Yep, I have the vacation blues. No, I’m not blue because I’m on vacation, or because my vacation is ending, rather I am blue because I’m not on vacation. Is that making any sense? Alas, I shall have to explain further.
I’ve been crunching pretty hard on the audiobook reviews for the last several months, and I was starting to feel a little burned out. At the beginning of August, I had decided that I would finish out the month, and then take September off. You know, just listen to some audiobooks I have already reviewed so I could relax with them and not have to always be thinking about what I’m going to write. I was really looking forward to it too. Then last week I got an offer I just couldn’t refuse.
For several months I’ve been receiving audiobooks from Galaxy Audio. They’re the ones that are doing a whole bunch of L Ron Hubbard’s stories from the pulp fiction era of the 1930’s and 40’s. Last week, Galaxy President John Goodwin emailed me to say that next year they will be publishing Hubbard’s Battlefield: Earth, which is probably his best known work, and one that I have been hoping for since I was first approached by Galaxy. Anyway, John said that he wants to send out some advance copies to get some critical feedback. He’s not asking for a review yet, but some opinions on whether or not the audiobook is good as it stands, or if anything needs to be changed for the final production. That’s right, I could have a say in the finished work! But here’s the best part: John is only sending out two advance copies, and one of them would be mine if I wanted it. I wasted no time in telling John “Heck Yeah I Want It!”
Well, the audiobook is 44 CD’s long, which is absolutely huge. In fact, I think that will be the longest audiobook I have ever had my hands on. I estimate that it will take 12 solid days to get through it, and possibly more. So there goes my vacation plans. I’m not complaining though, because this is a huge opportunity for me that I would be an idiot to pass up on. John mailed it out late last week, so I’m expecting it any day now.
So here’s what I decided: instead of taking September off, I will continue hitting the books until the end of October. Then I will take an even longer vacation through November and December. That will actually work out pretty well because November is when I start practicing Christmas music on my sax and I’ll have less time for books anyway. But don’t worry, because I’ve been working so hard, I actually have plenty of reviews saved up to carry me through the two months. Ifyou follow Audiobook Heaven at all, you’ll never even notice that I’m on vacation. It’s actually a much better plan than the one I came up with myself. Pretty amazing how things work out sometimes, isn’t it?
So, two more months of hard work, then I’m off until next year. I’m still looking forward to the break. There are lots of audiobooks I’ve already reviewed that I would like to go back and listen to again, especially the Harry Potter series. I’ve listened to those books about a dozen times but I just can’t get enough.
Okay, break time is over, gotta get back to those books!
Matthew 21:21 And Jesus answered them, “Truly, I say to you, if you have faith and do not doubt, you will not only do what has been done to the fig tree, but even if you say to this mountain, ‘Be taken up and thrown into the sea,’ it will happen. ESV
Mark 9:23 And Jesus said to him, “‘If you can’! All things are possible for one who believes.” ESv
Showing posts with label vacation. Show all posts
Showing posts with label vacation. Show all posts
Tuesday, August 30, 2011
Thursday, June 3, 2010
Memories - Summer Vacation
Ah, summertime! School is out, and the kids have been turned loose upon the world once again. Of course, now that we are adults we don’t get a summer vacation, but how well I remember the golden summers of my childhood.
When I was in high school, I spent my summer vacations working with Dad on the farm. That was mostly irrigating since he never let me drive one of his tractors or trucks. By that time, Dad had all irrigation pipe so we didn't have to mess with those nasty old tubes any more. At the start of summer the pipe had to be strung out along the edge of each field, and in the fall it all had to be picked up again. It was hard work, but the memories are still good ones.
The summer vacations that stand out most in my mind came in the early 1980's. This would be the first couple of summers after my parents split up. Dad moved out and Kevin went to live with him soon after. Brad, being the oldest, had a summer job so he wasn’t around much. Mom had to go to work too so she wasn't around during the days. That left Bobbi and me to look after each other. Okay, I guess Bobbi didn’t really need to be looked after by then.
In the morning, there would be game shows on tv. The one I remember the most is “The Price is Right” with Bob Barker. In the afternoon it was "General Hospital." In those days, it was all about Luke and Laura. You couldn't get cable tv out in the country back then so there wasn't much to watch. For most of the day we had to find other things to do.
We always loved to bake chocolate-chip cookies. It seemed like we were baking up a new batch about every other day. Probably it wasn’t quite that often, but I would guess at least twice a week. I don't know why, but we never seemed to get very many cookiesout of a batch. That dough sure was yummy, though. I think it was around that time that somebody gave us the recipe that has vanilla pudding in the mix. That's the same recipe I still use today, and I suppose Bobbi does too.
When we weren’t baking cookies, Bobbi and I were usually playing games. I think that was when I first learned how to play solitaire. Of course, personal computers weren’t around yet, so we had to play the old-fashioned way; with real cards. I think that was also around the time that a friend of Mom's, Betty Gibbons, taught Bobbi and me a two-handed pinochle game. That was a lot of fun.
The game I remember playing with my big sister the most was Sorry! We would play game after game of Sorry! We would play with all four colors, blue and yellow for me, green and red for Bobbi. We played long tournaments of games that would go on for days and we called it "The Sorry Championship of the World." I have no idea who won most of the games, but we had a lot of fun playing.
It’s funny to think how easily we could entertain ourselves without computers or video games or mp3 players or cell phones. Just the two of us out in our little farm house, completely cut off from the world. Back then, a power blackout wouldn’t have been a very big deal. Except that the eggs would spoil and we wouldn’t be able to bake cookies.
Those were the good old days. The world is so fast and busy now. I’m glad I have these simple memories to look back on. I wonder what our children will think back on in another twenty or thirty years.
Philippians 4:6-7 Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.
When I was in high school, I spent my summer vacations working with Dad on the farm. That was mostly irrigating since he never let me drive one of his tractors or trucks. By that time, Dad had all irrigation pipe so we didn't have to mess with those nasty old tubes any more. At the start of summer the pipe had to be strung out along the edge of each field, and in the fall it all had to be picked up again. It was hard work, but the memories are still good ones.
The summer vacations that stand out most in my mind came in the early 1980's. This would be the first couple of summers after my parents split up. Dad moved out and Kevin went to live with him soon after. Brad, being the oldest, had a summer job so he wasn’t around much. Mom had to go to work too so she wasn't around during the days. That left Bobbi and me to look after each other. Okay, I guess Bobbi didn’t really need to be looked after by then.
In the morning, there would be game shows on tv. The one I remember the most is “The Price is Right” with Bob Barker. In the afternoon it was "General Hospital." In those days, it was all about Luke and Laura. You couldn't get cable tv out in the country back then so there wasn't much to watch. For most of the day we had to find other things to do.
We always loved to bake chocolate-chip cookies. It seemed like we were baking up a new batch about every other day. Probably it wasn’t quite that often, but I would guess at least twice a week. I don't know why, but we never seemed to get very many cookiesout of a batch. That dough sure was yummy, though. I think it was around that time that somebody gave us the recipe that has vanilla pudding in the mix. That's the same recipe I still use today, and I suppose Bobbi does too.
When we weren’t baking cookies, Bobbi and I were usually playing games. I think that was when I first learned how to play solitaire. Of course, personal computers weren’t around yet, so we had to play the old-fashioned way; with real cards. I think that was also around the time that a friend of Mom's, Betty Gibbons, taught Bobbi and me a two-handed pinochle game. That was a lot of fun.
The game I remember playing with my big sister the most was Sorry! We would play game after game of Sorry! We would play with all four colors, blue and yellow for me, green and red for Bobbi. We played long tournaments of games that would go on for days and we called it "The Sorry Championship of the World." I have no idea who won most of the games, but we had a lot of fun playing.
It’s funny to think how easily we could entertain ourselves without computers or video games or mp3 players or cell phones. Just the two of us out in our little farm house, completely cut off from the world. Back then, a power blackout wouldn’t have been a very big deal. Except that the eggs would spoil and we wouldn’t be able to bake cookies.
Those were the good old days. The world is so fast and busy now. I’m glad I have these simple memories to look back on. I wonder what our children will think back on in another twenty or thirty years.
Philippians 4:6-7 Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.
Sunday, February 28, 2010
Memories - Family Vacations
Ah, family vacations. We all love them, don’t we? Whenever we can afford to take them, that is. I remember the last one I went on. That was in 2003 I think, or maybe 2004. Joni, Adam, and I went down to Houston for a Labor Day weekend. We visited Johnson Space Center and Moody Gardens and stayed in a hotel and had a pretty good time.
That was a lot different than the family vacations we took when I was a kid. I’m talking way back in the 70’s, when Mom and Dad were still married. Dad was a farmer, as I have mentioned before, and we couldn’t go anywhere as long as he had to water the crops. So we waited for rain. It had to be a pretty good rain, too, so that he didn’t have to irrigate for a few days. When the rain finally came, we would put the topper on the pickup, hook up the boat, and head for Lake McConaughy, which is out east near Ogallala, Nebraska..
Mom and Dad would ride up front, and us four kids all rode in the back of the pickup with lots of blankets and pillows to flop around on. The tent, sleeping bags and coolers would all be packed in the boat for the trip. Those were such simple times. We didn’t worry about seat belts and air bags and crash test ratings, we just hopped in the back of the pickup, and off we went. If anyone tried that today, they’d probably be thrown in jail and their kids sent to foster homes. I don’t remember at all how long the trip to the lake was. I know it had to be at least a couple of hours, but we didn't mind. Getting there really was half the fun in those days.
Most of my memories of our camping trips are only fragments. There wasn't any one trip in particular that stands out in my mind. Our tent was blue and yellow and was big enough for all six of us. I remember the pitch blackness of those nights in the tent. I was afraid of the dark as a child, but with my family all around me, there was nothing to be afraid of. One memory fragment I have is of waking up in the middle of the night and feeling cold. I got up and carefully felt my way around for a minute looking for the pile of blankets. When I found a blanket and tried to take it, someone pulled back, so I think I gave up.
Those bright summer days of roaming the sandy shore of the lake seemed endless. The particular area where we always camped had kind of a little cliff with a long slope of sand stretching out in front of it. We used to climb to the top of the slope and then run down, or roll down all the way to the bottom. I kind of remember Brad stepping on a cactus there one time. I think Mom has some pictures of us rolling down that slope.
Speaking of pictures, I remember one picture that Mom has. It is of me holding a tiny little tadpole in my cupped hands. I only vaguely remember catching tadpoles where the water was very shallow. Actually, I think someone else caught the tadpole, maybe Brad, and gave it to me so Mom could take the picture. I was very young, couldn’t have been more than five. I think my hair was still mostly blond in that picture.
Of course, we would go out on the boat, too, but that wasn’t my favorite part of going to the lake. Dad liked to go fishing, but I never cared much for it. Also, Mom and the older kids would water ski, but I was too little. We had to wear those bulky orange life-jackets, too, and I hated wearing them. I remember one time when the boat broke down, and Dad had to call out on the CB radio to get someone to tow us back to the marina.
Just fragments. I remember Spam and squeezy cheese in a tube that we put on crackers or celery. I remember different flavors of Shasta sodas, we call it pop here in the Midwest. Those were special treats that we only indulged in at the lake, making our time there even more special. I can’t really remember what else we ate. I remember the little portable am/fm radio. Barry Manilow’s “Copa Cabana” was a big hit one summer, I remember hearing it on the radio at the lake. And sand, sand, sand. No matter how you tried, it just got into everything.
Our little family vacations sure were fun, and they always ended too soon. The saddest part was taking the boat out of the water because then you really knew it was over. “Just one more dip in the water? Please, Mom, please?” The answer was always "No.” Back into the pickup we went, and back home to the boring old farm.
Those were the good old days, all right. It’s tempting, sometimes, to wish for those days again, but that’s just not the way of things. God gave each one of us a unique past, and a unique set of life experiences. All of our lives He works to make each one of us a unique and valuable part of His plan.
We all have good memories, and bad memories. We should never wish the bad ones had never happened, because they made us who we are, just as much as the good ones did. Wishing for a different past is like telling God He made a mistake. He shaped each of us to perform a particular task, something that no other person on Earth can do. It’s our job to find out what that task is, and do it to the best of our abilities. And the greatest thing about God is that it’s never too late. As long as you are drawing breath, there’s still time. Make the most of it!
1 Corinthians 12:12 The body is a unit, though it is made up of many parts; and though all its parts are many, they form one body. So it is with Christ.
That was a lot different than the family vacations we took when I was a kid. I’m talking way back in the 70’s, when Mom and Dad were still married. Dad was a farmer, as I have mentioned before, and we couldn’t go anywhere as long as he had to water the crops. So we waited for rain. It had to be a pretty good rain, too, so that he didn’t have to irrigate for a few days. When the rain finally came, we would put the topper on the pickup, hook up the boat, and head for Lake McConaughy, which is out east near Ogallala, Nebraska..
Mom and Dad would ride up front, and us four kids all rode in the back of the pickup with lots of blankets and pillows to flop around on. The tent, sleeping bags and coolers would all be packed in the boat for the trip. Those were such simple times. We didn’t worry about seat belts and air bags and crash test ratings, we just hopped in the back of the pickup, and off we went. If anyone tried that today, they’d probably be thrown in jail and their kids sent to foster homes. I don’t remember at all how long the trip to the lake was. I know it had to be at least a couple of hours, but we didn't mind. Getting there really was half the fun in those days.
Most of my memories of our camping trips are only fragments. There wasn't any one trip in particular that stands out in my mind. Our tent was blue and yellow and was big enough for all six of us. I remember the pitch blackness of those nights in the tent. I was afraid of the dark as a child, but with my family all around me, there was nothing to be afraid of. One memory fragment I have is of waking up in the middle of the night and feeling cold. I got up and carefully felt my way around for a minute looking for the pile of blankets. When I found a blanket and tried to take it, someone pulled back, so I think I gave up.
Those bright summer days of roaming the sandy shore of the lake seemed endless. The particular area where we always camped had kind of a little cliff with a long slope of sand stretching out in front of it. We used to climb to the top of the slope and then run down, or roll down all the way to the bottom. I kind of remember Brad stepping on a cactus there one time. I think Mom has some pictures of us rolling down that slope.
Speaking of pictures, I remember one picture that Mom has. It is of me holding a tiny little tadpole in my cupped hands. I only vaguely remember catching tadpoles where the water was very shallow. Actually, I think someone else caught the tadpole, maybe Brad, and gave it to me so Mom could take the picture. I was very young, couldn’t have been more than five. I think my hair was still mostly blond in that picture.
Of course, we would go out on the boat, too, but that wasn’t my favorite part of going to the lake. Dad liked to go fishing, but I never cared much for it. Also, Mom and the older kids would water ski, but I was too little. We had to wear those bulky orange life-jackets, too, and I hated wearing them. I remember one time when the boat broke down, and Dad had to call out on the CB radio to get someone to tow us back to the marina.
Just fragments. I remember Spam and squeezy cheese in a tube that we put on crackers or celery. I remember different flavors of Shasta sodas, we call it pop here in the Midwest. Those were special treats that we only indulged in at the lake, making our time there even more special. I can’t really remember what else we ate. I remember the little portable am/fm radio. Barry Manilow’s “Copa Cabana” was a big hit one summer, I remember hearing it on the radio at the lake. And sand, sand, sand. No matter how you tried, it just got into everything.
Our little family vacations sure were fun, and they always ended too soon. The saddest part was taking the boat out of the water because then you really knew it was over. “Just one more dip in the water? Please, Mom, please?” The answer was always "No.” Back into the pickup we went, and back home to the boring old farm.
Those were the good old days, all right. It’s tempting, sometimes, to wish for those days again, but that’s just not the way of things. God gave each one of us a unique past, and a unique set of life experiences. All of our lives He works to make each one of us a unique and valuable part of His plan.
We all have good memories, and bad memories. We should never wish the bad ones had never happened, because they made us who we are, just as much as the good ones did. Wishing for a different past is like telling God He made a mistake. He shaped each of us to perform a particular task, something that no other person on Earth can do. It’s our job to find out what that task is, and do it to the best of our abilities. And the greatest thing about God is that it’s never too late. As long as you are drawing breath, there’s still time. Make the most of it!
1 Corinthians 12:12 The body is a unit, though it is made up of many parts; and though all its parts are many, they form one body. So it is with Christ.
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