Thursday, February 21, 2008

The madness...

I love working at the library, I really do. But tonight was a little bit challenging - because of dealing with a particular patron.

I knew when I called her that it could turn into a very long drawn out conversation if she answered the phone.

She answered.

It did.

I really do feel for her, because she suffers from some sort of disability and her life cannot be easy. She calls us frequently for health related information - our branch is the health reference center. But we suspect that she is a full-blown, real-deal hypochondriac. She has a ton of information already, but is always looking for strange connections to link to her health issues. Anyways, tonight I had to call her to relay some information, and it turned into a 30 minute phone call explaining her current situation. She finds it necessary to give scads of background information before getting around to her actual question (if there is one). It is almost impossible to get a word in edgewise to direct the conversation towards a question.

Later, I was talking with one of my coworkers, and he shared with me an observation he had made about people like her that talk endlessly. Most people, when speaking at length, take a breath at the end of a sentence. It is relatively easy to get a word in when they take a breath. But some people breathe in the middle of a sentence, and when they come to the end of a sentence they just bore ahead - and it is almost impossible to stop them.

AHA.

Makes a lot of sense to me.

And now, for a somewhat related picture that still has absolutely nothing to do with what I've already written...


The most unfortunate placement of a library barcode ever


I'm just in the mood to share this. This book has been floating around the library system for a couple of years, at least. I haven't seen it for a few months, but I crack up every time I do. I cannot believe that nobody has removed it for "maintenance" or that nobody had complained! I think whoever put the barcode on it was feeling a little rebellious that day. Ha. Understatement.

I mean really - this is just so wrong in so many ways...

But all it gets from me is a big guffaw - and I just let it go...

Librarians are much more snarky than you might imagine.

With that my friends, have a lovely day, or evening, or afternoon - whatever it may be when you read this.

Life is good - make sure to enjoy it today!

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