J is for...

Job.

I've been working at my current position for four months, which is mind boggling. My time here has flown by--I've survived my first summer reading program, we've already done two weeks of fall storytimes and I'll be attending next year's summer reading program conference in a month. It is crazy, but definitely in a good way. Because, shocker of all shockers, I really really like my job. See, last week, I started reading a few personal finance and budgeting books (stupid student loans on a public librarian salary) and one of their tips was to see if you really liked your job or if it was time to find either a better paying position or a whole new career. One of the books said that a good way to judge whether or not you liked your job was to see if you got the 6pm Sunday sinking feeling i.e. at the end of the weekend, when you thought about going back to work on Monday, do you want to yak? I don't--not in the least bit. And I'm sure I don't because I've had that feeling in the past, although in my case, it was every night when I got home from work at 6pm. My friend also brought this up when I told her about my financial worries--why don't you find a better paying job? I had a knee-jerk reaction: but I like my job. I don't want to leave.

So, it's official. I like my job. This is crazy to me! I decided I wanted to be a librarian when I was around 16-years-old and more specifically a children's librarian when I was 22! How was I right?! I usually have horrible instincts! And yet, this one was spot on. Let's hope it stays this way.

Finally, one very cute reason why I like my job:
There are a lot of books about sheep not being able to sleep (they inevitably count sheep :)) and while reading these books at our sheep storytime and saying "I wonder why all these sheep can't fall asleep?", a little boy, Auggie, kept shouting out "Maybe they're nocturnal!"

I is for...

In The Hood

What are your thoughts on the phrase "In The Hood"?

My library's ex is now working in a branch library in Phoenix which is located in a bad part of town. Erika likes to keep all of us updated and I've noticed over the past four or five emails that Erika is OBSESSED with the phrase "In The Hood." She works "in the hood" into almost every sentence. The library "in the hood" is really busy. The kids "in the hood" crave attention. Their library was blasting their air conditioner because it was really warm and there's not a lot of air conditioned buildings "in the hood." We were sent an email with the subject line "water fight in the hood" with pictures of the water fight... in the hood. Another favorite: "I feel like the whitest girl in the hood."

Am I just out of touch (I do live in a diversity-challenged suburb in Wisconsin) or is her obsession with "in the hood" a little weird? Do people use this phrase anymore? And by people, I mean white children's librarians from Wisconsin.

See, I told you "I" would be less whiny :) Thanks for all your nice comments--you guys are the best as usual!

H is for...

Homesick

Initially, H was going to be for haircuts, hairdressers, home improvement, house guests but obviously I never got around to those. Today, H stands for homesick. I've tried five different ways to explain all of this and none of them are working. So, the whole "flowing paragraphs with transition statements" thing is being scrapped in favor of a modified 5Ws and an H.

What: I'm homesick.

Which home: Madison, the most recent in my long line of homes.

Why: Because I didn't get recognized constantly at the grocery store in Madison. Because I could go out to a bar and get drunk without getting recognized by pretty much anyone. Because if I wanted to get drunk, I wouldn't need to drive half an hour and find a place to sleep to do so. Because I had friends there that I saw on a regular basis. Because I knew where to go in order to be happy. In short, because I was comfortable there.

How did I come to this realization: I was in a bathroom at a bar in Milwaukee. The bar was fantastic in that "is this bar tacky because it's clueless or is it tacky because it's ironic?" kind of way. However, this bar was 40 minutes away from my house and if you needed me to get back there today, I would have no clue how to get there. In short, I have no social life in The Berg because I have no friends there and there's nothing to do there. And I don't have a social life in Milwaukee because it's far away, and to be quite honest, I'm not all that impressed with it. I solemnly believe in that idea that you're either a Madison person or a Milwaukee person. I know I'm a Madison person. I know it's important to make an effort (for my own sanity) to try to be both but when I'm also supposed to be a berg person, the effort just seems exhausting.

So, to sum up, I'm homesick and whiny. I promise "I" will be better.