Our 11-year anniversary happened back in June, but I gave the missus her gift today.  I took her to the Fox Theatre in Atlanta to see “The Sound of Music.”  It’s one of her favorites, and quite frankly, it took a lot of love for me to go see it.

I’ve never liked the movie as it doesn’t hold my interest for long, and the bad part is it’s a looong movie (yeah, I know I can sit through any type of long sci-fi movie …).  Regardless, I really did enjoy the live musical.  The kids in the production really did an excellent job, as did the rest of the cast.  I survived it, and I liked it.

Back home, I’m sitting here in a quiet room.  Our kids are not making a sound, and it’s just me at this moment.  Quite relaxing.

It’s giving me some more time to think about my priorities, etc.  I’ve done that quite a lot today.  I think this past year has proven fruitful in a few areas of my life, but some have almost been utterly demolished.  It’s time to make some changes in those.

I need to completely let go of some feelings I have toward a couple of folks and situations.  All those feelings are doing is making me  cringe and have bitterness, but that’s not healthy.  God calls on us to not be bitter or resentful, but to forgive and love each other.  I’ve neglected that, and things will be much better once I let go.  I’m certainly working on that as I type.

I also need to get our family’s financial future squared away.  I’m going to have to give up some habits to make that happen.  I spend way too much, despite the fact I’ve gotten a lot better at not being so impulsive in purchasing things.

One thing that will help is when I finally finish my second proton pack and sell my first one.  That will put me at ease in a lot of ways.  I just need to get motivated.  I come home after work, and I don’t think about it.  These last three or four weeks have just about sent my stress levels to new heights, so I’ve resorted to sitting down and playing “Batman: Arkham Asylum” for quite a few hours (and I hardly play video games anymore).  It’s been a total brain dump, and it’s what I’ve needed.  However, it’s time to build the pack and get some cash.

I’m really looking forward to this next weekend at Dragon*Con.  Not many of our ALGB guys can make it, but a couple will.  I’m really looking forward to seeing a lot of the GB Fans guys from all over (not to mention Veronica Belmont and Tom Merritt again!).  I haven’t seen the majority of them since D*C last year.  I think we’ll have double the amount we did a year ago.  The big event will be the P.K.E. Surge dinner (I have to plug it since I’m on the Surge staff, lol).  After D*C, I’ll have a month off from GB-related events.  Then October hits full-force since so many people think we’re simply a Halloween group.  *Ahem, no*

I guess that’s it for tonight.  Another shameless plug … if you, or anyone you know, need custom voice-over work, check out BrockParker.tv.  I’m always for hire.  :)

Sorry I haven’t posted since we’ve come home.  I got caught back up in work and a full house.

David is doing well.  We went back to UAB Monday to see the cardiologist, and he was pleased with the progress.  We go back next month, and we could be on-track for another heart cath sometime around September.  We were told of some possibilities after that, but I don’t want to go into specifics.  Please just pray that his right ventricle will increase in size between now and then.

Alyssa is settling back into being at home.  She had a really rough time being away in Birmingham for six weeks.  Being at home is definitely the best medicine.

We are thinking about making some changes at the house and possibly looking for a new one.  It’s amazing how quickly your house shrinks with more kids.

My Xbox 360 was laid to rest tonight thanks to the “Red Ring of Death.”  Piece of junk.  That’s the second time in two years.  I have a Wii, so I really don’t want to invest in another 360.  However, I’ve got so many games for it.  What to do?  I won’t invest in a PS3 because it’s the same price as a 360 Elite, and I have a stand-alone Blu-ray player.  Eh.

My bosses bought me a sweet powerhouse PC last week, and I finally got everything installed on it today at work.  It’s so fast.  I want to cry tears of joy. 

That’s about all I can think of for now.  Please pray I can get time to work on my freelance Web sites.  We need the money (and who doesn’t?)!

One quick update before I finally crash for the night.  The clock is ticking for our baby boy to come into the world.  Friends and family, you’ll receive updates via e-mail.  I’ll post here with less-vital information when time permits.

I turned on my Xbox 360 tonight, and for the second time in less than two years, I got the red ring of death.  I think my days of the Xbox are over.  We have a Wii, which we dearly love.  I know it probably won’t break anytime soon, so I’ll try to sell my 360 game collection over eBay.  If I can make some decent money off of it, I’ll see about investing in a PS3.  My HDTV screams for HD games. 

I gave Microsoft glowing reviews in a January 2007 post for their customer service in replacing my 360.  I thank them, but my thanks will now turn to “no thanks” as I’d rather have functional hardware in lieu of customer service.

What do you think?  Keep just the Wii, or bite the bullet on PS3?

We’re finally home after a long weekend at Mom’s place. We went down there to deliver some computer items to make her “technology life” a little better. By the way, thanks for letting us use your truck, Brian!

While there, we also got into and cleaned out her storage shed. I’ve had stuff in there since middle school, and it was time to finally clean it out. We freed up half the space in there, and we made room for a gun cabinet my grandfather made. It will be making its way to our house in the future.

One of the best treasures we found was an original Nintendo system, and it still works. I love my 360, but it was awesome to sit down last night and play Super Mario Bros. Yes, it will be hooked up to my TV here along with the 360. You’ve got to have some nostalgia in your life.

We also visited with my grandmother today. She is 90-years-old, and not doing well at all. Unfortunately, we weren’t able to stay long, but I hope we can see her again soon. She’s the last grandparent between Amy and I, and it’s not looking good.

It was a pretty eventful weekend to say the least. We’re all tired, so I’ll close for now. Sorry for the sporadic updates. Sometimes life just feels like a routine.

The title of this post is simple: “Why I love Microsoft (or, Customer service gets it right).”

My cherished Xbox 360 died a couple of days after Christmas. I took it to my in-laws so we could play, then the “Ring of Light” flashed a bright red. I was prepared to break out the shovels and bury it six feet under.

Alas, it would not come to that. I called customer service because I read Microsoft extended the warranty for the machines built in 2005. They’ve had a high rate of failure, and the date on the back of mine said “December 2005.”

The service rep was extremely nice, and I explained the symptoms. He then stepped me through a process that would eventually make me proud to be a Microsoft customer. He told me they would repair it at no cost to me. Sweet!

He told me to look for a box in the mail. A few days later, a box showed up with instructions. I was to place my beloved “time waster” in this box, apply the seal, slap on the pre-printed shipping label and send it to them.

This past Thursday, another box came to the house. I open it, and there she is! My 360 was home! Or… was she? She looked a tad different. My 360 was shipped to them without a faceplate. There was a brand new one staring back at me.

Curious.

I immediately flipped it around and didn’t recognize the serial number. I looked at the manufacturing date: July 2006. My jaw dropped.

How could this be? My 360 died, and instead of charging me $150 like everyone else to repair it, they sent me a box (free shipping), told me they’d fix it (for free) and did, in my mind, the unthinkable.

They didn’t repair my 360. They sent me a brand spanking new one for nothing… Not one cent. Customer support… Microsoft… treating the customer with the highest respect?

Yep. I’ve never heard of such a corporation going to these lengths. They usually want some money to take care of problems.

So, I sit here with my new 360 (a lot quieter than the old one, too), and I couldn’t be happier with Microsoft. Unlike a lot of people, I’ve always liked MS products. Now, I can say customer support actually thought of the customer.

Kudos to you, Microsoft.