As I have written before, for the past 3 weeks or so I have been working 9-5. However, since I was let go, instead working I'm studying from 9-5. Whether I spent the whole day at the office or spent the whole day reading about the Spanish-American War, in the end my brain is fried and needs something really really relaxing.

My solution? Brain candy!

Now what is brain candy, you may ask? It is the guilty pleasures and pure fandom bounded in a volume, large or small, that does nothing but kill time and whisk you away in escapist fantasies. It could be the trashy romance novels your mom reads from the Harlequin publishing company. It could be the various spin-off novels of the Star Trek universe. It could also be short stories only published in pornographic magazines (Here's to you, Mr. Eliot Rosewater!). The important thing here is that brain candy are books and stories that are fun, but have no literary quality whatsoever.

So as a small little act of confession (and want to write about something different) here are my current brain candy fixes!

1. Kull: King of Atlantis by Robert E. Howard

When Robert E. Howard was trying to break out as a writer, he wrote about 20 stories centering on this warrior named Kull. However, since only 3 of his stories were published in the magazines and he didn't finish most of his other stories, he took the character of Kull, changed some of the stories and some of settings, and reinvented Kull to be Conan the Barbarian.

As this is a precursor to Conan the Barbarian, it has its similarities and differences. Both stories take place in Earth's mystical history, when the Continent of Atlantis existed (in Kull's case) or just sank to the bottom of the ocean (Conan's). Both stories star very muscular and very ferocious warriors who despise the rise of civilizations and hates all of its trappings, yet enjoys wandering the world and killing any enemies in their way. In the case of Kull, he is actually a king of a country that rivals his home, Atlantis. Each of the stories gives hints of how he misses his younger days when he could go around the country fighting battles, but is now suffocating under his duties as a king. So far I've read the first three stories. They were exciting, and the very fast paced. As I said before, since only 3 of his stories were published, I only have read one of his finished ones. The other two had great premises, but Howard never continued any of the stories. If I finish this, I might get into Conan.


2. The Mars Series by Edgar Rice Burroughs

Long time ago when I went through my first brain candy addiction, I read the first three novels of Edgar Rice Burroughs' Mars Series. Burroughs is better known for his creation of the character, Tarzan. The Mars series, written in the 1930s, is about a man from Earth, John Carter, and his adventures in the alluring planet of Mars. It had sword fights, half-naked men and women with physiques of Greek deities, and lots of fights between the John Carter and lots of exotic beasts. The first three books I read were very thrilling, in fact it took me back in time when I was a kid watching Star Wars for the first time. I'm rereading books 4-6, and maybe even finishing the series. It's not that huge of a task as you think. I do recommend the first three books: The Princess of Mars, the Gods of Mars, and the Warlords of Mars. The other books in the series, thus far, do pale in comparison.

3. Battlefield Earth by "Elron" Hubbard

This is a book deserves explanation on my part. First of all, I don't like $cientology, nor care for its organization. Also, I tried to read other books by him since there were a few at my library and they were all absolute drivel. This is why Battlefield Earth actually surprised me. I got this book back when the movie came out for a cheap price. I never got to reading until about a year ago when I was too bored. I read the first 500 pages (out of 1000, mind you) and actually enjoyed it. However, for some reason I was too busy to read the book and didn't get back to it for a few weeks. By then I forgot most of the plot and subplots. So I am starting over and going to finish it before I give it away. To be fair, although this is not a literary masterpiece, it was enjoyable. It made me think that if Elron refined his craft, he could have a decent career as a writer.

Well tomorrow is supposed to be my start of my working out, with a full time job. I have been asked to put in some overtime this week. This is might mean a few changes. Usually, I get home from work at around 6 PM. With overtime, it will be 7. This might mean I have to rush the whole thing through.

For one thing, I am going back to do the ab exercises from Ron Van Clief's book. It takes a lot less time, and gets a lot more burn. I would love to do the Shaolin one, but time is a big constraint. I recently added a small cardio-kickboxing routine, but I want to try shadow boxing. I'll explain more on that later.

All-in-all, I'm surprised how much energy I still have after a long day at the office.

It is has been a bit of an adjustment going on a 9-5 schedule. All my jobs I have had since graduation from college never really fitted that mold. It's technically full-time work, but I am a temp. Still it's one of those things where I go home and feel like I have no time on my own to do whatever I want.

On the other hand, my body is getting adjusted to the new sched. Once I am used to the intricacies of my office, which is very soon I hope, I will be back and training like I've never trained before. Besides, Shotokan founder was once a school teacher. After he had dinner with his wife, he would train in karate until 1 or 2 o'clock in the morning every night, only to have a few hours until he had to teach again.

It's seems do-able.