Doppelgangers

               Have you ever had someone come up to you and say you look just like___? I have had this happen a number of times which begs the question “Who are these women and why do they look like me?”  Whoever they are I hope they are having as much fun in life as I am.  Someone who isn’t having a lot of fun right now is Mike Rowe. Poor Mike, in case you haven’t heard Mike was turned in by a tipster as a possible suspect for a bank robbery in Oregon. What I find amusing is obviously the person tipping off the police knows who Mike Rowe is and what he does for a living. Did he make the connection that robbing banks is a dirty deed so obviously Mike Rowe was filming a new episode of “Dirty Jobs” or perhaps our anonymous tipster thought Mike Rowe was performing research for “Somebody’s Gotta Do It”.  Whatever the case was, Mike had to go on social media and point out a few salient facts such as although the robber bears a passing resemblance if you squint just right, there is a 4” height with matching weight difference AND he was in a different state at the time of the robbery.

                If you’ve been questioned about resembling someone, then just like Mike Rowe you have a doppelganger. Wait a minute, I have what? In simpler terms, you have a double. Doppelgangers are common themes in myths, legends, and modern fiction. Who wouldn’t want a double to be the fall guy? It wasn’t me, it was him! The seductive lure of having a double to act as a foil or complement to the main character can be found in these classics; “William Wilson” by Edgar Allen Poe, “A Tale of Two Cities” by Charles Dickens, “The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde” by Robert Louis Stevenson, and “The Prince and the Pauper” by Mark Twain. Have you read them? If you haven’t read them in a while, search your shelves and cozy up for a good read.

Zombies in the Library

               I’m on a personal fitness improvement mission and have incorporated the library into my routine. In the past, I would arrive early and use this time to prepare myself for the day’s challenges, i.e. surf Facebook.  Now, however, I use this time to walk all four floors of my library, in and out of each and every stack. It’s amazing what titles seem to catch your eye as you walk by and what floor soon becomes your favorite one to walk through. Today, my mind slipped into auto-mode and I found myself contemplating zombies. Yes, you read it correctly…zombies.

                I admit that I enjoy a good zombie flick but what is it about zombies that has captured the world’s attention? There are movies, World War Z is a personal favorite, television series such as The Walking Dead, and trashy novels featuring zombies in every genre possible being published every month.  All my personal zombie research led to my question of the day. If a zombie apocalypse occurred, what floor of the library would I want to be confined to for a long period of time?

                My office is on the lower level (read basement but everyone knows Texas does not have basements) and is very large and roomy, close to the restroom and most important only has one window and a door that locks. The drawback? The books shelved on this floor are A-D763 and that means I would only have access to philosophy, psychology, theology, and the teensiest range of history for my reading enjoyment. I’m ruling out the main floor as it has too much glass, no restrooms, and is the circulation and reference area. Spending my days reading Ulrich’s or looking at Who’s Who in America might have me opening the door to the zombie horde. The third floor has definite possibilities as D-N are shelved here. I like history and love looking through art books but would definitely have to skip the law section. This floor also has a kitchen and a restroom which add to the positive side although odds are that nothing would work in the kitchen but it does have a locking door. The final floor, the fourth floor, houses the P-Z range. Although it does have a glass wall along the inner wall, the idea of spending my days reading my way through the great literature of the world makes this a risk I could accept. Additional positives are a restroom and two study rooms with locking doors.

                My decision is made. When the zombie hordes arrive on campus, I will make my way to the fourth floor, barricade the stairwell doors with tables, and read until rescued. How about you? Where will you be if zombies invade your library?

Who is that Saint Over There?

I used to write a blog about my musings on life and knitting and today I’ve decided to resurrect my blog. Except that as a grad student trying to earn her MLS, I don’t have time to knit anymore. In fact, I am still trying to knit the mate to a pair of socks I started about 4 years ago. Know anybody who like to wear mismatched socks or only wears a sock on one foot? If so, I may have a deal for you.

As I am not knitting currently, I am changing the blog name to reflect my new life as an almost librarian. Are you an optimist? I am. In fact, it has been pointed out that I have a slight Pollyanna complex. This doesn’t slow me down as I have always been a glass half full gal, how about you? Grad school is 36 credit hours and with 24 credits completed, my glass is now officially two-thirds full and that makes this a great time to write about life as an MLS student.

Today’s tip of the day is to learn everything about your library, including the paintings, as you never know what will be asked. Case in point, a lovely prospective student and his family came by today and when I saw their slightly apprehensive deer-in-the headlight faces, I went up to them and said hello and welcome. I asked if they wanted a tour. As a matter of fact they did want a tour. Yikes! Although I have worked in my library for almost ten years I have never given a library tour and faster than you can say Library of Congress Classification System, all knowledge of our library flew out of my mind. I had no idea what the highlights of our library were so I asked them to give me a moment to put my stuff down and then I would be back. I quickly went into the back office and asked the Instructional Services Librarian if she wanted to give a tour. I went out and introduced them and after telling how fantastic she was, I wished them well and prepared to go down to my office. Whoa Nellie! Not so fast!! The father motioned me over and wanted to know what Saint was represented in the icon painting near the stairwell. Huh! Have I been blind all these years? I swear I’ve never seen the painting before in the almost ten years I have worked here. So there I stood, a mother of a priest and a seminarian and had no idea what Saint was depicted. I mumbled something on the lines of “well, it is obviously very old and painted on wood." I could see I was not impressing him with my vast knowledge of religious icons so thinking fast, I told him that was a great question and would have the answer the next time he visited the library. I have since googled images of icons until my eyes glazed over and have not found this exact icon. Never fear, gentle readers, I am not giving up the hunt. The son looked like a prospective freshman so I have until this upcoming August to find the answer. The game is afoot!
Updated 01/18/2016. I have found out who our elusive Saint icon is. It is St. Nicholas and is a 19th century Russian work based on a 17th century pattern. It is constructed of egg tempera on wood and includes tondos at the top of Mary and Christ.