The Not-So-Secret Diary of a Bad Luck Girl

At the last minute, MB decided to go to this conference in Chicago. He was hesitant at first because of finances, but then he got paid for this consulting gig, and I encouraged him to go. I knew I’d miss him like crazy, but he hasn’t been to a conference in so long. Plus it’s a good opportunity for networking.

I didn’t have a lot of plans, just a photography outing with YP on Saturday. The theme this month was “self-portraits,” one of my bright ideas, which was hard to do, especially for someone with short arms. Neither of us were too enthusiastic, and ended up taking just a few pictures. Last month’s theme of “food” was better.

Aside from that I ran a bunch of errands: Whole Foods, the drugstore, the Container Store, the Asian grocery store. Dropped off laundry, cleaned the fridge, cleaned the stove. Got rid of my old shredder finally. MB has a smaller one so we definitely don’t need two.

Did some reorganizing using my purchases, folding mesh cubes, from the Container Store. I love them because they’re flexible so you can squeeze lots of oddly shaped things in them (like shoes), and if you’re not using them, you can just fold them up and hide then away. But I always forget how to refold them. It’s like origami.

Worked on homework a bunch. For Collection Development we have this annoying subject analysis assignment. For the library of our choice, we have to map out all the subject headings, including Library of Congress of Dewey Decimal classification, and then rate then according to the ALA codes in terms of depth and intensity.

I’m just going to wing it in terms of the ratings – I mean, who’ll know if they’re correct or not? – but I’m being a stickler about the LC headings. Do I dare say that I’m kind of enjoying looking up all the headings and subheadings and assigning neat little numbers? I guess that’s why I signed up for this gig in the first place.

My Thursday class, People Centered Methods and Design, is cancelled this week since we had an extra class earlier in the semester. Last week’s class was good. At first I dreaded it because I thought we’d have to present our projects again, but the professor just gave us feedback on the reports we had handed in earlier in the week.

Early on I was really doubtful about my project. Everyone else’s was so artsy – a dream archive with dreams depicted in sketches, creating an interface for a repository of digital photos, some type of exhibit in which the person would be attached to various strings and people could pull on those strings, which I guess demonstrates phenomenology, which I’ve only recently begun to understand as having to do with not just thinking or existing in a vaccum (“I think therefore I am”) but existing in the context of a “universe,” reacting to and acting in that universe, and in relation to other people (I know: hunh?).

In comparison mine was so pragmatic: creating a resource, like a wikipedia, to help people to learn corp speak and corporate language, skills that one must have to succeed in the corporate world but which are never acknowledged (only “good communication skills” in a general way).

But I think the professor actually likes my project. He gets exicted when we talk about it while with the others he either sort of rolls his eyes, or presses people to be more specific and concrete. In the beginning he was like, “Go with it!” to the people with artsier projects, but I guess since they are still so abstract, he feels they haven’t progressed as much.

This weekend I also did some reading at the NYPL. It’s out of the way from my place, but I love the quiet of the reading rooms, unlike cafes where people are yakking and there’s coffee spillage and crumbs. Nearby is the International Center of Photography. One of the exhibits there now is Weird Beauty: Fashion Photography Now, which was, needless to say, very weird but also fascinating. It’s funny how you can see those photos in a magazine and think, Whatevs, but seeing them displayed together was really interesting.

MB is back tomorrow. Yay!

These past two days were our leadership team meeting, which consists of the team leaders giving updates on their teams’ activities and projects, as well as some guest speakers to talk about other parts of the company.

It was very long and sometimes boring but also sometimes interesting. This department is much less bullshitty than my old department. I think there’s an inverse correlation between the amount of bullshit in a department and the amount of money it makes – i.e., the less money it makes, the more bullshit it spouts.

Sales folks are pretty bullshitty too, but in a different way. It’s that overly chummy talk talk talk. In my department, procurement, it’s all about saving money and buying stuff like boxes and renting furniture, and so the bullshit factor is pretty low. Finally, marketing, which spends money like water with no measurable ROI, is the grande dame of bullshit. Marketers love to hear themselves talk, and will argue for the sake of arguing, whether or not it helps the situation. If they’re not in meetings, they feel like they’re not working. My old boss would drag out a meeting to 40 minutes even if the issue was resolved in 10.

Anyway, since my current boss, the department leader’s sort of director of operations, arranged the meeting, I spent a lot of time helping him by working the A/V and passing the mike around when questions came up, like Phil Donahue. I actually like that meeting planning kind of work so I didn’t mind. Also it got my blood flowing – sitting for so long is tough.

So now I don’t feel like doing anything! I do have a couple of tasks to complete, but no big deal.

This weekend at my parents’ was fine. They had a lot of questions for MB about their entertainment center, and he was very patient helping them out, despite the fact that he had actual work to do. At a point, I finally said, “Okay, work time!” and my mom got the idea, but my dad didn’t. Or he didn’t hear. Either way he kept asking questions, even after my mom and I were both like, “Enough! He has to work now!”

My mom will be going with me to West Side Story. Turns out my dad wasn’t interested. Should be fun.

Class tonight, blah. But before class a professor from June’s e-publishing class in London will be speaking so I’ll check that out. This weekend, photo shoot with YP, then class on Sunday. I can’t believe it’s almost April, which means my birthday is approaching and I’ll be another year closer to the big 4-0.

Oy.

This spring break I haven’t gotten much homework done, but I’ve TCOB on a few things.

A bit of spring cleaning. I needed to pull out my tax stuff, which was in my hard-to-reach box o’ files, so I rearranged things a bit in the apartment. Also dusted, filed away papers that had been sitting around forever, got rid of copies of manuscripts which I don’t need anymore. Still need to shred though.

MB and I also finally cashed in on all this change that’s been building up for a year. 200 smackers! It was all his since I spend my change regularly. Guys seem to always dump coinage until there is a giant pile. Guess that’s the advantage of having a purse.

Taxes. Filed them on Wednesday. I was nervous, but it turns out I’m getting an unexpectedly hefty return. I should be in school every year!

London trip. I reserved my room a while back, and this week bought the plane tickets. When I checked prices a few weeks ago, they were $900 round-trip – now they’re about $720. I guess they could go down even more, but almost-$200 seems pretty good to me. My room, which is a single in a dorm with a twin bed and not much else, is about $50 a night, including breakfast. Not too bad.

Post-graduation splurge. Also known as an excuse to spend too much on tickets to the Broadway revival of West Side Story. I know it’s cheesy – pirouetting street gangs, the whole Romeo and Juliet thing – but it’s one of my favorite musicals. The dancing gives me goose bumps, and I cry like an idiot at all the same parts.

I got two tickets though I’m not sure who will go with me. MB is not into musicals so I was thinking of taking my dad, who really enjoyed Chicago. It would be like a belated Father’s Day gift.

Getting in a ‘rents visit. MB and I are going down tonight, back tomorrow night. My parents are going to be gone for most of next month on a trip to China. Then at the end of May/beginning of June, they’re off to L.A. to help with my grandmother and of course see my bro. And they just recently got back from San Francisco! What jet setters they are.

My parents were in Berkeley last week dealing with my grandmother’s house. My grandmother hasn’t lived there for some time, but there’s still all this stuff to get rid of before they sell it.

My dad just sent me this email, summing up their trip:

We just got back from Berkeley last Thursday night. From Feb 26 to March 5, half of the time at Berkeley was raining. However, I took the advantage of the other half, usually sunny, walking to UC campus, places I, as well as both of Mom and I lived – all of them are still there. I even went to SF once and bought some cheap CDs.

I like how he needs to qualify that they were cheap CDs. My parents love a sale!

Aunt Dana and Uncle Jack came last Saturday and took us to Oakland for lunch and we also went to Oakland once on our own and having an inexpensive good lunch. Some friends from Concord also visit us last Monday and having a good lunch at Berkeley downtown and their Beijging duck was very, surprisingly, good. We also had a good lunch at Berkeley’s well known Taiwanese food restaurant on University Ave. The last day there we had pizza from the so called bay area’s best pizza place, Giola (or something like that) near Grandma’s house off Sacramento Ave.

Guess I know where I got my penchant for detailing good eats. He goes on,

Besides all these eating, of course we finished the main purpose for being there, to pack and clean all the stuff in the house and stored them in the basement and garage.

In the evening there is no TV and Mom usually watch Korean TV dramas – we brought with us a DVD player and some DVDs and I always went to bed at my usual Eastern time.

Gee, Dad, you should start a blog!

In other news, MB and I finally saw Coraline this weekend. We really liked it, and the people weren’t too annoying. On Sunday I had my Collection Developement midterm, and it was cake. Afterwards we each met with the professor. He was pleased with my library profile, except that the selection strategies need to be more specific, as well as the test.

Thursday my People Centered Methods and Design class went well too. I was dreading it because I had to talk about my project, and also because the class can get really pretentious. Actually it’s just one guy who constantly name drops “big” philosophers and philosophies, and says things like, “I’m dead inside,” and “I don’t dream.” 1) Yes, I can tell you’re suffering beyond your nice clothes and good haircut and beer gut, and 2) everybody dreams! It’s just that not everyone remembers their dreams.

Anyway, besides suffering through him talking, class was fine. People actually seemed interested in my project. I guess I feel insecure in a class like that.

Today I need to get a check in pounds for my deposit for housing in London. You’d think they’d be set up in PayPal or something. I could have called but I can’t dial internationally on my cell or work phone. So either I need a phone card, or I get a check. Right now the check is sounding easier.

You know when you put in “listicle” in Google, they suggest “testicle”?

Anyway, suddenly it seems I have a billion things to do, and what better to help me organize than a trusty list.

Jury duty questionnaire. If you follow me (the real me that is) on Twitter, you have followed the engrossing saga of the jury dury questionnaire I thought I lost. I attempted to get another copy via the very lame New York Jury Duty commission or whatever it’s called. I called – no answer. I emailed and got a reply that said, “Please call.” I called again, several times, and every time it said that all the operators were busy, you can’t leave a message, and you can’t wait on hold. Wtf?

But luckily last night I found said questionnaire, and it turns out I don’t have to do jury duty right now since the last time was within 6 years. Score! Not that I mind jury duty. Last time I just waited around in a room for two days, drinking coffee, and writing. I still got paid by my job, and received a stipend as well.

School. This Sunday I have my midterm for Collection Development, which shouldn’t be bad. But last week we all found out the professor expects our library profiles with selection strategies as well. We have these folders that we put assignments in, and he was very surprised to see that none of them had library profiles.

Well, he never said when they were due exactly, and we were all thrown for a loop that he expected then this Sunday.

I switched mine late in the game so I have a bit to catch up on. For example, I’m not sure what he means by selection strategies and how these are different from goals and objectives. Whatevs. I’ll just do my best.

Oh yeah, and I got into that London program in June. No huge surprise since they were practically begging people to apply. Now the question is if I get a scholarship.

Taxes. Crap, I can’t believe it’s tax time already. My goal is to get them done over spring break, which is the week of 3/16. Best to make an appointment soon.

What’s different this year is that I’ve paid for school and I’m not sure how that works. Do I get a break, or do I get taxed on tuition reimbursement? Also, I gave away a shitload of clothes when I moved. Hopefully that’ll add up to more than the standard deductible.

Travel. I’m itching to squeeze in a trip to L.A. and see the family (and drag MB along of course), but I don’t know when. We’re both off from school later this month, but that may be too rushed. May is a thought, after I’m done with the semester, but MB might go to Europe for a conference. June I’m in London, so that leaves sometime over the summer, I guess.

Oh, and I suppose I should book my London flights soon as well. Yay, London!