Just some handy tips:

• Play on easy. Always.
• Use a machine gun or, if all else fails, an automatic weapon.
• Play with someone who is better than you.
• Hide out in a corner facing the doorway.
• Pick a character that is balanced all around.
• Or a character that has a shit ton of health.
• Lean with your controller. That and pressing the buttons harder will always help.
• Use AI players as shields.
• Run!!
• Pray.

If you spend any time at my mom’s house, you will quickly see that we play a lot of cards. There is one game that we play in particular but it’s too fast for Samantha so I decided to teach her some more age-appropriate card games. Yes, I totally logged onto my own site to remember the rules. How awesome is that?

Now, some of you may say that poker and black jack are not age appropriate and while I would generally agree, let me argue that she pretty much kicked my butt the whole time.

Her favourite now is Egyptian Rat Killer, a game I learned and played on break when working at Wal-mart.

Wendy and I shal be headed over there tomorrow to celebrate Thanksgiving. I hope that whatever you’re doing, you all enjoy tomorrow too.

I finally fell ill this last weekend. It was later than expected. I thought I might even be out of the water. I was wrong. Since then, I have developed some thoughts on this situation.

Things that suck about being sick:

• Smelly medicine that tastes awful
• Blowing a hole straight through the tissues
• Coughing so hard you vomit
• Aching in parts you never knew you had
• Unsatisfying sneezes
• Tickles in yuor throat that you cannot get rid of, no matter what
• Snot bubbles
• Watery eyes

But do not fret, here’s a list of things that rock about being sick:

• The point when you realize that you haven’t blown your nose 100 times today
• Extra kitty lovings
• Not having to leave the house
• Or get dressed
• Puffs
• Satisfying sneezes (the ones that remind you what it’s like to be alive)
• Being able to make fun of the person who got you sick
• Getting better

As I type this, Wendy and I are watching V for Vendetta. We are a day off, oops. It’s actually the first time I have watched the movie. It has been several days since many of you have heard of me and I assure you that I am not avoiding you–simply been busy moving across the country, cleaning my former apartment, applying for a new one and making all the calls that are necessary when performing a major life transition.

In between, I’ve been trying to spend time catching up on sleep, catching up with work and meeting up with friends and family. To be honest, I haven’t seen many people but there is no rush now.

So how is it, you ask?

Pretty awesome. I’ve adjusted to the cold better than I thought I would have. I bought an awesome new coat. It’s actually been warmer than expected. I walked a couple places yesterday and it was quite enjoyable. People I passed greeted me and drivers even yielded to me!

The kitties were amazing. They weren’t happy and I certainly wasn’t when I had to hold them in the San Antonio airport while the TSA agents scanned the carriers but, all in all, things went well. My last flight on Monday night actually got in 10 minutes early! And they haven’t killed Wendy’s cats or vice versa.

So now we are just waiting to see if we can get an apartment and them moving her stuff over there. It’s a lot of stuff and I’m not sure if I am ready to move so soon. My body has just gotten over being exhausted and I’m still bruised all over. I shaved my legs this morning and it only makes the bruises stand out.

Anyhoo, I’m alive. I miss you guys. I’d update more but I can’t access the Internet or send/receive picture messages on my phone right now. I’m trying to get that figured out.

I have been a big proponent of Cognitive Behavioural Therapy since I began it, earlier this year. Yet, the basic idea behind it is that your thinking is wrong and you should change it. In some situations, this is helpful but in others, telling yourself that you are “wrong and can think other ways” only makes you feel worse. Technically, I suspect that this specific train of thought isn’t really following the guidelines of CBT but it’s easy to have.

I then discovered a conversation about CBT and another form of therapy that is becoming more popular–Accept and Commitment Therapy. ACT puts a focus on noticing your thoughts, feelings and what professionals call “personal events” and accepting then. Instead of changing your thoughts, the focus shifts to identifying values and commuting to them, regardless of your thoughts. It’s an interesting take on distancing yourself from your thoughts and learning that it’s just a feeling or just a thought. These events lose their power over your.

I think I actually revert to some ACT-like thought processes when CBT lets me down. It’s not all the time but sometimes it just feels as though it’s not enough. So, as I was trying to envision just what ACT is, I discovered some books by the founder, Stephen Hayes, and other professionals. Interestingly enough, I noticed a running trend. Hayes and others suggest that making happiness a goal is misleading and I concur. In fact, I would go so far as to say that aiming for happiness can actually deter you from achieving it. The underlying theme is that life is difficult and maybe we’re not meant to always be happy and that’s okay.

I agree.

I mean, sometimes we will have difficulties and we won’t be able to smile all the time. Forcing ourselves to do so can actually make us feel worse. And sometimes people do really stupid things in the name of “I’m not happy.” So what? Are you safe? Healthy? Content? Maybe you don’t need to be happy right now. Maybe happiness is one of those ideals that sound good but actually cause people to be miserable. Isn’t that a little ironic?

Maybe the reality of life is, if you always expect happiness, you’re going to be let down.