We've wined, we've waited, now it's time to celebrate 2016

[hippyscientist]

5 minutes ago, Pink Fuzzy Bunny said:

I start research today with a group at Cornell... mommy hold me...

good luck! Also snow now is not okay!!!

@sjoh197 that sounds surprisingly tasty - did you have a great trek? 

[Neist]

39 minutes ago, Pink Fuzzy Bunny said:

I start research today with a group at Cornell... mommy hold me...

Remember...

 

[hippyscientist]

So this is a little premature, but I just found the perfect post-doc. I checked the PI and it's a guy my new advisor supervised a few years ago! Small world.

[Need Coffee in an IV]

I always look at job listings so I get the need to look at everything. @Pink Fuzzy Bunny Good luck today! I'm debating whether to get a part time job working in a library while I'm completing my masters. I would like to gain some experience in that field too and I think I could handle a part time job. But I'm going to wait until I get a good idea on the workload for my program. I don't want to shot myself in the foot. I also saw an awesome certificate offered at my school and I'm thinking about doing that as well. I want to do all the things ha. Its a book history and digital humanities certificate. It sounds so interesting and useful!

 

[Neist]

33 minutes ago, hippyscientist said:

So this is a little premature, but I just found the perfect post-doc. I checked the PI and it's a guy my new advisor supervised a few years ago! Small world.

Oh, I'm much farther away from a PhD than you are, and I've already started to look for post docs. 

I found a fantastic one, and I'm sure by the time I'd get a PhD it'd lose funding and no longer exist.  

[hippyscientist]

30 minutes ago, Neist said:

Oh, I'm much farther away from a PhD than you are, and I've already started to look for post docs. 

I found a fantastic one, and I'm sure by the time I'd get a PhD it'd lose funding and no longer exist.  

Haha I figured you lot on here would be similar - we are achievers after all! It's pretty cool because most of the post-docs I'm looking at end up in the medical schools, working alongside orthopedic surgeons. I just think that's so awesome. I get to be a medical doctor, without being an MD!  

[Neist]

49 minutes ago, Need Coffee in an IV said:

I always look at job listings so I get the need to look at everything. @Pink Fuzzy Bunny Good luck today! I'm debating whether to get a part time job working in a library while I'm completing my masters. I would like to gain some experience in that field too and I think I could handle a part time job. But I'm going to wait until I get a good idea on the workload for my program. I don't want to shot myself in the foot. I also saw an awesome certificate offered at my school and I'm thinking about doing that as well. I want to do all the things ha. Its a book history and digital humanities certificate. It sounds so interesting and useful!

If you ever have questions about library worker workloads, feel free to send me a PM. I've been working in libraries for around 13 years now.

I think a part-time library job is very doable, depending on the position. A lot of jobs have a lot of down time.

[Need Coffee in an IV]

Just now, Neist said:

If you ever have questions about library worker workloads, feel free to send me a PM. I've been working in libraries for around 13 years now.

I think a part-time library job is very doable, depending on the position. A lot of jobs have a lot of down time.

I definitely will, thanks! The ones I've been looking at are part time, library aid positions. I feel like that kind of job will give me enough exposure without added a lot of responsibility. Luckily, I don't need a high paying position so there's not a lot of pressure. I'm trying to keep my options open!

[MarineBluePsy]

I'm glad I'm not the only one looking at post docs!  I actually had to stop myself from creating a spreadsheet of my favorites and their application criteria lol.  Seems like I should be devoting my spreadsheet energy to getting through my program first right?

In other news I finished MWF Seeking BFF because even though it freaked me out about halfway through I just can't leave a book unfinished.  So here's what I realized....over the last 3 years I've used roughly 70% of the methods Bertsche used to meet new people and establish friendships and have come up empty.  Maybe I'm not as likeable as I think I am lol.  I dunno.  I'd like this to be different in my new city, but I feel significantly less hopeful.

[Neist]

Just now, Need Coffee in an IV said:

I definitely will, thanks! The ones I've been looking at are part time, library aid positions. I feel like that kind of job will give me enough exposure without added a lot of responsibility. Luckily, I don't need a high paying position so there's not a lot of pressure. I'm trying to keep my options open!

Yup, aid positions are pretty low-key. Shelvers have a decent workload, but basic front desk support (or something similar) isn't demanding at all. It's nearly free money.  

I might even look for a part-time job; the stipulations of my RAship state than I can work some, just not a lot. We have a digitization center that I'd like to claim experience working at. It'd look great on a CV!

1 minute ago, MarineBluePsy said:

I'm glad I'm not the only one looking at post docs!  I actually had to stop myself from creating a spreadsheet of my favorites and their application criteria lol.  Seems like I should be devoting my spreadsheet energy to getting through my program first right?

In other news I finished MWF Seeking BFF because even though it freaked me out about halfway through I just can't leave a book unfinished.  So here's what I realized....over the last 3 years I've used roughly 70% of the methods Bertsche used to meet new people and establish friendships and have come up empty.  Maybe I'm not as likeable as I think I am lol.  I dunno.  I'd like this to be different in my new city, but I feel significantly less hopeful.

Oh, I'm totally not likeable!  Not at least in ways that are routinely appreciated. I suffer from the oft-observed trait of library worker weirdness. 

On the bright side, likeableness is probably just a matter of aesthetics, and aesthetics aren't universal. At the very least, you'll be in good company with others who might not fit into traditional molds.

[Need Coffee in an IV]

8 minutes ago, MarineBluePsy said:

I'm glad I'm not the only one looking at post docs!  I actually had to stop myself from creating a spreadsheet of my favorites and their application criteria lol.  Seems like I should be devoting my spreadsheet energy to getting through my program first right?

In other news I finished MWF Seeking BFF because even though it freaked me out about halfway through I just can't leave a book unfinished.  So here's what I realized....over the last 3 years I've used roughly 70% of the methods Bertsche used to meet new people and establish friendships and have come up empty.  Maybe I'm not as likeable as I think I am lol.  I dunno.  I'd like this to be different in my new city, but I feel significantly less hopeful.

Well I hoped you at least liked the book! And being liked by everyone is overrated . Don't get down on yourself! I haven't established a lot of friendships and I think that's true for a lot of people. @Neist Well that's good news, I do like free money. I haven't received any TA or RA appointments, only fellowships/scholarships so I wouldn't have any work conflicts. My scholarship does say to inform them if I obtain anymore funding. And that would look good on a CV! I'll wait for a bit but after awhile in my program, I may take the plunge and apply for jobs. Or getting a job through the university would also be nice.

[hippyscientist]

1 hour ago, MarineBluePsy said:

 

In other news I finished MWF Seeking BFF because even though it freaked me out about halfway through I just can't leave a book unfinished.  So here's what I realized....over the last 3 years I've used roughly 70% of the methods Bertsche used to meet new people and establish friendships and have come up empty.  Maybe I'm not as likeable as I think I am lol.  I dunno.  I'd like this to be different in my new city, but I feel significantly less hopeful.

So you haven't met the right people. It takes time, I'm pretty abrasive and will purposefully push people away, yet can be professional and amicable in a career setting. As such, I have a handful of good friends (they hate people, bitch far too much and definitely don't conform to societal normalcy) who are incredibly similar to me, but they're not easy friendships! To me, a friendship is worth keeping only if each party fully "gets" the other. So screw likeability. You can be pleasant upon first sight, but all my friendships have come about from random encounters leading to massive bitch sessions. Not exactly the definition of likeable! (N.B. I'm not a two-faced bitch, anything I say behind the back will be said to the face -> even less friends!)

[MarineBluePsy]

1 hour ago, Neist said:

Oh, I'm totally not likeable!  Not at least in ways that are routinely appreciated. I suffer from the oft-observed trait of library worker weirdness. 

On the bright side, likeableness is probably just a matter of aesthetics, and aesthetics aren't universal. At the very least, you'll be in good company with others who might not fit into traditional molds.

Library worker weirdness?  As much time as I spend in libraries you'd think I know what that was.  In fact I think my family is still surprised I didn't go that route career wise, but for me its a sanctuary and I didn't want to tarnish it with nonsense like paychecks and benefits.

I get not fitting into traditional molds, I've always had diverse interests and tried to be open to new experiences.  I just find when I meet other people like that they aren't good friend material.  They either get on my last nerves, are flaky, or can't detach from their SO or kids.  

1 hour ago, Need Coffee in an IV said:

Well I hoped you at least liked the book! And being liked by everyone is overrated . Don't get down on yourself! I haven't established a lot of friendships and I think that's true for a lot of people. 

Hmmm I'd say I'm on the fence.  On the one hand Bertsche's journey was interesting and more similar to my own than I realized, but on the other hand I couldn't overlook the glaring differences.  She goes home to an SO which is a built in friend regardless of how much married people complain about being sick of each other and she had a crew of childhood friends to count on even if they were a few hours away.

Then of course I've been rewatching Gilmore Girls and just finished the episode where the Chilton Headmaster tells Rory its not good to be the loner reading a book at lunch (honestly what else is there to do at lunch?!), so she gets caught up with this "secret" sorority and almost gets suspended just for being social as she was instructed.  Then of course even Rory has more of a social base then I do.  Is it weird to make friends with tv characters?  I feel like I'm really good at that.  

20 minutes ago, hippyscientist said:

So you haven't met the right people. It takes time, I'm pretty abrasive and will purposefully push people away, yet can be professional and amicable in a career setting. As such, I have a handful of good friends (they hate people, bitch far too much and definitely don't conform to societal normalcy) who are incredibly similar to me, but they're not easy friendships! To me, a friendship is worth keeping only if each party fully "gets" the other. So screw likeability. You can be pleasant upon first sight, but all my friendships have come about from random encounters leading to massive bitch sessions. Not exactly the definition of likeable! (N.B. I'm not a two-faced bitch, anything I say behind the back will be said to the face -> even less friends!)

Hehehe isn't it amazing how bitching can lead to bonding?  In my experience its always been a temporary in the moment sort of thing, but I get it.  I actually worked on this aspect of my personality quite a bit years ago because at the end of the day I decided it wasn't fun to have everyone run the other way.  Now I have less bitchy moments and more of the I-can't-believe-this-bizarre-thing-is-happening moments that tend to happen surrounded by strangers.

And next up on my to read list?  What I Was Doing While You Were Breeding by Kristin Newman because it seems that sooner rather than later I'll have to accept that I'll just have to travel alone or I'll completely miss the opportunity.  From the reviews I read Newman's experiences weren't awful so we'll see.

[Neist]

29 minutes ago, MarineBluePsy said:

Library worker weirdness?  As much time as I spend in libraries you'd think I know what that was.  In fact I think my family is still surprised I didn't go that route career wise, but for me its a sanctuary and I didn't want to tarnish it with nonsense like paychecks and benefits.

I completely understand, and I'm a little bit surprised you've never noticed that library workers tend to be a bit quirky. Not quirky in a bad way, but quirky, nonetheless.

Sometimes I feel that eccentrics that could never fit into normal academia become librarians.  And I mean that in the best possibly way.

[sjoh197]

So I was thinking about calling the grad advisor at UH's geo department. I emailed him almost 2 weeks ago about correspondence, but I never got anything back.  

It's been almost 2 months now with no info and over a month since I got the generic email from the Graduate School saying I would hear something "over the next several weeks".

I don't really know what to say if I call.

[sjoh197]

2 minutes ago, Neist said:

I completely understand, and I'm a little bit surprised you've never noticed that library workers tend to be a bit quirky. Not quirky in a bad way, but quirky, nonetheless.

Sometimes I feel that eccentrics that could never fit into normal academia become librarians.  And I mean that in the best possibly way.

Also... my mother is an "academic librarian"... so that statement was funny to me. 

[Neist]

9 minutes ago, sjoh197 said:

Also... my mother is an "academic librarian"... so that statement was funny to me. 

Yeah, all of my experience is in academic libraries.  

A quirky tribe, we library workers.

[hippyscientist]

21 minutes ago, sjoh197 said:

So I was thinking about calling the grad advisor at UH's geo department. I emailed him almost 2 weeks ago about correspondence, but I never got anything back.  

It's been almost 2 months now with no info and over a month since I got the generic email from the Graduate School saying I would hear something "over the next several weeks".

I don't really know what to say if I call.

I'd call and just say "I was a little concerned by the fact I have yet to hear anything regarding starting in the Fall. I sent an email about 2 weeks ago with no response and just wanted to check and see if there's anything I need to be doing in the meantime." Or something along those lines.

If you're saying librarians can't fit in with academic librarians, and academics in general who are completely nutso, goodness gracious. Tangentially related, I'm currently reading a fantastic book which is an ode to the love of books "Ink and Bone" by Rachael Caine. I recommend! It's quick, a little silly but reminds me just how much I love books. The world is controlled by the "Great Library" and the librarians are the holders of knowledge and also a little bit like secret agents

Edited May 16, 2016 by hippyscientist

[Neist]

36 minutes ago, hippyscientist said:

If you're saying librarians can't fit in with academic librarians, and academics in general who are completely nutso, goodness gracious. Tangentially related, I'm currently reading a fantastic book which is an ode to the love of books "Ink and Bone" by Rachael Caine. I recommend! It's quick, a little silly but reminds me just how much I love books. The world is controlled by the "Great Library" and the librarians are the holders of knowledge and also a little bit like secret agents

Sounds interesting!

I'm not sure about @sjoh197's meaning, but I find the opposite to be the case with librarians. I find that public library librarians tend to be more social and charming; they just want to help people find books. A lot of the really, really weird librarians I've met are academic librarians. They are still quirky library folk, but they don't need social trappings, so their interests tend to be increasingly obscure and esoteric. 

I've often wondered if a lot of people become librarians because their intellectual interests don't easily conform with academia's echo chamber paradigm. Rarely do institutions care what a librarian's interests are, so said librarians can research whatever they like.

Just my two cents, and it's probably wrong.  

[sjoh197]

My mother told me she hasn't read a regular book in years. Also... she gets frustrated when people assume that she shelves books for a living, since that is nowhere near what she does lol. 

[Neist]

1 minute ago, sjoh197 said:

My mother told me she hasn't read a regular book in years. Also... she gets frustrated when people assume that she shelves books for a living, since that is nowhere near what she does lol. 

+1 to this. 

I don't think anyone really knows what people do in libraries. It's an oddly insular world. 

Out of curiosity, what does your mom do in libraries? Of course, assuming you'd like to share. If not, I understand.  

[sjoh197]

1 minute ago, Neist said:

+1 to this. 

I don't think anyone really knows what people do in libraries. It's an oddly insular world. 

Out of curiosity, what does your mom do in libraries? Of course, assuming you'd like to share. If not, I understand.  

I wish I actually had a better understanding of what she does. 

I know that she does collection assessment, and I know that she serves on a lot of committees representing the library for like, re-accreditation and stuff. She does a lot of statistics type stuff too, which is why she started taking classes again to maybe get a phd in statistics. 

My knowledge of what my father does is even worse lol. 

[Neist]

Just now, sjoh197 said:

I wish I actually had a better understanding of what she does. 

I know that she does collection assessment, and I know that she serves on a lot of committees representing the library for like, re-accreditation and stuff. She does a lot of statistics type stuff too, which is why she started taking classes again to maybe get a phd in statistics. 

My knowledge of what my father does is even worse lol. 

Sounds like she might do something in technical services and/or collection development. Those are arcane sub-disciplines.

On the bright side, I bet she'll have decent job security for a while. A lot of jobs in libraries are becoming obsolete, but your mom's sort of job isn't really one of them. Front desk workers (and largely anyone working in public services besides reference people) are going the way of the Dodo. The future is moving towards reference and technical fields; a lot of library programs are quasi-IT programs at this point.

[sjoh197]

Just now, Neist said:

Sounds like she might do something in technical services and/or collection development. Those are arcane sub-disciplines.

On the bright side, I bet she'll have decent job security for a while. A lot of jobs in libraries are becoming obsolete, but your mom's sort of job isn't really one of them. Front desk workers (and largely anyone working in public services besides reference people) are going the way of the Dodo. The future is moving towards reference and technical fields; a lot of library programs are quasi-IT programs at this point.

Yeah... I know that my mom does a lot of stuff working with the online databases and stuff. She agrees that the current library system is outdated. 

And I think the section of the library that she works in is called collection development... so that sounds right. lol

[hippyscientist]

Okay I'm definitely one of those people who hasn't a clue what librarians do. I thought it was stocking books, understanding the stock enough to be able to recommend and direct...but apparently I'm WAY off base. Care to fill me in a bit @Neist? How do you envisage the future of library - I'm not sure how I fit "reference and technical fields" into my incredibly limited and wrong knowledge of librarians!