Second Subcommittee meeting - the harrowing

Hi pals.

Well, I attended my second subcommittee meeting for the conference secretariat today.   It was about 3 hours of me sitting down and listening politely, briefly speaking up to offer a minor correction here or there in a very respectful manner - it was more or less appreciated I think.  Also, I was able to insert two well timed one liners to break the tension at appropriate moments, making me a more or less successful peacemaker.  Not that things got heated (they are all very professional here) byt there were times though that it looked like the volume was going to get a little louder without getting anything done.

One thing I've noticed about working down here is that people laugh at work a lot.  It might be because something is genuinely funny, or it might be too cover up embarrassment or out of nervousness.  I find that it's usually one of those three in equal measure.  I'm not used to that kind of 'work laughter', I don't think I'll come to adopt it, but it no longer surprises me as much as it did when I first started noticing it.

I got a little cataloguing done today, but that is about it really.  I took a lot of notes at the meeting and I'll be there at the Marriot in exactly 13 days to take part in the climate change conference.  If I can remain occasionally funny, good on details and stick to my job (which will be taking pictures and then making them ready to put online), I should have a fun time methinks.

Before the meeting, I spent a little time putting the final touches on my funding request.  I had Brian take a look at it since it was a request for a system he himself had purchased for his library (LibraryWorld) and I submitted it today.

I hope the national commission is permitted to get it as I think it's the best ILS for our purposes.  I also learned a little something about my boss today.  His job is very inundated with emails, in fact I would guess that he spends at least half of his time writing, reading and answering them.

*sigh*  A sign of the times methinks.  I'm not overly fond of email, it's just a necessity that I accept as part of modern working life and one day I'll be out of the Cat n' Class trenches and in that position myself.

Hopefully I'll be able to do more than type out memos when that time comes.  Oh well, we'll see I suppose.