Reflections on ALA

I’m in the airport at the moment, on my way down to Orlando for ALA Annual, though this will get posted tomorrow. (Hey! I might actually still be on my way to Orlando tomorrow. Who knows?) It’s got me a bit reflective, because it’s about nine years to the day that I was at ALA in Washington DC, on the hunt for a job and getting more than a little nervous that I still hadn’t found one after five months of searching. I had an interview lined up in Maryland, and a number at the conference itself, and I was hopeful one of those would pan out.

Oh yeah. And I had a ticket for an interview with a school in Maine as soon as the conference was over.

The crazy thing about having blogged for as long as I have is that I can look back at those entries from then. Here’s the first, and you can look through the archives for July 2007 for the others. (Side note: amazed at how little I actually wrote back then. The entries felt much longer, for some reason.)

Anyway. It’s fun to be in the same airport where I’d flown in for that interview nine years ago, and I’m amazed by how much has happened since. I have three children now, not just one. I’m flying to ALA as part of my role as President of the Maine Library Association. I’ll be doing a book signing while I’m there for my second published book (Saturday at 2pm! I’ll post more info when I have it). Back nine years ago, I was working on revising the book that became VODNIK, my first published book.

Many changes. All in nine years.

Anyway. Not sure how much I’ll be able to be on the blog to update you all. So check my Facebook feed if you’re desperate for updates. I’m most active there. I’ve got a few sweet dinners lined up on Disney properties, but I won’t be going to any of the parks. Gotta work, you know.

Wish me luck!