#business loan intere

[clonerightsagenda]

Thank you for applying for a library card!

We are a large metropolitan library with twelve branches here in the city and a consortial agreement with ninety-seven different timelines (and counting). Your card is your ticket to our physical and digital collections, where we have something for everyone.

You’ve indicated that you are licensed for time travel and regularly travel in time or between timelines for work purposes, so you are eligible for our trans-timeline borrower’s card. Please read this document carefully to ensure you’re using your new card to its fullest potential and in compliance with library policy.

Our services:

The library has a floating collection, meaning items remain at the branch where they were returned rather than being sent back to the lending branch. However, we do return inter-timeline loans to their home universe to minimize temporal strain. If you’re browsing the shelves and see a book phasing in and out of existence, alert an employee. It’s probably misshelved.  

Our new online system allows you to keep the same login information in all timelines. No more keeping track of dozens of passwords! If you previously created multiple logins tied to one card, visit the circulation desk, and we’ll merge your accounts for you. No, this will not make you responsible for alternate selves’ outstanding fines, and any version of yourself telling you that is lying to you.

You asked, and we listened. Our new online catalog displays reviews from patrons from all relevant timelines on items exceeding a 90% similarity score. We request that patrons keep debates over the superiority of their timeline’s version to venues other than our catalog.

Although our staff members are not medical professionals, they have been trained to recognize signs of temporal instability. If you are experiencing characteristic symptoms (faintness, disorientation, physical and/or mental age changes, etc.), a staff member can administer grounding agents until emergency services arrive.

The library has a robust inter-timeline loan system. If you’re looking for a book or article not published in this timeline, fill out our online form or ask at the circulation desk. The average wait time for an ITL request is five business days. That’s shortened to three if you’re requesting an item stored at the James Patterson Interdimensional Warehouse. (Note: This estimate may change as the warehouse continues to expand under its own power, or if our courier gets lost there.)

Our policies:

We do not accept returns before the publication date (month and year). Cataloging books paradoxically created through stable time loops gets too complicated. You can check a book’s month of publication in a review journal like Booklist, which we make available online and in our non-circulating magazine collection.

We’ve recently gone fine-free in this timeline, meaning we no longer charge fees for overdue books. This policy varies between consortium timelines depending on whether certain people on the board of directors have retired yet.

If a book is damaged beyond repair, lost in a Time Hole, or overwritten out of existence by timeline changes, you will be responsible for the replacement cost or a flat fee of $30, whichever is lower. We do not recommend attempting to rewrite time to avoid losing or damaging the book, as we would prefer to purchase a new copy rather than tear a hole in the fabric of reality.

Patrons may use our computers for two hours. You can extend this time if there are no other patrons waiting. Show respect to other library users and do not abuse time travel to circumvent the policy when there is high demand. We will notice if there are two of you at our computing stations. Yes, even if one of you is wearing a funny hat.

The library values your privacy. We will not disclose account information or the content of reference transactions to anyone, including alternate versions of the account holder. The library also does not keep a record of the materials you check out. However, some of our databases do track user data. If you need to conceal your presence in this timeline to avoid paradoxes, the Time Cops, or your ex, we keep a collection of electronic resource licenses at the reference desk so you can judge which products to avoid.

Holder vs. Holder found that copyright protections extend across timelines and prior to publication, and copyright is exclusive to the iteration who created the work. Patrons attempting to copy library materials and publish them under their own name will have their cards revoked, even if they created the material in another timeline. This policy was adopted after consultation with our legal team. Trans-timeline copyright enforcement is very aggressive.

The library respects the personhood and autonomy of patrons no matter their timeline of origin. However, this respect is not always universal. If you need to know what the laws are for time travelers/alternate selves/dimension-hoppers/“timeclones”/etc. in this dimension (or the terminology used to refer to them), stop by the reference desk.

Violence is against library policy. If you are about to battle your alternate self from another timeline because you ran into each other in the cookbook section, take it to the parking lot.

In conclusion:

Libraries are committed to free access to information, and with the resources of dozens of timelines available to us, our mission has only gotten bigger. In fact, we’re hiring! If you’re looking for somewhere new to apply your time travel certification, we’re looking for team members in our inter-timeline loan department. Entry-level courier positions do not require an MLIS. Familiarity with James Patterson is a plus.

We can’t wait to see you in our library. (Maybe we already have.)  

[my-deer-friend]

Hii I have a bit of personal question, if that is alright. I am very interested in the American Revolution but I do not live in America. I would like to become a historian or researcher of that time period one day. As a student do you think it is difficult to be a historian of the American Revolution when you are not American? I get a lot of books and information online, but I do not think it is the same as being in a place? Do you think your school program a good stepping stone to get into an American graduate school? Is that something you want to do one day?

Sorry for all the inquiries, you are just the only person on here who is in a similar situation as myself! Best wishes to you!

Hi Anon! This is a really good question, and I'll do my best to answer it as both a history student and a university professional.

(First, I'll note that my interest personally is not primarily in the American revolution, but rather in the 18th century more broadly. That includes lots of angles that I can pursue in Europe, not least looking at relations in the Atlantic world, the "republic of letters" and the enlightenment, and thematically I'm interested in queer history, which can be studied everywhere. I also have no desire to live in the US. But, yes, let's assume AmRev is the focus.)

There are different considerations for undergrad vs postgrad.

Undergraduate

At undergraduate level, it doesn't matter too much where you study. At this point in your journey, broadly speaking, the focus is on developing your academic skills, learning established content about your topic, and exploring a range of scholarly interests (not just the topic itself, but how to research that topic – i.e. methodologies). As long as your university has a department for American history, or even better a major, you're fine.

While you're busy with your degree, you can supplement your learning about the period in a lot of ways, including:

Using your own library to access books, journal articles and databases (and getting materials through inter-library loans if need be)

Using the vast and ever-growing online resources on American history provided by institutions like the Library of Congress, American universities and libraries (e.g. NYPL)

Where something isn't already available online, contacting the archive that has it and seeing if you can get a copy (I wrote a post about that)

Talk to your history prof about your interest, and they will probably be able to suggest some avenues to pursue. One very useful tool is to look up the AmRev curriculum or syllabus from other univerisities and see what readings and topics they cover (just google: "american revolution" syllabus). Here's one that came up.

And then – and I'll put this point in bold because it's the most important thing I'll say here:

👉✨Attend conferences✨👈

Conferences are where you make invaluable connections with like-minded scholars, hear about new research, find out about opportunities (scholarships, programs, funding, etc.), discover what a career in academia actually looks like, get advice from people already doing the job you want to do, and so on. There are even conferences specifically for undergrad students, or there might be a track at a generalist conference that allows emerging researchers to present on a topic. Lots of these take place online (hence, cheaper), or you might be able to apply for funding from your university to attend (or idk you have a fabulously wealthy great-aunt).

Postgraduate

While undergrad is more about learning, postgrad is more about finding out. The higher up the ladder you go, the narrower your focus becomes, and you start to need more specialised guidance. To get the most out of your learning, you need to go where the experts are, and naturally, many of the most cutting-edge scholars on American history are, well, in America. You'll want to be surrounded by a community of like-minded scholars. And yeah, "being there" can be important not just for better access to primary materials, but also for insights that come from physical, social and cultural proximity.

That said, I don't think it's impossible (or inadvisable) to study the American revolution outside of America; it's just trickier. Doing that successfully comes down to 1) finding the right advisor and 2) choosing the right topic.

By this point, you should know who the leading scholars are in your particular niche of interest. Nobody really studies "the American revolution" writ large; rather, they (and you) will focus on the political or racial or sociocultural or regional or culinary or-- whatever aspect of it. It might just happen that the people in your field are located near you.

You can also approach the topic from a different angle – start from a local point of interest that you can to relate to the AmRev. (Maybe you're Italian, and you know about Italian History Blorbo who went to fight in the war, and there's a story to tell there. Maybe you're Dutch and you have things to say about the intricacies of the financial and political support the Netherlands gave to America. And so on.) This might, in fact, lead to novel insights and perspectives that haven't been explored yet.

Good luck to you!

If anyone wants to share their own experiences, please feel free!

[argyrocratie]

"When I first went to Jamaica in 2012 as a graduate student studying the environmental politics of the Maroons, an Afro-Indigenous community who freed themselves from enslavement in the 18th century and established an autonomous society in the mountainous interior of the island, Chinese overseas development policy seemed irrelevant to my work. Yet as my field research progressed over the following eight years, first as a doctoral student in African diaspora studies and then as a post-doctoral researcher, the impact of Chinese infrastructural development and extractive industry on the Jamaican people and environment became increasingly apparent.

The timing of my field work overlapped with an unprecedented surge in Chinese economic and diplomatic engagement with Jamaica and the Caribbean as a whole.

(...)

It is beyond the scope of this article to detail the political economic dynamics and immense social impact of debt in Jamaica over the last 40 years.4 Suffice it to say that the island became a byword for structural adjustment during this period, with every new loan from the World Bank, or default on payments thereof, coming with International Monetary Fund-mandated austerity.

Health and education were notable casualties of this socio-economic assault. By the start of my field research, Jamaican child mortality had almost doubled over the span of a single decade while completion of primary school dropped from 97% to 73% in the same period. This despite the fact that Jamaica had already repaid more money than it had been lent, with continuing debt servicing accounting for a 106% debt-to-GDP ratio according to the latest World Bank figures.

All this is only a small snapshot of the catastrophic outcomes of debt wielded as a tool of neocolonialism.

With the island’s status as one of the most indebted countries on the planet, Chinese infrastructural development was received with fanfare from Jamaican elites, a possible economic lifeline out of the debt trap.

(...)

Jamaican elites may appreciate that they can pay back debts with land, and that China does not directly require broad policy changes like the structural adjustment conditions of IMF and World Bank loans.

However, even with the above and the fact that the Jamaican debt to China is small compared to that claimed by Western IFIs and private firms, Jamaican politicians are growing increasingly wary of the costs of doing business with China. In November 2019, Prime Minister Andrew Holness announced that Jamaica would no longer borrow from China, a scant seven months after formally joining the BRI.

As usual, most Jamaicans are not privy to the inter-governmental discussions and deals driving these decisions, but their government’s newfound reticence in engaging with China reflects deeper concerns among BRI partners that the initiative is a debt trap.

(...)

Almost two decades of Chinese loans and infrastructure-led development have left Jamaican workers and farmers as precarious and dispossessed as ever. The hard-fought and generational struggle for Jamaican workers’ power (trade unions were instrumental to Jamaica’s independence struggle) has been curtailed and rolled back by China’s transposed sovereignty.

Furthermore, Chinese mining interests appear poised to pick up where their Western counterparts left off in terms of irreversible ecological destruction and threats to indigenous survival. Certainly, Jamaica cannot bear another 50 years of capitalist exploitation and extractive industry.

If there is any hope in turning this dire situation into revolutionary momentum, it will be in Jamaicans making common cause with the Chinese laborers imported to the country. According to China Labor Watch, Chinese workers on overseas BRI projects are often subject to “deceptive job ads, passport retention, wage withholding, physical violence and lack of contracts” to the extent of constituting forced labor and human trafficking.

In fact, at least one Chinese worker in Jamaica has already blown the whistle on such conditions. Unfortunately, as of the time of writing this article, there appears to be no organized effort to make solidaristic alliances among Jamaican workers, Chinese workers, and Maroons. The Maroons are organized as an indigenous community seeking land and sovereign rights, rather than workers seeking class emancipation, and remain locked in a fractious political battle with the Jamaican state toward those ends.

Furthermore, the cultural and language barriers between Jamaicans and imported Chinese workers are significant. Yet both countries have rich revolutionary traditions. If Jamaican labor militancy and Maroon struggle were able to reconcile and align their interests, while cultivating strategic allies among the heavily exploited Chinese workers, a powerful relationship of international solidarity from below could be forged."

...

[forevergulag]

International charity does not exist; it begins at home, for the United States as for everyone else. The role of foreign aid is primarily domestic--the U.S. economy aids itself--and it was defined by none other than Roberto Campos, when he was the ambassador for Goulart's nationalist government, as a program of broadening foreign markets to absorb U.S. surpluses and alleviate superproduction in U.S. exporting industries. In the early days of the Alliance for Progress, the U.S. Department of Commerce pointed to its successful creation of new businesses and job sources for private enterprise in forty-four states. 30 In January 1968, President Johnson assured Congress that more than 90 percent of U.S. foreign aid in 1969 would be applied to financing purchases in the United States, and that he had personally and directly intensified efforts to increase this percentage. In October 1969 cables sizzled with statements by Carlos Sanz de Santamarfa, chairman of the Alliance's Inter-American Committee, who said in New York that the aid had turned out to be excellent business for the U.S. economy and for its treasury. After the disequilibrium of the U.S. balance of payments became critical at the end of the 1950s, loans were conditioned upon buying U.S. industrial goods, usually costing more than similar products from other countries. More recently, certain mechanisms were put into effect, among them "negative lists" to see that the credits are not used for exporting articles which the United States can sell on the world market under good competitive conditions without recourse to autophilanthropy. Subsequent "positive lists" have made possible the sale through "aid" of certain U.S. manufactures at prices from 30 to 50 percent higher than the same goods from other sources.

Eduardo Galeano, Open Veins of Latin America

[iamthepulta]

Hi! If you're still answering questions about Ea Nasir, do you know anything about how the translation job got done? Or have any sources referring to the translation of akkadian cuneiform, with regard (but not necessarily) writing used in trade business?

I do! Please feel free to elaborate more if you have specific questions.

I highly recommend Chen, 2021: Sumerian Arsenic Copper and Tin Bronze Metallurgy (5300-1500 BC) for a start. They highlight a few dozen trade words, along with a fairly complete overview of copper metallurgy, which could be helpful if you're new to processing.

If you dig a little deeper, you'll notice that a good 90% of the sources Chen references are from Levey, a mid-20th Century chemist who had an (absolutely valid) fascination with Golden-Age Islamic and Mesopotamian chemistry and trade. They've written about 15 papers, 10 of which I haven't read yet, but all of them discuss trade processes and are well-researched and well-written. However, without knowing Akkadian myself, it's very difficult to validate how correct his interpretations were and if they hold up today. I can verify his chemistry is correct though. JSTOR has most of his papers, and there's at least three copies of "Chemistry Technology of Ancient Babylonia" floating around in libraries around the US. I have one checked out right now, haha. If you're investigating the influence of translation qualities as a whole, you might start here.

I think the only other source you'd find interesting is Leemans, 1960: Foreign Trade in the Old Babylonia Period. Unfortunately, as far as I know, it's only available on Internet Archive. Leemans is the original/most popular translation of Nanni's complaint, and I believe he did the translation with occasional comments from other researchers in the footnotes. If you're investigating the word choices and translation quality specific to Ea-Nasir, I'd start here first.

Strictly on Ea-Nasir, if you're interested in the original archaeological works, good fucking luck, lol. I have a feeling "House IV" and "Old St. 1" are mixed up in the British Museum Archives, or there's additional context lost because it was where Woolley started his excavation on H-area and they changed the street name later. But you can find the original tablet reference (and associated archival numbers) here:

Figulla, H. H., and W. J. Martin. Ur Excavations Texts V: Letters and Documents of the Old-Babylonian Period. Vol. 5. Publications of the Joint Expedition of the British Museum and of the Museum of the University of Pennsylvania to Mesopotamia, 1953.

(^ This is available via inter-library loan, but not online as far as I know. It's very useful for referencing things on Ur Online, maybe even the most helpful because of how long Ur Online's system takes to load. :') )

Last but not least, SumerianLanguage on tumblr did a brief review of Akkadian that I found in Forbes, 1950: Metallurgy in Antiquity. Given the above sources, you might also find this a good starting point, although it focuses on copper translations and not trade as a whole.

[ultimateblogfootball]

Women's Transfer window

The women's transfer window in January is very busy at the time so Here we go

West ham are busy during the window they signed the Australian and Matildas Midfielder Katrina Gorry from the Swedish side Vittsjö meanwhile Canadian international Shelina Zadorsky on Loan from Spurs until the rest of the season the both of them will join Kristen Mewis who is recently join the Hammers in December from Gotham.

Also, Spurs are in a double swoop on this window where two former Vittsjö players the Matildas Star Charlie Grant and Swedish International Matilda Vinberg from Hammby.

Aston Villa had signed the Swiss international right back Noelle Maritz from Arsenal for a two and half deal.

Bristol City has signed a goalkeeper Shae Yañez from NWSL side San Diego Waves on a disclosure deal.

Chelsea are closing a deal on the Everton centre back Nathaile Bjorn will she be going to Merseyside to West London and now deal is done and now she is now a Chelsea player for a two year contract.

Entracht Frankfurt had announced the signing of the Japanese forward Remina Chiba.

Arsenal had signed U.S international player Emily Fox from the NWSL side North Carolina Courage

Transfer Rumor 😯

Lia Wälit to Real Madrid?- ATA football said that they had entered regarding talks on Arsenal midfielder Lia Wälit maybe and this transfer window or is possible maybe in the summer seems that might be exploring more interesting into a new adventure after her contract deal expires in the summer.

Real Madrid and PSG are really interest on Man United and England's number 1 Mary Earps but Arsenal are interested in the goalkeeper.

The source had said that the PSG left back Sakina Karchaoui but she is available for the summer but Barcelona are interested in her but PSG wants to extend her contract but it is up to her to decide.

Inter Milan are close to sign Bayern Munich Midfielder Lina Magull

Sorry guys I was busy with blogs about the men's transfer window so I will do every two weeks so I will do the following week I will do more women transfer window round up so deadline day for women transfer window is 31st of January so I will keep writing on it so I could get stuck on it.

Taglist ( is there any taglist just let me know)

@pernillecfcw, @wosovandedonk, @arsenalwfcwoso, @chelseafcwmemes, @pernillemagda, @hardersson4life, @sk-20, @wosoimagines @woso-dreamzzz, @wosobutfootball, @kastentatia, @kt-mccabe15, @alexbkrieger13, @samkerrworshipper, @wosoworldsthings , @wildbayou, @wileys-russo, @wosobanterzone @gurxreiten, @arsenalwoso11, @arsenalwfcaddicted @russos-one, @ilikecrowns,@kristies-mewis,

[siderealmaven]

Houses in Sidereal Astrology

The most important part of astrology is the planets and the second most important thing is the houses. The houses in a chart show you where the planets are, what they’re doing, and who they’re doing it with. They provide the context for the story being told by the planets and ground them in reality. Without an exact time to indicate the rising sign of a chart, knowing the houses is impossible.

House significations can change depending on the branch of astrology you’re engaging with, such as mundane, natal or horary, or the zodiac being used such as sidereal or tropical. And of course, each astrologer is going to have their own tried and true preferences that they swear by.

Here’s mine.

(Originally published on Sidereal Maven's Patreon Page as a free post.)

1st House

The Self + Personality, outer appearance of the body, things that happen to you + actions that you take, changes made to your appearance such as: hair cuts, body modifications, surgery and injuries. Personal style can also be found here, such as the types of clothes you wear and how you like to present yourself to others.

2nd House

Food, money, and personal possessions. Your income, how you create it, and who you create it with. Your food, what you eat, how you eat it, and who you eat it with. Your sense of self esteem and personal values can also be found in this house, as we live in a capitalistic society that ties personal possessions and income to our individual worth and value.

3rd House

Siblings, cousins, aunts, uncles, grandparents and close family friends. Family gatherings, parties and reunions. Primary school, classmates, and neighbors. Your daily commute to work or around your local area. Day trips and short distance travel. Reading, writing, and studying. Social media, radio, podcasts, and self publishing. Private spiritual practice that is engaged with alone or within the home with family members.

4th House

Your parents, their home, and/or your childhood home. More specifically your father(s), father figures, and your paternal line. Your physical residence, the land you live on, agriculture, farming, gardening and real estate. Ancestral lands and ancestral parents, as well as your relationship to them. Family secrets, stories and heirlooms. Your private life. Your own relationship to being a parent if you are one, could be found here.

5th House

Children, childhood, and your inner child. The creative projects that you give birth to and nurture into existence. Your romantic partners and lovers, the dates you go on and the things you do together. Sex, sexual health, and baby making. You’ll also find cooking, fitness, sports, and physical activities. Creative hobbies such as art, theater, music, dance, etc. This house can also represent your father’s money + income and how it affected you growing up.

6th House

Job description and work environment. Your coworkers and/or employees that you hire. This could also be creative projects that you consider to be work and self employment. Service oriented work such as; medicine, public service jobs, community service and taking care of ill family members. Pets, veterinarians, and animal related work. Your physical health, illnesses, diagnosis, and treatment is also found here, along with your daily routines of care.

7th House

Partnerships, such as business partners, spouses, and co-parents. Courtrooms, litigation and legal battles. Lawyers, Doctors, Therapists, Astrologers and other professionals that you consult for advice. Rivals and competitors. Open enemies and people/groups/ideologies you find yourself in conflict with.

8th House

Shared finances and resources, especially those you share living spaces or financial responsibilities with. Inter-generational and communal living. Gifts, inheritance, loans, investors, debts and taxes. Death, loss, major life changes and initiations into new ways of being. Mediums and spiritualists.

9th House

Institutions of power such as governments, universities, and religious organizations. Government jobs, leaders, and organizers. Judges, diplomats and ambassadors. Higher education and learning, mass media, journalism, film, and traditional publishing (newspapers, magazines, and books.) Religious leaders, organizers, buildings, and sacred sites. Far distance travel and exploration. Oracles, divination, psychics, astrology, palm reading, etc.

10th House

Public status and reputation, the way you are seen and known by the outer world. Public Personas and your public life. Your mother(s), mother figures and maternal line. Authority figures, bosses, supervisors, and people who hold power over you + your relationship to them. Promotions and scandals.

11th House

Mentors, teachers, guides and helpful friends. Unions, nonprofits, and communities that you are a part of and participate in. Industry partners and allies. Sororities + Fraternities. Students, apprentices, step-children and other people’s children. Child support and custody. Your mother’s money + income and how it affected you growing up. Audiences + fans.

12th House

Foreign or unfamiliar places, cultures, and people. International travel. Immigrants and immigration. Remote work or work from home jobs. New experiences that take you out of your comfort zone. Solo spiritual exploration and experiences. Solitude and isolation. Hospitals, rehab, jail and prisons. Monasteries, convents, or other isolated religious groups. Estrangement + estranged family members.

Thanks for reading! If you enjoyed this, you might also enjoy...

Sidereal Zodiac Signs: What You Need To Know

Tropical VS Sidereal: What's the Difference?

How to Cast Your Sidereal Birth Chart, A Step by Step Guide

[twocubes]

"game" which works by like

you register your email with a server, and it sends you emails, and you play the game by, in turn, emailing it like, documents written in some sort of domain-specific formal language, like beancount or ledger files or the equivalent for like, inter-library loan requests or whatever sort of bureaucratic inquests idk

you play the accountant for some shady business, and your job is to like, do the accounting for the business; basically you're supposed to send in files with information about where all the money went and where all the money is going.

the story then unfolds as you like, work out that there's holes in what people are reporting and send like formal requests to the Formal Request Processing Machine to uncover and then in turn cover up whatever shady bullshit is going on

(the rest of the company can only email the Department Email Address, which you can read, but you can't respond to them; instead all communication requests go through the Machine, in an attempt to prevent contradictory requests from the department and in order to like. well so they don't shoot the messenger, i guess. that's the watsonian explanation from your boss; the doylist explanation is that it's because from a programmer perspective you only ever want to have requests written in a formal language)

call it Enron Simulator or go for like more of an Aperture Science Accounting Department deal, idk.

[puffpasstea]

I don’t know if you’ve done anything like this before, but I’d like to request a blurb about Matilda dealing with seasonal depression

Hi, lovely. Thank you for this! I've actually never written about this before, so here you go! I hope you like it. Please let me know what you think!! Sorry it's on the longer side.

--

A/N: Consider this the first Satellite extra :D A little glimpse of their new relationship.

Warnings: mentions of mental illness, including anxiety and depression. Please read with caution. If you struggle with, or relate to this, please be kind to yourself. I'm always here if you wanna chat. I'm literally writing this from bed instead of getting up and starting my day, so, trust me, I get it.

---

September has always signaled the beginnings a difficult time for me. Even though, as a bookish academic, it’s often filled with excitement and anticipation for the new semester, especially with my job at the library. Getting new books in, watching new students come by for orientation and discover the many wonders of our resources: archived materials, inter-library loan programs, journals, and rare books collections. Whenever work slowed down over the summer, I tended to struggle with my mental health. Without the structure of a predictable routine and a busy schedule to keep my mind occupied, and without the sense of purpose and connection to others that the job gave me, depressive episodes generally took over quickly. So, the fall semester was always a welcome reprieve by the time that it rolled around. But even that reprieve never lasted long enough. As soon as the months got colder, the sun set earlier, daylight savings hours crept in, I would find myself right back where I’d started. Feeling helpless against my own mind.

I have always known this about myself though I haven’t always understood it. Having grown up on the warmer side of the country, I was thrilled when I  finally got to go away to college. Not only because it meant I got to escape the life that has always held me back, but because I was finally going somewhere snow would actually fall. My first ever winter was exciting. In a historic blizzard that shut down the entire state, I was living my dreams. My Jane Austen course kept canceling classes cuz campus was shut down. I got to start a fireplace, curl up on the dusty couch that  I’d bought second hand when I moved out, and look out the window as inches of snow pilled out the driveway, coffee in one hand, and Austen’s Persuasion in another. For a socially-anxious introvert, that was the dream. Or so I thought. Unexpectedly, though, the novelty of it all soon wore off. And the depression set in. I’ve dreaded it ever since. 

Even when the sun was shining and everyone was out and about, it still took a lot of effort and energy out of me to actually try and live my life. So with below freezing temperatures, mostly gloomy clouds for months on end, depression followed me around even from the beginning of the day when I would wake up and the sun would still be down at fucking 7 am. When my first ever therapist used the term “Seasonal Affective Disorder,” I was both surprised and relieved. Surprised to learn that this was a scientific phenomenon that was proven to happen, and happened to others too, and relieved that I wasn’t just dead inside, incapable of experiencing joy. Even with my growing understanding of my mental health, though, deep down inside, I always held onto a naive idea that my self-inflicted isolation was partly to blame; that the reason I failed to get out of bed most days and brave the elements for five minutes of sunshine and a brisk walk that would "do me wonders" is because I had no one to do that with. No friend I enjoyed the company of enough to MAKE me want to go out, no partner to go out with. As any mental health professional would tell you, that’s not a healthy way of thinking. And I would soon find that out. 

Harry, on the other hand, LOVED winter. He has loved it ever since he was a kid, but, I think, his appreciation for this time of year grew exponentially as he got older and became a world-class rockstar. The holiday season was the only time of the year where he was forced to stop working. Even, or especially, when he was touring. His tour schedule was always jam-packed year round. If Harry was on tour, you best believe he was on tour for the majority of the year. Starting in the spring or summer, and going non-stop until the holidays. So, by the time that mid-November rolled around, he was always thinking about going back home to see friends and family, buying Christmas presents, disappearing from public life for a few weeks, getting to be a normal person again; decorating the tree with his mom and sister, making tea and watching holiday movies and eating his mom’s cooking while curled up under a pile of blankets in front of the tv in his mother's living room. It was a time he relished in and looked forward to every year. 

I supposed I should’ve expected our differences, even before we got together. But it was one thing to know that we had different experiences about this time of year, and another thing to experience it. 

“You wanna go shopping with me this week?” Harry climbed back into his now cold and empty spot in our bed, kissing my forehead and handing me a cup of coffee to subtly inform me that it was time to wake up. 

I groaned in acknowledgement, my fingers peering from under the covers to receive the warmth of the drink he’d brought me. This was it. This was my person. The person whose company I’d enjoy enough to put myself through the winter weather, right?

“I saw something at this boutique that I wanna get for Gemma. You know, for Christmas.” 

I took a sip of my coffee, avoiding his eager eyes, and mustering a small nod.

This is what I’ve always wanted. I can’t fuck this up now. “S-sure, Harry. I’d love to.” Forcing myself to look back at his expecting face, I willed myself to smile. 

“Great! Thanks! We can browse for you too, if you’d like.” Harry shuffled under the covers, throwing an arm around me and pulling me to his side. I didn’t have anyone to buy presents for. 

This whole thing was already wearing me down. I’d made a deliberate effort to change my attitude around this time of year. To will myself into becoming the sort of person who loved the changing of the seasons and celebrated every little thing. It seemed doable at first. September was fine. I enjoyed the back-to-school rush, especially with my new job as a college professor. It was an excuse for me to indulge in old habits: back to school shopping, new stationary, elaborate pen collections, pretty notebooks and highlighters. Plus, the first half of September is technically still summer. Even when the weather did start to change, it was changing from unbearably humid and warm, to tolerable and breezy. I could go for runs outside. I could walk down to the coffeeshop to get myself and Harry some coffee in morning. I found that I handled it okay. This sense of control gave me some hope that perhaps all needed was the motivation to do things differently.

By October, things felt a bit more challenging, but, determined to be the dutiful and supportive girlfriend, I participated in the pumpkin-spice-everything craze. Got Harry a pumpkin pie scented candle to take on tour with him, bought the Halloween decor, assisted in the Gucci meetings for Harryween, watched and took pictures of Harry carving pumpkins with his god-children. But all of that had soon burnt me out. Thanksgiving was in a week, and Harry was determined to celebrate with me and with his American friends, even though, I know for a fact that he has no sentimental tradition attached to this holiday; he couldn't possibly; England doesn’t even have thanksgiving! And we still had Christmas and new years to get through. I didn’t know if I could keep faking it much longer. 

Truthfully, I knew that if I told Harry, he’d be understanding and supportive. But I desperately wanted this to be the start of a new chapter of my life. Plus, I didn’t want him to be self-conscious about the things that he enjoyed just because I felt differently. Besides, our relationship was still new. I wanted to get to know his friends and spend time with the people who are important to him, even if it meant getting out of my comfort zone. Perhaps that's what I need to grow into a winter-wonderland-loving person. I just need to push through it all and come out on the other side a warm and fuzzy person.

“I don’t wanna push, but you still haven’t given me an answer.” Harry mumbled against the side of my head, his arm still around my shoulder. 

“I just said I’d go shopping with you, Harry.”

“Not about that! About thanksgiving.”

“Oh.” I dreaded this conversation.

“The Azoffs usually have this gigantic party. Catered, people from out of town, that sort of thing. But I know that’s not your scene. We don’t have to do that this year.”

“If you wanna go- I could-“

“Nah. Honestly, I’d rather just do something with the band.”

“Mitch is the only American.” I stated a bit too aggressively.

“Right. Mitch actually doesn’t care.” Harry giggled.  “But it’s an excuse to be together. Plus, what about you?”

Tell him. Tell him. Tell him. Now's your chance. Just tell him.

“W-what about me?” I set my mug down on the bedside table, growing uncomfortable under Harry’s gaze. 

“You’re American. Don’t you care? Come to think of it, you’ve never really told me anything about your holiday plans. Do you usually go back home, or?”

“I usually find every reason on the planet not to.”

It was true, I often worked on thanksgiving, to avoid having to go back to a place where I felt I didn’t belong and had no reason to be. And to avoid staying home in my cold and empty apartment. 

“Cuz, your family- oh-I’m sorry. I should’ve known - I-“

“Stop, Harry. It’s okay.” His concern was always sweet.

***

“Ready to go?” Harry peeked his head into the bathroom and watched me touch up my makeup. He stepped forward to help me buckle my necklace as he saw me struggle to put it on by myself. Kissing the side of my neck, he wrapped his arms around my waist and whispered in my ear, “I made us a dinner reservation at that French restaurant you like.” 

I saw from his reflection in the mirror that he'd picked up on me tensing up in his arms. 

“You made dinner plans?” I tilted my head upwards to look at him. “Without telling me?”

“This is me telling you now.” Harry’s arms withdrew. He stood up straighter, his presence now felt different, like he was towering over me. I felt suffocated.

“I didn’t know this was a dinner thing! I thought it was just a shopping thing. Now I have to-“

“Have to what, Matilda? Why does it matter what kind of ‘thing’ it is?" I detected a hint of mockery in his voice. Whether he meant it, or I was overthinking, I wasn't sure. "Did you have other plans for dinner? I can cancel the reservation. It’s no big deal. I just thought you might not wanna come home and cook after a long day of being out and about. I was trying to think ahead.”

“Long day? What on earth- I thought we were stepping out to go grab Gemma’s gift! Why would that take all day?” I turned around to face him. He looked baffled.

“Well, we are. But I’m not just buying Gemma a gift, am I? There’s other people I want to buy for. Plus, we haven’t been out, just the two of us, in ages. Figured we could make a day-“

“You make all these plans and you never consult me!”

I squeezed past Harry to exit the bathroom. 

“Where are you going?” He trailed after me, watching me go into the bedroom and begin to undress, kicking me shoes off and unzipping my dress. 

“What’re you doing now?”

"Changing."

"Why?" Harry shrugged.

“I’m not going.”

“Excuse me?”

“You heard me. I’m not going. You go. Get a million gifts for a million people, eat French food, make a day of it. Go. Go on. Just leave me out of it.”

“I’m confused. Are you being serious, or is this a joke, cuz if it is, I don’t get it….”

“I’m not kidding, Harry. Go. Hurry or you’ll miss your reservation.”

***

Harry was gone all day. And it didn’t make sense that I was mad. I was the one who told him to go. But the truth is, I regretted it as soon as the words came out of my mouth. I hated that depression made me irritable. I scrolled my phone through tearful eyes to confirm: under “symptoms of depression,” alongside “loss of appetite” and “mood swings,” there it was, “irritability.”  I knew it. I’ve been living it first hand, for years. It just felt cruel and downright evil when it affected someone other than myself. It wasn’t Harry’s fault. He was being normal; doing normal people things. I’d snapped at him for no good reason. I wished he’d come home already. I wished I could go back in time and stop myself from being such a jerk to him. But the truth is, I have been feeling drained lately, and springing a whole day's worth of plans on me like this made me anxious. I didn't like that about myself. I didn't like that my default reaction to spontaneity was panic. I wished I could be the sort of person who didn't need an advanced warning and didn't need to mentally prepare herself for things before they happened. But this was the reality. I needed to plan things out to feel comfortable. And Harry was okay with not knowing.

I climbed into bed, turning my heated blanket up, and hiding under the covers. This was the only place I wanted to be today. I curled up and closed my eyes, letting tears fall as I felt my sense of failure fester in my heart. I wanted so badly to be the partner Harry wanted and deserved. I thought I'd managed to do a pretty good job of forcing myself into it. But, now, my act was faltering. There's no pretending after the fit I'd thrown over a fucking dinner reservation.

***

"Wake up, darlin'" Harry's hand shook me gently. "Matilda? you awake?"

my eyes fluttered, blinking away the sleep and looking up at Harry. It took me a second to adjust to the blurry light coming from the bedside lamp that Harry had turned on. When I did, I saw him standing over me, a seemingly infinite number of bags in his hand.

"Oh, you've been crying." Harry's eyes landed on the pile of tissues beside me and the tear stains on my pillow case.

I instantly turned to the other side of the bed, giving my back to him.

I heard the rustle of the bags as Harry set them down, and then felt a dip in the mattress as he sat down down next to me.

"Look at me, honey, please?" he placed a gentle hand on my shoulder urging me to turn around. "Wanna see your pretty eyes."

"sleepy eyes." I mumbled, unsure if he'd heard me.

"Teary eyes?" he countered.

I shook my head, still facing away from him.

"C'mon. You're a terrible liar."

"Don't wanna talk about it, Harry."

"Why not, my love?"

"Cuz I'll just start crying again."

"Aha! so, you admit you've been crying!"

Harry got up and rounded the bed, walking to the other side to look me in the eyes. He crawled onto the bed and squeezed under the sheets, his arms finding my waist and wasted no time in pulling me to him. His lips, locked against mine, felt cold, no doubt from the weather outside. The idea of him being out alone, all cuz I ruined our plans with my mental shit made the regret bubble back up to the surface, I broke down again, crying into Harry's lips, but he didn't budge.

"It's okay, it's okay." his hand traveled from my hips to my back, rubbing it soothingly.

"'M sorry I ruined everything." I squeezed closer, burying my face into his neck my tears staining his shirt, he smelled warm, comforting, his signature cologne clung to the fabric of his clothes.

"you didn't ruin anything, babe."

"yes I did!" I found it easier to speak when my face was hidden from his eyes. " You had this whole day planned for us and I ruined everything."

"S' okay, really. Is' not that important." His hands were still on my back, he squeezed me tighter and it brought me calm. "You didn't feel like goin' out tonight. I shoulda asked first. I'm sorry."

"You did! you did ask, Harry. And I said yes, but-" I felt another wave of tears spill from me.

"But what, honey? What happened? Did I do something? I-"

"No, Harry! It's me. I- I'm tired. All the time I'm tired."

"You work hard. I understand-" He whispered into my ear.

"No! you don't. I'm not tired cuz I've had a long week. I just-"

"Tell me."

"Depressed." Was all I could muster the courage to confess before I broke down again.

Harry's hands momentarily paused before resuming their circular movements across my back when he felt my tears on him again.

"I should've known. I'm so sorry, baby. I can be so insensitive sometimes. I'm sorry."

"I don't wanna be broken. I hate it. I'd do anything to feel normal just once."

"You're not broken-"

"Yes I am! That's why I hate this time of year, I fucking hate it!! It's not enough that I have nobody to celebrate or by presents for and my family isn't the sort of people I want to spend the holidays with, my own brain won't let me have a moment of personal joy, not even by myself!! Everyone loves the holidays, I-"

"You're okay."

"I want to change, Harry. I wanna be better. For you."

"Don't you dare!" Harry forced our bodies apart, enough to look down into my eyes. "don't ever change anything about yourself. Not for me or for anyone else. You're perfect. Just the way you are, do you understand?"

I swallowed, my throat itchy from crying.

"I said do you understand? I mean it!"

I nodded reluctantly.

"Good." Harry pulled me back into his chest, peppering the top of my head with kisses.

"But I wanna work on this. To try and do things differently. I want to." I whispered after a silent moment had passed.

"Fair enough, then. Let's start small. Maybe dip your toes in? with thanksgiving? Doesn't have to be a big thing. Just you and me and Sarah and Mitch. What do you think?"

"I think that's lovely." I smiled, kissing his neck and causing him to giggle. "Can Pauli come too?" I asked and waited for Harry's reply.

"S-sure. If it's not too many people for you."

I kissed his neck again.

"And Ny?"

"If- you want to."

Another kiss.

"And Elin? we can't not invite Elin..."

Harry was laughing now, his chest rising and falling moved me around and I placed another kiss to his neck.

"You sure you wanna do this?"

"Yeah, Harry. I think- with the band- I'll be okay. People I know."

"Thank you for doing this." He kissed my head once again, whispering praises into my ear.

"Sorry I ruined dinner."

Harry slowly wiggled out of my tight hug, rushing to the other side of the room and grabbing a couple of his bags. "You didn't." He said grinning widely and climbing back into bed.

I spotted the French restaurant logo on the containers he'd brought over.

"You got us takeout?"

"Hell yeah. Also don't look in those other bags. Bought your Christmas presents."

[tokwattoge]

Madami akong natutunan sa experience na to. AS IN.

1. Don’t judge.

-hindi natin alam kung bakit naging ganon ang desisyon nung tao kaya lumobo ang loans (UNLESS SUGAL EKIS YAN SAKEN)

In my case, natakot ako sa overdue, sa bad record. Mas gusto ko pa magbayad ng malaking interes kesa magkaroon ako ng late record. BIGGEST MISTAKE EVER. Top katangahan pala yan. At the end of the day, mas nakakatakot pala if lahat ng pwedeng utangan inutangan mo tapos sabay sabay nag overdue SAKET BHIE :’(

2. It was a very bad cycle of: ayaw ko magkalate record, bayad na lang interes, hindi ako hihiram sa friends ko, pag may extra ako reward ko sarili ko. HAY. So hindi ako nakaahon sa loan dahil kada sahod reward, tapos ANG LAKI PA NUNG INTERES SHUTA. So ayun, lumobo ng lumobo. Umabot sa point na sobrang nakakadepress, ang ginawa kong strategy para di ako mamotivate nakafocus lang ako sa dues ko sa susunod na buwan ganon lang. Hindi ko tinitignan yung total, grabe ang laki na pala. Naawa ako sa sarili ko sa part na yan. Sino may kasalanan? Ako. Sino ang nagsuffer? Ako.

3. STOP THE BLEEDING. Pag narealize mo na na nababaon ka na, wag na pumikit! Wag matakot sa bad record, lalong wag matatakot sa mga nagtetext.

In my experience, Tala and BillEase ang very very fair. Cashalo okay but makulit, Shopee and Laz magmiss payment ka lang ban na agad sayang naman. Yung iba? Illegal na yon. Mga digido, juanhand etc, PAPATAYIN KA SA INTERES. I guess ito yung loan shark na tinatawag. Sobrang unfair talaga nila at wag mo na asahan na magiging fair sila dahil hindi sila regulated. Pag nandun ka sa point na walang wala ka na, wala na makain (been there) kakapit ka talaga sa patalim. Kung ganito rin lang? Mas okay pa mangutang sa tindahan. Nakakahiya man pero at least di ka madedepress sa interes at penalties nila sayo.

4. Forgive yourself. Pag nagising ka na, pagnilayan mo kung san ka nagkamali, bakit naging ganito yung mga desisyon mo, ano sana yung inayos mo. Forgive. Forgive. Forgive. Do better next time. Since tapos na phase na tinanggap natin ang pagkakamali, next part is solve the problem and STAY CONSISTENT. Mahaba itong part na to pero kumapit ka. Matatapos din to.

5. Unahin yung mga illegal hahaha nakakatawa pero oo unahin yun kasi malaki interes nila eh, also unreasonable sila. Makipag coordinate sa iba like tala and billease, if may loan sa bank or cc makipagcoordinate din. Kasi madalas nagooffer sila ng option. Wag sa collecting agencies, sa bank mismo. If possible na magrefinance, go. Make sure na pag nagrefinance sa mababang interes ha.

6. Pray. If di naniniwala sa ganyan, okay sige mag journal. Mahirap magshare ng ganito sa friend. Basta ilabas mo yan, pag hindi, high chance na madepress at mademotivate. Stay positive. Mind over matter. Tandaan na walang nakukulong sa utang. Bad record yes sure yan pero naaayos yan. Ang nakukulong lang sa estafa yung nagpapanggap na may business at naglikom ng pera from investors tsaka yung mga tumatalbok na cheke.

Kaya mo yan!!! 💪🏼💪🏼💪🏼

[e-b-reads]

Books of the month: March + April 2023

Failed to do any post like this for March, so now I am catching up all at once! For new followers/those who do not know, I am both a part-time PhD student and work at a summer camp (which is a retreat center in the off-season, but summer is the really busy time of year). Anyway, between the end of the semester and getting prepped for camp, the busy season has started earlier for me than usual. Doesn't mean I'm not reading! Just means I'm posting less about it. Here's books I read in March and April that I would recommend:

The Amulet of Samarkand (Jonathan Stroud): Had one of those impulses to use inter-library loan and reread a series I last read sometime in middle or high school. This time it's the Bartimaeus triology. (I also reread The Golem's Eye in the past two months; waiting on the third.) Anyway, I remember the books as engaging and funny, which they are; this time around I'm spending more time thinking about all the political and ethical questions raised by this fantasy society that's like our world except magicians rule everything. (i.e. I'm spending more time admiring Stroud's worldbuilding.) A series worth reading/rereading!

The Best American Mystery Stories 2020 (C.J. Box, Ed.): These were fun and fascinating, sometimes at the same time and sometimes by turns. When busy, it can be nice to have some short stories to dip into, and I always like mysteries. I especially spent time considering what exactly makes a "mystery" - some of these are more whodunnits (occasionally with a twist), others are mysterious but the reader knows what happened, others have crime and/or action but no one's solving anything. All good in different ways!

A Free Man of Color or One Extra Corpse (Barbara Hambly): Right, so I have already written about my love of the Benjamin January mystery series at least in passing. A Free Man of Color is the first in that series: 1830s New Orleans, very focused on the slave/free colored (the term at the time) community, murder mystery. I keep hesitating to recommend the series outright because it is 19 books long and, at this point, full of my blorbos, so I'm not sure I'm totally objective about it. However! One Extra Corpse is the second in a new historical murder mystery series by the same author, this one set in inter-war Hollywood but with a transplanted English protagonist. Reading this one, full of likeable characters but not the ones I feel unreasonably affectionate about, I realized: actually, I do think that Hambly's attention to historical detail, flawed but human characters, sense of humor, detail-driven mystery plots, etc., make for good books. So I do recommend either of these mystery series to anyone who likes that kind of thing! They are not flawless, but they are lots of fun.

[chounaifu]

So, You (Un)Fortunately Work For Proton?

As mentioned in a previous headcanon post, Proton oversees the sub-markets and black markets that Rocket has direct influence and control over. People working under him are involved in assuring that these massive markets are ran smoothly, along with handling the logistics of deliveries and the movement of goods & services.

GRUNTS are responsible for the harder labor:

Driving/flying/sailing regional and inter regional trade routes with transport vehicles.

Loading and unloading cargo at ports and warehouses.

Transporting goods from the warehouses to Rocket owned businesses to be sold.

Smuggling goods when necessary. (Weapons, Pokémon, anything of dubious legality.)

Working as general staff in Rocket owned businesses.

OFFICERS & ELITE OFFICERS handle slightly more complicated affairs

Managing Rocket owned businesses.

Public relations with financial institutes.

Office work beneath heads & admins.

Overseeing grunt work.

Processing civilian loans.

Providing security when necessary.

HEADS & ADMINS have a more complicated workload

Negotiating regional and inter regional trade agreements.

Ownership/stock in Rocket owned businesses.

Establishing businesses in pre-established and new markets.

Tracking profits and creating budgets every quarter.

Keeping track of all business partners and active loans to assure that they are in good standing.

THE REPO SQUAD

If you have entered a financial agreement, taken out a loan, or have any sort of monetary relationship with the organization, you are expected to make all of your payments on time. 30 days delinquent, you get a written warning. 60 days you get a visit and a stern shaking down from an officer or elite officer (think of the scene in episode one of Squid Game where the main character was cornered by the loan shark). 90 days delinquent, and the repo squad comes out.

These are members hand picked by Proton, trained to move silently, efficiently, and with purpose, in order to retrieve the money or goods owed back by customers. The Repo Squad is permitted to cross regional borders— fleeing Kanto or Johto to avoid the debt is futile, you WILL be found. (They are trying to reach you about your car’s extended warranty lol.) The bigger the debt, the worse the punishment. It can range anywhere from vehicles and property being repossessed or Pokémon being taken, to physical harm to the person in delinquency of their payments, and even the disappearance of the person in question. Proton has no qualms whatsoever with how his repo man handle their job, as long as the job is done.

If Proton himself is sent out on a repo job, it’s going to be extremely messy and extremely violent— and it’s likely that the person is in debt to someone high ranked in Rocket. He also likes to take care of repos from people that he has a personal vendetta with, or a grudge.

[mchiti]

celebrating the news chelsea didn't assign any number to hakim because that obviously means he's going 100%. But like, it's also bittersweet because this is not classy. Ajax dropped the squad list too today, everyone is in it, even players who are clearly going. Inter hasn't dropped the list already but they always include everyone who is there when they do, every year. The moment a player is still part of it, you will have to include him, unless it turns out he's signing to his new club like, tonight. There are not even advanced talks with anyone yet that we know of, so it just looks so poor from the outside.

Same with the preseason tour like. Inter went to japan with everyone, even the 20 year old forward waiting for a loan. That was weeks ago, he didn't get any immediate move. Fine if they had a mutual agreement on it, but It's just not classy at all because they do it all the time with everyone. and if you defend this idk man. business-like mentality that I don't care one bit about in football. "chelsea refuses to assign 3 players a number" REFUSES? lol

[lefresne]

Hello, I think you once mentioned in an ask that you were trying to find a copy of the Knight without the sword by Hyonjin Kim. My question would be did you succeed in acquiring a copy and if so would you be willing to share where you got it? I've been thinking about it for days but can't find an affordable copy and it's driving me insane. Lots of love, have a great day!

Hiiii :) so I ended up getting it through inter library loans at my work but to be honest I didn’t get round to reading much of it bc I got very busy with course work again ! But I’m putting this out there in case a wild PDF appears……sorry I couldn’t be of any more help it’s such a hard book to find if you don’t have institutional access :(

[good-night-space-kid]

Inter library loans are free through my school so if they see me ordering the third book on Chernobyl I’m a row they better just mind their business I’m having a good time

[temmysilver]

In today's episode of "what can I do to distract myself from work," I started looking at this thread as a "How *blank* are you?" quiz, given the seven months I spent as a library worker. Should anyone be interested, my "answers" are below. This is obviously not meant to discredit op at all, every library is different and I just wanted to compare and contrast experiences

1. True, not that that was a problem in my library. There were digital clocks on every computer on standby.

2. True, but lucky me, I wasn't the one who handled public email questions.

3. I can certainly believe it, but never encountered this problem myself. I did, however, meet plenty of adults who didn't know how lending worked.

4. True, but luckily we marked that particular section as crime/thriller.

5. False. Again, I have no doubt that op has faced plenty of book defacing, but we simply didn't. Lots of dogearing, though.

6. Lmao true, but we had push/pull doors. Patrons did often jiggle the handle before our sign said we were open, though.

7. True, true, true.

8. TRUE.

9. False. There were plenty of old folk who came up to me directly, but they were always fascinated by what I could find on the computer.

10. True. Some husbands also don't understand that we can all hear you when you give the health insurance person on the other end all your personal information.

11. True, through and through.

12. False. Nobody came to us from a job center, but there were plenty of times when we provided services not in our job description. I helped people with job applications, booking appointments, and once helped a lady write a letter to the sheriff after she had been robbed by her landlord.

13. True, and the same goes for every other business/service that is meant to help people. They also assume everyone has a smartphone.

14. TRUE

15. True and false. Our library was supposed to be quiet, and we did our best to keep it down, but the group of adults swearing up a storm in the kids section, the guy who was always playing in a vr headset, and the man who liked to occasionally exclaim in joy to his music (which he listened to through headphones) could never be fully shushed.

16. True true true true true true tr--

17. True, my goodness.

18. Truuuuuuuue

19. True, though we never had trouble securing an event.

20. False. Yes, two people always had to "volunteer" to supervise for an event, but we always punched our clock back in for the duration of it.

21. False. We always got the supplies we needed thanks to the "head" library in our system, which was a lot bigger and nicer. We did often have to fix certain appliances (mainly the printer and the toilets) ourselves, though.

22. True.

23. TRUE jfc, I was left sobbing at the end of my first week after I shut down this old ass man I'd been helping all week and he started slinging every slur in the book at me, the other staff, and the other patrons. I though he was going to follow me back to my car. (My coworkers and I walked in a group afterwards.)

24. True true true true.

25. False. Some folk liked to strike up conversation about what they just turned in, and I was always happy and excited to listen, but neither I nor any of my coworkers deliberately started one of these conversations.

26. True. My favorite were the third graders who came in every Wednesday because their school didn't have a library inside it.

27. True <3

28. I personally cannot drink caffeine, but my coworkers? Boy howdy.

My personal closing addition points:

1. Libraries often have way more stuff to check out than you think! In addition to books and DVDs, my library had CDs, vinyls, and board games!

2. One person higher in this blog chain mentioned inter-library loan, and I wanted to point it out again. If you want a specific item and your local library doesn't have it in their system, you can go online and fill out their ILL form. A quick questionnaire about the item's details will get you that item. If it is available in ANY other library in America (sorry, I don't know how/if ILL works in other countries), it WILL be reserved for you. This is how I get all my DVDs nowadays

3. Fun fact: most people who work in a library are not actually librarians! Jobs specifically with "librarian" in the title are reserved for managerial positions, and require a doctorate in library science to obtain. I held the position of "Public Service Assistant"

Quiz/rant OVER!