i forgot i needed it

maura @ 9:11 pm

So we got this new sofa, and it came in a big box. After Jonathan put the sofa together I just didn’t feel right about throwing the box away. I mean, when I was little it was the hugest deal to have a big giant box to play in. And indeed, Gus sat in the box for about an hour last weekend talking to himself and playing, which pretty much never happens. Plus the cats LOVE it (obvious, I know).

The problem is where to keep it? I don’t want an enormous box in the living room. It’s in Gus’s room right now, but it kind of blocks the door to have it sitting in the middle of the rug, so at bedtimes we’ve been tipping it up into a corner near his desk. Which is kind of a pain, and then he complained that it scared him the other night (though he hasn’t repeated it).

Wish I had a shrinkray so I could keep that box small til we need it. Wonder how long til it drives me so batty I have to haul it down to the recycling?

Also, here’s some Twitter. I keep forgetting to do this on Tuesdays, so maybe it’ll be sort of an occasional thing from now on. Keeping ’em guessing, that’s the mauraweb! way.

RT @tweetMETRO Do your part to protect NY libraries http://bit.ly/aLhv14
about 7 hours ago from TweetDeck Retweeted by you and 2 others

.@kgs @thesheck does experience writing grant applications “count” re: budgets?
about 21 hours ago from Echofon in reply to kgs

@aegisnyc oooh, I probably don’t even know those friends, but I’m dying to know their secrets!
about 21 hours ago from Echofon in reply to aegisnyc

Great discussion in class today, yay!
2:35 PM Feb 2nd from web

So nice to get complements on my syllabus today!
4:19 PM Feb 1st from web

A bummer, tho not unexpected: jr faculty tend towards traditional scholarly publication over new ways of dissemination: http://bit.ly/b23JNJ
9:20 AM Feb 1st from web

I suspect that time actually speeds up in the hour between 11pm and midnight.
11:30 PM Jan 31st from Echofon

Michael Jackson skate in Prospect Park! Mamasemamasamamacusa (plus churros)
3:41 PM Jan 31st from Echofon

Already missing #Dollhouse :(
11:58 PM Jan 30th from Echofon

.@alevtina there is no limit to the spatial range of cat hair. I have a black sweater that I’m about to just give to them & admit defeat.
12:41 PM Jan 30th from Echofon in reply to alevtina

It is totally disconcerting that the renovated Duane Reade across from the GC sells sushi. Drugstore sushi! Weird.
8:14 PM Jan 29th from web

CFPs for this (totally relevant to my research!) conference keep popping up: http://www.um.es/isic2010/ Spain, why do you taunt me? Swoon.
9:24 PM Jan 28th from web

Coffee consumed, time for my first ref desk shift of the semester, w00t!
2:12 PM Jan 28th from web

@jrrnyc thanks! hope my 5 (!) students don’t fear the snow + ditch the class.
9:37 AM Jan 28th from web in reply to jrrnyc

Unrelated: the cats are Just Not Sure about the new sofa, and are eyeing it suspiciously.
11:16 PM Jan 27th from web

Syllabus: check. Course blog: check (http://lib1201.wordpress.com/). Students? Come about 10am tomorrow, we shall see.
11:15 PM Jan 27th from web

we can’t stand still

maura @ 9:34 pm

The library’s new 3-credit course (which I’m teaching) starts on Thursday. This has been a busy month. Time for TV for me, Twitter for you. Enjoy!

Twitter, I <3 you best when I have 100 pages (double-sided) of photocopying to do.
about 11 hours ago from Echofon

@untold The white coat! It identifies you as a daring, stains-be-damned kind of person.
about 11 hours ago from Echofon in reply to untold

Can I defend our home against intruders with my mad Wii archery skillz? I say yes!
about 24 hours ago from web

Dear alterna-me: pls finish the syllabus & grant app today while I go to the Met w/Gus & pals. Thx!
9:25 AM Jan 23rd from Echofon

i’m syllabus wranglin’ and coffee drinkin’. yee ha!
2:13 PM Jan 21st from web

@edrabinski gack, you are too mean! so many are in spain, swoon. (but thx, this is an awesome list, will share w/my cuny jr fac peeps.)
1:20 PM Jan 21st from web in reply to edrabinski

@edrabinski If you come up w/a stop throwing balls in the air strategy, I’m all ears. I can’t resist CFPs lately, it’s kind of comical.
11:02 PM Jan 20th from Echofon in reply to edrabinski

@alevtina Yum! Have fun. Wish I could be there, but my spouse has a mtg so I’m on kid duty.
8:29 PM Jan 19th from Echofon in reply to alevtina

i do not want what i haven’t got

maura @ 9:13 pm

Except that’s a total lie, because I can’t seem to not want more time. Time time time. Too many interesting things to read + write + research + make + watch these days, harrumph.

Off to do some of that, at least. Here’s some Twitter for your Tuesday.

Spicy tofu soup, yum. http://twitpic.com/yke04
6:02 PM Jan 17th from Echofon

Everyone in my house is at a playdate or a meeting except me. Now there’s no excuse for me to avoid those article revisions.
2:03 PM Jan 17th from web

@boonebgorges Salo writes good stuff: blogs at http://bit.ly/8EZbw and tweets @TheRepoRat (librarians ftw!)
11:43 AM Jan 16th from Echofon in reply to boonebgorges

Just caught up on 24 hrs of Twitter. Where the heck was I yesterday?
9:25 AM Jan 16th from Echofon

Dear Fringe, that was lame what you did with that old Charlie episode this week. LAME.
7:53 PM Jan 14th from Echofon

spending far too much time updating the readings for my course. maybe a teeny bit of wishing there was an appropriate textbook. just a bit.
11:46 AM Jan 14th from web

RT @amandafrench Wow, this season of Firefly is the best ever! That Wash. So funny. #alternateuniversetv
7:19 PM Jan 13th from Seesmic Retweeted by you and 2 others

RT @divanoir Annoying offhand remark of the day goes to the American Morning @cnn anchor who said women don’t like videogames as much as men. ::eyeroll::
10:31 AM Jan 13th from Echofon Retweeted by you

@untold coffee encourages pushing, actually
1:14 PM Jan 13th from web in reply to untold

having a really hard time singletasking today. there are 3 fun projects i want to work on. need time travel and/or clones, stat!
1:14 PM Jan 13th from web

i remembered, i remembered

maura @ 9:34 pm

quittin’ time. changing my shoes like Fred Rogers, yo.
about 3 hours ago from web

Gus has (finally!) asked to read Harry Potter. Listening to Jonathan reading it now.
about 23 hours ago from web

seeking any/all recs for a short story similar to rainbow’s end by vernor vinge for my research/documentation students to read. thx!
4:45 PM Jan 10th from web

Mulchfest! http://twitpic.com/xjm92
1:08 PM Jan 10th from Echofon

.@kfitz that open access and peer review are not mutually exclusive (or: yes, Virginia, there are OA peer reviewed journals)
10:37 AM Jan 10th from Echofon in reply to kfitz

Growing more annoyed by the day that the usps continues to hold my new DS hostage. Those puzzles aren’t going to solve themselves!
9:52 PM Jan 8th from Echofon

Collection development is much more difficult than I thought it would be when I was in library school.
1:09 PM Jan 7th from web

I keep forgetting about friendfeed. How can I make myself remember friendfeed?
7:53 PM Jan 5th from web

LOL: RT @ChrysalisArch: How many ways are there to describe nothing archaeologically?
1:36 PM Jan 5th from Echofon

Spent so much time catching up on other stuff today that I totally ignored twitter. Sorry, twitter!
9:51 PM Jan 4th from web

Oh cold & early mornings, I did not miss you.
7:21 AM Jan 4th from Echofon

wow, i read 11 (fiction) books in 2009. way more than i’d have guessed, esp. since one of them was 900 pages long. go me!
5:04 PM Jan 3rd from web

Say no to drugs but yes to rugs. Ah, we’re back in Brooklyn.
3:49 PM Jan 2nd from Echofon

Wish I could spend as much leisure time playing games as I have this week and still sleep/read/write/watch tv as much as I want/need to.
11:26 PM Jan 1st from Echofon

@aegisnyc It’s surreal regardless. Or maybe it’s all of the sugar-induced yelling. Hope yr ok!
8:06 PM Jan 1st from Echofon in reply to aegisnyc

Are the kids old enough for me to leave them at the princess & the frog and hop over to the Sherlock holmes theater down the way? Prob not.
1:08 PM Jan 1st from Echofon

break, winter-style

maura @ 12:09 pm

Woah, looks like I forgot to do Twitter Tuesdays this past week. Blame the holidays: there was the frantically trying to get everything ready beforetime, which segued into the playing with new toys catching up on sleep and reading hanging with family aftertime (which we are still in right now, getting ready to head out with the kids to see the latest Disney offering [which I’m not super happy about, but what can you do]). So the interwebs have sort of fallen by the wayside. As has writing. But I’m chewing over a couple of posts and getting ready to get back on that writing horse. Here’s some Twitter to tide you over.

(P.S. Happy New Year!)

Cousin craziness, courtesy of cookies & Super Mario Bros Wii. Also Hungry Hungry Hippos, the frenzied chomping game!
about 20 hours ago from Echofon

Really need to stop staying up so late. Damn you, Prof Layton, and your puzzly goodness!
10:42 AM Dec 30th, 2009 from Echofon

@boonebgorges No char (Amorina doesn’t have a wood/coal oven), true, but the honest yeasty risen crust was pretty tasty (bad lighting, too).
5:24 PM Dec 29th, 2009 from web in reply to boonebgorges

@boonebgorges Fennel+oranges+olives=wacky but tasty. And of course normal pies too. @notjonathan says: “no dough conditioners!” #cunypie
9:19 PM Dec 28th, 2009 from web in reply to boonebgorges

The Siciliana at Amorina in Brooklyn. Suitable for a #cunypie outing? http://twitpic.com/vnmin
7:33 PM Dec 28th, 2009 from Echofon

last weekend, sledding. this weekend, the high line. http://twitpic.com/vhc34
2:28 PM Dec 27th, 2009 from Echofon

@mkgold ooh, sounds like a great session (eval digital work for t&p), would love to hear a recap. Have fun!
1:50 PM Dec 27th, 2009 from Echofon in reply to mkgold

Up too late last night playing Prof Layton, which rocks. Gus wants 2 play Mario Party, took his DS back. Guess I got to buy my own.
8:56 AM Dec 26th, 2009 from Echofon

Sticky toffee pudding, yum. http://twitpic.com/v8zzq
8:57 PM Dec 25th, 2009 from Echofon

Campari & soda, aww yeah. Trying to convince Gus to let me play Professor Layton (my xmas present) on his DS. Unsuccessfully.
7:10 PM Dec 25th, 2009 from web

We ate all the old cookies. Guess we’ll have to make new ones or else Santa won’t stop by. Unless he’d like some leftover tacos instead?
8:50 AM Dec 24th, 2009 from Echofon

OH in my house: the new baking begins tomorrow.
9:50 PM Dec 23rd, 2009 from web

@mikhailg we <3 Mario kart & super Mario galaxy. Hearing good things abt super Mario bros, which Gus will get from my mom next week.
7:04 PM Dec 23rd, 2009 from Echofon in reply to mikhailg

so quiet at work today. crossing lots off my to-do list, listening to the cocteau twins. think i’m finally starting to feel xmasy.
2:17 PM Dec 23rd, 2009 from web

proofreading the galleys of my article. so exciting to see it formatted all pretty like!
10:03 AM Dec 23rd, 2009 from web

omg 3 days not ready

maura @ 9:41 pm

@mikhailg get the wii! you won’t be sorry — you can sleep in on the weekends, srsly, it’s a digital babysitter.
7 minutes ago from web in reply to mikhailg

@blizf ITA the early eps were disturbing, but by ep 6 it got so much better, i promise! and now it’s in the sad but awesome end stage, sniff
about 13 hours ago from web in reply to blizf

Catching up on TV. Every #Dollhouse I watch makes me a bit more melancholy.
about 23 hours ago from Echofon

I get way too excited when I’ve collected enough coffee bean stamps to get a free coffee at the bookstore. Clearly I need to get out more.
1:14 PM Dec 21st from web

Wish it snowed every day. So nice to have an excuse to tromp around outside, eat hearty & take a nap.
1:56 PM Dec 20th from Echofon

Finally made it to Prospect Park. Can’t say that I’ve ever seen so many people sledding at the same time.
12:19 PM Dec 20th from Echofon

Should be taking advantage of Gus’s karate class to write, but feeling a little burnt out this AM. Maybe later, probably after more coffee.
11:31 AM Dec 19th from Echofon

RT cunygsjresearch #followfriday #followalibrarian Here’s a list of all the CUNY libraries that are tweeting: http://bit.ly/60nZwq #fb
10:37 AM Dec 18th from web

P.S. final tally was a tie (if you include my vote): 4 to 4
8:23 AM Dec 18th from web

I think my vote’s going to be for office w/door over cube w/window (tho probably won’t happen right away). Thanks for playing!
8:22 AM Dec 18th from web

@ms_tinamarie I think that’s it — thanks! Seems weird that there’s only 4 of us. We rock!
10:07 PM Dec 17th from web in reply to ms_tinamarie

office poll update: cubicle w/window is beating office w/door, 3 to 1. cast your vote now!
10:04 PM Dec 17th from Echofon

@divanoir Good. In general w/our space it’s hard to find a balance between background noise and isolation, which is kind of a drag.
3:13 PM Dec 17th from web in reply to divanoir

which would you choose: office w/a door or cubicle w/a window?
2:11 PM Dec 17th from web

@ms_tinamarie A list is a great idea! Thanks!
10:59 PM Dec 16th from Echofon in reply to ms_tinamarie

between the new library course and the student survey for my research project, i have two many opportunities for obsessive number tracking.
9:36 AM Dec 16th from web

so funny i forgot to laugh

maura @ 8:53 pm

It’s kind of hilarious that it’s Twitter Tuesday again since I’m about 10 hrs behind on Twitter right now. Not sure exactly why — while I definitely had stuff to do today, it wasn’t too crazy at work.

Oh well, time for me to stop blogging and start reading!

@Annefesto Oh no! It’s too early for that kind of tragedy. Bugs be gone!
9:02 AM Dec 13th from Echofon in reply to Annefesto

today’s awesome: get some pretzels, open a jar of nutella, dip, enjoy. you’re welcome!
9:29 PM Dec 12th from web

Me too! RT @s_francoeur: @val_forrestal Sigh…I wish I was at the #biblioball.
10:37 PM Dec 11th from Echofon

Finally read that article in this week’s Chronicle of Higher Ed unpacking the modern uses of “friend.” Interesting. http://bit.ly/6EOCS5
8:52 PM Dec 11th from web

I keep forgetting to move my Open Access button from my fall coat to my winter coat.
11:22 AM Dec 11th from web

Called in sick to my food coop mtg tonight. If I go to sleep @ 8pm will I finally kick this wretched cough to the curb?
7:17 PM Dec 10th from Echofon

@Biggie_Smales Same for Ellie, pls! Playdoh? Puzzles? Duplo? Magnetic wooden dressing dolls? Candyland? Miss you guys! xoxo
1:12 PM Dec 10th from web in reply to Biggie_Smales

@Biggie_Smales shoe: 12.5; clothes: 7-8 top, 7 bottom; toys: lego clone wars vehicles; books: any Judy Blume Fudge book except DoubleFudge
1:11 PM Dec 10th from web in reply to Biggie_Smales

Jealous of the big snow in the Midwest.
10:34 PM Dec 9th from Echofon

@jrrnyc raspberry!
10:32 PM Dec 9th from Echofon in reply to jrrnyc

@mkgold Congrats on getting thru IRB! It can be a long road.
10:31 PM Dec 9th from Echofon in reply to mkgold

my inbox feels like a bad game of centipede: blasting one segment doesn’t get me any closer to finishing the board, it just makes 2 more.
9:21 PM Dec 9th from web

RT @zephoria: w000t! U.S. gov’t looking into open-access requirement for research it funds. See RFI: http://bit.ly/8gvhvT (yay!)
1:05 PM Dec 9th from Echofon

new flyer for the new course = done. should be making a flyer for the student survey in my research project, but too tired.
10:53 PM Dec 8th from web

@aegisnyc I know, funny, right?! Sometimes I still forget to answer when they call me that.
9:58 PM Dec 8th from web in reply to aegisnyc

it’ll be just like that book you read

maura @ 9:26 pm

I went to the CUNY IT Conference last Friday so this past week’s tweets are a little techy. I also presented at the conference, which was fun if a little nerve-wracking. When I got there on Friday morning and looked in the program, the room listing for our session read Theater. !!! Yes, the multi-hundred seat Theater. Thankfully, for some reason (tiredness? still getting over this dang cold? who knows?) I didn’t freak out, not even at the beginning of the session when the tech was buggy. It was quite the weird experience, with microphones and blinding lights and my co-presenter’s course blog on a seemingly million-foot tall screen behind us. Crazy.

So here’s last week’s twitterstream:

Learned lots of new stuff at tonight’s wine + cheese + Firefox workshop. I love my job! http://bit.ly/7UHHwl
less than 5 seconds ago from web

I love my RT days, but working from home makes it a little too easy to have a cookie for lunch dessert.
12:46 PM Dec 7th from web

@divanoir totally! Gus is getting the new super mario bros wii for xmas, let’s have a wii brunch sometime!
12:18 PM Dec 6th from Echofon in reply to divanoir

Wish I’d been able to make it to #acrlny09 last Friday. Thx to all the tweeters for the great summary, esp. @StJ_Libraries
10:11 AM Dec 6th from web

Watching a sensei @ Gus’s karate class teach 30 kids while clearly fighting a sore throat makes me feel like a whiner.
11:58 AM Dec 5th from Echofon

Still waiting for my kid to return from his field trip.
10:46 PM Dec 4th from Echofon

@ms_tinamarie Sorry to miss yours too! Too many great sessions today, wish I could have made it to them all.
4:18 PM Dec 4th from Echofon in reply to ms_tinamarie

# In the info lit presentation @ #cunyit, wish I could be at the WordCamp session, too. Where’s my clone?
2:42 PM Dec 4th from Echofon

At #cunyit? Want to sign up for the CUNY Academic Commons? Visit the computer lab in 436T all day to join #cunycommons
10:24 AM Dec 4th from web

@mikhailg yes, audio for http://bit.ly/6CP7t4 #cunycommons preso from #cunyit, tho quiet.
10:11 AM Dec 4th from web in reply to mikhailg

@zephoria Parents who are scared of video games do. As a parent, it always surprises me how many parents are still afraid of video games.
8:20 PM Dec 3rd from Echofon in reply to zephoria

RT CityTechLibrary Merlot+Firefox make for a great combo. Join us Dec. 8, 5:30-7:30 for Web2.0 Happy Hour http://bit.ly/7UHHwl
12:33 PM Dec 3rd from web

Twitter is the only thing I’m caught up on right now, bah.
11:04 PM Dec 2nd from Echofon

really hoping that this is my last superbusy week. i’m tired.
8:19 AM Dec 2nd from web

can’t stop this crazy thing!

maura @ 8:55 pm

It’s December 1, why am I still blogging? Well it’s Twitter Tuesday, for one. Also I’ve begun to suspect that my hair has stopped growing, and I needed someplace to say that. It’s just weird — my hair never seems to get any longer recently. I don’t cut it as often as I probably should, but once I do it seems to grow to its former length and then stop. Bizarre.

Last Week’s Tweets:

working on my CUNY IT conference presentation, hoping that my open office slideshow looks okay in powerpoint.
2:15 PM Nov 30th from web

@alevtina All those English comp classes w/the Ps — bet our stats are similar. Tho I did send some students to our Hs last week.
2:12 PM Nov 30th from web in reply to alevtina

Listening to Gus & his cousins play pirates in the other room. “Are there any girls on this pirate ship?”
8:34 AM Nov 29th from Echofon

@lwaltzer Wasn’t it great? Jonathan & I want to see it again. The digging scenes were so much fun.
8:31 AM Nov 29th from Echofon in reply to lwaltzer

“I’m not as lovely as I could be.” “None of us ever is.”
9:52 AM Nov 28th from Echofon

not that anyone needs them, but apparently I’ve got some google wave invites — ping me if’n youse want ’em.
3:56 PM Nov 27th from web

What’s more fun than an enormous model dung beetle? Searching for the eggs in the dung, of course. http://twitpic.com/r6rt6
1:13 PM Nov 27th from Echofon

Mmmm, cornbread & sage sausage muffins are good for breakfast, too.
9:43 AM Nov 27th from Echofon

there’s no smiling in kung fu. this is an embarassment!
9:59 PM Nov 26th from Echofon

Yum. http://twitpic.com/r38d3
7:01 PM Nov 26th from Echofon

@boonebgorges transferring files to my mom’s new laptop here. nothing says holiday like family tech support!
1:09 PM Nov 26th from Echofon in reply to boonebgorges

RT @notjonathan Roasted sw potatoes & cauliflower, kale w/bacon & onions, cornbread & sausage dressing. Someone else make the damn turkey.
7:53 AM Nov 26th from Echofon

@listentomyvoice they can stuff it! I’ll take education over $$$ any day, man. 8:47 PM Nov 24th from Echofon in reply to listentomyvoice

and your a to zed

maura @ 8:16 pm

Today I’m better enough to rejoin the living and leave the house for the first time since last Friday. Yippee! Still kind of sniffly, but definitely on the upside of the dreadful cold. Gus was home again today but is full of energy + seems fine and he better bet he’s going to school tomorrow, boy howdy! Just in time for handprint turkeys, I’m sure.

The past week’s twitters:

i’m always a bit melancholy after my last class of the semester. it was a great one, though, w/loads of student + faculty engagement.
about 6 hours ago from web

thanks for the tweet-out, @cunycommons and @mikhailg!
6:04 PM Nov 23rd from web

I am already tired of today.
1:46 PM Nov 23rd from web

@airwalker999 yeah, PM was the last miyazaki we’ve shown him. worked out okay, but glad we waited (he’s almost 8). he <3s castle in the sky!
10:55 AM Nov 23rd from web in reply to airwalker999

sick day. me = still need tea + hankies. gus = seems fine but can’t go to school until fever-free for 24 hrs. sorta seems unfair.
10:53 AM Nov 23rd from web

watching princess mononoke w/fever boy. hope it’s not 2 intense, been a while since i’ve seen. also, Y won’t children ever blow their noses?
7:25 PM Nov 22nd from web

@aegisnyc ooh, thanks for the tip! go see fantastic mr. fox, it was rad.
6:49 PM Nov 21st from web in reply to aegisnyc

i work at a college + have a 7 yr old = i probably say awesome much more than i should for a person of my advanced age. but how to stop?
6:49 PM Nov 21st from web

one upside of this yucky cold: spending some quality time on the sofa catching up on feeds + email.
11:40 AM Nov 21st from web

@alevtina sounds like a research opportunity for you!
10:04 PM Nov 20th from Echofon in reply to alevtina

Gus just told me that he likes warmish coldish days because they have a good sunrise.
7:26 AM Nov 20th from Echofon

@alevtina I never wore a suit for any interview. I did get a jacket to wear when I was tired of my 1 fancy cardigan, but skirt = good.
7:17 AM Nov 20th from Echofon in reply to alevtina

Poster sessioning http://twitpic.com/q4eap
1:01 PM Nov 19th from Echofon

this week is keeping up FAIL: work inbox 34, feedreader 87, home inbox 20-ish. bah.
10:20 AM Nov 19th from web

All praise the deity of Ricola! That one magical cough drop let me do two 75 min English 1 sessions in a row, w00t!
11:44 AM Nov 18th from Echofon