Progress

I just finished changing my oil for the first time since last year's fun. I use synthetic, so it only has to be done once a year. This time, there was not a drop spilled (on the floor). As Ralph Wiggum would say, "I'm learn-ding!" I also had to replace a headlight, which took about five minutes. As opposed to the hour it took last time, which was also the first time I'd done that particular bit of maintenance. Feeling pretty proud of myself tonight.

Bling

Announcement

On Valentine's Day, I proposed to Becky and she accepted, marking a turning point in my life. I couldn't be happier to have her.

Holiday cheer

It's been a while since I posted, lots going on. This is one way of putting off studying, which I'm out of practice for. Went to Colorado with Becky to meet her folks, which was fun but short. I only had a weekend but had a great time. I even played some blackjack in an Indian casino, which was the only hotel in town.

Went camping in November, again, but it was quite a different experience. We shared a campsite with a group of Polish friends singing pop songs all night and drinking loudly. Before and after that was pretty cool, though. Got to play some guitar and find a tick crawling up my leg for the first time in years. The lake was beautiful in the morning sun.

Last weekend, Becky and I drove up to Dallas to see Jim and Lyndon, and I even got to see Tobey for a little bit. We watched Beowulf in digital 3-D, which was cool. It wasn't the best weather for traveling, but we didn't have any real problems. I'm bringing her home to meet the rest of the family for Christmas, which will be at my folks' place this year. I can't wait for vacation.

It must be said, these are really odd carrots.

One tomato, cha-ching.

October sights

October is coming to an end, and I'm ready for a little Halloween reverie. I'll be going as a pirate, and Becky will be my gypsy queen. I hope the little kiddos of the neighborhood are ready for it. We'll be handing out candy and maybe offering the neighborhood a little surprise...muhuhahaha!

In other news, the garden that largely refused to produce now stubbornly refuses to die. We now have no less than three little green tomatoes, as well as a jalapeño. After a period of yellowing, the tomato vines have turned green again and continued to bloom. Above you'll see the one that ripened and went great on a couple sandwiches last week. Also, I'll put up a scaaary picture of our mutant carrots for everyone to chew on.

Garden's state

The summer's winding down and so is our garden. After months of anticipation and one false start, we now have one healthy tomato. We've also managed to grow half a dozen jalapeños and at least one more cucumber (for a total of three). I dug up a couple of the healthy carrot plants only to find they're still smaller than the sweet potatoes were. Still no sign of green peppers, the onions were gone mid-summer, and no basil either. We're still seeing a green bean here and there. But let me tell you, those jalapeños are good on a pizza.

ACL Fest again

Another ACL Fest has come and gone, and this one didn't disappoint. It was the first time Becky attended, and she was duly impressed by the crowds. Some highlights this year were Ghostland Observatory, Billy Joe Shaver, Regina Spektor, Reverend Horton Heat, and Butch Walker and the Let's Go Out Tonites. Bjork was strange, as expected, and the Killers and Blue October put on shows equal to their albums, but nothing surprising. We brought chairs, the first time I've done that, and didn't get there until 3-4pm Saturday and Sunday, but didn't miss many acts I wanted to see, and didn't suffer from exhaustion like I have in the past. Bob Dylan played some of his hits, although he didn't allow closeups on the Jumbo-trons. Still, I'm glad I got to see him. It wasn't too hot, and it didn't rain, so I was happy.

Lord of the Wheel of Time

I found out yesterday that over the weekend Robert Jordan (aka James Oliver Rigney, Jr.), possibly my favorite writer, passed away over the weekend. He was working on the final book of his Wheel of Time series, the 12th book. At least two of those books reached more than 1,000 pages, and none of the paperbacks is less than 700 pages.

This is sad news, not just for his family but for his millions of fans. I remember the first time one of his books debuted at number one on the New York Times best seller list, Entertainment Weekly got one of the character's names confused with her profession, and had to print a correction in the next issue, undoubtedly due to passionate reader response. I believe each subsequent book has also topped the list, but they haven't made any more mistakes reporting it. For all their popularity, his books have continued to feel like a well-kept secret among his fans.

Around the midpoint of the series, I read Jordan claimed to have written as many pages of notes on the world and characters of the series as he had published in the books themselves. It's my hope his estate will publish some or all of these when the series is completed, which it undoubtedly will be, either by a family member or another author (see: Frank Herbert's Dune). It's a good sign that Jordan reportedly told the entire story of the ending to his family before his death, so between that and his notes I hope for a truly great ending to the Wheel of Time, as the author intended.

It's true, as many online fans have griped, that the second half of the series has suffered from a decline in quality, of the pacing if not the writing, but Jordan's accomplishment in the first six books has earned him a rightful place in the ranks of the greatest fantasy and sci-fi writers of all time. And even if the later books don't live up to the promise of the first, there are still flashes of greatness woven throughout them, and he had set the bar awfully high anyway. The end of book six, Lord of Chaos, is simultaneously the most thrilling, horrifying, and heartbreaking I've ever read, complete with an edge of your seat final page that leaves me begging for more every time I re-read it.

Rest in peace, and thanks.