It's taking shape

What a difference a weekend makes!  Last week I was dragging my tired butt around the library, trying to stay awake and attempting to get kinda (sorta) organized.  My head was foggy and confused, I wasn't sleeping well, and it took all my strength not to crawl under my desk for a meltdown/nap combo each afternoon.  Not cool.  Then the following Monday rolls around and I turned into Little Miss Productive, managing to make a coherent to-do list and check things off of it.  I was on fire, man.  I think most of this has to do with a Sunday afternoon visit to the New Energy Lady (her name is Dana and I love her already).  I'm not entirely sure what she did to me, but it had something to do with dialing back my sensitivity to being in the company of other human beings.  Sounds horrible, I know, but they wear me out sometimes.  This is why I have cats and not a roommate.  Anyway, I'm feeling better now.  We can resume social contact!

I had a feeling when I took this new job that it would be one that allows me to make it my own, rather than adhering to a strict job description.  So far it's looking like that's the case.  I've got a bunch of stuff lined up and I'm so excited to be creating as I go.  I'll be teaching a drop-in iPad class for older adults at the end of February and can choose the topic.  I was also asked to share the facilitation of the Fine Arts Book Club that was recently created, so I'll be doing the discussion in late April.  It hasn't been especially well attended yet, but I think interest might increase with the creation of a nice display advertising the upcoming books.  I'm organizing recitals for local private music teachers in our library theatre, which is fun because I've done so many of my own.  They're well received, library patrons love coming out to listen to the kids perform, and I'm looking forward to meeting some music folk. 

I'm also quite pleased that my coordinator and I are really hitting it off.  We see eye to eye on a lot of things and we've been doing some artsy things outside of work together (this week it was taking in a performance of Romeo and Juliet by the Royal Winnipeg Ballet...lovely!).  Someone in the department said to us this week "wow, you two might want to think about getting along better since you have to work together."  It was pretty funny.  It seems our entire department is on the same page about what we're doing, which is fantastic.  Lots of support and laughs (and treats...these ladies love food).  Exactly how it should be.

New year, moments of beauty, and snow pants

Happy 2014!  I'm not sure what to say about 2013; it was long, challenging, heartbreaking, and surprising.  I get tired just thinking about it...I think I'm still recovering from the year that kept me guessing right up until the very end.  Nothing really went the way I thought it would.  Things I thought might go reasonably well ended up being crazy fantastic, the difficult things were harder than expected, and some stuff came out of left field.  (Ahem: I'm now living in the prairies.)  I think it might take until the spring to get my energy back fully, but that's okay.  Winter is for resting.

But not too much loafing around, because there are beautiful things to experience.  Like this...

To help ensure I get more of these gorgeous moments without risking frostbite or hypothermia, I coughed up the cash for insulated winter pants (colour: bright pink.  I had to break out of my black rut).  I think they're really just snow pants, but we won't tell Sport Chek and burst their bubble.  The pants work dandy: I walked for an hour yesterday and didn't get chilly until the very end of my jaunt.  Swish, swish, swish...I feel like I'm 6 again.  I'm very happy to know I can still go out for fresh air and exercise even when it's very cold.

Other beautiful things: there's a fantastic art exhibit going up in the library gallery this weekend.  The artist, Alexa Hainsworth, does huge textile creations, I don't even know how to describe them, but they're amazing.  I can't wait to see what it looks like after she's done installing her work.  The gallery reception is this Thursday, I'm responsible for overseeing it, and I'm willing to bet it will be a busy night. 

And Downton Abbey is beautiful too.  I crammed in three seasons in a week (the holidays were good for one thing...) and was riveted the whole time, which is unusual for me.  I'm one of those take-it-or-leave-it TV watchers.  The fourth season starts tonight and there was rumour of a library staff gathering to watch it, but I think it was too darn cold today for anyone to leave their houses, snow pants or no snow pants.  Hopefully someone PVRed it and we can all catch up later when the threat of frozen eyeballs passes.   :)