Baby steps

Hi all,

This weekend I didn’t really do a lot but I did manage to clean the house somewhat and then I decided to listen to what I had been telling myself and relax. I watched a few episodes of Castle (which I LOVE!) and some White Collar (A very clever and interesting show). I also spent some time working on my photography and reading photography magazines. I also cleared some more junk out of my house. Okay, maybe I didn’t TOTALLY relax but I still had fun. Baby steps, right?

Oh, I also got to play some World of Warcraft with my good buddy Ted! YAY! With his wedding coming up he has been UBER busy so it was a real treat to get to game with him.

I am keeping this one short as I didn’t really do much but I did want to close with some brand new pictures of my golden boys.

I have Attention Deficit...Hey, look at THAT!

Wild west weekend

This was a wild weekend! The boys and I spent Saturday at the “Lost Dutchman ghost town” wandering the old western streets. We enjoyed peeking through the museums, saloons, post office, and mines and a variety of other stores I didn’t know really existed back then. It was enjoyable and they both bought rubber band guns much to their delight and, I’m sure, the great consternation of our little target, I mean dog, Onyx.

The next day we went to a place called “Jump Street”. This is a place that has very large areas filled with trampolines. The trampolines are square and they are fitted edge to edge with padding covering the railings. They have also put trampolines against the walls so it is impossible to fall off and hurt yourself. Now add 30 raving, maniacal kids cranked up on sugar and add 20 large balls to the mix. This gives you an insane game of ultimate dodgeball! The kids insisted that I join them so I gave up the opportunity for some world class action shots so I could wail on a bunch of children alongside my boys. (you would have done it too, admit it!) I must say I had a blast but, WOW, what a work out! Try jumping constantly and throwing one ball after another as hard as you can for a solid hour. Now add to that getting hit repeatedly by large balls and you have an indication of how I felt. Also, I discovered that, being the only parent in the room, I was the designated target. It was still fun and I can’t wait to do it again! I think the funniest part was when the young male teenager who worked there walked into the court to tell us something. Just as he was opening his mouth some kid kicked the ball at him as hard as he could and hit him right in the family jewels. You could hear the pop clearly across the room. Needless to say he went down with a high pitched girlish squeal. He was down for a good 10 minutes whimpering until he finally managed to crawl out again. He never did get to tell us anything. (I think he was going to tell us to stop kicking the balls but I guess I will never know)

Next time though I am bringing my camera!

The only substitute for good manners is fast reflexes.

Plugged in

This weekend was a weekend without my boys (until Sunday night that is) and I woke up and went right to work cleaning, doing laundry, picking up, etc. I usually try to do this stuff while they are at their mom’s house so when they are with me I can give them my full attention. I really didn’t have that much to do but I kept trying to find more stuff to keep me busy. I discovered that I really have no idea what to do with myself when my kids are gone. I told myself to relax and simply read a book on the couch. That worked for about 15 minutes. Then someone in the book mentioned cooking something or cleaning something and I thought “yeah! I should do that!” and up I got to go back to work. I stopped and told myself that I really owe it to myself to just relax. Take a whole day and simply take it easy. Let me tell you know that I found it impossible. I couldn’t sit still for more than 15 minutes. I felt like I was plugged into a 250 volt socket. I was spastic with energy. I really need my kids to expend that energy. When we are together it is always fun and exciting. We goof around, joke with each other, go places, eat meals together, play games together. It is so much fun! I am useless alone. I did cook up some great chili though! I called it “dad’s nuclear meltdown, back blast afterburner special”. Jimmy wouldn’t eat and Nicky braved down about two thirds of a bowl before he gave up. I ate it all. While sweating profusely! I made a huge quantity so I am set for lunch all week. Next time I will have to back off on the half cup of hot peppers, the habanera sauce, the Red Devil sauce, the jalapenos, the chili powder etc. Too bad I never use a recipe. I usually just brown the meat throw it into a pot and start adding stuff pretty much at my whim. Just open up the fridge and the spice rack and go to town. So far I have been lucky and all my meals have been edible. It is fun to me and I find recipes to restricting. Kind of like rules. Rules are like plates, they are made to be broken. Thus ends another pointless meandering by Laser T. Swift.

"Be quiet Brain. Or I'll stab you with a Q-tip."

A computer once beat me at chess, but it was no match for me at kick boxing.

So I touched on chess in my last post but I really think I need to delve deeper into the subject since it is a very big part of my life right now. I usually play/practice at least an hour a day and often longer. I always have at least 2 games going online and often play pick-up games on Chess.com or Instant Chess. For pick-up games Instant chess is really my favorite since you simply click on it and you are instantly in a game with a complete stranger somewhere in the world. The games are short with the clocks randomly set at between 5 minutes and 15 minutes which I really like. Longer games can bore me. I also study tactics on Chess.com and, at this time, my rating is a hovering at just over 1000 which is awesome since when I started it my rating was around 700. I really feel like I am becoming a stronger player since I have been practicing/studying tactics. Unfortunately my official USCF (United States Chess Federation) rating is still at just over 600. I felt like my game had really leveled out so I stopped playing in chess tournaments so I could study for a bit. Now I feel stronger so I am ready to play again. The first tournament is coming up in a few weeks. With luck (and hopefully skill) I will be able to raise my official rating. Wish me luck!


I also meet a group of chess players that play in Scottsdale every Saturday and went to play for the first time last Saturday. It was really fun! The first person I played was a beginner who was trying to learn the game. She knew the basics but need real work on her tactics and strategy. She was very nice and we had a great game. The next person I played said he was a novice but I could tell after a few moves that he was more than that. I asked him and he said he played a long time ago but has not played in many years. His first game I beat him fairly easily but the second he came on strong and really should have beaten me. Unfortunately he accidentally blundered his queen away and I pulled out a win. I really enjoyed playing with him and we traded numbers so we can play again soon. The only difficulty I have with this group is that they don’t use clocks. All tournaments use clocks so I need to be proficient at using them. I have heard many horror stories about players who forget to punch their clock after their move and end up losing on time because their opponent simply lets it run while pretending to think about their move. I am going to ask them next time if they would mind using a clock while we play so I can get in the habit of punching it after I make my move.

And one of the best parts is that my kids enjoy playing chess with me! GLEE! How fun is it to have a favorite hobby that also includes your children!

Following is a picture of one of my favorite travel chess sets.

Someday, we'll look back on this, laugh nervously and change the subject.