One of my persistent stressors over the last year and (almost) a half has been keeping up with the house on top of work and school. However, I finally figured out a way to do housework and homework at the same time - I think this semester I'll have the cleanest kitchen I've had since I started grad school. I'm not sure why it took me this long to figure it out. I've started listening to the class lectures with my laptop and speakers sitting on the chest freezer in the dining room - which is on the other side of the kitchen passthrough. Although, now that I think about it, the freezer has only lived there since mid-November. That part of the setup wouldn't have worked earlier. At any rate, I'm happy that I can putter around in the kitchen without feeling guilty that I'm not doing schoolwork, 'cause I am. Now I just need to work on doing schoolwork while cleaning the rest of the house...
Monday, January 19, 2009
Monday, January 12, 2009
Library Humor
I was driving home one evening last week and listening to an audiobook. One of the characters asked the incredulous question, "Who breaks into a library?" Now I realize that wouldn't necessarily be an amusing question, but I couldn't stop laughing. I had to pause the audiobook and laughed so hard I started a coughing fit.
Okay, so the real reason I found it so funny is that my library was broken into the end of September. We still have a boarded-up window in the kitchen and need a night-light for staff to be able to see the light switch. And the perp got nothing - just caused us a lot of trouble. Not too bright, eh?
But after I calmed down and caught my breath, I started to think about librarian humor. Would a non-librarian find that question funny? Or some of the other things that happen in libraries? Or are those things only humorous if you've worked in a library? I came to the conclusion that some of it is really specific, but most of it is fairly universal - it's about people, after all.
So for those of you who haven't experienced library humor or don't work in a library, here are some of the sites that are bookmarked on my work computer under the heading of "Librarian Stress Relief." Let me know what you think.
Unshelved - Some days I'm certain the creators of this webcomic have been hanging out in my library - things just can't be that coincidental, can they?
Peep Research - This one always makes me smile!
Enjoy!
Okay, so the real reason I found it so funny is that my library was broken into the end of September. We still have a boarded-up window in the kitchen and need a night-light for staff to be able to see the light switch. And the perp got nothing - just caused us a lot of trouble. Not too bright, eh?
But after I calmed down and caught my breath, I started to think about librarian humor. Would a non-librarian find that question funny? Or some of the other things that happen in libraries? Or are those things only humorous if you've worked in a library? I came to the conclusion that some of it is really specific, but most of it is fairly universal - it's about people, after all.
So for those of you who haven't experienced library humor or don't work in a library, here are some of the sites that are bookmarked on my work computer under the heading of "Librarian Stress Relief." Let me know what you think.
Unshelved - Some days I'm certain the creators of this webcomic have been hanging out in my library - things just can't be that coincidental, can they?
Peep Research - This one always makes me smile!
Warrior Librarian Weekly - One of my favorite bits on this site is the Warning Labels for Libraries. The Latin for Librarians is also good.
Enjoy!
Sunday, December 7, 2008
Holiday thoughts
In the midst of trying to work on homework and get a little bit caught up on housework this week (and coordinating a holiday party, and babysitting briefly, and ... oh, yeah, sleeping!), I took the time to put up a Christmas tree. I can remember years when I didn't put up a tree or decorate because it seemed silly to do that just for me. I've come to realize that it's important to do that, even if it is just for me. I have a 3 foot artificial one, but I enjoy putting it up and then having the lights on when I'm home in the evening. Like putting music on in the evening, it's something I enjoy but don't always think about. (Tonight I found a special on PBS - a Celtic Woman holiday special - and am enjoying it tremendously - along with the tree. Of course it's a PBS fund drive special, but... the ones I want to watch often are.) I need to remember to do these things - they help to relieve stress in a non-caloric fashion!
Friday, November 28, 2008
Grief and Memories...
This has been a year of loss as well as a year of success. Today my family (all of us but the kids) worked on cleaning out my grandparents' house. We pulled everything out of the corner cupboard in the dining room and divvied it up. We did the same with the dishes, pots and pans, and other things from the kitchen, crocheted and embroidered textiles, and more.
It's funny (funny peculiar, rather than funny ha-ha) the things that connect us to memories. I have vivid memories of my grandmother in the kitchen. I also remember her telling me that one of the knobs on the stove was mine - I could turn that one all I wanted but couldn't touch the others. That particular knob controlled the lights. (She used that same line for all of us kids, too.) It was a great way to let us participate in the activity in the kitchen but at the same time keep us safe - especially with a gas stove. I took a picture of the stove today - and a closeup of the knob. I figure I'll do a scrapbook page with it.
We've been dividing up the furniture, too, and I now have my grandmother's cedar chest. (I have my paternal grandmother's cedar chest, too.) It's hard to see things leaving that house - that's the only house that's been in my life my whole life. I'm thankful, though, for the love and memories that are there - and for the family that could gather together to do this and not fight over anything. While it is difficult to see the house emptying out, it is neat to see the things (and love and memories) spreading out through the states that we all live in.
It's funny (funny peculiar, rather than funny ha-ha) the things that connect us to memories. I have vivid memories of my grandmother in the kitchen. I also remember her telling me that one of the knobs on the stove was mine - I could turn that one all I wanted but couldn't touch the others. That particular knob controlled the lights. (She used that same line for all of us kids, too.) It was a great way to let us participate in the activity in the kitchen but at the same time keep us safe - especially with a gas stove. I took a picture of the stove today - and a closeup of the knob. I figure I'll do a scrapbook page with it.
We've been dividing up the furniture, too, and I now have my grandmother's cedar chest. (I have my paternal grandmother's cedar chest, too.) It's hard to see things leaving that house - that's the only house that's been in my life my whole life. I'm thankful, though, for the love and memories that are there - and for the family that could gather together to do this and not fight over anything. While it is difficult to see the house emptying out, it is neat to see the things (and love and memories) spreading out through the states that we all live in.
Monday, November 10, 2008
Quiet Moments
I think doing grad school over the past year and some has given me a greater appreciation for those quiet moments that can be found here and there in life. This morning I'm sitting alone in a hotel room, eating breakfast (a granola, fruit, and nut trail mix packet - really good!), drinking tea, and surfing a bit. At 9:00 the first session of the day begins, but I have a few quiet moments to myself with nothing staring at me that needs to be done. (Those mentally quiet moments are harder to come by at home...) Ah, peace. There are a few birds on the balcony, and the sun is shining. It's a Robert Browning morning - "God's in his Heaven - All's right with the world!"
Wednesday, October 29, 2008
Busy, Busy, Busy
I know I've said it before, and I'm sure I'll say it again - it's been busy around here. Between work and schoolwork, I feel like I'm moving until I drop and then up and moving again. I'm taking a few days this week to recharge - I'm visiting my aunt and uncle in Cleveland before I head to Pittsburgh for class this weekend.
Earlier this month for one of my reference class assignments I had the opportunity to look up terms in two medical dictionaries and compare the dictionaries. (Medical questions always remind me of my cousin the doctor.) That assignment caused me to decide to replace the medical dictionary in my library - we currently have Black's but will be changing to Stedman's. I had the toughest time finding "esophagus" in Black's - actually had to look at the anatomy diagrams in the center to find that it was spelled oesophagus. This was after I had already noticed that Black's used British spellings - guess I didn't realize just how far-reaching this would be. At any rate, I decided if I couldn't find things in that dictionary, my patrons probably couldn't either. We'll be replacing that one!
I'm enjoying how much my assignments this semester have some bearing on my job. It's an interesting symbiosis to be working in a job and studying for it at the same time. Some things are easier because I have some knowledge of them - like some of the reference questions, when I know what resource to look for. Others seem to be harder because I'm trying not to do things the way I always have. My first line of defense for reference questions for the past few years has been Google. Now with this class I'm trying to go other places first. For the last assignment, I actually spent several hours in our main library's reference department trying not to use the computers at all. I roamed the reference stacks using my acquired knowledge of Dewey to figure out where resources would be. It was fun!
I'm finding that this class is affecting how I approach looking for the answer to a question, even at work. I used this different approach the last two times I worked an Ask Here PA shift. It helped me answer some of the questions more quickly. I find in general library life that I'm answering fewer reference questions as a manager than I did as a youth services person. My office is farther away from the desk...
Earlier this month for one of my reference class assignments I had the opportunity to look up terms in two medical dictionaries and compare the dictionaries. (Medical questions always remind me of my cousin the doctor.) That assignment caused me to decide to replace the medical dictionary in my library - we currently have Black's but will be changing to Stedman's. I had the toughest time finding "esophagus" in Black's - actually had to look at the anatomy diagrams in the center to find that it was spelled oesophagus. This was after I had already noticed that Black's used British spellings - guess I didn't realize just how far-reaching this would be. At any rate, I decided if I couldn't find things in that dictionary, my patrons probably couldn't either. We'll be replacing that one!
I'm enjoying how much my assignments this semester have some bearing on my job. It's an interesting symbiosis to be working in a job and studying for it at the same time. Some things are easier because I have some knowledge of them - like some of the reference questions, when I know what resource to look for. Others seem to be harder because I'm trying not to do things the way I always have. My first line of defense for reference questions for the past few years has been Google. Now with this class I'm trying to go other places first. For the last assignment, I actually spent several hours in our main library's reference department trying not to use the computers at all. I roamed the reference stacks using my acquired knowledge of Dewey to figure out where resources would be. It was fun!
I'm finding that this class is affecting how I approach looking for the answer to a question, even at work. I used this different approach the last two times I worked an Ask Here PA shift. It helped me answer some of the questions more quickly. I find in general library life that I'm answering fewer reference questions as a manager than I did as a youth services person. My office is farther away from the desk...
Monday, October 6, 2008
Keeping up with information
Being in an information profession, I feel obliged to keep up with what is going on in information technology, books, librarianship, and many more topics... It can get to be overwhelming at times. After opening Google Reader only once over the weekend, I opened it tonight to find 621 unread items. Three of those were personal (facebook notifications) and 2 were comics that I read through Google Reader (I read the other comics when I opened Reader last night...) So the vast majority of the 621 items have something to do with technology, librarianship, books, young adults, or other aspects of my job.
One trick I've started to use is to subscribe to a blog for a week or two to see if the posts are useful. I've unsubscribed from a few because they were less useful than I wanted them to be. I think it will be easier to keep up with these things after I'm finished with school - that gives me a lot of information to absorb as well.
I recently saw an article by Sarah Houghton-Jan from Ariadne magazine on "Being Wired or Being Tired" - it had some great tips on handling information overload.
One trick I've started to use is to subscribe to a blog for a week or two to see if the posts are useful. I've unsubscribed from a few because they were less useful than I wanted them to be. I think it will be easier to keep up with these things after I'm finished with school - that gives me a lot of information to absorb as well.
I recently saw an article by Sarah Houghton-Jan from Ariadne magazine on "Being Wired or Being Tired" - it had some great tips on handling information overload.
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