A Library Is A Cathedral

low angle photography of library

Photo by Ann Marie Ludlow on Pexels.com

In my mind, libraries are, in their own way, cathedrals. They are monuments to higher ideals of learning, sharing, knowledge, inspiration, imagination, community, and growth.

Libraries are where people go to hope and search for a new way of thinking. They go to find words that will inspire them or spark their creativity.

Libraries are our ties to the past where we keep our collective wisdom and history. They help us determine our sense of community and values and identity.

We worship great writers, both past and present, and exalt those who can put a pen to paper to create something new and yet unseen in this world.

They are a place to think and reflect about yourself, your world, humanity, the known and unknown.

And yet, libraries, just as religions, contain our sins and ugliest thoughts and desires. They hold conflicting knowledge and ideas.

When you are in a library, you are in a sacred space.

This post is inspired by the article 10 Libraries That Should Be On Every Booklover’s Bucket List. 

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Another Year, Another Shiny Toy

Toys

 

I’ve been in this field many more years than I’m willing to admit. And each year something is the NEXT BIG THING. You know – total disruption.

And every year, I sit and wait. And wait.

Truth is, there are more and more tools to do more and more stuff. But yet, we still need to hit deadlines, and few of us have the luxury to play with the new toys to get up to speed on them. And so year after year, I watch the hype over the next big thing come and go. Continue reading

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Choose Your Boss Wisely

When my most wonderful Jimmy was diagnosed with diabetes and sent home with his blood sugar over 600 – a mere one week after our 1st anniversary – I told my project manager Jennifer Elmashni that I might be in and out of work to take care of him. Three days later, when Jimmy was in a coma with his sugars over 1100, Jen said to take all the time I needed. 6 days later Jimmy was released from Intensive Care, and soon was home. I wanted to stay and fuss over him, but Jimmy forced me back to work. Wouldn’t you know it, but Jen kept sending me home to focus on Jimmy.

She was also my boss (for the 2nd time) when I got the stupid breast cancer less than a year after we moved out here to California. I kept trying to come back to work, and she kept trying to keep me at home to focus on my health.

If it wasn’t for Jen, there is a chance that neither Jimmy nor I would be here.

My point is that a bad/toxic/horrible boss can literally kill you. A great boss can save your life.

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What Is Your Passion Project?

pexels-photo.jpg

A friend of mine on twitter (the wonderful and amazing Myra) asked a group of us this question:

A passion project? My passion? I’m always so busy working or trying to relax and recharge, that I’ve never even thought about doing something just because I want to. It took me a moment, and then I realized, I’ve always wanted to write a book.

My passion project is to write a fiction novel. Of course, all of my friends immediately started asking questions:

  • What genre? Answer: Not horror, not war.
  • Who’s the main character? Answer: Ummmm….someone?
  • What’s the high-level plot? Answer: I dunno!

You see, I just realized I had a passion project. I haven’t had time to actually think about my passion! And I don’t know if I am going to, which is a darn shame.

So, I’ll ask you: What is a passion project that you would love to work on and why?

 

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Couldn’t Have Said It Better Than This

TrainingVsLearning

Learning is an active choice of the learner, not you.

Here is the original tweet by @arunzpradhan:
https://twitter.com/arunzpradhan/status/964016648091942912

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