Miss Spider (Charlotte)’s Neighborhood

Winter vacation was the bomb....

SealBomb

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Linky

Crashed the penguin party....

Moopie's my big sister....

Sis

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But mom says we have different dads....

I should be packing.  And cleaning.  And vacuuming.  And finishing the laundry.  And packing.

But I couldn't possibly not post this.

It would seem that the Higher Education Opportunity Act was passed by Congress in August 2008. 

Never heard of it?  Don't feel bad; neither did I.  To be honest, I tend not to pay much attention to what the elected congressweasels are up to at any given time.  Ignorance is usually bliss when it comes to politicians.  Mind you, I vote in every election...and I always end up voting for, by my standards, the lesser of two obnoxious and self-serving evils.  (No, no, not at all cynical.)

However, one of the provisions of this act was that starting in July 2010, college bookstores would be forced to provide the ISBNs of all the textbooks they carry so that college students can make informed choices when purchasing such books rather than be at the mercy of dictatorial bookstore staff whose actions, in fairness, are often due to corporate policy.  (Follett, I'm talking to you.)

Pardon me while I do a happy dance.

Mind you, even if the college bookstore's prices approach "reasonable", I will continue to buy my texts from those sellers online who have served me well in the past.  And I shall take great delight in telling my sundry student friends about a) the HEO Act and b) those online sellers.

Just look at this mess !!

Look

2 comments

I, for one, am apalled.

Appalled

Where is he ??

Where ??

Where's The Pig ??!!!

We The Free

It's Day 3 of 2010, Day 3 of the rest of our lives. For a lot of folks, me included, 2009 was a really rough road to travel. I personally could not remember a time in my life when I had lost so much, and felt so uncertain about the future. Well, that was then and this is NOW! I think that many people are embracing the sense of positive change that awaits us in this new decade. Today, I think that most of us just want to brush the dust off our shoulders and solider on to whatever challenges are right up that road. It's 2010, are you ready, willing, and able? I'm betting you are. I'm betting we all are.

As I get ready to go wander the streets of Chicago, on this 1 degree day with a -15 wind chill, I happy, HAPPY that I woke up in a place that still holds the hope of a better & brighter tomorrow for us all. We still have to deal with the realities of a weak economy, wars and rumors of war, the shadow of terrorism, and God only knows what else that might blindside us at 3:00am, but I think we can handle it. I am not only looking forward to what adventures this day holds for me, but also what lay behind Door No.2 on Tomorrow. I happy that I'm still alive and still free to realize the American Dream, however it may have changed over the last ten years. I'm gonna try and live my life as best I can, and try too be the best person I can be. I encourage everyone, EVERYONE I know to try and do something, anything, that will make their lives better in 2010 and beyond. Despite how things might look at times, and there will still be trials & tribulations to be faces, remember we CAN overcome them, and we WILL overcome them if we have to.

If you found yourself saying "We're in 2010, now what?" Well, I guess it's time you go find out what the Now What is gonna be. I'm gonna go take myself for a walk into Now What, now.

This year has been one of the most interesting years I've ever experienced.  I've sung for a lot of people, I've found my place at a new school, I'm another 30+ hours closer to finishing my (undergrad) degree, I've met many people, made a couple of really good friends, become an "aunt", grown more into myself.  While I can say that this last semester was the most difficult semester I've ever had at school, I can also say I've learned a great deal and that it has set me up well for this coming year.

What to do in 2010?  There isn't really a theme for this list, unless it's "becoming closer to the person I want to be"...and aren't all resolution lists like that to a certain degree?

-I will learn how to decorate a cake.  This year, I relearnt the art of baking a cake, and while that still needs some practice, I think I can say that I can create a fairly scrumptious cake by now.  The next step, it seems, will be to make it look as pretty as it tastes.  Nothing fancy--I don't see tiers happening anytime soon--but some scrolling/scalloping/flowers would be neat.

-I will book-cross at least twelve books.

-I will learn how to give myself a proper manicure, complete with nail polish.  I usually have my nails filed and shaped, and often buff them, but I still can't seem to paint them without getting the polish all messy.

-I will read three Shakespearean plays.  One will be "The Merchant of Venice".  The others will be picked up as I go along.

-I will not buy a pair of shoes unless they are comfortable and, excepting walking sneakers, purty/magnificent/gorgeous.  Life is too short for torturous or ugly shoes.

-I will put up two quality posts per week on here.  Other items may be posted, but not that many people have a strong desire to know my schedule for the day.  Sure, such posts help me organize my thoughts and priorities, but I suspect that most people (please correct me if I'm wrong) come here for the customer service posts, with a smattering of those interested in my book posts.  Two posts per week seems doable on my school/work schedule.

-This is related to the previous resolution, but it's a little more specific: I will post a bit more often about frugal living, careful saving, and cheap-but-good cooking.  I've become more interested in these things over the last year, and while "throw a bunch of stuff in the crockpot" often has tasty results, not everyone knows what foods and what quantities to add.  I, for one, need to look up some more recipes to play around with, and perhaps these recipes might help other people. I know that reading other blogs that offer real-life suggestions on this sort of thing has helped me a great deal.

-I will become more of a bookseller and less of a retail drone.  I've had several opportunities in the last few weeks to really booksell, rather than just mindlessly fill requests or ring a register.  To me, bookselling means actively helping someone discover a great read, and I genuinely love that aspect of my job.  One can't booksell to every or even most customers, mind you; most customers want a brain-dead and personality-devoid utilitarian retail drone who would be just as in place bagging groceries at Walmart as she would be in a bookshop.  Still, there are some out there who want to meet a real bookseller when they walk into a book store, and I'll do my best to fill that role.   It's good for me, because it brings some sorely-needed interest and joy to my job, and I think it's good for a real lover of books to meet a real bookseller once in a while.

-Finally, and most importantly, I will spend more time in a practice room, and the time I spend in there will be sancrosanct.  It will be made, and it will be spent in learning and developing and--dare I say it?--enjoying this magical thing called music rather than stressing over deadlines and work and assignments.

I will try to do a post every month or two in which I check in on these resolutions.  Should be interesting (to me, at least) to see how well I keep up on them.

ETA: while typing tags for this post, I had what was either an utterly demented or absolutely marvelous idea for a post series.  What think you of a monthly "Shoes and Shakespeare" feature in which lovely shoes are paired with a Shakespeare quote?  And wouldn't that be a fantastic name for a blog?   If I only had time for another blog, I would snap that name up so fast...