Fatigue.

It’s only been within the last 48 hours (last night) that I’ve recalled the fact that in my youth, I turned to writing because it calmed me. It stabilized me. I’ve recalled that out of realizing that I’m falling behind in my studies while I’m spending hours writing, although seriously, I only need to concentrate on my one University class, and no(ne of the) others.

In the abstract, in the ideal, I want to put my best effort forth for my XML class so that I don’t waste the money I invested. However…given the last week, no — given the last three weeks — I can see my priorities shifting. I was going to say, “I can see my mental state deteriorating,” but I’m not sure that’s true (entirely). It’s likely more or less normal to be disturbed at this time, with heat waves and fires and smoke and lockdown and politics and COVID-19 (although I think our own continued lockdown re: COVID-19 is voluntary).

I suppose I can be thankful for being as functional as I am, right now. At least I can still write, and I can still make art. Though yesterday, I was working on my assignments for my University class (not XML)…and it’s very clear that I’m experiencing fatigue, and it’s impacting both my motivation to work, and my ability to focus. This class is dry…and I’m wondering if a life of desiccation is what I want. (Apologies to my Professor.)

Late last night, I was able to get some studying done…though it is, honestly, seeming unimportant right now. I’m still 10 pages away (at least) from the end of my lecture, which isn’t…great, but I’ve gotten through the first 14, so that’s something. The thing is…the XML course series is about coding, but it’s on a different level from my Web Design (HTML5/CSS3) course. It takes work to understand what the code means, particularly for me, with XPath (which is a foundational skill for XSLT). XSLT is helpful in crosswalking data from one metadata schema to another, or for converting an XML document into another form of output (like HTML). This will inevitably come up, if I become a Metadata Librarian. That doesn’t mean it’s easy. Nor does it mean I could have predicted it.

In practicality, I have an assignment due today, but am struggling with feeling overwhelmed. This may be due in part to the fact that I haven’t finished the reading for this week (and am also otherwise behind, in the series). And, well, the crazy weather. And the craziness in general. Let’s not forget that I’ve barely been out of the house in the last seven months, and we still can’t open the windows because of smoke.

I also see that it’s been a week since I’ve last drawn, I still haven’t gotten back to Middlesex, I’m stalling on my Japanese language lessons, and though I’ve got the seeds of three watercolor paintings in me right now (all with a little bit, to a modicum of work already done), they need some more planning and/or experimenting.

The logical thing to do is to get back to those last 10 pages of the lecture, and then at least try the assignment. However, I know I don’t want to.

If I’m going to read something to get my mind off of things, however: I might as well try reading that, first, and seeing if it helps anything. The fact is that I planned on signing up for these courses in large part so that I wouldn’t have the free time and energy to ruminate about lockdown. I’ve completed four of them already. I am likely OK.

I have been told that if I do get to work on my Art instead of my XML class, that will be acceptable, so long as I do the Art. It’s not…the worst idea…

Dreams

I’ve decided to spend some time on this post despite the fact that at 9:30 PM it’s 85° F (about 30 C), and I’ve been…well, off of the computer all day. I’ve realized to an extent how important it is to me to produce content.

I’ve really been kind of down on not updating this blog as frequently as I had been. Some of my work is going into paper journals, which is actually likely a relatively good turn for me (as I don’t have to worry about judgments, etc. when no one else sees what I’ve written). It keeps me honest, even if I’m still working my way out of being cryptic in exchange for being public.

Today I realized that there was one other outlet I had designated for myself when I was offline (other than sewing, beadwork, and exercise), and that was reading. I finished a chapter in Rethinking Information Work on going independent with one’s skills. (This is Chapter 5, by the way.) I actually (literally) had a dream about the possibility of working for Hewlett-Packard as a Special Librarian, which got me to realize that…hey, it’s possible; but I’d need more IT education. :)

“Going independent,” kind of ties in with the Project Management class that I’m now a part of and am thinking I presently have little use for…it seems most of this work would be of more use in large organizations with multiple players and departments. I was thinking Project Management could help me with my own potential (beading) micro-business, but it’s not looking that way, at least not right now.

The critical problem I have seen has little to do with appearance, and everything to do with dreams — dreams of the possibilities of existence. “We can’t create a world which we can’t imagine.” That was the insight I brought to a group just recently, and which I bounced off of M and D last night. They say it’s valid. My issue is that our dreams are turning into nightmares; and vision about who we want to be, and what we want our world to be and become, is eclipsed by the visions of those who only want some of us to exist in it as fully-self-realized beings.

There’s also the question of where I would source income from, should I begin a Digital Library project of my own. I and the people who would work with me would need to be paid, unless it’s agreed that we operate at a loss. (I wouldn’t think that unusual, in the Publishing community.) I’ve actually been kind of inspired by the people on WordPress who are running de facto literary magazines and book review sites, which is …well, it’s something I can see myself doing, or helping with.

I mean, I have an undergraduate degree in Creative Writing (which prepared me to at least try to be an Editor), and a graduate degree in Library and Information Science. It would seem to be right up my alley. (Of course, it wouldn’t hurt to attend at least a digital Writing Workshop, to get my feet wet again. Or, hey — it would be interesting to integrate that, with the site.)

I can also see where a Collection Development course would come in handy, in addition to Digital Libraries and (possibly) Information Architecture, unless I partnered with someone (or some people) who could help. Then there’s the aspect of funding, which…well, grant writing would be an option, as well as crowdsourcing.

That…is a relatively brilliant insight, I’m thinking. I had forgotten about the Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS), but they could help — if the project is nonprofit and I’m also a full-time Librarian.

Right now it’s almost 11 PM. I’m thinking about getting back to my homework for Project Management and writing this up…

Procrastination, intimidation

I kind of can’t believe how much I do not want to work on my homework. Despite that, I know it’s the best thing for me to be doing, right now. At…11 PM at night. Maybe not. I’ve learned that doing unwanted, intensely focused work at the expense of sleep and while half-awake, breeds resentment. Right now, the best I can do is plan.

Tomorrow…and the day after…I can work through the assignments. We basically have one more week of this course — until the end of the month. I’m okay with fitting two weeks’ worth of work into one. It generally looks like a lot, but it’s only been four to five hours of work a week. My deal is that it’s tougher with the time delays between weeks, that cause me to forget and have to review material. I don’t like having to go back over things.

My Sunday and Monday are free — except possibly for gym and showering on Monday, or the Japanese market, also on Monday (I’ve found a type of manju that reminds me of moon cakes, and am missing it). I have nothing important to do this Tuesday night (that’s not always true), or Wednesday night. I can then complete Week 4’s work on Thursday and Friday (though I may need Thursday for general grocery shopping), saving Sunday for unexpected catch-up. The course ends officially at the end of Sunday, June 30. That gives me…seven days, four of which are totally open. If I’m right, my class on Library of Congress Subject Headings should start the day after, on July 1. I can tolerate this discomfort for one more week, can’t I? I’m sure LCSH can’t be this bad.

I just…am really resistant (not to mention, discouraged), right now. If I push myself, it may turn into deep-seated seething rage (do you know how much living I’ve missed because I had to study?), and that…I don’t want. I’m pretty sure it’s because of the sheer volume of information that’s being put out at me; it’s intimidating. Or, maybe it’s more the sheer number of links that I have to deal with, which each have an unspecified amount of information behind them. It’s one of the downsides of using electronic resources.

I realize that I pass if I just try — there’s no pressure to get anything right — but seriously, I hate trying to do things when I don’t have enough information, or I have it and can’t compile it, and have to struggle for air. I hate showing that I don’t know what I’m doing. But maybe the sheer difficulty of this work is the reason why we are being graded on just trying, rather than on the accuracy of our answers.

It’s about 11:30 PM my time, right now. Seeing how I woke up at 5:30 this morning (I blame exercise from yesterday — I totally popped awake, then), I should probably get some rest so that I can get to studying, tomorrow.

The “fun” part of work?

Seeing my Vocational counselor recently got me to realize that while I’m aiming for an entry-level Librarian position (professional), or a Library Assistant position (paraprofessional), my intent at the beginning of all of this was to go into either Cataloging or Web Design.

Because of issues with Cataloging which I’m now familiar with as persistent and known cultural problems (particularly within DDC and LCC, the two major classification systems in U.S. libraries [at least if BISAC hasn’t crept up and taken more ground from DDC than I know]), but which struck me out of the blue as a cultural minority student, I switched out of Cataloging early on to focus on Digital Services. Particularly, I wanted to learn coding in a situation where I wouldn’t have to worry about being stigmatized or harassed or seen as a non-person because of being female.

While I didn’t go all the way into the Web Programming path…I can see that the latter was what I have been thinking of, when I think of needing to know current versions of HTML, CSS, JavaScript, JQuery, PHP, MySQL (not to mention mastering command-line interfaces), etc.

Maybe it’s not so bad; I mean, I can understand a lot now that I couldn’t, before. My current LCC course builds on a lot that I was introduced to in Library School (like MARC encoding), that I wouldn’t understand otherwise. It’s similar with my Metadata knowledge and the database stuff I had to go through. The last was really difficult, but I now at least have had an introduction to it.

I’m thinking and hoping that the Master’s program was intended just to be an introduction to the current terrain…and not that it was meant to make me fully capable of engaging with it on my own (because I don’t feel ready to do that, yet). I also need to remember, though, that in the real world, teamwork happens. I probably will not need to know everything, myself.

At least, I hope not.

Tonight, I’ve been catching up on Social Media — maybe, “catching up on,” isn’t the right phrase — maybe, “using,” Social Media (as versus, “not using,”) is closer to the reality. While I was in classes, I basically put social interaction outside of family, school, work, a couple of groups, and blogging, to the side; and otherwise limited my interaction. Now that I’m out, there is this emphasis on, “networking,” and I’m realizing how many ties with people I’ve made over the years (although in a lot of cases, they’re rusty ties).

I’ve also been checking in on the Career Center for my alma mater. I think I underestimate myself, my network, and my strengths. Somehow it isn’t surprising: I have a tendency to set very high standards for myself (not to mention that I have a tendency to doubt I can reach them). The major drawback to this in my case is that if I think I have no chance at success, I have a tendency to avoid engagement.

I mean, on one level, that’s really a survival strategy — it’s way harder to get through a class when you’re lost, especially when you’re part of a team (and the team isn’t helping you, and you feel like the slackers who mooched off you in high school, but you really don’t know what you’re doing). On another level, that type of thinking keeps me from trying things that I might be able to do but am afraid I can’t (like taking Project Management or Cybersecurity, both things I know I need to know, but which I am leery of taking in a University setting where my GPA is on the line).

I seem to remember hearing something like this from several years ago, coming out of MIT…how students were punished for failing, when they should be supported for risk-taking — and students who played it safe and took easy classes (resulting in high GPAs) were lauded.

During my time in the Master’s program, I tried to take a middle road and not do something that seemed too easy. It’s part of why I went for a tech-oriented path: I figured that I should learn something moderately difficult, instead of something I could puzzle through on my own.

Of course, going for entry-level Librarian jobs…that isn’t so tech-heavy. It leans more into Customer Service, Psychology, and Politics…

…which, of course, are also difficult, just in a different way. Majorly, they are difficult in ways that have to do with people. Which…isn’t where I thought I’d end up. But without knowledge of a solid Programming language, at this point, and without Cataloging knowledge…or experience in the field (or even really knowledge of the field), I’m at a disadvantage.

Hmm. That means get to know the field! Right? Fill in those knowledge gaps!

And remember that an entry-level Librarian job is just entry-level. It’s not forever.

Fatigue. Not wanting to study.

Today was almost a wash. I got up, ate breakfast, did some studying (when?), went back to bed, fell back asleep, got out of bed to vacuum a bug off of my ceiling. (I thought it was a spider, but on closer inspection, it was probably a silverfish.) I’m pretty sure I know why I was tired today, not that it’s fare for the blog (sorry, all).

Yesterday, I was able to go out and get a larger embroidery hoop, plus some DMC threads, and a couple of tatting shuttles. The colors of the threads really remind me of the SuperDuo beads I got at the last bead convention I attended. There must be some fashion palette thing going on for Summer 2019 that I haven’t yet researched (though on looking at the Pantone Color Forecasts through Fall 2020, I don’t see it). In any case, SuperDuos…I’d have to really work out a design to be able to use those in coordination with embroidery threads!

I’m hoping to soon be able to begin practicing tatting, though that isn’t a priority if I can’t get my course work done (unless, that is, I start to de-prioritize the course work). I’m still waiting for the recording of yesterday’s live session to come through. I wasn’t able to attend, due to the fact that I had a doctor’s appointment (Occupational Health), and couldn’t tell what time the meeting was supposed to be held, and wasn’t notified until the day before. Had I known it began at 9 AM my time, I could have gotten up early, prepared to go out, attended the meeting, then gone to my appointment and not have worried about it.

Right now, though, we’ve been given a number of web pages to go to and bounce back and forth between…it isn’t fun. It’s (relatively speaking) free, but not fun. I’m thinking that the thing to do is to make a folder on my bookmarks bar and use that to access the pages, though I’ll later have to move it into the regular bookmarks menu.

I guess if I’m feeling like this, it’s okay not to work on this stuff right now.

I’m still wondering how to organize this DMC thread…I have some bars to hold open skeins of DMC cotton, but not enough for all of them. I know how to deal with sashiko thread, but this? Not entirely. I suppose I can practice with disassembling some of the colors that I’m probably not going to use, so that if they get tangled, it doesn’t really matter.

But like I was telling my friend at work, the hardest part about embroidery, for me, is the design aspect…and I’m not sure how I can design if I’m not even intimately familiar with all the stitches, yet.

So maybe I should just play around for now, just to learn…and I hate to learn from books (they’re not always an optimal medium), but if that’s the way it has to be, I don’t mind. (I should look around online for video demos, though. I found — through attempting to learn Korean knotwork from books — that videos are sometimes much more helpful than still images and words.)

I’m sitting next to my sewing kit, here, and really want to get into it. At the same time, it’s almost 10 PM, and I have work tomorrow (not to mention the fact that I want to get some stuff together to give to my friend, which I keep forgetting at home: particularly, some tinted papers).

The beadwork hasn’t been a priority since before our visitor left…I should probably clean up my workspace, so the beads don’t get dusty. I’ve been having issues with not being able to focus or concentrate on one medium. I feel kind of scattered.

Well, scattered and tired. Those two things kind of go together…

Chrono logy

I’m writing right now because I’m not quite ready to start my homework again, and for some reason, I can tell something needs to get out. There’s a lot of stuff happening, and a lot yet to happen — things kind of competing for pieces of my time. At least when I’m at work, there is a clear hierarchy of tasks to help me prioritize and complete everything. At home, though, it’s different — there is work, and school, and family life, and personal life — and I’m not sure which is most important, at this time.

I need to get my homework out of the way very soon; I’m aiming for completing it during the next two days, to give myself two extra days if I slack or have extra trouble. I’m cutting out working on it today, unless I start my second practice assignment late tonight…which I don’t think is a good idea, as I worked six and a half hours today. I can stomach re-reading what I already read, though. I can also stomach watching the videos that I’m told don’t relate to the rest of the unit, which sounds better.

The good thing is that I already am kind of familiar with the Dewey 800 range (Literature), from my first Cataloging course and from my shelving work; that’s what we’re working on now.

Notably, I had an easier time at work, today, due to a number of things. I think people chipping in has a lot to do with it. Because of that, because my manager has been meeting with everyone to get them up to speed, and because I’ve been prioritizing my own shelving of the least-liked carts, I think things have been running more smoothly.

So…I was at work for an extra 30 minutes today. I figured it was okay to talk to people a little — normally I would be all-business (or mostly-business), but I’ve been trying to be a bit more gentle on myself since I got an overuse injury in one of my tendons. (I’m pretty sure it was from working too hard.) I’ve also been trying to be more gentle on myself since my graduation ceremony happened, and since it’s set in that no one is recording my Grade Point Average anymore and tying it to my financial aid and continued good standing in the Master’s program. What I am dealing with is finishing my course material on time, in order to earn a Certificate showing that I completed the class…which is, I know, relatively minor.

I do still need to call my vocational program to set up a meeting (I would like help obtaining work experience in an Academic Library setting) — it’s been two weeks since I was notified to call in. I’ve been meaning to do it since before Commencement (my graduation ceremony), but around then I also knew I didn’t know how my time was going to pan out for the near future.

Right now I have the time to meet, but I also don’t know when my required meeting times (for my next course) will happen. I’m guessing Monday mornings, from what is up on one of the course pages, but the course hasn’t started yet — hence, the page where I read this information is not yet up to speed.

Another thing stopping me from scheduling an appointment was the fact that I was working on another job application. It’s turned in, now. There is a tentative date of Monday, June 10 scheduled for the placement test…and I have no control over whether they accept me into that, or not. The major issue is that I don’t have a Driver’s License, though I’m qualified for the position in other ways (though I’m told there are Librarians in that system without licenses, it looks like this is a new requirement).

We also have family visiting us, and that time will be over in the beginning of next week…so there is another time pressure (which maybe shouldn’t be a time pressure, but I value my time with family and don’t want to be working my *** off instead of savoring time with them while we’re together, and trying to unwind before the next phase of my growth…kind of paralleling the work situation).

There have also been two jewelry projects that have come up, but I don’t think those are getting done as soon as I or we have hoped. There’s too much that matters more, in the near future, not to mention that I’ve realized that the creative process is a continual process and that I keep getting better and different designs, the more I focus. That’s…not necessarily great, if I fail to execute any design to completion.

The other thing that matters is that I need to practice my driving (my employment may hinge on it), though that probably won’t be happening for at least a week. Too soon, I will need to renew my Learner’s Permit…

…and I just got my first taste of Mario Kart on the Nintendo Switch. Kind of cool…good as something to take my mind off of things for a minute…which may be better for me than it sounds.

As regards beading, I’ve got a number of ideas. One is to make a twisted herringbone rope with drop beads at its edges. Another is to make a twisted spiral Tri Stitch with SuperDuos in place of the drop beads in my last model, and run an embellishment through the second hole in each SuperDuo. The third is to make a line of Quad Stitch (like Tri Stitch but with one extra bead in the gap), alternating 8/0s and SuperDuos, then running another line between the SuperDuos and 8/0s.

Yeah, that’s a lot, and it’s probably not all that clear, but I needed to at least try and make a record of my thoughts somewhere, so I wouldn’t forget them. Even chicken-scratchy design drawings, help me recall what I was thinking.

Okay, Internet. Bedtime, now. Tomorrow, produce shopping and Unit 4!