If you care to venture out of your rss readers you’ll note the change in template. Wordpress has been upgraded. I subsequently spent most of Tuesday night trying to master the widget feature…my twitter and shared items are available for view, as are the headings for Mike’s most recent post to his campaign blog, and the headings for my most recent posts on my library blog and brand spankin’ new yoga blog which is pretty much nothing but inspiring quotes, since I don’t really have time for anything else.

I will also soon be starting another blog that will chronicle my effort to teach my son Norwegian. This is going to be quite the task given that I am not actually fluent in the language myself. Who knows, he may end up speaking Dutch by the time I’m done with him at which point I’ll just send him down to live with Ellen and her family at their “compound” in steamy hot Texas land.

Work has been fun but busy these past months. We’re into the second month of our My Favorite Book Display. I also hosted a poetry night which was a total blast. I was also recently asked to help build a bookshelf out of books, a project meant to be a kind of collaborative out-reach thingy with the Price Tower Arts Center (they’re doing an exhibit on upcycling in August). So, I have about two months to figure out how to do this. Any ideas? (Please?) Step-by-step instructions will be very much appreciated.

Other than that, I am dazzled every day by my son who continues to suprise me with his curious and always adorable personality. Mike and I have been keeping note of his milestones on our wall calendar. Will post them at some point. Sigh. I have a few vacation days coming up at the end of May. Can’t freakin’ wait!

I found out last Friday that the city has pre-approved a salary increase for me. It’s always been a goal to make my position full time professional whether I was in it or not but since Mike and I have been looking for a one person work one person stay at home schedule they were kind enough to include it in this years budget request. I was supposed to keep this secret until the final public approval was made but apparently it’s already leaked so there you go. Unless something drastic happens, begginning in July, I will be a full time professional librarian with salary.

It’s rather ironic that I should find this out now. I was supposed to have an interview for a youth services position at the Tulsa City County Library this morning. I called early to cancel it but no one answered so I had to leave a message. It was really hard to explain the situation on a voicemail and i hung up feeling really awkward about the whole thing. Career goals put aside, Mike and I are exhuasted from our schedule, despite what the city decided I was bound and determined to have a full time position somewhere by the end of summer. When I got to work, I emailed the HR guy to make sure he got my message. It was supposed to be a telephone interview. He returned my email just before lunch to say that he had got it, congratulations on my new position and that out of 25 applicants I was in the top five so they were a little disappointed but they understood. I nearly cried.

The truth is, I would prefer the youth services position. That is my goal here, to work with kids, with teenagers specifically and I’m pushing thirty now and rather anxious to actually start a career, something that gives me a clear sense of purpose. Who knows if I had gotten it. I still would have had to oust four other people and that’s certainly not an easy thing to do. But I’ve applied for several positions at the Tulsa library since graduating and this was the first time I got a call back. When I recieved that email and realized that there really was a chance at this job, I really started to second guess my decision to back out. The library I work at now has done a lot for me and has provided me with a lot of opportunities but I am more then ready to move on at this point. Although the position I have is giving me a lot of valuable experiences, I’m simply burned out on it. I’ve worked at this library on and off since I was nineteen and I’ve shared many wondeful memories with the people I work with, been mentored by some great people, but the office politics and drama that goes on there now seems to be hindering any real progress at this point. I tend to leave work feeling more frustrated then fullfilled these days which was another reason why I applied for the youth services position in Tulsa. I am simply not happy at my current job and that enivitably is making an impact on my personal and family life. I have to take that into consideration. But leaving may not be the best thing for my family. The job in Tulsa paid about four thousand more than the one here. If we stayed here in Bartlesville, that means commuting two hours a day. A lot of gas money and less time with Liam. Moving to Tulsa would mean higher cost of living. The extra four thousand would mean little at this point and Mike may even have to take a second job which defeats the whole one parent stay at home thing. But the plus side would be that I would have my first career job thereby paving the way for when we move back upsate and I need a job up there. However, there’s always the possibility that the job in Tulsa is an absolutely horrible job, so then I’m stuck with a horrible job, a two hour commute, less time with my son and possibly even more unhappy then I am at my current job here in Bartlesville. In the end, I was pretty much hugging my knees in a fit of frustration trying to make a decision. I chose to stay here, to do what I can with the position I have…and keep looking.

I’ve applied for several more positions in the upstate/east coast area. Unfortunately, there aren’t many in youth services. I think the market is a little swamped now given that it’s graduation time everywhere.

I had a haircut yesterday. This wouldn’t usually be such a big deal but it was for me because it meant that I actually had time to schedule something as simple and everday as a hair appointment. I also crocheted a scarf yesterday and read from a fiction book for pleasure. I baked a cake for my friends birthday (Happy Birthday Cindy baby!) and finished half of my x-mas shopping. Sweet.

It’s been a rather hellish week with Liam. There’s been some issues with the whole feeding/food thing. We tried feeding him cereal for the first time yesterday. By peditrician standards he’s still a little young but our doctor said it would be ok to try. We video clipped it. I’m not sure what Liam thinks about this new feature on the menu. However, he does seem to have good table manners for a baby…was very good at wiping his own mouth with his bib.

My parents have an interesting tag team operation going on when they take care of Liam on Wednesdays. The pack ‘n play crib is in my dad’s office. He sets the iSight camera on Liam so my mom can keep an “eye” on him via IM upstairs in her office. Together they keep Liam occupied, happy and fed until I’m home at nine. Then thursdays mom comes with me to school to look after Liam while I’m in class. It makes me pretty exhuasted to even write about all of this but somehow, together we all manage it and Liam is growing into the most amazing little kid, he’s so smart and cute I swear honest to God I’m not just saying that because he’s mine.

I’m having a little difficulty focusing on the final projects for class nowadays. All I can think about is what I’m going to do when I’ve finally graduated. First thing, obviously, is spend more time with Mike and Liam. The time I do manage to have with them now is usually spent stressing over one thing or the other. I have an entire folder full of topics I’ve been wanting to blog about for ages but just never had time. Another folder full of links to sites that I’ve wanted to read. A very long booklist, an even longer “to do” list (paint bedroom, clean out closet, clean out bathroom, clean, clean and clean). But I think I’ll start first with buying some yarn to knit Liam a blanket. Then catching up on his baby book which I have yet to even start. I can’t believe it’s been three months already.

Today I heard Liam giggle. I got so excited. Mike had already heard him giggle before. These are the moments that feel a little sad for me, when I miss those “firsts”. He’s becoming very vocal. He stays awake a lot during the day and most of that is spent girggling about something. Sometimes he sounds a little like a bird so I’ve started calling him goose.

I’m looking for jobs but not having much luck yet. I just did an ego surf which is when you google your own name to see what comes up (employers do this often with potential hires). I came across this which lists our blog as a “commentary on politics, movies, and family life”. I’ve seen our blog described this way before and I find it kind of funny since neither Mike or I have mentioned much about politics and movies in a long time. I think maybe blogging lost its novelty for us, and we just started using it more as a communication tool to keep friends and family informed about what’s going on in our lives.

This list also had a link to an online magazine called Backwash which listes sites according to personality instead of topic. Interesting practice in folksonomy there…anyway, homework.

I don’t think I’ve mentioned on here yet, but I’ve spent most of the summer helping in the Local and Family History section of the library. I’ve really been enjoying myself there. It’s been a nice change of pace compared to reference. The questions are often much more interesting to work on (ie..can you help me open my email vs. can you help me research my native american ancestors). I spend a lot of time looking up obituaries in old newspapers. This can be a lot of fun since it often means coming across interesting stuff like this announcement about a young girl who apparently died…or did she:

“The fast girl who died of cocaine and was burried last Monday is now being dug back up. Someone says she isn’t dead”

The 1950’s are always neat to look through, especially all the fashion advertisements. I also came across an interesting opinion article one time:

WE, THE WOMEN by Ruth Millet

The young woman who tackels her first job when she’s just out of school usually develops a business like attitude without much trouble. From nine to five she is all business.
But the woman who gets her first business experience after being a housewife for a number of years often fails to develop a “business personality.”
She carries her “good neighbor” policy into the office-where it is entirely out of place.
She gossips across her typwriter, the same way she used to gossip across the back fence.
She carries on long personal telephone conversations the way she used to do at home after the breakfast dishes were finished.
She tells all her troubles and personal business to the people who work in the same office.
She gets chummy with the salesmen who want to do business with her firm, until she finds it hard to get rid of a caller without a long chat.
She encourages her friends to stop by the office and see her whenever they are in the neighborhood.
She never goes in for tailored neat clothes, but goes right on wearing the kind of clothes she used to wear to bridge parties and to church on Sunday.
None of those errors need to be, if a woman realizes that they are mistakes a woman not used to the business world, is likely to make.
And if she will compare her business manner and habits with those of the successful women around her, she can tell easily whether or not she has adapted herself to the business world.

Even though I was only there for a few weeks I thought it would be a good idea to join a Geneolgy listserve, just for the heck of it. They had an interesting discussion going on the other day about “strange” town names, like Monkey’s Eyebrow, Kentucky. There was also apparently a local history published for a small town known as Climax. The book was titled, perhaps not so strategically, Climax: Before and After. Apparently it’s a real collectors item today. Then there was the Iowa newspaper announcement from 1964, when a young man and young girl, one from Manly, Iowa the other from Fertile united in marriage. The announcement read “Manly Man marries Fertile Girl”. Yeah, definitely had some good times in the Local and Family History section this summer.

So, the plan for now is for Mike and I to both continue working where we are. We just can’t afford to do otherwise. If all goes well, I’ll pass my comprehensive exam in October and finish my last class in December (hopefully with most of my sanity intact). Meanwhile, I’m going to start sending my resume out now in hopes that I may be able to land a full time position with salary as soon as possible, somewhere in Oklahoma, hopefully within driving distance (is this really so much to ask?). As long as they can pay me the equivalent to what Mike and I are making together right now, then Mike will potentially be able to stay at home with Liam. Our plan is still to someday move up North somewhere, but for now, we have a house that’s paid for which is a very good reason not to do anything reckless like skipping town with very little money saved up, minimal job experience, a new baby and an ailing dog.

“I met Ruth Seid in her office at the Central Library of the Los Angeles Public system about two years ago, though it seems like centuries now. Ruth is the East Valley Area Manager for LAPL, a job which seems to involve much more paperwork than any librarian ought to have to endure. In the months I’ve known Ruth, she has become like a sister to me, which is to say that I want to kill her about once a week. It goes without saying that we are very good friends. The benefit of knowing Ruth is that she has disabused me of any myths about the profession. When she comes around to visit after work she seems to have been run through a colander. She has taught me that library administration is not for me. For that matter, it might not be for anybody, but Ruth is one of the people who do it, because she loves the library, its patrons and the people who work there. I see a lot of Ruth. We have a perfect understanding: She tells me I am wrong about nearly everything and I tell her the same. We argue, even about matters we agree on. She has bad traits that are almost precisely like mine, which I find practically unbearable in others. In order to pay her back for her many kindnesses, I have forced her to buy a dog she didn’t want, introduced her to the grief of growing roses and told her how to arrange her hair. We have reached a stage in our relations wherein she often responds to my questions by extending the middle fingers of both hands in reply. Is that love or what?” http://librarydust.typepad.com/library_dust/2005/04/ruth_seid.html