Yesterday, I talked about a job that may be the perfect fit for you: Researching info at courthouses. If you missed that blog, you’ll definitely want to read it before you read this blog. 🙂
I had been to my courthouse before to file some small claims cases for the bricks and mortar job I had had previously, so when I was told by Sunlark (the courthouse research company) to go to the courthouse, I thought, “Okay, I can do that.” I went upstairs to the Magistrate office, laptop clutched in my sweaty hands, nervous as a thief in the midst of ten police officers. I’m sure I had sweat poring down my face. I always get nervous whenever I’m put into a new situation where I don’t have a clue of what I’m doing, where I feel like a duck out of water.
So when I got to the Magistrate office and saw that there were three people in front of me in line, I breathed a sigh of relief for the reprieve and then sat down on a hard wood bench to wait my turn. Twenty minutes later, I finally stepped up to the counter. Confidence, I told myself. I’m sure they’ll know just what I’m talking about–I just need to act like I belong.
“Hello!” I said, a tad bit too loud, and then attempted to shake the lady’s hand through the small window. The lady gave me the look–you know the one. The one where they’re trying to decide whether you are an escapee from the mental hospital or actually rather harmless, just socially inept. I quickly withdrew my hand
“I am looking for the–” searching for the right phrase, “–public access computers.” Whew! I remembered it. The lady gave me a blank look. “For me to look up mortgages on?” I asked meekly. So much for my bravado. Another office gal strolled up just then. “I think she’s looking for the Registrar of Deeds office.” My turn for a blank look.
“I just want where they have the mortgages at,” I clarified. I didn’t want them sending me off to some registrar, just to find out that they didn’t know what the heck I was talking about either.
“They’re downstairs. Directly underneath us, actually. Just go down the stairs and you should find them easily enough.” The lady was quite nice, for which I am eternally grateful for. My face was the exact shade of a ripe tomato. I don’t do well in embarrassing situations where I feel ill at ease (I’ve never been one to “fake it” very well) so I gratefully headed down the stairs, if only to get away from those ladies. “Escape!” my brain was screaming.
In my next blog, I cover what happened when I finally found the Public Access Computers (yes, they did exist, thank heavens) and some of the things I discovered while doing my best to become a great courthouse researcher. Don’t miss it!