Nursing School Reunion

I mentioned previously that Eugene and I were supposed to attend a nursing school reunion for his mother last night. Well, despite the heat, we went and didn't melt. It was in a downtown hotel close to Millenium Park; we thought about having some pictures taken by the Bean but decided not to.

The reunion actually lasted three days; last night was the "formal" night. There was still a lot of official programming tonight, including mentioning every alumna by name. (I should mention that this was a "grand" reunion in that several classes were there, not just one.) They broke up the official part of the night with dinner and dancing. During dinner, they even had a hula and a belly dancer entertaining the crowd. The general dancing included ballroom tango and 50's rock, but the DJ also played the Chicken Dance.

Here are a few pictures from the night:


Some of the nurses at the reception. My mother-in-law is close to the center of the picture. She's wearing a blue dress and is below the flag.











My in-laws dancing.

















From left to right: Jan, Eugene's dad's partner and one of our sponsors; Mike; Mom Almazan; Jason; his girlfriend Marissa; me, and Dad Almazan.










And last but not least, us.


















Today was a laid-back day. After doing chores in the morning, we hung out at the mall this afternoon to save on our air conditioning. Funny, we don't save much when we both end up buying things. ;) I did work some more on Lennon's Line and plan to return to it after we watch Iron Chef America. Yes, it's dangerous to have the laptop in the living room, so I'm looking forward to cooler days when I can return to the office.

Ghost Music

Ever hear a song that you like on the radio and then not hear it again for many years? One good thing about the Internet is that it makes it easier to track those songs down. Thanks to MusicMatch (I also have Itunes on my computer, but I don't use it very often), I was able to find and buy many songs I listened to in my younger years. Unfortunately, MusicMatch doesn't have all the songs I remember fondly. One of the ones I've been searching for is "Ghost Town" by Cheap Trick. I remember it from undergrad. I used to have it on tape (I was naughty in my younger years; I taped songs right off the radio because I didn't want to buy the records), but I don't think I have it anymore, and of course cassette tapes are pretty much obsolete anyway.

Since I haven't had much luck with MusicMatch, I tried another online music service: Connect. A couple of weeks ago, I got a code for three free downloads from them when I bought toothpaste. So I signed up online, downloaded the software, rebooted my computer, and searched for the song. I found not only "Ghost Town" but two other songs I've been looking for: "Edge of Seventeen" by Stevie Nicks (it's a John Lennon tribute song) and "White Bird" by It's a Beautiful Day (a more obscure song I've heard on the local classic rock station.) I got to listen to "Edge of Seventeen," but then the music player from Connect froze up. I haven't been able to get it to work since, and I can't even figure out where the songs are stored on my hard drive so I can import them into MusicMatch. Talk about frustrating!

After being so close to success, I wasn't going to give up on the ghost. (rimshot) The all-knowing Google helped me figure out which Cheap Trick album it was on. I then returned to MusicMatch to search specifically for that album, but for some odd reason, MusicMatch has the album--but the track isn't included. I have no idea why they'd omit it. So the next thing I tried was searching the local library catalog online. Lo and behold, they had the album and the song, but the CD was checked out. Knowing my quarry was almost within reach, I put a hold on the album. It came in Thursday. Today I picked it up and copied it to my computer, so I got to hear "Ghost Town" for the first time in over a decade. Pretty cool.

I haven't given up on the other songs either. I have another hold on a Stevie Nicks album at the library, and that should come in soon. As for "White Bird," I think I'm going to put that album on my Amazon wish list. The music is intriguing enough to make me willing to listen to the whole album.

P.S. As a writer, I think this makes a pretty good outline for a short story. There's a character with a specific goal who has to overcome several obstacles and setbacks to reach it. So, will I try expanding this into a real story? Probably not, but the exercise of writing this down may help me plot other stories. Lord knows I need to do something writing-related, as I'm really forcing myself to edit Lennon's Line. Maybe I need to take a break from it for a few days. The sequel is calling me anyway.

Back to the Spa

We have another function coming up on Saturday--Eugene's mom is having her nursing school reunion, and we're invited too--so I splurged today at the spa. I got a facial, a manicure, and a pedicure. This was my first time getting a professional pedicure done, and it was much nicer than what I can do at home. There was a bit of a mix-up with my appointments; I was supposed to get makeup after my facial, but the lady who was supposed to do that didn't find me in the lobby in time. That's probably just as well. It rained before I left, but I got to see my second rainbow in less than a week. Hopefully that's a good sign--but of what I don't know.

Russ: I forgot to mention this before, but while I was at the spa, I saw a guy who looked like you getting a haircut. Just thought you'd be interested.

Writing: I worked a little bit on the sequel to Lennon's Line while I was at the spa. I outlined the first three chapters, but I still need to play around a bit with the plot before I start the second draft. In the meantime, I should get back to my editing.

A Day At Home

I got to work at home again. This will probably be my last day of tele-experimenting for a while, but in addition to my experiment, I also critted three chapters for Sue. She's in final draft mode, so I had to bring out my evil red pen. (deep laugh) It's all for good, though. I didn't get much done on Lennon's Line. I'm going through reviews from OWW. One of my reviewers had some interesting things to say about first person, but I have to admit I didn't get much out of it. Since I changed the story to third person, it doesn't apply anymore anyway. Ah well.

It's back to the lab tomorrow for me, so I should go to bed. Figured I should check in just to let everyone know I'm still here, though.

A Chat with Sue

I don't get much chance to chat with Sue these days, but today she hailed me over Skype. It was a short chat, since it was right before dinner. We talked about her son and her work for a bit before she asked me about Lennon's Line. She recommended I not post it on OWW anymore, as it would be too confusing. I think that's the best thing to do, even if I have added new material. In the end, reviewers can only advise; you have to make the final decision yourself. Beside, I need to get this book done so I can focus on something else, like the sequel. That one sure could use a rewrite too.

For the sorbet lovers out there, today I made a new flavor: blackberry lemon. Initial taste tests were excellent. Too bad we only had enough blackberries for a half batch.

More Blogthings

You Are a Dreaming Soul

Your vivid emotions and imagination takes you away from this world So much so that you tend to live in your head most of the time You have great dreams and ambitions that could be the envy of all... But for you, following through with your dreams is a bit difficult You are charming, endearing, and people tend to love you. Forgiving and tolerant, you see the world through rose colored glasses. Underneath it all, you have a ton of passion that you hide from others. Always hopeful, you tend to expect positive outcomes in your life. Souls you are most compatible with: Newborn Soul, Prophet Soul, and Traveler Soul

What'>http://www.blogthings.com/whatkindofsoulareyouquiz/">What Kind of Soul Are You?

You Are Sky Blue

Dreamy and creative, you the potential in everyone ... and everything!And while you strive to have an ideal life, you are pretty mellow about it. You know your time will come.

What'>http://www.blogthings.com/whatcolorblueareyouquiz/">What Color Blue Are You?

Chasing Rainbows

Since I did my chores yesterday, today was my day off. I went to the mall this morning and splurged on some clothes (I'm already trying to find things for the trip to London in September). I hung out at Barnes and Noble for a while, working on Lennon's Line. After dinner, Eugene and I ran a few more errands; he also treated me to Coldstone Creamery, despite all the sorbet we still have at home. It began to rain while we were driving around, but by the time we came out of Coldstone, the rain had stopped. Even better, there was a rainbow. Part of it reached down to Earth while the other end seemed to have sprung from the clouds. Too bad I didn't have my camera with me; I would have tried to take a picture.

Writing: As I mentioned before, I'm still editing Lennon's Line. I'm in a rut; I keep going over the same chapters, tweaking and tightening. Today at least I pulled out my OWW crits to use them. It's funny; none of the people who critted my first chapter (and liked it for the most part) continued with the story. Such is life on the OWW. I think by now that the first chapter is as good as I can make it right now, though I'm debating with myself if it's worth posting all or part of Lennon's Line on OWW. While I have added some new sections that probably should be looked at by some fresh sets of eyes, I'm reaching the point where I need to be done with the story. I do want to finish revisions by the end of the year so I can start querying it around; maybe I should try to push up the deadline. It would be nice if Paul didn't monopolize my brain so I could work on something different. That's what I get for creating such a drama king. ;)

Sorbet Social, Anyone?

It's too bad most of my readers live so far away. Thanks to the hot weather we've been having, Eugene and I have been making a lot of sorbet in our ice cream machine. Here's what we've made so far:


Green apple sorbet (the texture of this was still similar to the apples we used to make it)

Lemon sorbet (very good. Tart, of course.)

Peach Melba sorbet (a blend of peaches and raspberries. Although this was supposed to be a peach sorbet, it tastes more like raspberries and lemon--it does have lemon juice as well.)

Mango Mint sorbet (More minty than mango-y. Eugene did use more mint than the recipe called for. It's still very good.)

There are lots of other varieties we want to try yet, and I haven't even mentioned ice cream. Hopefully we'll be able to bring some ice cream or sorbet to Madison for our get-together this fall.


Writing: Still mostly reformatting Lennon's Line and trying to tighten it. Right now it's about 152K. I'd like to get it below 150K. I wound up murdering some darling paragraphs in the first chapter. They had some good inside jokes, but I think they slowed the story down and didn't really add anything. Time to keep plowing along.

If You Can Read This...

You're not in India.

I'm tele-experimenting through the end of the week, which is why I'm able to blog so early in the day. Right now, I'm catching up with the news as I wait to finish a step in my project. I came across this article in the New York Times online. (You'll have to be registered with the site to read the article.) It says that in the wake of the recent terrorist bombings in India, the government has blocked access to www.blogspot.com and other sites that host online journals. Of course, people are already finding ways around this block, but the mere fact that it was done at all is disturbing. I know that the Internet does make it easier for terrorists to share information, but the same thing can be said for any improvement in technology: change has both good and bad effects. How can we prevent a few ruining it for all?

I don't mean for this to be a political blog, and I doubt I have any readers in India. (If there are, they're probably spammers trying to sneak comments onto my blog.) But this does illustrate what I fear will be a long-term effect of all of the terrorism the world has experienced in recent years: diminished rights for all. I picture the world of Lennon's Line to have fewer freedoms than we have; this will come into play once I start revising the sequel, Catalyst in the Crucible. And the scary thing is Paul and his friends will accept this as natural. Something for us to be thinking about now, not mid-century.

OK, off of my soapbox to check my experiment. Hopefully I'll have a chance to finish reviewing Sue's latest sub and work on Lennon's Line some more. And hopefully I won't get into trouble for expressing myself online. ;)

Marcia, Marcia, Marcia

You Are Marcia Brady

Confident yet kind. Popular yet down to earth. You're a total dream girl. You've got the total package - no wonder everyone's a little jealous of you.

What Brady Are You?

Uh, yeah, sure....

Hi, My Name Is MUD

I have a confession to make: during the wedding planning last year, I became addicted to some national message boards dealing with weddings and married life. I don't follow them as much as I used to, but I still check them from time to time when I get bored. I guess they're the Internet equivalent of soap operas due to the problems people post about. Sometimes some of it seems to be true, but sometimes it's Made-Up Drama, or MUD. If you step back from the boards with a detached attitude, it can be amusing to follow the posts. I have to wonder sometimes about the people behind the posts, though. Are they so bored that they have to make up drama? Do they do it for the attention? Or are they just trying to stir things up, especially when they make up stories about things that really do affect other people (such as suicide, for instance). Whatever their motives are, these people--and Internet forums in general--could inspire characters for stories, though I haven't created any yet. If I do, I'll have to make sure I don't copy any particular poster too closely.

Writing: I'm currently working on Jo's last chapter. Right now, I'm making changes based on my own instincts. When I finish Part One, I'll have to dig up the reviews I got on Lennon's Line and see what I missed. I should probably post the third draft on OWW, but I don't want to--I'm getting to the point where I just want to get this story done and focus on something else. Maybe I could even try to work on something that doesn't involve Paul Harrison. There's a drama king for you! ;)

Cagayan Circle Banquet

I didn't have a chance to blog Friday because we were at a banquet and came home late. I meant to blog last night, but we had some problems with our router. (All we had to do was turn it off and on, but it took us a while to figure that out.) Anyway, here's a brief description of the banquet:

Cagayan is a province in the Phillipines; it's where Eugene's mother is from. She belongs to an organization that raises money for medical missions back there; in fact, she's on the board of directors. Part of the reason for the banquet on Friday night was to induct a new set of officers for the next couple of years. But the banquet was also about a "celebration of beauties." I'm not too sure about the details surrounding this custom--perhaps Eugene can comment with more info--but apparently it's like a coming-out party for young teenagers, at least, that's what it seems like at the last banquet we went to. This time, there were a couple of six-year-old girls involved as well, including Mikki, one of our flower girls. Eugene's cousin Desiree, an usherette at our wedding, was in it too. I'm not sure if there was an actual beauty pageant held before the banquet, but the ladies were given the titles of "Little Miss Isbella 2006" and "Miss Cagayan 2006" respectively. They were presented with sashes, tiaras, and flowers. Desiree, another teenage girl, and their escorts then danced. My pictures turned out on the dark side, but here are a few of them anyway:

Mikki with her parents.

















Desiree being crowned.

















Eugene's brother, Jason, and his girlfriend Marissa.

















And in other news, I went to Woodfield Mall yesterday with my mom. I looked for a formal dress for a wedding Eugene and I are going to in September, but I didn't find anything. Eugene and I went to the bookstore last night. I bought a bunch of books (I think I'm up to a Triple Tower of Reading) and wrote over 500 words for a new scene where Jo tells George she's carrying John's clone. Sounds like a soap opera, doesn't it? Eugene and I already ran our errands for today, so I'm just going to stay home the rest of the day and write some more.

To Tell or Not To Tell

The time I've had to work on Lennon's Line lately has been shrinking, unfortunately. If I've spent a half hour on it every day this week, that's saying a lot. I can only blame myself for that; I goof around too much on the computer playing games, checking out my forums, and reading blogs. Still, I'm making some progress; I'm almost to the end of Part One. Now I'm trying to figure out some plot points.

Background: the heroine of this part of the story, Jo, has become involved with a fellow scientist, George, onboard the spaceship that took her back in time through a wormhole. Her mission is to retrieve John Lennon's DNA to clone him and create a new rock star. She doesn't approve of this idea, so she volunteers to become the surrogate mother and raise the child--as an individual in his own right. In the first version of this story, Jo told George right away, and he supported her. In this version, I've had her keep it a secret from him until she actually gets pregnant. Now they're at the point where she needs to tell him, and I'm not sure how he should react. This is particularly important because they do wind up together, and I want to show that they have what it takes to make a marriage last. But I feel that it would create problems for them down the line if either kept big secrets from the other. So right now I'm stuck between a version with no conflict and one with a possibly unstable relationship. The third option would be for Jo to tell George her plans, let him object at first, and then have him change his mind later on. But then I have to change a detail in Part Two, and I'm not sure this idea is more stable than the second option.

I'm going to have to mull this one over for a bit before I decide. Anyone want to throw in his or her two cents while I'm thinking? (And I do mean everyone, not just the writers.)

Why Yes, I Can Tell Time...

I woke up this morning and looked at the clock. It was twenty to the hour. The alarm goes off at quarter to, so I figured I'd get a jump start on the day. I took my medication, went to the bathroom, and headed to the laptop to check e-mail and a few other things. Then I noticed the time on my computer. It was only 4:42, not 5:42. Oops. So I headed back to bed to toss and turn for another hour before it really was time to get up. Ah, the things I do to rest....

I Wanted to Be a Rose....

Stealing this quiz from Sue's blog:

I am a Snapdragon What Flower Are You?

Brunch and Bonding

Both of my parents have birthdays in June, but we weren't able to do anything with them until today. Eugene and I drove up to Lake Geneva in Wisconsin to treat them to brunch. We took the local roads and severely underestimated how long it would take. (Mapquest doesn't account for being stuck behind trucks and having to drive through the downtown of a tourist trap.) But the important thing is we still made it back to my parents' house in plenty of time for the World Cup final. We drove through Delavan, where I grew up; it's grown a lot since then. While Eugene and Dad watched the game, Mom and I went to the mall, where I found jeans and shorts on sale. So we each got to do some same-sex bonding. After the game (Eugene and Dad agreed that the better team didn't win), we had dinner, played a round of Uno, and drove back. I'm temporarily caught up on crits, so I still have some time to work on Lennon's Line tonight.

Friends and a Pharaoh

Today was a special day for two reasons: we got to see our friends Adam and Natalie (they live in Maryland, so we only get to see them a couple of times a year), and the four of us went to the King Tut exhibit at the Field Museum.

Eugene and I are members of the museum, and a set of four tickets came with the package. We invited Adam and Natalie to see it with us since we thought they'd be interested. We booked a specific time for the exhibit months in advance. It was a good thing we did, as the exhibit was sold out today. As members, we got to bypass the long line and go in right on time.

We were all impressed with the arrangement of the exhibit. It starts with a short introductory film before you're allowed to proceed. The first couple of rooms set the scene by describing Egypt and King Tut's predecessors. One of the rooms was devoted to burial objects found in tombs of his family members. There's a brief section on King Tut's presumed father. I'm not sure how to spell his name; it's something like Akhenaten. He was the pharaoh who set aside the Egyptian pantheon of gods for worship of a single sun god. (Side note: in the sculptures before Akhenaten's time, kings and queens are equal in size and share a single throne. His queen, however, was shown as being much smaller than him, which I think is more symbolic than representational. Damn patriarchs!) King Tut and his advisors restored the traditional religion during his reign. The rest of the exhibit was devoted to Tut. We saw, among other things, a chair he used as a child (it still looked sturdy enough to hold a child), chest pectorals, statues, cosmetic jars, and a game buried in his tomb. They even had some of the goods found on his mummy, such as a gold knife. Eugene was disappointed that they didn't have the famous headdress, but that was probably too valuable to leave Egypt. The final room of the exhibit discussed the mystery of his death. Originally it was thought he had died of a blow to the head, but recent CT scans showed that his skull hadn't been fractured. (In fact, he didn't even have cavities.) The current theory is that he may had died of infection following a wound to the leg. It took us about an hour and a half to see everything, but it didn't seem like that. We would definitely recommend seeing this exhibit if you have the chance--but reserve your tickets ahead of time.

I wasn't as inspired with story ideas by this exhibit as I had been by Da Vinci; I did wonder what would have happened if Tut had lived longer, but I'm not sure if it would have made much difference, given that he'd already restored the old Egyptian religion. I did buy a couple of DVDs in the store, along with a small statue of a sitting scribe. I figured he would be good inspiration for a writer.

After taking some pictures of Sue the T-Rex, we decided to get something to eat. We spent a few more hours talking with Adam and Natalie before they had to check on their daughter and start getting ready for their trip back home. When we got home, we did laundry, Eugene watched a soccer game, and I critted Sue's latest chapter. It's getting late, but maybe now I can work on my own stories.

Our First Tomatoes

As I was watering the plants after work, I noticed a couple of our tomatoes were ripe. They're so small they fit into my hand (and I have small hands). So I devised a welcome home for Eugene. Yeah, I know, it's as sappy as a maple forest in February, but that's just me.

Is It Friday Yet?

Although it's been a short work week, it's been an intense one. One of our projects is reaching a critical stage; I can say no more. I've been working on this project for a long time, but I was still busy preparing additional data for it the last few days. I still have to collect additional data tomorrow, but that part should be pretty easy. Part of me--OK, a large part of me--still feels I ought to have a Blizzard as a reward. Our homemade apple sorbet is good, but it doesn't have any chocolate.

Writing: I've spent the last few days trying to add more conflict to Lennon's Line. There's a section toward the end of Part One where I start tidying up some of the subplots. I've gotten some feedback from reviewers that things go too well for my heroine there. If there's no conflict, there's no reader interest. (Though I would argue that some books I enjoy for the setting or characters just as much, if not more so, than for the plot.) I've read other stories that are basically "wish fulfillments" for the authors; you can tell because the big prizes fall into the main characters' laps without them doing much (or anything) to earn them. This is probably more common in fanfic than in SF; I don't know about other genres. Anyway, even though I have good things waiting for my main characters at the end of their stories, they need to earn them. So for Lennon's Line, I'm setting an obstacle in Jo's (my heroine) path; she gets set upon by a gang as she tries to pawn items to raise money. I think I may also have her romantic interest, George, hold off on proposing, especially since she temporarily holds off on telling him she plans to bear and raise John's clone. Still have to work out all of the details, so I should get some writing done.

Pictures, Take Two

Finally uploaded some of the pictures:

Another model of one of Da Vinci's inventions. A real version of this made a few years ago not only worked, but it flew better than the Wright brothers' plane.











A model of a horse's head, part of a 24-foot-high sculpture Da Vinci designed for one of his patrons. (You can see the outline of the entire sculpture in the background.) Da Vinci only got as far as casting a model of the horse's head, but it was later used for target practice and destroyed. :( This is obviously a modern replica. Doesn't Oscar look tiny here?






One of the poisonous frogs on display.













More to come later....

A Genius and Some Colored Frogs

Sunday and Monday weren't very exciting; we ran some errands on Sunday and worked on Monday. (I did make some apple sorbet Monday night, though.) Today we went to the Museum of Science and Industry. It's been a couple of years since we were there, but we didn't spend much time on the permanent exhibits. Instead, we focused on two special ones: one on Da Vinci and one on frogs. The Da Vinci exhibit featured many replicas of machines he designed or improved. It was fascinating to see them and speculate on what history would have been like if some of them, such as hang gliders or underwater breathing appartus, had been actually used. I bought a couple of books about him in case I get some writing inspiration about him or his work. Then we saw many different types of frogs, including brightly colored poisonous ones. Good thing they were behind glass. The final exhibit we looked at was the U-505 German submarine that was captured during WWII. I've seen it many times since I was a girl, but since I was last at MSI, they brought it indoors to protect it. The new exhibit allows you to view it from above and ground level. (You can also go inside for a fee, but we didn't this time.) I think they have more items from the sub on display, including 60-year-old canned bread dough. Delish! We'd had enough at that point, so we went home, stopping along the way to run an errand and have dinner at a Japanese marketplace (sushi and shrimp dumplings). I've done some critting and writing tonight, but I'll save comments about that for later. I'm sure everyone would rather see pictures of Oscar at the museum:

This is a model of an air screw. It reminds me of a helicopter.















Sigh. Blogger is taking a very long time to upload pictures. I'll have to wait until tomorrow to post more.

Meeting New Friends

Yes, I'm up early; I just happened to wake up around my normal time. Anyway, last night we went out for dinner to a local Italian restaurant to meet a couple I "met" through one of my online forums. I'd spoken with the woman over the phone, but this was the first time I've met her in person. I was a little nervous, but I didn't need to be. They were very nice, and we talked so much we were at the table for two hours. We'll probably take them around Chicago next time, since they don't get downtown very much. I've tried several times to post a picture of me with them; let's see if it goes through this time:


If you're reading this, Mark and Jessica, say hi!

A Biblioholic's Dilemma

Today it was my turn to tidy up and vacuum (we alternate chores each week), so I also decided to dust and shelve paperbacks I've finished reading. I do this every couple of months when I have a bunch of them. The problem is I'm running out of space for them.

I've heard of some strange (to me) decorating rules for using bookshelves: use one-third of the shelves for books, another third for knickknacks, and leave the rest bare. Another home decorator I've read about puts books every which way--horizontally, vertically, even diagonally--as if they're nothing more than colored pieces of cardboard with no other purpose in life than to look good. Er...don't these people know you can't judge a book by its cover? It's what's inside that counts. If someone tried to reorganize my books like this, I'd throw a fit. Although my books are subject to tough love--their spines are cracked, their pages are dog-eared--I still treasure them. Granted, I do cull them from time to time, but since books can go out of print so quickly, I'd rather hold onto them if I like them. Used books don't have much of a resale value anyway. I've always wanted to have a library of my own, and the seven bookshelves in the living room/dining room are a decent start.

Although I own hundreds of paperbacks, I've managed to squeeze them onto about two bookshelves, stacked in double layers. I can fit about 70 books on a shelf, although sometimes it's a tough fit. Most of them are science fiction/fantasy, organized alphabetically by author and chronologically by book/series. So to shelve a few books, I have to start at the beginning, slip them into the right spot, and then shift the piles as needed. Sometimes I make or remove space, depending on how thick the books are. As I sorted my books today, I noticed a few "orphanated" ones--first books in a series that I never completed for some reason or another. I took a few of them out to resell but left other in my collection just in case I ever find the next book in the series. I managed to balance out the new books with ones I wanted to get rid of, so my shelf space is safe--for now.

I didn't even attempt to shelve the new trade paperbacks/hardcovers. The larger books take up the rest of my bookshelves, and those are packed so fully the only way I can add more book would be to get rid of back issues of The Magazine of Fantasy and Science Fiction. I no longer subscribe--the stories generally don't interest me--but I'm still loath to get rid of them.

The scary part is that most of Eugene's book collection isn't here. He reads a lot of nonfiction, so his bookshelves are pretty full too.

I think the best solution for our problem will be for us to move into a library. Know of any in the Chicago suburbs with a kitchen and shower?