It’s Saturday – definitely one of my more favorite days of the week. I have to give forty hours a week to work, but these weekends are mine. I’m feeling strangely happy. Not in a bouncing off the walls, giggling to myself kind of happy (otherwise known as “manic”), but in a contented, looking forward to the day, kind of way. It’s a good way to start the day.

That’s all I have right now. Just wanted to make a note of it. I have a project I am working on in the shop today and am eager to get to it. Nice to feel like my life is starting to have a bit of order and direction again. I’ll have to write more about that later. Right now I want breakfast! Then on to work on my project, and have a whole day to do whatever else I want to do.

Wowsers! That was weird. I just experienced my first ocular migraine this morning. It came out of nowhere and it freaked me out. I didn’t know if I was imagining it or not. It only lasted for maybe fifteen minutes, thank goodness.

I already knew about ocular migraines because my wife has had them, but having the experience is a whole ‘nuther thing. I was maybe a half mile away from work when all of a sudden it felt like my vision was “fracturing” at the periphery of my sight. When I got into work and into brighter lighting, it almost seemed like someone had stuck little pieces of clear plastic wrap on the outside edges of my eyeballs. The best I could describe it was a shimmering at the edges of my vision.

I looked it up on the good ol’ interwebs and, sure enough, classic symptom of ocular migraine. Fortunately, it was not a precursor to a real, full-blown migraine. Only the visual effects, without the headache. It seems that it is something that can just come and go, with no apparent causation.

I hate it when something messes with my vision. As it is, I have the remnants of a huge “floater” in my left eye. That freaked me out at the time, too, but no serious cause was ever determined (and yes, I did have it checked out) so it is just something I have had to live with. It’s amazing how your brain can adapt to such disruptions of your normal vision.

I will say, though, that once was enough. I don’t care to have a repeat of the ocular migraine as it was a bit disorientating, but if it happens again, at least I’ll know what it is.

The Satanic Verses – Salman Rushdie

Reading other reviews of this book, I found many people who did not like it. Usually they started reading it but quit shortly after. Like many books, I found that I had to get into it a bit before I was able to judge whether it was worth reading or not, and it was.

I suppose if you are looking for a piece of fiction with a traditional structure (more or less a continuous story with a beginning, middle and end) you might not appreciate this book. Also, I think the reason some people give up reading this book is because the author is rather creative with his language in the beginning and that may turn some people off.

Though I read the book in print, I decided that this would be a good book to read on my Kindle. Being unfamiliar with the Muslim culture, there were words with which I was unfamiliar and would liked to have been able to look the word up immediately by tapping on it (that didn’t work in the book). Maybe that was an issue for some people, too, but it wasn’t really a major stumbling block. Personally, I enjoyed the book. My interpretation is that it is a story of redemption and corruption.

The main reason I read this book was to see what all the fuss was about when it first came out. I mean, what the heck could he have written that incensed those of the Muslim faith so much that they would want the author dead? Even after reading the whole book, I still can’t figure that out, but I suppose it is because I am not a member of that faith and that I have been raised in a society where storytelling, even when it becomes rude and crude, is recognized as just that – storytelling. (And yes, I know, there are wackos in every society that want to burn some book or another, even mine.)

While this book doesn’t make it to the top of my recommended reading list, I certainly would say that it is worth reading. Before you do, though, consider reading it on a Kindle or Nook, or maybe just have a good dictionary on hand.

Finished 10/6/15