Scenes from Legally Blonde the Musical...

My Shanty built out of cardboard, ductape and plastic bags. I won 3rd place and got a 25 dollar gift certificate to the Campus book/clothing store! WHOOT!

Fail

I knew I was forgetting something tonight. It's been a long one that is for sure. So today we were studying HTML. We were given a website and we had to find the validation errors. Guess who found the errors and fixed them first... *whistle* so I got to be teachers helper and go around helping my classmates. It was fun! Then it was off to watch Legally Blonde the Musical. It was so funny. I couldn't believe the insanity of it. Here, just as an example...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FkxVgPSUlAM

Other than that... I'm doing great. No pictures today because I'm running late. However, tomorrow I shall do my best. Tomorrow... A trip to CVS, working on GAME project, and Hoosierville!

Long Day

I'm still getting hot/cold flashes from giving blood. So today you get part 1 of my Halloween decorations. This is the door to my room :D.

In other news, I think I may have thought of an awesome idea for my final project in Reference. I have to propose the idea formally to my teacher and see how it flies. I would be super excited if it were to work. WHOOT! And.. .that's all... Tomorrow another round of learning HTML.

How I Passed out in the Elevator and Other Interesting Stories.

So... My co-workers and close friends know this fact... My parents know this fact... I do not handle blood well. In fact, I don't handle it at all. Which is why when I was walking back from dinner/4 hours spent doing homework in the library, it was a bad idea to even think about the sign in front of my dorm that said "Blood Drive" it was a worse idea to talk to the two people who were helping direct people. And it was incredibly stupid to get in line.

So, I get approved... Start giving blood and I'm ok. Nothing to bad. Almost done when my head starts to feel like its caving in on itself. I managed to catch the eye of the helper and he looks at me and asks if I'm ok and and I shake my head no. Suddenly my feet are over my head and cold compresses are on my face and neck. I start to feel better. I get up slowly (after they unhook me of course) go sit on the "post-vampire-drive" couch section and then have to put my feet up again. I drink two things of orange juice and I'm finally feeling better. I'm like "Ok... I'm good. I think I can go." They finally agree and I head out. I'm good... I'm a little light headed. I get to my dorm and I'm really not feeling well by the time I get in the elevator. I remember keying 4th... And I vaguely remember two girls getting out at 4th... And then nothing. I know I was still standing when I made it to the 11th floor. I only know that cause a girl walked in, takes one look at me and asks "Are you ok?"

I managed a "No, just gave blood." and she then proceeds to insist on walking me to my dorm room. Which was incredibly sweet of her because... Yea, I wouldn't have made it. I get in my room, and pretty much push everything onto the floor, throw my pillows under my legs and then just lay there staring at the ceiling.

My mother and various other friends have now banned me from ever giving blood again. I missed Swing Dance :( and I left a lot of people worried (sorry!). However... I did managed to pass out standing up for 6 floors in an elevator and I got a free t-shirt!

The moral of the stories ladies and gents. It's good to give blood... But not if you have a history of fainting while doing so. :D

More Pictures than you can Shake a Stick At!!!

FRIDAY!

Written on the Board to Pub. Lib. Management when we walked in...
A cryptic but awesome remnant of a class gone by...

The Homecoming Parade

Game Night: Bowling!



SATURDAY!

Tailgating (free ticket for me!) and the Game

SUNDAY!

zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz

(Plus a run to the dollar store and tv night with friends.)

Miss you all!

Ack!

It has been so crazy today I forgot to grab pictures off my camera. So... today I went tailgating at home coming. Got free tickets to the game and got to be on TV. Then I did a load of laundry and relaxed. Hopefully tomorrow I'll post lots of pictures from the last couple of days. I'm waiting for my camera to finish charging.

So expect more soon... And always go to homecoming, even if only to support your Residence Hall who spent time and effort getting a tailgating party ready for you!

Picture Heavy! Watch Out

It was a long wonderful day today... I went to class, hung out with a friend from SLIS and then we set off to check out the Willkie library, went to watch the homecoming parade (and snatched tons of candy), then grabbed some a really good burger... Oh my... It was a really good burger. Then I had game night on the floor above me where we played Scategories and then went bowling! I actually have some pictures from both of those... But today is.. Help me decide which picture I should use for a contest. Let me know your favorite of these?

The title of the picture is...

Mr. Ben helps Jerry cross the Moose Tracks

1

2

3

4

5

PS: Finished Howl's Moving Castle the Book! There is a third in that series!!!

On my way home the other day I ran into this funky looking car... It had a creepy guy in a mask sitting in the passenger seat. I had to take a picture!

Today was pretty simple. We talked about game design... Then I went to grab some supper. Asian from Wright. You stand in line, order your sauce, spice, and meat. Then you grab your veggies in a bowl and put them on top of the counter. Then it's all cooked. Yummy!!!

After that I headed to the IMU for what I thought would be the movie Inception. It wasn't so I skipped out and came back to my dorm. Oh well! That is life I guess.

Finally, I read a bunch of stuff on problem Patrons... I won't go into it. But you can read about my experience with the three articles here... http://s553.blogspot.com

Finally... I am working on a project. I took a bunch of pictures today and I now need to figure out which I am going to use for the contest. I might let you all decide for me! We'll see how tomorrow goes. Well... goodnight all!

Sock Monkey Librarian

Rain!!!

No picture today! It was kind of disappointing. I go out of my dorm to a beautiful day out. Warm, sunny, perfect. I come out of class 2 and 1/2 hours later and it's cold and raining. Which almost ruined my plans. However, I scaled back on my original "explore Bloomington" plans and decided to go to Wal-mart using the bus system. I managed to get there using the #3 bus towards... highland/curry? Something like that. It was quite a ways away though, so if your going on a Wal-mart run, make sure you have plenty of time.

IN other news we are now starting to learn basic HTML in my 401 class and my Human and Computer Interaction class is starting to work on the final assignment: designing an educational game.

Lets see... The only other news I have is my desperate plan if I should go into a specialization or if I should go with a more well rounded approach.. I really need to figure that out. Well, until tomorrow.

Sock Monkey Librarian

Pathfinder

Today was my Pathfinder presentation... I am exhausted, although I think I did alright even if I did wake up feeling aweful. So, I'm leaving you tonight with a picture of my dorm (its way in the back ground but all the buildings you see are technically "Willkie"). And a thank you to my reviewer who shared my Studio Ghibli Marathon! Now I'm reading Howl's Moving Castle the book.

Love you all!
Sock Monkey Librarian

My Day In Pictures

The Gutenberg Bible: 1 of only 21 complete copies left from the printing of the Gutenberg press in the 1450's.




Swing Dance Class


Homecoming Insanity

A great day!

So today was the start of an awesome week. The Swing Club had their fall fest. If you aren't involved with the Swing Club... You need to be. It's a great club and everyone is super nice. One nice couple let me hitch a ride with them. Plus there was free food, a hay ride, and a bon fire... As above. I can't wait to go dancing tomorrow and get to see everyone again.

Then I went down to watch the Sunday Night TV show. I ended up staying till... well now actually to help with a project for the dorms. It was a great night. Tomorrow, hopefully, I will be going to Wal-mart, Michaels, Jo-Ann Fabrics, the Lilly Library to see the Gutenberg Bible, and then to Swing Dance... Hopefully everything works out well. Goodnight all!!!

The Sock Monkey Librarian

Cleaning Day!

This picture has nothing to do with my day. I just thought it was funny that all these peppers were growing on campus. So I took a picture a couple of days ago.

Actually, the only outside view I had today was my walk from South Willkie to Center Willkie for food. Otherwise, it's been cleaning the floors, picking up the bathroom a bit, doing dishes, and doing laundry. I must say though, the Stromboli from Willkie are pretty amazing. Also, after watching Howl's Moving Castle I was once again inspired to read the book the movie came from. So if you'll excuse me I'll see you tomorrow. (Which is also fall fest for the Swing Dance Club :D)

The Sock Monkey Librarian

Ahhh! It's was a beautiful day out. As you can see the leaves are finally starting to turn and the campus is a mass of greens, yellows, oranges, and reds. I adore it. I have so many pictures! I keep trying to get a picture of a leaf as it is falling. I got one but you can't really tell so I will continue for this perfect picture.

I had a blast today in Pub Lib! We talked about gaming in libraries and if it should/shouldn't happen. We also talked about how to handle the YA collection and make sure the teens of the community are included in the library. Personally, I think my old library did a pretty awesome job from the criteria presented today. Now... the Monroe County Public Lib (the public Library here) not so much. And this library....

Maplewood (New Jersey) Public Library
- Who complained that teens would “fight, urinate on the bathroom floor, scrawl graffiti on the walls, talk back to librarians or refuse to leave when asked. One recently threatened to burn down the branch library.”
- Library tried “to develop a behavior policy, hire after-school monitors, contact parents, and reach out to students through a Teen Advisory Group.”
-The ultimate solution: completely close down two branches from 2:45 to 5:00.
(Taken in part from my professor's power point, Thanks Professor! who in turn got it from...
Kelley, T. (2007, January 2). Lock the library! Rowdy students are taking over. New York Times. Retrieved from http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9402E6DE1730F931A35752C0A9619C8B63&sec=&spon=&pagewanted=all

Oder, N. (2007, February 15). NJ PL Reverses After-School Plan. Library Journal. Retrieved from: http://www.libraryjournal.com/article/CA6413446.html )

Finally, I went off to the Campus Mall area to get groceries and use some coupons I had. :D Fun times. I'm also trying to decide what I should go as for Halloween... Any suggestions? Anybody?

Now! Off for a night of Studio Ghibli, Howl's Moving Castle. :D

Love and Peace,
The Sock Monkey Librarian

Friends Romans... Other People!

This was a Rose I saw the other day at the side of the Monroe County Public Library. It was the last one and made me happy! I'm going to try, trying being the operative word, to update once a day... if only just to add a new picture to the collection. Wish me luck!

On the news front... Saturday, I kinda, sorta went out on a date. It was fun... Yes, I'm probably going to see him again. Don't worry, he was a complete gentleman. He even walked me to my dorm (which is the complete opposite side to where he parked).

Then on Sunday I tried a "Bake cookies for my Floor" party. Which.. Turned into a bust. Three people stopped by (they were very nice though!) so I ended up taking them down stairs to the North Desk. Where I met a lovely group who invited me and my cookies to watch this insane show which I found out they made fun of the entire time. It was a lot of fun! Then on my way back I stopped and asked one of the delivery girls who had just finished dropping off Jimmy John's if she would like one. She said yes and told me I had made her night. So I feel the cookies were a good thing. I still have some left if anybody wants them!

Monday was swing dance.. I'm getting better but still not perfect. And mostly I've just been doing homework and volunteering. I managed to walk/bus to the Goodwill, Hobby Lobby, and the Salvation Army. Fun trips! Lets see, I've been reading about Ethnography (The study/immersion into another cultures way of life) specifically a couple chapters from a book called "My Life as a Night Elf Priest" which is about a woman who started playing World of Warcraft to study the culture within the game. I've also read up on budgets and I am finishing a project, for tomorrow, that requires me to cut 30,000 dollars from a real library budget and then explain the choices I made... That was HARD! I had to cut page hours. :( I am also working on a pathfinder, which is mostly just a fancy word for a list of sources for a very specific topic. I'm doing mine on the GED, go figure.

That's mostly all! OH! But for those that know me, I ran into Numbers today. (Numbers is a guy that looks like the actor who plays Charlie Epps on Numb3ers) He is at IU to get his B.A. in Spanish/Art. It was so funny. We were both getting ketchup. We both sorta looked at each other and then turned away and then in perfect sync, did a double take. His first words "YOUR THE LIBRARY LADY!" Way to make me feel old, kid. :) It was really nice seeing a familiar face... And more than amusing. :D

That's all for now. Hopefully, I'll actually start updating more now that I have the goal of a picture a day, we'll see. Oh also! Does anyone have the movie The Halloween Tree? I'm dying to watch it again and I'm still waiting for the ILL to come through. If you haven't seen it, try to find it, it's a pretty amazing/spooky movie.

The Sock Monkey Librarian

Ack! So bad at updating...

Well really quick. Nothing too exciting, about to start pub lib class. I'm not going to subject you to the horror of budget readings. But next week I will try my best to send you the reading list.

I got to take a Dreamweaver/CSS class and a FireWorks class. Both of which were a blast. I have a whole new appreciation for vector graphics. Also you should check out the CSS Zen Garden. http://www.csszengarden.com/

Now... Class is starting.. Bye all!

Work, Work, and more Work

So it's been an interesting week. Lots of insanity to go around. I actually decided to go out on Thursday night. I grabbed a burrito at the Bistro on campus as I was heading the the IMU to watch the new Karate Kid. I got it to go and was walking across campus munching. It was amazing! SO good. So good, in fact, that my shirt decided it wanted a bite to. I ended up running back to my room, using a bit of stain remover on my shirt, and then running to the IMU. I made it with time to spare! The Karate Kid was awesomeness.

From Friday to Sunday, my time was filled with visiting friends and checking out the local haunts. We managed to catch the tale end of the Lotus festival. I will hopefully post pictures up sometime soon.

Monday was rather insane. I went to the public library to volunteer as an RFID tagger. It was so much fun! I got to talk to a lovely librarian about pretty much everything as we tagged some of the books. It was a really interesting process and I look forward to seeing how it is implemented in the future. After that I ran some errands and then it was time for the SLIS Autumn Reception at FARM.

The SLIS event was great. The food was wonderful, the music impressive, and the crowd of SLIS students, faculty, and staff was awesome. Unfortunately, mid way through I got really shy and left. To many people and not enough people that I actually knew. Although thankfully two very nice (Chinese?) students took me under their wing and I had a great time with them and another lady who had brought the cutest little girl.

Anyway, after SLIS I ran over to the IMU for swing dancing class. It was so much fun! It was so funny, it seemed like yesterday was the day for me to be shy. In the middle of the class the male instructor was off getting music and the female instructor was talking to us about one of the moves. She looked around for a minute and then offered her hand to me. So, I was dragged to the front of the class and helped her demonstrate the move. I was so shy! My face had to be bright red. She had the entire class clap for me and say thanks too... THEN! As we were finished up they asked for a couple to start the free dancing. My partner dragged me onto the floor again. It was fun! I got really shy but I had a great time and it was a lot of help from the bad type of shyness from before.

Anyway... Now I have to run to class. Hopefully more later!

Yay! Two Updates in One day

I actually did manage to turn in my project at roughly 6:11. I really hope that's not considered late. I tried my best to get it in on time, but then I realized I needed a scan of the map and had no idea where to get a scan of the map. So, I ended up taking a picture of my very used map and editing it so it looked at least halfway decent.

... Anyway, I actually made a list of swag gotten. Mostly because it really amused me... So reason number 500 why you should pay attention to random things on campus especially if they involve the words "Tech Fest," you can receive, for free....
1 t-shirt
1 mirror
2 bags
1 key chain hooky thingy
One apple pencil
One cool whistle
One small thing of hand sanitizer
Two apples
One bag of baked Cheetos
One kitkat

Next off, the reading list for this week. Enjoy all. I loved 501's reading. 516 was pretty cool if a bit creepy.. And I still need to finish 553... Hopefully tonight.

501-Reference
Flying a light aircraft: reference service evaluation from a user’s viewpoint.
by Patricia Dewdney and Catherine Sheldrick Ross

Library Jargon: Student Recognition of Terms and Concepts Commonly Used by Librarians in the Classroom by Norman B. Hutcherson


553 - Public Library Management (Guest Speaker this week)
Breeding, M. (2008). Major open source ILS products. Library Technology Reports, 44(8), 16-31.

Breeding, M. (2008). Open source library automation: Overview and perspective. Library Technology Reports, 44(8), 6-10.


516 - Human-Computer Interaction
Clark, A. (2003). Ch. 2. Technologies to bond with. In Natural-born cyborgs: Minds, technologies, and the future of human intelligence. Oxford: Oxford University Press.

Ekbia, H.R. (2008). Ch. 3. Cyborgs: Cybernetic AI. In Artificial dreams: The quest for non-biological intelligence. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.

Norman, D.A. (2009). Memory is more important than actuality. Interactions. 16 (2), 24-26.

O (Optional): Thagard, P. (2007). Cognitive science. Standford Encyclopedia of Philosophy. Available at http://plato.stanford.edu/entries/cognitive-science/

Well that's all! Tomorrow I'm headed off to the public library to return a movie, random browsing of shops, and finally the Karate Kid showing at 8 at the IMU. Fun times!

Ack! I've been Bad

Sorry all, it's been kinda crazy lately. I fell on the bus, yea turns out... You need to hold on to something during bus rides... go figure. I've been doing homework. I'll post my reading list sometime soon but class is about to start. I'm working on my first "Big assignment" not counting the assignment for 401 which... was to easy to be considered a problem.
Seriously...
Parse a web address,
Difference between VPN and LAN,
Explain FTP and give two examples one of which is console based,
How does a search engine work,
how is a server different from a PC?

Answer if you dare. Otherwise, my big project is working on the usability guide for a system or object. Mostly you evaluate a system/object for it's good and bad aspects of design. Then you come up with a couple of things that should be achieved for good "usability" for instance, the ability to memorize the product. And then you evaluate the product based on those goals. This is a shortened version, of course.

Otherwise, I had friends up last, last weekend. And last weekend I was home for a Doc. Appointment. :D Man I missed home... especially the water and the bath tub (Not to mention friends, family, and animals).

Um, new on campus? I joined the swing dancing club and I am taking beginning lessons every Monday. :D It's fun! And... That is mostly it. OH! Except, I just got back from the IU "Tech Fest" Where I received swag... lots and lots of swag.... Not to mention free apples and chips. I came away with two bags, a pencil, some magnets, some clips, and a t-shirt... I might have more but I haven't been able to look yet.

Also, I ate in the upstairs library cafe area. I had what amounted to a fancy cheese sandwich. It was very good... but after I ordered it I really wanted a blueberry bagel with strawberry cream cheese. Oh well! Next time.

See you all later, I have to actually pay attention. Class is about to start.

PS: Wish me luck... I still have to get a paper done before 6... EEP!

The Sock Monkey Librarian

Reading and Goofing off

Hello all! Sorry I've been so slow on updating. I had a little reading this week and now I'm trying to get a head start on text weeks reading... But I keep getting distracted by Facebook Games... Buffy the Vampire Slayer... And a strange little game called Achievements Unlocked 2. You should try it.. But be warned... It will suck your time away... http://armorgames.com/play/6561/achievement-unlocked-2

I'm not going to update too much. I was only going to tell you that I am supper excited for my new computer class (HCI: Human Computer Interaction) and give you last weeks reading list...

Norman, D. (1988). The psychopathology of everyday things. Ch. 1

Dubberly, H., Pangaro, P., & Haque, U. (2009). What is interaction? Are there different types? Interactions. 16 (1), 69-75.


My other class, Public Library Management IS AMAZING. Not only is the class a blast (We defined what a library does... and then put that under one giant category... It was something like "Providing Access to Information and Leisure") The class was pretty awesome. We have a pretty cool group of people and EVERYONE was talking. I can tell that this class is going to be a blast to go to. If your interested... Here was last weeks reading list...

McCrossen, A. (2006). “One cathedral more” or “mere lounging places for bummers”? The cultural politics of leisure and the public library in gilded age America. Libraries & Culture, 41(2), 169-188.

Moorman, J.A. (2006). Public libraries. In J.A. Moorman (Ed.), Running A Small Library: A How-To-Do-It Manual (pp. 45-54) New York: Neal-Schuman Publishers, Inc.


Finally, I'm going to give you a sneak peek at what I need to do for this week (Not counting out of school activities)

Reading List...
Nothing for 401 Computer Based Information Tools

501 - Reference
Read Guidelines for Instruction Programs in Academic Libraries
http://www.ala.org/ala/mgrps/divs/acrl/standards/guidelinesinstruction.cfm
Association of College and Research Libraries Standards for Proficiencies for Instruction Librarians and Coordinators
http://www.ala.org/ala/mgrps/divs/acrl/standards/profstandards.cfm
Is There an Information Literacy Skills Gap to Be Bridged? An Examination of Faculty Perceptions and Activities Relating to Information Literacy in the United States and England by Jacqui Weetman DaCosta
Undergraduate Perceptions of Information Literacy: Defining, Attaining, and Self-Assessing Skills by Melissa Gross and Don Latham

516 HCI
Hannon, C. (2008). Mental and conceptual models, and the problem of contingency. Interactions. 15 (5), 58-64.
Hannon, C. (2009). As we may speak: Metaphors, conceptual blends, and usability. Interactions. 16 (3), 16-19.

553 Public Library Management
Bell, S.J. (2005). Submit or resist: Librarianship in the age of Google. American Libraries, 36(9), 68-71.
Cart, M. (1993) What literature? School Library Journal, 39(9) 160-161.
Isaacson, D. (2005) Let them steal books. Library Journal, 130(6), 68.
Kennedy, S.D. (2005). Give them what they want. Information Today, 22(11), 17-20.

Well... I'm off to read and write responses to everything. Hope everyone has an awesome night!

The Sock Monkey (almost) Librarian

Computer based Information Tools Week 1

Soo.. You might be wondering why I am writing so late. We'll it has been kinda crazy. I went to class, it was so much fun! We worked with Putty! Mostly... I think I'm going to know a lot of this... But I'm really excited about it. I also signed up for some Step classes (Which reminds me... I need to sign up for the second round of those) I'm really super excited about those. But for now I'm just taking it easy. S401 looks like it's going to be my relaxing class of the week while still teaching me something... if that makes sense?

Then I went and got my library card from the public library! Finally! And filled out a volunteer form. :D Lets hope they like it and let me volunteer there. Lets see... I grabbed some dinner and then came back to the dorm where the fun started.

I got an e-mail for my class tomorrow. He sent out the syllabus today... Which wouldn't have been a problem if he hadn't made an assignment do in the next... 12 hours? Readings and reflections. I just managed to get it done... I was slightly procrastinating. However, it also started the "He ordered a textbook... It's not in the book store, it's not at B&N, it's not at Wells library, it's not in the public library... CRAP!" I ended up ordering it on ILL. I hope it comes in soon because... if it doesn't? I'm going to be in trouble with readings and assignments. Oh well, I'll try my best.

Well that is my crazy night... How was yours?

Day One: Reference

I really love my Reference professor, Angela Courtney. I am now way more excited then I was in the beginning. We talked a bit about the syllabus and what our plan for the semester was... Which I will not share with you cause you get to think about it when I do... And right now? I'm not thinking about it. MUAHAHAHAHA

However, I can tell you we talked about what Reference meant to the individual in the class. Here is some of the stuff we thought about when we thought of Reference of a Reference librarian...

Reference Interview: Answer vs. How
Environment
People
Databases
Idiosyncratic
Alternatives: Yahoo Answers, etc
E-mail, Chat, Forums, Wikis, Facebook, Twitter
Good versions of Bad Reference
Assessment and evaluation
Query Skills, Keywords
Intuition for Reference
last ditch effort
Librarian as a gatekeeper, like an editor
Detective
Love of Knowledge
Teacher
What does the person really want
Teamwork and Collaboration
Navigator

Think about it and see if you come up with the same answers or different ones. I have some reading to do... But since I'm not there yet. You'll just have to wait till I read it. Enjoy all!

The Sock Monkey Librarian

One Last Lazy Day.

Classes officially start tomorrow for me! I'm excited. My books are packed, everything is ready... and all is right with the world.

Just a thought, make sure, when you reformat your computer, you don't freak when something doesn't work... Because you probably forgot to install your drivers. Like I did, which I spent like 3 hours fixing. I finally got it and managed to finish Buffy.

I went to dinner with my Roomie. SOOO good. Spaghetti sauce with squash and noodles. It was wonderful. Wright dorm is an amazing place to eat. Unfortunately, the library is not so great. It's closed until Friday. Which means my Buffy Fix will have to wait. And darn cause I just finished Season four.

Until tomorrow!
The Sock Monkey Librarian

A Really Lazy Weekend Late Post 2

So I'm just writing this today. My original plans of going to the GPSO (GSPO???) Picnic OR going to the Dollar Day at the Wonderlab were shot down when one of the international student I met, Kristen, called and invited me to go to the campus mall with her friends, Connie and Jane. In case you didn't realize, these are not their real names which are Chinese and I will not butcher trying to spell them in English.

It was a blast! I got my first ride in a taxi... Sitting up front with a rather creepy Taxi driver (but aren't they all?) and then we were at the mall. We spent the entire day goofing off and going around stores. I found some things I REALLY wanted to buy and had to force myself not to. Maybe next time. And then we goofed off around Target. I got some animal crackers to snack on instead of junk food... Well worse junk food.

We missed the bus back, grabbed some food at Steak and Shake and then grabbed the number 9 bus back to campus as we ate. It was standing room only... I really hope I get my bus legs soon... cause my wrist was killing from clutching the rope so tightly. Seriously, aren't guys supposed to give up seats to ladies? When did this stop happening!!!

Then I went back to Willkie stood in line from some awesome waffles (even if there was no fresh fruit as the picture promised) and went back to watch Buffy and talk to my roomie. It was fun times... Unfortunately for you, today doesn't prove to be much more exciting... But you don't have to read about it, that's the great thing. :D

The Sock Monkey Librarian
(Tomorrow starts classes... Hopefully more interesting topics will occur)

A Lazy Weekend

So apparently, when you go to something called a "Hog Roast" expect to see an actually hog on the grill. I'm trying desperately not to think about it.

At any point, I do have to admit it was a lot of fun. They had a water balloon fight which was a blast. Someone got a really good hit on my side and I learned I can't throw worth anything. Then we went off and everyone was playing games. I played something called "Hillbilly golf" which involved throwing two balls attached by a string to a little stand with three colored levels. I totally lost but met a nice boy named Ben. His wife couldn't be there with him but he told me to ask and between the both of them they could tell me stuff I might like to do around campus.

I also talked with Libby about fantasy/sci-fi books and getting a library card. I'm thinking tomorrow I might brave the transit system to actually find the Wonder Lab for the Dollar Days event... What can I say? I'm curious.

Otherwise I have spent, pretty much, the entire day reading "The Mockingjay" the last of the trilogy of the "Hunger Games." It was amazing... Creepy, and tearjerking... but amazing all the same. And I have to admit... I was worried about how the author was going to finish things... and while I'm really happy with most of it... I am a bit disappointed in one or two aspects. But hey, everything can't be perfect in a Dystopia novel, now can it?

Well that's all,
The Sock Monkey Librarian

Orientation Day 2

Hello All,
I actually wrote this yesterday but I am just now getting to put it online.

Umm.. Yesterday was interesting. We had one more day of orientation. We got to tour the library… I can’t wait to go back and check out their media section… So many movies.. and anime… and other stuff. I can’t wait!

Then we got a small tech presentation on what not to do, what to do, general stuff like that. I really liked the guy presenting. He had a wicked sense of humor and, as some of my friends will be happy to hear about, he plays WoW…

After Orientation, I walked over to the IMU to go to the Part-time job fair. It was so crowded!!! You could barely move. I ended up signing up for a couple of jobs.. (Which reminds me I need to make a note to check out some of the positions you have to fill out online.) And then… I got lost.

Not really, I mean, I recognized where I was and most of everything around me. But for the most part? Yea… Completely lost. I ended up using my phone and,after a long internal debate, my on campus map. For further reference… College Ave? Apparently is another name for 7th street according to Google Maps (at least I think that is what it was trying to tell me). It would have been great to know this BEFORE I got lost but whatever. Between my phone and my map I made it… But man I was tired. I crashed and took a nap. Got up and pretty much vegged the entire night. I had the option of going to see a movie (Date Night) but wasn’t horribly interested.

I cleaned up a bit, did some dishes, tried out the water filter (Thank you PeaceKaat), and mostly just relaxed.

I can’t wait for the Hog Roast tomorrow though.. Well until then!

The Sock Monkey Librarian

Orientation

Orientation is an interesting phenomenon. Honestly, I was not sure what I was getting myself into but I liked it. During one of the lectures, we compared the "Librarian Pearl" to the new "hip" librarian. Complete with a MLS student remake of Lady Gaga.

After the first half we all got to eat a nice lunch on SLIS's tab. Not bad at all, and it was great to talk to some of the people that are going into the field and finding out what they think.

Next was the "choose your path" part of orientation. Half the students broke for the Rare books and Archive stuff. The rest of us went for the computer stuff. The first session was CMC (Computer-mediated Communication). You think you know what that's about? Answer these questions...

1. When did e-mail start?
2. What percentage of spam do people get in their e-mail?
3. What is an emoticon?
4. Name an example of synchronous CMC?
True or False
5. Most of the world is on the net now
6. More women than men use the internet
7. People report a positive experience the first time they use a form of CMC
8. CMC causes people to behave differently than face-to-face interaction.

The professor seemed really passionate about her subject. She also said that she believes the future of CMC is going to be found in web design issues because of how people want to respond with text.

Next course was on the difference of Information Seeking and Using.
It was interesting to say the least and so I will only leave you with this quote from it: You must portray a "Born out of the womb to help people" personality in the library field to get a job.

Next was about Courses and Research.
The two professors giving the talk were so funny! I'm really pondering taking the course that they were talking about (503).
Quote from them? The three legged stool of library science. The legs are....
1. Representational bases
2. Bibliometrics
3. Information Retrieval.
and...
"Classification is the 'sexy' research area"

Next was Elective Courses.
Ying Ding, the professor, talked a lot about XML and Meta-data. That is Data about Data. It was really interesting. As she explained it, if we had to look at all the data to find something specific we would never rest and "without sleeping I will die!"


After SLIS orientation I ran back to my dorm and then went to the cultural festival. I missed the part about the history of IU. But!!! I would suggest going there and watching the show. If only do you don't have to wait in the hour long line that I did to get tickets. Not to mention, since you get your tickets first, no booth is out of food yet. I met some awesome International freshman. There was a really sweet girl from China who let me tag along with her and her friend as we navigated. It was insane but so much fun.

Finally, I took a quick stop to the public library about volunteering and getting a card (I have to go back with a piece of mail). Then I walked over to Nick's English Hut. It was so loud!!! It was fun talking to everyone but the SLIS meeting they were having there was crazy. We could barely hear each other. I skipped out after about an hour and took the E bus back. Just as a suggestion? If your going to Willkie... Make sure you ask to get off at Rose or you are in for a long drive and a five minute lay over.

Well goodnight all,
Sock Monkey Librarian

Moving In

It's pretty much guaranteed that when you move in... Something will go wrong. Something bad will happen. Yea, that pretty much explains the whole day. However, some tips for anyone just moving to Bloomington.
1. Get a "Welcome to Bloomington" magazine. It has some really great maps in it.
2. Find a map of the campus and cling to it with your life.
3. Visit campus card services located in the IMU building.
4. Find a bus schedule map.
5. Always listen and be nice to the staff of the dorm. These are the people that will help you the most.

That is pretty much it. My dorm was playing board games for quite a while and I joined a game of Mafia and then some random games of Taboo. It was a blast!

The Sock Monkey Librarian