Still Alive, 13 Days Later

Hi, my name is Sarah and I have been away for 13 very long days..... maybe longer, cause that last post was rather half-assed.

Work and life and... more work have been brewing a perfect storm to completely zap my brain of any and all non-essential thoughts - like, "where is my next glass of wine going to come from?"

I'm running the ship solo at work right now so I am having even more self-doubt and loathing than usual, which results in blog neglect.  I know, you are all weeping with how much you've missed me.

Moving along.

This past week, I did something really crazy.  Something that I haven't done in over 13 years, if not longer.  Something that I swore up and down I would never, ever do again.  (Maybe.  I'm not sure I really remember, to be honest.)

I joined my local library.

I know, you're all, umm, who cares?  Well, I do.

You see, 13 years ago, I was in the 6th grade.  Roughly, I'm not looking up dates here.

I had just completed a 30 page paper on the Czech Republic (Catholic school is Awesome!) and had recently returned a dozen books to the library drop box in the library parking lot.

A couple of days later, we got a letter in the mail billing us for one of the books.  My mom called up and told them we returned the book and... ya know, what the heck?

Person at the library tells my mom that the book was returned wet and we owed the library.

Mom very calmly tells the library person that the book was dry and perhaps an employee might have dropped it in the snowy parking lot?

No, they insist we pay OR ELSE.

(Note: from here on out my recollection is hazy.  I remember... but then again, I am special.)

Somehow, we get a letter in the mail informing us (my mom and I) that... I dunno, our behavior was unacceptable?  They said my mom cursed at a library employee and restated that we had to pay the wet-book fine.

My mom?

Loses it.

My mom was NOT a person who cursed, ever.  When I told my dad this story about the library last week, he said he had maybe heard her curse half a dozen times in 20 years of marriage.

So, my mom did not curse out a library employee.

Up until this point in my life, my mom, brother, and I were extremely awesome fans of the library.  I read several versions of the Sweet Valley twins series in their entirety.  I had to keep a running list on our first computer of which books I had read and would print it and bring it with me to the library (because I was the dorkiest child alive).

After that day, I stopped going to the library, cold turkey.  I went to my college library, of course, but stayed far from my hometown library. 

In the past few years, my library got remodeled and completely gutted on the inside.  And after my last post about expensive Kindle books, everyone said I had to join the library asap.

So, I put on my big girl panties and joined the library.  There was NOT a Wanted poster with my picture in the lobby, THANK GOD.

I rented the Kindle book of Sisterhood Everlasting and read it in under 48 hours (side note: SOB!).  And all was well and right with the world.

And less then 48 hours later a man went on a shooting spree in my smallish-city and (allegedly, according to rumors) was apprehended in said library.

I said it once, 13 years ago, and I'll say it again: I'm done with the library!

Kidding.  Probably.  But for real, would YOU be hanging out around there now?

Didn't think so.

So, how's life treating all of you?  Read any good books lately?