gypsygirl

So we were in a meeting of the Library Website committee, and as we were getting near the end of the allotted time, we were starting to get a little silly. Someone asked a perfectly legitimate question about whether the people who keep the web pages up to date have a title, and someone else tried to come up with the most convoluted title for “I update the web pages”. I can’t remember what it was, exactly, but then my officemate, who’s also on this committee, tried to see if he could come up with an acronym for the title. He came up with Electronic Data Input Technician Of Record, or EDITOR. Someone else quickly came up with Acronymical Master & Electronic Savant, for his surname, Ames.

One of the other girls on the committee was trying to get one for her first name and came up with E-Learning Librarian (which is her job title) and then needed help on the last two letters - Ames came up with Extra Nice (so, Ellen). I started working on my surname and got as far as Super Awesome before the meeting was dismissed. When I mentioned this to my officemate, he very quickly came up with Super Awesome, Very Acerbic Girl Extraordinaire. Now he’s supposed to be working on one for our friend across the hall, but she doesn’t know yet because she’s not on that committee.

Well, I survived the week in CA, but I was glad I was only there for a week. The place was hectic. Ten people and two dogs, and then the last couple of days, one additional person. Two people had colds when I arrived, and by the time I left, they’d traded them with two others - myself and my mother. So, I was glad I’d asked for the rest of last week off. It gave me time to get better before having to come back to work. With so many of us sick, it was interesting to see how each of us reacted to the same virus - one had really bad chest congestion; another had horrible post-nasal drip and cough; mine was all in the sinuses; mum’s had just started when I left, so I don’t know what hers was like.

I got a great new lap quilt from mum for Christmas. I’d told her how cold it gets in my office, so she made me one that folds up into a pillow to keep at work. I’d been a bit worried about the gift I got for Andy - a physics kit (like a chemistry set but with gears and wires and things), but apparently his parents found him playing with it when they went to bed Christmas Eve (an hour or so after he’d said he was going to sleep).

MB and Sherry and I got to have a couple of SKVE meetings while Sherry was here for her holiday. We went to see P.S. I Love You one day and met for coffee another day. I’m not a great fan of Hillary Swank, but I enjoyed the movie ok. Sherry hadn’t heard anything about it before going, so she was disappointed that Gerard Butler dies; but then relieved that he comes back in flash-backs and hallucinations. She just likes to look at him. I made them each a short scarf with a slit in one end that you can tuck the other end into. MB opened hers while Sherry and I were waiting for our coffees, and we watched her trying to figure it out. She kept looking at the length of it, then opening the slit, then folding it back up. When she heard us giggling at her she asked me what it was, “It’s too short to be a scarf, and it has this opening thing only on one end…” Once she figured it out, she liked it. Sherry, having spent some time in a colder climate now, knew exactly what it was and how to use it.

I’m off to my first programming conference this week. It’s a three day conference on XSLT. It’s the first conference I’ve gone to for Baylor. I need to do a bit of research on Austin (which is where it’s going to be), so I can visit stuff after hours.

I’ve started a new project on LibriVox to work on in conjunction with The Elusive Pimpernel. I started Anne of Avonlea last night. I had a sudden craving for some more Anne. I’m not sure how much I’ll be able to get done on these two projects this coming month (while Cat on a Hot Tin Roof is in rehearsals), but I’ll always have weekends.

My office mate is wackier than I am. He decided to keep the tissue box cozy on his desk.

So, on Saturday I went to my first Baylor football game since I was an undergrad. The library won a “does your department have spirit” photo contest and we were given 200 tickets to split among us. I figured, since it was free, why not? I mean, sure I don’t like football, but watching the game isn’t really the reason I go to sporting events, it’s to hang out with friends (except tennis matches… I do enjoy watching those, but that might just be because I understand all the rules). So I went. There was also a tailgate party beforehand. MB came with me as my “tailgate date”, and then I sat with her and her friends on the student side. We definitely looked like we were having a better time on our side than where my real seats were supposed to be. We were right next to the band, and as MB and her friends are all ex-band members, I had coaches on what to yell when. So, even though we got slaughtered, and Baylor’s level of play was atrocious, I did have a good time. I don’t think I’ll be running out to buy season tickets any time soon, but it’s OK for once in a while. Plus the fact that I had such a good time yelling with MB and her friends that I yelled myself almost hoarse and didn’t get to do any recording the rest of the weekend, so it’s definitely not something I want to do regularly.

I also made one of these this weekend. Now, normally, I’m not into these sorts of items. They’re too frou-frou for my taste, but it this case, frou-frou was exactly what I was looking for. I made it as a prank for my office-mate, Eric… in pink yarn with little pastel flecks. I’m just waiting for him to step out of the office for a few minutes so I can slip it onto his tissue box. This all started because he and another guy wrapped everything in the girl across the hall’s office in foil for her birthday a few months ago, and a couple of weeks ago, when we were helping him move his desk around, she found the two boxes of foil in one of his desk drawers and decided to take revenge. I’ve been helping her, because it’s fun. I’m getting a little nervous though, because he hasn’t retaliated yet.

Life’s been pretty busy since my last post (hence no posts since then).

So, first off, I started the new job. It’s been fairly quiet for these first few weeks. The whole first week and part of the second all I did was read, because they’d ordered me a new computer (a nice, shiny new macbook!) and we were waiting for it to arrive. The rest of the second week I spent trying to install Windows and Linux on it (some of the things I’m going to be working with run on Mac, some on Windows and some on Linux, so I have to have all three OS’s). Then I went on vacation for a week, but I did finally get the various operating systems running when I got back. Since then, they’ve slowly been getting me started on some of the things I’m going to be dealing with. Oh, and kind of cool coincidence, one of the first things I worked on was a problem a professor was having with his website, which he was running with wordpress… so this blog? Not just for fun! Actual work related learning experience gained from it!

Now back to the vacation. I went out to Mum’s for ten days. This is the first time I’d been out there since she moved to Palmdale and Paul brought the family up, so I got to see the new house, and of course, all the family. The times at home were fairly quiet. The boys are sort of between activities right now, so they spend most of their time online or playing video games (sometimes both). Mum and Natalie and I had fun though. Mum and I usually try to get out to the Hollywood Bowl whenever I visit during the summer, and this year Natalie came with us. We got to see South Pacific, with Reba McEntire and Brian Stokes Mitchell. It was awesome! Then a few days later, we went to see Wicked. I’d been wanting to see this since I first found out that the book was being turned into a musical, so I did a quick search to see if the touring company might happen to be in the Los Angeles area during that week, and found that there’s a permanent (well, probably semi-permanent) production at the Pantages! I treated Mum to both shows for her birthday present. Natalie came with us to this one too. They didn’t know anything about Wicked, but they were excited to be getting out of the house for something other than work. On the Friday before I came back Natalie’s daughter Debbie was playing in the orchestra for a community college production of Once Upon This Island, so we went to that too. Needless to say, after South Pacific and Wicked, this was a bit of a letdown. Maybe if we’d seen that one first. I mean, it wasn’t terrible, but it was definitely an amateur performance (I like to think that we’re a little pickier about our lead roles at the WCT… but I’m terribly afraid we aren’t always).

I haven’t been doing much outside of work since I got back. Though yesterday was my birthday and I did get taken out for lunch. Apparently, the Preservation people adopt whoever works in the office across the hall from them, regardless of what department they’re in, so Eric and I get included in all they do. It’s fun, and I’m enjoying getting to know that group better. I used to see them some when they were on the first floor, but we’re in much closer proximity here and it’s easier.

Annie opens next weekend at the Civic. I got cast in it, but then I found out that Linda had cast about 60 kids! I told them that I’d just started a new job and we were starting a big project and that I wasn’t sure how much spare time I was going to have in the evenings (all of which is true), so thank you but I was going to have to turn down the part. I will be ushering, though. Beth is playing Miss Hannigan and I’ve heard that she’s hilarious, so I’m looking forward to watching her.

I’m still working on El Dorado for Librivox. It’s an interesting story, but I keep putting off recording because Armand, from whose perspective most of this story is told, is driving me spare. He’s being such an absolute infant that I keep wanting to smack him upside the head. This one’s longer than the other Orczy book I did too, much longer. I originally picked it because it’s the other book they generally use when they’re making a film adaptation, so I know parts of the plot.

I got the job!!!

Yes, yes, I know I usually agree with PTerry on multiple exclamation points, but this is a special occasion.

They finally called me Wednesdy evening to offer me the job. The HR lady who likes me had told me to expect the call, and to pretend to be surprised. So I pretended, and needless to say, I accepted! I’ll be starting Monday week, but I still don’t really know what it’s going to involve… other than some amount of programming. I suppose they’ll get to that eventually.

I went to see HP5 Tuesday night with some friends from the theatre. MB bought the tickets ahead of time, and at the last minute a couple of people had dropped out, so I invited Eileen to come along with us. It was pretty good, considering it was the shortest movie so far - and based on the second longest book. They left out ridiculous amounts of stuff, but what was there was good.

In other news, I’m going to see The Complete Works of William Shakespeare (abridged) at the Hippodrome this Saturday. It’ll be the first time I get to see the Cachinnator act; Don Boscoe is also going to be in it, plus a third guy I don’t know. I’m going with MB… Sherry was up for it, but was going to be out of town that day. Also, we’re finally going to have our Music Man intervention this coming Tuesday. Huzzah!

So, I still haven’t heard back on the job I interviewed for over a month ago. There’s a lady in HR who likes me and is rooting for me, so she’s been keeping me up to date on where they are. She asked me for one final piece of paperwork this morning, and said it was the last thing they needed before they can make an offer. Needless to say, I had the form in the mail within five minutes of getting her email (I’m just ready for the waiting to be over, either way). She said I might hear by the end of tomorrow. Please, God, let me hear (preferably a job offer and not a “thanks for applying, but…”).

In the meantime, it’s time for One Acts again. Carlos is directing alone this year, as Mark has moved. He asked me to assistant direct for him, as he’s taking classes. I agreed, as long as I get to do lighting design again (I had fun with that last year). I’m going to be in one called For Whom the Southern Bell Tolls, which is a parody of The Glass Menagerie. There were enough women who tried out (who were good) that he didn’t have to double cast, so that’s the only show I’m in this summer. Some of the men did get double-cast, as (as usual) there were fewer men who tried out than women.

No sign of Kelita this year, though Carlos said Jack knew auditions were coming up; if he hadn’t said that, I would have guessed that she hadn’t checked her email in a while. But we’re getting some old friends back - Mandy (for sure) and Larry (if he can). Yay! Haven’t worked with either of them in a couple of years at least.

For a job, that is. I haven’t had a whole lot of luck, but I did have an interview here in the library Friday before last. They said that they hoped to have the rest of the interviews done by last Friday and make their decision some time this week. It’s now Thursday and I have yet to hear anything, so I’m starting to lose hope. Still, fingers crossed until I know for certain.

I finally finished Tales from Shakespeare on LibriVox, which I’d been working on since March. I didn’t remember them being so dry and dull. The only way I got through was by bribing myself with reading a chapter in a new project every time I managed to finish one of the Tales. The two projects I bribed myself with were What Katy Did at School, which I’ve since finished, and Anne of Green Gables, which I’m about two thirds of the way through. I’m planning on doing another of the Scarlet Pimpernel books next; I’m leaning toward El Dorado, the one where they rescue the Dauphin.

We had a SKVE meeting on Monday and watched How to Steal a Million with Audrey Hepburn and Peter O’Toole. So now we have several new quotes on our SKVE board. And let me just say that Peter O’Toole was hot back then! We still need to have our SKVE Music Man intervention with Regan and Melissa, because we never did get our schedules worked out during Mattress, and they can’t keep going through life without having seen Music Man!

The show ended last Sunday, and now I’m feeling at a bit of a loose end. This is normal; it’ll take me at least a week to get used to it. This is the first show I was in where we had to have stand-ins for three different actors (as opposed to understudies, who are prepared to take over from the beginning of the run). In each case, it was illness in the family of the actor that pulled them away from the show. There was a rumour running around that someone mentioned the name of the Scottish play early on in rehearsals, and that’s why we had so many problems; others said it hadn’t actually been mentioned, just talked about without using the name. Lise mentioned something about “reverse luck” or “reverse superstition”; I can’t remember her exact phrasing, but the idea was that we’d been really careful to observe all the usual theatrical superstitions, such as not whistling in the theatre, not mentioning the name of the Scottish play, etc, and still ended up with awful luck.
We had one fabulous audience the second weekend, that was everything one could wish for in an audience; responsive, not afraid to laugh aloud, enthusiastic… and, of course, every audience after that seemed a let-down (though there was one that would have seemed dull even without that comparison. Good grief, it was like pulling teeth to get any sort of reaction out of them!).

I’ve pretty much given up trying to find a grown-up job in Waco. I heard back (unofficially) on one of the two remaining applications I had in at Baylor, that it had been offered to someone else. So, since most of the family is now in So. Cal. (Alondra and the boys moved up to join Paul and Mum last weekend!) and not planning on moving to OK, as they had been for a while, I’ve started applying for jobs in the Pacific states, to be closer to them. I’ve been looking at jobs in universities in Washington, Oregon and Northern California. I always did say that if I ended up leaving Waco, I’d like to move somewhere with a cooler climate. I’ve got four applications in so far, and that’s just in Washington, some in teaching and some in IT. We’ll see how it goes.

It all started around quarter to nine when the power went out across most of campus. We could hear sirens of some sort going past fairly close, and there was a rumour flying that someone had knocked over a pole… but then we heard that the fire-engines and EMTs were over at the SLC… so who knows. They never did announce what had caused the problem (the PTB’s at BU aren’t terribly good with communication).

So, we just sat in the dark at the ref desk and chatted and listened to my radio (thank goodness the batteries which have been in there for the past… ooh… three years? at least! still worked!). Not that there was any relevant news on, so we just listened to the oldies station. For an hour and a half. In the dark.

As if that weren’t enough to make the day weird, just as I was getting my stuff together to go home (that would have been right around 4:30pm), the tornado sirens went off, and we were all ordered into the basement. I grumbled,  but I went.

There was a small group of us standing around grumbling by the door to the stairwell, when we saw one of the downstairs staff members heading out the door. E asked her why she was leaving, and she said they’d had a tv on in the back, and the tornado was down near Moody (south of our area, and way south of home, for me).

Well, that decided us; it was time for us to go home, and darned if we were going to stay for a tornado that was down in Moody! But we weren’t as brave as L, to leave through the front door, so we snuck round the back, and took the service stairs up to the first floor, and then started across to our building… but our unit leader was at the circulation desk! Darn it! So back into the stairwell and up to the second floor, then across the breezeway to our building and down and out our front door! Phew! Man, we should have been spies! We would have aced the covertness tests… except for the giggling.

Anyway, it took me about twenty minutes to get home (five minutes usually), because the freeway was clogged, and I decided to take a shortcut, which also ended up having fairly heavy traffic. But still, home safe, if a little damp. We may not have had any tornadoes in my area, but it was raining pretty good! The lawn between my building and the next was turning into a lake; the drainage ditch outside the complex had overflowed its banks, as had the Brazos; and my apartment windows got a good rinse, because at times, the water was falling horizontally (this despite the three foot overhang of the roof).

I kept the tv on the weather reports most of the evening, just to be certain, but all we got in my area was thunder, lightning and rain. And that was plenty, let me tell you.

Sadly, the bad weather meant that rehearsal got cancelled, and we also decided to reschedule our SKVE night/intervention. Just as well, I suppose. With so much water on the roads (even after the storm passed), it was safer not to be driving on them.

As if to mock the previous day, yesterday was gorgeous! And today’s shaping up to be more of the same. It’s like Nature had a hissy fit on Friday, then took a nap and woke up all sunshine and smiles.