PThomas's blog

notes from the edge - 36

Wed, 08 Sep 2010 17:46:46 -0600

This is the first week of classes for the MLIS program. That it coincides with Frosh week creates some interesting senarios. First of all, it seems that part of Frosh week at Western requires wearing matching t-shirts and walking around en masse. Yesterday we saw only purple shirts, the colour for today was orange. Reflecting on the faces I saw (which alternated between scared silly and openly anticipatory) I can only say that I am pleased to be finished with that aspect of my life. Not that I want to sound like an old codger, but I remember the mistakes I made as a freshman. I am just pleased to be done with that, though I realize that mistakes are part of living, it is just that the type of mistakes that are waiting for these freshman are way behind me! I wonder how many hangovers are the order of the day each morning. Some of my colleagues who are living on campus are reporting parties of monumental proportions.

notes from the edge - 35

Sat, 04 Sep 2010 14:02:24 -0600

So, it was a fracture of sorts, as it turns out and I will be returning to campus with a walking cast for the next 5 weeks. Not that I mind terribly, as it is definitely easier to get around now with the cast rather than using crutches. It is just that I would have preferred knowing from the beginning and having the walking cast from the beginning as well. Today I actually went grocery shopping. That is the most time spent out of the house in nearly two weeks. Pathetic, really.

notes from the edge - 34 or more

Mon, 30 Aug 2010 17:29:23 -0600

So the doctor called me today to arrange for another X-ray. He said that the first X-ray shows that there may be a fracture, and that they need another look with the swelling down to be sure. Thankfully, the swelling is down and I will go in tomorrow to the hospital for another "picture" session. I am hoping that I will not need a cast, I have been getting around easier in the last day or two, and thought I was on the mend. Keep your fingers crossed.

notes from the edge - 33 ish

Sun, 29 Aug 2010 07:35:53 -0600

Somehow, two of my blog posts have disappeared from this site (I know, that brings into question my numeric ability again - hence the “ish” attached to this one). The two that have disappeared make my post before this one unintelligible.

So, to catch anyone up who missed one of those posts, I am on break now, finished my website in time and it is functional (http://www.imc.uwo.ca/~pthomas/nexus_public_library/index.html if you want to browse it), and was just getting into the swing of the relaxation when I fell down the deck stairs at the cottage (in my defence, it was early in the morning, dark and the stairs were dew soaked) and am now on crutches, again.

notes from the edge - 32

Sat, 28 Aug 2010 07:03:19 -0600

Call me slow witted, but it wasn't until my sister called and reminded me that I realized I have been on crutches for a sprained ankle for every post-secondary degree that I possess.

In undergraduate (McGill University) I was on my way to a weekly baby sitting job when I fell. It was in the middle of winter and the snow plows were on strike. There had just been a snow storm and I did not realize that I was stepping so close to the curb when I fell over onto my ankle. I was closer to the baby sitting job than I was to my dorm (which by the way was up the mountain). It just so happened that two good Samaritans were walking by. One man was with his significant other, well dressed and kind if rather shorter than I was. The other was a man who had obviously spent most of the day drinking, likely from the brown paper bag he was clutching with great enthusiasm, and was about my height. They both agreed to help me to the apartment (a second floor walk-up). By the time we got to the door we looked quite the disreputable and disheveled crowd. Before I could explain myself to Mrs. W when she answered the door she said, "Peggy, I do not mind you bringing friends but I do expect you to arrive sober!"

notes from the edge - 30

Sun, 01 Aug 2010 15:13:03 -0600

Although I am quickly closing in on the final weeks of my second term, the end still looks very far away indeed. I only have three more assignments to finish, but two of them are looking to finish me first.

I now officially take my hat off (actually, I rarely wear hats...but you understand the meaning) to all of the self-professed geeks out there who actually enjoy using GarageBand, Audacity, iMovie, Dreamweaver, Photoshop, Fireworks and so on... I have to be honest, my blood pressure starts to mount just thinking of those courses and the assignments left to do. One friend suggested I enlist the help of my son, who is proficient in many of these programs, but that was a disaster. Although proficient, he is not patient, and that was one ugly moment as hetried to explain things to me. No injuries, but no joy either.

notes from the edge - 29

Fri, 23 Jul 2010 08:54:38 -0600

So this semester I am taking two technology courses. In one, I am building a website and in the other we are exploring varying software programs with broadcasting capabilities.

In theory, I absolutely see the need for incorporating technology in the library, no matter what silo. We need to be relevant to our public, and people are embracing technology like never before, they are both using and creating content, we need to be responsive to this. That is why I am taking these courses. That said, I am not enjoying them. On a creative level I love it, on a technical level, I am totally confounded, befuddled and frustrated...one wrong click (and I seem to make many) and it all goes south.

notes from the edge - 28

Fri, 23 Jul 2010 08:45:39 -0600

There have been moments during this adventure that have made me feel very mature (read old). Most of the students in my program are much younger and the sheer number of undergraduates at Western are staggering. I often get an askance look when I profer my student card for a student discount. But then there are other moments...like in the grad club this week. I went to the bar to get a drink (a Pepsi, if you are wondering) and the barman (age of my son) commented on how great I looked. I thanked him, thought he was angling for a tip, but thought no more of it.

notes from the edge - 27

Fri, 11 Jun 2010 14:34:46 -0600

It was brought to my attention that it has been awhile since I have posted an entry.

Part of the reason is the busy-ness of the season for me, trying to balance home, school and family with the added bonus of cottage season upon us.
With the opening of the cottage comes a compressed time at home to accomplish all that needs doing as well as the work around the cottage. Not that I am complaining, I love having a place to go on Georgian Bay that is relaxing and free of all technological contact (you really do disconnect there). In fact, we have been able to go in the water already this year, a feat not accomplished until late July last year.

notes from the edge - 26

Sun, 16 May 2010 15:13:47 -0600

It is truly funny how you can take time away, relax and refuel, and then, once the race begins again, feel as if you have never been away! That is how I feel right now, having just completed 4 assignments due on Tuesday. Yes, I went to Bermuda. Yes the pink sands and turquoise waters were exquisite. And YES, the "Dark and Stormy" is a thing of beauty (a wonderful drink that even I could become addicted to), but it all seems so long ago!

notes from the edge - 25

Tue, 11 May 2010 12:23:51 -0600

So, the second term begins. This will feel significantly different from the previous term. First term you go through the classes en masse, so to speak. Except for those students who choose to do the degree part-time, everyone in the cohort has the same courses, the same assignments and the same due dates. Now we have signed up for courses that are of particular interest to us, and there are people in the classes that I do not know and have never seen before. While this is both an opportunity to meet new people, it is also a bit of a set back in that the continuity of people is different, the support in similar experience will be lacking. There was comfort in having a group of people that you knew very well all going through the same thing.

notes from the edge - 24

Thu, 15 Apr 2010 05:03:22 -0600

Unbelievably, I have turned in my final paper! Although I still have two more classes, I am a free agent for three weeks.

A.M.A.Z.I.N.G!

Now for the sad part. I finished and went to bed at 1:30am, turning my alarm off so that I could sleep in. I was up at the usual 5:45am anyway. Again I lament for that skill I had in undergraduate years of sleeping in - I could use it now!

notes from the edge - 23

Sat, 10 Apr 2010 21:00:41 -0600

Amazingly and thankfully, I am really in the home stretch now. One week to go and one more paper to write and I am home free for 3 whole weeks. While in many respects, this program has not been beyond my reach, the pace of it is incredibly hectic, leaving very little time for refection (on the course content, on ideas and on my learning in general). As a teacher, I question the pedagogy of this. Perhaps because this is a compressed course, the assignments are more intense than one would find in a two year degree. But still, there simply is no time to look at what you have written, and try and reach further, you simply need to put that assignment (and idea) aside and move on to the next. That saddens me in a way. All good learning needs the reflective piece to truly begin to build that internal voice and understanding.

notes from the edge - 22

Thu, 01 Apr 2010 07:40:44 -0600

The last weeks of class are upon us and the assignments are all due in by April 14th. You would think that the halls would be resounding with frantic activity, that the computer labs would be chock-a-block full, that there would be nary a seat available in the graduate library. Well, you would be wrong. Here I am at 9:30 am (a late start for me) and besides the person in charge of the library, I am the only one here. So quiet, almost too quiet. Where are all the people, where is the panic???

notes from the edge 21

Sun, 28 Mar 2010 20:16:59 -0600

It is very intriguing to me that as we are discussing the concept of intellectual freedom within the context of the ethics of librarianship in my course, the Forest of Reading (I would put in a registered symbol here if I could figure it out) is coming under attack once again for books on the list. In 2006 it was Three Wishes: Israeli and Palestinian Children Speak. This year it is The Shepherd's Granddaughter that is attracting attention. In 2006 the Canadian Jewish Congress declared that Three Wishes was age inappropriate. Now it is B'nai B'rith declaring that The Shepherd's Granddaughter promotes hatred and should be removed from the Red Maple reading list.