Feeling magical...

I got this in my email at early o'clock this morning:
You have been selected for early entry into Pottermore!

We’re really excited to confirm that you are one of the lucky people selected for early entry into Pottermore, ahead of when it is open-to-all in October, to help us add finishing touches!

We will activate your account between mid-August and the end of September, so keep checking your inbox for our Welcome email. When this arrives you will be able to enter Pottermore. In the meantime, you can check the Pottermore Insider for all the latest news, updates and announcements.

We look forward to welcoming you to Pottermore.

I am getting the impression that I am going to receive at least 37 more emails from them. Maybe I am just a silly American in need of immediate gratification, but when you said "We’re really excited to confirm that you are one of the lucky people selected for early entry into Pottermore, ahead of when it is open-to-all in October, to help us add finishing touches!" I thought you meant, like, NOW. But, at least I got to the next level of not-actually-being-any-closer-but-being-reassured-that-I-am-in-fact-closer-to-entering-Pottermore. Yay?

Feeling adventurous

In leaps and bounds of exciting...I have officially planned my summer 2012. I am going to Europe and Egypt. For the entire summer. There was a sale on 2012 escorted tour packages, and I just couldn't pass it up. The tour *starts* in London, but doesn't actually have any events or what have you in London, so I will likely go 4 days to a week early. I am also toying with the idea of hitting two countries that the tour skips. The tour ends in Amsterdam, so it is a short train ride to Brussels. From there I can see Belgium and Luxembourg! Then I would pretty much have Western Europe done, you guys. You know, per my master plan to SEE EVERY COUNTRY IN THE ENTIRE WORLD!!!!1 See?!?!




The tour is 47 days, including the day of flying to Europe. I don't have flights yet, since it is forever away. I know that I'll be up for London before the tour--do we think that I could soldier through Belgium solo without dying of exhaustion? And they speak French in Belgium, so I'd be good there!

Think on it...if you want to go to London in June (Olympics are in late July, so it shouldn't be too crazy yet) I'll be there! You should come! One last hurrah in cheap hostels before we become fabulously rich adults who are above all of that.

Oh, and Pomme, I promise not to die in a toilet.

Party every day

Guys, I think that I am getting too old for four-day weekends in Chicago with my favorite cousin. It is just so exhausting. Also, I am really tired...I am blaming it on the heat, but I think that part of it is that I am old and less accustomed to drinking and then drinking and then drinking more and then repeating this the following day(s). There was much protestation when I insisted on sobering-up before I went to Church.

But! we did stay up to watch the sun rise, which was fantastic. I need to upload those pictures, because they are just...fabulous. And fun. And I got to play with Pomme! Despite it being 90 million degrees outside, she looked adorable and unfazed by the sauna that we were in. I felt so inadequate, words cannot describe. I mean, honestly, the juxtaposition must have been uncanny.

Anyway, we went to this vegan restaurant where I promptly ordered a vegan milkshake, as I have not had a milkshake in eons--since months before I became vegan because I foolishly chose winter--and then I was incapable of finishing my pancakes, though they were delicious. Thanks, Pomme, for putting up with my crazy vegan-ness!

My cousin also had that crazy roof top party even though they weren't supposed to...they just cancelled the DJs. We skipped out on it, though, because none of his cool friends were coming, only the lame and/or weird friends of his roommate. When we got back the next morning, the place was trashed. Trashed like...

YOU GUYS! I was trying to remember Keith Richards's name, so I Googled "celebrity trash* hotel" and I found this...it is sooooooooooooo epic!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!1!!


The first instance of modern hotel room trashing can probably be traced to F. Scott and Zelda Fitzgerald, who reportedly fled their eucalyptus-scented bungalow at the now-demolished Ambassador Hotel of L.A.'s Wilshire Boulevard after it caught fire.

On fire! The hotel room caught on fire! And they ran away! EPIC!

I really want to read The Great Gatsby again, even though I'm going to be thinking of fires and Leonardo DiCaprio through the entire thing.

I forgot to tell you about the interview part.

You guys! I was so vicariously upset about something that does not actually matter to me that I forgot to tell you about the interview part.

So, yesterday, I was interviewed by someone at a local publication about trends in youth literature. I was referred to this person because, as he put it "I was told that you are not a traditional librarian, meaning that you are not in your 50s."

No. No, I am not.

We chatted about trends in teen and youth literature and I hope I sounded smart. Or, at the very least, like I know what literature is.

Then, at the end of his barrage of questioning which I navigated, dodged, weaved, and deflected successfully, he confirmed a few things, like the spelling of my name and my title.

MagazineGuy: I was told that you are a "Media Specialist." Is that correct?

Aussie: No. I am a Librarian; I have my Master's. Off the record, "Media Specialist" is some b.s. they made-up in the 90s so that schools could hire people to work in the library who have no corresponding degree. And librarians went along with it because they thought it sounded more cutting edge and would connect with the students more. Media Specialists get a certificate--you can get one from GVSU. It is not a degree.

Guys! I hope that you got the important part of my story. I used the phrase "Off the Record" with an actual reporter! This is huge! This is so epic!!!!!!!!! All I have left on my "Phrases to Say Before I Die--and they actually have to be said to the right person-- List" is the all-important "Alonz-y, Alonso" and, of course, "Beam me up, Scotty." So, one more thing off of my life-long list of shit I need to get done.

Oh, and don't call me a Media Specialist. It ends friendships.

And then they interviewed me.

It has been a long week. Why did I decide to work all summer? Oh, right. MMMono convinced me that I needed to save up money and beef-up my resume. Haaaaaaaaate being an adult.

I have decided that instead of buying a house, I am going to spend my money on large trips abroad. We're talking African Safaris and European summers and big ass outback tours. I...I simply do not want to work all year and since I can't take vacation during the year, I need to spend the entire 9 weeks of summer in not Michigan. After crunching some numbers, this means that I will be spending 90% of my dollars on travel for the foreseeable future. Then, after 5 years of working at ye old high school, I will start trying to find a year-round job and take my vacation in one or two week bursts like the rest of the world. I think that this will be a viable substitute for the study abroad experience that I so sadly missed-out on at AQ.

In other news....CHICAGO WEEKEND! I am excited. However, the roof party that my cousin and his roommate had planned is no longer a go. Lame.

email from their management company:

Hello,

It has been brought to my attention that a big rooftop deck party is being planned at the building for tomorrow night.....to include a DJ???

This is to inform you that the rooftop deck is for your quiet enjoyment, not for large quantities of people and definitely not to include a DJ.

As a reminder, I have included the verbage from #8 of your lease rider:

8. Balconies and rooftop decks are to be occupied by no more than three persons at any one time, and shall not be used for storage or grilling. The porch or roof deck of this building should withstand a minimum of 100 lbs. per square foot live load, plus the weight of the porch or deck system, and is safe only for its intended use. PROTECT YOUR SAFETY. DO NOT OVER LOAD THE PORCH OR DECK. Any misuse of the rooftop deck will result in the termination of your lease.


To whomever has this party planned, I strongly advise that you cancel it immediately. The police will be called and we will enforce the provisions of your lease should we find any more than a few people on the rooftop deck.

I appreciate your cooperation and look forward to a peaceful weekend.

Thank you

Lame lame lame lame lame. What are they afraid of? A law suit if the roof deck suddenly collapses? Pshh. Oh. They *are* worried about a law suit if the roof deck suddenly collapses. Well. Uh... Right. It won't matter because we will all be too drunk to even care when we're plummeting to our imminent deaths. What's that? We would care.

Whatever. You spelled "verbiage" wrong. And, by using "verbage", you are simultaneously acknowledging that your rules are "Speech or writing that uses too many words or excessively technical expressions" AND that we are smarter than you so we should get to use the roof deck however we want anyway. So there.

Mortified

Sometimes, I simply cannot help feeling...I don't even want to say it, but for you, I will...Sometimes I cannot help feeling sorry for myself. I know that playing comparison games are just stupid, but I just can't help it.

Let's re-cap for those in the audience who do not have their fingers on the pulse of my family drama.

My mother, eldest in an Italian family of 6 kids, is super pissed that I am not married and barefoot and pregnant.
My brother, who is 27 to my 24, still does not have a job.
I am daddy's little girl, though he tells me when he thinks that I am being foolish or stupid.
My brother is a complete mama's boy and in her eyes, he can do no wrong. Even when he goes with his band on a cross-country road trip "tour" where they are not getting paid for playing, the van starts on fire and they lose half of their equipment, and then when he gets home he proceeds to couch surf for 3 years and still does not have a job of which to speak.
Brother is currently in Charlotte hanging with the Grandparents who are playing hospital shuffle.

Are we good?

Well, I discovered on the Facebook the other day that he has a girl friend. Hmmm. She looks familiar, because she's been at the house a few times playing his chauffeur. Of course, I figure that when you're dating someone and you bring them to your house that you introduce them to your family as "My girlfirend x" not "this is x". Silly me. So, I asked him. They've been dating for 3 months. THREE MONTHS and I find out on Facebook? Ugh. Whatever.

But, it is my life, so it obviously gets better. She is 20. She can't even drink yet! And, and she is at GVSU going into Hotel and Travel Management or some other bullshit that I had no idea was an actual degree.

On the plus side, maybe I can use her hotel discount in the future to score some savings. She can be my personal William Shatner!

Car guys

I have said it before, and I will say it again: the man that I marry needs to be a car guy.

There are, of course, the practical reasons: it is a valuable life skill, it saves a great deal of money to have a fix-it person in the house, true car guys tend to be in shape, my daddy is a car guy and I am too used to him fixing my car to marry someone who can't even change a tire, if there is an apocalypse his mechanical savvy will help us survive...

Currently, I am focusing on the less-than-practical reasons: purr. Allow me to expound on my thesis. I think that A) there is just something ridiculously attractive about a manly-man, but I must also point to B) car guys are generally nice guys. They are patient in explaining the car problem to you. They make the car problem go away. Most importantly, they get the car door for you and it is not awkward.

I took my car in earlier today--when it was only 94 degrees outside--because my muffler bracket had fallen off and between the heat and my lack of a personal car hoist, it is just easier to take this one into Tuffy. Also, I would like it fixed now so that I do not need to get a new muffler. After fixing it, the car guy was like, "Normally I would drive your car around for you, but it is slightly cooler in the shop. Plus, then you won't even have to go out in the sun. I've got it running for you, so the A/C should be nice and cold by now." Swoon.

That's what I'm talking about.

Tetons sure are Grand

Back to boring you with anecdotes about my trip from circa over a month ago. If I had it to do over again (which, theoretically, I will), I would alot an entire day to the Grand Tetons and about a day and a half or two days to Yellowstone. Though, I can see myself easily spending a week or month or summer at Yellowstone, sans bear attack.

As it was, I figured that if I really hauled ass, I would be able to drive into Wyoming, up Grand Teton National Park and all the way around Yellowstone in a day. I spent the night in the Old Faithful area, so if necessary, I could certainly see all of those park attractions the following morning.

The drive from my hotel in Idaho Falls to Jackson, Wyoming was spectacular. I will say it again: if I lived someplace where mountains were the constant backdrop, I would stare at them for my entire day. They would never get old for me.




This, coupled with the fact that I had a little economy class rental car, made the guys in the big trucks around me a little, shall we say "frustrated," with my driving. Of course, I am sure that they are used to large vans of Japanese tourists doing this, but they acted as though I was the single most aggrivating driver. Ever. But whatever. The road was filled with fun mountain-y signs, like "Howdy Stranger! Yonder is Jackson Hole" and "Elevation 8,431 feet" and "If you're in a semi, test your breaks now before you get to the top of that giant mountain and can't stop" and some guy trying to cross on a horse.



And then I saw a Moose!




Here I am on a snow covered mountain:



Here is some Teton magic!




At one point, a couple asked me to take their picture. As I handed the camera back, I said the semi-obligatory "Make sure that's okay--I can always take another one." To which the wife replied: "I don't think you can take a bad picture here."

Completely true. I have never been some place so gorgeous. And maybe it is just that I am not used to mountains-- tall mountains, at that-- but I think there is something more to it. Everyone is so nice...and it is just so damn famous. And, for being a famous place, so many visitors to Yellowstone skip the Grand Tetons, so I felt a bit privileged and set-apart from the normal crowd of Yellowstone flockers. In fact, later on when I was on the coast of Yellowstone Lake in YNP, many people were snapping pictures of pretty mountains on the other side of the lake--the Grand Teton Mountains. Superiority further established. Of course, it was quite possibly one of the most gorgeous places I have ever been. And, yes Ralph, nature is a cordial.

Okay. So, Aussie could stare at these mountains all day, but does that really make GTNP so great? Yes. Yes it does. Of course, they also had some lovelies such as Lake Jenny, Signal Mountain, and Lake Jackson.



If that is still not enough, you know that mountain I was on earlier? That was totally on Teton Pass. It was only Mount Glory, one of the smaller peaks to the south that is only 8,431 feet in elevation. Unlike Grand Teton: 13,770. No big deal.

Stress

We all feel stress. Sometimes we feel the need to stress.

I do not know if it is worse when you impose stress upon yourself through your own expectations, or when family members impose unnecessary stress upon one another. I am particularly stressed out by my grandparents, who are currently taking turns residing in the hospital. They have both been out and at home for the past few weeks, thanks be, but then again, no. I’ll grant you that both of them have grown increasingly…agitated in their old age, but I did not realize how much they hated each other. It is ridiculous and petty and stressful because they both have heart conditions and I really don’t want them to kill each other over who ate the last of the Cheerios. I know, I ask so much.

I feel the need to stress that, upon further reflection, I really enjoyed the final installment of the Harry Potter movie series. Of course much of this fondness is linked to my overall fondness of the books, movies, fan sites, fan fiction, and overall cultural phenomenon of Harry Potter that both consumed and defined my later childhood years. I grew up with Harry Potter and I cannot help but feel that, as he has grown into a true adult, that now I must let go and do the same.

One aspect of the most recent film that really struck me that I did not get out of the books—and perhaps it is because I am not a visual person—is who was left. Yes, in the books we have a mounting list of the casualties of the war between good and evil. Yes, we hear the voices of many of the living after the fact. What struck me was the sweeping view of the still living in the great hall, comforting each other and aiding the wounded. I don’t want to say that I begrudge them for living while many of my favorites died, but it did bring a new aspect of the realization that Lupin is dead. I would liken it to the first Christmas after your grandmother has passed away. Yea, you know that grandma is gone and you know that life is moving on, but seeing it unfold before your very eyes adds such a depth to the experience. The senses have such a power.

Failure is becoming my thing

I know that I promised that I would keep updating you on the awesome that was my trip...and I will! But now I also have a second trip of awesome, as well as a U2 concert to tell you about. And today is the best and yet saddest day of my life. It feels as though my childhood is officially ending, although JK is trying to help me cling to it.

In summary, I have been darting between work and vacation and grandparents who live on a farm and have only just heard of the Internet, so no blog for you. But I will fix that.

MMMono and I got to Meijer this morning and bought provisions at like...9 am. I do not think that I have ever been to MidnightMeijer at such an early hour. Well, I suppose technically I have been there earlier, but this is the earliest day light hour when I have been inside the doors. So, we got all of our snacks and then we got in line. And we proceeded to make friends with the people in line in front of us. Of course, this was outside of the theater, as the doors physically opened at 10am. But, as aforementioned, people were in front of us. ALSO, at least we were not the guy who got in line first. First, as in 13 hours before anyone else; as in, he will have been waiting 29 hours in line at the theater before the previews begin; as in, he got there at 7pm the night before and **spent the night in the movie theater parking lot**. He is about our age, maybe a touch older. Wow, kids. Wow. That's not even dedication, that is simply sad.

So, yes, I proceeded to finish a book, and then I ate some gummies and then I made the teenagers in line in front of us love me all the more because I shared my gummies. Nothing like old fashioned bribery. Aussie FTW.

Now I get to sit at work until 9pm and then drive just over an hour back to the theater. I think I can make it in just over an hour if there is no stupid stupid traffic.


Stupid thing my boss said to me at work today: "Since you're the only non-student worker, if there is an emergency at night you are responsible for the library. But be sure to get out yourself."

I was thinking about staying on and reading in peace, actually.

She came back out to the desk before leaving still all a twitter about the evacuation plan. Is there a drill? Because the weather is pretty calm outside.

Harry, come save meeeeeeeeeeeeeee!!!!!!!!!!