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!