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Em oi! #347: The Ride

Last Saturday I biked 33 miles. This was Bryan’s response when I got back home…apparently the combination of (especially sticky) sunscreen, bike chain grease, and road grit picked up by the wind is not a great one.

After I got home I went to my cousin’s bridal shower in Chicago. It was a lot of fun. When I had to come home (I left at about 22:00–oops), my muscles had frozen up from exercise plus sitting around all day, so I had weird leg cramps all the way home. Lacking a heating pad or any sort of ibuprofen, I tried to warm them with my coffee cup. It worked about as well as you might expect.

I don’t know why I made my shirt that color. Not only do I not own anything that color, I actively hate it and would not only never wear such a color but would actively discourage any friends, relatives, and potential future offspring from wearing it. I guess I grabbed the wrong marker.

There’s a special trick to going up and down hills like these–and yes, they really are that steep. Any eleven year old knows the trick: don’t brake on the way down, then pedal furiously as you hit the lowest point of the valley and start climbing the other side again. It has taken me something like two years of biking this course to get to where I can really do that without freaking out. This is possibly because the idea of falling off my bike at speed freaks me out.

File this one under: HE5736 .L86 2011, for:

Transportation and communications — Bicycles — General works.

(Previously: HE5736 .L86 2010a, HE5736 .L86 2010, and GV1048 .L86 2010. I don’t know why I cataloged#312 under GV1048–HE5736 seems like a better category overall.)

Em ơi! #346: There is a good reason

I have had other crazy accidents in front of Bryan, but none come to mind as more mortifying than falling over on the kitchen floor one morning when I was not wearing any trousers. In fact, I had just removed my jeans so I could put on my bike shorts (padded shorts I wear under my trousers for bike commuting comfort), and slipped on the wooden floor, which in my defense was slippery under my socks.

Bryan actually came sprinting out of the bedroom to make sure I was okay. The funny part is, I thought he was still asleep, and was getting dressed in the kitchen so as not to wake him. Also, I didn’t break my toe, I only stubbed it (on the fridge).

This comic is filed under PN1942.L86 2011, for Drama–Special types–Farces. Burlesques. Mimes–General works. Sadly there was no specific category for “slapstick” or “physical comedy.”

Em ơi! #345: Bumper stickers: A brief style guide

So now that I am sure that I have passed all of my classes, I can relax. At least until June 13th, when summer classes start. I have already learned the first seven letters of the Thai alphabet though (and I can pronounce five of them!).

I wanted to write a bit about the experience of running the two 50ks I did (last week and last month) but I find that I don’t have much to say about them that other people haven’t already said. It’s worth noting that terrain makes a big difference, and probably accounts for the one hour difference between my times (the first, a relatively flat 50k was run on roads and I finished in about 4:57:something. The second, an extremely hilly 50k run on trails, I finished in a painful 5:58:something). Another note is that running an ultramarathon alone is a lot less nice than running it with someone else, and I’m quite lucky to have found a couple of very nice women (experienced runners, too) who happened to be going my way at my pace who let me run with them.

Anyway, I should note that this comic is not intended to make fun of people who run races of any length, whether half marathon or Ironman. I personally don’t see the point of putting a sticker on your car that says 13.1, but that doesn’t mean you shouldn’t be proud of your achievement. (I’ve not seen any 50k or 50 mile stickers, or indeed anything for road races longer than a marathon. I have a hunch that is because when you run farther than 26.2 miles, people tend to look at you as though you are crazy–much crazier than they suspect the average marathoner is. I have, indeed, stopped telling people how far my races are for this very reason. People ask, “What are you doing this weekend?” “Oh, I’m running a race.” And I leave it at that.)

I am, however, fairly serious about the idea that people should get their damn abortion bumper stickers off their cars. It’s a complicated issue, and the quality of public debate on it is not improved by the sense that anyone’s position can be reduced to one or two sentences. I should point out that the little figure on this sticker is a straw man (philosophical-speak for purposefully misconstruing your opponent’s position to make yours look reasonable and correct in comparison).

Also, a big congratulations to my brother Daniel, who graduated from his MBA program at the University of Maryland-College Park this past weekend, and to my sister-in-law Claire, who is graduating from her MFA program at Johns Hopkins later this week! I am sad I couldn’t be there in person, so I will send you some large and obnoxious gift later this week in compensation (okay, maybe just something nice).

This comic is filed under NC1400 .L86 2011, for:

Drawing. Design. Illustration–Caricature. Pictorial humor and satire–History–Special regions or countries–America.

If you’re interested in cataloging, the story of how I got this number might interest you.

So it seems there is no particular category in the LCC for bumper stickers, or, indeed, for bumpers. In order to circumvent having to dwell on this all night, I looked up a book about bumper stickers (in this case, Bumper sticker wisdom: America’s pulpit above the tailpipe by Carol W. Gardner). I took the ISBN number from Amazon and stuck it into WorldCat.org to get a list of all the libraries which have the book. One (the south central library system here in WI, actually) had cataloged the book under 827 .G22. Now that is a Dewey number and I use LCC. Luckily, ClassificationWeb, which is the tool I (somewhat legally) use to get my LCC numbers, has a DDC to LCC converter. This number was actually associated with several LCC numbers (827 is the rather broad category “English humor and satire”), so I then selected the most appropriate one. I’m a bit annoyed about “history” sticking in there, but I guess today’s politics is essentially tomorrow’s history, so I’ll let it ride.

Wow, I’m wordy tonight. (651 words, to be precise, at least as of the beginning of this parenthetical notation.) Hopefully I’ll have another (less extensively commented?) comic sometime this week or early next.

Em oi! #344: Mazel Tov

Although I’m not quite done with school, I attended the SLIS graduation ceremony this past Sunday. A friend’s father took this picture of several of us who are interested in South and Southeast Asian librarianship. (My spell-checker informs me that “librarianship” is not a word; not sure what to say instead–librarianism? Hm.) It was a lot of fun. I really felt like I was part of something, which (given my previous experience at UW-Madison) is unusual (for me, anyway).

Could I have put more parenthetical notations in that sentence?

Anyway, here is the picture I drew the above comic from. You can see I put glasses on myself because…well, I just don’t look right in my drawings without glasses.

This comic is filed under LB3065 .L86 2011, for Theory and practice of education–School administration and organization–School management and discipline–Graduation.

Em oi! #343: Expectation Management

I started this comic on April 1st and I still haven't heard when the books are arriving.

The story behind this is quite convoluted, so I won’t get into it here (plus it has enough weird details that it would probably be found by a judicious googler, and I don’t really want my comics found by my professional acquaintances). Suffice it to say, I’m busily reviewing my Hebrew. Or at least I got a book to help me do that.

Once I mentioned to one of my brothers that I haven’t gone into a job feeling like I was sure I could competently perform all the duties I was likely to be asked to perform during the course of a job since I worked in a supermarket as a cashier. I hated that job…but I miss the feeling.

This comic is classed under Z695.1.J48 L86 2011, for (deep breath):
Libraries–Library science. Information science–The collections. The books–Cataloging–By subject, A-Z–Jews and Judaism. Hebrew and Yiddish literature.

That wasn’t even that difficult to find.

Happy Mother’s Day, especially to those who are or who have mothers, or who had or were mothers at one time.

Em oi! #342: Stomach Troubles

Ok, last comic about the dog for a while. I had to eventually admit to myself that this one just isn’t going to get colored and put it up as-is. Sorry about that. I am too busy. It is getting to be that time of the semester.

So yes, big announcement I had to make: I’ve been accepted to the Languages and Cultures of Asia MA program. I’ll be studying Thai (language, literature, history, special interest in translation). Officially this is a terminal MA program with some expectation that one will continue on to the Ph. D. I have not yet determined whether I will apply for that option or not.

The stomach troubles associated with this comic’s creation are long past, but the effects linger on. After 24 hours or so of getting food from the fridge instead of the bin in the mud room, Maya came to believe that when the fridge door opens, it means MAYA FOOD comes out. Oops. Us having to give her pills with peanut butter (our PB is kept in the fridge) didn’t help this impression.

This comic is filed under SF427.4.L86 S76 2011 for Animal culture–Pets–Dogs–Feeding.

It turns out that while there “Dogs–Religious aspects–Christianity” and “Dogs–Religious aspects–Islam” seem to be established as subject headings, there’s no “Dogs–Religious aspects–Judaism.” Odd. But I guess Jews don’t hold masses (like Catholics have done/still do sometimes) where animals get blessed or anything…

Anyway, next comic will be better, I promise. And sooner.

Last comic about the dog, I swear.

Em ơi! #341: The Shiba Inu, part 2

Apparently our condo has thick walls. Thank goodness. This was also the longest conversation we’ve had with our neighbor since she moved in (she lives on the other side of our duplex), so it’s a bit random for her to give us a dog toy. Maya has really been enjoying chewing on the bully stick though. It is a great toy.

This comic is filed under
SF429.S63 L86 2011a, which stands for:
Animal culture–Pets–Dogs–By breed, A-Z–Shiba dogs.

So to give you some idea of what my training schedule has been like since I last posted:

Week of March 7th-March 13th

Monday: Biked 19.5 miles
Tuesday: Ran 10.3 miles
Wednesday: Ran 8.1 mi
Thursday: Ran 10.5 mi
Friday: Swam 2550 yards
Saturday: Ran 22.6 miles
Sunday: Ran 10.5 miles
Total: 19.5 miles biked, 2550 yards swum, 62 miles run

Week of March 14-March 20th:

Monday: Swam 3100 yards
Tuesday: Ran 10.3 miles
Wednesday: Ran 10.2 miles
Thursday: Ran 10.4 miles/Ran 2.4 miles as second evening run
Friday: Swam 3200 yards
Saturday: Ran 11.1 miles
Sunday: Ran 24 miles
Total: 6300 yards swum, 71.5 miles run

And this past week:

Monday: Swam 2000 yards
Tuesday: Ran 10.3 miles
Wednesday: Ran 8.1 miles, plus about 2.3 miles evening run on the elliptical
Thursday: Ran 10.3 miles, then 3.1 miles in the evening
Friday: Day off.
Saturday: Ran 20.2 miles
Sunday: Ran 11.6 miles
Total: 2000 yards swum, 65.9 miles run

So if you see me looking tired, that’s why.

During the 20-miler this past Saturday, I managed to take a header and scrape up my right knee and apparently bruise my left foot. So far it doesn’t seem to be anything serious, but I’m keeping an eye on it.

Taper begins now, by the way. I’m excited.

Em oi! #340: The Shiba Inu, part 1

I’ll admit it, I’ve been a little tired lately, a little depressed. For various reasons, comics are not getting done as quickly as I’d like them to. But that’s all going to change (I hope). I’ll be able to officially announce why in a few weeks.

For now, here’s what I’ve got on the docket: a race. This race, in fact. It’s April 9th at 8:00 in the Arb. I’m doing the 50k. If you’ll be in the area, come say “hi.” If you come around 13:00, maybe we can do lunch.

I like lunch.

I’m sure you’re wondering how one trains for a 50k. Let me show you my last two weeks, because they are illustrative:

This was a “cycle down” week, so the longest run was 10 miles (well, 11).
Monday, 21 Feb: Swam 2500 yards.
22 Feb: Ran 8.1 miles (9.4 min/mi pace)
23 Feb: Ran 7.2 miles (10.2 min/mi pace), then 3.4 mi with Bryan in the evening
24 Feb: Ran 8.1 mi (10.3 min/mi pace)
25 Feb: Swam 2500 yards and lifted weights (legs)
26 Feb: Ran 11.3 mi (11.1 min/mi, plus about 1 mile with dog)
27 Feb: Ran 10.8 mi (11.4 min/mi)
Total: 48.9 mi ran, 5000 yards swum

This was a normal week. My weeks will look about like this until the race:
Monday, 28 Feb: Swam 2750 yards
1 March: Ran 8.1 mi (9.5 min/mi)
2 March: Ran 8.7 mi (9.4 min/mi pace) plus 3.4 mi with B in the evening
3 March: Ran 8.9 mi (9.9 min/mi pace)
4 March: Swam 2250 yards
5 March: Ran 22.6 mi (10.6 min/mi pace)
6 March: Ran 10.5 mi (10.6 min/mi pace)
Total: 62.2 miles ran, 5000 yards swum

My training plan has two elements which are quite different from my usual marathon plans:

1. Two days off per week (Monday and Friday).

2. Back-to-back long runs (in the 2nd week here, 22 and 10).

This takes a lot out of a body. I’m running about 10.5 hours per week, give or take, and swimming about 2 hours. If I added in another hour of swimming and maybe 5 hours of biking, I could be doing an Ironman. Of course, B would never get to see me, which is a problem. And already I’m starving all the time. I hate to see what would happen to our food budget if I upped my mileage any more.

Anyway, the situation around our house is calming down somewhat. Kali has decided that Maya is not terrifying (more annoying) and is sleeping at my feet as I type this (having the heating pad on doesn’t hurt). Maya is…well, she’s a handful, but things are getting easier. And as for me, I can’t say I’m exactly used to getting up at 6:30 to take her out every morning, but I’m resigned to it, and I’m getting in the habit of getting to bed early enough that I’m not totally non-functional.

Apparently shiba inus are not necessarily recommended for first time dog owners, and shiba puppies have a certain reputation for being hellacious bundles of fur. Now they tell us. Because she’s a rescue, we don’t really know what happened to Maya before she came to live with us, but she doesn’t really have any bad habits (unless you count being kind of reserved around new people as a bad habit). And the screaming is getting better. A little better, anyway. I have to hope it will eventually be totally better, or else I will run mad. Mad I say!

Ok, maybe it’s bed time.

All in all, I wouldn’t necessarily recommend getting a puppy, although there are some benefits (see the aforementioned no bad habits thing). But in general we’re pretty happy with Maya.

This comic is filed under
SF429.S63 L86 2011, which stands for:
Animal culture–Pets–Dogs–By breed, A-Z–Shiba dogs.

Em oi! #339: Politics

File under JF1525.P6 L86 2011, for Political institutions and public administration (General)—Public administration—Special topics, A-Z–Political planning. Public policy.

I was going to write some funny stories about the protests (which are still going on downtown a week and a half after this conversation happened), my colleagues, or the dog, but I’m actually pretty tired and in a hurry. The dog learned to climb stairs last night and has been sulking all morning because we won’t let her go upstairs and eat the cat food. Why she wants the cat food instead of her puppy chow is a mystery, as are a lot of things dog-related. We’re working on it though. She’s getting much better at going to the bathroom in the right spots. Now if only we could get her to stop howling when we crate her…

Advice, internets? We will try almost anything.

Em oi! #338: Un metier nouveau?

We’ll file this one under:
HF1543 .L86 2011
For:
Commerce–International economic relations–Other regions or countries–Europe–France–General works (Historical and descriptive).

Sometimes, at the end of the week I feel like curling up into a little ball and letting it all wash over me until it’s the weekend and all I have to do is easy things like run twenty-eight miles and read three thousand pages. Walker’s new plan to totally screw anyone who works for the state of WI and is in a union is also terrific. Le sigh.

Sorry this comic took so long. I just had a weird block ab0ut it; eventually I didn’t even want to look at it anymore. So yesterday I queued up an episode of “The Dog Whisperer” and just did it. AND here it is.

Anyway, it’s a true story. If you are wondering what old French ladies buy at the supermarket, the answer is shrimp, some kind of soft cheese, and non-alcoholic beer. In panel two where I addressed her to make sure B was getting the right beer down, she looked very confused as to why I was speaking to her. I don’t think she understood that he didn’t speak any French (I mean, fair’s fair, we were standing around a Carrefour in a Paris suburb). Later at the post office a woman apologized for the weather (it was raining, hence the umbrella) and gave me a postal calendar as a souvenir.

Ok, on to new comics. Next week perhaps we’ll catch up to what has happened in my life since we got home from Paris.