Lately I've been daydreaming about autumn. It seems I'm nostalgic for leaves turning colors, hot apple cider, and snuggling in poofy sweaters while there's a crisp sunny breeze in the air. Being able to sit next to a fireplace in a cafe and be thankful for the warmth against the chilly breezes periodically invited in through the door. I can't help it - I keep trying to remind myself how much I yearn for these warmer sunny days of summer when it's wintertime, how fleeting autumn really is, and how it will be here soon enough. I think just one day of real cool weather would help fix things and then I can go back to loving summer. But really, we've used up all the heat quota for the year, don't you think?
Aside from that, I got some 100% cranberry/grape juice and seltzer water today. Not as sweet as Italian sodas from cafes, but still pretty good. Tasty while still being healthy! I was able to catch Colin on video chat for a few minutes yesterday and today but it wasn't quite enough. While I'm enjoying having two-thirds of the couch entirely to myself all the time, I really look forward to my new hubby coming home on Saturday.
What else? The dean at the library wasn't able to meet with me until next week so no news on that front. My dad is competing in the national canoe race this weekend, both the 2-man and 1-man events. His goal: Don't finish last. I found a beetle on the cucumber plant, two peppers have flowers, and a couple of potato plants have popped up under the eaves outside of the little ditch where I planted all the eyes (they probably moved when the patch was flooded). Along with the robins and sparrows that use the makeshift bird bath, we've now got a hummingbird feeder which has been attracting a few of those little guys. They sometimes try to suck the food out of the crack between the glass and the plastic bottom when there's perfectly functioning fake flowers with ledges they can sit on. Not terribly bright but fun to watch.
I feel like I've done enough productive things for the day but for some reason I can't bring myself to just sit and read a book. Sadly, it's something I rarely do outside of just before going to sleep or specific situations. I've read a bit more this week than usual, with no Colin around to interrupt me. I'm also keen on getting back into the genealogy research but feel at a loss just where to jump back in and how to restrain myself from letting it suck up all my time. I think part of it is the fact that the time researching in Massachusetts was such a short and intense period.
Thursday, August 11, 2011
Monday, August 8, 2011
Let every moment be a teaching lesson
Colin left this morning for an overseas business trip. He won't be back until Saturday. It will be interesting to see how this goes, especially since it's been a while since we actually spent more than an hour or two apart. Meanwhile, married life continues to be pretty much the same, if on less sleep than usual which I'm not sure is cause/effect. The house is still much more cluttered than I'd like but it's a process. My sister was in town this weekend and that was fun, despite the stress of a bolt haven sheared off on one of her tires coming here. When she and Colin inspected it, it turned out the tire had been held on by one nut. So we took it in and got that all fixed up before she headed to the airport to pick up her boyfriend who's coming back from study abroad. Phew!
We've also been watching a lot of Doctor Who which is on Netflix and most episodes have captions. The second season's first episode (2006) did not, however, but Colin was patient enough to explain what was being said without overwhelming my non-multitasking brain.
I don't know much more about my job. The dean was out on vacation on Friday when I went to work and the secretary was also not there. I plan to call and schedule an appointment. Meanwhile, since it's not yet the fall semester and I haven't been denied any access, I'm still doing the regular online chat reference hours.
For the most part, I enjoy doing this. Almost everyone expects that they will be getting a librarian at their own library when they ask a question and I certainly don't blame them. I have yet to see a library webpage that explains that the "chat with a librarian" means it could be *any* librarian. Most people either take it in stride or get confused but then realize that it makes sense (after explanations). Some have very specific questions to the school and sign off abruptly when they realize I'm not physically at the school before I can find them a phone number or suggest that I can forward their question on to a local librarian. Then there's a vast number of "Where's the stapler?" questions - ones that I easily find the answer to by just looking around on their libraries' websites.
The easiest ones are those that are truly glad to get whatever you can give them, that are patient, and are willing (even eager) to explain further what it is they're looking for. It doesn't matter what the question is or how hard it is to find the answer; I enjoy working with these patrons. One person had a question that was more appropriate to start researching through Google and they were in awe of the idea of using "site:edu" to narrow search results to only academic webpages.
The hardest ones are those who are impatient and have unreasonable expectations. Or make assumptions. Recently I had an especially difficult one who assumed their school was "now farming out the reference questions to Illinois" and corrected my slangy spelling of "alright," warning me that I didn't want anyone to think those in Illinois were hicks. It felt like they were here to correct some random librarian's "mistakes" and trying to bait me with a topic not related to their question. For me to remain professional, it helps if who I am interacting with does the same. (Don't worry, I didn't bite.)
While I was initially tempted to just rant about this, I decided that a better thing to do was to use it as a way to show what works and what doesn't work when you're asking a librarian questions online. I read many librarian blogs and what I've said seems completely in the realm of what is appropriate to blog about, especially if it is to reveal how a service or approach is or is not working.
Mmm lunchtime! Then perhaps a nap ...
We've also been watching a lot of Doctor Who which is on Netflix and most episodes have captions. The second season's first episode (2006) did not, however, but Colin was patient enough to explain what was being said without overwhelming my non-multitasking brain.
I don't know much more about my job. The dean was out on vacation on Friday when I went to work and the secretary was also not there. I plan to call and schedule an appointment. Meanwhile, since it's not yet the fall semester and I haven't been denied any access, I'm still doing the regular online chat reference hours.
For the most part, I enjoy doing this. Almost everyone expects that they will be getting a librarian at their own library when they ask a question and I certainly don't blame them. I have yet to see a library webpage that explains that the "chat with a librarian" means it could be *any* librarian. Most people either take it in stride or get confused but then realize that it makes sense (after explanations). Some have very specific questions to the school and sign off abruptly when they realize I'm not physically at the school before I can find them a phone number or suggest that I can forward their question on to a local librarian. Then there's a vast number of "Where's the stapler?" questions - ones that I easily find the answer to by just looking around on their libraries' websites.
The easiest ones are those that are truly glad to get whatever you can give them, that are patient, and are willing (even eager) to explain further what it is they're looking for. It doesn't matter what the question is or how hard it is to find the answer; I enjoy working with these patrons. One person had a question that was more appropriate to start researching through Google and they were in awe of the idea of using "site:edu" to narrow search results to only academic webpages.
The hardest ones are those who are impatient and have unreasonable expectations. Or make assumptions. Recently I had an especially difficult one who assumed their school was "now farming out the reference questions to Illinois" and corrected my slangy spelling of "alright," warning me that I didn't want anyone to think those in Illinois were hicks. It felt like they were here to correct some random librarian's "mistakes" and trying to bait me with a topic not related to their question. For me to remain professional, it helps if who I am interacting with does the same. (Don't worry, I didn't bite.)
While I was initially tempted to just rant about this, I decided that a better thing to do was to use it as a way to show what works and what doesn't work when you're asking a librarian questions online. I read many librarian blogs and what I've said seems completely in the realm of what is appropriate to blog about, especially if it is to reveal how a service or approach is or is not working.
Mmm lunchtime! Then perhaps a nap ...
Tuesday, August 2, 2011
From the keyboard of a married woman
Lots of things have happened lately but I don't want this to turn into a long-winded post (mostly because I want to post before we leave for dinner with friends tonight).
Wedding: Pulled it off and it went terrific! There were glitches but we took them in stride. The weather was perfect. I do wish we had had more hours in the afternoon to really get into the letterboxing but that's the way it goes. I have absolutely no pictures yet; I didn't even take any photos with my own camera during any of the events, including the relaxing camping trip we did with some other people Saturday through Monday. So now it's back to "real life" - with new stuff to sort through, dirty clothes to wash, and rings on our fingers. But really, as expected, we were already practically married so actually having a wedding didn't change a whole lot. There is a sense of "things are easier" - not having to struggle with the inadequate names for each other, like "boyfriend." One word of advice I have for those planning weddings: Get a room with a hot tub. I'm not being dirty here; lying in the hot water is the *perfect* way to relax after the stress of The Big Day.
Job: It appears I don't actually have a job this fall semester. It's very vague and confusing. I plan to find out more when I'm in on Friday. More details as I learn them.
Hearing aids: Earlier last week I finally got my new hearing aids! I had had the same Phonak Powerzoom analog hearing aids for TEN YEARS. It is nothing short of a miracle that they lasted that long. They're still fine, but I wanted to be proactive and get new hearing aids *before* I couldn't hear with my old ones anymore.
I'm still adjusting to these new Phonak Naida S V UP digital ones (they're ALL digital now, or at least the ones that will work for me). Some things are much easier: they're water resistant (no need to dry my hair before putting them in), they don't have interference with my cellphone, and listening to people with any amount of background noise is soooo much easier. Being in the car is distracting; the hearing aids go back and forth between dimming the noises and picking up Colin's voice. I don't like it at all, it doesn't seem safe for when I'm driving, but I've found when I put the hearing aids in the one other mode that's on them (so far) it's much more consistent - this is kind of funny because the mode is meant for blocking out background noise but I find that the normal mode is much nicer in crowds. Also, I still struggle with how different things/voices sound and how loud or soft my own voice should be in situations. Ooo, and the new ones are this dark transparent blue!
Webcomics: While not technically a life update, I've discovered two webcomics lately that I've been going through. One is "Scandinavia and the World" and the other is "Girls with Slingshots." The webcomic above is from "Girls with Slingshots;" I'm finding a lot of the story lines seem to resonate with me right now. As for the other one, I'm only sad that I didn't discover it earlier because it is helping to satisfy my craving for connecting with my strange and mysterious Scandinavian heritage.
Google Plus: One more thing! I'm enjoying this new feature and I have high hopes for it. I would love to cancel my facebook account but for social reasons I can't (at least not yet - can everybody switch to Google Plus? please?). I haven't posted much yet on Google Plus, but I check it regularly. My main battle is when I try to decide whether to post something on Plus or Twitter. I'm holding onto both at least for now. As for a blogging alternative, I'm not sure I'll ever get rid of this blog at least in the foreseeable future, but I'm intrigued by the idea of using Google Plus for shorter, more frequent posts without being limited to 140 characters.
Also - three red tomatoes in our garden!
Wedding: Pulled it off and it went terrific! There were glitches but we took them in stride. The weather was perfect. I do wish we had had more hours in the afternoon to really get into the letterboxing but that's the way it goes. I have absolutely no pictures yet; I didn't even take any photos with my own camera during any of the events, including the relaxing camping trip we did with some other people Saturday through Monday. So now it's back to "real life" - with new stuff to sort through, dirty clothes to wash, and rings on our fingers. But really, as expected, we were already practically married so actually having a wedding didn't change a whole lot. There is a sense of "things are easier" - not having to struggle with the inadequate names for each other, like "boyfriend." One word of advice I have for those planning weddings: Get a room with a hot tub. I'm not being dirty here; lying in the hot water is the *perfect* way to relax after the stress of The Big Day.
Job: It appears I don't actually have a job this fall semester. It's very vague and confusing. I plan to find out more when I'm in on Friday. More details as I learn them.
Hearing aids: Earlier last week I finally got my new hearing aids! I had had the same Phonak Powerzoom analog hearing aids for TEN YEARS. It is nothing short of a miracle that they lasted that long. They're still fine, but I wanted to be proactive and get new hearing aids *before* I couldn't hear with my old ones anymore.
I'm still adjusting to these new Phonak Naida S V UP digital ones (they're ALL digital now, or at least the ones that will work for me). Some things are much easier: they're water resistant (no need to dry my hair before putting them in), they don't have interference with my cellphone, and listening to people with any amount of background noise is soooo much easier. Being in the car is distracting; the hearing aids go back and forth between dimming the noises and picking up Colin's voice. I don't like it at all, it doesn't seem safe for when I'm driving, but I've found when I put the hearing aids in the one other mode that's on them (so far) it's much more consistent - this is kind of funny because the mode is meant for blocking out background noise but I find that the normal mode is much nicer in crowds. Also, I still struggle with how different things/voices sound and how loud or soft my own voice should be in situations. Ooo, and the new ones are this dark transparent blue!
Webcomics: While not technically a life update, I've discovered two webcomics lately that I've been going through. One is "Scandinavia and the World" and the other is "Girls with Slingshots." The webcomic above is from "Girls with Slingshots;" I'm finding a lot of the story lines seem to resonate with me right now. As for the other one, I'm only sad that I didn't discover it earlier because it is helping to satisfy my craving for connecting with my strange and mysterious Scandinavian heritage.
Google Plus: One more thing! I'm enjoying this new feature and I have high hopes for it. I would love to cancel my facebook account but for social reasons I can't (at least not yet - can everybody switch to Google Plus? please?). I haven't posted much yet on Google Plus, but I check it regularly. My main battle is when I try to decide whether to post something on Plus or Twitter. I'm holding onto both at least for now. As for a blogging alternative, I'm not sure I'll ever get rid of this blog at least in the foreseeable future, but I'm intrigued by the idea of using Google Plus for shorter, more frequent posts without being limited to 140 characters.
Also - three red tomatoes in our garden!
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