At the grocery store on my lunch break:
Hi, I'm just wondering if I can have the refrigerated items bagged separately?
No problem.
Thank you.
I'm one of the people here who are conscientious about that....they're going to miss me when I leave.
Oh.
[Moment later...]
Are you leaving soon? [Don't know why I asked!]
Well, yeah, the cost of living is just too high here.
Yeah. [thinking...the cost of living is too high everywhere when you work at the grocery store, trust me, been there done that]
Well, thanks, have a really good last day.
Reward: The highest decibel smile I've ever seen.
Again, I believe working on a reference desk causes me to cross those stranger boundaries, and interact with people I don't know in a slightly more authentic way. Sometimes it's weird because I'm not really that sort of person, but mostly I think it's nice because that is what community is, talking to people where we live. Where we live is where we live, but it's also where we shop, where we work, and where we go.
Speaking of where we live... yes I know, it's my favorite complaint lately and has nothing to do with librarianship....
On Easter Sunday, I awoke to the sound of hammering at 8:30 am. With my earplugs in.It was loud.
It was early.
Okay, not that early, but still a holiday Sunday!
It sounded like it was coming from the balcony above.
I lay in bed imagining myself shouting, "It's a holiday, couldn't you wait until 9:00!"
I was very close to shouting. I lept out of bed, ripped open my curtains and cast my bleary eyes upwards.
It immediately stopped. I heard my neighbour above pacing around.
You bloody coward, I thought to myself. (In the summer he would sweep debris through the slats onto my patio furniture and into my drink, even onto me, and scuttle away as soon as I cleared my throat)...I waited my the door for a return of the hammering.
It didn't start up again and returned to the quiet sanctity of my bed and blissfully drifted off.
Later that day, on several occasions the hammering started up again.
Oh for goodness sake! Are you trying to be as annoying as possible? I griped...to myself mind you, roomie had headed home. I've noticed that by the end of a long weekend alone, I am spending more time "talking aloud" than what one might consider normal.
Well, to my horror, I discovered that yes the hammering would stop every time I open the curtains because the culprit was so scared of me that he would fly away.
Mr. Big Fat Crow was trying to build a nest in peace.
Do I feel foolish or what?!
No comments:
Post a Comment