Friday, September 28, 2007
Thursday, September 27, 2007
First Day of Class
Today was the first day of the antepenultimate semester ever, of my life. I'm only taking one library science class this semester, and we don't meet until next week. It's a class on metadata, which intrigues me because metadata is cool and cutting edge, and it excites me because I know it'll be good for my career, but it scares me because I honestly don't have more than a very shallow idea of what it's all about.
Today I had a European studies class on migration and citizenship, which was cool because the students are from all kinds of majors and backgrounds, but also kind of intimidating because those majors are all things like geography and political science and international studies, which I think are cool, but I also know nothing about. I think I'll enjoy the class as long as I don't say something that betrays my ignorance in a horribly embarrassing fashion.
I expected my other class today to be an equally mixed-feeling experience, but in fact I loved it. It's a class on Spanish Golden Age drama, which is something I studied a little while at BYU and is one of FoxyJ's many specialties. I was worried about taking a class in Spanish when it's been almost three years since my last one, and I honestly don't speak Spanish very often anymore. As it turns out, though, I felt quite comfortable jumping back into Spanish literature--almost embarrassingly so, actually, as two or three other students and I pretty much dominated the discussion. (As a side note, I'm bothered by the knowledge that male students are called on by teachers twice as much as female students because just about every class I've ever taken has had twice as many women as men but it's always always always the guys who do all the talking. I'm bothered by this not only because of the cultural values it points to but because it makes me feel like I should talk less, but then I feel awkward because the professor is sitting there waiting for someone to say something and I have something to say, so I do, and then I feel guilty because I'm one of the four guys in the class who are dominating the discussion while the women keep their thoughts to themselves. Sigh...) At any rate, I felt confident and I had fun talking about literature, which is one of my favorite things to do.
Oh, and by the way, there's a reason BYU's Spanish program is considered one of the best in the nation and UW's isn't, but that doesn't prevent me from enjoying a few Spanish classes while I'm in the Library and Information Science program here, which does have a pretty good reputation.
Today I had a European studies class on migration and citizenship, which was cool because the students are from all kinds of majors and backgrounds, but also kind of intimidating because those majors are all things like geography and political science and international studies, which I think are cool, but I also know nothing about. I think I'll enjoy the class as long as I don't say something that betrays my ignorance in a horribly embarrassing fashion.
I expected my other class today to be an equally mixed-feeling experience, but in fact I loved it. It's a class on Spanish Golden Age drama, which is something I studied a little while at BYU and is one of FoxyJ's many specialties. I was worried about taking a class in Spanish when it's been almost three years since my last one, and I honestly don't speak Spanish very often anymore. As it turns out, though, I felt quite comfortable jumping back into Spanish literature--almost embarrassingly so, actually, as two or three other students and I pretty much dominated the discussion. (As a side note, I'm bothered by the knowledge that male students are called on by teachers twice as much as female students because just about every class I've ever taken has had twice as many women as men but it's always always always the guys who do all the talking. I'm bothered by this not only because of the cultural values it points to but because it makes me feel like I should talk less, but then I feel awkward because the professor is sitting there waiting for someone to say something and I have something to say, so I do, and then I feel guilty because I'm one of the four guys in the class who are dominating the discussion while the women keep their thoughts to themselves. Sigh...) At any rate, I felt confident and I had fun talking about literature, which is one of my favorite things to do.
Oh, and by the way, there's a reason BYU's Spanish program is considered one of the best in the nation and UW's isn't, but that doesn't prevent me from enjoying a few Spanish classes while I'm in the Library and Information Science program here, which does have a pretty good reputation.
Monday, September 24, 2007
Turning My Badge In, But Keeping The Gun
This morning was my last shift on a public service desk--possibly forever, but at least for a long time. It was a difficult decision to give up my student reference job, but at this point I have four years of experience doing reference and three months of experience doing cataloging, so if cataloging is what I want to go into, then volunteering in cataloging, even though it pays nothing, is more valuable to me than continuing to work in reference. And doing both isn't an option if FoxyJ is going to be working also, and experience has taught us that life is better for everyone when both the money-making and child-rearing responsibilities are shared between the two of us, so FoxyJ working is very important to me. Add to this the fact that teaching experience will look good on Foxy's upcoming PhD applications and the fact that I'm getting paid this year to go to school, and quitting my reference job was clearly a good decision. But a little sad nonetheless.
The aspect of the reference job I will not miss is the "public" part of public service. I've worked in public service for just about all of my working life, and while I think I'm pretty good at it, I don't particularly enjoy it. This can be attributed to the following three oh-so-charming aspects of my personality:
What I will miss about my reference job is the regular interaction with the reference librarians and student reference specialists I worked with and the thrill of finding an answer to a difficult reference question. Ideally a year from now I'll get a nice cataloging job that has a few hours a week of reference desk time, which is not too uncommon nowadays. That way I can get out of the subbasement once in a while, but not have to deal with too many crazy people looking for books on building pipe bombs.
The aspect of the reference job I will not miss is the "public" part of public service. I've worked in public service for just about all of my working life, and while I think I'm pretty good at it, I don't particularly enjoy it. This can be attributed to the following three oh-so-charming aspects of my personality:
- introversion
- faux-intellectual snobbery
- social awkwardness
What I will miss about my reference job is the regular interaction with the reference librarians and student reference specialists I worked with and the thrill of finding an answer to a difficult reference question. Ideally a year from now I'll get a nice cataloging job that has a few hours a week of reference desk time, which is not too uncommon nowadays. That way I can get out of the subbasement once in a while, but not have to deal with too many crazy people looking for books on building pipe bombs.
Sunday, September 23, 2007
Meet the Newest Fobs!
The observant among you will notice that I've updated my sidebar. There are new honorary fobs on the list and a few honorary fobs who have dropped off the list. Remember the rules, folks: comment at least once a month if you want to be on the list. There's no room here for fobs who don't pull their weight--this blog doesn't comment on itself! (And by the way, I've tried not to link to anyone who doesn't have their blog listed on their Blogger profile, even if I know your secret link; if I've accidentally linked to someone who doesn't want to be linked to, just let me know.)
The especially observant among you will notice that one honorary fob has moved up on the sidebar to Fobs by Blood or Marriage. When my brother Svoid started dating Yodame* a while back, I wasn't sure where to put her in my sidebar. I didn't want her to feel like she wasn't welcome in the Fob family, but I also didn't want her to feel like I was prematurely forcing her into the family by the sealing power of the Fobcave sidebar. I opted to list her as an honorary fob because there was technically neither blood nor marriage involved, but I am happy to report that now there are both blood and marriage making Yodame a True Fob. FoxyJ and I were lucky enough to attend Svoid and Yodame's ultra-private (we were the only guests there) wedding ceremony on Cannon Beach last weekend, and Yodame is currently carrying Fob blood in the form of the niece or nephew of mine in her womb. Not only is Cannon Beach one of the most beautiful locations you could possibly choose to have a wedding at, but it is also the place where Goonies was filmed. How can you go wrong with Goonies? At any rate, welcome to the family, Yodame. I hope you enjoy your new place on my sidebar.
(Better pictures are available at Svoid's blog, conveniently linked from my sidebar.)
*They both use their real names on their own blogs, but I'm all about preserving secret identities here at the Fobcave... which is why my full name is prominently featured at the top of the sidebar.
The especially observant among you will notice that one honorary fob has moved up on the sidebar to Fobs by Blood or Marriage. When my brother Svoid started dating Yodame* a while back, I wasn't sure where to put her in my sidebar. I didn't want her to feel like she wasn't welcome in the Fob family, but I also didn't want her to feel like I was prematurely forcing her into the family by the sealing power of the Fobcave sidebar. I opted to list her as an honorary fob because there was technically neither blood nor marriage involved, but I am happy to report that now there are both blood and marriage making Yodame a True Fob. FoxyJ and I were lucky enough to attend Svoid and Yodame's ultra-private (we were the only guests there) wedding ceremony on Cannon Beach last weekend, and Yodame is currently carrying Fob blood in the form of the niece or nephew of mine in her womb. Not only is Cannon Beach one of the most beautiful locations you could possibly choose to have a wedding at, but it is also the place where Goonies was filmed. How can you go wrong with Goonies? At any rate, welcome to the family, Yodame. I hope you enjoy your new place on my sidebar.
(Better pictures are available at Svoid's blog, conveniently linked from my sidebar.)*They both use their real names on their own blogs, but I'm all about preserving secret identities here at the Fobcave... which is why my full name is prominently featured at the top of the sidebar.
47 Questions
My sister sent me this meme the other week and I figured if I'm going to take the time to fill it out, I might as well post it here where everyone can see.
A sea of blueness.