not really posting here anymore

So as you may have noticed this blog is kinda dead. Since all I really ever did on here was post kitten pictures, I moved my kitten postings to gingerbugg.tumblr.com. this may come alive again at some point, who knows. but I wouldn't hold my breath.

OMG KITTENS! KITTEN SIGHTING EVERY DAY!

So, this Saturday, my boyfriend and I went to a kitten adoption event put on by Forgotten Felines. We had been thinking for a long time about getting a kitten, and decided now was the time. When we arrived, we were told that they have a policy of not adopting out single kittens to people who don't already have a cat since it's better for kittens to have another cat around for company. We decided to go for it, and keep our fingers crossed that when/if we move in the future, our landlord will be as understanding as the one we have now. So, now I have kittens! Their names are Orville (the white with gray tabby spots) and Cornelius (the Siamese) - Cornelius used to be known as Billy-Bob, but we decided he needed a fancier name. I am glad we got two kittens. They get along really well, and keep each other entertained. Plus, it makes for twice the cute.

Cat Sighting : Two Cats, one in a Bucket

two fluffy cats.

Cat Sighting : Calico On Top Of A Car

Sorry, this cat is toooo lazy to come say Hello today.

Cat Sighting : Seattle Cats :My Neighbor Carlos

Despite his stern look, Carlos is really quite friendly.

Cat Sighting : Adorable Cat Pooka!

Ok.. I haven't updated this in a really long time. This summer was really busy for me, and I'm still trying to figure out what to do with this blog, too (apart from posting more pictures of cats.) I'm settling in in Seattle, and properly moving to my new place this weekend, so things should be calming down. So, here's the adorable Pooka. Enjoy.

Awesome Pets!

Whiskey the cat and Crayon the dog. They're adorable

Cat Sighting : Grey Cat

Another very regal cat

Cat Sighting : Tabby Cat Walking

I think this was by the Belmont library in Portland.

Cat Sighting : the "lucky" cat

This is one of my favorite cats, living across the street from me. I heard somewhere that three-color cats were supposed to be lucky, I don't know how true this is or where I heard it, and I don't think it applies to cats like this exactly, but I refer to this cat as the "luck cat" anyway. Because why not. It is very loud and meows every time someone comes near.

Cat Sighting : Two Calico Cats!

Because Calico Cats are Awesome!

Cat Sighting : Ginger Cat In A Window

This cat looks so regal and leonine.

Cat Sighting : Stray, Near My Office

You can't see this super well (strays don't always like to be approached) but this cat has crazy fluffy hair like a poodle. Awesome!

Volunteering

Started volunteering at the Architectural Heritage Society's library this morning... loving it. Just shelving books, putting plastic covers on books, whatever for now... but it's so quiet and the people are nice... an hour and a half went by like nothing at all. Now I'm at the North Portland Library computer lab... it's quiet today too. There's a computer class going on (yes, there are free computer classes here. All you have to do is sign up. Sweet, uh?) I've had kind of a stressful week so today is just perfect! I've been working two 10.5 hour days and two six hour days a week recently.. it's nice to have so many hours as a part-timer, and to have them compacted like that, but it's a headache (sometimes literally) to work so much at once too, and keep up with school. I think I'll be fine, just need to work on my time management and make sure I'm getting everything that needs to be done, done before I go out and play. I'm strongly considering taking on more volunteer hours, too, because I like it so much, and one day I want to be paid to do what I love (and doing it without being paid, especially when it's something like library/museum type work, is a good pathway to that, or so I've heard.) ... but I suppose I better get myself on a good work/schoolwork/volunteering/social life balanced schedule first. Sometimes it's hard when I want to do everything!

Dog Sighting : Belmont, Portland, Or

I don't get as excited about dogs as about cats, but this dog is really cool looking. He was tied near a coffee shop in my neighborhood on Belmont.

Cat Sighting : Seattle, U District

This adorable cat was found in my boyfriend's neighborhood in Seattle. I'm not sure what kind of cat you would call it - kind of like a tabby point?

Cat Sighting : Adorable Tuxedo Cat, Seattle

This cat decided to say Hello when I was walking around on Capitol Hill in Seattle. It was very sweet and friendly!

Infocamp Seattle: 2009

Ok, so it's been almost a whole week since Infocamp, but my blogging habits are rather laconic. I did want to write a little bit about Infocamp, though.
I signed up on a whim.. a classmate from FSU's distance program who, by strange coincidence, is also a Portlander, suggested I check out NW Central to find library-related people and events in my general geographical area. So, I go on NW Central, find an information conference in Seattle (where I spend almost every weekend anyway, due to my boyfriend having relocated there) which is $10 for students. Um, why would I NOT go?

General observations:
I was a little tenuous about the idea of an conference where anyone can present, and presentation decisions are made last minute - I'm kind of shy and knew I wasn't about to present anything. But that went really well - lots of people were much more extroverted, prepared and knowledgeable than myself. Strangely, some of the groups I enjoyed the most were the least prepared and structured - one led by a fellow student who announced that he had little expertise but wanted to get people together to talk, and another discussion that was going to be about program evaluations for libraries, but ended up being a discussion about the state and future of libraries in the modern world, and how to keep up and fit in and thrive.

The only drawback of the minimal description for events was that I ended up at a couple presentations that were really good, but somewhat out of my league - a talk on resume development that had some good information as far as layout and content, but was clearly geared towards the professional with years of experience rather than the student with a bunch of unrelated, part time, $10 or less per hour jobs behind them; and a talk on personas that I went to because it was one of the only library related ones that slot which left me far behind because I realised I had little to no idea what personas were. (I still don't exactly know)

It was a little overwhelming - in a conference sort of setting, there's rarely the chance to really get to know people super well because you're moving about, everyone's doing ten million things at once, so on and so forth. It was a strange mix of people, being part librarians and part website designer/manager/ "information architecture" people, part seasoned professionals, part students, but it was a good mix. I enjoyed talking to the web folks and seeing what was similar/different in their work and their attitudes about my interests (So tell me, do people still go to libraries now that there's the internet?) and of course, it was exciting to sit and listen to seasoned library folks talk shop, and fun to talk to other students and recently employed graduates. I was kind of glad that I didn't know anyone and so was forced to talk to strangers in order to have something to do. I did feel like I might be the only one out of 350 people without a personal business card or an iphone, and felt a little bit lame being like, "Um, I work at a call center for public transportation" when people asked me what I did. However, even people who I thought were probably way cooler than me were super nice. I regretted a little bit not making it to the Saturday night social event, since a little bit of alcohol goes a long way towards minimizing my introversion, but then again, I was combining the conference with the once a week boyfriend visit, and decided that my days belonged to Infocamp and my evenings belonged to Matthew.
All in all, it was a worthwhile though exhausting weekend, and I think I'll do my best to make it there next year. Also, if you were there, and maybe talked to me, (or not, even) drop me a line, let's get to know eachother.

Cat Sighting - Gray Scrappy Cat

This Gray Scrappy (a kind of cat that is nobody's pet, like a feral cat) lives next to my work. It is very shy - catching a glimpse of it is quite rare!