Happy Halloween

Well, I survived. I didn't turn into a zombie, either. There was a juicy brain, but I had eaten too many cookies to sample John Doe's brain.

The last few weeks were rough. A brief recap won't do. Instead, I'll focus on the positives in the last couple of days.

Yesterday, I had a short shift, 5-8pm. With all of the overtime in the last week, I could take time off, Wednesday afternoon and Thursday morning, which I desperately needed. I walked into the door and super swooned when I saw all of the furniture in place. Thanks to my coworkers and amazing volunteers (a very special family especially), it seemed as though things fell into place. (I can't leave out the contractors who hung the monitors on the wall.) Computers were up and running, my desk was situated in its home, and the kitchen/programming space was completely furnished. Later in the evening, around 6pm or so, I got a call from a gal who would bring the cushions after hours. I was only too glad to stick around after hours to ensure that they were there for the grand opening . . . 

Today: Grand Opening/Halloween party. The weather was not ideal (wet and cold) but there were many people who turned out for the event. Our introduction speech was cancelled at the last minute (whew) when we realized people would not be paying attention to us. They were mesmerized by all of the cool gadgetry, space, and colors of the new space. There were free books for trick-or-treaters, as well. In the Kiwanis room, now that we're finally out, scientists from DePauw brought a few fun things. Patrons stood in line for ice cream (made from liquid nitrogen) and cookies, and to hold a snake and a hissing cockroach, ew ew ew! One of the board members thought I was joking when I freaked out at the rodent sized insect. Uh, no.

All day I had been wearing my costume.With a fake moustache, worn to heck jeans and jacket, I was an undercover cop. I had a badge and everything. Every so often I would deepen my voice and throw people off. "Hey, only one book per person. Hey." It was so much fun to be able to mingle with patrons. (In the past, as a volunteer for Milwaukee Public Library, I was stationed in one spot for 3 hours.) I saw many new faces, and plenty of friends around.

In the last 30 minutes or so, I discovered that we had about 700 cookies left! Oh no! There's no way I could eat all of those myself, so I took a bin of about 500 of them upstairs to circulation. "Take 2 and call me in the morning," was my catch-phrase. I also sang "Cookies!!" and that caught everyone's attention. A few of the circ gals were laughing at my antics. It seemed to work. By the time we closed the bin was empty.

Tomorrow we partner with Greencastle Parks and Recreation Department (GPRD) for Dia de los Muertos (which means I could leave decorations up tonight (muwahahahaha)). Two-fer, my TAB meeting is tomorrow. The kiddos can help clean up the rest of the mess/decorations from tonight. They can also help count left-over books to determine how many kids turned out. It's a good thing I have a ton of cookies to reward them with.

Moral of the story: A positive attitude can go a long way. As I told my boss today, "It can only go up from here." The Imagination Portal is open for business. I can't wait to see where we go on this adventure. #dreamjob