Slow day at library

Not much happenin' at the library today. I started my day by working at the lab for a couple of hours. I had only eight patrons use the lab during that time. Lab business would eventually pick up as my lab associates came to work.
I did not accomplish much during my off-desk time, partially because we had a pot-luck get-together in the staff lounge. All sorts of food was there.
I worked the reference desk in the afternoon. Not many questions. My colleague and I did talk with a couple of the regular patrons about goings-on in the Kansas City area. After work, I talked with the staff authors, JS and LC, about their passions for writing. LC is already a published author and expects to write some more.
I now will have four days away from the library, two of which will be spent in Illinois.

Happy New Year everyone!!!

Firming up Illinois plans

For the first time in a very, very long time, I won't be staying up to usher in the New Year. Instead, I'll be going to bed early to get my rest in anticipation of a very arduous weekend. My sister and I will be heading to Pontiac on Saturday to sort through Dad's things and wrap up the gifts that dad gave us through his will. We need to make decisions about what to do with his clothing, linens, and his furniture in his house. The house is filled with mostly antique things and would probably sell well at an auction if it is not claimed by us. Emotionally, I'm not looking forward to this.

Going to Lawrence, going to Shawnee Dec. 25

I got up at 4:45 am Christmas day to make the trek to Lawrence to join the already awake family who were in the process of opening their Christmas presents at 6:00 am. At least that was the plan. Problem was nobody was awake when I arrived. My ringing of the doorbell woke up AH's brother-in-law who let me in the house. Eventually, the rest of the family (total 9 people) woke up and the family room was filled with the noise of ripping wrapping paper and a cacauphonies of thank you's. This year I gave my nephew a hot wheel accessory set and my niece the game of Scrabble. I gave gift certificates to my sister and brother-in-law.

I left the house at 1PM to go over to Shawnee to join MS's family for more gift exchanges. Later, we sat down to dinner. I got home at roughly 8PM last night, very exhausted.

Tonight, I will be going to an ornament exchange down in Lee's Summit, MO. After finishing chores today, I'll watch football during the afternoon.

A Gift from my uncle

I received more Christmas and sympathy cards in the mail today. Also, I received a homemade CD from my uncle. On the CD was a recording of my cousin's senior piano recital as well as performances from my uncle's singing group, the Many Centuries singers. My uncle and his wife are big, big fans of the King's Singers and mimic their singing and performance style for their group.

Staff Christmas party

We had our holiday party today which included a dirty Santa exchange. My gift into the exchange was the Nancy Pearl librarian action figure which was traded many times until it landed in the hands of my supervisor. As for me, I received an assortment of chocolate cocoa mixes, which won't last long.

King's Singers opportunity

I called AN Thursday night to see how she was doing. Bad timing---she was in the process of putting the kids to bed.

She called back fifteen minutes later and we had a nice thirty minute conversation. Eventually I asked her to come to Kansas City again for a concert with the King's Singers, a worldly known a capella group from the United Kingdom. They are coming to KC on February 19, 2005. AN told me she would have to check her schedule and her kid's schedules and would get back with me. I hope she can come.

Kansas City Star interview--follow up

Apparently, the writer decided not to use any quotes from Lord of the Rings fanatics in his article about the release of the extended version of the Return of the King. I don't mind. Being a former journalist, I understand that an editor has to make the choice of what is pertinent to an article and what can be edited out.

I plan to buy the extended version sometime this week.

Thanks to KCKPL Library

LL, my supervisor, made a memorial gift to the American Heart Association in memory of my father. Thank you LL.

Kansas City Star Interview

I was interviewed last Thursday by the entertainment reporter from the Kansas City Star. He's doing a story about the release of and the mania behind the extended version of The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King DVD. LL works in the audio-visual department of the library. To supplement her income she writes as a film critic for various media outlets including the Star. She gave my name to the reporter who then called me at work and asked me for a couple of quotes. The article should appear in Monday's FYI section.

Planning two trips to Illinois

I just got off the phone with my sister. We have decided to take two trips to Illinois to go through and make some decisions about some of Dad's possessions. The first trip we will pack the things that Dad wanted us to have and make some decisions about pieces of furniture, bric-a-brac, glassware, dishware. The second trip, we'll rent a van to move the heavier furniture back to the Kansas City area.

Christmas Card dilemma

I'm not sure whether I want to send out Christmas cards this year. And if I do, do I inform my desired recipients of my recent family news? This may be an emotionally tough holiday season.

Toby jugs

I got into a conversation today about Toby jugs aka Character Jugs. I, myself, have collected beer steins over the years. I was told though that a collection of Toby jugs can be very valuable. Next time I go antiquing, I will see if there are Tobies available and see if I can start a new collection.

Morgan Spurlock's documentary

I just finished watching the Morgan Spurlock documentary "Super Size Me." It was a very though provoking movie especially with what our family went through in the past eight days.

DB also taped "The Librarian" for me. I watched that tonight as well. I was not overwhelmingly impressed by it, especially with Bob Newhart engaged in a Kung Fu fight and saying: "Anybody else want a piece of me?"

Trying to reestablish a routine

I completed my second day of work since my bereavement leave. I have been taking the tortoise's perspective on things at work: "Slow and Steady wins the race." I will teach an Excel class tomorrow and can only hope to get through it. I was granted five days of leave but only took four and a half.

I have my computer back

I finally plugged in my computer and it seems to run okay. DF replaced the crappy (and I must admit, it's crappy) Windows ME with Windows 2000. And it seems to operate smoothly. Thanks DF. Put it on my bill.

Dad--additional thought

By the way, the guillain-barre and bells palsy condition Dad had during the last week of his life were totally incidental and unrelated to his heart problem.

A Long Drive to Pontiac, IL

It was very shocking to learn of Dad's passing. On Tuesday, November 30, I was giving one on my computer lab associates a break when a call came through to the lab. It was my sister who told me the news. Fortunately, another lab associate was able to cover for me so that I could go to my office and let the news set in. I wept at first and then told Laura, my supervisor. I started my bereavement leave on Wednesday and will take a Thanksgiving holiday leave this coming Monday.
Anyway, Tuesday night I called MS and AN to inform them of the news and I asked my next door neighbor to keep an eye on my house and mail. I began packing my suitcase for the trip to Pontiac. I included my suit, not knowing whether there was going to be any formal service.
I left for Pontiac Wednesday morning at 7 o'clock. The 450-mile drive took seven hours. After checking into a hotel, I rendevouzed with my sister. We went first to my Dad's friends apartment to get some information about Dad's death. Then we went to the funeral parlor to view the body.
Dad had decided not to have a memorial service of any kind in Pontiac. This is unusual according to his lawyer. It has been his experience that most ministers in a small town have a large funeral.
Anyway, Dad documented his wishes concerning the handling of his death. In other words, there wasn't much for my sister and me to do except follow the written instructions. Dad was cremated yesterday afternoon at a crematory near Pontiac. We will scatter his ashes in June in the Rocky Mountains, a place fond to Dad's heart because it was the locale of his first call to ministry.
Thursday, we phoned family members and my sister talked with the doctor to find out how Dad died. It turns out that Dad had a bad heart for a long time and his heart was very close to failure the last few years of his life. It was just a matter of time.
Friday, my Dad's friend, my sister, and I discussed my Dad's estate with the lawyer. After the meeting we stopped by Dad's house one last time before I made the trek back to Kansas City. I arrived at my home at 9:30 at night.