Sunday, July 8, 2007

A stopgap apology

I don't really know how many of you out there in Blogland are reading faithfully. The site meter only expresses my readership in terms of a count. Do these people check in with me every day? Am I a part of your daily blog rounds, or are you just stopping by, perhaps via the "Bestest Blog Ever" or "Random Blog" buttons? I don't know, and unless you comment on this post (hint hint) I'll never know.

But I know how it makes me feel when I visit one of my favorite blogs and find it unchanged from one day to the next, so I just wanted to pop in and say hi. I started a new job this week and it's been a big adjustment. My last job was very slow, at a very static place, and offered few opportunities for interacting with another human, even a co-worker. This job is the 180-degree opposite. It's been extremely hectic (I spent a grand total of 20 minutes at my desk on Friday), very social, and I've had to learn a whole bunch of new information very quickly. On top of this, I have to commute now, with actual traffic (my last job was about 4 miles away from home), so it's been an adjustment. On Friday, I fell asleep around 9PM and didn't wake up until nearly 11 on Saturday.

So what did I choose to read this week? Something mindless and fun, perhaps another piece of the Big Stone Gap series like I'd been planning? Or did I continue my colonial history theme (a theme which I learned to my chagrin that our illustrious president has also chosen for his summer reading. Well, I have heard good things about the American Girl series too!) No, I chose to read a book about the man who pioneered the lobotomy procedure in America. I certainly have learned a lot, but it's not been terribly easy for one who hasn't taken a biology class since she was legal to drive. (I might've taken an anatomy elective in high school, but they made you dissect a cat. And I mean MADE YOU: their position was that since it was an elective, you shouldn't take it if you didn't wish to cut up a cat. I sat that one out, thanks.)

At any rate, I hope to have a review of this book for you in the next couple of days. I've also dusted off my old library card and am excited about the chance to revisit the Buffalo and Erie County Library system, which was one of the best in the country at one point. It has fallen on hard times in recent years, and even closed several branches, so I'm eager to see how it's getting on.