Books: Shelters of Stone by Jean M. Auel

I've been waiting a long time for this book. It's number 5 in the Earth's Children series, which started with Clan of the Cave Bear in 1980. The next books followed in '82, '85, 90, and finally, 2002. Of course, I never read them right as they came out either, my mom had them in paperback to begin with, and I read the first 2 back-to-back. She couldn't wait for the 3rd to go to paperback though, so she got that one in hardcover. I was going to check out #5 from the library when it first came out, but never got around to it. The long delay between 4 & 5 I believe was due to a serious illness, but I can't find confirmation of that. A good friend had once told me Auel had died, and the series was never going to be completed. I didn't believe her at the time, and it turned out I was right, a good thing for both Auel and her 34 million fans.

Anyway, I really liked the first 2 books. There was a lot of fresh story to tell, a lot of historical background (technically pre-historical) to learn, and it was fascinating. Book 1 covered about 8-9 yrs of Ayla's life, book 2 picked up the next 3. The 3rd wasn't quite as good, because with the introduction of extra characters (and the excess drama that came with them) and Auel's penchant for over-repeating herself so you'll remember what happened before, there just wasn't alot of new story. I had hoped the 4th would be better, but it was about the same. Books 3 & 4 both covered about a year each. In my mind, Shelters of Stone was the last of the series, so I figured I'd get around to reading it eventually, just for the completion, ya know?

( Why I didn't really enjoy this one )

Still Employed...

Didn't get the Sr. PM job though. That's okay, not the end of the world or anywhere near. The job went to an internal candidate who's been working on mega-projects in Mexico for the past few yrs. He technically lives in MLW and he wanted to come *home.* He also had more big project experience than me. Possibly, they'll post a regular PM position this year, and I should be the shoo-in candidate for that if you can put any stock in my potential boss's word.

He said the experience was the deciding factor in a very difficult decision. So that's something, and I'm still working on all the same projects I was last week, because there's more than enough for the new guy to work on anyway. If I *had* gotten the job, I'd probably have to drop everything I'm doing and switch gears. I still wouldn't mind getting some paid vacation, but I guess that can wait. If they start needing more of my time, I'll get a big, fat raise this year anyway :)