Tomorrow's a day off for the working world but for me, it's the first day of a full week off before I begin my new job. I'm pretty excited to have the week even though I know we'll never get done everything that we want to do.
I mean, our list ranges from easy picks like "change that burnt out lightbulb" to more difficult ones like "completely kill all weeds and other unwanted pests that now infect our yard after what is, in many ways, two straight years of neglect."
As for weed killing, preferably in a way that leaves no poisons that may also be harmful to Pace. I grew up, not exactly on a farm, but close enough to that world (I was raised for the first couple of years of my life in the bulk fuel dealership my parents ran) that I've had my dose of poison and it's too late to worry about that. But I'd like to try to protect him as much as possible. And at the same time, I know it's futile because we basically live in a world that gives us cancer and all kinds of other crap, just because we live in it. "Here son, have some Red Dye #49 licorice."
Some other goals for the week? Buy new shoes. Decide if I'm going to be a bus rider or a car commuter. Go into RPL and sign the papers to make it official. Have naps whenever possible. Change aforementioned lightbulb. Kill aforementioned weeds. Possibly buy a lawn mower if I can find a good deal. Maybe get a book or two read. Catch up on all sorts of loose ends I've really let lag in the past month - just the day-to-day basics of keeping up with regular mail, e-mail, etc.
Although it's tough leaving Weyburn, Shea's happy to be back in the city I think. I'm looking at the rough plan we drew up for the week and she's already got not one but two social outings planned! (I have zero if you're keeping track.)
My parents are coming up for a day or three to watch Pace while Shea and I try to compress two houses worth of clothes, toys and other crap into one (which is really our main goal for the week if I'm being honest - pretty much everything else I listed above is lower on the priority list). But with them here, perhaps Shea and I can steal away to such foreign delights such as a "movie" or a "brew pub". That would be swell!
I have to do some inquiries about my pension and it's sort of surreal to have one after 10 years of no pension (one job paid us extra in lieu of a pension, one didn't have one.) I don't really worry about my pension and I suspect a lot of people in my generation feel the same way. At the same time, I had a grandfather who told me to start saving 10% of everything I made when I got my first job at 16. I think I've kept that up pretty faithfully for the most part my whole working life. That helps reduce the retirement worry. (Someone asked if I got a bonus when I left SRL. No, but I did get to cash a big chunk of my unused health benefits - they're on an ASO plan - and transfer that into my RSP. So that was sort of like a bonus in some ways.)
Shea and I sold hot dogs for La Leche League today and I felt like I was back in high school selling food for the SRC again.
Went to a bbq on Saturday and a friend said they knew someone who named their kid Revan...which is apparently the name of a Dark Lord of the Sith in Star Wars. Two thoughts - a) Pace isn't so bad and b) man, I have some ultra-geeky friends.
...and yes, the pun (such as it were) in the title of this post was intentional. Good-night.
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Sunday, August 31
Saturday, August 30
Rural Saskatchewan Library Director Sentenced to Two Years for Nearly $1 million in Fraud at Library
by
Jason
on Sat 30 Aug 2008 12:54 AM CST
A Saskatchewan library director who defrauded his system of half a million dollars (and possibly as much as one million dollars though that wasn't proven) over a period of fourteen years via orders to a false US-based publisher that he'd set up himself was sentenced earlier this week to two years in prison less a day.
Too bad the media kept identifying him as a "Saskatoon librarian" as this might give the impression he worked for SPL instead of the truth which was that he was director for a rural system that is based in Saskatoon but operates in rural communities south of that city. Here are some more news stories about this if you're interested. Friday, August 29
McCain Picks Sexy Librarian For VP Slot
by
Jason
on Fri 29 Aug 2008 11:42 PM CST
(And yes, I'm cribbing that joke directly from Stephen Colbert)
Friday Fun Link - 29 Apps for Students and White Collar Workers (Aug 29, 2008)
by
Jason
on Fri 29 Aug 2008 10:52 PM CST
29 Web Apps For Students and White Collar Workers - lots of cool sites here, many of which I'd never seen before.
In other news, I had a surreal moment today: I was at a branch near my house today and got talking to a clerk. When I mentioned my new position with RPL, she said she recognized my name when the announcement of my new position went out to all staff at RPL last week. Turns out she used to work at the branch on the other end of the city that I frequented during undergrad...over ten years ago. Apparently "frequented" doesn't begin to cover it! (My immediate thought was "oh no - I'm *that* guy." At Southeast, there were a few patrons who were such heavy users of the library system that everyone on staff knew them by name, professional staff would order books specifically for them, and we all speculated how these people could read the dozens of books they ordered each month. I don't think I was that prolific when I went to that branch a decade ago - perhaps she just remembered me because I was in the category of "regular" rather than "super mega-user"! At least I think that must be it!  )Thursday, August 28
Thank-you Grandpa and Grandma!
by
Jason
on Thu 28 Aug 2008 09:57 AM CST
Today is my last day at work and it's hard to believe how fast the last year and a half has gone!
When we were debating which job I should take back in the spring of 2007, this job in Weyburn seemed to make the most sense in so many ways. But one question lingered - where should we live? Should we commute from Regina? Rent an apartment in Weyburn? Stay with Shea's parents during part of the week? The whole week? We'd always had a great relationship with her parents (none of those in-law horror stories you so often hear) but it's a different situation to live with someone five days a week for over a year compared to visiting for a day here and there or going on weekend camping trips or whatever. But ultimately, for our finances, we opted to live with them full-time during the week once I decided to come to work for Southeast Regional Library. (For our sanity - and theirs - we did decide to go back to our house in Regina every weekend!  )And in the end, the year couldn't have gone much better. Joan and Dennis have been beyond generous and helpful to us. They've loved having their first grandchild right here for them and Pace has thrived with having his extended family in such close proximity. They camp at Nickle Lake, a regional park just outside Weyburn, all summer so that's been great for Pace as well. It's going to be tough to say 'good-bye' later today but I have a feeling we'll see Grandpa and Grandma in Regina more than we ever did before. And the trips to Weyburn won't stop either - we know already they have a comfortable bed for us! Here's a little video I put together as a thank-you to them for all they've done for us... Wednesday, August 27
Dennis Kucinich at the DNC
by
Jason
on Wed 27 Aug 2008 07:45 AM CST
I've always liked Kucinich and his speech last night at the DNC only reinforced this - watch how he brings the afternoon crowd to life.
Maybe the Democrats nominated the wrong person for President?  Tuesday, August 26
I'm Going Home
by
Jason
on Tue 26 Aug 2008 09:17 PM CST
The announcement went out to the staff at Regina Public Library today so I can now officially talk about my new job. I have accepted a position as RPL's Organization Development Specialist!
"As a what??? I never took a class on that in library school," I hear you saying and I have to admit, I had a similar reaction when I first read the job posting. But the more I looked into what the job would be about and what it would involve, the more excited I became. Regina Public Library, like so many public libraries, is going through major changes and this position will have a key role in helping facilitate those changes within the organization. (Stop me when you hear too many buzzwords!) A big part of these changes are shifting technology and I'm especially excited to have a role in helping to develop RPL's already impressive use of technology by developing training plans for staff in how to best utilize these tools. How excited am I? I stayed up until midnight last night reading about what other libraries are doing to change themselves and brainstorming ideas I might be able to bring to RPL. I finish my contract with Southeast Regional Library this week, I'll have a week in Regina to get settled and try to compress two houses back into one then I start on September 8. I always look for the circles closing and here's another one - I've been a huge fan of RPL since I was very young to the point that, whenever I was in Regina with my parents, I'd ask them to stop at the Central Library so I could borrow books, magazines, records (!), cassettes and CD's. (I was living in Regina by the time they got their DVD collection!) Here's a shot of me, judging by the poofy hair, probably around 15 years old, coming out of Central Library. Now, in a time warp, I'll be doing the same thing every single day. I cannot wait!  Monday, August 25
I Have A Job
by
Jason
on Mon 25 Aug 2008 05:25 PM CST
Well, having managed to convince myself that I would likely be sitting on EI for a month or two this fall waiting for some pending jobs to be posted, there was a small flurry of Regina-based library jobs posted in the last month.
I went for three interviews early last week, had two offers by Friday and today, made the tough decision to accept one of them. In a rarity for me, I went more with my head than my heart in making my decision but I think it will be the right choice in the long term (much like how choosing a year and a half contract in rural Saskatchewan turned out to be the right choice over a full-time, permanent government librarian position for more money and every second Friday off that I was also offered when I was first looking a year and a half ago.) I'm not going to say anything else right now because I think the employer wants to announce it internally first and I know very well how small and inter-connected Saskatchewan's library community is and that many people in that community read this blog, either directly or via RSS and Facebook. I will say that I'm pretty excited and think it will be a position that's a good fit for my interests and abilities. (Now, where'd I put my 506 notes?) Sunday, August 24
101 Reasons To Breastfeed Your Child
by
Jason
on Sun 24 Aug 2008 10:06 PM CST
Guest editors Shea and Pace have submitted this link for your consideration: 101 Reasons To Breastfeed Your Baby
Saturday, August 23
How I Found Out Who Obama's VP Pick Is
by
Jason
on Sat 23 Aug 2008 08:57 AM CST
Last night, various Reddit users posted links to stories from ABC and other news outlets reporting that the Secret Service had been dispatched to the home of Senator Joe Biden.
That wasn't a 100% slam dunk but a pretty good indication of the pending announcement, which Obama's campaign had otherwise managed to keep in great secrecy up until that point. Still, there's a lesson in there about "Internet time" and the fact that nothing's a secret for very long anymore in this day and age. |
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