Did you miss me??? haha Seriously... this has been a really busy week for me. I haven't had much blogging time on my hands this week, but I'm off for the day now, so I decided to write a bit. :)
I'm excited... next week we actually get a DAY OFF!!!! YESSSSSS!!!! It's been so long overdue! I'm looking forward to it, and that means I will definitely be playing poker Friday night next week! :) It will make for a couple long days in order to make it work in the interim, but I'm all for it! I'm so tired... even though I got to sleep in this morning. Don't get me wrong... it felt awesome to sleep for 9 hours last night, but a day off is going to be soooooo much better even! :)
As my time in Iraq continues to fly by I have to think I'll be home in no time at all! Once we get to the next location I am keeping my same roommate plus one more. I think we will all get along just fine, too. I have no worries about plusing up to 3 even though it sounds cramped. I'm hoping we get to continue with days off over there, too, now that the precedent has been set.
The weather lately has been FANTASTIC! It's been in the mid 80s during the day and high 50s to near 60 at night. It might have taken until the end of October, but it's sure worth the wait. I love it! I've been walking everywhere instead of riding lately, too. I figure I might as well enjoy the weather and get more exercise at the same time. On average, I'm walking over an hour every day when it's all said and done. It's pretty much 10 minutes to everywhere... work... food... gym... etc. Those 10 minute walks add up when you have 7 or 8 of them in a day. :) My belly is starting to reap the benefits of it, too! Not to mention I run/walk on the treadmill 5 days a week, too! I love my workouts! They help keep me sane.
It's been a pretty tired week... but nonetheless it's now 8 weeks down... yeppers... just shy of 2 months... 1/3 of the way done already! Woohoo!!!! I'm still enjoying it for the most part, too, so that's good. I'm hoping to get back into my daily blogging ways now... after all... I wouldn't want you all to miss me too much! :P See you soon....
Peace, Love, and Poker
Saturday, October 30, 2010
Wednesday, October 27, 2010
I'm tired...
I think after so many weeks of working without a day off it was bound to catch up to me. At first you really don't notice it. You're just into the routine... and your body is still adjusting at the same time. But as the days and weeks continue (even with the occasional day to sleep in) the sleep deficit keeps building until there is no longer any opportunity to get caught up without a day off somewhere. I guess now it's time to try and start going to bed even earlier than I do already. It's the only way I can think of to start making up the deficit. I sleep in on the days I get to come in late (2 a week), but that's not quite enough over the long haul. There are no weekends to try and get "caught up". It's also tiring when you sit out and intensely stare at the scope for 4 hours a day, too. Believe me... I know now that it's true about the air traffic controllers' jobs being intense and stressful. I'm not saying that mine is that way to that extreme, but I do believe that it has to do with more than just the stress of planes possibly hitting each other. Your mind has to stay so focused the whole time... that's why it's intense and tiring. Combine that with a long series of between 6 and 7 hour sleep nights and you're bound to start feeling fatigued.
Then you start becoming irritable. I get to the point where I don't want anyone around me at times here now... aside from a handful of people, my roommate included. I am lucky to have not only a roomie I get along with really well... but one on the same shift and schedule as me. Most have the opposite... one on days one on nights. It sounds great on the surface, but when you think about it, it's not so wonderful. When you have your days to sleep in... your roommate will be just getting off work and coming in and vice versa. I know I would have a tough time with that... I would feel bad if I knew my roommate was sleeping in my room and I was off work and probably would try and go elsewhere so as to not disturb him. So in that respect we have it pretty good. I have been more snippy with the people I work with who generally annoy me on a daily basis whereas before my patience would allow me to just blow it off more easily. I do tend to combat those feelings by getting in my daily workouts... and boy does that help!
I have had some AWESOME workouts this week so far, and it's only Wednesday! I've been spending 65 minutes on the treadmill 4 days a week minimum with anywhere from 20-43 minutes of it running! Today happened to be the 43 minute day. :) It was the 2nd time in as many workouts that I exceeded burning 800 calories and the 1st time I broke 5 miles during the 65 minute time period! :) I eventually want to run for an entire 60 minutes and then cool down for about 15 for a nice 75 minute workout, but I'm not quite there yet... at least not at the pace I want to work at. I'm feeling thinner and in better shape every day, though, and that's a wonderful feeling! :) It has taken awhile for it to kick in... I've been at this for a month now... the working out part that is. Finally it's starting to show! I may have even mentioned it in another one of my recent blogs. It's something I work toward and am very proud of once I start to succeed.
This week is definitely flying by... but it's been a little less enjoyable as is evident above. I'm not down in the dumps or anything by any means. I feel fine... just tired and sometimes annoyed easily. I have to do some laundry tonight, too, and that's ALWAYS annoying here! It's so hard to get a washer I swear! I was going to do it this morning while I was at the gym, but even at 9:45 AM they were FULL!!!! I just wanted to scream FUCK ME!!!! LOL Seriously! Why aren't these people at work???? I thought it was a perfect opportunity, but I was wrong again! So... I will be in there later tonight waiting... for a washing machine to open up... and missing out on sleep yet again. *sigh* Saturday is already coming soon, though... another sleep in day and leave work early day. I do so look forward to those. :)
Congrats, by the way, to the Boise State Broncos on a fine 49-20 thrashing of Louisiana Tech to go to 7-0!!!! Keep it up boys!!!! Until next time...
Peace, Love, and Poker
Then you start becoming irritable. I get to the point where I don't want anyone around me at times here now... aside from a handful of people, my roommate included. I am lucky to have not only a roomie I get along with really well... but one on the same shift and schedule as me. Most have the opposite... one on days one on nights. It sounds great on the surface, but when you think about it, it's not so wonderful. When you have your days to sleep in... your roommate will be just getting off work and coming in and vice versa. I know I would have a tough time with that... I would feel bad if I knew my roommate was sleeping in my room and I was off work and probably would try and go elsewhere so as to not disturb him. So in that respect we have it pretty good. I have been more snippy with the people I work with who generally annoy me on a daily basis whereas before my patience would allow me to just blow it off more easily. I do tend to combat those feelings by getting in my daily workouts... and boy does that help!
I have had some AWESOME workouts this week so far, and it's only Wednesday! I've been spending 65 minutes on the treadmill 4 days a week minimum with anywhere from 20-43 minutes of it running! Today happened to be the 43 minute day. :) It was the 2nd time in as many workouts that I exceeded burning 800 calories and the 1st time I broke 5 miles during the 65 minute time period! :) I eventually want to run for an entire 60 minutes and then cool down for about 15 for a nice 75 minute workout, but I'm not quite there yet... at least not at the pace I want to work at. I'm feeling thinner and in better shape every day, though, and that's a wonderful feeling! :) It has taken awhile for it to kick in... I've been at this for a month now... the working out part that is. Finally it's starting to show! I may have even mentioned it in another one of my recent blogs. It's something I work toward and am very proud of once I start to succeed.
This week is definitely flying by... but it's been a little less enjoyable as is evident above. I'm not down in the dumps or anything by any means. I feel fine... just tired and sometimes annoyed easily. I have to do some laundry tonight, too, and that's ALWAYS annoying here! It's so hard to get a washer I swear! I was going to do it this morning while I was at the gym, but even at 9:45 AM they were FULL!!!! I just wanted to scream FUCK ME!!!! LOL Seriously! Why aren't these people at work???? I thought it was a perfect opportunity, but I was wrong again! So... I will be in there later tonight waiting... for a washing machine to open up... and missing out on sleep yet again. *sigh* Saturday is already coming soon, though... another sleep in day and leave work early day. I do so look forward to those. :)
Congrats, by the way, to the Boise State Broncos on a fine 49-20 thrashing of Louisiana Tech to go to 7-0!!!! Keep it up boys!!!! Until next time...
Peace, Love, and Poker
Tuesday, October 26, 2010
I miss....
.... my dear sweet wife Anne Marie. .... all of my friends and family everywhere. ... being able to go out and get a beer and a decent dinner somewhere (or anywhere for that matter). ... my baby kitties, Sidney and Crosby... and Milo and Fergus, too! ... being able to just call and talk to whomever whenever and/or text, etc. ... my car and being able to go places on weekends and other time off. ... fall weather and seeing the leaves change and feeling the crisp cool fall breeze on a sunny 55 degree late October afternoon. ... WEEKENDS. ... Steeler Sundays at Players' Bar with all the Pittsburgh fans. ... being able to watch Penguins hockey if I get the urge to go out to the sports bar. ... my trips to Jackpot to the casino and the poker tournaments there. ... being on close to the same time zone as everyone else. ... having my own place and all my own stuff in it. ... real cable TV with real channels to surf through in order to find something decent to watch. ... talking to my daughter, my sister, my dad, my mom, Anne Marie, and all my other friends I get to talk to every once in awhile. ... just so many things about home. *sigh*
I guess that happens after 2 months or so of being deployed. Not that I haven't missed all of those things before now... it's just that I miss them that much more as the days pass by. I get to talk to Anne Marie and see her just about every single day on Skype, though, and that helps immensely! What did people do before Skype??? Good Lord!!! I guess it was 2 things really... the telephone... and a pen and paper. Yes, I'm going back before email, too. I remember when I left for Turkey I had an address book with TONS of addresses and phone #'s in it! That was around the time email was just starting to become fashionable. It wasn't nearly as readily available as it is now. I didn't even own a computer yet back then. Being here is kind of like being taken back to those times with a few added bonuses. You have access to computers everywhere. Email and Skype are everywhere. It only costs 4 cents a minute to call home compared to the astronomical phone bills from when I was in Turkey. I had a phone bill of over $1000 once there. My how the times have changed haven't they? But somewhere lost in there is the art of actually sitting down and WRITING a letter. It's so seldom we do that nowadays, but there's still something much more personal about a letter than typing out an email. First... it takes EFFORT to write. Your first and foremost thoughts go on the paper... and you can't just backspace to undo it. It's obvious that it came from you. Only you have that distinct handwriting that is your own, nobody else. It's a great feeling to see a letter in the mail, too! I don't know anybody who doesn't like to get letters or cards in the mail! How many times have you heard, "Man, I sure would have rather had an email?" NONE! :)
So... allow me to continue my story... back to my assignment to Turkey. It was October 1995. I was still fairly young and on my way to another part of the world. I really didn't know what I was in for, either. I got there and was immediately shocked by the time change. I think I slept for 18 hours after arriving on a Saturday afternoon. I worked in the travel portion of accounts receivable there. It was different, but it wasn't really difficult to pick up. I immediately put on my next stripe when I got there. I was now a Senior Airman in the Air Force. I didn't get through 15 months without my share of problems.
I was still married to the wife who was back in Ohio. While I was gone she sold my minivan for a huge loss (basically gave it away). She was all about the money, too... I think that mindset was a big part of why I stayed single for so many years after we parted ways. I just always felt like women would take you for whatever they could if they got the chance. I do know different now, though, but I still have those moments albeit few and far between. I had my own problems with money management that got me into enough trouble over the years. The first time was while I was in Turkey. I had a couple bills I couldn't pay because my wife was taking all the money I was making there. She said I couldn't afford the van so she sold it. I got into trouble for it, and my performance ratings suffered. So that's really the only "bad" thing I have to say about my assignment to Turkey. Otherwise it was a fantastic assignment.
I went to the beaches on the Mediterranean on as many weekends as I possibly could. I lived downtown about 20 minutes from the base, which was simply amazing! I loved being out in the Turkish culture. That didn't last throughout the assignment, though, due to the Khobar Towers attack happening in Saudi Arabia in 1996. Following that everyone was moved back on base and has been ever since. It was nice, though. The traveling options in Turkey were endless, and I took advantage of several opportunities to do so! If I only had some pictures to post on here I would. I'm sure they are safely in my storage unit somewhere. :) I enjoyed Turkey so much I stayed until the very last possible day I could. Most people tried to leave at the beginning of their DEROS (departure) month. Not me! I asked for the 29th of January. The Monday before I left I took a drive down to the beach (yes... in January) and just walked there for a couple hours on a fine 55 degree day. I knew it would be the last time I would be likely to stroll on the shores of the "Med". However, I was wrong! I would return after only 2 years and a few months of my departure...
There was one very difficult thing that happened while I was in Turkey... I got the call from work that the Red Cross had called. My grandmother had passed away at the age of 82. So... a day later I was on a plane headed back to the U.S. I missed the funeral, though, and that saddens me to this day. It happens, though... when you're thousands of miles away. It was nice to see all of the family, especially my 6 month old little baby girl. :)
My daughter was also born while I was in Turkey. That was my first trip back to U.S. soil since heading there. March 12, 1996, was the big day. Tiffany was a pretty big baby, too. 8 lb 12 oz and 21 inches long. She's pretty doggone tall at the age of 14 as well!!! :) I didn't have the chance to see her birth. I waited until after she was born so as to have the opportunity to spend the most time possible with her. So it was... an amazing 15 months with quite a few ups and downs along the way. I departed on January 29, 1997, for Omaha, Nebraska, where I would spend my next 4 years.....
Happy Tuesday everyone!!! I hope it's a great one wherever you may be! I will be sitting on my shift in a half an hour and then going to a meeting a little after that at 7:30, and another day in the desert will be in the history books. Soon it will be 5 AM and Skype time again! :) I'm always looking forward to that! Until next time...
Peace, Love, and Poker
I guess that happens after 2 months or so of being deployed. Not that I haven't missed all of those things before now... it's just that I miss them that much more as the days pass by. I get to talk to Anne Marie and see her just about every single day on Skype, though, and that helps immensely! What did people do before Skype??? Good Lord!!! I guess it was 2 things really... the telephone... and a pen and paper. Yes, I'm going back before email, too. I remember when I left for Turkey I had an address book with TONS of addresses and phone #'s in it! That was around the time email was just starting to become fashionable. It wasn't nearly as readily available as it is now. I didn't even own a computer yet back then. Being here is kind of like being taken back to those times with a few added bonuses. You have access to computers everywhere. Email and Skype are everywhere. It only costs 4 cents a minute to call home compared to the astronomical phone bills from when I was in Turkey. I had a phone bill of over $1000 once there. My how the times have changed haven't they? But somewhere lost in there is the art of actually sitting down and WRITING a letter. It's so seldom we do that nowadays, but there's still something much more personal about a letter than typing out an email. First... it takes EFFORT to write. Your first and foremost thoughts go on the paper... and you can't just backspace to undo it. It's obvious that it came from you. Only you have that distinct handwriting that is your own, nobody else. It's a great feeling to see a letter in the mail, too! I don't know anybody who doesn't like to get letters or cards in the mail! How many times have you heard, "Man, I sure would have rather had an email?" NONE! :)
So... allow me to continue my story... back to my assignment to Turkey. It was October 1995. I was still fairly young and on my way to another part of the world. I really didn't know what I was in for, either. I got there and was immediately shocked by the time change. I think I slept for 18 hours after arriving on a Saturday afternoon. I worked in the travel portion of accounts receivable there. It was different, but it wasn't really difficult to pick up. I immediately put on my next stripe when I got there. I was now a Senior Airman in the Air Force. I didn't get through 15 months without my share of problems.
I was still married to the wife who was back in Ohio. While I was gone she sold my minivan for a huge loss (basically gave it away). She was all about the money, too... I think that mindset was a big part of why I stayed single for so many years after we parted ways. I just always felt like women would take you for whatever they could if they got the chance. I do know different now, though, but I still have those moments albeit few and far between. I had my own problems with money management that got me into enough trouble over the years. The first time was while I was in Turkey. I had a couple bills I couldn't pay because my wife was taking all the money I was making there. She said I couldn't afford the van so she sold it. I got into trouble for it, and my performance ratings suffered. So that's really the only "bad" thing I have to say about my assignment to Turkey. Otherwise it was a fantastic assignment.
I went to the beaches on the Mediterranean on as many weekends as I possibly could. I lived downtown about 20 minutes from the base, which was simply amazing! I loved being out in the Turkish culture. That didn't last throughout the assignment, though, due to the Khobar Towers attack happening in Saudi Arabia in 1996. Following that everyone was moved back on base and has been ever since. It was nice, though. The traveling options in Turkey were endless, and I took advantage of several opportunities to do so! If I only had some pictures to post on here I would. I'm sure they are safely in my storage unit somewhere. :) I enjoyed Turkey so much I stayed until the very last possible day I could. Most people tried to leave at the beginning of their DEROS (departure) month. Not me! I asked for the 29th of January. The Monday before I left I took a drive down to the beach (yes... in January) and just walked there for a couple hours on a fine 55 degree day. I knew it would be the last time I would be likely to stroll on the shores of the "Med". However, I was wrong! I would return after only 2 years and a few months of my departure...
There was one very difficult thing that happened while I was in Turkey... I got the call from work that the Red Cross had called. My grandmother had passed away at the age of 82. So... a day later I was on a plane headed back to the U.S. I missed the funeral, though, and that saddens me to this day. It happens, though... when you're thousands of miles away. It was nice to see all of the family, especially my 6 month old little baby girl. :)
My daughter was also born while I was in Turkey. That was my first trip back to U.S. soil since heading there. March 12, 1996, was the big day. Tiffany was a pretty big baby, too. 8 lb 12 oz and 21 inches long. She's pretty doggone tall at the age of 14 as well!!! :) I didn't have the chance to see her birth. I waited until after she was born so as to have the opportunity to spend the most time possible with her. So it was... an amazing 15 months with quite a few ups and downs along the way. I departed on January 29, 1997, for Omaha, Nebraska, where I would spend my next 4 years.....
Happy Tuesday everyone!!! I hope it's a great one wherever you may be! I will be sitting on my shift in a half an hour and then going to a meeting a little after that at 7:30, and another day in the desert will be in the history books. Soon it will be 5 AM and Skype time again! :) I'm always looking forward to that! Until next time...
Peace, Love, and Poker
Monday, October 25, 2010
Monday Monday... la la... la la la la...
Monday is so not Monday here! That's all I can say about that! It's also a good day when the STEELERS WIN the night before!!!! :) That was an awesome game that I really thought Miami was going to pull a win out of. Of course, I'm glad they didn't! 23-22... and every bit of suspense in the 4th quarter as Big Ben appeared to score a touchdown... but as replay would reveal... at the half yard line he FUMBLED! The ball fell into the end zone, and it would be apparent (but not viewable on replay) that Miami had recovered the fumble. The ref comes back... "After further review... the runner lost possession of the football prior to crossing the goal line, however, there is no way to determine who recovered the football in the end zone. Therefore, it will be Pittsburgh's ball on the half yard line 4th down and goal!" PHEW!!! It's the right call according to the rules, though. The Steelers then proceeded to kick the eventual game winning field goal on the next play then held the Dolphins on 4 plays to subsequently put an end to the game! Way to go Steelers!!! 5-1 to start the season... let's think Super Bowl!!!
It's been a pretty good day at work so far... I'm off my shift and getting ready to go to the gym yet again. I even had one of the guys say to me today that it looks like I've lost some weight. Now that's always a good feeling! I haven't been able to get the scale at the gym to budge in my 7 weeks here so far... maybe that's about to change thanks to my intense workouts 5 days a week! I'm trying to cut back my portions at lunch time in order to make my workouts better, too, since I do them fairly soon after eating lunch (about 2 1/2 hours or so). I want to see how I feel today working out. Wish me luck! :)
I think I might give my dad a call later tonight... and possibly my mom as well... I haven't talked to her yet since I've been here, and I've talked to my dad once, on his birthday. I got the phone card PIN thing for expressly that purpose, so I really should put it to use. I have a bunch of movies to watch in my room, too, though. Ahhhhh... decisions decisions... and it's poker night on top of that... but I am still not feeling staying up that late even with being able to sleep late. I like my sleep way too much!
Well... it's getting close to workout time here... and it's going to be another good one. I'm going to attack the treadmill full force again today. Yesterday was great until I got to the showers and the water was off! What a nightmare! I had to go back to work all sweaty and smelly... ewwwwwww!!! Anyway... I hope everyone is having a fantastic Monday wherever you are! Take care of yourselves and each other... until next time...
Peace, Love, and Poker
It's been a pretty good day at work so far... I'm off my shift and getting ready to go to the gym yet again. I even had one of the guys say to me today that it looks like I've lost some weight. Now that's always a good feeling! I haven't been able to get the scale at the gym to budge in my 7 weeks here so far... maybe that's about to change thanks to my intense workouts 5 days a week! I'm trying to cut back my portions at lunch time in order to make my workouts better, too, since I do them fairly soon after eating lunch (about 2 1/2 hours or so). I want to see how I feel today working out. Wish me luck! :)
I think I might give my dad a call later tonight... and possibly my mom as well... I haven't talked to her yet since I've been here, and I've talked to my dad once, on his birthday. I got the phone card PIN thing for expressly that purpose, so I really should put it to use. I have a bunch of movies to watch in my room, too, though. Ahhhhh... decisions decisions... and it's poker night on top of that... but I am still not feeling staying up that late even with being able to sleep late. I like my sleep way too much!
Well... it's getting close to workout time here... and it's going to be another good one. I'm going to attack the treadmill full force again today. Yesterday was great until I got to the showers and the water was off! What a nightmare! I had to go back to work all sweaty and smelly... ewwwwwww!!! Anyway... I hope everyone is having a fantastic Monday wherever you are! Take care of yourselves and each other... until next time...
Peace, Love, and Poker
Saturday, October 23, 2010
More randomness...
Good evening from the other side of the world!!! So have you ever just had a day where you felt like saying whatever random thought came into your head at the time? Well... I'm having one of those kinds of days right now. It's not a bad thing... it's even funny at times. For instance... I'm sitting here... I just got done talking to my wife on Skype, and little does she know... but I took a VERY silly picture of her right before we were done talking. Now I'm going to post it here and on Facebook. LOL She decided she was Abe Lincoln and was giving the Gettysburg Address! It's priceless!!! I do love her so! :)The Steelers are playing tomorrow at Miami... and the game is going to be televised here in the desert! It's about time, too!!!! The only other Steelers game I got to see has been their only loss of the season. Let's not repeat that feat! GO STEELERS!!!
I had a very nice 2/3 day off today. In fact, I would still be at work right now instead of sitting here in the Cyber Cafe writing my blog. :) My shift absolutely flew by! It was a good day... and a short one. I'm thinking of watching another one of my movies tonight in my room in a little while. I figure why not... while I have the time to relax and do it, right???
So... aren't there some pet peeves you have that just drive you crazy??? Hopefully one of them isn't someone blogging with no sense of structure as randomly as I'm doing tonight. LOL Seriously, though... I have one big one that's just gnawing away at me over here... it's people's rudeness and lack of respect for both others and community items. Allow me to explain a little better with a couple examples. For instance, there is a dart board in our little "shack" area where we hang out all day when we're not sitting on scope. A couple guys will just throw from far far back in the room at it and think it's funny when the darts stick in the wall and make holes in it. There is an X-Box in the room... the same 3 or 4 people hog the TV with it playing football on it... not even 2 people at a time... only 1 at a time! We have 5 computers... if you don't log off of them the system eventually gets really bogged down and runs so slow to the point that no websites will come up even. Do you think half the people EVER log off??? Fuck no! Then there's my biggest one of all here... getting food for people... do I mind bringing my coworkers food? Not at all! I do it every chance I get, and they do the same for me. It's the ones that know full well you're doing them a favor, but they make a special order that takes 10 minutes to get instead of keeping it simple. Can I have a grilled chicken... and then take it to the sandwich line... with pickles and onion and extra mayo? Not to mention... I would like some vegetables from the healthy line... along with a gatorade. Sorry dude... that's fucking annoying. But that's not the worst of it... the worst is the one person who NEVER brings food for anyone... NEVER! Well... "I don't like to go to lunch." Of course not... because you're fucking LAZY! They are the first ones to ask someone to bring food for them and then wonder why nobody wants to! Do unto others definitely applies my friend, and you are no more special than anyone else here. The last of my rant today is the bathrooms... this one is probably at the top of my list, too. The commander shut down our bathroom for a day because someone clogged a toilet and left it that way. This wasn't the first time... it's happened several times, and nobody will own up to it. So... after having it reopened and having everyone talked to what happens? Someone spits sunflower seeds in the urinal in the men's room! MORONS!!! Why do people do shit like that? Why do people piss on the seats in men's rooms everywhere? What the hell is wrong with our society? And... is this just an American thing, or does this happen regularly all over the world? In Europe? In Asia? Outside of the bases elsewhere in the Middle Eastern countries? I want to know. It is so frustrating that people take such liberties with stuff that isn't theirs. What kind of parents teach this behavior to their children? I just don't get it. I know I personally will clean up after my own damn self whenever possible. Ok... enough about that... I'm certain I've made my point. :)
At the end of the day... I am still doing great here... I suppose you're bound to get annoyed when you spend the majority of your time with a group of people you're not used to spending that much time with. For the most part I get along with everyone, though. It's one of my better qualities. I am going to head off to my room now and watch a movie I think... or perhaps go sing a little karaoke in a bit. It starts at 8:30 I do believe. That's something I would really enjoy doing, too! I may have talked myself into it. :) Goodnight all... and I hope you enjoy your weekend! My sort of "weekend" is going well so far. I enjoy the little breaks we get here... may not be a day off... but it's pretty darn close!
Peace, Love, and Poker
Friday, October 22, 2010
Another Friday already!!!
Can you believe it??? Yes... it's Friday again so soon! Tomorrow I get to sleep in and leave early! Woohoo!!!! This week went by the fastest of all of them so far! I am ready for a nice long sleep, though. It will be very nice. I've been short on sleep compared to the other weeks for some reason this week.
I am going to work out once again as soon as I finish writing this... it's my interval running day, and I plan on it being a really good one! I'm going to do my running intervals at 7.2 mph today (up from 7.0 the last time). I figure the only way to keep getting better is to keep increasing gradually... both distance and speed. I've done an excellent job with my workouts this week. This will be my 5th day out of 6. I probably will take tomorrow off and go back at it on Sunday to start the new week. I like to relax on my "sort of" days off. I am so sleeping in, too! :)
Today has been a pretty busy day for me. I sat the early shift, and then I gave one of my co-workers a lunch break and sat for another 45 minutes or so. I got to work with the commander during that time... it was pretty cool. I'm not sure what I'm planning on doing tonight... I think I will just chill in my room and watch a movie on my laptop and maybe start a new book while I'm at it. I don't usually stay up too late on my late show nights to begin with just because I'm already so tired by the time 9 or 10 o'clock rolls around. You could say I'm kind of in a routine, too, and without the weekends thrown in there... the routine doesn't ever really get broken or changed that much. I do laundry every 6 days. I wake up at between 4:30 and 5:40 every morning depending on when my time is to Skype with Anne Marie. I go to bed somewhere between 9:30 and 10:30 most nights. There's not much deviation from it.
Ok... I will do my best to try and write more later... for now I must go and leave you as I continue my quest to become more fit every day. See you soon...
Peace, Love, and Poker
I am going to work out once again as soon as I finish writing this... it's my interval running day, and I plan on it being a really good one! I'm going to do my running intervals at 7.2 mph today (up from 7.0 the last time). I figure the only way to keep getting better is to keep increasing gradually... both distance and speed. I've done an excellent job with my workouts this week. This will be my 5th day out of 6. I probably will take tomorrow off and go back at it on Sunday to start the new week. I like to relax on my "sort of" days off. I am so sleeping in, too! :)
Today has been a pretty busy day for me. I sat the early shift, and then I gave one of my co-workers a lunch break and sat for another 45 minutes or so. I got to work with the commander during that time... it was pretty cool. I'm not sure what I'm planning on doing tonight... I think I will just chill in my room and watch a movie on my laptop and maybe start a new book while I'm at it. I don't usually stay up too late on my late show nights to begin with just because I'm already so tired by the time 9 or 10 o'clock rolls around. You could say I'm kind of in a routine, too, and without the weekends thrown in there... the routine doesn't ever really get broken or changed that much. I do laundry every 6 days. I wake up at between 4:30 and 5:40 every morning depending on when my time is to Skype with Anne Marie. I go to bed somewhere between 9:30 and 10:30 most nights. There's not much deviation from it.
Ok... I will do my best to try and write more later... for now I must go and leave you as I continue my quest to become more fit every day. See you soon...
Peace, Love, and Poker
Thursday, October 21, 2010
Another week is passing... FAST!!!!!
Good afternoon!!!! Happy Thursday! I'm back to blogging today after a very long Wednesday here. I am pretty tired today. Yesterday was pretty much a blur. The internet was down here at work, so I wasn't able to do my usual blog post when I would normally do it. Then we had a meeting after work at 7:30 so I didn't get back to my room until 9:30ish (actually closer to 9:45).
I'm still doing very well... I had another fantastic workout yesterday (and one the day before, too)... and I am leaving to go have another as soon as I finish writing here!!! Do you sense a pattern??? Why yes... I LIKE working out!!! Amazing, isn't it??? But it's true. I used to absolutely hate it. But sometime between "I hate working out" and tipping the scales at significantly bigger than 250 my thought process changed. Once I had a girl tell me I looked like Homer Simpson!!!! Now if that's not motivation I don't know what is!!!! I wasn't even at my heaviest back then... I was only about 235 or 240. I'm currently sitting squarely at 225 and unable to get the scale to budge. I figure my workouts will pay off soon, though, and when I least expect it I will start seeing the pounds drop. My diet has kind of fell off the wagon, so to speak, since I got here. There is food available... and lots of it! I'm working right now on cutting back my portions... simply because I think that's what's thrown my body into "maintain" mode. I'm just taking in too many calories, and rather than losing weight... my workouts are just balancing it at zero. The bright side to it is... I'm not gaining! Then I would be upset. :) I've worked far too hard for far too long to allow myself to start gaining again. That's for sure!
So as I sit here... it's already Thursday in another week in the desert that's absolutely a blur! I think it's time that I find something more to do while I'm here now that I'm getting close to the 2 month point of my deployment. I am going to find a couple college courses to take as soon as we get the move over with... may not happen utnil after the holidays (the classes that is)... but that's one of my goals here, and I will fulfill it. I am also going to do a few of the fun things around the base a little more often... go to the movies... maybe hit the pool while it's still open... go to karaoke night at the rec center on Saturday... or bingo night on a Sunday... another poker night perhaps... there are other things, too... I found out Trace Adkins is coming here pretty soon. I definitely would enjoy that! The opportunities are there and readily available if you seek them out. :)
Well... it's about that time... the gym is calling me... yup... there's the phone ringing... Jim... come to the GYM!!!! I'm not sure if it's a running day or an elliptical day, but either way it will be a good workout! Oh and one more thing... my sister said I never mention her in my blog... so everyone say "HI TINA!!!!" That will make her day! :)
Peace, Love, and Poker
I'm still doing very well... I had another fantastic workout yesterday (and one the day before, too)... and I am leaving to go have another as soon as I finish writing here!!! Do you sense a pattern??? Why yes... I LIKE working out!!! Amazing, isn't it??? But it's true. I used to absolutely hate it. But sometime between "I hate working out" and tipping the scales at significantly bigger than 250 my thought process changed. Once I had a girl tell me I looked like Homer Simpson!!!! Now if that's not motivation I don't know what is!!!! I wasn't even at my heaviest back then... I was only about 235 or 240. I'm currently sitting squarely at 225 and unable to get the scale to budge. I figure my workouts will pay off soon, though, and when I least expect it I will start seeing the pounds drop. My diet has kind of fell off the wagon, so to speak, since I got here. There is food available... and lots of it! I'm working right now on cutting back my portions... simply because I think that's what's thrown my body into "maintain" mode. I'm just taking in too many calories, and rather than losing weight... my workouts are just balancing it at zero. The bright side to it is... I'm not gaining! Then I would be upset. :) I've worked far too hard for far too long to allow myself to start gaining again. That's for sure!
So as I sit here... it's already Thursday in another week in the desert that's absolutely a blur! I think it's time that I find something more to do while I'm here now that I'm getting close to the 2 month point of my deployment. I am going to find a couple college courses to take as soon as we get the move over with... may not happen utnil after the holidays (the classes that is)... but that's one of my goals here, and I will fulfill it. I am also going to do a few of the fun things around the base a little more often... go to the movies... maybe hit the pool while it's still open... go to karaoke night at the rec center on Saturday... or bingo night on a Sunday... another poker night perhaps... there are other things, too... I found out Trace Adkins is coming here pretty soon. I definitely would enjoy that! The opportunities are there and readily available if you seek them out. :)
Well... it's about that time... the gym is calling me... yup... there's the phone ringing... Jim... come to the GYM!!!! I'm not sure if it's a running day or an elliptical day, but either way it will be a good workout! Oh and one more thing... my sister said I never mention her in my blog... so everyone say "HI TINA!!!!" That will make her day! :)
Peace, Love, and Poker
Tuesday, October 19, 2010
Feeling kinda blah... but doing ok still...
Good afternoon!!!! As the title might suggest I'm feeling a little "blah" today for some odd reason. I didn't feel this way when I first got out of bed this morning. It's just hit me over the past hour or two... since I got to work pretty much. I am sure we all have those days... where you just wish not one single person would talk to you and when they do no matter what they say is going to annoy the hell out of you. That's pretty much how I feel at this moment. I'm even a little tired, but that's probably from eating a fairly big lunch. I was pretty hungry today. Now I'm back at work but don't have to go on my shift for another 2 hours. Maybe not working out is actually fueling my slightly down feelings today, too. I was originally going to work out today, but once I woke up with a headache I changed my mind. I also miss home and my dear sweet wife and the cats, too. I hope the kitties are still doing ok in their temporary home. The last I heard they were doing really well. :) That makes me happy to know I made a good choice for them. They are good kitties. :)
I got to thinking yesterday... I always sign my blog posts "Peace, Love, and Poker". Why is this??? Well... I couldn't answer that question so it got me thinking. Peace... well that's fairly obvious. I think the world is a much better place when it's peaceful regardless of where in the world you might be at the time. So I always am hoping and praying for peace no matter where I'm at or what I'm doing. Why can't we all just get along????
That leads into my second word... Love. If you really think about it what are we without love? We're very lonely for one. If you don't have love in your life then you're pretty much on your own island... isolated from the rest of the world. Now, don't get me wrong, sometimes that's a GREAT place to be but only if it's for a short period of time. Then it's relaxing rather than lonely. But don't you... at some point... long to get back from that place... that "vacation spot" if you may... that is your temporary escape from every day life. Also, during that time I'm quite certain that those are the times you may think of your "loved" ones the most. I am grateful for all the people in my life who love and care for me every day! I don't think I'd really enjoy life at all without love.
The last of the three is Poker... now that doesn't exactly seem to fit with the other two. In the game of poker your main goal is to eliminate your opponents by taking all their money or chips. Sometimes it's not very peaceful, and it's certainly not a "loving" thing to do now is it??? Perhaps that's one of the main reasons I included poker in the first place. It's a stark contrast from the other two, but it's something I enjoy doing... maybe even "love" doing. I have always been a gambler since I was a kid. I definitely get that from my parents. I was fairly young when I can recall my sister and I sitting on the steps outside the casino trying to watch mom and dad play the slot machines in Atlantic City. Of course, we never stayed long. We would wander off to the arcade or the boardwalk for awhile. None of us ever really thought anything of it. I would never let my children be alone like that nowadays. It was a lot different 25-30 years ago than it is now, though. I'm sure we weren't more than 12 and 9 maybe younger even??? My how times have changed over the years haven't they? So back to poker... the big poker "boom" started around 2003 when Chris Moneymaker won the World Series of Poker... and thus launched poker as what many of us now know as a "sport". This is around about the time I started playing the grand game of Texas Hold'em. I started out just like most people do... LOSING... BADLY! But it didn't take me long to start figuring out what I needed to do in order to start winning. In fact, since I started playing... I have logged well in excess of $10K in profits... most likely that's on the low end of the estimate, too!!! I have cashed in for over $1000 three separate times and $870 another time. It's been awhile since I've won a big one... but I know there will be another and many more in my future as long as I continue to sharpen my game from time to time. :) Therein lies my relatively brief history with poker.
Which brings me to this... why again did I include poker as part of my "signature" closing blog line??? Well... now it's easy to figure out... It's a passion of mine! How interesting would Peace, Love, and Passion be??? Probably not nearly as interesting or intriguing as Peace, Love, and Poker. So there you have it... a little more insight into what makes me who I am... and why I write those 3 words (and notwithstanding of course) at the end of each of my posts. Amazingly enough... just writing my blog today has made me feel a little less "blah". :)
Peace, Love, and Poker
I got to thinking yesterday... I always sign my blog posts "Peace, Love, and Poker". Why is this??? Well... I couldn't answer that question so it got me thinking. Peace... well that's fairly obvious. I think the world is a much better place when it's peaceful regardless of where in the world you might be at the time. So I always am hoping and praying for peace no matter where I'm at or what I'm doing. Why can't we all just get along????
That leads into my second word... Love. If you really think about it what are we without love? We're very lonely for one. If you don't have love in your life then you're pretty much on your own island... isolated from the rest of the world. Now, don't get me wrong, sometimes that's a GREAT place to be but only if it's for a short period of time. Then it's relaxing rather than lonely. But don't you... at some point... long to get back from that place... that "vacation spot" if you may... that is your temporary escape from every day life. Also, during that time I'm quite certain that those are the times you may think of your "loved" ones the most. I am grateful for all the people in my life who love and care for me every day! I don't think I'd really enjoy life at all without love.
The last of the three is Poker... now that doesn't exactly seem to fit with the other two. In the game of poker your main goal is to eliminate your opponents by taking all their money or chips. Sometimes it's not very peaceful, and it's certainly not a "loving" thing to do now is it??? Perhaps that's one of the main reasons I included poker in the first place. It's a stark contrast from the other two, but it's something I enjoy doing... maybe even "love" doing. I have always been a gambler since I was a kid. I definitely get that from my parents. I was fairly young when I can recall my sister and I sitting on the steps outside the casino trying to watch mom and dad play the slot machines in Atlantic City. Of course, we never stayed long. We would wander off to the arcade or the boardwalk for awhile. None of us ever really thought anything of it. I would never let my children be alone like that nowadays. It was a lot different 25-30 years ago than it is now, though. I'm sure we weren't more than 12 and 9 maybe younger even??? My how times have changed over the years haven't they? So back to poker... the big poker "boom" started around 2003 when Chris Moneymaker won the World Series of Poker... and thus launched poker as what many of us now know as a "sport". This is around about the time I started playing the grand game of Texas Hold'em. I started out just like most people do... LOSING... BADLY! But it didn't take me long to start figuring out what I needed to do in order to start winning. In fact, since I started playing... I have logged well in excess of $10K in profits... most likely that's on the low end of the estimate, too!!! I have cashed in for over $1000 three separate times and $870 another time. It's been awhile since I've won a big one... but I know there will be another and many more in my future as long as I continue to sharpen my game from time to time. :) Therein lies my relatively brief history with poker.
Which brings me to this... why again did I include poker as part of my "signature" closing blog line??? Well... now it's easy to figure out... It's a passion of mine! How interesting would Peace, Love, and Passion be??? Probably not nearly as interesting or intriguing as Peace, Love, and Poker. So there you have it... a little more insight into what makes me who I am... and why I write those 3 words (and notwithstanding of course) at the end of each of my posts. Amazingly enough... just writing my blog today has made me feel a little less "blah". :)
Peace, Love, and Poker
Sunday, October 17, 2010
Ahhhh... another day winding down...
Good evening (or morning depending on where you are)! It's getting close to the end of my workday here, and I will be heading back to my room and then off to chat with my dear sweet wifey on Skype! It was a pretty good day today. It flew by as the days here usually do. I got up this morning and walked to breakfast knowing I had to work the first shift. I had the usual stuff... cereal... fresh pineapple... yogurt... and a banana... let's not forget the orange juice, too! :) Then I proceeded to walk to work... just in time as to not be late, too! Of course, I had it all timed out beforehand. ;) I worked my shift and then it was pretty much lunch time... again... nothing too exciting there... just food. LOL I was back here for a little while and then I left to go get my workout on! I spent a very intense 70 minutes on the treadmill today! It was great! I plan on doing pretty much the same tomorrow, too! I'm getting myself back in shape again gradually here. This has been my 3rd week straight of working out at least 5 days, and I'm starting to feel like I'm reaping some benefits finally.
So... by the time I got back from working out it was almost dinner time. I had a pretty tasty dinner... burger... sweet potatoes... and mac and cheese. But the treat was my weekly ICE CREAM! It's always quite tasty, too! I'm glad I allow myself to have those treats every so often. You gotta do what makes ya happy don't ya know??? So here I sit with about 25 minutes until the end of my Sunday at work. I have now surpassed 18 years in the Air Force as of yesterday, too! My dad is 70. And in just 30 days I will turn 38. My how the time flies! I hope everyone is enjoying their weekend wherever you may be... and I ask you to do one thing for me... DRINK A BEER FOR ME! :) Cheers! GO STEELERS!!!! Until tomorrow....
Peace, Love, and Poker
So... by the time I got back from working out it was almost dinner time. I had a pretty tasty dinner... burger... sweet potatoes... and mac and cheese. But the treat was my weekly ICE CREAM! It's always quite tasty, too! I'm glad I allow myself to have those treats every so often. You gotta do what makes ya happy don't ya know??? So here I sit with about 25 minutes until the end of my Sunday at work. I have now surpassed 18 years in the Air Force as of yesterday, too! My dad is 70. And in just 30 days I will turn 38. My how the time flies! I hope everyone is enjoying their weekend wherever you may be... and I ask you to do one thing for me... DRINK A BEER FOR ME! :) Cheers! GO STEELERS!!!! Until tomorrow....
Peace, Love, and Poker
Saturday, October 16, 2010
I was wrong...
When I found out that our 2/3 day off was going to be switched to have us work the middle shift I was visibly upset and pissed off. Today was the first of those such days, and you know what, it was actually pretty fantastic! Therefore, I stand corrected... I thought it would suck, but I was wrong. I slept in this morning, but I woke up in time to get an awesome breakfast. Then after working for 4 hours I got to leave... and my roomie and I went to the USO and hung out for awhile. I played poker on PokerStars for the first time since I got here, and I won! It was great!
I got to Skype with Anne Marie for over an hour, too! I also called my dad today... which just happens to be his 70th birthday along with my 18 year anniversary in the Air Force. Now I'm about to turn in for the night and nice and comfy in my bed. It's been a good day... and another week comes to an end here in the desert. 6 weeks now... so fast they fly by. Tomorrow is Steelers Sunday... HERE WE GO STEELERS!!!! Beat those Browns!!!! :) Goodnight
Peace, Love, and Poker
I got to Skype with Anne Marie for over an hour, too! I also called my dad today... which just happens to be his 70th birthday along with my 18 year anniversary in the Air Force. Now I'm about to turn in for the night and nice and comfy in my bed. It's been a good day... and another week comes to an end here in the desert. 6 weeks now... so fast they fly by. Tomorrow is Steelers Sunday... HERE WE GO STEELERS!!!! Beat those Browns!!!! :) Goodnight
Peace, Love, and Poker
Just a quick little something...
It's a fine Saturday morning here on Joint Base Balad... the weather is heating back up again. It's already on its way to 90 and it's not even 11 AM yet! I enjoyed a nice tasty big breakfast this morning on my morning off, and it was fabulous! Once my 4 hour shift is over at 3... it's time to leave for the day, too! You can't beat having that every Saturday! :)
I also have had 2 really good workouts the last 2 days, and I feel very good about that. I'm planning to have a short lighter workout this afternoon. My runs on the treadmill were pretty intense the past two days, so my body could use a break. I'll be back at it very soon, though! :)
I plan on writing more later... another week down here in the desert.
Peace, Love, and Poker
I also have had 2 really good workouts the last 2 days, and I feel very good about that. I'm planning to have a short lighter workout this afternoon. My runs on the treadmill were pretty intense the past two days, so my body could use a break. I'll be back at it very soon, though! :)
I plan on writing more later... another week down here in the desert.
Peace, Love, and Poker
Thursday, October 14, 2010
Back from a couple day hiatus...
Greetings!!! I know... I know... I haven't kept true to my word about posting daily. Well... I had some important work stuff to get accomplished the past couple days, and my blogging had to be put on the back burner. Today I'm back... and better than ever! I woke up this morning feeling fairly awake for a change. It's funny... I just wanted to log onto my computer last night for a few minutes in my room (I was actually going to write my blog LOL), but it appears my 30 days of internet had expired. So... hopefully I have gotten that fixed now. If not I may have to call Babtel and find out what's wrong. Anyway, the computer thing was probably a blessing because instead of surfing, chatting, emailing, and what not... I went to SLEEP! What a concept, huh??? Then I woke up this morning and talked on Skype with my wife for a little while before I had to go and get ready for work and breakfast on the way there. I worked the first shift... which is probably my favorite one to work because it gets that part of the day over with then you have the rest of the day to do whatever... like work out! I will be doing that shortly in fact! :) All in all today has been pretty good. Another week is winding down already, too! I can't believe it! The days and weeks are starting to turn into months now... just going by so very fast. :)
Now... to continue my story where I left off about a week ago...
I arrived at Wright-Patterson AFB in Dayton, Ohio, with a ready made family of a wife and 4 step-children... that's a story for another time, though. I'm not saying it's insignificant, but it's really not the point of this story in particular. :) It didn't take us but a couple days to get a house in base housing, which was nice. I got there and went to report in to work with absoutely no clue what I was doing. The chief there was pissed at me for being in the local area and taking leave. I didn't know any better... I just figured I'd take a few days of leave there and start to try and get settled in. It ended up being ok, though. I got my own desk even!!! I was the ripe old age of 20! So I started to learn the job of a financial manager as an Airman Basic. Yeppers... I didn't even have a single stripe on my sleeve yet! Shortly thereafter, though, is when I got the first one. :) I certainly had my moments... both good and not so good. My first supervisor was a pretty cool guy and one of the last "Buck Sergeants" I've known in the Air Force. His name was Dave. I have no clue where he's at these days, but he was pretty decent to work for. He go out of the AF and went to work at a car dealer for awhile locally before moving, I think, to Colorado.
I proceeded to learn my job over the coming months... I worked through my CDCs (basically a set of books that are a correspondence course of some sort) and did well on them. That took about 8 months. During that time I was still learning the job, too. I picked up accounting really easily to the point of getting bored... which is not a good thing for me. If I get bored I actually tend to fall behind in my work, which is exactly what happened from time to time. It never got so bad to the point of getting in any trouble or anything, but I was always pushing the envelope when it came to meeting deadlines. I started out in Accounts Receivable... where I billed our customers for good and/or services rendered. After about a year and a half I was moved to the Accounts Payable side... where I was now tasked with actually PAYING the bills. I think I enjoyed it a little more on the other side of the house, but man did it start getting BUSY! We were in the process of a huge reorganization and regionalization of all of finance into a bunch of finance "centers". Ours was to be right down the road about 20 minutes away... which was eventually where we went to work. The hours were brutally long... plus I was working a part-time job at the time, too. So I was really never home. I would leave for work in the morning to get there by 6 and leave at 4... only to go to my next job at 5 or 6 in the evening until midnight. I don't think I realized how truly crazy that was at the time, but I would NEVER try and do that again!
In the meantime... I received orders to go to my next assignment... where I would be reporting alone... I was going to Incirlik Air Base, Turkey, and I was very excited about it. What happened in the time prior to my leaving was something I never imagined would happen. My parents had come to visit for the 4th of July... and we were all just hanging out outside talking to the neighbors and stuff. The next thing you know... the neighbor lady comes out of my house yelling... "We're having a baby!!!" My mom just starting bawling right there... and I was speechless... my life would forever be changed. 2 months later I left for Turkey and left my newly pregnant soon to be ex-wife and stepdaughters behind to head overseas for 15 months.
There are a lot of fond memories of Ohio... and I think I would like to possibly go live and work there once I retire in the next couple years. I know so many people there... I even have an aunt and uncle nearby there as well. Not to mention it's a short 4 hour drive from home, too. There are a lot of reasons to go back there. The job market is huge for what I want to do as well. As you will see as my story progresses... my AF journey takes me back through Dayton some years later....
It is now time for me to head off to the gym and get my butt on the treadmill running! I've been glad to share another little piece of my past with you today. Take care of yoruselves and happy reading (and blogging if you do that, too!) :)
Peace, Love, and Poker
Now... to continue my story where I left off about a week ago...
I arrived at Wright-Patterson AFB in Dayton, Ohio, with a ready made family of a wife and 4 step-children... that's a story for another time, though. I'm not saying it's insignificant, but it's really not the point of this story in particular. :) It didn't take us but a couple days to get a house in base housing, which was nice. I got there and went to report in to work with absoutely no clue what I was doing. The chief there was pissed at me for being in the local area and taking leave. I didn't know any better... I just figured I'd take a few days of leave there and start to try and get settled in. It ended up being ok, though. I got my own desk even!!! I was the ripe old age of 20! So I started to learn the job of a financial manager as an Airman Basic. Yeppers... I didn't even have a single stripe on my sleeve yet! Shortly thereafter, though, is when I got the first one. :) I certainly had my moments... both good and not so good. My first supervisor was a pretty cool guy and one of the last "Buck Sergeants" I've known in the Air Force. His name was Dave. I have no clue where he's at these days, but he was pretty decent to work for. He go out of the AF and went to work at a car dealer for awhile locally before moving, I think, to Colorado.
I proceeded to learn my job over the coming months... I worked through my CDCs (basically a set of books that are a correspondence course of some sort) and did well on them. That took about 8 months. During that time I was still learning the job, too. I picked up accounting really easily to the point of getting bored... which is not a good thing for me. If I get bored I actually tend to fall behind in my work, which is exactly what happened from time to time. It never got so bad to the point of getting in any trouble or anything, but I was always pushing the envelope when it came to meeting deadlines. I started out in Accounts Receivable... where I billed our customers for good and/or services rendered. After about a year and a half I was moved to the Accounts Payable side... where I was now tasked with actually PAYING the bills. I think I enjoyed it a little more on the other side of the house, but man did it start getting BUSY! We were in the process of a huge reorganization and regionalization of all of finance into a bunch of finance "centers". Ours was to be right down the road about 20 minutes away... which was eventually where we went to work. The hours were brutally long... plus I was working a part-time job at the time, too. So I was really never home. I would leave for work in the morning to get there by 6 and leave at 4... only to go to my next job at 5 or 6 in the evening until midnight. I don't think I realized how truly crazy that was at the time, but I would NEVER try and do that again!
In the meantime... I received orders to go to my next assignment... where I would be reporting alone... I was going to Incirlik Air Base, Turkey, and I was very excited about it. What happened in the time prior to my leaving was something I never imagined would happen. My parents had come to visit for the 4th of July... and we were all just hanging out outside talking to the neighbors and stuff. The next thing you know... the neighbor lady comes out of my house yelling... "We're having a baby!!!" My mom just starting bawling right there... and I was speechless... my life would forever be changed. 2 months later I left for Turkey and left my newly pregnant soon to be ex-wife and stepdaughters behind to head overseas for 15 months.
There are a lot of fond memories of Ohio... and I think I would like to possibly go live and work there once I retire in the next couple years. I know so many people there... I even have an aunt and uncle nearby there as well. Not to mention it's a short 4 hour drive from home, too. There are a lot of reasons to go back there. The job market is huge for what I want to do as well. As you will see as my story progresses... my AF journey takes me back through Dayton some years later....
It is now time for me to head off to the gym and get my butt on the treadmill running! I've been glad to share another little piece of my past with you today. Take care of yoruselves and happy reading (and blogging if you do that, too!) :)
Peace, Love, and Poker
Monday, October 11, 2010
Wow... what an awesome day...
When I woke up this morning it was just a typical Monday morning on Joint Base Balad, Iraq. It was nice and cool outside as it has been recently. I went to work and then headed to the usual morning breakfast after our morning briefing. I did find out that I have a performance report to write on one of my guys that unbeknownst to me is overdue! Yikes!!! I don't need that... not when I'm doing such a fantastic job here so far! I will be rectifying that situation in the next day or two and getting that done! I just want to get that monkey off of my back right away.
So... I worked my shift from 11-3 today, and then I went to a thing at the base theater with a few other folks. We got to see Neil Armstrong, Jim Lovell, and Gene Cernan speak for about an hour and a half today! Then afterward they had a table set up out front and let groups of people take pictures standing behind them and shook all of our hands. It was truly awesome!!! I enjoyed it very much... as did the rest of the gang... along with the couple hundred others in there as well. Afterwards I got a tasty pepperoni pizza from pizza hut for my dinner. It was really good, too. It's nice to have a little treat every now and then. :)
Now as my day winds down... I can feel the sleepy bug settling in. I have a nice day ahead tomorrow. I don't have to be at work till 11, and I work the last shift. That will give me the time I need to work on the report... and I can work out in the morning, too. I just have to get out of bed before 9 o'clock this time. LOL I will be up for my morning Skype date with Anne Marie at 5, but I will be back in my bed all comfy and cozy by 6. :) I should be able to wake up easily by 8 again after that. I must do it!!!! :)
And that's pretty much another Monday in Iraq in a nutshell... I also saw rain today for the first time since I got here. It felt good... and it's nice and cool outside with some humidity!!! Wow!!! LOL I have to say... it was a pretty good day... and like I've said before... Monday never really feels like Monday here, anyway. :)
Peace, Love, and Poker
So... I worked my shift from 11-3 today, and then I went to a thing at the base theater with a few other folks. We got to see Neil Armstrong, Jim Lovell, and Gene Cernan speak for about an hour and a half today! Then afterward they had a table set up out front and let groups of people take pictures standing behind them and shook all of our hands. It was truly awesome!!! I enjoyed it very much... as did the rest of the gang... along with the couple hundred others in there as well. Afterwards I got a tasty pepperoni pizza from pizza hut for my dinner. It was really good, too. It's nice to have a little treat every now and then. :)
Now as my day winds down... I can feel the sleepy bug settling in. I have a nice day ahead tomorrow. I don't have to be at work till 11, and I work the last shift. That will give me the time I need to work on the report... and I can work out in the morning, too. I just have to get out of bed before 9 o'clock this time. LOL I will be up for my morning Skype date with Anne Marie at 5, but I will be back in my bed all comfy and cozy by 6. :) I should be able to wake up easily by 8 again after that. I must do it!!!! :)
And that's pretty much another Monday in Iraq in a nutshell... I also saw rain today for the first time since I got here. It felt good... and it's nice and cool outside with some humidity!!! Wow!!! LOL I have to say... it was a pretty good day... and like I've said before... Monday never really feels like Monday here, anyway. :)
Peace, Love, and Poker
Saturday, October 9, 2010
Saturday... and it feels a little like a Saturday!!!!
Isn't it amazing how one day can make a difference??? Knowing that I only had 4 hours to work today... it was pretty easy to get out of bed even dog tired at 5:30 this morning. 11 couldn't come soon enough, though. It was definitely going to be a good afternoon. :) My roommate and I, ironically enough also James, left at the same time and got changed and started walking around the base in the late morning heat. It wasn't too terribly hot today, though. The sun and the breeze actually felt pretty good. We went to the Italian restaurant on base for lunch, and it was delicious!!! I am definitely getting back there soon! I haven't had food that good since I left the U.S.!!! Then we walked about and did a little shopping... well... I did the shopping I suppose. He didn't buy anything. LOL I picked up some shaving cream and a card... then we went to the Iraqi bazaar and I picked up a few DVDs... the quality remains to be seen... and this wifi extender antenna for my room, which is working GREAT!!!! I have 5 bars finally!!! :) It's a grand day!!!
I am getting some laundry done right now and just got a haircut, so it's been pretty productive overall. :) Speaking of laundry... I think I need to go check on it for a minute... Ok... took care of that. So I'm actually sitting in my room blogging for the first time. I'm happy about that. I usually have to head elsewhere to use the web only because my wifi signal is so terrible in the room.
So I got a little pissed off today... actually I was going to be pissed off about this no matter what because it's the dumbest most assinine thing I've ever heard of... and it's being done for a few very selfish individuals. It's not right, but there's no way to fix it. Each of us gets 2/3 of one day off per week... so all of us in leadership positions were asked to vote on one of 3 possible schedules for this day. We can either come in and work 1st shift and then leave for the day (like we had this week). We can work the 2nd shift... which means you sleep in... but you have to work from 11-3, so you miss the lunch meal. If you sleep in you will also certainly miss the breakfast meal. Then you leave after your shift at 3. The last option is to have the first 8 hours of the day off and then come in at 3 to work from 3-7. Out of all 3 of these... the middle one by far makes the least fucking sense... yet that's the dumbass one they picked for us. So why do you even bother having a majority vote if it doesn't matter anyway??? It's so dumb... you won't be able to do anything on that day meaningful because you only have 4 hours to yourself on either side of the fucking 4 hours you have to work. It's so ridiculous!
Anyway... enough of that... now my blood is boiling again. It's just the way my life has gone ever since I got into this job 3 years ago, and now it's happening here, too. For everything good that you might get... you can call it the dangling carrot... there is always some way this job manages to make it something shitty.
Peace, Love, and Poker
I am getting some laundry done right now and just got a haircut, so it's been pretty productive overall. :) Speaking of laundry... I think I need to go check on it for a minute... Ok... took care of that. So I'm actually sitting in my room blogging for the first time. I'm happy about that. I usually have to head elsewhere to use the web only because my wifi signal is so terrible in the room.
So I got a little pissed off today... actually I was going to be pissed off about this no matter what because it's the dumbest most assinine thing I've ever heard of... and it's being done for a few very selfish individuals. It's not right, but there's no way to fix it. Each of us gets 2/3 of one day off per week... so all of us in leadership positions were asked to vote on one of 3 possible schedules for this day. We can either come in and work 1st shift and then leave for the day (like we had this week). We can work the 2nd shift... which means you sleep in... but you have to work from 11-3, so you miss the lunch meal. If you sleep in you will also certainly miss the breakfast meal. Then you leave after your shift at 3. The last option is to have the first 8 hours of the day off and then come in at 3 to work from 3-7. Out of all 3 of these... the middle one by far makes the least fucking sense... yet that's the dumbass one they picked for us. So why do you even bother having a majority vote if it doesn't matter anyway??? It's so dumb... you won't be able to do anything on that day meaningful because you only have 4 hours to yourself on either side of the fucking 4 hours you have to work. It's so ridiculous!
Anyway... enough of that... now my blood is boiling again. It's just the way my life has gone ever since I got into this job 3 years ago, and now it's happening here, too. For everything good that you might get... you can call it the dangling carrot... there is always some way this job manages to make it something shitty.
Peace, Love, and Poker
Friday, October 8, 2010
It's Friday........ again.....
I guess it's true what they say here about it being Groundhog Day. I think it is a must to watch that movie at least once during this deployment. LOL Who ever would have thought it would be Friday again so fast??? The funny thing is you can measure it by what food is going to be served at the dining hall that day. Tonight will be Mongolian BBQ night, easily the best dinner night of the week here. It feels like the last one was just yesterday. :) Of course, I am looking forward to it!
I received my first package in the mail today... it's so exciting! Anne Marie put so much thought into it, too! I couldn't have asked for anything better! She knows me so very well! :) I got some of my absolutely favorite cookies in the world (now you're all going to laugh at this... but don't knock it till ya try it.)... Keebler Iced Animal cookies! They are the best! I also got raspberry newtons, gummy worms/bears, a cute halloween pez dispenser, some halloween Reese's PB cups, a new book to read, some healthy apple chips, and some cinnamon life nutri-grain bars. I think I made out pretty ok! Don't forget the sweet card enclosed with it... and the movie "Death at a Funeral"!!! Getting mail is a great feeling when you're so far away from home. :) :) :)
Work today is again flying by at such a quickening pace... faster each day it seems. I'm at the point now where I have a performance report I have coming due, and I feel like I'm running out of time to write it. Where do the days go here? It only takes me about 20 minutes to type a blog... so I'm not spending the time here. LOL Seriously, though, it really is like time is evaporating right before my very eyes.
Tomorrow is going to be my first 2/3 day off... I'm so looking forward to actually enjoying only working 4 hours in the morning and then leaving. I've already made plans to walk to the other side of the base and do a little shopping after work and lunch. Hopefully the weather cooperates, and it stays semi-cool. :P By semi-cool I am talking a high of like 93-95. Hey... when you've been living in 110 degrees for awhile temperatures in the 90s are quite comfy! I also think tomorrow will be the perfect day to actually get a few pictures of myself and of the general area around where I reside here (called a pod). I shouild be able to have some posted by the end of the day tomorrow... so keep an eye out! My blog is moving up in the world. haha
In 15 minutes my 4 hour shift begins, and then another workday will be completed here in the Iraqi sun and sand. It's been another good week... still no complaints and still going strong!
Peace, Love, and Poker
I received my first package in the mail today... it's so exciting! Anne Marie put so much thought into it, too! I couldn't have asked for anything better! She knows me so very well! :) I got some of my absolutely favorite cookies in the world (now you're all going to laugh at this... but don't knock it till ya try it.)... Keebler Iced Animal cookies! They are the best! I also got raspberry newtons, gummy worms/bears, a cute halloween pez dispenser, some halloween Reese's PB cups, a new book to read, some healthy apple chips, and some cinnamon life nutri-grain bars. I think I made out pretty ok! Don't forget the sweet card enclosed with it... and the movie "Death at a Funeral"!!! Getting mail is a great feeling when you're so far away from home. :) :) :)
Work today is again flying by at such a quickening pace... faster each day it seems. I'm at the point now where I have a performance report I have coming due, and I feel like I'm running out of time to write it. Where do the days go here? It only takes me about 20 minutes to type a blog... so I'm not spending the time here. LOL Seriously, though, it really is like time is evaporating right before my very eyes.
Tomorrow is going to be my first 2/3 day off... I'm so looking forward to actually enjoying only working 4 hours in the morning and then leaving. I've already made plans to walk to the other side of the base and do a little shopping after work and lunch. Hopefully the weather cooperates, and it stays semi-cool. :P By semi-cool I am talking a high of like 93-95. Hey... when you've been living in 110 degrees for awhile temperatures in the 90s are quite comfy! I also think tomorrow will be the perfect day to actually get a few pictures of myself and of the general area around where I reside here (called a pod). I shouild be able to have some posted by the end of the day tomorrow... so keep an eye out! My blog is moving up in the world. haha
In 15 minutes my 4 hour shift begins, and then another workday will be completed here in the Iraqi sun and sand. It's been another good week... still no complaints and still going strong!
Peace, Love, and Poker
Wednesday, October 6, 2010
Picking up where I left off...
As I wrote before... I signed up for the Air Force about a year after high school. Prior to leaving... while I was still in the Delayed Entry Program... I moved with my ex-wife to Florida (not married at the time). It was a short stint in the Sunshine State. I left for basic training about 3 months after moving there. Basic was interesting to say the least. It wasn't really "hard" so to speak. It's more of a mind game than anything else. It was only 6 weeks... but there is A LOT of stuff crammed into that time period. You have very little time to think or sleep that's for sure. It's GO GO GO. There was marching, running, cleaning, learning in classrooms, shooting, etc. So much stuff going on... the only time you really got to yourself was church on Sundays, and EVERYONE loved going to church! It was the one place you could actually relax and talk to people without having a drill instructor in your face. The one strange thing that happened to me during basic was that I started to gain weight... A LOT of weight in fact. It's weird how that worked... I was all skin and bones... 6 foot 1 and 155 pounds... when I left for basic. By the time it was over I had gained 18 pounds in 6 weeks! I thought nothing of it at the time, since 173 pounds really looked and felt a lot better on me.
So, I made it through basic and it was on to Tech School for the Financial Management course. That was about 12 weeks long in Wichita Falls, TX. What a hole in the wall of a place that is I tell ya! I've gotten to go there twice in fact. I had fun there, of course, but I enjoy anywhere I go for the most part. If you don't life will drive you crazy! I was a top student in every facet in both basic and technical training. I have been in every academic type thing I've done in my life, though. I still maintain a 4.0 GPA to this day at Boise State, in fact. Again... following tech school I had gained even more weight. I left for my first duty station a pleasantly plump 188 pounds... 33 pounds heavier from just 4 1/2 months prior when I joined. By the time I had been in 6 months I topped the 200 pound mark. I will never fully understand what happened during that time period, but I have fought my weight ever since... I have recently lost a good bit of weight, but I'm still fighting it even now. Also... I tied the knot for the first time during tech school... I flew "home" to Florida and had a very small wedding. It was off to Dayton, Ohio, in March of 1993 to actually start doing the Finance job.
March of 1993!!! How very long ago that seems now! Here I sit in Iraq almost to the end of 2010. I will hit my 18 year mark on my dad's birthday just 10 days from now, and my dad will turn 70. My how the years go by. I'm closing in on 40 and retirement faster than I could have ever imagined. It's been a roller coaster ride of a career at times... as you will see soon enough. I have 5 more months to tell my story, so I really don't want to give you everything in a day or two now do I??? :) Saturday is my first 2/3 day off... where I only work the morning until 11 AM. I am really looking forward to that... not sure what I will do yet on that day, but I plan on enjoying it to the fullest!
Until next time...
Peace, Love, and Poker
So, I made it through basic and it was on to Tech School for the Financial Management course. That was about 12 weeks long in Wichita Falls, TX. What a hole in the wall of a place that is I tell ya! I've gotten to go there twice in fact. I had fun there, of course, but I enjoy anywhere I go for the most part. If you don't life will drive you crazy! I was a top student in every facet in both basic and technical training. I have been in every academic type thing I've done in my life, though. I still maintain a 4.0 GPA to this day at Boise State, in fact. Again... following tech school I had gained even more weight. I left for my first duty station a pleasantly plump 188 pounds... 33 pounds heavier from just 4 1/2 months prior when I joined. By the time I had been in 6 months I topped the 200 pound mark. I will never fully understand what happened during that time period, but I have fought my weight ever since... I have recently lost a good bit of weight, but I'm still fighting it even now. Also... I tied the knot for the first time during tech school... I flew "home" to Florida and had a very small wedding. It was off to Dayton, Ohio, in March of 1993 to actually start doing the Finance job.
March of 1993!!! How very long ago that seems now! Here I sit in Iraq almost to the end of 2010. I will hit my 18 year mark on my dad's birthday just 10 days from now, and my dad will turn 70. My how the years go by. I'm closing in on 40 and retirement faster than I could have ever imagined. It's been a roller coaster ride of a career at times... as you will see soon enough. I have 5 more months to tell my story, so I really don't want to give you everything in a day or two now do I??? :) Saturday is my first 2/3 day off... where I only work the morning until 11 AM. I am really looking forward to that... not sure what I will do yet on that day, but I plan on enjoying it to the fullest!
Until next time...
Peace, Love, and Poker
Tuesday, October 5, 2010
It's really nice to be able to sleep in.
This morning I didn't have to be to work until 11, and I took full advantage of it... sleeping until about 9:30! I woke up a little before 5 this morning for my daily Skype date with my wife, of course. :) I did, however get myself back into bed around 6. I had planned to get up around 8ish to work out, but that so wasn't happening. I like to sleep when I get the chance. *sigh* I have to do laundry tonight, so maybe I'll take some of that time in between to get a little workout in. That would definitely be a fantastic idea now wouldn't it??? We'll see if I can muster up the motivation to do it! It's funny but on these days I get to sleep in it seems I'm the most tired throughout the day. I should be well rested... not exhausted. ARGH! I still have to sit my 4 hours on scope in a little over an hour from now. Hopefully I can wake up by then!
I got to talk to my daughter last night on Facebook for a little while. That was nice. :) She's doing awesome in her first year in high school! I'm very proud of her. She also plays about every sport you can possibly think of... which is definitely a good thing! :) She's also getting A's in all of her classes so far. You can't do much better than that!
I really want to figure out how I'm going to go about calling home now, though. I want to be able to talk to my parents sometime soon. I'm going to either have to get a calling card or pay for a Skype number to call from on there. I've been gone a month, and I haven't talked to either my mom or dad. Shame on me!!!! :( I'm sure my sister passes on that I'm doing ok... since I do chat with her every so often online. That's something I will work on this week. :)
It's been a pretty good first month here in the desert I have to say. I really have no complaints. Work is going well... things are otherwise going well... I've gotten some good workout time in, too. I can definitely do a better job with my working out, though, and I will!!! I am just not getting motivated when I have the free time in the mornings to do it. My workouts have been mostly in the afternoons thus far, which is fine. I have zero intentions of working out outdoors until the weather is cooler anyway. LOL I am not one for the heat... never have been. It's getting a little better each day, though. Pretty soon it will no longer be reaching 100, and that makes me quite ecstatic! Now let's get this nasty dust out of the air and it will really be good!
I hope everyone is having a fabulous day out there who is reading this! I will be looking forward to writing more tomorrow! :)
Peace, Love, and Poker
I got to talk to my daughter last night on Facebook for a little while. That was nice. :) She's doing awesome in her first year in high school! I'm very proud of her. She also plays about every sport you can possibly think of... which is definitely a good thing! :) She's also getting A's in all of her classes so far. You can't do much better than that!
I really want to figure out how I'm going to go about calling home now, though. I want to be able to talk to my parents sometime soon. I'm going to either have to get a calling card or pay for a Skype number to call from on there. I've been gone a month, and I haven't talked to either my mom or dad. Shame on me!!!! :( I'm sure my sister passes on that I'm doing ok... since I do chat with her every so often online. That's something I will work on this week. :)
It's been a pretty good first month here in the desert I have to say. I really have no complaints. Work is going well... things are otherwise going well... I've gotten some good workout time in, too. I can definitely do a better job with my working out, though, and I will!!! I am just not getting motivated when I have the free time in the mornings to do it. My workouts have been mostly in the afternoons thus far, which is fine. I have zero intentions of working out outdoors until the weather is cooler anyway. LOL I am not one for the heat... never have been. It's getting a little better each day, though. Pretty soon it will no longer be reaching 100, and that makes me quite ecstatic! Now let's get this nasty dust out of the air and it will really be good!
I hope everyone is having a fabulous day out there who is reading this! I will be looking forward to writing more tomorrow! :)
Peace, Love, and Poker
Monday, October 4, 2010
I looked forward to this all week... and then...
THE STEELERS WENT AND BLEW THAT DAMN GAME!!!! Why??? I was so excited to finally get to watch my team for the first time this season here in the desert, and with 34 seconds left they just gave it away after playing fantastic defense all game long! GRRRRRRRR!!!!! It makes it 100 times worse that it happened against Baltimore!!!! The Ravens are the most hated team by the majority of Pittsburgh fans... with the Patriots I'm quite certain a very close 2nd. Yes... yes... I know... I do not control the outcome of the game. :) Still... being an avid fan of any sports team is somewhat of a personal "investment" in that team, and you can't help but have that sunken defeated feeling inside when they lose... especially in the last seconds of the game. :(
Being a native Pittsburgher... I think I was born with a Terrible Towel wrapped around me. The Steelers are like a religion in Pittsburgh. I truly believe more beer, wings, pizza, and Primanti Brothers sandwiches are sold on Steeler game days than any other time! They even have a Primanti Brothers in the stadium!!! I don't remember much about the Steelers of the 70s, except that as a very little child of maybe 4 or 5 years of age I met the great Jack Lambert at a local Eat 'n Park in my hometown of Greensburg. That's a pretty exciting thing for a little guy! Would I get quite as excited today as back then? I'm quite certain not... but there's still that little kid in me that would love to meet many of the famous people that I'm fans of be it in sports, music or otherwise.
This is now the beginning of my 5th week of my deployment... in just 3 days I will have been gone for 1 full month. I feel like I really haven't done much here yet other than the job day in and day out... now that doesn't speak for my daily/nightly Skype date with Anne Marie. Those are always very precious. :) We are doing quite well I would have to say for being so far apart. It's not an easy thing to do. Granted we still have a moment here and there, but overall we have adapted quite well after spending much of the summer together. :)
The weather is still hot, but it's starting to cool down ever so gradually. It is taking a little longer each day to get to 100, and the forecast high for Wednesday is only a chilly 97 degrees! YAY! Now that's exciting for me! :) I would love it if we could get rid of the dust in the air next. Perhaps I'm asking for a little too much all at once, huh? Seriously, though, I think you just get used to the heat after so long. Then, once you've adapted anything remotely normal starts to feel REALLY cool. I never thought 72 in the morning could feel so great! LOL
So with 4 weeks down... basically one month... and 5 to go... I'd say overall it's going very well here in Iraq. I do still owe this blog of mine some pictures... I just really haven't had the time yet to take any pictures. My camera is here... and I do have a roomie to help me out in the picture department, so I will get some soon... Plus I have PLENTY of pics in my laptop that I could post anytime as well. It's just a matter of taking the time to do it. Then maybe I'll actually make my blog more "cool". :)
Just think... in just 4 days... it will be poker night once again...
Peace, Love, and Poker
Being a native Pittsburgher... I think I was born with a Terrible Towel wrapped around me. The Steelers are like a religion in Pittsburgh. I truly believe more beer, wings, pizza, and Primanti Brothers sandwiches are sold on Steeler game days than any other time! They even have a Primanti Brothers in the stadium!!! I don't remember much about the Steelers of the 70s, except that as a very little child of maybe 4 or 5 years of age I met the great Jack Lambert at a local Eat 'n Park in my hometown of Greensburg. That's a pretty exciting thing for a little guy! Would I get quite as excited today as back then? I'm quite certain not... but there's still that little kid in me that would love to meet many of the famous people that I'm fans of be it in sports, music or otherwise.
This is now the beginning of my 5th week of my deployment... in just 3 days I will have been gone for 1 full month. I feel like I really haven't done much here yet other than the job day in and day out... now that doesn't speak for my daily/nightly Skype date with Anne Marie. Those are always very precious. :) We are doing quite well I would have to say for being so far apart. It's not an easy thing to do. Granted we still have a moment here and there, but overall we have adapted quite well after spending much of the summer together. :)
The weather is still hot, but it's starting to cool down ever so gradually. It is taking a little longer each day to get to 100, and the forecast high for Wednesday is only a chilly 97 degrees! YAY! Now that's exciting for me! :) I would love it if we could get rid of the dust in the air next. Perhaps I'm asking for a little too much all at once, huh? Seriously, though, I think you just get used to the heat after so long. Then, once you've adapted anything remotely normal starts to feel REALLY cool. I never thought 72 in the morning could feel so great! LOL
So with 4 weeks down... basically one month... and 5 to go... I'd say overall it's going very well here in Iraq. I do still owe this blog of mine some pictures... I just really haven't had the time yet to take any pictures. My camera is here... and I do have a roomie to help me out in the picture department, so I will get some soon... Plus I have PLENTY of pics in my laptop that I could post anytime as well. It's just a matter of taking the time to do it. Then maybe I'll actually make my blog more "cool". :)
Just think... in just 4 days... it will be poker night once again...
Peace, Love, and Poker
Saturday, October 2, 2010
Poker night!
I'm finally going to play tonight... in the Friday night Texas Hold'em tournament at the recreation center. I've been thinking about it for a couple weeks now, but I know how late it goes if you make it all the way to the end. I don't have to be to work until 10 tomorrow morning, so I thought I'd try it. You can win money (well... gift cards good anywhere on base... as good as money.)
Ok... so I'm back to finishing up here. It's now Saturday morning after poker night. I had a pretty decent showing my first tourney here. I got down to 25 players left before going out. It was a lot of fun, but I was so very tired by then... once I got back to my room I think I passed out in less than 5 minutes. LOL I slept right up till 8 this morning, too. I didn't even go get breakfast. I ate graham crackers in my room this morning. Tasty breakfast huh? :)
Anyway... I've always been a gambler... but my fancy for poker has been fairly recent all things considered. I first started playing back in about 2003 during the big boom of poker. I have gotten pretty good at the game over the past 7 years, and I've made a good bit of money doing it. :) Someday I want to play in the main event of the World Series of Poker... well... even moreso... I would like to play MANY events of a WSOP sometime. It is something that hopefully somewhere in the future (not extremely distant future, either). It's really just about saving up the money to do it and being willing to part with that large amount of money when the time comes. I know I'm willing to do it, but will Anne Marie be on the same page with it? That remains to be seen. I'm sure we can work that out, though. :)
I feel like I'm having a bit of writer's block lately... *sigh* I dunno why... there's a lot of thoughts I could write down during the course of the day. Perhaps I'm just tired... who knows? It's almost lunchtime already here... it really comes early when you don't come to work until 10 in the morning. :) I'm feeling a little better each day, too, which is a very good thing. Hopefully I'll be back to near 100% in the next couple days. :) I might try and post again later today... since this one was really supposed to be yesterday's post.
Peace, Love, and Poker
Ok... so I'm back to finishing up here. It's now Saturday morning after poker night. I had a pretty decent showing my first tourney here. I got down to 25 players left before going out. It was a lot of fun, but I was so very tired by then... once I got back to my room I think I passed out in less than 5 minutes. LOL I slept right up till 8 this morning, too. I didn't even go get breakfast. I ate graham crackers in my room this morning. Tasty breakfast huh? :)
Anyway... I've always been a gambler... but my fancy for poker has been fairly recent all things considered. I first started playing back in about 2003 during the big boom of poker. I have gotten pretty good at the game over the past 7 years, and I've made a good bit of money doing it. :) Someday I want to play in the main event of the World Series of Poker... well... even moreso... I would like to play MANY events of a WSOP sometime. It is something that hopefully somewhere in the future (not extremely distant future, either). It's really just about saving up the money to do it and being willing to part with that large amount of money when the time comes. I know I'm willing to do it, but will Anne Marie be on the same page with it? That remains to be seen. I'm sure we can work that out, though. :)
I feel like I'm having a bit of writer's block lately... *sigh* I dunno why... there's a lot of thoughts I could write down during the course of the day. Perhaps I'm just tired... who knows? It's almost lunchtime already here... it really comes early when you don't come to work until 10 in the morning. :) I'm feeling a little better each day, too, which is a very good thing. Hopefully I'll be back to near 100% in the next couple days. :) I might try and post again later today... since this one was really supposed to be yesterday's post.
Peace, Love, and Poker
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