This post has been a long time coming, and it is because I am still adjusting to the lifestyle change that occurs from being in management versus serving as a team lead. I did not expect the change to be this abrupt. I have not completely discounted that this could be correlation as opposed to causation, given that I still to this day adjust from my mother’s passing over two years ago. Nothing has since been the same for me–it’s as if I am living two different lives via a rite of passage. I’m still learning this life thing, and something tells me I will continue to learn it as long as I live and I breathe. Fortunately, I am not afraid to learn new things, so I should be OK, right?
Sports has been a necessary diversion for me, and it makes sense not only why I enjoy it today, but also why I fondly recall enjoying it in during my teen years. The entire concept from the strategy, athleticism, fitness, and team-building aspects are fun to watch. I can’t even be mad about the ridiculous money involved with the players given the risks and lifestyle changes necessary to navigate these professional leagues. It also makes sense why we would want to push our youth into sports as it serves as a great method to build life skills that can be translated across all manners of one’s life. The only caveat surrounds the inherent physical risks involved in some of the more contact-driven sports.
Lately, I’ve fallen back into following the NFL, and when the NFL season last year ended, I fell back into the NBA. Between the two leagues and any preseason activities I find myself fulfilled throughout the year. MLB lingers out there, but I don’t think I can commit to following all three major American professional sports leagues.
Upon my return to following both leagues I sought out the major video game franchises which have apparently lasted decades: Madden NFL and NBA2k. I used to play basketball games before NBA2k like Konami’s Double Dribble, which should show my age a little bit. Both Madden and 2k games are decent, but between the two, 2k is just a more polished, well put together game. The major problem with NBA2k is its affinity to microtransactions, and let me tell you–they are pretty damn good at their implementation of microtransactions. Madden NFL is unfortunately rather bug-riddled to the point that I wonder what kind of budget they put into their QA teams. Then again, the problem could have to do with their development teams, project planning, or leadership. At any rate, the bugs are apparent, and are not a surprise given the entire EA (Electronic Arts) brand is known for some level of bugs/problems in their released products.
As well, I joined a Fantasy Football League at my work and it has served to enhance this year’s NFL season, making each week of games a little more interesting. From time to time, I play with the idea of making small bets on the games, applying a little more predictive analysis to the games for fun. I have not committed to that level yet due to time constraints, all circling back to my recent job promotion.
In other news, as I type this, my air conditioning is in need of repair. My six year old Rheem heat pump system failed for the second time in about 2-3 months. First, it was a cracked TXV valve which required replacing refrigerant. At this point, I don’t really care what the problem is–I applied for a small loan so I can schedule replacement for it tomorrow. I’m looking into a two stage Carrier heat pump system which I do not believe I have ever experienced. My luck with A/C systems has been poor lately, but I am hoping for it to turn around soon enough!
No other big news from the last many months. I am in a routine (read: rut) that revolves around working, cleaning things around the house, spending quality time with my wife, and shoehorning a few hours of video games at the expense of sleeping. My weekends lately have been spent doing yard work and video games where I can (read: time not spent cleaning or having scheduled work events). Fortunately, I am able to keep getting at it even though I would like to be more active (fitness) than I am currently. I can always force some physical activities that do not include yard work in this lifestyle somewhere!