It's been a quiet week in Downtown DC....
Oh, this is absurd!
I live in Tevas or the like. My feet and toes started getting cramps yesterday evening and kept it up all night and, in fact, are still doing it on occasion. The pulled or stretched or something hamstring or tendon or ligament or something in my thigh has started hurting again, right after I had gotten it under control. My butt even hurts! I'm having a hard time believing it, but all this seems to be because, yesterday, I had to wear some semi-high-heeled sandals, little black slides with straps in the front and nothing in the back. So does this mean I'm now condemned to a future without sexy shoes? I'm really not a shoe person, so why is the thought of living the rest of my live in sensible shoes bothering me? Is it because what it means is that I'm.....getting old?
Now why did I wear those silly shoes in the first place, you ask? Because I couldn't find my brown semi-high-heel sandals, which also have straps in front and nothing behind but at least have wide, comfortable straps and a chunky heel. Why didn't I stick to my Tevas like a sensible girl? Because I had a job interview. And they just wouldn't work. The interview was at the Newseum, to be a teacher for school groups [ETA: we'll see if that still works in a few days] that book classes. They're looking for somebody with a background in journalism and/or history and/or "informal" education. Which is....me. It's part-time, which is a drag, but it pays pretty decently. (We'll forget that I find the whole concept of a museum established by journalists as a way to pat themselves on the back to be ludicrous. If they have to do it, at least it looks like they're doing it well. It's a pretty cool place, once you get past the embarrassing feeling of self-aggrandizement. Maybe it'll help curb the knee-jerk reaction about "the media," whatever the hell THAT is.) They said they can't tell me how many hours I'd get because the museum and especially it's educational program are so new they don't have a precedent to draw on. As part of the interview, I had to give a five minute "lesson" on a subject of my choice which was, of all things, coppicing. (Because it's not too wide-ranging, and because it was all I could think of.) They said the point was just to see what my teaching style was, and I think I did pretty well--I drew pictures and asked questions and all of that--especially considering they didn't tell me that part of it until 4:30 the afternoon before, when I was on the road. We also did a little role-playing, like trying me out to see how I would handle teaching an photojournalism ethics class to middle-schoolers who get the giggles at the Nick Ut picture of the naked girl who's been napalmed. The interview was a little rushed and made at the last minute because the main person was going out of town that afternoon and was going to be booked solid the entire next week, and I wanted to get going with it. She said they had gotten a surprisingly big response, considering it's a part-time job, and it'll take a few weeks to interview the rest of the applicants, so I'm going to rest on my laurels for the weekend before plowing onward.
But why didn't I just get up earlier so I could find the brown sandals? Because I was worn out after two days with a total of about nine hours of sleep. Like I said, I had been on the road when I finally, after days of phone tag, got in touch with Interview Lady. I was deep in the Shenandoah Valley, attending the Green Valley Book Fair and thanking God to be out of town for about the only time this summer. I hadn't been to the Book Fair in years, not since I lived down there, and bought six new books for a total of $20.72, including tax. (See list below.) It was kind of fun watching my friend Marissa, who was a Book Fair virgin, go crazy. I think she said she spent about a hundred dollars, so you can imagine how many she went home with. The way I've finally learned to apply discipline to the process is to spend the money on books that will take me a long time to finish, especially if they are dip-in/dip-out books, or that I'll use for reference purposes, and skip over the ones that I would otherwise check out of the library, read, enjoy, and then never think of again. Marissa, on the other hand, went looking for Chick Lit and by God, they had Chick Lit. In droves! (They also had a category called "Paranormal Romance," the mere idea of which frightened the both of us.)
We also tried to go to a couple of wineries, but spent so much time at the Book Fair that they were closed by the time we got there. Lunch/supper, at about 7:00, was at a great old-time, real (not "retro) diner in Culpeper, which has apparently become something of a foodie destination. (The town, not the diner. Though it was just what we were in the mood for.) Now Marissa's all pumped about going back to the general Valley/Charlottesville area for a "girls trip" go to wineries, the Book Fair, and maybe the Montpelier Races. Hopefully I'll be working by then and can afford it. (One of the wineries has a guest house you can rent for $150 a night for four people, which I think I can afford even now. We'll have to see what the bedding situation is like, though.)
And what was I doing the night before to keep me up late? Working on another "Dear Carter" fanfic. (Remember those? Look at the sticky above if you're interested.) I'm going to have to get going on this stuff if I'm not going to be eclipsed by canonical events. It's gotten to the point that I almost hope the show doesn't start until winter so I'll have more time.
Book Fair Purchases, in the Order They Come Out of the Shopping Bag
(aka "God, I am such a nerd! What normal person buys this stuff for fun?")
A History of Private Life, vol. 2: "Revelations of the Medieval World"
I have no idea how credible it is, but it's heavy and has lots of pictures and cost $1.99
The Poetic Edda
Because we all need to a little of "Vafrthundnir's Sayings" in our lives.
Everyman and Medieval Miracle Plays
Put out by the old reliable Everyman Library, which must have given them a giggle and thrown stock clerks and librarians into a tizzy. ("Everyman. Is that the title? The series title? The author? WHAT?") And it's in modern English! (I luckily found out at the last minute that another, similar book I toted around all day was NOT.) And it was 99 cents, which was the kicker.
The Areas of My Expertise
For giggle. And because Apple put out a free download of the audio version, read by author John Hodgman, and though it was amusing, it was obvious I'd need to see the words on the page, formatted into charts and lists and such, to really get it.
I Got Somebody in Staunton
Because it's hardback and pretty and because I used to live in Staunton, back when I lived in the Valley. And because I read a very good review of it, though it's not normally the kind of thing I would buy. (See "How to Apply Discipline to the Process" above.) I might give it to somebody as a Christmas present when I'm done, though I don't know who.
And the main reason I suggested going to the Book Fair.....
The Anglo-Saxon World: An Anthology, including the Complete Beowulf
This is how it worked: The Book Fair website said they were going to have a whole bunch of Oxford Classics. Meanwhile, I stopped by my neighborhood used bookstore and, while browsing through the medieval history section, ran across a battered paperback of this for about four dollars. Might they have it at the Book Fair, since it's an Oxford Classic? I put it back on the shelf. And wound up getting it new, for the same price, at the Book Fair. And yes, I really do spend time thinking that much about these things. Which is very, very sad.
And you know what? This entire entry is so boring I had to work to stay interested enough to finish it. I apologize.