Christmas Eve...and the season feels different but still special. Actually it's Christmas as I right this but for me it doesn't feel like Christmas until I've woken up on Christmas morning and eaten a cinnamon bun! Normally, I would be in Rochester...however my parents abandoned the town we grew up in and I find myself Christmas eve night remembering cherished traditions instead of participating in them at the church I was raised in.
What I miss tonight is the tradition for the last hymn, lighting a candle, singing Silent Night and standing in the candlelit sanctuary as a congregation with only our voices softly filling the midnight air. And then as the hymn ends, the sound of everyone blowing out their candle with a second of darkness, followed by about an hour of catching up with old friends that are back in town for the holidays. As a kid the sanctuary always felt magical, so calm and filled with love.
I feel so blessed to have been raised in a church filled with that kind of love, for each other and for Christ. I'm realizing especially tonight the importance of remembering, cherishing and loving - genuinely, sometimes painfully and with much gratefulness.
Tuesday, December 25, 2007
Monday, December 17, 2007
coffee
Today I went to take a swig of coffee from my thermos...it's not a large thermos, just one of those metal kind that you take with you in the car. Anyways, took a drink and spilled coffee down both sides of my face and a bit dribbled on my shirt.
I wonder, am I so excited about drinking coffee that I'm attempting to drink it to fast? Or am I just really clutzy? I think it's both...what a mess I can be for my love of coffee :)
I wonder, am I so excited about drinking coffee that I'm attempting to drink it to fast? Or am I just really clutzy? I think it's both...what a mess I can be for my love of coffee :)
Friday, December 14, 2007
baby steps
Changing a career is never easy. I've learned that moving from retail management to librarian...is really not easy! But not impossible. Like a baby learning to walk I've been taking small steps - mini moves and slowly, with increasing steadiness and soon more speed and grace I will be walking tall and proudly and will be a librarian.
The wonderful and rewarding part of grad school is that officially when I am finished I will have earned the title Librarian. I told my mom one day that the idea that I will have earned a title and will have that for life...Librarian gives me such a sense of accomplishment and pride.
The tricky part is getting someone to pay you...hence the baby steps in my career change.
I knew soon into my grad school experience that I needed experience, library experience. I realized this even more when a year ago I interviewed for a temporary part-time position at an academic library, the job was for a few months and I thought the interview would be cake. It was harder then I thought and I realized I wasn't ready yet and wasn't going to get the types of library jobs I thought I had deserved with all my grad school experience. Grad school is hard and I've learned a lot and yeah management experience is great too but when you're going into a very bureaucratic field and your competition are other grad students who have been working in libraries for a few years or more you see the light real quick.
So I sold my house to move to the cities where all the experience lies at my fingertips. I started volunteering in a cancer library and took a student job in the library at school...all of this for any kind of library experience I could get. I'm starting to walk steadier!
I interviewed Thursday morning for a temporary part-time position at an academic library - sound familiar? Different position, different library, different outcome. At 1 pm on Thursday I got offered the position! It's only for a few months but it will be a great experience. I will be a part-time interlibrary loan technician at Capella University in downtown Minneapolis and I can't wait, Unfortunately I have to wait, until the end of January! I think I can handle it ;)
The wonderful and rewarding part of grad school is that officially when I am finished I will have earned the title Librarian. I told my mom one day that the idea that I will have earned a title and will have that for life...Librarian gives me such a sense of accomplishment and pride.
The tricky part is getting someone to pay you...hence the baby steps in my career change.
I knew soon into my grad school experience that I needed experience, library experience. I realized this even more when a year ago I interviewed for a temporary part-time position at an academic library, the job was for a few months and I thought the interview would be cake. It was harder then I thought and I realized I wasn't ready yet and wasn't going to get the types of library jobs I thought I had deserved with all my grad school experience. Grad school is hard and I've learned a lot and yeah management experience is great too but when you're going into a very bureaucratic field and your competition are other grad students who have been working in libraries for a few years or more you see the light real quick.
So I sold my house to move to the cities where all the experience lies at my fingertips. I started volunteering in a cancer library and took a student job in the library at school...all of this for any kind of library experience I could get. I'm starting to walk steadier!
I interviewed Thursday morning for a temporary part-time position at an academic library - sound familiar? Different position, different library, different outcome. At 1 pm on Thursday I got offered the position! It's only for a few months but it will be a great experience. I will be a part-time interlibrary loan technician at Capella University in downtown Minneapolis and I can't wait, Unfortunately I have to wait, until the end of January! I think I can handle it ;)
Thursday, December 13, 2007
My so called life
In an earlier blog I talked about the writer's strike and I must say that I am enjoying it for one small reason...ABC has started reruns of the show "My so called life" which aired way back in the 90's.
I liked the show back in high school and I'm having fun watching it again now. If you've never seen it I will warn you that it's a totally depressing show and is probably the reason why I went thru a dreadful fashion stage in high school that involved too many oversized flannel shirts and wanting to dye my hair weird colors. But, there is interesting dialogue and teenage drama which in my book never goes out of style ;) And it brings back memories from teenage angst that often we want to forget but really helped develop us into the people we are now....'sigh'
on a totally different note...I may have an update about library job related stuff very soon, stay tuned in for more in a few days ;)
I liked the show back in high school and I'm having fun watching it again now. If you've never seen it I will warn you that it's a totally depressing show and is probably the reason why I went thru a dreadful fashion stage in high school that involved too many oversized flannel shirts and wanting to dye my hair weird colors. But, there is interesting dialogue and teenage drama which in my book never goes out of style ;) And it brings back memories from teenage angst that often we want to forget but really helped develop us into the people we are now....'sigh'
on a totally different note...I may have an update about library job related stuff very soon, stay tuned in for more in a few days ;)
Thursday, December 6, 2007
Virtual Worlds
A few descriptions first:
Avatar – a virtual image of yourself used online to represent yourself in a graphic way, other than with just text. This is created and can be changed by the creator at any time. It can look as close to or as different as the creator.
Second Life – created in 2003, this is a virtual world. Users pay a minimum of $9.95 per month for membership and more at times if they wish to buy virtual property, land or retail items. Interaction with other users is made possible with Avatar’s.
Webkinz – are stuffed animals purchased in real life. The stuffed animals come with codes that when entered on the webkinz site then become virtual pets. Kids take care of their pets online and by purchasing items in real life at retail stores they then have more virtual items…i.e. trading cards come with codes that can win accessories for the virtual house, etc.
Many say that webkinz are great for kids because they help them with their computer skills and teach them how to take on responsibility in their life. I can see how this is true however on the flip side I can also see how we are training are kids on how to use and live in virtual worlds.
So for our kids, ourselves and the future…are virtual worlds simply a new way to entertain ourselves and interact socially with others or should we have concerns…and if so what should those concerns be? I hardly believe that “real-life” society will fail to exist simply because there is now a virtual world but I do wonder what the impact on personal relationship will be like in 20-30 years. Will there be virtual relationship and real relationships and will they co-exist or will people consider their virtual life entirely separate from their real life. I don’t want to get carried away…I’d love to hear thoughts, I really have no set opinion on this subject myself, just curiosity and my rambling imagination…
Avatar – a virtual image of yourself used online to represent yourself in a graphic way, other than with just text. This is created and can be changed by the creator at any time. It can look as close to or as different as the creator.
Second Life – created in 2003, this is a virtual world. Users pay a minimum of $9.95 per month for membership and more at times if they wish to buy virtual property, land or retail items. Interaction with other users is made possible with Avatar’s.
Webkinz – are stuffed animals purchased in real life. The stuffed animals come with codes that when entered on the webkinz site then become virtual pets. Kids take care of their pets online and by purchasing items in real life at retail stores they then have more virtual items…i.e. trading cards come with codes that can win accessories for the virtual house, etc.
Many say that webkinz are great for kids because they help them with their computer skills and teach them how to take on responsibility in their life. I can see how this is true however on the flip side I can also see how we are training are kids on how to use and live in virtual worlds.
So for our kids, ourselves and the future…are virtual worlds simply a new way to entertain ourselves and interact socially with others or should we have concerns…and if so what should those concerns be? I hardly believe that “real-life” society will fail to exist simply because there is now a virtual world but I do wonder what the impact on personal relationship will be like in 20-30 years. Will there be virtual relationship and real relationships and will they co-exist or will people consider their virtual life entirely separate from their real life. I don’t want to get carried away…I’d love to hear thoughts, I really have no set opinion on this subject myself, just curiosity and my rambling imagination…
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