Dear So and So

[Pax]

I miss having a social life. Since moving to FL I haven't met anyone I'd want to socialize with, the activities seem to center on drinking, and while I enjoy my beverages, going out to get sloshed just doesn't appeal. I had hoped once I got back to work that would change, but apparently, I work in the only library in the western hemisphere where the staff are all hard core conservatives. Libraries are normally bastions of liberal, free thinking, social justice type folks, so this is really bizarre.

So far I've been invited to a Trump rally, the local gun range, and church. *sigh*

[lph]

So far I've been invited to a Trump rally, the local gun range, and church. *sigh*

Bwa-ha-haa! Sorry, Pax, but that was pretty funny... :-D

[Pax]

Bwa-ha-haa! Sorry, Pax, but that was pretty funny... :-D

It actually is pretty funny, it's like living inside a caricature.

[Crankin]

Nice, Pax. I did laugh, but it's not funny.
I also get up super early, between 4:5 and 5:30 AM, even though I don't have to anymore. I go to bed around 10, but I am often in the bed, reading or watching TV at 9. I exercise in the mornings. Sometimes I do laundry. We live in a townhouse now, so no big outdoor work, but I rarely did that before. DH started out loving yard work and gardening, but after he had been cycling awhile, it took up too much time. We hired people for that, too. In Arizona, it was dirt cheap. When we first moved here, DH did it, until like I said, cycling took over our lives.
We don't have pets for the very reason mentioned by Helene. Too much work, time, and responsibility. We did have a cat for 14 years, and when she died, that was it.
Emily, I wish I could be content, like you, but when I totally (and briefly) stopped working, I felt isolated and bereft of connections. I like working part time, as for me, my job is extremely stressful, and hardly anyone does it 5 days a week. I read and exercise, but after 10 years of cycling with the same groups, I haven't made close friends with any of them, except for my friends who are moving. There are 2 other couples we know from AMC that we socialize with occasionally, and I think we may have to up that. We like them, but they won't be traveling with us, like our other friends.
Aromig, I totally feel like you do. It is often easier for me to socialize with men. Of course, I have worked in 2 female dominated fields, but I really notice it in cycling groups. In the winter, less women go on group rides, and I always find a different dynamic. I like the guys I ride with, they are down to earth and interesting. The women are OK, but not friendly, or trying to drop me!

[emily_in_nc]

So far I've been invited to a Trump rally, the local gun range, and church. *sigh*

I would much prefer no invitations to those.

[emily_in_nc]

I can't remember which thread it was, this one or Dear So-n-so, or the cycling thread, but I think I jinxed myself. Crankin said she was sick, and I mentioned that I hadn't had a cold since last fall.

DH woke up with a sore throat three days ago, and now I did today. He's been very congested, coughing, blowing nose, and even had one night of chills and sweats (but no body aches or very high fever as with the flu), so I guess that's what I have coming up. Dang it all!

[rebeccaC]

emily....It makes a lot of sense to get well soon since you have hikes and riding and other adventures waiting…...hoping it passes quickly!!!

[Pax]

I would much prefer no invitations to those.

Ditto, Emily. I made it very clear where I stand on issues, now they don't invite me to anything, or really engage with me at all. Far preferable to being privy to their thoughts on Hillary, guns, Muslims, immigrants, stand your ground laws, what Jesus would or would not do...

[rebeccaC]

Far preferable to being privy to their thoughts on Hillary, guns, Muslims, immigrants, stand your ground laws, "what Jesus would or would not do"...

jesus would have felt the bern

[Pax]

jesus would have felt the bern

Quite possibly, Rebecca, they like to tell me who he would have hated instead.

[shootingstar]

I miss having a social life. Since moving to FL I haven't met anyone I'd want to socialize with, the activities seem to center on drinking, and while I enjoy my beverages, going out to get sloshed just doesn't appeal. I had hoped once I got back to work that would change, but apparently, I work in the only library in the western hemisphere where the staff are all hard core conservatives. Libraries are normally bastions of liberal, free thinking, social justice type folks, so this is really bizarre.

So far I've been invited to a Trump rally, the local gun range, and church. *sigh*

Well true, Pax (since I am a librarian by formal training and career-wise, until I switched out nearly a decade ago), libraries should hopefully have staff that are more forward thinking folks in town. What makes people afraid....? That's how I see it..

[Pax]

Well true, Pax (since I am a librarian by formal training and career-wise, until I switched out nearly a decade ago), libraries should hopefully have staff that are more forward thinking folks in town. What makes people afraid....? That's how I see it..

I think they can "get away with it" here because it's a graduate school medical library. The students need little assistance beyond locating things like proper peer reviewed articles, and choosing anatomical models for the correct section they're in.

[shootingstar]

I think they can "get away with it" here because it's a graduate school medical library. The students need little assistance beyond locating things like proper peer reviewed articles, and choosing anatomical models for the correct section they're in.

Ah, those librarians are never faced with the reality of community "standards/values" and censorship, never have to deal with reality diverse information literacy, information gaps with those who don't speak English, never deal with homeless locals who visit the library for a warm place to stay, never deal with people who don't understand basics of govn't structure and how to find information on the 'Net, or even which organization /authority to contact by phone, never deal with helpless poor clients who can't afford a lawyer to deal with divorce, child custody (that's why law librarians might get walk-ins from public), etc.

Information is power and the right information serves to equalize and solve problems.

One doesn't have to work in alternate organizations so I am befuddled why some of the employees are so rigid. They don't want change...

[Pax]

Yes, and the head of the library had only worked in this and a private engineering school library, so he's very accustomed to being in a strongly male environment where his views may have had more traction. He has succeeded in hiring a very conservative staff, none of whom have academic library experience, which why (I'm assuming) he hired me. I actually know how to do the job, and tend to keep my interactions professional.

[OakLeaf]

Honestly, in that town, what passes for "liberal" bugs me a lot more than people who are unabashedly reactionary. You get people who you think are allies, and then something comes out of their mouth that makes you wonder whether you even want to associate with them.

Hang in there, Pax. You still might try hanging out with the old white men at Hottie's Coffee.