I got tagged by Cathy Nelson to participate in the Seven Things You Don’t Need to Know About Me meme the other day (sorry Cathy, I’ve not been on my computer for the last few days – shocking I know!)   So I’m supposed to tell you guys seven things you may not need to know about me, here goes:

I HATE spiders.  While I am also scared of snakes, I have nightmares about spiders.  However, I will NOT squash a spider anymore.  One night, I went into the kitchen to get something to drink.  When I turned on the light there was a HUGE spider – easily three inches long – running across the floor.  I took one of my moms garden shoes and squashed it – and out sprang HUNDREDS of baby spiders.  It freaked me out.  I’m squealing and banging cabinets looking for bug spray and all I can find is Windex.  I’m spraying these suckers with Windex to slow them down, but they are EVERYWHERE.  Mom comes in, finds the bug spray, and we go back to bed.  The next day, the exterminator is out to the house.

I love the sound, smell, and scenery of the ocean.  Our family used to rent a house at Myrtle Beach every summer when I was a kid.  I’ve even had the good fortune of having vacationed on both the Atlantic and Pacific coasts – I stayed a month in Monterrey, California the summer before high school.  I loved it out there – it was July and while the temperature in SC was in the hundreds, I don’t think it ever reached 80° in Monterrey.

I believe everyone should have to work retail and/or customer service at least once in their life.  And I mean they actually have to give great customer service – do a good job – not just go through the motions.  I believe if people did this, they wouldn’t be so quick to be such jerks to people who have those jobs.  Granted, there are folks who work customer service who shouldn’t be allowed near people, but still, I’ve always been told you catch more flies with honey than vinegar, so I try not to be noticeably irritated until the other person gives me reason.  I tell myself that I would hate to have their jobs, so let me not make their day any worse.

I dislike telephones.  I especially hate ringing telephones – they seem to always ring at the most inopportune times.  For those of you who call me, please leave a message.  I leave the ringer off the cell phone and I use the answering machine to screen calls.  Your best bet is to email me – I’m more likely to answer promptly.

As an undergrad in college I originally entered as an accounting major.  However, after taking my second accounting course I realized it was harder than I thought it would be and I knew I needed to change majors.  I’d always been fascinated by archeology and thought I wanted to be an archeologist, but then realized I’m lazy and I couldn’t see myself working outside, in the dirt, especially in the heat.  So I thought about being a history major, but then I learned that I’d have to write a thesis as part of the degree.  So, I became a glorified secretary instead – I got a degree in Office Administration.  It was six years later that I went back to get a library degree.

I can’t skip to the end of a book to find out who done it or what happens.  It drives me bonkers when I see people do this.  I want to be surprised and/or find out if I’m right.  Also, up until recently, I’d finish a book even if I didn’t like it, just because I’d invested so much time already.  However, now that my free time is limited, if I don’t like a book, I’ll give up on it and move on to another one.

I don’t perpetuate chain letters/emails.  If I get one, I may or may not read it – it just depends if it’s interesting or not.  I DON”T forward them on as a rule, and if I do, I create a new email and I delete everything but the good stuff and send it to only a few people, unlike most folks who just forward the original.  I refuse to perpetuate the mistaken belief that if you forward the message on to x number of people something ‘miraculous’ will happen.  Also, guys, use my PERSONAL email for those things – it’s against most company policies to send them through company email systems.  I’m just sayin’ – I don’t want to loose my job or have a note in my file because of a chain letter!

Which brings me to the end of this meme – I don’t mind people asking me to participate in a meme – in fact I thank you for thinking of me for chain letters and memes, however, I don’t feel comfortable asking friends or family to participate.  I leave it up to you guys to decide if you want to keep the meme going rather than requesting that Tom, Dick, or Harry be tagged next.  Participate if you choose, you wont hurt my feelings if you don’t!

FlickrCC Photo Credits: Giant Spider Strikes Again! by jpctalbot; yard sale fun – name tag by evelynishere

The Adventures and the Memoirs of Sherlock Homes book cover from Follett TitleWave.

Okay, Cathy Nelson is passing along the “Life is One Big Top Ten (2008)” meme and I thought it might be fun to participate. Here is the original guidelines:

Paul C at Quoteflections respectfully begins a meme on the topic: Life is One Big Top Ten (2008). It’s an outgrowth of Time’s ultimate Top Ten Everything of 2008. I appeal to anyone else so inclined to write their own Top Ten list for 2008 on a topic of their choice. You are invited to link to my site, use the title Life is One Big Top Ten (2008) to help with a web search, and tag several people to carry the meme forward. This topic has the potential to be interesting and fun as we close out the year.

Cathy’s list is her favorite Christmas songs; however, the meme leaves you free to choose your own top ten “things.”  I think I’ll keep with the ‘holiday’ theme and share my top 10 holiday movies.  Now this list isn’t strictly Christmas, but the movies I like to watch each year in honor of the season/holiday.  It was hard to narrow them down – I had 15, but had to cut some   and I could have kept going.  Anyway, here they are – in no particular order:

Hocus Pocus – Bette Midler, Sarah Jessica Parker, and Kathy Najimy play off of each other so well.  Add Bette Midler singing means this one is definitely a treat.

Arsenic and Old Lace - Cary Grant.  ‘Nough said.  Well, that and he is such a comic genius – and can also be such a suave leading man, too.  Plus the two crazy aunts crack me up!

Harvey -  What can I say?  I love this story about an invisible 6′4″ white rabbit and Jimmy Stewart was brilliant in this one.  And the scene where Mr. Wilson looks up the definition of a Pooka in the dictionary is priceless!

White Christmas – I don’t care how many times I watch this one, but I still cry when the General sees all of his former men there showing him support.

While You Were Sleeping – Romantic comedy with Sandra Bullock and Bill Pullman.  I repeat, Bill Pullman – he is an underrated leading man.  Yep, appeals to the romantic in me – and it helps that this one is so funny.  I especially like the scenes between Lucy and her boss – which gives me my favorite quote: “Pull the plug!” and the whole “wedding” scene is hilarious.

The Ref – This was the first time I took note of Kevin Spacey.  The scene with him beating on the Christmas tree saying “Excuse me…. If you don’t mind, the “corpse” *STILL* has the floor!” and them all telling off the mother-in-law! I loved it!

Bell, Book and Candle – Jimmy Stewart and Kim Novak with Jack Lemmon and Elsa Lanchester to boot!

Batchelor Mother / Bundle of Joy – Yeah, technically, these are two separate movies, but since they are really the same movie – one is just a ‘musical’ remake – I’m counting them as one.  I love both Ginger Rodgers and Debbie Reynolds.

Miracle on 34th Street – One word: “Overruled!”  Every time my step-father sees us watching this one, he says that.  It’s his favorite part of the movie.  Mine is when Santa sings Dutch to the little orphan girl.  Yeah, I’m an ole softie, I just pretend to be hard-hearted.  It’s a Christmas tradition for Mom and I to watch this one on Thanksgiving Day.  Of course it has to be the real version, the one with Maureen O’Hara and Edmund Gwenn – all the other versions are horrible.

We’re No Angels – NO, not the one with Robert DeNero and Sean Penn, but the one with Humphrey Bogart, Aldo Ray, and Peter Ustinov.  I love this movie from start to finish, but I especially love the “trial” scene.  I haven’t watched this one yet recently, I think I’ll stop writing now and go pop it in the DVD player!

As you’ve no doubt guesses, I like comedies.  I’m partial to old(er) movies, too!  I love the original black and whites, none of this colorized versions if I can help it!

I know, I bet you thought It’s A Wonderful Life and/or A Christmas Story would be there didn’t you?  I cannot stand them.  Want to know why – because of the constant MARATHONS that go on each Christmas.  They were great to watch ONCE, but not the constant bombardment we get each year.  Some of the others that were cut from my list include: Home Alone, Home Alone: Lost in NY, Holiday Inn, Bishop’s Wife (another Cary Grant movie!), and Monster Squad.

Okay, now it’s your turn!  What is your top ten list for 2008?

Yahoo! Messenger Emoticarolers – Send an electronic greeting to your friends and family with Yahoo’s Emoticons as carolers.  Here is mine to you guys!

BBC News: “Earth enjoys full moon close-up” – Driving in this morning, the moon looked like it was within reach AND was huge!  I tried snapping a picture with my cell phone, but of course it didn’t turn out.  *sigh*  However, there is one in this BBC article.

Lifehacker: “Forty Inspirational Speeches from the Movies in Two Minutes” – Totally cool video…how many of the movies cliped here have you seen?

Ypulse: Speakaboos Beta – From the about page: “Speakaboos brings classic children’s entertainment into a digital world. Beloved characters and treasured stories are given new life through amazing celebrity performances, beautiful illustrations, and original music. At Speakaboos, children develop literacy skills while learning about technology in a safe and fun environment.”  While the little I’ve explored is cool, what I didn’t like was how The Christmas Carol by Dickens was adapted.  While the story is essentially the same, there were enough differences to upset me – since this is one of my favorite stories.

Library Stuff: “FCC commissioner: Warcraft is a ‘leading cause’ of college dropouts – BoingBoin” – Follow the link trail to see the comments of how online gaming is contributing to college student dropouts.

I’ve decided to change the layout and theme of my blog.

Over the past few months I’ve added so many widgets to my sidebar that I needed to move to three columns instead of two.  I also think the new color scheme makes the text easier to read.  If you’re reading this in an RSS reader, you shouldn’t notice anything different!  However, if you visit the blog “live,” you’ll see the changes.  I’ve still got some additional changes to make – like customizing the header graphic/photo, but it’s getting late and I need to get SOME sleep.

Hopefully, you’ll like the changes I’ve already made and those yet to come.

CNN.com: “Fans bid farewell to Polaroid film” – “… Sixty years after Polaroid introduced its first instant camera, the company’s iconic film is disappearing from stores. … Although Polaroid says the film should be available into 2009, this is the final month of its last production year. …”  Bummer.  While I no longer have a Polaroid camera, I do have fond memories of Mom taking pictures with hers and me fanning the photo until it magically appeared.  I guess I’ll have to take a look at Poladroid.net and see if, while I can’t have the real thing, I can at least keep the memories going!  There’s also an online movement called SavePolaroid.com if you want to read and share your Polaroid stories.

Scifi.com: “Video: Twilight: The Puppet Saga” – TOO FUNNY!  Watch a short, short, version of the book/movie using puppets.

Judy O’Connell over at HeyJude: Learning in an Online World shared a YouTube choose your own adventure story “The Time Machine: START HERE!“  How cool would it be for students to create their own stories and share them in this manner.  I could definitely see some of my students wanting to take on the challenge!

Newsweek.com: “The Royal Tenenbaum: Will Obama move beyond brand names, and pick from the field?” – I’m not going to comment, just passing it along as I’m sure it will be of interest to some folks I know.

Flicker CC: “cooper nose things” by mrpattersonsir