IM rebellious

Status: 14% zombie, 86% perk (which is kind of remarkable, all things considered...)

That's right - I'm a bit of a rebel when it comes to the IM assignment. I'm not going to sit and IM with one of my coworkers to "test" it out. I was gone last week to PLA, and have WAY too much stuff to catch up on now that I'm back at the library.

However, that being said, I am no stranger to IM-ing. IMing? IM'ing? Ming ming ming! I've used both MSN Messenger and Gmail chat for quite a while. It's good stuff. I rather like being able to talk to people in real time. I don't spend a lot of time chatting, but it can be a very handy way to communicate.

The type of conversation one has on chat is very different than one you might have through email, or even speaking on the phone or in person. It is fast moving, and often times you may end up having two or even three conversations going at the same time (within one chat session), and they may not be related in any way. Each person may start a particular conversation thread, and from then on it's a flurry of back-and-forth chatting. It's really pretty fun! I find that the conversations can get a little bit goofy, too - but that just may be a function of me and who I'm talking to...

Naaaaaaah...

I also like being able to sign out of chat - because sometimes I'm just not wanting to be social. There's something to be said for having control over when you chat and who you chat with. Not like when the phone rings at home - unless of course you screen your calls. But still...

So, I've set up the meebo chat box on my blog. I'll be around sometimes, so say hi - and even if I'm not around, I'll still get the message later when I sign in.

Now - back to catching up after PLA! I'll try to get another couple of posts done about my trip a little later.

I don't like lines

Status: 39% zombie, 61% perk

Lines. Lines for everything now that all of the conference attendees have arrived and things are in full swing. I'm trying real hard not to wait in too many lines, but sometimes it can't be avoided.

I didn't wait in the line in the picture (not no, but HELL no!) - but still ended up with what those people waited for. A signed copy of the book by keynote speaker John Wood, founder of Room to Read, an organization that builds schools and libraries for children in developing countries, as well as provide scholarships for girls to go to school. John quit a lucrative career at Microsoft to begin the organization after visiting a school in Nepal that had a library of 20 books (and those were locked in a cabinet so the children wouldn't damage them). He returned the next year with 3,000 books for the children, and realized that this was something that NEEDED TO BE DONE for children all over. His talk was enjoyable and very inspiring - it's good to know there are people out there doing things that really make a difference in the lives of children all over the world.

After the keynote address, the grand opening of the exhibit hall took place - again, I refused to wait in line for anything. There was plenty of food, so after a little bit of time I could walk right up to the table and grab a bite. I scurried around and picked up all sorts of great stuff, including 17 advanced reader's copies of upcoming bookis. SEVENTEEN!!!

Which leads me to a line that I did stand in this morning, in order to ship the books to the library. There is a small Fed-Ex shop on-site, and it was well worth the wait to unload almost 11 pounds of books. I'm sure I'll have more to send along later as well, as I plan to visit the exhibits a lot more before the end of this extravaganza on Saturday. The only trouble was the poor fellow working by himself at the Fed-Ex shop. I think maybe a coworker didn't show up. We offered to call somebody to complain on his behalf, because he was really working very hard and it was terribly unfair to him to be there alone. He declined our offer, however, and said it would just make things worse. Oh well.

I attended an excellent session on utilizing teen volunteers year-round at the library, and got a few ideas on how I might be able to develop our program into a more structured system. Not going to go into detail here, but suffice it to say much could be done! This afternoon I'll be attending a workshop on teen brain development, and one on working with teens virtually through different online avenues. Should be lots of fun!

And I'll keep avoiding the lines as much as possible!

The elusive soy...

Status: 14% zombie, 86% perk

Apparently, in Minnesota, coffee isn't quite such a big deal as it is at home. Yesterday when I left for the conference center, the coffee stand in the lobby of the hotel was closed. This was at 10:30 in the morning. Closed? Huh? I decided to wait until I arrived at the conference center to get my coffee, and as you can see from the picture above I did indeed find some. But no soy milk at that stand...hmmmmm. What if a person was completely allergic to dairy? Eh? What then? Skunked. I prefer not to have regular milki, but will take it if necessary. A little later in the day that stand was closed - CLOSED? So foreign to me...

I did find a coffee stand with soy milk today - but it was a good hike through the skyways to gt there. Oh well.

This post has absolutely nothing to do with anything, other than my realization that things are subtly different here. I guess they just don't have that obsession with caffeine like we do in the Northwest...

And another observation - WHY do women wear shoes that are obviously uncomfortable?!!! WHY??? There's a lot of walking and standing to be done at a conference - isn't it just better to wear something easy on the feet?

Almost time to make my way to the opening session - and after that is the exhibits grand opening.

SCHWAG!!!

Live from PLA...

Status: 12% zombie, 88% perk

So. Here I am in Minneapolis - a new town for me. things went remarkably smoothly on Monday, my travel day. When I planned my travels, I made sure to give myself plenty of time

to get here - and I also made sure I had a direct flight. As it happens, I haven't flown anywhere in over ten years...I just wanted to make sure I didn't get stressed out.

Good news - it worked!

I didn't think I'd really see anybody during my travels, but it turned out that every other librarian from the Seattle area must have wanted a direct flight, too - half the people on the plane were librarians I think! It turned out that both Mary and Eric were on the flight, and even our long lost friend Erica (who left us for SPL a while back). It was really great to see her. Once we hit Minneapolis we all went our separate ways to the hotels we chose. It turns out mine is quite a ways out from the conference center, but there are shuttles running regularly. And really - it's one of the nicest hotels I've ever stayed in! Quite comfy. There is an Irish pub right here, and tonight dinner is Dublin stew. YUM.

Today, Tuesday, was a fairly easy day for me. I didn't sign up for any of the preconference sessions, other than an author luncheon with Meg Cabot. I had a lot of fun chatting with the librarians at my table - we were from all over the states! The others were from Pennsylvania, Oklahoma, Connecticut, Idaho, Wyoming, and Minnesota. Lots of "comparison" chat - how things are where I come from vs. where you come from sort of thing. Very interesting! For instance, we learned that in Sheridan Wyoming they close the library on Rodeo Friday (because NOBODY wants to come to the library on that day). Lunch was very good as well. Once everyone had finished eating, Meg Cabot got up to speak. She was an absolute riot. She recounted how she got into writing (her dream of being a veterinarian dashed when she discovered that she needed to be good at science and math), how she met her husband, and how the library and reading played an important role for her growing up. A very delightful talk all around. I will admit I haven't read any of her books, but I'll definitely read some now - most likely her new series coming out called Airhead.

I spent the afternoon wandering the skyways near the conference center. Minneapolis has an extensive system of skyways connecting a large area of downtown - you don't need to go outside ever, if you don't want to! I only made a tiny dent in my wanderings, but managed not to get lost. Well, I almost got lost in Macy's, but they were having a flower show in there so at least it smelled nice! The only strange thing was that the temperature everywhere seemed REALLY warm. Sure, I was walking around pretty briskly and had on a sweater, but it was REALLY warm. I thought I was going to expire from it! Fortunately I did not, and made it back to the hotel in one piece.

Tomorrow the action really picks up - opening session, and the vendor hall opens in the late afternoon. It will just keep getting more and more fun!!!

Cheers from Minneapolis - see ya'!

Rawr...

Technology...gotta love it, but sometimes it drives me bonkers!

Thing three...

Status: 10% zombie, 90% perk

Thing three...makes me think of Thing One and Thing Two, those mischevous fellows in the Cat in the Hat.

So - thing three was to visit some of my coworkers blogs, leave some comments, and make some observations on what I saw...

Quite a wide variety of success, and truthfully, interest in having a blog. As with any assignment, there are those people that just won't like it. Pretty normal. Blogging, and technology in general is not for everyone. It can be more than a little overwhelming at times.

Not all that long ago, I really wasn't into technology much. But when I decided to go to library school, I was forcibly tossed into a very new world for me. As time has gone by and I have delved deeper into the various things available out there, I've found there are some things I like a lot, and some things I can do without. It's all a matter of finding what works for you, and running with it. Even if that means running in the opposite direction when all of this is over!

If you had told me five years ago how "wired" I would be today, I would have scoffed. But now, I embrace it and am grateful for the opportunities that have opened up for me because of the internet.

I can post my photography on Flickr, and sometimes people ask to use them for their websites. Not a moneymaker for me, but there's still something special about knowing your photos are appreciated and people have noticed them.

The social possibilities of the internet are boundless. Of course there are those people that use it for ill - but the truth is, if they weren't online they'd be harassing somebody in person. My mother is fond of warning me of the hazards of meeting people online - but then, she's watching the daytime television shows that like to show the most scandalous and outrageous stories. There's much less entertaiment value in a nice happy ending story, after all. Some, but it's not going to get the same ratings.

I digress.

If you blog for any length of time, it is inevitable that you will eventually get to know people who may be very far-flung from you. Some connections will remain superficial, and others will grow deeper. Sometimes people will just disappear - after all, everyone does have a life outside of the internet world. Well, everyone except maybe that 42-year old Sci-fi geek that lives in his mother's basement...

People make connections with other people. It's human nature. We all have a bit of a tribal tendency in us...that desire to group with people that are like us. These days, we just have more options to find those people than in our own neighborhoods...and I like that.

You can be an artist too...

Today's Status: 80% zombie, 20% perk

Thursday night's Web Comics program turned out to be a great success. Bill Barnes, half of the creative team behind the popular web comic Unshelved, came to Oak Harbor to present a primer on getting started with your own web comic. The audience was very engaged in what he had to say, and asked lots of pertinant questions regarding the business.

I found the information about publishing - and the benefits of self-publishing - to be particularly interesting. The internet has allowed artist (of all sorts) to take control of their own work and cut out the middle-men in a lot of cases. The Unshelved team can publish a run of books at less than $3.00 per book, then sell them directly for $17.95 and keep all of the profit. In the "old" way of publishing and distribution, they would be lucky to receive $1.00 profit per book.

I am encouraged to see the move to artistic independence that the internet has enabled. The old guard is kicking and screaming (as anyone who follows the actions of the RIAA knows), but as with any change there is a period of protest and pain as new overtakes old...

Bill showed us his Cintiq drawing tablet, but due to a left-behind cable was unable to show us how it worked. He did, however, stress that drawing with pencil to paper is a much better way to improve your artistic skills, and just as good a method to create your comics as an electronic device. He also demonstrated how he layers his comics in Photoshop to finish them up before going live online.

A big thanks to Bill, for making the trip north, and to all the people that attended the program.

A word of explanation...

I have been commanded to set up this blog for work. No complaints. I like blogs!

We are undertaking a 28 week Web 2.0 training course, with a new module each week. Here is the list of the 20 things we will be working through:

Getting Started
Create a blog and share your thoughts
Tracking your progress through 20 for 2.0
Instant Messaging
RSS and Feed Readers
Music Networks and Streaming Music
Photos and Images
Friend Networks
You Tube Video
Wiki Wiki Fun
Tagging
SIL Downloadable Media
Image Generators
Podcasting
Search Engines
Online Applications and Tools
Avatars and Second Life
Maps and Geotagging
Gaming
Relax and Reflect/Completion


I'm excited about this, though I must say I'm chomping at the bit to get to some of these things. Anyhow, this blog will be used to reflect on the things I'm learning - AND STOP LAUGHING, THERE IS STILL SOMETHING LEFT FOR ME TO LEARN ABOUT THIS STUFF!

However, it is saying something that when our manager introduced this training to us in a staff meeting, she concluded with saying, "And if you have any questions, just ask Anne!"

Ahem.

I guess I have a Web 2.o reputation.

To my coworkers that are just stepping into this tangled world of the "internets" - welcome! It's actually pretty fun, and not that difficult once you get the hang of it.

And to my friends from outside of work that might be joining me here now and then - welcome to a glimpse into the world of libraries. It's not all shushing and buns.

Only sometimes.

Late and sleepy

Well, it appears the technical difficulty with photo size is with blogger, not my computer screen...

I can upload photos directly to blogger, so I guess I'll mostly stick with that.

C'est la vie!

I blame it on gnomes...

A little humor for a groggy day...

Enter the ICHC online Poker Cats Contest!


Hmmm, the blog is cutting off my pictures. Something to figure out later - or maybe it's just the computer screen. I'll have to check from home.

See, isn't this fun?!!!

Nothing like dealing with minor technicalities to force one to learn how it all works.

Cheers!

Perky Zombie arrives...

Another blog...another blog name. To me, that was the toughest part of setting this one up. I'll admit, I have had, um, numerous blogs in the last few years, with a variety of blog hosts. I'm no stranger to set-up.

But thinking of a creative name after getting up early and losing that hour over the weekend was a daunting task for me today. So I decided to go for a little help, with Band Name Maker, an online band name generator. Takes the thinking right out of it! You can even plug in a specific word, like...zombie.

Or librarian. Maybe I should have gone with Librarian Shadow and the Failing Toad? Naaaaah. I think I'll stick with Perky Zombie.

Though there's nothing perky about the way I feel right now. Why is it when we lose an hour, it takes a week to catch back up?

Well - welcome to another little corner of my world.