"Rushing" into Life

My son was initiated into his fraternity Phi Gamma Delta (FIJI) at the fraternity headquarters in Lexington Kentucky over the weekend. Transitioning from the military to college has been a challenging but exciting time for him. During his first semester he has maintained an excellent GPA, joined his fraternity and settled into a new life in a new state. I'm incredibly proud of him.

Fraternity and sorority life at American colleges and universities is often referred to as "Greek Life" from the Greek letters that make up the names of the organizations. During my son's "rush" period before he was initiated the fraternity required him to maintain a vigorous study schedule and minimum B+ grade point average, complete weekly hours of community service, attend university activities, study his fraternity's history and participate in a leadership role within his pledge class. Greek Life is not what every college student chooses to participate in but for many students it's a great experience both academically and socially.

My son is the 3rd generation in my family to participate in fraternity and sorority life while in college. My father was a member of Tau Kappa Epsilon, my mother is a Sigma Sigma Sigma, my son's dad is a Delta Tau Delta and I am a member of Pi Beta Phi. After college life we've stayed active in alumnae groups for community, social and work related benefits. Like myself, my son went to college far from Chicago, knowing no one on campus and his fraternity will be a great source of friendship and support for him. I have a feeling he is going to enjoy his college years to the fullest, it's a once in a lifetime experience.

Monday List #17

My Kid starts college today. Honestly I woke up this morning and thought, "What the hell, I'm not old enough to have a kid in college!" Alas, it's true.

I had a great time in college. Those days seem so long ago but also right there on the edge of my memory. So for today's Monday list I thought I would share some of the lessons I learned in college and hope that he experiences some of the best years of his life.

1. Embrace each other's differences. When I attended Ohio University in Athens Ohio, I was one of the only students from out of state, most of my classmates were from small towns throughout Ohio. Some were raised on farms, others were from affluent suburbs around larger cities and a few were "townies" from Athens. It was wonderful to attend a college where you could start over, leave your high school friends behind, embrace different clubs, perhaps join a sorority or fraternity like I did, try out different intermural sports and figure out who you were and who you wanted to be. I made wonderful friends, who still 20+ years later are some of the closest and most important people in my life. I hope for my son that he meets people that change his life.
2. Study. I was one of those college students who changed majors frequently and only studied for a final the night before in an "all-nighter". At one point I was a theater major and thankfully didn't have a lot of finals in my classes. I tried it all, CPR classes, dance, psychology, English major...It broadened my views of the world and introduced me to interesting and diverse people. I hope for my son that he studies, no matter what he chooses to major in. Don't wait until the night before.
3. Stick to the meal plan. My Kid is 6'7 and over 200 lbs. Trying to keep him fed is like feeding a small group of starving boy scouts in the wilderness. Sometimes I just leave the food out and get out of the way. I will be happy when I can sign him up for the largest meal plan the college offers. It's also a great way to get to know your classmates. Talking over an early morning meal or late night pizza binge, but remember you cannot survive for 4 years on food that is served in tinfoil wrappers.
4. Participate. Don't be the kid sitting in his room playing video games or sad songs on your guitar. Sports, clubs, Greek life, student life, just do it all. You only have 1 small part of your life in college. Don't regret not experiencing it.
5. Find your core group of friends. You won't survive college without a posse. You will find them in your classes, or where you live, or by your social interests. You will find your wingman who will be by your side for all your crazy schemes. Your friends will be there every morning when you are hung over (come on, it's going to happen), every night while you study (I hope) and on the occasional weekend when you need a ride home to see your Mom (count on it). These friends will still be there when you meet "the one" and later when you graduate, get hired at your first job, marry, and have your first child.

I hope you have it all Kid. I'll be here at home when you need a break.

Monday List #11

I am enjoying a quiet if productive Monday, I have the day off after working the weekend and am spending the day house hunting. When I purchase my next nest it will be the 4th home I've purchased in the last decade and the 2nd home I've purchased as a single woman. When I bought my first home a buyers options were regulated to running down a list of properties selected by your Realtor or browsing the newspapers for a list of open houses and popping in for a look. Oh how things have changed. The market peaked and crashed and Illinois had the 9th highest rate of foreclosures in 2010. Not good for sellers but a good time to buy.
Here is my list of the tips and tricks I rely on when house hunting.

1. This one is a no brainer....have a good Realtor you trust. For 2 of my home purchases and 2 of my sales I used a realtor who had bought and sold my families homes for years. In fact it was through her that I met my 2nd husband, she was selling my home, she knew him from a past real estate deal, she put 1 and 1 together, he bought my home and we eventually married (and divorced). However due to this rather incestuous realty relationship I am currently using a new realtor, I trust her, she knows what I am looking for and she doesn't get crazy with my "if it's meant to be it will be" attitude towards homes. How do you find a good realtor? Ask your friends and colleagues, DON'T pick a realtor just because they are listing a home you are interested in. Get referrals!
2. The Internet is your friend. I am addicted to real estate sites. My favorite is http://www.realtor.com/ however I have learned the hard way that the listings are not updated as often as they should be. There are homes currently listed on realtor.com that are under contract and have been for some time. This leads to tip #3...
3. Have your realtor call or email the listing agent BEFORE you go for a viewing to make sure the home is not under contract. Why? In this day of frequent foreclosures, the bank may have accepted an offer on a home but the listing is still active. They just can't keep up with the sheer volume of foreclosed properties and you don't want to visit a home, fall in love, write up an offer and find out from the bank the home is under contract.
4. Use phone apps to pin point homes for sale in your target neighborhood. The realtor.com app on the iPhone is amazing. It uses my GPS location so I drive to a target neighborhood and search by price, features etc. You can also search by mapping features, by open house and even by rental. Searches and home listings can be saved and shared via email. I am addicted to this app and use it every day to search for new listings in my target area or to virtually search locations I may not have considered.
5. Get your financial ducks in a row. I have letters from my lender ready to go when I decide to make an initial offer. This saves valuable time and could get you the home you want over another bidder/buyer who doesn't have their lending in place.

I will update the blog when I do finally buy my next nest. Wish me luck!

Remembering 25

Recently my beautiful niece Jennifer celebrated her 25th birthday. I've known Jennifer since she was a teenager when I married her uncle and I've enjoyed watching her grow into the accomplished and lovely woman she is. For her birthday we celebrated with a family dinner and Jennifer shared news of her job promotion and life as a single gal in the City. As I took pictures of Jennifer blowing out the candles on her cake I couldn't help remembering my 25th birthday which felt like it was yesterday.

There are only a handful of birthdays that I can remember vividly. 25 is one of them. There is a particular song that reminds me of my 25th birthday and every time I hear it, I am transported back to that day. I heard the song this morning on the radio and instantly I was 25 again. The song is Blind Melon's No Rain and it reminds me of my birthday for an unusual reason.

I was in New Orleans to celebrate my 25th birthday. My boyfriend at the time had surprised me with a last minute trip to one of our favorite cities where we would spend a few days listening to music, wandering the cemeteries making grave rubbings and taking haunted walking tours. Shortly before midnight on the evening of my birthday we were wandering through the French Quarter and approached St. Louis Cathedral were there were a few young men sitting outside the gates playing guitar. They told us they were in town to see Blind Melon who were to play a show that night at a nearby venue. The concert had been cancelled because a few hours earlier before the band took the stage the lead singer Shannon Hoon was found dead of a drug overdose, he was 28. At the time, Blind Melon was a popular band and their famous "Bee Girl" music video for No Rain was all over MTV. Shannon Hoon's death would be big news once the word got out.

So we sat there on the steps of the St. Louis Cathedral with these sad boys who played their guitar and mourned a lost musician. My boyfriend was a musician and he played their guitar for awhile and we talked...wondering how for some, life can end so young. And then at midnight, they sang me Happy Birthday.

15 years later I can still remember that night like it was 15 minutes ago. And I always think of New Orleans and being young when I hear the song No Rain. If you haven't seen the video, it's worth a watch, it's charming. No Rain by Blind Melon.

Last Post of 2009

Wow, here it is, my last post of 2009. It's been an amazing year and I've documented most of it here and I'm glad you've been a long for the ride. I'm planning on 2010 being full of adventure, major life changes, new friends and lots of laughs. Not to mention it will be the year I celebrate my 40th birthday...geez.

So for my last post I thought I would look back and share some thoughts and thanks.

1. Oxford. What more can I say...life changing.
2. Friends. New and old. Some naughty adventures, unplanned fun and lots and lots of wine.
3. Wrinkles. I've got a few. Been a banner year for growing older, I hope I'm doing it gracefully.
4. Travel. Florida, Colorado, California, England and more. I think I've been on a plane almost every month this year. Hopefully next year it's even more. If I'm going to grow old, I'd rather do it on the run.
5. Magic. Late night parties, music, quiet cobblestone streets, nature. It's been a year of wonder.
6. Opportunities. More than ever in my life, 2009 was the year I said yes to almost everything.
7. Thanks to my Mom. Because she was there.
8. Chances. I took more than I should, didn't always end up unscathed but always had something to blog about.
9. The Kid. Mine. 6'5. Eating machine. Ups and downs and not just in his moods. I love him.
10. Thank you Internet. For connecting me with friends on Facebook, authors on my blog and more.

For 2010 in the words of Coco Chanel:
"How many cares one loses when one decides not to be something but to be someone."


See you all in 2010! Thanks for reading!
Cheers, Shannon

How I Became a Librarian

This is my contribution to The Library Routes Project, a wiki created to collect the stories and experiences of those of us in the library world and how we got here.
Here we go.

Sure my career in the library profession started from a love of reading and visiting my local library but it also grew out of the necessity to find a job. As much as I would like to say, "I always wanted to be a librarian", I didn't. I wanted to be a doctor when I was little because I thought that would afford me a nice condo on the water and lots of vacation time (giggle). I also wanted to be a mermaid, a mom, a teacher, an Olympic gymnast or ice skater, the person who created the exhibits at the museum, an actress, a socialite and British royalty. My 20's was spent raising my son, trying a dozen different jobs, traveling and finishing my college education. It wasn't until I was in my 30's that I realized what I loved to do, read, read, work with people, oh and read...could become a career. So I went to law school. Ha. I did. And it was awful. So I dropped out of law school and immediately applied and was accepted into a double graduate program, Public History at Loyola University and the Masters in Library and Information Science program at Dominican University. My goal was to become a museum curator/librarian but after 1 semester in Loyola's Public History program I realized the field of professional historical academic wasn't for me so I concentrated solely on becoming a public librarian.

During my second semester in the graduate library program I got my first library jobs. At one mid-sized Chicago area public library I was the Adult Programmer and at another small public library I was hired as the Interlibrary Loan Assistant. Both were part time jobs but I was thrilled to be getting my foot in the door at public libraries with no prior experience. After 9 months of working in public libraries I applied and was offered a job as the Program Coordinator at the Public Library Association, a division of the American Library Association. Working at ALA was great, I enjoyed getting to know some of the most respected librarians in the field and traveled to all ALA midwinter and annual conferences and a PLA annual conference. However (and rather ironically) working for a library association made me feel very removed from what was actually happening in the library world. Sure I attended a half dozen conferences at locations all around the country and I was directly in charge of the awards and programming for all PLA committees but I really had no idea what librarians were doing. I didn't work with librarians in the field, I just coordinated the time they volunteered with PLA. It was rather like working in a machine that wasn't adapting to the world around it. So I quit.

I was offered a job at one of the libraries I have previously worked at as the Interlibrary Loan and Volunteer Coordinator, a full time job I was thrilled to have. I'm still at that library but now since finishing my MLIS I am the Technology Resources Librarian and Volunteer Coordinator. Job responsibilities include serving on various committees within the library, collection development, reference and training. I absolutely love working in a public library and feel more connected to the profession than I ever did while in library school or working for ALA.

Since I started my career in libraries in the fall of 2002 I have participated in a number of professional development opportunities. In 2003 I was chosen to attend the Institute for School and Public Librarians through the Illinois State Library. The 5 day session was held at a University in central Illinois and immersed those of us involved in librarianship, training, brainstorming and mentoring. It was an excellent experience, especially since I was so new to the profession. This year I was chosen to participate in Synergy: The Illinois Library Leadership Initiative that was held over three 3 day sessions at locations around the State. I plan on blogging about my Synergy experiences here so stay tuned. In May of this year I attended a 3 week continuing education program on Libraries and Librarianship at Oxford University in England. Absolutely one of the best experiences of my life which I highly recommend to all librarians.

I often get asked how I ended up as a Technology Resources Librarian since that job description is rather new to libraries. My library needed someone to teach computer classes to patrons which I started doing once I completed my MLIS. From there the need for a technology librarian grew. I create and train the library staff on everything from Outlook and basic computer skills to using Facebook and new media. I regularly teach patron computer classes and host a computer group once a month. If there is new technology the library should explore I learn about it (Twitter, Facebook, MyMediaMall etc). If new computer software is introduced I learn it and implement it. When we hire new staff I train them on everything from email to using the catalog. My job is creating itself but I also have traditional librarian duties such as working as a reference librarian and collection development. My job allows me to combine new librarianship with a high standard of public service our patrons expect. So there ya go folks, that's how the "Lively Librarian" became one and I can't think of a cooler profession!

Do you remember?

Where you were on 9/11? When I woke up this morning my first thought wasn't that it was September 11. I actually didn't remember the date until I turned on the television and someone was talking about that day. I can remember that day so clearly, where I was, what I was doing. I was married to my first husband, my son was just 8 years old and I was getting him ready for school when I turned on Good Morning America. A plane had just flown into one of the World Trade Centers and Diane Sawyer and Charlie Gibson were talking about it, wondering if it was an accident. And while they were speaking and the cameras were on the first tower burning you could see another plane on the horizon. When the plane disappeared into the 2nd tower I will never forget the disbelief in Diane Sawyer's voice as it hit the tower. At that point I got scared. I sent my kid to school which was across the street from our house thinking that might be the safest place for him. I wasn't scheduled to teach that day and I don't think I moved from the sofa for the next 8 hours.

I remember the evening of September 11 I sent my husband to fill my car with gas, I don't know if it was a flight response but I wanted my car fueled up and ready to go. I also went to yoga class that evening, and I remember lying on the floor and the utter quiet, not just in the yoga studio, but in the City. No airplanes. And living within a few miles of O'hare Airport, the world's busiest, that was eerie.

Over the days that followed I rarely took my eyes off the tv. On the Today show one morning I watched a man play an answering machine message that his wife left while she was trapped in the towers. Her name was Melissa Harrington-Hughes and she was from San Francisco. She was my age and had been in the same sorority as me. Knowing she was trapped, she called her husband to tell him she loved him. He was in Manhattan during the days that followed holding out hope that she was alive. She wasn't. I know that message has haunted those of us who heard it ever since. It also made me think, "If I was dying and could say goodbye to someone I love, who would I call?". I realized it wasn't my husband. We had a rocky marriage, had been married less than 2 years and it just wasn't working. We separated within 2 weeks of September 11.

So now it's 8 years later. How time flies....September 11 doesn't make the cover of newspapers on a daily basis anymore, it's rarely on my mind. But I will be watching the documentary by Chicago filmmakers tonight on the History Channel, 102 Minutes That Changed America. I've heard some of the audio clips and it was like reliving it all over again. I hope they don't play Melissa's tape, I don't know if I can listen to it again.

Happy Birthday Baby

My boy is 15 years old today.
Happy Birthday honey!