Everyone remembers READ posters right? Famous people pictured with books related to their fields or the books turned into the movies they acted in. I always thought they were so much fun. This is the one I really want to buy right now.

Recently at work they had every staff member in our building pick their favorite book for their very own READ poster. It was a big project, because our building is a joint-use facility shared by an elementary school, public library branch and parks and recreation center. But we finished and they are all up in the commons. Yay!

It was a huge internal struggle for me to narrow it down to just one book. I finally picked the book I did because it isn't as well known as say The Hunger Games, plus it has a great cover and I loved reading it. The book is Fire by Kristin Cashore.

So here is my finished READ poster:

So back in May, I set a couple of deadlines here.

One of them is still on schedule, but the other deadline has passed and the goal remains unfulfilled. I've been living with my parents since I moved back to Omaha over a year and a half ago. It was supposed to be temporary, but I haven't really been able to afford to move out. The goal I set for myself was to be out of my parents' house and in my own place by the end of the summer.

At this point though I am still living with my parents. Let me tell you why. This summer there were two things in my life that I was unhappy about. One was living with my parents again, and the other was working at Chili's (and really just waiting tables in general). I felt really trapped because I needed that second job if I wanted to move out.

So I reached a point where I had to step back and decide what was bothering me most. And guess what won?! Chili's did. I decided I was just too tired and burned out waiting tables to do it anymore. I had gotten to a place where I truly hated my job, and I could not have cared less about the people I was serving (Though I was still mostly nice, I promise). It was bad. I finally gave Chili's my two weeks' notice back in July.

It was a hard decision to make, but I am so glad I did it. I miss the people I worked with there, and I still get together with my favorite Chili-heads now and then for food and margaritas, but I don't miss anything about the job. Well, maybe always having cash on hand, but that's it. I am so much happier now. I do still feel frustrated living at home, especially at my age, but I get along with my parents and it does save me money.

I am looking for a second job, but I admit I am being somewhat lazy about it. I can't remember the last time I only had one job; it's nice. Plus I did just start grad school this month. But that is why I didn't meet my deadline. I decided leaving my job was a bigger priority. But believe me, moving out is still important to me. I am ready to feel like a grown up again.

I've probably never blogged about it, but I love quotes. I am not always as diligent about capturing them as I could be, but I still love them. Who doesn't love to laugh at the silly things people say or take inspiration from the ones who get it right?

Recently, through my BEDA buddy Nicola, I found a great new site: quotabl.es.com.

From what I understand it's a big, search-able database of quotes. You can create an account and keep a list of the quotes you love, and add ones you see that are missing. I joined it today and started adding some of my favorites. I'm finding it quite addicting. This is the first quote I added:

"What if there is no tomorrow? There wasn't one today!" - Bill Murray in Groundhog Day (See it on Quotabl.es here.)

And here are a few of my other favorite quotes. Some of them are from Quotabl.es and some are from my own collection.

"You won't feel normal until you find a group of people who you can be abnormal around and be happy about it." - Not That Kind of Girl, a blogger I follow

"Strange women lying in ponds distributing swords is no basis for a system of government. Supreme executive power derives from a mandate from the masses, not from some farcical aquatic ceremony." - Monty Python and the Holy Grail (on Quotabl.es)

"Outside of a dog, a book is your best friend, and inside of a dog, it's too dark to read." - Groucho Marx (on Quotabl.es)

"It is better to be alone, she figures, than to be with someone who can't see who you are. It is better to lead than to follow. It is better to speak up than stay silent. It is better to open doors than to shut them on people. She will not be simple and sweet. She will not be what people tell her to be." - E. Lockhart, The Disreputable History of Frankie Landau-Banks

"Fairy tales are more than true. Not because they tell us that dragons exist, but because they tell us that dragons can be defeated." - G.K. Chesterton (on Quotabl.es)

So definitely check this site out; it's fun.

And here are all my BEDA buddies blogging about their favorite quotes: Nicola, Uncultured Critic, Christina, Becky.

What are some of your favorite quotes?

Well we did it everyone. July is officially over, which means sweets are back in. Woot!

Christina celebrated at midnight with a delicious-sounding dessert I have never heard of. She describes it here. She did great this month; I know of several instances where she resisted some very strong temptations. I am very proud of her and glad she joined me. I am sure she will talk about her experience on her blog soon.

I know Chelsea did great too. Other than her birthday (and no one expected her to withhold then), she stayed firm all month. Here is her statement:

The month of July, no desserts – I must say it was a bit difficult in the beginning, but as all things, once you start to get the hang of it, you start to do a bit better – I’m actually thinking I’m going to try to continue this into August, I don’t want to go crazy now that July is over, so I’m going to slowly bring myself back to desserts.

Congratulations ladies! You can happily return to the land of chocolate and candy. Thank you so much for doing this with me.

As for me, I did great (If I do say so myself). However, am not letting dessert back in the door just yet. I will tell you why on my next post, I promise. Welcome to August.

And then there were three.

My BEDA buddy Christina has bravely agreed to take on the NO DESSERT JULY challenge. I have great faith in her. This is going to be great! She talks about it here on her blog. She actually agreed July 1 when she read my blog, but I've been slow to post it here. Sorry.

Her solemn vow:

I, Christina "Sti" Hicks, decree that no sweet processed by man (or woman) shall pass my lips until August the First 2010 A.D. Two notable exceptions are to be allowed. Exception the First on July the Fourth (henceforth "the 4th"). Exception the Second to be chosen for a worthy dessert at some point as yet unknown.

It's not too late to join us. In fact it's easier now, because you have less of July to restrain yourself. (And your vow doesn't have to be as awesomely written as Sti's. Mine isn't.)

I have decided that it's that time again. Time for me to take a break from sweets. I've done it before with great success, and I found that declaring it here on my blog made me more accountable and therefore more successful.

There are many good reasons why I do this. Obviously, it's healthier to cut out the junk food, but more than that it is a willpower/self-control exercise, which is something I definitely struggle with sometimes.

So for the entire month of July, I will not be having any sweets/dessert of any kind. I am allowed a maximum of 2 exceptions, while on vacation with my family.

The best part about this challenge is that one of my very best friends, Chelsea, is going to do this with me. Yay! So we can help keep each other accountable. She is allowed an exception for her birthday next week. And Chelsea, I can put a declaration on here for you too if you wish.

Anyone else want to join us?

Well, a $ to be specific. I made my first bet ever this sports season, and apparently the Lakers won last night, which means I won ... $1. Woot!

I am not what you would call a sports enthusiast. I enjoy attending games live occasionally with friends or family. I do understand how all the major sports are played and scored, enough to follow along without feeling like an idiot at least. And I have name recognition for a lot of major teams. But that's where it stops. I don't care enough to follow any specific teams or pay attention to any championships.

Several months ago I was talking to a big sports fan I work with at Job #2. He had a couple of real bets going with some of our other co-workers that the Lakers would not win ... something. The championship I guess; I didn't really pay attention. Anyway, just to be contrary I told him I would bet him $0.20 that they would win. I figured why not.

He took my bet and we ended up settling on $0.25. A couple of weeks later I asked him if they'd won yet. He said it would be awhile because they weren't even in the championships (or whatever) yet, so it would be awhile. He was so confident they would lose that he offered me 4:1 odds. So if the Lakers won he owed me a $1, and if they lost I owed him $0.25. Score.

So pretty much every time I saw him after that I asked him if they'd won yet, because I truly didn't know. He just kept laughing at me and telling me not yet. But my dad told me this morning that they won the big ... thing. So it was my first sports bet, and I won! I am going to see this guy tonight, and he had better pay up because I took this as a serious bet. I would have coughed up my $0.25 if they lost.

I have been back in Omaha for about a year and a half now. I have been living with my parents that entire time. When I first moved back here from Pennsylvania, this was going to be a very temporary situation. I came home to pause and figure out what I was doing and where I was going next. And to save some money while I did that.

A year and a half later, I have figured out exactly what I am doing next. And I am making great steps toward that. I have a job in a library, and I just submitted my grad school application a few days ago. I am hoping to get started on my master's degree in the fall.

Since I still have to work full time, I can only go to school part time, which means it could take me awhile to get my degree. So the goal I have set for myself is to get my degree before I turn 30. I turn 26 at the end of the summer, so that gives me four years to "git 'er done." I don't think this will be particularly hard or anything, I just wanted to verbalize that as a goal so I don't dilly dally. By 29 would be lovely, but NO LATER THAN 30.

This has brought me to the unfortunate realization that I am stuck in Omaha for at least the next three to four years. This doesn't thrill me, but it is what it is and it could be worse. However, it makes continuing to live with my parents not so ideal. I love my parents, and I get along pretty well with both of them. But anyone who has experience independent living will tell you that living with your parents after that is much harder. Even my mom agrees with me on that.

That being said, my most pressing goal now is to get my own little place in Omaha by the end of the summer. Half of my belongings are still in a storage unit in Gettysburg. They were only supposed to be there for a few months, but I haven't had a chance to get back there and get them.

Once I decided to move out, I was in an all-fired hurry to see it through. I was going to try to plan a trip out there in the next few weeks and get into a place by June. I have realized this is very unrealistic for many reasons. Summer is very busy at the library. We have the summer reading program starting soon and getting time off could prove interesting. I know my EEB back in PA is in the same situation. So, I am going to wait until August to go get my stuff, which is why my new plan is to be moved out and on my own by the end of the summer.

So to sum up: move out my end of summer, master's degree by 30. Good night (afternoon) and good luck.

Well, I feel really lame because this makes 19 days I blogged in April. That's of a possible 30. Yikes. Talk about massive failure.

I do feel guilty, but in my defense April turned out nothing like I expected it to. It was craziness. Between studying for and taking the GRE, finishing the rest of my grad school application and then getting my wonderful promotion at the library and training for that, my Internet time has been way down.

Even so, my BEDA buddies were wonderful as always. They were very supportive and very helpful as I went through all that. I am still behind on reading your blogs ladies, but like Becky said, that is what May is for!

My other plan in May, which should be a much calmer month than April was, is to hit all the BEDA topics I missed in April. Well not all, but most. So you'll be hearing from me again soon.

BEDA 3.0 will see Autumn blogging much more faithfully.

I feel like I already did Things I Love this week while covering my favorites yesterday. So even though I am too lazy to change the title, I am going to go more with a Things I'm Thinking Thursday. Please don't expect there to be order or logic in residence for the rest of this post.

It's crazy stormy here in Omaha tonight. The good stuff is out to play. The good stuff being the thunder and the lightning. I love it. I mostly love it sitting protected under a porch awning where I can just watch and listen. And I do love the rain. Not all the consequences of the rain mind you, but the rain itself I love.

My favorite thing about rain, is when you're driving in it at night. There is something about the reflection of the stoplights in the water that I have always found so beautiful. I don't know why. But I love it. Though I did have a hell of a time trying to find a decent picture of what I mean.

Other thoughts:

• I don't understand how shoes end up in the middle of the road or on the median. Hats and gloves I can kinda sorta picture, but shoes? H-how? Wh-why? It makes no sense to me.
• When I see people driving really fast or really stupidly in extremely bad weather, part of me hopes they crash. Not into me of course, but into something. Just to prove their idiocy to themselves.
• I watch a lot of movies. I love movies, but sometimes it feels more like I am working my way down a checklist than actually watching them for the movies themselves. I feel that way with books too. There are so many I want to read, or have from the library, that I feel like I have to just get through them so I can get them all done. I don't always feel like that, but sometimes.
• Sometimes I wonder if my OCD/AR tendencies will become debilitating one day. I get pickier and pickier about certain minutiae as I get older. There are so many little things that drive me crazy. So many things where I can't stand it if they aren't in the order I think they should be in. My dad will deliberately put crumbs on the table when we go out to eat because he knows I can't leave them there. He thinks it's hilarious, and I put the crumbs back on the plate every single time.
• That's the first time I have ever had to spell minutiae before, and I got it right first try. To me, that's exciting.
  
• I love breakfast food, but not for breakfast. It's much too early in the day for all that heavy stuff. I love waffles and eggs and bacon, but for dinner. That is why restaurants that serve breakfast food all day are awesome.
• I love knowing the answers to questions. One of the things that draws me to being a librarian is that when someone asks me a question, nothing is more thrilling than knowing the right answer. Or being able to show them how to find the right answer. It's kind of show off-y I guess, but there you go.
• When other people chew gum, it makes me want to vomit. Each and every time. At least close your mouth. PLEASE!
• Don't spread this around, but there are musicals out there that I do not like. And up until recently, I hated My Fair Lady. But it's grown on me.
• Also, I hate Sleepless in Seattle and it feels like I am the only female in existence who feels that way.
  
• I'm very vain about my name. I love all three of them. But I am so used to being called everything but Autumn, that I will answer to anything that starts with an 'A' and any season. I'm just resigned to it.
  

And I think that's enough thoughts for today. My goodness, I had way more thoughts rumbling through my head than I thought. A lot of them were negative too, which is dumb because I am in a good mood right now. Oh well. Good night.

I am really not good at picking favorites. As far as I can remember (which isn't all that far back) I never have been. I don't have a favorite movie, actor, musical, food, book, author or anything like that. I could make a list of things I love for each category. But ask me to narrow it down and I am stumped.

I can maintain temporary favorites, like what is my current favorite musical (Next to Normal), but never ask me my favorite musical of all time. Who knows? Too many to choose from. I prefer to spread my love around, not focus it in on one thing. But here is a stream of consciousness list of my recent favorite things.

My favorite things of the last five minutes: knowing I am finally blogging again (however belatedly in the month), milk and a chocolate chip muffin at midnight, downloading Glee Madonna music, getting comfortable in my pajamas.

My favorite things of the day: take away from Famous Dave's, catching up on Glee and Project Runway, reading Maureen Johnson, Google chatting with BEDA buddies, finding a new Broadway-related album I know I'll want that comes out next week, knowing the answers to patron's questions

My favorite things of the week: finally getting my GRE scores, playing with the puppy, margaritas with one of my favorite Chili heads, starting my new job as a clerk, buying tickets to see Beauty and the Beast this summer with my dad, buying new jeans, finding a great deal on one of the seasons of Veronica Mars, catching a glimpse of Piz from Veronica Mars in Up in the Air.

My favorite things of 2010 thus far: Los Angeles/Camp Pendleton vacation and spending time with my amazing and loving grandparents, coming to a firm decision on what I want to be when I grow up, watching things come together for me after that decision, reconnecting with old friends in Omaha, winter ending and no more snow coming down, ooh and the amazing apple glazed pork tenderloin I had at Claim Jumper.

My future favorites looking forward: getting into grad school, starting grad school, getting my pre-ordered copies of Mockingjay, The Clockwork Angel and Linger this summer, moving out of my parents house and once again into my own space, seeing my EEB again, seeing old college friends, going to sleep after I write this.

OK, I've got to make this fairly quick. Not a ton going on this week, I've been a bit busy. But here are the highlights:

Yesterday I finished reading Before I Fall by Lauren Oliver. YA of course, but not the typical kind of YA fare I indulge in. Usually, even though I read a lot about teenagers, I avoid books that actually take place solely in a high school environment. At least not unless there is some sort of fantastical twist involved.

This book is about a girl plucked straight from a Mean Girls-style pack who dies, and then relives her last day seven times. So Mean Girls meets Groundhog Day. I wasn't quite sure what to expect, but I ended up really liking it. I would definitely recommend it. It makes you think, and it was more touching than I thought it would be. I couldn't put it down really.

I managed to avoid spending any money on music this week, yay! I have been listening to the My Fair Lady Broadway soundtrack I bought last week a lot. It blows my mind that Julie Andrews was only 20 when she recorded it. Her voice was already so mature and amazing even then.

I've also been listening to a lot of Lucy Schwartz this week. She is a Portuguese singer I discovered a month or so ago. I heard this song, "Turn Back Around", while watching some stupid movie. But though the movie was dumb, the song stuck with me. So I looked it up and found her. I started to listen to some of her other stuff and I really like her. So that's what's been on my iPod this week, with a little Glee thrown in.

Let's see, what else. I finally saw An Education this week. It was one I was looking forward to seeing, but by the time I got to it I couldn't remember why I'd wanted to see it. So I wasn't quite sure what to expect. But I actually quite enjoyed it. It was interesting, and while it wasn't fast-paced by any means, it didn't drag like it could easily have done.

I've decided after seeing her in this and some other film I can't remember right now, that I like Carey Mulligan. She's one to watch I think. The rest of the cast was quite good as well. Including Rosamund Pike, who played Jane in the most recent version of Pride and Prejudice (wherein Carey played Kitty).

And that's about it. Here's to a new week of beautiful music and wonderful books.

I was going to write this Thursday night when I got home from work, but I was NOT in the best of moods after leaving Job #2, and I was not in the right mind frame to focus on things I love. So I waited to write it. I am in a much better mood now. But I won't be after going to Job #2 again tonight, so now is the time.

I spent this week downtown at the main branch of the library, training with the circulation manager for my new position as a clerk. I start back at my own branch Tuesday. Training was a lot of fun, and I think this new role will suit me very well.

I bitch and moan about people a lot, about how stupid and self-entitled they can be. And that is still true, anyone who waits tables or works customer service will tell you that. But I still enjoy helping people and I am still good at it. People on a case-by-case basis can still be pretty wonderful. I am really looking forward to all the customer interaction I will have as a clerk. Shocking isn't it?

In addition to LOVING just training and anticipating my new role, I am in LOVE with this new feeling of contentment and home that I have. I just finally feel like I've found where I fit in. Each job has its downsides, but every shift I have at the library is overall a good one. I enjoy what I am doing and who I am working with it. I am reaching the point where I can't imagine ever doing anything else. And I can't believe I finally found that.

Even with journalism, I mostly enjoyed what I was doing, and I loved who I was working with, but I never had that feeling of home. That sense of truly belonging there and knowing this is where I could fully make use of my unique talents. Libraries give me that. And I am just so happy to finally have that.

So that is mostly what I loved this week. That and making fun plans. I am going to go see Legally Blonde (the musical) next weekend with a couple of wonderful girlfriends. And I have plans to enjoy dinner and margaritas Monday night with a couple of other wonderful girlfriends. I've set a goal to get a place of my own here in Omaha by the end of the summer, and life is good. (At least as long as I don't think about Job #2).

First things first, I can't stop gushing about the CD I bought this week. A collection of 12 songs I've been listening to over and over again. I am a huge fan of Ella Fitzgerald. I love her voice and her music. Purely by accident, while I was searching for something else , I found an album of hers called Ella Sings Broadway.

It's perfect because it combines my love of Ella with my obsession for all things Broadway. The whole album is great, but some standouts are "Whatever Lola Wants" from Damn Yankees and "Almost Like Being in Love" from Brigadoon. Amazing. Can you tell how enamored I am? It's not too obvious is it? I could gush more. It's just so great. I'm listening to it again now.

That purchase led to another purchase. She does two songs from My Fair Lady: "I Could Have Danced All Night" and "Show Me". I then realized I don't own a cast album of that show, so I bought the original Broadway album starring Julie Andrews and Rex Harrison. This has never been my favorite show, but I can't deny that there is some great Lerner and Loewe music in it. In fact I requested the Audrey Hepburn DVD from the library to watch it again and give it another chance. It's been long enough and my tastes have evolved enough that I might like it now.

This is one of the pitfalls of mp3s and iTunes/Amazon. I am way too impulsive about buying this stuff and those sites make it way too easy to be. Oh well. I can't regret either purchase.

Glee is back! I haven't actually been able to watch the newest episode yet. I sat down to watch it on Hulu this afternoon, but I decided I wanted to watch the previous episode, "Sectionals" again before I did so. Then I ran out of time because I have to go to work shortly. But I enjoyed seeing that last episode again. It was a great one. And I can't believe it, but I got a little emotional at the end with Matthew Morrison's character tearing down the hallway and the inevitable events that followed. I am such a nerd!

Now that the GRE is done I have gotten back in the swing of pleasure reading again. I just finished Magic Under Glass by Jaclyn Dolamore. It was a shorter read, and I was left with very mixed feelings when it was over. On the one hand, I very much liked the premise. But I thought the author did so much less with it than she could have. The relationship between the two main characters felt too rushed and under-explored. And the ending left what I felt were too many unanswered questions, with no indication of a sequel. I don't know, mixed feelings like I said. Sti, you read it first. What were your thoughts?

Now I am reading When You Reach Me by Rebecca Stead, which is even shorter than that other book, so it shouldn't take me long. It won the 2010 Newbery Award, and I just finished a project involving Newbery winners at the library, so it caught my attention. It's interesting so far. We'll see how it goes.

Have a very happy week. Hopefully mine will be cheaper and less stressful than this past one. I start my clerk training Tuesday. Woot!

Collections ... hmmm.

Well, there are the obvious ones, which are my big shopping weaknesses: books and DVDs. I use the library like crazy for both, and I have Netflix, but I LOVE owning books and movies. I will read a book, love it, then buy it. So I might not have read the copy sitting on my shelves, but I pick them up randomly, and I know I will read them again. The point is that they struck me enough to be considered worthy of belonging to my collection.

I don't have one big collection I've maintained my whole life. I used to collect Victorian-style greetings cards. I don't know what happened to them though. But that was mostly because my grandmother collected them and sent them to me all the time.

I do collect Playbills, as any Broadway geek worth his or her salt does. I keep all my ticket stubs and programs anyway, but there is something special about an official Playbill. I have a handful now, but someday I will have MANY more.

I do like to collect decks of cards. Sometimes when I travel, (like my most awesome Wacky Woolies (Sheep) deck from Dublin, picture <--- on a deck of cards) and sometimes when I just think they're cool (like Scooby Doo and The Little Mermaid). When I was a kid I would play with them like they were people. Four families, Kings and Queens were the parents, odds were boys and evens were girls. I had a whole system and it was a lot of fun. I was an odd kid.

Everyone seems to collect something when traveling. I've actually put some thought into what I should collect. Some people collect mugs, thimbles, spoons, kitschy stuff like that. I wanted to be a bit different, but I was stumped. A couple of years ago, I had the idea to keep the front pages of the local papers of each town I visited, with the date of my visit on it. I still think it's a neat idea, but I never got organized. I have a pile of papers sitting in storage, but I haven't gotten any recently.

P.S. At the moment I am also collecting unread blog posts. I remember the time in my life when I had about a dozen unread items in my Google Reader at any given time. Often zero. It was a nice, simple time. But now I have 474 unread items. It just keeps getting bigger. I swear when I checked yesterday it was around 400. STOP BLOGGING! I need to get caught up.

So I am doing my catching up a bit out of order, but it's my blog so I can do whatever I want right? This was the last of my crazy Thursdays. I worked 14.5 hours today! 8 at the library and then 6.5 at Job #2. Oy vey.

So for the past three weeks I have been spending my Thursdays in downtown Omaha at the main library branch. In addition to being a library branch, it houses all the other departments like acquisitions, community services and technical services.

I've been picking up extra hours in tech services because (1) extra hours are good and (2) I've been quite curious about the behind-the-scenes library stuff. It has been a nice change of pace, though my body has not been the biggest fan of hunching over a desk for 8 hours stickering paperbacks.

One perk is that I can listen to my iPod while I do that. And actually, the work is mindless enough that I listened to an audio book over the course of a few shifts. I listened to Suite Scarlett by Maureen Johnson, to bone up for reading the sequel, Scarlett Fever, that recently came out. I quite enjoyed listening to that, and I think I like the book itself better the second time.

So that is the first thing I loved this week. Also ...

• HAVING THE WEIGHT OF THE GRE OFF MY SHOULDERS. Of course. Although I still won't know my analytical writing score for a week or two. Ugh.
  
• Learning I can study! - I may not be especially efficient at it, but I know my GRE scores were better for the studying I did attempt to do. And the book I used as a study guide was a really good one: The Princeton Review's Cracking the GRE. I ignored some of it, but what I did pay attention was a great help. Let's see if I can keep up this studying thing once I get into school.
• Finding my ideal study music - I think this is a hard task, but I found the perfect music for what I need. Because if there are words in the music, I get distracted by the lyrics and don't get anything done. Sometimes I can get away with random bands or singers, but musicals are a big no no. But Miles Davis is absolute studying bliss. I was already a fan, that man and his trumpet are quite amazing. But the lack of singing helps me focus, but the jazz he plays is upbeat enough to keep me energized. Perfection. (I've really been discovering how much I love jazz the past year or two).
• BBQ pulled pork - Random, but so good! I took the GRE Tuesday morning and had to go straight to work for seven hours. Not great fun. I got off at 8 and I was starving. I was not about to go home and scrounge, so I ordered take away from Famous Dave's. I hadn't had it in forever and it was amazing. Yum - my.

And, that's it for now. I was a total social recluse during my GRE prep time, so I am hoping this coming week will bring more of a life.

Well, I survived. I spent three and a half hours in a testing center this morning fighting to focus and not vomit. It was quite interesting. I have never been so nervous over something before that I thought I would throw up. I didn't think I was that nervous, but apparently my stomach did.

Do you want to hear what kinda sorta turned out to be the hardest part? Before I took the test I had to sign a confidentiality thing where I had to write out a paragraph/pledge IN CURSIVE. I felt like an idiot because I haven't had to write in cursive since elementary school, and I didn't remember how. I can sign my name, and that's it. I really struggled to get that paragraph written, and it looked awful. Not like my usual careful printing. I was so embarrassed to hand that paper back to the test proctor.

Not that it was cake after that, but still. Yikes. But I got through the GRE and now I can stop obsessing over it and move on to the rest of the application. And then on to school. OK, there is still plenty to obsess over. But more important things than some standardized test.

More to come as I get caught up with BEDA. I have to take a look at our calendar and see what I missed.

OK, I am in desperate need of a break from studying.

Yes, I am supposed to be blogging every day in April, although it sort of feels more like blog 30 times in April than daily. But it still counts right? I've tried to be faithful, but as the GRE got closer I had to prioritize. And as fun as this can be and as much as I love my BEDA buddies, BEDA wasn't the top of my list.

However, I have been studying like a maniac and I take the test in about 13 hours. After that, once I mentally recover my wits, I promise to get fully caught up and wholly embrace BEDA for the rest of April.

I am even behind on reading blogs, I have 374 unread items in my Google Reader at present count.

As a parting present, I thought I would leave you with a wonderful YouTube video. This is from some TV show I've never heard of, but I found it because the woman is Donna Murphy, who is an amazing Broadway performer. This really is worth your time. She's singing a Duke Ellington song, "Hit Me With a Hot Note".

I.
AM.
STUDYING.

I am spending about 60-65% of my time feeling like I am pretty intelligent and the other 35-40% feeling like an idiot. It's quite interesting. And depressing. A bit of a roller coaster really. Lots o' fun.

I didn't have a clue what I was going to do for this anyway. I'll keep it in my head and see if I can do something real later in the month.

But I didn't want you to go away with having learned nothing. So I thought I would let Lauren Bacall and Humphrey Bogart assist me in a quick refresher course. This is from To Have and Have Not, and even if everyone's seen it, it's never a bad thing to see it again. Good night.

All right. I just got home from work and I have 25 minutes to get my Thursday blog out. Thursdays are brutal for me: another 13.5 hour day. Woo and hoo. But I am wide awake now that I am home.

Here are the things I loved this week:

• dying Easter eggs - I don't have any pictures to show because it is late, but maybe I can add some in tomorrow. I haven't done this in awhile. I didn't really feel strongly about doing it this year, but when I sat down with my parents after Easter dinner and actually dyed them - I had a lot of fun. A great throwback to my childhood.
• margaritas with friends - After dying eggs, I met two girls I work with from Chili's AT Chili's for some margaritas. (It is Margarita Madness at Chili's right now, which happens for three months every year where we get really competitive and our bosses really push us to sell margaritas to the masses. In their defense there are some great prizes.) But these two girls are my favorite from work, and we never get to hang out because our schedules are so different and one of the girls has kids. Anyway, I rarely drink and I only had one margarita, but it was just what I needed. And we closed the restaurant (it's ok since we work there) talking and laughing.
  
• new shoes - All my cute little flats are years old and dying, so I finally decided to get some new ones, as I have to dress a little nicer for my new job. I fell in love at first sight with a pair from Journey's, but they didn't have my size. So they ordered them for me through the store. They saved me about half the shipping charges and I got them on sale. They could come Friday! I can't seem to post the pictures so here are links: these shoes and these shoes.
• Persuasion DVD - My mom needed this tax book on Amazon, so naturally I had to add something else to the order to get the free shipping. How can you not? So I got one of the movies that's been on my list: the newest BBC version of Jane Austen's Persuasion. Yay! It came yesterday.
  
• meeting with my future advisor - I met with the woman who WILL become one of my advisors WHEN I get into the grad program I want. She was so nice, and so enthusiastic and proud of the program she's helped develop and watches over. It was infectious. I was excited already, but after talking with her I left her office giddy and unable to stop grinning. It is ridiculous how right for me I think this all is and how excited I am go to back to school and take classes on things like cataloging and reference.
  

Honorable mentions: figuring out how to get my car to unlock on the driver's side since my keyless remote broke; having the library order things I suggested; getting comments on BEDA blogs from old college friends and BEDA buddies alike; once again managing to go off sweets completely for awhile (still going strong); and wearing flip flops again!

I have had many celebrity crushes over the years, I am in no way immune to feeling enamored of the famous people. But I would say that mine are even less attainable than the average bear: most of my crushes are octogenarians and beyond - or dead. Mostly dead.

Oh boy, that girl is going to blog about musicals again isn't she?

Why yes I am. In addition to my love of contemporary musicals, I also love old movie musicals from the '40s and '50s. I often feel like I was born in the wrong era, but if I had been born earlier, I wouldn't be able to own all these great films on DVD, so it's a wash.

A lot of my crushes are on men like Gene Kelly (pictured left), Donald O'Connor, Howard Keel, Cary Grant, Fred Astaire, Van Johnson (pictured right)and Peter Lawford. I was completely obsessed with Donald O'Connor all through high school. He died when I was in college, and my dad called to check on me. I actually blogged about it a little bit once, here.

Another celebrity crush I blogged about before was James Barbour, a Broadway performer whose voice gets reactions out of me like NOTHING ELSE does. But I go into all that in that entry. Not here.

But let's look at more recent crushes. I would categorize all my current crushes as being on characters rather than the actors. I try to separate them in my head, because I recognize that just because I love a character in a show doesn't mean that is how the actor is in real life. It's hard sometimes though.

• Lee Pace in Pushing Daisies, and in Miss Pettigrew Lives for a Day for that matter.
  
• John Krasinski in The Office (I think most of us are there on that one)
  
• Topher Grace in Win a Date With Tad Hamilton! (I saw that movie with one of my best friends, Chelsea, in the theater and afterward I turned to her and said "I'm smitten in the stomach." It's become a standing joke between us.)
• Nathan Fillion in Waitress AND in Castle
• Jonathan Rhys Meyers and James McAvoy in certain movies I'm too tired to remember.

Those are the bigger ones I've had in more recent years. All minor and somewhat fleeting, as most celebrity crushes are. This doesn't count those I've forgotten, as well as my many girl platonic crushes: like Kristen Bell in Veronica Mars as Becky pointed out.

Now I get one paragraph for some of my favorite Broadway men: Raul Esparza, Norm Lewis, Aaron Tveit, Brian Stokes Mitchell, Norbert Leo Butz, Cheyenne Jackson, Adam Pascal, Matthew Morrison (whom I already loved before Glee), Douglas Sills, Anthony Crivello, Hadley Fraser and Christian Borle. Yay!

Good night.

I didn't get to this one yesterday because I really didn't know what to say. The best question would have to be when have I ever had a great hairstyle, and the answer would be never.

I will admit to many skills, but hair has never been one of them. There's something about a hairbrush and bobby pins that turn my hands into heavy, useless weights; there to hinder but never to help. I've tried to play around with my hair so many times through the years, but I get frustrated quickly because my hands can't translate thoughts from my head to my hair.

I exist in a pattern of getting my hair cut, having it look cute all that day (though occasionally I can stretch that to two days of cuteness), then never again until my next cut. My repertoire consist of combing my hair out and hoping it lays nicely, putting it half up and hoping it stays nicely, and a ponytail.

I mostly live in a ponytail because Job #2 involves food and I can't wear it down there. It doesn't help that I can rarely handle the heat of my hair on my neck for any real period of time, so I almost always wear it up anyway.

And ... that's it. Yay for hair - I need a daily personal stylist.

I have always been rather indifferent to sports for the most part. I'm no hater, but I've never really followed any one sport or any one team or anything like that. When college football rolls around, I cheer for USC because that is my dad's alma matter. He is very faithful to his team, and I guess I feel compelled to be too.

I know enough about the general rules and scoring of all the major games so that when I occasionally wind up watching a game with friends or at work, I can at least follow along. I just never get invested in anything.

I will say though that going to live baseball games with my dad and my two older brothers was a staple of my childhood. First Dodger games when we lived in Los Angeles, and later Mariners games when we moved to Seattle. I loved going to those games.

But I don't think it had much to do with the sports part. I loved the experience of being out there with all those people. I loved being the "cool" girl hanging out with the boys in her life. My FAVORITE part was the Dodger Dog my dad bought me at each game. I love hot dogs, and back then I would have sworn up and down that Dodger Dogs were by far the best.

I had no problem choosing a favorite player from the Dodger roster back then. The moment I heard someone say Darryl Strawberry's name I knew. I loved strawberries, therefore it made sense to me that I loved him. I stood firm in that decision all through my childhood. Yeah ... things have changed a bit for him since then.

As an adult, I do still enjoy live baseball games. Yes, the game play itself can get slow, but there is such a feeling of community when you are at those games, of a shared experience. Whenever I am in Omaha for July 4th, I go downtown with my family to Rosenblatt Stadium (home of the College World Series) to see our minor league team, the Omaha Royals play.

The game itself is fun, and afterward when it gets dark, they put on one of the most spectacular fireworks displays I've ever seen. It's truly gorgeous. It's also the one time a year my sister and I always get along; we even share a funnel cake.

I had a pretty nice week, as you can tell if you read any of my previous posts this week. Yay for great career news. As for the smaller details of my week ...

Books:
I finally finished Little Women by Louisa May Alcott. I realized a month or so ago that I had never read it, even though I own a lovely, illustrated copy from the 1940s that belonged to my grandmother/aunt. I quite enjoyed reading it, but it took me several weeks to finish. I think part of it was that I know enough about it that there was no suspense in finding out what happens.

Also, I have seen the newer version of the movie from 1994. The book is always different, but the main plot was pretty much the same. I still haven't seen the first movie they made of it, the black and white one from 1949. I recorded it back in February, but I haven't gotten around to watching it yet. I do love Peter Lawford though, so I am looking forward to watching his handsome face as Laurie.

The other book I read this week was called 84, Charing Cross Road by Helene Hanff. It was a quick little read, just under 100 pages, that I finished off this afternoon. It's actually nonfiction, a collection of letters between the author, Helene Hanff, who lives in New York City, and several people who work at a bookshop in London. The title is the address.

The letters begin in the late '40s and go through to the mid '60s. The book was first published in 1970. The letters show the evolution of a friendship between Helene and the staff of this little bookshop, mainly one man, Frank. It is nothing romantic, but as she buys books from the shop they become great friends too. She has a really sassy voice and is quite funny. I really enjoyed the book, and would definitely recommend it.

Movies/TV:
Going back to Peter Lawford, as today was Easter, I really should have watched Easter Parade, but I didn't get a chance. I will try to watch it this week. It is such a great show. I mean with Fred Astaire and Judy Garland starring in it, and Ann Miller throwing in some of her amazing tap dancing, plus dashing Peter and a scene with Jules Munshin as a funny long-suffering waiter, not to mention some great Irving Berlin music, and you can't go wrong. I knew all that off the top of my head, is that sad or awesome? Hmmm ...

The show I have been watching a lot of lately is Chuck. I've never seen it on TV before, I am watching it through Netflix. My old college friend Katie was watching an episode a couple years ago while I was staying with her. It's been on my list ever since, but I have a very long list. But a couple months ago my uncle brought it up to, so I moved it to the top of my queue.

I am really liking the show so far. It is funny and interesting, and the sights are pretty good as well. The super nerdy best friend, Morgan, is really growing on me too. I wouldn't say yet that I love it, but it is a lot of fun, and I am already partway through Season 2.

And ... that's about it. I worked a lot of hours this week, so there wasn't a ton of time for anything else. I hope you had a great week too.

I am very much cheating and dating this post April 3, even though I am writing it April 4. I had every intention of writing it April 3, but I fell asleep before I could. Long day. Sorry.

So I've established that I work in a library, and that it's where I want to spend the rest of my days too. One of the things I love about it is the variety. One day will just be shelving books and checking things in, the next day I am creating shelf signs for the entire juvenile collection. We are a new branch, and it has taken quite a while long for us to get signs (the adult side is still lacking), but I designed them and they're great!

Twice now, I have been given the chance (told to) dress up in costumes and play famous children's book characters. I was reluctant at first, less than thrilled you might say, but I am just about the perfect size and there really is no one else at my branch who will/can.

The first time was back in February. I dressed up as Maisy, a little girl mouse who really dresses like a boy I think. She goes on all sorts of adventures in her books, by author Lucy Cousins. For this one, all I had to do was walk out to storytime, and help Miss Nancy, our children's librarian, do the motion to "The Wheels on the Bus." Then I posed for pictures with the kids.

Now let me just say that these costumes are HOT!! And in the case of Maisy, very smelly. The only way I was able to handle putting the head on was with a liberal spraying of Febreze. Saved my life. The library forgot to take their own pictures during the show, but we got a couple on my cell phone before I changed.


The second time was yesterday, when I dressed up as Beatrix Potter's famous little Peter Rabbit. Personally, I think this costume was a LOT cuter, and much more neutral smelling. Thank goodness. Unfortunately, it was MUCH hotter. Or maybe I was just in it longer doing more active things.

For this one I came out and led the bunny hop, which of course Peter Rabbit knows, before posing for pictures with the kiddies. Fortunately, this time we remembered to take some pictures for the library. Please note the carrot-radish lovechild I am holding. We couldn't decide if it was a pink carrot or a carrot-shaped radish. So I like my theory.

So this has proved to be a lot of fun for me. I know I am not a huge fan of children in general, but even I think they can be cute and sweet sometimes. I just don't want to create any of my own. I really enjoyed receiving all the hugs and high fives they gave me. And apparently, I am awesome at this, so whether I like it or not, I am going to be doing this again.

This is just silly. I should not be stumped on the second day of BEDA. Especially NOT over music. But I think the problem (aside from my exhausted lack of coherency) is that while music is such a large, integral part of my life, it is something of a subconscious one. I don't think about it, it just comes as naturally as breathing.

As do singing and dancing along to anything and everything while in my car. I also sing and dance while doing dishes and cooking, my favorite is to dance around the kitchen to Frank Sinatra. The one place I never sing though, is the shower. And even I don't understand why I don't do it. It is baffling to me really. It's an ideal spot, a traditional spot even. But it's something I have never done.

Anyway, I could easily use this post to gush on and on about Broadway and showtunes, because while I do listen to other stuff, there's no point in denying that Broadway takes up the bulk of my focus. But I have done that before. And my buddies already excellently covered what music means in their lives and some of their favorite songs. So I decided to do something a little different.

I have 5635 songs in my iTunes. And I just checked, and 2631 of those are Broadway-related, which is about 47%. That doesn't include solo albums I've bought by Broadway artists. But I decided to just browse through the titles of those 5635 songs and see what themes I could find. It's an experiment, so let's see how it goes.

# of songs with Love in title: 280
# of songs with Hate in title: 7

Collections:

• Seventy-Six Trombones (from The Music Man)
  
• 10,432 Sheep (Audra McDonald)
  
• 1000 Paper Cranes (Motion City Soundtrack)
  
• 100s and 1000s of Stars (The Class of 98)
• 20 Years of Snow (Regina Spektor)

Events:

• The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee (from The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee)
  
• At the Ballet (from A Chorus Line)
• Ballet at the Village Vortex (from Wonderful Town)
• Bicycle Race (Queen)
• Christy's Wedding (The Class of 98)
• Dance at the Gym (from West Side Story)
• Easter Parade (from Easter Parade)
• Glee Club Rehearsal (from You're a Good Man, Charlie Brown)
• Oh! What a Circus (from Evita)
• The Night That Goldman Spoke at Union Square (from Ragtime)
• A Real Nice Clambake (from Carousel)
• Wedding Celebration & The Bottle Dance (from Fiddler on the Roof)
• A Weekend in the Country (from A Little Night Music)

Food & Drink:

• Alcohol (Barenaked Ladies)
• Banana Pancakes (Jack Johnson)
• Calamari (from A New Brain)
• Candy Cane (from The Nutcracker)
• Champagne (from In the Heights)
• Cigarettes and Chocolate Milk (Rufus Wainwright)
• The Egg (from 1776)
• Green Eggs and Ham (from Seussical: The Musical)
• Have an Eggroll, Mr. Goldstone (from Gypsy)
• Huckleberry Pie (from The Color Purple)
• Incense and Peppermints (Strawberry Alarm Clock)
• Lady Marmalade (from Moulin Rouge)
• Marzipan (from The Nutcracker)
  
• Pumpkin Soup (Kate Nash)
  
• A Spoonful of Sugar (from Mary Poppins)
• Strawberry Fields Forever (from Across the Universe)
• Vegetable Car (Joshua Radin)
  

The Body:

• Angel Eyes (Ace of Base)
• Arms of a Woman (Amos Lee)
• Blue Lips (Regina Spektor)
• Cold Feets (from The Drowsy Chaperone)
• Crooked Teeth (Death Cab for Cutie)
• Drilled a Wire Through My Cheek (Blue October)
• Head Over Feet (Alanis Morissette)
• Head Over Heels (Hit the Lights)
  
• Hold You in My Arms (Ray LaMontagne)
• I've Got You Under My Skin (Frank Sinatra)
• Let Me See His Western Nose (from Miss Saigon)
• Loose Lips (Kimya Dawson)
• Love Is My Legs (from Dirty Rotten Scoundrels)
• Man of a Thousand Faces (Regina Spektor)
  
• One Hand, One Heart (from West Side Story)
• Slipping Through My Fingers (from Mamma Mia!)
• Two Tongues (The Swell Season)
• Words, Hands, Hearts (Yellowcard)
• Your Eyes (from Rent)

Places:

• Antarctica (The Weepies)
• Atlantic City (from Ragtime)
• Baghdad (from Kismet)
• Barcelona (from Company)
• Buenos Aires (from Evita)
• Chicago (Judy Garland)
• Coney Island (Death Cab for Cutie)
• The Devil Went Down to Georgia (The Charlie Daniels Band)
• El Salvador (Athlete)
• Gary, Indiana (from The Music Man)
• Good Morning Baltimore (from Hairspray)
• I Loved the Way She Said L.A. (Spitalfield)
• Ireland (from Legally Blonde)
• Kansas City (from Oklahoma!)
• Lady in Spain (Ingrid Michaelson)
• London Skies (Jamie Cullum)
  
• Manchester England (from Hair)
• Meet Me in St. Louis, Louis (Judy Garland)
  
• New York, New York (Frank Sinatra)
• Ohio (from Wonderful Town)
• Oklahoma? (from Dirty Rotten Scoundrels)
• One Night in Bangkok (from Chess)
• Pennsylvania Sun (Pete and J)
• A Rumor in St. Petersburg (from Anastasia)
• San Francisco (Ingrid Michaelson)
• Virginia (from The Civil War)

Animals:

• Big Dog (from The Color Purple)
• Birds (Kate Nash)
• The Birds and the Bees (Jewel Akens)
• Blackbird (from Across the Universe)
• Butterflies (Dave Barnes)
• Diamond Dogs (Beck)
• Disloyal Order of Water Buffaloes (Fall Out Boy)
• Don't Be the Bunny (from Urinetown)
• Elephant Love Medley (from Moulin Rouge)
• Falcon in the Dive (from The Scarlet Pimpernel)
• Green Finch and Linnet Bird (from Sweeney Todd)
• I Want a Hippopotamus for Christmas (Gayla Peevey)
• Little Lamb (from Gypsy)
• Message From a Nightingale (from The Drowsy Chaperone)
• Monkeys and Playbills (from [title of show])
• Mosquito (Ingrid Michaelson)
• Old Coyote (The Weepies)
• The Scorpion (from Marie Christine)
• The Siamese Cat Song (from Lady and the Tramp)

Time:

• About a Quarter to Nine (from 42nd Street)
• After Midnight Dies (from LaChiusa's The Wild Party)
• Any Minute (from 13)
• 'Bout Time (Louis Armstrong)
• Boho Days (from tick, tick...BOOM!)
• Brand New Day (Joshua Radin)
• Business Time (Flight of the Conchords)
• The Day Before You (Rascal Flatts)
• The End (Blue October)
• Every Day a Little Death (from A Little Night Music)
• Favorite Year (Dixie Chicks)
• February Song (Josh Groban)
• Forty Days (from Passion)
• Gloomy Sunday (Billie Holiday)
• June Is Bustin' Out All Over (from Carousel)
• Lazy Afternoon (Emily Skinner)
• A Long December (Counting Crows)
• Once Upon a December (from Anastasia)
• Night and Day (Cole Porter)
• Seconds and Years (from Next to Normal)

What interesting lists can you derive from your music?

OK, this is going to have to be quick if I want to get it in by midnight, which is in 20 minutes! Forgive me, I just got home after clocking 13.5 hours of work today. I am a wee bit tired.

For those of you who've been around awhile, you might have noticed that since last April, "BEDA" has crept up in my blog a lot.

That is because last April, YA author and Twitter comedienne, Maureen Johnson, came up with the idea to do BEDA: Blog Every Day April. I don't even remember the reason I decided to go along with it, but it was an impulse I am glad I followed.

I started a few days late, but I faithfully blogged every day, even when I had no idea what to write about, for 28 days. One big help in that was Maureen Johnson's second brilliant idea to create BEDA buddies. She gathered mini bios of anyone and everyone who was interested and actually took the time to pair them up into support groups for the month. I got paired with Christina, Nicola and Becky.

MJ WAS A GENIUS. I LOVE my BEDA buddies and a year later we still all keep in touch practically every day through Twitter and Facebook and things like that. I have even met up with Becky twice now, which was so much fun. These girls are amazing, and truly so supportive.

So that is the story behind BEDA. The four of us decided to do it again this year, even though there isn't a wide-spread, MJ-at-the-head, organized effort this year. We got organized ourselves, mapping out blog ideas for all 30 days, and recruiting whoever was willing. For the full blog roll of those participating in BEDA 2.0 and of the schedule of suggestions, I am going to send you to Becky's blog for now, because I haven't set anything up on my blog yet.

And for anyone reading my blog, it's not too late. We would love for you to join us in this. It really is a lovely experience. You don't even have to do it everyday, but if you want to be added to our blog roll, let me know, or let Becky know. Either way, feel free to follow any or all of us. Especially me. And make comments. We LOVE comments.

On to the intro questions.


BEDA Intro Questions

Name: Autumn Lee Hill

Age: 25

Where I live: Omaha, Nebraska

Where I call "home": Honestly, wherever I am sleeping that night. I even call going back to a hotel room going home when I am traveling. But I have finally accepted that Omaha is my home town. FOR NOW.

Why I blog: Good question. I enjoy writing generally. A blog is a good outlet, and I like sharing stuff with my friends and reading their blogs too. Mostly though, it's because on occasion I feel like I have something to say, and this is as good a place as any to say it.

What part of BEDA I'm most excited about: Having suggestions for every day. And reading what my buddies have to say.

Why I'm doing BEDA [again]: Peer pressure (Only partly!). Because it was such a great experience last year. And because it pushes you, and I need that.

How I first discovered Maureen Johnson/BEDA: My teen librarian friend Stephanie read a book by MJ that she liked and mentioned to me. Then one night I happened upon her blog, and it happened to be right when BEDA was starting.

Something other BEDA people might not know about me: Not sure. I think the type of person I am (neurotic, quirky and OCD) is pretty clear in what I write. Ooh ... I'm right handed. I've never mentioned that before. You all just assumed.

Another blog I follow: Yes and Yes by Sarah Von, which I just noticed Nicola put too. So, A Librarian's Guide to Etiquette (very funny).

A writer (of any kind) who inspires me: J.K Rowling, because whether or not you like Harry Potter, she got people reading again. And I would love a peek inside her imagination. Wow.

A YouTube channel I love: I don't have a specific channel. but if I am on YouTube it is to watch clips from Broadway shows and Broadway performers!

A favorite quote: "I chose, and my world was shaken / So what? / The choice may have been mistaken / The choosing was not / You have to move on"
-"Move On" from the musical Sunday in the Park With George, written by Stephen Sondheim

Goodnight

A lot of stuff has been happening to me lately career-wise. Namely, I've decided what direction I am heading in and the first few steps down that road. But for some reason, I haven't actually told that many people about it. So, it's about time I did because (1) I want to be accountable for what I've decided, and (2) I am just so darn excited about it.

SHORT VERSION (If you just want the facts):

• I want to be a librarian when I grow up
  
• I am going back to school for my master's degree in library science
• Great program at University of Missouri-Columbia partnering with University of Nebraska at Omaha
• I want to start in the fall if possible, the spring if not
  
• I've been working for the Omaha Public Library system as an aide (lowest rung) since November
• Today I was promoted to a clerk (next rung), which is a different challenge pays a hell of a lot better.
• Yay!
  

LONGER VERSION (details/back story):
I have decided to go back to school and get a master's degree in library science and pursue a career as a librarian. Woot!

I was obsessed with books and libraries as a kid, I did a bit of volunteering in high school, and I worked at my university library for three years. I'm still obsessed with books. Yet somehow libraries as a career never occurred to me. In college I was so focused on journalism I didn't even consider this.

But then a year or two ago, a good friend implanted the idea in my head, whether she meant to or not. I couldn't stop thinking about it, and I haven't since really. It was a huge "duh" moment for me. Why had I never once thought about it before? It felt like such a perfect fit.

Once I moved back to Omaha, I applied for anything library related, and I got a job with the Omaha Public Library system back in November. The position was for a part-time library aide, which is the worst paid position in the whole system. But I didn't even care because I was working in a library again and it was a foot in the door, a first step.

Despite two cases of flooding over the winter, I have been loving it. I work with great people, and my obsessive attention to detail and AR tendencies are finally being appreciated. Yay!

Last week I interviewed for a part-time clerk position that had opened up at my same branch, and I found out today that I got the job. It is just over a 50% pay increase from what I make as an aide. And it's a completely different job description, so it's a chance to show them that I am good with people too, not just books.

After starting at the library, talking to the librarians there, talking to librarians I worked with in college and doing A TON OF THINKING, I finally hopped off the fence in February and committed to going back to school to get my master's degree. Yes, to get anywhere as a librarian you need a master's. Everyone I talk to seems to be stunned by that tidbit.

Luckily, I can stay in Omaha and do a really great program at a decently affordable price. I just have to get accepted! UNO partnered with University of Missouri-Columbia awhile back so that people in Nebraska wouldn't have to leave the state to get a library science degree. So I stay in Omaha, taking classes partially online partially on campus in some pretty innovative ways, but I pay "in-state" tuition to Missouri. And I wind up with a degree from University of Missouri-Columbia, not UNO.

I am taking the GRE in two weeks, which is my biggest hurdle, a sort of general SAT for grad school, and I have an appointment next week with the UNO liaison to learn even more about the program, courses and how it all works.

I really feel like this is the right direction for me, and I can't wait to get started. As nervous as I am about going back to school, I am also really looking forward to taking classes again and the things I'll be learning. And I already know so many great people (including many great librarian friends) who have been so supportive so far. I know you all will continue to be so once I'm in school and wondering what the hell I got myself into. Thank you!

P.S. I apologize for any mistakes in this post, but it's late and I'm tired and feeling much too lazy to go back and read through this now.