Road Trip: Columbus to Eugene, August 2008

I have finally uploaded some of the photos from my cross-country move onto Picasa. You can check them out by following this link or watch the slide show below (you can also click on the slide show to enlarge it and view with captions):




Enjoy!!

Change

As I alluded to in my last post, I have been experiencing some major transitions in my life as of the last few months. The biggest change of course has been moving cross-country, across three time zones, away from the life I have known for the last 11+ years in Columbus, Ohio. So, of course there has been a little bit of "culture shock" going on for me.

One of the challenges--and benefits--of change, I have found, is that it forces you to learn to look at things differently. The situation from which you normally view things has shifted and you gain a new perspective. This is a great opportunity for growth, as well as a time of possible frustrations.

Consider, for example, the case of my missing hat. A couple of weeks ago I was getting ready to head out with either my sister or my parents (or both!), and I wanted to wear my black nike hat. I had worn it recently, so I knew it wasn't still packed away somewhere. Also, the places in which it could be was somewhat limited, as most of my belongings are either in my room or in the back utility room. I spent at least 20 minutes looking over and over again in the same places, as if someone was playing a trick on me and the hat would suddenly appear where I had previously looked. In reality, I had exhausted the number of places that I could think of looking, so repeating my steps was the only way I knew how to progress in my search, as ineffective an approach as it was.

Finally, at the last minute before it was time to leave, I found my black nike hat hanging on the bedpost at the foot of the bed. "There!" I exclaimed with much relief. Why could I not find my hat that had been resting in plain sight this entire time? The answer was simple: I have not had bedposts in 15 years or more! Why would I even think of looking there?!

Change encourages us to learn to look at things from a new perspective. I am reminded of one of my favorite quotes:

"We don't see things as they are. We see things as we are." --Anais Nin

Change impacts who we are and therefore has an impact on how we see things. Thank heavens, or I might never have found my hat!

A New Entry

So...some of you may be happy to know that we've been covering the topic of blogs in one of my courses this week (Information Technology for Library Professionals). Therefore, one of my assignments actually includes posting on a blog. What a great excuse to finally catch up on some long overdue blogging!

Well, a lot has happened in the last several months. I went through a major break-up this past spring, and decided this summer to finally make the move back to the Pacific Northwest. It has definitely been a time of enormous life changes! I am still working on my Library degree through Kent State, but will be finishing up the program online (the 1500+ mile commute is a little prohibitive to continuing the on site component of the program!).

I am currently enjoying lots of quality time with my family--my parents and one of my sisters (Terri) and her family. In particular I am having a blast seeing my 3 1/2 year old niece 3-5 times a week. She is absolutely adorable and a joy to be around. I don't know where I will end up once I begin the Librarian job hunt, so for now I am making the most of the time I have here with my family close by. Of course, the only thing that would make it more perfect is if my other sister, Cindy, and her husband were close by as well. But, I guess that just means another trip to LA is in order soon!! ;o)

Well, I think that's it for the initial "catching up" post. I will try to make my next post more interesting. Thanks for tuning in!

Lego my Lightsaber!

In celebration of my birthday last month, we splurged and got a Playstation 3--a decision we have not regretted one bit! Our favorite social pasttime now is having friends over to play Guitar Hero 3 and/or Rock Band. I have to say that I am totally loving the Drum play on Rock Band. And with the PS3 you can also download additional songs for GH3 and Rock Band as they become available. To this point, Rock Band has released far more in the realm of additional downloadable content; however, the Guitar Hero franchise has recently announced some exciting news: GH4--an entired game devoted to Aerosmith songs--will be released in June. Sweet (Emotion)!

I also recently picked up a copy of LEGO Star Wars: The Complete Saga (and the related Game Guide book so that I will be able to make it past the Cantina!). As a Star Wars fan, I am finding this game to be quite fun. Still trying to figure some things out, but overall I am making progress. (Much more progress than Cindy and I made when we played LEGO Star Wars on her PS2 and we had no idea what we were supposed to be doing!) This game includes all 6 episodes of Star Wars (hence "The Complete Saga"). The game also has its humorous moments. The other day Obi Wan and Qui-Gon Jinn were making their way through the first part of Episode 1 (Negotiations) and they recruited a C3PO looking character (TC-14 ). Somehow TC-14 managed to lose a leg while we were in combat. I admit, it's possible that one of my lightsaber-wielding LEGO Jedi's were to blame for some friendly fire, but aside from that I had to pause and laugh out loud at the sight of the wounded LEGO droid laboriously hopping around the screen on his one leg. It was hilarious. Sure enough, I was able to find a screen shot of this spectacle for your enjoyment.

Writer's Block?

My fans are calling. What's the purpose of having a blog if you never write in it? I am looooong overdue for a new column, as my last post was - ahem - in November. Sorry!

So, what's new? Lately, I have been recognizing that I'm feeling a little "messy." Mostly because life is busy in many different areas: work, school, house responsibilities, etc. In trying to keep up with everything I don't get to give the thorough attention to each individual area that I would like to. Instead, I feel like I'm often on the fly--half hazardly making my way through the days. That's not comfortable for me.

Instead, I need to regain some discipline in order to lessen some of the current stressers in my life. It's hard to be self-disciplined when external demands are also clammoring for attention. But, if I make steps towards better planning and organizing I think things will fall back into order as I work to create a more steady (planned!) routine.

Today I am beginning my day of self-discipline by updating my blog! [enter faint cheers from the peanut gallery] Then I am going to spend some time this afternoon studying for my Cataloging class. If I am really productive I will also have some time to look at starting my final project for the Workshop on Bibliographic Instruction that I took last weekend up at the Kent State main campus. It was a great workshop that provided me with lots of helpful resources and references for how to approach Library Instruction--something about which I was very interested in learning.

Of course, it's important to reward one's self for effectively engaging in self-discipline, so there will probably also be some gaming at some point today--whether it's Jolin's new Wii or the Playstation 3 that we got in celebration of my birthday earlier this month, both are sure to inspire productivity towards earning a study break!