Some days are like that. Some weeks are a blur. Some months make you wonder where they went. Some years are gone in a flash.
It seems the old I get, the faster time flies past. I can't believe we're more than half-way through this year. I can't believe that the new school year is breathing down my neck, with a senior in high school, a sophomore, and a seventh-grader dreading that first day... I can't believe I've been at the new job for just a breath short of three months. Where did the time go?
Some days drag past, in plane changes and layovers, and doing nothing at all with short bursts of racing from one gate to another. Those days leave me exhausted beyond words, but I'll sleep when I'm dead...
Not really. Hopefully I'll at least nap on the planes. Plus, I have my phone and tablet along, loaded with books and pocasts. Possibly even an audiobook, although I'm not sure if I have one on tap. Thank goodness for modern technology. I read very quickly, and if I have to subsist on paper books, I rip through a novel about every 2 hours. With a 16 hour travel day ahead of me, that's a lot of books.
So I have loaded up to read on my phone:
Monster Hunter Siege by Larry Correia (I have been looking forward to this for a long time)
Rimworld by JL Curtis (I keep losing this in the TBR pile and owe a review)
Coral and Brass by Holland Smith (non-fiction)
The Corgi Chronicles by Laura Madsen (Bought for the kids, but it looks cute)
Puppet on a Chain by Alistair Maclean (An old favorite author, I don't remember reading this story)
Howl's Moving Castle by Diana Wynne Jones (Again, bought for the kids but looks cute and I want light reads)
Disappearing Act by Margaret Ball (science fiction, but looks like fun)
Death's Bright Day by David Drake (A new Drake is always good.)
The War for Africa by Fred Bridgland (Non-fiction, I've been working through it slowly, but have about half left to read)
The Long Black by JM Anjwierden (young adult science fiction)
1177: The Year Civilization Collapsed by Eric Cline (Non-fiction, again, I have about half of it left to read)
You'll note there are a lot of kids books on the list. That's because they are non-demanding and in an airport or on a plane, I can't always focus enough to digest the heavier non-fiction books. Also, I have these downloaded onto my devices in case I can't access the 'net while I'm traveling. I've done the same with podcasts and music - having a big fat SD card helps enormously. I'm not a gamer, so I don't have a game app ready to go, but I know the kids will. There are ways to sort for games that can be played offline, I found recently, which is handy for sure.
I don't have hand-work with me this trip - we're traveling very light on the way back, flying United which charges for carry-on bags - so I won't have crochet or art stuff with me. Which sucks, but we're flying in and out of a weird location, so I didn't have a choice that fit my time constraints. I am really not happy with having to fly United, not only due to the recent press attention, but friends with horror stories. We're flying in on American, which has been good the last couple of trips. I might not even take *gasp* my camera. The Junior Mad Scientist has hers.
As always, trip prep is nerve-wracking, and I don't completely relax until we're safely past the TSA circus. But I'll keep my jitters to myself, and try to post tomorrow if I can and have internet. Check my post on the Mad Genius Club for some information on writing, and the Pixie Noir giveaway that is still going on through August 7th!