July 31, 2008

Bacon?

BACON!

July 29, 2008

Baa, Baa. I Have No Wool.

I’ve always tried – the best I know how – to be a good son, grandson, uncle and family member. Sometimes I mess up really bad. I’ll freely admit I’m not that good with birthdays. I may call late, but eventually I remember. I usually don’t send cards or gifts, but I know how to do Christmas. It hasn’t always been that way, but now I’m no slouch. My parents frequently accuse me of being too extravagant where my nephew is concerned. The Major also gives me warnings every year not to spend too much money. So, you might only get a call (belatedly) for your birthday, but you can count on a nice Christmas present.

I’m seriously trying to love the parents I have, and not the parents I wish I had. But it’s getting really difficult these days. It seems like they always need a black sheep in the family, and I’m the new one. From my point of view, my parents’ tendency to play favorites is the crux. My sister has always been their favorite. This hasn’t always been the easiest thing for me to deal with, but I have been more or less able to overlook it. It’s been harder since my niece was born. As she’s grown, she’s become the apple of my parents’ eye and my nephew has become a very distant second fiddle.

I’ve seen my parents fawn over my niece, but only offer negative feedback to my nephew: “sit down over there and play quietly,” or “not now, I’m holding the baby.” They’ve babysat her every workday, to help my sister out, but they haven’t made much of an effort to see their grandson. Unfortunately, my nephew and his mother have noticed this trend and are understandably very upset. It’s getting pretty bad; my sister-in-law is getting to the point where she doesn’t want to have anything to do with my parents.

In the interest of family unity, I’ve tried to explain to my parents how their behavior is perceived, which they have dismissed. I’ve made my trips home as much about my nephew as possible; I want my nephew to know that he’s got at least one family member that hasn’t forgotten about him. My parents have told me that I’m just spoiling him.

I’m completely at my wits end here. My parents have made their granddaughter so much the center of their lives, that any discussion on the matter puts them immediately on the defensive. Any perceived slight to the baby is met with retalition; they didn't send me a birthday gift this year because I hadn't done anything for my niece's birthday. I truly wish that they could see that this isn’t about right or wrong, my opinion or their opinion; it’s about one child being lavished with praise and attention and another being criticized and ignored. My niece isn’t old enough to be hurt by this behavior, my nephew is.

July 23, 2008

Addendum to the Booksplosion

In the great list of books I've read to keep me from going crazy 2008 edition, I completely overlooked one: Marley and Me. Everyone should read this book. Part biography of a young family starting out, part memoir, part story of the world's worst dog, this book was so good I read it in one sitting. Even if you're not a dog lover, you will be extremely touched by this book. Grogan adeptly captures and relates how dog-owners feel about their 4-legged fur children. You'll laugh at Marley's exploits, you'll groan with embarrassment at some of his more public misdeeds, and you'll share the overwhelming grief that comes from having to say good-bye to a loved pet. But I think most importantly, Marley's story will have you fondly (and probably tearfully) recalling memories of those pets that have came and brought so much joy into your lives.

Extra! Extra!

Somehow, despite all the crazy that has been going on my life lately, I’ve been on a major reading jag. Since the start of my trip to LA on June 25th, I’ve worked my way through quite a number of novels.

The Well of Ascension: Second in a trilogy, what I liked best is that the characters are very well realized. Also, Sanderson uses standard fantasy elements but they don’t yield the standard fantasy result. This bodes well for A Memory of Light, which Sanderson has been asked to write due to the untimely demise of The Wheel of Time’s Robert Jordan.

The Last Oracle: A good, but not great action/adventure novel. It’s got a great premise, but it’s not as well realized as some of Rollins’ other books and ideas. Still, Rollins is one of my favorites, so it made for a fun summer read.

The Innocent Mage/The Awakened Mage: This was a great find, and I’m glad Tor Books has been bringing Australian and Canadian authors to American audiences. Great world, interesting ideas. What I liked best was Miller’s revealing of plot secrets – elements that could have added a mystery-like feel to the novels she reveals to the reader almost immediately, while holding off on other more explosive elements (that you can’t see coming) for quite some time.

The Wheel of Darkness: An OK entry into the Agent Pendergast series of novels. Another good summer read, but nothing to really write home about.

Infoquake: Sci-Fi isn’t my usual thing, and this novel didn’t exactly set the sky on fire for me. However, I can recognize that this is a superior example of the genre. It’s like Donald Trump got set loose on the Virtual Reality Internet of the future.

El Juego del Angel: Ok, I know most of you probably can’t read Spanish, but luckily for you this is the 2nd novel in Zafon's Library of Forgotten Books series. (It’s not so much a series as stories taking place in the same world.) What this means for you is that you can read The Shadow of the Wind (his first novel) as it’s been translated into the English. Just do it, these are easily 2 of the best books I’ve read in years.

Finally, the Malator has gotten me hooked on Stephanie Meyer's Twilight series. I’ve read Twilight; I’m halfway through New Moon, and I’ve got Eclipse waiting in the wings.

Oh, I’m also reading Watchers and The Host. If only I could have read this much during Grad School.

July 21, 2008

200th Post - From The Depths of Doom

Yeah, yeah, yeah. I know there’s been a lack of posting going on here lately, and I’m sure you all are well nigh sick of staring at the cat that swallows souls. Although, it is kind of cool to start scrolling up and down as the image loads so you get cat eyeballs streaks on the page … Yes, I really am that easily entertained.

While I’ve been off the grid, incognito, skulking about in the shadows and generally just not being around, there’s been a whole lot of crazy going on. I got the flu in the early part of June; vomiting at the Pentagon Metro/Bus Station was definitely one of my life goals. I had a minor neck relapse in the middle of June that was easily remedied with some flexeril. I finished the month out with a 10-day business trip to Los Angeles.

The trip to LA was just crazy. All I did was work, eat and sleep (in that order.) I also got to see some of my co-workers behaving rather poorly. I won’t go into great detail, but I will say I was completely mortified by much of the behavior I saw. Oh, and I accumulated 40 hours of ‘overtime.’

I flew back to DC on the 4th (yes, there’s yet another story there that I’m not going to touch on.) And to account for the rest of my missing time, I somehow managed to throw my back out. I have no idea what I did or how I did it, but after 5 days of intense pain I finally got over myself and went to the Urgent Care. Their bedside manner could use a whole lot of improvement – I read my diagnosis on a sheet of paper they gave to me. However, they sent me home with Valium and Vicodin. As you might suspect, the last couple of days have been a smear in my memory. But I’m healthy, sober, and calm now so regular blogging will resume.