The system is down. The Cheat is grounded.

I rushed into the library this morning and was greeted by Derek saying "Don't hurry, the system is down."

We've been hit by Ye Olde LovSam Worm. I'm posting this from one of the crapola old machines in GovDocs.

I foresee much paperwork today. And mockery of Bill Gates.

Retail therapy and other fun stuff

Wow. Even with the worm and the annoying patrons, I'm in an amazingly good mood. Well, except for the splitting headache I developed ten minutes ago. Ow. How long does it take an Aleve to kick in? Ow.

Last night I decided to indulge in a little retail therapy at Tar-jay. They didn't have the Jeff Buckley CD I wanted (I've decided, after years of hearing everyone's raves, to try Jeff Buckley), but I found something even better: Johnny Cash's latest, The Man Comes Around. Then I stood there for like an hour debating whether to buy the one-volume version of Lord of the Rings or maybe pick up a copy of The Hobbit for that matter. I managed to bypass both, telling myself the library has lots of copies. Then I went home and didn't even get around to listening to Johnny Cash (it's cool; I've already heard it and it both rules AND rocks) because I got so sucked into the battered paperback of The Fellowship of the Ring I picked up at a used bookstore with alison_says. Stayed up way too late, but it was worth it. I think I've found a new obsession to rival Homicide (though I'm pretty certain I could never be more obsessed with anything than I am with Homicide). I foresee wasting lots of money on action figures in the future.

Now, of course, I'm overwhelmed. Why do the elves leave Middle-Earth? Why is the Lost Realm of Arnor lost? Can someone explain the essential things to read and perhaps let me know if there's a "best" edition of the books? And does anyone know where I can find some decent maps?