Well, we're back from another epic holiday trip. Strangely I felt significantly less internet-withdraw this time around. Still, it's good to be back on the web.

Here's kind of a general fly-by.

We went up to my parents house last friday and were there for almost 20 hours before heading out on the first of two trips to OH for christmas with my mom's side of our extended family. The second trip was made the following day (after returning to IN for church sunday morning - I really miss getting to hear John Sichting speak) for christmas with my dad's side of our extended family. They were both fun, if short, gatherings. It was good to see people I hadn't seen in quite a while.

Monday (christmas eve) was official 'do nothing' day. After all the traveling, I was ready to kick back with some mario golf and just hang out with the family I hadn't seen in more than a year. And kick back, we did. My parents quickly became addicted to the game, and we played quite a few games of it over the week. In fact, they liked it so much that when sheri and I went up to visit her family in indianapolis, I left the gamecube with my parents so they could play it. They must have played it quite a bit, because they got really good at it over the course of those three days. My mom even got a hole-in-one - something I tried for 45 minutes to do on a training hole and couldn't pull off.

Christmas day was cool. It was nice to get to spend it with the family again. Last year, none of us were together on christmas. We didn't do much that day either except spend the day together - which was great.

Wednesday, we headed to Indianapolis (as previously mentioned) to spend time with sheri's family. I took quite a few *great* pictures of a charades game. I'm not sure which ones I'm allowed to post here, though. ;-). We also played a *lot* of cards (of course). Shanghai Rummy in particular. I'm terrible at that game, but it's fun (if generally frustrating) to play. We also played a couple games of Up and Down the River and we even got out sheri's new(est) Ticket To Ride game (the US version - she now has them all) and taught them to play. It was a good time - if a bit crowded. With 9-10 people in that house, we had some spacial issues at times. Despite the temperature fluctuations and lack of sleep (due to leaking air mattress), I think I managed to avoid getting sick.

On saturday afternoon we returned to my parents' house. We went out to Noble Romans for dinner (at my request - i try to make it by there whenever I'm in IN) - which was tasty. After that, I helped dad make a couple of Kubb sets - so now I have my own! I think he's made 5 or 7 now - and has done quite a bit to spread the game to OH - as those were also his exchange gifts for the two previously-mentioned OH christmas parties. Of course, after that was more mario golf. Till 2am. It takes something special to keep my mom up that late.

On sunday, we went to church, I made some spaghetti for lunch, we played a last game of mario golf (addicted - i'm telling you) and then sheri and I headed back down here. Ally was very glad to see us.

That's pretty much it. Over the course of the week, I took 275 pictures. I had room for about 53 more on my 4gb card - so I'm glad I was able to get the 4 as opposed to the 2gb. I'll post some up here pretty soon. I love my camera :-D.

In terms of the less-important stuff, I got some new speakers for my computer (it's nice to have some that aren't dying), a nice golf practice-hitting mat, some dvds (including abbott & costello and victor borge!), some legos (yay!) and quite a few new additions to my penguin army. My shelf can no longer hold them all.

~PS

Last night's christmas party was fun. Ginger, Tony, Rucht, McKenna and Finn came over for spaghetti, presents and hanging out. McKenna had to leave early, but Rucht stayed around until Finn got too cranky to be up.

After he left, Tony, Ginger, Sheri and I played a game of uber Carcassonne - as of last night, we have all but one tiny expansion. The game is now massive and barely fits in its box.

I played with my new toy (camera) a bit. I'm still learning it, but it's very nice. Took some pictures of Finn and some of our game-playing. At Tony's request, I got one of Optimash Prime joining our Carcassonne game. I'll start posting these at some point.

Rucht & McKenna gave us Settlers of Catan - a game that I've heard lots of good things about, but never got to play. In addition to that and the Carcassonne expansions, I got my own memory card for Ginger's game cube (hehe) and Sheri got a pair of yoshi slippers(!).

~PS

This is probably the last picture I'll post taken with our Kodak EasyShare digital camera. The subject of the picture should adequately explain why that is. :) I was able to pick this up (on sale) yesterday due to the *amazing* christmas bonus I got this year. I am now horribly out-classed by my equipment - but this is a disparity i'll be seeking to remedy over the course of the next year or so. Perhaps with some help from some friends.

In case anyone cares, I did type up my thoughts regarding Why I Decided on the Canon 40D. You know, if you didn't get enough of my rambling on that before.

In other news, I had a great birthday yesterday. For much more than the above reason. After work, Sheri, Ginger and Tony took me out to eat at O'Charley's (potato soup....yum) and then we went to a place called Fun Expedition and played miniature golf. Blacklight miniature golf. The second half of the course was in a closed-off, darkened area illuminated solely by blacklights and florescent materials. The balls glowed. The cup glowed. The obstacles glowed. The putting surface however, was a well of inky blackness. You couldn't see it at all. Sometimes you didn't know if there were bumps, basins, mounds, etc until you watched your ball unexpectedly change direction as it rolled over them. It was evil. But very cool.

After that, we came back here and had ice-cream cake and i got presents. Ginger gave me a fantastic penguin kids' book. A new IM away message is taken from it. :-)

Tony gave me a game called Penguins: a family penguin-stacking game - ironically put out by Fantasy Flight, the same people who make Arkham Horror and a bunch of other rpg-type games.

Sheri gave me a copy of Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory (the original - Gene Wilder is awesome) and a penguin-shaped vibrating massager.

So, out of 4 birthday presents, 3 were penguin-based. Not bad. ;-)


Tonight we're supposed to have our little christmas party. We've invited Rucht, McKenna and Finn as well. I'm going to make some spaghetti. It should be lots of fun.


Just a couple more days till christmas vacation and heading up to IN. I can't wait to see everybody - it's been a *long* time since i've seen some of them.

~PS

So I'm 28 today! Even though the older I get the less significantly individual birthdays affect my self-identity, I still have a sort of child-like joy regarding the annual day of birth and the general merriment that it implies as good friends and casual acquaintances express that they wish me well. Such things are important to me.

I think some of my friends have planned something fun for this evening. I know we're at least going out for dinner tonight - which is always a good time. I'm sure we'll have some sort of cake/ice cream, play some games. We generally seize any excuse to partake in such activities.

I'm sure sometime tonight or tomorrow I'll post the full list of events as they happened. I'm also planning on acquiring something else today - which I'll probably be posting about later too.

~PS

I have just encountered a seemingly-normal block of cheese. Seemingly normal.

I had some soup for a late lunch, and I decided to have some cheese and crackers with it. Little did I know, this was no mere block of cheese. It was an undercover revolutionary, fighting against our oppression on behalf of all cheese-kind - nay, even for all cultured dairy products.

Even as I took slice after slice from it, it plotted its revenge. When the time was right and the element of surprise was at its maximum potency - as I was lulled into the false sense of security so easily fabricated when one is doing nothing more than enjoying some colby-jack - the cheese struck, and struck hard. In one swift stroke, it had destroyed my trusted cheese slicer - the cheese slicer that had faithfully served me through countless blocks. It was only one false move, and it was gone forever.

I mightn't have thought this more than a mere coincidence, perhaps it was only that my cheese slicer's time was up - that it was going to that big cutlery drawer in the sky. Yes, certainly that was it. It had been months since I'd heard anything of the rumours of the underground cheddar resistance - and this was mere colby-jack (which, as everyone knows, is not known to be the most militant of cheeses). Relatively undaunted but for a moment of grief, I procured our only other cheese slicer from the drawer and continued my "dairy-oppressive" luncheon.

It wasn't until the cheese struck again - this time, seriously injuring my last remaining slicer - that I truly took notice of the situation in which I had become entrapped.

The cheese declares that it and its tasty brethren must and shall go free.


Meanwhile, my wounded slicer and I mourn for lost our brother, and bide our time for another day...

~PS

Last saturday was Sheri's birthday. To celebrate, she, Tony, Ginger and I all went to Holiday Lanes and bowled 3 games (from which i'm still a little sore). We all had a great time. Perhaps we will do that again sometime.

After the bowling, we took her out for dinner at Texas Roadhouse, and then returned here where we had cake, ice cream and presents for the bunny. Tony gave her a game called Treehouse, Ginger got her a hummingbird feeder, and I gave her the Jungle Book dvd and the Ticket To Ride: Switzerland expansion.

We rounded out the evening by playing a couple games of Ginger's Mario Golf.

Good times. :-)


In other, unrelated news:

I don't get excited about the movies that most would. This makes me happy:

Tim Burton to Direct Alice in Wonderland

I think this could be very, very good. I've always liked these stories and the characters, and I think Burton's somewhat darker (than Disney) imagery could make a very cool adaptation.


In other, very unrelated news:

Tuesday, December 11th, 2007. 72 75 degrees. I'm not complaining, but that's a little freakish...

~PS

The last week has been pretty much "more of the same".

I did get to play golf with Joe last wednesday, though. It was about 60 here, and a beautiful day to be out on the course. Did pretty well (for me) too - par'd 3 holes, made some pretty amazing (lucky) puts, and generally we had a good time. Hopefully we'll have some more nice days to play.

I got to play/run a couple rpg's too. My thursday group is well on their way, and Robb's game (though it's losing players) continues to be a lot of fun.

Apart from that, there's pretty much just work and church stuff - the latter involving preparing for all the christmas...stuff.

~PS