Take a break, run away with us for the summer

 For the past three school years (2013-2016), I was the head librarian for private Islamic school run by the Saudi Arabian government. Okay, so I was also the only librarian, but they gave me that job title, so I ran with it.

A most perfect t-shirt from my mother-in-law

Overall, it was an amazing three years. I learned a LOT (being a solo librarian who trains herself on a lot of things is becoming my jam) and had fun doing it. I went on interesting field trips, read many great books (I already enjoy reading middle grade and YA fiction, so to have a large collection at my fingertips that I could then discuss with my students was fantastic), and made some good friends - students and colleagues alike.

I was never planning to be a school librarian, but  this position sort of fell into my lap at just the right time and it turned out to be just what I needed.

For a little while.

When I took the job, I felt pretty quickly like I wouldn't be there forever. I wanted to give it everything I could, but only as long as I needed to. Being a school job, it was going to be natural to leave in between school years, and it turned out that's what I needed to do this year.

Even more conveniently, the school was actually closing and another was opening in its place in a different part of the county. It was the perfect time for me to close the doors and let someone else open the new ones. Several of my colleagues and students were going to the new school, but a lot of us didn't for a lot of reasons, and it was really refreshing to leave on good terms and on my own terms. I had put a lot of work into the last three years and I felt really good about how I had curated the collection (it went to the new school) and what I had been able to teach my students.

So, in June of this year, I became what I am calling a semi-retired librarian. I don't need to work - we've lived on one income our entire marriage and now it's Blake's turn. In fact, my contract ran out in August, just as his started up, so it was a rather seamless financial transition.

I would like to work again at some point, but I've enjoyed the last few months of not having to. I've had other things to work on, least of all preparing to move to Japan and now settling in here. Sometime, probably soon, I'll look for positions locally or online that are either directly, or indirectly, a match for my skills and interests! It will keep me busy and help fund our adventures and paying down of student debt. If you have any ideas or opportunities, I'm all ears.

In the meantime, I'm going on a walking tour of our new city tomorrow while Blake works, because I can!

We made book blizzard - the kids cut snowflakes out of coffee filters and then wrote their favorite book on them

Book Character Day and we both ended up as Professor Trelawney

This book from the 1970s did not make it to the new school

Neither did these books and a whole lot of others; I weeded like crazy.

A DC-local artist made journals out of some of the books I weeded, and I got this one as a gift.

I have a love/hate relationship with book fairs myself, but the kids absolutely loved them.

So I creep yeah, I just keep it on the down low

I was invited by the fifth grade girls to chaperone their field trip yesterday to the Smithsonian Museum of Natural History. Since the best thing to do after being out of the office/library for two days is to leave again, I was happy to go. Even if I have to keep an eye on five ten-year-olds as they run around a busy museum, it beats catching up on shelving and paperwork.

Now, I don't know if any of the students went home to their families and gushed about cool things they learned, but I sure did. Even though I've been to this museum threes and fours of times, I still found some new things.

In the insect room, a museum employee had three insects he was taking out of jars to let people touch or hold, depending on the insect. At the insistence of my students I held a feinting beetle. It's defense mechanism is to play dead when a predator is nearby, so it played dead on my hand for a couple seconds before it trusted me enough to start crawling.

I wanted nothing to do with the Madagascar hissing cockroach.

Based on how much I gushed about it to Blake, my favorite thing of the day was the last insect, the Australian walking stick. It is so cool! The museum employee had a female, apparent because of her large abdomen and tiny wings. These bugs are amazing at camouflage and mimicry! When they are first born, their mom shoots out the eggs. If there is no male around, it's okay - the female will just clone herself! Ants then carry off the eggs into their nests, where it is cooler and wetter than above ground. When the walking sticks first hatch, they look like ants, so the ants raise them as such! It wasn't really covered what happens when the ants and the walking sticks realize they are not the same, but I'm sure at some point the walking sticks get too big and move out on their own.

Out on the branches of trees and bushes, Australian walking sticks generally hang so that their abdomen just looks like a dead leaf blowing in the breeze, but if they're crawling around right side up, they look like a scorpion!

Not a scorpion!

Their life span is only about 9 months, but I think it's a pretty impressive 9 months.

I also learned, from our IMAX movie - Mysteries of the Unseen World, that dragonflies can move all four of their wings independently of one another, which is different from any other flying creature out there. This also allows them to hover and fly forwards and backwards.

Another other cool thing I got to do was touch a piece of Mars, a rock collected on Mars by a robot (I don't remember which one) and returned to Earth. The moon rock you can touch in the Air and Space Museum is pretty dang neat, but the Mars rock (in a similar display) is just off to the side in the minerals and gems room and you could easily miss it if  you're not looking for it. In fact, I must have missed it the other times I've been there. I definitely rectified that situation yesterday.

I'm bummed the new dinosaur exhibit won't be open until 2019, but I did think it was neat that there is a fossil lab with windows on three sides right in the middle of the temporary exhibit. The workers I observed were making storage boxes and taking photos, but that's still cool. There was a sign on the glass not to tap it, since it might disturb the mammals inside.

Overall, it was a fun way to get out and do something different for the work day and hang out with some students. I should have added a juice box to my lunch though. Anytime we had a field trip where we had to pack a lunch, Mom spoiled us by getting us a more fun than usual lunch to make the day even more of a treat, usually a Lunchable and a juice box. I did at least pack myself one last snickerdoodle and some Hershey's Hugs.

I did have to make up for it today by doing paperwork and lesson planning. I decided to put off shelving until tomorrow, but I'll make sure my podcasts are up to date in the morning so that I don't get terribly bored. 

Getting to know you

Part of the VAASL conference this year has been a celebration of Virginia authors. There was an authors reception on Thursday night where various local authors were spread around the exhibit hall, signing books and meeting fans. On Friday night, the annual banquet was held and Maggie Stiefvater, who lives in the Shenandoah Valley, spoke.

To date, I have only read one book by Maggie Stiefvater, Shiver, and I ultimately did not care much for it. I'm even more wary of paranormal teenage romance trilogies than I am about dystopian trilogies. I really liked her talk though, and I am willing to give another book or series by her another chance.

After the dinner, Maggie was going to sign books and there was line practically out the door for it. So, Margaret, my keynote speaking conference buddy who has read even less Maggie Stiefvater than I have, jumped in line with a book to have signed for a friend, and I went to the restroom. Margaret was pretty close to the front when I got back, so I went up to stand next to her and a few other librarian friends and said, "It's not cutting if I'm not having anything signed, right?"

Everyone agreed, but then the conference planner/new VAASL president handed me The Raven Boys, the first book in The Raven Cycle.

"Do you want me to have this signed for someone?"

"No, it's yours now. I ended up with an extra copy."

"Well, okay then! Thanks!"

And about a minute later, I was at the signing table, having Maggie sign a book I received just moments earlier and have never read.

"To Amanda." *flashes name badge for spelling* "So far I've only read Shiver, and I didn't care for it much."

"That's okay. I think my books have gotten better since then."

"That's cool. I just got this one and I've heard good things, so I'm looking forward to reading it."

It was a bit awkward. But what DO you say to an author whose only book you didn't really like and you were not planning on meeting until literally a minute earlier?

The Virginian author/illustrator at today's lunch, Henry Cole, was also interesting to listen to. I'll be honest though - I dozed off a little during his talk. I was getting the sleepies after lunch and I knew I had a 2.5 hour drive coming up after, so I rested my chin on my hand and closed my eyes for a few minutes to take the edge off. I don't think anyone noticed, thank goodness. I did wake up in time to watch him illustrate this super cute drawing to the music (and even rhythm) of a Peggy Lee song.

I want to be in the room where it happens

My very first task at this Virginia Association of School Librarians conference on Thursday morning was to present. I was at a three day professional development course over the summer and ideas were shared and it was suggested I submit a proposal to present in the fall. And I did. And I was accepted! So yesterday was my first opportunity to present at a professional conference of any kind and I think I did pretty darn well!

My session was on the The Music Teacher and the Librarian, and I shared a variety of ways that music teachers and school librarians can collaborate on lessons to support one another's program. Using ideas I gathered from other librarians, music teachers, and other educational colleagues, as well ideas of my own, I threw out several ideas for musical read alouds, research projects, listening and writing assignments, and other ways the librarian might be of use to the music teacher in fun and engaging ways for the students. I even got to work Hamilton into my presentation.

Since my school does not have a music program at this time, there is a lot I can't implement myself, but I hope the twenty-five or so people who attended got something out of it that they can take to their school.

It was a little nerve-wracking being among the first presenters. Everyone is still energetic and excited and not yet conferenced out or overwhelmed with ideas, like you might be by the third day. On the other hand, it was nice to get it over with and then just enjoy the rest of my meetings so far.

And enjoy them I have! As expected, I've been to sessions that have inspired me to make changes in my library now and other things to file away for later. Now that this is my second year attending VAASL meetings (I attended all the events that I could last year), I'm getting to know people and enjoy some networking as well. One of the sessions I attended today turned into a bit of a therapy session for me. It was intended to be a meeting of any solo librarians to network and meet together, but it ended up just being me and the facilitators. So, we talked about my job and the challenges I'm facing. They were really reassuring and encouraging and made me feel like I am doing the right things. I was even told that they were glad I was not the shrinking violet type, because I'd be even more challenged at my job if I were. It's really nice to receive professional validation from other librarians who know more than I do. One of them had even been to my presentation and enjoyed it!

I also won, in a round of genre bingo, a copy of a biography about my Texas hometown hero - Babe Didrikson Zaharias. She was a great athlete from the early 20th century who also grew up in Beaumont. I can't tell you how many times I wandered around the museum about her. It was right off the soccer fields, so I'd go there during my siblings' games sometimes.

It has also been wonderful to spend some time with an internet friend of mine, after meeting her in person for the first time. We've been friends on Twitter for at least four or five years and finally we got to hang out! She was a keynote speaker on Thursday and I think we both appreciated having a buddy to spend time with the last couple of days. It was also a highlight to get a shout out during her keynote address. I'll have to get up to Boston one of these days and hang out with her again!

I'm really glad to be attending this conference. Meetings like this can be hard for an introvert, and I miss my husband and dog, but I'm glad I'm here - learning things, feeling energized and rejuvenated about my job, and being among my people, strangers and friends alike!

I'm looking for a mind at work

I certainly never expected to become a school librarian and especially not in a private Islamic school, but it really has proven to be the right job at the right time. There are definitely stressful days and things I would change if I could (my kingdom for an assistant!), but most of the time, I really enjoy this job. I am learning new things constantly and trying to make the most of this unexpected adventure.

Things I love about my job:

• Being told by the homeroom teacher the lesson I'm giving that day is perfect for what they're working on in class.
• Collaborating with teachers to find that perfect lesson topic
• Connecting the right book with the right student. 
• Discussing books that a student loved that I also loved.
• Especially when I recommended that book in the first place
• Making students laugh
• My students making me laugh
• Making changes that work
• Learning from changes that didn't work
• Reading from the library collection
• Helping students become self-sufficient library users

Yesterday was especially fun. It was a half day for the kids, so the Girls Elementary held a book and breakfast readathon. Most of their school day was centered around various reading activities, including the first 90 minutes just being reading and breakfast. And we all got to wear our pajamas. I enjoyed visiting most of the classes and having some time to just model reading for pleasure by reading my own book of choice while the students read theirs. 

What I wore to pajama day, with added Malcolm, since it's his favorite chair too. He didn't get up from this snuggle easily.

It didn't hurt that the school then provided lunch for the staff and let us go home two hours early ourselves. After a day like that, I honestly felt a little more refreshed to return to school today.

What are your favorite things about your job right now?

Just one step, look at where one step leads you!

This may be my second year at the school, but I still don't know my way around the entire building. I was given a tour as part of my signing of my original contract and again during orientation, but it wasn't until two weeks later I finally felt confident enough to say from most of my routine places that I knew how to get back to my office from just about anywhere. It took me at least four days to find the women's restroom on my floor. I didn't even know about the administrative supply closet that I am allowed access to until the beginning of this school year. Now, I think I could get back to my office, but that's because anywhere new would only involve a few steps of backtracking to familiar territory, rather than the whole route.

Yesterday, I figured out where the "green room" is. I knew we had at least two gyms. I couldn't tell you how to get to the girls' gym with very much certainty, but I think I could find the boys gym. They're probably right next to each other, but I have yet to fully investigate this. I go different ways to get to them if I need to.

But yesterday, not only did I find the green room, but I discovered we actually have practically the equivalent of an athletic compound. Of course, leaving the green room, what I thought was the door to the stairs was actually a closet. So I have some work to do. There are several rooms near the gyms for health and physical education. Rumor is that there is even a weight room. We only have a few sports teams, but they actually have a fair amount of space, and I might need to explore this more, just to satisfy my own curiosity. I do know that some of the locker room space is actually being used as office. I wonder if that guy ever gets lonely. I actually haven't seen him in weeks . . .I also wonder if we have any other locker rooms, because the ones I know of don't seem to be in use.

I certainly don't know where everyone else's offices are, but I found one of my friends' offices last week when I was turned around trying to find one of the second grade classrooms.  It's a big and confusing school and there is not actually a lot of reason for me to know where everything is. The only reason I needed the green room in our PE wing was because of an after school Zumba class, which is not part of my regular duties, but something I'm happy to be a part of!

This was a high school in the county before our school rented the building, and there always some quirks to an old school like this. Rumor is that we'll be moving to a brand new building in a few years, and I'm sure I'll get lost there too!

Now, a mystery I'll probably never solve is why and how these books magically appeared in my office when I wasn't looking . . .

Half a set of 1992 World Books and other assorted reference material. Yay!

From the top of my head way down to my toes

Yesterday morning, I drove down to Roanoke, Virginia, for my first Virginia Association of School Librarians annual conference. My school was happy to support my attendance and I can use all the help I can get with ideas on how to run my library better.

And boy howdy have I gotten a LOT of ideas. I probably could have attended last year, but I was so overwhelmed by the newness of everything last year that I didn't even think about VAASL for quite awhile. Thinking about it now, I'm actually glad I didn't attend. I would likely have gotten even more overwhelmed!

Attending for the first time as a second year school librarian gives me a good perspective. I know where my weaknesses are, and my strengths. I know what I do know and what I don't. I know a little bit more of what my library needs and what my student and teacher population needs. Having gotten to know my library over the last year has given me a good base to work with this year as I choose what sessions might be the most beneficial to me. And, instead of getting all worked up that I'll never be good enough and make my library the best ever, I'm getting excited about what I will be working on when I get back! What I don't get to do will be okay. Whenever my time to move on comes, I will leave the library a better place than how I found it and that's what really matters.

I also learned today that I forgot to pack socks. I know I set them out somewhere to put in my bag, but I certainly couldn't find them this morning.

Fortunately, in my swag bag at the First Timers Breakfast, I received a brand new pair of socks. They won't match my ensemble tomorrow at all, but at least they'll be clean!

Everything you own in a box to the left

I met Eilonwy in early summer 2003. Sometime during those early few years of our friendship, she recommended the Shadow Children series by Margaret Peterson Haddix.

Last week, I finally got around to wanting to read it. No idea why it took me this long. It wasn't in my library, so I reserved a copy of the first book, Among the Hidden, at my local public library.

I picked it up Tuesday afternoon. I finished it Wednesday night. Thursday afternoon, at work, I was unpacking the eight boxes of books that need to be cataloged and added to my library. These boxes have been in my office for approximately a month. Being a solo librarian is no easy task, y'all.

In the third box, I found a copy of Among the Hidden and the fourth book. I immediately emailed Eilonwy to tell her of this irony and then went back to unpacking the boxes. Turns out, my library has the third book and the rest of the series has been sitting in my office for weeks now.

I may have brought the second and third books home with me over the weekend. Being a librarian has its perks!

Yes, I love technology but not as much as you, you see

Libraries and librarians have been around for thousands of years.

Possible ruins of the Library of Alexandria

I've only been working in them for about ten and a half.

My old desk at the Fine Arts Library

I still have lots to learn about being a good librarian, but I think I'm well on my way. One thing I know for sure is that my job would be a lot harder without the technology we have today.

Fine Arts Library

I used a card catalog as a kid. In first few months of the job at the Fine Arts Library (the one that I moved to the DC area for and ultimately lost last year, thanks the budget cuts), I filled out checkout forms in duplicate. I'd send one copy with the teacher and keep a copy for myself so I could check the materials back in. After that, until I finished the retrospective conversion, I kept checkout records in Word documents on my computer.

Trinity Washington University Library, where I worked earlier this year

It was obnoxious.

The reference desk at Trinity

Most libraries, at least in the United States, use computers now for their catalogs, patron records, circulation, and everything else. Everything is so much faster and records more thorough. It certainly isn't error proof, but I like it. A lot.

The library where I work now

Libraries and library technology are certainly blessings in my life and I'm glad to be a part of them!

Don't you ever interrupt me while I'm reading a book

It's November and you know what that means! It's NaBloPoMo! AKA National Blog Posting Month

I know I haven't been around much this year, but Eilonwy talked me into getting back in the game. I've certainly been wanting to, so this a perfect excuse.

The reality for blogging for me is that it's just meant to be a fun writing outlet. I don't care about how many readers I have or getting a certain number of posts out in a certain number of time (November being the exception). I just want to write about what I want to write about when I want to write about it. And have some way of letting some people know what's going in my life.

The biggest reason I haven't been around as much the last 18 months or so is because my life has changed in a LOT of ways. I don't mean just Blake, though he is certainly a wonderful part of that. I've also changed jobs a number of times (compared to having just one main job for six years), finished another graduate degree, moved to a new apartment, and so on. These things can really mess with your routines and daily life and some things, like blogging, take a bit of a back seat.

And that's okay.

But that's not what I'm here to talk about today.

As per usual, Eilonwy and I have a picked a writing prompt challenge to help us through November. This time, each day of the week has a particular topic and Friday's is reading and books.

I love to read. You probably know this already. And I spend a great deal of my day thinking about reading. I'm a librarian, so that makes sense. In my current job, I spend most of my day either directly helping or teaching young people find things to read or maintaining the library to make that first part easier. I'm also surrounded by books that I myself want to read, which makes my lunch breaks quite enjoyable.

One thing I've thought a lot about is how we might judge people for what they choose to read. Reading good, interesting, and, hopefully, challenging or thought provoking literature is important, but what makes a book good, interesting, challenging, or thought provoking is ultimately up to the individual reader.

To help those whose reading choices I can influence choose books that are a good fit  for them, I encourage them to think of the acronym PICK.

P - Purpose - Why do I want to read this/a book?
I - Interest - What genre/topic interests me?
C - Comprehend - Will I be able to understand the contents of the book?
K - Know - Do I know enough words to comprehend the book? Is too hard (or too easy)?

If someone knows enough words to comprehend a book, and it's something that is interesting to them, then it will fulfill the purpose for their reading.

If, using their own best judgment, a given book fits those criteria - who am I to say anything about their choice? I'm not into graphic novels, or Tom Clancy, or books about math, but someone else might be and that's okay. If someone were to read all fiction all the time, that's okay too. I also don't think there are "boy" books or "girl" books. Sometimes I like to read about dragons or swords or futuristic civil wars too.

Additionally, I am aware of some librarians who refuse to let children check out books that are above their grade/reading level. You're in fourth grade? You can only check out fourth grade level books. Personally, ain't nobody got time for that. I can't police the levels of the books patrons are checking out. I can teach them about PICKing good books, label books to reflect the level they best fit, and then let them figure it out for themselves.

In other words, I can teach them correct principles and let them govern themselves. Each reader knows their own reading level better than I do. I know a 6 year old who is plowing through Harry Potter, but there are others who are still working on The Cat In The Hat. A lot of patrons I help speak English as a second language, and barely at that, so they aren't going to be reading, in English at least, at their grade level. Yet.

Now, parents and teachers can get to know their children/students on a more individual level, and should have even more conversations about what they should be reading. But I see hundreds of kids and people a week, and I'm not going to waste my time saying "No" any more than I have to.

(The above comic is from today's Unshelved, which I stopped reading a few months ago because it wasn't consistently interesting enough. I am grateful to Jessica for sharing it on Facebook. For this topic, start with Monday's.)

I have always been an advanced reader who was interested in reading a wide variety of things (I remember checking out ALL of the paranormal books in the children's room at our library as a kid, but I also read all the Babysitter's Club books, and did research on Shakespeare), and, since no one told me I couldn't do that, I still love reading to this day. I want to encourage that in others. My goal is to help students and patrons discover their own love of reading within themselves and know how to find the things that will keep them coming back to the library and loving it.

And if all they want to read are cozy mysteries, awesome.

And if I've done all they can and still don't want to read?

That's okay too.

For my fellow book lovers, here's an amusing video/song about constantly reading.
What I'm (actively) reading: When You Reach Me by Rebecca Stead, 1776 by David McCullough, Stargirl by Jerry Spinelli, Holes by Louis Sachar, and The Last of the Really Great Whangdoodles by Julie Andrews Edwards.

Quit playing games with my heart

I love games. Board games. Table games. Card games. The list goes on. I'm not much into RPGs, probably because I enjoy role playing on stage in front of audience more than sitting at a table talking about it. 

When I acquired my coffee table from friends who were getting a new one, I was thrilled that it had a shelf underneath. I immediately began storing my growing game collection there. It never occurred to me that shelf could be for anything other than game storage. 

For a few years, it was perfect. Then one magical day in December at the thrift store, I found 16 new games for just 14 clams and my game collection was definitely too big for the table. 

I was also starting to have another problem. When I was out looking at games, I often second guessed myself - did I already have this one? 

With this surge in game ownership, it was time to solve both problems. 

I bought three 105 quart bins and 2 shoebox bins and, as I put my games in their new homes, created a spreadsheet in Google Docs of everything I have listed by title, type (i.e. Word, strategy, trivia, dice, mystery, card, art, puzzle), age, duration, and number of players. The big boxes went into the large bins, the card games into the plastic shoeboxes. 

Now, the shoeboxes, some craft materials, and fitness equipment reside on the coffee table shelf and the other games went where I could find room. 

With 60 games (including some 11 decks of cards for Nertz/Pounce) and one on the way, I'm really pleased with my nerdy solution. I can pull up the spreadsheet on my phone when I'm out shopping or share it with a friend when planning a game night. 

It makes my little librarian heart glad and I'll avoid problems like this:

Fall is here, hear the yell, back to school, ring the bell

You may have noticed that I've been awfully quiet around here. Even my regular Sunday posts haven't been so regular. There is a perfectly good reason for that - I'm back in school, pursuing a Masters of Arts in Interdisciplinary Studies with a concentration in [Insert Working Title Here] at George Mason University.

Essentially, I'm studying Musicology. And yes, that means I'm studying the study of music. I'm about a month in to this degree, and I'm absolutely loving it!

It came as a bit of a surprise. Way back in January, I started feeling like I needed to explore other options regarding either my career or education. Eventually, it basically came down to going back to school for a teaching certificate or going back for a music degree. There were even two or three variations of either of those options, and I consulted several people about the direction I should go.

Finally, I decided on the MAIS degree program at Mason. With the help of the graduate director in the school of music, we could create a program of study that was most in line with my career goals - to be an academic music librarian. I'll take classes like music history and ethnomusicology and skip all the performance based classes of an official music degree, which means I'll get done a LOT faster.

It felt like the perfect option. I applied. And I waited. And waited some more. And almost waited so long that I'd all but forgotten the very real possibility I'd be in school again this fall.

Then, on a Saturday two weeks before fall semester started, I got an acceptance letter! Over the next two weeks, I had to figure out which classes I was taking, arrange financial aid, quit my part-time job, rearrange my full-time schedule, buy books, and so on. It was a bit maddening. Of course, when classes started, I had this totally new, rather overwhelming new schedule to get used to. Yes, I know how to be in school, but I had to remind myself of those skills. Additionally, I actually attend classes in person this time, unlike my last degree which was entirely online.

I feel nothing short of crazy. Full-time job. 9 credit hours. Gym. Church. And everything in between! (You know, like a social life?)

I'm making it work, and it's slowly becoming more manageable as I get into my groove. I really do love my classes and it's kind of fun getting to know another college campus. Of course, I'm already looking forward to being done, but at least I know I'll enjoy it along the way.

I hope I'll find snippets of time for blogging here and there. I have plenty to talk about with this new chapter in my life, but not so much plenty of time to do anything but live it. In the meantime, don't miss me too much! 

We Are Unstoppable

So, Philadelphia was wonderful. MLA 2011 was a great conference - I participated in some fascinating sessions, ate delicious food, and met several quality fellow music librarians. These are definitely some of my people.

What really helped me do all that is just jumping right in and getting myself involved immediately. Even as a first time attendee (with bright blue ribbon on my nametag announcing it to the world), I am the new Film Music Roundtable Coordinator.  This meant that I led a meeting and attended a couple extra networking events. The people I met just through that were all incredibly supportive and we've brainstormed some interesting ideas about where to go from here.  It was also really encouraging to be regarded on a professional level by the same people who gave me my start back at BYU.  Thank you Myrna and Janet! I also organized a successful tweetup, which led to even more fortuitous meetings.

It helped that I knew a few people beforehand, like my BYU colleagues and members of my regional MLA chapter, since I've been to the past two fall meetings. The latter group even acknowledged that they couldn't believe it was my first time at a national meeting - they were just so impressed by me and felt like I'd been around forever. It's quite a compliment!

I'm so glad I was able to attend this year. I really feel like some promising seeds were planted and I can't wait to see the results!

But first, some more pictures:

Sushi!

Best skirt to wear to a music librarian's conference, awkward picture

A jazz band of musicians from Harvard, playing in the Reading Town Market while I got lunch

The Wanamaker Organ, or at least part of it, built specifically for this Macy's

Rocky!

Sunday Brunch

The rose I was given at the grocery store today, though it has nothing to do with Philly

And, finally, the sounds of the West Philadelphia Orchestra, our entertainment at the closing banquet. They were great fun live!

I'm already looking forward to MLA 2012!

Wastin' away on the streets of Philadelphia

Greetings from the City of Brotherly Love!

I'm in Philly for the Music Library Association Annual Meeting for the week, but I drove up a few hours early to do some sight-seeing.  Like a doofus, I left during rush hour, so the drive took me a wee bit longer than I might have liked and I disliked about 75% of the music my iPod wanted me to listen to, but it was still a good drive.

No visit to Philly is complete without a cheesesteak, so I made that my first, thanks to a recommendation from a Twitter friend. I can now agree - Campo's on Market Street is delicious.

So is Franklin Fountain. Nothing is better in 30 degree weather than a refreshing hot fudge sundae.

And how cute is this shop?


Of course, I said hi to the Liberty Bell.

And took a tour of Independence Hall.

It was all I could do not to break into a musical number and tell John to sit down.

Loving this city so far!

Arabian nights like Arabian days more often than not are hotter than hot in a lot of good ways

The problem with blogging about this Egypt trip is that I've journaled about it, tweeted about it, posted and captioned about a zillion pictures of it on Facebook, talked about it, and created a photobook of it, and I'm pretty sure I've annoyed everyone with my "I WAS JUST IN EGYPT!!!!" attitude.

That I still have.

Even in July.

Well, maybe it's not THAT bad, but still. After all that, I still have to blog?

Yes, yes I do.

So, here it is, the epic I Went To Egypt And It Was Awesome blog post to end all blog posts.

Thus far, we've had a general overview and getting there post, the story of Day 1 and almost getting squished post, and the pyramids rock post.

So, what else did I do?

I visited Islamic Cairo with Josie (Nancy's sister), Jaehee (a Cairo LDS branch friend), and Jaewon (her sister).

We entered through Bab al-Futuh - Gate of Conquests


Visited the mosque of Al-Hakim. The only time we had to cover our heads was inside mosques, which a built after the manner of the prophet Muhammed's home. We also had to remove our shoes, which made walking across the glistening white marble floor in 100+ degree heat a bit uncomfortable.


Explored the madrassa and mausoleums all over Islamic Cairo. There is no iconography in Islam, but the writing and symbols in the architecture and art decorating their buildings holds special meaning to those of that faith, and it's absolutely gorgeous.



We climbed a minaret at Bab Zuweila (the first picture below) and took in the view of the sprawling city. It's dirty and crowded and still just incredible. Minarets rising above apartments, satellite dishes on every building, and it all going in every direction for miles.



On another day, Andrew took Josie, Rachel, and me to explore Coptic Cairo, the Christian part of the city. There is iconography here, but in a different style than I'm accustomed to, and it was fascinating.


I was completely intrigued by this cemetery. It's a Christian cemetery, but with a mix of Greek, French, and Egyptian styles, among others.


Signs of a zombie apocalypse soon to come?


We also visited a well that Mary, the mother of the Savior, is said to have drank from when the Holy Family was in exile here. I learned that it was perfectly normal for them to retreat to Egypt, because even 2000 years ago, it was a vacation spot for people from Jerusalem and other places as the pyramids were old even then. I really didn't consider that ancient peoples even took vacations, but I guess they did!

We also saw the church built above a cave the Holy Family lived in for a time, though we couldn't see the actual spot (construction or something) and a nun tsked me for even having taken this picture of the way down to it.


An average street in residential Cairo:


We (even Rachel!) climbed all the way down the Nilometer, where they used to measure the depth of the great river that dictated every facet of the Egyptian way of life. We also toured a museum about Umm Kulthum, the greatest female singer in Arab music history and a revered emissary of Egyptian nationalism.


On our walk back from there, we spotted a group of boys jumping into the Nile from a bridge. Of course, this probably will wreak havoc on their insides, as Egyptian water is filthy. We didn't even drink tap water (a giant water bottle is 1.5LE or 30 cents), and Nile swimming strongly discouraged. Still, bladder replacement (with what? I don't know) surgeries are most prevalent in Cairo, and we have no idea what's going to happen to the kid who was jumping in with a bandage on his head. He's probably going to have brain worms or something. (+10 to anyone who knows the reference to brain worms)

Apparently, I don't get very excited even the coolest of book districts at the end of a long, hot day, but it was definitely neat.


The only thing I insisted we do during my trip (since it's not assumed we'd go, like to the pyramids) was a day trip to Alexandria, as it's the birthplace of libraries. It also gave me the chance to see a different side of Egypt, as it's a Mediterranean city that feels more European than Egyptian.

We saw:

The Egyptian delta


Pompey's Pillar, underneath which was secondary storage for the original library of Alexandria.



Stylin' babies in their makeshift turbans since their mom forget to pack a hat.


"The Med"


Terrible English translations (click to enlarge)


The fort at Qaitbay


Fascinating crypts we couldn't take pictures of

{use your imagination}

AND THE BIBLIOTECA ALEXANDRINA!


So, it's not the original. That was destroyed long ago, and they don't even know exactly where it was. But still! This modern one was built in it's honor, and it GORGEOUS.


The little ones couldn't enter, so Andrew and Nancy entertained them at a nearby play area, while Josie indulged me in exploring the library. They have a teen area, a children's area (which was kind of creepy because it's decorated for really little kids, but only those over 8 are allowed, and there were none inside that day), a museum we didn't explore, and beautiful stacks after stacks. They also had the nicest bathrooms I saw for my entire ten days.

I was in heaven, and not just because using a clean restroom is something I usually take for granted. I love libraries!

The train ride back was long, and Rachel sat on my lap the whole time. I now have a new collection of kids games on my iPhone (which in airplane mode is just an iTouch that doesn't rack up roaming charges) and she tested my storytelling skills by demanding story after story. As exhausted as I was, I happy to indulge her. She's too cute to resist.

Fortunately, the day after our Alexandria trip was the Sabbath, and a day of rest was just what we all needed. Having church on a Friday was a little strange, but let's be honest, I was totally confused by which day it was anyway. After church, we napped, ate, and hosted a game night for some of their branch friends.

Saturday, Nancy, Rachel, Miriam, and I ventured through Dar Es Salaam. Apparently it wasn't as busy as it usually is, but it was still plenty busy to me. We didn't buy much except fruit and drinks on our way home, but it was interesting. Wandering through the Khan el-Khalil in Islamic Cairo, which Nancy, Josie, and I visited again that same evening, is definitely more of an tourist bazaar, while Dar Es Salaam is for the locals. The set up is similar, but the goods and sales methods are slightly different. In Dar Es Salaam, a shop owner criticized Nancy's Arabic skills, in Arabic, to his companion, but Nancy certainly knew what he said and we left immediately. In the Khan, we were consistently shouted at to come visit shops, called "spicy girls" and "Barbie" and told that they had what we were looking for.


Amongst all the shops, we also found Midaq Alley, which is the location (and title) of a book I had read in preparation for my visit. It's small, but neat to see something I had read about in person.

We also wandered some of the same madrassa that Josie and I had visited the Sunday prior. Nancy hadn't been able to go inside one of the complexes before, and it was kind of neat to see her be enthralled with something new.


Our purpose that evening was to see the Sufi dancers and whirling dervishes. These dances were originally part of Islamic mysticism and worship, but have become more showy than religious. They were amazing! The first dervish whirled for over 23 minutes! You'd have to be in some sort of trance to not fall down.



Sunday, my last day, Josie and I joined Jill (another branch friend) and Jaehee in visiting a local orphanage. We were hoping to hold some babies, since they don't get the affection they need, but ended up playing with and holding some 3-4 year olds instead. Despite the language barrier, you could tell they were thrilled to have some playmates. Their caretakers were in the room, but watching who knows what on TV. They didn't even really blink to have four strange Americans enter and start playing with the kids. Of course, we wanted to take them all home, but at least we were able to give them an hour of our time.

That day was over 116 degrees in the city. We had planned for some afternoon adventures, but unanimously decided to just relax inside instead. This gave me the chance for some last playtime the little ones, and to visit with Bridget, whose family had come to stay with the Heisses temporarily the evening prior. We've been reading each other's blogs for awhile now, and it was great to meet her in person, halfway across the world! We (Nancy, Bridget, Josie, and I) did get out for one last night time souvenir shopping stroll in Road 9, as it cools down, a wee bit, after dark.

I said goodbye to the city early the next morning, had dinner with Michael in New Jersey, and went to bed in Virginia late that same night. The wonders of modern transportation.

There are more stories I could tell, and I probably will if you ask. I'm still in awe that I even got to go and visit amazing buildings and places, eat delicious Egyptian food, and spend time with wonderful friends.

Thank you to the Heisses for hosting me!

Thank you, Cairo, for treating me so well!