See You Soon, Big Baboon

I feel that there are few things on this earth more gratifying than reading to children.

Seriously, if *all* my job involved was storytime, I would be a happy camper.

Tuesday is my big storytime day - I have 3 groups. Though each storytime is 30 minutes, the day simply flies by. At 5PM, I am utterly spent. And utterly blissful.

It doesn't matter how many times a sweet voice calls me "Miss Laura." I can't get enough.

When a child starts at the very back edge of the storytime rug, clinging to a parent, and then by the end of our time together has crept up closer and is hanging on every word, I feel like I won the lottery.

Even when I have a particularly rowdy bunch, there is always at least one moment when everyone is silent. When a story has captured the attention of every child and adult in the room. When I sneak a glance around, taking my eyes from the pages, and see mouths hanging open and eyes fixed in concentration.

The moment passes; we jump up to sing a song. I'm a rock star surrounded by adoring fans.

At the end, right before we move to the craft tables, we sing our goodbye song. Little voices pipe up proudly, everyone knows this well since we sing it every week:

See you later, alligator; in a while, crocodile.
Give a hug, ladybug; blow a kiss, jellyfish.
See you soon, big baboon; out the door, dinosaur.
Take care, polar bear; wave goodbye, butterfly!
(Source: this lovely video)

Hugs, shy thank-you's, waves. They show me their completed crafts, bursting with pride.

My heart is so full.

Ah, Yes. Right This Way.

"It had a red cover."

"The author's name had a 'q' in it."

The main character has a cat and works in a bakery."

Oh boy! I love a good book-finding challenge!

All right, all right. Sometimes it gets a smidge irritating trying to read the mind of whatever random patron is giving me very minimal information.

Here's a tip: be prepared! We can only do so much.

Thanks to Google, I just type in whatever the patron says, then keep modifying my search terms and see what I turn up.

I once spent close to 20 minutes searching online to find a particular mystery series. Every time the patron (an older woman) remembered another detail, I typed it in. My, the satisfaction when I hit up on the correct title!

If the patron does have some helpful information, though, I like to think of it as a challenge to remember a particular author or title. (J.K. Rowling's new book published under a pseudonym? The Cuckoo's Calling. As if I wouldn't know that!)

I'm always happy to help a patron remember a particularly elusive title. I feel like Super Librarian! As he or she exclaims in awe over my skill, all I can do is bask in their admiration.

"It's no trouble," I say. "That's why they pay me the big bucks."

Source

Summer + School - Books = Does Not Compute

I have a sad addiction to new books.

I mean, I work at a library. I see all that new stuff coming in, and my fingers itch to turn pages. Celebrity memoirs, health fads, picture books, the newest YA dystopian novel...I'm not super discerning when it comes to books.

Cruising the online library catalog is something I just can't keep myself from doing. I place holds like nobody's business! I have been known to have up to 70 items on hold at the library. Mostly new things.

So I just had to suspend my holds (about 50 now) since I'm too busy. Busy at work, busy at home, busy with school.

Too busy for new stuff.

Too busy for the latest in the series. Too busy for the blockbuster that was just released on dvd. Too busy for the latest paleo cookbook (I have dabbled).

When I am too busy for new library stuff, my life is topsy-turvy!

Everything is suspended for a month. Let me get myself together!

I remember my first summer working full-time. I was like, what is this "work" when the sun is shining, the birds are singing, and the ice cream cones are dripping on the hot pavement?

Now this is my first summer working full-time and taking classes.

My head says GET TO WORK YOU BUM while my heart says the hammock in the backyard would like to speak with you. right now.

I will push through. I will! But I've got to make tough decisions to stay focused. I must place my addiction aside.

And I say to myself, good luck with that.

In the Children's Library

I believe that it is pretty much impossible to sit among a rowdy group of 3-6 year-olds and not be happy.

My storytimes are my favorite programs. I get to play games and read stories to kids who get excited over anything and everything we do.

"Who wants to read a story?" "MEEEEEEEEE!"

"Who wants to play a game?" "I DOOOOOO!"

"Should we parade around the library?" "YEEEESSSSS!"

Growing up and being an adult is tough. Seeing trouble and sadness in the world is tough. We all have our problems. We all have our disappointments. But sit yourself down among children for a while, and remember what it's like to be excited!

We've got a couple parachutes for the kids to play with here at the library. They're kind of wrinkled and kind of beat up. One is missing a handle, ripped off by a giggling kid. I keep bringing them back to storytime due to popular demand.

I toss a few stuffed animals or beanbags in the center, the kids grab onto handles, and we shake and jump and wave the parachutes all around, often flinging the animals or beanbags all over the place.

They love it! You wouldn't believe the shrieking and laughing!

The adults watching can't help but laugh too. It's so infectious.

Working with kids is the best. I can make up a game on the spot that could be completely lame, but everyone rallies around it. I ask them to hold their hands up in the air and fingers shoot up, wiggling, faces turned toward me with expectation.

What a great age. Before they grow up. While they can still get enthusiastic about tossing beanbags into a basket. While their biggest problem is an untied sneaker. While their eyes are bright, their smiles are genuine, and their curiosity is never satisfied.

Kids completely energize me. And I love it. :)

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Romance? Yeah, right.

Let me start out by saying: I don't want you to think that we here at the library just make fun of what patrons check out.

Because we really don't. That often.

The thing is, we have regulars. People who are in several times a week and who place holds all the time. We get to know these people. Or, at least, their book and movie preferences.

Sometimes when we get our delivery of items from other libraries in the county and are pulling them out, we try to guess which piece is for which patron.

A huge book on motorcycles? Gotta be for John. Three more Nora Roberts novels? Either Mary or Sue. A brand new movie that is circulating for the first time? Rob. (How does he do it? He always gets things first!)

(*sidenote: names are changed...just in case.)

 And then we have our romance novel-readers. Three regular ladies who we know exclusively get books with pictures of long-haired, bare-chested men holding onto a rope on a ship or bending a corseted women back in what looks like a pretty uncomfortable embrace.

Not my thing. Not my thing at all.

The most I read of these books is their back covers. And why would I only read them to myself when I have coworkers to entertain?

Dramatic readings from the back covers of romance novels can be a truly amusing pastime  I feel that public speaking and theater classes I have taken in the past have helped prepare me for this.

Usually I start off in a low, dangerous tone as I describe the lord or duke who is rich, handsome, and devil-may-care. I move on to the innocent peasant girl whose beauty is only surpassed by her spunk. My tone turns incredulous as the summary goes on to describe a possible romance between these two unlikely and attractive characters. WILL THEY FIND TRUE LOVE?

*rolls eyes*

Source

The Energetic Librarian

I'm typically in a pretty good mood at work.

In fact, when I'm not, my coworkers tend to get concerned.

I'm a positive person, I have more energy each day from exercise and eating right, and I love my job.

Library patrons really respond well when I'm extra nice and interested in them. I know, I know. Not rocket science. Sometimes it can be hard to do, but it's gratifying seeing people leave with smiles on their faces.

Not to mention that being smiley and sympathetic helps keep people from seeing me as a mean librarian nazi.

For instance, when it comes to:

• technological problems (*ahem* ebooks *ahem*)
• collecting library fines (you only have yourself to blame, but okay)
• tax forms (I hate this time of year...)

all unpleasantness.

But sometimes people just want a listening ear. They want someone to say I'm sorry, I know this stinks. I also am not a fan of the IRS, or the fact that downloading ebooks from the library site is SO MUCH more difficult than checking out a physical book.

I'm getting better at reading people, and being able to judge whether or not they can take a joke.

My favorite is when a person will tell me to keep the change, or drop some change in the donation container and the amount is really tiny. I like to enthusiastically exclaim, as a guy drops one or two pennies in there, that now we will finally be able to add our new library wing!

I know, I know. But I'm the sarcastically hilarious librarian! They can't help but love me! 

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What's in YOUR Wallet? Sometimes I Don't Want to Know.

Occasionally, at the library, I get a peek into a person's soul.

And by "soul," I mean purse. Or wallet. Or keychain.

People's personal items suddenly become something intriguing for me to examine during the ol' "search for the library card."

(I will refrain from harping on why there needs to be a long, desperate search for a library card every single time. Just tell me...why do you need 37 different cards?)

I have been treated to seeing women's entire purses being dumped onto the counter. I've watched $50 bills fall out of senior citizens' wallets (old people! you're freaking me out! please don't carry all that cash around!). And, of course, I've hefted 7-pound keychains over to scan the one bent-up library card hanging off it.

Note: When a person gets a library card through our system, he or she gets a full-size card plus a mini keychain card.

It's always interesting to see the kinds of things people have hanging off their keychains. A bunch of store cards, the local gym card, the Wendys frosty card, flashlights, pocketknives, lanyards, beaded animals, even a tick remover (yes. I know.).

My keychain has changed a lot over the years. I like to have a toy or two on there; I've swapped out ones that have fallen apart and like to switch it up with new things once in a while.

So here's what's on there now:

- gym card (all access!)
- 4 store cards (One of which I actually regularly use. My favorite.)
- key fob from some kind of honor society I was apparently inducted into from my college (received it last year...but I graduated in 2010...whatever.)
- 1/2 a rock (it has a crystal inside and is split to reveal it! I got it for free and it's pretty....)
- house key, car key, library key (all the essentials!)
- iSchool @ Pitt lanyard (never used a lanyard before this and it's changed my life. so much swinging and playing potential!)
- mini green tupperware container (my favorite! I like to snap it open and closed! I "won" it at a Tupperware party years ago.)

So that's my keychain! Or keychains, since it's made up of a few. They're kind of spontaneously interconnected. It might sound like a lot, but it's really quite manageable. I've seen some keychains at the library that would, if swung, probably knock out a gorilla. Unsurprisingly, the larger key collections belong to female patrons.

What's your favorite item on your keychain?

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RIP Neville

It is with a heavy heart that I must inform you all of Neville's passing.

Neville. You know, my plant.

I tried! Oh, how I tried. He started out as my New Year's resolution and became my stalwart library desk companion. But the dry environment of the library office got the better of him and he just couldn't make it.

Every leaf was yellow. Every shoot drooped. Every fiber of his dying being limply accused me every time I walked by. If Neville could have had the strength to cry out, he would have.

Maybe he did. Who knows? I don't speak plant.

Clearly.

I took a moment to look through previous blog posts about Neville. We've had quite a journey, he and I. In the .23 seconds it took to toss his corpse in the trash can, his brief life flashed before my eyes.

Take a walk down memory lane with me, will you?

I got a plant for Christmas in 2010. I was doubtful he would live very long.

I named him Neville. I was afraid he was plotting against me.

Neville was always very dry. I tried to water him more. One of my New Year's resolutions for 2011 was to drink more water; probably subconsciously I didn't want to be dry like Neville.

Neville was never much of a conversationalist. He was pretty passive-aggressive, come to think of it.

I wondered if Neville would like chocolate poured on him instead of water. I did not try this, as I do not share my chocolate.

Neville became a mild celebrity. Friends actually gave me gifts to "sit by Neville" on my desk. His crotchety personality must have been appealing in an odd sort of way.

The one thing Neville always enjoyed was bathtime.

Neville got taller and taller, and I had to pluck dead leaves off him to keep him healthy.

Neville sprouted from his pot in several places and I wondered if he had a split personality.

One sprout stuck it out and I considered naming her.

Neville met Trevor (note how beautiful his leaves are during this happy time in his life!)

Neville and I celebrated National Take Your Houseplants for a Walk Day by...not doing it (Well SURE I regret it now!).

Neville's flourishing neighbor started creeping onto my desk (note Neville's long, thin sprouts and brownish leaves).

So that's the story of Neville. We had a good run. He may have been argumentative, grumpy, unappreciative, and not able to take a joke, but he was my plant.

Taking the advice of my coworker, who is a real plant-whisperer, I finally had to let him go. It was time to face the facts: he wasn't going to get better.

So goodbye, Neville! From dust you were made and to dust you will return.

My little buddy.

But I AM a Girl...

When I was a little girl, I remember a time when I would deny liking pink. Other little girls would say "Pink is my favorite color!" and I would shoot them a haughty look and sniff "I like blue better."

I'm sure I had pink clothes and pink Barbies and pink scrunchies or whatever. I did like pink. But I didn't want to be associated with pink simply because I was a girl. I can like whichever color I want, thank you very much!

I really really wish I could be into football. The same way I didn't want to be associated with pink. I never wanted to be seen as a ditzy girl who asked dumb questions at sporting events.

Unfortunately, I don't care about football. And I don't want to learn about it. I wish I was into it so I could surprise guys with my wealth of knowledge, but that's not going to happen.

All of this is to say, I choose my Super Bowl team based on outfit color.

Yes, I have said "outfit" during Super Bowl-related conversations. And been ridiculed. It's a uniform, or a jersey or whatever.

So can you guess who my team was? That's right, the Ravens! Yay purple!

However, the 49ers' colors are scarlet and gold  - Gryffindor colors - so that was a tough call. But the tiebreaker was that the Ravens are named after Edgar Allen Poe's Raven. Poe lived in Baltimore, Maryland. How cool is that? Literary reference!

So that's why I "cheered" for the Ravens. And here I use the word "cheered" to refer to eating food in the same room as the tv and glancing up when the commercials were on.

And, I wasn't even in the same room as the tv for the entire second half. Whoops.

This was my favorite Super Bowl commercial. Hooray for libraries still being relevant! Of course, librarians will probably never escape from the "shhhh" stigma. Oh well.

Anxiously Waiting in My Pajama Pants

I think I'm actually a ten-year-old trapped inside an almost-twenty-four-year-old's body.

Example of the day: Snow Days!!!

I get ridiculously excited. Even when I can't think of anything to do, can't leave the house, and just end up being bored.

But it's a snow day!

The story begins with me. In pajama pants (you can never have too many pairs). Wondering...hoping...glancing out the window.

Actually, yesterday was odd because I don't work until 1pm on Mondays. That's right, I've got the evening shift. So yesterday I went to the gym first, came home and showered, and put my pajama pants back on.

I got ready for work. Slowly. Leaving my pajama pants on.

I ate breakfast. I made and packed a dinner. I did some cleaning. I whipped up a batch of delicious muffins.

I lingered in my pajama pants, loath to put on makeup, just in case...

And then the call came from the library! It was closing early, due to a skating-rink-like parking lot, freezing rain, and slippery roads.

"Wooo-hoooo!" I celebrated alone in my house, causing my dog to perk up his ears and stare at me, the crazy girl with no makeup on and still in her pajama pants.

And today? Two hour delay, baby. The snow day's cousin. Guess I'll be lounging around a little longer.

Soon to come...some new recipes I've been enjoying, with links to blogs and websites. Including the delicious muffins referenced above!

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Oh, Good, It's Dark Already

WELL, we have gotten some lovely snow. I am so pleased that, after such a disappointing previous winter, we got some serious snowstorms and big, fluffy flakes. Especially since most of it was right around Christmas!

And now, it can all go away. Seriously, time for spring.

January, February, March....these months are dismal. No Christmas to look forward to, only long, miserable days of coldness.

The library's pretty quiet, too. I mean, attendance dropped before the holidays. It always does. But it's taking a while for people to get back in. All my programs are low on people and the pages (high schoolers who work in the evenings) don't have much to shelve.

Quiet days at the library are so depressing! With my recent viewing of Les Miserables (okay, and all the subsequent continuous listening of the music), all I can think of as I wander aimlessly through the library is "empty chairs at empty tables."

"My, friends, my friends!" Why have you all left the library?

Not a fair comparison. But I won't deny I haven't thought about it.

Cabin fever, that's what we all have around here. Outside, people are just rushing to get inside. Inside, there's nothing to do either. Bring me some sunshine, quick!

Take Refuge at Your Local Library

Well, I didn't lose power.

The library did, though, so two days off!

I was one of the lucky ones. People all over my area are still without electricity. The library opened again yesterday, and it was crazy. Here's how the day went.

9:00am...the library opens. I tweet out that our power is back on and we're open. Dead silence. We had a bunch of staff members there and no patrons.

10:00am...the library begins to fill up. Several people come in freezing cold from houses with no heat, and our director decides to put coffee out (oohh! coffee in the library!).

10:30am...bins from other libraries in the county arrive. A lot of bins. We start going through them and discharging material, but are constantly interrupted by more people. The circulation desk gets hidden by piles and piles of books, DVDs, and CDs.

11:00am...constant stream of people into the library. Coffee and cookies out. People exchanging stories of the storm - felled trees, roads closed, and of course no electricity.

12:00pm...I have fielded approximately 843 phone calls. "Hello, library, yes we're open...and we have coffee/heat/water/wi-fi!"

1:00pm...lunchtime! I'm exhausted, as people have been returning things all morning and everyone has questions. Busy, busy.

2:00pm...still chaos! I'm trying to run around and pull items off the shelves to send to other libraries for holds, and I'm climbing over people crouched next to every outlet. Cords are stretched across aisles, and everyone is charging phones and checking email.

2:30pm...should not have worn these boots today. Feet hurt! Saw some Halloween costumes, best one being a girl inside an American Girl doll box.

3:00pm...power goes out. Comes back on two seconds later. Computers never recover.

3:30pm...computer system still down. Apparently there was a surge when some other business in the area powered back up. Or a transformer down? Or something. Desperate calls to IT result in us climbing around in closets looking for black boxes to reset.

3:45pm...I create sloppy handwritten signs to fling all over the library to inform people that they are severely limited in what they can do today as our computer system is down. And guess what? It's not coming back up anytime soon.

4:00pm...patron informs me that the copier is out of toner. Which is impossible because we changed it that morning! I go back there and shake it all about to no avail. Fling out-of-order sign on top of it and charge back to the desk where people are lining up.

4:45pm...get excited because I get to leave in fifteen minutes!

5:00pm...still at work, trying to help with a few more things.

5:15pm...during a lull, I seize my chance and make a run for it!

Whew! What a day. I was very proud of my coworkers; we always work so well together and these rough days bring out the best in us. The children's librarian put together Halloween books and crafts for kids to occupy them while their parents were online. Our patrons were so appreciative of the warmth and coffee. And even when the computers went down, people were very understanding and we helped them as best we could.

It's always cool to see the sense of community when disaster strikes. How neat to see so many people coming to the library for help. Nice to feel like I was making a difference.

Crazy day, but I don't mind a little craziness once in a while.

Neville's Receding Leaf-Line

I'm sure you've all been wondering how Neville is.

He's still losing leaves, but he hasn't lost his spirit. I thought I was going to have to chuck him, but he's hanging on.

I do still have to pick dead leaves off, but at least they're not all gone.

And, I may have figured out why he's so dejected.

A plant from a neighboring desk seems to be making some kind of move on him. Observe (and tilt your head to the side because I couldn't load the picture straight for some reason):



See, this other plant is, well, flourishing. It's a bit disheartening to me, so I can't even comprehend how difficult it must be for Neville. Here he is, trying to find his place in this world and hanging on by a thread most days, while this other plant actually appears to be coming over to brag about its good health.

I find its gloating to be rather disgusting, really. Here's a closer look:

As you can see, Trevor the frog pot is protecting Neville as best he can. But those leaves are creeping closer every day. This is a very real problem for Neville, who is having self-esteem issues even without having another plant's thriving leaves pushed into his face.

Notice how you can't even see Neville's leaves in this second picture. The few he has are right on top. Like a comb-over.

Frankly, I'm embarassed for him.

So, morale is low on my library desk. Any suggestions on improving Neville's mental health would be appreciated. Short of therapy, obviously. I'm in grad school; I can't afford a plant psychiatrist right now.

One Man's Trash is NOT the Library's Treasure

For some reason, people think that because we are a library, we will happily take all their junk off their hands.

Let me give you some background:
We have two big book sales a year.
We accept book (and DVD and CD) donations all throughout the year in preparation for these sales.
We are very clear on what we will and will not accept. (for example, no textbooks or reference books)

Sure, we take book donations. But we sell them in our book sale. Do you really think we want to sort through your wet, smelly, or useless material? I love the smell of books as much as the next person, but I do not simply hold onto books because they're books. They're not meant to last forever, people!

That is what the trash is for.

I've had people actually get mad at me for not taking ten-year-old textbooks.

Throw them away.

Just because we are a non-profit organization does not mean we will be weeping tears of gratitude while you try to pawn off stuff that still smells like old attic.

For a sarcastic person like myself, it takes a great deal of self-control to hold my tongue in some of these instances. I almost started laughing when someone tried to give me this pile of large photos someone took of random scenery. Is this a joke? Am I being filmed right now?

Apparently, people would rather feel like they're doing something useful with their junk or crummy books. They would rather take them to the library than stick them out with the trash.

Well, I'm sorry to let you down, now that you've dragged this whole carton of books that smell like cigarette smoke all the way to the library. But guess what?

You might have had trouble throwing that stuff away, but we certainly won't.

May I Not Be Able to Help You?

I wish I could write more on here! But I've been so busy with school. And work.

Oh, forget it. I'm just going to tell you what I told my diary when I was ten. "I'm not going to keep apologizing for not writing more!"

Of course then, I was busy with my full-time job of playing with Barbies.
...

So it was pretty crazy at the library over the weekend. On Friday morning the server went down for our entire county library system.

No catalog, no renewals, no holds, no checking in material..... This happens on occasion. We're limited for a couple hours. But not this time. All weekend we were down. Friday, Saturday, Sunday, and Monday. On Monday at 8:30 pm everything came back up.

All day Tuesday we played catch-up, going through hundreds and hundreds of books and movies and CDs.

But let's go back to Saturday. I work one Saturday a month, and of course it's the day when I can basically do nothing for people. And this is tough. I mean, I work at a library! To have to turn so many requests down put me in a bitter mood. Luckily, we had an offline option so we could check out material using a patron's library card. That was the one thing we could do! And people could still study, read newspapers, use computers, etc.

So most of the time I had to spend apologizing to people. And asking "may I help you?" ironically. It was a sad, sad, day. The one highlight was being able to help people without using computers and feeling like Super Librarian. I surprised myself at how well I know authors and dewey decimal numbers, and was able to lead people right to where they needed to go.

On the whole, though, not my favorite weekend. We are crippled without our computer system.

And of course people didn't read all the signs we had posted, and still asked us to do things we couldn't do. And everyone wanted to know if they'd get fines for material we couldn't check in yet (no) or if they could renew their items (no) or if we could check on a hold for them (no) or if we were having a hard time (YES).

Thankfully, all is back to normal. And last night, after a full day of madness plus three and a half hours of homework plus an hour of Pottermore (really? new chapters are open NOW? well, I have to read everything obviously), I dreamed all night about not getting enough sleep.

And now let's do it all again!

Pay Up

So here's my plan.

I think it's pretty super awesome. If I do say so, myself.

People who sign up for library programs should put down a deposit. Like $20. If they come to the library program, they get their money back. That may seem like a lot, but it needs to be something people might think twice about losing.

If they don't show without calling and cancelling (unless it's an emergency)...well then, the library just got a sweet donation.

Let me explain.

1. The library staff puts lots of work into programs. Planning, organizing, creating.

2. The library staff puts lots of money into programs. Well, not lots. But money. And money that takes away from other things we could be doing. The number of people registered dictates the food and materials we buy. I've had 20 kids sign up for a story time, so I create 20 take-home crafts. If 5 come, it's embarassing, frankly. And a waste of time and money.

3. Libaries don't have a lot of resources. So it's a bummer to waste them.

4. People have this tendency to consider free things to be, well, sort of worthless. If something is free, often people don't give them much priority. This also goes for library programs.

5. Guess what? Calling to cancel for a library program at the last minute is annoying, but it's at least better than us going through with the program if 75% of the group ends up not coming. Seriously? And how hard it it to call and give us a heads-up?

6. SO, maybe if people put some money towards programs that they will get back if they consider common courtesy (ccc!), they will place more value on library programs.

This isn't exactly a new idea. Libraries have charged for programs before. My library only asks patrons to pay fees if we have a special instructor coming in who needs money for materials. Like a painting class or something. And a deposit is fair, since people who are polite will get their money back.

I think I'm onto something here. At the very least, I'm making myself feel a little better.

I just really wish people would be more considerate of their libraries. Don't stand us up if you get a better offer, especially if you don't call and cancel.

The public library depends on the community. Don't let us down!

*climbs down off soapbox*

Swooning by My Car and Waiting for Assistance

Okay, in my 10 Things blog post I mentioned car repair. Specifically, tires. Told you I'd come back with more!

So I got my first flat tire.

Suffice it to say, it was embarassing. Lots of people stared at me. On the plus side, I did get to officially use my hazard lights. That felt important. And yet also drew more attention...

Anyway, my dad came to my rescue and showed me yet again how to change a tire.

Now, it all made sense when he was showing me, but what if I don't have to do it again for, like, five more years? I won't remember.

When it comes to car things, I feel very inadequate. And frustrated. And jealous of guys who seem to just instinctually know what to do with all these... parts. Seriously, all you need is an open hood and suddenly guys are clustered around poking greasy items wedged into random spaces and muttering things like "transmission" and "suspension" and "weirdwordthatsoundsmadeup."

Is there some kind of handbook for men? Where can I pick one up? Or perhaps the Cliffs Notes edition?

And what makes a car so interesting? I'll admit it's a smidge intimidating to not understand at all the biggest machine I own. But I don't really care to understand it. I've had guys tell me not to worry, there will always be a man around who is willing to help a "damsel in distress."

Oh boy, that's reassuring. As long as I'm not in the middle of nowhere. And the man willing to help me is not an ax murderer.

Ugh. I just don't like feeling helpless. Or walking into a car parts store for something and having men look at me like, clearly she doesn't have a clue what she's doing. Or maybe I'm just imagining it.

Luckily, I know how to do... things. I can bake a mean batch of cookies. And use correct spelling and grammar. I am creative. I am knowledgeable. And helpless guys are always wandering into the library requiring my assistance.

So perhaps it all evens out in the end.

10 Things.

Here are 10 things to catch you up on my recent life:

1. Discovered that I could use a bit of weight training in my life. Enjoy pretending I have big muscles. Until some big guy shows me I really don't.

2. Went on a family vacation during the first week of the Olympics. Walked around tourist sites all day and tried to stay up late each night watching swimming and gymnastics. Pretended to be Michael Phelps in the hotel pool and discovered I need to spend more time on my arms (See #1).

3. Moved back in with my parents. Both because I enjoy their company AND....

4. Will be starting my master's degree next Monday. Online at the University of Pittsburgh. For Library and Information Science. (more on this later)

5. Preparing to start school again. Trying to resist buying too many new school supplies. Getting excited about studying at a different library near my house (NOT at the one I work at; that's weird).

6. Just finished rereading (rerererererereading?) the Harry Potter series. Read Deathly Hallows as slowly as I possibly could but it still ended. And now I'm not sure what to do with myself.

7. Tried running again. Got sore. Might just run a smidge so my knees don't hate me. Already lusting after new running shoes.

8. Ate a Mediterranean Veggie sandwich at Panera's. Going to attempt to duplicate it. Contemplating becoming a vegetarian....haha yeah RIGHT!

9. Went on an epic 4-hour-long shopping trip with my sister. Only fought once. Maybe twice. Mostly spent the time advising each other on outfits and finishing each other's sentences.

10. Paid about 17 bills all at the same time, including new tires (full story coming soon) and insurance and school and more car things...at least now all is squared away.

So yeah. Things have been crazy.

Hope you all had a nice summer; now it's winding down....booo.



Yeah, probably won't hear any of these things from your doctor. But then, I don't know your doctor. So who can be sure?

It's Closing Time, Yo.

When I work at the library on Saturdays, it's usually pretty quiet. People drift in and out, study a bit, make a few copies, snag a movie for the night. But for some reason, around 4:45, fifteen minutes before we close, patrons decide to storm the doors. It has suddenly become a necessity to rush into the library: wild eyes darting around the shelves, relieved smiles when they see they have some time left.

No. No, no, no. We'd like to have everyone gone at 5, not have you read your newspaper until then before swinging by the men's room, thank you very much.

I don't have it much anymore, but when I worked in my college library I used to have this recurring nightmare. I would be walking around the library trying to close up and people would just keep coming in and coming in and I couldn't get anyone to leave. Students would keep wandering around trying to get books or study and I couldn't round people up to get out so I could go home.

Honestly, sometimes it's like herding cats trying to get patrons to vacate the premises. Seriously, all of a sudden the library is so important to you that you have to wait until 5:02 to attempt to check out your books?

And don't smile condescendingly like of course I know the library is closing when I remind you because you clearly. needed. a. reminder.

I'm so pleased you love your library and that you're visiting it. But we're open 71 hours a week. That's right, 71. Pick your time, my friend.

And if you do find yourself in a unique situation and have to run in at closing (our library is open until 9 on weeknights), it's nice to express how grateful and sorry you are. A little grovelling never hurt anyone, is all I'm saying.

I'm thankful I don't work in a grocery store or restaurant. I'm sure if I think getting people to leave the library is tough, these places have got to be worse. More people, more awkward situations, more late nights.

I try to be extra conscientious and leave early when I'm somewhere close to closing. These employees have lives, ya know!

Speak Softly

Sometimes you read something so profound, it's as if someone has reached into your mind and written exactly what you were thinking but have not yet been able to express.

"I realize it's not true that I'm no longer shy; I've just learned to talk myself down from the ledge. By now I do it so automatically that I'm hardly aware it's happening. When I talk with a stranger or a group of people, my smile is bright and my manner direct, but there's a split second that feels like I'm stepping onto a high wire. By now I've had so many thousands of social experiences that I've learned that the high wire is a figment of my imagination, or that I won't die if I fall. I reassure myself so instantaneously that I'm barely aware I'm doing it. But the reassurance process is still happening - and occasionally it doesn't work."

This is an excerpt from Quiet: The Power of Introverts in a World That Can't Stop Talking by Susan Cain. It's a fascinating book, whether you're an introvert, an extrovert, or feel that you have qualities of both!

As I've written about before, I'm definitely, positively, precisely an introvert. When I read this part in Cain's book, I knew I had to write a blog post about it.

Because it's exactly how I feel! I used to be pretty painfully shy. I blushed. I sweated (perspired? glowed?) I got nervous when speaking with people. I avoided conversations and gatherings of people.

Guess what? I still do all these things. But I deal with them better.

I've learned to talk myself down from the ledge. I've gotten so used to reassuring myself that it almost seems natural.

Almost.

And then I sense the hint of panic in the back of my mind. I feel as if I'm looking at myself from somewhere outside of my body. I remember how unnatural it feels for me to be bold and confident. I fake it so well I nearly fool myself.

But deep down, I'm an introvert. I'd rather not have many conversations, especially about meaningless things. I may appear to be extroverted, especially at my desk job at the public library, but it's me adapting to who I feel I need to be sometimes.

Practice makes perfect, as they say. I've learned what people expect in social situations. I'm not ten years old anymore; I know it's not acceptable to speak softly and to not look people in their eyes.

"my smile is bright and my manner direct, but there's a split second that feels like I'm stepping onto a high wire." Haha!

Tricked you.