Smack in the middle of summer . . .

Currently Reading: Dune Messiah by Frank Herbert

So here we are, smack in the middle of summer. Two weeks into July, two weeks left of July plus August. Yeah we're pretty much right in the middle with the hot part still left to come. Of course, I'm using the old schedule from my high school days. For the kids these days summer ends much earlier in August than it did for us. We just didn't have quite as many vacation days during the year as they get now.

And now that we've reached the half-way point, what can be said of summer? Not a whole lot really. I mean, all things considered, it's been rather slow. We've got the usual movies playing in the theaters. The latest Harry Potter is the only one that can really be called an undisputed hit. I do get a kick out of reading the reviews on that one. It's not as highly rated as some of the others and they complain that Harry spends a lot of time being bitchy. Now, if you've read the book, you know that's pretty much what happens there too. It's really more of a bridge leading from the earlier parts of the story to the climax that builds in book 6 and finishes up in the book to be released on Saturday.

Actually, when you get right down to it, Harry Potter book 7 is really THE event of the summer as it stands right now. Forget that lame environmental concert thing that no one really watched. What's got everyone talking is what happens to the Potter characters. There's been a LOT of speculation floating around and I agree with some of it and disagree with others. I suppose we'll know for sure on Saturday won't we? Don't worry, I'm not going to post any spoilers once I've finished the book. That would be mean. I probably won't even mention anything about it until the ending is common knowledge.

I woke up this morning with a song stuck in my head. That sort of thing happens to everyone I suppose but what was weird was that I have no idea how it got in there in the first place. It's not a song I'd heard recently or one that I was thinking about. I just woke up and there it was. At least it wasn't anything annoying. It was Best of Times by Styx. Yeah, way back in the 70's for that one. But you know, it was stuck in my head and I just couldn't shake it so I went out earlier today and got their greatest hits CD and I've been listening to that all morning. Then I decided I'd share a little of that so I hit You Tube and crawled through there for a while. Not many videos from the 70's of course and the few there are tend to be a little embarrassing. So, rather than subject you to that sort of suffering, here's a video that was sort of re-mixed with Pirates of the Caribbean.




I was cleaning out my e-mail box this morning and I came across this picture . . .
Those are a pair of my great great great great grandparents. My cousin had sent me that picture some time last year and it's been sitting at the bottom of my in-box for so long I'd forgotten I had it. She also sent me two more pictures that are what passed for immigration papers at the time. That guy there is Charles White. His father John is the one we have the immigration papers on. Shockingly enough, he had a home in the "French Republic" somewhere. Could be he came down from Canada or up from the south or even the Caribbean. But you know, there's still the most tragic possibility that I may, in fact, be part French. Talk about having skeletons in your closet!

My future reading list is getting longer. Since I won't be reading any NEW books until the last Potter comes out on Saturday I've been bouncing between books. Some have been short stories like the Lovecraft, others are just books I read a while back and wanted to read again like Dune and now Dune Messiah. I'm thinking the newest Potter will only take me a few days to get through depending on how much work I have to do at the salon and then I'll end up floating again trying to decide what to read. I've got another one by William Gibson coming out in August I think but that's it probably for the year. Not much in terms of new fiction for me. We've had the Murakami books, next is Potter, then Gibson. I would expect Neil Gaiman to have something out soon but you know, he's so tied up in making movies lately that I don't think he's got any long fiction coming out. Ah well, worst case I'll get back to the classics. I've still got I am Legend sitting here on my desk. That one is being turned into a movie with Will Smith later this year. And I've got at least two more of the Dune novels to read if I'm going to finish up this chunk of the series. Will it keep me busy for the rest of the year? Probably not, but maybe somewhere along the way I'll take a liking to some other author and the problem will be solved.

I've been letting the housework pile up again for some reason. I would NEVER do this if CC were here. She's probably reading this and nodding and thinking, "Damn right you wouldn't." It's not like I'm living in unsanitary conditions or anything like that. There's just more than the usual number of newspapers sitting in the chair by the table. There's a little more dog hair in the carpet. Still haven't done the laundry yet. I'll probably do most of these things later today but then again, I still have tomorrow too. Maybe I'll get to it then. Of course, I can't do laundry AND ironing in the same day I don't think. Well, I can but it'd be rushed so laundry has to go today.

Guess I'd better get that started.

Almost there now.

Currently Reading: The Gallic War by Julius Caesar

Before you ask, yes, THAT Julius Caesar. It's not a play on words or some author trying to cash in on a fortunate family name. The book I'm currently reading was written by the late emperor, the first in the line of emperors from that family, stabbed to death on the floor of the Roman senate, avenged by Marc Antony and Caesar's nephew Octavian, later named Augustus. Still with me or have your eyes glazed over?

I'm making progress in grooming school. Three days a week I'm officially in training, two days a week I'm just another guy working in the salon as a bather. This setup is supposed to allow me to earn a little extra money. The problem is that the three days of training pretty much balance out any commission money I make on the other two days so it's a wash.

Anyway, back to grooming school. I'm doing shaves at a much more regular rate now. Every day I do at least two and with more practice, I'm doing more and more of the work. In fact, I've had a few already that were done as soon as they left my table, no corrections needed. That's always cool when I get it right the first time.

I must say though, I do miss my three day weekends. Yes, I know I don't get much sympathy from the audience but it's true. The four 10-hour days really could be a pain in the butt sometimes but having one full day to just blow off and do nothing was great! Now I'm back to a normal schedule and just like everyone else, I find myself complaining a little that the weekend just doesn't seem to last long enough. I know, I know, you're shaking your head saying something sarcastic like, "poor baby!"

CC's getting ready for another trip to the Philippines. She's going to be delivering a seminar there. Actually she's going to be doing SEVERAL of them over the course of a few weeks. It's totally going to suck of course. Oh, not her seminar, that'll rock, I'm talking about her being over in the Philippines and me over here. See, she's going to be gone almost a month which means I'll be taking over all those little things that she normally handles. All the bills, they're mine. Rent, utilities, all that stuff has to be done by ME this time. Thank goodness she'll be making a list because I have NO idea who gets paid what and when.

This also means that I'll have to do the grocery shopping by myself (BORING!) and do all the ironing (BORING!) and all the housework (all together now! BORING!). So, if you happen to run into me during the time she's gone, expect me to be a little grumpier than usual.

On the lighter side, we'll be getting a decent vacation after she gets back. We don't have any firm dates yet but we're planning to go up to Nashville and check things out up there since we'll end up moving there in a year or so. We'll also probably check out Franklin, the little town CC's boss will be living in. It's not too far outside Nashville you see. We need to get familiar with the area and what's available in terms of . . . well in terms of just about everything. We need to look at apartments and shopping and all of that.

No video this week. Sorry. Just scroll down and play one of the cool ones from one of the previous blogs. And wouldn't you know it, after all this time I've been adding video to the sidebar, Blogger finally gets around to doing an automated version where you can just plug in the links. Well I'll show THEM. I won't even USE their little gadget! YEAH! :-)