This and That

Well, both the Block Kids event sponsored by NAWIC and the Science Alive! event at the SJCPL were a lot of fun. The weather was a concern Saturday as the temp was a very brisk -23 degrees with wind chill, so attendance was down a little. The young builders seemed enthusiastic and thoughtful about their constructions. Part of my duties as judge were to ask the kids questions such as what they wanted to be when they grew up and how they planned their project. I met a future art teacher, a designer, an architect and a veterinarian.

Science Alive! was incredible! There was a kind of trade show set up in the large meeting room and so many groups were represented I can't even hope to list them all. I do remember the Potawatomie Zoo booth, the Civil Engineers from Notre Dame and the Physics Club, also from Notre Dame.

Block Kids was held at the Boys and Girls Club here in South Bend. It was my first visit there and I am impressed. In addition to being spacious, clean, comfortable and welcoming, there are lovely original paintings in the hallways of children who use the facility. The artist, Kelly, works at the center. Good job, Kelly. I love the portraits, they are large canvases with a bright background, one child in each, and a real joyous atmosphere. I felt like I was actually meeting the child as I viewed the painting.

After the library it was home to blessed warmth, KFC and the entire 3rd season of Smallville. What a great day.

The intense cold didn't lessen it's grip on our town until Wednesday. It's hard to be cold all the time. I suppose that contributed to the grumpiness I felt this week more than anything. Now that the thermometer is up to 17 degrees life seems much better. I have been researching ways to improve my knowledge base, both to make it easier to find better employment and to challenge my brain. I picked up two "Classroom in a Book" volumes from Adobe, Illustrator CS and Photoshop CS. I am planning to take the Adobe Certified Expert tests in both. I am also planning to get certified as an expert in Microsoft Office and, possibly, become certified as a Microsoft Certified Desktop Support Technician. I already use most of these programs so I'm halfway there. I would like to get back into desktop publishing, I'm kind of finished with the production printing end of things. It's not very challenging to me, and kind of smelly with the solvent inks we use.

On the hobby front I have taken the first steps to becoming a Master Knitter. It's pretty cool in an humbling way. Learning is fun, but not as easy as it once was!