It's gotten really warm and muggy here. I guess it must have rained last week while I was gone; I had to mow the lawn (it is almost all clover this time of year but still, clover can get BIG) Saturday after I got home.

I should take some pictures of the various little things blooming in my backyard. I have some spring beauty (which is almost done for; it's a little hot for it), and some tiny bluets, and a few other things.

This weather makes me want to garden. It makes me want to clean out and weed and buy lots of plants and put them out. And I've decided I'm going to move my ghetto-fabulous fluorescent gro-light fixture out of the back room where I hide it and into either the living or dining room so it will be easier for me to water the little plants I start. (Ghetto-fabulous because instead of buying the $200 or whatever-it-was Burpee model, I cobbled one together from an overhead light fixture and a clothes rack. It's ugly but it works.)

I want to grow beans again this year. I'll have to see if I can find a good kind locally, or maybe do an order from Burpee and just plant them a little later than I normally would.

It was a hectic day today but I count it as (essentially) a success because I have crossed everything - save completing the hour of research-reading, and I'm about half done with that - off my to-do list.

And that included getting a tire fixed.

I was driving to church (I only live three or four blocks and I could walk but yesterday I was running late and was wearing shoes not so good for walking) and I realize the car sounded strange. At first I thought it was the engine and it wasn't until I was nearly there that I thought, "flat tire."

Yup. Right rear tire - big nail sticking out of it. (I think I know where I picked it up; there's some construction going on near my office and I ran over there last thing Saturday). The good news was that I was at church and one of the Youth Group guys volunteered to change the tire for me (I can do it myself but it would have involved walking home to change out of the dry-clean-only, light-colored dress, and then walking back). No tire places were open yesterday to fix it. My dad suggested I take it to the dealer - that's where I bought the tires - because they might do it for free.

(I thought, "Shyeah." But I decided to try anyway - I figured they probably wouldn't charge MUCH more than the other tire place in town and I know them).

So I took the car out at noon today. It did not look promising - there was a line out to the street of cars waiting on service. But the service manager, knowing it was a tire, told me to pull around back and that he'd "get someone on it in between oil changes" (That's when I got part of my research-reading done*)

It took them about 40 minutes, but they plugged the tire, put it back on, replaced the spare where it goes, and put the jack and everything back in the cubby where it goes. And they didn't charge me, which was unexpected and which made me happy.

So, yay them.

(Especially since I had been imagining worst-case-scenario - that the damage was too bad to fix - and I was already budgeting in my head what a new pair of rear tires would cost)

(*Oh, and I tried a little sociological experiment. Always when I have been in there before the tv has been blaring away and I never felt like I could ask to turn it off. Well, I started out alone in the waiting room so I switched the tv off and started reading. I figured if someone else came in and asked to use the tv, I could always stop reading - I tend to be not-very-assertive about things like that. (I cannot read - or at least cannot read with any kind of useful comprehension - when a television or radio or any kind of music other than quiet purely-instrumental music is on)

Two men - probably about 55 or so - came in as I was waiting and sat down. I figured they could either
a. decide to just sit out of respect for the fact that I was there first and I was reading
b. welcome the opportunity to sit in quiet
c. ask me if it was ok to turn the tv on
d. just turn it on without asking.

Well, neither one even looked at the remote, so I'm guessing that either they were being considerate of the fact I was reading, or that they are also people who hate having a tv blaring at them in waiting rooms. One was using his cell phone but not talking - I think he was probably remotely accessing voicemail or something [both guys looked, from the way they were dressed, like farmers/ranchers]

Actually? I'd love to see some kind of survey done to see how people feel about public televisions (as opposed to Public Television, which can be good at times but also carries some programming I'm not so interested in). My gut feeling - from some stuff I've read - is that a sizable minority [if not outright majority] of people would welcome some quiet in waiting rooms, instead of being captive to the idiot box. And I bet if you asked, most people would request the televisions be removed from Wal-Mart and other commercial venues. There's just something distasteful to me about being out doing my shopping and being advertised to WHILE I am shopping in the store.)

And I picked up my mail from when I was gone. The "Big Foot Bunny" book I ordered from Wee Wonderfuls is in there, and also a Folio Press book that I ordered ages ago (not sure which one; I ordered several this fall that were to have spring publication dates). And some magazines. And I'm sure, some bills.

I won't have much time to look at them as this is my long day - lab from 3 to 5, then German at 7. And I need to bone up on the German after having been away from it for a bit.

And this is going to be a shortish week - One of my Thursday morning classes is cancelled because the room is needed for another function (I'm giving a long assignment to make up), and Friday I go up to Ada to judge the state science fair (which was partly why I was so concerned about getting my tire fixed and the "donut" off the car - you can only drive about 50 miles or so on the "donut" and you cannot safely go over 50 mph or so).

And next week will be shortened because of Good Friday. (We get it off. I can't remember if I did also at ISU; maybe only schools in the Bible Belt feel like they can still get away with giving Good Friday off.)