I think I may need to cut back a bit on the birth books, though; aside from the fact that they're a little irrelevant at the moment, they're starting to infiltrate my subconscious thoughts. A man was just here at the reference desk, trying to come up with as many "Z" words as possible for his kid's school project, and the first word that popped to mind was "zygote."

Waiting, waiting, waiting to ovulate. I think the pastor might be criticizing himself rather harshly for "fleeing the scene" at the Maundy Thursday supper. Yesterday's sermon ended with mention of the fact that he's lately been too concerned with attendance numbers and not enough with individual counseling. As we were leaving, he took my hand and asked whether he could call us; he wanted to speak with Eric and me about "our situation." I told him we'd be glad to speak with him; now I just hope that this time I can hold things together instead of dissolving into a weak, blubbering mess.

I've heard rumors blaming the kids; I've heard rumors blaming lazy pages. Perhaps the most insidious rumor I've heard blames one of our newer adult pages for being "not swift enough" to understand the Dewey Decimal system of organization. Unfortunately, I think that one might be the one coming directly from Boss-Zilla. It's my understanding that, assuming this rumor is an accurate assessment of supervisory beliefs, this particular page will soon be given a cart of secretly marked books, and her work will be checked at the end of the shift. Ooh, library sting operations! Nobody gets away with nuttin'!

I hope she's "innocent." This is a really nice lady, and she doesn't strike me as particularly slow. She and her family actually run another business on the side - a Mexican restaurant - so she can't be that dull, can she?

Anyway, we've spent most of the afternoon reshelving books and putting them in the correct order. Dirty and dusty work, I must say. The work is compounded by the fact that we're in the process of training a couple of new teenage pages, so more books are being misshelved all around us. Luckily, these errors are easier to fix; a book with red tape on the spine tends to stand out when it's surrounded by books with blue tape.

Most of the kids stayed home today due to torrential downpours, so it's been an otherwise quiet day. The gloomy skies give the whole place a refreshingly cavernous feel. There have definitely been worse days to be working in here, but I think I'd still rather have spent the morning in my flannel PJ's.

This master's regalia is decidedly more complicated than Eric's. When I first put my arms in the sleeves, I was thoroughly baffled as to why the sleeves had no holes in the ends for my hands. After a few minutes of struggling, I discovered the holes - halfway up the sleeves. The remainder of the sleeve dangles from my wrists in an ever so attractive manner. The hood is another matter entirely - I can't figure out exactly how it's supposed to hang from my neck. No matter how I twist it, a portion always ends up jutting straight out from my spine. I hope to God they give us a quick lesson on wearing the outfit before they parade us across the stage.

I'm starting to get really excited about this whole graduation deal. Just think: I'll be able to click the "Graduate degree" button on Internet surveys! Could anything be finer?

I'm being sarcastic, but I honestly am looking forward to commencement. At WVU, I skipped out on the main commencement ceremonies, going only to the one held by the music college. It seemed like a good idea at the time - nobody had ever heard of our commencement speaker, and it was a hot, sticky day even without being crammed shoulder to shoulder into the Coliseum - but now I rather regret not taking part in the festivities. This time will be different; this time I'll get to take part. This time I'll be hooded!

Everybody keeps asking me what I want for a graduation present. Honestly, the thought never crossed my mind until somebody else brought it up. I haven't been able to come up with idea one. Any suggestions? I hate telling people what presents I'd like, but it drives Rita crazy not to have an idea of what might be an appropriate gift. So what is appropriate? I'm clueless myself.