Hey There,
This video is being passed around by moveon.org and it is pretty amazing so I thought I'd pass it on to anyone interested. The video is a portion of a taped interview by Cheney in 1994, discussing Iraq.
Take a look!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YENbElb5-xY
Monday, August 20, 2007
Sunday, July 29, 2007
It's True!
Hi! I had to post a very quick blog entry since I just saw the coolest thing. I am sitting in an internet cafe in Edinburgh Scotland... posting homework and working on my webpage (fyi - this is extremely difficult in an internet cafe). I just looked over and saw a young guy paging through a comic book using Google Scholar. It is too cool! I realized he was not a native English speaker and he was using the comic book to learn English or at least improve his English. It was really cool to watch him sound out the words and see him using the page through technique. The images and digital quality was excellent and it totally made sense to see this in action. Big kudos to google!
It was a big librarian moment for me, even if I did have to keep it to myself.
Too cool for school!
It was a big librarian moment for me, even if I did have to keep it to myself.
Too cool for school!
Friday, July 27, 2007
See Ya Later Alligator!
It's a big goodbye as we fly off into the friendly skies this evening! We've really enjoyed our time trying to live on the cheap, cheap in DC. Today was the highlight of the trip as far as I'm concerned with our tour of the NPR studios on the edge of Chinatown. It's nice to hear the reinforcement again that they are not for profit and they do not stand for influence from politicians or anyone else. Yeah! My husband even recorded a sound bite to hopefully be used at a later date. We explained how we live out of the country and we use NPR for their music and video clips in the classroom to teach students about American culture and other great things. They were excited to hear we were expats and asked us to record another clip about living abroad. We'll see if John's voice was authoritative enough for real radio.... we can only hope.
See you in a few days in Edinburgh.
See you in a few days in Edinburgh.
Sunday, July 22, 2007
Let the Good Times Roll
I wanted to post a note to express my thanks to the staff and my fellow members of cohort 7. The time that we spent getting to know each other and the time taken to review concepts and connect the dots, was invaluable. I was a little hesitant before arriving but I was assured as soon as I met everyone and realized we were all here for the same reason. For that reason, I think the bond we formed is true and I'm glad to be a part of it. I'm definitely looking forward to the next few weeks in class.
We are also sadly leaving Pittsburgh tomorrow morning (at 5:30am ugh!) for the muggy heat of DC. We'll see the sights and make some memories and then hit the skies for some international seat time.
Stay tuned for an update on those adventures!
We are also sadly leaving Pittsburgh tomorrow morning (at 5:30am ugh!) for the muggy heat of DC. We'll see the sights and make some memories and then hit the skies for some international seat time.
Stay tuned for an update on those adventures!
Tuesday, July 17, 2007
Get to Know Turkey
Here's a good general summary of some of the common mis-perceptions of Turkey.
http://www.turkeycentral.com/country_of_turkey.html
http://www.turkeycentral.com/country_of_turkey.html
Monday, July 16, 2007
Do I have boogers in my nose?
Just checking. Now that I am on site for the residency portion of the UPitt MLIS program I hope everyone else is enjoying the opportunity to meet their peers as much as I am. It's always so important to put faces to names and really get to know the people that I am going to rely on heavily for the next 2 years. Good thing they all seem fun and friendly!
During the lecture today, we were talking about technology and the resistance to change that some library professionals seem to exhibit. As we discussed, perhaps the best approach to warm objectors is to present examples and real life situations where they might use technology and sophisticated tools and that would help with the comfort level. I can understand the resistance but I think the lure to be "innovative" and "cutting edge" is more alluring to me than remaining static and unchanging. Go figure, my past life revolved around redesigning processes and tools that employees used to make their experience better and offer as many things through a self-service model as possible.
Here are a few humorous examples of general everyday people using technology in interesting ways.
1. As we were leaving Turkey on a bus to reach the town where we would fly from, we witnessed a wonderful, inventive phenomena. People that want to send packages or boxes locally to towns that are close by will often stop a dolmus (small bus) and just give them their package and a small fee and the recipient will pickup the package from the bus station at the other end (or from the side of the road as the bus travels through). My husband and I watched an enterprising young man hand off his package, pay his fee, and then whip out his cell phone and take a digital photograph of the license plate of the dolmus to presumably send to the recipient so they could identify the bus (and more likely to have proof in case of foul play). Ingenious!
2. At the end of this trip, we stayed for one night in a hotel and left very early the next morning to catch our flight back to the US. Upon arrival to San Francisco, I realized I had left my precious school notebook with the passwords and user account names for all of the tools we've used in LIS2600. Major trauma! I send an email asking the owner of the hotel to please type the information in an email and send it to me. I begged and pleaded and explained the importance and how I would absolutely DIE without this information. A few hours later I received an email and opened it to find a .jpg attachment. My wonderfully helpful host had taken a picture of the page I needed and then mailed my folder on to our new home. Again, what a clever and insightful way to use technology to save time and reproduce images.
Bravo to my creative Turkish friends!
During the lecture today, we were talking about technology and the resistance to change that some library professionals seem to exhibit. As we discussed, perhaps the best approach to warm objectors is to present examples and real life situations where they might use technology and sophisticated tools and that would help with the comfort level. I can understand the resistance but I think the lure to be "innovative" and "cutting edge" is more alluring to me than remaining static and unchanging. Go figure, my past life revolved around redesigning processes and tools that employees used to make their experience better and offer as many things through a self-service model as possible.
Here are a few humorous examples of general everyday people using technology in interesting ways.
1. As we were leaving Turkey on a bus to reach the town where we would fly from, we witnessed a wonderful, inventive phenomena. People that want to send packages or boxes locally to towns that are close by will often stop a dolmus (small bus) and just give them their package and a small fee and the recipient will pickup the package from the bus station at the other end (or from the side of the road as the bus travels through). My husband and I watched an enterprising young man hand off his package, pay his fee, and then whip out his cell phone and take a digital photograph of the license plate of the dolmus to presumably send to the recipient so they could identify the bus (and more likely to have proof in case of foul play). Ingenious!
2. At the end of this trip, we stayed for one night in a hotel and left very early the next morning to catch our flight back to the US. Upon arrival to San Francisco, I realized I had left my precious school notebook with the passwords and user account names for all of the tools we've used in LIS2600. Major trauma! I send an email asking the owner of the hotel to please type the information in an email and send it to me. I begged and pleaded and explained the importance and how I would absolutely DIE without this information. A few hours later I received an email and opened it to find a .jpg attachment. My wonderfully helpful host had taken a picture of the page I needed and then mailed my folder on to our new home. Again, what a clever and insightful way to use technology to save time and reproduce images.
Bravo to my creative Turkish friends!
Wednesday, July 11, 2007
Koha Catalogue Books
Here is a list of books, catalogued in the open access OPAC system , Koha. The theme of the list is women in history. Enjoy!
1. Animal Dreams
2. 1000 Years, 1000 People
3. 10 Women of Mystery
4. 100 Greatest American Women
5. 100 Most Important Bible Verses for Women
6. Secrets for Women in Their Prime
7. Civil War Women
8. Girls' Guide to Building a Million Dollar Business
9. Welfare and Charity in the Antebellum South
10. Hell Hath no Fury
11. 200 Australian Women
12. 21 Under 40
13. 21st Century Sister
14. 25 Notable Las Vegas Women
15. 25 Years of Emancipation
1. Animal Dreams
2. 1000 Years, 1000 People
3. 10 Women of Mystery
4. 100 Greatest American Women
5. 100 Most Important Bible Verses for Women
6. Secrets for Women in Their Prime
7. Civil War Women
8. Girls' Guide to Building a Million Dollar Business
9. Welfare and Charity in the Antebellum South
10. Hell Hath no Fury
11. 200 Australian Women
12. 21 Under 40
13. 21st Century Sister
14. 25 Notable Las Vegas Women
15. 25 Years of Emancipation
Tuesday, July 10, 2007
Seeing Red!!!
Life is not good. I had completed my Koha assignment some weeks ago but needed to create my own bookshelf and post in order to complete. So, I completely forgot about this task until tonight at about 10:00pm so I hurried onto Koha to finish. After one hour of frustrated searching for a way to generate a report that would list only the books I had catalogued previously, I put myself on a 30 second timeout and then proceeded to re-enter 10 books from the LOC. Just as I was swingin' and entering book #11 I received the dreaded 500 system error, "The system hates you and wants a divorce... please try again later". Ugghhhhhh!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
So, here I am. It's 11:33pm and I'm exhausted and I can't finish the assignment and I have once again tried so hard and simply feel as if my effort is not worth anything because I'm just struggling through. This is rather ridiculous and I'm defeated.
Sleep tight!
So, here I am. It's 11:33pm and I'm exhausted and I can't finish the assignment and I have once again tried so hard and simply feel as if my effort is not worth anything because I'm just struggling through. This is rather ridiculous and I'm defeated.
Sleep tight!
Friday, July 6, 2007
I've arrived!
As you can see it's been ages since my last blog posting so let's see if I can play catch-up from my last session.
Saying goodbye to friends is never easy but we are staying in Turkey and we will see everyone again. I keep repeating this over and over to make myself feel better...
Drumroll please... the grand total of STUFF (and I do mean stuff with a capital S) shipped to Izmir was 428.2 kilos. Holy cow are we packrats! No wonder it took so long to pack and give away the accumulated contents of our apartment. The good news is it all arrived and is patiently waiting for our return in August.
So, you can see why a vacation was in order. John and I traveled with a group of fellow teachers from Uskudar to Fethiye for a famous blue cruise through the Med. We were able to see lots of famous beaches, lots of ugly speedo bathing suits and even a few sea turtles. The cruise was wonderful and I would highly recommend it for anyone. The boat was an average sized sailboat with 10 cabins and lots of deck space to lounge, hang out and chat. The only drawbacks for me were the undercurrent of stress for taking time off of school and not studying as much as I should have been and a run-in with a nasty family that couldn't lighten up and respect the other guests on the boat. It's always unfortunate when you meet people that show ugly behavior and give Americans a bad name. Anywhoo... I did study everyday while we cruised but really who can complain when studying is done laying in your swimsuit 10 feet from the Med.
After relaxing on the cruise we embarked on our 17 hour travel adventure extravaganza from Olimpos to Antalya, Antalya to Istanbul, Istanbul to London, and London to San Francisco. The beginning of the trip seemed deceptively quiet and uneventful but little did I know that the notebook I use for schoolwork was left in our hotel room in Antalya (since I spent the evening reading and working) and therefore it will take a break and relax in Izmir while we travel the world. The was a minor incident in London as we were evacuated from our boarding gate due to a bomb scare at the airport. The staff were very courteous and helpful but not fantastic in the communication department. After we returned to the gate we were informed that our flight was delayed further since the air conditioning system on the place was not working. After many hours of waiting for our departure and sitting on the runway (in the sweltering plane) we finally took off for SF. My husband and I were sitting in different rows, which is not okay, as I require entertainment and a human pillow for any flight over 3 hours (so the 11 hour flight definitely qualified). Luckily, two friendly comrads on the flight agreed to switch seats so in the end our groups were all able to sit close together. Good for John since he beat me twice at cribbage. I also highly recommend the movie, Amazing Grace. It's about the end of slavery in England and was truly inspiring and again reminded me of why it is important for each person to understand their purpose and how they can do what is right in their communities.
Well, back to reality of life as a student and responsibilities. I am loving seeing my family and friends and I know 10 days is not enough time but I will do my best to thwart my vicious jetlag and make the most of this time.
Keep your fingers crossed for John as he traverses the US in a car with 3 smelly boys on a roadtrip, living the good life without their wives :)
Peace Out!
Saying goodbye to friends is never easy but we are staying in Turkey and we will see everyone again. I keep repeating this over and over to make myself feel better...
Drumroll please... the grand total of STUFF (and I do mean stuff with a capital S) shipped to Izmir was 428.2 kilos. Holy cow are we packrats! No wonder it took so long to pack and give away the accumulated contents of our apartment. The good news is it all arrived and is patiently waiting for our return in August.
So, you can see why a vacation was in order. John and I traveled with a group of fellow teachers from Uskudar to Fethiye for a famous blue cruise through the Med. We were able to see lots of famous beaches, lots of ugly speedo bathing suits and even a few sea turtles. The cruise was wonderful and I would highly recommend it for anyone. The boat was an average sized sailboat with 10 cabins and lots of deck space to lounge, hang out and chat. The only drawbacks for me were the undercurrent of stress for taking time off of school and not studying as much as I should have been and a run-in with a nasty family that couldn't lighten up and respect the other guests on the boat. It's always unfortunate when you meet people that show ugly behavior and give Americans a bad name. Anywhoo... I did study everyday while we cruised but really who can complain when studying is done laying in your swimsuit 10 feet from the Med.
After relaxing on the cruise we embarked on our 17 hour travel adventure extravaganza from Olimpos to Antalya, Antalya to Istanbul, Istanbul to London, and London to San Francisco. The beginning of the trip seemed deceptively quiet and uneventful but little did I know that the notebook I use for schoolwork was left in our hotel room in Antalya (since I spent the evening reading and working) and therefore it will take a break and relax in Izmir while we travel the world. The was a minor incident in London as we were evacuated from our boarding gate due to a bomb scare at the airport. The staff were very courteous and helpful but not fantastic in the communication department. After we returned to the gate we were informed that our flight was delayed further since the air conditioning system on the place was not working. After many hours of waiting for our departure and sitting on the runway (in the sweltering plane) we finally took off for SF. My husband and I were sitting in different rows, which is not okay, as I require entertainment and a human pillow for any flight over 3 hours (so the 11 hour flight definitely qualified). Luckily, two friendly comrads on the flight agreed to switch seats so in the end our groups were all able to sit close together. Good for John since he beat me twice at cribbage. I also highly recommend the movie, Amazing Grace. It's about the end of slavery in England and was truly inspiring and again reminded me of why it is important for each person to understand their purpose and how they can do what is right in their communities.
Well, back to reality of life as a student and responsibilities. I am loving seeing my family and friends and I know 10 days is not enough time but I will do my best to thwart my vicious jetlag and make the most of this time.
Keep your fingers crossed for John as he traverses the US in a car with 3 smelly boys on a roadtrip, living the good life without their wives :)
Peace Out!
Monday, June 25, 2007
Friday, June 22, 2007
I get it!!!
Okay, if you've been following my postings you've seen the general theme of confusion and my wishes for some scope and audience information for each tool that we've been utilizing. Holy cow -- I think it just smacked me in the face! The Grazr widget where my connotea, del.icio.us and other tagges items are now visible and reachable from this blog, is fantastic! What a boon for a school librarian to direct students to certain information.
Not that I claim to now understand divine power and all things "Web 2.0" but this is too cool for school.
Stay tuned as a realize new uses for my "schoolwork". You know you're waiting with baited breath...
Not that I claim to now understand divine power and all things "Web 2.0" but this is too cool for school.
Stay tuned as a realize new uses for my "schoolwork". You know you're waiting with baited breath...
Wednesday, June 20, 2007
Can I freeze time?
Seriously, is it too much to ask to just complete the tasks in life that require attention? Eating, sleeping, spending time with my husband, finish work in the libraries, get ready to move, pack, get residence visa, say goodbye to friends, homework, homework, homework, blog...
Here's a summary since last week (since I'm bad and that was the date my last posting appeared).
A big shout-out to Ayse, an 8th grade student in my husband's English class, for standing up for what is right. She refused to attend the ceremony celebrating the success of the "10 class achievers" once she realized those that actually worked hard academically and were diligent were not among the "achievers". It's a shame when things like this happen and students are not celebrated for the right types of achievements. As a part of this community I completely protest the ridiculousness of a popularity contest rather than celebrating real student achievement. Rock on Ayse, I'm behind you 100%!
I completed presentations to many departments at school presenting an idea to implement expectations and standards for citations by grade level. Now an overwhelmingly positive response but many people finally seemed to see the reasoning behind my proposal. Copying from the internet and not citing sources for graphics or content IS NOT RESEARCH! I've done what I can do and I can only hope I lit a small spark that will ignite.
End of year orders...ugh. I am rather fed-up with rushing around at the last minute to order books and other materials to be received by June 30th for this budget year since my colleagues thought chatting with friends and spending time on IM was more important than tracking a budget and ordering final purchases months before now. Thankfully, the reading counts materials and new books will be appreciated by teachers and students next year when I am gone.
Lastly, trying to determine the amount of stuff that is important to me in kilos is proving difficult. Is that DVD you've watched several times worth carting with me or the scarf given as a gift that I like but haven't yet worn. Decisions, decisions.
Peace Out.
Here's a summary since last week (since I'm bad and that was the date my last posting appeared).
A big shout-out to Ayse, an 8th grade student in my husband's English class, for standing up for what is right. She refused to attend the ceremony celebrating the success of the "10 class achievers" once she realized those that actually worked hard academically and were diligent were not among the "achievers". It's a shame when things like this happen and students are not celebrated for the right types of achievements. As a part of this community I completely protest the ridiculousness of a popularity contest rather than celebrating real student achievement. Rock on Ayse, I'm behind you 100%!
I completed presentations to many departments at school presenting an idea to implement expectations and standards for citations by grade level. Now an overwhelmingly positive response but many people finally seemed to see the reasoning behind my proposal. Copying from the internet and not citing sources for graphics or content IS NOT RESEARCH! I've done what I can do and I can only hope I lit a small spark that will ignite.
End of year orders...ugh. I am rather fed-up with rushing around at the last minute to order books and other materials to be received by June 30th for this budget year since my colleagues thought chatting with friends and spending time on IM was more important than tracking a budget and ordering final purchases months before now. Thankfully, the reading counts materials and new books will be appreciated by teachers and students next year when I am gone.
Lastly, trying to determine the amount of stuff that is important to me in kilos is proving difficult. Is that DVD you've watched several times worth carting with me or the scarf given as a gift that I like but haven't yet worn. Decisions, decisions.
Peace Out.
Wednesday, June 13, 2007
Sharing is Caring.
As I am getting more and more excited about the information I am learning in the program, I think my colleagues at work are joining in the excitement too. It's infectious! My regret is that I do not have more time to play and better understand the functionality behind and the possibilities for each new tool. I have slowly been adding slides to a presentation and I am scheduled to give a few presentations in the Fall on new library technology. I will be presenting to the consortium of our board schools at our annual meeting, then presenting on developing library curriculum and new library technology for the annual conference where all primary and secondary schools are invited. This conference is wonderful and many schools from all areas of Turkey attend. Exciting opportunities and nerve-racking at the same time!
As I go through this process of digesting the information and trying to sort and make it instantly exciting and relevant to the different audiences, I'm left a little nervous hoping I can better understand the big picture. I see the relevance for the individual tools but the differences between the tools is somewhat elusive to me at this point. In the next few days I'll begin tackling Grazr and Scopus... so much to learn and so little time.
As I go through this process of digesting the information and trying to sort and make it instantly exciting and relevant to the different audiences, I'm left a little nervous hoping I can better understand the big picture. I see the relevance for the individual tools but the differences between the tools is somewhat elusive to me at this point. In the next few days I'll begin tackling Grazr and Scopus... so much to learn and so little time.
Sunday, June 10, 2007
What is the answer?
I must admit my mind is reeling after completing the book review assignment and contemplating Lesk, Willinsky, and Baker for the last week. Clearly they all have a bias and are leading the library community to their prescribed solution. Yet, where do I stand? I seem to uphold the archivist perspective in I'm dead set against throwing away original sources once they are available on microfilm or in a digitized format. On the other hand I see clearly the pitfalls of ongoing archival and the budgetary restraints that places on libraries, particularly small county libraries or rural school libraries. Open access sounds good and I can see several real wins for libraries and collectors of information but big business and copyright protection are deterrents to true open access. Surly, there's a solution based on shared resources and bringing the businesses that support digitization into a consortium with libraries.
What do you think?
What do you think?
Thursday, June 7, 2007
Am I plugged in?
Well, I must apologize now for my lack of postings. I don't know how this many days flew by without my realizing it. Everyday I think, yep, today when I get home I must blog and then I come home and the cat's on fire, and the toilet decided to impersonate Mount St. Helens and my husband is so excited to see me so we can chat that I just run myself in every direction except to my computer to blog. I must admit, when I have time I head straight for the discussion boards...
Anyhoo, I am completely enthralled by Double Fold by Nicholas Baker. It's rather unfortunate that I can't slowly read and contextualize his writing since I am frantically scanning as fast as I can so I can hopefully produce something meaningful this weekend. One week, 3 books, a presentation, last days of school (in the real world), a visit by CIS (council of international schools) for accreditation, and a 2 day visit by my mentor and I'm chalk full of people time and out of words. By the way, did I mention I'm moving in 2 weeks???
While reading Double Fold, I feel completely uneducated and uninformed that something as major as masses of public and university libraries in the US offloading historical and informational news could be happening with no true public outcry. It is a real shame that so few of those in the know feel an obligation to publicly communicate the decisions to trash this type of information. Equally shameful is the way in which Americans (not all but many) pay lip service to preserving history and culture but would not lift a finger or take up the battle cry to contribute to a solution in this dire matter. Let alone contribute time and energy or money to the cause. What are we if not a community? I will now step down from my soapbox but really, isn't this one of those momentous battles we hear of and we have the opportunity to participate.
Back to Nicholas Baker... I'm thoroughly enjoying the descriptions of the side by side comparison of the historical texts and the microfilm versions of several of these papers. As well as the description and detail he uses to give credit to those informed and involved (like Lucy Caswell in Ohio) and of the resources still available that should be protected. I have heard of JSTOR in the past but really didn't understand the goal or vision of the project and the true impact this will have on libraries.
Well, thanks for listening... I'm off for a date with 'ole Nicholas.
Anyhoo, I am completely enthralled by Double Fold by Nicholas Baker. It's rather unfortunate that I can't slowly read and contextualize his writing since I am frantically scanning as fast as I can so I can hopefully produce something meaningful this weekend. One week, 3 books, a presentation, last days of school (in the real world), a visit by CIS (council of international schools) for accreditation, and a 2 day visit by my mentor and I'm chalk full of people time and out of words. By the way, did I mention I'm moving in 2 weeks???
While reading Double Fold, I feel completely uneducated and uninformed that something as major as masses of public and university libraries in the US offloading historical and informational news could be happening with no true public outcry. It is a real shame that so few of those in the know feel an obligation to publicly communicate the decisions to trash this type of information. Equally shameful is the way in which Americans (not all but many) pay lip service to preserving history and culture but would not lift a finger or take up the battle cry to contribute to a solution in this dire matter. Let alone contribute time and energy or money to the cause. What are we if not a community? I will now step down from my soapbox but really, isn't this one of those momentous battles we hear of and we have the opportunity to participate.
Back to Nicholas Baker... I'm thoroughly enjoying the descriptions of the side by side comparison of the historical texts and the microfilm versions of several of these papers. As well as the description and detail he uses to give credit to those informed and involved (like Lucy Caswell in Ohio) and of the resources still available that should be protected. I have heard of JSTOR in the past but really didn't understand the goal or vision of the project and the true impact this will have on libraries.
Well, thanks for listening... I'm off for a date with 'ole Nicholas.
Tuesday, May 29, 2007
Networking and Mentoring
I could really relate to Sue's comments in the recent coursecast regarding the potential opportunity for growth related to professional associations. As I work internationally but the school I work for teaches an "American curriculum" this challenges me to make many associations with peers in the US. I belong to several listserves and read blogs as well. I've made several great contacts with other librarians at conferences and through online introductions and these are very helpful when I have questions that I can't get answered in person. I truly appreciate this group of people that support me and help me to grow in my new career.
Today, I also had a wonderful opportunity to meet for a day with a colleague from our sister school in Istanbul. When we have these opportunities I realize how useful they are and how much I learn just by conversations and comparing current services and sharing ideas. Based on our conversations, we have a plan for implementing grade level expectations for citations and bibliographies (we currently have no standard), we have the tasks identified for growing our summer reading program, and we discussed success indicators we are implementing across schools to measure and describe the success of our libraries. I walk away from these meetings jazzed and ready to take on the world. Hear my sheera call!
Today, I also had a wonderful opportunity to meet for a day with a colleague from our sister school in Istanbul. When we have these opportunities I realize how useful they are and how much I learn just by conversations and comparing current services and sharing ideas. Based on our conversations, we have a plan for implementing grade level expectations for citations and bibliographies (we currently have no standard), we have the tasks identified for growing our summer reading program, and we discussed success indicators we are implementing across schools to measure and describe the success of our libraries. I walk away from these meetings jazzed and ready to take on the world. Hear my sheera call!
Monday, May 28, 2007
J&M at Nemrut May 2007
The Euphrates River Ladies lunching in the courtyard of a mosque
John and Michelle at the summit of Mt. Nemrut
Success and Failure, Like Vanilla and Chocolate
Good Evening! Well, as the title suggests last week was both a success in the Amazon order department (woohoo) and a failure in that I am falling way behind in class assignments and my book order for textbooks for my first two classes has not arrived and is now considered officially LATE. Meanwhile, the dread of cramming as much knowledge into my head as possible when the books do finally arrive is beginning to incite panic. I am trying to remain calm and remind myself that I can do this and these are just minor bumps along the road to mecca of MLIS certification.
So, as any good worker does when feeling stressed...I took a vacation. Unfortunately, we had planned a group tour to Mt. Nemrut several months ago and suddenly the time had arrived so we set out on our journey in a van with 13 adults and 3 children under the ago of 9... in a van with 15 seats. The trip was long but the sights were delightful.
Mt. Nemrut is listed as a World Heritage Site. The mountain was discovered by geologists in 1881. Based on the alignment of stars etched into stone reliefs, astronomers were able to determine that the Nemrut statues date to 64BC. The mountain stands tall and proud at 2,150 meters tall and although a hike for a sunrise summit at 2:00am was something I never thought I'd accomplish or enjoy, I did. Here's a link to more information and a few pics. http://www.todayszaman.com/tz-web/detaylar.do?load=detay&link=111905&bolum=117
As the Kuhn text arrived on Friday, just in time for the trip, I dutifully attempted to read it during the van time but I admit I am just as lost as everyone else. I am highlighting more words to lookup later for definitions than I am relevant thoughts and nuggets of wisdom. I understand from Professor Tomer the thought behind the inclusion of the text but this is really not inspiring any confidence in my ability to master this program.
Tomorrow will be a better day... or at least I've now thoroughly convinced myself of this so I may hopefully snooze soundly and wake rested and ready for book battles tomorrow. Peace out.
So, as any good worker does when feeling stressed...I took a vacation. Unfortunately, we had planned a group tour to Mt. Nemrut several months ago and suddenly the time had arrived so we set out on our journey in a van with 13 adults and 3 children under the ago of 9... in a van with 15 seats. The trip was long but the sights were delightful.
Mt. Nemrut is listed as a World Heritage Site. The mountain was discovered by geologists in 1881. Based on the alignment of stars etched into stone reliefs, astronomers were able to determine that the Nemrut statues date to 64BC. The mountain stands tall and proud at 2,150 meters tall and although a hike for a sunrise summit at 2:00am was something I never thought I'd accomplish or enjoy, I did. Here's a link to more information and a few pics. http://www.todayszaman.com/tz-web/detaylar.do?load=detay&link=111905&bolum=117
As the Kuhn text arrived on Friday, just in time for the trip, I dutifully attempted to read it during the van time but I admit I am just as lost as everyone else. I am highlighting more words to lookup later for definitions than I am relevant thoughts and nuggets of wisdom. I understand from Professor Tomer the thought behind the inclusion of the text but this is really not inspiring any confidence in my ability to master this program.
Tomorrow will be a better day... or at least I've now thoroughly convinced myself of this so I may hopefully snooze soundly and wake rested and ready for book battles tomorrow. Peace out.
Thursday, May 24, 2007
Seriously, is it supposed to be this difficult?
Well, there are distinct differences and shall we say "Challenges" when working internationally. Today this was my mantra as I tried to go with the flow and simply let the frustration roll off me as I tried to order media resources for our high school library. Simple, right? WRONG. We have ordered and received large orders of books in English, Turkish, French, and German and we were trying to throw the teachers a bone by ordering some new media resources to use as a compliment to their classes. Getting new relevant movies in English or second languages in Turkey is not easy unless you want to purchase the pirated burned copy from the shop down the street. These materials are simply not readily available and there are few companies to chose from that will ship my measly order internationally.
So, the teachers drag their feet getting me their wish list but I add to Amazon UK, rather proud of myself, for my fast service. Everything was going rather well until I hit the "Proceed to Checkout" button. Suddenly, I am alerted to a problem with my shipping address. The words, "These items cannot be shipped to your mailing address", have quickly dashed my hopes in sourcing and delivering new relevant movies to our teachers. There are no copies of my selections that can be shipped to Turkey. Monday no go, Tuesday I try again and no go, Wednesday... yep you guessed it no go. This continued for a few weeks, meanwhile, the teachers keep asking me why the movies haven't yet arrived. I try not to shoot death-ray visual darts at them and remind them I am using the last funds in our library budget to help them... geez. Suddenly I logged in and tried again and behold I was able to add my 4 problem movies and I swiftly move through the checkout process. I am well on my way to ordering 14 movies for our English and foreign languages departments (Yes, 14 even though it feels like 1014).
Now, I will print the order from Amazon UK and sign the little requisition form in triplicate and get the signatures of the Principal and Director and then deliver it to the Business Office Manager, where I will have to beg and plead to spend a relatively small amount of money in the scheme of the school (FYI - we employ a full-time person whose sole job is to serve tea to every meeting daily). I'll have to sharpen my claws and attach the armor for that battle. Stay tuned to see if I will prevail.
So, the teachers drag their feet getting me their wish list but I add to Amazon UK, rather proud of myself, for my fast service. Everything was going rather well until I hit the "Proceed to Checkout" button. Suddenly, I am alerted to a problem with my shipping address. The words, "These items cannot be shipped to your mailing address", have quickly dashed my hopes in sourcing and delivering new relevant movies to our teachers. There are no copies of my selections that can be shipped to Turkey. Monday no go, Tuesday I try again and no go, Wednesday... yep you guessed it no go. This continued for a few weeks, meanwhile, the teachers keep asking me why the movies haven't yet arrived. I try not to shoot death-ray visual darts at them and remind them I am using the last funds in our library budget to help them... geez. Suddenly I logged in and tried again and behold I was able to add my 4 problem movies and I swiftly move through the checkout process. I am well on my way to ordering 14 movies for our English and foreign languages departments (Yes, 14 even though it feels like 1014).
Now, I will print the order from Amazon UK and sign the little requisition form in triplicate and get the signatures of the Principal and Director and then deliver it to the Business Office Manager, where I will have to beg and plead to spend a relatively small amount of money in the scheme of the school (FYI - we employ a full-time person whose sole job is to serve tea to every meeting daily). I'll have to sharpen my claws and attach the armor for that battle. Stay tuned to see if I will prevail.
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