Time keeps on slipping...

I didn't realize it had been a while since I last posted to my blog. Thanks, Andrea, for keeping me on my toes!

It's been interesting out here. By that I mean that we seem to have at least one sand storm every week and even though it's mid-May, the weather flags have just started to make their appearance. "Hey, what's a 'weather flag' anyway?" I'm glad you asked. The heat index can cause serious damage to the human body if you exert yourself incorrectly. It's kind of like the exact opposite of the wind chill factor, I think. Anyway, the USMC, in colusion with the medical side of the US Navy, has developed a series of flags to quickly alert personnel of the heat index factor. Since this base is very similar to being at home (except my roommate's a bald Sailor and not a gorgeous California girl) they use this system. Please don't ask me what the actual scale is because I've never bothered to memorize it. I've seen it several times, but I just do the "Jarhead" thing and pay attention to the pretty colors.

Green: All levels of activity permitted
Yellow: Strenuous activity for personnel not acclimated should be monitored
Red: All strenous activity (like PT) should be curtailed or closely monitored
Black: Outdoor activity should be kept to a minimum to reduce heat casualties.

I know, pretty basic right?

Anyway, I've been running in the gym on a treadmill so the flags don't really mean that much to me. Still, it's interesting to see them. They weren't being used at my location the last time I was here. I guess this really is a garrison base.

Let's see... what else? I've started my on-line education. That should please my wife and my mother at the same time. I'm taking a pretty dumb class about how we learn and why we learn and blah, blah, blah. In fact, the chapter I just read talks about this concept called "whole-body learing" where the author espouses the benefits of listening to your gut and going with your heart. She writes that your body knows what to do because of whole-body learning. That's why when the doctor taps your knee, the signal doesn't go all the way to your brain. Your leg already knows what to do. That's odd, I thought that was called a 'reflex' or in her other example she went on about how your body 'knows' how to ride a bike. I thought that was called 'training' or 'muscle-memory' or something like that. But what do I know, right? Still, it is interesting to read some of the other student's posts about learning styles. I told one that I'm thinking my son may be a kinetic learner as well because he always has to touch stuff for it to be real to him. Hmmmm...

One of the chaplains is going home soon and he'll be missed. He just wrapped up a series on Jonah and it was very good. I'm still playing bass for the morning service and I lead the singing for the evening service. Wow, it's almost like I'm back in the church where I grew up. The only thing missing is a Wednesday evening dinner and class. Oh, wait! We have a men's group that meets over dinner on Wednesdays! We just finished the "Purpose Driven Life" and starting tomorrow I'm leading a study on the book of Joshua. It should be interesting.

The softball team is tied for third in the league. We're 9-3-1. It's fun to get out there and play ball. I figure it keeps me in game shape for the church team back home.

As you can see, there's a lot on my plate. Still, I do manage to find time to do the job the Corps pays me to do, so I guess that's good. The ironic thing about that is that I could probably do a better job if I was still at home, but since I've been here for 68 days now, I need to stay for at least another 112 so I get credit for a full deployment. Hey, that might be worth a ticker!