Too much to do... not enough time to "git-r-dun!"

Wow... I never realized how much work it is to get everything done when you have to relocate the entire family in one fell swoop. We're making progress though and I think we'll be okay by the time M day comes...

We had a huge garage sale yesterday. It threatened to rain all day, but never actually did. In fact, the sun finally broke through the "May Gray" just as we were moving everything back into the garage. (Whew!) We had a good turnout and more important than making money: we moved a lot of stuff we didn't want to move. Most of what went was baby related, and since we're done with that phase of our lives (knock on wood) then we offered up clothes and strollers and toys to other families who might need some of it.

Let me tell you... I didn't ask directly, but advertising WORKS! We had an add in the paper that ran Thurs-Sat and although only one guy specifically stated, "Your ad said..." I'm sure others at least stopped by to see what we had based on that.

We'll do it all again next weekend, then DAV will probably get a call to come pick stuff up. If not them, there's Operation Homefront, GoodWill, Salvation Army, and others who will make good use of stuff that is just taking up space in our garage.

So that's moving... I'm so far behind in my current class that I seriously doubt I'll be able to get a passing grade. That sucks because then I'll have to repay the tuition assistance and this is not a good time for that.

The summer season is typically "moving season" for the military and our unit is no different. We just got a new SgtMaj. We're getting a new CO and XO later and there's such a huge turnover going on that it wouldn't surprise me if I get skipped. The last plaque I received was the last time I was in the band... That was 10 years ago! (I'm not bitter... just annoyed.)

Well, I can hear the kids moving and we have to get ready for church this morning, so I guess that's all the time I have for now. It's a good thing I can type so fast or else I'd never get a word in edge wise. =) Have a great length of time and I'll try to update more regularly. I'll just add that to the list...

it's the weekend... or is it the week-beginning?

Well, it's Saturday... What does that mean? It means that I have a lot of stuff to do today, especially since I'm scheduled to be on duty tomorrow. It's ironic, don't you think, that the guy who makes up the duty schedule hasn't put himself on the roster for three months now and there are people senior to him who are on the schedule. I also find it curious that even though I've mentioned it many times that I attend church with my family every weekend that I've been assigned the Sunday duty this week. Seriously? I know for a fact that there are at LEAST four people in the building who don't attend church at all. Why not put one of them on for Sunday? On the plus side, I do have my Saturday available to clean the garage, take recyclables in for $$, and enjoy the San Diego weather. We'll adapt by going to the evening service tonight and then Jen will have the day to herself tomorrow. Also, since I'll just be coming off of duty on Monday morning, it won't be a big deal when I go home after my appointment to set up TMO... and that's scheduled for 9:30. :-) This will also give me a chance to get caught up on some of my homework for my literature class. I'm way behind... I still owe an essay from two weeks ago and I've already missed two quizzes. I'll jump ahead to where everyone is now and then go back and try to fill in the gaps. Should be interesting.

What are you up to? I had to engage comment moderation because some jerk used my comment space to post his (or her) entire blog from January to now. Seriously? Get your own blog, you moron.

100 days... that's it?

Twelve billion dollars a DAY... that's how much the new administration has cost the American taxpayer. That's two dollars for every person on the PLANET. When the American people voted for change, I'd be willing to bet 8.5% of the working population were not thinking that they'd be looking for change as in, "Hey, Buddy, got a quarter?" We have been blessed in this current downturn because of my current occupation which guarantees a paycheck, albeit a modest one, for the next few years. Am I upset about taxes targeting the "rich" people? Well, yeah! I hope to be one of those people some day and I don't want to pay any more taxes than I have to. Here's a thought... everyone pays a flat 10% on gross income and a flat 5% sales tax. If you require emergency services such as fire or EMT assistance, then the responding department will charge your insurance to recover their costs. That would have the impact of rewarding those of us who are careful and encourage more people to be responsible for their action.

So, did anyone watch the press conference last night? I didn't and there's really one simple reason... he's on TV all the time. When the POTUS is on TV and/or radio every day there's nothing special about it. It's like living in San Diego. When I can wake up most every morning to a gorgeous SoCal day with awesome weather, I tend to take it for granted. When I KNOW the President is going to make a press release of some sort, then I no longer bother to watch. Doesn't he have a spokesperson, or did all of his candidates have to bow out because they "forgot" to pay their taxes?

It's been 100 days and I have a hangover...

well... look who's back

Okay... the kids are in bed and my Love is out with her friends for chit-chat and scrapbooking. I've got "The Empire Strikes Back" on Spike TV and a drink so I figured I'd jump on the computer and update some stuff. First stop: blog.

So we went back to Verizon the Sunday after Valentine's only to learn that the sale we were looking for had ended ON Valentine's Day. Now they wanted $130 for the phone we wanted... No thanks. We checke the Target flyer that afternoon and found the exact same phone for $19.99. That was even better than we were expecting so we went out and grabbed a couple. Within a week I had used up the available memory space on the phone so I bought a couple of memory cards: one for me one for J. Well, as I was going home I thought she might have preferred a blue-tooth instead so I kept the receipt... I took her memory card back and got her a blue-tooth the next day as she requested. (man, I'm good)

Fast Forward to March...

(Back story follows) When I got back from Iraq last year I was told that I'd be transferring to Georgia in March. I really (really... REALLY) didn't want to do that so I pitched a fit and got my orders changed. Now we're not moving until this summer and we're not going to Georgia. (back story ends)

My replacement has already checked in and taken over the office so I am pretty much out of a job right now. I don't really mind because I'm taking advantage of the time to hit the gym every day and get caught up on my medical care... parrallel but opposing objectives. See, when I was deployed last year I went through the training in the Marine Corps Martial Arts Program to upgrade to green belt (level 3). Unfortunately I damaged my shoulder with all of the throws and arm bars and to skip to today, I have a torn shoulder muscle (revealed by MRI) and an appointment with Balboa's orthopedics dept next week. Ironically enough, that's the day I was SUPPOSED to check in to the career course at the academy to remedy a deficiency in my training jacket. But when the doctor said I would risk permanent damage, I decided that maybe I'll retire as an E-6 but have use of both my arms. Anyway, I've been assigned as the Equal Opportunity Representative for the CG's inspection coming up which meant I had to go through training last week. If I end up in the HR field as a civilian, being trained for EO should look good on my resume.

So that's pretty much where we are right now. Since this is now updated, I'm going to hit my togetherweserved profile and update that as well. Jen wants me to get a wastebook page, but I already have a mywaste page, so I don't know if that will happen.

Sorry it's taken so long to update this. I know I probably don't have any readers, but I wanted to post anyway... more for myself I suppose.

Where have I been?

Wow.

I'm sorry about that. I didn't realize it's been over three months since I last posted. Let's see... what have I been up to?

Well, let's start with the holidays.

I got a nice thick robe for Christmas which I first thought was going to be too warm for me, but it's actually perfect. There are times when I will wear one of my hoodies instead, but that's usually because it has better freedom of movement. I also got a pair of "real" slippers to offset my novelty Ohio State Happy Feet slippers. The kids did well also. We went with the concept of one big gift and a few smaller but related gifts. There was one huge down side... We got the girl a doll house and a few rooms of furniture for her house. When I went to put the house together it was broken. I took it back to Wally World and learned that it had been a seasonal special purchase. Translation: "we don't sell that any more." D'oh! So we looked online and it's not available there either. So that sucked. The boy got some cool Hot Wheels and a track to launch them on. It's a loop that goes into a jump. It starts on a raised level, drops into a loop and that feeds right into a launch ramp. It's pretty cool except one of the cars that came with it is too light and can't get around the loop... it keeps falling. Jen got a new camera and all the toys that come with it. She wanted it. She shopped for it online. I went out and bought it. I have to admit that she made it easy for me, but I kind of feel like I was jipped (sp?) out of the holiday experience of figuring out what to get her and then rushing all over town trying to find it... on Christmas Eve. (jk)

New Year's was fun. Grandma took the kids for a sleep over and we had a couple of friends come to the house. We ate. We drank. We played games like "Boxers or Briefs" and we drank and ate some more. At some point we turned on the TV and watched the tape delayed celebration in New York as the ball dropped and 2009 began. We ate and drank some more and then I crashed. I was the first one to go down and that wasn't until 2:30. That was pretty good considering I'd been up since before 7. I woke up just before 8 on Jan 1 and made it downstairs to turn on the TV and watch the Tournament of Roses Parade. Every year on Jan 1 I like to watch the parade while I'm still in my 'jamas and drinking my coffee. When the Marine band comes marching down the street I look for people that I might know and then I laugh because I didn't have to get up at 3 and march the 5 miles while carrying a 35 pound Sousaphone and playing "The Marine's Hymn" and "Semper Fidelis" over and over. Don't misunderstand me, the five times that I did it were fun, but that's a young man's game. There's nothing like hearing thousands of people cheering just because you came down the street with 100 of your closest friends and wearing the world's most recognizable uniform. Plus, we always got a burger from In-N-Out at the end of the parade. =)

Anyway, that's how the holidays went and the new year got started.

My MIL and I have our birthdays only two days apart so we had combined them up until last year. Last year was a milestone birthday for her so we did a special party and this year she offered to take the kids for another sleep over. We accepted.

Now, it's the day after Valentine's Day and the kids are at Grandma's again. That was my doing. I set it up for her to take them so we didn't have to worry about picking them up on our way home from dinner. We went to our favorite place and had a nice dinner. We had to go because they may not be in business by the time our anniversary rolls around. We'd been invited to hook up with some friends for desert and drinks, but they cancelled so we just added desert to our dinner and enjoyed the time to ourselves. We were going to go look at new phones after dinner, but the store closed at 8. D'oh! So, we'll probably try again after church this morning.

Anyway, that's about it. I have some other stuff to tell, but those stories aren't realy "holiday" specific, so I'll post again later... Hopefully not too much later.

Have a great week!

Time off = Time out

My parents are awesome grandparents. I got home from Iraq in late October and they came out to see "me" on the 1st of November. Actually, I think they came out to see the grandkids, but my homecoming was a good excuse. :-) Like I mentioned in my last entry, I think they ended up spending more time with the little ones than I did, but that's cool. They stayed with them for a couple of days in the middle of the week so we could go to Glen Ivy for an overnight trip. That was very much needed. We spent the day doing a whole lot of nothing. We sat in the hot tub a few times, visited Club Mud, and even tried out the Grotto toward the end of the afternoon.

(coffee break)

That was actually the second day we were gone. We got a late start on Wednesday, so we took our time getting up there and stopped along the way to shop and grab some lunch. We saw "Fireproof" that night and went out for dinner. While we were out shopping, I ended up with an entire new outfit from Old Navy. It should look pretty good. I'll probably wear it when the weather gets a little cooler. Jen bought some stuff for herself as well. All in all, it was a good getaway. We got home Thursday evening and met my folks (and kids) for dinner. They said the kids had a great time and they were glad to be able to help. We would've asked my MIL, but she's still working so she wasn't available for a mid-week outing like that.

My sister arrived on Saturday morning. Since my Dad had my car, I didn't have to get up early to go get her at the airport. =) Our birthday ball was that evening, which I addressed in my last post. We took family portraits on Sunday and went to Knott's Berry Farm on Tuesday to take advantage of their Veteran's Day special prices for military. Jen and I got in for free and everyone else got tickets for only $15 apiece. That's a great deal. We spent the whole day there and left after dark in search of dinner at Claim Jumper. We headed home after that and the kids and my sister did not make it all the way home without falling asleep. The next morning (Wednesday) I got up super early (4:30) to make coffee and to be ready to drive. My dad had said they might come over as early as 5:00 to be taken back up to LAX for their flight home. They didn't make it. We left the house just before 6 and I managed to get them up there by 8:15 or so. My sister sent me a text message from Indianapolis, so I guess they made their 9:15 flight. Anyway, that's a brief rundown of the last two weeks. I've been off of work the whole time and I have to go back on Monday. =( Still, it's been a decent two weeks and I'm very much glad to be home. If there's a bright spot to having to go back to work, I picked up my pass for the Coaster so I'll be able to ride the rails when I go to work.

Have a great weekend!

... annnnd we're back

Alllrighty then... let's try to get caught up a bit. Let me start with last night and I'll work my way backwards. Last night was our Birthday Ball. For those of you not familiar with what that means, let me 'splain.

The Marine Corps was founded by a resolution of the Continental Congress on 10 November 1775. In 1921 General John A. LeJeune (13th Commandant of the Marine Corps) directed that all commands commemorate the birthday of the Corps with a special meal and a cake cutting ceremony. Over the years, that tradition has evolved into the Marine Corps ball.

Last night the 3rd Marine Aircraft Wing upheld tradition and threw a ball at the Sheraton on Harbor Drive (near the airport). We attended and even brought another couple as our guests. Since it was the Wing HQ's ball, the entire 3rd MAW Band was there and they performed a motivating set before the actual ceremony started. The ceremony itself was just as I remembered all the ones I played in and the ones I've attended since leaving the band field. I saw a few of the bandsmen who were deployed with us this year and they all seem to be doing well. The guest of honor told two stories as preludes to his speech, which he never gave. He said the point of the ball wasn't to listen to some retired 3-star run his suck for 20 minutes, but to commemorate who we are and what we do. So we did.

After dinner the music got really loud so the four of us took a walk down by the harbor and talked for a bit until it got too cold and we returned to the hotel and ballroom. We managed to get in a couple of dances and left around 11. It was not a bad evening and our friends seemed to have a good time. Of course, the last time we took a civilian couple they ended up leaving for another job location and I haven't spoken to them since. I hope that doesn't happen this time.

I know what you're saying. "Wait a second. I thought they had two little kids. What happened to them?" Well, my parents have been in town for a week and they stayed with the kids for us. They've actually stayed with the kids probably more than I have during this time off from work, but that's where I'll start my next entry. Until then, have a great week and Happy Birthday, Chesty (wherever you are)!