back and forth. forever.

I just had a meeting with my gals from the PLG. This site is going to be amazing, if I do say so myself. I think that the coding is going to be really fun. I’m a little, okay a lot, nervous about the graphic design elements (images and color) cauz I’m not really blessed in the area of the visual arts, but hopefully I can find a goodlooking way around that challenge.

The blog title is, of course, in reference to the Miranda July movie that I watched over the weekend with Vicky and Emily. Okay, i’ve gotten that out there. Now hopefully it can leave my brain. But I know it won’t. I refuse to make the symbol. Refuse.

I am missing home today. But luckily I got a new Myspace friend from Portland and I got an email from a Portsmouth friend. I am still in Indiana, but those things help.

my big mouth

Okay so on Monday I went to the call out meeting for the new student chapter of the Progressive Librarians Guild here at IU. Previous to this meeting, I had committed to making them a web site. So, here comes the funny part. At the meeting I decide to suggest that they have web space that can function as a central location for links to articles/news items of interest to PLG members, like a blog or a wiki. Everyone really liked this idea…. Now I realize that I have to MAKE the damn thing! The good news is that I was just looking around the internets at items like “how the heck can I make a wiki?” and it doesn’t seem that hard, but I certainly hope that I have not bitten off more than I can chew. Although, the upside of having my big mouth is that chewing shouldn’t be a problem.

not funny, kind of funny, and not funny anymore.

So, i am procrastinating already. Somehow I am finding that I have a greater interest in watching college basketball games of no consequence than in doing my homework. I will remedy this situation pronto. Well after I make a lasagna, watch some football (which is ALWAYS of consequence) and maybe take a bath….
Vicky pointed out something very funny in the NYT this morning so I searched the internet to find the image to post here:

This is especially funny to me. I know that the more sophisticated “Kickback Mountain” poster featuring Jack Abramoff and Tom DeLay should be tickling my fancy, but Bert and Ernie as gay cowboys is hilarious. frankly, Bert is hilarious, Ernie is hilarious, gay people are hilarious and cowboys are hilarious…mix ‘em all up and you’ve got a foon-bomb people. a big explosion of hilarious measures. okay, i’m over it. It’s really not that funny. Maybe I should start my homework.

i like tables better when they have food on them

So we’ve got this tables exercise to do for my Information Architecture class and I spent way too much time not getting it right this morning…
This is what the table is supposed to look like: Good Table
This is what my table looks like: My Table
Okay, so I know it’s bad. Hopefully someday someone will visit the archives of this blog and when they click on both links they will see somewhat identical pictures (minus the graphic and the meaningless text)…hmmm…that will be a good day.
But there still won’t be any food on these tables.

promises, promises

It’s been a long week. I’m still not sure in which direction I’m moving, but I’m certainly glad the bus brought me home. I promise to post something meaningful tomorrow during the post-schoolwork pre-Pats game time slot that I’m sure must have to exist. But for a quick update: I’m excited about my classes, slightly intimidated by the prospect of teaching BI to undergrads very, very soon, and already (as always) feeling behind. Dudley’s barking, more tomorrow…

“inside voices”

I’d just like to let everyone know that it’s a personal pet peeve of mine when adults speak to other adults as if they are children. I’m not talking about condescension or lack of respect. I’m talking about using childish words, phrases, and tone of voice. This morning, for example, I was having a conversation with someone in a library-type area and our voice levels were higher than they should have been. The supervisor of this area emerged from her office to chastise us by using the phrase “inside voices!” Now, I’m both a soon-to-be librarian and also easily distracted when I study, so I can appreciate the value of a quiet space. There are a couple of things to note about this situation however. As it was 8am on the first day of classes, this area was, just to be clear, empty at the time of this occurance. In addition, this area is not a quiet-study area. Conversation is not only allowed, but encouraged. Also, all three people involved in this situation are at least 25 years old (and that is a generous estimation). My point is this: If you want someone to lower there voices, quiet down, or even shut the hell up, TELL THEM SO. Don’t embarrass yourself and your audience by utilizing the vernacular of a pre-school.

Back to business

I wasn’t kidding.
The spring semester begins tomorrow and I’d be lying if I claimed I wasn’t nervous. This spring promises to be the most taxing semester of my entire academic career so far. I’m excited, but definitely apprehensive. My schedule includes the following commitments: my GA with Library Information Technology continues, I begin my position as an Instruction Assistant in the IC/Undergraduate Library, I’m the newly elected Secretary of the ALA-SC (student committee), and I’m taking 4 classes. Word up.

I thought I would include a list, along with a brief description (from the SLIS site), of the classes that I am taking this semester. This list could possibly be of interest to some spectator of my life, if not only having the purpose of sorting things out in my own brain.
Here goes:

L528 Collection Development and Management — Theoretical and pragmatic aspects of the selection, evaluation, and management of collections in all types of libraries. Acquisitions, publishers and publishing, policy making, and intellectual freedom and censorship are also covered.

L554 Education of Information Users — Reviews important educational theories for application to secondary school, college, and university settings which provide training and education programs to teach students skills leading to information literacy. Standards from AASL and ACRL are applied to instructional design and practice including lecture, collaboration with faculty, and evaluation of online tutorials.

L571 Information Architecture for the Web — Focuses on web site development. Students study information architecture as an approach for site organization and design, and learn about project management for complex web development tasks. In lab sessions, students work with advanced markup languages and scripting and develop sites, typically for real clients.

L651 Evaluation of Information Sources and Services — Examines the applied evaluation of library resources and services, including collections, document delivery, technical services, reference services, and overall library performance. Emphasis is placed on the available methods and methodological issues. The checklist method, availability studies, document delivery tests, use studies, applied bibliometrics, and the use of automation are covered.

Doesn’t this sound like fun?? Well, kind of. It kind of sounds fun to me. Although, I’m sure by April I’ll be all funned out. Yeah, that’s right. I’m making up words about all the funning I’ll be doing. This is only the beginning.

How ’bout them Pats!!!

Alright, I’m not going to go on and on and on, but my boys were fantastic last night. I’m always diggin’ it when they can hold a team to 3 points, especially when they do it in the playoffs! Okay, enough celebration. Time to get back to business.

Window to the world

For those of us stuck in the midwest, the internet can sometimes seem our only connection to anything of interest. If yer looking to pretend you’re somewhere else for a while, check this out:
Virtual NYC Tour
A girl can dream and so can you.

running is a good idea

okay, so I realize that resolutions are generally a bunch of bunk, but this year I have a new philosophy. I realized that I am always making resolutions to NOT do things. Like not watch television, not drink too much coffee, not sleep too late, etc. These resolutions never work. Too much negative pressure. Too much temptation to take part in the forbidden whatever-it-may-be. So this year I am making a resolution out of a positive impulse. I am making a resolution to treat my body better. Basically, to eat better, exercise more, and get this old sack o’ bones in shape. To that end, Vickyg. (who is not making this resolution, by the way, i already asked.) and I took a hike through the woods with the hounds this afternoon and then I came home and took a little jog around the park. It hurt, but, i feel much better. Also, I just realized that running makes a perfect excuse for a bath…i’m out.