Thursday Again

Thursday again, and what a difference a week makes.  Matt had the procedure to correct his heart rhythm last Thursday, and today he had his follow up with the cardiologist.  His checkup was very satisfactory.  He is doing really well, the doctor is pleased at his attitude and his progress.  This Thursday is a lot more upbeat than last Thursday.
Also, MY weight is down some more.  I have been logging on LoseIt! again, and have gotten a FitBit.  (Matt has one now, also.)  I am amazed at how much walking I actually do that previous pedometers have not recorded.  (Like all the numerous trips from one end of the house to the other putting stuff back where it goes, and going back for what I forgot, etc.)  My blood pressure is doing lots better, will probably be low normal again once I get the rest of the weight off.
This is the long day for me at the library.  I work until closing on Thursdays.  Some Thursdays are truly crazy, others are more normal.  My coworkers on Thursdays are a special bunch.  We usually have fun in spite of what else goes on.  It's my night to pick the music we listen to in the work area.  Hope my coworkers are up for Rod Stewart and the Pogues.  (The Pogues are Irish traditional music with a twist.)  Our customers are always fun.  Lots of cute kiddos yesterday afternoon.  I got to give away a bunch of stickers.

It is hoped that poetry
Will present itself once again to me
To keep the skills sharp
To keep the tune in my heart's harp.

This Thursday at least will be more normal for me.  To be at work nails down routine and gives me purpose.  Those mountains of picture books are not going to sort themselves out.  Someone has to do it.  Not to mention the backlog of Inter Library Loans that need to go home or out to customers.
I have said in the past that I forsee my death as coming at the hands of an avalanche of children's picture books.  In summer, this is not so far fetched as you might believe.  Here are a couple of pictures to illustrate, and this is not even Summer yet.

 As you can see, the majority of what is in the drop bins is children's books.  The center photo is of a very dangerous book stack made by a colleague.  This behavior almost always leads to the heartbreak of picking scattered books up off the floor.  If you are my age, that is a very difficult punishment to bear, as the floor seems harder to get up from every time I get near it.

Our shelvers have my undying admiration.  They routinely put things on very low shelves.  This is backbreaking labor, and very painstaking, especially if you are working with non-fiction children's books which must be shelved in order in our modified Dewey system.  The ordeal comes in that the books are very thin, there are literally thousands of them, and their cutter numbers wrap around the spine to the front of the book.  When your eyes are as challenged as mine, shelving in children's non fiction is a job that takes forever.  Thankfully, I don't often have to shelve. I spend most of my time checking in, answering phone calls, dealing with damaged items or missing pieces, booking meeting rooms, processing ILLs, and sorting checked in items for shelving.  I also work the Customer Service Desk, where I have the opportunity to greet and work with our wonderful customers.  Yes, most of them are pretty wonderful.  There are a few stinkers, but that is true of any group of people anywhere.  Most of our customers are friendly, polite, and patient.  They like that they can recognize some of us outside the library, out around town, because we live here, too.  They are our neighbors, and they know we'll do right by them.
Anyway, it's time I got done with this and got myself ready to go to work.  Here's hoping I survive this Thursday at the library.  I'm anxious to see how many steps the FitBit sees me taking in an eight hour work day.  Yesterday's four hours wasn't typical, because I had 2 hours in a meeting, and 2 hours at the desk.  Not my usual amount of walking, bending, lifting and stacking.