Well, it is official. I have paid my last credit card payment. I am so excited, it has taken me 4 long years to get them all paid off but at last. Everything seems to be changing for me. I will move out of ghetto land on October 2nd. I get moles removed on September 30. I host my first debt free party on October 1. The next month will still be tight due to the party and moving but at last I can see some $ staying in my bank account between paychecks.
Last night I was invited to the Ladies' Club Spaghetti Dinner by our Friends of the Library Treasurer. There was an "Opportunity Drawing" for gift baskets. I bought 15 dollars in tickets which meant 45 tickets to place in bags for about 20 items. I randomly selected about 12 items doubling up on most of them. When the drawing started, they started with a Christmas Basket and called my number. I wasn't very surprised because I noticed when I put my 3 tickets in the bag there were only 2 other tickets, I had a better than 50% chance for that basket. But then they called my number again and again and again for a total of 8 items. I was really embarrassed by the end. I got a wicker picnic basket, an Italian baskets, some jewelry items, and other things. At the end someone wanted to take a photo of me because of the all the loot. What fun that was.
Sunday, September 26, 2010
Sunday, September 19, 2010
Finally I am Moving!
At last I have decided to leave ghetto-land and upgrade my circumstances. On October 2, I will sign a lease, pick up keyes and begin to move me and the two cats across town to Valencia Town Center. I have decided on The Madison. I am excited that I will be leaving Diamond Park. Living there has just gotten me down. Living above the drug dealer really ruined it all for me. Not to say that I won't be living next to a drug dealer at the Madison but at least he will have a higher class of clients. I used to have to walk through coversations about getting out jail, fights and other conversations that men who have too much time on their hands have.
I am looking forward to a kitchen that doesn't have roaches--a going away present from the drug dealer and his family when they moved out, a broken garbage disposal, a stove that I am afraid to use and a dishwasher that I never used because it didn't look like it would work.
I will be paying extra for the upgraded--granite counters and all stainless steel appliances. Yes, the rent is way too much but I looked for similar places in Glendale and would have paid almost twice as much. And after ghetto-land, I need something to soothe my sensibilites. Also, I am hoping that I can expand my social network and get out of the funk that I have been in so long.
So right now I am looking at selling some of my stuff--namely my fridge, desk and microwave as the new place comes with all three. I am also trying to get things packed up and cleaned up so that I can make the move as smooth as possible.
Monday, August 30, 2010
Inner and Inter Library Loan Difference
Here is the letter that I am sending to the City Council. So much misinformation swirling around about this issue.
August 30, 2010
Dear Council Members:
Please take a few minutes to education yourself on the difference between an Inner-Library loan and an Inter-Library loan. It was clear that during the Public Hearing on August 24, 2010 it appeared that Darren Hernandez was grossly misinformed about the difference and therefore misinformed you.
General Definitions:
1) Inner-Library loans are loans between one branch library and another. Since the items are owned by a single library system, use one catalog and have the same borrowing policies procedures requesting and delivery are generally streamlined. An example here would be a book in the Canyon Country Library is wanted by a patron in the Valencia Library. Patrons are usually able to request items been branches seamlessly and on their own.
2) Inter-Library loans are loans between two different library systems. The items are not owned by the lending library and must be acquired from a other system. The catalogs are not shared between the libraries; the two systems my have different lending policies; requests are usually handled by library staff; and delivery is generally handled by the US mail. An example here would be the new Santa Clarita System wants an item owned by the County of Los Angeles System which is part of the South State Cooperative.
Lending Periods:
1) Inner-Library loans are governed by the policies of the unified system. Patrons usually have renewals if no one is waiting for the item, a standard loan period for the type of item, and a standard overdue fee rate set by the system.
2) Inter-Library loans are governed by the agreement between the two individual systems. Usually there are no renewal of items, the overdue fees may be different and the lending periods may be different for items obtained from different systems because the agreements are different.
What Gets Lent:
1) Inner-Library loans are generally comprehensive. What is owned by the system as a whole is available to all the card holders in that system no matter which branch owns the items. There may be a formula for priority on branch-owned items for branch vs. non-branch users for items in high demand. Video, Audio, best-sellers, and other items will be sent out within the system.
2) Inter-Library loans are highly depended on the system that owns the items and their own policies for lending items to other outside systems. Generally best-sellers and newly published items are not sent out on Inter-library loan. Always the owning system will give priority to their own patrons before sending an item out to an outside system. Some systems do not lend out audio or video.
Right to Refusal:
1) For inner-library loans a branch usually does not have the right to refuse to send an item requested by a patron of another branch. For example if someone at the Canyon Country Library wants an item from Valencia Library and it is available, the patron can be assured that the item will arrive shortly at the Canyon Country Library.
2) For inner-library loans a system has the right to refuse to send a requested item out to the patron at an outside system library. For example, if a Valencia patron in the newly formed Santa Clarita Library system wants an item owned by the County of Los Angeles System, the County has the right to refuse sending the item, therefore the patron cannot be assured that the item will arrive in a timely manner or at all. The Inter-Library Loan Personnel may have to approach several libraries for the requested item before finding a library willing or able to loan the item out.
Lending, Requesting Limits and Fees
1) Inner-library loans are governed by the internal policies of the library system. A system may or may not charge fees for picking up requested items or they may be levied fees for not picking up requested items. However, the system is uniform.
2) Intra-library loans are governed by the policies of the owning library and not requesting library. The requesting system may choose to subsidize fees so that they are uniform on the surface for the customer. However, library systems generally do charge the customer some fees and/or set strict limits due to the volume of paperwork involved, tracking required, and submitting the information to the state for reimbursement from the Public Library Fund to defer costs. The Public Library Fund by the way has been hacked away and hacked away by the State and has rarely been fully funded.
Please feel free to contact me if you have any further questions or need more information on the difference between Inner-Library loans and Inter-Library loans. That one small letter actually makes a pretty big difference.
August 30, 2010
Dear Council Members:
Please take a few minutes to education yourself on the difference between an Inner-Library loan and an Inter-Library loan. It was clear that during the Public Hearing on August 24, 2010 it appeared that Darren Hernandez was grossly misinformed about the difference and therefore misinformed you.
General Definitions:
1) Inner-Library loans are loans between one branch library and another. Since the items are owned by a single library system, use one catalog and have the same borrowing policies procedures requesting and delivery are generally streamlined. An example here would be a book in the Canyon Country Library is wanted by a patron in the Valencia Library. Patrons are usually able to request items been branches seamlessly and on their own.
2) Inter-Library loans are loans between two different library systems. The items are not owned by the lending library and must be acquired from a other system. The catalogs are not shared between the libraries; the two systems my have different lending policies; requests are usually handled by library staff; and delivery is generally handled by the US mail. An example here would be the new Santa Clarita System wants an item owned by the County of Los Angeles System which is part of the South State Cooperative.
Lending Periods:
1) Inner-Library loans are governed by the policies of the unified system. Patrons usually have renewals if no one is waiting for the item, a standard loan period for the type of item, and a standard overdue fee rate set by the system.
2) Inter-Library loans are governed by the agreement between the two individual systems. Usually there are no renewal of items, the overdue fees may be different and the lending periods may be different for items obtained from different systems because the agreements are different.
What Gets Lent:
1) Inner-Library loans are generally comprehensive. What is owned by the system as a whole is available to all the card holders in that system no matter which branch owns the items. There may be a formula for priority on branch-owned items for branch vs. non-branch users for items in high demand. Video, Audio, best-sellers, and other items will be sent out within the system.
2) Inter-Library loans are highly depended on the system that owns the items and their own policies for lending items to other outside systems. Generally best-sellers and newly published items are not sent out on Inter-library loan. Always the owning system will give priority to their own patrons before sending an item out to an outside system. Some systems do not lend out audio or video.
Right to Refusal:
1) For inner-library loans a branch usually does not have the right to refuse to send an item requested by a patron of another branch. For example if someone at the Canyon Country Library wants an item from Valencia Library and it is available, the patron can be assured that the item will arrive shortly at the Canyon Country Library.
2) For inner-library loans a system has the right to refuse to send a requested item out to the patron at an outside system library. For example, if a Valencia patron in the newly formed Santa Clarita Library system wants an item owned by the County of Los Angeles System, the County has the right to refuse sending the item, therefore the patron cannot be assured that the item will arrive in a timely manner or at all. The Inter-Library Loan Personnel may have to approach several libraries for the requested item before finding a library willing or able to loan the item out.
Lending, Requesting Limits and Fees
1) Inner-library loans are governed by the internal policies of the library system. A system may or may not charge fees for picking up requested items or they may be levied fees for not picking up requested items. However, the system is uniform.
2) Intra-library loans are governed by the policies of the owning library and not requesting library. The requesting system may choose to subsidize fees so that they are uniform on the surface for the customer. However, library systems generally do charge the customer some fees and/or set strict limits due to the volume of paperwork involved, tracking required, and submitting the information to the state for reimbursement from the Public Library Fund to defer costs. The Public Library Fund by the way has been hacked away and hacked away by the State and has rarely been fully funded.
Please feel free to contact me if you have any further questions or need more information on the difference between Inner-Library loans and Inter-Library loans. That one small letter actually makes a pretty big difference.
Sunday, August 29, 2010
Santa Clarita, CA City Council Are Complete Fools
On Tuesday, August 24, 2010 after 4 hours of residents speaking out decided to ignore their pleas to slow down, think and let us have a voice in the decision and voted 4 to 1 to withdraw from the County Public Library System and hire a for-profit contractor to run the three Santa Clarita Libraries.
I am appalled and astounded that the democratic system failed so miserably on Tuesday night. Below is the speech I gave as part of public comments on Tuesday night. Never have I spoken truer words than that this was a Done Deal. After the meeting I saw the LSSI Rep give a Good-Ole Boy Slap on the Back to Darren Hernandez telling him what a good job he had done. Yes, a good job in mis-informing but I guess since the City awarded the contract to LSSI, a good job was indeed done by Darren Hernandez in his point of view.
Good evening Mayor Weste and members of the City Council,
I have been a resident of Santa Clarita for two years. During this time I have had occasion to attend city council meetings and I have often been impressed with the work the Council does and the well balanced decisions that you often make with the best interests of both the city and citizen.
However, tonight, I have come before you because I believe that you may make a decision that is neither well balanced, carefully thought-out, nor in the best interests of the citizens of Santa Clarita. The decision to withdraw from the county and for the city to run its own library system or contract it out to a for-profit group is simply put a politically motivated maneuver
I hear rumors that this is a Done Deal; you plan to contract with LSSI (Library Systems and Services Incorporated). And that anything my fellow citizens or I may say about the matter tonight is meaningless. However, I have to speak. I have to hope that you will listen to the voices from your community.
The most important thing in a library is not the books, the videos, or the magazines. The most important thing in a library is the Human Resources. The people, who work in the library, organize the materials so that they can be found but more importantly these people are in touch with the community, know what the community needs and provides quality programs and services to that end. With the County you have that. The people who staff the Santa Clarita libraries are dedicated professionals that have for decades served the community through understanding its past, current and changing needs.
You are seeking to break the backbone of the Santa Clarita Libraries by removing the most vital piece of Library Services. You propose to replace the backbone with contracted employees that most likely will not have a stake in the community and who are also most likely going to be looking for a better gig with benefits because your cost saving proposal hinges in undercutting the libraries’ human resources.
If you leave the County system you will be losing hundreds of years of dedicated cumulative service from the dedicated library professionals that staff the Santa Clarita. I urge you to reconsider your positions. And as citizen after citizen that I have spoken to have suggested—If it isn’t broken don’t try to fix it. Do not sell us a bill of goods that we do not want.
If you do chose to leave the County I can guarantee you that you will get what you deserve. However, this is not what my fellow citizens and I deserve. We deserve the quality library services with a strong tradition in serving us that we are currently receiving.
Thank you.
I am appalled and astounded that the democratic system failed so miserably on Tuesday night. Below is the speech I gave as part of public comments on Tuesday night. Never have I spoken truer words than that this was a Done Deal. After the meeting I saw the LSSI Rep give a Good-Ole Boy Slap on the Back to Darren Hernandez telling him what a good job he had done. Yes, a good job in mis-informing but I guess since the City awarded the contract to LSSI, a good job was indeed done by Darren Hernandez in his point of view.
Good evening Mayor Weste and members of the City Council,
I have been a resident of Santa Clarita for two years. During this time I have had occasion to attend city council meetings and I have often been impressed with the work the Council does and the well balanced decisions that you often make with the best interests of both the city and citizen.
However, tonight, I have come before you because I believe that you may make a decision that is neither well balanced, carefully thought-out, nor in the best interests of the citizens of Santa Clarita. The decision to withdraw from the county and for the city to run its own library system or contract it out to a for-profit group is simply put a politically motivated maneuver
I hear rumors that this is a Done Deal; you plan to contract with LSSI (Library Systems and Services Incorporated). And that anything my fellow citizens or I may say about the matter tonight is meaningless. However, I have to speak. I have to hope that you will listen to the voices from your community.
The most important thing in a library is not the books, the videos, or the magazines. The most important thing in a library is the Human Resources. The people, who work in the library, organize the materials so that they can be found but more importantly these people are in touch with the community, know what the community needs and provides quality programs and services to that end. With the County you have that. The people who staff the Santa Clarita libraries are dedicated professionals that have for decades served the community through understanding its past, current and changing needs.
You are seeking to break the backbone of the Santa Clarita Libraries by removing the most vital piece of Library Services. You propose to replace the backbone with contracted employees that most likely will not have a stake in the community and who are also most likely going to be looking for a better gig with benefits because your cost saving proposal hinges in undercutting the libraries’ human resources.
If you leave the County system you will be losing hundreds of years of dedicated cumulative service from the dedicated library professionals that staff the Santa Clarita. I urge you to reconsider your positions. And as citizen after citizen that I have spoken to have suggested—If it isn’t broken don’t try to fix it. Do not sell us a bill of goods that we do not want.
If you do chose to leave the County I can guarantee you that you will get what you deserve. However, this is not what my fellow citizens and I deserve. We deserve the quality library services with a strong tradition in serving us that we are currently receiving.
Thank you.
Tuesday, August 3, 2010
Day Light Savings Time
The days are getting shorter. Last night I walked out of the library in the evening to a rapidly darkening sky. I love long days with short nights. I feel more alive and energetic. I hate to see Standard Time come in the winter but know that it is a has to be, because as much as I love long days, I hate dark mornings. I often run into people who tell me that they would prefer that we not have a time change. But I have lived in a country and a state that does not change the time. And I don't mind because the benefits are greater than the first couple of days of adjustment.
Hawaii doesn't change time and in a sense it doesn't need to. It is at the perfect location where winter days are longer than on the mainland and summer nights are only slightly shorter. Oh, but I would have loved to have daylight until 10:00 in Hawaii. But the rhythms are different there and I moved around much earlier in the morning than I do on the mainland. I often was up and and had my 6 mile morning run in well before 7:30, back home and ready for a shower and a cup of coffee. But then even if I wanted to sleep in the trash truck was banging around bright and early at 7:00 on Saturday mornings. Grrr!!!
Japan which is much more similar to the US mainland in latitude desperately needed Daylight Savings Time. And appearantly they got it shortly after I left the country. But I longed for longer summer days and for sunlight not to invade my sleep at 4:00 in the morning. I understand that if you don't have a time change, it isn't going to be year long Daylight Savings Time but rather a year of shorter summer summer days and longer summer mornings.
But then again as my friend pointed out, I have never had a baby and babies don't know nothing about Daylight Savings Time
Hawaii doesn't change time and in a sense it doesn't need to. It is at the perfect location where winter days are longer than on the mainland and summer nights are only slightly shorter. Oh, but I would have loved to have daylight until 10:00 in Hawaii. But the rhythms are different there and I moved around much earlier in the morning than I do on the mainland. I often was up and and had my 6 mile morning run in well before 7:30, back home and ready for a shower and a cup of coffee. But then even if I wanted to sleep in the trash truck was banging around bright and early at 7:00 on Saturday mornings. Grrr!!!
Japan which is much more similar to the US mainland in latitude desperately needed Daylight Savings Time. And appearantly they got it shortly after I left the country. But I longed for longer summer days and for sunlight not to invade my sleep at 4:00 in the morning. I understand that if you don't have a time change, it isn't going to be year long Daylight Savings Time but rather a year of shorter summer summer days and longer summer mornings.
But then again as my friend pointed out, I have never had a baby and babies don't know nothing about Daylight Savings Time
Thursday, July 22, 2010
What a Summer
This month has been marked with both technical and mechanical failure at the library which has been a source of frustration for both staff and customers alike. As a new facility, the AC remained untested until the first hot days of summer. There was no passing with flying colors, more like the stale stuffy air of failure. For 4 days, the staff endured sweltering tropical mugginess until it was clear that we were not able to continue on with ever growing dread and uncomfortableness as the temperatures crept up outside, inside and within us. It was during the initial AC failure that we also experienced a systems failure with our computerized Integrated Library System. Searching, checking out, checking in--essentially everything that we do all day long--suddenly became a frustrating headache for almost 10 days. I walked around in a perpetual state of irritable stickiness. Since library work is rarely quiet desk sitting work but rather pushing heavy carts, lifting heavy boxes, running from one end of the library and back again and again type of work it is easy to become uncomfortable fast. At the end of the first week, with tempers short and fuses quickly burning down, I asked that we close the adult area and leave the rest of the area open since it was in the adult library that the AC had failed. I got permission but when I tried to put the gate down to shut off the adult area, the gate failed. Defeated, we closed the library for 3 days until we could get some fixes, firs the gate and then the AC.
For a few days we thought the fix was holding, my office was a welcoming cool haven. Then we noticed that the areas that were previously comfortable were now quite the opposite. And then Monday morning I walked through the door of my office and into a thick heavy wall of air. All the units were compromised in one manner or another. I shelved one cart of books on Monday morning at 9:30 in the morning with sweat trickling down my brow. The thought of having hundreds of bodies heating up an already uncomfortable space was unbearable. We closed for the day. We are still having problems with one of our AC units--one is down for the count until parts arrive, one has been tinkered with to run until a more permanent fix arrives. For 2 1/2 days we had the adult area shut down with the rest of the library open. I have just reopened the adult area. Temperatures outside have abated leaving the airconditioningless space bearable if movement is limited. The staff will work the area in a limited capacity--no all steam ahead until parts arrive and are installed. But at least we are open and people can use the space for as long as they are comfortable.
For a few days we thought the fix was holding, my office was a welcoming cool haven. Then we noticed that the areas that were previously comfortable were now quite the opposite. And then Monday morning I walked through the door of my office and into a thick heavy wall of air. All the units were compromised in one manner or another. I shelved one cart of books on Monday morning at 9:30 in the morning with sweat trickling down my brow. The thought of having hundreds of bodies heating up an already uncomfortable space was unbearable. We closed for the day. We are still having problems with one of our AC units--one is down for the count until parts arrive, one has been tinkered with to run until a more permanent fix arrives. For 2 1/2 days we had the adult area shut down with the rest of the library open. I have just reopened the adult area. Temperatures outside have abated leaving the airconditioningless space bearable if movement is limited. The staff will work the area in a limited capacity--no all steam ahead until parts arrive and are installed. But at least we are open and people can use the space for as long as they are comfortable.
Monday, July 5, 2010
Fire Flowers
Hanabi is Japanese for Fireworks which translates as Fire Flowers. I love this translation. It is poetic and speaks of the fascination we have with pyrotechnics. Last night I saw the 4th of July Fireworks Display at the Aliante Casino in North Las Vegas while attending a VIP Pool Party with a complimentary open bar. I was M's sister's guest. We had a lovely time. Anytime I see fireworks, I think about other displays I have seen and I end up missing both Japan and Hawaii.
The Japanese hold their annual displays in August and they are fabulous. They go on and on and on for what seems like a full hour, but is probably less. Just when you think the Grand Finale has arrived, it gets even bigger.
One year, I headed over to sacred island Miyajima with friends for the show. We caught the first bursts while on the ferry over. I would have loved to spent the entire show on the ferry watching with each burst reflected in the water. Something magical about this. We arrived at the dock and made our way down to the water for the rest.
Another year, I spent the first part of the day in the city but left at dusk to find a spot on the river. I was riding my bike along the river path when the show began. I pulled over and watch with a few others who made their way to the empty spot I found on the river path. It felt like my own private show. The warm night became magical and I was en rapt.
Being of an Asian bent, Hawaii offers up some pretty spectacular displays. My first experience was on New Years Eve 1999. I had just arrived in Hawaii two weeks earlier to start the new century with a new life in a new place. Everything was falling into place for me then, I had a new job which would eventually become the conduit to my rapid rise in Los Angeles. I had just purchased my very own first car, and I had already established a new budding social network. With new friends we headed up to a house party in the hills of Manoa Valley. With a panoramic view of Waikiki and Downtown, we were treated to a firework show that lasted for hours. At about 11:15, Waikiki was enveloped in a cloud of smoke. In 2000, there was a crack down on illegal ariels, so the Milliemum was the last year of spectacular self sponsored displays.
Every Friday night in Waikiki, the Hilton Hawaiian Village put on a display for the tourists. I spent a many of a Friday night with a group known as the Old Farts on the beach at San Souci (Kaimana) have a few beers and talking story after a run around Diamond Head. I miss these evenings tremendously.
I never knew how much of my weekly rhythm the fireworks had become until 9/11 put a stop to them for months and months. 9/11 made the entire country stop, wonder and worry. But in Hawaii, an island that depends on tourism, we were in struggle to maintain our livelihoods. The absence of the fireworks, suspended due to low tourism and slashed budgets, marked weekly how much our lives had changed during that fateful day. For days afterwards, the sky that was usually dotted with aircraft bring tourists and their dollars to the island were empty. I remember running around Magic Island on Thursday after the attacks to see a lone airplane in the air. What a welcome sight and my first thought was maybe now I will get some mail.
What a relief it was to all of us when the Hilton Hawaiian Village announced that it was going to resume the firework displays. Each and everyone of us felt that our lives were finally returning to normal after a long drought of tourism.
The Japanese hold their annual displays in August and they are fabulous. They go on and on and on for what seems like a full hour, but is probably less. Just when you think the Grand Finale has arrived, it gets even bigger.
One year, I headed over to sacred island Miyajima with friends for the show. We caught the first bursts while on the ferry over. I would have loved to spent the entire show on the ferry watching with each burst reflected in the water. Something magical about this. We arrived at the dock and made our way down to the water for the rest.
Another year, I spent the first part of the day in the city but left at dusk to find a spot on the river. I was riding my bike along the river path when the show began. I pulled over and watch with a few others who made their way to the empty spot I found on the river path. It felt like my own private show. The warm night became magical and I was en rapt.
Being of an Asian bent, Hawaii offers up some pretty spectacular displays. My first experience was on New Years Eve 1999. I had just arrived in Hawaii two weeks earlier to start the new century with a new life in a new place. Everything was falling into place for me then, I had a new job which would eventually become the conduit to my rapid rise in Los Angeles. I had just purchased my very own first car, and I had already established a new budding social network. With new friends we headed up to a house party in the hills of Manoa Valley. With a panoramic view of Waikiki and Downtown, we were treated to a firework show that lasted for hours. At about 11:15, Waikiki was enveloped in a cloud of smoke. In 2000, there was a crack down on illegal ariels, so the Milliemum was the last year of spectacular self sponsored displays.
Every Friday night in Waikiki, the Hilton Hawaiian Village put on a display for the tourists. I spent a many of a Friday night with a group known as the Old Farts on the beach at San Souci (Kaimana) have a few beers and talking story after a run around Diamond Head. I miss these evenings tremendously.
I never knew how much of my weekly rhythm the fireworks had become until 9/11 put a stop to them for months and months. 9/11 made the entire country stop, wonder and worry. But in Hawaii, an island that depends on tourism, we were in struggle to maintain our livelihoods. The absence of the fireworks, suspended due to low tourism and slashed budgets, marked weekly how much our lives had changed during that fateful day. For days afterwards, the sky that was usually dotted with aircraft bring tourists and their dollars to the island were empty. I remember running around Magic Island on Thursday after the attacks to see a lone airplane in the air. What a welcome sight and my first thought was maybe now I will get some mail.
What a relief it was to all of us when the Hilton Hawaiian Village announced that it was going to resume the firework displays. Each and everyone of us felt that our lives were finally returning to normal after a long drought of tourism.
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