I really like taking these. I'm not sure exactly why, but I think it has to do with recording the same thing changing over time. If I had a better camera and some discipline I might try to take a picture of the same spot at the same time every day and then later post the interesting ones.
I'm stressed.
Our lease is up on our apartment on January 31st. We haven't done much to prepare for moving yet. Our house officially went off the market last Sunday after not selling for a year. It's disappointing, but not unexpected, I suppose.
Anyway, the plan was to move back into our house and either re-list in the Spring if the market is looking any better, or stay for a few more years if it's not. The house doesn't really fit our needs for a few reasons, but it's a nice house and we were fine living there for the first five years we owned it.
(We moved out into an apartment originally because we didn't like the idea of showing the house while living there. Both of us are homebodies and we're both probably too neurotic about our privacy. I don't like the idea of strangers walking around my living space while I'm not there.)
But then I talked to a lady I work with about renting out the house. I wasn't interested in renting previously because it's a hassle. My father was (and still is) a landlord for many, many years and just hearing about the headaches he went through made me decide that renting would cost me my sanity. But, my co-worker recommended a rental property management company and gave them a glowing review. I looked into it and although they make a decent amount off the rental, they take care of everything. And it's more money for us than having the house sit empty.
I called our apartment office and our apartment isn't rented yet. Which means we could stay and avoid the hassle of moving right now. I don't mind the moving part so much, but my husband hates it. (Actually I'd rather move now than in the summer.)
So that leaves us with a couple of decisions...
1. Move back to our house by the end of the month.
2. Rent the house and re-sign our current lease for another six months or year.
3. Rent the house and move to a bigger apartment, but then totally ignore the reason we're looking into renting in the first place.
We're meeting with the property management company on Saturday to discuss our options there. And I guess we can decide from there.
I'm stressed because everything is up in the air and I can't see a clear path through it yet.
So, this month was mainly taken up by holidays and celebrations, but I did manage to finish one book. I'm a good way into Media Mythmakers as well, but not close enough to finish it off before the end of the year.
Read in December
Darwin's Ghost - Steve Jones
Currently Reading
Media Mythmakers: How Journalists, Activists, and Advertisers Mislead Us - Benjamin Radford
This is the only one I'm actually reading a the moment.
Death by Black Hole and Other Cosmic Quandaries - Neil deGrasse Tyson
I'm starting this one as soon as it comes in for a book club
The Plague - Albert Camus
This is the next Nonbelieving Literati selection
Coming Up Next
Seasons - Robert Frost
Galaxy in Flames (The Horus Heresy) - Ben Counter
A History of the End of the World - Jonathan Kirsch
Spirit Gate - Kate Elliott
Evolution: The Triumph of an Idea - Carl Zimmer
Dark Tower - Stephen King
The Lucifer Effect - Philip Zimbardo
The Android's Dream - John Scalzi
The Canon: A Whirligig Tour of the Beautiful Basics of Science - Natalie Angier
Friends of mine also gave me a lovely gift card to Half Price Books and I picked up a few more selections that I'm really excited about, but I know it will be several months before I get to read them.
The Universe - Edited by Byron Priess
This is another like The Planets I read last year with a mix of science essays and science fiction short stories.
The Eye of Heron - Ursula LeGuin
The Wave in the Mind - Ursula LeGuin
A collection of essays, which should be interesting.
Annie's Box: Charles Darwin, His Daughter, and Human Evolution - Randal Keynes
Mushrooms: Favorite Recipes - Andrea Kosslinger and Sibylle Reiter
This one's a gift. I don't like mushrooms.
Not to mention I have God is Not Great on audiobook read by Hitchens that I hope to listen to sometime this month now that I'm mostly caught up on podcasts.
So much to read, so little time. And right now video games seem to be taking up much of my time.
