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Mother nature never ceases to amaze me, but is this too good to be true? This fairly convincing short has you wondering which is real and which is fake.

Lately we’ve dusted off the original Nintendo for some 8-bit entertainment: Paper Boy, ExciteBike, Skate or Die, Ninja Gaiden. We even bought a NES Max controller to combat “Nintendo thumb,” we’ve been playing so much. Some observations on the evolution of video games:

1. NES games are much more difficult.
2. The graphics have gotten much better; the game play and story line (generally) much worse.
3. The number of buttons on the controller does not determine the difficulty level of the game.
4. NES games have just as good, if not better, camera angles.

Today, October 9, 2005, marks 6 years between Eric and I. Beginning on Tuesday, each day we have exchanged one gift, representing each year of our relationship. Since we had the entire afternoon-evening alone together yesterday, we relaxed and enjoyed each other’s company (oh, and went food shopping). We don’t get much time together at home alone because we live with 2 roommates and have friends over most evenings, so staying home and relaxing was actually much more enticing than it might sound. Today we are going to eat at Outback – its a tradition, and we can’t afford it all the time, so we go on special occasions. We also plan to see A History of Violence with Viggo Mortenson (Aragon from LOTR & the main character in Hidalgo) and go bowling, but those will be next week since football is on today and Eric has homework and a test tomorrow.

Oh, the “big” gift – I got Eric a Brett Favre replica jersey with our December trip in mind. He looks great in it. Eric got me a ring to symbolize our time together. Its got a blue topaz (my birthstone) as the main stone and 2 diamonds (his birthstone) on either side with a gold band. I love it; its beautiful. I took some pictures of it – I will try to put them up soon.

Happy Anniversary to us!

Due to a severe accident in high school requiring a root canal (amonst other things), one of my front teeth has begun to yellow. My dentist, Dr. Stones, believes some of the yellowing is due to the past trauma and therefore has begun an internal bleaching program designed to whiten my tooth from the inside. So far its working.

I went in for my second appointment and, uncharacteristically, had to wait for over an hour before I was seen. Although the office staff, including Kathy, one of the sweetest, most kind-hearted women I’ve ever met, profusely apologized and felt terrible about this, it didn’t bother me; conversely, the hour wait wasted some time that needed wasting and I was interested in the magazine I was reading anyway.

Yesterday, in the mail, I was surprised by a card from Dr. Stones’ office with a $5 gift certificate to Cold Stone Creamery. As many of you know, I LOOOOOOVE ice cream, and Cold Stone’s is amazing.

What an amazing dentist I have.

I have put this week’s wrap-up off due to the utter disappointment in Monday’s game. *sigh* After the high on Sunday from the Broncos’ (3-1) win, my heart dropped as the Packers (0-4) fell to injury and the Panthers. At least it was only by 3.

AFC West
Denver continues to lead its division as the Chiefs (2-2) suffered a devastating loss to Philadelphia (3-1) after jumping to an early 24-6 lead. I didn’t see the Broncos/Jaguars (2-2) game, so I haven’t much to report. The Raiders (1-3) finally won, beating Dallas (2-2), although I’d have preferred as much if they’d lost. The Chargers (2-2) surprised everyone by romping New England (2-2) 41-17. The game was close until the late 3rd quarter, where RB LaDainian Tomlinson and QB Drew Brees rolled over the injury-laden Patriot defense.

NFC North
Another heartbreaking performance by the Packers, not because they lost by 3, but because their defense played so poorly. Their pass defense is just atrocious; at least their rush defense performs at a low league average. Their turnover ratio is ridiculous at -9. Nothing is going right and my theory blames head coach Mike Sherman. He has been riding out the good players since Mike Holmgren left for Seattle and has done nothing to replace them once they’ve retired/left. Sherman keeps the same poor players and the team has steadily declined while he’s been in charge. Injury hasn’t helped; another serious head/neck injury and 2 injuries to the already crippled offensive line. After all of this, the Pack is still only 1 game behind in the race for the division title.

The Bears (1-1) had a bye week, and in not losing gained the lead in the NFC North. The Lions (1-3) lost to Tampa Bay (4-0) in a last second ditch effort. The Vikings (1-3) continued their hideous play by losing by 20 to Atlanta despite the injury of QB Mike Vick.

Around the NFL
All of the undefeated teams (Indianapolis, Tampa Bay, Cincinnati, and Washington) continued their winning streaks, a rare event. New Orleans (2-2) won their 2nd game in their new “home” field at the Alamodome in San Antonio.

Next Week
Broncos vs. Redskins: Denver should win this game despite Washington’s perfect record.

Packers vs. Saints: Green Bay NEEDS this win. And I think they have a chance.

Ironically, I caught my first game on Saturday at the 2nd Annual Alumni Softball Game and Dinner after 3 years as a backup catcher at Willamette. This year’s alumni team consisted of Andrea ‘99 (I think), Genesis ‘00 (I think), Kate ‘01, Marcie ‘04, Jen ‘04, Amanda ‘05, Lindsey (still in school but ineligible due to year restrictions), and myself ‘05. Our pitchers were Laura and Brittany Dearing, both seniors this year. The weather had been nice all week until Friday, when cats & dogs fell from the sky for nearly the entire day, causing us to move the game to the brand new artificially turfed soccer field. Rain showers plagued us Saturday as well, but they were intermittent. I imagine the current team won, but I didn’t keep score.

My legs held up surprisingly well; it wasn’t until a couple of hours after the game that I started to notice some stiffness, and until the next day that they were weak and sore. I played pretty well, too: I had a pickoff at 3rd, an out at the plate, and threw a bunter out at 1st. I blocked more balls than I let through as well – rain makes for lots of balls in the “dirt” – and have the bruises to prove it!

The dinner was enjoyable as always, but not because of the food, although the lemon bar I had for dessert was pretty good. I had a great time talking to my old friends, both older and younger. And of course gossiping about the current team and remembering the times of old.