Where is Ray's Brain?!?!

Back when I was in high school I had an English teacher, Mrs. Blackwell. It was she who encouraged us to write down a list of things we would like to do or accomplish when we got older. She said that writing our goals down on paper would help us achieve them.

I think she was right. I don’t have that piece of paper now, but I remember some of the things that were on it. White water rafting was one. Flying a plane was another. I believe going into space was another, followed by working for the space program. Back then I was keenly aware that the astronaut selection process was very rigorous and I wanted to cover all my bases.

Its funny but even though I don’t have that paper now I can still recall some of the things that were on it, particularly the ones I have completed. I went white water rafting with my wife. Sure, I got thrown out of the boat, and she came tumbling after, but we both survived. And because of that near death experience we decided to get serious about having a child before it was too late. And yes, I did manage to fly an airplane. All of fifteen minutes. It was a special deal offered by one of the flying schools in Hawaii. Twenty dollars for fifteen minutes of flight in a prop plane. It didn’t matter that the instructor had control during most of it. The fifteen minutes when he took his hands off the controls and told me I had the aircraft were amazing.

I figured it was about time to write another list of things I want to accomplish. Some of them sound easy enough. So easy that you would think I would have done them by now. Especially given where I live and how much I make. But then again maybe I need a little extra help. And maybe writing them down is all that it takes. So in no particular order, I’d like to:

1. fly in a mock aerial dogfight
2. ride a B-17 bomber
3. Go inside a submarine (modern or WW2)
4. Visit Australia
5. Hike or camp along part of the same route as the Lewis and Clark expedition
6. see a Civil War reenactment
7. skydive
8. see sharks from a shark cage
9. drive a race car along a track
10. ride a zipline
11. see the Grand Canyon
12. drive cross country in a winnebago or RV with some friends
13. learn how to develop my own photographs
14. take a pottery class
15. learn how to play the drums
16. play paintball
17. hit golf balls on a driving range
18. ride a segway
19. see a space launch
20. write and publish a book

It is a week and a day now since Arianna was born. Let me back up. My wife delivered a baby girl on 8-8-08 at 10:39am. Her name is Arianna and she’s been breaking hearts left and right. She was the talk of the delivery ward after she came out. Three nurses actually came into the room to check out this “beautiful baby”.

The reason I’ve not talked about this for about a week is two-fold. First, we had to stay at the hospital for 4 days since Arianna was delivered via C-section. And while the hospital had excellent staff and equipment it was still lacking in internet access. Second, its been a hectic week, but not like you would imagine.

Let me back up again. Guin’s parents were visiting and staying at our house to help take care of the baby. Unfortunately there were two things that worked to our disadvantage. First, her dad is a very hands off kind of person. Wayy off. At the start he didn’t do the laundry, didn’t do the dishes, didn’t cook, and seemed to spend most of his time watching the Olympics or taking photos of the baby with his camera phone. Second, Guin’s mom means well but is a product of the income disparity of the Philippines. Which is to say, her mom had staff. A cook, a driver, and a nanny for each daughter.

So, with Guin at 50% operating capacity (due to having to heal from the C-section) I had to try and get Guin’s dad off the couch and helping out and train Guin’s mom on how to help take care of the baby. Now, I’m not saying I’m an expert. I didn’t know much either on Day 1. But, the nurses at the hospital were excellent and very patient at showing me how to change the baby, recognize hunger signs, swaddle her, feed her, and burp her. And they helped Guin and me figure out how to get little Arianna to breast. Not mine, Guin’s.

Armed with this knowledge I’ve managed to get Guin’s mom to recognize wet or poopy diapers, when the baby is hungry, how to burp, and how to change her quickly (before Arianna knows whats going on and really starts to cry). And between everyone else we’ve managed to get Guin’s dad to do the laundry and…..set the table. Oh well, you can’t have everything.

Guin and I spent our New Years extended weekend up in New York City and stayed with her parents. On Saturday she revealed that her big surprise was to take me to an actual show on Broadway – a musical called Avenue Q.

Guin was trying to explain that it was a show with muppets and their experiences in New York, trying to get a job and find their place in the world. But that doesn’t begin to describe how cool it was. Think of the nostalgia of seeing Sesame Street coupled with the edginess of Carlos Mencia type humor sung to songs and tunes that just can’t get out of your head (in a good way) once you’ve heard them.

I’d rather not say any more about it because I don’t want to spoil any of the experience, except that you should catch it if and when you can – either on Broadway or when it comes to D.C.

That was a great way to close out the year.

Well, Guin and I have made it back from Italy. In fact, we have been back for oh, about a month and a half now. I would post a link to the gallery where I posted my Italy pics, but that is in the process of being tranferred to another site. I would post impressions, but I’m pretty busy at work and have to get on a plane to Boston by noon. So what about weekends, you ask?

Funny thing about weekends. We have had every single weekend booked for social events since the day we got back. Except for the first weekend after I got back, where I was coughing and had a fever and couldn’t go out. The rest of October looks to be the same way. This weekend I’m going up to Boston where the East Coast Naginata Federation is holding its 10th annual seminar. Its our 10 year anniversary so we’re holding it in near the same location as when it was first founded. Then next weekend is Guin’s birthday party weekend extravaganza. The weekend after that is a LAN party and possible Halloween fest.
I’ll try to get more stuff in though. No sense having a blog if its not updated. Peace out!

As I write this it is 6:45pm in Florence, Italy. Guin and I are having fun and it is only our 5th day in our vacation. Just letting everyone know we’re alright.

Ciao!

Well, so this is WordPress. Another blogging app, and with it, my return to the blogging world. This app does seem more friendly and approachable, so I hope to post more in the days to come. But, like the website says, I’m still trying to figure this out. Plus, additional time will be spent on the other blog site dedicated to gaming: Kriegblog!

Welcome back. Feel free to reaquaint yourself with the previous stuff.

Well its the start of the new year and therefore the start of some brand new resolutions. This time I’m bringing back an old resolution and starting a brand new one. The first resolution, an oldie but a goodie, is to limit myself to purchasing 10 games this year. This will be 10 games of whatever type, whether it be software, boardgame, or card game. Of course this does not include getting games as gifts, so I’ll at least have my birthday and Christmas as freebies.
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