Cleanliness is Next to...

Don't you love a clean desk?

Unfortunately, the desk is only clean because I dumped everything here:

 and here:

On the other hand, it may comfort a few readers to know that some things never change.

One Small Step

My friend Kristen and I walked around campus for 30 minutes today. Yay us!

I obviously don't care WHAT I look like on outings like this. Good thing!

Makings of a Good Day

A new iPad and $200. What's not to love?

Today's Question

How can I put my hands on the same piece of paper multiple times over several weeks in the course of other tasks, yet still never find it when I specifically look for it?

Sacrifice, as in Brownie

Today is the annual Christmas luncheon at work. I abandoned my usual Fish Eye Salad (which no one ever eats except me) in favor of BYU Mint Brownies*. This is the first time I've made them, and I'm sorry to report that the brownie itself is less than special. 

I think that with all the frosting, however, few will notice the inferior brownie.**

*The recipe I have includes the specifics for the chocolate frosting, which is essentially the same as the mint frosting, with the addition of 1/3 cup of cocoa and the deletion of the mint extract and 1/3 cup of sugar.

**While cutting the above sacrifice piece in my office, I learned that you can't cut these with a plastic knife. Fortunately, I have sturdier implements I'll use to cut the rest.

Sinking to a New Low

Enough said?

First Day of School; or, Another Shoe Story

No more sandals every day of the week for this librarian.

A Shoe Story

During the tour for new international students.
















After the tour for new international students.

Free is Good; or, Fairies Read Too

A co-worker and I are talking about writing a grant proposal to set up some Little Free Libraries in our area.  I'm personally hoping for a library with a fairy door. After all, fairies read too, don't they?

Food Safety

Even my mother, scorner of many expiration dates, would discard the egg burrito that's been sitting in my office, unrefrigerated, since Saturday, wouldn't she? Either way, the accompanying mint is safe for consumption, thank goodness.

Blessings

A small raise is in next week's pay check, and I was just able to see my pay stub online. Heavenly Father has (always) been very good to me. Now if I can just exercise a bit more financial restraint....


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Image: Chicago Daily News, Inc. (1922). [John Gibbons, Michael Grady, and Ernest Daliege standing and counting money at a table in a police station]. Available from American Memory.

It's All About the Plan

I'm working on some personal issues, one being my propensity to procrastinate and put off tasks I find distasteful. Unfortunately, that list of tasks includes nearly every housekeeping job and most of the projects I need to do at work (the "why" behind this attitude is an entirely different issue that I'm not going to tackle right now).

I'm beginning with some things at work, particularly on a relatively easy task I've put off for over a month. I've started working on Saturdays when no one else is in the office and I don't have any public responsibilities. So, here is the plan for tomorrow:

It may be too complicated to execute, but here are the timers that go along with the plan:

Notice the positive self talk on the plan? That's my Adult Ego State trying to get buy-in from my Child Ego State to go ahead and get the long-procrastinated task finished.

The plan requires only 3.5 hours of work for a 7.5 hour day, but the idea is that once I get into something I'll build momentum and want to keep going. There are a few production goals and one "bonus" task at the bottom of the page to help focus my efforts. And once I've completed the required 3.5 hours, I earn a trip to Sonic.

I'd like to say the Sonic trip is a special event, but it's in fact a regular occurrence (also another issue for another day). I don't ALWAYS get a sundae, however, so this trip will be sort of special.

So here's to the Plan. I think it's a good one, though purple ink would have made it even better!

My Debut

A coworker and I are giving an hour long webinar today. I didn't think it would be a big deal until we started practicing. Turns out, this is much more difficult than speaking in front of a live audience. With no visual connection to your audience and a mic right next to your mouth (they can see my slides and hear me but not see me), there is no margin for error. Kind of like moving from the piano to the organ--you know the basics, but there are so many new subtle differences waiting to trip you up, and the new medium is much less forgiving than the familiar one.

For those in the know, this is the same presentation (about new and remodeled library classrooms) we gave in Columbus at the beginning of the month, repeated online for a new audience.

Needless to say, I'll be glad when this is over. Too bad I have all kinds of other overdue task waiting to be completed when this is done.

Just Sayin'

For once in my life, I'd like to go to bed at a reasonable hour the night before a trip out of town. This, apparently, will not be that one time. But by golly, I'm determined to rip those two audiobooks, wash all the dishes and paint my toenails before I leave. A girl's got to have her priorities in order.

Organizational Advice

Not sure how to decide which office papers to keep and which to discard? Here's a simple, sure-fire way to dramatically decrease the deliberation time:

1. If you aren't sure about the item, stack it on your desk.
2. Revisit the stack one to three years later.

Alert

Hell just froze over. How do I know? Check the calendar and look at my arm:

A Day in the Life

BTW, that's my favorite Beatles' song.

Anyway, for those who wonder what I do at work when I'm not blogging, gossiping, or surfing the Internet, here's a visual aid: http://screencast.com/t/HABoXPPi7rQ You'll need speakers or headphones to get the full effect.

I produced this video on the fly while answering an online chat question from a student who simply wasn't grasping the Article Linker steps. I'd like to say the student watched the video and went on her merry way. Unfortunately, I produced the video at the 25 minute mark in our chat. Thirty-five minutes later, the student still hasn't showed signs of moving on. *sigh*