Well, here is just a short post for those of you who have been waiting in agony for me to write something, anything, about my trip to Europe... I have once again been a bad little blogger. What can I say? I'm naturally lazy. I think I was a sloth in my previous life. And I'm afraid you will have to wait longer. Because I have NEWS.
I am now the new children's librarian at the library (the library that is in the place where I was working before, and therefore am still working). So. I just started the job this week. And I have discovered that children's librarians are very busy. It is difficult to find time to actually get any work done in between mopping up ferret feces, bandaging nasty skipping rope wounds, and rescuing endangered leopard frogs from deranged six year olds.
So, I think I will like the job (aside from the incidences mentioned above, but these things just come with the territory). I am not sure if this is what I want forever, but I think it is a very good thing for now. Just enough responsibility to make me feel terrified, but not enough to actually cause an anxiety attack.
I'll keep you posted on how it goes. SH (who was temporarily filling in for the children's librarian) has informed me that the other women who work at the library can be very clannish and difficult, especially the ones who've been there for 15 years or more. That they'd rather see you fall on your face than help you out. She said that my predecessor, who was children's librarian for 4 years, said that she went home crying every night for the first month she worked here. So that is concerning, but I have to say I am not all that surprised. I noticed that sort of atmosphere in my practicum in Edmonton. And someone suggested to me that it is just what happens when you have a group of women working together (there is only one guy on the library staff). So what do you think? When women work together, do we naturally all become bitchy? Why? What does that say about women and/or society?
Anyway, just something to ponder. À la prochaine mes amis!
2 comments:
Congrats on the new job! I know from visiting Shoes/Frances at the downtown children's section at EPL, it is a MAD HOUSE in the summer!! Takes a lot of patience, but could be lots of fun too.
All-women workplaces - I have been trying to figure this one out too. There's something about them - especially when inhabited by the 40 and over crowd (IMO) that can get so downright hostile...but throw a confident, professional man in and they will all love him and defer to him!!! Makes me ill sometimes. Why can't women appreciate and celebrate the successes of others without taking those successes as a personal slight?? a) I think lots of women still have super low self-esteem and an inferiority complex which displays itself in unneccessary competitiveness and cattiness (or "levelling" some may call it, if I diss or criticize someone, I bring them down to my level) and b) some women take everything personally, which is totally compounded by a.
I find the same issues in friend groups a lot of the time.
I think it's up to our generation to try and change that. But those are just my observations.
Pants
Hey Violette,
I work in an office with about 15 women and 3 men. And for the most part, they are all very nice. But what I have noticed is that there is a very 'cliquey' group. They go for coffee, shopping at lunch, movies and dinner and never invite anyone else. It can feel very awkward. They remind me of a certain 'cliquey' group from library school.
You will do great at the new job, don't let anyone push you around! Pretend you know Taekwon Do :-)
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