Library Staff Profile: Angela

What pronouns do you use?
I'm happy with either she or they!

Do you have a specialty at the Library?
I work the front desk, handle the course reserves, am one of the folks on the social media team, and I’m also the amateur Library statistician. I’m good with the printers but that’s not so useful when working from home.

How long have you been at ECU?
For ages! Since 2014.

Tell us a bit about the portrait of yourself!
I'm not a selfie person at all, and I think bathroom selfies are hilarious. Stop trying to be sexy in front of your toilet! So I thought it'd be funny to spend too much time drawing a self portrait of a greasy-haired bathroom selfie. I’m also not a fan of having actual photos of myself floating around in the public sphere.

What do you miss about being on campus all the time?
Board games night at lunch with my work pals. The freezer full of bagels, and the aggressive but free staff room coffee. Being able to have meaningful interactions with students, staff, and faculty on a daily basis. Having a reason to get on my bike every day. Touching the books.

What do you like about working from home?
It's easier to stay hydrated? Playing video games and/or napping on breaks.

What has gotten you through this past year?
My bubble. Listening to niche British comedy podcasts like The Horne Section Podcast and Off Menu. Going for meandering walks looking for ducks. Watching and annotating dumb action movies over Zoom. Making up and playing silly games with friends. Warblegargle! Chompdown!

If you could go back in time to the start of the pandemic, what would you tell yourself?
That damn avocado pit is never going to sprout, no matter how fancy the glass. Stop wasting your time and counter space.

What could you talk about for a half hour straight, with no prep?
Taskmaster (UK Panel show). Five comedians perform absurd tasks in order to win each other’s junk and also maybe a bronze head. It’s so dumb and I love it.

What are you watching lately?
Just finished watching Schitt's Creek for the first time and had a hard time not immediately rewatching it. Anybody who hasn't seen it yet should fix that, especially if your heart is a bit hardened and worn out from all this nonsense. Re-watching Person of Interest ten years later - it combines big tech/government surveillance conspiracies, the ethics of AI, and corrupt policing/authorities with comedic, cheesy levels of Batman-style vigilante violence. And we just started Manifest. Such a trainwreck of what could have been an interesting premise.

What's a prized possession or item of clothing you have?
This outfit has a couple! The denim jacket is almost 20 years old, best I can figure. It’s been in and out of style. I’ve done a bunch of patching and various other mending to keep it rolling on. And I had been hanging on to this pair of ugly jeans for ages hoping to make them into something, and decided bleach was the answer. Absolutely loved how they turned out, then immediately got bike grease on them. Story of my life. And a Horne Section hoodie because podcast swag.

What do you do if you can't sleep?
Listen to an old episode of some podcast that I'm already familiar with to drown out the thoughts of, “You’ll be awake till dawn! You’ll never sleep again!” while not being interesting or new enough to keep me up.