I think dogs can get hairballs

You know what I hate? Local news previews. Do you know what I'm talking about? Those 10 second previews to stories on your local news "tonight at 10." I have no idea why, but I have to change the channel whenever they appear on TV. I don't even have a witty metaphor or anything cute to say about it. I just think they are awful.

My DVD player broke.

My CD player broke.

The pipe behind my toilet is leaking.

My drier smells of old cottage cheese and death.

I could vacuum every waking hour and I still wouldn't get all the animal hair out of my life.

**But...**

That's all okay because:

My computer has a DVD player AND a CD player.

I rent...ha!

There's not really a solution to my drier. It could be worse...I might not have one.

I love my animals too much to worry about shedding.

And...my hair is looking really cute today. There's just not much more to it. :)

Sunday evening

I'm not totally sure why, but I really enjoy Sunday evenings. I have very distinct memories of Sunday evenings dating back to when I was a kid. I have learned in my later years that many of my memories are exagerrated or downright wrong so forgive me if this falls into one of those categories.

It starts off with the smell of shampoo. I remember after bathing, I would walk downstairs to the living room and ask my mom to dry my hair. She would gladly oblige and we would commence with our somewhat weekly ritual. She always used to blow the hairdryer down my back, giving me chills and goosebumps at the same time, inevitably causing a giggle. Once my hair was sufficiently puffed up and dry, we would go back to the living room. Somehow the whole family would wind up in this same room. Sometimes we were all doing different things, homework, reading a magazine, organizing papers, but nevertheless we would all plop ourselves down and watch the evening news, followed by Jeopardy! I don't know what it is about this memory except that regardless of whatever else was going on, we were all there. I still think about that from time to time.

It's been a good Sunday for me. I've been hanging out with the boys, watching Levi chew on his rawhide and occasionally Sammy. I've also chosen today to be laundry day. I bet I did about six loads of laundry. I love my washer and dryer! However, if I do too many loads in one sitting, I have to be careful because one of them begins to put off a certain...um...odor. I won't go into anymore detail than that. At this point, I have a half-dried load in the dryer and a load in the washer which will just have to wait until tomorrow unless I want to have the insides of my nose burnt off and my eyeballs melt. Okay, so that's a little much but it seems like that sometimes.

That's all. I've gotta go to bed. It's a two week break between quarters at school so I'm going to a strict 8-5 schedule since I will not be needed for reference duty. Sleep is needed!

Website and concert dates

May Festival Chorus
http://www.mayfestival.com


Friday, October 7 8pm
Saturday, October 8 8pm
"In October 1965, Erich Kunzel made his CSO conducting debut at a sold-out 8 O’Clock Pops concert at Music Hall. This weekend he celebrates his remarkable 40-year career with works by close friends and collaborators John Williams and Steven Reineke and performances by another phenomenal musical partner, Frederica von Stade. Maestro Kunzel conducts the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra and the May Festival Chorus, under the direction of Robert Porco."

Saturday, November 12 Choral Workshop 10am-4pm
"The May Festival hosts the 3rd Annual Choral Workshop. Members of the Greater Cincinnati community are invited to rehearse many popular choruses from Felix Mendelssohn’s Elijah with the world-renowned May Festival Chorus and Director of Choruses Robert Porco. The workshop is free to all participants. Attendance is limited and by reservation only. Reservations will be taken starting September 15. Please call (513) 744-3229 for more information."

Saturday, December 3 Carolfest 1pm AND 4pm
"Cincinnati’s favorite holiday sing-along featuring Robert Porco and the world-renowned May Festival Chorus returns to Music Hall."

Friday, December 9 Holiday Pops Concert #1 8pm
Saturday, December 10 Holiday Pops Concert #2 2pm
Saturday, December 10 Holiday Pops Concert #3 8pm
Sunday, December 11 Holiday Pops Concert #4 2pm
Sunday, December 11 Holiday Pops Concert #5 7pm
"Erich Kunzel and the Cincinnati Pops welcome Judy McClane, Eric Kunze, Daniel Narducci, the incredible CCM Musical Theater students, the world-renowned May Festival Chorus, the clogging Santas and so much more. Bring the family and lift your holiday spirits!"

Friday, March 10 8pm
Saturday, March 11 8pm
"Mahler himself said, and listeners agree, that his symphonies are about life, death, “everything.” In his Resurrection symphony, he describes the suffering, renewal, hope and the ultimate joy of eternal life with some of the most inspiring music ever written. Paavo Järvi leads soprano Latonia Moore, mezzo-soprano Lilli Pasikivi, the world-renowned May Festival Chorus, under the direction of Robert Porco, and the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra in a performance of Mahler’s Symphony No. 2, Resurrection."


May Festival 2006
Friday, May 19 8pm
Saturday, May 20 8pm
Sunday, May 21 7pm
Friday, May 26 8pm
Saturday, May 27 8pm
"America’s premier choral festival features five different concerts spanning two weekends. Music Director James Conlon leads the world-renowned May Festival Chorus and the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra."

"QT" with Sammy

My apartment is quite calm this week. Levi is spending the week with Kevin & co. so I can go to the Kentucky Library Association Conference in Louisville. yay! It's nice to spend some quality time with Sammy, but I have to admit, I really miss my little puppy (okay, so he's not so little and he's not a puppy but still...). However, I am so excited to attend the conference. I know I'm going to learn a lot and get countless opportunities to network. I feel so...professional.

Speaking of libraries (was I?) I just have to say I am starting to feel like I am really starting to (beware of unabashed horn tooting) feel a difference in work. We are now subscribers to two large online reference databases and I am in the process of barcoding the whole collection in order to work toward circulation once again. Because of various issues, the library is currently a non-circulating library. Once I have all the materials and patrons entered into the database, it'll be much quicker and easier to keep track of materials. There's just something so satisfying when I hear that mechanical *beep* whenever I brush the scanner past a barcode. Ahh..technology.

On a different note, I was recently accepted into a chorus in Cincinnati called the May Festival Chorus. It is a volunteer group of about 150 singers and they frequently perform with the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra and the Cincinnati Pops. I was accepted Friday night and after receiving a copy of the rehearsal schedule, called my parents (they often bring me back to earth when I'm feeling as though I'm on a perious and scary death flight to Jupiter) and decided to turn down the offer. However, while I was at work, I received a phone call from the manager of the chorus saying congratulations because not many people are accepted after their first audition (sorry about the continuous horn tooting). This ego boost accompanied by the fact that I haven't been able to stop thinking about it, encouraged me to go home after work and study the schedule to see what it is really like. Once I looked closer, I discovered that while it is at times a very demanding schedule, it is not demanding for the whole season. It is mostly like any other group, with rehearsal once a week for a few hours. It will be a nightmare for two weeks in May but other than that, it's just a slightly more demanding chorus than the ones I have been in in the past.

So I called my sister. I asked her if she thought I was crazy. I told her the whole schpiel (sp?) and she said I'm not crazy. She must be right! :) Of course, she followed it by saying, "well, you are crazy, but not because of this." Ahh, sisters.

Now I am officially a member of the May Festival Chorus. I believe it is one of the most prestigious ensembles I have been a part of and I am looking forward to it tremendously. I'm glad I took the time to really study the schedule. Otherwise I would've not been able to stop thinking about it.

Well I'm half writing this, half watching TV so I think TV has now won the battle. More to come.

Want to foster an animal? Support a no-kill shelter from Chicago? Read on!

Want to help the animals left homeless by Hurricane Katrina?

PAWS Chicago coordinated a group of volunteers to travel to the Humane Society of Faline County in Bauxite, Arkansas, right outside of Little Rock. The volunteers have picked up 60-75 homeless pets from the shelter. These animals were directly affected by Hurricane Katrina.
We are looking for foster homes for the animals being transferred from Arkansas.

Foster Families
If you are able to foster an animal for a few weeks or longer, please visit our website at http://www.pawschicago.org/ to sign up to be a foster home.

Monetary Donations
We are also in need of monetary donations to help with supplies for the animals. If you would like to make a donation for the Katrina Pet Rescue effort, please visit our http://www.pawschicago.org/ to donate on-line or send your check to: PAWS Chicago ATTN: Lisa Dawson 1110 W. 35th Street Chicago, IL 60609
**Make sure to write on your check "PAWS Chicago/Katrina Pet Rescue".

In-Kind Donations
If you are interested in making an in-kind donation of towels, blankets, pet food, etc., items are being be accepted Monday through Friday from 10AM to 4PM at the Lurie Family Spay/Neuter Clinic located at 3516 W. 26th Street in Chicago

Another opportunity to get involved

I got this email from my friend in New York the other day. If you can help in anyway, either let me know or contact the organization direclty.

"i'm sure most if not all of you have been following the devastation of hurricane katrina and horrific situations that people now find themselves in. my friend sarah wanted to help and developed the following idea:

we assume that many people who have been evacuated to houston, lafayette, and surrounding areas have other places they could stay around the country (i.e. with family and friends), but have no way to get there. it was sarah's idea to coordinate transportation from these shelter locations to other hubs (atlanta, chicago, tallahassee, new york, dallas, nashville, etc.) and then other transporation still from those locations to less-centralized areas, until these evacuees get to a safe place where they can stay and the shelters can be emptied. so far, we have a website, a toll-free number, and lots of people who have volunteered to help. we have delegated specific jobs to people who have volunteered so far. this is what we are still looking for:

STAFF:Development director: This person would be in charge of coordinating fundraising efforts, specifically money for chartering buses and paying for gas.

501(c)3 connection: Anyone who has a connection to a non-profit who might be able to have us raise money under their umbrella (since we don't have our own non-profit status yet) would be EXTREMELY helpful.

Public Relations: This person would be in charge of media management (press kits, interviews, etc.)


OTHER NEEDS:

BUSES!!!! BUSES!!!! BUSES!!!!!! This is our most immediate need. We are currently gathering information about where people are and where they need to go. now we need buses to get them there. the buses would have to go to the houston area and then take people to central hubs. this could mean if you know an organization that has a bus (church, choir, church choir, etc.) and would be willing to lend it, contact them. if not, raising money to pay for a bus would also be helpful. we have someone who is working on making arrangements with bus companies once some money is raised.

Kinko's Account: this project is going to incur some copying, faxing, and fedexing costs. we are dreaming of someone who would be willing to open a kinko's account for us and pay for it. we don't expect this to exceed more than a few hundred dollars, and of course whoever is in charge of it would be able to monitor it, etc. (i.e. it wouldn't be a blank check.)

Drivers in other locations: once we get our mass transit to major cities, we will need individuals WITH VEHICLES AVAILABLE to take other people on the next leg of their journey. we do not know exactly where these areas will be yet, as we've been operating for 48 hours, but we're working on it.


if you believe that you would be able to be helpful in any of the specific areas listed above, please let me know ASAP. for more info, check our website: www.katrinacaravan.org, which is being updated as frequently as possible.

thank you to everyone!

~emily

Just in case you might want to

Donate to the ASPCA Animal relief fund:
http://www.aspca.org

Donate to the Humane Society of the United States hurricane relief fund:
http://www.hsus.org