I'm on my way to Detroit tonight. Should be a good time. I had a Dr. appt today to get my foot looked at, but all they wanted to talk about was my high blood pressure. My BP is at 145/95 and usually comes up that way, but now they actually want to do something about it. I have to do a 5 day series of of readings, and then we'll discuss medication options.

Got the latest Lord of the Rings movie. I enoyed it. Some day I'll do the whole LOTR movie marathon.

I can't wait for Aidan to get here. He and Shanna are taking for Minot on the 1st of June. They're making another stop over in Wisconsin before heading to DC.

Anyway, nothing else going on that I can think of. Boston has won 5 in a row, so that's always a good thing. I'm going to try and catch them when they play Baltimore again.

More later
Tim

Went here Saturday night for dinner with Michelle, Glenn, Shelly and Tim and their son Chris. We started off by having some vodka when we got there and were waiting for our table. After a couple of round we realized that our table was ready and that we should probably claim it at some point. The food was fantastic. I had venison, asparagus and some oysters and a salad I think (added wine to the list of things we were drinking at this point, although I know I actually sat down with a crown and coke in my hand)...after eating and having some good conversation and being entertained by the violinist, we headed back to the bar (the area also has a piano bar located with the main bar) for more vodka (I was having ciroc..very smooth and better than grey goose in my opinion (of course both are french). I'm guessing we were tipping well and good company, because I inquired about the 150 year old grand marnier, and the bartender brought me a glass on the house. Soon after this I ended up at the piano sing Dream a little dream of me...Not to be outdone, Michelle performed her rendition of Memories from Cats. Had this been American Idol, she would have the talent, but I would win the popular vote phone in... by the time we left, Shelly could barely walk, and Michelle was all about hugging everyone...Michelle got back to our house and went for a 5k walk so she wouldn't get "bed spins", and then came back and made herself throw up anyway... I was feeling good, but had the good sense to have some gatoraide and aspirin before heading to bed... I slept in late on Sunday, but didn't have a hangover...

To go back a little...we went to Rio Grande for mexican Friday night with Wynne and Brian and another couple (Jeff and Cristiana). It was a late celebration for Wynne's b-day. She actually drank for a change...It was very cute, because after 2 drinks she was acting very goofy...

Took my Jeep in to get worked on. The brake lights are out. Not a good thing. Should have it back tomorrow though.

I'm about 5/8 of the way through the "5 People you meet in Heaven" book. It's very good so far.

OK, more later
Tim

I didn't bother to spell check tonight, so deal with it..

Looks like Blogger has changed their settings a little bit. Hope this turns out OK. Sooo, what's been going on with me? My last post was 2 weeks ago, so I'm going to try and see how well my memory is working.

First, it looks like Aidan and Shanna are going to be moving to Germany. I couldn't be happier. I think Aidan will love it there.

Hmmm at home...I went to Detroit last weekend. I had an outstanding time. I'm going again for Memorial Day weekend. Going to an electronic music fest and then possibly to a lake up north of Detroit.

At work...I'm the boss now. I have several evaluations I need to write and a major upgrade to our classrooms I'm overseeing. I'm also waiting to find out what my next assignment will be, but I won't know until the end of June or beginning of July.

The cicadas are here! I don't know if I spelled it right, but they are bugs (look like big flying roaches) that surface every 17 years to molt, mate,die (males) or dig (females). They come out in millions. The driveway is covered with shells right now...Pretty gross.

I've been running pretty good at work. Right now I'm doing 3 miles every other day, which takes me from the Pentagon over memorial bridge and around the Licoln memorial. In the next couple of weeks, I'm going to expand that out to the Washington monument. It adds another mile to mile and a half, but not enough to make me not do it. My legs get soar after running but I'm coping.

I have some new golf clubs. Now if I can just make some time to break them in. I was going to go with Jeff to hit some balls today, but I had to wait for the repairmen to fix my AC and then had to pick up my roommate at the garage where his car was getting worked on.

I just finished reading "Oh,The things I know" by Al Franken. Not quite as funny as "Lies, and the lying liars who tell them", but entertaining in it's own way. Now I'm reading "The five people you meet in heaven", and I have a copy of "The Divinci Code" on CD that I started listening to on my drive back from Detroit, but need to finish.

Going to a Russian restaurant for dinner tonight. I have no idea what they serve there, but I like trying new places. It's also an excuse to put on a shirt and tie, which I feel like I have to do every now and then so I don't forget how...Oh wait I put one every friggin day at work.

...from the Al Franken book as told to him by Buddy Hacket...

man goes to his doctor with a dot on his forehead. Doctor say "Oh my God! I've never seen this before, but I read about it in med school. In six weeks you're going to have a full sized penis growing out of your forehead" "Well cut it out!" says the patient. "I can't," says the doctor "It's attached to your brain--you'd die." "Oh, my God!" says the patient. "So you're saying that in six weeks every morning when I wake up I'm going to look in the mirror and see a penis growing out of my forehead?" "Oh, you won't see it," says the doctor. "The balls will cover your eyes"..

OK...I need to iron some pants and take a shower et al...

Tim

The List

Here's the list of overseas assignments I'm competing for:

Einseidlerhof - 1 slot
Ramstein - 1 slot
Hickam - 2 slots
Incirlick - 2 slots
Lajes - 2 slots
Osan - 6 slots

If I put Osan or Lajes anywhere on my dream sheet, they default to my number one choice because they're short assignments. My dilema now is do I leave them off the list and hope for one of the 2 Germany positions, or do I just go ahead and do the short tour. Doing the short would allow me to choose a follow-on assignment and greatly increase my chances of getting back to Europe. On the other hand, it's a year or more that I'll be away from Aidan...sigh. I'm leaning towards just going to Korea and then getting a follow-on to Germany right now.

Speaking of Germany, I'm going to Garmisch at the end of June for a couple of days. I'm going to take a day or two of leave while I'm over there and try to get up to Sembach (oh and of course Il'Cappriccio).

Going to Detroit this weekend. I have Thursday and Friday off. I was suppose to go camping in Maine, but the plans fell through.

more later
Tim

This week has been going by pretty fast...I don't know if that is good or bad. Good in that I'll get to see Aidan sooner I guess. I miss him. We talked on the phone tonight for about an hour. It's amazing that he's able to carry on a conversation that long and not just be baby talk.

Planning a vacation to OBX this summer. It should be a good time.

I've been exercising regularly, but I've been eating way too much. I'm hoping I'll hit a phase where I just want to drink water and eat light foods soon.

I really don't know what else to write...I'm feeling a little tired or just out of it or something...

more later
Tim

Wow two weeks since my last post...I'm slipping into my old habits. I can't think of anything newsworthy that has happened since then. I got drunk Friday night. That was fun. Went to a bar down the road with my roommate. The good thing was that I didn't get sick or have too much of a hangover on Saturday. The weather here has been great the last couple of days, so Wynne and Brian and a couple who they are friends with stopped by yesterday to do some burgers and things on the grill. Today I took my car in for a bath, read the paper, and then watched the top 100 stand-ups on Comedy Central. I don't recall seeing Emo Phillips on the list, so I'm a little disappointed...Oh well.

Going out this Friday to celebrate my new stripe. My friends thought my promotion ceremony was lame (it was), and that I needed a party befitting someone of my looks, rank and charm. OK, so that equates to dinner and drinks at the Olive Garden, but what are ya gonna do.

Planning a couple of trips over the next couple of months...Connecticut, Detroit and Dallas...Yes, I understand one is a state and the other two cities, and that doesn't really fit into a scheme, but CT is small and is really just like a city in New York. A big city..With grass, trees,a decent school system...More of a suburb...OK I'm wandering again...

Speaking of my mind wandering, I've been having trouble sleeping and can't seem to concentrate at work...I think I just need sex...Mostly because I can't think of anything greater than a nice nap after sex and it's sleep that I seem to be short on...

Did you ever go grocery shopping and come home and get everything to fit in the fridge perfectly? For just a moment don't you feel superior to others? It's an uplifting experience..You think to yourself "I'm a genius"...The next moment after that for me is the one where I turned around and noticed the old stuff I had set on the counter to start making room for the new stuff...So I guess I should be thinking to myself..."I'm about average"...

OK, I need to wake up early tomorrow so I can work out before work. This really means that I'm going to stop writing this and go play my Fight Night 2004 video game.

Cheers
Tim

Finally

It only took about 11 years (maybe closer to 12 at this point), but I finally passed my AF PT test! I rule! I would have scored better if I wasn't so big around the middle, but I did good anyway. I maxed out the push-ups and sit-ups, and finished the run first among the enlisted people, and second over all. I was nervous this morning, because I pulled a muscle in my back on Sunday and was still hurting. A co-worker brought in an icy-hot patch that worked awesome. I'm taking a week off from exercising to drink beer and eat pizza.

Talked to Aidan last night. We had a pretty good conversation. He seems to be adjusting fine to Dallas. He told me he's a "Boy Genius", but that he needs an electronic room like Jimmy neutron. He also said he wanted to have a "Daddy and Aidan" day when I come and visit. I think that will be fun. He and Mama are working on a project for Easter, but he wouldn't go into details.

UCONN won! If I had picked one or two more teams correctly I would have one the office pool. I ended up coming in 3rd out of 75 people...Too bad it was winner takes all.

I may be going to Jeff's (Happy Anniversary to him and Karen by the way) for Easter, but who knows.

I'm going to load Frontpage on my system tonight and start moving my old stuff to my new website. I'll send out the link once I'm done.

OK, since I'm at work I should actually get back to it...

Cheers!
Tim

Back Again....


Sorry it's been so long. I'm getting settled into my new place. I have a new email address (see the side bar), and have to create a new page for pictures etc because I got rid of my Verizon stuff. Might be a project for this weekend.

Had the inspection on the old place, and the only thing the guy could find to complain about was that the light bulbs in the downstairs bathroom didn't match. He said they had to be the same kind....What a dick. Luckily I had a couple of extra in the jeep, so I just swapped them out.

I'm a Tech sergeant now! Yeah me! It took long enough. Now I almost feel like I have to stay in the full 20.

I had a lot of things I wanted to write about, now I can't remember any of them...Oh well. Now that I have access again I will write a little more frequently.

I'm going to Bungalow's to watch the games tomorrow. Should be a good time.

I hope everyone is doing well. Look forward to hearing from you all soon.

Cheers!
Tim

Long trip...

Aidan is now getting settled into his place in Dallas. I miss him. It didn't really hit me until yesterday when I was driving and just got the feeling that I wanted him to be sitting in the jeep with me making all his little Aidan comments. I know he'll be fine down there. The house is way too quiet without him though... He's coming up here for a week or so in August, but I'll probably plan a long weekend down to see him before that (flying this time)...Maybe for his birthday.

I drove 1000 miles yesterday. I don't recommend that kind of trip to anyone. I started off in Little Rock, home of the future Clinton Library...and nothing else.

The rest of this week is going to be spent boxing things up and getting ready to move on Saturday. It will be nice to finally get out of this place.

OK, well I don't know why I'm awake, so I guess I should go back to sleep for a while.

Cheers!
Tim

Aidan

Aidan: I'm going to the bathroom

Me: Have fun

Aidan: Fun? Fun? Does this look like a playhouse? I poop in here.


It's in the 60's today. Did my PT on Bolling along the Potomac. Nice little run. Tonight it's suppose to snow/rain. Very New England-like weather.

Only a couple of more days until we leave for Texas. I just hope I have everything in order.

May not write until I get back from TX. I have plans every night this week.

Until then...

Take Care
Tim

We have a situation here!

Something is wrong with my DirecTV. I get no signal. They said they could send someone out, but I can't get time off from work. As I'm moving in a couple of weeks I told them forget it, and that I'll just take the dish down. That doesn't make me very happy at the moment. Think of the effect it will have on Aidan. We may be forced to play games and read books. Our IQs may increase...Oh well. I've lived without TV before. We're going to Best Buy tomorrow to pick out a movie for him and one for me to help ease the pain.

Tim

Pancake

Pancake died last night. For those of you who don't know, Pancake was Aidan's goldfish. Aidan has already informed me that when he gets to Texas, his mom has to take him to buy "Pancake 3". He was a little upset that I didn't bury the fish, but took the flush ( I had considered cremation) option.

We went to the Natural History museum yesterday. The new mammal display is incredible. I was truly impressed. We also saw the Hope diamond, which I've seen before so it wasn't very impressive to me. Aidan liked stopping off for vanilla gelato in the atrium cafe. When we finished at the museum, we went on a merry-go-round out on the national mall.

Today (if I get the energy) is devoted to throwing things out that we don't need anymore in an attempt to get ready for the move.

Cheers!
Tim

PT

Started mandatory PT at work today. Actually it's only mandatory until I take the new AF test on April 2. If I pass that test I don't have to go to PT anymore, but I probably will continue to go anyway. I get to leave work at 1:45 to head over to the gym every day, so I can't complain. Work less hours and stay in shape...Sounds like a great deal to me. Today's run did kinda suck, but I think it was just because it was the first time outdoors since last fall. I did the push-ups and sit-ups without any problem. I did the run in a passing time, just not a good time for me. I figure I can knock another minute or two off once I'm use to exercising again. Tomorrow is indoors doing aerobic machines. I'm going to give one of those elliptical machines a try.

I went food shopping and only bought meat for Aidan (chicken nuggets), and some tuna fish. I also didn't buy any soda. I didn't give up meat or soda for lent, so don't get any weird ideas. I gave up Mel Gibson movies for Lent. I gave up eating mostly meat, and drinking too much soda for health reasons. I want to lose a few pounds and start eating better. The crappy choices of food at the Pentagon have finally gotten to me, so I'm going to start bringing my lunch from home.

Had my walk-through inspection on the house today. I have to pay $50 for a door, plus replace the blinds that are suppose to be on the sliding glass door. I took the fence down yesterday (except for the pole holding the satellite dish). Just need to get some dirt to fill in the holes. I trying to do a little each day to prepare for the move. I got my outside storage areas cleaned out yesterday as well. The garbage pickers managed to get my bike, Aidan's old tricycle and a shelf before I could change my mind about throwing those items out..

I must go watch Seinfeld now.

Tim

Good Weekend

The show at the Improv was great. The did have one heckler in the crowd, but one of the comedians just ripped him apart, and the people sitting around him made him and his date leave. I haven't laughed that hard in a long time. You can out Gabriel Iglesias at Latinostandup.com. Aidan got to go to the Baltimore Aquarium, so he was also happy this weekend. It was nice to have a day or two where I could sleep in a little and just relax.

When Shanna and I took Biology on Guam, one of the things we learned was that baldness comes from the mother's side. I held to what I learned in that class until this weekend when I was proven wrong. New evidence now shows it can come from either parent. I was made to feel stupid, and it gave me a small glimpse into what normal people must feel like all the time in my presence. Just kidding.

OK, so enough for now.

Tim

The First Lady

Laura Bush said gay marriage is "a very, very shocking issue". Give me a break. I think it's much more shocking that she's a former teacher, who hasn't gotten on her husband for not funding NCLB. I also think that as a former teacher she should know that just teaching to a test does not work. These people sicken me. They're worried over a couple of gay couples who have been living together for 20 years anyway now wanting to be called a married couple. They should focus more on things like oh I don't know, the unemployment rate, the deficit, the state of education in America, why we went to war with a country who's leader was nothing more than a blow-hard...I still resort back to the comment I brought in from Moby.com a few months back about if Clinton was impeached for lying about oral sex, then shouldn't Bush be impeached for lying about the reasons for going to war? I mean which one had the greater consequences? So Monica ruined a dress...Big f'n deal. Look at all the lives that have been ruined by Bush and Cheney and Rumsfeld war.

OK, enough bitchin for tonight. On a happier note, Sex in the City had their final episode. I never really cared for it personally, but I know a lot of people did enjoy it. I guess for most of its running time the show did not pertain to me. I was neither having sex, nor living in a city...

Going to the Improv tomorrow night to see Gabriel Iglesias. If you've seen him on Comedy Central you'll know that he's very funny...

Cheers!

Tim

More Great News!

Even though I'm getting older, I'm getting better looking. Just thought everyone would want to know that.

Cheers!

Tim

I guess it's been a little while. Well let's see. I got a message that the tags for my Jeep are finally ready. I'm still pretty stressed over the whole move thing. It seems like so much to do over the next month or so. I'm getting a chance to unstress this weekend though. Aidan is staying at Wynne and Brian's, and I have a friend coming to visit. Should be very fun.

We went and played pool at Bungalow's with Jeff tonight. Aidan had a really good time. I'm pretty sure he'll be asleep early tonight. Tomorrow night though he has to help start cleaning out his room. Time to start figuring out what is going to Texas and what is going to the dump.

I'm glad Kerry is doing so well, I just wish Dean and Edwards would drop out and start supporting him. It's the only real way to help get "Dubya" out of the White House this fall.

OK, my life is simple. I'll write more when I've lived a little more and have something to share.

take care

Tim

Great News!

I just saved a bundle by switching back to USAA! They were able to cut my insurance bill in half. It all started when progressive sent my a notice saying they couldn't find my motor vehicle record, and that they were adding $450 to my premium for 6 months until the issue was resolved. I called them to find out what the deal was, and they said they couldn't find my DC license. I went on to explain to them that I have a Florida license with a Virginia address....while doing all that, they guy was pretty rude, so I was talking to him and looking up other companies at the same time. When I got off with Progressive, I decided to call USAA just to check. Very cool thing. Lower than any other rate I was able to find. A little weird since when I moved here they were the highest rate around, but I am not going to complain.

The deed and ghost

It is done. The car is gone. It was a little strange I suppose. It was the car I drove to my honeymoon in, the car we took Aidan home from the hospital in...My first car.

Thought I heard children laughing, and then looked outside and the swings were moving...Of course it's windy here, so the voices could have come from anywhere and been carried. Likewise, the wind could have been stirring up the swings... Still a little creepy though...

Aidan is asleep. He's wearing his new pj's that Karen got him in Japan. He was very excited to put them on. He said "Now I'm like the guy at the Japanese steakhouse"...Very cute.

my cold is finally ending, but my gums and teeth on the left side of my mouth are still sore. I'm planning on going to the dentist Monday to see if it's related to the cold, or if I need a root canal or something fun like that...I've been brushing and rinsing with listerine like crazy, but that only aggravates it. Aspiring does help a little...

Nothing new going on....

more later
Tim

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