Work Update

I have a job interview on Friday.

For a librarian position.

Wish me luck.

Graduation, Japanese Food, Rant

Hey....So, I know I haven't been writing real posts in a while.  So, I thought I'd pop back in to update everyone on how things are going.  First, 31 Days of Halloween is a bust.  I tried, but I've just got too much going on to keep up with a creative post every day.  So, um...I apologize in advance to anyone who was looking forward to that.  It's over for the year.

I've not been posting much because life has not been that exciting.  I mean, I'm enjoying it, but it's not really something you post on your blog about, you know what I mean?  But, I do have a few big things to announce.  In August, I got my MLIS, so I am officially a librarian (in educational status only).  In job title, I'm still doing the same thing I was doing before.  BUT...there have been some postings in my area, so I'm applying for jobs and will keep y'all posted if something comes up.  Right now, though, I've not heard anything.

In other news, there is a guy I'm somewhat interested in.  He comes to a lot of my library programming, so I see him at least once a month.  Sometimes more.  And he's super sweet, my  parents have met him and they like him (although I don't know if he knows those are my parents....).  Yeah, so I finally sent him a friend request on Facebook.  And we've talked a bit.  But, mostly, I'm the one initiating everything.  So, I can't really say that he's interested in me.  But, he's cute, sweet, a hard-worker, and he's Catholic.  So, I'm keeping my fingers crossed.  Let's just hope that he also loves anime and we'll be good to go.

But, in all seriousness, I'm not really sure that he's interested.  Conversations fizzle out pretty fast, and he never starts them.  Doesn't sound too interested to me.  But, that's okay.  I'm not head-over-heels myself, either. 

Since I'm now out of school (and still single) I've been picking up new hobbies.  One of which is Asian cooking (mostly Japanese).  I can make onigiri (rice balls) easily enough, and have started rolling my own sushi using canned tuna.  But, my latest trip to the Asian market brought back a box of sweet rice flour and some Adzuki beans.  That's right--I'm making sweet red bean mochi!

Finally, I just want to have a little rant against one of my Facebook friends.  This is a girl I went to school with, but we don't really talk anymore.  I probably should just unfriend her, but for some reason, I've stayed in touch.  Anyways, long story short, her boyfriend broke up with her.  It happens.  It's hard.  I get it.  But, all of her posts lately have been about how terrible he is (because he broke up with her) and how hard her life is now (because he broke up with her), and how strong she clearly is (because she's taking this breakup so much in stride), and how she is SUCH a good person (because she would do ANYTHING for people, but they won't do anything for her).

Okay, so I'm going to break this down piece by piece here....

1.) Your boyfriend dumped you.  This happens to people all the time.  It's sad.  It's frustrating, and I'm sure you wish you were still with him.  But, how does that make him a bad person?  I know I wouldn't want to be with someone who didn't want to be with me.  Don't make him the bad guy for wanting something different in life.  It's not as though he cheated on you.

2.) You were dumped, but that's not the end of the world.  Your life does not suck.  You don't need to post about how you are so lonely and always drinking wine.  That doesn't sound healthy.  Go out with your friends.  Get a hobby.  Do SOMETHING instead of moping around like this, and looking for crumbs of affection from your Facebook fan-base.

3.) You're not being strong if you have to keep posting about how strong you are.  Strong people don't talk about how strong they are (at least not without prompting).  They just live their lives and show you they can handle themselves.

4.) She is NOT the kind of person who would do anything for people.  We used to be friends, and while she expected the world of me, she let me down time and time again, to the point where we stopped talking.  That's why I'm wondering why I'm still Facebook friends with her.

End rant.

I hope y'all are doing well.  I'll try to post more to keep you in the loop.  Goodnight, and sleep well! 

31 Days of Halloween #7

Today, I would like to share one of my all-time favorite movies.  While not a horror film, per se, this creepy, atmospheric, and surprisingly funny film is one that should be watched at least once, and then again and again.  About a day or so after borrowing it from my local library, I went to the store and bought myself a copy.  I have absolutely no regrets.

Delicatessen is a fascinating tale of a post-apocalyptic world.  We are introduced to the residents of an apartment building, owned and run by a butcher known as Clapet.  When a drifter, and former circus performer, Louison turns up on Clapet's doorstep, he's given a room and a job as a handyman around the building.  What he doesn't realize, though, is that Clapet and the rest of the tenants have a craving for meat in a world where food is scarce.  And when circumstance presents drifters, loners, and the like to the apartment, Clapet prepares all of his guests a sumptuous feast of the poor, cannibalized individual.  There is a hitch in Clapet's plans, however, when his nearsighted daughter falls in love with Louison, and tries to warn him of the danger that is waiting for him if he stays any longer. 

This hilarious, suspenseful, and artistic film includes two of my favorite French actors, and my favorite French director, Jean-Pierre Jeunet.  As for the actors, they played the roles of Clapet and Louison, respectively: Jean-Claude Dreyfus, and Dominique Pinon, sometimes known as the man with the rubber face, due to his eccentric and expressive features.

If you watch this film, let me know in the comments what you thought.  Either way, I'd love to hear your opinions!

31 Days of Halloween #6

 

I love short stories.  They're bite-sized pieces of literature, just right for a busy schedule.  This was just a little something that I had stumbled upon online.  Nothing special at first, but very creepy as you continue reading.  While I wouldn't say it was the best thing that I've read, I will say that it was a chilling and certainly original, which is more than can be said of a lot of pieces of writing nowadays.

So, if you're ready for a chilling short story about a man and a watch and a horrifying creature from the depths of a depraved imagination, then I present to you:

If You Ever Hear Someone Talk About The ‘Tick Tock Man’ — Stay Far, Far Away

31 Days of Halloween #5

Fans of horror literature cannot escape the reach of these two writing greats.  Whether you prefer the classic gnawing chills of a Poe story, or the more visceral, aggression of a King story, you are guarenteed to find something to chill you to the bone in one of these author's collections of stories.  I'd say that mostly I'm a Poe fan, but for now, let's just enjoy a rap battle between two of the greatest minds in horror.

31 Days of Halloween #4

So, I participate in a librarian group on Facebook.  And the best part about being a librarian group on Facebook is the book recommendations.  Everyone always has some cool suggestion for your next read, and it can be a lot of fun finding other readers who also happen to work in libraries.  Lately, the big post is regarding scary stuff.  Namely, what's the scariest book you ever read?

So, I thought for today, I would share a list of the scariest books that my fellow librarians have read.  And as you can imagine, these are pretty well-read folks, so I'm sure you'll find something to make your blood run cold.

• NOS4A2 (Joe Hill)
•  House of Leaves (Mark Z. Danielewski)
• It (Stephen King)
•  Dracula (Bram Stoker)
• Koko (Peter Straub)
• I Remember You (Yrsa Sigurðardóttir)
• Fangland (John Marks)
• Salem's Lot (Stephen King)
• Amityville Horror (Jay Anson)
• Sybil (Flora Rheta Schreiber)
• Uzumaki (Junji Ito)
• Ghost Story (Peter Straub)
• The Shining (Stephen King)
•  Three (Sarah Lotz)
• The Offering (S.J. Hill)
• Handmaid's Tale (Margaret Atwood)
• Silence of the Lambs (Thomas Harris)
• Communion (Whitley Strieber)
• Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark series (Alvin Schwartz)*
•  Haunting of Hill House (Shirley Jackson)
• Through the Woods (Emily Carroll)

*I would like to add for this one, the scariness comes not just from the stories, which are creepy on their own, but from the nightmarish illustrations that accompany each tale.  Newer editions of the book have "sanitized" illustrations that do nothing to set the mood.  Either read them as Schwartz intended or don't read them at all!

31 Days of Halloween #3

I love a good online game.  But, since my coordination is not the best, I prefer to spend my time playing puzzle games.  There is less pressure to time things "just right", and it can be fun wracking you brain to find the secret and advance in the game.  Since we're in something of a paranormal mood right now, allow me to suggest Vortex Point as your next online game.  There is a whole series right now, with at least seven games.  You can find the whole collection on Arcadestreet, which is one of my favorite sites for online gaming.

Each game focuses on the fictional town of Vortex Point, where a detective agency comes across weird and unusual cases that you get to solve.  Sounds fun, right?  And if you enjoy these, CarmelGames (the creators) have a whole bunch of other titles, which just get increasingly silly and fun.  Vortex Point is probably the most serious of the bunch, but either way, I think you'll enjoy them.

31 Days of Halloween #2

 

I love Japanese culture, food, art, and language.  I hope to visit Japan someday, and have been (slowly) learning how to speak, write, and read Japanese.  Of course, for every wonderful thing about Japan, there are some totally creepy things, including today's posting for 31 Days of Halloween.  While it's not some crazy yandere looking for her sempai, these crazy creatures from Japanese mythology are nothing to mess with, and will almost certainly kill you if you crossed their paths.

From demon cows to giant skeletons, these are just a handful of the monsters of Japan!

31 Days of Halloween #1

Welcome to this year's first of 31 days of Halloween.  I know I've said this for the past few years, but this is going to be the year that I finally get through all 31 days with posts and videos.  And to do that, I'm going to streamline things considerably.  So, instead of long posts with lots of exposition, I'll just post what I have, and offer a little bit to say about each thing.

Vsauce is one of my favorite channels on YouTube, because of its fun take on science.  Plus, it tackles a lot of strange questions that we would never think to ask.  For example, what does human taste like?  Gross, yes, and of course very creepy (there is always something nightmarish about cannibals), but an interesting question.  For those of you who are interested, follow the link to learn about this and other interesting things from Michael at Vsauce!