Friday, September 23, 2016

Retirement Returning Soon

I have one more week to go of part time.  My trainee has progressed enough that I think he won't need me anymore.  He will still need help--estimating is a tough job to learn, but he is no longer a ship drifting out at sea...

I have learned something during this week stint of working--that retirement is really the right thing for me.  After the first few days of being at work, the novelty was gone.  I'm not sure if the novelty will ever been gone with retirement for me.  It suits me so well.

Ellen has been taking vacation, and we have been getting some terrific riding.  We love to ride in the fall. The weather has been a little warm, though.  We look forward to the cool weather with no bugs.

I will be spending more time with this blog once I am retired, again.

Wednesday, September 21, 2016

Book Review: "Our Man in Havana" by Graham Greene

I have read a few books by Graham Greene, already, and I loved them.  This one is no different.  Taking place in pre-revolotionary Cuba, it is about a humble vacuum cleaner salesman that is roped into being an agent for the British Secret Service.

It starts out very light-hearted and ends up getting rather serious.  The story just roped me right in and wouldn't let me go.  Once again, I don't want to give anything away.  All I can say is, espionage has never been more entertaining than in "Our Man in Havana."

I have a few more Graham Green novels to read, so you will be hearing about them soon.

Sunday, September 18, 2016

Book Review: Lord Jim by Joseph Conrad

This is my third Joseph Conrad book that I read.  The first was "In the Heart of Darkness" followed by "Victory."  All three are good books.  The one that I can't remember the name of is my favorite.

This one is narrated by Marlowe.  He narrated "Victory," too.  I don't know who he is, but he likes studying  characters, and so do I.

Lord Jim is a name given to an ordinary person named Jim.  Jim was a romantic and loved the sea.  He pictured himself playing a romantic part in a sea adventure.  He became a sailor and things went really badly for him.  The last thing he turned out to be was  a romantic hero, and he spent his time running from his past.

Things started to look up for him, and then trouble showed up.

Conrad isn't an easy read, and you have to be patient with him.  It takes a long time for his stories to get going, but if you enjoy good characters and stories from exotic places, you won't mind the slow start.  I am looking forward to reading more of his books in the future.

Book Review: The Pharaoh's Cat by Maria Luisa Lang

Book Review: The Pharaoh's Cat by Maria Luisa Lang

I loved this book.  Written by an art historian and amateur Egyptologist--and evidently, someone who loves cats, it kept me entertained from beginning to end.

A cat is magically endowed with the ability to speak and walk upright.  He is then befriended by a young pharaoh, and their adventures begin.  Ancient Egypt and her customs come to life, and that would have been enough for me to enjoy the book, but the story took unexpected turns that kept me at the edge of my seat--and often made me laugh.

The story is told in first person by the cat, who often gets into mischief and certainly has an attitude.  I love how he interprets the world.  I thought the cat was simply delightful. Of course, I am rather fond of cats.

I don't want to give too much away, but if you like cats, history and adventure, this book is for you.

Friday, September 2, 2016

Boondoggle

For those few of you that read this and wondered what happened to me--well, it is like a nightmare--I am sitting right here at work as I type this.  Yes, work.  I agreed to help them out a bit.  I worked this week, and then I will be part time for about a month to help train my replacement.  Someone quit, so now the only person left is too busy to train him.

It hasn't been all that bad.  It was nice to see everyone and feeling useful, but I really prefer to be back at home. I am surprised how much I remembered.

This has convinced me that retirement is my preferred state of being.