Godstorm is odd

So last night Chris, Pat, Dan, and I played a game of Risk Godstorm....

There are lots of rules, and in reading them the game can be very complicated. Cards, miracles, gods. There is only 5 turns (epochs), and each turns is broken up into several parts. Keeping track of all the things that you need to do and in what order you do things in.

Dan had to leave early so he left midway through the game.

Around midnight, it became evident, with the mass of temples and units, that Pat was going to become the winner, and there wasn't much we could do about it. I did make a big effort to kill Pat's troups in the underworld, but that was about all I can do.

Afterwards, we dicussed that we thought the crazy amount of rules and exceptions and over rules, and once we were used to it, it'd probably go smoother. Maybe after playing it a 2nd or 3rd time. I did state that Ben (who suggested that I buy the game), said that it take them a few times, before they got it right.

We thought about playing a game of Pirates, but being that it was after midnight, it didn't seem the wisest thing to do.

House stuff and moving forward

So we are thinking about moving...It may not be such a good idea to think about at the time. What with the bills from the wedding (starting to come due in mere days now) and the roof.

Our options for the roof are to either replace the whole thing, or fix the part. We have a general quote for the whole, but not one for the part. But what it comes down to is if we are going to move, it doesn't make sense to invest all that money into the house (which we will not get out in selling). We still have to do some internal things (paint in the kitchen and paint and etc in the upstairs bathroom), otherwise, I suspect, the price that we can sell for will also go down. I suppose we should also paint things like the shutters just so the paint isn't peeling.

Waiting another year, to move, allows us to gain another year of equity, get the wedding and fixing the house debt under control and also allow for house prices to (hopefully) raise in the metro, so we can sell ours for more.

We will still work on creating a list of things that we want, as far as it goes (above and beyond what we've already created), so we can get 'em to Tom and he can passively look for us.

Shannon stated last night, that she doesn't really want to move until at least the summer of 2007 anyways, so...I guess that settles part of it.

Oh well.

Tonight I'll be playing Risk or some version of it or Pirates with Chris, Pat and Dan. I really enjoyed myself last time.

At work we have a lot of extra people here. Some training, some working on a go live of something. all these extra people just kinda bothers me. There are more people here on a normal day then I like to be around (just don't like large crowds, lots of noises, and movement around me), but adding the extra people here makes it feel kind of oppressive to me.

House Hunting, 2 Months, and are you kidding?

So went to take Shannon's car in, and went to get it back, but when Shannon turned over her car, the check engine light came on and stayed on, so we dropped off the keys again, and headed out. They eventually called us and told us a cam sensor (whatever that is) had gone bad and needed to be replaced, but they couldn't get one until monday....so we left it there.

We had Josh and Lindsay pick us up and we went to Taste of Des Moines. Which was ok...overpriced but, ok. We easily spent 20$ just on food and stuff. I had a wonderful lamb gyro and some ice cream and it was good. We didnt' stay there very long and headed home.

We picked up some movies and headed over to Josh's to watch them.

We watched Grandma's Boy and Waiting, both of which weren't great movies, but were fun and silly to watch.

Afterwards, we headed home.

Sunday afternoon we headed out to go to open houses with Chris and Holly. And that was fun...a lot of the things were good a lot of things were bad. Sometimes the place was good but parking was...well...awkward at best and the location wasn't in the sort of range where we want.

We did stop in this nice town home that we just happened by. It was for sale by owner, and the owners were a nice older couple, but in walking in the home, I could tell that it was probably out of our price range and I was right...it was around $220k.

We did look at one where we had kinda said hey this would be great, but in looking at it, the space that was actually there would be quite the challenge. We couldn't have our wonderful dining room table in it and still have space to have a living room, with out it becoming awkward.

Afterwards we headed home.

This weekend we also got a quote about the roof, which was quite a bit more then I thought it would be...and I am investigating other options...because...well...we can't afford to do that and get out of this house.

Anyhoo...we also made a big change to our wedding registry too...We decided that since we don't really do formal dinners and in discussing with my parents (who don't really own fine china) we decided to remove it from our registry. I do love the way it looks, but at around $50 a place setting, it's a little silly. We did a bit more shuffling too, removing the expensive flatware and adding nice every day flatware (same brand as the serving utensils).

Also...today...2 months from today we'll be married.

Shorts days are over

But not for good, I hope.

So Last night, we headed over to the Jordan Creek area and went to dinner (using a card for a free appitizer) at PF Changes. The food was good.

After dinner we drove over to this place where we the condos we are looking at are under construction. So we looked around a bit and then headed back to the Mall and wandered around waiting for people to show up (we were way early).

Around 8 we headed to the theater, and with a the realization that everyone that may show up was running behind, we move the movie time to the 9:10 show.

We played a bit of Air Hockey and then Dave and Jo showed up and we all watched Clerks 2.

I laughed, I smiled, I smirked, and at one point was was a bit...well...shocked, but then again, if you are not shocked by that, then maybe you need to rethink your life a bit. But I enjoyed it. It was good enough to be a sequel to clerks.

Afterwards, we went home and went to bed.

My alarm went off in the morning and I asked Shannon if she wanted to get up for breakfast, and she went back to sleep.

I got ready for the day and Nathan came over and we went for breakfast at the Waveland Cafe. It was fun, we ate, we chatted, and then he brought me back home and he left to go do an install.

Today we take Shannon's car in, maybe do a bit of cleaning, maybe go to the Taste of Des Moines...

Tomarrow we're going to open houses with Chris and Holly and maybe go see a movie afterwards. Should be fun.

I'm at work, I'm wearing shorts

So We got an email yesterday that due to the heat (and other factors, which I won't post about), they have significantly relaxed the dress code. I'm wearing a t-shirt, shorts and sandals.

And guess what. People are still working. The world hasn't ended.

It does get a little obnoxious, because the conference room, they moved the table from that, to the main cubical area, so it's quite noisy right by my desk (right behind Keith).

So it's on!

Now if we move or not is up in the air, but the looking has become official. I've contacted my realtor, and he's already collected some information for me.

We'll be going to a few open houses this weekend with Chris and Holly.

Since the housing market is slowing down, I was concerned, but apparently it's only about 1% slower then it was last year (here in the metro) and the houses that are selling the best are in about the range that my house will sell at. So that was nice to hear.

What we want:

1. I don't want to take care of lawn stuff anymore (I suck at it).
2. Shannon wants a big tub (ours apparently isn't big enough)
3. I want a bigger kitchen, or at least a kitchen with more cabinet space (without having to remodel).
4. A double sink in the master bathroom would be nice (one for me, one for her)
5. 3 Bedrooms (well 2 bedrooms and an office/game room)
6. And something we both want a dual car garage. Where the door is automatic. Even though we have a single car garage now, it does make it kind of obnoxious to get out, open the door, and get back in.

As to the area, I'm flexible, I do have some aversion to living in areas that look all the same, but without more money to spend, it's not as likely.

I love the smell of napalm in the morning.

So Sunday morning I got up, got ready and headed down to Methodist with a book in hand ready to wait...and I waited...ok...so I didn't. I was in the building for about 15 minutes total. Checking in, sitting down, getting up, getting stitches out and walking out the door.

Not to bad.

Sunday Night, I made baked mac and cheese, from scratch. I used quite a bit more cheese then the recipe called for (since the last time I made it, I didn't think it was cheesy enough). But I also used lots of different kids of cheese. I didn't really use much of a measurement, so the ratios are a bit weird. But in descending amount of quantity:

Cheddar (vast majority)
Shredded Parmesan, Romano, and Asiago Cheeses (Kraft mix, I would use fresh, but I find shredding it to be quite obnoxious)
Dubliner
Bleu

Mixed with milk, flour and butter, it made a wonderful cheese sauce, undertones of the Dubliner and bleu, along with the Parmesan, Romano, and Asiago. It went well. I was pretty happy. I just finished off the last of it here at lunch today.

Monday Night, I ate dinner early and headed over to Chris and Pat's for a game of World Domination (Risk). I have been jonesing to play this for quite a while and finally got it fulfilled. In the game, Chris, Pat, and Dan and myself were all present and ready to go.

We reviewed the rules, went through the setup, and started to move forward. The game went slowly at first, minor alliances between myself and Chris (neutral to each other) and then myself and Pat (neutral to each other, goal of destroying Chris). Chris took an early lead and strength, holding the African continent till near the very end.

Dan then broke a treaty with Chris and attacked him, Chris pushed back (without destroying Dan) and then I used cards to get pieces to eliminate Dan, push into Africa and then Europe (also held by Chris). With Dan's cards, combined with my own, I used these to break treaty with Pat, and eliminate him, and get his cards, and then on the next round, I used two sets of cards, to gain a huge amount of troops to eliminate Chris.

I was worried for most of the game, that I would lose, but after I eliminated Pat, and drew the card and I had two sets, it became apparent to me, that the end of Chris was neigh.

Anyways, a helluva lot of fun, I left their apartment a little before 1:AM and headed home and went to bed.

We're already planning the next Risk (God Storm, 2010, or regular) or Pirates night.

It's hot outside

So I mowed this morning...at like 7:30 AM...why so early? Cause it's hot, damn hot. It was already the mid 70s, and it was very very humid. So...that's the way it I mowed, I took breaks, I mowed some more, and then I went up and got all cleaned up.

Last night was Adam's Birthday, and we all met up at Buzzard Billy's to have dinner. mmm...aligator. Afterwards, I ran Shannon home (cause she worked today), and met up at the Fleuer Cinema to see a Scanner Darkly. I went with Dave, Jan (?), and Chris & Holly.

I liked it...it was odd, but there's a few things in there that some people who have a lack of experience in the subject matter, may not get. I could understand though how people wouldn't like it.

An old friend from college (he lived w/ us in college, but didn't go) is coming down to take a look at my roof. So this'll prove interesting. I'll ask his advice on what I should do, and get a general idea of how much it might cost, and then make my decision from there.

It's supposed to be hotter tomorrow. I get my stiches out tomorrow too. I'm actually hoping for a good scar.

whee ha!

So we (Ben, Josh and I) got measured for tuxedos on Sunday. So that's done. Now I just have to poke Nathan and Brandon to do so...

So we're moving forward again, Finding out when/how much we owe people, what needs to be paid by when and what not.

We've gotten a few response cards back, and the question (from my family) on if kids are ok, which, in my mind, depend on how many other people respond yes I wanna go. Kids aren't gonna remember it as much as adults, so it does seem a bit silly to me to exclude adults for the purpose of someone that's not gonna remember...but maybe that's just me.

So far, I think we have 10% of our max of 150 full. I think we're gonna try for about 95-105% (since some people after RSVPing may not show up, or people that don't RSVP will show up).

My finger is healing up I guess...looks about the same to me. the Stitches holding 'em together make it a little harder to type, and I've had to tell the story a lot, since everyone looks and asks what happen...I'm saying it's a knife fight now. I think I may switch it to Shannon attacked me, but I don't know if people will find the humor in that (although Brandon did). I've been avoiding meat...well meat that I have to prepare at least. I don't really have two hands I can use, so, the range of things we can eat goes down...which kinda sucks, but I'd rather do that, then soak my finger in chicken juices, while I chop it up.

that makes a weekend fun

So Friday night, for my birthday, we headed over to La Mie to eat dinner. And it was great as usual.. Shannon had duck with Asparagus and turnips and I had lamp chops with a mint risotto. Good Stuffs. The Risotto was the absolute highlight of the meal for me. Neither of us a big fans of Asparagus and in trying the turnips, we didn't really like those either. But I think that's got nothing to do with La Mie and more to do with personal preference.

Afterwards we went home, I talked to my parents for a while and eventually we headed to bed.

Saturday I woke up all motivated, got ready and then headed out to go for the day.

So I picked up items at Dahl's, headed over to Stam, but they were closed until 10 so they got passed by (I had already bought milk chocolate anyways, but had planed to maybe use it to make cookies some other day. On my way back to the house I stopped at La Mie, to get a Mocha and some pastries for the party.

So I went home and started to make cake. I used a recipe from the Cake Bible, that Shannon had gotten me for my birthday.

It went pretty smoothly The cake had a very creamy batter, and had to bake a bit longer then the recipe called for (but I think that had more to my oven being a bit cooler then it's supposed to be), but it worked out...

The Frosting was basically Milk chocolate, butter, and dark chocolate. I had a big chunk of Stam dark chocolate from the last time I was cooking with chocolate, so it came in handy. Melted the chocolate and stirred it in w/ the butter.

Together the two tasted really good, I was pretty happy.

The cake bible is written in a interesting way, instead of having all the cake and frosting recipes that they suggest go together, they have extra directions in the total cake recipe, but for the parts, it points to another page and says get cake recipe here, get frosting recipe this other place. Reminded me of something an engineer would do...or what programmers to do save a program from data replication.

So we were pretty much ready, house had gotten the finishing touches.

Then the Ben Voss showed up.

So it was all good.

We caught up and waited for the party to get going (it started around 7).

So the party was fun, a few games were played...one actually I think. A few people play the Risk Godstorm that I bought on Ben's recommendations.

So at my party, We had, Me, Shannon, Ben, Will, Adam and Tiff, Chris and Holly, Dusty, Drew, Ryan, Brandon and Val, Josh and Lindsay, Jerry and Renee and Ahnaka (sp?), Jen (who we only saw for like 5 seconds, while we were leaving for the Hospital) and one other person that showed up while we were out, and left before we got back.

But let see here. Over the course of the night, we had shrimp (CostCo), Holly made cookies, Renee made cookies, turkey and swiss wraps (CostCo), mini muffins (will bought), pretzels and mustard (Dave), Papa Johns Pizza (free for the most part, thanks to my brother Joseph).

Josh brought me a bottle of Captain Morgan's Private Stock, Brandon brought me a bottle of Hennessey Privilege (VSOP), so my collection grows. Good stuffs.

So Shannon asked me to break out the cake, so I did. I had her bring ice cream over and I cut some pieces of cake and served with vanilla, some people wanted chocolate, so in opening that, I used my pie cutter (which I was using to help serve the cake) and in doing so, I sliced my index finger on my left hand. Pretty much so.

So I grabbed my finger, headed up stairs and looked for bandages. We didn't have anything that was big enough for it, then Shannon remembered that we had gotten an emergency kit from my parents for Christmas, so she ran and got that. And while she was doing so, the amount of blood that was coming out was enough that I decided that it would be appropriate to get it checked out by a doctor.

So we used antiseptic wipes in the kit and gauze wrapped my finger up, and I said good bye to everyone, and told them to have fun (asked Renee to serve up the cake and put Val in charge), and we headed down to Methodist Medical Center.

I wasn't in pain and so I was able to guide Shannon down to the Hospital and we got there and checked in.

The story that I told the person that took my information was a little amused with the story (we were too) but for the most part it went well.

The initial wait time wasn't so bad, they got me tagged and audited. We talked a bit about the ER system (since they use paper) and I thought it was supposed to be electronic...

The we waited again, in our tagged format...this wait was much longer.

So finally they called us to go back to a room in the ER.

They got things setup quickly but apparently it wasn't enough, cause we waited.

And Waited

And Waited

Eventually I was dreadfully bored and had to turn on the TV in there. So we watched a show on the history of comic book superheroes on the History Channel.

Finally a Physician's Assistant came in and put in 4 stitches cleaned up my finger, had it double checked and then we got to go.

It only took 3.5 hours...*sigh*

When we got back, most of the party was gone. Ben was left (since he slept here), Dusty, Drew, Ryan, Adam and Tiff. A bit after we got back, the rest of the people left.

Good party, I suppose, wasn't there to witness most of it.

But it made for a memorable 30th birthday, house didn't' get to messy, probably just have to put a few things a way and wipe down counters and floors. So not so bad.

Busy busy busy...(future)

Tasks for tonight:
Clean main level of house
rinse off chairs that we have, if people want to sit on them outside
make reservation for birthday dinner
get cake holder from Chris

Tasks for tomarrow:
Go to costco/etc
Get grocerys/booze for party
birthday Dinner

Tasks for Saturday:
make cake
setup for Party