I have always imagined that Paradise will be a kind of library. - Jorge Luis Borges

I find television very educational. The minute somebody turns it on, I go to the library and read a good book. - Groucho Marx

My last day at my current library. A little sad but inwardly I'm rejoicing. I dressed up for the occasion, my 3-inch heels making me an even six feet and my new Red Velvet Cake gloss flavoring and coloring my lips. Today I am super femme librarian! But this next step is only a brief one, I will become a reference librarian here in Las Vegas only temporarily because, to my immense pleasure, I have succeeded in securing the position I wanted in Northern California! I have not yet informed my new boss of this development since I am not sure of the exact date but it seems I will be moving in mid-October.

My visit to the area and my interview happened at the beginning of this week. I spent some time with my mom doing girly things like getting pedicures and buying some gorgeous shoes (including a pair of spike-heeled ankle boots that make me salivate just mentioning them). The library interview was hours of meeting with different people throughout the main library and answering endless questions. My faux storytime and book discussion went well and I was able to introduce some of my new coworkers to "New Socks" by Bob Shea, a great book to read to kids and very funny. Most of my time was spent wandering through the various libraries in the city and checking out the facilities. Such a library geek, even on vacation I tour them. I find that I really love the area, they have a much bigger gay community and tons of museums/venues/fun things to do. Basically the anti-Vegas.

Some fun things about my trip:
1. Meeting my gramma Jewel - in her 80s (though you would never guess) and she welcomed me into her house and tried to fatten me up
2. Tasting the food at an Afghan restaurant - mmm, rosewater and cardamon pudding!
3. Sharing red velvet cake with my mom at the dessert diner
4. Curling up with my mom's cat since I missed my own while I was gone
5. Meeting a high school friend of Mom's - they have a ranch in the middle of the city, horses and everything!
6. Getting out of Vegas and relaxing for awhile

Now I have to start packing and preparing to move. Which will be happening around the same time my best friend is getting married. Celebrations all around!

Don't join the book burners. Don't think you're going to conceal faults by concealing evidence that they ever existed. Don't be afraid to go in your library and read every book... - Dwight D. Eisenhower

S-T-A-U-N-C-H

"I tell you if there's anything worse than dealing with a staunch woman... S-T-A-U-N-C-H. There's nothing worse, I'm telling you. They don't weaken, no matter what." - "Little Edie" Bouvier Beale in Grey Gardens

Required by a class in my final semester of my MLIS program at UNT, I have begun a blog about being a Young People's Librarian in Sin City. Rising like a phoenix from the smoking wreckage of my past, I am curious to create this outlet and see how the experience will develop. My truths? I am very nearly (see me August 8, 2008) a librarian. I am a voracious reader. I am gay and an enthusiast of roller derby, burlesque, and bellydancing. I have a lot of tattoos including several designed from comics by R. Crumb and George Herriman. I share my house with 4 cats: Allen Ginsberg, Charles Bukowski, Zzyzx, and Icarus. And I have 2 fabulous roommates whom I shall henceforth refer to by their imposed pseudonyms: Jane (for Jane Birkin) and Zelda (for the name Marilyn Monroe used when checking in to hotels). The following is a quote from Allen Ginsberg that seems appropriately updated by replacing the word "poetry" with "blog": "Poetry is the one place where people can speak their original human mind. It is the outlet for people to say in public what is known in private."

I am not a writer, beyond research papers, but rather a consumer of what is written. I like to collect quotations from myriad sources and save them in a journal. I have a color-coded planner that never leaves my side and my books are all sorted in a method similar to the Library of Congress cataloging. I am bossy and a know-it-all show-off; I am selfish and well-aware of my own shortcomings. I am just shy of becoming a crazy cat lady. That said, I am looking forward to the upcoming interactions with this blog.

- BiblioFemme