Librarians are Educators . . .

and I'm being trusted with the education of the youth. Heaven help us. Not the youth, necessarily, and possibly not even individuals younger than myself, but rather undergraduates in two classes at the distinguished University of Central Missouri. That's right, kiddies, for the rest of this semester I am one of two "embedded librarians," meaning I will provide research and writing style assistance to whoever possibly desires it. I will be guiding the research and by extension the minds of those in need of . . . guidance. Good thing I'm not signed up to assist them with their prose.

Speaking of prose, I read an interesting article this morning highlighting research that shows that people write "better" when they're in a bad mood than when they're happy. My honest initial reaction? I've been saying that for years; I only ever write (anything good) when I'm unhappy--thank goodness someone out there decided to pony up some money to make my opinions more valid.

As for the rest of my writing--tonight it consists of creating basic tips for using Boolean logic to find cases relating to hotel management lawsuits in the esteemed Lexis-Nexis database and creating basic APA style guides. That's right; fear my power.

Faking It

This semester has been nuts. I feel like I haven't done anything legitimate for my schooling. I've done all the assignments, but I really haven't been doing the reading. I find myself overwhelmed with trying to balance two class loads so instead I play online (I've spent a lot of time on Facebook lately). Or write a useless blog about how I'm constantly distracting myself. Huh. And I think I need a popsicle . . .

I love it--on my way downstairs to get a popsicle I stopped to turn on the heater.

Steps

So, I'd pretty much forgotten that I'd started this blog until tonight. I think about it randomly (like, when I'm in the shower. Incidentally, any guesses on how soon until we have the technology to use our ever-present electronic gadgets in the shower? We have radios and fogless mirrors, so when will we be able to text in the shower? When will absolutely every aspect of our lives be dictated by devices designed to make our lives "convenient?" And when will I stop sneezing? Man, I hate spring. Autumn, you are my only friend.), but never when I'm actually sitting in front of my computer . . . until tonight. Heaven beside you.

As a side note, my space bar is squeaking. Is that fixable, or is this just another quirk to which I'll have to adjust? Does this mean I need to only type words that consist of five syllables or more in order to reduce the number of times I hit my space bar?

Anyway, I think the reason I forget I have a blog and the reason I didn't start one for so long is that I never feel I have anything exciting to share with the world (well, really with my one reader). However, today, in my typical behind-the-technological-times style, I began discovering (I know there's much more out there that I have yet to discover) the true joys of Web 2.o. I officially love Stumble Upon (http://www.stumbleupon.com/), a site that pulls up random websites based on your preferences at the click of a button. Just a minute ago, I was guided to Dr. Grammar's Frequently Asked Questions (http://www.drgrammar.org/faqs/). Ummmmm, yes, please! Earlier today I fell in love with One Sentence, a site that allows people to post their stories in one sentence blurbs and has some of the funniest comments I've read in a long time. My favorite:

"Every day I wake up to Hitler!" I proclaimed loudly in a crowded bar, when trying to explain to my friend that I often fall asleep watching the History Channel. (http://www.onesentence.org/)

I also officially endorse the many sites that consist of reviews in haiku form, because they fully amuse me, if only for their utter absurdity.

One more thought before I crawl into the warm comfort of my bed for the evening--to the man who created desktop Post-Its: if I were to ever even consider having children, you'd definitely make the top 15 of that list (http://www.zhornsoftware.co.uk/stickies/).

"I don't feel the need to explain my art to you, Warren."

Whole Minds

My right brain just fired big time and here I find myself writing my first official blog. I feel like there should be some sort of celebration, but instead I have an Absolut buzz. The way I'm currently looking at it is maybe my initiation into the blogosphere is a lovely combination of decent vodka and firings in the right cerebrum . . . which is nice, because until last week, I found myself wondering if my brain was even working anymore. Apparently this semester--though only a mere week in--has proven against my earlier suspicions of brain death and/or malfunction, since I've been especially on par with the wit this week.

Anyway, my tendency to babble is apparent to all and I shall proceed to cut it off right now. Although, before I abandon my diatribe for the evening, I must say how proud I am of myself for smashing a silverfish tonight (Jamie, sorry, there's another mark on our living room wall, but at least this time I didn't just shout at a cat to earn its keep, right?), for though I harbor pacifist leanings, I do not love bugs.

Again with the "anyway," I have no purpose for this blog, other than my dear friend Jen, who has abandoned me for the now much more glamorous Northern Virginia (okay, so, Obama is in D.C. now, and, Jen, my love, you are soooooo close to D.C., and I know your penchant for inadvertently getting into mishaps--need I speak of the juice, or the leaf, or leaving your home phone number for Spanish-speaking clients?--all I ask is that you PLEASE have Shelly and/or Seabreeze take pictures when you're taken down by the Secret Service) has mentioned that I should write a blog/update my reading list on some site that sends me periodic updates that I tend to simply delete/somehow share my life with strangers, so here I am, and here are some things you probably don't want to know about me (or already know were hoping to forget):

-as already stated, I have a tendency to babble (especially when typing and drinking)
-I belong to multiple social networks, but I only check MySpace and Facebook--mostly because I have (and I'm not exaggerating here, although I am prone to hyperbole) at least 15 work and school related passwords I am forced to remember on a daily basis and my memory is already sadly shot.
-I love grammar (but that doesn't mean I'm perfect, so don't judge me, monkey! Actually, do. Seriously, please correct me or I'll discover my errors months later and be completely ashamed).
-I work full time, am in grad school, and am currently volunteering at 2 libraries, so my updates may be fairly sporadic.
-I'm really (seriously REALLY) terrible with small talk, which often translates into social akwardness, which is why I drink at parties.
-I spend so much time self-editing my thoughts that I often forget what I was going to state next . . . as is the case now.

Since my brain has abandoned its faculties, for now I shall say, "Good evening, lovers."