Life seems to get in the way of living...

It is another two for one this week as I didn't post at all last week even though I wrote it. So, here goes!

April 12th

Someone came into the bank today. They were rather hysterical. They were cussing quite a bit. No less than 3 f-bombs crossed their lips in the first sentence they spoke. It turns out they knew someone, and this person had what authorizes considered an intimate connection with someone who, let’s say, was wanted… by the authorities… and by authorities I mean government agencies that are charged with apprehending people.

It turns out that the police and other law enforcement agencies had drawn a connection between this vulgar mouthed individual and their wanted criminal. Because of their suspicions that the criminal would attempt to flee to and hide at the home of the potty mouth, they had actually been staking the home out for quite some time. Not only that, they had asked a third person who was relatively close to our manic individual if they would be willing to wear a wire and strike up a conversation regarding the criminal at large. I couldn’t believe it; the authorities really do wire people and send them in! When they could not find evidence of the fugitive staying in the home and having gotten no information through the wire, they decided a more forward and effective approach would be to surround this frazzle person with cop cars… in the Festival Foods parking lot, no less. Well, hands in the air and shaking like mad, they told the police in as straight forward a way as they could that there was no love lost betwixt them and the wanted person, and if they did have information, it would have been shared with the po-po long before.

What a great Friday!

Now, to business. The great conundrum of my life occurs most every night; Dr. Who or Top Gear? The more I look up the episode list for Top Gear, the more I want to watch it. But there is a whole slew of characters in Dr. Who that I am anxiously waiting to meet. Jeremy, Hammond, and James are hilarious in their own ways, but the erratic qualities of a David Tennant driven Doctor are ‘fantastic’, to quote the previous Doctor. What to do?

We have also been going through quite an upheaval at work. Another employee is no longer here, so we are back to working the branch with 4 people. This branch is designated to operate with about 275 man hours a week, and we are trying to cover it all  with 175 hours. Its overtime for everyone! But it is rather tiring and difficult to find time for rugby or football practice, or even simply karaoke. I have not done karaoke since the first Thursday in March. It has been far too long and I miss it very much, but there just isn’t time. Then there is school. I am having to jump through a bunch of hoops in order to get everything in place to return to school. It really is not that much fun at all. It is rather obnoxious, but I do really want to complete my degree, and even just getting back to school will be a ton of fun! I am very much looking forward to it, but this whole tax forms crap is pretty dang annoying.

Speaking of St. Norbert, I had lunch at Acuity Insurance yesterday, and I felt like I was back in the caf. I saw 6 SNC grads in a matter of 3 minutes. It was pretty cool to see them and talk with a couple of them, even if one of them did think I was my older brother. I may want to work there after school.

April 20th

It has been a rather long week for me. My Manager told me he wanted me to have less overtime, so he said I could go home early on Friday. I stayed an hour later. Because of this, they told me to come in late this morning. I came in early. Oh, and stayed a half hour later. 49 hours of pay this week. And a 48.75 coming in May, and that is what is already scheduled, which I may very well work more than! We need bankers! SO APPLY!!!

Now that that is out of the way, I have been working out with Mark and Liam again this week, including this morning. It was a long and arduous workout, but nearly worth. I think I could have done better, but my diet this week has been atrocious. I have been living off of Kwik Trip Glazers and Little Debbie fudge rounds and Pringles for lunch. I'm serious. 5 days this week, I ate nothing but processed sweets! I feel like death. I don't want to move. My body aches. I'm always tired. This is no way to live! I hate it. I want sandwiches and pasta, pizza and salads, gyros and pork chops, ham and chicken. I love that stuff! It tastes good, it's healthy, and I do actually prefer it. There are no fantastic glazers or magnificent fudge rounds. They all taste the same. But a well seasoned and prepared lamb chop that melts and soaks your mouth with tasty, bloody goodness (sorry to all the vegetarians out there) or a salad with fine and zesty parm and exploding with taste cherry tomatoes (sorry carnivores) is far beyond that manufactured taste. But I am lazy.

I am also rather broken. I have been limping all week, and my injury knowledgeable Bank Manager tells me I may have a fractured heel in my right foot. Right then! On to the Doctor you say? NO! Too expensive and time consuming. Also, I prefer The Doctor (as is Who) to the MDs of the world (except my Brother). I have watched two seasons this past week. If I am not at work, sleeping, or working out, I am watching the Doctor. So I will be heading back to that now. 

Allon-sy!

Save the date!!!

I has a car… I bought me a car… it’s a nice car… I like my car…

So, in case you didn’t notice, I have been car shopping quite a bit recently, and I finally succumbed and bought a ’97 Saturn. It is a 5 speed manual transmission with 100 horsepower on the nose. It is somewhat lacking in zip from the starting line, but my little car seems serviceable enough for my intentions and gets me where I need to go faster than running does. I spent a large portion of my first day with it, attempting to determine what gender my car is. I do think it is a girl. It has a feminine feeling about it. Any name suggestions?

Two more things that I take to be of import; I have need of two dates (now the term 'date' is simply in reference here to 'one who is willing to set aside the time to attend said function with me' and does not connotate a romantic connection betwixt us. This invitation is also gender neutral). 

First date; I will be working at the annual Roncalli Riverside Auction and I have two tickets, so I need someone to come with me. It is a fantastic time, a night of window shopping, with tons of Silent Auction items and a large selection of Oral Auction items. They will need to be a somewhat self-sufficient date, as I will be working for a great portion of the oral auction, and they will therefore be with out me. Anyone who wants to attend but does not want to be my date, feel free to talk to me and I can get you tickets for $5 apiece. Must be 21 to attend, as alcohol is available for purchase.

The second date I am looking for involves more of a commitment; it requires reading a book and then going to a movie. The book and movie are both titled Ender’s Game. The book is a family favorite, and I found the movie poster last week and freaked out audibly at work. I involves child prodigies molded into military leaders, invading aliens hordes, and inter personal and familial struggles that could determine the fate of the human race. Fan freakin’ tastic book!

Then there was Easter. I am growing to love Easter more each year, and trying to focus my thoughts on the Atonement and Resurrection more. Our service on Sunday was wonderful and full of the Spirit. I learned a number of things that I had not thought about before. I gained further testimony of the truth of my faith and the love of my Savior. I love this Gospel and the light and hope it gives me.

For Easter Dinner, my family went to my grandmother’s house, and we had a fantastic meal. I devoured a huge serving of her candied sweet potatoes and ate about half the ham. My mom had a triple decker triple chocolate torte, and even the salad was magnificent. I ate too much, but loved it!

Additionally, I have started a new blog to go in line with this one. It is called Skills, Technique, and Coordination. I named the blog in honor of the venerable Elder Adam James Berg. He is 15 months into his mission now and will be home in another 9 months and a week. I very much look forward to his return. The title is derived from his spectacular ability to couch potatoes for months at a time, and then dominate a game of pick up soccer or ultimate Frisbee. Any time he would pull off an acrobatic catch, of a spectacular dive, he would shake it off and just say he was gifted with “skills, technique and coordination,” abbreviated as simply “skills.” The new blog is rather narcissistic, being entirely about my workouts, diet, weight, and measurables, but I like the prospect of having a centralized place to track my progress in all things physical. So if you will follow it, enjoy!

 

Getting down to a size zero can be relatively easy, me thinks... I'm doing it!

A number of fun things happened to me this week, and yet my spirits are lower than they have been in a while. It kinda stinks when that happens; you get engaged in all the fun and interesting and exciting activities that you have been so looking forward to… and yet your life seems worse. It’s like going to a theme park for a day, being all bouncy with anticipation and then you feel upset or discouraged or whatever the entire time you’re there and then depressed (not clinically, simply in a mood dampened relative to your norm) the entire drive home because you didn’t enjoy it. Well, that is somewhat how I feel. There is so much I am looking forward to, but I keep failing my own expectations and falling short.

Well that is enough of the sad stuff, so on to the things I had been looking forward to. I am on a new diet that is actually going fairly well, but I it is a temporary diet at best and I will be making a transition at the end of the month. I have controlled my appetites far more than I have succumbed to the thoughts of wanting a snack or thinking I’m hungry. I have been drinking ample amounts of water, exercising with regularity, added more stretching and some relaxing meditation, and have cut down my body weight from 185 at the end of February to 171 as of Wednesday morning (but I had a very lazy day Tuesday with regards to getting up from watching Dr Who and eating, so I think I am actually generally at about 173). My goal was to get my body fat percentage to 6% by the end of the month, and I have one more week to realize that goal. Huzah!

Then there is Rugby. I have had a conditioning practice and then a full contact practice in the past week. Both of them went relatively well, and I feel more explosive and powerful than I did a year ago when I first decided to play rugby. I have a three team tournament April 13^th, and I have a great deal of work to be ready for it, but I eagerly anticipate the crushing contact of full speed rugby. Our team is a bit small (total member wise and average weight wise), so I believe we will be playing a lot of speed packages, so to speak. This means I should see the field quite a lot.

Then there is football. I missed our second practice because I had to work, but I have been doing a bit of my own training methods (some with rugby) to get ready for the start of official practices so I hope to not be too far behind. I had so much fun at that first practice, and I have been dreaming of playing for my whole life. This is the thing I am most looking forward to. It’s football. It’s freakin’ awesome. It is amazing! It is a sport I love that I have never had a chance to play, and now I am taking life by the horns and yelling in its face that this is something I am going to do so it better bloody well accept it! That was a little bit more fiery than I anticipated.

Then there is news on another front; I have (once again) been re-accepted to St Norbert College. Thank you, thank you, I am really looking forward to those beautiful trees in the fall and the river frozen over and the Zumba classes (but I may no longer be going to Zumba without Sarah Christensen teaching the class anymore :(  ), the cafeteria, the classes, and definitely my dear friends. I will return!

And now; donuts. I love donuts, and I found a recipe for donuts, so I might very well make donuts on Friday, my next ‘cheat day.’ I will attempt to shovel as much food in my mouth as I can that day, and donuts seem like a great thing to shovel. I also don’t work until 11, so I have all morning to make donuts and then I can take them to work and save money by not buying my regular cheat foods; donuts (of course), Little Debbie, Snickers, chocolate milk, Oreos, and whatever other snacks, treats, and goodies jump into my fanciful imagination. Massive sandwiches, fat and greasy burgers, chicken nuggets, disgustingly tasty Taco Bell, Cheetos and chips, whatever my fancy runs I gobble it up. Oh, am I looking forward to Friday now!

I'm so lazy!

So there are technically three posts going into this one, but one is really short, and it is this... it is way too nice out, so I'm going for a run. g'bye!

March 18th

Let me start this post with a simple statement; I love Gaelic Storm. I finally made it to a concert, and on March 14^th, I travelled north to the Meyer Theater in Green Bay, WI, and watched Gaelic Storm perform. They were freaking fantastic. I was singing along at the top of my voice, clapping, cheering, whistling, stamping my feet, and I may or may not have been flirting with the fiddler. It was the first concert I had ever been to, and it was the perfect first concert. I love basically all their music, and could sing along with every song that I had heard of theirs. We called them back out for encore after encore, and a concert that was supposed to be done at 10 didn’t draw to a close until 10:50. My section led a fantastically choreographed dance to one song that drew laughs from the drummer, the fiddler, the guitarist, and the lead singer even gave us a shout out after the song was over to come tour with them. I came home giddy and with a beautiful, leather bound hipflask. It was a near perfect night.

In celebration of this wonderful event, my mom made two great meals; the first was a batch of icing drizzled scones that were the best I had ever tasted. They were sweet and crumbly and utterly, diet destroyingly delicious. It took a great deal of my will power to wrap those treats up in tinfoil and put them off until my cheat day. She also made a Wisconsin style Irish breakfast; fried eggs and Johnsonville ‘bangers’. After not getting to bed until 1am, she woke up early to cook up 14 brats with near perfection, cooking them thoroughly, and evenly and without bursting a single casing. SO GOOD!!!

I then spent the next three days recuperating from my wild partying. I was tired, worn out, and so utterly fatigued. I did almost nothing but watch Netflix with my dad all Friday, with my mom all Saturday, and did nothing but attended meetings and church services all Sunday. Although, I did spend most of Saturday eating beyond my heart’s content. I got up in the morning with the intention of having a good, healthy breakfast of oatmeal and eggs, but those scones were calling my name from their aluminum wrappings in the refrigerator. Their argument was very convincing, so I ate them for breakfast… and washed them down with a half-gallon of juice… and then a bag of fun sized Snickers… and a protein bar… and a half dozen bags of fruit snacks… and a can and a half of Pringles… and then I ate three donuts… then a 1400 calorie milk chocolate shake… oh my gosh I feel like a fatty just listing that off! Then I went out and brought home $40 of Chinese… just to top off my breakfast. I got the Chinese for my family, though, not just myself! And there are leftovers!

Some other highlights of the last few weeks include, but are not limited to, watching Dr. Who, finishing Season 1 of BBC’s now defunct show Robin Hood, playing football in the snow, and not slipping and sliding on the ice as I go for a run, which is not very often because there is ALWAYS ice on the ground.

March 4th

Once a year, I am afflicted with a head cold of rather serious proportions. I feel as though my head is swollen to twice its normal size, sneezes come with  AK-47 rapid fire succession, and my nose runs like a Kenyan hunter. But a thought occurred to me as this latest assault on my health and wellness began; what if I’m not sick? What if I simply spend all year building up an unfair portion of awesomeness, and therefore I must disperse it to the world through nasal explosions as well as a slow yet very deliberate drip from mainly my right nostril. Well, once I realized this, I began to sneeze on each and every person I felt needed a dose of awesome. This did not last very long at work, and it actually got me kicked out of Nicky’s Lionhead just off the St. Norbert campus on Saturday night. I don’t understand, though. Doesn’t everyone want to be more awesome? I am simply attempting to spread the awesome I have with everyone! That’s freakin charity, man!

Anyway, aside from trying to awesomize everyone I met, I also got to spend my entire Sunday afternoon with the Masarik family. They are a family that is dear to mine, and it was absolutely fun to see them. We talked about a number of different topics, but the main topics seemed to be raising children (they have 3 kids under the age of 6 being home schooled), tv shows on Netflix an Amazon instant video (Dr. Who, Merlin, and Robin Hood to name off the BBC ones), and spirituality. We were there for about 5 hours, and even though I felt that I should be disengaging from conversation because it had been going on for too long, I was always drawn back in and my interest was rekindled. I am not entirely sure if that was due to the quality of conversation, which was fantastic and wonderful and engaging, or if I am beginning to change and become more social and conversational. I have already noticed it at work; I am speaking more freely with people and talking to people I otherwise would not have only a year ago. In some ways I am glad, but I am also a bit afraid that I am going to become even more chatty and will get to the point of being overwhelming or annoying (even though I already find a great deal of my conversing to be borderline annoying… is that bad?). So I make a request; please be honest with me if I come off as annoying. I do not think I will be doing the same for you, though. I am still a touch too timid for that.

In other news (meaning actual news), Sheboygan got punch, pounded, and beat down by a rather mean snow storm last week (this information may only be news to those 7 readers who live outside of the Sheboygan area). The name of this storm; Winter Storm Gavin. After Winter Storm Draco pummeled the entire East Coast and dropped a good foot on the Appleton and Green Bay area, it left a very disappointing footprint in Sheboygan; a rain soaked city that froze over the next day. Where 15 miles inland from us there was a lovely thick coat of white fluff fallen upon a picturesque street in Plymouth, we did nothing but trudge through snow washed into our drains by the incessant rain. Last Tuesday night and Wednesday was inversed; it was a quaint pretty snow in much of North East Wisconsin, but the Storm recognized my presence and determined to ruin my week, so he swung back around to drop snow on us and blow a mean wind through our neighborhoods. Well, I was almost certain that work would be cancelled. Lakeland Auto was closed, restaurants shut down, they even stopped plowing the streets and parking lots because they just could not do it! But, Associated Bank pressed on, and we braved the snow to report to our positions inside the bank. We had a dozen customers by the time my day ended.

I also came up with what I believe to be a fun idea; over the next 4 weeks, I will attempt to lose four percent body fat by lifting for 4 total hours, and average of 8 minutes, 34.28568 seconds a day. I think it will be a definite challenge. Anyone want to take me up on it and do it for themselves? I can post my previous day’s diet and exercise for you to mimic.

The weather in London must be something like this

I’m late on this post. So much for trying to get these posted on Monday or Tuesday. I must say, though, that this weather is doing almost nothing positive for me. The walk in to work last Thursday was very pleasant, but since that time forth it has been naught but infuriating. A wonderful warm spell is ruined by cold rain, wind is whipping around us on days when it isn’t too cold or there isn’t some form of rain or snow, ruining those other wise pleasant enough days, and then everything is freezing. There is so much ice on the sidewalks, and I simply cannot run to work with it all underfoot. It is slippery enough for just walking around. I was afraid of tearing my knee apart today. I tell ya, it’s no good.I constantly think this is similar to the British Isles (or a box of chocolates); you never know what you're gonna get.

Good thing we had football practice indoors. It was a ton of fun, too. We had a series of position drills for 2 hours on Saturday night. I learned a bit about the offensive playbook, and got to run out at wide receiver, inside at the slot receiver, as well as playing halfback and full back. I got to do some runs up the gut, but most of what we ran was the passing game. On one play, our QB threw a little higher than he intended and it bounced off our tight ends hands, but I cut underneath my route and caught it on the deflection behind coverage. On another play, I was lined up out wide against press coverage and our veteran running back dropped into the QB position (WILDCAT!!!) and took the snap. I beat the press, got deep on a skinny post, and the pass went wide to the left sideline, and was underthrown, I cut back to get underneath it, out jumped the safety, and snagged the ball out of the air and took it all the way. Those were my really good plays. I did mess up a few times (one wrong route, and one false start), but overall I did better than I was expecting of myself.

Now to the topic that is consuming the most of my thought/time at the present; I am looking at buying a car. I had been looking before, but kinda gave up a little bit. Now I am back in the race. There is an old Subaru I’m looking at, but online prices range from 2700 to 900, and he’s asking 2500 for it, but willing to settle for 2000. If it was a dealer, I would go for the 2000, but seeing as he is simply selling it from his driveway, I am skeptical. And he hasn’t owned it long, so what are the problems with it? Bleah… so I started looking at dealers. I found a nice 2006 Impala with under 100k miles for 8500. That is pretty good, and depending on the financing I could get it for just over 100/mo in payments. But then there is insurance, and taxes, and gas, and maintenance, and this, and that, and blah, and bleah. So how much would it actually cost to own? If I wasn’t going back to school in the fall, I would get the Impala, but I think the Subaru handles what I need right now. Plus, the Subaru is a manual, which I absolutely love, and the Impala is an automatic transmission, which I find somewhat boring. There is also a Cadillac CTS for sale that would only cost about 150/mo, which is really nice. Or I could go for an old Saab for 100/mo… or there’s the Subaru…

I hate peeling eggs...

So here is the deal, chaps and chapettes; writing to strangers is kinda weird. I have done it only a handful of times. I had to write to another German student at a cross town high school my sophomore year; I sent an email to a person that I was ‘introduced’ to over the internet (no, not online dating); I sent a letter to a girl whose grandmother pressed me to write while I was on my mission; and then I just recently wrote a friends sister-in-law who is on her mission. In all of these cases it is difficult to try and figure out what to say or include about yourself to let them understand you a bit more personally without being overbearing or downright creepy. Plus, what sort of introduction works for never meeting someone? Well, one that I employed most recently was a parody of Carli Rae Jepsen. I wrote (in fun scented markers and a different color for each line) “I’ve never met you - I guess I’m crazy – but here’s a letter – so write back maybe” and then I signed it as a friend of her sister’s. I think that is about as god as it gets for a blind approach via script.

I am getting very excited for football practice this upcoming week, and I have actually been trying to recruit a handful of friends to put on the pads with me. Well, so many of them had played so rough for so long that they are all of them no longer in shape to knock heads with other people. Between unresolved neck injuries, torn ACLs and 5 too many concussions, torn rotator cuffs, mangled hands, and loss of vision, they are not prepared for a full season of impact, now or possibly ever again. It is a real shame since two of them are such pure athletes, and another has one of the best arms I have seen in person that does not play on Sundays. I shall, therefore, be flying solo as I attend try outs this weekend (unless there are any 18+ guys that would like to get involved. Email me!).

I would like to include a fun story from church. My dad was teaching the lesson, and he was asking about receiving promptings from the Holy Ghost and if there comes a time that the Spirit ceases to speak to us. Mark Palenske spoke up saying that his mother still tells him what to do, even though he is a 38 year old man with three growing boys of his own, and he knows that Heavenly Father loves him far more than his mother does, so he cannot see the Spirit stopping talking to him. My dad then turned to me and asked how old I was (23) and then asked Mark if I ever told him how often I am told the same things over and over by my parents, or if I ever tell him that they nag me. Mark replied that I am a great kid who never spoke ill of my parents, all speaking of them with respect. I began to lean back into my pew, stretching my arms out just cool as a cucumber. When Mark was done talking, I took out my wallet and handed him a 10 as the entire chapel broke out laughing. Good times.

I’m trying to come up with another fun story, but my memories of this last week are mostly of throwing eggs and working, so we shall leave it there for the time being. Enjoy the icy roads, everyone! It’s like a thousand car slip’n’slide out there!

But it's magical, harry. The post is magical!

Another long delay between posts, but I do see anyone beating down my door in an attempt to get me to post again. So this past weekend was the Super Bowl, which I had honestly in part forgotten. I was trying to figure out what I had going on Sunday night, but it was hazy on the edge of my mind and took me quite some time to remember that Ray Lewis was playing his final game, a game that I had no idea what to expect of. It could have been a very boring and drawn out game were nothing exciting happened, or the firework show that the second half turned out to be. The Ravens defense behaved at their best and at their worst, allowing 24 points in less than five minutes but also held the 49ers without a touchdown on 3 drives into the 20, including their final possession. Kaepernick was arrogant, the 49ers safeties were spearing with their heads, Jacoby Jones was still too unprofessional for me to respect him as the athletic speed demon he is, and Boldin and Flacco can be a dangerous combination. Ray Rice still fumbled, Delani Walker was actually catching the ball, and the refs let everyone play. If it wasn’t blatant, they didn’t call it. It made it one of the more exciting games to watch simply because everyone could play their game without much consequence at all.

Saturday night was a lot of fun as well. I had my first meeting with the Manitowoc County Mariners, and the banquet was tasty, the company was fun, and the team seems excited moving forward. They went 5-5 this past season, and may be losing out on a number of important players, but they seemed eager for the upcoming challenges. I ate with two of the team captains, as well as two players I would consider semi-starters. I reminded me of eating in the caf at good ol’ SNC. Man I miss that place…

Also, last week was a very busy one for me. A bank in our area closed down and it seems as though everyone who went to that branch is now coming in to us. Our daily transaction total has about doubled from what it was. We are seeing tons of new faces, and even introducing new customers to Associated Bank. We also finally have a manager again. I ended up working 50 hours last week, and that was with calling it quits early some nights. It was an exhausting time. So on my day off I decided some rest and relaxation was called for, so I went back to high school! I got to play badminton for 4 ½ hours! It was so much fun, and got more challenging as the classes went on. The freshman class I played against originally I outscored 94-9 in 6 games, and the I went undefeated, but the score average dropped to 4-1 in the second class, and then it went back up to about 6-1 for the last class. Oh, and the cafeteria’s Salisbury steak was pretty tasty, too.

Another fun thing going on in my life is training time with my mother. My dad and I collaborated a little bit and he got her a membership at Planet Fitness and I go there with her every Saturday morning and a few times during the week to workout with her. It keeps us both regular… I mean, it helps us be regular with our attendance at PF.

Another fun development would be a new series of books. I only know of two books so far, but the first one was pretty amazing. It was titled the Warded Man. So good. It is about a people who fight demons, and when I say fight I mean they hide behind magical symbols called wards that hold them back when they come in the night. It mainly follows three characters; one a boy who wants to be a messenger, one of the few brave souls who would ride beyond the warded walls of the homes; a girl who trainers as an herb gatherer, the medical and scientific  professionals of the world; the third is a boy, who lost his family and was raised by a jester. It’s hard to tell much more about it aside from the suspense and intrigue of the book goes like this. “This is pretty good. Haven’t read this same story before. Oh, suspense. I like it. Oh, more back story. Well told, though. Oh, that’s cool. Woah, that was pretty awesome. No way… no friggin way. OH, SO DANG COOL!!! OMIGOSH THIS IS SO AWESOME!!!! MOM, WHERE’S BOOK TWO?!?!?!” So I am really looking forward to reading the Desert Spear.

To wrap up a couple other things, I really liked the naming of the winter storms this year. I noticed ones named Draco, Luna, and Gandalf. Not sure exactly who it is that is naming these storms, but I bet they are a bit of a fan of magic. At least that is the connection I am making in my head.

Also, for those of you who like bows, my dad was gifted a bow by a generous man in my congregation, and I plan on shooting it at my friends farm this weekend before heading inside to play Age of Empires for 6 hours. BOOM!!
And as any typical day off would have it, I am currently being snowed in by a surprise storm. I do not know this ones name, though. Probably Winter Storm Quirrell...