It's not quite a day off, but it is nice to have a 2nd day every week to get a few extra z's! I still don't have to be at work for another 40 minutes, and I'm chillin' with a coffee in my room watching the week's football highlights. :) We're about to move into December tomorrow... not only is it another payday... it's the start of the 4th month here in the desert! The theoretical halfway point is here... it's still a little over 3 months left to go, but it's so close now you can feel it rolling off your tongue. It's all downhill from here.
I have one somber thought this morning. My wife got an email this morning from her mother, and her mom's sweet chihuahua Bella has been diagnosed with cancer. She's only 3 years old, too! That's so sad! :( I'm not really sure what they do for animals when they get cancer. My best guess is it runs its course, and they get really sick and eventually put to sleep. :( There is the off chance that when they removed the cancerous cyst from her ear that they got it all. We can only hope that's the case. Keep poor Bella in your thoughts and prayers.
It's Tuesday now, and the week is flying by at the usual rapid pace. What really makes that happen, though? For some it's not that way. I think it is for most of us here, but there are a select few that say it's dragging on. I can't see how that's possible. Maybe those folks are the ones not engaged in doing anything at all. My days are pretty much full. I sit 4-6 hours of the 12 depending on the schedule that day. I leave to go workout 5 days a week taking anywhere from 2-3 hours of the day up. There is lunch and either breakfast or dinner which is usually another 2 hours. As you can see it adds up fast! During the remaining time I usually catch up on some emails and such. There's not really much time in my day for that. Before I was working out I had a ton of dead computer time. I used to play video games on the computer. LAME! That's about the most unproductive thing you can possibly do with your time. I would much rather be killing the treadmill for over an hour than just sitting there at a computer screen shitting away the hours! I've started losing a pound a week the past month finally. I'm hoping to see that trend continue from here forward. The workouts are pretty intense at times. My running is getting better and better and my waistline smaller and smaller! :) By the way, Tuesdays are my non-workout days along with my days off on Saturdays (so far anyway).
It's been a pretty good first 3 months over here so far. We're still waiting to see if we will get to the next location. If and when that happens it will begin yet another chapter in my deployment story. :)
Peace, Love, and Poker
Tuesday, November 30, 2010
Sunday, November 28, 2010
Another week down...
Well... this has been a pretty long week... not long as in dragging on rather long simply because I'm so tired now. I did a lot this past week. Worked a lot of course! Anne Marie and I got in a LOT of Skype time, too! Then there was Thanksgiving as well! They had a fabulous spread of food and goodies for our Thanksgiving meal here. It was impressive! :) I somehow managed to still lose a pound for the week after that, too! Now that's something! Saturday night I went to see the new Harry Potter movie... and as I started my walk over to the theater I ran into 3 co-workers, so the 4 of us enjoyed the movie together. It was very good... I can't wait for part 2 in July! I also took a nice walk to the post office earlier in the day Saturday (my day off) and mailed out a surprise! ;) I can say all in all it was a pretty good week. Tonight concludes 12 weeks now. One more makes 3 months!!! Crazy, huh???
I can't believe it's about to be December already. It almost seems surreal to me. How did 3 months pass by that quickly? I see no reason for it to slow down anytime soon, either. I would have to assume that the next 3 months will go by equally fast if not even faster. Time does fly when you're having fun... and sometimes even when you're not! :)
So here I sit watching the Steelers vs. the Buffalo Bills tonight in my room sitting on my bed. My roommate is already down for the count tonight. Me, on the other hand, cannot resist the opportunity to watch my team play every chance I get. I even packed a Terrible Towel in my bags when I left to come here. That's how loyal I am! :)
Something really nice happened today as well. I noticed on the mail list from yesterday that I'd received a package in the mail. I wasn't expecting anything, so I was very curious. I did not recognize the sender. It was from an organization of a "support the troops" sort of nature. I was surprised to see it was a handmade Christmas afghan! It's gorgeous, too! It's already on my bed as a comforter. The irony of it is that I was thinking how I could use a nice warm blanket, and look what shows up on my "doorstep". I will have to post of picture of it sometime soon. I think it's wonderful when people take so much time out of their own busy days and schedules to do things like this for an ordinary Joe like me. I have no idea how or why I was chosen, but I'm grateful to no end. There have been several other similar gifts sent at different times, too, and it amazes me.
I think I will end on that note this fine Sunday night in the desert... the end of week 12. I'm going to relax and watch the rest of the football game now and then enjoy a rather short sleep tonight. It's ok, though. It's worth it to me. The following morning is my late day, so I will catch up a little then. :) Take care, and I hope everyone has enjoyed their Thanksgiving holiday weekend.
Peace, Love, and Poker
I can't believe it's about to be December already. It almost seems surreal to me. How did 3 months pass by that quickly? I see no reason for it to slow down anytime soon, either. I would have to assume that the next 3 months will go by equally fast if not even faster. Time does fly when you're having fun... and sometimes even when you're not! :)
So here I sit watching the Steelers vs. the Buffalo Bills tonight in my room sitting on my bed. My roommate is already down for the count tonight. Me, on the other hand, cannot resist the opportunity to watch my team play every chance I get. I even packed a Terrible Towel in my bags when I left to come here. That's how loyal I am! :)
Something really nice happened today as well. I noticed on the mail list from yesterday that I'd received a package in the mail. I wasn't expecting anything, so I was very curious. I did not recognize the sender. It was from an organization of a "support the troops" sort of nature. I was surprised to see it was a handmade Christmas afghan! It's gorgeous, too! It's already on my bed as a comforter. The irony of it is that I was thinking how I could use a nice warm blanket, and look what shows up on my "doorstep". I will have to post of picture of it sometime soon. I think it's wonderful when people take so much time out of their own busy days and schedules to do things like this for an ordinary Joe like me. I have no idea how or why I was chosen, but I'm grateful to no end. There have been several other similar gifts sent at different times, too, and it amazes me.
I think I will end on that note this fine Sunday night in the desert... the end of week 12. I'm going to relax and watch the rest of the football game now and then enjoy a rather short sleep tonight. It's ok, though. It's worth it to me. The following morning is my late day, so I will catch up a little then. :) Take care, and I hope everyone has enjoyed their Thanksgiving holiday weekend.
Peace, Love, and Poker
Thursday, November 25, 2010
I am thankful for...
This being Thanksgiving I like to take a few minutes to reflect on all the things and people in my life that I'm thankful for. First of all... Family! When I say family... I mean all of my family. My dear wife Anne Marie, who has been so very supportive during this time of separation. The early morning Skype times are more than worth the while, and I really don't know what I would do without her. :) For my daughter Tiffany... my "little high schooler". I still can't believe she is only a few months away from being 15! Wow! They sure do grow up fast. My mom and dad... my dad is one of my best friends in the whole world, and I miss all of our nice long chats on the phone. My mom, or Jomama, as my sister and I call her... whom I haven't talked to in quite some time... I'm going to make sure that changes very soon! I miss her dearly. My sister Tina... whom I just recently received a package from! :)... and I also miss very much. My niece Alyssa... who is also growing at a way too rapid pace. She's so cute! My in-laws... who have treated me like part of the family since day one. I will be coming to visit soon!!! I am also thankful for all of my other family members... cousins, aunts, uncles, etc. And finally... last and certainly not least... the baby kitties!!!! Sidney and Crosby, who are staying with a very nice family on base in Mountain Home, Idaho. I hope you remember daddy when he comes back to get you!!! :) And Milo and Fergus... the other half of our little "litter". Milo the SENIOR boy... he's going to be 9 soon. Fergus the fat boy, though I do pick on him more than I should, I think he's very sweet and adorable. Soon we'll all be together in a brand new place, too! I can't wait!!!
I'm also thankful for all my friends both near and far... both ones I've known forever and ones I may only even know in the online world. I am very lucky to have such an awesome support network in so many places. I hope to continue to make more new friends as my life's journey continues. I believe you can never have too many friends! :) There are way too many to mention here... but if you're reading my blog you're most likely one of them!
I could go on and on... I'm thankful for the opportunity to serve my country in this capacity and actually enjoy it very much. It's a wonderful experience, though the days can be pretty long and sleep short at times. I definitely am glad I was able to deploy with my unit this time. Everyone has been great, and I think we have a great group of folks here. In the same respect I'm thankful that the time is passing by very quickly. For one, it means I get to go home and start getting back to normal and get to see Anne Marie and my cats and do so many of the things I miss being able to do. It also means that I'm staying busy and being fairly productive with my time here. 3 months down in just over a week. Wow!
Well... I think on that note I'm going to be thankful for my bed and get some sleep shortly. ;) I hope you all are having a wonderful Thanksgiving holiday wherever you are!!! See you soon.
Peace, Love, and Poker
I'm also thankful for all my friends both near and far... both ones I've known forever and ones I may only even know in the online world. I am very lucky to have such an awesome support network in so many places. I hope to continue to make more new friends as my life's journey continues. I believe you can never have too many friends! :) There are way too many to mention here... but if you're reading my blog you're most likely one of them!
I could go on and on... I'm thankful for the opportunity to serve my country in this capacity and actually enjoy it very much. It's a wonderful experience, though the days can be pretty long and sleep short at times. I definitely am glad I was able to deploy with my unit this time. Everyone has been great, and I think we have a great group of folks here. In the same respect I'm thankful that the time is passing by very quickly. For one, it means I get to go home and start getting back to normal and get to see Anne Marie and my cats and do so many of the things I miss being able to do. It also means that I'm staying busy and being fairly productive with my time here. 3 months down in just over a week. Wow!
Well... I think on that note I'm going to be thankful for my bed and get some sleep shortly. ;) I hope you all are having a wonderful Thanksgiving holiday wherever you are!!! See you soon.
Peace, Love, and Poker
Monday, November 22, 2010
What to write???
Hmmmm... I am having a bit of writer's block today... so I'm going to try and think this out by typing. It's Monday evening in the desert... after a pretty decent day. Of course, it wasn't much different than all the others... except that I did manage to run for 50 minutes on the treadmill today without stopping! It felt awesome!!! I hadn't had a run like that in all the workouts since I've been here. I've had days where I actually ran faster and/or a little longer, but I didn't do it all at once. I'm doing very well with my runs on the treadmill considering I couldn't even walk 5 minutes on the thing without the room spinning not all that long ago. I simply decided to try it out one day just walking for 30 minutes... that turned out ok, so I built on it from there. Shortly thereafter I started jogging/running, and I've been doing it ever since. So today was a milestone of sorts for me... and I can only keep getting better from here. :)
I've decided to have a relaxing evening just laying in my bed and chatting, writing, and emailing (and watching some TV). I'm going to read some of my book pretty soon, too. It's nice to not have anything going on and already have the stuff done you need to in order to relax. Tomorrow morning is my late day... and also a Skype day at 5 AM (then back to bed after) :)
Sorry I didn't have much to say this evening... just feeling mellow and a little tired. Therefore, it's time to do a little reading before I fall asleep. I'm going to catch up on a little more of that lost sleep tonight. I will be back to write more tomorrow, though, so don't worry!!! I'm not going away for long. :)
The book I'm reading is "The Midnight Road" by Tom Piccirilli, and I would recommend it! It's good. Goodnight!
Peace, Love, and Poker
I've decided to have a relaxing evening just laying in my bed and chatting, writing, and emailing (and watching some TV). I'm going to read some of my book pretty soon, too. It's nice to not have anything going on and already have the stuff done you need to in order to relax. Tomorrow morning is my late day... and also a Skype day at 5 AM (then back to bed after) :)
Sorry I didn't have much to say this evening... just feeling mellow and a little tired. Therefore, it's time to do a little reading before I fall asleep. I'm going to catch up on a little more of that lost sleep tonight. I will be back to write more tomorrow, though, so don't worry!!! I'm not going away for long. :)
The book I'm reading is "The Midnight Road" by Tom Piccirilli, and I would recommend it! It's good. Goodnight!
Peace, Love, and Poker
Saturday, November 20, 2010
Getting used to Saturdays....
Saturdays OFF that is!!! :P I slept again until 8 this morning... and it was nice. I enjoy my sleep in days... especially the Saturdays. It's a great way to recharge the batteries so to speak. I never really feel completely recharged, though. It's more like having a low cell phone battery that you plug in to charge just long enough so you can talk on it for a little while once again. I think that's a pretty good analogy actually. Each week it runs a little bit lower on power than the week before, and each week I get further from getting caught up on my sleep debt. The good thing is won't last forever, and so far I'm doing rather well overall although often tired.
It's Skype time right now... so I'm off to talk to my wifey baby at the Cyber Cafe for a little while... then I will be back to finish writing. :)
Ok... I'm back... after a very nice enjoyable HOT shower! :) That always feels good. Now I'm ready for bed... well... in bed writing my blog tonight that is. It was an absolutely gorgeous day today! It started with a nice sleep and weighing in at the gym (just for myself). I lost one pound this week. I'm happy with that every time. :) I did not, however, make it to work out today, so I'm 0 for 3 on working out on my days off now. It's ok, though. Tomorrow is a new day. After the weigh in I went to breakfast for my usual Saturday morning omelet and fixins. It was enjoyable as I ate and watched Boise State destroy the Fresno State Bulldogs 51-0! GO BRONCOS!!!! After that I walked back to my room, got my laundry, and got it started. I grabbed a second coffee and came back to the room and chatted on a Skype call with my sister pretty much until my laundry was completely done (within a few minutes anyway). I then loaded my pictures from my camera onto my computer and uploaded some to my Facebook account. By then it was almost time to head out for the day... my how time flies!
I went and cashed my birthday checks at Finance and then went to the movie theater to watch "Wall Street". I enjoyed it very much! I think I've found something new to do periodically here. Why I hadn't done so sooner is beyond me! I love movies, and they get some really new ones over here. I can't complain at all. Best of all... it's FREE!!! After the movie I walked over to the USO and on to the BX and picked up a couple items and then headed back. Then it was about an hour till Skype time. Skype time was enjoyable as always. It is so nice to have such technology to help stay connected with back home. :) After the Skype was my shave and shower and then back to my blog... all in all a pretty good day off I must say.
I think it's just about bedtime now. I'm going to do a little reading. I just picked up the book "The Midnight Train" by Tom Piccirilli from the laundry room this morning, and so far I like it... A LOT! We'll see how it progresses... it's very interesting so far, and I'm a suspense reader by nature. Tomorrow starts a new week and will mark the end of 11 weeks here already. Closing in fast on 3 months! WOW! I still call it Groundhog Day because every day here seems the same, but somehow I managed to make today a bit different, and for that I'm giving myself a nice pat on the back. 2 movies in 3 days... I sense there may be more of them in my future. :) Goodnight all.
Peace, Love, and Poker
It's Skype time right now... so I'm off to talk to my wifey baby at the Cyber Cafe for a little while... then I will be back to finish writing. :)
Ok... I'm back... after a very nice enjoyable HOT shower! :) That always feels good. Now I'm ready for bed... well... in bed writing my blog tonight that is. It was an absolutely gorgeous day today! It started with a nice sleep and weighing in at the gym (just for myself). I lost one pound this week. I'm happy with that every time. :) I did not, however, make it to work out today, so I'm 0 for 3 on working out on my days off now. It's ok, though. Tomorrow is a new day. After the weigh in I went to breakfast for my usual Saturday morning omelet and fixins. It was enjoyable as I ate and watched Boise State destroy the Fresno State Bulldogs 51-0! GO BRONCOS!!!! After that I walked back to my room, got my laundry, and got it started. I grabbed a second coffee and came back to the room and chatted on a Skype call with my sister pretty much until my laundry was completely done (within a few minutes anyway). I then loaded my pictures from my camera onto my computer and uploaded some to my Facebook account. By then it was almost time to head out for the day... my how time flies!
I went and cashed my birthday checks at Finance and then went to the movie theater to watch "Wall Street". I enjoyed it very much! I think I've found something new to do periodically here. Why I hadn't done so sooner is beyond me! I love movies, and they get some really new ones over here. I can't complain at all. Best of all... it's FREE!!! After the movie I walked over to the USO and on to the BX and picked up a couple items and then headed back. Then it was about an hour till Skype time. Skype time was enjoyable as always. It is so nice to have such technology to help stay connected with back home. :) After the Skype was my shave and shower and then back to my blog... all in all a pretty good day off I must say.
I think it's just about bedtime now. I'm going to do a little reading. I just picked up the book "The Midnight Train" by Tom Piccirilli from the laundry room this morning, and so far I like it... A LOT! We'll see how it progresses... it's very interesting so far, and I'm a suspense reader by nature. Tomorrow starts a new week and will mark the end of 11 weeks here already. Closing in fast on 3 months! WOW! I still call it Groundhog Day because every day here seems the same, but somehow I managed to make today a bit different, and for that I'm giving myself a nice pat on the back. 2 movies in 3 days... I sense there may be more of them in my future. :) Goodnight all.
Peace, Love, and Poker
Friday, November 19, 2010
Movie Night!!!! (2nd attempt)
Wow... let me just say I'm fucking pissed right now!!! I typed out my entire blog and with one missed keystroke it was all erased and replaced with the letter "c". WHAT THE FUCK??? I thought I liked autosave... but I was wrong!!! IT SUCKS!!! I guess I could have hit undo possibly??? I don't know... but by the time I clicked and went to "drafts" it was already too late for that. Therefore, I apologize for all my lost thoughts, but know it was written really well the first time. This one will be much shorter. :(
So... I'm starting over... yesterday was a pretty good day. I actually did something different. I went to a movie with a few of my co-workers last night at the base theater. We saw "Due Date". It was pretty funny. It's one of those silly comedies that you really don't have to think about to enjoy. It just makes you laugh. It was right up my alley, and that was something worth giving up a little sleep for! :) I enjoyed it so much I am going to go see Wall Street on Saturday at 2 PM all by my lonesome. :P
Can you believe it's my 11th Friday in the great sandy desert land of Iraq??? 11 weeks!!!! That's close to halfway! REALLY CLOSE! 13 weeks is 3 months... and that will be here before you know it. Then it's time to start down the other side of the 6 month hill. Good stuff! Tomorrow will be my 3rd straight Saturday off, and I plan on enjoying it to the fullest as you can see above. I also will make sure I get a workout in tomorrow, something I have yet to do on one of my days off or late show days since the first one. This time I am making it a priority. My body needed the break today... so I'm not going to be working out today. I had some pretty intense lower leg pain yesterday during my run/walk. I'm surprised I was even able to finish. PHEW!
I'm pretty tired today, but I'm still making it. :) I can't complain really... on my worst night I am getting 6 hours of sleep. I can remember a time when 6 hours asleep was PLENTY! I guess that's what happens as you get older. LOL What can ya do??? I will so be sleeping in tomorrow morning tomorrow, though!!!! hehe It's a great feeling... just like a Friday should feel!!! TGIF!!!! I hope all of you have a wonderful Friday, and again I apologize for the shortened post today... it really was a great blog post gone into the black hole of internet-land. *sigh* Until next time...
Peace, Love, and Poker
So... I'm starting over... yesterday was a pretty good day. I actually did something different. I went to a movie with a few of my co-workers last night at the base theater. We saw "Due Date". It was pretty funny. It's one of those silly comedies that you really don't have to think about to enjoy. It just makes you laugh. It was right up my alley, and that was something worth giving up a little sleep for! :) I enjoyed it so much I am going to go see Wall Street on Saturday at 2 PM all by my lonesome. :P
Can you believe it's my 11th Friday in the great sandy desert land of Iraq??? 11 weeks!!!! That's close to halfway! REALLY CLOSE! 13 weeks is 3 months... and that will be here before you know it. Then it's time to start down the other side of the 6 month hill. Good stuff! Tomorrow will be my 3rd straight Saturday off, and I plan on enjoying it to the fullest as you can see above. I also will make sure I get a workout in tomorrow, something I have yet to do on one of my days off or late show days since the first one. This time I am making it a priority. My body needed the break today... so I'm not going to be working out today. I had some pretty intense lower leg pain yesterday during my run/walk. I'm surprised I was even able to finish. PHEW!
I'm pretty tired today, but I'm still making it. :) I can't complain really... on my worst night I am getting 6 hours of sleep. I can remember a time when 6 hours asleep was PLENTY! I guess that's what happens as you get older. LOL What can ya do??? I will so be sleeping in tomorrow morning tomorrow, though!!!! hehe It's a great feeling... just like a Friday should feel!!! TGIF!!!! I hope all of you have a wonderful Friday, and again I apologize for the shortened post today... it really was a great blog post gone into the black hole of internet-land. *sigh* Until next time...
Peace, Love, and Poker
Tuesday, November 16, 2010
I am 38 years young today....
Yes... duh duh duh duh duh duh duh duh... they say it's my birthday!!!! LOL 38 really doesn't feel any different than 37... or 36... and so on and so forth. It's really just another day. Normally I would be treating myself to a trip to the casino on the weekend either preceding or following my personal holiday, but this year is a little different. There is no casino in the desert, so I have to come up with something else. Unfortunately for my gut... all signs point to food. LOL Perhaps just a treat of some ice cream for dessert after dinner will suffice. After all I just worked out like a crazy man for the 3rd straight day! So... why not partake in a little tasty goodness? I'm still reeling from the fact that I gained a pound last week, though, so we'll see.
The significant part of turning 38 is huge in my Air Force career, though. I will only have one more birthday before my projected retirement date!!!! That is crazy!!! When I get back from deployment I will have just over a year and a half to go. That's hard to believe. It's almost time for the career change to happen... which is both exciting and scary at the same time. It's exciting because I will be able to go back to doing something I want to do instead of the career field I was forced into. It's scary because who knows what the job market will look like? It could be like it is now... or worse... or (hopefully) better. I know that I am ready for it, though, and that's really what matters most. It's right there... so close... just have to get there. With the way time is passing here it won't take long, etiher!
I've now surpassed 10 weeks in the desert already! Pretty soon we'll be at the halfway point of our 6 month tour. I haven't done some of the things I originally set out to do, though. Yes, my negative side does tend to take over my mind sometimes in case you haven't noticed. The biggest one is not taking any classes yet... my excuse was because we're moving to another location... so that will make it difficult to take a class and then transition in the middle of it. Although that may very well be true, the fact of the matter is that the professors would be more than willing to work with you during those couple days of transit time. The real reason is that I just don't feel like I have time... how much of that is perception vs. reality I have yet to decipher.
The way I feel right now is that I have roughly a couple hours free a day during my 12 hour workday, which to me is not enough time to add school on top of it. How much of it is really perception? Hmmmm... if you read one of my previous posts I outlined everything through the course of the day that I either 1. HAVE to do... or 2. WANT/NEED to do but not necessarily have to do. The end result doesn't really leave any time for school to be added into it... let's just say even an hour a day. I would almost certainly have to give up any remaining free time I had... for instance my blog writing time like right now... or emailing my wife and friends... or even worse... my workouts! I just can't see giving up any of the things I do already... Skype time... working out... meals... SLEEP! As it is I only get somewhere between 6-7 hours of sleep nightly on average. It's obviously not enough as I'm tired constantly. Sitting 4 hours on scope requires one to not only be awake... but it requires a very high amount of focus regardless of how busy it might get.
So... until I can figure it out... school is going to have to wait until I get back to Boise and Boise State University's fall 2011 semester. Then I can try and move full speed ahead again in my pursuit of my bachelor's degree in Accounting/Finance. I know I will get it done eventually. It very well could be after I retire and move on, but I am not going to stop until I finish that degree! :)
Well... that's about all for this 38th November 16th of my young life... at least for the moment. I have a couple more blog topics in mind, so you never know. I may just write a second one later tonight. I don't have to work until 10:30 tomorrow morning, so the time will be right. Stay tuned!!!
Peace, Love, and Poker
The significant part of turning 38 is huge in my Air Force career, though. I will only have one more birthday before my projected retirement date!!!! That is crazy!!! When I get back from deployment I will have just over a year and a half to go. That's hard to believe. It's almost time for the career change to happen... which is both exciting and scary at the same time. It's exciting because I will be able to go back to doing something I want to do instead of the career field I was forced into. It's scary because who knows what the job market will look like? It could be like it is now... or worse... or (hopefully) better. I know that I am ready for it, though, and that's really what matters most. It's right there... so close... just have to get there. With the way time is passing here it won't take long, etiher!
I've now surpassed 10 weeks in the desert already! Pretty soon we'll be at the halfway point of our 6 month tour. I haven't done some of the things I originally set out to do, though. Yes, my negative side does tend to take over my mind sometimes in case you haven't noticed. The biggest one is not taking any classes yet... my excuse was because we're moving to another location... so that will make it difficult to take a class and then transition in the middle of it. Although that may very well be true, the fact of the matter is that the professors would be more than willing to work with you during those couple days of transit time. The real reason is that I just don't feel like I have time... how much of that is perception vs. reality I have yet to decipher.
The way I feel right now is that I have roughly a couple hours free a day during my 12 hour workday, which to me is not enough time to add school on top of it. How much of it is really perception? Hmmmm... if you read one of my previous posts I outlined everything through the course of the day that I either 1. HAVE to do... or 2. WANT/NEED to do but not necessarily have to do. The end result doesn't really leave any time for school to be added into it... let's just say even an hour a day. I would almost certainly have to give up any remaining free time I had... for instance my blog writing time like right now... or emailing my wife and friends... or even worse... my workouts! I just can't see giving up any of the things I do already... Skype time... working out... meals... SLEEP! As it is I only get somewhere between 6-7 hours of sleep nightly on average. It's obviously not enough as I'm tired constantly. Sitting 4 hours on scope requires one to not only be awake... but it requires a very high amount of focus regardless of how busy it might get.
So... until I can figure it out... school is going to have to wait until I get back to Boise and Boise State University's fall 2011 semester. Then I can try and move full speed ahead again in my pursuit of my bachelor's degree in Accounting/Finance. I know I will get it done eventually. It very well could be after I retire and move on, but I am not going to stop until I finish that degree! :)
Well... that's about all for this 38th November 16th of my young life... at least for the moment. I have a couple more blog topics in mind, so you never know. I may just write a second one later tonight. I don't have to work until 10:30 tomorrow morning, so the time will be right. Stay tuned!!!
Peace, Love, and Poker
Saturday, November 13, 2010
My second day off....
.... feels much like the first. :) I'm really not doing anything special today, but that's ok. I feel relaxed for the most part. I would feel really relaxed if I could shake this headache!!! UGH!!! I took the early to bed late to rise approach again. I was in bed by 10:30... up around 8. Good long bit of sleep. :) I can't complain about that, although I'm feeling maybe a little catnap is in order pretty soon. I am going to work out at some point today as well.... not sure when yet, but it will be happening. It might be one of my last chances to work out in awhile... so I really should try and do it while I have the time. Besides I always feel much better afterward, too. It's nice to just have the day to do whatever you feel like doing, though... no one to answer to... no responsibilities to worry about...
I did start packing up my stuff this morning a little... after doing my laundry. :) It's about that time... time to move on to the next chapter of Deployment 2010/11. I'm ready for it, too. My first beer in over 2 months is within reach. Yes... the little things in life do count. Do I really miss beer that much??? Not at all! Does the prospect of simply having it available sound wonderful??? You bet it does!!!! I really think it's true when we say we want what we can't have most of the time. In this case... the beer is one of those... also being able to go off station will be another big one. That opens up the possibilities of things to do on that day off immensely!!! And I certainly do love to travel to new and interesting places!!! :)
The weather will surely not be quite as comfortable as it is here at the moment. Humidity will be prevalent... but so will the swimming pool at least for a little while (and then again toward spring). Everything is much closer as well... but that's not necessarily a good thing for me. I am getting a LOT of exercise from walking here, and I'm going to lose that. What does that mean??? I need to eat better and continue the intensity of my workouts!!! Hopefully that will still be an option. We shall see what lies ahead...
It's a great Saturday... and I'm feeling a whole lot better than I was a few days ago. Thank God for that! It was really the first time I was truly stressed since I've been deployed here. They say to expect the unexpected, and maybe if I had been thinking in that manner the stress level might not have seemed quite so high. Who knows? I don't know what the rest of the day holds for me... but I know whatever it is... it will be my choice, and for that I'm pleased. :)
Peace, Love, and Poker
I did start packing up my stuff this morning a little... after doing my laundry. :) It's about that time... time to move on to the next chapter of Deployment 2010/11. I'm ready for it, too. My first beer in over 2 months is within reach. Yes... the little things in life do count. Do I really miss beer that much??? Not at all! Does the prospect of simply having it available sound wonderful??? You bet it does!!!! I really think it's true when we say we want what we can't have most of the time. In this case... the beer is one of those... also being able to go off station will be another big one. That opens up the possibilities of things to do on that day off immensely!!! And I certainly do love to travel to new and interesting places!!! :)
The weather will surely not be quite as comfortable as it is here at the moment. Humidity will be prevalent... but so will the swimming pool at least for a little while (and then again toward spring). Everything is much closer as well... but that's not necessarily a good thing for me. I am getting a LOT of exercise from walking here, and I'm going to lose that. What does that mean??? I need to eat better and continue the intensity of my workouts!!! Hopefully that will still be an option. We shall see what lies ahead...
It's a great Saturday... and I'm feeling a whole lot better than I was a few days ago. Thank God for that! It was really the first time I was truly stressed since I've been deployed here. They say to expect the unexpected, and maybe if I had been thinking in that manner the stress level might not have seemed quite so high. Who knows? I don't know what the rest of the day holds for me... but I know whatever it is... it will be my choice, and for that I'm pleased. :)
Peace, Love, and Poker
Thursday, November 11, 2010
A few rough days... but I'm still pushing on...
The last few days have been very hard for me here... as is evident by my last blog post. I'm doing much better this afternoon, though. I'm finally able to feel like I can exhale for a bit today. I got my shift out of the way early today, and I already had lunch. I will be getting a workout in pretty soon, too. I need it so bad! It's been just an awful week for me. I've been so stressed and strung out that I can hardly sleep at night. So now I'm completely exhausted. I know the workout will do me good. I'm looking forward to it very much, and I am going soon!
The impending move of locations is coming up kinda soon, too, so I need to get all my stuff done for that as well. That's not terribly stressful... but moving always sucks. I will be very happy to get right back to being settled in. Believe me!!!! I am looking forward to that first beer on the first day, too. :)
Sadly enough, I really have a blank mind today other than what I already wrote here, so I think I'm going to have to cut this one short. I do have another day off coming up on Saturday, and I am planning to enjoy it agian. I also am going to try and get myself to play poker tomorrow night and do karaoke on Sat. night. I think it will be fun. I really need to do something different to break up this groundhog day feeling that starts to overcome you as every day is seemingly the same. I would love to take a couple classes... after the move, though... but I just don't feel like I have the time or the energy to do it to the level that I'd like to do it. (I maintain a 4.0 GPA... and I intend to keep it that way.) There are many volunteer opportunities here as well, but I don't do any of those either because I just haven't found something I'm passionate enough about that I want to give up sleep in order to do. :(
Well... at the very least I came up with a little bit more to write today. LOL I'm just too tired and mentally exhausted from the past few days to even think hardly at all. I did watch "Killers" last night with my roommate. It was pretty funny. I love getting movies in my packages from home!!! I also got a bunch of other goodies, too! hehe My dad sent me a birthday card that I got, too, along with one from my Aunt and Uncle. :)
Ahhhhh... it is about time to head off to the gym now... HOORAY!!! I know... the simple things to get excited about right? Hey... a workout definitely does something for the mental state of mind I'll tell ya. Sometimes it's the best therapy when you're not feeling at your best. Have a great Thursday and Veteran's Day everyone... say a little prayer or have a moment of silence for just one Vet today. :)
Peace, Love, and Poker
The impending move of locations is coming up kinda soon, too, so I need to get all my stuff done for that as well. That's not terribly stressful... but moving always sucks. I will be very happy to get right back to being settled in. Believe me!!!! I am looking forward to that first beer on the first day, too. :)
Sadly enough, I really have a blank mind today other than what I already wrote here, so I think I'm going to have to cut this one short. I do have another day off coming up on Saturday, and I am planning to enjoy it agian. I also am going to try and get myself to play poker tomorrow night and do karaoke on Sat. night. I think it will be fun. I really need to do something different to break up this groundhog day feeling that starts to overcome you as every day is seemingly the same. I would love to take a couple classes... after the move, though... but I just don't feel like I have the time or the energy to do it to the level that I'd like to do it. (I maintain a 4.0 GPA... and I intend to keep it that way.) There are many volunteer opportunities here as well, but I don't do any of those either because I just haven't found something I'm passionate enough about that I want to give up sleep in order to do. :(
Well... at the very least I came up with a little bit more to write today. LOL I'm just too tired and mentally exhausted from the past few days to even think hardly at all. I did watch "Killers" last night with my roommate. It was pretty funny. I love getting movies in my packages from home!!! I also got a bunch of other goodies, too! hehe My dad sent me a birthday card that I got, too, along with one from my Aunt and Uncle. :)
Ahhhhh... it is about time to head off to the gym now... HOORAY!!! I know... the simple things to get excited about right? Hey... a workout definitely does something for the mental state of mind I'll tell ya. Sometimes it's the best therapy when you're not feeling at your best. Have a great Thursday and Veteran's Day everyone... say a little prayer or have a moment of silence for just one Vet today. :)
Peace, Love, and Poker
Tuesday, November 9, 2010
Thoughts for the day...
Good morning... yes... it's morning here in the desert (as it technically is on the U.S East Coast as well). I am getting ready to head to work on my "late show" day. I didn't sleep in this time, either. I was up at 4:30 to watch the Steelers play on Monday Night Football and Skype with my dear wife. :) I got some stuff done this morning (well... very little actually. I had a good breakfast of a nice big omelet. I watched the Steelers blow a 20 point lead to barely hang on at the end to win. I am on my 3rd cup of coffee now, and I got a haircut. Not bad for a Tuesday morning I suppose.
Now on to my thoughts... yesterday myself and 3 other guys stayed at work until 9:30 working on a project with a deadline of yesterday. Well... the fact that we finished it (and ironed out about half the bugs) is totally beside the point here. Our boss was very pissed yesterday and not only cancelled out our usual Monday meeting but outlined a few items that echoed his displeasure, and I felt like 75% of it was directed right at me. When something like that happens you can't help but think about it, and the best way not to hang on to it, at least for me, is to write about it.
First... he outlined that going and getting breakfast and dinner during the workday are LUXURIES. Fine... I can see the point there, but when you are there for X number of hours per day I believe one short lunch break is far from enough. So... if that's the case... and you are required to eat before and after work (if you even choose to do so at all)... then you're up to 14 hours. Working out during your workday... LUXURY. That one I can also understand maybe even moreso, however, in our job you are required to meet a certain standard of fitness or it affects your career. See above... without meals you're already at 14 hours!!!! Now... add 2 hours for a workout (plus shower time, etc.)... now you're up to 16 hours! Count them... you're down to 8 hours left in the day! Family time (Skype for me)... is about an hour. I'm certainly not willing to sacrifice that for either the meals or the workout, so either I do them all or one of the others suffers... and in order... Skype... meal... workout. Workout gets left out. Do all of the above and you are now at 17 hours. You still have to do things like go to the bathroom, shave, brush your teeth, etc. Factor another hour into that and you're now at 18. Nobody goes immediately to sleep once they finish doing whatever they're doing for the day... NOBODY! So... let's be very generous here and say a half an hour to unwind and get to sleep... 18 1/2 hours. That only leaves 5 1/2 hours of sleep time. Now what's going to suffer??? MY HEALTH! That's what! Is that worth any of the above, work included??? NO! Then the next thing to suffer is job performance... lack of sleep = lack of productivity, and on scope nobody can afford that from anyone here.
I knew I was making a bad decision when I went and worked out the past 2 days, but yet I chose to go anyway. Why did I make this choice? (See above) This reinforces the fact that if I am not afforded the time to work out during the workday there's no way in hell I will ever do it while working 12 hours (actually more like 12 1/2) per day. There are simply not enough hours in the day. Meals??? You don't need time for those do you??? Nahhhhh... I missed dinner last night and was on the brink of passing out by 9:30. So what ended up being my dinner since the dining hall was closed??? Crackers and easy cheese spread. YUM! LOL That's healthy!!!! By the way... I was on my way out the door to go to dinner when I was grabbed for a quick meeting, and it was all downhill from there. By the way that was strike 2, I believe, in the email in which I said I was the main target of. Now... I feel like I'm working on strike 3 at this very moment because I am sitting here and going in at my late show time of 1030 this morning rather than going in early. Why is that??? Well... simply this... everyone else took their designated late shows and days off in the last couple days as well... so why the hell should I do anything different? If anyone says a word... I will most likely go off on them, too.
So... I suppose I can see why my performance ratings have suffered the past few years... I'm just not willing to make certain sacrifices when the time comes. I don't really see that changing anytime soon, either, unless I'm told to. Then I do what I'm told because that's just how the military works. :) I'm not being defiant here... nor am I saying anyone is right or wrong... simply outlining the facts and how many hours there are in a day. When you put it all down "on paper" it sure does come to light. Now try doing all those things on a day you stayed at work till 9:30.... see my point????
The time is just about here now... time to go into work and face the music. I'm neither anxious or thrilled about it today. I'm rather indifferent. I don't really have anything to say to anyone, and I intend to mostly keep to myself today in the hopes I can get through the day without my mouth getting me into trouble. Good times, huh???
Peace, Love, and Poker
Now on to my thoughts... yesterday myself and 3 other guys stayed at work until 9:30 working on a project with a deadline of yesterday. Well... the fact that we finished it (and ironed out about half the bugs) is totally beside the point here. Our boss was very pissed yesterday and not only cancelled out our usual Monday meeting but outlined a few items that echoed his displeasure, and I felt like 75% of it was directed right at me. When something like that happens you can't help but think about it, and the best way not to hang on to it, at least for me, is to write about it.
First... he outlined that going and getting breakfast and dinner during the workday are LUXURIES. Fine... I can see the point there, but when you are there for X number of hours per day I believe one short lunch break is far from enough. So... if that's the case... and you are required to eat before and after work (if you even choose to do so at all)... then you're up to 14 hours. Working out during your workday... LUXURY. That one I can also understand maybe even moreso, however, in our job you are required to meet a certain standard of fitness or it affects your career. See above... without meals you're already at 14 hours!!!! Now... add 2 hours for a workout (plus shower time, etc.)... now you're up to 16 hours! Count them... you're down to 8 hours left in the day! Family time (Skype for me)... is about an hour. I'm certainly not willing to sacrifice that for either the meals or the workout, so either I do them all or one of the others suffers... and in order... Skype... meal... workout. Workout gets left out. Do all of the above and you are now at 17 hours. You still have to do things like go to the bathroom, shave, brush your teeth, etc. Factor another hour into that and you're now at 18. Nobody goes immediately to sleep once they finish doing whatever they're doing for the day... NOBODY! So... let's be very generous here and say a half an hour to unwind and get to sleep... 18 1/2 hours. That only leaves 5 1/2 hours of sleep time. Now what's going to suffer??? MY HEALTH! That's what! Is that worth any of the above, work included??? NO! Then the next thing to suffer is job performance... lack of sleep = lack of productivity, and on scope nobody can afford that from anyone here.
I knew I was making a bad decision when I went and worked out the past 2 days, but yet I chose to go anyway. Why did I make this choice? (See above) This reinforces the fact that if I am not afforded the time to work out during the workday there's no way in hell I will ever do it while working 12 hours (actually more like 12 1/2) per day. There are simply not enough hours in the day. Meals??? You don't need time for those do you??? Nahhhhh... I missed dinner last night and was on the brink of passing out by 9:30. So what ended up being my dinner since the dining hall was closed??? Crackers and easy cheese spread. YUM! LOL That's healthy!!!! By the way... I was on my way out the door to go to dinner when I was grabbed for a quick meeting, and it was all downhill from there. By the way that was strike 2, I believe, in the email in which I said I was the main target of. Now... I feel like I'm working on strike 3 at this very moment because I am sitting here and going in at my late show time of 1030 this morning rather than going in early. Why is that??? Well... simply this... everyone else took their designated late shows and days off in the last couple days as well... so why the hell should I do anything different? If anyone says a word... I will most likely go off on them, too.
So... I suppose I can see why my performance ratings have suffered the past few years... I'm just not willing to make certain sacrifices when the time comes. I don't really see that changing anytime soon, either, unless I'm told to. Then I do what I'm told because that's just how the military works. :) I'm not being defiant here... nor am I saying anyone is right or wrong... simply outlining the facts and how many hours there are in a day. When you put it all down "on paper" it sure does come to light. Now try doing all those things on a day you stayed at work till 9:30.... see my point????
The time is just about here now... time to go into work and face the music. I'm neither anxious or thrilled about it today. I'm rather indifferent. I don't really have anything to say to anyone, and I intend to mostly keep to myself today in the hopes I can get through the day without my mouth getting me into trouble. Good times, huh???
Peace, Love, and Poker
Saturday, November 6, 2010
My first day off...
Was great!!!! I am totally relaxed now and laying on my bed. I didn't do anything super special today... but I did do a couple things that I really wanted to do. First off... sleeping in was great!!! That's the best part about it I think! I love sleeping in! Secondly, I got a lot of pictures uploaded today onto both my laptop and my Facebook. That's something I just haven't really had a lot of time for. So... it feels good to get it mostly done. I plan on finishing the rest next Saturday. :)
I also went with my roommate to the Italian restaurant for the 2nd time today. The calzones are so good!!! The walk was a LOT nicer this time as it wasn't in the 90s or 100s. The weather is so perfect right now. I would love it to be like this all year round! Sunny and 80 (and it gets to 80 and starts dropping around 2:30 in the afternoon) with lows in the 40s to around 50 at night! It doesn't really get much better than that! After the move it will be a little warmer and a little more humid, but it should still be fairly nice just the same. And on the hot days... there will be ice cold beer available! :)
I also read a lot of my book... I'm reading Everlost by Neal Shusterman. My wife sent it to me in a package. It's really good actually. Something different that keeps my interest... I like it. I can't wait to get the 2nd one in the series. Hopefully soon! :)
This is a short post tonight... because it's bedtime... and I am going to get another good night's sleep. I have really enjoyed my first day off in a long time and can't wait until the next one. :) Goodnight!
Peace, Love, and Poker
I also went with my roommate to the Italian restaurant for the 2nd time today. The calzones are so good!!! The walk was a LOT nicer this time as it wasn't in the 90s or 100s. The weather is so perfect right now. I would love it to be like this all year round! Sunny and 80 (and it gets to 80 and starts dropping around 2:30 in the afternoon) with lows in the 40s to around 50 at night! It doesn't really get much better than that! After the move it will be a little warmer and a little more humid, but it should still be fairly nice just the same. And on the hot days... there will be ice cold beer available! :)
I also read a lot of my book... I'm reading Everlost by Neal Shusterman. My wife sent it to me in a package. It's really good actually. Something different that keeps my interest... I like it. I can't wait to get the 2nd one in the series. Hopefully soon! :)
This is a short post tonight... because it's bedtime... and I am going to get another good night's sleep. I have really enjoyed my first day off in a long time and can't wait until the next one. :) Goodnight!
Peace, Love, and Poker
Friday, November 5, 2010
Leadership.... what does it mean to me???
When you think of leadership you tend to think of those people with great minds... great charisma... very well defined sense of character. At least that's my big picture idea of what defines a leader. Then the better question would be to ask myself, "Do I possess these qualities?" Now that makes the definition quite applicable doesn't it? Am I a good leader? Am I even a leader at all? I know in my position I'm challenged to lead the very best I possibly can, and I've been accused by my last two previous supervisors and their supervisors and so on of not doing so. I have, of course, disagreed with them every step of the way, but perhaps they are right!
I know that it's difficult being thrown into a role (and a career field) that you did not choose to be in nor did you want any part of. This was my first step in what has become a 3 year plus downhill slide in my Air Force career that is now suddenly taking an upswing during my deployment to Iraq. The first thing was finding out initially that I was going to be forced to retrain. I thought, "Ok, this won't be so bad. I can make it through my last 5 years and retire then I never have to think about the military again." I would presume most good leaders probably don't have that attitude. I set out to make the best of it, but it was very difficult. I went to the NCO Academy in April of 2007 (A leadership based 6 week class), and I graduated with honors. Not bad for someone with a "bad attitude", huh? The thing about it is... I KNEW I would excel there. There are 2 very important aspects of the Academy that I am particularly good at... Socializing and Academics. The rest kind of just fell into place. I then went on to Technical school for my current job and also excelled there. Once again... academics... no sweat! It wasn't until AFTER yet a 3rd class in which I excelled that things started to come undone.
I was sent to Mountain Home, Idaho, which is basically in the middle of nowhere in the desert but only 54 miles from Boise, a beautiful bustling city with much to do and see. I immediately took a liking to Boise and chose to make the hour commute to work daily in lieu of living in Mountain Home. I have to say I haven't regretted that decision yet in 3 years. There's so much more in Boise. I think it's important to include the fact that I actually LIKE where I live. It shows that I'm able to separate work and home life... at least most of the time. I haven't always been able to do that, however, until more recently. So why, if I liked where I lived, would I have a bad attitude toward my assignment there? You could say I was bitter. I felt victimized by the system. I felt like there was some ungodly spirit hanging over me, a dark cloud of sorts, just waiting to inflict it's next blow on it's victim. That's a pretty rough way to live now isn't it???
I went through some really down and depressed times. There always seemed to be something else work would throw at me to try and "get me". The bottom line is... how can a person lead others at a time when they can't even lead themselves? So... I went and I got some help. I was already down in fitness... REALLY DOWN. That was strike one! I was down in training for my next positional upgrade. Strike two! I knew a third strike would most likely end my career, and I really couldn't afford to let that happen. My performance reports have suffered ever since I got to Idaho, though, and it is those that I am in disagreement with. I know that I absolutely have my part in them, but I am not nearly as terrible as the reports make me out to be... the "ratings" do not match me. I care about my people... I take care of my people, too.
When my senior and my supervisor (most recent ones... and 2 people I respect very much) said that my inability to demonstrate the qualities of a leader is "holding my subordinates back" that really struck a chord. I do everything I possibly can and advocate for my people on a regular basis. That is one thing that, as a leader, I get right. I take good care of those who work for me. My "manager" skills may not quite be on that level. I am also a rather inexperienced person who was put into the position of someone who has worked the job for years... keeping in mind I'm in a job that utilizes very few of the skills I possess and/or desire to use. I'm a numbers guy... an accountant. That's what I'm good at. If you take that person and randomly place them into a job where they have to "get dirty" at times... they might not do quite so well. I did, however take some things into my own hands.
I started going to school... my GPA is 4.0. I got my associate's degree from Community College of the Air Force this past August. I have lost in excess of 35 pounds and gotten to a level of fitness that I can actually say feels good, and I have more work left to do yet! I even got to deploy with everyone this time around, and I am thoroughly enjoying my time here. You still get those lonely moments... not to mention you get tired, too. But it's all part of the experience. I am doing a great job out on position here, and I feel like I get better and better each day. So if I'm lacking in any department here I have not been told so much as one word. Hopefully, I will continue to get noticed for the good things I do... because I never did back at home station. And I do mean NEVER. I think we have good leadership here... and I also feel that I am a big part of that myself. I try my best to balance my own personal wants and needs with the mission and what others want/need as well. Sure, I take my time to go and work out pretty much every day when I'm not sitting on scope. Why not??? I think it's a proactive thing to do rather than sit here and blog or surf the internet or email or whatever else. There are others who choose to do it on their own time, but I know that I would work out FAR less if I had to do it after a 12+ hour day (or prior). My time to Skype with my wife is very precious, and it keeps me sane. I'm not willing to give that up. There are just some things that you have to be selfish with... otherwise your family life and then ultimately your personal life will suffer. If you aren't thinking straight how are you supposed to concentrate on a radar scope with lives in your hands? Ponder that question as I close...
I feel that I am at the very WORST an adequate leader and supervisor, and I do right by my folks. I show no favoritism and think objectively using only what I know first hand or what my peers give me on that same level. It doesn't excuse the ones who don't perform up to par, though, and they are corrected accordingly as well. I could probably write all night on this subject, but at some point I've got to get out of here and enjoy the beginning of my time off. :) I was going to play poker tonight, but I don't think I will. I would rather chill in my room and watch a movie and relax. It sounds more enjoyable to me right now. I have no responsibilities until Sunday morning when I come back to work bright and early. :) I'm sure I will write more about leadership in the near future simply because it is something on my mind, and I want to figure out if "they" were wrong or if I am the one who was wrong. And if I'm wrong... what can I do to fix it... both in perception and reality. This military is one strongly based on perception. Changing that is tough. Hell, there are still people who will tell you to just starve yourself to lose weight if you have to. Now how healthy is that????
Peace, Love, and Poker
I know that it's difficult being thrown into a role (and a career field) that you did not choose to be in nor did you want any part of. This was my first step in what has become a 3 year plus downhill slide in my Air Force career that is now suddenly taking an upswing during my deployment to Iraq. The first thing was finding out initially that I was going to be forced to retrain. I thought, "Ok, this won't be so bad. I can make it through my last 5 years and retire then I never have to think about the military again." I would presume most good leaders probably don't have that attitude. I set out to make the best of it, but it was very difficult. I went to the NCO Academy in April of 2007 (A leadership based 6 week class), and I graduated with honors. Not bad for someone with a "bad attitude", huh? The thing about it is... I KNEW I would excel there. There are 2 very important aspects of the Academy that I am particularly good at... Socializing and Academics. The rest kind of just fell into place. I then went on to Technical school for my current job and also excelled there. Once again... academics... no sweat! It wasn't until AFTER yet a 3rd class in which I excelled that things started to come undone.
I was sent to Mountain Home, Idaho, which is basically in the middle of nowhere in the desert but only 54 miles from Boise, a beautiful bustling city with much to do and see. I immediately took a liking to Boise and chose to make the hour commute to work daily in lieu of living in Mountain Home. I have to say I haven't regretted that decision yet in 3 years. There's so much more in Boise. I think it's important to include the fact that I actually LIKE where I live. It shows that I'm able to separate work and home life... at least most of the time. I haven't always been able to do that, however, until more recently. So why, if I liked where I lived, would I have a bad attitude toward my assignment there? You could say I was bitter. I felt victimized by the system. I felt like there was some ungodly spirit hanging over me, a dark cloud of sorts, just waiting to inflict it's next blow on it's victim. That's a pretty rough way to live now isn't it???
I went through some really down and depressed times. There always seemed to be something else work would throw at me to try and "get me". The bottom line is... how can a person lead others at a time when they can't even lead themselves? So... I went and I got some help. I was already down in fitness... REALLY DOWN. That was strike one! I was down in training for my next positional upgrade. Strike two! I knew a third strike would most likely end my career, and I really couldn't afford to let that happen. My performance reports have suffered ever since I got to Idaho, though, and it is those that I am in disagreement with. I know that I absolutely have my part in them, but I am not nearly as terrible as the reports make me out to be... the "ratings" do not match me. I care about my people... I take care of my people, too.
When my senior and my supervisor (most recent ones... and 2 people I respect very much) said that my inability to demonstrate the qualities of a leader is "holding my subordinates back" that really struck a chord. I do everything I possibly can and advocate for my people on a regular basis. That is one thing that, as a leader, I get right. I take good care of those who work for me. My "manager" skills may not quite be on that level. I am also a rather inexperienced person who was put into the position of someone who has worked the job for years... keeping in mind I'm in a job that utilizes very few of the skills I possess and/or desire to use. I'm a numbers guy... an accountant. That's what I'm good at. If you take that person and randomly place them into a job where they have to "get dirty" at times... they might not do quite so well. I did, however take some things into my own hands.
I started going to school... my GPA is 4.0. I got my associate's degree from Community College of the Air Force this past August. I have lost in excess of 35 pounds and gotten to a level of fitness that I can actually say feels good, and I have more work left to do yet! I even got to deploy with everyone this time around, and I am thoroughly enjoying my time here. You still get those lonely moments... not to mention you get tired, too. But it's all part of the experience. I am doing a great job out on position here, and I feel like I get better and better each day. So if I'm lacking in any department here I have not been told so much as one word. Hopefully, I will continue to get noticed for the good things I do... because I never did back at home station. And I do mean NEVER. I think we have good leadership here... and I also feel that I am a big part of that myself. I try my best to balance my own personal wants and needs with the mission and what others want/need as well. Sure, I take my time to go and work out pretty much every day when I'm not sitting on scope. Why not??? I think it's a proactive thing to do rather than sit here and blog or surf the internet or email or whatever else. There are others who choose to do it on their own time, but I know that I would work out FAR less if I had to do it after a 12+ hour day (or prior). My time to Skype with my wife is very precious, and it keeps me sane. I'm not willing to give that up. There are just some things that you have to be selfish with... otherwise your family life and then ultimately your personal life will suffer. If you aren't thinking straight how are you supposed to concentrate on a radar scope with lives in your hands? Ponder that question as I close...
I feel that I am at the very WORST an adequate leader and supervisor, and I do right by my folks. I show no favoritism and think objectively using only what I know first hand or what my peers give me on that same level. It doesn't excuse the ones who don't perform up to par, though, and they are corrected accordingly as well. I could probably write all night on this subject, but at some point I've got to get out of here and enjoy the beginning of my time off. :) I was going to play poker tonight, but I don't think I will. I would rather chill in my room and watch a movie and relax. It sounds more enjoyable to me right now. I have no responsibilities until Sunday morning when I come back to work bright and early. :) I'm sure I will write more about leadership in the near future simply because it is something on my mind, and I want to figure out if "they" were wrong or if I am the one who was wrong. And if I'm wrong... what can I do to fix it... both in perception and reality. This military is one strongly based on perception. Changing that is tough. Hell, there are still people who will tell you to just starve yourself to lose weight if you have to. Now how healthy is that????
Peace, Love, and Poker
Thursday, November 4, 2010
A strange Thursday... for some odd reason...
Did you ever just feel like a day was out of place for reasons unbeknownst to you??? Well... for me that day is today. Work was fairly normal today... for the most part. It just seemed like certain things kept falling out of place. My shift was normal... nothing weird there! I went to breakfast this morning... and found some coworkers to sit with. As soon as I sat down to eat they got up to leave. LOL Go figure! I have my day off the day after tomorrow... and that ROCKS! Ok... see... random out of place thought there. :P Lunch was actually pretty good... and I skipped dessert... strange for me here since I NEVER skip at least some jello for dessert. I even ate semi healthy... a pork chop and some veggies along with some egg noodles and a dinner roll. Tasty... but different. When I got back to work I... well... nevermind... we'll skip that part. LOL Anyway, I proceeded to head back to the ops shack as we call it, and the internet was running very slowly if at all (all morning it was pretty much nonexistant... got better in the afternoon). Oh yeah... I drank our system contractor's swiss coffee this morning during my shift. Never done that before, either. Hey... I didn't say that odd, strange, or different was necessarily a BAD thing! My workout was fairly typical... intense intervals on the treadmill. The weather is very fall like here now... not cold... but it is only getting up to around 80, and it doesn't stay there for but a short little while. By the time we leave work it's already in the 60s. I'm loving it actually!!! One night this week the forecast low is 46! :) SWEET! So as I sit here typing... is it the day that's odd or is it ME that's odd today??? LOL Hmmmm... that is a good question to ponder now isn't it??? I can say one thing that's odd AND bad... the stupid laundry room!!! So... over half the washers do not work!!! How the hell can this happen in our ONLY laundry facility we have to use here???? Not only that... the ones that do work are taking about double the usual time to wash a load of friggin' clothes! ARRRRGGGGHHHHH!!!! Mine are now safely in the dryer and will be done soon, though, so I'm happy. Also, my roommate's day off is getting changed starting next week... so we will no longer have the same day off. That sucks ass!!! What the hell am I gonna do all alone on my Saturdays off, especially after we move and are able to go off base and stuff??? I sure as hell don't want to sit in my room all day when there's sights to see and beers to drink! It's different here... here you really don't care all that much. You'll take any time you can get to relax. :) I guess I can always go hang out at the pool... which I'm told is a minute walk from where we'll be residing. NICE!!!! The weather should just barely be nice enough to allow pool use for the first little bit of our time there. We shall see... I wouldn't want to try and swim here outdoors now... it's a bit chilly for that now.
Ok... so maybe it was a little of both today... me and the day itself being odd. That's about all I can come up with. I was reading my book in the laundry room waiting for my washer to finish... again... odd. Now if something happens with the dryers I'll know there's a full moon somewhere! Hopefully there isn't... I don't want to run into any werewolves on my way to the laundry area and back. LOL Now THAT would be strange!!! :)
Peace, Love, and Poker
Ok... so maybe it was a little of both today... me and the day itself being odd. That's about all I can come up with. I was reading my book in the laundry room waiting for my washer to finish... again... odd. Now if something happens with the dryers I'll know there's a full moon somewhere! Hopefully there isn't... I don't want to run into any werewolves on my way to the laundry area and back. LOL Now THAT would be strange!!! :)
Peace, Love, and Poker
Wednesday, November 3, 2010
Thank you for a great show Trace!!!
So there it was... the stage set... most fans standing and waiting in uniforms of all services... PT uniforms as well (like myself)... and civilians were there, too. It was a nice crowd. The stands were even fairly full up above. Everyone was ready... the band was warming up... there was good rock music playing as we waited. Then after a few quick words about safety... out he came. It was time for Trace Adkins to rock Joint Base Balad, Iraq!!!! I have to say I was quite impressed with the show... and I knew just about every song with the exception of a few newer ones that have yet to be released. He played for a solid hour... and it seemed that all had a blast and enjoyed the performance. He was quite funny... and it was fairly obvious he knew who his crowd was. There were a few well chosen curse words thrown in just at the right times between songs that had us all laughing and cheering. I have to agree with what he said though... "I guess the ones that don't come here just ain't got the balls to do it, and well... I've got balls and plenty of them!"
I respect anyone that's willing to do the USO tours to this part of the world. They go to most of the bases in Iraq and Afghanistan, too... and I think it's awesome!!! I wish more performers did it... but hey... Trace Adkins is a pretty damn big name for Iraq!!! I salute you Trace for coming here and doing what you do for us while we're deployed. It's just like having a little taste of home here in the desert! Oh... and by the way... he waited after the show and shook everyone's hand and took pictures with us 6 or 7 at a time. Hopefully I will be able to post it on here in a couple days... on this blog post of course! I had just bought a new camera yesterday, and I got to put it to work really quickly! :) I love it!!! There will be many more pictures coming throughout the rest of my deployment... carefully, though, of course.
On our way back we just happened to have to walk past Taco Bell, and well, we didn't make it past Taco Bell. We ended up stopping there. LOL A crunchwrap supreme was the perfect after concert treat. Yummy!!! I even was good and skipped the soda this time. I think I've drank 3 total sodas since I got here. Not too shabby. :)
I paid for it today with a rather tired afternoon... but my workout this morning helped contribute to that. I did my 65 minutes on the treadmill as I typically do. I am determined to keep in shape this whole time! Well... actually... get into BETTER shape! That would be my ultimate goal. I think desserts are holding me back from my weight loss a bit... I've not lost a single pound even though I burn on average over 1000 calories a day working out and walking everywhere. Something is going to have to give sooner or later, and I think it's going to be the apple pudding cake and the jello. LOL
Ok... well... it's bedtime here... it's been a long busy tired day... and tomorrow looks to be another if I don't get my happy ass in bed now. 4:30 comes early... but my Skype time is very precious, and I wouldn't trade it for anything! So goodnight everyone... take care... and if you ever get the chance... go see Trace Adkins and know that he's one of the good guys. 2 days till my first day off.... not that I'm counting. :)
Peace, Love, and Poker
Monday, November 1, 2010
What's on my mind today???
That's a great question considering I really don't even know! LOL Well... right now the one thing that is NOT on my mind is work! I don't have to go in until 10:30 tomorrow morning! :) I'm pretty excited about that as I always am. I will get up at 4:45 and go to Skype with Anne Marie... then I will come back to my room and go right back to sleep!!!! hehe But tomorrow evening there is a fun event... Trace Adkins is playing here tomorrow night at 7:30, and I will be there! He may not be the biggest name in music, but he's definitely big enough for Iraq!!! It should be a good time... hopefully lots of us from work can get together and go and enjoy it. :)
It was a pretty decent day today, though. I got back to my working out ways... 70:00 on the treadmill today! 20 minutes at 6.5 speed with the last minute from 6.8 up to 7.5 at the end. I burned over 900 calories, too! I feel great! I needed a good workout after not working out the past 2 days. I'm also really looking forward to having Saturday off! My first day off is going to be awesome!!!! I could do absolutely nothing and it would be awesome! :)
I've started reading the book "Everlost" by Neal Shusterman the past few days. My wife sent it to me in the package she sent me, and I have to say... it is keeping my attention so far. It's still just setting the tone for the story, but it's interesting. I'll keep you posted on how I'm liking it as I make further progress. It's one of a trilogy, so I might have to try and read all 3 of them eventually.
It was a sad morning this morning, though... the Steelers lost 20-10 to the New Orleans Saints to drop their record to 5-2 on the season. I even woke up at 3:20 this morning to watch the game... how sad! Better luck next week guys! HERE WE GO STEELERS!!! :) Everyone who is a Steelers fan, wave a Terrible Towel in honor of Myron Cope and maybe it will bring us a victory next Monday night!!!!
Well... I believe I'm going to go out on that note... I will do my best to keep posting regularly on here! The site isn't working on the computers at work right now... so it's tough. I used to write every day during some of my down time at work. Now I'm doing it here in my room instead. Much more comfortable and enjoyable blogging from my bed I must say! See you soon...
Peace, Love, and Poker
It was a pretty decent day today, though. I got back to my working out ways... 70:00 on the treadmill today! 20 minutes at 6.5 speed with the last minute from 6.8 up to 7.5 at the end. I burned over 900 calories, too! I feel great! I needed a good workout after not working out the past 2 days. I'm also really looking forward to having Saturday off! My first day off is going to be awesome!!!! I could do absolutely nothing and it would be awesome! :)
I've started reading the book "Everlost" by Neal Shusterman the past few days. My wife sent it to me in the package she sent me, and I have to say... it is keeping my attention so far. It's still just setting the tone for the story, but it's interesting. I'll keep you posted on how I'm liking it as I make further progress. It's one of a trilogy, so I might have to try and read all 3 of them eventually.
It was a sad morning this morning, though... the Steelers lost 20-10 to the New Orleans Saints to drop their record to 5-2 on the season. I even woke up at 3:20 this morning to watch the game... how sad! Better luck next week guys! HERE WE GO STEELERS!!! :) Everyone who is a Steelers fan, wave a Terrible Towel in honor of Myron Cope and maybe it will bring us a victory next Monday night!!!!
Well... I believe I'm going to go out on that note... I will do my best to keep posting regularly on here! The site isn't working on the computers at work right now... so it's tough. I used to write every day during some of my down time at work. Now I'm doing it here in my room instead. Much more comfortable and enjoyable blogging from my bed I must say! See you soon...
Peace, Love, and Poker
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