Today will be my first day of volunteering at the BMC bookshop here in town. The store is a non-profit organization, run by volunteers, with the income generated going toward scholarships to my alma mater. You can imagine that a used bookshop is not in the position to provide full funding to students, but every little bit counts, and it’s a neat set-up. All of the books are acquired through donation, and the shop is run by volunteers.

I anticipate that, as the youngest weekday volunteer by at least 20 years, I will be doing a lot of lifting and carrying. I am looking forward to getting back to regular bookstore work as well. Alphabetizing is, I’ve found, a much more satisfying activity than exam grading (for example).

To get to the shop from my house, I’ll need to branch out and take a Metro bus. I could, I suppose, just take two trains and walk an extra mile and a bit. But, the weather forecast includes 25 to 35 mph winds today, so I’m thinking that the bus is a better option. There are two buses I could take: one that is more geographically direct, but requires me to walk about 1/2 mile once I get off the metro, or one that is more geographically distant, but picks up right outside the metro stop. I think I will try the latter this morning, and the first this afternoon, when I will be starting to hit rush hour traffic and the time spent walking will likely equal the extra time sitting in traffic. I have my schedules printed out and ready to go in my bag, and if I just don’t forget to bring change and get a bus transfer, I’ll be good to go.

In keeping with the buying part of my book challenge, I am going to endeavor to convince myself that books from a used bookstore count as ‘new,’ and not end up bringing things home from the shop every week. I slid a bit at Powell’s, and bought some used poetry books, but I’m back on the wagon. I swear.