Break Time

Time for a short break from non-fiction. Not that I'm getting burned out or anything, but with 1 week till moving into the new house I need to focus.

A break from non-fiction, but not from reading altogether. I am re-reading Ready Player One by Ernest Cline in preparation for the Book Lounge Happy Hour on July 26th at The Bridge in downtown Columbia. Now if I can only figure out where I packed that Atari 2600 joystick . . .

The most fun I've had reading a novel in a long time.

Heroes

So the reading project has come to a screeching halt, I'm sad to say. With birthdays, 4th of July festivities, and packing I have had a hard time even remembering where the books were!

I'm still trying to get some reading done at lunch though and I have to say, the more I read about Matthew Fontaine Maury in Tracks in the Sea by Chester G. Hearn, the further he rises in my list of personal heroes.

Currently I have him listed above Forge from the X-Men and below Ash from Evil Dead/Army of Darkness fame.

Shop Smart, Shop S-Mart

Lets hope I can get some inspiration from the honorable Mr Maury and the chiansaw-handed Ash and get back into the swing of things.

The curious tale of the bucket of potatoes

The curious tale of the bucket of potatoes:
My father-in-law grows potatoes in Nebraska. Back in April, before Emma was born, my mother-in-law brought us some potatoes as well as some for my sister-in-law. Until we would be able to deliver them, we sat them in our storage closet .

We forgot about them . . . a lot.

As a result, I was in for quite a surprise when I opened the storage closet this weekend:

Oh, hello potatoes

I went to throw them away when my wife said: 'Stop, keep the bucket.'

'Why?' I asked.
'Obviously you didn't grow up on a farm.' She replied.
Obviously I didn't because I still didn't understand. Apparently 5 gallon buckets are hot commodities on the farm. And I'm guessing that translates that they will be at our impending homestead as well. (T-minus 1 month till closing!)

The reading project got some life breathed back into it this weekend, I was able to get some reading in during my lunch break at job #2 on Saturday. I'm looking forward to getting back in the groove the week.

Talk radio, housing contracts, and a little JoCo

I had a great time on the radio yesterday. A big thank you to David Lile, Spencer & Lauren, and KFRU for having me on the program. For those of you interested in hearing my interview, have a listen: 
Man Vs Nonfiction on KFRU

Most of my reading this week is coming in the form of contracts, inspection reports, and loan documentation.  Fun! I'm looking forward to getting back into the swing of things next week. Meanwhile, time to ready the Jonathan Coulton playlist and press on.

On Air

First of all, a big thank you to Lauren and the DBRL Next blog for the mention! If you haven't checked it out, hop on over and get signed up for summer reading!

And, while on the subject of shameless self-promotion, I'll be talking to David Lile on KFRU this coming Wednesday, June 20th at 8:30AM about the Man Vs Nonfiction project. If you're in the Columbia/Central Missouri area tune in to 1400.

For those of you waiting for the publicity to make my head to get too big to fit in this blog, relax. This is not about me. This isn't a stunt to get people to look at me. I'm an IT guy, we tend to stick to the shadows, blend in. A good IT guy knows he's done his job if no one realizes he was there.

No, this is about Emma and making a rich, book-filled, environment for her to grow up in. And if I have to read through some knitting books, books about termites (I have some slight Isopterophobia), histories of infectious disease, or *shudders* books about Macs then so be it.

As excited as I am about this project, a new wrench has just been thrown at it: we are buying a house.

I am supremely excited at the idea of being a homeowner, I cannot wait to have a back yard, to grill on my deck, to teach Emma to crawl around in the family room. We are currently hoop jumping and are *fingers crossed* about a month and a half away from having our first home. Wish us luck!

So maybe my reading will slow down a bit, but it might also make me nervous/anxious enough to calm myself by knocking out a couple books a week, who knows?

Weekend? What is this 'Weekend' you speak of?

Working in Loss Prevention has a drawback, it makes you paranoid. When I first started looking at the cameras and watching for potential shoplifters I kept saying to myself, don't judge someone just because of how they look. I didn't need to. You see, when you are watching the cameras you realize something, Everyone is trying to steal from you!

 

What's this guy doing? Looking at shirts? I'll keep an eye on him . . .

That lady has been looking at watches for like 3 minutes, I bet she is trying to figure out how to steal them . . .

3 kids sorting through dog collars??? Mother of God! Get me the national guard!

3 years I have been perfecting my paranoia, and while I have caught many would-be thieves (though not as many I think I should have) it began to occur to me that all this time staring at screens and worrying about a losing a $4.99 item might not be to good for me in the long run.

And just as these thoughts popped in my head, my new boss dropped a bomb. He said they have hired some new people and I might not be working as much. And indicated I might not be on the schedule at all this summer.

I still can't understand the concept of not having to work a 2nd job. In 2009 I had 1 job, after I was laid off *the day after I got back from my Honeymoon, no less! Sorry, still a little peeved about that . . . jerks*

I started working part time, 4 different places. Church Janitor, Garden Center employee, Meat Counter employee, Santa Claus impersonator. How's that for a work week? A wee bit hectic, but I managed.

So, going down to one job means I would have weekends off. Like 2 days in a row off! This concept is mind bottling. with two days off I might be able to get some more reading in, which means I might finish my project before I turn 75. Maybe . . .

Speaking of the project, new week and a new book. Meet Selection #6, 909.0982 GRA, or according to my spreadsheets: G2(N)7:7

From Alexander to Cleopatra: The Hellenistic World by Michael Grant

I know far too little about Greek history, looking forward to this one.

Oddity

A strange thing happened last night. My girls were taking a nap, the Western Conference Finals was wrapping up, and I had some time to myself. The first thought that came to my mind was to fire up the XBOX and see if could level my Skyrim character up some more. Then, unexpectedly, inexplicably, instead I reached for a book and read.
I know right!
This reading routine just might take up roots after all. Miss Emma is getting pretty good at sticking to her schedule. And she seems to like being read to. We started off with a book called Spots and Dots by Beth Harwood:

Mommy reading Spots and Dots

I wanted to start her off with The Chronicles of Narnia by C.S. Lewis, but my wife and I could not agree on whether we would begin at The Magician's Nephew or The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe. Plus, Emma seems to be into bright colors and shiny things, something the Narnia series I bought her lacks.