Indentured Servitude

(Or “What’s been keeping me busy, part 2”)

You may have noticed that, recurrently, the little box in the sidebar titled “My current situation,” not only displays the courses I’m taking, but also a cryptic “indentured to the library.” Today, I want to explain to you what on Earth that means.

When I originally started working for the library, I was given a contract that basically said “I agree to everything I have been told verbally.” I was told that I had to do 6 hours a week (for a dollar each) and that, if I didn’t do all of them, I could always do them next term. I was told that I would be paid per hour worked, and that, for the university’s accounting department, I would count as a TA.

Again on the library

Ha! I bet you didn't expect me to blog about the library this far into the summer did you? Well, the truth is, what I'm going to tell you actually happened before I created the blog. When I did create it, there were a couple of things I just had to say first. By the time those were out, I had all but forgotten about this little event.

I started working in the library because it just peeves me to see books that are left lying; books that fall behind the shelf and nobody picks them up; and books that are so obviously out of their section, it's hard to believe it was done by accident. In short, "Hey there, library folks, I'm perfectly happy to reshelve books. Pay me to be happy, will ya?"

Except that, as I have explained, reshelving books is the last priority for the library. I really don't mind having to tend to the course reserve, dish out study cubicles, or look after the computer terminals. What really gets on my nerves is things that don't seem like library work at all.

How the library works

The reason the library was so keen to have me stay is because they are working with four TA's this term in total (the library needs about 20 to function correctly) of which one must guard the computer terminal at all times and one must guard the course reserve.

I put this in my first post as part of the list of things that motivated me to create this blog. It is admittedly confusing to someone who doesn't know our library, so I thought I'd explain this in more detail with today's post.

The library has your typical Reference section, open-shelf section, and some computers with internet access (called the Computer Terminal Room for historical reasons). Like most college libraries, it also has a Course Reserve (which keeps copies of several books under closed-shelf space because the management considers these books shouldn't leave the library) a Hall of Thesis (where graduate and undergraduate theses are stored), and several Study Cubicles which can be lent to students in groups of four. (The list goes on, but I just need enough to get the explanation down.)

The library has a firmly established hierarchy with a director at the top, heads at each section, and employees under them. Also assigned to to the library, but out of the hierarchy due to being assigned by subcontractors, is security and maintenance personnel. (The subcontractor deals with the whole campus, but the few that are in the library are stationed permanently there.) At the very, very bottom are the TA's, short for Teaching Assistants. (Yes, we know there isn't exactly classes to be taught in a library, but the name is more of a payroll-enforced thing we have to deal with.) When I started working in the library in 2006, TA's were basically payed 47 US cents per hour (we're that low on the ladder).

It's high time I had a blog!

Several things have been have been happening in my life recently that have made me realize I need a presence on the web. Where to start? Let's try chronologically:

• Last year, I did an internship. I realized how important it is to put your CV online; not just to put it in the way of employers seeking people, but also to expand on it beyond the limits of paper.
• I've realized I've been getting out of touch with the people I know, so I need something to help me decide what to talk about with them.
• I have put a bit of an extra effort into some of the programs I've made for my course projects; I want to show them off, but I don't have anywhere to do it (at least not anywhere that is mine).
• In March, I was asked if I do art (and it so happens I do) and if I have it online (and it happens that I don't).
• I've stated checking more blogs and such, and I think I need to be able to connect all my commenter personas to one place.
• For the past couple of years I've been noticing some queer equalities between languages –both between natural languages (say, English and French) and programming languages (say, C and Haskell)– that are so queer I want to write about them, but I don't have anywhere to do it.

Yes, I know I'm using "recently" in a very relative sense, and yes I know I should get something better to cover these wishes. I could've kept those things bottled up inside of me until I amassed enough money to buy a domain, but during the last week, quite a few things happen that pushed me to finally create this blog.