Let it Snow

I looked at my paystub for this paycheck and it was nice to see that nearly all of the hours listed were paid snow days.

I don't know why people suffer from cabin fever so much.  I LOVED staying in: I had electricity and internet = MW2 on Xbox Live.

The picture is from the window across from my cubicle at work.  Yes, the snow is piled up to the second window which is about 7"-8" from the floor. 

Blizzard of 2010

I know I didn't experience any cabin fever symptoms while I was literally snowed in for over a week.

At least I wasn't stuck at an airport. But it looks like she was able to keep herself entertained.

Dog Earred Pages

Ah, dog earred pages, the traceable cookies of the pre-HTML era.

When I came across this book in the bookdrop today, I saw  two pieces of paper sticking out and I was hoping they were the $100 bookmarks the previous patron forgot to take out.  But alas, they were just dog-earred pages.  Funny thing about them was that the first one was on the chapter about "Body Odors" and the second one was on "Fertility."

Methinks, one could definitely be an inhibitor of the other.

This Week's Winning Patron

The library does not follow any CPA rules of depreciation value. So yes, those cassettes you lost do cost a lot.

Is This Book Necessary?

If I ever get a cat/kitten there is only one name that I would choose: 'Tigger.'

But I guess naming a cat is a difficult decision that one cannot make on their own so someone needed to sacrifice trees on a book like this.

This Week's Winner is...

Patron .....7095, the collections agency will be contacting you shortly.

MLIS v1.0

This will be my 3rd week into my first semester for my MLIS.

Here are some of my preconceived notions before the semester started:  

1. I would be one of the few males in the class.  
2. There would be a lot of younger classmates compared to other advanced degrees.  
3. I could find a full time job and handle the class work with ease.  
4. My classmates would be considered my "competition" in the future job search.  
5. Again, I thought there would be tons of young, attractive, bookish females in my classes

The reality:  

1. Surprisingly, there are a lot more guys in my classes then expected.  
2. A LOT of my classmates are older, like "coworker-older;" a few of them mentioned that they are in career transitions while other are forced retirees.  
3. Even though my classes are blended courses (online and face to face), the amount of work for projects and papers is pretty hefty.  One of my project's requirements is almost a part time job in itself.  
4. I never realized the spectrum of careers an MLIS can be used for; quite a few of my classmates are planning to work in law libraries.  
5. Yeah, I'm fairly disappointed so far with the guy-girl ratio.

Rules of Circ #09 (RoC)

"There is No Such thing as Patron - Circ Desk Confidentiality."

I don't know what it is about the circ desk, but it seems like patrons seem to frequently throw the general sense of self disclosure out the window.  It's quite similar to someone telling their whole life story to a bartender at the bar.

Tonight I was part of one of the most awkward discussions I have had at the circ desk.

A mother came up to me at the circ desk and told me that her two children had been out of the country for the past year and that they needed new cards.  Sure thing, easy transaction.
When I was looking up her children's accounts by searching with her last name, she saw the PC screen and said to her children, "Wow there are a lot of people with our last name, I mean, my ex-husband's last name."  Her son looked up at her and asked, "You and dad got a divorce???"  She quickly changed the subject by having him sign his name on his new card.  I tried not to react at all, but I may have winced when he asked.

I remember when I was working at one branch, I had a patron come up to check out some books.  I scanned her card and told her about some overdue fees she had on her account.  She asked what they were for, I clicked a few buttons and told her they were for Toxic In Laws and Mother In Law Hell.  She smiled and said, "Oh yeah, I remember those, completely worth it!  In fact, after that week, I can write my own book."

Your Books are Due back on Hallmark Day.

Work yesterday was rough, I don't know what brought all the patrons out but they came out in droves.  I didn't have any time to check the Jets/Colts game on my phone at all, but I digress.

When I told the patrons their due date, surprisingly, only one patron out of the near 100 patrons I interacted with actually said, "Oh, Valentine's Day."  I never referred to their due dates as that Hallmark Holiday, but I would just say the 14th of next month.  It was funny to watch the reaction of the couples that I helped.  The females would nudge their husbands/boyfriends in the side and give them a look, while the guys would just roll their eyes.  A couple of the guys would just mouth back, "I know."

The most awkward was a preface to a fight on the car ride home: she asked where he made reservations, he seemed to not care and shrugged it off, she gave him "the look," which continued on their way out to the parking lot.

Gotta love those unique patron interactions.

New American TV Spin off?

The US definitely needs to import the Australian TV series 'The Librarians' here.

It worked for 'The Office.'

I made this picture for one of my MLIS class presentations, we'll see how it goes this Tuesday night.