how on earth do they expect us to do any research here?!

OK, I'll admit it. I got spoiled by the library system at UW-Madison. Virtually all books published after 1800 were check-outable, all journals more than 10 years old were check-outable, you could have books shipped from any library on campus to any library on campus, grad students got semester loan (books were due either 30 May or 30 Dec), you could renew up to 5 times, meaning you essentially could have a book for three years without having to bring it back, and the stacks were open.

Here, the stacks in the main library are closed. No journal issues can be checked out. Books from the main library can be sent to a limited number of other libraries, but books from other libraries can't be shipped any where. The loan period is a month, with three renewals. Many books, even newish books in decent condition which aren't really general reference books, must be used in library only. And on top of that, I just found out today that the circulation desk and reading room in the main library CLOSES AT 5:00PM!!!! So all those "in library only" books you have to have returned by then. HOW ON EARTH DO THEY EXPECT US TO DO ANY RESEARCH HERE?!?!?

I've still got a long way to go

Awhile back my mom said I should keep a map with stick pins of all the countries I've been to. I found this today (snagged from herveus), which has the added bonus that there are no pins for kitties to extract and then chew on:

Countries I've been



create your own visited countries map
or vertaling Duits Nederlands

Still got a long ways to go to get everywhere. :)