Redwolf's Journal (continued)

In preparation for my vacation, I had packed up a couple books. Rule of Two is a continuation of the Darth Bane story in Star Wars. More Sithy goodness (badness?) there. It was interesting, but not overwhelming in any way. It played out about as it had to. One thing I dislike about Star Wars books is Jedi usually come across either as "Teh Awesome" or ineffective chumps. There's rarely a middle ground. I also picked up Mistborn , by Brandon Sanderson. I'd seen it on some list/review and it seemed like it might be a decent fantasy read. I went in only with modest expectations, but was quite pleasantly surprised. The main plot is almost a fantasy version of Ocean's Eleven with a crew and build-up to a big heist of sorts. The characters came across well, and the setting really grabbed me. The magic of the world has a unique flavor and makes intriguing use of physics (it's still magic, but "mass matters" is unusual for telekinesis-style effects). The

Where to begin? I was up before seven, buzzing. That means I had... less than four hours of sleep, but I just couldn't sleep anymore. Maybe it's the time zone difference. Maybe there's too much on my mind. Maybe it was all the zoning out and doing nothing on planes yesterday. I feel an odd mix of clarity and fogginess, and suspect I'm going to need a nap later. I settled into the PT Cruiser with my dad and step-mom Friday morning the 19th, and we set out through a break in the weather. Once clearing the Durango area (where it had snowed the previous day), things were fairly dry and clear. We drove south to Albuquerque, then cut east and wound down the day as it was getting dark in Amarillo, TX. The Cruiser itself isn't too bad, even with my height. I spent most of the time in the back, when I could make use of the whole seat (well, mostly) and when I was in the front, the legroom was decent. In spite of threats, my parents didn't sing me to death. ;) Day t

... so little time? Well, I could take more time. It's been a long day, though. I hope I can remember half my thoughts, but it largely boils down to this: Winter weather in the 70's and being able to sleep outside on an enclosed patio over Christmas is appealing, but I couldn't live with the way things are down there in Florida. I'd miss the stars. I'd miss the relative peace and privacy. I'd miss home . Thusly, I'm glad to be home, snow and all.

Parents are over tonight, and we're leaving in the morning. Some icy roads are expected for a while, but hopefully we can get south out of the major storm areas. Looks like the Mississippi visits will be fairly brief. We'll spend a few days in Florida. Then I fly in return and get back late, late the 27th. Not taking my laptop and not really expecting anything in the way of internet connection along the way. Merry Christmas. Happy Holidays. Situationally-appropriate love to you all. Take care and be (relatively) good while I'm away.

Faith: 1. Confident belief in the truth, value, or trustworthiness of a person, idea, or thing. 2. Belief that does not rest on logical proof or material evidence. 3. Loyalty to a person or thing; allegiance: keeping faith with one's supporters. There are a couple other definitions, subtle variations where the word actually applies to a specific set of beliefs or a religion or somesuch. But I feel a need to look at these from the perspective of a fantasy-world worshipper. 1. Faith in a deity means believing it (and probably the dogma of the clergy if such exists). What the god says is believed true. This is generally basic and easy. If a god is bothering to tell a follower something, there's little room to doubt. Though sometimes messages are cryptic and may be misinterpretted. But... I'll return to this in a minute. 3. Faith as allegiance seems... trivial. You can have faith in your faction superior, king, or country as readily as a god. 2. This is something tha

Not snowing at the moment, though the skies look like it could happen. I shoveled more this morning. It feels like we've had somewhere around a foot and a half of snow in the last sixteen hours, or thereabouts. Fun of fun, I ended up flat on my back after slipping in a parking lot on the way to work. Flat on my back and still sliding slowly. I've also managed to bruise my thumb in an inconvenient painful-to-strongly-grip-things-like-shovels position, though I'm not sure if that happened in the fall or prior - I didn't feel it 'til a bit after. The big question is: How much more is coming? The forecasts show things clearing up a bit Friday for the weekend. It looks like departure is currently planned for Thursday. We'll see.

Technically it isn't yet. The weather says otherwise. It's almost 1 am and I just got finished making another pass at the snow outside. Still fairly light stuff, thankfully, but it's piling up. About a foot since I shoveled after getting home. We'll just have to see how things look in a few hours when it's time to get up. o.o;

Christmas approaches, but it doesn't much feel like it. I've got enough on my mind that the holiday itself really isn't there. I'm going to be gone until the 28th (well, really late the 27th, theoretically). Away from home, away from regular computer access, just away. My dad, step-mom and I will be driving down south and east, leaving... sometime. We had sorta planned on leaving Friday, but with snow expected this week we may leave as early as Wednesday. Three people in a PT Cruiser heading off to visit relatives in Mississippi and Florida. @whee. I'll by flying back, though, while they stay down there a bit longer. A break might do me good, but (as I've said before and will probably say again) I don't really want to go. I'm not looking forward to the travel. I'm not looking forward to playing social with people I really don't know. I don't really like the thought of missing things here (even if most of them will still be available late

Holidays and money... it's like a sieve and water. Presents are adding up. The iPod cost some itself (sorry, Max, but I went that way). And I got news that the folks doing the repair/repainting work on the condos have found more damage than expected and will ultimately need more money to do things right (to the tune of $366 per unit, unless insurance pays some by some miracle). On that last point... yeah, repairs are still underway. It's been... er... three months? Almost four? It's now into December. They're working on roofing of the overhangs out front of each unit now. Weather's going to be getting worse. The painting done thusfar seems... less professional that I'd hope (but maybe it's not "done"). I'm dissatisfied with the project thusfar, but I also don't feel there's much of anything to do about it. Not pay? Well, then things don't get done, or they don't get done right. That'd probably be worse in the long haul.

Nothing too serious. With a long roadtrip coming up, though, I find myself thinking now would be a good time to actually have an mp3 player. Having gone this long without, though, I've got now good perspective myself on performance, battery life, overall support, and software. So to those of you how have them: what would you recommend and why?