I had a nice, leisurely walk to work yesterday. Now that the weather has warmed up a bit and the sun is shining, I'm really enjoying that time to myself. I was running a little late, but I didn't feel any pressure to get there precisely on time or to hurry. My supervisor is at a conference in Frankfurt, and the school will survive without me for a few extra minutes. In fact I took some pictures, listened to music and stopped for a take-away coffee along the way.
I wound up at my desk eleven minutes late. My co-worker was there and the library was quiet, so she wasn't concerned at all.
I feel like I give the impression on this blog that I am kind of a slacker, wandering in a few minutes late and reading at my desk during downtime. Honestly, I don't think I am. (Then again, do slackers recognize that tendency in themselves?) Some days I'm early to work, and I do stay very busy overall. I suppose, like anyone with the so-called "Protestant work ethic" (whatever that is), I'm more conflicted about stray moments of workday leisure so I write about them more.
But I also find that as I get older, I'm less concerned about stuff like that. Carpe diem, right? Enjoy the moments as they come.
Anyway, it was a glorious day, very low-key. I got everything done I needed to do, like re-shelving a cartload of books about Ancient Greece checked out by the 5th Grade, and still had moments to relax, chat with the kids and be a kinder, more generous presence than the harried librarian I sometimes feel like lately.
Here are our front-porch plants. Those violas (or pansies?) are the ones I found last fall in St. John's Wood. They survived the winter just fine. I have a hanging basket of them on the back patio, also blooming up a storm. The orange flower is an African daisy (Osteospermum).
Words of wisdom from some fortune cookies we've had hanging around the kitchen for a couple of weeks, the remnants of a Chinese take-away. I'm not a huge fan of fortune cookies so they tend to linger until I figure out what to do with them. I crumbled these two up as a crunchy topping for last night's ice cream, which I thought was a pretty clever way to dispose of them.
That second one made me glad I took the time to enjoy my walk to work!
(Top photo: The morning bread delivery at a restaurant on my route to work, sitting inside on a table. I like the reflective layers in this photo, even showing my hands and my phone.)
I love the reflection of your fingers in the glass better than the rolls.
ReplyDeleteThey kind of blend in with the rolls, actually!
DeleteIt is weird that it has taken me so long to remember that I was once a library monitor when I was at school. All that I had to do was return date stamp books as they were taken. Hang on, there was more, covering book covers with a clear plastic film. Adding the piece of paper where the return date stamp was placed. There was some kind of card catalogue in a steel cabinet, with a card for every book in the library. Mr Gobbious was the librarian but he soon retired and Mrs Phillips took over. She could be sharp, but if kids were interested in reading, she was there to help them and encourage them. Gee, I don't know how that all flooded out.
ReplyDeleteYou're describing my job! Well, some of it, anyway. Maybe we should offload some of that work to students?! I'm afraid to suggest it -- they might find me redundant.
DeleteYou are quite decadent on the quiet!
ReplyDeleteHa! Appalling, isn't it? :)
DeleteWhen did your "boss" become your "supervisor"? There's something a little sinister about the term "supervisor". Prisoners undertaking community service usually have supervisors rather than bosses.
ReplyDeleteP.S. Perhaps your supervisor has had some mini-cameras installed so that she can monitor your activity when she is away on jolly conferences.
P.P.S. What's the theme of the conference anyway? Maybe: "Maximising the work output of underlings".
See, I think "supervisor" sounds kinder than "boss"! I would not be at all surprised if someone talked about productivity. It's an American obsession.
DeleteI love your rescued flowers so much, Steve. You have a true green thumb.
ReplyDeleteI don't think you're a slacker at all! Who cares about the occasional 11 minutes? Life is short and leisurely walks to work are a rare pleasure, I'll bet.
That's what I say!
DeleteThat second fortune was spot on; live life like that!
ReplyDeleteIt's not often I see a fortune with any kind of impact, but I liked that one.
DeleteThat top photo is a bit of magic. I love fortune cookies. Haven’t had one in years. I wonder if they can even be found here (since they’re apparently an American invention). Your rescued plants and flowers make me happy. I could never tolerate those jobs with a boss who watched the clock. I did better with freedom.
ReplyDeleteIt's funny that Americans came up with fortune cookies. I wonder what the Chinese think of them?
DeleteA number of years ago I went out for Chinese dinner with someone I was dating. During the meal he broke up with me. My fortune cookie said "A friend has something to tell you"
ReplyDeleteThat made me laugh.
DeleteThanks for nothing, cookie -- too little too late!
DeleteI can't imagine having a library in school, with even a staff! There were none at any school I grew up in. You had to take a bus to the municipal, Carnegie endowed, library if you needed anything other than the issued textbooks. Lucky kids having it right under their roof, though I doubt if they realize it.
ReplyDeleteInteresting. A school library is a foregone conclusion these days in almost any school, I imagine.
DeleteCarpe diem Indeed!!
ReplyDeleteA happy librarian is a good thing
And a rare thing! LOL
DeleteLoving the pansies, one of my springtime favorites. And they're looking great. Hey, you're working this weekend with the conference; I'd think you should have the whole day off!
ReplyDeleteI'm with you! Would you write my boss, please?
DeleteWould Olga grab those biscuits if she had the opportunity? My dog would.
ReplyDeleteAll work and no play is just wrong. As long as the work gets done, who cares what else is happening? Nobody should be stressed and unhappy about a job.
Your porch plants are blooming well and very beautiful. Another good rescue.
Oh, absolutely. Olga loves bread of any kind.
DeleteI googled "What is the difference between violas and pansies?" and got this: "If the bloom has four petals pointing upward, and one petal pointing downward, it is a pansy. If the flower has two petals pointing upward and three pointing downward, it is a viola. Violas are smaller than pansies, and they bloom abundantly."
ReplyDeleteBased on that description, I'm going with viola, though the flowers are larger than violas I've seen in the past!
Delete'Gather ye rosebuds while ye may,' as life is fleeting. I love the bright flowers in the sunshine.
ReplyDeleteOr ye violas, as the case may be.
DeleteMy new boss hasn't supervised employees before (that I know of) so she's still figuring out the fine balance between micromanaging and letting us be. For now I mentally treat myself like an hourly employee (I don't have to clock in & out, but in my brain I am) just in case she decides I need to account for my hours. It's kind of annoying, actually. Ha!
ReplyDeleteThat's kind of where I am, too. Inexperienced supervisor, micromanaging.
DeleteTake advantage of that sunshine, you never know when the clouds will appear again. A nice long walk sounds perfect.
ReplyDeleteI'm loving it every day!
DeleteThe photo with the reflection is very clever! Eleven minutes, what a crime. In my job, we were penalised when we overstayed by a specified number of hours and we had to take a break after a specified number of hours. Entry and exit with a pin to keep track. Civil service rules.
ReplyDeleteWow! We are nowhere near that precise. I figure as long as I'm there roughly when I'm supposed to be -- within ten minutes or so -- I'm fine.
DeleteYour Photo Is Worthy Of A Thousand Words - As For Those Fortune Slips , When Junk Mail Arrives With A Return Envelope , Drop It In , & Mail It Off
ReplyDeleteBe Well Brother Man ,
Cheers
P.S. Enjoy Your Weekend With Olga Girl
Ha! A creative way to share the fortunes! I don't see junk mail with return envelopes very often anymore.
DeleteWell, you are not a slacker at all as you are working this weekend.
ReplyDeleteAnd I DO hope the fortune is correct and you will have a long and healthy life, Steve!
At least it didn't say "short and unhealthy." LOL!
DeleteI can honestly say that I never think of you as a slacker, quite the opposite.
ReplyDeleteWell, that's good. I may need you as a character witness. :)
DeleteYes. That first photo is pretty crazy!
ReplyDeleteBeautiful rescued pansies. You have a nurturing soul and that helps make you a good librarian.
I do think there's a caretaking link in both cases -- one caring for plants and one for books and students. I'm better at plants. LOL
DeleteI'm fortunate in most of my career, I wasn't held to any real hours. As long as I got my 40 hours in and completed all my tasks on time, my bosses were okay with me knocking off a bit early here and there. (I was almost always at work earlier than anyone else because I found that my most productive time when all the other distractions hadn't yet arrived!) So I've never worked a job where punching a clock was required and I'm guessing would feel quite restricted to have to so such things.
ReplyDeleteThat's how work should be, and up to now all my jobs have been like that. This one is a bit more tied to the clock because it's essentially customer service, but even so, a little leeway is permissible, it seems to me.
DeleteThat is a nice photo, almost looks like a collage. As for work, if you are getting all the work done for the day or ignoring it while you read what are you supposed to do during down time, stare into space? The American work ethic is ridiculous, that unless you are being productive every waking moment you're a slacker.
ReplyDeleteIt really is a very American mindset.
DeleteI don't consider you a slacker at all. If you wrote us a minute by minute description of everything you do in a day, it would be overwhelming. What needs to get done, does and that's the important thing. And taking time to smell the proverbial roses is life affirming.
ReplyDeleteThat's it -- lots of little things come together to make up any day, for any of us, and there's nothing that says we have to be laboring every moment.
DeleteI want to be a kinder and more generous presence, too! Not always easy, especially not when you are monstrously busy as I have been of late. Another 2 to 4 weeks of this are ahead, depending on when exactly I will finish my current mammoth task.
ReplyDeleteThe flowers look more like pansies to me, but their green leaves are more like violas. Maybe a hybrid?
Yes, spring is good for the soul - and body.
Oh, yeah, they COULD be a hybrid. I didn't think of that. The flowers are definitely larger than other violas I've seen.
Delete
ReplyDeletekids need examples of kinder and more generous, for that matter, so do the rest of us, so I commend that aspiration and the blooms are nice, too.
Yes, the whole world needs more of that!
DeleteThe quote really tells me that time flies with no return
ReplyDeleteExactly. Treasure every moment!
DeleteLove your header photo, really a good one.
ReplyDeleteThank you! I was happy with it too. That guy walked by at just the right time.
DeleteI've always loved pansies, violas/johnny-jump-ups, and violets. I think it's because they often have that deep blue in them that's relatively rare in natural blooms, as compared to the wide range of yellow, orange, pink and red blooms.
ReplyDeleteI'm glad you got a chance to slow down and enjoy your walk and your day. It's important for our brains to have that time.
Plus they're so durable in cooler weather, so they're good plants for early spring. (Here, anyway. Maybe still too cold where you are!)
DeleteI haven't had fortune cookies in a long time, maybe I should buy some Chinese food? Anyway, I remember I don't like them, so I read the fortune and throw the cookies to the birds. I think you have the work hard and slack off times perfectly balanced.
ReplyDeleteYeah, fortune cookies are more a gimmick than anything intended to be actually eaten.
DeleteFortune cookies are the only thing my son Emil, who lives for food, will not eat. What's not to like about a fortune cookie!
ReplyDeleteI have never gotten the impression you're a slacker from what you share here.
ReplyDelete