Postmortems, and other invasive procedures...

...Part 1.
I have been meaning to do this for ages.
Thing is, though, I kept being busy.
After my last post on the end of the NBRR I thought I would leave it a bit, see how I got on with my new regime, new library and such, and I find myself now almost a month on feeling deeply positive, which is always a good thing!
I will concentrate on the new place in my next post (part 2, all things being equal), but for now I must bask in the total freedom which I now discover (*basks*).
If I look back, the gradual release from the dreaded Reserve Desk is obvious to see. From the tyranny of the ORR, when I was in the reading room all day every day and only occasionally got to go somewhere else, to the NBRR, where I was on the desk about 14 hours a week to now, when I am at the Oriental Institute Library (OIL for short; it's technically the Bodleian Oriental Institute Library, but BOIL is rather an unfortunate acronym...) for three afternoons a week.
The rest of my time is my own, to do with as I need, and I am finding new reserves (oops!) of efficiency as-yet untapped as I work in an organic, sensible way, fitting in the bits and pieces of my various jobs in the bits and pieces of time as it arises. Finally my time is mostly my own, and I am enjoying myself immensely.
Don't get me wrong; the NBRR was a fun place to work, with interesting people and many challenges, but that rota was Hellish. I had to do two-hour slots at odd times of day, Wednesday lunchtimes being one that was particularly hard as I'd end up with a 7-hour afternoon if I was on evening duty. I didn't mind the duties per se, it was just the lack of freedom... I never was one for being told what to do!
So yes, much as I do miss spending time with my Map and Music chums (although not those weird Map and Music questions!), I do not miss that rota :)
Part 2 soon. In the meantime, major points for anyone who can spot the college in the photo...