Awards

Ok, can I quickly express my disappointment in the ALA awards (ok, the Printz, I lost faith last year in the Newbery's when Kira Kira won)? I'm totally behind "Looking for Alaska" (as evident by the link to the right connecting to the author's blog) but the rest of them? Yeah. Not so much. In fact, so uninspired that I'm not even going to bother putting them on hold. This may stem from the fact that I've been in the middle of "I am the Messenger" since the last plane ride (so we are talking since the 13th - simply ages). I've read a book and a half since I put it down - in the midst of deciding whether to move 2,000 miles away from home, finding apartments and packing (more on this later, I promise!) A delay like this is never a good sign. I'll probably finish it, but, man, who were those people on the committee? Those books are so unexciting. I'm sure they are good, or whatever, on whatever scale they go by, but there were fun books out there this year that were deserving, in my unworthy opinion. Poetry? Short Stories? Non-Fiction (even when about a music guy I like)? I don't know. Maybe one day I'll be on the committee (right, me win such a coveted spot, ha). I'd make sure that the award goes to books kids actually want to read. Argh. (this bitterness will be tempered with time, I'm sure)

One Stop Town, G.I.A., vol. 3

There isn't a whole lot to say about this one. Much like there isn't a whole lot going on in this community. Welcome to Library #4! It occurs as the third interview, but was arranged as the fourth, and I wanted to keep everything as confusing as possible. Have I succeeded? The pay is, well, really awful. However, although less actual money, the pay is not as atrocious as Dirty Urban Library, simply because the cost of living isn't even comparable. The job, however, is IDEAL. The position itself, I mean. The community is, well, rather limited, if not as soul-sucking as Tumbleweed Library. The staff could go either way. The Director seems fantastic (although it could be a cleverly placed facade - I've been known to fall for them in the past), but the long-established Children's Librarian would probably need a lot of hand-holding and, I suspect, significant adjustment to the new position and any changes that would have to happen. So, I foresee probable personality conflicts. And she's just a little to far away from retirement to wait it out.

I would be able to literally create the Teen Librarian position, and all of the programs therein. It sounds like the library is in a good place, I could probably have anything I can give a good reason for. That said, I can't quite figure out exactly where I would live. It's only 150 miles away from home, but I saw no real discernible living possibilities. Do I want to live in a place where everything you need is literally miles and miles away? And it is so not an attractive vacation destination, so will my friends actually visit me, since it is just far enough away to be inconvenient? This is basically, the perfect starter job. Assuming they want me and that I can want them. Argh.
Ok, maybe there was a lot to say about this one...

There Were Tumbleweed! G.I.A., vol. 2

It's been almost a week since I left on the second adventure. I've been horribly remiss to make you wait, but in the few moments at home I've had over the last week, I wasn't really cognitive enough to give you anything worth reading (terribly presumptive that this is worth reading, isn't it?). On the way to Tumbleweed Library (#2, if you aren't paying attention) I was sofortunate to sit in the middle seat on both packed planes. So, what an auspicious start! I pick up my rental (PT Cruiser, blue) and head out on the hour-long drive it will take me to get to the city. And Lo! What is that I see dancing across the highway, not once, but THREE different times? Tumbleweed! TUMBLEWEED! I must admit that I've never seen tumbleweed and it had become a bit of a myth in my mind, relegated to cheesy westerns and vague recollections of NPR stories commenting on its proficiency at sucking up radiation from the ground. It was an unexpected encounter, and should have been my first clue.

There was nothing wrong with the library. At all. The job sounded like I would have fun, the people seemed very nice, the library itself was beautiful. It wasn't a youth position. I had applied to the teen librarian job, but they filled that internally and said that they were "still very interested in me for the adult opening." I can deal with that, I figure. I'd rather work with adults than with kids under 7, I say, so I'll check out the situation there. And I was right, the library was beautiful, the people great and I'm sure that I would enjoy the job. However, the land. The city. That's were the tumbleweed come it. I think that I would literally go mad if I lived in that part of the country. It was SO FLAT. There weren't trees. Not naturally, anyway. The wind would just blow and blow. I'd be like the woman in Centennial who goes mad from the flat and wind and dust and kills her family, then herself. I couldn't live there. Not and retain my soul. (how melodramatic) I just didn't expect it of this part of the country. I'll hear back from them this week. I'd like to know how much they'll pay. Just out of curiosity.