This is the last blog of the year for me. Tomorrow I embark on a 12 day journey to The Happiest Place on Earth, Orlando. There are things left on my to-do list that will have to wait until next year. I had hoped to get my web site redesigned but I never finished. Although I did make some decent progress in the Flash animation I want to add. I think everything can be in order by the end of January if I can get motivated. I have a list of things I want to accomplish in 2007 as long as my arm. I wonder how much of that will actually be completed. Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!

You can tell it's a slow day on campus today. After I got back from lunch today, I saw a police car sitting in the road outside my building with its lights flashing. There were two cops in the car and they were blocking someone in it appeared, presumably for a minor traffic violation. Both cops got out and sandwiched the car between them. I saw them talk to the driver and then one cop went back to the police car. Not a minute later, another police car drove up and parked behind the other one. The cop got out and was talking to the cop who hadn't gone back to the car. Eventually, the cop in the second police car figured out that there was nothing for him to do, hopped back in his car and drove off. I can't say I blame the cop for stopping as there is nothing happening on campus today. Giving a ticket for running a stop sign is probably the most excitement these guys will see until the new year.

I had to go to UPS today to send out some Christmas gifts. One of the items I was sending needed to be boxed, while the other box my wife graciously packed for me. I handed over the item to be shipped and asked if they had a box for it. While they were measuring and looking around, another cashier came over to take care of the box that was already ready to go out. I gave them the information for shipping and when I was done, they brought over the previous item already boxed up and ready to go. Ok, that was nice of them. I don't mind paying a little extra for them to do the work.

I paid the nearly $60 bill and headed out the door to go back to work. Considering the weight of the boxes, the total didn't sound unreasonable. As I rounded the corner of the store to walk back, I noticed there was a charge for $10.95 and $2.50 on my receipt. I promptly turned back to inquire about this $10.95 charge. I assumed (yeah, I know what happens when you assume) that the $2.50 was for the box and peanuts. Surely they didn't charge $10.95 for boxing it up. The employee told me that the $10.95 charge was for a 200 pound crush proof box. First of all, I don't believe cardboard can be crush proof up to 200 pounds. Second of all, why is a box almost $11? I politely told them I wish I had known so i could package it myself and left the store.

During the walk back to my office I got more and more frustrated over these charges. I couldn't fathom a box costing $11, so when I returned to my office I called UPS to talk to a manager. Apparently the $10.95 was for the box AND packing peanuts. Well, that makes me feel better. The $2.50 was for the labor. I hope the person that packaged the item actually gets the money. He worked so very hard taping up a box and shoving so many peanuts in the box that it was bulging on top. With all that padding, I shouldn't have even needed to buy insurance.

I complained to the manager that it was not told to me up front just how much their packaging job was going to cost. Apparently this isn't their policy to tell people how much any of their services cost, not even shipping. I was never told so much as to how much any thing was, just given an overall total I did get options for how I wanted the boxes shipped, but it was never even mentioned how much each level of shipping was. Perhaps all places should follow this policy of letting customers guess how much an item or service costs.

I think i shall go to Chik-Fil-A for lunch today and just let them give me a price for my food. Why look at menu to see what I can afford? $6 for a chicken sandwich? Why not? If I can't see the prices, I can't dispute that you are actually charging me incorrectly.

I prefer to look at the absence of a price a little differently. If it doesn't have a price on it (or on the shelf beneath it) that means the item is free, right?

They say sir names are created based on the relationship or occupation of the head of the family.

There's a lady that works in my building who's married name is O'Rear.

I'll let you connect the dots.

Starting yesterday afternoon, I became really down in the dumps about my current gaming situation. I paid money to play 50 games in a fantasy baseball league. So far, I've played 80% of my games. By the end of the season it's expected I will have played 60% of my games. So, I'm a little salty about all of this.

I'm seriously considering not playing next season because of the current situation and that made me sad. I enjoy playing and it's one of the few things I look forward to every week. If I don't play, then there is no reason for me to go to the store. I don't buy anything there because it's pointless. There's no one to play the games if I bought them. I've been struggling with this for days, but yesterday it just all started to bother me. I felt like I was having to give up one of my hobbies.

So, today, Erika and I go to counseling and have pretty much nothing to talk about. The things we were to work on didn't develop over the past week (although we continued to work on previous assignments). Since there was nothing to talk about we got to delve into my personal issues over gaming. Not knowing me or the situation and not having time to catch her up on my life, the counselor offered the most generic advice possible. There were several times when I just sat there not saying anything. I said what I had to say and there was a very uncomfortable silence. It seemed like her best suggestions were to try to post flyers (which I have attempted before) or change who I am.

I don't put myself out there. I'm not going to talk to someone just to talk. If I don't know you, don't expect me to introduce myself unless I know there is some sort of common interest we have. However, the counselor says I should try to be more outgoing and talk to people. She even suggested that maybe I'll even make friends at Disney World next week. What good is that going to do? The chances of me meeting anyone from Tuscaloosa is pretty much nil. The chance of meeting someone at Disney World that shares interests with me is less than that.

The whole hour was basically a waste of time. We should probably make some progress in our assignments before going back. I certainly don't feel better about anything.

When I think of freedom, I think of being able to do whatever I want, whenever I want without repercussions. The dictionary has many definitions such as:

1. 1. exemption from external control, interference, regulation, etc.
   
2. 2. the power to determine action without restraint.
   
3. 3. political or national independence.
   
4. 4. personal liberty, as opposed to bondage or slavery:
   

We are constantly reminded that we have "freedom" here in the United States, but do we really? Because we have a government, aren't we already breaking definition #1 and 2?

Almost every action we have in America is dictated by the government. It's nice that we get to vote, but really, we are deciding what lying, egotistical dummy should be making stupid rules for us to follow. Why do I have to wear my seatbelt if I don't want to? Why can't I speed if I like? Why do I have to pay taxes? Because somebody made rules to say otherwise. Where's my freedom?

Even in America, we aren't free. Every day, more and more rules are created to tighten the leash. Is this what our founding fathers anticipated? I would certainly hope not. We live in a country that wants to cater to every person's political/religious/personal belief, and ends up catering to no one but themselves. But, we follow along like sheep because we don't have any power. The best we can do is elect a different dummy.

Thursday morning I sat and contemplated what I should do. My choices were quite simple. It was either to do it or not. Such a simple choice, yet I couldn't decide. Do I make the months of hard work worthless by giving up, or struggle forward for a slight glimmer of promise and excitement with a heap of frustration along the way?

Other than human contact, only video games could cause such an emotional turmoil. I have put in many hours to Viewtiful Joe 2 and have reached a point where I don't think I can continue. Faced with yet another near impossible boss battle, I wonder if I should put forth any more effort. If I beat this boss, there are 5 more behind it just waiting to pick me apart time after time. The last boss battle took me weeks to figure out even with help from the Internet. I've never been a quitter. I've always stuck around to the bitter end regardless of the circumstance. So here I am in a quandary. Give up on a game, or push my way through it knowing I will become angry and fed up? I think quitting won out (at least for now).

It didn't help that I was unknowingly playing on the hardest difficulty in the game. When faced with the option at the beginning, I chose to play the "adult" level. Little did I know "adult" meant freakishly hard. Although I can act like a kid frequently, I thought the "adult" setting would maybe be a little more unfiltered (more blood, maybe some swearing). After I picked it I might as well have seen a laughing devil on the screen flipping me off in sadistic glee. Maybe I chalk this one up as a moral victory. Hey look how far I got on the hardest setting ever in a game.

Only video games can provide the satisfaction of figuring out that tough puzzle or getting past that tough boss. At the same time they can cause you to throw things, yell at the TV and tear your hair out in frustration. While I was playing Wii Baseball last night, I stood there taunting the TV. I was already up 5-0. I openly cheered at getting two birdies and an eagle in Wii Golf. I felt like I had done something. When I play hockey, I get excited at the prospect of scoring a goal. Playing realistic hockey in a video game is not anywhere near easy. It took me three games before I even scored a goal. But when I saw the red light go on, it was so rewarding. I lost that game 4-1, but I scored the goal. Here I am a few weeks later playing in an online league where I am 2-0 and can now say I've beaten the computer in a game. That makes me happy to know I am overcoming the challenges put before me.

So for the moment (and probably for a long time) I have decided to shelve Viewtiful Joe 2. Will I ever play it again? Maybe, but in all honesty it's doubtful. If I do, I'll start over and play on the "kids" difficulty, but with so many games in my collection and more coming all the time, there's probably no time for Viewtiful Joe 2. I'll play something not nearly as frustrating, Paper Mario.

Someone needs to seriously review today's women's fashions. Here's a list of things I've seen recently that make no sense.

1. Don't wear shorts and boots together. If it's cold enough to wrap up your feet, it's cold enough for a pair of pants.
   
2. What's up with these knee-length pants. They are too short to be capris and too long to be shorts. Just because you want to wear a smaller size doesn't mean you should shop at GAP Kids.
   
3. Please stop wearing thick leggings under your skirt. It looks ridiculous. Did you wake up trying to decide between sweat pants and a skirt only to pick both? Leggings are pants. Wear them as such. Stop pretending like you want to cover your ass. I've seen you wear less at a club.
   
4. If it's cold enough for a jacket, it's cold enough for shoes. Stop wearing sandals and flip-flops with jackets and scarves. There is a channel now that shows the weather 24 hours a day. Ignorance is not an excuse.
   

Everyone knows that there is a major difference between men and women. I don't just mean physically either. There are some guys with boobs bigger than lots of women. Over the past few months, my eyes have been opened to how women interact.

It doesn't seem to matter who is around (friends, family, significant others), but women have absolutely no qualms about pointing out the attractiveness (cute, hot, sexy, etc.) of other people. And, it doesn't even seem to matter what sex the attractive person is. To me, this type of behavior would be expected when women are fraternizing by themselves. However, it's boggling that this type of behavior goes on in mixed company, especially when boyfriends or husbands are around.

Guys just don't work this way. Yeah, if we are hanging out without the accompaniment of women, we act exactly like you think we act. We are rude and ruthless to each other. It's fun for us to embarrass the hell out of other guys around us. We will talk about women and how hot they are. The talk may even get a little saucy. But we would never discuss the attractiveness of a woman in front of our girlfriend or wife. If we said another guy was attractive, we might as well paint a big rainbow across our chest.

So why is it that women have no problem discussing who's a hotty but men never bring it up? Because there is a double standard. Guys can't get away with it. If we say something about another woman, we get to play 20 Questions about why we said she was pretty. In the end, the wife or girlfriend gets mad because we are looking and/or because she doesn't look like the woman we are commenting on. In some cases, we might even get smacked for looking and commenting.

But if women make comments and their boyfriend or husband question them, they get plenty of excuses about how it's harmless and there's nothing wrong in looking. And then they are left with a giggle as if nothing happened and there's no problem. So what's a guy to do?