Taking stock of my day in the mid-afternoon I’d already: overslept because that’s my weekend rite.

I rode my bike, the Yankee and I pedaled up and down the streets behind us and enjoyed the calm spring air.

I played Beethoven. I learned Fur Elise, or at least the first nine notes or so.

I cleaned a bit, too, and that was all before the afternoon gave way.

That doesn’t sound like much, but it was frivolous and free and a fun way to start a weekend. I felt as if I had to pack in an extra bit of weekend since last Saturday and Sunday was spent in conference and travel.

The Auburn baseball game doesn’t figure into the weekend as that’s an integral part of most any spring day worth recalling. Tonight’s promotion is “Kids Take Over.” There was a kid on the P.A. for an inning. Others threw out t-shirts, did the camera work and so on. They should do that every night.

The Tigers are struggling, though, having now lost four conference games in a row and struggling in the bullpen and with a few tough breaks here and there. So it doesn’t help that this weekend’s opponent is top-ranked Vanderbilt. The Commodores won tonight 11-6, as the Tigers gave up 20 hits.

Two stories to chew on: Snooki had a $32,000 appearance fee at Rutgers. Pulitzer Prize winner Toni Morrison is getting $30,000 for speaking at graduation. Two of Snooki’s highlights:

When asked her inspiration in life, Snooki said: “Being tan. When you’re tan, you feel better about yourself.”

Snooki brought a Rutgers student on stage and offered to put her hair in a “pouf” using a banana hair clip. Snooki wasn’t thrilled with the results. “That’s as good as it’s gonna get,” she said. When asked what she uses to style her own “pouf,” Snooki said he relies on Aussie-brand hair products. “Smells good and stays in good,” she said.

And, for fun, read the comments on that story.

Closer to home, the state is making 15 percent budget cuts and promising at least 15 percent budget cuts next year. Alabama lawmakers are due a nice raise:

”It looks terrible. It not only looks terrible, it is terrible,” (Sen. Gerald) Dial (R-Lineville) said, adding that a state forestry commission employee he met at the post office Friday said he expects to lose his job this summer.

”We’re terminating this month people. We’re in the worst budget crisis we’ve ever seen, and the Legislature is going to get a cost of living raise?” he asked.

[…]

But state Rep. John Rogers, D-Birmingham, said he thinks the inflation adjustment is fair. ”Every time the cost of living goes up, our expenses go up too,” Rogers said. ”It just keeps us at an even keel.”

Asked whether the adjustment looked bad in light of recent budget cuts, Rogers said an increase of $792 a year per lawmaker wasn’t much. ”That little bit doesn’t make any difference at all,” he said.

[…]

Rep. Demetrius Newton, D-Birmingham said he plans to accept the increase. ”I’m going to accept anything that I’m legally entitled to do,” he said.

Lawmakers can opt this month (a few have) but that is purely symbolism. All of this is on the heels of a 72 percent pay raise lawmakers gave themselves a few years ago. They really need that money.