Where's Waldo?

Where the heck have I been? It's a fair question. I've probably been declared a dead blog by now, and if that's the case, then I'll just have to accept the fact that if you quit making new entries, you can't expect people to keep coming back to read the same old stuff. Having said that, let me warn you that you may need to go get some coffee or something before you read this. I have a feeling I'm going to be here for a while. Don't worry, we'll wait until you're ready.

All set? Good. Let's go.

My last entry was kinda lame. I admit that. That may have contributed to why I haven't blogged in what... a month? Then I started thinking about it. I originally started this blog when I knew I was getting deployed to Iraq last year. My wife and I figured that if nothing else, blogging would be an easy way to keep my family updated on what I was doing and that I was okay. It worked pretty well for that and when I returned from Iraq in September, I used this format to work through some issues I brought home with me. Then, the urge to blog sorta faded, I guess. That, plus the work load at work and home really tore into my "me time" and the last thing I was thinking about was adding entries to my online journal. Now that we're getting down to crunch time for our next deployment, the urge to keep the family informed is picking back up, so I expect to increase my frequency of posting. I imagine that while I'm gone I'll post a minimum of once a week, so if you're curious as to what a career counselor does while on a WestPac deployment, bookmark or blogroll me and check back from time to time.

So, let's start with the family. We found a great deal for plane tickets and all four of us will be able to fly to Ohio (actually Indianapolis), rent a car for the week we'll be there, and then fly home to California for less than $1,000 total. Normally, I'd balk at that figure even though anyone who's flown recently knows that tickets ain't cheap and with four people, two car seats, and enough luggage for a week's worth of clothes... Well, let's just say we're not looking to rent an "economy" car. Anyway, with my deployment last year taken into consideration, my taxable income was only $10,000 and with all of our deductions and credits, we actually made money when we filed our taxes and we're using part of that to make this trip. Since I've segued into money, what did we do with the rest of our return? Well, we gave some of it back to God, I paid off the pickup truck Jen bought for me when I deployed to OIF back in 2003, we got the windows tinted in both vehicles, had a great party for Jen's 30th birthday, and I guess that's about it for the big stuff. Oh, we also added some to our savings balance. Speaking of savings and investments... Is it just me, or has the stock market been really crazy over the last week or so? Talk about a roller coaster ride. I'm just glad that at this point, I'm still in the early stages when I'm just trying to buy through my investment plan.

Did you catch what I said about Jen's birthday? My wife reached the big 3-0 last month. She's got an entry on her blog about the party, so I'll just link to it and let you go there if you want to read more about it.

Let's see, what else is going on? After Mother's day this weekend, our church is doing a short two week series about the Da Vinci Code. I have not read the book, and I don't intend to see the movie... At least not in the theater. Somehow I bet I'll get to see it during this deployment. From what I gather, the basic premise of the novel (which means it's a work of FICTION) is the theory that Jesus actually survived the crucifixion, married Mary Magdalene, fathered at least one child, and the blood line of Christ is now the world's most closely guarded secret. For those of you who have read the book, does that about sum it up? Well, I could get into why I don't believe any of that, and perhaps I will on a future entry, but not today. I should borrow the book and read it first, so I know what it is that I'm rebutting. Wait, did I just express a willingness to explore a view point that opposes my own? Guess that proves it... I'm not a Liberal Democrat.

Okay, before I get all worked up, let's take a break, refresh our coffee mugs, and move on to lighter topics, shall we? Be right back.

(Pause... you could hum some music to yourself if you'd like)

And we're back.

I know, let's talk sports to finish for today. I just saw this highlight from a Red's game a couple of days ago. Talk about cool! I bring up Griffey, because I've heard his name tossed around by the guys at ESPN as a possible prospect for the Yankees who need outfielders. They've broken all of theirs. Two thoughts about that. One, Griffey has not proven to be what you might refer to as an iron man in baseball. He spends some significant time on the DL almost every year. In fact, I'm sure that's why his home run total is in the 500's and not closer to 700, like Barry Bonds. Second, why do the Yankees have all this money to go out and buy whomever they'd like for their team? Because there's no revenue sharing or salary cap in baseball like there is in football. Have you noticed that football is a little tougher to pick the winner? That's because smaller markets (like Cincinnati and San Diego) have an honest chance, with revenue sharing and salary caps to compete against bigger markets like New York (Giants) and well, New York (Jets). Don't believe me? How surprised were you when the Yankees did NOT win the World Series last year? See my point? Anyway, back to baseball. How about those Padres? They've won 12 of their last 13, going 6-1 here in San Diego and sweeping the Cubs in the process. Then they whipped the Cubbies again yesterday in Chicago. The Padres seem to like the month of May. Last year, they won 22 games in May and were able to hang on to their lead through the rest of the season to win the NL West. Let's see if they can duplicate that. Since I mentioned the Cubs, I should point out that they will be in Cincinnati for a weekend series while we're there visiting the family. I tried to talk Jen into going to a game since it's unlikely that we'll get to a Padres game this year, but we probably won't have the time. Bummer. So, the Reds are currently tied with St. Luis for 1st place in the NL Central, 2 games up on the Astros, and the Padres are tied with Colorado for 1st place in the NL West, 1/2 a game up on the Diamondbacks. Pretty exciting stuff if you ask me...

But enough about baseball. Let me just mention the Eagles real quick. I thought they did well during the NFL draft a couple weeks ago. They addressed some issues and got rid of T.O. during the off-season. It'll be interesting to see if Bill Parcells can keep a lid on him down in Dallas, but I digress. I'm looking forward to this next season. I hope they can get back to their winning ways and break through to actually win the SuperBowl this time.

In other sports... Dale Jr looks like he's on track (pardon the pun) for a decent NASCAR season, although I think Jimmie Johnson's going to be the man to beat in the points race. Tony Stewart's been pretty sharp too, the last couple of times out.

Hockey play-offs are proceeding. I'm not keeping as close an eye on them as I usually do, but it's cool to see rookie goalies and teams that have never won Lord Stanley's cup this deep into the post season.

Finally, there's basketball... Yeah, I don't really care, so nevermind.

Anyway, if you've made it this far, I'd like to thank you for sticking with me. I hope you have a great week and I will try to write again sooner rather than later. I'll leave you with something I saw on a bumper sticker yesterday as my final thought...

"It's up to God to forgive Osama bin Laden. It's up to the Marines to arrange the meeting."