Today is a snow day

I didn't post on Saturday for a very simple reason: I can't get onto Blogger while I'm logged onto my computer at work. Yep, I had to work this weekend. Why? Was I being punished? Did I have leftover work to make up? No and no... The unit I am currently attached to is a reserve unit. As a result, there are weekends throughout the year that I will be required to go in. In a way it's good because the squadron (as a whole) deployed a couple years ago, which means that as a whole unit, we're not going anywhere any time soon. It kind of sucks because that means I have to plan on missing church at least once a month. This cuts into my bass playing time and (more importantly) time with the family. Still, we have developed a mantra: At least I'm not deployed.

How was the first week of the new year? I managed to read about 1/2 of the book of Genesis... Not every day, but when I did read I was able to get through big chunks of it. I also managed to get my running shoes back on and start training for my next event. There's the Flying Pig marathon in Cincinnati in May, which I have set my sights on. I use Hal Higdon's training plan for beginner marathon runners. I missed week 1, but I ran most of week 2 (missed the weekend) and I'm starting week three of the training tomorrow.

(Why don't I go out today?)

Well, when you have to put on your snow boots just to take out the trash and recycling, it's not very conducive to running outside. I'm not worried about the temperature because I got a cool running shirt for Christmas which is supposed to go under one of my long sleeve running shirts, and I have a couple of running jackets. I found one at Old Navy for about $13 and the other is part of my Marine Corps Physical Training (PT) uniform but I'm allowed to wear it with civilian clothing. ("Every Marine is a recruiter.")

So my trunk would be warm enough. I also have a couple of nice fleece hats to keep my head warm. My legs might start off a little chilly because I have a pair of warm up-type pants, but I don't have any base layer clothes for my legs... Not that I'm looking for any, but if I get serious about year-round running (and we stay here after I retire) then I might need a pair or two. The biggest hinderance to me running outside right now is shoes. I know they make shoes designed to be worn while you run in the ths snow, but I don't have any. Besides, we do have a treadmill downstairs, so I can still do a few miles regardless of the weather. Anyway, the plan this year is to run the Flying Pig and then run the Marine Corps Marathon in October. That would be just before the annual birthday ball, and one of my last big shots before I hit 20 years of service next February.

Wow... 20 years? Yep. I first stepped on the infamous yellow footprints of Perris Island almost 19 years ago. I have one more full year before I am eligible to retire. Hopefully I'll still have a retirement plan that allows me to make my house payment and provides for medical coverage for service related issues... like my thyroid and the drugs used to treat it.

What am I going to do when I leave the service? I'm not 100% sure yet. Right now I'm going to school (well, classes start next week) and pursuing a degree in Human Resource management. Why? Well, I enjoy working with people and I've been doing HR for the last 10 years or so anyway. I also looked at the Denver area and this wouldn't be a bad place to live. We're about 1/2 way between our parents... close enough to drive (day and a 1/2) or fly (about 2 hours). We're in a good neighborhood in a great school district... Denver is a great town for sports (both of my favorite baseball teams come to visit) and this area is a growing center for business as companies flee the lunacy of CA for somewhat more sane states and end up in CO. Take all that together and this could be a great place to be in HR for the foreseeable future.

The kids are off school today thanks to the first serious snow storm of the year. It's snowed about 6-8 inches in the last day or so and the streets are too slick for the buses (and teachers) to get to school. That's cool because the kids can go play in the snow all day. That's bad because I was planning to take down our Christmas lights today. Oh well. Perhaps I'll help them build a snowman or something. I also need to order my books for school and I've been given a couple of tasks for Blue & Gold for next month.

Wait, what's "Blue & Gold" you may ask. Well, every February, Cub Scouts all over America celebrate the anniversary of cub scouting with a festive occasion. I guess it's sort of like the cub scout version of the Marine Corps birthday ball, but without the swords. Anyway, in our pack the tradition is for the bear dens to put together the Blue & Gold. Since the Boy is a bear this year and I'm one of his den leaders, it falls on us to put stuff together. I suggested we call this year's theme "The Magic of Boyscouting" and the others went with it. Anyway, I've been asked to design the invitation/RSVP form for the other members of the pack to let us know how many people will attend. Sounds easy, right? Let's hope so. I'll probably work on it this afternoon.

First though, I have a kitchen to clean up and a few more Christmas items to put away. Turning the basement into a suitable play area is also on the "to-do" list so I may work on that as well today.

What do you have planned for today? Hope you have a great week and if you get snow, I hope it's not too disruptive.

New Year... New Beginnings

Happy New Year!

One of my resolutions is to return to the blog-o-sphere as a way of recording my observations on a variety of topics. I will most likely incorporate elements of all of my blogs into this one, so if you've been (not) tracking me on "The Right Track" you can officially stop. Speaking of fitness and stuff, I would like to start 2011 by recounting some of my achievements for 2010. On the fitness track, I signed up, trained for, and then completed the Denver Rock-n-Roll marathon last October. It was on the Boy's birthday, to be precise. I (mostly) ran through neighborhoods in and around downtown Denver, and completed the 26.2 miles in 5 hrs and 21 min. Since this was my first marathon, it is also my personal best time to date. :-) I have my sights set on the Marine Corps marathon this coming October. Now that I know I can complete the distance, I plan to take the training more seriously so I can actually run the whole distance. (I had to walk for about 3 miles.) While we were visiting my family in Cincinnati for Christmas I happened to look through the January issue of Runner's World and looked at the article of the 10 best marathons for beginners. Lo and behold, there's a race in Cincinnati that was highly recommended. It's in May. I was hoping to run the San Diego Rock-n-Roll this June but because of the drill schedule for work, it is doubtful I'd be able to get the time off. However, running a race in and around my home town with my folks waiting at the finish line (they said they'd be there) could be very exciting. After all, 2011 is 20 years after I graduated high school and I might post this as a challenge for my classmates to make the race event a mini-reunion before the main one currently scheduled for October. I have at least one classmate, who currently lives in Chicago, who might run it with me. My sister also knows a couple of people at her work who have expressed interest in running the Marine Corps marathon. I may toss out the idea of "I'll run the MCM with you, if you run the Flying Pig marathon (Cincinnati's race) with me" and see how that goes.

So, Yes, we went back to Cincinnati to visit my parents and sister for Christmas this year. We went to San Diego for Thanksgiving, continuing a tradition of having dinner with my MIL's friends in Moreno Valley. That was a good visit, but I'm very glad we decided to fly. Even with the new TSA security measures in place we had a pretty smooth trip. None of us got selected for any additional screening and we all went through the normal metal detectors. We saved a LOT of money by expanding our travel window. We left on the Tuesday before and stayed until the Monday after the big day. The kids ended up missing a total of three days at school, but they made up the work when we got back. Anyway, back to the Cincinnati trip. The kids' winter school break started the Friday before Christmas so we took advantage and hit the road. We had a pack meeting on Thursday evening and then we left. We DROVE from our home to St. Louis on Friday. Yes, that's a long day, but we had clear weather and the truck performed beautifully. We finished the trip on Saturday with an relatively easy 6 hrs in the car to get to my sister's house. She was gracious enough to loan us her place for the week we were in town. (She stayed with our parents.) We had a good visit and got a chance to see some friends from my youth as well as see some of the sights around town. I would say the highlight of our trip was going to see my aunt and uncle in Kentucky. My cousin and her family came up from Tennessee and our kids all met for the first time. They had a blast and we had a great day of family... which is what the holidays are about, right? I mean, aside from the obvious Christian implications of Christmas. :-)

Speaking of going home, my wife went back to San Diego four times last year. I sent her back to the surf and sand for her birthday in April. She really needed to go back because the snow and cold were driving her crazy. So, she went home for a week. I took some leave so I could take care of the kids while she was gone and everyone seemed refreshed when she returned. Last winter was apparently worse than normal for this area.

(Wait, I thought they live in San Diego! Where are they now?)

Good question. The answer is that we moved to the Denver area in August, 2009. We moved in compliance with Permanent Change of Station orders and I now work with a reserve unit based in Aurora, CO, which is just East of downtown Denver. We looked all over for a home and ended up buying a place in Douglas county, mostly because of the schools. The kids have responded quite well. The Boy was struggling with reading in San Diego but now he actually enjoys it. In fact, his biggest reactions to Christmas gifts were when he opened presents and found new books.

Getting back to the travels of my wife... She went home for her birthday, then we all went to San Diego for a couple of weeks so I could attend pre-retirement classes at the Miramar air station. We drove that trip, but it's not tough during the summer months. We took two weeks. I spent the first week in classes and the family spent time with Grandma and then the second week we moved into a cabin on the recreational beach at Camp Pendleton for a week. It was a good time. We hosted what we called "open fire night" during that 2nd week. We invited anyone who wanted to, to come by and say "hi" since we wouldn't be able to travel around and see everyone separately. There was a decent turnout and we had a great time. Grandpa Len came down and we got to spend several hours with him and Uncle Bob and Aunt Ruthie. That was a great afternoon. Little did we know it would be our last visit with Grandpa Len. He passed suddenly a couple months later. That prompted my wife's third visit home. She went back for a quick trip to represent us at the funeral. It was a sad occasion but a good visit. Why does it always seem to be tragedy that brings people together?

Anyway, yes, I have entered what will probably be my last year in the Marine Corps. I have not been able to get promoted past E-6 and I fear this will force me to transfer to the FMCR at the end of 20 years. However, I did have a gap in my fitness report record and that has been corrected. Also, my current commander seems to like me so I hope that will reflect in this year's annual review. With just a bit of luck, I'll get selected for promotion on my last shot at the promotion board. If that happens, I'd be able to stay on active duty until I reach 22 years of service. That would be good because I'd be able to finish my bachelor's degree before I get out and then use my GI Bill benefits for a master's degree. So, on the subject of school: I am currently attending Colorado Christian University in the evenings. They have a program for working adults where classes meet once a week for only 5 weeks. At that pace, I can still take 3 classes per semester. I am pursuing a degree in Human Resource management, which is similar to what I do now. Besides, I've looked at Denver and the area is growing and almost every company out there needs a HR manager in some capacity. So, if you are in a position where you need a new member for your HR team and you are interested in hiring a veteran with over 10 years of HR experience, I'm your man. :-)

So, that's a review of 2010. What do I hope to accomplish in 2011? I'm registered for 3 classes for the spring semester. I'm looking at possibly running three races in 2011. We'll be looking at making a HUGE transition to the civilian sector after a 20 year career in the USMC... And I'm sure there are other things that will crop up.

Lastly, I've started reading my bible again. It's January, so I'm taking another shot at reading God's Word all year and hope to make it all the way through. I read off-and-on last year and kind of hopped around to whatever book sounded good at the time. I've never read the whole thing start to finish and I want to correct that this year. I read Genesis 1-5 this morning, covering creation and setting the stage for the story of Noah, which begins in chapter 6. I believe that if I average 3 chapters a day I'll finish by December 31st. Since I have to anticipate that there will be days when I won't read 3, I'll read more when I can.

Anyway, I guess that's about for now. Hope your holidays were good to you. Hope you have a good new year. I'm looking forward to football all day today and getting Christmas stuff cleaned up to start the year with a truly fresh slate. I'll try to update this at least once a week with observations and plans for the following week. Saturdays will probably be the best day for me to do that. In the mean time, I'll be posting shots on Facebook, which is where I'll try to keep my political rantings. ;-)

Happy New Year!