Before I sink into an episode or two of Dr. Who, ladies and gentlemen, my weekend:
I started my weekend off with a late-night show at the Funhouse. One of my cohort members is in The Lights, a pretty rad Seattle band, and they were playing a "last show for a very long time" set Friday night. I've never been to the Funhouse before, so I recruited a couple friends to come with me and spent the night alternately rocking out to The Lights, making fun of their crazy opening act (PartMan PartHorse - just...you know what? Google them. The pictures will explain everything.), and trying to avoid creepy drunken men.
After a restful 4 hours of sleep, I headed to Lake WA Technical College for Day One of my motorcycle certification course. The riding was a lot of fun, but would probably have gone better had it not been snowing the entire time we were out there. Trying to do anything more complicated with my hands than opening them and closing them turned out to be pretty hard, and over 24 hours later I still haven't regained full sensation in a few of my fingertips. Hoping that goes away eventually...
The cold, my overall comfort level going into Day Two, and my now phlegmtastic head cold all contributed to my decision earlier this morning to head to the college but defer my test to another time. I was starting to really get the basic maneuvering towards the end of yesterday's riding session (and I aced the written test), but I didn't feel quite comfortable with my skills to dive into the more complicated maneuvers like swerving we would have done today, so I think I'll wait and practice on my own a bit more before heading into the test. Still planning on financing a bike or buying one outright on CL in the semi-near future though, so I'm not too disappointed. I just like learning at my own pace - especially when it comes to any sort of brain --> basic motor skills task. As my cohort members might say, I'm definitely not a bodily/kinesthetic learner. *rimshot*
Speaking of school, I'm actually starting to see a light at the end of the long, dark, scary tunnel that has been this quarter! My 520 group put together and turned in a kick-ass Top Ten Reference Sources for Independent Filmmakers list earlier today, and despite several technological snafus, I was able to record and post my Twittorial for 560! Here's a link to it if anyone's interested. I was really bummed about a couple glitches in my slides. In the 2nd slide, I'd successfully embedded a hyperlink, but forgot it probably wouldn't translate when using a screen capture recording program. I had also recorded a short video that was designed to play during one of my slides, but for whatever reason, it wasn't working when I tried to play the slide show. I managed to execute a last-minute solution, but I was still sad that I'd figured out something cool, but my system wouldn't allow it to happen.
Okay, time to go. Theraflu and Dr. Who are beckoning me towards a much needed break.
Sunday, February 27, 2011
Thursday, February 17, 2011
Why I Need a Time-Turner
Katie's Master List of Stuff Currently On Her Plate (and a de facto apology to everyone I've been or will be either avoiding or freaking out to):
Ridiculously enough, the most peace I have during my day is when I'm at work. Go figure.
You know what, though? Bring it. Bring it ON.
- LIS 520
- Keeping up on a pile of readings/lectures
- Posting on the boards daily
- Finding useful sources for our Top Ten Ref Source group project
- Trying not to grind my teeth smooth whenever I get comments/grades back from search exercises and reference source reviews
- Consulting with my "client" for my class-sanctioned formal reference interview (good lord I'm glad I worked in ref at Linfield...this would be way harder to tackle if I hadn't)
- LIS 560
- Keeping up on another pile of readings/lectures
- Posting on the boards daily
- Figuring out a topic, writing, putting together a slide show, and recording my presentation to the class using the readings/lectures/discussions as my base
- Researching and writing my instructional program for dramaturgs
- Not dropping the ball with my small group for this last module
- Social Media
- Keeping up with: Twitter, Facebook, this blog, possible future blog posts for Hack Library School, Hack Library School's blog, other LIS blogs
- Social Stuff
- Big-time drama explosions in both the friends and family categories
- Other
- Getting to help a friend do some research for her final degree projects in linguistics. I'm SUPER excited about it, but oh lord help me.
- Volunteering at SPL, and possibly L-Net if I do decide I am, in fact, insane
- THE ADMISSIONS COMMITTEE DECISIONS MEETING IS IN LESS THAN A MONTH DASJ;LKDHFA;JKHWELJKFHASC;JKHFDA O______________o (i.e. Reading 30-40 grad student applications and help decide whether their futures lie at the UW or elsewhere)
- I'm moving out of my apartment at the end of March and I have no idea where I'm going to end up yet
- Spring Registration tomorrow
Ridiculously enough, the most peace I have during my day is when I'm at work. Go figure.
You know what, though? Bring it. Bring it ON.
Sunday, February 13, 2011
Back in Black
Okay. Mild freak-out over. Life exploded a little bit on me over these past couple weeks, and school regrettably took a backseat while I sorted things out, but I'm starting to get back on track. I know this quarter won't be my best, which is okay, but I'm still going to do the best I can to finish out strong. :)
In other exciting news, I finally got my wing tattoo finished last night! It hurt WAY more during this sitting than my first, but I'm attributing that to a couple things that were different this time.
1) My first sitting was at the tattoo convention last August, so the adrenaline rush of having work done in front of hundreds of people definitely helped keep my pain level down. No such rush in studio this time. The endorphins kicked in for a while, but they only stuck around for about 20 minutes, so there was a lot more ouch this time around.
2) The amazing art and interesting people that surrounded me the whole time were great distractions. There's a lot of great art in the studio, but being face down on a table kind of prevents you from looking at it.
3) I wasn't expecting to have to get so much touch-up on the wing that was already colored, so that was a bit of a surprise. Kind of like going in for a cavity filling and being told you need a root canal.
EDIT: Here's a picture! Don't know why I forgot to upload one in the first place. *facepalm*
Pain (and subsequent soreness) aside though, I'm really happy to have them done. I'm not lop-sided anymore! And it'll all be healed up when sun dress time arrives in a couple months. Which I am starting to get really excited for, thanks to the sunshine I've been seeing the past few days. I might have even trained myself to like IPAs by then too (my current beer-related project)!
Alright, time to wrap up my volunteer shift and head out for some coffee/food and study time. I'd like to do some more application reviews, but I've been having issues logging into the Sharepoint. I think it might have something to do with an unsecured wireless connection vs a secured connection. *shrug* Ta ta for now!
In other exciting news, I finally got my wing tattoo finished last night! It hurt WAY more during this sitting than my first, but I'm attributing that to a couple things that were different this time.
1) My first sitting was at the tattoo convention last August, so the adrenaline rush of having work done in front of hundreds of people definitely helped keep my pain level down. No such rush in studio this time. The endorphins kicked in for a while, but they only stuck around for about 20 minutes, so there was a lot more ouch this time around.
2) The amazing art and interesting people that surrounded me the whole time were great distractions. There's a lot of great art in the studio, but being face down on a table kind of prevents you from looking at it.
3) I wasn't expecting to have to get so much touch-up on the wing that was already colored, so that was a bit of a surprise. Kind of like going in for a cavity filling and being told you need a root canal.
EDIT: Here's a picture! Don't know why I forgot to upload one in the first place. *facepalm*
Pain (and subsequent soreness) aside though, I'm really happy to have them done. I'm not lop-sided anymore! And it'll all be healed up when sun dress time arrives in a couple months. Which I am starting to get really excited for, thanks to the sunshine I've been seeing the past few days. I might have even trained myself to like IPAs by then too (my current beer-related project)!
Alright, time to wrap up my volunteer shift and head out for some coffee/food and study time. I'd like to do some more application reviews, but I've been having issues logging into the Sharepoint. I think it might have something to do with an unsecured wireless connection vs a secured connection. *shrug* Ta ta for now!
Monday, February 7, 2011
Feeling a disconnect
I've been feeling a bit disconnected from school lately. Granted, there's been plenty going on in my personal life to keep me more than occupied in my spare time (some good, some not so good at all), but it still feels weird. It's like someone hit the rewind button and I'm back at the start of last quarter with all my frustrations and insecurities about constantly feeling behind.
I've done pretty well so far this quarter keeping up with assignments, despite the massively different structure of this quarter's classes. Lots of smaller assignments with something due every week, a small group for each class, and some overarching projects that are looming larger and larger on my horizon are all filling up my whiteboard calendar pretty effectively. (Sidenote: I am so so glad I bought that thing. I'm not big on paper planners since I tend to forget about them, and I'm not a huge fan of Google Calendar, so having something too big to ignore or forget about nailed to my wall is keeping me on track much better than storing everything in my head.)
The past couple days I've been trying to get back into the swing of things by starting to read the MLIS apps I'm responsible for. I've read through three of them thoroughly so far, and have glanced at quite a few more, and I've got to say it's just as intimidating to do so as I was expecting. I remember going through the application process myself, and how incredibly nerve-wracking it is to condense your entire life into a couple pages, a resume, and a transcript, and send it all off to a committee of people who only have that to use to try and understand you. I poured my heart into my personal statement, and sending it off to the UW (as well as Syracuse and the U of Maryland) and getting acceptance letters from all three in return felt so incredibly validating. And now I'm in a position to give someone else that same opportunity. Lots of someone elses, in fact.
I hope I'm going about this with the right attitude. It's incredibly humbling and a huge honor to even be on this committee - I'm only halfway through my 2nd quarter at the UW while everyone else (including the student reps) have all been there for much longer. I feel like my inexperience can actually be an enormous plus, since all the frustration I'm currently going through with my classes is exactly what all of these future iSchoolers will experience upon entering the program. ESPECIALLY if they're like me and had to abandon their plans of going full-time residential and try to rework their lives into the Online program. I ran across an applicant today that said she'd prefer residential, but would accept online, and I found myself really wanting to advocate that she join the Online cohort. I want to put her in the same place I was put almost a year ago and see how she reacts. And I have the sway to possibly make that happen. Augh.
Sometimes it feels like it's going to take a miracle (or long series of miracles) for me to get through this program. I'm definitely committed to this choice I've made for myself, and I really love my cohort and all the smart, fabulous people and their smart, fabulous ideas I get to read and talk about every day. It's just hard sometimes to maintain the connection I want to have with everyone, and with what we're learning.
Boo-urns. Bonus points if you get the reference.
I've done pretty well so far this quarter keeping up with assignments, despite the massively different structure of this quarter's classes. Lots of smaller assignments with something due every week, a small group for each class, and some overarching projects that are looming larger and larger on my horizon are all filling up my whiteboard calendar pretty effectively. (Sidenote: I am so so glad I bought that thing. I'm not big on paper planners since I tend to forget about them, and I'm not a huge fan of Google Calendar, so having something too big to ignore or forget about nailed to my wall is keeping me on track much better than storing everything in my head.)
The past couple days I've been trying to get back into the swing of things by starting to read the MLIS apps I'm responsible for. I've read through three of them thoroughly so far, and have glanced at quite a few more, and I've got to say it's just as intimidating to do so as I was expecting. I remember going through the application process myself, and how incredibly nerve-wracking it is to condense your entire life into a couple pages, a resume, and a transcript, and send it all off to a committee of people who only have that to use to try and understand you. I poured my heart into my personal statement, and sending it off to the UW (as well as Syracuse and the U of Maryland) and getting acceptance letters from all three in return felt so incredibly validating. And now I'm in a position to give someone else that same opportunity. Lots of someone elses, in fact.
I hope I'm going about this with the right attitude. It's incredibly humbling and a huge honor to even be on this committee - I'm only halfway through my 2nd quarter at the UW while everyone else (including the student reps) have all been there for much longer. I feel like my inexperience can actually be an enormous plus, since all the frustration I'm currently going through with my classes is exactly what all of these future iSchoolers will experience upon entering the program. ESPECIALLY if they're like me and had to abandon their plans of going full-time residential and try to rework their lives into the Online program. I ran across an applicant today that said she'd prefer residential, but would accept online, and I found myself really wanting to advocate that she join the Online cohort. I want to put her in the same place I was put almost a year ago and see how she reacts. And I have the sway to possibly make that happen. Augh.
Sometimes it feels like it's going to take a miracle (or long series of miracles) for me to get through this program. I'm definitely committed to this choice I've made for myself, and I really love my cohort and all the smart, fabulous people and their smart, fabulous ideas I get to read and talk about every day. It's just hard sometimes to maintain the connection I want to have with everyone, and with what we're learning.
Boo-urns. Bonus points if you get the reference.
Monday, January 31, 2011
Ready or not...
Sometimes I really miss the games I used to play when I was a kid. I grew up in a house with a huge front yard, complete with a perfectly manicured lawn lined by a rock wall, and a good sized patch of forest surrounding the house on three sides. I was lucky enough to live close by a couple families with kids roughly the same ages as me and my siblings, and since dial-up and DOS games just didn't cut it for entertainment most afternoons after school or during summer break, the neighbor kids would come over and we'd play outside.
As a kid I was shrimpy but fast, so I was definitely a fan of any game where speed over brawn was necessary to win. Tag, freeze tag, TV tag, toilet tag (don't judge...it was way fun), Fire in the Jungle...any game I could use to lord my superior running abilities over the rest of the people playing, I was in. Games of stealth and trickery were no different: hide 'n seek, sardines, kick the can, capture the flag, or even just a good squirt gun fight all topped my list too.
P.E. in elementary school and junior high was just as fun. Even though I couldn't throw a red rubber ball to save my life, I soon proved to be nearly impossible to hit, and I vividly remember games of Elimination where I'd be sprinting laps around the gym while balls and muffled curses thudded into the walls right behind me. At my elementary school, once a year, they'd set the gym up like an obstacle course, stick empty pop cans on all the obstacles, turn the lights off, and have you crawl around the course trying not to make any noise lest they nail you with the start-over spotlight. And don't even get me started on Field Day. Best damn day of the entire school year.
Why did we ever stop playing those games? All the games we grew into as adults are governed by so many rules. As kids, breaking the rules of the game or adapting them on the fly usually wound up being the fun part, but as adults, breaking the rules destroys the fun and starts the shouting matches. No one ever gets together just to play a game of freeze tag anymore, and the people that do see it as a novelty, not a normality.
Right now, I'm sitting at my desk finishing out my day at work before heading to a pub for some catch-up time with a friend followed by listening to some lectures for grad school and probably going to bed early. But sometimes, especially on days full of adult-ness like this one, I kinda wish I could be playing hide and seek instead.
As a kid I was shrimpy but fast, so I was definitely a fan of any game where speed over brawn was necessary to win. Tag, freeze tag, TV tag, toilet tag (don't judge...it was way fun), Fire in the Jungle...any game I could use to lord my superior running abilities over the rest of the people playing, I was in. Games of stealth and trickery were no different: hide 'n seek, sardines, kick the can, capture the flag, or even just a good squirt gun fight all topped my list too.
P.E. in elementary school and junior high was just as fun. Even though I couldn't throw a red rubber ball to save my life, I soon proved to be nearly impossible to hit, and I vividly remember games of Elimination where I'd be sprinting laps around the gym while balls and muffled curses thudded into the walls right behind me. At my elementary school, once a year, they'd set the gym up like an obstacle course, stick empty pop cans on all the obstacles, turn the lights off, and have you crawl around the course trying not to make any noise lest they nail you with the start-over spotlight. And don't even get me started on Field Day. Best damn day of the entire school year.
Why did we ever stop playing those games? All the games we grew into as adults are governed by so many rules. As kids, breaking the rules of the game or adapting them on the fly usually wound up being the fun part, but as adults, breaking the rules destroys the fun and starts the shouting matches. No one ever gets together just to play a game of freeze tag anymore, and the people that do see it as a novelty, not a normality.
Right now, I'm sitting at my desk finishing out my day at work before heading to a pub for some catch-up time with a friend followed by listening to some lectures for grad school and probably going to bed early. But sometimes, especially on days full of adult-ness like this one, I kinda wish I could be playing hide and seek instead.
Saturday, January 29, 2011
A not-post
I was sitting in the Suzzallo reading room a few days ago working on some school stuff, and I thought hey! Why not start taking notes on stuff I could put in a blog post later? I haven't written anything in a while, but I'm feeling too lazy to write much at the moment, so maybe...a list! Yeah! I like lists! Lists are easy, and ADD-friendly! So without further ado (because I seriously need to put in some time on my 560 User Needs Assessment that's due, oh, TOMORROW *panicky flailing*), a collection of random thoughts. I might eventually run with some of them and turn them into a real post, buuuuut I might not. Who knows.
My original blog post opener:
In my Instructional and Training Strategies class right now, we've been asked to read a couple articles that have quietly started the wheels turning in my head regarding why exactly I want to do what I want to do with my life.
While listening to the first story in the This American Life episode "Image Makers" (Ep 294):
My original blog post opener:
In my Instructional and Training Strategies class right now, we've been asked to read a couple articles that have quietly started the wheels turning in my head regarding why exactly I want to do what I want to do with my life.
While listening to the first story in the This American Life episode "Image Makers" (Ep 294):
"Who does her own librarian version of 'Hello Escanaba, are you ready to rock?'" --> "Hello kids! So what are you here to see today? *pauses* A rock concert! That's right!" *facepalm*
Volunteering during the kids rock concert at SPL killed me - patrons were upset, expecting the library to be a quiet place, and yeah, for 364 days out of the year, it usually is. So what if for one afternoon, they want to be loud?
Why the hell can't libraries be fun, exciting places where people meet, collaborate, and engage with each other?
Libraries are for the young. The learners. The innovators. It's time we took that back.
"Did it make you think differently about the library?"
"Yes it did! It made me think about...hey, if librarians can do this, make a library not very much a library with making it loud, basically anyone could do anything!"
While watching 'The Hollywood Librarian':
"I long to throw my arms around every librarian I meet on behalf of all the souls they never knew they saved." -Barbara Kingsolver
Keepers of a civilizing flame.
Weight of the library world is on our shoulders.
Schmuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuurrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrp. (I have no idea why I wrote this.)
Defense of libraries focuses a lot on children's librarianship, providing services for the homeless or disadvantaged, and helping students. What can libraries do for the average person?
Book clubs or group or discussions give people a safe outlet to discuss things beyond the superficial and connect with each other in a deep way.
The Hollywood Librarian = a nostalgic love letter to libraries past.
Mitchell and Webb! Aaahahhhaaaaaaaaaaahahahahaha!!! I kinda want to post the librarian one on fb, but it might make people who don't possess senses of humor mad.
Libraries should be at the technological forefront of information storage, retrieval, and management.
Libraries are for the young. The learners. The innovators. It's time we took that back.
"Did it make you think differently about the library?"
"Yes it did! It made me think about...hey, if librarians can do this, make a library not very much a library with making it loud, basically anyone could do anything!"
While watching 'The Hollywood Librarian':
"I long to throw my arms around every librarian I meet on behalf of all the souls they never knew they saved." -Barbara Kingsolver
Keepers of a civilizing flame.
Weight of the library world is on our shoulders.
Schmuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuurrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrp. (I have no idea why I wrote this.)
Defense of libraries focuses a lot on children's librarianship, providing services for the homeless or disadvantaged, and helping students. What can libraries do for the average person?
Book clubs or group or discussions give people a safe outlet to discuss things beyond the superficial and connect with each other in a deep way.
The Hollywood Librarian = a nostalgic love letter to libraries past.
Mitchell and Webb! Aaahahhhaaaaaaaaaaahahahahaha!!! I kinda want to post the librarian one on fb, but it might make people who don't possess senses of humor mad.
Libraries should be at the technological forefront of information storage, retrieval, and management.
Monday, January 10, 2011
Apparently, space heaters + crappy apartment wiring = blown circuits every five minutes. Hello blankets!
In 520, my discussion group has spent a week talking about censorship, questioning the moral/ethical side of librarianship, and examining the rather revolutionary (for the time) reference techniques put forth in an article published in 1876 while simultaneously ripping apart the supercilious and irritatingly condescending tone of its author. My small group for the class also picked student filmmakers as our target group for our Top Ten Reference Sources project later in the quarter.
In 560, we've talked about everything from what makes certain professors effective in the classroom, using the ARCS model as our baseline, to exactly why Alton Brown is such a bamf in the kitchen. (Yes, I did just use the term "bamf". Deal with it.) I also decided to use the same student filmmaker target group for my future library skills instruction project.
Based solely on this first week of class, I am so so so excited for how the rest of this quarter is going to go. This shit's awesome, and a big part of why I went back to school. :)
In 560, we've talked about everything from what makes certain professors effective in the classroom, using the ARCS model as our baseline, to exactly why Alton Brown is such a bamf in the kitchen. (Yes, I did just use the term "bamf". Deal with it.) I also decided to use the same student filmmaker target group for my future library skills instruction project.
Based solely on this first week of class, I am so so so excited for how the rest of this quarter is going to go. This shit's awesome, and a big part of why I went back to school. :)
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)