Mind Decompression Part 1: That killed it.

So now I can resume my normal blogging. There's way too much going on in my head right now and I have to let some things out. Between a whole lot of medical information, exam questions that persist in giving me anxiety and seek to destroy my peace and happiness of the fact my exam is over, trip planning, weekend planning, job searching and decision making, social deficiency, and a few blog ideas that have been sitting in the back of my mind for days...my mind needs some kind of release. So I shall proceed with one of my recent experiences...

I have spent quite a lot of time in bookstores lately (mainly Barnes andNoble - Borders is freezing cold and doesn't have all of the books I was looking for) because I am too cheap to pay $50 for a review book that has some wrong information. Last Saturday night I settled into one of the big, comfy brown chairs (B&N has larger chairs than Borders, btw) to continue with another multi-hour run of studying. During that time a welcomed distraction came. I usually don't notice guys out in public very often (reason #9 of why I am still single) but there is some unseen power in bookstores and art stores and galleries that heightens my attention just a little more. He was actually quite good-looking, tall, and wearing a white buttoned up shirt with jeans (willing to wear long sleeves in 100 degree heat in the name of style.) He sat in a chair in a location that allowed me to subtly make occasional glances at him from the corner of my eye. He was reading a few magazines, of what type I could not tell. I know that could have been an important clue in finding out more about this stranger. I may have felt more confident to approach him and start a conversation if I was not wearing my Saturday-just-planning-on-studying-all-day old jeans and t-shirt and hardly any makeup. Maybe it's just a subconscious warning sign of "Don't bug me, I'm studying ." Anyway, he eventually got up and left the store and it wasn't until later that I saw it: a pile of magazine cards next to the chair he was in. Not just one card that innocently slips out, but a whole pile! How lame was this guy!?! Lame!! I had just uncovered a pet peeve. Why couldn't he pick up after himself? Even if he just shoved the whole pile into one, magazine, I wouldn't have cared. But he just left it!! So lame...

That's when I began noticing a widespread problem at bookstores: people just don't pick up after themselves or return their books when they're done. I've seen them stacked on endtables and even worse, scattered across the floor. I've heard more than one comment from bookstore clerk and owners about people leaving them out. I know that it's been a long time since I've been in a public library, but generally there's a cart or table to put books back once you use them. Bookstores are slightly different than libraries because they operate on the thought that you intend to purchase a book after reading through it a little (supposedly you can't just stop after the first chapter, right?) So, with all the power that my blog has to influence my readers, can I start a resolution to bring back etiquette by ensuring the books and magazines that we look at are placed back on the shelf neatly and that we clean up after ourselves (I've seen cups and other trash left behind too.) This is a courtesy to all the bookstore clerks, managers, and librarians who spend enough time bending, searching, stooping, squatting, lifting, and carrying.


Thank you, and I might see you in the bookstore/library soon -- now that I can read real books again. And if you don't clean up after yourself...