Archive for July, 2008
I’m done with my Project 365 (or 366, as it was a leap year). Just over a year ago – a year on Thursday – Shane accepted the job offer that resulted in our move out here. On the same day, I applied for the job that I now have. I can’t believe it’s been a year already. Our lives have changed so much since then!
While this move was very, very hard on me, I think it’s been a really good thing for our relationship. I feel like we’re much closer, much more stable, and much more aware of needing each other. I’m so thankful for that, and for the awesome dude that is currently asleep in our bedroom with our cat.
There are still times when I’m horribly, achingly homesick for the life we had back in Champaign – our friends, our favorite places, our 7 minute commutes on our bikes, my wonderful job and coworkers, our big sunny apartment with the garden and clothesline – but for the most part, I think we’re both really happy out here. And that’s a good thing.
July 26th, 2008
So, in the next 6 weeks we get to pack up our apartment and move again. The reason for the move is a good thing – the actuality of the move is going to suck as always. I spent some time this morning getting heavily addicted to Apartment Therapy. The dozens of beautiful and uncluttered apartments/homes have lead me to want to seriously declutter before this next move – well, the beautiful apartments as well as the knowledge that this time around, we’re doing most of the moving ourselves, with no handy work-paid-for mover men.
Since I know many of you have downsized, live a rather spartan lifestyle, or somehow make do in extremely tiny (Brooklyn!) spaces – how do you do it? If I wanted to make a dramatic cut in possessions – how would you recommend that I start? What have you gotten rid of that you now regret? What seems necessary but really can go? What strategies do you employ to keep the clutter from coming back?
(This is x-posted from my LJ with no regrets or apologies – only thanks for good advice!)
July 22nd, 2008
Just for the sake of having something to write, here’s a short list of the questions I have answered since 5:45pm.
- A request for guest wireless, which I set up with a smile.
- Print problem #1: the print server is slow. Fixed itself before I could get to it, as is generally the case with tech problems.
- Print problem #2: frames will be the death of us all. Whenever a patron comes to the desk with a sheaf of half-printed papers, I know they’re trying to print from a) Blackboard or b) Yahoo. Right on both counts this time, and one more patron now knows how to right-click.
- Another request for guest wireless.
- “Do those copiers send faxes?” No. Go to Kinko’s.
- A request for back-issues of GW publications – specifically “By George”, and specifically the most recent one. Special Collections is closed, so I steal one out of my coworker’s mailbox. Mental note: put it back before I leave.
- An IM from a friend who is trying to find publication dates on a series of books. The reference collection lets me down. I totally marked this on the stats sheet even though it wasn’t technically a question from one of our patrons.
- “Where’s the bathroom?”
- “If I need something from a library in the consortium, can I just go there?” Yes.
July 17th, 2008
I don’t really know what to think about this article from Time, which argues that conducting regular self breast exams may actually be worse for women than not. They argue that while self exams do lead to early detection – they frequently lead to the detection of benign cysts, resulting in unnecessary biopsies, scarring from these unnecessary treatments, and emotional scars from the imagined scare.
What this seems to indicate (to me at least) is that women need to be educated as to what they’re looking for – not just that they need to do an exam. In gyne instruction, we were trained to teach doctors to teach patients to look for anything that changes from month to month – and to not necessarily panic at every little lump and bump. Healthy breasts are full of all kinds of nodules and other weird-feeling bits of tissue, fiber, and ductwork. They change from day to day, month to month. Being aware of these normal changes will make it easier to notice when something abnormal pops up.
The results of this study also point to a trend towards overtreatment. I’m not sure what I can say about that, so I’ll just let it stand.
Regardless, I feel like it’s really irresponsible to discourage women from doing a simple, painless, easy thing that might lead to early detection. As the daughter and granddaughter of breast cancer survivors, and also as the daughter of an oncologist, and also as a former gyne instructor, I think I know what I’m talking about.
July 16th, 2008
So at the beginning of the month, I had good intentions to post every day. That very much didn’t happen. Instead, I bring you the always classic bulleted list of stuff that’s going on.
Things I’m excited about right now:
- Pimms & lemonade.
- The good planning meeting I had today – one of the first good meetings I’ve had in a while.
- Dinner, which is just waiting for SB to get home to eat it!
- Finally achieving “regular” status somewhere.
- New apartment!
- Erin Fae’s impending visit.
- Maybe volunteering for a farmers’ market event next weekend?
- Cait had her baby!
Things that are going on but I’m not so excited about:
- Crazy papercut on my index finger.
- Finally running out of bath bombs after my January buying binge.
- Having to pony up for various deposits almost 2 months before we recoup our old deposits.
- Homework. Augh. I’m trying to be good about pacing myself, but I’m falling a little behind.
- Cradle to Cradle is depressing me all to hell, but I’m reading it anyway.
What’s up with you?
July 15th, 2008
I just finished what will probably be the most annoying and tedious (other than data transcription, but at least that has a certain rhythm to it) part of my CAS project. It took ~5 hours, but I’m done! On to the next tedious tasks – writing the IRB protocol, conducting the lit review, etc. And oh, the etc that lies ahead of me!
July 6th, 2008