CLA Day 3

Yes, I lost a day of blogging.

Recap, Yesterday was Latino Saturday.

Today was Cataloging Sunday.

Yesterday I met some fabulous people from multiple REFORMA chapters in California. Martin of the L.A. Chapter brought this huge banner for our booth - and let us cover up the Los Angeles part and California chapters....then we were trying to hang it up with little twist ties i brought from home and it wouldn't stay.... after many attempts - a vendor took pity on us and gave us 4 exhibit hooks which look like shower curtain hooks.

Then I was running back and forth helping out our Reforma booth which was like a cool hang out and at our Cataloging section booth ... just being on the exhibit floor and answering questions and pimping associations, seeing friends from library school and past jobs was exciting, but it really tires a person. After quite a few hours - i was feeling squirrly and bumped into my lovely friend Marie- she said, girl, you don't look quite right again realized that I hadn't eaten all day...so thank goodness for her - and we went to lunch and she helped me get centered.

I am too tired to finish discussing the Fabulous Latino Round Table Meeting, where we had record attendance and I was able to turn over the gavel to a great new chair, Janice. We also all then went on a taqueria run to a cute little place in San Jose, that had nice - outdoor patio sitting. Then we went to an after party at Roberto Delgadillo's two room hotel party in the JW Marriott....we even had some Reformistas there that didn't even go to the conference.

Much more to say about all that - but so sleepy and i am meeting someone for day 4 of CLA tomorrow at 7:30 am.

Besos

CLA 2008 - Day 1

Actually Friday is pre-day one, the institute day.

This was my schedule...

9am-Noon - Went to Executive Board Meeting to hear about CLA changes

Noon-12:30 - Registered, Found co-presenters.

1:20-4:30 -- Presenation on Dia de los Ninos/Dia de los libros

4:45-6:30 -- Work at BPLG booth #728, found out that they lost our registration and

set up crew had to beg teamsters for a table a 1 chair, 2nd chair would

cost $100.00 on exhibit day.

Also check on ACTSS booth - aka CLA booth

*Around 5pm realized I hadn't eaten breakfast.

6:30-7:00- Drop off computer and bags in car

7:00-7:30 --Walk to Fairmont for Award Dinner - ACTSS had two winners.

7:30-? -- Award dinner.

10pm --- Skipped after party

10:15pm -- Pay $18 to leave parking lot

11pm --- Home can't sleep on computer ...still on computer at 2:30am, wired...

thinking about conference that starts tomorrow!

Bumping into colleagues and people I see once a year was lovely - It gave me that pink cloud conference feeling...especially sitting at dinner with all catalogers and talking about authority control, cjk cataloging or pcc standards...really i love that stuff!

OBAMA!

I am listening to Obama's acceptance speech, and crying and have goose pimples going up and down my arms.

Whew....After being afraid that this could not, would not happen....I feel so hopeful and so happy.

These are some parts that made me cry...

If there is anyone out there that doubts that the dream of our founders is alive or questions the power of our democracy, tonight is your answer.

All those watching, our destiny is shared, a new dawn of American leadership is at hand... the true strength from democracy, opportunity and unyielding hope - that is the true genius of America - that it can change.

On NBC the reporter said before us in every classroom that we were all raised, there were 43 white males that were all the presidents before us. That, the biggest of barriers has been broken tonight.

I have felt little bites of racism all my life, especially growing up in white neighborhood and elementary school through the 70's where my view of the country all looked quite white...i.e. with no TV stars, teachers or leaders of color in my upbringing.

In my High School year book most of the people wrote that they wish that they could tan as easily as I could, that is what most people saw about me and could not see past; also in high school when I dated a boy from a neighboring white prep school...he was constantly harassed for dating a preppy Mexican girl and other boys would throw packets of taco sauce packets at him during band practice to taunt him about dating me.

I could go on...but i want to be part of the spirit of optimism of change, and I feel that I am as a part of the growing numbers of Bilingual/Bicultural Librarians....i want to try to leave the stings of cynicism behind as Obama said that he doesn't blame people for having.

Si se puede Presidente Obama!

Ida

Pre-Conference Stress

I am so stressed about the CLA conference coming up, I have four different groups to which I have made commitments.

I received the best advice from my colleague Julie Moore about conferences....reprinted with her permission.

"Try to pace yourself. Planning and doing a conference is rather like running a marathon ... and the last month is a sprint!!! There are always things that come up that you could not have planned on, so you have to stay flexible and roll with it all. Especially at the national level, I always feel like the people who are doing the planning and speaking are kind of like the thoroughbred racehorses at a race ... and right before the conference, it is just like right before a horserace ... with lots of nerves, stomping their feet, and a lot of snorting and whinneying going on! Then when they go to do their talks, everyone settles down and acts all professional. And afterwards, they are all prancing around!"

Thanks Julie!

I Finally met Francisco Jimenez!

I have been a long time fan of the author Francisco Jimenez and finally got to meet him at a lecture tonight. It was a small venue, so I was especially lucky that I got to ask him all my questions and stayed at the end like an author stalkeratsy and took pictures of him and his wife. I have no shame!

The event was at a public library and that made it great because it was a slice of the well-read and a slice of crazy (those who were just there for the public rest room) - but that just made it much more interesting. The top question of the night was about what the name and story was of the dog on the cover of his book pictured to the left. He said he didn't know the dog a few times, but I guess some people didn't hear that. One little kid asked him why his parrot died in the book.

I asked him how old his parents were when they came over from Mexico to do farm labor. His father was 37 and his mother was 28. It is amazing and admirable to me that being so young his parents would take on this huge responsibility to make a living. At 28, I don't know what I was doing, but I would not have been able to rotate between picking crops at three ranches a year and give birth to seven children.

Francisco was four at the time and could only go to school in the fall when there was enough work to support the family without him working. During those few months a year when he could get a little education, he was very happy to be in school. He admitted that he was scarred by the experience of not passing 1st grade and even though he didn't get any special help and could only understand very few words in English.

In later grades there were teachers who took extra time and effort to help him and show him and the other students what his strengths were. He gave the example of a teacher who displayed a map of California to the class and then called Francisco up to the front of the class and asked him to pronounce the cities because he knew he could do it the best. Another teacher in high school gave him a copy of The Grapes of Wrath and that one book changed everything for him. It gave him an understanding of his situation and also planted the seed for him wanting to write his own similar experience.

I mentioned the recent case where a pregnant 17-year-old female farm worker in Stockton was working in over 100 degree heat and was denied water and shade. She kept working until she passed out and died, I choked up a little bit when I said it, but it really angers me.
http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/nationworld/2004458818_apfarmscenefarmworkerdeath.html

I mentioned the death because in his book he mentions the exploitation of the camp store merchants' exploitation of immigrants by inflating prices. I asked him if things have changed or if he still feels that immigrants are being exploited.

He said that this is why he writes his memoirs because he does not want these people and their experiences to be invisible. He wants everyone to know that these immigrants are a part of the American fabric and how they live. He also said in his new book Breaking Out (part 3 of his memoirs) is coming out Aug 25th. In it he writes about his march with Cesar Chavez to Sacramento, and his experience of being the first in his family to go to college. I could have smacked this one lady that said -- don't tell us anymore we want to read it. What the H... I wanted to hear him talk about his stories with the Chavez and she shushed him...

Regardless, I was truly star struck by how this man opened up about his extreme poverty without bitterness then achieved a PhD and professorship at a top University. His story strikes close to my heart being a child of an immigrant myself. Actually I was not born in the U.S. so that makes me an immigrant myself, but one with a much easier path.

A short bio link on him:
http://www.volvoforlifeawards.com/cgi-bin/iowa/english/heros/hero/774.html

Don't throw out those crutches!

This picture is from a site that had home renovation nightmares and things that didn't pass inspection. I thought it was clever?!