From a KC Librarian

Just an average guy trying to make sense of his life in the library and beyond.....

Saturday, January 29, 2005

Doggie ACL surgery

I went to another birthday celebration last night in Shawnee. This time the entire metro area got doused with three inches of a wet snow. When a cell phone call came in saying that cars were in the median of Shawnee Mission Parkway, I made the decision to spend the night in Shawnee.
I was invited to stay at the neighbors of MS/PS. They had a full size bed which turned out to be a better option than the MS/PS sofa. I had a wonderful night's sleep. In the morning, I was greeted by H and L's golden lab dog and a golden retriever that H and L were dog sitting. Both dogs are affectionate.
The golden lab is a particularly interesting story. J tore the ACL in his right rear leg while at play and had to have surgery on the ligament in that hind leg. The vet told H and L to be extremely vigilant of J during his recovery. The rules: no walks, no stairs, no running around, no begging while standing on the hind legs for the next six months. As such, H and L have to schedule doggie bathroom breaks where they take J, by leash, out to the back yard. In the past, J would go out the back door and down the stairs. Now, J has to go through the garage down a ramp and on leash. Also, since J can't play or go for walks, L has rationed his meals by going to a weight watcher's scale.
J is such a friendly dog. I hope he gets to play soon.

Wednesday, January 26, 2005

Random thoughts

  • Rumblings from Emporia indicate that the Emporia Lady Hornets are having another wonderful year. I get this information from my barber.
  • I am making progress emptying all the boxes of items that I have taken from Dad's place in Illinois. My basement is filling in nicely.
  • We had a busy afternoon in reference today. A school librarian called today with a work-intensive request: relay to her the call numbers for 40 books. Apparently her network and internet were down and she could not think of other alternatives.
  • I went to a friend's birthday party celebration over the weekend. We went for dinner at a place called Paulo and Bill's and then went back to her and her husband's place for chocolate cheesecake. I had to choose between going to the birthday celebration or attending a roller derby in North Kansas city. I would have been happy with either choice.
  • And finally, it may be time for a new car. Since my warranty ran out on the car two and half years ago, things have been breaking down.

Sunday, January 23, 2005

My handyman skills

Today, while watching the conference championships, I rearranged some of the wall decor in the basement TV room. Also, I did some replastering and painting over some of the nail holes I previously created. I hung a painting that dad had done as well as a mirror that hung in the southeast corner of his house. My biggest challenge, though, awaits me. I plan to replace my "Lord of the Rings" posters with ledge shelving to house my inherited Toby character jugs....a monumental project.

Saturday, January 22, 2005

Another SLIM colleague sighting--indirectly

Our volunteer coordinator, CL, went to a KLA meeting earlier this month and bumped into KC with whom I went to library school. CL says KC is doing well with her children's librarian duties as well as KLA duties.

Cell phone

I think I'm the last person on the planet to get a cell phone. But now that I have one, I appreciate its versatility. For example, C and I used cell phones as we caravaned back from Pontiac (I need to get gas, Let's stop and eat, Let's spend the night in Hannibal, Are you lost because I think I am). Upon obtaining the cell phone, I think I will change my landline service. I am not pleased with my present service because of its cost.
By the way, my cell phone sales person is a movie geek like me. During our business transaction, his phone rang playing the "Spiderman" theme from the old cartoon. We started talking about movies and eventually he built a "Lord of the Rings" motif on my phone. So...whenever my phone rings, I hear the theme music from the first movie. A couple of colleagues at work enjoyed this when I demonstrated this to them.

Tuesday, January 18, 2005

Home, once again

After spending Sunday night at the Comfort Inn in Hannibal, MO, C and I returned to the Kansas City area with a truckload of Dad's furniture. I had to drive the rental truck. It handled well but the acceleration on this truck is sneaky...I found myself going almost 80 on a couple of occasions. C and I kept in touch via cell phones so we could communicate when we wanted to take breaks, check the load on the truck, or just merely grab something to eat.
We first arrived in Lawrence to drop off C's portion of the furniture. After eating lunch, we returned to KC where we unloaded my share of the furniture. MS offered to help move furniture but he arrived just as C and I were moving the last piece off of the truck. My house is now cluttered with a lot of stuff. I am going to try to put things in order this weekend.
By the way, from Pontiac to KC, I spent 96.40 in gas for the truck....that's one way. C barely put 80 dollars in her van's tank for two ways.

Friday, January 14, 2005

Cold weekend to move furniture

It's one degree outside as I write this at 9 o'clock in the morning. C and I leave tomorrow for Pontiac and the cold weather will only follow us. Hopefully, we can overcome the cold weather and load Dad's furniture without frostbite incident. We plan to stay at Dad's house. I wonder if the furnace is working.

Tuesday, January 11, 2005

Sports weekend

I certainly enjoyed the sports weekend I had at home. Especially with the cold weather outside, it proved fitting to watch the NFL playoffs and the KU-Kentucky game.
I was really satisfied with KU's win on Sunday. I remember as a teenager all the frustrating losses to Kentucky at home and in Rupp arena. Hopefully, Langford and Moody can return soon from their respective injuries.
As for the playoffs, the San Diego game was frustrating to watch, especially since Marty Schottenheimer decided to play conservative football again (in the overtime) and work for a field goal attempt that ended wide right.....just like his days with the Chiefs and Browns.
Meanwhile, will a member of the Minnesota Vikings please knock some sense into Randy Moss. His behavior after scoring the second touchdown against Green Bay was unprofessional and absolutely disgusting.

Saturday, January 08, 2005

Random thoughts

C and I will be going back to Pontiac next weekend. We are renting a Penske truck so that we can bring back the furniture that dad allowed us to have.

It's a cold Saturday today in Kansas City. I'm spending the time watching the NFL playoffs. Once again, the Griefs proved to be a disappointment this year so I'll have to choose another team to root for. I think I'll root for Pittsburgh.

I've got nineteen vacation days to use before June 30. I have no idea how to use them.

I'm scouting a place in my house to display dad's gift to me. This morning I spent time at various stores looking for shelving that might accommodate my needs. I may have to do some rearranging and repainting in the basement.

Sunday, January 02, 2005

Back Home

C and I just completed our weekend trip to Pontiac, IL. She picked me up on 6:00 Saturday morning and we made Pontiac by 12:15. We went to dad's friend's place where he treated us with chili for lunch. We then proceeded to Dad's house where we started going through his entire wardrobe, deeming what to give to Encore or Goodwill and deeming what to throw away. That took us about two to three hours. It turns out that Dad had quite a wardrobe.
C and I then treated Dad's friend to dinner at one of Pontiac's Chinese buffets. It had been about ten months since I last ate at a Chinese restaurant.
Last night, C and I began to package the items that were given to us by Dad. I won't go into detail but to say that Dad's gift to me is very generous.
This morning C and I began to divide up Dad's furniture. We will go back during Martin Luther King, JR. weekend to haul the furniture back to Kansas. The furniture that I will be getting will fill up most of my house.
We left Pontiac at 10:30 this morning and arrived back at Kansas City at about 4:30.
Trip data: Total mileage, round trip--850 miles. Total number of hours in Pontiac--22. Total hours of sleep--I don't know.
I think I will rest well tonight.