words

Last week, I got a book that I ordered through interlibrary loan. It's called Three Gay Tales from Grimm by Wanda Gag. Having taken a class in undergrad called "Queering the Canon," I thought it would be a queering of three Grimm tales. And I figured it would be worth looking at the book, especially since Wanda Gag received a Newberry Honor for her Millions of Cats.

I had to laugh at myself while I was reading the first story. Gay didn't mean queer at all! It is actually used in its more original sense, meaning happy or lighthearted. I should have known that. Wanda Gag worked during the first half of the 20th century, and the word "gay" didn't have the same connotation then as it does now.

Funny how words take on different meanings over time. Funny how a three-letter word can mean something innocuous on one hand and something that is threatening to some people on the other hand.

bookstore

The other night, I went to the bookstore with my sister and her family. In the hour that we were there, I read the last two books of The Spiderwick Chronicles. This officially means that I have read the entire series of five books at bookstores.

For my sister's family, going to the bookstore is an outing that they do regularly. (In fact, they went again last night.) Since I usually stay with my sister when I'm in the area, I have often accompanied them on these outings. So, it must have been during one of my visits last year or the year before that I began reading the series.

I know it seems like it took me a while to finish the series, considering I could read two of the books in one hour. Partly, it's because these outings are somewhat "events." Though they happen often enough, they are still considered special. Part of the specialness is that, sometimes, the outing included having dessert or hot chocolate at the bookstore cafe. Also, I often took this time to bond with my niece and we'd spend time just roaming around the bookstore. Plus, I often forgot which books I'd read, so I read some of them more than once.

So, the fact that I got to read the entire series exclusively at bookstores means that I have spent quite a bit of time with my sister's family at bookstores. And that's a good thing.

I know my sister's family loves going to the bookstore. And I enjoy going with them. I also enjoy going to bookstores with other people. So, I wonder how many people also think of going to bookstores as an event? How does that compare to going to libraries?

reunion

On June 21, my brother-in-law had his 20-year reunion with his high school classmates. The evening before, they had a potluck at our house. But the main event was on Saturday, and it was held at a nearby park. I actually went, which is funny because I've never been to any of my reunions (not even sure if we've had any). It was interesting to watch, though. Once I got sufficiently bored, I went home.

graduation party

On June 10, my department had an end-of-term party for our student assistants. This was especially to celebrate those who were graduating (though I don't think any of them made it to the party). The food was pretty good.

california adventure

On June 8, my sister and her family went to Disney's California Adventure. They were meeting their relatives there. (It was one of the kids' birthday, so that family was spending the weekend there.) Since I hadn't been there before, I decided to go with them.

The kids were very interested in showing me some of the rides. They were especially keen on going on the Grizzly River Run, which is sort of like a river rafting ride. Though I haven't ridden on this particular ride, I've actually ridden the version at Disney World; it's at the Animal Kingdom theme park, and it's called Kali River Rapids over there. It was fun. I'm just glad I didn't get soaked like I did in Florida.

We didn't really get to ride that much. We did Mulholland Madness and watched Aladdin. My niece and I waited while they rode on California Screamin'. We may have watched It's Tough to be a Bug, but I'm not sure.

Here are a couple of shots from the park:

We also crossed over to Disneyland and rode a couple of rides. I know we went on Star Tours, but I can't remember if we were able to go on the other rides (many had long lines, some were closed).

That day, we ate at the Storytellers Cafe, which is located in the Grand Californian Hotel (see pic below), where their relatives were staying. They had a pretty good buffet. I especially found their warm bread pudding very memorable. (Yum! I want some right now.)

first day

On Monday, June 2, I started my job at the UCLA Library. On the way to work, I took a few pictures of the Murphy Sculpture Garden, a five-acre outdoor area filled with over 70 sculptures by well-know artists. I actually didn't take many pictures of the sculptures; I was too busy looking at the jacaranda trees all lovely in purple.

dance recital

On May 29, I went to see my niece's dance recital. She takes hula at the local rec center. But, of course, we can't just watch my niece's performances. We had to watch the dances of all the classes offered at the center.

It was interesting. We got to watch people of all shapes, sizes, ages, and colors dancing. There were all sorts of dances, too: hula, tap, belly, ballet, modern, etc. Here are some pics. They're a bit blurry, but you get the picture.