Sunday- Church, Ellice showed Andi how to cook stir fry, grocery shopping.
Monday- Work and took some much needed chill time with the Mrs. The strain of our schedules is showing a bit.
Tuesday- Work. The kids were absolutely wild today. Fortunately, it's the last day we work until next Monday. Went to Cici's to save time, then went to play volleyball. We won pretty handily, rounding out the season in second place. That means we won T-shirts. That reminds me, we should try to pick up our shirts for walking our hundred miles. Ironic that we haven't been able to walk since hitting that milestone.
Wednesday- It's great not to work or have classes today for a change. We cleaned up in preparation for company coming over for Thanksgiving. Tiffany came over to visit with Ellice while she baked pies, seven all told. I got the opportunity to play 2 games of basketball and 1 of football on my PS2--it was great to relax like that. In the basketball, I'm playing the career mode, where you start at a small-time college and work your way up. I started at Morehead State, and had a 10-win season my first year, and a 20-win season my second. I was offered a 2-year job at Boise State, but I decided to stick it out with my guys another year and hopefully get a better offer next year.
Also went to have dinner with the parents and enjoyed the UK basketball game against Liberty. UK rebounded from their surprising loss to Gardner-Webb with an 80-54 victory. Freshman phenom Patrick Patterson led the way with 23 points and 10 rebounds.
Thursday- Turkey Day. Great food. Joel, Sonya and Evan came over for the festivities. Got a pretty serious headache in the early afternoon though. Took some Excedrin Migraine and I felt better. I think they are called weekend migraines, people get them when they start to slow down after stressful weeks at work. Rounded out the day with some games with the in-laws. Survivor was a repeat, so we skipped it and watched two episodes of Charmed (Ellice had the double play card). For those of you who don't know, we take turns watching our shows. We also have two cards that we play when we feel like it, a Double Play card and a Random Act card. When you play a card, it goes to the other person. It's a system that has saved a lot of arguments over what to watch, we highly recommend it.
Friday- Well, I just had breakfast, and the plan today is to go to Murfreesboro to visit Ellice's grandmother; should be a nice little holiday.
SW: X-Wing: Rogue Squadron by Michael Stackpole
This is the first book in the X-Wing series of books.
This series chronicles the adventures of the Elite fighter squadron in their struggles to finish off the slowly withering Empire after the Emperor's death in Return of the Jedi. The war is by no means finished, what with the Imperial forces still holding Coruscant and many other key worlds as well as thousands of capital ships. The book focuses on the reconstitution of the squadron with elite pilots from all over- Rogue pilots tend to die quickly as they are the ones sent on the deadliest missions. Corran Horn and Wedge Antilles are the main characters in this one, with a lot of other fresh faces. Many of which, die rather suddenly, as would be expected.
I've read a bunch of Star Wars books by this point and I must say, I thought this one was extraordinary. I was surprised at the quality of the book. The book had the feel of World War II fighter pilot stories, with stormtroopers as Nazi's--and it worked really well. The starfighter sequences were fantastic. The villains were innovative, at least enough to standout and be memorable for years to come. I give this one high marks. I hesitate to give it the max, just because I would like to leave room in case one of the rest in the series surprise me again. Ah what the heck, I thrilled at reading this book. ****
Friday, November 23, 2007
Saturday, November 17, 2007
Another week in the books
Saturday the last- Groceries and homecoming. We went to Berea for Ellice's big day, and unfortunately fewer showed up than the year before, but we still saw some of Ellice's old buds and she got to sing with the really good choir. We went to a Mexican place in Berea that is very much below our standards here in Richmond--felt quite ill afterward. UK (football) rebounded after their tough loss a couple of weeks ago with a victory over Vanderbilt 27-20.
Sunday-Church, had lunch with Ellice's mentee Andi. We had her cook for us for a change-Spaghetti. We rested after that.
Monday- Dr. Appointment- that would be my asthma guy and allergist. Things are going as expected, keep taking the same drugs, try to stay active, which is getting more difficult to do with our time-consuming schedules.
Tuesday- Ellice's Obi-gyn (sounds like a Jedi to me) apptmt. We saw pictures of the newest Gullett. Congratulations to us, it's a little alien. Two volleyball games; won one, lost one.
Wednesday- After work paid bills, went to church, had a Final. Got my video lesson back--I got an A!
Thursday- Watched Survivor and some other TV shows on DVD. It was good to take bit of a break.
Friday- Got paid, went to Lexington for shoes, minis, dinner at Outback, and Beowulf. First actual date we've had in a while, great fun.
Saturday- Game, groceries, Kentucky got whipped by Georgia (again Football) after blowing a second quarter 10 point lead. Final, 13-24. All that's left next week is Tennessee, and whatever bowl game UK ends up with this year (two in a row, that's incredible for us!)
Beowulf
Are you the one they call Beowulf?
I know it's a CGI cartoon, but hey, so were the last two Star Wars movies, and they rocked. I wasn't overly excited to watch this one; just thought it might prove interesting. It was, and I was pleasantly surprised by it. Very graphic, rather gory, but I thought it was an excellent visualization of the epic. A few dramatic licenses here and there to keep things interesting, but for the most part, it followed the story and old world feel. I recommend this one for those of you who are none too squemish. But I mean really, how would you depict a monster that kills two dozen men without spilling a little blood...and disemboweling a warrior or two...and ripping people in half...you get the picture. The acting is good and translates to CGI well. Don't let my review put you off, it's really a cool flick. ***
Sunday-Church, had lunch with Ellice's mentee Andi. We had her cook for us for a change-Spaghetti. We rested after that.
Monday- Dr. Appointment- that would be my asthma guy and allergist. Things are going as expected, keep taking the same drugs, try to stay active, which is getting more difficult to do with our time-consuming schedules.
Tuesday- Ellice's Obi-gyn (sounds like a Jedi to me) apptmt. We saw pictures of the newest Gullett. Congratulations to us, it's a little alien. Two volleyball games; won one, lost one.
Wednesday- After work paid bills, went to church, had a Final. Got my video lesson back--I got an A!
Thursday- Watched Survivor and some other TV shows on DVD. It was good to take bit of a break.
Friday- Got paid, went to Lexington for shoes, minis, dinner at Outback, and Beowulf. First actual date we've had in a while, great fun.
Saturday- Game, groceries, Kentucky got whipped by Georgia (again Football) after blowing a second quarter 10 point lead. Final, 13-24. All that's left next week is Tennessee, and whatever bowl game UK ends up with this year (two in a row, that's incredible for us!)
Beowulf
Are you the one they call Beowulf?
I know it's a CGI cartoon, but hey, so were the last two Star Wars movies, and they rocked. I wasn't overly excited to watch this one; just thought it might prove interesting. It was, and I was pleasantly surprised by it. Very graphic, rather gory, but I thought it was an excellent visualization of the epic. A few dramatic licenses here and there to keep things interesting, but for the most part, it followed the story and old world feel. I recommend this one for those of you who are none too squemish. But I mean really, how would you depict a monster that kills two dozen men without spilling a little blood...and disemboweling a warrior or two...and ripping people in half...you get the picture. The acting is good and translates to CGI well. Don't let my review put you off, it's really a cool flick. ***
Friday, November 09, 2007
Getting into that work grove...
Okay, a quick recap.
Thursday (last week)- Night class that turned into a Professional Development. We went as a group to see Raef something or other talk about his experiences as a teacher. His book is called Teach Like Your Hair is on Fire. The man sacrifices every moment of every day for his kids. While it is laudable that he is so dedicated, it came out that he has health problems from lack of sleep. I think we should take what the man says with a grain of salt. Temper the positives of his style with a healthy bit of balance.
Friday- Went to Carino's after dropping by the Maternity Store in Hamburg. As a treat, Ellice let me go by Collectibles to buy some miniatures. Hey, the system works.
Saturday- D and D (another fun-filled session), cleaned for Ellice's coffee on Sunday, and UK basketball game (football had a bye, thank goodness). UK wins the exhibition over Seattle 82-63.
Sunday- Church. My parents sat somewhere different and I couldn't stand it. After five minutes, I had to move back to our normal seats. I admit it, I have problems. Lunch at Subway with Joel and Sonya. Ellice hosted her coffee, and I slept for 2 hours. Amazingly enough, there were about 20 people in our "cozy" apartment. After that, we went to Walmart for groceries. We manage to pack in a large amount of stuff each day, or so it seems to me.
Monday- Work, KFC, walk. Yes, you see a pattern. With our adjusted schedules and Ellice's pregnancy we are worn out and eating out a lot.
Tuesday- Chalk up another Volleyball win. Everyone played well, and most importantly, played well together. Ellice was on fire, putting the ball exactly where Aaron and I needed it every time, and she nailed all her serves. The three of us in a row is a good lineup. UK starts the 2k classic, an early season tournament with a victory over Central Arkansas 67-40.
Wednesday- Work, Church dinner, class. UK loses in one of the biggest upsets in college b-ball history to Gardner-Webb out of North Carolina. As a friend told me, thank goodness the football team is good this year. An inauspicious start to Billy G's coaching career here. Hey, it happens, let's just hope it doesn't happen too often. I get the impression though that Billy is too good a coach to let this sort of thing get out of hand, and will turn this embarassment into a positive by getting the players' full attention in practice. I stick with the Kittie Cats through the good and the bad though, so I watched every second of the debauchle. Gardner-Webb played phenomenal and deserved the win. G-W 84, UK 68. (Yes, and it shouldn't have been that close.)
Thursday- Work, Wendy's, Special Education Class. This night was difficult. We went over a bunch of serious health impairments in children and with Ellice pregnant, I daresay this wasn't the best time for me to be going through all this stuff, but hey, what are you going to do?
Friday- Work, Cracker Barrel. I think we ate out every day this week and that is just sad. We need help. Ellice's mentee Andi had a dance show at EKU. Let's just say it was interesting. There were 14 dance pieces with a 10 minute intermission. It should suffice for me to point out that I'm not so much into the modern stuff. The Capoiera was the best(Brazilian martial art). Others of note were a more traditional celtic piece, a takeoff on the Thriller video, and a chair dance set in high school detention, but other than that, it was mostly a bunch of new age running around and jumping with arms flailing. I like the ones that are choreographed together, not just a jumble of people doing their own thing. Anyway, I did appreciate a fair portion of it, and I'm by no means a dance person; I'm more into music.
The Courts of Chaos by Roger Zelazny
This is book 5 of 10 in the Chronicles of Amber series.
Thus ends the last of Prince Corwin's portion of the Amber Chronicles. High action for the most part in the beginning and end. Meanders in the middle though, with some philosophical mumbo jumbo which I think is supposed to serve as a contemplation on the meaning of life, but it comes across as forced and artificial. Basically, the world, or worlds in this particular case, is spiralling to an ignominious end and Corwin is trying to stop it. There is a satisfying conclusion to the Corwin cycle, and as the next five books feature his son Merlin as the protagonist, I will miss the character. **1/2
Taran Wanderer by Lloyd Alexander
This is book 4 of the 5-part Prydain Chronicles.
Taran decides he's gotta find out who he is--namely his family. His initial driving force is so that he will feel worthy to ask Eilonwy's hand in marriage. To find out the truth about himself, Dollben sends him on a quest to look in the Mirror of Llunet. The rest of the book Taran, well, wanders, as the title suggests. His quest changes over time to not find out about his past, but as one might imagine, to find out about himself as a man. Taran matures into his role as an adventurer and a protector, finds faults within himself and basically grows up. This book is almost a series of about eight short stories in a row: I could almost see it as a serial or comic book. The only downside is that while there is a connected theme, it is tenuous at times, and there is a sense of disconnectedness from one story to the next. By the end, there is a tendency to forget (as the character does) what the quest was about in the first place. The climax is good and the resolution works on many levels. I look forward to the finale of the series. **1/2
Thursday (last week)- Night class that turned into a Professional Development. We went as a group to see Raef something or other talk about his experiences as a teacher. His book is called Teach Like Your Hair is on Fire. The man sacrifices every moment of every day for his kids. While it is laudable that he is so dedicated, it came out that he has health problems from lack of sleep. I think we should take what the man says with a grain of salt. Temper the positives of his style with a healthy bit of balance.
Friday- Went to Carino's after dropping by the Maternity Store in Hamburg. As a treat, Ellice let me go by Collectibles to buy some miniatures. Hey, the system works.
Saturday- D and D (another fun-filled session), cleaned for Ellice's coffee on Sunday, and UK basketball game (football had a bye, thank goodness). UK wins the exhibition over Seattle 82-63.
Sunday- Church. My parents sat somewhere different and I couldn't stand it. After five minutes, I had to move back to our normal seats. I admit it, I have problems. Lunch at Subway with Joel and Sonya. Ellice hosted her coffee, and I slept for 2 hours. Amazingly enough, there were about 20 people in our "cozy" apartment. After that, we went to Walmart for groceries. We manage to pack in a large amount of stuff each day, or so it seems to me.
Monday- Work, KFC, walk. Yes, you see a pattern. With our adjusted schedules and Ellice's pregnancy we are worn out and eating out a lot.
Tuesday- Chalk up another Volleyball win. Everyone played well, and most importantly, played well together. Ellice was on fire, putting the ball exactly where Aaron and I needed it every time, and she nailed all her serves. The three of us in a row is a good lineup. UK starts the 2k classic, an early season tournament with a victory over Central Arkansas 67-40.
Wednesday- Work, Church dinner, class. UK loses in one of the biggest upsets in college b-ball history to Gardner-Webb out of North Carolina. As a friend told me, thank goodness the football team is good this year. An inauspicious start to Billy G's coaching career here. Hey, it happens, let's just hope it doesn't happen too often. I get the impression though that Billy is too good a coach to let this sort of thing get out of hand, and will turn this embarassment into a positive by getting the players' full attention in practice. I stick with the Kittie Cats through the good and the bad though, so I watched every second of the debauchle. Gardner-Webb played phenomenal and deserved the win. G-W 84, UK 68. (Yes, and it shouldn't have been that close.)
Thursday- Work, Wendy's, Special Education Class. This night was difficult. We went over a bunch of serious health impairments in children and with Ellice pregnant, I daresay this wasn't the best time for me to be going through all this stuff, but hey, what are you going to do?
Friday- Work, Cracker Barrel. I think we ate out every day this week and that is just sad. We need help. Ellice's mentee Andi had a dance show at EKU. Let's just say it was interesting. There were 14 dance pieces with a 10 minute intermission. It should suffice for me to point out that I'm not so much into the modern stuff. The Capoiera was the best(Brazilian martial art). Others of note were a more traditional celtic piece, a takeoff on the Thriller video, and a chair dance set in high school detention, but other than that, it was mostly a bunch of new age running around and jumping with arms flailing. I like the ones that are choreographed together, not just a jumble of people doing their own thing. Anyway, I did appreciate a fair portion of it, and I'm by no means a dance person; I'm more into music.
The Courts of Chaos by Roger Zelazny
This is book 5 of 10 in the Chronicles of Amber series.
Thus ends the last of Prince Corwin's portion of the Amber Chronicles. High action for the most part in the beginning and end. Meanders in the middle though, with some philosophical mumbo jumbo which I think is supposed to serve as a contemplation on the meaning of life, but it comes across as forced and artificial. Basically, the world, or worlds in this particular case, is spiralling to an ignominious end and Corwin is trying to stop it. There is a satisfying conclusion to the Corwin cycle, and as the next five books feature his son Merlin as the protagonist, I will miss the character. **1/2
Taran Wanderer by Lloyd Alexander
This is book 4 of the 5-part Prydain Chronicles.
Taran decides he's gotta find out who he is--namely his family. His initial driving force is so that he will feel worthy to ask Eilonwy's hand in marriage. To find out the truth about himself, Dollben sends him on a quest to look in the Mirror of Llunet. The rest of the book Taran, well, wanders, as the title suggests. His quest changes over time to not find out about his past, but as one might imagine, to find out about himself as a man. Taran matures into his role as an adventurer and a protector, finds faults within himself and basically grows up. This book is almost a series of about eight short stories in a row: I could almost see it as a serial or comic book. The only downside is that while there is a connected theme, it is tenuous at times, and there is a sense of disconnectedness from one story to the next. By the end, there is a tendency to forget (as the character does) what the quest was about in the first place. The climax is good and the resolution works on many levels. I look forward to the finale of the series. **1/2
Thursday, November 01, 2007
Whew.
We're still on a nonstop ride. Hopefully, things will start to settle down.
Friday- Ellice went to do a recording at church, so I was on my own. I did some homework and once that was finished, I went to an EKU volleyball game. They play completely different than we do. Of course, the level of play is obviously much higher, but aside from that, the scoring changes too. It was fun (Eastern lost) and informative. Maybe I can take something away from the experience to our V-ball team.
Saturday- Ellice was worn out from days of recording. She went somewhere or other in the morning, either a coffee, a meeting, or more recording, I can't remember. These last two weeks have been a blur, so pardon me. But on the way home, she called and said that she got two tickets to the UK football game against Mississippi State. So, naturally we went. We were cold and tired but had fun anyway. UK played the worst they have all season and got slammed 31-14. I think they were beat up from playing #1 LSU and #10 Florida the previous two weeks. After the game, we went to a Halloween party. It was fun too, but we are wearing ourselves out doing stuff. I had a moderate reaction to the cat, which is a vast improvement. Yea for medicine.
Sunday- Nursery at church (a little practice you know). Evan came over for lunch.
Monday- First day on the job. The schedule is hectic, my roll is confused and I'm learning the personalities of the teachers, administration and students. The job has good hours and I'm in control of my breaks.
Tuesday- More getting use to the job. Shop for clothes, gas, then groceries. We didn't get settled in till late. The two of us are getting exhausted. I recommend we get most of this stuff done on the weekends.
Wednesday- We had Brittany and David over for dinner; due to Halloween, they didn't have the church dinner. My class was cancelled too. Good times, good times. I've been steadily catching up on homework, fitting it in where I can, and I'm closing in on finishing my assignments for the semester, but it is time-consuming.
The UK basketball team opened its season and the Billy Gillispie era last night in an exhibition match against Pikeville College. It's a tune up, and I tell you what, they might not win every game, but it will be fun basketball. Instead of playing passively on defense, these guys are in your face the whole game, and I like it. Good things to come. UK wins, 99-64. Jodie Meeks hit 7 3's and got a career high 34 points. It's just Pikeville, but it does look promising.
No reviews again. I need to get reading.
Friday- Ellice went to do a recording at church, so I was on my own. I did some homework and once that was finished, I went to an EKU volleyball game. They play completely different than we do. Of course, the level of play is obviously much higher, but aside from that, the scoring changes too. It was fun (Eastern lost) and informative. Maybe I can take something away from the experience to our V-ball team.
Saturday- Ellice was worn out from days of recording. She went somewhere or other in the morning, either a coffee, a meeting, or more recording, I can't remember. These last two weeks have been a blur, so pardon me. But on the way home, she called and said that she got two tickets to the UK football game against Mississippi State. So, naturally we went. We were cold and tired but had fun anyway. UK played the worst they have all season and got slammed 31-14. I think they were beat up from playing #1 LSU and #10 Florida the previous two weeks. After the game, we went to a Halloween party. It was fun too, but we are wearing ourselves out doing stuff. I had a moderate reaction to the cat, which is a vast improvement. Yea for medicine.
Sunday- Nursery at church (a little practice you know). Evan came over for lunch.
Monday- First day on the job. The schedule is hectic, my roll is confused and I'm learning the personalities of the teachers, administration and students. The job has good hours and I'm in control of my breaks.
Tuesday- More getting use to the job. Shop for clothes, gas, then groceries. We didn't get settled in till late. The two of us are getting exhausted. I recommend we get most of this stuff done on the weekends.
Wednesday- We had Brittany and David over for dinner; due to Halloween, they didn't have the church dinner. My class was cancelled too. Good times, good times. I've been steadily catching up on homework, fitting it in where I can, and I'm closing in on finishing my assignments for the semester, but it is time-consuming.
The UK basketball team opened its season and the Billy Gillispie era last night in an exhibition match against Pikeville College. It's a tune up, and I tell you what, they might not win every game, but it will be fun basketball. Instead of playing passively on defense, these guys are in your face the whole game, and I like it. Good things to come. UK wins, 99-64. Jodie Meeks hit 7 3's and got a career high 34 points. It's just Pikeville, but it does look promising.
No reviews again. I need to get reading.
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