End of semester catchup

Well the semester is coming to a close and i only have one final left to do on Monday. I can honestly say i passed all my classes even though i may not have put a lot of effort into some of them. i wont know for about another week what my final grades are. i will be taking a Western Civilization online class this winter. its a 15 week course of study condensed into 4 weeks over the holidays. Next semester i will be taking 15 to 18 credits depending on how i do in the winter class. Next semester i will be taking American History 1865 to present, Statistics, English 101 (research and Composition), State and Local Government, and since I'm married to a Musician, Piano 1. i may also be taking western Civ 2 online, if i pass the first class.

Tonight Robbie and I went to the Family Readiness Group Christmas Party. I played Santa again this year. It was interesting since Robbie came and sat on my lap. But let me tell you how smart he is getting. He told me tonight that Santa looked just like me, because Santa had a ring (wedding band) and glasses like mine. When i left to go get dressed he was told that i was going to go get some ice for the drinks. Boy that suit gets hot after a while. But i enjoy it. its all for the kids and boy there was a lot of them. Santa had gifts for some of the kids (the parents brought them, even though some of the parents didn't want to let them participate). Robbie got a truck he has been wanting for Christmas. the adults also had gift exchange. I got a nice Santa Jar with peppermint white chocolate in it. But ummm i left it there so i will have to see if i can get it tomorrow. we were in a rush to get out as the alarms go off at 9 pm for some odd reason.

Sometime Next weekend we will be leaving to go to Ricks then to Mom and Dad's. We will be spending some time there as Lani will be coming home about the middle of January. Then once she goes back to the big sand box it will be back home and back to school.

time flys when your not having fun

Well its been a LONG LONG time since i have written. I have been really busy with school trying to keep up with the young kids, and trying to get into the school mode. finally got past mid-terms with a "C" average. I know its not great, but im working on it. I found out from the Veterans Affairs people that all i need is a 2.0 GPA and they will pay for me to get up to a masters degree. I really dont know if i really want to go that far but we will see. Just have to get past all these core requirements so i can get to the classes that will cover my major which will be in Museum Studies. Robbie and I have been continueing to have fun and staying sane while we wait for Lani to come home. We will be going to Dale and Sallys for the christmas holidays once the semester is over.

The following pictures are of a display im doing at my school for the week of Veterans Day. By the way, Happy Veterans Day to all the Vets out there, especially Bob, Dale, Lani, and all the other Vets out there that i dont know, butthat i feel a kinship with.

this is one of the shelves that im displaying my Vietnam gas masks. these masks are both from the 60's and both are complete and funtional.

This display shows my AN/PRC-25 radio and a AN/PRC-6 handie-talkie, a couple of rifles, and a shelf of grenades and other items.

This shelf shows both of my brownie cameras, some personal hygeine gear and 2 US ARMY Pamphlets. One is a Russian phrase book, and the other is a Vietnamese phrase book.

Here is my manequin, which i call, Bob, dressed up as a typical soldier would be in Vietnam.

here is the complete display case with my manequin and gas masks and such.

This display has a shelf with Vietnam medical gear on it. And the top shelf is being set up as a display of WWI and WWII pictures and hats.

This is the shelf of medical gear.

Funny little story about what i went through to set this up. I first went to the Dean of Security to find out what i can and cannot bring onto campus. well while he was going to his boss about that, i was fighting with the student activities admin to get the paperwork done. Well they wouldnt okay it without more time to research the laws and regulations on such displays (they could have just asked me). Well one of my friends i have made at school, does living history reenactments of the German army in WWII, and other time periods. Well his mom works at the school and so we went to her and she was very supportive about it and seeing as she is the head of the Public Safety / Criminal Justice Departments, the department sponsored the display. So i got all that taken care of. Then the Dean of Security finally gets back to me with what i can bring. The list is as follows:

1. Guns (real ones as long as the bolts are removed)

2. Grenades

3. explosives

BUT NOT BAYONETS.

I even had to put up signs saying that all items are not functional and/or inert. But its up and have heard nothing but good things about it. students are even bringing their parents to look at it. I think this is probably first of this kind of thing in this area so i have to start small and work my way up. My friend, Andy, and I are even going to start a living history detachment at the school so we can do more things like this.

other than that i guess i need to try to make more time to write more often.

Have a good one and stay safe.

Ryan

kind of a bad week but ends great

<--me in my club shirt showing I'm the club secretary
Well this week started off pretty bad. I am having problems in my history classes. I'm taking American History to 1865 and US/Vietnam History, in the same semester. well the dates started to mesh together, and well i didn't do very good at all on either test. But I have a chance to make it up and hope to get them fixed soon. The homework is getting pretty heavy and I have to start worrying about my term papers. On a good note, My final grade for my golf class is a 95% which for some odd reason was the highest in the class. My math class is getting easier now that i have figured out the hard stuff. Now we are into graphing and that's pretty easy. The club I helped start had our first fundraiser today. We raised $214.15. Its a nice little starting amount for our club.








The picture above show me selling goodies








here im just waiting for the lunch hour to start








this is my buddy and golf partner, Pat

I'm in several clubs, to include N.U.T.S., POLIS-a political group, and a gamers club.

POLIS is a political group (i know, me in a political group) that discusses the issues of the day.

The gamers club is a club that is about all types of games from card games like MAGIC to video games like CALL OF DUTY. we also learn about how to play games that we never played before. Some of the people in the club actually still play Dungeons and Dragons.

As I have mentioned, I am also on the golf team for the college. I get all the free diving range time i want and also all the free round of golf i can play till the snow falls or the course becomes too soggy to play on. then we will be moving hitting practice into the gym during the winter months and HOPEFULLY spring comes really early so i can start playing. I also get a great discount on new golf clubs right from the manufacturer through the school. More on that when i find out more.

Other than that Robbie and I are still having fun and he is missing Mommy.. We actually get to have a video teleconference with Lani tomorrow, so i cant wait for that. Hopefully its nice this weekend and we can go to the park. It has been raining for like 10 days straight, so i need to really mow the lawn.

Till next time.....

really cool week.

Well this week was really jam packed. I had exams Thursday and Friday. I even had an exam in my golf class. Speaking of golf, Im going to be a member of the college golf team. Our season doesnt start till the spring, but we have a few scrimages this fall bofore the courses close for the winter. there is about 12 guys on the team, so its going to be pretty small group. Im hopefully be getting a new set of clubs, but the end of next month, but we will see. Other than that I have been spending a lot of time with Robbie and then studying the rest of the time. not really had much time for anything else. till next time...

BUSY BUSY BUSY

Wow, talk about a whirlwind storm. I know its been a couple of week since i have last chatted with you. Between School (and everything that goes with it), Robbie (who is starting to get really big for his britches), the cats (smelly things), and fighting a losing battle on keeping the house kinda clean, I'm about to go out of my mind. On the first of the month, Robbie and I went to Michigan to see Rick, Grandma, and Grandpa. Boy that was a LONG trip. Its sure is better when you have someone to talk to while driving. But we got there, finally. On that Saturday, we went to the Michigan Renaissance Fair. that was pretty cool. i got a couple of t-shirts and nice hat. We saw a real joust and sword fights, glass blowers, and other artisans plying their trades. Then the next day we had a surprise birthday party for Robbie. he really liked that and had lots of presents. His best present he enjoys the most is his Thomas the Tank Engine train set. he really loves playing with it (i do too). Then the next day we came home. Talk about a really LONG LONG day. I thought we would never see the Thousand Islands Bridges. But we got home, and headed almost straight to bed, as I had class the next day.

SCHOOL: OMG I'm so having a hard time with this. between the different classes each day, and all the homework, sometimes i think I'm fighting a losing battle. Its really hard to juggle a son, a home, and a bunch of school work. Especially since i cant really do my homework till after bug goes to bed. its getting to that point that i need to start working on papers and such, as mid terms will be here before i know it. LOL i even have a mid term and final in my golf class. Yes I'm taking a golf class. i signed up for it before i found out my military experience canceled out my PE credits i need for a diploma. Its only a half semester, half credit class, but I'm trying to take Bowling the next half. On a good note, they finally transcribed my military transcipts. just for being in the Army, i received 32 credits hours. cant wait till November to see what that will mean for my degree.

Other than that, I'm slowly losing my mind, Robbie is getting bigger and smarter (in more ways than one), and the cats still stink. One of these days i will finally get the house completely cleaned up. I have to start getting things done around here as before i know it Lani will be home and the Army may be sending us somewhere else.

College Log ...Day five

This morning Bug went to school at daddy's school. The College I'm going to, Jefferson Community College, has a day care on campus. Its not only going to be better for me, but it is cheaper, and its a more accredited day care.

Then I was off to US/Vietnam History. The teacher is pretty cool, comes into class listening to classic rock on his Ipod, cranked up all the way. Then we traipsed through the 1400 and 1500's of the Vietnam history. They pretty much were under attack from Spain, France, China, oh and the Christians.

Then my friend Pat and I went and found the computer lab. There we checked to see if our military transcripts were transcribed. They were not. Then we checked on our GI Bill benefits. they will start next week. Woohoo

Well then we went out to our cars to get our golf shoes and 7-irons for our golf class. we sat around for about a hour before we went into the gym and then saw the sign and said the classes for golf and badminton were canceled.

So I got Bug and we got on the road to Ricks. Traffic wasn't too bad till we got to Toronto then it got so bad, I actually had to stop in Canada for gas. Robbie had a little accident, but it wasn't his fault, as he had to go pee, and of course there wasn't an exit to be seen. Then we realized that we forgot diapers, so had to stop at Walmart for them. then we got to Ricks and got settled and now its time for bed.

More later

College log ... day four

Well Day four started off with meeting up with another "old guy". we had an ad hoc meeting of our new club "N.U.T.S". That stands for "Not Ur Traditional Students". Its going to be mostly for the older crowd that been away from school for like 10 years or so. We are still working on that. Our Motto is "Are You NUTS???"

In World Geography, we discussed the different types of geography. then discussed some of the types. We also had more pictures of South America, showing the different types of geography and how to interpret them.

In American History, I learned that Columbus wasn't the goodie goodie explorer we learned in high school. I thought that he was dirt bag, when i found out all the horrible things he did to the Indians. Then we got in to a class discussion about it. Not much impute from the 18 and 19 year olds but oh well. I got a lot out of it and hopefully it continues to be this easy.

Then I went and got Bug, went home and packed up some stuff, so tomorrow Robbie and I can go to Ricks house for the weekend. More on that tomorrow i guess.

Later....