Goodreads

Goodreads is a website were you can review books and discuss them with friends. You can build a collection of books that you've read, are currently reading, or want to read. It's easy to find other people who like similar books.

I just got a Barnes and Noble membership, so I'm looking for some good book recommendations that I can read during my lunch break. Something that I can carry into work without being embarrassed when the judge asks me what I'm reading. I know everyone hates the idea of signing up for another social website, but it is really a blast to comb though old books that you haven't thought about in years and tell everyone what you loved (or hated) about it.

Sign up and tell me what you like!

Magic Woes

Our life has been a pale shadow of what it once was since Becca left her magic cards at Shayne's house after the shin-dig. :( We hope to recover them next weekend.

Movin' On Up

To the North Side!!!

We have a tentative agreement to rent a duplex on the north side of Indianapolis. We are going to deliver the security deposit this Monday and will be getting the keys right away. Our lease won't actually start until August 1, but the landlord (who seems very cool) said that we could move in anytime we want, and he won't start charging us rent until the 1st.

This is a huge relief for Becca and I, as our lease here at the Lodge was running out at the end of July and we have already told them that we will not be renewing. Best of all we have almost 3 full weeks to move, so we don't have to hurry and move in a panicked rush.

The new place is just north of college and 465. We are only 1.1 miles from Ben's apartment (my little bro), so we expect to see him coming over to do laundry once or twice a week. We are also only about 1/2 mile from Becca's work. Becca is very excited to get bicycles as we will be within biking distance of

1. Her work
2. The Monon
3. Ben's Apartment
4. Lots of restaurants and shops

I measured on Google Earth today and there is a bar within .3 miles of our front door. Score! There is also a karate school about the same distance, so I'll definitely be checking both of those out as soon as we get settled.

Other neat house stuff: Gas range (!!!), a BIG fridge, washer/dryer hookups, 2 bedrooms (i.e. 1 bedroom, 1 office), AT&T U-verse, and a yard! We are contemplating getting a doggy-dog.

BTW, if anyone has a couch in fair or better condition lying around we might like to make you an offer.

Work news: I'm getting a promotion starting the 21st. I've been doing the new job for a couple of weeks already, and I enjoy it. It's a bit more money and there is more variety in the stuff that I get to do. It's in the same office so I get work with the same people -- I've been consistently lucky in getting great co-workers in my work-life, and I'm glad that this job is no exception.

Sorry for the extraordinarily long break from blogging. I will be more productive (thanks for prodding me Megan! I need it once in a while!) If anyone would like my new address just shoot me an email and I will give you the co-ordinates.

work work work

I got a job! Hooray! aw, bummer, now I have to go to work... Oh well, at least I will have something new to complain about. :-) It is a big relief to have a steady paycheck coming in again.

I start tomorrow morning. The rate of pay is about the same as my last job, but they won't be screwing me out of 3 hours/week, so there'll be a small jump in weekly pay. They also have insurance, including vision and dental. I'll have a retirement plan (not that I plan to do this forever) that already has some money in it because my job at the Statehouse also contributed to the public employees retirement fund. The staff members that I've met so far seem very nice. I'm really looking forward to getting started.

Back from the Dead

Well it's been a few days since I've posted. Most of what has been going on in Ericville has not been the kind of stuff that anyone would find interesting. After helping a friend move on Saturday I went home and promptly became horribly sick. Two days and fifty million mad dashes to the bathroom later I was somewhat recovered.

I had a job interview on Monday for a court clerk position in Noblesville. It's not exactly what you would call "lucrative," but it is what you would call a "job." It's got all these funny things like "benefits" and "insurance." I'm not sure what those are, but I have a feeling that I want some. I have a good feeling about it. I had a chance to meet the judge and the office manager.

Garfield

Jeremy - an old friend from Ball State - clued me in to this website where Garfield is redacted from old Garfield comics. From the website:

Who would have guessed that when you remove Garfield from the Garfield comic strips, the result is an even better comic about schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, and the empty desperation of modern life? Friends, meet Jon Arbuckle. Let’s laugh and learn with him on a journey deep into the tortured mind of an isolated young everyman as he fights a losing battle against loneliness in a quiet American suburb.

This is really funny. Check it out.

Trivia - Jim Davis is from Muncie, Indiana, where Ball State is located.

Science Confirms the Obvious

Slashdot brings us a study [PDF] from our very own Indiana University (go Hoosiers!) that confirms what we already knew: Men have no idea whether women are interested in them or are just being friendly. Interestingly, it seems that we are equally likely to confuse friendliness for sexual attraction as vice versa.

From the story:

Rather than seeing the world through sex-colored glasses, men seemed just to have blurry vision of sorts, overall. For instance, the college guys sometimes mistook sexual advances as pal-like gestures.

Morale of the the story - go for it, you never know. Good Luck!

P.S. How do they keep getting funding for this stuff?