Fathers Day Reflections

You would think Fathers Day for a first time father would lend itself to a natural blog entry, but to be honest, I really don't have much to contribute in that regard. Don't get me wrong, I had a great day, it's just hard to feel worthy of the recognition thrown my way. Victoria is merely 2 months old, and too be honest, it's been easy going so far. She eats, she sleeps, she poops. My job has been easy so far. (I know, I know...it won't last.) Basically what I mean is I don't feel like I've done anything worthy of accolades yet.

So instead I dedicate this post to one more deserving than I. In the 9 months leading up to parenthood, I had plenty of time to wonder what fatherhood would be like and what kind of father I'll be. Fortunately, I'm blessed with a fantastic role model. If I do half the job that my father has, Victoria will be just fine. I was reminded again today exactly what kind of man my dad is. I called him this afternoon, and as luck would have it, he had just gotten home from working a double shift. (He works the midnight shift) On a day when the focus should be on him, he focuses on his family. On a day when he should take it easy, he works a double so my siblings never lack for anything. That's my dad for you - selfless. What's more remarkable is that he didn't have much of a role model for fatherhood himself. his dad, my grandfather, died when he was I think 14. Where he learned to be such a great father, I don't know, but I have big shoes to fill. I think I'm up for the challenge.

Here's to you dad. Happy Fathers Day. You earned it.

McClung ?, St. John's 8

In softball, there is what is known as the "slaughter rule" - if one team is up by 10 or more runs after 5 innings, the game is called. Going into the 4th inning, we were only trailing by a 14-8 score. Then it got ugly, so much so I lost count to how many runs they scored. They may have reached 30 for all I know. Needless to say, we got crushed. What's funny is that St. John's played this same team yesterday and got crushed by them too.

Personally, I didn't do much. I came in as a substitute after the 4th inning, when it was still a game. During McClung's clinic on hitting, I manned 3rd base and didn't have anything hit my way except for a screamer down the 3rd base line I had absolutely no chance at. After their half of the inning we had our last ups, and I didn't get to have an at-bat. Oh well, it happens. Hopefully our next game on Tuesday will be better.

My Season: 1-4 (.250), 5 BB, 5 R

Attack Of The Gigantic Baby

It's been awhile since there was a Victoria update, huh? Victoria reached the 2 month mark this past week, and had her 2 month checkup as a result. She has grown! Check out these two pictures, one taken at a few days old and the other last week. She weighed in at 10.5 lbs this week, and is now 22 1/2 inches long. We're almost at that "too big for newborn size" stage.

She's been very well behaved so far. She's been sleeping through most of the night, and even slept for 8 solid hours a few days ago. (Granted, it was from 8PM - 3AM, but still...) We were even able to take her out to a restaurant and have lunch last Sunday.

Over Memorial Weekend, Victoria got baptized. It was a beautiful weekend, and we were fortunate to have many family and friends in attendance. My mom and Father-in-law stood in as proxy for Victoria's Godparents, who were unable to make it. Victoria behaved for the most part, even falling asleep at one point. (She can sleep anywhere!) Afterwards we had a small reception complete with cake from the same place that did our wedding cake.

I need to update Victoria's MySpace page, as well as continue with my longstanding project of getting pictures on Flicker. Maybe this weekend I can get stuff done.

St.John's 18, Main St. Methodists 7

Holy Cow! I'm a lefty! Ok, a little back story - I am not a very good hitter. I stink, to be polite. Well, anyway, back on Mother's Day, we went to the park with Mer's family and decided to get a little practice in. I needed work on my hitting, but despite everyone's best advice, I kept swinging and missing. For fun, I tried batting left handed, and surprisingly I had much better luck making contact.

Fast forward to today - I decided to bat lefty, and wouldn't you know, I got my first hit of the season! I almost got a 2nd hit too, just missed by a nanosecond. For the day I was 1-2 with a walk and 2 runs scored. Defensively, they put me at second. I've never played that position before, and although it was a shorter throw to 1st than I'm used to, it's a lot more ground for me to cover. fortunately I fielded my one opportunity cleanly but overeagerly threw the ball to first when I had no chance to get the runner.

Now that I got my first hit out of the way, hopefully I can get my first RBI soon!

My season: 1-4 (.250), 5 BB, 5 R

Games People Play

So I was catching up on my blog reading today...

One friend of mine, Chuck, recently made the paper in recognition of a gaming club he started.

Another friend, Olivia, is a avid Scrabble player and recently participated in her first official tournament.

It got me thinking about how games, particularly non-computer games, have had a significant role in my life and how they've consistently strengthened the friendships I have in life. Games have even played a significant role in my marriage. When my wife and I were doing the long distance relationship thing, we would spend almost every night chatting online. To help pass the time, we'd play checkers through Yahoo Games. It became one of "our things", so much so that I used a custom made checker board to propose.

In college, many nights were spent playing Dungeons and Dragons. After college, my best friend Paul got me into Legend of the Five Rings. And sprinkled throughout were games of Scrabble, Clue, Chess, Settlers of Catan, and Cosmic Encounter, among others. Each game was fun, and provided nights filled with laughter and pure, unhindered fun.

Computer games are fun, don't get me wrong. I still play Snood regularly, and count my Atari 2600 among my prized possessions, but I never really got into it at the level others like my brother have. Truth is, and I may get my geek membership revoked for this, I really don't care for the major online games out there, especially first-person shooter type games. They really don't compare with board and card games.

I really need to start playing more. Perhaps I'll look to see if there's a group in the area, or maybe I'll take a cue from Chuck and start my own. Time's precious, especially when you have a baby, but it'd be worth it making time for this.

I hope that as Victoria gets older, I'll be able to pass along my love of games to her. Cheesy as it sounds, I can visualize future family game nights and giving her a game every Christmas. Maybe she'll like them, maybe she'll outgrow them, but she gets half as much out of them as I do, it'll be worth it.

Allow me to end by giving a short list of my favorite games. try them if you haven't already. My favorites, in no particular order:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Checkers: a classic game with simple rules, this is one my wife and I bonded over.

Pentago: A variation on the classic Tic-Tac-Toe, this game involves a good deal of strategy. I picked this game up last year and have enjoyed it immensely.

Legend of the Five Rings: My all time favorite collectible card game, L5R is the 2nd longest running CCG behind Magic. Steeped in samurai lore and fantasy, it was unique in that it told an ongoing story, with the story developed directly by the players. How many games have their own story team?

Kung Fu Samurai on Giant Robot Island: Another card game, this game is just flat out silly and fun.

Settlers of Catan: A game my friend Chuck got me into online, it's another game of strategy.

Munchkin: For those of you who love D&D but don't have 6 hours, this is a great compromise.

There are of course many others, but to list them all would be too much. Happy gaming!

Happy Anniversary!

Today is my parent's 28th wedding anniversary. If ever there was a model of love and friendship for me to base my own marriage on, this is it. For that, I am eternally blessed. Happy Anniversary Mom and Dad! Lots of love from your son, "daughter", and granddaughter!