There are moments in life that are 9/11 moments, Space Shuttle Challenger moments, dates that are forever etched in our minds, those as a collective for tragedy in which we remember exactly where we were and who we were around.
Those moments exist on a personal level also. Today is one of those moments. Ten years ago I was totally unsuspecting, and had the rug pulled out from under my life. I can joke about it now, and describe it like "walking across the street with my headphones on, and getting blitzed by a concrete truck". I believed we had a perfect life, with so much promise for the future. I was rather oblivious to one important fact: Be careful who you trust :)
Ten years removed, I am grateful to my family, my children, my friends, and my Lord for where I am and how I have not only survived, but thrived. I owe so much to my children, who gave me the will to perservere, to drive on and succeed. I truly believe today my life is better than it has ever been.
And to you, I think you know who you are. It isn't even so much like I think you'd ever read this, but I'll write this anyway.
Thank you.
Sometimes it's hard to realize just how stifling and negative someone is until you are away from them, and while it took awhile to find my contentment, I've gone well beyond that to a point of happiness I never really knew before that day, 10 years ago. I wouldn't change anything before then, after then, or now. Yes, you didn't just burn the bridge, you f'ing nuked it, and hurt our children in a way I could never imagine, but your behavior in the long run allowed us as a family to get to a place that transcends any time you were around.
I'm very grateful. And let's be honest, I see where you're headed ;)
Listen Here You Dog Faced Pony Soldiers!
Friday, April 16, 2021
Monday, August 13, 2018
2015
So as 2015 began, I was still in the one man armory. Things were going well, but as said in the last post, I wanted a change, both for the reasons I listed, and because I had an 8 and a 6 year old, and I wanted to be closer to my family in case of emergency, not to mention, to be closer to them in general, we have a close relationship.
In February, even though we have our own annual trainings to go to with our respective units, all of the Company AGR's within the Battalion were required to go to the Battalion HQ's annual training. No one in HQ is required to go with any of the other companies to their respective annual trainings. This really set a lot of people off, and spoke volumes about the AO (area officer in charge) and his lack of understanding about what is important to the Soldier.
While on that annual training, I interviewed to come back to the previous position I had, teaching for the 88M MOS school at the state regimental training institute. I did the interview by telephone, and found out about a week later that I got the job. So back to the side of the state that I came from!
I luckily was able to find a house to purchase rather quickly in the same area we had lived in before, but I still had to drive back and forth for about 45 days because we couldn't close and move in until May 15th. So got a storage unit, and each day brought back a load of stuff in my little Chevy Cruze and put it into the storage unit.
Come May 15th, the kids and I came back together in a large truck we borrowed, did a ditty PCS move, and got everything into the house. Had to buy a new air conditioner right away, but oh well, those things happen. The house was really nice, a little smaller than the one we lived in when I was married, but we actually in some ways like this house better.
Not a lot changed at my old job, except now instead of being ADOS I was AGR. One new guy there, "SG" we'll call him. The job I took was for another guy who had been there long term, "BA", he took an E7 position with another unit and moved on. One noticeable factor about this particular unit, teaching this school, is that people rarely leave, and given the opportunity, if they get a chance, they come back to this unit. That speaks volumes for, not only the job itself being a great job, but also the atmosphere and people who we work with there.
Now, that being said, the E8 (Master Sergeant) in charge of the section was not the greatest. Found out shortly after coming back that they were getting set to shut our school down. And worse, it appeared that he (the E8) let's call him "ND" had done very little to promote or save the school with the powers that be. It felt, at the time, like the Commander had also really done very little to try and save the school. That was all due to change shortly... more on that in 2016.
Unfortunately, one of the instructors was non-retained during the quality retention board, and I had known him since he joined us around 2009/2010 time frame. Losing him stunk, but that's what the QRB does once in awhile, you can't really predict how the outcomes will be. Thankfully we picked up a pretty good guy who had also taught with us before to replace him.
I pretty much picked up where I left off as far as instructing, not too much had changed, a few upgrades to equipment, but everything came back to me relatively quickly. As 2015 got close to an end, I started hearing our E8 "ND" rumbling about how he'd "been in this came position for too long" and complaining about how he hadn't been promoted or moved anywhere. That culminated in him ending up being laterally moved to another E8 position, and they brought in a different E8, "WJ". WJ ended up being fantastic. He also noticed that the school was on the chopping block, and immediately set to work to try and save it.
That was pretty much where we ended up in December 2015.
In February, even though we have our own annual trainings to go to with our respective units, all of the Company AGR's within the Battalion were required to go to the Battalion HQ's annual training. No one in HQ is required to go with any of the other companies to their respective annual trainings. This really set a lot of people off, and spoke volumes about the AO (area officer in charge) and his lack of understanding about what is important to the Soldier.
While on that annual training, I interviewed to come back to the previous position I had, teaching for the 88M MOS school at the state regimental training institute. I did the interview by telephone, and found out about a week later that I got the job. So back to the side of the state that I came from!
I luckily was able to find a house to purchase rather quickly in the same area we had lived in before, but I still had to drive back and forth for about 45 days because we couldn't close and move in until May 15th. So got a storage unit, and each day brought back a load of stuff in my little Chevy Cruze and put it into the storage unit.
Come May 15th, the kids and I came back together in a large truck we borrowed, did a ditty PCS move, and got everything into the house. Had to buy a new air conditioner right away, but oh well, those things happen. The house was really nice, a little smaller than the one we lived in when I was married, but we actually in some ways like this house better.
Not a lot changed at my old job, except now instead of being ADOS I was AGR. One new guy there, "SG" we'll call him. The job I took was for another guy who had been there long term, "BA", he took an E7 position with another unit and moved on. One noticeable factor about this particular unit, teaching this school, is that people rarely leave, and given the opportunity, if they get a chance, they come back to this unit. That speaks volumes for, not only the job itself being a great job, but also the atmosphere and people who we work with there.
Now, that being said, the E8 (Master Sergeant) in charge of the section was not the greatest. Found out shortly after coming back that they were getting set to shut our school down. And worse, it appeared that he (the E8) let's call him "ND" had done very little to promote or save the school with the powers that be. It felt, at the time, like the Commander had also really done very little to try and save the school. That was all due to change shortly... more on that in 2016.
Unfortunately, one of the instructors was non-retained during the quality retention board, and I had known him since he joined us around 2009/2010 time frame. Losing him stunk, but that's what the QRB does once in awhile, you can't really predict how the outcomes will be. Thankfully we picked up a pretty good guy who had also taught with us before to replace him.
I pretty much picked up where I left off as far as instructing, not too much had changed, a few upgrades to equipment, but everything came back to me relatively quickly. As 2015 got close to an end, I started hearing our E8 "ND" rumbling about how he'd "been in this came position for too long" and complaining about how he hadn't been promoted or moved anywhere. That culminated in him ending up being laterally moved to another E8 position, and they brought in a different E8, "WJ". WJ ended up being fantastic. He also noticed that the school was on the chopping block, and immediately set to work to try and save it.
That was pretty much where we ended up in December 2015.
Sunday, August 12, 2018
2014
So let's just take this year by year. In 2014 I was in my "one man armory". I had started there in August of 2012. Normal situations for the Army National Guard have 3 full timers in an armory: A readiness NCO, a training NCO, and a supply NCO. Because our unit was a detachment to a larger unit, I was the only full timer in the armory.
When I took the position it was a way to get my foot in the door on the Active Guard and Reserve (AGR) program, which is a very good program, especially if you have children, for health care, benefits, and retirement. I probably didn't know exactly what I was getting into, because it was drinking hard core from the firehose, so much information coming at me.
Basically you are in charge of anywhere from 14 million to 18 million in facilities and equipment (depending on whose value sheet you are looking at), and 60 Soldiers who drill there once a month, and two weeks during the summer. The facility itself consisted of the armory building, maintenance building, cold storage building, fenced in motor pool, along with parking lots, sidewalks, the usual.
In the motor pool were 30 trucks with trailers, and another set of 30 trailers (the "B" trailers as they are called) in a location 50 miles from us. The trucks were M1088 field tractors, and the trailers were M871 field trailers. They give you a maintenance guy, which in my case was a 65 year old who didn't mind cleaning inside or riding on the mower, but you couldn't get him to weed wack if his life depended on it.
Now you may think that being in a one man armory would be boring, or ideal, but it was not either. You basically had about 6 bosses. You had the readiness NCO at the larger unit who was your actual boss on paper, and wrote your evaluation reports (90 miles away), the supply sergeant who provided you with the equipment and gear for your building, vehicles, and Soldiers, you had the company clerk, who in this case was an E7 who outranked me, you had the area officer who was responsible for ALL the full timers in 5 companies for the battalion (who would lean heavily on your readiness NCO to put things in your evaluation report), you had "facilities", who you answered to for repair and upkeep of the entire area, and you had the vehicle maintenance shop foreman, who you had to answer to for all your truck issues.
On top of that, there were different groups within the Guard who would inspect the armory or request info, often times unannounced. Environmental, physical security, asset management, even the adjutant general and his command sergeant major, all would visit from time to time. In the building itself there was the unit recruiter, and our building also had the 1SG for recruiting for our quadrant, because he lived in the town. But recruiting didn't interact much with the unit itself, aside from new Soldiers, so I didn't see them much. Often times you had one boss/group wanting you to do something, while 2 or 3 others (or more) expected you to be doing something else. It often times was simply ridiculous.
Personal life at the time obviously wasn't ideal, and contributed to stress, but the kids and I did well regardless. The town itself was great. Good farming community, the type of people I grew up around in my own hometown. One interesting factor about the town was that there were three Subway (sandwich franchise) stores... for 6000 people. Not sure how that works out, but they did it.
The Soldiers in the unit were great guys, especially the upper NCO's. Our platoon sergeant was the stand-in "1st SGT", and even though 60 Soldiers would generally be the size of two platoons, he was responsible for one large platoon. He was great though, the kind of guy that could step into a room of angry people and calm everyone down to get them focused on what needed to be done.
In a "line MTOE unit" that has regular drills/AT's, everything works in cycles. The monthly cycle revolves around the weekend in which you have drill. The week leading up to drill you are moving and working at about 200%, trying to get food ready, prepping for pay, trucks ready, classes and who will teach them, on and on and on. Often times you are there till 1800. Drill weekend itself gets even crazier, trying to fix everyone's problems all while reporting back to the larger unit.
First one in the building an hour before anyone arrives at drill, then on Sunday night, leaving often times 2 hours after everyone else is gone. That's the life in a one man armory. The 2-3 days following drill are still pretty hectic, but not near as bad the week before and drill itself. Reports being completed, AWOL notices mailed out, setting up make up drill for those who were excused, etc.
Then you have about 2 and a half weeks where the job is really not bad at all, in fact quite easy. This particular armory had a very good reputation with the town, especially with our recruiter AND the 1st SGT of recruiting both being in the armory. We had a lot of events, probably averaged between 2 and 3 a month, where the armory would be rented out.
While I was there I also rented out a house directly behind our armory, just across the street. So that was pretty awesome, although I'd have to drop the kids off at school and/or daycare every day so I'd drive anyway. Living that close though meant that if there were any emergencies, I was right there to handle them. That's actually a pretty convenient thing, because, as I stated, one man armory, you are responsible for most everything that happens there.
By the end of 2014, I was ready for a change and started paying attention to job postings. I stayed dedicated to my job, but knew that if the right position opened up, I would be moving on.
When I took the position it was a way to get my foot in the door on the Active Guard and Reserve (AGR) program, which is a very good program, especially if you have children, for health care, benefits, and retirement. I probably didn't know exactly what I was getting into, because it was drinking hard core from the firehose, so much information coming at me.
Basically you are in charge of anywhere from 14 million to 18 million in facilities and equipment (depending on whose value sheet you are looking at), and 60 Soldiers who drill there once a month, and two weeks during the summer. The facility itself consisted of the armory building, maintenance building, cold storage building, fenced in motor pool, along with parking lots, sidewalks, the usual.
In the motor pool were 30 trucks with trailers, and another set of 30 trailers (the "B" trailers as they are called) in a location 50 miles from us. The trucks were M1088 field tractors, and the trailers were M871 field trailers. They give you a maintenance guy, which in my case was a 65 year old who didn't mind cleaning inside or riding on the mower, but you couldn't get him to weed wack if his life depended on it.
Now you may think that being in a one man armory would be boring, or ideal, but it was not either. You basically had about 6 bosses. You had the readiness NCO at the larger unit who was your actual boss on paper, and wrote your evaluation reports (90 miles away), the supply sergeant who provided you with the equipment and gear for your building, vehicles, and Soldiers, you had the company clerk, who in this case was an E7 who outranked me, you had the area officer who was responsible for ALL the full timers in 5 companies for the battalion (who would lean heavily on your readiness NCO to put things in your evaluation report), you had "facilities", who you answered to for repair and upkeep of the entire area, and you had the vehicle maintenance shop foreman, who you had to answer to for all your truck issues.
On top of that, there were different groups within the Guard who would inspect the armory or request info, often times unannounced. Environmental, physical security, asset management, even the adjutant general and his command sergeant major, all would visit from time to time. In the building itself there was the unit recruiter, and our building also had the 1SG for recruiting for our quadrant, because he lived in the town. But recruiting didn't interact much with the unit itself, aside from new Soldiers, so I didn't see them much. Often times you had one boss/group wanting you to do something, while 2 or 3 others (or more) expected you to be doing something else. It often times was simply ridiculous.
Personal life at the time obviously wasn't ideal, and contributed to stress, but the kids and I did well regardless. The town itself was great. Good farming community, the type of people I grew up around in my own hometown. One interesting factor about the town was that there were three Subway (sandwich franchise) stores... for 6000 people. Not sure how that works out, but they did it.
The Soldiers in the unit were great guys, especially the upper NCO's. Our platoon sergeant was the stand-in "1st SGT", and even though 60 Soldiers would generally be the size of two platoons, he was responsible for one large platoon. He was great though, the kind of guy that could step into a room of angry people and calm everyone down to get them focused on what needed to be done.
In a "line MTOE unit" that has regular drills/AT's, everything works in cycles. The monthly cycle revolves around the weekend in which you have drill. The week leading up to drill you are moving and working at about 200%, trying to get food ready, prepping for pay, trucks ready, classes and who will teach them, on and on and on. Often times you are there till 1800. Drill weekend itself gets even crazier, trying to fix everyone's problems all while reporting back to the larger unit.
First one in the building an hour before anyone arrives at drill, then on Sunday night, leaving often times 2 hours after everyone else is gone. That's the life in a one man armory. The 2-3 days following drill are still pretty hectic, but not near as bad the week before and drill itself. Reports being completed, AWOL notices mailed out, setting up make up drill for those who were excused, etc.
Then you have about 2 and a half weeks where the job is really not bad at all, in fact quite easy. This particular armory had a very good reputation with the town, especially with our recruiter AND the 1st SGT of recruiting both being in the armory. We had a lot of events, probably averaged between 2 and 3 a month, where the armory would be rented out.
While I was there I also rented out a house directly behind our armory, just across the street. So that was pretty awesome, although I'd have to drop the kids off at school and/or daycare every day so I'd drive anyway. Living that close though meant that if there were any emergencies, I was right there to handle them. That's actually a pretty convenient thing, because, as I stated, one man armory, you are responsible for most everything that happens there.
By the end of 2014, I was ready for a change and started paying attention to job postings. I stayed dedicated to my job, but knew that if the right position opened up, I would be moving on.
The Elephant In The Room
“What about the last five years man?” I’ll get to that in future posts, maybe try a year by year basis for posting, we’ll see. For now, I think it would be prudent to address this in as delicate a fashion as I can, mostly because a lot of online friends I’ve had over the years ask the same questions within a short period of time if I haven’t talked to them in quite a while…
"You aren't married???" No. I am single. I have been so for 4 years (really 7+ years if I’m being realistic). I really don’t want to dig into the entire situation. Ending things was not my idea, and more to the point, I was blind sided when it happened in 2011. I did not really discuss it online because at the time it did not seem appropriate. I imagine I could blame it on “the other guy”, or how easy Facebook makes it to contact someone you shouldn’t, but those are only symptoms of a bigger issue: Never get with someone with the idea that you can somehow save them or make them happy. The reality is that an unhappy person who does not address their own problems WILL find a way to make their own misery your fault, and make you miserable in the process of doing so.
"Do you guys still talk?" No, we don’t really talk now. Well, aside from the obvious, having two children together requires a certain amount of communication, but it is generally kept to texting, emails, and Google Calendar. No, I am not bitter, in fact, very much the opposite. I’m doing and feeling better than I’ve been since 2002. I would honestly say thank you… you can align yourself with those who are anchors or sails in your life, and I didn’t realize just how stuck I was. When you end up with someone who actually appreciates you as a person, and genuinely loves you and supports you, it is relatively easy to look back and see how one sided your previous relationship had been. And when you look at the track record another person has after your affiliation with them has ended, and it really just reaffirms how much better off you are without them. I am polite as I would be in a business agreement with someone I have to do business with, but that I would rather have nothing to do with. Make no mistake, if it weren't for the children, I would never communicate with her.
"What about the little ones?" I have primary custody of my two children, and they are the single most important aspect of my life. Everything I do revolves around ensuring they feel loved, safe, and receive a quality upbringing. Each summer we take a vacation now, about which I’ll be posting later.
“Regrets?” Only one. I owe but one apology, to one person who I treated very poorly, what seems like so many years ago. Although I somehow doubt things would have ended up working out between us, there are mature and sensible ways to find that out, that would have been far better than the flippant and foolish way I went about it. You showed me love, I reciprocated by stabbing you in the back. You deserved better, and thankfully it appears you ended up better. And although you may never see this, I am sorry. I spent a lot of time in 2011 apologizing to someone who did NOT deserve ANY apology, perhaps that was karma. In the end you were right, just as you were so long ago. I can't go back and change anything, nor would I. I have two amazing reminders that, in spite of how crummy things were, beauty can be wrought from any situation.
"You take no responsibility in how things ended up?" It may be easy to see things like this, but that's not the case. I take my responsibility for being one person in a normal marriage where two people have normal issues that nearly everyone in such a relationship deals with. I take ZERO responsibility for torpedoing that marriage over the course of two years and then walking out on your family. This may seem like a brutal take on this, but a long time ago I spent two years being a blubbering shell of a man, taking on fault, listening to bad counsel, and looking back, well, hindsight IS 20/20. Not my idea, not my pursuit, not my responsibility. The most brutal truth is this: No matter who she was with, she would have done this. End of story.
So, maybe answered your questions, maybe didn’t, but that’s all I have to say about it.
"You aren't married???" No. I am single. I have been so for 4 years (really 7+ years if I’m being realistic). I really don’t want to dig into the entire situation. Ending things was not my idea, and more to the point, I was blind sided when it happened in 2011. I did not really discuss it online because at the time it did not seem appropriate. I imagine I could blame it on “the other guy”, or how easy Facebook makes it to contact someone you shouldn’t, but those are only symptoms of a bigger issue: Never get with someone with the idea that you can somehow save them or make them happy. The reality is that an unhappy person who does not address their own problems WILL find a way to make their own misery your fault, and make you miserable in the process of doing so.
"Do you guys still talk?" No, we don’t really talk now. Well, aside from the obvious, having two children together requires a certain amount of communication, but it is generally kept to texting, emails, and Google Calendar. No, I am not bitter, in fact, very much the opposite. I’m doing and feeling better than I’ve been since 2002. I would honestly say thank you… you can align yourself with those who are anchors or sails in your life, and I didn’t realize just how stuck I was. When you end up with someone who actually appreciates you as a person, and genuinely loves you and supports you, it is relatively easy to look back and see how one sided your previous relationship had been. And when you look at the track record another person has after your affiliation with them has ended, and it really just reaffirms how much better off you are without them. I am polite as I would be in a business agreement with someone I have to do business with, but that I would rather have nothing to do with. Make no mistake, if it weren't for the children, I would never communicate with her.
"What about the little ones?" I have primary custody of my two children, and they are the single most important aspect of my life. Everything I do revolves around ensuring they feel loved, safe, and receive a quality upbringing. Each summer we take a vacation now, about which I’ll be posting later.
“Regrets?” Only one. I owe but one apology, to one person who I treated very poorly, what seems like so many years ago. Although I somehow doubt things would have ended up working out between us, there are mature and sensible ways to find that out, that would have been far better than the flippant and foolish way I went about it. You showed me love, I reciprocated by stabbing you in the back. You deserved better, and thankfully it appears you ended up better. And although you may never see this, I am sorry. I spent a lot of time in 2011 apologizing to someone who did NOT deserve ANY apology, perhaps that was karma. In the end you were right, just as you were so long ago. I can't go back and change anything, nor would I. I have two amazing reminders that, in spite of how crummy things were, beauty can be wrought from any situation.
"You take no responsibility in how things ended up?" It may be easy to see things like this, but that's not the case. I take my responsibility for being one person in a normal marriage where two people have normal issues that nearly everyone in such a relationship deals with. I take ZERO responsibility for torpedoing that marriage over the course of two years and then walking out on your family. This may seem like a brutal take on this, but a long time ago I spent two years being a blubbering shell of a man, taking on fault, listening to bad counsel, and looking back, well, hindsight IS 20/20. Not my idea, not my pursuit, not my responsibility. The most brutal truth is this: No matter who she was with, she would have done this. End of story.
So, maybe answered your questions, maybe didn’t, but that’s all I have to say about it.
Greetings!
Soooo, how about that awkward intro, when you haven’t been around in
just over 5 years? It’s hard to say
goodbye, right? It is a little weird to
say hello after this long too!
But, here we go, HELLO!
Oh where to begin? When last we
met I was attending a Training NCO course at PEC in Arkansas. Well, I’m currently on another trip. This time I’m a little further east, in
ALABAMA (read that as though Forrest Gump is yelling it). Why is this die-hard Husker fan down in such
established enemy territory? Well, I’m
here for a 6 week Ground Officer Safety Course.
The flight down was interesting.
Two connecting flights, never had that on a stateside flight
before. In Washington D.C., we got stuck
for about 4 hours waiting for Atlanta on a weather delay. When we finally landed in Atlanta, I had
roughly 12 minutes to make my connecting flight… from terminal A, gate 14, all
the way to terminal D, gate 46 (last gate on that line). Needless to say I ran my ass off and made it,
they closed the doors 3 minutes after I boarded. I found it humorous that the next day, I got
an email reminder that my “new flight” would be at 1600 (that day), apparently
they thought I hadn’t made the flight the night before. I was really worried that my luggage did not
make the flight.
On the puddle jumper we took for the roughly half hour flight to
Dothan, Alabama, I noticed that Alamo was going to be closed when we arrived,
leaving me to believe that I’d have no transportation to Ft. Rucker. As we got off the flight, it was a relief to
see they were still open (2 hours late, and looking rather disheveled). I was upgraded to a blue Nissan Rogue:
This is usually because, as the last people getting vehicles on a
particular day, often times they have no economy or compacts left. In some ways, a smaller vehicle is a little
nicer for getting around in areas you haven’t driven or parking where you haven’t
been, but a larger vehicle is safer and more comfortable. At Ft. Rucker, I’m staying in a Holiday Inn
Express.
Obviously my main reason for being here is to pass this course, and it’s
supposed to be relatively difficult. With
weekends off, it might be a little boring, but I can focus on the second most
important reason I’m here, and that is to whip myself back into shape. Unfortunately, Alabama ranks second to last
in the nation in the “fitness” area, and looking for a running trail certainly
showed that. I had to drive 35 minutes
to find a decent one yesterday. Ended up
being a dirt packed mountain bike type trail, owned by the city of Dothan. It was a pleasant hour long run on uneven
trails with lots of curves and mild elevation changes.
“Why aren’t you running on post?”
Well, Ft. Rucker is THE safety center for the U.S. Army, and as such, the
rules are absolutely stifling when it comes to doing ANYTHING here. To run on the roads during certain hours, you
must be in Army PT uniform, you must have the PT belt worn facing the correct
direction across the waist, unless you have the PT jacket on, then you must
wear it across your chest diagonally, if you are an officer your PT belt must
be blue, if you are an NCO it must be green, if you are this, that, there…. bla
bla bla… you can see how it gets rather overbearing in a hurry, I would rather
just be somewhere and run on my own without worrying that my shoes might be laced in the
wrong direction, or that someone will yell at me for not wearing a traffic cone
on top of my head.
Obviously the other important part of getting back into shape is
avoiding one of the main pitfalls of being away from home: eating out.
So I spent a good amount of money on a lot of veggies and good food that
I’m storing in my room. So far so good,
I have yet to eat out, sticking to the food in the room only. I’m within just a couple hours of Pensacola,
Panama Beach, Tallahassee, a lot of really cool places, so I’ve really got to
be vigilant if I want to continue getting into shape. I do want to visit some of these places but I’ll
likely pack my meals to again, avoid fast food.
Monday, July 29, 2013
We Have Rules People!! Ah, Who Cares, Do What You Want!!
Okay, this place is truly odd...
Apparently despite the fact that guidelines are put out beforehand, you can do what you want to do and they will just allow it. For instance:
Okay, as you already know from the school packet, no one should have a flight home on Friday before 1400. Does anyone have a flight before 1400?
Several hands go up.
Alright, well, we can see if we can work around that, what time are your flights?
"10:30" "10:00" "12:30"
Well, that shouldn't be a problem. Anyone have an earlier flight?
One hand goes up "I do, 0730"
Wow, okay, we usually have testing on Friday morning, but maybe we can work around that.
Uh, WHAT? And it didn't stop there...
I'm not sure if you know, I see some of you have chewing tobacco, we don't allow that here, as this is a federal building.
But, well, I suppose if it doesn't bother the person next to you, that isn't going to be an issue.
At this point I was nearly laughing. Here's what I expected to hear but didn't:
Make sure you aren't running along the roads marked "No Jogging", they are 35 mph roads and it is dangerous to run along them. Unless you want to, if you really want to you can run on those roads.
We are really cracking down on drinking and driving, it is illegal and is absolutely NOT allowed on post. The post MP's will pull you over. If you are insistent on drinking and driving however, just let the MP's know and it should be okay.
There is a dress code here on post. Do not wear parts of the Army PT uniform, you have to wear it as a set, or not wear it. Unless you want to be naked, if you feel like being naked that is fine. Just use sunscreen, unless you don't want sunscreen. That's okay too.
Class starts at 0700. You can miss up to 4 hours. If you miss more than 4 hours you will likely be dismissed from the course. Unless of course you don't want to come to class, you can stay in your room, drink and drive, or run naked on the no jogging roads, while getting set for your 6 in the morning flight on Friday. Pretty much do whatever you want, you'll be fine.
Apparently despite the fact that guidelines are put out beforehand, you can do what you want to do and they will just allow it. For instance:
Okay, as you already know from the school packet, no one should have a flight home on Friday before 1400. Does anyone have a flight before 1400?
Several hands go up.
Alright, well, we can see if we can work around that, what time are your flights?
"10:30" "10:00" "12:30"
Well, that shouldn't be a problem. Anyone have an earlier flight?
One hand goes up "I do, 0730"
Wow, okay, we usually have testing on Friday morning, but maybe we can work around that.
Uh, WHAT? And it didn't stop there...
I'm not sure if you know, I see some of you have chewing tobacco, we don't allow that here, as this is a federal building.
But, well, I suppose if it doesn't bother the person next to you, that isn't going to be an issue.
At this point I was nearly laughing. Here's what I expected to hear but didn't:
Make sure you aren't running along the roads marked "No Jogging", they are 35 mph roads and it is dangerous to run along them. Unless you want to, if you really want to you can run on those roads.
We are really cracking down on drinking and driving, it is illegal and is absolutely NOT allowed on post. The post MP's will pull you over. If you are insistent on drinking and driving however, just let the MP's know and it should be okay.
There is a dress code here on post. Do not wear parts of the Army PT uniform, you have to wear it as a set, or not wear it. Unless you want to be naked, if you feel like being naked that is fine. Just use sunscreen, unless you don't want sunscreen. That's okay too.
Class starts at 0700. You can miss up to 4 hours. If you miss more than 4 hours you will likely be dismissed from the course. Unless of course you don't want to come to class, you can stay in your room, drink and drive, or run naked on the no jogging roads, while getting set for your 6 in the morning flight on Friday. Pretty much do whatever you want, you'll be fine.
0800? Wow!
I don't think I've ever had a military class start at 0800, what do they think they are, civilians here? Haha, not like I'll complain all that much.
I got ready this morning and was set to head over thinking it was 0700 start time but apparently I ws wrong. The class starts at 0800. That's cool, gives me about 30 minutes to just sit here and randomly put some thoughts to my blog. I slept okay last night, got to sleep a little after midnite. Lately the anxiety has started to really dissipate, which is good. I suppose that has a lot to do with getting all the ducks in a row. House is in process of being sold (fingers crossed), so I took another step and committed to renting a house right next to where I work. Hooray for not having to drive 90 miles one way to get home. Lil N' is registered for classes at Kindergarten, and excited about it. Lil maN' is signed up for daycare.
Spoke a bit with one of my buddies last night, he wants me to go to Canada next year on a fishing trip. I thought that sounded pretty awesome, I'm glad I have a lot of time to consider it because if it were this year there would be no way. Financially I have so much to rebuild following the debacle of the last two years. I don't know if I even have 2,000 left in my retirement :( That's a far cry from where I was in 2007. It will get better, removing certain anchors from my life is going to help so much.
I still plan to visit Machu Pichu someday, maybe I'll take the little ones, we'll see. I want them to actually be old enough to appreciate the wonders of the world. I think starting off with Disneyland is a good place to begin.
I got ready this morning and was set to head over thinking it was 0700 start time but apparently I ws wrong. The class starts at 0800. That's cool, gives me about 30 minutes to just sit here and randomly put some thoughts to my blog. I slept okay last night, got to sleep a little after midnite. Lately the anxiety has started to really dissipate, which is good. I suppose that has a lot to do with getting all the ducks in a row. House is in process of being sold (fingers crossed), so I took another step and committed to renting a house right next to where I work. Hooray for not having to drive 90 miles one way to get home. Lil N' is registered for classes at Kindergarten, and excited about it. Lil maN' is signed up for daycare.
Spoke a bit with one of my buddies last night, he wants me to go to Canada next year on a fishing trip. I thought that sounded pretty awesome, I'm glad I have a lot of time to consider it because if it were this year there would be no way. Financially I have so much to rebuild following the debacle of the last two years. I don't know if I even have 2,000 left in my retirement :( That's a far cry from where I was in 2007. It will get better, removing certain anchors from my life is going to help so much.
I still plan to visit Machu Pichu someday, maybe I'll take the little ones, we'll see. I want them to actually be old enough to appreciate the wonders of the world. I think starting off with Disneyland is a good place to begin.
Sunday, July 28, 2013
First Long Trip In The Cruz!
I've had the Chevy Cruz Eco for a few months now, I take a lot of 100 mile trips (being that I'm about that far from the Omaha house when I'm at work) but I've yet to take a truly long trip.
That all changed today. I got put in for the Training NCO course down in Arkansas, so I got everything set up last night and headed out this morning. I didn't have to leave early, because it's about a 9 hour trip, so I left at 9 am.
Even though I had about 7/8 of a tank of gas I wanted to be completely full to see how far I could get, so I topped off before leaving, and got some hot chocolate. On to I-80, then over to Iowa and onto I-29 south. The first couple of hours were mostly uneventful, although I did realize today that my XM Radio was shut off, I will likely call in a couple days and barter with them for a half hour to get a highly reduced rate, considering they want an insane amount of money and all I really ever listen to are the comedy stations.
Traffic wasn't too bad considering it was a Sunday, a summertime Sunday no less. I did take the wrong route three separate times, which was annoying but I found myself laughing, because the first time my real estate agent called, the second time it was my dad, and the third time some private call that never said anything. Don't take phone calls while driving in an area you aren't familiar with, apparently that is something I should learn.
Arkansas... I am not sure where to start. First off, what in the hell kind of interstate suddenly turns into a regular highway and a half mile later there is an intersection with a red light? I checked the map, showed that we were still on an interstate, but apparently Arkansas goes by a different set of rules.
The other really unbelievable thing... it is enough to have annoying drivers who don't get out of the left lane, and Arkansas has an abundance of that, believe me. But even worse, there had to be half a dozen of what can best be described as "erratic MPH drivers". I generally see one or two on a long trip, but this was madness because there were literally like 6 or 7 of them in the last 2 hours of my trip.
The erratic MPH driver is the guy you come up on and he seems to speed up as you are getting closer, then finally you get around him, 5 minutes later here he comes creeping up on you and passing you. The worst one was the last guy, about 4 times in he was creeping up on me as I came up on a truck, this time I cut him off, I'd had enough, went about 90 for a couple minutes then slowed up. I figured that would get rid of him, and it did (doesn't always work). What in the fuck is so hard about using cruise control???
I got into North Little Rock, and I have to say, it is a bit scary. There seems to be a LOT of liquor stores, car washes, and churches. Add to that, there are a whole shitload of places named Camp Robinson this and Camp Robinson that. I was focused in on North Little Rock itself and didn't realize that the camp is actually on the very north side of town, and is quite big by comparison to all the small "Camp Robinson" named things further south.
So after I finally got that all sorted out, I got on post, found the check in building, got my room, and parked. These are very nice rooms, much like being in a hotel. Everyone tells me that this is like a vacation, and from the camp itself, I can see that, very nice in every way, however, you have to go a ways outside of North Little Rock to find anything nice, it's a real dump out there. Apparently some of the people have been here before and they are going to take me out on the town, that should be a lot of fun.
Trying to keep my mind off all I have to do at home right now, because I can't do much with it anyway. The buyers are wondering about the stains on the ceiling, the same stains the real estate agent said "Oh don't worry about it" when I said I'd painted them but the color was off. Now that same real estate agent is making a big deal out of it *sigh*. Oh well. The roof being fixed and windows having been recaulked should fix all of that.
So, for now, watching a so so Gladiator type movie (not Gladiator, something else) on one of the HBO channels (yah, HBO on post? Wow!). Talked to the kids for about 2 minutes, but they were playing a new game on the IPad, said they'd call me back, it's 10:30 now, not happening haha. That's okay, they will be in our new house shortly, I'm so excited about it. I just hope I can make the finances hold out until then.
Oh, and one parting shot before I go...
I'm really not sure if this is a good way to be transporting horses, but I guess if you lack a horse trailer:
These are some of the best trained horses I have ever seen, it is good they are strapped down though so they don't jump off.
That all changed today. I got put in for the Training NCO course down in Arkansas, so I got everything set up last night and headed out this morning. I didn't have to leave early, because it's about a 9 hour trip, so I left at 9 am.
Even though I had about 7/8 of a tank of gas I wanted to be completely full to see how far I could get, so I topped off before leaving, and got some hot chocolate. On to I-80, then over to Iowa and onto I-29 south. The first couple of hours were mostly uneventful, although I did realize today that my XM Radio was shut off, I will likely call in a couple days and barter with them for a half hour to get a highly reduced rate, considering they want an insane amount of money and all I really ever listen to are the comedy stations.
Traffic wasn't too bad considering it was a Sunday, a summertime Sunday no less. I did take the wrong route three separate times, which was annoying but I found myself laughing, because the first time my real estate agent called, the second time it was my dad, and the third time some private call that never said anything. Don't take phone calls while driving in an area you aren't familiar with, apparently that is something I should learn.
Arkansas... I am not sure where to start. First off, what in the hell kind of interstate suddenly turns into a regular highway and a half mile later there is an intersection with a red light? I checked the map, showed that we were still on an interstate, but apparently Arkansas goes by a different set of rules.
The other really unbelievable thing... it is enough to have annoying drivers who don't get out of the left lane, and Arkansas has an abundance of that, believe me. But even worse, there had to be half a dozen of what can best be described as "erratic MPH drivers". I generally see one or two on a long trip, but this was madness because there were literally like 6 or 7 of them in the last 2 hours of my trip.
The erratic MPH driver is the guy you come up on and he seems to speed up as you are getting closer, then finally you get around him, 5 minutes later here he comes creeping up on you and passing you. The worst one was the last guy, about 4 times in he was creeping up on me as I came up on a truck, this time I cut him off, I'd had enough, went about 90 for a couple minutes then slowed up. I figured that would get rid of him, and it did (doesn't always work). What in the fuck is so hard about using cruise control???
I got into North Little Rock, and I have to say, it is a bit scary. There seems to be a LOT of liquor stores, car washes, and churches. Add to that, there are a whole shitload of places named Camp Robinson this and Camp Robinson that. I was focused in on North Little Rock itself and didn't realize that the camp is actually on the very north side of town, and is quite big by comparison to all the small "Camp Robinson" named things further south.
So after I finally got that all sorted out, I got on post, found the check in building, got my room, and parked. These are very nice rooms, much like being in a hotel. Everyone tells me that this is like a vacation, and from the camp itself, I can see that, very nice in every way, however, you have to go a ways outside of North Little Rock to find anything nice, it's a real dump out there. Apparently some of the people have been here before and they are going to take me out on the town, that should be a lot of fun.
Trying to keep my mind off all I have to do at home right now, because I can't do much with it anyway. The buyers are wondering about the stains on the ceiling, the same stains the real estate agent said "Oh don't worry about it" when I said I'd painted them but the color was off. Now that same real estate agent is making a big deal out of it *sigh*. Oh well. The roof being fixed and windows having been recaulked should fix all of that.
So, for now, watching a so so Gladiator type movie (not Gladiator, something else) on one of the HBO channels (yah, HBO on post? Wow!). Talked to the kids for about 2 minutes, but they were playing a new game on the IPad, said they'd call me back, it's 10:30 now, not happening haha. That's okay, they will be in our new house shortly, I'm so excited about it. I just hope I can make the finances hold out until then.
Oh, and one parting shot before I go...
I'm really not sure if this is a good way to be transporting horses, but I guess if you lack a horse trailer:
These are some of the best trained horses I have ever seen, it is good they are strapped down though so they don't jump off.
Saturday, July 27, 2013
Dippin' Dots
There is a single Dippin' Dots store in Omaha, maybe the only one in Nebraska. Not sure were Lil N' heard about Dippin' Dots, but we made our way there yesterday. She was one ecstatic camper, munching away on her cotton candy flavored ice cream.
Then Lil maN' proceeded to drop a hellacious dump... lovely, with no spare diapers. Needless to say we didn't stay at the the mall long.
Anyways, the girl finally got the Dippin' Dots and I'd say she was every bit as satisfied as she thought she'd be.
Then Lil maN' proceeded to drop a hellacious dump... lovely, with no spare diapers. Needless to say we didn't stay at the the mall long.
Anyways, the girl finally got the Dippin' Dots and I'd say she was every bit as satisfied as she thought she'd be.
Friday, July 26, 2013
One Hit Wonders
"She's one in a million girl, she's a beauty!!"
The Tubes... interestingly enough I thought this was Warrant, for probably 10 years, until I was corrected on the issue.
Either way I've always loved this song.
It just happens to be on right now.
The Tubes... interestingly enough I thought this was Warrant, for probably 10 years, until I was corrected on the issue.
Either way I've always loved this song.
It just happens to be on right now.
Thursday, July 25, 2013
SORE!
Started working out on Monday, and I've done so every day since. Today I am feeling it really bad. I didn't get a lot of sleep last night, I think that has something to do with it heh heh.
I'm going to be pushing very hard to get down to 178 in the next month and a half, I might try and run the marathon in Omaha if I do. At the very least I want to be at like 190 by the time we do our PT test at the beginning of September.
As I look back at this blog over the last 10 years since I started it, I'd say I've probably got a dozen different posts about losing weight, some successful, some not, let's hope this time it is :D
I'm going to be pushing very hard to get down to 178 in the next month and a half, I might try and run the marathon in Omaha if I do. At the very least I want to be at like 190 by the time we do our PT test at the beginning of September.
As I look back at this blog over the last 10 years since I started it, I'd say I've probably got a dozen different posts about losing weight, some successful, some not, let's hope this time it is :D
Here It Comes
Looks like we are about to get a pounding!
And even as I load this up, there is torrential rain coming down. I can only hope this gets to Omaha so the lawn there can get a little moisture.
And, in related news:
When you are driving along, one of the things that can scare you so bad you nearly jerk the wheel and wreck your car is when your child starts screaming like crazy from the back seat unexpectedly, at the top of her lungs...
"Oh!!! OHHHHHH!!!! DADDY DADDY DADDY!!!"
And I'm trying to catch my bearings, and figure out just exactly what is going on?
"LOOK, LOOK DADDY, there's a RAINBOW!!"
And sure enough...
Your children seeing their first rainbow is actually pretty memorable. Plus you get to listen to some very funny comments for the few minutes following the sighting...
"I don't think that is a full rainbow, I see red, and blue, and yellow, and green, but there are a lot of colors that I don't see"
"You can't sit on a rainbow, I don't know if you can feel it or not"
"If you drive under the rainbow your car will be full of the colors, but you have to be careful!!!"
I wish I remembered more of them, they were both being hilarious with their discussion.
And, in related news:
When you are driving along, one of the things that can scare you so bad you nearly jerk the wheel and wreck your car is when your child starts screaming like crazy from the back seat unexpectedly, at the top of her lungs...
"Oh!!! OHHHHHH!!!! DADDY DADDY DADDY!!!"
And I'm trying to catch my bearings, and figure out just exactly what is going on?
"LOOK, LOOK DADDY, there's a RAINBOW!!"
And sure enough...
Your children seeing their first rainbow is actually pretty memorable. Plus you get to listen to some very funny comments for the few minutes following the sighting...
"I don't think that is a full rainbow, I see red, and blue, and yellow, and green, but there are a lot of colors that I don't see"
"You can't sit on a rainbow, I don't know if you can feel it or not"
"If you drive under the rainbow your car will be full of the colors, but you have to be careful!!!"
I wish I remembered more of them, they were both being hilarious with their discussion.
Tuesday, July 23, 2013
Relief...
Or at least, a bit of it.
Paying for an empty house is not fun, especially when you can't really move in anywhere until you get the house sold.
It has been on the market for about a month and a half, which isn't bad, but I'm hard pressed because I need to get my children into school, and right now I don't have a place to live in the town I work in. So, that being said, the call yesterday to say that we have a tentative buyer is great news. With a little bad news unfortunately. But, this bad news I was expecting, when you sell a house that you've bought/refinanced in the last 5 years you are more than likely going to take a hit every time, and I refinanced 3 years ago.
So once all is said and done, I'm probably going to be paying about 4K out of pocket. When you are paying 1500 a month though, that means in about 3 months you can equalize the loss. I'm looking at a 60K house near where I work, it isn't much but it's a place to get started again, and it is right by a park and tennis courts and baseball field too, so that would be fantastic for the kids.
I just hope the house sells, after that it's balls to the wall to move on, and my kids and I can be a family again.
Paying for an empty house is not fun, especially when you can't really move in anywhere until you get the house sold.
It has been on the market for about a month and a half, which isn't bad, but I'm hard pressed because I need to get my children into school, and right now I don't have a place to live in the town I work in. So, that being said, the call yesterday to say that we have a tentative buyer is great news. With a little bad news unfortunately. But, this bad news I was expecting, when you sell a house that you've bought/refinanced in the last 5 years you are more than likely going to take a hit every time, and I refinanced 3 years ago.
So once all is said and done, I'm probably going to be paying about 4K out of pocket. When you are paying 1500 a month though, that means in about 3 months you can equalize the loss. I'm looking at a 60K house near where I work, it isn't much but it's a place to get started again, and it is right by a park and tennis courts and baseball field too, so that would be fantastic for the kids.
I just hope the house sells, after that it's balls to the wall to move on, and my kids and I can be a family again.
Tuesday, July 2, 2013
Happy 8th Anniversary
I got a gift... Chad got me a cupcake with a candle in it. See? Recruiters can be nice to people after they get into the military :)
Thursday, June 13, 2013
Ch.. ch... ch... ch... CHANGES!!!
As Mr. Bowie would say. I felt the military theme was okay but with the current situation in my life I decided it is time to update my blog some. Oh don't worry, I'm still a somewhat disgruntled NCO, but I wanted something a little less military, a little more artsy look. I'll be trying to post more (yes, I only say this how often) as I am not on Facebook and will likely never go back to that steaming pile of shit website.
Come back now and then and you'll see something new!
As Mr. Bowie would say. I felt the military theme was okay but with the current situation in my life I decided it is time to update my blog some. Oh don't worry, I'm still a somewhat disgruntled NCO, but I wanted something a little less military, a little more artsy look. I'll be trying to post more (yes, I only say this how often) as I am not on Facebook and will likely never go back to that steaming pile of shit website.
Come back now and then and you'll see something new!
Logs Logs and More Logs
It has been a long time since I was on a traditional annual training with my Army guard unit. I believe the last one was 2002. Oh I went on several A.T.'s between 2002 and 2005 before my deployment to Iraq, but they were with a unit that did a specific type of A.T. that could hardly be called traditional. Then when i got back from my deployment in 2006, I spent 3 months with belly in California, moved back to Nebraska, I don't remember if we did one more of those "non traditional" A.T.'s (as I say "non-trad" I think of a bunch of older Soldiers asking a bunch of questions that piss the rest of the platoon off haha).
Then I took a full time military gig with the regional training institute here, teaching truck driving, and 4 years later (wow that went fast!) I had a job as the training NCO for a transportation company. So here we are, 2 weeks in beautiful South Dakota. The trip up, as expected, was scenic:
Then we got to drive pretty close to Chimney Rock, I can't remember if I've ever been out here before, a photo, as I have always said about so many things, does not do this justice:
A trip that takes about 9 hours in a typical car (let's call it 12 hours with kids haha) takes 2 days when you are going up with like 100 vehicles in 6 separate convoys for two units.
I was in Rapid City last month for a VERY boring fiscal law 3 days class, but this time around we are participating in Golden Coyote, and we are camping out in the woods, it is absolutely beautiful. I am doing my best to enjoy everything, but it is not easy. Faced with the inevitable situations going on at "home" (not really knowing what home IS, that's one of those situations) tends to weigh heavy on my heart.
My first night here I laid on my bunk outside the tent for awhile, just enjoying the light breeze and the smell of the forest (oddly it had a strange italian seasoning smell along with pine, not sure what that was all about). I noticed how wonderful the stars looked, and it took me back to two places.... 1) Iraq on Route Tampa one night, when the stars in the sky were so incredibly bright and clear, which reminded me in turn of 2) my first night with belly, camping out under the stars in the back of the pickup, a night where stars never looked so bright, so impressive.
Oh, I'm enjoying the trip, even though I smashed my fingers pretty good loading up wood yesterday. Apparently announcing "Okay, drop on the count of three" means "Ready, set, One.. *drop*" and let's mash fraNk's hand all up heh heh. Of course I walked around the front of the truck and pretended it did not hurt, one guy followed me around and "Are you okay? Hey, that looked like it caught your hand... Are you alright? Everything okay?" finally I raised one finger and gave him a look, the "please stfu and give me a minute" look haha.
So each day we fill up 12 loads of lumber and away we go, to drop them off so the other platoon can deliver them to a drop off site that is apparently like 6 hours away. Then we come back at night, eat, wind down, go to sleep, repeat.
Today, I did not go on the mission because my hand is a little iffy, plus I have paperwork I have to get done for the unit, oh joy, how fun that will be!!!
We have another 8 days and we'll be done with A.T. 2013 then back home.
Hmm, home, again, a novel concept for me I guess. What is home? It certainly isn't where the wife and kids are at right now. It isn't the dream house we purchased together, which sits empty now waiting on (hopefully) a loving family to purchase. It isn't the storage unit where all of my stuff sits. It isn't my parent's house, although as always they have been excessively accommodating in wanting to take care of me and the children. About the closest thing I have to a home right now is the armory I work in, I imagine. I hate staying there but until that house sells I'm really screwed. I really do love the house, it is very hard to sell it.
I really miss my best friend.
It has been a long time since I was on a traditional annual training with my Army guard unit. I believe the last one was 2002. Oh I went on several A.T.'s between 2002 and 2005 before my deployment to Iraq, but they were with a unit that did a specific type of A.T. that could hardly be called traditional. Then when i got back from my deployment in 2006, I spent 3 months with belly in California, moved back to Nebraska, I don't remember if we did one more of those "non traditional" A.T.'s (as I say "non-trad" I think of a bunch of older Soldiers asking a bunch of questions that piss the rest of the platoon off haha).
Then I took a full time military gig with the regional training institute here, teaching truck driving, and 4 years later (wow that went fast!) I had a job as the training NCO for a transportation company. So here we are, 2 weeks in beautiful South Dakota. The trip up, as expected, was scenic:
Then we got to drive pretty close to Chimney Rock, I can't remember if I've ever been out here before, a photo, as I have always said about so many things, does not do this justice:
A trip that takes about 9 hours in a typical car (let's call it 12 hours with kids haha) takes 2 days when you are going up with like 100 vehicles in 6 separate convoys for two units.
I was in Rapid City last month for a VERY boring fiscal law 3 days class, but this time around we are participating in Golden Coyote, and we are camping out in the woods, it is absolutely beautiful. I am doing my best to enjoy everything, but it is not easy. Faced with the inevitable situations going on at "home" (not really knowing what home IS, that's one of those situations) tends to weigh heavy on my heart.
My first night here I laid on my bunk outside the tent for awhile, just enjoying the light breeze and the smell of the forest (oddly it had a strange italian seasoning smell along with pine, not sure what that was all about). I noticed how wonderful the stars looked, and it took me back to two places.... 1) Iraq on Route Tampa one night, when the stars in the sky were so incredibly bright and clear, which reminded me in turn of 2) my first night with belly, camping out under the stars in the back of the pickup, a night where stars never looked so bright, so impressive.
Oh, I'm enjoying the trip, even though I smashed my fingers pretty good loading up wood yesterday. Apparently announcing "Okay, drop on the count of three" means "Ready, set, One.. *drop*" and let's mash fraNk's hand all up heh heh. Of course I walked around the front of the truck and pretended it did not hurt, one guy followed me around and "Are you okay? Hey, that looked like it caught your hand... Are you alright? Everything okay?" finally I raised one finger and gave him a look, the "please stfu and give me a minute" look haha.
So each day we fill up 12 loads of lumber and away we go, to drop them off so the other platoon can deliver them to a drop off site that is apparently like 6 hours away. Then we come back at night, eat, wind down, go to sleep, repeat.
Today, I did not go on the mission because my hand is a little iffy, plus I have paperwork I have to get done for the unit, oh joy, how fun that will be!!!
We have another 8 days and we'll be done with A.T. 2013 then back home.
Hmm, home, again, a novel concept for me I guess. What is home? It certainly isn't where the wife and kids are at right now. It isn't the dream house we purchased together, which sits empty now waiting on (hopefully) a loving family to purchase. It isn't the storage unit where all of my stuff sits. It isn't my parent's house, although as always they have been excessively accommodating in wanting to take care of me and the children. About the closest thing I have to a home right now is the armory I work in, I imagine. I hate staying there but until that house sells I'm really screwed. I really do love the house, it is very hard to sell it.
I really miss my best friend.
Thursday, April 25, 2013
Things Lil N' Says
Both of them are in the upstairs bathroom drinking water...
"God, (Lil maN') you smell like Spaghettio's and beef, it makes me want to throw up"
Maybe it's just late, but that made me laugh. I have no idea why they are both up, they were sleeping for more than 3 hours prior to this.
It also seems as though Lil maN' will laugh at about anything... as something really dorky has him laughing hysterically in the bathroom, I thought for a moment that someone was tickling him, but no, he's by himself in there now rambling and singing Shinedown then laughing.
Both of them are in the upstairs bathroom drinking water...
"God, (Lil maN') you smell like Spaghettio's and beef, it makes me want to throw up"
Maybe it's just late, but that made me laugh. I have no idea why they are both up, they were sleeping for more than 3 hours prior to this.
It also seems as though Lil maN' will laugh at about anything... as something really dorky has him laughing hysterically in the bathroom, I thought for a moment that someone was tickling him, but no, he's by himself in there now rambling and singing Shinedown then laughing.
Monday, April 22, 2013
@*#($&(*&@#$?????
I've had some messed up days, but this one truly took the cake in terms of sheer mind numbing technological irritation.
Let me set the stage: Ever since I purchased this computer, I get a log in message whenever I reboot or turn the computer on "Would you like to create your system recovery disc now?" which I have generally (or stupidly, as you might see it) ignored/avoided.
Well, today I had a DVD, so I thought I'd finally get that done. Followed the instructions implicitly, inserted the DVD into the player, and rebooted.
Nothing
Monitors were not working at all, sounded like the computer itself was. So on a hunch, I removed my aftermarket graphics card, hooked the monitor to the one old port, and voila, she restarted.
Then I couldn't get the mouse to work, Ohhh yah, they don't tell you this, you need to install the mouse into the uppermost USB port, like the "natural" spot when you first buy a computer, they would tell you to put that USB port somewhere right outside there. So I then got the computer back up and running...
GONE
All my files, photos, paperwork, everything just POOF disappeared. So I've purchased a program that is supposed to be able to recover as many of them as it can, we'll see.
I was about as frustrated today as I've ever been... phone was acting up, not taking calls, or being impossible to input data without a 30 second lag. Oh well, glad that's over.
I've had some messed up days, but this one truly took the cake in terms of sheer mind numbing technological irritation.
Let me set the stage: Ever since I purchased this computer, I get a log in message whenever I reboot or turn the computer on "Would you like to create your system recovery disc now?" which I have generally (or stupidly, as you might see it) ignored/avoided.
Well, today I had a DVD, so I thought I'd finally get that done. Followed the instructions implicitly, inserted the DVD into the player, and rebooted.
Nothing
Monitors were not working at all, sounded like the computer itself was. So on a hunch, I removed my aftermarket graphics card, hooked the monitor to the one old port, and voila, she restarted.
GONE
All my files, photos, paperwork, everything just POOF disappeared. So I've purchased a program that is supposed to be able to recover as many of them as it can, we'll see.
I was about as frustrated today as I've ever been... phone was acting up, not taking calls, or being impossible to input data without a 30 second lag. Oh well, glad that's over.
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