Todd Stadler's blog

Ripped from the headlines (or at least the sidebar)

The Oregonian had an article about how the Portland Central library tends to be a haven for the homeless, drug users, and mentally unstable people.

All of which is true, since the library is one of few places that is both a shelter from the weather and can't turn away such people merely because they are undesirable in some way. Nor should it.

I should also note that I've used the Central library many times and never felt threatened. And I can't fault homeless people for using the library just for its toilets and air conditioning — I've done the same myself.

But the thing that really caught my eye in this article was the sidebar containing "a sampling of security log entries from the Central Library." Among the mundane bits about people snoring loudly while sleeping, smelly men, and drunk people was this entry:

"Man found resuscitating what appears to be a dead rat on the benches outside. Rat revived."

For some reason, I found myself singing, "Ben, the two of us need look no more ..."

I forgot what to do in my free time

I find that the time after a long vacation is an interesting, if confusing one.

See, after I get back from vacation, I'm not quite sure what to do. I've just spent several weeks doing the kinds of things I never do in my daily routine — going places, eating things, and sometimes speaking languages I was previously unfamiliar with.

And even my "normal life" before vacations isn't terribly normal. I spend a few weeks scanning the relevant Lonely Planet like I'm cramming for a test, and making or going over final travel plans.

So it is that when I get back from vacation, it's been an awful long time since I had free time in the normal style.

In a way, this is great, because I pretty much get to reinvent my free time. Perhaps I was heavy into photography before I started planning my vacation. Well, now I can start doing the crossword regularly!

Of course, free rein in one's free time can also be frustrating, even depressing. Too many choices! No constancy! Oh, to be stuck in a rut ... for a bit, at least.

Regardless, the decision was made for me after we got back from Australia, since the seventh Harry Potter book came out shortly after our return.

I don't normally feel compelled to read new books anytime close to their release date, but J. K. Rowling's books are different. Namely, hearing about them is unavoidable — every media outlet in the world is discussing the book, sometimes including spoilers.

So it was that I was desperate to finish Deathly Hallows as quickly as possible, since the more time went on, the more likely I would accidentally read about its important plot points outside of the book itself.

The problem was that, for full effect, I wanted to reread the previous six books before diving into the seventh. But this only increased my time spent among a population of people who'd finished the book and might divulge its secrets at any second.

I lived in fear of all information. Every time I opened a Web page that contained any mention of "Harry Potter", I instinctively closed it. And my recent dabblings with Facebook were problematic — everyone who'd finished the book felt compelled to start a new group and talk about it.

And even while I was compelled to read the book in spare moments on the bus or in other public areas, I was constantly on the lookout for well-meaning people eager to talk about the series and young adults who might accidentally blab about the book's details while on the phone (As Mad-Eye Moody would have said, "Constant vigilance!"). I even had to lay down ground rules for Julia while I was in the middle of the book — she couldn't really tell me her opinions until I was done, although she could ask me to discuss my conjectures and reactions. Basically, I was enforcing an unsigned non-disclosure agreement with the world.

Anyhow, I'm done with Deathly Hallows now. It's a great book, and I was able to be surprised by every plot point, thankfully.

But now, I don't know what to do again. In my post-vacation stillness, I reinvented myself as a voracious Harry Potter reader. But now, weeks later, that's all over. And I face a glut of unrutted free time again.

I guess I could upload all the photos I've taken since April, or finish one of the dozen Web projects at various states of gestation.