Influences of the Queen(s) of Re-inventing

In an attempt to expand beyond my "accidental webmaster" role in my current job, and as I get more involved in social media I've decided to attend the first annual "Got Social Media? Conference in Houston. Meeting Erica and the other gals at the AccessU Conference, socializing at the GeekAustin meetups, and meeting new people through Twitter has really created the desire to pursue an online presence. I will also be attending the panels at SXSW Interactive Festival and working with Silona and Erica on the League of Technical Voters fundraiser.

I'm not necessarily interested in being just another blogger, but feel there's some niche I can fill. I love my current job working for the state, but figure I can convert all my extracurricular hours on the internet into supplemental income. One of the reasons I'd miss my current job if I were to move on is the environmental and science aspect of it. Perhaps I could use my experiences with the now defunct EEANT Nature Scientists and Sierra Cubs Camp with the Texas Environmental Education Partnership and Texas Master Naturalists to create an online project.

*puts on thinking cap*

My Bookshelf: Part II

It's really interesting to see what's important when you start packing. I figure it would be easiest to go through my books first, and get rid of the ones I don't really need. What was packed first? Starting with the highest priority:

• Science fiction/fantasy/horror - Ray Bradbury, Isaac Asimov, Clive Barker, Stephen King, Lovecraft
• Classics - Margaret Atwood, Umberto Eco, Irving, Vonnegut, and Antoine St. Exupery
• Miscellaneous Favorites - Sam Shepard's "Cruising Paradise Tales" and Olivia Judson's "Dr. Tatiana's Sex Advice To All Creation"
• Nature and Naturalists - Geyata Ajilvsgi's "Wildflowers of Texas", Pete Dunne "Tales of A Low-Rent Birder", and "Messages from the Wild" by Frederick Gehlbach

What's really cool is finding old receipts inside the books, and being reminded of when and where I was when I bought the book. I remember reading "Paradise Tales" in a small darkened theater, while I was working at the Intel booth during the American Smithsonian Tour in San Jose, California. I bought Dr. Tatiana's book from Elliot Bay Book Company in Seattle, while I was visiting some good friends - we visited Elliot Bay THREE times while I was there! And the hardcover Lovecraft collection I picked up at a bookshop in Haight Ashbury.

My Bookshelf

I have always been an avid book reader, and remember vividly weekly trips to our local library as a kid, and anxiously awaiting my Scholastic Books orders. My first fundraiser was a read-a-thon in fifth grade for the National Multiple Sclerosis Society. My sponsors had to dig deep in their pockets for that one!

ALL-TIME FAVORITES:
"The Little Prince" by Antoine St. Exupery*
"Something Wicked This Way Comes" by Ray Bradbury
"A Sand County Almanac" by Aldo Leopold*
"Cat's Cradle" by Kurt Vonnegut*
"Tao Te Ching" by Lao Tsu*
"The Name of the Rose" by Umberto Eco
"Walking a Literary Labyrinth: A Spirituality of Reading" by Nancy M. Malone

* books I've bought multiple copies and gave away to friends!