Out with the old...

and waiting to find out about the new. Callie and I wrapped up our Bloomington adventures. We spent a few peaceful nights at the Motel 6, reading and watching many back-to-back episodes of Mythbusters.
It's odd to know that I won't be spending all my time divided between the Wells Library (home of SLIS and pictured above), Ballantine Hall, and the Education Library.

It's time to move on, though. This photo is of my empty key chains (and my temporary motel keys). I'm looking at this as another opportunity to learn to let go of the things we use to fill our lives. I'm keyless for now, but eventually other opportunities (and the keys that go with them) will present themselves. I'll just have to be patient, and enjoy the journey that takes me to those places, keys, etc.

These are the temporary dwellings of Trish and Callie. We're staying at my brother's house, in the attic-y extra bedroom. We've made ourselves comfy for now. I'll be able to spend some time with my family, do some sightseeing around the area, and get myself organized for whatever the future holds in store for Callie and me.

As you can see, Callie has made herself comfy. She's still a little perturbed by the moving experience, but she's getting settled in a bit. It will be nice to look forward to finding a job and a permanent place in the future, though. We're both tired of moving, and want to find a place to stay for a nice, long time.

I'll keep you posted on what happens with Alaska. I haven't heard anything yet, but am hoping to hear one way or the other very soon. Naturally, I hope to hear that they want me; it's a very nice library, and the people were extremely nice. The job itself combines all the different things that interest me, and I think I would be able to both contribute, and continue to learn and grow. It's out of my hands, though. I appreciate all of your good thoughts sent my way. Hopefully they'll help. Either way, I'll keep you all updated.

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.

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!

Campus Pictures

This is part of the Student Union building.
This is outside the student union building, of the little stream and the stone bridge.
This is the HPER (health, human performance stuff like coaching, PE, etc) building.
This is Woodburn, one of the prettier buildings. It looks very collegiate to me.
This is a wooded area behind the Lilly Library. I often walk on this upper path, looking down at this scene, as I go to the Education Library.

Since it's finally decided to be wintery here, I thought I'd better hurry up and share some photos of what fall was like. We did have snow on the ground Friday morning. I got to walk in it going to class. It was almost gone by the time I got done with class, but that's the way things tend to work here. Fall was very late in getting here, but we finally got some nice color to the trees. I've got more pictures of the library and education library that I'll post in a few days.

I'm studying for a final at the end of the week, but I'm sure I'll need a break in there somewhere. I did take a break today and decorate (a bit) for the holidays. It's not a lot, but enough to make it seem a little more festive. I'm thinking about splurging on a rosemary plant shaped like a Christmas tree next Friday, when I get paid. If I could keep it alive, it would smell great and I could use it for cooking. Since I will most likely be here for Christmas, it could be a good thing.