Well. I've survived my (9 hour long) orientation. And am now equal parts exhilarated and horrified. If only I didn't hate research so much. Sometimes I wonder if I'm the only one who *does* hate research. But it's so time-consuming and the resources are so broad and my knowledge of them so narrow. I spend whole days floundering among seas of information, riding waves that I think will take me somewhere but really just stay in the same place. And should I happen to stumble upon something that snatches my attention, it's invariably unconnected to the topic I'm supposed to be researching.

I suppose part of the purpose of getting a degree in library and information science is to increase my understanding of the resources available. But as I'm struggling up that learning curve, it's all too easy to lose sight of my end goal. Especially since I'm never using those resources to research something that interests me. Like the origin of the Second in a duel. Or why the number 13 is considered unlucky. Or ways to kill kudzu.

Instead, I'm stuck researching the life of some important library chap. And the nature of an ethical dilemma in library and information science. (All right. So ethics is interesting. But finding articles on an ethical issue is not. I want to simply read them and enjoy forming my own opinion.)

I did meet some nice people, though, some of whom actually live here. So maybe we can slog through the research together.

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