Some new possibilities on the horizon, so I’m starting to feel a little less morose. The doldrums are passing. After the initial panic at the sight of the syllabi for my classes, I’ve started to settle and arrange my activities accordingly. Oh boy, I feel so responsible. I even ordered a proper day planner.

Am experiencing the pre-semester slump… those days when I really wish I were done with school and/or had never gone back to school to begin with, and could just find a well-paying job with decent hours . Have I mentioned that I am so over school? I am. I have been since I was completing my last program. It’s the reason I scoff when people ask why I don’t just go for my PhD. I just think, Why? Why would I want to torture myself with another useless degree? Because happy-go-lucky though I may seem, I realize that I will probably be over-qualified/over-educated and under-paid for many years to come. If you are considering graduate school as a way of improving your career potential… don’t. At least, don’t unless you really love it and are willing to pay the price of loans (unless you luck out and get a free or mostly free ride… I did the first two times. It’s the third that’s killing me), and the prospect of job hunting in a non-existent market.

Don’t get me wrong; I loved the process of getting my MA in English… I just wish there were jobs to warrant the time I’ve spent in school. I have no idealistic ideas about saving the world through reading by getting my MLIS. I am doing this purely because I had no other prospects and libraries will not hire you as a librarian unless you have an ALA-approved library degree. I wish it weren’t so, but if I want to remain in an academic environment and not teach, library school it is. 4 more classes to go. 2 semesters (counting the one that I am currently dreading). I like my classes. I like my classmates. I just wish I didn’t have so many doubts regarding the future and the possibility that I may one day have to change careers again… or fall back on my English degree and go into education. Anyone looking for a part-time editor/writer/researcher?

Performed my civic duty today and served my time… jury duty time that is. I am always selected to serve on these things; the first time, it was kind of exciting, now that I have other obligations, etc… not so much. The Judge was quite nice though and she was a female judge, which is always a positive thing in such a male-dominated arena. Oh well… got to finish Changeless while I waited outside the courtroom and had a very well-made latte for my mid-morning snack; however, I have yet to have a cup of tea and it’s already 6pm–it’s an outrage! Tea forthwith!

On another note–

My BookDrum profile on Robin McKinley’s Beauty was published Sunday evening and I’m a bit fluttery about it. It’s one of my favorites but after spending far too much time reading/writing about/and analyzing it for my thesis, I still feel I can’t quite do it justice. So here is a screengrab of my 15 minutes (for posterity)

I was at a loss as to which picture to send when they emailed me for an image, so my night at the opera one had to do.

Health Care Reform. In simpler terms, health care that will really cover me when I need it and not sink me in debt. I am still waiting for this elusive creature. It’s like the fabled Yeti—many have spoken of it, few have encountered it. I am at a loss and no help in sight.

At the end of this semester, I’ll reach the 18 credit milestone, my first full year of library school. Recently, some of my friends have started asking me about librarianship and what it involves… it’s complicated. There are different sides to librarianship. The most obvious is the reference librarian, since this is the type of librarian that most people associate with the library experience, but there are technical service librarians, catalogers, archivists, special librarians (music, medical, law, corporate, etc.), librarians who work for museums and non-profit organizations, metadata specialists and digital librarians, and more. I chose this field because I have an MA in English and no interest in teaching (and going into the publishing industry is a moot point). I like research. I like discovering information and helping others discover information (teaching students how to research was the one aspect of teaching that I did like). I also like computers and doing all manner of techie things. Library Information Science is a pretty dynamic field if you’re into all these things, and I am. That said, I won’t lie and pretend that it’s the most stable field; with budget cuts, the role of libraries is changing. Librarians and libraries are adapting and making the best of the situation. The more classes I take, the more I am fascinated by the thought of going into one of the more technical/digital areas of librarianship (hello, metadata!), but I also know that I’ll take whatever position I can get when I officially enter the job market as a full-fledged librarian. If I start in Reference, great. If I end up in a public library, rather than an academic one (I’m a bit attached to the Ivory Tower), I’ll take it. No, going into librarianship does not mean guaranteed, lifetime job security, but it’s not so grim as it may seem either. I know chances are that I will have to adapt along the way and continue to learn new skills to remain relevant and ahead of the trend, but I think I’m up for the challenge.

The semester is well and truly winding down. With less than three weeks before the term ends, I am in full paper editing mode. I hate paper editing mode. I am dreadfully lazy about it. Not about the actual editing; I am a drafter and multiple edit-er when it comes to essays, but actually getting myself to do it requires a bit of effort . I just hate reading my papers, I become extremely self-conscious with regards to my writing style. Though, I suppose it is a good thing that I am so critical of my own work, it makes it easier to take criticism from others. I loved receiving feedback from my directors when I was working on my thesis, it took all the pressure off me for a bit. Ack, wish I had such dedicated reviewers now.

The time has come when, despite the best of intentions, the end of the semester has caught up with me. Just a few more edits and some finishing touches, and I can finally take a break from classwork. Though, this semester has definitely given me some food for thought… I’m seriously considering specializing in cataloging and metadata. I always knew I wanted to go for the more digital aspects of librarianship (I’m a web geek after all), but I have gotten really into the idea of cataloging information. And thinking about folksonomies and how information is described online has sparked my interest even further. I’ve never spent so much time thinking about how the tags I use might lead a user to find relevant information (especially on my book blog).

My b-chan found out that a special exhibit was going to be held this weekend at Aventura Mall in North Miami, so we made a date of it and went off to see the “Royal Crowns of the World” display. It was mostly a marketing ploy for Lakeview Home Accessories, purveyors of fine silverware and porcelain so far as I could tell. Most of the crowns were obvious reproductions, with a few exceptions. Lovely to look at, nevertheless.

These are a few of the ones I liked the most:

And because we were in the area, we took a quick trip to the Krispy Kreme factory to have some piping hot doughnuts. I haven’t been to this place since high school; it never changes. The doughnuts are still sinfully delicious.

Some of my friends may tease and call me a post-Victorian relic, but when I spend a few days at home I realize that I would have gone absolutely mad if I really had lived the typical Victorian woman’s life. There’s this restlessness that I feel when I have nothing to do and eventually everything just feels like a distraction from the fact that I am not doing anything productive. I have a rotating work schedule, so some weeks I work all my hours over the course of the weekend, leaving me with the rest of the week off. It’s nice, I have to admit, but being at home makes me get a little cabin feverish. I’ll spend some time doing schoolwork, reading, writing, watching movies on Netflix (I don’t really watch TV, so that one’s out), but eventually there is nothing left to do but get up and walk around.

It always makes me think of Caroline Bingley and Lizzie taking a turn about the room. Imagine living in a world where you really have nothing to do? I could not be so still. I’m sure the activities of eighteenth and nineteenth century girls provided their pleasures, but how much sitting around can one girl take? I need to get out of this house.

I went to my very first opera on Friday night . I’ve been to musicals, plays, ballets, concerts, even magic shows, but never an opera. My b-chan surprised me with a pair of tickets on Valentine’s day and I was very excited to get a chance to finally see one live (thank you PBS for my introduction to opera). We went to see The Barber of Seville, which I have been wanting to see for years, ever since they built the opera house in Downtown Miami. It was a wonderfully whimsical production. The cast was incredible and the costumes made me want to dress-up in 18th century finery. The set was minimalistic, but featured an animated background that served as a comic backdrop for the story. A great first opera experience. Next year, it will be my goal to snag tickets to Carmen.