Valet Service for Bicycles?

How much crazier can people get? Here I am at the Main Branch of the Salt Lake Public Library and because it is slow today I am reminiscing on the crazies that I have met while volunteering. Just to give you some background, I have been volunteering for about four and a half years. I come in for three hours a week and either give tours of the library or sit at the Welcome Desk, which is the front information desk at the library. I love those three hours! So, let's start the list of my favorite crazies.

The latest one was last week. A man came in and asked if he brought in a petition of 500 names would the library start offering a public dating service. Are you kidding me?

Another man asked if we offered valet parking for bicycles. Does any place offer that service is what I wanted to know.

Another woman came in an asked me all sorts of questions and before I could answer she'd try to guess my answer. Finally, after many wrong (I should really say all wrong) answers she turns in a huff and says, "Well telepathy's not a science!!!"

Another woman several years ago came in and asked what city she was in. Not thinking anything of it I said she was in Salt Lake City. She looks back in horror and says "You mean I'm not in Chicago!?!" What do you say to someone like that?

A man cam in and asked where our legal books were. I directed him to the section and as he's leaving he tells us, "I have to get a divorce from my wife quick, otherwise my girlfriend's gonna be mad when she gets out of prison." Ahh, what a lucky man!

A couple of weeks ago a man we have nicknamed "Bling" first came in to the library. He was very agitated and says "I need all the books on Elvis Presley that you have. He's just been murdered and if I hadn't been shaking hands with Nixon I would have been able to stop it." He then proceeds to draw me a diagram of how the whole even took place and then he just runs off. He came in on another day and offered to sell one of my co-workers some jewelry that he deals in.

A woman entered the library talking really loud and not making a lot of sense. I think to myself here comes another crazy. She comes up to the desk and asks, in her obnoxiously loud voice, if I can look up a book for her. I tell her I can and she says that the name of the book is Crazy Time. I'm not kidding! It took all of my energy to keep a straight face and not ask if she was the author.

One of my favorites was a man who was out of town asked if I could get him on the internet. While I was doing that, he asks if I know much about fabrics. I told him I had a pretty good knowledge so he asks me what I think about flannel. I said it was nice, but can be rather warm. He then tells me that he was in the process of making a costume for his assistant on his web show. He was thinking about making a skirt and hat out of leopard print flannel and wondered if I thought that would be ok. I told him it would be fine. He then says, "Well, it's not really for my assistant. I actually play both myself and my assistant and wanted to have some costume so people could tell the difference between me and my assistant." I don't know if that came out funny, but I'm still chuckling about it!

Several years ago a man came into the library with towel in his back pocket and a chunk of keys in his front pocket. He was a little unkempt, but I really thought nothing of it until I saw him using his towel to clean the glass. I turned to my co-worker and asked if he worked here and she said he didn't. That didn't stop him though. He came for several weeks and did little bits of spot cleaning. Then one day I saw him sitting at a table talking with a woman. But he wasn't just talking to her. Hew was interviewing her for a job as a janitor at the library. Ohhh, that was hilarious. He still comes to the library, but we haven't really had any incidents since.

During one summer two older women came in and used the internet. I went over to help them and they told me that their power was out and that they had come to work on the internet. I then looked down and saw that they had brought their cats in their purse. I asked them about that and they said that it was too hot to leave them at home without power.

Another woman came to work on the internet and was having problems logging on. So while I was waiting for the computer to restart she asks me if I know what a sugar flier is. I tell her that I do. Then she points to her purse looking around furtively and says, "Shhh, don't tell anyone."

I think my favorite day in library history though was the day that elevators weren't working. We have three glass elevators and most of our walls are glass, so it's easy to overlook them - and many people do. But this one day the up button had been punched out of the panel and was unavailable for pushing - obviously! That didn't stop some of our more adventurous patrons. Several people put their faces right up to hole trying to find the button. Others stuck their fingers in the hole trying to find the button. The all-time best was the woman who wanted to go to the third floor. She stands their waiting for the elevator to open and finally after a couple of minutes asked how to get the elevator to open. I told her to push the down button and she says "But I need to go to the third floor." I tell that once she gets in she can just press three and it'll go there. Or she can just take the stairs - which she absolutely refused. She doesn't get it though and eventually just leaves muttering about stupid elevators and not helpful librarians. It was hilarious!!!

Well, it's almost time for me to leave, so I better wrap things up. As you can see the library is a great place to be. You never know what you're going to get. It's like an addiction. I hate it when I don't get to come and volunteer. As I think of other stories I'll add them, but this is about all that I can think of for now.

Beethoven in a World of Supermodels

I watched this movie last night, Copying Beethoven. I had seen that trailer and was intrigued by the story. I don't know if it ever came to theaters in Salt Lake, but I didn't ever see it. So yesterday I picked it up at Costco and bought it. First off, I have to say that the music was exceptional! I would love the soundtrack. Between Beethoven's music and the score composer it was fabulous. The plot was a little bit artsy, if you know what I mean. It was difficult to guess where it was going at first and the opening credits were very Blair Witch camera angles. It was bizarre. I felt like I was gettin motion sick. The actors were amazing. I really enjoyed the symphony scene. It was really moving. I didn't think that the bathing scenes were needed. And honestly I didn't understand why they were even put in unless they were looking for a PG-13 rating, which is just irritating. Overall though, I enjoyed the movie. If you love music and history, it's a great show.

I also finished reading Uglies, by Scott Westerfeld. It is based on a very interesting idea: What if everyone were supermodel gorgeous? It has taken me a few weeks to really get into the book. The first couple of chapters are really hard to get into. That's not saying they're bad, just that they make a lot more sense after you've read the book than at the beginning. But I guess that he had to start somewhere. The main characters were great. I think that they each had unique personalities that blended nicely. I enjoyed all the believable Sci-fi that he created in this book. Once I really got into it, it only took me a day to finish. I would be interested in reading the other two books in the trilogy. Although a week ago I was just frustrated that I wasn't going anywhere with the book. I liked the hoverboards and rollercoaster. They were awesome.

Accidental Elevator Tourist

One would think that I am obsessed with elevators - and perhaps I am. I ride them many times a week and dream about them at night. I also fear that one day I am going to step in one and it plummet to the ground. So perhaps obsession is an accurate word. Today I got in one and forgot to push the button for what floor I wanted to go to. So I ended up just riding it up and down until I realized that I had forgot. I think the others in the elevator thought that I was crazy because when I remember I couldn't control the laughter that overtook my body. It was hilarious!

I also watched the seventh episode of Robin Hood season one. I loved the scene where Robin and Marian were chatting and he almost gets to kiss her! Ahh! But the end where he has to listen to Marian accept Guy was heart wrenching. I hate Sir Guy! I am in agony . . . why do I have to wait a whole week for resolution? I love John Thornton, but Sir Guy is just throwing me into a tizzy. I'll get over it though.

Ranting and Raving

So, I've read a lot these past couple of weeks - well at least two books. That's good right? I read Darcy's Story by Janet Aylmer and Letter Perfect by Cathy Marie Hake. Both were really good. I have read another version of "Darcy's side" of the story Pride and Prejudice. That was by Pamela Aiden. She did such an excellent job that I was a little skeptical of this new version. But like the P&P fanatic that I am I bought it and read it. It's a little slow in the first half - until they get to Rosings. It feels more like you are just reading a condensed version of P&P up until that point. But then the author really takes Darcy and his feelings and motivations to the front. I loved how it progressed from that point forward. But honestly, P&P doesn't really get interesting until Lizzy turns him down at Rosings. And the Pemberley part was really excellent. I loved it. I would recommend it to any Jane fan. Letter Perfect was surprisingly wonderful. It's a Christian novel - and usually those turn me off. Mostly because they focus too much on the religious part of the story and not on the plot. This one was different. There really was a great plot and the characters were fun. I liked that she wrote different scenes from different characters points of view. It felt like you got to know several characters, instead of just one. It was a little lacking in romance - the proposal and first kiss left something to be desired. I was hoping for a little more in that department. Overall though, the book was really good.

Work has been crazy. It shouldn't be, but it is. It started with Aaron, my best friend's husband, getting a letter of reprimand that went directly to his personal file. This was without warning or provocation. Not only that but all of our manager's accusations were unfounded. So Aaron wrote a letter of rebuttal and that got put with the other letter in his file. So, now we are all a little uneasy to see who is going to be accused next. It makes for a frustrating work environment. Then I left something for the copy center on Tuesday, thinking everything is ok, and that I could pick it up on Friday to finish the project. Well, they wanted the files to have a different extension, and to be a different size. I wasn't there, so my co-workers had to pick up the slack. I felt bad, because I honestly didn't know any better - but ended up causing frustration for others. I feel like I am lacking in procedural training. I know how to do what I was hired for, I just don't know everything else. Like how to log my jobs, or that I have to log my jobs, what formats certain files for different places need to be and I'm sure many other things. I am just afraid that my manager was involved in this whole printing mess and he's going to chalk up against me - not to mention that I'm friends with Aaron! Everything got fixed and to the copy shop again thanks to my wonderful co-workers. I think that I am going to mention something in our next meeting about having some procedural type training, because if I don't know, I am sure that there are others that don't know as well. But I look at this like - if I get fired I'm no worse off than I was a month ago. C'est la vie.

One more rant tonight - or rather a rave. I love the BBC tv show Robin Hood. Oh, Robin is so cute and charismatic. I didn't think that I would like him as much as I do, but I am glad to be mistaken. I really started watching it for Richard Armitage. I loved him in North & South and wanted to see him in something else. He does a really good job as Sir Guy, but I feel a little betrayed. I want to like him, because of N&S. But he is excellent as a slimy, bad guy. I wish that there was a little more screen time between Marian and Robin. I am all about the romance and am getting very little. I recognize that it's a tv show - so they have to draw it out, but I feel with the last 6 episodes they have had 10 maybe 15 minutes together period! I want more! But beyond that I really like it and can't wait for more.