First week of work....

I have been working my part-time job at the local library to gain experience and hands-on knowledge in hope of gaining a full-time library position to begin the next path in new found career.  Although I am only doing work that is normally done by high school students, I am enjoying it and am very excited about gaining experience and being able to participate with true library experiences for course discussions when classes start back up later this month.

I work two nights a week for three hours and the 2^nd Saturday of every month. Tomorrow is my first Saturday. I haven’t worked a full Saturday for the last 17 years when I was in retail, so it shall be interesting but I am still excited about the direction my life is leading.  My primary responsibility is shelving the books that have been checked in, which can take up the entire 3 hours. However because I am out on the floor during that time, I do have a lot of interaction with the patrons.

Just last Monday, I was shelving the Children’s section and this little boy about 5, continue asked me where the books that are easy to read. In fact, he just would pick up a book and say “Is this one easy to read?” It was so cute J I eventually showed him to the Step-into-Reading books were and after reading (or just looking at – not sure which) approximately 20 books he asked by how to put the books back, Together we re-shelved his books.

He must have taken a likely to me because later in the evening when I was still shelving; he continually poked his hand around the corner each time with a different puppet. I would react and he would giggle. It was fun and great to laugh and enjoy work again.

The next time I worked, I had to cover dinner breaks, so was able to work behind the desk. I checked out my first patron, was able to answer a few general library questions and was able to interact and become acquainted with some of the other library staff. I haven’t had much time to talk with the other staff since I generally am out on the library floor.

There has been a lot of “library talk” in my graduate courses about the pros and cons of a Roving Librarian – librarians who roam the library to be more visible to the patrons to ask for help and to help those patrons that just look lost. I personally have never cared for the thought. I do not like pushing salesmen in stores and feel the librarians may give the same feeling. I like my libraries, like salesman, easy to find but not pestering. The patrons (should) know that if they need assistance the librarians are at the desk, which I do believe should be easy to find and very noticeable. I would prefer this, as a patron, than the idea of feeling like I’m being followed around as I browse – just in case I need help.

I bring this up because after a week shelving books, I realize I could be looked at as a Roving Librarian.  The difference is that “roving” isn’t my primary duty and I’m not seeking to assist, but rather there if assistance if needed and asked of me.  I like this idea MUCH better J

Besides the young boy that asked for my assistance, I also assisted an adult in using the on-line catalog. When it was discovered that the book wasn’t in our collection, I looked at an area library since they didn’t have it either I explained how interlibrary loans (ILL) work. He seemed to be satisfied with my assistance.

Even though it’s only been a week, this career change has been a plus, very rewarding and I continue to look forward to experiencing more, continuing school, and hopefully one day soon acquiring a full-time position.

A STOLEN LIFE by Jaycee Dugard

Title: A Stolen Life : A Memoir
Author: Jaycee Dugard
Genre: Autobiography/ non fiction
# of pages:268
Edition: Hardcover
Stars: 4 out of 5
Time it took me to read: 1 day

Summary:

The true story told my the victim herself, Jaycee Dugard of her 18 year kidnapping and captivation by a known sex offender, Phillip Garridos and his wife. She was taken at age 11 and had to endure physical, mental, and verbal abuse, plus probably the worst manipulation possible. Her name is Jaycee Dugard and this is her story...

Review:


------SPOILER ALERT ----


This book was a true eye opener. Jaycee was such a courageous young girl. I can't even imagine going through the things she had to endure. She became an extremely courageous and powerful women. She mentions several times how difficult it was to continue to write her story. again, I can't imagine how difficult it was to relive her past. I was very surprised it didn't make me cry. I completely expected to cry during the story. I think part of the reason was because of how strong Jaycee was through the telling of her story.


 It did surprise me how once she was allowed outside the secret back yard she was still so scared to tell someone who she was. There were a few opportunities for her. Yet I understand how scared and probably ashamed she was. The most touch part for me was reading her journal entries from the time she was held captive. It seemed she was able to explain more of what she truly felt during her time of growing up. In the retelling of her story, she almost seemed to like Phillip and Nancy and consider them her family. I'm sure that was because of the abuse and manipulation she endured. In her journal, she admitted how sad and angry she was. I can't stress enough I believe her to be a courageous and brave girl and women. I don't believe I could have survived what she endured. 


The one thing that seemed strange to me was not only how Phillip was able to manipulate Nancy, his wife and grown women. She never seemed to necessary agree with Phillip, but went along with his actions and manipulation of Jaycee and her two daughters. Nancy was an accomplice in my opinion, but also a victim to Phillip's abuse. Before her illness, I'm also surprised that Pat, Phillip's mother did not suspect anything wrong or was she afraid of Phillip as well. We will never know. If this wasn't a true story, straight from the true victim I don't believe I could believe the characters of Nancy and Pat. I was disappointed to not know what became of Nancy. I feel although a victim she was an accomplice and should serve prison time as well, just maybe not for life. Does anyone know the outcome of Nancy? 

----END OF SPOILER----

Overall, I was glad I had a chance to read the story from Jaycee, the victim herself. I believe everyone should read this story. The only reason I gave it 4 stars versus 5 stars is because it is a tough read and not for everyone and I don't believe I would want to own the book or reread it. It is definitely a story that I need to sit and think about and contemplate for a while. It was the same way with the movie, 'The Passion of the Christ'.

THE NEXT CHAPTER

I’m sitting in Panera with my coffee, laptop, Kindle Fire, hard cover library book (A Secret Kept by Tatiana De Rosnay) and my fiancé.  Yes, you read that right...I am ENGAGED!! I am still in shock, disbelief, giddy, wired, and on a high at once.  I am 36 years and this has been my third committed relationship. I don’t want to say long-term because the other two were 2 years or less.  I have always wanted to get married, but was starting to get the sense that my day would never come. I had never had a relationship last more than 2 years, in fact my last one ended on what would have been our 2 year anniversary!

I am so much in love and feel so loved – I still can’t believe this is happening. However, this is not to say we don’t have our disagreements, debates, and down- right ugly fights because we do and probably always will. The key is that we love each other, want to be together, grow old together and are willing to listen, compromise and laugh together.  I never thought I would see this day. I thought I would die an old maid.

I seriously was afraid I would never find my true love, my soul mate. I thought I was meant to be alone for the rest of my life.  Most of my friends are married and have or just starting to have kids.  I am one of the few left single. To all my friends, and others reading this whom are single…DON’T RUSH IT! You don’t want to, nor should you settle…give it time (and yes, I know you felt you have). It’s WORTH the wait.  You may be 36, 44, 48, or in your 50’s but when you do find your true love it is worth it all.  A friend of mine on Facebook recently posted “I can’t believe it took me 36 years to find my true love, but it was well worth it”. I can’t say it any better than that!

In our 2 year 4 month relationship, we have moved fast on some counts – bought a house together after only 10 months, making an instant family (my 16 year old daughter, his 13 year old daughter, his 5 year old son, my dog, and his 2 cats) – but, we never seriously discussed marriage – it was one thing neither of us wanted to rush.  He knew I wanted to someday get married and I knew that he may eventually want to as well. I did not realize that he was ready and I was not yet to the breaking point that I had to be AND am very glad that his proposal came before those two things were realized for me. It made the proposal so much more special and meaningful to me, to us.

Soon after we started dating we went on a camping trip and were joking on the drive up about how this camping trip could be a chapter in a book, “3 kids, 2 dogs, and a relationship”.  We were dog sitting, jam packed in a truck and going on our first trip with the kids.  We began to name other chapters too.  Our summer bowling team name was “Moving on up”, but usually events were just referred to as “The Next Chapter”.  We have used that phrase to signify the major stepping stones of our relationship, our family, and chapters of our life together.

The proposal itself was romantic and is very meaningful to me, to us. It was Christmas Eve night and we were at my parents.  It was a special year because my fiancé’s oldest daughter was spending the holidays with us. This was the first time since we have been together that she was with us on Christmas. So we had our entire “family of 6” together.  We had just finished playing some games and eating dinner.  We are huge Chicago Blackhawks fans, so we were going to watch the Blackhawk’s Christmas Special and then play more games and exchange the traditional Christmas Eve pajamas.

Everyone sat around in the living room, I in the middle seat of the couch. My parent’s couch reclines on both ends. My daughter was on one end reclining and LeeJay sat on the other side of me. My dad mentions that his seat reclines, not because LeeJay didn’t know this but because my dad does understand why one would want to sit there and not recline the seat.  Instead of reclining the seat, LeeJay gets up completely. I remember thinking that a little odd, but not so strange to even mention it.  He then asks that someone turns down the TV, this I found even stranger and did make a comment.  He always asks for the volume to be turned up, not down.   However, no one could find the remote and, of course, everyone was too lazy to just go over to the TV to turn it down.  LeeJay then announces he has something to ask.  At this point, I was still COMPLETELY clueless. That is UNTIL he came over by me and kneeled down on one knee.  I started crying, laughing and smiling all at the time. After he asked me, using my full name, to marry him I remember getting up and hugging and kissing him, but probably didn’t saw YES for a minute or so.  I remember vaguely my mom asking what she missed and someone coming out of the bathroom.  Nonetheless, we missed the Blackhawk’s Christmas Special as hugs, kisses, congratulations, and pictures were being taken. I don’t think too many people minded.

So begins THE NEXT CHAPTER….

THE GOOD, THE BAD AND THE HAIR - A CHICK DICK MYSTERY by Nancy Lauzon

Title: The Good, the Bad, and the Hair – a Chick Dick Mystery

Author: Nancy Lauzon

Genre: Romance Mystery

# pages: 205

Edition: Ebook

Stars: 2.5 out of 5

Why I Read: Author requested review on Goodreads.com

Time it took me to read: 4 days

Summary from Goodreads.com:

Hannah Hailstone’s split ends are a divining rod for disaster.

Hannah just found a sexy man in the back seat of her car—semi-conscious and bleeding, but at least he has a pulse. Her father, a James Bond wannabe with a penchant for gambling, has disappeared. And there’s a man in a pink Cadillac tailing her hippy artist mother. Hannah’s plans to re-read her Nancy Drew Mysteries—the vintage, hard cover collection—have changed. Now she’s got a real mystery on her hands.

Cooper West is on a losing streak.

Robbed, beaten and on the run from thugs, Cooper is down on his luck. Somebody just tapped danced on his face and stole his precious motorcycle. Now he’s a drifter whose wings have been clipped, so he’s got a reason to stay in town a while. And he just found another one. Hannah’s funky hair and her talent for swan diving into hot water make a fascinating combination.

And bad news travels fast.

Someone is out to get Cooper, and Hannah’s a sucker for strays. But when his bad luck tangles with her bad hair, it jump-starts a bumpy ride through the tunnel of love.

Review:

“If you like dark and depressing reads, my books may not be for you. But if you like light-hearted, happily-ever-after entertainment…” quoted by Nancy Lauzon, author of The Good, the Bad, and the Hair – a Chick Dick Mystery.

This novel was a well-structured easy read, which I was expecting and I loved the tie in a references to Nancy Drew mysteries. It reminded me of Nancy Drew for adults. The storyline was predictable, but did not ruin the good plot since it was to be an easy read.  The main character is likeable and somewhat naïve.  There are few minor twist and turns throughout the novel providing just enough mystery to the romantic story line.

My main issue with the novel was that by the title, The Good, the Bad and the Hair and the author’s own comment about being a light entertaining read I was expecting a more humorous novel. There was not much humor in it.  

BEFORE I GO TO SLEEP By S.J. Watson

Title: Before I Go To Sleep

Author: S. J. Watson

Genre: Thriller

# Pages: 360

ED: Hardcover

STARS: 5 out of 5


Why I read: Bookworm Bitch’s discussion book of the month

Time it took me to read: 5 days
Inspired from: a nonfiction novel Forever Today: A True Story of Lost Memory and Never Ending Love by Deborah Wearing

If you liked; then you will love this novel:

        Books: The Time Traveler’s Wife, Still Alice

        Movies: 50 First Dates, Memento

Summary from Goodreads.com:

'As I sleep, my mind will erase everything I did today. I will wake up tomorrow as I did this morning. Thinking I'm still a child. Thinking I have a whole lifetime of choice ahead of me ...' Memories define us. So what if you lost yours every time you went to sleep? Your name, your identity, your past, even the people you love - all forgotten overnight. And the one person you trust may only be telling you half the story. Welcome to Christine's life.

Review:

 I LOVED the book. It kept me guessing and unlike some comments I have read on the book; I truly enjoyed the repeating and Christine's constant changing of her mind because it really made the reader understand what she was going through and at times I felt just like her - guessing how it would end and who did what.  It is a book that has some truly dramatic twists and turns and really gives the reader an emotional bond to the main character. The characters are well defined and the plot is quite gripping as it left me wanting more.

-SPOILER ALERT-

The only thing I was able to guess correctly from pretty much the beginning was that Adam was alive. The rest kept me guessing and I made several incorrect guesses along the way. I thought Dr. Nash may be Adam. That Ben was the really Ben and did the damage to Christine for some yet unknown reason; among other ideas. I also was a little disappointed in the last page as one more page would have closed the book better, but still gave 5 stars. Maybe it was left open for a sequel and I movie is coming out. I highly recommend this book and can’t wait for the movie release.   

WORDS TO LIVE BY....

I attended a retirement party last night for a Vice President for the company I work for. He is retiring after 30 years with the company, in which I have had the pleasure of working with him for the last 12. His speech was one of the most powerful and inspirational speeches I have heard in a long time.  Since so many people in attendance had asked him for a copy of his speech he emailed it to everyone this morning. As it is 12 pages long, I can’t post everything but want to pass along the highlights and share what I have learned from it.

He started out his speech with these words:

“Please just sit back …..relax …… and ALLOW me to try to engage BOTH your mind ….. and hopefully your HEART”.

He summarized at the end the following with these MOST important words/phrases to include it every day conversation:

Most important single word – any word, but “I” (ex: you, we, and us)

2 words - Thank you

3 words – I am sorry, I am wrong, I don’t know

4 words – What would you do?

5 words – I love being with you (not specifically in the romantic way)

He talked about how when tragedy hit his family at a young age (his mother passed away unexpected on Christmas Eve when he was 14; he decided he could follow 2 paths. And I quote:

“Eventually, the most important thing I learned from this experience was that I had the POWER to make a choice –

·         I could agonize over the experience and wallow in self-pity for the rest of my life …….. or

·         I could try to be optimistic and find a way to make some sense out of it”

He chose the latter and has done a wonderful job following this train of thought his entire life. He spoke about following his dreams - he is going into education. He is of early retirement age and will make an EXCELLENT teacher. He is kind, patient and has taught me personally so much over the years.

He talked about following your dreams, being virtuous and passionate in everything you do, living in and appreciate the moment, and my favorite and what I feel I need to put more in practice myself…

“It’s NOT what you PUT IN WRITING or SAY that is most important……..  Rather it is what the OTHER PERSON HEARS …….. AND what they SEE".

His speech really inspired me and reassured me that I am making the right decision for me to FOLLOW MY DREAMS and strive to become a YA reference librarian.  I also had a new found friend provide me with this quote that I love:

                               

                   “Find a job you love and you'll never work another day”.  -  Confucius

That is what I am going to do and try to live my life follow some of Ralph’s philosophy.

EMOTIONAL READER??

I recently recommended the novel, “Still Alice” to a co-worker. She told me she loved it, but cried all morning, so much that if she tried to explain to her husband she would start weeping again.  I had read the book before recommending it (my review is in previous post); while I thought it was sad I did not cry while reading it.  Does that make me unemotional??

CONTAINS SPOILERS TO STILL ALICE – SPOILER ALERT

I don’t think so….I did think it was a sad story, especially if you or someone you love has Alzheimer’s; however I also found Alice extremely strong and courageous.  She didn’t receive the best support from either her husband or eldest daughter, yet she became closer to her youngest daughter. She started a support system, not for the caregivers of Alzheimer victims, but for those suffering from the disease itself. I felt this story did have a positive side and although she most likely dies from the disease the book doesn’t end that way.

-----SPOILER ALERT OVER----

Believe me, I have definitely cried while reading books…maybe less than some people but probably more than some people too! Everyone has different emotional pulls and it also depends on your mood while reading and of course, the personal aspects of your life at the time you are reading.

Some criers for me are:

A Walk to Remember by Nicholas Sparks

Marley and Me by John Grogan

Rainwater by Sandra Brown

 

I also have some movies that make me sob. One in particular that no matter how many times I watch leaves me bawling…BEACHES! I have watched this movie just because I felt I needed a good cry and it has never failed me!

Just yesterday while at work I watched a video clip on Yahoo and tears started streaming. Different things make me cry and different moments and some don’t even make sense to me.

http://www.godvine.com/Mother-Hears-her-Daughter-s-Heart-Beat-One-Last-Time-649.html

We all need a good cry sometime, right??