Observations: The Library Computer Lab

So I have been spending a lot of time at the local library, because I have been catching up on my reading.  I am also new to the blogging scene, and enjoy looking up material to help 'hone my craft.'

Every now and then, I decide to wander and observe the library-dwellers in their natural habitat.

The computer lab, in my opinion, is the most entertaining.

First off, it smells like a combination of cheese, feet, cigarette smoke and despair.  There are 4 rows of computers, about 10 machines deep.  You can be on the 'outside' area, where essentially noone can see you from behind, or you can be on the 'inside' area, where you are back to back with other users, and people in other rows can peek at your screens.

I decided one day to sit down, surf the net a little, and spend some time being nosy.

For one, there are a lot of kids there.  Teens and tweens, getting acclimated to the intertubes, and looking at Justin Bieber fansites or pokemon forums.  They usually travel in packs, sit next to each other, and talk (somewhat loudly) to each other about how they just found THE COOLEST THING EVER!!

 

Not that a good LOL is a bad thing, but when Nazi-Librarians SHOOSH you at every chance they get, it becomes annoying.

I stared at one guy for about two minutes.  He was in this "deep thought" pose, not clicking or scrolling at all.  I couldn't look close enough, but I'm not even sure his eyes were moving like he was reading.  Just staring... glaring... like he challenged the whole internet to a stare-down, and was determined to win.

The most amusing person was directly across from me.  Our screens were back-to-back, so I couldn't see what she was doing, or even her face, but the noises spoke for themselves.  One minute, she was sniffling and typing away, letting out a dramatic *sob* every few seconds, and then....

 

*TYPPITY TYPPITY TYPPITY* she goes, clacking and smacking the keyboard with her mad-80wpm-skillz, fuming with rage and pissed at whomever was making her cry in the first place.

A few screens that I could peek at made me grin.  Older ladies on 'speed dating' sites, where their profile picture was a woman at least 20 years younger and a whole lot hotter.  Man, if she ever finds a date on that site, the dude is in for some SERIOUS surprises...

There were also a few of the 'angry redneck' types, reading news articles and blaming Obama for the Egypt crisis, the Chicago blizzard, the Bears not making the Super Bowl, and Charlie Sheen's drug problems.  Again, they travel in packs, sit next to each other, and point out different websites to share and gripe about.

MOAR SHOOSHING FROM THE LIBRARIAN!!!

One guy never clicked.  Never typed.  Just scrolled and scrolled.  I know search engines like Bing and Google have ways of just scrolling through results now (especially image results).  Maybe he was looking at dirty pictures?  Maybe naughty shooshing librarians?  I dunno...

A bad thing about comp time at the library is you get 60 minutes and you're done.  I could people-watch all day, but I was shooshed away after an hour.