Looking For The Bright Spots

Due to the glut of new corporate video stores in our little town, sales are down and my position is being downgraded to a part-time one.

Yesterday, I interviewed for a 3rd shift stock position at a local supercenter store. During the interview, the manager asked if I could work well with young people. I told him that wasn't a problem and he said that "Most of the stocking crew on 3rd were young people." What he really meant was, "We don't usually get 43 year-olds applying for stock boy positions." I am bummed.

I got the job and start next Sunday. The job pays about $200 less than my old job but fits well with my wife and daughter's schedules/needs and is close enough not to put a strain on my aging car. The part-time pay from my old job will make up some of the loss, but it means working 7-days a week. At least there will be money coming in while I think of what I want to do next. My wife thinks it is a good time to make a break from everything and move to another state. I think I would like to do just that and am going to start giving some thought as to what state I would like to reside in.

What does all this have to do with the book cover gracing this post? Well, you've got to find the bright spots where you can. Over on George R.R. Martin's website, he has finally announced that he's finished with A Feast Of Crows (sort of). It seems that the manuscript is so huge that he has decided to divide the book in two. It will read like "two novels taking place simultaneously, but set hundreds or even thousands of miles apart, and involving different casts of characters (with some overlap)." The downside is that each book will cover specific characters and that means I might not find out about my favorites until the second book is released (he's still polishing that half).

I have been visiting Martin's site DAILY, waiting for him to announce that he was finished with the book. Today is my birthday, and I have decided to think of the announcement as a gift. I just hope I can afford it when it finally comes out.

Happy Birthday to Me, dammit!