Not sure where to put this so please redirect if it's the wrong place.

Why are you staying alive? What do you do for a living? Say you finnished your education, leant a skill that would keep you in the black or a safety net if you don' succeed in your dream. Then what? Carry on working the same 9 to 5, building the up retirement fund only for the company to go bust. Too many people these days get lost in the 'REAL WORLD' AKA the perpetual depressionite society doing work they hate for bosses they hate.

I love my job--been at it for over 25 years total. I work at a public library (under the umbrella of local government). The retirement fund is a fund that also covers police, firemen, teachers, city/village employees throughout the state. It won't go bust. I'm sure I'm not the only one who loves her job. In fact, most of us work at these jobs purely for love, not for the retirement.

Have you always wanted to be a librarian or did you dream of doing something else?

Since fourth grade I wanted to be a teacher. I went to college and became a teacher/tutor off and on for a number of years while I raised my kids. Once they were in school all day, I got a job shelving books for $3 an hour at a library in the mornings and teaching preschool in the afternoons. The book-shelving job turned into a reference clerk job that turned into an assistant reference librarian job. I now am the senior cataloger in charge three coworkers who, along with me, catalog all library materials, and am in charge of the library volunteer program (that I started in 1993) and also the offender program for community service. I teach and train coworkers, volunteers, and offenders each day and every day. I have the world's greatest job, doing everything I love to do.

Wow sounds like you got just what you wanted, why do you do it though?

Why do I do what?

When I get older I am joing the air force, and if I am in a situation were I don't like my boss or my job, I could cross train into something I feel I would like

I am also liking all the benfits of being in the milatry, free health care, good retirement plan, go to college for free.

So I know I will like it in the air force, pluse I will get a lot of skills

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Originally Posted by Wondergirl

Why do I do what?

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Why did you set up the volunteer program? Why do you teach and train co-workers?

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Originally Posted by 13sldr

when i get older i am joing the air force, and if i am in a situation were i dont like my boss or my job, i could cross train into something i feel i would like

i am also liking all the benfits of being in the milatry, free health care, good retirement plan, go to college for free.

so i know i will like it in the air force, pluse i will get a lot of skills

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Do you have an aim? To reach a certain rank or something?

Yes, I do, I don't know the exact rank, but it will be high up, I will have to be in along time and even go to college to achieve getting to that rank

Its good to have a plan, but quite relaxed so you can go about it easyer, I know nothing about the army, what rank?

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Originally Posted by raggablue

why did you set up the volunteer program? why do you teach and train co-workers?

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I set up the volunteer program because we didn't have enough money to hire more staff (the majority of our money goes for books etc. not for salaries) and we needed things to get done. Patrons wanted to volunteer, so why not start a volunteer group??

I teach and train coworkers because I am the one who has been there the longest and I am the one who attended workshops for new databases or new procedures. I know my coworkers and know how each one learns the best, so I tailor the training for each person, as needed. I also know how to reframe something if someone doesn't understand and I know how the entire library thing works, like, how the different departments interact and where library materials should go. That enables me to not only give the big picture, but also explain the details.

Do you get a buzz out of it? I meant 'why do you do it, personally, rather than practically

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Originally Posted by raggablue

do you get a buzz out of it? i meant 'why do you do it, personally, rather than practically

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Buzz? Practicality?

I have always loved whatever I've been doing, whether it's babysitting, teaching, counseling (yeah, I do that too), cataloging library materials, pulling the shrinkwrap and security stickers off new DVDs, opening new books and smelling that great smell of fresh ink, driving the 16 miles to work and back, talking with coworkers and volunteers and offenders.

There's a book called Flow: The Psychology of Optimal Experience by Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi. In the book, he writes about how people achieve happiness. I've always been able to do what he explains.

Happiness is easyer gained than sustained. I would read flow but the word psychology means psyciatrists, I don't get on with shrinks

Happiness is the journey, not the destination.

I've got a master's in psych. Guess you and I had better stop talking?

Your also a librarian, and very studious!! Where did you find the time to get a degree?!
Hindus believe that we are stuck in a perpetual circle of life and death, constantly being reincarnated, and the only way to escape that and find peace in heaven is to learn to be at one with whoever you believe is higher. To be reeeeeaaaaaaly happy basically

I worked on a library science degree too but ran out of money because my younger son was in college at the same time.

I was working full time and going to grad school for the psych. It took me three years instead of two.

I have two Indian coworkers (from Kashmir and Delhi) and am very familiar with Hindu teachings.

Going to be a writer, but gota find something to write about first. An obvious hurdle I need to jump.

Yeah, how do you maintain the happiness? Going to sleep, then waking up interrupts the flow of life. Eating causes moods to change, that interrupts the flow. Sometimes taking out the garbage changes the whole perspective on happiness. I don't get it. How do some people go from morning to night and feel like themselves all day? A job just brings some regularity into a life. Jobs are good.