New Job for Rebecca

After the lengthy, somewhat frustrating, process of applying for a job with a government entity, I was hired to a new position at Allen Public Library where I currently work as a page, no pun intended. Starting December 4th I will be a Library Specialist, Adult Services. My work hours will increase from 19 to 30 hours per work and I will also get a raise in my hourly wage, but more importantly I will be learning lots of new job skills.

The new job includes manning the information desk, answering phones, helping patrons with online catalog, placing holds and transfers for books, monitoring self check-out machines, reader's advisory for patrons, book displays, scheduling and maintaining display cases and bulletin boards, working with teen volunteers, assisting with teen programs, maintaining CDs, DVDs, VHSs, new books and audio books, opening and closing library entrances, preparing withdrawn books for sale or disposal, and more.

I'm excited and nervous. I'm familiar with the book and media collections at the library, but I have loads to learn about everything else.

Fall Fun

Cool weather has finally reached North Texas. The leaves on our sweet gum tree might actually show their fall colors (if there are any left after today's 50-mph winds).

Rick and I got to see our first cattle auction ever at the Texas State Fair in Dallas. We also saw card stacker Bryan Berg, who recreated downtown Dallas with 135,000 playing cards; a Marilyn Monroe exhibit complete with a life-size butter sculpture of her famous subway grate scene from the movie "The Seven-Year Itch"; Chinese acrobats; and large-gauge model trains and a butterfly garden at Texas Discovery Gardens.

Shakespeare Dallas added a fall production to their Shakespeare in the Park series, and we saw "Much Ado About Nothing" with our friends Susan and Gale Swanson. It was a fun take with modern day costuming and scenery mixed with the original language of the bard.

Michael and Meghan came for a weekend in October to visit and to finalize plans for their June 16th wedding. Rick had just finished putting our home movies onto DVDs and we had a great time watching them together.

Sarah also drove up for a weekend visit from Texas A&M where schoolwork keeps her very busy and a little homesick. She enjoys singing in the choir at church and even gets to play a little piano :) .

The first Friday in November we attended Dance Fusion, a modern dance concert at Collin County Community College. The music and dancing ran the gamut from light and playful to dark and creepy, but all were fun to watch or to critique afterward.