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More News From The West

                We’ve settled into a nice rhythm this week. Two people take the ATVs and drag while the third does nest checks. We rotate this so it theoretically means two hard days of dragging and one day “off” to nest check. With the amount of nests we have found, that easy day is not that easy. So far we have nearly 70 nests to check, and that is just counting the northern sites. Add to that our new time restraints and it can make for a stressful day.

Jarrett has been trying to keep us to 8 or fewer hours a day for the past week or so, an impossible task when it normally takes us around 12 hours to do everything. But he has good reason to want to keep our hours smaller. Already, I have over 100 hours of overtime added up, and the money situation for this project is not looking good.

Hustle and Flow: Or, How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love Country Music

The weather forecast for the past two weeks predicted rain everyday but those Mondays. Since, we could not do our work in the rain we tried to get a full weeks worth or work done. In one day. Those days were not fun. Both days ended up being over 18 hours each, filled with lots of driving and running. That first Monday, I drove from the North Dakota border all the way down to the Nebraska border, and then back up to the middle of the state. We accomplished all of our goals each day, which turned out not too matter too much as it did not rain at all the rest of either week.
I am beginning to understand how Stockholm syndrome works. Before I came here, I had a strong dislike of country music, but now, after two months of really nothing else to listen too, I find myself enjoying certain songs. It is a terrible feeling.
With birds beginning to hatch, we ran our first trial of trapping. It went horribly. Our trap is a thrown hula hoop with a net attached to it. Try throwing a hula hoop and see how accurate you are. Now trying adding a net and a strong wind. Throw in some delicate and easily broken eggs into the mix and you can see our problem. We had one bird that we were trying to catch the hula-nets, and by the time we tried to use the stationary traps, the bird was so spooked that it would not go near the nest. We spent the drive back to the lodge coming up with new and exotic trapping ideas. It will be an interesting summer if we use any of those.
I really should write these things down sometime when I am not sitting at the gas station. Then maybe I will actually write down the exciting and interesting details of this job. Now though, I think I am going to get something to eat.

-Me

A Guide to South Dakota Cities (For Loose Definitions of “Cities”) 2nd Edition

                The Grand List of South Dakota Cities (For Generous Definitions of Cities) 2^nd Addition

Huron-Out of all the cities in South Dakota, Huron most reminds one of Michigan. Its downtown, as well as housing styles is a near carbon copy of Plymouth.

While Redfield is known as “The Pheasant Capital of The World,” it is Huron that claims to have “The World’s Largest Pheasant.” This fact has led to a bitter rivalry between the two cities. Redfiedlers claim that Huronites stole their Giant Pheasant while Huronites do not pay attention to anything the Redfielders say.

 Groton- Groton South Dakota has the most annoying intersection in the world. Never travel north or south through it if you can avoid it. If you must, bring a good book, or perhaps your lunch as you will be sitting there for a while.

Sioux Falls- Sioux Falls is South Dakota’s First City. As the largest city in the state, it boasts a population just slightly larger than Ann Arbor’s. Seeing that many people around can be quite a shock after spending time in some of the other cities of South Dakota. Do not worry though, SF has many fine attractions to take your mind off them.

If you are a history buff, there is a battleship memorial on the north side of the city. Be warned though, it is not a full battleship, as many of the signs seems to suggest. Rather, it is a large stone plaque with bits of a ship scattered around it.

For the more nature oriented visitor, why not visit the Falls of Sioux Falls? These impressive water works stretch a couple of hundred yards downstream, filled with rocks for climbing and sights for seeing. When surrounded by construction, it can be difficult to get to, but with a little luck, you should find the falls to be a pleasant experience.

After a day of sightseeing, relax at one of Sioux Falls’ many fine night clubs. A popular favorite is Bucks, an automotive themed bar. On a Friday night, you will find the place packed to capacity with people dancing, drinking and enjoying life. Why such a well-loved establishment is virtually empty on Saturday is one of Sioux Falls’ greatest mysteries.

Watertown- The Gateway to West is the fifth biggest city in the state. It runs along the highway, and as such has an elongated design, much like Aberdeen. In fact, Watertown and Aberdeen are twins in regard to their layout. Anything that you could do or find in Aberdeen could just as easily be done in Watertown.

In the middle of Watertown there is a well-used train crossing, going over the main highway, without gates or even lights to warn that a train is coming. There is not much more to say about that. It is just odd.

In Which Everything That Can Go Wrong, Does

Last week went by smoothly. Sure, there was a lot of work, and all of it was tiring, but it was enjoyable and productive. We even managed to get slightly ahead of schedule. 

Jarrett finally brought his P90X DVDs to the lodge so I've been doing those after work. After a week of them, I am not nearly as sore as I thought I would be, which makes me think I am doing them wrong.

The Other Crew is leaving at the end of the week, so for their final weekend we went down to Sioux Falls. The biggest city in South Dakota by nearly double, Sioux Falls is just barely larger than Ann Arbor. It's a pretty nice place. We spent the first night in the Brimark Inn. Well, a better way to put it would be we spent the night in down town Sioux Falls and slept in the Brimark. The breakfast there was amazing. Not because it was really good or anything, but because it was the first time I had a complimentary breakfast whose eggs actually looked like eggs. Marvels on marvels.

Unsure if we were spending another night in the Big City, we checked out once the Other Crew woke up, and then proceeded to get more breakfast at a diner across the street. It was there we decided to spend a day and a second night in Sioux Falls. When we booked the room this time, somehow it was $20 cheaper. Not sure how or why.

The Other Crew, having ingested a few too many beverages the previous night, went back to sleep. I took the keys to the car, and explored the city. After seeing towns like Redfield and Briton for a month, the size and layout of Sioux Falls confused me. It did not follow the grid pattern of the state. That, coupled with a mess load of construction, made my short trip to see the Falls, quite a bit longer. But eventually I found them and they were quite a sight. Water cascaded over red and purple rocks up and down a huge stretch about a quarter mile long. I spent a good hour there, watching the water and enjoying the warm weather.

I arrived back at the Brimark to find the Other Crew still asleep. Eventually they woke up and we went to get some dinner. There was another Hotel next to ours that was supposed to have good food. I wanted to try some unique Sioux Falls/South Dakota fair, and so I was not thrilled by the idea of going to eat in a hotel bar. But let me tell you, the food there was some of the best I have ever eaten. I would try to describe it to you, but words fail to capture how delicious that meal was.

With dinner finished and showers taken, we headed out for one last night on the town. The previous night we went to a place called Bucks. It was a great bar/club/thing.  Good music, good dancing bad service. The crowd loved my moves, and people even took pictures with me. I kid you not. But that’s not the important part of this story. The important part is the next night, where I met a girl who put all my dancing skills to shame. We had a dance off, me and her, near the end of the night. I could not keep up. I was impressed. But sadly, as a fitting begin to this most awful week, when I went to talk to after, she and her friends had already left. Sadness.

We returned to Redfield, our spirits high and our wallets light, and that’s when the storms began.

For four days it rained. Hard rain, light rain, every kind of rain pounded down on us. More importantly, it pounded down on our sites. In order to do our work, we need a dry environment. Birds do not move around much in the rain, and checking eggs when it is even damp out can kill the chicks.

The rain did not care about that though. The storms seemed to follow us around. If we wanted to go north, they would soak Aberdeen. When we decided to swing to the south, so would they. We thought they left once, and had just left the lodge when the rain swung back over, re-soaking everything that had just dried. We’ve been eating up our overtime hours, just sitting around waiting for it to dry.

Finally, the rains stopped today. We loaded up the trucks and headed out to make up for lost time at 4 AM.

Just as we got to the highway, I noticed that the F-150 was making a weird sound as we drove. Thinking that we had lost an ATV or a strap came loose, I checked the bottom of the side mirror in time to see a shower of sparks coming flying up from the trailer tire. Somewhere along the road it, the tire came off and we had been driving on the wheel for over a mile.

Many shenanigans were had as we tried to find the right sort of wrench to take of the bolts, then the right sort of wheel to replace the damaged one, and then the right sort of tire. It was a long day in which we did nothing to advance the project.

In other news, I have a new hobby now: asparagus hunting. The stuff grows wild in the ditches around here, and it’s a major hobby driving out and collecting it. While out there, we’ve found dozens of people combing the ditches, looking for it. Every meal now has an asparagus side dish.

Well, that’s all the news that’s fit to print.  Until next time,

-Me

News From The West

This past week has been the busiest yet, and we’ve only just begun.

On Sunday, the final member of our team (discounting Neal, who will be joining us when the other team is finished with their work) arrived.  With the addition of Korey, I am no longer the youngest at the Lodge.  He’s a pretty cool kid. I’m just sad that I have to give up rolling around on all four beds in my room now.

We went on Monday to see one of Jarrett’s advisers about proper bird handling and banding methods. It was an interesting time to say the least. He caught the birds in mist nets—nearly invisible mesh nests—he had arranged behind his house.  We took them into the house and measured, weighed, and banded them. It was a good thing we did it inside too. One of my birds escaped my hand and flew toward the window to make its escape. It didn’t quite work out as the bird planned though. The window was closed, and when the sparrow hit it at full tilt, it knocked the little sucker clean out. Measuring him was pretty easy after that.

Monday was the only day we worked an 8 hour day. It was our shortest day by far.

Here comes the Sun

Wednesday we had a snow storm. Friday it was 75 degrees. I don't get this state.

The Redfield Library, home to little old ladies and internet, has been without internet all week. That has made it hard to do our work, as we needed to access maps. Without said maps, we could not find the sites we needed, which led to many misadventures.

The project I am working on is a collaboration between two rival groups within SDSU- the wildlife people and the fish heads. I have already mentioned how each group dislikes the other, but I never fully understood how much until this week. In the Ruby/Sapphire Pokemon games, there are two main villainous forces. Team Magma wants to remove all water from the world, while Team Aqua wishes to flood it. When I played those games, I thought they was stupid. No one wants to flood the world or wants to create a desert planet. That's crazy.

Then I came to South Dakota.

Fisheries people want to create as much fish habitat as possible, even the detriment of the land around it, while the wildlife folks seem bent on removing any and all of the attributes that fish need from streams to turn them into simple watering holes. They don't seem to focus or care that both environments can promote a healthy ecosystem. Each side tries to implement studies and land management practices that benefit their own group, regardless of how it affects the other side of the shore.

Of course that is an exaggeration, not everyone hates the other group. There's one fellow who thinks working together is a good idea.

A Guide to South Dakota Cities (For Loose Definitions of “Cities”) 1st Edition

Aberdeen-

Aberdeen is one of the five largest cities in the state.  Looking at from Google Maps in Ann Arbor, you would not think it. But after visiting the other cities in this state, it is by far the largest that I have seen. As previously stated, most of the Aberdeen is comprised of one giant strip mall. For several miles, you drive down 6^th Avenue and pass store after store after store, with very little off to the north or south. Occasionally there will be a stretch of north-south streets that have more of a “Down Town” feel to them (i.e. the streets with the bars near Northern State University) but for the most part they are either residential neighborhoods or smaller, less exciting shops.

Casinos and auto part stores seem to dominate the landscape. Why those two are the most common, I am not sure, but if you are low on cash and need to repair your car, Aberdeen is the place to be.

Aberdeen is large enough to have multiple branches of its public library. Though each is larger, has a better selection of books, and greater resources than the Redfield equivalent, the Redfield Library is still the better choice (see Redfield).

Lakewood Mall, one of the premiere shopping destinations in Aberdeen is not terribly exciting. There are about a dozen or so of the usual mall stores; J.C. Penny, Sears, fashionably clothing stores, and a few others. And that’s about it. The selection pales in comparison to both Briarwood and Westland Malls, while the Mall of America (a mere five hours away)  makes Lakewood look like a dime store. The best part of the Lakewood mall, is the fact that is houses a 3D movie theater, one of about five in the state.

In Which I Start Working

I’m writing this from the parking lot of an OfficeMax. It’s a sunny day and the temperature is in the 40’s. It’s practically summer here. Too bad we’re getting another 10 inches of snow tonight.

Things at the lodge have gotten interesting. We went out to Aberdeen several times in one weekend. It was crazy. After sitting in Redfield and Brookings for so long, Aberdeen is starting to look like the Big City. It is one giant strip mall, much like Canton-The Best City Ever ™ but much longer. They even have a 3D movie theater. One of about 3 in the state so it seems. And a Taco Johns.

I thought Taco Johns was a joke or a one off place when I saw it in Brookings. Turns out it is the western version of Taco Bell.  

The first trip to Aberdeen was for the other crew. They needed to drop off some equipment, and I was bored of Redfield so I went with. Not much of note happened.

Noteworthy things  did happen that night though. We went out to some of the Aberdeen bars, having spent enough time in Terry’s to become part owners. Though we were near a college, the bars there were not very filled. I was to be the Designated Driver, which either made the following events better or worse, not quite sure.

The first bar we went to was some sort of goat place. I do not remember what it was called, and it was not terribly exciting. We quickly voted to go somewhere else.

That led us to the Silver Dollar, which was a much more, interesting, venue the goat bar. I won’t recount what happened there, but suffice to say that I learned exactly what the minimum amount of clothing South Dakota requires you to wear.

We stayed there for an hour or so. I’m not, the place had no clocks, like a casino. There probably was a casino there. South Dakota has more of them than Las Vegas. Every gas station seems to have in the back. They’re very small, sad looking affairs.

We went back to the goat bar, at which time I was greatly amused watching my now rather inebriated companions try to engage some of the lady-folk in conversation.

Saturday, I procured a truck from Brian and drove an hour to see Jurassic Park. In theaters. It was beautiful. Except for the 3D. I have seen that movie so many times, that now I’m looking at the background figures, trying to understand more of it. 3D makes it hard to do, as everything that is not the focus of the shot is very blurred.

The next day Jarrett returned and we began working. And by working, I mean shopping. We spent 2 days in three towns buying equipment and looking up equipment for the project. We found everything but an Atlas. Apparently, no one in South Dakota wants to know where they are. Which is understandable.

While searching for poles, we bought every one of those orange drive way markers in the city of Aberdeen. Every one. We need a lot of bright poles.

Went running. Remembered exactly why I hated running in the cold.

Last night, it did storm, though not the ten inches, but enough to make driving miserable.

Now we’re at the Library, waiting for emails. And getting kicked out of the Library now So that’s it

-Me

The (Hemming)Way of Life

It has been snowing for three days

The first day it was not so bad. We were supposed to get pounded by snow, something like 10 inches. Business closed, work was canceled. Even the library shut its doors. What we actually got was far less than the projected 10 inches.
The second day was much worse. It snowed so much that the door out of the lodge was stuck. We had to throw our bodies against it force it open, the snow had piled up so much. We spent the day cleaning up the lodge, cause really at that point what else was there to do?
This storm is only the biggest marker in this second winter over here in South Dakota. Ponds have frozen over, roads are icy and whole mess of other winter problems have come together to mean no work. My boss has been stuck in his apartment, unable to unite me with the tasks that I need to do. The other crew cant go out and sample because everything is frozen.
Moral is low at the lodge.
Everyday is the same. We wake up, eat, and hunt until the library is open. Then they try to contact land owners for permission to be on their property and I write. Then we head back to the lodge, hunt so more, then head to Terry's for dollar pints. It's a really great deal for very bad beer. Then back to the lodge for more drinks and talk.
Needless to say, we all really want the weather to improve.

-Me

Having Internet Isn't Hard When You Have A Library Card

Outside it is cold, windy and rainy.
Good thing I'm sitting in the rather nice and comfortable Redfield Library. There's a fire burning in a stone fireplace at my feet and some really pleasant old ladies who just love country music and watching birds. I think I just had my longest conversation ever about country music that did not involve Taylor Swift.
The Redfield Library, though very tiny, looks amazing. The small brick building is filled with wooden pillars and columns grand father clocks and graceful curves. And VHS tapes. Lots of VHS tapes. It's like a 90's Blockbuster in here.

ATV training on Saturday went really well. Met Kory, the other Tech for the job. He's a pretty nice guy, Junior at SDSU and fully ingrained in the Wildlife vs Fishes battle at that school.  It's odd, at Michigan there seemed to be contention between the animal and plant biologists, but out here nobody cares about plants it seems. The two camps are fishes vs game animals. Sadly, the fisheries people have the greater numbers, which was why moving the ATVs was such a pain. All them boats in my way. But yeah, the training went smoothly, save fore one minor incident.
We had permission to hold the training course on SDSU property, near some of the animal pens, as that was the only place that had enough space to do the maneuvers required. We were by some big horn sheep, keeping far enough of from them not to disturb them, when a white truck came roaring down the road. It skidded to a stop not far from us, dusting billowing around it, and a rather large bearded man jumped out and stormed over to us. He was yelling something, but over the noise of the ATVs I couldn't hear what.
The ATV instructor walked overt to the man and I joined in after shutting down the ATV. The man, apparently a professor at SDSU, was yelling, threatening to call the cops on us for disturbing his sheep. He claimed that using the ATVs near them could kill his sheep, each worth more that $60,000, and that he would sue us for any harm we did them.
Throughout his tirade, both the instructor and I tried to tell him that he had permission to be here, and that this was an SDSU approved activity. It wasn't until I gave him the name of the professor that was overseeing project I am working on that he calmed down at all. He turned back to his car and made a quick phone call. While he was doing that, we were packing up the ATV course. It was not worth the effort trying to argue with that man, and it would be sad if a sheep died. Eventually he came back, much quieter now, and apologized for his earlier behavior. It seems that Dr. W carries a bit of weight at SDSU.
The man was still worried about his sheep, and asked if we could relocate, even though we could be there. He told us about the chicken pens, just to the north and said that they were empty now. And so we decided to head out and bother that area.
Well, almost. The chicken area was separated by a large muddy field. We drove the ATVs over it, but some of them could not make it and got stuck. Mine almost did, but luckily, I had enough grip in 4-Wheel-Drive to make it through. Even better, we got an extra lesson in our course--How to deal with a stuck ATV.

Arriving in South Dakota or Planes Pheasants Problems and Parties

I always like Airports. Something about them just makes you feel more connected with the world. Maybe it’s the eclectic group of people you meet there. Or maybe it’s the way they tell you to keep tracking of your bags in seven different languages.

The flights were mostly routine, the only thing of note was a conversation with a Crown University Baseball player. Short summary of that conversation follows.

“Don’t go to Crown.”

Aberdeen Airport looks identical to the Powel International Airport. Besides servicing only one plane at a time, Aberdeen has the same interior design style.  All wood paneling and hunting ads dominated the walls. Met Jarrett at the gate and headed out. It took two hours to drive from Aberdeen to the hunting lodge in Zell. Two hours of cornfields and frozen ponds.

 We arrived at the Lodge a little past midnight. After a short talk with some of the other techs there, I went to bed. Woke up again at 5 to head out to Brookings, home of the South Dakota State Jackrabbits and two hours away, which by South Dakota standards, is just down the road. This state is vast and empty.  Internet is thirty minutes away.

On the drive over we saw geese tornados. If you have never seen one, they are an amazing site.  The geese circle around a landing spot and slowly descend down to the ground forming a black funnel or tornado like shape. I have never seen that many birds in one place as once. Sometimes, the migrating flocks are large enough to cover the sky.

We rolled up to Brookings around 8/830 and headed into the SDSU campus. The drive went by a lot faster than it would have in Michigan. South Dakota has speed limits 10 mph faster than back home. It’s kind of great to cruise down streets at 70. I had to redo some paperwork and take some tests. Turns out that I am still working for the USGS with this job, and as such I have already done most of the paperwork. Yay.

Off to Adventure!

And so it begins.
Today I'm off to work in South Dakota. Hopefully I shall be able to update this regularly, but I'm not sure. The lodge I will be staying at is supposed to have internet, but I wonder if that is just during pheasant hunting season. As it is a pheasant hunting lodge. And this is not pheasant hunting season. Who knows though? Well, I guess I will in about twelve hours.
There are not many flights to Aberdeen.
Well, that's about it for now. I mean, I haven't really done anything to write about yet. Soon I will though, so keep checking on this space for the exciting adventures of Michigan Lind!
Now though, I think I'll grab some food. I'm thinking something in Chicago.

-Me

Preparing for Adventure

Hello all, and welcome

Notice anything different? 

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No?

Well that is probably good, as nothing has changed about this site aesthetically. Instead, the change is in content. As you are almost certainly aware of by now, the amount of writing on this blog has dropped drastically recently. That is due to the switch from creative writing to adventure journal. 

Yes that is correct. Adventure. Soon I shall be off on the next Grand Adventure (TM) and you can read all about it here.

Right now, one week away, I must say I am cautiously excited about this. The work sound amazing, and it could be a lot of fun. It's just the locality that I am not to keen on. Zell, South Dakota makes the middle of nowhere seem like the hub of civilization. It has 4 streets. And, the best part, according to the ever accurate Wikipedia, it's only landmark is "Jim's Liquor Store."  Woo

While I do love being outside and enjoying nature, sometimes I like to see other people too. But hey, who knows. Maybe Zell is really Swell. We'll just have to wait and see.

That's all really for now. The next time I update will be the day the adventure begins. Until then, enjoy yourselves.

-Me

Thanks For Waiting

Hello Yet Again,

The ending of a story is not quite enough thanks for sticking around all this time. 'Specially that ending. So, in that vein, I have something special for you all. A super short story I wrote called "Ezah The Jewel Thief." It's about a jewel thief. Named Ezah. Bet you didn't see that coming. I wrote it as a challenge to write a story in under 500 words. One day, I hope to expand on the story, but maybe not. I kind of like it as it is. I'm sure you will too.

Sadness, Joy, and The Nether

Hello again All,
I hope that my absence has not caused you too much distress. For my lack of words, I do apologize. Recently, I have felt very lacking in my writing abilities. Within a week of one another, two of my short stories-two that I had been most proud of-had both been rejected. Sadness abounds. For a couple of weeks, I lost my will and desire to write. Every time I thought I should try and start something, I'd get to the computer and stare at a blank screen before giving up again. I felt worthless. Those rejection letters, coupled with my lack of progress in my career gave me a whole host of doubts.

But that is not the end of the tale (if it was why would I be writing this now?)!

Just a few short days I was hired for field work out in South Dakota. It was great news, not just the fact that soon I will be paid to basically go on vacation with  a boat load of birds, but also the fact that I was hired because of my skills as a researcher. It was good to know that I am good at what I want to do. With that letter, came a renewed focus on writing. So after about a month of stagnation, all of my projects are moving forward again. Happy Days!

With this new job comes a change in programming here. Come April, I shall be setting this up as a field journal. Don't worry though, II'll still be posting stories. They will just becoming between tales of my adventures out in the field. One could even say my, "Continuing Adventures....."

Well, that's enough of an update for the moment. Thanks for staying with me, all of you out there. I know you've been waiting  for the ending of the Nether. I am sad to say that it will most likly not be worth the wait, but I still hope you enjoy it!

Creation

Happy Tuesday Everyone.
On this chilly day I bring you a poem. A bit of a break from the normal course of work featured here, but it is a poem about writing. More specifically, a poem about world building. I love world building, it is my favorite aspect of writing. Creating a new world, wholly or partially original, is just such a joy. Figuring out the interactions between the characters, personalities, cultures all of it is exciting to me. So exciting in fact that I wrote a poem about it.

I stand in a field of nothing.

All around me is empty.

All around me is the world,

Only waiting to be formed.

It stretches out before my hand

Like a field before a farmer,

Its emptiness waiting to be filled.

It sits, expectantly, waiting for me.

Suddenly I feel it.

Like a song bursting in my chest

It calls to me, the world does.

Unable to resist its sweet call,

Caught up in it all, I begin to work.

From my fingers burst creation.

All that was, is and will be is known.

The world around me takes shape and tone;

Here a tree grows strong and true,

Its leaves basking in a sky ever blue.

There a city prospers and grows,

Its people living lives without woes.

On and on the creation goes,

Past the joys and whims of man

And into the dark and deep depths

Where monsters lie and men may die

Here dark thoughts and deeds rule the land

Their numbers as numerous as the sand.

Casting the world into deepest night.

Each one only adding to the worlds blight.

What will become of this wholly new world?

Will it be truth and justice that wins the day,

Or shall some dark force steal it all away?

Will great deeds be done on its natal shores,

Or shall this world be wracked with wars?

The world stretches out before my hand

Filled with only my deep and true desires

What was, is, and shall be only seen by me.

Each new form, every new life

A simple extension of my will.

The Nether Part 2. With Apologies

Hello all,
So.... it's Friday. About that. I was mildly distracted all of yesterday with a variety of exciting activities, ranging from piloting a spaceship to singing very badly into a microphone, and did not post the post I had planned to post. As you probably figured out by now. Never fear, for the post, she is today!

So about the Nether. This story was written in two sessions, one of the shortest gestation times for any of my tales. Whether that is a good thing or not, I shall let you decide. There will be more discussion behind it, and my thoughts on the whole story in the final part. Yes, that's right. There will be more parts to the Nether! And by parts I mean part. But for now, enjoy the second part of the Nether.

My Spoiler Lite Review of "The Wheel of Time" and A Memory of Light

Hello all! Hope you are having a good poor life decision Tuesday!

Today I being you news of an event that I have been waiting for either for two years or more than a decade depending on the way you count. In this post you will find both my thoughts on "The Wheel of Time" the series, and after the break, the final book, A Memory of Light. This post is less about writing and more about me saying goodbye to the series that got me started.

I just finished the last book of “The Wheel of Time,” A Memory of Light. If, at any point in my life, you were to ask me what my favorite movie was, I would answer, without thinking, Jurassic Park. That movie solidified my love of dinosaurs, and gave me the desire to become a paleontologist. It influenced my life and my goals so fundamentally that I could honestly say that without it, I would be a different person. If you asked me what my favorite book series was, I would answer “The Wheel of Time” just as fast and for the same reasons.

Back in middle school, I was just starting to enjoy reading. My mother wanted to keep me interested in reading and was always looking for a new book to gift me. When a colleague of hers mentioned a pair of books that her son was reading, my mother jumped quickly headed to Borders and bought them.  I came home that day from school to find Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets and The Eye of The World sitting on my desk.

While I greatly enjoyed Harry’s magic filled world, Rand al’Thor’s journey really captivated me. Although the plot had been  done before, I had never seen it’s like at the time: the simple farm boy who learns that all the stories and tales he thought were just fantasy were actually real. That idea resonated with me at the time, and still does today.

I finished the nearly 800-page book in less than three days.

For the next ten years, I scavenged bookstores for the rest of the series, and when I caught up on all the published books, I eagerly waited for the next one. Though many of my friends gave up the series—the middle books had a large amount of filler material in them—I stuck with it, even through Crossroads of Twilight, the only book I have read where the main character is only in two scenes. Then, on January 8^th, I received my copy of A Memory of Light.

The book, what can I say, the book was good. I teared up more than once while reading it, not something I generally do when reading a fictional tale. But really, to me, it was more than that. After following the adventures of these character for more than half of my life, it is hard not to grow attached to them. To rejoice when the succeed and cry when they fall. It was amazingly experience reading that book, albeit a bittersweet one.

What do you do when the series that got you hooked on reading finishes? How do you cope when something that has been with for half of your life ends? No longer will I have a new book to look forward too. There will never be another book I have looked forward to more than this one, and now that it is past, I feel like there is a hole left in me.

But, the more I think about it, the more I realize that is false. Reading AmoL did not leave me with a hole, but filled one. All of those memories I have of reading “The Wheel of Time,” all of those characters and their stories- I still have them, whole and complete. When I think about that, all I feel is joy.

The Nether (Part 1)

Happy Thursday,
Today I bring you part one of "The Nether" a science fiction tale of exploration and the unknown. I want to say more, but there's more of A Memory of Light left to read. So here is the story.