Snow, Christmas, and The End of Days

As I sit on my couch writing this post, Vermont is getting hit by a good old fashioned snow storm. It has been a couple years since we've really gotten pounded with snow, so this is a welcome sight to most people in the area. Well, apart from winter storms being named now. Euclid? Really? I'm pretty sure that this storm isn't following any of the five axioms of Euclidean Geometry.

This storm started they way that a good winter storm should: at night. As we went to bed last night, we knew that the storm would be starting soon, and as I was drifting off I could hear the cars driving by on a wet road...it had started!

When we woke up this morning, there were already a good three or four inches on the ground, and the snow was supposed to keep coming all day. Thankfully I'm off from work until next year, so I don't have to worry about getting anywhere on time. But I can look forward to snowshoeing at some point soon and, well, it sure does look nice.

Christmas was two days ago...and I can say that I actually enjoyed the holiday! I have a history of Acute Grinchism, which gets worse as the holiday approaches, but it wasn't too bad this year. I spent the holiday with Laura and her family, and it was amazing. We went to a couple of holiday parties, had quite a few nice meals at her parent's house, and exchanged gifts. All in all, it left me with a very content and happy feeling that I haven't felt in years!

So here we are in one of the more relaxing times of the year. It's that wonderful week between Christmas and New Years! Right after Thanksgiving there is always a huge build up to Christmas filled with shopping, parties, and family. And while most of those things can be fun and bring lots of joy to people, it can also be stressful as all get out.

But once all the presents have been opened and that last holiday party has had the lights turned out, we all get to settle in and think about the coming of a new year. No matter whether your year was amazing or a huge pile of shit, we all get a proverbial clean slate in a few days. It's quite refreshing really!

And speaking of the New Year, one thing I am VERY thankful for is that the 21st of December has come and gone without incident. For some reason nothing made me more grumpy than listening to people go on and on about how the Mayans were going to be right and the world was going to end. Some of it was in jest, but there were surely those that really felt that way. Rampant stupidity bothers me. So, needless to say, I'm glad that's over with.

To close out, I thought I would post a picture of our tree with all the presents underneath!

My First NFL Game

Growing up a 49ers fan in New England wasn't the worst thing in the world. My only football complaint might be that Vermont does have a good amount of Giants fans. The Giants and Niners clashed quite a few times in the playoffs over the years, but other than that I tend to exist peacefully in my own little football bubble.

As an offshoot of living up here, when my team wasn't playing very well over the last 10 years I adopted the Patriots as my "other" team that I would root for. I was always pretty satisfied when they won and it was a small comfort as my Niners would stink the joint up every week. I would never have said I was a Pats fan, per se, but I was able to root for them as a non-conference rival that gave me something fun to watch.

Even though my team sucked I was able to enjoy football, and I would head to my best friend's house to watch games every Sunday. On the off chance that the Niners were televised, Don would root for them with me, and when the Pats came on I would root for them with him. It was a lot of fun and kept us both happy.

Well, last year things got a lot better in my world. The Niners turned things around thanks in a large part to Jim Harbaugh, their new coach. They made a great run and made me much happier to be a Niners fan. And, much like years past, Don and I rooted for our respective teams while secretly hoping for a Super Bowl matchup that would pit our two teams against each other.

One night after the season was over I mentioned that I would have loved to see a Niners/Pats Super Bowl and Don said "Well, the AFC East plays the NFC West next year, maybe the game will be in Foxboro." And at that moment we both agreed that if it was out here we would go. Then a few weeks later the schedule came out and we saw the game...week 15, December 16th, in Foxboro. That night we decided to go.

We bought our tickets months prior to the game, and joked around about how much it would suck if one team or the other wound up being a bust this year. The weeks wore on, and then football kicked off...and Don and I resumed our old roles. I would root for the Pats, and he would root for the Niners as we watched games every week. The season progressed, marching ever closer to Week 15, and our teams were both leading their divisions and arguably the best team in their respective conferences.

The week before the game got interesting for Don and I. For the first time in forever, we started talking a little smack about each other's teams. He pointed out that the Niners would be looking for their favorite outcome, the tie, while I mentioned that Brady hadn't seen a REAL defense yet and would waffle under the pressure.

Finally, Sunday morning arrived. We loaded up the van, picked up our friends and headed out for the game. And the conditions were exactly what you would expect for football in December: cold and miserable. On the way to the stadium from our friend's place in Rhode Island, we started seeing a ton of cars all meandering towards Foxboro. It was all starting to sink in. We were about to see our teams play!

Don and I sporting our awesome hats

My greatest fear for the weeks leading up to the game was focused not so much on the game, but more on the fans. I'm a fan of the Red Sox and Bruins. Have been all my life. And forgive me, but Boston area fans can be some real DICKS. So I was concerned with walking into the Patriots' house with the other team's colors on and getting a hard time.

Upon parking I realized that I wasn't going to be alone. There were a fair number of people there to root for the Niners, and we all hailed each other with smiles and nods when we made eye contact. It was like greeting someone from your country while halfway around the world. It made us feel a little more relaxed and a little more at ease.

The tailgaiting experience was one that I can't wait to relive. As far as the eye could see people were popping canopies out of their trucks and cars and firing up grills. The smell of cooking meat and the sounds of football were everywhere. It was a neat atmosphere, even for someone that was rooting for the enemy. Once game time started creeping closer, we bundled up and headed for the stadium.

While I've always thought that baseball stadiums were big, they can't hold a candle to a football stadium. Gillette seemed massive to me. And our seats? 300 level. Top tier. I was expecting them to suck, but we were right near the front and the action was surprisingly easy to see from our viewpoint. We found our seats, got some food, and waited for the action to start.

The view from our seats

Five minutes before kickoff we took our seats. The rain was light, but steady. The cold was amplified by the fact that everything was getting soaked. The wind in our section wasn't too bad, but a small breeze made the temperature drop even more.

And yet I was in heaven.

I've been to professional baseball games and I've been to professional hockey games. I've defended baseball to people that have called it boring, telling them that they should see it live. I've said that hockey was fast-paced and got the crowd excited. I've listened to people tell me how football was an experience like no other.

Well, they were right.

I've always been a passionate fan, and sometimes I will yell at the TV. My friends will jokingly say "You know they can't hear you, right?" and I'll laugh. Well, last night, there was a chance they might actually hear me! I certainly wasn't alone in that thought process...

The crowd was SO LOUD!! The fans, almost without exception, hung on every play like the game could change in a minutes notice. And boy, did it. The Niners jumped out to an early lead and went into halftime up 17-3. Two quick scores in the third quarter made the game look out of reach at 31-3. Of course, everyone knows how potent the Patriots offense is, and they came roaring back in the second half to tie the game at 31.

And the stadium started rocking. Literally.

The Niners pulled ahead again and finally held on, winning what was one of the greatest games I had ever seen. My heart was in my throat for the entire fourth quarter, and the roller coaster of emotion that I experienced might have taken a couple years off of my life.

 We walked back to the car. I was drenched, but happy. So happy. My first NFL game. My first time seeing the Niners. And they won. It doesn't get much better than that.

Don and I right before the game. Soaked. Nervous. Excited.

Yankee Swaps

It's that time of year again. The stockings are hung by the chimney with care, the trees are trimmed, and the hustle and bustle of Christmas is everywhere. For the first time in years, I'm actually feeling the spirit (Spirit?) as well. In fact, while I'm writing this I am listening to the Pandora Christmas channel and sitting next to my tree! A picture, you say? Well, here it is:

Nice, huh? You're damn right it is.

Along with the decorating and shopping, there is another time-honored tradition that a good few of us indulge in this time of year: the holiday party. Between work and friends it seems like there are several parties that everyone wants to attend. And why not? Good food, good company, plenty of booze...and sometimes a Yankee Swap!!!

For those of you that don't know, a Yankee Swap is a gift giving tradition where you buy a gift within a certain dollar range, and wrap it up. They all get put under a tree, and then everyone draws a number. When your number is called, you get up and pick a gift. You open it up and find something fun and exciting inside!! Or...you know...not. Sometimes it's a bottle of fuel-injector cleaner. But I'm getting ahead of myself.

Where does the "swap" come in? Well, that's actually been up for a little debate between Laura and I lately. All of the Yankee Swaps I've been to have been run this way:

• Pick a number
• When you number is called you open a present
• If you like, you may switch with anyone who went before you
• The person who drew number one gets to switch with the anyone at the end

There's usually a limit put on the number of times a present may be traded as well. 

In her experience, it's a little different:

• Pick a number
• When your number is called, you decide to either 
• open a new gift or 
• take someone else's gift and let them pick a new one
• The person who drew number one gets to switch with anyone

So a small difference, but it makes for a different experience! Anyway, tomorrow evening we will be attending a party that some old friends throw every year. There will be immense amounts of food, booze, and plenty of presents to be swapped. Their house rules are a $10 limit and it can be a real or gag gift. Hence the fuel-injector cleaner. 

But, no matter what I wind up coming home with (or "forgetting" there), it will be a lot of fun with some good friends. 

49ers - Week 14

Well, another week in the books. The Niners hosted the Dolphins yesterday and came out with a victory.I know that a win is a win, but a few things are troubling me:

Kick coverage - the special teams have been LOUSY at this all year, so it shouldn't surprise me, but it's just getting worse and worse. They had the Dolphins in a tailspin momentum wise after a muffed punt return led to a touchdown and then let them get a 35 yard return on the ensuing kickoff. That has to stop. I know the defense is good, but they need a little help.

Clock management - the offense, over the last few weeks, has been miserable at this. I don't know if this is Kaepernick getting used to being a starter or a change in the offense in general, but they need to stop using their timeouts so quickly. Yesterday they used their final timeout (albeit on a challenge) two minutes into the fourth quarter.

3rd down efficiency -  A team can't rank in the lower 3rd of the league in this stat and expect to make it far in the playoffs. Especially when they are failing to convert on 3rd and short. There's no need for this.

Penalties - The team as a whole is committing way too many penalties. While they are frustrating on defense, they have been a killer on the offensive side of things. It's hard to get any momentum when you're constantly moving backwards.

Now, there are some shining spots as well...Kaepernick is playing well and needs to keep working at his second and third reads. But he's a lot more mobile and takes fewer sacks than Smith did. Aldon Smith is a massive force on the defense. He may wind up breaking the single season sack record at this rate.

Next week? The Patriots in Foxboro on a wintery New England night. Should be fun...and I'll be there watching!

Easy Like Sunday Morning

No, I'm not talking about the classic song by The Commodores:

I'm talking about my tastes in entertainment. Movies, television, music, books, board games...all of these things are very prevalent in my life. And lately I've noticed that I'm a pretty lenient grader when it comes to telling people what I like and what I didn't. The more I've thought about it, the more I've realized that while I like a lot of things, there are some criteria that need to be met:

Movies: If it's a comedy, I want to laugh. If it's an action film, I want to see shit blowing up. If it's a sci-fi flick, leave me with questions. Fantasy? Transport me to a faraway land. As long as those are met, I'm pretty happy. I will admit that I'm harder to please when it's a movie that's been built up by hype. I most enjoy going into a movie not knowing a thing about it. Which is why I still need to see Cabin in the Woods.

Television: Don't meander. Just because you have 24 episodes a season, don't spend forever telling me about something irrelevant. And, if you're Lost, don't LIE TO ME ABOUT PURGATORY. But in general? I like most shows I watch. It takes a lot for me to not like a TV show.

Music: Well, this gets a little trickier. I worked in a music store for 10 years, so I got to have a pretty eclectic mix of music in my collection. I have my favorites, and I have genres I'll listen to more than others, but I also feel like I tend to view music as a very situational thing. If I'm out at a bar to dance, I'm okay with hip-hop or poppy dance stuff. If I'm home relaxing, I'll listen to classic rock or alternative. Dinner? Jazz me. I like a lot of music.

However...that being said, I know what I don't like. Not a big fan of most rap. Can't really get into folk music anymore. I used to really be into the Dead, but kinda moved away from that. Never liked Phish. And NuMetal? Fuck you.

And so on and so forth. I look at the ratings I give my games on BGG, and they are all pretty high. Why? Well, if I have fun, I like a game. Therefore, good rating! I like a lot of books, and have only walked away from a leisure book twice in my life because I hated it that much. Gerald's Game was one of them. Stephen King is a master with some of his books. Others should be used to shore up wobbly tables.

The point I'm trying to make here is that for all the entertainment I absorb, I don't think I'm a good one to get into discussions with about stuff. I like so many things that my low standards make it hard to be objective. I can see the side when people argue about what a movie did or didn't make them feel. But to me? Blow something up, make me laugh, or show me some dragons...and I'm happy.

Naps

I'll admit it. I LOVE taking naps.

The length of the naps always vary - sometimes I just need a 20 minute "power nap" to get my head some rest. Other times it will be a two hour snooze fest. 

It all started with one of my first "real" jobs. I worked at UPS as a preloader, and my shift started at 2:30 in the morning. Along with the third shift there, I would also work some hours at a record store and picked up some bartending shifts. So for eight years my sleep schedule was very erratic. I would have a few hours to get some rest before my next job, so I started napping.

Even now, over 10 years later, I still enjoy a nap now and then. Some say that it is ridiculous to nap in the middle of the day or early in the evening. I disagree. I think that I get some much needed rest; a recharge of sorts. In fact, there are countries around the world that encourage naps for their employees.

I think I need to move.

Board Games

A few years ago a couple of my close friends gave me a gift that would change my life. This would change the way that I spent a lot of my free time, open me up to new social circles, and make me travel halfway around the country. What, you might ask, was this present?

A board game.

Now, I should clarify here. This wasn't just any board game...I didn't unwrap a copy of Monopoly. This was a different type of game. When I unwrapped the game, I was confused. The title, Carcassonne, was completely foreign to me. They said that they had "read good things" about the game, so they thought I would like it. 

One of the tiles from Carcassonne, along with
a green "meeple". 

Well, I took it home, opened it up, and was surprised. There was no board and no dice. Just some tiles and some very strange looking pieces. I read the rules and it sounded interesting, but very, very different. So we sat down and gave it a whirl. 

It was AMAZING. 

I'd never played a game quite like this before. There was such a difference between the games I was used to and this one. The rules were simple, but the game wasn't simply driven by luck. I had more fun playing this game than I had with any other game in a long time.

So, I did what any other person would do...I went to the internet to learn more about it. And that's when I discovered BoardGameGeek. This was a whole website devoted to these "designer" board games. And there were thousands of them. And I wanted to try all of them!  

And so began my obsession with board games.

When I stop to think about it, the primary thing I love about board games is the social interaction that you get from an evening with a good game or two. Three or four people playing a game together will get a good chance to chat, catch up, have a few drinks, and sometimes bond over the game they are playing. 

I realized a few years ago that I would rather spend a night home playing a game with some friends than going out to have a drink. It is cheaper, more fun, and doesn't leave your wallet or head hurting the next day. Some of my favorite nights over the last few years were spent playing games with my friends. 

Last night something else came to mind that I love about board games: they are, in many ways, puzzles. And I have always LOVED puzzles. Jigsaw puzzles, mystery novels, little flash games on the computer...a lot of these are simply puzzles in one form or another. The challenge that comes along with trying to figure out how to solve any one of these was always thrilling to me. 

Board games, at least a lot of the ones that I like, tend to be the same way. When I look at some of my favorite games, there are elements to them that are much like solving a puzzle. And the ones I truly love have a great deal of variability...even after 100 plays you could have a different experience every time.

I'm sure I'll babble on about board games every now and then, so I thought it was important to start from the beginning. My origin story, if you will. And if you're interested in Carcassonne, there's a good review on BoardGameGeek that goes into detail about the game. Check it out if you have a few minutes!