The flood damaged books. Oh, and I found another I missed when I collected the dried remains of my libary loans that got damaged in my den thanks to unual weather and a friend/contractor who doesn't understand the laws of gravity.
So aside from the basically unreplaceable decade of Zymurgy Magazines that flood turned into mush, before I can renew or check out any more books from my county library, I have to pay roughly $200. It's at $193 and change, but the book I found is a big coffee-table book that will probably be at least $30 to $40 when they get it back. And if you have fines over $25, they not only won't give you amnesty, they'll turn you over to a collection agency if you're not quick about it.
In one of the wealthiest counties in America. I mean, yeah, I have money troubles and so does almost almost everyone I know. But really, this is 90210 Lite, a third less conspicuous consumption than a Hollywood stereotype. Starter homes here, mine for instance, I couldn't afford to buy today.
You'd think the tax base of all the trophy homes being thrown with less care or structural integrity than a manufactured house would generate a MORE generous libary, not own that acted covetous of books it was probably about to sell off due to poor ciruclation.
For that matter, why build a 30-foot tall library that has one floor? For the same budget, they could have probabably doubled the shelf capactity of my local branch.
Often what they decomission and sell at garage sale prices, it's out of print. If you're going to steal people's money (taxes) to pay for a public library, shouldn't it be the best place to find the commercially marginal? Lets' face it, you wanna read Tom Clancy of Stephen King. Any one of their books, I dare you to ask your friends and family and not find someone who will loan or give you any book by those authors. Looking for 'Geronimo Rex' by Barry Hannah? Better check out Amazon or figure out an inter-library loan. And that was a National Book Award finalist.
So I've got high speed internet, which was necessary for the 10% of my income (roughly) I make freelance. The net profit varies a lot from year to year, and I'm pining for 1999, when my biggest customer was ready to spend whatever it took to look great. No more three hour uploads/downloads that end up not even working. And no more burning $8 of gas to deliver a CD with 80 MB.
And the cable phone deal, it's sweet. I hate cell phones, really, and the cable phone is awesome because there's almost no such thing as long distance, but I can browse a book store without worrying about turning a stupid little device to vibrate or getting interrupted.
And the Time-Warner guy came by today to let me know I could add cable to this package for $7 a month more. Or $14 more in past due if you want to change the frame a bit.
My friend Roj put up an Internet Wishing Well where you type in a wish and pay a buck to a legit Paypal link. I don't think he's made his first dollar, but it makes me want to put up the same. 'Pay the Lobster's Library Fines,' no donation is too large.
Maybe I'll have to wean myself off the library for a while. I did it before, when I let $125 in late fees keep me away for two years, until I realized that I spent more than that every single year at Amazon, often on books I could never see re-reading.
But in two days, I have to pull a rabit out of the hat or phone and high speed internet both go away.
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