7.30.2012

we like lists: list # 16: five things going on with me

I did this once before - turns out it was about a year ago - and although not many people participated, it made for good conversation and helped me get caught up with some friends. So why not? I still prefer posting about my life here as opposed to Facebook. From last year's post:
This list will answer the burning question: What's up? What's happening in your life? Doing anything interesting? Enjoying doing something mundane? Reading a good book? Working in your garden? Suffering from the heat? Tell us! Elaborate as much or little as you'd like.
We'll limit this to five, but less than five is OK.

1. My mom's annual visit is this week; she arrives tomorrow and leaves Friday. I always try to make her visit special - cook a nice dinner, do stuff she'll enjoy, have foods she loves in the house. She is very easy to please, and super appreciative, so it's a pleasure to make the effort.

Would you believe this woman turned 81 this year? This photo is from 2010.


2. I'm loving going to War Resisters meetings this summer. During the last school term, especially after I added my library job, I had to stop attending meetings, and was only marginally active by email, and attended some large events. It feels awful to sacrifice what I care about most! And it's also isolating, as meetings (and the post-meeting pub) is a big chunk of my social life. So it's great to be back this summer... and I will again have to drop it come September.



3. Speaking of September, here's a newflash: I'm not completely dreading school this year! That's a nice change. Knowing it's my last year is making it much easier to face. Plus - a huge plus - all my classes should be relevant to my new career. In the fall I'm taking "Children's Cultural Texts" with a great instructor I had last year for the children's digital games workshop, and "Public Library Advocacy," with an instructor who is a famous former public librarian and administrator, and teaches people how to advocate for libraries in their communities. In the winter, I'll have "Graphic Novels and Comic Books in the Library" and "Issues in Chidren's and Young Adults' Services". And then I will be done.


4. And speaking of being done... This is way far in advance, but I'll share anyway, since it's so present in my mind. I am planning a trip to celebrate finishing my degree. I love planning trips - for me it's part of the excitement of travel - so I'm having a great time thinking about this one, no matter that it's 10 months away! We'll start out in London (the "other London") to visit some friends, including a close friend who we haven't seen since she relocated in 1999. Then we'll spend a few days in Paris, because I've decided that every trip to Europe should include a visit to Paris. (Our last time in both London and Paris was 1998.) Then we'll take an overnight train from Paris to Barcelona, and spend the rest of the time in Spain. I'm not sure how long we'll have in Spain, but at least 10 days, maybe more. So far, Barcelona, Bilboa, and Roman ruins are the main targets.

Roman aqueduct in Segovia, Spain


5. Over the weekend, I read this excellent feature about Springsteen in The New Yorker. We weren't planning on seeing him on this tour, but now I feel I must. I've seen Bruce many, many times, beginning in 1978 and most recently in 2007. Now he's playing one night in Toronto and one night in Hamilton, and who knows if or when I will ever have the opportunity to see him again.


Your turn!

No comments: