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Even though I’ve been vaguely aware of a certain dynamic when home in Minnesota for breaks, it has somehow become more acute this year. My break is not really a break due to how difficult my routine is to track, and how many people are vying for some time together. Of course I am happy to see my friends and family during the holidays, but there is something about being back home, as if it were high school, now that I am much more independent and live on my own. It is difficult to not have my own space anymore, and to have very little time to myself. In fact, I have to work today and that sounds like it’ll be the largest mental break available to me. ...

A year and a half ago, Trump announced his intentions of forming a sixth branch of the US military: the “Space Force”. Just last week, a defense bill was passed that included appropriations and direction for the creation of said branch. This felt like an excellent opportunity to dive back into research mode and figure out what I could using primary sources. So I’ve been spending time digging up memos, executive orders, and legislation related to this process. Over the next month or so I’m planning on writing a few posts discussing how we got here, what the stated intention of the Space Force was, what it sounds like it will be immediately, and what it might become in the future. ...

During this year’s Black Friday, I switched teams in the (not very large) e-reader wars. Ever since I was a sophomore in high school, I’ve used some sort of Nook from Barnes and Noble. Growing up, I always loved Barnes and Noble. Sure it’s a chain, but it’s still a bookstore and I enjoyed supporting it. This extended to the Nook. It always felt like they had better features for a slightly cheaper price than the Kindles that were available. They received backlights on the base model well before the Kindle did, and they still have physical buttons. Despite all that, the Kindle has finally eclipsed the Nook in certain key features that are useful for me: water resistance, integration with libraries, file transfer, and services. For reference, I specifically have the Kindle Paperwhite 2018, and previously had the Nook Glowlight 3. ...

Once again it’s supposed to winter, and yet it is not. In fact, we finally achieved “sweater weather” status in San Diego the other week with an uncharacteristic amount of rain and high 50’s temperatures. It’s still odd trying to adjust, and I feel a lot of dissonance between the weather and what 23 years of experience tells me should be happening. I don’t expect I’ll ever fully adjust, and I think that’s okay. Proper winter will always have a special place in my heart. And at least I can bake cookies.

Earlier this year I reread (and finally finished) the Inheritance Cycle, which is the series with Eragon. It’s an excellent set of books that had a lot of nostalgia for me. Now that my month-long writing spring is over, I’ve been able to start reading more and the next series I’m focused on is also somewhat nostalgia-fueled. I’m reading His Dark Materials (the most well-known book being the first in the trilogy, The Golden Compass). I first read this series back in 7th grade, and I remember enjoying it but remember very little about the specifics. I also know that it is a fantasy written by the author in his own voice, not written for a particular audience. In that way it’s very approachable and enjoyable for anyone, and I’m enjoying reading it from an adult perspective. It’s not totally fresh, as plot points and characters are coming back to me as I read, but it’s good so far. It makes for a fun and exciting read, and I’m looking forward to working my way through the trilogy this month.

I officially “won” NaNoWriMo as of writing this post on November 23. ...

As I mentioned last week, I’m participating in National Novel Writing Month. As of writing this blog post I’ve reached 37,000 words in my novel, which I’m quite happy about. I found the first week or so pretty easy to manage, and I consistently went above the official daily word goal. The last week has been a bit tougher. I set a personal daily goal of 2000 words, and I have managed to hit it every day so far. But it’s been tough at times. Many nights I’ll have only written 800 words or so, and think about just calling it for the day since I’m ahead of the official mark. But part of this month is being disciplined on my own; the official goals aren’t that meaningful, they are just a guide. I want to do this with internal motivation, that’s the real challenge. ...

November is National Novel Writing Month, referred to as NaNoWriMo by the cool kids. The official goal of the event is to write 50,000 words of a brand new novel. More loosely, it’s to write 50,000 of some novel (perhaps you’re finishing last year’s, or revising your current one.) Or if you’re not in the novel game, maybe just write 50,000 words. Or write a graphic novel with some constraint. In reality, it’s an event designed to get people writing and to build the habit of writing every day. The word goal is just to encourage you to silence your inner editor for a while, and let your brain throw crap on paper. ...

You can read last week’s post to get a feel for what this very short series is about. Broadly speaking, in my quest to read more modern literature, I’m finding myself grappling with modern issues in a way that is rather different than when I’m having broad conversations with others, or reading news stories. Books are affecting to me, and always have been. I’m typically more emotionally moved by a book that just about any other stimulus. So, I take the stories they tell seriously and look for what the author wants to say with it. ...

As I mentioned last week, I’m trying to make a concerted effort to read modern fiction books. What tends to come along with this are modern takes on old issues in society, and modern takes on modern problems. This is perhaps the strongest argument for reading difficult modern literature: it makes us confront issues in a new way, and become warier of issues facing our current society. ...