Friday, February 26, 2010
South Carolina
I am back in South Carolina. No blog today. I read a LOT on the plane. Not too much left of the book. I will blog Friday.
Wednesday, February 24, 2010
What a journey
So, in my reading today, Valentino has been taken to the hospital by Achor Achor, his roommate. There, Valentino experiences the fun of an American ER waiting room...now this is not the fun of drunkards or crazies...this is the fun of waiting hours to be treated even when no one is in there (which surprises me because it is HOTlanta...ugh hate that word). Julian, the receptionist ensures Valentino the doctor will be ready shortly, but it keeps dragging. Achak loses his patience and cannot understand why such an "amazing" medical system would call for such a wait. He calls one of his sponsors and has her speak to Julian...apparently the hospital is short-staffed.
As they are waiting, another Sudanese named Lino comes to borrow their car. The preface to Lino is his journeys through attempting to get married and bring a wife back to the United States. The process, to me, takes much too long. I don't know how they would have the patience...overall it would take a couple of years. Plus, dowries are in cows. The more cows you have, the more likely you are to marry a daughter. A story was shared about a guy named Gabriel who got a wife at 130 and she wasn't even the pick of the litter. 130 cows? Really? I guess they have not figured out currency. I wanna pay for this book in cows please...and rest assured...we will hear that. I think a trade paperback book is at least worth a gallon of milk and a steak.
As Valentino is trying to understand why he is waiting, he begins reminiscing on another story that he is telling Julian in his head. Valentino would be a mutter under your breath type person, I believe...he counters everyone with a story. This story is one of being in Pinyudo, Ethiopia. This is the designated area for the Lost Boys who have made it. Achak does not believe he is in Ethiopia because it is not as amazing as he thought it would be. Plus, everyone is dying and there are over 16,000 boys there. Achak becomes the leader of a group of eleven boys and names them the Eleven. His deputy leader is Achor Achor. This whole segment was based on how they met in Sudan.
A little tribal warfare begins within the camp between the River People and the boys. It is pretty sad because ultimately people do die...a lot of them. There is also the story of how George Bush, Sr. discovered oil under the the land of Sudan and how the split country divided even more after the discovery of oil...and of course, America began to meddle in affairs. Thus, people were uprooted because Chevron was coming in.
What a happy time.
Well, today I packed. Work was fine. Nothing really crazy. I sold a Nook.
Right now it is around 1:30AM and I have a cab ride to Addison Blue Line at 5:10AM. I have to wake at 4:50AM. My flight is at 6:45...I will be in Charlotte at 9:45 in the morning. I am really excited because this is the first time I have seen my mom since June...and the first time I have seen my South Carolinian friends since, too. Tonight we had a CRAZY whiteout in Skokie. Snow was not predicted and there was about 4 inches in a short time. Glad that is over.
The blanket of snow after work.
The two pictures below are a tribute to snow. This is the park at my apartment. Fall and Winter.
Fall :)
Winter!
And this is my tribute to dorkiness in literature. You figure it out. ;) Good ole London.
Good morning and next blog is from South Kakalacki.
As they are waiting, another Sudanese named Lino comes to borrow their car. The preface to Lino is his journeys through attempting to get married and bring a wife back to the United States. The process, to me, takes much too long. I don't know how they would have the patience...overall it would take a couple of years. Plus, dowries are in cows. The more cows you have, the more likely you are to marry a daughter. A story was shared about a guy named Gabriel who got a wife at 130 and she wasn't even the pick of the litter. 130 cows? Really? I guess they have not figured out currency. I wanna pay for this book in cows please...and rest assured...we will hear that. I think a trade paperback book is at least worth a gallon of milk and a steak.
As Valentino is trying to understand why he is waiting, he begins reminiscing on another story that he is telling Julian in his head. Valentino would be a mutter under your breath type person, I believe...he counters everyone with a story. This story is one of being in Pinyudo, Ethiopia. This is the designated area for the Lost Boys who have made it. Achak does not believe he is in Ethiopia because it is not as amazing as he thought it would be. Plus, everyone is dying and there are over 16,000 boys there. Achak becomes the leader of a group of eleven boys and names them the Eleven. His deputy leader is Achor Achor. This whole segment was based on how they met in Sudan.
A little tribal warfare begins within the camp between the River People and the boys. It is pretty sad because ultimately people do die...a lot of them. There is also the story of how George Bush, Sr. discovered oil under the the land of Sudan and how the split country divided even more after the discovery of oil...and of course, America began to meddle in affairs. Thus, people were uprooted because Chevron was coming in.
What a happy time.
Well, today I packed. Work was fine. Nothing really crazy. I sold a Nook.
Right now it is around 1:30AM and I have a cab ride to Addison Blue Line at 5:10AM. I have to wake at 4:50AM. My flight is at 6:45...I will be in Charlotte at 9:45 in the morning. I am really excited because this is the first time I have seen my mom since June...and the first time I have seen my South Carolinian friends since, too. Tonight we had a CRAZY whiteout in Skokie. Snow was not predicted and there was about 4 inches in a short time. Glad that is over.
The blanket of snow after work.
The two pictures below are a tribute to snow. This is the park at my apartment. Fall and Winter.
Fall :)
Winter!And this is my tribute to dorkiness in literature. You figure it out. ;) Good ole London.
Good morning and next blog is from South Kakalacki.
What sadness
Well, my advancement in reading has picked up. The sadness of What is the What was still felt in today's reading. I did not expect for everything to recover, but I also expected for just a little break. Instead, there are still tales of more boys dying. On top of this, add vultures and carrion. As boys are dying, their bodies are becoming one with the earth again, as Achak would say. Countless victims of heat, famine and thirst finally give up and sit down under trees to rest. Unfortunately, those resting have other plans. They are going to die and realize it is time for them to go and they do. One victim of death was William K, Achak's lifelong friend; he had to bury William K himself.
The boys take refugee in a burnt out town with a group of SPLA. The soldiers are a little bittersweet to the boys but let them stay. They use the area as higher ground from the torrential rainfall. When they get there, their leader says they must leave. Dut strikes a deal and says they are fit to be there. They do indeed stay. The leader warns them that they must not stray far (many boys wanted to inquire about fishing in swamps and food) because land mines abound. The boys do not understand the concept of landmines and soon find out. Dut tries to explain, but it actually takes several boys going out and getting killed to get the idea across.
As the boys are regaining strength, another group of at least a thousand approach. It is filled with healthy SPLA, men, women, children and babies. Many have supplies and provisions with them. A water tank is brought to the area. These are Dinka people making their way toward Pinyudo. When they arrive, they say they must take the town and EVERYONE must leave. They chased them off and beat them.
As the book progresses, the boys come across another river in which they must cross. To make things a little tougher, crocodiles slink into the water as the boys move closer. Now, the good news is no one dies crossing. The bad news: plenty die. When crossing the river, the boys find out they are in Ethiopia. Achak is shocked because he did not expect it to look so similar to the land in which he was born. He does not believe Dut at first.
Now to the devastation of Atlanta. Achor Achor comes home and discovers Achak (Valentino) on the floor. They call the police and have them arrive.
This is where I got! Today was quiet day at the bookstore. We are getting a long time friend of Madeleine L'Engle to speak at the Educator Fair. So cool. Customers were pretty cool today. I did Storytime at 10 this morning for pre-schoolers. The nannies were really happy I was back...and happy I was taking the kids away for a moment. When I left, it looked as though a hurricane had hit. Good thing to know for anyone at a bookstore: Nannies do not clean up their mess. Apparently doing there jobs at home makes them exempt from doing jobs at the bookstore. They left a damn mountain of People, US Weekly, OK, Glamour, Elle, Cosmo and more sitting on the floor. UGH. At least they were nice. To top it off, they were barking with the kids in a book I did at Storytime today. The kids made dog noises with me...well lo and behold, the nannies participated!
A rather unfortunate beastly woman walked in today with her unfortunate daughter. She let the little girl trash the section. The woman was a pig...
Have a wonderful night.
The boys take refugee in a burnt out town with a group of SPLA. The soldiers are a little bittersweet to the boys but let them stay. They use the area as higher ground from the torrential rainfall. When they get there, their leader says they must leave. Dut strikes a deal and says they are fit to be there. They do indeed stay. The leader warns them that they must not stray far (many boys wanted to inquire about fishing in swamps and food) because land mines abound. The boys do not understand the concept of landmines and soon find out. Dut tries to explain, but it actually takes several boys going out and getting killed to get the idea across.
As the boys are regaining strength, another group of at least a thousand approach. It is filled with healthy SPLA, men, women, children and babies. Many have supplies and provisions with them. A water tank is brought to the area. These are Dinka people making their way toward Pinyudo. When they arrive, they say they must take the town and EVERYONE must leave. They chased them off and beat them.
As the book progresses, the boys come across another river in which they must cross. To make things a little tougher, crocodiles slink into the water as the boys move closer. Now, the good news is no one dies crossing. The bad news: plenty die. When crossing the river, the boys find out they are in Ethiopia. Achak is shocked because he did not expect it to look so similar to the land in which he was born. He does not believe Dut at first.
Now to the devastation of Atlanta. Achor Achor comes home and discovers Achak (Valentino) on the floor. They call the police and have them arrive.
This is where I got! Today was quiet day at the bookstore. We are getting a long time friend of Madeleine L'Engle to speak at the Educator Fair. So cool. Customers were pretty cool today. I did Storytime at 10 this morning for pre-schoolers. The nannies were really happy I was back...and happy I was taking the kids away for a moment. When I left, it looked as though a hurricane had hit. Good thing to know for anyone at a bookstore: Nannies do not clean up their mess. Apparently doing there jobs at home makes them exempt from doing jobs at the bookstore. They left a damn mountain of People, US Weekly, OK, Glamour, Elle, Cosmo and more sitting on the floor. UGH. At least they were nice. To top it off, they were barking with the kids in a book I did at Storytime today. The kids made dog noises with me...well lo and behold, the nannies participated!
A rather unfortunate beastly woman walked in today with her unfortunate daughter. She let the little girl trash the section. The woman was a pig...
Have a wonderful night.
Monday, February 22, 2010
What a day
As I have read through What is the What today, I have seen some triumph and some tragedy. As Valentino (referred to as Achak, his Dinka name) crosses the Nile, he reaches a village setup on the other banks. The women there feed and attend to all of the thousands of boys and other people who have joined them in their journey. The village is a safehaven for the time being and a place where everyone can relax on their journeys to Ethiopia. Everyone fills their bellies and over time, they leave to continue the pilgrimage. While Achak is in the village, he runs into his friend William K who he not seen since Marial Bai. They are thrilled to once again see each other. Achak describes it as feeling like he was actually born before all of this horror began. He realizes his life did not just begin with the journey they have been making to Ethiopia. William K is concrete evidence that he once had a family, home and life. Achak feels comfortable and as if, for the first time, is going to make it to Ethiopia.
William K is a compulsive and pathological liar, but it does not stop Achak's affection for him as a friend. Somehow, the lying brings comfort to Achak because William K has fabricated wonderful stories of hearing how both of their families are alive and are in Ethiopia waiting; Achak knows this is not true because of what he has seen, but listens to the magnificent tales.
Whilst in the village, Dut informs them of how the civil war began basically with England giving up Sudan to itself. England and Egypt split the country in the 19th Century, but in WWII, England had to give it up to take care of their own selves. So, with England's hand gone, Southern Sudan had to govern itself which did not work too well with the Northern Arabs.
During the night, the village has to flee. The rebels are coming and are about to cross the Nile. The thousands have to run on. As the night progresses, day breaks and the kids are in the desert. To make a long story shore, boys succumb to death from the heat, thirst and famine. Even William K starts to go a little crazy (even though he comes out of it). As the trek goes on, the boys find trees full of birds and start to dine...I will go into no details...I almost had to skip this part.
One night in the desert, a false alarm sends all boys fleeing. Achak runs in the woods and gets hit by barbed wire. This takes him down and he passes out. He wakes to hear a man calling out in the bushes. The man does not show himself but forces Achak to talk. He eventually comes out of the bushes and takes Achuk to his hut. There, he has cold water, food and a bicycle. Achak is in heaven. The guy tells him he must not speak of the hut or the man. The man says he is alive because he does not exist (very philosophical, actually...but Achak doesn't understand what he means). Eventually, Achak asks him about the what. The man had never heard the story so Achak tells him his father's tale. Afterward, the man seems to try to lead Achak to the what. I believe the what is actually not knowing destiny, but Achak does not figure it out. It turns out the man has a bicycle and let's him ride even though he has never ridden before. Achak is scared but is excited, too. He learns to ride a bike that day and it actually releases him in a way.
After he rides the bike, the man sends him off so he does not get too far behind from the boys. Achak eventually finds William K but never says anything about his day. Achak is beginning to believe the whole thing was dream.
So, that was my reading today. I read on the eliptical. It was funny because the guy from the divorce party ended up being right next to me again!!! He told me I better get all of my stuff together and prepare myself to read, listen to music, talk on the phone, exercise AND not hold the bars.
I am still inspired by the courage and strength of the boys in What is the What. I know I was bitchy because I had to wake up at 5:10 this morning to work shipment for Gap until 10:45AM. We folded 3,600 garments of clothing. Man, I complained about folding when I was young for my mom and dad. I would gladly fold one load of undergarments now vs. the thousands of garments we folded today. I feel like I should run around naked because I am so sick of clothing. I don't even fold my own damned clothing.
Well, a brief evening update of Barnes. Great night although I have been up since 5:10 this morning and worked for 14.5 hours today. I met a woman tonight, her name is Mary Jo Cally...she told me I could use her name. She was fascinating. She and I first started talking about Rebecca Stead's When You Reach Me (is it a sign everyone should read this book since I have mentioned it about 100 times in my blogs?). Come to find out, MaryJo was really close with Madeleine L'Engle, author of A Wrinkle in Time. She was the one who convinced Mrs. L'Engle to record for the Random House audio version of her book; Cally was the producer (it even says so on the boxed recording we have at work!). She said L'Engle was such a fascinating woman which I do not deny in any form. I can tell just by reading her wonderful books. Ms. Cally told me about all of the versions of the book that exist because of the different errors that have been corrected over the decades from grammar to word choice to editor's desires, etc. Some of these changes L'Engle knew about, others she did not. There is even a Greek quote in the book that is not correct that Ms. Cally is trying to have corrected for the next printing. Ms. Cally said she would like to talk to people in a seminar or lecture or conference about L'Engle's life; she would show pictures and talk about some of the incredible things she did. I talked to our CRM tonight and she said we need to have Cally at our Educator Night in April. I am going to e-mail her tomorrow about it!
Then, to wrap this up quickly (I go to work at 8 tomorrow morning), we talked about opera. Come to find out, Ms. Cally is part of the Chicago Symphony Chorus and was a part of it when Sir Georg Solti conducted. How FANTASTIC! I love him. He is amazing. She said, how appropriately relating to my blogs, that he had them all memorize Berlioz's Damnation of Faust; she is going to the performance on Wednesday! I was so excited. She then told me she was friends with Anne Sophie von Otter, a Swedish Mezzo Soprano (the best in the world!). Wow what an incredible woman Ms. Cally is! I want to sit with her and chat some more when I am not working! I think it will be wonderful.
I hope I did not shortchange anyone on the blog tonight! Good reading today, good day today, good working today, good people today. The what is what we make of life.
Good night! :)
William K is a compulsive and pathological liar, but it does not stop Achak's affection for him as a friend. Somehow, the lying brings comfort to Achak because William K has fabricated wonderful stories of hearing how both of their families are alive and are in Ethiopia waiting; Achak knows this is not true because of what he has seen, but listens to the magnificent tales.
Whilst in the village, Dut informs them of how the civil war began basically with England giving up Sudan to itself. England and Egypt split the country in the 19th Century, but in WWII, England had to give it up to take care of their own selves. So, with England's hand gone, Southern Sudan had to govern itself which did not work too well with the Northern Arabs.
During the night, the village has to flee. The rebels are coming and are about to cross the Nile. The thousands have to run on. As the night progresses, day breaks and the kids are in the desert. To make a long story shore, boys succumb to death from the heat, thirst and famine. Even William K starts to go a little crazy (even though he comes out of it). As the trek goes on, the boys find trees full of birds and start to dine...I will go into no details...I almost had to skip this part.
One night in the desert, a false alarm sends all boys fleeing. Achak runs in the woods and gets hit by barbed wire. This takes him down and he passes out. He wakes to hear a man calling out in the bushes. The man does not show himself but forces Achak to talk. He eventually comes out of the bushes and takes Achuk to his hut. There, he has cold water, food and a bicycle. Achak is in heaven. The guy tells him he must not speak of the hut or the man. The man says he is alive because he does not exist (very philosophical, actually...but Achak doesn't understand what he means). Eventually, Achak asks him about the what. The man had never heard the story so Achak tells him his father's tale. Afterward, the man seems to try to lead Achak to the what. I believe the what is actually not knowing destiny, but Achak does not figure it out. It turns out the man has a bicycle and let's him ride even though he has never ridden before. Achak is scared but is excited, too. He learns to ride a bike that day and it actually releases him in a way.
After he rides the bike, the man sends him off so he does not get too far behind from the boys. Achak eventually finds William K but never says anything about his day. Achak is beginning to believe the whole thing was dream.
So, that was my reading today. I read on the eliptical. It was funny because the guy from the divorce party ended up being right next to me again!!! He told me I better get all of my stuff together and prepare myself to read, listen to music, talk on the phone, exercise AND not hold the bars.
I am still inspired by the courage and strength of the boys in What is the What. I know I was bitchy because I had to wake up at 5:10 this morning to work shipment for Gap until 10:45AM. We folded 3,600 garments of clothing. Man, I complained about folding when I was young for my mom and dad. I would gladly fold one load of undergarments now vs. the thousands of garments we folded today. I feel like I should run around naked because I am so sick of clothing. I don't even fold my own damned clothing.
Well, a brief evening update of Barnes. Great night although I have been up since 5:10 this morning and worked for 14.5 hours today. I met a woman tonight, her name is Mary Jo Cally...she told me I could use her name. She was fascinating. She and I first started talking about Rebecca Stead's When You Reach Me (is it a sign everyone should read this book since I have mentioned it about 100 times in my blogs?). Come to find out, MaryJo was really close with Madeleine L'Engle, author of A Wrinkle in Time. She was the one who convinced Mrs. L'Engle to record for the Random House audio version of her book; Cally was the producer (it even says so on the boxed recording we have at work!). She said L'Engle was such a fascinating woman which I do not deny in any form. I can tell just by reading her wonderful books. Ms. Cally told me about all of the versions of the book that exist because of the different errors that have been corrected over the decades from grammar to word choice to editor's desires, etc. Some of these changes L'Engle knew about, others she did not. There is even a Greek quote in the book that is not correct that Ms. Cally is trying to have corrected for the next printing. Ms. Cally said she would like to talk to people in a seminar or lecture or conference about L'Engle's life; she would show pictures and talk about some of the incredible things she did. I talked to our CRM tonight and she said we need to have Cally at our Educator Night in April. I am going to e-mail her tomorrow about it!
Then, to wrap this up quickly (I go to work at 8 tomorrow morning), we talked about opera. Come to find out, Ms. Cally is part of the Chicago Symphony Chorus and was a part of it when Sir Georg Solti conducted. How FANTASTIC! I love him. He is amazing. She said, how appropriately relating to my blogs, that he had them all memorize Berlioz's Damnation of Faust; she is going to the performance on Wednesday! I was so excited. She then told me she was friends with Anne Sophie von Otter, a Swedish Mezzo Soprano (the best in the world!). Wow what an incredible woman Ms. Cally is! I want to sit with her and chat some more when I am not working! I think it will be wonderful.
I hope I did not shortchange anyone on the blog tonight! Good reading today, good day today, good working today, good people today. The what is what we make of life.
Good night! :)
Sunday, February 21, 2010
What is the What is going on?
Snowman in my courtyard...yes it is snowing right now.
At this point, Valentino is still tied up on the floor and cannot move. His mouth is still taped and he is still enclosed within a "fort" Michael put around him. Michael begins to search the house and there is nothing Valentino can do about it but listen and hope he is not looking at pictures of sentimental value, ie, Tabitha, Valentino's Sudanese girlfriend. As Michael is snooping, Valentino tells the story of more travel, death and injury. As he finishes, a key moves around in the door. Valentino is sure it is Achor Achor his roommate. Alas, it is not...it is Tonya there with a van and ready to take the rest of his stuff. She and Michael soon depart.
Valentino decides it is time to make noise...and a lot of it. He is sure someone is going to hear him. He silently addresses his downstairs neighbors as his Christian neighbors (they have tried to proselytize many times...he does not mind though because he became a Christian in Sudan). The main story he wants to tell is of slavery and how the people were given to Arabs as slaves. He speaks of Deng's death and he talks about the host of the Sudanese Lost Boys in America, Mary Williams.
Mary Williams is the daughter of Jane Fonda. She wanted to make life better for the Sudanese Lost Boys and set up a foundation to collect money, sponsors and anything else that could be donated for the Lost Boys and Girls from Sudan. He speaks of Phil Mays, his sponsor, and of all the Tuesdays he spent telling his story in the playroom of the house.
He and Phil Mays hit it off very well. Mays contributed a lot of money to the foundation and helped Valentino with school, car, transit, jobs and anything else. He brought him into his home and his family welcomed Valentino. Valentino loved going to his mansion because it was unlike anything he had ever seen.
This all diverts into speaking of how the Sudanese Lost Boys became restless and ungrateful toward Mary Williams despite her efforts. They complained about everything. If one got one thing, they all thought they should have it. They all said they were from the same place and deserved equal treatment. They basically ran her to the ground without thanking her for everything she had done. She gave the foundation up eventually and it lost all support.
During the time, a Hollywood producer/director wanted to tell the story of the Sudanese struggle. He wanted to make a movie...but this also stirred craziness. Everyone thought their story should be shared. Who is going to benefit from this? Why can I not tell my story? Do you think it is fair? Basically, they just beat him into the ground, too. It makes me sad to read this because here we are in America trying to give them as much as we can for comfort and they are ungrateful and want more, more, more. Valentino is very embarrassed by this behaviour.
No one has still heard Valentino.
Also...as a side...here is the story of What is the What? in a nutshell. Valentino's father tells of the creation in the beginning. Of course, as Dr. Mufuka, my Zimbabwean world history professor at Lander always said, life on Africa was the beginning. God created Africa first and everyone comes from there...not gonna dispute. So...when God created Sudan first (in the version of his father), He gave the Sudanese all they could ever need: the means for survival, each other and cattle. They were able to use the cattle for food, milk and other usages. In time, God told them they could keep the cattle or take the What. Well, no one knew what the What might be. They did not want to lose the cattle to find out the What was trickery representing greed, so they decided to stick with cattle. God was happy and everyone got along fine. According to his father, the Arabs got the What and lost out from it. Well...back to Valentino now...as he is marching in all of these groups of boys, one finally says I think this is the "what." He simply means they apparently did something wrong to God and got what was coming.
Right now, I am about to read about how the Sudanese cross the Nile.
So, no blog would be complete without some Barnes and Noble.
Yesterday, we had a Special Storytime. It was based on books by Laura Numeroff. So, I read If You Give a Cat a Cupcake, If You Give a Pig a Party and If You Give a Mouse a Cookie. The purpose of the storytime was to have Mouse come and visit...and he did...Veronica in a suit. You don't tell the kids it is a costume character...they will shite themselves. You have to tell them the mouse is real and that 5 foot tall mice wearing bookbags really do exist. Because that is not as scary to know as the fact that it is just a costume character. So, when I finally started reading If You Give a Mouse A Cookie, I called Julie and said You can bring Mouse out now so everyone can see him and hug him! The kids were sooooooo excited. Oh, to be young.
So, here are three stories accumulated from yesterday and today. All deal with misfits:
1) Yesterday a 3-4 year old was at an 8X8 spinner rack; these are the racks you see that hold Spongebob books and Bernstein Bear books. It only means one of two things if a brat that age is getting near a spinner:
- They are going to spin it as hard as they can and make all of the books fly out all over the floor.
- They are going to pull 50 of them out and put them all over the section
- ACTUALLY THREE THINGS: they will do both of the above.
Misfits numbers 2, 3, 4 and 5 all combined in one. This gaggle of dumbasses was a dad and three children. I knew they were there before I even saw them this morning. Elmo and other books were laying on the Trade Book floor before the entrance of the Children's Department. I can see the devastation they leave before I ever see them and just know it is them. So when I walked in, after picking that shit up, it didn't surprise me they were in there and that about 15 books were on the floor. Then, I began finding Easter books in the Picturebook Wall and board books in the Disney stuff. I was getting pissed. The dad was letting them throw books everywhere, as usual. This is not the normal nanny devastation of leaving a few Cosmos, Elles and Glamours lying around...this is a five alarm emergency. This family requires much recovery of books. I walked over to the treehouse and strewn around them were 47, I repeat 47 books laying on the floor. I watched the dad earlier just pulling tons of books off the shelves. The dad? Really? He is worse than the kids. No regard. He just pulls books off and puts them on the floor for his wobbly legged bratass 11 month old. Then she stands on them. And then his three year old throws trains everywhere and his ten year old leaves RPG manuals all over the place. He also leaves books of all kinds on every shelf and coffee cups everywhere. What a douche. Well, then I walk around the section and pick up I think 38 more books he and his brats have strewn. The last thing to happen which was the straw that broke the camel's back: He handed Princess tubby legs a Cookie Monster plush...she threw it...he didn't pick it up...he then handed her a Curious George plush...same thing happened on both accounts. I was pissed and fortunately the hand of God came to the Children's Department just in time. He was holding her and looking away from me. She was facing me and her pacifier popped out of her mouth. Revenge was swift. Using the shoe that stepped in dog shit, I kicked the pacifier across the section right in front of her. She was not old enough to tell him and there were no witnesses. He noticed it was not in her mouth and looked on the floor for it...he saw it...picked it up (which amazed me because I didn't think he could bend his lower back or extend his arms to pick anything up) and put it in her mouth. Thank you.
And last but not least...the Queen of the Damned:
Fabiola and I were setting up a Hunger Games pre-order endcap for Suzanne Collins' final installment, Mockingjay which comes out August 24 (SO EXCITED). As we were setting it up, a little girl approached us. She looked at Fabiola and then me and said I need books with dead bodies. Uh, excuse us? I need book with dead bodies in it. We told her there were no books in the section with dead bodies. She stated I don't care if they are animal or human dead bodies. I need books with dead bodies. Fabi said We don't have books for children with dead bodies. Little girl states I am not a child, I just turned 5 (and of course held up three fingers). I told her there were no books with dead bodies. Well, just then mom comes walking up. What is she asking you guys for? I told her Books with dead bodies. The mom turned to the girl and said Sweetie, today we aren't going to buy forensics books. We already have enough of them. Let's find something fun in the children's section. OK. This is demented. Why is a mom buying her child books from the True Crime/Sociology section? Oh dear.
Well, it is about time to get off of this. We are experiencing more snow. 10 inches will fall tonight. Gross. I have to be at Gap at 6AM for shipment and at Barnes at 4PM for my shift tomorrow. LONG DAY. Have a wonderful night!
:)
Break for the sick
Sick today. Ugh. I had a full day of work. Came home with a sore throat. Went to bed at 8 with no dinner and just woke up a few minutes ago. About to go back to sleep to go back to work in the morning.
I did do a fun storytime in the Children's Department today...Laura Numeroff's If You Give a Mouse a Cookie...tomorrow, I will blog about it and post a pic. :)
Break from book today. Still a great read, but I have no energy to talk about it. Bleh. So there's tomorrow, tomorrow. The sun will shine tomorrow. It's only a day away. :)
:)
Happy sleeping.
I did do a fun storytime in the Children's Department today...Laura Numeroff's If You Give a Mouse a Cookie...tomorrow, I will blog about it and post a pic. :)
Break from book today. Still a great read, but I have no energy to talk about it. Bleh. So there's tomorrow, tomorrow. The sun will shine tomorrow. It's only a day away. :)
:)
Happy sleeping.
Saturday, February 20, 2010
What is the deal? It's like pole dancing at the Lyric.
What a wacky group of people to come to Barnes tonight...and here I am talking about needing to be appreciative of life because of the people of Sudan in What is the What? But seriously, as Susan would say...the Friday Night Specials were out tonight.
The teens were moronic tonight. The thing that I don't understand is that they are wonderful in the classroom. Everyone always asks me how I taught middle and high school. It is simple. You respect them for who they are and they will love and respect you. They are human and need attention and love. Simple as that. Put them in public and they become monkeys...well monkeys don't need this much attention or guidance. Tonight, they acted as if they had never ridden escalators. One girl, the type of girl whose hair you want to pull out, was riding up and down them. I know her type. She is around 15 and is the one who sits in choir and talks behind the music folder thinking you don't know what she is doing. What a dummy. Then, they were just screaming in general. Wow.
Then, thank you Eileen, sends me a guy who is a Friday Night Special and is "Well duh"ing me at the end of sentences. He could not believe we did not have Bridwell's Clifford's First Valentine's Day in any other format than board. He was a piece of work that ended up buying a Little Mermaid book. Oiy.
THEN, a rather beastly woman comes up to me and says I need a math book for a third grader. Well, me being congested and clogged did not understand. She said Can anyone hear me? No one can ever hear me? You can't hear! Let me say it again. I NEED A MATH WORKBOOK FOR A THIRD GRADER. She then proceeds to sign it to me and hold up three fingers. Does she think I am a monkey? I told her I can't hear because I have an infection (I was a little rude, but I was not going to put up with some gargantuan woman signing to me). She then lightened and said I can't ever hear. That is probably why no one can hear me. I talk to people all day and no one hears me. I tried to buy a plane ticket today and they couldn't hear me. I am trying to go to California because everyone out there is loopy like me, they probably can't hear either. Then, I was laughing. She was making it a fun situation. So, we parted laughing and having a good time bantering. She will probably be back.
AND LAST. A guy came up to me. Do you have any maldkfjth books? I said Excuse me, what books? He said Maldakvth. All I could hear was M and the th in the word. Then, the letter y started coming out. MYTH books! So, I took him to Mythology/Folklore. I then found out I heard wrong. Meth books. Meth books? Can you repeat that? -Meth like Math. Thanks Midwest. I am glad I can still understand the accent. When did Meth become Math. Drugs and math are not the same. Apparently drugs are supposed to be fun.
So, onto Eggers and the whole purpose of the blog.
Valentino is still struggling to get through to Michael. He is silently telling him of stories in Marial Bai and his struggles with hundreds of boys fleeing and walking. They walk for days at a time being led by Dut, a Dinka schoolteacher. Dut leads them to villages. Some villages want to feed and help them, others turn them away thinking they are affiliated with the rebels of the SPLA. One village throws spears at them injuring several boys. These boys have to deal with a lot of crap in order to survive. Many are starving and many are tired. The walking is endless. Along the path, a few boys are eaten by lions.
Along the way, we hear the story of one boy, a Dinka, named Deng. He lost everything he knew and is on the run as the rest are. Of course, we don't get to hear the rest of the story, but it is full of a lot of dreadful turns as the rest of the book is.
It amazes me the drive these kids have. The further they walk, the more villages release their kids to the group. Soon the group goes from 30 boys to 250. Many villagers believe that if they send their children off, they have a chance of surviving. No one really knows what to expect and no one really knows where they are going. They do know that Ethiopia is the projected path. The rebels are based there, the government of Sudan has made everyone want to flee. The government was responsible for the uprising. Southern Sudan was given the ability to self-govern for a while. To keep them in check, the government sent the Arab Baggara (meaning shepherd...they refer to it as the shepherd of men basically grazing the villagers and pushing them out of villages) to do their dirty work. They formed the army, told the Arabs to take all they want when they take the villages and kill anyone in the way. The Arabs are given guns, horses and free will to destroy, rape and conquer land. The Dinka are forced into slavery and forced to take care of the land they once owned and the property and cattle that were once their dowries for the Arabs.
I simply could not imagine this happening. I don't know how it happens. And to think, this is recent history and this is going on now. Societies are destroying themselves and each other. I guess it is how we develop? Man, could you imagine if this were happening in America. I know we have had a Civil War here. What would happen if this is us? I guess we wouldn't know until we were amidst the devastation.
The kids being herded around know nothing of the world and Dut has to teach them that other places other than Sudan exist. They never knew of Ethiopia, their neighbor. What would it be like for them to see a city like Chicago for the first time? They barely ever see cars and only some buildings are made of brick. Our metal and concrete jungle would bewilder them. There are people out there who know nothing of the existence in which we live.
So, back to the story...the boys run into a group of rebels who have killed an elephant and let them all eat. A lot of them eat the elephant raw. This part was honestly disgusting. I don't get sick, but the description was intense and getting me there. Wow. But, nonetheless, the elephant is something to eat. Deng and Valentino take an interest in the rebels and their guns. They want to be a part of this Red Army. They want to use guns to get revenge. This is the point where you can feel blood heating in the book. Hatred is beginning to protrude and invade hearts.
Overnight, after eating the elephant, Deng dies. This is where I left off.
Human nature is quite amazing. We just don't know how we will survive until we have to do it. I am sure not many of us in America, Europe, Australia and well-populated areas of Asia, South America and Central America could handle these struggles this intensely. It is a lot to fathom and contemplate.
Time for bed. I have to be at work in less than 8 hours. Night.
The teens were moronic tonight. The thing that I don't understand is that they are wonderful in the classroom. Everyone always asks me how I taught middle and high school. It is simple. You respect them for who they are and they will love and respect you. They are human and need attention and love. Simple as that. Put them in public and they become monkeys...well monkeys don't need this much attention or guidance. Tonight, they acted as if they had never ridden escalators. One girl, the type of girl whose hair you want to pull out, was riding up and down them. I know her type. She is around 15 and is the one who sits in choir and talks behind the music folder thinking you don't know what she is doing. What a dummy. Then, they were just screaming in general. Wow.
Then, thank you Eileen, sends me a guy who is a Friday Night Special and is "Well duh"ing me at the end of sentences. He could not believe we did not have Bridwell's Clifford's First Valentine's Day in any other format than board. He was a piece of work that ended up buying a Little Mermaid book. Oiy.
THEN, a rather beastly woman comes up to me and says I need a math book for a third grader. Well, me being congested and clogged did not understand. She said Can anyone hear me? No one can ever hear me? You can't hear! Let me say it again. I NEED A MATH WORKBOOK FOR A THIRD GRADER. She then proceeds to sign it to me and hold up three fingers. Does she think I am a monkey? I told her I can't hear because I have an infection (I was a little rude, but I was not going to put up with some gargantuan woman signing to me). She then lightened and said I can't ever hear. That is probably why no one can hear me. I talk to people all day and no one hears me. I tried to buy a plane ticket today and they couldn't hear me. I am trying to go to California because everyone out there is loopy like me, they probably can't hear either. Then, I was laughing. She was making it a fun situation. So, we parted laughing and having a good time bantering. She will probably be back.
AND LAST. A guy came up to me. Do you have any maldkfjth books? I said Excuse me, what books? He said Maldakvth. All I could hear was M and the th in the word. Then, the letter y started coming out. MYTH books! So, I took him to Mythology/Folklore. I then found out I heard wrong. Meth books. Meth books? Can you repeat that? -Meth like Math. Thanks Midwest. I am glad I can still understand the accent. When did Meth become Math. Drugs and math are not the same. Apparently drugs are supposed to be fun.
So, onto Eggers and the whole purpose of the blog.
Valentino is still struggling to get through to Michael. He is silently telling him of stories in Marial Bai and his struggles with hundreds of boys fleeing and walking. They walk for days at a time being led by Dut, a Dinka schoolteacher. Dut leads them to villages. Some villages want to feed and help them, others turn them away thinking they are affiliated with the rebels of the SPLA. One village throws spears at them injuring several boys. These boys have to deal with a lot of crap in order to survive. Many are starving and many are tired. The walking is endless. Along the path, a few boys are eaten by lions.
Along the way, we hear the story of one boy, a Dinka, named Deng. He lost everything he knew and is on the run as the rest are. Of course, we don't get to hear the rest of the story, but it is full of a lot of dreadful turns as the rest of the book is.
It amazes me the drive these kids have. The further they walk, the more villages release their kids to the group. Soon the group goes from 30 boys to 250. Many villagers believe that if they send their children off, they have a chance of surviving. No one really knows what to expect and no one really knows where they are going. They do know that Ethiopia is the projected path. The rebels are based there, the government of Sudan has made everyone want to flee. The government was responsible for the uprising. Southern Sudan was given the ability to self-govern for a while. To keep them in check, the government sent the Arab Baggara (meaning shepherd...they refer to it as the shepherd of men basically grazing the villagers and pushing them out of villages) to do their dirty work. They formed the army, told the Arabs to take all they want when they take the villages and kill anyone in the way. The Arabs are given guns, horses and free will to destroy, rape and conquer land. The Dinka are forced into slavery and forced to take care of the land they once owned and the property and cattle that were once their dowries for the Arabs.
I simply could not imagine this happening. I don't know how it happens. And to think, this is recent history and this is going on now. Societies are destroying themselves and each other. I guess it is how we develop? Man, could you imagine if this were happening in America. I know we have had a Civil War here. What would happen if this is us? I guess we wouldn't know until we were amidst the devastation.
The kids being herded around know nothing of the world and Dut has to teach them that other places other than Sudan exist. They never knew of Ethiopia, their neighbor. What would it be like for them to see a city like Chicago for the first time? They barely ever see cars and only some buildings are made of brick. Our metal and concrete jungle would bewilder them. There are people out there who know nothing of the existence in which we live.
So, back to the story...the boys run into a group of rebels who have killed an elephant and let them all eat. A lot of them eat the elephant raw. This part was honestly disgusting. I don't get sick, but the description was intense and getting me there. Wow. But, nonetheless, the elephant is something to eat. Deng and Valentino take an interest in the rebels and their guns. They want to be a part of this Red Army. They want to use guns to get revenge. This is the point where you can feel blood heating in the book. Hatred is beginning to protrude and invade hearts.
Overnight, after eating the elephant, Deng dies. This is where I left off.
Human nature is quite amazing. We just don't know how we will survive until we have to do it. I am sure not many of us in America, Europe, Australia and well-populated areas of Asia, South America and Central America could handle these struggles this intensely. It is a lot to fathom and contemplate.
Time for bed. I have to be at work in less than 8 hours. Night.
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