So I’m back at The Citadel, getting ready for a new year of the old job — medieval literature professor and all that — but I come back from Colorado with a new job, too. The preparation for it has been a big reason for my silence this summer, in addition to the fact I spend a good chunk of my time too far out in the wilds of the West to have internet or even (gasp!) cellular service, of course.

If you know me only as a writer or a professor, the new job surely will sound strange. My brother and I — and our saintly patient wives — are for at least a while slipping into management of the family business that our dad started as a “hobby” in his retirement: 4xGuard.

Super manly logo.

We’d already been doing some work for 4xG — redesigning its website and logo, working through new product design, and just generally talking through issues as they came up — but things are much more official now. Yes, I am now collecting a paycheck to help design and sell skidplates and other off-road accessories for Jeeps.

Strange for a specialist in medieval literature, I suppose, though it does sort of make sense when you think about it. After all, what 4xGuard makes is simply the modern equivalent of this:

Medieval skidplates, baby.

The new job means a bit less free time in my life, obviously, but it’s also something I really enjoy doing. Plus, well, it gives me a good excuse to build new goodies for my Commander. It’s work, right?

Sorta Similar Posts:

• Project XK: Front to Rear Guards
• Academic Reprinting: Tolkien Article
• More Jeep Thoughts
• Project XK: 4xGuard Front Guard 4
• Medieval Literature in the Fall

This entry was posted on Sunday, August 8th, 2010, 9:01 pm and is filed under Homelife, Project XK (Jeep). You can follow any responses to this entry through RSS 2.0. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.