Reasons to not stay at a $35 night hotel

1) The exhaust fumes from the truck stop in front of the hotel are nauseating.
2) The mass amount of electrical wiring over your room will not let your cell phone operate.
3) The noise from the freeway exit which is your neighbor will keep you awake.
4) The TV and phone will not work - really both.
5) Even though the you requested a non smoking - you will cough from the smoke smell when you enter your room.
6) A new cob web will appear in the bathroom from one visit to another.
7) The door does not seem to completely shut.
8) The dining option is only the truck stop 24 hour grocery store.
9) Two taxi drivers could not find the hotel and I had to call the hotel and pass the phone to the cabbies --- "Oh...behind that truck stop."
10)There is a pool, but it is being used by unsafe looking men with mullets and wife beater shirts drinking a keg of beer there all the time.
11) When people park in front of my door - the headlights wake me up.
12) One spends $30 per way in cab fare and 3 interstate exchanges to get to conference events.

If i didn't laugh I would cry.

10 Questions for the Dalai Lama

A man who was beaten, tortured and imprisoned for just being a monk, left prison with a lot of anger and resentment. After he left the prison where they tortured and hung many monks he told the Dalai Lama that he did not want to be a monk anymore - that it was time to fight.

The Dalai Lama spoke to him for two hours and told him, Violence is against our religion, Violence will make no change to our cause... Peace... smiling.. warmth.. and sharing...and explaining. This is more powerful...he said after the two hour talk he was able to smile again. This exampled showed hie strength. I wish I could have clipped the picture of the battered monk with a smiling face, but i couldn't.

Anyway, I need to remember this lesson.

Day 1 of ALA - Anaheim

I'm here at the big show! The super bowl of library conferences.

Today for the first time I helped out with the Spectrum Institute.
It is an orientation program for the new awardees of the Spectrum
scholarship and also a booster shot of enthusiasm for the profession
and ALA in general

I assisted in the professional options fair, which is one of the areas
that I remember the most from the institute which I attended. It has
grown since the time that I was in it.

During the two hours I spoke with about a dozen new LIS students.
It was interesting to me that the new librarians I met split into two groups:
those who wanted to be Metadata professionals; or in terms of Public Librarianship, those
who wanted to be children's librarians.

But then again, I remember x number of years ago, I had thought I wanted
to be a children's librarian ....and I tell you that will probably not happen. I don't
have that good crowd control gene that is needed.

Otherwise, it was heart-warming to see so many of my spectrum alumnae - get big
hugs from them and try to catch up on a year's worth of news in 5 minutes.

It was a lovely start to the conference to see the bright new future of the profession.
We exchanged face book names and I offered to be available if they need any help in the future.
But it may be me that needs the sharp future minds to help me.

ida

Me - Dancing @ an ABBA concert on SL

Well, my avatar, dancing @ an ABBA concert last night in Denmark
on Second Life. It was a breakthrough to find that there was a concert
at a certain time and then get there and then figure out how to dance
to the music.

I am working with Sandy Vella to work out some useful application for
the CLA ACTSS division, but learning something fun first never hurts.