Less Sleep, More Pictures

First Jenn and I want to say thanks to everyone for the warm wishes. Even though we have not been able to thank all of you personally, it means so much to have the love and support of all of our friends and family. In the vein of housekeeping, it appears that I left out a couple of pieces of information: the babies’ height and weight. Alexis was 5 lbs., 7 ounces and was 18 i/2 inches. Joanna was 7 lbs even and 20 1/2 inches. Of course, their weight has changed since then, but at least you have their starting points. 

I think today’s post will be text-light and photo-heavy for a couple of reasons. First, I know that a picture explains more than any words that I could use. The second reason is that I have slept 10 hours out of the last 72. (My mind is so slow I had to use my cell phone calculator to figure out how many hours are in 3 days.) So I could type some thoughts but right now it would be ZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZ. 

  

Thankfully, the girls and Jenn are asleep right now so I’m going to make this quick so I can get some sleep too. So let’s look at some pictures and call it a night. 

Mom and the girls during a quite moment

Jenn is up and moving

 

Joanna, rocking the headphones for her audio test

 

Alexis, grooving too

 

Happy Birthday, Alexis and Joanna

Today is the day my girls were born.

For those of you who read my blog post from Sunday, you know that our idea of  how this week would work was thrown into disarray on Friday. (If you haven’t, you can read about it here.) After a lull during the weekend, this past Monday, we went to see Jenn’s OB/GYN, Dr. Maddalena, hoping that we could convince him to take Jenn in earlier. The constant “in-n-out” Saturday and Sunday was adding more stress to Jenn, which exacerbated the purpose of her going to the hospital. We had our arguments all laid out to present to him but it turned out that they were not necessary. As soon as the doctor took Jenn’s blood pressure, he immediately decided to admit her the next day (a.k.a. today). 

We then spent the rest of Monday, preparing for the big day. I took Jenn to her favorite restaurant, Mongolian BBQ. I went to get my haircut so the first time the girls saw me, they wouldn’t wonder who this scruffy guy is.  Luckily, their stroller came in Monday, so we went to pick that up. After running these errands, we then went home so Jenn could rest and I could finish what office work I had left and then clean the house. (Even though Simply Clean was kind enough to come in and clean our house while we were out, we didn’t want them to see how dirty it was. Weird, huh?) The rest of the day went rather slow. Puck was Puck and he didn’t let me get much rest. He wanted to play and, knowing I wouldn’t see much of him the next few days, I obliged him. Jeff (of bestjeffever.com) and Lisa Barton blessed us by bringing us Jenn’s favorite pizza and my favorite pizza (Garlic Chicken Alfredo and Hawaiian, respectively.) While he was there, Jeff helped me set-up the aforementioned strollers. Knowing we had to be at the hospital by 7:30 am, we attempted to go bed early. Of course, due to the excitement, neither one of us did. Jenn went to bed at 12:45 and I finally fell asleep at 2. (Unfortunately, I wasn’t able to focus on anything but the next day so I didn’t have a post last night. Sorry, UCW fans.) 

We awoke early the next morning and headed to the hospital. Checking in was relatively smooth. Shortly after changing into our hospital gear, we went into the operating room. Well, Jenn did. I waited in a hospital room while they numbed her. Once they had her prepped, I went into room to join her. I walked in and saw Jenn strapped to the table, arms laid out crucifixion-style. The birthing classes had taught me that Jenn should focus on me while they were operating, so I sat down next to her head and we talked. She told me how numb she was and that, even though she knew she was breathing, she couldn’t feel it. I told her that the position she was in reminded me of Mel Gibson at the end of Braveheart. She asked if she should yell “Freedom!” when the girls were born. Before we knew it, the anesthesiologist told me to get my camera ready. 

I looked over the sheet that separated Jenn’s head shoulders from her lower body and saw what looked like a white, bloody alien pop up from the curtain. And thus, at 10:22 am, Alexis Victoria entered the world. About one minute later, another white, bloody alien appeared, this one much larger than the first. At 10:23 am,  Joanna MacKenzie joined her sister. We could almost immediately hear Alexis’ cry as she gasped for air. A short time later, Joanna joined her. However, her cry was not as loud or as frequent as her sister’s. I noticed this but did not mention it to Jenn because I did not want to worry her. They finally brought both girls over to Jenn so she could momentarily see them.  After she had what amounted to a quick glance at them, the girls and I headed to the nursery while they sewed Jenn up. 

As soon as we arrived in the nursery, I asked the pediatrician, Dr. Gold, what was wrong with Joanna. He explained to me that when Joanna was born, she swallowed some ambiotic fluid. He explained to me the technical aspect of what happened, but in layman’s terms, during the birthing process, they broke Alexis’ water first. She was then pulled out but while Joanna still inside, she was hit by basically a wave of fluid. She had ingested some of the fluid and was now trying to expel it by coughing and wheezing. They were going to have to keep her in the nursery for anywhere from a few hours to a day in order to make sure she was okay. Like an idiot, I asked if this was normal. Dr. Gold kindly told me that anytime you are having trouble breathing, it’s not normal. He then explained that this was common for the second child of C-Section twin births. They were going to keep an eye on Joanna in order to make sure she was breathing okay. 

I stood there in the nursery and stared out at the assorted crowd on the other side of the glass. I could see worry on both sets of grandparents’ faces. They were staring at Joanna as the nurses set her up to be monitored and receive oxygen. As I looked across the room, I could see Alexis was awake and moving. I began to feel sorry for her because, even though she was only about an hour old, she was already becoming the forgotten sister. I went over and started talking to her. Eventually, they allowed me to pick her up and hold her. 

Now before this point, we had not named them. Jenn and I had gone back and forth about when to decide who was who. We both agreed that the one who looked like my side was Alexis and the one who took after Jenn’s side would be Joanna. The debate was when the names would be decided. Jenn wanted to name them rather soon after they were born. I wanted to wait for a few days to see who was who. Well, the argument was moot. As soon as I stared down at the girl in my arms, I knew she was Alexis. 

After about 90 minutes, I was able to take the newly-named Alexis in to see Jenn. Thankfully, as soon as Jenn saw her, she agreed. I left Alexis with Jenn and, while they were bonding, I headed out to let the crowd know what was going on. Once everyone was calmed, I went back in and took Alexis to join her sister in the nursery. I let Jenn know I was going to stay with the girls and I would see her downstairs. 

Eventually, the crowd dissipated and I was left alone in the nursery with both girls. I took the time to introduce myself and then give them a little speech I had prepared for that day. Other than telling them who Jenn and Puck were, I made them a couple of promises. Girls, at whatever point in time you find yourselves reading this, you can ask me what they were. I am sorry to everyone else but this was a special moment between the three of us. 

After about 3 hours in the nursery, they were finally able to clear Joanna and we were able to head down to Jenn’s room (although they said she was going to only be allowed in the room for an hour at a time.) As I write this, Joanna’s been with us for over 3 hours without having to be sent back. (Praise God.) Both Mom and the girls are sleeping soundly as I type. For those of you wondering how I feel, well, I don’t know yet. I know I am excited and happy they are here.  I know that I love each one tremendously. There is not much else other than that. I expected this big revelation, in the form of a light from heaven, accompanied by a thunderous voice that sounded suspiciously like James Earl Jones, decreeing “David Quintanilla, thou art father.” But nothing like that happened. In its place was a quite realization that these girls are my responsibility and that I am not scared of that. Those of you who know me, know that I am planner. Oddly enough, right now, I am just enjoying each moment. Now before I close, here are the pictures I promised. I hope you enjoy them. 

Jenn and I Before Surgery

 

Alexis being born

 

Joanna being born

 

Alexis, active in the nursery

 

Joanna, moving around

 

Some of the Crowd

 

Alexis and I

 

Jennifer and Joanna

 

Our Family

 

The girls right now. Alexis on the left and Joanna on the right

Best Laid Plans

There are times when things feel more real than they did in the past. During certain moments in life, an overwhelming sense of “This is really happening” washes over you and you realize things will never be the same.  Friday afternoon was one of those moments. At 12:12 pm, I was sitting at my desk at work when I received a phone call that caused that wave hit me like a tsunami.

Since Jenn entered the last month of pregnancy, she has had to have monitoring tests (ironically called Non-Stress Tests, or NSTs) twice a week. Normally, they are pretty routine affairs, usually lasting about thirty minutes. The closest that there has ever been to a complication was the one time Jenn had a new tech who couldn’t find the one of the baby’s heartbeat. So even though we were less than a week away from scheduled delivery date, I honestly hadn’t expected to hear anything from Jenn other than a text that said “I’m out”.

Needless to say I was surprised to see Jenn’s smiling face pop up on my phone. “Hey,” she began in her tone that’s usually screams “Don’t panic.”  She proceeded to tell me that her blood pressure was suddenly extraordinarily high (143/95), and that she had gained 7 pounds in since Wednesday. There was one other condition but I don’t it’s something Jenn wants recorded for posterity on Eternal Interweb.  They were going to keep her in the hospital for another couple of hours to do some more tests to make sure they were not going to have to deliver the girls that same day. After dropping that bit of knowledge on me, she then said “I just wanted to let me know.”  And with those six words, reality set in.

You see, for the past 9 months, I have known that eventually two little girls would be coming into our life. It’s kind of hard to ignore when you spend a weekend moving 6 boxes of comics from one room to another.  And it’s not like I haven’t had the,”Holy crap, I’m going to be a dad”  moment. That moment came a few months back as we were planning our “babymoon” trip to Disneyland.  I was making my usual hour-long commute to work, listening to a Disneyland podcast and planning our trip, when my mind drifted into the future. I was picturing Jenn and I walking underneath the train tressel and onto Main Street.  As the turn-of-the-century architecture came into view, I looked down and I saw two little hands holding onto mine. It was then I realized that it, although it was a dream now, in a few years, it could come true. From that point on, I was excited and ready to be a dad.

So why was this moment so different? It’s simple. It was outside the plan. Jenn and I are people who like structure in our lives. Every evening, as we eat dinner, we talk about what our schedule will be for the evening. Heck, we have our household budget forecasted out till February. So, it was very re-assuring to us to have an exact date picked out as the girls’ birthday. Suddenly, it looked the security we had in the plan was going out the window.

Thankfully, she called back about an hour later letting me know she was alright. The hospital was going discharge her and she was now on semi-bedrest. They were going to have her come in the next day and perform all three tests again. If everything checked out, she would be free to go and we’d do the same thing again the next morning. In the meantime, she was heading home.

I am writing this closing paragraph Sunday morning. Yesterday she had the tests and everything was back to normal. What that means is that Jenn and I will be heading to the hospital each morning to see if that day will be “The Day.”  I guess this a good thing in at least one aspect: Kids do not always follow the schedule you lay out. We might as well get used to it now.

My Top Three Attractions in Disneyland

Sleeping Beauty in Disneyland, California

I enjoyed writing my post about my three favorite attractions in Disney California Adventure  last week, ao I decided that I would do the same for Disneyland. This was much more difficult than I expected. There are so many great attractions in the Magic Kingdom, it was hard to pick my top three. I had to have Jenn help me narrow it down. My choices are ready, although they did not come without some controversy (hence my tweet earlier this evening). After much deliberation, here they are.

Number 3: Pirates of the Caribbean

Pirates of the Caribbean

Located in New Orleans Square, Pirates of the Caribbean is one of the signature attractions of Disneyland. The que takes you into the bayous of Louisiana. After you enter your boat, you begin to float past a re-creation of a Louisiana swamp, passing by the Blue Bayou restaurant. Drifting by a animatronic old swamp dweller, you come upon a talking pirate skull bolted on a wall. After hearing the warning, you are plunged first into darkness and then you go over two drops (hopefully not getting wet). Upon reaching  the bottom, you pass through an underground grotto, coming upon what is left of a pirate battle. After seeing a few scenes of the skeletal remains of pirates, you enter a cavern where you are greeted by the image of Davy Jones on a mist wall.

 Passing through the mist, you come upon Captain Barbossa aboard the Black Pearl storming a Spanish fort, intent on finding Jack Sparrow. Upon entering the town, you discover the pirates drowning the town mayor in an attempt to find Sparrow’s location. You then find him hiding among upon some women’s clothes, before heading into a pirate bride auction. Heading deeper into the town, you see some pirates chasing women with trays of food. In the forefront is a pirate attempting to hide a treasure map from Jack Sparrow, unaware that Sparrow is hiding in a barrel, looking over his shoulder.

After seeing scenes of pirate revelry, things turn darker as the pirates begin to burn and loot the town. Soon you enter the bottom of a dungeon, where a group of imprisoned pirates are desperately attempting to wrest the cell key from a nearby dog. Nearing the end, there are a group of pirates drunkenly shooting at each other. As you begin to head up the ramp, you pass Jack Sparrow one more time, watching as he celebrates the treasure he found. With one final warning from Davy Jones, you head back to the loading area.

Pirates of the Caribbean is hands down, one of my favorite rides. In April 2009, Jenn and I had to come to the park to upgrade our annual passes. We snuck in a ride on this attraction, even though we didn’t ride any others. This ride is also the source of my first childhood Disney wish, as I would always ask my parents if we could “eat at the restaurant inside Pirates” (a.k.a. the Blue Bayou). It was also the first wish I had fulfilled, as Jenn and I ate there on our honeymoon.

Number 2: The Haunted Mansion

The Haunted Mansion

After passing through the graveyard surrounding the que, you enter the parlor of this Gothic mansion. You are then welcomed by a ghostly voice into a parlor, surrounded by portraits of prior residents of the mansion. While being slowly lowered deeper into the mansion, you discover that you are trapped inside the parlor. You learn the earthly fate of your host, and are then escorted deeper into the mansion. Passing through the hallway and into Limbo, you enter your “doom buggy” and begin your tour. You view the various ghostly apparitions that inhabit the various rooms. Soon you enter into a séance, lead by the head of physic Madam Leota, floating inside a crystal ball.

You then over-look a banquet hall, where various ghosts appear to be having a party. Heading into the attic, you see various portraits depicting a bride who has seemingly murdered each of her prior husbands. Before leaving the attic, you see a projection of the bride in the remains of her wedding dress. Out of the attic you head, and into the graveyard, passing a frightened groundskeeper and his malnourished dog. Once in the graveyard, you see the party the ghosts are having, happy to be free of their graves. Before exiting the ride, you are “chosen” by one of three spirits as a host. Finally, after being jarred back to reality by an incredibly out-of-place safety message, you pass a small statue that encourages you to “hurry back.”

The Haunted Mansion is a great dark ride. It is spooky enough to be given a slight thril,l but not so much so that it’s uncomfortable (like say, the walk-through museum at Universal Studios). Jenn and I have been on this ride so many times, she can recite the Ghost Host’s opening spiel from memory.  As we go through, we like to point out the various bits of trivia each of us can remember about the attraction. For example, there is a spider-web in the banquet scene that covers up a bullet hole in the glass wall that separates the buggies from the animatronics. Apparently, early in the ride’s history, someone not only snuck a gun into the park but was also so scared by what they saw, they needed to defend themselves.

Number 1: Splash Mountain

Splash Mountain

Based on the controversial film, “Song of the South“, Splash is easily the best ride in the park. You follow the que into the mountain and enter into your hollowed-out log. After lifting into the flue, you head outside and pass by the house of Brer Bear, who could be heard snoring inside. After dropping down into the mountain, you see various scenes of Brer Bear and Brer Fox attempting to (and not succeeding in) capturing Brer Rabbit, while various animals sing the song “How Do You Do”.

After going through a speed drop, you enter the dark light-lit Laughing Place. The song “Ev’rybody’s Got A Laughing Place”  plays while you see Brer Rabbit trapped by Brers Fox and Bear. You then pass a possum and rabbit mother singing “Burrow’s Lamen,t” before floating underneath two vultures who mock you. My favorite taunt being, “So you’re looking for a Laughing Place, eh?) You then begin the ascent to the top of the mountain. After a brief pause, you “escap”‘ by dropping into the Briar Patch below. After making a corner, you head back inside the mountain, where the animals celebrate Brer Rabbit’s escape by singing “Zip-a-Dee-Doo-Dah.” After viewing a picture of yourself and fellow riders during the drop, you head back to the loading area.

This may not be a popular opinion, but I think this is the best ride in either park. Not only does it have the thrill of the drop but it’s got a cohesive story throughout the attraction. That, in my opinion, is the next evolution of the dark ride. My favorite part of Splash Mountain is the moment after the drop. To find out why, just do me one simple favor: ride in the front.

Well, now you have my top three attractions in Disneyland. I have to admit, I did not realize that this would be as much fun to write as it was. I love talking about the Disneyland Resort and everything therein. I am considering putting my trip reports on hold and doing other top three lists. What do you think? Let me know which you would rather read and I’ll write about that next week.

Electronic Ink: Mini-Edition 3

Normally, this week, there are significantly more comics. However, due to the fact there is a fifth week this month, the comics I normally purchase are more spread out throughout the month. So once again, this week’s edition of Electronic Ink is short. (You can almost hear my editor, Jenn, rejoicing through the screen, can’t you?)

The Flash #5

First up is  the newest edition  of Geoff Johns and Francis Manapul‘s run on “The Flash.”  This issue continues the story of Barry Allen‘s first case back since returning from the dead. The issue opens with the Flash speaking with the 25th Century version of classic Flash villain, The Top. In this case, the Top is a member of a future police force named the Renegades. They are basically an alternate version of the team of Flash villains, the Rogues. The Renegades have been sent back in time to arrest the Flash for the murder of their version of the Mirror Master, the Mirror Monarch. The catch is the crime hasn’t happened yet. As is revealed in this issue, the Renegades think that by pre-emptively arresting the Flash, they can prevent the murder.

Meanwhile, the Rogues have discovered that the original Mirror Master had created an item that could be used if the Flash ever returned. They are attempting to break the glass case surrounding the item but are being prevented by the remaining members of the renegades. The Top tells the Flash that the glass case is trapping beings called the Mirror Lords. One of the Mirror Lords will take control of the Flash’s fiancée, Iris, and cause her to become his greatest nemesis. The Flash and the Future Top arrive during the battle and try to calm the situation. Unfortunately, at that moment, Captain Boomerang‘s power goes crazy and he starts shooting boomerangs everywhere, breaking the glass in the process.  The issue ends with the revelation that the Top has not been completely honest and the Flash being hauled to the future to meet the Judge.

 Overall, the issue was enjoyable, although it seemed to be a deceptively quick read. As I was reading it, the issue seemed to fly by. However, after going by through it again for this post, there was a lot that happened. I am wondering if it was just information overload. I am torn on the art style as well. (You can check it out on the cover.) I think the looseness of the lines fits the fast nature of the book. But as a personal preference, I prefer a lot of detail in my comic art. So while I would never say the art is bad, it’s just not my cup of tea. Overall, I would rate the comic 3.5 out of 5. It was enjoyable but not something that I will want to read again.

Justice League: Generation Lost #10

Next  is an issue of Judd Winnick’s “Justice League: Generation Lost.”  In this issue, we learn that what was hinted at in the last issue is exactly where the series is going: the Kingdom Come future which involves Magog commanding a version of the Justice League that causes the destruction of Kansas via Captain Atom exploding.  Max Lord has a vision of that future thanks to the White Lantern that resurrected him. Although the mission that will keep him alive consists of him preventing that future, Max appears to be helping it come about by equipping Magog with a more powerful weapon.

Meanwhile, the team that is hunting Max (Blue Beetle, Booster Gold, Fire, Ice, Rocket Red, and Skeets) are re-grouping after Max’s attempted invasion of their base last issue. We learn that when Max returned, he activated several Checkmate cells throughout the world. The team decides go and hunt these down.  Before they leave, Ice and Fire have a heart-to-heart, where Ice renews her commitment to the team and to her friendship with Fire. We also learn why other heroes still haven’t caught on that Max has returned from the dead.  Batman is shown noticing that something is up, but as he attempts to investigate, with Alfred and Power Girl backing him up, they all forget what they are doing midway through. The issue ends with the revelation of what else Max has been up to.

I, once again, really enjoyed this issue. The artist for this issue is Joe Bennett. His art style is good but not as enjoyable as Aaron Lopresti’s. I especially liked Bennett’s work on the conference room scene. Winnick’s script is great too, although his Batman was so nondescript it was hard to tell if it was Dick Grayson or Bruce Wayne. I enjoyed Fire and Ice’s reunion scene, but with recent announcements about the future of the comic, the scene takes on new meaning. It was recently announced that Ice would be undergoing a revamp and that a member of the team will die. This scene heavily foreshadows that person will be Fire. I’m a little tired of every comic storyline being spiced up with death, so I have to say it causes a cloud to hang over this issue. But judging it on its own merits, I would give it four out of five.

Justice League of America #49

The final issue I picked up this week was “Justice League of America”. This story is an interlude story, as writer James Robinson is in between story arcs. After a brief prologue showing some bonding between Dick Grayson and Supergirl, the story has a few brief scenes showing what the rest of the league is up to before switching to the main storyline of featuring Donna Troy and Jade. Robinson introduces new villain, The Bogeyman, who has the ability to force a victim to relieve their most traumatic moment so he leech power from it. He has a special spot for young girls (ew!). Predictably, they join forces and fight him off. The issue ends with an epilogue showcasing Dick Grayson Batman and Supergirl again.

I did not care for this issue. It could be the fact that I am having girls but I thought the villain was rather gross. It really took me out of the story. Honestly, I would have rather read about Batman and Supergirl’s adventures fighting the Murder Maestro. That sounded fun. This…this was boring. The only saving grace was the art by Pow Rodrix and Robson Rocha. They did a good job making each character look distinct. In the end I give this issue a 2 and that’s only because of the art.

Thus ends Electronic Ink Mini-Edition 3. Let’s hope this trend continues. Or I’ll have a very angry Juni.

Video Game Review: Assassins Creed II

Assassins Creed 2

 

So if you have been following my blog and checking out the sidebar, you’ve noticed that I have finally finished Assassins Creed II. I have been playing the game since the middle of August, and outside of the Labor Day weekend, I have only played it on Saturdays and Sunday afternoons. I like that schedule because it helps build up anticipation for the game. Plus, it gave me much-needed breaks when the game was frustrating. And believe me, I needed those breaks. But I am getting ahead of myself. 

 Assassins Creed II picks up right where the first game leaves off. You are still Desmond Miles trapped inside Templar corporation,  Abstergo Industries. The game begins when your friend from the first game, Lucy Stillman, breaks you out of the company building and reveals that she also is an Assassin. During the escape, it becomes clear that some of your ancestor’s skills have bled on through and become your own. 

When you reach the Assassin’s hideout, you meet fellow Assassins (Shaun Hastings and Rebecca Crane) and are introduced to the Animus 2.0. This upgraded version of the device not only allows the user to relieve an ancestor’s genetic memories, but it allows for a more controlled bleed effect. Desmond has decided that he wants to join the Assassins and fight Abstergo, so they have him re-live the memories of Ezio Auditore da Firenze. Ezio is an Italian nobleman who lived in  Renaissance Italy. From that point the game switches to Ezio’s point of view. 

As you begin Ezio’s memories, he is just a typical young noble, until his family is betrayed by a close friend who is also a Templar.  The Templar accuses Ezio’s father and two younger brothers of trying to overthrow the city government.  After a mock trial, Ezio’s father and brothers are hung in the public square. Ezio manages to sneak his sister and mother out of their home city of Florence and to his uncle’s villa in the countryside. You then undertake Ezio’s plan to uncover the conspiracy that destroyed his family and enact his revenge. As you travel to various cities in Italy, you learn that the group responsible reaches to the highest level of power. Along the way, you ally yourself with various historical figures, including a young Leonardo Da Vinci. 

Overall, the game is a vast improvement from the first one. The controls are much tighter and more responsive. The movements feel more natural and fluid. There is still an issue with a game camera that, at times, seems intent on switching to the most un-usable viewpoint. I thought the graphics were improved and there is much more color in the world. Plus, it was neat to see how well they captured Kristen Bell’s likeness as she played Lucy Stillman. The combat controls are still easy to learn, and the insta-kills are still cool-looking. My favorite combat improvement is the ability to use the hidden spike (of which there are two) in the insta-kill. 

I liked the new version of the stealth mechanic. Now, you can blend into any crowd instead of just monks. You do this by hiring courtesans to surround you, using them to distract guards. There are two other factions you can hire: thieves who draw away guards and mercenaries, who will fight with you. There is also now a notoriety system that lets you know when the guards will pay closer attention to you. My favorite additions, though, are the RPG-elements. 

You now earn money for completing missions, as well as for stopping pickpocketers and enemy messengers. That money can be used to upgrade your armor, weapons, and to purchase supplies like medicine and smoke bombs. You can also use the funds to upgrade your home base, the villa that houses your mother and sister. The more you upgrade your villa, the more money it will generate for you. The only flaw in the system was that, early on, I reached a point where money became no object. I had focused on upgrading the villa to the point that I didn’t need to complete every side mission to be able to afford everything in the game. 

 I liked almost every aspect of the game. However, much like the first, the theology it presented bugged me to no end. What I am about to mention contains spoilers so feel free to stop reading the post now if you have not completed the game… 

 According to the game, humanity was created by an ancient race of beings as slaves. Humanity rebelled against their masters and stole a device (the apple from the Garden of Eden) that allowed them to break free. As time wore on, humanity forgot their origin and re-told the true story in various forms. Most current religions were created by people who discovered the Apple and used it to manipulate people into following. 

As a Christian, the premise generates a little bit of eye-rolling. The game attempts to present an atheistic  point-of-view by claiming that there is no afterlife and all religions are false (represented by the actual Assassin’s creed. “Nothing is true. Everything is permissible.”) However, in this second game, it still presents beings that are higher than ourselves, known as “The Ones Who Came before.”  It is these alien beings who are presented as humanity’s former masters. It’s interesting to me that even though the game’s storyline claims there is no God, it still has to create something more. To me, it helps to prove that there really is a God-shaped hole within each of us that we fill in different ways. 

All told, I would recommend the game for the great game mechanics. Just take the over-arching story with a grain of salt.

Secret Origins IV: Doomsday

D-Day '98

Last week, I detailed Ultimate Championship Wrestling’s first paid event, March Madness, which was an overwhelming success. It’s interesting to look back on three of the men who participated and see how they have  changed since then. Tony Dreamer then was a tough-talking butt-kicker, who wasn’t afraid to take risks. Today, he is a charismatic showman, who plays towards the crowd.  Scarface had just debuted his new persona and attempted to play to the sympathy of the crowd . Today, Scarface enjoys the hatred of the crowd…when he makes an appearance at UCW, that is. Then, Kraven was a dark, silent figure who used to wear a black trench coat and carry a bat. Today, well, if you have been to a UCW show, then you know that Kraven is anything but silent. The differences between then now are particularly glaring as we take a look at UCW’s first big failure, at an event somewhat appropriately named D-Day. However, I am getting ahead of myself.

The story of  D-Day begins with, ironically enough, an explosion. In this case, the explosion involved was the size of UCW’s roster as it grew exponentially. You see, shortly after March Madness, it was decided that UCW would have a second event a couple of months later, in the month of May. When it came to naming the event, the name was once again an homage to something else. Our church, Calvary Christian Center (known then as Calvary Temple) holds an annual event on the Sunday before Memorial Day that honors veterans. As an in-joke for ourselves, we named our new event “D-Day.”

In order to put on D-day, we knew that we would need more people involved than what we currently had.  So about one month prior to the event, we held an open casting call. Thanks to the auditions, we gained several new members of the roster. There were so many in fact, that UCW was to create a new stable to join Kraven’s Flock and the Twin Cities Cartel.  Super Scotty Tuttle was given his own group of wrestlers, which he named the Tuttle Family. His “family” consisted of: Dallas Walden, also known as the V.I.D., the Very Important Dallas; Ray Ellis a.ka. Ray Hammer; Matt Masih, or as he was known in UCW, Stickboy (thanks Charlie!); and the centerpiece of the family, Chris Mace who went by just Mace.

The Tuttle family was not the only group to gain some new recruits. The Twin Cities Cartel also expanded. Besides Desperado and Scarface, the Cartel now also included wrestler, Sto Koroshi, also known as Will MacIvor and valet, Miss Lee, otherwise known as Jennifer MacIvor. Unfortunately, we did lose a wrestler. Jared Johnson, or as he was known in UCW, Seven, decided that he did not want to be a part of UCW anymore. At first, he used the reason that his mother did not want him to wrestle. However, after a little prodding, it came out that he just did not want to wrestle anymore. So we had to write him out of the show.

Once all the players were set, it was time for UCW’s second event. Most of the pieces were the same. Dave Diggs and myself were still providing commentary. Pastor Michael was still ring announcing. Vegas Vic, a.k.a. Pastor Vic, was still in charge. But, in addition to new members, some other things had changed. Gone were the metal stage pieces and in their place stood four wooden stage pieces that had previously been used in a Cinco De Mayo outreach. Gone was Tony Menchaca and Paul Soriano as half-time entertainment. In their place was a dance number set to the Newsboys song “Shine,”  (featuring my wife, Jenn) performed by the youth drama team. (I know, drama and dancing…don’t ask.) Gone was the referee from the prior show. In his place was youth group member, Steve Wilson, who still could not enter the ring. In my family, he was known as Uncle Steve…even though he was only a year older than me.  And most importantly, gone was the crowd of 150 people. In their place, an attendance of 500 people, to date the largest show in UCW history.

This event would feature four matches. Opening the show was Sto Koroshi facing Low Die for the newly created UCW Light Heavyweight Title. Even with the support of the Twin Cities Cartel, Sto Koroshi tapped out to the Snake-Eyes and Low-Die was the first ever UCW Light Heavyweight Champion. In between matches, we aired a video of myself interviewing Seven to find out why he wasn’t competing that night. His response of “I’m going home” drew laughter from those in attendance.

Prior to the second match, Scarface entered to his new entrance music (which to this day gets me pumped for UCW), and introduced the new members of the Cartel to the UCW fans. Of course, during the introductions, he managed to insult the audience and the Tuttle Family. He faced Mace for the honor of the Tuttle Family. Scarface dominated the match and, after hitting his finishing manuever, the Shank,

The Shank - an elbow to the back of the head

(and with a little help from the UCW Tag Team Title belt) Scarface picked up the victory.

The third match was the first ever UCW Rumble. It featured all the members of the UCW roster. The rules were simple. If a wrestler’s feet left the wooden stage pieces and touched the floor, they were eliminated. The last person left on the stage was the winner. The match featured all 10 members of the UCW roster (The Cartel, Low-Die, the entire Tuttle Family, ex-family member the Dragon, and new masked wrestler, El Bandito Loco). This was Scarface’s night, as he was the last man standing.

The main event that night was interesting. It was set to be a no-holds barred Triple Threat Match for the UCW World Heavyweight Title.  Tony Dreamer would be defending the title against not only Kraven, but Vegas Vic as well. It would be the only time in UCW history that the youth pastor would wrestle in the main event, let alone for the world title. The match, predictably, was mainly fought between Dreamer and Kraven. This time, not only were steel chairs used but so were trash cans

Kraven throwing a trash can

and ladders. After a hard-fought match that went all over the gym, Tony Dreamer pinned Kraven with the One Way Ticket to Dreamland and retained the World Title.

Post-Match, Vegas Vic announced he was being forced to return to Las Vegas. There needed to be someone who would run things in his place. Dreamer, being the winner of the match, was able to choose who that would be. Dreamer, as he sat high atop a ladder,  looked over the gym and pointed at one man…David Diggs. That night, he was named UCW Commissioner.  (What’s interesting is that Pastor Vic had actually planned on someone else being the figurehead. He just didn’t mention who that was to anyone before the event.) With that matter settled, the evening was over.

I mentioned that this was UCW’s first big failure. Reading over the card, it may not seem like it.  To explain why it wasn’t as successful as March Madness, you need to know three things. First, other than Mace and Miss Lee, all the new recruits were in junior high and did not have the athletic ability of the older wrestlers. Second, stupidly, we did not practice the Rumble at all. People did not know when they were supposed to leave. Desperado, not knowing where he was in the ring, stepped off the stage piece and eliminated himself.  In the backstage area, after the match, people were lying around, nursing wounds both real and imaginary. Victor (Scarface) said it was like a Civil War battlefield. Finally, the matches that were practiced (other than the main event) to be honest, were just not very good. The Scarface-Mace match even ended early because Mace just plain forgot the entire match.

All in all day, D-Day was evidence that UCW undergoing it’s growing pains. Thankfully, it did not stop there.  As has happened many times since then, Ultimate Championship Wrestling overcame the odds and was poised to continue.  However, there was one post-D-Day incident that nearly killed UCW before it could go any farther. But that, my friends, is a story for another time.

My Lunar-versary

Alexis and Joanna, today marks a huge milestone for me. This post is my 28th, which means I have completed my first month of blog posts. This may not seem like a big deal but for me, it’s huge. You see, I have a tendency to start stuff and not finish it. For example, in the 10 years that I was the video editor for Reality Student Ministries, I only completed one of the many video series I began. To be honest, the only things I seem to be able to finish are video games…and up until recently, even those were hit and miss.

When I considered beginning this blog, I was hesitant to tell anyone about it. I didn’t want it to be another project I started and abandoned. I decided to take it slow and begin by writing a post every day for a week, just to see if I could. When I accomplished that, I decided to share this blog with the world. And here we are, four weeks later. Thus far, I have only missed one night. Not too shabby, huh?

Along the way, I have learned a couple of interesting things. First, I learned that the old adage about writing is true, “writers need to write.”  By imposing a daily posting schedule, I needed to write about something each day. Granted, I gave myself some training wheels by assigning topics to each day. However, some days I just didn’t feel like writing about say, video games. The only way I could overcome that was to sit down and just start typing. After about an hour of typing and re-typing, I could finally get something on the screen. (Whether it was good or not, I’m probably not the one to judge.)

The other thing I learned was that I couldn’t really predict what people would want to read about. A little later, I’ll be posting about some of the most viewed articles. Jenn and I attempted to predict what would attract people’s attention. In some cases, we were correct.  But there are some we didn’t expect to be quite as popular. Whenever you girls read this, you’ve got to let me know what you liked. I’ll literally have been wating years to find out.

For the rest of you, I am going to be ending my one month celebratory post by going over the three posts that have received the most attention (or as it has been referred to by Jeff of bestjeffever.com, my greatest hits).  Hopefully, I have gained some new readers and you may have missed these. Let’s start with the post that has the most hits: “Welcome to our Family Time,” my initial post describing the blog and its intentions. The title is a reference to the theme song of my favorite Disneyland parade.  As I alluded to earlier, this post describes the reason and format for the blog. If you are curious as to what my post will be about that day, refer back to this post to find out.

Next up is the first post in my ongoing write-up of the history of Ultimate Championship Wrestling.  Secret Origins Part I: From Humble Beginnings tells the story of how the concept of UCW evolved from a video series about puppets into the phenomenon it is today. Well, maybe phenomenon is overstating it a bit. Nevertheless, according to the numbers, the story is at least very interesting. And if you agree, as of this writing, there are two more parts of the story, with more on the way.

Finally, there is the post that I think is the perfect way to end my lunar-versary. Heavenly Israeli Bunches details the many reasons that I love my wife. The title stems from the term that Jennifer used to describe how much she loved me. In a sermon, Pastor C explained that bunches of grapes in Israel at the time of Joshua were larger than normal. Jenn took that and explained that the grapes in Heaven would be even larger. Hence the amount of love Jenn had for me. If you can handle the sappiness, give it a try.

Thanks for reading this and for checking out the blog over the last month. They say that when you do something for 30 days, it becomes a habit. In about two days, this blog will become a permanent fixture of my life…and nothing would make me happier.

My Oldest Friend

As Western as he gets

Tonight, girls, I want to tell you about your uncle.  My brother, Victor, is one of the funniest people I know. At least that’s what most people think of him. But what they don’t know is that he is also one of the most hard-working, focused people I know, second only to your mom. So let me tell you a few of my favorite memories of growing up with Victor.

First, you may notice that most people in my immediate family don’t actually call him “Victor”. The common name we use is “Bicos”. You see, in Spanish, the letter “V” is pronounced with a ”B” sound. So growing up, when my dad called my brother , we always heard Bicos. Of course, that was one of the nicer names.

As soon as my brother turned seven years old, he started gaining weight. So much so, it became one of his defining characteristics throughout his childhood. Naturally that translated to the nicknames my parents gave him. There is one that, to this day, I still can’t believe they called him. It’s “Gordo Feos.” For those of you who don’t speak Spanish, (like me!), that means “Ugly Fat Boy.” Now your grandmother will tell you that, in Spanish, it’s a term of endearment. In English, however, it’s a one way ticket to an eating disorder. Thankfully, Victor can take a joke as well as he can dish it out.

That weight did come in handy one time, though. My dad is a huge fan of Benny Hinn. Whenever he could afford it, we would take off for a few days to go to one of his conventions. Victor and I hated them so we always begged them to stay home. Finally, in 1996, they decided to leave us home for the weekend. Your uncle and I were elated…at least until we locked ourselves out of the house. I don’t remember how we did it but one Sunday night after church, we came home to find that we had locked our house key inside. We tried every way we could think of to get inside the house, but my dad burglar-proofed it too well. Finally, out frustration, my brother slammed his shoulder into the door so hard he broke it off its hinges. From that point forward, I called him a baby elephant.

Finally, Victor got tired of being teased about his weight. So when he turned 21, he decided to something about it. For about a year, he went to the gym every day for hours and, like Forrest Gump, he started running. (I just realized, that reference will probably be even more dated when you girls finally read this.) One year later, Bicos was gordo no more.

It was that focus that enabled him to fulfill his calling in life.Ever since he was in junior high, Victor knew he was supposed to be a youth pastor. When he graduated from high school, my parents couldn’t afford to send him to a Bible college. Instead, he was forced to go to go High School 2.0, or as it’s more commonly known, Yuba College. He could have very easily wasted his time away there, (Lord knows many people have) but he managed to complete his courses and in 2003, he transferred down to Bethany University. After spending a few years there, he graduated and received his license to preach. Victor had managed to do what so few have: he fulfilled his childhood dream.

Today, Victor has a job doing what he loves and a has beautiful wife who supports him (sorta). If he only had the determination to lose weight, or he had only overcome the odds to become a youth pastor, that would be reasonn enough for me to admire him. But you add them together and you have one great person.

Since he graduated college, I have always teased Victor that we are not brothers, but we are friends. However, there is some truth to that. You see, girls, for the longest time I have extremely valued my friends. The reason is simple. You can’t choose who your family is, but you can choose your friends. With that in mind, I have to say, I am proud to call your uncle Victor my oldest friend.

Wanna-bes

So tonight’s focus is entertainment and I thought about writing about the few of the shows I have watched this week. This post may be pretty short as I am tired and looking forward to getting to bed at a relatively early time. (It doesn’t help that Jenn is sitting a few feet away snoring and Puck is laying next to me on the couch, completely out.) In any case, I had better get started, so I can get to sleep.

We  started the week watching a couple of movies. The first movie we watched was Romancing the Stone. It’s a 1984 movie about a romance writer, Joan Wilder whose sister is kidnapped while in Columbia. The writer heads south to try and pay the ransom to rescue her. Along the way, she meets fortune hunter, Jack T. Colton. They spend most of the movie escaping from the rogue members of the Columbian army and, of course, fall in love along the way.

I enjoyed the movie, but it did have it’s flaws. One major thing that stood out to both Jenn and I was how slow the movie was. It took about an 45 minutes for Wilder to reach Columbia and almost an hour before any sort of sequence occurs. I realize that is normal for an older film but it does make the movie feel like it’s dragging. Of course, it forced me to pay attention to the story, so that was a plus.  Kathleen Turner, who played Wilder, did not resemble my memory of what she looked like, at least at the start of the movie. It was a weird dichotomy as she looked like a friend of ours named Katie Rice but had the voice of Jessica Rabbit…which I guess makes sense she (Kathleen Turner) voiced Jessica. Anyway my overall impression of the movie was that it was Indiana Jones-lite.  I ended up rating it 3 out 5 stars. (An interesting side note is that this director, Robert Zemeckis‘ first big movie. Thanks to it’s modest success, he was able to go on to direct on of my favorite  movies of all time, Back To the Future.)

The next night Jenn and I watched the sequel, Jewel of the Nile. This movie continues to follow the adventures of Jack and Joan, this time to Egypt. Their love for each other is tested as an Arab ruler, Omar,  hires Joan to write his biography. In the meantime, Jack discovers that it is a ruse to get Joan to write some positive articles about Omar in order to help his quest to become ruler of the Arab World. Throughout the course of the movie, all parties are searching for the fabled “Jewel of the Nile”.

The one thing I really enjoyed about this movie was Danny Devito. His sleazy schemer character, a carry-over from the prior, was given an expanded role in this film and it helped. The interplay between himself and Michal Douglas, who plays Colton, made the film entertaing. The plot, however, was really silly. There is a twist with the Jewel that is rather absurd. Still, Jenn and I felt it was a popcorn movie, so we rated it 3 out of 5.

I am looking forward to this weekend as we watch 3:10 to Yuma and I’ll probably post on it next week. But in the meantime, I need to head to bed. Tomorrow’s a big day as we get ready for the girls to arrive. But that’s a post for another time.