We're everywhere!

Just the other day, Saturday, I was in Philadelphia for the 2010 Comic Con at the Philly Convention Center. Cons, generally speaking, are an excuse for large crowds of nerds and huge fans of a certain subject (in this case, science fiction, animation, movies, TV shows, and actors) to gather in one place and share in their collective love for all of the aforementioned subjects. The only downside about conventions are the long lines, usually resulting from so many people waiting to be in the same room as a celebrity presence. Case in point, the line for Bruce Campbell's Question and Answer session nearly reached the length of the line just to get into the convention center. It was in this line to get into the Con that my friend Sarah and I ran into two men. One was much older and had a black T-shirt which said, "Today is a good day, to read!" We came to find out that he is a librarian! It amazed me how many librarians are in the world and how cool it is when we find each other in the strangest places. We exchanged business cards in celebration. Later that day at the James Marsters (Spike from the TV show, Buffy) Question & Answer Session I met up with my friend Michelle, who is a librarian in DC. We talked shop and I brought her up to speed on the job process and how things were going. Pictured here she and I await the arrival of James Marsters. She's dressed up as another character from the show Buffy, Drusilla. Might I mention that she made her dress and her necklace herself! Later, during lunch, I received a call from a college friend's mother. She and I had recently gotten in touch once I'd moved to Manassas and she's become a contact for me as far as finding library jobs in the Manassas area. We talked shop for a bit and she updated me on the available jobs which I'd already applied for. It seems that even when I take a mini-vacation, the librarians and jobs follow me. It's not a bad thing, though. On the contrary, seeing Michelle at the Con was a nice treat considering it had been about a year since I'd met her at another strange gathering. But that's another story for another time.

Another fabulous part of the trip was seeing my friend's aunt's amazing apartment. I'll provide an example of her far wall that had built-in bookshelves. My first question to her was how she cataloged everything. This is only a small sample of her collection of books, too.

Changes

Amazing how things can change in the span of a few days. As of tomorrow I will end my two year run as a Graduate Student Assistant with the Humanities Department at my current University. I could not have asked to be put with a more eclectic, intelligent, kind, and resourceful group of librarians. I had fun and learned a lot from my five bosses, and will miss them each as I move away. Pat presented me with a goodbye card signed by all the team members and a travel coffee pot as a parting gift. Even more meaningful is that before she went onto the desk she showed me how to finagle the fax machine.

I have found a subleaser for my apartment and am attempting to move out in the next few weeks and by few I mean two. Next week brings an information interview in DC and even more surprises. Did I mention I graduate in a few days? It's a scary feeling.

I won't forget the University of Maryland and the wonderful faculty that have impacted me and challenged me during my time there. I hope to keep in contact with them as I move to Manassas.

Post exams, Pre-graduation

Filling in the few days between exams and graduation I'm trying to do many things at once:

1. Attempt to find a subleaser for my apartment
2. Apply for jobs (3 so far this week, expecting several more in the coming days)
3. Wrap up things at my current job at the University of MD
4. Pack to potentially move in June or July
5. Sign up for networking and career building events
6. Prep for DC Annual in June.

I have another informational interview at the Folger Shakespeare Library in a few weeks, after graduation. This time I'll be talking to someone in Special Collections. I also signed up today for a massive university related job fair in DC, put on by my Alma Mater, JMU. A few of my friends are going and I'm trying to convince more of my alumni friends to come too. Third on the list is a discussion group with DCLA called "Making the Most of ALA Annual". I'm signed up to go and I've never been exposed to a convention this huge that didn't have to do with anime. So getting advice from people in the field and conference attenders will be a huge help.

There are fun things involved as well, my friend's LOST finale party as well as spending graduation time with my folks. You've got to keep a balance between work and play after all.