Packin’ Up The House

So, one has been a tad busy this past week or so packing up one’s old stomping ground in preparation for a Grand upgrading of facilities. 

Along with the likes of Mr Prada, Days of our Libraries, Country Girl, The Maple Maverick, and Sidekick, One has been dismantling technical equipment, moving furniture and uncovering dust bunnies not seen since the Jurassic (and the other half of that delicious biscuit one lost down the side of one’s old desk back in the Spring of ‘08). 

It has been quite an exercise in lifting, carrying, and cord untangling and it has proven tiring for one to direct all that frenzied activity. 

Going Solo

Of course previous weeks have also been busy as One was left to one’s own devices several weekends ago and forced to go solo with Salsa Girl and Hulk off to the sunnier Northern climes of Bendigo. 

... With Solo

The first solo occasion was marked by spending the evening with Sneaky Pete and BrotherStealer watching one’s copy of Solo which refuses to play on one’s blue ray. 

It was an enjoyable evening of of visual and gastronomic feasting. 

... with The Great Sandro

One’s next solitary activity was an expedition to that horrible stadium that is far from Marvel-lous to watch the Pies not play at all. 

Joining one in solitude were The Great Sandro and Sneaky Pete. The less said about the experience the better. 

After all that Solo activity the following weeks became a blur of work and school holidays - I am fairly sure that I attended the correct one. 

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Challenged Again

It's that time of year again that a young blogger's thoughts turn to walking all over the place.

Yes I am once again taking part in the Global Corporate Challenge - 16 weeks of pedometerising my steps and getting my team to take a virtual walking tour of the world.

I have managed to be included in the Library team this year lead by  Mr Prada, and including such luminaries as Days of our Libraries, Fifi, Country Girl, The Pragmatist  and Mrs Football.

Of added interest this year is the fact that Salsa Girl and her office are also taking part. In the spirit of encouraging better participation one aims to help my team beat the pants off hers.
So far so good on day one as my team has the lead. I am a tad worried though as I know how far Salsa Girl walks every day in comparison to oneself, and also her team haven't entered any scores yet.

Still one must enjoy the winning position while one holds it.
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The Longevity of Immaturity

I just finished reading Radio Free Albemuth by Phillip K ... (tee hee)... Dick!


Now if you'd been sitting beside me then you would have witnessed a reversion to my teenage self and subsequent sniggering about the Author's name, as always happens amongst Legion when we discuss this author's works of literature.

Obviously this juvenile amusement at how easily anything can become a smutty turn of phrase has stuck with me for a long time and is firmly embedded as a Pavlovian behaviour of mine that would take an almighty effort of willpower to dislodge from those habitual centres of my brain.


Thankfully I am not alone in my juvenile depravity.
Many's the time at work when Days of our Libraries, Mr Prada, and Ms Magpie will let loose with hugely snigger-worthy comments on simple innocent things uttered by other staff.

For example recently Country Girl purchased a set of blinds from The Pragmatist, and enquired of her, "How do I mount them?"
Naturally my eyebrows shot up and I raised my head to see Mr Prada eyes wide and eyebrows heading roof-wards. Of course this duplicated smuttiness multiplied upon itself and we were both in hysterics for many minutes afterwards - in fact it still brings a sniggery smirk to my face just thinking about it now.

Anyway I digress.

The Dick book itself was a reasonable read, although rather low on the weirdness one expects from a Dick. Apparently it is a first draft published posthumously but does fit in with several of other Dicks in that way that many Dicks are about the same thing.

Tackle it if you are a Dick fan, however others - such as Ubik -are better if it's going to be your first time with a Dick.
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... The Elusive 10,000 Steps

For the last week or so yours truly and Country Girl have been in a pedometer competition after discovering that we had both independently decided to try using them at the same time.

It hasn't actually been much of a competition. It took me most of the first week before my running total equalled her first day and I daren't even think of reaching the healthy total of 10,000 steps on a daily basis.

My only hope is that we are in the early stages of a tortoise and hare situation and my tortoise like pace will eventually overtake her.

All that being said just when I was beginning to think my pedometer must be broken - and unable to go over 5,000 steps - yesterday I was triumphantly able to get 12,170. I shall now reward myself with a good rest for the remainder of the week.
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... The Fabulous Free 50th Feast

This Thursday past was Sandringham Library's 50th birthday and it had it's birthday party in the evening.

At first I thought there may have been some sort of conspiracy to keep me away from the food as I was in meetings at Brighton all morning and then there was a mix-up that had me hanging around waiting to make Beeby into "my young apprentice" - in the work sense since he's already well down the freeloading road all on his own.


Eventually I made it to Sandy but all the anxiety about missing out on the free feed led me to almost overdo the pre-feast eating - the nibbling and scrounging from the preparation table covered with the magnificent cake-work of Days of our Libraries and Country Girl, not to mention the many horses doovers and the dippyness of Mr Prada.
So heres another caution: pace yourself on a feast day as there's nothing worse than a wasted free dinner.

Luckily my years of training and robust constitution led to a quick recovery from that horrific "I ate too quickly and there's still so much more to eat" feeling and I was able to consume with the best of them by the time the main event rolled around - it will take the knuckle bruising from repeated "you can't eat that yet" rapping a bit longer to heal though.

The opening speech was given by Supervisor Grand Chief K with no sign of Torchwood. I can only hope that this means that SGCK has had the Torchwood problem taken care of permanently.

Other highlights include:

• a lot of mingling with the ghosts of Sandringham librarianship past
• Kiwichick, Days and The Pragmatist sporting wonderful 50's fashion
• the return of Chanlib and Vikki;
• a dozen library staff behind the desk when borrowers came up to be served;
  

My suspicion about a food deprivation conspirary deepened at the end of the night when the leftovers were quickly hustled out the door to go to the other branches rather than stay at the one I'd be at the next day.