NaNoWriMo 09: Do you do research?

And if you do, what sorts of things do you research? Do you only look up the really big things, or the small things too?

I seem to research only really odd things.

My list so far consists of (but is not limited to): potatoes, the great Irish potato famine, the Great Chicago Fire, maglev trains, the history of flight, airplanes, train bombings across the world (especially those in London, New York, & Moscow), clouds, crop circles, & urban legends.

I'm pretty sure my novel is the first thing to combine all of those together.

Research help: Your Last Days?

I'm working really hard on one of my books right now & I need some help! So, if you could please leave comments here about what you would do if you found out you had only a few months left to live. What would you do? What sort of things would you want to see?

Things to keep in mind:
+ These things must be inexpensive
+ These things have to be able to happen in a small suburb. Which isn't that hard, just, not something that belongs in big cities.
+ The odder, the better. I like small town oddities.
+ My characters are all about 19 years old

Thanks in advance, this will really help my research. I'm planning on a lot of research trips with my writer friend Jessica (you may remember her from my NaNoWriMo 07 interviews) to really get a feel for this book. The first is a trip to the local forest preserve, which will play a part in the story, and serves the double purpose of getting my friend to see it as she's never been. Other crazier trips are in the planning stages, as well as looking into tattoos (though my character only ever thinks about it).