tis the season

oh holiday time is so exciting ... here's some news:

first off, we had an excellent holiday party. my fab assistant spearheaded a project to get people to donate little toys and gifts for the kids. mostly this was from library employees, many of whom were quite generous, but also from some parents of our "regulars."

i came up with the idea of reading the little kids holiday themed picture books and serving them hot chocolate. it was really cute. and it's amazing how exciting hot chocolate can be. i mean, it's only like $2.5o a box but you throw some marshmallows in there and suddenly you've got something pretty awesome. (much like the power of googley eyes. but do NOT put googley eyes in hot chocolate. that would be bad) anyhoo, we also made angels out of paper plates (pics to be shown later) and my assistant led the kids in some christmas songs while they worked on their crafts. then we had all the kids sit down and we called their names out one by one and gave them presents. each child got one or two books and a toy. all gift wrapped by yours truly and her amazing assistant.

it sounds cliche, but these kids faces lit up when they opened their presents. they were SO happy. and these weren't huge amazing presents or anything. for instance, i donated a "princess set" which is a very cheap plastic set of pink jewelry with accompanying tiara. it cost $4. i decided to give it to this little hispanic girl who comes in all the time and is struggling to learn english to keep up with her 1st grade class. she LOVED it. she had the biggest smile on her face.

one of the things i love about the kids that i work with, is that they really appreciate all the little things. i mean, they so often get shafted, so when you give them a little $4 present they get really excited. and the parents were appreciative too. as the kids were all collecting their candy canes on their way out, you could see that the parents were really thankful to have us in the community. not to get all sappy on you, but it was really quite special.

and it made me a little bit sad that i will be leaving library in the hood.

say what?!

oh, with all the costa rica excitement i forgot to tell you my beloved blog readers, that i am being transferred to another branch! effective very very soon! it's on the 7 train. oh how i love the 7! i can get rid of the fancy mobile (repairs on which are really a drag).

yes yes yes, the latter half of 2008 has been quite interesting (the beginning half of 2008 was totally sucky. SUCKY!) actually, it's not even the latter half ... it's really like the latter third of 2008. let us recount all the joyous things that happened from september 2008 onward:

1. i finally noticed the bolshevik

2. i went to costa rica with said bolshevik

3. i get to look forward to a "fresh start" at a new branch

4. i get to leave my branch on a high note, knowing that i was a positive influence in the lives of many community members

in conclusion ....

i rock.

happy holidays.