Bookmonkey, Mountain Man pt. 2

Hello good readers, I'm back from the back of beyond and have become all rough and tumble.

Or at least, able to pose as mostly rough and tumble while gazing into the distance.

All right, I'll admit it wasn't my axe, and the coffee was instant rather than percolated, and my cool Superman shirt was "aged" when I got it, wait - you know what never mind.

I went out camping, did some horseback riding and walked with some wolves, yup, good old Canis Lupus (Grey Wolves), and specifically a fine fellow called Scrappy Dave, who you could also visit at the Northern Lights Wildlife Wolf Centre in Golden, BC.

I'd be crazy to admit I wasn't a little nervous around them, but they were actually a lot of fun to be with as long as we listened to our guides and were respectful of the wolves.

Although I only read a few books on the trip (reviews on those later), it was pretty great overall, and I had a birthday to boot!

Camping with Bookmonkey

Later today the family and I heading out for our yearly camping trip (although to be fair we didn't go last year, as I was starting a new job).

We've spent the last couple days packing and prepping, and yes, I've got a couple books and games ready to go.

See you all after the weekend!

Your Pal,
Bookmonkey

Things I've noticed: My Summer is 18 Days Long

Over the spring and summer of 2012 I’ve been taking evening classes to continue my work towards my Masters of Library Science Degree. The Spring had me focused on a budgeting course and the summer is focused on a course called The History of the Book. Both of these classes have been fun and informative in different ways (one of them will probably have a bigger effect on my future in the library world, and the other on my understanding of the library world).

One side-effect of the two courses however, is that once I’m all finished, I will have exactly 18 days before I hit the Fall 2012 term and begin again.

So… what to do with those 18 days.

Bookmonkey’s Top Priorities for his (almost) three weeks of course-free Summer 2012

1. Start working on stuff for my 15^th Wedding Anniversary: mostly I know I’m going to be busy in September and October with school and the new job, so this is my big opportunity to do some grunt-work involving the big event

2. Get on to my reading list for August: As I’ve said in previous posts, I try to read 7 books a month for my own pleasure. This month I’ve been reading an awful lot of books on the Mass Market Paperback format for my class – interesting reading but I still have six books to go this month and so far have only got to Warm Bodies.

3. Write Thank You / Update Letters to my Grad School References: At this time last year I was waiting and waiting to hear whether I would be accepted into Grad School or not – little known fact, you actually need letters of reference from previous teachers and others in your profession to apply. As I sent my four references the news last year that I got it, I figure this year I should send them an update on what their letters have got me so far in my continuing education

4. Begin to weed my home book/music/movie collection: August is a perfect time to follow the instructions from one of my earlier posts and begin to see if I can make some room on the many shelves I have throughout my house. As my birthday is near the end of the month, I’m pretty sure I am going to need the space.

5. Take a vacation maybe? For years my family has done summer camping trips, usually sticking to mid-week camping as the crowds are thinner, but if I want to get out at all this year I only have two available weekends in which to try (we don’t even bother trying on long weekends), so if we want to get out there this year I’ve actually only got two small windows in which to make the attempt.

And after all those things are done, maybe I’ll take a nap! Or start planning for Christmas.