reference interview

i was working at a reference desk and was simultaneously trying to help two students with their separate questions. one was about the seattle monorail, and i forget the other. they were really steering the interaction. we were using a database i had never seen before, and they weren't telling me their questions, they were telling me their keywords.

i soon realized we were using a free article database from some other website, and so i took us to the uw libraries website to use proquest. i also asked them to tell me their questions (not just their keywords), and was met with a little bit of resistance. i could also only help one of them at a time and was anxious about keeping the other one waiting.

then they were gone, but i must've found something on the monorail issue. i walked into another part of the library and tried to yell (but my voice was froggy) "who was looking for information on the cost of the seattle monorail!?!". (forget patron privacy.) someone told me that student had gone downstairs.

i got on the elevator (i was on the fourth floor) and pushed the button for floor 1, but accidentally also pushed the button for floor 5. two other people got on--a young man and woman who seemed to be a couple.

then we were in j's car getting driven home. me in the back with the young couple, j driving, and someone else in front. the girl asked her boyfriend if j's car had a good gas tank. she was being very chatty and kind of annoying. soon she was talking enthusiastically about hot pink things. j (apparently losing patience with the girl) sarcastically mumbled that the engine of her car was hot pink.