I was driving home from work friday afternoon trying to simultaneously organize my final exam in my head. My thinking was stopped when I saw a bumper sticker on the back of a car. It said simply, "Laugh, Cry....Remember". It got me thinking about the things I remember and whether or not they make me laugh or cry. Here are a few I came up with.
I remember.....
1. How excited we use to get at the thought of going to secret lake park to play on the playground.
2. Sitting in the back of the station wagon while singing the donut song on the way to dunkin' donuts.
3. Racing to see who could crawl under all the pews the fastest.
4. Wanting so much to be thought of as cool in 5th grade. (Why didn't someone tell me that no one is cool in 5th grade?)
5. Mr. LeMaster using an overhead projector and transparencies to teach math. I thought he was so advanced.
6. Not wanting to go to the hospital to see my mom after she had surgery. (If only I had realized how much she didn't want to be there either!)
7. How good it felt to tell the little girls in my camp cabin about the love of Jesus.
8. The smell of Orlando Hall.
9. The first time I realized that I had legitimately been lied to at work. I just didn't understand how some people are simply ok with that.
10. How incredible it feels to be noticed.
11. Spending more time cutting out tombstones and decorating the office than actually working at the CPRD.
12. Being scared out of my mind that I had contracted some crazy disease in Mexico (sun poisoning can look life-threatening!)
13. The accomplished feeling of getting an acceptance letter in the mail.
14. Hearing mom's keys jingle down the hall as she rounded the corner to meet me for lunch.
15. How good it feels to submit finals and for the first time in months not have anything I should be doing.
Saturday, December 13, 2008
Sunday, December 7, 2008
Da Studies
Recently I was encouraged to write something interesting about my studies, and so I shall. I think it's quite possible that people do not fully understand what it means to study Library Science as how could it possibly take 2 years to learn how to check some books out and learn the Library of Congress classification system for re-shelving. Oh Contrar.
As a recap of this first semester of studies, I thought I would list (YES LIST!) out my favorite topics, issues, policies and so forth from the last semester.
1. ALA Code of Ethics. Who knew that there is a published code of ethics that librarians must follow. With questions posed to my fellow students and myself such as, "Would you give a 12 year old girl who has noticeably been crying a book on suicide?" or "Would you assist a man of Middle Eastern decent locate bomb making skills on the internet?" and so forth. The answer is yes.
2. The reference desk. Much upcoming discussion surrounds the purpose and necessity of the reference desk being actually a physical desk located somewhere throughout the public or academic library. With the addition of email, text, chatting, facebook, blogs and phones, is it really even necessary to go to the library? Nearly 1/3 of all library personnel are currently reference librarians. This removal of the reference desk would surely change the face of the library facility.
3. Cataloging. Ok, in truth, I still don't fully understand the science behind cataloging. It's more than just learning what everything means as it's all very cryptic, MARC records, AACR2 and IR Systems. It's a fascinatingly organized method in which all sources of information are documented with its own record and then assigned a classification number. Librarians all over the world are continually checking the catalog (this does not refer to your personal library's catalog, but more the universal catalog) for updates, typos and reclassifications that are necessary.
4. Favorite assignments: I had two assignments called Question Sets. The first was based specifically on print reference resources and the second on electronic. Ok, so for my beloved readers, I will give you one of the questions I was assigned. If you can post back the answer in the comment section using only a print resource (that means a book!) then the prize will be yours ;)
I’m an American Civil War aficionado! Can you please tell me how many soldiers Grant had at the FIRST Battle of Vicksburg? Actually, I could use a good map of that battle… do any maps have the battles and number of soldiers together?
As a recap of this first semester of studies, I thought I would list (YES LIST!) out my favorite topics, issues, policies and so forth from the last semester.
1. ALA Code of Ethics. Who knew that there is a published code of ethics that librarians must follow. With questions posed to my fellow students and myself such as, "Would you give a 12 year old girl who has noticeably been crying a book on suicide?" or "Would you assist a man of Middle Eastern decent locate bomb making skills on the internet?" and so forth. The answer is yes.
2. The reference desk. Much upcoming discussion surrounds the purpose and necessity of the reference desk being actually a physical desk located somewhere throughout the public or academic library. With the addition of email, text, chatting, facebook, blogs and phones, is it really even necessary to go to the library? Nearly 1/3 of all library personnel are currently reference librarians. This removal of the reference desk would surely change the face of the library facility.
3. Cataloging. Ok, in truth, I still don't fully understand the science behind cataloging. It's more than just learning what everything means as it's all very cryptic, MARC records, AACR2 and IR Systems. It's a fascinatingly organized method in which all sources of information are documented with its own record and then assigned a classification number. Librarians all over the world are continually checking the catalog (this does not refer to your personal library's catalog, but more the universal catalog) for updates, typos and reclassifications that are necessary.
4. Favorite assignments: I had two assignments called Question Sets. The first was based specifically on print reference resources and the second on electronic. Ok, so for my beloved readers, I will give you one of the questions I was assigned. If you can post back the answer in the comment section using only a print resource (that means a book!) then the prize will be yours ;)
I’m an American Civil War aficionado! Can you please tell me how many soldiers Grant had at the FIRST Battle of Vicksburg? Actually, I could use a good map of that battle… do any maps have the battles and number of soldiers together?
Wednesday, December 3, 2008
All about men!
Dear Readers-
It comes with much introspection, and events as of late that I have begun to ponder what truly makes a man worthy of attention. If you had asked me at 16, 22 or even 26, I probably would have given you a different answer each time. Rather than suggest the rubric for a person's worth changes with the seasons, it is I who has changed. Maturity and, at times, reality can make our clouded judgement clear again. So for the earlier post when I said muscles were the end all of what makes a fella attractive, I have new insight to share! I was sent these words by a friend of mine, and I thought I would share them with you. Disclaimer: While it does not mention it, I think the true worth of a man (and a woman!) is given to us by the grace of God alone. I have no worth outside of the redemptive power of Jesus Christ.
The Strength of a Man
The strength of a man isn't seen in the width of his shoulders;
It is seen in the width of his arms that encircle you.
The strength of a man isn't in the deep tone of his voice;
It is in the gentle words he whispers.
The strength of a man isn't how many buddies he has;
It is how good a buddy he is with his kids.
The strength of a man isn't in how respected he is at work;
It is in how respected he is at home.
The strength of a man isn't in how hard he hits;
It is in how tender he touches.
The strength of a man isn't in how many women he's loved by;
It is in his ability to be true to one woman.
The strength of a man isn't in the weight he can lift;
It is in the burdens he can understand and overcome.
It comes with much introspection, and events as of late that I have begun to ponder what truly makes a man worthy of attention. If you had asked me at 16, 22 or even 26, I probably would have given you a different answer each time. Rather than suggest the rubric for a person's worth changes with the seasons, it is I who has changed. Maturity and, at times, reality can make our clouded judgement clear again. So for the earlier post when I said muscles were the end all of what makes a fella attractive, I have new insight to share! I was sent these words by a friend of mine, and I thought I would share them with you. Disclaimer: While it does not mention it, I think the true worth of a man (and a woman!) is given to us by the grace of God alone. I have no worth outside of the redemptive power of Jesus Christ.
The Strength of a Man
The strength of a man isn't seen in the width of his shoulders;
It is seen in the width of his arms that encircle you.
The strength of a man isn't in the deep tone of his voice;
It is in the gentle words he whispers.
The strength of a man isn't how many buddies he has;
It is how good a buddy he is with his kids.
The strength of a man isn't in how respected he is at work;
It is in how respected he is at home.
The strength of a man isn't in how hard he hits;
It is in how tender he touches.
The strength of a man isn't in how many women he's loved by;
It is in his ability to be true to one woman.
The strength of a man isn't in the weight he can lift;
It is in the burdens he can understand and overcome.
Wednesday, November 19, 2008
Cindy Crawford? What?
Yes, this conversation has to get blogged. Picture a voice that is sort of old man grossness, while mine is far from amused with a hint of dry humor that only I'm picking up on.
Me: Hi, this is Cindy. I'm calling to get an invoice for an order I recently placed.
Him: Not Cindy Crawford? heh heh heh
Me: No, I don't believe so. Nor do I think she would be making her own calls should she choose to speak with Omega Engineering, the world's leading supplier of engineering parts and manufacturing.
Him: (uproarous laughter) Oh man, that was good. Well you never know do you. So tell me. Is it true what we see up here in the pictures?
Me: Excuse me?
Him: Is it true, the pictures we see of all the co-eds and girls walking around in Florida.
Me: I wouldn't know what kind of pictures you're looking at.
Him:(Similar uproarous laughter)You know, the pictures we see up here of Florida and all the scantily clad women walking around on the beaches. It's as if no one in florida is out of shape.
Me: Similarly, I would think everyone in Connecticut owns toboggan sleds and white lab puppies, or at least that's what I see in the LLBean Catalog.
Him: AHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA Oh man, you're a sharp one. No wonder they have you working at the university.
Me: Anything I can do to get me through having to make phone calls and ask for invoices.
Me: Hi, this is Cindy. I'm calling to get an invoice for an order I recently placed.
Him: Not Cindy Crawford? heh heh heh
Me: No, I don't believe so. Nor do I think she would be making her own calls should she choose to speak with Omega Engineering, the world's leading supplier of engineering parts and manufacturing.
Him: (uproarous laughter) Oh man, that was good. Well you never know do you. So tell me. Is it true what we see up here in the pictures?
Me: Excuse me?
Him: Is it true, the pictures we see of all the co-eds and girls walking around in Florida.
Me: I wouldn't know what kind of pictures you're looking at.
Him:(Similar uproarous laughter)You know, the pictures we see up here of Florida and all the scantily clad women walking around on the beaches. It's as if no one in florida is out of shape.
Me: Similarly, I would think everyone in Connecticut owns toboggan sleds and white lab puppies, or at least that's what I see in the LLBean Catalog.
Him: AHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA Oh man, you're a sharp one. No wonder they have you working at the university.
Me: Anything I can do to get me through having to make phone calls and ask for invoices.
Monday, November 17, 2008
Acceptance = Happiness
Yea so I just now attempted to change my blog background to something cooler and hipper and more interesting. Well, never again! I had a brief moment of frustration, but now I have accepted that I'm just not cool. I certainly don't know what to do with html, xml or whatever else it kept telling me I needed to do in order to change the look of my blog. At one point I had changed the entire thing to some crazy code, and that's all I saw when I clicked on the "preview" button. I've been forced to revert back to a boring, standard template. I just know I'm going to be one of those librarians that complains about change and hates all things digital. Encyclopedia Britannica Online? I think not!
Friday, November 7, 2008
I'm giving myself a gift...
Gift: Taking myself out of life for awhile
Duration: At least a week, hopefully longer
Why: Because I'm tired of thinking, planning, worrying, wondering, fearing and analyzing
What this means: It means I'm not going to think about the reason behind things, worry about my future, plan on anything, wonder what other people are thinking, fear the unknown and analyze that unknown to oblivion.
Responses I will give when life tries to contact me:
Whatever
It doesn't matter
Perhaps another time
I don't care
Try again later
Talk to someone else
We'll see
It is what it is
Maybe, Maybe Not
Duration: At least a week, hopefully longer
Why: Because I'm tired of thinking, planning, worrying, wondering, fearing and analyzing
What this means: It means I'm not going to think about the reason behind things, worry about my future, plan on anything, wonder what other people are thinking, fear the unknown and analyze that unknown to oblivion.
Responses I will give when life tries to contact me:
Whatever
It doesn't matter
Perhaps another time
I don't care
Try again later
Talk to someone else
We'll see
It is what it is
Maybe, Maybe Not
Wednesday, November 5, 2008
Addendum
Mara of the Wilderness: A child of nature...reared by wolves...UNTAMED-UNTOUCHED! She was the hunted and the huntress...fighting for survival against the fury of Forest and Man
For all of those wondering, Mara of the Wilderness was a brilliant film in the 60s. It just so happened that some wonderful sisters, Danielle and Teresa, managed to see this grand production enough times for it to make an impact on them thus becoming a term of endearment for any amazon-like feat of strength while in the great outdoors.
Mara of the Wilderness!
So last night mom and I realized that a switch had flipped in the breaker in the garage leaving the porch and the septic tank without electricity. Unfortunately, while this still gives electricity to the rest of the house, it effects the water situation for everything. Bottom line: no shower. I have to confess that it'd been a couple days. I've been sick, mom hasn't been feeling the best so we've been embracing pajamas and relaxing. When the possibility of not being able to take a shower comes upon me though, I want nothing else. My mind is consumed with thoughts of being clean.
Thus, Mara of the Wilderness. You all know my hair is pretty long and there's no washing it in a little basin in the sink. Nope.....this called for the use of a hose and the great outdoors. I donned my towel and shampoo and marched outside in the early morning hours so that none of the neighbors would bear witness to this event! I now sit here blogging feeling incredibly clean! I'm considering pitching a tent outside and just soaking in the communing with nature.
Thursday, October 23, 2008
WHATEVS!
I've been told that my blog is getting boring by a couple different people, and I should write something- whatevs!
School work is piling up while I download many different pointless tv shows on itunes to watch- whatevs!
I've been told that the new girl is actually my supervisor- whatevs!
I was told today that if I even considered voting for Obama that I would actually be voting for the unionization of America- whatevs!
My lunch break is already over, but I'm not done enjoying it so- whatevs!
The DHL guy summed me up as being the boring, inteligent one- whatevs!
It's been awhile since I've found something truly funny, other than this post of course, but- whatevs!
It kills me that I got a 49 out of 50 on an assignment that I busted my booty on; I should just be happy I got an A- whatevs!
I already bought a coffee at Starbucks today and I'm getting another one at Joeffry's, budget?- whatevs!
There's a noticeable amount of cat hair on the sofa- whatevs!
I found nothing in the fridge for lunch but white rice- whatevs!
What? I shouldn't be so uncaring about life??- WHATEVS!!!
School work is piling up while I download many different pointless tv shows on itunes to watch- whatevs!
I've been told that the new girl is actually my supervisor- whatevs!
I was told today that if I even considered voting for Obama that I would actually be voting for the unionization of America- whatevs!
My lunch break is already over, but I'm not done enjoying it so- whatevs!
The DHL guy summed me up as being the boring, inteligent one- whatevs!
It's been awhile since I've found something truly funny, other than this post of course, but- whatevs!
It kills me that I got a 49 out of 50 on an assignment that I busted my booty on; I should just be happy I got an A- whatevs!
I already bought a coffee at Starbucks today and I'm getting another one at Joeffry's, budget?- whatevs!
There's a noticeable amount of cat hair on the sofa- whatevs!
I found nothing in the fridge for lunch but white rice- whatevs!
What? I shouldn't be so uncaring about life??- WHATEVS!!!
Wednesday, October 8, 2008
A quick list...
1. Sometimes I wish my cats would just disappear. It's cruel...I realize that, but if this world were a perfect place, they would disappear and reappear at my choosing.
2. I've been using my 15-20 minutes of eating dinner time to catch up on the news. If I don't see it flash up on the screen in 20 minutes, then it must not be breaking news and therefore something that will change my life forever and keep me from needing to write the paper I've been putting off.
3. I got mail today (work-related), all the way from Iran. Yes, I checked to see if any powders flew out when I opened it. Although it is an application for Materials Science Engineering, so perhaps it would be an invisible nano-particle type powder. Interesting.
4. Students just stopped by, said they are waiting for a fax, walked over to my desk, told me there is no paper in the fax machine and then watched me as I picked up the paper sitting next to the fax machine and put it in. I refused the urge to say, "was that so hard?".
5. I consider 2pm-4pm the dead zone. I get to work, create this beautiful list of things that I need to get done when I get home and then somewhere between 2pm and 4pm, all motivation is lost. I suddenly no longer want to be uber-productive and would just rather go home, heat up some soup and watch hour after hour of mindless television.
2. I've been using my 15-20 minutes of eating dinner time to catch up on the news. If I don't see it flash up on the screen in 20 minutes, then it must not be breaking news and therefore something that will change my life forever and keep me from needing to write the paper I've been putting off.
3. I got mail today (work-related), all the way from Iran. Yes, I checked to see if any powders flew out when I opened it. Although it is an application for Materials Science Engineering, so perhaps it would be an invisible nano-particle type powder. Interesting.
4. Students just stopped by, said they are waiting for a fax, walked over to my desk, told me there is no paper in the fax machine and then watched me as I picked up the paper sitting next to the fax machine and put it in. I refused the urge to say, "was that so hard?".
5. I consider 2pm-4pm the dead zone. I get to work, create this beautiful list of things that I need to get done when I get home and then somewhere between 2pm and 4pm, all motivation is lost. I suddenly no longer want to be uber-productive and would just rather go home, heat up some soup and watch hour after hour of mindless television.
Wednesday, September 24, 2008
Oh the trials...
During these weeks with mom post chemo, I have to say I'm faced with many hardships. Oh sure, some would say they are of an emotional type, seeing someone you love not feeling well and the scariness of what this all really means. I completely disagree. Oh that's tough, no doubt, but the trials I'm talking about are of a completely different kind. I'm a list girl, so I figure I'll make a quick list of the top five gems:
5. Hours of flipping through mindless television, afternoon programming is not what I once thought it was.
4. Being told "no", A LOT. How about some peaches? No. poptart? No. orange juice? No. frozen yogurt? Funny, but No.
3. Moving to the porch to sit because it's a change of scenery. It's the same view people, just different furniture.
2. M*A*S*H- Seriously, it's an oddly depressing yet weirdly funny show, and it's on ALL afternoon long. Mom loves it.
1. Campbell's Bean and Bacon Soup. The stuff is orange, and I'm surprised every single time mom thinks it might just be the one thing she can get down. GROSS.
5. Hours of flipping through mindless television, afternoon programming is not what I once thought it was.
4. Being told "no", A LOT. How about some peaches? No. poptart? No. orange juice? No. frozen yogurt? Funny, but No.
3. Moving to the porch to sit because it's a change of scenery. It's the same view people, just different furniture.
2. M*A*S*H- Seriously, it's an oddly depressing yet weirdly funny show, and it's on ALL afternoon long. Mom loves it.
1. Campbell's Bean and Bacon Soup. The stuff is orange, and I'm surprised every single time mom thinks it might just be the one thing she can get down. GROSS.
Friday, September 19, 2008
I'm a hero!
When choosing between personal desires and the right thing to do, I chose the right thing to do.
When faced with discomfort and slight hysteria, I persevered.
When what I really wanted to do was scream like a little girl, I kept my focus.
When the easy road was a life of captivity and darkness, I chose to give freedom.
I saved a life today. The lizard is no longer trapped in the garage, but once again tasting the sweetness of the great outdoors.
When faced with discomfort and slight hysteria, I persevered.
When what I really wanted to do was scream like a little girl, I kept my focus.
When the easy road was a life of captivity and darkness, I chose to give freedom.
I saved a life today. The lizard is no longer trapped in the garage, but once again tasting the sweetness of the great outdoors.
Wednesday, September 17, 2008
New low....
This morning I made an appointment to get my oil changed. (This is not the low, by the way). Yes, I prefer making an appointment. I don't have to drive over that giant hole in the ground which I DID see a terrible clip from America's Funniest Home videos of someone completley driving into the hole. My fear has been validated.
So the low is this: I asked if Saturn has wireless internet. I will now get to enjoy feasting on free coffee and doughnuts while working ever so diligently on school work. I'd say that's a step in the right direction for technology!
So the low is this: I asked if Saturn has wireless internet. I will now get to enjoy feasting on free coffee and doughnuts while working ever so diligently on school work. I'd say that's a step in the right direction for technology!
Monday, September 15, 2008
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