tuesday

It's raining now and will rain, I think, FOREVER. I keep hoping it will turn into snow (knowing that even at Portland's snowiest it will never reach the blizzard conditions of the east coast), but I think rain is what it will remain. Oh well. We're good at it.

*****

Today at work I was filing holds, which involves taking books that have a slip of paper with the patron's name sticking out the top and filing them alphabetically by (patron's) last name in a long aisle. (you wouldn't believe the number of people who ask me if it's by the book's title or by the author's name - either of which would be so convoluted in a picking-up-holds situation I can't even imagine...) Anyway - this is a very busy branch and the hold aisle is usually hopping pretty much the whole time we're open. I was filing something on a bottom shelf and when I stood up, a smiling man came around the corner of the aisle. I smiled and returned to my work. He waited until I turned around (because I was filing more holds - they never end) and said "do you like poetry?" (which is not the usual question in the hold aisle - that would be "um, I think I'm supposed to have another dvd? but it's not here?") I said sure I did and he held up the book he'd gotten and said that he's really been looking forward to reading it - it's "similar to haiku, but not haiku." which makes sense since it's Chinese not Japanese. But anyway - I told him I'd keep an eye out for it, but then after he left I put another copy on hold for myself. Why not? Who am I to dispute the wisdom of the hold aisle?

*photo at top is of some library books I had out in the summer of 2007. you can see hold slips coming out of the tops of some!