Stereotypically Yours

I'm spending two days at a conference for librarians. It's interesting people watching. Any conference is.
There is a vendor fair here, and a company is selling tshirts. One of the shirts was for the librarian with a house full of cats. I did not see one shirt for the librarian who loves puppies or guinea pigs.
Is there anything more exhausting than sitting? Even when I'm interested in the material, my tush is totally bored.
Today I learned about every app and website known to man. I need an app to process all the information I took in.

What are your pet peeves at conferences or classes?
Here are my suggestions:
1. If turning down the air conditioning to -42 is the hotels way of combating global warming, I think the polar bears will forgive us if we raise the thermostat just a skootch.
2. If you're the presenter and you speak in a monotone, you will not survive without bringing your class chocolate. The good kind. A good speaker could get away with cheap candy. You cannot. If you doubt me, check out the presenter feedback survey I turned in. Mine was the one with skulls and crossbones all over it.
3. Don't schedule a conference in a hotel without Starbucks. I don't even drink coffee, and I felt slighted.
4. When you say, “To be more environmentally friendly, I didn't print out handouts,” I hear: “I'm cheap; take your own dang notes.”
5. Your sign-in sheets hurt my feelings. It's like you don't trust me to actually go to the class and stay. Maybe I was in the bathroom the whole 2 hours I was unaccounted for.
6. I don't need to know where emergency exits are. I need to know where vending machines are.
7. Conference food. One time I dropped a burrito on the floor of a movie theater and ate it. The fact that I wouldn't touch today's lunch says something.

Care to add anything? What drives you nuts in a class or conference or even church?

 

Click Here to Leave a Comment Below 11 comments
Heather - April 22, 2013

My church/small group pet peeve: When people wait until there are only like 2 minutes to go, then start prayer time. I mean, does group prayer EVER take less than 15 minutes?? I actually start to break a sweat over it. Especially when you have those long uncomfortable silent periods where you’re listening to people’s stomachs gurgle and wondering when somebody’s going to wrap it all up. I love to pray for people, just not in “overtime,” I guess!

Reply
Richard Mabry - April 22, 2013

How about holding a conference at a hotel where there are so few rest rooms that the conference organizer converts a men’s room to a ladies’ room, forcing the men to go to the one upstairs? Yep, it happened, and if you have a good memory, you may recall when and where.

Reply
Ruth - April 23, 2013

Oh this is a great list…especially #5. 🙂

Reply
christa - April 23, 2013

Meetings where I’m given a handout out of the PowerPoint that the presenter is reading to me.

OMG…I want to poke his/her eyes out with a red pen.

Reply
Danica - April 23, 2013

I am so with you on the polar bears. I think they keep it cold to keep us awake, but all it does is make me homicidal.

Reply
Laura J - April 30, 2013

Were you at TLA?
I love the cold. You can always put on a coat, but you can only take off so much without having the police escort you out.

Reply
GreenBeanTeenQueen - May 5, 2013

What conference?? I’m at librarian conferences and never see you!! I agree about the cold rooms-it’s like they just encourage librarians to wear cardigans (with cats on them) 🙂

Reply
Shelby - May 6, 2013

I hate it when you’re sitting in church trying to concentrate on the sermon, but the newly married couple in front of you can’t keep their hands to themselves. Same thing happens when I’m at work (Chick-Fil-A). I’ll be like, “Would you like any sauces for your nuggets?” *kissing, giggling, no reply* “Um…that’ll be $7.78.” *more giggling, hugging, general PDA grossness* “Um, ok, then. I’ll just get your drinks, I guess.”

Reply
Linda - July 12, 2013

Instead of handouts that are copies of slides can’t I get a one or two page outline? Another pet peeve is when they direct me to a website or Facebook page that hasn’t been updated in a year…Or two. This is not the way to prove they are tech current.

Reply
Emily - April 11, 2014

Hi Jenny I would love to star as Bella when the Charmed life series comes out. I have contacted you before but please I am a rising star and loved the series. So why not do this

Reply
BestColin - April 19, 2018

I see you don’t monetize your website, don’t waste your traffic, you can earn additional cash
every month because you’ve got high quality content.
If you want to know how to make extra bucks, search
for: Ercannou’s essential adsense alternative

Reply

Leave a Reply:

Sign up to Get a Free Book!

x