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Bah. It's a cloudy grey day, and even the internet seems grumpy.

Yesterday it was beautiful and really a little too warm. I got up bright and spanking early (for a weekend, at least), and caught the commuter rail into Boston. Relatively painless other than the fact that the train car I was on just smelled nasty. blech. Walked from North Station to the meeting house. Walked longer than I should have, thanks to the quaint habit of not actually labeling streets, or at least not all of them. But it was okay, as I still found the meeting house with little trouble.

The meeting.... Well, it's a very pretty room for the meeting, with a two story window looking out on a courtyard. It's got a little balcony type thing around the first story, and a cluster of benches on the ground floor. But it's tiny--maybe 30-50 people there, and the membership list looks like it's not more than 100 people. In DC my meeting was usually 80-100 people each week, and there were some weeks it had to have been twice that (the first week I went after I got back from England, for example, it was packed, and the week before, which would have been the first weekend after 9/11, I can't imagine how full it must have been). But first meetings at new places often make me nervous, and this time I was also hot and a little tired, and very very anxious not to fall asleep in the meeting (it's just that bad first impression thing), and I never got properly settled down. I was nearly settled down at one point--I'd been sitting and waiting and waiting and waiting and waiting and I was like, "well, it must be nearly over by now." and then the kids got up and left. which meant really, it was 10:45. So I figited for another 45 minutes--and it wasn't just me. The benches creaked, and no one else seemed calmed down either. I like people watching at meetings. There's always some person who can sit down, calm down, center down, and not even move for an hour. This meeting, there wasn't. Everyone kept shifting position (hey! they didn't shake hands with the kids when they left! Bad meeting.), the benches kept creaking, and someone would cough or sniffle or sneeze every few minutes, and all in all it was the longest meeting I've ever gone to. And then all the various messages, and everyone introduced themselves, and we broke for refreshments. And I fled. Well, I stopped and talked to a dog tied up outside. He was a sweetie. I hope there are more people my age in the meeting usually, cause there was only one boy who seemed to be near my age and a regular attender (and no girls, just some visiting from other meetings or trying it out for the first time), and he seemed to have a 5 or 6 yr old boy, so he may be a much different age than I was guessing.

( Quaker rant with technical details )

And then I walked over to the library, and then back up along...huh. I don'tknow what it's called. between downtown crossing and state, pretty much, with all sorts of reasonable shops. And I went to Barnes and Nobles and finished reading Bet Me! And made note of two other books I want to read (the new Susan Elizabeth Phillips and the new Mary Balough), and one that I need to buy, but not in hardback because I hate hardbacks and all the rest of my books of hers are british trade paper. but that'll have to wait until I get some work.

I did find some jobs to apply to, one with a temp agency Nate told me to look up, so that's all well and good. And I can't remember where I used to look at Quaker jobs, and I don't even know if the page is still there because that was 5 years ago. Ooh. Maybe it was the Quaker Infomation Center Yes! Victory dance in honor of me! Alas, no jobs around here.

Oh, my rejection from Say came on friday. My mom read it to me. It's a step up from the last rejection (hand written note on the form), to a personal note from Gwenda, but not as high a step as I was hoping. Alas. Though, it's hard to feel really sad about it because much as I love the story I sent them, I know it's not as good as it should be, it's just as good as it can be. So, I'll just have to think about something new to write for them.

Oh, and andrea? I'm reading Girls' Poker Night right now, and it reminds me so much of you.

(no subject)

And the temp agency called back. The position I'd applied for is closed, but I've got an interview for general temp work on Wednesday. I sometimes wish I didn't hate admin work as much as I do. There's *loads* of jobs out there that pay what I want or better that I'm qualified for (or at least could do). Bah. Nate did say they'd give me work regularly, so I hope he's right.

Ooh, and I just got the directions to get there, and they're above a Cosi, so wheee, I know where I get food for my reward. :) And they're going to give me the usual software tests, which means I really really really want to show up in Jeans and a t-shirt, but I think I'll compromise and go with Khakis and a dress-up t-shirt.

(no subject)

And...the Friends House called me back.

I of course hadn't switched the phone back from the 'vibrate' alert mode that it had been on in case of phone calls while I was in the library (it's not completely silent, as I usually get startled and squeak and drop things when the phone rings, but at least this way the squeaking and dropping things aren't accompanied by an odd little tune at the same time (and it freaks me out because other people have my same cellphone, so some times someone else's phone will ring and I will try to answer mine.)). But I was reading at the time they called, and the reason it plays an annoying little tune in general is that I read with all my attention, and only annoying loud tunes are enough to remind me to pick up the phone.

Anyways, they were calling to set up an appointment for the interview. I don't know if some of my references were like, lightning quick, or if they just like my application that much or what. (Possibly, going to meeting yesterday was a useful thing. We will pretend it was, to distract us from that which makes us grumpy.) But of course they're gone now, too late to call, so I left a message, and will call back in the morning. Bah. Anyways, assuming the time they offered is still free, I will be meeting with them next thursday at 5:30 and staying for dinner with the house. I'm excited, yet scared.

At the Library, I took out a book by James Schmitz called Eternal Frontiers. I was all excited because I love his stuff, and I never manage to read enough of it, and there was a whole book I hadn't read yet. And it is fabulous--it's short stories, and he's a weird sort of pulp/space opera/fantasy that I just adore, so the stories are very good and I'm enjoying the book. But, and I shouldn't need to tell you how wrong this is, this is the only book by him that the *entire system* has. Now, this guy wrote the Witches of Karres, possibly my favorite novel ever (even though adult guys and teen girls kinda squicks me, at least these girls are explained as not being normal teen girls, and also being older than they look), and which is available for library use only there. He also wrote several novels about, what did the book call them...Homo Excelsior--psy type characters. And I've got all them, though i haven't started them, and a collection called Agent of Vega, and one called the Hub. These are all Baen re-releases, out over the last few years, and they're new and shiny and of the 6 or so books out there, the library has one, and it's not even his novel. THey have copies of a few of his stuff, but not anywhere people can take them out of the library. Bah.