Most people walk... all women carry burdens...

Most people walk... all women carry burdens..., originally uploaded by Laura Grace.

Besides the baby on her back, she is holding the hand of another child, and carrying a huge amount of bundles, etc. She is probably walking for miles.

Children Pray in Malawi

Praying, originally uploaded by katester.

They have nothing and share everything.

23 Things

23 Things. Week Two. Done. Rollin' . Next.

23 Things, Take 2

Well, I'm starting over on 23 Things today. Too much time has elapsed. My branch did not schedule LATI time for several weeks, holidays, etc. Hopefully, that is remedied now and I can get some consistent LATI work done.

23 Things, 9 weeks.

Week One complete. Next.

Life Outside LATI

I've had a few great personal weeks. I went to Pittsburgh last weekend for a conference on Malawi. It was so excellent. There were three folks from Malawi there, a dozen Malawians now living in the U.S., 10 long term volunteers to Malawi (including Dr. Sue Makin--who has celebrity status with this group) and about 40 other folks from across the U.S. who are keenly interested in the politics, culture and future of Malawi. It was a learning 4 days full of workshops, singing, worship and conversation.

FYI-Malawi is a land locked country in SE Africa. Over 10% of the population are orphans due to AIDS and Malaria. Malawi is to that hemishere what Haiti is to us. They face a long list of hardships. They are a lovely, spiritual people. Economically poor and rich in love and relationships.

Different subject:

Saturday was my birthday and also my husband's birthday. Yes, we are exactly the same age within minutes of each other. (My daughter, at age 6, was amazed to find out that her best friend's parents were NOT born on the same day.) Friends came for dinner on Friday. Our teenage son made dinner on Saturday, college son called home, and daughter played a card game with me and we generally were lazy and hung out on a rainy day. Church and work on Sunday.

Life is good.

Mediocrity Is Highly Underrated

This quote is from a cartoon I saw years ago when my children were little. The graphic is a mother and grandmother having tea in the kitchen while the children are playing outside.

Life doesn't always have to be in Big Bang mode to be good.

And so it is in LibraryLand. I like to look up from the Info desk sometimes and take in my surroundings. How nice it is to see patrons enjoying themselves. Patrons at the stacks scanning a book or looking over shelves, people at computers that are working properly, people working diligently at tables, maybe someone in the magazine section, families in the J area, and neighbors greeting one another.

We don't have to be conducting "over the top" programming to be servicing the community. Don't misunderstand, I love the programs, too--but simple contentment for the everyday rhythm of the library is a good thing as well.

Getting the Hang of Things

Well, I've had to admit defeat in my goal to print less (not just in LATI but always). I find the material to be confusing enough that I have to have a hard copy to organize my work flow. Also, I printed a 6 month blank calendar to keep in the front of my binder. Whenever I see a date (or deadline) I mark it on there. So I don't have to have to worry if I am missing something and I don't have to retrace my steps to find something I have a vague recollection of.

A Better Day

Feeling a bit more pulled together today. Able to proceed in an orderly fashion. Hope to backtrack a few steps to really try to understand some of the work I've been zooming through.

7.5 Habits of Lifelong Learners

Great summary and very motivating.

The easiest habit for me is number one: Begin with the end in mind. That's in sync w/ some of my personal living philosophies.

The toughest habit for me is number 7.5: Play. See above--I tend to get focussed on the end of the journey and forget to enjoy the trip. Will have to work harder at playing ... hmm, is that an oxymoron?

Technology Trip Ups

The learning curve has been steep. Lots of technology oops. Our computer lab at headquarters spent about an hour today cleaning some old "stuff" off the computer I'm using and installing necessary and updated programs. Lots of other tech bumps along the way.

Next week will be frustrating too as I will probably be moved to a different computer. We'll see.

Perhaps the glitches are all behind me and I can really dig in and gain some momentum on LATI. Feeling left back at the gate and playing catch up.

First Date

Looking forward to getting to know you.