Haven't really been at my desk since Monday, what with a really big presentation, a party, an evening shift, off-site training, and a day off. Although I like interacting with the customers, teaching classes, answering questions, etc., I really like sitting at my desk. I've got everything I need: various ways of communicating, all the info I need, entertainment, food, water, warmth - It's like my home away from home. Better sometimes because there's no screaming babies to interrupt my whatever-I'm-doing. Of course there are the whining teenagers and needy supervisors.

Presentations: It's funny. I used to be the biggest (or smallest, depending on your interpretation) introvert. But there was always a small part of me that yearned to be the life of the party (or just a loudmouth), telling jokes, leading the conversation, being in the spotlight. I haven't always been the most successful (the quiet mouse in me makes me doubt myself sometimes) but the lion in me has really helped me in my life and career.

Parties: Speaking of being the life of the party, ironically I've never really liked parties. I don't like to drink, the music is often too loud or too predictable to enjoy, and small talk makes me nauseous. I do like to dance but without enough alcohol to be an excuse, the music being too "experimental" to dance to, and without a partner to dance with (my wife doesn't like to dance), it's not always a good idea.

Evening Shifts: I both like and dislike evening shifts. They're great because both customers and supervisors are less likely to be around - I get much more work (or goofing off) done on evening shifts. But I try to keep them to a minimum because I like to sleep in. If I go to work later, I have the perfect excuse to sleep in as much as possible, leading to much less work (or goofing off) time than on regular shift days.

Training: I'm a born student. I love good classes (Who likes bad ones?). I love the discussions, the information, the activities, the reading, the enforced socialization - I love academia. I would love to be a librarian in a university library. I would take classes and degrees every chance I got. Ok. So I'm a geek.

Days Off: I'm looking forward to the day when I have a set schedule and therefore a regular weekend. Many public service librarians have irregular work weeks: "Some evenings and weekends required" which leads to a different day off every week. Although it's good to have a whole weekend off here and a weekday off there, it gets very frustrating and disruptive having to figure out your schedule every week.