The games we play (and lose)

                Apparently I am luckier than I thought.  What brings this up?  I beat my wife at Catan again yesterday (sorry dear, but I have to share).  It wasn't the first time, in fact, my wife claims it has been ages since she won.  Looking at how we play, the strategies we use, and all the nuances that go into it, we can't find any fault in how she played.  In fact, we both agree that she couldn't have chosen a better lay out or done anything different.  This means that it has to be down to how the dice rolls come up.  In other words, I win because the dice roll in my favor more often.  I can't control it, yet here I am with my wife upset at me because she I beat her again.  Oh, and we can no longer play Catan one on one.
              This brings to mind a few other things.  You see, I grew up in a home that loved playing games.  One of my earliest memories of my mother was sitting with her playing a board game.  When I was able to add and multiply, my dad taught me cribbage (I lost for years before I finally beat him).  As I grew up the games left the random chance heavy realm and went towards strategy.  I still haven't beaten my dad at Monopoly. 
               This was highlighted when I went home for my grandmother's funeral.  For the first time in almost 10 years, all my siblings and I sat down with my dad and played hearts.  By the time my dad arrived, us kids had already played 2 warm up games to shake off any rust that may have accumulated and we thought we were ready to take on the old man.  We were wrong.  At the end of the game the it was obvious us kids were playing for second best.  The scores?  My younger brother lost with a score of 108, my older sister got 96, I got 89, and my younger sister got 78.  Dad?  He won with a score of 6.  No, I didn't mistype it.  That is supposed to be a single digit.  Dad didn't just win, he schooled us.  What made it worse was the fact that he said very little in regards to the game.  Most of what we talked about with him was just catching up chit chat.  He didn't talk about how badly he was beating us.  He didn't tell us we couldn't make him take anything.  He just quietly sat there and gave us kids every heart he could.  Yup, I am glad I don't play poker with my dad.
             How about you?  Is there a family game that your mom or dad have always won?  A game that is a must when you are together?  Or maybe there is another tradition that, while not an official competition, has been elevated to the level of professional sports (I have seen a father and son compete at camping, it wasn't pretty, the winner had to sleep on the side of a mountain for a week in subzero temps).  These competitions can be healthy if done right (the camping thing, maybe not so much).  They are opportunities to connect with family and regain the awe you once had of your parents or to show them just how much you've grown.  Engage with your parents in the old games you used to play and have a bit of conversation at the same time.
           Thanks for reading and, as always, have a great day.

People are not like cheese: We don't necessarily get better with age.

           After yesterday's rant, I feel the need to slow it down a bit.  I believe that the only thing that comes to mind to do today is to insert another of my answers for my sons.  Today, I think I will include the answer to the following question:

What is the worst part about getting older?

Simply put, the way the body starts to betray you.  First there is the pain.  It I’m not talking about pain from more frequent injuries.  No, I am talking about pain from the stuff you do every day.  You find that your body has decided that you no longer need full use of various parts and thus it should remind you of that by making them hurt at random.  It is true that as you age you tend to be able to do less and less.  Things that you could do easily yesterday (standing up quickly for instance) are harder to do today.  Your knees start to ache just from walking to the bathroom in the morning.  Your back hurts as you sit up to turn off that alarm.  Sometimes, just stretching can make you hurt.  And that’s not including hurting yourself by trying to do something you were able to do just a few years ago.  Take playing football for example.  I used to be able to throw the ball without pain (not very well, but at least it didn’t hurt), now, after two tosses, my shoulder hurts and I think hand offs are a better option.  Add to that that running for any distance is out of the question.  Knees, ankles, hips, and back all get in on that action.  Exercise for any extended period of time and your entire body reminds you that it is an unusual practice for days afterward.  I suppose if you exercise regularly and eat right the pain is less, but where is the fun in that. 

The secondly the body gives up on staying trim.  When I was younger I could eat anything I wanted all day and not gain a pound.  Then I hit 24 and my body decided I needed to start storing food for the winter.  Now I have to watch what I eat if I don’t want a waist size equivalent to my age.  Now I have a gut, a requirement to be under a certain weight, and a hankering for chocolate and fried foods (yes, a deep fried chocolate bar sounds great right about now).  The weirdest part of all this is that, when I was younger, I used to eat fairly healthy and moderately.  Now that I am older and have to watch what I eat, I mainly want to eat junk food and candy, and I want to do it all the time.  In other words, the body says, “if you eat this I’ll make you fat,” and then turns around and yells, “EAT IT, EAT IT ALL!!!” 

The final thing the body does to you is mess with your sleeping habits.  By this I mean it refuses to allow you to sleep properly.  You may be able to get up regularly at the same time every morning before your alarm clock goes off.  Then, the night the power goes out and your alarm clock fail to go off, your body decides you need to sleep for an extra four hours.  Never mind that on the weekend when you can sleep in your body wakes you up 5 minutes before your alarm normally goes off.  Then when you go to bed, you start reading and can’t seem to finish a sentence.  You turn of the light and stare at the ceiling for an hour until your body finally decides that you’re serious.  The body lies about how tired you are all the time too.  You could be falling asleep on the couch and unable to keep your eyes open, but the moment you lay down in bed, you are wide awake.  Then when you finally do fall asleep, you wake up 3 hours later for no reason, and then every hour on the hour you wake up again.  The next night, as soon as your head hits the pillow, you pass out and are barely able to wake up for your alarm clock. 

                Yup, the worst part about growing older is how your body begins to betray you.

                Thanks for reading and, as always, have a great day.

Short and full of complaints.

            It has been a heck of a week.  Since my last post, I have barely had time to check my email let alone write a coherent post.  Overall it has been an interesting week.  My oldest son had his first science fair.  I think he did all right.  I was unable to attend due to work, but I heard he did OK.  I am looking forward to talking to him about it, but I haven't been able to see him since it happened due to other events.
             That being said, I find that things are happening that are driving me nuts right now.  I have to work overtime this weekend which means that I will be unable to attend church yet again this weekend.  i should be able to go to the afternoon practice for the AWANA games, but I am unsure.  I work the graveyard shift so hopefully I can wake up enough to go to the practice.  I will have Monday off (mainly because I will be sleeping during the day) because of it, but that really isn't saying much.  I have to set up a doctors appointment for my shoulder.  I think I re injured it doing push ups.  Hopefully this time the doctor will be able to figure out what is wrong.
            I guess I have complained enough.  I really don't know where else to go with tonight's post so I think I will just end it.  Thanks for reading and, as always, have a great day.

Bonus post: Overtime and more.

           Bonus post!  Gotta love having to work overtime.  I understand the idea that as a member of the military I am to follow orders, but when you are directed to do something that ruins whatever plans you might have had while on shore duty, common sense would say some compensation is in order.  While it may be true that I don't typically average a 40 hour work week on shore duty, that doesn't change the fact that my weekend is essentially ruined.  Instead of enjoying time with my family and going to church tomorrow, I will be sleeping.  Instead of sharing the bed with my wife this weekend, I get to share my feelings with you.  Not that I don't enjoy sharing my feelings with you, it is just that I prefer my wife and my bed to being at work.  Oh, well, guess I am just stuck with it.  Besides, I am just complaining really.  The fact is, the job really isn't that demanding and my bosses do allow me to take time off when I ask for it.  They just want to nix the idea that we are entitled to it and I understand that.  Once you let people think they are entitled to something, they stop asking for it and just start taking it.
            Wow, I really went off, didn't I?  Subject change!  The play tonight went awesomely.  I think we nailed what we missed and discovered new ways to improve.  I'll get the notes tomorrow, but in all reality, I am happy with how things are going.  We actually sold out for the second night.  I also found out that we have one show with only 2 seats left and another with only 1 (both are next Saturday).  Overall, we only have around 100 tickets left and 5 shows left to go.  I almost think we should add another weekend.  Then again, maybe not.  I am exhausted.  Between doing the show and then immediately working all night, I am not getting much sleep.  It doesn't help that I naturally wake up when sunlight hits me.  Thus, once I get enough sleep to make sure I don't pass out standing up, my body wakes me up.  This means I am sleeping about 4 to 5 hours a day while on graves.  Thankfully, god is giving me the strength. 
               Enough of a downer.  If you haven't got your tickets to the show and you are in the area, better hurry up.  thank you for reading and have a great day.

GMT: General Military Training (official), or General Misuse of Time (reality)

         It is official.  I go to work Thursday night as usual and then don't go home until Friday afternoon due to this annual Holiday GMT.  It has to be one of the longest and most ridiculous training sessions the Navy has to offer.  Allow me to give you the run down of last year's marathon of pain.  It began innocently enough with 30 minutes of explaining what was going to happen and when.  Then we went into Sexual assault training.  It wouldn't have been so bad except that the lady giving the lecture (and it was a lecture) accused every guy in the room of rape, multiple times, over the course of an hour.  The next hour wasn't any better as a different lady explained that every guy in the room was guilty of domestic violence, we just hadn't been caught yet and that if we were accused we were guilty until proven innocent.  The next hour was taken up by the command anti alcohol squad explaining the perils of drinking and what was available to all of us addicts out there to help us find a cure.  Little did we know that this was just a fore shadowing of what was to come.  We got released for a one hour lunch (which is kinda hard to do when 300 people simultaneously assault the 4 food joints within striking distance). 
             When we got back the CO talked to us about what was going on and his thoughts for the next 45 minutes.  This was then followed by the most annoying 3 hours of the day.  It began with a Sheriff's department representative who, over the course of an hour, explained the DUI laws and gave about 4 stories of drunk driving cases that ended tragically along with graphic photos (just the thing to see right after a greasy meal). 
             Next up was what we here in the office call simply "creepy lady."  To be fair, this lady lost her son to a drunk driver.  What got to us, wasn't the fact that she talked for an hour about him and the incident, it was the fact that through out the story and lecture, she stood there petting a tennis shoe.  It wasn't until the end of the lecture that we discovered that the shoe had belonged to her son, just to make sure we were thoroughly creeped out. 
             We had now sat through 2 hours of drunk driving stories given by people who thought the best way to convince a bunch of sailors not to drink and drive was to either gross them out or try and make them cry.  And then..., we got Handy Al.  I don't think that is really his name, I just remember this guy in a wheel chair with no legs and one arm that pointed out that a ball cap with those clapping hands on it was his handy cap.  Anyway, he spent the next hour explaining just how much of a drunk and druggie he had been and the drunk driving (yes a 3rd hour of anti-DUI lectures) incident that took his legs and arm.  It probably would have been moving and interesting except for the fact that it was well into the afternoon, we were tired of being called drunken wife beating rapists, and that the room was now hot and filled with the smell of sweat, farts, and McDonald's.  In other words, we just wanted to go home.  To bad we still had an hour of Don't Ask, Don't Tell training that was about as informative as a blank piece of paper.  This is the time of day that a smart person remains quiet when the lecturer asks, "are there any questions?"  To bad there were a bunch of idiots in the room.  So, yes, it was extended for another 30 minutes as people had to ask questions that had already been answered or couldn't be answered. 
          All I got to say is, "I hope it goes better this year."  At least there won't be a DADT lecture at the end and hopefully they learned from last year that 4 hours of anti-DUI training was a bit excessive.  I doubt it, but I can hope.
        Well, thanks for letting me vent and reading my blog.  Have a great day and yadda, yadda, yadda.

Happy Hump Day: The Joys of Parenthood?

     Let me begin by letting everyone know that I passed the PFA.  If you want more details, you have to comment.  Now on to the meat of today's post.
     Happy Hump Day!  Today we are talking about the joys of parenthood.  OK, who am I kidding.  No matter how much we love our kids, or enjoy raising them, there is no such thing as "the joys of parenthood."  Think about it.  Make a list of all the activities you loved to do before you had kids.  Now, start crossing off any items that you can't afford to do because of kids.  Your list should be cut in half at this point.  If it isn't, then either you were a really lame couple, or you were a really cheap date.  Now cross off anything that you can't do with your kids either because it's illegal for them to do, or you would be a bad parent if you let them (skydiving comes to mind, but that probably went away in the first round).  You should now be down to just a few activities.  Now, scratch off anything that takes more than 2 hours.  This is about the time you end up with after you figure out how long it will take you to get to your date location and back to the baby sitters so you don't go over that 3 hour time limit.  If you are taking the kids on this event you are also limited to two hours because anything over that and you are no longer at the event, you are the event as you chase your kid in what ever direction(s) (s)he decides to go.
      OK, so what you did as singles, is no longer possible with kids.  That doesn't mean there is no joy, does it?  I mean, you just change what activities you do.  You go to age appropriate things now.  All this means is that where ever you go, you end up watching the kids have fun in a sterile environment, talking to other adults without looking at them (this is mainly because you are all trying to pick out your child from the crowd to make sure they don't kill another kid), while being bored out of your mind.  Oh, and the conversations all go something like the following:
    "So, yeah, we found that...Bobby, you put that down!...anyway, we found that things are a bit cheaper at Walmart, but....No Bobby, you leave her alone....we prefer Target."
    "I so understand....Suzy, you let go of her hair!  I don't care who had it first.."
   "Bobby, stop that, get over here and sit down.  Go on, you were saying,"
   "Yes, I really don't like Walmart either."
     Not really what I would call quality conversation.  It doesn't matter what you start talking about, you always end up discussing where things are cheaper, what place gives better deals, or which museum is more kid appropriate.  When you do manage to have an adult discussion, you inevitably get the kid pulling on your leg and repeating, "daddy," in an ever louder voice until you scream, "WHAT?" at the poor kid.  To which the inevitable reply is a "can I have, (you fill in the item)."  And by the way, when you scream that at your poor kid, (s)he inevitably cries and that single lady that is "cares so much" for kids and has never had any starts giving you the look that says you are a bad parent.
     The only "joy of parenthood" that I can see is when the rug rats are sleeping.  Yeah, they're cute when they do that.  Or, when they discover a new ability, like walking, I suppose that is pretty neat.  Or how about, when they discover they can't do something by trying, like blowing on their own belly.  I guess that's pretty funny.  Or maybe when they snuggle up to you and tell you they love you.  I suppose I might call that a joy. 
       Maybe it is a bit of a trade off.  Sure, I can't go out with my friends every weekend.  Maybe the wife and I don't get to go on long dates to fun and interesting new places.  We just appreciate the quiet times together all the more.  Maybe we don't go to the science museum and get to read all the exhibits and spend hours watching educational films, but watching the kids eyes light up when they get to figure out how a windmill works by blowing on it, is maybe just a little bit better.  Yes, you have to find new ways to stretch the dollar, but now that every dollar counts, you find that you have a bit more to spend on what matters.  Maybe you don't eat out every night, but you learned how to make awesome homemade mac & cheese.
    Yup, parenting changes things.  From the non-parent's point of view, it is a bad deal.  From a parent's point of view, let's just say, I feel for those who don't ever want to have kids.  They are a powerful influence.  They are also a lot of fun to play with.  If a single guy goes into a toy store and buys Nerf guns, he's a little weird.  If a Dad does the same thing, he's fun.  Yup, I love being a dad.  I stand corrected, there are joys of parenthood, they are just different from (and I think better than) the joys of not having kids.
      Hope you enjoyed today's post.  Stay tuned next week for a new one.  Have a great day.

Diet Done

        Today is a good day.  I made height/weight standards and can now eat what I want for a few months anyway.  In other words, my diet is over.  I now just have to do the actual physical side of the PFA.  Minimums of 27 push ups, 37 Curl ups, and 100 Calories on the bike.  I should be able to pull an easy 150 calories, it's the push ups and curl ups that scare me.  Right now, my back is aching and my shoulder has been acting up again.  You know, the shoulder the Navy doc's looked at and couldn't find anything wrong so they said there was nothing wrong with it.  Oh well, guess I get to live with it.
     At least I get to actually enjoy my meals for a few months.  Christmas, Thanksgiving, you know the good meals?  Not to mention Halloween candy.  I told my wife I get to make chocolate chip cookies today.  If I get out on time.  Maybe I can use that to bribe my boss to let me out early.  Yeah, I'll mention it.  I don't think he's above accepting bribes.  At least I hope not.
      This has been an interesting week for the boys.  Yesterday, my 2 youngest were down with some kind of minor illness.  Mathew was hit the hardest.  He napped off and on all day.  Daniel was down for about half the day, but was feeling a lot better by the time his brothers got home from school.  I may be coming down with it but I hope not.  I hope the worn out and achy feeling I have is due to my diet for the past couple of days.  We'll see. 
       Not much else worth mentioning.  I have a few things I need to do, so I will call it a post.  I look forward to tomorrow's Happy Hump day post.  See you then.

Happy Manic Hump Monday? Huh, what?

      Wow, it's already lunch.  Where did the time go?  I will admit I did spend a fair amount of time this morning complaining about the new Face Book lay out with the guys in the office.  Turns out we all found it equally horrifying.  For some reason the people that run the sight have the Navy mentality.  The one that says, "If we change it, it is an improvement and we always have to improve it."  Never mind that the change made it worse.  It was a change and thus an improvement.  Never mind that it is now next to impossible to figure out what was posted in the past 12 hours since you last logged on.  It was a change and thus an improvement.  Never mind that, and forgive the yelling, WE DIDN'T ASK FOR IT.  It was a change and thus an improvement.
       This attitude is one of the many reasons I would not go beyond 20 years of service in the Navy if I had my choice.  What makes it even worse in the Navy is the fact that sometimes the change is simply adding to the current policy.  It says to me, "the original policy was good enough, but if I make an additional requirement I made things better."  This is not only wrong, but makes thing harder and worse.  Just once I want someone to look at the policies in place, and remove requirements to make things better.  The idea that you can't remove requirements that were made at your level by your predecessor because it might, and I quote here, "confuse the watch stander" is ludicrous.  If removing onerous and excessive requirements would be confusing, what do you think adding on to them will do?  It makes no sense, but then again, a favorite quote amongst the leaders here is, "The Navy doesn't have to make sense and usually doesn't."
        I just realized that it is Happy Hump day and I am not being very happy.  Instead, it appears I did a Manic Monday post.  I hate it when I get angry on my happy days.  Sorry, I apologize for my rant and will now penalize myself by mowing the lawn this afternoon and maybe fixing the boys' bikes.  Interesting though this week has been, it just keeps getting better.  There was no sarcasm in that.  Rehearsal is going great and I love the part I got.  I did another section on my story page.  I just received a certificate entitling me to 96 hours of special liberty (a free 4 day weekend) and I am looking forward to it all.  Except the mowing the yard part.  I could do without that.  Oh, yeah, I found out the check engine light on my truck could be a simple crack in my exhaust, a vacuum hose, or a loose gas cap.  I doubt the last because of the timing, but either way, there is no real risk in taking my time to repair it.  I should be able to fix it next paycheck.  We'll see.
      Once again, I apologize for the lack of the usual post.  I will make it up to you somehow.  I just am not feeling very funny right now.  Have a great day and don't take yourself to seriously.  No one else does.

Why me?

             Yesterday turned out worse than I thought.  I got off early to work out and on the way home I developed a horrible headache and got sick to my stomach.  I ended up spending the next 2 hours passed out on the couch and the evening barely moving.  I really need to start working out.  It just seems that every time I plan to get started something comes up. I will get it started.  I just need to get better right now.
             Anyway, my thumb is bugging me a bit.  It might be because of how I wrapped it, or it may just be part of the healing process.  Either way, I am still going to keep this short.  Thank you for sticking it out with me.  I hope to be back to full posts next week.  Have a great day.

Manic Monday: Postponed

          As with last week, due to my thumb injury, I am shortening my posts.  For this reason, I have decided to postpone my Manic Monday posts until I am healed.  The pain has lessened, but is still strong enough that I don't want to do any prolonged typing.
         I had a great weekend camping with my boys and the church group.  We did a couple of hikes and the boys did a lot of Nerf wars.  It was a blast.  There really isn't much left to say.  I am zoning out so I need to log off before I go to sleep.  Have a wonderful day.

Have a great weekend.

           So, my thumb is hurting less today, but my nose is stuffed up.  I just can't seem to get a break this week.  I have a camping trip with my boys this weekend and that should be fun.  Like I told my wife, if you want to know what this feels like, try not using your thumb on you dominant hand for a day.  Every time you put a little pressure on the tip, poke the spot with a handful of needles.  Every time you bump it, hit it with a hammer.  Do this all day and you get what it is like to live with my thumb.  Does serve as a useful reminder to not be stupid with sharp objects though.  This will also make setting up a tent interesting as well as the other things that go into a camping trip.  And that's the story of me today.  Glad I cleared that up.  Have a wonderful weekend.

Short and sweet

            To start off, my thumb is actually hurting less today.  It is still sore, so I will keep this short.  We got the power supply in our computer at home replaced and it is now working.  That's the good news.  I now have a cold that is getting worse.  It is horrid.  You win some, you lose some.  I am looking forward to a camping trip with  my boys this weekend.  I just hope everything goes well.  We will see.  Have some fun and enjoy.

Happy Hump Day isn't very happy. ( just sorta happy)

            Happy Hump Day isn't very happy.  The thumb is still sore.  Not as much as it was, but still sore.  So, because I hate to disappoint, I will regale you with a short anecdote from this weekend.  After I cut my thumb I was sitting in the ER waiting for them to figure out how they were going to treat me.  They had already removed the bandage I had applied and were looking at what to do next.  While they were waiting, (note that my thumb was still leaking slowly), they decided I needed a tetanus shot. 
             As the corpsman went to put the shot into my right arm (note that the thumb in question is the right thumb), I quipped, "aren't you afraid it's going to leak out the thumb?" 
             He stopped with the needle an inch from my arm and gave me a look that said, "did I just hear you right?"  I just gave him my best innocent smile and he burst out laughing.
            Unfortunately, that was the last of the laughter for a while, but at least I was able to keep my sense of humor (what there is of it anyway).
             Hopefully that will hold you off for a while.  Thank you for your support and prayers.  Have a wonderful day.

Thumb up-date and new requests.

          I can't help it.  I feel like I am abandoning all of you if I don't post daily.  My thumb still hurts so once again this will be short.  I thank all of you who are supporting me.  I will continue to to give updates as I can and will definitely return to full posts once I am past the pain phase of this.  Keep watching and keep thinking freely. 
        I have also decided to be productive during this time.  I can still click a mouse and hunt and peck in short durations, so give me a list of topics you would like to see me tackle and I will research them now and give you my take on them when I am all healed up.  I would love to have an interactive blog.  Thanks for your interest.

Shortened thumb = shortened posts

      This week I am skipping Manic Monday as well as a shortening my other posts.  As you may or may not know, on Saturday I managed to shorten my thumb by about an eighth of an inch using a mandolin slicer.  Thus it is rather uncomfortable and slow to type without it.  As soon as I get better at my typing without using the thumb (right now, I get sore form the weird angle I have to hold it), I will resume my normal posts.  For those of you who find this disappointing, I apologize and would undo the damage if I could.  Thank you for your support and good will.  Have a wonderful day.