A Few Birthday Thoughts-and My Birthday Gift to You

So…Today’s my birthday. This isn’t really about that, though by the end you’ll understand a little better. 

In October, 1972 I was at some sort of drum corps function in Santa Clara, CA. with my family. To occupy my time (and keep me from complaining about being bored) my folks bought me a paperback book titled “Star Trek.” I don’t think they understood at the time what they were about to create. Years-and several conventions, a number of books, and some very patient television watching-later, I was a full on Trekkie. (Still am, to an extent.) Over time, I got models, blueprints, books, a Tech manual, tribbles, drinking glasses, posters, patches (and more stuff than I’m admitting to)…and an unwavering belief that there is hope for the human race, despite ourselves. 

“So what?” you’re asking. Be patient-a good story takes time. 

Star Wars came out, and I ate it up. Battlestar Galactica, Message from Space, Quark, Close Encounters of the Third Kind…all of that fueled my younger days. So did Marvel Comics, Anime and Manga, and a little something called Elfquest. Asimov, Heinlein, Harrison (if you haven’t read the Stainless Steel Rat books, you really should!), Ellison, Clarke…and Myers, whose “Frontliners” I read over and over again. If you were to say I lived in the future-or at least in some other world-you’d have been right. 

Time had a way of flying by when you’re not looking. Now all these years later, I have books of my own for sale. I just wrote some 57,755 words of a second volume of the “Stories of Dai Nihon Teikoku” during November for National Novel Writer’s Month (Or NaNoWriMo); that book will see print sometime next year. I might have written more, but an idea got lodged in my head about the crew of a StarCruiser. So I wrote a little bit of it every day for half a month…and over 30,o0o words later I’m still working on it. Below is an excerpt from that work; it’s my birthday gift to you. Enjoy! 

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Location: GSF StarQuarters, GSF Unified Date 2319.02.27, approximately 1000 base time.

Colt Richmond stood there, waiting patiently. He was heading for his new ship, new Captain’s stripes adorning his sleeves. He would likely be traveling with a few of his crew; that was to be expected from this part of space. In the meantime, he was cooling his heels waiting for his transport. He overheard some people getting into a heated exchange; curious, he wandered over to see what the issue was. Standing there was a diminutive woman-she couldn’t have been more than 1.21 Unified meters (roughly four feet tall), pointed ears and wings, holding her own against three larger males. As he approached, he heard what sounded like taunting or teasing  from the officers of equal rank. “What is the issue, everyone?” She looked up at him and spoke. Her voice was like a cross between windchimes and a hummingbird’s wings; he raised an eyebrow and replied in kind. Turning to them, he pleasantly said “The young lady would like her translator pin back. Do one of you happen to know what happened to it?” “Sir! No sir!” He looked at them all again, mildly irritated. “I hope you all aren’t serving on my ship; if you are I will find ways to make your lives miserable. Now…do you happen to know what happened to the young lady’s translator pin?” One of them looked a little embarrassed. “Sir…I think it might be right here.” “Good. Hand it over to me…and get lost.” “Yessir” they replied, and scattered in three different directions. Calmly he turned to her and spoke; she replied rapidly. Nodding, he replaced the translator pin on her collar; it remained on for a moment, then fell off again. Sighing, he spoke to her in her language and explained what the issue was. Nodding she hummed and whistled at him as they walked to the station exchange. Five minutes later, he carefully repinned her translator pin to her collar. “Thank you enough, sir, I cannot. Hard it is to speak Unified. So…where headed are you?” “SC Shizukaze. Her new Captain I am; Colt Richmond my name is.” “Sir! To you I am reporting. Lieutenant Fae G’zlda I am. New Head Nurse of SC Shizukaze I am.” “The pleasure mine is.” “The pleasure mine is. Elvenspeak you well.” “Fae I am not.” “Guess well you have, sir. Fae I am. From Tsh’ree I am. Pointed ears have you. Elvish you have?” “Tsh’reen am I half. Terran am I half.” “Explains about you much. Ship departs when?” “Minutes Unified fifteen. To dock we should proceed.” “Agree with you I do, sir. Late we should not be.” 

Some thoughts on going to Disneyland

Yeah, it's been a few years since I've posted anything here. I've been busy...I now work for the State of Oregon; we lost Mom a few years back; and I'm editing a bunch of books to get out on the Kindle platform. 

Having said all that, I have an admission to make-or maybe better, a confession: I’d forgotten how to fly. Like Peter Banning-played remarkably well by Robin Williams in”Hook”-I’d lost my ability to fly. I’d lost my happy place, then became tired, a bit of a drag, and in desperate need of a real vacation. I got my vacation, and rediscovered in the process just how much fun Disneyland really is. I came here several times a year when I was younger; the choir performed here three of the four years I was in high school and I seem to remember marching here with the Blue Devils B corps. Barbershoppers have taken over a few times-1984, 1999, and 2009 come to mind. But over time, like many people I moved on and moved far enough away to not come as often. 

That changed when my beloved Traci came into my life. She loves Disneyland, she loves to come and play in the Magic Kingdom. And play we did, becoming teenagers again for five wonderfully fun days. When I originally wrote this it was  the end of day four and the start of day five. Day five was our last day here, and then we headed home. So I didn’t take much time on that morning to write. But I did want to jot down some of what I learned along the way. I wanted to share some of what I learned on my way to finding my happy place once again while it was still fresh in my mind. And while this is somewhat tongue in cheek there’s a few very serious tips here, written by a guy who’s no expert on park travel in the modern world…but who’s logged maybe a few too many miles over too many years. 

One: Time loses any serious meaning once you’re on the property. Oh, sure…the sun rises and sets, unlike in much of property where we live-the Pacific Northwest-where the sun sets sometime in September and the rain starts up and doesn’t seem to end until some time around June. But please be aware that time has no real meaning (unless you have a reservation for a character meal-see below). You may stand in line for fifty minutes and time pleasantly goes by, unlike say, standing in line at the local DMV where fifteen minutes seems like an hour-and an hour seems like an eternity.

Two: Speaking of lines, be prepared to spend time standing in them. Lots of time. Lines for rides, making a purchase, getting a meal, meeting a character, and going to the restroom. I’m not kidding; I stood in line for ten minutes just to throw my Coke cup away. It gets to a point where if you see a line, you’ll stand in it just to find out what it’s for. If you have a reservation for anything, figure out how long it will take you to get there-then add fifteen minutes, minimum. This is especially true for meals, character or otherwise. Why? Because there’s a line for everything! 

Three: If you’re on a diet, go somewhere else. While there is healthy food available, there are also churros, turkey legs (which are huge and smoked to perfection), awesome corn dogs, frozen bananas, a substance called Dole Whip, popcorn, pickles, and so forth. The best fried chicken I swear I’ve ever eaten is found just off Main St. USA, near Tomorrowland. And that’s just Disneyland proper. California Adventure has amazing food as well, including a mighty fine clam chowder in a genuine Boudin sourdough bread bowl. If you are seriously worried about calories, stop it. We were there five days; I averaged 5.5 miles walking a day over the five days we spent here.  Which brings me to….

Four: All the guide books tell you to wear comfortable footwear. They’re not kidding. At the end of day three, I took my shoes off and literally watched my feet swell two sizes in roughly ninety seconds. You will walk a lot, when you’re not standing in line. (Have I mentioned you will spend a lot of time standing in line?) Speaking of the guide books, get them, read them, pore over them, memorize them if you want…then leave them at home. They’re written by well meaning professionals who want you to maximize every second. They mean well-but believe me when I tell you that everyone else in the park has read the same books. Plan ahead, by all means; you should. Then toss most of those plans out the window when you get here, and plan as you go. The smartest plan we made before we left was to spend five days on the property. This allowed us to do a lot without feeling like we needed to march through and lay waste to everything.

Five: Everything in the resort is designed to separate you from your money. It’s okay to spend a little here and there. And when your granddaughter wants a blue slush with a glowing x-wing fighter straw you will spend nearly ten bucks to get her one, because it makes both of you happy. The same thing with mouse ears: if she wants you to get a set and wear them all day, I don’t care how big, strong, and macho you are…you will get and wear mouse ears all day. Spend the money and go to a character meal at least once; the food is pretty decent. We went to one for breakfast, got to meet five different princesses-Ariel, Cinderella, Belle, Rapunzel, and Tiana-and I had tri-tip, scrambled eggs, and hash browns-plus fruit, breakfast breads, and tea. That’s no kiddie meal, friends, and frankly was worth every penny. I’ve eaten in three star restaurants that could learn from this. 

Six: Believe it or not, there actually is an “official/unofficial” sport on the resort properties: Pin collecting and trading. You start by getting a lanyard and a starter pin. My beloved Traci has enough pins on one lanyard to anchor the USS Ronald Reagan in place. I have some “retired” pins; so does she. So we’ve started new lanyards together. Whilst in the park I’ve seen a few lanyards that look like they weigh enough to keep California Screamin’ from achieving its max speed of 55 mph. In fact, if the person wearing them fell down it would take a crane to lift them back up. If you’re smart, you’ll either get several lanyards or get a pin book. Bonus tip: don’t make the rookie mistake and trust the pin backs will survive all the rides; while they are firm and pretty well made, spring for a package of locking pin backs. Trust me on this one, if you trust nothing else I’ve written in this article. Keep the old pin backs for your retired lanyard at home or that pin book.

Seven: Leave your camera at home and get the one-week photo pass…then get as many pictures professionally done as you can. This is especially true if you’ve spent on a character meal. I know, I know…funny advice from a guy who will take his trusty Nikon just about anywhere. But not only will your back thank you for not lugging that extra weight around, you’ll actually be in more pictures. And with everyone using smartphones these days, you’ll have plenty of memories. Besides…it’s very easy to see it vanish on a ride, get broken, etc.

Eight: speaking of your smartphone, three things to consider: First, carry a sandwich sized baggie to put your phone in, and multiply that by each phone…then multiply that by the number of days you’re there. A wet smartphone is a very dead smartphone, and there are plenty of chances to kill your smartphone even if it is in a nearly indestructible case. Second, download the Disneyland app already. Don’t wait until you’re on the resort grounds to do this. It’s worth the bandwidth and memory space to see the wait times for rides, and the map function is very useful once you’ve lost the paper map they give you. Third, invest in a couple of FuelRods before hitting the park. These little lifesavers will recharge just about any phone or tablet you’ll carry, and are worth their weight in gold. Inside the park, they’re thirty bucks. We bought two on Amazon for forty bucks-and if you don’t recharge them in your room at night (provided you’ve used them) and they’ve done their duty, you can exchange them for a loaded one. Plus, after your vacation is over…you can use them at home. (Come on. Be honest…how many times have you been horrified to discover you have 10% charge left on your phone when you’re out on the town?)

Nine: If you can swing it, stay on the property. Sure, you can save a few bucks on a room offsite. But then you have to either (A) pay for daily parking-and the hassles thereof-or (B) walk to and from your hotel. If you want to haul the dead weight of an exhausted child halfway back to beautiful downtown Burbank at the end of a long day on your feet…be my guest; you’re a better man than I, Gunga Din. On the other hand, the Monorail drops you near the Disneyland Hotel-and about two blocks from Paradise Pier, where we stayed. Added bonus: you’ll be two blocks from the closest Starbucks. Speaking of which…don’t cry to me about the commercialization of Disneyland; you know good and well you want your mocha non-fat with whip in the morning and will cheerfully walk that two blocks to get it. Besides…when I was a kid, everything had a sponsor in the park. (Does anyone other than Traci and I remember the Sunkist Citrus House on Main Street USA or Casa de Fritos in Frontierland?)

Ten: Speaking of commercialization, let me take a moment to discuss Downtown Disney. It’s the outdoor shopping mall built by the House of Mouse and it’s a winner. Everything from a LEGO store to the biggest Disney themed souvenir stand sits there. All kinds of food and shops are there, plus a movie theatre. I may be the only person in the world that truly likes the concept, because I’m starting to think maybe Disney’s next empire should be shopping malls. Neat, clean, well lit, and lots of space to move around in even when busy. Hint for those of you whose kids are old enough to be in the park on their own: go there to eat an adult meal.

Eleven: Not that it’s a dud-not by a long shot-but as much as I love Disneyland and enjoy Downtown Disney…Disney’s California Adventure (or DCA) is a park in search of its identity. I don’t think it knows what it really wants to be when it grows up, and the fact they keep redoing so much of it is a clue. Part old time boardwalk, part Hollywood Blvd, and part…well…something. The Magic Kingdom has clearly defined lands, boundaries for each one, and its own etiquette. DCA seems to me like they had a whole bunch of ideas for new stuff, and they threw it all together and instead of a gourmet meal got goulash. For starters, it really needs its own Monorail stop, preferably linking it to the rest of the resort. (For all that, so does Paradise Pier hotel.) Next, either really do the California theme up and stay with it, or rename the place and lay the lands out a little better. Paradise Pier is not quite the boardwalk I remember from my younger days visiting the Santa Cruz Beach and Boardwalk, and the rest of the park is a hodgepodge of different lands and areas. In my opinion, if you only have a few days to spend at the resort, spend one here-you must do at least Soaring, California Screamin’, and eat in any number of the great food places and carts-and spend the rest of your time in Disneyland proper. (I know there’s been some changes since I first wrote this. That just proves my point; Paradise Pier is now being redone into Pixar Pier. California Screamin’ is becoming the Incredicoaster, for example.)

Twelve: You will want to overpack for your trip. Resist the urge to do so. This is because (A) airlines will charge you some serious bucks for an overweight bag, and (B) you will need a place to stow all your purchases for the trip home. This is as good as any place to mention not buying things you will never use again. The sole exception to this rule are mouse ears. (Remember, Mr. Macho type…if your granddaughter wants you to get a pair and wear them, if you value peace and your sanity, you will do this.) Most of the time, you’ll be in t-shirts and jeans…or shorts if it’s summertime. Guys, bring one polo shirt to dress up for that dinner in Downtown Disney. Wear sneaks…with padding. Ladies…I’m not going to tell you what to pack. But I can promise you that you won’t really need that floor length gown or high stiletto heels. (I have mentioned the lines and the amount of walking you do, right? On concrete? Around tens of thousands of people?) 

Thirteen: Turn off your e-mail and get your face out of your smartphone. I made few Facebook posts, and kept my phone in my pocket most of the time except for pictures and checking wait times. You’re on vacation…so unplug already! I promise that anything that was a problem before you leave will still be there and have friends with it…but you’ll be better prepared to deal with it. Plus, by putting your phone away, you won’t walk into people.

Fourteen: If you’ve been living living under a rock, don’t follow the news, or simply didn’t pay attention…Disney owns Lucasfilms and Marvel. This means that half of Tomorrowland has now Stormtroopers and lightsabers. DCA is where all the superheroes live, and that’s fine. But this also means that both franchises have a lot of merchandise in the stores, next to Mickey Mouse and Company, Buzz and Woody, and all your favorite characters. (Hey, Disney…speaking of characters, I’d love to see some new pins from Robin Hood, if you’ve a mind to make some.)  

Finally…this is the one time you don’t want to “wing it.” Use either Disney’s travel agency or Costco’s; I don’t care which. Prepaying for as much as you can-even if it’s just your park hopper passes-will save you some serious bucks long term. Walt Disney Travel Company asked for $200 up front, and the balance paid something like 30 days before our trip. The further ahead you plan, the better off you’ll be. (Of course, that’s true of any vacation, but a Disney vacation especially.)   Yeah, we spent a pretty penny on our trip…but we also prepaid our hotel room, five day park hopper passes, one character meal, and airfare. It was nice to know we didn’t have to save money to pay the hotel room at the end of our stay. 

I had a ball. We had a ball-Traci and I-plus Addy, Jordyn, Alex, Cam, Tylar, and Frankie-had a great time. We're talking about doing it again soon...not soon enough for me, though. I'm ready to go back now....

Thinking of Dad at Christmas....

Hi, Dad—

As you would have said, time flies like the wind…and fruit flies like bananas. It’s been a bit since I’ve written my thoughts down; it’s hard to believe you’ve been gone seven years. Still, I remember that Christmas was always one of those times that you seemed to enjoy…and it seems appropriate that I take a few moments and jot some thoughts down. This year’s a little more difficult; my thoughts are as scrambled this year as they were in high school.

Speaking of years…thanks for the backbone. Not the metaphorical one; the genetic one. I’ve discovered why you disliked cold and damp so much. (Given your current resting place, there’s a certain irony to that, you know.) I wake up in the morning and could sell Rice Krispies: Snap, Crackle, POP! and my spine aligns. Thanks loads! Yeah, I know living in Oregon isn’t helping. On the other hand, I’d rather be here than in the midwest-or the east. I can see why you didn’t want to live in New Jersey! You always said the meek would inherit the earth; with my luck I’ll end up with Bayonne. 

It’s been a busy year. I’m singing with the Salem SenateAires these days; no, I’m not directing-but I’m having a ball. Traci’s been a wonderful support; I doubt I could have done half of what I did without her help. I’ve also been learning a new career; I know you understand how that works, having gone from one to another more years back than I want to admit to. I also have family: Traci has two daughters-Adrianne and Jordyn-and third daughter, Tylar. Addy has a partner-Alex-who has a cute daughter of his own, Cammy, whom we call the Bug. I love them all like they were my kids; you’d have fun discussing many things with Jordyn-and the Bug would love on you like there’s no tomorrow. Traci and I share a relationship that’s much more than a marriage. You’d love her; heaven knows I do!

Speaking of the family…the rest of the family is doing well. Mom’s doing well enough, and Amy, Kim, Liz and Patti are okay. Mom isn’t getting around as well as she could…but frankly, non of us are. As you know, none of us are getting younger-and every time I see them it’s all good. We’re taking care of Mom as best we can, but sometimes it’s harder than others. 

Enough of that, though. Tomorrow is Christmas, and there will be gifts to open, pictures to take-no, I haven’t forgotten taking the pictures at the top of the staircase!-and food to enjoy. Know that you’re missed, and never far from our thoughts. Traci has a song playing called “Good to be Alive RIght About Now.” She’s right…it is, and while you’re missed, know that we’re all taking very good care of each other. I know you’d like to know that!  

Love you and miss you--

Matthew

On What's Eating My Hard Drive

Wow. I haven’t sat down to blog much in over a year. Part of that is due to my continued writing/editing of the The Cosantóirí Chronicles. Part of that is due to a rather large set of life changes; I won’t go into my divorce here as it’s not germane to what I’m thinking about and the job changes are, sadly, a part of that divorce. While my life is much better now, there’s still stuff I’m not going to discuss in such a public forum as yet. Suffice it to say I’m far happier, and to detail some of the stuff I went through and put up with isn’t where I’m at right now.

No, what’s on my mind is the aftereffects of some of all of the above and the effect its had on my trusty MacBook. I looked at the hard drive on said trusty MacBook not that long ago and discovered I had…oh, about 27 GB left. 27 gig of a 250 gig hard drive. I looked at that and what came out of my mouth is not something that a former pastor should be caught saying...ever. Where did it all vanish to?

Culprit number one: My Nikon. Shooting in RAW is wonderful stuff. But it eats memory like I munch on Reece’s Pieces (or any other form of chocolate). Pull 29 files of photos from 2014 off-plus some duplicates in iPhoto and a lot of shots from my old and new iPhones-and that gives me some space. A friendly reminder: always back up your work, kids. And yes, I have a nice new iPhone 6 that my partner Traci got from Verizon. She got her kids, herself and I new iPhone 6’s as part of Verizon’s Edge deal; we share a plan to save a few bucks.

Culprit number two: Those former ministries I held. I finally removed the last of the files from Master’s, the files from my pastoral work the last few years, and my dissertation files. Years of work logs (I logged every paper I graded, to account for my hours), classes I taught/took, sermons, powerpoint presentations, photos from various events…all neatly filed onto DVD’s. That gave me back even more space.

Culprit number three: Yours truly. Years of other files, scans, other photos that hadn’t been cataloged (and now have), other files that I need to keep for various reasons, and so forth had to come off. I mean, I use the MacBook for everything: work, music, photos, letters, my books, and so much more. And you don’t think about a few KB here, a few MB there. I mean, 250 GB was a lot of memory. A program here, a few dozen photos of the family there (shot in RAW, of course), an update over there, and suddenly the hard drive’s filling up like a teenager at a fast-food joint. The only difference is that the hard drive has a limit to how much it can hold. All that stuff has to come off and get filed. 

I still have a lot of stuff to go through and file or get rid of. Some programs have hidden files they keep; and I’m starting to consider trying to save or delete a number of apps for the iPhone I’m not using as there’s nearly a fifth of my hard drive getting eaten by the little buggers. But what I really need to find is what is eating nearly 100 gig; I don’t have that many programs for a reason and I’ve already discarded several-plus an older copy of Xcode-I’ve either not used or don’t remember where I got them.

But at the end of the day, I have a sneaking hunch that I’m going to have to remove a fair number of other photos and documents and file those as well. Still…I’ve managed to recover enough memory to account for almost 40% of the hard drive. That is a win in my book.

Enough for now.  

On My Newest Toy

Today is a little bittersweet for me. I finally get a chance to unpack my shiny new toy: A Nikon D5200. I’ve been saving for this camera for three years; I finally got a chance to really unpack it and see what a gem I’ve gotten. (Okay, I admit I was saving for the D5100, but they’re no longer available. I’ll just have to suffer through with the better unit. Darn.) It’s a beaut, and I can’t wait to go out and play with it. 

However, there’s a sad part to this. I have to put my trusty old Minolta dImage Z6 away, along with all the accessories. I’ve had to remove the really nice camera strap off of it-a Tamrac padded leather N45-pull all the accessories out of my old Velocity 7 bag, and put them away. This is harder than you think; there’s been a lot of happy miles and many great shots with my Z6. Bought the day before leaving on a five week trip back in 2005 for a road trip for work and pleasure in which we went (amongst other places) to the Grand Canyon for a day and I just knew the little Vivitar I had was not going to work like I wanted (with the Grand Canyon, few cameras do), it quickly felt at home in my hands. It’s been to Hawai’i three times, Canada three times, all over the west coast (I have no idea how many beach pictures the thing’s taken), and all over the United States. I’ve shot the Mexican border with it (then turned around and headed away from San Ysidro). I’ve gotten some wonderful shots: flowers, waterfalls, butterflies…sunsets. Family times: Christmases, Thanksgivings, anniversaries. I took a few shots before Dad’s memorial service with it. I took photos of Deena’s class reunion with it on my Slik U8000 tripod. It’s been crammed into backpacks; the whole kit’s been packed in my suitcase and survived. It’s been a good part of my life for the last nine years, dependable as the day is long-so long as I had batteries to feed it. 

But the reality is that time has gone by. Unlike an old 35mm film camera that you could use for years on end with proper care and maintenance, digital cameras have greatly improved. Case in point: Shots that Deena is catching with disgusting ease just aren’t possible with 6 megapixels. Consider this: my iPhone camera has 5 megapixels; great for candids and quick shots (Remember: the best camera you have is the one that’s with you) but not for the kind of stuff I really, really want to do. And since Minolta was bought by Sony, it’s not like I can move into another Minolta. Deena’s Canon suits her; she’s gotten some really great stuff. However, I knew this last trip to Hawai’i that the next time I go back I was going to have to have a better camera. Too many shots I should have gotten, too many shots my mind saw-but the poor thing was just never designed to get. So it’s all back in their boxes and bags, along with all my other older cameras, waiting for one more trip somewhere. It’ll probably make a few trips here and there, perhaps; like the little Vivitar it replaced, the Z6 will be something I might take to an amusement park or someplace I don’t want to run the risk of breaking the D5200-or having it stolen. 

And as time goes by, what is right now becoming a very light Velocity 7 slingpack will get heavier; a speedlight (flash) will likely be the next major purchase. There will need to be a few minor purchases: a second battery as even Lith-Ion runs down and needs a charge eventually; a few odds and ends including a lens protector ($30 beats replacing a $300 lens) and a polarizer; at least one more lens-and probably two will eventually get added. Why buy all this stuff? Because I’ve had to work at this the hard way. Dad taught me well, and a few classes growing up didn’t hurt-but the truth is that I want do better work than I’ve been able to. This should stay with me for quite a while; and even if I eventually need a new camera body I’ll still have the lenses and the flash to go with it. 

Enough for now. 

On Writing Far Too Much

Boy, I hate it when I discover something I should have known-or at least suspected. 

I’ve had to put a stop-well, sort of-to a lot of my writing, and instead have had to do a boatload of editing. (Dr. Frey, you were right. There is no such thing as good writing, but only good editing.) I’ve been writing the Cosantóirí Chronicles now for the last few years, and I’ve been writing them to average-before editing-roughly 300 pages of single-spaced, 12 point Helvetica font prose. Then I adjust the pitch and font-Georgia, 13 point, space and a half-and each completed book ended up over 400 pages plus. Add to that the glossary in the back, and I thought that was pretty reasonable for a self-published e-book. I mean, I can read about 300 pages in roughly an evening’s time.

Now, in talking with a fellow singer-who’s also writing-he mentioned that his editor wanted him to keep his book to about 100,000 words. So I did some research...and found the same approximate word count for the kind of books I write. On more than one website for writers, prospective writers, and those of us who write for fun. 100,000 words? Really? That didn’t seem like enough to me, but I decided to see what that looked like. 

Fionnachtain-my first book-ran 208,000-plus words. Ón Am Atá Thart-the second in the series-ran some 190,000-plus words. An Cailín Órga-the third book-ran 180,000-plus words. As George Takei would say...."Ohhh, Myyyyy.” 

I've been writing two books at a clip and didn’t even know it! That means, if these numbers hold up, that I don’t have seven books and an eighth almost completed. It means I have closer to fifteen books written, at that seemingly arbitrary word count, and a sixteenth nearly in the can. And the framework for the seventeenth and eighteenth started.

What writing I’m doing now is filling in some blank spots as I figure out how to split the existing works roughly in half. I’m still telling the story I’ve been given as a gift-it’s just that, now it’s going to be a lot more books than I first envisioned. 

The good news is that what is now the first four are once again available. Fionnachtain, Aibíocht, Scéalta Saol, and Ón Am Atá Thart are available. Aibíocht and Scéalta Saol are the volumes that came from what was the excess of the first two volumes. I’ll start editing An Cailín Órga this week in my free time.

Thanks for your patience and understanding!  

UPDATE: The first eight volumes are now available. In addition to the ones listed above, An Cailín Órga, Breithe Clan, Oíche Dáta Deasghnátha agus Cosantóirí Saol, and Scéalta na Breithlá Déag are now available. The Cosantóiri Chronicles website is currently being revised to reflect the changes. 

If you were on the Cosantóiri Chronicles website, you can return by clicking here.

On Moving to Two Places-and Why

I decided to take a short break from packing stuff to move, preparing a sermon, grading papers, and writing books (not all at once-I’m not that good at multitasking!) to catch up the blog.

For those who haven’t heard: I have returned to the denominational church of my youth: The United Methodist Church. After joining Ebbert Memorial UMC in Springfield, OR and completing my dissertation, I found I had too much spare time on my hands-and a need to do something with my calling. After a chat with my DS, I was sent as a lay person assigned (even though I hold ordination credentials) to Hope UMC in Drain/Yoncalla, OR as their pastor. Long story short, this past July first I have been sent instead to Pioneer UMC in Coquille, OR. This is a 1/2 time slot; I’m hoping to remain there while I undertake the things I need to do to become a full elder. That's a three year process, so I have some time.

The good news is, there’s a parsonage to live in. This means for the first time in over eight years, most of my books are on shelves-and have been thatched and duplicates pulled and donated to the church for their rummage sale next month. I have an actual office as well, and I have a church with good people who want to see things happen. (Not that the folks at Hope didn’t-they also want to see things grow and get bigger as well. Join me in praying for them and their new pastor, Jerry Steele.) The downside is that we’re in the middle of a move that is having to happen much faster than we’d planned...they want to rent the apartment we’ve been living for five years by the first of August. Geez, I hate moving. Nerves are frayed, money’s tighter as a result for a few weeks-but God is good. (There’s also the part about commuting 2 1/2 hours one way to get there, but I’ll come back to that in a moment.) 

Add to that I’m now the interim director for the Cascade Chorus, the Barbershop chorus I have been the assistant director of the last five or six years or so. Toss in doing things like attending Annual Conference and a Pastoral Transition conference...and you find that ol’ Doc Crandall’s been a busy cuss.

Little things one takes for granted-like working internet-are coming together. I spent most of my Monday getting that back up and running; my wireless HP printer was balky and the Airport Express needed to be "persuaded" to play nicely with the new wifi router. I can find things in the kitchen now, and many of the boxes and tubs we’ve hauled down there have either been sorted and their contents found homes...or will be in short order. (Have I mentioned how much I hate moving?) And the fun part is that it’s only half the stuff. 

See, Deena-who lost her full-time job the end of June-now has a part time job doing the same stuff with a different department, and some per diem hours as well. If she makes the CPE (Clinical Pastoral Education) course she’s trying to get into, she’ll be busier than I am. As a result, she has to stay in the area to work. So we’re moving half our stuff into her folks place and will pay them some rent, and I get to commute that 2.5 hours one way I mentioned earlier. 

I want to make one thing profoundly clear: this commute is not a sign of trouble in our marriage. Just the opposite: we are having to work harder on our relationship as we won’t have the time together we’re used to spending. On the other hand, because we are both so busy, the time we do have together is made more special. 

So...to my students, I ask your indulgence for about another seven to ten working days; I’m starting to have enough time to grade like I’m used to-which means back papers will get caught up fairly quickly. To my parishioners, I ask your continued grace as I get settled into being your new pastor and find a routine that works. To my chorus, I ask you hang with me a little longer-and keep working on your music at home. And to everyone else...when you think about us, keep us in prayer. Now, more than ever, we need God’s grásta agus síocháin-His grace and peace-to help us through a tough period of time.