Let's set the tone...

A good friend & colleague, the Library Bitch, suggested that I kick off a blog of my own. The L-Bitch generously went so far as to suggest that I re-post, as my initial posting, a piece I'd previously sent to the Library Bitch blog. So, following that very sage advice, here I go.

With a Bitch of a blessing, I am re-posting that afore mentioned piece. It is as good a place as any to start. Please join in and have your say, too. Above all, let's acknowledge the real knee-knocking chaos, lunacy & idiocy that defines our professional world of supposed order.

Now, without further ado, a bit about myself....


I am a librarian.

The librarian at work: For the past several months I have been building Extranets to house financial and government documents relevant to mergers & aquisitions. This has involved my development of taxonomies and a cataloguing system, according to a foreign government regulatory standard suitable to the materials and circumstance, to facilitate access to a specific user group. I have processed many thousands of documents to date, carefully placing each into refined matrices. I grant user access to the Extranets, monitor activity levels, hand-hold or firefight as necessary, continue to develop new document warehouses and process content as it is presented for my ministrations.

The librarian at home: The house needs to be vacuumed and groceries haven’t been done in weeks. The dining room table has a disassembled computer gathering dust, stacks of magazines and various useless flotsam. The bathroom is gross. My bedroom is a mess, with clothing hanging from chandeliers. The cat is threatening to leave unless things shape up. She motions to the old furball she created and I did not clean up. The furball is collecting dust.

The librarian’s concern: In this seeming balance between the highly structured work environment and the completely disorganized home life, I am aware that some latent obsessive-compulsive trait might be rising within my personality. I recently found myself perceiving cleaning duties at home as I might develop and organize at work. This upsets me deeply.

The librarian’s solution: I will keep my work and personal lives separate: order at work/disorder at home. I will listen to my collection of late-70s UK punk at every opportunity. I will not count stairs as I climb here & there. I will not count the number of black Jettas I see during a walk, nor will I sub-group them into model years. I will not avoid cracks or lines on the sidewalk, but I won’t make a point of avoiding them. I will clean my bathroom, eventually, because it’s just gross. Indeed, I will wash my hands after cleansing the bog, but I am aware that I must avoid doing so repeatedly. However, I will not count the number of times I wash my hands because that will just make the OC fear rise again like so much coffee-stomach bile.

G, I am a librarian ... and it's pissing me off....

(Originally posted to Library Bitch, October 24, 2007 12:15 PM)