Just a wee update
Thanks for prodding me, Alan! Pops and Candace are on a little romantic getaway and we have been caring for Laura, Richard and Robert. Laura is old enough to do so much now (10). My hats off to all the mommies out there as this is so much fun, but so exhausting. I would have sooooo many adjustment issues if I did become a parent. When I get home, we have Star Wars time where the two boys and I sling lightsabers in the yard and do some Wii time on SW Lego. There is also girl time where I can play dolls with Laura and do some baking. I'm teaching the kids to play with the cats and the lizards. We had chameleon time where big baby Smaug is teaching little baby Smaug to hunt. They sat on a rock, waiting for ants and when some would come by, big baby Smaug would rush down and grab one. Little baby Smaug would watch and then run down and grab one too. Then, they rush back up and enjoy a meal together. It is sooooo cute.
So, the boys had to buy me the Darth Maul double bladed lightsaber so I could fight them both at the same time. Robert is 3 so he just holds his lightsaber and spins in circles.
Well, Evan is going through his annual holiday depression. He's been to work twice in the last three weeks. When he gets like this the paranoia comes out too. He's always checking up on me and even checks the computer files and history. I know this will pass. He's on the upswing now. Comparatively speaking, this was not a bad one. I found myself initially impatient, but I met this instance with love and kindness and I think it worked out.
Our dojo is going through its third civil war. It's like a samurai drama. While I hate when personality takes precedence over practice, I always seem to wind up in the middle of those things. So, through all of this and the changes in my life, I found myself quite depressed too. Oddly, my depression manifests itself as hoo hum, just leave me alone. I have been much more emotional though, crying at stupid things.
I greeted the new CO, who is a marine. We had the clean out the hangar party for him. He likes to keep things clean. Neither Commander Lasagna nor I are neatniks, so this will be a change for me. He's a good guy and I will learn a lot from him. Heckova golfer too. He does like to be social after work and on weekends. I suspect that I will have to learn to like cigars. :P On Monday, I flew a training IFR flight. My copilot crapped out so I went solo and wound up in a storm. The briefing didn't mention it and it didn't show up on the scope. Well, it was ugly and it took every ounce of skill that I had, but me and the bird got home in one piece. At one point, the field was shut down and I got the "hold east along the 278 radial, expect further clearance (in 40 minutes)." So, me and five other airliners are spinning left hand holding patterns, hoping the weather clears. I came in on an LDA/DME approach through moderate to severe turbulence, was 20 feet above the MDA (minimum descent altitude) and couldn't see a damn thing. Ten feet later, I could see the threshold lights. The approach requires you to now crank left 44 degrees to line up with the runway, which is sopping wet with less than a mile visibility. Fortunately, the runway was 12,000 feet long as I didn't want to do heavy breaking. I was never so glad to see the dude with the light wands waving me in, I practically hugged him.
In the debrief, K-Man is all, "whoa, the Raven is some kinda real pilot, huh. Us rotorheads, we don't fly in the clouds."
I've shot 800 rounds this week. I had practice the other day and gave Cat a lesson. Today, I had competition with the top tier shooters in the league. I took a close 4th in the bullseye out of 12. I shot a 275 and a 280 out of 300. The top guy, Pinocchio, shot 283 and 287. I was one behind Danno and Patch. I had a three way tie for 1st in the combat pistol, 100%. I was dismal in the long guns though. I had a mediocre 92% with the submachinegun, but an ok 98% with the assault rifle. I kept flinching for some reason and swinging my muzzle left. The last insult was the shotgun. I borrowed a new semi auto with a pistol grip and newfangled tactical foregrip and recoil reducing stock. Well, it reduces the recoil into the shoulder, but it increases it in the shooting hand and on the cheek. So, first round, BOOM! right in my cheek. I thought I broke something at first and put my hand on my cheek. Then, I'm like "hey, where'd this oil come from? Why is it red oil?" Well, it's blood. I got a small scratch, but it bled like an SOB. I did finish the course and took down my targets before tending my wound, but my performance sucked since I was already a bit gunshy from the recoil.
Workouts have been good. I'm doing one of the Insanity DVD's every day, along with a 3-6 mile run, abs and one of the MI40 weight routines. Beach Body Coach is back and will kick me into high gear again. Kelli will be back from maternity leave too. She has beautiful twin girls. I've been swimming in kids lately. :P
I've started writing again and am glad to see Padawan Mage and Bald as Malak dropping in. I miss those heady days of our Knights of the Old Republic club. I've joined a new Mass Effect club, Aria's Afterlife and they are really great. Good stories, good people, good support.
So, the boys had to buy me the Darth Maul double bladed lightsaber so I could fight them both at the same time. Robert is 3 so he just holds his lightsaber and spins in circles.
Well, Evan is going through his annual holiday depression. He's been to work twice in the last three weeks. When he gets like this the paranoia comes out too. He's always checking up on me and even checks the computer files and history. I know this will pass. He's on the upswing now. Comparatively speaking, this was not a bad one. I found myself initially impatient, but I met this instance with love and kindness and I think it worked out.
Our dojo is going through its third civil war. It's like a samurai drama. While I hate when personality takes precedence over practice, I always seem to wind up in the middle of those things. So, through all of this and the changes in my life, I found myself quite depressed too. Oddly, my depression manifests itself as hoo hum, just leave me alone. I have been much more emotional though, crying at stupid things.
I greeted the new CO, who is a marine. We had the clean out the hangar party for him. He likes to keep things clean. Neither Commander Lasagna nor I are neatniks, so this will be a change for me. He's a good guy and I will learn a lot from him. Heckova golfer too. He does like to be social after work and on weekends. I suspect that I will have to learn to like cigars. :P On Monday, I flew a training IFR flight. My copilot crapped out so I went solo and wound up in a storm. The briefing didn't mention it and it didn't show up on the scope. Well, it was ugly and it took every ounce of skill that I had, but me and the bird got home in one piece. At one point, the field was shut down and I got the "hold east along the 278 radial, expect further clearance (in 40 minutes)." So, me and five other airliners are spinning left hand holding patterns, hoping the weather clears. I came in on an LDA/DME approach through moderate to severe turbulence, was 20 feet above the MDA (minimum descent altitude) and couldn't see a damn thing. Ten feet later, I could see the threshold lights. The approach requires you to now crank left 44 degrees to line up with the runway, which is sopping wet with less than a mile visibility. Fortunately, the runway was 12,000 feet long as I didn't want to do heavy breaking. I was never so glad to see the dude with the light wands waving me in, I practically hugged him.
In the debrief, K-Man is all, "whoa, the Raven is some kinda real pilot, huh. Us rotorheads, we don't fly in the clouds."
I've shot 800 rounds this week. I had practice the other day and gave Cat a lesson. Today, I had competition with the top tier shooters in the league. I took a close 4th in the bullseye out of 12. I shot a 275 and a 280 out of 300. The top guy, Pinocchio, shot 283 and 287. I was one behind Danno and Patch. I had a three way tie for 1st in the combat pistol, 100%. I was dismal in the long guns though. I had a mediocre 92% with the submachinegun, but an ok 98% with the assault rifle. I kept flinching for some reason and swinging my muzzle left. The last insult was the shotgun. I borrowed a new semi auto with a pistol grip and newfangled tactical foregrip and recoil reducing stock. Well, it reduces the recoil into the shoulder, but it increases it in the shooting hand and on the cheek. So, first round, BOOM! right in my cheek. I thought I broke something at first and put my hand on my cheek. Then, I'm like "hey, where'd this oil come from? Why is it red oil?" Well, it's blood. I got a small scratch, but it bled like an SOB. I did finish the course and took down my targets before tending my wound, but my performance sucked since I was already a bit gunshy from the recoil.
Workouts have been good. I'm doing one of the Insanity DVD's every day, along with a 3-6 mile run, abs and one of the MI40 weight routines. Beach Body Coach is back and will kick me into high gear again. Kelli will be back from maternity leave too. She has beautiful twin girls. I've been swimming in kids lately. :P
I've started writing again and am glad to see Padawan Mage and Bald as Malak dropping in. I miss those heady days of our Knights of the Old Republic club. I've joined a new Mass Effect club, Aria's Afterlife and they are really great. Good stories, good people, good support.