5 Topics
Today has started off oddly and so as I look for threadbrain, I'm going to do this lovely 5 topics meme. Last night I dreamed that a friend from high school was trying to kill me as in the dark of my room, it was a disturbing dream. Then I woke up to find out I'd missed the call from the movers, called back and left a message saying, please I want more information.
Also the bandage on my ear lobe is about to fall off and I think its all healed but its hard to tell. I need to go to the university health center and get it looked at. I have this bad habit of reaching up and playing with my ear lobe and I'm worrying that maybe I've made it heal badly. I need to stop fretting over it and get it looked at. Basically I'm feeling like there are a few too many thoughts going around in my head.
This meme I think will help sort them out. I'm going to tackle the library/job topics and then come back for the other ones.
Comment to this post saying "FIVE!" and I will pick five things I would like you to talk about. They might make sense or be totally random.
Then post that list, with your commentary, to your journal. Other people can get lists from you, and the meme merrily perpetuates itself, hopefully for the rest of eternity!
(I don't really care if you say "FIVE" or let me know some other way. Just for the record.)
in_the_blue gave me:
1. libraries
I've loved libraries since I was little and grew up going to the Swarthmore Public Library. They've been touchstones in my life. One of my summer jobs was working at McCabe library, which is the Swarthmore College library and I loved it. I was being a temporary receptionist and was behind the scenes and doing all sorts of projects for the librarians and it was wonderful.
After I graduated college, I had an internship at the Independence Seaport Museum Library, where I was doing archival work. It was fascinating and I learned that while I love maritime history, I'm not really an archivist. I need the interaction to people and I did enjoy answering reference questions but they were all by email or letter. Around that same time, I also helped at my mother's work by organizing some Swarthmore archives and working on a database for them, which was interesting. In New Zealand, I lived in the Dunedin, Wellington and Victoria University libraries, they were my places to go and I loved them. When I came back from New Zealand, I ended up volunteering at the Lewes Library as I'd volunteered at the Swarthmore library and then had a moment of oh, wait this is where I fit.
My degree was intense and fascinating because there's a lot I didn't know that I learned and my part time job as a reference librarian has taught me a lot. I love how libraries are gathering places and these beautiful spaces where people come together to talk about books, to talk and connect and to just be. I want to keep them active and alive as much as possible. The current state of libraries makes me hopeful and depressed depending on the news as there are people out there who are doing amazing things to keep libraries active and vital. Then there are the people who don't really get libraries and I've had so many arguments with those people going, look, you don't use libraries so you don't get them. Stop talking like you do. I want to help kids realize that yes, they are readers and help everyone know there's the book for you out there, let me help you.
2. travel
3. job hunting
Job hunting is awful. I've at this point been searching for a job for almost a year and in that time, I've had three interviews that almost led to jobs. I'm connected with a wonderful job agency that works with Independent Schools that truly feels like an advocate for me, which is great. I signed up with them in April and before that I was sending resumes out into the void. I still need to do that and I keep trying to be positive, but its terribly hard. Its rare to even get acknowledgements from libraries that they got my information unless its an online form then its automated. The schools feel much more personal as if they're actually seeing me and that makes a huge difference.
I would be happy working in a public library or a school, I just want to be connecting to kids and books. One thing I've found that helps is my librarian blog, I love writing it and I know that people interviewing me look at it. At the moment, job stuff is going on a little pause as I try to navigate moving back to my parent's place in Delaware, but its a constant worry and stress in my life. When I move back, I'm going to be volunteering with the children's librarian in Lewes, who's a mentor for me and I'm looking forward to that. I think the worst part is I look at people from my school who have jobs and go, I must not be doing enough, I must not be good enough and it grinds me down. I know that's not all true, everyone's different and this is an incredibly hard economic time, but doubt is always there.
4. your very favorite fictional character
5. where you see yourself in ten years
I see myself working in a library, maybe at a small school, maybe at a public library and I've been there long enough that everyone knows me. I've been running an afterschool program about storytelling with the local theater company for a couple of years. I've created traditions and children who were in elementary school when I started are now in high school and tell me about their college plans. There's someone wonderful in my life, who makes me laugh and feel loved. Sometimes I participate at the local theater and keep sharing my writing. I have friends nearby, some from Milliways, some from work, who are an active part of my life, we go and have adventures. I travel and am an active part of the library world with my blog and writing. Life is busy and I'm doing what I love.
This entry is also posted at http://ceitfianna.dreamwidth.org/344909.html. Please comment wherever you'd like.
Also the bandage on my ear lobe is about to fall off and I think its all healed but its hard to tell. I need to go to the university health center and get it looked at. I have this bad habit of reaching up and playing with my ear lobe and I'm worrying that maybe I've made it heal badly. I need to stop fretting over it and get it looked at. Basically I'm feeling like there are a few too many thoughts going around in my head.
This meme I think will help sort them out. I'm going to tackle the library/job topics and then come back for the other ones.
Comment to this post saying "FIVE!" and I will pick five things I would like you to talk about. They might make sense or be totally random.
Then post that list, with your commentary, to your journal. Other people can get lists from you, and the meme merrily perpetuates itself, hopefully for the rest of eternity!
(I don't really care if you say "FIVE" or let me know some other way. Just for the record.)
in_the_blue gave me:
1. libraries
I've loved libraries since I was little and grew up going to the Swarthmore Public Library. They've been touchstones in my life. One of my summer jobs was working at McCabe library, which is the Swarthmore College library and I loved it. I was being a temporary receptionist and was behind the scenes and doing all sorts of projects for the librarians and it was wonderful.
After I graduated college, I had an internship at the Independence Seaport Museum Library, where I was doing archival work. It was fascinating and I learned that while I love maritime history, I'm not really an archivist. I need the interaction to people and I did enjoy answering reference questions but they were all by email or letter. Around that same time, I also helped at my mother's work by organizing some Swarthmore archives and working on a database for them, which was interesting. In New Zealand, I lived in the Dunedin, Wellington and Victoria University libraries, they were my places to go and I loved them. When I came back from New Zealand, I ended up volunteering at the Lewes Library as I'd volunteered at the Swarthmore library and then had a moment of oh, wait this is where I fit.
My degree was intense and fascinating because there's a lot I didn't know that I learned and my part time job as a reference librarian has taught me a lot. I love how libraries are gathering places and these beautiful spaces where people come together to talk about books, to talk and connect and to just be. I want to keep them active and alive as much as possible. The current state of libraries makes me hopeful and depressed depending on the news as there are people out there who are doing amazing things to keep libraries active and vital. Then there are the people who don't really get libraries and I've had so many arguments with those people going, look, you don't use libraries so you don't get them. Stop talking like you do. I want to help kids realize that yes, they are readers and help everyone know there's the book for you out there, let me help you.
2. travel
3. job hunting
Job hunting is awful. I've at this point been searching for a job for almost a year and in that time, I've had three interviews that almost led to jobs. I'm connected with a wonderful job agency that works with Independent Schools that truly feels like an advocate for me, which is great. I signed up with them in April and before that I was sending resumes out into the void. I still need to do that and I keep trying to be positive, but its terribly hard. Its rare to even get acknowledgements from libraries that they got my information unless its an online form then its automated. The schools feel much more personal as if they're actually seeing me and that makes a huge difference.
I would be happy working in a public library or a school, I just want to be connecting to kids and books. One thing I've found that helps is my librarian blog, I love writing it and I know that people interviewing me look at it. At the moment, job stuff is going on a little pause as I try to navigate moving back to my parent's place in Delaware, but its a constant worry and stress in my life. When I move back, I'm going to be volunteering with the children's librarian in Lewes, who's a mentor for me and I'm looking forward to that. I think the worst part is I look at people from my school who have jobs and go, I must not be doing enough, I must not be good enough and it grinds me down. I know that's not all true, everyone's different and this is an incredibly hard economic time, but doubt is always there.
4. your very favorite fictional character
5. where you see yourself in ten years
I see myself working in a library, maybe at a small school, maybe at a public library and I've been there long enough that everyone knows me. I've been running an afterschool program about storytelling with the local theater company for a couple of years. I've created traditions and children who were in elementary school when I started are now in high school and tell me about their college plans. There's someone wonderful in my life, who makes me laugh and feel loved. Sometimes I participate at the local theater and keep sharing my writing. I have friends nearby, some from Milliways, some from work, who are an active part of my life, we go and have adventures. I travel and am an active part of the library world with my blog and writing. Life is busy and I'm doing what I love.
This entry is also posted at http://ceitfianna.dreamwidth.org/344909.html. Please comment wherever you'd like.