More Games With Mom

01.06.2004

After taking Mom to dinner last night, we ended up playing some more Scrabble and a little Texas Hold-em Poker. While playing Scrabble, I thought back to all the times I used to see Mom play Rook with her parents. I tried to play with them a couple of times, but I could never get the rules straight before I would get either frustrated or bored.

Last night I realized part of why she used to play with her parents - it's something to do when you go to visit. I think there's only so much catching up with people and events you can do. Having something to do - a game, a puzzle - gives you something to do together besides veg out in front of the tv.

I think my realization of this is definitely a sign that I'm getting older. Maybe I should head to Toys R Us and see if I can head it off before it takes to deep a hold.

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Ancient Mothers

01.05.2004

Today is Mom's birthday! I think she's around a million, maybe a million and one.

Over the weekend she showed that she can still beat me playing scrabble, so I guess her mind isn't quite gone yet. She's taken to putting together jigsaw puzzles, so I got her a couple for Christmas. Saturday she had already put one together and was halfway finished with the other. I think she's got some kind of mutant puzzle making gene. To make up for it, I picked up 4 puzzles for her yesterday! Maybe that'll keep her busy!

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Busted By The Man

01.02.2004

On the way to Wal-Mart after lunch today with my close personal co-workers Jerry & Greg, I found myself in a predicament. I was going through the middle of Madison and noticed that there seemed to be just a whole bunch of police cars. I was wary to keep myself close to the speed limit, it's been years since I got a speeding ticket and I would like to keep it that way. As I passed the police station, John Law pulls out behind me. I'm going slightly below the speed limit, so I'm not thatworried. He tails me a bit, then pulls up beside me, then goes back behind me and turns on his lights. I pull over, get my paperwork ready for him, and he comes up to the window.

I'v finally gotten pulled over for the one traffic law I constantly disobey. I had gotten busted for not wearing my seatbelt.

Five minutes later I was back on the road to do my Wal-Mart bidding. I actually wore my seatbelt for the mile and a half that it took to get to Wal-Mart, but that was it. After that, the rebel in me took over again. I just hate seatbelts.

And in case you're wondering, the fine for not wearing your seatbelt is $10.00.

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Scratching Out The Year On Checks

12.31.2003

The final day of the year is the perfect time to reflect. Thinking back over the past year, I think it's pretty simple to sum up how everything went.

It was a damn good year!

Job wise, everything is going great. I like whatI do (most of the time). I like the people I work with. The hours are great. It looks like I'll even have a job for another year (flaky gov't contracts notwithstanding).

I took a trip to the Bahamas. Granted, it wasn't the best trip in the world, but it was my first grown up vacation that involved planes, boats, and me carrying my birth certificate so I could get back into the country.

Overall, family and friends are doing well. Gerry's fight with brain cancer still has him winning (Go Ger!). The worse I've had is a couple of sore throat/near strep throat illnesses over the past year. Well, maybe a couple of chiropractically cured back pains that kept me bed ridden for a couple of days, but nothing earth shattering.

If I could have another year like this past one, I don't think I would turn it down.

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Final Fantasy X-2

12.29.2003

My tv watching demographic must be the target audience for the latest Final Fantasy game. Over the past few days, I've seen commercials for the game humpteen billion times. Normally this would annoy me, much as the sequence of Castrol oil commercial, razor blade commercial, and Snickers commercial seem to appear during WWE Raw, but the commercial has a catchy little pop tune that I find myself bouncing around too.

Thanks tothe goodness we call the internet (god bless the internet), I found that the song in the commerical is "Real EMotion" by Koda Kumi. So, anyone searching the net for the song can now have a little help in case they don't want to shell out $50 for the Final Fantasy X-2 soundtrack.

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