Sandra Says

I had about three second of fame last night on KPRC-TV Channel 2 (the local NBC affiliate station). The story was about the success of the Houston Public Library’s Summer Reading Program. No video posted, but a web-equivalent story is posted on their site:

[snip]

“Last year, we had 20,000 kids and teens register for the program. As of mid-July, we had more than 60,000,” said Sandra Fernandez with the Houston Public Library.

[snip]

“Studies show that children who read during the summer retain more of what they learned in the previous school year and are better prepared to start the next school year,” said Fernandez.

[snip]

The Summer Reading Program continues through Friday, August 1st.

from OCLC’s latest report about public library funding

Originally uploaded by The Shifted Librarian

Via the shifted librarian. Very interesting.

I my sleep-deprived mind, posting this instead of tweeting it makes sense. Once upon a time, I kept an online journal. I started it as an experiment in html. It was my way to force myself to learn, a place to experiment, a location online where I could vent and connect.

Once upon a time I blogged daily. Admittedly, it was using a handle (an online persona, an alias, a name other than my own which I used everywhere). But it was the place where I went every day to put my life into words, make friends and follow up on the things that were going on… online and off.

Once upon a time I started a blog under my real name, to keep family and friends up to date on what I was doing. This was during a long few weeks I spent bed-ridden due to a back injury. I was very very bored. And so I started a new project, and posted to it regularly. It was mostly photos with captions, but it served its purpose well.

Once upon a time I started another blog, this one. It was supposed to be a place where I posted updates to my professional associates/friends/network. A place where I could update on the things that were going on, what I did, my interactions with reporters, etc. But today those updates no longer live in this space. Those updates live in Twitter.

Once upon a time I opened a Twitter account. I never anticipated that it would be one of the things I check daily, several times a day. Every morning I check my email accounts, personal and professional, my RSS feeds for news and blog mentions of my organization, Twitter, LinkedIn and others. If I don’t have time for the entire process, RSS feeds, LinkedIn and others will be delayed. Email and Twitter will not be delayed.

Under normal circumstances, I would have posted something like “Cannot sleep. Thinking about how my blogging habits have changed.” on Twitter and that would have been that.

So, you might ask, why am I boring you with a blog post? I’ve decided that I need to force myself to write, so writing longer items will become easy again. Kind of like exercising when you haven’t for a while, you ease yourself back into your old routine.

I can’t sleep, and am using my insomnia as an exercise opportunity. So sorry for the interruption.

My good friend and occasional client Geraldina Wise was featured on Primer Impacto. A Spanish language national television program, the show focused on her work in designing sustainable, green housing. Her most notable project was her own home, which can be viewed in the video.

I have learned more about sustainable housing from Geraldina than I ever thought possible. She is committed to designing homes that are beautiful, functional and environmentally sound.

Geraldina is a partner at Casa Concept Design.

OK, it’s posts like this that make me aware that I either lead a very dull life or just have a bland imagination. Either way, kudos to the bloggess for brightening my day.

So basically it was me, two people in normal clothes and two people in bowling shirts who could have gone into any Starbucks in America without getting a second look. Then Jason handed me the latest copy of Barstool Magazine in which I was mentioned as “a certain bloggess whose vagina I know way too much about”. It was at that moment, reading a glossy magazine about my vagina and dressed in a bed sheet poised to go on live television, that realized I had lost control of my life. Somewhere in between becoming a sweet mommyblogger and this exact moment a series of bizarre choices had landed me in this psychotic life and I had no other choice but to run with it. Someone handed me a badge which said I needed to be escorted by an employee at all times. Clearly these people had heard about me.

Houston Public Library Central Library Grand Reopening

Originally uploaded by Houston Public Library

This is one of my favorite photos from the reopening weekend for the Central Library. I don’t know why, especially since I have hundreds and hundreds to choose from.

Have you checked out the downtown library yet?

Last month was a very active month. I was in the news all the time. Below is just one pull-out quote from my mad rush of work.

BALANCING ACT
Avoid the summer slide
Keep your kids smart over summer and make it fun

By MAGGIE GALEHOUSE
Copyright 2008 Houston Chronicle

[snip]

Lounging with books

Imagine a lounge your teenager would never leave.

State-of-the-art computers where teens go online and check e-mail wait off to one side. A semicircle of pod chairs with built-in speakers welcomes teens who want to watch movies or play videos. Nearby, teens take turns playing Nintendo Wii and Sony PlayStation 3 games.

Brandon Myers, 15, calls it “a fantasy room for kids.”

The thing is, it’s real.

The newly renovated and expanded teen room at Houston Public Library’s downtown Central Library has all this and books, too.

Myers is here to check his e-mail and to make some new friends.

“I’d rather meet them in person than on MySpace,” he says.

A few seats away, Chris Kelley, 17, is checking his e-mail, too.

“I am trying to find a job,” he says, “but I could easily hang out here all day.”

The “shh” is pretty much gone from the teen sections of today’s libraries, says Sandra Fernandez, library spokeswoman. Most local libraries — whether they have groovy-looking pod chairs or not — offer summer activities for teens. And despite all the new technology, reading is still a priority.

[snip]

A great video editorial on YouTube. “PRSA CEO & Chair Jeffrey Julin Issues Video Response to CBS“

MyRaganTV.com posted this video introduction on ways public relations professionals can capitalize on LinkedIn. As someone who needs to improve the way she uses this networking tool, I recommend the three and a half minutes it takes to view the video. Enjoy!

Yesterday a reporter gave me a great compliment. She told me that usually, when she contacts large organizations, she doesn’t really expect to get a callback on the first try. So she wasn’t expecting one from my organization. But one of her colleagues told her “Sandra always returns phone calls.”

What a great thing to be know for, I think. As a PR pro, the fact that my reputation is that I return phone calls thrills me to no end.

I guess you had to be there.