Hey, I keep on forgetting to tell you--I have an Amazon wish list now.

Okay, so who couldn't see that this was a PR disaster waiting to happen??

Found a link to Spider Johnson's Globe & Mail about the decline of SF on my friend Randy's blog, the pod bay door. Thanks Randy!

Back at work after a hectic but enjoyable weekend. The dinner-and-performance on Friday night was really fun--a mixed bag of talent and style-wise but lots of good dancing and good food. The Indian buffet could have used more spice in my opinion, but was still very enjoyable. I even tried the goat curry and the bean dishes, believe it or not, and they were all very tasty! My friend Diana danced a fusion Indian-bellydance duet, to live sitar music, which was in my opinion one of the two best numbers in the show.

Ended up cooking all day Saturday for my dinner party, of course, but we had a good time and had enough leftovers for a day or two afterwards so it was worth it. I made curried squash and mushroom soup, salad with balsamic vinagrette, and galettes with a leek and goat cheese filling and asparagus on the side. I wasn't sure the main course was going to turn out, actually, because the crust for the pastries had enough butter in it it was almost like a shortbread, and I was afraid there was something wrong with the recipe. But luckily, I was worrying unnecessarily.

Sunday was Myriam's performance party. Wish she would just call them Haflas, but then I guess a lot of people wouldn't know what they were...there was a guest musician in from Boston, who plays drum and clarinet. My classmates did a good job with their solos, and I got to get up during the free dances, which was fun. Interesting moment: there was a male dancer there with Myriam and Joe, who got up during the last free dance, and we ended up doing a sort of impromptu duet for most of the set. He's a really good dancer; I was just mirroring him for the most part, but it was really fun to dance with someone like that. Myriam told me afterwards that she had told him that she would dance a duet with him at some point during the party so I ended up being her "substitute", which in itself is somewhat of an ego boost!

Is it just me, or are there so many things wrong with this article that it isn't even funny? Must be the shoddiest, most assumption-ridden piece of reporting I've ever seen...and this comes from someone who reads the The Weekly World News for fun!

So, Ah-nold won the California Recall. Surprise surprise. I was pulling for the porn star from Florida, personally...oh well!

Life is pretty same-old over here right now, but I've got a busy weekend coming up. On Friday night, I'm going to a dinner-and-bellydance performance that a friend of mine is dancing in; it's supposed to be Indian food and some Indian-influenced dancing, which should be interesting. Saturday, I'm having some friends over for dinner, so the day will be spent in frantic housecleaning and cooking. Sunday is Myriam's monthly bellydance performance party, at which a few people from my class are doing solos. Myriam is bugging me to do one this month, too...I keep on putting it off for the next party, and keep on chickening out...sooner or later I guess I'll get my courage up.

Okay. Isn't this taking that whole national security thing a bit too far?

Whew! Long time no blog...

Hope the comment feature is up again by now. Apparently there was some sort of virus attack on the service, either fixed now or in the process of being fixed.

News over here....let's see....finally got out to the beach last weekend, for the first time in ages. Water is starting to cool a bit, so it's more bearable even with the hot sun. I'm starting to check the job ads again, but there's not much to apply for. It's either paraprofessional jobs I'm overqualified for, or directorships and specialized positions that I'm underqualified for. What can you do, except to keep looking?

Oh, and Happy Birthday to my brother!

Want an RSS primer written for a non-technical audience? Check here.

Then surf over to this site to find out why librarians are just too darn hot.

hmmmm....so where can I get a copy of this deck?

Poor Encyclopedia Brown...

So, how do I feel about being a blight on the republic, part of a profession that should be exterminated right after we "kill all the lawyers? Not sure how to answer that...but then as I'm a librarian, I am, by definition, a thoughtless and unreconstructed leftist. Right, Rich?

Harold Bloom is upset that the National Book Foundation's annual award for distinguished contribution went to Stephen King.

Oh, it's official, by the way. I didn't get the job in Saskatoon. Not that that was unexpected. Back to the search, I guess.

Okay, the car has been back in and belts have been adjusted, so she's finally running without any noise. What an ordeal. I am so glad that tomorrow I finally have a day off. I swear I'm not going to do anything but laze around and watch movies! Finally, a day that I don't have to get up early to call anyone, or take my car in, or run errands...finally...

Still no word...

You know, this is one of the few times in my life that all signs unequivocably pointed towards a specific outcome. The yearly Tarot reading I always do on my birthday indicated a new beginning in the physical realm (jobs, money, etc.) this month. Even my fortune cookies have been consistent, saying I was going to move, that I would be successful in a new project, and even, yesterday, that a phone call would lift a burden. Yet, despite all this good news, I still don't be seeming to get the job. One would think something like this would cure superstition...but probably not.

In other news, I took my car in for servicing yesterday and ended up spending over six hundred dollars to get the brakes and the drive belts fixed along with my regular maintenance. They also cleaned the leaves out of my a/c fan, and now, of course, the fan is making squeaking/chirruping noises sometimes when the car idles, so I'm going to have to take it back again. I love my car, I really do, but having to dump this much money into routine maintenance really hurts!

I knew those Olsen twins were evil...

University of Saskatchewan Library Search Committee met yesterday. I'm still waiting to hear. Every time the phone rings, my stomach clenches with anticipation...and every time, it's a hangup or someone for the fugitive Nadine. Well, a few days more will tell the tale...in the meantime, I'm trying not to think about engaging, meaningful work, the Nitotem coffee house, and the feel of autumn wind on my face.

So Dubya finally tells us that there's no Iraq-9/11 links. Surprise! Somehow all these hypocritical "well, we can see how people might think that...but we never actually said it" statements make me ill.

Are they sure these ROUSs are extinct? I think I lived with them....

So, the Bolshoi Ballet has fired this woman because she's....wait for it....too fat.

Whatever.

Ashcroft mocks librarians for opposing the so-called "Patriot" Act. Too bad his spokesperson couldn't even get the name of our association right. But luck is on our side, because we're not totally stupid...just "somewhat duped."

Would you like placebo with that?

Well, in an amazing act of hubris, I've added a comments feature to this site, in case anyone wants to leave a comment on any of the entries. Powered by BlogSpeak, which, like all good things in life, is free. Thanks to Randy for the idea...

So, the WTO talks have broken down. Isn't that a crying shame? So, so sad. Because I was such a fan...

So how'd you like an open source desktop?

Are any of the tomes on the Terrorist Reading List on your nightstand? Better watch out...

Well....back from Saskatoon. The interview was strange. I'm still not really sure how I did. Not so many questions about my job, skills, history, and abilities...and not so much information offered on exactly how the position works. Plus, there was no break from the grilling at any point during the day. The "informal coffee breaks" consisted of sitting in a formal boardroom atmostphere with whatever library staff could come shooting questions at me to answer for the whole room. And I even ended up fielding questions through lunch. At the end of the day, the library director did tell me I'd done a good interview, and did comment in particular on the quality of my presentation's visual aides and delivery, but who knows how much that counts for, or how I stack up in general against the other three candidiates. Overall, I left with the feeling that I'd done an interview for position at a much higher level than this one was described as, and that I hadn't been totally successful at it.

I also began to wish that I'd never brought up virtual reference, because there was so much focus on that, to the point that at times it seemed they wanted me to speak as a representative for the software or a defender of the service itself to the exclusion of other things. That's only part of my experience, and only part of what I can do. And my resume makes clear that I'm involved in providing frontline service rather than resolving technical issues, evaluating competitors' products, etc. Maybe it's just a "hot button" issue there, but ...

And, of course, much of my perception of the day stem from the fact that I learned early on that the person who has temporarily been filling the position is also an applicant for it. The director was adamant that no preference was being shown to her, and that they were giving all interviewees a level playing field, but it's obvious that she would have the advantage over me or any other applicant. She was already chosen as the best candidate once. She has first-hand knowledge of who the students are and how the position works. She already knows the people on the search committee and the librarians on staff. She probably went in having a good idea of what they wanted to hear, points to particularly hit on, and so forth. It's hard not to believe that the search process was really over before it was begun despite the fact that they took the trouble to fly me up for interview.

The search committee reconvenes to make a recommendation for hire on Wednesday. Apparently, if I've heard nothing by the middle of next week, that's an indication I am not the recommended party.

The hardest part of this whole thing is having been in Saskatoon again, going through old stomping grounds with family and new areas with the city tour the librarians gave us, and being able to see how great it would be to be there again. I can see the coffee shops I'd hang out in, the places I could take yoga, the parks I could go to when my brain needs clearing, the river valley walks I could take. And that makes the thought that this whole thing is probably predetermined hurt. These reminders of how much I want to get out of Broward, and into a place that suits me better, get harder to endure with every trip out of the county. Yet if I am job hunting, and no one is biting, what can I do?

I'm telling myself that at the least I will have gained experience with how these types of interviews work, so next time I can prepare differently and do better. And U of S will have other positions opening in the next few years, so it's not even like this is the only opportunity I would ever have to go there. Just going to be waiting on tenterhooks for the next week or so, I guess.

Whew ... hectic week. Still working away on preparing for my interview--seems no matter how early you start, there's always that rush to finish at the end. I'm freaking myself out worrying that I'm going to finish and then find out it's too short, or that I'm going to end up not saying what they wanted to hear, etc. etc. etc. See how fun it is to be a worrier?

On top of that, weird things floating around at work. Entire departments getting called on the carpet for one person's mistake. The rumor mill working overtime. I ask a clarification question on policy only to find myself branded as part of a conspiracy to undermine authority. Anonymous notes left on my desk for no apparent reason about how the greater part of our happiness or misery depends on our dispositions rather than our circumstances. Whatever. Don't feel like I've been so negative that I need anonymous little messages to "cheer up"; didn't think that clarifying policy was a challenge to authority. Not that I'm not of the opinion that respectfully questioning or disagreeing with authority is always a bad thing, either. Just might have to wear that one as a badge of honor rather than a reprimand ... :)

I got the silk veils I ordered within a week--they are gorgeous, and I'm having a lot of fun playing with them. If I ever manage to get dancing pictures taken, I'll do some with them and then put links up. I was finally in town to go to Myriam's monthly Bellydance Performance Party--it was packed this time, mostly because a local flamenco teacher and some of her students came to perform. I went with Michael, another woman from my class, and her family, and we had a lot of fun. Still thinking of signing up to solo in September, but to be honest I'm still not sure I can get my courage up. I'm so not good at improvising ... we'll see.

Last big of news is that Michael and I had our annual Sugar Party at his place last night. We were afraid that not very many people would show up, but we ended up with a full house! I finally got to see a lot of people that I'd lost touch with recently, the rain held off for once, and I'm pretty sure a good time was had by all. We have so much candy left over we won't have to worry about Hallowe'en, that's for sure!

Okay, today makes it official: I am an eBay Bellydance Whore. I sometimes wish that I'd never discovered eBay shopping....but then if I had, I guess I wouldn't have found so many cool things for so little money, would I? Latest purchase: hand-dyed silk veils (so evocatively named Fire Flight and Sea Hummingbird). I was talking to a friend who just got herself one silk veil, for more than I paid for both of these...see how this can get addictive? Don't know how long the links above will last, so look at them before they're gone!

So, what do you think: is the internet over?

Here's an interesting article you should read from the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette.

Life around here has been chaos lately. Computer worm and virus infections, multiple power outages closing down the library, overbooked schedules, and the usual problems with being treated like shit by every office and organization I have to contact with routine requests. I don't know if this is a South Florida problem, or an American problem generally, but people down here tend to treat you like you're an unwanted interruption to their work day, instead of the reason that they are in business for the first place. If I could just make one phone call without being placed on hold midsentence, constantly interrupted, or otherwise treated with total disrespect, it would be a miracle. If people could do the simple, basic, no-brainer tasks that comprise their jobs without having to be hounded for days it would be even *more* miraculous. In Broward County, however, that seems too much to ask.

I've been gathering research for my presentation at USask...hopefully it will go well and I won't look like a total idiot! I decided to focus on two major trends--consortia/partnerships between universities and other types of libraries, and online reference delivery growing increasingly interactive. Fortunately, I just happen to have experience in both areas as part of my jobs here, so I won't be talking totally theoretically.

Sorry for the infrequent updates lately. I never should have said anything about not having much to do--now I'm running around frantically trying to gather research and informational materials for my interview presentation, plus put together a couple more classes and training sessions for other staff at work. Ack!

Interesting health care report on NPR early this afternoon. Apparently the United States, with it's private health care system, spends 31% of health care money on administrative paperwork. Compare this to Canada, with it's public system, which only sees 17% of health expenditures go to paperwork. The culprit? Your good old HMO. Now, repeate after me: government-run health care for the people is bloated, bureaucratic, inefficient, and communist. Government-run health care for the people is bloated, bureacratic, inefficient, and communist. Government-run health care....

Whatever.

Tired today. Sooooo tired. Someday I will learn that it's really not a good idea to stay up until 2am reading when I have to go to work the next day. But that day is not today.

My interview with the University of Saskatchewan is set for September 12. A full day of meeting library staff and administration, going for lunch, fielding questions, making a presentation on trends in library distance services, and so forth. I'm a little nervous on the presentation, so I guess I'd better start digging into Library Literature. Thank goodness we still have access through NSU...otherwise researching would be a little more difficult.

Put out a couple of other applications to Ontario this week, too. Cross those fingers for me, okay?

Did you know that there's a Harry Potter Automatic News Aggregator?

Sorry, it's been a little while. Mostly due to computer problems caused by the RPC hole. Isn't technology fun? Hope everyone's got the patch by now.

I got some big news this evening. I got home to find a message on my answering machine....and it was about one of my job applications! The University of Saskatchewan is requesting an interview! I'm trying not to get my hopes up too high, but I would love to get this position, which fits my qualifications perfectly and looks both challenging and exciting. Anyone reading this can send some good luck thoughwaves down south...

Remember the six degrees of separation theory? Well, apparently it works for the online world, too. Neat, huh?

I know there's not been much info here lately, but, frankly, my life hasn't been all that interesting. We are going through an air condidtioning crisis at work, which means fluctuating indoor temperatures and periodic building closures. I got back to my bellydance class this week; we are doing some cane dancing, which is neat, even if it does feel part-cheerleader/part-Fred Austaire at times. Other than that...pretty uneventful. So why bore you with details? :)