Wow the last year has gone by fast. It doesn't seem like it was that long ago that I wrote this post. Thanks to the military pay scales, there are longevity pay raises every two years of service, so there is a nice pay-raise for me this year.
My career certainly has had its ups and downs, but looking back I feel tremedously blessed in the rich variety of experiences I have had. I have said before, and I still believe, that both the good and the bad periods and events of my career have provided me with valuable learning experiences. Although I would never wish the bad experiences on anyone and would not want to relive them, I am glad to have them under my belt and hope the wisdom I gained through them will help me to be a better naval officer, leader, husband, and father (not necessarily in that order).
I've had the priviledge to serve with many very smart and talented shipmates in the last sixteen years, and many have had long-lasting impacts on me. They will pop into my mind whenever someone mentions a key word or place or a song I hear. For all of you who have served with me, I am thankful for our time together and for what you have taught me along the way.
Showing posts with label giving thanks. Show all posts
Showing posts with label giving thanks. Show all posts
Friday, May 21, 2010
Friday, May 7, 2010
Military Spouse Appreciation Day
To my wonderful wife...
You.
Are.
Awesome.
For the past thirteen years, you have supported me through three 6-month deployments plus countless other times of separation that didn't count as "deployments" because they were less than 56 days long. Okay, so you weren't a military spouse all thirteen years, but you supported me nonetheless.
When we were just dating, I loved the way you would bring me dinner on the boat when I had duty. It was back before 9-11 and you could just show a bag of Boston Market food to the gate sentry and say, "My boyfriend is the duty officer on the PROVIDENCE," and the sentry would say, "enjoy your dinner, ma'am," and let you drive on down to the pier.
We were engaged when I went on deployment to the Persian Gulf. With our wedding date set for the month after we got back from deployment, you had to make a lot of wedding plans without me, and mourn the loss of my dear friend Mr. C - your dad. You had your first experience dealing with sending an AMCROSS message to the boat.
After growing up your entire life in Boston and only venturing as far as New York for college, we were married and packed up all our belongings and moved 3,000 miles across country to Monterey, California. Three time zones away from your family and friends, and waiting for your car to be delivered on a truck while I was driving our other car off to school every day, you got to experience the loneliness of a Navy wife in a new duty station.
The timing of starting our family didn't exactly turn out according to the plan we had in mind. Our eldest son was born just weeks before I graduated from the Naval Postgraduate School and we packed up all our belongings for yet another coast-to-coast, 3,000 mile PCS move. Poor ES in his car seat did so well for so many hours per day in the car, but each night when he had reached his limit, he started what we called "the rusty pliers scream," (because he was screaming as if someone was pulling his toe nails out with a pair of rusty pliers).
We were only in Groton for 5 months of SOAC, and there was a shortage of on-base housing. They held a lottery to decide who got to have the on-base housing. We didn't win, so we had to find a place in town. That summer, while I sat in the air conditioning at sub school, you suffered through 100+ degree temperatures INSIDE our very small, very temporary apartment, improvising your own air conditioning system by placing a big bowl of ice in front of the fan.
Orders came for us to make another coast-to-coast PCS move, this time to San Diego. From 3,000 miles away, we shopped for a house via the internet and placed a bid on a house we had never seen before with our own eyes.
I often joke that I would have liked to actually LIVE in San Diego again. It was right after 9-11, and I was out at sea 50% of my department head tour. The other 50% of the time, I went to work before the sun came up, and I went home after the sun went down, so I didn't see much of San Diego. I went to WESTPAC three times in three years.
Our family planning worked out the way we hoped it would this time around, although that meant you were pregnant for the duration of my next deployment. Nothing like chasing a 2-year old around while pregnant and your husband is on deployment, right? Then, to make matters worse, the southern California brush fires came within a couple of miles of our house, and the ash fell like gray snow. At least, so I hear, because I wasn't there to help you pack up our valuables in the car, watch the news, worry and wait to find out if you would have to evacuate our home.
We thought the timing of the pregnancy would enable me to take baby leave after we got back from deployment. I was on baby-leave for 3-days when I got recalled to the boat. Another boat had broke, we were tasked to get underway to cover their ops, and the Captain wasn't willing to go to sea without the Navigator. So much for baby leave.
Orders came for shore duty, hooray... and yet another coast-to-coast PCS move, this time to the DC area. I was out at sea for the last three months I was on the boat, so we packed up our household goods and you headed off to DC with the boys while I went out to sea. You shopped for a house on your own, with a toddler and an infant in tow, bought a house, received our household goods shipment, and established our new home without my help. Then came the tornado warnings (unusual for the DC area), and you huddled in the basement with the boys, once again alone in a new duty station far from family and friends and without my support.
We really enjoyed shore duty in DC, but the time came to move on. This time, instead of coast-to-coast PCS orders, we got a real hum-dinger. I was going to a boat that would be on deployment for 4 months, then in Norfolk for 3 months, then change homeports to Hawaii. There was no point in you and the boys moving to Norfolk for that short a period of time, so you were a single mom and I was a geo-bachelor for a while and then we did a trans-oceanic move to Hawaii.
Once again, my contribution was minimal. You handled all the household goods packing and shipment without me. I flew with you and the boys to Hawaii, checked into the Navy Housing office to put our name on the waiting list, deposited you in the Navy Lodge, and I got back on a plane to Norfolk. Once again, you accepted custody of our new home in Navy Housing, you accepted our shipment of household goods, and you established our new home without my help.
Then there was the roller-coaster ride of negotiating for this current set of shore duty orders. DC! Hooray! No wait... Hawaii! No wait... Japan! No wait... Hawaii! This time we're sure, it's Hawaii. The honey-do list got longer since we were staying, and we started to set deeper roots in the volcanic rock of Oahu. Then the orders came... for DC! Hooray, we're going back to DC! Another trans-oceanic move!
We've been married for 11 years and called 7 different places "home." Every PCS (permanent change of station) move for us has either been coast-to-coast or across an ocean. None have been easy.
You have put up with so much, Sweetie, and I appreciate everything you have sacrificed and everything you have done to keep our family together and to uproot and replant our home in each new duty station.
You.
Are.
Awesome.
For the past thirteen years, you have supported me through three 6-month deployments plus countless other times of separation that didn't count as "deployments" because they were less than 56 days long. Okay, so you weren't a military spouse all thirteen years, but you supported me nonetheless.
When we were just dating, I loved the way you would bring me dinner on the boat when I had duty. It was back before 9-11 and you could just show a bag of Boston Market food to the gate sentry and say, "My boyfriend is the duty officer on the PROVIDENCE," and the sentry would say, "enjoy your dinner, ma'am," and let you drive on down to the pier.
We were engaged when I went on deployment to the Persian Gulf. With our wedding date set for the month after we got back from deployment, you had to make a lot of wedding plans without me, and mourn the loss of my dear friend Mr. C - your dad. You had your first experience dealing with sending an AMCROSS message to the boat.
After growing up your entire life in Boston and only venturing as far as New York for college, we were married and packed up all our belongings and moved 3,000 miles across country to Monterey, California. Three time zones away from your family and friends, and waiting for your car to be delivered on a truck while I was driving our other car off to school every day, you got to experience the loneliness of a Navy wife in a new duty station.
The timing of starting our family didn't exactly turn out according to the plan we had in mind. Our eldest son was born just weeks before I graduated from the Naval Postgraduate School and we packed up all our belongings for yet another coast-to-coast, 3,000 mile PCS move. Poor ES in his car seat did so well for so many hours per day in the car, but each night when he had reached his limit, he started what we called "the rusty pliers scream," (because he was screaming as if someone was pulling his toe nails out with a pair of rusty pliers).
We were only in Groton for 5 months of SOAC, and there was a shortage of on-base housing. They held a lottery to decide who got to have the on-base housing. We didn't win, so we had to find a place in town. That summer, while I sat in the air conditioning at sub school, you suffered through 100+ degree temperatures INSIDE our very small, very temporary apartment, improvising your own air conditioning system by placing a big bowl of ice in front of the fan.
Orders came for us to make another coast-to-coast PCS move, this time to San Diego. From 3,000 miles away, we shopped for a house via the internet and placed a bid on a house we had never seen before with our own eyes.
I often joke that I would have liked to actually LIVE in San Diego again. It was right after 9-11, and I was out at sea 50% of my department head tour. The other 50% of the time, I went to work before the sun came up, and I went home after the sun went down, so I didn't see much of San Diego. I went to WESTPAC three times in three years.
Our family planning worked out the way we hoped it would this time around, although that meant you were pregnant for the duration of my next deployment. Nothing like chasing a 2-year old around while pregnant and your husband is on deployment, right? Then, to make matters worse, the southern California brush fires came within a couple of miles of our house, and the ash fell like gray snow. At least, so I hear, because I wasn't there to help you pack up our valuables in the car, watch the news, worry and wait to find out if you would have to evacuate our home.
We thought the timing of the pregnancy would enable me to take baby leave after we got back from deployment. I was on baby-leave for 3-days when I got recalled to the boat. Another boat had broke, we were tasked to get underway to cover their ops, and the Captain wasn't willing to go to sea without the Navigator. So much for baby leave.
Orders came for shore duty, hooray... and yet another coast-to-coast PCS move, this time to the DC area. I was out at sea for the last three months I was on the boat, so we packed up our household goods and you headed off to DC with the boys while I went out to sea. You shopped for a house on your own, with a toddler and an infant in tow, bought a house, received our household goods shipment, and established our new home without my help. Then came the tornado warnings (unusual for the DC area), and you huddled in the basement with the boys, once again alone in a new duty station far from family and friends and without my support.
We really enjoyed shore duty in DC, but the time came to move on. This time, instead of coast-to-coast PCS orders, we got a real hum-dinger. I was going to a boat that would be on deployment for 4 months, then in Norfolk for 3 months, then change homeports to Hawaii. There was no point in you and the boys moving to Norfolk for that short a period of time, so you were a single mom and I was a geo-bachelor for a while and then we did a trans-oceanic move to Hawaii.
Once again, my contribution was minimal. You handled all the household goods packing and shipment without me. I flew with you and the boys to Hawaii, checked into the Navy Housing office to put our name on the waiting list, deposited you in the Navy Lodge, and I got back on a plane to Norfolk. Once again, you accepted custody of our new home in Navy Housing, you accepted our shipment of household goods, and you established our new home without my help.
Then there was the roller-coaster ride of negotiating for this current set of shore duty orders. DC! Hooray! No wait... Hawaii! No wait... Japan! No wait... Hawaii! This time we're sure, it's Hawaii. The honey-do list got longer since we were staying, and we started to set deeper roots in the volcanic rock of Oahu. Then the orders came... for DC! Hooray, we're going back to DC! Another trans-oceanic move!
We've been married for 11 years and called 7 different places "home." Every PCS (permanent change of station) move for us has either been coast-to-coast or across an ocean. None have been easy.
You have put up with so much, Sweetie, and I appreciate everything you have sacrificed and everything you have done to keep our family together and to uproot and replant our home in each new duty station.
Happy Military Spouse Appreciation Day!
Thursday, February 4, 2010
Thankful Thursday
1. Pentagon Post Office
I recently visited the post office in the Pentagon for the first time. It's inside the Metro entrance off to the right hand side (in the E ring / back to back with the Hall of Heroes). When I first walked in the door, my heart sank a little because of the number of people in line and the fact that there was only one lady working the counter.
Little did I know... If you look up the word "efficiency" in the dictionary, you will see a picture of Ms. F. C. Manning. Okay, so we've all met some customer service type people who are efficient but generally achieve that efficiency through some level of sacrifice to professionalism, courtesy, or manners. When it came my turn to step up to the counter, I was very pleasantly surprised. Ms. Manning was the epitome of professionalism, courtesy, and good manners in addition to processing your business efficiently and getting you out the door.
Thank you, Ms. Manning. You're awesome!
2. Army and Air Force Exchange Service (AAFES)
I bought a pair of Oakley sunglasses at the Bolling AFB Post Exchange ("PX") back in June. Recently, one of the arms broke off. It's well within the 1-year warranty period. Unfortunately, I never filled out the warranty card and didn't save the receipt. Even though I can find the transaction on my credit card statement and I have the original box with the price sticker on it, Oakley customer service said that wasn't good enough and I needed a receipt from the store. If not, then I'd have to pay $50 for the repair.
I said to myself, "Self, why not try contacting the PX to see if they can get you a copy of the receipt?"
From the AAFES website, I sent an email with details of the date, time, last four digits of my credit card number, and transaction amount from my credit card statement. I didn't really have any expectation they would be able to help me out, but I figured it couldn't hurt to ask.
Low and behold, I got a phone call from Ms. Kathy Williams at AAFES, and within a matter of moments, she emailed me a copy of the receipt. She was extremely kind, courteous, and helpful.
Thank you Ms. Williams!
I bought a pair of Oakley sunglasses at the Bolling AFB Post Exchange ("PX") back in June. Recently, one of the arms broke off. It's well within the 1-year warranty period. Unfortunately, I never filled out the warranty card and didn't save the receipt. Even though I can find the transaction on my credit card statement and I have the original box with the price sticker on it, Oakley customer service said that wasn't good enough and I needed a receipt from the store. If not, then I'd have to pay $50 for the repair.
I said to myself, "Self, why not try contacting the PX to see if they can get you a copy of the receipt?"
From the AAFES website, I sent an email with details of the date, time, last four digits of my credit card number, and transaction amount from my credit card statement. I didn't really have any expectation they would be able to help me out, but I figured it couldn't hurt to ask.
Low and behold, I got a phone call from Ms. Kathy Williams at AAFES, and within a matter of moments, she emailed me a copy of the receipt. She was extremely kind, courteous, and helpful.
Thank you Ms. Williams!
Thursday, January 28, 2010
Thankful Thursday
First, many thanks to Hilary for recognizing my blog in her Posts of the Week this week.
Second, I've received two very nice emails from readers in the past month. They were both very kind to take the time to write and thank me for reviews I have written of one place or another.
If you want to know how to make a blogger's day, just send them an email to let them know you enjoy reading their blog or that you appreciated the effort they put into writing a review of something (restaurant, movie, tourist attraction, whatever).
Thanks to Hilary and to the readers who have emailed for the positive feedback! You each made my day.
Second, I've received two very nice emails from readers in the past month. They were both very kind to take the time to write and thank me for reviews I have written of one place or another.
If you want to know how to make a blogger's day, just send them an email to let them know you enjoy reading their blog or that you appreciated the effort they put into writing a review of something (restaurant, movie, tourist attraction, whatever).
Thanks to Hilary and to the readers who have emailed for the positive feedback! You each made my day.
Tuesday, January 12, 2010
You're Welcome
Man, so this random dude I know had such a truly horrible day, I had to write and tell you about it. It was so bad it was comical.
Wait.
Who am I kidding?
You know darn well who the random dude is. I may as well change the title of this post to:
Stupid Kevin Tricks, Vol 37, Ed 9,452
I would say grab a cup of coffee and pull up a chair, but I don't want you spewing that coffee on your computer screen, so liquids might not be a good idea. Let me also just state for the record that it's 32F outside right now, and with the wind chill it feels like 22F that plays a role here and there in this post.
So there I was...
It was my second day in a row of late meetings at work. Got done at the Pentagon shortly after 5 p.m. and had to take the briefing materials back to my office in Crystal City to lock it up for the night. Speed-walked in the frigid cold from the Pentagon back to my office (3/4 mile) and let our office secretary go home who had kept the office open for me. On my way into the office, I swiped my badge, quickly walked in and tossed my handful of stuff on my conference table, then just as quickly turned heel to walk back out and use the restroom.
As I walked out the door of the office, before I let the door slam shut, I said to myself, "Self, make sure you have your badge. It would REALLY SUCK if you locked yourself out of the office." I did a quick grab check and confirmed that my shoestring was around my neck and the familiar rectangular plastic form of my badge holder was against my jacket, so I pulled my foot out of the door and continued walking down the hallway as the office door slammed shut with a resounding THUD behind me.
Can you see where this is going?
Yep.
That "handful of stuff" I tossed on my conference table included my briefing pouch, my spiral notebook, my cover, my gloves... and my badge that I had just used to swipe open the office door. I normally always put it right back in my badge holder, but for some bizarre reason - a disturbance in the force, or an anomaly in the Earth's gravitational pull, or a butterfly flapped its wings in the Amazonian jungle last week, I tossed it on the table and walked out of my office.
The building security guys said they couldn't open it and someone who works in my office and had a badge coded for our swiper had to open it. So feeling like a total dumb-ass, I put my tail between my legs and called a couple of the lieutenants who work for me to find out how far away from the office they were and if one of them was available to come bail me out. One came to my rescue and arrived about 25 minutes later. He was very courteous in NOT pointing out what an idiot I was, but the smirk on his face said it quite well.
It was getting so late that I was afraid I would miss the last bus home. Normally I wear civilian clothes to and from work because they're warmer, but I said to myself, "Self, you've gotta be back here at 6 a.m. in your uniform tomorrow so you can be at the Pentagon at 7 a.m. You're gonna have to drive to work, and you're gonna need to be in your uniform first thing, so just wear your uniform home tonight." And so it came to pass that I skipped my routine of changing out of my uniform into my warmer civilian clothes for the commute home.
Another speed walk in the freezing cold took me six blocks to the Metro station. Off the Metro and onto the Loudoun County bus, I was mentally focusing on the positive, counting my blessings and being glad I caught the last bus home. Well, that's not entirely accurate. I made it to the last bus back to the commuter parking lot at Dulles North, not to "home."
I stepped off the bus back into the bitter cold and felt warmed by a sense of joy as I gazed across the parking lot to my car... one of the last cars left in the mostly empty parking lot... There is a light at the end of the tunnel! My suffering horrible day is almost over! (There were other not-so-good things that happened earlier in the day that I skipped over to keep this short.) I couldn't WAIT to get in my car and start the seat-warmer and crank up the heat.
After briskly walking across the parking lot to my awaiting chariot home, I put my hand on the door handle... nothing. I lifted my hand up and put it back down on the door handle again... nothing. As you may recall from a previous post, my car has one of those RFID keyless entry systems. I don't even think about it being there. I just walk up to the car, put my hand on the door handle, the doors unlock and the car goes, "beep beep," I open the door and get in.
Then the lightbulb went off over my head.
My fancy RFID keys only work as long as they're IN MY POCKET. More specifically, in the pocket of the CLOTHES I'M WEARING, not in the pocket of my blue jeans sitting back in my office in Crystal City.
I'm not proud of the choice of words that came from my mouth at that moment.
Once again feeling like a complete dumb-ass, I informed my wonderful wife what had transpired. She said the boys were still awake waiting for me to come home, so she would put them in the car to come rescue me. It didn't take long for me to start shivering while standing there in the parking lot, so I started jogging laps around the parking lot. That's how my wonderful wife and boys found me 15 minutes later... jogging around the parking lot... in my khakis... wearing my comfy shoes... body numb from cold... with snot running down my face like a river...
HOWEVER (comma) I'm trying to focus on the bright side and count my blessings. I made it home safely. I gave my building security guards, my lieutenants, my wife, and my kids a source of amusement for the evening. And I got some exercise.
But what it really comes down to is this. I did it all for you. I played the role of the sacrificial anode. I jumped on the grenade. I kept Murphy occupied all day today so that each of you could have a hassle-free day. I figure Murphy can only be so many places at once, and he was pretty darn busy with me today, so...
You're welcome.
Wait.
Who am I kidding?
You know darn well who the random dude is. I may as well change the title of this post to:
Stupid Kevin Tricks, Vol 37, Ed 9,452
I would say grab a cup of coffee and pull up a chair, but I don't want you spewing that coffee on your computer screen, so liquids might not be a good idea. Let me also just state for the record that it's 32F outside right now, and with the wind chill it feels like 22F that plays a role here and there in this post.
So there I was...
It was my second day in a row of late meetings at work. Got done at the Pentagon shortly after 5 p.m. and had to take the briefing materials back to my office in Crystal City to lock it up for the night. Speed-walked in the frigid cold from the Pentagon back to my office (3/4 mile) and let our office secretary go home who had kept the office open for me. On my way into the office, I swiped my badge, quickly walked in and tossed my handful of stuff on my conference table, then just as quickly turned heel to walk back out and use the restroom.
As I walked out the door of the office, before I let the door slam shut, I said to myself, "Self, make sure you have your badge. It would REALLY SUCK if you locked yourself out of the office." I did a quick grab check and confirmed that my shoestring was around my neck and the familiar rectangular plastic form of my badge holder was against my jacket, so I pulled my foot out of the door and continued walking down the hallway as the office door slammed shut with a resounding THUD behind me.
Can you see where this is going?
Yep.
That "handful of stuff" I tossed on my conference table included my briefing pouch, my spiral notebook, my cover, my gloves... and my badge that I had just used to swipe open the office door. I normally always put it right back in my badge holder, but for some bizarre reason - a disturbance in the force, or an anomaly in the Earth's gravitational pull, or a butterfly flapped its wings in the Amazonian jungle last week, I tossed it on the table and walked out of my office.
The building security guys said they couldn't open it and someone who works in my office and had a badge coded for our swiper had to open it. So feeling like a total dumb-ass, I put my tail between my legs and called a couple of the lieutenants who work for me to find out how far away from the office they were and if one of them was available to come bail me out. One came to my rescue and arrived about 25 minutes later. He was very courteous in NOT pointing out what an idiot I was, but the smirk on his face said it quite well.
It was getting so late that I was afraid I would miss the last bus home. Normally I wear civilian clothes to and from work because they're warmer, but I said to myself, "Self, you've gotta be back here at 6 a.m. in your uniform tomorrow so you can be at the Pentagon at 7 a.m. You're gonna have to drive to work, and you're gonna need to be in your uniform first thing, so just wear your uniform home tonight." And so it came to pass that I skipped my routine of changing out of my uniform into my warmer civilian clothes for the commute home.
Another speed walk in the freezing cold took me six blocks to the Metro station. Off the Metro and onto the Loudoun County bus, I was mentally focusing on the positive, counting my blessings and being glad I caught the last bus home. Well, that's not entirely accurate. I made it to the last bus back to the commuter parking lot at Dulles North, not to "home."
I stepped off the bus back into the bitter cold and felt warmed by a sense of joy as I gazed across the parking lot to my car... one of the last cars left in the mostly empty parking lot... There is a light at the end of the tunnel! My suffering horrible day is almost over! (There were other not-so-good things that happened earlier in the day that I skipped over to keep this short.) I couldn't WAIT to get in my car and start the seat-warmer and crank up the heat.
After briskly walking across the parking lot to my awaiting chariot home, I put my hand on the door handle... nothing. I lifted my hand up and put it back down on the door handle again... nothing. As you may recall from a previous post, my car has one of those RFID keyless entry systems. I don't even think about it being there. I just walk up to the car, put my hand on the door handle, the doors unlock and the car goes, "beep beep," I open the door and get in.
Then the lightbulb went off over my head.
My fancy RFID keys only work as long as they're IN MY POCKET. More specifically, in the pocket of the CLOTHES I'M WEARING, not in the pocket of my blue jeans sitting back in my office in Crystal City.
I'm not proud of the choice of words that came from my mouth at that moment.
Once again feeling like a complete dumb-ass, I informed my wonderful wife what had transpired. She said the boys were still awake waiting for me to come home, so she would put them in the car to come rescue me. It didn't take long for me to start shivering while standing there in the parking lot, so I started jogging laps around the parking lot. That's how my wonderful wife and boys found me 15 minutes later... jogging around the parking lot... in my khakis... wearing my comfy shoes... body numb from cold... with snot running down my face like a river...
HOWEVER (comma) I'm trying to focus on the bright side and count my blessings. I made it home safely. I gave my building security guards, my lieutenants, my wife, and my kids a source of amusement for the evening. And I got some exercise.
But what it really comes down to is this. I did it all for you. I played the role of the sacrificial anode. I jumped on the grenade. I kept Murphy occupied all day today so that each of you could have a hassle-free day. I figure Murphy can only be so many places at once, and he was pretty darn busy with me today, so...
You're welcome.
Wednesday, November 11, 2009
Happy Veteran's Day
To all my current and former shipmates and to all who have served our country on the pointy-end of the spear, thank you for your service.
I attended a really nice Veteran's Day assembly at my boys' school this morning. They sang some great songs and then had all the veterans in the audience come stand on the stage to receive a standing ovation and receive hand-written thank you letters from the students of the school. They did a great job.
Thursday, July 16, 2009
Thankful Thursday
Before I start giving thanks, let me just recap the past couple of days as background.
I just got back from a whirlwind trip to Pearl Harbor to give a morning presentation and an have an afternoon meeting on the sub base. I flew out Monday and flew back Tuesday evening on the red-eye, so I didn't bother to adjust my body's clock to Hawaii time. After I landed Monday, I grabbed some stuff at the NEX, got some dinner at Tacos del Mar, checked into the Navy Lodge out on Ford Island and went to bed about 6 p.m. HST (midnight EST).
I woke up about 2:30 a.m. HST (8:30 a.m. EST) on Tuesday. I brought a couple of blockbuster DVDs with me. I finished off the first disc of BSG Season 2 and then I watched Fan Boys.
Fan Boys is about a group of Star Wars nerds who go on a road trip across country to California to break in to George Lucas' Skywalker Ranch and watch The Phantom Menace before it was released in theaters. They stop and get in all sorts of misadventures and battles with Trekkies along the way. It has some crude humor / sexual content - not something I would recommend for kids, but it was a pretty funny movie with some awesome cameo appearances.
Aside: The first and only way I ever heard about this movie was in this article in WIRED magazine along with these behind-the-scenes pictures. Surprisingly enough, telling each of my friends who I think are nerdy enough to have heard about and appreciate the movie, none of them have heard of it. Is it just me or did this movie get NO advertising at all??? (besides an article in WIRED magazine anyway)
About 5 a.m. when I started to see light in the eastern sky, I put on my running shoes and went for a run around Ford Island. What a spectacular and enjoyable run it was, too. I ran counter-clockwise from the Navy Lodge, past the USS UTAH memorial, past the new houses and their lovely view of the brig. The sky was getting brighter in the east as I rounded the southern end of the island and admired the view looking down the channel to the Pacific Ocean and across the water to the USS NEVADA monument, the shipyard and the sub base. I ran along the old WWII era sea plane ramp and down along the battleship row mooring keys to the USS MISSOURI, past the USS OKLAHOMA memorial and on down to the USS ARIZONA memorial. Then I turned past the swimming pool and by the traffic circle back on over to the Navy Lodge. Total distance for 1 lap around the island was 3.5 miles.
Blunoz run by the ARIZONA at sunrise
After I got done with my presentation and meeting on Tuesday, I did a quick scenic drive over to the windward side to get some macadamia nuts at Tropical Farms. After admiring the view of Chinaman's Hat, I headed back over the H-3 and picked up some POG for YB at the commissary. Then I met up with one of my JOs from the Mighty MSP and had an awesome dinner at Sam Snead's. I love the grapefruit vinaigrette dressing at Sam Snead's. I could drink the stuff by the gallon.
Okay, so shifting gears to the Thankful Thursday post, this week I'm thankful for:
- my wonderful family, the awesome dinner my wonderful wife cooked for us tonight, and the awesome bike ride we had around the trails here in Ashburn after dinner tonight
- a safe trip to Hawaii and back
- an awesome run with the history and beautiful scenery around Ford Island
- great shipmates like Matt (thanks for meeting me for dinner, Matt) and the awesome crew I was priviledged to serve with on the Mighty MSP
- macadamia nuts
- grapefruit vinaigrette dressing
- all the great family memories I have of our 15 months living in Hawaii - snorkeling, hiking, kayaking, scuba diving, and enjoying the aloha lifestyle
BT BT
After catching up on reading some of my blog-roll this afternoon, I want to add one more line item to my thankful list.
I'm thankful for the bravery, dedication, and GUTS of guys like Darrell "Shifty" Powers.
Aside: Friends of mine on Facebook know I share this article's disgust with the MSM coverage of MJ's funeral and total LACK of coverage of people like Robert McNamara and Darrell Powers. (Let's see, WHY is the flag at half mast in the photo of the ARIZONA memorial above??? I wonder how may people in America would guess it was for MJ based on the MSM coverage of his death?)
Anyway, rants against the MSM aside, H/T and many thanks to FastNav for sharing the post about Shifty. I got choked up reading it on the bus ride home today.
Thank you for your service and Rest in Peace, Shifty.
I just got back from a whirlwind trip to Pearl Harbor to give a morning presentation and an have an afternoon meeting on the sub base. I flew out Monday and flew back Tuesday evening on the red-eye, so I didn't bother to adjust my body's clock to Hawaii time. After I landed Monday, I grabbed some stuff at the NEX, got some dinner at Tacos del Mar, checked into the Navy Lodge out on Ford Island and went to bed about 6 p.m. HST (midnight EST).
I woke up about 2:30 a.m. HST (8:30 a.m. EST) on Tuesday. I brought a couple of blockbuster DVDs with me. I finished off the first disc of BSG Season 2 and then I watched Fan Boys.
Fan Boys is about a group of Star Wars nerds who go on a road trip across country to California to break in to George Lucas' Skywalker Ranch and watch The Phantom Menace before it was released in theaters. They stop and get in all sorts of misadventures and battles with Trekkies along the way. It has some crude humor / sexual content - not something I would recommend for kids, but it was a pretty funny movie with some awesome cameo appearances.Aside: The first and only way I ever heard about this movie was in this article in WIRED magazine along with these behind-the-scenes pictures. Surprisingly enough, telling each of my friends who I think are nerdy enough to have heard about and appreciate the movie, none of them have heard of it. Is it just me or did this movie get NO advertising at all??? (besides an article in WIRED magazine anyway)
About 5 a.m. when I started to see light in the eastern sky, I put on my running shoes and went for a run around Ford Island. What a spectacular and enjoyable run it was, too. I ran counter-clockwise from the Navy Lodge, past the USS UTAH memorial, past the new houses and their lovely view of the brig. The sky was getting brighter in the east as I rounded the southern end of the island and admired the view looking down the channel to the Pacific Ocean and across the water to the USS NEVADA monument, the shipyard and the sub base. I ran along the old WWII era sea plane ramp and down along the battleship row mooring keys to the USS MISSOURI, past the USS OKLAHOMA memorial and on down to the USS ARIZONA memorial. Then I turned past the swimming pool and by the traffic circle back on over to the Navy Lodge. Total distance for 1 lap around the island was 3.5 miles.
Blunoz run by the ARIZONA at sunriseOkay, so shifting gears to the Thankful Thursday post, this week I'm thankful for:
- my wonderful family, the awesome dinner my wonderful wife cooked for us tonight, and the awesome bike ride we had around the trails here in Ashburn after dinner tonight
- a safe trip to Hawaii and back
- an awesome run with the history and beautiful scenery around Ford Island
- great shipmates like Matt (thanks for meeting me for dinner, Matt) and the awesome crew I was priviledged to serve with on the Mighty MSP
- macadamia nuts
- grapefruit vinaigrette dressing
- all the great family memories I have of our 15 months living in Hawaii - snorkeling, hiking, kayaking, scuba diving, and enjoying the aloha lifestyle
BT BT
After catching up on reading some of my blog-roll this afternoon, I want to add one more line item to my thankful list.
I'm thankful for the bravery, dedication, and GUTS of guys like Darrell "Shifty" Powers.
Aside: Friends of mine on Facebook know I share this article's disgust with the MSM coverage of MJ's funeral and total LACK of coverage of people like Robert McNamara and Darrell Powers. (Let's see, WHY is the flag at half mast in the photo of the ARIZONA memorial above??? I wonder how may people in America would guess it was for MJ based on the MSM coverage of his death?)
Anyway, rants against the MSM aside, H/T and many thanks to FastNav for sharing the post about Shifty. I got choked up reading it on the bus ride home today.
Thank you for your service and Rest in Peace, Shifty.
Thursday, June 25, 2009
Thank You Thursday
It's been a while since I gave a shout out of thanks and kudos to my wonderful wife for the awesome meals she cooks for me and the boys.
She really surprised me this week. If you've been reading my blog for a while, then you'll know that (a) I love Mexican food, and (b) one of my favorite Mexican dishes is mole poblano (or some variation thereof like chicken enchiladas in mole sauce). Mole sauce is kind of an acquired taste, and not something I would ever expect my wife or kids to eat. Even so, she dug up a recipe for mole chicken tostadas and planned to make it for me for Father's Day dinner on Sunday.
Of course, I spoiled it for her.
After church, we were heading out to lunch, and I got to choose. Of course, I chose Los Toltecos over on Route 7 - one of the only places around here where you can find mole poblano. I had an absolutely heavenly dish they called mole rancheros - shredded chicken bathed in mole sauce with melted cheese on top, served with warm tortillas.
Since I had that for lunch, my wonderful wife held off on the special meal she had planned until Tuesday night.
I tell ya what.
Not only was it heavenly, but it was so good even ES liked it! Will wonders never cease?
I tell ya what else.
I got to have mole poblano TWICE in the SAME WEEK!!! :-)
Oh, and to TOTALLY make my Father's Day, after lunch at Los Toltecos, my wife took me for my other Father's Day surprise. Back when we were in Hawaii, I got to take ES out kayaking three times (Pearl Harbor, Waikoloa, and Chinaman's Hat). When the detailer had told us we were staying in Hawaii for shore duty, I actually started shopping around and was going to buy a kayak. Then one thing led to another and here we are in the DC area again.
Even so, there seem to be a good number of places to go paddling around here, and I've been researching going for a trip on the Shenandoah River and probably mentioned it to my wife half a dozen times or more in passing. I was really hoping for a gift certificate for a paddling trip on the Shenandoah River for Father's Day, but she did even better than that. She took me to EMS and let me pick out my own kayak. :-)
It's a sit-on-top sea kayak, and the same model that ES and I had rented for our trip around Chinaman's Hat.
Now I have new-toy-syndrome. I can't wait to get out on the water this weekend! There's an organized trip going down Goose Creek on Sunday I hope to join, but I also hope to get out on the Beaver Creek Dam Reservoir on Saturday just to test it out and practice the logistics of getting in and out with the boys.
Thank you, thank you, thank you, Sweetie, for the effort you put into making awesome delicious meals for us and for my awesome Father's Day presents!!!
She really surprised me this week. If you've been reading my blog for a while, then you'll know that (a) I love Mexican food, and (b) one of my favorite Mexican dishes is mole poblano (or some variation thereof like chicken enchiladas in mole sauce). Mole sauce is kind of an acquired taste, and not something I would ever expect my wife or kids to eat. Even so, she dug up a recipe for mole chicken tostadas and planned to make it for me for Father's Day dinner on Sunday.
Of course, I spoiled it for her.
After church, we were heading out to lunch, and I got to choose. Of course, I chose Los Toltecos over on Route 7 - one of the only places around here where you can find mole poblano. I had an absolutely heavenly dish they called mole rancheros - shredded chicken bathed in mole sauce with melted cheese on top, served with warm tortillas.
Since I had that for lunch, my wonderful wife held off on the special meal she had planned until Tuesday night.
I tell ya what.
Not only was it heavenly, but it was so good even ES liked it! Will wonders never cease?
I tell ya what else.
I got to have mole poblano TWICE in the SAME WEEK!!! :-)
Oh, and to TOTALLY make my Father's Day, after lunch at Los Toltecos, my wife took me for my other Father's Day surprise. Back when we were in Hawaii, I got to take ES out kayaking three times (Pearl Harbor, Waikoloa, and Chinaman's Hat). When the detailer had told us we were staying in Hawaii for shore duty, I actually started shopping around and was going to buy a kayak. Then one thing led to another and here we are in the DC area again.
Even so, there seem to be a good number of places to go paddling around here, and I've been researching going for a trip on the Shenandoah River and probably mentioned it to my wife half a dozen times or more in passing. I was really hoping for a gift certificate for a paddling trip on the Shenandoah River for Father's Day, but she did even better than that. She took me to EMS and let me pick out my own kayak. :-)
It's a sit-on-top sea kayak, and the same model that ES and I had rented for our trip around Chinaman's Hat.
Now I have new-toy-syndrome. I can't wait to get out on the water this weekend! There's an organized trip going down Goose Creek on Sunday I hope to join, but I also hope to get out on the Beaver Creek Dam Reservoir on Saturday just to test it out and practice the logistics of getting in and out with the boys.
Thank you, thank you, thank you, Sweetie, for the effort you put into making awesome delicious meals for us and for my awesome Father's Day presents!!!
Sunday, June 21, 2009
Happy Father's Day
Happy Father's Day, Dad!
I'm very grateful to my dad for the love and pride and encouragement he has given me over the years.
Since my photo albums were in storage when we were in Hawaii, I couldn't share any photos from before the invention of the digital camera. Now that I have them back, I can flip through the pages of our family history...
This has always been one of my parents' favorite photos. My dad and I are watching the fish in a small pond by the Four Seasons hotel in Albequerque, NM.
Los Alamos, NM, 1974.
Hard to believe I used to wear one of those blue and gold cub scout uniforms, too. (Oh, and the Navy used to allow beards :-) ). San Pedro, CA, 1980.I am also very grateful to see what a wonderful, fun, loving Grandpa my dad has become for my boys.
Watching the fish in the pond.(History repeats itself?)
Drawing on the magnadoodles.
Swing time.
Teaching YB to use a knife.
Horsey Rides.
Geocaching in Northern Virginia
Turning a noodle into a water-cannon.We look forward to seeing you again next month, Dad!
Thursday, June 11, 2009
Thank You Thursday
All winter I have been running on the treadmills in the PAC Annex (Pentagon Athelic Center) in Crystal City. Since the weather has turned nice, I have started running outside along the Mount Vernon Trail. It's a really nice, paved trail along the Potomac River. Running from the PAC Annex up to the 14th Street bridge is approximately 2 miles, so it makes for a nice 4 mile run going up there and back again.
Blunoz self-portrait on the Mt. Vernon Trail
Flashback. Scenic paths like this are one of the reasons I cited for wanting to leave Hawaii and move back to Virginia. I never could understand why there was so much trash (and resultant SMELL) along the bike path around Pearl Harbor.
Well, one reason became apparent to me as I was running on the Mt. Vernon Trail.
Segue into Thank You Thursday post...
I want to offer kudos and a special note of thanks to the National Park Service dude who was sweeping debris off the trail. It's been raining a lot in the evenings lately, and there were a few patches of the trail where muddy sand and gravel had been washed across the path. This guy in his National Park Service shirt with a little white pickup truck pulled over on the side of the trail was sweeping the stuff off and clearing the path.
As I was jogging by, I told him "thank you so much for doing that." He responded with a warm smile and held his fist out toward me, so I held my fist out and tapped knuckles with him as I ran by.
So my second note of thanks on this Thank You Thursday post is to the bicyclists on the Mt. Vernon Trail who are courteous and share the path with the joggers.
Don't get me wrong, I'm not trying to turn this into a Hawaii-bashing post. There are certainly lots of positive things about Hawaii. I'm just highlighting some of the positive aspects of living in Virginia instead of Hawaii and giving thanks for the good things I've seen on the Mt. Vernon Trail lately.
Blunoz self-portrait on the Mt. Vernon TrailFlashback. Scenic paths like this are one of the reasons I cited for wanting to leave Hawaii and move back to Virginia. I never could understand why there was so much trash (and resultant SMELL) along the bike path around Pearl Harbor.
Well, one reason became apparent to me as I was running on the Mt. Vernon Trail.
Segue into Thank You Thursday post...
I want to offer kudos and a special note of thanks to the National Park Service dude who was sweeping debris off the trail. It's been raining a lot in the evenings lately, and there were a few patches of the trail where muddy sand and gravel had been washed across the path. This guy in his National Park Service shirt with a little white pickup truck pulled over on the side of the trail was sweeping the stuff off and clearing the path.
As I was jogging by, I told him "thank you so much for doing that." He responded with a warm smile and held his fist out toward me, so I held my fist out and tapped knuckles with him as I ran by.
Random aside: What does one call the gesture where one guy holds out his fist, and another guy responds by holding his fist out and touching knuckles?Chalk that up as another reason I was glad to move back to Virginia - people have manners here. It's the little things. People say "excuse me" and "thank you." On the trail, bikes will ring their bell to let you know they're going to pass you. I normally give them a quick wave to let them know I heard them and it's safe to pass, and several of the guys on bikes have said something like "thank you for the wave" as they pass by me.
So my second note of thanks on this Thank You Thursday post is to the bicyclists on the Mt. Vernon Trail who are courteous and share the path with the joggers.
Don't get me wrong, I'm not trying to turn this into a Hawaii-bashing post. There are certainly lots of positive things about Hawaii. I'm just highlighting some of the positive aspects of living in Virginia instead of Hawaii and giving thanks for the good things I've seen on the Mt. Vernon Trail lately.
Thursday, November 27, 2008
Giving Thanks
I'm thankful for...
- My wonderful wife
- My two awesome boys
- A very loving and supportive extended family
- Good shipmates and friends and the difficult challenges we've overcome together
- Being an American
- A good church
- A great house
- Food to feed my family and clothes to keep us warm
- A secure job and a good paycheck in this troubled economy
- Good schools for both of my boys
We were blessed today to be invited to Thanksgiving dinner at the house of some friends from church. It was an awesome dinner with all the fixings. My favorite dish was the sweet potato praline casserole.
After dinner, we all went for a walk around the neighborhood to help the food settle and make room for dessert.
a) Refuse to let him bring the Nintendo, he refuses to go on the walk and stays at the house.
Result:
+ Content son.
- Son doesn't get exercise.
+ I enjoy peaceful walk with friends.
- Son doesn't enjoy or learn to appreciate the beauty of the season.
b) Refuse to let him bring the Nintendo, he refuses to go on the walk, and I drag him kicking and screaming on the walk against his will.
Result:
- Unhappy son.
+ Son gets exercise.
- My ears hurt from listening to his crying and whining.
- Son still doesn't enjoy or learn to appreciate the beauty of the season.
c) Allow him to bring Nintendo, he goes on walk.
Result:
+ Content son.
+ Son gets exercise.
+ I enjoy peaceful walk with friends.
- Son still doesn't enjoy or learn to appreciate the beauty of the season.
I figured 3 out of 4 ain't bad.
Ahhhh, Nintendo by the fire.
- My wonderful wife
- My two awesome boys
- A very loving and supportive extended family
- Good shipmates and friends and the difficult challenges we've overcome together
- Being an American
- A good church
- A great house
- Food to feed my family and clothes to keep us warm
- A secure job and a good paycheck in this troubled economy
- Good schools for both of my boys
We were blessed today to be invited to Thanksgiving dinner at the house of some friends from church. It was an awesome dinner with all the fixings. My favorite dish was the sweet potato praline casserole.
After dinner, we all went for a walk around the neighborhood to help the food settle and make room for dessert.
Ode to an After Dinner Walk.While I wish I could have convinced him to enjoy the walk with us without the distraction of electronic entertainment, I figured I had three choices.
Mmmm, full belly - tryptophan flowing in my veins,
Ahh, the crisp fresh air - biting my cheeks, can't feel my nose,
White picket fences and seasonal decorations - orange and yellow gords,
Bare trees - dark silent sentinels silhouetted against the sky,
Brown leaves under our feet - crunch, crunch, crunch,
Geese flying in a vee-formation high overhead - distant honking,
Quiet conversation and laughter amongst friends,
And my seven year old plays Nintendo...
a) Refuse to let him bring the Nintendo, he refuses to go on the walk and stays at the house.
Result:
+ Content son.
- Son doesn't get exercise.
+ I enjoy peaceful walk with friends.
- Son doesn't enjoy or learn to appreciate the beauty of the season.
b) Refuse to let him bring the Nintendo, he refuses to go on the walk, and I drag him kicking and screaming on the walk against his will.
Result:
- Unhappy son.
+ Son gets exercise.
- My ears hurt from listening to his crying and whining.
- Son still doesn't enjoy or learn to appreciate the beauty of the season.
c) Allow him to bring Nintendo, he goes on walk.
Result:
+ Content son.
+ Son gets exercise.
+ I enjoy peaceful walk with friends.
- Son still doesn't enjoy or learn to appreciate the beauty of the season.
I figured 3 out of 4 ain't bad.
Ahhhh, Nintendo by the fire.Monday, May 26, 2008
Sub Vets Memorial Day Ceremony
Today, I took ES with me to the Sub Vets Memorial Day ceremony at the PARCHE memorial on the sub base.
Aside: ES has shown such an interest in taking pictures, we decided to get him his own camera for his birthday. Being a 7 year old boy, we wanted to get him something shock-proof and water-proof, so we got him an Olympus Stylus 850SW. As an added bonus, the camera even comes in his favorite color - yellow. The Sub Vets Memorial Day ceremony today was essentially ES's maiden voyage with his new camera. All the pictures in this post were taken by ES with his new camera (except for the last one).
ES took this photo of me by the PARCHE's
conning tower before the ceremony.
We sat towards the back of the crowd,
but ES walked forward to take some pics.
Commodore Hankins from Submarine Squadron ONE was the guest speaker. He have a very nice eulogy for LT Jeff Ammon and talked about the history and meaning of Memorial Day.
They did the traditional Tolling of the Bells ceremony, but with a Hawaiian variation on it. Just like Sub Vets ceremonies in other home ports, they read off the name of each of the 52 submarines lost in World War II, how the sub was lost, and how many men were lost or captured, and rang the bell. In the ceremony here in Pearl Harbor though, they placed a flower lei on the plaque for each submarine as they read off the names.
View from the front row of seats.
There's a brass plaque on the wall for each sub lost in World War II. I had not noticed before today that there are hooks on the top of each plaque for them to hang the leis. Notice in the picture above the leis hanging from the first half of the top row of plaques as the MC at the podium calls off the names of each of the submarines, and the guy in the middle right rings the bell.
USS BULLHEAD was the last submarine to be sunk in WWII.
After the ceremony was over, we went closer to look at the plaques and talk about some of the boats.
Before we left, I handed the camera off to someone else to get a picture of the two of us.
Aside: ES has shown such an interest in taking pictures, we decided to get him his own camera for his birthday. Being a 7 year old boy, we wanted to get him something shock-proof and water-proof, so we got him an Olympus Stylus 850SW. As an added bonus, the camera even comes in his favorite color - yellow. The Sub Vets Memorial Day ceremony today was essentially ES's maiden voyage with his new camera. All the pictures in this post were taken by ES with his new camera (except for the last one).
ES took this photo of me by the PARCHE'sconning tower before the ceremony.
We sat towards the back of the crowd, but ES walked forward to take some pics.
They did the traditional Tolling of the Bells ceremony, but with a Hawaiian variation on it. Just like Sub Vets ceremonies in other home ports, they read off the name of each of the 52 submarines lost in World War II, how the sub was lost, and how many men were lost or captured, and rang the bell. In the ceremony here in Pearl Harbor though, they placed a flower lei on the plaque for each submarine as they read off the names.
View from the front row of seats.
USS BULLHEAD was the last submarine to be sunk in WWII.After the ceremony was over, we went closer to look at the plaques and talk about some of the boats.
Before we left, I handed the camera off to someone else to get a picture of the two of us.
Boy Scouts Good Turn at the Punch Bowl
On the Sunday before Memorial Day here in Oahu, the Aloha Council of the Boy Scouts hosts a "Good Turn" (good deed) at the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific known as "The Punchbowl." Hundreds of scouts gathered at the cemetery today for a memorial ceremony and then to place flags and leis at the headstones of the graves. The VA website here has a list of the noteworthy people burried in the Punchbowl cemetery, such as Colonel Onizuka, the pilot of the Space Shuttle Challenger.
It was pretty crowded at the cemetery today. We had to park about a mile down the hill and walk up into the Punchbowl. The Punchbowl is a crater like Diamond Head. To get into it, you go up a road that curves up the outside of the crater and has some really pretty views of Diamond Head and Waikiki.
The Three MusketeersJ, E, and ES in their spiffy new yellow neckerchiefs
This is the road that spirals around the
outer edge of the crater into the cemetery.
Gee, ES, that's an awfully nice Wolf tie-clasp.Why, thank you, E, I like yours, too.
ES and Daddy at the top of the Punchbowl.
ES checks out the map of the Battle of MidwayWe had stopped here to visit Punchbowl once before a long time ago, but we didn't come up the steps to the top of the memorial. There's a really nice exhibit at the top of the steps with color maps depicting each of the battles of the war in the Pacific. If you are a history buff at all, I highly recommend paying a visit here. Also, the view from the top is pretty nice.
ES reads the headstone afterplacing the lei around the flag.
There were many of these "Unknown" headstones dated December 7, 1941. Some at least had the ship name where their body was found.
Medal of Honor
The graves with the blue flags and the gold lettering on the headstone are recipients of the Medal of Honor. We took a moment to talk with the boys about the significance of the nation's highest honor for bravery.
Mission Complete
ES took this photo of the flags
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
Battle 360! E's dad recommended we check out this show called Battle 360 on the History Channel. It sounded pretty cool, so LW set the DVR up to record it for us. Today we watched the episode about the Battle of Midway. It was really cool. ES was absolutely mesmerized by it. They basically tell the story of the battle with computer graphics showing what the ships' positions were and what the fighting was like, interspersed with actual photos and interviews with veterans from the battle. The show really helps viewers to understand the overall sequence of events and strategic impact of the battle, but it's pretty G-rated - not a lot of blood and gore to worry about the boys watching it.
Medal of Honor
Mission Complete
ES took this photo of the flags* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
Battle 360! E's dad recommended we check out this show called Battle 360 on the History Channel. It sounded pretty cool, so LW set the DVR up to record it for us. Today we watched the episode about the Battle of Midway. It was really cool. ES was absolutely mesmerized by it. They basically tell the story of the battle with computer graphics showing what the ships' positions were and what the fighting was like, interspersed with actual photos and interviews with veterans from the battle. The show really helps viewers to understand the overall sequence of events and strategic impact of the battle, but it's pretty G-rated - not a lot of blood and gore to worry about the boys watching it.Sunday, May 4, 2008
Pausing for a Moment of Thanks
There are times when I stop to reflect on my upbringing and consider how lucky I was to have such generous parents. I've previously written about how they supported my interest in international travel. Another expensive hobby that they enabled me to pursue was scuba diving.
As a small child, I always remember we had this series of Jacques Cousteau books on the bookshelf in our living room. I used to like to flip through them and look at the pictures of stuff underwater. That didn't really lure me to the water, but I think it laid the foundation for what was to come later. The first I remember really having a burning desire to take scuba lessons was when I went to 6th grade camp at the Catalina Island Marine Institute (CIMI). We got to put on full wetsuits and go snorkeling, and I had a blast. I wanted to go deeper and stay down longer.
Back then, you had to be 14 years old to take scuba lessons. My Mom & Dad gave in and let me take scuba lessons for my 14th birthday. My initial certification was through the YMCA program on the Naval Station in San Diego. After that, I did a LOT of scuba diving around San Diego, and several day trips down into Baja California with a local dive shop.
Not long afterward, I woke up Christmas morning to find a short round cylindrical object wrapped for me under the Christmas tree. Turns out it was a tank boot with a note for me to go see what was in the garage. In the garage I found [Cue Sound Effect: Angelic Choir Singing Hallelujah Chorus] my new scuba tank, BC (buoyancy compensator), and regulator setup. SCORE! CHA-CHING! CHA-CHING! At that point, the only thing I didn't have was a wetsuit, and who knew if I would grow more or gain or lose weight, so I could just rent wetsuits until my body size stabilized. Having my own tank, BC, and regulator was AWESOME.
So what brought all this up, you ask?
I'm going scuba diving tomorrow morning with some visiting friends from San Diego. We were walking through the NEX this afternoon and they had a big Dive Oahu tent sale going on in front of the store (it's going on this weekend and Memorial Day weekend). As I looked at the prices on the BC's and regulators at the NEX, and then again tonight as I was packing up my scuba gear to get ready for tomorrow morning, it just struck me what an awesome gift that was. I imagine my Mom and Dad had some considerable sticker shock spending that much money on me for Christmas that year (I don't think they ever spent that much any Christmas before or after - not that I'm complaining!). It's just amazing that was over 20 YEARS ago and I'm STILL using the same scuba gear.
Blunoz in 20+ Year Old Scuba Gear
(Note the silhouette of a turtle in the lower left corner)
YO-257 Wreck off Waikiki, 2008
During my last two years of high school, I was also blessed by the generosity of my dad and stepmom up in Oregon. They were enablers of my scuba habbit in that they allowed me to get a part-time job at a local scuba diving shop in Portland (see my C-card photo here) and provided me with a car and insurance to get there. Oh... and a good amount of gasoline, too. :-) (Much to my dad's annoyance when I would return the car with an empty gas tank - sorry about that, Dad.) They would also allow me to take the car to the Oregon coast for the weekend to go scuba diving out of Newport or Tillamook, or up to Hood Canal in Washington. They also spoiled me with a Nikonos V underwater camera back when they cost five times what they cost now on eBay.
Anyway, I decided to take a break from packing up my scuba gear for tomorrow and say thanks to my parents for enabling me to have such great experiences scuba diving over the past two decades.
As a small child, I always remember we had this series of Jacques Cousteau books on the bookshelf in our living room. I used to like to flip through them and look at the pictures of stuff underwater. That didn't really lure me to the water, but I think it laid the foundation for what was to come later. The first I remember really having a burning desire to take scuba lessons was when I went to 6th grade camp at the Catalina Island Marine Institute (CIMI). We got to put on full wetsuits and go snorkeling, and I had a blast. I wanted to go deeper and stay down longer.
Back then, you had to be 14 years old to take scuba lessons. My Mom & Dad gave in and let me take scuba lessons for my 14th birthday. My initial certification was through the YMCA program on the Naval Station in San Diego. After that, I did a LOT of scuba diving around San Diego, and several day trips down into Baja California with a local dive shop.
Not long afterward, I woke up Christmas morning to find a short round cylindrical object wrapped for me under the Christmas tree. Turns out it was a tank boot with a note for me to go see what was in the garage. In the garage I found [Cue Sound Effect: Angelic Choir Singing Hallelujah Chorus] my new scuba tank, BC (buoyancy compensator), and regulator setup. SCORE! CHA-CHING! CHA-CHING! At that point, the only thing I didn't have was a wetsuit, and who knew if I would grow more or gain or lose weight, so I could just rent wetsuits until my body size stabilized. Having my own tank, BC, and regulator was AWESOME.
So what brought all this up, you ask?
I'm going scuba diving tomorrow morning with some visiting friends from San Diego. We were walking through the NEX this afternoon and they had a big Dive Oahu tent sale going on in front of the store (it's going on this weekend and Memorial Day weekend). As I looked at the prices on the BC's and regulators at the NEX, and then again tonight as I was packing up my scuba gear to get ready for tomorrow morning, it just struck me what an awesome gift that was. I imagine my Mom and Dad had some considerable sticker shock spending that much money on me for Christmas that year (I don't think they ever spent that much any Christmas before or after - not that I'm complaining!). It's just amazing that was over 20 YEARS ago and I'm STILL using the same scuba gear.
Blunoz in 20+ Year Old Scuba Gear(Note the silhouette of a turtle in the lower left corner)
YO-257 Wreck off Waikiki, 2008
During my last two years of high school, I was also blessed by the generosity of my dad and stepmom up in Oregon. They were enablers of my scuba habbit in that they allowed me to get a part-time job at a local scuba diving shop in Portland (see my C-card photo here) and provided me with a car and insurance to get there. Oh... and a good amount of gasoline, too. :-) (Much to my dad's annoyance when I would return the car with an empty gas tank - sorry about that, Dad.) They would also allow me to take the car to the Oregon coast for the weekend to go scuba diving out of Newport or Tillamook, or up to Hood Canal in Washington. They also spoiled me with a Nikonos V underwater camera back when they cost five times what they cost now on eBay.
Anyway, I decided to take a break from packing up my scuba gear for tomorrow and say thanks to my parents for enabling me to have such great experiences scuba diving over the past two decades.
Thursday, April 24, 2008
Thank You Thursday
I don't know if it'll stick, but I had a couple of things to say thanks for, so I thought I'd make it my post for Thursday.
We had our Cub Scout Pack meeting a couple of nights ago. We started off with the flag ceremony.
Then we gave out awards. Congrats to ES who earned his Astronomy belt loop and his Swimming activity pin this week.
My first note of thanks tonight goes out to Boutiki for their very generous donation to our Cub Scout Pack. We took a photo of our pack to say thank you to Boutiki.
I'm not sure why the turnout was so light. We normally have about twice as many scouts at our pack meetings.
After the group photo, we had our usual baked goods raffle. My second note of thanks goes to LW for baking the cookies that we took for the raffle. I'm not sure why I bother carrying the baked goods over there though. I buy a few raffle tickets for a few bucks, ES's number gets called, and ES always ends up picking out exactly what LW baked. I could save us the hassle of carrying it over there and back to the house again if I just gave the few bucks I normally pay for the raffle tickets to the pack. At least tonight someone else took the cookies that LW baked before they called ES's number. ES was distraught that he couldn't pick out LW's cookies and had to choose some brownies instead.
After the raffle, we went inside the community center for a special treat. We had a magician by the name of Magic Mark. His show was half silly childish comedy and half simple magic, but he was great with the kids. So my third note of thanks goes to both Magic Mark for a good show and to our Cub Master for setting it up for our pack meeting.
He "hid" the wad of toilet paper in his mouth. J wasn't fooled and is pointing to where Magic Mark "hid" it. Much to all our surprise, when he started pulling it OUT of his mouth, he pulled out NOT a wad of toilet paper, but a long string of colored handkerchiefs. For some reason the camera was taking a long time to save and recharge in between pictures, so I didn't get a picture of the colored handkerchiefs coming out of his mouth.
All in all, we had a great time at the Cub Scout Pack Meeting this week.
BT BT
My last note of thanks goes to some random people at the Navy Exchange last week. One of our visiting friends from the mainland was a former submariner. He was a diesel boat guy and earned his fish back in the days when you had to do the two ascents in the dive tower. The dive tower has since been converted into a nice conference room facility, but there are historic photos all around the conference room. He was really excited when I took him to see the top of the dive tower and one of the historic photos was of his old boat, USS TIRU (SS-416).
At one point we all went shopping at the NEX, but Mr. R didn't want to do any shopping, so he just sat on a bench in the grand foyer of the NEX. I felt a little bad that we had just left him there sitting all alone and bored, but when we met back up with him, he was just glowing.
He was wearing a ballcap and shirt from one of his USS TIRU reunions. Several guys had seen his hat and stopped to talk to him about his time on diesel boats. It made his day to be able to share some sea stories with other bubbleheads. So I send a sincere thank you out to those few people who noticed the lone submarine veteran sitting on the bench and took the time to stop and talk with him. It really meant a lot to him and was undoubtedly one of the highlights of his vacation in Hawaii.
We had our Cub Scout Pack meeting a couple of nights ago. We started off with the flag ceremony.
Then we gave out awards. Congrats to ES who earned his Astronomy belt loop and his Swimming activity pin this week.
My first note of thanks tonight goes out to Boutiki for their very generous donation to our Cub Scout Pack. We took a photo of our pack to say thank you to Boutiki.
I'm not sure why the turnout was so light. We normally have about twice as many scouts at our pack meetings.
After the group photo, we had our usual baked goods raffle. My second note of thanks goes to LW for baking the cookies that we took for the raffle. I'm not sure why I bother carrying the baked goods over there though. I buy a few raffle tickets for a few bucks, ES's number gets called, and ES always ends up picking out exactly what LW baked. I could save us the hassle of carrying it over there and back to the house again if I just gave the few bucks I normally pay for the raffle tickets to the pack. At least tonight someone else took the cookies that LW baked before they called ES's number. ES was distraught that he couldn't pick out LW's cookies and had to choose some brownies instead.
After the raffle, we went inside the community center for a special treat. We had a magician by the name of Magic Mark. His show was half silly childish comedy and half simple magic, but he was great with the kids. So my third note of thanks goes to both Magic Mark for a good show and to our Cub Master for setting it up for our pack meeting.
He "hid" the wad of toilet paper in his mouth. J wasn't fooled and is pointing to where Magic Mark "hid" it. Much to all our surprise, when he started pulling it OUT of his mouth, he pulled out NOT a wad of toilet paper, but a long string of colored handkerchiefs. For some reason the camera was taking a long time to save and recharge in between pictures, so I didn't get a picture of the colored handkerchiefs coming out of his mouth.All in all, we had a great time at the Cub Scout Pack Meeting this week.
BT BT
My last note of thanks goes to some random people at the Navy Exchange last week. One of our visiting friends from the mainland was a former submariner. He was a diesel boat guy and earned his fish back in the days when you had to do the two ascents in the dive tower. The dive tower has since been converted into a nice conference room facility, but there are historic photos all around the conference room. He was really excited when I took him to see the top of the dive tower and one of the historic photos was of his old boat, USS TIRU (SS-416).
At one point we all went shopping at the NEX, but Mr. R didn't want to do any shopping, so he just sat on a bench in the grand foyer of the NEX. I felt a little bad that we had just left him there sitting all alone and bored, but when we met back up with him, he was just glowing.
He was wearing a ballcap and shirt from one of his USS TIRU reunions. Several guys had seen his hat and stopped to talk to him about his time on diesel boats. It made his day to be able to share some sea stories with other bubbleheads. So I send a sincere thank you out to those few people who noticed the lone submarine veteran sitting on the bench and took the time to stop and talk with him. It really meant a lot to him and was undoubtedly one of the highlights of his vacation in Hawaii.
Thursday, March 20, 2008
No Free Parking... er... Lodging?
Free Hotel Room!
Even though I think she's an snob and an idiot, I feel like I should give a shout-out of thanks to the lady in the Beemer who backed into LW in the preschool parking lot. Thanks to her, we got a hotel room for the night of the sub ball.
Okay, I still don't understand this. LW has tried to explain it to me, but I still just don't get it. I know that LW already wrote about it, but let me try to explain it as I understand it and see if it makes any sense...
This lady backs her Beemer out of her parking spot at YB's preschool parking lot the same time as LW backed out of her parking spot. Their bumpers came in contact. LW's back right corner bumper came in contact with the lady's back left corner bumper.
There's a small scrape on the paint on each of the cars.
At the time, LW and this lady agreed the damage looked superficial and said neither of them intended to submit a claim. The Beemer Lady said she was gonna talk to her hubby about it, but she'd give LW a call if she was gonna submit a claim.
Fast forward some time later when we get the phone call from our insurance agency that the Beemer Lady filed a claim against us and thinks it's all LW's fault. On a subsequent trip to the preschool, LW found the Beemer Lady pointing at the bumper and loudly exclaiming to another lady, "See how BIG the DENT is?!?!" OMG you are so lame!
I've seen the Beemer in the parking lot with my own eyes, and you can hardly see the damage because it's along an edge. Granted, my opinion is biased, but I think it's much more noticeable on LW's car because it's a scuff along a flat surface, but it's still not a big deal - that's what bumpers are for, right? It's very minor cosmetic damage.
We had to fill out all these insurance forms and send them into our insurance company. Plus we had to take LW's car in to have the damage appraised. It came out to something like $584. I was shocked - it really doesn't look like it needs any more than some touch-up paint.
Well, the insurance company called... and all of them in the office discussed it and agreed it was 50/50 blame on LW and Beemer Lady. LW and I couldn't agree more. We're totally cool with that. Apparently Beemer Lady wasn't. She protested and was not happy with the insurance company. The agent on the phone told LW that the only reason he can figure the lady doesn't think it's her fault is because she drives a Beemer. LW and the insurance agent both had a good laugh about that.
Anyway, besides not understanding weirdo Beemer Lady, here's the other part I REALLY don't understand:
Because they determined the blame was 50/50, they paid each of us (I mean LW and Beemer Lady) 50% of the damages. So they sent us a check for $267.
Um... Why??? We've got a $500 deductible. I guess I can understand the only paying us 50% of the damages since it was 50% LW's fault, but even then... if 50% of the damages was less than our $500 deductible, then I would expect them not to give us a single stinking cent. LW pointed this out to the agent on the phone, but he insisted they were sending us a check for 50% of our damages.
So to make a long story short... since the annoying Beemer Lady put this check for $267 in our pocket, we decided to splurge and now have a reservation for after the sub ball. :-)
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
Sony TV Repair
So, our new Sony TV all of a sudden got these two vertical lines permanently appearing on the screen, regardless of the video input source. I called Sony and they agreed it needed to be fixed under warranty. We had to wait about a week for the "part" to arrive on island, then a repair guy came out. The "part" was a whole new screen, but it works like a champ.
Funny story though, he said most of his work these days comes from Wii damage. He said he recently had to replace FIVE screens in ONE week from throwing Wii controllers into the TV screen! Can you believe it?!? Even with all those warnings on the Wii screen about fastening the wrist strap.
This warning message goes on the screen for several seconds before you can start a game. What else are these people doing with that time besides NOT fastening their wrist straps and making sure they have adequate room between them and their TV???
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
History repeats itself.
So there I was... (isn't that the way all good sea stories start?) I walked into the family room to find this pile of a gajillion little Chex Mix crumbs in the carpet where one of the boys knocked over their snack bowl. I got the vacuum and was in the process of sucking up all the little bits and pieces out of the carpet when I caught something odd out of the corner of my peripheral vision.
When I turned my head to the left, I saw ES's head and shoulders standing outside the family room window. He was standing in a very peculiar manner - very still and looking down. I said to myself, "Self, if I didn't know any better, I would think that's the position ES stands in when he goes PEE." I stopped the vacuum and walked over to the window. Sure enough, ES has his pants down and he's taking a leak into one of LW's flower pots, "watering the flowers" as it were.
I was beside myself. I yelled, "[ES's name]]!!!!!" loud enough that even with the window closed it startled him and pee flew in seven different directions while he cut it off mid stream and quickly pulled his pants back up.
I CANNOT believe he would do such a HORRIBLE thing!!! I mean, I don't know anyone ELSE in this family who has committed such a terrible crime! If there WAS someone ELSE in this family who had done such a horrible thing before when he was six years old, I'm sure it was because we had a HUGE back yard and I he was WAY up in the treehouse and it would have taken a LONG time for me him to climb down the tree and go all the way into the house to use the toilet. I'm sure my his father didn't understand my his reasoning either and I he got a spanking for it, too. Although it was certainly a MUCH shorter distance from the scene of this crime to our toilet (about 25 feet), not to mention the fact he had JUST walked through the house like 30 seconds before this, I didn't give ES a spanking. My booming voice pretty well scared the crap out of him... or rather, maybe it scared the pee out of him.
Even though I think she's an snob and an idiot, I feel like I should give a shout-out of thanks to the lady in the Beemer who backed into LW in the preschool parking lot. Thanks to her, we got a hotel room for the night of the sub ball.
Okay, I still don't understand this. LW has tried to explain it to me, but I still just don't get it. I know that LW already wrote about it, but let me try to explain it as I understand it and see if it makes any sense...
This lady backs her Beemer out of her parking spot at YB's preschool parking lot the same time as LW backed out of her parking spot. Their bumpers came in contact. LW's back right corner bumper came in contact with the lady's back left corner bumper.
There's a small scrape on the paint on each of the cars.
At the time, LW and this lady agreed the damage looked superficial and said neither of them intended to submit a claim. The Beemer Lady said she was gonna talk to her hubby about it, but she'd give LW a call if she was gonna submit a claim.
Fast forward some time later when we get the phone call from our insurance agency that the Beemer Lady filed a claim against us and thinks it's all LW's fault. On a subsequent trip to the preschool, LW found the Beemer Lady pointing at the bumper and loudly exclaiming to another lady, "See how BIG the DENT is?!?!" OMG you are so lame!
I've seen the Beemer in the parking lot with my own eyes, and you can hardly see the damage because it's along an edge. Granted, my opinion is biased, but I think it's much more noticeable on LW's car because it's a scuff along a flat surface, but it's still not a big deal - that's what bumpers are for, right? It's very minor cosmetic damage.
We had to fill out all these insurance forms and send them into our insurance company. Plus we had to take LW's car in to have the damage appraised. It came out to something like $584. I was shocked - it really doesn't look like it needs any more than some touch-up paint.
Well, the insurance company called... and all of them in the office discussed it and agreed it was 50/50 blame on LW and Beemer Lady. LW and I couldn't agree more. We're totally cool with that. Apparently Beemer Lady wasn't. She protested and was not happy with the insurance company. The agent on the phone told LW that the only reason he can figure the lady doesn't think it's her fault is because she drives a Beemer. LW and the insurance agent both had a good laugh about that.
Anyway, besides not understanding weirdo Beemer Lady, here's the other part I REALLY don't understand:
Because they determined the blame was 50/50, they paid each of us (I mean LW and Beemer Lady) 50% of the damages. So they sent us a check for $267.
Um... Why??? We've got a $500 deductible. I guess I can understand the only paying us 50% of the damages since it was 50% LW's fault, but even then... if 50% of the damages was less than our $500 deductible, then I would expect them not to give us a single stinking cent. LW pointed this out to the agent on the phone, but he insisted they were sending us a check for 50% of our damages.
So to make a long story short... since the annoying Beemer Lady put this check for $267 in our pocket, we decided to splurge and now have a reservation for after the sub ball. :-)
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
Sony TV Repair
So, our new Sony TV all of a sudden got these two vertical lines permanently appearing on the screen, regardless of the video input source. I called Sony and they agreed it needed to be fixed under warranty. We had to wait about a week for the "part" to arrive on island, then a repair guy came out. The "part" was a whole new screen, but it works like a champ.
Funny story though, he said most of his work these days comes from Wii damage. He said he recently had to replace FIVE screens in ONE week from throwing Wii controllers into the TV screen! Can you believe it?!? Even with all those warnings on the Wii screen about fastening the wrist strap.
This warning message goes on the screen for several seconds before you can start a game. What else are these people doing with that time besides NOT fastening their wrist straps and making sure they have adequate room between them and their TV???* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
History repeats itself.
So there I was... (isn't that the way all good sea stories start?) I walked into the family room to find this pile of a gajillion little Chex Mix crumbs in the carpet where one of the boys knocked over their snack bowl. I got the vacuum and was in the process of sucking up all the little bits and pieces out of the carpet when I caught something odd out of the corner of my peripheral vision.
When I turned my head to the left, I saw ES's head and shoulders standing outside the family room window. He was standing in a very peculiar manner - very still and looking down. I said to myself, "Self, if I didn't know any better, I would think that's the position ES stands in when he goes PEE." I stopped the vacuum and walked over to the window. Sure enough, ES has his pants down and he's taking a leak into one of LW's flower pots, "watering the flowers" as it were.
I was beside myself. I yelled, "[ES's name]]!!!!!" loud enough that even with the window closed it startled him and pee flew in seven different directions while he cut it off mid stream and quickly pulled his pants back up.
I CANNOT believe he would do such a HORRIBLE thing!!! I mean, I don't know anyone ELSE in this family who has committed such a terrible crime! If there WAS someone ELSE in this family who had done such a horrible thing before when he was six years old, I'm sure it was because we had a HUGE back yard and I he was WAY up in the treehouse and it would have taken a LONG time for me him to climb down the tree and go all the way into the house to use the toilet. I'm sure my his father didn't understand my his reasoning either and I he got a spanking for it, too. Although it was certainly a MUCH shorter distance from the scene of this crime to our toilet (about 25 feet), not to mention the fact he had JUST walked through the house like 30 seconds before this, I didn't give ES a spanking. My booming voice pretty well scared the crap out of him... or rather, maybe it scared the pee out of him.
Sunday, March 9, 2008
Welcome to the Blogosphere!
I'd like to give a shout-out to Jud and say
Jud happens to be my cousin, but more importantly, and in spite of being related to me, he and his awesome wife are very dear friends to me and LW. One of the things I miss about being stationed in California was being able to see them on a somewhat regular basis.
Jud grew up in Florida while I grew up in California, so we only saw each other once every several years growing up. When I moved to Groton for sub school and my first sea tour, Jud was going to NYU. During those first 9 months I lived in Groton (3 months in sub school and first 6 months on the boat), I used to go down to "the city" to watch Jud's NYU hockey team play on Friday nights at Chelsea Piers and then just hang out the rest of the weekend. We had a lot of fun and I really missed him when he graduated and abandoned me for the southwest.
I learned a couple of quirky, trivial, somewhat interesting lessons in life as a result of helping Jud move out of his apartment in Manhattan. First, there was the NY City recycling system. Most of the stuff in Jud's apartment that he didn't want to take with him wasn't of any significant monetary value, so we took it by the armload down to the curb in front of his building. By the time we went back upstairs, grabbed another armload, and brought it down to the curb, the first pile of stuff we had left was already gone! We're talking about the bottom half of a manequin, the wood he used to make his loft-bed, an old beat-up dresser... It gave new meaning to "Gone in 60 Seconds."
Second, it had never even crossed my mind to use the U.S. Postal Service as a moving company before. All of the things Jud valued and wanted to take with him, he packed into about a dozen boxes and addressed them to his new office in Utah. I had my ensign-mobile 1994, 4-door, Chevy S-10 Blazer, and it was like a 3-D jigsaw puzzle fitting all those boxes into the back of the car. We barely squeezed all the boxes in and headed over to the BIG post office across the street from Madison Square Garden. It was a holiday (Memorial Day), so we had to go to that post office since it was open 24/7/365. $330 in postage later, all of Jud's personal belongings were on their way to Utah. Heckuva lot cheaper than the U-Haul option. From there, I drove Jud over to Newark and dropped him off at the airport.
I overcame my feelings of betrayal that Jud left me. God had a plan for each of us. If he hadn't left NY, then I might not have started going to hang out in Boston (too many weirdos in NY), and I soon met LW and started spending most weekends (at least when I wasn't on duty) in Boston. Likewise, Jud needed to go to Utah so he could meet the love of his life, Jill. I was honored Jud came all the way back to Boston to participate in my wedding two years later, and I was very sad that I was on deployment and unable to attend Jud's wedding.
After finishing my first sea tour in Groton, we moved to Monterey, California. We stopped to visit them on our way driving across country. Again later, we went out to visit them. We were out at dinner at a nice Japanese steakhouse, and LW and I noticed Jill wasn't partaking of any tasty alcoholic beverages about the same time Jud and Jill noticed LW wasn't partaking of any tasty alcoholic beverages either. It just so happened that Jill got pregnant right around the same time LW got pregnant. Several months after that, we all met up down in Pismo Beach on the central California coast for a "babymoon" (last hoorah getaway before the trials and tribulations of parenthood consumed our lives) and had a wonderful weekend together down there.
LW went a couple of weeks past her due date, and the doctor agreed to induce labor based on the fact we were supposed to leave Monterey for Groton again in 4 weeks. It just so happened that Jill went into labor early, and by some bizarre coincidence, our first born sons were both born on the EXACT same day.
For the next few years, we were stationed in San Diego and periodically visited with Jud, Jill, and Ethan. It was just so cool to watch ES and Ethan growing and developing considering they had been born the same day. We visited them in Utah a couple of times, and they visited us in San Diego several times. Plus we all met up in Long Beach for my sister's wedding. We had a fun little quiet-party sitting in the hallway of our hotel outside our rooms drinking some tasty beverages while we waited for the boys to go to sleep in the room with the lights off.
I have very much missed living close enough to Jud & Jill that we could visit them more regularly, but we continue to keep in touch thanks to the wonders of the internet. We have each had a second son (not born on the same day this time, but still pretty close in age). I hope our paths will cross again soon so Jud & Jill can meet YB and we can meet Max.
Anyway, so much for the trip down memory lane.
In addition to being a dear friend and relative, Jud is also a fantastic photographer. He's earned all sorts of awards including the 1999 Thompson Newspaper's Photographer of the Year and the Society of Professional Journalists Photographer of the Year awards in 2004-2006. You can check out some of his awesome photographs on his website at www.judburkett.com, and if you'd like to check out his new blog, click here.
Welcome to the blogosphere!
Jud happens to be my cousin, but more importantly, and in spite of being related to me, he and his awesome wife are very dear friends to me and LW. One of the things I miss about being stationed in California was being able to see them on a somewhat regular basis.
Jud grew up in Florida while I grew up in California, so we only saw each other once every several years growing up. When I moved to Groton for sub school and my first sea tour, Jud was going to NYU. During those first 9 months I lived in Groton (3 months in sub school and first 6 months on the boat), I used to go down to "the city" to watch Jud's NYU hockey team play on Friday nights at Chelsea Piers and then just hang out the rest of the weekend. We had a lot of fun and I really missed him when he graduated and abandoned me for the southwest.
I learned a couple of quirky, trivial, somewhat interesting lessons in life as a result of helping Jud move out of his apartment in Manhattan. First, there was the NY City recycling system. Most of the stuff in Jud's apartment that he didn't want to take with him wasn't of any significant monetary value, so we took it by the armload down to the curb in front of his building. By the time we went back upstairs, grabbed another armload, and brought it down to the curb, the first pile of stuff we had left was already gone! We're talking about the bottom half of a manequin, the wood he used to make his loft-bed, an old beat-up dresser... It gave new meaning to "Gone in 60 Seconds."
Second, it had never even crossed my mind to use the U.S. Postal Service as a moving company before. All of the things Jud valued and wanted to take with him, he packed into about a dozen boxes and addressed them to his new office in Utah. I had my ensign-mobile 1994, 4-door, Chevy S-10 Blazer, and it was like a 3-D jigsaw puzzle fitting all those boxes into the back of the car. We barely squeezed all the boxes in and headed over to the BIG post office across the street from Madison Square Garden. It was a holiday (Memorial Day), so we had to go to that post office since it was open 24/7/365. $330 in postage later, all of Jud's personal belongings were on their way to Utah. Heckuva lot cheaper than the U-Haul option. From there, I drove Jud over to Newark and dropped him off at the airport.
I overcame my feelings of betrayal that Jud left me. God had a plan for each of us. If he hadn't left NY, then I might not have started going to hang out in Boston (too many weirdos in NY), and I soon met LW and started spending most weekends (at least when I wasn't on duty) in Boston. Likewise, Jud needed to go to Utah so he could meet the love of his life, Jill. I was honored Jud came all the way back to Boston to participate in my wedding two years later, and I was very sad that I was on deployment and unable to attend Jud's wedding.
After finishing my first sea tour in Groton, we moved to Monterey, California. We stopped to visit them on our way driving across country. Again later, we went out to visit them. We were out at dinner at a nice Japanese steakhouse, and LW and I noticed Jill wasn't partaking of any tasty alcoholic beverages about the same time Jud and Jill noticed LW wasn't partaking of any tasty alcoholic beverages either. It just so happened that Jill got pregnant right around the same time LW got pregnant. Several months after that, we all met up down in Pismo Beach on the central California coast for a "babymoon" (last hoorah getaway before the trials and tribulations of parenthood consumed our lives) and had a wonderful weekend together down there.
Jill and LW in Pismo Beach, Spring 2001
LW went a couple of weeks past her due date, and the doctor agreed to induce labor based on the fact we were supposed to leave Monterey for Groton again in 4 weeks. It just so happened that Jill went into labor early, and by some bizarre coincidence, our first born sons were both born on the EXACT same day.
For the next few years, we were stationed in San Diego and periodically visited with Jud, Jill, and Ethan. It was just so cool to watch ES and Ethan growing and developing considering they had been born the same day. We visited them in Utah a couple of times, and they visited us in San Diego several times. Plus we all met up in Long Beach for my sister's wedding. We had a fun little quiet-party sitting in the hallway of our hotel outside our rooms drinking some tasty beverages while we waited for the boys to go to sleep in the room with the lights off.
ES & his pal Ethan after a long day at Sea World in 2002
I have very much missed living close enough to Jud & Jill that we could visit them more regularly, but we continue to keep in touch thanks to the wonders of the internet. We have each had a second son (not born on the same day this time, but still pretty close in age). I hope our paths will cross again soon so Jud & Jill can meet YB and we can meet Max.
Anyway, so much for the trip down memory lane.
In addition to being a dear friend and relative, Jud is also a fantastic photographer. He's earned all sorts of awards including the 1999 Thompson Newspaper's Photographer of the Year and the Society of Professional Journalists Photographer of the Year awards in 2004-2006. You can check out some of his awesome photographs on his website at www.judburkett.com, and if you'd like to check out his new blog, click here.
Sunday, January 20, 2008
How can it be 4 years already???
Where has the time gone? LW and I were very truly blessed with the arrival of our second son four years ago. Here are some of my favorite pictures and memories with my youngest son over the past four years.
Balboa Naval Hospital January 20th, 2004
Christmas in Oregon 2005
This is what happens when left unsupervised
and it's TOO QUIET in the house.
Drivin' the Boat
Lake Winnipesaukee, NH
Summer 2006
(I think this is my favorite picture of YS.)
Swimmin' in Grammy's Pool
Summer 2006
Homecoming from Deployment
Norfolk, VA
April 2007
Home from Local Ops off Hawaii
September 2007
I like the shadow in this picture.
The Fish Out of Water
Hawaiian Waters Adventure Park
December 2007
Balboa Naval Hospital January 20th, 2004
Check-Up Time - 3 Days Old
Balboa Naval Hospital
OBX September 2004
Balboa Naval Hospital
OBX September 2004
Christmas in Oregon 2005
This is what happens when left unsupervisedand it's TOO QUIET in the house.
Drivin' the Boat Lake Winnipesaukee, NH
Summer 2006
(I think this is my favorite picture of YS.)
Swimmin' in Grammy's PoolSummer 2006
Homecoming from Deployment Norfolk, VA
April 2007
Home from Local Ops off HawaiiSeptember 2007
I like the shadow in this picture.
The Fish Out of WaterHawaiian Waters Adventure Park
December 2007
Happy Birthday YS!
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