How to get ready for our trip to ALA!
Curling up with that good book/s that you took last time you were here would be the perfect way to start.
Another way would be to read what your fellow STABies wrote about their trip to Texas for STAB Antonio. It is at: http://shorstab.blogspot.com/2006_01_01_shorstab_archive.html . Remember to start from the bottom or it won't make any sense.
You could also review the "Talkin' bout books" document I wrote up last year while wearing your cat like a pair of ear-muffs. It will help with the upcoming STABBBYA meetings but is designed specifically for the discussion at ALA. (The document. Not the cat.) You can also find that at the blog at our handy blog which is: http://shorstab.blogspot.com/2006/10/talkin-bout-best-books-thoughts-for.html
Also, consider whether or not you want to go to the convention. I believe that all of you can and should go. If you have any specific concerns, let me know and we can discuss them. Let me know if you can go so that I can get a head count and figure out how many chaperones we need.
As always don't hesitate to call or e-mail if you have questions!
11.27.2006
11.22.2006
STAB Meetings of the Future!
I planned out STAB meetings all the way up to the convention. Go right these dates in crayon on your bedroom wall so you don't forget. Or you can check out the calendar at the MySTAB page in case your crayon is out of wax: http://www.myspace.com/rickobaggins (As always, no need to join MySpace to only view the site or calendar.)
Dec 5 4-6pm
Dec 19, 4-6pm
Jan 2, 4-6pm
Jan 16, 5-8pm
Those of you who are extra eagle eyed will note that the meeting on the 16th is longer and at a different time. I'm calling it our X-STAB-Aganza! That is because this will be the last meeting before we head to the convention on Sunday, January 21st. This meeting is as mandatory as I can make one. If you can't make that meeting, well, I'm not sure if you should come to the convention.
Why is it so important you ask?
I'm glad you asked. It is so important because:
1. This will be your last chance to discuss the books you've read
2. You'll be able to practice what you are going to say at the convention
3. We'll go over the nitty gritty details of the convention
4. You'll have a chance to meet the chaperones
5. I'm hoping that a few other BBYA groups from the area will be able to attend.
6. There will be pizza.
I can't think of anymore incentives to come to something other than to say you'll also have me there to make fun of for 3 whopping hours. How can you not come?
11.07.2006
We’ll be having a STABBBYA meeting, next week. The blessed event will take place Tuesday, November 14th from 4-6pm. What do you need to get ready for the meeting, you ask? Well, just read a book from our lovely collection from our private STASH at the library. Come in ask me what I’m talking about if this e-mail appears to be gibberish.
Also, I wanted to alert you to a change on the MySpace page. It has a fancy feature where I can post a calendar of events. You don’t need to be a member of MySpace to view the calendar, so check it out if you are ever confused about events happening in the library or those specifically related to STAB. Also, a special note for those who are on MySpace, I started a STAB/STABBBYA group. So far we have, only 3 members, so if you are on STAB, become one of the cool MySpace kids and join the group. If you aren’t on MySpace, no need to worry, you’ll still get all the cheesy e-mails chock full of the exact same information. Websites of note from this paragraph include:
www.myspace.com/rickobaggins
groups.myspace.com/ShorelineTAB
www.shorstab.blogspot.com
Plus, I've only received one entry for the STAB T-shirt contest. Though it is really great, I know others of you confessed you were interested in attempting your artistic hand at this endeavor. If you are, get them to me before the meeting next week so I can review them. Then we can vote on them at the next meeting, or soon thereafter.
Also, I wanted to alert you to a change on the MySpace page. It has a fancy feature where I can post a calendar of events. You don’t need to be a member of MySpace to view the calendar, so check it out if you are ever confused about events happening in the library or those specifically related to STAB. Also, a special note for those who are on MySpace, I started a STAB/STABBBYA group. So far we have, only 3 members, so if you are on STAB, become one of the cool MySpace kids and join the group. If you aren’t on MySpace, no need to worry, you’ll still get all the cheesy e-mails chock full of the exact same information. Websites of note from this paragraph include:
www.myspace.com/rickobaggins
groups.myspace.com/ShorelineTAB
www.shorstab.blogspot.com
Plus, I've only received one entry for the STAB T-shirt contest. Though it is really great, I know others of you confessed you were interested in attempting your artistic hand at this endeavor. If you are, get them to me before the meeting next week so I can review them. Then we can vote on them at the next meeting, or soon thereafter.
10.15.2006
Talkin’ Bout Best Books
Thoughts for discussing books at the BBYA Committee Meeting
This is not an attempt to:
-Crush your creativity
-Suck the joy out of your reading
-Tell you what to say or
-How to think.
Rather, this is an attempt to get you to focus your comments on the BBYA nominations so that:
Everyone gets a chance to contribute
The BBYA Committee can get only the most useful information they can out of you and
You get to say everything that you want and need to say.
I hope that these tips help you to think about what you have read and critically analyze the books. The most important thing to remember is that your opinion matters, your comments matter and you have the right to speak your mind:
1. Talk to the committee or the chair. There may be hundreds of people in the room, but don’t worry about them. The 15 people on the dais are the ones who are making the decisions about the books.
2. Keep it positive. There is really very little need to discuss a book you don’t like. Let me be the bad guy. The committee would rather hear about your favorites rather than the ones you hated. So come ready to talk about your top 5 -10 books rather than your least favorite 10-20. However, if you feel strongly about a book, we want to hear about it.
3. Focus on WHY you like/love/hate the book. What was the hook? What was the most appealing aspect of this book?
4. Keep your comments short and succinct. We have roughly 2 hours and possibly 60 teens that all have something they want to say. A little quick math tells us that everyone gets about 2 minutes to speak.
5. Don’t give a summary of the book. Everyone on the committee should have already read the book. We don’t need to know what it is about. Here are some suggestions for topics to talk about:
- Characters (Real, fake, interesting, annoying (but in a good way?))
- Plot
- Pacing
- Language (Was this well written?)
- Pictures/Artwork/Cover
- Believability
- Voice of the Character (Does this sound like a teen or like a real person)
- Compare to other books (Espcially this year selections)
- Format/Layout (Espcially poetry and titles that use some type of formatting other than the standard, for example footnotes, diary format, IM (leet speak), slang, etc.)
- Relevant/Age Appropriate (Does this appeal to teens, or is it too young or old?)
- Factual (Espciall for non-fiction)
6. Be honest. The Committee is interested in hearing about what teens think about the books. Don’t bother telling us what you think we want to hear. Tell us what you think about the book. And remeber, no matter what you believe about a book, it isn't wrong. It is your opinion and you have every right to it.
Thoughts for discussing books at the BBYA Committee Meeting
This is not an attempt to:
-Crush your creativity
-Suck the joy out of your reading
-Tell you what to say or
-How to think.
Rather, this is an attempt to get you to focus your comments on the BBYA nominations so that:
Everyone gets a chance to contribute
The BBYA Committee can get only the most useful information they can out of you and
You get to say everything that you want and need to say.
I hope that these tips help you to think about what you have read and critically analyze the books. The most important thing to remember is that your opinion matters, your comments matter and you have the right to speak your mind:
1. Talk to the committee or the chair. There may be hundreds of people in the room, but don’t worry about them. The 15 people on the dais are the ones who are making the decisions about the books.
2. Keep it positive. There is really very little need to discuss a book you don’t like. Let me be the bad guy. The committee would rather hear about your favorites rather than the ones you hated. So come ready to talk about your top 5 -10 books rather than your least favorite 10-20. However, if you feel strongly about a book, we want to hear about it.
3. Focus on WHY you like/love/hate the book. What was the hook? What was the most appealing aspect of this book?
4. Keep your comments short and succinct. We have roughly 2 hours and possibly 60 teens that all have something they want to say. A little quick math tells us that everyone gets about 2 minutes to speak.
5. Don’t give a summary of the book. Everyone on the committee should have already read the book. We don’t need to know what it is about. Here are some suggestions for topics to talk about:
- Characters (Real, fake, interesting, annoying (but in a good way?))
- Plot
- Pacing
- Language (Was this well written?)
- Pictures/Artwork/Cover
- Believability
- Voice of the Character (Does this sound like a teen or like a real person)
- Compare to other books (Espcially this year selections)
- Format/Layout (Espcially poetry and titles that use some type of formatting other than the standard, for example footnotes, diary format, IM (leet speak), slang, etc.)
- Relevant/Age Appropriate (Does this appeal to teens, or is it too young or old?)
- Factual (Espciall for non-fiction)
6. Be honest. The Committee is interested in hearing about what teens think about the books. Don’t bother telling us what you think we want to hear. Tell us what you think about the book. And remeber, no matter what you believe about a book, it isn't wrong. It is your opinion and you have every right to it.
10.04.2006
Specs for the STAB T-Shirt and the Ms. Spider costume.A few of you were interested in helping out at the Childrens Program on November 4th by wearing the Miss Spider costume. You can see what the costume looks like right here. Here is a link the website with a bit more detailed information. Scroll down until you see "Miss Spider" and click on the more info button: http://www.costumespecialists.com/childrens_book_characters.html#
Many of you have expressed interest in designing the shirt. I’m getting excited to see what you guys come up with since you are all so creative and talented. And not in the disturbed, Van Gogh kind of way, which is refreshing. I’m still working on putting the particulars together, but here are some general guidelines to guide you in your design/field testing:
-Use this site to choose the material for your shirt: http://www.companycasuals.com/catalog-servlets/CustomBrowser?customer=suzy23 I’m not sure if we’ll be using them, but at least it will give you and idea of the colors of shirts available.
-No more than 2 ink colors per shirt
-When designing the shirt consider that a number of different people will be wearing it, such as you, other STABies, the chaperones, perhaps some of the BBYA members and, most importantly, me.
-I’m torn as to whether I’d like the shirts to be unique to the conference or more general STAB shirts. I’m open to either at this point, but it may be something you want to consider.
-Keep the shirts clean (ie. language and violence, not with scotch guarding). Sure, almost everyone knows and loves us as STAB, but there is at least one person out there that hasn’t heard of us. When that person sees a bunch of teens wearing shirts that say “STAB” in big, red letters, they may get on the hotline to security. You can mention STAB but creatively, subtly and a bit surreptitiously. For example, if I were designing the shirt and I wanted to mention STAB, I might print on the shirt, "My favorite character from Law & Order: SVU is Det. STABeler." (Hope I didn't steal anyone's idea.)
-I reserve the right to make any editorial changes in the final product.
Thanks for your help and for your interest in all of the wierd things that STAB does on a regular basis!
9.26.2006
My 100th post!
Thanks to all of you who helped out at the booksale! The Friends of the Library were extremely happy with all of your help. So happy in fact, that they asked me how I should spend their gobs and gobs of money. I suggested that they buy me a Mini Cooper and we could give it a sweet paint job and we could call it the "STABmobile". For some reason they didn't like that idea.
The idea they did like is one that I think you can get behind. When we go to ALA I want to make sure that we are all easily recognizable and are snazzily dressed. My idea is that we all get custom made shirts. But, as many of you know, I am artistically challenged so I need your help. I want one or more of you to design the shirts. They can be short sleeved, long sleeved and I may even be able to squeeze out sweatshirt/hoodies. I'm not sure if we can get them so customized that we have our names (or code names) on them, but let's keep that as an option. So here is what I need you to do:
-Design a shirt
-Get it me the design by November 1st.
-We'll vote on them at our November STAB meeting.
The other stuff that you need to know about ALA is the geeky ticker above. That is how many days we have left before the conference starts. Eeek!
I'll send out some information shortly on what you need to do to be eligible to go to the convention in the next few days. It will contain info on the number of books you need to have read, the meetings you need to attend and the number of reviews I need from you.
8.29.2006
Shoreline Parade!
I wanted to extend a belated and heartfelt thank you to everyone who helped make the parade a big success. You all did a wonderful job of holding signs and walking at the same time . . . something that I still have problems with. Great job. As you can see I'm posting some pictures from the parade. I hope you enjoy them! Thanks again!
I wanted to extend a belated and heartfelt thank you to everyone who helped make the parade a big success. You all did a wonderful job of holding signs and walking at the same time . . . something that I still have problems with. Great job. As you can see I'm posting some pictures from the parade. I hope you enjoy them! Thanks again!
Kyle and Brendan are ready for storytime.
Claire promotes our library in espanol!
8.15.2006
STABies,
We’ve got another opportunity to sit and chat with an author. Eoin McNamee is from Ireland and his book, The Navigator, will be released in January 2007. We’ll be meeting with Mr. NcNamee on October 16th from 3:30 until about 5pm. I only have one book to go around so I would like people to start reading it right away and then pass it around quickly. Hopefully you wouldn't need longer than just a few days to read it.
For more info on the book try out amazon.uk and Barnes and Noble online.
And here is a picture of him above.
Hope you can make it!
8.07.2006
7.31.2006
I was hoping that some of you, especially the more artistically inclined, could come in this Wednesday night, August 2nd, starting at 5pm to help make signs for the Shoreline Parade! You all did such a cracker jack job last year that I’ve had a request that you do it all again. The theme this year is “Paws, Claws, Scales and Tales” for the Library and the Shoreline Parade theme is “On the Road to New Horizons”. Plenty to work with there!
Also, I won’t be in tomorrow, August 1st. So please don’t come in and bother the librarians.
Also, I won’t be in tomorrow, August 1st. So please don’t come in and bother the librarians.
7.26.2006
Our next STABBBYA meeting is August 8th from 4-6pm. To prepare, come to the library, grab a book from the STASH or from the nominations and read it. Then come ready to talk about it. Take a look at the link to the STAB Primer for more info or talk to me! Thanks!
7.19.2006
Shoreline Parade on August 19th, 2006.
As many of you are well aware, STAB has a long history of joining in the City of Shoreline annual parade for the Friends of the Library. This year is no exception. This year’s parade will take place on Saturday, August 19th. We are encouraging people to bring their pets and walk them in the parade. I think we’ll also be giving out free T-shirt to participants and I will be doling out volunteer hours of course. Hopefully you can make it. I may be asking you to help make signs to carry during the parade as well! Thanks for your help!
Also, if you haven’t let me know about coming to the STAB meeting next Tuesday, July 25th, please let me know ASAP. Thanks!
7.18.2006
STAB now has a presence on MySpace (thanks in part to Nina)! You can find us at http://www.myspace.com/rickobaggins I’ll be posting BLOG entries their as well as using the site to make updates and announcements about STAB and Library programs. (And don't worry, I'll still be using the STABlog to make updates as well http://www.shorstab.blogspot.com/ .) So if you are on MySpace feel free to add me as a "friend" since they don't have an "enemies" or "library board coordinator". I'm also contacting authors as I find them to add them as well. I may also add other teen advisory boards across the country if I feel like it.
Also, don't forget to join the STAB group on MySpace. I'm sure it will be a veritable hoot!
I also want to make clear that if you aren't on MySpace there is no need to join or to ever look at it. I know there has been a lot of news lately about the dangers of MySpace. If you have any concerns about MySpace and want to talk about it, I'll be happy to chat with you. Also, I suppose I should point out that MySpace is currently filtered to to those under the age of 17 in the library, so you will have to find other ways to access the site. Additionally, there are plenty of ads on MySpace, which is a necessary evil, and I doubt I support any of the products they are pitching. Just so you know.
As always, I'm happy to field any questions!
Also, don't forget to join the STAB group on MySpace. I'm sure it will be a veritable hoot!
I also want to make clear that if you aren't on MySpace there is no need to join or to ever look at it. I know there has been a lot of news lately about the dangers of MySpace. If you have any concerns about MySpace and want to talk about it, I'll be happy to chat with you. Also, I suppose I should point out that MySpace is currently filtered to to those under the age of 17 in the library, so you will have to find other ways to access the site. Additionally, there are plenty of ads on MySpace, which is a necessary evil, and I doubt I support any of the products they are pitching. Just so you know.
As always, I'm happy to field any questions!
6.11.2006
6.06.2006
Just a reminder that we will be having a STABBBYA Meeting, tomorrow, Tuesday, 4-6pm. Come ready to talk about all the books you love and you love to hate.
Also, a reminder that David Levithan (Boy meets Boy, Are we there yet?, Marley's Ghost, Realm of Possibility) and Rachel Cohn (Gingerbread, Shrimp) will be at 3rd Place Books tomorrow at 7pm to discuss their new book Nick and Norah's Infinite Playlist. This is not a STAB program but I thought some of you would enjoy seeing them.
Also, a reminder that David Levithan (Boy meets Boy, Are we there yet?, Marley's Ghost, Realm of Possibility) and Rachel Cohn (Gingerbread, Shrimp) will be at 3rd Place Books tomorrow at 7pm to discuss their new book Nick and Norah's Infinite Playlist. This is not a STAB program but I thought some of you would enjoy seeing them.
5.31.2006
Meetings, Letters and Authors:
Many of you have been screaming for a meeting and I aim to please. So, we will have a STABBBYA meeting from 4-6pm on Tuesday June 6th. For those of you new to STAB, all you need to do to prepare for this meeting is read one or more of the books from the "STASH" and talk about it. Let me know if you can make it.
An update on reference letters. Since I was out so long I was unable to write the recommendation letters. I am really sorry about this and hope that none of you were too inconvienced. If there was a problem, let me know and I will see what I can do to rectify the issue. It sounds like many of you found other people to write your letters. Some of you, however, still need a letter. If that is the case, let me know ASAP and I will try and write one up for you. Even if I didn't write you a letter and you need one for college/references let me know and I'll see what we can do about that.
Now for something fun/entertaining. David Levithan and Rachel Cohn, Authors of Nick & Norah's Infinite Playlist, will be in town. Though it looks unlikely they will visit us here, they will be visiting some local bookstores. I thought you might be interested in seeing them and hearing what they have to say. They will be at the University Bookstore on Monday June 5th at 7pm. They will be at 3rd Place Books on Tuesday Night, June 6th at 7pm. Though this is not an "official" STAB function, I am going to try to go to the 3rd Place Books gathering.
Hope to see you at either the STABBBYA meeting, the book signing or both.
Many of you have been screaming for a meeting and I aim to please. So, we will have a STABBBYA meeting from 4-6pm on Tuesday June 6th. For those of you new to STAB, all you need to do to prepare for this meeting is read one or more of the books from the "STASH" and talk about it. Let me know if you can make it.
An update on reference letters. Since I was out so long I was unable to write the recommendation letters. I am really sorry about this and hope that none of you were too inconvienced. If there was a problem, let me know and I will see what I can do to rectify the issue. It sounds like many of you found other people to write your letters. Some of you, however, still need a letter. If that is the case, let me know ASAP and I will try and write one up for you. Even if I didn't write you a letter and you need one for college/references let me know and I'll see what we can do about that.
Now for something fun/entertaining. David Levithan and Rachel Cohn, Authors of Nick & Norah's Infinite Playlist, will be in town. Though it looks unlikely they will visit us here, they will be visiting some local bookstores. I thought you might be interested in seeing them and hearing what they have to say. They will be at the University Bookstore on Monday June 5th at 7pm. They will be at 3rd Place Books on Tuesday Night, June 6th at 7pm. Though this is not an "official" STAB function, I am going to try to go to the 3rd Place Books gathering.
Hope to see you at either the STABBBYA meeting, the book signing or both.
4.28.2006
Just an update on our upcoming meeting, the SAT program, a gentle reminder and my schedule.
1. I've planned a STABBBYA Meeting for Tuesday, May 2nd, from 4-6pm. Hopefully I'll be able to come. If I'm not there, my apologizies. I hope you can still get in to check out books from the STASH or the back room.
2. Remeber our SAT Program is tommorrow at 10:30. If you are looking for something fun and exciting to do on your Saturday, I would really recommend considering coming. Sign up at 1-800-KAP-Test or at http://www.kaptest.com/sat
3. A gentle reminder that I really need your reviews ASAP. I'd like to start looking at them and entering them in the BBYA database. PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE. Look below to get a reminder of how I'd like the reviews structured.
4. My schedule, at this point, for this week and next looks like:
Friday: 10-6 (Please come if you can to help set up the rooms for the SAT Class
Saturday: 10-5
Sunday: 12-8
Monday: Out
Tuesday: 10-6 (STABBBYA Meeting from 4-6pm)
Wednesday: 12-9
Thursday OUt
Friday: 2-6
See you next week!
1. I've planned a STABBBYA Meeting for Tuesday, May 2nd, from 4-6pm. Hopefully I'll be able to come. If I'm not there, my apologizies. I hope you can still get in to check out books from the STASH or the back room.
2. Remeber our SAT Program is tommorrow at 10:30. If you are looking for something fun and exciting to do on your Saturday, I would really recommend considering coming. Sign up at 1-800-KAP-Test or at http://www.kaptest.com/sat
3. A gentle reminder that I really need your reviews ASAP. I'd like to start looking at them and entering them in the BBYA database. PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE. Look below to get a reminder of how I'd like the reviews structured.
4. My schedule, at this point, for this week and next looks like:
Friday: 10-6 (Please come if you can to help set up the rooms for the SAT Class
Saturday: 10-5
Sunday: 12-8
Monday: Out
Tuesday: 10-6 (STABBBYA Meeting from 4-6pm)
Wednesday: 12-9
Thursday OUt
Friday: 2-6
See you next week!
4.25.2006
I've got a few things to update you on.
1. I'd like to plan a STABBBYA meeting for next Tuesday, May 2nd 4-6pm. Popcorn and Soda is on me. So I'll probably wear a bib. (Get it? On me? Like it spilled? Ok. Moving on.)
2. On Friday I could use a few people to set up for the SAT program. I've got a few regulars (You know who you are.) But I just wanted to make sure that a couple people were coming in. It doesn’t take too long, but anything will help.
3. Then on Saturday afternoon, I could use a few of you to put the room back together. The program is set to end at 2:30 so if a group of you show up at 3pm that would be outstanding.
4. As some of you know, my wife and I are expecting. A baby. At this point the baby could come at any second, which means I could be running out the door at the ring of a phone. I’ll be taking 2 weeks off once the baby is born. However, if I plan something with STAB, I will try to continue with the plan unless I’m in the middle of “something”. This also means that volunteering opportunities while I’m on vacation may be a little slim. If you come in and would like to volunteer, you can ask for Alene, Sam or Aarene. I’ve left them some instructions for you if you want to help out. However, I can’t guarantee that I’ll have anything ready for you.
1. I'd like to plan a STABBBYA meeting for next Tuesday, May 2nd 4-6pm. Popcorn and Soda is on me. So I'll probably wear a bib. (Get it? On me? Like it spilled? Ok. Moving on.)
2. On Friday I could use a few people to set up for the SAT program. I've got a few regulars (You know who you are.) But I just wanted to make sure that a couple people were coming in. It doesn’t take too long, but anything will help.
3. Then on Saturday afternoon, I could use a few of you to put the room back together. The program is set to end at 2:30 so if a group of you show up at 3pm that would be outstanding.
4. As some of you know, my wife and I are expecting. A baby. At this point the baby could come at any second, which means I could be running out the door at the ring of a phone. I’ll be taking 2 weeks off once the baby is born. However, if I plan something with STAB, I will try to continue with the plan unless I’m in the middle of “something”. This also means that volunteering opportunities while I’m on vacation may be a little slim. If you come in and would like to volunteer, you can ask for Alene, Sam or Aarene. I’ve left them some instructions for you if you want to help out. However, I can’t guarantee that I’ll have anything ready for you.
3.14.2006
Just a quick reminder of that you are all invited to come to the Friends of the Shoreline Library on March 15th at 7:30 pm. Not only that, but so are your parents or Friends who might be interested in joining and seeing one of the odd things we’ve done. I especially want to invite the STAB Antonians parents to the meeting since they were so involved. Thanks!
Ps. Just a quick reminder that we are having our STAB meeting tonight from 4-6pm. Thanks again!
Ps. Just a quick reminder that we are having our STAB meeting tonight from 4-6pm. Thanks again!
3.06.2006
STAB Meeting, March 14th from 4-6pm.
I am trying to put together a STAB meeting for March 14th, from 4-6pm. Please let me know if you can make so I can get your review lists set up for you. We’ll have pizza and soda and maybe a couple of books you can check out from the STASH. I’m getting more everyday, but still not too many yet. We’ll also talk about when we will have our next STABBBYA meeting. Let me know if you can make it as soon as possible. Thanks!
I am trying to put together a STAB meeting for March 14th, from 4-6pm. Please let me know if you can make so I can get your review lists set up for you. We’ll have pizza and soda and maybe a couple of books you can check out from the STASH. I’m getting more everyday, but still not too many yet. We’ll also talk about when we will have our next STABBBYA meeting. Let me know if you can make it as soon as possible. Thanks!
2.10.2006
Last change and first chance!
This is your last chance to take your pick of books from the STASH. I’ve got about a cart of books that are priced to move. The price, you ask? FREE! I need them gone. Come and get ‘em. After next Friday, I can’t be held responsible for what happens to them.
This is your first chance to take a peak at the new titles I picked up at ALA in January. Remember, these are proofs and Advanced Reader Copies of books that will probably not be published until later this year. I’ve only got about one shelf right now, but that will soon change. Come in and get reading!
This is your last chance to take your pick of books from the STASH. I’ve got about a cart of books that are priced to move. The price, you ask? FREE! I need them gone. Come and get ‘em. After next Friday, I can’t be held responsible for what happens to them.
This is your first chance to take a peak at the new titles I picked up at ALA in January. Remember, these are proofs and Advanced Reader Copies of books that will probably not be published until later this year. I’ve only got about one shelf right now, but that will soon change. Come in and get reading!
2.05.2006
The Future of STABBBYA and beyond!
First off, I want to say how happy I am with all of the work you guys have done this year to make STABBBYA so successful. I am so glad that you have participated by coming to meetings and helping organize all the books we've received this year. Thanks! To see what you helped create take a look at the final list of 91 titles at: www.ala.org/yalsa/booklists/bbya
Secondly, now that the final list for 2006 is finished we are moving on to build the 2007 list. That means that we are looking at books that are published between September 2006 and the end of 2007. As far as STABBBYA goes, books outside of this time frame do not exist. Sorry. I've got some books from ALA that are eligible, but I haven't had time to organize them yet. Hopefully, by the end of this week I can do so.
Thirdly, in January of 2007 ALA will be in Seattle. That means that you can do what Michelle, Nina, Jackie and Molly did in San Antonio. (You can read about their craziness below.) Except you don't get to spend the night in some swanky hotel. Sorry. But that does mean that you will be able to go and collect a hundred pounds of books, get all sorts of free stuff and get a chance to talk in front of a group of 200 librarians, publishers and literary agents. This last part might sound intimidating, but you have a year to prepare for it. This is something that everyone involved in STAB can and should do. So, if you know anyone who is would be interested in doing this, let them know about it.
I think that is about it for now. Let me know if you have any questions.
First off, I want to say how happy I am with all of the work you guys have done this year to make STABBBYA so successful. I am so glad that you have participated by coming to meetings and helping organize all the books we've received this year. Thanks! To see what you helped create take a look at the final list of 91 titles at: www.ala.org/yalsa/booklists/bbya
Secondly, now that the final list for 2006 is finished we are moving on to build the 2007 list. That means that we are looking at books that are published between September 2006 and the end of 2007. As far as STABBBYA goes, books outside of this time frame do not exist. Sorry. I've got some books from ALA that are eligible, but I haven't had time to organize them yet. Hopefully, by the end of this week I can do so.
Thirdly, in January of 2007 ALA will be in Seattle. That means that you can do what Michelle, Nina, Jackie and Molly did in San Antonio. (You can read about their craziness below.) Except you don't get to spend the night in some swanky hotel. Sorry. But that does mean that you will be able to go and collect a hundred pounds of books, get all sorts of free stuff and get a chance to talk in front of a group of 200 librarians, publishers and literary agents. This last part might sound intimidating, but you have a year to prepare for it. This is something that everyone involved in STAB can and should do. So, if you know anyone who is would be interested in doing this, let them know about it.
I think that is about it for now. Let me know if you have any questions.
1.30.2006
Last but not least, Molly:
A) Michelle I have your shoes!! Nina I have your book! Jackie I love your Peach-Os! Alene I miss you! Rick, to me, you'll always be *doot doot* Library Lad!!!!
B) Never ever go on a trip with some other friends the weekend after finals AND Stab Antonio. You'll receive strange looks after you succumb to laughter when someone uses "poignant" in a sentence, or orders an iced coffee. They just won't understand.
C) As Nina said, people WILL look at you weird if you say "I was in TEXAS!" if they inquire upon where you were last Monday.
D) Beware of such problems on the last Math final of the semester: If a plane leaves somewheres at 9:30, and is going at such and such a speed, and it's delayed in Dallas Fort Worth, and you're starving after the banana and coffee you had before attending the Academy Awards of Librarians, and you've got ten dollars left, should you order a smoothie, a cup of noodles, or a tuna sandwich? ANSWER: Trick Question! You shouldn't order any of them, and go mooch a Peach-O from Jackie. Or Molly. She'll have Clif Bars. She always has Clif Bars.
E) Warning: The above question could cause you to forget to finish your math final.
And finally
F) Molly's Ultimate Rule for Going to STAB Antonio: Go with Michelle, Jackie, Nina, Alene, and Rick! You'll have more fun than anything, PLUS it's impossible to be the nerdiest one there. (Or will you?)
Thanks for everything, mates!! Rickettes forever, yo! Fo Schiz!
A) Michelle I have your shoes!! Nina I have your book! Jackie I love your Peach-Os! Alene I miss you! Rick, to me, you'll always be *doot doot* Library Lad!!!!
B) Never ever go on a trip with some other friends the weekend after finals AND Stab Antonio. You'll receive strange looks after you succumb to laughter when someone uses "poignant" in a sentence, or orders an iced coffee. They just won't understand.
C) As Nina said, people WILL look at you weird if you say "I was in TEXAS!" if they inquire upon where you were last Monday.
D) Beware of such problems on the last Math final of the semester: If a plane leaves somewheres at 9:30, and is going at such and such a speed, and it's delayed in Dallas Fort Worth, and you're starving after the banana and coffee you had before attending the Academy Awards of Librarians, and you've got ten dollars left, should you order a smoothie, a cup of noodles, or a tuna sandwich? ANSWER: Trick Question! You shouldn't order any of them, and go mooch a Peach-O from Jackie. Or Molly. She'll have Clif Bars. She always has Clif Bars.
E) Warning: The above question could cause you to forget to finish your math final.
And finally
F) Molly's Ultimate Rule for Going to STAB Antonio: Go with Michelle, Jackie, Nina, Alene, and Rick! You'll have more fun than anything, PLUS it's impossible to be the nerdiest one there. (Or will you?)
Thanks for everything, mates!! Rickettes forever, yo! Fo Schiz!
1.29.2006
Jackie's take on STAB Antonio:
Ok so one could say just by looking at the pix we had a blast...........too true, but one could also say that we were being lazy, skiping out on our STAB duties, *rases hands in defence* I was not lazy.....I-I-I I was trying to keep myself awake. Do you know how hard that is to do after being sent to San Antonio on a RED EYE. *Glare at Rick* You might say that we were having a vacation, oh how we desrved that. Though we did have fun. Seeing the Alamo, The River Walk, the ALA Convention *that was the highlight of our twilight(Note the use of a BBYA book title)* Sorry I just love doing that. Oh that reminds me, we * Nina, Molly, Alene, Michelle* were walking back to our hotel when we decided to see who could use the most titles from the BBYA list well I didnot win. Come to think of it, I dont think any one did. Oh well being there was GREAT!!! I would like to thank Rick for taking us with him, Alene for coming with us and keeping an eye on us, The Friends of the Shoreline Library for making this posible. Thank you The Jackie out.
Ok so one could say just by looking at the pix we had a blast...........too true, but one could also say that we were being lazy, skiping out on our STAB duties, *rases hands in defence* I was not lazy.....I-I-I I was trying to keep myself awake. Do you know how hard that is to do after being sent to San Antonio on a RED EYE. *Glare at Rick* You might say that we were having a vacation, oh how we desrved that. Though we did have fun. Seeing the Alamo, The River Walk, the ALA Convention *that was the highlight of our twilight(Note the use of a BBYA book title)* Sorry I just love doing that. Oh that reminds me, we * Nina, Molly, Alene, Michelle* were walking back to our hotel when we decided to see who could use the most titles from the BBYA list well I didnot win. Come to think of it, I dont think any one did. Oh well being there was GREAT!!! I would like to thank Rick for taking us with him, Alene for coming with us and keeping an eye on us, The Friends of the Shoreline Library for making this posible. Thank you The Jackie out.
1.28.2006
An update from Michelle:
AIEEEE.
I'm ready to blog now. I had to survive finals first. They are over. I am giddy now.
So, Nina already blogged. Nina, you are PRO. And you are funny. Like, ACTUALLY, you are.
Okay. I'd never, ever thought I'd go to Texas. But I did. W00t! Or, fo' schiz! Let's get the
cheese out of the way: Thank you Rick. You are hip and cool and a smart, brilliant, super-duper librarian. Thank you Alene. Chaperoning is hard work. (I can only imagine). You have so much spirit and cheer and humor, you made San Antonio that much more fun for us. Thank you Friends of the Shoreline Library for the opportunity. It was absolutely amazing. I mean, just thinking about the fact that only us four and a few Cali kids (I choose not to count the local Texans) participated in the teen forum portion of BBYA is mind-boggling. And we are lucky x 100000000 for being able to see and CONTRIBUTE to something like this. It really opened my eyes to the full scope of the library/book/literary world and it showed me how much there was to it. And Thank you Angie (for talking up the publishers and taking us around town). I can see why you are so popular ;).
YUP. So, San Antonio was fun. The tourist spots weren't particularly exciting (i.e. the Alamo). But it was refreshing to be in a city that was NOT Seattle. The landscaping was very different.*gasp* No towering, lush, evergreen trees? There was also a larger Latino & African American population. But getting to stay at a hotel, going to the conference (wearing the spiffy ALA badge, which we dubbed "library bling"), getting loads and loads and loads of SWAG, getting to know fellow STABies, taking "pretty" pictures, hearing about Rick's life story, dressing up for the fancy reception, talking about books, so on and so forth..THAT was FUN.
I have about 40+ books sitting by my bed, waiting to be read. Like Nina, I also have no shelf space. This is a problem. I might have to buy another bookshelf. The posters were also useful. I gave the baby Einstein poster to my chem teacher and the Presidents of the US poster to my former APUSH teacher. Bwahahaha. xD
And I have been using my Got Books/Got Libraries bag every day since I've back. I *heart* this bag. Ahh, the rewards of reading. I'm going to be on my school newspaper, the Kolus, starting next semester. I ought to write an editorial advocating teen reading. Something like: "EVERYONE SHOULD READ! You might find yourself attending a STAB/STABBYA meeting. Then, you might find yourself reading a load of books and reviewing them. THEN, you might even land yourself a fully-paid trip to a national conference where you get to meet cool people and get free stuff and learn a whole bunch. Doesn't that sound good? Start reading!"
Anyway. Books are swell. Yes, they are.
AIEEEE.
I'm ready to blog now. I had to survive finals first. They are over. I am giddy now.
So, Nina already blogged. Nina, you are PRO. And you are funny. Like, ACTUALLY, you are.
Okay. I'd never, ever thought I'd go to Texas. But I did. W00t! Or, fo' schiz! Let's get the
cheese out of the way: Thank you Rick. You are hip and cool and a smart, brilliant, super-duper librarian. Thank you Alene. Chaperoning is hard work. (I can only imagine). You have so much spirit and cheer and humor, you made San Antonio that much more fun for us. Thank you Friends of the Shoreline Library for the opportunity. It was absolutely amazing. I mean, just thinking about the fact that only us four and a few Cali kids (I choose not to count the local Texans) participated in the teen forum portion of BBYA is mind-boggling. And we are lucky x 100000000 for being able to see and CONTRIBUTE to something like this. It really opened my eyes to the full scope of the library/book/literary world and it showed me how much there was to it. And Thank you Angie (for talking up the publishers and taking us around town). I can see why you are so popular ;).
YUP. So, San Antonio was fun. The tourist spots weren't particularly exciting (i.e. the Alamo). But it was refreshing to be in a city that was NOT Seattle. The landscaping was very different.*gasp* No towering, lush, evergreen trees? There was also a larger Latino & African American population. But getting to stay at a hotel, going to the conference (wearing the spiffy ALA badge, which we dubbed "library bling"), getting loads and loads and loads of SWAG, getting to know fellow STABies, taking "pretty" pictures, hearing about Rick's life story, dressing up for the fancy reception, talking about books, so on and so forth..THAT was FUN.
I have about 40+ books sitting by my bed, waiting to be read. Like Nina, I also have no shelf space. This is a problem. I might have to buy another bookshelf. The posters were also useful. I gave the baby Einstein poster to my chem teacher and the Presidents of the US poster to my former APUSH teacher. Bwahahaha. xD
And I have been using my Got Books/Got Libraries bag every day since I've back. I *heart* this bag. Ahh, the rewards of reading. I'm going to be on my school newspaper, the Kolus, starting next semester. I ought to write an editorial advocating teen reading. Something like: "EVERYONE SHOULD READ! You might find yourself attending a STAB/STABBYA meeting. Then, you might find yourself reading a load of books and reviewing them. THEN, you might even land yourself a fully-paid trip to a national conference where you get to meet cool people and get free stuff and learn a whole bunch. Doesn't that sound good? Start reading!"
Anyway. Books are swell. Yes, they are.
1.27.2006
Ricks says:
San Antonio is strangely quiet tonight. The Rickettes left this morning after spending the weekend steeping in literature and librarians. Alene dragged them out of bed this morning for one last hurrah. We all went to the Youth Media Awards in the morning, where a number of major Teen and Children’s book awards from ALA (like the Caldecott, the Newbery and the Printz) are announced. It is not an exaggeration to say that the event is the Academy Awards of the library world. Ballroom C seats about 1,000 people and it was standing room only. TV cameras were set up to broadcast the announcement live. The room was quiet with breathless anticipation while people waited for the awards to be announced. Basically, it was nerd central and I was proud to be in the thick of things. I would have had a weird perma-smile if I hadn’t been biting my fingernails.
Lots happened, but this was the important stuff, in my opinion:
The Printz Award is given to a book published for teens based on literary merit. BBYA Committees are always a little excited to see who will win the Printz or be named as honor books since these titles will automatically be placed on the BBYA list. I was happy to discover that John Green’s Looking for Alaska won the Printz Award, since it was one of my favorites of the year. It was also one of the STAB’s favorites as well. When they announced he had won I screamed like a teenage girl, probably since I’ve been spending too much time with a bunch of them lately. The teenage girls, on the other hand, just sagely nodded their heads. Whatever professionalism I had was pretty much thrown out the window. It was worth it though.
The honor books were also some great picks. They were John Lennon: All I want is the truth, The Messenger, Black Juice and A Wreath for Emmett Till. I’m so happy with my friends who were on the committee who made such wonderful decisions. So happy, in fact, I’m going to name them: Kim Payone, Jennifer Hubert-Swan, and Deborah Taylor. Great people, smart and oh so fashionable.
The other big excitement at the awards ceremony was that some of my favorite adult books of the year were also honored. The Alex awards are given to books that are published for adults but have high teen appeal. My personal favorites from their list of 10 were Gil’s All Fright Diner, As Simple As Snow, and Anansi Boys. My friend on the committee, Holly Koelling, no doubt had a lot to do with such great choices.
After the Youth Media awards the Rickettes made their way back home to Shoreline. I have to admit, having an entourage was a lot of fun. There was always someone to hang out with and chat with and to laugh at my stories/goof ups. One of my colleagues at ALA referred to me as an “A-Lister” while in San Antonio. I told them that I still felt like I was on the “C-List”. Of course, when a group of people see you and immediately begin screaming and running up to you it sure feels like “A-List’ treatment. This actually happened when the teens first met me at the Exhibits on Saturday morning. But I was quickly brought back to reality as one of my committee members, who was close behind the teens, discovered it was me that they were so excited to see, she stated quite directly, “Oh. I thought it was somebody important.” Definitely a C-Lister. Maybe D.
On the BBYA front, today was our last day of discussions. Tomorrow we will have our final vote to determine what will make the final list. We will try and narrow our 217 titles down to a mere 70-80. Some tough choices will have to be made by the committee tonight. But, before we do our final we can make one final plea for a particular book. My problem is, I have at least 4 books that are short of votes. I’m not sure what I’ll do at this point, but I have a feeling the answer lies somewhere at the bottom of a tube of Pringles.
San Antonio is strangely quiet tonight. The Rickettes left this morning after spending the weekend steeping in literature and librarians. Alene dragged them out of bed this morning for one last hurrah. We all went to the Youth Media Awards in the morning, where a number of major Teen and Children’s book awards from ALA (like the Caldecott, the Newbery and the Printz) are announced. It is not an exaggeration to say that the event is the Academy Awards of the library world. Ballroom C seats about 1,000 people and it was standing room only. TV cameras were set up to broadcast the announcement live. The room was quiet with breathless anticipation while people waited for the awards to be announced. Basically, it was nerd central and I was proud to be in the thick of things. I would have had a weird perma-smile if I hadn’t been biting my fingernails.
Lots happened, but this was the important stuff, in my opinion:
The Printz Award is given to a book published for teens based on literary merit. BBYA Committees are always a little excited to see who will win the Printz or be named as honor books since these titles will automatically be placed on the BBYA list. I was happy to discover that John Green’s Looking for Alaska won the Printz Award, since it was one of my favorites of the year. It was also one of the STAB’s favorites as well. When they announced he had won I screamed like a teenage girl, probably since I’ve been spending too much time with a bunch of them lately. The teenage girls, on the other hand, just sagely nodded their heads. Whatever professionalism I had was pretty much thrown out the window. It was worth it though.
The honor books were also some great picks. They were John Lennon: All I want is the truth, The Messenger, Black Juice and A Wreath for Emmett Till. I’m so happy with my friends who were on the committee who made such wonderful decisions. So happy, in fact, I’m going to name them: Kim Payone, Jennifer Hubert-Swan, and Deborah Taylor. Great people, smart and oh so fashionable.
The other big excitement at the awards ceremony was that some of my favorite adult books of the year were also honored. The Alex awards are given to books that are published for adults but have high teen appeal. My personal favorites from their list of 10 were Gil’s All Fright Diner, As Simple As Snow, and Anansi Boys. My friend on the committee, Holly Koelling, no doubt had a lot to do with such great choices.
After the Youth Media awards the Rickettes made their way back home to Shoreline. I have to admit, having an entourage was a lot of fun. There was always someone to hang out with and chat with and to laugh at my stories/goof ups. One of my colleagues at ALA referred to me as an “A-Lister” while in San Antonio. I told them that I still felt like I was on the “C-List”. Of course, when a group of people see you and immediately begin screaming and running up to you it sure feels like “A-List’ treatment. This actually happened when the teens first met me at the Exhibits on Saturday morning. But I was quickly brought back to reality as one of my committee members, who was close behind the teens, discovered it was me that they were so excited to see, she stated quite directly, “Oh. I thought it was somebody important.” Definitely a C-Lister. Maybe D.
On the BBYA front, today was our last day of discussions. Tomorrow we will have our final vote to determine what will make the final list. We will try and narrow our 217 titles down to a mere 70-80. Some tough choices will have to be made by the committee tonight. But, before we do our final we can make one final plea for a particular book. My problem is, I have at least 4 books that are short of votes. I’m not sure what I’ll do at this point, but I have a feeling the answer lies somewhere at the bottom of a tube of Pringles.
1.24.2006
Nina writes:
What's up!? I guess we're doing our individual blogs now, so here's mine for Rick to post later, when he's done deciding which books shall make the BBYA list we are so desperately waiting for. I'm home now, but it took awhile... our plane was delayed for about a year, and I was late to youth symphony *gasp* which wasn't really that big of a deal, as it turned out: people were impressed I came at all, after living through the horror that is Texas, (general Seattle opinion). I was still wearing all my library gear, when I walked in, too. I looked reeeeeallly cool, with my "I read banned books" pins and my "got libraries?" tote bag. Like, actually a nerd to the max. I was even still wearing my badge. There was no way I could have possibly looked cooler.
Today was amazing, because we were able to go to the "Oscars of Young Adult and Children's Books" and witness the giving of the Newbery, Caldecott, Printz... talk about incre dible. The fact that "Looking for Alaska" won the Printz was just the icing on the cake. I cheered so loud my throat is sore. For the people (and I know who you are) that don't like this book: take THAT. Okay that's a bit unfair. I understand why people might have a problem with it... no, sorry, actually, I don't.
It was sunny today... the day we left... as if we were imposters in Texas and it was going back to normal now that we rainy Seattle people were leaving. Given the weather, though, I'm not sure why our plane from San Antonio to Dallas was sooo delayed. There was no wind, rain, snow, or any other natural or extraterrestrial disaster. What was the deal?? I mean, they could have packed us all in a bus and drove us to Dallas, and it would have taken less time.
Nina's Rules for Surviving Texas:
-Don't buy any food of any kind in the San Antonio airport. You will regret it as long as you live.The specialt ies available today were a fruit smoothie with threads/hair/other unnatural textured material in it, pasta drenched in oil, and stale bread.We survived on Michelle's stash of Lemonheads, Jackie's bag of Peachy-Os, my gum, and Molly's Clif bars and trail mix.
-If you must buy food in Texas, do Italian. Order pizza or some nice Caesar salad. Never go into Gunter's bakery, ever. They serve less than half the food on their menu and we already went over their idea of iced coffee. And beware of terrifyingly spicy food at art benefits masquerading as cute dumplings and sausage rolls.
-Although buying a cowboy hat, boots, and a "don't mess with texas" T-shirt may seem like a good idea upon entering the state, think hard about these decisions. Will people laugh and throw things at you when you return to Seattle? Will you ever be able to wear your new duds anyplace except Halloween? Put your rodeo dreams away and spend your money on other things, such a s ice cream, cat sombreros, or books you will have to buy. Unlike us. We VIPS get all our books for free.
-If you do encounter publishers eager to give books away, make sure your suitcase weighs less than fifty pounds. Paying extra at check-in, and permanent back and neck problems from trying to lug your suitcase off the conveyor belt put a serious damper on book euphoria.
-Say, "I went to the ALA conference in San Antonio to talk about teen books" when asked. People will ooh and ahh and remark on your cleverness. Not, "I was in Texas." This will only induce remarks from people who think they are hilarious, such as "Did you see George Bush? har har har. Did you go to the rodeo? yee-haw! har dee har."
-Frequently post blogs while you are there to let off steam and get all your semi-rude comments out, where they can be laughed at harmlessly by friends and family. If you don't, you might find yourself going up to a complete stranger Texan and aski ng them about their inability to put up traffic lights in the correct way, or why the Alamo doesn't have a basement, or why you would name a bar "Steers and Beers."
-Make a big deal about the Seahawks winning, so no one will mistake you for a Texan and will instead mistake you for someone a )from Seattle (true), and b) a Seahawks fan (hahaha...ha.)
-Listen intently to your supervisor's life stories whenever they feel the need to pour their hearts out, even if you have other things on your agenda such as writing more blogs or reading your free SWAG or going to sleep or making up songs about library lads. Librarians are sensitive souls. They need to feel appreciated, especially in Texas.
With all of that said, I just want EVERYONE who is reading this to know that I had a wonderful weekend, and that being able to voice my opinion on books I read was just so amazingly sweet. I would also like everyone to know that my suit case full of SWAG (43. 5 pounds) is now sitting on my floor, with books pouring out of it. I'm unsure of what to do with them. I don't have any more shelf space.
Rick, you are a great hobbit/manager/book-talker/librarian. Thank you so much for giving us the opportunity to be on STAB and go on this trip!
Alene, you are my hero. If someone asked me to chaperone four teenagers in Texas for a weekend, I would have run screaming from the room. You did an awesome job and I'm so glad we all got to know you better!! :-) We all love you so much!
Angie, I will never forget your fabulousness. Way to get us VIP treatment!
Friends of Shoreline Library - thank you SO much for sending us to San Antonio! In case you couldn't tell already, we had the time of our lives!!!!!
And to Jackie, Molly, and Michelle - WE DID STAB SAN ANTONIO!!! (it was ACTUALLY poignant) and I love you all to pieces, I had such a great time with all you girls!!! and now good luck on all that homework we waited until tonight to do!!
~Nina
What's up!? I guess we're doing our individual blogs now, so here's mine for Rick to post later, when he's done deciding which books shall make the BBYA list we are so desperately waiting for. I'm home now, but it took awhile... our plane was delayed for about a year, and I was late to youth symphony *gasp* which wasn't really that big of a deal, as it turned out: people were impressed I came at all, after living through the horror that is Texas, (general Seattle opinion). I was still wearing all my library gear, when I walked in, too. I looked reeeeeallly cool, with my "I read banned books" pins and my "got libraries?" tote bag. Like, actually a nerd to the max. I was even still wearing my badge. There was no way I could have possibly looked cooler.
Today was amazing, because we were able to go to the "Oscars of Young Adult and Children's Books" and witness the giving of the Newbery, Caldecott, Printz... talk about incre dible. The fact that "Looking for Alaska" won the Printz was just the icing on the cake. I cheered so loud my throat is sore. For the people (and I know who you are) that don't like this book: take THAT. Okay that's a bit unfair. I understand why people might have a problem with it... no, sorry, actually, I don't.
It was sunny today... the day we left... as if we were imposters in Texas and it was going back to normal now that we rainy Seattle people were leaving. Given the weather, though, I'm not sure why our plane from San Antonio to Dallas was sooo delayed. There was no wind, rain, snow, or any other natural or extraterrestrial disaster. What was the deal?? I mean, they could have packed us all in a bus and drove us to Dallas, and it would have taken less time.
Nina's Rules for Surviving Texas:
-Don't buy any food of any kind in the San Antonio airport. You will regret it as long as you live.The specialt ies available today were a fruit smoothie with threads/hair/other unnatural textured material in it, pasta drenched in oil, and stale bread.We survived on Michelle's stash of Lemonheads, Jackie's bag of Peachy-Os, my gum, and Molly's Clif bars and trail mix.
-If you must buy food in Texas, do Italian. Order pizza or some nice Caesar salad. Never go into Gunter's bakery, ever. They serve less than half the food on their menu and we already went over their idea of iced coffee. And beware of terrifyingly spicy food at art benefits masquerading as cute dumplings and sausage rolls.
-Although buying a cowboy hat, boots, and a "don't mess with texas" T-shirt may seem like a good idea upon entering the state, think hard about these decisions. Will people laugh and throw things at you when you return to Seattle? Will you ever be able to wear your new duds anyplace except Halloween? Put your rodeo dreams away and spend your money on other things, such a s ice cream, cat sombreros, or books you will have to buy. Unlike us. We VIPS get all our books for free.
-If you do encounter publishers eager to give books away, make sure your suitcase weighs less than fifty pounds. Paying extra at check-in, and permanent back and neck problems from trying to lug your suitcase off the conveyor belt put a serious damper on book euphoria.
-Say, "I went to the ALA conference in San Antonio to talk about teen books" when asked. People will ooh and ahh and remark on your cleverness. Not, "I was in Texas." This will only induce remarks from people who think they are hilarious, such as "Did you see George Bush? har har har. Did you go to the rodeo? yee-haw! har dee har."
-Frequently post blogs while you are there to let off steam and get all your semi-rude comments out, where they can be laughed at harmlessly by friends and family. If you don't, you might find yourself going up to a complete stranger Texan and aski ng them about their inability to put up traffic lights in the correct way, or why the Alamo doesn't have a basement, or why you would name a bar "Steers and Beers."
-Make a big deal about the Seahawks winning, so no one will mistake you for a Texan and will instead mistake you for someone a )from Seattle (true), and b) a Seahawks fan (hahaha...ha.)
-Listen intently to your supervisor's life stories whenever they feel the need to pour their hearts out, even if you have other things on your agenda such as writing more blogs or reading your free SWAG or going to sleep or making up songs about library lads. Librarians are sensitive souls. They need to feel appreciated, especially in Texas.
With all of that said, I just want EVERYONE who is reading this to know that I had a wonderful weekend, and that being able to voice my opinion on books I read was just so amazingly sweet. I would also like everyone to know that my suit case full of SWAG (43. 5 pounds) is now sitting on my floor, with books pouring out of it. I'm unsure of what to do with them. I don't have any more shelf space.
Rick, you are a great hobbit/manager/book-talker/librarian. Thank you so much for giving us the opportunity to be on STAB and go on this trip!
Alene, you are my hero. If someone asked me to chaperone four teenagers in Texas for a weekend, I would have run screaming from the room. You did an awesome job and I'm so glad we all got to know you better!! :-) We all love you so much!
Angie, I will never forget your fabulousness. Way to get us VIP treatment!
Friends of Shoreline Library - thank you SO much for sending us to San Antonio! In case you couldn't tell already, we had the time of our lives!!!!!
And to Jackie, Molly, and Michelle - WE DID STAB SAN ANTONIO!!! (it was ACTUALLY poignant) and I love you all to pieces, I had such a great time with all you girls!!! and now good luck on all that homework we waited until tonight to do!!
~Nina
1.23.2006
STAB Antonio: Day 3
The Rickettes had their first and last full day in San Antonio. Today was the main event! The Teen Participation section of the Best Books for Young Adults committee took place in a room filled with about 200 people. Teens from all over the country were there, coming to grand total of 73. Only 10 of the 73 represented public libraries. I can safely say, without a trace of hyperbole, that the Rickettes were the best prepared, most eloquent, and snazziest dressed of all of the teens. A number of BBYA Committee members came up to me afterwards and commented on what a great job they did. I couldn't have been more proud of them! Take a look out the pictures from today's activites at:
http://homepage.mac.com/hrunting/PhotoAlbum13.html
Here is what our group had to say:
San Antonio Day #2
Hello again! You have no idea how long this blog took us to actually write, because every other sentence Rick starts talking and we’re like, “HELLOOO we need to finish our BLOG!!!!!” So Ricko has been regaling us with tales of his college days. He had research book piles as tall as HIM in his room. Talk about wild. He studied about death in the middle ages. Whoo-hoo.
Another FANTASTIC day in San Antonio. WE! GOT! SO! MUCH! SWAG! There were books, and pencils and books and candy and movie trailers and books and comics (excuse me graphic novels) and bags and books and books and books and books and books and books and books and some people were selling chairs. They weren’t free, so we didn’t get any… Molly really wanted one… it would have been so easy to carry them back on the plane!!
Let’s start from the beginning!!
1. Woke up!
2. Nina took a shower. The other three did not, which made Alene and Nina freak out about how they can function without showers in the morning. The two clean (OCD positive) and the three grimy (laid back) ones went off to the coffee shop next to our hotel.
3. The coffee shop. Supposedly, they served “Seattle’s Best Coffee.” However, everyone knows that Seattle’s Best Coffee is really Starbucks, which makes their title not only pretentious, but wrong. Anyway, it was a Seattle’s Best Coffee. We admit it: we are spoiled. We are Seattle girls all the way, and we have standards for our coffee. So first, we tried to order breakfast, and they were out of, like everything. Their cupcakes were “too hard” so they wouldn’t let Molly have one. They didn’t have yogurt. Then Nina tried to order a latte, and the woman was like, “No, we can’t do that.” Like hello can’t you just pour milk and coffee into a cup? And so Nina did. By herself. There are no standards for service here. And then Michelle ordered an iced latte. An “iced” latte. Brewed coffee with 3 pieces of ice in it. What in the….?! So that turned into lukewarm diluted coffee. NO. This is unacceptable. I just want some coffee, darnit. (quote Michelle).
4. Walked to the convention center. See the “WE-GOT-SO-MUCH-SWAG” part. Books, etc, and this FABULOUS lady who has tall and red hair and she’s fabulous. This woman’s name is ANGIE and Nina wants to be her, and she is absolutely the coolest woman IN THE WORLD. This is what she did. She took us around to all of the publishers, and said magic words, like, “these teens review books and tell the library which ones to buy.” People were THROWING books at us. THEY asked US what kind of books WE like to read. So Molly got all the sci-fi ones, and Nina got all the pink girly ones, and Angie was just like, on to the next publisher!!! We actually love her. ACTUALLY. THANK YOU ANGIE!!! We love you. Out bags were breaking with the weight, and it was like, Christmas on steroids. With free books. AHHHH! AMAZING!!
5. More books.
6. More SWAG.
7. More books.
8. More euphoria.
9. Some boring chairs.
10. Then we had a fantastic Italian lunch on the River Walk. Fabulous. We listened to an eclectic Mariachi band and started freaking out about the BBYA book talk.
11. We went back to the Convention Center for the Teen BBYA Participation Conference. Yay, exciting! No, really, it was. It was the whole point of our trip. Lots of publishers. Lots of local teens. Too many middle schoolers.
12. The room was “ginormous” according to our fearless Ricko Baggins. About the size of a short gym, it was filled with chairs (only about 5/6 full – guess we’re not the superstars we thought we were.) We were easily the oldest ones there – middle schoolers galore. This disturbed us. We sat down and made friends with people around us who had read only 3 books each. We almost died right there in our chairs. 3 books?!?! I guess they were just there for kicks or something. There were many different kinds of people there that irritated us. There were the young middle schoolers that were like, “This book was too old for me.” Yeah, no, really?? Then there were the kids who got up every single time, and said, “I didn’t like this book. It was awful. It was the worst book I ever read.” There was this kid who got up every single time and did that and Nina said, “If this guy likes the next book he talks about, I’m going to die from shock.” And then Nina did, because he actually did like one book. One.
Then there were the waste-of-time kids, who would get up and say something like this:
“I read ____. I kind of liked it. I mean, it was okay. Well, the part I liked was blah blah blah blah blah. And that was good. But then there were times when it was like blah blah blah blah blah. So I really don’t know how I feel about the book. I mean, it was okay. I don’t know if it should be nominated. Well, maybe it should. Well, I don’t know. I don’t know if I liked it or not.”
HELLO, WASTE ALL OUR TIME, WHY. DON’T. YOU.
Then there were kids who had note cards that quoted every single thing and dragged on FOREVER. There were also kids who were totally unprepared who said, “I liked this book. It was really good. Yeah.” And then they sat down.
THEN there were the alternate, I-am-so-above-the-masses kids who were like, “Harry Potter is so dull and boring. I don’t read them. There’s so lame. And the sixth one is the worst of all. I am too good for Harry Potter. I am so original. I read better books.” Like, why don’t you just go out, and walk around some, and GET A LIFE?! And while we’re at it, why don’t we add a big tall glass of YOU’RE NOT THAT COOL?!?!?
There was also one short kid who got up every single time Nina did, and got in front of her every single time, and talked to her. He was like, talking to her, like, “hey, how’s it going?” He asked her what time it was, and Rick wanted to go up and say, “What are your intentions towards my volunteer???” and “if you get any closer I will poke your eyes out.” Stuff only Rick can say.
Books We Talked About:
Nina: Looking for Alaska, (heart!) Orpheus Obsession, (love!) and Prep (reamed that into the ground. With a metaphor!)
Michelle: Peeps, Talk, Where I Want to Be, Kipling’s Choice, and Boy Proof – all positive.
Jackie: Cry of the Icemark, Gill’s All-Fright Diner, Poison, and Phoenix Dance – all positive
Molly: Superman, Flight, and King of the Pygmies –all positive
Also: the word of the day was poignant, which Nina used in her speech about Looking for Alaska. She also used the word “Touching” (ew – sorry!) but redeemed herself by using poignant.
Molly talked about two graphic novels which were amazing even though she is just starting to like them. Our favorite quote from her was “definitive and bold artistry.” We pet her a lot because she is so lovable.
Michelle wins the “Best Italian” award because of her use of hand gestures while talking about books. It was pretty sweet.
Jackie had a lot of passion while talking about her books and that’s the way it should be. (See annoying kid type number 3 for how not to be when talking about books.)
Our Rules for Talking About Books:
- Be passionate. Don’t talk about a book you don’t care about.
- If you don’t like a book, give reasons. Don’t be lame.
- Keep it short and sweet. If people in the audience look like they are done listening, you’re done talking.
- Don’t dis Harry Potter. We know you’re lying when you say you don’t like it.
- Don’t get up just because a girl you want to hit on is getting up too, or in the words of Rick, “Don’t use book discussions to mack on chicks.”
- Don’t rattle your bags when Michelle is talking. We can’t hear. When we can’t hear, we get angry and will shoot you the death glare. It kills. Whatever is in your bag that you desperately need, it’s not as important as what Michelle is saying, ever. Also, do you really want to die?
- Don’t go up to the microphone and say, “I read this book and this book and this book. I want to talk about every single book.”
-Be positive! J
And last but not least:
“Poignant.”
After we got out of the talk, we were all standing around the lobby when Nina gets a call on her cell from one of her friends telling her that he fell off his skis and knocked half his teeth out.
So anyway.
We went back to Angie’s hotel and got all our SWAG, and toted it back to our hotel, for about a half a mile. It was excruciating. We really wanted Thurston the Bell Captain to help us, but we couldn’t find him in the streets of San Antonio. Why wasn’t he there?? Since we didn’t have him, Michelle dropped all her SWAG and Alene had to save her from being squished for the sake of “Being Chloe.”
Ricko Baggins got us invited to this fancy shmancy reception thing (NOT for a wedding. Molly sorta thought that, but she was wrong.) “Harcourt Children’s Books: A Year in Art Show.” The pictures were really morbid actually (mice burning?? What type of kids like these???) and then there were some multi-cultural dinosaurs on a train that would’ve squished the cars. It prompted a very interesting debate about interspecies marriage between dinosaurs, and what the child of a T-rex and Triceratops would look like. Short stubby arms and horns. (sorta like rick!)
After WAY too many mini-chicken-quesadillas, and some spectacular Sprite, we headed back to the hotel, where we are now chilling, stuffing our faces with Pringles and chocolate mints, and listening to Rick pour out his heart about his life story and his job, and library school, and his first girlfriend. We listened like the good STABBBYA groupies we are. Now Rick wants to go swimming because we’re bugging him.
Quotes from the Day:
“And then, I was like, the Library Lad!” -Rick
“I know what Bundling Boards are! * weird look *” –Alene
“AHHHHHHH!!!” –Nina, after being given the advance copy of Sarah Dessen’s new book
and also, when she had a Marilyn Monroe moment walking over a grate on the street of San Antonio.
“Yo, fo schiz!” – Molly
“I would have asked for my money back, but I didn’t want to be that kind of person.” – Michelle, after being given her pathetic excuse for an iced coffee
“I didn’t just like it just because it wasn’t another coming of age story.” –Jackie
By the way, Rick found a rat in his room today. Way to go, Gunter.
I’M REALLY SHORT!1 I’M REALLY COOL!
I’M THE * doot doot * LIBRARY LAD!!!
I’VE GOT HUGE SHINS! SHIN SHIN SHINS!
HEY! TAKE YOUR HANDS OFF MY SHINS!
I’M THE * doot doot * LIBRARY LAD!
LIBRARY LAAAAAAAD!!! LIBRARY LAAADD……!!
We have to go now, because Alene says we have to go to bed, and Rick says “We’re killing him.” Good night!!! THANK YOU FRIENDS!!! We’re having the best time. We will continue to have a good time. And we won’t go back to that coffee shop.
BYE!!!!
The Rickettes had their first and last full day in San Antonio. Today was the main event! The Teen Participation section of the Best Books for Young Adults committee took place in a room filled with about 200 people. Teens from all over the country were there, coming to grand total of 73. Only 10 of the 73 represented public libraries. I can safely say, without a trace of hyperbole, that the Rickettes were the best prepared, most eloquent, and snazziest dressed of all of the teens. A number of BBYA Committee members came up to me afterwards and commented on what a great job they did. I couldn't have been more proud of them! Take a look out the pictures from today's activites at:
http://homepage.mac.com/hrunting/PhotoAlbum13.html
Here is what our group had to say:
San Antonio Day #2
Hello again! You have no idea how long this blog took us to actually write, because every other sentence Rick starts talking and we’re like, “HELLOOO we need to finish our BLOG!!!!!” So Ricko has been regaling us with tales of his college days. He had research book piles as tall as HIM in his room. Talk about wild. He studied about death in the middle ages. Whoo-hoo.
Another FANTASTIC day in San Antonio. WE! GOT! SO! MUCH! SWAG! There were books, and pencils and books and candy and movie trailers and books and comics (excuse me graphic novels) and bags and books and books and books and books and books and books and books and some people were selling chairs. They weren’t free, so we didn’t get any… Molly really wanted one… it would have been so easy to carry them back on the plane!!
Let’s start from the beginning!!
1. Woke up!
2. Nina took a shower. The other three did not, which made Alene and Nina freak out about how they can function without showers in the morning. The two clean (OCD positive) and the three grimy (laid back) ones went off to the coffee shop next to our hotel.
3. The coffee shop. Supposedly, they served “Seattle’s Best Coffee.” However, everyone knows that Seattle’s Best Coffee is really Starbucks, which makes their title not only pretentious, but wrong. Anyway, it was a Seattle’s Best Coffee. We admit it: we are spoiled. We are Seattle girls all the way, and we have standards for our coffee. So first, we tried to order breakfast, and they were out of, like everything. Their cupcakes were “too hard” so they wouldn’t let Molly have one. They didn’t have yogurt. Then Nina tried to order a latte, and the woman was like, “No, we can’t do that.” Like hello can’t you just pour milk and coffee into a cup? And so Nina did. By herself. There are no standards for service here. And then Michelle ordered an iced latte. An “iced” latte. Brewed coffee with 3 pieces of ice in it. What in the….?! So that turned into lukewarm diluted coffee. NO. This is unacceptable. I just want some coffee, darnit. (quote Michelle).
4. Walked to the convention center. See the “WE-GOT-SO-MUCH-SWAG” part. Books, etc, and this FABULOUS lady who has tall and red hair and she’s fabulous. This woman’s name is ANGIE and Nina wants to be her, and she is absolutely the coolest woman IN THE WORLD. This is what she did. She took us around to all of the publishers, and said magic words, like, “these teens review books and tell the library which ones to buy.” People were THROWING books at us. THEY asked US what kind of books WE like to read. So Molly got all the sci-fi ones, and Nina got all the pink girly ones, and Angie was just like, on to the next publisher!!! We actually love her. ACTUALLY. THANK YOU ANGIE!!! We love you. Out bags were breaking with the weight, and it was like, Christmas on steroids. With free books. AHHHH! AMAZING!!
5. More books.
6. More SWAG.
7. More books.
8. More euphoria.
9. Some boring chairs.
10. Then we had a fantastic Italian lunch on the River Walk. Fabulous. We listened to an eclectic Mariachi band and started freaking out about the BBYA book talk.
11. We went back to the Convention Center for the Teen BBYA Participation Conference. Yay, exciting! No, really, it was. It was the whole point of our trip. Lots of publishers. Lots of local teens. Too many middle schoolers.
12. The room was “ginormous” according to our fearless Ricko Baggins. About the size of a short gym, it was filled with chairs (only about 5/6 full – guess we’re not the superstars we thought we were.) We were easily the oldest ones there – middle schoolers galore. This disturbed us. We sat down and made friends with people around us who had read only 3 books each. We almost died right there in our chairs. 3 books?!?! I guess they were just there for kicks or something. There were many different kinds of people there that irritated us. There were the young middle schoolers that were like, “This book was too old for me.” Yeah, no, really?? Then there were the kids who got up every single time, and said, “I didn’t like this book. It was awful. It was the worst book I ever read.” There was this kid who got up every single time and did that and Nina said, “If this guy likes the next book he talks about, I’m going to die from shock.” And then Nina did, because he actually did like one book. One.
Then there were the waste-of-time kids, who would get up and say something like this:
“I read ____. I kind of liked it. I mean, it was okay. Well, the part I liked was blah blah blah blah blah. And that was good. But then there were times when it was like blah blah blah blah blah. So I really don’t know how I feel about the book. I mean, it was okay. I don’t know if it should be nominated. Well, maybe it should. Well, I don’t know. I don’t know if I liked it or not.”
HELLO, WASTE ALL OUR TIME, WHY. DON’T. YOU.
Then there were kids who had note cards that quoted every single thing and dragged on FOREVER. There were also kids who were totally unprepared who said, “I liked this book. It was really good. Yeah.” And then they sat down.
THEN there were the alternate, I-am-so-above-the-masses kids who were like, “Harry Potter is so dull and boring. I don’t read them. There’s so lame. And the sixth one is the worst of all. I am too good for Harry Potter. I am so original. I read better books.” Like, why don’t you just go out, and walk around some, and GET A LIFE?! And while we’re at it, why don’t we add a big tall glass of YOU’RE NOT THAT COOL?!?!?
There was also one short kid who got up every single time Nina did, and got in front of her every single time, and talked to her. He was like, talking to her, like, “hey, how’s it going?” He asked her what time it was, and Rick wanted to go up and say, “What are your intentions towards my volunteer???” and “if you get any closer I will poke your eyes out.” Stuff only Rick can say.
Books We Talked About:
Nina: Looking for Alaska, (heart!) Orpheus Obsession, (love!) and Prep (reamed that into the ground. With a metaphor!)
Michelle: Peeps, Talk, Where I Want to Be, Kipling’s Choice, and Boy Proof – all positive.
Jackie: Cry of the Icemark, Gill’s All-Fright Diner, Poison, and Phoenix Dance – all positive
Molly: Superman, Flight, and King of the Pygmies –all positive
Also: the word of the day was poignant, which Nina used in her speech about Looking for Alaska. She also used the word “Touching” (ew – sorry!) but redeemed herself by using poignant.
Molly talked about two graphic novels which were amazing even though she is just starting to like them. Our favorite quote from her was “definitive and bold artistry.” We pet her a lot because she is so lovable.
Michelle wins the “Best Italian” award because of her use of hand gestures while talking about books. It was pretty sweet.
Jackie had a lot of passion while talking about her books and that’s the way it should be. (See annoying kid type number 3 for how not to be when talking about books.)
Our Rules for Talking About Books:
- Be passionate. Don’t talk about a book you don’t care about.
- If you don’t like a book, give reasons. Don’t be lame.
- Keep it short and sweet. If people in the audience look like they are done listening, you’re done talking.
- Don’t dis Harry Potter. We know you’re lying when you say you don’t like it.
- Don’t get up just because a girl you want to hit on is getting up too, or in the words of Rick, “Don’t use book discussions to mack on chicks.”
- Don’t rattle your bags when Michelle is talking. We can’t hear. When we can’t hear, we get angry and will shoot you the death glare. It kills. Whatever is in your bag that you desperately need, it’s not as important as what Michelle is saying, ever. Also, do you really want to die?
- Don’t go up to the microphone and say, “I read this book and this book and this book. I want to talk about every single book.”
-Be positive! J
And last but not least:
“Poignant.”
After we got out of the talk, we were all standing around the lobby when Nina gets a call on her cell from one of her friends telling her that he fell off his skis and knocked half his teeth out.
So anyway.
We went back to Angie’s hotel and got all our SWAG, and toted it back to our hotel, for about a half a mile. It was excruciating. We really wanted Thurston the Bell Captain to help us, but we couldn’t find him in the streets of San Antonio. Why wasn’t he there?? Since we didn’t have him, Michelle dropped all her SWAG and Alene had to save her from being squished for the sake of “Being Chloe.”
Ricko Baggins got us invited to this fancy shmancy reception thing (NOT for a wedding. Molly sorta thought that, but she was wrong.) “Harcourt Children’s Books: A Year in Art Show.” The pictures were really morbid actually (mice burning?? What type of kids like these???) and then there were some multi-cultural dinosaurs on a train that would’ve squished the cars. It prompted a very interesting debate about interspecies marriage between dinosaurs, and what the child of a T-rex and Triceratops would look like. Short stubby arms and horns. (sorta like rick!)
After WAY too many mini-chicken-quesadillas, and some spectacular Sprite, we headed back to the hotel, where we are now chilling, stuffing our faces with Pringles and chocolate mints, and listening to Rick pour out his heart about his life story and his job, and library school, and his first girlfriend. We listened like the good STABBBYA groupies we are. Now Rick wants to go swimming because we’re bugging him.
Quotes from the Day:
“And then, I was like, the Library Lad!” -Rick
“I know what Bundling Boards are! * weird look *” –Alene
“AHHHHHHH!!!” –Nina, after being given the advance copy of Sarah Dessen’s new book
and also, when she had a Marilyn Monroe moment walking over a grate on the street of San Antonio.
“Yo, fo schiz!” – Molly
“I would have asked for my money back, but I didn’t want to be that kind of person.” – Michelle, after being given her pathetic excuse for an iced coffee
“I didn’t just like it just because it wasn’t another coming of age story.” –Jackie
By the way, Rick found a rat in his room today. Way to go, Gunter.
I’M REALLY SHORT!1 I’M REALLY COOL!
I’M THE * doot doot * LIBRARY LAD!!!
I’VE GOT HUGE SHINS! SHIN SHIN SHINS!
HEY! TAKE YOUR HANDS OFF MY SHINS!
I’M THE * doot doot * LIBRARY LAD!
LIBRARY LAAAAAAAD!!! LIBRARY LAAADD……!!
We have to go now, because Alene says we have to go to bed, and Rick says “We’re killing him.” Good night!!! THANK YOU FRIENDS!!! We’re having the best time. We will continue to have a good time. And we won’t go back to that coffee shop.
BYE!!!!
1.21.2006
Here is our first post from San Antonio. See the pictures at http://homepage.mac.com/hrunting/PhotoAlbum11.html
&
http://homepage.mac.com/hrunting/PhotoAlbum12.html
The following is what the STAB Antonian's (our BBYA group) has to say so far:
HELLLLOOOOO STABBBYA GROUPIES!!!!!
We all know you want to be here, but we’re here instead of you. HAHAHAHA. In San Antonio. Having the greatest time… ever.
“THE STARS AT NIGHT ARE BIG AND BRIGHT…”
Things that we have done so far:
1) thanks to Rick, left on a red-eye flight at 11 PM from seatac and arrived at dallas fort worth airport in the middle of the night. Staggered blindly through the airport trying to find our gate. Bought huge cups of starbucks and sat waiting for the flight to san Antonio. Molly spilled her chantico all over her pants and Alene’s bag. It was not happy, but we had snacks for later.
2. finally got to san Antonio, with about 3 hours of sleep between us. Found a van. Nina had to pay for it, because the responsible chaperone had no cash. Jackie and Molly almost had to brave the freeways of San Antonio without seatbelts, because the poor taxi-van had none for them. Nina also pinched herself. Hard. She blamed it on her
suitcase. See picture Blister from Hell.
3) We attempted to arrive at the hotel. They wouldn’t let us check in. But Thurston the Bell Captain was really nice, and directed us to an office cubicle disguised as ladies room, where we attempted to look more….human. We’re not sure it worked.
4) A random woman came in and talked to us about Seattle and books. We didn’t know her.
5) We got directions from Thurston to the Alamo, to go see if there was a basement. Disappointment of the Century: there is no basement, only a bunch of rocks piled on top of each other with random flags from different countries, that have nothing to do with Texas or Mexico or the Alamo… also, some memorials from dead people, and every possession Davey Crockett ever owned.
6) Then we went to the Convention Center. It was freezing. Though it wasn’t supposed to be. Rick lied. We theorize that Rick made up the weather report he gave us. Inside the Convention Center it was toasty warm, but outside it was like, 20 degrees. Maybe.
7.) We waited in like twenty different lines to get little slips of paper that let us into a big room with lots of SWAG! Here we met Rick. We screamed and cried like the groupies we are when we saw him. All the librarians passing were shocked that Rick knew such fashionable, charming, adorable, attractive, and likable people (that’s us). Then some guy who knew Rick was like, “hey, it’s Rick’s girls!” Um, hello, weird? So the guy who knew Rick said we were now the “Rickettes.” Which kind of sounds like rickets, which is like, a disease. But whatever. It was supposed to sound like Rockettes, like the dance group. We only do high kicks for a considerable fee. (We really are the next big thing,)
8) After we scored all kinds of swag, I mean SWAG, (sorry), including weird pencils and American history posters (YES!) we went to the mall and had lunch: orange chicken, according to Texas. It was actually more like elevensies, and now Rick thinks he’s a hobbit, which is really kind of sad because if you look at him closely he actually does resemble one. So now his new name is Ricko, like Frodo, and he’s going to stop shaving his feet and start living in a hole in the ground so he will stop hiding his true identity. At last! Molly also spilled on herself again, and has since stated that “Orange Chicken” sauce goes quite well with leftover Chantico Starbucks chocolate.
9) We tried to get Jackie’s ears pierced, but the fascists at Claire’s wouldn’t let us because her mom wasn’t there. We’re now on the lookout for red-headed people willing to go back with us.
10) We went BACK to the Convention Center, into HBC-214A (the room where they talk about teen books.) Also, coincidentally, the room farthest from the elevator. We put all our SWAG in the room which was a relief because our backs were actually broken, and our shoulders were going to pop out of our sockets, and our feet were melding to our shoes. We then proceeded to lie across three chairs each and fall into a deep slumber. Except for Molly, who kept watch for us, reading free graphic novels. Rick and the other librarians talked about teen books, which was fun for them.
-We take a short break for a passage from the Holy Bible. –
“And when Rachel saw that she beared Jacob no children, Rachel envied her sister; and said unto Jacob, give me children, or else I die.”
BY THE WAY: WE LOVE ALENE LIKE WE LOVE OREOS, and that’s a lot of love, right there.
Back to the blog.
11) We heard Ricko Baggins dis Loyola Chin, and yet support Sandpiper all the way.(WHAT?) Then one guy was like, “Sandpiper begins where Rainbow Party ended.” Uh…. How about not? Let’s not even go there.
12) So then, we met Angie and her roommate, Jerene. WE went back to the hotel to freshen up. Nina was adamant that she takes a shower because she’s very aquatic. And so, we went back down to the lobby late because of Nina Aquatica.
ANYWAY, Angie & Jerene ditched us. SO, we traipsed around San Antonio without their help. We went to the MERCADO and bought lots of touristy stuff. Then we thought we’d get dinner but ended up getting ice cream instead!! And Nina almost had a near disaster with the point of her cone, which apparently you’re just supposed to shove in your mouth instead of chewing like a civilized person. It was determined that Nina didn’t know anything at this point, about ice cream or otherwise.
13) After this ice cream adventure, we walked down the River Walk, where you basically walk down the fake little river. Michelle took many pictures of Hitchcock-esque Birds(f.y.i: they were called Grackles), pretty things, and Molly waving to random boaters on the river. Alene called her mom, Nina spaced out as she shivered, and Jackie chilled.
14) We went back to our hotel, and Nina went upstairs to change. Again. A half hour later, she came back downstairs, where the party was goin on in the hotel lobby, where Ricko Baggins had just showed up in a dashing suit and yellow tie, and was about to go to a party we weren’t invited to. What a jerk. He did, however, buy us Oreos and Red Vines, so we allowed him to go and forgave him somewhat.
15) We are currently in Alene’s room, which is much bigger than ours, by the way, and watching a movie that every single actor in Hollywood seems to be in, including Will Smith, Jason Lee, Jack Black, Jon Voigt, Regina King, and Seth Green. And some little kids that play video games. We’re ordering pizza (Alene had to speak sharply to the pizza delivery people, since they were unfortunately not very intelligent.)
THAT’S ALL FOR TODAY! Stay posted for more of our adventures in San Antonio. Tomorrow we’re going to unscrew all the traffic lights so that they hang the right way. People in Texas are incapable of putting them vertically and think they look best sideways. What a state.
“…DEEP IN THE HEART OF TEXAS!!!!!!”
&
http://homepage.mac.com/hrunting/PhotoAlbum12.html
The following is what the STAB Antonian's (our BBYA group) has to say so far:
HELLLLOOOOO STABBBYA GROUPIES!!!!!
We all know you want to be here, but we’re here instead of you. HAHAHAHA. In San Antonio. Having the greatest time… ever.
“THE STARS AT NIGHT ARE BIG AND BRIGHT…”
Things that we have done so far:
1) thanks to Rick, left on a red-eye flight at 11 PM from seatac and arrived at dallas fort worth airport in the middle of the night. Staggered blindly through the airport trying to find our gate. Bought huge cups of starbucks and sat waiting for the flight to san Antonio. Molly spilled her chantico all over her pants and Alene’s bag. It was not happy, but we had snacks for later.
2. finally got to san Antonio, with about 3 hours of sleep between us. Found a van. Nina had to pay for it, because the responsible chaperone had no cash. Jackie and Molly almost had to brave the freeways of San Antonio without seatbelts, because the poor taxi-van had none for them. Nina also pinched herself. Hard. She blamed it on her
suitcase. See picture Blister from Hell.
3) We attempted to arrive at the hotel. They wouldn’t let us check in. But Thurston the Bell Captain was really nice, and directed us to an office cubicle disguised as ladies room, where we attempted to look more….human. We’re not sure it worked.
4) A random woman came in and talked to us about Seattle and books. We didn’t know her.
5) We got directions from Thurston to the Alamo, to go see if there was a basement. Disappointment of the Century: there is no basement, only a bunch of rocks piled on top of each other with random flags from different countries, that have nothing to do with Texas or Mexico or the Alamo… also, some memorials from dead people, and every possession Davey Crockett ever owned.
6) Then we went to the Convention Center. It was freezing. Though it wasn’t supposed to be. Rick lied. We theorize that Rick made up the weather report he gave us. Inside the Convention Center it was toasty warm, but outside it was like, 20 degrees. Maybe.
7.) We waited in like twenty different lines to get little slips of paper that let us into a big room with lots of SWAG! Here we met Rick. We screamed and cried like the groupies we are when we saw him. All the librarians passing were shocked that Rick knew such fashionable, charming, adorable, attractive, and likable people (that’s us). Then some guy who knew Rick was like, “hey, it’s Rick’s girls!” Um, hello, weird? So the guy who knew Rick said we were now the “Rickettes.” Which kind of sounds like rickets, which is like, a disease. But whatever. It was supposed to sound like Rockettes, like the dance group. We only do high kicks for a considerable fee. (We really are the next big thing,)
8) After we scored all kinds of swag, I mean SWAG, (sorry), including weird pencils and American history posters (YES!) we went to the mall and had lunch: orange chicken, according to Texas. It was actually more like elevensies, and now Rick thinks he’s a hobbit, which is really kind of sad because if you look at him closely he actually does resemble one. So now his new name is Ricko, like Frodo, and he’s going to stop shaving his feet and start living in a hole in the ground so he will stop hiding his true identity. At last! Molly also spilled on herself again, and has since stated that “Orange Chicken” sauce goes quite well with leftover Chantico Starbucks chocolate.
9) We tried to get Jackie’s ears pierced, but the fascists at Claire’s wouldn’t let us because her mom wasn’t there. We’re now on the lookout for red-headed people willing to go back with us.
10) We went BACK to the Convention Center, into HBC-214A (the room where they talk about teen books.) Also, coincidentally, the room farthest from the elevator. We put all our SWAG in the room which was a relief because our backs were actually broken, and our shoulders were going to pop out of our sockets, and our feet were melding to our shoes. We then proceeded to lie across three chairs each and fall into a deep slumber. Except for Molly, who kept watch for us, reading free graphic novels. Rick and the other librarians talked about teen books, which was fun for them.
-We take a short break for a passage from the Holy Bible. –
“And when Rachel saw that she beared Jacob no children, Rachel envied her sister; and said unto Jacob, give me children, or else I die.”
BY THE WAY: WE LOVE ALENE LIKE WE LOVE OREOS, and that’s a lot of love, right there.
Back to the blog.
11) We heard Ricko Baggins dis Loyola Chin, and yet support Sandpiper all the way.(WHAT?) Then one guy was like, “Sandpiper begins where Rainbow Party ended.” Uh…. How about not? Let’s not even go there.
12) So then, we met Angie and her roommate, Jerene. WE went back to the hotel to freshen up. Nina was adamant that she takes a shower because she’s very aquatic. And so, we went back down to the lobby late because of Nina Aquatica.
ANYWAY, Angie & Jerene ditched us. SO, we traipsed around San Antonio without their help. We went to the MERCADO and bought lots of touristy stuff. Then we thought we’d get dinner but ended up getting ice cream instead!! And Nina almost had a near disaster with the point of her cone, which apparently you’re just supposed to shove in your mouth instead of chewing like a civilized person. It was determined that Nina didn’t know anything at this point, about ice cream or otherwise.
13) After this ice cream adventure, we walked down the River Walk, where you basically walk down the fake little river. Michelle took many pictures of Hitchcock-esque Birds(f.y.i: they were called Grackles), pretty things, and Molly waving to random boaters on the river. Alene called her mom, Nina spaced out as she shivered, and Jackie chilled.
14) We went back to our hotel, and Nina went upstairs to change. Again. A half hour later, she came back downstairs, where the party was goin on in the hotel lobby, where Ricko Baggins had just showed up in a dashing suit and yellow tie, and was about to go to a party we weren’t invited to. What a jerk. He did, however, buy us Oreos and Red Vines, so we allowed him to go and forgave him somewhat.
15) We are currently in Alene’s room, which is much bigger than ours, by the way, and watching a movie that every single actor in Hollywood seems to be in, including Will Smith, Jason Lee, Jack Black, Jon Voigt, Regina King, and Seth Green. And some little kids that play video games. We’re ordering pizza (Alene had to speak sharply to the pizza delivery people, since they were unfortunately not very intelligent.)
THAT’S ALL FOR TODAY! Stay posted for more of our adventures in San Antonio. Tomorrow we’re going to unscrew all the traffic lights so that they hang the right way. People in Texas are incapable of putting them vertically and think they look best sideways. What a state.
“…DEEP IN THE HEART OF TEXAS!!!!!!”
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