Weekend Wrap-up

Friday night started the weekend off with a bang as a couple of friends came over and we managed to get in a quick game of Quarriors! followed by a raucous 3-person session of Battlestar Galactica.

Saturday saw me ref a total of 6 soccer games at the Saugeen Cup where 4 Hanover Teams were also competing. HMSA walked away with one 1st place finish, 2 3rd places and a fourth. Sunday morning was more of the same as I traveled to Tara for a 4 game stretch of Ref duties at the U-20 boys tournament.

Sunday evening I was invited to a games night which I could not pass on even though I was tired from reffing soccer games all weekend. So I took my cookies and went over and was rewarded with two games of 7 wonders, components pictured below, (a top 10 ranked game according to BGG) and one play through of Condottiere. I had not yet had the oppurtunity to play either game and I was especially delighted to finally get to play 7 wonders. Although I enjoyed Condottiere just as much even though I got my backside soundly beat. :p

All in all, a very good weekend although a little more family time would have been nice.

The End is Nigh ...

It seems like yesterday ... a cool spring breeze blowing small life-giving raindrops onto the ground below. Inside the quaint brick house there is an anxiousness, no scratch that, an eagerness for the soccer season to begin. A new season filled with hope, dreams, fun and new friends. That was the scene in my house 14 weeks ago.

Now it is August and that means tournament season and the picture is much different. The weather is most times hot or sticky or both. The kids are tired of the soccer grind and anxious for the tournaments. They are asking themselves: Did I get better? Is this the year that we win? Will we win again this year? Can I have a freezie?

This time of year is always bitter sweet for me because I love seeing kids play soccer and not just my kids, but all kids. And tournaments mean that it is all coming to an end for this year. This is the time of year where goalies cry after losing in a shoot-out. This is the time of year that coaches will often lose their cool at a bad call from a ref. This is the time of year that the underdog team wins it all. This is the time of year that a rag-tag bunch of kids come together and show everyone the impossibilities that teamwork can do.

I am happy to see the end of a busy season come to a close which hints at the call of some rest in my near future but I am left with a unknowing question that haunts at the edges. The question I am left asking myself is far more removed than all the questions coaches, players and parents are asking themselves.

Did the kids have enough fun through learning, playing and socializing to want to come back again next year?

And the answer is never known until next year when the rain is falling on the brown winter-damaged grass and the refreshing breeze is no longer blowing from the north.

Summer Update

Wow ... this place is pretty dusty. I guess that is what happens when the blog is ignored for nearly 5 months. Anyway, I guess I should update people on what has been happening. The spring semester exams have come and gone and I am carrying a 3.89 GPA into the third and final semester of my retraining from Electronics tech to bookkeeper/accounting clerk. The 2011 outdoor soccer season is entering into tournament time and my U10s are middle of the pack while the U12 team is towards the bottom. My wife has switched to a new job and I am working a few hours every week bookkeeping.

On the nerd front, I was able to find some time to hit the theater to watch a few flicks. Those flicks would be Harry Potter 7b, Captain America, X-Men: First Class and Thor with the latter being the best in my opinion. On a side note, 3 of the 4 movies were watched at my local single screen theater so that I did not have to violated with 3D.

I have also been watching a fair bit of anime as I continue to work through my DVD collection. I have polished of Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood and Eden of the East and I am currently working through One Piece and Naruto. Speaking of the DVD collection, I finally found the nerve to finish Battlestar Galactica and the ending was not as bad as I thought it would be. In fact, I quite enjoyed it.

On the gaming front, I finished Uncharted and what a great game. I am part way through Uncharted 2 and enjoying it just as much. I still have to finish Dragon Age (I am on the last fight) but I cant seem to find the excitement to do so since I know what crap is waiting for me afterwards with the DLC and DA2. I have played little LOTRO this summer but I did manage to run a few raids and level the burglar to Level 52. As for my gaming list, I am well of pace to say the least.

I have been playing a large number of board games lately as it slowly becomes my favorite pastime. I currently own 13 distinct titles which includes several expansions per title and I have 4 more on pre-order. You check out my collection on BoardGameGeek. I have been getting together with a few game groups in the area but it never seems like enough. I would be happy gaming 4 or 5 days a week. Thanks to some friends I have been able to play a few new games with the best one so far being Star Trek : Expeditions. Also, D.P and A.S traveled with me to Toronto to be a part of TABScon in the early summer. We were able to play Battlestar Galactica and Cyclades which were both very fun games. I am so looking forward to our trip this September.

Anyway, there you have it, an update and a long one at that. Until later ... have fun gaming!!