ricola herbes et meil

I am unwell, which is unfun. With any luck it will be one of those 24 hour things but I'm not confident that my luck runs in that direction. I'm sure it's just the time of the year -- people get sick! Plus I've been in closer contact with the public who have no doubt been licking their library books before returning them and therefore spreading cooties throughout the land. Blah. My throat hurts. Maybe it will be all better by tomorrow but that seems unlikely, even with the magical help of the ricola elves or goatherds or whoever those guys in lederhosen are. (besides people who wrap lozenges in paper and shout all over the alps about the cure for the common cold, of course.)

The good news is that I've been getting more library shifts and I'm still enjoying the work, hooray! I certainly enjoy getting paid. It's been a little tough to find jobs since it's all done through a staffing website and a bunch of new clerks with speedy trigger fingers were all hired at the same time, but I figure it will all shake out/settle down soon enough. I'm trying not to get too cranked up about it. (This is one of my mottos for a more harmonious life: Don't Get So Cranked Up About It. Maybe I should embroider it on a pillow or a hankie.) One of the most interesting parts has been the culture-shifts of the different branches. (There are 17 in the system, although as yet I've only worked in 9 of them.) They all have their own personalities and quirks, yet they are all alike in thinking that theirs is the most badass branch in the system. "If you can work XYZ, you can work anywhere!" I suspect many of the people saying this have never worked a shitty retail job because none of these "oh, it's awful" scenarios come close to a typical day of selling stuff. For example, on Friday I did have to talk to a lady who had almost 100.00 in fines (jail/rehab/had a baby) and was going to be sent to collections -- not fun, but if it got out of hand I could pass her along to the manager. But I also got to issue first library cards to a couple of five year olds, which was very satisfying.

More soon! I'm going to take a nap, medicate and put lots of tissue and cough drops in my pocket so I can go see the Bob Dylan movie today. My pre-sickness goal for this weekend was to see the only two movies that have really grabbed my interest in this holiday movie release cycle. (Enchanted and I'm Not There. I saw Enchanted last night (more on that soon, I hope) and it was a lot of fun. But I need to see the other one or I will... well, I need to see it. Since I'm not coughing or sneezing (my misery is silent) I don't feel like too much of a public menace.)