Groundhog Day 2026

 It's Groundhog Day... again

Just like Punxsutawney Phil, time to stick my head out and see what's going on out there. 

Work is work... I got approved for an "interim" reasonable accommodation to work from home while I wait to get paired with a service dog from Freedom Service Dogs. I applied last year and was told the wait list could be as long as two years, but hopefully I get a partner sooner than that. In anticipation I had submitted a request to bring a dog into the office. The response was "go home and work from there." I am not complaining. 😉

I was elected as the quartermaster for our local VFW Post last spring. I'm a little more than 1/2 way through my one year tour, but I think I'm going to run for re-election now that I have a grip on what I'm supposed to be doing.... Kind of.

Let's see... what else? We booked a vacation for ourselves for later this summer to celebrate all the things 2026: Ladybug graduates college. Wife reaches a milestone birthday and we hit 30 years on the wedding train. Figure all that is worth a trip to the Old World for a bit.

Hope your 2026 is off to a decent start. 

Update 2023

 It's been almost seven years since I last posted. Let's do a blitz through the highlights and see if there's anything that warrants further discussion later.

We celebrated our 25th anniversary with a trip to Aruba. With the global pandemic story all around, we got lucky. We were able to go the summer of 2021 and spent a week doing pretty much nothing. It was AWESMOME! I'll see if I can find some pictures to share.

The Boy graduated HS as Spring Break Champion of the World! (In other words, class of 2020.) Then he turned around and got married last fall. That might merit a deeper post on its own.

Ladybug graduated HS in 2022. She tried out for the dance team at college, but didn't make it past the first round of cuts and has since "sworn off" dancing. But to tie these two points together, she did coordinate a father/son dance for the wedding reception. It went pretty well and seemed to be well received.

My bride no longer works at the church. One can only put up with toxic leadership for so long before realizing that in the grand scheme of things, she's worth way more than the pittance she was being paid, and no one deserves that kind of abuse from people who are supposed to be humble servants of God. Anyway, after a brief whirlwind, she's landed a nice job in apartment management accounting and is crushing it right now. She really likes the job, but does find it mentally exhausting at the same time. Guess it's a good thing I'm available to take some of the home stress off of her shoulders.

I recently got promoted at my job again. I'm now a team lead, so that's exciting. People come to me for answers and I (usually) have the right one. When the pandemic started, we were all sent to work from home for "a few weeks" until things return to normal. That was over two years ago. I am NOT complaining. I put way less wear and tear on the car by not having to drive over 30 miles each way. Then there's the mental health aspect of not having to fight traffic 10 times a week just for the privilege of working in a cubicle farm when it's been soundly demonstrated that at least most of us are more than capable of doing the job from home.

Let's see, what else? I've become a painter. I had another torn rotator cuff. We're rearranging the rooms on 2nd floor as far as guest room/son's room. Our friends moved to the mountains due to a SNAFU with county government and a dramatic situation they found themselves in. We cut cable and watch Netflix and Amazon Prime a lot. I've tried and failed school a couple of times. I'm not sure if any of this is exciting, but at least it's now recorded, so I can come back some day and read how exciting my life is.

Peace out, y'all!

Yep, New Year... time to try again

It is now the year of our Lord 2016. Wow. Last year was pretty chaotic, but lemme see if I can get caught up in a few paragraphs.


Work: I got a job at the VA in November of 2014. I earned two promotions within my first year and I am now 18 months + into my second career. (Selling copiers had its moments, but not enough to keep me from taking my current job.)


School: Let's come back to this one later.


Family: Looking to celebrate our 20th anniversary this coming summer. The Boy is struggling with an auditory processing issue (and priority setting) but he's working his way through 8th grade. The Ladybug is working through 6th grade and spends 3 or 4 evenings a week at the dance studio. There's a "surprise" coming up for dance this year, but we'll go over that later.


Church: I've been removed from the rotation of bass players at church. I suppose I should be grateful because it frees up my Wednesday evenings (or Saturday afternoons when Wednesday rehearsals get bumped to Saturday just because) and I no longer have to get up early on Sundays, but it was my one outlet as a musician, so I'm still kind of bummed. The "pastor" who fired me hasn't bothered to reach out to me so I can only assume he thinks all is well. Maybe in his book "pastor" means "overlord" and not "shepherd" but that's just an assumption. Jen's still working on the admin staff and I kind of feel bad for the situation she's in.


Home: We bought a new build home in summer of 2014. We lived in an apartment for about 6 months while it was under construction and moved in just before LAST Christmas. We'll probably start painting and making this place our own later this year. Oh, we bought a camper with some of the proceeds from selling our first house. We used it for about three weeks combined time last summer. Probably won't use it quite as much this year, but still looking forward to getting out and away from "normal" a few times over the summer.


Life in general: We seem to be doing pretty well for the most part. Last year was truly a year of change for us and 2016 looks to be just as exciting. Twentieth anniversary... someone's starting high school... someone else may look to get back into school...


Yep, there are many things to be thankful for as we look back on 2015 and many things to look forward to in 2016. Part of that will be seeing if I can uphold the standard new year's resolutions: eat better, exercise more, lose weight, read my Bible, etc...


Happy New Year!

Now that 2014 is 1/2 over...

I guess that means I'm a little overdue for an update.


Let's start with the job. This week I am literally between jobs. I submitted my two weeks' notice (well, one week) at Frontier Business Products on Monday. About an hour later I was told that Monday would be my last day at FBP. I had asked to stay until Friday (today) in order to close out a couple of accounts that I thought would sign up this week, including the completion of one fairly heft deal involving an out-of-state delivery network that needed to be coordinated and then signed for by the overall account contact that I had been working with for about 3 months. However, I was informed that I would still rate the commission for that account, so I was suddenly okay with not working the rest of the week. I also had nearly 70 hours of vacation time built up, so while it wasn't the same as "terminal leave" from the Marines, it was good to walk out with a little cash in my pocket. Starting Monday I begin a new job and hopefully a new career path. I won't go into too many details here other than to say that I hope to eventually (soon) be in a place where I can have a positive impact on the lives of fellow veterans.


So the job I had for the past 20 months is gone and my new one has not started yet, so what else is new? Well, we've been a little busy to say the least.


The kids have finished school for the summer. Both passed! (We were honestly a little concerned about one of them having to repeat, but that is not required... yet.) They were both in dance classes over this past season and the end of year recitals were this past week. They did a great job and I am very thankful for the professionalism of this studio. Each recital was a time commitment, but they were smoothly run and (at least from my perspective in the seats) went well. Looking forward, Thing1 has indicated he does not want to dance again next year, but Thing2 has indicated not just a desire to keep dancing, but a hope of making it onto a competitive dance team. (Can we say "cha-CHING" here?) So that could be interesting. Camp for that starts in just a few weeks.


So, at least the home life is nice and quiet, right? WRONG!


We had looked at a new neighborhood development last year for Mother's Day (it's what she likes to do) and we went back to the same place this year for Mother's Day. This time, we decided to come back the next Saturday and officially put down some serious roots. We put down just enough to put our name on the lot and declare it "ours" and then the sales agent said we had seven days from then to get our current house on the market and it needs to be under contract within 60 days.
Wait... WHAT?? (If you look at a calendar, you'll notice that this was just before all of the end of school/dance recital stuff was about to get started.) Side note: we were seriously thinking of moving anyway, but AFTER school let out and dance recitals were over, and Grandma had gone back to California. So we cleaned. And then we cleaned some more. And then we cleaned again. The realtor who had helped us find and buy this house 4 1/2 years ago was now going to help us sell it. She gave us a list of staging tips and we got to work. Finally on Day 7 she came back with a sign for the yard and a camera. She took a few photos and we discussed the fine points of putting a house up for sale in today's market. We decided that we would "like" to spend our Memorial Day weekend cleaning some more and asked that we not have the house available for showings until Monday. Skip forward like, three days (Wednesday) and we are already on showing number 5 or 6 for the week (including one at 8:00 AM on Monday - Memorial Day) and we get a call from Wendy. We have an offer on the table. It's not quite what we're asking for and there's a slight catch in our exit plan: our apartment that we scrambled to find won't be ready until two weeks after the scheduled closing date. Counter-offer. Counter-counter-offer. And we're done. Our house is under contract for a little less than we'd listed for (but higher than we'd originally hoped to get and higher than neighborhood comp's) and our buyer will rent us back the house for the two weeks until our apartment is ready. Since that means we don't have to find a hotel or campsite, I'm good.


Oh, did I mention I start a new job on Monday and the kids just finished school for the summer? Did you catch that we had out-of-town visitor for about a week as well? And let's not even talk about Thing2's 10th birthday on Tuesday. I think there's a party somewhere in the near future, but I'm deferring to my better half on that one.


Yeah, this past month has been crazy to say the least. I guess that balances out the first part of the year when we didn't have much news to report. I will assume that at some point I'll put pictures together with words. Right now our new home is just a dirt lot, but the retaining wall that will keep the hill just behind us from sliding into our dining room has crept past our property and is making its way down the street. And just a few doors up the street there are gaping holes in the ground where our neighbors' houses will sprout over the next few months. I learned yesterday that our house will have the same orientation as the model, so we can really start to get a feel for how things will fit and where we'll put our furniture. We are excited and thankful to God for His blessings and I am sure all of this will end up in one of my wife's scrapbooks... one day.

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?

It (was) a cruel summer

A lot has happened since March. Let's see if I can hit the peaks and pits for you here.

Work:
The financial planning job I was looking out never materialized. The company still had the results of the personality test I took about 14 years ago (before I went to war, before I became a father, and before I spent 12 years as a career counselor) and their take was that people don't really change that much so I was not offered a position. The insurance sales job turned out to probably be a scheme. Jen and I did some additional research and found a ton of consumer and employee complaints against the company in general and the person I was in contact with in particular, so I told him "thanks, but no thanks" and walked away.

We survived for a while on Ohio's unemployment checks while I continued to search for work and we were doing pretty well, until my military retirement check started to arrive. See, I had asked if my retirement would affect my eligibility for UI and was told that there would be no impact on payments from my retirement check, so we decided I could focus on school and draw UI while I kept looking for THE job. Well, whoever told me that was apparently misinformed and the checks from the state were cut by about 75%. As a result, I wound up taking a job in the security field, with a company I had actually applied with before, but their offer at the time was not equal to what I was "making" through Ohio, so I turned them down.

So, after 20 years in the Corps, 3 combat tours to Iraq, and maintaining a SECRET security clearance for 15 of those years, I took a position as an unarmed security officer working in downtown Denver. My schedule was crazy: I worked 4 graveyard shifts and a swing shift on Sundays, but the pay was decent and we were able to get our heads back above water. Why is all of this in the past tense? Because last Friday was my last day as a security officer and I have just this week started a job in sales. I am in a training program to learn everything there is to know (as much as possible) about selling office equipment (i.e. copiers, printers, fax machines) and I am actually supposed to get out into the field a little bit today. So far I like it much better because the hours are better, although with the exception of drill weekends, it's been a while since I've worked an 8-5 job. So that's the work situation.

School:
In a word, sucks. Ever since I retired this past spring, I have not passed a single class. There, I said it. I am actually on a probation contract with the school to keep my enrollment open. I am only allowed to take 6 credits per semester (2 classes) and it's been very hard on my ego. However, I think I finally understand what the issue was. I was going to school because people in my life expected me to get a degree and move on. I was not convinced I ever really wanted a degree so I did not put total effort into my classes. And when those classes are online and I never have to see a professor or explain my weekly actions, well... you can see the results. However, as I told my student advisor, I have taken a step back, reevaluated myself, and decided that I don't want to leave a legacy of failure for my son and daughter, so I have decided that now I want a degree for myself. I had switched my major back to Organizational Management-Human Resources, but now I realize that I was painting myself into a narrow market niche. I have once again declared for Business Admininstration, with a minor in HR. Although this move does take psychology off the table for now, I am thinking that if I stay in sales, having a general business degree will give me a solid background to speak with other business people about their needs for document management. I have taken most of the fall semester off while I change programs (and jobs) and when the clock strikes 12 and 2012 becomes 2013 I will put all of this failure behind me and move forward. I will retake the courses that I failed to improve my GPA and my intent is not just to graduate, but to do so with honors.

Church:
Over the summer, our church congregation completed the buildout of a car dealership we had purchased over the winter and in early July we moved out of a small, old, building that people didn't seem to notice even though it is on a hill right in the middle of downtown Parker, into a large, well-lit, modern building... and we're already out of room in this facility. There is space upstairs that has not yet been built and there is storage space that will someday double the size of the sanctuary, but right now we are putting people into an overflow room for church. It's a good problem to have, right? I get the privilege of playing bass on stage once every few weeks. For a good bit I was on stage 2 or 3 weekends a month, but our new worship pastor held auditions shortly after we moved into this location and all of a sudden I am one of 4 or maybe even 5 bass players, so we have started a rotation. I like it because I appreciate it when I do get to play without the pressure of spending every weekend at church, unable to attend with my family. We have also joined a second small group, but I have not yet been able to attend those meetings, save once, thanks to the security job. Now that I have a "normal" job I should be able to go more often.

Family:
The kids are doing well. They are both in hip-hop dance classes this fall. Unfortunately, neither one was able to play sports over the summer because of our finances. We are looking for a new girl scout troop for my daughter because the one she was in (that didn't really do much more than arts and crafts) folded. On the flip side, my son is on track to earn his Arrow of Light in cub scouts and cross over to boy scouts in February. He seems to be enjoying it and I think it has helped him immensely in the world of social interaction. Jen still enjoys her work at the church and then there's me. Oh, we did lose one of our cats just a couple of weeks ago. Mozart hadn't been feeling well and he'd been to the vet several times to find out what's wrong with him. Then one day, he was completely miserable and Jen took him again. In short, the doctor said that all of his systems were shutting down so she had to make the painful decision to put him down. It sucked. We told the kids that evening and we all spent time crying together. Now the other cat is either starting to realize her brother is gone or she's coming to understand that she's now the senior cat and she has become a little more social and much more talkative. We are trying to figure out when would be a good time to get another animal and if we should try to find another cat or move into the realm of dog ownership. We're also looking at the possibility of moving into a bigger house in the next year or so. This home has been great for us, but it's simply not big enough for our growing children (and their friends) so we want to get some more space for them and a little nicer features for ourselves.

Politics:
Okay, I'll be honest. I am extremely disappointed in the results of yesterday's presidential election. I was sure that with $16 Trillion in national debt (that was "only" $10 Trillion just four years ago); the official unemployment rate at or above 8% for his entire administration (even though the real number is probably closer to 20%) and the murder of an American diplomat for the first time since the Carter administration just a few weeks ago that Barack Hussein Obama was done as America's top executive. I thought Mitt Romney, with his experience as a business man who had turned around companies like Staples and Best Buy, turned a failing Olympics into a successful (and profitable) venture for Salt Lake City, Utah, and America, and working across the aisle as a Republican governor in the very blue state of Massachusetts would be able to convince American voters that he was the better man for the job. However, I have underestimated the people on the coasts and here in Colorado. It seems that if you take money from those who have it and give it to those who are angry at others for their success and call it "fair" and if you throw in a "free" cell phone, then people will continue to vote for you, regardless of your success or failure. There is also rampant racism still alive and well in this country. How do I know? Because there are many who said that they would vote for Obama because he's a black man. How does the color of a man's skin make him qualified to be president?  What happened to the dream of Martin Luther King, Jr when he said that his dream was that people would be judged, "not on the color of their skin, but on the content of their character?"

So, as you can see, there are a lot of things going on. I am going to try to tone down my social network page and stick to the surface stuff like checking in at Starbucks, or posting pictures of snow when it comes, and leave the deeper stuff to this format. Guess that means I should start labeling my posts, but I'm just uncomfortable with labels as a general rule... NOT!

If you're still reading, thanks for taking time out of your life to get caught up with what's going on in mine. Thoughts? Questions? Comments?

It's just "Bill" now... again

For the first time in over 20 years I do not have a title attached to the front of my name. Okay, that's not entirely true. I will always have a claim to the title of "Staff Sergeant of Marines" but I will no longer be called that in the work place. Why? Because, effective yesterday, I have been transferred to the Fleet Marine Corps Reserve (FMCR). In other words, I am officially retired from the USMC.

Kinda scary...

On the negative side, I no longer have a guaranteed paycheck twice a month... but I will be getting a retirement pension for the rest of my life (assuming politicians don't mess with the current system). Although I am no longer covered by my active duty medical insurance, I have signed up for our retired medical plan and wouldn't you know it, the same doctor that my wife and children see is now my doctor. My retirement check, although not huge, is enough to cover our mortgage and the premium for this new medical plan... and I think there's even enough to keep the lights on at home, so we'll always have a place to live. My beautiful wife has a part time job that pays better than we thought it would, so we'll even be able to put food in the 'fridge... and we have plenty of clothes to rotate through for the forseeable futre... or until the kids grow out of their jeans and shirts.

So let's get back to this whole "work place" concept...

For the past 12 years I've been a career planner. In short, the Marine Corps' version of an HR generalist. I help with retention bonuses, make sure the paperwork for a new contract is filled out correctly, recorded, and then filed, conduct exit interviews for people who decide to leave the service, and so on and so forth. I decided that I liked that job so much that I want to be in HR when I get out (which is now, in case you forgot). So I started going to school to study HR Management. Then I started going to job fairs, posting my resume on a variety of web sites, and joining "professional" social networks like LinkedIn in an effort to find my next job. Finally, at a job fair, I received an invitation to apply directly to a company for work in their sales department. Hmmm... It's not what I was looking for, but they must've seen something, right? So I applied.

That job turned out to be hawking credit cards to travelers at the airport. Although I could do that job, it's not really what I want, so I turned them down. At the same job fair I applied for a job as a security guard (think "Night at the Museum" more than "Paul Blart: Mall Cop") but that doesn't pay very well, as you'd expect, so I turned them down... or tried to. I told the supervisor there that he wasn't offering enough money to make it worth my time, so he called me back and offered me better pay at a location closer to home... but it's still night shift and not much better than the money I could make on unemployment...

(Tangent: If Washington is serious about getting people back to work, cut unemployment. It'll encourage people to take whatever job they can find. My experience with the security post is a prime example. If I had no other way to make money to support my family you'd better believe I'd take the job.)

ANYWAY... eventually I received an email from a recruiter who saw my profile on careerbuilder and thought I'd be a good fit for his company. I accepted his invitation for an interview and two days and one follow up interview (that I arrived late for, but I called and told him I was running late) I was offered a job. This one is in sales as well, but it's a company that pools the buying power of multiple small businesses and gets them the kinds of deals that major organizations enjoy. They sell association memberships, but also health indemnity insurance and even a term life insurance policy. The kick? It's 100% commission. However, my success in landing two job offers in sales opened the possibility and I took another look at a company I actually tested for a long time ago. I now realize that back then I didn't have the confidence to sell financial investments and become a financial planner. Now, I think I do so I've applied for a position in a financial planning organization... that has offices in Southern CA and I hope to hear back from them before my deadline to answer the insurance company runs out. The bigger difference that appeals to our desire for some stability is that this latest position comes with a residual guarantee for the first two years while I build a client base.

Either way, it looks like I'm going to need to go back and get some more suits. I bought a couple of suits at Macy's last year and I have to admit... I look good when I'm all slicked out. But the point is, if I'm going to be in sales and insurance and financial planning, I seriously doubt I'll be able to get away with wearing jeans and athletic shoes to work anymore. (Bummer, right?)

Oh! So, back to the school thing. There's not much call or use for a degree in HR Management in the financial world, so I've changed my major. I am now pursuing a degree in Business Administration. Generic? Maybe. But my education goal doesn't end with a BABA. I am minoring in psychology and I want to pursue a master's in counseling after I graduate. I still have my sights on a possible career as a principal, and I figure I'll need all the insight I can get to deal with irate parents who will doubtless blame the teacher and the school when their child never does homework and then fails in class. Why would I want a job in education? Simple...

My father is a teacher. I have been a counselor and I enjoy helping people make good decisions. I figure the best way to combine those is in the principal's office. I wonder what it might be like to sit on that side of the desk for a change.

Have a great weekend and Happy March!

Birthday week musings

So, since we've moved to the Denver area, you might think that we'd become Broncos fans... HA!

I consider myself an Eagles fans, with a watchful eye on my hometown's team, the Bengals, and another eye on the team of my wife's home town: the Chargers. In fact, if quizzed, I'd probably know more about the Chargers than the Eagles anyway... but one team is AFC West and the other is NFC East, so it's conceivable that I could actually like both teams. Yeah, let's go with that.

Anyway, today is a day off for the kids thanks to Martin Luther King Jr's birthday. As such I don't have much to look forward to other than pushing them to clean their rooms and trying to get the house picked up a little bit more. We spent most of Saturday, before football started, really cleaning the main level and it looks really nice. The trick, of course, will be to keep it that way. Today is clean up the basement and garage day. I'll be getting my uniforms organized and sorted so that I can put them into long term storage.

Oh, did I forget to mention that I'm on terminal leave, awaiting separation from the United States Marine Corps at the conclusion of 20 years of service? Well, there... I just did.

Yep, after snow closed the base on the day my retirement ceremony was originally scheduled for, we were able to get the family and a couple of friends together, along with all of the Marines not on leave for the holidays, and my retirement ceremony went off without any further hitches. To keep the personnel requirements down, I asked for a color guard and a narrator and that was it. Everyone else was in the audience, which was good. I had invited several people to come, and many had planned to be there but the snow delay changed all of that and only one civilian family was able to make it, in addition to my family of course. Oh well... I've had to deal with delays and cancellations throughout my career so I shouldn't have been surprised.

-I was in the Delayed Entry Program for almost a year. I was supposed to go to boot camp in October, but kept getting pushed back until I finally went in February.
-I spent an extra week in boot camp when I failed my IST the first time and was dropped to the Physical Conditioning Platoon until I was able to pass. I took care of that the very next week.
-My graduation from boot camp was rained into the chapel instead of having a huge formation on the parade deck at MCRD.
-It rained for 28 of the 30 days that I was at MCT.
-When we decided to get married, my leave request for the end of June was denied and we had to push our wedding back to the end of July to coincide with the band's scheduled block leave.
-When I checked out of 1st Marine Division, where I'd been promoted twice and added a dependent, they literally asked, "You're who from where?"
-My promotion to SSgt was delayed over the weekend because my OIC at the time didn't want to do a promotion on a Friday. (True story)
-My son was born almost a week late... and that was only a month after the WTC attack.
-My return from Iraq in 2008 was delayed by a couple of weeks because I had asked to be on a flight that would allow me to be home for my son's birthday and was told that it wouldn't be fair for me to be home for a family event that others had to miss. (That's true story too... it was spite that kept me there two extra weeks.)

So when I scheduled my retirement ceremony for the Thursday before Christmas, I should have expected that it would be the one day that week when there would be enough snow to close the base to non-essential personnel. Since the following day was a planned family day for the Air Force, I had no choice but to move my ceremony to the Tuesday after Christmas... which I did.

ANYWAY... everything went well once we got started and now I'm a grizzly faced college student, trying to raise his GPA on one hand, find a post-military career on the other, and maintain the house on the other. (Kinda like the "world's greatest spokesman in the world" I have three hands...)

I just finished my last required Bible class. Well, sort of. I still have to turn in my final paper, but I'll get to that later today. My first class for the spring semester opened yesterday. It's online due to lack of enrollment. Really? A Business 101 class doesn't have three students interested for in-seat but the online section has over 10? (Only one other is from CO as far as I can tell.)

I'm also registered for another psychology class and a statistics class. I'm about ready to start my core classes for my major in HR Management, but the school I'm attending doesn't have a cohort scheduled to start until next year. I figure I have two options. I can switch majors, or I can switch schools. I'm not really crazy about either alternative, but I the latter option opens the prospect of earning a degree from a state school with a solid reputation. Of course, that means I'd have to shop and compare Colorado State versus University of CO. Hmmm... Rams or Buffaloes? That's neither here nor there. I'll finish the spring semester at CCU first and then worry about a new school later.

Anyway, that's what's happening here. Hope your new year is off to a good start.

Happy New Year!

It's that time again... a time to make new promises... or remake the same old tired promises. A time to look forward to the new year with anticipation and to wave a fond (or bittersweet, or just flip a finger) farewell to the year in the rearview... In other words: it's New Year's!

In keeping with tradition, I shall now reissue my usual proclomations of self-betterment... is that a word?

In 2012 I resolve to...
1) read my Bible
2) lose weight
3) post more regularly on blogger

As a new wrinkle for 2012, I have added a few more resolutions. I also resolve to...
4) find a job in the civilian work force
5) complete at least 8 more classes for school... on time
6) run 2 marathons

If you do not know me very well, then none of those resolutions will make much sense. If you know me a little, then they all make sense. If you fall under the former and would like to learn more about me, keep reading. Over the next few weeks I will probably post some memories of my time in the Corps and updates on the job search and school work.

Hope you all had a wonderful New Year's celebration. Now it's time to roll up the sleeves and get to work... as soon as I blow up some stuff on my facebook games. (SMILE!)

Happy Friday!

It's Friday. It's been a busy week, but I haven't spent a single minute in the office.

So where have I been?

I've been attending transition assistance classes this week. That's right. I've been spending the last five days learning how to write an effective resume, dress for success, and ace that interview. Now all I need to do is figure out exactly what I want to do when I get out of the Corps.

Wait, what?

Yes, I am getting out of the Marines. I have applied for authority to transfer to the Fleet Marine Corps Reserve. In other words, I am asking to retire at the end of February. Why that particular date? Well, there are a couple of reasons.

First, I think it will be pretty cool to have a retirement date of February 29. In the Corps all enlisted service members retire at the end of the month. The second reason is that I departed for the famed yellow footprints at Marine Corps Recruit Depot, Perris Island, South Carolina in February, 1992. That means that I will have completed 20 years of service and it's time to do something else.

So, if you know of someone, or happen to be someone, looking for an experienced career counselor with years of office administration experience, give me a call.

Have a great weekend!

Quickie...

So, this will be a quick update on a variety of topics. Fortunately, if you are not the type to read fast, you can take as much time as you need to get through this information or even come back later and read it again.

School is off and running for the fall semester. I'm taking the History and Literature of Ancient Israel for my first class. Well, I guess someone in marketing figured people would shun the class if they labeled it for what it is: A survey of the Old Testament. Whatever. It completes my history requirement and I thought it would be an interesting class... So far, so good.

Along with the beginning of the school year comes the beginning of the Scout year. This year I'm the registered trainer for our pack. I told them it was a mistake because I'm new to this so I'm assuming none of the leaders have done any training until they give me some sort of evidence. I'm making a database to track that and I've registered to follow the training feeds from our local council office.

Work is work. I'm making sure nobody falls off contract that doesn't want to, which is basically what I've been doing for the last 12 years. At least it's a job, right? Speaking of which...

My request to transfer to the FMCR (retire) has been submitted. I've scheduled my separations physical and I'm re-taking my transition classes next month. Once those classes are complete I'll start my VA disability claim and really start looking for a new job. (I've got a sleep apnea study scheduled for this weekend.) As long as I can continue going to school, using my GI Bill benefits, plus my retirement pay, plus some unemployment from the great state of OH, then we should be okay... at least in the short term for keeping house warm and lit and at least some food in the 'fridge. Actually, I'm sure we'll be fine. We're going to pare our cable WAY back and start using Netflix for our movies and rerun TV shows. If I don't have to drive 70 miles every day to commute then the car will last longer and so will each tank of gas. It'll work because...

Our church is in the middle of negotiations to purchase a foreclosed car dealership location. It comes with lots of parking, a great looking building, and about 5 times more square footage than what we cram ourselves into every weekend now. I already suggested that if I don't have a day job when my terminal leave starts in January and the church is in need of workers, I might spend my days helping paint, hammer, drill, wire, or whatever and continue school in the evenings.

So that's the low down on the "what's happenin" around here. Hope your weekend turns out well. If the weather's not too hot I may have to fire up some coals and make burgers or something... or even get some steaks. Now we're talkin'!

Calm before the storm

I figure I should try to add an entry to my blog before the hectic-ness (is that a word) of the fall season gathers steam and rolls me over.

The kids started school last week. They have their first homework assignments this week. The Boy is already frustrated and he's only tried one day of 4th grade homework. This might be a very long year. His sister is doing fine with her assignments, but she's always been like that. Since we're on the topic of school, I have registered for the fall semester as well, but I don't start for a couple more weeks. For the first time in my college career I will be a full time student this semester. I've come close a couple of times, but stopped at 9 credits. This time I'm in for the full 12 units. It should be very interesting.

So, the academics are covered. Let's move onto sports. The kids are in soccer for the fall sports season. Even though they are in different age groups (and therefore, different teams) their practices are back to back, which is very convenient. Their games might be a different story, but we'll jump off that bridge when we get there. The kids are also in Scouts again this year. And someone who looks a LOT like me is one of the pack leaders and the Boy's den leader this year. There is a somewhat ulterior motive here. I'm hoping that the volunteer work will enhance my resume as I look for a new job.

Why am I looking for a new job? Well, after 20 years of faithful service, I'm transitioning out of the Marine Corps in February. Yes, it's a bit of a worry, but I think we'll be okay... I hope. By the time we add up my retirement check, the GI Bill payments that I'll be receiving, and this new job that I'm looking for, we should be fine... or at least solvent. I should be finishing my degree by Spring of 2013, but if I pick up the pace and go year-round maybe I can speed that up a bit. =)

So, anyway, that's how we start this year. Hope you all are doing well. I'll try to remember to get back into the groove of things sooner rather than later.

Last post was when?!?

Hey, everybody, if there's anyone out there reading this. I just logged in and noticed that my last post was way the heck back in January. Holy cow! So, what have you been up to? I'll give you (and myself) a little trip through my 2011 so far. Should we start in January? Sure... why not?

Hang on... let me go get my day planner...

Okay, now that I've actually read my last couple of posts and remember what I was talking about at that time, I can carry on more intelligently.

Let's start with family. The Boy finished his Bear Cub Scout year in scouts. Our den had grown large enough that the pack leadership decided to split the bear den into two groups. The two registered leaders each went with one of the dens. Our den chief went with the new den and I was asked to register as a new assistant den leader for our group. (We kept the original den number.) Don't get ahead of me here... Anyway, shortly after I did all of my new leader training our den leader got sent on a "temp" assignment to Oregon for work and asked if I could handle the den on my own. Since Marines are always able to improvise, adapt, and overcome, I said "sure" and was thusly promoted into the den leader's position. Long story less long: we (I) coordinated our pack's blue and gold banquet in February, helped my son build his pinewood derby car for March, and made sure that all of my Bear Cubs earned their rank achievements and were promoted to Webelos at the last pack meeting of the school year. In fact, here's a shot of me putting the Webelos neckerchief on my son...

He looks like he's been busted for something, but the truth is that I am very proud of him and I'm actually looking forward to leading him and his den through the Webelos scouting experience. I'm not sure how many of them will succeed in earning their Arrow of Light but as their den leader, I will do my best to encourage them (and their families) to do their best... and that's the cub scout motto anyway. =)

Okay, so on to sports. I ran a 5 mile race in January, but got lucky enough that the weather was at least clear if not warm, so I earned my t-shirt for the "Frosty's Frozen" for that one. I looked into the Marine Corps Marathon, but decided that with my pending retirement I should stay closer to home, so I registered for another shot at the Denver Rock-n-Roll marathon in October. I also completed the Flying Pig marathon in Cincinnati in May. Here's a shot of us crossing the bridge into Covington at the 1 mile mark. I'm actually in the middle of this picture, wearing my Denver t-shirt...

I thought I might be, based on the time (I started in a group about 10 minutes back) and I recognized the group of runners in the red, white, and blue jerseys so I took a closer look, and I'm right in the middle of the picture. Here's a better shot of me, taken by my sister, just before the end of the race... notice I'm still "running" here also!

I finished this race in 5:01:53, which killed my time in Denver, so now I have a new target... get through in less than 5 hours. However, I don't know if I'll be able to make that this next race because of some other medical issues.

I had surgery to repair my right shoulder (again) just last month. I went to the doctor because I had stopped making progress on my strength training so I asked for a follow up MRI to be done. The results came back that I have what is called a slap tear on my biceps tendon. I was referred to the orthopedics clinic at the Air Force Academy and they decided that surgery was in order. I went back in and they basically drilled my biceps tendon into the bone in my arm and the part that's supposed to wrap up and around my shoulder before looping under my armpit and attaching to the pectoral area has been removed. Say it with me... "OUCH!" So, I've been in a sling for the past month and I start physical therapy on Thursday. I'm going to ask them if I can run and I'm hoping that with my previous marathon experience I'll at least be able to finish the race in October. I still want to run the Marine Corps Marathon, but it'll have to just be on my bucket list for now.

Speaking of the Marine Corps... I was passed for selection for promotion again this spring. I wasn't really surprised, but it still hurt. So now I am in the position of having to request transfer to the Fleet Marine Corps Reserve. Translation: I'm retiring at the end of my 20 years. My ceremony will be with just the active support staff at work and I've asked to have it on the Thursday before the Christmas weekend. That way, most everyone will still be there and I had an excuse to have my folks and Jen's mom come out for my ceremony and stay for Christmas. I went to a job fair in San Diego during our vacation last week and didn't find anything. It was very small and mostly filled with college reps and military recruiters. Sorry.. already settled there. I attended retirement classes last summer, but I'm going to TAP classes again here next month as a refresher. I'll also be submitting my claim to the VA at that time, since I'm six months away from transition. Guess it's a good thing I'm in school right now.

Classes are going pretty well. Other than the one that I bombed (by not turning in the final paper on time) I'm pulling in decent grades. I figure by the time this next semester is over my GPA should be back over 3.0. I've been advised to add a psychology minor to my OMHR degree since I want to work with transitioning service members and I've submitted the official request to make that happen. I even ordered some business cards from VistaPrint with that information on there. Now comes the hard part of pretending to care about my current job while I look to the future and try to find my next job.

We just got back from a week and a half in San Diego for our vacation. It may be our last trip for a while as a family. We met up with a friend of ours who does photography and celebrated our 15th anniversary with a family photo shoot. We got some really great pictures, but I think this one sums it up the best...

So, that's a run down of the first half of my 2011. I know I said I was going to do this update thing weekly, but so far, it's more like "weakly" and I'll have to work on that. Take care!

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!

Happy Easter!

Yes, it's been quite a while since I last posted a blog entry, but I can explain...

Okay, I don't really have an excuse. I have been busy writing... Just not in this format. I've been trying to keep tabs on all the ways the federal government has been destroying our nation from within. I tend to post articles and a comment or two on my Facebook page. I've also been taking college classes which have taken time away from the ranting and raving I do here in the blog-o-world. So that's why I haven't posted a new entry since the beginning of the year.

So, how have you been? I'm doing pretty well here. Let's play some catch-up for a few minutes. Where to begin?

Like I said, I'm back in school, much to the delight of my mother and the relief of my wife. I've passed the magic 18 year mark in my Marine Corps career which means I'm down to the last two years of my time in uniform. While it's a bit of a relief to know that I've reached sanctuary, which means I will be allowed to retire at this point, it's also a bit of a jolt. I'm less than two years from being forced to face the cold reality that there are millions of people out of work and millions more working in jobs that are lower than their level of education and experience would qualify them for. So, what am I going to do? I'm studying HR Management at Colorado Christian University. I am using the tuition assistance program offered by the Marines to save my G.I. Bill benefits until after I retire. So far it seems to be going well. I did very well in my introductory class and I think I'm doing well in my current class, ENG 104: research writing. I'm hoping to at least be a senior by the time I finish my stint in the Corps, if I have not graduated by then. After that, we'll see where God takes us. Of course, Jen would like to go back to San Diego as soon as possible. If that is His path for us then I would be more than happy to follow it. If he leads us elsewhere or leaves us here then I hope and pray that we would willingly follow that direction as well.

What else? Oh! I have a thyroid condition. You may recall that I had surgery on my rotator cuff back in September. I had been taking it easy and eating too much fast food over the summer. As a result, I tipped the scales at 228 late last year. That's 20 pounds more than my maximum weight, according to the Marine Corps' standards. Well, as part of the paperwork process I am required to have a blood test to make sure there is no underlying medical condition that would cause me to gain weight. The results came back and it turns out that I have a case of hypothyroidism. I told my mom and she remarked that my father and sister have been taking medicine for that for years. Would've been helpful information a few months ago, but it's still helpful now. So maybe I was destined to come down with this, but since it happened while on active duty this will be another service related medical condition. Who knows? I may end up with enough stuff wrong with me to qualify for compensation in addition to treatment for the rest of my life. It's crazy though. I'm not sure how I feel about being qualified for lifetime "free" health care from the federal government, but on the other hand, it's Uncle Sam taking care of his wounded warriors. It's a dilemna for sure. Anyway, I've been taking a synthetic thyroid medicine and watching what I eat, plus I'm exercising more. As of last week I was down to 214. I'm hoping/trying to get back to an even 200 by our anniversary. We'll see how that goes.

Completely changing the subject: I introduced the kids to the original Star Wars trilogy over the last few weeks. We got a Wii system for Christmas and everyone got a game for themselves. I got Lego Star Wars: the Complete Trilogy as "my" game. I've played it a lot and really enjoy it. It's rated for payers age 10 and up because there's some tricky problem solving and creative battle strategies involved. ANYWAY, I let the kids play it and they had no clue what the whole story was all about. Well, we do a movie night every Friday where the kids take turns picking out a movie and then we all watch with popcorn and what-not. I'd grown tired of watching "Lady and the Tramp" or any of the other Disney movies we have, so I suggested we watch "Star Wars" and they totally went for it. I now feel like my responsibilty to the next generation has been completed. If/When we get the new trilogy, we'll probably watch it as well, but it was the original story line that needed to be experienced.

We've been going to Southeast Christian Church pretty much since we moved here, but we're not members yet. Why not? Well, we're not 100% sure this is where we're supposed to be. Don't get me wrong, we haven't found anything wrong with their teaching and the kids seem to have a good time whenever we go, but it just doesn't feel like "home" for us. We're going to check out a few more churches around the area to see if there's a better fit. Hopefully we figure that out sooner rather than later. Unless we find a church that just screams, "THIS IS IT!" We'll probably stay at Southeast. It would be nice to find a place to serve again.

The kids' school is currently on a year-round schedule but they're converting back to a more traditional schedule for next year. Unfortunately, that means they'll only have about seven or eight weeks for summer break this year. I've already signed up for retirement classes back at Miramar in late July, but we'd also like to try to get to Cincinnati this summer since we haven't been back for a few years. Add our reserve unit's annual drill period in June and we've got a busy summer schedule ahead. It may turn out to be easier if I just take the summer off from school and hit it full force in the fall, but I'd prefer to have classes going at all time. We'll see how that works out and I'll try to keep you posted.

Well, I guess that's about it for now. Hope everyone had a good winter. (Did you know it snows up here?) Our spring was a long time coming, but I think it may be here to stay.

Let's go, Reds!
Let's go, Padres!

Play ball!

Seriously?

I haven't posted since before Thanksgiving? Seriously? Well, okay then. Time to change that.

Hope your holidays went well. We drove the truck all the way back to San Diego to spend Thanksgiving with Jen's mom. Her 2 BR apartment is definitely not the ideal place to add a family of four, but she graciously gave up her room and we made it work. After about 20 minutes of driving on our way out of town, I was already glad we had decided to take the Ford. Four words: D... V... D... Player... Anyway, the truck did just fine all the way down and all the way back. We had a good visit and a wonderful Thanksgiving with our friends in Moreno Valley. I've put more time and effort (and money) into that SUV in recent months than I care to recall. Shortly after we got here we got new tires (scheduled and budgeted for) then we needed a new brake booster and yet another new alternator... I've learned a lot about working on cars in the last couple of months. Still, I don't have enough to be able to figure out what's really wrong with it so I took it back to the dealer. I pointed out that the alternator in the vehicle came from their parts shop (replacing one from Autozone that had been in there for less than a month) so I was sure that wasn't the problem. They called back later that day and told me I need a new PCM. That's the computer that controls the cruise control and handles most of the diagnostics for the vehicle. How do I know? Because it's the same thing that went wrong on my Saturn just before we left San Diego back in July. Seriously? What are the odds?

Anyway, on to Christmas break. This time we were the hosts. Jen's mom came to visit the week of Christmas and just after she got here it snowed... Nothing majorly dramatic but enough to give a nice coat of white on the world for the holiday. My parents and sister arrived from Ohio on the 26th. We were able to consolidate the kids for my MIL to stay with us, but we just didn't have the space for all three of my family so they got a hotel in nearby Castle Rock. We went around town during the week between Christmas and New Year's and took in the seasonal sights. It stayed cold enough to keep the snow around, but the weather was clear throughout their visit. They went home on the 2nd of January and we've been in recovery mode since then. It's like we had to get back into a routine just to recover from the "break" for the holidays. At least I was able to take leave so that was nice.

Today it's snowed for most of the day. The temperatures have actually fallen for most of the day. Seriously? A high temp in the teens? That's just not right.

So now that we're all caught up, let's talk about the new year. I've started reading my Bible again and since we're not planning to move this summer I'm very hopeful that I'll be able to keep going this year. I've also started exercising again. I've already run 6 miles this year... Granted, that's not much, but if you consider that I had rotator cuff surgery just back in September then I think I'm doing okay. The down side to having surgery shortly after coming off leave? I'm overweight. Seriously? Yep. I'm currently at 216 and I'm only allowed to be 208. When I was weighed in early November I was at 228. So it's 20 pounds and that led to a lipid test to check to see if I had a medical reason for being overweight (other than my shoulder) and that's when I found that I have a thyroid condition. Seriously? Yes, I have a mild case of hypo-thyroid-ism... That means that my thyroid is not producing as much of whatever chemical it makes as it used to so I've been put on pills and I have a follow up in a couple of weeks. The kicker? When I told my mom about this she said that my dad and sister have been on thyroid medication for "years." Seriously? I probably should've been told about this sooner rather than later, Mom. (love you!)

Anyway, I'll be using this blog and my facebook account to keep tabs on my fitness goals. I figured out that running 3 miles a day, 3 days a week, and taking 2 weeks off for vacation or illness would total 450 miles. Since I want to run a marathon, I have to assume that I'll be running more than that so I've place my goal at 500 miles for the year. Obviously I need to lose about 10 pounds as well, but I'm going to up that to 20 and see if I can get under 200 by the end of the year. If I make my running goal then the weight goal should be almost easy. We'll see what happens. Oh, I'll have to work all of that around my new schedule. I'll be taking classes at Colorado Christian University starting later this month. I'm hoping/planning to get back into the groove of taking classes sooner rather than later. If I can get done with a degree before I retire then great. If not, then there's a possibility that I could apply for a musical scholarship to supplement my retirement pay and GI Bill benefits... Assuming the federal gov't doesn't decide to tax the GI Bill to pay for education for illegal aliens or some crap like that. Sorry, did I say that out loud? I "Hope" I didn't give anyone any ideas on how to "Change" one of the biggest benefits I'm looking forward to when I retire.

So, that's how my 2009 ended and that's what I'm looking forward to in 2010. How's everything in your neck of the woods?

It's Monday... and I'm on 'cation!

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!

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!

BOO!!!

Happy Halloween! Okay, it's not really that scary, but I couldn't think of a better title for this post. It's been a couple of weeks so here's what's going on...

We went to Mr. Biggs for the boy's birthday. We thought about it and realized that we could either spend a bunch of money to have the neighborhood boys over and let them trash our house (which still has at least one box in every bed room) or let him pick a friend to take with us and go where he wanted to go. He'd originally said Dave and Buster's but we heard about Mr. Biggs and decided to check it out. It was just okay for us but the kids had a good time and that's the point, right? So we came home late and had a quick piece of cake and opened presents before off to bed. It's so hard to believe that we have an 8 year old. He and I are in Scouts now as well. He'll get jumped in officially at our next pack meeting. I should be able to have his uniform shirt done by then. If he was a little older I'd make him sew his own patches on and work on his arts and crafts badge at the same time, but my military side says that his uniform should look good so I'll do it for him... this time.

Jen was doing really well the week after my last post. The sun came out and the fall decorations sprang up all over the neighborhood. Then the snow came... and didn't leave! Seriously, it was all over the news back in my home town so you know it had to be big... or nothing else interesting was going on. Still, it snowed constantly for 2 days straight. I even got snowed out of work for a couple of days. In fact, the roads were bad enough that our kids' school even called off going to classes yesterday. Sheesh! Of course, today the sun is shining again and the white stuff is turning brown and black along the major roadways. The kids don't quite understand that it can be sunny and still be cold. They wanted to go out in their flip-flops and short sleeves this afternoon. How about... NO! While we were snowed in I got the garage cleaned up enough to get the Truck into it. That was good. Now here's the bad news.

I took the vehicle to our local dealer ealier this week. (Let me back up a bit.) As we were trekking across the mountains, our check engine light came on. I had just had the car serviced before we left San Diego so I ignored it thinking that the mechanic had just forgotten to reset the light and besides, we were planning to get the oil changed again soon after we got to Denver. So, I took the car in... told the desk guy that the engine light and battery lights are on steady. Also, there's a hiss under the brake pedal and the heater vent in the back doesn't blow hot air and there's a switch clicking whenever we turn it on. He says no problem... we'll take a look. I called back later in the day and he runs down a list of things wrong with the car. What's the damage? Oh... about $2800. That's not a typo. They wanted almost 3 grand to put in a new alternator (the one that's in there is fine) and install a new brake booster and pcv line (BTW, WTH is a pcv line?), new aux motors for the rear heater and nearly $1000 to change out the fluids for winter. I said thanks but no, would you just change the oil and give me a detailed write up? Sure. So we go pick up the truck only now it has a power problem. There's hesitation on acceleration and the check engine light is now blinking at me. The owner's manual says that means "misfire" which would explain the hesitation and rough idle. I took the truck back to Ford. Dude looks me in the eye and says, "We didn't do it." So now I'm waiting for the tech manual to be delivered and I've ordered a brake booster from Autozone. It should be here on Wednesday or Thursday which is fine since the manual won't get here until next weekend at the earliest. I do not like dealerships and this is just one more example of why.

So, in the spirit of the 'holiday' I've decided to just put that all aside for the afternoon and get the garage ready for tonight's trick-or-treat crowd. I'm planning to wear my flight suit and my new snow boots and try to look like a Ghostbuster. If that fails I still have the retro outfit that I bought for Jen's 30th birthday party and I can be Disco Dan or something. Anyway, hope your weekend is off to a better start. Don't eat too much candy and I'll see you next month. Bwahahahahahahaha!