noises.

Working in a library you gradually become fixated on little noises. It is good for frazzling your brain as after a while you find your ears will home-in on sounds from all over the room, usually one by one, but sometimes flitting between a few, and then you allow yourself to get driven slowly mental by them.

Here's the top 5 most annoying noises that make me want to rush at people and strangle them, or else run about with bloodshot eyes having gone mental a la in cartoons when people go mad and a cuckoo comes in and out of their forehead.

5. In at five is one you may expect to find higher up, it's the WALKMAN, or IPOD, as I believe kids call them nowadays.

Now, sometimes, this can be incredibly annoying, but it has a few advantages over other noises, namely a) you know who's making it, so if it's really getting on your tits you can say 'can you turn it down' and they usually do. b) it's a consistent noise, most of the kids at this school listen to quite operatic sounding Chinese songs, I can hear one near me at the moment, it remains less annoying than other, mechanical noises. c) Whilst listening to music the student involved is almost always in the act of working in the library. The rare joy of a student with their gob shut doing some work removes a mass of the normal irritation that they cause me, and is replaced by a gentle feeling of warmth toward this studious child, music or no.

4. Flirting. The noises of flirting are really annoying. I know this makes me sound bitter, cause I'm not young and I never have the need/ ability to flirt anymore, but listening to students overtly flirt is very irritating, mainly as it makes me want to shake the girl involved and tell them to stop being so girlish, also because the children at this school are mostly terrifying, and rich, so their flirting is of a nature that I am not familiar with from my experience of Netherhall. It's all a bit more, 'let us stop mucking around and go to paris for the weekend.'

Not to mention the fact that I am familiar with almost every couple and potential couple at this f ing school, and would even go so far as to say that I had watched their love blossom before my very eyes!

Now how depressing and annoying is that?!

3. Mouse clicking. A classic for the modern age, the kids here love to play games on their laptops then when you ask them to leave if they aren't working they hold a book in one hand, about 2 inches in front of the screen and use the mouse hand to continue playing, to give the effective illusion of reading intenly while i can still hear the 'tap tap tappy tap tap' of their mouse. REALLY annoying...

2. It's tough one between this and the number one but this noise is thankfully quite rare compared to the others, however, the INTENSE annoyance that it quickly creates makes it one that you won't forget in a hurry...I am, of course, referring to the pen top click...

As I say, it is not one which will occur everyday, but when you get a student who is unable to stop clicking the nib up and down, up and down, with the little button on top, you can guarantee, they are in it for the long-haul... The noise is made extra annoying by its un-rhythmic nature, click, click, click, , clickclickclickyclick, click, click. It is usually very hard to spot what complete BASTARD is inflicting this torture on you as well, as once the said student has spotted your irritation, this simple pen function takes on a whole new level of enjoyment for them, stopping when you get up, hiding their twisted little habit when you come looking...

I have spent hours of my life fixating on this one noise.

1. In at one is the most annoying noise that you encounter as a librarian, it is the noise of laughter. Yes, you heard, I hate to hear others laugh. It is hard to not sound mental, but the pure, agonizing irritation of listening to the whisper-laugh, whisper-laugh routine, remains the most consistent and annoying sound in the world. There are a myriad of reasons for this. Namely, it is an occurence that happens all day, every day. It is impossible to ignore this sound, you are rendered not only unable to work, but unable to even idly read or stare into space. The usual suspects are always people with uniquely annoying voices and laughs as well, sent to test you by some twisted minion. The things that teenagers laugh at aren't funny, so they laugh at everything.

It is hard to convey why this is so supremely annoying, but I guarantee one day sitting in a school library and you would agree with me completely. Teenagers must be forced to wear one of those medieval face masks that got put on supposedly 'nagging' women, with a tongue clamp.

It's not much to ask.

It was the anniversary of Buddy Holly's death yesterday, look how gorgeous he was? It's so clear how much he influenced style, look at his sweet glasses?! He was only 22 when he died. He'd only be 75 now if he'd lived! That is a tragic thought indeed.

he'd actually be 72. i can't add up. it's even sadder though :C.