| big plastic barrel of pretzels

Been a hectic couple of weeks. I got a new job. Still with the city, but after next week I'll no longer be with the crime lab. Moving over to records in San Pedro near the port. It's a little more money and a lot more closer to home. 15 minute commute versus 45+. The only weird part is that after a few months I'll be moving into a AM shift which is Midnight-8:30 in the morning or so. Yikes! Been years since I worked a night shift. Can't wait to see how it goes. I think it will be an adventure.

Applied for a passport this morning. Never had one but since they last 10 years, figure this will spur me to travel some. I think 8-11 (never forget) and the need for a passport to visit Mexico or Canada also played a part. I'd like to take a cheesy cruise some day. They're so damn cheap and local, so in 5-6 weeks I'll be legal to get off the boat on occasion.

Finished Arthur C. Clarke's "Rendezvous with Rama". It was good but hasn't aged as well as some other classic sci-fi. It has a really dry narrative and felt "too safe". I never feared for any of the character's lives. The basic story is interesting and I'm glad I read it. There are a bunch of sequels that were written by a collaborator, right up into the 1990's, and the plot summaries are hilariously bad.

Still going to write a novel in November, so taking Stephen King's main piece of advice from "On Writing" and READING as much as possible.

Next on my to-read list are a bunch of Elmore Leonard's short-story westerns, random Steinbeck I've never read (I loved Grapes of Wrath in school and never really read much else by him), and "The Passage" vampire book.

I've gotten horribly out of shape again, so I've also been trying to bring hiking back into my routine. I love it and it's convenient to where I currently work, but I'm going to have to find a new exercise hobby when I start work in San Pedro. Maybe riding my bike at the beach?