A Wandering Eyre

If you want to know what is going on with the Rochester clan, and let me warn you we do nothing the easy way, please go read Defying Genetics.

If you are waiting for snarky Jane to return, please continue your holding pattern.

–Jane, getting used to the routine of the NICU

I am convinced that the more pregnant you are, the more your brain can only focus on babies. I think, biologically, this prepares you for having to concentrate on a wee person’s survival for weeks. I mean years and years. What was I thinking?!

As a result of having what my more experienced friends call “Mommy Brain,” I have been unable to do much of anything interesting. Couple that with the fact that it takes me twice as long and about twice the energy to do even the simplest tasks and you have a Jane who has energy only for nesting.

I am pulling the life trumps blogging card now and taking my maternity leave from this site for a few weeks. I will pop in occasionally with a quip. There will be very big news here on Friday. Not baby news, but actual library related news. Keep your RSS readers ready for that because I think it is fabulous stuff. Would I lead you astray? Never!

There will be an announcement and picture here of Baby Rochester once he decides it is time to join the land of the living, breathing people. He is officially one day late today.

I expect to be back annoying you with inane commentary later in May. Until then, I will be posting ridiculous updates and pictures of the most. wonderful. baby. ever on our family blog.

–Jane, expects to be less round by late May

Penelope Trunk wrote a great post on why women are not as concerned with “taking time off” to have kids as some people think.

I am not expecting “time off” from anything. Raising kids is a full-time job. I do not agree with everything Penelope Trunk has to say on her blog, but much of it resonates with what I have observed and what I feel to be right.

At least one person online and multiple people off, have expressed sadness/concern that I am not staying to climb the traditional ladder or that getting back into “regular” librarianship will be harder then I realize. I do not want the traditional ladder. I want to build my own. The traditional ladder looks incredibly boring from where I am sitting and I do not have the patience for boring. Scenery aside, I am also smart enough to know that I am not cut out to be a full-time 9-5iver and a full-time Mom. That situation would make for a very unhappy and crazy Jane and an extremely unhappy family.

As to the concerns about getting back in, as Penelope Trunk points out, starting one step below where I left or taking a different kind of job is not such a bad deal. It just means I will have diverse experiences. Having those formative years at home with my kids is more important then the job title I end up with when I retire. You can’t take it with you. Besides, I may end up doing something completely different then what I am doing at this very moment (which is sitting at a reference desk, answering directional and simple reference questions). I dare say that something will likely be much better then telling people where the stapler is located.

–Jane, the corporate ladder, ur doin’ it wrng

(picture inclusion with a nod towards Helene Blowers)

This post has been a long time coming. If all works out accordingly, this post will be published directly after or right before I hand the interested parties my letter of resignation from the University of Houston Libraries where I have worked for three and a half years. I am sad to be leaving my friends and colleagues behind, even though I will see most of them often enough. Those who know me or have been paying attention will not be surprised at my departure. I have needed, searched for, even longed for a change in work scenery for quite awhile.

I am trading my crazy, traffic filled commute for domesticity and working from home. Instead of a Social Sciences Librarian, I will be a stay at home wife, mother, and Geek Librarian At Large. In addition to changing diapers and walking around with a baby attached to my chest, I plan on engaging in the following professional activities:

Friends and long time readers will surmise correctly that I am going to continue to do the things that I love the most about being a librarian, teaching and advocating for technology education in librarianship. Due to the impending arrival of Baby Rochester, I am placing a hiatus on most professional travel for almost a year and half. I expect my next conference to be ALA Annual 2009, though one never knows what life will bring you. Box of chocolates, anyone?

I plan on writing at least one more post reflecting on working in an academic library, based on my experiences in the one that fostered me these last few years, and the kind of job I would love to have some day. Those should be coming along shortly.

Until then, I am excited about this new phase of my life, happy for the change of pace, and pleased to be able to finally tell you, gentle readers and friends, my plan.

–Jane, tickled baby boy blue

Karen Schneider, who has always given me great advice, is sharing some of her wisdom about being “famous.” Timely, the post is, being just before Midwinter, when we will all scurry around trying to meet old friends and new ones in chilly Philly.

I really enjoyed the post and was reminded of all the people, like Karen, who have helped me in the past few years.

I liked that she placed “famous” in quotes. Famous is a meaningless thing compared to our lives outside of the limelight. What really matters is how we live our whole lives, not just what we do at conferences, in front of audiences, and when people are looking. I love all the things I do as a librarian, but getting to lounge on the couch with these handsome boys is better then anything else I have ever gotten to do.

Karen also mentions Bette Davis, who played the best bitches on the silver screen. I am partial to her portrayal of Regina Giddens in The Little Foxes. I highly recommend it to anyone who loves Davis, old movies, or good, old fashioned, evil women.

My favorite piece of advice from Karen’s post was to help others. I think, whether you pull weight or not, helping others is always important. There is always someone who could use your hand or a smile.

–Jane, hopes she lives up to her ideals on more days than not

Mr. Rochester and I have set up a family blog, Defying Genetics, for our friends and family who live too far away to hear and see frequent updates about our growing clan.

I wanted a place to put more family type things and I thought I should separate that space from this one. Follow along over there if you want or care to or stick here for your usual dose of sarcasm, soap boxes, and silliness. I am sure there will always be some crossover, but I had to have somewhere else to post ridiculous amounts of baby and dog pictures. The drinking librarian pictures can stay here though.

–Jane, hopes Baby Rochester gets the good genes

A mundane update about me, because really, it is all about me, you know.

I had a fun weekend filled with tree trimming and house light hanging. Mr. Rochester could really care less about either, but I adore them so that he perches on the ladder while I hand him gutter clips and the next string of lights. He even helped with the tree this year. Lovely. In other Rochester news, we are having a healthy baby boy. Mr. R is glad to have escaped a house of giggling and princesses this round and I am glad to have escaped the threat of having my daughter want to be a cheerleader.

Now, if you were unfortunate enough to have spent your formative years cheerleading, please do not be offended, but what would two nerdy geeks do with a cheerleader? Just consider that and move on without getting all huffy. I was a band nerd for the love of Friday.

I then packed off to Sacramento, CA to teach the first of many workshops for InfoPeople. The workshop is on using Web 2.0 tools and ideas for staff training. It went off well with a very participatory group with a myriad of good ideas of their own. I am going to make some tweaks for next time. If you live in California, I will be back every week in January teaching the same class.

If you have received your copy of American Libraries for December, my little face appears twice! I wrote the “On My Mind” column this month on freedom and literacy in libraries. There is also a picture of me a few pages later, p. 48, at the Gaming, Learning, and Libraries Symposium from this summer. In that picture, you can see me laughing as I lose horribly at Mario Kart. It was fun, even though I failed to be victorious, twice.

Now, I am back in Houston, enjoying our “cold” weather (it is 50 today) and contemplating what to tackle on my to do list first.

–Jane, had some last minute emails from students who did not prepare well for their research papers

At the request of KGS, here is a list of what I am thankful for this year.

My growing faith and some important lessons I have learned.

Mr. Rochester, the best husband anyone could ask for. Last night, he gave me a big hug and told me he missed me the last couple days. Mondays and Tuesdays are our busy days where we pass in the night. I missed him too.

A new addition to the family, though Monster Rochester is not here yet.

Friends who make me laugh and love me.

Family that is occasionally dysfunctional, tends to drink more than they should, but has a lot of love.

Big, slobbery, puppy lips rubbed on my face in greeting on Saturday mornings. I know he loves his momma.

The roof over my head, the food on my plate, health, and jobs that pay the bills.

I am thankful for being able to recognize new opportunities as they appear and I am curious and excited about the year to come.

We all have blessings to be thankful for. I wish you all a year of bounty.

–Jane, thankful

All of the principles have been told and I think it is time to tell the Interwebs.

In a flight of fancy with a dash of what-the-heck-were-we-thinking, Mr. Rochester and I are expanding the Rochester household. We should have a bundle of Human Beta somewhere around the end of April. I think it will end up looking something like the picture on this site, but the grandparents are hoping for something like this.

I shall now answer all the questions people have been asking so I only have to do it once:

I am lucky biotch and have had no morning sickness (mine is an evil laugh!)

yes, we are going to find out if it is a boy or girl

yes, I will tell you

yes, we have some names in mind

no, I will not tell you because I do not care to hear what you think about them

no, I have had no weird cravings yet

I feel great, but I take a lot of naps, which may or may not occasionally occur in various places in my library

Besides being busy in general, this site has been quiet, because by the time I get home and eat dinner, it is nearly time for bed. I know I am supposed to have more energy soon and I am at least hoping I can stay up long enough to watch the Daily Show again. John Stewart, I miss you.

–Jane, happy to be keeping a secret no longer

I spent a weekend in Milwaukee before the Gaming, Learning, and Libraries Symposium. I have an Aunt and an Uncle who live there and I see them so seldom that I had to take the opportunity to visit. Milwaukee is a beautiful city and in the summer it really is at its finest. I had a great visit. Here are my top, rather belated, 10 things from that short trip:

10. The weather was amazing. Cool. Breezy. Sunny. I reveled in it.
9. The flowers. At a time in Houston when everything is starting to get brown around the edges, there are vibrant blooms everywhere!
8. Sitting on Aunt Sue’s porch drinking vodka and Squirt and catching up.
7. The sunset over Pewaukee Lake.
6. Bloody Marys at The Wicked Hour. They were spicy and came with all kinds of goodies.
5. Brats. (pronounced brah-ts, the food not the annoying toddler next to you)
4. Hanging out at Fest Italiana.
3. Spending the afternoon with Uncle Larry and Aunt Jennifer. They live in East Troy, a sweet little town. Their house is surrounded by tall tress, green grass, and flowers. Jennifer collects sediment from all over the world and Larry collects Harleys. I do not get to see enough of them.
2. Getting to see Aunt Sue. I love that lady. I always have fun with her. We went to a couple local bars, went to the market at Cathedral Square, and walked through Fest Italia.
1. I know why people have Harleys and ride motorcycles. Larry took me on my first real motorcycle ride (dirt bikes do not really count, now do they?) It was exhilarating. All of the smells around you slap you in the face. Everything fills your senses. I could barely keep from giggling the entire time. It was amazing. We stopped at a local bar, Kuckleheads, for a drink and then returned home as the sun was setting. I could not have asked for a better end to a wonderful day.

–Jane, is ready to go back again