Chris Brooks Newsletter 016
It is the middle of summer and we feel very fortunate here in western NY to have avoided the massive heat waves. This past week had days in the 70s and last night we dropped down to the low 50s.
1. 🚘 Where I’ve been traveling
Nowhere still, just hosting guests and taking short local trips. August will be different as I drive to Michigan to get some work on the van, and to upstate / central NY to play some golf at the end of the month. We’ll make up for the quiet starting in October.
2. 📖 What I’ve been reading
Books:
- Re-read Wool, the wonderful first entry in the Silo series by Hugh Howey. When things quiet down here at the lake Julie and I will watch the TV series.
Articles:
- An entertaining parody of brand marketing and naming. And some of it isn’t parody!
- Maybe you bought some US Treasury I-Bonds when the rates were too good to pass up? It might be time to redeem them.
- Mr. Money Mustache wrote about The Comfort Crisis, a book in which the author tells a “split narrative which jumps back and forth to interweave the story of an insanely difficult caribou hunting trip he joined in a remote pocket of Alaska, with the appropriate bits of science, psychology and cultural commentary that help us explain and learn from each chapter of the epic shit he had just endured.” My library has the audio book so a hold has been placed.
3. 🍿 What I’ve been watching
Nothing but Jeopardy with Julie’s aunt and some golf, mostly Open Championship and the pseudo LPGA major Evian Championship.
4. 🎶 What I’ve been listening too
Sadly, Sinead O’Connor passed away this past month. Julie and I binged Irish standards before a six week adventure there back in 2015, and I even learned a few on the guitar. One of our favorites was always “The Foggy Dew”, and this Sinead O’Connor version with The Chieftains remains my favorite.
Speaking of guitar, my fascination with The Lumineers continues and my latest learning adventure has been their wonderful “Angela”. The guitar part is straightforward but a good opportunity for me to work on my right hand rhythm technique.
5. 🎲 What I’ve been playing
Brother-in-law Mike and I played 2/3 of a game of Oranienburger Kanal, the latest 1–2 player game from Uwe Rosenberg. This is a city building game with tiles (cards) that should have high replayability because of the wide range of cards available and the limited number you see each game. The theme is somewhat abstract but totally fine with me: searching for synergy and combinations in the cards is much fun. I can also play it solo, but hoping Julie might be up for a play with me.
My golf game continues to improve after June slump, and this coming week I’m playing in my first ever true stroke play scratch competition. I (barely) qualified for the 36 hole Rochester District Golf Association senior tournament, and I’ll be competing against players who are essentially “scratch” players. I’m currently about an 8 handicap index player, which means about 40% of the time I will shoot about 8 over par. At the courses I play this means I’m shooting in the high 70s 30–50% of the time. My competition is routinely breaking par, which I’ve never done. But playing in a tournament like this was one of my key golf goals for 2023; I want to feel the pressure and get used to playing with very good players.
6. 🇪🇸 Winter Plans
Julie and I booked our outbound flight and first month of lodging in Madrid for this coming winter. We plan to spend just under 3 months (Schengen visa limit) in Spain, roaming the southern part for the middle month and returning to either Madrid or Barcelona for the final month. We also booked 4 weeks of intensive language immersion class starting right after we arrive on December 7.
-Chris