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August 20, 2010






So Long, Farewell, Auf Wiedersehen, Adieu…

I’m off to Europe with my partner in crime, Ms. Erin and I regret to inform you all that there is a severe lack off free WiFi in the hotels we are staying in and I probably won’t get to post very much, if at all. But worry not! I have my handy dandy journal and I will record my trip the old fashion way and create blog posts based on my journal entries. So, I will blog to you again in September. I leave you with the words of the von Trapp children; so long, farewell, auf wiedersehen, adieu…

Library Vocabulary...


The Librarian Dialogues...


Library Article...

Vonnegut Memorial Library To Open In Indianapolis

August 19, 2010

Goodbye Favorite Page #1...

Yesterday was the last day of work for "Favorite Page #1" before she leaves for college. The Page Supervisor put together a party for her and another Page, because they were two of the best Pages we've ever had. But because he threw a party he ruined the lunch and such my department was going to have for her -- C'est la vie! Despite all of that everyone seemed to have a nice time. I baked a chocolate raspberry cake with raspberry buttercream for her, that I hid in my department's office because I didn't want to share it with the rest of the building. Unfortunately she spent her last day training the new girl and not futzing around the office with us. I'm going to miss her terribly, but I know I'll hear from her so all will be well in the world.

Craft Demo Disaster...

As Youth Services Department Librarians, myself and my coworkers get to do a lot of arts & crafts with the kids that come in and we have to make a lot of craft demos -- We make demos of the crafts we are doing to try and draw a bigger crowd, because when they see what the craft is going to look like ahead of time they tend to sign up and actually show up.

That being said, the other day "Julia" had a craft demo she had to make and it was the ugliest thing I have ever seen -- I mean, she has made ugly things in the past but I'm pretty sure this one took the cake. It was so bad I felt the need to make a proper demo to show people how good the craft could actually look. Here are the two side-by-side.



How ugly is that turtle?! I would never bring my child to a library craft program if the demos looked like that. I don't understand putting out a product that looks like that.

August 17, 2010

Another Boring Day...

Work was boring today, but I did notice that all of our "bad" kids are starting to trickle back in -- This means school is about to start up again. So I'm preparing myself for all of the problems that come along with the school year. Aside from that I had another video game night, so I spent three hours of my day at work playing video games --I love my job.

What did killed me today was the fact that our security brought in fried shrimp and some other goodies from my favorite seafood place for myself, my department head and one of my other coworkers to eat and when he offered "Julia" a piece of shrimp she denied him because she is on Weight Watchers®. What is wrong with this you ask? She ate two big ass brownies a half an hour before he came in. I almost called her out on her brownie consumption, but instead I mocked her behind her back.

August 16, 2010

August 14, 2010

Two Minutes To Closing...

Two minutes before we were about to close for the day the demon patron sent her daughter up to hand us all three of her ginger children's summer reading club reviews/raffles because the club ended today. It was ridiculously rude and annoying because we were ready to leave and we had kicked out all of the other patrons out five minutes before. This woman really thinks she can do whatever she wants and that we're a bunch of idiots. I can not stand her!

Censorship...

I just had the pleasure of being bitched out by a grandmother because she put her grandson on the internet and googled "kids games" instead of going to an established kiddie website like Nick Jr. or PBS Kids. The website she chose had both adult and children's games, so their were "inappropriate" advertisements -- There was an ad for birth control across the top of the screen. Because of this she found the need to pull me into the room and get angry with me about the availability of such websites. I began to tell her that our library does not block or monitor websites because that is the policy that our Board of Trustees agreed upon -- We do not censor anything. Obviously she didn't care and continued to lecture me. I just took it and put her grandson on Nick Jr. and walked away.

I really hate people sometimes. She chose to let her grandson go on the computer. She googled "kids games." She picked the link to the website. We rattled off the names of a bunch of websites to choose kiddie games from before he got on and she didn't listen. How am I at fault?

Happy Anniversary Green Eggs & Ham!...

"Green Eggs and Ham" by Dr. Seuss turned 50-years-old!


August 13, 2010

Note To The World...

I would like to note to the world that I, the hungover Librarian Trainee, made it to work 15 minutes early and I look like a normal put together human. While "Julia" was late to work and she looks like a hot mess -- It looks like a cat raped her head. I just need to put that out there.

Precursor To Chaos...

Thursday was definitely a precursor of what is to come once school is once again in session. It was very clear that our problem children have started to trickle back in from where ever their guardians ship them away to during summer months. So the day was a little loud, not as crazy as it is during the school year but a bit more chaotic than it has been the past few months. What does this mean you ask? It means that in a few weeks I should have some interesting and exciting posts about the wackiness that occurs within my library. I look forward to blogging about it all.

August 12, 2010

Library Article...

Jersey Library Closing: Who Will Save It?

Phone Calls, Lobster Rolls & College Advice...

Aside from my mini rant, yesterday was a tame day. I actually spent the majority of my afternoon calling patrons telling them that they could come pick up their tickets to the summer reading club party -- Super boring, I know.

Despite the mediocrity that was yesterday I did have a bright spot in the work day, I took "Favorite Page #1" to lunch. We went, sat by the water at my favorite seafood place and ate lobster rolls and crab cakes. Seeing as she is leaving for college next week I mustered up little last minute tidbits of knowledge for her to consider as she goes away to college. It was an excellent lunch hour and I honestly don't know what I'm going to do without her, I'm going to miss her. Thankfully I have two more work days with her before she leaves.



August 11, 2010

What Time Do You Want Lunch?!...

It really aggravates me that "Julia" is constantly coming in to work late (Today she called and said she just wasn't feeling right when she woke up, so she was going to eat something and try to make it in by 10:30am when she was supposed to be in at 9:00am) and then she has the nerve to ask me about who should go to lunch when an hour after she gets here. On principle no matter if I'm hungry or not I will go to lunch first and make her wait. Ugh!

Library Vocabulary...


Library Articles...

Complaint Box Voices & Volumes; It's a Library, Not a Starbucks
The Art on the Library Walls
A Library for Those With Plenty of Time to Read

August 10, 2010

La Fin De Mon Voyage à Pennsylvania...

Alas, my adventures in Philadelphia are over and I am back home. I actually got back home yesterday, but not before going to Easton, PA to visit the Crayola® Factory.

The Crayola® Factory was not what I hoped it to be. It was very much so a place for people with little children, not for Justin and I -- Well, if I would have gone with my girlfriends from college we would have been doing all the kiddie stuff. So, I was disappointed but the day was redeemed by a lovely lunch at a Portuguese restaurant and a comic book store.

Yes, comic book store... I enjoy comics, I read them and for some reason people don't "peg" me as the comic book reading type. I buy the comics/graphic novels/manga for work, I took a comic book course in college that counted towards my degree (Which I would like to note was way harder than anyone thinks) and I've been talking about going to New York Comic Con -- I like comics!!!

At the store I picked up a paperback copy of "Batman: The Killing Joke" by Alan Moore (1988), two copies of Batgirl #12 (2010), a copy of Batman vs. The Undead (2010) and Jack of Fables 46 (2010). I also picked up ten packs of official Spice Girls: The Movie stickers -- My inner twelve-year-old self needed them. So, that was my comic book store haul.

Today is my first day back at work since last Wednesday and lets hope it's an interesting day. I'll keep you updated.

August 8, 2010

Philadelphia Part Trois...

Sorry for the lack of updating the wireless network at the hotel isn't very good and it keeps crapping out. Since it is currently working I figured I'd attempt to post.

When I left you I had to go get ready for pre-wedding drinks at Smokin' Betty's. Once we were both ready we walked to the restaurant to meet up with everyone. We were amongst the first handful of people there, so we introduced ourselves to the people that were there and hung out with them. The groom and the bride eventually showed up. We hung out with the groom for the majority of the evening, enjoying the open bar that was provided. We were there for a few hours before Justin and I decided to head back to the hotel. I made the mistake of letting my drunken boyfriend lead us back to the hotel, what was originally a twenty minute walk end up taking us forever and a year -- He blames the GPS on his iPhone for the long walk. We ended up walking around in a big circle around the city -- I thought we were gonna get robbed by one of the many bums that wander the streets of Philly. Thankfully we eventually made it back to our hotel.

Saturday was spent wandering around looking for food and new shoes before the wedding. After accomplishing both of those tasks we took naps and got ready for the wedding. Once dressed we walked down to the Franklin Institute. On the way there I stepped on my dress thus ripping a hole in it -- I in turn bitched Justin out for making me walk to the wedding. We got to the Franklin Institute around 5:45pm as instructed and waited in the room housing the "Space Command" exhibit before entering the Fels Planetarium for the ceremony. It was a pretty neat Indian ceremony. After the ceremony we walked upstairs for cocktail hour in the room housing the exhibit "The Giant Heart: A Healthy Interactive Experience." After getting nicely buzzed with Justin's college friends, we headed into the room that is home to the Benjamin Franklin National Memorial for reception. We had dinner, drank, danced and ate dessert before handing out to a bar with Justin's friends so that they could watch the end of the UFC fight. We hung out for a bit and then headed back to our hotel room.

Today (Sunday) was spent sleeping in and then hanging out with Justin's friend Dino and his girlfriend before they headed back to Boston. We wandered around Reading Terminal Market, ate ice cream, walked through Chinatown, drank bubble tea and smoothies, did some historical stuff before going our separate ways. Again, Justin and I napped before hopping on a trolley to find dinner before heading out on a ghost trolley tour. The tour was pretty neat, the guide was excellent and we had a nice time. So, that has been Philadelphia days three and four.

August 6, 2010

Philadelphia Part Deux...

Day two in the city of brotherly love has thus far been spent roaming around Eastern State Penitentiary (ESP) and the Philadelphia Zoo.

Justin and I woke up early to find breakfast and work our way over to Eastern State (1829-1971). We spent a good two and a half hours wandering around what is considered to be the world's first true penitentiary -- I took over two hundred photos in that time. We walked around various cell blocks, got to go inside of some of the cells, saw some interesting art, we got to see Al Capone's cell (He spent eight months in ESP), etc. It was really interesting, especially since I have this odd love of old penitentiaries, mental asylums and ghosts -- I have to go through my photos to see if I caught anything.

After we were done at Eastern State we hopped on a trolley and headed to America's first zoo, the Philadelphia Zoo (1874).We spent a few hours there chillin' and looking at the animals. We didn't see everything because it was hot out and we were tired after spent hours walking around Eastern State. Once we were done at the zoo we headed back to the hotel and had a late lunch before washing up and taking naps.

In addition to the big attractions we saw we also got to see the "Rocky Stairs" at the Philadelphia Museum of Art (You would not believe how many people actually run up those stairs and pretend to be Rocky), we saw one of Auguste Rodin's original castings of "The Thinker" -- Rodin casted over twenty of the bronze statues and Philadelphia ended up with one of them, we saw a bunch of random statues and various historical locations.

Day two opinion of Philadelphia: It is a very interesting city full of history, but I am put off by the number of homeless people Justin & I have seen -- I'm from New York, so that is saying a lot. Before we got on the trolley to get the morning started we were sitting in the park with the "LOVE" statue and a man said to Justin "Excuse me you're sitting in front of my home." He was sitting in front of a bush!!!

I have to get ready for pre-wedding drinks at Smokin' Betty's, but I'll keep everyone posted on my adventures in Philly.

August 5, 2010

Library Articles...

Steve Martin, Ethan Hawke Among 'Literary Lions' Honored By New York Public Library
Two N.J. Libraries Yank Gay-Themed Book

Philadelphia Part Un...

Greetings from Philadelphia! Yup, the Misfit has struck Philly -- I'll try not to leave it in ruins, I promise. I'm here for a long weekend with Justin because his friend is getting married on Saturday at the Franklin Institute. I have never actually been here before so I'm very much so looking forward to seeing all that I can see in my time here.

We actually did quite a lot today. We went to Adventure Aquarium (Justin really likes fish, so we go to aquariums frequently), we saw the Battleship New Jersey, we wandered around the cemetery that Benjamin Franklin was buried in (I have this odd love of cemeteries), we got to see the Liberty Bell, we saw the "LOVE" statue, we wandered around and ate at Reading Terminal Market, etc. It has thus far been a lovely experience and I'll keep you posted on the rest of my trip.

August 4, 2010

Smooth Criminal...

What is so hard to comprehend about people sealing from the library? If the item (DVD in this scenario) is missing than someone probably stole it. People steal from libraries all the time, it's just the way it is. That being said, why when I tell people that things get stole they find the need to get mad at me? I didn't steal it, go to hell.

August 3, 2010

STPS: Non-Fiction...

This woman was really clueless and while you read this you should just imagine stupid/confused facial expressions because this lady just didn't know what she was talking about. She came up to the desk asking for one of the local schools' summer reading list. We gave it to her and she walked away, looked at it and came back to us asking us where non-fiction was. We pointed to the ten rows of book shelves behind her and she just looked defeated. She walked away for a minute and then she came back to the desk to ask the following...


New Fiction Seizure...

I have a history of missing interesting things that happen at the library, I mean obviously I deal with a decent amount of drama and bull shit -- If I didn't there would be no reason for me to blog, but I have missed some pretty interesting things (i.e. - vehicular manslaughter in the street in front of the library, a man smearing feces on the Holocaust section, etc). Today I missed a person having a seizure in front of the Adult Reference Desk while I was out on lunch. An old man had a seizure and hit his head thus leaving a nice big blood stain on the carpet (I guess it's a good thing the library is putting in new carpets at the end of the month). I got to see him being taken out by the ambulance, but I missed the chaos.

Library Atricles...

9 Of The Worst Library Books
Libraries Top The Competition In Lending Movies

August 2, 2010

Forwarding E-Mail For Dummies...

Apparently "Julia" is dumber than I thought, she apparently can't forward e-mails. I know 90-year-old people who can forward e-mails.

EDIT: I would like to note that this woman has taken college level post masters courses in computers and now I think she is a bigger idiot than I thought before.

August 1, 2010

Testing 123...

Just wanted to see if this blog app for my spiffy iPhone 4 worked.