Ramble on, my wayward son

Two ramblings for today:

1. A year and a half ago Torrie and I made the decision to leave the Boeing Company and accept a job with the FDIC.

http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/businesstechnology/2013713745_dreamliner19.html

http://www.kirotv.com/money/26047371/detail.html

A move, derided by some at the time, appears to have been a good one. Torrie, myself, and now Clara are very happy in Lexington. The job itself is a better fit for me and it’s much more secure, especially with the continuing problems at Boeing. We own a home. We were able to see our families multiple times this year. While we miss family and friends in Seattle, we are nothing but happy with our decision.

2. I’m grateful for the lessons on saving that my parents taught me as a child.

As a fifth-grader, I found out that my family was moving to Detroit. I didn’t know much about Detroit, except that they made lots of cars there, and that they liked hockey. So I decided that I should start to like hockey.

How did I acquaint myself with hockey? Well, I knew of two ways: first, read the newspaper. I started reading all of the box scores that they had on the back page of the Omaha World-Herald. Secondly, I had to get a hockey video game. NHL ’94 for Super Nintendo looked to be a good fit. It had all the teams, it looked pretty cool. Now, how does a fifth grader buy such a game? My parents encouraged me to save up and buy it myself.

They could have bought it for me. They could have called it a Christmas gift, or an early birthday gift, or something like that. They could have decided to buy it for me to help me gain friends after we moved. They could have given it to me because all my friends had video games. But instead, they encouraged me to save up and buy it.

So that’s what I did. I did my chores, saved up my allowance, and eventually I had enough money to buy it myself. What a great day, especially after having worked so hard to obtain it. While I enjoyed playing the game and learning a whole lot about hockey, the more important lesson of making a goal, followed by working and saving towards that goal, was much more important.

I’m grateful my parents helped me learn that lesson – one that I feel is not taught enough these days. Life does not just give you what you want, you have to earn it. That lesson shapes my life today and I will pass it down to my daughter.

Mafia.

Seeing as the url of my blog is www.loganisreallyawesome.blogspot.com, I feel the urge to tell a story about a time when I did something awesome.

One day, not long after my mission, I was in an apartment with some of my friends. It was still that awkward time when nobody really knows anybody and there are a lot of people trying to impress each other. (Count me as definitely one of them. I’m sure I was awkward and overdoing it. Hello, I was right off my mission.)

I think it was a Sunday evening, and we decided to play the game Mafia. You know all that game. Well, I was feeling a little cocky, so I turned to the girl next to me and said, “You know what, you are going to be the first one to die. I guarantee it.” She laughed, told me she was ready for the challenge, and even bet me an apple pie that it would not happen. (That was always a good move. Betting someone a prize that leads to a date. As long as she’s cute (and you wouldn’t make her a bet if you weren’t, you always win, whether or not you win or lose. Not that I would ever lose.)

So the game started. Now Mafia is a quirky game. One innocent comment by someone, someone decides that you look suspicious, and BAM you’re dead. And that’s exactly what I did. I cajoled and insinuated and did everything I could to convince everyone that she was Mafia. (I swear I heard her move! I know I did! It was her!) Well, she was chosen and then killed. I had won. I had won an apple pie. BOO-YAH.

The story does not end there. Yes, I felt pretty sure about myself, and at the conclusion of the game (I’m pretty sure the townsfolk won) we decided to play again. In my confidence I again bet my friend, but this time, I told her that I was going to win. (A bold statement. Remember earlier statement on how quirkly Mafia is, especially if someone is specifically trying to get you out.) How did this game go? Well, being Mafia, I killed my new friend in the very first round, and kept on surviving, even though she continued to talk while she was dead, trying to get people to vote for me (a blatant violation of the rules, I might add.). After the final vote was held, leaving me to win, the other players of the game cheered at my masterful Mafia skill, and I ran out of the door, with my arms raised over my head in victory.

It was awesome.

P.S. My favorite such group game is called “Silent Football.” I think it’s perhaps the funnest game ever. I’ll tell you about it some other time.

Broncos and Cougars

So Josh McDaniels was fired as coach of the Denver Broncos.


I had high hopes for the guy. Give em a chance, I said. A year ago, after beating the New England Patriots, seeing McD on the sideline after the game, firing up the fans, with the Broncos at a 6-0 record, I thought we had our guy. Jay Cutler was struggling in Chicago and Kyle Orton was doing pretty well (I still like Orton, by the way). Brandon Marshall was crazy but electric and worth it. We were 6 - 0 and the future looked bright.

Now, I don't think that you can see it as anything but an absolute failure since then. 5 - 17. Horrible run defense. Horrible run offense. Very questionable personnel decisions. Horrible draft selections. A team with no identity.

In retrospect, it looks so obvious. McD got way too much power over personnel, and he should have been paired with a General Manager who would make the personnel decisions. I'll tell you one thing. I sure am disappointed with the team right now. It's hard to be excited about Broncos football.

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BYU starts off the season next year against Ole Miss in Oxford, MS. It's Labor Day weekend, and it would be an 8 hour drive away. Should we go? Thoughts? I'm torn.

Changes!

As a child, I loved to read. Loved it. I read all the Hardy Boys books I could find. Boxcar Children. Babysitters Club. The Wizard of Oz books (There's like 50 of them! I betcha didn't know that.) Star Wars. (I was just Oh, by the way, I was just kidding about the Babysitters Club.)

Every once in awhile, my Grandma, who was also a reader, would send me a suggestion of a book to read. I remember one time in particular, she send me the name of an author that she thought I would like: David Eddings.

Yet I would not read it.

I could not get myself to start this new book.

See, it turns out that I like new adventures...but within familiarity. I loved reading a new Hardy Boys book because, although the mystery was new and the bad guy was probably new and there were new clues...it still had Frank and Joe Hardy and their beat-up jalopy. Every Star Wars book I would pick up would have Luke Skywalker in it. He'd be facing a new situation, new danger, but I knew what the Force was and I knew about lightsabers and spaceships and things like that.

This explains why I still play Madden 2002 periodically. Same players. Same feel of the game. (The other reason would be that I don't play it enough to justify spending extra money.)

Now, eventually I broke down and read the book. Did I like it? Yeah! My grandma knew what types of books I liked. I think that particular book I read led to 12 more in the same series with the same characters that I devoured. Again, I loved the new adventure...once I found a familiar area that I liked.

So what does this say about me? Well, when faced with a new situation, I try to make a concerted effort to make it my new comfort zone.

New responsibility at work? I immerse myself in the position until I feel like I'm comfortable. Nervous to talk to new people? I talk to tons of people until I feel comfortable. Learning a new language? Speak Italian and only Italian all the time until I feel comfortable.

So basically - I don't like change, so I try to encounter change all the time until change becomes normal.

P.S. I am very disappointed that the U.S. did not win the World Cup bid for 2022. Does Qatar even have a soccer team? That means I'm going to be like at least 42 before I go to a World Cup game. Wow.