Overheard

I overheard the following at the local swimming pool where a toddler sat with his mother, watching his daddy and older sister in a parented swimming class. The child had trouble pronouncing his "esses" and I knew what he meant, but it sounded so funny to hear him say:

"I want wimmin!"

Things I Don't Need to See #3

It's 9:00 am on a weekday morning, I'm on the train headed downtown for a library course and a little old lady is sitting across from me. As the lady finishes eating her bun, we approach the next station. Reaching into her bag as she stands up to leave, she pulls out a mickey of vodka and takes a swig.

Pardon me?

Procrastinators Anonymous Meeting Postponed Until Tomorrow

I find myself harping at my kids to get their work done, whether it's chores or schoolwork, before playing. It frustrates me when they announce there is a school project due that they've known about for awhile but haven't begun, and then we have to scramble to finish it in time.

The silly part is that if I'm honest with myself, I see that I'm no different from them. Just last week I assessed the 'frig, determined that we had enough milk to last another day and decided to postpone grocery shopping until the following morning. Later that same afternoon, I received a phone call from work asking me if I could do a shift the next day. Needing the experience (and the money!), I said yes. By this time it was too late to get groceries before supper, which meant I had to do an evening grocery shop. I hate shopping for groceries in the evening: the produce is picked over, and the store and parking lot are full of tired, cranky people who have worked all day and now need to stock up on food for the next week.

Why do I do this to myself? Just like my kids, I don't seem to learn the lesson.

In an attempt to get out of this bad habit of procrastination, I plan to do some baking this afternoon. I'm responsible for the treats at my quilt guild meeting tomorrow evening. I have tomorrow off and I originally thought I'd bake then, but why not this afternoon? That way, I'll have tomorrow free if something else comes up (and it probably will).


Update: The cheesecake bars and coconut cherry slice are in the 'frig and ready for tomorrow's guild meeting. If I'm feeling ambitious I might make something chocolaty tomorrow.

Things I Don't Need to See #1

I don't need to see the abundant grey chest hair of a patron who must be well into his seventies. It's not 1970 anymore: the shirt undone nearly to the navel with the large gold medallion nestling in the silvery pectoral rug is gag-inducing.

Library Fine Amnesty

Today is "Read Away Your Fines" day at our library. What a zoo! The concept is that on this one weekend, you can register to read away your library card fines: $2.00 for every 15 minutes you read at the library, up to a maximum of $16.00/two hours. Some of the more amusing questions I was asked:

I don't have any overdue fines but I have charges for lost books. Can I read those away?
No

If I owe $2.50, can I read for 19 minutes instead of 30?
No

If I read for longer than I need to, will you credit my account and waive future fines?
No

If I read for longer than I need to, will you give me the extra money?
No

Can I register for the program and go read at home, then come back?
No

If my brother/mother/friend reads with me, can we read away $32 from my card?
No

Back off, Mama Bear!

A mum and daughter approached the information desk at the library. Mum asked for books on assertiveness for her daughter, just into her teens. I looked at the daughter and asked her a few questions, to try and get a better idea of exactly what she wanted. After each question, as the girl looked at me and started to reply, Mum jumped in and answered the question, cutting off her daughter entirely. This happened several times. I don't think it's the daughter that has the problem ...

You Can't Please Everyone

When told that their request cannot be accommodated, people seem to fall into two distinct categories. In category one are the people who accept it (some with good grace and some with copious amounts of disgruntled grumbling or outright complaining, but they still accept it) and in category two are the people who think the rules shouldn't apply to them.

The people in category two can drive you bonkers if you let them. It doesn't matter to them if it's a business guideline or a government law or anything in between. They want what they want and won't accept "no".

We had two people at the library today that fell in category two. In both instances, they thought they'd get a different answer if they approached a different staff member. Thankfully all staff involved held firm and gave them the same answers for the same reasons.