Winding Down the Year

Oddly and unexpectedly enough, I've been feeling rather nostalgic today as I've been getting ready to leave Bloomington. The movers came today and took away stuff to go into storage. It's surprising both how much, and how little one has, really, considering the amount of time I've had to accumulate things. It feels like a lot, but it could be much, much more.

I went in to work for awhile this afternoon, to wrap things up there. I left my keys. I've already turned in my keys for the Education Library. I'm down to the keys for the apartment. When I turn those in tomorrow, I will be keyless. That's the oddest, hardest thing to deal with at the moment. It means I will really have no place of my own for awhile. I like having my own place, no matter how small, or dumpy, or bat-infested. Not having a place of one's own... that's something that makes me feel less somehow - less responsible, less adult, less real.

I know that my worth is not tied up in a place, but it matters to me. Maybe this is a lesson I'm supposed to work on this next year - that my worth is not tied to anything outside my existence. I've been working on letting go of many things. Maybe this is one more.

Tomorrow I'll be leaving my apartment, and spending a couple nights at the local Motel 6 (one of the few pet friendly places in town). I won't have an Internet connection there, so there will be a time of transition before I post again in a new place, and a new year. I'll leave you with a collection of photos from the past couple days, and the wish that the new year is peaceful and full of manageable challenges.
Callie always manages to find the patch of sun, no matter what chaos surrounds her.
My life, condensed into boxes. I added a microwave in a box and two kitchen boxes after this was taken. It took two guys 30 minutes to load it in a truck and take it away.

This is the rest of the furniture that you couldn't quite see from the picture above.

One of the SLIS (School of Library and Information Science) doors. I don't even want to think about how many times I've gone in and out of them (and no, it does not say, Abandon Hope All Ye Who Enter Here).

Wells Library - home to SLIS and a giant bunch of books - taken from the arboretum side.

Ballantine Hall - home of the Faculty Council Office (fondly called "the cube" for its lack of windows and the plethora of florescent lighting and cinder block walls)

The Indiana Memorial Union (IMU) - I still think it looks castle-y. This is taken from the bus stop.

In December - a small fountain and pond outside a restaurant that's not frozen and is filled with fish. Go figure. Of course, it was in the 50's today. I liked the way the light reflected from the ripples.

SOUTHERN Indiana

It's almost 11am, and it's 63 degrees. 63! A very cloudy and rainy 63, but what the heck is up with this? It's supposed to get up to 67 today.... Calendar says - end of December. Weather says - March? April?

The apartment is filling with boxes. Most of the furniture leaves today. The boxes, etc will be gone by this time on Tuesday, leaving Callie and I with some suitcases, and 1-2 milk crates with books/papers. It's hard to know what to keep out of storage - it could be for 3 weeks, 3 months, or even more like 6 months. I have the usual stuff - clothes, bathroom stuff, Swiss army knife, laptop, printer. I have all my job searching info, some of my notes/textbooks, my tax stuff, important documents (birth certificate, ss card, passport, etc), my student loan stuff....

What would you take if you had to bring everything you might need for 3 weeks, 3 months, or 6 months?

Merry Christmas!

Before I packed away the holiday stuff (along with everything else I own) for an undetermined amount of time, I decided to decorate the apartment for Christmas. This is the table Brenda helped me make, with a variety of lights, garland, and old fashioned St Nick on top of it. (The knitting needles, etc to the left are always there)

Some of you have been asking about what comes next, now that I'm officially graduated. I'm still waiting to hear on the Alaska job. I've been applying for more jobs. I've sublet my apartment here in Bloomington, and will be out on the 31st. Guys from a used furniture place will be coming to pick up stuff on Saturday. The moving guys come on Tuesday to move the rest of my stuff into storage until I know where I'll be.

As for me, I'll be going to stay with my family in the Omaha area temporarily. My favorite brother-in-law is spending his New Year's Day driving over to get me and Callie. We'll leave Bloomington on the 2nd. I'm not sure what happens after that.

For someone who likes order and familiarity, I've moved and/or started over several times. I do it, but I don't really like it. It would be so much easier to know where I'm going to be and what I'm going to do. Life doesn't always work that way; this is one of those times where life is an adventure. I'm going to have to see what happens, and trust that what happens, will happen for good. "This world's no blot for us,/Nor blank; it means intensely, and means good..." (Browning, Fra Lippo Lippi). I choose to believe that; the alternative would give me very little point for existing.

So, posting may be somewhat sporadic as I pack myself up, and get myself out of Bloomington. Thanks for all the good wishes and thoughts, for both the holidays and graduation. You are all in my thoughts. A very happy Christmas to all of you. I hope that the new year brings peace and hope, and that the challenges (personal and national) prove not to be insurmountable.

Aack!

Anyone have any time to spare? So, by the 31st, I will need to have all my stuff packed and out of my apartment, and some sort of plan in place as to where I will go at that point. Do I have a plan? Not really. Oddly enough, I haven't even started to panic yet. Okay, well not completely panic - maybe there's a little panic, or something more like unease.

This is where a moving planner would be nice. I could concentrate on the packing and sorting process, and the planner could take over all the logistical arrangements. The planner could find a place to put my stuff, make arrangements to get my stuff to the place, make arrangements to get Callie and I and any leftover stuff to another place. Arranging these things are what I find stressful.

At this point, it's looking like it may be easier to rent a moving truck and use it to take all my stuff, Callie, and I somewhere. My problem is that I don't want to drive a moving truck. I spent the whole time I drove one of them from Montana clutching the wheel and trying to stay calm. Anyone want to drive a moving truck from Bloomington to ... oh, maybe Omaha? If so, let me know. I considered a one-way car rental, but for the love of dogs... that's just a tad expensive, not to mention rule-laden.

Apparently experimenting with reducing your carbon footprint by not owning a vehicle only really works if you never want to drive, rent, or otherwise interact with a vehicle again. Otherwise, you are a suspicious entity for not having a vehicle in the first place. I'm thinking I should never mention that I don't have a TV, either.

She's back....

and I have survived my first professional library interview. I like Anchorage, I like the library, and I like the library staff very much. I think it would be challenging in a good way, that I would be able to learn and grow professionally, and that I would be able to make a contribution and use my powers for good. Plus, I could see myself living there; I really want a place in which I could settle down, not just a place to work for a couple years to get experience.

At this point, it is out of my hands, though. I should know something one way or the other by January at the latest. Let the adventures continue; the next great adventure is packing up my life in Bloomington and doing something with all the stuff (anyone need any random stuff?).

I put pictures up online. I didn't get as many pictures as I'd hoped; it was pretty foggy for most of Sunday. These are the links to all the photos I have, though. The first is for the library. The second is for Anchorage.

http://picasaweb.google.com/magpiemt/ConsortiumLibrary?authkey=swZ_LAFA6MQ#

http://picasaweb.google.com/magpiemt/Anchorage?authkey=kX4ZhklKT1E#

For a preview of what you'll see, here are a couple photos.

This one is from the coastal trail that's accessed from downtown. You can see the hoarfrost on the trees and the Cook Inlet to the right.
This is when the sun came out through the fog. It's taken downtown (yes, it is a city), and if you look down the street, you can see mountains in the distance.

Freedom!

I have finished all my SLIS classes and I am DONE! The celebrating will have to commence when I get back to Bloomington; in the meantime, I will do a happy dance between loads of laundry, presentation practice, and packing.

Making it through this program is something I could NOT have done without all the help that I got along the way. It's hard to believe that last fall I thought I would have to leave because of finances. Now, I am this close to officially having my MLS (all I need is the paperwork to catch up with me).

To all of you who provided help - financially, emotionally, and any other "ly" I'm forgetting, I truly appreciate each and every one of you. Thanks, thanks, thanks!! Big hugs and a celebratory toast to you all.

And the countdown continues

for those keeping score. Tomorrow is my last SLIS class. (woo hoo!) My final paper is done and printed (check). My two hour class discussion facilitation is as done as it's getting, with an outline and source list typed up to turn in (check).

I have my plane ticket, reservation from Bloomington to Indianapolis with the shuttle people, my interview suit, and the designated 2 oz containers so I don't have to check my bag. I have thank you cards for the search committee (and some extras). I have tons of questions - to both ask and that might be asked. (check, check, check, etc, you get the idea)

So what is missing? That would be the completely finished presentation, along with handout. I'm working on it, and will undoubtedly be working on it tomorrow. And because I'll probably still be working on it until Sunday night, I will have to take heavy laptop with me. *sigh*

On the bright side, in roughly 4 days time, it will be Monday morning and I will be in Alaska finishing up the presentation, for better or worse. As I've said (447 times before), it will be good practice and a good experience if nothing else. I think really meaning this (as opposed to saying it and hoping to believe it) shifts some of my stress. I know I can tend to get caught up in the feeling that one experience (a job interview) carries all these HUGE consequences for the rest of my life. Yes, I think I might like this job, but it is ONE job in the grand scheme of life; if it doesn't happen, well, that opens doors to other opportunities. I'm repeating this to myself so I can shift the, oh, 10-20 percent of my brain that doesn't believe it yet.

When I get back to Bloomington on Tuesday, I will have one Education Library shift to finish, a few weeks of work in the cube, and then Bloomington and I will be finished with each other. I'm a little sad about that; having an apartment that I like has really changed how I feel about the town.

I will keep everyone posted about the job search happenings, and will post pictures and thoughts about the trip once I get back. Now, back to my presentation... after a break to look at an adorable photo of Callie sleeping on a yarn ball... (try that for added degree of difficulty while knitting!

Panic Mode (or does anyone have a time portal?)

Next week at this time, I'll be in Anchorage. I'm working on the presentation for the interview, general interview prep, and a 2 hour class discussion I'm leading on Friday.

Does anyone have any extra time they'd like to donate? I could use an extra... oh, week or so. I really don't know how I'm going to get everything done this week. One good thing, by this time next week I'll be close to having all sorts of extra time. I'm hoping the cold I'm threatening to get holds off until then.

The weather's been helping prepare me for Alaska. It snowed and was cold (for Indiana). Of course, it's supposed to be 50 tomorrow... The snow was pretty while it lasted, though. And next week, I'll get to see a whole lot more!

For those who think everyone can sing

because this is proof that not everyone can.

May I present my family, singing happy birthday in the key of.... huh? Key, is that one of those crazy music terms?

We don't need no stinking keys. (We have the crafting gene, instead.)

Thanksgiving, Mad Cats, and Job Updates

I had a very pleasant Thanksgiving with my family. I also got to go to two birthday parties, and paint my sister's kitchen. I had the second phone interview for the Alaska job.

I've been invited for a personal interview; I'm one of three finalists for the job, so I'll be flying to Anchorage the 13th, having the interview the 15th, and flying back the 16th. I will have Sunday to do some exploring, and to get used to the 4 hour time difference. The interview process is an all day affair that starts about 7:45am and ends about 8:30pm. As with the rest of this application process, it will be a good experience and good practice, even if nothing else happens. I'm extremely happy to have made it through all the cuts to being one of three. (and yes, I am taking my camera, and yes, I will be taking as many photos as possible).

There are two weeks left of school. The following week is the interview at the beginning of the week and graduation at the end. I'm guessing the rest of the month will consist of hectic packing and figuring out what to do with things.

Callie is glad I'm back, but I'm thinking she's not going to be quite so happy when I leave again in a couple weeks.... (we're not even going to talk about boxes and what will happen with packing.)

Happy (early) Thanksgiving

So, I am leaving tomorrow for Omaha for Thanksgiving. I may or may not have a chance to post while I'm gone. Meanwhile, happy thanksgiving to all of you. Hopefully, when I return, I will have more news about the great job quest.
I don't know what these trees are, either, but they're scattered around campus. They look like they could be harvesty, fall-like decorations, so they're appropriate to the season. They seem Thanksgivingy.

Callie is preparing herself for my departure. She's already alternating between mad and clingy. Just wait until I get back, though. Woo hoo. My mom suggested that Callie's reaction to my return could be the next video attempt. Hmmmm....

Decisions

Okay, those of you who have talked to me lately have seen me at my crazy and indecisive best, even for a Libra. Depending on the day you talked to me, I might have been postponing graduation for a semester, possibly applying to PhD programs and any other sort of postponement of life after SLIS.

The whole job search thing is such a roller coaster ride. Woo hoo, we're up! Oh, now we're down. They called, they haven't called. I was an idiot during my interview. I wasn't that bad. Repeat. (and repeat, and repeat again.)

I don't like the not knowing that comes with change. It was feeling safer to stay for another semester, just to know what was happening in the future. I think life has a way of figuring out when you're avoiding, though. I had two things happen this weekend that have helped push me away from my indecisiveness.

One, I had an email from Alaska, and I'm still a candidate (their term - "one of the finalists"). I have another phone interview to look forward to surviving. What I want to know is if I get a sash for being a finalist (I've been practicing my wave).

Two, I have someone to take over the lease of my apartment. This means I will need to go somewhere at the end of December, so I can't keep doing this wishy washy, I want it all kind of thing. I want to be in school and out of school. I want to stay here and I want to leave. I want to move and not move. Straddling all those fences was making me cranky, if nothing else.

It's kind of funny. I was just talking about this on Saturday at work. I left thinking, I really can't keep trying to stand in all the squares at the same time. It's one thing to stay with the feeling of being uncomfortable while you consider options. It's another to know what you need to do, but let fear make you crazy. Deciding to decide, deciding to do what I needed to do even though I was afraid, opened things up that had seemed stuck. Weird that that's when I suddenly got emails.... hmm, some of you would say that it's not a coincidence.

So, apparently, I will be graduating in December, according to plan. I may or may not be employed. Believe me, I will keep everyone posted on how the job search goes. And if you find me sleeping on your porch in January, well, just look at it as having your own live-in librarian.... In the meantime, pass me some boxes. Looks like I'm packing for the eleventeenth time.

Tattoo News

So, I finally decided that I really would get a tattoo. I decided what I wanted, and where I wanted it. The plan - do it in Omaha while I was back for Thanksgiving.

The problem? Well, I found the person I want to do my tattoo. This is the website: http://www.liquidcourageomaha.com/index.php. Click on the link for Jason, and you will see why I want him to do my tattoo. The only thing is, he's booked solid. (Oh big surprise there) So now, the dilemma is, when do I try to go back to have this done? Argh! I guess I've waited this long, so what's a little longer, right? January might be nice....

Now that I've seen the very cool tattoos, though, it makes it harder to wait.

What I learned in graduate school

I took a podcast workshop recently, in which I learned all kinds of cool things. Instead of doing actual homework, I've been playing around with some different programs and applications, and have created....Tra la la... a movie of Callie!

This is very basic, and to upload it I had to convert the file to something half the original size. Consequently, the resolution isn't fantastic, but it's still Callie, and I can say I've created my first video which could become a podcast, if I wanted it to be. Who says grad school is only research and reading? Probably the coolest thing about the video is that I got to use a Jenn Adams song; I didn't want to violate any copyright laws, so I emailed her for permission. She's letting me use the song. Hopefully she doesn't change her mind if she sees the "quality" of the video. Hey, you have to start somewhere.

Hope

Hope is like a road in the country; there was never a road, but when many people walk on it, the road comes into existence. - Lin Yutang

Now that the election is over, I have found myself torn between hope for the future of our country and the cynicism born from and then reinforced with every election since Reagan’s first term. The 1980 election was the first in which I was able to vote. Since that time, over and over again, I have voted against candidates, learning to hope only that things wouldn’t get worse than the way they were at the moment of the election. My hopes for real change were buried long ago. I did not believe that government reflected my values and beliefs in any way, shape, or form. Government was something to be endured, filled with politicians who lied, ignored the ordinary citizens of the United States, and functioned more like a monarchy than a democracy. With each election, my hopes dwindled and my cynicism grew.

I wish I could say that with this election, I voted with my heart filled with joy and the belief that things could be different. I can’t. I voted FOR Obama, the first election in 28 years that I’ve actually voted FOR someone. I voted FOR Obama in spite of the little cynical voice in my head that said, sure, he’s an inspiring speaker, but he’s a politician; he can talk about change, but things will just go on as they have. I voted FOR Obama because of the tiny spark of hope that I still carry for my country. I’ve stayed in the U.S., in spite of threatening to leave for Canada after each successive election, because really, I do love it. That made each election cycle more and more painful, and the layers of my cynicism deeper and deeper. If you know that you will be hit, and that it will hurt, you learn to protect yourself from the blow. My cynicism protected me from the pain of feeling more and more disconnected from my country and my government.

My friend Craig sent me an email on the night of the election. He, unlike me, has been both hopeful and joyful during the election process. He wrote, “It is time to write a new story....government is good...taxes are not a burden, but rather the cost of living in a country that values the common good over individual greed...make peace not war....and hopefully, someday in the not to distant future, we will hear the words "Made in America" again....”

He wrote another email today: “This election was a sea change that comes along once in a generation, and the support is there for bold, aggressive, and progressive leadership...twenty eight years ago Ronald Reagan brought change to Washington and rewrote the story....if you recall he said welfare queens were abusing the system, government was bad, taxes were a burden, and we needed a big stick when dealing with the rest of the world....that story died on Tuesday night. Now it is our turn to write a new story....”

“Our turn.” This is where my hope comes from, that Obama’s government might actually listen to the people it governs, that it might take its power FROM the people, not impose power ON us. I didn’t listen to Obama’s victory speech until today. I said I didn’t have the time or opportunity, but really it was fear. I was afraid to hope. I was afraid of peeling back the layers of cynicism to uncover my hope again. I knew from past experience that reviving hope hurts at first; it hurts to wake something up that’s been sleeping for a long time.

I found the speech online and tried to mentally steel myself to listen to it. I’d watched the yes, we can speech on YouTube with millions of others. That was when the election was still in contention, though. Cynicism won out then, because I did not believe that Obama could win the election. This time, knowing that other people had chosen hope over fear, knowing that Obama was the president-elect of the United States, I wanted to hope, too. I wanted hope even though I knew that hope would bring pain. Maybe just hoping for hope opens the heart. Or maybe knowing that so many others were also hoping made me feel less alone than I’ve felt for a long time…. I’m not sure. I do know that watching that speech broke open a place in my heart where my hope has been sheltering, curled into a protective ball. It broke through the shame I’ve felt for my country, the pain I’ve felt in admitting that I am an American. I didn’t just get a little teary. I broke down and cried. To be honest, I don’t think I’m done crying yet. I have 28 years of grief in my heart.

Obama’s speech made me remember something from my own past. When I was in junior high school, the school I went to was not a “good” school. Basically, the entire school of kids had been written off, since we lived in a low-income part of the city and weren’t expected to amount to much. Teachers had no real support from administrators. No one listened to us. No one cared. We were “those” kids. We lived up to those expectations. In music class, we caused a variety of subs to leave, vowing never to come back to “that” school again. Then we got a new principle. He started to build up the morale of the school. I remember he passed out copies and used this quote all the time. I won’t remember it exactly, but it was something to the effect that engineers, etc all say that the bumblebee is incapable of flight because of its wings – but the bumblebee doesn’t know that. We thought of ourselves as kids that didn’t matter, that didn’t count. He brought our school hope, and the bumblebee became the symbol of that hope. Even then, I was surprised at the amount of change that happened in only a year.

I’ve seen what hope can do. I’ve also seen how fast hope can work, when it’s followed by action. I’m going to choose to keep my heart open to hope, even though I’m still a little bit afraid. Like Craig wrote, “Now it is our turn to write a new story.” And it is.

OUR. turn. to. write. a. NEW. story. Yes, we can.

Job Updates and Other Random Babbling

Apparently, I was not a complete dork in my phone interview with Alaska. They contacted me yesterday for permission to check references, the next step in the process. I've made it through several weeding out points - the application stage and the phone interview stage If I make it through the reference checking stage, I could be invited to come to Anchorage for a series of interviews. Yikes! Since my references all know about the job, it's still out of my hands at this point. All I can do is wait. They'd like to have someone in Alaska for interviews the week after Thanksgiving, though, so it doesn't sound like I'll have to wait too long for some sort of an answer. I'm holding to my original thought, which is that every stage I get to is another learning experience that will help me in the future. The other jobs I've applied for will be closing at various points during this month; until then, there's nothing I can do about them, either.

Meanwhile, we've got assignments due in cataloging every week from this week through the end of the semester. Our final project is both a cumulation of the assignments we've been working on, and the addition of new material. The first kids' lit seminar assignment is due Friday - an annotated bibliography of war stories for teen girls. If anyone's interested in reading war stories teen girls might like, let me know. I've found some interesting ones, including a novel based on the life of a woman who fought in the Civil War while dressed as a boy. We still have a paper, and then leading a two hour group discussion due in that class. Enough to keep me busy.

As promised, here's a picture of the mailing we finished at work - all 1533 ballot packets packed in boxes before going down to the mailroom.

So, while we were very glad to see them go, the guy in the mailroom was (understandably) not so happy. I think we owe him cookies, or maybe tequila...

Ah, to add to my insanity, I've also signed up for National Novel Writing Month, for the third year in a row. I have yet to actually finish, but one of these years.... who knows? It could be this one.

Fall Photos

It's trying to be fall here. In some places, it looks like fall. Tree leaves are colored and drifting down. The temperature is in the 60s. Still, October is dwindling, and I've still seen all sorts of flowers blooming, and the grass is green.
This is a the chapel on campus. It has a small cemetery next to it. The building you can see behind it is the Indiana Memorial Union - basically the student union building.

These trees are across from the library, where I sometimes catch the bus. They have these green balls that are now falling onto the ground. I have no idea what this is about, but perhaps my tree identifiers will provide me with enlightenment.

This is a tree that's across from the bus stop at the apartment complex (yes, I spend a lot of time on buses or waiting for buses). The tree itself is just starting to turn, but if you look closely at the ground underneath, a pink rose is blooming. This was taken today.

On campus, on my walk from the library to Ballantine. These trees are very colorful and fall-like. (still, note the green grass)

Last, but not least, Callie! She's looking disgruntled because she did not want her picture taken, and because, according to her, she's being seriously neglected by me. Hey, in my defense, it is the middle of the semester - it's been busy.

My interview with Alaska was Thursday. I'm giving it maybe a 7 out of 10, and calling it a learning experience. This was my first phone interview ever. I hadn't realized how much I depend on visual feedback from people. Talking to disembodied voices was harder than I thought. Still, now I now that this is not my preferred method, and that I will have to find ways to compensate. It was my first library interview, too, so again, I have better ideas of what to expect for next time. I said that at the least, I'd like to get a phone interview because it would be a good learning experience. I did, and it was. I count it as a success.

We finished stuffing and sealing the envelopes on all 2080 nomination ballots and associated information at work. These go out to the tenure eligible professors and retired professors. They'll actually leave our office and go to the mailroom on Monday. I might have a chance to take pictures of them all stuffed into boxes (lots and lots of boxes). This means we're done for awhile, though. I'm hoping to still tweak my database a bit to make it better and easier to use for next year, just in case the online voting thing doesn't go through, and they're stuck with the paper ballot process like this year. I'm crossing my fingers for them that all this goes away and gets replaced with the online system, though.

Other than that, it's classes and work as usual. I did go to dinner at Nora and Weldon's house with Virginia. The food was good, and then we all knit, or in Weldon's case, crocheted. It's been really nice getting together with all of them. That's really the only time I spend knitting anymore, too. Maybe I'll finish this same scarf I'm working on before winter's over if we keep this up.

Maybe it is fall, and more random bits

The weather feels like it. The 80s are gone. I know some of you don't get my facination with cooler weather, but hot is not my friend. The only thing I suppose I should do before it gets cold (or as cold as it gets here), is find a new winter coat. I'm sort of putting it off, since I'm not at all sure where I will be wintering. That makes a big difference in the type of coat I'd want.

I did finally post my apartment on the graduate student housing board. (and made a quick webpage using only Notepad - it's pretty basic, but it does have more pics of the apartment: http://ella.slis.indiana.edu/~plpierso/apartmentinfo.html). I've been putting that off, too. I'm ready to be finished with school and Bloomington in some ways. In other ways, I really like the apartment, and Callie and I are really nicely settled in and cozy here, and I've been getting together with some people for knitting evenings. The thought of having to move me, Callie, and my stuff off to some mysterious place, and to have to get to know where things are all over sometimes seems like more work than I feel I can manage.

I'm ready to go to a place and stick around there for awhile, settle in and feel connected and comfortable. I do like the fun of exploring new places, but I'm ready to stay in a place. That makes me want to be all the more sure about picking a place I like. I had the thought that I could just get experience for a couple years and then move on. Now, I think I would like to stay somewhere at least 5 years, if not longer. Is it too much to hope that the perfect job is my first job in the profession? It would be wonderful if that was the case, that I could find a job where my skills could be used, and used well.

It's all wait and see for now. I am getting myself ready for my phone interview. I'm going over questions that might be asked, and preparing myself for the answers I might give. It's mainly a matter of reminding myself what I think about my skills, experiences, ways of working. I take all of that for granted, or sometimes don't value myself enough. I'm excited and nervous, but if nothing else, it will be good practice. I appreciate the opportunity to do some self-reflection, and to look back over what I've learned over the past two years. Even though I feel like I know only a miniscule amount of what I'd like to know, I have learned quite a bit, a suprising amount.

Random Stuff

My project at work is helping make photocopies of the nomination materials to go out to the faculty. Lots of copies - like 19,929 of them. I will be working tomorrow and on Friday afternoon, and maybe over the weekend. Hopefully this will be remembered when I take off the Tuesday before Thanksgiving...

Brenda sent me a birthday present, which I got today. A calendar of treehouses around the world. Someday when I become a clairvoyant pirate/writer/hermit, I will live in a treehouse instead of a cave.

Indiana has early voting (?? - I don't know), so since I'm registered to vote here, I will be voting tomorrow. I am trying to have good thought about the election. I have also made sure my passport is still current (good until Dec 2010, just in case).

I have a phone interview scheduled next week for the Alaska job. I'm alternating between excitement and nervousness (as in a lot of random smiling for no reason, followed by feelings of dread and nausea). If nothing else, at least some response has happened to one of my applications, so I take this as a sign that at least on paper I'm not a dork (no guarantees about in person ;-)

I am baffled by the Dewey Decimal system of classification, and can only hope that the mysteries become clearer before my assignment is due.

If I had roughly 17 years with nothing scheduled, I MIGHT be able to catch up on all the things I would like to do.

It's still not fall here. It's been in the 70s and 80s. boo.

Lazy Weekend

Yes, I had lists and lists of things to do this weekend, and pretty much none of them happened. I did have a couple people over for dinner and knitting Friday night, and that would be my big accomplishment, especially since I had a nasty migraine earlier that day. The rest of the weekend, though..... Did I finish more cover letters so I could apply for more jobs? No. Did I work on cataloging? No. Did I do any of the beading I'd been thinking about? No. Did I work on interview questions in case I ever get an interview? No. Did I do laundry? No.

The only other things I could say I accomplished were finishing Else Dinsmore (published 1867, and super religious), and reading Eldest (2nd in a fantasy series with dragons, lots of good versus evil warfare). Let's just say, "one of these things is not like the other..." Although it would be kind of cool to see Elsie get plopped down in the world of dragons, sword fights, etc. Maybe then all her trials and tribulations would be put into perspective.

So, apparently my busy week will be even busier as I try to fit in the things I should have done. Ah well, sleep? Who needs sleep?

Why are cats so strange?

This is a sweater that was washed in the machine, and then draped over the chair to dry. Hey, it's wool. Wool and dryers are not friends. Callie, as you can see, had to get on the damp sweater. She sniffed it carefully for awhile, and then she stretched out on it and went to sleep. Hmm, yes, I've always wanted to sleep on a damp wool sweater. Can anyone explain this behavior, or do I chalk it up to the craziness of kitties?

It's starting to feel like fall. It's been in the 60s and 70s. Perfect weather, with some sunny blue sky days. It makes me want apples, maybe even enough to go to the farmer's market before work at 9am on Saturday. Maybe...

Boring surrounded by chaos

That's my life. I've settled into a school, work, job application sort of lifestyle. It's quiet, uneventful, boring, really, while around me, the country appears to be falling apart. I can't say that I'm too happy to be graduating into what promises to be an absolutely stellar job market due to the strong national economy (insert sarcasm here).

There continue to be jobs to apply for, though, so I will contine to apply, and hope for the best. In the meantime, my birthday is less than 2 weeks away. I'm trying to formulate a plan for some sort of small celebration. I've pretty much ignored my birthday for the past few years and didn't even really tell people when it was. I don't know that I'll tell people this year, but I think I may do something to mark the occasion. Knowing that next year I'll be 50 makes me feel old. I think that means I need to do something to celebrate/prepare.

I am going to Council Bluffs/Omaha for Thanksgiving. I will also be (hopefully) getting my first tattoo. Now I know you'd all love to vote on that, but I think I have a plan. There will be pictures. If any of you have any words of wisdom to share, I'm happy to hear them. You know where to find me...

She's back...

Wow, I can't believe the last post was almost a month ago. Time flies when you're working and taking classes and working and volunteering and getting settled after moving and... all that other stuff.

So the quick update of life so far this semester. I like all my classes, a first. Both works have gotten crazy again with the start of the semester. I've been trying to update the database we use for election nominations, and that seems to be as done as I can make it. I have had issues with allergies, a 24 hour virus, and am now beginning the dreaded cold (which I'm hoping does not go into the horrid cough).

Callie likes the new apartment, as do I. We both like the new bed. I'd forgotten how nice a real bed can be.

I filled out my application for graduation. If all goes well, I will be done Dec. 19th. Graduation is on the 20th, but I'm not doing the ceremony. It seems sort of silly when all the people I know have already left, and with no one making the trek out.

The job search continues. The Alaska job closed, so now it's waiting to see if I hear anything. I'm putting together more applications. That process continues until I finally have a winner.... and believe me, if anything happens, everyone will hear about it.

Life is busy, but not exceptionally exciting. That's all there is to say.

Callie's version of workMy version (with accompanying Anglo-American Cataloging Rules)

Farmers' Market

I got a little carried away at the market on Saturday (but doesn't it look colorful?).
peaches and basil
two of the salads I had for dinner (1) heirloom tomato, fresh mozzarella, and basil; 2) mixed organic greens, peaches and blackberries)

vase of zinnias

cox comb (or "brain coral flower", if you're Nora)

the one lone broken zinnia, nestled in next to the plants (using the funky black/white with color accent feature on my camera)

One thing about living in the south(ern part of Indiana) - things grow here easily. The farmers' market here is very large, with lots of choices, many of them organic. I can get carried away (and did). I have to say, I've already eaten a bunch of the tomatoes, so it's not like any of this is going to go bad.

More new apartment pics

Yes, there is an attic...
And this is it.

The kitchen and the corner of the living room with shelves (and cat)

Living room shelves and cat

living room

cat

office

more office

bedroom, complete with the last of the laundry

bedroom - screen with scarves

Some of you may have noticed the lack of bed in the bedroom. That will come this week, after payday. Until then, the "bed" room is more like the storage room for clothes. It would be a great place for some Twister.

As promised...

pictures of the moving extravaganza, for your viewing pleasure. I met the carpet cleaning guys this morning at 7:30am (requiring catching the 6:40am bus...eek!). I do the walk through with the property management people today at 1pm, and then I will be officially done with the old apartment.

To recap some of the previous adventures in the old apartment - guys next door fighting and punching holes in the wall at 3am, waterfall wall from the leaking roof, drunk college kids passing by from midnight to 3am most Thursdays-Saturdays, squirrel in ceiling, bat in apartment hanging from ceiling. Ah yes, college life at its finest....

the old apartment in a state of packing chaos

how did someone without much stuff end up with so much stuff? (still old apartment)
Callie enjoys the screen door at the old apartment as she supervises the cleaning process.

If you're a cat, you don't need furniture to find a place to hide. (old apartment)

The new kitchen, in the unpacking process.

The future office, filled with practically everything I own.

Chaos in the new bedroom.

Ah, that new living room look of emptiness....

The very last load of stuff from the old apartment (Thanks, Virginia)

Of course, it's much easier to hide if you've got a closet, and a bunch of unpacked stuff...

The new bathroom (with its light above the sink and a light switch on the wall, not the ceiling)

Moving is really hard work

The new office (so far)

What's left to unpack in the new office

The living room, a little less empty