My board game

As I mentioned in my last post, starting in the middle months of my school program, my creative brainwaves were struggling with the lack of creativity. I have a steady creative streak in me that I need an outlet for.

The interesting timing of this particular creative streak is that I was praying for a way to make more money, because I need to support my family. Within the next few weeks, I was consummed by ideas for this game. This strikes a chord in me from a sermon I heard a couple years ago. The sermon spoke about God filling our brains with money-making ideas when we ask Him for help. We just have to follow through. I haven't made a dime on this yet, but I'm putting this out there now - I think this idea is a God thing. I'll be crushed if it's not. When building/thinking about my game, I feel a sensation that comes most often when the Holy Spirit is actively working in my brain.

Anyway, the game is fun. Really fun. I'm not going into game-specific details here, but it has potential to be a big hit in the market, if there's still a market for board games. I just have to find the right company to work with.

I pulled some rules together, then made some horrible game pieces and a rough board. Let me talk about a few things: the board, the pieces, the game design, the play testing.

The board was a seed of an idea I planted into Microsoft Publisher, which grew into a mighty solid foundation. The idea led to a design that led to further ideas. I had the idea for hexagonal spaces that would lend to more board movement ease. Then I just started copying and pasting these spaces together. They began to form a board. The shape they formed was brilliant, and the spacing allowed me to create further design elements. I'm being purposefully vague here. Hopefully, I'll be able to say more later, or hopefully, you can just buy the game.

The pieces started out on paper, and I had to cut them out. It was rough. We're talking over 300 little pieces of paper. When these failed, I tried to make them better and printed them on better paper. When that failed, I bought colored wood pieces. These worked okay, but I could see big problems with them - like they were just to big for the board spaces. So, now I have circular pieces with numbered stickers on it. It's functional. Not ideal, but workable.

The rules of the game are layered with strategy. The key to good game strategy creation is to know what behaviors you wish to reward and what behaviors you wish to punish (usually simply by making it harder to win because you lack the rewards others are getting). I layered the strategy by making small rules that must be worked in conjunction to maximize effect. Those of us who are testing my game have ever-evolving strategy based upon the little rules I have set in place.

The play testing has evolved as well. The beginning was rough, I'm not going to lie. But now, as small tweaks are made, the game is becoming a robust, fun, strategic game. Friends are signing up to play when I am able to schedule tests. Those who play report to me that they want to play more. This is a good sign.

Everything is proceeding as I have forseen.

Consider my brain stretched

My wild ride of school is exactly two weeks from being over. During these last 18 to 20 months, I have defeated my sleep-mares of failure by throwing giant letter A's at them. My wife and I have become pregnant. I invented a board game (more on this later). I started and have been successful at a new job.

So far, I have 14 A's and 1 A-minus, with one class to go. My brain is stretched. I have been really past my homework limit for about 3 months. It's time to be done.

Can't wait.

Will be blogging more in the near future.

A-B-B-A

My world is precarious
a circle - fate and destiny
in the balance, eternity,
large and small and various

moments of passion and rage
the respite of competing
and the mind-numbing bleating
the oncoming storm of age

birth and burial, bookends,
a middle full of means
conscience light and clean
and choices without amends

violence without action
pain without remorse
justice without recourse
choice without redaction

truth and consequences
faith that fractures might
those lonely in the night
fools who sit on fences

fall upon your pride
bleed to save your life
upon the skin the knife
free the poison inside

for pain defies the reasons
and pleasure refines the peace
hold strong till breaths cease
when purity defines your treasons

breathe in the scent of pander
breathe out the words of tripe
ignore ad hominem and hype
the allegations of slander

truth overcomes the muse
words destroy the illusion
of love, kindess, inclusion
and secret hidden abuse

throw off tyrannical reigns
put on the belt of truth
grasp the undeniable proof
until it courses through the veins.

An interesting coincidence

Yesterday was a horrible day for me. I'm feeling down - not blue like when the weather is constantly dreary. Down like when people who should love me and continuously say they love me demonstrate rejection by their silence.

My drive to work is 8 minutes - 10 if I hit both lights as they turn red. My drive to school is 15 minutes. These times are important.

I headed to work in the morning yesterday. Normally I listen to AM sports talk radio. They just went to commercial, so I flipped to FM and scanned the channels. A powerful song was on the Christian radio station. It touched me in my sadness and breathed a small breath of hope in my soul. I nearly cried in the car.

I left work to go home. Dr. Laura usually accompanies me for those brief minutes. She was interesting, but her caller was super boring, so I switched to FM and flipped through the channels. The same Christian station (by the way, it's #6 on my dial and I almost always go in order from 1-6) was playing the same song. Again, I caught the song moments after it started. It really touched me deep in my soul once more. It was an interesting enough coincidence that I mentioned it to a couple people at my class later that evening.

So after class, I'm driving home. I normally listen to Love Line because after class is the latest I'm ever up listening to the radio. Well, my project group had been working a little late, so I was about 20 minutes later heading home than normal. Love Line went to commercial, so I started flipping. No station was playing a song, so I kept flipping for 60 seconds. I landed on the same station as before for about the third or fourth time and found the same song playing once more - it was at the beginning.

What are the chances that in the total of about 15 minutes that I listened to music on the radio that I'd hear the same song, 3 times, and catch it near the beginning every time? I did not hear another song on the radio in that time either.

Coincidence, maybe, but God's fingerprints are all over it.

Oh, you want to know which song, huh? Here it is.



I try to hold on to this world with everything I have
But I feel the weight of what it brings, and the hurt that trys to grab
The many trials that seem to never end, His word declares this truth,
that we will enter in this rest with wonders anew

But I hold on to this hope and the promise that He brings
That there will be a place with no more suffering

There will be a day with no more tears,
No more pain, and no more fears
There will be a day when the burdens of this place,
Will be no more, we’ll see Jesus face to face
But until that day, we’ll hold on to you always

I know the journey seems so long
You feel your walking on your own
But there has never been a step
Where you’ve walked out all alone

Troubled soul don’t lose your heart
Cause joy and peace he brings
And the beauty that’s in store
Outweighs the hurt of life’s sting

I can’t wait until that day
where the very one I’ve lived for always will wipe away
the sorrow that I’ve faced
To touch the scars that rescued me
from a life of shame and misery
this is why this is why I sing….

There will be a day with no more tears,
no more pain, and no more fears
There will be a day when the burdens of this place,
will be no more, we’ll see Jesus face to face

There will be a day,
He’ll wipe away the stains,
He’ll wipe away the tears,
He’ll wipe away the tears
There will be a day.

Catching up on all things bloggy

1. I'm still getting straight A's.

2. I was very sick for about 3 weeks. I used 70 hours of paid sick leave. I lost 10 pounds in 12 days.

3. The sickness made me miss 2 periods of 1 class, which is normally cause for dropping the class. My teacher decided to reward my perfect attendance up to this point by giving me an Incomplete until I get the work caught up.

4. Having a pregnant wife is interesting but not as interesting as people say. I've seen it before. It's the same, except it's happening to me. She's also calm and happy to be pregnant, so she remains sweet instead of whiny, despite the growing pains.

5. Regardless of issue, my viewpoint will be different from most people. This is not a new characteristic for me. I always end up in a different place by a different path. One thing remains consistent - I want to be the best (not my best, but THE best) at everything. Fatherhood is no different.

6. Seeing my grandparents and aunt, uncle, and cousins has become one of my favorite traditions during the November/December holiday season.

7. I emailed my father. He called me presumptive. So nothing's changed in our dynamic.

8. I've seen several interesting movies. Wish I could remember which ones. Moon was disappointing. HP 6 was disappointing. Saw a Hitchcock film, Rebecca, that ruined the coolest parts of the book of the same name. I guess Hollywood has been ruining great books for at least 70 years, then.

9. I only have 8 weeks until I'm done with classes. (Well, not entirely. I dropped our online class when the teacher gave us too much homework in the syllabus and wanted to have us meet for class twice at the school. Kind of defeats the purpose of online, then, doesn't it? I'll have to take this class during the summer.)

10. I'm sure there are more things. Maybe I'll have the time or inclination to write more after I step out from under the rain cloud of never-ending homework. I wanted to give homework up for Lent, but my wife thought my idea wasn't truly in the spirit of Lent.

Later, folks.

The long wait during Christmas

Ten years ago. TEN! Christmas was coming. The school year was wrapping up. Surprisingly, I had just found out that this friend of mine had a terribly powerful crush on me. Never had someone of such high caliber been so interested in me. Sensing opportunity, I decided to pursue her.

We talked.....and talked.....and talked. I found her to be a scintillating conversationalist. She was a long-term relationship person. Two relationships, multiple years in length. I was a short-term relationship person. My longest relationship with a girl up to that point had been nine months (of which, during the middle three, she was out of the country). None of the others lasted more than three months.

So we talked about foundation building. We talked about waiting until after the break to see if God was speaking to us. Waiting to see where our hearts would lead us. I knew potential when I saw it. Long-lasting relationships are equal parts pursuit and reflection. The reflection is the mental building of a forward base as in a war.

Several factors were weighing on me. Three prophecies in my life were showing signs of coming to fulfillment. I had hidden these prophecies in the secret place of my heart that I might know the signs. I use the term prophecy loosely here. In this story, it means something in the past that spoke toward the future.

The first prophecy was a prayer I prayed when I was 13. I prayed that after certain events happen in my life, that God would introduce me to my wife. Well, those events had recently come to conclusion the previous summer. I met Hanna one week after.

The second prophecy was from a friend of mine. I was the best man at his wedding and I was depressed in the months heading up to it. He was younger than me and was getting married. To comfort me, he told me that by the time he got married, I would have met my wife. For some reason, I kind of believed him. Also, I wanted to see if he was right or wrong.

The third prophecy came from me as well. A couple of Valentine's Days prior, I sat in my room for the second year in a row suffering emotionally from a breakup with a girl. As I sat there in my room feeling miserable, I prayed to God that, since I had never had someone to cherish over the romantic holiday, I would spend every single V-day with only one girl.

All of these weighed heavily upon my decision-making process. This particular Christmas season was the longest in my life. Every day seemed to drag in perpetuity. Over the years I learned that I give my heart out too quickly. So I set about to guard myself from future pain. All of these things formed together to create the mental equivalent to cement. With the just right concoction, I found that it could be formed into a solid, long-term foundation.

Ten years ago, it seemed that every aspect of my life was leading up to Hanna. Yet we waited. We prayed, separately. We reflected on our friendship and tested it to see if it could hold the weight of romance.

Hot Water Pressure

I'm thankful today. My house has been suffering for months from a mere trickle of hot water.

We finally had a plumber come over to check out our hot water heater, which we were fully prepared to replace. He opened the pipe leading from the heater to our house and said immediately, "Oh, I see your problem right here." We had a inch of silt that had hardened into rock at the point of exit from the heater. He stabbed it until it went away, then he fixed our guestroom-side toilet in five minutes.

Spending $75 is fantastic when you expected to spend $600 or more. I'm thankful.

Oh, and this morning when I showered, the hot water pressure gently peeled away my skin. Definitely one of the best showers of my life.

Keeping up with my classes or my blog

Well, two more classes and two more A's. My favorite teacher taught the first class, Desktop Publishing. She gave us an easier time than other cohorts before us. We only had to do a brochure, not a 16-page magazine. This was a good choice for her. I actually read the design book because I had time, which I wouldn't have had without the easier main project.

The second class was pathetic. I think teachers are trying to put us in unnecessarily difficult situations on purpose. This class made us use 3 Adobe programs we'd never used before - in a 5-week class. Tough. Also, with the Web design program, we had so many problems because it's finicky. The teacher was not available to help us on any days other than classtime. It was a train wreck. Most of my stamina was sucked up by that class. My motivation is low for my current class. I'm trying to survive until Thanksgiving, when I have the week off from work and no class.

That does not actually mean I have a week off for myself. My cohort is the first one to try to do a 15-week online class (homework due on Sundays) at the same time as having a Thursday classroom class. So, basically, my weekends are taken up with online homework, leaving me less time for my other class. Just last Thursday, my current professor attempted to claim that we have an "extra" week (over Thanksgiving) to work on his project. Our class snickered, so I informed him that our online class major project is due the Sunday after Thanksgiving. So basically both teachers think giving us homework over the holiday is a wonderful idea. Our online teacher is great, though, because she is a little negotiable. The others are not.

Also, my Thursday professor is going to give us a take-home test after our final class meeting, due 24 hours later. This is ridiculous. I asked him if we could have more than 1 WORKDAY to do the test. He said that technically he shouldn't be giving us any work after the final class. Because of that excuse and the amount of time he has to turn in his final grades, he would only move the test to Thursday during class time. ("I'm giving you an extra day to do the test.") Also, he's only giving us the test 1 week before, so we cannot work on it early. I can see his problem and his position; I just wanted to complain about it.

I still have straight A's. I am enduring. I seek the goal of a high GPA. Unfortunately, I don't actually need to learn much of anything or read any books to get good grades. I'm a strategic student. I do what I need to get points, but if I am overworked, the situation becomes more like triage and less like learning. I haven't been reading the books, except one, since we started doing 2 classes at once. I don't have the time. That's their fault as much as mine.

Anyway, I'm winning, but I'm tired. With so much work to do (and a new job with new responsibilties), I haven't been keeping up on my blog. I'll be back when I can. :)

Total Eclipse of the Heart

Whether you do or don't know the original song, check out this video. Yes, the background is the originally created video - by the artist. The redone song is in response to the spazzed video.

Tenure

So there I was, sashaying into class. Not a care in the wo . . . Hey, there are some hot girls in this freshman-level class. Maybe I'll sit nearby.

First day, senior-level swagger. Safely stowing my studious materials under my chair. An empty desk is best for learni . . . flirting. Pzzt! Ahhh! Mt. Dew in the late morning. Cheetos for pre-lunch.

An outgoing girl in front of me. Her quiet friend whispering to her. Sure, fine ladies, you can have some Cheetos. I don't mind. (Note to self, Cheetos = conversation starter.) Hey, why don't we sit together every class.

Physical Science teacher preparing for class. First overhead says, Phisycal Sceince 101. It's going to be a good class; I can tell.

The relative easiness of the class means I don't really have to pay attention or work too hard, but I don't dare use any of my alloted "skips" for this class. Our crew is now 3 good-looking girls and me. Why would I skip?

As the months roll by, I start hanging out with one of the girls and her group of friends outside of class (the quiet one, though not so quiet anymore). She intrigues me, but more in the lifelong-friend category. Spending time together, forming bonds of shared experiences, meshing personalities.

A sudden-onset smidge of jealousy forces her to confront her feelings for me and to confront me with these feelings. The subsequent roller coaster ride.

That was ten years ago when it started......when I met Hanna......over Cheetos. The lifelong friend. Romance is just a bonus!

Congratulations, you officially have tenure, babe. Along with the many other benefits you will receive, the most important one now is that I cannot fire you.