Oh, By the Way...

 Did I mention I got a job as an archivist?  I didn’t?  Oh.  Well, as of March 5, I have been employed as a temporary, part-time manuscripts processor at a local university.  Yesterday, I got my first paycheck from that gig, and it felt pretty darn sweet, maybe more so because my spirits had been flagging as of late.  

 You see, as the holidays approached in 2011, I decided to shelve my efforts to actively hunt for a job as a librarian or an archivist.  I graduated in 2009, and both the economic climate and my lack of experience left me treading water, unsuccessfully sending out resume after resume.  I wanted to face the New Year rested and my mind free of rejection. 

 Thanksgiving passed, and I had successfully eliminated the anxiety of what I was beginning to feel as wasting my time.  Instead, I stayed busy setting personal goals, spending time with my family, and indulging in too many sweets.  My mind was clear, even of plans to restart the search in 2012.  So, when an email came my way at the end of December from the university archivist where I interned two years before asking me if I was interested in an opportunity to process a collection, it was a complete surprise.  However, it took no thought to reply, “Well, yeah.”

We met a week or two later to go over the collection, the identity of which I guessed by reviewing their News and Announcements section on their website that discussed recent acquisitions.  After she showed me the extent of the collection, pointed out that processing had already begun with the previous intermittent archivist, and indicated that funding was not yet guaranteed, she asked if I still wanted the job.  No, my mind had not changed.

            

 I left the university very excited and anxious to start.  Unfortunately, it literally took weeks to get an answer on funding, which dimmed that excitement and had thoughts of funding falling through plaguing my days.  Finally, I got the confirmation that I could start filling out the employment paperwork.  I didn’t waste any time crossing my “T’s” and dotting my “I’s”, and within a few days I was on campus picking up my ID badge.  When I went into the office to do so, the young man behind the counter asked if I was student or faculty.  Of course, I said, “Faculty.”  Favorite answer ever.

             

The next few posts will discuss the work (in oblique terms since I don’t want to deal in specifics here) and what I’ve learned both about the profession and myself as an archivist.  Seriously, colleagues (I have colleagues!) have called me an archivist.  That’s pretty awesome.

Drop. Your. Sword.

March has become an anomaly this year in NW Ohio.  We are still technically in winter, but for the past week and predicted for this week are 70+ temps and sunny skies.  Not that I'm complaining.  In fact, far from complaining, I had a really nice day today and felt good and energetic, kind of like I feel at spring's renewal.  It was the kind of day that made me pause in what I was doing and acknowledge out loud how awesome it was.  Good music in the background, fresh air through the open windows, and good book in hand.  What more can one ask?

To top it off, a little rendition of, "Mawage is what bwings us togever today," spoken aloud by yours truly while I was cleaning the bathroom instantly put in me the mood for The Princess Bride, and so I popped it in.  I haven't watched it in years, but I was instantly pulled back in to the fantasy and humor and anticipating lines before they were ever spoken.  I love that I still love this movie.  I know that tastes change over the years, but there are just some things that never budge from one's heart.  I remember the mileage I put on the old VHS I borrowed from a friend when I was young.  I think I watched it ten times or more and it might have been a year before I returned it.  When I got my first DVD player, this was one of the first DVDs I bought, and for good reason.  Cary Elwes is full of charm (and still is, in case you haven't seen his turn as Pierre Despereaux in Psych), much as the movie is.  As Westley and Buttercup run through the fire swamp, I thought how in this generation of remakes, I'd hate to see The Princess Bride get an upgrade, because there is no need.  Even the practical effects that are pure 80's camp of the ROUS's (Rodents of Unusual Size for those of you who are not in the know) seem just right.  And no one can replace Andre the Giant.  No one.  It wouldn't be sportsmanlike. 

So, today was a good day, what with storming the castle and all.  Most of my days past have been good since my last post two months ago (or has it been longer?).  2012 has thus far turned out to be pretty decent.  I guess I'm doing something right. 

It's past 9 pm, the windows are still open, 80's pop is playing on the TV and my cat is snugged up against me without a care in the world.  No, I really have nothing to complain about.  Hell, with Kool & the Gang's "Ladies Night" jamming through the apartment, complaining would be, well, inconceivable.