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#163339 - 10/20/08 03:47 PM
Re: Current economy affecting you?
[Re: Dancing Dolphin]
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Registered: 01/21/07
Posts: 3675
Loc: British Columbia, Canada
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I am a librarian with my Master's in Library Science. However these days librarians design/update databases, website (their company's or library's), monitor digital news, plus may do some of the traditional stuff.
They also work in records management which is what I am doing now.
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#163357 - 10/20/08 10:23 PM
Re: Current economy affecting you?
[Re: Dancing Dolphin]
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Member
Registered: 01/16/07
Posts: 3404
Loc: USA
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I've told my husband that my ideal retirement place is one where I can walk and use public transportation, then rent a car or fly somewhere for longer trips. DD, I'm thinking on those very same lines.... I wish I was around the corner from the library and post office... working at either would be great, but I'd want to live close enough to walk. Our downtown is ALL lawyers and restaurants, along with a small (but developing) art community. I'd love to live near it, and work at the courthouse, but DH loves the country. Not that I don't. When I'm here, it's like heaven. But, getting places is a pain... !!! Orchid, what got you interested in that line of work? was it by chance, or did someone/thing steer you in that direction? or, did you happen upon it? or, what?
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#163378 - 10/21/08 12:45 AM
Re: Current economy affecting you?
[Re: gims]
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Registered: 01/21/07
Posts: 3675
Loc: British Columbia, Canada
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Well gims,...I just fell into it. I have an undergraduate degree also in English Literature. During my last 2 years, I was volunteering in my free time, at a resource centre that specialized in information on third world issues, history, multiculturalism, aboriginal/Native Indian issues...and yea, racism. The library served primarily: a) Canadian foreign aid workers about to go overseas to work in the developing countries b) teachers and high school students (and up) with resources to develop their course/teaching curriculum on such topics. The library was to save teacher lots of research time on their own to gather, analyze and synthesize the content to develop lessons. There was also support resource materials for English as a 2nd Language for teachers to use. So it was at this library, I saw what the librarian actually did and how certain services were delivered. It gave me a great excuse from feeling useless with an Honours BA in English Lit....by entering into the MLS program. But what really nailed it was when I learned of a doctor who got information from our library. He was about to be placed in South Africa, when apartheid was still enforced. It made me realize the value of changing lives by providing right/good information... I can't quite claim that I've always wanted to be a librarian since I was a kid. No, I wanted be a poet or artist for the longest time.. If you can get into this link...there's more longer list where I've been.. http://forums.teamestrogen.com/showthread.php?t=27099&highlight=library
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#163414 - 10/21/08 10:11 AM
Re: Current economy affecting you?
[Re: Dotsie]
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Member
Registered: 01/16/07
Posts: 3404
Loc: USA
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oooohhhhhhhhhhhhh, how tempting... I couldn't relocate without my brood, though... that includes a particular (set in mind) son-in-law and a Texas rooted husband... but, I can dream!!! Oh, I can dream!!!
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#165566 - 11/14/08 01:03 PM
Re: Current economy affecting you?
[Re: dancer9]
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Member
Registered: 11/08/05
Posts: 1211
Loc: NJ
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This morning on my Philadelphia local news, there was a story about this designer (Lagos) jewelry store in the area which once a year has a 5 day 50% off sale. You can buy a $1000 necklace for only $500, or an $800 ring for $400, etc. They showed people lining up from early this morning to catch these "bargains."
Inauguration tickets (normally free) are being snapped up quickly at up to thousands of dollars a pop.
Although a number of people are being laid off, although a number of people over-used their plastic and are now at the mercy of greedy banks who charge high interest rates on balances, although stocks have lost value because companies and Congress made poor financial decisions, although excess has caught up with many of us .... Most people (94%) are still working, cars are being sold every day despite the headlines, mall parking lots are still full especially on weekends, restaurants still have waiting lines especially on Friday and Saturday nights, and high ticket items are still being purchased for Christmas.
My husband and I grew up financially poor, so making soup for dinner does not make us feel like we are starving. Spending less for Christmas presents does not make us feel like we are next to bankruptcy. SAVING instead of spending does not make us feel like we are going broke. It is normal. I pack my husband's lunch so he doesn't have to buy big city restaurant meals. Neither of us drinks or smokes. We usually take "stay-cations" instead of going-away vacations. We eat out a couple of times a week, and we now go to cheapo buffets more often than nicer restaurants. If we had to cut restaurants out altogether for a long time, no biggie.
If things ever got bad enough that we had to sell the house for any price because we could not afford to live in it, we'd do it in a heartbeat. I'd feel badly, but living in a tiny apartment or a rooming house is not new to either of us.
Don't get me wrong. I love my nice neighborhood and my Mercedes. But I'd live over a store in town with no car or a junker if I had to. My point is that as long as he and I are willing to do whatever we had to in order to survive, we'd do it. (It'd have to be legal of course. lol)
Apparently the attitude can be very different for some whose habits are governed by excess and entitlements.
I am NOT talking about the aged, the truly indigent & handicapped, and those who suffer sudden disaster through no fault of their own.
Hubby and I have not slacked off on those who need a hand-up (not a handout) One of the effects of recent times is that those in our families who are medically very disabled, have not been able to afford the recent super high gasoline prices to get to the doctor or stroke rehab center.. While it was hard enough for my husband and me, it was much harder on them. So I used a significant portion of our gas money to help. When my brother's car died from old age, we pulled out our savings to buy them a decent car and assure that my brother's wife would have the means to be at the stroke rehab center with my brother every day.
I'm now glad that my husband and I suffered through hard times growing up. Because now, looking at what some think are hard times, we feel positively wealthy in the knowledge that no matter what, we are happy to make due.
Tonight is Friday night, and we'll split a pizza (partially paid by coupon), sit on the recliner sofa, hold hands, and watch TV or a DVD movie together. Not much can be better than that in my opinion.
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Josie
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#165567 - 11/14/08 01:12 PM
Re: Current economy affecting you?
[Re: gims]
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Member
Registered: 11/08/05
Posts: 1211
Loc: NJ
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I've told my husband that my ideal retirement place is one where I can walk and use public transportation, then rent a car or fly somewhere for longer trips. DD, I'm thinking on those very same lines.... I wish I was around the corner from the library and post office... working at either would be great, but I'd want to live close enough to walk. Our downtown is ALL lawyers and restaurants, along with a small (but developing) art community. I'd love to live near it, and work at the courthouse, but DH loves the country. Not that I don't. When I'm here, it's like heaven. But, getting places is a pain... !!! Orchid, what got you interested in that line of work? was it by chance, or did someone/thing steer you in that direction? or, did you happen upon it? or, what? To Gims: You sound like you live so near my neck of the woods. In South Jersey, every town is small, and mine is next to the county seat, which has nothing but lawyers, business offices, boutiques, cafes, and a few court houses. Libraries and post offices are practically on every corner. To Orchid: You are so lucky to be a research librarian, which to me is a dream job. I'd love to be a Literacy Volunteer, but have not managed to do it yet. Maybe if I put this keyboard in a closet! hahaha
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Josie
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#165570 - 11/14/08 01:15 PM
Re: Current economy affecting you?
[Re: gims]
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Member
Registered: 11/08/05
Posts: 1211
Loc: NJ
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oooohhhhhhhhhhhhh, how tempting... I couldn't relocate without my brood, though... that includes a particular (set in mind) son-in-law and a Texas rooted husband... but, I can dream!!! Oh, I can dream!!! My Texan husband has lived here in NJ for almost 12 years and except for the allergens, he is lovin' it! (Neither of us likes the high property taxes though)
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Josie
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#165572 - 11/14/08 01:30 PM
Re: Current economy affecting you?
[Re: gims]
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Member
Registered: 11/08/05
Posts: 1211
Loc: NJ
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My childhood in 1950's ...we lived in times when make do and mend..... I see a return to a similar way of life on the horizon. .... I have a good background in home economics taught early in school to a high level and seeing the older women in my family manage and can plan meals accordingly. But many have never had this chance .... But alas the mind set of many would believe it to be like the soup kitchens during the 1926 depression. .... If nothing else, I hope we do get back to a 'make and mend' mindset, one that will carry over after any hardships we might suffer due to the current economy. We have taken for granted what we have been blessed with - monetary and otherwise. I count our generation fortunate to have lived in times when it seemed important to teach the home economics and when we watched our elders manage, as MA referred to... and I agree with her, in generations after ours, "many have never had this chance"... instead they have been swept up in the societal norm of 'give me, must have,' so much so that they have cemented and protracted an entitlement mindset. "But alas the mind set of many would believe it to be like the soup kitchens during the 1926 depression"... Instead of subscribing to the belief that it will be like the 'soup kitchen' scene of the (US) 1929-1931 depression, those of us who are willing should promote the belief that this is a good teaching opportunity, a time, for those who know, to resurrect the true fundamentals of life - community, respect for nature and its resources, resourcefulness, enjoying the basics, etc. this are my opinions... Very well said, Gims. This will be a real teaching opportunity for some. Funny though, no matter how I taught my son the value of a dollar through the value of a penny, he still did the plastic routine. I guess some have to learn the hard way. Though I can afford new clothes from mall retailers, I make due with clothes from yesteryear (in several different sizes lol). I also buy on eBay and I go to Goodwill, where stores like Macys donate discontinued items with the tags still on. I see where the electronic gadgetry gets "smaller and more high tech" every 6 months it seems, and the kids clamor for the latest and greatest. I think parents better wake up and teach young kids if they want the latest, they'd better earn and save for it by doing chores at home or in the neighborhood. Yup. Getting back to basics. I'm all for it!
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Josie
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