Eliot Lied: There is not enough time

I am having great difficulties in starting my enormous mound of work. When you have so much to do, the hardest part is usually getting started. I have to start though.

I think that I am now safe in making my announcement: I will be starting a new job in the next week and a half. I will still be at my current place of hire, but I will be working in the adult services department instead of the circulation department. I will be a "reference intern," so I will gain more reference experience and mostly work at the reference desk. I will miss some aspects of my current job, but I am getting excited about my new job. I will have opportunities to learn a lot and work on extra projects, which is exciting. I am also looking forward to working fewer hours. I am very grateful for my current job, but 25 hours a week is a lot.

I am really looking forward to the summer. I just want to be done with this semester. I have hit burnout, but I need to push through to the end. There will be a lot of changes this summer, but they will be good changes (I hope), and I am excited for the possibilities this summer holds. I will be starting my internship (for credit) with the puzzle collection and my new position at the library, as well as taking a 6 week long workshop on Electronic Archival Description for the first session of summer school. I also plan on working on my paper that I wrote for rare book librarianship on how objects fit into libraries. I received a good grad on it, but I really want to get it published, and I know it is not good enough yet. There are also other things I'd like to do, and what I really need to do is to just sit down sometime when I have a space of down time and plan out what I want to accomplish this summer. I am very bad at planning, and if I don't set goals for myself, I am in grave danger of wasting the summer. Or at least not accomplishing everything I would like to accomplish.

It won't be all work though. :-) I am going to the RBMS pre-conference, which won't be a vacation, but it will be fun to meet new people and see the city of Philadelphia. I am also going on a whitewater rafting trip in West Virginia with my church group the weekend of my birthday, and then meeting with my college friends for a reunion in July!

With so much planned for the summer, I am having a difficult time focusing on the present. And, as a dear friend says, "The best way to make God laugh is to tell Him your plans." I know that things can change, and they may not turn out as I envision them to, but I am looking forward, with hope, to the summer, and I pray that I will have the strength and diligence to accomplish my goals. (Topic for another day: how it is so easy to focus on temporal goals while excluding spiritual ones.)

I should stop procrastinating. Maybe I'll reward myself with video games with the neighbors tonight. :-)

Abba Father

As Christians, we often say that we have a relationship with God. The phrase "It's a relationship, not a religion" is rather popular, and most Christians would say that we can have a more intimate, relational connection with God. It is very easy to toss around this term, "relationship," but our actions do not indicate that we have a relationship with Him. We often admit that we need to "spend more time with God," but what does that look like? I have been thinking about these things recently, and I have started to view my spiritual life differently, and I am going to try some new things.

The Bible often refers to us as the Bride of Christ, and when nuns take orders, they are "wedded" to Christ. In regards to my own spiritual life, I have realized that if I had a boyfriend, I would be thinking about him all the time and going out with him, spending time with him. It is very easy, with God, however, so say a short prayer, read an obligatory Bible chapter or verse, and go on my way. It is not sufficient. So, I'm trying to rework my thinking and think of my time with God as "dates." Time set aside where I go walking or stay inside, etc. but it is time with God. And I've found that using this "mental model" or this idea helps me to visualize my time with God. Because I cannot see Him, it is hard sometimes to differentiate my time with Him. And, I know that He is always there and always with me, but it is good to have time that I devote specifically to Him. I am not condoning anthropomorphizing God or debasing Him in any manner, but in approaching my "relationship" with Him, it really does help to put it in terms that I can relate to.

Welcome to Little 5

Little 500 (also called Little 5) is a bike race on campus that was immortalized in the movie Breaking Away. (Which is a good movie, btw.) There is a women's race today and a men's race tomorrow, and though it is ostensibly a weekend focusing on the races, it is actually an excuse for drunken debauchery, especially for the undergrads, which started earlier this week. I am trying to avoid downtown, except for work, and I already have 2 stories, witnessed a misdemeanor, and passed parties and drunk people. This is actually my 2nd Little 5 weekend, as I came apartment hunting last year, though I was able to escape the mayhem. I was, however, warned about it last year, so I was fairly prepared this year. My plan involves avoiding it as much as possible, which is not too hard, as I don't live in a party area.

I have 1 week of classes left and then finals. I actually have finals this semester. :-( They are all take homes/papers, and they are all due at about the same time, so I really need to start at least one of them this weekend. These 1st 2 semesters have gone by rather quickly. It's hard for me to realize that I am almost done with my 1st year of grad school, though I have a busy summer ahead of me. Instead of New Year's resolutions, I am making summer resolutions. There is a lot I want to accomplish this summer, and I need to start planning and making sure that I actually accomplish certain things. I am not very good at planning things. I prefer to fly by the seat of my pants, but that isn't always very effective. So, we'll see how it goes.

Blessings

O Glorious Weekend

The title about says it all. I have had a wonderful, social, relaxing, fun, refreshing weekend. *contented sigh* The fiesta on Friday was a lot of fun. I am not in the dale any more, and for once that is a good thing. :-) There was a live band, so it was loud, but the music was so infectious. It just made you want to move and want to really get into the dance. I also had a good amount of dances, and even learned a new style, which was a lot of fun, while using my very rusty cha cha skills as well. I'm hoping to continue with salsa over the summer. It's been a lot of fun, and it would be a good opportunity to stay social and to get out and DANCE! :-)

Yesterday was a bit more low key. I went to a birthday get together and was able to see people from small group that I haven't seen in a long time, as I have to work during Bible study this semester. Then, we played Mario Kart with the neighbor boys. Lots of fun, though Angy said my driving was making her a bit carsick and she couldn't watch my screen any more. :-) I lamented one time that I was so far behind, and one of the guys said, "Yeah, but you've covered more territory." Ha, yeah... :-)

Then, I went out to lunch with people from the 20 somethings group today. That was good too, though I'm not super close with anyone from that group yet. It's nice to hang out, but I'm not close friends yet. And may never be, but that's ok.

I hope everything is going well with you all as well. I have 3 take home finals on the horizon, but for now, I am enjoying the moment. :-)

Blessings

Another scintillating post about my academic endeavors

Research paper finished: check. I'm feeling ok about the paper. It's really different for me, as I'm used to history papers and using a ton of written sources. I do have a decent amount of sources, but I only used 3 articles. The other was personal knowledge and personal contacts. Hopefully I didn't plagiarize, but a lot of it seems like common knowledge and my own know-how.

Now, I just have a rather evil paper left, due Thursday, currently not started. But, I have fun things to look forward to this weekend. Salsa fiesta and video games with neighbors. Just have to get there.

Things are starting to fall into place. I'm starting to hear back from places and things that I applied for. I still haven't heard in regards to some major things, but I know that it will all work out. I just have to keep going.

I'm not especially tired, but I'm going to try to catch an extra hour of sleep before I officially start my day.

The Fight Will Be Where the Line is Drawn

I think my "cold" is actually allergies, and it doesn't seem to be going away. :-/ It's a pain, but I keep going. I went to mid-week salsa practice, as I missed on Monday. It was fun to be able to just dance, and I really enjoyed not having any "holes" in the circle. On Mondays there are always more girls than guys, and it's a pain, especially when we do moves with the whole circle that require a lead. Oh well. There is a fiesta next Friday, and I'm excited for it. We'll see how that goes. I just have to get through this week. I'm woefully behind, but I do not have the undergrad panic that I had at the dale, which is nice. Though it might be helpful as a kick in the pants to get cracking. :-)

I have finally found my study spot. It's in gov. docs. There is a reading room for materials from the outside storage building, and there is an old, wooden rolly chair that I sit in while I study. I'm glad that I found my area, as it's hard for me to study, especially research, just anywhere.

I found this quote in an article I looked at for my paper. The article is not helpful, but I like this quote: "The first thing you notice as the door is unlocked is the most wonderful smell--that intoxicating, exhilarating, overwhelming and irresistibly exciting smell of old dust and book leather. If I ever invented a women's fragrance, I would call it Old Books." "Tangible Artifacts," by Christopher de Hamel. :-)

I have so much to do this weekend and very little gumption to do it. I have been tired and having to look after my health (in more ways than one,) which has put me behind as well. Oh well, it will all get done. I feel that this is a theme with me, unfortunately. Always behind. But, one must keep on keeping on.

Blessings

Blessed Easter Weekend

Posting these pictures is becoming an Easter tradition for me. This is located near one of my friend's house. It is a beautiful retreat to visualize the life of Jesus, and there is a small chapel on the premise as well. Wonderful memories, and the pictures are perfect for this season.

Happy Jazz and Poetry Month

April is the cruelest month. I am getting sick, and I should be in bed. But, I am not. I will be soon.

I was looking at pictures someone posted from the dale. I became nostalgic. They are currently at the dale, and I did not really know the girl who posted them, but they are so typically H-dale and remind me of the good times and friends. And I miss it. It really is the people. But, when I think like this, I have to remind myself that things were not perfect. Senior year was especially hard. I have guy friends again. And I still have my awesome girl friends. And I'm rather social and learning things. God is good.

I am officially going to RBMS in June. I registered. So, even if I do not get a scholarship, I'm going to do my best to go. Now I need to look into tickets. I signed up for a workshop the day before it really gets going, so I will probably need to be there before other people who are going and may not be able to catch a ride. Flying is a lot more expensive, but it is easier and faster. Flying still makes me nervous, but I survived before; I should be able to do it again. But, who knows. Maybe I'll find someone to ride with. Hopefully I can find someone to share lodging with. I will probably end up in the dorms, as they are cheaper, but I'm used to dorms. I lived in a freshman dorm for 4 years. :-)

Remember Holy Week.