May Wrap-Up

The school year is wrapping up so things were busy both at home and at work. If there is one thing you take from this month's post, please check out the documentary that I wrote about last month and is featured in the I'm Watching segment. It's really important.

Blah Blog Log

• April 2024 Wrap-Up - Gaming, hockey playoffs, and a duo of dill pickle snacks
• If Dreams Were Lightning: Rural Health Crisis - A documentary about the crisis in rural healthcare in Appalachia.
• 2024 Delaware Rural Health Conference - One of the best conferences I've attended for work and proud to be partially responsible for.

Bored Board Games

I was all over BGA this month, playing a lot of lighter games but having a ton of fun doing it. Part of me knows that summer will be tough for in person gaming my regular group. There was also some in person gaming with some really beautifully produced games that hit the table. I logged 76 plays across 24 games, 14 of those being new for the year. That brought me to 51.8% of the way to part one of my goal (600 plays) and 67.3% of the way to part two of my goal (150 unique games). This month's highlighted game is:

Super Mega Lucky Box - Roll/Flip and write games are among my favorite genres. They're normally fairly light on the complexity level, but there have been some heavier titles released in the last few years that are really enjoyable. Super Mega Lucky Box is not one of those titles, not because it's not enjoyable but because it's incredibly easy to play. I've played it over a dozen times, with 10 of those plays being last month alone on Board Game Arena. 

The object of the game is to score the most amount of points by crossing off the nine numbers printed in a 3x3 grid on the cards in front of you. Over four rounds, 9 cards numbered 1-9 (2 of each number) from an 18 card deck are drawn one at a time. Players then cross that number off on one of the grids. It feels very bingo-esque and can accommodate up to 6 players.

When a grid is completed, the card is scored and removed from play. Each round the value of a completed card goes down, so trying to complete one or two early can help, however almost completing cards allows for some great combo action later on. When a line vertically or horizontally is completed, there is normally a bonus of being able to cross another number off, round or end game scoring, or lightning bolts which allow you to add or subtract from the current number that everyone is checking off on their boards.

Enjoyable Eats

One of our favorite restaurants in Delaware is a small chain called El Azteca. They serve Mexican-American food and have been a regular date night spot for us over the years. We brought guests there and the kids joined us for a handful of meals there. The service is always pretty good, especially if you're used to the slower nature you'll find everywhere down here and given that English is not the first language of nearly every employee across their locations. I've shared pictures on Facebook of their very tasty food many times, including their Drunk Tacos (which are the best tacos I've ever had) and the fajita baked potato (Christine's favorite).

We had a date night at their Middletown location and I got one of my other favorite dishes, shrimp chimichangas. It's two chimichangas (soft or fried), topped with cheese dip, lettuce, guacamole, sour cream, and tomato and served with rice. I basically rotate between that, the Drunk Tacos, or fajitas because who doesn't love a sizzling plate of meat and veggies? Christine got the Grande Special which is a combination sampler consisting of a burrito, enchilada, chile relleno, taco, bean chalupa, rice, and beans. There was so much food there that we brought about half of it home and I got to eat it for lunch the next day. Delaware has a lot of Mexican and taco joints across the state, but we keep returning to El Azteca because their food is really good and it's incredibly consistent.

I'm Watching 👀

As I wrote about in this post, If Dreams Were Lightning: Rural Healthcare Crisis, is a very powerful short documentary about the crisis of rural healthcare in this country, specifically in Appalachia. Since this hits so close to home with the work that I do, it caught my attention and I want to share it with anyone who has not seen it.

Resolutions Update

Doing really well with these. I'm interested in what the last month of the first half of the year has in store. Summer always tends to be the tipping point for some of these.

• Goal #1: Cook More Italian Food - Nothing specific to report, still trying some pasta dishes, but need to focus more on some without pasta.
• Goal #2: Log 600 Plays of At Least 150 Games - As of May 31st, I've played 101 unique games 311 times total.
• Goal #3: Write at Least 3 Blog Posts Each Month - Hit my goal of three, with two of them coming on the last day of the month. It should have only been one, but I got lazy. Either way, it was nice writing about work related things in a positive way.

Whatcha Snackin?

I love trail mix and have tried a bunch of them from Target and Aldi over the past few years. During a weekly trip to Walmart, I saw they had a couple of new types available including Korean Style BBQ. I like something with a little punch and enjoy anything with those little sesame sticks mixed in. This is a blend of garlic sesame sticks, chili bits, Korean style BBQ cashews, edamame, wasabi and soy flavored almonds, and ginger soy seasoned pineapple.

The little pineapple bits give a great soft and chewy contrast to the mostly crunchy bits and nuts. It's both sweet and savory and I just can't get enough. A second bag was purchase towards the end of the month, so I'll be snacking on this month as well. However, I will probably find something else to snack on as well for the next wrap-up post. Variety is the spice of life you know.

Wrap It Up

Please comment below with any thoughts or comments on anything I've covered. Thanks for reading!