Born, like other comic book characters, out of an otherwise trivial but life-changing animal bite, the Rabid Librarian seeks out strange, useless facts, raves about real and perceived injustices, and seeks to meet her greatest challenge of all--her own life.
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Thursday, October 06, 2005
Wednesday, October 05, 2005
Checking links for my second job
I discovered the New Orleans Museum of Art's temporary website and the location of the staff. I can't imagine the process that will be necessary to get the museum up and running. Unfortunately, many museums, libraries, and archives are in similar situations. I only hope that much of the history and culture of the region can be saved.
When you study library preservation they always talk of the 48-hour window you have when things get wet before mould invades. That's when it's imperative to have plans in place to freeze items for recovery later or dry minimally damaged items with fans. There's always the assumption that somewhere in the 48 hours you had a chance to get some climate control, whether it's dehumidifiers and fans or air conditioning.
Nothing prepares you for having a collection submerged in sewage for nearly a month, or having your staff told to evacuate for public safety so that they must either comply or violate direct orders of authorities. No disaster plan was ready for the scope of Katrina's wake. But all over the region, there are those trying to save what they can. Good luck to them, and to those institutions and organisations trying to help.
When you study library preservation they always talk of the 48-hour window you have when things get wet before mould invades. That's when it's imperative to have plans in place to freeze items for recovery later or dry minimally damaged items with fans. There's always the assumption that somewhere in the 48 hours you had a chance to get some climate control, whether it's dehumidifiers and fans or air conditioning.
Nothing prepares you for having a collection submerged in sewage for nearly a month, or having your staff told to evacuate for public safety so that they must either comply or violate direct orders of authorities. No disaster plan was ready for the scope of Katrina's wake. But all over the region, there are those trying to save what they can. Good luck to them, and to those institutions and organisations trying to help.
It's almost
NaNoWriMo- National Novel Writing Month, time to sign up again, for yet another attempt at writing 50,000 words in one month.
Bookmarking this as well
Another article from Medscape (viewable with free registration) on Treatment for ADHD: An Expert Interview With Robert Findling, MD, on the efficacy and effectiveness of medications in the treatment of ADHD. It helped me understand the different types of medication that there are, and considerations in how they're prescribed.
Paxil Use in Early Pregnancy May Cause Birth Defects
According to a Medscape article (available for viewing with free registration), a retrospective company study suggests an increase in overall malformations with Paxil/paroxetine taken during the first trimester, most commonly cardiovascular malformations such a ventricular septal defects.
That's a little scary. I'm not in any danger of being pregnant at the moment, but that means if I do plan to have a child I'll have to go off the Paxil before the pregnancy, which means I'll either have to find an alternative (and Paxil has helped me so much, especially with my OCD) or go off medication entirely, which could make for an interesting pregnancy in and of itself.
Anyway, women on Paxil should discuss with their doctors the risks of Paxil and pregnancy, so I wanted to pass this on.
That's a little scary. I'm not in any danger of being pregnant at the moment, but that means if I do plan to have a child I'll have to go off the Paxil before the pregnancy, which means I'll either have to find an alternative (and Paxil has helped me so much, especially with my OCD) or go off medication entirely, which could make for an interesting pregnancy in and of itself.
Anyway, women on Paxil should discuss with their doctors the risks of Paxil and pregnancy, so I wanted to pass this on.
Tuesday, October 04, 2005
Well
I'm looking over my goals and:
The dieting certainly didn't work. I was supposed to lose 20 lbs by dieting starting July 1. I did lose 10 lbs, but that was mainly from being poor. Still have to work on the whole willpower thing with the dieting. I also haven't been walking or really keeping track of my progress.
I have been taking my medications regularly.
I haven't managed to save, and the budget plan was short-lived. I did, however, create a budget and am staying in it for now, and paying small amounts on my debts.
I have written some but not regularly, haven't been to any art exhibits or concerts, and I've only knitted or done crafts a little. Except for the month of September, I have been playing in the game and have increased my participation and depth.
I have been doing yoga 4-5 times a week and performing monthly libations, but still no daily breathing exercises or logs. Can you see a trend in logging stuff tends to fall by the wayside? Really, until I started keeping this blog, I couldn't keep a journal, because I'd mess up and it wouldn't be perfect, then start again. OCD. That and I don't have the attention span to make sure I do it daily when writing. Oddly enough, I can do it with the computer.
What else? In the being a friend category, September was pretty much a bust for in-depth discussions but otherwise I spoke with each friend, did things for people, and encouraged someone once a week. Actually, I managed to do the latter two even during September, for the most part. I didn't write my familyevery week but I have been in closer contact with them.
So, it's mixed. According to my social skills book, it's better to focus on one specific goal at a time, so maybe I was overly ambitious. I think my goal for this month will be to work on my appearance. I don't often wear makeup or fix my hair, so I look like I literally went out the door straight from the shower (because I did). That's doable, and is concrete, but has no universal 'every day' to cause me automatically fail if I don't do it every time. The rest of the points for improvement are still in the back of my mind though, so hopefully I'll pay more attention to cues during conversations. I just know that a lot of times I feel awkward in small groups (never mind big ones, where I feel downright claustrophobic). I do better one-on-one, but there are more distractions when you have several people talking together. So hopefully that will get a little better.
That's all for now. Sorry I didn't do everything I said I would; the intentions were good but the actions to follow through are a challenge for me. But eventually I want to improve in those areas, it just may take longer than I thought to begin with.
The dieting certainly didn't work. I was supposed to lose 20 lbs by dieting starting July 1. I did lose 10 lbs, but that was mainly from being poor. Still have to work on the whole willpower thing with the dieting. I also haven't been walking or really keeping track of my progress.
I have been taking my medications regularly.
I haven't managed to save, and the budget plan was short-lived. I did, however, create a budget and am staying in it for now, and paying small amounts on my debts.
I have written some but not regularly, haven't been to any art exhibits or concerts, and I've only knitted or done crafts a little. Except for the month of September, I have been playing in the game and have increased my participation and depth.
I have been doing yoga 4-5 times a week and performing monthly libations, but still no daily breathing exercises or logs. Can you see a trend in logging stuff tends to fall by the wayside? Really, until I started keeping this blog, I couldn't keep a journal, because I'd mess up and it wouldn't be perfect, then start again. OCD. That and I don't have the attention span to make sure I do it daily when writing. Oddly enough, I can do it with the computer.
What else? In the being a friend category, September was pretty much a bust for in-depth discussions but otherwise I spoke with each friend, did things for people, and encouraged someone once a week. Actually, I managed to do the latter two even during September, for the most part. I didn't write my familyevery week but I have been in closer contact with them.
So, it's mixed. According to my social skills book, it's better to focus on one specific goal at a time, so maybe I was overly ambitious. I think my goal for this month will be to work on my appearance. I don't often wear makeup or fix my hair, so I look like I literally went out the door straight from the shower (because I did). That's doable, and is concrete, but has no universal 'every day' to cause me automatically fail if I don't do it every time. The rest of the points for improvement are still in the back of my mind though, so hopefully I'll pay more attention to cues during conversations. I just know that a lot of times I feel awkward in small groups (never mind big ones, where I feel downright claustrophobic). I do better one-on-one, but there are more distractions when you have several people talking together. So hopefully that will get a little better.
That's all for now. Sorry I didn't do everything I said I would; the intentions were good but the actions to follow through are a challenge for me. But eventually I want to improve in those areas, it just may take longer than I thought to begin with.
Heard in a Kohl's ad
When asked to identify a sound...
Ah, stereotypes.
A half-crazed librarian shushing someone
Ah, stereotypes.
Now I've seen everything
I received an American 3B Scientific catalogue I got a catalogue today. In the back they have boxers with patterns made from pictures of dust mites, gonorrhoea, staph, anthrax and testosterone. ($18) They have ties that include plague, herpes, HIV, tuberculosis, ebola, SARS, breast cancer, influenza, West Nile, mad cow, S. pneumo, vaccinia, giarda, gonorrhoea, & staph. ($30) How's that for a unique gift for the science geek in your life?
L'Shanah Tovah
Happy Rosh Hashanah/Jewish New Year for those who celebrate it. Oh, and it's Ramadan as well. I'm not familiar with that enough to know whether to wish a Happy Ramadan or not, to be honest. I know there's fasting, but I don't know much else. I'd love to learn though, so drop me a line if you know.
I got a book the other day that is very helpful. It's What Does Everybody Else Know That I Don't? and it deals with social skills and ADHD. I highly recommend it. When I was a kid, I really didn't socialise much, and with ADHD, you miss a lot of the cues that other people learn without trouble. I grew into an awkward adult, and I think it's one reason I have social anxiety. I learnt a lot in my 20s and 30s though, thanks to a good teacher, so I'm not hopeless. Still, I see a lot of the subtle things I have to work on, like timing in conversations, picking up the subtext of feelings, not interrupting, that sort of thing. And of course, managing money and following through on projects. I've elicited feedback in the form of a questionnaire from the book from people whose opinions I trust and it's giving me a good idea of what to work on. Thank you all! The more I'm learning, the more I really feel relieved that maybe (as one book puts it) I'm not 'lazy, stupid, or crazy', but merely dealing with a deficit that can be overcome with medication, counseling, and hard work. Well, okay, I am a little crazy, but that's in addition to having ADHD. :D
The experiment went well, and all is fine. Life is pretty good right now and I think some boundaries are in place that weren't before.
What else? Next week I have a dental appointment, a counseling session, and meet with my psychiatrist to evaluate the ADDerall. I'm not feeling sleepy or dopey anymore, which is good, just calm. I think my body is getting used to it, and I've noticed I seem to be able to focus better. I've been cataloguing, which I love and yet can be tedious, but I've gotten dozens of books into the catalogue so far, and I'll be plugging along for awhile.
Well, that's all for now. I've got to get ready for work.
PS 4:34 pm. In the midst of cataloguing today (I'm up to 125 books in about a week), I came across two workbooks, one on self-control for kids with ADHD and one on social skills. Strange coincidence. I didn't know we even had these.
I got a book the other day that is very helpful. It's What Does Everybody Else Know That I Don't? and it deals with social skills and ADHD. I highly recommend it. When I was a kid, I really didn't socialise much, and with ADHD, you miss a lot of the cues that other people learn without trouble. I grew into an awkward adult, and I think it's one reason I have social anxiety. I learnt a lot in my 20s and 30s though, thanks to a good teacher, so I'm not hopeless. Still, I see a lot of the subtle things I have to work on, like timing in conversations, picking up the subtext of feelings, not interrupting, that sort of thing. And of course, managing money and following through on projects. I've elicited feedback in the form of a questionnaire from the book from people whose opinions I trust and it's giving me a good idea of what to work on. Thank you all! The more I'm learning, the more I really feel relieved that maybe (as one book puts it) I'm not 'lazy, stupid, or crazy', but merely dealing with a deficit that can be overcome with medication, counseling, and hard work. Well, okay, I am a little crazy, but that's in addition to having ADHD. :D
The experiment went well, and all is fine. Life is pretty good right now and I think some boundaries are in place that weren't before.
What else? Next week I have a dental appointment, a counseling session, and meet with my psychiatrist to evaluate the ADDerall. I'm not feeling sleepy or dopey anymore, which is good, just calm. I think my body is getting used to it, and I've noticed I seem to be able to focus better. I've been cataloguing, which I love and yet can be tedious, but I've gotten dozens of books into the catalogue so far, and I'll be plugging along for awhile.
Well, that's all for now. I've got to get ready for work.
PS 4:34 pm. In the midst of cataloguing today (I'm up to 125 books in about a week), I came across two workbooks, one on self-control for kids with ADHD and one on social skills. Strange coincidence. I didn't know we even had these.
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