Sometimes it's hilarious, like the sweet old man who called and started asking me to spell things for the song he was writing, which sounded a little like a personal add. "I wish - wish, that's w-a-s-h, right? - I wish to find a pretty - how do you spell pretty? - a pretty girl - should that be woman or girl? I guess woman at my age, right? - so I won't be so lonely. How do you spell lonely? Won't? Where would I find one of those? You sound nice . . . but you're probably in college." (Yes sir. In college. Engaged. And, you know, a public service professional. Almost.)
Sometimes it's tragic, like the woman who came in and asked how to find papers to file for separation. We showed her the binder we have with Indiana divorce law, but we tried to convince her to use the resources online. "I've never used a computer in my life," she said. We asked if she had a friend who could come and help her fill it out. "I don't know anyone," was her response. Then, while I was trying to help her make her three free copies (see blog title), she started telling me her story. She came home from church. He was gone. She was shocked. It hurt. She just wanted it to be over. I wonder how often people tell me the personal details of their life because they have no one else to talk to.
Sometimes it's confusing. Sometimes it's boring. Sometimes it flies by and I don't know where four hours went.
Lessons learned today:
- Never assume that the person on the phone who sounds like the guy who hung up while he was on hold actually is that guy. He will have no idea what you're talking about when you start asking him how to spell the name of that insurance group again if he is, in fact, some other person.
- Layer. Sometimes the library is freezing, and then you run around trying to find books and it's hot, and then it's freezing again. No wonder librarians like cardigans.
- Picking books for the staff pick shelves is amazing. It's a break from the desk, and it's fun to watch and see if anyone checked out the books I picked.
- Smiling and being really pleasant and upbeat goes a long way to making up for your incompetency as a newbie. The Intern badge helps too. Listen, take notes, ask questions, take names. Most people will let you figure things out if you tell them what's going on and don't judge them for wanting a copy of Men are from Mars, Women are from Venus.
This is going to be so much fun.
