Thoughts on Working Evenings

A late post today. I'm still at the library--working the night shift. That means I was here from 2:30, and I'll be here until 11. It's been quite a while since I worked this late, and it's bringing back some old memories. I remember the days of working in the Periodicals department at BYU's library. They'd play the Sleeping Beauty Waltz at closing time, followed by When the Saints Go Marching In. Part of me really likes working at night. I'm more of a night person in general, and I like having all that time in the morning to do whatever I want. Of course, working in the morning is good, too--usually by the time I'm totally with it, part of the work day's already over. :-) Today, I'm fairly tired, mainly because I was working on my house all morning. That's right--after weeks of sickness, I was finally well enough to do some light labor. It went well enough, work-wise. Money-wise . . . that's a different story. It turns out that a lot of the fascia (the boards up by the roof line) are rotten as well, and they need to be replaced. The cost for the materials isn't too bad (like $600), but of course that also adds labor time, as well--which can add up.

I just have to keep reminding myself how good this will all look once it's all finished.

Anyway--break is over. Back to work.

A General Update on My Life

Had a friend who I hadn't heard from in a while email me the other day, and I finally got around to replying with a general update on what my family and me have been up to recently. I figured I'd put it up here for you all to read, as well--because sometimes I think it's nice just to get a general overview, and this blog can get bogged down in specifics (and movie reviews) from time to time. Anyway--here you go:

I'm happy to report that Bryce-topia is chugging along just fine. TRC is 5 now (and proud of that fact). He loves Kindergarten (well, truth be told, I think he loves the bus ride most of all), and he's reading up a storm. DC is approaching 20 months, and she's also doing well. She's a tank--very solid, and really tall. Stubborn as all get out.

DKC has been picking up all manner of skills, from perfecting her knitting to gardening to basket weaving teaching to butter making to lawn mowing (sometimes) to who-knows-what-next. I think she's prepping for a reality show that she's enrolled us in secretly.

I'm thoroughly enjoying my job as a librarian. It can get kind of hectic at times (especially now, when we're down a position), but in the end, it's still just a library. No one will die because of something I do or don't do, and I'd like to keep it that way. I'm still writing in my free time, but have yet to publish anything other than alpaca fantasy novels.

We love Maine--the people are all very independent and go-getters. We've been canoeing, snow shoeing, hiking, skiing, ice skating, blueberry/strawberry picking and maple syrup(ing?). DKC has devoted a fair part of our land to a garden, and we've been steadily working away at our 1830s farmhouse, getting it up to snuff. (Current problems: a cracked chimney and old siding on the barn. Oh--and a lack of funding. Always that.) The weather is fantastic right now--the leaves are turning, the air is brisk but not too cold, and I no longer have to mow the lawn twice a week. (That's a definite plus.)


That's all that's relevant from the email. If I haven't heard from you lately, and you'd like to give me an update on your life, leave a comment or drop me a line. I'd love to hear from you, too.

Movie Review: Lars and the Real Girl

DKC and I watched one of the most unique romantic comedies over the weekend, but I've got a feeling the plot summary alone is going to turn off many of my readers. Don't let it dissuade you! This is a movie worth watching--very funny and sweet. The movie in question? Lars and the Real Girl. The plot summary? A detached man orders a sex doll online, then pretends she's his real life girl friend. See what I mean? It's hard to recover after you read that bit about a sex doll. Would it help any if I said they handled her very tastefully? No, it wouldn't--because I just used the word "handled" with "sex doll" as its direct object. Hrm . . .

Perhaps the best way I can combat any arguments is to say that DKC liked it, too. So there.

The acting was superb, and it had just the right dose of independent film spirit--not too completely quirky, but different enough that you were never sure what you were going to get. Unpredictable. What's even scarier is the fact that I've read articles about people like Lars--people who really get so far gone into delusion that they start treating inanimate dolls like real people.

Anyway--I give it a strong 3.5 stars. Maybe even four, if I'm feeling particularly good. Anyone else out there seen it already? I'd appreciate some back up on this recommendation here. :-)

Drive to Bangor

Spent the day in Bangor today for a work meeting. It was quite the beautiful drive--the leaves are changing, the sun was out, and there wasn't much traffic. (Note--"not much traffic" in Maine equates to "no traffic" other places.) Nothing like driving on a pleasant day, my trusty iPod by my side, and a GPS in front of me to help if I get lost. Very nice.

I haven't given an update on writing progress in a while, so here's a quick rundown. I've been working on a new book--one that I'm planning as the first of a seven part series. (I'll only write book one for now, and then see where it goes from there.) It was going to be middle grade, but the magic system has gotten more complex than I'd thought it would be at first, and I'm upping it to YA to compensate for that. It's a belief-based magic that draws on everything from aliens to ghosts to Santa Claus. I'm pretty excited for the book--the trick right now is getting the voice down. I've written first person so much, but I want to try another third person this go round, with multiple viewpoints.

Some of the hardest times for me writing-wise come at the start of a new book. There's so much to plan and think out, and I have a hard time keeping it all straight in my head. Once I'm rolling, then I start churning out the pages, but getting rolling can be difficult. Case in point--I've started this new book about seven different ways already. One or two started going well, only to end up at a point where I realized I needed to think things through some more. I've got another approach in mind now--hopefully this is the one, but we'll see.

Actually selling a book would be a very nice thing--I look around my house these days, and it's hard not to see things in terms of dollar signs. :-)

Happy weekend, everyone!

Why I Like Autumn

One of the biggest perks of being out here in Maine for me is definitely the fact that the four seasons are so distinct. It's like everything's magnified. Winter is WINTER--no doubt about it in your mind. It's cold, it's long, and it's full of snow. It's everything you'd think a winter would be. Spring is SPRING--the contrast to the winter alone is enough to make it that much more noticeable, but then you have all these lovely flowers and blossoming trees and pleasant weather (and mud and black flies, but we're being positive here, folks--work with me.) Summer is about as extreme as I'd like summer to get. You know it's summer--it's hotter than I'd like, but it's only in the nineties for a week or two a year. So summer isn't SUMMER, but that's a very good thing in my book. And finally, autumn is AUTUMN--the trees change into a quilt of color that looks different almost every time you glance out the window. The nights are cool, the days breezy--what's not to like?

Honestly, I'm just glad more people don't have a high tolerance for snow--because if that were the case, then there would be way too many people where I live.

Autumn for me is the start of the best time of the year. My birthday starts it off, and then it's a rollicking ride through Halloween, Thanksgiving, Christmas, New Years and Groundhog Day. Always something to look forward to for five straight months.

Very nice.

Masons (Free Would be Preferrable, but We're Talking Chimneys Here, Folks)

So my chimney has a 1/2 inch crack in it that runs for three feet or so. You don't want that when you're using the chimney to burn 4 cord of wood a winter, or at least that's what they tell me. I'm in the process of getting masons to come to my house and give me estimates. Here's the thing--what estimate do I go with? Should I take el cheapo or the el expensivo? (My Spanish is clearly lacking here--sorry.) I mean, the cheap one would be great for my pocketbook, but why is it so cheap? I don't want to skimp on safety. The expensive one: one would assume you get better quality? Maybe?

The big goal is this: I want to successfully continue to burn wood in my house, without my house burning down. A secondary goal is: I'd like to be able to afford it.

If only life were easy. If anyone knows any good masons in the area, I'm still on the lookout . . .

In other house news, the rotten sill my barn was sitting on is now fixed! And we're starting work on the scraping, sanding, and painting. Navajo Red stain, actually. Very exciting, and much more visible a fix than the chimney fix will be.

Internet Connections and Fair Observations

Still pretty slow on the typing front, so today will be short, again. I just wanted to know how you all connect to the internet, and how satisfied you are with that connection. Right now we're on cable, and I like it fine--except at night, when the speed seems to plummet because everyone else is on at the same time. Does that happen to you, too? I'm thinking about switching, but I don't want to if it's just to end up with the same problem. However, paying for 4mb/s and getting .5 is not my idea of a fun time.

In other news, we went to the fair last night. DKC and TRC entered things into the competition this year, and I'm proud to say they all placed in whatever they entered. TRC got third place for both paintings he entered, and DKC got two first places (for a basket and a loaf of bread), a second place (for a basket), and two third places (for dill and a baby sweater). So celebrations all around.

And now, I'm going to go rest my forearms.

Officially 31

That's right. I'm almost through with 31 years of life. Better yet, I'm not feeling like I'm in agony any time I move anymore. You might have noticed I disappeared from the face of the earth last week--my flu or whatever it was returned with a vengeance. For four days, all my muscles felt like someone was trying to stab them with daggers anytime I moved. Now they're all just really tired. Tired enough that typing this isn't the easiest thing in the world for me. (I'm going to keep this short because of that.) I've been to the hospital and had tests done now, though--and apparently I'm normal. Not sure if this was H1N1 or not, but it was crappy regardless. Glad it's over.

Anywho.

I'm going to give my fingers a rest now. Just wanted to drop in and say hi, thank you all for the birthday wishes, and wish you all a happy autumn. Summer's over. YAY!!!!!

Now I just need to finish fixing my siding, repairing my chimney and getting my new wood stove, and life can go on.


:-)

The Joys of Home Ownership

Today was supposed to be pretty straightforward. We were going to have an outlet put in for the wood stove, and double check that the chimney was okay to have a wood stove on it.

But the chimney is not okay.

There's a big half inch cracking running through it, and you can see the lining through it. That's not exactly something that says "your house won't burn down," which means there's no way in Hades I'm going to run a wood stove until it's fixed. Calls are out now to local masons to come and give me some estimates. On the plus side, I didn't have to get an outlet for the wood stove installed. :-)

To top everything off, my flu thing has returned with a vengeance. Every muscle in my body aches right now, and no sane amount of pain medication is helping. Looks like I'm heading to the doctor tomorrow.

And here I was thinking all those muscle aches only came from the accordion . . .

Movie Review: My Dinner with Andre

So I'd been hearing more and more about how great My Dinner with Andre is, making me break down and move it up in my Netflix queue. I'm happy to report that the buzz was true: it really is a fantastic movie. But at the same time, it's not necessarily a movie. It's one long dinner scene, consisting almost solely of two characters (Wallace Shawn--better known as Vizzini from Princess Bride) and Andre Gregory) talking to each other. That's it. It's not a film you watch to really be entertained by. It's a film you watch to get yourselves thinking about things. I told DKC after we watched it that it's a really dense film, and that's the best way I can describe it. There are so many ideas jam packed in that hour and fifty minutes, that you'll have a hard time taking them all in in one sitting. DKC and I ended up talking about the film for at least a half hour after it was done, and I think there's much more conversation to be had about it. It's one of those films that stays with you--that you'll start using to illustrate your own ideas years later.

You really ought to see it.

A word of caution, however. About halfway through, I had to convince DKC to finish the film. Not because it was crude or bloody or anything (it's just a dinner scene, folks--it's unrated, but it would easily be G if it were rated). No--it's because the first half doesn't exactly draw you in. Andre dominates that part of the conversation, and he's quite the New-Age man. He talks about a series of experiences, each more bizarre than the last, and you're left wondering when this movie is going to get in gear, and where exactly it's headed. Then Wally starts speaking, and the two start actually engaging in real conversation, with real ideas and opinions--and that's when you realize that the first half is setting things up for the second half, so that it can all work the way its intended. The second half more than makes up for that seemingly bizarre first 45 minutes or so. Stick with it.

Four stars.

Me and Sick

So I got sick again Friday night. Some sort of strange flu-thing that lasted all of 12 hours or so. (Is there a 12 hour flu?) Anyway--I debated even mentioning it, but hey--it's my blog, so I can mention what I want.

That said, I also wanted to make a general announcement:

I'm well aware that I get sick a lot.

Really. You don't need to point it out to me. I've heard most of it before, and when you catch colds and flus and whatnot all the time, it gets a little old when people remind you that "Gee, you sure do get sick a lot." Now, sometimes no doubt I have friends on Facebook or wherever who have fallen out of touch with me for a while, and they are just coming to this realization. So I understand why I hear it every time I post am "I hate being sick" status update or blog post. That doesn't mean I'm not tired of hearing it--just that I understand.

The good news is that this sick is nothing compared to how I was in Utah. In Utah, sick was a permanent thing for me. I had some sort of strange chronic fatigue thing going that none of the doctors could figure out. I've decided I was likely allergic to the state. I'm not allergic to Maine, thankfully--but I still catch whatever's going around.

Maybe I should just stop making sick posts, but you know what? I like to whine. So I don't think I'll stop. I'll just wind up with this:

I agree. I get sick a lot.

Thank goodness I get better a lot, too.

Book Review: Knife of Dreams

Knife of Dreams by Robert Jordan

My rating: 4 of 5 stars
What a relief. I so did not want to hate Robert Jordan's last book, and I'm happy to be able to report that, on the contrary, I enjoyed the book very much. In fact, if GoodReads would let me, I think I'd give it 4.5 stars. Why, you ask?

Well, I'll admit that some of it might well have to do with expectations. After the Epic Fail that was Crossroads of Twilight, my expectations for this book were right around the level of "hope and a prayer that it doesn't suck." So getting something actually good instead makes it seem that much better. (This is the same reason I think so many people loved Pirates of the Caribbean 1, but were let down by the sequels. The first one they expected to be awful. The second and third they expected to be great. Expectations are everything, sometimes.)

But beyond simple expectations, there's a feeling in this book of finality--of things all coming to a head at last. Jordan's gearing his characters up for some Really Big Stuff, and he does it very well. Yes, now and then he still devolves into a page turn stopping block of description, but Stuff Happens in this book. What stands out in particular?

Egwene in the Tower--I'd totally forgotten about this plot sequence, and I thoroughly enjoyed it. Mat and Tuon continued to impress, especially the climax. Rand's showdown with Semirhage was intense, and his continued preparations were fun to read. And who can forget Perrin's section, where the Faile escapade finally comes to an end. Surprisingly, I enjoyed it--just wish it had come a lot sooner.

I continue to be let down by Elayne's plot line, though. Thank goodness it got fairly tied up in this book. That has always felt like one big aside that didn't really matter. But that's just me.

So there you have it. I finished the reread in time for Brandon's book to be released next month. Overall, I'm very glad I took the time to revisit the series. For the most part, the books are fast paced and interesting throughout. That's quite the accomplishment, considering how many pages there are.

Would I recommend others do the reread? Not really. Not unless they're Big Fans. But I DO recommend rereading Knife of Dreams. Not only will it remind you all of where the series is, but it's a fun book to read. Can't wait for #12 . . .

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Two Definitions

Definition of a good feeling: when you go to your Kindergartener's school's open house, and you talk to his teacher to see how he's doing, and she has nothing but glowing things to say about him. Now granted, I expect she tries to have nothing but glowing things to say about all her students, but still . . .

I think I'm allowed a bit of fatherly pride.

Definition of a bad feeling: when you get an installation cost estimate for that wood stove you're planning on getting, and the installation costs as much as the wood stove.

And the wood stove ain't cheap.

Sunny Weather and a Movie Review: Chisum

It's definitely getting fallish outside--can even see some leaves changing colors already. Can I say how much I love fall? If only I didn't have 80,000,000 things to do at work, life would be very pleasant right now. By the end of September, we should have the siding on our garage repaired and painted, a new wood stove installed, and maybe even some of the floors inside our house un-paintified. (Paint + hardwood = fail, IMHO.) At any rate--we should be plenty busy in the weeks to come. Wish us luck.

And now, on to the review. A John Wayne movie I don't recall adding to my Netflix queue somehow not only appeared in said queue, but jumped to the first position and ended up in my mailbox. I went back and checked--it was in my queue. Can't remember why I put it there, let alone why I moved it to that coveted #1 slot, but anyway . . . at least it was good. :-)

Chisum is a western done in the old tradition, meaning John Wayne plays the lead--an older lead, but still the same rock-solid, dependable mountain of a man, who has to stand up to injustice in the west to make sure right wins the day. Fairly predictable, but beautifully filmed, and rousing nonetheless. Three stars--you could definitely do worse if you wanted to watch a western.

How I Got Really Sick, then Better, then Proceeded to Do Something Really Stupid

The first part of this story is fairly easy to tell. Last Tuesday, I started getting this itch in the back of my throat. A little tingle of things to come. By Wednesday morning, it had ballooned into the full flu, and I spent Wednesday, Thursday and Friday completely focused on Not Dying. I'm happy to report I was successful. By Saturday, I was starting to feel at least 25% better, which was something. (It really helped that BYU beat Oklahoma that evening--what a game!) Sunday took care of another 50% of the sick, and so by Labor Day, I was doing pretty well.

Here comes the stupid.

Labor Day started out pretty good. Got a good 750 words or so done on the new book (and figured out I'm going to have to tweak the main character a bit), helped the wife make some potato salad, went to a church BBQ, and then . . . had the genius idea of taking the family shopping. Really, this wasn't that bad of an idea--it certainly isn't the stupid that still loomed in my future yesterday. We got some good deals, got some home renovation supplies, clothes--necessary things. (Even a wireless keyboard for my new laptop hook up on the TV--very nice!) We got home around 8, and (wait for it) I decided to install one of the new lights.

Not that I've ever really switched out light fixtures before, but I figured, how hard can it be? Note to self: any time you have to approach a task with "How hard can it be" in mind, you're much better off approaching it earlier than 8 o'clock at night.

Three and a half hours later, I had the light switched. Some of this is my fault. I messed up the wiring and couldn't figure out how to fix it. Some of it is the cursed light's fault. I've never seen such a cruddy installation design in my life. But regardless of whose fault it was, I was pretty darned riled up at 11:30, and then Florida State lost to Miami. I couldn't fall asleep. My mind kept going over electrical problems. (Some of this might have to do with the fact that I electrocuted myself in the process of installing the light. If I seem a little jittery the next few days, now you know why.)

Anyway, this is all to say that I ended up with less than 5 hours of sleep last night. Just as I was recovering from my sick. I haven't had a relapse today, but I sure am wishing I hadn't decided to install that accursed light last night. So much so that I've officially given DKC permission from now on to say "Remember Labor Day" if she sees me making a similar mistake in the future. It'll be sort of like that rallying cry of Texas (Remember the Alamo!)

All you faithful readers out there, learn something from me. Don't be stupid.

Remember Labor Day!

Book Review: Crossroads of Twilight

Crossroads of Twilight by Robert Jordan

My rating: 1 of 5 stars
Yikes. I'll say that one more time. Yikes. If you've been reading these reviews, then you know that I'm a Wheel of Time fan. But no amount of fandom can salvage this book. I almost bumped it up to two stars, since the last 150 pages actually had some pretty cool stuff in them (Egwene's capture and Mat's courting of Tuon), but even those 150 pages really only have about 50-75 pages of Good in them. The rest of the book is filler.

F-I-L-L-E-R

This book could have been subtitled. Crossroads of Twilight: Stuff You Don't Really Care About. I realized there was a reason I didn't remember much of what happened in the book. It's not because I'd only read it once or twice before--it's because . . . nothing much happens in the book. After Winter's Heart, where Stuff Happens--stuff we actually care about--this novel is reduced to the first 3/4, where we just get everybody's daily routines while the Stuff from the last book is happening, and then the last 1/4 which advances the series a smidgen, but that's about it.

No wonder fans got fed up.

There were swathes of the book that I found myself not just skimming, but literally flipping pages to find out when something else happened. I'm sorry, but the strength of this series isn't found in 5 pages of densely packed text to describe what a scene looks like, or what a character had for breakfast. It's found in engaging characters involved in engaging action.

If you're a Mormon, you'll get it when I say Crossroads of Twilight is the Second Nephi of the Wheel of Time. If you're not, then suffice it to say that it's hard reading.

Anyway--that's enough of me being negative. I'll move on now, and hope that the next book is better . . .

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