2 May 2003

Yesterday was not as exciting as perhaps it might have been -- Liz and Tor were more jet-lagged than they'd expected, and Timprov and I were not exactly having personal best days, so we decided to postpone or cancel the trip to Chinatown -- we'll see who's got what on their agenda before they have to go back to Pittsburgh. So I just took Timprov up to the doctor and came back again. The doctor's appointment went pretty well, and Timprov will have some more specific tests done in a week and a half, and then we'll see if there's stuff that can be treated, which the doctor thinks there will be. Which is, of course, good. Even if it turns out that it's only part of what needs taking care of, better to handle some than none.

Today's plan involves the library. Sigh. They appear to have lost another returned book before checking it in. They did this once to Timprov, and now it's my turn. Given their high levels of incompetence in other areas (like, oh, putting books on shelves, keeping the computer system apprised of which shelves, etc.), I shouldn't be surprised. Timprov said, "I told you you should be getting a receipt." I said, "I know, I should have." Actually, they don't have a function for giving you a receipt. They can check all the books in while you watch, though, and I think that's what I'll have them do if I decide to keep using this library at all.

Guh. I know they can't tell the difference between me and someone who loses books, but losing books is a big deal to me. It's a fairly major accusation. And I'm not sure how much I should continue to use this library under that circumstance. They're incompetent, and they assume that it's my fault, and there's really no way I can think of to convince them otherwise. That's just not a happy combination.

Hmmm. I think if I can't get them straigthened out about this today (which I probably won't), I'm going to consider taking a library break for awhile and seeing how that goes. If I was going to live here permanently, it might be a bigger issue: I can't afford my book habit. Or, more accurately, I can't afford my book habit plus my taxes (some of which fund the library). If I could spend all of our sales and income tax dollars on books, then probably I could afford it. Maybe. Hmm. Anyway, I have a large stack of books to read, a long list of books I'd like to reread, and a long list of books to read from David's collection. I might decide to see how that goes for awhile, if I don't have any major must-do research. We're not living here permanently. We're moving somewhere with a competent library system. I don't know if I can do without a library until then. I might give it a trial run, though.

Or I might just make them check my books in while I watch. I haven't decided yet. I may be weak when I get there. I may fear the proliferation of items on the library list. Hmm.

I've been doing the "Gollum's Greatest Hits" album around here -- it started out with me attempting to do Marilyn Manson's verison of "Sweet Dreams (Are Made of This)," only it came out sounding like Gollum. So I did a bunch more Gollum songs, I can't even remember all of them. I know "Jump Around" was on the list. Freaked Timprov out a bit. Mark just listens to all this politely when we relate it to him. He's gotten good at listening politely. I've added verses to "She'll Be Comin' 'Round the Mountain": "She'll be looking for the Preciousss but we doesssn't let her have it, she'll be looking for the Preciousss when she comesssss." Etc. I can't do them today, though, because my throat is sore. But yesterday Timprov got back at me by doing Bob Dylan's commercial for Gollum's Greatest Hits. ("Buuuuy it for yoooour biiirthday preeeesent!") Ack, alack.

I hadn't done my Gollum voice in years, actually, not since I freaked poor Ross Schermer out in DiffEqus by addressing him as "preciousssss." That was first semester freshman year, and Ross acted slightly freaked out by college in general and me in specific. Thankfully, he got used to it, and I think I could have announced just about anything to him senior year, and he would have just kind of rolled with it. Maybe raised an eyebrow or laughed a little, nervously, but generally would have mentally shrugged and said, "Yep, Marissa, whatever." (My friend Manda from high school always thought he was cute -- which he probably was, but it was not, y'know, that kind of friendship -- and she never understood why we didn't consider dating. And if I'd said, "Well, I just keep getting the urge to call him 'precioussss,' and he keeps skittering away when I do, so I just don't think it's meant to be," she would have been very upset with me. Because this was Not What One Did With Cute Boys. Manda always had all kinds of rules about What One Did or Did Not Do With Cute Boys. And I don't think anything Tolkien-related made the "Do" list. A lot of fun stuff did not make Manda's "Do" list, at least back then. Don't know about now.)

Aaaanyway. I know it's really unlikely that any of my pregnant friends and relations will have this child, but I saw her on Teresa Nielsen Hayden's Making Light and wanted to take her home. So that she can conquer the world from my place, I guess.

I finally finished Two for the Dough yesterday and started reading David's copy of John Crowley's The Translator. I'm not very far into it, but it's engaging so far. I'm even hoping to be able to avoid comparing it excessively to Tam Lin, despite the presence of a college-age poet. (But I like Tam Lin. A lot.)

Bleh. So. I think I'm going to head over to the library and try to take care of that one way or another today. I'm also going to make a care-package run to Trader Joe's, I think, and get some cards at Hallmark. And mop the moose, feed the bear, work on the book, call Amber, maybe crop some pictures, finish an essay....