Elizabeth Skene

This weekend was a great balance of getting work done & spending time with friends.

Friday was a marathon of preparation for our GROCS display. Now that our team is only two people [yes, the other two dropped out during the semester], we each have a lot more to do. Although it was a long day of running around & hanging out at Kinkos, we were able to put everything up. I’m actually pretty pleased with out how looks, considering we did it all ourselves.

The gallery opens today at noon & will be open daily for the next two weeks, noon-6pm. This Friday from 4-6 is the gallery opening.

Today I installed this awesome Greasemonkey script that displays the zero inbox badge from Nerd Merit Badges on my Gmail screen [if my inbox is at zero!]. Cleaning out my inbox is a favorite complusive activity of mine & this is an added incentive!

Today is a weird day.
Tomorrow will be worse…
Ug.

After a full day of snow, it was a county-wide snow day today. Almost all the local schools were closed, Washtenaw County had a half day off and even Eastern Michigan University closed. U of M, however, was open – they’ve only ever had two campus-wide snow days, one in 1945 & another in 1974. Also, contrary to the rumor that I’ve heard a number of times today, it’s not because some law students sued the university over a snow day.

Although life has been SO busy, I’m really thankful for all the opportunities I have & the ability to live such a carefree life. Last night a group of us went to Sidetrack to celebrate the coming snow day. The snowfall doesn’t look too dramatic, but considering the snow was nearly completely melted, it was quite a storm.

Google just added Buzz to Gmail – it’s like Twitter or a Facebook status & allows you to add other sites into your feed. I honestly don’t see a need for it & think it’s a little obnoxious, but then again, I’m feeling pretty down & cranky today. At any rate, I think I’ve reached my saturation point for web 2.0 & social media.

This afternoon holds more paper writing, application work and computer programming. Although there’s been talk of sledding, which would be a welcome break from sitting in front of this computer.

Thankfully my computer programming class was let out a bit early today. My head was spinning & there was little hope I’d learn anything more, plus this gives me a bit more time between classes, so it’s a win-win.

Last Thursday, while contemplating my internship situation & desire to travel, I sent an email to the special collections library at the American University in Cairo explaining who I was & inquiring about a summer internship. We’ve emailed back & forth a few times & it looks like it could be a possibilty. Again, like with the ICTY position, I need a definite answer so I can apply for funding & I only have about a month left to do that. So we’ll see.

If you’re going to read the Bible, why not read the Lego version? Here’s a verse from Revelation, as illustrated by The Brick Testament:

The one seated on the cloud swung his sickle over the earth, and the earth was harvested. - Revelation 14:16

Fans of Dwell, Apartment Therapy or other modern living guides should appreciate Unhappy Hipsters. They take the spare, minimalist furnishings and project it onto the thoughts & emotions of the residents in a way that’s sad, but funny.

You can come out when you can properly explain the differences between Modernist architecture and postmodern ornamentation.

His sartorial attempt to blend in with the concrete did little to assuage the tension.

I have to say that I’m completely uninterested in all this talk about the iPad. I can’t believe how worked up people are getting over it & I don’t understand what the big deal is. Don’t like it? Don’t buy it [not that it's at all affordable anyway].

This weekend, my mother-in-law gave me a snuggie that she was given, but didn’t want. Right now, sitting by the giant window in the library, I really wish I had it with me.

Snuggiest ninja

Now for lunch, 6 more hours of class, coffee & trivia.
I could use some flowers & hugs today…

This morning I joined LibraryThing’s 50 Book Challenge. I’m going to do my hardest to read 50 books in 2010. Normally this wouldn’t be a problem, but being in grad school changes my workload & free time, so I think it will be an adequate challenge. I’m stealing Alisha’s idea to create a twitter account – I’ll update it each time I finish a book, with a [very short] review of it. You can follow me at 50booksin2010.

One of the first books I’ll be reading is Archives Power, a book I mentioned in an earlier post. I got the courage up today to post a short introduction in their welcome post [I'm number 61, down at the bottom].

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Librarian & Information Science News posted a list that I really like:

5 Universal Truths That All Librarians Can Agree Upon Right Now

1.) Perception of information is changing
2.) Literacy is changing
3.) Libraries are now part of greater information chorus
4.) Communication is our friend
5.) The underlying philosophies of the library have not changed

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This past semester, the members of a group that I was apart of took the Meyers-Briggs test – an assessment of your personality traits, temperaments and dispositions. I got INFJ as a result, but after taking this test [which is more of a choose-your-own-type sort of assessment], I think I’m an ISFJ. My choice was reinforced when I saw that a correlating Enneatype is perfectionist [which is so true for me].

It isn’t really important, but I recommend taking the tests – sometimes having taking an objective look at yourself can bring insight & inspire change. My husband & I always compare our answers & critique/affirm the results. Plus, it’s pretty fun to see what you get!

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I start classes again tomorrow! My discussion section for the morning was cancelled since the lecture hasn’t met yet & then I have class 4pm – 7pm, then nothing until Monday. Have I mentioned how crazy I was to schedule 3 three-hour classes on Mondays!? I’ll be in class from 8:30 until 8pm, with two 1 1/2 hour breaks – it’ll be intense but my only other classes will be on Thursdays, leaving me time for work & study. I cleaned out my backpack today & I’m ready to take on another semester!

Also, I started an account at flavors.me. It’s a social media aggreator, so by going to my page & clicking on the links, you can see what I’ve tweeted, pictures I’ve posted, blog entires, music I’ve listened to, etc. Check out my page. It seems like an interesting idea, but I’m not sure if it’s useful, or just another web application to keep track of.

Now,
off to coffee with friends!

It’s a Monday.
I missed the bus. Also forgot to start the coffee maker, but I didn’t realize it until I was headed out the door [the second time]. Sat through my last class. Had an appointment. Finished Christmas shopping. It’s foggy & damp out today – the kind of day where a chill seeps in & it’s hard to shake off.

I  feel exhausted.

So, some reminders:

Also, check out Ommwriter. It’s a clean, simple & beautiful writing interface that does away with all the clutter & distractions a computer can present. The calming music & click-clack of the keys is great for a day like today.

xoxo