Stitches

My Laceration

It’s been years since I last got any sort of stitches, and I’ve occasionally pondered the sensation of having your flesh sewn back together, wondering if it would bother me much to have it done today. Last weekend, Johnny Greglewicz obliged me, allowing me the opportunity to do just that.

Myself and 19 other guys (actually 18 guys and one girl) gathered together Sunday afternoon to play a game of touch football. It was great. I can think of few things I enjoy more than getting together with friends to toss the pigskin. The game had come to an end and some were deciding whether or not to stay and play another game. That’s when it happened. In the interim while we were horsing around, Johnny was trying hit a receiver with a deep pass and I came up behind him attempting to jar him enough to drop the ball. As I hit him, resolute as he is, Johnny continued trying to get the throw off and as he did, his elbow swung around busting me in the upper cheek at full force!

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Neither of us thought it was a big deal at first, not realizing how deep and wide the gash actually was. Then came the bleeding. Lots and lots of bleeding-all down my shirt, on my shorts, my shoes, and all along the grass where I walked. For several minutes, I tried to decide if I should just go home and slap on a good “band-aid,” or if I actually needed stitches. A number of the guys, including Johnny and David Villarreal, strongly suggest I get stitches, and since I couldn’t tell myself how bad it was, I followed their advice and off to the hospital I went.

Apparently I looked pretty bad what with the blood all down my face and clothes and a rather large opening on the side of my face because the hospital staff was quite accommodating, ushering me back into a room within minutes of my arrival. The doctor took a look at me and said, “yep, you’re gonna need stitches. Let’s get that out of the way.” Off he went to retrieve his tools and such, and about 10 minutes later I was done.

I’ve made a deal with Johnny. To repay me for his wreckless assault on my face (haha), he has to remove the stitches on friday. I just hope he’s got the steady hand.

I learned a very valuable lesson through all of this. If you want to see a doctor quick, walk into the hospital with a bloodied face and clothes. Add a limp and moan to the charade, and you’re practically guaranteed celebrity treatment status.

Here’s some post operation pictures. Notice the Frankensteinian resemblance?

He's ALLIIIVVVVEEEE!!

eeew...gross

Imma get you JOHNNY!

Movie Review of the Week: “Igor”

I was fortunate to get some much needed days off this past weekend. Let me just say that sometimes, a good consecutive three days off in a row is nice, so I capitalized on this and decided to spend some good o’ quality time with my wife. I had flowers sent to her work on Friday, had dinner plans at Olive Garden on Saturday, followed by a movie, on Sunday we had lunch at the mall and we did a little window shopping, later, we headed over to my parents house to watch the Cowboys lose their pants off to Washington…I MEAN COME ON…way to go Dallas “D,” you can stop agreeing with me Romo, you didn’t do much up until the last drive of the game!… Anyhow, we finished off our weekend with lunch at Chili’s on Monday. Man I really enjoyed spending this time with my wife!

Let’s move on with the movie review, this will be short and sweet..

Movie Review: Igor (Rated PG for some thematic elements, scary images, action and mild language.); Company: Exodus Film Group

Anybody who knows anything about scary movies is familiar with the name Igor. Igor is the hunched back assistant to the infamous Dr. Frankenstein… at least in the movies he is… if you’ve read the gothic novel by Mary Shelley, WHICH I HIGHLY SUGGEST YOU DO at some point in your life, than you know he is yet another Hollywood created character.

Whatever stereotypes you have embedded in your head about Igor, remove it before you go see this film. Yes, in the movie Igor has to portray his stereotypical Igor duties, but that is the entire point of this movie. Igor would much rather be the best “mad scientist” in the world than be the guy who simply “Pulls the switch!”

This is a fun movie for the entire family. It does have some humor in it that only adults would understand but does so without compromising the language and the cleanliness of the humor. I will say that there are some lighthearted “dark” moments about the movie, for instance, Igor’s sidekicks are an ignorant brain who happens to spell his name “Brian,” and a suicidal once dead rabbit who now has the gift of immortality. I do feel that some of these points would not be recognized by most young children, but it may be a bit scary for some depending on what you as a parent allow your students to be exposed to. Other than that, Igor is a fun loving, adorable character who, predictably, isn’t very evil at all!

The plot is fun and a bit predictable, but what do you expect!? This is a children’s film, it can’t get to complicated. “Igor” is a great movie to take all of the family to, and definitely a good date movie if you’re looking for something to appease both sexes, it’s got both action for the man, and romance for the lady. So if you’re looking for something fun and light to do on a Friday night, go see “Igor,” if you don’t get around to it, don’t worry, you can wait for the DVD.

A Blast from Jesse’s Past

Ok, here is something completely unspiritual. I found an old video that me and friends of mine made years ago when I was in a church internship. By day we prayed, did ministry, visited high schools, won students to the Lord, evangelized on college campuses, and carried our cross daily. By night… we made ridiculous and completely pointless videos like this:

Review of the Week: “Star Wars: The Force Unleashed”

I’m so sorry that I haven’t got this to you sooner, but I came down with something and was out for the last few days. I’m better now and am anxious to write this review, so without further adieu…

Video Game Review: Star Wars: The Force Unleashed (Rated “T” for Teen; Violence); Developer: Lucas Arts Entertainment

You are the secret apprentice to the most powerful Sith Lord in the galaxy, Darth Vadar. Trained since you were a boy, you have become one with the dark side and it is nearly time to prove yourself ready to face your ultimate opponent, the Emperor, but not before you prove it to Vadar first. You have no name and nobody can know you exist, so destroy everything…droids…rebels…even imperials!

“Star Wars: The Force Unleashed” is by far the most exciting “Star Wars” action/adventure game yet. I’d even go as far as to say that it is even better than the “Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic” RPG twins, which I am a huge fan of as well! This game allows you to control the Force like you’ve never been able to before, but before I get into all of that, let me just tell you the bad before the beautiful, simply because there isn’t much of it.

I found only two problems with “TFU” that I couldn’t overlook. The first one, and I’m not sure if anybody else has experienced this, but the game “glitched” on me three times. Twice when I was whooping up on an AT-AT and lightsabering my way to victory, when on my downward slash move I found myself slashing right through the ground and plummeting my way to my death in the depths below the map. Not so much of a big deal as it was an inconvenience to have to work my way back up to that point. The third time, I was fighting an oversize heap of metal, he did some whirl wind move that sent me flying into a part of the map that I wasn’t suppose to be and I got stuck floating there. Despite all of my efforts to get out, the monster kept throwing junk at me and eventually I died!

The second of the two problems was with the Force grab. Nearly everything in the game can be picked up and thrown, the problem lies within the Force’s targeting system. The game automatically targets what it thinks you are looking at. Most of the time it’s accurate, but it seems that in the most critical moments instead of picking up the Storm Trooper hiding behind a barrel so you can through and impale him with your lightsaber only to then throw him into another approaching trooper, the game will instead pick up the barrel! Again, not a big deal, but in some points throughout the game, not picking up the right target can cost you your life!

The rest of the game is nearly flawless, and the story line is great! Like I mentioned in a previous posting, this story was looked over by George Lucas. I won’t reveal to much about it, but I will tell you that it takes place in between Episode III and Episode IV. It does lean more towards Episode IV, play the game and you’ll find out why, and really provides you with one of those “AWWWW!!!” moments when you start putting all of the pieces together. The game does have a static plot that you follow…don’t give me that look all you dark side fans…if you would have let me finish, you would have heard me say that the game does a have static plot that you have to follow UP…until the last scene of the game where you have the opportunity to “CHOOSE YOUR DESTINY!” The cinematics are great and if you have a high definition TV, boy are you in for some eye popping color!

The game play is fun. You do get to control the Force in unbelievable ways. You can pick up people, droids, plants, and even tie fighters! Throughout the game you have the opportunity to learn new force powers and power up the ones you have. Along with that, you learn and master new combos, and up your character stats, increasing your health and force bars and increasing your attack strength and your defensive abilities. You level up two ways: 1) Simply defeating enemies does the trick, you can level up faster by altering you combos and force attacks. Doing this increases the number of force points that you receive by owning your enemies, 2) By finding Jedi Holocrons, which are simply hidden items throughout the game. Some contain force points, others contain power ups themselves. Power ups come in three forms: 1) Combo, 2) Force, 3) Character. Each of these can be applied to some move or character attribute, but each move or attribute costs a certain amount of force power ups. For example, a new combo may cost you 3 combo power ups, while purchasing a higher defense stat may only cost you 1 character power up. While a holocron may only contain one power up of any given type, leveling up gives you one each! So, do your best to become one with your lightsaber.

The game also has a wonderful play back feature. I can promise you that you will not be able to completely level up your character the first time through, nor will you find all of the holocrons, so believe you, me, you’ll want to go back and play through it again. You’ll unlock several new costumes along with new lightsaber crystals, both colors and power ups…there is even a BLACK CRYSTAL!!!! It’s freaking awesome! Not to mention that the game has 4…count them….1, 2, 3, 4 difficulty levels. I mentioned in my Too Human review that I base whether I buy a game or simply rent it on the game’s replay value… let me just say… mow some yards, do some extra chores, even make a report card full of A’s and BUY THIS GAME!!!…and may the Force be with you!

I give this game a solid 9.5 out of 10

Be a DOER

It’s interesting to me how many people hear but don’t do.  No, I’m not making potty humor, I’m talking about when it comes to messages, sermons, devotions, or what have you.  Have you ever heard one of those messages in church that really hit you?  “Dang…that was for me,” goes the sentiment.  Yeah, thought so.  And what do you remember about it?  Is that it?  No, really…is that it??

Unwittingly, many teenagers today make the fatal error of sitting in church, hearing a good message that applies to them, then doing absolutely nothing about it.  Okay, so maybe it’s not a “FATAL” error, but it’s still bad.  The Bible says that we are to be doers of the word and not just hearers only (James 1:22-25).  Jesus made His point clear while speaking to a group of pharisees (our favorite biblical whipping boys).  He said that if you want to be His disciple, you must “hold to [His] teaching John 8:31).”  Hold to his teaching?  Bottom line:  if you wanna grow, do.  Be a doer.  Do do.  Okay that last one was potty humor.  Look, raise your hand if you want to be more like Jesus.  I see that hand…I see that…sorry, I got into alter call mode.  If you really want to be more like Jesus, if you really want to experience the full life that He gives, if you want to really grow in your faith, then the Bible says one thing to you:  be a doer.

So, next time you go to church, I want you to do a couple of things.  Number one (numero uno for our latin brothers & sisters):  Listen.  Don’t just hear, listen!  There’s a big difference and it starts with your attitude.  Go in to the message with an open heart ready to receive what God wants to say to you-that right to YOU as in YOU PERSONALLY.  Imagine!  God might actually have something he specifically wants YOU to hear in a message, so listen.

Number two (there goes the potty humor again):  Take notes.  You forget most of what you don’t write down.  I mean, really, what are the chances of you just remembering every good point that is made in a message?  You have to write down what you hear so it’ll stick and so you can go back and look at it later to refresh your memory.

Number three (tres; oops, we skipped dos):  Obey.  That means act on it.  Take what you’ve heard and begin to apply it to your life.  When you have that cool, “wow, that’s for me” moment, write it down and do something about it!  One thing that helps me to apply what I’ve learned is when I tell it to or teach it to someone else.  So, when you go home from church, talk to your parents, your friends, or your siblings-okay, maybe siblings was going to far-and tell them what you heard that was so amazing.  Explain it to them.  Then keep thinking about it ’till it really sticks.

Do this, and you, my friend, shall become a doer.  And a doer is always better than a do-doer.  Sorry, couldn’t resist.

Mi Noche Loco

One might think that in today’s world of advanced transportation and technology it would be easy to get your family of four to something like, say, the Plano Balloon Festival. One might think. Thus we ventured off, my wife, daughter, and son, en route for the festival. We anticipated a great evening watching the balloons launch as we admired the myriad of shapes and designs-the best hot air ballooning has to offer. The evening would conclude in a show of glow with each balloon lighting up using it’s own flame. Indeed, this was to be a night to remember!

We rolled out of our apartment complex in high spirits when we had a sudden change of plans. My wife, Kelly, upon checking her voicemail got a desperate message from our apartment office requesting our assistance with a pressing issue. Begrudgingly, we turned back and as quickly as possible helped to alleviate the situation. With time lost we were scrabling to arrive in time for the launch. We arrived at the Spring Valley Dart Rail station, very much to the excitement of my 3 year old, Caleb, who had been looking forward to riding on the yellow train. We borded the train within minutes of our arrival and proceeded to our next leg, Plano’s Parker Road station. So far, so good. I was surprised to find at the Parker station what looked to be a couple hundred people waiting in line for the “continuously running” festival shuttles. The busses ran continuously, however, they only had four (4, quatro) shuttles for the entire festival. We had waited in line for over 30 minutes and gotten word that a return trip was no shorter and very likely would have been an even longer wait.

We concluded that it would be in everyone’s best interest to prevent a long wait with tired, cranky kids who have stayed up WELL beyond their bed times-the obvious conclusion had we have continued on to the festival. We re-boarded the trian and talked through some back up plans. I called reunion tower. Caleb would love the sights of downtown from high up in the lighted revolving ball. It was closed for renovations. We called some close friends to see about dinner plans. They were awaiting a trip to the hospital pending the delivery of a relatives first baby. We got to our car and decided on the best option we had-pancakes. Caleb couldn’t contain himself when we suggested a trip to IHOP for some fresh hot cakes. We pulled up to IHOP. Guess what. It was closed for renovations.

“Okay, how about the Original House of Pancakes? There’s one right near our apartment,” I suggested. We arrived at the dimnly lit OHOP only to find it, too, was closed. Unlike it’s competition, it is only open 24 hours on the weekend. Pancakes were out, and, so it seemed, Donuts were in! My son was satisfied with yet another change in plans and we headed to Dunkin’. We set out to witness hot air balloons put on a good show in east Plano, but instead, we ate Freebird’s burritos and got donuts for the kids.

Unfortunately, the even coordinators for the balloon fest didn’t provide adequate transportation despite having access to one of the most advanced public transportation systems in the state. Still, we enjoyed some quality time as a family, and we all had fun even if most of our time was spent standing, riding, or driving.

Game Stop

Last night I experienced my first ever midnight release at Game Stop. For those of who don’t know what that is I’ll explain. When a highly anticipated video game title comes out, it has a street release date… for example, “Star Wars: The Force Unleashed” had a street date of September 16, 2008. Because the game is so highly anticipated and gamers can’t wait to get their hands on it, Game Stop will do a midnight release… when most of the stores close at 11pm, on these certain nights, they stay open right up until midnight, since midnight is no longer September 15, but is now September 16, Game Stop can then handout the game!

Let me tell you that it wasn’t a big deal, but a wonderful experience! I walked in to the store about 10:30pm and was issued a number, I was 15, the purpose of the number is to let the store know that I was one of the first 30 customers because the first 30 received a special addition action figure! Not all games do this, but most of them do. So for the next 30-40 minutes I sat in the car and listened to Cowboys wrangle up yet another victory…and a close one at that…over the Eagles. Then I stood around in the store watching “Star Wars Episode: IV” and hanging out with a bunch of unique characters. It’s always funny to see your fellow game nerds come out to something like this. Each game produces a different crowd. Sports games, survival horrors, RPG’s, all of these have their own “type” of fans…but can you imagine the type that showed up for a Star Wars game…WOWIE!!!! Talk about NERDS… I found myself engaging mostly in conversation surrounding the Cowboys or classic video games, I even spoke to the store manager (who still hasn’t contacted me about my application I submitted for part time employment) about the rumors surrounding the cancellation of the “Ghostbusters” game, but spent the rest of the time listening to nasally, glasses wielding, ladies and gentlemen talk about their D&D characters and Gothic Horror Musicals featuring Paris Hilton as one of the actors…. zzzzzzz (Making Snoring Noise)… but none the less it was so much fun just standing around seeing people like me…maybe a little more eccentric than me… in their environment, being themselves and fellowshipping, which is a new word I just made up.

Expect a review of “Star Wars: The Force Unleashed” sometime in the next two weeks. When I got home, I did crack the case…automatically I felt a disturbance in the Force… popped in the game, and began to Lightsaber and Force Push my way through the first two levels, and let me just say………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….

……………………………………………………………………………………………………….YOU DON’T EVEN KNOW!!!!!!!

Movie Review: “Hancock”

Hey guys, I didn’t spend much time in the game and movie chair this week so I’m stretched thin for a review this week. Just a little F.Y.I., next Monday, September 15, I’ll be hanging out at Gamestop for the latter part of my evening because at 12 midnight they are releasing the highly anticipated “Star Wars: The Force Unleashed!” I don’t know to much of the game at this point, but what I do know is that this game’s story was directed by the infamous George Lucas, so you know that it’s going to be good. In addition, it’s a never been told story that’ll help fill in some of the gaps between “Star Wars: Episode III; The Clone Wars,” and “Star Wars: Episode IV; A New Hope.” I don’t want to go to much further into it, especially because I haven’t played the full length game yet, but I will say that from what I’ve gathered from the demo, which can be downloaded via Xbox Live, that this game will let you control the Force like you’ve never been able to do in a Star Wars game yet! Be looking for this review the week of September 24.

Movie Review: Hancock (Rated PG-13 for some intense sequences of sci-fi action and violence, and language); Company: Columbia Pictures

I don’t know that Will Smith has ever produced a bad movie. Some may argue that “Wild Wild West” was a bad film, and I would simply argue that it certainitly wasn’t the best movie in the world, but that it was entertaining… Don’t deny it… I know that every single one of you has been sitting at home some Sunday afternoon, flipping through the channels looking for something to watch, saw “Wild Wild West” on TNT, and stopped to watch it. All that aside, I think Hancock may be Smith’s next “I could have waited until it was on DVD…” On a side note…I know that many of you have seen the movie already, so this reveiw may be a bit short, if you haven’t seen it…don’t worry, if you really need your Big Willy fix, watch “I Am Legend” again and you’ll be more than satisfied… Anyhow… don’t get me wrong about Hancock, I enjoyed watching it, I just think the plot was a bit off from what the trailers led you to believe. If you’d seen the trailer you’d think that Hancock is a washed up superhero who decides that it’s time to get his act together, you think that he is some sort of experiment gone bad and has amnesia as a result of the procedure. You think that he has some rival enemy who knows his weakness and is bent on revenge…MAN!! I know its a predictable superhero plot, but worth watching! Hancock is none of that…except for the part of turning a new leaf! Does that mean that the movie is boring? No, it doesn’t. It adds a nice twist to the plot…well, several nice twists…but if you’re a classic superhero fan like me, this movie doesn’t live up to the expectations. There are some spots about the movie that didn’t make sense such as how the main characters were “created together,” and “meant to be together,” yet when they are together, they lose their powers…I mean COME ON! If anything, they should be weak when they are apart and strong when together… ya’ know…the whole “THERE’S STRENGTH IN NUMBERS” bit, and WHAT IS WITH THE EAGLES? Anyhow, if you haven’t seen it and are looking for something to watch, Hancock is fun, watch out for the language though, which was suprising for a PG-13 movie, it happens quite frequently, but anyway, in the words of my good buddy John Charles Gryglewicz II, Hancock was definitly a “dollar movie…movie!” And be sure to check with your parents before you watch it!

It’s all about ATTITUDE

ahhhh life is crazy. isn’t it? one day it’s this, and then another day it’s that. this incident, and that accident. but i’m continually reminded that you’re attitude makes or breaks you. you may not have control over every circumstance, but you always have control on your attitude and perspective on whatever may happen. john maxwell has always said “your attitude determines your altitude.” you are so right, john. you are so right.
so, take a step back and get some perspective on your circumstance… it won’t last forever, there’s always light at the end of the tunnel, the glass if half full, god works all things for the good of those who love him.
the right attitude makes everything that much better. which reminds me of a video we made a few months back…

Poetry

I went to Starbucks today to take some time to study through the book of Romans.  The wind was blowing strong and the day overcast.  For some reason, days like these just stir an emotion in me, a a reflective feeling that is hard to explain.  I use a book, a commentary on the book of Romans, to help me study and in reading through the book I came to a poem that had been quoted.  I won’t share that poem with you now, but reading it brought familiar thoughts of wonder-an intrigue about the guy who wrote it and how great his desire was to know his God.  Whenever I read Christian poetry, not the simple stuff found in most modern worship songs, but remarkably deep thoughts and adoration for and towards our wondrous God, I am overcome by a longing for that same zeal.

We get excited about a lot of things today.  Just recently I completed my online draft of my fantasy football team; I’m so excited about this season and my team.  We get geeked about movies, songs, people, or any number of things.  We give so much attention and thought to things that will pass away, but what about the God who lasts forever?  As I sat there, amidst the blowing winds, cloudy sky, and poem before me, I considered the practice of poetry.  For some reason, when we get our iambic pentameter on, or script a haiku, or craft those lines of metaphor and personification, it becomes an outpouring of our hearts, and though the object can be anything or anyone, still those lines of poem proclaim the longings of our heart.

What’s this all about?  Poetry.  Or maybe God.  I guess both.  With all that is going on and all that we could be doing, maybe we need to take more time…to write poetry.  When was the last time you wrote a poem to God?  Have you ever?  I know it’s been some time since I last have-a long time.  So that’s it.  This whole thing was just a long rambling for you and I to sit down, pen and paper at the ready, and let our heart thoughts flow as we script our best poem(s) to our great Savior and God!  Whatever you come up with, I give you permission to post it as a “comment” to this blog.  Disclaimer: poetry skilz not necessary for writing poetry…as long as you’re not trying to get published :