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| ...and Updates |
| As always, feel free to email me at wkargel@yahoo.com |
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| March 27th, 2003 |
| Hello, all! Nothing much to report on right now. Bridget is off to visit her parents for a week in PA during her Spring Break from school, while I am stuck here working during tax season. It appears I won't know what my future is with UTS for some time. The decision-making process has been delayed. So my anxiety level is rather high about this, since I have been in a virtual holding pattern for months now, wondering if I can move forward with things. The time is fast approaching for the anniversaries of Royce's birth and death. It is starting to weigh more heavily in the back of my mind, for I have been cautioned many times over the past year that the first anniversary after a loss is the worst. I want to be in a celebratory mood and recognize Royce's first birthday had he been here with us..and to remember him on the anniversary of his death. Intertwined with all this is our nephew Sammy's first birthday. He is growing up so fast! He has been walking on his own for several weeks, now! We have a number of new pictures of him to post, and I hope to get around to doing that soon...there are a number of areas that need serious updating on this site that I hope to achieve over the summer months. Coming up in July is the second Rogue Independent Music Festival in Atlanta. My friends Matthew Trautwein and Wade Summerlin are expanding the festival to two days to accomodate more bands! Alas, Paracelsus has been dormant for too long, and even though we could have had a slot, we would not be adequately prepared for the show in time. As it is, both Matthew and Derek have a lot going on, including their own bands, both of which will be playing the festival. Go to http://www.roguemusicfest.com for more information. I have been a chess player since I was six years old. During the past couple of months, I have experienced a renewed passion for researching chess theory to improve my playing ability. My biggest problem has always been maintaining my concentration and focus on the game. I blame a lack of this for being the major contributor to my making blunders in games. I have been playing a few different chess computer programs, and all are very strong players, far stronger than I am. Statistical odds show that I would usually lose to the computer, but I have found that I play fairly well and hold my own...up to a point. That is the point that I lose focus and concentration long enough that I make a wrong move and blunder the game away. I have therefore discovered a new passion in chess: to teach and coach children to learn how to play and how to play better! One of the things chess does when taught to children is to improve their concentration skills early. I now wonder if I had immersed myself in chess between the ages of six and twelve if my concentration and focus would be better than it is now. I am now researching different means of scholastic chess in my area, and hope to volunteer my time and resources to do this. I want to ramp things up so that when the new school year starts, I can get the ball rolling with a school or a non-school afilliated youth club. One possible source sould be through my church youth groups, and/or the church school...stay tuned on this! I plan on devoting an entire sub-section of my Gaming pages to not only Chess but my plan on promoting scholastic chess in my area. Fear not, I still have plans in regards to my music, but circumstances have relegated things to the back burner right now. At least the chess thing will keep me busy in the meantime, and will allow me to work with kids, somthing I have always thoroughly enjoyed! In case you didn't notice, I love children! That in itself is a big part of why Royce's death affected me so much. Regards, Bill |
