A $1300 Trip to Borders

Today was a sad day for me.  This was the first day of the Borders Bookstore liquidation sale.  Given my general lack of income (summer, no subbing, not ready with Plan D), I suppose I shouldn't have gone to the sale, but I did.  Most of the books were 10 or 20 percent off, which is nice, but I know I could get many of them cheaper online.

Yes, I'm one of the problem people that helped Borders go bankrupt.  I buy a lot of books online.  Truthfully, I buy a lot of used books online to be exact because I do have limited funds and I do read a lot.

Still, I liked Borders.  It had a great a math section -- much better than Barnes & Noble.  I ended up buying only 4 books because of issues with funding (sounds better than I didn't have the money!).  They were:

• The Infinite Book by John D. Barrow -- It's about the mathematical idea of infinity, including the countable variety of infinity. 
• The Calculus Wars by Jason Socrates Bardi  -- This is a history of the development of calculus and the fight between Sir Isaac Newton and Gottfried Leibnitz over credit for the key issue.
• Warriors Skyclan's Destiny by Erin Hunter  -- Yes, I read youth fiction, because it's about cats.
• Warriors Bluestar's Prophecy by Erin Hunter -- ditto

I'm not sure when I  will get to start reading any of these as I have at least 3 books to read and review for various authors.  I normally read a fiction book, a math book, and a cat book, so once I finish the math book I'm currently reading, I'll start on The Calculus Wars -- it's a bit easier to read at bedtime than non-Cantorian set theory!

So, you are probably asking how these four books could total $1300?  Simple, when I was done shopping and went to start my truck, it wouldn't start.  The alarm went off (and wouldn't stop -- grr).  I finally got it started and decided I should stop on the way home to have an oil change and have them check the battery and battery cables.  

That all went well until we got to the tires.  I knew the one tire was bad because I can't keep my Ford Ranger aligned.  I didn't know it was so bad that the metal cords were showing through.  Oops!  I also did realize the other 3 tires were almost as bad.  So, add 4 tires (expensive small truck tires) and lifetime alignment to everything else.  

Grand total for the day:  $1300.  The saving grace is because I bought tires and it was over $700, I get free passes to San Diego Zoo!

I think I'll become a hermit again!