Today on the Diane Rehm show, they were talking about medical insurance- do you need it, don't you, how companies are different, etc...

This guy called in to say "I don't have any health insurance, I haven't for a long time, I just don't think it's valuable to me- I've always been careful to use lots of preventative care, eat right, and I've been going to a chiropractor since I was like four."

Seriously? First, chiropractic care is not preventative care. Second, who takes a four year old to a chiropractor for heaven's sake?!

Also, no matter how careful you are, how well you eat, there is always the possibility that you could be in an accident or develop something terrible. Who's going to pay for that man's care if he gets in a serious car accident or discovers a malignant growth (or any one of a million things happens)? Because no one has that much cash.

Idiot.

I wrote a whole post about how I'm awkward but then tried to upload this gif to lighten the mood. And it did. By somehow deleting ALL of the text. He may look cute in a suit, but he is DEADLY.

I know this is my second post in a short time about Les Mis, but I can't help it. I have a Pandora station that started as "Wicked" radio and has been morphed by my careful curation until it only plays music from the following: Wicked, Beauty and the Beast, Little Women (the musical!), The Light in the Piazza (a musical that flopped but has an amazing score), and lots and lots and lots of Les Mis. AND I LOVE IT. There is nothing with which I would rather fill my brain while cataloging. NOTHING, DO YOU HEAR ME?!

You guys. Today I was on the reference desk and someone was trying to make a joke about me being the captain on the bridge- referencing Star Trek. Then he said "oh wait, you're too young for Star Trek". I assured him I wasn't too young to have seen an episode or two. What's weird about this? He is probably the same age as me, AT MOST 3 years older. I'm glad I skew young? I think.

Oh my word, you guys, I don't know what is wrong with me, but I think I just offended someone in the elevator again. WHY?!

So I got on with this really sweet woman who works in library services, and we said hi, and then to fill the silence, I guess, she said "You're wearing red!" Because I am. I'm wearing a really bright red sweater.

And I couldn't think of a response to that, so I looked at her (she's wearing a dark pink skirt and a lighter pink shirt with a khaki blazer) and said "so are you....sort of!" Meaning, of course, that she's wearing pink, which is sort of red. And she said "oh you know, I'm not really into that sort of thing" which puzzled me. And then I thought that she thought I had been referring to her mismatching and was insulting her, which obviously I didn't mean to.

And, you know what? As soon as I finished typing this, I realized that today the employee's association is having a "tailgate" party for lunch, and we're supposed to wear our team shirts. AND SHE THOUGHT I WAS WEARING RED BECAUSE I'M A UTE FAN. Which is even worse than inadvertently offending someone. I mean, I would never want to be mistaken for someone so uncouth as one of *them*.

(but I will let the previous story stand as a monument to my own ineptness in social situations and/or my attempts to interpret them)

haHA!

Success! So remember the last post I wrote about not recognizing the Director of Libraries here?

Well, today I had basically the SAME EXACT encounter with him that I had the other day. He didn't remember me, you guys! Not one whit! And so, it was JUST LIKE "Groundhog Day" where I got to repeat the situation until I got it right (which only took one repetition in this case).

And this time, "getting it right" meant (1) knowing who he is, and (2) not asking inane questions and slinking away like Gollum.

This day is an ALL-AROUND WIN. (because of that and also because of this- http://thebloggess.com/2011/09/dear-portlandia-really/)

Number of fire drills at work so far this week: 2
Percentage of which were legitimately planned exercises or started by actual fires: 0%

Fire alarms echoing in hallway covered in hard, echoing surfaces = DEAFENING.

Strobe light flashing above my desk incessantly for 10 minutes afterwards = seizure inducing.

Why do I do these things?

ALSO. I am an idiot. It's official.

I was waiting for the elevator and there was a man waiting as well who turned to me and said "I don't believe we've met, I'm [so and so]", and we went through the introduction thing.

He asked me where I work. I told him.

Then I said "and what do you do, [so and so]? I know I've seen your name on emails, but I can't remember off the top of my head."

His response? "I'm the director of the library".

Cue elevator door and my ashamed retreat.

Idiot.

(I really should have known, but in my defense there are so many levels of management and I've just never had reason to interact with him. But still. Idiot.)

UPDATED: Also, I just browsed the org chart (we have this really cool interactive one on the intranet) and realized that he's not over the whole library, he's director of a division that's basically parallel to mine. That alleviates some of my shame.

Adventures in reference

Also. Today I did my shift on the reference desk. A man came looking for an item- he said he just wanted to see if it was in the open stacks. It's not- we only have one copy and it's in the secure stacks. Then he told me he had written the book and wanted to know why it wasn't in the open stacks, because he saw lots of books on the same topic and they were, in his words, "corny".

So I gave him a bunch of reasons, but mainly just said that if we only have one copy, it stays in the secure stacks. He was unsatisfied, so I directed him to the "real" reference librarian sitting at the other computer. She chatted with him and he left looking happy with his answer, so I asked her what she had told him.

And guess what? She told him the exact same thing I did. Do I not seem trustworthy or something?

Things I've loved looking at today.

This dress.

I just discovered the Synagogue-a-Day tumblr feed. Images shared come from the William A. Rosenthall Judaica Collection at the College of Charleston Special Collections. An interesting mix of buildings from all over the world.

Listen to this Storycorps segment.

Like I really need another obsession...

So, maybe I haven't talked to you about it yet, but I am utterly obsessed with Pinterest. It's weird how something so simple can be so absorbing.

If you haven't ever used it, Pinterest is like a virtual pinboard. You can "pin", categorize, rearrange, and gawk at links and pictures you like. If you'd like an invite, let me know! I love seeing what friends are saving and sharing things that I love. It's like Facebook for the visually oriented. Or something.

Did I mention that I love it? Because I do. You can look at my boards and things that I've pinned, by clicking the red button at the top of the blog that says "follow me on Pinterest".

DO IT.