Shopping Weekend

This past weekend my family did our shopping/golf trip to Branson, Missouri. We usually go to the Ozarks, but Branson is closer for those travelling from Oklahoma and there are 3 outlet malls instead of just 1. The 3 shopping centers are not all as large, but even discounting duplicate stores, I think there was more to see in Branson. Overall, it was a great trip. The girls were able to shop all three outlet centers as well as a normal retail strip along the river. I wasn't keeping the record for shopping bags this time, but I believe the total was somewhere around 60. (Amy can you confirm?)

Anyway, the other fun thing is that I got to run a Dread scenario. It's a role-playing game that uses a Jenga tower instead of dice, and I've really come to enjoy the tension and antics that it creates. I hope to create my own scenario and run another game sometime soon.

More pictures from Burning Man

My friend Paul has one of those really, really nice, really, really expensive cameras and took a ton of pictures at Burning Man. They've finally been sorted and posted and I can share the link: Burning Man 2008

Burning Man

I know I am way behind on updates here, but a lot of that is because we were preparing for, and then attending, Burning Man. I'm trying out a new way to post pictures so check out my lousy pictures here.

The Challenge is not yet over!

Well, I was begged today to get back on the bowling team for Corporate Challenge. I'll be competing tomorrow, which means there is no time for practice or anything. Wish me luck!

Random Thoughts for the Day

• When did life get so busy that I can't even find time to write my thoughts down?
• When you are busy, why do people think that constantly asking "How can I help?" is actually helpful?
• Note to self: Indian food makes me burp a lot.

Last Challenge Update

Well, we played soccer Tuesday night. The women's team started off fantastic and we won our first game 4 to 0. The men on the other hand, lost their first game. It being a double-elimination tournament, both teams headed into their next games with some optimism. The women did not do as well and we lost like 4 to 3. Our next game was a forfeit which gave us a long 45 minutes before our final game of the night. We got to watch the men win their 2nd game which helped give us some steam as the women headed towards our fourth match up. Unfortunately, the long break made several of us get cold and tighten up some which did not help as we tried to keep up with some young girls who had some obvious ball skills. I was further chagrined when I realized that one of the ladies on the team was the person I played (and beat) in my first racquetball game. She obviously had more soccer skills than racquetball. We did score two, but compared to the other team's 7, it just didn't cut it. Thus, the women ended their competition with 2 wins and 2 losses. The men ended up winning their third and final game, which means they will continue playing again tomorrow night. Some of us will go to cheer them on.

Can I be the biggest loser?

A coworker has brought the concept from a reality TV show to work and we are starting a weight contest next week. Normally, I don't like diets, but now there is competition involved so I think it could be fun. He sent the request to the entire IT department, and so far quite a few have signed up. Once all the names are in, teams will be randomly selected, which will make it all the more interesting. The first weigh-in is next Tuesday, so I'm getting all my bad eating habits out of the way - I went to Stroud's yesterday and am going to Five Guys today. After next week, I won't be back to those places until after August 10th.