Christmas, Puzzles, And Memories...

I took a couple of pictures of my son yesterday. He was doing something he loved--putting together a puzzle. I know there are people who hate putting together puzzles. My son is not one of them.

When I took out the SD card and downloaded the photos to my computer earlier today, I forgot I had taken those pictures. With a nice camera and basically cost-free photography, I tend to take a lot of pictures, probably more than I should. One day I'd like to have them all printed and put in books, but that would end up being a pretty big photo album--that happens when you've got over 20K pictures on your computer and backed up on drives.

But when I saw these, they brought back a lot of memories--memories of when I was a kid. When I was my son's age, I don't recall putting together a lot of puzzles. I think I kind of liked puzzles, but not too much. The picture reminded me of what it was like to be a kid at Christmas.

And when I was my youngest son's age, my father had passed a way a couple of years previous. My mom was raising three kids in an unfinished home. I'm sure times were tough, but I never really knew how tough. We always had food and we always had shelter and I had a great childhood. 

And Christmas was truly the best time of the year. As kids we always got enough stuff, enough to make me happy. I remember having the time to play with our new toys and spend time with friends and family. 

I showed this picture to my co-worker and he commented on how he liked putting together puzzles, but only when he has a lot of free time. Maybe that's why the picture reminds me so much of my youth at Christmastime. I had a lot more time to do things like putting together puzzles.

Not Everyone Has A Saloon In Their Basement...

"Wow!" my daughter said as we entered my friend's basement and saw the awesomeness that lay before us. "I want a house like this when I grow up!"

And who can blame her?

Not me.

The place was amazing!

My friend's an architect who designed and built his house. I know a lot of guys who want to build a man cave in their house. The big TV with chest-pounding speakers, a fridge or a wet bar--all those things are a "must have" for some. My friend built his own saloon complete with a bar, stuffed animals on the wall, a balcony ideal for the younger crowd, and there's even a stage for entertaining.

We had a great time hanging out at the Reel Hooker Saloon. I could tell that many a grand time's been had in that saloon.

My friend's kids have all grown but I imagine they and their friends have wonderful memories of the saloon. Because not everyone has a saloon in their basement...

But if you can swing it, you should.

The Skies Of Last Thursday...

Last Thursday those of us who live along the Wasatch Front were treated with a couple of amazing displays. On occurred in the morning around 7:40 a.m., and the other just before 5 p.m. late in the afternoon. Though I had some poor locations from which to take pictures, I got a couple of shots of these incredible skies.

Because of the hours I work and where I'm located on the globe (as well as the tilt of the earth...), I arrive at work in the dark, and usually leave work in the dark. Normally I don't get a chance to take pictures of sunsets at this time of year. Also, because I'm working when the sun rises and there are a couple of buildings blocking my view, I really can't see the sunrises.

On Thursday, however, I got as good a picture of the sunrise as I could. I'm sure some in the valley had an incredible view of the sky.

That night's sunset was fantastic as well. I had no choice but to use my phone to get pictures of it. Like the sunrise, many had great views to see that evening sky.

As the seasons move and the days get longer, I can enjoy the sunsets almost every night. I try and take pictures as much as possible--my laptop has SO many sunset pictures on it, many I've tried to share. But two days ago, those of us who live in this area were blessed twice.

Eclairs And Mint And Peanut Cups...

I have a friend who decided that yesterday would be his last day working with us all.

The event called for eclairs. 

Why eclairs, I wonder? I mean, they're tasty and all, but why do we choose them for retirement parties? We could have doughnuts or cookies, but no--we seem to want eclairs.

I suppose the same reasoning is used for having mint and peanut cups for wedding receptions. At least, around here, that's what we do. A lot of wedding receptions give those attending little cups full of butter mints and shelled peanuts.

Not that eclairs and mint/peanut cups are bad. I like them as evidenced by my actions when I go to a retirement party and/or wedding reception (the two are hardly synonymous...), I almost always partake of either eclairs or mint/peanut cups. Sometimes, if I can get away with it, I might have two.

Of course, all the eclair and mint/peanut cup discussion is not really important. The most important thing that happened was a friend has taken a major step in his life to a future that's hopefully brighter and better. For the rest of us, staying behind the walls of employment, we remain tethered to our desks and computers and phones,  and we'll do so until that blessed day when it will be our name on the e-mail letting everyone know when our last day will be.

And on that day someone will order a whole mess of eclairs...

Veronica Roth's "Divergent"...Some Dystopian Thoughts

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I know that I am SO late to the Divergent party, but I just finished Book 1 in Veronica Roth's trilogy and I had a few thoughts about this book and the dystopian genre in general.

Everyone seems to have a theory as to why this type of story is so popular. I'm no literary scholar but I think stories where an imaginary future full of unsavory and unsettling realities have always been popular. I could be wrong, but I think it's human nature. We conjure storylines of bad times, especially when things are relatively good. I mean, we live in the most amazing time in all of human history and we flock to see and read about our species trying to deal with terrible times.

Divergent has been compared to The Hunger Games and The Maze Runner, and for good reason. It has that "feel." I would include The Giver in that group as well. Of course, all those stories center around teenagers, teenagers experiencing a major life event--many times called a "choosing," be it  voluntary or involuntary. I find this interesting. As a teenager we all (or most of us, anyway...) face  major questions concerning our future. What are we going to be when we grow up? What career will we take or which school will we attend? And if we don't go to school, how will we support ourselves?

In these dystopian stories, others choose for them and the consequences can mean the difference between life and death. In the books and movies these choices are pitched to guarantee the continuation of a utopian society, but just the opposite happens. Maybe in real life parents try to protect their children so much that when they're old enough to face the real evil that exists in our world, they'll be ready. But, sometimes we're never ready. 

Divergent was good. I enjoyed it a lot, even though there's a lot of similar stuff out there. I can see why the book is so successful. I look forward to reading the rest of the trilogy. A lot of people are dissing dystopia now, but for me, I enjoy the genre and no matter how much they talk about the demise of dystopia, I think it'll always be around.

* Photo used without permission from: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/13335037-divergent?from_search=true

Oh, Christmas Tree, Oh Christmas Tree...

Why is it that—sometimes—getting though the Christmas season feels like you’re behind the wheel of a car, no a school bus full of kids, that’s sliding downhill on an icy road…

And the breaks don’t work,

And the kids are screaming (or laughing—can’t tell sometimes…),

And at the bottom of the hill there’s a lake,

And the lake is covered with ice, but the ice is not thick enough to prevent a school bus full of screaming/laughing kids from falling in,

And just under the ice are severely underfed sharks (of course, how there could be underfed sharks in a semi-frozen lake is pretty much impossible, or highly, highly unlikely, but that’s not important…),

And you’re supposed to be thinking about the birth of Christ instead of buying stuff and getting the best price possible for said stuff or deciding which family to visit/not visit, and the reason you can’t focus on the most important aspect of Christmas is because there’s so much to do and time—for some strange reason—shifts into the top gear and, like a jet, races to the end of the year?

Yeah...I don't know either.

But last night, as I made some final adjustments on a manuscript so I could e-mail it to my editor, the family decorated our new Christmas tree. If only I could just sit and look at it for a couple of days. 

Maybe the reason the Christmas season get so crazy...

It's because it's so worth it.

Maybe.

Platte F. Clark's "Bad Unicorn"...A Book Review

With Platte Clarke's Bad Unicorn, I did something I usually never do. I blogged about the book while I was reading it. Today, while traveling to Salt Lake to begin another wonderful day at work, I finished it.

What a great book!

In that previous post (you can access that blog post: HERE), I talked about how I met the author at a Comic Con and heard more about the book from a friend. He was it was unusual, and he was right. I knew going in that this was just the first helping of hopefully a much larger literary meal so I knew a cliffhanger was coming. It did not disappoint.

Without giving too much away, the title character of Clarke's book is not the main character. The story follows three teenagers who find themselves flung into the future because of a book that only one of the kids, Max, can read and understand. As this story unfolds, we also find ourselves in alternative universes where the Princess, the Unicorn (and she is bad...) plots and schemes to gain the advantage over basically everyone.

In the future, the unicorn and her assistant has turned from living organisms to computerized life forms. Princess's quest, however, remains the same. She loves the power.

I especially liked the way Princess can change from a unicorn to human form, her horn becoming a wand when she's no longer a unicorn. I liked that bit of imagination. I also loved the little "pearls of comedy" strewn throughout the entire book. It's a classic!

Yes, I'm done and I guess I'll be on the lookout for Fluff Dragon, book 2 in the trilogy. If you're looking for something different to read, pick up this one!