Workin' for the Man

Well, my ambitious desire to blog about my overly exciting life (yeah, right) has fallen by the wayside, as soon as I became employed full-time. Figures. Sit in front of a computer for 8 hours a day and the last thing I want to do is come home and sit in front of it some more. Even though I've had many an epiphany and brilliant idea to write about, just not the desire to sit down and physically do it.



Anyway. I start my first semester of grad school next week. My anxiety, of course, has gone up threefold. I've started my typical preparations because I have this need to get all the paper work shit out of the way so that I can concentrate on my classes. Some would call me a bit neurotic. I'd probably have to agree with them. But it's the way I operate so they'll just have to deal.



So many people have asked what classes I'm taking and to be honest I really haven't been able to answer them. Truthfully I'm not quite sure what the hell I've gotten myself into. Well, except for the Management class. I think that's pretty self explanatory. So, for all those that wanted to know what I was taking, here ya go:

First, the Management class.

Principles of Management
LIS-404-04N
Designed to acquaint students with the basic management functions of planning, organizing, staffing, directing, and controlling. The course is intended to help provide understanding of human interactions in the workplace and develop the practical problem-solving skills needed to handle managerial problems professionally. Approaches to managing, from authoritarian to participative to laissez-faire, are examined. Readings, case studies, critical incidents, simulations, and discussions. Required course for students entering Fall 2005 and thereafter.


Pretty self explanatory right? No surprises here I don't think. Next.

Information Organization
LIS-415-04N
The phenomena, activities, and issues surrounding the organization of information in service of users and user communities. Topics include resource types and formats, information service institutions, markup, descriptive metadata, content standards, subject analysis and classification, and the information life cycle. Readings, discussions, examinations, and oral and written exercises.

Honestly, no clue. Cataloging? Maybe? How information is organized so that we can find it, that's my guess right now. Then the last one.

Technology for Information Professionals
LIS-488-03N
This is a course that provides the conceptual foundation and context of computing, Internet, and digital publishing technologies as used in information-intensive professions. The course serves as a gateway to all other technology courses offered at GSLIS beginning with the Fall 2005 semester. The course provides an overview of how computers, telecommunications, networking, and digital publishing function. Particular emphasis is upon terminology that appears in the professional literature. Students are strongly encouraged to take this course early in their course program.

This one doesn't sound too bad the more I read it. I'm pretty sure I know what it's going to be about, just not how well I'm going to do in it. I thought I was pretty tech savvy but I'm beginning to have my doubts. I'm not sure I stayed on the bandwagon long enough. I'm sure getting back in school will help (read: force) me back into that though.

So here's the "right before school starts" update. I know I still have to post pics of the apartment like I promised and it's finally clean enough to do so, except for the craft room, so I'll try to get that done this weekend. Monday is a holiday, Tuesday I have my mandatory orientation day and then Wednesday classes start. Hopefully I'll have the energy next weekend to right about it.

Au revoir.