Another cold day today, overcast, expecting some rain, high in the mid 40s but at least it isn’t getting below freezing again. We’ve had nearly a week of this weather with three nights below freezing, even in the 20s. It’s not slated to warm up until Monday.
As mentioned the SIM card on my phone died Wednesday morning, removing it and putting it back in had no effect, but the weather was not conducive to going out and I didn’t think I would die from not being able to make or receive calls or text or get on-line (which I could do on my desktop) so I figured I would go Thursday afternoon after SHARE to the Verizon store and get it taken care of. Except it was 27˚ when I left for SHARE Thursday morning and it barely made it into the 40s during the day. OK, I won’t die from another day without my phone. Still cold but I finally went yesterday after breakfast driving the 30 minutes or so to the nearest Verizon store in Rosenberg where they replaced the SIM card. While there the guy told me we were eligible for a better plan, unlimited data (which we didn’t have) and for $20 less a month and Marc was eligible for a free iPhone 16 with a trade in (we have 13s) so it was a win all the way around. He didn’t know why only Marc’s number was eligible for a 16 but thought maybe they would offer it to me down the line. Which is fine. I don’t need to have the latest and greatest.
I’m not spending any time outside, have no pictures to take or show except for this, the game trail that cuts across the back end of my property. It emerges from the wild space on the east, passes right by the compost pile, and disappears into the overgrowth behind the Wicked Bitch of the West’s little storage buildings. I’ve never seen anything cross using it except for one time when I caught a quick look at a couple of foxes crossing to the west but it is definitely a well trod path.
And here’s some narcissus that bloomed before this last frigid cold spell.
And a mystery of sorts. I’m currently slowly getting through Harlan Ellison’s Greatest Hits, a selection of his work, some of which I remember reading way back when and some I don’t think I’ve read before. Before that I checked out two books, The Book of Elsewhere co-written by Keanu Reeves and China Mieville about the 60,000 year old immortal warrior which I gave up on before getting even halfway through and a new collection of short stories by Stephen King. Marc returned both books for me. When I dropped by the library to return a book he had checked out since I was driving right by there I told the librarian I had a book out that was way overdue but was almost through with it. She looked up my account to renew it and there was no record of my having it, it showed it was there in the library. It was one of the other librarians that scanned my card and we even talked about the book as she had just finished reading it herself. So weird, right? But the other thing was that the brand new Stephen King book came back damaged, the first endpaper when you open the cover was all torn up, and it was on my record as having been the last one to check it out. I have no idea how it got torn. I didn’t open it when I pulled it off the shelf and when I got home I put it on my desk and there it stayed until Marc picked it up to read it. Now this was a couple of months ago so our memories are foggy. I assured assured her I didn’t damage it, that I never even opened it the whole time it was in my possession. When I got home I asked Marc if that page was torn when he opened it and he recalled that it was and I think I remember him telling me that and he says he’s pretty sure he mentioned it to the librarian when he returned it. So I may be on the hook for replacing a book I never even opened.
No, just insist that you didn't do the damage and the library should not make you pay for it. When I worked at our public library, they usually did not fight the patron and dropped fees when questioned.
ReplyDeleteCodex: Glad the card worked out. Read that Keanus scifi is unreadable, but there is some morecent scifi that is more relevant. Iain Banks, Neil Stephenson, KS Robinson lots of good ones.
ReplyDeleteYour cat may use that trail, too. I had a well worn trail in my first backyard and I always wondered where the cats really went after they got to the back street.
ReplyDeleteMisty, cold, and miserable still. A good book and a spot of tea -- or a few hours at the computer while watching birds at the feeders -- seemed the best choice. I needed to go to the grocery store, but couldn't even get up the oomph to do that. Speaking of critter trails, a friend on the west end of Galveston finally figured out what was making paths through her property: coyotes. She said they're becoming really common down there, and they're probably the reason she never sees rabbits any more.
ReplyDeleteI am not quite sure why you can’t go out because it’s 27 degrees.
ReplyDeleteI'm surprised they would charge you for a torn endpaper. It's not like the book isn't readable. That's what Scotch tape is for! We really only charge patrons for a book if it's lost or completely destroyed.
ReplyDeleteIt would be interesting to set up a game cam on that trail and see what critters you find.
My branch library encourages us all to use the automated check-out, not unlike stores. There is a librarian if you need one. Also, our county library system doesn't really worry about renewals anymore. And no late fees. It's sort of weird and sort of great.
ReplyDeleteGlad you got your phone situation cleared up. I bet Marc's loving his new phone.
I, too, am curious about that path.
I have had to purchase one book in my library lending lifetime. I was reading it (a paperback large print) in the bathtub, put it on the edge for some reason, rather than down on the floor...and it fell in! I tried the hair dryer, but it had permanently wrinkled pages. And I didn't even like it that much, so I think I gave it away to some thrift store later, after paying $20 to read it. My bad!
ReplyDeleteI'm glad you got your phone fixed! Mine is a 13 too - Mike's is a 12. I'm pretty happy with mine so until it starts acting up I guess I'll keep it.
ReplyDeleteCodex: library just explain it. Dumbest thing I've done. Checked out a rare out of print book. (Uni lib). Returned all books. Told this one was missing. Argued, they waived the replacement. Months later project done. File and clean up papers. Between papers find the book. Returned it very meekly in the drop off box.
ReplyDeleteIt's all online and automated check out here with all of the types of libraries. Lots of ebooks and audiobooks now as well. I love libraries. Especially the international inter-library loan system. I asked a librarian recently what their workload was like now and she said, it's mostly explaining to people how to use the system. . .
ReplyDelete