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Or at least, more stupid than usual. Since parts of the city are still without power, the lovely morons who normally would have just been dumb in their own homes have to come to the library and clog up my computer lab. JM is not amused.
Bring your Mommy day!
I swear I saw no less than three mom/kid pairs where the mom was helping the kid with computer stuff. That really wouldn't be noteworthy except for the fact that these kids were high school age and above and not disabled. If you can't type in a card number and a password and get on the Internet by the time you're in high school, you fail at life.
Speaking of High School...
Ok, kid, seriously. You go to the top school in the state. I know because I graduated from there, and my graduating class' sweat and outrageously awesome test scores kept it that way. If you still need your Mommy to ask me to help you save your paper to a USB stick, you REALLY need to consider transferring. My class hacked the system for 4 years without ever getting caught (not me, but some friends, I swear!). Stop embarassing me as an alumnus.
Your stupid has overloaded my brain. Please step back to avoid brain matter asplosion.
Half an hour before I'm supposed to leave, a woman comes in and wants me to teach her how to use a computer. Head, meet desk. Not only was she COMPLETELY computer illiterate, but she was loud and rude as well. The following is the conversation as best I can remember:
Me:
DW: Dumb Woman
R: Librarian who is otherwise awesome, but today I could have strangled.
DW: *loudly* I got this thing from my bank and I need you to show me how to use a computer. They told me to come up here and you'd teach me how to use a computer.
Me: *brain circuits not comprehending* What do you want to do?
DW: My bank gave me this thing to type in their website to win something and they told me to come to the library and you'd teach me how to use a computer.
Me: I can't really teach you how to use a computer. I can help you log in and get to the website you need, and I can recommend some classes to help you learn more.
DW: Ok, whatever. Is this computer open? *points*
Me: *not quite keeping the exasperated tone out of my voice* If no one's sitting at it, it's probably open.
Well, she sits down and I hold her hand while she hunts and pecks for the keys to type in her number and password. Sure enough, an error pops up I've never seen before--and when it comes to log in problems, that's saying something. Something's wonky with her account, and I can't fix it. The librarians at the desk have to.
Me: This is something I can't fix. You'll have to go out to the desk.
DW: What desk?
Me: The one right outside the door here.
DW: What should I tell them?
Me: *sighs* Tell them--you know what, I'll go with you.
Out we wander to the desk. R checks and sure enough, there's nothing wrong with the lady's account. She probably typed the information in wrong, but the error message I got was different than the one that normally pops up when that happens. I stop to help another patron and when I get back in the lab, R has gotten DW logged into the system and is trying to explain to her how to get to the website she wants.
R: You just click in this box up here and type in the website.
DW: How do I do that? I don't know nothin about these things.
R: Like this. *gets DW to the bank's website* If you need anymore help, our lab assistant <JM> will help you. *starts to walk away*
Me: NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO! I passed her off to you fair and square!
DW: Come here! I don't know how to do this!
R: I can't be away from the desk this long. <JM> will help you.
Me: Great. There goes studying for my test. *against my better judgement, I go over to her before she can command me to come to her aid* Alright, take your mouse and click on the entry button.
DW: Huh? How?
Me: *dumbfounded* Uh, by moving your hand until the arrow is over the button.
DW: *moves her hand on the mouse a bit, but obviously isn't getting it*
Me: Oh for crying out loud! *takes mouse and clicks on button to get a form* Ok, this is all the information they need from you. Anything with a star by it, you have to fill out. *notices something that's going to be a problem* Do you have an e-mail address?
DW: What's an e-mail address?
Me: *cry* It's just like a home address except for it's on the computer. Sounds like you don't have one, so we'll set one up real quick since we need it.
I open up Gmail, and rather than wait for her to hunt and peck and whine more, I go ahead and type up the info she tells me. I even tell her I'm gonna make it easier for her by making her address her first and last name. All is going pretty well until we hit the password box.
Me: Ok, your password needs to be at least 8 letters.
DW: Like what?
Me: Uh, any combination of letters and numbers as long as it's at least 8.
DW: Well, give me an example!
Me: It's your password. It can be whatever you want.
DW: *hems and haws for a few minutes and still can't come up with a password*
Me: *really losing patience* Do you have a favorite card game or board game?
DW: <name of card game>
Me: Ok, we'll go with that. It still isn't enough letters, so we'll add some numbers on the end. What year were you born?
DW: <says year>
Me: There we go. Password. *writes it down*
DW: You gonna remember my password?
Me: Heck no.
DW: Can I get a piece of paper with all this on it?
Me: Got one right here.
DW: Ok.
I finally get the stupid form from her bank filled out and submitted. I spend another minute or so getting her a class schedule so she can come back in a more appropriate setting. I also assure her that she did what she came here to do and that her entry form for whatever it is has been sent.
DW: When am I gonna get an e-mail back from them?
Me: It depends on how they're running the sweepstakes. They may send you a confirmation e-mail, or they may only e-mail the winners.
DW: So I should get one by next week.
Me: I don't know, but you're welcome to stop by anytime we're open and check. Someone will be here if you have trouble.
DW: Ok. So there's nothing else you can do for me today?
Me: Not today. Lady, I just spent the last 30 minutes on you. Even if there WAS something more I could do, I'm not doing it.
DW: I'll be back next week for the class then.
I darn well had better get a good grade on my test. Can I graduate already? Please?
Bring your Mommy day!
I swear I saw no less than three mom/kid pairs where the mom was helping the kid with computer stuff. That really wouldn't be noteworthy except for the fact that these kids were high school age and above and not disabled. If you can't type in a card number and a password and get on the Internet by the time you're in high school, you fail at life.
Speaking of High School...
Ok, kid, seriously. You go to the top school in the state. I know because I graduated from there, and my graduating class' sweat and outrageously awesome test scores kept it that way. If you still need your Mommy to ask me to help you save your paper to a USB stick, you REALLY need to consider transferring. My class hacked the system for 4 years without ever getting caught (not me, but some friends, I swear!). Stop embarassing me as an alumnus.
Your stupid has overloaded my brain. Please step back to avoid brain matter asplosion.
Half an hour before I'm supposed to leave, a woman comes in and wants me to teach her how to use a computer. Head, meet desk. Not only was she COMPLETELY computer illiterate, but she was loud and rude as well. The following is the conversation as best I can remember:
Me:
DW: Dumb Woman
R: Librarian who is otherwise awesome, but today I could have strangled.
DW: *loudly* I got this thing from my bank and I need you to show me how to use a computer. They told me to come up here and you'd teach me how to use a computer.
Me: *brain circuits not comprehending* What do you want to do?
DW: My bank gave me this thing to type in their website to win something and they told me to come to the library and you'd teach me how to use a computer.
Me: I can't really teach you how to use a computer. I can help you log in and get to the website you need, and I can recommend some classes to help you learn more.
DW: Ok, whatever. Is this computer open? *points*
Me: *not quite keeping the exasperated tone out of my voice* If no one's sitting at it, it's probably open.
Well, she sits down and I hold her hand while she hunts and pecks for the keys to type in her number and password. Sure enough, an error pops up I've never seen before--and when it comes to log in problems, that's saying something. Something's wonky with her account, and I can't fix it. The librarians at the desk have to.
Me: This is something I can't fix. You'll have to go out to the desk.
DW: What desk?
Me: The one right outside the door here.
DW: What should I tell them?
Me: *sighs* Tell them--you know what, I'll go with you.
Out we wander to the desk. R checks and sure enough, there's nothing wrong with the lady's account. She probably typed the information in wrong, but the error message I got was different than the one that normally pops up when that happens. I stop to help another patron and when I get back in the lab, R has gotten DW logged into the system and is trying to explain to her how to get to the website she wants.
R: You just click in this box up here and type in the website.
DW: How do I do that? I don't know nothin about these things.
R: Like this. *gets DW to the bank's website* If you need anymore help, our lab assistant <JM> will help you. *starts to walk away*
Me: NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO! I passed her off to you fair and square!
DW: Come here! I don't know how to do this!
R: I can't be away from the desk this long. <JM> will help you.
Me: Great. There goes studying for my test. *against my better judgement, I go over to her before she can command me to come to her aid* Alright, take your mouse and click on the entry button.
DW: Huh? How?
Me: *dumbfounded* Uh, by moving your hand until the arrow is over the button.
DW: *moves her hand on the mouse a bit, but obviously isn't getting it*
Me: Oh for crying out loud! *takes mouse and clicks on button to get a form* Ok, this is all the information they need from you. Anything with a star by it, you have to fill out. *notices something that's going to be a problem* Do you have an e-mail address?
DW: What's an e-mail address?
Me: *cry* It's just like a home address except for it's on the computer. Sounds like you don't have one, so we'll set one up real quick since we need it.
I open up Gmail, and rather than wait for her to hunt and peck and whine more, I go ahead and type up the info she tells me. I even tell her I'm gonna make it easier for her by making her address her first and last name. All is going pretty well until we hit the password box.
Me: Ok, your password needs to be at least 8 letters.
DW: Like what?
Me: Uh, any combination of letters and numbers as long as it's at least 8.
DW: Well, give me an example!
Me: It's your password. It can be whatever you want.
DW: *hems and haws for a few minutes and still can't come up with a password*
Me: *really losing patience* Do you have a favorite card game or board game?
DW: <name of card game>
Me: Ok, we'll go with that. It still isn't enough letters, so we'll add some numbers on the end. What year were you born?
DW: <says year>
Me: There we go. Password. *writes it down*
DW: You gonna remember my password?
Me: Heck no.
DW: Can I get a piece of paper with all this on it?
Me: Got one right here.
DW: Ok.
I finally get the stupid form from her bank filled out and submitted. I spend another minute or so getting her a class schedule so she can come back in a more appropriate setting. I also assure her that she did what she came here to do and that her entry form for whatever it is has been sent.
DW: When am I gonna get an e-mail back from them?
Me: It depends on how they're running the sweepstakes. They may send you a confirmation e-mail, or they may only e-mail the winners.
DW: So I should get one by next week.
Me: I don't know, but you're welcome to stop by anytime we're open and check. Someone will be here if you have trouble.
DW: Ok. So there's nothing else you can do for me today?
Me: Not today. Lady, I just spent the last 30 minutes on you. Even if there WAS something more I could do, I'm not doing it.
DW: I'll be back next week for the class then.
I darn well had better get a good grade on my test. Can I graduate already? Please?
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