This week, I'm attending the annual Kansas Library Conference. This year, it's a joint conference in Wichita with the Mountain Plains Library Association. It's a pretty big conference, and it's been a good one.
I've got a fantastic hotel room, nice pillows, and bed. A tub that's long enough for me to stretch out in, and good speakers. It's probably the best conference I've been to in a very long time. Librarians are interesting people to go to a conference with. Most of the interesting things don't come out in the sessions, but come out in the evening. Lots of parties. Lots of alcohol consumed. Of course I don't do any of that kind of thing...
On Wednesday night, I went to supper with 5 colleagues and one of my software company representatives. It was fabulous. We ate in the hotel restaurant, which has recently gone to a menu where they only serve locally produced foods. We had a cheese platter of local cheeses from Yoder, an Amish community near here. Farmers cheese, sharp Cheddar, and a smoked horseradish cheese served with a peach chutney. Wonderful. I had a steak which was nice and tender, and we had cornbread. Fabulous fabulous cornbread topped with a chive butter. It just melted in my mouth. We topped our meal off with a chocolate bread pudding which was really good too! And, all was served with wine. A nice red wine and a wonderful white wine.
I preferred the white. In fact, I had about 4 glasses of wine. By 10 p.m., when we all stumbled off to bed...I was feeling that wine. I'm not a wine connoisseur. I'm just a country girl who never had wine until I went to college, and then seldom had any wine of quality. So wine is a mystery to me. But I sure liked that white wine! (I think it was from Australia.)
Last night, we 2 year college librarians went to supper at a Latin restaurant. I had fish tacos and a chocolate Tres Leches cake. That cake was to die for! O my, it was so rich and creamy. No wine, I settled for a Mojito, and just one. Two nights of spectacular food, rich food. Food that I won't get at home. It was fun trying new things. The converstaion was good too.
Most of we 2 year librarians have been around for 10-20 years, so we meet up every year and visit and share our problems, and our success stories. We need that--we need someone to understand what we're going through. We need to bounce things off each other. Because, after all, who can relate to problems in a library better than another librarian?
I'm an anomaly among librarians...I'm a country girl at heart. I garden and can most of my food, I hunt and shoot. I have yet to meet a librarian who is as redneck-y as I am...especially an academic librarian. Most of the folks I had supper with last night live in large urban areas. They drink lots of wine, a wide variety of wine. Most are "urban-ites," and have no interest in rural things. Those who do live in smaller communities struggle with the "lack of culture." Me, I'm more uncomfortable in their world!
For example. I've never flown anywhere. I've never gone to a major conference--a national conference. Do I want to? I don't know. I'd like to, but...not alone. And, big cities make me nervous. I'm a fish out of water, and I know it. I'd like to go, and I'd probably figure things out, and make it fine, but I really would prefer to travel to a major conference in a major metropolitan area with someone who's done it before.
So...today is my last day at the conference. I should get home tonight around 5. I know I'm going to get back to my normal life in a few hours. I'll be glad to get there. Tomorrow, Miss Kat is getting an award from the local DAR for a poster she drew. It's Prom for Andy. Tonight, I'll go back to just being Mom and wife...
But for the rest of the day...I'm one of those crazy librarians at the conference.
No comments:
Post a Comment