After years of study and research, statistics have proven that there are two methods of getting up and getting ready for work in the morning. This is method one: Set the alarm clock for 90 minutes prior to work time. Hit the snooze alarm 30 times, then pop out of bed at the last possible minute and get ready. April (children’s librarian) said she can rise 10 minutes before work starts and still be on time. I’m thinking that’s two minutes in the shower, one minute for "other" bathroom things, four minutes to apply styling products to the hair and one minute to style. That leaves one minute for makeup and one minute to drive to the library. I (library director) happen to be a follower of method two: I set my alarm to go off 90 minutes before work begins. I pop right out of bed, brush my teeth, wash my face, grab a cup of coffee, and sit down on the couch to relax. After the first cup of coffee I "get ready" — 15 minutes in the bathtub, 10 minutes for hair, 10 minutes for makeup (I obviously need more help than April) and 10 minutes to dress. Then I sit down and relax with another cup of coffee. Then I putz around the house, doing dishes or laundry, watering the plants, playing with the bird, checking the garden. By then I’m ready to face the workday. Some people may wonder why an individual would have to relax immediately after waking from a full night’s sleep. It does seem unusual. Barb (assistant librarian) is a method two person, but only after she gets the boys off to school. My niece, Michele gets up two hours before work starts so she can relax and putz. The loving husband is a method one person. He can get up at 7:30, get ready and be to work in Sioux Falls by 8:00 ... that’s a two-minute shower, one-minute "other" and one minute dressing. That leaves 26 minutes to get from our house to his bank in Sioux Falls. It’s do-able. More important than your getting-up schedule, is your going-to-bed schedule. Be sure to leave plenty of time for reading once you hit the sack. No Second Chance by Harlan Coban, is sure to keep you reading way into the night. Marc Seidman awakens to find himself in an ICU, hooked up to an IV, his head swathed in bandages. Twelve days earlier, he had an enviable life as a successful surgeon, living in a peaceful suburban neighborhood with his beautiful wife and a baby he adored. Now he lies in a hospital bed, shot by an unseen assailant. His wife has been killed, and his six-month-old daughter, Tara, has vanished. But just when his world seems forever shattered, something arrives to give Marc new hope: a ransom note. "We are watching. If you contact the authorities, you will never see your daughter again. There will be no second chance."The note is chilling, but Marc sees only one thing — a chance to save his daughter. He can't talk to the police or the FBI. He doesn't know whom he can trust. And now the authorities are closing in on a new suspect: Marc himself. Mired in a deepening quicksand of deception and deadly secrets, he clings to one, unwavering vow: to bring Tara home, at any cost. Alert: Mark your calendars…the library will be closed on Thursday, June 26, until 2:00 p.m. We are switching automation systems for cataloging, circulation and public access. The librarians will be in training that day. The migration to the new system includes all 25 libraries in the nine counties that belong to Plum Creek.
