Coming to you live from Las Cruces

I'm currently in Las Cruces for the annual NMLA conference. I drove down this morning and will be here until Friday afternoon. This is the first time I've actually been to Las Cruces. I've driven through once on our way to Houston. So far, my impression of Las Cruces is that it's windy, dusty, and not well marked. Actually, it might be well-marked. I just couldn't see it for all the dust blowing.

When I was telling my student aides yesterday that I wouldn't be at school the rest of the week, one asked me what a bunch of librarians discuss--"I've got books. You've got books. Read books." Not quite but kind of. When I started explaining to them the types of sessions I would be attending, they didn't seem at all interested. This afternoon, I attended a session on repairing and preservation of books and a/v materials. The other sessions I plan on attending cover collaboration with classroom teachers, using graphic novels, lessons using Internet sites--generally stuff I find interesting and important but to a 13-year-old, probably not the niftiest thing going.

The conference is being held on the campus of NMSU. I feel old walking across a college campus. I mean, I can remember being 19 years old and walking across campus on my way to class. Until times like this, I forget I'm not 19 anymore. Or even 25. I'm an "ancient" 33 years old. But for the next two days, I'm going to try to look like the coolest old person I can be.