LOTR: The Card Game

At first, the idea of a single player card game was a turn-off to me.

It grew on me as I thought about it.

I remembered all the different games I invested in over the years that never caught on with my friends.

I remembered the thousands of games of Freecell and Solitaire I used to play when I was supposed to be programming.

I remembered that my wife often falls asleep before me and that our computer was currently broken.

And I also remembered that I really like Lord of the Rings.

I did some research online. Someone in a forum referred me to a website (Tales From the Cards) and I read some more.

The game scratched one of my itches. I love to discover something new. Especially something new that starts off simple, but the more you read about it the more thought and layers of effort that went into it are revealed.

It also avoided one of my major complaints about Magic. All of the cards in LOTR are set. Expansions all have the same cards, so you can skip any you're not interested in and enjoy it at your own pace. Magic was a fun enough game, but the card packs were all random. I saw early on it would be a money pit to be competitive and I still might never get the cards I wanted (After my deck got stolen in 8th grade, I never spent another dollar on it).

So I bought in. The multi-player is cooperative and not competitive, so I hope I can convince Carrie to try it with me once. Who knows if she'll play again, but at least I shouldn't get in trouble if I do too well!

And on a final nerdy note: I started a game log. I saw it recommended several places online. I already post here, so it wasn't much of a stretch. I recorded all of my attempts on the initial training scenario and uploaded them for posterity.

I've really enjoyed the game so far. It's been a great way to keep me occupied without internet, TV, or books (all casualties of moving).

A Random Thought: Spare Time in My Thirties

Why was it ever a battle to think of things to do as a kid?

Library, Oops

Once upon a Wednesday, Nana and Pop took Shane to the library. Shane wanted a very specific book.

While at the library, Shane was loud (shock). He did his best to describe the book to Nana and the librarian. "It's the book at Mommy's house! It's not at Daddy's house!"

Not the least bit awkward.

Also, the book Shane wanted was "I Stink." How many times do you think he yelled that before people realized it was a title?

A Snowy Gamble

I took a risk.

Based on the weather report, I decided to drive down to Charlottesville Wednesday night. A snowstorm was inbound.

The original plan was to drive down on Friday. I needed to drop Shane off at Nana and Pop's first, though. There is a recruitment fair in Harrisonburg Saturday morning. Carrie, also, works Saturday, so someone needed to watch Shane.

The storm offered an opportunity. Thursday looked like a sure snow day. Carrie was scheduled to be off work, so she could work Saturday. She mentioned she was going to be lonely and bored. Shane and I could drive down and keep her company. 

But what about Friday?

There was no guarantee school would be cancelled on Friday. If the storm was a flop, I would find myself possibly over two hours away from a 7:00 AM report time (and possibly stuck in bad conditions if the storm hit harder to the south). A parent meeting for one of my caseload was scheduled for 9:45 AM. A delay would make it easier to report in, but then I would have to drive back and forth to Cville in one day.

Thankfully, my phone buzzed several hours ago. School is cancelled Friday.

One problem left: Saturday.

If the job fair is not cancelled, Carrie and I have to figure out what to do with Shane. She doesn't want to call out of work on Saturday, because every other Saturday she's supposed to have worked has been cancelled due to weather. It's been a month and a half and she still hasn't helped on the weekend.

Should I bring Shane with me? Would Patrick watch him play in a fast food playground while I interviewed? Can Carrie find a babysitter in Cville? Is it worth driving all the way back up to Fairfax to drop Shane off with my parents and make the return trip?

I hope I'm right and they cancel the job fair. The snow date is next Saturday. Carrie is not working then and it would give more time for my preferred work locations to post positions. The counties/cities present at the job fair are part of my backup plan if I can't find a position closer to where we want to live. It will be good to practice, but I don't want to be in the awkward position of being offered a job I don't know if I want. 

It will be what it will be, I guess!

You Think YOUR Job is Difficult?

Tuesday, I had to write a note to a parent. I caught her son cheating multiple times. I thought to myself, "Teaching is the wrong job for someone who wants to avoid conflict." I have to correct students and make them do that which they don't want to do (MATH!).

Tuesday night, I talked some to Matt and Renee. They had to deal with a very difficult scenario for the past eight weeks. Their job also makes them worry about their students' faith and souls. The stakes are much higher than knowing how to graph.

Then today, one of my coworkers walked in to the office. "I got peed on. I'm going home."

God puts encouragement and things to think about in all sorts of places.

Media Dump

Night at Nana's. I figured I'd go for an easy post night. Here are some videos I uploaded, but never put in a post....until now!

The Videos:

Daniel and Shane really enjoyed the back of Lisa's truck.

This is the uncut, early edition of Shane playing with Pop. We squished him with the mattress just before I pulled out the camera.

Shane and Carrie with a Richard Scary book.

Shane got to run around the wrestling room at the last home meet. He had a lot more fun running around where all the wrestlers were! I thought it was fun watching him try to roll. He's not ready to listen to me on how to improve his technique.

The title of this one says all: "Nine seconds of what I heard for an hour."

Night at Nana's

I was supposed to have a four-hour first aid class tonight, but it got cancelled. Shane was already scheduled to spend the night at Nana's, but they weren't expecting me! It made for an easy night. I got to eat the fancy hot dogs on King's Hawaiian rolls, too.

A Wall Shared

The biggest downside to the townhouse: Noise.

Our neighbors happen to run up and down their stairs like elephants and then have a teenager/young-adult who really likes loud bass. The stairs have made me jump when I thought someone was running down behind me.

As for Carrie, Carrie and bass do not get along. It annoys and gives her a headache.

When Carrie was pregnant, the bass made her nauseous, too. She wouldn't sit in the church because the music was too loud. She, also, sent me to knock on doors whenever she could hear bass through the walls.

When we moved into our own house, it ended our bass conflicts. Shane and I got to cut loose, as well. We run around and we're really noisy ourselves.

Carrie's move to Charlottesville introduced us to shared walls and noise again.

Now, Carrie and I understand that noise flows both ways through the wall. If we ask for less noise, we have to watch our own decibels. 

Shane doesn't. He still wants to stomp up and down the stairs and yell at the top of his lungs like we do at home! I think we've done a fair job, so far. 

Before Carrie moved in, our unit sat vacant. Our neighbors probably got used to not needing to worry about who was next door. We have had to knock twice, since.

The first time was Carrie's first weekend in the house.She knocked and said no one answered until after she knocked for close to ten minutes. 

The second time was my turn. No one answered the door for me at first, either. Eventually, someone shouted through the door. The voice asked who I was and what I wanted. I was polite. I told them their treble was fine, but the bass was coming through. The voice said they'd turn it down, and then didn't change a thing. 

Carrie called the landlord and there's been a truce since. I offered them our snow shovel unasked during the snow storm as an olive branch. They thanked me and left it outside our door when they were done. It didn't open up a conversation like it hoped it would. I shoveled their sidewalk the next snowfall, but they don't normally come out or shovel unless they get stuck (like the time I loaned the shovel). 

I'm only down on weekends, so I don't have many opportunities to meet them. Carrie says she doesn't see much of them during the week, either. They keep their blinds closed and don't always use their one car, so it's not easy to tell when they're home unless it's when we hear them through the walls. I am not hunting for conflict, so that's not when I want to go over and say "hi."

Hopefully, we'll get to know them better as time goes on. We have been praying about it. If not, we're only in the townhouse until July (short-timers). I think the lesson learned here is we value peace and quiet, so we'll probably look for a house with a little more space around it even if it's further out of town. 

A Load of.....

School was cancelled. Shane and I never headed north! We got to spend another day in Charlottesville. Mommy went to work at 10:00 AM and left me to deal with a load of bull.

Absolutely, hilarious! Grade A imaginative and exercise play. I started stacking pillows on the box and made it into a moving target to keep my interest level in check with Shane's.  

Shane and I spent over an hour at bull-play. We took a break from ramming things when I showed him how to draw a bull.

The bulls he drew were all angry. He was pretty proud.

I showed him some longhorns on my phone (for Jama and Nana), too. We looked up a few different breeds before I had a cow. Then we went to the library.

While John complained how busy his library was, we visited the Charlottesville library! I reserved "I Stink" for Shane on Saturday and it had arrived.

Shane started off more interested in all the computers.

The card catalog fizzled quickly, but the kids games were a hit. I'm glad that there was a built-in timer on the station. Shane got to play some, but it kicked him off after half-an-hour. I don't want him sitting on a computer all day at a library!

We checked out books on tornadoes in the stacks. Shane also found a random book on the history of eating utensils and I picked up "The Giving Tree."

The score of the day was learning the library validates parking at the downtown garage. I won't hesitate to visit ever again! It's a great (FREE!) trip.

On a side note: Shane loved all the drains. We stopped at every one (except the one in the street I had to drag him past).

Shane had a lot of fun on our outing. He swore he wasn't tired when I told him it was nap time. However,..

You don't lay down and close your eyes mid-peanut butter sandwich unless you're pretty beat!

It was a fairly short nap, though. Shane must have thought there was too much fun to be had! We read some books and then I turned on Mighty Machines to type this out. It's best to use the internet while I have it!

We will head home after Carrie gets back from work to say goodbye. Shane and I enjoyed our extra day with Mommy!

Another Weekend Down South

Shane, Carrie, and I enjoyed another weekend down south together.

Saturday morning started with cartoons. Even Bucket participated.

After a quiet morning, we went out to the stables. Carrie found a horse to lease for a couple of days a week. His name is Franklin.

While Carrie worked, Shane played. He loved the barn dog, Calvin. There was an old jolly ball we used for fetch.

Then we explored to rest our throwing arms.

Until we headed outside again. Calvin was always ready for another round.

It's a unique barn. The house is built directly into and on top of it. I think they are two separate units. I heard the trainer say that she had neighbors upstairs. I was curious, but I didn't want to inquire further. I figured it was rude to grill someone the first time you meet them.

Shane kept me plenty busy. We climbed a fence to watch Mommy ride from a hill.

Carrie only rode for a little. The feel and sound of the snow unnerved Franklin whenever she brought him out of a walk. She said she could feel him tense with each skitter of snow kicked up. At one point, he kicked up a large enough chunk it outright spooked him. He broke stride and did a full sideways butt scoot! She brought him down to a walk and kept it at a "get to know you" session.

Shane's attention didn't last that long, though.

We played in the hay bales.

After the barn, we made a quick pit stop by a few stores. Shane and I went to a game store, and then rendezvoused with Carrie at the horse store. We tried to ambush her at the register. Shane hasn't figured out that if Carrie sees him, she won't forget he was there if he ducks back out of sight.

The crucial stop was Kmart. We grabbed a toaster (absolutely necessary!)

We ended the night by playing one of my board games with Shane. It wasn't my idea. He insisted.

The box had a sandstorm on the cover. That's all Shane was interested in playing. He sorta played with us (as a handicap), but we all had fun so it worked out!

Sunday morning was church.

I wish his teacher had not called out! Carrie and I loved Shane's dance moves. He stopped the moment he realized we were there. He was not happy. He does not like transitions. I tried to dance with him, but he cried (were my moves really that bad?).

Shane still had some dance/spunk left in him when we went to Bodos bagels. He likes the cinnamon raisin kind!

We did a little shopping and then went home for nap. The rest of the day was fairly quiet. Carrie played Forbidden Desert with Shane again while I made emergency sub plans. The word was ice had struck Fairfax County. I figured a delay was likely, but just in case I wanted those plans. If I decided not to head back north and there was no delay or day I could easily use some leave and Shane and I would get another night with Mommy.