Weekend Wrap-Up

Despite its craziness at times, this past weekend was very nice. I had the opportunity to push up my Gamer Score on the XBox 360 significantly while some very "interesting" people while playing UNO on-line.

I dealt with two pretty intense incidents from the duty weekend. As a result, my sleep schedule got thrown off completely. When you're used to going to bed at 11:00 PM the thought of going to bed at 3:00 and 2:00 are markedly different. I am hoping to get back on track in the next few days.

Over the weekend, the NACURH programming committee slotted over 300 programs for the conference. One major step down, a few to go until the big conference.

This week continues the craziness of the past and things don't lighten up until May 11. Woot!

Weekend Duty: Day #1

Well, let's just say that the evening had a little adventure than I anticipated. Hopefully Saturday night is a little more relaxed.

Friday evening represented a large step forward in the XBox 330 department. A few improvements:

• I posted by gamer score on my blog now. Now you can track my geekiness.
• I rented Viva Pinata for the weekend. I have tried it here and there. It is OK.
• I purchased Galaga, Bejeweled 2 & Uno on the XBoix Marketplace.
• I achieved all 200 achievement points for Galaga in 30 minutes.
• I have become a big fan on playing Uno on-line. You meet some crazy people at night, but I have also met some really fun people to play with.
• I got Christa onto XBox Live.
• My gamer score is up to 1,500.

Yes...I am a dork.

Guess Who's on Duty?

This is a warning to all who dwell in Breese Hall this weekend. Jim Droste is on duty!

It will be nice to be around the building and be a presence this weekend and it will also allow me to get a lot of work done this weekend...and I have a lot of work to do.

Daddy'll Sing Bass, Mamma'll Sing Tenor

I received a phone call from a member of our church saying that the church choir was being called back together to sing each Sunday until the end of May. When out music director left, I assumed the choir would be done for the remainder of the year. It was wonderful that he stepped in and brought the choir back.

I was curious to see who would show up given the hard feelings that some had over the leaving of our music director. Some of the regulars were not there...but, there were some folks who have not been to choir that are now back. I can not say for sure why.

When I arrived, there was only one tenor. Although trained as a baritone in college and a bass in high school, I bit the bullet and sang tenor as well. Yikes! Singing tenor when you sing bass can definitely be a strain on the vocal chords. However, it was interesting to see music from another perspective. The tenors often fill in harmonies in chords and have a smoother line than bass parts.

When you get used to something, it can be hard to change. I think this tenor experience will be good for me.

Reading Update

A few months ago, I mentioned that I began reading the Left Behind series. I had no idea that the series had been out for so long. It shows you how out of the Christian loop I have been for awhile. Needless to say, I finished the fifth book in series on Sunday night. I have seven of them to go. It is a very compelling series and I am interested to see how it keeps going. I will talk more about these books when I have read them all...that may take a little while.

Since I did not get a chance to get to our church to get the sixth book, I began reading Bill O'Reilly's Culture Warrior. A few years ago I read Who's Looking Out For You? and I found the book very interesting. What I appreciate about O'Reilly is that he does not make issues a matter of liberal vs. conservative or Republican vs. Democrat. In his latest book, O'Reilly looks at secular humanism vs. traditionalists. From what I've read so far, he is worried that secular humanism will ruin the fabric of our nation.

I would definitely agree with him on that point. We'll see how much I agree with in the meat of his book. When I'm done with him, I'll be moving back sixth book in the story of those left behind: Assassins.

Running Away

As I was playing Oblivion last night, I came upon an interesting realization. As with any game, the more you play it the more you realize the subtle nuances and the easier it is to be more efficient in your playing. That has been the case. I have discovered that sometimes the best strategy for survival in this game is to run away.

Now, the game won't necessarily let you run away from creatures...they will keep going after you. What I mean is that instead of going in with guns blazing, you go in with a hit and back off plan. This allows you to re-group and plan your next strategy. On a gaming level, I can cast spells on a creature and stay out of attacking range or I can heal my character to get ready for the next round.

This seems to go against our common perceptions of facing life. Instead of always needing to go in right away and get it done right away, there is something to be said for taking things ins chunks or taking care of what is reasonable and knowing that the rest of it can get done later. Sometimes it is OK to run away :).

I realize my posts of been erratic lately. I am trying to make a commitment to post more often. I also want my posts to be more meaningful. Some of them have really stunk lately.

The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion

Mark, my 1st floor CA, told me about a game that I would really like...it's called The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion. It is a role-playing game, and unique to many of the RPGs I have played before. I resisted for as long as possible, but I picked up the game a couple weeks ago and I have already put about 20 hours into the game thus far. Here is what I really like about the game:

• Experience - In most RPGs, you gain experience based on the creatures that you kill. in Oblivion, your character has seven major skills (blade, light armor, spells, etc). When you use these skills, they improve. When you improve 10 levels in these skills, you go up a level. It is a new and refreshing way to level.
• Versatility - This game is wide open in terms of the path you choose. You can pick from a large variety of quests and do them in any order you want. If you are stuck on one quest line, you can move to another and then you will unlock more quests. It is impossible to get bored...there is always something new. I have around 10 open quests at the moment.
• Alignment - Along with quest versatility, there is also character versatility. If you want to be "evil", you can. You can steal, kill innocents, be part of the dark brotherhood and run around with a bounty on your head. You can be nice and do all things lawful. Everything has a rating.

I would recommend checking this game out for your XBox 360. It is pretty sweet and quite addicting. I am resisting the urge to play right now.

Weekend?

Let's break down the weekend and see where any free time might creep in:

• Friday afternoon I am helping in the selection of NACURH 2007 programming.
• Friday evening I am joining some residents of Breese Hall to celebrate Michael Huck's 19th birthday at Texas Roundhouse.
• Saturday morning we may be finishing NACURH 2007 programming.
• Saturday afternoon Christa and I will be at our wedding shower at Jacque's condo.
• Saturday night is Relay for Life.
• Sunday morning is church.
• Sunday afternoon is gaming.
• Sunday evening is the staff recognition party & NACURH.

Yeehah for free time... :)

I Sewed a Button

In an unfortunate buttoning incident yesterday, the button to my pants came off. Luckily, I was able to switch pants before going to my next meeting, but that did not stop the long-term problem of having to replace the button.

Jacque led a session, as part of a A/RHD Staff Development, that taught us how to sew on a button.

After getting frustrated playing XBox 360 and having a little time on my hands last night, I sewed the button back on my pants. How cool is that?

Gaming for Charity?

Mark and I went to the Credit Union today to count up the money that we raised for the "Gaming For a Cause" program held in Breese Hall over the course of the weekend. Can you believe over $50 was raised? Who knew that playing video games could so greatly benefit the community :). My hats of to Mark, the residents of 1st floor and other members of the Breese Hall community past and present that made it possible.

With that money alone, Breese has reached its $1,000 fundraising goal. And, we have a lot of money unaccounted for that will cause us to crush that goal. Most exciting!

Take a Deep Breath

Writing this blog post while I am working the desk gives me an opportunity to step away from the craziness of the next few weeks and lets me relax if but for just a few minutes. I encourage you to do the same...take a break, and relax. Enjoy the warmer weather!

The Next Step

For what it's worth, I finished 321st out of field of 952.

I have decided to take the next step and register for the Fox Cities Marathon! I will have plenty of time to train as the race is not until September 23, 2007.

In the mean time, I am hoping to do a few smaller races to fill in the gap until the big event. As I mentioned in an earlier post, the races give me something to train for and they keep my motivation up.

I managed to eek out a 3-mile run this morning. My muscles were not excited about it, but it at some point I need to get back into the swing of things.

Stay tuned for pictures...they should be coming soon.

Results

I finished! I checked the website yesterday afternoon and the final time was:

1 hour, 49 minutes, 13 seconds

My goal was to run the race in under two hours, so I feel good about my pacing and my effort in the 13.1 mile event.

The secret for me was to start slow in the beginning to get warmed and as the race went on I was able to increase my pace and pick people off as I made my way through the field. I could tell that my mile splits were getting faster and faster as I went along.

It was great to have Christa and my Dad there for the race. I saw them at the 5-mile mark and at the end of the race. I saw various folks that I knew during the race including Petra, who was around mile 4.

Now I need to look for the next race in which to participate. They are great motivators!

A Return to Geekiness

Today has been a busy and stressful week. I have had many meetings and much work to do. I have a few things to finish up today and then I can have a relatively relaxing weekend. There is some business to take care of tomorrow. I have 13.1 miles to run on Saturday morning. Woot!

But, after that...I can truly return to geekiness. I will be participating in a Breese Hall 24-hour video gaming marathon that ends Sunday at 9:00 AM. I am not sure how long I'll be able to go, but I'll do my best. Our AD&D group will also be meeting again this Sunday. After one month off, we return!

Catching Up

The final month of the college academic year are quite hectic. You are wrapping up one year and beginning to think about the following year. If you throw in an upcoming wedding a NACURH conference in June, things can get really hectic. So, the entries in here may be more sporadic and may not be as exciting as usual. I shall do my best.

Christa and I got our first wedding gifts in the mail. I didn't realize we would be getting them this early. When you do your registration on-line, it will actually show you what gifts have been taken off the registry. I suppose it can make gifts less exciting, but it is also fun to know what will be coming in the near future.

I rented Lego Star Wars II for X Box 360 over the weekend. It was pretty good. I am glad that I didn't buy the game now; it is definitely a game that I will pick up when it goes down in value. What I really enjoyed were the cut scenes. They adapted scenes from the movie and made them humorous.

I recently purchased The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion. I haven't played it for too long, but from what I've seen it's incredible.

I Suppose This Means I Have to Do It...

The Oshkosh Half Marathon is this Saturday and thankfully the weather is beginning to improve for the weekend. I am not that excited about running in 20/30 degree wind chills. I combined the Half Marathon and Relay For Life hoping that folks might want to make me run 13 miles for the sake of charity. Some members of the church have sponsored me and have made their donation contingent on my completion of the half marathon. That gives me the motivation I need to finish the race!

Regardless, my donation page is HERE if you would like to make any donations for Relay for Life.

Happy Easter everyone!

Big Brother For Gaming

Wanna know what your fellow XBox 360 players are doing? Check this out. You can see what game they are playing, what their status is and you can know all about their achievements and accomplishments. Very interesting...nothing is safe.

The parents are coming to Easter service tomorrow. Very cool!

New Look

As today is Good Friday, the beard officially gets shaved off. Every year I grow a beard beginning with the first measurable snow fall of the year and ending with Good Friday.

I must say it is a weird feeling to not have facial hair. I got quite used to it. However, I know my mom will be cheering when she reads this :)!

Safe travels to everyone going home for the Easter!

Fun Quote

Dr. Egon Spengler: Well, let's say this Twinkie represents the normal amount of psychokinetic energy in the New York area. Based on this morning's reading, it would be a Twinkie thirty-five feet long, weighing approximately six hundred pounds.

Winston Zeddemore: That's a big Twinkie!

Nothing great to report today, so here's a fun quote. What's it from :)?

Snow? Seriously...at least the constrcution is done.

I woke up at 7:00 AM for my morning run and it was 28 degrees outside with a 15 degree wind chill factor. How quickly I forget the Wisconsin winter and the fact that it never really ends until late May. It was snowing when let my apartment to head over to the office for work.

If you may remember they were doing some light construction work behind Breese Hall. They finished up today. At least we have a gravel path to get into the building...no more mud pits!

A Small Donation

Ever wonder what $50.00 in pennies looks like? You do now.

I think 1st floor won the penny way for Relay for Life. Muahahaha!

Wish #1...

In the field of student affairs, during ice breakers & team builders we often get asked some strange questions. One question that always stumps me is, "If you had three wishes, what would you wish for?"

I am never good with answering this question. I can not usually come up with anything so brilliant that I would want to use a wish on it. Today, I came up with one. I would wish that swearing was not allowed in casual conversation. I find it so frustrating to walk down the street and hear:

• "Really? That un-f^&*ing believable."
• "Yeah, that exam was a bunch of s^&*."
• "What the f%^& is up with that?"

What a waste of the English language. Can't we come up with something better? Can't we set a better example for our peers? Say, "NO" to swearing.

Or...I could be like Solomon and ask God for wisdom. That might not be a bad option either.