I'm alive and the world shines for me today

It's official. My first semester of my second Master's degree consumed my life. I got through it - two As, one B (surprisingly not in the class I thought I'd get a B in) and no important balls dropped. I may not have blogged or folded laundry in weeks, but I turned everything in on time and feel rather good about everything I wrote, presented or was tested on. I'm even so intrigued by the research I started that I hope to continue it in my next set of classes. Fortunately, I have until January 24th before that happens. Freedom is sweet.

I do intend to finish my personal history from November and post-date the entries accordingly, because it's my blog and I can do things like that. I intend to finish a number of non-school books. I intend to go dancing more. And I intend to only take two classes a semester from now on, because three was just a little too much.

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! 

They're on the trail to fame and glory

38-21 - Today's final score between BYU and Air Force. Go Cougars!

I used to not care about football. My brother and dad tried to explain it to me, but I never really got it. I'd go to games in high school to hang out with my friends. I knew touchdowns were good and sacks were bad and that BYU was the team to cheer for, but that's about it.

This changed when I had a football-loving boyfriend who could explain it to me. He was cuter than my dad or brother, and I really liked him, so I wanted to impress him and share his interest. He loved BYU football so much that he watched past games he'd taped over and over again.

Our freshman year at BYU, we bought All-Sport passes together and went to every home game, as well as the BYU-Utah game in Salt Lake. He'd explain plays and positions and I really started to understand and love football. I especially loved our tradition of kissing in celebration of every touchdown.

One Saturday was an away game. I'd had a pretty stressful Friday and wanted to kick back over the weekend, but knew I had to spend Saturday on homework, which is what I told the boyfriend I'd be up to - studying and listening to the game in my dorm room the whole afternoon. He had to work and would then go watch the game with his family at his grandparents' house.

As the game started, I couldn't pay attention to both the game and my homework and I really wanted to see my guy. During the first quarter, I had the great idea to take the bus to his grandparents' and surprise him. I figured I'd get there about the same time he did, if not a little before. I packed up my computer and headed out.

I arrived just before the end of the first half, said hi to his family and started working again. The boyfriend wasn't there yet, and even though his place of employment was way closer to his grandparents' house than his parents', we thought he might have gone home for a shower or change of clothes and didn't really worry about it. Halftime started and there was still no sign of him, but I kept writing and his family scattered into the house, leaving me alone in the front room.

Toward the end of the halftime, he still hadn't shown, but I looked out the front picture window to see him pull up, with a dozen roses in hand. He came through to the door and was completely surprised to see me just chilling by myself in his grandparents' living room. I explained that I was there to surprise him. It was then that he pulled out the roses and explained what had taken him so long.

He'd tried to surprise ME by going to my dorm with the roses, because of my bad Friday, at the same time I'd gone to surprise him with his family. It was quite the serendipitous event, and one of our favorite memories the rest of time we were together. It's still one of mine. Doing little things like that for each other was one of the best things about that relationship. At the end of that day, we still surprised each other and got to spend time together, which was the point anyway!

I still love BYU football. I listened to the first half of today's game, then (sort of) watched the second half with friends. It's hard to watch the games here, being on the East Coast and all, but I enjoy what I can.

One day, I'll get to reinstate my touchdown celebration again.

Do what you gotta do

I had no idea that the job I scored the summer I was 19 was going to turn into a career. I knew I wanted that job. I apparently wanted it quite a lot. I visited the BYU Music and Dance Library last week and Myrna, my former boss and now colleague and friend, reminded me that I called her every single Monday for close to six months to see if there was an opening yet. I was always polite, never pushy, just persistent. It seems she actually uses me as an example of how to do express interest in a job.

Obviously, I did get the job, and I loved it. I worked on some great projects during my two years there - like cleaning up a Musical Theatre Reference Binder to make it more useful. I happen to know that the binder is still in use. I'm still proud of it. It was the first real professional project I designed and completed on my own, one that was my idea and I was trusted to see it through.

Working in the MAD Library was quite fun. I worked with great people, learned a LOT, and made a difference. I also had one of the coveted on-campus job - A/C, no food, related to my field (though it was closer to pure Theatre Arts at the time), great hours, a locker, and more.

I was sad to leave when I graduated. But the rest, as they say, is history. Being a Fine Arts Librarian is my calling, and I'm so blessed to have discovered it and be thriving this early in my life and career.

Walk this way

Kindergarten at Hill View Elementary School in Murray, UT, is half-day. At least it was in 1989. I was in an afternoon class. Mom took me to school everyday (which, I'm sure, was no small feat, since she'd have to pack up me, my 3 and 1 year old siblings, and at least one or two other children she babysat to drive me that one mile), but most days I walked home with some neighbor girls. I think one was even a fifth grader, and the bee's knees.

Then we moved to Texas and we rode in a carpool for 1st-3rd and 5th grades. 4th grade I rode the bus (which was a novelty at first, but soon wore off). I rode the bus for 6th-8th grades as well, but when we moved from our apartment to a real house closer to our elementary school halfway through 6th grade, my 2nd and 4th grade siblings got to walk to school.

I don't remember why, but I thought that was the coolest thing ever. Well, it was probably because I was on a stinky bus everyday. (Even worse, for at least four cumulative weeks in 8th grade, I rode the short bus. I still need to tell that story, don't I?) My siblings were able to walk on their schedule and enjoy the outside air, and their commute didn't take nearly as long as mine. I was rather jealous.

Once I started 9th grade, everything changed. We'd moved to our house in Utah and you could see junior high from our doorstep. I finally got to walk to school! All by myself if I wanted! And walk I did. Sometimes by my onesies, sometimes with my brother, sometimes with neighbors, and eventually with my not-my-boyfriend. Is there anything more not-romantic than walking hand in hand with your not-your-boyfriend the two and a half blocks to the junior high? I didn't think so.

My favorites were the snowy days. I'd get up with my brother and get all bundled up, ready to shovel the driveway. By the time I'd shoveled the first line, I'd spy my not-my-boyfriend coming up the walk, ready to take over. Three people and two shovels = I got to go back inside where it was warm, get ready for school, and help Mom finish making breakfast for the lot of us. It was pretty great.

Unfortunately, walking to school lost its charm by 10th grade. The high school was farther away. If I didn't leave on time to meet my friends, I had to walk it alone. There was no magic in the snowy days anymore, as I was no longer not-seeing my not-my-boyfriend, so I'd have to help shovel after all and then trudge through the snow to school.

I was much relieved that I had a driver's license and my own truck by the time my junior year started. By this time, it was my truck that was the novelty and the means to my freedom. Those are the ingredients to me enjoying my walk to school. It was new and exciting in 9th grade, but not as much by 10th. Walking from Deseret Towers to my morning classes my freshman year of college was both a novelty and more freedom than I'd ever had, minus the scary Bell Tower Stairs of Death, and I don't ever recall minding the walk. The same goes for my walk from my flat in London to the Hyde Park LDS chapel, where our classes were held. I was so excited every day that I was in London that I didn't care I was walking all the time (and when I came home a pants size smaller, I was still excited - anyone want to move back to London with me?).

It would only take about 40 minutes to walk to work now. It would be good for me. But it's a lot easier to sleep for 30 extra minutes and drive for six. Perhaps on good weather days, I'll channel my inner 9th grader and remember just how freeing it is to do things by my own steam.

I'm free-I'm free!

I know you've probably forgotten by now, since I really never talk about it, but you know how I've been in school for the last two years? Well, I submitted a 17-page single-spaced report on Saturday morning, and, just like that, I'm not anymore. It's both completely surreal and completely awesome. Unlike Canadian Dave, a friend since high school and a fellow MLIS-candidate, I have had a few enthusiastic shouts of joy and I've certainly happy danced. More than once. He's right about one thing though, that the biggest sensation is one of relief. I. Am. So. Relieved.

I'm also really energized. Unlike the last time I finished a degree, I'm not depressed and burned out. I'm single, childless, have a good job, and live in one of the greatest metro areas in the world. I don't want to let that go to waste. There are things to be done, and I'm going to do them.

Remember this list I made in the beginning of this school experience? Time for a new one.

Things I Will Not Do

• Watch 10 seasons of anything in 2 months, unless it's while I'm doing something productive, like knitting
• Become complacent
• Become too reclusive
• Stay up far too late writing papers (at least not for the foreseeable future)
• Do another accelerated degree program (2 is enough, thank you)
  
• Pay for another degree (scholarships/fellowships/free tuition benefits whilst working for a university - all welcome)
  

Things I Will Do

• Continue to kick butt at my job (or any job)
• Finish this year's book challenge (so what if I'm only on B)
• Work on my other goals for this year
• Keep dancing
• Tour DC
• Write
• Perform
• Socialize
• Travel
• Keep learning things
• Explore other career and educational options (yes, I am thinking about a Ph.D. and/or a second Master's)
• Enjoy my life, whatever comes my way

DC friends - I'm up for adventure! Time for fun things!

Non-DC friends - I still have a futon that's just begging for visitors, and I'd love some people with whom to play tourist.

Everyone - here's my graduation present to you, this week's SOTW. I've lost track of how many times I've listened to this song, and the video is just delightful.



Life is awesome. I enjoy living it.

Happiness is five different crayons

As I approached the table last night, filled with friends I know and friends yet to be made, one spoke up.

"Amanda, you look really happy."

"Thank you! I am!"

And I meant it.

Also, I have no more classes for my MLIS. Projects, yes, but classes? No. The end is nigh!

The internet is really really great

The final article that I found of particular interest, enough to write about, was Hsin-Liang Chen’s Use of multi-modal media and tools in an online information literacy course: College students' attitudes and perceptions, which discusses “[i]ntegration of multi-modal media and tools in an online technology and information literacy class.” According to Chen, the quality of the media and tools, the amount of technical problems, and the technical savvy of the class participants all affect the satisfaction of the participants with the class. Basically, “[t]he results of this study suggest that online courses should provide a rich array of online media and communication tools to strengthen course interactions and student engagement. Additionally, this array of media and tools can expose students to the benefits and challenges of dealing with information and information technology in a networked world.”

Honestly? I could have told you that. I suppose that those conducting these studies haven’t completed (5.5 more months!) a degree entirely online, and base their entire scholarly experience on online interactivity.

Luckily, I’ve really enjoyed my classes and the instructors’ usage of online tools. Every instructor uses different tools in different combinations, and, depending on both the subject matter and the organization of everything, they all seem to work. Of the two, it’s the organization of the material that really affects my opinion of the class. Using Blackboard, instructors have a lot of free reign as to how they post class materials. Much like a library, the better the organization and the more natural the flow of information, the easier it is to find and, then, apply to my studies, the better. Also, distance education is difficult enough without being able to interact face to face with instructors and fellow students. Most classes utilize message boards to provide some semblance of natural class discussion, but even that’s difficult.

The best classes, and I’m not just saying this because the class this paper is for is one of them, have found a way to combat even that, by using presentation chat software (like Adobe Connect) to have real time class meetings. It’s provides a much more comfortable forum for instructors and students to work together and build relationships. Though one of the perks of online education is doing it on your own schedule and required class times go against that, it’s still nice to have a more personal connection with everyone. Now, what I haven’t experienced is Chen’s conclusion that “female participants reported lower levels of computer skill and indicated a tendency to procrastinate in course work.” If I procrastinate, it certainly has nothing to do with my level of computer skill.

Overall, my interest in this material actually confirms, to me, that I’m on the right career path. I still have quite a lot to learn, but I’m excited about learning it!

Life is what happens when you're busy making other plans

Another concept I’ve been able to become more familiar with during this assignment is that of scenario planning and strategic planning. Strategic planning, according to Steve Connor, et al, in Steering a Future Through Scenarios: Into the Academic Library of the Future, “is a process to order the available resources to ensure an effective execution of plans for the coming year or period. Scenario planning challenges and questions the bases on which the logic of the existing operations are based. It is a technique which enables participants in the process to grasp new and previously unexplored options.”

The article discusses a library in Hong Kong employing the technique, upon a librarian’s retirement, to plan for their future. I can relate, as I was hired to replace two retiring “librarians”. What I did not have was much of a chance to plan before they left. Still, I have been able to execute scenario planning as I go. As I discover “the way things were” in my library, I can judge how well it worked, and whether it needs to be modified or replaced with a different method entirely. Once I know what needs to be changed, I can use strategic planning to execute that change. I hadn’t realized the difference before.

What the library in Hong Kong did that I didn’t was more heavily involve the stakeholders of the library in their planning. As I discussed earlier, I have used what I have learned from the teachers, my patrons, and I have run ideas by various mentors and my boss, but very little of the actual planning and its execution has been done by anyone but me. In the end, that’s actually okay, because I know what I’m doing will work. My boss hasn’t stopped me yet, and just about every idea I run past someone is met with approval, which reminds that I really do know what I am doing and others trust me to do it. I may not face formal reviews or a lot of meetings to get official validation for my methods, but trusting me to do my thing is good enough. I know I and what I am doing are appreciated, even if I’m only told so informally.

Getting to know you

Speaking of talking about it, what good is a library if no one knows about it? While my library serves the entire district, which has over 500 arts teachers, I only actually work with approximately a hundred of them on a regular basis (a number I am completely guesstimating). Of those, maybe half of them use the library consistently every semester.

At least once a month, I get an email from an arts teacher that starts out with something like “I had no idea this library existed! Great! Can you help me with XYZ?” I know that I send out a “Using the Fine Arts Library” email every year and I’m introduced, and usually speak, at the fall inservice meetings. Yet there are still teachers completely oblivious to my library’s existence.

What I would like to do, this fall, when I’ve completed the updating project, is to spread the word even more, especially now that I’ll be able to track circulation statistics. According to Rajesh Singh, in Does your library have an attitude problem towards ‘marketing’? Revealing inter-relationship between marketing attitudes and behavior, there are three levels of marketing – strong, medium, and weak. The prime aim of a library with a strong marketing technique is “identifying and meeting customer information needs” and “these libraries aim to build a relationship with their customers by offering tailored services and products which satisfy their information needs and problems”. As one can expect, medium and weak go down from there.

Of course, I hope to be more in line with a strong technique, and I think I’m on track. While, in the end, it will have taken me three years to fully update the system, it has given a chance to get to know the teachers I serve and their needs, and I’ll be able to use that to my advantage in my marketing and continuous updating of the library.

I'm gonna go to the High School of Performing Arts!

In Sharon Weiner’s article, The Contribution of the Library to the Reputation of a University, she reports a study done to explore “the relationship between a peer-assessed reputation rating for each of the 247 doctoral universities and cross-institutional performance indicators for universities and their libraries . . . The findings showed that the role of the library was important . . . in contributing to reputation.”

In my limited experience, I completely agree. I usually get a variation on one of three responses when I tell people what I do for work and where. “That’s cool.” “What a fun job!” “I didn’t know those kinds of libraries existed on a school district level.” To the last one, I usually respond, “I didn’t either.” Having such a library I think directly speaks to the quality of education for the students in this school district.

There is a high value placed on arts education here, and it shows. I don’t have any statistics readily available to back me up, but our students consistently rank among the top in the nation in academics and arts. While the teachers are often strained with too many students and not enough time with them, arts education still exists in every school.

As the 12^th largest school district in the country, of course we have a library to back that up. And, with the work I’m doing, the library is improving, rapidly, and should be at the level we want it at by next school year. The library will finally be something to talk about, much like the school district, and not just because of how backwards it was.

My dog ate all my homework last night

As an avid library blog reader, I often only read the articles attached to headlines that interest me, and I usually relate whatever I’m reading to my current professional life. For example, I don’t own a Kindle, and don’t plan to, so anything that comes up on LISNews about them, I tend to ignore.

Yet, where my industry reading fails is journals.As a member of a handful of professional library organizations (VLA, IAM-L, MLA, ALA), I often receive a handful of newsletters and journals in the mail, but I rarely crack them open. So, this assignment, to read the latest edition of the Journal of Academic Librarianship and write a "bloggy, self-reflective coupla pages", was actually really interesting to me.

True to form, I only read the articles that were actually interesting to me, but that turned out to be more than I thought. Also true to form, I easily related it to what I’m doing professionally, and, as a blogger, I’m rather looking forward to expounding on my thoughts, and then actually publishing them on my blog (which will be found here over the next few days). In lieu of an official citation, all articles referenced can be found in the January 2009 volume of The Journal of Academic Librarianship.

Who's that girl?

I'm That Girl

That Girl who plays on her iPhone as she works out.

That Girl who spends all day Saturday afternoon and evening studying, foregoing all social invitations.

That Girl who goes grocery shopping by herself on a Saturday night, sans makeup, wearing jeans, a hoodie, and a baseball cap. (When else, I ask you, am I going to get that done?)

That Girl who blogs at 2 AM.

That Girl, who does all those things, and doesn't care who knows.

That I was Thursday's Child

Thursday's have long been my least favorite day of the week. Last "school year", I stayed at work until it was time for choir rehearsal. It made more sense than going home and putzing around until it was time to leave again, particularly since home was not on the way. This did, of course, mean that I was at work from 9:30 AM until 7 PM and wouldn't get home until 10 PM. Not that this is particularly strange, as I am an incredibly busy person, but being in only or two places for that long, mostly sitting - it makes for a long day.

Then I added Thursday night wings. Appetizers are half price after 9 at a local bar and grill, so it became a tradition to go after Institute (for my friends) and choir (for me and a couple other people). I would then get home anywhere from 10:30 to 11:30 PM.

There's been talk with one of my friends to watch The Office after wings. If that happens, I won't be getting to bed (after the viewing party and getting ready for bed) until 1 AM!

Now, this isn't that rare. I'm a night person after all. It's the non-stop that gets me. Even we Type-As need some time to kick back.

But today, I started my spring semester class. So, provided everything I talked about actually happens, here's my Thursday schedule from now until May.

9:30 AM - Work
6:00 PM - Class (on the internet, in my office)
8:00 PM - Rehearsal (which actually starts at 7:30 PM)
9:45 PM - Wings
11:00 PM - The Office

YAWN

Friday mornings come awfully early.

Did you ever know that you're my hero?

This weekend and I are not getting along well. In fact, it's bad enough that when I called The Spy tonight and asked her to pick me up from jail, she actually believed me, even if only for a split second.

Sigh.

Regardless of everything that had been happening, I still had to do my final project for my web programming class. The assignment was to take what we learned and do something fun. That's it. No checklist of requirements or anything. When I proposed my project idea, my professor liked it, so off I went!

Why is it always the assignments with the least amount of guidance that end up being the most difficult?

I started this morning (nothing like a little procrastination - it's due Monday). I knew exactly what I wanted my program to do, but, as always, I wasn't entirely sure how to get it to do that.

Enter today's Hero of the Day! Theater Geek!

Of course, he wasn't available the minute I needed him. His power and phone lines were out and his cell phone was dead (I blame my bad weekend for that) so it took a couple of hours for him to get back to me. He pointed out a couple of mistakes and then we discussed how to get the "magic" of the program to work.

The good news? The ideas I'd had on how to do so were correct! I knew what I was doing! Mostly . . .

I still couldn't have done it without Theater Geek. He's the best. And, last of all, he found the semi-colon I was missing that was throwing the whole thing off. Could I have asked my professor or classmates how to do what I was doing? Maybe. But it wouldn't have happened instantly, or been nearly as fun.

So, Theater Geek, thank you! Again! You are most certainly the Hero of the Day.

Now, I'm free until January 15. 4 weeks of sweet scholastic freedom! Next semester? No web programming for me. Oh yeah, and I'm graduating in 20o9!

To see my final project, just play Rock Paper Scissors!

Now, I just hope my weekend improves. Finishing the project certainly should help.

I started singing

I am brilliant, and this is my blog, so I can brag about if I like.

The choreography for my latest show is going even better than I planned. At yesterday's rehearsal, I realized I'd choreographed more than I had music for. I asked the dancers to cut from point A to point B. We ran through that bit again and not only was my cut exactly the right length, but the movement worked perfectly with the music. I couldn't have done better if I'd tried. Everything I've done so far looks really good, and it helps that the kids I'm working with are amazing.

Today, I was having some problems with my PHP code. Actually, I've been having these problems all week. I pretty much just stared it down last night, with no luck. I came back today and had the brilliant idea to look up a classmate's code and see what I was missing or doing wrong. I found it almost immediately and my code works! Almost. Still having some other problems, but I'm much closer to figuring it out.

Go me!

If only it was Saturday

Oh wait! It was! And it was a pretty rad Saturday at that.

First, however, I want to address last night's Olympic Opening Ceremonies. How awesome were those!? Amazing spectacle, precision, history, and spirit! I love the Olympics, and the Opening Ceremonies are one of my favorite parts. There may have even been a little tearing up. I plan on having the tv tuned to NBC for the next 17 days.

Now onto Saturday. As of Thursday, when I turned in my final project and made my class presentation for my Summer II class, I am officially halfway through with my grad program. 18 credits down, 18 to go. YAY!!!! The class presentation was a little strange. My class met through Adobe Connect, so I made my presentation to my laptop, whilst sitting cross-legged on my bed. My classmates responded by typing into the chat window. I've never met these people, so it felt like I was presenting to no one. I just hope it went well. I should get my grades next week.

To reward myself, I took today off. I gave myself permission to relax and do whatever the heck I wanted to.

Things I Did Today:

• Slept in until 2 PM. I guess I was tired, since I don't think I've done that in a very long time.
• Read for awhile instead of getting right out of bed.
• Ate two bowls of cereal - one of Quaker Oatmeal Squares, a smaller one of Honeycomb
• Worked out
• Watched the Olympics, including Michael Phelp's first gold of these games
• Shopped, and walked aimlessly around the mall. I was only planning on stopping at LUSH, but I decided to just wander and browse for a while. Miraculously, I only spent about $20 more than I had intended.
• Bought a skirt and a couple DVDs at Wal-mart. I usually avoid that store, but I was there for a specific purpose, and found a couple things I liked along the way.
  
• Bought more clothes online. This is something I've been planning for a couple weeks, and I made my final decision today. One skirt and two shirts.
  
• Found that I've lost a pound for every week of my family's fitness challenge. Two weeks - two pounds! I'm hoping to step it up even more next week, which should improve things even more.
• Found my paring knife. The thought of losing one of my beautiful kitchen knives almost gave me a heart attack.
  
• Admired my calf muscles. Seriously.
  

Things I Did NOT Do Today:

• Clean or fix anything around the house, as much as they made be needed.
  
• Check Blackboard for anything school related.
• Worry about anything school related.
• Eat a German Chocolate cupcake from Cake Love. I was in line to buy one, but stood in the line long enough to talk myself out of it, and I got to stay under my dessert calorie quota for the day.
• Make my bed. I am not Fran's great-grandmother.
• Buy new planner pages, due to a lack of feminine planner pages that I liked in the size I needed. Lame.
  
• Find the flannel I went to Wal-Mart for. Eilonwy's the awesomest for telling me about it though. I'll have to send someone in Utah to get it.
• Cook. I love cooking, but I avoided it today.
  

So, yeah. My day rocked. I hope yours did too.

I'm so much cooler online

Most of us have heard of the virtual world Second Life by now. It occurred to me this that my First Life is already way too virtual. Think about it:

• Most of my conversations are on some form of instant messenging service, and sometimes with back and forth emails.
• I belong to a few different social networking sites and/or message boards. Most of my friends in these places I know IRL (in real life), but haven't seen in months or years.
• When I finish my Masters, I will have never stepped foot on the campus of the school I'm attending. I have yet to even be in the same state as that school.
• Even the guy I'm currently "seeing" lives in a different state and we rely on IM, email, phone, and webcams to "date". (Yay! I'm kinda sorta "seeing" someone!) Don't worry, I've known this person IRL for quite some time now, so it's not like I'm dating someone I only know online.

It's a little disconcerting. For someone who craves physical contact and actually being with friends, and is a hands on learner, this is a strange way of living.

For instance, in undergrad, had I done the same project I was doing this week for school, we would have talked about it in class. We might have had some sort of practice day in a computer lab. It would have definitely been more formal and structured.

Instead, to teach myself, I had to rely on an informational packet, three instructional DVDs (which I couldn't get to work), various listserv/Blackboard discussions, the website itself, and a recording of a chat help session with the professor where people typed in questions and she audio recorded the answers.

It's no wonder I was confused. For something I've been seeing information come in for about three weeks, I really shouldn't have procrastinated it until two nights ago. It is due today. I got so lost on how to do one of the problems that I called the customer service number on the website.

Other Girl: Good afternoon, how I can help you?

Me: (Afternoon? It's midnight. What?) Yeah, I'm a new user of this program, I'm a grad student, and I was wondering how to ________ .

Other Girl: (in an definite Australian accent) Well, usually, you __________ .

Me: (Oh! Australia! Of course. At least she speaks English!) Yeah, I tried that.

Other Girl: We aren't really supposed to help grad students.

Me: (CRAP! I can't even call Katie, since she's in my time zone!) Oh, well, yeah. Haha. It's midnight here, so I was just trying to call someone.

Other Girl: Heh. Yeah, well, we've been told not to.

Me: No problem. Thanks anyway!

Luckily, I finally figured it out and the whole assignment was submitted just after 1 AM. With that email, the craziness of this week is officially over and I'm finally back on top of everything.

I love school, but the unstructured way I'm doing things sometimes makes me feel like this:

(Penny Walsh poses among books thrown from their shelves during an earthquake in Gisborne, New Zealand.)

I need an academic advisor to point the way

I really don't like the grading system. It's totally arbitrary and depends not only on the teacher, but also on the school and geographic location! There is no universal system you would think you'd learn after 17 years in school. Just because it says A on the assignment worth 10% and B+ on something worth 20% doesn't mean I know the exact formula. Of course, this would be easier if I aced everything, but I'm not perfect.

In Texas, all of our grades were "92" or "73". Our teachers had this nifty little slide rule thing that did the math for them. If we got 18 questions right on a 20 point quiz, we had a 90. It made sense.

Then, in Utah, we would just report that we got an 18/20, and we'd have to keep track of our percentages. Usually, the smaller assignments were only worth 10 points and the tests 100, or whatever, so, even if weighted assignments, it was pretty easy to know where you were for the class. We would just As or Bs on our report cards.

I don't remember what I did in undergrad, but it was more confusing than that. Now? I just get an A on the assignment worth 15% and I have no idea what that means toward my final grade. Sure, I could probably figure out the math, but that's too much work.

So, yesterday, when I saw all my assignments and tests were finally graded, but no final grade was posted, I was a wee bit antsy.

The grades were finally posted today.

I currently have a 4.0 on my grad school transcript! Yay!

That's my new philosophy!

When I was trying to think of topics for the last week of NaBloPoMo, Eilonwy suggested I talk about what I've learned in school this semester. As it turns out, one of my last tasks was to write a brief philosophy statement along those same lines. I will now share it with you.

It is an absolute necessity that we treat each patron with as much equality as possible. If nothing else, that’s one thing that I have been reminded of constantly throughout the semester. Everyone has the right to information and we have the responsibility to make it available to them. We may not agree with those we serve, want to help them, or even like them. However, we must still provide for them and their information needs. We must make what we have equally available to all we serve. This means not only providing the resources and the tools with which to find them, but also to teach patrons and users how to access and make use of it.

Additionally, as information professionals, we have a responsibility to the information. We have a stewardship for preserving and providing access to the shared human record of history and information. We may not be the only ones regulating its creation, availability, or use, but we certainly must make every effort to account for what we can. We are responsible for its organization and dissemination. We are also responsible for keeping some information private.

Exactly what and how we care for both our patrons and the information will greatly vary by situation, based on who we serve and the information we are stewards over. What cannot change is our dedication to the profession and our willingness to find a balance between competing values.

With that, and a few small things I have to do tonight, I'm done with school for 6 weeks! Let the holiday festivities begin!