Day 30

So I made it.

30 days.

30 blogposts.

I've learnt a lot while taking part in this challenge.

I've had to be disciplined - it would have been easy to skip a day or two.

I've had to think - of things to blog about, of memes to meme about, of items of interest in the library world

My rss feeds have gone through the roof - as I follow my fellow #blogeverydayofjune bloggers and get links to other bloggers from them.

I've felt at various times - inspired, amused, envious, part of a community, befriended, and a thousand and one other emotions.

It's 'fleshed' out some of the people I follow on twitter - I've learnt more about them and their jobs and their lives than I knew from their tweets.

I've got ideas and thoughts to follow up on - things for my job, things for a job I don't have yet, things for a job I want.

I've learnt a lot - there are a lot of 'thinkers' in the group - my mind is buzzing, my To Do list is full of websites to visit, software to investigate, and information to ponder, read & inwardly digest.

But most of all it's been fun.

Will I keep blogging?

Yes - perhaps not every day, but I am setting myself the target of updating each of my blogs on a weekly basis, which, if I include work blogs, will probably average out to one blog post a day but at least I know I can do it.

The End (or The Beginning)

30 things in 30 days

Thanks to @Sophiemac for this...

30 things I did in June besides blog every day.

1. Bought a MacBook

2. Uploaded my first ever youtube videos

3. Went to Hobart (Richmond, Salamanca market)

4. Thought about 'self-funding' Alia access 2010.

5. Read 22 books

6. Went to a 'downloadables' seminar (& got into trouble for going to said seminar)

7. Decided I don't like my job (see #6)

8. Organised 2 author talks

9. Decided on my 5 favourite books

10. Wrote an op. ed piece on the difference between favourite books and best books

11. Took my youngest nephews on an 'after dark' adventure

12. Started knitting a blanket (lots of tension squares, all different patterns)

13. Made a donation to Peter Mac in memory of my dad

14. Got my hair cut (new hairdresser - same salon)

15. Found out that a cousin (who is exactly 2 weeks older than me) has a tumour on the pituitary (sp?) gland.

16. Did two desk shifts at Camberwell

17. Changed a light globe

18. Broke the smoke alarm

19. Decided I wanted to learn to crochet

20. Bought 5 dvds

21. Re-read Mary Grant Bruce's Billabong series

22. Bought too may books from Book Depository

23. Became addicted to Toddlers & Tiaras on Foxtel

24. Went to the theatre (x 4)

25. Took 8 (garbage) bags of donations to the op shop

26. Renewed my membership to the Fitzroy Brisbane Football Club Historical Society

27. Took my mum out for a counter lunch - just because

28. Found my pinking shears (missing for over a year)

29. Competed (badly) in the World Quizzing Championships

30. Having dinner with my family (and my dad's brother's family) to 'celebrate' what would have been my dad's 74th birthday (tomorrow)

Only one post to go...

Day 28

So I've somehow made it to day 28. It's been an experience!

I must admit I've had to be disciplined (no bad thing) to blog each day which will hopefully stand me in good stead.

With 5 blogs of my own that I contribute to; and 2 work blogs (plus possibly another couple) if I can write one blog post a day and alternate between home & work blogs I could easily be updating each blog regularly.

Perhaps that should be my goal for the 2010/2011 financial year?

Remembering dad.

At 12.30 am this morning it was exactly 5 years since my dad passed away.

On Christmas Eve 2004 he was diagnosed with three types of cancer: thyroid - easily treatable; bone - a tumour on the spine that could be controlled with radiation therapy; and lung .

The lung was the most worrying as his father & 2 of his uncles had died of it.

Dad started treatment at Peter Mac just after Christmas - me, my sister & 2 of my brothers organised a roster among ourselves to drive mum & dad to and from Sale, and to and from wherever they were staying in Melbourne to Peter Mac.

My England based brother came over for a quick visit in early march 2005 - dad was on a real high then - he looked amazingly fit & healthy.

Then a little over 2 weeks later dad was in Peter Mac & we were told he wouldn't be coming home.

But he did.

His condition started to deteriorate in late June and we organised for England brother to come back. We kept telling dad "Cam will be home tomorrow morning, Cam will be home tomorrow morning"

Dad made it to tomorrow morning but passed away before Cam arrived home.

I've blocked a lot of that time out of my memory but there are some things that stand out.

My youngest brother & I leaving Sale @ 2.30 am to drive to Tullamarine to pick up England brother knowing that he was too late.

That drive - it was extremely foggy - we couldn't see anything through the fog - we were tired, emotional and (with hindsight) should not have been driving.

Breaking the news to England brother.

Calling in at sister's house & brother's house @ 5 am to pick up clothes etc for funeral. Neighbour of brother called police when he saw two people enter brother's house & emerge 20 minutes later with suitcase.

Now, five years on, I look back on the memories & treasure them - dad was always there for us. If we were involved in something then dad was there cheering us on.

When my (then) 4 year old brother was told he was too young to join the under 10 footy team (the youngest team) dad and a mate started an under 7 team and a football club (which went on to produce several AFL players).

When the family moved to Sale dad's Saturdays were spent trying to watch my sister & I play netball before heading off to the football (where he was usually coach/runner/statistician for my brothers' teams).

He MC'd the calisthenics concerts (mum taught calisthenics in melbourne & in sale).

He was at various times President of the Sale Football Club, President of the Sale Cricket Club, on the committee of the Sale Basketball Association, Araluen PS's parents committee, Sale High's parents committee. He was a founding member of the Doncaster Heights Primary School committee (not to mention again the Doncaster Heights football club).

Then there was his 49 years & 10 months as a Freemason (both in Melbourne & in Sale).

His long term devotion to the Fitzroy Football Club (despite his favourite cousin playing in several premierships in the 1950s for Melbourne).

His unique collection of McCallum Whisky memorabilia (which was written up in several publications here and overseas)

But most of all he was Dad and I still miss him.

Bruce Robert Malcolm. June 30, 1936 - June 27, 2005.

winter shopping in Melbourne

So I ventured into the city today to buy a new laptop. (The city cos I have giftcards/vouchers from David Jones, Myer, JB & Officeworks - & I knew i could find them all in the city)

My current laptop was purchased at Big W some 4 years ago and whilst still an an absolute workhorse and brilliant pc it's down to less that 5gb hard disk space free (& that's after I've shifted absolutely everything I can think of to an external drive). When the new laptop arrives this one will become an open source machine (big brother or sister to the eeepc).

However whilst I did shop successfully I did not buy a laptop.

Instead I bought a new doona & some new flannelette sheets. Perfect for the chilly Mont Albert winters.

Tomorrow I will buy laptop (or new slippers - who knows?)

Sesquicentenary - 5 favourite books

The liberry service wot employs me turns 150 soon.

As part of the sesquicentenary celebrations we are compiling a list of favourite books and are asking borrowers to nominate their 5 favourite titles.

So I got to thinking what are my five favourite books.

It's tricky - do i nominate kids books?

Seven little Australians
Ballet shoes
Magic faraway tree
Billabong's daughter
Five go off in a caravan

Crime books? (British setting)

Greenway
Chalon Heads
Gaudy night
Ten little niggers (and then there were none)
Death at the dolphin

Crime books? (American setting)

Murder on the run
If ever I return pretty peggy o
Murder in the dog days
Black Ice
Black echo

Non fiction?

One L
Q's legacy
Moneyball
Penguins stopped play
Pitch invasion

Then there's biography/autobiography, organising, sport, music, computer books, ebooks, books i've borrowed from the library, books i own, books about books.

So many choices, so little time.

But I have to decide soon.

Entries close tomorrow.

By the way I cop a lot of flak because of my love for the word sesquicentenary


sesquicentenarysesquicentenarysesquicentenarysesquicentenarysesquicentenary

so there!

what a difference a day makes...

This time last night I was lamenting the lack of internet at chez tapsister.

The only web access i had was via my phone (in other words hardly any, very slow access) so it was difficult to follow the spill hashtag on twitter (strangely my netbook doesn't have a hash key).

So I was reduced to getting my political news from the 24 hour news channel on foxtel - so not the same as twitter!

So 24 hours later a lot has changed. I have internet access again.

We have a new Prime Minister. (Julia Gillard - elected unopposed)

We have our first woman Prime Minister. (Julia Gillard)

Kevin Rudd gave a very emotional press conference.

What will the next 24 hours bring?

day 23 - fail wail

So the interweb@ chez tapsister was cactus last night (& this monring) so day 23 of #blogeverydayofjune did not happen.

Hopefully the interweb will redeem itself tonight & I can catch up on the blogging otherwise I don't know what will happen!

Day 22 - Music Meme

nabbed from @fionaweb et al

1. Open your library (iTunes, iPod, etc)
2. Put it on shuffle
3. Press play
4. For every question, type the song that’s playing
5. When you go to a new question, press the next button
6. Don’t lie and try to pretend you’re cool!

Opening Credits: Creep (G4)G4 were runners up in the UK series X factor back in 2004/2005. My brother brought their first album with him when he came home for a visit & we all loved it. They are a group of classically trained singers (Think Il Divo).

Waking Up: Staying Alive (Bee Gees)

First Day At School: Mockingbird (Johnny O'Keefe)

Falling In Love: Let me finish (Denise Van Outen - from the musical Tell me on a Sunday)

Fight Song: Stop the cavalry (Jona Lewie)- classic 80's

Breaking Up: Big Time (Lottie & Company from the musical Mack & Mabel.)

Prom: Crocodile Rock (Elton John) One of my favourite songs of all time)

Life: Merry Christmas Maggie Thatcher (from Billy Elliot the Musical)

I guess it's fairly obvious I'm a child of the 70s/80s and a musical theatre tragic.

Tapsister does Tassie - day Two

The Salamanca market is probably a Hobart 'must visit' so we got an earlyish (7.45 am) start and an excellent car park at the top of the market which gave us an opportunity for a quick walk through to check out the stalls as they were setting up and a yummy french toast breakfast at Rendezvous cafe before shopping the market proper.

Hmmm where to start.

It was a sunny morning -so perfect shopping weather. We'd arrived armed with a list of things we *had* to buy for ourselves (and for others).

Mainly mongrel socks it would seem and/or Federation chocolate. A wire necklace for cousin Eilidh, chocolate honey, vanilla honey, ideas for mum's retirement village craft club.

Some birthday presents, a wedding present - the list went on and on.

So what did we buy?

Mongrel socks (toasty warm) Federation Chocolate (Apple)

And lots of other stuff (including chocolate dipped musk sticks - yum)

After the market we headed for the Mount Nelson Signal Tower & lookout for lunch and superb views across Hobart, then it was back into town to the Cenotaph and then on to the Botanical gardens where there was an old-fashioned Merry-go-round which bought back lots of childhood memories.

Tapsister does Tassie - day One.

So TappingBetty & Tapsister arrived in Hobart Town at 7.20 am yesterday morning (yes there is a 7.30 am when on holiday - who knew?)

After a delicious breakfast at the Smith St store cafe, and a quick flyby the Cadbury factory (seriously folks did anyone think we wouldn't hit the Cadbury factory?) we headed for Richmond.

When we were in Tassie last year we'd driven through Richmond on the way to Port Arthur it was early & nothing was open but we'd heard good things about it so this time we made sure we were there when it was open.

This was possibly a mistake - Richmond is full of interesting arts & crafts shops. I could have spent a small fortune in the wood shop - some exquisite woodwork using local timbers.

There were several galleries showcasing local artists in a variety of media (lovely glass work, unique jewellery) not to mention the handcrafts. (How many hand knitted/crocheted/felted mittens, scarves, gloves, hats, handwarmers, legwarmers do two sisters need?)

My sister went to zazzle & all i got was this t shirt!

This is a 'cheat' post cos when this turns up in your rss readers I'll be in Hobart (escaping Melbourne's winter weather?)

My sister bought me this t shirt recently while my teeth & I were recuperating at her house.

I love it.....

Card Cubby

Some of you may be aware that I am a huge fan of organising books (that's books about being organised not books about cataloguing!)

This love of things about organisation includes blogs & products (I should point out that I am not super organised in real life despite the interest!)

I also have a sister-in-law who is a professional organiser.

So here is my latest purchase...

The Card Cubby

Card Cubby® is a stylish, alphabetized mini-card file that fits right into your purse, briefcase, baby bag or car console!

The Card Cubby® measures 5" wide by 3" high and 2" deep!

NEW- Card Cubby now has an inside zipper for money and change!

Use your Cubby to Alphabetically File:

• Gift Cards
• Coupons (Fold and File)
• Frequent Buyer Cards
• Discount Cards
• Business Cards
• Player Cards
• Important Contact Info
• Insurance Cards
• And on and on...

Room for most cell phones, iPods and small cameras!

Put your Drivers License in the clear pocket, some cash and credit cards inside and use as a wallet!

I bought mine on ebay and I love it, love it, love it.

Just the thought of having my cards in alphabetical order & easily accessible makes me happy.

Okay I'm a strange, weird tapsister.

Apologies for tardy posting -Day 16.

My Day 16 post #blogeverydayofjune was delayed due to circumstances beyond my control...

On Tuesday I received an email from my ISP informing me that they'd merged with another ISP and I had until Monday 21st June to migrate to a new plan or decline the offer and make my own arrangements.

Given that I was happy with my old ISP & the new ISP (who my geek neighbours use) came highly recommended (and I was pretty much too lazy to do much more than basic due diligence) I opted to migrate to an adsl2+ plan which suited my usage & budget.

So far so good. Once I'd made the decision and filled in the online forms I was told that I would be migrated in 1-5 days and the down time would be between 45 minutes & 4 hours.

So last night I apparently migrated.

Don't know how long I was offline for but it was more than 2 hours so that's my excuse for no Day 16 post.

Please forgive me.

Day 15 - the tv meme

Sorry guys, lacking inspiration today so am meme'ing.

Do you snack while watching TV?

Yep - current favourite is/are banana smoothies

What is your favourite TV show?

Don't have a current favourite although "Toddlers & Tiara's" is almost a must-see (it's like watching a train wreck -I can't look away)

What TV show makes you run to change channels?

Current Affair, Today Tonight, most reality tv shows (except Location, Location & Property Ladder)

How do you view your TV guide: online, on-screen, newspaper, magazine, other?

Usually the online guide

Have you ever been surveyed for your TV-viewing habits or do you know anyone who has been?

Yes - although my sister now works for Neilsen so that usually rules me out

Do you watch TV news and/or current affairs regularly?

ABC news if I'm home

.Do you watch any TV “soaps”? (Truth please, even if it is embarrassing.)

Is NCIS a soap?

What other series shows do you try not to miss?

NCIS, Numb3rs, Without a trace, Spicks & Specks, Cold case, Good News Week

Sport: any Major League Baseball games, gymnastics, basketball

Any previous series or shows you really liked?

Drop the dead donkey, Vicar of Dibley, Homicide life on the street, Hill Street Blues, West wing, Frasier, Cardiac Arrest, (early/classic) Bill,

Do you have pay TV or are the digital channels enough?

Foxtel

Do you only watch certain TV shows online?

NCIS, Numb3rs, Without a trace, on Surfthechannel

Do you regularly use services like ABC catch-up or other online replays?

Nope

Do you ever pay any attention to the adverts?

Only if there's tapdancing cows

Do you multi-task while watching TV & if so what else are you doing?

Most of the time: knitting, surfing the net, reading, housework (okay maybe not so much housework)

Is there a TV show that makes you laugh out loud?

none in particular

Have you ever said no to a social invitation to stay at home and watch TV? (Truth again please.) Mind telling us what the show was?

Nope

Do you record TV shows & if so why and how (VCR, DVD recorder, TIVO, laptop, etc.)?

No (would do but recording function on dvd recorder is kaput)

Least favourite TV personality/actor/character?

Sam Newman, Eddie McGuire, The sham wow guy

Most popular TV personalities/actors/character?

No-one in particular

Have you ever seen anything really memorable on TV (not news/events – made for TV drama, etc.)?

Not that I can think of

Do you prefer TV series or stand-alone shows?

No preference

Is there a specific show you find yourself recommending over and over?

Probably Homicide life on the street. It was written by David Simon (The Wire) & I thought it was better than The Wire.

So there you have it - confessions of a TV addict.

Day 14 - a photoblog

I've spent much of today (slowly) going through my digital photos and organising them (before i start scanning in even older photos) so I thought today's post could be about memories evoked by the photos.

In 2003 my sister (tappingbetty) & I travelled to Europe together.

TappingBetty is a huge Jane Austen fan so a visit to Jane Austen's house at Chawton was, for her, an absolute must.

Almost opposite the house is the Greyfriar (perfectly acceptable pub lunch). As we are both Billy Bunter of Greyfriars School fans - it seemed a logical, if not quite as literary, addition to the day.

A few days later it was Bourneville to worship a totally different addiction.

Yep Cadbury World. What else is there to say?

What gets me through the day?

So yesterday Bookgrrl blogged about what she was carrying in her bag - as I giggled along I thought to myself wow my bag has nowhere near that much stuff in it.

How wrong I was!

I carry a backpack - ostensibly because I walk the 3.3 kms to work (or the 1.6 kms to the tramstop) but in reality I think that I would do my back in if I carried all this stuff in a shoulder bag.

So what's in the bag?

In the main pocket:

• sony e-reader (cos i took it to the ebooks seminar on thursday & forgot to take it out when I got home)
• paperback crime novel (Sheila Radley This way out)
• non fiction book (Digital shoebox) in case I don't feel like reading fiction
• scarf, beanie, mittens (it's melbourne after all)
• smiggle bubble pencil case containing 4 pens, a pencil, eraser, 2 usbs, stamps, gift vouchers & my diary
• headphones
• an A4 plastic pocket containing all my dental info/bills/receipts in the hope that i will remember to go to Medicare & HBA to claim so that I can pay the anaesthetist
• A5 notebook
• Card holder containing blank catalogue cards for jotting notes on.
• shopping bag (onyabag)

Middle pocket

• wallet
• itouch
• mobile phone (Nokia E63)
• headphones
• Card wallet (for loyalty cards, library cards etc.)
• 2 usbs
• camera
• keys

Front pocket

• another set of keys
• lip balm
• tissues
• cough lollies
• panadol
• metcards
• name badge
• emergency coffee/chocolate purse ( just in case)

Scarily the only things that aren't usually in there are the ereader (i either have it with me or books - not both) and the medical stuff.

If I'm on the way to work there's usually a couple of books to be returned that are added to the above mix. If I'm on the way home from work there's usually a couple of newly borrowed books in there.

Now that I've scared myself it's time to go and see what else I can cull from my bag. (I'm too scared to weigh it)

After dark adventure

So I was down to babysit the youngest nephews aged 4 and a half and 3 in 2 weeks.

Master 4.5 was keen to go on a train at night and if mr 4.5 was keen then mr practically 3 was going to be keen too.

Luckily it's dark by 5.

I'd spoken to them yesterday to arrange our adventure. They assured me that they had warm jackets, beanies, and torches for our after dark adventure.

I suggested that extra quiet time friday afternoon might be a good idea(they feel they are too old for afternoon naps). Mr 4 agreed; mr practically 3 did not seem to think that was at all necessary.

I arrived at their house just before 5 and armed with torches and rugged up warmly we made our way to Elsternwick station and the train to Sandringham.

A quick walk around Sandringham and it was back to the station and the train to Elsternwick. Then it was time for our special 'after dark adventure' dinner of burgers & chips @Grill'd.

To make the adventure even more special we had dessert of hot chocolates & gingerbread men at a local cafe before heading home. (at 7.30)

The boys are convinced that they stayed out really, really late and there was much discussion about how many people would still be awake.

They are now planning our next after dark adventure.

Surfing the catalogue

So today I attended a very interesting seminar on ebooks and downloadable audiobooks.

The day started with presentations from 2 libraries that have downloadable audio books. Port Phillip have had the Wavesound (Clipper) product for 6 weeks and gave us an insight into how it's going so far.

One thing that struck me was that it was not a completely seamless interface - there seemed quite a few clicks from the library site to the Clipper site.

Melbourne Libraries followed with their product from Overdrive which seemed to integrate more naturally into the library catalogue.

In the afternoon we had presentations from three vendors - Wavesound (Clipper), Ebsco, & Bolinda.

The day finished with a panel consisting of the three vendors and they answered a range of questions from the audience.

It was an interesting day and certainly got me thinking about the provision of ebooks and downloadable audio books for our patrons.

It was obvious there is no one answer to the question of which product is the best -all have their strengths but hopefully I can be involved in the evaluation phase when we start to look seriously at downloadables at my library.

An aside.

One of the presenters used the term 'surfing the catalogue'. I was immediately taken by the phrase and my mind wandered into ways we could use the phrase in marketing & promotions.

Does it make the catalogue more approachable? (surfing vs searching?) or does it make absolutely no difference.

My thoughts are very much half formed at the moment - I have some ideas that I might play with when I have a moment.

It's cold outside

and it's cold inside too.

I type this huddled in dressing gowns & snuggie - in front of the heater - watching television cos I'm too lazy too put on a dvd (or do anything else for that matter)

I've watched Hogans Heroes (even though I can quote most episodes), relocation relocation (feel very qualified now to buy property in the UK), spicks n specks, more relocation relocation (this time in Scotland with its offers over property buying system). Tom & Fiona are looking for a flat in Glasgow and a house on the shores of Loch Lomond - I'm very envious.

I've also been knitting - I'm basically knitting tension squares in different wools & patterns with a plan to sew them eventually into a blanket (or, more likely, to turn into a pile of tension squares in various wools & patterns!)

Hopefully tomorrow will be warmer and I'll feel more energetic... but then again...

Och aye the noo?

So the munnsterling made me go into town today because I was watching the national spelling bee and so instead she dragged me kicking and screaming to Typo (where she made me buy things).

On the train home we got to Richmond just in time for 'the game is too one-sided and its very wet so let's leave at 3/4 time' crowd to join us.

A woman in full Carlton regalia sat down opposite me and I asked her who had won the footy. She told me and then asked me what part of Scotland I was from.

I looked at her quizzically (or like she was insane) and she responded that I had a lovely scottish accent.

WTF?

Now I do have scottish relatives but I'm aussie born & bred and I'm pretty sure the only words I'd uttered since she got on the train were "excuse me, who won the footy?" (in my normal accent which is pure australian - or so I thought)

She continued to admire my 'accent' until we parted company at Auburn station.

The people around us just looked bemused.

Luckily I hadn't told her my name (which probably would have reinforced her opinion of my 'scottishness'

toothless anniversary

WARNING: contains what's left of my teeth.

Today is the one week anniversary of my teeth outing.

Gotta say it's been nowhere bad as expected.

* Pain - very manageable,

* swelling - i'm 'adorably chubby cheeked' but not bulbously swollen,

* bruising - ok my face has some very yellow patches atm

* eating - have graduated from soup to mashed potato, and don't need to wait for the ice cream to melt,

Still needing a lot of sleep but other than that the Freemasons team did a great job.