Grisham and the snake...

Book update: Finished The Testament this afternoon. Good book. Featured an oft rehabbed ex-lawyer sent to the remote swamplands of the Pantanal to locate a female missionary who, unbeknownst to her, just inherited $11 billion from her estranged, recently deceased father.

So that's 2 books in 11 days. 630 total pages. I'm on a roll--and not ashamed of the nerd it makes me.

Makes me wonder, though...where was this motivation to read in High School? Or, um...college?

To be fair, it's not that I didn't read, it's that I didn't read the things I was supposed to. Whoops.

Next selection: The Appeal - John Grisham

Reckon I'll keep on the Grisham kick until I get bored or hit a lull. This one, 324 pages.

Embarrassing Story Time:

- Bear with me on the set-up, as it helps with the story's hilarity.

Remember the dude [Nate O'Riley] from the book? Well as he's working his way through the Pantanal, he naturally encounters several creatures he's not used to seeing in his typical suburban D.C. lifestyle. He doesn't mind it a bit--it's an adventure, after all--until the topic of snakes is brought up. At one point, they come upon an anaconda. All black, approximately 12 inches wide and 8 feet long. Just reading about this made me squirm. I haaaaate snakes.

As I begin my run, I look around at the clear country air, calm trees, thinking 'Man am I glad I'm here in the country and not the Pantanal--no anacondas here!'

And THEN...about a mile in, I see a big, black snake on the left side of the dirt road, not 10 feet in front of me. No anaconda, mind you, but, um...it's a freaking snake! Probably three inches in width, four feet long [estimates]. Needless to say, I panicked. Slammed on the breaks like a hockey player sliding to a stop in front of a goalie. Made an abrupt turn to go back the way I came and--TWIST went the knee. Ouch! Had to limp most the way home--and all around the house since then. Thankfully, the snake did not follow me home.

And that is my snake story.

As a follow-up to the story, this conversation ensued:

Me: "That was my favorite route to run, too...won't be taking that way for awhile now."
Mom: "Yeah, because the snake will be there waiting for you."
Me: "I know! That's what HE said. He said 'Don't come back 'round here or I'm gonna f*ckin' eat you.'"
Mom: "I bet he did."
Me: "Where did I lose you on the story's believability?"
Mom: "Go away, Derrick."
Me: "Dang it. Well it was still pretty scary."
Mom: "I know."

Snakes are bad,

Derrick

Bookworm, sports nut, overall weird dude.

First things first: Remember this blog? Needless to say, it took me forever to really start reading. I finally cracked open Hit and Run this past week--and finished it in last night, taking approximately 5 days (+/-). Real good book. It was the third and final tale within a series of books about Lawrence Block's protagonist, Keller--an ironically likable hit man. Fun story with several twists and turns, and a fun ending.

I'm still finding it too difficult to dive into Wild at Heart, a book gifted to me from my best friend--who no longer speaks to me. So it's back on the shelf for now. Heart-wrenching bookmark and all.

So the current pick: The Testament - John Grisham

This is just one of at least 6 unread Grisham books on my shelf. If I like it enough, I could very well have a very Grisham summer, 2010. We shall see. Ideally, I'd like to try and knock out a book a week for as long as possible. At current pace, should be an OK goal.


Moving on: Helluva sports day. I mean, epic. I mean, so much so that even if you're not all that interested in sports, you should appreciate how big a sports day today has been. And if you don't, well...I probably don't have much to say to you.

World Cup: Team USA needed to win, or they were done. Correction, they could have moved on with a tie, but only if England tied and scored less than 2 in their game. Or something. Huge stakes. Knotted at nil-nil and knowing England had already won, the drama was intense. In extra time, Landon Donovan punched in the winner, sealing perhaps the most thrilling soccer victory in United States history. President Clinton was there, watching in person--in tears and had lost his voice. I'm just saying...


Wimbledon: John Isner, United States. Nicolas Mahut, France. If you don't know the names, you will. Or...check the record books in about 500 years and their names will still be there. Longest match ever. In the history of tennis. Ever. By far. Ever. In fact, the 5th set alone has lasted longer than the next-longest match ever. Oh yeah, and it's not over yet. Play was suspended today (again). They will resume tomorrow, having already played 9 hours, 58 minutes. The 5th set is tied 59-59. The only word I have to describe this: Superrinsanecrazyludicrousridiculousness!

Utterly ridiculous day in the world of sports...and the Cubs don't even play until 9:10 tonight.

Lastly, I have effectively managed to put my entire foot in my mouth on multiple occasions (same topic) already this week. But it needed to be done. It was something I was hesitant about, but decided to listen to the advice of a friend [Thanks, Brit] and go ahead with it. So glad I did, too. It's out of my hands now...big relief. Time to move on from that situation. Like I've said before--in regards to other topics--I've done all I can.


Happy reading,
Derrick

See what I see...

- I talk too much.
- I struggle finding things to blog about.

With these two things in mind, figured I'd try a new approach. A small look inside what I see. A bit of my world, through my eyes.

My BlackBerry.


My laptop. Go Cubs!


My still-too messy bedroom. "Believe"


My closet. Note: There are 4 other Cubs hats not pictured here.


Stepping outside my front door...


My dog, Pete [old pic].


A look back at the house.


My court--and the hillbilly clutter occupying it, courtesy of gramps.


My not-so quality car. Would much rather have a pickup truck. Someday. :)


Looking down the driveway, toward the road.


Short and sweet this time. That's it for now, y'all.

Don't forget to vote!

Thanks for stopping by,
Derrick

Music + Summer = Happy

So do the occasionally colorful changes to the blog distract you from the fact that I haven't written anything meaningful since, like...wait, what was I talking about? Oh well.

Less than 3 weeks since the James Otto concert [which was pretty cool, by the way], I got an invite to another show last night--this time from my friend Lindsey.

On the ticket: Tim McGraw, Lady Antebellum, Love & Theft. Pretty sure I was the only person in the place who actually likes Lady A better than Tim. But neither artist played my favorite song of theirs, which is always annoying [see also: Reason #742 why I'm not an avid concert-goer]. Regardless, fun times were had.

For the Otto show, I forgot my camera in my car, so only came out with one pic from my phone. For last night's show, I was far away annnnd not a camera-operating expert, as it happens. So the pics are shoddy, at best. Excuses aside, enjoy:

James Otto and me. We're pretty much brothers now.


Love & Theft


Lady Antebellum




Tim McGraw




On another note...

Results from most recent poll:

Question: What do you do to relieve stress?
Play a sport: 4 votes (44%)
Play a game/do a puzzle: 2 votes (22%)
Read/write: 1 vote (11%)
Watch TV/movie: 1 vote (11%)
Complain: 1 vote (11%)

This was the least-effective poll yet. Only 8 votes, sad. This next one ought to be better. Here's hoping...

Speaking of which, there is a new poll question up! This time, there are 8 choices...you can select more than one if you wish. Select all that apply. Enjoy! :)

Say hello,
Derrick

Frail grasp at civility...

"If you can't say anything nice, don't say anything at all." Your mom ever say that to you? Mine didn't. No, really.

My ma's advice was more like: "If you're going to kill your brother, don't get blood on the carpet."

Still, it's true--you should be nice [and keep blood off carpet, too]. Which is why I haven't posted anything in awhile. It's been hard for me to come up with something nice to say about what's on my mind at the moment. I think I'm finally there. Here goes nothing...

The ex-girlfriend is getting married Saturday. I once said [in this blog] that I'd say more by saying nothing. So I lied. Well, not really--different context. But still.

For the record: Yes, I know I'm better off. No, I don't miss her--at all. Yes, I'm over her. Have been for a long time now. Still...when exes [especially more than one] get married, there's a certain feeling you get. Not a fun one. But I'm here to attempt a positive spin on it. Key word: attempt.

Positive-ish thoughts in 3...2...1...

I am happy. Happy it's not me. Whew, bullet dodged. Hindsight and all that jazz...

I am grateful. Grateful for the good times. Hard to admit, but they did happen. See?


I am thankful. Thankful for unanswered prayers.

I am gracious. Gracious for the lesson learned through heartache.

I am relieved. Relieved, oddly enough, that the day has come and now I can laugh about it.

I am blessed. Blessed with good friends, strong faith, and a heart capable of feeling the hurt--but also the ability to love in the first place.

Lastly,
Congratulations, Stephanie.
[pause for effect]
...and Glenn.

Be good to each other and God bless.

That was hard to do,
Derrick