Many of my colleagues are getting ready to go to the SLA Annual Conference in Seattle next month.
Alas I won’t be going this year, but I’ll be reading the blogs. For anyone who hasn’t been to the SLA conference - it is a great place to network and learn from other professionals.
And Seattle is a great city! I was there about 20 years ago. Next year everyone will be coming to my city for the conference!
Last night I had Chinese food for dinner - well, American-Chinese food. I’m sure that General Tso never encountered the dish named in his honor, but it is a favorite of mine. At the end of the meal came the fortune cookie. My fortune read You should be able to undertake and complete anything.
This put me in mind of an IQ test and psych evaluation I had almost 20 years ago. The woman who reviewed my results with me mentioned that based on my skills and aptitude I could do anything I wanted to. I had the capacity to learn how to do anything and the practical skills to accomplish it. Her example was that I should never have to pay someone to repair my car - I was capable of learning how to fix it myself.
While that is all very complimentary, it is also a bit daunting. So far I have not chosen to learn auto repair. I know how to do many things - like changing a tire, but I know a great mechanic who takes really good care of my car.
All of that happened before I became a librarian and as a librarian I am pretty competent, despite my bouts of laziness.
Back in high school - I had a teacher who was a brilliant man and very practical. I also knew people who were very smart, but lacked the sense to come in out of the rain. I knew I was smart, but I prayed for the grace to have common sense. A dear friend told me once that she had to work with a man who had not asked for the gift of common sense. He was really smart, but not very practical.
That being said - the hard part for any of us is deciding what it is we want to do. We can usually muster the ability to do it.
Greetings all,
For being such a short month, April dragged by. It started off well. The weather was nice. I attended Computers in Libraries and saw several friends.
A friend came to visit DC so she could say hi to Pope Benedict XVI. I got a ticket for the Mass at Nationals Stadium.
But when the Pope left, he took the nice weather with him and the rest of the month was mostly cool and rainy. Yeah, we needed the rain, but it has dampened my spirits. Other things have been at work too and I must remain patient.
Toward the end of the month the band I play in bid farewell to our artistic director after ten years at the podium. It was a busy week leading up to the concert - but the performances went well and it was a good send-off. There was a natural drop-off following the excitement. Sorta like that mid-Christmas day let-down when all the gifts are open and you realize that it is another year until the next Christmas.
This too shall pass. - as my father would remind me.
So here it is, the 2nd of May and it is sunny and getting warmer outside. And I’m not a 7 year-old any longer, so I know that moods pass and life goes on. A song from the musical The Unsinkable Molly Brown came to mind.
Mrs. Margaret Brown was a remarkable woman and last year while I was in Denver to attend the SLA Conference, I took the time to visit her home and learn a bit more about her. I recommend visiting the house anytime you might visit Denver - it is a few blocks from the State Capitol Building and near Immaculate Conception Cathedral. One thing that I learned was that Mrs. Brown was a life-long Catholic who helped to build the local cathedral. At the Cathedral Mrs. Brown customarily sat in Pew 6 - the same number as her lifeboat from the Titanic!
But I digress - the song lyric that comes to mind is I ain’t down yet!. The lyrics in general don’t apply to me - I already know how to read and write. But the sentiment, the hope, the optimism - that is something that I won’t give up on. So, if you’ll pardon my grammar - I ain’t down yet, and don’t plan to be!