So I get here this morning and the very first thing that happens is an alarm goes off by accident for reasons that remain obscure. And I have to explain this to a police officer who comes by to check.

Knowing that we have a ton of book fair material due to arrive this morning, I start moving plants and furniture out of the room where we intend to put it. I've no sooner started when the truck pulls up--an hour before I expected them, and before we've even unlocked the front door--with all the material. I spend the next half hour frantically moving furniture out of the room through one door while they're bringing stuff in through the other.

Then I get to work tallying assorted statistics from last month. JUST as I get through, in comes an exhibit we've agreed to host. While the person who brings it is there we talk about summer programming and I get two programming dates lined up. Meanwhile a staff member is on the phone with another agency lining up two more. Together with the motorcycle club we've already lined up, that's all but three of our program dates covered. But one of the still-open dates is one week from today!

Meanwhile our HVAC system is on the fritz (again). And we're having quite a brisk day with regular patron service, including one bunch that was so loud I was just about to kick them out when they left on their own.

All of which is to say that Babs Gordon's second, nighttime job was the EASY part of her work!

How else do you think she worked off her frustrations?

They are lucky to have such a superstar to handle all that.

Thanks, Ross, but we're all handling it together. I'm really just one of the staff.

Wish right now I knew how to repair air conditioners. Our unit is running full blast, but temperatures in the building are in the mid-upper 70s and heading higher fast. We've had this trouble for weeks off and on. It's looking like the only permanent fix is going to be spending several thousand dollars on a new compressor. Our chiller is seriously overengineered. In theory it has far more cooling capacity than we need, but in practice we've had trouble with it every year since the building opened.

Why do you think I spend so much time walking and biking?

They've got the chiller partially running again. Latest news is that they will have to replace several faulty temperature sensors just to get enough correct feedback to diagnose the rest of the trouble! And they need me to help them find out where one of the sensors actually is so they can fix it....

This is going to end up costing a fortune. And we've already spent a fortune on building repairs this year, with further expenses for replacing several broken windows on the way! This won't break us financially, but it's putting some awkward holes in our budget. Going to make it harder to negotiate with the Board for more money in areas I could use some more in.

I just assumed that you were out on nightly patrols.

Spent the morning organizing for the book fair and doing the weekly paychecks and bill paying and certain end-of-the-month paperwork. Then pedalled to the Mayor's office and the bank downtown as part of that. Then found out I had goofed something up and had to bike downtown again!

Then finished the paperwork and wrote up next week's library column. And talked with the Powers That Be about the HVAC problems. The system's working at the moment, but the technician who was supposed to come in this morning threw his back out and couldn't make it.

Also had a little employee issue I've been having to deal with which has been somewhat stressful.

I'm trying to relax while I can, because next week it's going to get BUSY!

It's great to hear from you again. Sounds like you're really going to be busy.

Back at work now after a couple of days off to visit with family. Dad, my brother, and I rode our motorcycles a total of 673 miles in four days. Now I'm playing catchup here, with one staff member out seeing the doctor.

YAY! I hope the rides were great. 673 is a lot of riding! Does your brother ride too? I don't recall reading about that before.

Yes, he rides too. He currently has less experience than I do, but he's closing the gap fast. Among other things he went to the top of Mount Nebo with us. That's one of the hairiest rides in the state. Overall on that vacation Dad put him through an even more intense riding course than he did with me. He insisted on riding Tail-End Charlie for nearly the whole time, which meant I was in the middle trying to keep an eye on both Dad and him!

First summer program day today. Our air conditioning failed on us again, so the building was good and hot when 77 kids and assorted adult minders came in. Fortunately the older ones, who I was dealing with, were scheduled to do an activity that involved making home-made ice cream. We were taking a big chance there, since it involved children handling milk, sugar, and bags of ice and rock salt. It worked, so now the staff member who suggested it does not have everybody else wanting to kill her. It was fun, but I had a less nerve-wracking time riding up and down Nebo the other day.

Now everything has settled down again. And we still don't have air!

So, today we had summer reading with probably 70 kids here--and no air in the building again because we're getting more work done. Fortunately part of the program took place outside in the shade. Also had to get book fair material ready to roll (the staff had already done most of the packing, fortunately) and had the phone ringing off the hook this morning for various reasons. I'm supposed to be at lunch now, but with certain aspects of the AC repair up in the air I'm afraid to leave the building. When I do get out I've got a local office supply buying trip to take care of. I've also been setting up an appointment with a representative at a library school.

At least the air is on again! But the system is still crippled and will certainly end up needing thousands of dollars worth of repairs.

Just got our figures for the total number of kids who were here for summer reading. We broke 100 for the first time! No wonder the building seemed so full.