Simple Can Be Fun

As intricate and realistic as video and computer games are these days, I think it's great that simple (not high graphics or requiring expensive systems) games can still be highly rewarding.

My son has been playing a game called Terraria for the last several days. As he explores the seemingly endless world, he is able to find raw materials and figure out how to put them together, fights monsters, interacts with other characters, and more.

He burrows into the earth and finds hidden caves, underground lakes, and pockets of precious minerals. It even has a sense of humor.

His crazy 3 story house. After he built it the nurse showed up. "Hello Nurse!" lol

Night Ramblings

I don't understand how I can be so tired that if I just sit on the couch when I get home from work I instantly fall asleep, but when I crawl in bed at night my mind won't shut off.

It's frustrating. Anyone else experience this?

This kept running through my head the other night...at about 3 a.m.

Sort of to the tune of Oh Holy Night:

Oh restless night!
How I effing loathe thee
Long is the stream of unending thoughts.
Worry banished by light, returns in the dark.
Peaceful slumber escapes me.


Here comes the dawn!
It harkens yonder.
Brightening as time escapes forever.

Okay, so a poet I am not. :) I don't remember the other words, either. At 0300 they seemed genius. Now, less so.

How about you? What kind of uselessness keeps you up at night?

Late Night Reading

I love to read. Even more, I love to find a book that sucks me so far into it's world that I struggle to return to reality. A book that stays on my mind long after I've finished it. A book that leaves me yearning for another peek into the world inside.

The other night, I found one of those books. Reclaiming Ter Chadain by C.S. Yelle.

If you love the fantasy worlds found in the Inkheart series or the Ranger Apprentice series, you will love Ter Chadain.

I enjoyed it so much I stayed up until 2 a.m. to finish it...on a work night...when I had to be up by six the next morning.  Oops.

Let's just say my alarm clock and I did battle in the morning. My snooze would have won if not for a timely text message from a friend. (Thanks friend.)

Thanks, C.S. Yelle, for writing such a fantastic world. I look forward to another trip.

What book have you loved recently? I'd love to hear.

21 Questions

21 Questions to Ask Your Kids

I found this on The Unexpected Education who found it on Randomosity. I found it entertaining.

1. What is something Mommy always says to you?
"I love you." "Clean your room." "Go to bed."

2. What makes Mommy happy?
"Seeing us." <consensus>

3. What makes Mommy sad?
"Dad." "When we have to leave." "Not cleaning our room."

4. How does Mommy make you laugh?
"Saying and doing silly things." "Telling jokes."



5. What was Mommy like as a child?
They don't seem to know.

6. How old is Mommy?
"32" "33" "34" <no consensus - lol>

7. How tall is Mommy?
"5'6" "5'5" "5'4" <no consensus>

8. What is Mommy’s favorite thing to do?
"Do stuff that we like to do." "Play on your laptop and cellphone." "Read."

9. What does Mommy do when you’re not around?
"Work." "Hang out with your friends."

10. If Mommy becomes famous,what will it be for?
"Computers." "Singing."

11. What is Mommy really good at?
"Computers." "Your job."

12. What is Mommy not very good at?
"Yeah? What are you not good at?" "Playing video games."

13. What does Mommy do for her job?
"Computers." "Help people with their computers."

14. What is Mommy’s favorite food?
"You have a lot of favorite foods."

15. What makes you proud of Mommy?
"When you take us somewhere." "You care about us."

16. If Mommy were a cartoon character,who would she be?
"Squidward. No, Candace." <no consensus - Seriously? From Phineas & Ferb? - FYI, My older kids couldn't come up with an answer for this one. Son says, "You're real, Mom.">

17. What do you and Mommy do together?
"Stuff." "Go places, talk, and play games."

18. How are you and Mommy the same?
"My face!" "Similar personality traits."

19. How are you and Mommy different?
"You know a lot and I don't." "Our hair is different." "You think different things are right than I do."

20. How do you know Mommy loves you?
"You take us fun places and say you love us and we have a house and stuff."

21. Where is Mommy’s favorite place to go?
"Anywhere with us." "Home."

Copy this note, ask your kid the questions and write them down exactly how they respond.

It's Really Quite Simple

I've read a couple blogs, talked to some friends, and have decided this needs to be said:

Woman are not that complicated. The things we want are actually quite simple.

It used to be that women needed men for financial support. Not so much these days. I personally have been supporting myself and my family for, well, since I had a family...over fifteen years now.

So what do women want?

• Security -- We're talking about our relationship here. We need to feel secure in where we stand with you. You can't assume we know anything whatsoever about what you think. You need to tell us.
• Emotional Support -- Be interested enough in us to share our interests. You don't have to become an expert in baking, gardening, writing, whatever it is we like, but listen with interest, eat our baking, admire our garden, read our writing. Be mentally available...being in the same room physically is not enough.
• Trust -- Trust us enough to know that just because we like to dress up once in a while, wear sexy panties, and go out with our girlfriends, we're not looking to cheat. In return, we'll be totally okay with you having nights out with the boys. Also, you're not okay with us being close friends with other guys, we know this. Don't expect us to be okay with you being close friends with other girls.
• Honest Communication -- Sometimes we talk in circles and sometimes we hold things back, but stuff eats at us and we're eventually going to come around and tell you what's bothering us. Know that whatever we're about to say we've been contemplating for a long time...trying to decide if it's even worth discussing. We like actions to match words. Don't say it if you're not going to follow through.

That's pretty much it. We want to feel secure in our relationship with you. We want to have trust and honest communication. When those things are in line, everything else falls into place. FYI - when women are secure and happy in our relationships, we like to have sex with you. When we're secure in our relationship, we're not jealous, we don't freak out, and we're not clingy. When we're secure, our relationship is strong and we'll stand by you through hurricane force difficulties that will try to bring us down.

Women who want flowers, jewelry, etc. are looking for material manifestations of what you're not giving them emotionally. 

This may seems oversimplified. I won't disagree there are a lot of whiny, evil, manipulative bitches out there and other exceptions to the rule. For the most part however, you'll find if your woman is secure in her relationship with you, you're going to be happy and so is she.  

###

For my dear SO - Hugs babe.

Keepin' it Real

Buzzwords and slang annoy me.

Weak.

Epic.

Winning.

Cloud.

They demonstrate a complete lack of originality. Not only that, they often have multiple meanings, so when they're used, what the heck did the speaker actually mean?

Epic annoys me the most.

Please someone explain to me what "epic fantasy" is as a genre.

Epic, according to Merriam-Webster, means extending beyond the usual or ordinary especially in size or scope.  So, epic fantasy is extending beyond the ordinary scope of normal fantasy? Fantasy IS freaking made up stuff! How much further BEYOND can you get?


The worst thing is, these perfectly legitimate, normal words get forever branded and you look like an idiot using them even a decade later.

Like, oh my god, totally to the max.

Psych...for real!

Keeping Perspective

I just had an epiphany. I realized why, some days, I hate my job so much and dread talking to a single person.

The reason is the people we give tech support to on a daily basis, those who call all the time over stuff they should know, are the laziest, douchiest people.

The kind of people who are always looking for handouts instead of willing to work.

The thing that we forget as we're bombarded by this day in and day out is that these people only make up about five percent of our customer base. The other ninety-five percent are amazing, hard-working, wonderful, thoughtful people.

Sadly, we don't get to talk to these amazing ninety-five percent. On the rare occasion we do, we sometimes forget that they're not the lazy people we normally work with.

Sometimes, when you're in the thick of whatever bad situation you're in, its hard to see anything past what is right in front of your face. It's easy to judge an entire group of people (our entire client base for example) by the actions of just a few.

A lesson we should all probably consider as we look out on our life and the world around us. When looking at the horrors of humanity, its good to remember that not everyone thinks that way. Not everyone is selfish. Hate, anger, frustration tend to breed more of the same.

Perhaps next time I'm told, "I hate talking to Douche Waffle," I'll try to be positive in return instead of agreeing that Douche Waffle is a well, douche. 

Your thoughts?