Monday's here again, but this time it's not so bad. I'm on vacation this week and we're in San Diego to visit Jen's mom for Thanksgiving. Jen typed up a good post about our recent troubles with her vehicle so I won't repeat them here. However, I am gaining more confidence and after hearing Pastor Hal yesterday talk about hope deferred and what to do when your dreams are unattainable, I'm seriously re-considering my post Marine Corps hobby ideas. See, I've said before that I would love to build my own model railroad world, but that's kind of a selfish hobby in my family. While I'm pretty sure that the kids would get a kick out of watching the trains, I'm equally as sure that Jen and I would come to regret the money and time that building a MRR would take. However, if I get an older muscle car that maybe needs some work and tinker on it when time and money are available, I'd have something that we could share and enjoy together. I'm not saying that the transformation would be a quick as Bumblebee in "Transformers" but it would get there and I think there would definitely be a pride factor involved in doing most of the work myself. I just need to find a car that runs reliably to start but needs some love to bring out the potential. Any offers?
Our trip down here was a lot less eventful than our trek to Denver earlier this summer. For one, Jen was able to drive for a stretch on Saturday so I could catch a nap and rest my eyes. That was a great help. Also, we didn't get into any accidents as we got into town on Saturday evening so that was nice as well.
We went to church yesterday and were able to see the newest trailer for the movie that they shot last year while I was deployed. It's gonna be amazing and I can't wait to see it. "To Save a Life" is set to open Jan 22 and if you thought "Fireproof" was a good movie then you definitely need to make plans to see this one. Of course, before and after the service we tried to spend a few minutes with as many people as possible to get caught up a little. Apparently 'our' small group is planning to meet this Wednesday just because we're in town... Thanksgiving Eve is usually an evening off from church activities so people can prepare for the feasting and festivities (and football) that the following day promise to provide, so we'll get to chat with almost everyone then. On Thursday we'll head up to Moreno Valley to have dinner with friends and family. It's become a tradition for us. I'm pretty sure my wife will have more to say on the subject so I'll just leave it at that.
We brought my son's popcorn stuff with us. I had hoped to get it mailed out to our long distance contacts (everyone except Jen's mom and ourselves) but we simply ran out of time, so that's what the plan is for this morning. I'll take him to the post office and get that stuff shipped out. With any luck it'll get 'there' by Thursday, but I'm not counting on it. Still, Friday or Monday should be pretty good and will be well timed to help set the holiday spirit for the Christmas season. =)
I guess that brings us up to speed about what's going on in this part of the universe. How do things look from where you are? Happy Thanksgiving!
Monday, November 23
Friday, November 13
November past, present, maybe future
Happy Friday the 13th! (Bwa-ha-ha-ha-ha!)
Okay, now that THAT is out of my system I can jot down a few thoughts about the first half of this month and my plans for the rest of the month. Hopefully I'll be back and write a post about what actually happens, but let's take this one step at a time.
This week the United States Marine Corps celebrated our 234th anniversary. For anyone who doesn't know, the Corps was founded by a resolution of the Continental Congress that declared that two battalions shall be raised and that they shall be called the first and seconde battalions of United States Marines. This resolution was passed on 10 November, 1775. "Since that time, many thousands of men have borne the title 'Marine' and it is only fitting that we who are Marines today take time to commemorate our humble beginnings." (John LeJeune, 13th Commandant, Birthday message written in 1921) We celebrated last weekend as our drill period for the month. We went to the Renaissance Hotel where we had dinner, took our annual portrait, hung out with friends, danced, and then came home. Where were the kids? One of Jen's new friends allowed our children to have a sleep over all night. We dropped them off mid-afternoon and didn't see them again until after church the next morning. They didn't have as much fun as we did apparently because both of them opted out of lunch to go straight to bed and slept the whole afternoon away. Still, WE had a good time. =)
So that was last Saturday. Since we had done drill related stuff that morning we got Monday off as a comp day. I spent it swapping out the alternator in my wife's car. It actually took much longer to get to the alternator than it did to swap it out. Why did I swap it out? Well, there's a bit of a story to that but I already covered it in my last post. Suffice to say that when I went to get the booster from my new friends at Autozone I asked about the alternator and they happened to have one in stock. Since we're planning to travel soon I figure "better safe than sorry" and swapped it out... All was not lost. I got $25 back for my core deposit when I took the old alternator in. So that was Monday. Tuesday was a "normal" work day for me. The command had suggested that anyone who wanted to take Tuesday as a day of leave would be allowed to so the office was very empty. I took advantage of that to leave just after lunch time and go to the gym for most of the afternoon. Why was Tuesday allowed as a leave day? Well, for one, it was the 10th and nobody likes to work on their birthday according to Jim Gaffigan. Also, we were going to get the 11th off for Veteran's Day so there was little point for many people to come in and get started on two or three day projects. So we were off again on Wednesday. I figures changing the brake booster would take all day so I got started early. By the time my physical therapy appointment came around I had almost gotten all the bolts off the stupid thing. When I left the PT clinic I swung by AZ again to see if they had... there it is! A deep socket that should speed up the process considerably. When I got home, that last bolt didn't stand a chance and I got the old booster out and the new one in all in about an hour. It's amazing what you can accomplish with the right tools.
Anyway, yesterday and today were/are regular work days and then we're back on a weekend. I love this duty schedule!
So, what are the plans for the rest of the month? Well, next Friday we'll pick up our son at school at the end of the day and head South... planning to stay in NM for the night. Then on Saturday we'll be in the car for a looooong time but when we get done, we'll be in San Diego for Thanksgiving! The plan is to drive back up here on Saturday and Sunday after Thanksgiving so the kids can go back to school and I can go back to work. (bummer) Still, it should be a great time. That's why I've spent more time than money on the truck. Yes, my Saturn would get better mileage, but did I mention that there's a DVD player in the truck and the seat recline?
Well, that's pretty much it from here. Hope you have a great weekend and I'll let you know how the trip goes. TTFN!
Okay, now that THAT is out of my system I can jot down a few thoughts about the first half of this month and my plans for the rest of the month. Hopefully I'll be back and write a post about what actually happens, but let's take this one step at a time.
This week the United States Marine Corps celebrated our 234th anniversary. For anyone who doesn't know, the Corps was founded by a resolution of the Continental Congress that declared that two battalions shall be raised and that they shall be called the first and seconde battalions of United States Marines. This resolution was passed on 10 November, 1775. "Since that time, many thousands of men have borne the title 'Marine' and it is only fitting that we who are Marines today take time to commemorate our humble beginnings." (John LeJeune, 13th Commandant, Birthday message written in 1921) We celebrated last weekend as our drill period for the month. We went to the Renaissance Hotel where we had dinner, took our annual portrait, hung out with friends, danced, and then came home. Where were the kids? One of Jen's new friends allowed our children to have a sleep over all night. We dropped them off mid-afternoon and didn't see them again until after church the next morning. They didn't have as much fun as we did apparently because both of them opted out of lunch to go straight to bed and slept the whole afternoon away. Still, WE had a good time. =)
So that was last Saturday. Since we had done drill related stuff that morning we got Monday off as a comp day. I spent it swapping out the alternator in my wife's car. It actually took much longer to get to the alternator than it did to swap it out. Why did I swap it out? Well, there's a bit of a story to that but I already covered it in my last post. Suffice to say that when I went to get the booster from my new friends at Autozone I asked about the alternator and they happened to have one in stock. Since we're planning to travel soon I figure "better safe than sorry" and swapped it out... All was not lost. I got $25 back for my core deposit when I took the old alternator in. So that was Monday. Tuesday was a "normal" work day for me. The command had suggested that anyone who wanted to take Tuesday as a day of leave would be allowed to so the office was very empty. I took advantage of that to leave just after lunch time and go to the gym for most of the afternoon. Why was Tuesday allowed as a leave day? Well, for one, it was the 10th and nobody likes to work on their birthday according to Jim Gaffigan. Also, we were going to get the 11th off for Veteran's Day so there was little point for many people to come in and get started on two or three day projects. So we were off again on Wednesday. I figures changing the brake booster would take all day so I got started early. By the time my physical therapy appointment came around I had almost gotten all the bolts off the stupid thing. When I left the PT clinic I swung by AZ again to see if they had... there it is! A deep socket that should speed up the process considerably. When I got home, that last bolt didn't stand a chance and I got the old booster out and the new one in all in about an hour. It's amazing what you can accomplish with the right tools.
Anyway, yesterday and today were/are regular work days and then we're back on a weekend. I love this duty schedule!
So, what are the plans for the rest of the month? Well, next Friday we'll pick up our son at school at the end of the day and head South... planning to stay in NM for the night. Then on Saturday we'll be in the car for a looooong time but when we get done, we'll be in San Diego for Thanksgiving! The plan is to drive back up here on Saturday and Sunday after Thanksgiving so the kids can go back to school and I can go back to work. (bummer) Still, it should be a great time. That's why I've spent more time than money on the truck. Yes, my Saturn would get better mileage, but did I mention that there's a DVD player in the truck and the seat recline?
Well, that's pretty much it from here. Hope you have a great weekend and I'll let you know how the trip goes. TTFN!
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