Tuesday, already in progress
Oct. 26th, 2004 11:19 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
magidTwice now, I've been a bit late heading to work, and have walked through Harvard Yard listening to the bell of Memorial Church ringing. And ringing. And ringing. A deep, tolling sort of bell, one that I'm used to hearing on the hour and the quarter hours, even from my house. This is different, though, tolling well over a hundred times (Actually, at least 150 by the time the traffic drowned out the sound. Yes, I was counting.). And I have no idea why. It wasn't on the hour, I can't think of anything that might inspire a couple of minutes of silence, and it's happened more than once now. I tried to find a clue online, but none of the sites I found were useful. So for now, a mystery, one that can't be easy on all the freshmen living in the Yard, forced awake before 9 am. It's interesting to hear how the tone changes as I walk through, though, buffering the sound through buildings or trees.
I almost forgot that today is a huge booksale at work, a fund-raiser for the United Way and Earth Share. I went down into the madness of frenzied bookbuying (some people had brought suitcases), unable to resist the lure, despite my utter lack of available shelf space. I got there half an hour after the official start time, and there were already people with huge stacks of books, trying to manoever the aisles. I had to give myself permission to not have to look at every single book, for that way lies madness (not to mention the regret of not being there on the dot. Though thirty people had paid for the privilege of going in half an hour early.).
And so. I bought fourteen books (less than $20, though), which were the ones that called out loudest that I hadn't yet read. I had to ignore some old favorites (a fair bit of Joan Aiken, for instance*), and didn't take as much time as I might've in the picture books (of which there are tons). As I found in library sales, I find it harder to wade through the grown-up fiction books in search of something new. Side note: I hadn't realized that Gregory Macguire wrote a young adult book.
* though I definitely would've gotten a copy of Curious George Goes to the Hospital, of which I have very fond memories from when I was three and going into the hospital for an operation. Only much, much later did it occur to me that X-rays wouldn't likely pick up a puzzle piece... Somehow, I've never bought a copy of my own.
One week 'til the election.
I almost forgot that today is a huge booksale at work, a fund-raiser for the United Way and Earth Share. I went down into the madness of frenzied bookbuying (some people had brought suitcases), unable to resist the lure, despite my utter lack of available shelf space. I got there half an hour after the official start time, and there were already people with huge stacks of books, trying to manoever the aisles. I had to give myself permission to not have to look at every single book, for that way lies madness (not to mention the regret of not being there on the dot. Though thirty people had paid for the privilege of going in half an hour early.).
And so. I bought fourteen books (less than $20, though), which were the ones that called out loudest that I hadn't yet read. I had to ignore some old favorites (a fair bit of Joan Aiken, for instance*), and didn't take as much time as I might've in the picture books (of which there are tons). As I found in library sales, I find it harder to wade through the grown-up fiction books in search of something new. Side note: I hadn't realized that Gregory Macguire wrote a young adult book.
* though I definitely would've gotten a copy of Curious George Goes to the Hospital, of which I have very fond memories from when I was three and going into the hospital for an operation. Only much, much later did it occur to me that X-rays wouldn't likely pick up a puzzle piece... Somehow, I've never bought a copy of my own.
One week 'til the election.
![[identity profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/openid.png){kind=small}
no subject
Date: 2004-10-26 10:13 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2004-10-26 11:25 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2004-10-26 08:13 pm (UTC)When I was in college, a friend of mine discovered the closet where the machine resided that made the bell ring (it has since been moved), and he used to sneak in there and start it ringing from time to time.
no subject
Date: 2004-10-27 04:48 am (UTC)Hi! I don't think I've met you before.
no subject
Date: 2004-10-28 06:44 pm (UTC)