My COVID test just came up negative. Hopefully that remains the case over the next few days. I'm supposed to fly out to California for a conference on Monday and I'm convinced, for some reason, that I'm going to test positive right before I need to leave. So, keeping my fingers cross, but happy this one came out negative.

Here's what else was good in my week:

• Tasty breakfast sandwich
• My brother was in town for a quick visit
• Still windows open kind of weather
• How cozy the bed feels in the morning
• Taking over first place in our Fantasy Football league
• Spending a little more time with friends
• Listening to podcasts while baking
• Visited an open house in our building and got great ideas for our own unit
• Perfectly underbaked cookies
• Sangria

This week is the most jam packed schedule I've had in a long time. It's partly due to my going out of town for a conference next week. Mostly, however, it's all the self-imposed deadlines I have for projects. I know that I can drop some balls and it, ultimately, won't matter. That doesn't mean I want that to happen. I keep telling myself that, if I make it through this week, the rest of the semester will be a breeze. *scoffs at self*

Here's what I'm focusing on:

1. Presentations - I present at Internet Librarian next week. Two weeks after that, I present at the Library Marketing and Communications Conference. I need to have my slide decks done for both by early next week. I've finished outlining and am started working on my speaking notes. Later this week, I'm going to get drafts of both slide decks done. My hope is to have everything polished and ready no later than Tuesday. I'm excited at both of these sessions, but man is it a lot of work. At least I get to talk about things I like - library branding and customer service.
2. Website Usability Testing - I did a beta test with one of our circ staffers today. That was incredibly informative and I've already made changes to the script. Later this week, I am going to start scheduling the student sessions. The good news is that 30 minutes should be plenty of time for each. The bad news is I have to fit in 10 of them with the knowledge that I will have to likely reschedule a few.
3. Going Out of Town Prep - As I mentioned, I am going to a conference next week. In order to feel good about that, I am making sure my work here is all lined up and ready for when I get back. I'm working on things for the two classes I teach the week I get back, setting up social media for when I'm out, and just doing the general admin work that is necessary when one leaves for a week. I'm also prepping for my trip by bringing a few things home from the office, updating my packing list, and making sure I don't leave anything important behind. I'm also looking at my travel and conference schedule to see what little sightseeing I can do. I would very much like to visit the Monterey Bay aquarium. 

Taking a break from my roundup of keyboard shortcuts to share one of my favorite librarian tricks: read the footnotes.

When it comes to finding resources, the easiest way to find more sources is to read the footnotes. Start with an article, book, whatever that you think is great, and then read the footnotes (or works cited or bibliography or hyperlinks). That will give you a ton of additional information to look at for your work. 

Formally, this is called citation chaining. You are essentially going backwards and forewords in the scholarship to see what people are writing and thinking about a topic.

Early Friday morning, I had - what I like to think of as - a guilt free hour.

My body woke me up just before 6am to use the restroom. Since I've been nursing a mildly tweaked back, I was more awake than I wanted. I climbed into bed thinking I might sneak 30 more minutes of sleep. I opted not because, on mornings like these, I usually end up more tired than if I had just gotten up.

That began my guilt free hour. This was early morning time where, since I should not be awake, I could enjoy the quiet and not do anything productive. Should I have exercised. Maybe. Should I have gotten a jump start on work since our kiddo was home for a planned daycare closure. Probably. Should I have done one of the ninety other things on my to-do list that are easier done uninterrupted. Perhaps.

But I didn't. Because this was a guilt free hour.

Instead, I cozied under a blanket on our couch, relished an actual hot cup of coffee, and read the news. I can't remember the last time I perused the entire front page of both CNN and the Washington Post. This is the most informed I've been in months. (Honestly... not sure I like that.)

What do you do when you have an unplanned early morning?

I want to shout out to the babysitting CPR course I took in high school. It's 20 years later and things I learned then still come in handy.

Today, our daycare was closed for parent-teacher conferences. Our kiddo, who normally doesn't do these things, stuck a small bead up her nose. I was able to save us a trip to urgent care by doing the close the other nostril, blow in the mouth trick I learned. What could have been an awful few hours was over in five seconds with no pain or tears for anyone. My husband was all, "Where the heck did you learn that?!?!!?" 

Here's what else has made this week good:

• Listening to the birds sing while enjoying a hot cup off coffee when I got up earlier than planned
• Hearing how much our kid's teachers like her
• New sheets on the bed
• My awesome new black jeans
• Seeing the renovations in the condo down the hall 
• Kiddo running around in her fluffy Disney dress
• Surf and turf for dinner
• Having more volunteers than I need for a work project
• Being productive during kiddo's nap time

October was the month I scheduled everything that I would get to "later." Now that "later" is here, I'm crying because my calendar is so full. It wouldn't be all that bad except I lose an entire week to a conference and a couple of days to holidays and daycare closures. Next time, I'm going to be more cognizant of myself when I say I will get to something "later."

Here are the to three things I am focusing on.

1. Website Usability Testing - The script is in good shape but we are doing one more beta test with a staffer who is not involved with the project. I have already started my work to get volunteers for the actual test runs. Happily, I have more students than I need. Now I just need to schedule them all. At least I gave myself through November for that. Also, I need to track down a few faculty members.
2. Reference Assignment Design - We met to today to hash out some stuff. First, we knocked out the general outline of a poster that's due in a few weeks. Then we brainstormed for another poster proposal that's due next week. Finally, we scheduled some meetings to discuss the next configuration of our codebook and our first joint coding session. The good news is that we have a lot of ideas of what to do with our research. The bad news is that it's a lot of work.
3. Internet Librarian Presentation - I brain dumped and then structured an outline of what I want to talk about. I'm presenting on remote customer service which is something I talk about a lot. I'm trying to condense it all into an understandable session that is both actionable and a bit novel for those who've heard me speak on this topic before. I have to get my slides done before I fly out in less than two weeks.
   

I was reminded this week of how weird the U.S. education system is.

When I was in elementary school, we lived in Florida. As a part of science class, we learned how to track hurricanes. We used pencils, rulers, and paper maps to draw cones of uncertainty and eye paths. We tracked every hurricane that hit the state of Florida that year - including Hurricane Andrew. This assignment not only taught us meteorology and a little math but also provided local learning.

We moved from Florida to upstate New York in 1995. Up there, I learned about all the Native American tribes who lived there along with a lot of local revolutionary war history. The local Alachua county history I learned in Florida was no help here. Instead, we focused on Otsego county and New York.

The U.S. is HUGE. It's important to not only learn national and international history, but state and local history as well. While most of my county history is lost to time, I appreciate that I was given the chance to explore it.

This does make me wonder, however, how much is lost in our state by state system. I moved to four different states before I went to college. My K-12 educational experience was jumpy. Since each state has different rules, moving from one to the other means I got some stuff twice and missed other things entirely. I had the privilege of parents who filled in the gaps with books, trips, and conversations. Not everyone is so lucky.

Now, with all the book bans and curriculum conditions (looking at you CRT scare tactics) I know that students in many states are being short changed. It's not fair that some students get broad and informed exposure to topics and skills while others are kept in the dark.


Also, update from last week, my husband could, in fact, be bothered enough by the cobwebs. He took one for the team and cleared them out.