Updated with link to "Education for a Lifetime." 1 Apr 06

Through some personal evaluation and the help and support of some very wise women (friends, mentor, advisor, hopefully soon-to-be advisor), I have changed my plans for this summer.

I am definitely taking 590TC Thesaurus Construction with Pauline Atherton Cochrane.  First, because I would be a complete idiot not to take any class with her that I can! 

I did not stick my neck out on the line fighting for our emeriti faculty just to ignore them.  And that doesn’t imply that I have to take every class offered by our emeriti faculty but, besides fighting for their opportunity to teach and for the rest of the current and future student body to have the privilege of learning from their immeasurable experience, I also did so for my own opportunities.  I wanted this class by Dr. Cochrane and I also wanted Indexing & Abstracting by her.  The 2nd one did not work out, but I have to say I am really enjoying I&A with Frank Kellerman from Brown.

Second, I am begining a new degree program and there was the question of when I actually will start it for the official paperwork. 

Third, although based on my current GA contract I am employed until August, and won’t have to take any classes as normally required of GAs since I’ll have graduated, if I want health insurance and clinic benefits, etc. I need to be registered for 4 hours at some point this summer.

Thus, I’ll graduate and be back in class the very next day for 4 weeks. 

I had planned on taking Steve Oberg‘s Technical Services class over the main summer semester, and the timing really is perfect for several reasons.  But, I have to move this summer and it would be during that class.  I do not personally believe in "blow off" classes, but tech services is very important to me for several reasons, most of which should be clear if you’ve read my blog for more than a day or two.  Nonetheless, I doubt I could give it the attention it deserves and move at the same time.  "What," you ask, "didn’t you do the same thing and on an even shorter notice during your 2nd semester of library school?"  Why, yes I did.  Which is exactly why I’m not doing it again if I can avoid it.

The other main reason is that I have been at this higher education thing since Fall 1998 when I started full-time on completeing my undergrad degree after "retiring" from the Army.  I have had exactly one semester off since then.  I took off Summer 2001 after graduating with my BS and was not yet employed by the university.  If I had gotten employed in time, I probably would’ve taken something on their dime.

As it was, for the 3 years that I was a university employee I took 2 classes every semester while working full-time.  Some I audited, some I took for grades.  I earned 36 hours of credit during that time, with about  the same amount in audited hours.  None of which was ever intended to transferred or aplied to any degree program, and in fact has not been.  It was, as I have said previously, one of the most liberating experiences of my life.  But I need a break!  [Why, oh why, can't I find the reference I'm looking for?  Which is answered by, start on the indexing project.  I can't seem to find what I was sure I had posted, and or at least commented on, so I'll soon post the continuing education and "most liberating experience" references soon.]

On Mother’s Day (about 6 weeks) I will be a certified Librarian (can this really be true?), but the next day I will begin what I consider to be an even more important educational adventure towards really becoming the librarian that I want to be.  I have a good idea what that is, but it isn’t perfectly clear (and probably shouldn’t be!).  But I do need to focus my ideas more.  I only have 40 semester hours to do what I want educationally, at least on a serious full-time basis.  I know many students consider 40 hours a lifetime, but to me it is practically nothing.

I need to decide if I really want to give up 20% of that time to learning about surveying and processing survey data for my project, or if I can still do my project and learn the research methods I need in some other, less formal way.  I need to decide if that is really the project I want to do.  I like it, I think it could be enjoyable, and I think it is needed.  But I have come to the cynical conclusion that it really wouldn’t make the slightest impact; doesn’t seem like a good start for something so important.

So I’m taking a "break" over the larger part of the summer to regroup, reinvigorate, and re-motivate myself, all while moving of course.

I hope to accomplish the things I just mentioned and also maybe do a large amount of personal and professional development on my own.  I have books and articles to read; Svenonius is frantically whispering in my ear.  I hope to share much of this with you all, and then reenter classes in the fall with a much better idea of what my goals really are, both short- and long-term.