The Week Thus Far...

It's been a few days since I posted and I'd like to let you know what has happened over the last few days.

Sunday
Christa and I traveled to New London and I did two worship services for the Methodist Church there. The services went very well! Christa and I also very much liked the church as well. The folks there were very friendly and it had a welcoming atmosphere. We enjoyed talking to folks during the fellowship hours and even participated in their bible study between services. I am hopeful that if the pastor there needs to take vacation in the future, they would be willing to have me back. We would love to return. We would consider returning, if but just to attend a service there.

Monday
I made the journey to New Brighton for my psychological assessment. It was pretty uneventful and I had a chance to visit the Mall of America again. I think I have been to that mall six times now. This was the first time I came there at night. It feels much smaller and more enclosed at night. I was able to watch the State of the Union address while at the hotel.

Tuesday
I took my assessment in the morning. The interview lasted three hours and 20 minutes. I came away from the meeting a little shaken up, because in three hours I really came to face some of my inadequacies and weaknesses. I am still trying to put it in prospective, but it was helpful. The drive back was horrendous and took an extra hour. There were several stretches on the highway that were nearly blackout conditions. I was thankful to make it home safely.

Now it's back to work and working out.

A Day of Preparation

Tomorrow, Christa and I will be traveling to New London tomorrow. I will leading the church services at 8:00 & 10:15 at the Methodist Church there. My candidacy mentor will be on vacation and gave me the opportunity to lead worship tomorrow. I am excited for the opportunity and am interested to see what it will be like to lead worship at someplace other than my home church.

So far, I have had a nice relaxing Saturday to finish up my notes in preparation for the service. I had the chance to do my Bible reading for the day as well as prepare some more paperwork for my April meeting with District Committee. I have had the chance to work off and on with my message for tomorrow. It will be interesting to see if the congregation has any reaction to my words.

New Fitness Membership

I have really pleased with the weight training workout that my trainer and I came up with in the fall semester. Unfortunately, the hours in Albee were quite limited so that when breaks came around, I was not able to workout except in very limited times.

Between that and the shifting of equipment in Albee Hall, I decided I need to go some place that has a little more consistency. I decided to buy a membership to the Student Recreation and Wellness Center.

To the right, you can see a picture of me trying out the equipment back in August when Residence Life staff were given a tour of the facilities. I fell in love with the place pretty quickly. The facilities are great as are the hours. Hopefully this allows me to keep up with my routine.

Wow...

In preparation for my psychological assessment that will be happening next Tuesday, I had to take two assessments through a proctor. One of them was the Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory. It is 587 questions. Yep...it's a LOOOONG assessment. It consists entirely of true of false questions.

I had heard stories about this one. One person who took it awhile ago said one of the statements was, "I enjoy looking at my own feces." Going into it, I wasn't sure what to expect. Some favorites include:

• I have an obsession with fire. (True...I do. I hope they don't think I'm crazy)
• If I could sneak into a movie and I know I wouldn't get caught, I would do it. (False...that would be a red light).
• There are voices in my head that tell me what to do.
• There are people who are out to get me.
• I enjoy gardening.
• If I were to be a journalist, I would like to write sports stories.

Just imagine another 500 or so of those. Fun times.

The Ride Comes to an End

It's been said all along that the Packers were doing way better than anyone expected. It doesn't make their 23-20 loss to the Giants any easier to take, but it does make me realize that we got a lot more out of this season than I ever would have thought.

What makes this loss most difficult is that there were visible problems in the game that could have been corrected. The screen was not working...stop running it. Don't abandon the running game...if Grant isn't doing well, put someone else in the game. Al Harris is getting beat every down, give me some help. Double Plaxico, go into zone. Do something!

Favre did look off on Sunday. His passes were not on target and he did fall into his old habit of forcing throws. It wasn't until the end that this practice cost us the game.

The game was a toll on my emotions. I went through intense periods of happiness and sadness. The Giants gave us opportunities to stick around, but the Packers fell short. I'm not sure if I'll watch the Superbowl this year. It will be hear. Many folks, myself included, thought this would be an easy win for the Packers.

NFC Championship...Are You Kidding?

Early in the year, I had a survey on my blog that asked how games the Packers would win this year. Some people were optimistic, but most answer were in the 7-9 win range. Not too many people envisioned the Packers winning 13 games and being one game away from the Super Bowl. The Packers should be able to handle the Giants easily, but this game scares me.

Pros

• The Giants have a lot of injuries, especially in the secondary. If we line up with some 4 or 5 WR sets, I think we can create major match-up issues.
• Ryan Grant can't do worse than two fumbles in three carries. If the weather is bad, we should have a solid running game.
• Favre is remaining patient and is not forcing anything.
• The Packer run defense has picked up.

Cons

• The Packer D-line needs to get pressure on Manning. They have struggled in pressuring the QB as of late. Manning with time to throw could be dangerous.
• The Giants are peaking at the right time and they are just a scary team. Despite being underhanded, they do what it takes to win.

This is not en exhaustive list...feel free to add your thoughts. I think the Packers can pull this one out. But, it will be closer than people think.

Packers 31
Giants 21

9,000

Not much new to share today. I finished Star Wars: The Complete Saga tonight and got my gamer score up to 9,000. Not too far from 10,000 :). I may be borrowing Call of Duty 4 for a little while. I am excited to give that game a try...especially in High Definition.

A Wonderful Opportunity

My candidacy mentor has offered me the opportunity to preach for her the last weekend in January. Her church is in New London. This will be my first preaching opportunity away from FUMC Oshkosh. I think it will be easier to preach there because if I somehow "bomb" there, we'll never see each other again. ;)

Thunderstorms...in January?

I was working in the office this afternoon, when the AM radio station I was listening to went to the emergency broadcast message when the host was in mid-sentence. Some Milwaukee-area listeners were under a tornado warning. In January! Earlier in the day, we were subjected to a few rumbles of thunder as well as a little lightning. And get got a huge downpour for awhile.

I do appreciate the warmer weather, wearing a fleece jacket on the way to work is nice. What I don't appreciate is the muddy wasteland that has been created all around campus. It looks just awful. Hopefully, residents don't track it into the building. ;)

Daily Thought: In the Bible, Genesis 1:28 God says that we should rule over the animals of the earth. Yet, we are also to be stewards of the Earth. What does that mean to us?

The Kids Are Back

Webster Hall opens again and the residents return for fall interim. The hall looks a little different for this opening, as all of the hallways received a fresh coat of paint; it has really brightened things up. We also ordered a pizza oven and it is now available for use in the main lobby. Kristin Pare, our new desk PA, begins her work today as well. As much as I enjoyed the peace and quiet of break, it is nice to have a little activity in Webster again.

First Post of 2008

It has been some time since I have posted to this blog. Christa and I have been pretty busy over the last few weeks, but things are starting to slow down. She will be beginning her interim class and I will be going back to work with residents in the building. Since I last posted, I can let you know a few important updates:

• Christa enjoyed a three-tier Christmas. We had breakfast here in Oshkosh and opened the gifts that we got each other. I cooked a breakfast of eggs, bacon, hash browns and homemade waffles. :) We then headed to my parent's house for gifts and lunch. We then headed to Christa's parent's house for more gifts and dinner. Lots of food...my goodness.
  
• I have scheduled my psychological assessment for my ministry candidacy. It will be on January 29, 2008. It will be a three-hour interview in the morning. As long I have to go to the Twin Cities for the assessment, Christa and I are going to spend a long weekend out there as well. Should be nice!
• Christa and I have upgraded our television and have purchased a 32 inch LCD television. Playing the XBox 360 on it is absolutely stunning.
  

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.