Doing that "starting a new phase of life" thing
All right. I am settled in Madison.
I am finally done moving for a couple years, which is a really great relief. I still have a few things to get from Mom and Dad that didn't quite fit this time, and a bit of unpacking still to do here, but otherwise I am all set. So now, I can settle in.
This is a relief for a variety of reasons, really. Part of it is that I'm just sick of packing and moving and unpacking, which I have now done 3 times in 4 months. It's also nice to have a place that is fully mine, and not inherited from a previous JET or anything like that. The other big thing is that hopefully I can start to do some writing again. I don't necessarily need hours and hours to sit down and get some writing done, but I cannot seem to do when I'm "unsettled" in terms of my basic living situation. Hopefully with that settled down now, my brain will be happier to work on writing.
I like my apartment. It's an "efficiency," so I have one main room which takes up about half the space, and then the other half is broken up into entryway, kitchen, closet and bathroom. The closet is a big, walk-in one, and then the bathroom door is accessed through there. It's definitely an older sort of apartment, and the windows and screens are not in the best shape, but the AC works, and there's a nice long baseboard heater for winter (plus I have lots of blankets). I have all the furniture I'm hoping to have, except for a TV stand (I'm taking my sister's old one from college) and a futon, which I have yet to acquire. That will provide both more seating and a place to sleep in case anyone comes to visit. There are no overhead lights in the main room, unfortunately, so it was very dark my first couple of nights here, but I have since acquired a tall, bright lamp, so now it isn't bad at all.
I did get a 32" TV, which was significantly larger than I was originally considering. It's a nice LED screen, though, and I'll be able to use it for quite some time, so I don't regret getting it. I'm asking for a blu-ray/DVD player for my birthday, so then I'll be able to enjoy movies and things on a nice big screen. And since it was slightly cheaper to get internet and basic cable as a package, I actually do have TV channels I can watch, which is kind of nice. These apartments have a very nice lawn area and an outdoor pool as well, which I'm hoping to take advantage of tomorrow, and are only about a 20 minute walk from the building on campus that I will regularly have classes in, so it's a convenient location.
I've also gone through orientation. It was a lot of information all at once, but I'm definitely well-set on classes for this semester, and I'll be able to talk with my adviser long before I need to sign up for classes next semester. Everyone in the program seems very nice and very helpful, and there are several interesting student groups that I've at least signed up to get information about. We're having a "crafters" group to just sit around and chat and do knitting/crochet/xstitch/whatever, so that will be nice for just some socializing. I'm also joining the student chapters of the American Library Association, the Wisconsin Library Association, and the Society of American Archivists. I'm hoping that being part of these professional organizations will provide lots of good networking opportunities. There are a couple other groups too, including one devoted to helping students learn about technology stuff, and one where I'll go read books to elementary school kids once a month or so. :)
I am going to be learning a lot more about technology and computers than I currently know. Being able to build and manage websites and understanding how online databases work is a large part of any kind of library or archival work these days. I've been taking some workshops that are being offered these first couple of weeks, which explain some of the basics of these computer skills, things like searching the catalogs and building basic webpages.
I still don't have a job yet, but I have an interview tomorrow for a job in the Preservation Department of the main library, which would be really neat, and I've also emailed the Wisconsin Historical Society to see if they need anyone. So, hopefully something will come of those, but there's always shelving to fall back on if it doesn't.
I don't actually have class until next Wednesday, so I'm going to try and finish unpacking and then accomplish the small technology related assignments that we've all been assigned before then. I have either acquired or ordered all of my textbooks, so I can get started on those readings as well.
I don't have a whole lot of news other than that, I guess. I got a card at the public library too, so I have a couple of books out, plus cross-stitch, so I have some things to do for relaxation as well.
I think I'll do another Book Talk soon, hopefully, since I just finished a couple of R.A. Salvatore's more recent Drizzt books and I'd like to talk about them.
~A
I am finally done moving for a couple years, which is a really great relief. I still have a few things to get from Mom and Dad that didn't quite fit this time, and a bit of unpacking still to do here, but otherwise I am all set. So now, I can settle in.
This is a relief for a variety of reasons, really. Part of it is that I'm just sick of packing and moving and unpacking, which I have now done 3 times in 4 months. It's also nice to have a place that is fully mine, and not inherited from a previous JET or anything like that. The other big thing is that hopefully I can start to do some writing again. I don't necessarily need hours and hours to sit down and get some writing done, but I cannot seem to do when I'm "unsettled" in terms of my basic living situation. Hopefully with that settled down now, my brain will be happier to work on writing.
I like my apartment. It's an "efficiency," so I have one main room which takes up about half the space, and then the other half is broken up into entryway, kitchen, closet and bathroom. The closet is a big, walk-in one, and then the bathroom door is accessed through there. It's definitely an older sort of apartment, and the windows and screens are not in the best shape, but the AC works, and there's a nice long baseboard heater for winter (plus I have lots of blankets). I have all the furniture I'm hoping to have, except for a TV stand (I'm taking my sister's old one from college) and a futon, which I have yet to acquire. That will provide both more seating and a place to sleep in case anyone comes to visit. There are no overhead lights in the main room, unfortunately, so it was very dark my first couple of nights here, but I have since acquired a tall, bright lamp, so now it isn't bad at all.
I did get a 32" TV, which was significantly larger than I was originally considering. It's a nice LED screen, though, and I'll be able to use it for quite some time, so I don't regret getting it. I'm asking for a blu-ray/DVD player for my birthday, so then I'll be able to enjoy movies and things on a nice big screen. And since it was slightly cheaper to get internet and basic cable as a package, I actually do have TV channels I can watch, which is kind of nice. These apartments have a very nice lawn area and an outdoor pool as well, which I'm hoping to take advantage of tomorrow, and are only about a 20 minute walk from the building on campus that I will regularly have classes in, so it's a convenient location.
I've also gone through orientation. It was a lot of information all at once, but I'm definitely well-set on classes for this semester, and I'll be able to talk with my adviser long before I need to sign up for classes next semester. Everyone in the program seems very nice and very helpful, and there are several interesting student groups that I've at least signed up to get information about. We're having a "crafters" group to just sit around and chat and do knitting/crochet/xstitch/whatever, so that will be nice for just some socializing. I'm also joining the student chapters of the American Library Association, the Wisconsin Library Association, and the Society of American Archivists. I'm hoping that being part of these professional organizations will provide lots of good networking opportunities. There are a couple other groups too, including one devoted to helping students learn about technology stuff, and one where I'll go read books to elementary school kids once a month or so. :)
I am going to be learning a lot more about technology and computers than I currently know. Being able to build and manage websites and understanding how online databases work is a large part of any kind of library or archival work these days. I've been taking some workshops that are being offered these first couple of weeks, which explain some of the basics of these computer skills, things like searching the catalogs and building basic webpages.
I still don't have a job yet, but I have an interview tomorrow for a job in the Preservation Department of the main library, which would be really neat, and I've also emailed the Wisconsin Historical Society to see if they need anyone. So, hopefully something will come of those, but there's always shelving to fall back on if it doesn't.
I don't actually have class until next Wednesday, so I'm going to try and finish unpacking and then accomplish the small technology related assignments that we've all been assigned before then. I have either acquired or ordered all of my textbooks, so I can get started on those readings as well.
I don't have a whole lot of news other than that, I guess. I got a card at the public library too, so I have a couple of books out, plus cross-stitch, so I have some things to do for relaxation as well.
I think I'll do another Book Talk soon, hopefully, since I just finished a couple of R.A. Salvatore's more recent Drizzt books and I'd like to talk about them.
~A