Did Moodle spaces go live today?
Yes. Yes, they did.
I had just forgotten what it was like to live as a grad student/mom/library assistant/wife/friend/whatever-else-I-committed to and BAM! it's time for the Spring semester. Sleep's overrated, anyway.
I have a friend (you might have her, too - Allison from 14.1) who is a couple of weeks away from birthing a baby (I love saying it that way) - her SECOND, mind you - that we (Allison, Laura, and I) affectionately named Baby L.E.E.P. (Laura Elizabeth Estabrook Patricia) back at Boot Camp when the pregnancy was no more than a few weeks along. Now L.E.E.P. (who could also be a Lester Edward Estabrook Patrick) is going to burst on to the scene (gross, sorry) just as LIS504 is getting started. Can you imagine?
So I am going to go ahead and guess that Allison will not be interested in hearing my complaints about all the things I have to get done in addition to schoolwork and how little I am sleeping.
And I know that she's not the only one doing this whole GSLIS thing in less than ideal (and let's face it - ideal would be full ride, full time, spending money to spare) circumstances. To all of you who are doing the best you can where you are and with what you've got and living a full life at the same time, I tip my hat. This path we've chosen, as I believe I've said before, is no cakewalk.
Now if you'll excuse me, I have to go put some laundry in the dryer and get five hours of sleep before heading out to the gym to meet my workout buddy for a swim.
For real.
Tuesday, January 12, 2010
Thursday, November 5, 2009
Ho-ho, doggies!
Got a message from a fellow 14.1 LEEP'er on Facebook today asking me if I'd seen the link to the new GSLIS Community Forums on the main Moodle page... he said I was "famous"...
DUDES! That's me!
DUDES! That's me!Furthermore, there is a link to THIS blog once you sign in to the Community Forums... so I am guessing I better start bringing my A-game to "The LEEP Years"... you know, like writing an entry every couple days as opposed to every couple months... I'm in the big leagues now, you know?
If you're new to this rant and coming from the Moodle, welcome... thanks for stopping by. If you are a "longtime" reader, you're in for more updates, I can tell you that.
I'm FAMOUS!
If you're new to this rant and coming from the Moodle, welcome... thanks for stopping by. If you are a "longtime" reader, you're in for more updates, I can tell you that.
I'm FAMOUS!
Monday, October 19, 2009
Parking Violation UPDATE
VINDICATION!!!
And all is right with the world. Thank you, Facilities & Services - Parking Department. You've done much to restore my faith in humanity.
Elizabeth,
I am not quite sure why you got this citation as you did purchase the day meter permit. I will speak with the issuing officer but I will also void this citation as a courtesy to you as you did all the proper things that we ask.
Thank you for your patience in this matter.
Carol J. McShane
Assistant to the Director
Facilities & Services
Parking Department
1110 W Springfield Avenue
Urbana, IL 61801
And all is right with the world. Thank you, Facilities & Services - Parking Department. You've done much to restore my faith in humanity.
Sunday, October 18, 2009
LEEP Weekend Quotes - Guest Blogger, Laura Blankenship
Here are some of the highlights of the weekend's one-liners, as recorded by your very own Laura Blankenship... and put in context by your good pal, Liz.
"Day Eleven!"
... keeping LEEP time, our friendships had been frozen in time on Day 10...
"Why is it that I get to Champaign and
I'm instantly fugly?"
... Laura bemoans her transformation into an on-campus version of herself...
"You can't fly with one wing."
... Charlie, on the necessity of returning the favor of buying a round...
"That didn't really have the "Mike and Carol Brady" effect you hoped for..."
... Allison, to Meredith after she turned off the nightstand lamp on her side and the room remained brightly lit...
"You still have to be on your parents' insurance to be on Green Street..."
... Allison, considering whether to join 14.1 at Legends or the Blind Pig...
"Did you sleep on your neck wrong?"
"No. I'm just lazy as $*&t."
... Liz explains why she can't turn her head to carry on a conversation in the lecture hall...
... keeping LEEP time, our friendships had been frozen in time on Day 10...
"Why is it that I get to Champaign and
I'm instantly fugly?"
... Laura bemoans her transformation into an on-campus version of herself...
"You can't fly with one wing."
... Charlie, on the necessity of returning the favor of buying a round...
"That didn't really have the "Mike and Carol Brady" effect you hoped for..."
... Allison, to Meredith after she turned off the nightstand lamp on her side and the room remained brightly lit...
"You still have to be on your parents' insurance to be on Green Street..."
... Allison, considering whether to join 14.1 at Legends or the Blind Pig...
"Did you sleep on your neck wrong?"
"No. I'm just lazy as $*&t."
... Liz explains why she can't turn her head to carry on a conversation in the lecture hall...
"Yeah, go ahead. Crack a book."
... Sarah encourages her group members to feel free to contribute to the brainstorming session...
"Spotted cow?"
"No, that's an ice cream shop by your house."
... Liz informs Allison that her guess is not correct...
"HO-tel, MO-tel, Holiday Inn... Express!"
... sung by some very happy HIE LEEP guests... often...
"I'll trade you for Blankenship."
.. Blankenship goes on the block...
"I think my uterus just constricted... no, it inverted."
... Laura explains her feelings about having children at this point in her life...
"Liz, you're not *that* white."
...Carla assures Liz that she has what it takes to contribute
to the 14.1 vs. 14.2 dance-off...
"No, that's an ice cream shop by your house."
... Liz informs Allison that her guess is not correct...
"HO-tel, MO-tel, Holiday Inn... Express!"
... sung by some very happy HIE LEEP guests... often...
"I'll trade you for Blankenship."
.. Blankenship goes on the block...
"I think my uterus just constricted... no, it inverted."
... Laura explains her feelings about having children at this point in her life...
"Liz, you're not *that* white."
...Carla assures Liz that she has what it takes to contribute
to the 14.1 vs. 14.2 dance-off...
Fall '09 LEEP Weekend Redux -- Day 2
Up and at 'em at 6:40 for one of the most precise showering schedules I've ever been a part of:
Allison - 6:00-6:20
Laura - 6:20-6:40
Liz - 6:40-7:00... err... 7:07 (DUDES, I was the ONLY ONE with straight hair that needed to be dried and managed with a flat iron)
Meredith - 7:07-7:20
We hit the FREE BREAKFAST in the lobby and headed out to the 501 meeting in the Psych building with Meredith trying to steel herself against what the rest of us thought was a balmy Midwestern morning.
We were among the first to arrive and got our white envelopes with graded papers (for those of you who have not had the great privilege of serving society as educators and grading the written work of students, allow me to enlighten you to the fact that Linda Smith is FRICKIN' AMAZING for getting THAT many papers back to THAT many people THAT quickly). I was also impressed with the "Liz" on my nametag since my Elluminate self is "Elizabeth".
Sat NEXT TO M
eredith (people who know me know that I am not usually a sit next to sorta gal) and listened to some awesome presentations by archivists and conservationists - JUST KIDDING! Everyone (now) knows that conservationists save trees; CONSERVATORS save information. Quote of the panel? Referring to the instrument collection at the Old Town School of Folk Music:
Yes. Yes, they are.
It's about ACCESS, people.
Followed the rest of the locusts over to GSLIS to grab a sandwich, stuff it in my face, and run over to the Main Stacks to swoon... I MEAN get material for our final project in 501. Okay, seriously. Is there a topic UIUC's Main Stacks DOESN'T have a bajillion books on? After a quick refresher on how to navigate through the call numbers, we were running around the East and West stacks, cellphones in hand (because WE TEXTED THE CALL NUMBERS TO OURSELVES -- AWESOME) grabbing pamphlets, books, reports -- and cracking ourselves up along the way with references to Being John Malkovich and the masochism that must have accompanied studying in the dungeon style "cage carols" throughout the building. And get a load of the awesome new lockers!
Class ended for the day at 4pm and I headed over to GSLIS to discover than Academic Libraries *may* not be for me. Not that the presenters (including Meg Edwards' DAD!!) weren't fabulous... I just don't know if academia is the place for me.
Dinner at the "Y" w
as served at 6pm and the locusts struck again. Allison, who was now aware of Baby LEEP's desire for red sauce ended up getting a piece of the last piece of lasagna by the grace of Devin. I grabbed us a seat next to a familiar face with a "Here's someone who looks like she could use some friends!" - figured she was in one of my classes... until she started to be joined by her friends and they started to look familiar, too... FROM THE UPPER LEFTHAND CORNER OF THE GSLIS HOMEPAGE. Turns out I was suggesting to Dr. Carol Tilley that she "could use some friends". AWESOME. Open mouth, insert foot.
So who *couldn't* use a drink after something like that? Headed out to Legends on Green St. and met up with a ton of 14.1... hilarity ensued. What sort of hilarity? I'll give you two awesome examples.
1. Laura does the "jerk" - to the amusement of the undergrads sitting behind us...
"It's just skipping backward... in place."
2. Daylily insists we all gather together, head over to Murphy's and challenge 14.2 to a dance off.
She is serious.
She wants us to be "The Jets".
Yes.
Westside Story-style.
With snapping.
Called it a night at 10pm - because we are old now, our meter was expiring, and we wanted Bambas.
We did a LOT of living on Day 2 (or Day 12, depending on how you're counting) of LEEP.
Allison - 6:00-6:20
Laura - 6:20-6:40
Liz - 6:40-7:00... err... 7:07 (DUDES, I was the ONLY ONE with straight hair that needed to be dried and managed with a flat iron)
Meredith - 7:07-7:20
We hit the FREE BREAKFAST in the lobby and headed out to the 501 meeting in the Psych building with Meredith trying to steel herself against what the rest of us thought was a balmy Midwestern morning.
We were among the first to arrive and got our white envelopes with graded papers (for those of you who have not had the great privilege of serving society as educators and grading the written work of students, allow me to enlighten you to the fact that Linda Smith is FRICKIN' AMAZING for getting THAT many papers back to THAT many people THAT quickly). I was also impressed with the "Liz" on my nametag since my Elluminate self is "Elizabeth".
Sat NEXT TO M
eredith (people who know me know that I am not usually a sit next to sorta gal) and listened to some awesome presentations by archivists and conservationists - JUST KIDDING! Everyone (now) knows that conservationists save trees; CONSERVATORS save information. Quote of the panel? Referring to the instrument collection at the Old Town School of Folk Music:"Those instruments are in JAIL!"
Yes. Yes, they are.
It's about ACCESS, people.Followed the rest of the locusts over to GSLIS to grab a sandwich, stuff it in my face, and run over to the Main Stacks to swoon... I MEAN get material for our final project in 501. Okay, seriously. Is there a topic UIUC's Main Stacks DOESN'T have a bajillion books on? After a quick refresher on how to navigate through the call numbers, we were running around the East and West stacks, cellphones in hand (because WE TEXTED THE CALL NUMBERS TO OURSELVES -- AWESOME) grabbing pamphlets, books, reports -- and cracking ourselves up along the way with references to Being John Malkovich and the masochism that must have accompanied studying in the dungeon style "cage carols" throughout the building. And get a load of the awesome new lockers!
Class ended for the day at 4pm and I headed over to GSLIS to discover than Academic Libraries *may* not be for me. Not that the presenters (including Meg Edwards' DAD!!) weren't fabulous... I just don't know if academia is the place for me.
Dinner at the "Y" w
as served at 6pm and the locusts struck again. Allison, who was now aware of Baby LEEP's desire for red sauce ended up getting a piece of the last piece of lasagna by the grace of Devin. I grabbed us a seat next to a familiar face with a "Here's someone who looks like she could use some friends!" - figured she was in one of my classes... until she started to be joined by her friends and they started to look familiar, too... FROM THE UPPER LEFTHAND CORNER OF THE GSLIS HOMEPAGE. Turns out I was suggesting to Dr. Carol Tilley that she "could use some friends". AWESOME. Open mouth, insert foot.So who *couldn't* use a drink after something like that? Headed out to Legends on Green St. and met up with a ton of 14.1... hilarity ensued. What sort of hilarity? I'll give you two awesome examples.
1. Laura does the "jerk" - to the amusement of the undergrads sitting behind us...
"It's just skipping backward... in place."
2. Daylily insists we all gather together, head over to Murphy's and challenge 14.2 to a dance off.
She is serious.
She wants us to be "The Jets".
Yes.
Westside Story-style.
With snapping.
Called it a night at 10pm - because we are old now, our meter was expiring, and we wanted Bambas.
We did a LOT of living on Day 2 (or Day 12, depending on how you're counting) of LEEP.
Fall '09 LEEP Weekend Redux -- Day 1
Can't believe that LEEP Weekend is in the books... went by way too fast.
Drove down to Shampoo-Banana on Thursday evening. I left about two hours later than I had anticipated I would but arrived around 9:30... pretty good time was made despite the cruddy weather. Stayed at the Holiday Inn Express in Urbana (highly recommended) at a GREAT rate thanks to knowing the right people (what's up, Cabaj)!
Decided right away that business travel was never in the cards for me because I do NOT like being alone in a hotel room. As I said at some point during the weekend, me and silence don't really get along. As the best reading material I'd brought with me was Ramona Quimby, Age 8, I hit the sack relatively early.
The first of my two on-campus sections met at the Union. I had a former student of mine who is now a junior at UIUC procure me a day permit for the Block-I meters and had no problem finding a space in Lot D-10 (remember this for later), right in front of the Natural History building (which is directly next door to the Union).
The "classroom" for the 403 session was... HILARIOUS. We basically ended up in what I like to call "Granny's Attic", complete with random ceiling angles and floral upholstery wallpaper. I was quickly reunited with 14.1 friends Nicole, Carolyn, Esme, Ben, Jason, and Rina... so fun to see familiar faces. Familiar voices, however, can be a lot more freaky. When a VERY familar voice asked "Is this 403?", my head whipped around to see our professor, Debra Mitts-Smith, who we had never laid eyes on over the course of the first half of the semester. How weird to be aquainted with someone's voice but not be able to recognized them! It's also funny how I felt like I "knew" some other people because I'd seen their pictures and read their posts and chats. I got a chance to sit with Erica and Lisa - new "familiar" friends... and total crackups.
The seven hour class FLEW by, especially because my afternoon break was SO AWESOME. I met with my former students, Molly & Mike, right in front of the Union for what was supposed to be a brief reunion hug and what turned out to be an hour long trip down memory lane. As I have long since left their elementary school (and they have, too), it was fun to hear what they'd been up to. I complained to them that the undergrad girls of UIUC have let themselves go even FURTHER than when I was here... sweatpants, the aptly named UGGs and messy almost completely to the front ponytails seem to be all the rage - and ladies, you are a HOT MESS. But, maybe that's what they're going for.
At 5pm, I headed back down to my car to give Jason a lift to the Urbana Free Library reception and meet Allison at the HIE... and what awaits me on the windshield of my perfectly legally parked car? Yep. $20 parking ticket. I HAD A PERMIT PEOPLE.
So I took a picture of the permit and the ticket and emailed it off to the NOW CLOSED Parking Department. Stay tuned...
Reunited with my 1 of my Boot Camp BFFs and quickly learned that her unborn child (heretofore referred to as "Baby LEEP" --> Laura [for the other BFF] Elizabeth [for me] Estabrook [for the force that brought us together] Patricia [for the "P"]) wanted Buffalo Wild Wings for dinner. I *knew* I loved that kid. Waited for BFF #2 to arrive from the STL area and away we went.
After dinner, we welcomed the Good Doctor (Meredith) to the party that was HIE Room 201... and promptly hit the sack.
Drove down to Shampoo-Banana on Thursday evening. I left about two hours later than I had anticipated I would but arrived around 9:30... pretty good time was made despite the cruddy weather. Stayed at the Holiday Inn Express in Urbana (highly recommended) at a GREAT rate thanks to knowing the right people (what's up, Cabaj)!
Decided right away that business travel was never in the cards for me because I do NOT like being alone in a hotel room. As I said at some point during the weekend, me and silence don't really get along. As the best reading material I'd brought with me was Ramona Quimby, Age 8, I hit the sack relatively early.
The first of my two on-campus sections met at the Union. I had a former student of mine who is now a junior at UIUC procure me a day permit for the Block-I meters and had no problem finding a space in Lot D-10 (remember this for later), right in front of the Natural History building (which is directly next door to the Union).
The "classroom" for the 403 session was... HILARIOUS. We basically ended up in what I like to call "Granny's Attic", complete with random ceiling angles and floral upholstery wallpaper. I was quickly reunited with 14.1 friends Nicole, Carolyn, Esme, Ben, Jason, and Rina... so fun to see familiar faces. Familiar voices, however, can be a lot more freaky. When a VERY familar voice asked "Is this 403?", my head whipped around to see our professor, Debra Mitts-Smith, who we had never laid eyes on over the course of the first half of the semester. How weird to be aquainted with someone's voice but not be able to recognized them! It's also funny how I felt like I "knew" some other people because I'd seen their pictures and read their posts and chats. I got a chance to sit with Erica and Lisa - new "familiar" friends... and total crackups.
The seven hour class FLEW by, especially because my afternoon break was SO AWESOME. I met with my former students, Molly & Mike, right in front of the Union for what was supposed to be a brief reunion hug and what turned out to be an hour long trip down memory lane. As I have long since left their elementary school (and they have, too), it was fun to hear what they'd been up to. I complained to them that the undergrad girls of UIUC have let themselves go even FURTHER than when I was here... sweatpants, the aptly named UGGs and messy almost completely to the front ponytails seem to be all the rage - and ladies, you are a HOT MESS. But, maybe that's what they're going for.
At 5pm, I headed back down to my car to give Jason a lift to the Urbana Free Library reception and meet Allison at the HIE... and what awaits me on the windshield of my perfectly legally parked car? Yep. $20 parking ticket. I HAD A PERMIT PEOPLE.
So I took a picture of the permit and the ticket and emailed it off to the NOW CLOSED Parking Department. Stay tuned...
Reunited with my 1 of my Boot Camp BFFs and quickly learned that her unborn child (heretofore referred to as "Baby LEEP" --> Laura [for the other BFF] Elizabeth [for me] Estabrook [for the force that brought us together] Patricia [for the "P"]) wanted Buffalo Wild Wings for dinner. I *knew* I loved that kid. Waited for BFF #2 to arrive from the STL area and away we went.
After dinner, we welcomed the Good Doctor (Meredith) to the party that was HIE Room 201... and promptly hit the sack.
Tuesday, October 13, 2009
And I'm officially a liar...
Well, hello, Blog.
I said I'd visit you weekly and I haven't. To be frank, I have no idea what I was thinking when I said that would visit you weekly because I a) don't really have that much to say and b) really don't have enough time to say what little I have to say.
There. I said it.
But new days are for new beginnings, are they not? So here I am. New day. New beginning.
We are officially in Week 8 of the semester, approximately halfway through the material. I will be leaving on Thursday night for LEEP weekend... and I am really looking forward to it. I have sessions on Friday (Kiddie Lit) and Saturday (501) but will be in Shampoo-Banana until Sunday, because why rush home? That, and the Digital Libraries advising session on Sunday from 11-12.
Grad school (all two classes I've been taking) has proven to be a bit more stressful and time-consuming than I had originally planned. As a result of my class schedule, my once flexible work schedule has become rigid and my "days off" have become close to non-existent. My propensity for putting off until tomorrow what can be done today has led to assignments being turned in within seconds of their due date/time and the two LARGE group projects that were once specks in the distance are now charging toward me at alarming speeds.
I am - believe it or not - enjoying myself, however. I am really looking forward to getting to visit with friends from Boot Camp because I just met some amazing people in those 10 days. I am also hoping to meet a few more awesome people from 403 and 501... that's exciting, too. I love being a student again and a student at UIUC again to boot.
So I'll sum up the first 8 weeks of my first semester of grad school this way: an adjustment that I am still making that appears to be well worth it.
Hope to have pictures and stories to share from LEEP Weekend '09. :)
I said I'd visit you weekly and I haven't. To be frank, I have no idea what I was thinking when I said that would visit you weekly because I a) don't really have that much to say and b) really don't have enough time to say what little I have to say.
There. I said it.
But new days are for new beginnings, are they not? So here I am. New day. New beginning.
We are officially in Week 8 of the semester, approximately halfway through the material. I will be leaving on Thursday night for LEEP weekend... and I am really looking forward to it. I have sessions on Friday (Kiddie Lit) and Saturday (501) but will be in Shampoo-Banana until Sunday, because why rush home? That, and the Digital Libraries advising session on Sunday from 11-12.
Grad school (all two classes I've been taking) has proven to be a bit more stressful and time-consuming than I had originally planned. As a result of my class schedule, my once flexible work schedule has become rigid and my "days off" have become close to non-existent. My propensity for putting off until tomorrow what can be done today has led to assignments being turned in within seconds of their due date/time and the two LARGE group projects that were once specks in the distance are now charging toward me at alarming speeds.
I am - believe it or not - enjoying myself, however. I am really looking forward to getting to visit with friends from Boot Camp because I just met some amazing people in those 10 days. I am also hoping to meet a few more awesome people from 403 and 501... that's exciting, too. I love being a student again and a student at UIUC again to boot.
So I'll sum up the first 8 weeks of my first semester of grad school this way: an adjustment that I am still making that appears to be well worth it.
Hope to have pictures and stories to share from LEEP Weekend '09. :)
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