boom, played 2 games of nhl earlier.   Not a great game but it's good for gettin' a fix.  Lost the first game against a half-glitchin' fool.  he was great on the forecheck and neutral zone trap, shitty in the D zone.  

Here's one thing I learned from playing.. in order to avoid a check on the blue line with the puck, pull the puck back and go in the direction that will guarantee avoiding the check.. it works 100% of the time. by pulling the puck back, you're in the triple threat (basketball) position.. can shoot, pass, and keep skating.  THe goals in the game are almost surely not random, too. It's all on keeping the D in position. Take 'em out, and random-looking goals start going in.  

2nd guy was crap.. I think I had 40 shots, he had 12-15.  WEnt to a shootout, though. He kept his D in position for the most part.  I was crumbling him on the forecheck all day.  Went 8 rounds in the shootout before I finally beat him by faking a forehand then going backhand and his goalie STILL hits the puck with his stick even though he was at least 5 feet away from it. total BS but it trickled in.  He was probably the best goalie I've ever seen in a SO.

Halo - eh, havent played that in a while.  Point and click, point and click. move around.    Ah, yeah, I saw a video of two armor abilities that are in the game but didn't get implemented - a teleporter that is basically the thruster pack but the player is invisible during the "thrust."  A 'hacker' ability disabled the other nearby players' abilities, so camo'ed players are visible, jetpackers fall, etc.  That should have been implemented , no idea why it wasn't.  Everybody complains about the invisible campers. it works, but yeah, it's lame.   Otherwise, no interest in that game.

Watched the last 2 episodes of Dexter.  Haven't watched TV since 3 weeks ago.  

Dexter - season 7.  They bring Doakes back.. well, really, they just show some scenes from season 1 or 2 or both.. I see what you mean, man. Doakes really did bring some excitement and character to the show.  I dont' remember hiim that much, probably 'cause it's been 2 years since I've seen those seasons.  he was always pissed off, but that's a nice changae from the usual characterization on the show.

Something else that's obviuos but works: plot twists are important for creating suspense and a sense of thrill, but they have to be realistic, not off-the-wall crap.  I guess I finished season 7, not a bad one overall.  Season 6 was probably the best, though.  Season 2 wasn't bad from what i remember of it.  

Boom x2, got 1000 questions done in 10 days. I wouldn't recommend doing it for long, but it's the best way to study - keep pounding the info until it sinks in.  Most of it I'll never use, but I need to know some small details for the CCRN certification.  Then, taking the Cardiac Surgery certification.  Hospital pays for them, so why not.  I'd even take the Cardiac Medicine certification if I don't get accepted to school which I should , but you never know.

If I don't get accepted, that's another year of bullshit I gotta go through - take at least 2 more courses but more likely i'll have to take 4, do more at work like join committees. and really just taking those certifications. I'm most likely going to drop that chemistry 2 course. there's no need for it. If anything, I'd have to retake A&P 2 and/or Microbiology.   If I didn't have to work, I'd take 18 credits of classes, get it all over with.  Having a baby in March makes me not wanna get too much going on.  That's gonna be enough with work most likely.

Hurt my back at work again. No idea what happened.  I put ice on it yesterday which made it hurt more.. so today I put heat on it , felt somewhat better.  Then I did some planks and stretches.  The planks make my lower back feel like there's a huge buildup of pressure building.  Uncomfortable, but not too bad.  Afterwards, I stretched a lot, but not really stretching too far to avoid pulling the muscle.  No idea what's going on, but I know I can't do deadlifts.  Squatting seems OK which is good 'cause I have to be able to get low someties like picking up Jasper, putting on shoes, getting stuff at work.

Gotta work tonight and tomorrow night. What a Christmas.

OOh, another plot twist.  Really not though 'cuase it's the only course of action that could be taken if there would be an 8th season.   haha, Doakes is awesome. 

haha.

Doakes:I don't want no fuckin' doughnut, MOrgan.

Dexter: Sorry.

Doakes: It's not you. It's LaGuerta.  I should have never gotten involved with her to begin with. ( I don't remember that story arc.)

Dexter: Never jump the fence if you're not willing to face what's on the other side.

Doakes: Where the fuck did you hear that?

Dex: A friend said it to me in a moment of stress.

Doakes: Bullshit.  You don't have any friends.

What...

Doakes: You don't even walk right. You glide... like a fucking lizard on ice.  It's all a fucking act, and I ain't buying it.   (That was one thing about the show that I didn't undrestand: nobody ever thought that Dexter was weird, yet he never did anything outside of work, never really talks, shows no emotion.  He'd be a textbook example of a mass murderer.)

Another complaint from the beginning seasons was that Dexter frankly just wasn't relatable as a character EXCEPT for the fact that he talks to the audience through the monologues. if it wasn't for hearing his inner thoughts, he would be a waste of a character, and the audience would know what Doakes knows: that he is fucking weird and not normal.  It's easy to think "oh, hey, Dexter thinks this, this, and that" without also thinking "but observing him around others shows that he isn't normal and not even realistic."  I caught on to it real quick, but the one guy at work that told me about teh show didn't get it.  Exactly, most people probably didn't.  SUre, it works as TV, but it's not realistic.  Unfortunately, it's probably the best that TV has to offer.  Breaking Bad would probably be the 2nd best TV show.  We're not even gonna mention The Wire 'cause that'll most likely never be topped. It would take another epic story and setting.

Ah, the thing about Doakes is that he tries to pin the creepiness on Dexter when in fact it only shows that Doakes is the creep.  They could have really made that a great story arc in a different movie/TV show if they had the two conflicting viewpoints.. who would you believe? Doakes is too demanding in his viewpoint to be beleivable, yet Dexter is too weird to be completely dismissed.

The other characters in the first few seasons really served no purpose for the Dexter story but I guess it all comes together over the seasons with their political/work stories.

ah wow, another plot "twist" with yet only one possible outcome if they wanna have a season 8.  kills the suspense.

get better, son.  Take it easy for a few weeks/months.