As promised, here is more of the careful rambling (yes, I’m trying to be careful!) that got started yesterday….
So at this point moving back home to Seattle has been even better than I had hoped. The work, the workplace and the community members the job lets me interact with more and more each day have been stimulating and rewarding (though that “Dale” person refuses to take a coffee break with me at any point during his work day). While things continue to be good, there is a bit of a thorn in my side and a good lesson learned as well.
The House:
To top the positive move stories off, I have been very fortunate to find a truly lovely place to live. In addition to actually having enough closet space to avoid paying for a storage unit (all those PEZ dispensers take up a lot of space you know), there is, on those much cherished and rare clear winter days, a stunning view of the Olympic Mountains from my new living room *and* dining room. Sometimes it fills me with an overwhelming sense of gratitude that just about brings me to my knees.
The Internet:
While the view is (again on those rare rainless occasions) truly spectacular, there is a bit of a hitch. See, the guy who has been a librarian, library technology trainer and lecturer, Internet lecturer for a major cruise line, web site author since 1995 and borderline Internet addict for well over a decade now hasn’t had Internet connectivity in his new home for the past three weeks.
What this means from a practical perspective is that I can’t spend the usual 1-5 hours a night I normally would, streaming music, sending emails, reading library blogs, shopping for shoes, PEZ or camera goodies and posting pictures to flickr. There are always a million things to do on the Internet, but now, I’m not doing half of what I usually would online. The consequences?
On the positive side, I’m sure I’m using less electricity. It is harder to keep up with the news of Libraryland and Technologyville though. I stay at work later, though that is pretty par for the course even with internet tubes running on all cylinders back at home. I’ll also take my computer to wifi enabled libraries and cafes more often (though I must confess I’ve never really liked doing that too much). Simply put, I can’t work as much as I’d like to. And I miss that ease and convenience. Many ideas and bursts of work related energy don’t come during work hours alone and it is noticeably harder to tap into that energy without the right tools, one of which, at least for my areas of interest and new job, is convenient at hand internet access.
**unrelated side observation: Surprisingly, I haven’t watched any more tv than usual. And the new place even has cable included in the rent! This decreased level of television viewing may be more due to the fact that I’m busy checking out the views of the Olympics and Puget Sound though during cloud breaks.**
The Shoes:
And finally, to my dear new employer WebJunction, I must confess something. See, without any Internet access at home, I ordered a pair of shoes for myself one day at work. It was *at* work, but it was more *after* work really (after 7:00pm anyway). They were my birthday present to myself don’t you know! A pair of lovely, funky green, retro, suede Penguins (on clearance for only $32 even!). I get a pass for this one, right? Does it help that I am going to write an article comparing the online shoe industry and the communities it inspires and libraries and the communities they inspire? I’m serious! It’s a pretty amazing contrast considering both “industries” have such passionate and alternately often times seemingly disinterested users.
I promise I won’t write that article at work though. And my research will wait till my Internet connection is up again at home.
The Community (again):
Finally, I also wanted/needed to take another moment to thank all of you amazing library folks who sent their very, very kind welcome/congratulations messages as I’ve moved into the WebJunction family as a staffer. When I say you are a heart warming and inspiring crowd I truly mean it. Thank you very much!
Now I’ve got to go get work! Happily, in order to do that work really well we need you to send me (us really) your ideas for improving and growing community and participation here at WebJunction. Just know that if you send the message in the pm you might not get a response till the next day. At least until that pesky home internet connection is back up.