New Blog

I've decided I'm going to try to read only books with lusciously beautiful covers for my school work. To keep my blog database looking sumptuous. :)

Here's the start of my YA database:
http://jlaredoyamaterials.blogspot.com/

Try to have good Mondays, all.

100 books. 16 weeks.

You know how sometimes I like a challenge? How sometimes it can be more fun (for me) to do something just almost un-doable, than it is to do something a bit more doable? Heh. I'm so set.

I get to read 100 books in the next 16 weeks. That's right. 50 for my YA class + 50 for my Tweens class = 100 books. Plus whatever reading from textbooks I get to do. Plus, if I'm feeling inclined to, you know read an adult book or two.

That's 6.5 books per week, which is, if you're quick on the math, almost a book a day.

Sounds AWESOME.

Well, okay, in truth, there are some caveats that will make this slightly less impossible, but I'm not focused on those because it is the sheer enormousness of this task that appeals to me. But they don't all have to be "books." I'm supposed to explore various forms of media, so that'd include graphic novels, audiobooks, websites, magazines, movies and TV shows. Still, there'll be a fair number of books. Even though I might, at some point in the next 16 weeks, view (are you sitting down?) an episode of Hannah Montana or something.

I'm so freaking STOKED!!

I'm going to start two blogs (one for each class) to track my books. More on that soon.

Done with Summer School!

So, next summer, when I say I'm thinking of taking two classes, will you all remind me how insane that is? I mean, you know I like to, sometimes, make the same mistake repeatedly, just to see if I get different results. But I'll write it down here, just so that you have some evidence. Two classes + ten weeks + 40 hour work week = too much work. It's not worth it. Not even with the "it's only ten weeks" mentality. Why drive yourself crazy? I ask you. And I ask myself, of about a year from now, when I contemplate doing that all over again.

It was a kinda cool quarter though, now that I've got my hindsight glasses on. I've been fairly lucky so far, with library school. Some wise folks I know, who've gone to library school, have found the place to be riddled with jokesters, and really, really lame assignments. So far (fingers crossed and wood knocked) my group mates have been a mix of tolerable folks and an occasional Potential Race That Knows Joseph-er. And the work has been downright (here it comes, Dad) interesting. Even, fairly often, relevant. My main complaint has been time related, not having enough time to get stuff done without stressing.

But I learned some cool stuff this summer. In fact, I've complied a list! Bring on the bullet points!

• I wrote a marketing plan for a Tween and Teen Summer reading program
  
• I created an e-portfolio
• I learned about Facebook, and discovered many of you hang out there too
• I learned a whole lot about internet filtering
• I did a lot of research on services, collections and programming for Tweens
• and a whole bunch of other stuff that was pretty okay, but not worthy of it's own bullet point.

So while on my "I only have to go to work! vacation" I'm going to recommit to blogging. My poor blog is sad I'm not hanging out here more. And I miss "talking" to you blog folks. And you know what they say about things going around and coming around. Reading about what other folks were doing kept me motivated over the summer, and I want y'all to keep blogging. Or to start (ahem.)

11th inning stretch

Back in the day, the UCSC days, Heteo had a system for describing a paper in progress. She'd say "I'm in the 7th inning." And I'd ask, "How many innings?" and she'd tell me the target page range of her assignment. I don't think H is too much of a baseball fan, but you know, it was a way to put a slight spin on what otherwise is the onerous painful, grueling slog of trying to come up with something more to say on a topic you are so over.

Why yes!! I am writing a paper!

It's such a cool paper too. It's all about collections and programming for tweens and why libraries should really give this group more of their attention. I'm so well prepared for this paper. For one thing, I went to a conference on this topic, not a month ago, when I took those pictures in that post right below this one. Also, I've acquired all the textbooks I'll need for next quarter, because I'm taking a class about tweens, and you know what, I've READ THEM ALL. They are wildly interesting. Also, Heidi and I have been riffing all about new and improved tween services, where we work.

I'm so entirely sick of this paper.

I'm in the 11th inning of 15 projected innings. And when I finish the 15th inning, I'm done with summer school. (Well, obviously there'll be some editing, and I have to figure out how to do APA citations--like anyone really cares about APA citations. I'll tell you where I found the information, but how 'bout I just slip you an ISBN or ISSN number? Wouldn't that really be faster for everyone concerned?) There are really so many good reasons to finish this paper quickly.

For instance, you many not know this, but Breaking Dawn comes out on Saturday. Okay, I'm the only one here with this obsession, so I'll just say it's the fourth book in that girlygirl vampire series I was on about recently. AND, next quarter, I get to read 50 YA books, and probably a similar number of books for tweens. I could TOTALLY get started on that reading, as soon as I finish this paper. Also, the second Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants movie is coming out soon, and Sarah and Lisa and I are going to go see it. I could also you know, talk to people I haven't talked to in AGES. Or update my blog more than once a month.

Okay, I'm going to go figure out what else I can say for four more freaking pages.

Lack of Confidence

I just received the following email from the folks at the Career Center of my Current University:

Congratulations from the Career Center on your graduation! (Jenn : you know, I just got my grades back, and I did well, but not "Two Classes and You're Out Of Here" well.)

If you are graduating and have accepted a career position - - let us know and claim your Grad Duck! (Jenn: Hm. Sooooooooooooooooo many things to say about that one. The "if" makes it seem as though they are aware I'm not graduating, which makes me wonder why I'm getting this email at all.....is the mere mention of a Grad Duck supposed to encourage me to persevere? Is a "duck" some sort of graduation paraphernalia of which I've heretofore been ignorant? I've graduated multiple times, and not even at my preschool graduation do I remember anything about a duck. And really? A Duck? Does this remind anyone else of a certain Conflict Management Workshop that ended with the distribution of teddy bears? I mean, seriously, if ANYONE were to get excited about the prospect of a Grad Duck, it would be me. I have a duck at home amongst the rabbits, a duck who thinks he's a rabbit, and still....the idea of my institution of higher learning distributing ducks (and it's worth noting that I'm assuming this is some sort of stuffed, plush toy duck, not a REAL LIVE duck. If it's a REAL LIVE duck, we've got a whole 'nother kettle of wax going on here....I mean, that's a nearly medieval system "Congratulations on finishing school, here's some livestock to commemorate your achievement...") still leaves me a little oogie.)

I've got three more messages from my esteemed university in my box. I may have a whole farm by the time this morning ends.

One Semester -- FINISHED!!

That's right folks. One semester of Library School down, and, well, I don't know how many more to go. I finished on Saturday in a blaze of glorious paper writing. Eight straight hours of prose about testing databases. Which is really quite amazing given how little I actually know about testing databases. Just goes to show, that really, you don't have to know much about something to write a paper about it.

I'm school-free for three splendid weeks! Nathan and I are ditching reality completely, and heading to Florida for six days at Disneyworld. I'm super stoked. I've never been to Florida. Though I said this to someone a few days ago, and they said "It's not like you'll have been to Florida after a trip to Disneyworld." Which seems a fair point.

Raising the bar on dorkdom

I'm discovering new and varied ways to enjoy being a nerd, now that I'm in library school. Because I know you all revel in dorkiness, in the way I do, I thought I'd share some of my latest, greatest achievements with you.

Exhibit A:
I'm in this class about databases. We had to get together in a group and build a database, developing ways to describe things one might not usually think to spend time "classifying." My group decided our database would be about produce, and we spent weeks deciding things like whether "potatoes" and "sweet potatoes" were different enough to merit separate records, and if so, how could we quantify that which made them different enough so that we could apply the same standards to other produce. When we had created our produce data storing masterpiece, we traded empty databases with another team, the idea being that we'd each try and sort some data into the other's structure to see how well it held up.

When it came time to trade, I was really looking forward to seeing what our trade group had decided to classify. The rules of the assignment said we could do anything that wasn't "overly bibliographic in nature." In other words, you silly librarians to be, don't reinvent the wheel and organize your book collections. They'd made their database about--squeal!--TSHIRTS!! So Friday night, after a week of working, I "treated" myself to, yes, you are understanding me correctly, **entering data about my tshirts into a database!** I had fun doing it!! Organizing and T-shirts combined? What could be better? Except maybe getting graded for thinking of ways the experience of organizing t-shirts into a database could be improved!

Exhibit B:
I'm spending the day working on a midterm for my database class. (I do have another class, but it's not really expanding the horizons of my nerdiness in the same fashion.) Here is an *actual answer* I'm going to turn in on my midterm. (It's worth noting that my teacher a) seems to have a good sense of humor and b) seems to appreciate a "real world analogy.")

I'm writing about three ways one can evaluate the "closeness" between a search term and some search results. There is a fiendish amount of math involved in this process, but I treat the math the way I sometimes (oh, my nerd street cred is going to drop if I write this) treat the songs in LOTR. I see them and I skip right over them:

The second model is the Probabilistic Model. In this model, each term in the search query is weighted. The IRS returns documents that have the highest score, given the prevalence of each of the weighted terms in the document. (It's not an exact metaphor, but I think of this like the points for each letter on Scrabble tiles. Words with lots of vowels—like low weighted search terms—will clear your tray but not get you a big score. Pull off “quixotic” however, and you'll get a higher “status value.” The equations in the book make my head spin and my eyes water, but Scrabble I can wrap my head around.)

That's right. I busted out a Scrabble metaphor on the LAST question of my midterm. Who else has been this nerdy today. Come on, fess up. Let's hear the story.

First Day

It's my first day of school! My first "first day" since 1992. Wow! I'm getting to be such a grown up kid. :)

So far, I have nothing interesting to report. I have "introduced" myself in both classes, and I have some reading I need to do. Who didn't see that coming.