1. Saw the Guess Who in concert. Technically, I suppose it was only two original members of the Guess Who, but all the newer people had either been playing with them for decades or had some connection with the group. Anyway, they sounded really, really good. Exceptionally. And my tickets were flat-out great. The whole experience was so exceptional that I have decided that the Guess Who are unjustly shafted in the Best Band of All Time competition. I'm not saying they are, but I think they deserve to be in the same conversation with The Beatles, Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers, and The Rolling Stones, if that sort of thing is your bag. The point is, they couldn't write a not-awesome song if they tried. Even their simple, just rockin' along, no-big-deal songs like Bus Rider are really really good.
2. Went to see the Indiana Fever. I think the Fever might be the best time I've had at any professional sporting event, ever, and that's some strong stuff coming from a guy who was at WrestleMania VIII and saw the Ultimate Warrior's triumphant return to the ring. Our tickets cost $10, and we were somewhere around 14 rows up, and then were able to move down after halftime. The game was really fast-paced, intense, and extremely physical for three quarters. At that point, the Fever were up by 23 and just coasted through the end. After the game, Tamika Catchings stayed for awhile to sign autographs, then came out of her way to give Kelli a high-five and thank us for coming. It's a really cool experience. If there's a WNBA franchise near you, I can't recommend supporting them enough.
3. Went back to work after having a week off. This, in actuality, was not awesome at all. In fact, it was entirely not awesome, to the point that I might have sufficient motivation to get a good job that might actually require a college diploma sometime soon. Hopefully one in Indianapolis, so I can get season tickets to the Fever.
Sunday, June 22, 2008
Wednesday, June 18, 2008
Fit is really a terrible name for it.
Yesterday, I went on an epic trek to Richmond in search of Mario Kart Wii. I had it on good authority that a shipment was coming in at my favorite video game store, and that it would be there between 11:00 and 12:00, and that I could get one held for me if I showed up. Naturally, I had to take advantage of such an offer, considering the degree of difficulty I've had in locating the game.
Well, to make a long story short, the shipment was short a game, and the other two people they were holding games for stayed in the store while I did shopping elsewhere, so my two hour wait in Richmond was for naught... or was it? The shopkeeper informed me that he did have one copy of the equally impossible to find Wii Fit. Rather than go home empty handed, I decided to give the odd little exercise program thing a try.
First, Wii Fit is decidedly much less exciting than Mario Kart. In fact, there is no racing or turtle shell flinging to be seen, so really, if you've got a hankerin to play some Mario Kart, you don't really want Wii Fit. It's just not going to cut it.
Second, seeing as how I've only had it one day, I'm not really sure I can judge how effective it is at getting people in shape. However, after playing a few of the games, it occurred to me that it was a beautiful day outside and that I might actually enjoy going outside and getting some for real exercise. So that's a plus.
Third, I'm more convinced than ever that the Wii is Japan's twisted vengeance against tall Americans. I first got the clue when I played "Wii Boxing" and my combatant was unable to punch below the chin and threw most of his punches over his opponent's head. Keeping in mind that the first rule of video games is "If you're losing, the controller must be broken," I decided my height worked against me and started spreading my legs way out to make me shorter. Kelli still gave me a solid beatdown though, so I'm still apparently not short enough.
Wii Fit, meanwhile, doesn't fit in my apartment. In order to play, I donned my running shoes and stood up on the three inch balance board and started doing some yoga, specifically the "Half Moon Pose". As soon as I stretched my arms up, my hands hit the ceiling, and I'm now trying to adjust my position so I fit on the board and the little red dot that shows my center of balance is flying all over the place and I end up with a final score of 13/200, and my trainer insulted me. And the strength training where you have to stretch your legs out or do pushups will require some serious furniture moving. Now, I know from watching enough HGTV and The Amazing Race with my dad that there isn't a ton of room in Japanese housing, so I'm assuming that your typical living room gives you plenty of room provided you are not over six feet tall.
So, now I'll have to talk to Kelli about rearranging the living room so that the I will fit in it while using the Wii Fit and try not to think about how perfect my living room set up is for Mario Kart.
Well, to make a long story short, the shipment was short a game, and the other two people they were holding games for stayed in the store while I did shopping elsewhere, so my two hour wait in Richmond was for naught... or was it? The shopkeeper informed me that he did have one copy of the equally impossible to find Wii Fit. Rather than go home empty handed, I decided to give the odd little exercise program thing a try.
First, Wii Fit is decidedly much less exciting than Mario Kart. In fact, there is no racing or turtle shell flinging to be seen, so really, if you've got a hankerin to play some Mario Kart, you don't really want Wii Fit. It's just not going to cut it.
Second, seeing as how I've only had it one day, I'm not really sure I can judge how effective it is at getting people in shape. However, after playing a few of the games, it occurred to me that it was a beautiful day outside and that I might actually enjoy going outside and getting some for real exercise. So that's a plus.
Third, I'm more convinced than ever that the Wii is Japan's twisted vengeance against tall Americans. I first got the clue when I played "Wii Boxing" and my combatant was unable to punch below the chin and threw most of his punches over his opponent's head. Keeping in mind that the first rule of video games is "If you're losing, the controller must be broken," I decided my height worked against me and started spreading my legs way out to make me shorter. Kelli still gave me a solid beatdown though, so I'm still apparently not short enough.
Wii Fit, meanwhile, doesn't fit in my apartment. In order to play, I donned my running shoes and stood up on the three inch balance board and started doing some yoga, specifically the "Half Moon Pose". As soon as I stretched my arms up, my hands hit the ceiling, and I'm now trying to adjust my position so I fit on the board and the little red dot that shows my center of balance is flying all over the place and I end up with a final score of 13/200, and my trainer insulted me. And the strength training where you have to stretch your legs out or do pushups will require some serious furniture moving. Now, I know from watching enough HGTV and The Amazing Race with my dad that there isn't a ton of room in Japanese housing, so I'm assuming that your typical living room gives you plenty of room provided you are not over six feet tall.
So, now I'll have to talk to Kelli about rearranging the living room so that the I will fit in it while using the Wii Fit and try not to think about how perfect my living room set up is for Mario Kart.
Monday, June 16, 2008
Hey! Look! A Blog Post!
So I recently just stumbled upon some blog. It's called "The Ballpoint Banana." The tone seems to be largely sarcastic and condescending, but I think it's a style I might be able to mimic, so I thought I'd give it a shot.
I suppose now would be a perfect time to write about why I write a blog and, even more appropriately, why I do not write a blog.
1. Video Games. When I have a host of fun games at my disposal to play, it dominates my time. Always has. I've been playing video games since before I could read, and I do not see this trend slowing at any point. Recently I discovered I have a Grand Theft Auto addiction, and I have finished Grand Theft Auto III, Vice City, and San Andreas since my previous blog post. I am also halfway through Liberty City Stories on my PSP, playing it only when I am on break at work or when Kelli is shopping for shoes or purses and I am bored.
Speaking of Kelli, the Video Game playing has only increased because I purchased a Wii which we now play all the time. Kelli has enjoyed scant few video games, but she loves the Wii. The prospect of playing video games with a girlfriend is simply to awesome to ignore, so many hours have been played in front of the Wii.
On top of all this, I have The Sims Complete Collection that Kelli and I played for a few weeks before we got the Wii (see, finding a video game to play with the significant other has always been a high priority for me), so I have a whole slew of games that I could lavish my attention on. Or I can write boring blog posts, try for a while to make them interesting, fail, and then go play fun video games.
2. Kelli: Kelli, in case you haven't caught on, is my girlfriend, and she represents a dramatic shift in my dating patterns. I have this whole "fear of commitment" issue going on, largely based on the fact that my life is in no way stable, I'm not settled in what I want to be doing long-term, and I can't say where I'll be this time next year. The uncertainty is not conducive for relationships. However, I still enjoy going out with people, so what I would always do was find girlfriends whose company I enjoyed but couldn't see myself being with longterm due to complete psychosis or general dumbness. My coworker Claudia referred to them as "floozies," and I think that's a rather apt description. Kelli, however, is smart, and funny, and sane. She's also accommodating and friendly and good to me. So my mindset has switched from it's default "This will do for now" setting to "Dear God Let's Not Screw This One Up" setting. This new setting takes quite a bit more attention.
3. Lack of conflict: Life is going well right now. I'm rarely, if ever, bored at home. I spend a good chunk of time with my girlfriend. My car has actually been performing as it is supposed to. I'm even lacking on hilariously embarrassing injuries of late, although the massive sunburn on the top of my knee that I incurred while driving home from Cousin Camp this weekend is up there. The only real conflict is from work, and it is mostly alleged, and it would also be most unwise to talk about it on the internets, so I'm not writing about that. Without conflict, there's not much of a story arc, and the blog turns into "The Journal of the Most Boring Person On the Planet". As such, I will probably spend most future entries taking something completely trivial and treating it as the most important problem facing society today, hoping that the disparity between tone and subject matter causes some comedic material. Look for "Wii Boxing: The Japanese Conspiracy Against the Vertically Gifted" in a future entry.
I suppose now would be a perfect time to write about why I write a blog and, even more appropriately, why I do not write a blog.
1. Video Games. When I have a host of fun games at my disposal to play, it dominates my time. Always has. I've been playing video games since before I could read, and I do not see this trend slowing at any point. Recently I discovered I have a Grand Theft Auto addiction, and I have finished Grand Theft Auto III, Vice City, and San Andreas since my previous blog post. I am also halfway through Liberty City Stories on my PSP, playing it only when I am on break at work or when Kelli is shopping for shoes or purses and I am bored.
Speaking of Kelli, the Video Game playing has only increased because I purchased a Wii which we now play all the time. Kelli has enjoyed scant few video games, but she loves the Wii. The prospect of playing video games with a girlfriend is simply to awesome to ignore, so many hours have been played in front of the Wii.
On top of all this, I have The Sims Complete Collection that Kelli and I played for a few weeks before we got the Wii (see, finding a video game to play with the significant other has always been a high priority for me), so I have a whole slew of games that I could lavish my attention on. Or I can write boring blog posts, try for a while to make them interesting, fail, and then go play fun video games.
2. Kelli: Kelli, in case you haven't caught on, is my girlfriend, and she represents a dramatic shift in my dating patterns. I have this whole "fear of commitment" issue going on, largely based on the fact that my life is in no way stable, I'm not settled in what I want to be doing long-term, and I can't say where I'll be this time next year. The uncertainty is not conducive for relationships. However, I still enjoy going out with people, so what I would always do was find girlfriends whose company I enjoyed but couldn't see myself being with longterm due to complete psychosis or general dumbness. My coworker Claudia referred to them as "floozies," and I think that's a rather apt description. Kelli, however, is smart, and funny, and sane. She's also accommodating and friendly and good to me. So my mindset has switched from it's default "This will do for now" setting to "Dear God Let's Not Screw This One Up" setting. This new setting takes quite a bit more attention.
3. Lack of conflict: Life is going well right now. I'm rarely, if ever, bored at home. I spend a good chunk of time with my girlfriend. My car has actually been performing as it is supposed to. I'm even lacking on hilariously embarrassing injuries of late, although the massive sunburn on the top of my knee that I incurred while driving home from Cousin Camp this weekend is up there. The only real conflict is from work, and it is mostly alleged, and it would also be most unwise to talk about it on the internets, so I'm not writing about that. Without conflict, there's not much of a story arc, and the blog turns into "The Journal of the Most Boring Person On the Planet". As such, I will probably spend most future entries taking something completely trivial and treating it as the most important problem facing society today, hoping that the disparity between tone and subject matter causes some comedic material. Look for "Wii Boxing: The Japanese Conspiracy Against the Vertically Gifted" in a future entry.
Monday, March 10, 2008
Wednesday, March 5, 2008
Bullets Within Bullets
1. Chicks have lots of stuff, as it turns out. My apartment is now part warehouse.
2. I have lots of boardgames. I went to Goodwill today to drop off some furniture and look for shelves to put my board games on. I succeeded in buying more board games.
3. But they were really, really cheap! C'mon. I had to.
4. I then went to Wal-Mart and bought shelves because I didn't feel like driving all the way across town to Meijer. Also, I'm unsure of what selection Meijer has in furniture.
5. I haven't even gotten around to clothing, cd, and book sorting yet.
6. But, let's kill the suspense and get to the question everyone has surely been contemplating for over a week now: How awesome is Kelli? Let's go over the checklist:
A. Not too impressed with The Tick. This, of course, is a terrible start to any awesomeness checklist, but it's not a dealbreaker yet. As it turns out, she's never been a big fantasy/sci-fi/comic person, so a lot of the humor may be lost on her. I don't know.
B. Loves board games. This is a big one. I've already hooked her on Backgammon, played a couple other strategic two player games like Mancala (ok, but overrated in both of our estimations), and Roundabouts, which is fun and exciting. She has yet to beat me at any of these, but I'm sure her day will come. We've also played games with friends, such as Trivial Pursuit, Life, and a trivia game I bought for five bucks called Mental Floss. She tends to be good at Life, even though it always appeared to me as the sort of game you couldn't actually be good at. She's not a fan of Monopoly on accounta it takes too long, and she's never played Risk, so there's room for improvement on this front too, but this just means we're at Severely Awesome levels with the potential for Completely Awesome levels in the future.
C. Plays a quality game of Euchre. Also important, as mocking my brother-in-laws after shellacking them at Euchre every year is a tradition I don't plan on breaking.
D. Understands most of my allusions. I don't feel like I have to throttle down my intelligence when I talk to her, and she catches most of my references. If she doesn't, then I can just explain it without anyone feeling inadequate. Plus, she talks all smart and shit too, and makes references I don't understand frequently. It works.
E. Loves movies, but does not share my quest to see all the best pictures. This is because, like me, she is resistant to seeing really really long movies. I keep telling her that I always thought the same thing but I keep loving these movies I thought I wouldn't, but she hasn't budged yet. Instead, we each pick out a movie from the 2/$1 section of Family Video, either something we think the other one will like, or something we've always wanted to see.
F. Loved Gil Thorp and Judge Parker from the moment she saw them. The fact that she instantly saw the vast potential for humor in the soap opera strips negates the lack of love for The Tick, I think.
So, she's passing the awesome quotient so far.
8. Where was I? Oh, speaking of Judge Parker, why are we bouncing around from story to story here? We go from Sam's new law partner search/sandwich order to Legless Steve getting threats from the Taliban to Abbey Spencer wandering around the abandoned Dickens compound. C'mon, Judge Parker, it takes you 8 months to wrap up one storyline; you cannot handle three at a time. And speaking of the Dickens, am I supposed to believe that the kindly elderly woman who gives pot brownies to her neighbors while her loony husband buzzes around in his biplane all day is the villain of this story? On the plus side, this is better than having absentee Taliban villains, and I can now refer to her as Evil Elvira and her Brownies of Doom. Also, since practically nothing bad ever happens to the villains in this strip outside of the Paris punks, I suppose there is no cause for concern.
9. I take my soap opera comics very seriously.
2. I have lots of boardgames. I went to Goodwill today to drop off some furniture and look for shelves to put my board games on. I succeeded in buying more board games.
3. But they were really, really cheap! C'mon. I had to.
4. I then went to Wal-Mart and bought shelves because I didn't feel like driving all the way across town to Meijer. Also, I'm unsure of what selection Meijer has in furniture.
5. I haven't even gotten around to clothing, cd, and book sorting yet.
6. But, let's kill the suspense and get to the question everyone has surely been contemplating for over a week now: How awesome is Kelli? Let's go over the checklist:
A. Not too impressed with The Tick. This, of course, is a terrible start to any awesomeness checklist, but it's not a dealbreaker yet. As it turns out, she's never been a big fantasy/sci-fi/comic person, so a lot of the humor may be lost on her. I don't know.
B. Loves board games. This is a big one. I've already hooked her on Backgammon, played a couple other strategic two player games like Mancala (ok, but overrated in both of our estimations), and Roundabouts, which is fun and exciting. She has yet to beat me at any of these, but I'm sure her day will come. We've also played games with friends, such as Trivial Pursuit, Life, and a trivia game I bought for five bucks called Mental Floss. She tends to be good at Life, even though it always appeared to me as the sort of game you couldn't actually be good at. She's not a fan of Monopoly on accounta it takes too long, and she's never played Risk, so there's room for improvement on this front too, but this just means we're at Severely Awesome levels with the potential for Completely Awesome levels in the future.
C. Plays a quality game of Euchre. Also important, as mocking my brother-in-laws after shellacking them at Euchre every year is a tradition I don't plan on breaking.
D. Understands most of my allusions. I don't feel like I have to throttle down my intelligence when I talk to her, and she catches most of my references. If she doesn't, then I can just explain it without anyone feeling inadequate. Plus, she talks all smart and shit too, and makes references I don't understand frequently. It works.
E. Loves movies, but does not share my quest to see all the best pictures. This is because, like me, she is resistant to seeing really really long movies. I keep telling her that I always thought the same thing but I keep loving these movies I thought I wouldn't, but she hasn't budged yet. Instead, we each pick out a movie from the 2/$1 section of Family Video, either something we think the other one will like, or something we've always wanted to see.
F. Loved Gil Thorp and Judge Parker from the moment she saw them. The fact that she instantly saw the vast potential for humor in the soap opera strips negates the lack of love for The Tick, I think.
So, she's passing the awesome quotient so far.
8. Where was I? Oh, speaking of Judge Parker, why are we bouncing around from story to story here? We go from Sam's new law partner search/sandwich order to Legless Steve getting threats from the Taliban to Abbey Spencer wandering around the abandoned Dickens compound. C'mon, Judge Parker, it takes you 8 months to wrap up one storyline; you cannot handle three at a time. And speaking of the Dickens, am I supposed to believe that the kindly elderly woman who gives pot brownies to her neighbors while her loony husband buzzes around in his biplane all day is the villain of this story? On the plus side, this is better than having absentee Taliban villains, and I can now refer to her as Evil Elvira and her Brownies of Doom. Also, since practically nothing bad ever happens to the villains in this strip outside of the Paris punks, I suppose there is no cause for concern.
9. I take my soap opera comics very seriously.
Sunday, February 24, 2008
CRAZINESS
There's a lot of craziness going on these days. LOTS of it. Where to start?
First, my car needs a new transmission, so I have to take out a loan to buy it. On the plus side, I think this will fix my car for good, hopefully for the full three years of the warranty I'm getting.
Second, I applied for a job sometime around November, and this week, the Bobs finally decided to get around to conducting their interviews. After waiting 4 months for an answer, during which I made several jokes that the job didn't really exist and was just an urban legend, I got less than 24 hours of advance notice for my interview.
So, let's go into my job interviewing philosophy. With a whole year's worth of experience in mental health care, I'm not exactly the most experienced candidate. My program-crafting experience is nil and my degree is in the wrong social science, so I'm not exactly the most qualified either. My best hope, as far as I can reckon, is to be the best looking candidate who also is competent. So, I had to dust off the best suit I had, and show up for the interview ready to impress. I suppose the strategy has worked, as both the RN and the Nursing Supervisor had to interrupt their own sentences to say, "Wow, Andy, you look really nice!" At that point, I figure all I have to do is show that I bring skills in addition to eye candy, which I did with some impressive and mind-bogglingly simple computer work.
So, that took up a day.
Third, and here's a blog-shaking announcement: I have a girlfriend now. Yes, it's a coworker. It's Kelli, who I've had a small crush on for quite some time. That's all nice and fun except for the obligatory bits of neurosis I always get when I'm in a relationship. That's not so much fun. And even though I'm dating a coworker again, I'm pretty sure it'll turn out right this time.
Also, Kelli applied for that same job I did back in November, and used the same tactic as me. Since she's got a bit more experience, I think I have to concede her the edge. Most independent observers are guessing it's between the two of us.
Fourth: Kelli's lease on her house just expired, so she's moving in here. This was already in discussion before the whole dating thing started, and since we both could use the money, we're going to split some expenses on my already very affordable apartment. The downside is that I have to make room for her, which consists of getting rid of a lot of my junk.
Also, this is a big step for me. I didn't get to have my own room until I was 20, and since obtaining one, I've been fiercely territorial. My space is my space, and I prefer to keep it that way. Inviting someone to move in with me is a bit of a leap for me, but after 3 years of having no one over ever, I think maybe it's time for a change of pace. The way I see it, it'll either work, or it won't.
And through all of these fast-paced shenanigans, I haven't even had time to observe that it's February and I'm late for my annual depressive episode.
First, my car needs a new transmission, so I have to take out a loan to buy it. On the plus side, I think this will fix my car for good, hopefully for the full three years of the warranty I'm getting.
Second, I applied for a job sometime around November, and this week, the Bobs finally decided to get around to conducting their interviews. After waiting 4 months for an answer, during which I made several jokes that the job didn't really exist and was just an urban legend, I got less than 24 hours of advance notice for my interview.
So, let's go into my job interviewing philosophy. With a whole year's worth of experience in mental health care, I'm not exactly the most experienced candidate. My program-crafting experience is nil and my degree is in the wrong social science, so I'm not exactly the most qualified either. My best hope, as far as I can reckon, is to be the best looking candidate who also is competent. So, I had to dust off the best suit I had, and show up for the interview ready to impress. I suppose the strategy has worked, as both the RN and the Nursing Supervisor had to interrupt their own sentences to say, "Wow, Andy, you look really nice!" At that point, I figure all I have to do is show that I bring skills in addition to eye candy, which I did with some impressive and mind-bogglingly simple computer work.
So, that took up a day.
Third, and here's a blog-shaking announcement: I have a girlfriend now. Yes, it's a coworker. It's Kelli, who I've had a small crush on for quite some time. That's all nice and fun except for the obligatory bits of neurosis I always get when I'm in a relationship. That's not so much fun. And even though I'm dating a coworker again, I'm pretty sure it'll turn out right this time.
Also, Kelli applied for that same job I did back in November, and used the same tactic as me. Since she's got a bit more experience, I think I have to concede her the edge. Most independent observers are guessing it's between the two of us.
Fourth: Kelli's lease on her house just expired, so she's moving in here. This was already in discussion before the whole dating thing started, and since we both could use the money, we're going to split some expenses on my already very affordable apartment. The downside is that I have to make room for her, which consists of getting rid of a lot of my junk.
Also, this is a big step for me. I didn't get to have my own room until I was 20, and since obtaining one, I've been fiercely territorial. My space is my space, and I prefer to keep it that way. Inviting someone to move in with me is a bit of a leap for me, but after 3 years of having no one over ever, I think maybe it's time for a change of pace. The way I see it, it'll either work, or it won't.
And through all of these fast-paced shenanigans, I haven't even had time to observe that it's February and I'm late for my annual depressive episode.
Monday, February 18, 2008
The Solution
Blah blah blah haven't written in awhile blah blah blah keeping busy blah blah blah.
Ok, to the post.
This happens every year. It's February. We get down. The weather sucks. Christmas has been forgotten, the Super Bowl is just a memory, we're not baseball fans, and there's nothing slated until Easter rolls around.
We've had "Oh, let's just have a family reunion in the middle of February for timing reasons" before, but it never sticks. We need a premise, even if it's a premise as flimsy as "Labor Day." It's still a premise, and it's more than we have for Made-Up Holiday in February Reunion.
Well, I have a premise. And it's awesome. I think we need to have an inaugural Andy's Family February Backgammon Invitational in 2009. I'm conceding 2008, as there are only 11 days left in the month, but this we should get this started next year.
"But Andy," the whinier members of my family might say if there were any, "I don't know how to play Backgammon."
Well, the February Backgammon Invitational would give you the perfect opportunity to learn. I assure you it will be worth it. I have taught 3 girlfriends to play Backgammon now, and all of them loved it. For awhile, my long-distance relationship with AJ was held together with nothing but Internet Backgammon.
"But Andy," the more insecure members of my family might say if there were any, "didn't you win a Backgammon Tournament once in 1994? How ever will we avoid a merciless shellacking at your skilled hands?"
Why, yes, I did win the Backgammon tournament at the Big M Math Camp For Extremely Nerdy and Socially Awkward Tweeners in the summer of 1994, thanks for remembering. (It should be added that I was a legitimate qualifier for Big M Math Camp, and not a mere alternate who snuck in the backdoor, unlike certain older siblings who have secret blogs they never post on.) Bear in mind, however, that before Big M, I had never played a game of Backgammon in my life, and upset a lifelong player in the finals. There's a lot of strategy in Backgammon, but there's a lot of luck as well. The better player will usually, but not always win, and the underdog always has a puncher's chance.
Plus, all of you are either married or attached to someone long-term. You'll have plenty of time to practice your backgammon skills.
"But Andy," my more complaining family members could say, "why couldn't we play something we already play, like Euchre?"
Because we already play Euchre at Christmas. No one would drive up for a family reunion that's just a crappy sequel to Christmas without the pageantry. No, it has to be something special.
Plus, Backgammon is one-on-one, and nearly equal parts skill and luck. Plus, it's easy, so the kids can enter the tournament sooner rather than later. I'm already dreading drawing Phoebe in the first round of the 2012 tournament. Not only that, but backgammon is crazy-cheap (if you pay $5 for a backgammon set, it better be a super-deluxe one), and very fast to play. We could make the tournament a double-elimination and still get it over with in an hour and a half, which leaves plenty of time for drinking or sobering up. Hell, we throw in a traveling trophy, or better yet, some sweet WWE replica championship belts, and the whole thing will be irresistibly awesome. Seriously. Can you see yourself resisting the lure of Backgammon championship belts? I cannot.
But, mostly, I just love playing backgammon, and I hate the fact that most people just know it as that weird looking game on the back of the checkerboard.
So, anyone else up for this, or is my backgammevangelism falling on deaf ears?
Ok, to the post.
This happens every year. It's February. We get down. The weather sucks. Christmas has been forgotten, the Super Bowl is just a memory, we're not baseball fans, and there's nothing slated until Easter rolls around.
We've had "Oh, let's just have a family reunion in the middle of February for timing reasons" before, but it never sticks. We need a premise, even if it's a premise as flimsy as "Labor Day." It's still a premise, and it's more than we have for Made-Up Holiday in February Reunion.
Well, I have a premise. And it's awesome. I think we need to have an inaugural Andy's Family February Backgammon Invitational in 2009. I'm conceding 2008, as there are only 11 days left in the month, but this we should get this started next year.
"But Andy," the whinier members of my family might say if there were any, "I don't know how to play Backgammon."
Well, the February Backgammon Invitational would give you the perfect opportunity to learn. I assure you it will be worth it. I have taught 3 girlfriends to play Backgammon now, and all of them loved it. For awhile, my long-distance relationship with AJ was held together with nothing but Internet Backgammon.
"But Andy," the more insecure members of my family might say if there were any, "didn't you win a Backgammon Tournament once in 1994? How ever will we avoid a merciless shellacking at your skilled hands?"
Why, yes, I did win the Backgammon tournament at the Big M Math Camp For Extremely Nerdy and Socially Awkward Tweeners in the summer of 1994, thanks for remembering. (It should be added that I was a legitimate qualifier for Big M Math Camp, and not a mere alternate who snuck in the backdoor, unlike certain older siblings who have secret blogs they never post on.) Bear in mind, however, that before Big M, I had never played a game of Backgammon in my life, and upset a lifelong player in the finals. There's a lot of strategy in Backgammon, but there's a lot of luck as well. The better player will usually, but not always win, and the underdog always has a puncher's chance.
Plus, all of you are either married or attached to someone long-term. You'll have plenty of time to practice your backgammon skills.
"But Andy," my more complaining family members could say, "why couldn't we play something we already play, like Euchre?"
Because we already play Euchre at Christmas. No one would drive up for a family reunion that's just a crappy sequel to Christmas without the pageantry. No, it has to be something special.
Plus, Backgammon is one-on-one, and nearly equal parts skill and luck. Plus, it's easy, so the kids can enter the tournament sooner rather than later. I'm already dreading drawing Phoebe in the first round of the 2012 tournament. Not only that, but backgammon is crazy-cheap (if you pay $5 for a backgammon set, it better be a super-deluxe one), and very fast to play. We could make the tournament a double-elimination and still get it over with in an hour and a half, which leaves plenty of time for drinking or sobering up. Hell, we throw in a traveling trophy, or better yet, some sweet WWE replica championship belts, and the whole thing will be irresistibly awesome. Seriously. Can you see yourself resisting the lure of Backgammon championship belts? I cannot.
But, mostly, I just love playing backgammon, and I hate the fact that most people just know it as that weird looking game on the back of the checkerboard.
So, anyone else up for this, or is my backgammevangelism falling on deaf ears?
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