Here we go again

So I'd been contemplating for a while-- whether or not to start another blog. I had one for my trip to England last summer and it seemed to be a good way to catch up with people. But I worried about who was reading. I mean, I also have a blog on myspace, littered with cusswords and rants about things I would prefer to keep more private (and I do for the most part), but I wanted a place where I could ask rhetorical questions to the cyberworld about Librarianship, life and the pursuit of happiness...okay notsomuch the last portion, but at least the librarianship part. I mean, I participate in social networks online, and I know that potential employers and whatnot can easily google me and come up with some halfway decent information. Additionally, because I subscribe to a million RSS feeds of blogs relating to technology and how to best use it, I know that there are sites out there that specifically search for blogs and profiles, and all of that mess. So I attempt to utilize the privacy settings on such sites- and have SOME faith that they work. I guess I'll just be a little more careful here. Not drop the eff bomb as much, not rant about people and situations...okay I can't promise I won't swear or rant. That's part of the "writing process" right?

Anyways, my story:
I majored in English in undergrad. I was under the assumption (as many college students are) that I would eventually graduate and someone would pay me to write something, anything. Ha! not so. I didn't get into the advanced level poetry class needed to fulfill my Creative Writing focus in my major, so I ditched the focus and switched it to Renaissance Lit (oooohhhh a much more lucrative focus, eh?). So basically I now have a lot of useless knowledge that only helps me answer $30K questions on Who Wants to be a Millionaire regarding 17th century cavalier poets and revenge drama.

Anyway, I graduated and started working in advertising at a newspaper, with the false hope/pipe dream of becoming a reporter (or at least work in the editorial department) even though I've never in my life taken a journalism class. What happened? Well I spent almost 6 years in that field (4 for the major daily metropolitan newspaper) and published only a few articles that mainly ran congruently with advertising campaigns. So no, I didn't write much of my own opinion. Most of it was paid for by advertisers, or "included" in their ad purchase. I spent the bulk of this time in advertising right around the time when newspapers were starting to put their Help Wanted ads online in a searchable format. So I got to see SOMEthing like a changeover from print to the digital age- and learn the back end systems (somewhat) of how all of that works and whatnot.

After the first two years of lugging around a briefcase, wearing dress clothes and schmoozing with business cards, I realized that this particular aspect of the business wasn't for me. So I started focusing on other things like-- reading, writing, finding something to do with my life that didn't make me want to drive my car into the median while heading into work.

I thought about getting a Master's in Journalism, Marketing, English and even Business. Then a friend told me about her job as a librarian in Chicago and I couldn't believe that she got to buy music, read and recommend books-- and that was her job. I mean, there were other incredibly cool things about this, but the ability to select and purchase CDs-- great music-- and read-- great books, well it sounded enticing.

I should also mention that I had a 3 year stint in Daycare and contemplated becoming a teacher for about 5 years. My mom was a teacher and the idea of having an entire summer off also sounded like fun. I even did all of the training to become a substitute teacher (with the exception of the tuberculosis shot because I hate needles). But I digress.

So I applied to grad school and got in. I went to the University of Illinois, in their LEEP program, which is primarily online. If UIUC needed an Ohio Cheerleader, they have one in me. Going to that school was probably the best decision I ever made-- but I may talk about this again when my out-of-state-student-loans come out of deferrment in July, with a different tone.

I graduated in December of 2007. I got a job at an awesome new library and just started working there yesterday. I was able to watch and provide some feedback while building a library, which is super cool. However, yesterday was my first day working the Desk, and I'm still iffy on it. I mean, I can't make judgements after just one day. That's not fair. The library itself is beautiful and it was great to see the patrons' faces light up as they walk through the door. But there are some tiny kinks-- things I didn't expect. I'll probably write more about that later. well I KNOW I'll write about that later.

Anyways, that's the bulk of my story.

I neglected to mention that I have a constant daily battle with myself to get to a gym or exercise every day. You may read some of those arguments on here. Ignore it, I just argue with myself a lot. Speaking of which, I need to motivate before my morning is lost and I have to go into work. Wish me luck at the gym!