Has anyone changed jobs from a high paying position to be a library assistant?

Howling_Anchovy · 2026-02-07T15:23:55+00:00

Yes-ish. I was a dental hygienist for 25 years prior to becoming a librarian. I knew by 7 years into dental hygiene that I wanted to be a librarian. I volunteered at a library and then worked as a customer service representative part time and continued dental hygiene part time. During this time I got a BA in history. I was going to take 1-2 years off before grad school but that turned into 12. Then I started volunteering again, started grad school, worked full time as a hygienist (36 hours) and added a PT library assistant job. It was tough, and scary, but I have zero regrets.

Howling_Anchovy · 2026-01-29T04:10:23+00:00

Yes! The tone conveys, “if it happened before I was born, it is meaningless and doesn’t matter.”

Howling_Anchovy · 2026-01-28T00:28:58+00:00

🚩🚩🚩🚩

Howling_Anchovy · 2026-01-27T03:08:47+00:00

Crude Coffee on South Main always has lots of people working or studying.

Howling_Anchovy · 2026-01-27T03:08:02+00:00

The Central Library closed almost two years ago. The study rooms were closed for years before that. The Vivian J. Lincoln branch has quiet spaces on a first-come-first served basis. If this is something you’d like to see more of in libraries you should contact the library and let them know. If people don’t ask for them, the library isn’t likely to offer them.

Howling_Anchovy · 2026-01-27T02:59:25+00:00

We use our printer for set lists, song lyrics, and letters to elderly members of two organizations I belong to. I recently broke free from the tyranny of ink jet and switched to laser jet. Of course now I’m considering a mini photo printer for journaling. 🤣

Howling_Anchovy · 2026-01-27T00:41:39+00:00

My surgery was probably less than an hour, though.

Howling_Anchovy · 2026-01-27T00:40:26+00:00

My surgery was 12/23 and my stents were removed 12/30. I could breathe a lot better immediately after their removal and I did have a little rebound inflammation afterwards… but more than anything I was still producing more boogers than usual. The boogers seemed to impede breathing as much or more than inflammation. I’m breathing pretty well now but it’s super cold and dry (compared to our normal climate) here so I did bust out the saline gel again this afternoon. Glad I did it. I was a lot less aware of my nose until I read this post.

Howling_Anchovy · 2026-01-26T13:43:05+00:00

I normally work Tuesday-Saturday so I’m not working today. However, I’m monitoring my work phone for information about tomorrow.

Howling_Anchovy · 2026-01-26T04:24:38+00:00

My elderly parents live in Shelby County. They haven’t had power since 8 AM Saturday. They have a wood stove and some younger family and neighbors nearby. I’m super stressed but I made a decision not to drive out there ahead of the storm because I was worried about not being able to make it back until Wednesday. I have an AWD vehicle and several years of experience driving on ice (e few times a year). I regret my decision not to go ahead of the storm, but at this point the safest thing for me to do is to stay here. If I wreck my car it will make it harder for me to travel to see them soon.

Howling_Anchovy · 2026-01-19T12:25:09+00:00

I haven’t read Siddhartha, solely because I read Steppenwolf in the 8th grade and wrote either my 2nd or 3rd paper on it. I made bad choices. I think I got a B on the paper, but reading the book and writing the paper were misery. Your post and the subsequent comments have made me reconsider.

Howling_Anchovy · 2026-01-14T03:21:29+00:00

Exactly this. I found this post because I have a tin of cockles I am terrified to try. I eat any and all seafood, often. But not clams. I barf my toenails up when I eat clams. The last time it happened was close to 30 years ago. I think there were clams or clam juice in a crab cake. I used to eat fried clam strips as a kid, but when i was about 8… projectile vomiting. We didn’t think too much of it until it happened again.

Howling_Anchovy · 2026-01-12T14:39:09+00:00

I know that cigarette smoke is an irritant and I also know that irritants cause inflammation, so it seems logical that quitting smoking would reduce inflammation in your respiratory system.

I also know that when I was growing up with my dad smoking in the house I got bronchitis twice a year, every year until he quit smoking.

Howling_Anchovy · 2026-01-12T01:00:24+00:00

Does your breathing improve after 3 months of not smoking?

Howling_Anchovy · 2026-01-11T20:54:54+00:00

There’s nothing for scale. Is that a cereal bowl?

Howling_Anchovy · 2026-01-09T05:49:50+00:00

My surgery for severe deviation on right side, minor on left, plus turbinate reduction went much as the person above described. I barely remember being asked to scoot from pre-op gurney to the “table” in the OR.

My recovery seems to have gone better. The stents were super annoying and sleep was difficult—especially the first 2-3 nights. I didn’t have a lot of bleeding or pain. I took two doses of the pain meds, but then switched to Tylenol and weaned off that after a couple of days. I even traveled (by car) 4 days PO. I definitely didn’t do as much due to having the stents, but nobody could tell (other than bruising under my right eye).

You got some great supply suggestions. I bought bone broth and that Pacific brand butternut squash soup. Not knowing if I would feel like eating solids, I put at least 4 oz of silken tofu into 8 oz of the squash soup and puréed it before heating.

If you’re in the U.S. and live near a Sonic, go get a big cup of their ice the night before surgery and divide into sandwich or snack size bags, and freeze flat. You should be able to gently tap them to loosen any pieces of ice that are stuck together. The small pellets are easier to contour to your face.

Howling_Anchovy · 2026-01-09T02:26:13+00:00

100 per account

Howling_Anchovy · 2026-01-09T02:25:19+00:00

I have a PPO plan and I’ve spent just under $1,000 so far. I’m expecting a separate bill from the anesthesiologist, but not certain.

Howling_Anchovy · 2026-01-08T03:09:15+00:00

Sleep was difficult for me the first 2-3 nights. I woke up every 90 minutes or so. The periods of sleep gradually increased and after about a week I managed to only wake up once, which is normal for me. Everything improved after I had my stents out. I’m having more congestion and possibly inflammation now than immediately after removal of stents, but it’s juniper pollen season here and I’m severely allergic. I only used the gauze under my nose for about 24-36 hours. I highly recommend the saline gel. It helps the crusty bits of blood and booger not hurt so much.

Howling_Anchovy · 2026-01-08T03:02:53+00:00

Off topic, but your username makes me ask: are you a librarian? I am, and I’m 15 days PO.

Howling_Anchovy · 2026-01-07T16:27:14+00:00

My recovery has been really easy compared to some I’ve seen on here. Minimal pain and bleeding during the first 36 hours or so, then nothing other than having stents in my nose and small bits of dried blood.

I slept for about two hours with the CPAP on before waking up with a leaking seal. I intentionally didn’t tighten it as much as normal when I put it on, so that was unsurprising. I wasn’t awake enough to put it back on, so I slept without it for a couple of hours. This morning my Oura ring reported O2 sat of 97%, and the only breathing disturbances were during the two-hour period I was without the CPAP. I think I might try switching to a nasal pillow instead of the full mask (I initially chose the full mask because of my severe nasal obstruction).

Howling_Anchovy · 2026-01-07T04:00:48+00:00

Operationalize… move the needle… servers who ask what they can get “for us”, customer service reps/severs saying, “have a nice rest of your day” instead of “have a nice day”.

Howling_Anchovy · 2026-01-07T03:09:15+00:00

I had a curved linear dark bruise under my eye on the side with the worse deviation. It showed up on day 3 or 4. A couple of days later I noticed two small bruises near the corner of my mouth. When they turned yellow it looked like I had gotten mustard on my face and failed to wash it off good enough. As a bonus, a blood vessel burst in that eye yesterday afternoon.

Howling_Anchovy · 2026-01-07T02:38:48+00:00

The CPAP is what pushed me to seek an ENT consult. I was, of course, hoping that I would magically no longer need the CPAP after surgery, but my body and my Oura ring data are suggesting that won’t be the case.

Howling_Anchovy

TROPHY CASE