Life & times of a lipstick librarian

remember it's not a sprint...

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Wed, 06 Jun 2007 00:10:00 +0000

One day to go...

After last night dabauchery today felt like a really looooong day (note to self stop signing up for 7am breakfast meetings they are painful and usually quite boring) It was filled with a lot of very interersting sessions.

Highlights include
1. Giving meaning to consumer engagement which was faciliated by Erik Hauser a 'brand psychatrist' I happen to see him walking in wearing purple sneakers and a yoga headband and thought to myself 'he's clearly not one of us'. He was a very passionate and dynamic speaker. The topic have no relevance to what I do all day but it was fasinating. He spoke about brands building social commentary and the new sense of virtural community. The highlight for me was an introduction to Zink which was just about as cool as it gets.

It was a very slick presentation filled with lots of mixed media

Despite it having nothing to do with what I do I did walk away was an great message regarding the training I develop. "Strive to create programs that deliver engaging and personal brand relevant experiences" Note: watch out for the Marketing and Advertisings Chapter sponsored sessions next year.

The course I was most looking forward to the entire trip was Spectacal librarians in pop culture. I have to say I was a little dissapointed. It's probabaly because I just came from this very stylized presentation. I found it lacking depth. I was looking for some indepth commentary on librarians in pop culture. Which I think is a very rich and deep topic. The social commentary on porn and librarians, the bun friend or foe? there are so many fasinating topics that could have been covered and I was dissapointed that the speaker who does a large amount of writing on the subject took the easy way out. That being said it was fun to learn more about the Hollywood Librarian the Huanted Love video, the t-shirt (that if anyone if looking for a way to become my new bff this would be is) It was a nice break for a little brain candy in a long conference day.

Night:

So last night I braved the librarian world on my own. Tonight I took Emma with me. We went for a fantastic early birthday dinner (for Emma) at Rioja for an amazing meal. (we also ended up sitting next to my Private Equity instructor) The coconut angel food cake will live in my palate memory forever. Emma took me as her 'date' to the FreePint party. She had written an amazing article for them and became a minor library celebrity for a week in Vancouver. With her by my side she pushed her editor into beleving I have any skills at all. It would be nice to add to my selection of published articles.

From there we took in the Information Technology Division Gold-Digger's Ball. And Oh-My-Goodness. I've never seen such a large group of boozy-dancing-singing-you-name-in-librarian all in one place. (yes, Brian I got pictures) The women who did the fish at the TO conference was there and turns out she wasn't blowing off steam, she's just a really crazy dancer. We stealed ourselves with a drink and dived into the dance floor for a little Dancing Queen. As Emma put it 'I pity the man who can resist Abba'

If you can correctly identify this man in the gray suit dancing, not only will you be forever cool in my books but I will send you a "Reading is Sexy" Button.

And they said it couldn't be done...

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Tue, 05 Jun 2007 06:19:00 +0000

Four parties one night.

Canadian Reception
Thomson Dialog
Lexis Nexis
Elsvier

Plus an invite to the become the next Western Canada SLA Chapter President.

Another day another SLA

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Mon, 04 Jun 2007 04:22:00 +0000

Today was day two of the Continuing Education sessions. I had Back to Basics Business Research which was good but perhaps a little too back to basics. It's always good to remember the basic tracks of research but I found it a little to basic for my needs. I did however get a lot of planning done for my library during the session.

The afternoon was spent in Private Equity Research : Tools of the Trade, I'm not sure which was more distrubing that I attended such a course or that I found it really interesting. I now know more about private venture research sources, investor directories, benchmark providers then I ever really needed to. I also discovered where all the guybrarians have been hiding all this time!

Tonight was the opening sessions which meant Al Gore himself. He was humurous and engaging but I found his speech lacked direction. He spent a the first half talking about information and how important it is in this new economy to work with us. He made some comment about how in this new era of information that we need librarians even more and I was sorta like duh, we know. He moved into environment and that is obviously his passion. He spoke dynamically and with great conviction. He had a few great quotes, one that I thought would be perfect for CTAPP it was something like 'when you want to go quickly go alone, if you want to go farther go together' All in all it was a fantastic day. Ending with the Awesome Blossom with Emma

Mile High City...

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Sun, 03 Jun 2007 04:22:00 +0000

So it took me until this afternoon to figure out why "The Mile High City" seemed dirty to me. It's been a long spring!

SLA in Denver
Yesterday I got in around noon and immediately set out about the town. It was strange just how instantly at home I felt in Denver. It's an awful lot like Calgary. The streets are clean, the people are friendly, there are giant mountains to the west. I discovered Forver 21 and thought I died and went to heaven.

Today I attended my first session on Proving ROI in special libraries. It was fantastic. I learned a tonne, the group dynamic was interesting and some of the discussions that got going were really interesting. I got several really cool ideas out of it that I'm looking forward to applying in my library.

This afternoon I set out on my visitors tour of Denver. Highlight include
National Mint
Molly Brown (the unsinkable one) House
The Denver Public Library
The Denver Art Museum
State Capital
Civic Centre
The Tattered Cover

Also there was this MASSIVE Festival going on at the Civic Centre. It was like if you combined the every summer festival Calgary has in one. It was HUGE and lots of fun to people watch.

Tonight I had dinner with Em and got totally caught up on her love life over dinner and drinks. I also showed her Forever 21, she was coveting my green jacket over dinner!

Tomorrow I've got sessions all day (booo) But I get to see Al Gore tomorrow night (yeaaa)

I've got a million pictures but I thought you would all rest easy to see that I have a better view this time.

Oh and today was a good day because I did my first run outside off the treadmill and ran for over 45 min! Yazzah for me

Summer plans

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Fri, 01 Jun 2007 02:07:00 +0000

1. Indie-out for all four nights of Sled Island Festival.
2. Folk-out to Rufus at the Folk Fest.
3. Pop-out to Gwen Stefani with Sir Thomas.
4. Visit my Aunt Julie and my brand new cousin Finola in Seattle.
5. Cycle to Canmore.
6. Cycle to the Millarville Farmer's Market.
7. Take a weekend away to train for The Apple.
8. Sunday rides with CTAPP.
9. Weekly rides with my team.
10. Successfully negotiate my pay raise.
11. Develop the tax training wiki.
12. Find the perfect pair of espadrilles.
13. Paint my dining room wall the perfect shade of red.

Today I am happy because...

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Thu, 31 May 2007 16:55:00 +0000

1. Today is my Friday as tomorrow I will be in Denver for Librarians Gone Wild (AKA SLA conference)
2. I have my bike fit at lunch.
3. A single from the upcoming New Pornographers album was dropped and it's awesome.
4. For the first time since the GT I woke up without pain in my knee.

It's business time

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Wed, 30 May 2007 18:42:00 +0000

'cause it's Wednesday

You asked...

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Wed, 30 May 2007 16:21:00 +0000

So Courtney a Sprint Distance Triathlon consists of a 750m swim, 20km bike and a 5km run.

I decided to do this as oppose to a Try-a-Tri (which for this race is a 300m swim, 15km bike and 3km run) mostly because I feel like I could probably go out an do this race next weekend and for some reason I'm all about the physical challenges right now. That and I figured that since there is really no chance at my having boyfriend this summer I would rather focus on something that is actually attainable and doesn't confuse me. I'd rather live world that I understand with tangible objectives, and scheduled transition areas. That and I really like the outfits Wetsuits are so hot right now.

Bring it on...

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Tue, 29 May 2007 22:51:00 +0000

Take a scroll down the list in around the w's

not that painful...

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Mon, 28 May 2007 19:42:00 +0000

So I went to the gym today to see if I could run. I was fairly confident in my level of fitness that I could actually run but for how long and how far? and then swim and bike on top of that?

I ran 1.91 miles around 3km in 20 minutes. There was a little walk/run/walk/running in there because books tell me that I should but it feels really cool that I could actually do it.

Sprint distance doesn't seem that out of reach... We'll see how the swimming goes on Thursday.

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Mon, 28 May 2007 00:03:00 +0000

I loved today's ride. It's getting really exciting that I'm actually getting stronger at this. I'm enjoying that whole health kick so much that I'm very close to signing up for a Beginner's Triathlon. I just can't decide between the try-the-tri and the sprint distance. I know it's weird, but I can't wait to get into the pool tomorrow and start training for it!

And now if you are so inclined check out today's ride update over on Adventures to Austin.

Also if you were bad this weekend forget church and simply sit and click at I'vescrewedup.com

Who's says business travel isn't glamorous!

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Fri, 25 May 2007 01:21:00 +0000

My view from my fancy-smancy hotel room

I call down to room service and order ice for my poor knees, a man in a fancy uniform delivers it. Why can't this happen at home.

I love the big fancy bed but I can't wait to sleep in my own tomorrow night.

Oh and it was 32 here in Toronto today. Sorry about the snow Calgary.

Why isn't my job that cool...

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Thu, 24 May 2007 13:33:00 +0000

Toronto...

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Wed, 23 May 2007 02:08:00 +0000

My month away continues...

Today after my crazy weekend climbing mountain passes and sleeping in tents, I woke up at 5:30 to catch a flight to Toronto. Lesson of the day: When your knees are inflamed don't attempt a four hour flight. You will have problems standing up.

I'm spending the week shadowing the National Tax Library so I might actually have a clue what it is I'm suppose to be doing. I get to stay at the King Edward which make me feel all fancy like. Until I checked out my 'view' I'll post a picture later. The bed is SUPER comfy though. Especially compaired to the 5 star Las Lesta in Radium and the tent in Golden. And I just had to order ice from room service, apparently we are too fancy here for an ice machine. They are going to get to know me really well over the next week!

I'm hoping to find a pair of espadrilles for the summer. I've decided to change my view on wedge heels when they are casual shoes. I'm standing firm on Croc's though. I don't care that everyone on my bike team has a pair! I won't do it! I won't!

You want pictures?

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Tue, 22 May 2007 22:13:00 +0000

See my Long Weekend Photo post over at the training site!

323.06 km

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Thu, 17 May 2007 19:48:00 +0000

Golden Triangle, over 300km and three mountain passes. So far the weather is looking like it's going to be alright (she says simultaneously knocking on wood)

Now if only I could figure out how to get a bocce set in my bag...

Nothing says rock star quite like a mirrored suit

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Mon, 14 May 2007 05:18:00 +0000

I just got home from seeing Chris Isaak, a few thousand screaming post-menopausal women and a whole shwack of rock-a-billy bouffant men and me. So you know minus the menopausal women it would have been my idea of man-candy heaven. There was screaming and posters I almost thought I was at a JT concert but. Chris Isaak put on an amazing show. It's pretty impressive that after over 20 years of preforming his voice still has that range. I've had a long standing crush on Chris Isaak and tonight just solidified it further. Though I did blush at several of those pelvic thrusts. But any man that can pull off a bright pink suit and a mirrored suit it a-OK in my books.

They played a lot of old stuff, Forever Blue, Speak of the Devil, Baby Did a Bad, Bad Thing, are just a few. They sat down and played a fun acoustic set. It was very much like his show, lots of canned jokes, and ba-dum-bum drum rolls. You can tell that these guys have played together forever it was all very smooth and not rehearsed but still very staged. A truly fantastic evening.

So Rock Star

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Fri, 11 May 2007 15:17:00 +0000

Nothing says fistacuffs like the Boston Pops and Ben Folds.

I do not enjoy

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Wed, 09 May 2007 16:11:00 +0000

So lots going on.

I've been training hard for the Golden Triangle though I'm still convinced I'm going to have my butt kicked by a group of seniors up the mountain passes. I'm having a hard time trying to figure out what to wear and what to bring, how to stay warm. I wandered around in MEC for over an hour last night trying to figure out what I needed, until I finally went home exhausted and bleary-eyed and I didn't buy a thing.

I bought a new to me car. It's a standard. I know what you're thinking, but qt you don't know how to drive a standard? As was proven this weekend while trying to run errands. Two things I learned this weekend...
1. Calgary drivers are not very patience
2. There are a lot of hills in Calgary
People keep telling me that it will be fun, that I'll get use to it. Right now I'm a little afraid of my car.

Sunday while biking to the farmer's market I told myself that I use to great freaked out biking with clips and I overcame that. So it's silly to be freaked out by a clutch. Then I fell in my clips twice in 20 min.

I've got yet another blind date this weekend. Since I'm guessing I'm getting the brush off from the last one and between the clutch and the clips, my confidence this week is shaky at best.

For your entertainment I give you the best news headline ever Angry giraffe teaches drunk students a lesson.

Happy 50th Mom!

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Mon, 07 May 2007 05:16:00 +0000

A little over two years ago we didn't know if Mom would make it another 6 months. Yesterday we surprised her with a birthday party. I can't imagine my life without her in it. I'm so happy to have her here.

Happy Birthday Mom!

Pants!

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Fri, 04 May 2007 15:16:00 +0000

I am happy to say that I am complying (sorta) with No Pants Day! Are you?

Tonight I'm off to see Civic Duty. Peter Krause and Richard Schiff? Aaron Sorkin has to be involved in this somehow.

Saturday I get to pick up Betty at Cyclepath. She's been in the shop for three days now and my apartment has been very lonely without her.

Try to say pants as much as possible this weekend.

time to break in the new car...

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Tue, 01 May 2007 22:02:00 +0000

How did I not know about this until today? Can we say road trip...

Kickboxing sport of the future

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Mon, 30 Apr 2007 00:36:00 +0000

This weekend involved a lot of riding, a little napping and some serious cooking.

I was too tired to go for beer on Friday night, but on my walk home I was inspired to bike over 40km. Then have beer.

Saturday I bumped into more random people at MEC. Somehow MEC is becoming my new hangout, it's what The Ship patio was for me last summer. Then I spent the afternoon at my neighbour's house cooking up some serious Indian treats.

I learned the trick to dairy free butter chicken is almonds, shhh. She had a dinner party to help enjoy the fruits of our labour. It was very hard to decline the fourth glass of wine and go home and get a proper nights sleep.

Because today was my second team ride and it totally rocked on last week's ride. I kept pace with the fast crew didn't get a flat. Plus the tailwind on the way back was pretty sweet. (Yes, I now live in a world where I discuss tailwind, cadence, and have animated conversations about pace lines)

Now there is homemade biscotti and Fashion Television, did they just say reverse thong?

One small step for cool

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Fri, 27 Apr 2007 16:24:00 +0000

How did I not know anything about this until today? The Sled Island Festival with artists like, Spoon, Cat Power, The Walkmen, Les Savy Fav, The dears, & Light City Fiction.

Just what I need something else to keep me busy in June.

All the way to eleven

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Thu, 26 Apr 2007 02:33:00 +0000

See even Nigel Tufnel is down with Mother Earth

Just past the 13 hours in the office mark, I remember my house, it's yellow right? There is a comfortable couch and ohhh a bed, yes I remember a bed, and somewhere near by there is pj's, clothing that doesn't involve structure. With only 10 more hours until I'll be back here I'm out like high waisted jeans. crap