New Gig
So I suppose I should post about my new job. I have been so busy with the new job and raiding that I haven’t had a chance to post, and in part there is so much to tell that I don’t know where to start. Two weeks ago I had no job offers, and was coordinating my vacation time with the department of homeland security.
Then all the sudden I had a job offer from the Atomic Heritage Foundation, and rapidly had an offer from the Center for History and New Media. In the end the History and New Media thing is more up my alley, but I must say that it was a bit overwhelming.
My first few days of work have been great. Everyone here at the center has been very nice to me and I think I will be able to do a lot of good in the position. Oh, here is my job description.
Technology Evangelist (Technology Outreach Coordinator): The Center for History & New Media at George Mason University is seeking a technology evangelist for Zotero (www.zotero.org), an open source bibliographic management and note-taking tool for the Firefox web browser. The technology evangelist will be responsible for building alliances with scholarly organizations and libraries, encouraging scholars to try Zotero, developing and maintaining user documentation, and building awareness of this next-generation research tool. We are looking for an energetic, well-organized individual with excellent written and oral communication skills. Applicants should have at least some graduate training in library science or one of the humanities or social science disciplines as well as familiarity with relevant technologies (e.g., XML, RDF, metadata standards, and Firefox extensions) and scholarly research practices. This is a grant-funded, two-year position at the Center for History and New Media (http://chnm.gmu.edu) at George Mason University, which is known for innovative work in digital media. Located in Fairfax, Virginia, CHNM is 15 miles from Washington, DC, and accessible by public transportation. Apply online at http://jobs.gmu.edu for position 10378Z; please include letter of application, resume, and three references. If you have questions, please write chnm@gmu.edu with the subject line “Technology Evangelist.” We will begin considering applications October 15, 2006, and continue until the position is filled.
Holidays at work
I just walked by the big conference room at work and was stunned by how gorgeous the decorations are! It is very warm and beautiful with lots of beer, wine, and presumably, great food. There is going to be an office party starting there in a few minutes. It is great to work for a creative media company- people’s good taste and creative touches really show during times like these.
Considering the fact that it has been 60 degrees or so for the past few weeks, I can’t quite believe that it is time for the holidays. I am really looking forward to going back to Milwaukee-Chicago to spend time with my family (and of course Trevor’s family which I now consider my own). The 5 months or so that we have been here have gone by so fast and we still have such a clumsy time driving around the city that I certainly still feel like a noob.
All in-all, with Trevor starting a new job that he loves and the awesomeness that is working for PBS, we have been extraordinarily lucky this year. 2006 got off to a rocky, crazy start. We were faced with a great deal of uncertainty. Its so nice to have things fall into place for a bit and feel like we learned a great deal from the difficulties we faced and that we came away with so much meaning from the chaos.
Don’t go here
In case you were planning on visiting Nashville in the near future and decided that you wanted to stay in a biosphere miles away from the actual city, you may be tempted to check this place out . I will spare you the heartache….
don’t go there
First, the rooms are terribly overpriced. Rooms in TN pushing $200 a night should have Egyptian cotten towels and sky-high thread counts in their comfy beds.
That doesn’t happen here.
Second, one of my colleagues watched 2 elderly people rushed out on stretchers.
During breakfast.
That is not a time when one would want to be reminded of one’s fragile mortality. In fact, the entire experience will lead the reflective individual to wonder whether such tacky stupidity will suddenly become appealing once that particular individual hits 82. The geriatric amazement at the fake waterfalls and colored fountains (sync’d up to Hark the Herald Angels…) was downright depressing, if for no other reason than the fact that people who have made it that far in life desserve better than rampant price gouging in a resort that surly makes baby Jesus cry.