Madam Librarian

So people have been calling my "a librarian" for several years now. But I am a purist - I have only worked up to the "assistant librarian" title. Calling myself a bonafide librarian before now would have been like wearing my race t-shirt after I get it at registration. I have always been the type to wait until I have completed the 10K to feel worthy of broadcasting myself as an official race participant/finisher. So it is with the title I have long coveted: "librarian". I wasn't even prepared to take it on after finishing library school. Nope, not until someone hired me to work as one.

And would you believe someone did? That is, someone hired me to be their librarian. Just 2 days after graduating with my MLS on Aug 13th, I will become the newest Teen Librarian in the Rangeview Library District. Maybe that doesn't sound super impressive to you, but for library folk it is something to feel right proud of.

And speaking of nerdy library news - this place is pretty cool. Aside from winning the 2010 National Medal for Museums and Libraries (a pretty impressive feat in this obscure field), they are often published about for their "cutting edge" philosophy about modern public librarianship. I actually read about this place in library school long before ever even considering applying for a job there. Yeah, that sounds really stupid - "cutting edge" librarianship, especially to those people who think I just memorized the Dewey decimal system for 2 years in school. But let me tell you, this is a business model for a library you would be keen on having in your community. They have a drive-through "pick up" window for reservations and books pulled off the shelf ahead of time. They have a media area for teens to watch movies. What's more - there is no Dewey Decimal system! Everything is arranged by intuitive topics, the same as you would find in a bookstore. The space is intended for comfort (fireplaces, bean bag chairs in youth areas, giant multi-colored domino building blocks for the young ones, etc). So yeah, I am going to be a librarian in one of the hippest public libraries around. You knew me back when....:)

So what will I be doing? Mostly loads of teen programming and readers advisory (such a dreamy/wonderful part of the job description - recommending good books to people). For the interview I was asked to present the first 10-15 minutes of a teen program  I would like to implement as a Teen Librarian. I racked my brain for a week trying to think of something "catchy", "in-the-now", even a bit of a spectacle. Afterall, I really wanted the job - got to be memorable in the interview. Matt came up with the idea of doing a "Zombie Contingency Planning Night" for it and the moment he said it, I knew it was just the thing. To pull out all the stops, I learned how to create a presentation using "Prezi" software online and consulted many authoritative zombie resources which included my brother TR, Shaun of the Dead and other zombie flicks, Max Brooks books and even CDC.gov on their zombie preparedness webpage (which I screen captured for effect and emphasis in my presentation). I practiced my tone until I got just the right deadpan effect "Thank you for coming tonight. It is great to see such concern in the community. We have seen this in our history." < hold up a copy of Pride and Prejudice and Zombies> "As you are here tonight, you undoubtedly realize that is not a question of "if" there is an uprising in the community....it is a question of "when"." I sealed the deal I think when I called a local Tae Kwon Do business in the Denver area to talk to them about doing self-defensive training demonstrations. They were keen on helping if I ever got to do the program. And that was that.

I start on Aug 15th, so onward to Denver we go! The layover capital of the West! We hear great things about the area and we are looking forward to explore this new place for ourselves. And perhaps most importantly, you can now call me Madam Librarian.

Taking the Cake Dome to a Garden Tea Party

What perfect weather it was for garden tea party last Thursday! So fun to catch up with friends over sweets. I think it is just about my favorite past-time these days. How grand that I have found yet another opportunity to wear my senior prom dress (it is almost always my last resort for a Halloween costume).

The menu included:  

Chilled Lime and Mint Tea

Chilled Cucumber Tea

Radish and Chive Herb Butter Sandwiches

Cucumber Sandwiches (thanks Laura!)

Egg and Rosemary Sandwiches

Coreopsis Fairy Cakes

British Butter Scones (served with clotted cream)

Wee Ginger Cake and Lemon Curd Trifles

It was a delightful evening - a shame I don't have the energy to do something like that more often! The turn-out was modest but made for rich company. So many leftovers! I forget to compensate in my baking when I make it an "girls only" affair. 

 

Back for good...

It's nearly 2 weeks now since I arrived back stateside and I have that funny feeling like I have been back for ages. It is odd talking with Matt on the phone while he is still in Edinburgh and I am living the Utah life. It is almost like I am talking to a person who is still living in this intense and memorable dream I once had. Before I left, I did all that I could to try and find closure on leaving so that I could feel ready to move on. After having moved several times in just the last 4 years, I have gotten pretty accustomed to finding ways of feeling ready for the next step and much of that involved looking forward to what lay ahead. But this was difficult to do this time around because I really wasn't quite sure what lay ahead aside from a shot at a librarian job in Denver, a tea/cake dome party with some of my girlfriends, and some outdoor swimming. Truly, I had little left in me to stay much longer in Edinburgh: my legs were starting to constantly ache from the walking and housekeeping, too many clothes were worn to threads, my teeth were telling me they needed a dentist appt, and every job I applied for was put off by me living in Scotland - I made too inconvenient a candidate, etc. I was really doing the best thing - not overstaying my welcome there - but I still get a tight feeling in my throat and a pinch in my eyes every time I hear Matt talk about all of the things he is going through as he packs. That year really passed as if it were a dream.

I am quick to remind myself though of how I started to get British teeth while I was there (the hygienist literally had to sand off the herbal tea stains off my teeth!) and how my faith in coming home when I did resulted in a job here. And I really have been greeted by so many comforting routines and marvelous company as I have come back. But there is this feeling I am constantly battling as I settle into my American lifestyle again and meet up with my dear friends I have known so long. I have this inclination to want to stay a bit sad about being back. I almost want the a homesick melancholy to stay with me because somehow it feels as if I am closer to that year of living Scottishly than if I were to just whole-heartedly take to my new life back here. I don't wish myself miserable but I can't help but embrace the sad feeling of missing the people, places and routines from Edinburgh that are so different from my life back here. As a result, I have been playing the soundtrack from Submarine on Grooveshark or listening to endless folksongs sung by The Corries, music that very much reminds me of my time in Edinburgh as it often was what I often listened to while cooking or walking to the supermarket.



Still, it is hard to stay too despondent when I have been up to my favourite trails, baked in a kitchen with a normal sized conventional (not convectional, celcius) oven, stared towards the Wasatch front while backstroking in the Alta Canyon Pool, been able to spend money without thinking in terms of a merciless exchange rate, and constantly experience the incredibly freeing feeling that comes with no longer being an outsider wherever I go. Life is good. Once again it is forcing me to move forward before I quite feel ready but I think that is probably just as it should be - at least it is as it always has been.