2018 has been a strange year so far. With illnesses, work projects, and family, I’ve been going, going, going. In addition to work, I’ve been reading, writing, and reviewing. While the year has been extremely productive, I’ve gone a little Charlie Day pinning stuff to walls lately.
Vacation
Luckily, my in-laws planned a trip to Branson, MO, which is like a Las Vegas for conservative Christians. Branson is located in the southwest corner of the state, approximately four hours down 44 for us. Silver Dollar City, an amusement park, is the highlight of the trip. We rode many roller coasters, which was great, but I saw that my days of rolling on coasters is numbered. For the first time in my life, I needed a break from rides. As sad as this revelation was, I enjoyed the park and time with the family. We saw a show, ate a lot of good Midwestern food, and swam in a pool with entirely too much chlorine.
Three Years
Last week, Sue and I celebrated our third wedding anniversary. On the actual day, we watched Frasier and ate vegetable curry. On Saturday night, we had dinner at Stone Soup Cottage here in Cottleville, MO. Stone Soup is not just dinner, though. It’s an experience. Sue, her twin brother, sister-in-law, and I arrived a little before 7 pm; we left the restaurant at 10:30. The food was amazing, as usual; the Chateaubriand edged out the rest of the menu as my favorite. Since our trip to Paris, I’ve fallen in love with Madeleines, which they served for desert. I was so happy. It was a wonderful way to celebrate marrying a wonderful woman.
Pinched Nerve
Since the end of April/beginning of May, I’ve been dealing with a pinched nerve. Now that I’ve got some visits to the physical therapist under my belt, it’s now changed from strictly a pinched nerve to something like thoracic outlet syndrome. Basically, the muscles in my neck and/or pectoralis minor are pinching my nerve and veins. For me, it’s an injury caused by years of hunching over books, computer screens, and my phone. The PT has me stretching, which is really helping. She also gave me exercises to strengthen my back to correct my rounded shoulders. Going to therapy is something I look forward to. The pinched nerve and blood vessels don’t sound like a big injury, but muscle atrophy is a possibility. So, I need to get ahead of it.
Because of the pain and the need to heal, I’ve stopped going to jiu jitsu. In certain arm positions, the muscles are so tight that at my wrist the therapist couldn’t feel my pulse. If I continued training without fixing this, blood flow would be restricted to my arm many, many times. It sucks that I can’t get on the mat, but I’m doing what I need to ensure that my arm still works later in life. Jiu jitsu will be there for me when I’m healthy.
Upcoming Reviews
I’ve finished A Study in Honor by Claire O’Dell and Kompromat by Jeff Pegues. I really enjoyed both of these books, and they’re releasing in July. So, the reviews are coming soon. For SF fans, A Study in Honor is highly recommended, and I expect to see it on a number of “best of” lists. For political junkies, Kompromat collects a lot of information about the Russian meddling in the 2016 election in one place. In a more civil political scene, this book would be controversial but respected for its research. In the current dumpster fire reality of American politics, it will be labeled fake news. I believe it should be read by all political persuasions, but of course the Left will read it, and the Right will bash it.
Reading
Right now, I’m catching up on the shorter fiction nominated for the Hugo Awards. While I’m not usually a short fiction fan, I’m enjoying the ballot. I don’t have my picks just yet, but I’m narrowing them down. For book-length reading, next up is Redemption’s Blade by Adrian Tchaikovsky, best known for the Shadows of the Apt series.
Vacation Over
Now that vacation’s over, it’s time to get back to work. What’s on your plate?