I haven't practiced Yoga in several weeks.
Because I've been leading the senior exercise class every Wednesday morning, and on the days I work at DGI, I've been walking the 1 1/2 mile trail along the Farmington River and also bacause I did the Hatfield Education Foundation 5K walk, I figured I was getting plenty of exercise. Big mistake.
None of those activites provide the stretching that Yoga does. As a result, a little over a week ago I lifted with my back instead of my legs and pulled a muscle in my lower back. For the next few days, getting into and out of bed was painful; getting into and out of the car even worse. I was okay while sitting or standing, but I needed to be very careful while changing from one to the other.
My back has been slowly getting better and the good news is that I'm redeveloping good habits in terms of posture. And I've gone back to my morning Yoga routine.
I will not neglect Yoga again.
Saturday, May 19, 2012
Wednesday, May 16, 2012
A Day Off
It's been very busy for the last few weeks. I've either been cataloging, giving a presentation on cataloging, preparing a presentation on cataloging, or - hardest of all - agonizing that I need to prepare a presentation on cataloging that I'll be giving in a few days. All of the presentations are now over.
This morning I taught my exercise class. I have some errands to run, but otherwise my day is free. I'm hoping to get some housework done. With all of this rain followed by sunshine, the yard needs attention, too. Where to start? I'm also way behind on my crossword puzzles. There are two per week that I work on from local newspapers and right now there's a stack on the coffee table just waiting for some free time. Maybe that's what I'll spend the rest of the day doing.
This morning I taught my exercise class. I have some errands to run, but otherwise my day is free. I'm hoping to get some housework done. With all of this rain followed by sunshine, the yard needs attention, too. Where to start? I'm also way behind on my crossword puzzles. There are two per week that I work on from local newspapers and right now there's a stack on the coffee table just waiting for some free time. Maybe that's what I'll spend the rest of the day doing.
Wednesday, May 9, 2012
Another Rejection
I received a letter last week regarding the position of Osteo Exercise Coordinator: They hired someone else. At least they interviewed me. Truth is, I'm kind of relieved. I've been so busy lately I was wondering how I was going to fit in another 15 hours/week if I got this job. And I make more money as a cataloger than they were offering.
So I guess I'm destined to be a cataloger forever - which is not at all bad. Every time I contemplate a career change, something happens to thwart any plans I might have.
Yesterday's program on Metadata and Dublin Core at the Digital Commonwealth conference went very well. A couple of people came up to me after the program and said how happy they were that they now understand what Metadata is. One young woman who is a Library Science grad student told me a story that made me very happy. She said she and some other students were working on a digital libraries project and she found the Digital Treasures site along with the information I compiled about creating metadata. She said the documentation was extremely helpful and she was so glad to meet me so that she could say so in person. Wow! My work has paid off. I smiled to myself all the way home.
So I guess I'm destined to be a cataloger forever - which is not at all bad. Every time I contemplate a career change, something happens to thwart any plans I might have.
Yesterday's program on Metadata and Dublin Core at the Digital Commonwealth conference went very well. A couple of people came up to me after the program and said how happy they were that they now understand what Metadata is. One young woman who is a Library Science grad student told me a story that made me very happy. She said she and some other students were working on a digital libraries project and she found the Digital Treasures site along with the information I compiled about creating metadata. She said the documentation was extremely helpful and she was so glad to meet me so that she could say so in person. Wow! My work has paid off. I smiled to myself all the way home.
Friday, April 27, 2012
What!
Can you believe it? Yesterday, I received a letter from Trinity College saying that the position of Cataloger had been filled, that they'd keep my resume on file, blah, blah, blah.
At the very least I expected to be interviewed, but they didn't even go that far.
I applied for the job at a time I wasn't working much and was watching my savings dwindle. That's no longer the case. I've been working at DGI two or three days/week for the last couple of months as well as teaching LIS415 for Simmons College and teaching the senior exercise class on Wednesday mornings.
I wasn't sure I wanted the job at Trinity for several reasons: I don't really want to work full time and the morning commute to Hartford in rush hour traffic is unpleasant. But I wanted to be the one to reject them, not the other way around!
Fortunately, I have lots of other options right now. I just wished Trinity had shown more interest in me.
At the very least I expected to be interviewed, but they didn't even go that far.
I applied for the job at a time I wasn't working much and was watching my savings dwindle. That's no longer the case. I've been working at DGI two or three days/week for the last couple of months as well as teaching LIS415 for Simmons College and teaching the senior exercise class on Wednesday mornings.
I wasn't sure I wanted the job at Trinity for several reasons: I don't really want to work full time and the morning commute to Hartford in rush hour traffic is unpleasant. But I wanted to be the one to reject them, not the other way around!
Fortunately, I have lots of other options right now. I just wished Trinity had shown more interest in me.
Wednesday, April 18, 2012
Action on the Job Front
A few weeks ago, I applied for 2 jobs: one as assistant editor at a local publishing company and the other as a cataloger at Trinity College in Hartford. I received a nice email a few days later from the publishing company saying the position had been filled.
A couple of weeks later, I received a letter from Trinity College saying they were reviewing my application as well as others. The letter said all applicants would be notified "whether selected for an interview or not, to inform them of the status of the search." That's good news. Not all organizations even acknowledge they received an application, let alone tell you when the position has been filled.
Since then, I submitted an application for coordinator of RSVP exercise leaders; and last week I had an interview for the part time job. The jury is still out on my being coordinator, but I'm still leading my exercise class on Wednesday mornings.
In the meantime, most of my other part time jobs are picking up. I'm now working 3 days/week at DGI, I'll be a speaker at the Digital Commonwealth Conference (no money, but I get conference registration, lunch and travel expenses), and I'm giving some workshops for both the Connecticut State Library and the Massachusetts Library System. I'm also scheduled to work several days at Sprinfield City Library next month.
The only job that's winding down is that of adjunct faculty at Simmons GSLIS as the semester draws to a close. For the next two weeks, my students will be giving their presentations and I get to listen.
A couple of weeks later, I received a letter from Trinity College saying they were reviewing my application as well as others. The letter said all applicants would be notified "whether selected for an interview or not, to inform them of the status of the search." That's good news. Not all organizations even acknowledge they received an application, let alone tell you when the position has been filled.
Since then, I submitted an application for coordinator of RSVP exercise leaders; and last week I had an interview for the part time job. The jury is still out on my being coordinator, but I'm still leading my exercise class on Wednesday mornings.
In the meantime, most of my other part time jobs are picking up. I'm now working 3 days/week at DGI, I'll be a speaker at the Digital Commonwealth Conference (no money, but I get conference registration, lunch and travel expenses), and I'm giving some workshops for both the Connecticut State Library and the Massachusetts Library System. I'm also scheduled to work several days at Sprinfield City Library next month.
The only job that's winding down is that of adjunct faculty at Simmons GSLIS as the semester draws to a close. For the next two weeks, my students will be giving their presentations and I get to listen.
Thursday, March 8, 2012
Of Course!
No sooner did I submit 2 applications for jobs (after several hours of refining my resume and composing cover letters) than I received an email from DGI saying they had finally received a contract they had been waiting for and was I interested in working 2 days a week. "Absolutely" I responded. Two days of work is perfect as that leaves me plenty of time to prepare for teaching LIS415.
I think I'm putting more work into that class this semester than I have before. I'm seeing lots of ways I'd prefer to present the material and have added other bits and pieces that I feel are important based on my working experience.
This week is spring break and I'm attending a 3 part webinar on RDA and learning lots about it. I've been pretty good about keeping up with reading, but there are lots of details that don't come up on AUTOCAT so some things are a surprise. And learning about these details in context makes more sense. I'm not nearly as fearful about it as I was a couple of years ago.
Library of Congress' implementation has been delayed by 3 months as they train their catalogers. It was supposed to be adopted by LC and the other national libraries on January 1, 2013. Now the projected date is March 31, 2013. Notice they chose March 31 and not April 1!
I think I'm putting more work into that class this semester than I have before. I'm seeing lots of ways I'd prefer to present the material and have added other bits and pieces that I feel are important based on my working experience.
This week is spring break and I'm attending a 3 part webinar on RDA and learning lots about it. I've been pretty good about keeping up with reading, but there are lots of details that don't come up on AUTOCAT so some things are a surprise. And learning about these details in context makes more sense. I'm not nearly as fearful about it as I was a couple of years ago.
Library of Congress' implementation has been delayed by 3 months as they train their catalogers. It was supposed to be adopted by LC and the other national libraries on January 1, 2013. Now the projected date is March 31, 2013. Notice they chose March 31 and not April 1!
Thursday, March 1, 2012
Applying for Jobs
In the last few days I've seen two posts for jobs I would love. I applied for them both.
I have to admit, they're not perfect. For one thing, both are full-time and my preference is to work only part-time since I'm planning to continue teaching at Simmons GSLIS-west for at least another year. But these two jobs were just too good to pass up.
One is a Cataloger position at an academic library. It's a place that I worked temporarily many years ago and it's a lovely campus. The commute, however, is long and something I'm not looking forward to.
The other is a local company that publishes textbooks and they need an Assistant Editor. Catalogers make good Editors since they (we) are used to detailed work. When I read, it is not unusual that I find a typo or an inconsistant name or some other mistake that should have been caught before the book went to press. I make the correction in the book. I couldn't go to sleep and leave it there.
And while I'm confessing to writing in library books, I will also admit to having a private logo which I add to the book so that I know I've read it. Most readers of genre fiction have their own private logo; we read so many books it's hard to keep track. I want to reassure those of you who are gasping that I would deface public property that my mark is small and discreet and is not anywhere near the barcode or anyplace that would interfere with reading any part of the book. Some libraries have a small slip of paper attached to the inside front or back cover just for this purpose. It's fun to see other people's initials or squiggles. It's like being part of a secret community.
I have to admit, they're not perfect. For one thing, both are full-time and my preference is to work only part-time since I'm planning to continue teaching at Simmons GSLIS-west for at least another year. But these two jobs were just too good to pass up.
One is a Cataloger position at an academic library. It's a place that I worked temporarily many years ago and it's a lovely campus. The commute, however, is long and something I'm not looking forward to.
The other is a local company that publishes textbooks and they need an Assistant Editor. Catalogers make good Editors since they (we) are used to detailed work. When I read, it is not unusual that I find a typo or an inconsistant name or some other mistake that should have been caught before the book went to press. I make the correction in the book. I couldn't go to sleep and leave it there.
And while I'm confessing to writing in library books, I will also admit to having a private logo which I add to the book so that I know I've read it. Most readers of genre fiction have their own private logo; we read so many books it's hard to keep track. I want to reassure those of you who are gasping that I would deface public property that my mark is small and discreet and is not anywhere near the barcode or anyplace that would interfere with reading any part of the book. Some libraries have a small slip of paper attached to the inside front or back cover just for this purpose. It's fun to see other people's initials or squiggles. It's like being part of a secret community.
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