Gawd damn, I had a blast in Wisconsin. When too much time goes by, my family starts to drive me crazy. We overreact to each other, and just can't relate.
But when I go home, we fall into this well-worn groove. The more time I spend with them, the more I remember how much I like them. It makes me sad that we dont live closer. I miss out on so much every-day stuff.
EVERYONE was in such a good mood when we were home. Mom, who normally has this nervous, jittery look in her eyes, was the most mellow I've ever seen her in my life. My sister was in a great mood despite the discomforts of pregnancy. Dad didnt once bring up politics or the fiasco about Bush from a few weeks back. We hung out, and ate enough to feed three armies, and watched a lot of tv.
It snowed the day we left, but otherwise it was incredibly mild. I like Wisconsin weather when its like that, but damn it was dry! Felt like my skin was going to crack open. So funny--before we left, Atlanta felt like a desert. Coming back from Wisconsin, Atlanta now felt like a rain forest. Swampy and humid.

The library was fine, for having been gone four long days. I thought it was going to be hellish--when I went out to my car, the battery was dead. One of the interior lights stayed on during the weekend. Thankfully a neighbor friend jumped Earl and got me back on the road. But nothing else happened to make me cranky.
Work wasnt bad--pretty slack until about 4 pm. A young girl came up to the Info desk. She held a cellphone to her ear and put it down momentarily. "I just want to tell you that I was sitting at a computer. The guy next to me was wearing really short shorts, and he flashed me. At first I thought it was an accident, but then it happened again." I rushed back to ask the assistant and branch managers what to do.
Apparently, we have a regular flasher, and one of the ladies went out to check out the guy--who was now sitting alone in a corner, quiet and seemingly harmless. Nope, not the same guy. Eventually, after the girl talked with my manager (and her mom on the cellphone), and after my manager called headquarters on what to do, the girl decided that she wanted to make a complaint with the police. What a relief. Up to that point, I filled with increasing anxiety. I can only imagine what she must have felt like. Even if the guy purposely flashed her, our culture is such that she probably spent the next chunk of time second guessing herself. Did I misunderstand what happened? Was he just adjusting himself? Did I do something or should I have done something differently? I felt so proud of her when she decided to call the cops. It takes a lot of guts to trust your instincts on a situation where its your word against someone elses. And besides, the computers are situated in a circle, with walls separating the people on either side. You have to really, really try to make the next person see you from your seat, and truthfully, there's a big difference between adjusting a dick and completely lifting shorty shorts to expose yourself. When I heard that an officer was coming, I wanted to give the girl a hug. (I didnt. I figured she probably already felt violated...she didnt need some strange library girl touching her.)
We kept an eye on him, making sure he didnt do anything else. We werent subtle--he switched from a sideways seat in the corner to one that gave him full view of anyone approaching him. When the cops came, the girl led them around the branch, trying to find where he sat. Suddenly, he was by the front and out the double doors. We motioned to the cops and they hightailed it in pursuit. Thankfully they caught up with him in the parking lot. (Good thing...I still have those wanna-be-spy tendencies and wondered how much trouble I'd get into if I tried to tackle the guy.)
After that, we didnt see the officers again. The manager sat in the back with the girl until she knew that the flasher had left. I scanned the parking lot in time to see both cop cars pull away in different directions, but since I didnt have my glasses on I couldnt see if they had the guy in the back. (Another woman at the branch thought she saw him in the back of the car.) Shortly after, the girl left, thus ending our little library drama.
In situations like that, my curiosity gets the better of me. I want to call the station and see if they charged him. I want to know if he had a history of inappropriate behavior. But I wont know either.

Today is our holiday party. Boy, its heaven having a day off! We still have a messy bedroom to clean, and a huge pot of soup to make for dinner at 7 pm. Can't wait!