Some days. . .

Some days. . .

I spend at least four hours of my day dealing face-to-face with the patrons at the library.

Most of the time it is great. I have met a lot of great people through this job. Nearly every day I have at least one interesting conversation with a patron. I'll learn something new or find out that the patron and I have something in common that neither of us knew about. It is always interesting.

Unfortunately, there are also patrons who are moody, annoying, and sometimes plain old rude. I could go on and on about the crazy sights I see every day.

Actually, there are library blogs out there that do a better job explaining the weirdness that I see in the library than I could ever hope to. My favorite is the Happyville Library.

Today's annoyance revolves around our patrons' fear of snow.

We live in New England, so whether we like it or not, it's going to snow in the winter. This year we have had it incredibly easy- I don't think we've had 6 inches all season. The towns in our area also do a pretty good job of clearing the roads (of course they also dump about an inch think layer of salt at the same time so cars look great after every snow storm!). Typically, within a few hours after a snow storm, most of our roads are clear.

Nevertheless, all it takes is the threat of bad weather and our phone starts ringing with patrons asking what will happen if it snows and they can't get in to return their movies.

Now, if it really does snow, forget about it. The library waives any overdue fees when the weather is bad. We don't expect people to take any risks to return a couple of videos. We have a lot of senior citizens and parents with young children who use the library, and I wouldn't want them driving through the snow.

However, last night we received our biggest snowfall this winter- about 3 inches. The snow was done by early this morning, the temperature rose to almost 40 degrees, and the roads were totally clear. And people were actually calling us claiming that they were unable to make it out of their houses.

Tomorrow, patrons will file in all day with a guilty look on their faces carrying a stack of DVDs. You know what's coming: "I'm sorry, they snow was really bad yesterday and I couldn't get in to return these."

Like I said, some members of the community shouldn't be expected to come out in bad weather. But these are young, healthy (I presume), active people. Am I supposed to believe, because of 3 inches of snow, they were afraid to "venture" out of their house? Somehow, I don't think so.

Of course, we simply waive the fines. It really isn't worth worrying about, but it does get old after awhile. I would love to lecture some of them. Tell them about taking some responsibility.

Speaking of lecturing, I found this video on the internet over the weekend. It makes me feel a little better. Judge Judy really lets loose on an obnoxious defendant. Oh, I would love to act like this- just once- at the library!

Happy Valentine's Day

Not much to report on my end.

It was very busy at the library tonight with the "big" storm we're supposed to have later this evening and tomorrow. The threat of bad weather, brings all sorts of patrons to the library. Supermarkets see a big rush on bread and milk; the library is inundated with patrons searching out DVDs and videos.

We were also short one employee today as "Gloom" had another "accident" at work yesterday- more on that tomorrow.

Now let me just state, with the snowy/icy/rainy weather predicted for Valentine's Day around here, some of the hoards of women who are probably planning to go out with me on this great holiday may have to take a rain check. I'm sure it will take me some time to get through the expected backlog of dates.

Yeah, right!

In honor of this being the holiday of love, here is an interesting site I found on the internet. It's called Armed in America and they have a beautiful collection of photographs called "Portraits of Americans With Their Guns." What could be more romantic than that?

I know. I probably need some help with what I consider romantic.
I could try a dating service:

Maybe that's not such a great idea.
I could get some dating advice from an expert:

So much for that idea.
Wait, women like men who can dance, right? I could work on my dance moves:

Oh, I give up! Happy Valentine's Day!

Wash Your Hands!

One of my co-workers is always telling me how bad it is to eat meat. Any meat. Beef, chicken, fish.

It's not so much that the meat is bad for you, but she doesn't like the killing of the animals. She has sent me a bunch of articles and videos about the cruelty that befalls animals raised for food. It is an eye-opener.

Of course, I (being a total believer in equal opportunity) have countered her emails with some strange ones of my own. Here's one about a woman who trains piglets to play piano. Or this one about pork rinds where they actually have a "pork rind porn" section, including women who have a pork rind fetish.

I am going to make a big sacrifice during Lent this year. I have decided to give up all meat on Fridays. That's right. My co-worker will supply recipes (hopefully with samples) for me to make every Friday so I don't succumb to the devil's lure of meat. To celebrate, I had the "Hungry Man" at Exit 23 Restaurant this morning. It consists of 2 eggs, 2 bacon strips, 2 sausages, a hunk of ham, 2 pancakes, and 2 french toast! Oh, it was good.

Anyway, I came across this video today of an investigation at a fruit and vegetable distributor in California. Maybe we should reconsider how healthy it is to be a vegetarian:

Seeing the people who don't was their hands after using the bathroom reminded me of something that happened at the library this week.

At the circulation desk, I can see down the hallway to the public bathrooms. A woman and her 3ish-year-old daughter were coming out of the bathroom and in a loud voice (so we could all hear), the daughter says, "But, Mommy, we didn't wash our hands!" I tried not to laugh, but it was too funny!

I'm off to visit my brother Dan and his family on Sunday for a Super Bowl party. Some of their friends are coming over and they are making home-made pizza. And my sister is coming with her new boyfriend Ryan (I'll have to practice my "bone-crushing" handshake tonight). Unless it's a real close game, I'll probably leave at halftime and be home before the end of the game.

Have a happy Super Bowl Sunday!

I admire good photographers.

I am always amazed at the way a photographer can see a scene differently than you or I would and then capture it on film. We have a lot of great photography books at my library and I peruse a lot of photographer's web sites. Most of them are OK, but every once in a while I will come across something that totally takes my breath away.

It's the same way with the pictures I take. Almost all of my photographs I find to be barely passable. Sometimes I get so frustrated with my inability to capture a "perfect" shot, that I will quit taking pictures for a few weeks. Every so often, however, I will see a scene that I just know will come out great on film. It might only happen in one out of one hundred or one out of two hundred pictures, but that one shot is what I strive for.

I also admire good authors.

I think it takes a real talent to be able to write a book- fiction or non-fiction. It's hard enough for me to write a few coherent paragraphs on this blog. I can't imagine the abilities it takes to write a complete book.

Anyway, I often wondered how to combine photography with books. I have tried my hand at taking a few photographs in a Yale library. It's called the Beinecke Rare Book and Manuscript Library and, if you've never been there, I recommend it. They have a six-story glassed central tower that holds 180,000 volumes and then there are over 600,000 books in the underground stacks. The walls are made of thin blocks of marble that let light shine through. Click here for a great online tour. The best part is that they let anyone in the building to look around. Of course, they won't let you near the books but the building is absolutely amazing.

My photos in the library weren't so hot but I've found one web site that has some fabulous library pictures. They are from a book by Candida Hofer simply titled Libraries. Click on the sample picture below to look at some more of the photographs and get more information.

Pay Phone Mania

We had a guy at the library today using the pay phone.

When I say using the pay phone today, I mean all day- morning, afternoon, and night. He was going through some sort of break-up with a wife or girlfriend whom he loves very much. I know that because I heard him say it at least 20 times to different people on the pay phone. And I wasn't eavesdropping; he was talking in a voice that could be easily heard by everyone.

He had papers spread out around him which I assume were letters or emails from the lost girlfriend/wife. He read all of them to everyone. And over and over he said, "I'm not going to talk to her. No, I'm not going to call her."

He was told five minutes before 9:00 that we were closing and he would have to get off the phone. At nine, I went up to him and told him that the library was closed and what do I hear him saying into the receiver? "I love you. I care about you. I'm worried about you." He was talking to the girl he told everyone all night that he wasn't going to talk to! And this isn't some love-blind teenager- he was at least in his 40's.

But wait, it gets better. He hung up the phone, was picking up his collection of letters, and says to me, "Major business dealings in Boston." He expected me to believe he was conducting some big financial transaction! I just said, "Sounds like it," as I practically pushed him out the door.

So I got home and just wanted to unwind and forget about the day. Maybe there's something on TV. I flip it on and instantly realize what a mistake that was. Every channel was covering the President's State of the Union address. I mean every channel! Even the Spanish channels had it on (although I liked the translation better than hearing the President).

Seeing the State of the Union address (not watching it, just seeing it for a second before turning off the TV), reminded me of a couple of funny George Bush videos I've seen recently.

Enjoy:

And if you've ever wondered who is responsible for coaching the President in his speeches and appearances, here you are:

"Stupid Idiots!"

I used two words over and over today at work: "idiot" and "stupid."

My mom hated both of them. When I was a teenager, these were my two favorite words. I thought I knew everything, and everyone was either "stupid" or "an idiot" to me. It's been about 20 years, but I can still hear my mom telling me how having that kind of attitude is no way to go through life.

This morning, one of my co-workers and I had to let off some steam regarding the work ethic (or more correctly, the absence of work ethic) of some other employees at the library. It started off fairly innocently but I realized that, by the time 5:00 o'clock rolled around, I really was consumed with this negativity.

And my mom was right. Complaining that others are "stupid" doesn't solve anything. It not only brings me down, it also projects a negative aura that affects everyone in my department. I really need to try to have a more positive attitude.

Now, Mom, if you can read this, before you get too excited that I am admitting you were right, there are a lot of idiots in the world. Thanks to the internet, I have proof. Just watch the following:









Oh, and one more thing. I was ironing my shirt a little while ago while thinking about "stupid" people. I guess I wasn't paying attention because (and this is the truth!), instead of reaching for the handle, I actually grabbed the hot (um, burning hot) side of the iron.

There should really be some kind of guard on there or a maybe a warning label! Who makes these things so dangerous?

Idiots.