Done!

I just emailed my finding aid to my internship supervisor and to my professor. I finished up at the Archives yesterday and spend all day putting the thing together. I’ve been at the computer for over 12 hours. I’m ready for a long winter’s nap, that’s for damn sure.

I was supposed to be done Thursday, but because I was quarantined with “The Whoop” (as people are calling it) I had to extend my semester a few days. Oh, well. I’m done now.

Woo! I mean Whoop!

Ok, sleepytime…zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz

Wrapping up

I’ve turned in all of my assignments from home. Well, all but one, that is. The internship project actually requires me to be physically in the archives to complete. Since I’m not supposed to have contact with people until Saturday, I haven’t been able to get to the archives to finish up.
Being quarantined for a few days has actually been quite nice. I mean, besides the coughing. That part rather sucks, but I’ve been resting and doing homework and what not. I been in my pajamas all week, too. I get up, change out of my pajamas, shower, then put on different pajamas. It’s great!

For my internship, all I have to do is type my notes, do a little rearranging, make a task list for Saturday, and put together the prose of the finding aid. I can totally do all that in two days. Oh, and I still have Sunday to edit and smooth out the kinks. I’ll be emailing the assignment to my professor Sunday night. Grades aren’t due until 9:00 Monday morning, so I don’t even have to take an “Incomplete” for that class. Yay!

Our school has been particularly “buggy” this semester. There’s some sort of gastro-intestinal thing going ’round, too. I think I’d rather have whooping cough. Still, who gets whooping cough? I’ve been accused of making out with the 15th Century. You know us librarians, always making out with the 15th Century.

I’ve had to cancel most of my birthday fun, but I’ll be un-contagious by my actual birthday-day (which is Tuesday), so I can still have fun then. I’ll be going to Salem for the afternoon, which should be great! Then it’s off to Maryland for a week to spend Christmas with my family. I haven’t seen most of them in ages, so that will be really nice.

I’ll have to reschedule my birthday festivities for January. I wouldn’t want to miss out on bowling and boozing completely!

Home stretch

Thanks for the encouraging comments regarding my last post. It was whiney, yes, but had to be done. Sometimes you just have to put things in to words to make them more managable. I feel much better, and am now looking at my situation much more realistically. Just had to indulge in a pity party for a few minutes. Ok, moving on!

This is the last week of school. Here’s a list of what I need to finish, and the order in which I need to finish them:

1. Archives paper, Topic: Archives and Postmodernism. Title: “Postmodernists to Archivists: ‘No more passive guardians!'” It’s getting there, but I still have to put it all together coherently. It’s now three days late.
2. “Interview with a library director” paper. Still in the notes stage, but it’s not due until tomorrow, so there’s still time.
3. Archival description project. Will include a MARC record and an EAD version of a finding aid (from a project last semester) that I remade according to the DACS standard. Those bits are done (except for minor editing in the DACS finding aid). Now I just need to write the short paper on digitizing that has to go with it. Due Thursday.
4. Internship project. Getting there. I think I’ll finish on time. I have one day left at the internship, then the project gets turned in on Thursday. Every folder has been described, and all of the materials are now intellectually combined with like materials. The physical arrangement just needs to fit with the intellectual arrangement. I’ll finalize my notes, then put it all together on Tuesday, along with looking up some stuff for the finding aid, like full names, dates, etc. And there are some things that still need to be pulled out in to an oversize folder, and some that still need mylar protection because they’re falling apart. I’ve made notes of these things, and on Tuesday, I’ll have a list ready of all the tasks that I need to do before I finish the finding aid. Some things aren’t going to be described as well as I’d like them to be because there wasn’t enough time to read all of the letters. It was difficult enough trying to make sense of the whole series. There were pieces of like materials strewn all through it. One guys letters were in several places, and photocopies of those letters were all over the place as well. I had to bring those together, weed through it to make sure I could throw out the copies.
5. Evaluation plan. Due Thursday. Because we’ve been working on it all semester, it’s mostly done. I just have to put it all together, edit it for cohesion, and add a couple of short bits at the end. I’ll be doing this on the due date, but I think it will work out fine, since the bulk of it is already done.

So, there you have it. The only project that’s causing me serious anxiety is the Internship. I just ran out of time to do it as well as I would have wanted to. But that’s how it is, eh? We only get 24 hours each day. Speaking of time, I’ll get back to my paper now.

“Wake me up when September…” oh, it’s over.

And so, a list of things I did in September:

• Started school– It took me a while to get into the groove, but I think I’ve got a good routine going. I’ve just got to get over this whole procrastinating during the weekends thing.
• Went to my first Red Sox game– We lost (duh) but I got wicked drunk and had a fantastic time! Woke up with some really disturbing bruises.
• Fun with apples– Apple/Peach festival, apple picking, eating more apples than should be allowed. Apples, apples, apples!
• Roller Derby– TWICE! Super fun times. Though, I’ve been called a “Southie Rat” I don’t think there’s anything wrong with drinking beers, cheering, and doing the “clap-clap, clap-clap-clap” thing. Oh, and I can’t wait for Olivia to have her baby. She’s going to be one rokkin kid.
• Started my internship– I’m at the Concord Free Public Library, and it looks like my project will be pretty straightforward, but with some interesting challenges. I think I’ll enjoy my time there and learn a lot. I picked up some brochures from the Concord Visitors’ Center and will explore the town.
• Life is Good Productions— getting ready for Creative Sugar (November 4th), working on songs, DJeT is in the play, making time for the website, etc.
• Joined Netflix– Watched “Walk the Line” and have been singing Johnny Cash songs for a week. Next up is “Akeelah and the Bee.” I won the (I think) 6th grade spelling bee with “onomatopoeia.”
• Went to Boston’s Knit Out! (and Crochet, too)– I competed in the fastest knitter competition and lost, taught DJeT to knit (he’s getting really good, and wants to make stuff!), said high to Peta (from GSLIS SNB) at her Yarn Safaris booth. I also need some light up knitting needles.
• Started working out again– Even though I swear at her and curse her perkiness, I’m doing “Turbo Jam” regularly. Four days a week is about all I can manage with my schedule. I find that I do better when I have a million other things to think about. It’s not THE thing I’m doing, but one of many, so it’s easier to fit in, if that makes any sense. It’s just part of my routine now.

Happy ROCKTOBER! Today is the first day of Halloween, and I have begun writing a song: “On the first day of Halloween, my true love gave to me: A spider in a spooky ol’ tree.” Stay tuned for more hauntingly fun lyrics. Mayhap I’ll perform it at the BlogSEA spooktacular at the end of the month. DJeT’s birthday is Friday. He didn’t want anything big planned, so we’re just going to do dinner next weekend. I think I’ll convince him that he deserves Grasshopper. Still haven’t gotten him a gift, yet. I’ll get on that. I’m loving the weather, even today with its rain. I love it when I’m not sweating.
If I don’t pop in for a while, it’s because I’m up to my nose in school work. Slip me some halloween candy, and I might poke my head out for a visit.