posted @ 07:56...

As remnants of Katrina gush down here in Northern New York, I got to thinking that if this were a rainstorm on any other given week I might be complaining about it. This week, however, there are people and families for whom getting a little wet is the least of their troubles.

posted @ 19:50...

More pics from my reenlistment...

posted @ 12:53...

Here's a pic from my recent re-enlistment ceremony.

posted @ 18:46...

Found this on Big Al's Army Life. Thanks Al's Girl! This poem, in the tradition and rhythm of Dr. Seuss' Green Eggs & Ham, is credited to a Kentucky Army National Guard chaplain who is currently serving in Iraq, and it's amazing how accurate it is:

"I Do Not Like This Dust and Sand"

I do not like this dust and sand

I do not like it on my hands

I do not like dust in my head

I do not like it in my bed

I do not like sand in my hair

I hate it in my underwear

I do not like this dust and sand

I used to like the color tan

I do not like dust on my clothes

I despise it up my nose

I do not like sand in my face

Invading all my private space

I do not like dust in my mouth

I do not like it north or south

I do not like sand east or west

Nowhere is where I like it best

I do not like dust in my ear

It's hard to reach, I cannot hear

When it gets in my drink and food

It affects my attitude

I like it not with ham and eggs

I do not like sand on my legs

I like it not in socks and boots

Nor on my veggies, meats and fruits

This dust and sand floats everywhere

It dances in the desert air

I like a dust storm even less

Because it leaves a gritty mess

I want to leave this sand and dust
But until then in God I trust.

...Pray for Peace

posted @ 20:42...

Just a friendly note to my readers that since I'll be starting school on Monday and going back to work very soon, my blog posts will be even more sporadic, seldom, and not very common. Unfortunately, I will also not be too good about responding to emails (as if I ever was!).

Hopefully, this will free up some time to study and stuff. Those of you who know the top-secret doghostage hotline number, please feel free to call. That'll be the most reliable way to reach me. Those who don't know the number probably don't need to call anyway.

I'm taking "American History through 1864" and "Intro to Psychology." Sigh... at least it's not math.

posted @ 08:20...

I found out which books I would need for my upcoming classes ahead of time, and checked the prices online. If I waited and bought them new on the first day of school I'd be paying $203. But by ordering them online I only paid $134, and I'm getting them early, so I can start reading beforehand.

posted @ 20:38...

The doctor who repaired my hernias is an excellent surgeon. He told me that the best thing I could do to aid the healing process is to go to the driving range. The motion and stretching of a golf swing is supposed to help the abdominal muscles. The above picture is from last week when I took my son.

I went to the driving range again yesterday. I was about half way through my bucket of golf balls when my kneecap decided to give way and move over a few inches. I would not suggest that you allow your kneecap to do this, as the pain is unbearable. After I found myself curled up there on the ground, yelling and cussing, my wife ran quickly to my aid. She saw my disfigured knee and grimaced. I asked her to help me pop my knee back into its rightful place, but she expressed opposition. I told her that I didn't want anyone else doing it, so she helped me straighten my leg to the point where I could eventually shove it back.

The emergency room is a great place to sit and be bored. After being checked in, I lied in an examination room debating whether or not it would be worth getting on my feet to grab the only magazine in the place: "O." After waiting about an hour for the X-ray guy, I decided that O might be worth reading, so I staggered over to get it. Turns out, it wasn't worth the pain. It might have been if I were a woman who was obsessed with her weight. But I'm not.

I fear I may have popped something in my abdomen or otherwise messed something up. I sit here now approximately 36 hours later, and I have much more pain in the surgery area than I did before the knee thing. That's not good. But I'll be venturing the 25 miles to post in a day or two to get things checked out. Hopefully, I won't need another operation...

posted @ 18:34...

I have decided to "reclass." In April of next year I will be an Army Broadcast Journalist. For several months now, we have been thinking, discussing and praying about my (our) reenlistment options:

1. Reenlist for change of job, but w/ no choice of duty station
2. Reenlist for choice of duty station, but stay a paralegal
3. Get out of the Army

As it turned out, this rare MOS had some slots that came open, and we took it. I'll be going to AIT in January, and when I'm done with training, who knows where we'll get to go. We've got a few preferred places we've picked out, from Germany to Colorado to Texas (of course), but it'll ultimately be the Army's decision. They could even decide, God forbid, to keep us right here at Fort Drum.

posted @ 18:08...

Here I am at seven days since my last surgery, and I feel fine. Special thanks to Stewart's Fudge Brownie Ala Mode Ice Cream... Great ice cream makes healing a little more enjoyable.

It would be even more enjoyable if my carafe hadn't shattered. See, I enjoy coffee, and I dropped the carafe that goes with the coffee maker. I was going to order a new one for $12.99, and then I realized I could go to Walmart and get a whole new coffee maker for less than that. So, next paycheck then...

posted @ 12:39...

What's the statute of limitations on answering an email? In other words, how long do I get before I need to answer it? I assume it's different for everyone - both for senders and receivers.

I got an angry email yesterday from someone who was disappointed that I hadn't answered an email they sent on the 2nd of August (less than a week before). To me, that's actually a very short time frame, especially in light of the fact that I had surgery on the 5th.

What do you folks think... Should I have gotten on it sooner? What's it going to be like when I'm back at work all day, every day? I'll have even less time to sit around answering emails.

posted @ 21:15...

What would say if someone looked at one of your family photographs and said, "That pose does nothing to diminish the size of your wife." ???

I'm assuming you'd be offended, like I sure was. So was my wife, after this supposed "professional photographer" happened across an old blog post of mine and decided to squat right there and squeeze out some criticism. Regardless of what dress size she may have been after having just given birth, the point is that such a comment was downright rude. Nobody asked this idiot to critique our family photo.

The way he found the blog post which contains the photo is because somehow a link to it ended up on pro4um.com, a professional photographers' message board. So then I realized that this guy has a beef with chain portrait studios like Picture People (which is where we got ours done). Anyway, it made for an interesting volley of comments, which you can read here. Warning: I was a little nasty with the guy, but you might be too if he insulted your family.

posted @ 10:29...

I just found something kinda neat. Many of you know about Google's Maps feature. Well, this is a map of various bloggers' locations around New York State (+ one in Canada). Pretty cool.

posted @ 12:03...

As I stop and look around the house, I see so many subtle indicators of how a couple's lives can change when they have kids. As I was putting away the dishes, I noticed our old martini shaker and glasses, dusty and relegated to the very back of the cupboard. The colorful, gleaming sippy cups, however, we're stacked neatly at the very front, ready for deployment.

Not that we even used to drink very much, but we'd occasionally enjoy a Cosmopolitan on a hot day. But that stuff has all gone unused since we first started trying to have a baby.

The bottom shelf of the entertainment center, which used to hold many of our 1000+ compact discs, is now full of toys. The CD collection was substantially reduced, and many a plaything has taken up residence.

I don't miss the drinks and I don't miss the CDs. When I look at Vincent, I realize the utter insignificance of everything else in life. We don't need "stuff." Never did, in fact. I can imagine my life without the car. I can picture it without a job, and yes, even without a computer or the DVD player. But I cannot fathom how empty it would be without Kelly and Vincent.

posted @ 08:53...

Whenever someone asks what kind of surgery I'm having, they seem a little put off by the answer. For some reason, the word "hernia" has icky connotations. I winced when I first heard the doctor say it too. But then I realized I didn't know exactly what a hernia was. Turns out, it's not a gross, disfiguring affliction. It's simply a weakening in the abdominal muscle. This weakening eventually allows a hole, through which the intestine can poke through. Okay, I guess that's kind of gross to think about. But it doesn't seem that horrible to me anymore. Probably because mine are getting fixed.

While the First day after the surgery was the worst of all, in terms of pain and discomfort, each day is better than the last. I'm 48 hours away from the next one, and I feel great.

posted @ 01:07...

Funny t-shirt.