Tag: washington

sickness

For the past three days, I’ve been suffering with one of the worst viruses I’ve had in years. It’s not strep, although in some ways I wish it was because then I could get some drugs to kill it. Per the nurse’s instructions, I’ve been alternating between an acetaminophen with pseudoephedrine and ibuprofen every three … Continue reading “sickness”

For the past three days, I’ve been suffering with one of the worst viruses I’ve had in years. It’s not strep, although in some ways I wish it was because then I could get some drugs to kill it. Per the nurse’s instructions, I’ve been alternating between an acetaminophen with pseudoephedrine and ibuprofen every three hours, and it’s made the symptoms manageable.

This is the second time in the past year that I have been so sick I’ve spent at least three days home from work, and it would have been a third if my last illness hadn’t occurred while I was on vacation at Christmas. Since I moved to Washington in September 2004, I’ve had various minor virus infections in addition to the three major ones that have knocked me out this year. Is it the new location? Am I just getting all of the viruses that are native to the area? I know I haven’t been eating as healthy as I should be, and I’ve put on about fifteen pounds since the summer of 2004. Could my obesity be contributing to my weakened immune system?

These are the things I have been contemplating while sitting on the couch trying to entertain myself with DVDs and online browsing for the past few days.

Dilbert censored in local paper

The Daily Record is the local paper for Kittitas County in Washington. It is published late, and as a result, I usually read the previous day paper over lunch. Today I noticed that the comic strip Dilbert looked different from what I remembered from reading it online yesterday. Apparently, the original was too graphic for … Continue reading “Dilbert censored in local paper”

The Daily Record is the local paper for Kittitas County in Washington. It is published late, and as a result, I usually read the previous day paper over lunch. Today I noticed that the comic strip Dilbert looked different from what I remembered from reading it online yesterday. Apparently, the original was too graphic for Daily Record readers.

original:

altered:

Did anyone else notice this bit of censorship in other papers?

this land is your land

A geographic meme, courtesy of Sorcha. Also, places where US paper currency I have spent in the past four and a half years have gone. bold the states you’ve been to, underline the states you’ve lived in and italicize the state you’re in now… Alabama / Alaska / Arizona / Arkansas / California / Colorado … Continue reading “this land is your land”

A geographic meme, courtesy of Sorcha. Also, places where US paper currency I have spent in the past four and a half years have gone.

bold the states you’ve been to, underline the states you’ve lived in and italicize the state you’re in now…

Alabama / Alaska / Arizona / Arkansas / California / Colorado / Connecticut / Delaware / Florida / Georgia / Hawaii / Idaho / Illinois / Indiana / Iowa / Kansas / Kentucky / Louisiana / Maine / Maryland / Massachusetts / Michigan / Minnesota / Mississippi / Missouri / Montana / Nebraska / Nevada / New Hampshire / New Jersey / New Mexico / New York / North Carolina / North Dakota / Ohio / Oklahoma / Oregon / Pennsylvania / Rhode Island / South Carolina / South Dakota / Tennessee / Texas / Utah / Vermont / Virginia / Washington / West Virginia / Wisconsin / Wyoming / Washington D.C /

Go HERE to have a form generate the HTML for you.

about

It has come to my attention that I don’t have an About page for this blog. I never really thought that I needed one, but perhaps I do. I first learned of blogs and blogging when I read about Jessamyn West in Library Journal. I started reading librarian.net on a regular basis, and I was … Continue reading “about”

It has come to my attention that I don’t have an About page for this blog. I never really thought that I needed one, but perhaps I do.

I first learned of blogs and blogging when I read about Jessamyn West in Library Journal. I started reading librarian.net on a regular basis, and I was inspired to try this blogging thing myself. The first incarnation of my blog was called “because everyone else is doing it” and was powered by Blogger. Wanting to get away from free webhosts and BlogSpot, I took the plunge and purchased my own domain name and hosting through Powweb. Thus, the eclectic librarian was born.

I have worked in libraries since I was an undergraduate student in 1994. By the time I left to begin the master’s program at the University of Kentucky, I had experience in almost every department of a library. At first I thought I wanted to be a cataloger, but the technology classes interested me more, and I began to explore that aspect of librarianship.

My first post-graduate job was as a serials and database cataloger at a medium-sized comprehensive university in Kentucky. It was mainly a paycheck and a foot in the door of academic librarianship, but after I attended a NASIG conference, I gained a better appreciation of the serials and related electronic resources specialty. My responsibilities shifted more towards electronic resources, mirroring the serials industry’s shift to online access and the issues surrounding that.

Now I am the serials department head and electronic resources librarian for another medium-sized comprehensive university, but this one is in Washington. I work closely with the systems librarian to improve service for our electronic resources. I am still quite interested in the technology aspects of the profession and issues related to them, which is evident in the contents of this blog. I don’t write much about serials in particular, and that’s mainly because most of the innovative work is being done on the electronic side of serials publishing, and there are other blogs that specialize in those issues.

I have a wide variety of other interests, including music, internet–based hobbies, and outdoor activities. I am also occasionally politically minded with a left-of-center flavor and a bit cynical.

Lately I have been writing reviews for Blogcritics.org, so you’ll see a few of these pop up occasionally.

happy new year!

Resolutions, shmezolutions.

I’ve given some thought to new year resolutions this year, and I’m not sure if I want to bother with resolving to do something. So, here are a list of things I’d like to accomplish, but I do not intend to be crushed if they don’t happen.

1. Keep a written list of books I read in 2005. I’d like to know just how much reading I’m doing, and what it is that I’m reading.

2. Get into some sort of regular work-out routine.

3. Be able to hike all 1400 feet elevation change to the top of Manastash Ridge by the end of summer. This is related to #2. I’m really out of shape for Washington hiking, despite all of the hiking I did in Kentucky.

4. Write an article for publication. I have a few ideas in mind already.

5. Pay off my credit cards. This one may happen by August, if all goes well.

6. Buy some furnature. A comfy chair and a bed frame for starters, with more to come. Maybe a futon for the guest room.

That’s all for now.

my life

I wrote an email to a friend recently, catching up a little since the last letter, and I thought that it might be appropriate to reprint some of it here.

I wrote an email to a friend recently, catching up a little since the last letter, and I thought that it might be appropriate to reprint some of it here.

About a month after I moved out here to Washington, I had started to become accustomed to the different terrain (including the sight of an espresso bar on every corner) and pace of life. But, my adjustements were quickly thrown off course when I began to realize that the sun was sinking much faster every evening. Pretty soon, the season had shifted so that it is full dark by the time I leave work at 5pm. It gets dark early in the winter in Kentucky, too, but we had at least 45 more minutes of daylight and dusk than what I’m getting now. I feel sleepier and I’ve been frequenting those espresso bars more often than I used to.

For the past two months, I have been singing with the community women’s chorus. We have done two concerts and had great fun besides. It’s not the same fun I had singing with the Berea shape note group in Kentucky, nor was that the same fun as I had singing with the Mennonites in college, but it’s music, which is always a guarantee of a good time. When I look back at the girl who could barely carry a tune in a bucket and certainly would never think of singing anywhere more public than her private shower, I am amazed to be where I am now.

I went hiking with some folks from church the other week, and I realized two things: 1) I’m really out of shape. 2) I never was in shape for the kind of hills they have here. Oy! The hike we went on had an elevation change of 1,000′, and we were still 400′ or so elevation from the summit before I had to turn back. Even then, I was afraid of my legs collapsing under me. I’ve decided that next quarter, I’m going to pay the fee and start going to the faculty work-out lunch things. My hope is by next fall, I’ll be able to finish that hike and not hobble around with sore joints and muscles for two days afterwards.

settling in

I’m finding that I have so many things to do in the transition from Kentucky to Washington that I hardly have time to read blogs, much less post in my own.

I’m finding that I have so many things to do in the transition from Kentucky to Washington that I hardly have time to read blogs, much less post in my own. For those that care, I am settling into life in Ellensburg just fine, and I’ve even found a house to rent from a landlord who is pet-friendly. That’s a rare thing around here, it seems.

Last weekend I visited with an old friend from Virginia who is vacationing in Seattle with some of her friends. We went to a WNBA game one night and a MLB the next afternoon. We also walked around downtown a bit and visited Pike Market near the end of the day. It wasn’t as intimidating as I thought it might be. I’m looking forward to exploring more of the city in the future. Oh! I also spent some time at IKEA. They didn’t have the flatware I wanted in stock, though.

KY to WA – day four

I woke up feeling somewhat depressed and ready for this trip to be over.

I woke up feeling somewhat depressed and ready for this trip to be over. Part of my depression was in knowing that we would not be in Ellensburg that night, having decided to get a motel room in Yakima instead (all of the rooms in the Super 8 in Ellensburg were booked, and I didn’t know of any other motels that would allow a cat). The other part was that this was the morning of yet another long day of driving.

We stopped at a bagel bakery for breakfast, and then a quick visit to the next door Barnes & Noble cafe for a picture with the Starbucks travel bug and my mocha frappucino. Then it was on to the scenic overlook on the edge of town. It was breathtaking and surreal. I took many pictures.

The landscape of Idaho and Oregon and Washington was stunning, of course, but most of the rest of the day the miles flew by without my hardly noticing the world around me. I was numb to the beauty of the earth, and there is only so much stunning and beautiful landscape one can see before the brain stops assimilating it.

Around two in the afternoon, we stopped in Baker City to find some lunch. We ended up in the downtown area purely by accident, but it was a fortunate accident. The historic downtown is a vibrant commercial area; a throwback to twenty or thirty years ago. We had several lunch options and settled on the historic Geyser Grand Hotel. The food was quite good and inexpensive. The decor was as grand as the name implied. I felt a bit like a character in an Agatha Christie novel, staying at a 1930’s hotel on holiday.

On our way down a mountain near Pendleton, we pulled over for a scenic overlook. It was a little hazy, so we couldn’t see much, but what we could see was quite beautiful. Again, I took several pictures. I wish I had taken more pictures in the early part of the trip. Not too long after that we crossed over into Washington.

Yakima was probably the dullest stop on the journey. The motel was definitely the dingiest, and the food options weren’t particularly enticing. We were both so exhausted we could hardly move enough to explore the town, but we did stop at a Starbucks for another picture with the travel bug. The barristas gave us the sympathy we craved after we told them how far and how long we had been traveling.

thoughts about the new job

In the midst of all the stuff I am doing to get ready to go, I’m also thinking about what I want to do when I get to Washington.

In the midst of all the stuff I am doing to get ready to go, I’m also thinking about what I want to do when I get to Washington. There will be, of course, the getting-to-know-you period, but I have some ideas of what I want to do there based on my experiences at my current-until-Friday place of work. The nice thing is that at my new place of work, it will be in my job description to do those things! I’ve had virtually no voice in some decisions made about our serials collection, and that is very frustrating. These decisions are short-sighted and didn’t include input from those who will have to deal with the ramifications, nor has there been any follow-up.

I’ve also been reflecting on management styles. I’ve learned some what to dos and what not to dos from my current-until-Friday place of work. I don’t know how my management style will evolve in the new environment, but I hope that I will have absorbed enough from my past experiences to know how to avoid mistakes. A lot of management involves being able to understand personalities and how to push the right buttons to get the best results.

Maybe this is true of other professions, but it seems that librarianship attracts a significant number of socially dysfunctional individuals. Or at least, the places I have worked have had quite a few of them. It is much harder to build a cohesive team when the players don’t have the necessary skills. I suppose that if this turns out to be true at my new place of work, then it will just be another challenge for me to overcome.

I suppose that’s enough Saturday night rambling.

css.php