Funny..... but not really.

The other day at work I walked into an apartment where one of the carpenters was working. He happened to be listening to the radio, and right when I came through the door an ad came on for a fund raising walk. It started with a woman saying, "I didn't know that depression could lead to suicide, until my husband died." The carpenter and I just looked at each other and almost burst out laughing at the ridiculousness of it. Where did she think it was going to lead, bake sales and pep rallies? Not funny I know, but ridiculous and horrible, horrible advertising.

The second almost-but-not-quite happened during the evening the same day. I was hanging out with a friend at their college in the cafeteria . At one table were two monks (literal robe wearing Franciscan monks) talking, while three tables away were a couple of kids in ripped sweats swearing as much as they were talking. Maybe not necessarily funny but the contrast was certainly striking.

A Month Late

My brother Derrick has been keeping track of his reading list for many years, and for many years I have been both admiring and jealous it him. This last year I finally found a way to make it work for me, so for the first time since grade school I can look back and see how I've spent my reading time.

I meant to post this back in January but after I had written the list and before I had posted it, I accidentally deleted it. Not wanting to sit down and write it all out again, I waited until now to try again. So here for your interest (and my ego) is my 2009 reading list.



Hero of Ages Brandon Sanderson 556
Sky of Swords Dave Duncan 450
The Galactic Gourmet James White 238
Mairelon the Magician Patricia Wrede 210
Magician’s Ward Patricia Wrede 209
The Last Guru Daniel Pinkwater 112

January Books 6 Pages 1775

The Three Musketeers Alexander Dumas 655
Blood Rites Jim Butcher 342
Dead Beat Jim Butcher 395
Catch 22 Joseph Heller 238 (D.N.F.)
Fanuilh Daniel Hood 216
Wizard’s Heir Daniel Hood 226

February Books 5.334 Pages 2072

Beggar’s Banquet Daniel Hood 237
Jane Eyre Charlotte Bronte 407
Bridge to Terabithia Katherine Paterson 128

March Books 3 Pages 772

The Colour of Magic Terry Pratchett 173
The Light Fantastic Terry Pratchett 172
Proven Guilty Jim Butcher 404
The Gypsy Morph Terry Brooks 402
Trading in Danger Elizabeth Moon 294
A War of Gifts Orson S. Card 126

April Books 6 Pages 1571

Marque and Reprisal Elizabeth Moon 324
Lord Valentine’s Castle Robert Silverberg 444
The Wings of Pegasus Anne McCaffery 446
Final Diagnosis James White 236
Engaging the Enemy Elizabeth Moon 401
Pegasus in Space Anne McCaffery 350
Sackett’s Land Louis L’Amour 134
To the Far Blue Mountains Louis L’Amour 242

May Books 8 Pages 2577

The Shining Steven King 505
Small Favor Jim Butcher 420
To the Last Man Jeff Shaara 636
The Adventures of Dr.Who Terrance Dicks 307
Tuck Stephen Lawhead 443
Lords and Ladies Terry Pratchett 314
Enders Shadow Orson S. Card 382

June Books 7 Pages 3007

Taggerung Brian Jacques 403
White Night Jim Butcher 404
The Rowan Anne McCaffery 235

July Books 3 Pages 1042

Seventh Son Orson Scott Card 241
The Silent Blade R.A. Salvatore 394
Atlas Shrugged Ayn Rand 1168
Hoka!Hoka!Hoka! Poul Anderson 201
Storm Front Jim Butcher 322
The Gilded Chain Dave Duncan 396
The Warriors Path Louis L’Amour 175
Red Prophet Orson Scott Card 311

August Books 8 Pages 3208

Damia Anne McCaffery 336
Slaves of Spiegel Daniel Pinkwater 76
Pawn Steven James 427
End of the Beginning Harry Turtledove 440
Fool Moon Jim Butcher 342
Skin Ted Dekker 395
The Book of Three Lloyd Alexander 130
Command Decision Elizabeth Moon 384
The Black Cauldron Lloyd Alexander 132
The Castle of Llyre Lloyd Alexander 122
Taran Wanderer Lloyd Alexander 148
Grave Peril Jim Butcher 378

September Books 12 Pages 3310

The Courtship of Princess Leia Dave Wolverton 327
The Book of Q Jonathan Rabb 375
Haroun and the Sea of Stories Salman Rushdie 216
Victory Conditions Elizabeth Moon 398
The High King Lloyd Alexander 170
The Last Continent Terry Pratchett 292
The Men Who Stare at Goats Jon Ronson 259
Prentice Alvin Orson Scott Card 342
Tinker Wen Spencer 315
The Spine of the World R.A. Salvatore 381

October Books 10 Pages 3075

Executive Orders Tom Clancy 874
Damia’s Children Anne McCaffery 272
Lyon’s Pride Anne McCaffery 272
The Rook Steven James 488
Deathworld Harry Harrison 456

November Books 5 Pages 2362

The Late Great Planet Earth Hal Lindsey 188
The Knight Steven James 492
New Spring:The Novel Robert Jordan 334
Hokas Pokas! Poul Anderson 196
Summer Knight Jim Butcher 371
Travels With Charley John Steinbeck 246
I Kissed Dating Goodbye Joshua Harris 228
The Ishbane Conspiracy Randy Alcorn 296

December Books 8 Pages 2351


Yearly Books 81 Pages 27122

Nightmares & Dreamscapes

As many of you know for several years (at least that I've known about) I have had on occasion extreme nightmares that often spill out of just my sleep and sometimes wake other people up. I just figured that all they were was nightmares. Then a month or so ago I was re-introduced (through facebook) to a person that I had known in my childhood. One day I noticed that she had joined a group about a sleeping disorder known as sleeping paralysis. I was curious, ended up looking at the group to see what it was about and then went on to explore other sleep disorders. One of which was something called Night Terrors. Most of the symptoms fit what happens to me, so on self-diagnosis I would say that this is something that I have.

One of the symptoms is that the dreamer usually doesn't remember what happened the night before in the morning. USUALLY.Sometimes though if woken up in the middle of the night because of the terror, they can remember small portions or impressions. A few nights ago, this was exactly the case.

Even though I wasn't fully conscious I knew I was out of bed and fighting for my life. As soon I was free from those trying to entangle me, I bolted out of my bedroom into the hallway only to spin around and face my bedroom when I reached the end of the hall. Bending at the knees and curling my hands into fists, I waited for the enemy to come boiling out of my bedroom door towards me! I was ready and waiting for them. My heart was pounding and I was sweating freely. As I waited, the fog started to lift and I realized that I was crouched in the hallway waiting for a completely imaginary foe. There was nothing in my room trying to kill me and there was certainly nothing that would be coming out after me. Even though I was now fully awake my heart was still pounding and I was breathing as hard as if I had just fought a real battle. Because of the reality of my feelings I grabbed a flashlight off of my desk and went back into my room to make absolutely certain it had all just been a dream. As I flashed the light around I saw that everything had been stripped off my bed and was lying tangled on the floor; sheets, blankets, pillows, all of it was strewn across the room. I remade my bed but was honestly to scared to get back in right away. So I tried to remember what I had been fighting.

I knew from past experience that if I didn't try and remember right then what I had been dreaming I would forget all about it in the morning. First was the overwhelming sense of evil and harmful intent, second was that they were soft and fuzzy. The more I thought about it the more I could piece together until I was able to mostly remember. The enemy I had been fighting were evil leech-like washcloths with tongues like frogs that they would shoot out, attach to me, (then using that pull themselves in) latch on to me and start drinking my blood. Needless to say a fearsome foe.

Finally after a few minutes I got back into bed and fell back asleep only to wake up a few hours later to my alarm going off and telling me I had to start another day.

No, I'm not Dead

Unfortunately the title pretty much says it all. I've been feeling less than 100% this week, less than 50% actually so that has helped squash any sort of desire to get outside of myself and communicate. I am amazed every time I get sick how easily our bodies are taken down. Strong and incredibly versatile yet can be prey to invisible THINGS that we can't stop. Also even though I feel odd about putting this down in a public forum where others can read this, I am constantly reminded that at heart I am a selfish person who struggles to not interact with people just to get things out of them. Unfortunately I don't always come out ahead in that particular war. However I hope to be going sailing this afternoon with some friends, so that should give me something to write about, as well as some interesting stuff at work lately too. More than anything I think I just needed to sit down and get back into the habit of writing. Maybe I'll even get around to checking out some of your sites :)

Just Call Me Darth Skillet

To start off, a question. One of my co-workers at my current site, probably late forties and from California, has many odd expressions that he likes to pull out on occasion. For example the other day I was working busily and he comes up to me and says, 'Hey HomeSkillet, I need you to go get this thing from over there.' Homeskillet?! What's up with that? At the time I just thought he was being a typical Cali. wacko. But then the very next day I was walking around a nearby park when I overheard a girl call her friend the very same thing, Homeskillet! So my question is this, Have you ever called anyone Homeskillet, or heard anyone called that? Please let me know because I'm curious if this is something new in the schools or a west coast expression or what. Your input would be welcome.

In other news I'm planning on joining the dark side and getting a facebook account before the end of the week. I've simply seen too many acquaintances fall prey and had too much pressure brought against me to stand strong against the dark forces any longer. I think my Dark Side name will be Darth Weak-Willed.

And finally a story about how the mighty have fallen. As I've mentioned on different occasions I enjoy cooking and have made several (in my opinion) impressive dishes. Well the other week I went out grocery shopping, but instead of shopping for what I needed I shopped for the sales alone. I ended up saving about twenty dollars, but I also ended up with practically nothing to eat for breakfast. Unfortunately I didn't realize this until five minutes before I had to leave the house Monday morning. Looking desperately through the cupboards I spotted a box of instant oatmeal packets. With the clock ticking I knew I didn't have enough time to add water, cook it, cool it down, add milk, and stand around eating it. So I did what any rushed twenty-something bachelor would do. I ate it dry. Yes that's right, one packet of apple cinnamon flavored instant oatmeal down the hatch. Thankfully I had my water bottle with me to help wash it down, but amazingly enough it actually wasn't that bad! I have to admit that not only wasn't it that bad, but it was acceptable enough that I have done it again several times (mornings aren't my best time). So if you ever find yourself eating cereal for lunch or yogurt and hotdogs for dinner, just remember it could be worse. You could be eating packets of dry oatmeal.

Really, Really Quick

I guess it is true that hope never dies. More than three weeks have passed and yet people still come here hoping for something new. Far be it from me to crush that hope, so here is a quick update.

First, the other week on the way home from work we had a bunch of people pulling up beside us, honking and waving. Nothing seemed to be wrong, but when we looked back a bucket of string had fallen over and we had a nice little tail coming off the end of the truck. We weren't going to pull over just for some string, so we kept on going to the park and ride. I have no idea how long the string had been slowly stretching out, but by the time we got to the parking lot we had several hundred feet on string trailing out behind us. Needless to say we were all laughing pretty hard as we gathered it all in.



Next I've been having some more fun with shooting. Mostly just researching online and looking things up, but also stopping by here and trying out a couple of different 9MM's. (Check out some of the pictures, their collection is pretty impressive)

I've also gone sailing with some friends from church. I think it was the best sailing trip I've been on to date. The weather was perfect, the wind was fairly kind to us, and I even got to pilot for a while. (You'll have to take my word for that as the pictures don't show the wheel.





Last weekend I had an incredible time with a couple of friends going to a concert at the Verizon Center in Manchester. I like country music and Martina Mcbride is probably one of my top three favorite country artists. To make it even better, apparently the show didn't sell very well, so we got a free seat upgrade! The weren't spectacular seats but still better than what we originally bought. It was my first big concert and I had a great time yelling, cheering, and being part of the crowd.


And finally I just got back a couple of hours ago from hiking up the infamous Mt. Monadnock with a couple of friends. It was hot and humid, and we even got rained on a little bit but it was still a great time of being with friends. It was especially good since two of them were up visiting from Pennsylvania and I hadn't seen them since last December.




And of course there has been work, and life, and cooking, and such. Just as a reminder to myself in years to come, I made strawberry rhubarb pie for the first time last weekend, and mmm-mmm was it good. So there you have it. Thanks for your patience and your comments. Hopefully soon I can return the favor on your site.

One Hundred and Eleventieth First Post

And that's a fact. Actually I'm just stopping by real quick to say that I'm afraid no reading or comments from me this week, as it is already quite full, with more to come. Sunday I had lunch with friends, Monday I had a pastoral meeting with my... pastor, Tuesday was my free day. Tonight I worked late and had only enough time to clean up before going out to a dinner honoring platelet donors. Tomorrow I'm planning on a prayer time in a nearby town, and Friday starts a three day convention at my former church which I will be attending. So as VeggieTales put it so nicely,

'I'm busy, busy, dreadfully busy.
You've no idea what I have to do.
Busy, Busy, shockingly busy,
Much, Much to busy for you.'

I love that song. So warm and caring, and empathetic. :)
Hope you all enjoy your week.