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NNWM 2015
It is September and that means a few things. One, that my birthday is in a month. Two that I need to book the date for our annual cookie baking day. And three, National Novel Writing Month is seeping into consciousness. I need to decide how I would like to participate and to what degree. Last year I cleared the 50K with relative ease. My approach was to write at least thirty essays, one per day, on topics that I wanted to explore about myself. I created a list of ideas encapsulated in two or three words that I would take my train ride to think about and examine. I…
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Indecision
I’ve always had a slight problem with indecision. I read somewhere that I likely has something to do with being a Libra. Another theory is that I have bought into a couple of cultural beliefs. One is the culture of scarcity, in this case time. Second is the impulse to make sure to get the best deal possible. Whatever the reason, I feel making decisions is a act that should be carefully considered, and once done, not retracted or changed. I can make quick decisions when the options are polarized, or when I have lots of clear information. Other than that, I will ruminate far longer, I suspect, than the…
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Buckets
It is Friday and the end of the work day. One of the last conversations I had before leaving was a wandering one that was part weekend projections and part weekday recap. One of the statements that came up by my colleague was “I couldn’t tell you what my job is.” She meant how a liaison is specifically defined within an institution that also considers librarians tenure-track faculty based on research. This is a separate consideration than how we spend our time. I was just thinking about this today. I spend my first year tracking how I spent my time. The purpose was to make sure I was using my…
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Gentleness
One of the things that I have gained by reading a book on creativity is the idea of being gentle. Yesterday I wrote of the larger picture of creativity. Inevitably, there comes a period where creativity is absent. I like that she puts these periods as droughts rather than blocks. She goes on to explain that crativity exists in cycles and with gentle action, the cycle will progress and work can begin again. I had a hard time identifying with this at first because I don’t consider myself a working artist. Even as a hobbist, another label I don’t quite attach to, I am not producing art and I have…
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New tech
It has been a few days and I am getting used to my new tech. My generous family gave me a Samsung Gear 2 watch for Mother’s day. I’ve been looking for a watch and I was intrgued by the “smart” watches that exist now. My job consists of being all over campus for meetings and they are frequently in locations that don’t have a visible clock. As a liaison, I want to be fully present at these because I am trying to build relationships and I find it hard when I can’t keep track of time. In addition, I find myself running back to back on a number of…
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The Dust dream
I had a dream last night that I still haven’t gotten out of. I was walking along a road and the world was a dust storm. People were walking along to some destination but I couldn’t tell you where that was. The dust was peculiar, a fluffy white like ash, but sterile like snow. There was so much of it that nothing could be seen. The distance was obscured in dust clouds. I could see about one hundred yards. No one was desperate, but we were all migrating, alone or in small groups. There were trucks that went along the road, following tracks. The only color was the skin of…
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NCBI for Librarians training.
I am two days back from the week long NCBI for libraians training course at NIH. It was a fabulous experience being among so many librarians and scientists trying to get a handle on the some of the most complex repositories for biomedical data. The people there were wonderful. I recommend anyone with science liaisonship to take it. The ultimate purpose of the course is to train the trainer. So part of my implementation will be to train fellow librarians on what these resources can do. And I will spend the next several months sketching out a plan for that. Our faculty are already lifting heavy loads in their tenure…
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Donald Bagger 2014
Tuesday morning, my sister called me to tell me that my uncle had died. I am sitting here at the end of Wednesday knowing that I need to write to get this processed in some way, but not knowing what to say exactly. This was my mother’s brother, the only sibling that she had. He wasn’t a content in my life. He’s been estranged from various parts of the family off and on, usually of his own choosing. At the time of his death (which at this point, we think was two weeks ago) he was living in Green Bay. It all makes for a very disjointed story. I found…
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Buses, Trains, moving people
Today I have been on the go since 9 am. It’s been a fabulous day in terms of feeling like I am working. And on the way home I have been watching out all the windows, and I feel that I am inside a classic Bob Martin Verticalville or Mountainside Park puzzle. Everyone is moving and trying to get somewhere or do something. Today, it’s a good blend of nostalgia and adventure.
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Operation Sandwich
It’s been a coupe of weeks bringing extra sandwiches to work. I make three at a time, usually peanut butter and jelly. A couple ham and cheese, roast beef when I have it. Most days I give a couple away. One or two on the way. Sometimes one on the way back. Rare days none. I’ve managed to keep them fresh by wrapping them in was paper and then grouped in a bread bag. I’ve become familiar to a few of them. There’s a guy on the way with a decayed grin, but is always reading yesterday’s paper headlines. He’s turned down the roast beef beause he really likes the…