Career Musings phase 2

As you might know, I have been commuting to St George weekly working for L&T. I have been avoiding the pressure from Tom to move down there permantly with some success. However, last weekend he sat me down out of the blue and declared "You have to move to St. George--with or without your wife--but it will probably be more fun for you if she goes." Not a lot there in the way of tact. So I have now begun the rather arduous task of negotiating salary increases with Thomas. Not a lot of fun, but perhaps productive. So to make a long story short, Kara and I are moving to St. George. (I might still decide to give Tom the bird--he is being a bit of an ass--in which case I will be looking for work!) We are really hoping that all of you will come visit us in the winter time. We will be down there for around 2 years. And I hate moving! Just thought you might want to know. And yeah for Amy's post on IMAB's!

The “I Married a Bankhead” (IMAB) Support Group

Due to Alan’s upcoming nuptials, I’d like to take this opportunity to welcome as our newest member, Karaline Joyce Rawson.

To help ease the transition into the IMABs, the following list (in no particular order) of a few issues the group faces should be helpful. Please note that not all issues apply to all members:

THE FAN—For reasons unknown, most Bankheads are incapable or downright refuse to sleep without a large box fan noisily humming nearby. In cases of emergency, any old fan will do, but Bankheads will go to great lengths to obtain fans in order to sleep. For IMABs who like to sleep in silence or without a wind chill factor, you have two options: get a separate bedroom or convert to the fan yourself. Rumor has it that one Bankhead, in order to save her marriage, has given up the fan, but that rumor is negated by another IMAB who reports that her Bankhead sleeps with not one, not two, not three, but four fans in her bedroom, so don’t get your hopes up.

EQUAL OPPORTUNITY CHRISTMAS PRESENTS—Remember as a kid when you would sneak around your parents’ closet looking for those hidden Christmas surprises picked out especially for you? In the Bankhead family, most Christmas and birthday presents are purchased in bulk and on sale year round and can be found in the downstairs closet. They may or may not be your size or be something you like, but thankfully, if your gift doesn’t fit or is the wrong color, there are several other sizes and colors to choose from in the chest in the stronghold.

MASHING/SQUEEZING/SQUISHING/SMASHING/SMOOSHING/SWATTING—Although this Bankhead characteristic goes by many names, it is clearly recognized as the way Bankheads interact with children and is generally accompanied by a certain voice reserved for just such occasions. It can be perceived as violent to those unaccustomed to this unique behavior, but rest assured that most children survive and actually enjoy this activity. For the female IMABs this also describes many of the ways your spouse expresses physical affection for you too. This in no way insinuates that your husband thinks of you as a child.

There are also benefits to joining the IMABs.

1. Your picture will appear in one of nine spots in the enormous frame on Kathryn’s dining room wall.
2. You are entitled to free medical advice from Byron or Emily, free business advice from Austin, free auto advice from Jace, free recreational advice from John, free electrical work from any number of Bankheads, free scrapbooking/invitation advice from Heather, and you may possibly qualify for a custom bricked fireplace.
3. Each year, a personalized Christmas stocking with your name will hang from one of the following letters: N,O, E, L, J, or Y.
4. Southwest Rapid Rewards tickets are always available to you.
5. You will become privy to the joys of apple-mince pie and lots and lots of meat (usually including bacon) prepared on the most amazing home grilling system in Provo.
6. For IMABs who choose to change their last name to Bankhead, “Congratulations. Once your last name is Bankhead, you are always right” (Alan). According to Emily, however, “If you had to get the Bankhead last name by marriage, that makes you half Bankhead, and you are only right half the time.”
7. A membership to the Joseph Educational Foundation and a lifetime supply of JEF business cards.
8. As your Bankhead will often remind you, your spouse is hard-working, efficient, competent, witty, and self-sufficient.

Welcome, Kara.

All members and Bankheads are, of course, invited to post any additional items of consideration.

Bankhead's Blogging Book Club, Baby

Time and again I've thought and chatted with several of you siblings about the need for some sort of book referral service between all of us. I really like to read, and do less that I'd prefer. Part of that is due to my childcare duties (please note Paul's posting on babies and terrorists). Another reason is that I often don't have any ideas on what I'd like to read, and am lazy. And who wants a book recommendation from a stranger who may not have the discerning tastes for which we are known? No no, I think a family referral service is in order.

So I thought I'd post some books I've read in the last year or so that I liked, and hope you all do the same. Perhaps if there is something many of us have read (the life of pi leaps to mind) we can have blogs discussing the book, what we thought, and the like.


Crossing to Saftey - Wallace Stegner

Summary (from borders)

It's deceptively simple: two bright young couples meet during the Depression and form an instant and lifelong friendship. "How do you make a book that anyone will read out of lives as quiet as these?" Larry Morgan, a successful novelist and the narrator of the story, poses that question many years after he and his wife, Sally, have befriended the vibrant, wealthy, and often troubled Sid and Charity Lang. "Where is the high life, the conspicuous waste, the violence, the kinky sex, the death wish?" It's not here. What is here is just as fascinating, just as compelling, as touching, and as tragic.
Crossing to Safety is about loyalty and survival in its most everyday form--the need to create bonds and the urge to tear them apart. Thirty-four years after their first meeting, when Larry and Sally are called back to the Langs' summer home in Vermont, it's as if for a final showdown. How has this friendship defined them? What is its legacy? Stegner offer answers in those small, perfectly rendered moments that make up lives "as quiet as these"--and as familiar as our own. '

Laurie's comments - this is one of my favorites. The books is beautifully written, understated, and sort os sweet. I've read other Stegner books, but in my opinion this is still the best.

Charms for an Easy Life - Kaye Gibbons

Summary (from borders)
Narrator Kate Fleming introduces us to three curious women from the backwoods of North Carolina. Folk healer Charlie Kate; her daughter, Sophia; and granddaughter, Margaret, share the stories of their lives together from the turn of the century through the 1940s. Fleming voices the soulful humor and gumption of these free-thinking, strong-will women. This is a story of mother/daughter relationships, love, daring, and persevering in a time and place when resourcefulness was a necessity.

Laurie - this isn't a heavy hitter, but it is a nice read. Probably a bigger hit for women.


The Working Poor - Invisible in America, by David K. Shipler
Summary

The Working Poor examines the "forgotten America" where "millions live in the shadow of prosperity, in the twilight between poverty and well-being." These are citizens for whom the American Dream is out of reach despite their willingness to work hard. Struggling to simply survive, they live so close to the edge of poverty that a minor obstacle, such as a car breakdown or a temporary illness, can lead to a downward financial spiral that can prove impossible to reverse. David Shipler interviewed many such working people for this book and his profiles offer an intimate look at what it is like to be trapped in a cycle of dead-end jobs without benefits or opportunities for advancement

Laurie's Comments
I thought this book was simply outstanding. Shipler provides what I see as an accurate portrayal of a problem that transcends the bounds of politics. I found the book to be non-partisan, fact based, and moving. This is another book that has changed the way I see the world.


Moral Politics - How Liberals and Conservatives Think - George Lakeoff

Summary
In this classic text, the first full-scale application of cognitive science to politics, George Lakoff analyzes the unconscious and rhetorical worldviews of liberals and conservatives, discovering radically different but remarkably consistent conceptions of morality on both the left and right. For this new edition, Lakoff adds a preface and an afterword extending his observations to major ideological conflicts since the book's original publication, from the impeachment of Bill Clinton to the 2000 presidential election and its aftermath.

Laurie -
As a disclaimer, this book is absolutely biased towards the left/liberals. That said, I think it does a really good job of uncovering the world views and assumptions that drive how people think about politics. The first half of the book is more straightforward; the last few chapters lose me. I recommend the book because it has changed the way I see not just political debates, but any debates. I find his discussions on framings and word choice fascinating.

East of Eden - John Steinbeck
By now you all probably know that this is one of my favorite books of all time. If you haven't read it since high school, it is definitely worth it.

I don't know that these are my favorite books ever, but they are the ones that come to mind tonight. Anyone else want to post theirs?