Today I Learned (@ The Library): Who Enrique Ocatavo is.

Earlier this week a patron approach me at the info desk asking for "books by Enrique Octavo."  She had a thick accent but I was pretty sure I heard her correctly so I instantly thought that this would be a simple transaction solved with a quick author search.  The search yielded no results, so I double checked with Amazon and came up with Spanish music CD's. 

I had her check the spelling and she said it was correct, I followed up by asking if this Enrique Octavo was an author; she said that she was looking for books about him.  So then my brain said, "Well, if this guy is popular enough to some books written about him, surely Google will tell me who he is."  Lo and behold, it gave me the answer - Henry VIII.  Damn you premium subscription network Showtime, how you've let me down!

You see, I recently upgraded to a "Smart" TV, coupled with my Amazon Prime account, I have been streaming all sorts of random shows and movies.  I came across the Showtime series The Tudors, and I've been chugging along through all the episodes.  You would have thought that maybe Henry might have been referred to as Enrique in the show maybe once during his marriage to Catherine of Aragon which came before his marriage to Anne Boleyn which was after his affair with Anne's sister Mary.  See, all that nudity in the show hasn't been distracting me from learning about history!

How many veteran librarians are there???

Just another rejection notification to add to the pile.  But this is the first time I've ever been told that it is because there are veteran librarians who have applied.

I only know of one librarian who is a veteran.  We had several classes together, we ended up sitting next to each other in each class and being partners in numerous group assignments.  They were getting their MLIS through the GI Bill.  But other than that, I don't know of any others nor do any of my library people.

I'm not mad about not getting any further in the hiring process for this particular position because there were veterans applying for it.  I'm just really curious as to how many there are.  I would prefer they get the job than some random who shouldn't haven't gotten their MLIS in the first place.

The Perfect Gift for that Stereotypical Librarian.

And by stereotypical librarian, I mean by "older" in life, going through a certain physiological change, experiences hot-flashes... You catch my drift.

I found this gift in my Christmas stocking last month.  I don't really have a need for it at home, so I brought it into work.  My cubicle has become a bonus storage area for me.  Everything that I don't have room for or need at home goes straight to work.

One of my circ coworkers saw the fan and I could feel the jealousy.  I told her that she is more than welcome to borrow it if her own personal fan at her desk conks out.  She actually might be the only person who isn't complaining about this Polar Vortex thing.

After staring at the fan for a few days, I couldn't leave it alone.  I had to modify it.

Book cover spoilers

Four, the answer is four baby pandas.

It's too damn cold for this library stuff...

I'll have you know that I did get out of bed last Friday, drove into work, arrived early as usual, and I only cursed 15 times during my commute.  Some people should just stay at home if they do not know how to drive in any weather that doesn't involve the sun shining and dry conditions.  On top of that, these slow driving morons on the road don't even clear all the snow/ice off the top of their cars.  They just hit the highway and let the wind do its thing, leaving everyone driving behind them to dodge the icy remnants.  Punks.

If this freezing cold weather wasn't bad enough on its own, the library heating wasn't running at its full capacity.  One of the boilers was not working and the one that was, was only heating to 80 degrees when it should have been over 100.  Needless to say, I wore my jacket the whole day.

I guess I couldn't really complain because while I was in the break room trying to warm up with a Cup 'o Noodles, I saw this au pair passing by outside, she was really working for her money that day.