Blogging Silence

Well, after nearly 3 weeks of Blogging silence, I will finally log on and do an update. I've been busy, as you gathered, with various things.

Last week was Spring Break. I stayed in Tucson and worked on some things I had to do.

My practicum is going well. We are currently involved in a large-scale project dealing with deselection. The term for this used to be 'weeding', but now we refer to the practice of removing materials from the library as 'deselection'.

The UA Main library has a collection of materials which still have Dewey Decimal classification call numbers. These are older materials which are shelved on the first floor of the library (the basement) in compact shelving. However, the library is moving its oversize and super folios (really, really big books) to the first floor to free space on the fifth floor. So this means that the Dewey Decimals have to be cleaned out. Our area is the closest bottom 4 shelves and top 2 shelves in the next section. I have, so far pared this down to, I estimated, 3 shelves if they were filled (which they will be).

Hitoshi is at a conference this week, so it became my job to review the Japanese literature section and make my recommendations for deselection. Hitoshi hired a student to help me with various things (using the money he would have otherwise paid me; he can't pay me due to issues with student employment and Graduate Assistant being on two separate levels of employment, so I'm doing an unpaid practicum), so I trained her on checking specific data in the computer regarding the books I think can be deselected. So, in a subtle way, I am getting supervisory experience, as Hitoshi said "just have her help you with whatever you're doing".

I was pleased to discover that we have a nice collection in the Dewey Decimals. If it weren't such a pain, we would probably be better off putting these with the LC-classified (Library of Congress) books on the 4th floor. It may be a long term project he can consider doing--eventually moving all the books to the 4th floor. There is probably some deselection that can be done there. I've done a bit, but there's more.

We have a several-volume collection of the Manyoshu. However, we also have a complete volume on the 4th floor. It's more compact than this set. But it's a complete set, and a well-known work, so we won't deselect it.

We have also completed work on our dojo. It turned out very nice.

I am writing a poster for the Information Ethics session tomorrow. It is title "Angkor: A Cultural Disneyland". It deals with the problems faced in Cambodia with allowing tourists to openly visit Angkor, because the monuments are starting to show wear and tear. Yet, at the same time, Cambodia gets some much-needed tourists dollars. But on yet another hand, Cambodians are not getting the money. It goes to a private company which bribed the government for the right to sell tickets to Angkor.

I don't have a paper written for this, I am only presenting initial research. Or this is how I will describe it. It is good professional experience for my resume.

Last week I went to Ikea (http://www.ikea.com) in Tempe. A friend assured me I would love it, and sure enough I did. Swedish design which is simple yet trendy and chic, and best of all inexpensive. I purchased an Octopus-design clothes hanger (the ones like they have in Japan to dry items), two area rugs for my kitchen, and a set of potholders. Ikea reminded me a lot of Muji (http://www.muji.co.jp) (or as I playfully deemed it, Muri).

I am purchasing my dive gear finally. I will take my Rescue Diver course next month. I am also thinking I will take the challenge and go for my Divemaster and Instructor. Those, though, I am thinking about doing in Thailand. I really want to go back to Asia, and diving may also be a way I can get a work permit in another country and then find a library position.

I spoke with the assistant director the other day about all this, because I didn't know if it was career suicide to not take a job right after graduation. The thing with the library world is that it's quite flexible. Many things can enhance your resume and increase your hiring capabilities. I have been applying for jobs left and right, but the fact is that places are starting to downsize. I spoke with my friend Tracy last week over lunch, and she hasn't found work, after graduating n December. Two other people we both know also can't find jobs yet either.

The asst. director said that it may, in fact, be more beneficial for me to get out and get into the world, make contacts, live my life and see what happens, then to stay in an apartment, filling out job application after job application and feeling guilty for being turned down again, and again, and again. Meanwhile getting increasingly bored and miserable with each day, and increasingly unhappy with the living situation, and being where I am, and who I'm around, and so on and so forth.

While diving certainly doesn't make one rich, dive instructors don't do it for the money. It's the lifestyle. And I think that's what makes me happier--having a lifestyle I can enjoy, in a place I like. If I can get work and at least pay to support myself, while putting some money away, keeping abreast in the professional world (she encouraged this, keep my professional memberships, do some writing, contribute to libraries, maybe get into some volunteer work in the places I want to go), and keeping my eye on the job market, then I'll be happier. I may also study for my TESL certification, making me eligible for part-time work teaching English. Yeah, I know. Not the ultimate job. But a part-time basis isn't so bad, and if it provides income and is temporary, why not.

I've solicited advice from several friends, and I've gotten encouragement that I should do what is in my heart, even if it's not practical and sensible.

So while I'm definitely still looking at job vacancies and certainly applying for them, I can do a lot of that via the Internet now. So I'm also shoring up my assets right now, looking at what I can perhaps jettison for a bit of cash, and looking at returning to Asia.

Southeast Asia is heaps cheaper to live in, so money goes a lot further. It's just depressing when a professional can't find a job. I'm sure I've done at least 30 job applications, and will continue to do them.