Harper was in the backyard and I went outside to play some fetch with her (well, to throw the ball, which she usually then chases and makes a swipe at with her mouth, only to lose interest just shy of actually grabbing the ball. We've got to work on getting the ball into her mouth, and then we can start on actual retrieving. One step at a time) and this HUGE gust of wind came up so hard it pushed me back (I actually did the pinwheeling arms thing) and blew our swing into the side of the house. It spooked Harper, she jumped on me with her ears scrunched (her way of saying either, "where's my treat/walk," or "eek!") and then high-tailed it into the house. The house is fine, the cloth awning on the swing has a small tear in it, but we've already decided that's not move-worthy, so it only needs to last us through this summer. Unless Brad and Suz want it.

You may have heard of Little 500. It's the bike race they have every April here and generally it's an excuse for kids to party for a week. No one goes to the race. Every year I spend most of the week wishing I was elsewhere where there wasn't so much idiotic debauchery and general stupidity. For example, a frat house on the most dangerous and busy road on campus sets up a slip 'n slide that ends right at the bottom of a really steep hill, and the only thing between the end of the slip 'n slide and the cars being driven very fast by drunk people past some thick bushes is a very tiny sidewalk. Also, earlier this week a bunch of kids got maced by security guards when they started rioting after a concert ended earlier than they wanted it to. Was that really worth a riot?

It all gets pretty irritating, especially when these kids complain to their teachers and TAs that they shouldn't have homework or tests this week. They also complain about having homework due the week before spring break--not just the DAY before spring break, the entire week before. This week, and the first week of classes in the fall when freshman drive going the wrong way down one way streets and when it suddenly gets really hard to find parking spaces are the only two weeks of the year when I feel like Bloomington is a dangerous place to live and I'd be better off stocking up on supplies and staying home.

Anyway, Obama is supposedly going to the women's race today, just to watch and wave. I wish he'd come and give a speech! Bill Clinton gave a talk, but he was something like 3 hours late, and he's not Obama.