Monday, April 30, 2007

archive: 30 april 2007: interview

quick post!

I have my interview today! Wish me luck! Especially think good thoughts for me between 9-10 a.m. when I talk with the search committee and between 3-3:30 p.m. when I give my presentation. I created a powerpoint tonight with OpenOffice.Org, and I hope that it will work fine tomorrow.

Happy Day!
I also leave for Harrogate, TN, sometime around 4:30 or 5. I am staying in a B&B there, so I have to get there relatively early. It'll probably be 7 when I get there.

Ok, gotta get some shut eye!!!

archive: 30 april 2007: post-interview

I think it went quite well, and I am definitely glad it is over-with. I am looking forward to hearing from them when they finish interviewing other applicants. I feel good about it now that I have had some time to feel relieved and relaxed. I learned a lot about the new changes and up-coming possibilities in the department, and they're all exciting ones! I am excited for the department, and if I happen to be a part of these new changes I would feel honored to have contributed. :) In any case, WOW!

Well, I have to get some sleep tonight. I work at Lincoln Memorial University in the morning. I'll be here for three days because LMU has a ton of stuff. Excitement!

later friends!

Friday, April 20, 2007

archive: 20 april 2007: madness in the air

I just read my daily horoscope and it says this:
"Your reliability helps you realize your work and love goals, especially when you're trying to form long-term plans. Your efforts now will pay off with unexpected dividends very soon."

Interesting... I just received an email from S.W. saying that he had something unexpected earlier this week and he was not able to call me. I do hope he's allright. I am leaving out the details here. Anyway, so he asked a couple things in the email, one of which was salary and if that range suited me fine. It does. And he was asking if and how we'd schedule a face-to-face interview. So... I scrutinized my schedule and decided that Union College can go last. Yeah. I am supposed to visit them on April 30th and it is the closest college on my itinerary to Berea, and completely possible for me to stay that Monday. So I sent an email asking SW if that Monday will work well for him. I also sent an email to Union saying I need to reschedule my visit with them. Maybe I should have waited for a response from SW though... But I am confident it should work out. *crosses fingers* Any other day won't work! Most of May I am in North Carolina and West Virginia. Far far far away from Berea.....

*crosses fingers*

I am going back to the hotel for a little bit to change shirts, and then I am going to go find something outdoorsy to do. Both batteries on my cameras are running low though... Maybe not many pictures. hrm. Saturday should be half-filled with fun, and I will also spend some of Saturday driving to Greeneville, TN. I am staying there Saturday night through Tuesday night, and then I am staying in Mars Hill, NC, Wednesday night through Friday night.

Have a good Friday!

Wednesday, April 18, 2007

archive: 18 april 2007: sewanee and mixed cd fun

I love this campus! Mom told me that it was beautiful here. She visited Sewanee once in the '60s with a friend who was visiting a friend who was in the seminary here. But wow... the buildings make me think of England (and I have been there) and the students are nice, and the staff I have met are friendly. I like this place, at least in the same way I was initially (and still) impressed with Berea. I have not seen the town of Sewanee yet, though. I have only been on campus and to the campus coffeehouse, which is where I am at now.

Here's some photos. This afternoon it was windy and overcast, threatening to start raining at any minute. Tomorrow, I hope, will be sunnier. Also, soon, I hope to go visit the Sewanee Natural Bridge. Or maybe some tomorrow afternoon.

Whoever this guy is who is at the counter has the PERFECT mixed CD in the stereo. It is a mix of 80s and 90s music, but it is great. I love this song... "What is Love?" *sigh* Is that the song that is playing on MY So-Called Life when Ricki and Delilah are dancing, having a good time, and Angela and Brian are sitting up in the stands bored with themselves and disappointed, but for once two friends (R and D) are having a good time after all the shit they had been through. HAHA! M.C.Hammer now, "Can't Touch This." I'm tellin ya, this is cool. Ok. I am asking about it. haha. It is the other barista. ok... Back to work.

Sunday, April 15, 2007

archive: 15 april 2007: creepy place

Honestly, the downtown area of this town gives me the creeps. I was thinking of not going there again, but... I didn't get a good picture of the statue or of the courthouse.

I am in Dayton, Tennessee. If you're up on your history you'd know this was the town where the Scopes Trial took place. Still don't know what I am talking about? From July 10-21, 1925, a high school teacher, John Thomas Scopes, was tried for teaching about evolution in a classroom setting, which apparently violated a recent state law prohibiting it. Scopes had three lawyers defending him, one of which being Clarence Darrow. The prosecutor was William Jennings Bryan. Yeah. Bryan. And the college here is named Bryan College. So yeah, the campus kinda gets under my skin, too, but I gotta go back.

/begin soapbox
I don't believe we just popped out of no where onto this earth. It makes sense, to me, that we evolved from our closest animal cousin. Especially after hearing Kenneth Miller speak at Berea College in July about the chimpanzee and human genomes. THAT explanation right there was what set it in stone for me. It still doesn't say that there is or isn't a God/god, but it does say things make more sense. A loophole, in my opinion, has been filled. If there is a God, then God is grander that just making us humans just show up on earth. God planned the evolution of creatures on the earth from the very beginning of the earth's creation. The way animals, and subsequently humans, would evolve as they are today as the earth changed climates and environments over billions of years. And who's to say we're not evolving anymore? With all this advancement into technology, maybe we're supposed to move forward with that in some manner...
/exit soapbox

Anyway, as I was driving around downtown I saw this HUGE Republican Party building with red, white, and blue and elephants and etc etc. I drove on to park, walked down to the "Dayton Coffee Shop" but it was packed with elderly folks who just got out of church (lots of Baptist churches here) so I decided not to stick around with my long-in-the-front and SHORT-in-the-back haircut and jeans on Sunday (omg, a sin to wear jeans on SUNDAY!) and got back in my car. agh. This place gives me the creepies.

BUT, I have to say there is an excellent pizzeria here. Joe and Vinny's. I ordered a calzone and had my choice of four toppings to have it stuffed with: fresh mushrooms, tomatoes, spinach, and pesto. OMG. Mouth watering! I am going back tomorrow!

I hope the weather is warmer tomorrow, but I doubt it. Drier, but still very windy. I drive to Athens, TN, tomorrow afternoon.

Tuesday, April 10, 2007

archive: 10 april 2007: pictures of LWC

I have got to get on the road to my hotel (which doesn't have internet access, I believe), which is closer to the University of the Cumberlands (Williamsburg, KY) than it is to Lindsey Wilson College (Columbia, KY), but I managed to upload these pictures to my Flickr album and thought I would share the pics I took this evening of LWC campus.

Be sure to come back often to this Flickr Collections page, because new albums of pictures will arrive as I have internet access.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/blueathena7/collections/72157600062615655/

archive: 14 april 2007: update and misc thinking

"You're a generous person, and like all genuinely magnanimous people, you love to do things for others without their knowing about your good deeds. The stars say that we need more people like you around."

This is my daily horoscope today. Interesting... and true. And funny concerning something I was only thinking about doing a few minutes ago. hahaha

Also, a friend on facebook, Harold, has a quote from an article's author (Fatima Raja) I really like: "we are not true believers until we want for our brothers and sisters what we want for ourselves."

It is Saturday and I am in Sweetwater, Tennessee. It is kinda boring here. I watched two movies on the TV last night, finally found some Hornsby's, and drank two of them before going to sleep. I got an email from the librarian I am supposed to visit on Monday at Bryan College canceling my visit and the college's participation in the inventory; the library is going to join the "Volunteer Voices" project. I am not going to argue, but it wouldn't hurt to have these things documented with the ACA. *sigh* Oh well.

Today I am going to browse around at TN's largest flea market, right here next to my hotel. Tomorrow I think I will go to the Lost Sea before heading down to Dayton, TN, to my booked hotel there even though I am not visiting Bryan College. I guess I could go to Athens, TN, one night earlier.... hmm...

Also, on Thursday afternoon (April 19th) I will have a "talking points" sort of interview on the phone for the archivist position. Then we'll probably do a good bit of discussion by email because of my work schedule right now. May not actually get to have a face-to-face interview, or not be able to have one until the last week of May. So I need to do some thinking about what might be asked and what I think about those topics, what I would do, what I would hope, etc.

It is odd to feel hopeful and hopeless at the same time about interviewing for the position. I feel like others would be more qualified, surely, but I am willing to learn if given the chance and opportunities.

I need to start applying elsewhere now, too. It is a little early though, for positions starting in August. But it can't hurt.

I need to get out of this hotel room for a while.

ALSO.... the nights in hotel rooms are half enjoyable and half VERY lonely, as I miss my barista friends at Ground Effects, the people I see at ACA, the folks I run into around town, people I know at Berea Coffee & Tea, etc. Even those same people I don't even know their name at Walmart late at night. heh. The weekends will be the loneliest.

But having the ACA card to pay for my meals and hotels and gas on the car... that actually helps me in my personal financial state right now. Everything in my personal finances will get set straight by May, I believe.

Much love and peace -
Laura

Also... photos of Lindsey Wilson College, Maryville College, and Hiwassee College are here:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/blueathena7/collections/72157600062615655/

I may still go on the Bryan College campus and take campus photos like this for the ACA Annual Report. I might also take some more pics on the Hiwassee campus this afternoon. Not sure. The other ones I have do not have any students in them and there might be some today because there's a small conference on campus today.

And I found a coffee shop in town that actually has an espresso machine and not those gas station push-button cappuccino "so-called" coffee drinks. :)

By the way, MARY OLIVER is wonderful.

Monday, April 9, 2007

archives: 9 april 2007: I'm gone

Tuesday morning I will drive down to Columbia, KY, to Lindsey Wilson College for the first archives/special collections visit of my itinerary. Be sure to look at my blog here on myspace or on my websites (www.poetess77.com or www.lauraheller.com) for the list of places and for updates while I am out and about. :)

Take care, write to me by email, text/call me by phone in the evenings, and or leave comments on my profile. Most hotels I am staying in have wireless / hi-speed internet.

Later folks!

Monday, April 2, 2007

archive: 2 april 2007: a letter of update

Hello friends (those interested in knowing what's going on in my life... hehe!)

As some of you may not know, I am applying for a permanent Archivist position here in Berea. I haven't had an interview yet, and all I have heard back from them is that they received my application and materials. I don't know if they have started interviewing yet; I don't want to be a pest and ask. But I am waiting patiently to find out. I've got my fingers crossed.

I, along with two other scholars (am I a scholar? Nah, just someone interested in history), were presenters on a panel about the Council of the Southern Mountains at the Appalachian Studies Conference last weekend. Shannon was the convener for the panel. It went better than I expected and I don't know why I was so nervous. But I am glad it is over with and that it was a great experience. I guess I was just worried they would "judge" me for the job position, since some of them are on that job review committee.

I wanted to share with you that the Andrew Mellon Foundation did fund the project! In April I will begin traveling to 28 of the 36 Appalachian College Association (ACA) member colleges to look at the colleges' special collections and archives collections. I am creating a overall inventory of these collections for ACA, because future plans is to continue sending funding proposals for projects to preserve these collections (both processed and unprocessed) at ACA colleges.

I am excited about the traveling, although it will be tiring! I will be gone from Berea April 10th through April 27th, only to come home for a weekend before going back on the road April 29th through May 26th. Then I will be home for graduation (I have student friends graduating!) and a week of in-office work before hitting the road for another two weeks before completing the travel part of the project. Latter half of June and most of July I will work on compiling the information I gathered for a final report. Then I will be done!

Anyway, I'll wrap this up now. But one other thing, if it interests you: At Ground Effects coffee shop I will have 7 mixed media collages on display for the month of April. I am putting 6 of them up on Sunday and the 7th one will go up during the week. If you like coffee, tea, cheesecake, or pastries, be sure to stop by and take a look at the art next week. There will be three other artists' work on the walls too. My collages will have a theme of the 7 chakras.

All right! Have a wonderful day!
In peace and love,
Laura

Summary of Dates Laura will be in Berea:
March 29 – April 9: Berea
April 10 – 27: On the road
April 28 – 29: Berea
April 29 – May 26: On the road
May 27 – June 2: Berea
June 3 – 9: On the road
June 10 – July 31: Berea

Fun Links:
Pictures on Flickr!
http://www.flickr.com/photos/blueathena7/sets/
I went to Washington, DC, for the Peace March. First time I ever did anything like that. It was fun and I met two women I already knew (online only) and they were great fun.

Videos!
http://www.youtube.com/profile_videos?user=blueathena
Videos: (1) the making of the chakra collages, (2) videos from the Washington, DC, March, (3) And other random and fun stuff.

Blog!
http://www.poetess77.com/blog/blog.html
And, of course, don't forget my blog where you can find much of the above stuff linked (if I remember to post it there!)

Laura Anne Heller
http://www.poetess77.com
http://www.lauraheller.com
lauraheller@poetess77.com

Where and when....

4/10: Lindsey Wilson College, Columbia, KY
4/11: U of Cumberlands, Williamsburg, KY
4/12: Maryville College, Maryville/Knoxville, TN
4/13: Hiwassee College, Madisonville, TN
4/16: Bryan College, Dayton, TN
4/17: TN Wesleyan College, Athens, TN
4/18-19: U of the South, Sewanee, TN
4/20: Carson-Newman College, Jefferson City, TN
4/23-25: Tusculum College, Greeneville, TN
4/26-27: Mars Hill College, Mars Hill, NC
Break in Berea: 4/28 – 4/29
4/30: Union College, Barbourville, KY
5/1-3: Lincoln-Memorial University, Harrogate, TN
5/4: Milligan, Milligan, TN
5/7: Brevard College, Brevard, NC
5/8: Warren-Wilson College, Asheville, NC
5/9: Lenoir-Rhyne College, Hickory, NC
5/10: Lees-McRae College, Banner Elk, NC
5/11: King College, Bristol, TN
5/14: VA Intermont College, Bristol, VA
5/15: Emory & Henry College, Emory, VA
5/16-18: Ferrum College, Ferrum, VA
5/21: Alice Lloyd College, Pippa Passes, KY
5/22: U of Charleston, Charleston, WV
5/23-25: Bethany College, Bethany, WV
Break in Berea: 5/26 – 6/3
6/4: WV Wesleyan College, Buckhannon, WV
6/5-7: Davis & Elkins College, Elkins, WV
6/8: Pikeville College, Pikeville, KY
6/11-13: Berea College, Berea, KY
Then work on compiling the data all of June and July in Berea.
Finish archiving the ACA Archives and writing a records retention plan in June and July also.
I don't know what happens in August....

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In other news... I am stumped.