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Long Hiatus

I know blogs are supposed to be updated regularly or else people lose interest. This blog began as an experiment and I have waivered between using it for professional interests and also personal things. I haven't wanted to turn into another navel-gazing blogger who makes you regret you ever learned how to use an RSS feed. Yet, here we are...Christmas is upon us and I am thankful. Once again I have purchased bicycles and helmets for our branch adopt-a-family and our conference room was filled with the generosity of my co-workers. Even though none of us have received raises for years, and we contributed heavily during the United Way campaign, and we exchange gifts with our own families and friends we filled the table with gifts for strangers. Our branch tree glitters with ornaments made by "our children" and I have received tokens of appreciation from a few patrons. How could I not continue to feel like the luckiest girl in the world.

April Showers to May Flowers...Now its June

After several months of planning, it's finally over, my first conference as a real presenter. I have participated in conferences and "Days" in the form of poster sessions in nursing and library schools, but this was my first conference as a panelist. From the initial invitation, I admit, I was honored/flattered, but the amount of direction I received was rather limited so I was unsure quite how to prepare. I made lists and timelines, printed out "talking points" based upon the last-minute outline I was provided, and reviewed issues of Professional Development that might come up in my session. The two other panelists and I discussed all sorts of things but I'm not sure that my preparation mattered. The audience was terrific. It's all a blur, however. I've been invited to participate again next year as well as in something else. I guess I was successful. Next time I'll try to pay better attention.

A Return to the Blog

I noticed that the date on my previous post was March. What happened to April? We've been plowing through the retrospective RFID conversion project. Everyone has been in good spirits about it and I've been doing some hard labor. The short goal is finish Youth Services before school lets out for the summer. I think we are on track.

Mid-April I went to WDW to celebrate my birthday. Now officially I have to say, "I'm in my 40s, not just I'm 40." That's okay, the 40s are better. Disney was fun, as usual, and I had a birthday button. I'll be heading back up in a couple of weeks to stay at the Wilderness Lodge with a couple of friends in a room that has bunk beds. How fun is that?! I already called top bunk.

I always joke that I don't seem to attend meetings or training unless I'm presenting; on Friday I was a presenter on a panel at a library conference. This was an interesting experience for me because I have not been very involved in the local library network so this was the first time I met certain people in that organization. My co-panelists on Professional Development were the director of the regional library network appropriate to our area of the state and the dean of library services (or whatever the appropriate title is) of the local university. I believe I was invited to participate because of the blog I write to promote the library system's Professional Collection. In any event, I was in impressive company. Our audience was attentive. The session was very informal. I hope to receive a little feedback from the event organizer. My favorite part was that one of the attendees in my session was a woman who had written an article some years back in Reference Librarian that, going through back issues, I recently found very useful. I noticed that she was right in front of me so I stopped and commented on her article. She said it made her day. My next favorite part is that now the conference is over and I don't have to ruminate over it; I can go back to my other tasks.

Book Discussion

Yesterday I held my March adult book discussion at the library. The book was Eric Lerner's Pinkerton's Secret. My group really enjoys books in which real historical figures show up in the novel and this book did not disappoint. In fact, I pulled a biography of Pinkerton from the shelf to bring with me to the meeting and as I was flipping through it, I was amazed by how many of the photographs depicted actual scenes from the book. Pinkerton met everyone from his era. The fun thing about my loyal group of attendees is that they like maps and background information as much as I do. When we learned that Pinkerton probably had an affair with Kate Warne, the first female detective he ever hired, and she was buried next to him, the question that came up was who paid for her grave. In some book discussions how characters feel is the main topic. Not in mine. Kay said she would visit the cemetery next time she was in Chicago and Harry wanted her to check on who paid for Kate Warne's grave. Then he speculated it might be online. We got into a little, "you email them, no you" battle about. Finally, I told Harry that I bet he couldn't find out. He's a genealogist so finding out information from cemeteries is old hat for them. I just wanted to egg him on. Later in the evening I checked my work email from home and Harry had emailed me. He had already emailed the cemetery and received a response with supplemental links to online articles about Kate Warne. I can't wait until next month to tell the group. That's why my book discussion group is so nifty...The burial plot was Pinkerton's, by the way.

What Were They Thinking?

One of my tasks is technology instruction for the patrons and to that end, I have created a series of workshops designed to introduce patrons to computers, the Internet, and searching the Web. As I taught my series, helped patrons from the desk, and offered other bibliographic and technology instruction in different formats I realized that I needed to write a new workshop that was even more simple. I've been writing the Seriously Simple Computer Skills class to cover the basics. So I sat looking at my keyboard attempting to place myself in the place of the truly misplaced...there is no "Any" key, "dot" is the period key, "at" is above the 2, you get to the above things by holding down the Shift key...But yesterday I encountered something that was truly astounding and represents a decided lack of understanding about Web sites. Not only that, how is it possible that this person had never, ever, heard or seen this (what I will share in a moment) ever before? My patron had been sent to the library by his employer to retrieve his own W2 online. Typical. The Web site he had written down (that was told to him) that he could not access was:
http cohen //wwww.2express.com
Get it? http cohen...how about semi-cohen or cohenoscopy, does that help? Jeepers. Patrons say the darnedest things. My next workshop may have to be on an Etch-A-Sketch or Magna Doodle.

Shopping and Shopping

I can't believe Christmas is almost here. I've been shopping up a storm but I have not been running myself ragged. As many of you know, I love amazon.com, but I also love other Internet shopping. Mostly I love the hunt. I love finding an item at the best possible price. Many times the best possible price happens because of the tremendous buying power of amazon.com combined with no tax and free shipping. At other Internet sites, I always look for coupon codes before I closed the deal. The other day I helped a friend buy a video game for her husband. I directed her to an electronics site I like because amazon.com did not have any copies available. The store was listed as an amazon.com alternative seller, but by going directly, shipping was cheaper and they had a deal that by paying through Google Checkout you saved $5.00 (and no tax). Tonight I was shopping on the company site for a product and did a quick Internet search for a coupon code and found one that saved me 30% (again, no tax and they offered free shipping). I was really surprised when the coupon worked. Finding the perfect gift is great and not paying full retail is even better! Tonight is my last chance to order from amazon.com for receipt before Christmas so I better finalize my purchases. Merry Christmas to all and to all a good night.

This Really Happened-Just now

Patron: The machine wouldn't let me...like, I couldn't...you know...get on
Me: Let me check your card. What PIN were you using?
Patron: So the other lady what was here...
Me: What PIN did you try?
Patron: That other lady said I could get on a computer.
Me: What PIN did you try to use?
Patron: PIN?
Me: What is your phone number?
Patron: So the thing is that my sister's number might be it.
Me: What is your name?
Patron: I have alot of phone numbers.
Patron: [states name that matches card]
Me: What is the phone number?
Patron: [states number that is not in the record]
Me: What is Your number, I'll update your record.
Patron: [gives me last 4 numbers only]
Me: What is the beginning of the number?
Patron: 239
Me: [I chuckle] "hi, you're nice what's your number?... and you say?" [patron finally gets it and gives me a normal number in the proper order]

WAS THAT SOOOOO DIFFICULT?

Let Me Bend Your Ear About Mine

Final update...on Thanksgiving eve day I went to the ENT for my most recent appointment. I had another hearing test consisting of word recognition and pure tones. I thought I might have some additional improvement over the last test. This time I had 100% word recognition at 15 decibels. We had been testing at 65 dB. In the pure tones test I was in normal range in all but the last three tones. On the third highest frequency I was right on the line. On the 2nd highest, I gained back 15 dB that I had lost and in the highest frequency, I have finally gained back 5 dB. Small victories. Even if I never improved from this moment, my high frequency loss would be manageable. I can use a phone and listen to music. The loss is still in the moderate to severe range for those frequencies but I have gained back the ranges that are spoken word and that is most important. Rush Limbaugh had to have an implant to correct his loss. My ENT decided not to do the second treatment of steroids into my ear. Too bad, that made my knee feel great! I did tons of research and discovered that patients with my condition have an associated increase risk of stroke (150% increase). I have some things to work on. I don't go back to the ENT and audiologist for a year. I hope you all had plenty to be thankful for last week. You know I did.

Snow at the Library

This year I have already seen snow twice. The first time was a couple of weeks ago at Disney World at Mickey's Very Merry Christmas Party. Through the magic of Disney, snow fell on Main Street. I know it was a special foam blown from the rooftops to drift magically upon the Very Merry Partiers, but as long as you don't catch it on your tongue, the illusion holds. This morning I experienced my second flurries and they were as unmagical as could be. Before we opened, ScheduleMaster and I were RFID tagging the literary criticism books that are shelved at the end of Fiction. These books are filthy; not the good kind that makes people want to ban books either. This filth caused flurries of brown dust snow with each book we moved. Gross. I prefer Disney.

Christmas Shopping

This past weekend I went on the annual Christmas shopping trip to Orlando with the Queen of TR and Grannie Annie. We had a blast. The outlets were crowded and so were the malls. I have oodles of empathy for the hearing aid-wearers who have problems in crowds and loud places with echoes. I had to put an earplug in on several occasions or leave a store because the sounds were too intense. We went to the Magic Kingdom for Mickey's Very Merry Christmas Party and saw the lighting of Cinderella's Castle with the icicle lights. I know I mentioned it last year, but the enhancement of the castle with the ice is spectacular! On Wednesday I had a follow-up appointment with the ENT and audiologist and I have improvement. Word recognition is back to normal from 10%. Low tones have hit the normal zone and mid tones are almost there. High tones still score as moderate to severe loss. So I have room to improve, but, having improved means I'm not in the percentage who won't improve. In 10 days I'll be retested and I'll have the ear injection again and we'll keep watching.

Lucky, Lucky Girl (Again)

Two Saturdays ago I was sitting on the couch reading and I noticed that my left ear was picking up whooshing noises. Over the course of the day the sounds got worse and included other white noise and my ear also felt sort of full. I thought maybe my Eustachian tube was clogged like when I had allergies when I was little. My mother says I used to tell her I had bluebirds in my ears. So on Sunday I went over to my parents to have my father look in my ears and he thought I should try a decongestant. A couple of days of that with no improvement, and in fact, a decline in my hearing and I was concerned enough to do research (of course), try a neti pot technique I read about, and consult my physician again. He recommended an ENT. I went to the ENT on Monday and after an exam and hearing test I was diagnosed with Sudden Sensorineural Hearing Loss. Boom! Just like that, almost deaf. I wear ear protection when I work with power tools, I don't have my MP3 player loud, I use noise-cancelling headphones on the airplane, I even keep earplugs in my purse for movies and concerts. SSHL is what used to be nerve deafness. Anyway, my ENT asked me to return in the afternoon for an injection of Prednisone directly into the Middle Ear, which he said would have a 30% chance of success. Based upon my research, however, I believed the chance would be higher. The procedure was 3 days ago and I can now hear a dial tone and words through the phone, although the voice messaging system voice doesn't sound quite the same in both ears. I can hear the words through my headset if I play a video, even if the tone sounds a little weird. There's still whooshing but I am interpreting this as being in the 30% so, with luck and whatever other forces people believe in that surround me, perhaps I'll have a full recovery. We are all a little wigged out about it, but to have reached 40 without any other health crisis, I know I am fortunate. Keep your fingers crossed that I remain my grandmom's lucky, lucky girl. I really need it this time.

I have a patron who attends my computer walk-in clinic. She is a really nifty 80-ish lady who is totally into politics and she wanted to learn to use the computer so that she could go to Web sites like deomocracynow.org and the huffingtonpost.com. Because of her, I have become addicted to the Huffington Post, myself. Today I was reading the Post and I saw that the Anchorage Daily News endorsed Barack Obama. What was interesting was the supporting article. I was very impressed with the argument for Obama. It was well written, even-handed, and compelling. Here it is in full:

Anchorage Daily News
Obama for President
Palin's Rise Captivates Us But Nation Needs a Steady Hand
(10/25/08 19:37:58)
Alaska enters its 50th-anniversary year in the glow of an improbable and highly memorable event: the nomination of Gov. Sarah Palin as the Republican vice presidential candidate. For the first time ever, an Alaskan is making a serious bid for national office, and in doing so she brings broad attention and recognition not only to herself, but also to the state she leads.
Alaska's founders were optimistic people, but even the most farsighted might have been stretched to imagine this scenario. No matter the outcome in November, this election will mark a signal moment in the history of the 49th state. Many Alaskans are proud to see their governor, and their state, so prominent on the national stage.
Gov. Palin's nomination clearly alters the landscape for Alaskans as we survey this race for the presidency -- but it does not overwhelm all other judgment. The election, after all is said and done, is not about Sarah Palin, and our sober view is that her running mate, Sen. John McCain, is the wrong choice for president at this critical time for our nation.
Sen. Barack Obama, the Democratic nominee, brings far more promise to the office. In a time of grave economic crisis, he displays thoughtful analysis, enlists wise counsel and operates with a cool, steady hand. The same cannot be said of Sen. McCain.
Since his early acknowledgement that economic policy is not his strong suit, Sen. McCain has stumbled and fumbled badly in dealing with the accelerating crisis as it emerged. He declared that "the fundamentals of our economy are strong" at 9 a.m. one day and by 11 a.m. was describing an economy in crisis. He is both a longtime advocate of less market regulation and a supporter of the huge taxpayer-funded Wall Street bailout. His behavior in this crisis -- erratic is a kind description -- shows him to be ill-equipped to lead the essential effort of reining in a runaway financial system and setting an anxious nation on course to economic recovery.
Sen. Obama warned regulators and the nation 19 months ago that the subprime lending crisis was a disaster in the making. Sen. McCain backed tighter rules for Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, but didn't do much to advance that legislation. Of the two candidates, Sen. Obama better understands the mortgage meltdown's root causes and has the judgment and intelligence to shape a solution, as well as the leadership to rally the country behind it. It is easy to look at Sen. Obama and see a return to the smart, bipartisan economic policies of the last Democratic administration in Washington, which left the country with the momentum of growth and a budget surplus that President George Bush has squandered.
On the most important issue of the day, Sen. Obama is a clear choice.
Sen. McCain describes himself as a maverick, by which he seems to mean that he spent 25 years trying unsuccessfully to persuade his own party to follow his bipartisan, centrist lead. Sadly, maverick John McCain didn't show up for the campaign. Instead we have candidate McCain, who embraces the extreme Republican orthodoxy he once resisted and cynically asks Americans to buy for another four years.
It is Sen. Obama who truly promises fundamental change in Washington. You need look no further than the guilt-by-association lies and sound-bite distortions of the degenerating McCain campaign to see how readily he embraces the divisive, fear-mongering tactics of Karl Rove. And while Sen. McCain points to the fragile success of the troop surge in stabilizing conditions in Iraq, it is also plain that he was fundamentally wrong about the more crucial early decisions. Contrary to his assurances, we were not greeted as liberators; it was not a short, easy war; and Americans -- not Iraqi oil -- have had to pay for it. It was Sen. Obama who more clearly saw the danger ahead.
The unqualified endorsement of Sen. Obama by a seasoned, respected soldier and diplomat like Gen. Colin Powell, a Republican icon, should reassure all Americans that the Democratic candidate will pass muster as commander in chief.
On a matter of parochial interest, Sen. Obama opposes the opening of the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge, but so does Sen. McCain. We think both are wrong, and hope a President Obama can be convinced to support environmentally responsible development of that resource.
Gov. Palin has shown the country why she has been so successful in her young political career. Passionate, charismatic and indefatigable, she draws huge crowds and sows excitement in her wake. She has made it clear she's a force to be reckoned with, and you can be sure politicians and political professionals across the country have taken note. Her future, in Alaska and on the national stage, seems certain to be played out in the limelight.
Yet despite her formidable gifts, few who have worked closely with the governor would argue she is truly ready to assume command of the most important, powerful nation on earth. To step in and juggle the demands of an economic meltdown, two deadly wars and a deteriorating climate crisis would stretch the governor beyond her range. Like picking Sen. McCain for president, putting her one 72-year-old heartbeat from the leadership of the free world is just too risky at this time.

Roaming Gnome

For a couple of months I have been engaging in Technology-Specific Roving Reference. That is, I have been wandering around our computer stations offering help to stranded computer motorists and assisting with the reservation and printing systems. I have also had the occasion to conduct OPAC training and pre-screen reference questions to make introductory hand-offs to the Reference Desk. Our public computer area is, not far, just a shushh away from the desk. So I have been doing this for a little bit. Some patrons seem to find it a little creepy that I cover ground like a screensaver but most have found me helpful. I bought a button/badge-making kit so that I can make buttons that will put the patrons at ease while I'm roaming. As a department, we have begun roving reference in the stacks with the goal of 1 hour each per week. As I rove looking for people to help, I tighten the bookends and reshelve the widows and orphans. I'm defining widows and orphans as books left on the ends of shelves outside of the bookends, either on the same shelf where they belong or an adjacent shelf. Here's what I don't understand about people...They pull out a book, look at it, decide they don't want it and then-leaving a GIGANTIC GAP WHERE THE BOOK WAS- put the book back on the other side of the book end (thus creating an orphan). Furthermore, what possesses them to stick the book on a different shelf (widow-maker). Even if you don't understand our highly technical system called alphabetical order, you just made a gap, how do you think that happened?!

Count Your Blessings

Sally wrote in her blog about feeling very fortunate and those of you who have spent any time in my blog know I feel fortunate quite often. I commented on Sally's post that what she wrote reminded me of the song, Count Your Blessings, from the movie White Christmas. I think of that song from my Ray Conniff Christmas album. I wanted to post a video of the song onto my comment in Sally's blog, but I could not, so here it is...

Another Year

It's hard to believe that a year has passed since I wrote an excited post about Nobel season. What a year it has been! The Peace Prize was announced to today. I really like that it was awarded to a man who works towards peace. Certainly the previous two winners have changed my life. As you know, I have become a great fan of microfinance thanks to Muhammad Yunus (2006) and I have tried to change my ways for my pal, Al (2007). The Nobel Prizes, especially the Peace Prize, make me feel optimistic and make me want to be a good person. I don't trod in the right places to walk in the footsteps of Martti Ahtisaari to make big changes in the world, but I do what I can with what I have. Here's to those whose reach is bigger.

Stormy Weather

Yesterday as I was finishing my last desk shift we had a huge downpour. By the time I was ready to leave, the rain had dwindled to a drizzle. As I walked to the car I had sun behind me and dark grey skies in front with showers. Where's the rainbow? Find the rainbow! There it is...over the parking lot! Not a full one, just a little arc, but a rainbow. I was the passenger so I could enjoy the view for several blocks. As we headed over the Cape Coral bridge I looked again, hoping for a new view and maybe the full show, but no luck. Instead the Rainbow Connection song popped into my head...you know, from the Muppet Movie? Why are there so many songs about rainbows and what's on the other side? Rainbows are visions, but only illusions. Rainbows have nothing to hide...I had some gaps in what I could remember but I was shocked by what I had retained. Anyway, this morning I looked up the lyrics and then discovered that Jason Mraz has recorded the song and there's a video on YouTube (everything is on YouTube). Bottom line...even when you know the physics of rainbows, they are awesome to behold. Here's the video.

Politics

Last night I watched some of the Convention. In between speeches I had commentary on and the Queen of TR, who was playing a game on her laptop quipped that it sounded like NPR. She wasn't far off, I had the PBS broadcast on. Lucky for me they taped the Gov. of Massachusetts while they were talking so we went back to him and heard his speech in full. I was impressed, of course, with what he had to say and I wondered what cabinet position he would be offered in an Obama administration. Then I thought about my own family. My grandpop only went to school up to 4th grade and then became a blacksmith apprentice in Italy. He left, alone, as a young teen to come to the U.S. and Canada where he had some family. He neither read nor spoke English. He was in the country illegally but always worked. Having lived in the U.S. and Canada, he eventually met someone and wanted to build a life in the U.S. but the quota of Italians from Italy and Canada was full so he went to Cuba and became a citizen and came back under the Italian quota from Cuba. He married my grandmom continued to work hard as a stone mason, became naturalized as a U.S. citizen, and raised 2 sons including a doctor. One Sunday he took my grandmom for a drive in Princeton, NJ to see the work he was doing near a new school that was being built in the woods by a French order of nuns. They were impressed by the tranquility of the school and wondered what sort of girls would go there. Years later, their baby boy would send his baby girl there. That's the beauty of the American Dream.

As I listened to the speeches last night I couldn't imagine why everyone doesn't like to do the right thing, the things that benefit everyone. Then, this morning, I realized that it's like driving. When you are on a road and see a "lane closed ahead" sign there are two types of drivers. One driver moves over immediately and then lets others in. Sure, the whole process slows but everyone gets where they are going on time and never has to stop. Then there is the other driver. He sees the sign and races down the lane to get ahead of everyone else and then stops traffic while he nudges in. He doesn't really gain but he prevents anyone from getting more than he does. Meanwhile, we all lose because traffic is at a standstill because we had to deal with his antics rather than go slower and alternate and we all win. I think the cooperative driver who ensures we all get to work on time is the Democrat.

The Patron

I was just summoned out to the Circulation Desk because a patron wanted to see me. I went out to find an elderly, African-American gentleman named Karl. He lit up when he saw me so I gave him a big hug and that made me feel great. He said he was at church nearby and felt compelled to stop in just to see me to say hello. I met Karl 7 years ago during the week before I closed on my house. We discussed the weather and he said it would rain on the weekend and I told him I didn't want any rain. He said we needed it but I told him I was moving into my new house on Saturday and rain would mess everything up. Karl said he would, "talk to the Man Upstairs" and hold off the rain. It didn't rain that weekend and he has been one of my old men boyfriends at work ever since. At one point I hadn't seen him for awhile and I started to worry, as I'm sure many do who become attached to older patrons, that I might find him listed in the obituaries. I was on the verge of searching for him when he showed up again, much to my relief. He always makes me happy to see him. I may have mentioned before that patrons either love me or hate me. Today the love is winning.