I'm thinking of re-assigning my course website to something else. I'd like to free up the subdomain since we only get five through our hosting plan. I was also thinking about starting a "Weird Akron" website. I had always wanted to do that for Muncie, but Akron is just as weird in some ways... Okay, I'm lying, but Akron is at least interesting. I think every place has its oddities. It would focus mostly on landmarks and have basic histories and information about them. It might be fun?

With our recent craziness and adventures to Indiana to visit family members, we had made a calculated error of sorts, waiting to return some library materials until after we came back to Akron. For one thing, after finding out about my mom, I was too flustered to gather them and take them to the library on that Saturday we left. For another thing, we ended up using some of the things we had checked out during that time we were in Indiana.

Like I said, a calculated error.

So, a week plus overdue of 15 different library materials resulted in.... anyone? $11.10. I was so used to Hollywood Video's assraping that I nearly cried and hugged the librarian when she told me. Of course, right now, $11.10 is the same as $1,434,942,230.61 because we are broke. And thankfully, Amy's card was clean because we always check out things on mine. For some reason, carrying a wallet is often too much hassle for some people. In this case, it helped for sure.

Either way, my so-far-six-month love affair with libraries continues. I led a deprived childhood in suburban Mount Pleasant township, where there was no library service until I was 13, and then it was a small place the size of a broom closet. Sure, I had Bracken at Ball State through the parents, but that wasn't a general interest library for a kid.

And you think Hollywood's late fees were rough?

Random thought interjection: Isn't it a shame that hitchhiking has become so dangerous and discouraged? Our parents' (and grandparents') generation fucked up a lot of things like that for us. Now, you can't hitchhike. You can't run up a hotel bill and disappear scott-free (a la Hunter S. Thompson circa Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas). You can't cash a check without three forms of ID, a urine sample, a social security card and three personal vouchers from relatives. You can't legally breathe oxygen without a credit rating above 600, and everyone is allowed to know your rating for free except for you. Our parents' generation talks about mammoth road trips and adventures to places, and we can't afford to do that either because gas is expensive, and corporate America does everything it can to saddle every 18 year old with debt and bills to prevent a lack of responsibility.

What disasterous consequences would await you (and your precious credit rating) if you just took off for a couple months without a trace?

Ugh.

My mind wanders too easily between thoughts right now. I guess it's the boredom kicking in. The good news is that I've accomplished a good bit of work today, even with the morning storm-brought power outage. The bad is that I have more to do, and without structure, it's nearly impossible.

Oh, and I told a "Chemlawn" guy to "fuck off" today after he knocked on our back door while we were eating and tried to sell us stuff even after I told him we weren't interested upon opening the door and seeing the logo on his shirt. I know he's probably got kids to feed, but he had no chance:

1. It's our fucking back door(!), which is not for strangers. Ever.
2. I have a problem screwing up ecosystems even further than normal for the vanity of a green lawn.
and 3. we're already exsanguinated, even for turnips.

His "fuck off" was well-deserved, in my book.