Birthday Drive

Yesterday was Marty's birthday. Since I had to work, we decided to celebrate today. We planned to visit the Gekkeikan Sake Brewery in Folsom but it was closed. We stopped at Negro Bar to see the state recreation area and liked it so well I'd like to go there for my birthday in July. We could go rafting or kayaking, barbecue lunch, lie in the sun, feed the geese, ride bikes on the trails ... spend the day in the outdoors for a change.

One Life is No Longer Enough

Last month I registered for a continuing-ed course called "Virtual World Librarianship" offered by the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign's library school. Our first meeting was yesterday, and wouldn't you know it - I misread the starting time. I was all ready with my laptop at the library at 1:30, only to find the session was just ending. It had started at 1:30 CENTRAL time. I live in PACIFIC time. Won't make that mistake again! How embarrassing! Thank goodness there is an alternative way to communicate with the instructors and students via the UIUC's Moodle, or distance-ed course management software.

Some of my classmates wonder what the point is - what is there in Second Life that we should spend time and money learning about it. Our instructor says one reason is that academic libraries are looking at it as a potential way to offer distance education. This class I'm taking is an experiment in distance education, for example. I'm looking at it as a way to think "out of the box" about ways to deliver library services remotely - what library services should patrons be able to receive after hours, from their home computer or telephone? What services lend themselves well to self-service? What are some ways to teach patrons how to "use their library at home"? Can these lessons be delivered via distance-ed modules?

One Person's Junk

This morning, as my walking buddy and I were heading out, we saw that one of our neighbors was holding a moving sale, and selling everything in her house! The dining table, wool rugs, and hutch looked really good, but I'm still happy with my grandmothers rattan and koa dining table set and we have no room for a hutch. However, I did pick up the George Foreman electric grill - it's a domed model that can be used outside or inside, is big enough for several pounds of chicken or steak, and only cost me $25! She said she had used it only a couple of times, and it was in near-pristine condition.

We used it tonight to grill steaks, potatoes, mushrooms, onions, and asparagus. Worked like a charm! and the best part is that we don't have to wait for the fire to go out.

Our townhouse complex has a clause in the lease agreement that forbids outdoor barbecues, both charcoal and gas. With the electric grill, we are abiding by the contract, but are able to grill outdoors anyway, keeping the house cool. We were just saying last night that this 'plex must be the only one in the county that forbids outdoor barbecues, and lamenting the thought of a second summer without a single barbecue. Next weekend is the Memorial Day Holiday, the traditional beginning of the summer barbecue season. I expect it would have been embarrassing to not barbecue that day! Now we can redeem ourselves and cook outside with the rest of California next week Monday.

Curves For Mother

Marty asked me what I wanted for Mother's Day this year, and I said, "a membership in Curves." I've been maintaining a 30# weight loss for about a year and a half, and I thought a membership in a gym might kick-start the next phase of my Weight Watchers plan. I didn't want to compete for space in the downtown gyms, and I didn't want to have to drive across town to exercise. There are three or four Curves locations within a 5-minute drive of home, and I think I can manage the 3 sessions per week without losing momentum. So - he brought home the paperwork, and I filled it out. I'll take it to the Land Park Curves on Monday after work, and start on Tuesday morning!

Awards Day

Every year at the end of May, MSgt has Awards Day for his JROTC students. Cpl. Laurel has been promoted to platoon sargeant, effective today at 1600 hours. She expects to continue in JROTC next year, and wants to try out for the color guard.

This year, we're having an unusually cool May. I remember frying in blistering sun for Pat's awards day ceremonies; today, although it was sunny, the north wind was cold, and moms were wrapping their shorts-clad kids inside their windbreakers.

ROTC was a small program this year, according to MSgt, but will more than double with the entrance of over 130 freshman next September. Go Laurel!