Transportation issues

Since we are not going to Ohio (at least not for a month or so), we got tickets to go to the minor-league baseball game in Round Rock on Sunday. We are going to drive up that way and mess around for a couple of days. We are not going to see my sister. Is that terrible of me? We're really not planning on spending much time in Austin at all - we are spending the night (at least one night) in New Braunfels. I haven't spent much time in that area in years and I just want to poke around a bit! And hey, bonus: wildflowers!

Apparently the credit-card companies require the airlines - at least the shakier ones, like Skybus - to maintain special accounts to cover people like me in case they go out of business. I haven't called Bank of America to ask yet, but that makes me a bit more confident that I will get my money back. (I hate making phone calls so I've been putting it off. I wonder if I could get away with e-mailing them instead.)

I got a call saying a spot had opened up in the Plaza parking garage, which is the closest garage to work, for me - I don't care so much about that, since where I am now isn't that much further, but they are also supposed to build a building where I'm parking now before too long, so I figured I'd better take it. But jesus, $62.50 a month? That's nearly twice what I was paying before. Our cost of living has already skyrocketed in the last year, it's just one more thing. At least they take it out pre-tax.

I have now seen the new $5 bill in person and it is scary. If I hadn't known about it ahead of time I wouldn't've thought it was real money. (Also, the Bureau of Engraving and Printing's new website cracks me up - "moneyfactory.gov.")