Introduction Ramblings

Ah blogging. 
To think back as a teenager I use to keep a private journal (journal, NOT a diary) in a spiral notebook were I would write down stuff that bothered me, things going on in my life, girls I liked and any other stuff that kept me up at night.  I've often found it easier to express myself in writing then verbally.  My brain tends to go very fast, which can really trip up my mouth.  Writing it down makes me slow down and really think about what I'm saying.  And now I can share my personal thoughts with everyone!

Anyway, this blog.  I will be writing about a myriad assortment of topics, covering my point of view and opinions about the constant balancing act needed to keep my life running.  Work, wife, baby boy, extended family, friends and my personal interests; gaming and reading.  And occasionally other things in the world that capture my interest.

So I'm a gamer.  I have gamed, both pen & paper (ie D&D) from the time I was in 3rd grade to video games, back when video games first started.  Like many gamers of my generation I started on a commodore-64 and the earliest consoles (atari, nitendo).  Now days I find myself playing 2 main type of computer games.  MMO's and the Call of Duty series of FPS.  I'm currently between MMO's awaiting the new Star Wars: The Old Republic to come out later this year.  I'm mostly playing Call of Duty: Black Ops online while waiting for Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 in November.  I also play in 2 different D&D style (Pathfinder RPG from Paizo) campaigns with groups of friends.

And I'm a family man.  I work, in a new position now, 9 hour days with a flex day every other Friday.  Some OT when I want it.  On call weeks with extended hours.  I'm married and have a 3 month old baby boy.  My mother-in-law and sister-in-law live with us as of about 2 months ago.  My mother-in-law cares for our child now that my wife is back to work too.  This, obviously takes a lot of my time.

Balancing Act: 
How to get time to game and occasionally hang out with friends while staying in my wife's good graces.  It is harder then it seems.  While she is generally pretty good about me getting together with my friends occasionally, she doesn't care for my computer games nearly as much.  It was a pretty drastic change for me, from being a single guy who could play as much as I wanted to a married man toeing the line (I know who is boss in my relationship...and it isn't me). 

I'm big on "me" time.  I have no problem being alone for a couple of days, happily playing on the computer, reading books, and rarely watching some TV (military channel, discovery channel, NGEO etc).  A lot of my friends live all over the county, I stay in contact with them via games.
My wife is big on "us" time.  She does NOT like being alone.  She doesn't handle alone time well.  She understands "me" time in concept, but not in practice.

Enough for now!  My head is full of stuff I want to get out, but overwhelming on the first post is bad!

-out