31st October, 2013 © blanket sin – "typewriter"
I work by the railroad tracks where the subway trains like the Metro line frequent. I'm sure larger passenger trains also run by those tracks, like Amtrak, but I know freight trains hauling containers go by all the time. I work one blog away from the trailer yard and there's been some activity there. Apparently, some low-income apartments are under construction and soon we will be seeing that much more patronage at the library -- just as soon as these apartment get filled.
Since this little library where I work relocated to a nice new building, I've seen business pick up. It's picked up so much that the number of employees has increased. One of the things affected by this was moving the typewriter from a counter top complete with countersinking chair where one could sit and stretch their legs, to counter top by the delivery entrace above some cabinets. No chair.
In 2003 when all the furniture and books needed to be packed up for the move to the nice new building, one of the typewriters was left behind. I still use this electric typewriter at work for typing spine labels. Most if not all my co-workers were in the habit of using the laser jet printer. They inserted small Avery labels in the letterhead paper feed, but we've recently received an upgrade and our printer is now basically state of the art scanner/fax machine/printer. How my co-workers are going to work around printing their labels on 4x6" avery label sheets is beyond me. I still like the typewriter for this task.
At first I didn't like the spot the boss decided moving the typewriter to accommodate desk space for the new employees, but now I think it's terrific. At first I had the impression that the typewriter was slowly being devalued, eventually terminated because it was placed so close to the exit, but I like the idea of having it right next to the fax machine. It is somewhat of a nuisance bringing my work to this counter top type, but the typing I do on it isn't so much that it effects my work overall. I thought I would share this picture because I'm sure one day the typewriter will be gone and then people are going to be like "what's that weird keyboard on the counter do?"
I would bring my portable manual Royal Quiet De Luxe and work from my cubicle. I love the impression it makes on the labels I would type with it, but that's probably the only thing I would be able to type because it would be so noticeable if I tried typing entire blog entries with it (at work). As it is, I already brainstorm my blog entries with notes printed in Sutterlin. It's a bitch to transcribe, but I get satisfaction of nobody but me being able to read my writing.