The state of things.

Woohoo! I finished two books I've been bogged down in for awhile: Dave Eggers' short story collection How We Are Hungry (reading since July!) and Alberto Manguel's The Library at Night (started reading in DECEMBER). It feels good to have both of these behind me. It's not that either of them was boring, or not worth reading--otherwise I would never have finished them. But they were both kind of formidable, in their own ways. Now I'm reading another libraries book, which I actually got from the library (which makes it a library library book, or a library² book, or a meta-library book): Rory Litwin's Library Juice Concentrate. (Note: I've been planning to read LJC for awhile, and now seems like an ideal time because I am finished my degree, I am finishing up my summer job, and I am trying to make the transition to "Professional librarian." I am interviewing for jobs. And in these interviews, if anyone happens to ask me what I am reading, I will be able to say, "Oh, Library Juice Concentrate," and they will know that I am Serious. SRSLY. I dream of a job interview where someone asks me what I'm reading.)

This is my last week of work, and it feels like it. I have to wrap up my project and hand over what I've finished. On Thursday I have a farewell "lunch with the librarians." I will have to delete all my firefox toolbar bookmarks. Also, the sense of fall is palpable around campus. There are scurrying new undergrads, many of them WITH PARENTS, everywhere. This is one of my favourite times of year, the scurrying time, but it's tinged with a kind of sadness too, because I get older every year, and those undergrads stay the same age. I miss that textbook-buying frenzy, the evaluation of new classes, the feeling of carrying one's entire life around in a giant backpack. I also miss having parents, although I still have parents, but they live in another country, and even when they lived in this country they never accompanied me anywhere. I'm getting more used to working--especially the having-money part, and the weekends-and-evenings-off part-- but I don't know if I will ever reach another point in my life where I am as contented as I have been for the past 7 years, going to university. Wow, that's morose. Well, come on, work world! Prove me wrong!

James and I are ordering mucho shirts from threadless, where all t-shirts are $10 until Sept. 3. I'm getting The Sound of Silents and Playground Love. DO IT.