Such long time has past!
Meanwhile, I have obtained my motorcycle license, which is not too easy. I have purchased my bike. I love my little Honda 250. It is a good beginner bike. I have put on it 1000 miles last Summer.

Turns out that in crashes involving cars and motorcycles, drivers often say that they never saw the bike.
In theory you should wear very bright colors when riding a motorcycle.  Yet, the most romantic, sexy, dare-devilish thing is to sport  black leather jacket, pants and boots (if you can afford them).
So here you have a contraddiction in visibility.
In our profession visibility is becaming a buzz word. They say: make your own brand. Cut and paste, use color. Whatever. Funny that one of nature most used survival tools is mimicri. In mimicri an animal or plant hides into its environment.  Certain butterflies assume the color of the bark of the tree where they land. It helps to confuse potential predators. I feel like that butterfly. I don't want to expose my-self, professionally, personally or otherwise, out there on the wild of internet. There are predators. We have became so complacent, we don't even notice them. Moreover, who needs to know what I do, what I like, what I say, what I stand for? To what end all this information, that it is me and mine, needs to be shared with those that I don't know? Conversely, why would I need to know about total strangers that I will never meet? Why should I pay attention to stuff posted here or there by people that I don't even know if they are for real?
I guess I will stick to leather jacket, leather pants, black boots and hope for good when I will be there, on the highway.

Of Balance

Difficult balances.
Two new staff members starting today. I am always in search of the most effective, efficient and passionate way to train part-time staff. We struggle to keep them for more than few months, due to the non-competitive salaries and the demanding hours. After all, not many want to work evenings or Saturdays. So, to find the balance between investing time and effort and frequent losses is difficult.

To drive a vehicle with only 2 wheels is  a form of optimism. I just learned that you should avoid the part of a lane where cars leave their oil deposits. Oil deposits? Who knew! I had never thought about it. Driving a car, you take balance for granted, and many other things too, as  I start to discover.

What we take for granted when we hire new employees?
That they will learn quickly, efficiently, that they will understand everything smoothly, that they will share in your passion for the profession and will do their best to improve, that they will find everything logical, and will express their ideas civilly and openly, that they will like everyone and get along with everybody. All of this is rather unrealistic when you think about it.

Just like not to expect cars to leave oil deposits on the middle of a lane.

Sunday was the first anniversary of Loren's death. I spent the day with my daughters and grandchildren. We planted a stepping stone in the garden. We adorned it with a beautiful begonia. We wept a little and remembered good and bad times. I felt exhausted at the end of the day and angry (mostly at my-self). I do not want to continue this  routine of work and home life that drags and goes on sad and gray. So, when I got the e-mail from Library Commission about the 23 things for professional development I decided to do this and bring itthe extreme. Change in the profession and change in the personal life. Yes,change is scary, but oh, so exciting. I want to renew my professional juices and go for all that can make me grow. I will do the 23 things and I will buy my-self a thing I have wanted for 30 years: a motorcycle.  I will learn new things in both my professional and personal life. I STRONGLY BELIEVE that you cannot cut one from the other, anyway.  It does not work for me. Usually, when I stretch and change in an area, the others benefit too.
I decided to keep this blog in the form of a diary.