Misadventures of the Monster Librarian

You remember Joan Didion's epic packing list post? Because I'm a dork I inventoried what I've packed for 2.5 weeks travel in Germany and beyond: Carry-on: 1 skirt 1 pair jeans 1 pair khakis 1 pair black capris Enough underwear, bras, socks for 1 week 5 blouses 1 thin sweater Bathing suit PJs: 2 pairs shorts, 2 t-shirts Hat Bag with: shampoo, conditioner, facewash, bar of soap, face astringent, deodorant, toothpaste, toothbrush, hair brush, floss, tweezers, jewelery, prescriptions Backpack:  2 journals 5 pens Copy of Fodor's essential Europe (2014) Copy of Lonely Planet's Europe on a Shoestring (2011) 3 books Glasses Camera & charger Phone & charger 2nd pair of shoes flip flops Passport, Birth Certificate, License, Credit Cards, Cash Laptop & cord European power converters Chewing gum I only am packing for a week, as Yannick said I can do laundry at their apartment and we can probably do it at hostels along the way while w...

Was going to post while at ALA, but 1. I didn't bring my computer and 2. though I had access to my iPhone, when I wasn't conferencing I was too busy having fun. I LOVE CHICAGO. It was so nice to be back in the city, a little over a year since my last trip in. I went in prepared to feel a little overwhelmed, which I did, initially--I mean there were about 20,000+ people there!--but, I played it smart and decided to only attend speakers and sessions that were around McCormick Place, choosing to avoid hitting the outlier sessions. Even though I came with a schedule of what I wanted to see and do, I lived in the moment and switched up my schedule if I saw something that caught my eye. I also wasn't sure how much time I would spend in the Exhibitors Hall (7 hours!?) or how tired I would be each day! Things I learned at my first American Library Association Conference: Wear comfy shoes. I chose Tevas, which actually didn't look as bad as I thought they would with skirts. ...

 Cruz Bay, St. John, VI So, the Virgin Islands, one word: glorious. Well, many words. Effervescent, unconstrained, buoyant, wonderful. The worst part: 96ish degrees F everyday with high humidity. I am a jeans and tshirt kind of gal. The best parts: Spending tons of time with my besties L&K WITHOUT their kiddos for hours and hours...days in fact, this hasn't happened since their oldest Lauren was born over 9 years ago! It was like the old days; tooling around, beaches, swimming in the BEAUTIFUL ocean, eating and drinking, laughing, laughing, laughing. We had so much fun.  I shared a condo with three other girls--teacher friends of College Kim's--and that wound up being great too. The night of the wedding--since the reception ended ridiculously  early--we all met for drinks after we'd changed and hopped around to three different bars. Some of us headed to Hawksnest Bay for a late night swim in the bio-luminescent waters. It was so cool. H...