I suppose it's time for an update, huh?
So I'm not very regular at keeping this up. Was never really good at keeping a diary, either. I did manage to fill up an entire diary during my senior year of high school, which was pretty impressive. But for the most part, I simply don't have a strong urge to write down day-to-day activities in a journal, and I'm not the type to introspect enough to keep a diary. Ah, well.
Life is going pretty well. Work is good. I get tons of compliments and people from other branches joking that they want to steal me because of my ability with the computer. The other day when I showed my branch manager, Doris, something or other about computers, she mentioned this conversation she had once with one of the higher-ups who happens to know a bit about computers as well. This other woman (I forget who she was) had somebody shocked at how much she knew about computers. She pointed out to the person that it wasn't really that she knew a lot about computers, it was simply that the average librarian was totally clueless about computers. That's how I feel sometimes. Maybe it's just a way of looking at a problem, but it seems fairly simple to me. Computer monitor is black? Did you try turning it on? That didn't work? Well, then, check the plug. Oh, look, it came unplugged. How complicated can this be? The trouble-shooting is so simple, and yet I don't seem to be able to train anybody else to do it. While I *love* being depended on to the degree that I am (everybody jokes that when I'm out for a few days the computers all go to pot), I do seriously worry a bit about what happens when I'm gone. Which I will be, eventually. In a few years once Steve and I are settled and I've finished library school, I'll probably stay home, at least for a while, to have kids. And even before then, if a really tempting children's library associate position opened, I might take it. I was certainly tempted by the open Oxon Hill position, even though Oxon Hill would be a heck of a commute and isn't even open yet. But Roy (the branch manager) sure wants me, and it's sure to be a *gorgeous* library, given that it's been completely remodeled and was the biggest branch to start with.
Marriage is wonderful. I highly recommend it. :) It's really great to have someone there when I get home, and to know that I have a partner to share life with. Steve makes a really great husband. Funny that we've known each other so long. Sometimes I think it would be hilarious to go back and tell my high school self that I would one day not too far in the future be married to Steve. Of course, since I did like him in high school, I'm sure my high school self would be pleased, but probably a mite surprised.
I haven't been writing much lately. It's actually been months since I worked on this story that I was spending quite a bit of time on for a while. I really need to get back into it, it's not a good idea for me to ignore my writing so long. Even if nothing ever comes of it, I'd like to at least be able to say that I've kept at it. I'm currently working on a fanfic, because at least I'll have a fan base for that. Although, I've been pondering an idea for a fantasy adventure fic, one that I started in college. I've torn out the plot but kept the characters and languages that I'd thought of then, and I'm working on a new story line for it. But, fanfic first, to get me into the practice. It's a bit of a struggle, actually. It's a Lois and Clark story that is sort of alternate-universe. It takes place in the past (late 19th century Metropolis, to be exact), but Clark still has his powers and his Kryptonian origins, although they'll be a bit downplayed. I've worked out the problems I was having with the dialogue. It's probably not very accurate, but at least I believe it's reasonably consistent, and it seems to fit somewhat with texts that I've found from the time. It involves some major pieces of history, particularly the Industrial Revolution and the early parts of the suffragette movement. One of the hardest things is drawing a character (Clark Kent) to be a sympathetic character and yet somewhat against the feminist revolution. Not that that was unusual in those days, but modern-day readers would still probably expect Clark to fit their ideal. I wish I could find better research resources for the time period, but there doesn't seem to be any good resource that breaks down the information the way I would need it. I'm sure my readers will complain about anything they don't think fits, though, so at least it will be caught, if not exactly immediately.
One disappointing thing, though. While we had President's Day on Monday and a half snowday on Thursday, we're unlikely to have any more snowdays. And there aren't any more scheduled holidays until... May. The end of May, for Memorial Day, in fact. The months of March, April, and May seem really long, even though it will be great to start getting warmer again.
Graduate school applications have all been turned in (Catholic University of American and the University of Maryland, College Park). I await responses (they say the end of March). University of Maryland is my first choice, as it's closer and cheaper. I should probably be excited, but I'm really not. The classes seem interesting, it just seems like a lot of work for little purpose. I won't actually earn more as a librarian, and since I want to, at some point, stay home with my children, I don't anticipate becoming a supervisor anytime soon. It will be almost three years before I'm finished with school, and after I finish I become a Librarian I, but that doesn't mean a pay raise. I'd be unlikely to become anything higher until I had at least a few years experience as a Librarian I, and by that time we'd probably have kids. I know the library system likes it when its library associates become librarians, but they don't exactly offer a lot of bonuses to encourage it. Yes, I'll get perks like being able to count classroom hours as work hours, and even do my homework while I'm on the desk at the library. But it will still cost thousands of dollars to go to school, money I won't earn back for quite a while. I wish I felt more sure about this, it would make me a lot more reconciled to the extra work and loss of free time. I already have enough trouble keeping the house under control as it is.
Well, I guess that's all for today. 'Til tomorrow! (Or next time I have stuff to talk about, anyway.)
Life is going pretty well. Work is good. I get tons of compliments and people from other branches joking that they want to steal me because of my ability with the computer. The other day when I showed my branch manager, Doris, something or other about computers, she mentioned this conversation she had once with one of the higher-ups who happens to know a bit about computers as well. This other woman (I forget who she was) had somebody shocked at how much she knew about computers. She pointed out to the person that it wasn't really that she knew a lot about computers, it was simply that the average librarian was totally clueless about computers. That's how I feel sometimes. Maybe it's just a way of looking at a problem, but it seems fairly simple to me. Computer monitor is black? Did you try turning it on? That didn't work? Well, then, check the plug. Oh, look, it came unplugged. How complicated can this be? The trouble-shooting is so simple, and yet I don't seem to be able to train anybody else to do it. While I *love* being depended on to the degree that I am (everybody jokes that when I'm out for a few days the computers all go to pot), I do seriously worry a bit about what happens when I'm gone. Which I will be, eventually. In a few years once Steve and I are settled and I've finished library school, I'll probably stay home, at least for a while, to have kids. And even before then, if a really tempting children's library associate position opened, I might take it. I was certainly tempted by the open Oxon Hill position, even though Oxon Hill would be a heck of a commute and isn't even open yet. But Roy (the branch manager) sure wants me, and it's sure to be a *gorgeous* library, given that it's been completely remodeled and was the biggest branch to start with.
Marriage is wonderful. I highly recommend it. :) It's really great to have someone there when I get home, and to know that I have a partner to share life with. Steve makes a really great husband. Funny that we've known each other so long. Sometimes I think it would be hilarious to go back and tell my high school self that I would one day not too far in the future be married to Steve. Of course, since I did like him in high school, I'm sure my high school self would be pleased, but probably a mite surprised.
I haven't been writing much lately. It's actually been months since I worked on this story that I was spending quite a bit of time on for a while. I really need to get back into it, it's not a good idea for me to ignore my writing so long. Even if nothing ever comes of it, I'd like to at least be able to say that I've kept at it. I'm currently working on a fanfic, because at least I'll have a fan base for that. Although, I've been pondering an idea for a fantasy adventure fic, one that I started in college. I've torn out the plot but kept the characters and languages that I'd thought of then, and I'm working on a new story line for it. But, fanfic first, to get me into the practice. It's a bit of a struggle, actually. It's a Lois and Clark story that is sort of alternate-universe. It takes place in the past (late 19th century Metropolis, to be exact), but Clark still has his powers and his Kryptonian origins, although they'll be a bit downplayed. I've worked out the problems I was having with the dialogue. It's probably not very accurate, but at least I believe it's reasonably consistent, and it seems to fit somewhat with texts that I've found from the time. It involves some major pieces of history, particularly the Industrial Revolution and the early parts of the suffragette movement. One of the hardest things is drawing a character (Clark Kent) to be a sympathetic character and yet somewhat against the feminist revolution. Not that that was unusual in those days, but modern-day readers would still probably expect Clark to fit their ideal. I wish I could find better research resources for the time period, but there doesn't seem to be any good resource that breaks down the information the way I would need it. I'm sure my readers will complain about anything they don't think fits, though, so at least it will be caught, if not exactly immediately.
One disappointing thing, though. While we had President's Day on Monday and a half snowday on Thursday, we're unlikely to have any more snowdays. And there aren't any more scheduled holidays until... May. The end of May, for Memorial Day, in fact. The months of March, April, and May seem really long, even though it will be great to start getting warmer again.
Graduate school applications have all been turned in (Catholic University of American and the University of Maryland, College Park). I await responses (they say the end of March). University of Maryland is my first choice, as it's closer and cheaper. I should probably be excited, but I'm really not. The classes seem interesting, it just seems like a lot of work for little purpose. I won't actually earn more as a librarian, and since I want to, at some point, stay home with my children, I don't anticipate becoming a supervisor anytime soon. It will be almost three years before I'm finished with school, and after I finish I become a Librarian I, but that doesn't mean a pay raise. I'd be unlikely to become anything higher until I had at least a few years experience as a Librarian I, and by that time we'd probably have kids. I know the library system likes it when its library associates become librarians, but they don't exactly offer a lot of bonuses to encourage it. Yes, I'll get perks like being able to count classroom hours as work hours, and even do my homework while I'm on the desk at the library. But it will still cost thousands of dollars to go to school, money I won't earn back for quite a while. I wish I felt more sure about this, it would make me a lot more reconciled to the extra work and loss of free time. I already have enough trouble keeping the house under control as it is.
Well, I guess that's all for today. 'Til tomorrow! (Or next time I have stuff to talk about, anyway.)