Edward Lear's birthday's today,
He popularized limericks which allow us to play
With words in a form
That is only a norm
of English's poetry array.

Edward Lear (12 May 1812 – 29 January 1888) popularized the limerick. Although it had been around since the early 18th century, Lear wrote "Edward Lear’s Book of Nonsense" (1846) which solidified its popularity, although he never used the term "limerick." he term "Limerick" came from the Limerick Hellfire Club, (in Ireland), where, among their debauches, the drunken members would regale each other with limericks. (presumably of a bawdy nature). Lear's are memorable because they were clever AND clean! The Limerick is the only popular poetry form to originate in English.

Even more...

I was married last Saturday, and am moving to Ohio. Small town. Not what I've experienced before, but I suppose it could be worse somehow. 

Changes Changes

This year has been an interesting, albeit incredible busy one thus far.

In early January I became engaged to Ben, a Phd candidate in Classics (who defended in December) who I met in Church last year.

He proposed on the steps of the Boston Public Library.

We're getting married at Christ Episcopal Church, in New Brunswick, NJ (where we met) on June 25th of this year.

It will be a small bridal party, with just our closest friends as Best Woman and Maid of Honor. We're both quite excited.

This also leaves both of us in a rather interesting situation in terms of long term employment. The academic job market is quite tight. At the moment, Ben is applying for short-term appointments, in hopes of later getting a tenure track job. What this means however, is that we have no idea where we will be living.

In February I quit my job, and started as the Interim Reference Librarian at New Brunswick Theological Seminary. This job is only guarantee through June, which should be fine as we will likely be moving. I love working in a seminary environment. It is a rather ecumenical seminary, so I've been able to meet and assist many different people from many different places.

I don't know what the future will hold, but for the moment, I'm feeling that God is Good.

A Series

A Series of Verses Describing the Variety of Librarians

There are many librarian sorts this is true

reference, catalogers, and school teachers too

But this isn't the best way

to KNOW who they are

But with this short cheat sheet you will go far.

Typical awkward librarian males

Are skinny, obsessive, intelligent, pale

They’re good at their jobs,

I don’t question that,

But with socialization their skills may fall flat

YA librarian’s clothing is snazzy

Her glasses are stylish, her weblog is jazzy

With gaming and concerts

She gets the teens looks

But no one’s quite sure how it comes back to books

The older librarian shusher’s a throw

Back to when librarians viewed patrons as foe

Her sign may say reference

But if we have our preference

Will stick to answers we already know

Archivists often can seem rather cluttery

And reasons for acquiring similarly buttery

To those that surround them

They may seem mentally stale,

As we wait for that day when they find the true grail.

More to come!

What Does Anglo-Catholic Mean to You?

I don't mean the history... but pragmatically, what does it mean to you?


Please respond in comments section

Here's to the Weatherman (in light verse)

Here’s to the weatherman
For giving me knowledge
That makes it quite clear
That he went to college.
For solving the mystery
I couldn’t alone
For giving me insight
That I now can own

You’ve used all your maps
And your meteorology
To explain this deep concept
In correct terminology,
Thanks for the info
That I could know not
That at 104,
It’s rather darn hot.

A Series (in progress)

A Series of Verses Describing the Variety of Librarians


There are many librarian sorts this is true
reference, catalogers, and school teachers too
But this isn't the best way
to KNOW who they are
But with this short cheat sheet you will go far.

Typical awkward librarian males
Are skinny, obsessive, intelligent, pale
They’re good at their jobs,
I don’t question that,
But with socialization their skills may fall flat

YA librarian’s clothing is snazzy
Her glasses are stylish, her weblog is jazzy
With gaming and concerts
She gets the teens looks
But no one’s quite sure how it comes back to books

The older librarian shusher’s a throw
Back to when librarians viewed patrons as foe
Her sign may say reference
But if we have our preference
Will stick to answers we already know

Archivists often can seem rather cluttery
And reasons for acquiring similarly buttery
To those that surround them
They may seem mentally stale,
As we wait for that day when they find the true grail.

Strange job Possibility

The rector of a parish about 20 minutes from me called me out of the blue a few days ago to ask if I would consider becoming the Director of Children and Youth Ministries at his church. It would be 15 hours a week, with acceptable pay and a continuing education allowance.

I feel extremely conflicted about this.

I have been applying for other jobs outside of library science, so that isn't my greatest concern.

I've been avoiding youth ministry for years, because normally "young adults" get automatically saddled with it. However, I feel that I am now old enough for it to be clear that I am an adult and doing this by choice. I actually wouldn't mind working with youth. The church has a decent sized Sunday school, so most of what I would do regarding that would be administrative. There are a number of post-confirmation teens that are looking for ways to stay involved, and I'm excited at that opportunity. It would also be an exciting change to actually work for the church as empowered laity!

However, the rector is asking for a 2-3 year commitment at minimum. I thoroughly understand his desire for stability for the kids, however, I'm not sure I could handle being locked to Central Jersey for another three years. It would also mean I couldn't take full-time employment. My current job runs Mon-Thurs evening. I would be committing to losing nights and weekends.

It is also a somewhat politically conservative parish, and also the "other Episcopal church" in this town (the other being a cardinal parish of the diocese).

I'm meeting with the rector on Thursday, prayers are welcome.

Limericks against Universal Higher Ed

(You know I've having a fed up/off day when I start writing limericks)

It’s not that my expectations are high
That isn’t what I mean to imply
But with students in college
You expect some basic knowledge
And these kids, they don’t even try

Maybe a student or two
have some inkling of the work they should do
but the rest of the time
I can feel the decline
Of the language I thought that I knew

Sometimes I just have to pray
That this is an isolated display
Of why the system is broken
And we need more than token
Words to repair the disarray.

The notion that higher ed is for all
Will quickly be this nation’s downfall
The poor get further indebted
And we all will regret it
When there’s a clog in the lone bathroom stall

Smoke Pot and Wear Condoms

This is written in response to listening to comedians and others talk about Christianity, especially the line about a religion that says that "sex is wrong and Christian rock is good."

Evidently, I've had a different experience with clergy than many others. Aside from the large amounts of cursing and drinking, there was also confirmation class.

We were sixteen years old and were told not to do drugs, but if we had to do drugs, to smoke pot, but to only do it once. Also, don't have sex, but since we were all going to do have sex anyway, to be sure to wear (or carry) condoms. And if our parents wouldn't get them for us, they (the priests) would. The same went for the gynaecologist. More to the point, if we got pregnant, it created more work for them.

Ditto Catholic school, where the sisters distributed an extremely detailed list of what type, how to use, the reliability, and where to get every form of contraception imaginable -- that it was a sin to use.

Poem written while waiting at the West 4th subway stop

Today the NYC subway was broken,
and NJTransit delayed from AC to Hoboken,
Getting to NYU was a pain,
And next weekend I get to do it again,
Maybe then I will have better luck,
But for now I ask "MTA, what the f#@k?"

Second Job!

The library I used to look for at Rutgers offered me 15 hours a week through June to finish a project I started when I worked there a while ago.

Not wonderful hours, pay, or work, but its something, and will be a much needed supplement to my current (and more fun) librarian job.

I had grand illusions that being a librarian would be "glamorous."

Oh well.

Request for NYers (Internship)

A friend of mine who is a seminary student Hong Kong is interested in doing an internship (of some sort, it doesn't have to be official) some time this year in the New York area. He's very interested in urban and HIV ministry, and has extensive work with youth.

He doesn't have the homophobic tendencies that are common in that diocese, if this concerns you. He is bilingual, and is a great person who would be a great asset to any church. I know of a few places where he could stay with low rent (although if you have housing that would be great too).

If people could put the word out and get back to me soon, that would be awesome!! Thanks.

Fractured elbow

I had a fun evening Saturday, I went to a roller skating party for someone in her late 20s. Managed to fall 4 times in the same way. My arm hurt a bit, but I didn't think too much of it. IT continued to hurt, and today I went to an orthopedist. It's fractured. I don't need a cast, but I do need to be careful. It was otherwise a lot of fun, even though I haven't skated since I was 10.




After that I watched the Eagles/Cowboys game. I think breaking my elbow was less painful.


UPDATE: My arm is doing much better, thanks for your prayes

Of all photos..

This photo of me appeared on the NJ Star Ledger website. We were in line to get into the gallery of the state house to hear debate on the marriage equality bill... for almost 4 hours.

I think you can pick me out.



For more photos go to http://photos.nj.com/star-ledger/2010/01/post_174.html

In state tution for all of NJ's Residents a possibility

For the first time in ten years, both the NJ state Senate and Assembly Appropriation's Committees voted to send a bill allowing undocumented students who have graduated from a NJ high school and attended high school in NJ for at least 3 years to pay in-state tuition to the floor of both houses.

This bill had been sitting in committee for a decade and will now be given a vote. Interestingly, it is actually in the state's financial interest to pass this bill, as a Rand Corporation (and the NJ Legislature's own studies) have shown that Latino women with higher education contribute $9000 per year more to the state revenue than the same demographic without. There will also not be a significant loss to most state schools, according to many universities. It will simply give an underclass of the population an opportunity to better themselves and better the US population.


See N.J. Assembly committee approves bill allowing undocumented immigrants to pay in-state tuition for a full article (although not complete for wholly accurate) article.

Rejoining the World

I've been intending to rejoin the blogsphere for a few months, and yet it somehow keeps not happening. I suppose whenever the fancy strikes me, I'm either not near a computer, or I get distracted. But I will try to get back on board, really.

So what have I been up to?

I'm working at Middlesex County College in NJ as their Urban Centers Librarian, and I LOVE it, but I don't get benefits, so I'm still looking.

I've been volunteering with Garden State Equality trying to get Marriage Equality in New Jersey before the new governor takes office in two weeks since he has promised not to sign the legislation. This has been both invigorating and depressing, and forces me to utilize skills that aren't my strongest.

I've continued to be involved in working toward social change, including by serving on the NY Executive Committee of Solidarity. I've also been working with local people to get some sort of study group started in central Jersey.

I spent Christmas in Chincoteague, VA and a few days after in Baltimore (photos perhaps to come), and have gotten back in touch with some fun people.

A fellow I know from community theatre and I have gone out on a few dates, which has been good for me. It's been over five months since my last relationship, and I think I'm beginning to be ready to put a toe in the water, but this sort of thing has never come naturally to me.

First date: Carnegie Hall, rear orchestra to hear Musica Sacra perform Handel's Messiah (NYT review). He also brought the score so we could follow along. It was the first time I have seen a performance of the entire show (the entirety of the three parts), and it was an incredible performance.

So I suppose I am keeping on keeping on and will try to blog and post more regularly.

Peaceout.

Episconinjas Unite!

Bike meets Car

Today I was hit by a car on my bicycle on Rt 27 in Highland Park, NJ while crossing River Road. While I (and other cyclists) were in the crosswalk, a car barrelled around the corner and struck the side of my bike. I and my bike went onto the hood of the car and then rolled onto the street where I hit my wrist, knee, and head. After I moved over, the driver of the car shot me a nasty look and drove away. (This is a highly bike populated zone, over the next 20 minutes I saw at least 20 cyclists cross this intersection, and many cars make the right turn at safe speeds).

Since my bicycle was not rideable (although appears reparable), I sent the friend I was with to get my car so I could load the bike onto my car bike rack. I called 911 to report the hit and run. Since no one got the plates of the driver (I was busy being hit by a car and my friend was busy checking that I was okay), and I only recalled the color of the car and gender and approximate age the driver, the officers were honest that the driver was unlikely to be found, unless she felt guilty or scared and turned herself in.

I went to Robert Wood Johnson hospital where they took x-rays and checked for evidence of a concussion (there was none). They also gave me a tetanus shot.
A friend drove me to where the friend I was biking with had left my car, and drove it to my apt so I could get a change of clothes for work. She then drove me back to New Brunswick where I spent most of the day reading and resting and then going to to work in the evening. I am feeling a bit lethargic with a small headache and shoulder pain as well as prescriptions for muscle relaxants.

That's it for now.

A weekend in York, Pa

I spent this past weekend "getting away" by visiting my best friend in York, Pa. We had a great time hanging out, eating junk food and taking pictures in abandoned buildings.






We had a picnic with some close friends from college at Rocky Ridge County Park where we ate and played catch at the overlook.



I was also able to visit with my undergraduate advisor and some other professors with whom I was able to discuss possible directions for my future. Although I have begun the discernment process, I feel that I need to be sure that I have other avenues available. One of these is the possibility of pursing a Phd (or masters) in history. I was honoured when my undergraduate advisor told me to let her know when I needed letters of recommendation.


I was able to meet up with a few other friends and repair a friendship that I was worried was irrepairable.


Although I wish I could have stayed through Monday (I needed to leave early Sunday morning for a meeting), I'm glad that I was able to spend the weekend with good friends.