10:27 p.m. - 2003-12-18
Kismet
Kind of a give and take theme today, dear diary. When my friend, who works for a seniors' organization, mentioned they wanted to produce maps of the city showing all the available senior housing by type for their patrons, I offered to take it on as a volunteer project. They don't have the time or resources to do the work. What I get out of it is more practice with editing graphic material on a computer and the sense of accomplishment for helping someone else out. Paid work feeds my family, volunteer work feeds my soul and it feels like its been starving the past few years. Picked up the diskette of data they had prepared last night and started working on it at suppertime tonight. They would like it completed in a month. I'll see what I can do. I love making jigsaw puzzles - um maps.
I was chatting with one of the regulars at my bus stop this morning. We were discussing our work schedules. She asked what it was I did. Her English is still a little weak, so I chose the word "library" to describe a records center because I thought it would be more likely she would understand that choice. She lit up and asked if we had any books she could read in her own first language. I said no, that it was an industry specific technical resource (well not exactly those words). At lunch I went to our central library on a hunch. I thought I had seen books in her Asian tongue there and sure enough there were. There were also brochures printed in her language as well. I know I would think I was dying if I didn't get the opportunity to read every day, so I wanted to be certain she could too. Our library gives the community great value for the taxes invested, but struggles with proving that to the community sometimes. Now another community will know where to find some great resources and the library will get more supporters.
When I went out at lunch to walk to the library, I nearly ended up squished on a cross walk. The walk light was green ( actually it is a white light image of a stick person walking, but whatever) and I was two thirds of the way through the cross walk. Some idiot with a huge (oversized wheels) fully-loaded pickup truck with a small brain and probably even smaller cojones decided he just had to make a left hand turn right through where I was walking. I literally had to sprint to get out of his way. What made me decide the size of his bodily equipment? Well he did this right in front of the police department's headquarters downtown. In addition, the fine for driving into a cross walk while a pedestrian is in it, has just gone up from about $70 to over $500. Did this guy even have the grace to look embarrassed - no. But he was sweating while he was looking at the station thinking of the fine. Too bad none of the police were looking outside when it happened. Oh well. My life and limb obviously didn't matter one whit to him, but his pocketbook certainly was a priority. Maybe he'll keep that in mind next time he's in a hurry.
At work, the manager of the library was absent, so I didn't have to deal with the sniping that's been going on lately. I didn't even wear my headphones for half the day. Meant I got to talk with a lot of people I'd been hoping to get to know better. Two of the young women there are from different dialect groups of the Chinese language. They were surprised when I asked if they would mind teaching me a few key words and phrases in their language. I explained that I wanted to be certain that I understood my grandchildren in whatever language they chose to speak. That way I can head off mischief in whatever form - or language - it takes, right? I got my first lesson by the water cooler, and I think they were pleased and amused too.
I'd received an e-mail from my supervisor last night asking me to call him when I could today. Sort of reinforced my intention to talk through the events of yesterday with him, so that I was certain he was comfortable with what was occurring. We worked out a compromise, then he called R to work it through with her, I didn't get what I wanted but it really wasn't all that critical either. I still have a job and I'm still getting paid, right? R came by later and we agreed to meet next week to complete the work we'd started.
My supervisor also checked with R about my staying to work in the office tomorrow afternoon. The rest of the staff are off at noon, so that they can prepare for their Christmas party that evening, meaning the company is essentially closed. I can't really afford the lost paid time yet and I wasn't invited to their party anyway. I only knew about it because the other contract had been invited and asked me if I was going to go. When I told I hadn't been asked, she told R that she wouldn't be attending either. I think she felt uncomfortable that I had been left out, but I told her she should go because I know how much she enjoys socializing. Truth is I wouldn't go to something like that anyway. Everyone else will be with their partners and while I love networking at things like conferences, I freeze up at the "cocktail circuit". Small talk is just not a skill of mine. Anyway, today R gave me a large wall calendar for 2004 to take home, I think because she was feeling badly about the oversight - I'm assuming that's what it was. It will work well for the election that will likely happen in the spring.
Finally the other synchronous incident was when the university student, who introduced herself to me by nearly squishing me with the rolling files, and I discovered while we were talking today, that she worked with my current supervisor a few years ago. We traded stories and a bit of history as well - that was the small world syndrome writ large. Funny how small changes in routine or habits can effect such major insights or breakthroughs. Interesting.
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