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Remember back in the old days when no one had to show up for school when it was nice out- when you could just pack a lunch in the morning and go for a hike in the woods or park a towel on a beach and spend the day thinking about how your life has so much meaning and wondering what that meaning might be?

Ok, you caught me. That never really happened*. Just some wishful thinking on my part. But god damn, it’s nice out, and all I really want to do is be outside in the sun. I know I should probably throw in some concerns about not having any sunblock and damaging UV rays and all that, but at this point I really don’t care, this pasty pale skin cannot be a sign of good health. Tomorrow is supposed to be 70 degrees. 70 degrees, people. In March. In New England. If that is not a sign that we should be free from such menial things as education, then I don’t know what is.

The kids here are quite prepared for the summer. We have the usual contingent of boys that wear shorts year-round (which is highly amusing/vaguely alarming on those days in mid-January when you can feel your nose hairs freeze upon going outside), but this global warming has lots of other kids busting out the flip flops and tank tops. I feel like I should issue a warning to some of these kids: don’t rejoice too soon, my friends- it’s possible (in fact, probable) that there will still be a major snow storm between now and summer.

Anyway, what if the sun collapsed in on itself tomorrow and then there was only the cold and dark from now until eternity and we’d have to dig down into the Earth’s core just to stay warm and keep the human race alive? Just sayin’. We should take advantage while we can.

Sometimes it sure would be nice to ditch.

*When it does happen, it’s called unemployment. Sweet, sweet unemployment.

I am a writing fool.

Apparently I missed my 100th post; you know as well as I do that I certainly would have mentioned that little fact if I had been coherent enough to notice it. Regardless, we are just going to pretend that this (104th) post is actually the 100th so that we can celebrate together.

What are you still doing here? WHY AREN’T YOU OUT CELEBRATING?

Anyway, what the eff did I even have to talk about for 100 posts? Well since I can barely remember last week, let alone all the way back to October, I started to look through some of my old posts. I had to admit, it’s kind of nice to have a chronicled archive of my daily library life all laid out. At the same time it’s a little embarassing, like reading your journal from 6th grade and remembering when you thought the viola-playing, cystic-acned boy in front of you in homeroom was hot as hell*.

But I digress. I hope this centennial post reflects my pride in continuing to write a blog that is strange and incongruous and disjointed, albeit grammatically correct, all for your viewing pleasure. Obviously my starting a blog was a flagship moment in history- someday you will all be thankful that you were there when the magic started.

*Viola boy was actually better than this guy.

A few things to clear up:

First off, I managed to get stuck in a technology tangle yesterday for the duration of my workday. You know when you’re having one of those nightmares where everything you try to do is in slow motion and you’re trying to speak clearly and normally but it’s all coming out wrong and you just keep getting more and more frustrated? Well I felt like everyone else was having that nightmare yesterday and I was the only one wide awake but still stuck in it with them.

Secondly, some sad news. When I got back into the library this morning, I saw a crowd of kids circling the giant fish tank. Not a good sign, as they tend to gather only for collective destruction and/or violence. I cleared a path, only to find my giant sea robin fish belly up in the tank. Before I knew what was happening, I was surrounded by a surging mass of distraught children claiming that Sea Robin had been their loyal friend, and what had happened to him and could we have a burial service? I’ll tell you, when those nasty spider crabs got eaten, I was the first to rejoice. But despite his creepiness, I actually felt a little sadness at the passing of the Old Man of the Sea. And also a little guilty, since I laughed at him yesterday when he was bobbing vertically in the tank- I mean, how was I supposed to know his time was up? So I drew a few pictures of happy, smiley fish swimming in the ocean and taped them up over the tank until we can get some new marine life up in this piece. RIP, buddy. You’ll be missed.

Lastly, the next two weeks of school are testing and so I am anticipating 1.) that I will be bored out of my head with no classes coming in, and 2.) that the students will be antsy and edgy and generally irritable. I don’t blame them- I’d be cranky, too, if I had to sit for hours on end taking state exams aimed pitting school districts against each other in the race to have the best-test-taking children.

With that said, I apologize for the lack of posting yesterday. A little running, some R & R, and I’m back on track.

Apparently there is some type of game going on, in which a certain beloved librarian gets TAGGED and has to write a blog entry on the first ten songs that show up shuffle-style on her iPod. Well nerds, you asked for it. Don’t be jealous that my gigs are cooler than your gigs. Ready, nano? Annnnnnd…. go!

1. Recycled Air- Postal Service
2. Satan Is My Motor- Cake
3. Eriatarka- The Mars Volta
4. The Incomparable Mr. Flannery- Clutch
5. Song For Whoever- The Beautiful South
6. Rock and Roll Queen- The Subways
7. Unsingable Name- Mike Doughty
8. Seven Seas of Rye- Queen
9. The Hand That Feeds- Nine Inch Nails
10. Off The Record- My Morning Jacket

Wow, my music taste doesn’t look half bad in that list. Thank God none of my Shakira or Fallout Boy came up, I wouldn’t want everyone knowing about *that*…

The currents are changing. Today I wore impractical shoes to work and my feet were cold, I really should have known better. It’s something in the air, pushing me towards the illogical.

My blood is warm and I’m feeling tempestuous, dangerous. Like I have a power over my life, my fate. Silly; I know it is an oxymoron to claim to have the power to change fate, yet also emboldening, because I know that feeling will be fleeting and I’d like to keep it as close as I can. Spring is coming, it changes everything. It brings questions and encourages no real answers. It’s a time for shimmery and gossamer objects, for floaty and hopeful thoughts, and for impractical shoes.

* Thanks to Penelope Dullaghan for her beautiful illustrations.

An article in Times this week has stated that this generation has become so able to rapidly toggle between tasks that often times we feel as though we are able to do two or more things at once when in reality, we are simply multitasking at an extremely fast pace. There were a few aspects of the article that really got my attention:

• The article states: “Teenagers who fill every quiet moment with a phone call or some kind of e-stimulation may not be getting that needed reprieve. Habitual multitasking may condition their brain to an overexcited state, making it difficult to focus even when they want to.” I see this every day- not only in school, but in my own life. I know that I am unable to carry on a normal phone conversation when I am on the computer, I am unable to read (effectively) while listening to music, etc. I’ve also found that it is very difficult for me to sit still- no conversations, no computer, no phone, no TV- for very long. My shower in the morning is probably the only time that I am not getting in some kind of stimulus. I can’t imagine that this is a good thing for my poor little brain.
• “When people try to perform two or more related tasks either at the same time or alternating rapidly between them, errors go way up, and it takes far longer- often double the time or more- to get the jobs done than if they were done sequentially.” If this is true, I’d estimate I make at least 1,400 mistakes in any given work day.
• “Thousands of years of evolution created human physical communication-facial expressions, body language- that puts broadband to shame in its ability to convey meaning and create bonds. What happens as we replace side-by-side and eye-to-eye human connections with quick, disembodied e-exchanges?” This constant ability to have everyone and anyone available to talk to in a variety of formats (phone, IM, email, text message), at all times of the day, has created a kind of interpersonal ADD.

Don’t get me wrong- I love modern technology and gadgetry. It allows me to continue relationships with people that otherwise would have fallen by the wayside, simply because they’re far away. It helps to keep me connected to people. But I’ve come to the realization that when I am with someone, having a conversation, I don’t feel this pull towards electronic media. And that’s a little bit of a relief- that I can have personal connections without having my cell phone attached to my hip and without checking myspace comments every hour.

Her instructions are vague and somewhat inappropriate, things like: “Pull your shoulder blades down and together, as if I had reached up under your shirt and was pulling down on your bra strap.” Umm… huh? How ’bout you don’t do that. Her eyes are always half-lidded and she’s forever making comments I don’t quite get: “Good, people, good. The energy in this room is healing. You’re healing me. The energy is circulating, you’re creating energy. Warmth floods the room.” In the full-wall mirror at the front of the room, I can see the other’s expressions. Their eyes are saying: Damn you, woman! You can’t actually “create” energy! Just shut up and let us work our obliques!

It doesn’t matter where you place your mat- the very back, the very front, way off to the side behind a pillar- oh, no. She’ll hunt you down and make sure your joints are ratcheted to the maximum degree possible. Needless to say, her presence gives me one more reason to make sure I am concentrating on my breathing and positioning… lest she decide she wants a little hugging/bra-pulling time with yours truly.

On the blogging roller coaster I feel as though I am almost to the bottom of that first big hill, nearing the next incline. Like the excitement has crescendoed and you’re feeling a little concussed, but still enjoying it? Translation of that poor analogy: I feel like my blog has been a little weak lately. But seeing as how most of you are probably hungover from your weekend of Irish revelry, I don’t feel as though I need to be particularly impressive today.

I’ll do my best, though, since these entries are archived and occasionally the worst entries mock me from the sidebar.

Anyway, since you’re dying to know, last weekend was fantastic. Friday night I was treated to an amazing show by the California Guitar Trio, and rather than jam ourselves into a crowded Irish bar with mass quantities of drunken college students we opted to enjoy a more relaxed drinking environment. If you have never heard of or seen the CGT, I would highly recommend locating some of their music- their skill and passion makes me sad that I don’t have a talent as great as theirs. And it was totally obvious that they loved every minute of performing. One word: awesome.

The rest of the weekend was spent doing random fun activities- so much so, that when Sunday evening inevitably rolled around I needed to take a two-hour walk just to wind down and clear my head a little. Of course, finding a super shoe sale and drinking delicious bubble tea definitely helped a little.

But lucky, lucky you- I’m back. And lucky, lucky me- this blog might not always reflect it, but I am honestly, truly, very much happy with what I’ve got, even with the craziness and the busy-ness. So I’m making an effort. I vow to keep writing until I’ve got nothing more to say, and we all know that will be a while.

“Optimism is the faith that leads to achievement. Nothing can be done without hope and confidence.” -Helen Keller

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