What I Learned in Kalamazoo

*I have finally figured out how many books to take with you on a trip. You bring hubby’s laptop with the ability to log on to three separate online proprietary databases of audio books and bring two listening/storage devices (besides the computer) plus a separate set of good speakers and then you have the ability to download and instantly listen to over 100,000 books. We downloaded four during the trip. Did we listen to all of them? Did we even listen to parts of all of them? What’s your point, exactly?

*Do NOT take “literature” you haven’t vetted to a hospital to read. Instead of the audio book we’d started the night before, we brought Nabokov’s “Pnin” which is about “a faculty party to end all faculty parties.” I checked it out because I’ve never read Nabakov and it was the smallest of his books on the library shelf and I wanted it for traveling. It was painful and not even ER boredom could get us past it. I mentioned this to a friend who used to work for a university library and her response was, “A faculty party? Sounds more like a bad memory than anything else.”

*Whenever you pass Marshall, Michigan, for any reason whatever, in whatever you’re wearing, whoever you’re with, definitely stop at Schuler’s for dinner.

*At library conferences you get the coolest bookmarks, like this one:

(and as soon as I can figure out how to scan in color with my crappy scanner I’ll be sure to do that)

Hubby and I were traveling for the Michigan Library Association Annual Conference.

What I Learned In Gaylord

*Two story wndows overlooking fall colors with mist still hugging the ground and early sunlight reflecting off the trees is as totally awesome as it sounds

*Note to self: When my Girl Scout leader talked about “layers” she possibly meant a hat and gloves also.

*Not having wireless is not an automatic opportunity for reflection and personal growth. (It sucks.)

*I do not have enough self-assurance not to feel out-done when 5 year olds at country clubs know more about mixed green salads with dried cherries than I do.

*Running CNN all night to have some company in a strange place means you watch some pretty weird stuff.

*One print book and one book on tape that you can only listen to on the tape deck in the state-owned vehicle you drove is NOT ENOUGH for an over-night trip. NOT ENOUGH.

*(of course) always stop at Hartwick Pines when you’re near Grayling.

(posted later, when I got back to the Internet)

Onward Brownie Girl Scouts!

It’s fall, which means conference season round 2 in the library world. In Michigan in the winter there isn’t a lot going on – the weather is unpredictable and asking people to travel in the snow almost guarantees low turn-out.  Summer is generally out due to Summer Reading Program. This is a very busy time for all public librarians and little is scheduled in the summer. Hence, spring and fall.

I have three conferences to attend in the next 3 weeks. Conference 1, which is two-day, starts today and includes a trip up to Gaylord, about 2 and a half hours north of here (and it’s fall colors in Michigan right now, oh yeaaaaaaah). It’s for E-rate, which I travel a couple of times a year for.

But what I’m giving thought to this morning is my packing technique. I pack exactly as my third grade Brownie Girl Scout troop leader taught us to: Take: a plastic bag for your dirty clothes; extra clean underwear and extra dry socks commensurate with how many days you’ll be gone (when I went camping at the Michigan Womyn’s Music Festival I often took enough socks to change twice a day – that’s three pair or more per day as I often wore double socks); pack your sleeping wear on top because it’s what you’ll need first when you get where you’re going; pack clothes you can wear in layers; pack clothes that all coordinate together so you can wear any combination of what you pack (in third grade this had less to do with color and style and more to do with comfort and warmth); go through your morning and evening routine and pack one of every toiletry you use (again, in third grade this was a MUCH SMALLER list); pack a water bottle. The list goes on. But when I sit down to pack I still see the family room of my Girl Scout troop leader and can see her. Thank you to the Girl Scouts!

And GO E-RATE! E-rate is a federal communication program that provides for lower cost telephone and Internet service for schools and libraries.

Election

I was a Hilary supporter right to the  bitter end. I wrote to the Obama campaign and put in my 2 cents about including Hilary as the vice candidate. I didn’t have much feeling for Obama and while I vote, I wasn’t particularly excited voting for Obama. I also didn’t have much feeling for Gore or Kerry. It was kind of depressing; actually, the last democratic candidate I admired and felt strongly about was Clinton. I remember the second time he was elected I went to DC for the inauguration. It was great.

Anyway, McCain isn’t a monster so I didn’t have a burning desire to see him on a pyre, but when Palin came on board I began to see Obama as much more desireable. Then, the Clusterf#@ck to the Poor House (credit: Daily Show). After watching the candidates handle the situation I have a new respect for Obama. Calm. Considered. Responsible. A Leader. I feel like I can relax a little because someone competent will shortly be watching over the situation. Not like with Bush where I feel a little helpless because there’s nothing I can do and I don’t understand the details and I don’t trust him.

In any case, I’m feeling very good about voting for Obama. I’m feeling like he’s someone I would look forward to seeing address the nation during crises. Someone, like Hilary, who will be caring for the nation in a way I generally approve.

Over the summer I went through his site and read a bunch of his positions. I didn’t find what I was looking for on Afghanistan – something specific to that country and his plans separate from what’s happening in Iraq. I’ll have to go back and do that. It looks like his plan is shortly to be taking effect. Gotta go get an Obama yard sign today. I wonder if the Peace Education Center has any… I’m off to the phones.

Tragedy, Recovering Slowly

What I love about my blog is that I create space to talk about the things that matter deeply to me. True and meaningful thing. Things that make a difference in how I interact with the universe.

My hair, for example.

So, if you happened to be interested in, say, witty stories about libraries far and wide, large and small, and the goings-on of said, you’d probably be reading Librarian.net (puttin’ the ‘rarin back in Librarian since 1999). And if you logged on today hoping I’d talk more about libraries, I’m going to direct you to librarian.net where you can actually read about libraries. Today, it’s about my hair.

My hair maxed out two and a half years ago when I graduated from library school.

Photo by XandraByDesign

I went and got a bunch of pictures taken at this stage of my hair development with Stonetree. I am so glad I got those pictures. For the rest of my life I can look back and say, “Not only am I a sexy librarian but my hair f*ckin’ rocked when I was 34.” Plus, I had almost 50 “Librarian” magnets of me in one of these poses made up and I passed them out liberally so now a new person will meet me – like a cousin’s new boyfriend – and he’s like, “Oh, you’re the librarian on my fridge.” I am the magnet that is me. Ponder that for a 7 word memoir.

About a year after the above pic, I went into a low-cost hair place and asked her just to trim the unhealthy part. She cut off about 5 inches. I walked around and as I walked my hair was so short it would swing in front of my shoulders. I was dumbstruck.

I did the whole cut-it-all-off business in college once. My hair was some unspecified medium type length – long enough to put in a ponytail and not much else to be said for it. In my sophomore year my girlfriend Seafarer and I went to the local wash-and-cut (blow drys an extra 50 cents and I usually skipped them). I got my hair cut quite short, as in above my ears kinda close to my head short. I wasn’t exactly going for the butch look but my roommate was literally horrified. “Did you do this to her?” she demanded of Seafarer. The roommate  moved out shortly later, her father roaring to the housing department that I was patently unsuitable. I hope she is well… wherever she is… she always took such good care of her hair.

In any case, my hair has not recovered. Not yet. Every time I go to get it cut now I say, “Longer, Maggie, I want it longer.”

Roof Is Done!

As evidenced by the return of the clock, the roof is done!

Here’s the final effect. Please note lack of spirals, turrets or balconies. After it was done I started brooding about the monthly payment and thinking maybe we could have put the purchase off for a year. I had serious plans for that monthly payment money and it included padding the savings account, new paint for the dining room and kitchen, new blinds and curtains for the slider, a little table and chair set for the backyard, a spring road trip to the UP, and maybe, JUST MAYBE, one of those big lighted sleighs for the holidays for the front yard (yeah, I love those things and Hubby and I do light stuff every winter). And ease, I mean, our whole budget was going to be a little rounder; I just got a raise last month. I think we did the responsible thing, though.

The one thing where I’m feeling we went a little overboard was in getting the gutters re-done.

Here’s the new gutter replacing the spot where the gutter was bent and created a small swimming pool beneath it every time we get any substantial rain – and hence a leak in the basement at that exact spot. I was up for replacing just the back gutter, but Hubby wanted the front done, too. He feels better knowing the whole house has new gutters that are of a higher quality than the last set. They look nicer, too. Not nice enough for the cost, but, whatever. We have new gutters now.

Here’s our lawn sign for the Capital Area Transportation Authority, Lansing’s bus service. In the midst of this energy crisis, CATA’s operating millage failed this fall. They’re going up again in November. I mean, their operating millage failed. This would mean, among other things, serious cutbacks (evening and weekend service) for SpecTran, the service for people with disabilities. This would really cut back on Hubby’s transportation independence. Go CATA millage!

We Thought About It

“About that prescription for a back brace. Can you order one I can sit in instead? I heard about ones you can get after back surgery that have lumbar support with metal strips to keep you straight and you can wear them around the clock but the one you prescribed was for heavy activity only and its so hard its not comfortable for sitting or wearing for long periods. But it felt great!!!”

“Over-use of a back brace will erode your stomach muscles. It does all the work of holding you up and is only a crutch.”

“I see, well, I’m doing crunches every morning and I certainly wouldn’t want to do anything to work against that! It’s just that the brace was soooo good for pain relief…”

Doc: So she wants it for pain relief

Me: A back brace is awesome for pain relief and that’s why I want it

“In your case a brace should only be used for heavy activity. It’s not appropriate for regular use or for sitting.”

“I see. Well, I haven’t cut down my garden yet so I’ll use it for that.”

Doc: She’s going to be in this thing all the time.

Me: I wonder how comfortable it would be to wear that heavy one they fitted me for just working around the house? Could I stand how stiff it is to make dinner in?

“I don’t think the medical brace is appropriate for you at this point. A regular brace you can buy at a hardware store would be better for gardening activities.”

“So no medical brace?”

“No.”

Me: damn

Tick Tock

This is the wall hanger that hangs the clock. This is the wall hanger that hangs Hubby’s grandchild clock with the beautiful chimes. This is the clock that is off the wall so that when the roofers scrape shingles nothing falls off the walls.

This clock is right in the living room and on a central wall. It is the clock of our house. We’re not terribly concerned with exact time, and besides, our other clocks give us exact times. The bedroom alarm clock tells me exactly what time I have to be out of bed and, later, what time I have to have my hair done by so I’m not late to work. That clock is fast but I intentionally forget how fast so I don’t think I can sleep in or dawdle. The clock on the kitchen microwave tells us exactly what time we have to leave for work so we’re not late. That clock is also fast, I’m not sure if by more or less than the bedroom clock, and again, it doesn’t matter. The clock in the car is fast enough that if I leave my car in the lot at 7:30 I am walking into my office cubicle at 7:30 by my government-issued phone-with-a-clock and they’re pretty serious about time. There’s also a little clock that my Grandma gave me as a gift by the TV in the living room. It keeps pretty good time but basically if its off my a few minutes and I miss the beginning of the News Hour with Jim Lehrer or BBC World News what does it really matter? By that time I’ve had NPR running for at least an hour so I’m pretty familiar with what’s going on.

The grandchild clock has to be wound so it is perpetually slow. Slooooowwwwwwww. When it’s off by 5 or more minutes I fix it. Otherwise, not really. But as I said earlier, it is the clock of the house, so everything not previously mentioned gets done by it. This includes all activities not related to going to work. That’s orcharding and sledding, that’s going to the park and doing the shopping, that’s figuring out if a neighbor is home from work yet when you need to talk to them, that’s seeing how light out its staying in the evenings now. That’s a lot of time. It also chimes on the hour and on the half, so its a constant mental backdrop and a friend when you’re up late at night or sick, or on the Internet too long. I’ll be glad when the lovely chimes are back a chimin’.

It’s all good

About a month ago I got an MRI and went to see a back specialist. The MRI revealed a bulging disc and a pinched nerve. The DO, Dr. P. with the Many Students, who really is great, said I would be completely out of pain and fully corrected after four manipulations and a course of physical therapy.

Three manipulations and six weeks of physical therapy later he reviewed my case again and said that I would probably remain in chronic pain. He extended the physical therapy for another four weeks and ordered a muscle stimulator (for improving muscle tone in my back and doing other good things of which I am not entirely certain, but it does help so that’s good enough for me) , a nerve stimulator called a TENS unit (that instantly stops pain – better than Vicodin – and you can wear it under your clothes) and a back brace for heavy activity (not for wearing all the time). I still take an anti-inflammatory similar to motrin and occasionally some Tylenol. I keep Vicodin for emergencies. I keep a few Valium for reasons that require no explanation. We’re also talking about other non-addictive pain relief medications and the words “pain clinic” have come up.

I’m in the last two weeks of the “good insurance” which is picking up the tab on the medical devices after no less than 15 hours on the phone. We’re switching to a less expensive insurance that, at first look, will save us $3,500 a year. It wouldn’t cover any part of purchasing those devices.

(Can I note that as I blog I’m totally jamming to Garth Brooks who is playing at top strength off of Pandora on the sound system connected to my computer that Hubby bought me for Christmas a few years ago? Love Garth Brooks. And men with Southern accents still make me swoon like Scarlett O’Hara. It’s cultural. You wouldn’t understand. Please shut up now.)

My favorite physical therapists are J and C.  J teaches me about body mechanics and shows me both common and odd looking movements I can do to promote spinal health and relieve pain.  She talks to me about specific muscle groups that support L4-5 which is where my disc bulges and how to strengthen them. C puts me on the quad buster for 12 minutes and then tells me about the cooking contest he just won and the new lighting he put in his living room to showcase the two paintings he bought when he won big in Vegas earlier this year while I’m dying on the quad buster. He has me walk backward on a treadmill. He also talks about how to move in ways and bend and lift and carry and push and pull so I don’t throw out my back. He tells me what to do when I do throw out my back. C is big on strength training. I really feel like I’m getting the best of both worlds with them.  I did finally “graduate” from the pool when I looked J calmly in the eye and said I was strong enough that I didn’t need the pool any longer. The pool dropped from my regimin. Physical therapy has been some of the best money my insurance company has ever spent on me.

But the pool was helpful and I also made a new friend there, P with the Two Daughters.

P with the Two Daughters is thin and has serious back problems, which for her finally landed her in surgery. I know someone else who is also thin and has two bulging discs and has chronic pain as a result. Myself of the Hot Pocket Sandwiches and French Fries Who Didn’t Have Enough Sense to Go Out for Pole Dancing in High School (pole dancing promotes excellent core strength=excellent muscles to support your spine) has not done all I could to support spinal health, I’m not feeling real good about that. But pain is an excellent motivator and I’m determined in my strength-building exercise routine and in my weight loss.

So yeah, I’m still in pain every day.  Some days are good, some days not so much. I feel like I “got old” this year.

FRIDAY AFTERNOONS OFF!!!!!!

Thanks to Jen from the Neighborhood (Governor Granholm), telecommuting (working from home) and compressed work schedules like 4 10-hour days are now fast tracked in state government to promote energy savings. It’s also promoting flexibility that wasn’t easily available before now and I just started a compressed/telecommuting schedule. After 9 1/2 years I’m working something different than 8 1/2 hours a day with a half hour for lunch.

I can’t log in to one of my main site responsibilities except within the state network so I’m only telecommuting Friday mornings right now. The other four days I work 9 1/2, then 4 hours Friday mornings from home, which means I have Friday Afternoons Off. I just had my first afternoon off. It kicked ass.

First, I blogged about the roof and started laundry. Next, I went to a doctor’s appointment in the middle of day that did not require me to take sick leave. Next I took myself to lunch at Panera and read a library book. Then I went to the post office. Then I went to the drug store. Then I went to return library books but the street was blocked off. Bummer. Then I went to a park and took a half hour walk. All while other poor slobs worked away their Friday afternoons. It was intoxicating to be doing normal stuff NOT on weekend time. When we got home Hubby and I finished most of the laundry.

This weekend we’re going to Ann Arbor for Saturday – Hubby will put up gutter guards on Mom’s house and my bro and I will go visit Grandma in the hospital.  Sunday I have two dates with friends. And I don’t have to stress about a bunch of errands or getting in some alone fun time like lunch at Panera and an autumn walk in the park.

It is SO WORTH getting up before 5:Something now to be at work early enough to make this possible. Go Jen!