Meghan Kowalski
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  • Resume
  • Presentations & Publications
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The Weekly Wrap: January 8, 2023

1/8/2023

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I spent the second half of my work week drafting my chapter for the upcoming book Person-Centered Management. I threw a proposal out on a whim and was shocked to find that it was accepted. My topic - asking five specific questions regularly of your employees - is nothing groundbreaking. The chapter is more reflective and less theoretical or research-based. That's why I found it hard to write.

The outline I developed and received feedback on was extensive. Normally, this makes things easier to write. I simply extend my outline's bullet points into complete sentences with examples scattered throughout. That was not the case here. I found myself stuck in a quagmire of tone and word choice. Was I being to personal or not personal enough? Did I need a specific example or would generalizations do? Was my writing too vague? Did I repeat my points too much?

I also second-guessed the entire premise of the chapter. (That was just imposter syndrome rearing it's ugly head.) Finally, I decided to write what felt good in the moment. That's what ultimately led me to "complete" my draft. It's 500 hundred words over the max limit, but it's done.

I'm going to let this brain dump of writing sit for a few days before I start slicing and dicing in editing. I relish a good red pen session to make writing better. (I expect a lot of red penning with this one.)

The editorial process for the book is extensive. The first draft is due Friday, there is an optional peer-review I signed up for, there is a second draft, and then there is the final draft. I'm going to be wrestling with this 3,000 - well, 3,500 at the moment - words for awhile.

How do you write?

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  • Should we stop using these words and phrases? [NPR]
  • The new year is a great time to check that your smoke detectors are working. [Apartment Therapy]
  • The power of everyday awe. [The Atlantic - may be paywalled]
  • *clears throat* It's nurture not nature. [@impact]
  • Planner journals are for dreaming big. [NPR]
  • We need public daycare. [The Atlantic - may be paywalled]
  • C-SPAN was must watch TV this week. [WaPo - gift link]
  • The reason why you let your pipes drip in the winter. [Lifehacker]
  • The problem of writing in college is not AI, it's that higher education has become too transactional. [The Chronicle of Higher Education - may be paywalled]
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  • If you have a resolution to organize, this episode is for you. [Life Kit]
  • More of this building reuse please. [Atlas Obscura]
  • How much of the planet are humans entitled to? [The Daily]
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  • After two months off, we jumped back in to watching Dawson's Creek. We've got one season left. What I've learned about this show is that most episodes are just fine - there's nothing special or plot driving. But interjected are the occasional very good episode where many things happen and the plot finally progresses.  [HBO Max]
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  • Since Monday was a holiday, I made a dish that takes longer than your typical weeknight meal. Spinach and feta turkey meatballs are not hard to make, but forming meatballs is not something I want to do on a work day. This time, I baked the meatballs on a sheet pan. They didn't get the crust you get from pan searing, but it was much easier. We served this one with egg noodles and roasted zucchini. [Budget Bytes]
  • I made mu shu chicken this week. According to my personal tags in Evernote, I've made this recipe before, but I had zero memory of it. The kiddo helped prep this time. She beat the eggs and mixed the sauce. The dish was good, but we needed to add some extra hoisin drizzle to really oomph the overall flavor. [Weelicious]
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Just Good Things #67

1/6/2023

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Tonight, the husband and I are going to order dinner from our usual place, crack open a beer, and rewatch Knives Out. I'm very excited to enjoy our typical Friday night plans. After a long week at work, I think it will feel extra relaxing.

Here's what was good this week:
  • A neighbor volunteered to babysit and we got to celebrate New Year's Eve with friends. (There was a delectable crab wonton dip.)
  • Starting a new weekly feature in my newsletter, The Best Thing
  • Getting to nap on the couch after a not so great night of sleep
  • Having one entire morning home alone
  • My office provided lunch twice this week
  • Finished the first draft of my book chapter
  • Our kiddo's absolute joy with her new, purple dinosaur stuffy
  • Working in my bullet journal to star the year out right
  • Dinners that makes tasty leftovers
  • The days are getting longer again
  • Sending a mass newsletter and not getting a single undeliverable notice

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What I've Been Reading: January 5, 2022

1/5/2023

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The Towering Sky
Katharine McGee

I’m now on book three of this YA series. While this has not been the most addictive of YA novels, I’ve rather enjoyed the overall world. I’m intrigued to see where all the characters end up. This feels like the kind of book where everything will be tidied up and presented with a nice, neat bow.

I am realizing that one of the characters introduced in book two is playing more of a side part in this book three. It feels like she doesn't belong. Given how all the plots tend to weave in and out of each other, this is an outlier. That means it's either entirely unnecessary or is going to become a pivotal thing in the last chapters.

​*Books shared here are affiliate links for Bookshop.org

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The Now: January 4, 2023

1/4/2023

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I'm back in action! Yesterday was our required day of faculty professional development and, today, I'm in my cubicle digging out from the break. Our students don't report back to classes until Monday, so I have a few days off the reference desk to work on other things.

Here's where my attention is at:
  1. Digging Out of Email: After being offline for work for two weeks, my inboxes are a disaster. I've got hundreds of messages to wade through. While I can easily delete the holiday greetings (and up-sales) from vendors, other things actually need to be read, responded to, and filed. My goal is to hit work inbox zero by the end of the week.
  2. Book Chapter: The first draft of my book chapter for Person-Centered Management is due at the end of next week. I'm reviewing the comments on my outline to adjust the draft, then I am going to sit down and do a few sprints of writing. My outline is comprehensive, so it's just a matter of turning bullet points into sentences.
  3. New Year Strategic Planning: In my personal life, I did not get a chance to plan for the new year at the end of 2022. Thus, I am doing it now. That includes reviewing my aims and intentions, to do lists, projects, Rule of Life, and anything else I want to tackle in the new year. Unlike last year, my word of the year came to me early: engage. I want to spend less time passively consuming things and more time doing and creating. 

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Out of Office

12/19/2022

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I'm taking a little time off  writing for the holidays. Normal posts will resume the first week of January.

I will be sharing some stuff in my newsletter while I'm on break. Check it out and subscribe here.
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The Weekly Wrap: December 18, 2022

12/18/2022

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My colleagues and I were chatting last week about how we've entered the "meh" time of the year.

In academia, the time between semesters is a mixed bag. As librarians, we are finally free to focus solely on our own priorities. Our space is so empty we are only "on call" for reference work, no one is asking for classes, and most teaching faculty skedaddle after they turn in their grades.  Our calendars are a lot emptier. But, we constantly wrestle with the mental exhaustion and general "eh, do I have to?" feeling that comes after the semester ends. 

Knowing that we are sliding into the holidays, I try to be mindful of my energy levels. Instead of cramming in all the things, I try to complete one major priority and then just tie up loose ends. On my last day in the office - which happens to be tomorrow since I'm using up vacation days - I generally watch some webinars while I clean up my cubicle and write out a to do list for the new year. 

Sure it's not "real" productivity, but at least it's progress. 

How do you wrap up work for the year?

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  • Watch out for this Venmo scam. [Lifehacker]
  • The problem of everything being content. [Read, Watch, Binge]
  • A lack of housing is why there are so many people who are unhoused. [The Atlantic - may be paywalled]
  • The evolution of COVID. We're not at common cold status yet. [The Atlantic - may be paywalled]
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  • The problem with making something too good. [Planet Money]
  • The real origins of a Swedish holiday tradition. [Atlas Obscura]
  • How the Ukrainian railroad came to be a lifeline. [The Daily]
  • The powerful role of ritual. [Hidden Brain]
  • Making art from plastic ocean trash. [Atlas Obscura]
  • Stay for the story about parachuting beavers. [99% Invisible]
  • I LOVE when Planet Money get's creative. This time, it involves a sea shanty. [The Indicator]
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  • This is accurately representative of everything I am watching right now. [Trey Kennedy]
  • The one Hallmark Channel Christmas flick I keep running into is Undercover Holiday. As far as these films go, it's not bad. Yeah, the story is a real stretch - a singer asks her bodyguard to pretend to be her boyfriend - but all the actors seem to be having a lot of fun. Plus, I enjoyed that the lead actress can really sing. [Hallmark]
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  • Yesterday, we hosted our annual holiday party for the first time in three years. What once was an evening event is now a brunch shindig to accommodate the kiddos. The change meant I had an excuse to make cream scones. My mom used to make these when she ran a B&B and I stole the recipe. I love them plain, but they are also good with lemon curd, butter, or strawberry jam. [My Evernote]
  • For the party, I also made a double batch of chocolate chip tea cookies. The kiddo helped with this one and only stole a few of the mini chocolate chips while we mixed. There's no egg in this one and the cookies practically melt on your tongue. So buttery and delicious! [Brown Eyed Baker]
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Just Good Things #66

12/16/2022

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It rained all day yesterday. A cold, dreary downpour the entire day. It was gross and I didn't like it. Today, it may be rather cold, but the sun is shining brilliantly. I'm excited that the days will start getting longer soon.

Here's what else made me happy this week:
  • I knocked out almost my entire personal email backlog - and got to Inbox Zero for work.
  • When kiddo saw me on the couch with my ankle propped up on a pile of pillows, she ran to her room and came out carrying all her pillows to copy me. The pillows were three times to size of her.
  • Managed to Tetris all the baked goods to fit in my freezer
  • New sheets on our bed
  • We ordered delicious food to celebrate our 8th wedding anniversary
  • Got a clean bill of oral health from the dentist
  • Kiddo asked if I got to watch Daniel Tiger at the dentist (just like she does)
  • Ankle is doing a little bit better every day
  • Kiddo after twirling a lot, "Mom! Our house is moving!"

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The Now: December 14, 2022

12/14/2022

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My colleagues and I were chatting today about how we've entered the malaise weeks. Technically the holidays are not here, but the semester is over and our drive to focus on work is gone. We moved a meeting to comments over email because none of us could be bothered. I'm glad we're a team on this.

Here's what little focus I have left is going towards:
  1. Website Usability: I finished drafting my final report today. Tomorrow I will edit and share with my colleagues. I have such a long list of things that need to be fixed. At least I know that I can take my time and just tweak our website as time allows. I also learned a better way to do usability testing that will be easier on me and yield more useful information. The goal is to make this something we do once each semester so that we are always improving our website.
  2. Holiday Planning and Prep: Even with my bum ankle I still managed to prep a batch of muffins, two rounds of scones, a batch of spinach balls, and two banana breads. Now I'm making a list of our next grocery run and meal planning for Christmas itself. I also grabbed the last of the gifts we need. (Luckily for me, the husband does most of the wrapping.)
  3. End of Year Wrap Ups: This is both home and work. I'm basically tying up lose ends and making plans for what needs to happen in the new year. I also need to get around to doing my personal strategic planning for 2023...

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Now on My TBR

12/12/2022

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A friend and I went to see poet Rupi Kaur live and now I want to read all her work. Plus one other title.
Y​ou can see my complete TBR list on Pinterest.
​
*Items featured here are Bookshop.org affiliate links.
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The Weekly Wrap: December 11, 2022

12/11/2022

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Friday morning, I wrapped up an optometrist appointment and quick pop in of my favorite stationery store when my plans got a little more complicated. It was gloriously sunny out and I decided to walk the 2 miles home. Stupidly, I was checking my phone as I stepped off a curb and landed awkwardly in a small pothole. 

I crumpled immediately but caught myself with my hand. I felt several pops in my left ankle but didn't hear any cracks or feel searing pain. There was a small seating area a few steps away so I hobbled there and assessed. After the initial shock subsided, I tested my ankle and found it could bear some weight - albeit uncomfortably. 

Luckily for me, the metro station was right across the street. I limped my way over, took the train one stop, and then limped the rest of the way home. Once home, my husband helped me set up shop at my desk with an ice pack and chair to prop up my leg. 

Then began the Googling. I checked various websites to find the difference between an ankle sprain and a break. This is one of those injuries where many of the symptoms overlap. Both are painful, both swell, both cause the inability to bear weight on the joint. The one key difference seems to be where the sight of the pain occurs. For me, nothing was excruciating and, when I poked around, it was only the soft spots that really hurt. I diagnosed myself with a sprain and decided to wait it out. 

As of right now, I'm doing okay. The joint is stiff and I have limited range of motion, but I can control the swelling with ice and the uncomfortable pain with some Advil. 

But it never fails, just when you're at your busiest (this was supposed to the main prep/baking weekend before our holiday party), life puts something in the way to force you to slow down. 

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  • They're all very good dogs. [@desdelboy]
  • The problems in trying to get good data. [ParentData]
  • Instructing versus teaching in writing recipes. [Stained Page News]
  • Grand libraries are beautiful but also intimidating and exclusionary. [Berkeley Library]
  • The DNA of American street patterns. [The Deleted Scenes]
  • AI is coming for the traditional college essay. [The Atlantic - gift link] *side note: Colleagues and I are doing research related to how college faculty design their research assignments. This was not on anyone's radar, but it definitely should be. We've learned that many faculty consider focusing on subjects with a community/personal connection as a key way to engage students and keep them from plagiarizing.*
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  • The difficulty of investigating individual war crimes in Ukraine. [Up First]
  • Legal tax loopholes we all could take. [Planet Money]
  • On the psychology of gifting. [Hidden Brain] 
  • Tricks for genealogical research. [Life Kit]
  • A crash course in everything I forgot about plate tectonics. [Short Wave]
  • Why caviar is so expensive... and maybe should be even more so. [Gastropod]
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  • How to turn a dollar store duster into holiday decor. Genius! [@TheNavagePatch]
  • The voice of TikTok. [CNN]
  • We're still binging Hallmark Channel holiday movies every night. My favorite this week was A Holiday Spectacular. Thank goodness they actually cast a Broadway actress in the lead. These kind of movies usually cast an amateur and it's so very clear. This was over the top with  time period stereotypes and acting, but it works. Of all the movies we've seen this year, this is the one I will happily watch again. [Hallmark Channel]
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  • As a part of our freezer clear out, I made a recipe that used up a chicken breast and tomato paste. Instead of cooking our marinated chicken in a pan, we sous vided it. Cooking in the marinade adds some extra flavor. Then, I cooked the sauce alone in a pan. We served the dish with salad and garlic bread. The sauce is super tasty - perfect for dipping the garlic bread in. We leave out the sugar so it's not too sweet. [Budget Bytes]
  • It's been months since we made one of our favorite dishes. Oven roasted autumn medley is one of our go-tos once the weather cools. It's fairly quick to prepare, delicious, and filling. We use chicken apple sausage which pairs beautifully. The only downside to this is it always takes 10-20 minutes longer to cook. That's most likely because we use a ceramic casserole dish instead of a sheet pan. [Budget Bytes]
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