Wilhelm Scream

OK...I have never considered myself a movie expert. But I have noticed that in movies people that are falling often have this similar scream. Here's the answer!

Packer Pro Bowl Players

The NFL Pro Bowl teams were announced yesterday. Four Packers were named to the Pro Bowl:

• Brett Favre (QB) - No doubt about this pick. He earned more fan votes than any other play in balloting, AFC or NFC.
• Donald Driver (WR) - Favre's go-to guy. The pick makes sense to me. But, he's not the only Green Bay WR that should get a ticket to Hawaii.
• Al Harris (CB) - I appreciate the fact that he is getting recognition for how good he is. But, he's not the best CB on the team.
• Aaron Kampman (DE) - He deserves it. I really questioned it when they re-signed him to a big contract. I guess I know why they did it. He's a beast.

It's strange to see a team with the same record (Dallas) get 11 Pro Bowl nominees, while we only ended up with four. I do think a few folks were snubbed, but it makes sense. Out offensive line didn't play exceptionally well and we had running back by committee, with Ryan Grant stepping up too late to get votes. Favre does a pretty good job of distributing passes to his WRs...no one had a huge season. Our defense plays great as a unit and does not necessarily have a lot of standouts.

Here are the folks that probably could have gone, but did not:

• Greg Jennings (WR) - Has almost 900 yards and 12 TDs. Those are impressive stats. I am surprised he didn't go instead of Driver.
• Darren Woodson (CB) - He is an amazing all-around CB. I would argue he is better than Harris and deserved to go in his place. Heck, let them both go. They are the best CB tandem in the NFL!
• Nick Barnett (LB) - Lots of tackles and a consistent defensive player.

It's over now. Let's focus on the last two games of the regular season and the playoffs. All that matters is the wins.

Dorks Rejoice!

There will be more movies!

Almost Time

Tomorrow at 8:00 PM Webster Hall will close until January 6. I can say that I will welcome the opportunity for some peace and quiet in the building. I have a growing list of tasks tom complete during the break period as I work through my 12-month contract. It will be a great opportunity to catch up.

With the building being empty, however, it takes much of the day to day fun out of the job. No students stopping by randomly to chat. No meetings with staff. No crises to work out. As frustrating as some of that can be, it is also what makes the job challenging, interesting and well...fun!

The break will also allow me catch up on activities outside of the work realm. I will have the chance to move along the path to licensed ministry. I have to write a few essays and schedule a few appointments. I also have a few games to rent included Assassin's Creed and Call of Duty 4.

Yeesh

As many of you know, I am not a fan of having my picture taken. I don't like smiling. Ha! Take a look at this picture...it's a perfect example. Now, let's add to this the fact that I didn't shave for the picture. I don't shave that often, so I have a nice 5 o'clock shadow going on as well. Let's combine the previous factors with the fact that I am wearing bright red which I am not a fan of. You don't exactly see me at my best.

Unfortunately, this is the picture that you see for my staff profile for the Department of Residence Life website. I probably should have thought this one through a little bit more.

Fantasy Football Playoffs

Our Fantasy Football league is almost done with the first weekend of the playoffs. I went into the playoffs as the #2 seed; in turn, I was matched up with the #7 seed. Don't led the low seed fool you...this guy had a pretty strong team.

Tom Brady continues to be a fantasy savior and accrued a near career-high 399 passing yards and 4 TDs. I started the Indianapolis defense over the Baltimore defense. Start move! They had 3 INTs, 4 sacks and fumble recovery and held the Ravens to 13 offensive points. Baltimore, um, didn't do that good.

I had a crappy performance from my kicker (Stover) and from my TE (Shockey). The rest of my team threw in a TD here and there and I was able to gain the victory in the first round.

Looking to next week, I picked up Donald Lee who I think will be a more reliable TE option than Shockey. I'm also going to start Rudi Johnson this week insteado f Kenny Watson...smart move Droste. With the #1 seed getting upset in this round, things are looking good. We'll see what happens.

Holiday Shopping Extravaganza

Since the weather would not permit last week, I put off my big holiday shopping day until tomorrow. There will be much to shop for when Christa and I make our way up to Appleton. I am working on gifts for staff, as well as gifts for the Residence Life and GCC gift exchanges. There is a beer and hard liquor exchange I need to prepare for as well...really, it's quite fun and we don't drink any of it at the party. There are a few church gift programs we are working on as well. It should be a busy day.

Friday and Sunday will be my days to relax. Friday will likely involve watching the Transformers Movie...you know, the good one. Sunday will involve watching football, specifically the Packer game which will be at noon central time.

Fitness Assessment

Today I met with my student exercise trainer to do an end of the semester assessment. I have participated in a weight training program all semester and it we saw a few improvements. My body fat did go down a little bit and some strength gains were noticed through the assessments. Ultimately, the biggest gains were seen in the weight differences in the exercises I was doing.

He and I will be doing a sit down discussion of the semester on Friday. I am hopeful he and I can chat about what to do in order to keep this going over break and into next semester. Perhaps next semester, I can finalize a cardiovascular work-out to complement what I have going now.

Mass Effect

Despite the horrendous weather that came to Oshkosh today, I managed to make my way to Family Video to return my copy of Mass Effect. First off, thanks to the many Webster residents who helped push my car out of the lot. It was pretty bad.

I have to admit, after playing the game for a few hours, I wasn't that impressed. I kept dying...combat didn't make much sense...the story was slow...I wasn't sure how to equip stuff. By the beginning of the weekend, I was ready to return the game early.

I stuck it out and everything fell into place. My character is now level 37, equipped to the hilt and I am addicted to the storyline. I highly recommend it. It's like Oblivion, but science fiction. Nothing can replace Oblivion.

If you have a 360, rent the game. It may not be for you...but, I'm hooked.

Big Game Tonight

The Packers play the Dallas Cowboys tonight to determine the best record in the NFC. It may also determine who had the #1 seed in the playoffs, but that's a little premature. I will be watching some of the game in the basement of Webster Hall eating tacos as part of the Webster Taco fiesta (WTF). I am hoping we have a high turnout.

As for who will win the game...I really would love to see the Packers win. I hope I'm wrong, but I think the Cowboys are going to win tonight. I see it being high scoring and definitely exciting. I think we have some problems with injuries and that will play a factor. My guess: Cowboys 31, Packers: 24.

Winter Is Here!

The winds are swirling, the temperatures are dropping and we recently had our first snow fall of the winter season. More is predicted for today. Winter has arrived.

I know my Mom is cringing right now because the first measurable snowfall of the year means that I start to grow a beard. This will last until Good Friday. It is beginning to fill in nicely.

Birthday/Election Celebration

I just looked and saw the November 4, 2008 will be election day for the new president. It's also my birthday. Exciting!

Just How Specialized?

When Christa and I bought our new car, it came with XM Satellite Radio for 3 months free. We decided to continue the subscription. We like it a lot. We are especially fans of the Cinemagic station that plays nothing but movie soundtracks. They have all sorts of good stuff.

What blew me away was the POTUS 08 station. It is a station that provides 24-7 coverage of the presidential election. Wow. When cable station moved toward 24-7 news in general I thought that was a stretch. But, this takes a step further. Don't get me wrong, I like the station, but who knew we needed wall to wall election coverage.

Life Question

This came up as a topic of conversation at a recent viewing of the Monday Night Football game. Some colleagues of mine were contemplating this question: If someone could narrate the story of your life, who would it be? Think of it like this. If someone could watch you go through your day and narrate over the things that you do, who would you want that to be.

My choice is Marv Albert. "Jim takes out the bread and peanut butter...YES, a perfect sandwich!" It would be pretty sweet. I would also advocate for Ron Jaworski. I can see him going to the tape and breaking down my latest student conduct meeting.

What would your choice be?

Weekend Checklist

I was struggling to think of what to write for today. I present to you my weekend to-do list:

• Try out the new game I downloaded for free for the 5th Anniversary of XBox Live. It's called Carcassonne. It's usually a table top game, but they converted to computer.
• Try to get to the level of Lieutenant - Grade 2, or by some miracle, Captain in Halo 3.
• Try to get some achievements and find the skulls on Halo 3.
• Continue work on the candidacy guidebook ans psychological assessment paperwork.
  
• Enjoy Packer game!
  

Things to Look Forward to...

Tonight will be the second session in a role playing game campaign for the Scion game. It has been a little while since we played, but it will be nice to give it another try. It is markedly different than any game I have played before. I am usually pretty skeptical of games from the White Wolf company...them makers of Vampire. That game creeps me out. This game doesn't. Ryan does a good job running the games as well.

I also got a call from my friend Renard. He invited me to the Packer game on Sunday against Carolina. I am really pumped for that. This would be my fourth Packer game, but this would be the first one with the Packers actually doing really well. The atmosphere should be awesome.

Back on Track

I had a wonderful meeting with my candidacy mentor regarding Methodist ministry candidacy. It had been almost one month since our last meeting. She had some well-deserved vacation and we have both been very busy over the last few weeks.

As the time between our meetings increased I started to stray a little bit from my diligence in completing my ministry requirements. Having now met with my mentor, I feel more back on track.

It reminds me of the one on ones I have with my supervisor. They serve as an opportunity to ask questions, receive feedback and receive motivation. That's how I felt in my meeting. It makes me realize that regular meetings are a healthy part of this process.

So, I keep moving along. I should be finishing my final paperwork for the psychological exam over Thanksgiving Break. I am hoping to make my way to Minnesota for the assessment over Christmas Break. Then, I prepare for the April 10 meeting with District Committee on Ministry.

That's where we're at.

Yep..That's How This Week Feels (sorry for the swears)

Clinton Calls For National Week Off To Get National Shit Together

Free Speech

"It is now common for campuses to set aside specifically designated areas known as "free-speech zones," which used to comprise a somewhat larger zone known as "the United States of America." (from Ann Coulter's book, references yesterday)

I love this quote...quite true. I am saddened by the kid gloves that we treat many issues with these days. Political correctness has destroyed one of the fundamental purposes of the college environment: open discussion on tough issues. We go to college to learn and to be challenged, from all sides and viewpoints...even those that may be uncomfortable or frustrating.

I would appreciate a collegiate environment where I could openly express conservative viewpoints and not be viewed as over-religious, bigoted, old-fashioned or non-compassionate. I think the liberals of the world can feel pretty safe expressing their views. I suppose that's why they created the free speech zone for us. *sigh*

Ann Coulter's New Book

One of the two books that I bought for my birthday was Ann Coulter's new book: If Democrats Had Any Brains, They'd Be Republicans. If you check the amazon.com link I provided, you will notice that the vast majority of the reviews are either 1 star or 5 stars. She is definitely a polarizing figure. I find her format for the book to be a little disappointing. After a brief topic introduction, she simply provides quotes from previous books and columns for those topics. Seems kinda cheap and easy for such a gifted writer.

Coulter doesn't seem to pull any punches in this book, although she hasn't pulled punches her entire career. She has offended others and honestly there are times when she offends me as well. I do find, however, underneath the sarcasm and periodic offensiveness, she makes some good points. As someone who considers himself conservative, she and I are on the same page on some stuff.

It will be an entertaining read to say the least.

Birthday

To those that might have asked me before, I had an enjoyable birthday weekend. The party was again great fun, although we did not quite have the attendance that we had last year. There was still plenty of root beer to drink and lots of Guitar Hero to play.

On Saturday I went home to have dinner with Christa and my parents. I had a 20 oz. prime rib. Yum!

Sunday was a game video games and football. I got enjoy a great Packer victory, but also saw a crushing fantasy football defeat...oh well. The books I ordered were in the mail when I checked on Sunday so I picked those up as well. I have some good reading material for the next few weeks.

I don't feel 31, but you are only as old as you feel. ;)

The Guitar Hero Community

If you click on this link: http://www.guitarhero.com/accounts/232539, you will taken to my profile in the Guitar Hero III community. If you actually do much navigation, there is not that much to the site. I do get a kick out of the fact that it tracks your progress in on-line matches as well as career earnings.

If there was a module I could add to the blog, I would add it. You can't have enough of those. Besides, my Halo 3 score doesn't seem to be going anywhere anyway. ;)

Fantasy Football

I am currently 7-1 in a fantasy football league with nine other gentlemen. We paid $20 to be in the league, so the though of placing high and winning a little money is quite exciting. I wish I could say my amazing drafting and trading skills had something to do with my first place showing thus far, but that would be a lie.

In fact, my drafting pretty much sucked. He are in a "keeper" league which means you have the option to keep certain players from year to year. I drafted a lot of older dudes that probably won't improving over the years...my bad. I did, however, manage to pick up Tom Brady who is a fantasy football goldmine. Having picked up Wes Welker as well, they make a potent combination.

That's all...I hope to see many of you tonight!

Guitar Hero 3 Madness

I was able to purchase Guitar Hero 3 on Sunday and have been working my way up from the easiest level. I have finished the "Career Mode" on easy and medium and have found the medium level to actually be quite challenging.

So, now that I have begun the career mode on hard, it is getting really difficult. And I'm on level one of eight! Yikes. It is definitely true that each version of Guitar Hero gets more difficult than the previous.

To combat this concern, I could take advantage of the "practice mode" to get better at certain sections. Seriously...practice? We're talkin' about practice! For Guitar Hero...

The Weekend Festivities

This Sunday I will be 31. I haven't necessarily finalized the plans for the weekend, but here's the general idea.

Friday - From 6-11 PM is the birthday bash in Webster Hall. It should prove to be a fun time. By the time that's over, I will want to be going to bed.

Saturday - Sleep in! Yay. Get some good video game action in during the day and then make my way to Mequon, WI with Christa to have a birthday dinner with my parents. I am not sure where to go, but Porterhouse is always a good default restaurant. Drive back late Saturday.

Sunday (the big day) - Attend church in the morning. Enjoy some great football games in the afternoon. The Packers play the Chiefs at noon. The Patriots and Colts play in the late game. I am thinking Christa and I will grab dinner out after that. Then, it's off to E-Board and duty. I look forward to a duty night of giving out candy for my birthday. Should be fun!

Mission Accomplished

Many things were accomplished this weekend. I managed to complete 6 of 8 documents for the psychological assessment. I have made a pretty good dent in the other two, but they will take some time. I am hoping to complete them by the end of next weekend so that I can schedule an appointment for the assessment before the end of the year.

I managed to clean the apartment and do a good deal of filing. I need to make sure that it stays clean throughout the week for the party. Christa and I can do a pretty good job of messing up the apartment throughout the week.

I also managed to earn my one promotion in Halo and 3 and getting pretty close to another one. You can read about this in the new application I added to my blog. I am hoping to get in some Halo 3 time on Tuesday. Most of tonight will be spent watching the Packer's Monday Night Football game.

I also purchased Guitar Hero 3 for the XBox 360. Very fun...I am starting on easy and working my way up. It should be a fund addition to the upcoming birthday celebration!

Everybody's Working for the Weekend

This coming weekend I will be the Residence Hall Directory on duty for the weekend. So, I can't leave the city of Oshkosh. Usually, these are productive weekends because I am around so much. This weekend will be no exception.

On the To-Do list for the weekend:

• Finishing the various checklists, inventories and assessments for the ministry psychological assessment.
• Working on the ministry candidacy guidebook.
• Play some serious Halo 3 (yeah, it's on the to-do list)
• Do a serious cleaning job on the apartment in preparation for the birthday party.

That should be enough. It will be busy, but fun!

The Power of Packer Games

I am a fan of the Green Bay Packers. I enjoy watching their football games. Unlike the Brewers and Bucks, I am not a fair-weather fan. I have watched the Packers both when they have been good and when they've been terrible.

As a member of our church choir, we have sometimes done a special Christmas Cantata concert in December. When we schedule this concert, we were very conscious about making sure that it was not scheduled during a Packer game. One time, they scheduled it during a game and their attendance was way down.

Not necessarily being in a position before where I needed to schedule events, I now think about Packer games when I schedule anything. In fact, The minute the Packer schedule comes out, I add it to my Palm so that I don't schedule anything over it.

What are your thoughts? Should you schedule (or re-schedule) an event because it would conflict with a Packer game?

31st Birthday Party

The publicity is officially making its way out. The 2nd Annual Birthday Celebration is on! I will be celebrating my 30th+1 birthday in the Webster Lobby & RHD Apartment. It will be taking place from 6:00-11:00 PM on November 2, 2007.

Here is the Facebook invitation if you use it:
http://uwosh.facebook.com/event.php?eid=6885468627

Please let me know if you want to come to the celebration.

Stay Tuned

Sorry folks...it has been awhile since I have posted and I am afraid it may be a few days before I post work has kept me rather busy, plus obligations outside of work have also kept me busy. Once I catch up on work and sleep, the posts should become a little more regular.

Hmm...

So, the "Goat Pack" claim that the upcoming "Running of the Goats" (read Bar Crawl) can promote responsible drinking in a relaxed, fun environment. Check out the lead story. Safe drinking...right.

Uncertainty

Among the many great tings that come with being an RHD, I have always appreciated the fact that I have some real job security. I feel like I do the RHD job pretty well, so I don't fear losing my job anytime soon. In my first few years as an RHD, it felt good to be settled into a job and not think about moving somewhere in a year or two.

I now find myself in the same situation I was in my last year on both graduate school and undergraduate. There is some uncertainty about where I am going to be next year. I may be back in the same position I have now. I may be in another residence hall. I may be a pastor at a church either part time or full time. I may do none of the above and do something else until I get a better sense of what the future holds.

Unlike the other two times, I don't look to the future with a great deal of fear. Something will work out and I will find gainful employment. If anything, I am excited to discover where I will end up. My gut tells me that I need a change in my career path, but I don't know for sure when that will be happening.

If you want the latest information, this is where you are going to get it.

Accomplishments

I am preparing paperwork for the Psychological Assessment (and, wow, there is a lot of paperwork) and one of the exercises that I need to complete involves recalling 25 accomplishments in my life. Of those, I need to describe in detail 5 of those accomplishments.

Interestingly enough, I was having a little trouble coming up with them. I'm not exactly sure where that comes from. I could have high standards for accomplishments. I could be really humble. I could have a bad memory. I may not really think about them that much. It's probably some combination of them all, but with emphasis on the last one. It's not something I think about that much...except maybe for when I prepare a resume.

After some time and thought, I came up with the list. My greatest accomplishment was getting married. There was definitely a process involved with that and it ran the gamut of emotions. As hard as it was, my time As Staff/Parish Relations Chair was probably one of the toughest, but was also very rewarding. The funniest was seeing Star Wars Episode I at 12:01 AM...it's first possible showing. I saw the most anticipated film of my lifetime.

I took the top five and will now write about them in detail for the assessment folks. This process is really reflective...it brings back memories of graduate school.

Weekend Recharge/RHD Ratings

On Friday early afternoon, I made my way home a for a few days away from Webster Hall and the Gruenhagen Conference Center. It was wonderful! It wasn't necessarily my most active 48 hours. I mostly sat in the basement and played Oblivion. I haven't touched the game in awhile, so it was nice to revisit the game and try some new quests I hadn't done before. Otherwise, I had the opportunity to catch up with my parents and recharge I slept plenty and was able to relax.

On Sunday I was able to watch a Packers victory, clean the apartment and catch up on filing in the apartment. I felt much more prepared to begin the week.

...I would point out that I didn't exactly get off to a good start when my alarm went off at 6:30 this morning, but the volume was turned off. Someone else who lives in my apartment said he or she may have been the one who turned it off. Hmmm.

* * * * * * * * *
As I was checking out my fantasy scores (1st place, baby!) and other NFL scores and updates, I also happened to check the coach ratings and ranking. This made me wonder. Wouldn't it be cool if they did the same thing for A/RHDs?

Each week, a cross-section of residents would be interviewed and would rate A/RHDs in different areas. The approval ratings would then be posted in the building for all to see. Big week of conduct in the building...ouch! Jim takes a big hit in the polls. Jim wears a dress for Homecoming? Big jump in the polls.

Ok...maybe I only think of these things.

Thursday is the New Friday

I am taking tomorrow off as a vacation day. I am looking forward to sleeping in and spending a new days in Mequon. It will give me an opportunity to try out NBA Live 2008 as well as continue work on my ministry candidacy process. I have quite a few forms to fill out before I can move on and schedule my psychological assessment.

A New Beginning

Tonight was the first night that I got to hang out with my new match for Big Brothers Big Sisters. His name is Isaac and he is in the 7th grade. We weren't exactly sure what we were going to do tonight and he mentioned going to the YMCA. We eventually made our way to the Y and we were shooting hoops.

While shooting hoops, we were approached by some other kids in the gym and they wanted to know if we were interested in playing basketball with them. We ended up playing a 4 on 4 game full court. I would say the oldest kis was maybe 15-16 and most were much younger.

This presented an interesting moral dilemma for me. I was taller than most of the kids, but not all of them. I was easily not as skilled as many of the kids. But...I was stronger than all of them. I had to be careful not to bowl a kid over. So, it was fun and good exercise.

Isaac seems like a good kid. He has lots of interests and he is talkative. It should be fun.

Halo 3 Report

As I reported in a comment to my Friday post, I managed to complete the Halo 3 game on the "normal" level. There is still the "heroic" and "legendary" level to go if I'd like to. I managed to get 450 achievement points throughout the weekend as I finished the campaign mode and ventures into the realm of on-line play.

The story mode was quite compelling, but also pretty short, as many have explained in their reviews of the game. It was challenging, but I was actually able to complete it. I can't imagine completing the game on the higher two levels.

On-line play was humbling. I would need to invest some serious playing time to be serviceable in this area. I am amazed as to how rude people can be in their comments in on-line play. I suppose when you don't have to look someone in the eye, you can feel more comfortable saying things that aren't so nice.

I don't think I'll end up buying this game any time soon. I may pick it up in a few months when some used copies come available or if the price goes down. We'll see.

Other News

• My parents came up for Homecoming on Saturday. We watched the first half of what ended up being a UWO Titan victory.
• I will be going old school this week and replaying some old games to mop up old achievements. Game #1 is Oblivion. :)

Halo 3

This weekend I will finally have the chance to play one of the most anticipated games ever, Halo 3. As you can see, the game has already gotten a lot of reviews, and mixed reviews at that. Our school paper even threw in its own review.

As part of the Healthy Titans program, I am working with a student physical training. He let me borrow his copy of the game. I am not a big fan of first-person shooter games, but I want to give it a whirl. So many of my friends are playing it...I'd like to be a part of the action.

I'll let you know my thoughts on Monday.

Choir Renaissance

First United Methodist Church Oshkosh recently hired a new Choir Director has now held two weeks of rehearsals. We will be performing in church this coming Sunday. We will be seven strong and we will sing the best we can. I am sure that the congregation will be very excited to have a choir back in the service.

I was really sad when I looked around the church and saw who was singing. Many faces were not among those practicing. We lost may of our best voices as our church struggled with issues between our current pastor and our director of music. As a result of her leaving the church and her position, we lost almost every section leader or strong voice. As a result, our choir is small and not too confident...but we are filled with a lot of spirit.

I am happy that the choir is singing again and that we have a young and energetic choir director. She is in the same position that I was in her age. I think we will be able to accomplish some great things...we will just need to be strong recruiters.

I am saddened at how people view membership of the church and the role they play in the church. In Christianity, there is only on church, the church of Christ. We may all belong to our own churches, but they are just buildings. All Christians are part of one church no matter what their denomination. I wish people could get over their own petty squabbles and look beyond themselves. What can we do to further the church? How can I be a better Christian?

Let's get over the "I'm taking my toys and leaving" mentality. *sigh*

AFLAC Humor

I really don't have anything profound to say today. I thought I would share a couple of funny commercial links. Anyone who watches sports of Fox Sports Network (FSN) knows that they have the AFLAC trivia question. AFLAC is an insurance company that has some funny commercials involving a white duck.

This first one highlights a goat representing another insurance copy.

http://youtube.com/watch?v=gtBirwSpLJY

This one involves the AFLAC duck as well as Yogi Berra.

http://youtube.com/watch?v=O-EZf56AfYc

The commercials have become a little stale as of late, but these two will always be funny to me.

Bulletin Board Renaissance

When I was a Community Advisor back in 1999, I used to hate making bulletin boards. In the Scotts, I only had to do one bulletin board, but even that was torturous for me. I haven't had to make a bulletin board since :).

To be a good team player this year for hall government, I decided that I would enter the rotation of bulletin boards that the hall leaders put together in Webster Hall.

To the left here, you will see my contribution. It is a bulletin board that allows the residents of 3rd floor to learn more about their hall director. If you click on the picture and zoom in, you should be able to read the text and see the pictures.

This was actually a lot of fun to do and given all the stuff going on right now, it was actually quite therapeutic. I am actually looking forward to making another bulletin board.

Packer Poll Results

Well, the people have spoken:

• One person said the Packers would have 4-6 wins.
• Four people said the Packers would have 7-9 wins.
• Four people said the Packers would have 10-12 wins.

Based on the current state of the 2007-2008 Green Bay Packers (4-0), it is entirely possible for them to finish out very well. Before the season started, I assumed that the Packers would be either 0-4 or 1-3. I am glad to wrong and should probably continue to think that they will lose...it seems to work in their favor.

Congratulations to Brett Favre, who broke the record for most career TDs. It's excellent, but you have to wonder how long it will last with Tom Brady and Peyton Manning putting up some amazing numbers.

Go Packers, you're all we have until the Bucks start playing...who knows what they'll do.

6,000 & the Weekend

I will attempt to remain more subdued with this milestone. In a 105-2 victory for the Indianapolis Colts over the Buffalo Bills, I earned 60 achievement points and raised my score over 6,000. Between Madden 2008 and Two Worlds, I was really able to move things up.

The last few weeks have been very stressful and I have appreciated some time on the 360 to release a little stress.

This weekend I will be heading to Camp Onaway for a leadership retreat. This may or may not be my last trip to the camp. These trips are always meaningful and refreshing for me. While it should be a great experience, it does take up a significant portion of the weekend and with Homecoming starting on that Sunday, it will be a crazy week!

Happy Friday to all!

Two Worlds Domination

After three pretty intense periods of playing the game Two Worlds, I have solved the main quest line. Sadly, unlike Oblivion, once you complete the main quest line, the game ends. Luckily, I saved right before this point so that I could gain the achievement and then go back and continue exploring the game world. The achievement point value for completing the main quest line is 370 points. Talk about a great one shot achievement. All told, I ended up polishing off 495 achievment points in the game last night. My overall points for the game are 910 out of 1000. The last three achievements involve finding locations and I assume will take much time.

My feelings about this game are mixed. I hated it at first, but have grown to like it more. It doesn't have the replay value of Oblivion, so I need to decide if I want to get the last 90 points or sell the game back to put toward another. We'll see.

My gamerscore is now at 5,975. So close to 6,000. Perhaps some time with Marvel Ultimate Alliance will put me over. That's enough gamer talk for now. We'll catch you later.

P.S. Congrats to Halo 3 fames. Your game has arrived. Many of my XBox friends were playing. So far, reviews have been good!

Compute Your AD&D Stats

I was checking out Facebook this morning and I noticed that there was a quiz that after you take it will compute your six basic stats for an AD&D character. The link is here.

Here are my statistics:
Strength: 9
Intelligence: 15
Wisdom: 14
Dexterity: 13
Constitution: 13
Charisma: 12

From the AD&D perspective 9-12 is the average area with scores below and above showing something remarkable in either direction. As you can see, I turned out pretty good :).

Now I Know How CAs Feel

As I mentioned in a previous blog entry, this weekend was OshCon. I had an event scheduled for 6:00 PM this past Saturday. I spent about four hours putting together eight characters for the adventure and took about two hours to put the adventure together. I got to the River Center and checked in. The guys at the check-in booth made mention of the fact that there were a couple folks that were inquiring about my adventure. Sweet!

I got there about thirty minutes early to unpack and get things ready. It got to be around five minutes before 6:00 and there wasn't anyone there. I held out hope, but alas no one showed up to my event. All the hours of preparation, for nothing.

As my CA in the FVTC program said, this happens to hall staff all the time. He's right. I suppose the experience was helpful in that sense. Oh well...perhaps next year will be better?

Other Weekend News

• The Badgers barely, barely won. They are 4-0 but continue to hang out at No. 9 in the polls.
• The Packers won a game that I thought they were going to lose. In fact, I thought they were going to get blown out. Wow. Maybe this team is for real. They play the Vikings in Minnesota which is always dicey for the Packers. If they can pull that off, this team really is for real.
• The Brewers...well, it was fund while it lasted. Oh well.
  

National Talk Like a Pirate Day

My friend Dario reminded me last night that September 19th is National Talk Like a Pirate Day! Of all people, I suppose I am the one that should be remembering this.

* ahem *

Ye scurvy dogs need be celebrating with rum (only if 21) or your finest ale (also only if 21). Avast, have a fun day and shiver me timbers!

The Small Things

So, I went to Blackhawk Commons this morning to get my breakfast to bring back to the office. My to-go container in hand I made it over to the fruit section. They had bananas!!! They haven't bananas available since I started in Blackhawk in July. I have to say I was pretty excited. It's funny when you get really excited about something that most other people would view as pretty minor. It made me think of other small things that make my day:

• Walking into a store and finding out out they provide Ford gumballs in their machines.
• Finding out it's Brat or Taco Day in Blackhawk.
• When they don't ration the nuggets.
• When the episode of Futurama or Family Guy on Adult Swim is one that I have seen in awhile.
• When Gladiator happens to be showing on TV.
• When you magically find money in your pockets that you forget from before.
• When I get an achievement on the Xbox 360 that I didn't know existed or that I wasn't even working for.
  

What are some of the small things that make you smile?

Busy Weekend #1: Fall Fest/Oshcon

It was nice to have my parents visit this weekend. We went out to Red Robin for burgers. I had a bacon cheeseburger...so good. I also took my parents to the Oshkosh Public Museum. They were impressed with the exhibits, but more so by a well-kept old house that housed the exhibits. After this weekend, my weekends are filled for the next month or so.

This weekend is both Fall Fest and Oshcon. For Fall Fest, I will be volunteering at the 2nd annual Dragon Boat races. In the evening, I will be running a 1st Edition AD&D adventure on Saturday night at OshCon. If you want to know a little bit about what I am basing the adventure on, check here.

So, I'll be busy and I'll be spending much free time this week getting the adventure ready. Wow...that was a lot of hyperlinks.

The Intrigue

It amazes me sometimes how a computer-generated game can create so much drama for one person. I am talking about the Madden 2008 Superstar mode that I created with Packer RB Brandon Jackson.

In his second season (2008-2009) , Jackson was compiling a pretty good individual season. Since I couldn't control pay calling, I got pretty frustrated with the insistence on passing the ball as well as not including Jackson all that much in the offense. With four games to go, the Packers were 5-7. That seventh loss came in a game where Jackson ran for four rushing touchdowns, but the team came up short because our kicker missed the extra point at the end of the game. Seriously.

Needless to say, the Packers compile four straight victories and make it into the playoffs as a five seed. After the heartbreaking 28-27 loss I figured the playoffs were not even going to happen. We win easily in the wild card round and match up against the Seattle Seahawks in the divisional game. We escape with a 9-6 final score. I was thankful we won that game. We go up against the Giants in the NFC Championship and make out in an offensive game with touchdowns everywhere.

In the season where we assume Favre will retire, the Packers make it to the Superbowl. Favre was selected to his second straight Superbowl and had his second straight season with a 100+ passer rating. Favre decided to lay a huge egg for the Superbowl. He throws four interceptions and the Packer lose 31-3. Jackson doesn't accomplish much because Favre made sure to keep the offense off the field.

Jackson asked for trade in the offseason and is now with the Cowboys. Statistically he is already close to making the Hall of Fame. He will try to make it the Superbowl with the Dallas Cowboys. They are already 4-0.

All this from a video game...amazing.

* * * * * * * * * * * * *

Other News: The Packers win today! At least this time they played a good game to get the win. The offense showed life and the defense remained strong overall.

The People Have Spoken

The final votes were tallied and The Empire Strikes Back is officially the best Star Wars film made. Keep in mind, this comes from a survey of 13 people (11 for empire). But, they are smart people ;).

Wisconsin Sports

Now is not a bad time to be a Wisconsin sports fan. There is reason to be optimistic and reason to be hopeful. Let's think about this...

Brewers - The Brewers are in the middle of a heated race for the National League Central Division crown. They aren't getting in as the wild card, so they have to win. As of today, they are only 0.5 games out of first place. They can do it, but they need to win a lot of games. Here's to hoping.

Packers - The Packers got lucky last Sunday. They easily could have lost. They have no running game and Favre is not the QB that he once was. The defense is great, but that won't carry them through the season. They have the potential to go between 7-9 and 9-7. They won't be a laughing stock this season. Perhaps they can surprise some people.

Badgers - They are 2-0 although they are barely eeked out a victory against UNLV. With Michigan being 0-2 the Badgers have a chance to make their mark this year. Technically Michigan could still win Big Ten, but they don't look good. if the Badgers can beat Ohio State and win their other games (definitely possible) they could go to the BCS. That would be sweet.

Bucks - This one is going to be interesting. There is a lot of talent on this team. With the additions of Desmond Mason and Yi Jianlian, the Bucks only have so many minutes to dole out to a lot of players. If this team can stay healthy, they can definitely be a playoff team. But, they need to be healthy.

The next few months will provide some real sports excitement. I may blog about it as it becomes important. Go Wisconsin sports!

Superstar

After a two year sabbatical from the Madden franchise, I decided to give Madden 2008 a try. More than anything, I needed to get over the threat of losing. Over the years (and after many broken controllers) I have succumb to the fact that you can't win every game of Madden that you play. As such, I have mostly enjoyed playing Madden and have tried out a new mode: Superstar.

In this mode, you play the role of one player on an NFL team. You can only control that player and you simulate the plays that don't involve your particular player. You have to choose a rookie or create a rookie, so I went with rookie Packers running back Brandon Jackson. He is listed as the starter and I have worked my way through one season and am 9 games through the second season.

As my wife could attest to, this can be extremely frustrating. As the running back, I can't call audibles or modify blocking/passing route schemes. Thus, I can tell that a play is going to fail, but there is nothing I can do about it. If players miss their blocks, I pay the price. I could be wide open and the QB throws an interception which is run in for a touchdown. I can't control the defense at all, so we may put up 21 points, but the defense gives up 40. Christa asks why I play if it is going to be so frustrating. I suppose that's a good question.

If anything, here are some lessons I have learned:

• You can't control everything. Sometimes you need to do the best you can with what you control and hope for the best. Translation: Be the best RB you can be.
  
• Just because something doesn't go well part of the time, it doesn't mean that the rest of of it will be bad to. Translation: Being down 21-0 doesn't mean give up. It means try to fight back!
• You don't always win, no matter how hard you might try.
• Always support the team, despite your own frustrations. Having a bad attitude only makes it worse for everyone else.
  

The Packers are 4-5 in Jackson's second year and I don't have high hopes regarding their playoff chances. Jackson is having a Pro Bowl year and could easily be the MVP of the team. Despite my frustrations, they emphasize the lessons above.

Dungeons & Dragons - A Sequel?

If anyone has had the misfortune of watching the first Dungeons and Dragons movie realizes that it would just be better to forget about sequel. I can remember visiting a booth at the Gen Con Convention with a exhibitor who, while promoting the movie, said that if the movie made at least $5 million they would create a sequel. After fives years, they mad a sequel...direct to video.

That's the first sign that this movie would probably not be too good. Based on the feedback of a few fellow D&D players, however, I heard that the sequel was better. So, against my better judgment, I watched Dungeons and Dragons: Wrath of the Dragon God.

Wow...

...it was a little better, but not by much.

Where do I begin? The acting was bad. The dialogue was bad...although there were a few good lines. The special effects were pitiful and obvious. The plot was predictable, really predictable. The music was mundane and didn't add much. Plus, it dragged...a lot.

On the plus side? Well, they did make more direct reference to the D&D game which was cool. They incorporated character classes, magic items, mythology and geographic locations. That gave it a +1 in comparison to the original movie. And...that's about it.

If you play D&D and you want a laugh, watch this movie. If you don't play D&D, avoid this movie. Although, I would assume you wouldn't watch this movie anyway ;).

3:10 to Yuma

Christa and I had the opportunity to see this movie this past Saturday afternoon. I had seen a few previews for the movie on TV, but I honestly didn't know much about it. Now is the time when the summer of "blockbusters" begins to die down and the hype about movies decreases.

Having not seen a movie in awhile, we decided to check it out. It has been some time since I have seen a good western. I want to take the opportunity now to say that if the previews shown before this movie are any indication, it is going to be a lean next couple of months in the movies.

Christa and I both enjoyed 3:10 to Yuma. It was a well-written, involved movie that mostly kept my attention throughout its full two hours. The movie was based on a short story...Shawshank Redemption, anyone?

If I had to point out the things that I didn't like about it:

• The movie did feel stretched out a little bit. If they had the opportunity to re-edit the movie, I think there are some scenes that could be taken out to move the movie along a little bit.
• The music was at times distracting. It wasn't a bad score, but I don't think it has the ability to stand on its own like great movie scores do.

Much of this was overshadowed by strong acting performances from Bale and Crowe. They were brilliant. Some components of the ending were not surprising, but other parts were quite surprising. The dialogue was well-written and the script was strong. I would definitely recommend this movie to folks.

Ministry Candidate Update

I just wanted to keep everyone posted on my pursuit of candidacy for the Methodist ministry. I managed to take a few steps forward. I have received my candidacy guidebook and will begin meetings with my candidacy mentor. We will likely be meeting regularly over the fall semester. When that is completed, I can move on toward finalizing my candidacy.

As part of the process up until now, I needed to take an on-line inventory that rated my interests in lots of different areas, ministry and otherwise. I will eventually get to see the results and I am curious as to what the inventory says about me.

I also had to complete a 4-page personal background that needed to be completed by my first meeting with my mentor. They don't mess around with this sheet. They ask about religious experiences, work experiences, educational experiences, criminal background, rationale for exploring ministry, spouse's thoughts, and many other things. I got me thinking about things, both good and bad, that I have not thought about in many years.

I am excited for my first candidacy mentor meeting...which is tomorrow!

Moving On

I have wavered in my exercise routine. The throws of Residence Life training forced me to utilize the 6:00-7:00 AM hour for the purposes of getting work done given the two hall environment. As such, I have started up again this week.

I have started with walking again and will build myself up to running again. I try to do a nice loop around the campus. On my trip back, I happen to go by Breese Hall. This is a tough part of the walk for me. It's strange to think of a building where you lived and worked for four years and know that someone else with a different staff is in charge of it.

Don't get me wrong. I know the Christin and the 07-08 Breese staff are capable of great things and will do good work...I just need to get over the fact that I'm not there anymore. One accumulates a lot of memories and friends and you have to adjust to a new environment.

I have already appreciated the connections I have made in Webster and FVTC and look forward to building a new relationship.

5000!

After a rousing game of Madden that unlocked 8 achievements, my gamerscore is now over 5,000. Woot! I technically came in before school started with the 5,000...thus keeping my promise to Mark.

Wow, I am such a nerd.

Move-In Part II

The whirlwind Sunday of first-year student move-in is over. Now comes the more subdued returner move-in day. I can already tell that today will be a slower day, with folks trickling in as the day goes on. I am pretty much exhausted from a day that began at 7:00 AM and went until 12:30 AM.

I was on duty last night and that wasn't so bad. People seemed to be relatively quiet, but I realize that folks probably got louder after I went to bed.

I am really looking forward to the next few days when I get into a little bit more of a routine and I can relax from the craziness of move-in.

Opening Day!

As I mentioned yesterday, we have completed training for the Residence Life Staff and hall leaders. If that's done...it means it's time for the first-year students to move in!

At 9:00 AM we opened the doors to Webster Hall and the students are now moving in. It's interesting to participate in the 5th move-in as an RHD. I don't really get nervous anymore because I can anticipate the vast majority of problems that will occur.

Sadly, it can be difficult to maintain the same level of enthusiasm that I have had in previous move-ins. Luckily the hall leaders and staff can help in that department.

Other News

• I submitted a review on Amazon.com about Two Worlds. I felt the need to defend the game from all the ridicule that it is receiving.
• I should hopefully have a Superstar season set up for Madden this evening...hopefully with Brady Quinn.
  

Training Is Over!

I'm back. After over four weeks of training, my life returns to...err, normal. There is a lot that I could talk about that has taken place over the last few weeks. Allow me to provide a few highlights and I will be sure to add more detail in subsequent posts.

• Ministry Candidacy Process - Since I last posted, I have completed quite a few steps in the process. Recently, I was mailed my candidacy guidebook ($75...woot) and will be meeting with mu candidacy mentor to being working through the guidebook. From what she said, it is still very possible for me to be ready for assignment this coming summer.
• Two Worlds - I have been pretty pumped about the game Two Worlds for quite a few months now. I finally got the game last week and have played it for about 10 hours. At first I thought it sucked (most people do). The more I play, however, the more I am beginning to like the game. I will talk more about this in a future post.
• Madden 2008 - I also purchased Madden 2008. The last Madden game I played was in 2006 so I have a lot of catching up to do. So far, I like it!

That's the big news. Please stand by for more regular updates. :)

No Cavities!

At 7:30 AM yesterday morning I went to the dentist. All is well with my teeth.

Running...Again

I ran this morning! It's been a long time since I ran. With NACURH, the wedding/honeymoon and work this summer, I let myself go in that area.

I ran 2.68 miles this morning and plan to run Monday-Friday with some alternative exercising on Saturdays.

Week two of four for training starts today.

Bonus Softball

I got called up to help out with a softball team that is composed of many of my teammates from last year. It is a co-ed team that had many folks with Breese roots. It is always a good time to have the chance to play with them. Unfortunately, we lost the game 19-6

The good news is that I probably had my most productive batting night. I went 1-3 with one walk and a triple. I had one run and two RBI.

The bad news was that we played a poor team game. People were cutting to front of each other to catch balls, people were not positioning themselves properly for different batters and sometimes simply looked indifferent. Sadly, I could not overlook this and it ruined what otherwise would have been a good experience.

Regardless of the outcome, it was nice to hook up with old friends.

Yeah, I said that my blogs would be more sporadic...so much for that. Christa turned 24 today...huzzah! She should be getting her new cell phone soon!!

The Bourne Ultimatum

I had the opportunity to see The Bourne Ultimatum with my dad this past Saturday. It was a very enjoyable movie! My dad also really liked the movie as well. Here's what stands out the most from the movie:

• It's under two hours, which is great! Movies have this tendency to run long and drag.
• The action in this movie is almost non-stop. The pacing is very quick.
• The continuity of actors was nice.
• There were some great lines as well.
• It was very entertaining. It was the summer-type movie that Transformers failed to provide.
  

My only major gripe with the movie is the shaky camera. It is really difficult to see anything at times and it can make your eyes hurt. This was a problem in previous movies as well.

You should definitely see the movie. Seeing The Bourne Identity or The Bourne Supremacy would help in your viewing of this movie, but are definitely not absolutely needed.

Softball News

Last night's softball game resulted in another loss, 11-5. We have really struggled to put hits together and generate runs. Personally, I didn't have a bad game, but I did better when I didn't swing. I went 0-1 but had two walks. I am actually quite proud of this because I have a tendency to swing at everything. I am beginning to develop a sense of patience at the plate. To round off the evening I also had a nice grab from the one batter who was left handed ;).

Training Update
Please know that with RHD training going on, I won't be available as much so posts may be more sporadic.

Quote

I have only the first few pages of a book entitled Blue Like Jazz and already I am intrigued. In the author's note he writes:

"I never liked jazz music because jazz music doesn't resolve. But I was outside the Bagdad Theater in Portland one night when I saw a man playing the saxophone. I stood there for fifteen minutes, and he never opened his eyes.
After that I Liked jazz music.
Sometimes you have to watch somebody love something before you can love it yourself. It is as if they are showing you the way.
I used to not like God because God didn't resolve. But was before any of this happened."

Other Book News
For those that might be curious, I am actually on book 11 of 12 in the Left Behind series. Sadly, much of the energy that I sensed in the first six or seven books has went away. The plot seems more choppy and drawn out in these books. I am currently reading Armageddon so things should definitely be exciting. I'll keep you posted. My stack of reading gets larger!

Brewer News
The Brewers managed to snag a victory (4-2) in a 13-inning marathon where the Brewers left the bases loaded twice and got no runs to show for it. But, a win is a win. With the Cubs surging, they really need to string some wins together.

What's Worse Than a Loss?

How about two losses? Last night I played in my first ever softball double header with games at 8:30 and 9:30. It made for long night regardless, but it became even longer when we lost both games (15-13 & 15-3).

The first game was a back breaker. We were down by quite a bit early as our defense was pretty sad to start the game. In the later innings, we chipped away at the lead and managed to tie the game going into the ninth inning. Unfortunately, a botched catch of a fly ball added two runs that we were not able to make up. My performance in the game was not awful, but my batting definitely did not live up to previous weeks. When I did manage to get on base, the next few people got out and I wasn't able to contribute.

The second game showed out fatigue. The mercy rule was invoked after five innings. I actually managed to contribute one of the three RBIs we had in the game. Yay...

Next week is our last game and we will end the season below .500. However, as the season went on, I have come to enjoy playing on this team more and more. I am thinking that I will probably join the team next summer if they will allow me.

Honeymoon Highlights (Part I)

I realize that I was supposed to update folks on the wedding weekend and I have slowly but surely been catching up. Today we were finally able to get the honeymoon pictures uploaded from the digital camera.

Monday, June 18, 2007
Our honeymoon began on a Monday with Jocelyn Crist dropping us off at the airport for an 7:30 flight. The weather that day did not look too good. Needless to say, it delayed our flight out of Appleton enough that we would not be in time for our Milwaukee connection to Las Vegas. As we were checked in, it was discovered that while we reserved tickets to Las Vegas we never actually bought them. It was a great start. Luckily the flight out of Milwaukee was also delayed by weather...significantly...so that by the time we made it to Las Vegas it was 4:00 AM Central Time.

Tuesday, June 19, 2007
Much of this day was spent walking the strip. Christa and I are not big gamblers so we stuck mostly to the slot machines. In the first casino we stopped at (the MGM Grand) I ended up winning $50.00. You can see me enjoying the spoils.The sun was on full blast on this day so we only lasted for so long, but we did get some nice casino pictures. Christa got an excellent picture of the Bellagio below:

Christa did an excellent job of taking all sorts of good pictures. Here is a picture of some of the casinos from the vantage point of the walkway to the Bellagio.

By the early evening we were both pretty spent. We retired to our hotel to rest from a busy day. A few observations about Las Vegas:

• It's a nice place to visit, but the city isn't really our style.
• It is sickening to me how many cards are given out for prostitutes.
• The food is amazing in Las Vegas. We had brunch at the MGM Grand and dinner at the Tropicana. The all you can eat buffets are the best.
• Black Jack can be a quick game.
  

Geekiness Lives!

It is official. I am running a gaming event for the Oshcon 2007 Convention:

Event name: The Chosen of Pholtus
Event time: 6:00 PM
Length of event: 4 hours
Game rules: AD&D, 1st Edition
Manufacturer: TSR
Difficulty: Beginner (will teach rules)
Number of players: Up to 8 players
Description: The Order of the Holy Light has done enough! It is time for a new group of heroes to shine in the World of Greyhawk. Be part of the chosen party of Pholtus as they spread the blinding light across the Flanaess.
Gamemaster: Jim Droste

It gives me something to look forward to in the gaming department depending on how the fall semesters AD&D campaign goes.

New Car!

On Tuesday, Christa and I bought a new car. We bought a 2007 Hyundai Elantra. We picked up the car on Thursday and have really enjoyed it. This is a photo from the manufacturer website. I am having trouble getting the actual picture of our car to transfer to my computer. Update...new picture available!

The funny thing about this car is that it is the exact same car that we had when we were on our honeymoon. Driving back from Las Vegas, we put over 2,600 miles on the car, so we had a pretty good sense of how the vehicle was. We loved driving it and thought that if we did get a car in the near future, we would like it to be this one.

Among its many features is the XM Satellite Radio that came installed with the car. It is free for the first three months. We are contemplating if we want to keep the service, but it is only $12 a month.

Compared to the troubled Honda Civic that we had before, this car is a dream. No strange noises when I back up. No strange noises when I have the windows open. All the speakers work. No rust, no broken rear bumper. Having a new car is nice.

A Few Wedding Photos (and other stuff)...

A have not posted in a few days and I wanted to catch you up on some recent events. I figured that as I went through that stuff, I could post a few wedding pictures. There will definitely be more, but this should keep the masses satisfied :).

New Purchase
The biggest news is that Christa and I bought a new car! We purchased a regatta blue 2007 Hyundai Elantra. It was the exact car that Christa and I took on our honeymoon as we road tripped back from Vegas. Although a major purchase for us, we are excited. It is a vast improvement over the 1995 Honda Civic which after 13 years of faithful service has been retired. I can now back up without the car sounding like it was going to fall apart.

Softball Updates
After a one month hiatus, the Strikeforce United co-ed team stepped back onto the field to play some softball yesterday. The team had quite a few no shows, so I was recruited to help the team out. I played catcher (which I've never done before) and I can say that I was not too much of a help in that department. Based on the line-up, I had only one at-bat. I managed to knock in a run and was also able to score. I accounted for 2 of our 3 runs. We ended up losing 15-3. Ouch! The weather was not conducive to softball as it was pouring rain and the team we played was really good.

This past Monday the Strikeforce United men's team play and logged another victory with a score of 21-14. We posted 10 runs in the first inning and held on for the victory. We almost blew in the 7th inning, but managed to end the game. I continued to have a hot bat drawing walk and getting some solid hits.

One of my old residents, Tex Nelson, is planning on having a fall softball league that I am hoping to join. Hopefully I can keep this good softball energy going.

Ministry Retreat
As I mentioned last week I was at a retreat for people that inquiring about the Methodist ministry process. Initially going to the conference, I had my doubts about how useful the session would be. Much of what I heard at the conference was repeat information, but there were some useful tidbits that I learned as well:

• It will cost me $450 to complete a psychological analysis regarding my abilities as a potential minister. That's a chuck of change I didn't realize I'd need to spend.
• There is an option to become a licensed local pastor which would cost less in terms of schooling and would allow me to have say in where I am placed as a minister.
  
• There are a lot of opportunities to cut the costs of seminary, a venture that will cost $15,000-$20,000 a year.

Overall, it was nice to meet ten other folks who are in a similar situation as me, discerning their call. What was neat was that these folks varied in age from 18 to 64.

After the retreat, I am ready to continue in the candidacy process. I have plenty of time. It will take at least a year to become a certified ministry candidate.

That's all for now. I hope to be more regular in my posting.

Wedding Photos

Christa and I have had quite a a few requests for wedding photos to be posted. I wanted to let everyone know that last weekend we received a CD of all of the wedding pictures that were taken at the ceremony and at the reception. I am hoping to put a few choice photos up on the blog very soon. Otherwise, you can definitely expect a variety of albums on Facebook in either my or Christa's account.

Stay tuned!

Softball Update

It's hard to get too excited about my performance in Monday night's game because we lost. We simply could got get our bats going consistently and there was a cheap call that cost us some possible runs. At one point, we had the bases loaded and our best batter was at the plate. He was ahead in the count 2-0 (3 balls is a walk) and the next pitch was obviously going to be a ball. The man on first base began moving toward second a few seconds before the ball hit the ground. He was called out and the inning was over...

...who makes that call? I didn't even know that this rule existed. Why would you do it? it was obvious our batter wasn't going to swing. It was obvious that out runner wouldn't go far with someone on second. Why would you destroy a team's best chance at a rally? Grr...

I went 3-3 that night and every hit I had was a great connection. I even had a double and scored a run. It was a good night overshadowed by a cruddy call.

Ministry Retreat

This coming weekend I will be attending a Ministry Retreat sponsored by the Methodist Board of Ordained Ministry. It runs from Friday evening until Sunday at noon. The retreat will cover many of the same things that I covered at the Exploration 2006 conference, but this will be in Wisconsin with other Wisconsin folks interested in the ministry. The event takes place at a Methodist Retreat Site.

After completing the retreat, I can be assigned a candidacy mentor and I can continue along the ministry process. I will have more information about the event upon my return

Thought

Do you think the Coca Cola company will ever make a Mello Yello Zero? If they do, I will be pretty excited.

Shadowrun

In addition to renting Bobby, I also rented Shadowrun for the XBox 360. When Nick brought his XBox 360 over for the bachelor party, I had the opportunity to watch him play the demo for the game. From what I saw, it looked pretty cool. Before jumping in and buying the game, I took the opportunity to rent the title. I have played through the six training sessions and have played a few multi-player games with computer bots. So far, I would submit the following thoughts:

Pros

• While not role-playing, it has enough elements to be passable.
• I appreciate the magic/tech enhancements and how they make combat fun. Nothing like having a machine gun, but also having the ability to fly and pass through walls. You don't usually expect that.
• Races allow you to pursue RPG-like classes. Elves make good healers, Trolls good fighters, Dwarves actually have some thief-like abilities.
• Matches consist of a series of games, so one match can take some time. You earn money for doing good stuff and you can buy enhancements. It's a unique system.

Cons

• As many folks have commented, there is no campaign mode. Given the deep RPG background of the Shadowrun game, it would seem to cater itself to a campaign mode.
• For $60 new, you don't get a whole lot of variety. Nine boards, 4 races, eight weapons and various enhancements. I can see this game getting old after awhile and it doesn't seem to warrant the price tag.
• Switching between magic and tech enhancements can be confusing and time consuming. You also only have 10 seconds between rounds to buy enhancements. I wish you could modify this.

Overall, this is a game that I might buy when it comes down from its initial price tag. I can see paying $30 for a used copy, but not $60 for a new copy.

"Bobby"

A few nights ago,we were at Family Video and Christa expressed interest in renting the movie Bobby. I had seen previews of the movie, and had some interest to see it but never got around to it. Overall, it was a pretty good film. I definitely did not get a sense of the scope and power that other reviewers described.

For me, I appreciated the Crash-like affect of how different characters at this hotel interacted on the night the Bobby Kennedy was shot. I was entertained, not moved. Nothing felt eopic, but you were pulled into everyone's life, wondering what would happen to them.

There was a lot of star power in this movie, almost too much. Within the first five minutes of the movie you are just inundated with top movie stars. It felt forced, but they did a good job of giving everyone an opportunity to shine, similar to the Ocean's caper movies.

My biggest complaint would probably be the soundtrack. It didn't add anything to the movie and if anything, it was actually distracting.

If Emilio Estevez was going for a documentary-like epic, he definitely missed. If he wanted to entertain an audience for two hours, than he succeeded. I think he was going for the former, so for many this will fall flat. I liked it.

No So Much Nerves...

As I reflect on the wedding experience, I can think of a variety of entries that I could write about. I thought I might start with the morning before the wedding. Leading up to that day, I had no idea what to expect. I wasn't sure if I would be nervous. I didn't know how I would sleep.

I slept fine. In fact, I got up at around 8:30 AM and decided right away after getting up to put up the balloons that we promised that would lead people to Linwood Avenue and thus the church. While doing that I got a call from Christa...there were concerns about the bridesmaids knowing where to go in the church for getting ready. While at the church I saw my Dad and I suggested that we get breakfast.

After having breakfast with my parents, I sat on the couch in my apartment and I watched The Godfather: Part II. Probably not typical pre-wedding fair, but it was actually relaxing. I then got dressed and headed over to the church about 75 minutes before the ceremony. Despite it getting closer to the service, I did not get nervous. Instead of showing nervousness and I showed other emotions...we'll talk about that tomorrow.

A Win Makes Everything Better

Despite some shaky offense late in the and some shaky fielding throughout the game, Strikeforce United came out on the winning side in last night's game. The final score was 20-19 if memory serves.

In the first inning we scored seven runs and the next inning we scored five, so I thought the game was going to be a walk in the park. When the runs started to dry up and they started getting runs, it got scary. But, we prevailed and now have a record of 3-4.

After a sub-par hitting performance last week, I managed to go 3-5 with a double thrown in there as well. I had one RBI and two runs scored. Taking my usual position of right field, I did not let anything get by me.

The clubhouse felt looser and people seemed in better spirits. I suppose that comes with winning. I am slowly getting to know the team better and it is easier for me to play when I feel like I am part of the team. If we can keep this energy going for the rest of the season, this will continue to be fun.

AOL Screenname Change

Many of you probably already know this, but for those of you who do not I am now the Residence Hall Director for Webster Hall and the Fox Valley Technical College student floors in the Gruenhagen Conference Center. As such, my contact information has changed.

My office number is now: (920) 424-1820.
My AOL Screenname is now: WebsterFVTCRHD.

I am now on a 12-month contract so I will be working throughout the summer. Feel free to drop me a line. I would love to find out how you are doing!

The Bachelor Party (and Pre-Party)

The wedding celebration actually began the Monday before the wedding. My friend Dario arranged for a variety of field trips before the more formal wedding stuff began. Allow me to give a brief description of each of these excursions.

Sprecher Brewery Tour
On Monday afternoon, Dario, Tom Dittl and I traveled to Milwaukee for a tour of the Sprecher Brewery. Known especially for their great root beer, we got to see how they make both beer and root beer and also had the opportunity to try some beverages at the end. In fact, we got coupons for 3 free samples of beer as well as unlimited samples of sodas. All that for 3 bucks! If you'd like more information, check HERE.

Miller Park Tour
The next day, Dario and I took a tour of Miller Park. I have been to Miller Park many times, but did not get to see it like I did on this tour. We got to walk around the press room, Bob Uecker's braodcast room, the visitor's clubhouse and locker room as well as the Brewer's bullpen. Dario got some wonderful pictures. You can check them out HERE.

High School Reunion
After the tour, Dario and I stopped by our old high school, Homestead in Mequon, WI. I haven't stepped foot in the place for about 10 years, for Dario it's closer to 12. Things have changed...a lot. Some things looked familiar, but for the most part, the place got a major face lift. Larger hallways, new tile and paint, new wings, new gyms, new pool, new music facilities, new lunch room.

After checking in with the school secretaries, we got permission to wander the grounds. We found a few teachers to talk to. I found two of my old chemistry teachers, my old choir teacher and my old math teacher.

New softball Update

In lieu of keeping weekly statistics for the softball game, I figure I can just give a overview of the evening's activities. Sadly, we lost last night's game, but it was a great game. Our game went 10 innings and finished with a score of 27-20. Sadly, I had an opportunity with two outs and two on the ninth to win the game and I popped out. The next inning we gave up a bunch of runs and we were not able to get them back.

I sat out the first few innings as the DH, but came in to play right field for the majority of the game. I had a nice grab to keep the 8th inning scoreless and that was about it in the field. You don't do too much in right field :).

I went 1 for 5 for the evening and my one hit came from an error. Otherwise, I hit a few weak grounders and almost legged out a few singles. It had been three weeks since I last played a game, so I think I needed a week to get back into the swing of things. Hopefully things get better.

Settling In...

Before you say anything, I realize it has been a really long time since I have posted anything in this blog. The blog is certainly not dead, but I have definitely been a little busy. It was quite a month of June.

The month began with the NACURH 2007 conference here in Oshkosh, WI. Two weeks later, I got married. Then, Christa and I went on our honeymoon. Then we got back and we had to move to our new apartment in Webster Hall.

There are volumes to talk about for each of those items, and I will get to it all. Please stick with me.

Another Remote Post

Today I am posting from the NACURH 2007 Conference Registration Center, located in the Fox River Room of the River Center. We are expecting around 2,000 participants in the conference. It should be a spirited weekend.

I am a co-advisor for the Programming Committee. It has been a slightly chaotic day dealing with the canceling of session and the switching of sessions. Sadly, many of the changes have resulted from oversights on our end. That's not good.

My stress level is quite high as I assume that I will not have all that much free time until this conference ends on Sunday evening.

New Phone

As part of the "Renew Every Two" program with Verizon Wireless, I was eligible for a new phone. So, Christa and I went to the store in Appleton to get a new phone.

In speaking with the sales person in the store, he said that this phone had most of the features my previous phone had because I did not need a lot of bells and whistles.

The key thing is that any phone that I get would: (1) actually keep a charge and (2) would be able to charge up without requiring a strange ritual of futzing with the cord.

So far I like it!

Post 400!: Sleep!

Last night, sleep was very difficult to come by. For the first time since high school I slept somewhere that had a dog (that I had to take care of). Needless to say, I slept awful. I usually never sleep well the first night I sleep somewhere different, but when you add a canine in the mix, it only got worse.

Buddy would bark at the occasional car, would come to check in on me and this would keep me up. Plus, any sound I heard Buddy making seemed strange and I was worried that he may be in trouble or that he was up to not good. My sleep came in 30 minutes chunks at best for most of the night. By around 4:00 AM, I was finally getting some regular sleep.

Other News
Preparations for the homily are going well...let's hope people learn something. I have been re-sucked into Oblivion. I have entered into the Dark Brotherhood and the Thieves Guild. That sounds so evil. I can counter it by saying that I have moved along in the main quest line as well. That fulfills the powers of good. :)

Broadcasting From a Remote Location

As I type these words, I am sitting at the computer at my pastor's home in Oshkosh, WI. He and his family have left for the weekend, and I am watching the house and taking care of buddy, their dog. In some ways, I am treating this weekend like a retreat. I have work to do and much of it will probably best be done in quiet and tranquility, which I will have for much of the weekend. The tasks that require my attention?

This Sunday's Homily
As will now be the tradition for three years, I have led the church service at First Oshkosh on Memorial Day weekend. Everyone else has plans, and I'm always around so I can usually step up. Of all the times I've done this, I feel the least nervous about this Sunday. I think the previous times I've tried too hard and this time I'm coming at the word of God from my level instead of pretending to be sophisticated and deep. I think it will be more meaningful for the congregation and more meaningful for me. We shall see.

The Continuing Ministry Process
For those that have read the blog for awhile, you know about my contemplation of the Methodist ministry. The next stage of the process involves a discussion with my pastor about a book entitled The Christian as Minister. Steve is having me write down some points from the book that cane spearhead a discussion. I hoping that I can hand this to him upon his return on Monday.

Wedding Tasks
As always, I will need to spend some time working on stuff related to the wedding. I have updated the guest list, have worked on getting the word out about the wedding to members of the church and have a few tasks to work on this weekend as well.

Video Games
I am also hoping to get some quality gaming in. I would say that gaming isn't quite the same when you don't have surround sound and you are playing on a 17" TV monitor. I will try to manage. ;)

Last Thought
Overall, I realize that I am trying a little too hard with this blog. It is interesting to see the cycles that have occurred. It took we many tries (and failed blogs) to finally post consistently. Once I had that down, I thought it would be good to post every day. Little did I realize that my life is not always exciting enough to post every day. So, I am hoping to find a happy medium as this point. I would like to post regularly, but it won't mean every day anymore. (Sorry to disappointment my loyal readers...all 10 of you. :) )

Closure

In a few minutes, I will heading over to our A/RHD staff meeting. In addition to our regular meeting, we will be doing a closure activity. We do these every year, so I'm ready for it. I'm not the hugest fan, but I understand why we do it. You want to bring some kind of, um...closure to the year. I suppose that's healthy.

This morning's closure activity will be more difficult to get into for me. Next weekend we have the NACURH conference (moderately stressful) and two weeks after that I have a wedding (majorly stressful). When combined, I am more stressed now than at any point in the year.

But, come June 18...all will be well. I will be a married man on my way to Vegas with the woman I love. Woot!

Weekend Update

I traveled home to Mequon to pick up Gizmo from from where he was being boarded. Christa and I were unable to pick up our wedding bands (not ready yet), but we were able to hang out at Mayfair Mall for a little while. In the afternoon and evening, I completed the storyline for Call of Duty. Now, I just need to gather up the courage to get my butt kicked in on-line play.

On Sunday I went to Veteran's-themed worship service at church in the morning. It was very good. In the afternoon, I worked on wedding and church stuff interspersed with games of Marvel: Ultimate Alliance and King Kong. I am a much bigger fan of the Marvel game. It has occupied much of my time recently. I ended up getting something like 400 achievement points this weekend.

A Day of Catch-Up

Last night was a great opportunity to catch up on things that had been loading up for awhile. I was able to reserve all of the hotels and the rental car for our Honeymoon. I was able to catch up on paying bills and doing filing. I was able to get some other work done for the wedding. I was even able to get some work done for the SPRC Committee.

With my second bedroom becoming the storage place for wedding gifts, it was taking up the space I use to work in there. So, I removed all of the gifts and put them in storage. That freed up the work area and I was able to do much more. I think I now almost completely caught up.

Other News
I would also point out that Christa played brilliantly in her softball game last night. She had three hits, a walk and three RBIs (read: she's better than me :) ). It was nice to sit back and watch a softball game, although I was asked to score the game which takes away from the viewing potential...so many things to pay attention to.

Christa and I will also be going to the Winnebago County Courthouse to get our marriage certificates today. Just another step that shows how deep I'm in...I don't think I can back out of this now ;).

NACURH is quickly approaching...June 1st! Things are beginning to get a bit more stressful, especially trying to juggle NACURH duties with wedding preparations.