Recently I had a computer set-back. If you work with computers, and I think the majority of people do these days, you will have some sort of accident, mishap, disaster, meltdown, glitch or simply a little oops moment. Mine was that I had over 1500 photos entered into my IPHOTO on my  home computer. They were in various folders all within that same software program IPHOTO. Some were scanned from old photos. Some were silly snapshots I had taken with my digital camera but liked well enough to save. Some of them documented events, like my cousin’s 90^th birthday party. Some of them were simply shots of images I liked. They comprised over 6 years of photographs. In some cases the original photos date from the 1800s (these were the ones that I had scanned in).

A month ago they all vanished without a clue in a single moment. What happened no one knows. I have had a technician look for them but he could find no clue. After that single moment, one has to move on.

Step One. Accept what has happened. My photos are gone.

Step Two. See if someone can help recover what was lost. I thought of a computer technician I know and engaged him to investigate.

Step Three. Accept it if they say the item is gone, that it is in fact gone. He looked and said he could find no trace of my photos.

Step Four. Move on. So not let this loss stop your enjoyment of photography, of working with computers, of life.

I am in step four. I am moving on. I do not yet know if there are copies of some of those photos elsewhere. I will figure that out when I start rescanning photos. I will miss some of the photos which are not going to be rescanned. I will miss some of the images that can not be recovered. It does me no good to mope or to try and figure out some new technician to ask- I have asked the question and gotten it answered by a good, capable technician who looked for the photos. I think that these situations are good mini practices for the big losses in life.

I am sad, don’t get me wrong. I can’t be too sad though. Part of it is my own fault. Did I back up each photo by saving it somewhere else as well as in IPHOTO? No. That is the end of the story. If I had stored each and every image in IPHOTO and also on a cd-rom,  I would have only lost what was stored on the computer, I would be able to reload the photos and go on with nothing more than a few minutes spent importing the photos.

Granted we can not guard against all of life’s tragedies  but with computers we can safeguard our files by saving them in more than one location. Put your files on a cd-rom, or in another application.  I can put my photos in both IPHOTO and simply elsewhere in a separate folder (that is not connected to IPHOTO).

I also want to stress, this loss like the bigger more important losses that are bound to happen to us, is not something to stop us, not meant to end our enjoyment of life, it is simply a way to remind me in this case to be more vigilant in saving my images and to appreciate them while I have them. Of course in life as in photography, the real lesson is to enjoy your life as you are living it, not rely on some printed form of it to substitute for the real thing.

As you go forth, safeguard your work, savor it while you create it, and then if something happens, you will have had the enjoyment of the moment when you created it as well as the memory of your work. Let my story remind you to safe your work before something happens.

I recently read a great piece by Monique le Conge who is Director of the Richmond, CA Public Library system. She wrote an article entitled 7 Ways Your Public Library Can Help You During Tough Economic Times.
I liked her ideas so much I wanted to customize it; 25 Ways The Hayward Public Library Will Help You Survive Tough Times. Here are my ideas:
1.)    We’re here for you and we lend our materials free of charge. How great is that?! It’s free to get a Hayward Public Library card. It’s the MASTER key that opens every door. The doors of opportunity, of education, of relaxation, of family togetherness, of possibility, and self discovery all can be opened with a free Hayward Public Library card.




2.)    We have public access computers with internet access to help you look for jobs, submit job applications, file your resume on various list servs and receive emails concerning jobs and interviews.




3.)    Those same computers can help you write your resume and we have printers that can print out your resume if you are submitting it in person somewhere.


4.)    Those same computers can also be used to keep in touch with friends and family during these times when we need all the emotional support we can get.

5.)    We loan DVDs and videos to both provide instruction to help you learn something new ( like cooking or Taibo) as well as simple entertainment when you are relaxing.



6.)    We loan audio books and cassettes to help with the commute when you live far away from your job and have quite a commute. The audio books are fiction, nonfiction and language instruction. That means you can enjoy a good mystery while driving, learn Russian or learn Donald trump’s secrets of salesmanship. Put that commute time to good use.


7.)    We also loan downloadable audio books and Ebooks( think free Kindle).Explore these possibilities either during your commute or when doing chores, increase the time you can learn or enjoy books. Someone reads them aloud and you download them to your computer, MP3 player or other device.




8.)    We loan Books. These come in all shapes and sizes, fiction, non-fiction, in various languages and for children, teens and adults. Books can teach us how to write a resume, how to conduct a job interview, how to write a cover letter and which jobs are going to pay us what we need to make. Books can also take us away from the everyday reality by transporting us to another time, another place, even another galaxy. They can make us see the world differently, they can help us to understand the world in which we live and they can help us to change ourselves.



9.)    We have book groups where you can join a community of readers and explore mystery books, literary books, autobiographies, or books from around the globe. These groups can provide a forum for discussions and can also provide a loose structure to explore a subject like autobiography. The group means you don’t have to do all the work yourself. It is not like a college class but it has the rewards without the papers, the exams and the professor. It can provide companionship, intellectual interaction and some great reading.




10.)    We provide computer classes to get you started in the complex world of computers.




11.)    We offer English Conversation groups as a means where people learning English as a Second Language can come together and practice speaking English.




12.)    We also offer a wide range of one time programs ranging from an evening learning about Arabic Calligraphy to Japanese Brush Painting. We offer music  from local musicians, local authors come to talk about their work, we provide programs detailing how to avoid Termites, Fall prevention, craft programs as well as how to improve your writing.



13.)     We offer yoga workshops every month to give you an opportunity to come and learn to relax, to breathe and even to laugh.


14.)    We encourage and teach  literacy as the most fundamental skill that will keep us employed, employable and enjoying life.  We provide this valuable life skill in both English and in Spanish.


15.)    We offer an extensive range of programs for children, starting the day they are born.


16.)    We offer programs for children and their parents together.


17.)    We offer programs for teenagers. Some of these programs are just fun( like crafts), some are  computer games and some of them are actually learning skills and growing as a person- such as a recent photography project that culminated in a city wide gallery showing of their photographs.


18.)    We offer library services for shut-ins and seniors who can no longer get into the library. We bring the library materials out to them.


19.)    We offer a repository for living Hayward local History. We are continuing for a third year to collect video stories of Hayward residents telling of their lives in California and specifically Hayward. Come in and tell us your story. We want to save it for the generations of the present and the future.


20.)    We answer questions. If you need to know how to get to that interview in Oakland but don’t know the way, you can ask us and we can print out a map or show you on your map how best to get there. We can tell you what year Benjamin Franklin was in France if you want to find that out. We can tell you who is offering classes in Excel in the Hayward area if you want to improve your skills. We can give you the telephone number for East Bay Works. We can find the poem that starts; It was many and many a year ago in a kingdom by the sea. We can answer where to find Health or Medical issue answers(see recent entry in this blog).


21.)    We are going to be here. We have the daily papers, come in and read them. We have magazines you can follow international politics, design from Martha Stewart, Oprah’s monthly interest, magazines explaining men’s health issue. Come in, relax and read them without having to subscribe.


22.)    We loan music cds. Come in and see what relaxing or stimulating music we have from around the country and across the globe.


23.)     We offer free legal help, two to three times a month, we have a lawyer into the lawyer to answer library patron questions. The sessions are brief, just fifteen minutes but they are free, confidential and will help start the solution to the problem bothering you.


24.)    We offer many of these services in Spanish, Chinese, Farsi, Vietnamese and Hindi.


25.)    We have online services such as an online catalog, events blog, Refresh Your Life Blog, reference books, database offerings,  the ability to put  books on hold that  you are looking for, notification of the status of your books, online payment of fines, and many many other online resources.

Taking a line from long ago and far away and changing it a bit…;

Libraries will get you through times of no money better than money will get you through times of no libraries.

(I think this was an R.Crumb line; Drugs will get you through times of no money better than money will get you through times of no drugs. I like mine better- no offense RC)

‘image: www.freeimages.co.uk’

When I hear people talk about public libraries, many people think of old fashioned public libraries. We at Hayward have really changed into one of the new wave of public libraries. We do many things that help people when and where they need that help. We are always interested in hearing from people who have suggestions of how we can use our tools to reach more people. Do any of you have any suggestions? Would people like tweets from the library? If you answer yes, what kind of information would you want to receive? Someone suggested that appropriate tweets would be only when our plans changed; such as if the scheduled “Lawyer in the Library” program was cancelled for one day but was rescheduled for another. Are there other suggestions?

I was playing cards with some friends on the fourth of July. We were 4 adults playing Spite and malice, drinking tea and coffee and having a good time. As I lay in bed later reflecting on it, I thought how telling it was. I had a relaxing evening and I was savoring it. I know the value of relaxation. There was no cut throat completion, as there can be with some card games. Even one of the people on the evening of the fourth, asked if I played Bridge. I said no, it was too competitive for me. People take it too seriously. If I am going to relax then I do not want to compete. I want to enjoy the little mental puzzles, not any big ones. I know which card to play but if I flub up, no one cares, not even me.
I think that it’s a hard thing for us to learn in this society; when to relax and why. I see people who are ambitious and do not see any value in relaxing. I see people in their careers, fearing relaxing because if they go away for a week, they will not want to go back to that killer schedule, or those mind numbing meetings. They are afraid if they step out of the “rat race” it will move on without them and they will be left behind.
Years ago I was in business for myself. I took no vacations for the first years of my business. I was it. If I wasn’t working, no one was and so no work was getting done. I was single, living alone, it worked fine for about five years and then I felt I needed a break. I took a month off. I went geographically away from my business and home. When I came back I had decided to sell my business and did. To make that decision, I needed perspective that I couldn’t get while running on the treadmill I called my sole proprietorship. I have never regretted either the working so hard on that business nor the decision to sell it.
I now see how important relaxation is to any project. In writing, you need to let the words sit for a period, so you can go back to them fresh and see what is actually on the page, not the projection of what you think you have written. In painting, you need to let the paint dry, you need to come back to it to see the colors and how they interact once dried and set.
In intellectual pursuits, it is just as true. If you’re working on a big paper or project, you need to work and then sit back. You need to be able to clear your mind of the details and the minutiae. You need to be able to look at the big blocks, then go look at the details. Only stepping back, turning your back on these things will let their true nature be revealed as it is.
In fine dining they always say you have to cleanse your palate to be able to appreciate the next course. I think it is also true of your brain especially when creativity is involved. Relaxing is nature’s way of cleansing the palate of your mind so we can appreciate the next course of life, whatever it is.
Ok, so we’ve decided we need to relax. Do something else, what should we do? I mentioned playing cards. I know so many people who see it as a waste of time. You actually spend money to take home 54 little slips of paper and then you waste time flipping them over. Of course some of us see it differently.
I think anything repetitive that requires a bit of mental effort ( not too much) is great for this curative relaxation. Besides playing cards, think knitting (or any needle or thread art( quilting, weaving, spinning, tatting, crocheting, embroidery, macrame ) or walking (we’ve covered this activities benefits in another post ( see May 16th post) I’ve already mentioned crosswords(or any word or number problems Sudoku etc.) and then there are all the logic games like go or chess or checkers.
And then there is reading. It’s a relaxation of a different kind. It can steal us away from our problems and take us for an exciting ride or to a magical land or into the future or far into the past. Reading non-fiction can help educate us about whatever it is we’re working on. If you’re writing, you need to do research. If you’re building, then it’s great to both do research but also surf the web for new and exciting solutions that other people have built. And lest we forget there is also boring reading, that can actually put you to sleep if you need it to.
I wonder at people who do not want to retire. I see retirement as a way to both keep working on my projects versus those from my employer, as a great time to volunteer for the causes I believe in as well as getting through this long list of ways to relax. I’m going to need years to get through testing them all out to see which one works the best.
Keep me posted as to which method works best for you.

Back on April 6, I discussed the benefits of Book Groups. The summer is a great time to reconsider joining one. It’s a great time for reading projects. We can pick simple ones- read the seven books of the Chronicles of Narnia by C.S. Lewis. Don’t worry about the movies, read the books and then consider if you want to watch the movies.(consider joining our Good Enough for Film group. We meet monthly. We invite people to read the book then come watch the film. Usually we have time to discuss the pros and cons of each medium for that title. If interested in joining us, write jody.snyder@hayward-ca.gov)

There are famous reading projects like reading all of the books by Marcel Proust that make up In Search of Lost Time ( Rememberance of Things Past).

There are fun reading projects like starting J.D.Robb’s Eve Dallas series. The first in the series in Naked in Death. It is one of those series where if you read the first and don’t like it, don’t try another one. The converse is true, if you like one, you will like all of them. There are more than 30 in the series so know that if you like the first, you have a lot of enjoyment in front of you.

There are mysteries which I think are infinitely entertaining. Mysteries now come in any size, any culture, any country, any time period, they are great. I enjoy the Elizabeth Peter series featuring Amelia Peabody. They are about Egyptology at the turn of the 20th century. There are mysteries about ancient Rome, about Victorian England, about Napa Valley California, about Boston, whatever you are interested in - there is a mystery for you. Enjoy them.(Consider joining our Women’s Mystery book discussion group. if interested, write heidi.ontiveros@hayward-ca.gov)

There are projects where you explore a new genre. Try to read a graphic novel if you haven’t done that before. There are some great ones besides the most famous Maus I & II by Art Spiegelman, this is about the Holocaust. Try Persepolis by Marjane Satrapi, it is about the Iranian Revolution. There are books like 101 Best Graphic Novels by Stephen Weiner where you could preview those 101 graphic novels and see which ones seem best for you.

There are so many great nonfiction books out there, there is no way to limit them enough to suggest one over another. The summer is a great time to explore some area we want to learn about. We could start with Botany of Desire by Michael Pollan where he explains about four plants- Apples, Tulips, Marijuana and potatoes. It’s a fascinating book.

I personally find autobiographies fascinating, try any of the following:

Color of Water by James McBride, A Walk in the Woods by Bill Bryson, Road from Coorain by Jill Ker Conway, Dreams from My Father by Barack Obama, My Life in France by Julia Child, Infidel by Ayaan Hirsi Ali or Tender at the Bone by Ruth Reichl. (Think about joining the Autobiography book group at the Hayward Public Library - if you’re interested write to abbe.kalos@hayward-ca.gov)

There is so much to read. You can read about spirituality, about healthy living, about art, about writing - the list is endless.

Then of course there is the entire globe to explore. We can do that from the comfort of our own living rooms. Read about other countries, cultures and peoples It’s a great way to travel at no cost.

There are two other book groups to mention at the Hayward Public Library.

There is mostly Literary Fiction Book Discussion group. Here we read a wide variety of high quality fiction books. If interested in joining, write to Sally.Thomas@hayward-ca.gov

There is also the Globetrotters Book discussion Group. This group looks at fiction and non fiction from across the globe. If interested in joining, write melesha.owen@hayward-ca.gov

Whatever you chose to explore, do some of it with books. They can take us places we can not physically go, they can help change our thinking, they can help grow our understanding and tolerance, they can educate us, they can amuse us, calm us, inspire us,  and heal us. Granted I am not neutral. I am sort of a fanatic about the power of the word, of the book and of course of the public Library.

Go out and read and send me some reviews — share them with others.

Craig Nathanson was good on Wednesday night. I hope some of you got to hear him. I think that many of the questions he posed are ones we should be asking ourselves repeatedly. What is it that we want to do? How can we do it? Are we the ones keeping us from achieving that goal?Is it fear? Is it something like finances that we might be able to mitigate?(meaning if we need 6 months to start our plan, can we save up(meaning going without all the fun stuff) and get enough to live for six months without a job to try whatever it is we want.)

If you want to be a dog groomer, is there a way you can start grooming dogs without quitting your day job? Is there a way that you can start to hang out with dog groomers and learn more about the industry, the pros and cons of that world without leaving your current job?

Craig also mentioned emotional support when we start something new, especially when it’s very different from what we had been doing. You’re not going from one job working in customer support to another job working in customer support. You’re leaving that regular job and starting to be an interior designer. He mentioned how sometimes it is those closest to us that do not want to support such a radical change. It is sad but it is true, sometimes our friends do not want us to change. Sometimes it means we have to start a new relationship with certain friends as we are also starting a new phase in our lives. It sounds cruel doesn’t it? Sometimes it shows us a relationship that was more routine than authentic. Craig went through all these different aspects very quickly in his presentation but you can find more depth in his books.

I would say that sometimes just knowing that these things can occur(not that they will) means we aren’t startled and derailed by them when they happen. We should not give up our goals because someone around us doesn’t initially like the idea of us changing.

Know that we have to get ready to change as well. When you go back to school, your free time will be limited. Your priorities will shift. You might not be able to keep up with book groups, or you might have to miss some episodes of a favorite tv program. It’s one of the costs of changing, of trying something different, of growing towards our goals.

If you’ve had some of these experiences, let me know. I am always interested in how people handle these situations.

When I moved to California, one of my oldest friends immediately upon hearing me say I was moving to California, asked why I was doing this to her. I said I wasn’t doing anything to her, I was moving to California. She said that impacted her. I said I did understand that and I was sorry if she felt a loss but couldn’t she also see I was doing something that was good for me, and feel a little excitement for me? She quickly came around. She saw that there were two issues. One was my moving ahead and doing something good for me. The second issue was that move had a negative impact on her and neither of us liked that but the first goal was more important.By making her aware of the issue, we both could handle it more maturely, more consciously and ultimately better for both of us. I heard her sadness of losing a friend’s proximity, she heard my determination to make this move and achieve something new for myself.

Stay true to your goals. Know that there will be distractions, maybe even set backs but that is no reason not to try, not to strive and ultimately to suceed.

Good Luck.

Of course these sorts of issues have no age attached to them, we can achieve at any age that we have goals. Go think out what you want to do and then DO IT !

If you are thinking about creative writing

but need prompts to get started on today’s writing; take a few minutes and let me know this:

If you could meet any one from the past, who would you meet? Where would you spend time with them and what would you want on the menu if you were going to share a meal together? Tell me why you would want to meet that person. It is easier to understand if it is a person with a public persona, but of course it could be your grandmother or your friend’s great aunt.

For example, I would choose Eleanor Roosevelt

at the beach at the Del Coronado Hotel in San Diego

and an Italian meal on the menu after a nice tea.

I want to meet her since she seemed to learn over the course of her life how to relate to many people from many different backgrounds. She suffered quite a bit in her life but I think she probably turned a lot of her pain into wisdom, but I’d like to spend some time with her to see if that was true.

Another prompt would be to go to a very different place and time and tell us why and what class ( social class = money and privilege). Example; I want to be in Shanghai in the 1920’s as a wealthy Chinese to see the interior of some of the fine houses, feel the clothing. Or India to see the cloth and the interiors of the maharaja’s palaces.

Another question would be what book would you want to climb into and why. So you could say: Alice in Wonderland, because I want to see the smile of the Cheshire Cat. Or maybe you would like to be a part of the Sherlock Holmes books

because you would like to learn from him how to discern so much from so few clues. - Trudy

Has someone joined a book group and discovered the joy of reading books chosen by others but then discussed in a group? Some people think this is a challenge because the books chosen by someone else, are often not ones we would chose for ourselves. Sometimes the writing style of the book differs from what we are used to and sometimes the content is a challenge in and of itself.
There is something very satisfying in hearing other people’s opinions about a book that you all have just read, so it is fairly fresh for everyone. It is fascinating how some people can make wonderful connections between what you have read and what is going on in the news, or another book that is connected, but that you didn’t know about. This book club experience is a great way to build community, to expand your horizons, to learn, to interact, to experiment.
These books once read can be a rewarding exercise, can lead to all sorts of new interests, and not surprisingly the library has many of these book clubs to chose from – check our website for more information on these.
Trudy