Very very excited about the last (and most exciting) conference of the year. Off to the Czech Republic tomorrow. May or may not get 'connected' but don't expect posts even there is internet. I shall no doubt be otherwise occupied with paper, language, networking, meeting up with a friend, doing the tourist bit and just travelling. Sleep might be a luxury.

Graduation day!

Both 'my' ceremonies were on one day (AM and PM) so it was a bit of day of it. But last year's buzz about sitting there seeing the students finish was still there and though it was hot I had a good seat with good view. No exciting honorary degrees - but well done to all those who've succeeded in graduating.

Conference went really well.

Low lights:
conference dinner disappointing and after dinner speaker more so
seeing a well known blogger ruin his reputation by twitter needlessly rude remarks about some karaoke particpants

Highlights:

getting on well with work colleague over managing our poster

internet connection

twittering with the best of them through conference and enjoying the additional networking opps

stalking a presenter on Second Life whilst in Second Life (I sat at the back and could access SL via wireless connection and laptop)

but best of all:

winning a trophy for best poster! Yay! After all that work and revision, something to trumpet!

More conferencing - I really have overdone it this year! This time off to the professional association's annual jamboree which I've never attended before.

The humanties librarian and I are going to present the poster we've been working which presents (along with a handout) some of the results of the e-book survey we've been conducting.

Off on the train after lunch. Back Thursday. No idea if I will have internet access. (Not holding my breath).

Book group again last night. The Life of Pi by Yann Martel. We're three for three now on books people have liked. This was the first, I think, that I'd read before. But I dutifully reread it as of course it's one book that is NOT the same a second time around. I still love it.

Not so successful at the quiz this time - I hadn't intended to stay but we only came third. However, I did uniquely know the fashion company a young movie star is now working for. Which so astonished everyone that they nearly put another answer not believing I could be right. Fortunately I insisted.

Still stuck in the depths of the shelves. No escape.

However, the loans team lend me some staff for 4 or 5 hours a day to help either identify the not borrowed for 10 years items or deal with some of the multiple copies that I am removing immediately from the shelves. It can be quite sociable with three of us working at the same time.

Keep getting dragged away from the weeding by my colleague.

She and I are working on a poster and handout for a conference next week. Huge poster - nearly as tall as me!

The snag is that she's a Belbin 'Completer-finisher' and I'm a Belbin 'Plant' so you can imagine the fun we have trying not drive each other mad.

Fortunately I've worked with a former colleague from TheOldPlace who was much better at 'completing' than I will ever be, so I've some experience of reining myself in and trying not to be *too* irritating. Although I've no doubt that S would say I wasn't always successful.

As it's really been my colleague's project till now and she'd already done a first pass at the poster, I was feeling a bit like a spare part, but a particular delight was when she let me loose with the poster for a hour or so to see if I could improve it and as it happened she did like the changes I made. And my ideas for the handout. It feels much more of a shared project now. (And we'd both like to win the competition they have for best poster/handout). [1]


[1] In fact my colleague reminded me the other day that she'd originally invited me to come and help present the poster because there's a third element to the prize and that's on how the delegates stand beside their poster promoting it.

Weeding really gets under way this week. Oh joy.

Computing and math areas this year for me. Apparently math was looked at four years ago and lots marked for removal.

But one of the biggest differences with this job and TheOldPlace is that academics have a say in what's weeded (or not). Apparently a huge amount of the math material was then put back on the shelves - which is why the shelves look so tired and jaded with all the old material. Not very inviting; although I appreciate that mathematics doesn't go out of date quite as fast as the computing stock!

So we'll see what happens this time round. I've already got one list of 'not used in 10 years' items marked by a lecturer with ticks to say 'don't weed this'. Has she actually *looked* at some of these volumes?

Depressing to have eye tests and hearing tests in the same 24 hour period. Definitely getting old and wearing out!

Actually at work today and able to get some work done! Also true of the next 7 days - remarkable!