Preparation for the Holidays (and Beyond)

I am extremely proud of myself for getting my holiday shopping done early for the second year in a row, with only one trip to a physical store (thank you, Amazon.com). This is also great, because I need to start focusing my income on the future; specifically, March.

When I was first looking at rental trucks for my move to Savannah, the estimates were around $670. When I finally ended up booking one, the cost was $980. Not sure where the justification for the price surge is. I would kick myself for not booking earlier, but the websites do say "rates subject to change", so think I'll be paying whatever the rates are in March regardless of when I book the truck. I'm also considering working a couple of weeks longer than originally planned, heading from Boston after the 15th, and arrive right around the St. Patty's Day insanity. I'd rather avoid the crowd, but working the extra two weeks would pretty much cover my moving expenses (and give me time to make sure new hires taking my place are fully trained). We'll see - there's still a little wiggle room regarding my departure date.

A little surprise for me while writing this entry is that I found out my friend Jamie B. is also heading back to Savannah a month before me. I'm glad he'll be there to liven up the city.

I'm on a bit of a science fiction kick right now in terms of reading material. I'm currently reading "Stranger In A Strange Land" and loving it. I've set up a little mini reading list for the winter, which will probably extend into the spring:

• Robert Heinlein - Stranger In A Strange Land (currently reading)
• Tad Williams - Otherland: City of Golden Shadow
• Tad Williams - Otherland: River of Blue Fire
• Tad Williams - Otherland: Mountain of Black Glass
• Tad Williams - Otherland: Sea of Silver Light
• Isaac Asimov - Prelude to Foundation
• Isaac Asimov - Forward the Foundation
• Isaac Asimov - Foundation's Edge
• Robert Heinlein - Revolt in 2100
• Douglas Adams - The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy
• Douglas Adams - The Restaurant at the End of the Universe
• Douglas Adams - Life, the Universe and Everything
• Douglas Adams - So Long, and Thanks for All the Fish
• Douglas Adams - Mostly Harmless

Let me know if you have any suggestions. I'll also eventually get to Asimov's Robot series, and explore some more classic Sci-Fi novels. I'm not to familiar with contemporary ones, so let me know what the gems are. I'm hoping to switch gears over summer to try and read a few Dickens novels.

“The true delight is in the finding out rather than in the knowing.” - Isaac Asimov