Holiday Reflections

Here we come into the final stretch leading up to Christmas, and it's a different experience while out of school. There has been a lot to keep me busy, and while I'm not necessarily happy with the waiting that I'm currently living through, with any luck, the fog of my future will dissipate somewhat soon. There's so much to search through career-wise and so much to feel through in my personal life.

In kiting, there have been ups and downs. Despite the awe-inspiring waves and weather that Chicago experienced as a result of Hurricane Sandy, the kiting has calmed down considerably in the area, naturally due to the current season. It also doesn't help that my Best Bularoo's (10m + 13m) are currently unable to stay inflated for any longer than 45 minutes. I've done some research into phantom leaks in this kite line, and it would appear that it is a pretty standard problem after a few years. The problem is that I have no idea how to fix it. This has put quite a damper on my kiting in the last month or so at least. With any luck I'll be able to do some snow kiting soon enough to make up for it at least, but that is of course dependent on the cooperation of the weather.

I've been doing a bit of writing with the Noodler's Ahab fountain pen and personally find it to be the best writing of the Noodler's line. It isn't necessarily pretty, even though I still find myself fascinated by demonstrators, but it's functionality is so insane compared to many others within the fountain pen world. The amount of ink that it holds is insanely huge and the nib can be adjusted to flex such a large amount that calligraphic strokes don't even cause railroading. I haven't come into the possession of any new inks of late, but I am looking forward to potentially purchasing an ink from the Pilot Iroshizuki line in the near future. It'll be my first "high-class" ink.

In terms of reading, I've recently purchased on Amazon, "Hobbitus ille," which is a Latin rendering of the entirety of "The Hobbit". It is an interesting take on Latin from the perspective of the modern classicist. We, generally at least, tend to get caught up in the writing styles of authors, for whom their style was what set them apart. The Hobbit, however, was originally written in English and by a great author. To impose Caesar's writing style (for example) on Tolkien's writing wouldn't feel right. For this reason, the translation has been written to target an intermediate level Latin reading audience. The language is not convoluted in a way that might be difficult and the words that had to be created for the sake of the moder language of the text, are clearly marked. This is intended to be an easy and fun read, which is something that can often slow down the reading of more traditional texts. I for one, am greatly looking forward to reading more than the first chapter, especially with the movie out now.

I know that great change is coming into my life currently, and it is something that I welcome.