In Soviet Russia, we sometimes own your city. Sometimes not.

This week seems to be the culmination of my formal department training, though I know other mini-trainings are to come concerning my work assignments when I'm not on a public desk. Although I had backup on all of my shifts this week, most folks seemed content to just let me handle everything, only stepping in if we got a sudden rush of questions. This makes me feel pretty good about how quickly I've gotten the hang of the system.

(And now I've probably cursed myself to numerous stumpers next week, when I'm flying solo. Ah well.)

Adjusting to a more sedate work pace has been a major adjustment for me -- so much so that I went home one night this week and said to my husband, "I must be the only fully employed person in America who wants more work!" I've had a lot of down time on the job -- mostly because our department is in a bit of upheaval while the Bigger Powers That Be shift around some of our responsibilities to other departments. I understand the reasons behind the delay, but I'm not good at sitting still. Somewhere between where I am now and how crazed I was on the day-to-day in my former career, the truth lies -- probably closer to now. I hope I find it soon.

Now on to what you've been waiting for. And it's a doozy this time around!

WHAT I LEARNED THIS WEEK

* "How was the ocean created?" I can't even begin to summarize the answer, so I'll let the good folks at Encyclopedia Britannica take this one.

* The Hollywood Erotic Museum closed its doors in May 2006.

* The price of gold on Monday was US$862.00 per Troy ounce.

* Barack Obama attends the Trinity United Church of Christ in Chicago.

* Vilinus is the capital and largest city of Lithuania. According to World Book, it was founded around 1323 by Lithuanian Grand Duke Gediminas. The city has a crazy 20th century history: It was controlled by Russia from 1795 to 1918; independent for two years; then controlled by Poland from 1920 to 1939. The city returned to Lithuania in 1939, but Lithuania was seized by the Soviet Union in 1940 until 1991 when Lithuania again declared its independence. Whoa.

* The Slavic Languages family includes: Sorbian (Lusatian), Pomeranian, Kashubian, Polish, Czech, Slovak, Slovene, Serbo-Croatian (Serbian, Croatian, Bosnian), Belarusian, Ukranian, Russian, Macedonian and Bulgarian.

* Oregon reported the nation's second-lowest foreclosure and delinquency rates in the country in the second quarter of 2007.


In other news, my Leo horoscope (courtesy of Holiday Mathis) for Tuesday told me: "Establish a trend of exchanging information with those around you."

How appropriate!

Friday, Friday

Another good week of training, though it seems that these Tuesday holidays are throwing folks off a bit ("It's Friday? Really? I thought it was Wednesday..."). No complaints about the paid holidays, of course!

After reading so many public library horror stories of scary, rude, weird, what-have-you customers, I feel I must report that most everyone I have dealt with -- by phone or in-person -- has been at least polite, if not downright nice and very appreciative of our help. As with any customer service job, I know there will be difficulties down the road, but sometimes it seems that all the library patron stories out there are about the dregs of society. I'd like to reassure any new public librarians to take the hype with a massive grain of salt and to reserve judgment until they're sitting at the desk.

And now, for our Friday Feature!

WHAT I LEARNED THIS WEEK

* 2007 Federal tax forms are currently available online, but hard copies are still being printed and distributed due to the last minute changes in Federal tax code and the Alternative Minimum Tax. If you're looking for them, you'll have better luck in a few weeks.

* The U.S. Attorney General is (currently!) Michael B. Mukasey.

* The American Dental Association (ADA) hasn't published a hard copy version of the American Dental Directory since 1998.

* Literary translator Eliot Weinberger, best known for translating the works of Octavio Paz into English (as well as other Hispanic works) also translates Chinese poetry.

* Remember those poems you wrote in elementary school where the first letter of each line spelled out a word that was the theme of the poem? Those are called acrostics.

* If you mistype the word "thinking," it conveniently spells out to "think gin."

And with that, it's cocktail time. Happy weekend!

I said hey...what's going on?

When last we met, I was anxiously awaiting my assignment at my new job. I'm pleased to report that I've been placed in Information Services (a.k.a. reference and/or "Ask-A-Librarian"). This was a bit of a shock at first as I had interviewed for an adult services position within a branch; however, after a day or two in the department, I realized that (as ever) everything happens for a reason. I could not ask for a better place for total librarian immersion as we truly do a bit of just about everything, including filling in on various desks throughout the Central Library. My research skills -- already at a fairly decent level, I believe -- should be off the charts within a year. It's very exciting.

To boot, my department colleagues could not be better. Every single one has been friendly, warm, welcoming, and simply wonderful. They clearly love what they do and can't wait to share it with someone else. I know there will be difficult -- perhaps even frustrating -- days, but I know these folks already have my back and for that I'm grateful to the Fates for delivering me to yet another safe harbor.

Right now, I'm in training/shadowing mode, which isn't terribly exciting even though I'm learning a lot very quickly. Until I have something more riveting to post, I've decided to start a regular weekly post, reflecting the vast myriad of questions we're asked on a daily basis.

WHAT I LEARNED THIS WEEK

* If you wish to study Actuarial Science, you can get a bachelor's degree at five universities in New York City. If you want a master's degree, however, you have to look outside New York State.

* The nursing home up the street from my apartment has a five-star rating.

* There aren't any forensic psychologists in Westbury, NY.

* Working papers are required in New York State for anyone under 18 years old who wants to work or volunteer, even part-time. Most kids can get them from their school, though there is an alternative for those who have dropped out (age 16-17).

* According to USA Hockey rules, a hockey team is made up of six players. Up to 20 separate players can play in each game. If the number of players on the ice are less than four, the team forfeits the game.

My pal Jennie (also a librarian) predicts I will be incredible at Trivial Pursuit in a few months. I hope she's right.

To work tomorrow, then New Year's Day off. Which is probably a good thing as my husband and I have plans involving fancy nibblies and at least two bottles of champagne.

I should also note that my 2008 is already happy as I became an honorary Auntie this week. At long last, my sweet Alice has joined the world and I can't think of a better resolution than to try and be the best aunt (and librarian) I can possibly be.

Here's to the New Year!