I have been extremely efficient this morning. I got off the bus, stopped at “For Crepe’s Sake” for some cinnamon sugar and chocolate crepes, and headed off to begin a productive day of work. I am feeling caught up on a lot of paperwork and cataloging, and it’s just making the day easier to get through knowing I’ve already accomplished so much.
I sat at the University’s resource fair for faculty and staff at the UW-Libraries booth. It’s hard to answer some questions I got with a straight face. One vendor for a health care company asked me if library use was down because the Internet has everything. I shot him a blank stare for about a second, then explained that use is up because of the internet. How chat services have been implemented because librarians are going to the students instead of the students going to the librarians. He then proceeded to talk about the Kindle for a while, and how the Kindle doesn’t promote libraries. I just took a deep breath and smiled. Sometimes certain reference questions are more different than others.
In class last week, it was brought up why it is so important to protect patron’s information and privacy. And the impact that I guess I didn’t prove enough, is that people should be able to check out what they want without judgment. People should be free to live their lives without judgment. The recent suicides around the country have been incredibly sad, and I wish there was more to be done to prevent them. I’m personally in love with Dan Savage’s approach. Armed with fame from his weekly sex column in The Onion, he and his boyfriend began a website and YouTube page letting teens who are questioning their sexuality that it does get better. That suicide is not the answer. It was making me sick for a while each time I logged onto my computer and went to my homepage, cnn.com. I hated hearing about another suicide, one as close as in my home state of Wisconsin. October 20th is a day to support the GLBTQ community by wearing purple. Showing that regardless of who you love, you support everyone and anyone to love whomever they wish to.
Oh yeah, if you didn’t know, a lot of librarians are liberal. Quite a few.
October is my favorite month. Hands down. I love autumn beginning, the leaves turning colors, and the weather cooling down to sweatshirt weather. I love shopping for new hats, scarves, and mittens. I love carving pumpkins. I love apple picking. I love nesting for the winter. I love it all.
It also happens to be the month of my birth. To celebrate all the greatness that is my twenty-third year of life, I have been blessed with wonderful friends and family. Last weekend, Sam and I went camping at Devils Lake. It was gorgeous. It was 70 degrees, the foliage had just started to change, and we lucked out getting a campsite last-minute. I honestly couldn’t have picked a better weekend to go. We had wanted to go all summer, but this was finally the time we were free to actually head to the center of the state. And it was well worth the wait!
Plus, it was so nice to see the stars so clearly at night. Sam and I stopped and just stared at the sky for ten minutes or so on a walk. We just couldn’t stop the amazement of how gorgeous the sky was — and we saw a handful of shooting stars as well.
There was also Sigma Chi formal which was a blast. I’m so excited for Stephanie and Emily, the two newest Sweethearts of Sigma Chi! It was such a fun night, and Sam and I looked quite adorable together.
Too bad the Lego cuff links didn’t get there in time. 
Excitement is building for the rest of the month as well. This coming weekend, Sam and I are seeing Guster in concert Friday night. Then, we’re up early the next morning to head down to Chicago for the day. There are no plans that I know of for the day (aside from the hints I’ve been throwing Sam’s way), but I am so excited to be in the city.
The next weekend is my actual birthday. Full of family time and good food. Plus, I just got tickets to see Ingrid Michaelson on my actual birth date! The weekend after, I’m off to the Twin Cities to shop with my sisters and get started on Christmas shopping!
And here’s a video you should see immediately. I love being a Badger!
I’m getting the shirt.
