Day 211: 4/9/12 - "I'm About to Come Alive"

"Maybe I'm not but you're all I got left to believe in
Don't give up on me
I'm about to come alive
And I know that it's been hard
And it's been a long time coming
Don't give up on me
I'm about to come alive"

-"I'm About to Come Alive" by Train or David Nail

So Not Ready: I'm so worried about the workshop my students are teaching on Wednesday.  I feel they just aren't ready.  They haven't had enough time and neither have I.  I also don't know if they will have an audience or not.  Though I feel rushed, we have worked hard to pull this together.  It would be sad if no one bothered to come to the workshop but attending library workshops is not usually as high on the list of students as librarians would like for it to be.  I made 3 batches of cookies tonight as a treat for anyone who does attend.  And I got a colleague to ask her parents to donate free smoothie coupons as prizes for a game that the students will play. I think I'll bring out the Libraries' bags for swag.

Baking: No matter how tired I am, I still have no trouble doing massive amounts of baking!  I finished 3 batches of 3 different types of cookies in under 2 hours.  Tonight I made a large batch of peanut butter cookies, a batch of snickerdoodles, and a batch of oatmeal cookies.  Tomorrow is chocolate chip, chocolate with white chips, and M&M cookie baking night.

My "Famous" Snickerdoodles

Oatmeal!

Peanut Butter...Yum!

 All The Lights Were Red: I'm not kidding.  I went to pick up my contacts this morning and when I arrived at a set of lights at a major intersection, I noticed a whole slew of cars in front of me running the red light!  I was thinking it had just turned red and they were being aggressive.  But then I realized that all of the lights were stuck on red (not flashing...just red!).  We all sat there looking at each other trying to figure out who should go.  I think some of the people who lived/worked in that area were used to it and they were trying to direct traffic, but it was so strange, considering that none of the lights were flashing.

Day 197: 3/26/12 - "Neon Moon"

"Watch your broken dreams

Dance in and out of the beams

Of a neon moon"

-"Neon Moon" by Brooks & Dunn

Some Things Come as a Complete Surprise: Sometimes things happen that catch you completely off-guard.  I've got mixed feelings about some news I received today.  While one part of me is feeling the stress related to the news, another part of me sees the possibilities.  That I didn't see it coming isn't a surprise, though I also look back and realize that there were signs that I can now attribute to what is happening.  What does this mean for future decisions?  How will this impact my own life?  I don't know but it will be interesting to find out.

The Me Generation: I read a short article in the Chronicle of Higher Education about the "Me Generation."  One of the things the article pointed out was that this group of students doesn't take responsibility for their own actions.  They blame others when something bad happens to them or if they do not perform up to standards.  I also would add that they are not responsible at all.  They have no grasp of what they should do in any professional situation and they make decisions based on unclear rules and regulations.  What does this mean for me and others who work with them?  That we need to work harder to find those few diamonds in the rough who truly need and will accept our help.  The others should just have to take care of themselves!

Day 67: 11/17/11 - "Man in the Box"

"I'm the dog who gets beat

Shove my nose in s*it

Won't you come and save me..."

-"Man in the Box" by Alice in Chairs

Vicarious Pride: Tonight I attend an awards dinner for students who wrote winning essays for their COR 1203 courses.  All instructors submitted their top two essays for consideration, so there were 102 essays submitted for review.  Out of this, there were only 3 winners.  One of the winners this year was my student!  I was so happy for him and very proud of him, but I think what made me the most proud was the way he received the honor.  You could see that he was humbled by it, as if he couldn't believe that he had won second place.  I know his parents are going to be ecstatic about his honor and I wish they could have been there.  I taped it as best I could from my digital camera and I'll make sure he has that to share with his parents.  I hope this launches him into even greater things!

None Done, So Many to Go: I've got so many things going on at once right now, and I'm not sure where to start, let alone sure how to finish!  I had to squeeze in a meeting tomorrow during my lunch hour since I didn't have any other open slots to work with.  I normally work through my lunch, but nothing too intense - it's usually when I clean up my e-mail.  Tomorrow I'll have to see if I can be productive and actually get something coherent put together during an hour long session where I have to try to eat at the same time.

What The ???  I've received two phone calls from staff members recently where I'm not sure why they needed my assistance.  I'm beginning to see that no matter how much training is provided, how much information is offered, there are some staff members who just won't be able to go that next step and extrapolate from previous experiences.  I was talking to my students about multiple-intelligences today and I think this is what I'm seeing as I work with my varied staff and, of course, the varied patrons!

And It Grows: I'm saddened but not surprised to see that more victims of the Sandusky scandal are coming forward.  All it takes is one person strong enough to weather the storm to provide shelter to others too scared to speak up previously.  Of course, now, it looks like Syracuse is going to get caught up in a similar scandal.  I wonder what the connection is to Penn State (in terms of the security that comes from having someone else step up and speak the truth).  Will this one also grow disproportionately based on the distance we get from the original announcement?  You can only hope that one day it will all. end.