A Big Ol' General Update

Well, I have somewhat successfully done the website host switchover. The "somewhat" means the blog archives are not showing up, and I haven't figured out how to make them do so at this point. Also, I imagine a lot of the photos in these archived posts are no longer there since they were "ftp-d" to the old host. But since the archives aren't there then this detail is kind of moot for now. I'm hopeful that I will eventually be able to fix the archive situation. As far at the photos are concerned, I don't think I'll be sifting through past posts and trying to figure what needs to move over. I mean, you can just go to Flickr if you want to see photographs, right?

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In other news I worked a hell of a schedule last week because I planned to do 4 10-hour days, and then take Friday off, but I ended up having to work Friday since my coworker was out due to a death in her family. Note that I don't blame her for my tough work week, but it was tough nonetheless. And of course, I put my homework off till the end of the week because it seems that's just what I do these days.

So too much time at work, too much worry about schoolwork made me ready to just collapse after class on Saturday. And collapse I did. All the way through Sunday. I couldn't get myself to do much but read (not for school) online and off. I finally did some stuff today (I had today off as compensation for having to work Friday) - grocery shopping, errands, cleaning the microwave, loads and load of laundry, that kind of stuff. But I continue to fret over schoolwork and not do it. So I'm officially calling off the fretting for tonight at least. I mean, if I'm not gonna do it, I'm not gonna do it. Why fret? (Easier said than done.)

Truth be told, I've been a bit depressed. And I've never been the sort to just throw myself into work to get over it. I'm more of the lie around and wait for the feelings to pass type. I'm pretty sure these blues are from anxiety about schoolwork. I don't know why it's such a big deal for me. I mean, how many times have I posted about this kind of thing? I just suck at self motivation and I also suck at dealing with stress. I mean, the way I feel about getting my final project done is the way most people probably feel about... well, I don't know... but I'm sure having to write a paper for school is one of those "problems" to be glad you have. I know this, but I still suck at dealing with this kind of thing and end up working myself into something of a "state" over it. Blah!

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On to something completely different...

I got an iTunes gift card from my brother for my birthday, and today I used some of it to buy the following songs: Dancing in the Moonlight by King Harvest, Fool (If You Think It's Over) by Chris Rea, In a Broken Dream by Rod Stewart with Python Lee Jackson, Just Dropped in (To See What Condition My Condition Was In) by Kenny Rogers and the First Edition, Music Box Dancer by Frank Mills, She's a Rainbow by The Rolling Stones, and Tighten Up, Part 1 by Archie Bell and the Drells. Musically, I'm stuck in the last century pretty much, pre-1980, and I think that's how it's going to stay.

One thing I did on Sunday is that I finished reading The Magnificent Ambersons. I had bought the book a year or two ago, started it, and then stopped because I just hated George Amberson Minafer so much. But I picked it up again recently, persevered and found it to be quite a good story, and well written too. Now I think I will have to see the movie which seems to be more critically acclaimed than the book.

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Reading: The Magnificent Ambersons by Booth Tarkington.

Labels: anxiety, listening, reading, school, technology, the blues

posted by Miss Rachel 4/14/2008 09:30:00 PM

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Books, Music and Movies (plus Technical Note)

Reading: The Diary of a Young Girl by Anne Frank. I picked this up a few months ago, and then put it down when I got near the end. I kind of didn't want to get to the end because well, we all know how it ends, and it's just so sad. It especially bothers me that she and her sister died only a few months before the camps were liberated. Anyway, I finished it yesterday. I love reading journals and this is no exception. Even putting aside (as much as you can) the big Holocaust story behind it, it still stands up as a well written and engaging read.

Listening: Buffy Sainte-Marie - She Used to Want to be a Ballerina
Dusty Springfield - Dusty in Memphis
Bob Dylan - Highway 61 Revisited

Watching: The Shady Hill Kidnapping (1982) starring George Grizzard, Polly Holliday and Celeste Holm. A wonderful and darkly humorous John Cheever play about the fictional town of Shady Hill, Connecticut. I saw this on PBS back when it came out and was thrilled to find it is now available on DVD.

Ratatouille (2007) starring Patton Oswalt and Janeane Garofalo, among others. Cute Pixar entertainment about being different and creative and loving food, featuring rats and people.

Technical Note I've begun the process of changing hosts so this site might go off line briefly.

Labels: listening, reading, technology, watching

posted by Miss Rachel 3/17/2008 09:26:00 AM

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It's My Birthday!



Listening: Jacob Ter Veldhuis - Paradiso Oratorio

Labels: family, friends, listening

posted by Miss Rachel 2/24/2008 09:05:00 PM

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It's the end of four days off (I had Friday off too), and I accomplished a goal I set for myself - 2 workouts on my elliptical trainer. I did 30 minutes yesterday and 30 today, and I really wasn't sure I was going to do them, especially today. But I did. So yea!

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Watching: A Very Long Engagement (2004) starring Audrey Tatou and Gaspard Ulliel, along with Jodie Foster in smaller role speaking a wonderfully fluent French. This was very good, but I admit had a hard time following the plot (Sweetie helped me with that).

Listening: Fairport Convention - Heyday

Labels: listening, physical fitness, watching

posted by Miss Rachel 2/18/2008 09:47:00 PM

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One Long Freakin' Week

Boy, am I glad it's Friday. This week, I've had long days at work, problems with over-eating and a steadily growing "wall' of stress about an (internal) job I applied for. Today I found out I didn't get the job. Of course, rejection sucks, and this rejection is really making me feel like a loser. I mean, the last three times I've applied for jobs, I haven't gotten them. Of course, all three times, I was definitely in the running and got "encouraging rejections" where the rejector says something like "I hope you apply again the next time one of these jobs is available." Yeah, that way I can pile another rejection on my self esteem. Seriously, though, I know I'll survive.

Strangely enough, getting the bad news about the job didn't make my day into a total failure. I had plenty of work to keep me busy and the stress of not knowing about the job was worse than the bad news so I felt calmer once I got over the initial disappointment. I didn't feel like overeating or eating junk, and I went to the gym and had a kick-ass workout. I did 30 minutes of cardio which included 3 3-minute intervals of running. Usually, I do 2-minute intervals. During the third interval I thought of stopping at 2 minutes, but I managed to keep going, and I felt pretty good about that. And the endorphins or whatever must have kicked in because I started feeling happier.

So by the end of the workday (which ended after 6) I actually felt pretty good. I called Sweetie from work and told him to place our usual order at the Asian fusion restaurant we order from every Friday night, and I said that I'd pick it up and bring it home. My drive home playlist included the following: Catch the Wind by Donovan, Ride the Wind by The Youngbloods, Draft Dodger Rag by Phil Ochs, Rubylove by Cat Stevens, Fortunate Son by Creedence Clearwater Revival, Lay Down (Candles in the Rain) by Melanie, For the Roses by Joni Mitchell, Crystal Blue Persuasion by Tommy James and the Shondells, and Can't Find My Way Home by Blind Faith.

Labels: listening, physical fitness, the blues, work

posted by Miss Rachel 2/08/2008 09:28:00 PM

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Video Update

Labels: library science, listening, make-up, school, watching, winter

posted by Miss Rachel 1/14/2008 08:14:00 PM

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We got our Systems Librarian Interview papers back last Saturday, and we (my research partner and I) got an A-. Psych! I also did my "Word" of the Day (digital vs. analog) presentation, and it went pretty well. Even though it was shorter than the paper presentation (5 minutes as opposed to 15), I was more nervous because I felt less comfortable with my subject material. Also, for the Systems Librarian Interview presentation, I knew my research partner was really nervous, and I felt I had to be strong for her. Sometimes, in situations like that, one can just rise to the occasion and do a good job. In fact, I did a great job, and she ended up doing great too.

I am woefully, though not hopelessly behind on the reading, and I plan to have read-a-thon and study-thon week starting tomorrow in preparation for the exam next week. I know I've said (or thought) I need to get focused on studying for a while now, but I still have yet to do it. So I hereby commit, in front of all blogland, that I'm going to study my ass off this coming week and do a great job on the exam.

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I didn't work out once during my four day mini-vac, but I went back to the gym on Wednesday and put in 20 minutes of intervals on the treadmill. Work is really busy and on Thursday I let things get away from me and skipped working out. Yesterday, I went back and did weights for the first time in 11 days. I did: squats holding a weighted ball between my knees and a body bar in my hands, hip extensions with my feet on a ball, wall squats, one arm bent-over rows leaning on a ball, seated rows with a resistance band, speed chops, bradford presses, shoulder press 21s, angled biceps curls, triceps wall push-ups, chest presses with a body bar and a resistance band, dead bugs, oblique crunches on a ball, regular crunches on a ball, cat and dog stretches and swimmers.

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Now I'm going to get ready to go to school. I need to do something about my iPod / car situation. My Roadtrip has never worked very well - poor volume and too much static - and now I'm having trouble getting it to work at all. This is frustrating because I like catch up on podcasts when I drive. Maybe I'll be able to get it to work today, but I need to find an alternative. At least on the way to school I can usually catch Wait Wait Don't Tell Me, which is good fun.

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And I couldn't sign off without saying this: GO RED SOX!!!

Labels: listening, physical fitness, school

posted by Miss Rachel 10/27/2007 10:40:00 AM

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Today I'm presenting my "word of the day" in tech class. My "word" or words, more accurately, are digital / analog. I know a lot of people already understand what they mean, but not me, so that's why I picked them. Let me tell you, I had a hard time getting my head around the definition, but I think I've got it now. I had researched using Wikipedia and this other site, "HowStuffWorks," but I think what helped the most was talking with Sweetie. He kept explaining it to me in different ways, and finally, it just clicked. He's such a good teacher.

Speaking of Sweetie... poor Sweetie. On Thursday someone from the station called asked if he could fill in on the Friday night / Saturday morning 12 - 3 AM show at WWUH, and he said he'd do it. No big deal. He slept for a couple hours last night, and then figured he'd come home after 3 and go back to bed. However, I woke up at 4:30 this morning and realized he still wasn't home. So I turned on the radio, and after a song finished playing, there was Sweetie's voice. I guess the person doing the 3 - 6 AM shift didn't show.

I figured he must feel kind of stranded so I decided to call him. I wasn't sure of the phone number and we only had a yellow pages upstairs so I crept downstairs to the look up the number in the white pages. We have like 50 million phone books that companies keep stupidly sending us and not being fully awake, it was difficult for me to find the right one - oy. But I found it, found the number, and then went back upstairs and called it. He answered sounding kind of tense, and I said, "Hi Sweetie." He told me he was so glad it was me and that he'd been hearing from "freaks, drunk people and maniacs" all night. Evidently, the 3-6 AM person didn't show, but what could he do? The show must go on.

After we talked, I put the radio on "sleep" and went back to bed. Sweetie was playing Gram Parsons' music from when he was in a group called the International Submarine Band and when he was in the Byrds. I didn't know he was in the Byrds. In fact, I didn't even know who Gram Parsons was until I got to know Sweetie and he read Hickory Wind: The Life and Times of Gram Parsons. As I said, Sweetie is a good teacher.

He's upstairs sleeping now, and I'm drinking coffee and getting ready to face the day.

Labels: busy life, family, listening, school

posted by Miss Rachel 10/20/2007 09:04:00 AM

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My Current Top 25 Most Played Songs

I got this idea from Laura. Here's my list...

1. Here Comes My Baby - The Tremeloes
2. Rubylove - Cat Stevens
3. Catch the Wind (Album Version Without Strings) - Donovan
4. Grazing in the Grass - The Friends of Distinction
5. Five O'Clock World - The Vogues
6. Wasn't Born to Follow - The Byrds
7. Chico And The Man - Jose Feliciano
8, Diana - Paul Anka
9. Uptight (Everything's Alright) [Single Version] - Stevie Wonder
10. Take Good Care of My Baby - Original Version - Dick Brave & The Backbeats
11. Judy's Olio: You Made Me Love You/For Me & My Gal/The Boy Next Door/The Trolley Song - Judy Garland
12. Soulful Strut - Young-Holt Unlimited
13. Just Like Heaven - The Cure
14. By Myself - Judy Garland
15. Sleepwalk - Santo & Johnny
16. Rock-A-Bye Your Baby With A Dixie Melody - Judy Garland
17. Use Ta Be My Girl - The O'Jays
18. Me and Mrs. Jones - Billy Paul
19. Like to Get to Know You (Single Version) - Spanky & Our Gang
20. One Night Stand - Janis Joplin
21. Hey Baby (They're Playing Our Song) - The Buckinghams
22. Coming Into los Angeles - Arlo Guthrie
23. Going up the Country - Canned Heat
24. I Was Made to Love Her - Stevie Wonder
25. Can't Get Enough of Your Love Babe - Barry White

Labels: listening, lists

posted by Miss Rachel 7/01/2007 08:07:00 AM

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I hear the bells...

I adore the sound of cathedral bells' ringing in this particular way, but I never knew it was called change ringing. At this site, you can learn all about change ringing and also listen to it and see a video of the ringers. Love this!

Labels: listening

posted by Miss Rachel 5/10/2007 07:54:00 PM

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I started listening to the 78th Hip Tranquil Chick Podcast on the way to school yesterday and found it to be one of the most boring ever. It didn't help that the guest had a really dull speaking style, but I have never understood people's fascination with talking and writing about creativity as a topic. I like to experience the fruits of people's creativity - books, music, movies, food - but I don't really have any interest in hearing about how they did it. For instance, I have NEVER wanted to watch a " the making of" movie - bor-ing. And I never want to listen to the director's commentary on a video. I tried it once on The Mary Tyler Moore Show first episode, and I had to turn it off. I'm like "shut up so I can hear what's going on."

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Watching:
Futurama, Season Two

Idiocracy (2006) starring Luke Wilson and Maya Rudolph. This was kinda funny, but I also found it somewhat disturbing. I guess it's too close to reality that I really couldn't laugh that much.

Heathers (1988) starring Winona Ryder and Christian Slater. This is one of those movies that I think is becoming a classic that you "have" to see, and Sweetie had never seen it so we rented it last night. Very darkly funny, but good.

Labels: listening, watching

posted by Miss Rachel 4/22/2007 10:53:00 AM

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I can't believe it's Easter. It's the most un-Easter-y Easter I think I've ever had. I even forgot it was Easter. But then it's not as if I usually do much for this holiday. The Easter bunny no longer visits and brings me a basket of candy as he did when I was little. And coloring eggs is fun, but you kind of have to do it with other people and have some people to eat them too. With Sweetie's having gone vegan, he wouldn't be that much help in that department. Anyway, happy Easter to those who are celebrating.

Another thing that makes it seem un-Easter-y is the weather. It's cold, and it even snowed a little last week. Thank god it didn't snow for that long nor did it accumulate. I'm kind of done complaining about the weather though. It's not that unusual here in New England to get some snow in April. That's just the way it is. And there are some flowers starting to come up. Soon we'll have a few clumps of daffodils in bloom.

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I'm starting a new weights program at the gym tomorrow. I'm meeting with the trainer to go through it. She e-mailed me a spreadsheet of the new program. Here's what I'll be doing:

Bicep Curl/Over Ball
Reverse Hyper/Leg Lift
Isolated Bicep Curl
Dead Lift Row
Rest & Repeat

Lying Single Arm Tricep Crossover
Dead Lift Elevated Heels
Tricep Dips/Bench
Rest & Repeat

Wall Squat/Alt. Front Shoulder Raise
Push-Up/Row
Reverse Curl In/Ball
Rest & Repeat

Single Arm Chest Fly/Ball
Superman (reps)
Push Up/Step
Rest & Repeat

Inner Thigh/Ball Squeeze
Slow Double Crunch
Plank Hold
Rest & Repeat

Lying Hamstring Curl/Machine # 3
Plie Tap
Rest & Repeat

Yikes, doesn't that seem like a bit much? (But at least there's not the 80 squats I had to do in the old routine.) I don't want to have to spend forever at the gym. Of course, I'm of the mindset that if I'm going to the gym, I should get a good workout when I'm there or what's the point? I still haven't seen much progress in terms of my weight on the scale, but I do think my butt seems a little firmer so I think working out may be helping.

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As you can see, I don't have much to say, but it's been so long since I posted I thought I should check in at least.

Listening: Bob Dylan - Highway 61 Revisited
Judy Garland - The Capitol Years

Watching: Six Feet Under, Season Five
Futurama, Volume 2
Miss Marple: The Sittaford Mystery (2006) starring Geraldine McEwan
Survivor: Fiji (and tonight I watched an episode of the Amazing Race.)

Labels: fitness, listening, spring, watching

posted by Miss Rachel 4/08/2007 09:13:00 PM

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Miss Rachel Approximately

Doing better. So far this week... I met a librarian at a party on Sunday and she agreed that I could interview her for my catatloging paper; I've worked out three times and have been eating less; I read a chapter in my textbook (this may not seem like much, but for this textbook, it is); I gave a presentation of sorts to some visitors from the home office at work today and handled questions as if I actually knew what I was talking about; I got them all to laugh a fair amount too and one of the people said that the presentation was both informative and enjoyable. Boy, that was a great feeling. And I bought Highway 61 Revisited on Sunday and have been listening to it a bit. Some of you might have guessed that from the title of this post.

Labels: fitness, listening, school, work

posted by Miss Rachel 3/28/2007 08:29:00 PM

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I'm planning a trip to Rockport on Friday and this is the forecast: "The potential exists for 6 or more inches of snow and sleet accumulation late Thursday night into Friday... with the highest confidence north of the Massachusetts Turnpike." Yes, the storm is scheduled for exactly when and where I'm driving. And yesterday and today I drove home with my sun roof open. Such is New England weather...

I have been being a total slacker as far as schoolwork is concerned. There is a homework assignment due next class, and I haven't done it yet, but the main thing I should really be doing is gathering and reading material for my paper. And I haven't been doing that either. I have no idea how I'm going to write a 10 page paper on errors in cataloging. Of course, it would help if I started reading up on it, right? Well, maybe if the weather really turns out to be bad, I'll stay home and study this weekend.

One thing I haven't been slacking on is working out. I did weights on Monday, 30 minutes of cardio Tuesday, 40 minutes of cardio today, and tomorrow it's weights again. I haven't gotten on the scale because I don't want the potential number to discourage me. I was really being a chunky monkey, bingeing a lot in the previous weeks, but my eating has been good this week. Still, there's always the possibility that it won't show on the scale, plus I may still have some of the previous "chunky monkey-ness" to work off.

Watching: The Simpsons, Season Two.
Listening: Joni Mitchell - Court and Spark.

Labels: fitness, listening, school, watching, winter

posted by Miss Rachel 3/14/2007 08:48:00 PM

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Here's an update on what I've been reading, listening to and watching for the past few weeks.

Reading: The Magnificent Ambersons by Booth Tarkington. I picked this up again the other day while the people were here assembling my desk.

Listening: Hip Tranquil Chick and This American Life podcasts.
Judy Garland - The Capitol Years. For some reason, Judy Garland was the only music I listened to for a while there.
Van Morrison - Astral Weeks. Listened to a bit of this yesterday.
Oh yeah - and I played my Soul Mix for the guys who assembled my desk. I said, "Want some music?" and they said yes, so I put that on.

Watching: Little Miss Sunshine (2006) starring Greg Kinnear, Toni Collette and Abigail Breslin. I loved this movie. To quote Sweetie, "Truly funny. And it goes over a lot of well-trodden territory without ever being predictable or cliched, which is always one of the most impressive artistic achievements to me."

Battlestar Galactica, Season 2.
Dr. Katz: Professional Therapist, Season 2.
Six Feet Under, Season, Season 5.

Labels: listening, reading, watching

posted by Miss Rachel 3/02/2007 07:10:00 AM

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