Feeling a little like Rip van Winkle here--my blog has fallen asleep for what seems like a hundred years and I'm rubbing my eyes, trying to get the sleep out. I see I'm in good company though--in the rotating list of updated blogs on the 27 things page, the number of those not updated in a month or more is getting higher all the time.
On to thing #9:
Some time ago I created a Blogger account (from which I'm typing this post). I'm following several co-workers' 27 things blogs (well, okay, I signed up to follow them but haven't looked in about 75 years), as well as one of my personal favorites, engrish.com. (If you enjoy the complexity and hilarity of language and translation, check engrish.com out for yourself! Heads-up--it's a PG-13 site.)
Tuesday, July 7, 2009
Thursday, April 30, 2009
In which I discover Facebook
I have been sucked into the world of Facebook.
I had an invitation from an old friend a few weeks ago to view his photos there, and then another one came from someone I hadn't seen since elementary school (!), so I thought I'd give it a whirl. Within three days I have been reunited with people I haven't seen since 1987 (and the elementary school friend--1979!), as well as most of my current friends, whose response when I arrived on the Facebook scene was basically, "well, it's about time".
I felt much as I would if I'd stumbled into a room full of my friends having a get-together, where everyone had been expecting me but to which nobody had remembered to invite me. A bit surreal!
I'm of two minds about Facebook at this point--part of me marvels at this super-fun toy that allows me to get snippets from the lives of friends I rarely (or never) see, and which frequently make me laugh out loud. The other part of me is boggled by this and all the other electronic stuff out there that we use to keep track of things, and all the things we feel we need to keep track of. I'm a little wistful for the warm summer afternoons of my childhood, when I walked to my friends' houses and knocked on their door to ask, face-to-face, if they could come out and play.
I had an invitation from an old friend a few weeks ago to view his photos there, and then another one came from someone I hadn't seen since elementary school (!), so I thought I'd give it a whirl. Within three days I have been reunited with people I haven't seen since 1987 (and the elementary school friend--1979!), as well as most of my current friends, whose response when I arrived on the Facebook scene was basically, "well, it's about time".
I felt much as I would if I'd stumbled into a room full of my friends having a get-together, where everyone had been expecting me but to which nobody had remembered to invite me. A bit surreal!
I'm of two minds about Facebook at this point--part of me marvels at this super-fun toy that allows me to get snippets from the lives of friends I rarely (or never) see, and which frequently make me laugh out loud. The other part of me is boggled by this and all the other electronic stuff out there that we use to keep track of things, and all the things we feel we need to keep track of. I'm a little wistful for the warm summer afternoons of my childhood, when I walked to my friends' houses and knocked on their door to ask, face-to-face, if they could come out and play.
Fun? with Flickr
I was lucky enough to have a visit from Flat Stanley some time ago and took photos of him while he was here.
Here's Flat Stanley relaxing in the Teen area:
and checking out his favorite book:
Here's Flat Stanley relaxing in the Teen area:
and checking out his favorite book:
I was sorry to see him go.
While playing with Flickr, I couldn't help but wonder "why?" It seems to me a great big place to get bogged down doing nothing in particular. I guess it's good if you need a photo of a certain thing, or you're interested in photography (I'm not, and I'm a terrible photographer). Not the site for me, I guess!
I played with the mosaic-making toy also, and was disappointed in the results--I chose to make mosaics out of flower-related tags and didn't think the results looked anything like the original images. I guess it can only generate as good an image as the tags allow it to. But I did enjoy the Librarian Trading card app! Might need to print some of those up....
Thursday, April 16, 2009
Working with children
I went to library school after spending several years as a student LA and supervisor in a nearby academic library. I decided to get my concentration in archives management; genealogy sparked my interest in archives and I did my internships in two of the most exciting places you can imagine: the Harvard Peabody Museum of Archaelogy and the New England Historic Genealogical Society. (It just occurred to me that some of you may think I'm being facetious when I say "exciting", but they really ARE exciting to me!) What, then, you may ask, am I doing as a children's librarian in a public library?
Long story. But what really matters is that I absolutely LOVE working with these kids. I am an introvert by nature (INTJ in Myers-Briggs-speak), though I've learned to push that aside when necessary. Still, I need "alone time" to recharge my batteries. But it's really cool that whenever I come to work on a storytime day and I'm feeling a little under the weather or not quite as chipper as I'd like, storytime is a tonic for me. Being around these little people never fails to make me feel wonderful, and I'm grateful that my path led me to working with children.
Long story. But what really matters is that I absolutely LOVE working with these kids. I am an introvert by nature (INTJ in Myers-Briggs-speak), though I've learned to push that aside when necessary. Still, I need "alone time" to recharge my batteries. But it's really cool that whenever I come to work on a storytime day and I'm feeling a little under the weather or not quite as chipper as I'd like, storytime is a tonic for me. Being around these little people never fails to make me feel wonderful, and I'm grateful that my path led me to working with children.
Wednesday, April 15, 2009
Thoughts on aging
I have decided I don't like aging.
When I was younger, and someone said "Getting older sucks!" (quite often my husband, who is about 12 years older than me), my pat response was always "It's better than the alternative." Now that I have to get up in the middle of the night to use the bathroom, can't sit on my hardwood floor for more than five minutes without my spine telescoping together, and am having a hard time hiding the gray hairs, I'm starting to agree that it might suck just a little.
Years ago, when I learned I was pregnant with my son, I had visions of a happy baby in a cushioned basket, gurgling away outside on the grass while I worked in the garden nearby, doing undetermined things with some plant which still remains nameless. A son and two daughters later, I guffaw (yes, guffaw, a word we should use more) at my naivete. I might as well have envisioned birds and butterflies alighting gently on my shoulders and fingertips while I was at it.
Now that I'm feeling the age process set in a little, I wonder what it will be like for me when I really do get old. Will I be the energetic, crusty old woman I hope to be, in a ridiculous purple hat (for when I am an old woman, I shall wear purple!), working in my garden, still engaging in some as-yet determined plant activity? Or will I be aching, broken, and bewildered at the disappearance of my beautiful vision?
Maybe it's time for me to hone some of those 7 1/2 habits: start with the end in mind, and play more. What exactly will those plants be, where will they be, and what will I be doing to them? (And why did I ever decide to grow zucchini?) Pay more attention to the physical aspect of my life--the neglect is starting to catch up to me. And find out where to get a ridiculous purple hat.
When I was younger, and someone said "Getting older sucks!" (quite often my husband, who is about 12 years older than me), my pat response was always "It's better than the alternative." Now that I have to get up in the middle of the night to use the bathroom, can't sit on my hardwood floor for more than five minutes without my spine telescoping together, and am having a hard time hiding the gray hairs, I'm starting to agree that it might suck just a little.
Years ago, when I learned I was pregnant with my son, I had visions of a happy baby in a cushioned basket, gurgling away outside on the grass while I worked in the garden nearby, doing undetermined things with some plant which still remains nameless. A son and two daughters later, I guffaw (yes, guffaw, a word we should use more) at my naivete. I might as well have envisioned birds and butterflies alighting gently on my shoulders and fingertips while I was at it.
Now that I'm feeling the age process set in a little, I wonder what it will be like for me when I really do get old. Will I be the energetic, crusty old woman I hope to be, in a ridiculous purple hat (for when I am an old woman, I shall wear purple!), working in my garden, still engaging in some as-yet determined plant activity? Or will I be aching, broken, and bewildered at the disappearance of my beautiful vision?
Maybe it's time for me to hone some of those 7 1/2 habits: start with the end in mind, and play more. What exactly will those plants be, where will they be, and what will I be doing to them? (And why did I ever decide to grow zucchini?) Pay more attention to the physical aspect of my life--the neglect is starting to catch up to me. And find out where to get a ridiculous purple hat.
Tuesday, April 14, 2009
2 Habits
The easiest habit of the 7 1/2 I learned about today is to view myself as a competent learner. I've never had a problem with that. If I don't understand something, it's because the instructor is explaining it poorly. :)
The toughest habit for me is taking time to play. I'm so focused on what has to get done, and most of it for other people, that I don't spend as much time playing as I used to. If I do get some play time, I use it for cognitive activities like puzzles and puzzle-type games (whether on paper or computer). I really could use more physical playtime!
The toughest habit for me is taking time to play. I'm so focused on what has to get done, and most of it for other people, that I don't spend as much time playing as I used to. If I do get some play time, I use it for cognitive activities like puzzles and puzzle-type games (whether on paper or computer). I really could use more physical playtime!
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