Feb 1, 2010

It wasn't a rock...

Before we get into this post, a little video to put you in the mood….


Yes.

Today we will be discussing.

Lobsters.

Not just any lobsters.

Lobsters that rocked Borders.

Last Friday, I was a half hour away from the end of my shift. It was my head manager’s last day. Our District Manager was at the store finishing up things with Dave (head manager) and generally being nosy.

I was grumpy, tired and hungry when this kid walks up to me. We don’t get off on a happy foot because the first thing out of his mouth is, “Um…do you work here?”

I hate this question. No, kid. I wear this earpiece and huge name tag because I think they’re trendy.

After explaining that YES I work here, the kid proceeds to ask me if I knew there was a lobster in the cooking section?

Again, I think this kid is being a smart with me. Of COURSE there are lobsters in the cooking section, we are in BOSTON – people have whole cookbooks dedicated to lobsters!

I give him what I’m sure is a intrigued perplexed look, not at all disbelieving or annoyed and he says, “Um..it’s a real one.”

Well that got me out of the section I was shelving in a hurry. We walk to the cooking section and there, among the bargain cook books, sits this dead lobster.

Seriously, people. I just sat there for a few seconds staring at the thing. As I’m staring and laughing I hear over my walkie a fellow co-worker asking if we knew there was a lobster in the computer media section. I start looking around for her, thinking she’s looking at my lobster. After a minute I realized there were TWO lobsters in the store. I get on my walkie and let people know I have a lobster too! Pretty soon we have a big crowd of Borders employees gathered around, laughing at the absurdity of the lobster.

This is Shara’s lobster.

After everyone has a good laugh, our manager on duty (who did not find this amusing) gets on his walkie to inform everyone working to stop what they’re doing and comb the store for..um…lobsters. I’m sure everyone in Borders thought we were nuts because those of us that had actually SEEN the lobsters knew it was for real and started cracking up wherever we were in the store, and those poor souls stuck on register, for example, just thought John had finally lost it.

We thought we had done a thorough search, but judging by the very excitable and laughing men that came from the men’s restroom there was one wayward lobster left.

Now, we have no clue who or why someone would do this. Couldn’t have been our parting gift from our manager – he was locked in his office with our District Manager.

My guess is on the kid that came and got me to look at it in the first place. He and his girlfriend had a plastic bag that was empty and had all kinds of cameras at the ready to capture the moment.

I just would like to know – why lobsters?? Those suckers are expensive!

But it sure made my last half-hour of work fly by!

Nov 11, 2009

I like...

Current Obsessions outside of School

Anya Marina’s cover of TI’s “You Can Have Whatever you Like”

http://www.youtube.com/v/05gsorRstTs&hl=en_US&fs=1&

So pretty. So smart.

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Bubble Spinner

So addicting.

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Supernatural

Supernatural_Hot

Like X-files. Without Scully.

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Michael Jackson’s “Man in the Mirror” and “Will You Be There”

http://www.youtube.com/v/_x3PQ5QhMJs&hl=en_US&fs=1&

First soundtrack I owned. On a cassette tape.

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This evil owl stuffed animal we sold at Borders for Halloween.

owl

Isn’t he cute?

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Christopher Walken’s rendition of Lady Gaga’s “Poker Face”

http://www.youtube.com/v/xy5JwYOlgvY&hl=en_US&fs=1&

Seriously, I have an embarrassing obsession with this song. Help.

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Boots.

boots

I get boots, then I need new jeans, then I want a skirt and

then I need leggings to go under the skirt so I don’t freeze.

It’s a problem.

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Muse. Muse. Muse.

Especially this song, and this song off their new album.

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The hard sudoku in the Metro. I can finish the easy one in a single bus trip,

but have yet to finish a hard one.

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It’s good to have goals, right?

Oct 31, 2009

What a crazy random happenstance!

So yesterday at work we were slammed. Maybe because the weather has been incredibly nice and the leaves are pretty colors.

Anyways.

We occasionally get authors that come into Borders to sign all the books of theirs we have in stock.

It’s pretty sweet, and I have been early looking forward to the day an author I really enjoy comes in.

So yesterday I was at the registers and overhear the girl next to me (Hayley)

tell the older lady she was helping,

“Yes, we have your books in stock. Let me have someone grab them for you to sign.”

I asked her who it was and found out the lady’s name was Bette Green.

Hmm…I thought that name sounded familiar

so

I peeked over Hayley’s shoulder to see the title of the books she was signing.

Bette Greene wrote Summer of my German Soldier!!!!!

That book was a staple of my childhood.

I distinctly remember reading it for the first time,

I owned it pre-flood,

I re-read it regularly,

I love love loved it.

I was so flustered and excited that I couldn’t even ring up the next customer in line.

Hayley said, “Elena – just go talk to her. We have the registers covered.”

So I did.

I walked over and introduced myself to her and let her know what an influence she was on my childhood.

She gave me a huge hug and signed a book for me

and chatted my ear off for the next half an hour.

2009-10-31 19-19-25.625

She wrote:

For Elena – A long time fan. Best wishes. Bette Greene.

My co-worker thought it said “o long hair”.

Ah well.

Oct 27, 2009

Busy busy bee

Hello all! Sorry for the long break between updates. I mostly just do the same thing over and over - study, work, class and sleep. I'm doing really really well in my Library class and in one of my Children's Lit classes. The other children's lit class - Literary Theory in Children's Literature is kicking my butt. It's so hard, but I learn so much. I was really frustrated because I wasn't getting good grades on my papers in that class, but I went in and talked to the teacher and my papers have already improved.

I also got enrolled for next semester (already!!) and am taking The Picturebook, Children's Literature and Media, and Evaluation of Library Services. I'm excited for the picturebook and the children's media class, but not so much for Eval of Lib services. I've heard the picturebook is actually a pretty hard class and that you have to read something like 80 picturebooks outside of class and write a brief evaluation of each. Call me crazy, but that sounds like fun!

I already know quite a few girls enrolling in those classes as well, so it will be nice to have a set study group.

On a lighter note, in a few week I'm going to get to meet Lois Lowry, AT HER HOUSE!! She's the lady who wrote The Giver and a whole bunch of other books that I read as a kid. So crazy!!!

I also have a set time for when I'm going to be home. I'm flying out the 11th of December (here's hoping for clear weather!) and am flying into Kansas City. My former room mate Stephanie is going to pick me up and I get to meet her daughter for the first time!!! I plan on being in Wichita from the 16th - 29th so I hope I will get to see everyone - I can't wait!

I will try to write more soon, I still have pictures and things from Leslie's visit to tell. I hope everyone is well and I miss you all!

Oct 12, 2009

Preview of a Weekend Well Spent...

This weekend Leslie came to see me! It was a much needed break from work and school and it was great to see a familiar face! While I’m sure she will post fun stories, as I know I will be doing later (later as in after I crank out an 8 page paper and read three 100+ books for class) here are some pictures as a preview!

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Oct 7, 2009

Pizza and the Kansas girl

Today for class my teacher brought in pizza. She had told us last week she was going to do this, and I for one was excited.

Imagine for a minute if a professor at K-state had stated they would bring in food. People would show up hungry and ready for some free food.

Here, half the class had forgotten about it and then two of the eleven didn’t even eat pizza.

And picture in your mind the look I got after my professor said all she had gotten were vegetarian pizzas.

No that there’s anything wrong with vegetarian, but lets be honest – in Kansas, it’s a requirement to have some sort of meat on at least half of a pizza.

Then, my professor was telling us to eat at least two pieces as she had gotten three pizzas for eleven of us. I was one of the few to get two and there was a whole pizza left over.

At K-state…that pizza would have been GONE.

When I’m back in Kansas someone should be ready to DEMOLISH some pizza with me.

Random pics

…so when I was loading my bookshelf pictures off my camera I came across a few pictures of Boston I had taken a while ago when I had a life and time to explore. Thought I’d share!

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The pond near where I live.

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This is what my bus stop looks at when I leave Borders at night.

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My arm slipped.

Don't worry Grandma - it is well lit and I carry my whistle!

I know I like to read, but this is ridiculous!

For all those who wonder why I don't post more often.....

When the semester started, the head of the Children’s Lit program (who is also one of my teachers) told me that I would easily read 100 books this semester.

I thought she was exaggerating.

I was wrong.

This is my pile as it first started. Just a couple of text books and some books to read for fun.

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The pile quickly grew into this:

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And due to a sideways rain storm and the fact that I checked out about 20 more books this pseduo bookshelf turned into this:

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This is the bookshelf I claimed for my own from Erin and Joe's furniture. It is holding all the books I have checked out from the library and my textbooks.

The books on the lower left are books that I am done reading. They’re everything Jacqueline Woodson has ever written minus I think three titles. After next week I can check all those back in to the library. I just have one project left to do with them due today. Have I started? Mostly...

The books stacked next to those on the bottom are all the books by Phillip Hoose (minus one) and I’ll read those in the month of October.

On the top left are textbooks and books for my Criticism of Children’s Lit class. See that white, huge monstrosity of a textbook? Yeah, not fun.

The books stacked in the middle are things that I have borrowed from people hoping someday to read, and the books to the right of those are books checked out from the library that I hope to read for fun. Again, someday.

Elena’s Library Stats (as of 10/7/09)

46 books checked out

20 books on hold

38 of the books checked out are for class

8 books are “for fun” reading that I wish I could get to but sadly will not

24 books yet to be requested

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Is it December yet?

Sep 16, 2009

Baseball!



Dad this made me think of you!

Sep 13, 2009

Erin and Joe adventuring (continued)

A Far Cry Orchestra.
Glass blowing demonstration.




Erin and Joe adventuring


The SOWA market.


The SOWA market.


The SOWA market.


The Cathedral of The Holy Cross

Sep 6, 2009

Leave the gun, take the cannoli...

So today I tried my hand at being a "YES MAN YES"! (In a movie quotin' mood if you can't tell)

One of the girls I met at my library orientation who also lives in JP named Su e-mailed me yesterday asking if I would be interesting in going on one of the many Boston activity tours that Simmons offers. This one involved going to Fanuiel Hall and the North End - both places that I've already been too, but I decided to be a YES MAN and agree. I thought if anything else I could make a new friend maybe and see parts of the area that I probably missed the first time around.

It turned out to be a really good time, even though the tour guides were sophomores in undergrad (dang I am old) and I knew more about Boston than the other tour participants. Su and I walked around, got some food (yummy Philly Cheese steak!) and walked out onto the harbor.

The best part was walking the North End, which is essentially Little Italy (where we ate awesome Italian food when Dad moved Joe in). We saw Paul Revere's statue, the North Church where he hung the lantern, as well as the smallest building and park in Boston.

We also saw the Holocaust memorial which was a neat, although slightly creepy memorial. Its six glass towers that represent each of the six main death camps and the six million Jews that died. On every inch of the glass numbers are etched representing the tattooed numbers that they carried on their arms. As if that wasn't enough, every once in a while smoke comes up through a steam vent that represents the smoke from the crematoriums. Kinda morbid, but pretty neat.

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DSCF9083Tried to get a picture of the rocks people were leaving on top of the slabs with the towers behind, but it didn't turn out quite like I wanted. Ah well, you get the idea.

On a happier note, we stopped at Mike's Pastry which I've been wanting to go to for a while. It's a famous pastry shop and it was crazy inside! No line - just shove your way to the front for a quick peek and order fast! I got a cannoli, since I had never had one.

DSCF9088Su described a cannoli as a, "egg roll with creme inside." I thought it had a sweet cracker texture and the creme is a cross between....well I don't know how to describe it. It was alright. I think I'd rather have mom's cream puffs :)

Sep 2, 2009

Elena's First Day of Grad School



















You're welcome mom! I told her to "learn like the wind!" since Dad wasn't here to say it.

Aug 28, 2009

Tech Savy parents!

This commercial makes me think of mom and dad!




We love that you guys are tech savy!

Aug 24, 2009

Legal Sea Food on the Waterfront - Erin


On Friday Joel and I went to eat at Legal Sea Food on the waterfront with my old boss and his wife from Book-A-Holic. He was the owner of the store. He was in town for a big used book show and decided to surprise me! He handed me a check that he says I forgot while I worked for him. I’m pretty sure I never forgot a check and he is known for being an incredibly generous guy. Either way I really needed the money and it was very appreciated. We had a very nice dinner even though it was a bit loud in the crowded restaurant. We went outside by the water to talk afterward and he was telling me how much they miss me at the store. He even said if i go back to Wichita that I will always have a job! He is a really great guy and I really enjoyed seeing him again. :)

Also, a first for me, I ate lobster right out of its claw. I drew the line at the clams though. At first joe wasn't sure what he was going to order and he finally he thought he would be safe with fish and chips. He ended up eating some of the fish though! It was a great night!