Lately, I’ve been sucked into a video game called Defense Grid. It’s a relatively simple game concept where you build various towers to protect your energy source from a mindless parade of aliens all intent on stealing your energy source. While the concept is simple, some of the clever game mechanics has made it addictive to play. And it doesn’t help being obsessive-compulsive—trying to come up with the perfect strategy can take a few tries.
I’m thankful that God has given me 3 mothers in my life right now. I know that not everyone has that blessing, and what a blessing it is. It’s impossible to thank someone for loving you because it’s an endless gift of life, especially when it’s someone like a mom.
We had a quiet Easter weekend with a Saturday night Easter service at Beaverton Foursquare Church and Easter dinner with Jennilyn’s parents. Kadie is an expert egg finder and future fighter pilot.
I got to relax with some video games, a little Left 4 Dead, Braid demo, HAWX demo, and Defense Grid demo. I was pleasantly surprised by Braid, the platformer had great music and innovative puzzles that played homage to other platformers while introducing a few twists.
We both wished we could have attended the Easter Swing dance convention, but thanks to a tip from Jack, the event was broadcast on the internet, so we got to see some great highlights.
That’s our Easter. We hope everyone had a safe and fun Easter celebrating the resurrection of the Lord Jesus Christ.
I remember squinting to read the text on a gaming magazine page scan on the web that described an upcoming cooperative zombie game. Cooperative gaming, or “co-op” for short, hadn’t hit the renaissance it has today yet, but from what I read from the scans, Left 4 Dead was a game that made me think, “Why hasn’t this been done before? Fighting a zombie apocalypse with your friends?! Awesome!”
One of my favorite qualities about Jennilyn is her spirit for celebration. While I often get bogged down with the details in preparation, she always looks forward to any opportunity to make a day special—especially if it’s something like a landmark birthday.
Jenni and I had the privilege to hang out with Clark and Tovah on New Year’s Day as part of their marathon trip down the west coast. We introduced them to New Seasons Market and enjoyed a wok lunch.
When we returned to our house, Clark and I geeked out on Google Analytics, WordPress, Macs, Left 4 Dead, and Picasa while Jenni and Tovah caught up on other things.
While they have moved to the other side of the country, we’re still being blessed by their friendship. We miss them much and hope they can move back to Oregon someday.
They continued their tradition in giving the first baby gift (they gave us a onsie for Kadence at Easter Swing). This time, they opted to tap into my geek side.
My boss and I couldn’t believe it. Five years has passed since I first walked into the Vernier building. I arrived early because I wanted to make a good impression, only to meet my boss’ boss since my boss hadn’t arrived yet.
I’ve been incredibly blessed to have been part of a company as wonderful as Vernier. God strategically placed me there for He knew my needs—and my future family needs—when I was hired.
I remember standing at a Radio Shack and admired a simple-looking fellow in a dungeon on a computer monitor. I pushed a few buttons on the keyboard and got the man to move about, and eventually jump.
I was amazed at the fluid movement animation that even had inertia. I made my way through the dungeon and came across another man, who came at me with a sword. The other man proceeded to kill my avatar and I figured out that I needed a sword for my character—who turned out to be a prince.
Here are our loosely-themed superhero pumpkins for this year: Iron Man, Hulk (but could be a Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle without the head sash), the Bat Signal, and a lil’ Baby with a binky 😉