Jenbys2001

About 5 years ago I was perusing the aisles of Best Buy when Robbie pointed out the most beautiful piece of technology I’ve ever seen – a Sony Bravia. While I am an ardent fan of any sort of technology that connects me with media, I often mourn the lack of visual appeal inherent in these devices. TVs are some of the worst offenders. They are bulky, ugly and worst of all they dominate any room where they exist. However, this Sony Bravia was different. Encased in glass with a stunningly clear picture, this sleek model resembled a piece of art rather than the hideous wood framed beast I remember as my family set. I was inflamed with desire – I HAD to own one of these gorgeous creations. Robbie shared my passion to acquire one and it’s been a long term goal in our relationship as well as our adult life.

This fall as my graduation was approaching we started to consider some of the deals being offered by Sony. We also signed in with Robbie’s corporate account to see what kind of discounts he was eligible for and we were surprised at the reduction in price we found. We decided to consider the tv over the weekend and make a choice on Monday. In the mean time we took a trip to our local retailer to make our definitive choices. Thankfully we waited until the weekend was over because the price dropped by an additional $200. We also had a stroke of luck when we called a Sony rep to speak about our selections – they were offering 2 years no payments, no interest for phone purchases only.

We bought a 46 inch W series and it ended up being so affordable, considering what we were originally willing to pay, that we also upgraded our Sony Surround Sound system and bought a Blu-ray player. The picture and sound quality is incredible and it looks fabulous in our living room. We recently watched The Dark Knight in Blu-ray and it was unbelievable. The only problem now is I’m probably going to turn into a complete snob and never be able to watch anything less than HD again.

Some unforseen expenses this summer, including a 55% hike in my tuition, rendered me unable to make this trip. I was pretty bummed about missing RENT on Broadway. However, next summer a tour is coming through Tampa with two of the original cast members – Anthony Rapp and Adam Pascal. Since I passionately adore both of these men, I’m actually more excited about this show. Tickets go on sale next week and I will defintely be purchasing one.

This year FLA was held in on St. Pete Beach – just a 45 minute drive from my house. Therefore I felt that it was imperative to attend, not only for my professional development but also for the intrinsic joy of relaxing on the beach in weather that turned out to be gorgeous.

While at FLA I attended two information sessions: one on promoting GLBTQ books in the public library – an especially relevant topic in Tampa, and another on rewriting your resume. During the resume meeting, a librarian who worked in your chosen professional area actually worked with you one on one to edit your resume. This was extremely helpful as I have never used my resume to apply for a professional job. The woman who worked with me was great and I now have a much slicker and more marketable resume.

My decision to attend SLA was also based on the location. This year it was held in Seattle, WA – which is where my husband’s family lives. He is a corporate research analyst (librarian) so he was able to attend the conference for free. Unfortunately I didn’t get a lot out of the information sessions as they were heavily geared towards business employees. However, I had an excellent time at all of the networking sessions. I met a lot of great people, received relevant advice for my post graduate life and overall had a fantastic time. My favorite part was the SLA “Prom” in which I witnessed an entire room of librarians shaking what their mama gave them until they were kicked out at midnight. It was truly a memorable vacation. If you have a chance, you should definitely attend a conference while you’re a student, the rates are cheap and it’s a really valuable experience.