year 1, apartment hunting, and the plague: it's summertime!

So when you're in graduate school, the best part of summer: it means you survived the previous year! So it is official: I have survived Library School Year 1. (And yes, in my pathetic mind that is an oblique Harry Potter reference...)

Speaking of Harry Potter...one of the delights of the past month has been suddenly rediscovering that wonderful long-lost friend Free Time. I just completed a Harry Potter movie marathon. Any suggestions as to what I should watch next?

So I've nailed down my housing for the next year...in August I will be moving literally across the street (but trust me, it's a MAJOR upgrade) to a new apartment with three awesome library students. Let the nerd fest commence. Seriously, though, I'm really excited to live with three other girls who can relate to each others' insanity.

I've also just today begun my new job at the United States Geological Survey's National Wildlife Health Center in Madison. They've hired me to work in their library department, handling cataloging of wildlife journals and articles, responding to wildlife reference questions, and other miscellaneous tasks as needed.

The highlights of my first day:

-Because the National Wildlife Health Center is a federally funded organization that deals with wildlife diseases, it's a closed facility. Meaning I literally had to be buzzed into the building by staff. In my mind, of course, the whole thing felt very CIA and awesome.

-Because they deal with actual wildlife (mostly of the avian and amphibian type) and actual diseases in the facility's labs, I only have access to about 20% of the building. The rest is key-code access limited. I didn't have the courage to ask what would happen if I tried to get into those areas...after some reflection, I decided there are some things you just shouldn't ask on your first day.

-Their main lab is called the "Necropsy Lab," and it is exactly what it sounds like; it's where they do the wildlife autopsies. Unfortunately for me, the lab is viewable from the outside via huge glass walls. And doubly unfortunate: today they happened to be doing autopsies during my tour of the facility. Let's just say I white-knuckled it through, but there was one particular moment when I was morbidly certain I was going to hit the floor. Why is there never a Victorian fainting couch handy when you need one?

-I suddenly know a LOT about the following: white nose bat syndrome, chronic wasting disease in deer, avian flu die-off, and the plague.

-The last thing the HR rep told me after our meeting was "So since we still need to get you finger-printed to issue you an ID badge, until further notice you'll need to be escorted everywhere...and just generally try not to look suspicious, ok?", to which I naturally replied, "Darn it! That was my entire plan, to be creepy and suspicious. NOW what am I going to do?" To which she laughed.

So yep, I think this is going to be pretty awesome...