A Flurry of Activity

I spent 4 days of the last couple of weeks working on catalog maintenance and also some cataloging. I was in two places that were in many ways the same: both were large spaces with plenty of room to work and with pleasant and helpful colleagues. However, they were different in one big way: one had windows and the other did not. The one without windows actually had windows (I could see them from the outside of the building) but they were solidly covered over, I guess because the room was "computer central" for a network of libraries. Once I get involved in a project, I don't really notice the lack of windows as long as the room is well-lit and ventilated.

It was good to get out into the working world, even for a few days. I got to wear clothes that spend more time hanging in my closet than on me. Since I completed those short projects, today I am home in my playclothes although I'll be putting on something a little more presentable to go out later today to run errands.

Tomorrow will be my first time teaching low-impact aerobics to a group of seniors. The exercises are designed to prevent (or slow down) osteoporosis. I had 4 hours of training a week ago Saturday and I've been practicing with the DVD that is given to participants. They each receive a booklet and DVD so they can practice at home. There is lots of material to read on exercise and nutrition as they relate to bone health. One of the best things about being a cataloger (or probably a librarian in general) is that just about everything in the world is useful to my job in some way. Now if I need to catalog any books (or DVDs) on osteoporosis, I'll have a lot of working knowledge.

Only 4 days till classes start at Simmons GSLIS west. I'm thinking of ways to incorporate more in-class projects and discussion and lessen my lecture time in LIS415. That's what was suggested in many of the evaluations I received from the last class - and the class before that. Now that I'm much more comfortable with the syllabus and the material, I can begin to deviate from them a little and include more of my own material.

Last night I finished Fire Sale, a V.I. Warshawsky detective novel. Today I will return it to the library and add 4 dots (1 for each hundred pages) to the 100,000 pages chart. The Hatfield Public Library has issued a town-wide reading challenge and I'm going to do my best to make it happen.

The Accidental [fill in the blank]

Much of what I've done in my life has been by accident. I set goals, begin to work on them, and then something happens to change the track. (I was going to say "throw me off the track", but that sounds too negative and the results are not usually negative.)

I know people who are very focused, have always known what they want to do, and become very successful by a variety of measurements. I've rarely been that way for more than a short period of time. I'm more of an organic person, going with the flow.That doesn't mean I don't take initiative. I inquire about options, apply for jobs, sit in on others' classes and generally expose myself looking for opportunities and inspiration. While this has usually worked for me, it's also sometimes left me wondering if this was a legitimate way to run my life.

Well, now I have some validation. I recently finished reading Composing a Life by Mary Catherine Bateson. In the last chapter, she talks about how intently pursuing goals can be a restrictive way to lead one's life; that being willing to diverge, to follow an unexpected opportunity, leads to experiences one didn't know existed. Those experiences can be just as, if not more, fulfulling than the original goal.

So Thank You, Mary Catherine Bateson. I certainly consider you and the other women in your book extremely successful in your careers. And while mine hasn't reached quite the same heights, I found reading your stories (like Liz Gilbert's) reassuring. I know that, like me, you've had crises of confidence and sometimes doubt yourself, but through it all you continue to compose your life.