Tuesday, December 31

I've seen this before

Today is the last day of 2013. What does that mean? In the grand scheme of things, not much. However, in our little corner of the universe it signifies that I have survived an entire calendar year without reporting for duty once on base. I did actually get onto Buckley for a business related errand, but that was just to expedite a co-worker's task so he could get on with his work without having to go through the body cavity search and background check to get in the gate.

So, what did I get accomplished in 2013? I participated in the Marine Corps Marathon. I finished in a time of 6:08:13, or something like that. I felt I was doing well until I hit the stretch just before the 1/2 way mark where they had placards with names and faces of fallen warriors. I just started thinking of people I know who could have been on those signs and it completely wrecked my focus. I walked a large portion of the 2nd half, but did finish at a running pace. Clarissa allowed me to crash at her place with the kids and puppies for the weekend and ran the race as well. (She did a lot better than I did, but she's run it before and knew about the memorials.) So this year, I'm hoping to do much better at the same race. I know what to expect and can take the training to another level over the summer.

What else did I get done? Well, I managed to fail out of school. I don't know what my problem is, but I think I can point back to the last time my name failed to appear on a promotion list. That led me to believe that it was pointless to continue and I just fell apart. Now I'm at a point where I recognize that I 'need' a degree to be worthy of getting a decent job in the civilian sector, but I'm still not convinced that "I" want a degree as much as my wife and mom want me to get a degree. Of course, I have few options because I need to set a good example for my kids, so I'm looking to take a class or two at Arapahoe Community College this spring and try to get back into Colorado Christian this fall. That could put some things to the test though, if I have to spend time at class when Jen has made it clear that she prefers that I come straight home after work to do my chores and relieve her of child care duties... but we'll see what happens.

I did manage to sell a few copiers over the course of the year. I didn't make a ton of money on commissions, but I did make enough to have a decent Christmas. I'm still trying to work a deal for our church and there's another church in Parker that I have drafted a proposal for, so that might be a good way to start 2014. Of course, I'm still looking for something else and now Jennie's started to zero in on jobs in North County so we can go home sooner rather than later. Personally, I think the kids have a better chance at success up here, but I did tell her that if I got a job in San Diego we could move back. She's been recruited by Jim Britts to become his admin assistant again when NewSong opens yet another satellite location later in 2014. We'll have to wait and see. This is all on God.

Happy New Year and let's see if we can keep this blog thing going this coming year, okay?