What to write….

So, I’ve had several ideas for this blog. Sometimes during the day, a topic will reveal itself, and then I get home, and *poof* all ideas disappear. My brain turns to mush, and I become a potato. (This is a little know fact. After work, I become a potato, and after 10:00 pm, I become a pumkin…. what other types of fruit and vegetables can a person turn into?)

But today, you get to read about the very warm bathrooms at library at OU. If you haven’t been there, the Bizzell Library is a mish-mash of architecture, design, and remodelling efforts. The beautiful reading room with its Norman design, cathedral ceilings, wood panelling, and leaded windows is amazing, and it’s in the oldest wing of the library. My office is in the basement of that wing, and it’s home so who can complain. Plus, my office doesn’t flood like the office of a professor down the hall.

Then there’s a second wing, the decks. I have no clue when they were built, but they are from the days when the stacks are closed. It has 1930ish dumb waiters to move books, and big cages surround the bookcases. It’s the area of the library that you’re most likely to die in. Or expect to die in. (Has anybody else read the Time Traveler’s Wife? Freaky. It dispeals the myth that librarians are boring…but really freaky. Slightly wrong and freaky.)

Then there’s the new-er part of the library. It looks like a “normal” library. Plain brick walls. Plain linolium. Plain beige walls and darker, non-descript, commercial carpet. Some of this wing is in transition. The area around the reference desk and circulation is kept up to date, and there’s some pretty-sweet heavy wood furniture and museum-like displays of first edition books. The school is also remodelling a good chunk of the third floor to hold the special collections. That should be cool, but they had to move those special collections b/c the 5th floor is no longer safe from leaks in the roof. Nobody wants to see a first edition of Galileo’s work or a Guttenburg Bible getting wet!

But back to the bathrooms. The secret passages between the different wings of the library are slowly becoming new to me. I can get from the coffee shop on the second Lower Lobby of the New Building to my office in the old building by only walking through a fire door or through the dealthly cages. (By the way, if you are claustaphobic, I wouldn’t suggest going through the decks. I’ve already hit my head on the ceiling above the stairway.) Nevertheless, I still have no idea what is in the hidden corners of that library. Today, I took the “old” elevator (circa 1950? The buttons look like that evil elevator in Kerr Dorm at OBU, but it works like a “normal” elevator, but none of the buttons glow, and the buttons are round, stubby things that stick out of the wall.) in the “new” wing to the fourth floor to find a book in the “z” section.

Then the need to meet a need presented itself. I ran to the nearest bathroom and entered into 1959. It had a large mirror across one wall with a vanity underneath. A very low vanity with three stubby circular chairs. Each with three stubby little legs. The seat were made of very pink leather. Then a girl with a puddle skirts walked through… just kidding. However, when I entered into the toilet part of the restroom, I discovered that the toilet paper dated from 1959… Okay, maybe not that old, but the toilet paper was turning brown…kinda like when you leave a piece of paper on the dash-board of your car and leave it for an entire Oklahoma summer. Hmmm… When was the last time someone used that bathroom? I figure someone at least visited sometime in the 1990s b/c the white plastic soap dispencers with the bright red OU emblazend upon them looked fairly new.

But you might remember that I called the bathroom “warm.” I have yet to find a bathroom in the library that is less than 80 degrees inside. The air-conditioning seems to work well (perhaps too well) throughout the rest of the library. Did some architect or designer decide that they never wanted to sit on a cold toilet seat again? I find some comfort in a cold bathroom. Less chance germs. The bathrooms at the library scare me a little bit.

Wasn’t that deep? Aren’t you happy to hear about toilets?

(posts)

big sis Says:
August 29th, 2007 at 6:04 pm
I see the beginnings of a somewhat strange Japser Ffordish/Douglas Adamish novel here - why NOT have a library in which by entering different wings (bathrooms even..) you actually do travel in time! And secret passages to boot! It could even be a VERY strange 3 weird sisters collaboration…. hmmmm ; D

jen_archaic Says:
August 29th, 2007 at 6:43 pm
Is the name “3 weird sisters” taken? That should be our pen name! Yay!

big sis Says:
August 29th, 2007 at 7:27 pm
Isn’t the band in Harry Potter called the “weird sisters”? That could be another avocation for us — writing bizarre 3-voice novels and hitting all the future HP conventions as an all girl band a la Macbeth. I take dibs on bass guitar and the lead on Monster Mash!

JoeyGirl Says:
August 30th, 2007 at 7:54 am
I’ll do rhythm guitar/keyboard/percussion and back up vocals!

Does this bathroom sound like a fairly strange version of the “Room of Requirement”? I really like the book premise, regardless; the main character needs to be a librarian, obviously. I’m thinking horn-rimmed glasses who also happens to be proficient in JuJitsu or something…

Jen, don’t forget to visit the fourth floor bathroom in Gittinger and see the infamous “Destory the dominant paradigm” in pink bubble letters. I think it’s the first stall…or is it the fourth stall on the first floor?

Carissa Says:
September 2nd, 2007 at 7:06 pm
I’d like warm bathrooms, germs and all. I HATE being cold! LOL!

jen_archaic Says:
September 3rd, 2007 at 7:09 am
Hey Carissa,

Welcome on board! =) You like warm bathrooms, huh? Well, that’s okay we still can be friends.

Warm bathroom before a shower is one thing. Entering into a bathroom with a temp of 88 degrees and a relative humidity of 80%, you start to wonder if the OU metereorology department is using those bathrooms as experimentation for inside thunderstorms!

First Day of School

Hip Hip Horray! School went well. I like the girl I share an office with. I like my computer. I like my job. I like my first class. I like the teacher. I like the topic. I like the assignments, and I like the job prospects.

Whew. Great!

(posts)

JoeyGirl Says:
August 20th, 2007 at 7:21 pm
YEA!

Susannelein Says:
August 21st, 2007 at 6:06 am
Hi Jenny!

Good luck with school! I’ve been reading your blog ever since you sent me the link and finally figured out how to register to leave comments. I’m sad that you aren’t East of the Mississippi River anymore, but I’m happy that you are back in your home state. Things here are fine and the classes at Lee start tomorrow. I’m going to Chicago next week for a conference - it makes me sentimental for the time I visited you there over Labor Day weekend and we went to Catigny Park and ate lots of pizza. Anyway, just thought I’d leave a note to wish you luck with the semester. I miss you!!

S.F.

JoeyGirl Says:
August 28th, 2007 at 12:43 pm
When, oh when, will my Jenny-bear write…when, oh when will she write?

Love and Romance

No, I’m not personally in that state right now, but I am listening to Diana Krall on a PBS tv special. Her music could put any body in the mood for amor…

But in the greater context of life, today is my Uncle Ken’s and Aunt Laura’s 50th wedding anniversery, and I wish them many congratulations and happy years to come.

But what is love any ways? Is it something that grows? Is it a chemical reaction? Is it immediate? Is it friendship-based? Is there such a thing as true love? That last question has been a topic of discussion inbetween my lil’ sis and I. She believes in it, and she believes that she’s found it. Others believe that there is no such thing as the “right” one. In a way, this argument seems like a protection from the idea that there “might have been” someone better. And I hope my readers can agree with me that “might-have-been” thoughts are extremely dangerous.

So peeps, to further the question, is “true love” a state of mind that a person decides to have, or is it an actual condition that is “real?” Does true love happen very often or just to a few? I would love to hear peoples’ ideas. So that’s all for now, but hope to hear from people.

(posts)

Susannelein Says:
August 21st, 2007 at 6:08 am
I have some exciting news on this front. Maybe it doesn’t amount to “true love” but it is still sweet and happy all the same. I’ll try to give you a call sometime soon and tell you about it!

big sis Says:
August 21st, 2007 at 6:58 am
Is there such a thing as true love….big question. Yes and no. I think about the couple of guys I thought I was in love with pre-Scott and I realize now that no amount of deciding to love them would have resulted in “true love”. We were just too different at all the important points. So, I don’t think that you can create true love with just anyone. But is there only one? I think it is kind of like finding a “bosom friend” (thanks, Anne). There are a few people out there that you have the potential for that kind of intimate relationship with. I think it is the same on the romantic level. I think God gives us opportunities to recognize those special people as He brings them into our lives. Then we have to do our part. True love is not some mystical state where everything is “happily every after.” It takes patience, selflessness, the willingness to speak truth to each other in love (not in frustration), all kinds of things - and to really be true love, I think both spouses need to be committed to do the work necessary. And even with your “true love” you aren’t perpetually in a “true love” state. All relationships go through seasons, and sometimes you do have to decide that you will choose to love even when you don’t feel like or there is conflict between you. Kind of like tough love in parenting. You don’t quit loving your kids just because they are being willful and disobedient, but you do have to be loving, consistent, and tough at times. And sometimes you are the one being stubborn and YOU need the tough love!

Scott and I had the privilege of recognizing the potential for true love in each other immediately - but I guess the Lord thought He needed to be really obvious since we had been such blockheads in previous relationships. In a sense, I think it might be better to discover that potential more slowly, but since we were already married and committed to each other by the time we started to meld our lives together, we had extra motivation to stick it out where we might have given up if we had just been casually dating.

So, I am of the opinion that finding true love has a lot to do with having an open heart when God brings people in your life. Then it is primarily a matter of choosing to hang on to true love and nuture it through all the changes and difficulties that life throws your way. Chemistry is great, but you can be attracted to someone who wouldn’t be a good lifetime partner. And often it clouds your ability to see the more important parts of your relationship. I absolutely do not believe that if you experience any flux in your mystical expectations of love that it must NOT be true love and therefore you discard that relationship and keep looking. I also think we really need to avoid the anxiety trap of “oh no, there is only one person in the whole world for me and what if I’ve missed him already!”

Okay, I need to quit rambling…I would love to end with something pithy and wise, but I have two little ones who seem to be intent on annoying each other to death at the moment. Love you Jen!

Yay!

I have an office!!! Yippee! Lucky number 13.

(post)

JoeyGirl Says:
August 20th, 2007 at 11:42 am
Well? How is life in Office 13? Did the first day go okay?

You know you’re in Oklahoma when…

… you cross the border the speed limit goes to 75, the people drive 90, and the wind is blowing against you 120 mph.

… the tumble weeds wreck your car

… the sunflowers are taller than the trees

… when the families live underground and come outside for tornados.

…when your state dirt is “port silt loam.”

…you don’t have a fall break, but you get out of class for “statehood day.”

…all the people talk about sports and weather, not b/c it’s polite but b/c it’s all we know.

…when the largest man-made structure is a grain elevator, and it’s visible for 30 miles on the ground and for 250 miles from the sky (according to the airforce pilots).

(comments)

JoeyGirl Says:
August 12th, 2007 at 2:17 pm
It’s not all we know. It’s just one of the more interesting things we know…

And yea for airforce pilots.

Oops. I’m a republican.

I thought I would come out of the closet. I’m a Republican, and I like Bush. Has anyone actually listened to him speak in 2 years? He’s reasonable. On Thursday morning as I unpacked my apartment, I listened to an entire hour of him talking to reporters, and I found him candid and logical. I didn’t agree with him on everything, but I could see where he was coming from, especially considering his recent lack of action on Guantanamo and his position against pulling out of Iraq.

I’ve been angry with Bush ever since the Iraq invasion. I thought he was better than that. The December before the invasion, I bragged that he was just playing brinksmanship. Unfortunately, he wasn’t. He was serious. Then he rushed the entire operation. (Let’s give kuddos to Bush the First at this point.) But I’ve been thinking about it…. Both the senate and house overwhelming (and without bickering) voted to go to war as well.

Bush should get some of the blame, but not all. It’s like an incident that happened when I was moving. It was my little sister who forgot to pack a few items before she took the plane to Austin. It was my mom who placed my little sis’s yarn, penguin blanket, and various other items in a trash bag by my door. It was my older sister who told me to take that bag and throw it away. But it was me who threw the bag away, and who took the blame. The person who owned the house and who actually tossed in the bag took the blame. Poor Bush. or maybe poor me. I’m not sure.

At CTY, I came to sudden realization. Why is everybody wrapped up in Bush’s approval ratings? Look who’s had good ratings. Everybody hated Lincoln, and he’s gone down in history as perhaps the best President. This for Lincoln, however,…. he listened to his opponents and sought their advice. That’s something lacking in Bush, but I still think he’s principled. He’s acting (at least in as far as the war is concerned) exactly how a Republican is supposed to act. Now, the financially conservative are ticked off at him for spending money, and the fianancially liberal are ticked off at for cutting spending on the homeside, not increasing taxes, and spending money on the war…but then does that dichotomy make Bush fiscally moderate?!

Most of my friends from the last few years are Democrats, and I still respect everbody, but I’m tired of taking all the flack. One cannot even voice an opinion these days without getting their head chopped off. I’m tired of being mocked and poo-pooed when I am an intelligent, thinking individual. At least, have a discussion with me about what I believe before you completely dismiss me. Is that too much to ask?

Okay, I got it off my chest. Tomorrow, I’ll meet a firey Republican, and then I’ll argue against the war, our foreign policy, and the deadly pseudo-paternal nationalism that grips the country…but that’s tomorrow.

(comment)

JoeyGirl Says:
August 12th, 2007 at 2:18 pm
Well done. As for the stuff…I don’t suppose you’ve remembered what else was in the bag? You DO still have Annie and Danny, yes? (and I don’t mind. I just feel badly that I left it in the first place, so add some of that blame on me)

I’m in Oklahoma..

Hi all. I’m in Oklahoma. The drive was uneventful; the gas was terribly expensive; and the breakfast buffet at the hotel I stayed was wonderful.

After Kara and Dave from Veritas helped pack the van on Monday, Joanna and I took off cross-country. We stopped in Rolla, Missouri for the evening, and then we were on the road again by 7:30 the next morning, headed to Norman. We just barely beat my parents there, and Jill and my nieces were there ready with hugs for us. Each group brought a little bit of furniture, and the apartment really looks great.

Thanks to Gary and Annette for the couch and recliner. Thanks to the parents for driving it my direction. To Joanna and Patrick for the TV. And to Jill and Scott for the transport of that tv and the future trips to Ikea in Austin.

A cheap dining room table is on order right now to JCPenney, and then I need another bookcase or two, and I’m set. Except, for end tables and new lamps and decorative lamps and curtains and wall hangings and pictures…. Must not buy everything on my credit card! Must wait for last CTY check, and for my scholarship to come through! ackkkk!

My guess is that I won’t afford a trip to the NE with my friend Diana for Fall Break. Which is just as well…I don’t have a fall break. We do get off for our State Centennial Celebration on November 16. If my Grandpa Koehn was still alive, he would also be 100 this year. He was born exactly two weeks before Statehood. Though speaking of the Koehn family, I hope to make Uncle Ken and Aunt Laura’s 50th wedding anniversary next weekend, and then my cousin Melissa is getting married on Nov. 17. I hope to make that celebration as well.

Well, I better get going. I’ve been writing blogs for quite awhile. Although I must admit… I did eat one of my mom’s lovely, home-made dinners inbetween posting my many bloggings. It’s good to be home.