"Can you trash this receipt for me? Otherwise my pockets will be too full".
Asked of me by an adorable little kid, who apparently didn't have room in his cargo pants for a single sheet of thin paper :-)
Friday, July 31, 2009
Overheard at the Library
"But I returned that item".
I hear this refrain over and over and over again, much like the title words of "Blinded by the Light". Patrons insisting that they BROUGHT that book back, that our technology is FLAWED, that we are incomptetent IDIOTS WHO ARE CONSPIRING TO EXTRACT MONEY FROM HONEST CUSTOMERS and that really, the book was in with a pile of others that they returned on the same day. Together. In a bundle. With the others. And they repeat this in varying voices, tones, and threats over a period of five minutes before I interrupt with a placating smile.
"Okay sir, what I can do is put it in claims return. What that means is I take it off your account for 60 days, we look for it in the library and we just ask that you glance around your house and car before the 60 days is up". Why don't you get off your lazy ass and check under your couch cushion where your kid wedged it in between sessions of Dora the Explorer?
"I guess I don't have to talk to the manager then". Fuck off "Yeah, okay. Because I definitely returned it."
"I understand. Have a great day." Bullshit. You'll be here tomorrow with a sheepish look on your face and the book in your hand, because when you went out to the car you realized it was on the passenger seat.
I think its important to note that I really don't swear a lot out loud, but I am a horrible, mean person inside my head.
I hear this refrain over and over and over again, much like the title words of "Blinded by the Light". Patrons insisting that they BROUGHT that book back, that our technology is FLAWED, that we are incomptetent IDIOTS WHO ARE CONSPIRING TO EXTRACT MONEY FROM HONEST CUSTOMERS and that really, the book was in with a pile of others that they returned on the same day. Together. In a bundle. With the others. And they repeat this in varying voices, tones, and threats over a period of five minutes before I interrupt with a placating smile.
"Okay sir, what I can do is put it in claims return. What that means is I take it off your account for 60 days, we look for it in the library and we just ask that you glance around your house and car before the 60 days is up". Why don't you get off your lazy ass and check under your couch cushion where your kid wedged it in between sessions of Dora the Explorer?
"I guess I don't have to talk to the manager then". Fuck off "Yeah, okay. Because I definitely returned it."
"I understand. Have a great day." Bullshit. You'll be here tomorrow with a sheepish look on your face and the book in your hand, because when you went out to the car you realized it was on the passenger seat.
I think its important to note that I really don't swear a lot out loud, but I am a horrible, mean person inside my head.
Overheard at the Library
I work at a public library, and for the most part, I love it. However, as with any service that's free to the public, you get some wacky stories and crazy, bat shit weirdos that come in. And that's just some of the mom's that come by every week. It's funny, because most people gripe about their co-workers. Not me- I love my co-workers and everyone get's along well. We have to, to present a united front against our patrons. Sorry, did I say against? I meant for our patrons, because, after all, we are only here to service their needs and wants and to find 50 millions things for them in the two minutes before we close. So I think I'd like to share every day just little tid-bits of the things I hear every day working in a library.
Anecdote #1:
I almost always work the afternoon shift, ending at 7 pm. From about 5-6:50 pm, our library is dead quiet. The library is in a family orientated suburb, so I imagine everyone is at home eating dinner. However, once the countdown is T-minus 10 minutes, our library is filled with squabbling, loud, and rude people. This particular woman wasn't any of the three, but she was amusing in an irritating-get-out-of-here type of way.
She rushes in at about 1 minute to closing, insisting that she's "just here to pick up her hold". Yeah right. After picking up her hold, she proceeds to me at the front desk and asks where our display of one week checkout books is. Pardon?
"one week check out", she replies. "But you don't actually have to check it out. My friend saw them here last week."
"Sorry," I say, "but we don't have any one week check outs. We have 2 and 3 weeks. Maybe she meant our new book displays".
"No, she definitely said 1 week, right near the front desk."
At this point I'm a little exasperated. I think I would know what displays we had located RIGHT WHERE I WORK EVERY DAY. I asked her what book she was looking for.
Black Dagger Brotherhood books.
I immediately know what she's talking about, and I also know we don't have any copies of that series at our branch.
-Little back story here. We have a library that's less than two miles away from us that is not affiliated with ours in any way. It's a different city library but it looks remarkably similar to ours-
Conveniently, the library down the road (which I've already suggested to her as the possible culprit of the display), has that series on hand and guess what? 1 week check outs.
After protesting for a few more moments, she finally accepts defeat and walks out, hold in hand, 5 minutes after closing.
Anecdote #1:
I almost always work the afternoon shift, ending at 7 pm. From about 5-6:50 pm, our library is dead quiet. The library is in a family orientated suburb, so I imagine everyone is at home eating dinner. However, once the countdown is T-minus 10 minutes, our library is filled with squabbling, loud, and rude people. This particular woman wasn't any of the three, but she was amusing in an irritating-get-out-of-here type of way.
She rushes in at about 1 minute to closing, insisting that she's "just here to pick up her hold". Yeah right. After picking up her hold, she proceeds to me at the front desk and asks where our display of one week checkout books is. Pardon?
"one week check out", she replies. "But you don't actually have to check it out. My friend saw them here last week."
"Sorry," I say, "but we don't have any one week check outs. We have 2 and 3 weeks. Maybe she meant our new book displays".
"No, she definitely said 1 week, right near the front desk."
At this point I'm a little exasperated. I think I would know what displays we had located RIGHT WHERE I WORK EVERY DAY. I asked her what book she was looking for.
Black Dagger Brotherhood books.
I immediately know what she's talking about, and I also know we don't have any copies of that series at our branch.
-Little back story here. We have a library that's less than two miles away from us that is not affiliated with ours in any way. It's a different city library but it looks remarkably similar to ours-
Conveniently, the library down the road (which I've already suggested to her as the possible culprit of the display), has that series on hand and guess what? 1 week check outs.
After protesting for a few more moments, she finally accepts defeat and walks out, hold in hand, 5 minutes after closing.
Thursday, July 30, 2009
Excited to make paper!
So I've been doing crafts for awhile now that I've been trying to sell on Etsy with little success. I don't really care that much- I still enjoy making clocks etc. out of recycled stuff. Now, I'm not a raging environmentalist (although I am a proud owner of both "An Inconvenient Truth" and "The World Without Us", courtesy of my brother Karl) but I LOVE recycled products. I'm going to start making completely, 100% recycled notebooks.
I found a recipe on the internet yesterday that looks easy enough without having to spend a lot make the necessary tools. I already have a wooden frame and some window mesh screen, and tons of scrap paper. We don't get the newspaper at my house anymore, so I was initially wondering where to get paper from. The little lightbulb of creativity went off somewhere near my left ear (burning me in the process), but I remembered that I save all of my scrap paper from scrapbooking and I have a lot of scraps. Pays to be a pack rat sometimes.
The front and back of the books are going to be made out of record covers or old books, and the it'll all be hand sewn together courtesy of moi.
I found a recipe on the internet yesterday that looks easy enough without having to spend a lot make the necessary tools. I already have a wooden frame and some window mesh screen, and tons of scrap paper. We don't get the newspaper at my house anymore, so I was initially wondering where to get paper from. The little lightbulb of creativity went off somewhere near my left ear (burning me in the process), but I remembered that I save all of my scrap paper from scrapbooking and I have a lot of scraps. Pays to be a pack rat sometimes.
The front and back of the books are going to be made out of record covers or old books, and the it'll all be hand sewn together courtesy of moi.
Sunday, July 19, 2009
Annoying Sewing Machine
So pissed today. I went to Goodwill and bought a bunch of men's shirts because they're only $1 on 50% off day. I'd planned on ripping them up and sewing them into tank tops and vests- even went and got some fun zippers. Turns out, my sewing machine is on the fritz. I have no idea what's wrong with it. Everything looks fine to me, but it fucking won't work. I'm so frustrated at this point. I've never had a problem with it before and I don't think you can even bring it in to fix it. It's not like there's a help line that gets forwarded to India for assistance in fixing your sewing machine like there is for your computer. That would be kind of amusing though. I was talking to my Dad (who's been an upholster for years) and he said the cost of repairing a machine is not worth it compared to the cost of a new one. I'm really reluctant to buy one. Yes, they're relatively cheap, but I've only had mine for two years, and have gone months without using it, so it has no wear or tear. Plus, it still looks pristine. It was easy to leave my old sewing machine behind when I moved because it looked old (which is was) and would've been worth maybe $10. Maybe JoAnn's can help me.
My plan was then to hand sew the vest I was working on. I used to hand sew all the time when I was younger, mainly because I was scared of the sewing machine and had no clue how to use it. Apparently it's been 50 years since I last hand-stitched anything because I was bored with it within minutes and no longer wanted to sew. You get used to finishing seams super fast with a machine that doing it by hand looks messy and takes forever. No thanks.
My plan was then to hand sew the vest I was working on. I used to hand sew all the time when I was younger, mainly because I was scared of the sewing machine and had no clue how to use it. Apparently it's been 50 years since I last hand-stitched anything because I was bored with it within minutes and no longer wanted to sew. You get used to finishing seams super fast with a machine that doing it by hand looks messy and takes forever. No thanks.
New magnet designs
I've been experimenting with different wedding themed magnets/save-the-dates/invitations in the last couple of days. I'm not getting married anytime soon, but I know how much brides like little unique things to send to their friends and for wedding favors. I'm so hip and now, I even included a set for two grooms.
Thursday, July 16, 2009
Thursday, July 9, 2009
My first inkling of plant life!
I have a couple of clay pots in my room that I planted with a variety of flowers a few weeks ago. There's an assortment- astors, sunflowers, wildflowers. I don't really remember. Basically the cheap ones at Target. Anyways, I got some little pots from Goodwill and some soil and threw the seeds in with the whole mix. I'm not a gardener by any means. Just because I did every single elementary science fair project on the benefits of growing lima beans in the sun vs the dark does not make me an expert on plant life. In fact, I'm pretty horrible. I constantly forgot to water them, and they hardly get any sunlight. I rarely open the shades in my bedroom because it heats it up. The last time I put my flowers in the smoldering Arizona weather, they wilted and died. So I haven't been having much luck with the plants (well, more like pots of dirt), even though some of them should've sprouted by now. Success!! Today I was reorganizing my bookshelf and noticed two tiny tiny green sprouts in my glass jar. I guess some sunlight peeked in after all. I'm excited, because they're astors, which I love. Hopefully they'll continue to grow. I also haven't killed my ivy yet, and it's still trailing down the side of my wooden bookcase, which is absolutely thrilling for a person who wishes she lived in an old brick house surrounded by trees instead of beige house in a Phoenix subdivision.
Monday, July 6, 2009
My online Etsy site!
I finally set up my online shop at Etsy, a website for people to sell handcrafted items. I figured I might as well try to make some money off my creative endeavors.
Here's the link: http://www.etsy.com/shop.php?user_id=7617654
Here's the link: http://www.etsy.com/shop.php?user_id=7617654
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