Blogmania

Thank you for the nice comments. I'll blog if you will.

I can't believe that I have made blog friends.

I want to be an honorary member of Cohort 6. Is there a form to fill out? (I hope not- I'm so sick of paperwork.) I can bribe with homemade bread if I have to. Stefanie- there is more to the Michael Chabon story- will that do? Am I going to have to take some fast track classes through the back door? I'm not going to sink to begging... I have my pride and morals.

If you're so strong resolve the weakness in me...Joan Armatrading

"There's always more to a story than a body can see from the fenceline." Nannie from Prodigal Summer by Barbara Kingsolver.



Good luck fellow 2600ers. As much as this course may have knocked any of us down, I say it built us up in some ways. I saw many people always interested in helping, "when asked or just because." I witnessed many people being neighborly and effortful, responding to blog posts. And some librarians are really funny. And Mr. W. responded to our concerns and anguish. Hitting someone else's curriculum full speed and realizing that it did not fit in any way must have required a huge adjustment, and Mr. W. did just that.

Well, I know that my computer runs slower, and I have a sneaking suspicion it is because of something that I downloaded or caught for the class assignments. So be it. That is such a small thing in life. I know that in return, I am less intimidated by technology. I think this class was very worthwhile. I gained skills and knowledge that I will be able to use in a library.

Gees I hate goodbyes. Good luck to all. Kathy

I feel like a great sitcom is ending...

Site of the Day:

http://www.bookcrossing.com/home

This is a site about sharing books, rather than letting them collect dust on the shelves. I like this concept. I never have found a bookcrossing book, but the idea intrigues me. (The site also has an excellent plan for rebuilding New Orleans book collections in schools and libaries).

After I read Ishmael by Daniel Quinn, I wanted to release 20 copies into the Pittsburgh wilds through Bookcrossing. Ishmael has a hokey storyline with mediocre writing, but I LOVE the concepts in the book because they REALLY made me think. (if you pick it up, just get past the first chapter or so, it does get better)

Now about this blogging business...

As I write this next-to-last post, I am reflecting on my blogging experience. I know that I will miss reading others' posts. And I will return to calling my friends to chat on the phone, rather than using this to list my random experiences. I was not irritated by this assignment (except one time when I was exceptionally tired). I actually found the assignment to hold an element of the whimsical. I must say, if you have not viewed Jay's, Michelle's and Michael's blogs, you have missed some fine and witty blogmanship. And the funniest line I read was when a fast tracker wrote 'YOU lock it up' to a fellow fast tracker who jokingly got sassy with her. I actually laughed out loud. Since I like the friends that I made this semester, I really like reading Lynn's and Mary's blog.

So as the blog sitcom winds down...I have to say that I am in the minority who give the experience a 'thumbs up'. I actually was more interested in reading other LIS blogs than in writing my own...I already know me.

So drop me a comment if you have a good book recommendation for the short break, because I won't have blogs to read anymore, and believe it or not, I'm a librarian who loves to read...;-). Also, I won't feel like I am writing into this vaccuum. What a drag to write into the abyss...

Never a dull moment

1. My child said to my neighbor, while I was there, "My Mom is volunteering in a library. I don't know HOW she got in."

2. The 3MileRun representative, Mark, came to interview me about my rain barrel. My child took the dog's plastic bowl, filled it with water, and threw it at me and Mark. Mark immediately vacillated between spitting water out of his mouth and saying, "It's cool. No problem." Never one to let an awkward moment pass, I laughed. Then I made the culprit apologize. Mark was so good natured that he played hide and seek with the kids- his idea. Moral: Trust your rain barrel man.

3. Then we walked inside and the dog had eaten our homemade bread.

4. Then someone left the porch gate open and the mailman almost pepper sprayed my dog. (They have a hate-hate relationship if I ever saw one.)

5. On the upside, my friend Karen taught me how to make strawberry raspberry jam today. Amazing. And one of my teenage friends, Martin, came in and ate two homemade sandwiches. They buzz by these days, it was good to see him for a few minutes. They are growing up so quickly!

things that I have learned this week...

1. Half a mullet is not better than one. (Hope you are laughing Lynn.)

2. Telling a parent that their child's hair has some 'missing from the top' and 'just a couple chunks have been taken from each side' is really not traumatic. (Thanks Barb for being so calm.)

3. Even kid scissors should be placed on high shelves if more than two children are in your house.

4. When a camp counselor who has no background in child development tries to invalidate a young child's separation anxiety by telling you that you should leave a scared, crying three-year-old because 'they will stop crying by the next session', it is good to finally get to the point where you calmly can say, "I don't agree with that philosphy."
And it feels good to walk away, knowing that you did not let someone else use false expertise to sell your kid short and encourage him to invalidate his own feelings. A whispered, "You can't get out of the pool until you stop crying" just is icky. Thank goodness that comment was not directed at my child. Mother tiger would have made an appearence with at least a scathing comment.

5. When you go to view the suggested portal interface assignments to 'steal their code', the assignments can not be found. Yet another lesson in developing 'grace in the face of technology'.

6. Volunteering in a library is fun. You always leave feeling like you have accomplished something. And a good director can act as a mentor.

7. If you have the right colleagues at work, you really miss them when they are absent.

8. Letting children control the height of the water sprinkler is a good thing.

9. Amendment to the previous post. (This amendment has been edited because someone thought a weirdo might see it. So if you want to know what it is and I know who you are, ask me.) (I know, just when I had advice that I thought worked...)

10. I recently heard that you should laugh, think, and be moved to tears(cry) at least once a day. I think I'll add 'be open to new possibilities' to that list.

Well kids, this is the third post for the week, so have to check soon if I have 33!

When the obvious hits you like a brick....

I involuntarily went to a retreat at Jumonville. My husband said, "If you come up for the second half of the retreat, I will go home and paint the hallway doors and caulk the bathroom tub." How can one refuse that offer? Well, I had a good time. The best advice I learned there(from a Mom) was something so worthwhile I have to pass it on. Anyone who remembers this will have a much more peaceful existence:

"I was complaining to my Mom about the outfit that my husband picked out for my daughter. My Mom told me, 'People do things differently. When your spouse helps you in any way, if you criticize her/him then eventually s/he will stop helping'."

So simple... I have to tell you that when I came home, I looked at the painted hallway doors from a distance rather than up close. And I said, "the hallway looks so much better now. Thanks." Quiet glows all around. Why didn't I figure that out before. I keep hearing that after about 6 years, often in a relationship it is about actively choosing to love. Hmmm... Kathy

Mr. W's way sure beats NVu's method...

Nvu Publishing

Yeah Mr. W! I'm glad that he is expanding the class to give us this wonderful instruction! How about that cut and paste. Sure beats publishing in Nvu. (Can you say tons of wasted hours in publishing?) The RSS feed works without any hitch. Now if only I could get my title box to work on my web site. I keep playing cat and mouse with all the word and image placements!

And I'm glad that he will take our emails since we do not really have a teacher that is answering questions for our specific assignments on the discussion board.

songs that slay me

songs that slay me...more contenders to come...


Bob Dylan
Album: Bringing It All Back Home
Title: Love Minus Zero/no Limit

My love she speaks like silence,
Without ideals or violence,
She doesn't have to say she's faithful,
Yet she's true, like ice, like fire.
People carry roses,
Make promises by the hours,
My love she laughs like the flowers,
Valentines can't buy her.

In the dime stores and bus stations,
People talk of situations,
Read books, repeat quotations,
Draw conclusions on the wall.
Some speak of the future,
My love she speaks softly,
She knows there's no success like failure
And that failure's no success at all.

The cloak and dagger dangles,
Madams light the candles.
In ceremonies of the horsemen,
Even the pawn must hold a grudge.
Statues made of match sticks,
Crumble into one another,
My love winks, she does not bother,
She knows too much to argue or to judge.

The bridge at midnight trembles,
The country doctor rambles,
Bankers' nieces seek perfection,
Expecting all the gifts that wise men bring.
The wind howls like a hammer,
The night blows cold and rainy,
My love she's like some raven
At my window with a broken wing.

One little, two little, three little visitors

Site of the week:

http://www.statcounter.com/

Keep track of the hits on your blog or web!

you say potato...

One little six-year-old that I know said to her friends, "Our back yard is called a 'back yar'." That need to create terms...she is probably going to be one of the next authors for the Discovering Computers book :-0

Or...making a website for the first time

Post #3 for the week

I was talking to my friend Val tonight. She reminded me of a time when we were sitting on my front porch steps in college. The guys from across the street came over. They were nice guys but we really did not know each other. Steve and I were very shy around each other. Steve said that he had gone to the eye doctor that day. However, when he talked to me, he was looking at the building rather than me. So I started trying to talk louder, thinking maybe if he heard the source of my voice, he would realize that he was not looking at me. Then I started leaning over to where he was staring, thinking he would adjust his head. He continued to carry on the conversation. I felt completely awkward, and was wondering what kind of eye drops he was given. Well finally, I yelled, "Steve, I am over here." He said, "I know, I've seen you the whole time." What a card. You had to be there.