Hello, blog readers. Since I haven't written in 9 months, I would be surprised to see if I actually have any more blog readers, but if you find this posting, welcome. :-)
I write because this is the first day that I've woken up because of stress, and I for the life of me can't figure out... why today?! The last month and a half has been very big for me. Top of the list.... I met my boyfriend's parents. That was a relationship first for me. Later, in June, I was able to meet his grandmother as well. They are all very nice, and I hope to get to know them better! (BTW, my boyfriend's name is Matt.)
Matt finally met my parents as well. ...Just last week. I had almost given up on the possibility. I had first mentioned them meeting in April, but between all of our schedules, it looked like it would never happen. But May was a really rough month on parents. My dad had a heart-cath (sp?). God be praised. He's doing well. Then mom was diagnosed with breast cancer. She's doing pretty well too. She's been superwoman. She had her surgery the last Thursday in May, and then we all took off to our Cousin Laura's wedding in Arkansas the next day. Mom was off the prescription pain killers in a day. She's been going through radiation now for the last couple weeks. Pray that her energy level stays up. Work and radiation and summer travel can be quite a bit of work. They are in Arkansas again this weekend, and next weekend, they are going to vacation with my sisters in Austin. My nieces Hannah and Hailey are performing in a play.
As for me, I studied the entire month of June. I had my comprehensive exams to get my master's in library science. (I still have a class to take in the fall, so no graduation until December though.) I studied too hard. I have such bad memories of my performance at the ph.d. exams that I don't think I'll be ever able to take a test calmly again. But this time, I passed in flying colors. I was the last person out of the room, and I wrote 5-6 solid pages for each of the 3 questions in a 4.5 hour time span. Well, praise God for that one.
Now, I'm praying that God will provide me with a job that will help me pay off my student loans. I had my first interview for a real, full-time library position at OCU Law Library as a circulation librarian. The interview was a good experience, and I am learning the finer points of interviewing: what to wear, how to study for a position, how to ask questions.... Did you know that it is polite to send a thank you note to the interviewer? I didn't. So this time, I sent a thank you note. Even if I do not get the job, it's been excellent practice. Actually, it would be hard decision on whether to accept the job if it was offered. It is my first interview, and they are hiring quickly. It would give me only a little time to weigh the pros and cons. I really could use some prayer time to see if that is a direction where God wants to use me. Meanwhile, I have an interview for a g.a. at the reference desk on Monday. I look forward to that. I always wanted to work there, and I enjoy the staff so much. It is 10 hours a week, and I would do that job with my ComPADRE job (a physics education digital library).
Above all that, I leave for Chicago on Thursday! I'm working as a Student to Staff participant at the American Library Association annual conference. That means I volunteer for about 4 hours a day, and I get free registration and hotel. I'm also presenting a poster, so I applied for funding to the College of Arts and Sciences. They are taking care of my airfare and some expenses.
Okay, I'm maybe seeing why I couldn't sleep in this morning. This weekend, I need to trim down my poster and get packing. Plus, I have some work to catch up on b/c I spent so much time on the exams. I hope to go for a run/walk here in about 15 minutes. So I'll sign off. Hope everyone has a good day, and good July 4th weekend!
