"'Leverage,' says you. 'I think I feel a change in the wind,' says I."

Oh, guys. So much has happened, and I'm only just now having a moment to write about it! 

First of all, I am done working at the Coupon Book/Advertising place where I was. I'm grateful for the time I had there, because I learned so much. The experience I gained made the whole thing worthwhile. However, that being said, I'm really glad that I got a new job, not because it was so miserable or anything, but I am just not a receptionist. If you know me, you know this. I abhor telephones. I will do anything to get out of answering a phone. I don't even know where my cell phone is half the time, and I just don't care! So sue me! So that was never really my cup of tea. 

Secondly, MY NEW JOB!!! Guys, I got a job at a LIBRARY! And not just any library, the Maitland Public Library, which is a) right down the street from my dad's office, b) super old, and c) SUPER CHARMING! Check out a couple of these pics and prepare to be stricken with envy:

So pretty! And it's as lovely inside as it is outside. My position is a little ambivalent...it's being developed, but basically, I'll be assisting the director of youth services with whatever he needs, as well as picking up some basic library skills and circulation (I GET TO USE THE STAMP!). I have absolutely no idea what to expect, but it's something completely different, and I think a library is a perfect place for me. I will be surrounded by books on a daily basis. How could that not be fantastic??

I have some time off this week between jobs, for which I'm really grateful. I finished college, was already managing Plato's and walked right into the coupon book job, without a second to breathe between any of it, so I'm really happy to just have some downtime this week. 

Anyway, I am so excited that one of my dreams (to work in a library) has come true, and I'm really excited to see where this all goes! 

The Passing of the Year

O Maiden! why that bitter tear?

     Is it for dear one you have lost?

Is it for fond illusion gone?

     For trusted lover proved untrue?

O sweet girl-face, so sad, so wan

     What hath the Old Year meant to you?

...

Some show a smile and some a frown;

     Some joy and hope, some pain and woe:

Enough! Oh, ring the curtain down!

     Old weary year! it's time to go.

-"The Passing of the Year," by Robert W. Service

Please don't laugh, but I'm completely depressed about turning 24 this weekend. 

When I was a little kid (roughly in 4th grade), it occurred to me that "24" was going to be an absolutely magical age. I was going to be "all grown up," with a house of my own, and a husband, and long beautiful hair. And I wanted a job (like my father's) to which I could carry a pink briefcase. This was the quintessential detail. But I remember thinking that yes, by 24 I was going to have it all very together. No kids yet (I had more sense than that, even as a child), but I wanted to be married, or close to it. 

And here I find myself on the edge of 24, and I have accomplished exactly none of that. Except that I could, I suppose, carry a pink briefcase to my job, but no one else carries a briefcase (and I'd prefer my purses anyway. Pink or otherwise). I don't have a house (or apartment) of my own. My hair's not long anymore (just cut it into a long bob), and the idea of getting married seems so small to me. It's like a pinprick of light in the dark. I can make it out, but it's so tiny it's barely noticeable. 

I can, however, drive, and that impresses my inner child very much. 

Please don't laugh and tell me I'm "so young" and that I "have so much time." I know I do. And I know I've accomplished a lot in my 24 years that many of my peers have not, and I am proud of those accomplishments. But the curse of the "old soul" is to always feel like time is running out, and to always be about 20 years ahead in your mind than you actually are in your body. 

My conclusion is that if I'm not going to severely disappoint 9 year old Mary, I need to get busy this year. *_~