I am in Sacramento, CA this week, auditing another lockbox. My colleague and I add a full third to the population of the room the lockbox operates in, so we have been quite cramped. And we have been tired, as well. Yesterday I got up before 4PM, got cleaned up and dressed, and then drove to the airport, fromwhich we embarked on a 7 hour journey from Missouri to California. Interestingly enough, this guy on the flight to Sacramento had a bunch of us take roses and then give them to his girlfriend at the airport in Sacramento, after which he was going to propose. In the airport. With a bunch of strangers around. Maybe I'm just the most un-romantic man in America, but that seemed a little weird to me. Original, yes. Creative, sure. But not something I would do. Actually, the hilarious thing was that the young lady in question got confused and went to the wrong terminal, so 30+ of us were standing around with roses with nobody to give them to. I'm sure the guy felt like a moron, but it all worked out OK.
After that, my colleague Matt and I were completely wiped out. We made it until 3PM local time (5PM St. Louis time) and then headed to the hotel, where I promptly fell asleep for an hour. Then dinner, then back to bed before 9PM. At least I didn't miss much in the football game, as the Raiders sucked hard, which warms the cockles of my cold, dark heart. :)
Tuesday, September 12, 2006
Saturday, September 09, 2006
Eat this Book
Eat this Book by Eugene H. Peterson, 2006, Eerdmans
For the second topic in Eugune Peterson's overview of spiritual theology, he touches on the practice of spiritual reading, or reading the Bible in the proper way, a way that brings you into God's presence and God's work in the world. In comparison to the first book in the series, this book is rather short, clocking in at less than 200 pages. Still, it's quality, not quantity, that counts. Luckily, the quality here is high.
The last section is probably worth the price of the book by itself, but since you get the whole thing for the same price, I highly recommend picking this little guy up. It isn't long, but it will have you thinking long and hard about your Bible before you are done with it.
Busy Days
Wow, that was a busy week. On Monday I painted the guest bathroom and did other cleaning and organizing stuff. On Tuesday I flew back to detroit and ended up working a lot. I even put in one day where I worked over 13 straight hours. Crazy stuff. At least I got done everything that I could. It is one of those projects where a dozen different people roll on and then roll back off two or three weeks later, so I can't feel too much ownership of the work. My next project has lots of ownership, though, as I have been on it since inception and I know it just as well as anybody.
I also had an international experience this week, as I was working with a fellow who is from South Africa. He was in the States for Detroit to learn some American accounting rules and help out on an audit this fall. He was literally two days off the plane when I met him, and we got to talk about all sorts of stuff I take for granted, like how huge our pickup trucks are. Care, too, but Chris was really weirded out by the huge trucks. We also pointed him towards some different grocery stores, and he commented that Whole Foods is "like a traditional South African market." I'm not sure what that really means, never having been in a South African market, but he seemed to be happy with the fact that he could buy foods without all of the sugar we add to everything. Chris' main goal was to not gain weight while he was in America. We all wished him luck on that one, as we make it rather hard to be healthy, sometimes.
Today I finally decided on the paint for the master bathroom in my house and bought some, so now I am ready to paint the final room in my house and be done with it. Lord willing and the creek don't rise, that will happen next weekend. I also bagged and boarded the last couple months' worth of comics and got them organized in my storage boxes. As part of this, I identified about 10 books that I am missing from various series, and a quick trip to Mile High Comics got that problem dealt with. As a collector, let me tell you, it feels really good to plug holes in my collection.
And tomorrow is the Andrew Peterson/Michael Card concert! I'm going with my bro Christopher. We actually do stuff together like maybe 3 times a year so it's pretty cool that he can go. I haven't seen Andy in probably 4 years, so it should be a real good time. Square Peg powers... activate!
I also had an international experience this week, as I was working with a fellow who is from South Africa. He was in the States for Detroit to learn some American accounting rules and help out on an audit this fall. He was literally two days off the plane when I met him, and we got to talk about all sorts of stuff I take for granted, like how huge our pickup trucks are. Care, too, but Chris was really weirded out by the huge trucks. We also pointed him towards some different grocery stores, and he commented that Whole Foods is "like a traditional South African market." I'm not sure what that really means, never having been in a South African market, but he seemed to be happy with the fact that he could buy foods without all of the sugar we add to everything. Chris' main goal was to not gain weight while he was in America. We all wished him luck on that one, as we make it rather hard to be healthy, sometimes.
Today I finally decided on the paint for the master bathroom in my house and bought some, so now I am ready to paint the final room in my house and be done with it. Lord willing and the creek don't rise, that will happen next weekend. I also bagged and boarded the last couple months' worth of comics and got them organized in my storage boxes. As part of this, I identified about 10 books that I am missing from various series, and a quick trip to Mile High Comics got that problem dealt with. As a collector, let me tell you, it feels really good to plug holes in my collection.
And tomorrow is the Andrew Peterson/Michael Card concert! I'm going with my bro Christopher. We actually do stuff together like maybe 3 times a year so it's pretty cool that he can go. I haven't seen Andy in probably 4 years, so it should be a real good time. Square Peg powers... activate!
Sunday, September 03, 2006
Labor Day
Well, I got back from Detroit just fine, and things are going okay on my project there. We're not ahead of schedule (based on what schedule there is, which isn't much), but we're not behind schedule, either. I'll take it. This weekend has been pretty good, actually, if somewhat busy. After wrapping up an epic game of Galactic Civilizations II in time to let my dad borrow the game, I have done some window washing and other such house-related chores, and I'm going to paint the guest bathroom tomorrow. I've lived here about 22 months now, so it is time to actually get the final rooms painted, I think.
For the windows I bought that special spray bottle of Windex that you attach to your garden hose. It actually did reach the second floor windows, which was impressive. Sometimes you can't trust the TV ads for those products, but it did get the job done for me. Actually, I had let the windows go so long before cleaning them that I think I need to give them all another go around on the outside. Maybe once the painting is done.
I have also watched a couple anime movies this weekend, Crusher Joe and Lupin III: The Castle of Cagliostro. Both were enjoyable, though I think I liked Lupin a little better. Joe definitely had its moments but it was rather weird at times, as well. Lupin was just straight-up action, and tons of fun. Even though it was a Lupin III film, it has Hayao Miyazaki's fingerprints all over it, as many of the characters totally look like his designs. Good times.
For the windows I bought that special spray bottle of Windex that you attach to your garden hose. It actually did reach the second floor windows, which was impressive. Sometimes you can't trust the TV ads for those products, but it did get the job done for me. Actually, I had let the windows go so long before cleaning them that I think I need to give them all another go around on the outside. Maybe once the painting is done.
I have also watched a couple anime movies this weekend, Crusher Joe and Lupin III: The Castle of Cagliostro. Both were enjoyable, though I think I liked Lupin a little better. Joe definitely had its moments but it was rather weird at times, as well. Lupin was just straight-up action, and tons of fun. Even though it was a Lupin III film, it has Hayao Miyazaki's fingerprints all over it, as many of the characters totally look like his designs. Good times.
Tuesday, August 29, 2006
Shadows of Sanctuary
Shadows of Sanctuary edited by Robert Lynn Asprin, 1981, Ace Fantasy
More Thieves' World! Yes, I figured it was time to get to the third book in the series, so I took it off the shelf and read it over a couple business trips. It has the same consistency as the second volume in the series, Tales from the Vulgar Unicorn, but actually ends up as a better book because the individual stories are better. Where the second volume was all over the map (literally), the stories here focus more directly on Sanctuary itself, which helps focus things in.
The stories here still have the dark, oppressive mood of many of the typical stories in these anthologies, but I did find that a few stories actually broke that mold and went in different directions. A Gift in Parting, by the editor, focuses not on the criminal element in the city, but on the fishing community. Specifically, the focus is on one family, in which the eldest son is preparing to leave home and find his fortune. Through some events, the father finds a way to give his son the real gift that he needs to find success in life. The whole story has a nice, feel-good element to it that is often missing from these stories. In a simliar, but different, vein we have The Rhinoceros and the Unicorn. This story focuses on a local artist and how he gets wrapped up in events that could either destroy him or set his fortunes for life. The nice thing is that it involves someone doing their regular job, but the events he gets involved him help him to notice what is truly valuable in life.
The other stories are generally good, though I found the first story, Looking for Satan, to be somewhat ponderous and preachy. Overall, though, this was a pretty good book, and maybe the best one in the series so far.
More Thieves' World! Yes, I figured it was time to get to the third book in the series, so I took it off the shelf and read it over a couple business trips. It has the same consistency as the second volume in the series, Tales from the Vulgar Unicorn, but actually ends up as a better book because the individual stories are better. Where the second volume was all over the map (literally), the stories here focus more directly on Sanctuary itself, which helps focus things in.
The stories here still have the dark, oppressive mood of many of the typical stories in these anthologies, but I did find that a few stories actually broke that mold and went in different directions. A Gift in Parting, by the editor, focuses not on the criminal element in the city, but on the fishing community. Specifically, the focus is on one family, in which the eldest son is preparing to leave home and find his fortune. Through some events, the father finds a way to give his son the real gift that he needs to find success in life. The whole story has a nice, feel-good element to it that is often missing from these stories. In a simliar, but different, vein we have The Rhinoceros and the Unicorn. This story focuses on a local artist and how he gets wrapped up in events that could either destroy him or set his fortunes for life. The nice thing is that it involves someone doing their regular job, but the events he gets involved him help him to notice what is truly valuable in life.
The other stories are generally good, though I found the first story, Looking for Satan, to be somewhat ponderous and preachy. Overall, though, this was a pretty good book, and maybe the best one in the series so far.
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