Been a nice day so far. Both the kids and my mom called. Jeremy’s at Fort Eustis, VA (Norfolk) and Sara’s in Rostock, Germany. Finally got breakfast after coffee and the newspaper and then the phone calls.
Made it out to the Lohmann Park to the frisbee golf course around 11:15 AM. I played 12 holes and one really long, made up hole. Came home and made an appt. for an hour massage at 3 PM and then went running. I’m cooling off now before showering and lunch.
The rest of the day looks like a bit more research on student loan consolidation for Sara and for myself, calling my Dad before he heads back to church, massage, and ALA planning. Just too many interesting things to choose from, and I do not like
extraneous choices. There are too many important choices that need to
be made in life to get sucked into all of the ‘consumer’ choices we are
offered as we’re convinced that this represents some sort of freedom. [Sorry, that comment has nothing to do with ALA, although there are too many choices there too.]
It looks like my discussion with Kevin yesterday has helped me make up my mind as to what I’m doing for one time slot anyway. He is one of the presenters at LITA’s "XML and Authority Control" on Sun., 1:30-5:30 PM. This means I’ll miss some other presentations that I also really want to attend, especially the Committee on Professional Ethics’ "Ethics and Librarianship: Perspectives on the ALA Code of Ethics," with John Buschman and others. Besides all of the programs that I can hardly choose between I’m now learning about various committee meetings and such that I’d like to attend. Simply too much stuff going on all at the same time!
Just back from my massage which turned out to be 75 minutes; I’m definitely going to have to start going on Sundays! Of course, I did the right thing and gave her a huge tip, but it was worth it. Now if I could just stay relaxed.
I’m really arguing with myself about dinner tonight. I really can’t afford to take myself out with ALA next weekend, but….
Guess I better get busy on those other things.
Update: Took myself out for an expensive, but good, dinner of beef shoulder tips at Crane Alley. I had 2 different beers, but probably should’ve stayed with the raspberry framboise instead of being adventurous because neither was very good. Kind of funny cause I don’t really even like raspberries and particularly raspberry-flavored stuff. I did have fresh rapsberries for my cereal last week because they were far cheaper than strawberries or blueberries. Not my favorite but at least they were ‘live and not Memorex.’
Got a lot more of Middlemarch read at dinner. I’m on page 685, which means only 150 pages left. Heck, that’s a slender volume.
Dorothea was aware of the sting, but it did not hurt her. ‘No,’ she said, ‘I still think that the greater part of the world is mistaken about many things. Surely one may be sane and yet think so, since the greater part of the world has often had to come round from its opinion.’
Middlemarch, p. 537‘…’ he began, taking as usual to brief phrases, which seemed pregnant to himself, because he had many thoughts lying under them, like the abundant roots of a plant that just manages to peep above the water.
Middlemarch, p. 559
As for ALA planning, well, let’s just say I’m a little overwhelmed. What a nightmare, in so many ways! Sunday won’t be so bad because most of what I really want to do is in McCormick Place. But Saturday and Monday seem to be all over the city! And what is the point of not having the shuttle bus schedule online? I mean I have to get to McCormick Place or get my hands on a copy of CogNotes somehow before I can know the bus schedule that I need to know to accomplish either of those.
And that ridiculous event planner is so totally screwed up in so many ways! It seems a painful, but particularly apt metaphor for ALA. The website redesign a year or so back was painful to see, but it just keeps coming. I know we have many talented librarians who could help ALA avoid these sorts of things but they don’t employ them. Oh heck, I’m going to shut up. I’ve had 2 beers and probably shouldn’t be saying anything at the moment. The last thing I’ll say is that it so much reminds me of being in the Signal Corps in the Army—we the Communicators were the only ones who seemed of incapable of communicating.
