Jamie Todd Rubin

Well, the newly revised reading website is done and is finally available online. Most of the functionality is there now, but some will have to wait for next week. This is the second day in a row that I spent more than 12 hours coding to try and get it completed and at this point I’m pretty burnt out. I’d rather spend the rest of my long weekend reading or writing (to say nothing of cleaning up the house a bit).

It’s 2:15 AM now, however, and I’m off to bed.

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Another new year! I caught the Times Square action on ABC last night, just as the ball was falling. I didn’t see Dick Clark at all, but he was narrating. It was clear that the stroke he had affected his speech to a minor extent. I only stayed tuned in for a few minutes. I then made a few phone calls to wish people a Happy New Year.

Now that 2005 is over, I can say that it was officially my most travelled year thus far. I flew 45,900 miles on United in 2005, which means I was a mere 4,100 miles short of reaching Premier Executive status. I also managed to pass the 200,000 miles flown lifetime on United.

I had set a goal one year ago today to try and do more writing. I wanted to attempt to write 100,000 words for the year. That’s about 400 words per workday, or maybe 15 short stories for the whole year. I didn’t even come close. I wrote 2 new stories 2 new stories, totalling perhaps 10,000 words. I made 9 submissions this year and, of course, had 9 rejections. (Among those 9 rejections, however, was a near miss from Sheila Williams at ASIMOVS.)

I read 35 books this year, totalling 5.3 million words. 2005 closes out 10 full years of tracking what I read. Today begins the first day of the 11th year and for the first time I can now ask, “what was I reading 10 years ago today?” and get an answer. As it happens, 2006 is also 10 years that I’ve been keeping my diary (although the real anniversary isn’t until April 6).

The company softball team had a better record this year than last year. We went 3-7, but those three wins came at the end of the season. I think we’re going to do even better next year.

I was supposed to buy a house in 2005, but decided to wait one more year. That means that 2006 is the year of the house hunt.

I’ve never been one to make New Year’s resolutions and don’t plan on starting now. But I really would like to make more of an effort at writing this year than I did last year. I think I have 2 or 3 strong story ideas and so it’s just a matter of sitting down and writing (always easier said than done).

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I probably spent 16 hours yesterday working on the backend code for my revised reading website. I continued working on it today, and my goal is to have the new site on panix by the end of the day today. I’ve got just about all of the back end coding done. A few minor things left and then, I need to finish writing the code to generate the static pages. Beyond that, just minor stuff. But I’m pretty happy with it at this point.

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It always seems to be a race to the end of the year. I’ve been feeling pretty lazy these last couple weeks but today I started knocking things off the old mental to-do list. I sent out a slew of “thank you” notes for various gifts I received for the holidays (is it me, or is the sending of a thank you note becoming a dying art?). I also finally got around to renewing my season tickets to the Orioles for 2006. It’s the same seats we’ve had the past 2 years, and the same price too for the 13 Sunday games. This year, however, 3 of those 13 games are against the Yankees, which means I’ll get to see them more than I normally do in a regular season.

I’m halfway though Forward the Foundation but should finish it tonight. That will complete my 4th reading of the entire original FOUNDATION books (although the last time was back in 1998). More on that later.

Jen heads back up to New York this afternoon on the Vamoose so the house will once again be quiet. My plan is to finish up my book, finish writing the remaining code for the new reading list site, and get started on a new short story.

Maybe I’ll even get the house cleaned up in between.

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Lots of things to do, and I feel like I’m running in six different directions at once: trying to get my newly revised reading website up and running by January 1. Trying to complete Forward the Foundation before the end of the year. Trying to get this blog squared away so that I can make better use of it in the coming year. Trying to decide how to get started on two new stories (ideas come easy, getting started is always the hard part for me). Time’s running out. The new year is just around the corner…

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As I mentioned yesterday, we all went to bed pretty early last night, right around 9 PM. I was pretty tired and dozed off almost right away, but I was awakened 40 minutes later by the sound of… well… I couldn’t quite tell where it was coming from because sound seems to echo among the buildings here, but somewhere nearby people were, you know… and it was pretty darn loud. I walked out onto the Lanai, curious to find out where it was coming from. We’d seen a honeymoon couple earlier in the day and I thought perhaps it was them. I never did find out who it was. It only lasted thirty seconds or so. I had the momentary mental fantasy of standing there on the balcony and saying into the night, “That was quick,” only to hear a disappointed woman’s voice say from somewhere in the darkness, “You’re telling me!” Instead I went back to sleep and slept through the night with the screen doors wide open listening to the sounds of the Pacific and slept soundly through the rest of the night.

I woke up around 6 AM. Dan was already up and eager to get started. He was out the door pretty early to scope out the beach conditions, and in particular, the wave conditions. After showering, we headed into town to get some groceries and have breakfast.

View of Hanalei Bay from our Lanai

Breakfast on the balcony

Dan gets ready to rent a surfboard

When we got back from town, we ate our breakfast out on the Lanai. Dan was getting a little stressed about renting a surfboard so he made a number of phone calls and finally found a place on the east shore that rented long boards at a good rate. He was out the door in a flash to get himself a board. In the meantime, Megan and I sat around on the porch chatting and waiting for Dan to return. Dan had taken his cellphone with him and when we called him, we found that he was in the parking lot. The fact that he had his cellphone with him plays an important part in the unfolding events so keep this in mind. When he finally got back (well over an hour later, it seemed) we prepared ourselves (sunscreen, towels, books, etc.) and made our way down to the beach.

We staked out a good place at the beach. It was mostly cloudy, but the air was warm and there was a strong offshore breeze, and most importantly, the water was warm. The waves were breaking pretty far out and Dan had to paddle out 200-300 yards to catch the wave. Megan and I sat on the beach, soaking up what sun we could, relaxing, and watching Dan surf. He was out there for quite a while, and had gotten a couple of good rides when suddenly, he came paddling in.

After giving us a brief description in surfer lingo of exactly how totally awesome it was out there, Dan mentioned that he’d come back in because he was sitting out there waiting for another wave when he began to vibrate. Well, not him exactly, but the cellphone that he’d put in his pocket when he’d gone to rent the surfboard. After so much time in the warm salt water, the phone finally shorted out. Among the pictures below, you’ll find the wrecked remains of Dan’s cellphone, first surfing casualty of the week.

Waxing up his surfboard

Megan keeps an eye on Dan while he surfs

Paddling out

Riding a wave

Ah, the view!

Returning home

The infamous phone incident

I did a little bit of swimming in the water but not much. There was a lot of coral and I cut myself on that the last time I was here back in 2001. Besides, my plan for today was to relax. I did manage to get one fairly decent picture of myself while I was in the water.

Cool cameo

In the afternoon, we drove into Hanalei looking for something to eat. We ended up at a place called “Tropical Tacos” which is a famous local place that was once just a roadside van but is now a small restaurant. We had tacos, burritos and casadillas there. We then drove around Hanalei and eventually stopped so that Dan and Megan could get some flavored shaved ice which is popular here. I got a chocolate shake which was delicious and filled me up.

Back at the condo, feeling full, and with the sun setting, we decided to stay in for the evening. I downed a couple of bottles of Pacifico while Megan read Dan and I questions from the “Battle of the Sexes” game. Dan got a craving for some pineapple and went about slicing one up. He sliced a little too much and managed to get some of his finger.

Slicing pine apple (and fingers)

Dan and Megan ended up watching one of the DVDs here (Lilo and Stitch). My plan was to catch Smallville at 8 PM. However, as I found out, Smallville airs at 7 PM here, as it does in Central time, so I missed it. Oh well.

I’m about ready to call it a night. Dan and Megan are already asleep. It’s raining lightly out right now and I’ve got the balcony doors open so I can listen to it. The plan for tomorrow depends on the weather. If its bright and sunny, we’re going to the beach again. If its overcast, we’re doing an all-day hike, 8 miles round-trip to get to a waterfall and natural pool. Either way, it should be fun.

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