Everyone Deserves a Voice!

Dr. Deschler operated on my husband and is an excellent doctor and a wonderful person. Please click on the link below and contribute to the Deschler Fund at Mass. Eye and Ear! Thanks!

From Mass Eye and Ear:
Everyone deserves a voice. Check out this video today (www.toth.com/merrychristmas) and you’ll be donating to the work Mass. Eye and Ear’s own head and neck surgeon Dr. Daniel Deschler. Each time the video is viewed through New Year’s Day, Toth Brand Imaging will donate $1 (up to maximum of $10,000) to the Deschler Fund at Mass. Eye and Ear for Laryngeal Cancer. Michael Toth, president of Toth Brand Imaging, is Dr. Deschler’s patient. He had laryngeal cancer. He credits Dr. Deschler with saving his life. Michael created this holiday greeting to help give everyone a voice because he no longer has one. He and his employees think everyone deserves a voice so they are raising money for Dr. Deschler’s fund. Support our mission! Send along to family and friends and spread the cheer!

The 12 Days of MBTA

On the 1st day of Christmas the MBTA gave to me, 1 grimey pole!
On the 2nd day of Christmas the MBTA gave to me, 2 frost bitten toes!
On the 3rd day of Christmas the MBTA gave to me, 3 busses too full to stop!
On the 4th day of Christmas the MBTA gave to me, 4 medical testing ads!
On the 5th day of Christmas the MBTA gave to me, 5 blasting iPods!
On the 6th day of Christmas the MBTA gave to me, 6 red lights!
On the 7th day of Christmas the MBTA gave to me, 7 seats occupied by shopping bags!
On the 8th day of Christmas the MBTA gave to me, 8 seconds to read my monthly pass!
On the 9th day of Christmas the MBTA gave to me, 9 bottles rolling around the floor!
On the 10th day of Christmas the MBTA gave to me, 10 discarded Metros!
On the 11th day of Christmas the MBTA gave to me, 11 coughing passengers!
On the 12th day of Christmas the MBTA gave to me, 12 minute stall between South Station & Downtown Crossing!

Getting Satisfaction from what Tiger Does... Just Another Day at the Office

This ad is currently running on DiversityInc's site.

This is just as good as the Taylor Hicks mishap.

Nothing is going to keep people away from today's sales at Macy's

Well, I hope no one's waiting around for this bone marrow...

(Updated to add that the sign says, "Human Bone Marrow. Do not XRay.")
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I'd like to interrupt my blogging break...

to state that Tiger Woods is a stupid son of a bitch.

High Five, Seltzer Boy!

8 oz cans of Polar Seltzer are now available!
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Moving Day

Jim and Nancy are getting used to their new home.
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Costume Advice: How to Dress Like a Librarian

(This was originally posted last October; however, I'm starting to get a lot of hits for librarian costumes, and thought I'd post this entry again.)

I've been getting a lot of hits recently by people searching for "how to dress like a librarian." Will there be a lot of librarians trick-or-treating this year? My guess is that most people dressing as librarians will go for the "hot librarian" vs. "dowdy librarian" look. It's been my experience, that real-life librarians fall somewhere in the middle of these 2 stereotypes. That is, we don't look like we'll give you a spanking you'll enjoy and we also don't look like a character from the Revenge of the Nerds movies. As a librarian, I'm not going to offer any thoughts on how to dress like the "your book is overdue and I'm going to have to take you behind the stacks and make a man out of you" librarian. No one needs help on how to dress like a ho. I do, however, have some advice for those of you who plan to dress like your mother's librarian, since there are a handful of those keeping the stereotype alive and well.

Wear a lanyard, and attach as much crap to it as possible: t pass, work badge, several keys...

Don't wear glasses that you think are cute or vintage. Wear glasses similar to those that Angela used to rock on "Who's the Boss?"

Wear book-themed jewelry

And finally, wear sensible shoes.

You Know You're in Southie...

When you see this sign in a storefront. How cute!
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Oatmeal

You know you're getting older when you eat oatmeal for breakfast because it's a "smart choice" rather than because you enjoy it. One more thing about oatmeal: if you cover up the Quaker Oat man's white bushy hair, you can see actually what my grandpa looked like!
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Hands off my pot!

Last night around 2:30, there was a terrible smash outside our window. By the time we located our glasses the stunods who caused the the noise had fled, but we were able to make out that one of the building's ceramic flower pots had been smashed to bits and the flowers and dirt were strewn all over the sidewalk. Those flowers are carefully maintained by two women in our building, who enthusiastically tend to our little garden area on the weekends. Just now as I was leaving the house, I noticed that several other people's pots had been smashed too (like the example in the photo.). Smashing a mailbox or a window is terrible, of course, but to take the time to deliberately destroy nature is pretty low. People can be real jerks sometimes.
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Otto Titsling, Inventor and Kraut

When I first came to live in Boston, it was to attend BC in 1997. Almost immediately, I was struck by how many redheads there were. Honestly, now it sounds ridiculous, but I could only think of maybe 1 or 2 people from my high school that had naturally red hair. I had also never met people my age who went to church without being dragged along by their parents, and was surprised how many students attended the special Sunday night freshman campus mass. Eventually the newness of being surrounded by church-going redheads wore off, and I found something else to admire from afar: the Boston accent.

My history TA freshman year had an Irish surname, a thick head of red hair and an even thicker accent. I forget the context in which he said it, but on the first day of class he mentioned something about Karl Marx and it was music to my ears. "I am in Boston, and I love it," I remember thinking.

Five years later, I started working the 10-6 shift at a company in Norwood. There was a friendly German security guard who introduced himself as Ott. "Have a nice night, Ott," I'd say when I left for the evening. I'm not sure how long I had been there, before someone pointed out to me that Ott was neither short for Otto nor of German heritage. Art was short for Arthur, a retired Boston policeman and thankfully, very good-natured about the misunderstanding.

Now, after living and working in Boston since originally coming here for college, I like to think that the novelty of hearing the accent has worn off. For the most part it has; however, sometimes I hear someone (like I did this morning) that takes me back to freshmen history class and Kahl Mahx.

Tums, Fig Newtons, & Altoids, oh my!

Time for my three o'clock snack... Gonna have to go with the Fig Newtons. This has got to be the world's most depressing snack drawer.
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Today's Lunch

If I don't pack Nick's lunch for him, one of the 1st things I ask him is, What did you have for lunch today? It's a simple question, but I find it interesting. Maybe because lunch is usually my favorite meal, since sandwiches are frequently involved. Here's today's lunch: turkey & cheese on a potato roll and an Orange Creme yogurt. (I also had some Fig Newtons, but ate them before I thought to take a photo.) I hope everyone has a great lunch! What did you have?
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Today's New Thing

I walked to work this morning! It took me 39 minutes door to office chair (including a stop at DD for my coffee.) It was a great way to start the day! I definitely didn't miss waiting at the bus stop and watching 3 packed buses fly by... Plus, walking down Summer St, through Fort Point and over the bridge towards South Station always reminds me how much I love Boston.
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Oink Oink, We'll Be Pigs!

On Saturday evening, Nick, Joe (his dad) and I returned from a wonderful 10-day trip to Europe. The main purpose of the trip was to visit Joe's paternal & maternal relatives in Croatia; however, we tried to see and do as much as 10 days would allow. We had such a fantastic trip, and I especially want to thank my svekar (father-in-law) for acting as our fearless vodič (guide)and translator!

Wednesday, August 5th

Waiting to board our Lufthansa flight to Frankfurt in Logan

Thursday, August 6th

Exhausted after flying all night here Nick is filling up somewhere in Germany. Following this, we ate our 1st authentic German meal at Burger King.

Friday, August 7th

Salzburg

Saturday, August 8th

Dinner with Joe's cousin Nada. Nada was so much fun and became our travel companion for the next several days.

Sunday, August 9th

Zagreb

Monday, August 10th

Dubrovnik

Tueday, August 11th

Plitvička Jezera

Plitvička Jezera

Wednesday, August 12th

Pašman



Zadar


Thursday, August 13th

Three generations of Priselacs! Visiting with Joe's uncle Yanko near Zagreb- I can see the resemblance!

Friday, August 14th

Driving to Munich

To visit Annette & Christian, who prepared us an authentic German feast!

Jacob & Martha helped :)

Joe & Nick loved this car in our hotel's parking garage in Munich

Saturday, August 15

I think even Nick is sad to drop of our Citroen Picasso at the Frankfurt Airport

What a great trip! Now, back to reality...

Victoria's Soxret

I haven't had to pay for underwear in a long time. So, after receiving not 1, but 2 free panty coupons in the mail while we were away, I popped into Victoria's Secret during lunch to redeem my complimentary undies. As soon as I walked into the store, I saw the following display:

Pink Hat haters Beware

Now women can pick up some Sox gear, while bra shopping. My guess is that all those "real fans" who freak out when they see a pink baseball cap, probably won't be too thrilled about the Victoria's Secret branded Red Sox shirts with glitter and hearts. I didn't buy a shirt, but think they're kind of cute. As a woman, it's nice to have the option of buying a t-shirt that was designed with your figure in mind.

When You Hear the Word 'Heiny'

Do you think of the color green, or a rear end?

I have to go with the latter; however, the folks at JanSport disagree.

My company is putting together back-to-school supplies for The Home for Little Wanderers, and associates can help by purchasing specific items requested by The Home. My request slip asks that I purchase a green JanSport backpack. I figured a green backpack would be simple enough, but this request is proving more difficult than I thought.

I expected JanSport to offer packs in the ROYGBIV variety, with a couple of "rose" and "turquoise" colors thrown in for good measure. I didn't expect a list that included Blue Paisley Skull and Fiji Orange, but not green. There's not even a hunter green or an emerald. The closest I can find is something called heiny.

heh... heh... you said, Heiny...

Not to make a stink, but isn't heiny a polite word for butt? And if heiny were a color, I'd at least expect it to resemble something that could be a skin tone that wasn't found on Mars.

Should I buy this pack? I think it might be too green, but I'm having trouble locating a more subtle shade of the JanSport variety.

This is one tough case to crack.

Trying Not to Judge a Country by its Bathroom

One thing that has impressed me about Croatia is that no matter if you're at a fancy restaurant, a gas station off the expressway or in a small cafe in a village the rest rooms are immaculate. We've spent a ton of time in our mighty Citroen, and have had a lot of WC breaks; all of the facilities have been "dobro." (That's good to you and me.)
Meanwhile, we just stopped in Slovenia. The area had a cute little cart that sold baked goods and little bottles of Cockta. (Cockta is a Slovenian soft drink that tastes like Red Bull.) The WCs were in a little building off the side of the main area and a rusty door opened to a hole in the floor. I don't mind squatting over a hole; however, the area surrounding the hole was half an inch thick in caked dirt, urine and other unsavory substances. As I squatted over the hole, I thought that if my shoes slipped and I fell down into the sludge in some cruel twist of fate that no amount of soap would be able to cleanse my skin.
Thankfully, I made it out without incident and wondered if the men's room was as gross as the women's. I didn't even get a chance to ask, because while walking back to the car I heard my father-in-law tell Nick, "I found myself trying to piss faster just so I could get the hell out of there quicker. Holy sh*t."
Unlike Germany, Austria and Croatia, I can't say I enjoyed my "visit" in Slovenia.
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Fahrvergnugen

Well, we landed in Frankfurt safe and sound and we're currently en route to Salzburg. My father-in-law had arranged to rent a high-end BMW for our trip since we're going to be spending so much time in the car. We'll be driving from Frankfurt to Salzburg through Slovenia and then all around Croatia to Munich and finally back to Frankfurt on the 15th. All Nick could talk about was the opportunity to drive on the Autobahn in the BMW. Fast forward to present time where we're now stalled in traffic in a French minivan, because Sixt Rental Cars told us that luxury rental vehicles are not allowed to cross into Slovenia due to high rates of theft. Nick is the only one who drives standard (we're stalled again and getting flipped off outside the airport parking lot) and he hasn't driven a standard car since 2002. Wish us luck!!
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2 Down, 7 to Go

A couple of years ago, I was down with my family in Rhode Island and we were all sitting in the family room after dinner. All of a sudden, we heard a terrible screech, a hiss and then silence. We all rushed to the back porch to find some feathers and fur. Our cat, Carmen, was nowhere to be seen. The next day; however, she came home looking no worse for the wear.
On Thursday, poor Carmen was the victim of a hit and run. My parents brought her to the vet, who was fortunately able to save most of her. Her tail is now a memory. Carmen is a survivor though, and my mom said she's eating heartily and isn't letting a small detail like a missing tail slow her down.
As my parents were rushing to the vet on Thursday, my dad called to let them know they were on their way. After calling the main number, there was a prompt that said Press 1 if this is an emergency, if not please stay on the line. My dad punched 1 and explained to the receptionist that his cat had been hit by a car and he and my mom were rushing her in to see the vet. The receptionist told him that his reason for calling wasn't considered an emergency and that they need to keep the line open for real emergencies... If a cat getting hit by a car doesn't qualify as an emergency, I'd hate to see the poor animals that do have qualifying emergency injuries.
I wish Carmen a restful and speedy recovery!
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Lulu, little Lulu, With Freckles on Her Chin

When it comes to workout gear, I tend to look at the Macy's sales rack, Target, and Sierra Trading Post's Bargain Barn. I hate paying full price for workout clothing, except for footwear. Never skimp on running shoes or hiking boots; there, you've been warned. The problem is that I love to shop for workout clothing, and now that I've been attending yoga classes 3-4 times a week I have been exposed to a new wonderful world of colorful and comfortable athletic attire.

I had been admiring a certain high-end yoga inspired clothing line for awhile; however, I couldn't justify paying $90 for a pair of black stretchy pants. Then, a few weeks ago, I noticed that they were looking for part-time work, so I decided to apply. I figured between the store discount and other job perks (free classes) that it would be pretty great, as far as 2nd jobs go. I have worked at Dunkin Donuts, a bagel store, the HoneyBaked Ham Company store (for 1 day... that's another blog post), and about 20 English language schools, but never in retail, so I was mildly surprised when I received an email asking if I could come in for a group interview.

I had been wondering how many people would be in the interview, but there was just one other applicant; a woman in flowing scarves, beaded earrings & a canvas tote. At this point, having come dressed from my day job in a pencil skirt and blouse, I knew I was in trouble.

The store manager took us to a quiet part of the mall and explained that she had a list of questions she wanted to ask and that she hoped we would feel like we were simply getting to know each other. In the end, the more I got to know the other applicant, the more I wanted to strangle her with her thrifted scarf. The conversation went pretty much like this...

Manager (turning to me): So, how do you like to stay healthy?
Me: Well, try to walk as much as possible and not eat too much junk. Also, I exercise on a regular basis. Running, yoga, golf... that sort of thing.
2nd Applicant: Oh, well, my family owns an organic farm north of Boston and I spent a lot of time working on the land. It's a lot of sweat and hard work, but I love it! The farm, by the way, is also a CSA, which is just an incredible way to bring people together!

Manager (again, to me. Somehow, I went first every single time): We encourage our employees to set goals for themselves. Where do you see yourself in 5 years?
Me: Hmm, well, hopefully my family is healthy and happy. Possibly my husband and I will have a child or 2...
2nd Applicant: OK, so I am applying for a Fulbright and hope to eventually open a cultural center for disadvantaged Boston youth.
Me: Oh... a Fulbright! That's impressive!
2nd Applicant: How old are you?!
Me: Um, I'll be 30 in July.
2nd Applicant: Well, you're too old to apply for one... but it is an excellent opportunity to do some good in the world.

Manager: What was the last book you read?
Me: The 2nd Harry Potter book... I'm re-reading the series.
2nd Applicant: I just finished reading a book written by one of the first female Buddhist monks. It's incredibly fascinating.

Manager: We hope all of our employees are open to giving and receiving feedback. What was the last feedback you received?
At this point, I decided to go for broke.
Me: During yoga class today, while I was in Cobra, my teacher told me to relax my buttocks.
(beat)
2nd Applicant: Hmmm, well last night my boyfriend and I were talking... We try and have at least one meaningful conversation a night... And, anyway, he told me that he's noticed that most of my friendships are based on me reaching out to others in need and that he thinks I should have relationships where there's more equal give and take.

Mercifully, the "conversation" ended soon after that and I went home to re-examine my lifestyle, while applicant number 2 probably went to volunteer at a soup kitchen and then poop a bouquet of roses. Needless to say, I received an email the next day thanking me for my time, but that I wasn't quite the right fit for the job.

15 Books that Will Always Stick with this Librarian

Sometime last week, I read Rhea's post called, 15 Books that Will Always Stick with Me and decided that I wanted to give the exercise a whirl. It wasn't hard to think of 15 books that will stick with me; however, it was harder than I thought to add some explanation as to why they would. Sometimes, I have a specific memory associated with a book, and sometimes a book will just stick with me because it's just so good. I tried to elaborate where possible, but in some instances I have no other recommendations than to read the book. Below is the post's explanation that was posted on Rhea's original entry:

A friend gave me an assignment: List fifteen books you’ve read that will always stick with you. Write down the first 15 you can recall in no more than 15 minutes. So that’s what I did. If you care to join in, please feel free to link to this post and write about YOUR 15 books!

Interpreter of Maladies: Well-written short stories that draw you in completely. I think I read this in one sitting.

Les Miserables: In 9th grade, we read this abridged version and I've since re-read it several times. I'd like to say that I've graduated to the unabridged version; however, Hugo tends to take 15 pages to describe a doorknob... I cried when Jean Valjean died.

Love in the Time of Cholera: As a Spanish language and literature major, this was one of my favorites. Florentino Ariza is a true romantic that needs some heavy therapy.

100 Years of Solitude: This book is worth it for the last sentence alone. Also, I cried the entire last chapter.

The Shining: I read this book one summer while I was away at tennis camp. In retrospect, it's not a good idea for a 13 year old to read this book while alone in a poorly lit dorm room. I scared myself senseless.

Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix: Best HP book, in my opinion. JK Rowling is a fantastic story-teller. I'm re-reading the series for the third time now.

Caddie Woodlawn: My dad used to read this book to me at night, maybe a chapter at a time. The story is fun, and my dad is a gifted narrator. This book brings back nice memories.

Ox Cart Man: I used to love poring over the illustrations in this book. It actually won the Caldecott Medal.

The Finer Points of Sausage Dogs: The 1st chapter in this book is one of the funniest I have ever read. The protagonist, Professor Doctor Moritz-Maria von Igelfeld, is also one of my favorite literary characters.

Naked: I wish I could write like David Sedaris; however, my family would probably disown me if I tried.

The Lovely Bones: I actually did not like this book, but it will always stick with me because I had to stop reading it halfway through because I was sobbing so hard I became nervous.

The Purple Pussycat: My mom taught me to read using this book. I vividly remember sitting with her on our old green flowered coach and sounding out each word. I also remember that the word "something" used to trip me up each time. Like Caddie Woodlawn, this book also bring back good memories.

Summer of my German Soldier: One of my faves as a teen. I always looked for the sequel, but could never seem to find it in bookstores or the library. I'm still tempted to order a copy online.

1000 Splendid Suns: A great story, that was probably predictable to everyone but me. I loved the ending (and cried like a baby.)

The Berenstain Bears and Too Much TV: There's one line in this book that goes something like, "The Bear family used to have lively conversations at the dinner table, but not lately. Lately, they just sat around and chewed." To this day, we'll still say that line if there's a lull in the dinner conversation and it always gets a laugh.

Sweet Pickles series: My mom ordered me the Sweet Pickles series, and sometimes I'd peek out our front window in hopes of spotting the Sweet Pickles van dropping off the books. (Just like in the old commercial.)

Long Weekend Wrap Up

I hope everyone had a great holiday weekend! Nick and I headed down to Rhode Island Thursday evening and met up with my family and our friends at Pizza Place in Westerly. The pizza here is fantastic, but I think the best menu item is the Gorgonzola salad. On Friday morning, my mom, Carolyn, and I headed off to Heart of Avondale for an early morning yoga class, because we're on top of it like that. Then, after a quick lunch, we played 9 holes at a par 3 course. The winner of that outing was definitely Carolyn who played the "oh, I don't really play golf" card and then proceeded to kick our butts. :)

Saturday morning, Nick and I got up at 6:45 in order to make an 8:30 tee time at Beaver River in Richmond, RI. This course is well-maintained, economical & wins for cutest logo ever. July 4th is not only Independence Day, but also my dad's birthday! Nick, David & I got him a pair of shooting glasses from Cabela's.

Dad doing his best Bono impression

Here are some other scenes from the 4th

The Flying Horse Carousel in Watch Hill

I enjoy reading, Boston sports & long walks here

Nick & I checked out the local real estate- a little small for our taste

This cake was delicious & patriotic

While driving home from dinner Saturday night, we pulled over on the side of the road to watch the amazing fireworks display put on by the (use your fancy voice) Misquamicut Club. Despite the fact that we weren't inside the grounds hobnobbing with Muffy & Bunny, I doubt their view of the display was any better.

We reluctantly packed our bags and headed home around 9 last night. What a wonderful weekend!

Life's Simple Pleasures

Sitting down to a homemade dinner, a cold Corona and the Sox. Ahhhhh.
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Memphis is the team Thabeet

Well, not really because they're terrible, but congrats are in order for the #2 NBA Draft Pick, Hasheem Thabeet!

Thabeet's not that tall- he's just in 24" heels...

Hasheem Thabeet joins former UConn player Rudy Gay in Memphis.

There's a great photo gallery posted on Courant.com that showcases former UConn draft picks. I was happy to a rare photo of my all-time favorite player, Doron Sheffer.

I even named my first car Doron, and I drove it into the ground. Nick finally convinced me to get a new car while we were dating, and in retrospect it was the smart thing to do. Doron was dented & scratched, had 1 hubcap, the side paneling was missing from 1 side, a spring had burst through the driver's seat and poked me in the rear end while I drove (I defended that by saying it kept me alert), and the A/C couldn't be used if there was a passenger in the front seat because it leaked all over the floor... Oh, somehow the dashboard lighting died and rather than pay $300 for the fix, I drove around guesstimating my nighttime speed for 3 years...

Nick told me that in auditor-speak Doron was a material weakness; however, I loved that car and still miss it.

Doron on the day I left him in the Ford lot...

I ended up leasing a Ford Focus for 2 years after this, and Ford paid a whooping $300 for the trade-in.

Lunchtime Impulse Buy

Hey, gold is a smart investment these days
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