Changes are always around the corner, but this month has really been a set-up for things to change in the near future.  More on that in this month's update.

Fri Sept 1, I've been tasked with doing the social media for the library at San Marino, not Glendale I'll point out.  As the social media guy I have to come up with something each and every day.  Today I thought to make our unofficial mascot the center of attention.  And I also wanted to feature his new shark friend.  Who is yet to be named, but I'm leaning towards naming him Finn.

The boss emailed me to say that she bought three more Nest cameras for the library, because they were on sale.  Cool.  She told me where to place them, and I placed two out of the three where they needed to go.  The third is a little more problematic, because I can't find a plug in the Friend's bookshop.  I think I can use one, but I would have to get something to extend the reach, like a extension cord.  Yeah, that's what I could use.  And here I was telling the boss we would need some fancy long USB cable.  Not.

I checked the roads after my buddy texted me that the freeways were a mess.  I was still at work, and was considering going to get something to eat.  But when I saw the above image I bolted and made a quick step to go home.  It paid off, I was able to get home relatively fast.  My buddy called me and it took him about an hour and a half to go home.  Oh hell no.  It's not to say I didn't get caught in some traffic, but it wasn't super bad.  Just a little bit of a delay, and nothing out of the ordinary.  For sure if I had left San Mario later I would have had a worse commute, like my buddy did.

Sat Sept 2, Earlier this week my aunt told me that she wanted to go to a recycling event in a park near us.  She wanted to get rid of a few TVs that we never use, and are just taking up space.  I didn't want to do anything today, what with the heat and such.  But, at the same time we did need to get rid of those TVs.  One was my Mom's old TV.  She's been gone twenty years now.

Once the recycling was done we went to go get some food at IHOP.  There's always a pretty hostess there.  There was a new one today.  Just kinda out there.  She sat us and that was the last I saw of her.  But then the other pretty hostess showed up.  Snot bad.

After a quick run after lunch to the store we came back home and I just passed out.  That's all I ever want to do on my day off these days... sleep and rest.  I'm tired.

Sun Sept 3, I left for work early today mainly to drop my aunt off at the subway station.  The heat has been awful all week, and even though it was better today, it was still bad.  I normally leave my aunt at the bus stop by the house, but I just couldn't do that today.  I also wanted to stop by the market and get some Cokes and a few snacks for work.  Before the market I needed to get some gasoline.  Which was a mess of dopes.  Case in point, the dummy pictured above.  This dummy drove off the sidewalk and scraped the bottom of his car.  All because he's a big dope.

Here is the hordes of people getting ready to come inside the library.  I came to find out that all the Pasadena libraries were closed today.  Which meant we got a lot of the people trying to study for whatever test they're going to take.  That's fine, but respect our space, dopes.  There were so many kids running around, and their parents didn't tell them a thing.  Damn brats.

And truly it was a packed house today.  I don't think there was a single seat available in the entire library.  I went upstairs to get some year books for a patron and found a whole family in the hallway upstairs.  I told them, "There's nothing up here except our offices."  The father responded to me, "They're very nice."  The one door that is constantly left unlocked upstairs is the men's bathroom door.  But for a while now I've checked to make sure that all the doors upstairs are locked.  I told T that we need to get a velvet rope for the stairs so patrons don't wander up there.  Yes, there is an argument to say that patrons can go up there because it's not employee only space.  But, on a Sunday we need to limit patron movement up there, because it's not a space we check at night, and some dopey patron might be up there.

Mon Sept 4, A few of weeks ago TheGirl and I went down to Downtown Disney.  While there we had the idea of hanging out during Labor day and getting something to eat.  Sure to our word we went to the Old Spaghetti Factory in Duarte.  When we were dating we went out there for dinner once.  Back then I thought the food was OK.  Today we went and the food was not as good as OK.  I'm not sure how they can fuck up spaghetti.  I've bought sauce from the market and it's tasted better than the tomato sauce I had today.  The food was edible, but it wasn't very tasty.  What a shame places like this still service to serve bad food.  What a shame someone with some taste doesn't come along and set these dopes straight and tell them the food stinks?

At least the company was good company.  TheGirl invited her daughter along with us, and it was good times.  We had our food and then went to the bar, where the bad service continued.  To be fair, they just had one guy behind the bar taking care of the entire bar area.  So not fair.  I felt for the guy, but at the same time he was moving pretty slowly.  Probably a smart move on his part, but not good for service.  Oh well, it was still good times.

Tue Sept 5, Last night I checked the local Glendale newspaper for any news on the library, and sure enough there was another letter to the editor.  This one wasn't as scathing as the last one, but it wasn't super positive either.  (click on picture above to read the entire letter) Suffice to say he had some positive things to say about the library.  Like how he liked the new upstairs reading area, and the two entrances.  But he did put the library down for low water pressure in the bathrooms, not enough chairs in the study carrels, and no center rail on the new staircase.  All valid arguments.  I just love that every letter to the editor is slanted towards "the library sucks."  Ha!  It does.

And talk about stupid, today is the day that the mockery space opens for "business."  The head of that department is on vacation, and literally let no instructions on what to do.  A couple of my coworkers have already said they have zero direction or instruction as to what to do.  He left nothing.  Keyvon is a good guy, but he has certainly checked-out.  Taking his vacation during the opening is shitty.  Yes, he might have made the plans for his vacation long ago, but then why open the stupid mockery space when he's out of town?  Why not wait a week for the opening?  It makes no sense.  But it also shows his "deep" commitment to this project.

I wanted to show this photo from the library's social media feed, because it's a good example of Flavia's overuse of "filters."  I despise those filters, but there are some that use thing like they're going out of style.  The filter makes everything look horrible.

After the route I went to the now open mockery space and found Little Page in their along.  She's super pretty, but I digress.  The mockery space was, of course, empty.  LP told me that I was the only person that had shown up during her shift.  To be fair, she had only been in their for half an hour.  But, she did mention that Curvy Page was in the room before her and that Curvy Page said she had only had ONE visitor.  ONE!  A single person.  Oh yeah, the mockery space is off to a great start.  Fucking asshole administrators.  They think that simply having a room with some high tech stuff is going to cause people to show up automatically.  Nothing works that way.  They need to cultivate and work this project.  They need to put in the work.  But, that's not their style.  They figured they would open the door and a horde of patrons would come rushing in.  THAT's not going to ever happen.  Today is just day one of this thing, but these dopes in the administration office think that they're going to have enough of a base that the library will be able to charge money for the use of the room.  Good luck with that, dummies.  No one is showing up when it's free, why would they show up if they have to pay for it?

The route was SUPER easy today.  I think I got Benedict's Monday route, because there were hardly any bins and even coming back there wasn't that much.  Even going to Pasadena there wasn't that many book bins.  I think my buddy will get slammed tomorrow, or I'll get slammed as as on Thursday.  I say that because half of the central bins from Pasadena had not been sorted yet when I returned from the route in the afternoon.  That's bad.  Oh well, I'll deal with it on Thursday.

Wed Sept 6, I went into work early today because I was told to attend a staff meeting.  I've been bad at attending the staff meetings over the last few months, so I felt I should make an appearance.  But of course it was it was a useless meeting.  I should have slept in this morning.  Oh well, at least I got paid to attend the meeting.

And here is Finn... officially named by me.  Who is Finn?  He's the stuff shark that is our other mascot's friend.  Since I was doing the social media I figure I would create a little story with Crowelly the dog and the shark.  So I needed a name, and I liked Finn.  The thing is, the new girl will take over the social media soon.  I know we talked about possibly sharing it, but it's her baby now.  I figured that if I couldn't continue with this that I could create a new account online for my adventures with Crowelly and Finn.  Time will tell.

I was asked by TheLamp to cover her shift from 1pm to around 3pm today.  She wanted to attend an all city meeting that was being held at 2pm.  Later she and other told me it was a useless meeting.  Much like the morning meeting.  They thought that the new city manager would be announced today, but that wasn't the case.  A bunch of other new employees were announced, but no one cared about that.  Because of the strange timing I then ended up having a break from 4:10pm to 5:10pm.  Seeing that I leave at 5:30pm it hardly made any sense for me to come back on the desk for those twenty minutes, but that's how it worked out.  Oh well.

TheGirl and I went out to get a burger for dinner tonight.  I not only had the booze from my flask, I also had two more glasses.  There isn't much to report about our dinner conversation.  But I can report that this is why we like hanging out with each other.  We just click.  We really just click.  This is why our friendship has lasted so much more than our relationship ever did.

Thu Sept 7, As soon as I got into work today I noticed a few things.  One, the board still says "Jack off."  Two, it shows that one of the 3D printers is already broken.  Ah, what?  How is that fucking possible?  No one uses those fucking things.  Whatever.  Just more bullshit.

The amount of bins I had to deliver today was pretty normal.  Not a lot, but also not light like Tuesday.  Still, nothing too major.

I had to buy lunch today, because when I looked in the fridge this morning I could not find anything that I wanted to eat.  So I figured that I would just buy something.  I was craving a sausage biscuit thing and that's what I got.  It hit the spot, for sure.  I just couldn't have any more potstickers again.

The route was going well in terms of the weather being nice, and the bins not being too abundant.  And then I arrived at Adams and was meet with three of the best looking ladies in the entire library system.  Ru, of course, Serena, and this new page.  I need a nickname for her.  For now that's not important.  What I want to say is that it's difficult to not stare at her body.  It's so womanly (pictured above).  Also, today I got Ru's phone number.  She was asking me for recommendations for places to eat along the coast.  She wasn't very specific, but yeah.  I used that to get her phone number.  Woo!

Yes, it was a good route today.  And then my buddy told me to check my work email.  What was in the email?  A shameless ass kissing video sent by Benedict to the ENTIRE library (click on above photo to open video).  It looks like the video was made during the last Saturday event in front of the library.  Benedict must have asked the band to play a birthday song for AD.  Yeah, the both of them can eat shit!  And the crazy thing is that Benedict sent the video to the ENTIRE library.  Like why?  Why not just send it to AD?  It's only because he's grandstanding.  I told my buddy that I noticed a few things.  One, that the camera work was horrible.  Two, that there were about ten people at this "event."  Three, that I think this video shows that AD is having an affair with Benedict.  Lastly, I hate to say it, but Benedict's voice, when he wishes AD a happy birthday, sounds a little Stepin Fetchit.  So yeah, they're fucking.  They need to die.

I was walking out of circulation when I spotted the above pictured cart of books.  I joked to one of my coworkers, "How can you tell which has been tagged and which hasn't?"  He says, "Most of those haven't."  Ha!  Of course not.  I told my coworker that it look them nearly a month to do the reference books, and how that's the smallest part of the collection.  He laughed and agreed that it was the smallest.  He knows.  At this pace they will need more than the two years I said it would take to tag all the books.  More like five years.  Idiots.

On my way out of the library I did want to make a stop at the mockery space.  On my way there I saw this already broken furniture.  This stuff is not even a month old and some dope already broke it.  This is why no one can have nice things.

I eventually made it to the mockery space and of course found it to be nearly empty.  There was one employee and one patron.  ONE PATRON.  The girl that was in the mockery space is a homer, so she's not going to tell me the truth about how many patrons showed up during the day.  She's going to say "a lot," if anything.  Whatever, I see if for myself.  There was only one patron there when I showed up, and I'm pretty sure that there were no more than three people showing up the entire day.  Fucking idiots.

I went online after work to check my work email.  What I found was not Glendale bullshit, but San Marino throwing me under the bus.  In the leadership minutes that they send out I noticed that I was mentioned.  They were discussing what to do when there was an overly needy patron.  One of the suggestions was to tell the patron if they wanted to set up an appointment with me.  Ah, what?  How did I become that guy?  I texted T and she told me it was an idea they floated, but then rejected.  Whew!

Fri Sept 8, The new normal is to look at my map application on my phone and find at least one crash on the 101 and the 134.  This morning I didn't even get onto the freeway before I encounter my first crash.  It was on Ventura Blvd, right before the freeway entrance.  It looked like one car t-boned another.  Both cars were still in the intersection, but thankfully I was able to go around them.  My point is, there doesn't ever seem to be a morning where I'm not looking at the map application and there isn't a crash on my route to work.

I was told to show the new librarian the ropes today, but she really didn't need my help.  So we simply ended up talking while on the desk during a really slow shift.  The new librarian is pretty, I will say.  But she did mention her husband several times.

After work I got out and did some errands before heading home.  My aunt wanted me to go tot he 99 cent store and buy some stuff.  But first I went to get some foot at Big Boy.  I was craving a fish sandwich, but also a burger, but also a chicken fried steak.  But I went with a scramble, which really hit the spot.  Yummy.

There are a few ladies online that I have what I call a "TV crush" on.  That meaning that I obviously don't know her, but I think they're pretty.  Case in point, the above pictured.  She is a TV reporter that I have always had a little crush on.  I'm posting this picture because she's in a bikini.  She's pretty.

Sat Sept 9, I had to visit my Godmother today in order to take her to the bank.  This was because the place where she's staying needs that information for her benefits to be reinstated.  When they asked me for bank statements I went online and downloaded the one I could.  Well, that wasn't good enough for them.  No, they wanted both.  I didn't have access to that other account, and hence me having to drag my Godmother out to the bank.  It was bad.  The poor thing is so weak.

When my Aunt and I first arrived I saw her in her bed and the first thing that struck me is how thin she was.  Her eyes were sunken in.  She looked bad.  I happened to look at some pictures from last year when she feel and was taken tot he hospital.  Though she wasn't in great shape then, she was in much better shape than she is right now.  I feel bad.  I didn't want to drag her out to the bank, but these dopes needed that information, and this was the only way to do this.  But at least now it's over and done with.  I'll send these people the information and hopefully her benefits will continue.  They do want her to start paying some of the costs of her stay.  Which is fine, seeing as she does have some money in the bank.

My Godmother kept on saying that she just wants to die.  I hate to hear that, because I can't imagine thinking that.  But, there may come a day when I'm thinking the same way.  I read an article about how the mind works when you're dying.  You come to accept your fate.  Poor thing.

The new girl at San Marino took over the social media today.  I'll still do a thing on it on Fridays, but it's her baby now.  Above is pictured her first post.  She used filters.  I hate filters.  Oh well, it's not my job now.

Sun Sept 10, Work was pretty standard today.  It wasn't super busy, but it wasn't super slow either.  I like the combination.  I had plans earlier in the week to go to Disneyland tonight, but of course something always takes priority.

TheGirl asked me out to drinks last week, apparently.  I honestly don't remember that.  But, I took her at her word.  And, yesterday was her birthday and I figured this would be a nice way of celebrating with her.  So I ditched my Disneyland plans and met her in Burbank for some drinks.  The picture above is of our little birthday celebration.  She thought I had told the people at the bar that it was her birthday, but it wasn't.  It turned out to be her friend that called into the bar and told them.  TheGirl's friend knew she was going to have drinks with me, and knew I was going to be there.  Cool move, lady.  I had two strong margaritas and a shot of tequila and I was flying.  I got home and passed out.  A good time!

Mon Sept 11, The above is today's social media post for Glendale.  It's a hot mess, as you can see.  For some reason all the social media posts they do are so terrible in terms of image quality.  I didn't do anything but resize the picture above. I REALLY tried hard to keep it looking like it did to me online, to give you all an idea of how terrible it looks.  Not only that, but the Benedict video to AD really does show that it's Benedict taking the social media pictures and then Flavia puts them online... three or four days later.  And she also processes them in some way as to take all the resolution and make them look horrible.  What a social media fail.

I started work on the desk today and then the new librarian came up to the desk.  I was to show her the ropes again.  It was good to have her on the desk, because this morning was super busy.  And she didn't know all the answers yet.  So I was happy to be that fountain of information.  Which is what I always am, I suppose.  Have to say, the new library is attractive.  I still think TheLamp is more my style, but certainly the new Esther, as she's called, is quite pretty.  And as I've said before, quite married.  Ha!

Earlier I mentioned a social media fail.  Tonight the new girl at San Marino had one.  She profiled a clerk that's already been profiled.  And better yet, and this is what brought about a flurry of text messages from two of my coworkers, the post has a caption saying that the clerk shown was a "Senior clerk."  There are no such thing.  One of my co-workers asked me to change it and take out the word "senior."  For obvious reasons.  Now I somehow have to tell the new girl that we don't have that shit.  Always fun times.

I went to visit TheGirl and roughhouse with puppy.  TheGirl mentioned that Cheyenne was sprayed by a skunk, and that she got the pee all over her face.  And by that she also got a lot of the stink on her bed.  Which means that the bed had to go.  I dragged it out and right away Cheyenne started biting it and wanting to drag it back with her.  The poor thing didn't want her bed to leave.  But it was stinky.  Poor thing.  TheGirl said she was going to buy a new one tomorrow.

After I got home I was watching the news.  They had a report of a crazy lady being chased by the police.  Well, the pursuit ended at the library in San Marino (pictured above).  How crazy is that?  I also have a picture of TheLamp reacting to the crash from the security cameras in the library.  Good times.  Only the crazy lady driver was hurt, when she hit a light pole.  But imagine she had not hit the pole.  It's very possible she could have driven up into the library.  That's nuts!

Tue Sept 12, I woke up feeling super tired and with no appetite.  My aunt cooked me up a quesadilla, but I didn't eat it in the morning.  I did eventually eat it, but not until I was already driving to work.  I really have to stop drinking so much at night.  See, the funny thing is that at night I feel great.  And having a drink makes me feel even nicer.  But then I wake up in the morning and I feel sick to my stomach.  And I have zero energy.  THAT's not fun.

There weren't a lot of bins going to Pasadena, but they returned twenty-one bins in total.  Quite a bit.  Someone told me that Benedict brought back a lot, but I wonder.  Also, during the route I loaded up so many outgoing back to Central and Pasadena that I openly wondered if Benedict even did the delivery yesterday.  Of course, the way he flies through it he might as well not show up.  Still, today was not that bad.

Les sent me an email showing that he has asked the finance guy for my raise.  The raise is more than I even asked for.  Woo!  If I didn't say anything I would still not have this raise.  Fucking bastard.

As I said before, the van was pretty full on the way back to Central, as you can see from the picture above.  I wonder if these dopes at Central will actually get through most of these today.  They should be able to finish them up, but lately I find that there are still leftover bins from the previous day's delivery.  That's not OK.  But oh well.

Wed Sept 13, It's my own fault that I feel like a zombie most days.  It's my own fault for staying up late and drinking most nights.  It is my own fault.  Today I worked a little, then had lunch early.  I wanted to eat lunch early so I could take a nap before starting my shift.  I'm just so tired from staying up late.  And like I said, it's my own fault.  I need to stop this pattern.

Work was work, and my shift thankfully went fast.  There were a lot of fires to put out, but nothing super major.

TheGirl mentioned that we could go out to dinner at one of the restaurants we frequent that doesn't allow dogs.  So we ended up going to Timmy Nolan's pub.  I ordered up a lemon drop and had a yummy Reuben.  And ultimately this is why we still hang out with each other.  We truly like each other's company.  I would have liked to have continued our relationship.  I never saw it ending.  But I guess it really wasn't meant to be.  And yet we have endured a lot.

Thu Sept 14, These dopes at work are still promoting this shitty makers space.  I told my buddy that the thing is doomed for failure, because it was started on a bad foundation.  They followed a idea that is flawed and makes no sense in a library setting.  They keep on talking about 3D printing, and sewing, and jewelry making.  What is the percentage of people that are going to be interested in such things that don't already have access to those things?  Also, what percentage of people are ACTUALLY interested in these things?  I'm sure they didn't even do the research to find out IF the community WANTED these things.  Or if the community could sustain these things.  Also, there was a plan to hire someone to "curate" the room.  But of course they cheaped out on that and then had this idea that they would get someone from the community college work the room and teach people.  When that fell through they decided to go and get some of my coworkers to do this shit.  And that's where we are.  I've posted on this journal in previous entries that when I go into that room it's empty except for one of my coworkers.  Well, it will continue to be empty.  The administration dopes will keep this thing going for a while.  How long, I don't know.  But really any amount of time is a waste.  This room is doomed to fail.

TreasuryGirl looked amazing today.  I have no idea how she can be so amble and yet so tiny.  She was wearing a low top, and some riding pants.  The type that look like the one's worn when riding horses.  They were skin tight.  It's nuts how pretty she is.

Yet another thing I've mentioned before that these dopes at the library did wrong is the side door that used to be the main door.  People still expect to be able to enter using what used to be the main door, but is now a fire door.  Every day I work there is usually at least three people that try to get in the side entrance.  This guy pictured above was not exactly one of them.  He didn't try the door, but when he wanted to go inside he started to walk on what used to be part of the old planter.  And then there's a point where to follow the old planter means that you're on a tiny little piece of cement right next to the building, and the cement becomes really narrow.  What people are doing now is just cutting across the plants until they reach the regular sidewalk.  This guy was a perfect example.  I caught him just as he was in this no man's land where he could go one way, but it will lead him away from the sidewalk.  Or he could just bolt across the plants and make a break for the sidewalk.  That is what he did, he stood there for a moment and just cut across the plants and on to the sidewalk.  Such poor desire and planning.

Before arriving at Casa my buddy told me that he had news.  When I arrived he came outside with me and mentioned that he got the library assistant job.  Along with nearly everyone that applied.  It was a wholesale hiring, but he's one of the new hires.  Which means no more delivery driving.  Which means a lot of changes are going to happen.  He told me that I should try to keep Friday route day from Benedict.  But of course I'm currently working on Fridays at San Marino.  I wouldn't mind giving up those four hours for more hours at a higher pay at Glendale.  But of course I have to also be loyal to San Marino.  On the other hand, I have to look out for my own financial concerns.

My buddy needs the pay hike, for sure.  And I'm glad that I got my pay raise as well.  Nothing stays the same forever.  This is just another change.  I think it's for the better, but of course nothing will be the same as the last few years with my buddy and I almost living parallel lives at work.  That's something that's quite unique.  Of course that couldn't last forever.

As I was leaving work today I wanted to photograph the people that I saw sitting on the floor in order to study using the tables that are no more than eighteen inches high.  The fucking idiot that bought these things thinking patrons would just want to sit around all day, while ignoring that patrons often come to a library in order to STUDY, fucking missed the point... again!  But what am I saying?  Of course they missed the point.  Maleficent and her cadre haven't shot straight for a LONG time.  This is just another example of how they really don't want the library to be a library anymore.  They want it to be a living room, but with no books.  Just fancy big TVs and big monitor computers.  Good job, dopes.  You have an empty shell of a library now.  All of what it used to be, such as it was, is gone.  Replaced by nothing but emptiness and 3D printers.

Fri Sept 15, My buddy texted me that he had told Les that he was moving on and would no longer drive the delivery van.  I figured I best lay the foundation for me working those Friday deliveries.  Neither of us want Benedict to drive three days.  Really I don't want him driving at all.  But my buddy is going to get a nice raise, and that's what is more important.  My buddy thought I should talk to Les the next time I go into work.  But that's not until Tuesday.  By Tuesday I will be locked out of the Friday delivery.  By then, I figured, Les would not even think about me and would automatically give Wednesday AND Friday to Benedict.  I had to make my move.  I didn't tell my buddy, but I emailed Les about finding out about my buddy getting the library assistant job.  And that I was available to drive on Fridays... my old route day.  Then I told my boss at San Marino that I may not be able to work on Fridays any more.  Again, I can't allow Benedict to drive that many days.  It's just wrong, and really I deserve to drive Friday.  I need the money, and I need to have those hours.  I have't had those hours in nearly a year, and the bills just keep on coming.  I lost a car payment a month not working on Saturdays.  Now I just have to wait for what Les has to say.

After work I bolted to the Glendale galleria Apple store in order to get my iPhone checked out.  I made an appointment for today, or so I thought.  My appointment was for tomorrow, but silly me thought it was for today.  I'm not going to go tomorrow, I'm going to see if I can go next week.

In celebration, if you will, of my buddy getting the new position at work he invited me for dinner.  We went to get nachos and sopes.  It's an end of an era, he said.  It really is, for the reasons I said in my last entry about how we shared a job and lived it for three years.  It was something quite unique.  But now it's going be over.  It's a good thing though.  Things needed to change.  I told him that things have been in a rut lately.  This is like an ice breaker that will loosen things up.  I think loosen things up for the better.  If I can get Fridays at Glendale that means more money for me.

I honestly think that Benedict is going to get the Friday driving gig rather than me, despite my move to preempt Les.  He may still want Benedict to drive Fridays for all I know.  These days I go with a simple statement: if it's the wrong move that's the move they will make.  It's served me well in trying to figure out what these dopes are going to do next.  I did my part to try and get Fridays.  But, it may not be enough.

And speaking of Benedict, he's up to his tricks again.  For the third week in a row he has responded to an AD email with his own douche email (pictured above).  To break it down, I like how he starts off with a condescending sounding, "Thanks again for the excellent recap."  Ah... no one asked you, Benedict.  Then the stupid compliment about AD being modest and generous.  What a load of shit.  Then of course, the "knock out punch."  Telling us all that AD brought cookies to circulation is pretty dumb as well.  He sent the email AFTER HOURS.  Which means that anyone not working the weekend would not get any cookies until Monday.  And this is assuming that those ten cookies she brought would last until Monday.  In short, the fucking email was another stroke job on AD by Benedict.  My buddy asked me if I thought that Benedict's latest email would finally expose him to the library staff as a phony.  Most likely, but no one is going to say anything about it.  We'll all just keep it under our hats.  But yes, people notice his bullshit.  They have to, since it's just so blatant.  He is an idiot.

Sat Sept 16, Chandaka is five years old today!  I can't believe that Chan has been in my life for five years.

Sun Sept 17, TheGirl asked me out to breakfast a few weeks ago for Saturday (yesterday).  But, TheGirl was busy yesterday and wanted to make it today, before I went to work.  Cool with me.  It just so happened that today is my birthday, so it was a two for one deal.  TheGirl biked over to the Honeybaked store in Toluca Lake.  I ordered a yummy breakfast burrito with pastrami.  It hit the spot, but I didn't finish it.  I would eventually finish it for dinner.

I know the last time I had sex, because it was a year ago with Talia.  She sent me a text wishing me a happy birthday.  Not that many people remember my birthday, so I should feel honored that she remembers.  Also, I should feel honored that she found me OK enough to want to sleep with me.  Not just last year, but many years ago when I was a dateless wonder.

Mon Sept 18, A change to my schedule is going to happen soon.  Today is one of the last times I'll be on the reference desk on Mondays.  The new girl will take over soon enough.  She's good, and has picked up things rather quickly.  I'll just go back to doing work for the foundation.

Shawnie asked me to bring Chan out for her to visit with.  At one point in the morning I took hims out to Shawnie.  She hugged hims and took the above picture, and the posted it on social media.

I ate late today because I was on the desk at my normal lunch time.  But, I was still hungry after work, so I went to McD's for a double cheeseburger.  When I got there I noticed that there was an employee helping customers at the ordering kiosks that have been there for months.  Every other time I go in the kiosks are unused.  Today, they must have been told to direct people to use them.  I can't imagine that the machines are cheap.  And since they are likely unused, the owner directed the sucker employees to show the patrons how to use them.  First the employee asked me what I wanted, tapped on the screen to make my selection, and then asked if I was playing cash or charge.  I said cash, since it was only a couple of bucks.  She then directly me to the cash register and proceeded to charge me there.  Very "efficient" way of doing things, right?  Obviously they want to push the use of those kiosks.  Still, what a waste.  What this reminds me is the library.  They are also trying to take the humans out of the equation and have machines be the point of sale, if you will.  Yeah, because you can't ask a machine questions.  Not good.

Went to my now traditional visit to TheGirl's place after work.  I know TheGirl looks forward to this, and so do I.  But especially Cheyenne looks forward to my visit.  Not because I bring Chan with me, but because of our roughhousing.  Too much fun.

I was driving away from TheGirl's place when I stopped at the corner to check the traffic.  I looked to the left and standing on the sidewalk.  It was just chillin, so to speak.  I assume that the poor thing was sick.  But it was just strange to see a pigeon at night for one.  I don't think I've seen them at night.  And two, if I have seen them at night they're usually not on the ground.

Tue Sept 19, I drove up to the garage today and found that the gates were open... AGAIN.  Apparently the "update" they made a few weeks ago wasn't enough.  Gee, you don't think that they're saying it's updating, but in reality the fucking system is busted.  Do you (end sarcasm)?  Fucking idiots.

Once again Benedict leaves at least one red bin in the van.  In talking to the Pasadena driver today I think I realize that it's just his way of being petty.  He could do it, but he purposely leaves it for me to do.  We knew he was petty, but I guess I thought it was more lazy than petty.  Wrong.  Also, this part is him being lazy... stacking bins three high.  This is just asking for a tip-over to happen.  Then again, now that I think of THAT, he probably didn't think I would do anything about it and of course I WOULD get a tip-over.  Fucking bastard!

The above is a picture of the incoming bins to Central from Pasadena.  This will become relevant later.

The route today was pretty standard.  Had some bins, but not that many, going out.  I took my time and pretty much did the entire route slow but steady.  No special deliveries except the bookstore run in the morning.  I try to lay low these days.

And then I came back from the route and saw the above.  That's what's leftover from this morning that I dropped off.  What the hell have these dummies been doing all day?  Yes, it was a lot of bins incoming.  But at the same time most of these aren't being checked in, they're being sorted to the branches.  In my opinion, these should have been nearly done by now.  I think back to just about a year ago when I was sorting the books that came back from Pasadena and no one sorted, and I didn't take that long to do it.

I don't know who makes the furniture decisions for the library, but they are idiotic.  There is no reason, what with all the fucking room in the library, that these motherfucking chairs should be placed in front of the fucking aisles like this.  I mean, come on!  I would go in there on Thursday and move them to a different place.  But then again, I don't that much shit to care.

I went to the reference books to do a little exploring and investigating on the work done tagging those books with RFID tags.  I picked a random book and found the above.  A half-assed placed tag in a book.  I took out some more, in total about a dozen, and about half of them were done badly.  What would I expect from amateurs?  No craftsmanship, that's what.

Wed Sept 20, The above photo is of two of the ladies that I work with.  Both of them are attractive in different but also similar ways.  LaFlor has a really nice figure.  TheLamp also has a nice figure, and she's smart.  That makes her THAT much more attractive.  To me, anyway.  And then of course there's still TheWish.  I can't make up my mind with that one.  I feel like I've done wrong by TheWish.  Not just because I was asking her out to dinner about once a month, but then I stopped.  And then I still have this idea that I could somehow ask LaFlor out as well.  I mean come on, what kind of a cad am I?

I went and bought some take-out for dinner with TheGirl tonight.  When it's my night TheGirl will often request I pick up some food at this one Mediterranean place.  That's what I did today.  I only ate about half the food.  We talked about a possible trip to Monterey in February.  I so wish I would win the lottery by then to be able to tell her that we should stay the entire week.  Alas, that's not very likely to happen.  Nevertheless, we did talk about a possible trip.  There is nearly no chance that she will be able to go with me on my Thanksgiving trip up there.  I'm not torn about that, since I do like spending time alone on that trip.  It's just Chan and me on those trips.

Thu Sept 21, The news said that there was a good chance of rain for the commute this morning.  Sure enough, it rained.  Lovely, clean, rain.  Someone remarked that they loved this kind of weather.  That it reminds them of living in San Francisco.  For me it's Carmel/Monterey.  The weather is exactly like this on every trip I take up there.  Absolutely wonderful rain in the morning, and blue skies the rest of the day.  Then the fog comes in in the night and it rains again during the night.  Here in Los Angeles it is like that for a few days in the year, but not long enough.

This is the abandoned RFID "rig" at Central.  I took it as I was about to go out on the route.  The page that is doing this walked away.  I know that she could have just been going to the bathroom or stuff.  But from what I hear this girl doesn't work very fast.  And that was when she was shelving.  Now she's doing the RFID.  And what's also funny is that she been put in charge of the RFID project.  What a load of crock.

The route today was pretty chill.  Not too many bins going out or coming in.  Above is the amount of books Brand had outgoing today.  It can't be more than a dozen book for both branches and central.  Nothing really.  I like how the very idea that circulation numbers are really down at these two locations isn't said.  Hell, that he's not said about Central as well.  I see a lot of books going through there, but at the same time it's not the numbers it used to be.

Sat Sept 23, MontereyGirl asked me to have dinner with her a few weeks ago.  Today was the day.  I had this notion that she and I would sleep together, since the last time we hung out I kissed her, and we made out quite passionately.  But, that didn't happen this time.

Except for the work talk we didn't go too far into a conversation.  I thought that maybe MontereyGirl would bring up how we kissed last time we hung out.  But, without too much booze in our bodies that subject didn't come up.

Sun Sept 24, Today the new librarian came in to learn the Sunday ropes.  She gets to open on Sundays when T isn't here.  They're rotating Sundays, so every other week new librarian will be at work, and every other T will be.  Now I wonder if that means new librarian is in charge.  Sure does seem like it.

Today the other L.A. and I had to take some off desk time, which meant that I was only on the reference desk for two hours of my shift.  Kinda strange.  I joked that I should just go home early.  But, I was only half joking.  I wanted to escape early and go to Disneyland early, so that I could also go home early.  That didn't happen, but it was cool.  The new librarian needs a name here.  She's good.

Mon Sept 25, Today is the last Monday I'll be working the reference desk during the day.  Well, except for giving the new librarian a break that is.  She's taking over the desk duties next week.  She's flying solo next week.  I have Foundation work to do anyway.  It's getting close to the time when I have to dedicate my time to Foundation work.  So the off desk time on Mondays is coming just in time to get some Foundation work done.

Besides, the new librarian is good.  She has picked up on nearly everything super fast.  I'm sure little things will come up here and there.  But she's good.  She doesn't panic on the desk.  She has a nice demeanor and I think she can handle most situations.  Nice!

I checked my work email when I got home after work and sure enough another insult from my Glendale job.  Every month I get an email that reminds me how I'm the forgotten man in the library.  I exist in my own island.  Sure enough, I got an email today showing that I don't have any shifts for all of October.  Yeah, I wonder how the books get to their destinations when there isn't a scheduled driver on Tuesdays and Thursdays.  Idiots.

Tue Sept 26, Violeta told me about the newish page that has been given control of the RFID project by AD.  Its yet another example of AD's short sightedness, her incompetence in choosing the right person for the job, and her sorry ass excuse for a plan to implement any project.  I'm so very tired of AD's idiot moves.  She made a page in charge of not only the project, but other pages.  This page used to work at one of the branches and was known for being a slacker.  Hence her being dealt to Central for nothing in return.  And now she's in charge of the RFID project.  Great, just great!  I will point out that this is yet ANOTHER thing they have not asked me to participate in.  It's better for me at this point not to be tasked to work too closely with AD.  That's for sure.

I got a call while I was driving to Grandview.  It was a number I didn't recognize, so I let it go to voicemail.  But a moment later I got another phone call from a number that came up at the Pacific branch.  That one I took.  On the other side of the line was Mala.  She wanted to ask if I could be an elephant today.  They were having a children's program and they needed an elephant to go with a pig.  They are character in a book, and they had the person who was going to be the elephant bail out on them.  They said that Les was fine with me pausing the route, so what else could I say but that I could do it.  As pictured above, I tried to make the most of the situation. 

There was a girl in the other costume when I was out doing my thing.  She's the one in the jeans pictured above.  In the picture she's helping another girl get into the costume after she was in it.  I mention this girl in the jeans because she's quite attractive.  I don't know where they are getting these pages from, but they are all attractive.  I joked with my buddy that they got them from a modeling agency.  I'm not sure how a girl can look so curvy, but this one and a lot of the other pages somehow manage it.

The rest of the route was pretty easy.  I got back on the road after my little show as an elephant and finished up the route a little later than usual.  Still, got everything done and then got out of Dodge.  It's funny that some people ask me questions about Central as if because I'm there two days a week I know something.  If you count the thirty minutes I'm there in the morning and thirty I'm there in the afternoon then I'm really only there for about two hours A WEEK.  I'm hardly there.  Most of my time is spent on the road.

Wed Sept 27, I have a bunch of new assignments for the Foundation at work.  This is the time of year when I get to work on a bunch of assignments.  Which is fine.  I never know what to do with some of these assignments until I do something and that morphs into something else and so on and so on.  It's cool.  This should be fun.

I think I understand why things with TheWish haven't progressed since I last took her out.  I like her.  I think she's pretty, and I would definitely like to see her naked.  But then beyond that I'm not feeling that spark.  You know what I mean, that spark.  Those butterflies in the stomach.  See, before I asked her to dinner it was a year of feeling some butterflies.  Some.  Some, but not to the extent that makes me want to pursue anything other than trying to sleep with her.  And ultimately I think that's not OK.  Hence me just being in this limbo when I like her but I don't want to move forward with her.  I know, I'm terrible.

Dinner with TheGirl was about giving her her birthday gift... finally.  Then it was about drinking two super strong margaritas.  So nice.  They make some powerful margaritas at that place.  We talked about a possible trip.  For sure we can't make it this year.  Therefore, we are aiming for February of next year.  That will give us some time to save some money.  I'm still going up on November, which I'm really looking forward to doing.  It's been too long.  TheGirl said she would check on rooms tomorrow.  Cool beans.

Thu Sept 28, When I arrived from going to Pasadena I noticed that all the book carts that were in the sorting area were now in the circulation area.  I was told that it was because they needed to make room for the work they will be doing in the sorting area.  Mainly work to prep for the installation of a new sorting machine that will work in tandem with the RFID books.  Mind you, they don't have all the books tagged yet.  And of course Pasadena WILL NOT tag their books.  Also, there isn't but one power outlet in the entire sorting area.  Because that makes sense.  Why would these dopes ask for some sort of upgraded power supply to that sorting area knowing that they were going to eventually install a big huge sorting machine.  Because it's not JUST the sorting machine.  It's the conveyor belt and the computer that controls the sorting machine.  Oh, and the book drop door that makes noises when someone puts a book in.  All those machines, and probably more, with only ONE power outlet.  That outlet won't be over worked at all.

After I got the van ready for the route I still had to load up a bunch of barriers that needed to be returned to the city yard.  This again is because of the installation of the new sorting machine in the sorting area.  Maleficent wants all the junk in the junk corner cleaned out before they start the project.  Of course more than half of the junk is from Benedict's stupid 666 series on Saturdays.  What a fucking tool he is.  He needs to burn, like the rest of those dopes upstairs.  Back to the subject... I went and loaded up the van with the stuff and went to the city yard to return this stuff.  I'm pretty sure that in about a month they're going to ask me to go to the city yard and pick up the same things I just went and dropped off today.  Idiots.

The rest of the route was pretty much without incident.  My buddy mentioned how there are a LOT of changes coming.  What with him not driving any more.  The people I see every day at the branches changing to a new sort.  I don't mind either of those changes.  I just continue doing my thing.  I try to be steady as a rock.  I think I am.  But that doesn't mean everything around me isn't changing.  Hell, really I'm changing as well, I just don't always know it.  My hair for sure has gone grey.  I'm obviously getting older.  The other day in the shower I did notice that I do have a nice two pack at least going on in my stomach area.  If only I didn't have a couple of layers of fat on top to hide that.  In short, I did notice that I'm somewhat in better shape.  Perhaps I can't run a mile without dying, but I do have some strength.  Now I just need to get back in shape and work the cardio so I can run and not get winded within ten feet.

Fri Sept 29, As I have said many times there is a site that shows me photographs from the past.  Today some photographs that I took of Talia back in 2007 came up on my feed (as shown above).  It's hard to believe it's been a decade since then.  I honestly thought I had taken these photos much further into the past.  I know I featured some other photos of Talia that were taken several years before these.  In my mind I think I've conflated all these photo shoots.  Talia was so attractive back then.  I loved her body, and I loved that she was willing to pose at the drop of a hat.  This photo and other were taking up at her house in Bel Air.  She lay on a outdoor table while I took her picture.  It's funny that back then we weren't actually having sex when I would hang out with her.  We couldn't do it in my house nor hers.  We would end up having sex in the back seat of my old Mustang.  It was not ideal, but it was fun of course.  I kinda miss those days.

I showed up to work and the new librarian wasn't at work today.  I think we've gone back to the every other week model.  Only no one told me.  I told the boss a couple of weeks ago about possibly not being able to work on Fridays.  I will say more in a bit, but I do have a nagging feeling I won't be driving on Fridays.  I told the boss as much today.  If I don't end up working Fridays there is still a lot of work I can do on Fridays even if I'm not on the desk.  I have the anniversary stuff, and the bookmark contest stuff, and the call to action stuff.  So yeah, I have work I can be working on during those Fridays I'm not on the desk.

Today while I was on the desk I received a call from where my Godmother is living.  These dopes always seem to find the time when I'm on the desk to call.  I think they have called EVERY fucking Friday for the last month.  They wanted a check, I sent them a check.  Did they cash said check?  No.  Today they call, leave a vague message that says nothing but to call them back.  When I have called them back the person who called me isn't there.  These dopes call me from a new phone number EVERY TIME.  Why not call me from the same number and that way I don't think it's some crank.  Also, I'm working.  Also, fucking leave a detailed message that tells me why you call.  They can't do the simplest thing.  So I didn't call them back this time, because it's futile.  All I ever get is, "Oh, they're not here."  And then the next week someone new calls me.  Last week it was guy, this week some woman.  No one is consistent.

Then I get home and my aunt tells me that the sink in the wash room isn't draining.  My clothes are just sitting in the washing machine.  She says to me, "I think we need to go to a laundromat.  We just bought a new dryer!  Why the fuck are we now going to go to a laundromat?

Then even before I was done with the ESL hour my buddy is texting me, "busy?"  Meaning he wants to talk.  My busted phone is at 50% charge, and the way it does in a conversation these days that will not last for much more than an hour.  Also, I'm fucking tired of hearing about those Glendale idiots.  I just want them all to burn.  They do everything wrong.  They are morally corrupt people, especially AD.  But of course then there's dopey Benedict, who apparently called out today.  And then I have this horrible feeling in the pit of my stomach that AD is not going to have me drive on Fridays.  I said it here before, I have this nagging feeling she's going to have Benedict drive.

All this just piled on today and then this morning a friend was texting me needy bullshit texts.  I'm through with all this shit.  I seriously loved that my phone does have a new function that blocks all notifications while I drive.  I didn't want to get any texts from anyone today.  I'm sitting here writing this and I'm glad I don't have to call my buddy back or engage him in a conversation about those fucking Glendale idiots.  I'm just tired.  I'm tired of it all.

I looked at TheWish today and she looked super cute.  But who am I kidding.  She's too nice for me.  I don't have those kind of loving feelings for her.  And I should just be sleeping with Emma, who is sorta OK with detached loveless relationships.  And that's what I want.

Sat Sept 30, Eleven years ago I went to Club 33.  I know I've posted pictures here before, but this one came up while looking for another picture.  I love this picture because it captured a moment that I tried to capture in words long ago.  But before I came along a little writer named F. Scott Fitzgerald perfectly encapsulated that moment in a quote from The Great Gatsby.

"High over the city our line of yellow windows must have contributed their share of human secrecy to the casual watcher in the darkening streets, and I was him too, looking up and wondering.  I was within and without, simultaneously enchanted and repelled by the inexhaustible variety of life."

For some reason it was only during the last re-reading of Gatsby that this quote found some resonance in me, and this picture.  The way I remembered that moment was that the "streets" of New Orleans Square were empty, except for one person, looking up to where I was standing on a small balcony.  My mind flashed back to when I was in a similar position looking up at someone standing on one of the same balcony I was now standing on.  And so I was within and without, at both places at once.  It was like I had time traveled and my present self was looking at my past self looking up at my future self.  It was a surreal moment that I've tried to tell people about, but now having the quote and the picture together helps explain it a little better.

My aunt wanted me to pick up a pair of pizzas.  I ordered a couple of large pizzas, but when I got them I really thought about how the size of the "large" has now become a relative thing.  I don't remember the large being larger.  This to me looked likes it was the old medium size.  Meanwhile, these pizzas were about $17 each.  That's nuts.  I found a coupon online that gave me a $5 discount.  Still, it was yummy.

My buddy from elementary school, O, came around to have dinner with me and catch up.  I took him to get some dinner at My Taco, since he loves sopes and he didn't want to have another burger.  Usually when we hang he wants to go to Tommy's for a burger.  This time he told me he had two hot dogs at the ball park up in San Francisco and he wanted to have something else for dinner.  Hence me thinking sopes.  When my Grandmother was alive she used to make some great sopes.  My buddy loved them.  I figured that it was a good time to take him to one place that makes good Mexican food.

This is a picture of my coworker from Glendale.  They had a project where they had the kids make a kaleidoscope out of a toilet paper roll.  I used one of the kaleidoscopes to take a photo of her.

I went out to Duarte to get some lunch at the Old Spaghetti Factory.  The food was whatever, and the service was just barely OK.  But it was nice to get out and take some pictures.

This is a photo from my last trip to Monterey.  The view on the bay is near perfect.