Happy Birthday To Craig...A True Renaissance Man

It's strange how we meet people, how we get to know others, especially when we don't live in the same neighborhood or work together. Back when I began writing and attending conferences, a name kept coming up, and inevitably, people would say, "Yeah, you've got to meet Craig--he's amazing."

The more I heard about him, the more I wanted to meet him because the man was not one-dimensional--not that any of us are, but it's rare when you find a person who excels in so many different areas.

I first heard of Craig, the writer. That makes sense since I heard this from other writers at writing conventions. I've read several of his books--my favorite, Dead Girl. I definitely recommend it!

 I then heard about Craig, the musician. A lot of writers I know play instruments, but few are in rock bands that perform regularly. 

Then, I found out Craig was one of the main people involved in the Gangrene Film and Comedy Festival. So, he's also an event organizer. I'd heard of the Gangrene festivals over the years--they're held just up the road from me.

Craig works in advertising. My first degree was advertising/PR--another difficult thing to master. 

And finally, the man creates board games. He's got several brands out now and his company is always coming up with more. A few years ago, they opened up a game store in the basement of their building. My daughter worked there for a season to earn money for college.

Each one of these disciplines takes time, energy, creativity, and hard work. It's rarer still when someone can, not only do all these things, but do them all at an elevated level. Craig has and does.

Eventually we met at a writing conference. He and I attended the same high school and our siblings attended at the same time, though he and I didn't. Too bad--he'd have been a blast to hang out with. Over the years I've gotten to know Craig better. He's been nice enough to give me a ride home from Salt Lake Comic Con and FanX several times. He didn't have to, but he did. 

Today is Craig's birthday. I hope he had a good one.

Tomorrow, I could hear that the man was ditching it all and moving his family to Alaska to raise caribou. It wouldn't surprise me (okay, maybe it would a little...). But I know if he decided to do that, he'd be great at that, too.

Happy birthday, Craig--I'm honored to call you my friend.

Last Day At A Job...

Last night my daughter left a job. I picked her up after her last shift and we drove home listening and singing to songs on the radio and pretty much behaving the same way we have all the other times I picked her up and drove her home.

My daughter is still a teenager. I remember, as a teenager, I changed jobs often. I suppose that's the nature of things. Because of other jobs and responsibilities, my daughter could no longer keep her job at Quirky Games. If you're in Kaysville, it's right next to the Kaysville Theatre. You should check it out--great store with lots of personality.

As we drove home I asked how she felt closing and locking up for the last time. She says she'll miss it. It wasn't the most physically demanding job--the job she's going to now will ask much more of her. She is going from a job that sells games to one that sells shows--both have the goal of entertaining people. 

Her leaving makes me think about what I do for my job. I've worked for the same organization for over twenty years, albeit doing different things. I can't imagine leaving my job. I am not in a financial situation where I can just quit--very few people are. I could get another job, of course. With time invested, I'd have to weigh what I'm leaving behind vs. what advantages there are by making such a drastic change. When I was younger, I had very little invested--almost nothing in those jobs.

I've worked several part-time jobs in the past twenty years, most have been for fun or to be creative, or to try something new. None of them offered the opportunity to quit my "day job" though. We read about people who just up and quit whatever they were doing to either pursue their dream or just do something--anything--else. I'm not there. I don't know if I'll ever be there. My daughter left a job for another job, and when that's done she'll leave that one as well. These opportunities are not her ideal or what she expects to do. It is, however, important to gain knowledge and experience when you're young to help you in the future...

...You know, so when you're at a job for over two decades, you'll better understand why you're there.

The Big Huge Ball Game...Of Frustration!

My daughter works P/T in a game store. It's a charming store with games, puzzles, t-shirts, books, and even music. But the thing I find the most fun is a huge ball located in the middle of the floor, a giant marble game.

And it's frustrating me to no end.

I've been picking up my daughter at the end of her shifts--something I'm glad to do. There's a lot of fun games in the store, even a couple on the counter you can try out yourself. They're fun, but I have more fun trying to get the that little steel ball though the various traps.

There's three choices to begin the journey. I've mastered the first track. The second track is currently giving me fits. I can get about halfway through and then it falls apart. I know if I had more time--like if I had the thing in my house, or if I worked at the store and had some down time when no one was there--I could complete the puzzle. I usually only have a few minutes of practice time before the store closes.

I thought about how much games and puzzles have changed in such a short period of time. When I was my daughter's age, almost no one had a personal computer so video games were a luxury of arcades. We had board games and puzzles--much like the ones in the store. Now, when I think of games, my mind goes to the electronic versions. I'll bet somewhere there's an electronic version of the big ball of frustration puzzle available to download.

Still, it's not like the real thing. I'm hoping I'll be able to complete the puzzle one of these days. Time will tell.

Feeling Quirky? There's A Game Store For That...

I saw the post on Facebook that my friend Craig Nybo was opening up a game store. If you know Craig, you also know that taking on yet another project is not surprising. He could say he's training to be an astronaut and you'd think, "Yeah, that makes sense."

I thought I should blog about this new venture so I began to write using pictures Craig posted on Facebook when I thought, "Why don't I just drive over there--it's only one town over."

That's what I did. I grabbed my youngest, we jumped in the car, and took the road I used to take to go to high school and stopped at Quirky Engine Entertainment Family Games. It's right next to the famous Kaysville Theater--you can't miss it!

And fortunately, Craig was there. I love chatting with Craig. Talk about talented! The guy writes novels--good novels. He creates amazing music, and puts on one heck of a show each year at his Gangrene Film Festival. He also makes games on the side. Quirky Engine is packed with games that the family will enjoy. There's little-known but great titles. There's puzzles, t-shirts, and books as well.

One of the coolest things is the Quirky Game Finder. This magical device will find the perfect game for you. Just enter your price range, age range, and number of people, click the button and...voila! It tells you what game you should get and that game is in the store!

If you live near Davis County and you're looking for a perfect Christmas or Hanukkah gift, check out Quirky Engine Entertainment Family Games. You can get more information: HERE (Facebook) and: HERE (company website). Put more FUN in you life--Play a Game!