IRONY IN THE LIBRARY

Only recently did I find the library as a place to read and study. When I was still a Nursing student, The library served me and my friends well. Not to study, I can do that at home. It was the perfect place to kill time through chattering with each other. All those years I spent in the University, I can say that I've had a fair share of reprimand from the librarian, for creating noise. I don't know with you, but in the main library in the University from which I came from, The librarian has her own style. She doesn't just utter "Shhhhhh...!" like any normal libarian would.

First: She hears soft buzzing sound of students' whispers which you may commonly encouter. If she notices ---(I use 'she' because most librarians are female) If she notices that the buzzing is getting louder and louder by the millisecond, she rings this bell she has on her desk... as if her life depended on it, and to call everyone's attention saying "Please shut up!"--- without even speaking a word. This 'general approach' works for about 30 seconds, until the silence gives rebirth to yet another buzzing sound.

Second: The librarian spots the exact group producing this more pronounced (needless to say, more annoying) sound than everyone else's. And as if on cue, she storms to your table and next thing you know she already placed this huge place card at the middle of your table which reads: "Observe silence". And everybody else stares at you and your friends as if you did something criminal. And if that's not embarassing enough, here's the

Third: If she spots this person who insists on muttering inside her library, she will approach this person and tell him/her to leave the premises, (well, at least that's what I think she said, this never happened to me) because the 'culprit' immediately leaves the library.

Anyhow, now that I've already graduated, I need a place to study for the State Boards. So I stay a lot in the same library (to study, of course!). But as the irony of life would have it, the students wouldn't shut up. They remind me of, well... me! hahaha., I never thought I was THAT annoying. Today, I was at the library, totally absorbed by what I was reading, when something happened which I found very amusing, ironic even. This incident is in fact the inspiration of this essay. The librarian accidentally dropped something heavy to the floor, (i'm guessing it's a wooden box, i really wouldn't know) but it made a very loud, crashing sound. Then, to my surprise, almost every person in the library, as if evrybody mentally agreed that the moment of revenge had finally come, the crowd uttered a very loud, very long, and very distinct "Shhhhhhhhhh.....!"