Litany List

Well its been an eventful couple of weeks since I had posted last.

Last week I was house/pet sitting for my boss. I enjoy spending time with her dog, Batty but I forget how demanding animals can be. I live with two cats and a dog but I share them with three other adults. Batty insisted upon sleeping on the bed with me and then, despite my best efforts, she took over the bed (cat owners may snicker now). I had a "what the hell" moment when I realized that Batty had somehow over the course of the night managed to put on one of my bras. I had hung it over the bedpost and when I woke up Batty was wearing one of the straps as a collar.

Why does it always seem extra painful the day after a long weekend to come in to work? I had scheduled an appointment with a graduate student for 9:30AM yesterday. For some reason I had forgotten about Memorial Day being a work holiday. Being Canadian I am still a little bemused by American holidays. President's Day? I think most Canadians would snort their coffee if they read that the Canadian government had declared a Prime Minister's Day.

My week was going pretty well until today. I might be a little cynical when it comes to human nature so why is it when you are hit upside with the evil dealings personally it is always shocking. Now, I have worked very hard to develop a credit rating here in the US. For those who are unaware there are no links between Canadian and American banks. TD Waterhouse Investments notwithstanding. Ergo, trying to convince creditors to pay extra for a Canadian credit check is virtually futile.

Today I was very happy to see that my bank had deposited my monthly paycheque early. Upon further perusal I realized my balance was far too low. Calling my bank is always an exercise in patience. Calling my bank and hearing that somehow a mysterious $746.11 charge was in process pushed me beyond my limits. Hearing that even though I could assure them that I have neither purchased anything at Staples nor had lost my mind and travelled back from Indiana overnight, there was nothing my bank could do for me. When the charge went through I could dispute the charge.

(Not a verbatim transcript)

Me: So you are telling me that even though I never made the purchase you can't stop the charge from going through.

Bank minion: No, the charge has to be processed before you can dispute the charge.

Me: How long is the dispute process?

Bank minion: Weeeelllll, that depends on whether the merchant disputes your dispute.

Me: Well I have already spoken to the store and apparently a man made this purchase yesterday evening at a Staples in Valparaiso, Indiana.

(Local) Bank minion currently looking at my bank record: Well where are you right now?

Me: ? How is that relevant? For the record I am in Houston, Texas and have never set foot in Valparaiso or Indiana for that matter. Also for the record I am not a man. Can I cancel the card so that no other charges go through?

Bank minion: Are you sure that you want to do that? It will take 7-10 business days for a new card to be issued.

Me: Yes, please cancel the card, will you mail the new card to my house?

Bank minion: Well, actually you will have to go into your branch to order a new card first.

Me: Unintelligible mumblings. Fine I will do that tomorrow. How long will it take for the charge to be posted so that I can call you to dispute the charge?

Bank minion: It could take 4-6 days for it to post. You will have to file the dispute at your bank branch too.

Me: This is the customer service line yes? What do you do? Other than tell me what I can't do or will have to visit my branch to actually do.

Bank minion: Was that a question?

I am hoping against hope that the thief is as stupid as they are amoral. Apparently whoever was using my card numbers also decided to use their Staples Reward card at the same time. Must collect those points baby even when using stolen credit card numbers.

Can Aggression be Healthy?

Two points today.

First, we had our 3rd Annual Librarian vs. Student softball game last Saturday. The librarians won with a little assistance from our Dean/Umpire. I had never heard of tick(tip?) balls until she was calling the shots. I just thought they were strikes. Much to my amazement and the amazement of others I actually hit the ball out of the infield and made it to first base.

I have to believe that some of our students and staff take this opportunity to work out some of the repressed feelings they have. At least one librarian has been injured this year and last year there was a rather ungraceful leap by myself to avoid being run down. I think that it is easier to see people as individuals in a sports setting but old resentments burn underneath.

Second, I just finished taking a online defensive driving course that wasn't too painful. It focused on changing your attitudes about driving. Every day I watch drivers bevaving very, very, badly. It is difficult to just "let it go" when someone cuts you off at 70 miles an hour because they haven't been paying attention, are talking on their cell phone, or styling their hair (actually happened, hair spray and all). However, I have recently moved and my commute time has tripled so I have two choices. Join the overly aggressive mass of cars driving like they are late for a liver transplant or move over to the right and let them flow past.

I have tried over the past few days to drive slower and to resist becoming anxious about how long my drive is taking. Miracle of miracles I am starting to remember the joy of driving a vehicle and the empowerment that comes from being able to do so. My plan is to continue thinking less about how much time the drive is taking and to just enjoy the drive.

Things could be different next week.

Converts are the worst

Well here it is two weeks later and I still haven't managed to post. I guess I can spare the time today. I chaired a committee that organized a staff awards event last week. It is amazing how much of your life can get sucked up by minute details. The good news is that it went well and my team actually won an award. No, I did not get to vote for myself. I had to excuse myself while they (the rest of the committee) deliberated. I have to say that a good committee can make an event just fall together whereas a bad committee.....

I am heading into conference season with two next month. Now, my first conference hasn't earned me a whole lot of sympathy as I have whined about the cost of the hotel which I will be bearing myself. The conference is at the Fairmont Orchid on the Kona Coast of Hawaii. Hey, it's a real conference, it starts at 7:00AM! Sometimes conferences can seem like a lot less work than they will be eventually whereas ALA Annual will suck the life out of me as it does every year.

Anyone else remember the excitement of their first professional conference? You carefully peruse the inches thick conference book when you first arrive. Careful planning will allow you to attend as many as four programs a day. Meals are slotted in when possible and frequently in the convention center itself. I find that the early career librarian tries to jam far too much into their early conferences when it would behoove them to take their time and make commitments veeerrryy slowly. Those of us whose arms were tired by day two from volunteering for various committees should have known better. But do we warn the newbies? I guess it depends if we like them or not.

Currently conferences for me are chairing meetings that are interrupted by occasional food breaks and then rushing off to ensure that rooms are ready for programs that you have only been peripherally involved with. My colleagues laugh at my event planner thoughtfully provided by ALA. There are more times that show up in red (meaning I have a conflict) than those that don't. One thing that I have learned to do is to spend downtime productively. This only sometimes doesn't involve meeting friends and former colleagues in drinking establishments and heading off to a vendor reception from there.

Sleep is a rookie mistake and conditioning to get by on five hours a night must start soon. I will report back after conference on how successful each was.