Toronto's Public Libraries - the crappiest Libraries in the GTA

Living in Brampton comes with much stigma. Judging by public perception, I've got to be East Indian or Black. Furthermore I've apparently got to dodge a hail of bullets in order to get home.

So it stands to reason that Toronto should be in much better shape, right? And what better place to judge the quality of a city than its libraries.

So I had occasion to find myself in one of the Tdot's magnificent institutions of the written word the other day, and Oh My Gosh! What a shithole! Check out Pic 1 and Pic 2 of the descent into the bowels of the library on a much needed potty break and tell me I'm wrong.

So if we were to judge a city by its libraries, then Brampton's kicking Toronto's ass, at least in the upkeep / hygiene department.

Am I the balding, middle-aged microsoft guy?

I've had my curve for about a year, and its been a great ride. My biggest complaints? Lack of power, and no scroll wheel.

Now the power issue is easily dealt with by upgrading to the new Curve or Bold.

However, the scroll wheel? Unless I want to pick up a 5 year old 8700 on Craigslist and resign myself to living in the dark ages with no media capabilities and the storage ability of a Palm Vx, I'm s.o.l.

Apparently, although there are some who like to kick it old school with the scroll wheel, the roaring majority are 'ballers. So does this make me the middle aged microsoft guy from those Mac commercials? (vs. the cool apple dude). I really hope not!

What's wrong with being laid back?

I had lunch with my chubby friend today. Well, he's actually not really chubby anymore, but I'm so used to calling him that now, that he's kind of stuck with the name. So anyhow, we're talking about our various career choices, when Chubby (who's in sales) says to me - "you're too laid back to be in sales"... Me? Laid back? After giving him a verbal beat down, I conclude that maybe Chubby sees one side of me, but what do my co workers think?

I decide to use a lifeline and ask a colleague. So as my frame of reference, I use the SVP of my team as a parallel, and go ask my pal Ang for feedback. Here's our convo:

Me: Ang, would you describe P as laid back?
Ang (1 minute later)......: outside of work yes
Me: Would you describe me as laid back?
Ang (1 Second later): no
Me: Holy Crap! No hesitation there! Ouch.
Ang (words of wisdom): Its not an insult.. 1st off you are in a contract position.. so I wouldnt be laid back either. No one hires the laid back person.
Me: I didn't take it as an insult.
Ang: high strung would be an insult.
Me: Oh.
Ang: you arent high strung...

So what's the big deal anyhow? What's wrong with being laid back? Well let's see. For starters, dictionary.com defines laid back as "relaxed or unhurried:... 2.free from stress; easygoing; carefree:...". I don't think any leader (especially in an efficiency focused Financial Services institution) wants a senior manager who would be tagged with the label "laid back". In fact, the Impact Factory states that if you appear too laid back, you're unlikely to get a job you're interviewing for as it gives the interviewer the impression that you just don't care. The same logic applies to managing perception on the job.

So what's the conclusion? Well, be yourself, definitely - but be aware of the image you project, and make sure it aligns with who you are and what you're all about.