January 9, 2017

 This morning I opened at the library and it was an uneventful opening. I have no problem with that.

I spent my morning reading the first two chapters of a book that we were assigned to read for the staff meeting on Wednesday. Originally I thought we were supposed to read the whole book before Wednesday, which made me a little concerned because I am a slow reader. But then I learned I only needed to read the first two chapters, which was much more doable. And I did it in my off-desk time this morning. The book is basically about communication and my favorite quote from the beginning of the book, discussing an interaction with a neighbor at a block party about a fence, is as follows: “He finishes by threatening you with a lawsuit, and you punctuate your points by mentioning that he's not completely aware of the difference between his hind part and his elbow.” I thought that was pretty clever.

Two other quotes worth mentioning:

“The single biggest problem in communication is the illusion it has taken place.” - George Bernard Shaw

“He that complies against his will is of his own opinion still.” - Samuel Butler

I spent a decent part of my day working on a brochure for the tech classes and workshops. The PR lady came up with the template and did most of the work. I filled in the rest and came up with a couple other things. It needs some polishing but I sent it back to the PR lady and hopefully she can work her magic.

I did a little work on the website today but got sidetracked by a younger patron. He finished our jigsaw puzzle and when he told me this I made the “mistake” of engaging him in conversation. He ended up talking about everything from leaders taking the credit for winning wars that soldiers fight to the history of Australia to his idea for ending starvation. We covered a lot of ground over the course forty-five minutes to an hour. I eventually started typing a little bit, trying to finish what I was working on, but he didn't get the hint and kept talking. But I also kept occasionally chiming in to be courteous and that was apparently enough. I am not good at initiating conversation but I am also apparently equally bad at ending conversations. But I'm glad he got the chance to talk. He seemed like one of those kids who don't have a lot of opportunities to speak and be listened to.

I was supposed to get off at five o'clock but I didn't end up leaving until about twenty minutes later because I ended up talking to the teen librarian and one of my fellow adult services librarians. It was good times, and I once again struggled a little to end the conversation, but I eventually made my exit.

Tonight I had my leftover roasted vegetables and brown rice. It was very tasty. I definitely need to put that recipe into the rotation. I can see it becoming a regular thing. And hopefully it does.

After dinner I watched YouTube videos and played Farming Simulator 15, eventually recording my audio journal. In the game I have made progress and embraced automation in the form of hiring workers. I ended up buying another field, bringing me up to four, which made me feel a tad bit overwhelmed. By myself it would take me hours just to prepare all the fields and I'd never get anywhere like that. I started by hiring out both of my tractors to cultivate and plow fields while I harvested a third. Then I hired out one while using the other to transport stuff and refill things. And now I have both tractors hired out while I work on this. I like it. I'm still able to enjoy the game (I harvested my first three fields in first-person mode today) while staying productive by having a worker use my tractors that would otherwise just be sitting around doing nothing. When I have enough money I can buy more tractors and implements so I have even less downtime. I'm having a lot of fun. I don't like having to spend money on wages but considering the time I am saving by being able to do several things at once, the workers easily pay for themselves. Originally I didn't like the idea of having the computer play the game for me but I'm still playing the game, I'm just letting the computer control the vehicles that I am currently not using. And I've gotta say, there is something hypnotic about watching a tractor slowly roll back and forth across field.

Now I'm going to go to bed so I can wake up in the morning. There is a lot going on at work all of a sudden. I've got to finalize my video game workshop for Thursday night, I've got to make at least one personalized reading list, I've got to come up with lists of homebound books (which will be like coming up with eight personalized reading lists), and the list goes on. It's mildly overwhelming but I'll get through it. Now though, it's time for sleep.