...another week rolls by...

Ah, another week rolls by, and another fit of fun flits through. I tell you, it's been a rough one too.

Oregon gets snow?!
That's right, the Willamette Valley got dusted with a hefty layer of snow. Traffic snarled to a stop, and Eugene shut down as it wondered what the blazes just happened. Two days, we sorted through the suddenly frozen realm. All the while, my oldest was able to enjoy some well earned time off from school. (Those who want to hear my diatribe on how the school systems now overwork the kids until their eyes bleed and fingers ache, post a comment.)

She didn't enjoy the snow very much though. During our only snow fight, I accidentally hit her in the face with a snowball. It was only once, an honest misdirected throw, but she didn't see it that way. At that point, it descended into an immature battle to see how much snow we could shove into each others' face before the opponent submitted. I ended it before it got to that point, seeing neither of us was having any fun and getting angrier and more aggressive. She and I both got some wicked cold weather hives from that mess.

About 6 hours later, she developed a full blown rhinovirus-induced cold. She was happy to pass that along to most of the rest of the house. The real problem was the resultant rash that developed due to irritation of the skin just under her nose. It was red, dry, and angry, apparently brought on by contact from her own mucus. I wonder why her skin reacts as such.

She was ill enough that she missed one of the only two school days this week. You might be asking, why 2? There were two snow days, there should be three for school. Well, we had another thick dusting of snow the following Friday, so that killed any return to school until after the New Year.

Game Time
Thanks to the frightful weather, I had a lot of time for gaming. I decided finally to give Savage 2 a shot.

I had played the original Savage, the pioneering RTS/FPS hybrid that pits mankind against a bipedal beast tribe in the far flung, post-apocalyptic future. It is fun to play, but a number of bugs still persist, even after the source opened up to the public. Savage 2 addresses several of these, and adds a number of convenient functions that make playing much more fun. And best of all, S2 Games made it free-to-play!

Anyone who wants to give either game a shot, check them out at S2 Games' Website.

And yes, I still play Guild Wars. In fact Lady Kingel, leader of the United Legit Gaming Guilds, requested me to return to the in-game leadership rotation. This rotation is in place so that the responsibility of running the guild is shared between a small council of leaders. Each week, the leadership is passed to the next in the circle, which allows for a fresh take on how the guild is run.

I said I wouldn't get so deeply involved in guild life again, but it just seems that these things follow me to whatever guild I join with. I just hope I don't overextend myself again. I'm certain I won't though. I know my limits, and what will have to go should I find myself having issues again.

Financial Woes
I thought leaving Courtsports was a permanent arrangement. Boy was I wrong.

I found myself calling my old boss today, asking for whatever sub hours he might be able to kick back to me. Truth be told, I'm gravely worried about our financial situation. It's like my money is bleeding out, and the well's almost dry. To top it off, my wife was supposed to start work this week with a load of training, but the winter storm kinda killed that before takeoff, which means fewer hours.

So this week, instead of finishing preparations for Christmas, I'm finding myself contemplating a late-year job hunt. I wish I had thought about this sooner, but after the brutal finals week, I was more inclined to just let the world go by without me for a few days. Here's hoping I don't go mad from all this rushing about.


Well, that's my week at a glance. Before I close, congratulations to my wife Linda for passing her State of Oregon Tax Preparerer's Certification. She does the family proud with all that she has done to get this far.

Until next week, watch your backside. You never know when the ranger is watching.