A dry autumn

 Thst's what the meteologists are suggesting. My Zois are engaged and living in a nice house. I prefer Dowon to the other communities in InZoi. Spent some time with the Macks and 'A field guide to demons..." Always good to familiarize yourself with demons... gets one ready to supervise eighth graders.

 I'm going to have to schedule a vet appointment for mine beastie. I think she has an issue with her foot and she's overdue for her shots. She's not complaining or showing any signs of discomfort. I called my sister yesterday and we had a great chat. Life just gets away from you and suddenly, it's been a month since you've talked with family.

 I'll need her to hem a pair of pants I bought today. Yeah, it's that time of year again. I also want to get winter boots before things get really slippery ouf there. Anyway, that's what's going on with me. I hope you are all doing well out there.

And the productivity continues!

 Went back to InZoi this weekend. Trying to make more progress on the works of George Eliot but I think I've burned out a bit. Yes, I continue to be productive in my personal life. I cleaned up Fountain Tire's mess (damn that flathead in the flat cap) and my will is complete and written out. Yes, that's money stuff but it's done.

 The kids started back on Friday. They'll start taking out books this Wednesday. Feeling pretty good... although I'm still doing lunch supervision (an excess of money would help that). Lovely cool days. Did we get a visit from frost overnight? My neighbour brought her plants in; just in case.

 Anyway, that's what's going on with me. I hope ye my followers are doing well.

BYE.

See them in September

 ...But not for another week. Traditionally, it's after Labour Day, then there's an inservice, and then two days of Meet the Teacher. THEN it's the first day of school. Because the first day back is so traumatic the kids need a weekend to deal with it. I can't recall what the first day back was like when I was a kid. Maybe the weekend is badly-needed.

 But today is the first library tech meeting. Always a great time. Get to see my most beloved kith and kin. Hope they all had a great summer. Meanwhile, I had a great summer. I was productive and so on. Anyway, I need to cut this short because I have a cat who will start screaming at me any second. I hope ye, my few but fantastic, are doing well.

BYE.

Approach of the morrow

 Yup. It is nearly that time again. By this time tomorrow, I will have had my first day back to work. How did I spend this, my last day of vacation? Library trip and a bit of shopping. Pretty much the same way I've spent most of these summer days. I spent part of the day reading 'Heartstopper 6' and 'The scarlet letter'. These books have nowt in common, by the by.

 Reading the former because I want to make sure it's appropriate for the library. Reading the latter because the last time I read it, I was just starting into my double-digits. Guaranteed, I was far too young to understand it; let alone appreciate it. Our family has a gorgeously-illustrated edition. At least, I hope my sister decided to keep it. Unfortunately, I do not have room for it on my shelves.

 Anyway, it's been a pretty quick read (The scarlet letter). I should be ready to bring it back later this week. Making progress in other things as well. Finally had a meeting with a lawyer to get my will done. One day, certain charities will be pleased with me. Anyway, I hope my few followers are pleased with their lives thus far.

BYE.

Spring, are you finally here?

 Inquiring minds wanna know. I've been more productive these days than usual. With the school year winding up in 7 weeks or so, I might as well be productive through what's left, right?

 Came across some urban wildlife the other day.

Zoom-in for the wildlife. Cobra chickens...

 Anyway, I am still playing 'Hades' but I don't much feel up to it right now. I keep walking into projectiles. Yeah, I know that ain't smart. 7 weeks or so left before the end of the school year.

BYE.

This went on for too long

 For such a short month... AUGH! This past week passed horrendously slowly. I kept waking up in the morning going "...oh, it's not Friday." At least it's the 28th today. A short month shouldn't be so freaking full. My school had a fun assembly yesterday to celebrate ILTR. During the 10 drop everything and read segment, I busied myself with Virgil.

 The temperature bounced up and down during the month. It's -28 with a windchill count of -38 this morning. Climate change is mercurial. I don't really want to go anywhere today. Hey... here comes March! Spring Break is on the horizon. Cannot wait for that.

 I hope my viewers are doing well and keeping warm. Spring Break is coming. Just have to be patient.

BYE.

Love, reading, Black history, and Les Voyageurs

 So much packed into the shortest month. The temperature keeps tiptoeing into the little numbers. I am doing well. Apologies that I really don't have much to say. Been doing a lot of reading. I like this month. I hope to do lots of reading to kids this month. "Duck! Rabbit!" is one of my selections. It's a great trompe d'oeil story. Personally, I see the rabbit first.

  I also plan to read some Curious George. Maybe I'll shake it up with something from Munsch. Always a kid pleaser. That or some Mo Willems. That darn pigeon! The kids were asking me what my favourite book is. I have a top 10 list, actually. Life's too short to have one favourite title.

  My favourite part of this month is probably La Festival du Voyageur. Fantastic music, burned tongues, and gorgeous ice sculptures. A shame the festival itself is extortion exemplified. Probably costs more than the furs the Voyageurs dragged to the outpost. Anyway, I hope you, my awesome followers, are doing well.

BYE.

The unforgettable month

 Remembrance Day ceremony was today. Properly solemn. Our cadets turned out in full force. The trumpeters were... needing more practice. We had a piper as well. I probably should not have stood so close to them. My good ear wasn't happy with me. The weekend is here at last. It seems like the week moved at a glacial pace.

 I cannot recall if I had read 'Dolores Claiborne' already. Finished reading it today. Powerful, real voice narrating a heartrending story. I think Dolores is one of the most real voices I've ever encountered. Meanwhile, life has been pretty good. The first snows fell yesterday. The winter, at long last.

  Going from King to Cohen... oi. This might be deeply depressing. We'll see.

BYE.

Urgh

 The laminator, according to a report, is completely jammed up at this time. Well, it would happen during my lunch break. Looks like I'm going to be busy this afternoon. Cutting, tugging, reversing, and hoping. Monday, amirite? Anyway, tomorrow is Truth and Reconciliation. No school and most businesses on reduced hours.

  I did not sleep well so I'm tired and grumpy. Again, we're talking pretty straightforward for Monday. At least it's nice outside. 30% chance of rain, it is said. Anyway, all the best to the folks following this blog. Hope yer day goes better than expected.

BYE.

It was on a Wednesday

 So it's a nice day. Indigenous summer? Anyway, life is all right. I've been into books set during WWII lately. So the Diors were part of the French Resistance. My first encounter with the French Resistance was 'Allo, allo'. Definitely sophisticated, wot? Give me a break; I was four. Now I'm reading about more resisting the Nazis.

 So, do I have followers on this blog beyond my bored two or three? If I actually do; hey! How are you? Hope my viewers had a good summer. I guess that's it. The kids are all right. No attitude yet but give them time.

BYE.

At my labours

 I've been back for 3ish days. Pretty quiet. The kids don't start back for another week. I cannot be sure, but there are people who are not just me reading my posts. Hey there. Hope you are well. Unless that's just me bumping my own posts in some wild desperate move. Par for the course.

 Anyway, the weather has been great of late. The wildfires are finally retreating and the air quality warnings have gone away. I prolly just jinxed it. Labour Day approaches. Three day weekend ftw. Not that I'm going to do anything exciting with my life. I rarely do.

 To my two constant readers, I hope you are well and having the best day. To the curious crowd that has apparently gathered, I hope you are well and living well. 

BYE.

Uninstalled Duolingo

 The latest update threw me into such a loop that I have uninstalled this waste of an app and am dreaming up painful hells for the pinhead who okayed the update. Some people should go home to their eldritch homeland and never come back.

 Meanwhile, there are 4 weeks remaining. Very nice. Now we just need it to rain in Manitoba for two weeks solid. That will take care of the wildfires. There's nothing else to say.

BYE.

Hey...

 So here approcheth another birthday. Another milestone. Probably the whiniest of milestones. Anyway, with Mom being terminal and unable to leave her bed, it's just mi hermana and my brother-in-law treating me to excellent Korean fare. I'm looking forward to it.

 I'm also looking forward to Spring Break. I feel pretty brittle this afternoon. Pretty passive-aggressive at work. It's only Wednesday, too. Whatever. Still reading... nothing new there. Joyce Carol Oates. Meh....

  I am visiting la madre today. Probably won't stay long. Pretty poor headspace right now. Meh.

BYE.

AI haz benefits?

 So I attended a meeting where we learned that AI can be fun and beneficial. It's all just a matter of using commonsense. That's a rare commodity in this day and age, but still important. Meanwhile, we learned that it's not all Skynet (YET) out in the cloud. AI is not at that level but give the tech a few years and a few more billions and we'll be there.

 Meanwhile, it was a fun meeting. We aired our concerns about AI coming to our division. Hey, the kids already have this stuff down pat. We're just playing catch-up halfheartedly... as usual. But the programs look cool. I'll get down to sharing deets with the staff soon.

 No sims stuff in this post. Here comes the weekend.

BYE.

Weather

 Improving. However, the library is full every day, it seems.

Wonder if the kids are doing this outside?

BYE

The stuff and the other stuff

    All the walking I've been doing has lead to me getting dry and cracking heels. I can lotion them until the cows come home and it does not seem to help. I've had suggestions on better lotions - more foot-specific but far more expensive lotions. Perhaps I will one day crack - puns, yeah - and purchase that incredible foot-specific stuff for my withered heels. Oh, and my cat just met the neighbour's dog a moment ago. My furry little turd hissed at that decent little doggy - bit of a jerk, eh?

    So here we are in September. The kids make their triumphant return this Friday. Gotta love the school system. Well, at least Goertzen took over from that insufferable piece of garbage Pallister. Yeah, another miserable Tory, but he proved he's at least human by trashing the loathsome Bill 64. We don't need such a miserable amalgamation gumming up the works. So, the last time I posted, I mentioned three books that had caught my eye. I also said something about mentioning three books I'd read in August. So here we go, ye awesome few!

 

 I don’t read LGBTQ+ titles very often; nor do I read coming-of-age stories very often. I chose to fill both gaps with Chris Gill’s “The Nowhere”. Seb and his crusty, grumpy father live out on the Outback – an isolated existence until Jake moves next door with his family. The story starts in medias res with Seb in his thirties and feeling a little lost. It jumps back to his teens and forward again as Seb strives to reconcile his feelings about the secrets he keeps.  (5 out of 5 stars)

 

Grace Lin’s “When the sea turned to silver” is a phenomenal read, and I  wanted to read more of her works. “Where the mountain meets the moon” is stellar as well. Young Minli goes on her story-telling quest to find the Man in the Moon and ask for his help. Warm, wise, and exciting, readers will be enthralled by the cast of immortal characters from Chinese legend.  It’s aimed at middle-school but would be great for nearly anyone. (5 out of 5 stars)

 

 

 

 

Chellamuthu’s journey from India to the U.S. and then back to India is heartbreaking and powerful. I’d never heard of him, but I was entranced by his story with Camron Wright’s “The orphan keeper”. Chellamuthu’s life as a child was hard, but losing his parents and his world crushed him. His reinvention as Taj Khyber Rowland when he reaches his new family in the U.S. is just something he has to do to keep himself together. It’s a potent, tragic story and one I am glad I got to read. (4½ out of 5 stars)

 

 

      

 

        So that is the book update. No, I don't plan to post my three favourite books for September. This was just something I said I would do. I need to post more entries here, don't I?

BYE.

No going to Al Simhara

      I went to nraas and they suggested I reset everything but it's still no use. I guess this one family of mine will never go to Egypt again. They also suggested I get Traveler and ErrorTrap. I guess, if you get one of those mods, you should get them all? Not that my game is buggered or anything; just a minor inconvenience.

      Who taught Jesse Ball to write? Pity they never taught him how to end a story well. So damn anti-climactic it hurts the head. The dude has great style and can start and see a story through, but he is an utter fail at closing a story down. I read 'A cure for suicide' and 'Samedi the deafness' recently, and was ready to slam Ball into a door and give him a disease-laced sammich. Do I even want to try this dude's works hoping third time's the charm or should I just throw up my hands and suggest Ball go swimming with the Spirit of Dark and Lonely Water?

      It rained a fair bit this weekend, and we needed the rain badly. Mom met me in the park with A&W yesterday. I think she's really looking forward to everyone in Canada getting both doses of the vaccine so we can open up and go back to pre-pandemic times. I'm an antisocial so-n-so, so this life is not nearly such a hardship. All in all, it's been a lovely weekend. I beefed up a can of cream of potato soup with mashed potatoes, cheese, bacon bits, and dill. I tried to get cheap chives but came up empty. I also made curried potatoes with beef flavouring. I've eaten plenty of starch today; that's what I'm saying.

      Amazing that we're in May already. June is just under the horizon. I don't expect that there will be another lean summer in my future for 2021. The division would have had to tell us at least a week ago if there was in fact a plan to let the support staff go a month early. I guess they could still let us go at some point in June, but it seems doubtful at this point. There's a rumour that the 7s and 8s will be back full-time at some point, but that just seems like madness.

 

This dude has it down; anybody for a swim?

BYE.

Second thoughts? No more time!

      Prepare yourself and bring the rhyme! Yesterday, the class I share my library with had a rap battle. Cats vs. dogs, Minecraft vs. Roblox, summer vs. winter, and Garfield vs. Calvin and Hobbes, and books are good vs. books are bad. The teacher asked me if I could help out by doing battle with the Garfield side of one battle, and I accepted the challenge. It's not that I don't like Garfield, but let's be honest; before Jon got a girlfriend, he was even more depressing and boring than he is now. Garfield beating on Odie is a one-trick pony, isn't it? Garfield's not even cute; that's Nermal's department. At any rate, I prefer Calvin and Hobbes, and came up with some half-decent rhymes to praise C and B and diss Garfield. 

      My opponents came up with some pretty good points about Calvin spending most of his time in his head. The little dude's six, after all. Let him expand his imagination as far as he can for as long as his childhood allows. I was in that boat too at that age, I expect. Anyway, if given a choice of Garfield or C and B, I will choose the latter every time. Kids don't expect their librarian to have a loud voice... unless said librarian is yelling at them for silence. I haven't had to do that this year thanks to COVID-19, so my bellowing out my pseudo-sick rhymes was summat of a shock to them. At any rate, I won that rap battle. It might have been unfair to my opponents. After all, you would need to put all four of their ages together to match mine. They weren't around in the days of Grandmaster Flash, Run DMC, Maestro Fresh-Wes, and other early masters.

      Still, they took their bit of flesh out of Calvin and Hobbes, and I salute them. The second rap battle I part of, the Books one, was a battle I was glad to lose. Every battle needs a bad guy who goes down in searing flames, and I was perfectly happy to be that bad guy. The audience was even more shocked to hear their librarian dissing books. A battle needs a bad guy, and I wanted a challenge. It was very hard for me to trash my end all, be all. I rooted for the teacher as she praised books and got the cheers from the audience. Some of them did clap politely for me at the end of it, but they cheered and whistled for my victorious opponent. It was a lot of fun. The teacher does this every year around this time. Maybe, if I have a free period next year (assuming we go back to what passes for normal), I'll volunteer for the experience again.

       I've done a lot of reading lately (which should surprise nobody). With the coming of Spring Break, I expect to do a lot more reading. I just wanted to post about the rap battle today. Another post will be along before long.

BYE.

Developments

     I'm sharing my usually silent space with noisy 6s until Xmas Break. It was either this or a complete and total lockdown for our school division (I'm guessing; and that could happen anyway). So one of my favourite co-workers has moved in and turned the library into a makeshift classroom. Today was the first day with these 6s. I was expecting chaotica but it's too early for that. Once the kids settle down a bit; then the chaotica and shouting will follow. The pandemic continues to work its deadly skill upon the hospitals and the ICUs of the world. 

      Even Nunavut is no longer immune. I was in awe of Nunavut earlier this year but it has joined the rest of Canada. At least they're smart enough to institute stringent lockdown rules. The rest of Canada would do good to follow suit. Perhaps it's too late for that. It might be too late for our divided neighbours to the immediate south. At least they voted for a new Prez that won't cause America's rep to continue its freefall. Not that he could do any worse than the Orange Nuisance, at this point. He certainly cannot do any worse. At least, I hope he will not do any worse.

      I plugged my car for the first time this winter tonight. Exciting, this wintertime! Now for some generic pics.

 

 

 

 

BYE.

October

      Just closed the cover on 'The occupied' by Craig Parshall. To be honest, I was not partial to it. It's on dark topics as it is; does the main character have to be completely unsympathetic? I was kinda hoping the dark forces Trevor unleashed would take him away before the books reached 150 pages. Blech. Anyway, Thanksgiving approaches. Just the four of us at the dinner table, like usual. I don't thing we'll be violating any coronavirus protocols. TS3 had an amazing brain-fart just now and I had to fight to close it. I don't think it's done that for a long time. I wonder what it means? Does it mean I will have to start a new game as my current file has up and corrupted?

     I saved not long before the brain-fart so my game should be all right. Anyway, I have a western by Elmer Kelton to look forward to next on the literary front. I hope the main character is sympathetic. I don't like characters that seem so flat, unemotional, or just annoying. Trevor, for all of his presence, was flat and dull. I hope Charlie Flagg of 'The time it never rained' is more interesting. The title was a grabber, at least. Anyway, I feel pretty good with the mask mandate and so far (touch wood) there have been no cases at my school or in my school division

     To the two or three of you still wasting yer time on this blog, I hope you are doing well and staying indoors yet connected to yer loved ones. Wear yer masks with pride and wash yer hands. Winter is coming and the virus will get worse before it gets better. That is all for now.

 

BYE.