Tag Archives: school

Returning from hiatus

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I have a very good excuse for not posting on the blog since February.  I spent the spring semester writing my thesis… actual writing, not just prep and research.  I got all three needed signatures from my committee and turned it in at the beginning of April.  Then, there was the breathing period of 5 weeks while the university checked it over.  I got it back a couple of weeks ago with a short list of changes that needed to be made but it was otherwise good to go.  So, corrections will be made, three copies will be printed out on fancy, 100% cotton rag paper and submitted for binding.  This makes me officially graduated with my MLIS.  A little hard to believe.

Where did I put my concentration?

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I managed to get some quality time with Birch yesterday. Two more rows and I am done with the 11th repeat. Each row does seem to have gotten a tad bit faster, which is good seeing as I have reduced my stitch count by almost 110 stitches.

I also managed to get my last secret pal package another step closer to the eager hands of my spoilee (well, I am assuming her hands will be eager to get this since mine are finding it difficult to see it go). I wrapped each item in pretty tissue paper and have acquired a box. Tonight, I may even fill the box with packing material of some sort, tape it closed, and address it. Wow! But if I do that there remains the question of if I can actually get it to the post office tomorrow, or if it’s going to have to wait till Saturday.

I think I have decided to forgo Secret Pal 6. With the way classes look to be going this semester, one less thing to worry about will be a good thing. I had forgotten what this was like… 3 short months is all it takes to forget. My XML class has a 30 page handout to read, a 20 minute lecture to watch, and the first weekly assignment to do. My Collection Management class has 2 chapters to read, a lecture to read, a biographical introduction to write, and a library/information center to choose for the semester’s class work/final project. It also seems that the Collection Management professor is expecting thoughtful weekly discussions from each of us… this sort of thing almost guarantees that I’ll have absolutely nothing thoughtful to say. Who knows? Maybe I’ll start reading the textbook and have an epiphany that reminds me why I am getting this degree.

To tell the truth I don’t think it’s going to be too bad… although the XML class may break my spirit.

Get me knitting, stat!

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Apparently, my adrenal glands are ramping up for the Fall semester, which starts tomorrow, by the way. *ack* I didn’t take any classes this summer, so I’ve been relatively relaxed. Now, it’s time for preparation, so I spent a good portion of last night worrying over inane things.

I rounded off the evening with a though worry over whether or not I am wasting time/energy/money on getting my Masters when I’m not sure what exactly I’m going to do with it. Yes, I did keep Josh awake for at least an extra hour and a half while I worried out loud over this topic. And I managed to touch on many main points… it’s taking forever — at the rate I’m going (2 classes a semester), it’ll take me about 3.5 years (if not 4) to get my MLIS… this is sad because it’s supposed to be a 2.5 year program. “Fie!” I say. There was also discussion of the mounting student debt, which after this year (which includes my 4th and 5th semesters), will have reached about $20,000. That’s what I paid for my new car 3 years ago, and I got a car out of that deal.

My old chiropractor was under the impression that I am an adrenal junkie. I constantly have to have something to worry about in order to keep a steady stream of adrenaline in my system. I have always argued it is so that the major spike that occurs around exams and term papers does not shock my system stupid.

Perhaps I should try knitting more…

Catch it now before it goes away

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My professor gave me full credit for my final project. Yea! But she has said that she’ll be cleaning out our files sometime this week, so see it while you can. An important note: my website seems to only work in IE at the moment as FireFox has handling issues with the JavaScript I used. I don’t know if it’ll work in Safari as I haven’t checked it on my home machine, but if someone tries it and it works, let me know.

Edit: My professor has removed all my files from the server, so no more pretty website.

The end at last

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This afternoon I turned in my last major project of the semester. *sigh* Quite a load off my back. And since I’ve decided to take a break and not have a summer class (even though it’ll set me back a little). You all saw the paper I turned in last Monday… well, unless you ignored it, which I wouldn’t blame you for doing. 🙂 I had a final a couple days ago. Then, today’s assignment, which was a website for my Internet Technology Tools class. I’d share the URL, but I want to make sure my professor grades it before I go sending any traffic its way. Unlike the paper, the website is all about fiber, so it should be more interesting than the history of the Mountain View Public Library.

Shawl
Meanwhile, I started a new shawl for myself… the Beginner’s Triangle Shawl from A Gathering of Lace. The Brooks Farm Duet is so nice and soft, and I haven’t had too much trouble with it spliting, which was a worry I had before I started due to the way the yarn is plied. It’s going to interesting to see how the colors play out since the shawl is knit side to side rather than top to bottom or bottom to top.




Unfortunately, I dropped a stitch while I was knitting and studying on Saturday. I haven’t had the chance to try to pick the stitch back up… I didn’t have good lighting or a crochet hook when I made the mistake. I’ve been too busy or tired to take care of it since then. Picking up stitches requires so much more concentration than knitting does… at least for me.

Fun stuff
Tonight was a tasty steak with mushroom sauce and asparagus in celebration of finishing the semester. Very nice Pinot Noir… I even splurged and had an extra glass (since I have the points for it).

Tomorrow is going to be a half day at work because the Husband and I have tickets to the 2 pm showing of Episode III in Mountain View. *Woo hoo*

The Weight Watchers diet is going really well… I’ve lost 12.6 lbs so far, which is amazing… it’s really hard to believe that a simple change in my diet has done this. Of course, now the pants that I bought a couple months ago are really baggy… I was able to pull them down without undoing them this afternoon… it took a small amount of work, they didn’t just fall off, but they fit nicely when I bought them. I’m about half way to my 10% goal. I guess this is really incredible because when I tried Weight Watchers 2 years ago I only lost like 6 lbs in 13 weeks…. I lost that same amount in 2 weeks this time around. Okay… I’m going to stop sharing now and go drink my wine. 🙂

Two finished objects

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The Wool Peddler’s Shawl has been blocked and looks great… I even have pictures taken, but I am too lazy at the moment to upload them from my camera. Gotta keep people coming back for more, right?

The second finished object is my Library History paper…. that only took forever to complete. It has now been emailed to the professor and is out of my hands. If you’re into that sort of thing, I’ll try to link to it tomorrow, too.

Must go get something to eat…. I’ve been working on the paper since 9 AM (that’s just today’s work) and didn’t bother to stop and eat. Now I have no excuse.

*ugh* Majorly crashing as adreneline leaves my system…..

The question of use

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I chatted briefly with my sister yesterday, and she told me that her kitten seems to be enjoying the felted kitty bed… although not in the manner in which it was meant to be used. She’s been carrying it around in her mouth. According to me sister, she has yet to lay in it, but has layed on it a couple times. *eah* As long as she like it, I guess.

I have to hit the library after work this afternoon to look up newspaper articles from the turn of the century. Ah, the joys of microfilm… *sigh* I’m trying to keep from flipping out over this paper. The professor says she’s looking for 20 pages. I have no idea how I’m going to get there. Let’s hope she counts cover pages, abstracts, and references towards the page count. *ugh* There are questions she is looking for answers to that I haven’t found any answers to, such as “Who used the library? Do you get a sense of who the founders targeted and who the early patrons were? Was this a white, middle-class oriented institution, or did the early library reflect California’s diverse population?” The closest answer to this I’ve gotten is that the library was open to everyone who lived in town. What the demographics looked like in 1905, I have no idea. I can’t make any assumptions because Mountain View was founded through Spanish/Mexican land grants… the majority of town sits on the site of the main ranchero (which had a name that translates to The Pastures of the Ewe Lambs). But I don’t know if there was still any sort of Hispanic population as the town began to grow and finally incorporate. I might have to see about trying to find what the ethnic proportions were. What’s funny is I think the core of my paper is actually going to focus on the town trying to get a public library up and running instead of the library once it was established.

Blah

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I don’t know what’s wrong with me today… I just feel so blah… apathy up the wazoo. *gah* I’m having a hideous time trying to concentrate on work. All I can keep thinking about is if the printed book project I turned in today is good enough (you can see it at: (sorry, taken down))
… I’m starting to doubt myself… is this what the teacher even wanted. *ugh* Then there’s the midterm next Monday…. with no study time before hand. Obligations on Saturday that were made before it was known there was going to be a midterm that Monday, and my in-laws are visiting from Canada and want to see us on the Sunday… all day, and for dinner. Maybe I’m just in shock (or working on that website for class killed off the last viable brain cells I had).

On the knitting front, the Wool Peddler’s Shawl has stalled. I finished the garter stitch section (111 rows), did the set up row (no problem), did the first row of lace (slightly confused), got half way through the second row of the lace pattern (completely stumped). What is really confusing at this point is what is going on at the center stitch area. Most of the directions are very clear about where the 4 stitch markers go… except for the stitch marker to (on row 2) the left of the center stitch. tHe directions say something like follow pattern to the last stitch befor the next marker (the marker to the right of the center stitch), k1, knit center stitch, continue… um, what about the other marker… i’m not so sure it’s supposed to go right next to the center stitch cause on the 2nd pattern row it says to purl “everything between the markers.” It’s making my head hurt…

Maybe I’ll put it down until I get a chance to go to my LYS… socks… I’ll start socks in the meantime.

A morning filled with adventure

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Dragged myself out of bed earlier than usual this morning so that I could get into work and get a bagel (Friday’s are bagel day) before 10 am. Why before 10 am? Because 10 am is when the Special Collections reading room at Stanford opens. I have a project on printed books (anything published before 1900) due on Monday… it’s just like the one I did on manuscripts (although this time I’m thinking of doing the website option instead of a paper). Stanford owns a copy of Hypnerotomachia Poliphili, which was printed in 1499 by Aldus Manutius, who was a famous printer in Venice at the turn of the 16th century (Aldus also invented italics… nifty). The adventure began just as I was arriving at the vistor parking lot… there was an odd thumping noise. I turned off my stereo. Yup, it was definitely coming from my car. I parked and got out… there was a loud hissing noise. I looked at the driver’s side back tire… it looks alright. Lean down… the noise gets slightly louder. Walk around the back of the car… the noise is definitely getting louder. Bend down near passenger side rear tire… ah… hissing tire. Not good. Examine tire… discover what looks like a small plastic bag with a couple of 2 inch long screws with anchors jammed into the middle of the tread of my new tires. Watch as the tire goes comepletely flat in about a minute. *sigh*

So, I decided to just go to the library and take care of my school work, then worry about the tire. I went with this option cause who knew how long it would take for a tow truck to show up, might as well save the waiting for when I can wait.

It was very cool handling a book that is 506 years old (I have a weird fascination with extremely old things, and I don’t know where it comes from). When I handed the book back in (*sigh*) I got talking to the Rare Book librarian. He seemed rather impressed with my selection of printed book for my assignment. We chatted about the book and the printer. He told me about The Rule of Four, which is about the Hypnerotomachia Poliphili. Then, he shared with me the fact that 3 floors up there was a copy of the English translation of the book (I don’t read Italian, sadly). With call number in hand, I trotted up (well, actually, I took the elevator) to the fifth floor and found the glorious book on the shelf. Very nifty… now to find the… oooo… I was going to say the $70 to get a copy for myself cause that’s what the inside of the cover said on the one at Stanford… but, apparently they have reissued the book at it’s like $20. The really nifty thing about this translation is they used all the original woodcutting illustrations… pretty. *grin*

Anyways, I left the library and headed off to deal with the pain in the butt problem car. I called the husband to get the roadside assist phone number. Called the roadside assist people and got a very friendly Texan-sounding lady (my insurance company is based in TX), who took all my information and told me that I would get a call from their automated system telling me a time estimate. Now, I did not think this sounded too good. (The last time I had tried to use a roadside assistance serve (one that came with my phone) I was told it would take an hour for a truck from the place around the corner to come and give me a jump… That made me none too happy since I was alone, it was getting dark and cold, and I was surrounded by crazy football (soccer) fans.) So, I waited and waited… no call. It was getting on 20 minutes… when was I supposed to receive this supposed call… and suddenly there was a tow truck. YEA! The guy had my car jacked up and the tire changed to the donut in 10 minutes.

Off I drove to the tire place where I have the nifty deal of lifetime fix any problems with the tires. Unfortunately, the guy there said it would take an hour/hour and a half to fix. So, I walked home in the 88 F heat to wait for the husband to come and take me to work. He’s going to come and get me in a couple hours so I can get my car before the tire place closes.

But, now… there’s beer… at work. *grin*

A little start to spring cleaning

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This weekend proves that Spring is definitely on the way. Yesterday, it got up to 71 F… don’t know what it was today, not quite as hot, but definitely nice enough to work with my balcony garden. The majority of my plants were moved when the winter rains began, so that they could partake in the wet. Today, I moved the ones that reside on the railing back into their proper places, and began the process of trimming things. Now, I have a pile of new trimmings mixed with slowly-turning-into-compost winter debris all over the floor of the balcony. I just didn’t have the energy to try to wrangle it into a garbage bag. That’ll probably take place next weekend. I do have another tulip in bloom, just didn’t take a picture, but it’s a very delicate pink… and I can see it through the glass door while laying on the couch.

On the illness front, my cold-that-was-coming turned out to be a no-show. Sure, I had a sore throat and a headache for a few days, but my temp never got over 99.8 F. Meanwhile, the husband is slowly recovering… he got hit hard. Since Tuesday, his fever slowly came down, and finally seems to have left, but he’s still got a nasty sounding cough and gets tired easily. I’m very glad I didn’t get sick. I’ve got a project similar to my manuscript paper due a week tomorrow, with the midterm the week after that… the day after my visiting in-laws want to spend all day Sunday with us. I’ll have to study that Saturday and hope I don’t forget anything.

In knitting news, I’ve gotten to row 106 on the Wool Peddler’s Shawl. That means 5 more rows, then I start the lace border. This one has gone a lot faster than I was anticipating. I am contemplating what my next thing should be… socks for my toesies, or a shawl for myself made with the Brooks Farm yarn I got at Stitches, or a sweater… I’ve been eyeing Mariah… if I made it from one of the new Knit Picks yarns it would only cost about $40 or $50 to make. I do have this wool/mohair yarn I got from Dyeing for Fiber (I’m slightly depressed that she decided to close her store, it’s gorgeous yarn). I originally got it to do Rogue, but after making Lavender Twist I have decided I don’t like a yarn with mohair for cables. I could just do a simple cardy from it…. hmmm… difficult choices.