Weekend Preview

Christa and I were originally going to be part of the Engaged Encounter retreat sponsored by the United Methodist Church. Unfortunately, only two couple signed up for it so it got canceled. That freed up the weekend nicely. It also gives me an opportunity to get some things done this weekend.

• XBox 360 Playing Time - Who am I kidding? It's going to happen.
• Watch a Movie - Christa and I wanted to see "300". Now we will have the chance to see it.
• Clean My Apartment - I will be hosting three socials for prospective RHD candidates. If they get the job, they will be getting my apartment. I figured they should see it.
• Wedding Preparation -Christa and I have a few more invitations to get out and also have some other wedding planning stuff to do.

Should be fun. Give me a call this weekend. I'll be around.

Geek Information

I thought I might enlighten the less geeky on two interesting things that were brought to my attention in recent days:

Star Wars Stamps
You can have a say in the new Star Wars stamps coming out from the United States Postal Service. May be they think they can mask the price hike (to $0.41) by coming out with this nice, geeky collection. You can even have a vote in what stamps they uses. Start here!

"The Gamers"
My friend Nick brought this movie to our most recent AD&D session and since the session was canceled, we watched this movie. It was created and produced by the Dead Gentlemen. Regardless on your level of knowledge about role-playing games, you will find this movie very funny. It has the quality of a student film and brilliantly captures the culture and humor to be found in AD&D and similar games.

That's all for today folks.

The Bike Returns

Depending on where you are in the country (or the world), you may not necessarily know about the unseasonably warm weather we have been having in Oshkosh. Yesterday, it got up to 75 degrees. We broke a 40 year old regard for a high temperature.

Still not necessarily sure what I was going to do with my little brother on Monday night, he suggested that we go bike riding. He had a point; the weather was wonderful! So, I got the bike from out of storage. it only had a little dust and the tires needed a little bit of pumping up. It felt great to be outdoors and it also felt good to get back on the bike.

Hopefully the weather holds up. Running is a lot easier when the weather's warm.

Mmm...video games

For those of you that are curious, I am pretty much back to normal after the wisdom tooth work. I am eating as I did before and I was able to run and lift weights today. I am going back to the oral surgeon's office this afternoon for a follow-up. Let's hope everything is progressing as it should.

Many thanks for Mark Medinger and Nick Sayner for giving me some games to try out for the XBox 360. I rented Saint's Row as well to give that a whirl. It was OK, but I did get tired of the game after awhile.

I then rented The Godfather for the XBox 360. This game is pretty sweet. I plan on purchasing it after I turn in my rental copy. There is something about actually going through a plot line that runs along with the movie that is cool. You can rob banks, steal shipment trucks, take over warehouses, extort businesses, bribe cops (or kill them) and work your way up in the Corleone family. Good times.

I am finding some real utility to renting games first. You can get a real sense if the game is for you before you buy it. Like Nick, I am also considering a membership with Gamefly. It might prove a decent alternative to purchasing games. We'll see.

The Road to Recovery

I write to you today in a much better state than just a few days ago. I am eating solid food again and I do not feel the need to sleep and lay down all day :).

Luckily this wisdom tooth stuff only has to happen once.

I survived!

Well, the wisdom tooth surgery is done!. The picture you are seeing is about 30 minutes after I got back from the oral surgeon. Don't I look so happy?

I spent all of yesterday on the couch and overall the recovery is going well. The lowlight of the day was throwing up after trying to something. I think we tried to food up the food chain a little too fast yesterday.

I was fearful of how I'd be feeling this morning, but the swelling has not increased and I am feeling less pain today.

I will continue to keep you posted as we go. I am thinking I am going to get out there and take a walk this morning; they said no strenuous. It would be nice to get out of the apartment just for a little while.

Small Repairs

As I mentioned yesterday, it's spring break right now for the University of Wisconsin Oshkosh. As I was wrapping things up last week, I was informed by the residence life facilities office that some work was going to be done on the piping to Breese Hall. I found this curious because my staff and residents had pointed out that the basement had been humid and had smelled like steam.

As you can tell by the pictures, break periods provide an excellent opportunity to get some more major projects done around campus. Those of you who are residence hall students may not necessarily realize some of the larger projects that get done during breaks. They provide a great opportunity to catch up on projects, especially without anyone in the building...except for me.

They spent most of Monday digging out a large chunk of the ground near the high side entrance to Breese. They are examining the steam piping and it looks like it may need to be replaced. I am not sure. That makes things complicated because as part of the project will involve them shutting of the water on Wednesday. I won't have any access to water in my apartment. It should only be one day, but it is possible that it could be more. I am glad that I could get some pictures...it's quite a war zone.

Other News
For some reason my counter is off a day. I go in for my wisdom tooth work tomorrow. Fun.

Spring Break!

My spring break began on Saturday, but I haven't found time to write anything until today. On Saturday the wedding invitations were prepared and are now ready to be mailed out. That night, Nick and Shawnta invited us over to their apartment for dinner. The dinner had a "skewer" theme with main course being shish kabob and the dessert being fondue. We also had fruit skewers, shrimp skewers and sausage and cheese skewers. Yum! It was wonderful!!

Sunday and today, I have been slowly cleaning the apartment, but I have distracted by my newest purchase. I figure the XBox 360 will keep me busy while I am resting from having my wisdom teeth pulled.

UWO Relay for Life

I am participating in the University of Wisconsin Oshkosh Relay for Life. If you were interested in helping to sponsor me as part of the Breese Hall team, you can click and donate via the Internet. Thanks!

CLICK HERE!

The Semester Mid-Point Report

It is unbelievable to me that the spring semester is half over. As with every spring semester, it feels like it just started. This semester has been a great ride and much has been accomplished:

• I am feeling muscle gains in my abs, chest and arms. I am in the best shape I have been in many years. I am hoping these gains continue through the second seven weeks of the semester.
• I am excited to run a half marathon. I know I can do it! It will be nice to make it official. May there be a marathon in my future later in the summer? Perhaps...
  
• Wedding plans continue to move along. Invitations will be in the mail tomorrow. I suppose that means the wedding has to happen. I am getting more excited about the wedding and I have enjoyed helping out where I can.
• I think I am buying an X-Box 360. I know too many people that have them and the games just look so good. You may be hearing more about this soon.
• I filed my taxes yesterday. I should be getting a nice refund...which may pay for the X-Box 360!
• I will be continuing along in the ministry candidacy process as well.

Wow! Things are looking really good right now. A relaxing spring break will be wonderful.

To all of my Breese residents & staff. Have fun, but be safe!

Ten Miles...

The running craziness continues. To continue the build in the half marathon, I went out for a 10 mile run this morning. Thanks go to Eric Minix joining me on the first five mile loop. It was much appreciated. Although my body is sore, it is not as sore as it was last week for the nine mile run. We'll see if that holds up for the rest of the day. Less than a month until the half marathon.

I Look Forward...

...to a time in my membership at First United Methodist Church in Oshkosh where members of the church will give the staff an opportunity to do their job. I look forward to a time in my membership when drama will not the focus of my spiritual energy. I look forward to a time when I will not be worried about who is calling at home or on my cell phone because it will be about church business. I look forward...

...to better news. I am signed up for the July ministry inquiry retreat for the Wisconsin conference. I am pumped!

Brief Thoughts

I have a few minutes before I move on to my next meeting...gotta love Tuesdays.

I did some interval training with Mike Chastain this morning. We ran eight sets of 400 meter strides with 200 meters rest. it was brutal, but it felt good! I am glad Mike was able to be up and keep me moving this morning.

The weightlifting continue to go well. All of my exercises have progressed in the weight i am lifting. My physical trainer is happy with the gains I am making and is pleased with the consistency that I have shown with the workouts.

I look forward to seeing the differences in my physical shape from January 1 for June 1. Should be good.

Weekend Potpourri

Today I thought I might highlight some of the interesting happenings from the weekend:

• I ate a 32 ounce porterhouse steak on Saturday. For you metric folks, that's two pounds of meat. Mmm...delicious.
• Christa and I are anticipating getting invitations out this coming weekend. We not have almost all of the materials that we need.
• We have another "situation" at the church. I never realized this committee chair position was going to have so many snags to it.
• The gaming session on Sunday went as well as could be expected. I was a little preoccupied with church-related business so I did not have as much time to prepare as I would like.
• I presented a program about music for residents in the hall. For those that showed up, it was a good time.
  

Happy Birthday Dinner

Christa and I will be heading out this afternoon to join my parents at The Porterhouse for dinner to celebrate my dad's birthday. It was actually on the 7th and they were going to go out last weekend, but that was the weekend of OPE. It will be nice to see my parents again, especially with Christa there.

After dinner, we will be heading to Sussex to hang out with Christa's parents before we begin the trek back to Oshkosh. We will be getting the rest of the addresses that we need for our wedding invitations. Plus we will both have the chance to catch up with our folks.

Before that, I continue to look at Community Advisor files, even on a Sunday. Such dedication. Then, it's time to finalize the AD&D adventure for tomorrow. I at least have some sense of priorities. ;)

All This Cooking...

Curses! I really should have taken a picture of last night. The Breese Hall Government E-Board decided that we should have a bratwurst and hot dog fund raiser. We held it last night with the hall government office serving as the ordering room and my apartment as the food preparation room. For the majority of the evening, I served as the grillmaster, grilling the brats and hot dogs and putting them in the over to keep warm.

My kitchen was truly hopping with cooked brats and hot dogs, a baker's rack of buns, condiments (ketchup, mustard & onions). This came only two days after I cooked dinner for my staff which also left the kitchen somewhat of a mess. I managed to stink up the hall smelling both like Parmesan cheese and now bratwurst.

I won't be cooking for a little while...the kitchen should begin to smell like normal...whatever that is.

Nine Miles!

This morning I ran for nine miles! The last time I even came close to that distance was two years ago during RHD training when Bronk and I were training for the "1/2 Marathon for Kittens". The first three miles were a little rough, but once I got into a groove it started to feel good. My muscles were sore, not so much from the running but from being in a standing position for almost 90 minutes.

I continue to look forward to the half marathon.

Bowling

Despite the inclement weather last night (more snow!) our staff ventured to Oshkosh Lanes to do some bowling. We had been planning for a few weeks, but some staff members had things that came up the last few weeks. So, yesterday was the day.

I actually had a good night bowling. I bowled a 137 my first game and a 156 my second game. I had a lot more focus that night than I have had in previous bowling opportunities. I don't bowl much anymore. I used to bowl a lot. That could attributed to the following factors:

• I used to go to a graduate school that had a national champ bowling team. This meant they had good facilities.
• Bowling in the Union only cost $1.50. Sometimes it was free if you knew the right people.
• I had more free time in graduate school.
• I had a really good friend who also liked to bowl.
• It was a good stress reliever.

In Oshkosh, bowling is expensive and the alleys smell like smoke. I don't have as much free time as I'd like. I will need to figure out how to feed this old habit.

Today, well this week...is a struggle

My supervisor gave us the day off on Monday, but I did not take this opportunity because I have too many other things going on in the next two weeks. I did decide to sleep in and try to catch up on some of the sleep that I lost over the weekend. I know that you can't make-up sleep, but I though I'd try.

I slept nine hours and felt a little better on Monday. I decided to skip running on Monday because there was no time for it and I still felt a little worn down from OPE. Sadly, Tuesday did not improve all that much. I am still tired but I am doing my best to get back into my regular
routine. I was able to run for a little while, but I still drained. I am thinking that by the end of the week, things will be close to "normal".

With all the other stuff going on in my life, I still feel behind and in some ways I am. This week will be a catch-up week so that I can be ready for CA/PA selection week. I am hoping that some free time in the office on Wednesday and Thursday will let me get back to where I'd like to be.

Sorry for today's entry not being all that exciting. It is what it is :).

OPE is Over!

Despite one of the worst storms I can remember in Oshkosh in recent memory, the Transportation Center kept to its task and shuttled people to and from Oshkosh hotels and the Gruenhagen Conference Center.

Saturday provided for some wonderful opportunities:

• I got to see Christa play with members of the jazz band. She even did some solos and she sounded really good. I have much respect for jazz solos, they can be very difficult and it puts a lot of pressure on you.
• My good friend (and wedding usher) Hal DeLaRosby came up from Platteville for the OPE social. He stayed over at my place and joined Christa and I for church on Sunday.

I am glad that OPE was over, and am also glad I was able to reconnect with many folks I have not seen in a long time.

Live Remote from GCC

I write this morning's post from the confines of Room 123 of the Gruenhagen Conference Center. We are deep into the Oshkosh Placement Exchange; we are also deep under snow :)! It appears the worst of the winter weather is over. After a lovely winter mix on Thursday, we transitioned to full out snow on Friday. The shuttle services faithfully kept its routes going despite the adverse weather.

I closed the Transportation Center yesterday at midnight and opened it at 7:00 AM this morning. Woot! I think I'll be fine for today, but when I have to open again on Sunday...that's going to sting a little bit.

My pet project during my eight hours of supervision yesterday involved drawing a dungeon for an upcoming Dungeons & Dragons adventure. Sure, I go some funny looks but it was worth it. I found the drawing to very therapeutic in what was at times a very stressful day. Hopefully the players appreciate it as well.

Unlike years before, I am actually able to get some "work" done. In addition to some gaming work, I was also able to work on some wedding planning as well.

Sub-190 Trend Weight

One of my initial goals this year was to finally get my "trend weight" under 190. I think I have mentioned this before, but my runner's log has a calculation where it takes your daily weights and creates an average so as to take into account fluctuations that may occur. This morning when I step on the scale and inputed 188.4 into program, my trend weight came up 189.9. That felt good! Now, on to the next goal, one that will probably be a little harder. I would next like to get down to a trend weight of 180.

Christa and others have commented about how it looks like I'm losing weight, but now I am beginning to see it. The "gut" that I have is still there, but it's much smaller. My muscles are beginning to become more defined and I have more energy than I have had before. I even managed to run, lift weights and eat a healthy breakfast during OPE. This is the first year I have done that.

I look forward to seeing the continued effects of exercise. I appreciate everyone's support in this endeavor.

Bad Weather...Please!

All week I heard about how bad the weather was going to be this week. I was a little worried with the Oshkosh Placement Exchange this weekend and was hoping things wouldn't be too bad. The weather report was saying that the big stuff was going to come Wednesday night with us starting the Transportation Center Thursday at noon.

Before I went to bed, I had my usual prayer. I was reminded of a scene from the movie Patton in which he asked a chaplain for a weather prayer. Patton wanted good weather to continue his invation. The chaplain created and prayed the following prayer:

"Almighty and most merciful Father, we humbly beseech Thee, of Thy great goodness, to restrain these immoderate rains with which we have had to contend. Grant us fair weather for Battle. Graciously hearken to us as soldiers who call upon Thee that, armed with Thy power, we may advance from victory to victory, and crush the oppression and wickedness of our enemies and establish Thy justice among men and nations."

Although we aren't planning on attacking anyone, we do have a mission to complete. I did not pray for good weather, I prayed for the safety of those involved with OPE. The weather is holding out and we were able to get the Transportation Center started without too many problems.