McCain did what?

I am in awe. This morning I came in and started reading the news and saw John McCain had picked his VP candidate. Now, to start off with, I am not a real political person and McCain had my vote to begin with. What awes me is picking someone that we didn't even hear he was considering. Sarah Palin? I had never heard of this woman until this morning. My question is why her? Is it for McCain to make history as well by having the first woman VP candidate since Barack Obama made history by being the first African American Presidential candidate? Or is it to try to gain Hillary's supporter because there would be a woman in the office? I can not wait to begin hearing the "reasons" why she was chosen. My vote will still go for McCain, don't get me wrong, but I am just trying to figure this one out.

Last night I did watch a movie that had been out a little bit. MEET BILL with Aaron Eckhart, Timothy Olyphant, and Jessica Alba. This movie starts off slow, but it was pretty funny in the end. It is about a man that discovers his wife cheated on him and he "dates" another woman to make her jealous and win her back. I picked this up because a friend of mine recommended it, otherwise I probably would not have gotten it. It was a good movie, but I would only give it a 3.5 out of five.

Really good storm last night. Got hit for a couple of hours. After the rain stopped, I could go out back and watch the lightning show for the next two hours as Phoenix was getting hit with the rain. A lot of tv and radio stations are still running on generators this morning.

Have a safe and happy Labor Day.

Bring on the Rain

Last night the storm missed us again. As I got up this morning I could hear it. I ran to the back door and saw my backyard actually wet...with water still on the ground. Here it is 3 hours later 10 miles from home and it is still sprinkling, so hopefully it is at home as well.

I finally watched AMERICAN CRUDE last night. It was a good movie. Rob Schneider did not do his normal comedian role, but he was good. The main character was Ron Livingston and if you liked him in OFFICE SPACE, you'll like this as well. Have to go to Blockbuster tonight to see if there is anything else worth watching.

Yesterday I bought THE LITTLE MERMAID: ARIEL'S BEGINNING for my daughter. It actually had a good story to it. It sounded like the same voices as well. It shows how Ariel met Flounder and what happened to Ariel's mother. Really good Disney movie for being a spinoff.

Looking at prices for a bed and the lowest I have found is about $500 for a King Sized mattress, boxspring, frame, dresser and chest of drawers. I received the quote from the place I mentioned yesterday www.nobodybeatsmitch.com It is going to be the best price, so I will probably go with it in mid-September.

Labor Day weekend is coming up. My boys will stay at their Mother-In-Law's Saturday and Sunday night and we will pick them up on Monday and head to my sister's for the normal get together. The following weekend will be my brother's birthday.

Well, until next time.

Rain does exist?

Well, moving out to Queen Creek I figured I would get more rain than I did living in Phoenix or Glendale. It seems when I lived there, I always heard Queen Creek, Mesa, Gilbert, Chandler, Tempe, Apache Junction getting rain and missing Phoenix and Glendale. However, after moving here the last few good storms have missed me entirely. There was a good storm a week or two ago and I could see the lightning and smell the rain, heck the news even said Queen Creek got rain, but not where I am at. Last night was another good storm but before I knew it, it had missed us as well. Fortunately, there was a small cell that came through and at least sprinkled enough to get the ground wet. We'll see how the rest of the year will go.

I did not watch that movie last night as I had planned to. Maybe tonight, maybe not. I did start playing this online game called PIRATESONLINE.COM it is similar to Pirates of the Carribean. It is free, but does not allow you to do a lot of things with the basic access. You can only buy two types of boats, get to a level 7, and after completing the few quests they give you, there is nothing else to do. So I upgraded to unlimited access. First month is $5 and every month after that is $10. So now I can get any boat, any weapon, and continue doing quests. Probably be done with it in 3 months and then cancel my membership. I don't play that often, just usually on Saturday and Sunday for a few hours.

Get paid again on Friday and I am hoping to buy our bed and maybe some living room furniture. I found this great place for furniture in Phoenix and they will deliver to a lot of cities in AZ. Their website is NOBODYBEATSMITCH.COM but it will not show you prices. It will show you the furniture that you are looking for, but you would have to go to the store for the prices or call them. They are located on the west side of I-17 and just South of Dunlap on the frontage road. It used to be an old bowling alley and it is right next to Castle Boutique. That is where I picked up my kids mattresses for $77 each. Better priced than anywhere else I have seen or gone to.

That's it for today.

What's a hangover

I am not sure if I have ever had one. This morning was different than other times though. Mainly the blah feeling and stuff. Oh well, it must have been what I was drinking. Steel Reserves 2/11.

Last night I watched FOOLS GOLD with Matthew McConaughey? and Kate Hudson. It was better than I thought it would be. I started to AMERICAN CRUDE last night, but I shut it off and went to bed because I was too drunk to watch it. Maybe tonight. It stars Ron Livingston (Office Space), Rob Schneider, and that guy from THE GREEN MILE something something Duncan or whatever.

The weekend was alright. I picked up two beds for the kids and spent 6 hours putting them together. My dining room table will be delivered tomorrow, now I need to focus on our bed. Things are coming around finally. And all my bills are caught up or paid off.

Maybe I can finally rest, but we shall see.

One step forward, three steps back

Ain't that the way it is? Just when you feel like you are getting ahead, then all of a sudden you're behind again. I received my travel voucher two days ago, received my pay today, will receive another paycheck next friday. Should be great, eh? Well, I am caught up on all the bills and the personal debts I had and I was able to purchase a dining table with chairs and a new vacuum. After all that money that came in/will come in next week, I don't have much. I still need to purchase 3 beds as well. I think I can get the two boys beds next week, but our bed will have to wait again until middle of September. At least all of my bills are caught up though.

Thinking of having a family day event with my soldiers and my family in September. Not a big back yard, but there is a park a block away that we can play basketball, volleyball, or football at. The only downside is there are no bathrooms or drinking fountains at the park as it is a community park and not a public park.

Rented two movies that I haven't watched yet. FOOLS GOLD and AMERICAN CRUDE. So I should have a review on those next week.

Today is my wife and I 9th Anniversary. Gotta figure out what we are gonna do since we have no babysitter since we moved recently and do not know anyone on this side of town really. I hope what I come up with is better than the last 8 times, otherwise, I will probably be in trouble.

Until next week.

Oh, there it is

Finally, last night, my pay finally shows up. Well, kind of. It shows I will get paid next Friday. Which means the postdated check I have out and a few bills due today, I will have to call and have them hold off for another week. Of course the good news also is my travel voucher is pending and that should be paid within the next 3 weeks.

Today is Friday which means it is a halfday for my boys. This school district is a little odd. They start Aug 4th. They get out May 22nd. Every Friday is a half day. The hours are 7:50-3:10. I remember when I went to school at their age it was school started the day after Labor Day, ended the last week of May, hours were 8:15-2:45, and we didn't get as many weeks off as my kids get. Well, as long as it does what it is supposed to I guess.

Still no new movies. My bank account has been in the negative for over a week due to having to get food and put gas in the car. So I can't use my card until it is in the positive and I have to wait a week for payday. Which means I have limited gas right now...maybe enough to go back and forth to work for 2-3 days next week. And I'll have to make what food we do have stretch for a week as well. I am sure many people have the same issues so why complain?

My wife and I are having our ninth anniversary next Friday (payday). Don't know if I will have any money after filling up the car with gas and paying the bills, but then again the next payday will be a week after that and my travel voucher will drop a few days after that.

Enough rambling. Have a good weekend.

Show me the money

So I am sitting here, three days away from what should be a payday and nothing is showing. I hope it still drops as I have post dated checks out for when I am supposed to be paid. The good news is my travel voucher has been received, but I have to wait 3-3 and a half weeks to be paid. Then I can actually have furniture in the house. Other than all of that, I am just waiting for information that will probably not come until last minute on what needs to be done since my unit is going away. Still working on the Recruiting issue, but have to wait to take a physical. That is all for today.

Everyday is a Monday

That is what it feels like everyday. It seems like the next day off is still days away. This weekend had been hell with drill weekend. Today is the aftermath where I have the most paperwork and most work to do. All of this and anything I need help with, there is no one that will return a call or an e-mail. It is like being sent to a deserted island, told what needs to be done, but when something comes up that you aren't sure what to do, then you are truly alone as no one will help out or respond. Just another Monday.

Still haven't rented any movies lately. So nothing to review. I did watch a little of the Olympics last night. The synchronized diving and part of gymnastics. I just can't watch too much of the Olympics or I get bored easily. Still waiting on a travel voucher to come in so I can begin to buy furniture (mostly beds) and start furnishing the house. Right now all I have is my daughter's bed and our L-shaped couch. It will probably be a few more weeks before that comes in though.

That seems to be all that is going on now. I am sure there will be more grumbling tomorrow.

Friday feels like Monday

That is how I feel today. Although I have been working all week, it is that time of the month for drill. So I basically don't get a day off again until next Saturday. I have made arrangements with my Battalion to put me on orders through the end of December. After that, I will go into Recruiting. This way, I will be here to take care of things for the unit before it goes away, and I won't have to go to a 7 week school and miss 4 Birthdays; my son's, mine, my wife's and my daughter's. So in the long run, it will work out. Plus I will be here for the holidays.

This is a big step I will be taking and I am slightly nervous about it, but oh well. It is something I have been interested in doing and I won't know until I do it. Never had anything really handed to me so I guess I'll have to work at it to get what I want out of life. I have been in the Reserves for 10 years now with 3 years active duty. So if I stay AGR/Active Duty for 17 more years, I will retire the last day of my 20 years at 50 years old. It is a lot better than waiting until 62 to retire, because honestly, I don't think I'll live that long.

Haven't seen any new movies lately and probably won't rent any for another week or two. Still have a lot of other things on my plate right now that have to be taken care of.

Looking forward

Forward to what? Since finding out my unit is going away and I moved to this side of town to be closer to a job I won't have for much longer, what am I looking forward to? Well, as I continue to look into becoming a Recruiter, I realize I will have to start driving distances again as the two openings right now are 20 and 30 miles away. Sometimes I wonder 'why me'.

Yesterday I watched that JEAN CLAUDE VAN DAMME movie. It was called THE SHEPHARD: BORDER PATROL. Just as I imagined, it was a B rated flick.

I remember when VAN DAMME and STEVEN SIEGAL movies used to be good and now all they do is make B rated movies. JET LI and JACKIE CHAN do a heck of a lot better and do not make B rated movies as they do.

Well, I am just taking everything day by day now until I figure out exactly what it is I will be doing. So in the meantime, I just have to go with the flow.

As if things couldn't get worse

Just when you think you are finally making progress, things go down hill. So, I just finished getting a house and moving closer to my job to save on gas and everything else. Around 1PM yesterday, I get a call that I need to start looking for somewhere else to work by October 1st. Basically everything I have been doing up to now was good enough, but because my Battalion lied to me, I have to find somewhere else to go. It has come to my attention that my unit is being disbanded all together and there will not be a position for me as a Unit Administrator. I would have to find another unit that would have that position open. Well, needless to say, I am tired of all the BS and I do not want to start all over with a new occupational skill or with a new unit. I decided to become a UA for this unit because I had been with these soldiers for a while and deployed with most of them. I wanted to make sure they wouldn't get screwed over. Now that they are getting disbanded, there is nothing I can do.

So, it is time for me to take care of myself. Yesterday I went down to Retention and had a talk with them. I have made a decision to become a Recruiter. I will just finish out my last ten years as a Recruiter and be done with it. At least as a Recruiter I know I won't be deployed again. I have already been twice. I wouldn't mind going again, but my kids are getting older and they need me. So, I will be finding out over the next two months if I can do it. If so, I will leave to go to South Carolina to learn how to be a Recruiter.

In the long run, it seems things get worse, but this may actually be a better move for me. As a Recruiter, I am Active Guard Reserve, which means I am Active Duty and get all the benefits. Full Medical and Dental for the family, Basic Allowance for Housing (pays my Rent), and additional perks. So we will see how this little journey will go.

After a long weekend...

Well, I am finally moved. Not unpacked, but moved. Needless to say U-haul messed up again. Instead of a 14' truck, I ended up with a 17' same price. To make it all short, as many times as they messed up, it cost me $50 for the truck and 231 miles thrown in. I didn't get to start moving until noon on Friday and had the truck back by 7:30. Spent all day Saturday cleaning the apartment and packing up the last of our things in the van. Of course on top of the U-haul charges, I spent about $200 on gas for the truck, the van and my car for going back and forth. I do not want to move again, but I know I will have to next year. I am just renting this house for a year to build up my credit and then I will be buying a house in the same area next year. At least I won't have as big an ordeal as I did with this move.

This weekend I watched a couple of movies. HAROLD AND KUMAR: ESCAPE FROM GUANTANOMO BAY. It has the same humor as the first one. It cracked me up. I like the whole concept of a bottomless party instead of topless. The next movie I watched was an Independant Film called WRISTCUTTERS. The only star in that movie is SHANNYN SOSSAMAN from A KNIGHT'S TALE. It is about people that commit suicide still live, but in a parallel world that was worse than the first. If you continue to commit suicide, each place is worse. It had some slow points, but over all, it was good. Definately something to watch when there are no other movies to watch. I have a JEAN CLAUDE VAN DAMME movie at home I will probably watch tonight. It probably won't be something to talk about as most of his movies since TIMECOP have been B Rated movies.

Today is the first day of school for my boys. Of course, they didn't want to get up. We waited with them until school started and they just got into their teachers lines to go into school. It seemed like they were ready, but I am kind of worried for them as it is their first day, at a new school, just moved, and not knowing anyone. I hope it goes well for them.

Until tomorrow.