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I finally finished my first semester in grad school.

It was stressful and at times I wondered what I had gotten myself into. Mostly it was the technology that had me freaked because I am after all from the record album, rotary dial, change the channel at the T.V. set generation.

I hate to admit it but I actually did learn a lot from the computer course that I complained most bitterly about. In the previous blog, about Singapore, the pictures kept coming up in the wrong places so I went into the HTML and moved them. There is no way I would have known how to do that or even that you could do that before I took this class.

Next semester is cataloging. Get ready for more complaining.

A couple of years ago I had a friend who was living in Singapore and was fortunate enough to be able to visit with her and her family.

This is an 8.6 meter or nearly 29 foot fountain depicting the merlion. Sinapore erected it in 1972 to signify the city's name (Singapore means "Lion City") and it's humble beginnings as a small fishing village.

We saw LOTS of Buddha images. This was taken at at the Golden Mount in Thailand. Named the Golden Mount because of the huge build up of land and the massive golden temple on the top. Buddhists cremate their dead. This site just happens to be on a site that was once a burial ground for plague victims that they didn't have time to cremate, and probably no one healthy enough to do so.

And then, of course, there was the library. I know, I'm a nerd.

Christmas for Cats

12 Days of Christmas

On the First day of Christmas I gave my spoiled cats,
A bird feeder for the backyard
On the Second day of Christmas I gave my spoiled cats,
Two cozy beds

And a bird feeder for the backyard
On the Third day of Christmas I gave my spoiled cats,
Three cat treats

Two cozy beds

And a bird feeder for the backyard
On the Fourth day of Christmas I gave my spoiled cats,
Four scratching posts

Three cat treats

Two cozy beds

And a bird feeder for the backyard
On the Fifth day of Christmas I gave my spoiled cats,
Five Catnip Plants

Four scratching posts

Three cat treats

Two cozy beds

And a bird feeder for the backyard
On the Sixth day of Christmas I gave my spoiled cats,
Six new litter boxes

Five Catnip plants

Four scratching posts

Three cats treats

Two cozy beds

And a bird feeder for the backyard
On the Seventh day of Christmas I gave my spoiled cats,
Seven bouncing balls

Six new litter boxes

Five Catnip plants

Four scratching posts

Three cats treats

Two cozy beds

And a bird feeder for the backyard
On the Eighth day of Christmas I gave my spoiled cats,
Eight collar bells

Seven bouncing balls

Six new litter boxes

Five Catnip plants

Four scratching posts

Three cat treats

Two cozy beds

And a bird feeder for the backyard
On the Ninth day of Christmas I gave my spoiled cats,
Nine sleeping baskets

Eight collar bells

Seven bouncing balls

Six new litter boxes

Five Catnip plants

Four scratching posts

Three cat treats

Two cozy beds

And a bird feeder for the backyard
On the Tenth day of Christmas I gave my spoiled cats,
Ten balls of string

Nine sleeping baskets

Eight collar bells

Seven bouncing balls

Six new litter boxes

Five Catnip plants

Four scratching posts

Three cat treats

Two cozy beds

And a bird feeder for the backyard
On the Eleventh day of Christmas I gave my spoiled cats,
Eleven bags of food

Ten balls of string

Nine sleeping baskets

Eight collar bells

Seven bouncing balls

Six new litter boxes

Five Catnip plants

Four scratching posts

Three cat treats

Two cozy beds

And a bird feeder for the backyard
On the Twelfth day of Christmas I gave my spoiled cats,
Twelve squeaking mice

Eleven bags of food

Ten balls of string

Nine sleeping baskets

Eight collar bells

Seven bouncing balls

Six new litter boxes

Five Catnip plants

Four scratching posts

Three cat treats

Two cozy beds

And a bird feeder for the backyard.

Professionalism above all else!

I am part of a list at work that reaches thousands of people who work with children and young adults. There are all kinds of questions asked and answered about everything from, "I have a patron who read a book to her children 30 years ago that had a blue cover with a cat on the front and I want to get it again to read to my grandchildren." (not lying it really happens) to "How do I motivate kids to enjoy grammar?" (I say give it up)

It can be very informative.

The other day the question of overdue fines to daycare centers came through and I was on it. That's right up my alley. It's what I do. I was ready to share my knowledge with the world or at least a piece of it.

I carefully laid out my response, edited it for errors, professionalism is important you know, and sent it off to the list.

The next day I was shocked to see about 50 responses. It is unusual to have even one response. I opened the first one ready to bask in the glory that is affirmation for a job well done and read, "I would love to come to you town and see that driving down the street. " Okay, that was a little strange. The next one clarified it for me, "What exactly is a "boob bus?"

Yep. Professionalism rules!

A Peaceful Morning

I woke up early, and if you know me you know that in itself is blog worthy, to the sounds of many birds feasting at the feeders outside my bedroom window. The Cardinals are especially chirpy. It was cold in the house and cozy under my covers. The cat had curled back up with me after demanding, and I do mean demanding, to be fed at 6 a.m. So peaceful.

About 6:30 a rabbit hopped up to the feeder, the cat went ballistic and I was up for the day.

Tradition, Tradition...

What is it about traditions that we like so much? Is it the repetition? Is it the fear of change?

I know for myself that I like traditions so much because of the warm fuzzy feelings I get when I relive old memories. Yes, I realize this makes me sound old. I am oldish gol-durn-it. But, I really like the familliar, especially at the holidays. I wonder if this is because I never had children of my own to make new traditions with. I hold on tight fisted to the ones I have knowing that all too soon the girls (my nieces) will be grown and have families of their own, etc. Things DO change. It's not bad it just is.

My favorite Chirstmas tradition is having my older sister wake me up, WAY TOO EARLY, and going downstairs to get our stockings. Then we would come back up and jump on Mom and Dad's bed waking them up. This is the boring part. We had to wait while they kissed and said Merry Christmas. Mom would go make tea and sis and I would moan and groan until they came back. Then we would open our stockings on their bed.

I loved that! Even the kissing part.

Starry Starry Night

Every year my library participates in our Annual Holiday Parade. This year our theme is a wintery scene using Van Gogh's Starry Starry Night as a kick-off point. There will be stars and "snow" everywhere and it should be really pretty.

We decided to leave Van Gogh out of it though. Didn't think having a man cutting his ear off and comitting suicide would go over well with the viewers.

I think it was a good call.

I heard it on the new so it must be true...

According to a new study cholesterol blocking drugs such as Lipitor may actually help provide some immunity to the H1N1 virus. Huh, being overweight may have its advantages here. I'm just sayin'.

Apparently I am a hypochondriac.

I didn't used to be but With allthe news about H1N1 out there plus the daily updates from our own building, the CDC and the Red Cross I've become convinced that I will not be able to avoid getting the flu at some point. So when a coworkers coughs in my office, I cringe and suddenly start to cough. When someone complains of a tickle in their throat or a headache suddenly I wonder if my throat is sore and does my head hurt? The other day I was checking in books (books are so dirty) and while inspecting for damage I accidentally hit my lip - WITH THE BOOK! How do you sanitize your lips?

I overanalyze every ache and pain, sniffle and cough.

What I really need to do is stop watching the news and just be smart. Wash my hands often. Sanitize public sufaces when possible. Avoid touching my face without first washing my hands.

Which brings me to the fact that now that I can't touch my face it has become a magnet for every piece of wiggle nylon thread floating around out there. My eyes itch constantly and I seem to get cat hair on my nose even when my cats aren't around.

Yep, definately a hypochondriac.

I don't want my airline pilot looking at his computer while flying. I don't want my subway conductor texting while operating the train. I don't want my bus driver talking on the cell phone while driving. And, I certainly don't want a new driver distracted by any electronic devices he/she might have.

Can you imagine missing the airport because you were busy on the computer. Wouldn't the autopilot beep or something? I admit I have missed my exit while deep in conversation or pretending to be a rock star singing with the radio,but an airport! I'm pretty sure they could have set an alarm on their computer, or phone, something, to tell them when they were getting close. According to an article in the Wall Street Journal, air traffic controllers tried for over an hour to get their attention.

At least they didn't cause an accident like the subway conductor in New York, the bus(trolley) driver in San Fransisco, or the kid on the news who killed a man because he was texting while operating a potentially deadly weapon, his car.

I'm starting this blog for a class.

I'm a recent grad student in Library and Information Sciences and one of my first required classes is a computer course. I'm also older (not old, just older). That should tell you a little about how I feel about it right there.

I can't be the only one who thinks we have informationed ourselves to death.

I now subscribe to 10 RSS feeds, Twitter, Facebook, several friends blogs, the library blog where I work, have 5 e-mail accounts, one of which I have never been able to look at because I can't remember the password ( I know they'll "remind" me, but do I really need to look?), and I carry my cell phone to bed at night. I can get my news updates as instantly as my text messages, I have fluffy kittens running around on my computer screen from something I accidentally downloaded, and don't even mention the billions of chain letters I get! I have enough bad luck, weight gain, bad karma, whatever, to last me the rest of my life and beyond.

Do we really need to be this connected?