New Orleans ALA 2006

I have been in New Orleans since Thursday, and returned today. I attended the American Library Association conference, and was the coordinator of a reception at the conference as well. I had the great fortune of rooming with Alycia at the Rennaisance Pere Marquette, a nice hotel in the French Quarter. Actually, I must thank Alycia more than she probably realizes because if it weren't for her, I wouldn't have attended half the awesome things I went to. So heres the run down, in brief form, without too much library talk:

Thursday: Flew to New Orleans via a delayed flight in St Louis. Got in really late, and arrived at my hotel.

Friday: I volunteered with Habitat for Humanity. We worked at a site that will soon be Musicians' Village. We traveled throughout the ninth ward, mostly lower 9th, to get to the site. I documented the trip at my flickr site. (sidenote: if you want to see other pics from volunteers, or pics of what a conference looks like Browse flickr tags "new orleans" and ala) The neighborhood was heartbreaking. Nine months after the hurricane, and maybe one house per block was inhabited. We got to see all the tags FEMA used on the houses: 0 dead, 1 dead, 2 dogs dead, TFX (toxic floodwater)...it was horrific.

When we got to the site I saw dogs hanging out underneath a house. Turns out that dogs are running wild, stray and abandoned, throughout the neighborhood. That broke my heart. I spent most of the day holding back tears after witnessing all this devestation, and seeing the dogs, who once had a family, run wild. I wanted to badly to take them with me to Chicago.

Our group of librarians consisted of 45 people. We split into three groups- roofing, installing insulation underneath houses, and priming the inside of some houses. I got lucky, and got the priming. After just painting my own living room, I knew I would do a good job. We first worked in Miss Linda's future home. It was incredible to work side by side with the person who will get the house, to learn her story, to help her get a home after 3 years on the waiting list with Habitat for Humanity. Miss Linda was the kindest, most incredibly strong woman I have met in a very long time. I cannot believe how fortunate I was to be able to talk to a 9th ward resident and obtain a first hand account of life after the hurricane.

For lunch, the musicians who will be living there played a mini concert for us. It was very raw and moving. I felt very special to be a part of that.

By the end of the day I was filthy. I had never sweat so much in my life! I have never done any volunteer work of that caliber, and I feel as if my life is changed. Having seen such destruction, and seeing an entire population deserted by their country makes me fucking sick. I can't think about it without crying. This day was definitely life changing, and I need to attempt to maintain the enthusiasm I have now for volunteering in the future.

Friday night I met up with Alycia and two other people, Gabe and Julie, at a bar called Lucy's for some sort of underground librarians get-together. We ate tacos and drank stupid drinks that came with plastic sharks.

Saturday: Saturday I actually got to attend conference sessions. I went to an ACRL program on Women's Studies Issues and met some great women that I want to work with. I plan on getting involved with the Feminist Task Force of the ALA soon. I also went to some other stuff, but already forgot what it all was.

Saturday night Alycia, Gabe, Julie and I went to a radical reference meeting at the Iron Rail info shop. I met some more good people there. The Iron Rail kids were all so nice! I encourage any of you to head over there during your next trip to New Orleans. We then went out to Molly's, a cool bar on Decatur street. Lots of talking and drinking. I also left this day determined to get more involved with good causes, and finally got around to registering to volunteer with Radical Reference.

Sunday: I attended a boring talk in the morning, and an AWESOME talk in the afternoon. The afternoon session was about building an archive about Drag Kings of New Orleans. They showed video clips of some of the oral histories with the drag kinds, flyers, pictures, and ephemera from the archive. This was the best session of any library conference I've ever attended. I'm so glad I went to this instead of the Feminst Task Force meeting (sorry guys!).

Sunday evening was my big reception. It was a student reception, for library school students to meet various ALA big wigs. Over 100 people came!! And I spoke on a microphone! Aside from a few minor issues, it was very well received. I also got to see my old coworkers from SF. We got dinner at Attiki and it was veryyy tasty. I was so happy to be able to catch up with those guys. So much so, that I was starting to get major doubts about leaving San Francisco, such as maybe my life there wasn't so awful, maybe I could have figured a way to live there, maybe my relationship could have been salvaged. It was a bit rough.

Monday: Went to a session on dealing with nasty patrons on virtual reference. Pretty informative. Then Alycia and I spent the afternoon wandering the Garden District. The Garden District was pretty, but I think I would have rather gone to some of the plantations had I had more time. In the evening we went to the Free Speech Buffet, where Alycia read from her most excellent zine. We spent the evening with what had by this time become the "crew" for the weekend, Julie, Gabe, Johnny, Alycia, and me. Shawn (Sean?) from Iron Rail joined us for pizza and beniegts that evening as well.

Tuesday: woke up, got on a plane. in St Louis I got a phone call. I answered it. And guess what? I GOT THE JOB! The job I so desperately wanted, at an academic library here in Chicago as a humanities reference librarian. I'll be in the subject area I want, doing what I want, in a library that is the size I want. I am so amazingly ecstatic about this. The job starts in 2.5 weeks. Goodbye temp job!

Now I'm home, and Audrey has been retrieved from the boarding place, and life is back to normal.

Takeaways: I left this trip re-invigorated to engage in political activism again. After years of being burnt out and having "outrage fatigue" I feel ready to get involved again. I have all this motivation, and I have to get it out now. I need to figure out whats going on in Chicago that I can get involved with. Thank you Lower 9th Ward and Alycia for showing me places and people that motivated me to do more with my self. Hokey I know. But its true.

I'll be in New Orleans Thursday-Tuesday

My big event that I'm in charge of will be Sunday in New Orleans. I'm fluctuating between excitement to go to a city I've never seen, and dread at how depressing it is going to be. ALA is the first major convention the city has held since Katrina, and I am predicting several major problems. Is the city ready for an influx of 20,000 people? At least its 20,000 tame people. Well, 19,999 if you count me as NOT TAME.

This article about Nagin calling in the National Guard certainly didn't help me remain optimistic about attending the conference. I don't want to be in a city that is under extreme military force, or in an area that may require such presence.

New Orleans is probably the only city in America that I am interested in seeing the touristy bits. I want to eat all the food, see the old buildings, all that tourist crap. I never have that urge with other cities. At this point in the (non)rebuilding of the city, there really isn't anything else there other than the tourist hubs like the French Quarter.

Friday I'll be volunteering with Habitat for Humanity, rebuilding in one of the areas worst hit. I'm going to bring a camera and take photos, not as a spectator or gawker, but as a way to show the people I know just what is really going on down there. I don't think the major media outlets give a shit anymore, and they certainly aren't showing any pictures of it. I've never volunteered in a situation like this before, and I think it will be a serious test for me. I'm looking forward to the challenge, to the physical and mental exhaustion, the feeling of helping others. But most of all, I'm proud to be able to contribute to people that are largely forgotten and need our help more than I could ever imagine.

Ideas and Agendas

I just had an idea in the shower. If myspace had existed my entire life, what would my music and movie interests be over the years? As in, in 1988 I would surely have put C&C Music Factory on there, and in 1994 it'd be overcome by ska or trance (the shame). In 2000 it would have been all midwest hardcore bands. Movies are harder to come up with. I think I'm going to do the music one here later. I invite any of you to do the same, it would certainly be interesting.

I got dinner with Torri and JP last night, and it was really nice. Then we switched out Torri for Miller, and hit up the village tap. By the end of the night I was most definitely in a bad state. I haven't been out until bar time two nights in a row in forever, and it certainly shows on me today.

I'm going to go to Trader Joes here for the first time. I miss my TJ food!

I finished two books last week: Closer by Dennis Cooper, and Memoirs of My Melancholy Whores by Gabriel Garcia Marquez. Closer, written in 1989, was essentially the exact same premise and book as his most recent, The Sluts. A series of rotating narrators all loosely intertwined, all ending up with gay snuff. I think I'm done with this author.

Melancholy Whores was really good. I don't feel qualified enough to comment on 'real' literature, so I'll just leave it at that. A high quality quick read.

Tonight I need to watch Transamerica, as I've had it at home for over a week now.

Another Friday Night

The heat has returned to Chicago, so I've been pasted to the couch watching tv and reading Norweigan Wood directly under my ceiling fan.

Last night I drank too much, and sort of don't remember most of what was said. Oh well, I had a pretty good time. We went to the Rainbo and I drank cheap vodka tonics all night. Then the usual great idea at the time but really awful idea happened: hot dogs at Underdog at 2 a.m. At this point some fool keeps talking to me, to the point where I had to give him a fake phone number. He even tried to get me to hang out today. Who does that? Way to pick someone up at Underdog at 2 a.m. dude, ain't gonna work. Seriously I'm starting to get majorly disgruntled with my dating life here.

Tonight Torri, JP and I are going to Fernandos for mexican. I'm not sure what will happen after that. Maybe I'll just come home and be a loser.

Something to look forward to

Touch and Go 25th Anniversary Festival. Check out the insane line up! I can't wait!

Its hot here again. Yuck. Next week I'll be in New Orleans (starting next Thursday), where it will be even hotter! We got a long list of things to bring/not bring to volunteer day Friday. The area I'm going apparently has no running water, no bathrooms, no nothing. Obviously. It's going to be a very intense experience I think.

And rounding out my week of listing what I listened to at work. I tried to keep it upbeat for the full TGIF experience:
-848 on NPR
-Ghostface - Fishscale
-Erykah Badu - World Keeps Turning
-Four Tet - Forgot which album, the most recent
-Robocop Kraus - They think they are
-VHS or Beta - Le Funk
-The Rapture - Mirror. Flashbacks to one of their shows at the cog factory..dec 1999? Ridiculous. Also flashbacking to having a radio show.
-Camera Obscura (not the girly pop band, the gsl band)- To Change the Shape of an Envelope


What will I do next week to get me through the boredom?

Good day

Sweet, the job I really want called my references today. Let's hope they didn't call anyone elses! Man I have my hopes up.

I got my direct tv all set up, so I'm set. No need for a boyfriend now!

Last night I took my brother to Silver Cloud for dinner and smores martinis. It was a pretty good time. They have a bunch of drinks I want to try there, so I'll have to go back. Kevin, I think you'd like it. Also, Brother gave Audrey a bunch of dog toys, which is very cool of him.

Here goes another day of music, and some random thoughts I had during the day:
-My Morning Jacket - Z - Listened to the first 3 tracks twice, Knot Comes loose thrice
-My Morning Jacket - It Still Moves
-Arcade Fire - Funeral
-Smooth Jams to get me pumped for Arbys: Takin it to the Streets LIVE, How do the Fools Survive, You Belong to Me, and OF COURSE What a Fool Believes and Maneater
-Lunch Break: Arbys with Miller and Ed, music=the sundays on the p.a. Strange that I mentioned them a few days ago, and now I hear them.

Return from lunch: New ergonomic wrist rest and mouse pad arrive for me. I count that as music to my wrists
-Now Its Overhead - Fall Back open
-The Kills - No Wow. I think that this should only be listened to during a heroin binge, which means I probably shouldn't listen to this at my job.
-The Lemonheads - Come on Feel the Lemonheads. Yeah thats right, its a shame about ray. Revisiting my childhood. What's next, better than ezra? cracker?
-The Soft Pink Truth - Do you want new wave... The SPT is a few years behind the times, as far as their style goes, but Media Friend and Confession are damn fine grooves.
-The Vanishing - In the Bathus
-Belle and Sebastian - If You're Feeling Sinister

waiting waiting waiting

My older brother is here tonight, and I plan on taking him to Silver Cloud for a friggen S'MORES MARTINI! Who thought of that thing? Best idea ever.

I'm here waiting for direct tv, in attempt number two to get cable. More time lost at work, more money lost. Lame!

Tomorrow people are welcome to come over and watch Britney Spears humiliate herself on Dateline. Beer and pizza!

What I listened to yesterday:
-Ghostface Killah - fishscale Thanks Joe! (and is there any movie character more heavily name checked in hip hop than Tony Montana?)
-!!! - Louden up Now, I cannot wait to see them at the Touch and Go party. Its been YEARS.
-DFA1979 - You're a Woman, I'm a Machine
-Edan - Primitive Plus
-Elliot Smith - Either/Or
-Sonic Youth - Daydream Nation, Does it get any better than Trilogy: The Wonder? NO
-Talking Heads - 77

Redemption

Remeber how I was super pissed last week? Well I'm not anymore. Some redemption occured! Its a miracle! My faith in humanity (or at least friendship) has been restored!

I just ate wings.

Another day, another work time setlist.

I think I'm going to keep up the daily setlists of what I listen to while working all day. It keeps my spirits slightly up. Here is Monday's list:

-Animal Collective - Here Comes the Indian
-My Morning Jacket - Z
-The One AM Radio - Hum of the Electric Air!
-Belle and Sebastian - The Life Pursuit
-Broken Flowers Soundtrack
-Burning Star Core -A Definitive Party Atmosphere
-Deerhoof- The Runners Four
-Echo and the Bunnymen - Crocodiles
-Grandmaster Flash - Greatest Hits
-Some hackneyed podcast on the future of the book and libraries. Gave up after 10 minutes.
-Murs & Slug - A tribute to Christina Ricci
-Marc Collin - Nouvelle Vague - New Wave songs covered in lounge style. Incredible.
However, the singer sometimes sounds like the singer from Frente or the Sundays or some other mid-90s band. But I forgive her for that because its fun to hear "Too Drunk to Fuck" in french lounge.

I hope to look back at this in five years and laugh at my choices.

Toxins

I finished painting my living room today. It looks fantastic! Actually, the trim is really sloppy and I spilled some paint on my drapes, and on the carpet. Oh well! The color is such an improvement, and helps separate the kitchen and living room. I'll take pictures during the day.

In addition to painting, I purchased some extreme bug spray that you spray indoors and outdoors. Its pretty stinky, but claims to be safe for pets once its dried. So I'm keeping audrey away for awhile. Not that she licks the baseboards, but whatever.

As it is, Audrey is covered in toxins. I have these glue traps set up to monitor how many gnats I've been getting. Audrey, in one of her moments of freaking at any passerby, stepped with both paws into the glue trap. It was a bitch to get off of her, and she has this intense glue in between her front paws. I had to give her an emergency bath, but it didn't do enough. So I had to go to target and buy some goo gone, apply it to her paws (which she HATED), then re-wash her to get the toxins from the goo gone off of her. Now I'm super paranoid about her keeling over or seizuring or something from all this exposure to unnatural chemicals. So far she seems ok, and is happily chewing away on a nylabone.

Trip to the Library

I went to the library today, and got five books! They are all short though, so I'll fly through them. Especially now that I STILL don't have cable.

Books I checked out:

Three Gabriel Garcia Marquez books: In Evil Hour, Memories of My Melancholy Whores, Chronicle of a Death Foretold

Murakami's Norweigan Wood. I'm really excited about this one.

Dennis Cooper's Closer

I started Memories of my Melancholy Whores, which is only 100 pages, and I'm already at page 30. So far so good. It's about a 90 year old man who wants to pay for sex with a teen virgin at a brothel. I'm at the part where he first meets her in the room. Maybe I'll finish it tonight, its such an easy read.

Chicago is not my friend today

Karma has totally hit me.

Dish Network can't give me cable b/c the satellite is getting disrupted by my roof. They said "call Direct TV and try them." Thanks...four hours at my house, 5 hours lost pay, and still no cable.

I miss SF today. I miss the hills, the sounds, the smells, the sights, the food, the people, the buildings, the victorians, the parks. Everything. I miss it. Hard. I feel sort of stupid for moving across the country, in that financially it was probably the worst thing I could have done for myself. Personally, its worked out decently. Monetarily? Totally stupid. And it still sucks being single.

I also forgot to pack a lot of stuff and it makes me sad. First, I forgot my cookbooks, and lots of kitchen utensils I really liked such as my tongs, and all the wine goodies such as the no spill pourer and air suction. I also forgot anything I had stashed under the bed, and some of that is irreplaceable. Things like show flyers from shows I saw in high school that I have saved for nostalgia sake. I'm sure he threw them out. Very sad. Even when I'm not trying to erase the past, I'm inadvertently doing it.

I swear I have content

The cable guy is here setting crap up. Taking forever!

Money crisis momentarily averted, as I can drive way down to the guys house for my paycheck tomorrow. Yeesh.

In an effort to curb boredom yesterday, I listed all the albums I played on my iriver in order:

Gabardine - S/T
Ghost Orchids - Architecture in Surgery
Prefuse 73 - Surrounded By Silence
Snoop - Doggystyle
Gang Gang Dance - God's Money
Gang of Four - Entertainment
Parliament - Greatest Hits
Pleasure Forever - S/T
The Pretenders - Best of

I seem to want to listen to things with G or P as the first letter. That or I'm lazy and just let the thing keep going through albums. I should do this every day, like my own Last.fm in my brain of what I've been listening to.

Money you are letting me down!

My paycheck is lost in the mail. The temp agency is canceling my check, and issuing it with the next check. A week from now. I'm so fucked its unbelievable.

Add the $9,000 credit card debt I've amassed during the move and various other shit, and I need to move to Moldova or something. Serious serious stress here.

Audrey's new trick

Audrey was never one to beg for her belly to be rubbed. In fact, she never seemed to really care for it, and never would full give herself over to the rub. Lately, however, when I head towards the couch and she's already sitting on it, she flips over and is like "ok, tummy rub time" and just looks up at me. At first I thought it was a fluke, but now she does it every time. From what I understand this is a sign of either trust or submissiveness. Either way, thats what I need from Audrey. None of this wild child crap she's got going usually.

And last night she slept in the bed all night without waking up to bark at random crap she hears. I hope this means she's getting adjusted to her new place a bit better.

More on Chicago

Preamble: I had a resolution this summer: no drama and no associating with flakes. One of these two has already deteriorated a bit into maximum assery. Do I smell a write-off?

Some more things about Chicago I forgot:

1. Its still cool to smoke here. Smokers are jokers people get with it! You are making my snot all funky, and I'm not even a smoker!

2. In general, I like the people of SF way better. As in, just the randoms on the street. The randoms here have nasty accents and are slightly rude. Where are all the hippies, man? Way to harsh my mellow crankypants on the sidewalk or the CTA.

3. Bugs. So many bugs! Or maybe it's just my apartment, which is infested with gnats, and now lightning bugs but without the light if that makes sense. I called my landlord, who four weeks ago said the gnats were probably b/c the previous tenant had plants...right... Anyway, he said "I'll have Danielle use some bug spray" as if I haven't been spraying my apartment like mad since I moved in! So I said that wasn't really good enough, but he isn't willing to call out a pest guy to find the source. So I'm pissed. The woman did come today and bring a can of spray, and spray the bathroom pretty intensely. I think she did the outside too. Thats what I need to be doing-spraying the outside and baiting the outside of my place to get those fuckers. But anyway, so far this landlord has won zero points with me.

4. There are a ton of cute dudes here, that look much less intimidating than the cute SF dudes. They should talk to me more. Get with it dudes.

ouch

I am going on hour 22 of having a headache. It went away for a bit yesterday during the baseball game (I went to a sox game with Miller), then came back with extremem fervor. Last night I thought I was going to die. My body was really weak, as if all the energy went to my head so it could throb in pain. Every piece of my head hurt. It still does! Great way to have to prepare for a job interview. And I can't find my claritin, as I am under the impression that some allergy medication may help. This is probably more of a migraine though.

Also painful, was spending an insane amount of money on my interview outfit. Because some of you actually care, this is what I purchased:
This suit: From Ann Taylor

This shirt for under the suit when I start dying of heat:

These shoes with heels, which are going to be the death of me. Lets hope they don't make me walk alot:

And this satchel/briefcase/whatever bag:


If you look at the links, you can see the disgusting amount of money this all cost me. BUT! I'm going to look so professional they will be forced to hire me. FORCED. I think it'll help make up for my age problem (which in libraries, can be a problem depending on who is hiring).

Observations on Chicago

Some random thoughts about Chicago that I have had recently:

1. There are way more mail boxes here than in SF. I don't know why. And these boxes have tons of collection times. My netflix are speeding along to the mail hubs!

2. Working in a high rise downtown is very convenient. The transportation is easy, my building is connected to a CVS, theres a million mailboxes (again with the mail), and theres food everywhere. And a big park down the block.

3. Nobody uses the back door of the busses. I've tried a few times and the bus driver never turns the door on so I can leave. Am I doing something wrong? I pull the stop cord, and make a very obvious walk to the back door...is there something I'm supposed to be doing in addition? I feel like a chump exiting through the front door, but it seems to be how its done. At least on the Damen bus.

4. It smells like piss and crap here just like in SF.

5. I've learned to love not having a/c in SF, but now I view it as an evil necessity. I swear its making me sick though. Damn you recirculated air!

6. Amazingly, the panhandlers are more obnoxious here than in SF.

7. Men here are very open with their gawking at you. Very verbal about how they feel about your looks.

8. I forgot about insects, and how I hate them. Not too many bugs in California, but the bugs are everywhere here. Ones I forgot existed, such as lightening bugs and june bugs. Audrey likes to eat them.

Is there anything about Chicago that I'm missing? Anything any of you noticed when you moved here?

some goals

I think instead of hiring a dog walker (need to save money), I'm going to set a goal of taking Audrey on a long walk each morning before work. This means I'll have to wake up early though, which is the major kink in my goal. However, its the coolest time of the day and its quiet out. It could be a nice way to start the morning. I got in only a 15 minute walk with her this morning. Tomorrow I'm shooting for half an hour, and want to build up to 45 minutes. I may check out her ability to jog with me. I know she has a ton of energy, but I'm not sure she could run in a straight line next to me. Then when I get home, I'll only have to take her on a smaller walk because she got exercise in the morning before being cooped up. We'll see how it all works out.