A Few General Things

- I like the new Design options Blogger's got. Probably will be fiddling with those a bit for awhile.

- Why oh why is the interface for MadCat so (as Dan Savage might say) leotarded? Seriously, do you *really* need me to enter my ID number three times in order to request a book? Why isn't the once enough? Especially if I'm logged in remotely! And why is the System Search so unnecessarily slow, and why does it display that completely unnecessary first page?

- In case it's not clear - today I requested a metric fuckton of books from the library. Vacation is officially over.

- I also listened to at least twelve Savage Lovecasts during my 60-odd hours of driving last month. Also a lot of "Wait Wait Don't Tell Me" - shit's hilarious. I kind of want to go to a taping now.

- Still obsessed with The ArchAndroid. A tip of the hat to you, Andrew, for recommending it.

- I really want a job. That's not childcare. I'm going to try to find some to apply to this weekend. I don't really *feel* like having a job, but I know if I could find one I'd be happier. And not starving in a gutter come mid-August. Anyone got any ideas? I'm thinking retail or coffeeshop. Or anything that pays where the average age of employees is no more than 30. Can't be too picky.

- On that note - NO clue how I'm going to scrape up a security deposit and first month's rent if/when I find a new place. Even for a modest place that represents at least 2/3 of my current assets.

- My GOD my cats shed a lot. How did I forget this fact? Also I appear to be allergic to them again. Awesome.

- Every summer I think to myself around this time, "Surely this is the most annoying and inconvenient combination of construction projects the city could have chosen." And every year I am surprised to find that no, it can be more annoying. Or at the very least, at the same level as previous. Closing Park St at University? Making the road in front of the Union one-way? Shoot me now. I've got to get on fixing my bike. Though probably the most annoying project to me personally was the first summer, when they tore up the entire fucking road in front of my house - not just like, for resurfacing. They dug down into that shit like 5 feet. SO annoying. Just leave the roads to rot and let me jar my aging car to death in peace. Thanks.

- Madison is really beautiful, though. I took a leisurely walk through Tenney park yesterday, and it's really gorgeous here. In summer anyhow.

- It's kind of nice to be back. Back with my own stuff, back catching up with Madison people, back talking shop after 2 (or 3) (or 4) glasses of wine. Though it'll depend a lot on how the job search turns out, I can definitely see a routine coming together for the next few months, and it's not a bad one. I'm pretty pumped about a lot of the reading I have to do - a sign if ever there was one that this jump to C/R was a good one. Thinking about the theory section of my Lit prelims list was enough to make me break into hives. And a cold sweat. And a bottle of Xanax.

- That said...I do kinda want to take another trip this summer. Even just back to the East Coast to help Ben move. So again - hope the job thing comes through.