started. I also printed some coloring-book-pages of dinosaurs and colored them in last night, for decorations (we loved dinosaurs when we were little.) I may have to ask Em for some more pictures, but I think it'll look nice by the time I'm done (preferably before Sunday, because that's when she's giving it to him... haha).

What Now?

So, I finally got a bathing suit yesterday (and fell prey to several clumsy mishaps) but of course, the rain persists... intermittent heavy showers are no longer fun, especially if one happens to work outdoors in a tent where rain can blow inside and the humidity makes cookies stale and chalkboard signs wet...

Lots of Rain

I woke up this morning to steady, heavy rain, but fortunately there was no wind blowing it in my windows, so I left them open and slept for two more hours.

That has pretty much set the tone for the day, and I think that I will read when I have the chance, eat lunch, and then practice parallel parking and go shopping for a new bathing suit with my mom, if we actually manage to get out of the house, that is.

Swinging the Dead

Ok, now I'm starting to get pissed off...

An article in the local paper, June 12th:

North Wales Library may lose lease
By: Mark D. Marrotta, Staff Writer

On June 22, the North Penn School Board will decide what to do about the lease under which the library occupies space at North Wales Elementary School.D. Michael Frist, the North Penn School District's director of business administration, said the board will vote on a motion on whether to give the library notice that its lease will terminate as of February 2007, with month-to-month extensions through the following December.Speaking Thursday, John Strobel, the school district's manager of support services, said the library would have to vacate its space for renovations planned for the school. The work at North Wales is part of renovations planned at various schools over the next five years, he added.Strobel explained that the work at North Wales will include a general updating of the building, mechanical upgrades and removal of modular classrooms.Strobel said the library occupies about 3,500 square feet. It would be possible to fit three classrooms there, he added."We're not anxious to move out," library co-director Jayne Blackledge said.The library has been in the school building since 1927, and has had a lease with the district since 1964, she added.Blackledge said the library has a 10-year lease, at $1 per year. She added that she believed eight years remain on the current lease term."We do have a couple of ideas" as far as alternative locations for the library, said its board president, Cathy Knee.But, she added, any options will require a considerable amount of money."We can't do much without it," Knee said.She added that the Friends of the Library organization will try to do some fundraising.

An email from Mrs. Blackledge, the co-director, June 19th:

Hi Readers,

There will be a meeting at the ESC on Hancock andChurch Rds. in Lansdale on Thursday, June 22 beginningat 7:30 p.m. Please consider showing your support of the N. WalesLibrary by attending!
We appreciate your caring.

The Library Board of Directors

Another article in the local paper, today:

NP board votes to not renew library’s lease
By: Mark D. Marrotta, Staff Writer

By a 6-2 vote Thursday‚ the school board voted to notify the library that its lease will terminate at the end of its current term‚ on Feb. 28‚ 2007. The motion‚ made by board member Frank O’Donnell and seconded by John Schilling‚ also provided that the district will be willing to continue the lease on a month-by-month basis through Dec. 31‚ 2007. The dissenting votes were cast by Vice President Timothy Kerr and board member Rick Miniscalco. The library has occupied space at the school since 1927. Administrators said the library would need to move for planned renovations that would include removing modular classrooms. The 3‚500 square feet occupied by the library could provide space for about three classrooms. During the public comment period before the motion was made‚ Cathy Knee‚ president of the library board‚ asked for the vote to be postponed. She said the library’s future had not been addressed. Kerr asked whether the support services committee‚ which had previously discussed the lease termination‚ had discussed the issue with members of the public. “It’s been an ongoing discussion‚” replied board member John Schilling‚ who chairs the committee. He added that the district will need to give the library ample notice of the lease termination. “We want to be fair‚” Schilling said. “I don’t think it’s important to pass this tonight‚” Miniscalco said. But Schilling responded that the district will still be in a situation in which the library will have to vacate the school. According to him‚ there is no option but for the library to find another location. Director of Business Administration D. Michael Frist said John Strobel‚ manager of support services‚ had talked to North Wales‘ borough manager about the possibility of having the library use space in borough hall. Board member Joseph Walsh asked what the notice requirements were under the lease. Solicitor Jack Dooley responded that the lease‚ originally entered in 1964‚ was for a 20-year term. At the expiration of that period‚ it was renewed for 10 years‚ and has been extended on a year-to-year basis since then. Dooley said the lease requires 60 days‘ notice of termination. He added that the notice will not have to be given until the end this year. However‚ Linda McAdoo‚ a former library board president‚ said an Oct. 23‚ 2003‚ letter from D. Michael Frist said the board had approved the lease would continue through 2014. O’Dooley responded that that was not the way the lease was written. A motion by Miniscalco to table the vote failed by a 4-4 vote.

The school board has done some crappy things in the past, but this is the worse. Ongoing, my ass! They slipped this vote by, specifically before the meeting in which people might actually voice dissent. Furthermore, I would like to add that they are all slimy corrupt conservative pricks, although maybe I'll settle with just "conservative pricks" concerning the two who at least had some balls and voted against the lease termination.

Other than that my day at work was just fine, although hot as hell. The sky was threatening, so of course I didn't go swimming with my last vestife of energy, and now soon it will be dinner time and then I will just collapse somewhere. Oh well... my old suit is slowly starting to disintegrate anyway, and I need to go shopping for a new one soon.

Dazed and Confused

"Let me 'splain. No. There is not enough time. Let me sum-up..."

Finish the quote, and I might just reward you with something sweet ;)

So, to sum-up...

Work: Three early shifts and one closing shift this week (not done yet)... tiring.
Writing: Spent a day immersed in self, producing two new chapters, html-ing new writings, and submitting to Elfwood... tiring.
Walking: To the library and to the pool... tiring.
Weather: Hot, humid, and oppressive... tiring.

Rush

I have been so caught up in things lately... immersing myself in work, finishing with cleaning my room and even sorting books, and then a trip to NY with Jason and my mom on Sunday... it's been mostly enjoyable, but tiring as well. I had a day off from work today, so I spent most of my day ensconced in the third floor with my computer, working on my Night story. I have two new chapters to html, and then I'll put a ticket through Elfwood and we'll see how long that takes.

As If On Wings

I wish I could be there... but in the meantime, may time fly quickly until Sunday.

Busy Busy Busy...

Well, I have been keeping busy, between reading, doing things around the house and my room, and work. I get a little bit of a break today though, because Jason is visiting :D

Work is strangely enjoyable. My first 6-hour shift was yesterday, and although I was pretty tired when I got home, due to being on my feet and occupied the whole time, it felt good. I always had something to do, which meant that I was on my feet the whole time, but that's to be expected. I did mostly bagging, which I got quite good at, and some restocking and setting up more samples. People-watching also kept me amused and occupied. In addition, I got to eat most of a cranberry walnut scone that had broken and therefore wasn't saleable, as well as a broken peanut butter cookie, which supplemented my packed lunch nicely. I have a fairly light schedule next week, though-- tuesday, friday, and saturday only, and all of those shifts roughly around 6 hours. I was kind of hoping for more of a steady work schedule... maybe next week, after I've really proven myself? *sigh*

*Spooky Hands*

Nah, I'm just kidding... nothing interesting happened today; in fact, it was a slow, quiet day. I cooked, did chores, and in a leisurely fashion, cleaned and organized the last two drawers of my desk. I have at least five diaries, most of which have not been written in, except for one that's my WoT things of interest journal and the one that had a few filled pages, which I removed and put somewhere else. Oh, and the one that's still in a box that my english teacher gave me my senior year, which I brought to college with me and really made an effort with... although it did die like all the other diaries I've attempted to write. I don't know... somehow trying to sit down and organize my thoughts on paper just doesn't work. I have to either scribble phrases on things on scraps of paper as they occur to me, or just sit in front of a computer and let everything flow. It's not the screen... well it is kind of nice to see my thoughts unfold so neatly, because reading is of course one of my strengths... but mostly I think it's that I can type really quickly and get everything out more easily. That, and putting (some) of it online makes me see it in a different light, sometimes.

These past few days, working mostly in my room, reading, not going out much, and concentrating on just these things has been kind of a holiday for me. (It ends tomorrow, with my morning dentist appointment and one-day, last minute dog-sitting for nearby family friends.) There are times when I just feel like drawing into myself, taking stock and, in a sense, going into a waking-meditative state. It felt right to do so mostly while in my room, which is, after all, my sanctuary... but alas, soon I must return to life.

Number of the Beast

"Woe to you, Oh Earth and Sea, for the Devil sends the beast with wrath, because he knows the time is short... Let him who hath understanding reckon the number of the beast, for it is a human number: its number is six hundred and sixty six."

Sister Awake

Carla? Productive? Oh yes, it is indeed possible! I made an experimental breakfast, which was something like a large latke and turned out to be great, and then I finished the weeding, swept the porch, cut some grass for the cats, and worked on my room (eating lunch as I went) for a good two or three hours, filling the first trashbag and starting on a second. It's really starting to look up, although I am kind of dreading having to deal with the huge mass of stuff on my desk... which is why it's pretty much last on the list ;)

Happy 6.6.06 tomorrow, to my fellow metalheads and people who just think it's kind of a cool alignment that only happens once a millenium of numbers that, coincidentally, is the bane of the Christian church... I'm planning on spending the day working some more on my room, listening to "Number of the Beast" and then either some more Iron Maiden or some Metallica... or whatever strikes my fancy, really. If I had "Sympathy for the Devil," I'd listen to that too.

Oh, and for the thrash-metal inclined... happy National Day of Slayer.

\m/

Everything I've Got

Well, my afternoon was spent working on cleaning some more of my room, which meant filling a big black trashbag with small empty boxes and dustry trinkets and then sorting the bottom drawer of my desk, which consists of mostly cards. I tossed all the empty envelopes, found $5 in one card, and sorted out the postcards, postcards from foreign countries, and things from Turkey that my dad brought back. I found several very cute cards and letters from Russ, professing his love.

Strangely enough I didn't get terribly nostalgic skimming all the cards, except when I found a few from my uncle Mark, who died when I was young, and one old birthday card with a p.s.-- "congratulations on your sibling-to-be!"

Anyway. Later I am going to finish weeding the back lot, and then I'll either stop for the day or get another trash bag and work some more on clearing the white shelf. Keeping myself busy will be good preparation for when I start work on Thursday (after my dentist appointment on Wednesday... ech.) Either way, it will have been a productive day.

And In Other News...

(Just a few side notes for those who aren't that interested in my life... think of them as a ticker or something.)

- Permit acquired
- Driving practiced, skills dusted off
- The Mists of Avalon and The Devil Wears Prada finished
- Ennui and loneliness barely staved off

I'm just so tired... and blogger takes a while to load on this computer... otherwise I might actually write things.

The Unquiet Grave

(A traditional English ballad that I felt like sharing.)

Cold blows the wind to my true love,
And gently drops the rain.
I've never had but one true love,
And in green-wood he lies slain.

I'll do as much for my true love,
As any young girl may,
I'll sit and mourn all on his grave,
For twelve months and a day.

And when twelve months and a day was passed,
The ghost did rise and speak,
"Why sittest thou all on my grave
And will not let me sleep?"

"Go fetch me water from the desert,
And blood from out the stone,
Go fetch me milk from a fair maid's breast
That young man never has known."

"My breast is cold as clay,
My breath is earthly strong,
And if you kiss my cold clay lips,
Your days they won't be long."

"How oft on yonder grave, sweetheart,
Where we were wont to walk,
The fairest flower that e'er I saw
Has withered to a stalk."

"When will we meet again, sweetheart,
When will we meet again?"
"When the autumn leaves that fall from the trees
Are green and spring up again."