A Pleasant Surprise

This morning I was going to publicly start whining about how January 2012 was going down as one of the longest, most miserable, "don't want to get out of bed" months in recent history.

That is,  until I read an email from the author of one of my favorite blogs telling me that I was the winner of his weekly give-away!

Michael Popek is the author of a blog called "Forgotten Bookmarks."  He describes his blog like this:

"I am a used and rare bookseller.  I buy books from people every day. These are the personal, funny, heartbreaking and weird things I find in these books"

It was in fact, Dahling Thomas MacEntee who turned me on to Michael's blog about 3 years ago.  I have been a faithful reader ever since.

Michael shares the wonderful things that people have left in books.  There are the usual items :  pieces of paper with recipes written on them, letters written but never mailed, quite a few photographs and alot of just plain weird and bazaar crap.  A clever, witty comment accompanies each item Michael posts.  A few of my personal favorites can be found HERE, HERE and one of special interest to any genealogist researching New York and the Hudson River Valley.

I know, I know - I can hear some of you thinking - "Didn't she just write something recently about  trying to overcome the OLSS (Oh Look, Something Shiny!")  thingy?"  Well judge me not dear readers.  Here is my defense that time spent at Forgotten Bookmarks is not the time sucker you may think it is.

Each item left behind in a book tells us a little about the person who left it there.  Some of the books are really old, which makes the item left behind really old.  So this makes the item an artifact.  (still with me?)  So if I am looking at an artifact left in a book by a person from a long time ago that means I am doing some kind of social science kind of thing.  And what Michael is doing is preserving cultural history, right?  So voila! Reading  the Forgotten Bookmarks blog does not equal time sucking, rather it contributes to my ongoing commitment of education for myself and others.

I rest my case.  You are welcome.

An Open Response To Dahling Polly Kimmitt

Yesterday, as I was catching up on 3 weeks worth of blogs, I came across one of my favorites - "PollyBlog" authored by Polly Kimmitt.

Below is a snippet of a recent post from her blog:

"There is a lot of negative buzz in the genealogical community lately about people overselling themselves, and I certainly don't want to come across that way because in reality I don't think anything I'm doing is all that spectacular. I myself am happy with it, but I'm not out to impress anyone. Then again, it seems kind of dumb that you can read my blog and have no idea what I'm doing. I always say that if you carry modesty too far it becomes an egotistical thing. A person who purposefully does not share anything about him/herself can seem closed-off, and for what purpose?"

At the end Polly asks this of her readers:

"Do you think this post is boastful, arrogant or publicity-based? Does it seem self-serving? I'm curious what people think about this one because it is different from my others. Let me know your thoughts!"

I started to leave a comment but found shortly that it was turning into almost a thesis and decided to address her concerns and put in my 5 cents worth of thoughts here.

Writing a blog and making it available to the whole world to read is very scary stuff when you first start out.  Some of my first thoughts were: How much about my personal life to I want to share with John Q. Public?  I am so very proud of my 3 sons and like any mother I love to brag about anything they do.  OK mostly it is all about me - I pat myself on the back daily for a job well done on those boys.  But, am I violating their privacy if I use their names?  They are all grown men now but the world is full of weirdos and we all want to keep our children safe.  Then came the most horrifying thought of all - what if no one evens reads my blog at all?  

So after about a year I made the decision to just be me - I decided not to write with a formal business tone.  My blog is a perfect way for me to meet and "talk" to people in the genealogical community.  Truth is, I am painfully shy, and a blog was a curtain to hide behind.  As I began interacting with others online more and more, my confidence grew. I started putting some of my research work in posts.  The comments and constructive criticism I received from others bloggers and genealogists - the peer review - the knowledge that people thought well enough of me and my work to take time to leave words of advice and encouragement turned the tide for me personally and professionally.  Gone are the days of living in a vacuum.  Yes a genealogist usually does work alone, but we now can reach out to one another in seconds for support and friendship.

I have learned that if there is something that you do well, why not let the world know about it?  I gave myself permission to toot my own horn when I accomplished a goal or if I have knowledge that can be of use to another then Hell yes I let people know.  How else are they going to know about it?  

I had a client last month who told me that when he decided he was going to hire a professional, he narrowed down the choices to a group of 4 or 5 genealogists of which I was one.  He went on to say that for each of us he had gone on Facebook, Google+, Twitter and our personal websites or blogs to learn more about each of us.  He knew that all of us were more than capable and experienced to take on his project but he wanted someone who he felt comfortable enough with to share his family and ancestors with.  

He said that there are a kazillion people out there that could pull records and find the facts and documents and write a cold and impersonal report.  He wanted a researcher to get to know his ancestors  and go into the project with the mindset that his ancestors were living, breathing people at one time in history and not just names on a piece of paper.

He said that I was the only one of the group of his choices that let people get to know who I am as a person.  

He said hiring a genealogist is not the same as hiring a plumber or a tax accountant, etc.  A genealogist would be privy information about what he holds most dearest - his family - both the living and the dead.  He wanted someone who he felt could conduct research knowing these things.

I said to him - "Well you have read my blog and so you must be aware that I can be at times snarky, irreverent and just a plain goofball and that didn't concern you that I might not be professional or businesslike enough?"  He told me that he had seen my work and had even spoke to a previous client (unbeknowst to me) and he was confident in my experience and abilities.  

Well that was a first for me and he is probably one in a million of clients that would make a choice for a professional with that criteria.  But it did make sense to me and was thrilled and honored that he thought I was the one who fit the bill.

On the other hand, there are probably many other prospective clients that did NOT choose or even consider me because of the very reasons he did.

Each one of us blog for different reasons.  They are so many out there that are wonderful blogs and the information that they have is invaluable.  They have been blogging for years and to this day to not even reveal their real name or location or (believe it or not) have any information about how to contact them.  But that is their choice.

It's your blog, and you have the power to do anything you want.  If my blog or posts ever bother some one I would hope they would tell me why and we can always agree to disagree but I will not change or delete because of that reason.  

There is nothing wrong with self-promotion.  If we were all rich and famous enough we would do the same thing but we would be paying a publicist to do it.

There is a huge difference between self promotion and getting your name out there to let people know what you can do for them - and and being a braggart, blow-hard and uppity know-it-all (for lack of a word that isn't offensive).  Anyone with common sense is able to tell the difference as far as I am concerned.

So Polly Kimmitt - I for one am so pleased to know more about you and what makes you happy in life. You are my kind of people!   I am sad though that you probably won't ever be joining me in the Unholy Abyss  playing video games and watching TV and abusing other time-wasters. But we can work on that. . .LOL.

A Bit Under The Weather

Cold and Flu Season has hit Camp Fenley with a vengeance.  Hope to be back soon.

Forecast of 2012 Arrives In A Fortune Cookie

"A Goal is a Dream with a Plan and a Deadline"

Last night we dined on our traditional New Year's Eve fare - take out from Dave Wong's Chinese Restaurant.  Yeah, we are a classy bunch here at Camp Fenley.  Tradition also dictates that I eat the fortune cookies before I start in on the main courses.  Being an adult who doesn't have any examples to set, I can eat my dessert first if I want to so don't judge me people.

The very first cookie I cracked open contained a slip of paper that read:  "A goal is a dream with a plan and a deadline."

A perfect set up to segueway into revealing my genealogical plans for 2012, don't you think?

I have only one real goal for 2012, but it is huge people, really huge.  I am going to send in my application to the Board for Certification for Genealogists  this month and start the one year clock ticking to submit my portfolio.  Am I nervous?  Am I scared?  A big and hearty HELL, YES! I am shaking in my Jimmy Choo shoes!

This year I also have moved up the ladder in my genealogical volunteer gigs.

I am now a member of the executive board for the California State Genealogical Alliance serving as secretary.  I will also be a contributing author to the blog for the Alliance.

In May 2012, I will begin a 2 year term as the District II Registrar for the California State Society Daughters of the American Revolution.  I will also remain registrar for El Toyon Chapter NSDAR here in Stockton, a position I have held since 2007.

I also will continue as the editor for the San Joaquin Genealogical Society newsletter and serving on the board.  The board has approved the creation of a blog for the society, which I will manage and I hope to have its debut this next week.

In between all the above, I hope to attend all of the field trips planned for the year with the Northern California Chapter of the Association of Professional Genealogists beginning with the tour of the Special Collections of the University of the Pacific Library on January 5th.

I will continue indexing for various projects throughout the year.

 I will continue to participate in the monthly NGSQ article online discussion groups.  Last year, Angela McGhie, who is the head Honchess of the ProGen Study Group,  turned the article discussion group coordinator reins over to me.  

Leah Allen, author of Leah's Family Tree,  has volunteered not only to be my genealogy goal buddy, but has made the suggestion that we round up Northern California bloggers to form a group of buddies.  The more the merrier.  What fun it would be to meet up with a group of NorCal bloggers a couple times a year to cheer each other on and help each other obtain their goals for 2012.  I say we could include anyone interested in becoming a buddy in our group would work if we use the Google+ Hangout to meet.  Anyone interested?

Answering The Challenge or Double-Dog Dare

Back in January 2011 Cheryl Palmer and I had lunch and decided to set some goals and try to achieve them using the Buddy System that Amy Coffin and Denise Levenick had implemented.  Cheryl and I became the Northern California Team, while Amy and Denise were name the Southern California Team.  This wasn't a contest but rather more reinforcement to help each of us achieve our goals set for the year.

Amy and Denise each chose three goals.  I chose only two and Cheryl had quite an ambitious list.  You can read about Amy's year end results HERE, Denise's final recap HERE and to read how Cheryl fared you can click HERE.

My first goal:

Write and submit a genealogical article to , well, anyplace that will take it.

I had been asked to write an article for the Idaho Genealogical Society about my "Problem With Pauline."  Halfway into writing, I found more information that will change the story and it was agreed to hold off on submitting the story for now.

A few days later I was asked by Kathryn Doyle from the California Genealogical Society and Library to write an article for their magazine "The Nugget."  The magazine has a recurring series entitled "California Ancestors" and she knew that I had done extensive research on a few San Francisco Pioneers.  So I did a narrative on my sister-in-law's ancestor David Nathan Walter who came to San Francisco in 1858.  I am pleased  the article was worthy of SIX pages in the Fall 2011 issue of the Nugget!

My second goal:

For my educational goals for the year, I really wanted to do something different. I read about some genealogists getting together and meeting in a virtual online world called Second Life. Through the use of avatars, they get their genealogy groove-on. The group has recently been approved and is a bona fide chapter of the APG - Association of Professional Genealogists.  This goal is going to take me way longer than I had anticipated. I can't seem to even get my avatar dressed and when I tried to change the hair style and color of her hair - well it somehow got snatched off her head completely so now I have a naked and bald avatar prancing around make-believe land and have not a clue as how to save my avatar from certain destruction. At the very least a ticket for indecent exposure.

Well my first attempt to participate had discouraged me so much that it took me until just last week to give it another try.  I am pleased to say that my avatar - JypsieBluze - has hair, clothing and I was able to navigate to the Just Genealogy Group meeting hosted by Clarise Beaumont aka Dear Myrtle last week.

My Second Life Avatar - JypsieBluze 

standing in front of a building at Just Genealogy

The Buddy System worked for me.  Being accountable for the goals I set made all the difference in the world as far as motivation was concerned.  

So I am ready to set some goals for 2012 - who wants to be my Buddy???

Making Some Family History Where Ever I Go

So my husband has children from a previous marriage and it is because of his children that I have grandchildren.  We don't see them often and maybe it's because of the stories they tell their parents after one of their visits with me.

Take today for instance.  I needed to go to the market.  They did NOT want to accompany me but they are only 10 and 8 years old and I felt not old enough to stay home alone.  So being the responsible grandparent that I am I made them come along.  I told them grocery shopping with me was an experience of a lifetime.  Of course they rolled their eyes at me but curiosity got the better of them and off we went.

As soon as we arrive I begin with the fast paced shopping cart races in the parking lot.  I had them hooked.

We danced in the frozen food aisle, played the paper towel end zone challenge in another aisle.  This is where you launch a roll of paper towels to see how far you can throw it down the aisle.  Then of course we played canned food bowling and topped it off watching the "Lobster Wars" over in the fresh seafood aisle lobster tank.  

With the right combination of caffeine and creativity, you can transform grocery shopping into a Disneylandish bonding experience with your children or grandchildren. Life is too short not to have all kinds of fun where ever you are! 

My Other Life

Because of the posts written by Leah Kleylein over at Random Notes and by Susan Peterson over at Long Lost Relatives, I feel the need to reveal what occupies my time when genealogy doesn't.


I used to think that those who watched television were akin to those who worshipped Satan.  In the last year or so, the Devil took me by the hand and showed me the way to Hell.  The current list of shows I NEVER miss:


COMEDY
Big Bang Theory
Modern Family
Raising Hope
I Hate My Teenage Daughter


CRIME & DRAMA
Body of Proof
Castle
All the Alphabet Shows
Boardwalk Empire
Hell on Wheels
The Closer
Pan Am
Prime Suspect
Revenge


DANCING & MUSIC
The Sing Off
Dancing With The Stars
So You Think You Can Dance


SCI FI
The Event
Haven
Being Human
Alphas
Grimm
Once Upon A Time
Falling Skies


I have fallen further into the Unholy Abyss with my addiction to playing games like Angry Birds, Gardens of Time, Hot Shot, Mah Jong and Word Whomp Whackdown.


As if that weren't enough, I have also fallen prey to timesuckers such as Jibjab, Imagechef,  Smurf Yourself and FunnyWow.


I try to redeem myself with puzzles because it almost like doing science, right?   I can spend hours with word logic puzzles.  However that usually leads me to the jigsaw puzzle.  There is ALWAYS a jigsaw puzzle in progress on my dining room table.  I can't pass by the table without stopping to fit a piece or two in.


Of course I do all of the above while listening and dancing to music from the Black Eyed Peas, Adele, Matchbox Twenty, Maroon 5, Pussycat Dolls and Lady Gaga.


So what evilalities (yes it is a word, I just now made it up)  occupy your time?????

Happy Holidays!

Northern California Chapter APG January Field Trip

The Northern California Chapter of the Association of Professional Genealogists has scheduled their quarterly field trip for Thursday January 5th, 2012.  This time it will be right here in Stockton at the Holt-Atherton Special Collections of University of the Pacific Library.

Archivist Michael Wurtz will take us on a tour of their holdings and give a presentation on the Stockton State Hospital.  Constructed in 1853, it was first known as the Stockton Insane Asylum.  The state legislature at the time felt that existing hospitals were incapable of caring for the large number of people who suffered from mental and emotional conditions as a result of the Gold Rush and so they authorized the creation of the first public mental health hospital in the State of California.

Just a few holdings of  the special collections:


Japanese-American Internment Collection which includes oral histories of Japanese-Americans who had been relocated during WWII


The archives of jazz Legend Dave Brubeck

The John Muir Papers - the world's largest collection of Muir documents.  The furniture in the special collections reading room is from John Muir's study.

Western Americana is comprised of over 400 collections of unique primary sources and a specialized book collection - over 22,000 volumes on the American West

Spooner Collection - This collection consists of stereographs taken by John Pitcher Spooner in California between approximately 1875 and 1905.


University of the Pacific was established by pioneer Methodist ministers in Santa Clara in 1851 as California's first chartered institution of higher learning. Initially named California Wesleyan College, it petitioned the state to change its name to University of the Pacific one month after it was chartered.  The University provided the West Coast with its first medical school in 1858 (which later became part of Stanford, and today is California Pacific Medical Center), its first coeducational graduating class in 1858, and its first conservatory of music in 1878.  In 1871, Pacific moved to San Jose and in 1896, it merged with Napa College. Its final move was from San Jose to Stockton in 1924.


Are you a member of APG?  Are you thinking about becoming a member?  Are you a Northern California Genealogist?


All are welcome to join us for the tour, presentation and lunch afterward at a nearby restaurant. There is no cost for the tour and presentation, however we all go dutch at lunch. I will need a headcount no later than December 31, 2011 so the good people at UOP can accommodate us comfortably.  Please email me, Sheri Fenley, to RSVP :  sherifenley@gmail.com








DATE:       Thursday  -  January 15, 2012


TIME:        10:30 am until 12:00 pm
                Please plan on arriving at 10:15am inside the library in the cafe.


PLACE:     University of the Pacific
               3601 Pacific Avenue
               Stockton, California 95211

Christmas Video Series - Part 4

As you may know, I made a few Christmas videos to show my appreciation for commentators, mentors, encouragers and others who have shown me all kinds of love this past year.  Have you seen the first, second, and third in the series?  After watching this one, I know you'll want to go back and see the others.  OK, on with the show!

The Cast of Characters

Chris Staats - Staats Place

Caroline Marshall Pointer - Family Stories

Cindy Bergeron Scherwinski - In My Life

Denise Levenick - The Family Curator

Cheryl Palmer - My Heritage Happens