"Life is not a matter of holding good cards, but sometimes, playing a poor hand well" (Jack London).

This is the first blog post coming to you from my brand-new laptop. Luckily, my old, trusty Toshiba got me through the last round of term papers and exams, but she just keeps messing with me and after five years it was time to upgrade. I figured it wouldn’t hurt to switch over slowly rather than wait for the Toshiba to die a slow, painful death and leave me cursing to beat hell. It’s so much easier to deal with shit before it breaks for keeps.

I finished White Fang by Jack London today. Took awhile to get into the novel, but I really liked it once I did. I’ve been working on an action sequence between shapeshifters, canids mostly, and this book gave me the perspective I needed. After reading as much dog psychology and behavior as I have the past few months, the ideas White Fang had in the book seem a little far-fetched. But after awhile, they work and make sense. A must-read in my opinion.

I’m also reading Nikki Giovanni’s Collected Poetry. Not quite half-way through. Really like her style and voice. So far, my favorite poem is “Untitled” from the 1972 collection My House.

Janet Evanovich’s novels have also been on my reading list lately. I’m through book four in the Stephanie Plum mystery series and finished Metro Girl today. Great books as far as voice and humor. I really enjoy the grease-monkey heroine in Metro Girl. Sometimes Stephanie gets a little girly for me, but Barney doesn’t have that problem. Gotta love a girl who can hang with the big dogs in a garage.

Well, Dad fell asleep before I even started supper. At least he’s home tonight. Tired, but home. He’s had a long week. Hopefully we can get some shit done around the farm this weekend.

Well, no problems with the new laptop so far. Believe me, if I have any issues, everyone will hear about it, at least once.