Another Sunday

     Welcome back into The Arena! It is Sunday again and that means only one thing here. FOOTBALL! Two more playoff games are being played today with only the winners advancing into the Championship games. Out in Lambeau, The Dallas Cowboys are taking on the Green Bay Packers in the Ice Bowl II. The last time Dallas entered Lambeau for a playoff game was the 1967 NFL Championship game where Dallas scored 17 points to Green Bay's 21. Aaron Rodgers and the Packers are looking to win the rematch and head out to Seattle where they lost in Week 1 36-16. Dallas is looking to move forward in the playoffs and return to Seattle where they beat the Seahawks 30-23 in Week 6. There is so much on the line for these two teams as the Divisional Round of today's playoff game is about to start.
     In Mile High Stadium this afternoon, Peyton Manning and the Denver Broncos look to move forward into the Championship game as they go against the Indianapolis Colts for their Divisional Round game. The season opener in Denver found a victory for the Broncos as they played the Colts. In the 31-24 win, Peyton Manning looked primed to lead the Broncos to another playoff run. Here we sit, just 19 weeks later, looking at another game between these two formidable teams. This time however, the season is on the line. Will it be another Brady/Manning bowl in which Tom Brady has the winning record, or will Andrew Luck's luck hold strong to help him to victory? By the end of the day, all things will be decided as the winners move on to their respective division title games. New England and Seattle have both secured their spots in their Championship games with convincing wins yesterday. Only three weeks left of this season. On February 1st, two teams will appear in Super Bowl XLVIII. Will the Seahawks do a repeat run and make their third appearance? If they do, who will be their opponent? There are so many outcomes that can happen that it is too difficult to predict. Either way, it promises to be a great game. If it does happen to be a Denver/Seattle rematch, hopefully it will be better than last year when the Seahawks demolished the Broncos 43-8.
     Now, on to other events. As I sit here watching the football games with my sister in-law on Skype and my wife's computer pointed towards the TV so she can see it, I am reminded that tomorrow is Monday and I have to go back to work. At least I get to enjoy my Sunday with my kids and watching football. Theoretically, we will actually have work starting next week so that I will actually be busy instead of just waiting for it. At least the weekend has been somewhat kind to me. I got to spend time at home with my wife and kids, I spent last night listening to an awesome radio show provided by +Chuck Bisbee and his magical land at B2kradio.com, and I even spent time playing some video games. If you haven't yet, I suggest that you go check out www.B2kradio.com next Wednesday night or Saturday night. 10 p.m. Eastern Standard Time for when the show starts. Do your own math on where you are at so that you can catch the show when it starts. For me out on the west coast, I have to be ready to chairdance starting at 7 p.m. my time. I even got to pick out 2 shirts to help support the radio station. One for me and one for my lady. Once they arrive, you guys will get pictures of me and the lady sporting the shirts.
     As I get ready to leave to go retrieve my other sister in-law from work, I'm upset because I have to leave and miss some parts of the game. The joys of being a responsible adult. So with that being said, I leave you guys to go enjoy what is left of your weekend. Check out the new issue that is here and look forward to starting your weekly grind tomorrow.

From The Arena,

This is SPARTA!!

Wickid

Saturday!!!

     Good morning Arena peeps! It is the start of the weekend and you know what that means. Time to get that rest and relaxation right? Wrong! It is time to get the stuff done that you couldn't do during the week because you were so busy with work and errands and appointments, the list can go on and on. Now that you have arrived safely at the weekend, it's time to get off your ass and get moving towards the betterment of you! Get those chores done that you have neglected for the entire week. Drink a cup of coffee without having to rush through it so that you can savor the delicious taste of the peppermint chocolate truffle creamer that has been carefully blended with caramel drizzle gourmet coffee that has been expertly brewed from the Keurig coffee maker sitting in your kitchen. Wow! That last sentence was a mouthful. Turn on the radio or music channel or internet radio station and feel the power flow through you as the motivation to get moving radiates through your veins. Spend the morning meticulously combing through the debris that is scattered about your living room because you have small children running around the house. If you don't have any children, you can skip this step. It's okay, I won't tell anybody. Soak the dishes that have been sitting in your sink for the last couple days because you have been too tired after dinner to rinse them off and slip them quickly into the dishwasher. Put the laundry away that has been sitting in the basket for the last three or four days because the busy work week has kept you from getting the baskets up the stairs and the clothes distributed to their appropriate locations. Follow all of this up with some lunch and maybe a few minutes for yourself before you locate the vacuum that tends to hide like a ninja and vacuum the floors since that hasn't been done for about a week or so. While you are vacuuming, make sure you take a few minutes to think about what you are going to make everyone in your household for supper. That might take longer than a few minutes depending on how many people you have and what they like to eat and whatnot. I always find it hard to decide because I have such picky eaters in my house. One day they will outgrow it. I hope. Follow up the dinner with some family time or whatever it is that is your favorite thing to do. DO NOT FORGET though that tonight at 10 p.m. Eastern time (do a little easy math depending on your time zone) is the start of B2kradio. You know, that guy +Chuck Bisbee does a lot of work to bring you some of the best music that you have ever heard on a Saturday night. Download the mobile apps, get on your computer, download them to your tablet, whatever it is you need to do to get tuned in, do it! Don't miss one of the best radio shows you will ever hear in your entire life. Go to www.B2kradio.com at the appropriate time for you in relation to when the show starts, and settle into the chair and surf the interwebs while your ears feel like they are taking a well deserved spa day. They'll thank you for it.
     Seriously, check that shit out and in the words of my Uncle (yes, I'm related to the guy), "Turn that bitch up a notch!" Chairdance your way to happiness while you listen to some great tunes. You can do other things that you need to do if you forgot something during the day, but just try to enjoy the musics.


     Like how I did that up there? Basically described my entire Saturday by telling you guys to do it. You probably won't actually do that, but I figured that it would be fun to try something completely different. Also, I did some quick advertising for my Uncle. How sweet is that?!? He is my favorite person in the entire world. No, seriously he is. I love that young/old, but mostly young dude, to death. He always finds a way to make me smile. He was always there when I needed to get away from the parental units. Well, for the most part. They kind of hid him from me for most of my teenage years. I'm still not sure as to why they did that, but it happened. When I did find him again, that one Christmas when mom said take this and go to this address, it was something so special that it would make for a great family movie moment. That moment when you are just so happy that a few tears escape unknowingly from your eyes and you have an inner cheer fest because it is just that damn good. He also gives some of the best hugs in the world. Just ask him. He's all modest and whatnot, but trust me when I say that you haven't been hugged by anybody until you've been hugged by him.

     Now that the advertisement and the plans of the day have been revealed and you guys get to kick back and read this issue while you are doing other random things across the web and the world, I shall go finish what I have been putting off for the last week because of the wild work week. Again, go check out this radio show I described tonight, that's right, TONIGHT at 10 p.m. EST (do your own math for you) and have some fun.

From the Arena (my kitchen for now)

This is SPARTA!!

Wickid

Wild Week

     When did it become Friday?!?! Where has this week gone? I have missed you guys immensely and without even realizing it, I have gone and missed the last four days of popping up issues here on the site. It has been a very busy and wild week here in the household. So much stuff going on that losing track of time tends to happen quite a bit. Let's see, Tuesday was full of appointments and cleaning and working in the shop. I completely missed Wednesday because that day was also full of appointments, cleaning, and work. I completely missed +Chuck Bisbee's radio show that happened that night. Thursday was spent kind of relaxing and getting the small things done. Spent the day with the kids and wife until it was time to go to work. I got home late each night and spent it attempting to watch the entirety of The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring. I still haven't managed to stay awake long enough to see the movie through to the end. Maybe tonight I can get lucky enough to finish it. It is Friday after all.

     Today starts out with the normal routine of kid off to school, sister off to work, and me being home with the littles. The wife is finally back at work after some much needed time off that she got because of an emergency surgery. Now she is up and mobile. Hopefully, she can make it through a whole shift at work. We will find out today. Luke has started in home therapies four times a week. Two hours a day for him to have fun learning while he plays with toys. It seems to be working. We even had a proud parent moment for Damen last night. Well, Bev did while I was at work. Apparently, Damen ate some broccoli and cauliflower last night. It has been over six months since we have seen him eat his vegetables. Hopefully, we can keep this up because he needs to eat more than just chicken nuggets and hot dogs. 

     As I sit here listening to the kids play while The Emperor's New Groove is on the TV, I am reminded that I need to get the living room and stuff cleaned before I go to work and before the lady gets home. There is still laundry and stuff to put away and a living room to vacuum and dishes to do. Plus, I still have to make lunch for the kids and myself. Not to mention I have to get Damen off to school today. At least tomorrow is Saturday and I get to make time for the radio show before I go to bed. Life is sweet when you have things that you can count on. With that being said, time to get off here and go do what I need to do before I get in trouble for slacking off

This is SPARTA!!

Wickid

Yesterday's Missing Issue

     Good morning everyone! It is now Monday morning here in The Arena and we are coming to you live from the kitchen where I am attempting to multitask the cleaning and the typing. Actually, it is a very difficult thing to do since I am currently glued to the computer and not the cleaning. Any way, today will be a gift from me to you since I missed yesterday's issue. I had that whole work thing going on. So, without further ado, here comes the new issue with the events of yesterday.

     Typical Sunday morning that started way too damn early for me. I had to get up a little after 5 in the morning to go spend roughly 8 hours inside a little office with a crappy view waiting for a phone to ring. Not very fun usually unless I get the opportunity to watch YouTube. Usually, they frown on us watching videos during the day because of the "working hours" and what not, but because it was Sunday, there was a little bit of leniency. Ironically, I got to watch YouTube for the entire watch so it wasn't too bad. I even accidentally dozed off a few times before lunch. I watched 85 Honest Trailer videos in that time and even had a nice lunch. I was much happier when I got relieved so that I could come home though. The rest of the day was spent with the wife and kids playing and watching TV. I got to cuddle up a little bit to the wife and watch the Dallas Cowboys come back from losing and move on to the Divisional Round of the playoffs by beating the Detroit Lions. That made my wife happy since she wants them to go to the Super Bowl. Now that it is January, it just means that it is a little closer to the end of football season. Another long wait until August when it all starts up again. One of these years, I will actually start up a fantasy league on the Interwebs so that I can play against friends instead of just losing to my wife. It does get pretty bad when she has won for the last three years straight. It makes me sad actually.

     Yesterday was kind of a boring day since I spent most of it at work. The same will probably hold true when I get on later tonight to give you the fresh press issue from today. I do have to go back to the daily grind of work and making sure that the kids get where they need to go and things done around the house. Life is always full of fun and adventures here at our house. There is always something that needs to be done and someone has to do it. Keep up with your lives, but make sure that you schedule some time for yourself. Always make sure that you care for yourself. Skipping that step will make you miserable and angry. Nobody likes that.

This is SPARTA!!

Wickid

Challenge Accepted!

     This issue marks the 51st issue of The Arena and I am proud to say that it is quite an accomplishment for me. Normally when I start on something I tend to lose focus or stop doing it all together. Here we are though almost a year later doing things that are so awesome and telling you guys all about it. The recent interesting thing to happen to day happened on our errands this morning. We were doing errands and listening to the car radio. They were talking about some musician wanting to look like Zac Effron with his shirt off. I could probably imagine what it looks like and go from there. I told her that I didn't want to look like Zac, but instead I wanted to look like Channing Tatum with his shirt off. My wife rolls her eyes at me. I asked her if she thought that I couldn't do it. She told me that I didn't have the motivation to do it. So I responded with "Challenge Accepted!" She told me it wasn't a challenge, she just really thought that I didn't have the motivation to do it. So now I am on a mission to get back into shape and attempt to look like Channing Tatum. I probably won't look exactly like him, but I'm definitely going to try. I guess it is time to start researching workout routines and ways to help increase muscle mass. It would help me and on the bright side, I might look a little better.
     It really didn't help my situation tonight though because she made S.O.S. for supper tonight. It is so delicious. Like stick to the inside of your ribs good. I had to take tums to help relieve the pressure. It was so good though. There is just something about her cooking that makes it impossible to pass up. I think she puts something into it that makes it hard to not eat. Either way, I will always eat what she cooks for me.

     This is going to be a short post since I have to be up early tomorrow to go to work. 8 hours of sitting front of a computer screen trying to stay awake. 5:10 comes early and quickly. Good night everyone!

This is SPARTA!!

Wickid

Multiplayer

     It is now day two of the new year and things are progressing as normal. There are very few things in life that are better with a multiplayer option. Most sports are much better when you have multiple people playing. Card games, in general, are much better when you have more than two people playing. Sex is good with one other person. Some people find it better when there are more than just the two players. The multiplayer I happen to be talking about is from the realm of video games. Now, normally, I am the hardcore solo player of the RPG style games. It gives me the sense of accomplishment because I am the one that did it. Me, not anybody else. Nobody helped me get to the next level or beat that boss that was giving me trouble. For the past couple of days however, I have been playing Diablo 3 Ultimate Evil Edition on the Playstation. My friend let me borrow the game so that I could try it out since we tend to talk video games a lot. We happen to be nerds of the strongest variety. Kind of like +tim kimbrough and myself when we get to talking about Borderlands. My friend Steve and I started a new game a few days ago on Diablo 3. I took the Demon Hunter because he just looked awesome from the start and I know that eventually he will look like he does when you first select him when starting a new game. Steve chose to take the Witch Doctor. We had a nice laugh because we grew up playing Street Fighter and the first thing we thought of was Dhalsim from that game. We made jokes about it as we played the game. He has since switched over to the Wizard because the Witch Doctor wasn't really helpful to me and it was getting boring for him. We have successfully made it into Act II of the game, but not before realizing that the more we play, the rarer the loot gets. It dawned on me after the third rare item I got at a low level that playing with friends means that you get better stuff. To test the theory out, I went and started a solo player Monk. I'm right around level ten with him and I still don't have any good weapons or armor.
     I have come to the conclusion that I need to go out and get this game so that he can have his copy back and we can play online via the Playstation Network. Playing on the same console is nice and all because we get to hang out and bullshit while playing, but I know that he wants his characters and equipment from his own games. Once I do get my own copy, we will be starting brand new characters again and reliving the whole Act I again.
     Diablo 3 is a lot like Borderlands 2 in a lot of ways. Anybody here reading this play it? Yeah? No? I'll give you the rundown anyway. In Borderlands 2, ALL of your characters share the Badass Challenges and the Vault in Sanctuary. So once you get to Sanctuary and start doing missions out of there, you can leave some stronger lower level weapons for any new characters that you start. I happen to have a few characters on the game myself with my main character being Zero the Assassin. I haven't played in a while though so I am very rusty when it comes to playing the game. In Diablo 3, it works roughly the same way with a few extras. My stash is for all of the characters that I make and I can store gold to help out each new character. The big bonus that comes to mind is the forge you start from your very first character transfers over to every character. For example, you can level up the forge while doing a playthrough with your very first character. When you start the new character, the forge remains the same level from the previous character and you can forge higher level weapons and armor at the beginning to give you an edge in battle.
     I guess all that I really want to say is that if given the opportunity, I would rather play a multiplayer RPG/Dungeon Crawler with a friend to get the good stuff early on. Not like Monster Hunter 3 because they have requirements for quests. You have to be a certain Hunter Rank before you can take on certain quests, but like Borderlands multiplayer. So get out there and go be a multiplayer!! Get in the game with better stuff and rarer loot. Be a pal!

Until next time, this is Wickid and always remember, "This is SPARTA!"

New Year's Resolution

     The year of 2014 is now in the past as we all ring in the start of 2015. This is the time that everyone is either drunk or attempting to sleep through the plethora of random fireworks noises that are going off all over the place. I happen to be neither since my lack of sleep keeps me going late into the night. This issue of The Arena promises to be one of the longest since this will also include my list of things that I am going to change about myself in the coming year. I know that there is a whole world of people that are making the same lists that I am. Everyone makes a list and for most of the first couple months they tend to keep to it and are diligent about what they are doing. After about mid-March or so, they decline and everything goes back to the way it was and then about June or July, they realize that everything has gone wrong and start blaming everything but themselves. I actually happen to have what I believe is a fool proof plan for keeping on top of the resolutions that will be following this happy narrative. As I sit here doing my normal dad thing of watching TV and keeping my hellions in line, I think back about all of the things that have happened in the last year. Some of these things that I will talk about will be a little private, but I will try to preserve some of the privacy that I am entitled to. 

     The following list of resolutions that will be coming to you also have consequences for slipping up or completely missing something all together. I had this thought as I was sitting around thinking one day at work before going on leave. Many believe that people don't change. Some really don't, but there are the others that put in the hard work to make the changes that they want to see in their life. I am one of the people that wants things to be different because I feel that there is a need for the change. I have a lot of things that I want to change. For example, I don't want to be that dad that yells at my kids all of the time. I know there will be times that I need to yell at them however, I tend to go a little overboard with it. It has been brought to my attention by pretty much everyone that I know. It is sometimes an unconscious thing that happens. Other times, I know that I am being a little unreasonable, but it is so hard to stop. The red flashes in and I sometimes lose sight of what really needs to be addressed so I know that I need to change it. 

     Now without further ado, I bring you the resolutions for the Wickid one.

Resolution 1: As I stated before, I have issues with going overboard on the yelling so it is only natural that the first and foremost thing that needs to be changed is that. Less yelling, more talking and smiling. I don't really need to elaborate more since I kind of already dove into this once above. The only thing that needs to be done is work on it.

Consequence to breaking Resolution 1: I said I was going to have consequences and I wasn't kidding. I plan on holding on strong to the resolutions so that what needs to happen, happens. For every major outburst that is overbearing or unreasonable, I will proceed to do as many push-ups as I can in 30 seconds. This serves two separate purposes. First, it will definitely help me on my next PRT for work that is coming up in March or April. Secondly, physical punishment is, I believe, the best teacher. I don't like doing push-ups so the more I do the more it will teach me and remind me to stop being so overbearing. 

Resolution 2: I hope that you guys have enjoyed every issue that has come your way. I enjoy writing these as I hope you enjoy reading them. So it is my hopeful promise to you that I can make your day just that much more enjoyable by popping out these issues at least once a day. There will be days where I will unplug or that I don't do them because of other, slightly higher priority items that need to be done. 
Action Item for Resolution 2: If I unplug for the day or miss a day due to other higher priority items, the following day will be done with two issues. Obvious order should be applied. I will try to make sure that I at least give you guys the heads up for when I plan on unplugging for the day. Be mindful that I will try to unplug at least once a week. I have to special needs children and they do demand my attention. I plan on taking the time I have away from a submarine to give it to them.

Resolution 3: Less being defensive, more listening. I have a nasty habit of being very defensive when someone is trying to prove a point to me or give me some criticism. I tend to yell and try to prove my point, even if I'm wrong. It upsets my wife and makes her look at me like I'm an ass. I don't like it when she feels that way about me and after the last year with us on the verge of divorce and having split custody of my children. We have fought long and hard for the last year to get back on the same page and for her to start trusting me again. I was an idiot and I still have flashes of my idiocy.
Consequence for Resolution 3: When approached with an argument or any disagreement, I will have to bite my tongue and keep my big trap shut. If I feel that it deserves to be talked about, I will have to use texting or waiting until we are alone to discuss something in a more adult like manner. I do tend to be childish when it comes to arguments because I do like to be right instead of wrong. 

Resolution 4: The nail biting has got to go. The few weeks before the end of the year where I actually stopped was really nice because I could actually pick things up when I needed to. Plus, biting nails is a particularly disgusting habit as well. Your hands are in your mouth and they get all slobbery and stuff. I gotta quit it. It's a hard one to do, but I have done it before.
Action Item for Resolution 4: I don't know what I can really do for this if I actually bite my nails, so I will just make the thing I do a physical one. We will have to go with as many sit-ups as I can do in 30 seconds. Again, this will help with the learning of not doing and help with the PRT coming up later in the spring. 

     For now, this is what I have decided will help me to be a better person. I do think that change is for the better and I do believe that with the fact that this is public and I can view it anytime I want, I shouldn't have any issues when it comes to doing these resolutions. So, Happy New Year everyone. Enjoy the issue and be safe. Don't drink and drive. Get a ride!! 

This is SPARTA!!

Wickid