THE DAY THAT WOULD NOT END

Is it really only 1:30? I have been cataloging (now, we're talking original cataloging here, because no other library in their right mind would have these in its collection) CD's for 2 days straight. This is a collection of 100 free, yes, free so they must be good, CD's that a patron gifted to one of our member libraries. I can tell he's giving them as a tax write-off from his company because they're all produced by the same company out of Plattsburgh. So far our favorite is "The Royal Philharmonic Plays the Hits of U2." I'm sure Bono would be thrilled to hear what this sounds like. "Desire" and "Sunday Bloody Sunday" heavy on the strings. It's truly awful. So far this library has 4 recordings of "Okie from Muskogee" sung of course by Mere Haggard, 3 recordings of his great "Mama Tried," a recording of "Oops I did it again" by a kids band whose lead singer truly, truly can't carry a tune, a CD of birdsongs in the rain (never mind that birds don't sing in the rain), and 7 CD's of gospel music (so far). As I say, there are 100 and I've only done about 60 so far. Now, wait a minute, I've done 1.5 boxes and the last, unpacked box is half again as big as the box I'm working on now, which holds at least 40. I'm no Einstein, but that's going to add up to waaaay more than 100, the sneaky little snark. Gag me with a maggot.

And it's raining again, surprise surprise. The nicely stacked firewood I have, which should by rights be drying and getting ready to be burned this winter is thoroughly soaked now because I didn't cover it. I guess the sun might shine on Monday. Monday I have to give a presentation on patron-initiated requests, using our catalog. This morning I had to teach myself how to be a patron and initiate some requests. Let's hope I remember how to do it in front of an audience on Monday.

Tonight I'm buying lobsters for Erdvilas and Linda, hopefully live ones. Finding live lobsters in this town is no small task, though. I told L. last night I would do this, since we will not be going out to dinner the way we usually do. There is just too much food in her fridge to warrant spending the amount of money we would spend in a restaurant. Instead, I will treat the Midwesterners to seafood they can't get in Michigan, even though I think Plattsburgh is a funny place to buy lobster. First I will make a quick stop at Ken's because he has called me to "see how I'm doing and what I've been up to." That means he misses me and I should stop by.

This weekend looks pretty dull. I did not get the last disc of The O.C. in the mail, nor did I get any other DVD's. I have a film called Wicker Park to watch and that's it. Let's hope there's a good Law & Order marathon on. I need to go to the dump, that will kill an hour or so. Linda leaves on Sunday, I think, and I can always watch my fish. They're feeling neglected, as are the dogs. I've been at Linda's every night this week, but I have to take advantage of the semblance of a social life when it presents itself, don't I? I took Chances with me on Weds. but she was unbearably attentive to everyone there and wouldn't settle down. They have the 3 pugs, who have been cuddling me to death each night. They insist on being lap dogs, which I am not used to. When we did the crossword puzzle the other night, one of the clues was "Not a handsome dog," and we had the last letter of the 3-letter word as a G. Wasn't hard for me to figure out that the 1st two letters were P and U, but Linda was shocked to think that anyone would think a pug was not handsome. Are you kidding me? With those snouts and curly tails? But they're very dear and sweet little dogs. They just snort too much. Like, all the time.