Thanksgiving Vacation

We’re off to Alabama tomorrow for a week of family time. I just wanted to make sure I took a moment to wish all of you a Happy Thanksgiving!!

May you eat till your bellies are full and may you be graced with the presence of loved ones.

Learning, growing, and changing

The “Hail to the Victors” blog entry has been deleted for the mere fact that it was annoying in some browsers and quite possibly to Ohio State fans:) Hee hee. Apparently it played automatically in Safari and I ‘m not a big fan of movies/audio starting automatically, unless it is on Myspace. To be honest, I’m not entirely fond of Safari either. I LOVE Firefox. It even makes my blog looks better. The Frecs & Specs Logo at the right hand corner of my blog is suppose to be the same color as the rest of the blog, but in Safari and Explorer (at least my version at work) it looks like a separate blue box. So I have to figure out how to fix that.

Not much to report about myself people. I’m turning into a lame-o. All I do is go to school and work. In between those two things I’m most likely just eating, sleeping, reading, blogging, doing homework, showering, driving, or uploading pictures to Flickr. Of course, not always in that order. But yes, always that boring.

I’m really not going to complain though. I love my life right now. Even if I don’t have time to read as many books for pleasure or visit my family and friends as often as I would like. I am learning. I am growing. I am changing. I can feel it everyday. When I started working as an intern 8 months ago, I used to think my co-workers were speaking a foreign language. The only thing I could do was tune their strange words out . It was like I was all of a sudden in a country called “Techy.” However, like any foreign country, if one is there long enough they begin to pick up on words and learn the lingo just by being emersed in the culture. I’m truly amazed at how much I have learned in such a short period of time. I wish I had thought about chronicling my intern experience on a separate blog. But snippets of my experience will have to do here on Frecs & Specs. You won’t mind right?

As you all recall I was quite nervous about teaching my first blogging class. I was so nervous I could barely sleep the night before. Since then, I have taught three blogging classes and one Microsoft Word class. I have become more and more confident with each passing class and I am constantly evaluating what I can do different and better the next time around. I never thought I would feel this comfortable with speaking in front of people. I should say “Teaching” people since speaking is something altogether different. Regardless, I just feel good doing it now. It’s truly a great feeling to know you are teaching someone something new and they WANT to learn it. It’s so gratifying. Often I forget how exciting computers and technology really are because I have used them for so long. Whenever I see an 80 year old get excited about manuevering the internet or e-mailing it reminds me of that child-like excitement I have not had in a while. It really gives me a refreshing perspective, something I truly need every now and again. So yeah, I’m learning a lot and I am growing a lot. I can’t even imagine where I’l be when the internship ends in a year and a half. What I do know is I’ll have become more confident in my abilities and in myself and for that alone….I am grateful.

I should also tell you that I will be teaching more of the classes as the months go on. I’ve sort of just been getting comfortable with it gradually, but come January I will begin teaching Excel and Powerpoint classes as well. Then, in the spring or summer I am hoping to introduce a photo hosting class and something else. Not sure yet what they will encompass, but I have time to figure it out.

In the meantime, I am just living day to day, week to week, taking in as much as I can before it all comes to what will seem like an abrubt end. I will then have to use what skills I have aquired and find a real job. One which will not include the word “intern” in the job description.

Scary.

Gotta Love Those Keyword Searches

Ever wonder how people have found your website or blog? Well…here’s how someone found my blog today.

Ha! Too funny.

Mambo

I know I don’t get very many techies to my blog, but if by chance someone ends up here that happens to know a little something about Mambo (the open source CMS)….I could use some help. For the library I work, I researched intranet options and decided to go with Mambo. It is installed and I am now testing things out. I am in search of a good scheduling mambot or module. I can’t seem to find any. If anyone can direct me in the right direction, it would be much appreciated.

If I don’t find one, I guess I’ll have to figure something else out.

Slideshow is Back

Well, I put the slideshow back up under the Photo Gallery tab. I like it a lot better now as it shows more of my pics and allows you the option of how fast you want to view them, etc. Only thing I don’t like is how you can’t view the titles of the pics. However, if you click on the main pic you will then see the caption.

Rather than using SlideshowPro as I had been, I decided to go with the free and easy to embed Flickr Slideshow. I found it gives me what I want without the hassle. Even better is the fact that once you get to the end of the slideshow, you are prompted as to whether you would like to see more of my pics or repeat the ones you just saw. If you say “yes, more please,” it streams more in to you immediately. How cool is that?

Enjoy!

I tried doing some other stuff to my blog over the weekend, but with no success. I think I need to upgrade my version of WordPress but that would require more time (and patience) than I have right now.

Holiday

I have the day off because of Veteran’s Day, but somehow catching up on domestic duties does not make it feel much like a holiday:(

I’d almost rather be at work than clean crusty plates of food and vacuum dust bunnies inches thick.

Holiday Shmoliday.

Line Rider

Fun.

SirsiDynix / SirsiDynix Institute

Wow! I just realized Sirsidynix is headquartered in Huntsville, AL. I’ll have to drop by there when Jeff and I go in a little over a week. Perhaps I should call first though.

Coincidentally, it’s 10 minutes away from my dad’s house. How crazy is that?!

How I learned about it:

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Stephen Abram Named Chief Strategist of the SirsiDynix Institute

HUNTSVILLE, Ala., Nov. 6, 2006 – The SirsiDynix Institute, a forum for professional development in the library community, announced today that Stephen Abram, vice president of Innovation at SirsiDynix, was recently named chief strategist for the SirsiDynix Institute. Abram will continue in his role as vice president of Innovation at SirsiDynix.

The SirsiDynix Institute is an ongoing forum for professional development in the library community. The Institute monitors library industry trends and issues of concern to the library community. The Institute will utilize Abram’s renown nationally and internationally to attract speakers that are industry leaders in the industry for the Institute’s webinars, executive conference and other events. Abram will also assist in developing themes and topics for these events and will continue to speak and represent both SirsiDynix and the SirsiDynix Institute at national and international library and technology events.

A leading, international librarian, Abram has been with SirsiDynix since 2004. Abram has more than 25 years of experience with libraries, both as a practicing librarian and in the information industry. He is a frequent keynote speaker on issues that affect libraries, their communities and librarians. Abram is the president-elect of the Special Libraries Association (SLA) and is set to serve as president of SLA beginning 2008. He is a Fellow of SLA, and, in June 2003, he was awarded SLA’s highest honor, the John Cotton Dana Award. Abram is also the past president of the Canadian Library Association and was president of the Ontario Library Association in 2002.

“The SirsiDynix Institute has been near and dear to my heart since its inception,” said Abram. The Institute reaches out to the library community as a whole and is not tied to particular technologies. Not all in the community share the same technologies; they do, however, share the same concerns, hopes and visions for their libraries. I look forward to working even more closely with the SirsiDynix Institute to continue to grow and expand its reach and impact throughout the industry.”

I give you…..Ken and Angela’s Wedding

Because Jeff’s father (Fred) put it into words much better than I EVER could, I’ll let him tell the story. *With his permission of course.* The following is an e-mail that Ken and Jeff’s father sent to a friend in Pennsylvania who inquired about the wedding. Without further adieu….I give you the story of Ken and Angela’s wedding. Or in Fred’s own words, the “slightly exaggerated” version of the debacle at the church:

George:

Let me set the scene for you…

Wedding day, Saturday, October 21st. Groomsmen & ushers meet at our home, pictures are taken, checklist after checklist gone through, and off we go in a motorcade to Our Lady Star of the Sea Church–clear across town. But first all the groomsmen/ushers drop-off their individual cars at the reception site at our end of town since a “wedding coach” which was picking-up the bride et-al was to haul the entire wedding party from the church to the reception. (Lynn and I drove separately to the church so we could take the male contingent of the wedding party with us.)

Got to the church early, greeted our guests and before we knew it we were walking down the aisle to our places for the big moment.

The pipe organ begins blasting the “Canon in D” and here comes our son Ken, the groom, followed by his best man, our younger son Jeff, and all the groomsmen. They line-up at the altar facing us as the bridesmaids start processing in. Lynn and I are nearly moved to tears when the herald trumpets burst into “Trumpet Voluntary” and the bride, our soon 2-B daughter-in-law radiantly heads down the aisle.

At that long-awaited moment I feel a tap on my shoulder, turn around, and face my son Jeff who’s white as a ghost. “Dad,” he says, shaking like a leaf, “I FORGOT THE RINGS–THEY’RE IN THE CAR!”At this point Angela’s Dad is handing her off to Ken right next to our pew, my vision blurs, my heart skips two to three beats and my first thought is to kill Jeff on the spot.

As the bride & groom step up to the altar, I turn to my brother and explain the predicament before trying to exit the church as unobtrusively as possible (as if THAT were possible), run to the farthest possible point in the church parking lot where we left our car, with the intent of retrieving the rings. As I burst into a full trot at the back of the church, I collide w/the bagpiper who just arrived to march the bride and groom out of the church at the end of the service. The wedding coordinator comes running, I explain the situation, and we all head to the car, throwing things left and right.

No rings.

Jeff’s girlfriend Sarah joins us, sees ours quandary, and surmises that Jeff left the rings in their car at the reception site when we switched cars!

My head reeled.

Convinced I was going into cardiac arrest, I fly back into the church, slink against the side walls and hide behind a banner at the altar trying to inconspicuously get the priests attention to let him know what’s happening.

By the grace of God he had his wits about him and suggested that Lynn and I simply take off our rings and Ken and Angela use those for the ceremony.

Trying 2-B as nonchalant as possible (HA), I return to my seat and whisper to Lynn what Fr. suggested.

Guess whose ring wouldn’t come off her finger?

After much struggling, w/me whispering I’d cut her finger off if I had to, off it came. I once again slinked along the walls and surreptitiously as possible handed our rings to the priest.

George, it seemed like two to three days had passed from the time Jeff dropped his bombshell to the time our rings were placed in the priest’s hand. When my heart stopped racing and my head cleared, I was shocked to find that the Mass had only progressed to the Old Testament reading.

From that point on all went well, and Lynn and I cried our eyes out as Ken & Angela exchanged vows and rings. (God only knows how long we waited for that moment!)

Beaming, Ken & Angela marched out of the church to the lively tunes of a bagpiper hired in honor of Angela’s Scottish heritage–of which she’s particularly proud.

As Lynn and I stood at the back of the church talking to family and friends about the debacle for which I held Jeff personally responsible, here he comes looking like death warmed over. As I literally glared at him, vowing to eventually forgive but to NEVER forget, he literally collapses into Lynn’s arms sobbing that he ruined his brother’s wedding.

Naturally, I felt like an ass.

As we tried to console him, here comes our new daughter-in-law in full bridal regalia, grabs Jeff, hugs him, and says something to the effect that his oversight made the ceremony all the more meaningful because she and Ken got to use her new in-laws rings which initiated a marriage 39-years ago that she and Ken hoped to emulate.

At that point everyone was openly crying–and Lynn and I realized what a wonderful, wonderful wife Ken had, and how very, very lucky we were to have her in our family.

But it doesn’t end there.

Here comes Fr. Roger to inform us that whenever the rings turn-up, he’d bless them for Ken & Angela. If they were to turn-up before the wedding party was done taking pictures, he’d do it then; if not, Ken and Angela could schedule an appointment to come to his office whenever.

Now George, our son Ken is obsessive-compulsive.

Hearing this, he begins wondering if he’s actually married!

Sarah takes the bull by the horn and one of our neighbors agrees to drive her clear across town to the reception site to retrieve the rings and try to get them back to the church before the bridal party finishes taking photos and departs the church on the wedding coach.

As fate would have it, picture taking is over, everyone’s on the coach but the bride and groom–and still no Sarah w/the rings. The decision is made to delay departure in the hope she’s on her way. What seems like hours pass when we hear screeching brakes and Sarah just misses hitting the coach. Everyone applauds as she holds-up the rings. I run back into church hoping against hope Fr. Roger might be around. There he was, in the vestibule, ready to start the 4:00 p.m. Saturday liturgy. I explain the rings are on hand, and recap Ken’s groundless concern.

George, would you believe the priest actually delayed the scheduled Mass, kept an entire church full of parishioners waiting, and stepped into the wedding coach where he graciously conducted a “mini” service, blessing the rings, and having Ken & Angela exchange them. Once again, there wasn’t a dry eye around–and Jeff’s girlfriend captured it all on video.

After all that commotion and far too much weeping, the coach pulled away from the church to wild cheers–and the sun actually burst through the clouds!

Off we went to the reception, which was absolutely fantastic.

Though I vowed not to drink until later in the evening, at the doors to the reception site Ken had arranged for waiters to walk around passing-out glasses of champagne.

Guess who had the first one?

Ken & Angela thoroughly enjoyed their reception, and my son who rarely dances tripped the light fantastic most of the night. (Guess he was convinced he was “officially married” as a result of the ring blessing.)

Naturally Jeff was the talk of the reception–as I guess he’ll be for years to come. We can laugh now, but let me tell you, as this all transpired…Oh, well.

Tons of photos were taken of this long-awaited Karolski wedding. When the pictures are ready, I’d be happy to share them with you and Barb if you’d be interested.

I appreciate your asking about the wedding George, though after this rambling discourse I’m sure you’re sorry you ever inquired!

(Truth be told, I needed to recount all this to someone since though I’ve forgiven my youngest, I guess I haven’t really gotten over how close I came to passing away at my son’s wedding as I scurried madly about.)

My apologies for being so late in responding to your e-mail. To our surprise there was an awful lot to do AFTER the wedding–the most exciting being driving the new husband and wife over to the airport for their flight to Maui where they’re spending ten well-earned days relaxing after ten solid months of planning.

Hope you and Barb are doing well.

F R E D

As you can see…..Fred has a way with words. He summed the whole thing up quite eloquently. Thank you Fred, for allowing me to post your well written account of the wedding day we will all NEVER forget. I’d also like to wish another Congratulations to the bride and groom (Angela & Ken). They’ve just returned from their Hawaiian honeymoon all smiles and ready to start a new chapter in their life together

*I’ll try and post more pics later as we organize them, etc. Please forgive us for how long it is taking*