Aliens,magic,and poop stains. Oh my.

I guess I should explain exactly what my job entails. I check books in, sensitize them, and put them up.  That’s about it. I have to straighten stuff and pick up people’s crap too. Each shelver is assigned sections.  I have 4 basic sections:

·    Young Adult:  Never gets that messy. My favorite. I can do a cart of books  in like 5 minutes .

·    Nonfiction 000-400: I hate this section the most. It’s always super messy, especially in the alien and magic areas.  Also, I don’t do well with numbers. I wish they would do more rounding because I get confused with numbers like 247.54355463. Sometimes my brain just starts getting all confounded by this mess, and I just kind of wedge the book in there somewhere. It’s close enough that if someone was desperately searching I bet they could find it. I don’t get paid enough to give a shit. When I go over here, I have to look at nasty stains on the carpet. They are brown and I’m pretty sure it’s poop (human or animal…your guess is as good as mine). There’s really no way for me to know for sure without risking my health and dignity, so I’m just gonna trust my instincts with this one. Poop.  I get asked weird questions over here, like where the Pagan witchcraft books are.  I also get nervous when I see people looking at/checking out spell books that I secretly look at. It’s also right by the men’s restroom. Enough said.  My least favorite for sure.

·   Juvenile Fiction: Kids are like little tornadoes of destruction.  Books everywhere!!!  I dread the days when I wait too long to venture to this place, for I pay the consequences dearly.

·   Juvenile Nonfiction 800-900: Meh. I’m kind of indifferent. These don’t build up too fast, so I don’t have to do them too often.  Kids don’t like to read poetry, which is the 800s. The 900s only get bad when they have to do a book report (if those still exist) or something and check out like 20 at a time. Then I get fucked over.

Since I am a somewhat nice and generous person, I help others out with their sections when time allows, or when I need a break from mine.  I like the fiction/sci-fi because I can get distracted the easiest, which means I spend more time reading than putting shit up. The large prints are a bitch, and don’t even get me started on the mysteries. 

I really hate doing pickup. People are messy and sometimes my only desire is to punch them in the face, or just stare at them as they are making a mess to make them feel really uncomfortable and guilty. I feel like the second tactic may work better. I've thought about putting signs up that say "I'm watching you. Why don't you just put that back where you got it. Thanks." 
This one guy gets about 10 books off the shelf and uses them to prop his head up for the optimal sleeping position. He has his own cubicle he uses and has some pictures taped up there.  I think it’s sad, but it doesn’t keep me from getting pissed off. He has a pretty awesome fuzzy plaid vest, so I cut him some slack. Plus he’s always nice and he smiles a lot. I’m pretty sure he’s got all his teeth too. Yes, I notice things like that.