Wednesday, May 30, 2007

Week 3, Thing #5a continued - Capybaras at the zoo


IMG_2837e
Originally uploaded by A.J. Haverkamp
More on that trip to the Amsterdam zoo - I know that capybaras are considered great pests when they are introduced to the wrong places, like the Chesapeake Bay area, but they sure are sweet little guys. And they can't help where they've been introduced by humans. Marika, the person who took me on that trip to Amsterdam, and I spent a lot of time watching the capybaras and discussion how we would like to have a few for pets. Not that we'd ever actually get a capybara to keep as a pet, but we just fantasized about it. Anyway, this is part of the Maryland Libraries Learning 2.0, task #5a, so enjoy the photograph from Flickr, while I move on to the next task.

Tuesday, May 29, 2007

Week 3, Thing #5a - Amsterdam Tiger

Several years ago, a friend of mine won a contest, the prize being a trip for two to Amsterdam. Wonder of wonders, she asked me to go with her. It was a glorious trip. One of the places we visited was the Artis, Royal Zoo Amsterdam, where litte herds of goats wandered freely on the grounds, along with other wandering animals, such as various domestic birds - ducks and chickens. We visited the aquarium and then toured the usual animal exhibits. When we got to the tiger cage, we were particularly struck with how incongruous this particular tiger was, caged behind bars, when he should have been free in the forests of Asia. Anyway, we walked away and then for some reason both turned back. When we walked past the wall separating his cage from the next animal, he was crouching, poised to pounce - which he did! He actually was waiting for us to return, to lunge at us. Well, the bars of the cage saved us, of course, but we both felt keenly at once gratitude that he was on that side and we on this, as well as something of the cruelty of zoos. He was angry. He wanted to do what tigers do - hunt. And he couldn't. Maybe this image from Flickr is the same tiger. I don't know - probably not, but it brings back the memories of that day.

Friday, May 25, 2007

Week 2, Thing #4 - Some changes and upgrades

I realized that I'm supposed to be placing a blog posting for each of the 23 Things, and I've missed #1 and #2. So I will have to go back and do those. So while I'm upgrading and registering my blog with our liaisons, I've decided to play around with this a bit, adding an image of van Gogh's painting Amandelbloesem, so that you can see why I wanted to call my blogsite that title - probably the most beautiful shades of blue ever seen on one canvas, and it's even better seen in person at the Van Gogh Museum. I've added some information, just for fun, and knowing that I can make even more changes later. Hey, this is really fun!

Week 2, Thing #3 - Oh those seven or so habits!

I guess of the seven and one-half habits, the hardest for me, at least on the job, here at work, is to view problems as challenges. Problems just seem to remain problems to overcome and to withstand. Challenges, on the other hand, are more of...well, a challenge, and more fun, if that's the right word, and when challenges are faced and overcome, the outcome is probably going to be better for me first. I might feel more satisfaction at the end of it all; I might feel healthier or happier or satisfied. Problems, on the other hand, are more urgent and far-reaching in their impact.
So what do I mean by all that? Well, if a worker confronts a problem, usually it needs to be addressed quickly to keep any damage from happening, to keep the expense down that a problem might cause to the work place or the system, in short, to find an expedient way to confront the problem and make it go away or at least keep it in check.
A challenge, on the other hand, calls for a more relaxed approach, one that lets a person experiment, one that is forgiving if an approach to the issue doesn't work out just right. A challenge by its nature calls for a bit of flexibility, patience, and forgiveness if a solution does not present itself or doesn't work out.
But keep in mind that those problems that are overcome reflect well on a person's job and performance, and when we work under a pay-for-performance system, I think it's harder to shift those problems into challenges. Do we have time to experiment? Do we have the luxury of patience and forgiveness from those who see our work performance as measures of what our next pay raise will be? I'm sorry, but the bottom line is that paycheck or at least some sort of recognition from the higher-ups, and a challenge faced but with not the expected results may just mean the difference between words of praise and words of "You need to improve."
Anyway, I'm glad we have this opportunity to say, OK, this entire LL 2.0 project is a challenge, not a problem, and the "71/2 Habits of Life Long Learning" emphasized this. Off the job, I have a much more realistic approach to challenges/problems, and I think these 7.5 habits will be pretty useful on or off the job.
Now, what's the easiest habit for me? I think I'm pretty good at organizing actions - so that toolbox looks like the easiest to fill for me. I might leave out some essential "tools," simply due to my inexperience and inability to see fully what I need in order to complete a task/challenge, but eventually, I'll get it together and fill my toolbox properly with what I need to complete a learning experience.