Earlier this week two of the students with whom I work got engaged. That was pretty exciting news! Paul is graduating tomorrow and I’m hoping that he will get a job locally so that he can be nearby while his fiance, Ashley, completes her degree and graduates in December. Yesterday I had a small party for them and for the third student who works with me. They are all good friends.
Monthly Archives: May 2004
Wireless laptop usage
1
Yesterday I posted a query on the Web4Lib discussion list about wireless laptop usage in my library. Shortly thereafter I got an email from fellow UIUC GSLIS alum Jenny Levine, of The Shifted Librarian fame, asking if she could post the information I shared on the list on her blog. Click here to read her posting!
What I asked Web4Lib’ers was as follows. I’d love to hear from anyone who has comparative statistics:
“Taylor University’s Zondervan Library serves a mostly undergraduate student population of about 1,700. We have four wireless-enabled laptops available for checkout for general purpose uses including web browsing and library research. Our spring term is ending and out of curiosity I decided to tally up the circulation stats for them. It seemed by my observation that they were quite heavily used, in spite of the fact that we also have a large computer lab and several thin client workstations, but I wanted to know specifics. I found out that for the spring term (about 90 days in length), three out of the four laptops averaged close to 170 checkouts each. The fourth laptop was out of commission for most of the time. The total number of circulations for all of them was just under 500. I’m a mathematical ignoramus but I think that averages out to about 5 1/2 circulations per day. How does this compare with other libraries who circulate wireless laptops? I’m just curious to know if this is high, low, average.”
Sleeping on the couch
My wife was worried about gaining too much weight during her pregnancy. After going to the doctor, getting weighed, and finding out that she had actually lost eleven pounds so far, she excitedly told me this news. Without waiting for my brain to catch up with my mouth, I blurted out: “What, did you take off your shoes this time or something?” Needless to say, I slept on the couch that night.
Hello, Lord?
I got a phone call one evening after a long and hectic day. My mind was definitely elsewhere when I answered the phone and for some reason, blurted out, “Hello, Lord?” There was a burst of laughter on the other end of the line and I realized it was my mother-in-law calling.
Visitors coming
The house is its usual mess or, maybe more of a mess than usual, and we have visitors coming tonight…How are we ever going to get things cleaned up in time? I guess the honest answer is, never, so I should just not worry about it any more. My sister and one of my nieces will be here for the next few days, which’ll be nice. It’s been kind of stormy all day today and the skies are dark with more thunderclouds this evening. We had a city-wide power outage earlier this afternoon which caused quite a bit of consternation in the library since students were studying for final exams. There was even a final exam being given in the library at the time. This kind of event just makes life as a librarian more interesting…
Don’t worry
I read the following verse today: “Don’t worry about anything; instead, pray about everything. Tell God what you need, and thank him for all he has done.” (Philippians 4:6 NLT). I think this should be my life verse. I should probably read it every day because I am someone who gets all twisted round and paralyzed by fear and worry, especially with the weight of responsibilities in my life.
Bills, bills, bills
Well, I finally got brave enough to pay our bills this a.m. Good thing, too, because several of them are late. Sigh. Let me enjoy this one small victory and gain some satisfaction from having done one out of a bazillion things that are waiting for me to do. I’m late with everything and feeling completely, entirely overwhelmed.
Oh to have a well kept garden…
As I sit here at the computer, next to me is the screen door to the back yard. I am listening to the comforting sounds of birds twittering their evening songs. I look outside and it is a beautiful sight with the sun’s glow illuminating a patch of purple/blue irises in full bloom. The weather is near perfect, no wind and about 70 degrees. Closer to the house, though, all I see is a mess. The front garden that I planted last year is a mess of weeds with some brave flowers struggling to bloom already. The back flower garden is the same, and everywhere in-between is chaos. I bought a tiller four weeks ago and have yet to unpack it, put it together, and till up the large vegetable garden near the back of our property. Oh to have a well kept garden…
The Sun Is Shining on the Other Side
Another book I’ve been reading lately (actually, this is the second time I’ve read it) is The Sun Is Shining on the Other Side by Margaret Jensen. I think my brother gave it to me originally. It is a series of stories and memories by the author of her childhood, growing up as the eldest child of Norwegian immigrants to the United States. The faith of her parents, especially her mother, is incredible, and it shines through every page. This is one of the most encouraging and wholesome (in the best sense of the word) books I have ever read.
Kid trials
Last night we went to Kokomo to do some shopping. We stopped at a restaurant for supper and Brinley just came unglued. She behaved worse than I have ever seen her in public. She just threw a huge fit over what she wanted to eat. She ended up dumping salsa all over me and that was it, I had had enough. I took her out to the car and sat with her while she screamed and cried. Finally she calmed down a bit and we were able to finish the meal without much more incident, but I was still so angry and frustrated, I could have screamed myself. At Sam’s Club we decided to buy a bunk bed for Tristan and Cohen. I just finished putting it together and it looks really nice. Although there was one piece damaged, we decided to keep it because it wasn’t a vital piece and we didn’t want the hassle of packing everything back together and returning the product. Now all we need is an additional twin mattress.
