11:00 a.m. - 12:00 noon; 1:00 - 2:00 p.m.

What I'm doing between questions: budget spreadsheet for January, chatting with our IT guy, checking for typos in catalog.

11:00 a.m.

• Tax forms
• [I can't find the most current budget spreadsheet--the director must have it on her personal, password-protected, drive]
• Paper/pencil
• "The Titans" or "Titans"...movie about football... [Remember the Titans--I reserve it for her when it comes back]
• SAM registration
• Headphones
• "Is this a warming center? There are about five people sleeping over there." [He looks amazed that people come here and sleep--perhaps he'd rather they come here and fight? "Some of them look like they could be working..." Whatever, dude. Did you not know there are homeless in this country?]
• Why won't the cover picture in the catalog enlarge right? [who knows...Stinkyman...I tell him I'll ask the techie]

1:00 p.m.

• Resume not printing [Try again, it worked] and pay for print jobs
• Printer needs paper
• Will we be getting more state tax forms? [They are out, she just didn't recognize them...]
• Pay for print jobs
• Pencil/paper
• I can't log in the internet, says I have to have caps lock off [his password is all numbers...move to new computer...works fine, so I shut off the first one and reboot...weird]
• Frozen PC [They are all acting weird all of a sudden: won't print, won't act right...]

I don't see any way the last hour could have been quieter unless we were closed. I nearly fell asleep (not that this would be a bad thing!).

1:00 - 2:30 p.m.

What I'm doing between questions: barcoding new items, a full cart-load of 'em.

1:00

• Can I check these out? [yes, but not here]
• Internet use, and Kelley Blue Book website
• I just type my card number in to use the internet, right? [yup; except if you have a new card you have to tell me...]
• The Boys on the Tracks [I order it for him through our system]
• [Circ person comes for order drawer]
• Cell phone [I motion to hang up and she does then comes to apologize]; Russian word for 'death'; pay for print jobs [yes, all the same girl--this involves getting a tattoo]
• Is [Librarian K] here today? [he'll be back, but not right now]
• House floor plans [Stinkyman]
• Pay for print jobs
• More time online

2:00

• Basic accounting books [yup]
• Typewriter repair [we got nada]
• Horses [cute little girl in pink with pigtails]
• Can I use the internet? [he's already registered--I give him his access number]

6:00 -7:00 p.m.

What I'm doing between questions: NOTHING, i.e. wandering the net.

6:00

• [Technically it's 6:10 before I realize that I'm supposed to be on the Reference Desk, and only then because Librarian F comes to tell me so that she can go home...]
• Is [Librarian D] here? [no] He was supposed to read today in my classroom...? [sorry, don't know; he was at work today, but he's left now]
• Circ person needs help with a color copy of something [we eventually figure out enough for her to make it work]
• Formatting a resume [I show him Microsoft Office, and reregister him in SAM]
• Renew time on SAM
• "What does this mean?" [she has a kabillion windows open--freakin' popups!--so I explain how to keep that from happening, and then things won't freeze up on her like this]; and I renew her time on SAM
• [phone] Little girl looking for "The Cay" movie [not released on DVD or video, bummer]
• [phone] Mom asking what I told her daughter about "The Cay" [girl didn't understand how it can exist if it's not on video or DVD! Ah, youth]
• SAM registration
• Friend arrives for her tutoring stint and we chat while she waits.
• Two cops come in, looking for current city budget [thank God I can find it--don't want to look stupid in front of people with guns!]

6:00 - 7:007:30 p.m.

What I'm doing between questions: Dewey updates, and cutting up scratch paper....

6:00

• [phone] "I think there's a meeting there tonight; can you check?" [we decide that what she's calling it and how it's in the meeting room book is the same thing...probably]
• "How can I center something when I print it?" ['...from a webpage, you can't if it's set up in columns...but you can copy and paste into a Notepad doc'...her eyes glaze over] "Can I put some money on my account for printing; do you take charge cards; can I get a receipt? [Yes; not for under $5--she owes $3.60--and not here but circ can do that for you and get you a receipt] Heavy sigh [Life is very hard for her. Very hard. So hard that she can't even complain except to sigh gustily. grrr]
• Circ staffer needs to know what time the Board meeting starts tonight [7:30, no matter what the newspaper printed]
• Stapler [a regular]
• Stapler [a regular]
• Different circ staffer comes back to tell me that the "fish guy" isn't coming today; he'll be here tomorrow to clean the tank, etc. [woo-hoo]
• Stapler [one of our former 'nightmare children' -- she's now a sophomore in high school and...well, some things don't change, but she's a nice girl]
• What's a "ligawka"? [a Polish trumpet...who knew?]
• [Lesson : never leave your email account open at a staff desk...or, anywhere]
• How old do you have to be to give blood? [16 with parental permission]
• Graffiti and the Bermuda Triangle [two different patrons, but I end up showing them the online databases together; we find stuff on the Triangle, but not graffiti]
• Tupac (the graffiti guy) [All our books on him have been stolen...grrr]
• More time in SAM

7:00

• [Looks like I'm actually out here till 7:30....]
• [phone] Date the city was founded [well, that's a complicated question, and here's why...]
• SAM registration
• Where do I get on the Internet? [right there]
• Pay for print jobs
• [Aide B takes the rest of the SAM registrations to check]
• Board member wanders through before meeting
• What is an "orkon"? [a flute? Again, who knew?]
• Can I have extra time online? [I tell him to ask when he gets the 10-minute warning, but probably so]
• What time is it? [There's a clock right there, but I tell him it's 7:25--cute kid]
• "Surdo"? [It's a drum...and this time I found it in Wikipedia...]