Michael's Domain |
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Tuesday, May 17, 2005
My car is in the shop again (although it's been over four months). The last time was when my old mechanic needed to replace the shocks. They were under warranty and had been replaced the previous November. Max (my volvo) has been running great since then but its 3,000 mile oil change was coming up and I suspected he had a few oil and coolant leaks. As well I discovered that the air conditioning wasn't working - again. I got fed up with having to pay $50 for freon every spring so I figured something more was wrong. Of course no other mechanics would have checked the problem out further besided just topping up freon (which shouldn't have to be done every year! Turns out I need a new a/c evaporator which will cost $1,900. Other leaks and repairs will bump up the cost considerably so I'm rather depressed about that. But the a/c has to be done. It would be like living in Edmonton in winter and not having heat in your car. So I won't have Max for a few days but at least I was able to work out the logistics of commuting. I took the car in yesterday to the VShop - a neat sounding name. They're very close to our apartment and the people there were friendly. They even gave me a ride home - unprecedented for any mechanic I've seen. I had the day off and Darcy will take me to work the next two days. Luckily I work close to home and it is almost on her way to work. So I will likely set a record today by spending almost thirteen hours at work! On my day off (yesterday) I worked out and began consolidating my photo albums. I have several photos that my Mom got developed from slides that I need to integrate into my albums. I'd need to take at leasat a few days off to get that done. There are a few slides that I need to get converted into photos and I can get that done this summer in Edmonton. Then I can organize all my photos chronologically and revise my life story. It's been fun looking at photos from the 1970s - it's strange to think how much time has passed and get lost about reflecting events from the past. I'm older now than my parents were in that decade. But I don't feel that old - I guess it's because I'm not a parent and I'm still stumbling around trying to figure out what I want to accomplish in my career. For that matter what do I want to do for a career. Darcy and I disillusioned, her even more so than me, over the profession of librarianship and what is offers and doesn't offer. It's lost so many web based initiatives to the private sector and it has negatively affected how people conduct research and perceive libraries. There are many bright individuals in the profession and some interesting projects done in collaboration with other agencies but the profession still seems to be led by bureacrats stuck in the antiquated 1970s and 80s mindset. Both our libraries are indicative of this and it's frustrating - getting stuck in mundane daily routines and putting out fires. For myself I don’t have time to read my profession’s literature and see what’s going on in technology developments and research. I don’t feel like looking for another job and would almost rather go back to school. I shouldn't feel burnt out and Darcy shouldn't feel bored and disillusioned after barely five years as a librarian! Maybe this is normal and our parents and grandparents went through the same motions but they stuck it out. I guess Gen Xers aren’ t going to take it anymore (sounds like a song from Twisted Sister!) Damn – I only have an hour left before my work day officially begins and I have more personal stuff to do – until next time… Tuesday, May 03, 2005
 My friend Dante and me at the library's Christmas party in 2002. He returned home to Toronto to bigger and better things. I'll miss him but I have an open invitation to visit!  | Here I am again after almost a month passing between blog entries. Guess I get too wrapped up in work and the daily grind. Big news is that Darcy and I decided a couple of weeks ago to leave the U.S. in the summer of 2006. So she will not apply for the green card and instead renew her TN-1 work visa for one more year. We can do this when we return to Florida after our honeymoon on August 15. By next summer 2006 I think I will have been able to fulfill most of my major goals at work and will be ready to move on. I wil have lived in Florida for six years which is much longer than I imagined. But I've also accomplished much more than I ever thought possible. Beside the subtropical weather here is really getting to me and Darcy. Darcy's professional career has sadly stalled here and she is sick of BCL. Health care is a scary issue here along with rising education costs. Plus the almost constant horrible humidity saps our energy and makes us grumpy! But there just don't seem to be nearly as many job prospects as in the U.S. So it will be a risk leaving here with potentially no jobs for both or just one of us. We figured that there are three places to relocate in Canada based upon selection of jobs and universities. They are Toronto, Vancouver and Calgary. We both agree that Calgary is the best for having lowest cost of living and being a bit closer to home. So I visited the University of Calgary's website and found an interesting graduate program to possible apply. It is the Center for Strategic and Miltary Studies. It offers a course based Masters program with the description stating " The Master of Strategic Studies (MSS) program has been designed to achieve a specific educational goal; to provide students with a graduate degree that combines a strong military-oriented, liberal arts core, with opportunities to study more technical subject matter ranging from international law to geomatics engineering. The goal is a well-rounded graduate education which will place the technicalities of war and defence-related subjects, past and present, within the context of the overall human experience. " GPA must be at least 3.4 and requirements seem liberal enough where I would have a chance of being selected. I've always found international relations interesting and the history of warfare intriguing. So I need to decide what to do and begin my application process this fall... I just applied online for a job at the Higher Colleges in Technology in the United Arab Emirates. Their website is good and they have multiple openings (which can be a good sign or not depending on how you look at it). They have a comprehensive applicant profile that must be completely filled out before one can apply for a position. I naturally applied for the librarian(s) positions and will wait and see what happens. There is a neat applicant job status field to view after you've applied. Darcy and I would prefer to work overseas for a while there before returning to Canada. My Canadian friend and colleague Dante left for Toronto early Monday, May 2. He was homesick and needed a change of pace. Dante worked his butt off here and will be much happier back in his home town. He will be a branch librarian at Richmond Hill Green Library. So another Canadian colleague leaves South Florida back to Canada. Guess Darcy and I are next if nothing pans out overseas. My dream is to live overseas for a few years and then relocate to North America. Finally, Enterprise is winding down its last season. The last few episodes haven't been too bad. Luckily friends of ours are taping the shows since we have poor reception. I did a record 210 chinups at home last week. I guess that's all for now.... |
