Apparently there is a major marketing scheme afoot to bring back the Beatles in a big way and 09/09/09 is the special day for that purpose. In yesterday’s Sunday newspaper advertisement inserts, all the big box stores were heralding a new video game, “The Beatles Rock Band.”

UPDATE ON THE NEW ACQWEB – CHECK IT OUT AT: www.acqweb.org

Dear colleagues across the spectrum of Library land and beyond:

It’s finally time to announce that a new AcqWeb has finally been planted and the seed is rapidly growing.

In no particular order:

I have a fantastic crop of basil here in Greenville. If I were in Boone now any basil I would have attempted to grow would be stunted and possibly mildewed. It has been a cool, wet summer in the mountains. Of course, on the days here when it's been 103 I really did miss Boone.

My last blog entry was probably the craziest thing I ever posted online and after reading it to my best friend Marcie (who does not do computers, not to mention Facebook) she told me to pull it. I'm not deleting it but I did edit it. I don't do that very often because it feels like cheating. I didn't mean to hurt anyone's feelings or sound like a jaded old woman - but I think that's exactly what it conveyed.

I need to take my own advice and relax.

In the last month or so I have been quietly freaking out over the fact the vast population of Facebook has been joined by a number of significant ghosts from my past. I have bravely accepted the fact that pretty much everyone I have ever known is joining Facebook. For example - Much of my husband's extended family is now there (and I started a family reunion site for them, hopefully a positive thing) For the most part, I have no problem with this. But the fact that certain people are coming online there all within several months' time is unnerving me just a wee bit.

Tonight I looked over the last year's worth of this blog, and I am pleased to report that I am still thrilled to be here. Tomorrow is the 1 year anniversary of my job at ECU. I still marvel at the fact that we packed it all up and moved over a weekend and I started the new job the very next Monday.

I went out and bought a ridiculously expensive office chair that I have been wanting for over a year. There are some libraries that provide these chairs (or similar) to their staff. Usually if they do, they are bought with non-state funds. Aeron chairs are usually not on state contract. They can cost anywhere from over $700 to well over $1,000. I did not pay that much. Institutions that get them usually do get a bulk discount, I'm sure. So here I am (at home), sitting in my new chair. Was it worth it?

Joe and I went to the beach for the afternoon yesterday (Sunday), which seems completely surreal to me, that it's possible to do this. We're 90 minutes from Atlantic Beach and 2 hours from the Outer Banks. We took our youngest dog Zelda with us. She was very well behaved but acted like she wasn't sure why we were there. I don't think she was thrilled with the beach. I wish we could find a place where we could take all three dogs and let them run. One of the things I miss about living in Boone is being able to walk my dogs without a leash.

The State of N.C. budget gates came crashing down in mid-April, and it left us all somewhat stunned. We are actually sending books back to publishers and vendors, we've stopped the approval plan and only a very few invoices are getting paid. It's like molasses. Most database renewals are being held and thankfully the vendors are being great about it. Next fiscal year is going to be so very strange and different. The molasses condition will probably continue in many ways and we're going to be faced with a whole new way of doing things.

It’s been awhile (January) since I’ve contributed to this Blog, and Katina, my apologies for not keeping up with it. I have to admit that I’ve been blogging in my mind, but haven’t been putting my thoughts out there for others to see. I guess that is totally missing the point! Time flies when you’re having fun and when you are busy with a new job!