Surprise! I'm still here!

I bet you thought you heard the last from me, what with the delay between posts and all, but no siree.  I'm still here.  I was on a business trip last week, so writing up posts was difficult.  Now I'm back home and should be able to make regular posts again.

On a sadder note, my Xbox 360 starting displaying these weird graphical bugs when I was playing Batman: Arkham City and Burnout Crash.  I hope this isn't a sign that it's dying on me.

I'm grateful I have friends that will buy me drinks.

Ooops

I realized that I forgot to write yesterday, but you know what? I'm not going to fret over it.  It's still a good exercise.  I just need to try and keep it up from this point on.

I'm grateful for having a working cell phone.

Airline Service

Why is it that when you're on a plane they serve you a drink and snacks and then 5 minutes later come back to collect trash?  Am I really supposed to down all of my drink within that amount of time?  It wouldn't be so bad if they came by more often later, but usually if you miss that first opportunity you have to hold on to your trash until it's time to land.

I'm grateful I live in a time when human flight through air is commonplace.

Bedroom Rearrange

Today we rearranged the furniture in the bedroom.  I don't think it really created more space, but it change the feel of the room some.  It also pointed out that we had a lot of stuff in our bedroom and a surprisingly large amount of clothes.  We haven't finished moving all of our things back in just yet, that will require more deliberate planning.

I'm grateful for the help Emily's mom provide today.

$5 Microsoft point cards

Why doesn't Microsoft sell $5 point cards at stores?  Is it just not cost effective?  Does it really cost more than $5 to make and ship those cards?  All I'm saying is that when I'm out shopping, it'd be nothing for me to throw in an extra $5 purchase, but a $20 purchase causes me to pause.  I know I'd be buying more points than I am now.  And yes I know you can purchase small increments online, but when I'm home I'm not in a money spending mood.

I'm grateful for the warm comfy socks I own.

Sleepy time?

Sometimes I get into a state where I'm so tired that I have trouble going to bed; not falling asleep mind you, but just the acting of getting ready and climbing into bed.

I'm grateful for having such good friends.

Tired?

I think I don't do well when I'm behind on sleep, but there are so many things I want to do.

I'm grateful for the laptop we got some months go. Our first one!

Twilight Struggle

I played Twilight Struggle for the first time today and thought it was pretty fun.  I was afraid that I wasn't going to like it much, that it would be too dry and complex, but it wasn't nearly as bad as I thought.  It's a two player game about the Cold War where one player is the US and the other plays the Soviet Union.  You only a have few options on your turn, so it's more about planning ahead a few steps than crazy micromanagement.  When I played it it lasted about 3 hours, which was more than I expected, and though the game did end, it certainly could have gone longer.  I had fun playing and would play it again given the chance.  I don't know how many opportunities I'd have to play it if I owned it, so I'm not rushing out to get it for myself, but I'd definitely play again if the occasion arose.

Oh, in case you were wondering, I was playing the Soviet Union and we won because the US learned to love the bomb which sent everyone to Defcon 1, and then the next turn they attempted a coups in Africa, which start a nuclear war, and since they started it, the the Soviet Union won. 

I'm grateful that my wife has started feeling better enough that she's able to work on some of her projects around the house.

Realization

Ok, yes, I realize that this exercise is basically no different than making a facebook post, or even a tweet but that's not the point. The goal is to get used to coming to this blog and making a post.  I'm trying for consistency.  Who knows, it may lead to more verbose posts.

I'm grateful for the fact that today's weather was nice enough to allow for a walk outside with my wife during lunch.

January 06

What once was lost, is still lost. I have no idea what happened to that Microsoft points card.

I'm grateful we still have that drain auger.

January 05

This was one of those days where you do a lot, make a lot of progress, but don't really finish anything in particular.

Today I'm grateful for gifts that come with gift receipts.

Quick note

Went to work at 9 am, left work at 9 pm - must be a build day.

I'm grateful for having health insurance that covers flu shots.

New Plans

OK, so I thought I might try something this year. I like to write, actually I like to do all kinds of creative things, writing being one of them, and to facilitate that, I'm going to set a goal to write 1 sentence a day It will probably be about the day, but it doesn't have to be.  I figure I'll start with 1 month and see how it goes.

On top of that, (why start one thing when you can overload yourself with so many other things as well) I'll add something I'm grateful for as well. I hear that's helpful in living a happy life. Wish me luck!

I started the day with a full head of steam, well at least some steam, but it all went away by 8.

I'm grateful for the fact that our griddle is seasoned enough that I can easily cook eggs on it now.

Extra Life Fundraiser

I have signed up to participate in the Extra Life fundraiser. In a nutshell, I will attempt to play games for 24 hours on October 15th, 2011. The fund raising part of it is that I need to find sponsors, people willing to donate their money. Where does this money go? Glad you asked. The money will go to the local Children's Hospital here in Minnesota. The money will be used to help pay for games, toys, books, and other distractions so that the children in the hospital will get a chance to feel like normal kids for at least part of their stay.
Now, my plan right now is to find a space to host a gaming party where anyone can come and help me play games and maybe donate a few extra bucks as well. I haven't locked down a place just yet, but you can be sure that when I do I'll let you know.
In the meantime, if you would like to donate, you can go here. If you want to sign up and participate, feel free to join the team I've created, Northfield Gamers.

25 Random Songs from my iPod

Once you've been tagged...

(1) Turn on your MP3 player or music player on your computer.

(2) Go to SHUFFLE songs mode.

(3) Write down the first 15 songs that come up--song title and artist--NO editing/cheating, please.

(4) Choose 25 people to be tagged. It is generally considered to be in good taste to tag the person who tagged you.

Except I did 25 songs. And I'm not tagging people. If you want to do this, then go ahead.

Oh, and doing this just reminded me of how I never feel like the random mix on my iPod is random enough, or at least in a way that I wish it was. Anyways, here's the list:

01. Ludacris - Screwed Up

02. Smashing Pumpkins - Silverfuck

03. Jamiroquai - Emergency on Planet Earth (Long Version)

04. Salt-N-Pepa - Shoop

05. Paul Van Dyk - Forbidden Fruit

06. Metallica - Battery (S&M version)

07. Jackson Five - Rockin' Robin

08. Rage Against the Machine - Fistful of Steel

09. Ludacris - We Got

10. Madonna - Like A Prayer

11. Metallica - No Leaf Clover (S&M version)

12. Paul Van Dyk - Club Attack

13. Rage Against the Machine - New Millennium Homes

14. Jamiroquai - Journey to Arnhemland

15. Howard Shore - The Houses of Healing (The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King Soundtrack)

16. Reel Big Fish - Say Ten

17. Nelly - Ride Wit Me

18. Marilyn Manson - Dope Show

19. DJ Arabesque - The Vision

20. Lil Wayne - Lollipop

21. 4 Non Blondes - What's Going On

22. The Lonely Island - Jizz in My Pants

23. The Kinks - Lola

24. The Beatles - Because

25. Rammstein - Eifersucht

Baby?

Emily and I have been talking, and we would both like to have kids. We're just not ready at this point in time. We have figured out what we feel like we need to do to get ready.

1. Finish the bathroom. This isn't really necessary, but we just bought all, or at least most, of the things we need to redo it and we might as well get it done as soon as we can. We're thinking after Denise leaves.

2. Get a new car. We're thinking a hatch-back car, good gas mileage, safe, dependable, and ideally purple. Our Neon is still working, but at this point it's not the most reliable. It's ok for driving around Northfield, but it makes us a little nervous on long distance trips.

3. Install a dishwasher. This one will be a little tricky, seeing as our kitchen isn't dishwasher ready. We'd need to set-up the pot rack to store our pots and pans to make space in our cabinets to fit a dishwasher. Then of course there's the plumbing and electrical that would need to be done. Our thoughts on this is that it'll not only make our lives easier, but it's a great way to sterilize baby bottles, which we'll probably be using a lot since it's pretty likely that Emily will be on anxiety meds and won't be able to breast feed.

4. Get a new stove. Our current stove only has like 2 1/2 burners that work and the oven preheats to your desired temperature and then turns off for a few hours before deciding to heat back up to that temperature. It's just dumb and annoying and a new one would also be safer.

Some things I think we would like to get done, but don't feel like it's quite as necessary:

* Clean out and organize the garage, so we can use it for entertaining, art studio, car storage, get a freezer set-up in there.
* Really, just clean and organize the rest of the house. We already have a lot of stuff that we don't use or even know about and we just need to make more space. Not only to make room for a child, but just to make our lives a little less stressful. I guess it's also safer for a baby if there's not all this random crap around.
*Pay off our debts. To be honest, we've been pretty good about this so far. Depending on how well we handle our finances, we should be able to pay off all of our credit cards by the end of this year, just leaving school loans and our mortgage left. That would free up so much money.

So, uh, yeah. That's where we're at on the baby situation, in case you were wondering.

Cat Conclusion

Simon came through alright. I won't go into any major details, but he had some liver problems and had to be fed through a tube for a while, but now he's doing well. He's still recuperating and has to take medicine, much to his and Melanie's dismay, but he's showing signs of getting back to his old self. I'm glad he's doing ok and Melanie's happy to have him up and about again. She's still taking donations towards the Simon Relief Fund, if you feel inclined to contribute.

Cat Concerns

It's not any of our cats, but my sister-in-laws' cat Simon has some medical issues. They're not sure exactly what is wrong, but it seems to be liver related. They're going to conduct some more test and put him through medical test and what not to find out what's going on and how to save him from it. Melanie's not sure how much this going to end up costing. In that vein, they are planning on holding a yard sale at their place (5246 34th St, Minneapolis) this weekend. If you can, stop buy and give your well wishes, and possible buy something as well.

Emily's Birthday Party

A quick notice, Game Night for this Friday will be at Nancy's house.

OK. Now on to Emily's third birthday celebration. I don't know if you've heard the details, but it will be this Saturday, January 9th. The first movie will be Newsies at it will be starting at noon. You are welcome to come over before then. After Newsies, we will be watching Grease 2, at about 2:15pm. Then we will be watching Xanadu, starting around 4:30pm. That should all be done around 6:15pm or so.

But the party doesn't stop there. Afterwards we can play Rock Band or board games or card games or Karaoke Revolution. I guess we'll keep partying as long as we have to.

As far as food is concerned, that hasn't been nailed down. We have chips and crackers and numerous beverages. We might cook/order pizzas (most likely from Boston's for their gluten-free options). People are welcome to bring food with them, just remember Emily is eating wheat-free now. I can't guarantee anything in particular, but we certainly have things we can make if needed.

You're welcome to show up, well I guess at anytime throughout the day. Don't feel obligated to watch all the movies; feel free to show up for your favorite and join in on the sing-a-long that I can almost guarantee will be going on for all of them. Presents are welcome, but not necessary. We will enjoy your company either way. (If you're looking for gift ideas, gift cards are good, especially from Ikea or Target or even Just Food. They will be used.)

Maybe I'll see you there. Later days!

Holidays

This past Holiday season went well. Thanksgiving was at Cherish's and we cooked the turkey there. Rock Band was played; dinners were eaten; naps were taken . My mom and sister came up to join us and as far as I could tell, a good time was had by all.

Christmas it snowed, a lot. Emily and I were stuck in the house for a couple of days, which drove Emily nuts by the second day. We didn't really do anything celebratory, which in hindsight was probably a bad idea. We woke up, opened presents, and then Emily took a 4 hour nap and I played video games throughout the day. It was relaxing, but didn't really feel festive and so we felt ho-hum about the whole thing. Luckily, the following Sunday we were able to celebrate at Cherish's with Emily's family and that helped satiate the holiday hunger we were feeling. Next year I think we need to make sure to try to celebrate some what on our own. A few decorations and a planned dinner at the very least.

Emily turned 30 on the 28th of December. Her first birthday celebration was rolled into the Haskell holiday party. Her second celebration was on the 29th, we went out to Fermentations with Alex and Susan and enjoyed a tasty meal. Her third and final celebration is this Saturday (January 9th) at our place. The plans are to watch Emily's favorite movies (Grease 2, Newsies, and Xanadu) in the living room and have board/card games going on in the dining room. There might be Rock Band downstairs for those who want, but no guarantee on that. We're still hammering out details. I'm guessing it will start around noon, and I would guess that it would be potlucky, though we still have chips and snacks from New Year's to serve. I'll let you know more soon. Feel free to stop by and partake of the festivities.

As far as New Year's is concerned, that went well. We hosted some people at our place where we played various games and ate various food and had various laughs. Everyone enjoyed themselves, and only the very youngest Beeby fell asleep before the ball dropped.

So a belated, Happy Thanksgiving, Happy Chanukah, Merry Christmas, and Happy New Year to all!