Soccer Game #1 (Summer)

Game #1 came less than 48 hours after Practice #1! If I'd jumped to coach sooner, we might have had a practice the previous week, but, as it was, we were jump starting the season.

The other team was short a ton of players, though. It was something like 11 to 4. I wanted to play, so I started grabbing kids and assigning them to the other team. First up was Shane. I figured if anyone was going to complain, I'd point at him and say, "That's my kid and I threw him on the other team. Get over there!"

The other coach was new, too, so I took charge and started organizing. I kept shouting stuff like, "This is Rec League! We're here to play soccer and have fun. Let's go boys!"

Shane hopped into goal for Gold and Sam hopped into goal for us.

First impressions: We have a few kids on the team who could be pretty good! The best players on the field were from our side!

More kids showed up and I shuffled around who was playing for Gold round 2. "You! You're really good and I want an exciting game. You! You're standing closest to their coach. You! You made eye contact first when I started looking around!" 

I thought it went well! Kids laughed and no one complained. Bradley said something about nonsensical reasons being impossible to argue against (good vocabulary word, Kid!).

Sam was thrilled to get out of goal and let Shane take over.

Only Shane developed some sort of injury. He said his leg hurt. I stood by the goal and told him to just hang in there and sit down. That way everyone got to play! If he blocked anything, it'd be a miracle and he'd be hero. I even gave him my hat to keep the sun and his hair out of his eyes.

Guess what? We got through. My boys scored the most points on the field (for and against us!). Shane's leg healed after the game and I got him interested in Marvel Champions again (Hooray!).

All in all, it was a great day. 

Climbing Up (Summer)

The Youth Group had an event planned Friday! Shane got to go rock wall climbing at a local gym! Carrie and I went out for dinner and streaming. We ended the night with dessert at Wegmans. Carrie picked a non-dairy flavor to prevent me from smoking her out of the car on the way home.

It was only a two hour event, but that's fine when it's a workout!

Shane's a climber.

He was in his element and loving it!

He yelled for us to watching him climb up the moment we arrived. Then he got a kick out of jumping down and looking out for Carrie's reaction.

Shane gave us a tour of the place soon after. He was a hot and sweaty mess! 

I love when the Youth go out on events like this. I sign Shane up as often as I can. So far, he seems to have bonded more to the leaders than the other kids. He's at least becoming more familiar with everyone and learning names. If we stick around long enough, I figure he'll be an ambassador to new kids to the group even if he doesn't find a best friend right away!

Spring Soccer 2023 (Summer)

Shane's first soccer practice was today! He's looking forward to meeting new kids and being a heroic goalie for everyone.

I'm the coach. 

There was an email saying "Hey! We need someone!"

I thought and prayed about it, but wasn't sure. I assistant coached some when Shane was much younger. I've watched a lot of practices since then. 

I pulled a Gideon and figured I'd wait to see if SOCA emailed again.

They did. 

I had to drive North to the Polo Grounds one day after work, pick a day and time to practice, email all the parents, etc.

I have to not suck at coaching for 10 practices and 9 games. Help me, Lord, because I can't do that on my own!

Day 1 went well, at least. I'm used to yelling at a bunch of kids.

Youth Group Update (Summer)

 Shane is the kid on the wall. If you find that surprising, you don't know Shane.

Youth Group has gone great overall, but not without bumps.

Mid-December, I got an email from Andrew that Shane had accidentally fallen onto the Spike Ball hoop and busted it. 

A pertinent snippet:
"Shane apologized to both me and Liz (cc’d), our StudentLife Coordinator, for damaging church property. Please know that he is forgiven.

We love having Shane in our ministry. His earnest heart and excitement for God are so evident. We would like to partner with you on how we can work with him on his self-regulation. The strategies I have used so far include redirecting him to the group’s task, explaining the reason for a redirection, and asking him to reflect on the impact of his behavior. Do you have any strategies you have found supportive for Shane?"

Yup, definitely my kid. 

Shane got overstimulated, ran around hyper wild, and had an oops.

I talked with Shane. We looked up the price of nets online, which turned out to be what Andrew had planned to do the next time he saw Shane (and Shane quickly pointed out he'd done already done it).

That was Mid-December. 

I've noticed that whenever I drop Shane off, Liz calls him "her buddy." I feel the leaders love Shane's enthusiasm and energy when he's on track. 

The next email I got didn't hit until March 31st (right before Spring Break). The leaders had talked and wanted to do a three strike system with Shane.

A pertinent snippet:
"Over the last several weeks, we have noticed an increase in challenging moments with Shane. The issues center around not showing respect to boundaries set by his peers and disobeying rules from leaders shortly after talking to him. Unfortunately, it has reached a point where his peers are visibly losing patience with him when he disregards their boundaries or distracts during a lesson or small group. 

We love Shane. Our desire is to see him get along well with other students and get the most out of his time in StudentLife. To help him achieve that, we would like to partner with you as we implement a new three-strike system. We recognize we haven’t had real consequences for his behavior in the past, so we would like to introduce a realistic consequence for showing disrespect to leaders and his peers. After three strikes, he will be brought to one of you for the remainder of the service or event. He is welcome back to StudentLife for the next service or event. "

Yup, still Shane. 

I've talked with Shane about the same sort of thing. He's grabby, goofy, and assumes everyone else is having as much fun as he is at all times. It's not a malicious thing at all. The difference between me and the youth leaders is I'm Dad. I don't make a request and there are consequences if I am not heeded.

I wrote back: "Clear consequences are good. He doesn't do a good job of reading subtle or indirect (whether by choice or obliviousness is up to debate). I'm normally near if you need to deliver him to me."

I told Shane the new system was coming. Then I told him if he hit Strike 3 on Wednesday we'd delay going down to Nana's.

You can call it a threat. I call it motivation. 

I prayed that I wouldn't have to follow through. I wanted to take Shane down to Nana's as much as he wanted to go. However, he knows I don't make idle threats. 

Shane got 1 strike that night. He got to go to Nana's on time! 

He's probably only had a couple strikes since,  so I'd say the new system is a success. Shane needs clear feedback and boundaries or he lets loose more than he should. It's not out of malice. Just an overabundance of energy! 

Winter Sports Banquet (Summer)

Monday was the Winter Sports Banquet. There was pizza, but nowhere near enough. I swapped hats with Melvin (the boat-maker) and went back for seconds as a joke. When the pizza ran out, I felt horrible.

Then we had to sit in the cafeteria for way longer than the food had lasted.

To stay entertained, we started a boat-making clinic. Alex was already a pro, but Brian and I were newbies.

It was a relief when we finally went to the auditorium.

We were well supplied.

It started with the usual speech. We were near the end of the rotation, but I got to see a few of my students who participated in other sports.

When it was Wrestling's turn, Coach W wanted to do something different. He had the whole team walk up on stage. I was handed an award and told to make a speech for the Team MVP, Spencer, and Rico gave the speech for Lucy (which embarrassed the heck out of her, of course!). 

I won't say who, but there were multiple boats seeded around the stage, on the table, and in the podium by the time the team marched off. 

And so ended the last event of the winter sports season for 2023! It was a memorable one for me. 

I'm curious about next year, though. Will Brian be back? What about DaVell? They were both joys to work with. We're getting at least one new coach. How will he fit in? Most important of all, how many wrestlers are coming back? Will we have a full team?

Nothing to worry about now, though. Now is the time to rest, recover, and remember.

My 10 Most Read Authors (Quantity is a Quality!)

Lists! 

I decided it'd be entreating to do a few "Top 10 lists" to break out of my writing funk/block. Opinions are like farts. We all have them and it's fun to cut loose a little (even if those around us don't always appreciate them as much as we do). You'll be seeing a few of these on Mondays to help fill in the gaps. I'm starting with books, because the point of all this was to get writing!

This was a fun list to research, but since I've never made recorded a list of what I've read it probably has errors. Multiple authors I wrote on my initial list ended up falling off as I dug deeper! Then there are a ton of authors I have read 8 or 9 books from lurking just outside the top 10.

The short list:

1. David Weber 
2. Michael Stackpole
3. R.A. Salvatore
4. Margaret Weis
5. Robert Asprin
6. Simon R Green
7. Robert Jordan
8. Brandon Sanderson
9. Dan Abnett
10. Loren L Coleman
11. *Robin Hobb* (Already wrote up her blurb and realized I'd left off Asprin! Oops!)

The long list:

Honorable Mention: There are a ton of writers I knew I read a bunch from that hopped on and off the list as I sorted things out: Patricia Briggs (Mercy Thompson + others), William King (Gotrek and Felix, Ragnar), William H Keith Jr (Gray Death Legion), Orson Scott Card (Ender's Game, Enchantment), John Ringo for referencing Sluggy Freelance, Lynne Reid Banks for all The Indian in the Cupboard books, Bernard Cornwell for the Sharpe historical fiction series...the list goes on, and on.

11.* Robin Hobb - Robin went up on my first draft. I've read a ton of trilogies. I only read one trilogy from many authors, but I knew I'd read books from 4 of Robins. I enjoyed both of Fitz's trilogies. I know I read at least the first two from the LiveShip Traders Trilogy. I think I had to return or lost the library book of the third and never got back to it. I started the Soldier's Son trilogy, but never went beyond the first book.  Her books were all big, so I let that break a bunch of ties with other authors I've read the same number of books from. *I wrote this before I realized Robin wouldn't make the list! I didn't feel like deleting it though, so you get a bonus pick.*

Total count = 9 books

10. Loren L Coleman - Battletech is the IP I've read the most of. It's not high literature, but it is fun. I played the board game at Bill and Dan's, loved the robots (before they got sued by Harmony Gold), and happened upon a book at the school library (The Sword and the Dagger by Ardath Mayhar). The IP became something of a comfort/junk food read for me. Loren L Coleman is one of the more prolific Btech writers. He wasn't my favorite author, but I liked the IP and he was fun. It's like the french fries you have on hand when you're hungry. As long as someone didn't screw them up, you know you're going to eat through them. 

Total = 10 books (and +1 as an editor)

9. Dan Abnett - Dan Abnett writes for comics, too, but he made this list purely from Warhammer fiction. I really enjoyed his novels about Gaunt's Ghosts and that led me to read others of his. John McG was a big fan and passed me Titanticus and other books of his. Some of Abnett's endings were abrupt and a little anti-climatic, but the novels were always action packed fun.  There are other Black Library authors who I've almost read as much of, but Abnett got the final victory. 

Total count = 11 books (I think...maybe 8 Gaunts' Ghosts, Titanicus, and 2 from Eisenhorn? I don't think I finished the last of that trilogy)

8. Brandon Sanderson - Mistborn: The Final Empire blew my mind. The rest of the trilogy wasn't as amazing, but it sealed in my mind that BrandoSando as an author to pay attention to. He helped finished the Wheel of Time (an incredible, nigh impossible feat), and I've enjoyed other books of his as well (Steelheart, Warbreaker, some Alloy of Law, Stormlight Archives). He's also an author I will probably continue to read even more of in the future. During COVID, he posted his creative writing course online. I enjoyed going through it with Matt, so Sanderson' probably the most watched author on this list! Bonus points from being from Nebraska, as well.

Total count = 13 books (so far)

7. Robert Jordan - It's fitting that RJ comes right next to Brandon Sanderson, because they're linked. The Wheel of Time is one of my favorite series of all time. The books are massive. Based on word count, RJ would rank higher. Unfortunately, RJ passed away from cardiac amyloidosis before he could finish his series. He knew the end was coming, though. He talked to his wife and left copious notes which allowed her to select Brandon Sanderson to write the final books. RJ wrote the first 11 books and the prequel. I heard he wrote most of the final battle in book 14 (a "chapter" in name only of over 200 pages!), but don't have a source at hand. It's not a perfect series, but it would easily make the cut if I did a list on my favorite novel series. 

Total count = 15 books (including the ones posthumously).

6. Simon R Green - The next author was just fun. The Deathstalker series doesn't pretend to be realistic. It's swordfights and guns in space with aliens, cybernetics, ELFs, a Clone Liberation Front, and an evil queen nicknamed the Iron Bitch. The teenage me loved it. I picked up the audiobook cheap and got ~3/4 through before I found the violence too much for me now. The humor held up. There are quips of banter I can quote, "suddenly, violently, and all over the place." There were 8 large books in the Deathstalker series. I was ready for more afterward. However, while I enjoyed Blue Moon Rising, Beyond the Blue Moon, and multiple Nightside books (I *think* at least 4), I noticed Simon reused catchphrases and descriptors. I felt like Owen and Hazel had been reskinned as Hawk and Fisher and the Nightside was different, but I kept hearing echoes that were too familiar. Drinking Midnight Wine was a standalone. Simon is a niche pick. I feel like he could be a fun author for the right person, but a huge miss for others. 

Total count = 16 books (probably)

5. Robert Asprin - I loved the M.Y.T.H. and Phule books. Think magical, buddy comedy with lots of banter and hijinks that isn't completely off the wall zany. The books were short. That's what helped but Asprin on this list. I think Another Fine Myth can be under 200 pages based on the page and print size. I re-read it once in roughly two hours (lots of dialogue!). I read Asprin mostly in high school, but I picked up the audiobook of Another Fine Myth and Phule's Company for cheap on audible. They were both 4 out of 5's for me with Myth aging much better over time than Phule's. I didn't grab the second audiobook for either series, but may if a big enough sale hits (I'd be more inclined to grab more MYTH books, because the first 2 Phule books are vastly better than the rest IMO).

Total count = 17 books minimum (13+ from MYTH, 3+ from Phule's, For King and Country)

4. Margaret Weiss (+ Tracy Hickman) My first draft put Margaret Weiss and Tracy Hickman at the top of the list. I wasn't sure if I should list them together or put Hickman at number 2. The pair worked together on the Dragonlance novels (of which I read a ton). They also worked together on the Deathgate Cycle with Haplo (I read at least 4 of those). Margaret did write without Hickman, though. I found her Star of the Guardians books at a used book store long, long ago (The Book Rack in Beaumont?). The laser swords were almost a Star Wars knock off, but they injected a virus that led to a sacrifice play by a bodyguard I remember to this day. However, when I tried to count I found multiple books I thought the pair wrote in Dragonlance weren't written by them. Mary Kirchoff wrote the Defenders of Magic Trilogy amongst others. Richard Knaak got his start writing some great Dragonlance novels before he shifted to WarCraft. The final tally dethroned the pair, but I will still always remember them for Tasselhoff, Fizban, and making Fireball such a wonderful spell.

Total count = 17 books minimum. Beats Asprin in the tie-breaker due to length of her books

3. R.A. Salvatore - I guessed Salvatore at #2 on my initial list. I burned through Drizzt books and The Cleric Quintet in high school. I eventually burned out on Drizzt after 11 or 12 books, but that alone would've put R.A. on this list. I picked up The Crystal Shard in audiobook format for only $5. Spoken aloud, Crenshinibon sounded way too much like Cinnabun! I probably won't purchase any more, but it was a nostalgic listen. Even as a teenager I could tell that Drizzt was meant/written to be a side character, but he grew and took over the story. It's not high literature, but I found that interesting. Exile, the 3rd prequel where Drizzt first reaches the surface, is probably my favorite. I've read it two or three times. I enjoyed Salvatore's Crimson Shadow trilogy and the first book in the Demon Awakens Trilogy, but the Forgotten Realms novels are what I know him for. I did not read the infamous Star Wars book where he killed off Chewbacca, but I know it exists! 

Total count = 22 books (Maybe 23?) 

2. Michael Stackpole - Stackpole wrote for Battletech and Star Wars: Two IPs I like. I first read him in Battletech (which I preferred to Star Wars). Stackpole wrote a lot of the mainline plot novels for Battletech and the game/universe fascinated me. He's not my favorite Btech author, but he wrote many of my favorite events (and did it well). Eventually, I read all the Btech books and I needed more things to read. I liked Star Wars and Timothy Zahn introduced me to Thrawn. Stackpole came soon after when I saw he wrote a series on Rogue Squadron. I already enjoyed the X-wing and Tie-Fighter video games, so an author I liked doing dogfights? Sold. 

Total count = 22 books minimum. I might have read Book 2 of the Secret Atlas Trilogy and Isard's Revenge, but after so many years I couldn't say.

1. David Weber - The Honorverse ruined space naval battles for me. It's been called "Horatio Hornblower in Space." The first book, On Basilisk Station, was harder to get through, but, once the tech and world clicked in my head, I powered on to read at least the first 10 books in the main story line. The way Weber envisioned missiles and naval warfare evolving in space makes sense to me. There are things I find...odd...about the series (especially on the romantic subplots), but there's more that goes right. Some of the buildups take too long, but the payoffs are normally worth the wait. I enjoyed how much the universe/tech progressed over time, too. I liked the Honorverse so much, that I branched out to other Weber books. In some of those books, Weber teamed up with other authors. I went on to try their books because I enjoyed what they had done with Weber (Eric Flint and John Ringo come quickly to mind). There are a lot more Weber books out there, but I haven't been in a rush to get to them. Weber feels like an author from my past rather than one of the future. I might be willing to read more Honorverse again with a friend/book club. I found Weber on my own, but my friend Mike Cooley turned out to be a fan, as well. I enjoyed talking about the books with him. The series was unfinished when I stopped. I'm not sure I have it in me to reread 10 books to remember enough to reach the end.

Total count =  23 books minimum

Total book count from all authors = At least 166 books (1-10, I didn't include Robin Hobb). 

And that's my list! It's accurate enough. First place changed three times as I counted titles to figure out the winner (Margaret Weiss --> Michael Stackpole --> David Weber). I know I read plenty of other series like Encyclopedia Brown, the Hardy Boys, and The Three Investigators as a kid, but I don't think I read more than 10 of each. I might have read more than 10 of my sisters Sweet Valley Kids series, but those are so short calling them novels would have been overly generous. I recognized a ton of covers from all the authors, but my heavy reading years featured a limited income and Amazon was just becoming a thing. I know I wanted to read more of their books, but I know I didn't get the chance on many.  

There's a clear trend on the list towards action-packed, heroic fantasy and sci-fi. Many of the IPs/series have games or other forms of media I consumed alongside the books. There's such a haze of nostalgia surrounding many of these books that I'm hesitant to reread some of them lest I realize they're not as good as I remember. There might be 3 or 4 books that would make my Top 10 favorites list, but that's a much harder list to write. 

Overall, this was a fun exercise. Hopefully, pride wasn't what drove me to write it. Opinions are fun to give, but are dangerous if you forget they aren't important in the scheme of things or the public-at-large.

Kitten (Summer)

It was inevitable: The kitten has moved beyond the bathroom and into the bedroom.

The bathroom is open for all other business.

It started off as Pip's safe spot and he eagerly returned to it (especially if someone went to use it - he's a social guy).

Carrie brought Happy in to the room for an early introduction. The cats can smell Pip through the bedroom door, so they know he's around.

Piper was scared. Happy was curious, but more curious where the food was.

After Happy left, Pip came out from hiding and continued to make merry in my once cat-free sanctuary.

Thankfully, he hasn't set off my allergies. Between the immunotherapy, daily meds, and constant subjection to animal fuzz I've noticed no difference.

Which is good, because Carrie is completely enamored with Pip. He's in the running for being her favorite.

He's in the running for my favorite, as well, if I'm being honest. Pip is a playful little guy.

He's claimed Carrie as his safe spot. He sleep on her and wallows whenever possible.

When Pip isn't running around at full tilt, he'll usually have a paw on Carrie.

The downside of that is all the claw marks decorated Carrie's arm. You can tell Pip isn't trying to be rough. I've been bit by a cat. It hurts. Pip will play bite and grab on, but if react and pull away even a little bit that extra momentum allows claws to sink into skin. 

But that's Carrie's problem. She's the one who's been using her digits as toys! Pip hasn't peed anywhere outside of the cat pot and I'm not sneezing my brains out, so I'm happy to let things ride for now. 

Poop Drop

I thought I started a draft for today, but I didn't. However, I noticed this draft sitting around from 12/22/2021!

Back in the day, I originally didn't pour the poop into the back of the gator. I was trying to keep the trunk cleaner in case I used it to transport hay bales (As seen here).

There were drawbacks.

 

I learned quickly what the most efficient and safe ways were to transport crap.

Having to clean up the mess is motivational!

And so after a long wait, this post (and it's awesome title) have finally seen the joy of publishing. Thanks for waiting, Draft!

The Chair Saga Continues! (Summer)

After a couple of weeks of sitting at odd angles, relief has been sited.

Huzzah! A box!

What glorious contents it contains!

Some assembly required, but the portents are promising!

Thank you, kind office worker who aided me on my quest for proper seating. After the vile mishap at the Amazon that would have left me off kilter for another couple of weeks, you found a similarcrum of similar seat-ature at the Staples.

Only small complaint, the new chair squeaks whenever I lean back. Feels kinda odd when the whole class looks up and looks at me mid-quiz. I suppose I could grease it, but that would take more cares and I used those to construct the chair in the first place. Maybe that can be a beginning of next year quest.

Wordled Out(Summer)

It was a good run, but now I'm done.

I started with Wordle, but Octordle was definitely my favorite (1600 games later...).

I played Wordle a few more times before I signed off from it, too. I find it to be more swingy than Octordle. I've played it enough times I've gotten some pretty odd results! From the worst of times...

...to the best of times!

It was a fun! I definitely recommend it to anyone who likes word games.