Almost there

Two more days until the New Year. All I can hope is that it will be better than this past year. I believe it will be since I do work AND get paid now. Of course next year will be the first time that I will make over a certain amount for the year and will no longer be able to qualify for the Earned Income Credit on my taxes in 2011. Oh, well. This is actually the best and highest paid job I have had in my life. Well, aside from being deployed since I make more when I am deployed.

I watched INGLORIOUS BASTERDS last night. Although I usually enjoy Quentin Tarantino movies, I did not enjoy this one. First, let me explain this. I have a 27-29" tv. My couch is about 15 feet away from the tv. 1/2 to 3/4 of the movie was in subtitles because they were speaking either German or French at one time or another. The subtitles were in yellow, which you can not really see when there is a bright background. On top of that, they were switching the subtitles faster than I could read them because of the blending in on the screen. My eyes hurt, my brain hurt, this movie sucked. Unless you have a big screen tv, do not watch or you will not understand it. Even if you do have a big screen tv, it is still a waste of time.

I feel better now. If there are any writers out there....make sure you have characters speak English. There are no subtitles in real life. If you can't have your characters speak English, show the movie somewhere else other than in my English speaking country. Your as bad as the individuals that are in my country and can't speak English. When I go to another country, I don't try to walk up to people and expect them to know my language.

Now look what has happened. I am getting all worked up again. Damn movie and damn non-english speaking people in my country.

Treaure Hunt

I am always looking for ways to get more money. I am currently attending school, receiving Tuition Assistance and the GI BILL. Of course the GI BILL they enrolled me in is only a couple of hundred dollars a month. I just submitted an application for a different GI BILL that I qualify for and once approved I will receive about $600 a month. A friend of mine that has already done this route is also telling me to get a student loan as well as I will receive whatever is not used at the end. Of course I am a little skeptical about doing all of that. I will save that for when I go for my Master's degree after I complete my Bachelors in about 2 1/2 years.

Another movie I forgot to mention that I saw was EXTRACT. It is made by Mike Judge, the creator of Beavis and Butthead. It is also made by the creator of OFFICESPACE, which was a great movie. EXTRACT did not meet the expectations of OFFICESPACE, but did still have it's funny parts. Still have not watched INGLORIOUS BASTERDS yet. I've got it until Friday, so I will be watching it within the next couple of days.

Work is kind of slow right now and I wish I was taking a class right now. It seems my days are longer when I don't have things to do. My next class starts 05 Jan, so it is just another week away. That is all I have today.

Movie updates

Well, I rented a few movies to catch up on. First, THE HANGOVER-hilarious movie good to watch. G-FORCE is a Disney movie, watched with the kids. Typical Disney movie and was decent. ALL ABOUT STEVE was an ok movie, but not all that. It was semi-predictable. DISTRICT 9 was a waste of time for as much as it was hyped. I thought it would be good, but it was stupid. Also on the very stupid, B-rated scale was DARK COUNTRY. Not even worth watching if it was on tv for free. Last night I watched HARRY POTTER AND THE HALF BLOOD PRINCE. I was never into any of the Harry Potter films and this one is like all the others...uninteresting. Tonight I will be watching INGLORIOUS BASTERDS. I heard this is supposed to be a good film.

In a couple of weeks, THE FINAL DESTINATION and SAW VI will be out as well as HALLOWEEN II. So maybe by the end of the month, I will have more reviews. Not like my opinion matters, but if I can save people money and their time, then it is a benefit.

Nothing much planned this week. Just working and staying home for New Year's Eve. On New Year's Day, I will be heading to the sister's house again. Other than that, nothing else planned. Wish I would have won the lottery Sat night. Oh, well.

Christmas Recovery

Well, nothing to recover from really. For some reason, these past few years, I just don't get hyped up around this time. I still go through the motions and everything, but it just doesn't feel the same anymore. I went into Walmart on Christmas Eve. Bad idea. Never do that again. I have come to realize that over the past few years I have developed a condition where I can not be around large crowds. I begin to get an anxiety attack and want to start swinging. I never noticed this before until a few years ago. Have no idea why.



Well, I know hardly anyone reads this blog, but for those that do, I have to attache this. My brother came across a video of me on youtube and I figured I would go ahead and post it before he does. Short explanation...This was taken in August 2009 when I was in Germany. I had been drinking and didn't know there was a camera, let alone they put it on youtube. I just found it last month. Anyways, enjoy it. White boys can't dance.


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fN_0KCfbLQo

Christmas Eve

Here it is, the eve of Christmas. I think it is funny. I was talkin to someone at work yesterday and they were like Merry Christmas. I said same to you, and then they were like or do you celebrate somethin else? I said screw that, for me it is Christmas. Christmas is supposed to be about Christ, why remove him from it? I told her I tell everyone Merry Christmas this time of year and if they don't like it, get the hell out of my country.

Been busy all week playing catch up and finalizing the Christmas shopping. I believe I have everyone taken care of. Tomorrow will be a travel day as we go to the in-laws in the morning, then my parents, then my sister's. I hope everyone has a MERRY CHRISTMAS and a HAPPY NEW YEAR. Please do not drink and drive and watch out for the idiots on the road that do.

One more week

Well, here I am in Schweinfurt, Germany. The first week went well. Went to a couple of places this weekend. Went to Warzburg and then to Rothenburg. Christmas markets are everywhere and it is awesome. Both cities I visited had fortresses that we went and got pictures of. One of them we even got to walk along the top of the wall. They also had museums that we went and saw and we were able to take pictures inside as long as we didn't use flash. Well, I set my camera to no flash and turned it off to save battery power. I turned it back on to take a picture and apparently it resets it with the flash. Security cameras were everywhere, so I just left that room and moved on making sure everytime I turned the camera on, I took the flash off.

Stayed in my first Hostel this past weekend. No, it was nothing like the movies. It was pretty decent though. I have been taking plenty of pictures but probably will not post any until I return home. It finally got cold enough to snow last night and today. Other than that, the weather has not been too bad. Just have one more week to go before I return home.

I finally received an e-mail that all of my credits have been transferred over to my college. So I only have 61 credits to go for my Bachelor's Degree. My next class begins in January. Well, that is all I have time for now.

Small break...bigger break

Wow, has it been that long since I last posted? Well for Thanksgiving, I went up to the FIL place in Northern AZ. He continued to ask me if I wanted part of the land in the event he passes away. I know, I shouldn't pass up free land, however, I don't know what I plan on doing in the future. Most people would jump at it and sell it if they don't use it. I am not like that and in his will he would put something where the land could not be sold for over 100 years. I would just own land and have to pay taxes on it. Don't get me wrong, it would be nice to have land to vacation to or something like that, but I would not want to live there.

Thanksgiving went well there and we only had one injury. No, not one of my kids or my wife or I. One of my dogs. I have three and the biggest of the three, a boarder collie, was slightly injured. My FIL has an underground, which is basically a trailer he buried and stores food, yes, he is a survivalist. Well, to get into it, you need to climb down a ladder about 16 ft down. We went down and apparently, my dog was curious and got too close and fell in. Thankfully he didn't break any bones or anything, but he did break one of his nails on the way down. He is doing a lot better now and the nail is growing back.

I leave in three more days to go to Germany for a couple of weeks. I am excited as this will be my third trip to Germany. Maybe next year I will put in for Japan or Korea, if I am not deployed. A lot of rumors going on right now, but nothing definite yet. Don't really have money for this trip, but hopefully I can get some things for low prices to bring back for Christmas. I come back just before Christmas. Other than that, not much else going on. Probably will not post until I return unless I am able to use the internet while I am there. The last two times, I did not have access. Well, we'll see.

Show me the money

I am having a heck of a morning. Yesterday, I received a letter from the VA about my payment for the GIBILL for going back to school. It seems instead of asking me for an account to direct deposit the money into, they deposited it into an account I had 7 years ago, which I no longer have now. They told me this was done on the 19th. I called the bank and they told me that the VA did try to deposit the money on the 19th, but it was rejected the same day. Now I am on the phone with the VA again to find out where my money is. And of course wait time is approximately 25-30 minutes which usually turns into 45 minutes to an hour. I just don't understand businesses sometimes. If they deposited it and rejected it the same day, they should know. I have had this happen in the past where they tell me one thing, I follow up on it, have to call the business back and their like "oh, I see it now". Just do it right the first time. It's not like it's a thousand dollars or anything, only a couple of hundred dollars, but still, it is money that I need to pay bills. We'll see where this goes when they get back on the phone....in 30 minutes.

My daughter is having some little Thanksgiving party today at school, so I will probably work half day and go to it. We leave tomorrow after I get off work to head to the Father-In-Law's place for Turkey Day. Plan on coming back on Friday as I still have school work to do. This is my last week for this class. Next class will be in Jan. and I will be starting my English classes. I just recently took an English Proficiency Exam. I didn't do as well as I had expected. I was kind of nervous about it, so I googled it to see what it might include. I found a practice one through google, took it and scored 100%. I was like, wow, this is great. Went in to my school to take it, feeling confident, and it was nothing like what I just did. I scored 35/45 which is equivalent to 77.77%. I could take it again as they said we have two attempts. However, it did take me nearly 2 a/2 hours to take the test. Well, I was taking it at work, while I was working at the same time and it took awhile everytime I answered a question to upload the next one. The test didn't count towards my grade, so I was happy about that as well. I still have an A in this class. I think I am at a 96.5% right now.

Well, I am still on hold and feel like wrapping this up. Another week and a half until I head out to Germany.

18 Nov

Well, it is another hump day. It seems everyday this week has been long days. I had my root canal on Monday. It had been 5 years since my last root canal and I had forgotten how long it takes. I spent over two hours getting it done. They gave me the strongest medication they could to numb me and I still felt it. At least it is all over now. That was the last dental appointment that the military pays for, so now I can set up appointments with my regular dentist and start going through my insurance. This is actually the first time I have had dental insurance in years, so I can finally get some things done as long as I can afford the copays.

Next week is Thanksgiving and I will be going to the Father In Law's. I just replaced my tire this morning on my car and will be taking my other vehicle in for oil change and battery replacement. It seems like everytime I have a little bit of extra money, something happens and I need to pay for something, taking away all my extra money and sometimes additional. At least I am actually bringing in money now and can afford to pay bills though.

Friday, the kids bring home progress reports. The cool thing about this school district is they give us a website to go to and username and password for each kid that we can check on their grades as long as the teachers keep them current. My oldest son has all A's and B's for this quarter, but still needs to bring them higher to bring his semester grades up due to what he got for 1st Quarter. My younger son has a few grades below a B and still needs to bring his up. We'll just have to see on Friday when I get their up-to-date progress reports.

Only 2 1/2 weeks until I go to Germany. I am looking forward to it even if it is going to be cold as hell and possibly snow. I love going to Germany to sight see and stuff. I hate going to the same place twice, but I haven't had to worry about that yet. This is my third trip to Germany and third different location. I especially like going in December because of the Christmas Markets they have in the towns. It is nothing like here in the states. There, the townspeople all set up little booths in the middle of the streets to sell stuff and congregate with one another.

Well, I am almost finished with my second college course. I still have an A right now with 2 weeks left. I will start my next class in January. Everything with school seems to be doing fine and is pretty simple as long as all the deadlines are met. I am still waiting for another college to transfer my credits over and then I will know how much longer I have to go. I was originally told I would only need to do about a year and a half to get my Bachelor's Degree after all my credits were transferred, but I want to see them transferred to make sure. We'll see.

I hope this week picks up and goes faster. I think it is the medication from the root canal that is making me tired and makes the time go slower. But I need them for the pain. Until next time.

Monday blues

I had my daughter's fifth birthday this past weekend at Schnepf Farms. It cost me a lot less than what I had figured, but that is also because I had a lot less people show up than expected. Oh, well, she still had fun.

Of course for the last few weeks, for some reason, I check all 4 of my tires on my car to make sure they are good. See I got this car from my Mother In Law last year who told me all the tires were new. However, the tread looked good, but the sides looked cracked. It was all from tire rot because it sat and didn't get used much from the time she had replaced the tires. So over the course of the past year, I have had to replace three of the tires so far...until Saturday. When we were leaving my daughter's birthday party, I checked all 4 tires and they were good. As I neeared the street to start heading home, my sister pulls alongside to let me know I had a flat. Of course I couldn't afford it as I had just put my account into the negative just to pay my daughter's birthday party. So my Brother in Law and I drove to a gas station and got some fix-it-flat. Came back, filled it up, and it worked. Drove home and everything was fine. I even went to the gas station after that to put more air in the tire and it was fine. However, later that night, I cam out to check it and it was flat. So, yesterday morning, I put the spare on it and had noticed it had a hole in it on the inside of the tire. So, I am driving on a spare until later this week when I can get another tire. Oh, well, at least all 4 should not give me a problem for a while.

I go today to the dentist again for my last little appointment that the military is paying for. I get the privilege of having a root canal done today. After that, I will begin setting up appointments with my dentist under my dental insurance to begin getting other things done. I am just so happy that the military finally paid to get some of it done, as that will be a lot less that I have to pay for.

I will be heading up to the Father In Law's house for Thanksgiving next week. I love going up there as Thanksgiving dinner consists of no turkey and all steak. It is a great break from the city life as well as he lives in a small town and lives on 40 acres. I know it will be colder up there though. I think this week alone we will be in the mid 70's. Up there it is more like 50's. Well, that's all I got today.

Veteran's Day

Tomorrow is Veteran's Day, and as a Veteran, I ask that everyone takes a moment of silence to for those that have sacrificed their lives for our freedom. Everyone has had a relative or known someone in the military at one point in their life. Whether you believe in the causes or the wars that they have fought in or not, they were there to give you the freedom to make your own decision. It is one day that they deserve. I mean after all, not only is just about every month deicated for what use to be minorities, but veterans only get a day.

I can sit here and preach about it all day. Even though there are some restaurants out there that are supporting the veterans, it is not worth it to me. It is not only the veteran that has sacrificed, it is the veterans family as well. Why give a free meal on a day for a veteran and not their family? Why offer a free meal on a day when over 200,000 veterans are deployed and can not take part? Why do we continue on our daily way with no thought of what they are doing for us?

Please, take a moment of silence for our military personnel and their families. Pray for their safe return and for their families. Thank you.

Blah

So I think I have finally reached that point in my life where I am like....BLAH. It is not mid-life crisis because I am not dying my hair or trying to look younger or buying sports cars (like I could afford it anyways). It is just everyday comes and goes and it is the same thing everyday. It is very similar to the movie GROUNDHOG DAY where I am doing the same thing over and over with different results. Maybe it is because I haven't drank in awhile.

I rented some movies earlier this week, but have only watched one so far. STAN HELSING is a movie from the producers of SCARY MOVIE. If you are not into stupid movies making fun of other movies, don't waste your time. I love parodies, but this one was extremely stupid. The last good one was DISASTER MOVIE. I also have ALIENS IN THE ATTIC, G.I.JOE, and two others to watch. Can't remember which ones right now. I should have them all watched by Saturday night.

My daughter will be turning 5 in 7 days. She is so spoiled. Her birthday alone is costing more than both of my boys birthday parties combined since birth. I will be leaving for Germany in Dec, so I can't wait for the change of daily pace. Nothing else to say right now.

Trick r Treat

Well, here are my munchkins before we went out. Of course the two older ones are Jason. One wanted to be Freddy but that movie freaks my wife out, so no one could be Freddy. My daughter is a little devil/angel, and yes, it does fit her. Kids made out good for Halloween. I go in tomorrow for a root canal, so we'll see when I post next. Until then.

Tomorrow is candy day

Today is my wife's birthday. She turns 33 today, so make sure you call and wish her Happy Birthday. Tonight we have a birthday party to go to and the kids are excited because they get to wear their costumes. Maybe I can get a picture of all 3 of them and post it here. Tomorrow is candy day, but with my 2nd child and I having recently had 4 teeth pulled each within the past couple of weeks, don't know what we'll be able to eat. I still can't eat chips or anything hard and crunchy. My teeth are still sensitive. So, I have actually dropped 5 lbs since having my teeth pulled last week.



I go in on Monday for a root canal. I am hoping it all goes well or maybe get some more pain killers. Classes are going ok and I just finished my first class on Monday with 100%. This second class isn't going so well as I just took a test yesterday and got an 80%. Oh, well, 4 more weeks to go. Plenty of time to bring up the grades.



Well, that is it for now. Sure has been getting cold lately. At least my electric bill will be lower for the next couple of months.

Ouch

It's been 5 days since I had my wisdom teeth removed an I have been feeling it these past couple of days. It almost feels like they removed the teeth, but left a root still there. Maybe that is why I have an appointment Monday for a root canal. I'm almost out of my pain medication so I hope it will be fixed Monday or at least give me more pain killers.

Just a few more days until Halloween. Not really doing anything too exciting. Have a Birthday party for a friend's daughter on Friday night. Saturday, we'll just take the kids around the neighborhood. I have drill the following weekend. I am so tired right now and I hope I can start catching up on sleep soon. I've been getting maybe 5-6 hours a night, but apparantly I need to start getting more as I am getting sleepy driving home and all day at work. Of course, it probably is the medication I have been taking as well.

Christmas is not that far off and I have been looking at what gifts I want to pick up as soon as I have money to do it. Of course I am also always dreaming I had money and looking at big screen tv's and stuff. I want to get a larger tv since all we have is a 28". I also need a new dvd player and everything I look at has different connections than our tv takes. Sometimes I hate when technology updates because you have to buy everything new. I am also hoping to save money or get a lot back during tax season so I can buy some computers. I am thinking of getting two desktops and a laptop all with windows 7. That way my kids will leave my laptop alone and there will be more than one computer for them to play on. I guess we'll just wait and see. Well, enough sleep typing now.

Another year

Yup, another year to go. Not to get to anything, but just to get to. Just celebrated the 4 birthdays yesterday, mine, my wife's, my son's, and my daughter's. I think they all liked what they had gotten. My wife got a coffee pot and a lot of gourmet coffee's. My son racked in the Bakugan gifts. My daughter, well with her, she loves whatever she gets. Me, I am just like a lot of people around my age these days. It just doesn't matter, take care of the kids.

Had three wisdom teeth and a molar extracted last friday. Doing better. Have another appointment next Monday for a root canal. My son goes in again in two weeks to get Spacers put in. I have my wife set to go in for exam, x-ray, cleaning. Now that I have insurance, I am trying to use it to keep us all healthy. Just applied for medical and food stamps again and I am waiting to see if we get approved. Personally I think we should, but we'll see.

Halloween coming up on Saturday. Not really excited about that. November around the corner and Thanksgiving on the way. We will be going up to the Father-in-Law's for Turkey Day this year. Good thing is it will be a cowboy thanksgiving. That means no turkey....steak and potatoes. Well, we'll see what this week has in store for us. Until next time.

Take the good with the bad

Well, last Friday it seemed I was getting nothing but good news. However, no following that comes the not so good. I am just finishing up with my first class in college and have found out that it has not been paid yet and there has been no response to get the next class paid for using the Tuition Assistance through the military. I found out today that as of 08 Oct, the office is closed until further notice due to contractual obligations. As I sit here and think "what contractual obligations", a few things come to mind. First, it is a new fiscal year, maybe they are just getting the budget organized. Second, well the Post 9-11 GI BILL is barely beginning to start getting to people since earlier this year. So I sit here and ponder how I am going to continue with school. I am still waiting for a response from my financial advisor as I do not want to do financial aid since I no longer have the student loan repayment program since I took this civilian job. The only thing I am waiting on is to see if I was approved for the Pell Grant which would pay for the next class and hopefully hold up until the Tuition Assistance starts back up again.

That and my car is acting up again. It is always something. Everytime I get ahead or caught up, something wants to come around and knock me down.

My middle child had 4 teeth pulled yesterday and is doing fine. No complaining at least. I have an appointment on friday for exams and x-rays. I am told I have three appointments at 3 different places. One for extractions (3 wisdom teeth and a molar), one for a root canal, and one for restoration. Well, the Army is paying for it, so I'll be there. After that, I can use my regular dental insurance to cover anything else.

So as you can see, I am a prime example of taking the good with the bad. So the next time something good happens to you, keep an eye out for what is around the corner.

no different than any other day

So, after the Parent Teacher conferences, I had one boy with a sore a$$. Seems he came home with a D in reading and an F in Social Studies. Apparantly it was all due to not turning in book reports and Presidential homework. I don't think he'll be coming home with bad grades the rest of the year.

So, yesterday was my birthday...35 now. It was no different than any other day. Worked all day, came home and opened presents. Mainly got a new grill (which I needed), a t-shirt, and things the kids drew me. Kids did not clean their messes, argued and fought all day, and I, of course, cooked dinner. I did go out and buy a new pair of running shoes on Thursday with gel insoles. So, yes, Mom, I got them. Thank you.

Watched THE PROPOSAL with Ryan Reynolds and Sandra Bullock. It was pretty funny and well done. Watched LAND OF THE LOST last night with Will Ferrell. It was done a lot better than the show. Of course just about anything with Will Ferrell is going to be funny. Still have two more to watch. DRAG ME TO HELL with Justin Long (from the MAC commercials) and the girl from FLICKA, can't remember her name right now.

Well, that's all I got today. Wife's b-day is in 2 weeks and my daughter's is 2 weeks after that.

Parent Teacher Conferences

That is what I have to do today. Both of my sons have their parent teacher conferences this afternoon and my daughter's is tomorrow. I am more worried about my sons as they both had an F on their progress report a few weeks back. We were told they weren't turning in homework. No problems on the classwork or tests, just the homework. So we will get their report cards today and hopefully they will not have any bad grades.

Today is my middle child's birthday and he turns 8 today. We had a birthday party for him this past Saturday and a lot of kids had shown up. I guess overall it went well. Monday I took my oldest to his annual eye exam. His eyesight was a little worse, which the Dr. said it does as they get older. So we had to order new glasses as well. I was ecstatic once I heard the price since I have a new vision plan and was worried on the cost. With the exam and new glasses the total came to $589. The insurance covered $555. So I only paid $34. Yes, it was a good day. Of course I am still skeptical on the dental plan as I haven't used that yet either. Looks like I may need to soon before the year ends though. I am sure the dentist I go to will be wealthy for a while.

Finally reserved the place for my daughter's birthday party next month. I also got the kids their costumes last night for Halloween. The boys want to be Jason from FRIDAY THE 13TH and my daughter has a costume that is half devil half angel. Fits her just right. Other than all that, nothing much planned. Been invited to 2 parties this weekend, but probably will not go as there will be alcohol and I have given that up. Also it is my birthday weekend and I would rather just let it pass by. That's all I have today.

ahhhh...life goes on

Well, it has been a long week. With arguing with other leaders in CA for not doing their jobs and pushing them to do it right to benefit my Soldiers. Being a leader in the Army is so much like being a parent. You have to make sure they get their education, meet all of their requirements, punish them when necessary, and fight for them when you know they are not being taken care of. It gets exhausting after a while. So on top of doing that for my 3 kids...(not as much as my Soldiers), I have 42 other kids I have to take care of. I am not like others in this position before me. They really didn't do anything or care for the Soldiers, and it effected their careers. The only ones that succeeded were their friends, or those that took charge and did it for themselves. Which , don't get me wrong, is expected for them to do. I guess I just have too big of a heart and care too much.

Yesterday morning I went to my daughter's school for her and I to have breakfast with the principal. Apparantly my daughter was chosen for her class as showing a character trait of respect. When I first heard about it, I was like...My daughter? My spawn? Respect? Not at home. And she is only 4 years old. So, we went and she received a couple of certificates and such. I had to double check to make sure they had the right child. From what I have been hearing from all three of my children's teachers I am beginning to believe my 3 children have been abducted. They are good when at school and behave, but when they return home, they are really my kids. Not saying I want it reversed. At least they are well behaved when they are outside of my clutches. I guess sometimes you have to take the bad as long as there is some good.

Other than that, going to dinner with my parents tonight. They are actually driving cross country just to visit with my family and have dinner. Tomorrow is my second child's birthday party. I just reserved my daughter's party next month at Schnepf Farms. The whole party is gonna cost me big. She better be worth it. That's all I have for now.

Ahhh...another day

So I am still healing from the PT test this weekend. I talked to my sister to let her know I had no improvement on my run since three weeks ago when I took the test. I ran it in the same amount of time. The little challenge between us isn't until Jan 2010 anyways. I just spoke with my mom and it sounds like she is going to join in on it as well. Just wondering if the d00d will volunteer as well.

Have my younger son's birthday party this Saturday. It was funny because I have been messing with him telling him the present is in the closet or the garage and he runs through the house looking. I kept giving him hints on what it was and finally said it started with the letter "B". His eyes got wide and a big smile on his face he said "B!?*es?". Yup, he is definitely mine.

So far after 2 weeks of school, I have 100%. 3 more weeks to go. Other than that, nothing to look forward to until December when I leave for Germany again.

Quick Post...Busy Day

Well, this will be quick. Had drill this weekend so I am playing catch up. Took my APFT and won't break down the results, but my total score was 225 out of 300. Yes, I passed all 3. Since the battle....I mean challenge between my sister and I is based on score not time/repetitions, this will give her an idea of where she needs to be at.

School is going ok. Finished the first two weeks and still at 100%. Three more weeks to go.

That's it for now, got to do more work.

October has cometh

Above is a pictur from my 2nd marriage last week. Me re-enlisting for 25 years.

Well, October has finally arrived and hopefully that means cooler temperatures. It has been in the 100's all the way up to the end of Sept, but the news says it will be in the 90's now. Yeah, we'll see.

Took my daughter to the Dr yesterday as the school had called and she fell and hurt her arm. Apparently she was on the playground chasing butterflies and tripped over a step and landed on her elbow. So I had to come home early so my wife could take her to the Dr and I pick up the boys. When I picked the boys up I told them what had happened and it was her left arm. My oldest replies "that's irony, Dad". Which is true because I and my two sons have all hurt our left arms/elbows since 2000. I dislocated my elbow, the oldest fractured his elbow, and the middle child dislocated his elbow. To make a long story short, she was fine.

Well, in 15 more days, I will finally hit 35. Not much to look forward to when getting older. I remember when I was younger, I couldn't wait for 10 to hit double digits. Then it was 11 to have the same digit twice. 13 to become a teenager. 18 to be an adult. 21 to legal to drink. 25 for lower insurance. What's after that? Retirement. So I am still waiting for that age.

Anyways, I need to get back to work. Until next time.

Wow, only 500 posts behind

I've noticed when I usually post, my brother is 500 posts ahead of me...exactly. I'm not sure when he started his blog, but I know it was way before I did. He used to post daily, sometimes multiple times a day, but now it is more like every few days. Oh, well. He has a lot people reading his and I do mine just for family. I am not sure if my family knows more through the posts or when I talk to them on the phone. I call my mother at least once a week. My older sister usually once a week. My little sister maybe once or a couple of times a month. My older brother...well, I am afraid to call him sometimes. I have called him at 2pm before to have him answer "What do you want? I'm sleeping" Wow. I tend to talk to him more through e-mail now.

Well, had my car repaired again last week for the umpteenth time. Another $500 down the drain. Hopefully nothing else goes wrong with anything else. I have drill this weekend and another PT test. My older sister officially challenged me a couple of weeks ago to a PT test. Well, actually, she just wanted to challenge me in the 2-mile run, but instead of beating me in time, she wanted to beat me by score. Which a 34 year old male is a lot different than a 40 year old woman. So I insisted if she wants to do it by score rather than time, we should do the complete APFT. Push-ups, Sit-ups, and 2-mile run. As well as Height and Weight and tape if needed. I also told her we should do it during a family get together to give her the satisfaction of humiliating me in public if she beats me. I mean, what do I have to lose? If she wins, good for her. If I win, I can smell a rematch later. As long as I meet my minimums, I am satisfied.

Work has been going ok. I have my Commander, XO, and 1SG coming out this weekend. It will be a long weekend in the office with them as we will be hashing several things out. My middle child's birthday is in 2 weeks and he will be turning 8. We are now entering the birthday season for my family. First is my 2nd child, then mine, then my wife's, and finally my daughter's. My oldest is the oddball in May. The four of us are all between Oct 14-Nov 12. Anyways, that's all for now.

The Lone Ranger

Ok, let me start by saying the following is a joke I heard and wanted to share. Mom, you may not want to read it.

So, while I was at my Army school in Massachusettes, one of the guys in my unit went with me. He is Native American. While we were in class, others were calling him Tonto. Not to be mean, but just playing around. He told them that they would need to hear his Lone Ranger joke at the end of the 2 weeks. It goes like this:

The Lone Ranger was getting old and was getting ready to retire. The Indians had heard rumors that Lone Ranger had killed or did something to Tonto as no one has heard from Tonto in years. So the Chief decides to send a search party to capture Lone Ranger before he retires. They bring him back to the Chief.

"In three days we will have a celebration. At this celebration we will kill you. However, I will grant you three requests," the Chief tells Lone Ranger.

"I wish to speak with Silver" he replied.

The Chief agrees to let Lone Ranger speak to his horse. Lone Ranger leans close to Silver's ears and whispers lowly where no one can hear. Silver's eyes widen and he takes off. A short time later, Silver returns with a beautiful blonde girl on his back. The girl gets off and goes with Lone Ranger into the teepee.

The next morning the Chief comes out and sees Lone Ranger and smiles.

"Ah, I am impressed. However, you have two days to live. Do you have another request?" asked the Chief.

"I want to speak to Silver" Lone Ranger said.

Again he is allowed to speak with his horse. He leans in and whispers in Silver's ears again. Silver again takes off quickly.

A short time later, Silver returns with a gorgeous brunette on his back, more beautiful than the blonde. The brunette gets off of Silver and goes into the teepee.

The next morning the Chief again comes out and smiles at the Lone Ranger.

"Ah, again, I am impressed, but tomorrow, you will die. Are you ready for your last request?"

"Yes. I want to speak to Silver. In my teepee" the Lone Ranger replied.

The Chief thinks about it and agrees. The Lone Ranger and Silver head into the teepee. The Lone Ranger turns around, grabs Silver by the ears and glares directly into his eyes.

"For the last time, I said 'Bring POSSE'"

Finally back up

My computer at work has been down all week. It is finally back up today. As you can see above, it is me and Ben Stein. This was at Dallas on my way back from Boston.

I got married again on Wednesday. I now have two wives. My first wife, and The United States Army. I just re-enlisted for indefinite, which puts me getting out in 2034. So, another 25 years and I'll be free.

Anyways, just wanted to get on and post. Gotta catch up on work now. Oh, yeah, first week of school is going alright. But I hate fake people that just post to meet the requirements.

I am high in the sky

No, honestly, I am. I am on my way back from Boston from my military school. Had problems with the plane in Dallas. On a different flight heading home now. I am over 30,000 ft in the air on the internet thanks to American Airlines and GOGO wi-fi. While in Dallas I ran into Ben Stein and he shook mine and my buddies hands (because we were military). Got picture with him, but may post later. Yeah, I say that about a lot of things. Anyways, I will wrap it up as it is hard to type on a laptop when you sit in a middle seat.

Almost over

Here it is Thursday and I am almost done with this school. The last 3 days we spent out in the field. Weather was nice considering it rained most of the first week we were here, but it didn't rain while we were in the field. It got a little chilly at night, at least for me it was as I am used to AZ summer nights in the 90's, but it was in the 50's and 60's at night. All of our academic tests were done the first week and I passed with a 92.60%. I will be leaving Sat afternoon to return to AZ.

When I get back I have to get the car fixed, again. Before I left, I replaced the battery and now it seems like it is not getting any gas and just dies. This car has been giving me a lot of problems lately. I will finally be caught up on all my bills within the next couple of weeks. At least I will have everything current. Including having car insurance and my registration back on the vehicles.

I guess the family has been sick while I have been gone. It usually happens that when I leave, one of the kids get sick and then they pass it around. It is usually gone by the time I get home. Next week I have to go in for my annual medical and dental check ups for the military. At least now I am done with all of my military schools. In April next year, I will have to go to a 2 week course for my civilian job. I will also be leaving out for two weeks in Dec to go to Germany again.

I will be elgible to put my packet in for promotion to E-8/Master SGT by June next year. A lot of it depends on if the Commander will allow me to get promoted and stay in my position as we do not have any slots at our location for an E-8. Not sure if I want to do it just yet either as I still have 9 years to go. I re-enlist next Wednesday for indefinite. What that pretty much means is I will be in until retirement age. It's been good so far. That's about it for now.

Quick update

Well, this is a quick update from school. I passed my PT test (YAY ME). I have so far passed 4 out of 6 exams. Getting ready to do the 5th one here shortly. Should be taking the final one tomorrow. Next week we go to the field for 3 days. Hopefully we will have Sunday off and I can go into Boston. Maybe get to visit the "REAL" Cheers bar. Apparantly they have two of them here. One is the real one and the other is where they filmed the show that is more of a tourist attraction/gift shop.

Well, just wanted to drop a quick update. One more week to go before I return home. See ya.

All in

That is how I feel today. I just enrolled with a University to do online classes to earn a Bachelor's Degree. They say with all my military credits transferring over, I should get my Bachelor Degree in about a year and a half. And if I decide to continue, it will be another year to get my Master's. Hmmmm. Well, the military is paying for it anyways, why not? So I will start my first class when I return from military school near the end of Sept. I will be able to finish 2 classes before I leave in December to Germany for another two weeks. I guess this will be one way to soak up my time here at work.

I have been getting ready to leave Saturday for Massachusettes. Not much else to do except make sure I have a ride to the airport at 4am. It will be a long flight as it is non-stop, but I like it that way. Plenty of time to sleep and not be disturbed to switch planes or anything.

After this trip, I should be caught up on all my past dues. Then I can actually have money to do things with my family. Since the wife and kids and I haven't really been able to go anywhere or do anything. It will be nice to be ahead of the game again.

Watched a few movies last week. ADVENTURELAND wasn't as good as I thought it would have been. VALKYRIE I didn't originally plan to watch because I am not big on Tom Cruise, but I did rent it because it was based on true events. It was actually a good movie. Another movie I watched about a month ago was based on real events also, DEFIANCE. Can't remember the other movies, so they must not have been that great. Right now I have THE CURIOUS CASE OF BENJAMIN BUTTON. No desire to really see it, but the wife wanted to. Maybe I'll watch it tonight.

I've been watching HELL'S KITCHEN this season. I love this show. It just gets better and better. Can't wait for my other shows to start their seasons. I watch HEROES, FRINGE, all of the CSI's, NCIS, SMALLVILLE, ELEVENTH HOUR, CRIMINAL MINDS, WITHOUT A TRACE, and sometimes I'll watch BONES, LIE TO ME, and THE MENTALIST.

Well that's about it for today.

BORED

I know I shouldn't be complaining since I do have a job and many Americans don't at this time, but I am bored. I sit in my office all day and wait for something to do. I daily run out of things to do after I check the news websites, the movie datbase, the blogs I look at, etc. I can only think of so many things to google.

I leave out Saturday morning to head to Massachusettes for a military school. I won't be back until mid/late Sept. Of course I will have to take an APFT while I am there...you know, push ups, sit ups, 2-mile run. I should be able to pass it, but we shall see. The academics portion I am not worried about.

After I return from that, I am going to go back to school. I have already been talking to a school for the last few months and will return to school once I come back at the end of Sept. I will be going for a Bachelor degree which should take about a year and a half with credits being transferred over. I am also thinking of going for a Masters after that which would be one additional year. I don't really "need" it, but just in case after I am done with the military and government service, I want to have something to fall back on.

Everything else at home has been fine. Since starting this job in late June, I am just about caught up on my bills. I am still behind on the electric bill and getting my vehicle plates unsuspended, but all of that should be taken care of when I return from school.

I also have a physical and dental exam coming up when I return. The Reserves now do a physical yearly instead of every five years, which it used to do. I hope I pass these exams as I am not sure what to study for them. haha.

Anyways, that's all I have to ramble about today.

Long week

It has been a long week as I come into work and there is hardly anything to do. I mean, anytime something comes up for me to do, I take care of it right away so I don't forget about it and miss the deadline. So once I finish what I need to do, I just sit here. Search the internet or whatever until something comes my way again. What sucks about it is I have to sit here all day even if there is not anything to do. I have left early before and had a call on my cell asking if I was still at work. 'Uh, no, I had to take my kids to an appointment'. I understand the whole work so many hours and get paid. I am no longer hourly as I am salary now. However, I have done this job for almost 8 months with no pay and my higher ups know it. So they don't give me too much flak over it.

Sister has invited me to nephews first Pop Warner football game, but it takes almost 2 hours to get on that side of town. That and my wife, kids, and I will be going to a little "water fun" thing at a park reserve by our house. Haven't really been able to do a lot with the family, especially the kids, since we have not had money in like forever. Even after having this job since mid-June, I will finally be caught up on all the bills by mid-September. It doesn't help when the electric Company raises their rates right before summer time in AZ where temperatures get over 110 and your monthly bill is over $300.

Any ways, just moaning about bills raising their prices every year to take more than what your yearly raise gives you. It doesn't help that we are a one income family.

Been watching a lot of movies lately as well. A HAUNTING IN CONNECTICUT was pretty good. I LOVE YOU MAN was hilarious. LAST HOUSE ON THE LEFT was stupid. THE X FILES: I WANT TO BELIEVE was the lamest thing. 17 AGAIN was a great movie with Zac Efron and Mathew Perry. REVOLUTIONARY ROAD was boring...how is up for so many awards? Still have a few more to watch this weekend.

I still want to be able to go to the movies to see a few movies still in theater. GI JOE, TRANSFORMERS: REVENGE OF THE FALLEN, THE FINAL DESTINATION, and the new Rob Zombie film HALLOWEEN II.

Well, that is all I have today.

Dec 21 2012

What does that mean to you? Have you been hearing this date a lot? I sure have. This date is becoming popular because it is the end of the Mayan Calendar. What does that mean? To me...nothing, to others, the end of the world or some catalystic event.

Let me explain the Mayan Calendar theory. The Mayans created a calendar that was set for 5012 years. It began in August of sometime in the BCs. This calendar is much like our yearly calendar with the exception of it covers a longer time period. So what happens on Dec 31 every year? The calendar starts over. This is the same with the Mayan Calendar. It will begin again and last another 5012 years.

As far as the end of the world thing...I am not a philosopher or religious expert, but many religions state that the end of the world is only known by God. Not by man and not even by his own son, Jesus Christ.

The reason this comes up is my FIL is a survivalist and watches the history channel a lot. So last night he calls me and tells me to check out this website: www.theihc.com which I did while I was at work today. As I looked over the website, there was this lottery thing to enter into to reserve your spot for a "safe house" when this event comes. It talked about how when Dec 21st nears in 2012, earthquakes will be abundant and swallowing cities, volcanoes will erupt worldwide, tsunamis will swallow lands. It also talks of how all the planets align on this day and Planet X smaks into Earth. As I looked more into this site, I looked at some summit they were going to have to discuss this. A picture popped up saying it was the Secretary of Defense or something like that, that would be there in place of the President. As I looked at the picture, I thought, that's not the Secretary of Defense, that's Oliver Platt. When I saw a pictur of the President, the name was President Wilson and a picture of Danny Glover. So, I checked www.imdb.com which is a site I check a lot for movies. 2012 is an independent film coming out in November 2009 starring John Cusack, Danny Glover, Oliver Platt, and Amanda Peet to name a few. It is about Dec 21 2012. The website my FIL gave me is obviously something that is part of the movie as the IHC is talked about in the movie.

So, my conclusion to this whole 2012 myth is this. It will happen when it happens, none of us will know when. Nothing happened in 1985. Nothing happened in 1999. Nothing happened with Y2K. Nostradamus may have been "right" on some things, but his predictions were vague and not exact. Just because a calendar ends, does not mean it is the end of the world. So, pull your heads out of your a$$ and quit worrying. You'll probably pass of old age before the end of the world comes.

That's all I have to say about that.

Celebrate

Well, today marks the 10th Anniversary of my wife and I being married. Of course there are a lot of people who didn't think we would make it this far. I remember shortly after we were married, I had been drinking, and I had a few friends over that said I couldn't make it to 10 years. Well, you know how stupid people can get when they drink. So I bet each of them $1000 that I could make it to 10 years. After all, I was betting for love. Well, we wrote up individual agreements to pay and each of us signed it. Of course, one of them I no longer speak to and the other, well I doubt he'll pay up because his girlfriend never let's us see each other. Oh, well, I still have the satisfaction of knowing I won, and once again, I am right.

What do we have on tap today to celebrate? Nothing. Although I do have a job now, we just barely have caught up on all the bills and I am down to $20 to get me through next week in gas. However, while I was in Germany, I did pick up a bottle of wine. It is pronounced "Icevine". This particular wine is a seasonal wine made once a year. It is when the last of the grapes are frozen, they make a wine out of it. I picked it up in Germany for just under $20, but was told IF you can even find it in the States, it goes for $110-$140 a bottle. We'll see tonight if it was worth it.

I leave out in 2 weeks to head to Massachusettes to finish some Army training. That will be the last I have to travel until December. I am also looking into going back to school to get a degree. I am waiting for the college to get back to me at this time. Anyways, that is all that is happening in my world at this time.

I'm Back

Well, I returned last night from two weeks in wonderful Rhamstein Germany. It was a great trip. I was able to go to a few nearby places such as Landstuhl, Kaiserslautern, and Heidelberg. I was able to visit a castle and take pictures. I think the hardest part of the whole trip was the plane ride to and frm Germany.

I missed a surprise 60th Birthday party for my mom while I was gone. She said she was totally surprised and luckily, no one tipped her off. With my mother, she can usually suspect just by the way some people act or say something. But this time it was a success. My sister put the whole thing together and pulled it off. I will be heading to my sister's today to visit with the family since I was unable to during the party. I leave out again on and off for the next month and a half, so I will be missing additional family get togethers and birthdays.

Well, that is all I have for now. Don't know if I'll post any pics of Germany or not. We'll see.

Off Again

Well, I am off again. Came back Tuesday night from Indiana and now I am headed to Germany for two weeks. Probably will not have access to do any posts while I am gone. Got up at 5am this morning to get to the airport for my flight at 9am. Just to get here at 7am and have the airline tell me my tickets were not confirmed. After several phone calls later, I was able to get booked onto a different flight different airline and now I don't leave until 1pm. Oh, well. I'll be able to sleep on the plane.

Of course I was hungry while waiting at the airport, so I tried finding somewhere to eat without having to come back through security. Of course the only places would be about $10 to actually eat and not snack. So I went into one of the stores and picked up a bag of combos and some flavored water for a little over $5. Enough to carry me over until I get on the flight and start getting meals served. So the combos I get is Zesty Salsa. The flavored water was chocolate mint. What a combo. And the water does not taste like it says it should.

Anyways, sitting here with two other Soldiers getting ready to head out. I'll be sure to post upon my return. Be safe.

The return

Well, I just got back from my trip to IN. Got to see family members I haven't seen in a long time on both sides of the family. Even got to see my little sister and her son. Took a lot of pictures on the drive from Elkhart to Indianapolis. I miss it so much. So much that I have already talked to my wife about possibly moving back to IN in a few years. I need to stay here for a few years and when I am ready for my next promotion, I will just get promoted out there and change my civilian job out there. No guarantee on where in IN it will be, but as long as it is between Indianoplis and Northern IN, it will be fine. Granted, I went there during the summer time, I do know how bad it can get in the winter, but I am willing to get out of 115+ temperatures and have half a year of snow. I am tired of how cramped these houses are and worried that I can't let my kids play outside unless I am with them. A lot of the places in IN have huge yards and you don't have to worry about the kids playing outside in the yard. That and I miss the fishing.

While at my Aunt's in Mooresville, I caught 8 fish in about an hour and a half....out of a pond. 3 good sized catfish, a bass, and 4 small bluegills. It was fun and I want to share that with my kids. Here in AZ, it is just too darn hot to fish and it is a drive to go anywhere to fish. I would also be close to family whether they are cousins or uncles or aunts or whatever. And away from the in-laws. My wife has said in the past she wanted to move out of state. We had thought of CO previously, but I am leaning more to IN. Anyways, we shall see how things go over the next couple of years and hopefully, I will be able to do it.

Re-post

As I was googling around, I found an old post my brother had done back in 2007. I was reading it again and laughing my butt off. So I am going to post it as it is hilarious. However, It is not exactly how I remembered it, but it happened nonetheless. Enjoy.

Friday, April 27, 2007

Easter Bunny at the Mall
Easter is a holiday that I never really celebrated. It means a lot of different things to a lot of different people, especially depending on their respective religions. Myself being basically raised non-denominational christian, things seem fairly easy. You dress up nice in your suits and dresses, girls get to put on Easter hats, and the little white gloves. Everyone in the family goes to church - NO MATTER WHAT! as Step dad would threaten us. Then afterwards you had the big family dinner. For us, it usually was just our family as all us kids were still at home. I always hated having to wear a tie - and to this day I just about refuse to wear one, except where is needed out of strictest need or out of respect. Another scar from this holiday, but will share that another time. For now, let me take you back about 15 years ago or so. I had recently graduated from high school, my brother was like a Sophomore I think. Now think about the commercials back on TV back then... one in particular, the M&M commercial.

M&M had had this commercial on for a number of years, and the normal person would tell you it is "cute". It has all these kids saying "Thank you Mr. Easter Bunny", and they hold a package of M&M's in their hand(s) (prior to ripping it open and smearing them all over I am sure). What I consider just another wonderful marketing tool to get people to buy, of all things, baskets of candies for their kids on a holiday supposedly reflecting the death and arising of a major spiritual figure. How does candy fit in there? Let alone a damn rabbit that lays eggs, in hidden places, for kids to find. I raised rabbits for years, and they sure as shit never left behind no eggs.... but I am getting off topic...

One Saturday prior to the Easter weekend, my brother, his friend Jason, and I were "cruisin'" the mall, "scopin' for Betties" as we used to say. We had been there a couple hours and were pretty bored with what little action there was going on. Outside one particular card/curio shop, the managers had decided to have someone in a bunny outfit handing little candies out to kids as they pass the store (another marketing idea exploiting a religious holiday). First thing that pops into my head is that old M&M commercial... I have no understanding why, but it does. With a wicked gleam in my eye, I turned to look at Stuart and Jason. They had seen the rabbit costume when I had, and didn't understand what I was thinking.

" I Dare one of you to go up to that guy in the bunny outfit, " I said.

"And what?" Stuart asks. "Wave to him?"

"No," I stated. " You have to hug him and as loud as you can, say 'Thank you Mr. Easter Bunny!! Thank You!' and then walk on til you are around the corner."Jason is struck with the giggles at this point and says no way is he doing it. So Stuart agrees after a few minutes negotiating. As he turns to head down that direction, I called him back.

"There is one more catch, " I added, that wicked gleam in my eye surely is blinding him now. "You have to walk to him, say the phrase, and walk on down around the corner ... as if you were a retard, or autistic, kid. I mean, the stumble/shuffle walk, the funny speech. Add drool for better presentation.

"Stuart is just looking at me. Jason is laughing his ass off. Finally he says okay - I think there was some money involved with it too, but I don't remember for sure. Anyways, I have him wait until Jason & I are just across the walkway so we can see the whole thing, when here comes Stuart.

- A brief note about my brother Stuart. Back in the day, he came up with some crazy ass shit he would do, dared or not. One of these acts he had worked up was exactly what I was having him do. Stuart was always good at it, and had at times, did the drop and pretend to have seizure - in the middle of McDonald's no less, while I am trying to eat. He used to be a crazy mofo.

So here comes Stuart down, shuffling and stumbling, one arm tweaked across his chest, mouth opening and smacking shut with a little drool down the chin. He's still like 3 doors down and Jason and I are damn near busting our gut watching him. People are stopping and staring at him and they pass by, or as they exit the stores. Stuart stops about 15 feet from the Bunny guy, and gets this look of awe, or maybe it is fear, on his face and just stands there staring at the Bunny. The Bunnysuit has no clue what to do. At this exact moment there are no shoppers close, and he has this teenage appearing retard standing and staring at him. It was almost like an old western stand-off.

Finally the pressure breaks and Stuart starts loping/running towards the Bunny with his arms outstretched, hollering out loud "Thank you Mr. Easter Bunny!!! Thank You!!" and wraps up the Bunny in a huge bear hug. Bunny still does not know what to do, so he pats Stuart on the back. Stuart lets go after about 20 seconds (one of those hugs was like 15 seconds too long and embarrassing things). The Bunny actually hands Stuart one of the candies from the basket. Stuart looks at it - I think it was some sort of chocolate marshmallow thing, and looks at the Bunny and says something along the lines of "This not the candy you give on TV. I want M&M's. I want M&M's" He starts yelling this about 4 or 5 times. I am on my knees laughing so hard. All of a sudden. Stuart drops the candy, turns, and shuffles off the other direction like nothing happened.

By the time we caught up to him, Stuart had made it to a bench and was laughing as hard as he could as well. I couldn't believe he had pulled it off, but he did. And to this day, whenever I think of that commercial, or even see it as they still play it once in awhile, I bust out laughing thinking about the retard and the Bunny at the Mall.

So, as you can see, it was good for a laugh. However, before the Easter Bunny happened, I was already doing that as we were walking saying, "I want to go to McDonald's, Daddy. I want a Happy Meal". Nonetheless, it was a great time. I can still do the "act" but not long enough before I just start laughing.

Life is wonderful

So here I am on week 3 of my "job". I am so busy. It is kind of funny. Since I hadn't really worked since September last year, I sat at home and ate and ate and ate. I gained 20 lbs. Now that I am working again, I've already lost 5 lbs. Hope to be back where I was in a month.

Anyways, it has been stress free and very busy. I enjoy it because I am helping people and taking care of things. This feels a lot better than dealing with customers at Staples that think they know more than you or think the customer is always right-which is not true. And the pay is a lot better.

I will be heading to IN in about 3 weeks. Return home before i leave out for Germany for 2 weeks. Still waiting on my first paycheck which I am told will be next week. Finally I can start catching up. That's about all right now.

See what I mean?

I am referring to the whole 3 thing. First, Ed McMahon, then Farrah Fawcett, then Michael Jackson. All within a couple of days. Now on Sunday, Billy Mays, the guy who does the infomercials on OXI stuff. Ok, so that is 4. I rest my case.

I wonder if Nintendo has been sued yet. The other night, I was playing Wii Sports. I was doing the one for Baseball where you have to hit home runs out of 10 pitches. I kept getting 8 or 9. I wasn't quitting until I had 10 out of 10. Well, 2 hours later, i finally got it. Now as of yesterday and today, I have minimal movement from my right arm. I can't even flex the muscles in my right arm. It is difficult to try to drink a beverage when I lift my arm and it does not go to my mouth. I try to carry my dinner plate to the table and I can't set it down. And driving is difficult to. Hopefully I will get my arm back in use in the next day or two.

I am now in week 2 of my new job and everything is smooth sailing. Not as hectic as it was when I first started, but things are finally getting done. I have a lot of travelling coming up as well. I leave in August for 2 weeks in Germany, 2 weeks to Massachusetts in September, and 2 weeks back to Germany in December. I'm trying to get it all done so I don't have to go anywhere next year as I am trying to go back to school to get a degree. We'll see how that goes.

Other than all that, nothing else is new. I have a little bit of money coming in tomorrow that I will be using for gas and taking the family to Schnepf Farms for 4th of July. Maybe I'll have a little left to get some movies since I have missed a lot in the last few months. Till next time.

It comes in 3's

That's right. Earlier this week we lost an iconic legend as Ed McMahon passed away. A man who is remembered as Johnny Carson's sidekick on the Tonight Show. A man that hosted Star Search where some famous people got their start such as Sawyer Brown. A man that became the face of Publishers Clearance House Sweepstakes.

Yesterday, we lost another legend. A person that made teens scream whether you were male or female. A person that was known in many teen hearts and stuck with them as they grew older. Yes, sadly, we lost an Angel...A Charlie's Angel as Farrah Fawcett passed away yesterday.

Oh yeah, Michael Jackson passed away too.

Anyways, it always seems to come in three's. I remember hearing Tim and Willy on KMLE country always do the dying in 3's, but they no longer do it. I'm glad because usually when it happens it is usually one well known person and two people I have never heard of. No, I don't believe the whole "it comes in 3's" thing. Some people believe it and try to validate it, but there are times I see 4 in one week. So what do you do, extend it until the next two happen and say it was double 3's? Ah, stuff just happens when it happens and if it is linked in any way, it is just coincidental.

Enough blabbing about nothing. Yesterday I signed up for medical, dental, and vision plans through my new job. I did it before my first check so I won't see a drastic change and I will have darn good coverage. I have figured out approximately how much my checks will be every two weeks minus taxes and deductions, and although it is every two weeks, it is more than I made at Staples.

Finished watching the first I'M A CELEBRITY: GET ME OUT OF HERE reality show. It lasted four weeks, Mon-Thurs on NBC. Kind of a mix between SURVIVOR and FEAR FACTOR with B-List Celebrities. I was happy Wednesday night on the final show when the one I was rooting for won. LOU DIAMOND PHILLIPS won and was crowned King of the Jungle. You know, he is the guy that is most known for playing Chavez in YOUNG GUNS I & II and also the guy from LABAMBA.

Well, that's all I have for today.

Week 1 of new job

Well, this week has been like all the other times I have come in to work. The difference is now I get paid for it. Can't wait for my first check so I know what I will be making. I have also been looking into the benefits that I need to enroll in like health, dental, and vision. It doesn't look too bad. It looks like it will all cost me abot $2-300 a month, but the coverage is better than I had when I worked for Staples. I need the vision since my oldest wears glasses and we don't know if the other two might need them. Plus my wife used to wear glasses until she had laser eye surgery before we were married, but of course now she is saying her vision sucks right now.

I am excited about actually being hired now because it means a lot of things. Like when I say something it gets done. I have and continue to meet my deadlines and the higher ups know it. So now when I say this needs to be done or I need this, they know it needs to happen for me to do my job. I have seen people in the past in this position use it to their advantage and sit on things and only take care of themselves. That or hold it over other Soldiers head to get them to do something. Me, I'm not like that. If I don't like you, it is on a personal side, but as long as you are a Soldier that belongs to me, I will take care of you. The way I see it, the quicker I get it done, the less I have to do later. If you put it off until later, the deadline approaches quickly and you fall behind.

Anyways, I am enjoying myself with this new job. Still waiting for that paycheck to catch up on bills and start getting ahead. I may even have a little extra money for when I go back to Indiana for the Family Reunion the end of July. I'll just have to wait and see. I haven't been to Indiana since Dec 2005 after I came back from Iraq, so it will be nice to go back and see everyone I didn't see then. Until next time.

The Wait Is FINALLY Over

That's right, I received the call on Wednesday with my start/hire date. I start on Monday and will receive my bonus and first check around July 10th. This is great because I thought it was more like July 23rd and was able to hold off my landlord, creditors, and utilities until the end of July. You know what worked for me? I'll tell you, but it is a secret. I was honest. Yup, honesty does go a long way. This past month I explained that I have been out of work since Sep, I've been struggling to pay them all the way up until this point, I am expecting a job and be paid the end of July, my sister had helped me several times over and I can't keep asking family, etc. Just by being honest, they extended my payment with no extra charges, my cell was turned back on, and things finally came through.

But, don't let me forget the #1 reason: GOD. That's right, mom, I am publicly saying it. I have had many people pray for me and this job to include family, friends, church (yes, I do go to church), and myself. I honestly do believe God had a hand in this and possibly stretched it this long to see what I could do.

These past few weeks I really haven't done much since I don't have money and stuff. I have been watching this reality show called "I'm a celebrity: Get me out of here". Next week is the final week. It is awesome. You can go to NBC website and watch the episodes. I am rooting for either Lou Diamond Phillips, Patti B.(that chicago politician's wife), or Sanjaya to win. I would love for Stephen Baldwin to win, but I don't think he'll make it. Anyways, I can't wait to start getting paid so I can catch up on movies. I think I'll start with GRAN TORINO and the FRIDAY THE 13TH remake. I'll see once I start getting paid.

Well, that is it for now. Everyone should be caught up on my miserable life.

What a week

As you can see from my previous post, things are starting to look a lot better. I finally got my fingerprint card in the mail on Friday and will e going in tomorrow to do my fingerprints and mail everything out. So hopefully I will get a hire date within the next week or two. As far as all my bills, my landlord is working with me, my auto loans are working with me, and my cell service is working with me. As long as I get that start date for June 21st, everything will finally fall into place.

I am still hoping that I may be able to make it back to Indy for the family reunion, but I will not know for a few days. I really want to go as I fear my grandparents are at that age where it may be the last time I will see them. I don't think they will be coming out here again.

Today is a birthday party for one of my friends kids, so we are going to a public swimming place later this evening. My Mother-in-law has asked to watch my boys from Tuesday thru Saturday, so we will just have my daughter this week. Still trying to make plans on what to do for my 10th Anniversary in August. Main thing is getting caught up on bills, and have enough to take my wife out. That's all going on right now.

Good news and Bad news

Well, the good news is I got the call I have been waiting on. The bad news is evrything that follows. They first e-mailed me yesterday to accept or decline the position. I accepted it. They called today to accept or decline it. I accepted it. The problem, my rent was due 2 days ago. I have only paid a third of it so far. I have a thick stack of paperwork I have to fill out and mail back to them before June 17 and will start the week of June 21st as long as all the paperwork is turned in. Since they pay every two weeks, it would take 4 weeks to actually receive my first check, which would be around July 23rd. I also was told there is a sign in bonus. They were not sure if that would be paid before or with the first check. The problem...I still need to pay rent for this month as well as for July. In the meantime, my higher ups are trying to find a way to pay me to hold me over until I start the job.

The other good news is I called the two places I owe money for on my vehicles. They are willing to wipe out the past due on one vehicle and restart payments at the end of July without penalty. The other place is willing to accept half of the past due in July and te remainder in August to be caught up. So as of this time, they will not be coming after me. The other bad news....I haven't had insurance the last 6 months and both plates are suspended. They are my only means of transportation, so I have to be extremely careful.

I was wanting to go back to Indiana for the family reunion in July, but now it looks like I will not be able to. The only travel I have planned right now is two weeks to Germany in a couple of months. Other than all this, not much going on. Have all this paperwork to do.

When will it be over?

I just wish everything would be done and over with. It is so hard to keep scraping by not knowing what is going to happen the next day. Today is my oldest son's birthday. He turns 10 and I am unable to do anything for him. I am on the verge of making a few calls and jumping down some throats about my job I'm supposed to have. Of course if I did that, I probably would not have the job, or it would make my work a lot more stressful. Other than that, May is almost over and summer has officially began as the kids have been out of school since last friday. Joy. Well, nothing else to update on. Someone needs to win the lottery and hook me up.

Still nothing yet

Still have not heard about the job, but I am still hopeful. I see two payments getting ready to drop. This makes me happy because it is enough to cover the negative balance and pay my sister back. The only downside is I will be paying her back on Memorial Day, May 25 and the second payment drops the 27th. So I'll just have to write her a check for the remainder. Anyways, I went to my friend's wedding Saturday, which I was the best man. I brought my camera to take pictures and then handed it to another friend to take pictures during the wedding. It was done at a house, not a church, so it was kind of crowded. But, I will post what picture I have of me in my tux. I wish I had a better one, or me by myself, but oh, well. Maybe my friend can get me some pictures from the photographer that was there.

Well, I still have to figure out how to pst the pictures, but at least they showed up. Anyways, wasn't very good pictures, but if I get better ones, I shall post them. Doing a slumber party for my oldest son's 10th birthday this friday night. I am hoping not too many kids show up. Only 2 RSVP'd so far. Friday is the last day of school for them. And it will be Memorial Day weekend, so maybe I'll be lucky and a lot of the kids will be going on vacation.

GOOD NEWS...hopefully

Well, I am on orders for today and tomorrow. I was called today from my headquarters in CA and was told I should call the place that is supposed to call me for the job to make sure they have everything they need and to see where they are at with my stuff. So I called and they have everything they need, they are just waiting for an approval from higher up before they call me to give me a hire date. So it sounds like it will happen soon. At least it is the best news I've heard rather than "it should be soon". So, once I get hired, I figured it will take me about 2 months to get back on my feet and catch everything up again.

I have a wedding to attend this Saturday as I am the best man. Maybe I'll get a picture taken of me in the tux and post it, we shall see. Other than that, nothing else is new, well except I extended today for 2 months on my enlistment. It is only so I can submit for a school in September. Once I get back from that school, I will re-enlist again. Take care.

I'm back

Fo those that don't read this, I am back. i have been in Massachusetts the past two weeks attending a school fo the military. i ended up completing the course with a 98.33 average, but 4 others had beat me out. Oh, well. This class was one that needed to be completed to keep my rank and be elgible to be promoted later when I feel like getting promoted. I still have one more class to finish before I am done with it. I will probably try to take that one in September.

While i was out there, I was able to see a couple of movies. saw X-MEN ORIGINS: WOLVERINE and STAR TREK. Wolverine started off kind of slow, but in the middle it made everything make sense and turned it in to a great movie. As far as STAR TREK, I was not impressed. It had great cinemaphotography and great action, but the story line sucked. For those that watched the original series, a lot of things did not make sense. If all you have seen are the latter star trek seies and all the movies, you probably would not catch on to the "mistakes'.

The Army scewed me again. I was supposed to be paid the last day of my school and I wasn't. Somehow as my pay was sent up to be processed, it was "lost". So now I have to have it resubmitted which means it will take a week and a half. It doesn't help when I made arrangements to pay my rent late with fees the day I return and try to postdate a check for the day of deposit for my vehicle loan, which is 90 days past due. So luckily, my siste is able to cover me until that pay arrives and I get it to her.

I just have so many freaking issues right now that it is not worth putting in a blog, it would be easier to write it as a book. Of course I am still waiting on the "call". I just hope something happens soon.

UPDATE>>>

Ok, so I know I haven't posted in like a long time, but there has been nothing to post about. I mean, I wasn't working, couldn't afford to get movies, what would I write about? So, anyways, I just finished a set of orders for 2 weeks, which was nice because I paid rent (late of course, with penalties), and caught up on all the utilities. Now I leave Tuesday morning o head to Mass. for Training, which will allow me o pay for May's ren...late....wih penalties.

Now last week I had some Soldiers from CA here and they did some calling around on my job I am supposed to have. Well apparantly, they finally got a hold of his COL that was pissed off because I started a congressional on this instead of going through my chain of command. I laughed when I heard that. I mean, I have been promised this job since October 2007, went through my chain of command, not my fault if they didn't use their chain of command, and did everything I was supposed to. I think they are just mad because I did not do an IG complaint which would go directly after the individual that promised me the job.

Anyways, I probably will not be posting for the next couple of weeks as I will be out of state and in school. I am told I will be called to accept the position while I am in school, but we shall see. Until next time.

Getting Closer

Or so I hope. I am working 4 different angles on trying to get hired. So far, it has been a week since I contacted my congressman and I still have not heard word back yet. I received an e-mail yesterday from my Command Sergeant Major that they were just waiting for me to be assigned a position number, but what that means or how long that takes is unknown to me. Yesterday I sent an e-mail to my landlord explaining my situation and that I can't pay rent until the 24th. Thankfully she is working with me on this, but as long as I can pay it when I say I can. If it falls through, I will be evicted and trying to find another place to live. She also wants me to get something from higher up stating when I will be paid and stuff, which is understandable. I just hope and pray everything works out.

Nothing else exciting has been going on. Just stressing about staying afloat without money coming in and praying everything does not get shut off for one more day. Someone needs to win the lottery to help me out. It's a quick fix, but it would hold me over...lol. Well, I'll post more when I hear more.

Where to start...

So, here is the update. I know I haven't posted in a while, but it is mainly because there hasn't been anything to write. My bank account is now in the negative to keep my utilities on, but I just received a text on my phone today that my cell service will be shut off. Hey, at least my electricity, water, cable, and home phone is good for another 3 weeks. Not to mention my rent is due tomorrow and of course, I can't pay it. Last week I sent a letter to my congressman about this whole "job" situation and how it has been a situation for over a year now. I hope to hear something in the next few days. Both of my vehicles are on the verge of repossession as they are at 60 days past due now.

So, 20 minutes after I sent an e-mail to my higher command that I was contacting my congressman, my Command Sergeant Major from Washington called and wanted to know what was going on. I explained everything to him and he thought everything was taken care of back in December. I updated him on everything and he said he would work on it on his end. I still sent the letter to the congressman. Yesterday I saw he sent an e-mail about the situation to someone higher up, but still no news from any point of view.

So here I am, still waiting. Still surviving and barely hanging on. Someone needs to win the lottery and help me out. I have no money to play, so I can't win. Tomorrow I will be e-mailing my landlord to explain the situation. The last time this happened, she allowed me to pay a month late as long as I paid two months in advance. Hopefully, she will have the heart to help me out again. We'll see. I'll keep everyone updated once I hear anything.

Some news

Well, I did receive some news the other day. It seems my higher command is trying to get me on 5 day orders starting next week. It will be 5 days a week for 3 weeks. It won't be much, but it will help. I will be late on my rent and I'll just have to try and hold off the utility companies. Needless to say, my cell phone will probably be shut off soon. I called the bank that I have an auto loan with since I am over 60 days past due. If I don't get a payment in by March 27th, they will repossess it. No money coming in, s I will have to see what I can do. Other than that, I have 2 Colonels trying to fight to get me the civilian position. We'll see how that turns out.

Haven't been doing too much with all this "time off". Just watching tv and taking the kids to and from school. If it wasn't for food stamps, we'd be starving right now. I continue to go into the office once or twice a week without getting paid just to take care of Soldiers. Yeah, I really shouldn't so the higher ups can see that someone is needed there, but if I don't do it, they won't get taken care of and it would not be fair to them.

Found a website to watch new release movies on. It is fairly simple, no sign-up or payments, but you just have to tolerate small advertisements throughout the movie. Gotta be careful on them though. I tried to watch TWILIGHT and ended up with a virus and had to re-install windows. Oh, well. Well, St. Patrick's day came and went. Still haven't had a drink in almost 4 weeks now. Struggling to keep up with cigarettes though. Last month I started smoking Bugler rolling tobacco because it is cheaper and lasts longer, which has also decreased how much I smoke. Well, that about wraps it up for today.

One more thing for those with time on their hands. There is a website I go to to play some small games. There are a lot of different types so if you're ored, check it out. It is www.addictinggames.com pretty cool for some of them, others are quite lame. Until next time.

The end is near

That's right, the end is near. Which type of end we shall see. The end of not working? The end of holding on to everything without paying bills? Supposedly the people in CA told me it is higher up and everyone knows everything. Why did it take six months for everyone to finally hear about it? I mean come on, I am on the verge of having both vehicles repossessed which will make me lose my security clearance, which you have to have a security clearance to get the UA position. So right now they are going to put me on orders which better start soon because I need to pay bills.

I leave for two weeks at the end of April for school. I return around mother's day. I leave out again the 1st of Aug to go to AT and return the 15th. Unfortunately, I will be missing my mother's 60th Birthday. Looks like I'll have to make it up somehow. For AT I will be heading to Mannheim, Germany for two weeks. I almost wish I was deployed again just to bring in extra cash.

Oh, well, enough comlaining. Time for me to go back to doing nothing. Take care.

Keep hoping

Well, I am still hoping for news. I haven't been called on applications I put in at places to work around where I live until I get hired for the military. However, they tell me it will be soon...like this month. I sure hope so because then I can call where I owe bills and let them know to hold off for a few more weeks.

Parent/Teacher conferences are today for all 3 of my kids. I have to head out soon to start going to it. I finally got accepted for my school for the military at the end of April/beginning of May for 2 weeks. I get to go to Massachusettes. My unit has been offered 4 more overseas missions for 2 weeks between June-Aug. I may put in for it, but we'll see. I was also offered today to become a Recruiter, but I would have to move to Georgia, Louisiana, or Mississippi...so that is a NO.

Nothing much else to post as nothing has been going on. Just watching tv a lot and taking the kids to and from school. Maybe I'll have more interesting stuff to post next time.

Wow, a new post

I know, it has been a little over 2 weeks since my last post. And I haven't been working, so why not post? Well, my computer was down for a little over a week. Seems the kids hit something and downloaded an earlier version of internet explorer and in doing this, not all files were installed. This caused no internet connection for a while. I tried various ways to get it up and running until I just gave up and re-installed windows altogether. So I am good to go now.

Still no word on the job. I go into the unit tomorrow to in-process a new Soldier, so I will be contacting my higher ups to see where we are at. A previous commander has offered me a civilian position with a higher pay grade and $15k more a year. The problem? It is in Riverside, CA. I will take it only if all else fails, but it is not something I want to jump at right away.

I did put in an application at Wal-mart for management as well as re-open my resume on Monster. We will see if I get any hits from either one.

I have seen a few movies recently. PRIVATE VALENTINE with Jessica Simpson. It was pretty stupid, but I got it to see how realistic they protrayed the Army. It suppsedly takes place in Ft. Jackson, SC, but that is where I went to Basic and it looked nothing like it. I also rented W. the movie about George Bush. I got maybe 30-45 minutes into it and shut it off. It was stupid. I also got NIGHTS IN RODANTHE with Diane Lane and Richard Gere. That was a good movie if you are into Romance. I also finally saw for the first time, PET SEMATARY. It probably would have freaked me out as a kid if I watched it back then. MADAGASCAR 2 was funny, but as all Disney sequels go, it didn't meet the expectations of the first one.

Grandparents were here last week. I only got to see them twice for a few hours as I live so far away from where they were staying and didn't really have gas money to go back and forth every day. That and the kids being in school. Anyways, until next time.

Update

Well, after the conference call I had with my commander and 1SG, it seems the person that was putting me in for the civilian job, wasn't doing his job. Supposedly he is going to get counseled which is like a slap on the wrist. As far as me going to school, I have to wait until July before I can re-enlist and then put my request in for the school again.

I received an e-mail from H&R Block that my federal refund was sent to my bank, but it is not there. It also said to wait 1-5 days for processing. Tomorrow would be great. I need to pay bills.

Just watched SAW V and PINEAPPLE EXPRESS this week. SAW V you will have to had watched the other four to understand it. PINEAPPLE EXPRESS is a stoner movie. It was alright with a few funny points, as long as you can relate. A lot of other movies have come out over the last few weeks that I haven't been able to watch yet as I've had no money. Hopefully I can catch up soon.

I'm going into Phoenix today. My aunt has come out from Indiana to surprise my sister who just turned 40 last week. So I will be going to see her and bring the kids for her to see.

Sunday is Superbowl. GO CARDS!!! The only plans I have is to go to church in the morning and come back and watch the game with the wife and kids. Nothing big, but saves on gas. Well, until next time.

Grab the bull by its horns

With all the frustration waiting for this call it is hair-pulling. Yesterday I went in to the unit to take care of a few things and was talking to Retention about a few things. They asked if there was any word on the job yet and I caught them up to speed...which was, no call yet. They gave me a number to call about it. I called and left a message yesterday. This morning I received a call while I was in bed and returned the call after I dropped the boys off at school. Apparantly they told me the position was not open at this time. It is still showing a certain individual as being in that position that has been a medical holdover in WA since DEC 2005 when we came back from Iraq. I caught them up to speed on it and they told me they can not hire me as long as that person is in that position. So, now I am waiting for my 1SG to call me back so I can bring him up to speed about what is going on and see if we can get this ball rolling.

My next gripe is about the school I am supposed to attend in April. Yesterday I receive an e-mail saying I was disapproved for enrollment due to I have less than 24 months left after the class. My service obligation ends in July 2010 and would leave only 14 months left. I can not re-enlist until July this year because you can't re-enlist more than a year out. I sent an e-mail to higher p letting them know my intentions to re-enlist at the earliest possible convenience. Hopefully that will allow me to attend the school, otherwise, I will have to schedule the school after I re-enlist.

Not to mention I haven't been paid by the Army since Oct 2008. I have emptied my 401K, my TSP through the Army, and my taxes get returned on FEB 3, which will cover rent for 3 months and catch up on bills. I am just praying that things fall into place real soon. I did start going to church again this past Sunday. I found a church out here where I live that is very similar to the church I used to go to when I was younger. The srvice I went to maybe had 40-50 people attending, but they said they had about 130 in the first service which is held at a different location. They are about 1 1/2 year old church and just started a first service at a bar about 8 miles away, but their second service is at my boys grade school about a quarter of a mile away. So we walk to church and save on gas.

Well, I guess I am done complaining right now and will hopefully post some good news soon.

Tax Time again

Well, I did my taxes last week and it has been accepted by the IRS. Now I just have to wait 8-15 business days to receive it. One cool thing I found out also is in the state of Arizona, military pay will not be taxed for state taxes. I don't know if that is a good thing or not and won't find out until next tax season. This is one of the best returns I have had, but it is pretty much gone as I have to pay 3 months rent, pay my sister back and get the transmission in my van fixed. I guess that will put me a little ahead. Not much, but a little.

I also got a seat reserved last week for a course in the military for my next phase of training. It is from the end of April to the beginning of May. After that class, I will have one more course to take to prepare me for my next promotion. Still waiting on the call, as usual.

Amazing the Arizona Cardinals won the NFC Conference Championship against the Philadelphia Eagles. I was disappointed the Baltimore Ravens didn't win, but, oh well. Steelers and Cardinals in Super Bowl 43.

My grandparents will be out here in about 3 weeks. So we will get to visit with them for a short time while they are out here. Not much else to write for now.

POST 100

Finally, I made my 100th post. No big deal, I guess. I got to see DISASTER MOVIE. You know, like SCARY MOVIE, DATE MOVIE, EPIC MOVIE,etc. It makes fun of Disaster movies. Pretty funny, but funnier if you are watching it while drinking. I did my taxes today. Best return I have ever had, but because I am in the military, I could not do Instant Refund. So I have to wait 8-15 Business Days starting Jan 16th, because that is when IRS opens to start processing, and wait. It doesn't help I haven't paid rent yet this month. I spoke with my landlord and we agreed that everything would be Kosher if I pay through March. Fine, whatever. At least that gives me a place while I am waiting for the call. I also started receiving food stamps, so we will be fed through May. I better get that call soon. Next week is my sister's 40th Birthday, which makes me think of how old I am getting fast. When I was younger, 6 years was a big difference and it took forever for me to reach that age. Now it is just a reminder it is just around the corner for me.

My grandparents are flying out here next month and haven't seen them for at least 3 years. I last saw them when I went back to Indiana in 2005 after I came back from Iraq and took my daughter with me. Well, you all enjoy, until next time.