Putting things into perspective

I know I'm a horrible blogger and haven't kept up with this like I had intended or wanted to! There has soo much that has changed from the last post to this one.

Where to start....

Well the huge life changing news is I'm engaged! Jarrett proposed to me mid-February and we've set the date for July 9th. It was pretty much better than any romance novel/movie, in my opinion. :) I was down in Biloxi for Air Force training and he came down to visit. Little did I know what he was really up to - I just thought he came to visit! Ok, ok - how it happened...

I think you should read about him at TheKnot (Yes, there were tears...)

Oh, I should explain a bit why I was in Biloxi, MS for the Air Force, rather than at my library! I got to retrain into a different career field in the Guard. I got to hang up my wrenches and smelling like jet fuel to pretty much a desk job for a different group on base. It can be challenging at times adjusting to what it is from what I'm use to but challenge accepted. :) I had a lot of fun down South while I was there.

Speaking of the South, you probably live under a rock if you haven't heard about the tornadoes that ripped through there this last week. For a place that I called home for a couple years, it's definitely been hard to take in what they had to go through. I've heard from a lot of people that I know down there and they were all ok. Some have lost everything from that tornado; other more than that. Thank God those I know are alive and well. Material things can be replaced, they can't. From what I could determine, the path of it wasn't too far away from where I lived.

The day after the tornado, the news was talking about the devastation there. Co-workers didn't really really seem to regard it as much. I can kinda see that - somewhere not here had a catastrophe, unable to fully grasp the full extent of the destruction. It would have been like if there was an F5 today that ripped through the middle of bustling Fargo, leaving over a mile wide path of destruction, then plowing its way to Fergus Falls and destroying part of the city there. When I say plowing - I mean it left a path folks. I'm not sure if they did say if it was officially on the ground the entire time, but there is a discernible path. On the other hand, I was a kind of a wreck - not knowing the status of all my friends there. Those who could get a message out that they were ok, did. I don't care what people think about social networking - it was an amazing tool to find out how everyone was doing afterward.

It is weird to me how differently people regard things going on right now - going on Facebook, I could really tell who was from the South and who was going on about Osama or other random parts of their lives. Its like life paused for them there and they are digging out, helping out, doing anything in their power to help out everyone and anyone. Else wheres, not so much.

Its time like this when once again theres something/someones that I held near and dear has been taken away. In the span of not even a year, there has been two friends who were taken unexpectedly and now somewhere I called home ripped apart by a tornado. The world keeps spinning but I feel when things like this happen, that my world stops. *sigh* I know that HE has a plan though, whether or not I recognize it at the moment.

Bah - I must end on a happy note. I don't like it when it's unhappy post. :/

Ohh - so here's something that is hilarious- it's a must see!! Enjoy!

Where did the time go?

Wow - Sorry everyone! It has been a long time since I've posted anything here!
Seems not to long ago that I was on my way to DC for my first ALA conference.
The conference was amazing! Though I kept getting sucked down into the void that was the vendors - so many free books! I ended up sending home 3 boxes of books. I know, I know...it's a sickness and no, I don't need therapy..
I was able to go to ALA on a program called Student to Staff - I had my conference fee, hotel and a stipend in turn for my time working at the conference with one of the offices. I ended up working with the Press Room - which was alot of fun! I gave the registered press their passes and sometimes doubled as an information desk... I met some authors - such as Holly Black! EEee! :D
I met a few other student to staffers - one of them ended up putting together a short skit for the DEMCO book cart drill team - ALA student to staff kids. Yes, I got myself involved and yes I had fun! It was based on a book one of them had created, though he said there hasn't been a publisher that's picked up his book yet.
It wasn't much after ALA, that August was upon us and it was Graduation for me. I had moved all my stuff back up here a couple weeks beforehand and I turned around a couple after to go to Graduation for the weekend.
Graduation was HOT! Well, a hecka lot warmer than I would have liked it to be. I'm soo glad that I had a swimsuit underneath my gown. It was cooler but still way to hot for this Northerner. After the ceremony, we took off back up north. We as in me, Jarrett and Carly. Carly is one of my friends from Alabama. She stayed with us for a week up here. We had fun - visiting random places, especially the libraries. :)
Speaking of libraries - I found a job up here in Fargo at the Fargo Public Library, where I am the Acquisitions Librarian - essentially, I buy things for the library. Quite possibly one of the best things is, having to go to Barnes and Noble to go buy extra copies of items. :D Win! I've been here for a few weeks now and I've really been enjoying it!

ALA!!

Well I know it's been awhile since I've posted here. Needless to say I've been busy...here there and just about everywhere.

After I completed my internship at the Chester Fritz Library, I went straight into doing a few days of Annual Training for the Air Guard in Fargo.

Oh but it doesn't stop there - that following Saturday, I drove out to Indiana to Camp Atterbury for NESA. I was on staff for the Basic GSAR school (Ground Search and Rescue) as a FTA (Field Training Advisor. SOO MUCH FUN!!! :D It was the first time I'd ever been to NESA ... (I really don't know why I didn't go earlier...) I got to do things such as run the Land Nav courses, help out with some of the classroom things, and other random tasks I was assigned to do. I really wasn't liking life on Monday morning when I had to go find all the points for the nav course and most of the woods had standing water... I was sad that I had to leave though. The other FTAs were fun to work with, but I had to leave because week was more Annual Training for the Guard and leaving for ALA.

As of right this very moment, I'm sitting in the MSP airport waiting for my flight. Oh the joys of standby and cxled flights...

More to come later.