So Boston has finally won a World Series. What next? The Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse strolling through my library?



You know what this means of course - no more talk of that stupid curse about Babe Ruth.



As much as I hate the Yankees, I love that movie 61*. For me, the highlight of the movie is when Mickey Mantle is knocked out of the homerun race due to injury and tells Roger Maris to "go out and get the fat fuck [Babe Ruth]." Ah, pure poetry - so much so that every time anyone mentions the Babe I think of him as "the fat fuck." Sad, but true.



Personally, I've always been a Ty Cobb girl myself. For one thing he was a Detroit Tiger, for another he was the meanest SOB to ever walk the face of the Earth. Something tells me if Cobb were alive, and playing ball today, I wouldn't like him nearly as much though. For one thing, his obnoxiousness would be spread all over the media. Case in point, if I see Terrell Owens opening his big yap on my TV one more time I might put my foot through it.



But that's neither here nor there. Congrats Red Sox - not only did you get the monkey off your back, you also stuffed and mounted it above your fire place.

I'm still waiting for someone to shoot me. Any day now people!



My boyfriend's car is still on the fritz. The mechanics replaced the speed sensor over the weekend and we picked up the car yesterday. But no - my life can never be that simple. He went to leave for work this morning and the transmission problem is back once again. Or in this case - it never really left. So we're back to being a one car household for who knows how long.



On top of this, my entire kitchen is on the fritz at home. OK, not the entire kitchen - I just have a garbage disposal that sounds like it's grinding metal and a dishwasher that is leaking.



When I called to tell my boyfriend that I notified management of our kitchen woes he sounded none too pleased. Translation = it's a rotten day at the office.



Maybe I should just stick my head in the sand now and avoid the Christmas rush?



In other news: a romance author who frequents my blog provided this link for my reading pleasure. In a nutshell, an author's research got her in hot water with the Feds thanks to the lovely U.S. Patriot Act. This interview went out in a publication made available to RWA members, and I've already seen scuttlebutt online regarding the authenticity of the claim. Mainly, how come this episode hasn't gotten any media attention?



I'm not one for conspiracy theories (I have better things to do with my time), so I have to say I agree here. While I certainly don't put it past the government to hide things, I'm shocked that the publishing industry isn't screaming bloody murder. Needless to say, I'll be keeping an extra close eye on Publisher's Weekly for a while.



For those of you concerned about the privacy of your library record I offer some simple advice - return books on time and do not accumulate overdue fines. Most libraries do not keep track of every single item you ever checked out. The only things the computer will tell us (or the government for that matter) about your lending habits are:

1. Items you currently have checked out
2. Items you checked out, but returned late, so you got an overdue fine on them
   
   

So if you checked out a book on Middle Eastern cooking 6 months ago and didn't get an overdue fine, no worries! The Feds will not be breaking down your front door.

Please shoot me. I'd consider it a humanitarian effort - I wouldn't hold a grudge - honest.



I'm sick, again. After a miserable Tuesday, I woke up Thursday morning at 4AM with more gastrointestinal problems. I simply had to go to work, so I slept for the next 2 hours on my living room sofa with my heating pad and felt marginally human for the rest of the day. Woke up this morning, felt fine - even went for a morning walk with my boyfriend. Came home, did laundry, made some tea, got sick again.



Going to the doctor isn't really going to help here, since I know what the problem is, and also know that the doctor can't really do much about it. He'll likely just pat me on my head and send me on my way. So that leaves me trying to relax, destress and pray for the best. But I'm not above pleading - does anyone have any good home remedies for stomach/GI issues?



The reason I had to be at work yesterday was because we had 40 1st and 2nd graders coming for a library visit/field trip. My children's librarian was at a meeting - so that left me to do the presentation. My favorite question of the day was when a boy asked where we get all of our books. I told him to go home and ask Mom or Dad about taxes.



Kids tend to be really cute at that age, and they all seemed excited about the trip. My staff told me how well I did and even suggested that I should have been a children's librarian. I think my response was somewhere along the lines of "Hell no." It's fun to do this sort of thing every now and then, but a I lack the patience and creativity to work with children day in and day out. Plus, children tend to annoy me when they hit a certain age - namely junior high.

Mmmm, Mmmm, Mmmm - That's good crow! Pass the ketchup please.



I can't believe it. The Red Sox actually won the AL title last night. Unfrickenbelievable. And that means I can go back to being slightly indifferent about the playoffs - no more Yankees! Yeah!



One guy I would not want to be this morning - Yankees GM Brian Cashman. I would rather swim in a tank of man-eating sharks than have that guy's job this morning. How would you like to try and explain to Steinbrenner how the team lost the AL title after being 3-0 in the series? No thank you. Cashman is really going to have to sell it, otherwise I see a mass exodus coming out of the Yankees organization. But hell, what do I know?



As for the World Series - sorry Red Sox fans, I'm not convinced. St. Louis is tough and Houston - heck, Carlos Beltran is practically on fire and Clemens has done right by them thus far.



Actually, it's pretty exciting stuff - and watching the Red Sox celebrate in Yankee Stadium is an image that will probably get me through until the Yankees sign more talent away from small market teams in the off season....

Well I do feel better today - although work went to hell in a handbasket yesterday while I was out sick.



My children's librarian also got sick (totally different ailment), which meant I only had 2 people here at closing time yesterday. Not something I like to do in this neighborhood - but oh well. It also meant that we had to a get a substitute in for today, since my children's librarian is still sick and today is preschool storytime! Normally, I would have done it - but I thought I was going to be at a meeting this morning (which was cancelled).



This is the second time I called in sick. Both times one of my staff members also decided to be sick - and working in a teeny library with little staff to begin with, well it can get hairy. We really need to coordinate better.



I've been remiss in not talking about baseball, mainly because I'm in denial. What the hell. The Red Sox come back after being down 3-0 to force a game 7?! Does this make any sense to anybody and can you explain it to me? Personally, I think Boston is just pulling our chains and will inevitably follow pattern by losing tonight and crushing the hope they so cruelly have instilled in their fans.



Personally I don't care who wins the World Series - as long as it isn't the Yankees.



Don't you think hating the Yankees should be a national pasttime? Or is it already? Hmmm...



As for the NL championship - what the hell are the Cardinals doing? Frankly, I don't care who wins in this series - but I just don't think the DisAstros can beat the Yankees in the World Series. And yes, it will be the Yankees - Boston fans should just start drinking now to dull the pain. Heck, maybe y'all already are.

Wendy's drinking green tea - which must mean she feels like crud.



I came home from work last night at 8:30PM and immediately crawled into bed. Pathetic but true. I thought "sleeping on it" would calm my digestive issues, and essentially that worked until 5AM. For the next 3 hours I was either communing on the sofa with a heating pad or running to the bathroom. I feel better now, albeit groggy, and am home for the day. Going to work and having to run to the bathroom every 30 minutes isn't terribly practical.



In various news - I finally finished Blue Moon by Lori Handeland. It's just as I suspected, the romance is pretty blah but everything else in this story is fantastic. Handeland has created a tough, smart heroine with a wry, interesting voice. Probably a good thing since the story is told entirely from her point of view. I also enjoyed the author's take on the werewolf legend - of course being a history buff helps.



Next up on the list is Dream Of Me by Lisa Cach. I was really blown away by the first book in this 2-part series, Come To Me, last month. I find myself more intrigued by Cach's career of late. Every book I've read by this woman is vastly different from the one that preceeded it. Kudos to her for stretching herself creatively, and kudos to Dorchester Publishing who lets her.



In other news, I've added a link to the right hand side advertising what I'm selling over at Half.com. Mainly trade paperback romances, Harlequins, and hopefully soon, erotica. If any of that sort of thing interests you, go on over and take a look. I'm fairly anal about the condition of my books, and most of what I'll be selling is damn near pristine.

Will wonders never cease? It rained here in Southern California Saturday night! Rain! Glorious, fantastic, stupendous rain! I was so confused, I woke up out of a dead sleep and groggily asked my boyfriend what the heck was going on. His reply, "It's raining dear - a lot." In fact, the heavens opened up.



Now for those of you who live in a "normal" climate, my excitement probably strikes you as a bit odd. I can't say I really blame you. It took me moving to the desert to realize how much I miss the little things - like "real" trees and rain. Having lived in the Midwest the majority of my life, I would often gripe about how the sun disappears for 9 months out of the year. Hey, all the sun in So. Cal. is lovely - but I won't lie to you - it does get a tad boring after a while.



I'm sure I'll be singing the praises of the desert come February though. Right around the time I read a report of Buffalo, NY getting 14 feet of snow.



In football news, I didn't really have any stand-out picks this week - but I did call the spread exactly right on the Pittsburgh vs. Dallas game (Pittsburgh won by 4 thank you very much). Also, my beloved Buffalo Bills finally won a game - against the equally dismal Miami Dolphins. How come I have this feeling that the citizens of Buffalo are drinking heavier than usual on Sundays? Drink up boys! It's going to be a long season....



In reading news - I'm almost done with Blue Moon by Lori Handeland after neglecting it for the better part of a week. It's an interesting book - but I can't help but feel that it really doesn't work as a romance novel.



The heroine is a police officier in middle of nowhere Minnesota and strange happenings are afoot. The wolf population has gotten violent and agressive. When a school teacher gets bit, and later freaks out in her classroom, it is thought that there is a strain of "super' rabies floating around. A skilled "wolf hunter" comes in, and the heroine seeks the advice of a local Native American professor on a wolf totem she found at a crime scene. Naturally, our hero is hunky and hot - thus meaning our loner heroine won't be celibate for much longer.



Handeland takes the risky move of writing the story in first person - which is very rarely done in Romance Novel Land. I happen to love this, as her heroine is very feisty, clever, street smart and tough. She wouldn't know girly if it bit her in the butt - which makes me think that she'll make or break the book for many readers.



The werewolf plot is also well thought out - and I just got to the part this morning where Handeland unveils her take on it. It's very imaginative, and one that history buffs should get a kick out of.



What doesn't really work is the romance, mainly because there is so little time devoted to it. Our hero and heroine haven't really talked about anything outside of the wolf problem. The hero also starts molesting the heroine in record time - and while the love scenes are hot, I can't help but wish there was a more of a "getting to know you" period between the two.



It will be interesting to read the scuttlebutt on this book, because the cover has a decidedly romance feel to it (hello beefcake!), but the story is really the strongest when focusing on the secondary characters, the heroine and the suspense/paranormal elements. Frankly, at this point I could give a hoot about the hero - and any romance reader will tell you that you should always give a hoot about the hero and heroine!



Of course, there are still 100 pages to go....