Daily Life According to Ryan

End of semester catchup

2008-12-12T20:48:00.000-08:00

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

2008-11-11T18:56:00.000-08:00

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

2008-10-03T19:16:00.000-07:00

<--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.

2008-09-27T17:31:00.000-07:00

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

2008-09-14T12:30:00.000-07:00

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

2008-08-29T20:37:00.000-07:00

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

2008-08-29T20:14:00.000-07:00

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....

College Log ... Day three

2008-08-27T19:11:00.000-07:00

Well day three has come and gone. I had US Vietnam history in the morning, which was a pretty good class. We discussed Vietnam history through the mongols taking China. We had a lots of good discussion on it. Then Pat and I went and had a cup of coffee while we waited for our Golf class started. Pat is a prior service Army/Air Force. Plus he is old like me. We are going to start an old folks club and take trips to casinos and such. Plus we were throwing around an idea to maybe start a shooting club. Down south target shooting clubs are kinda big, so maybe we can get enough interest going here.

Then we had a fun golf class. But we had to hit wiffle balls, as there was a Fall Fest 2008 Picnic going on "down range". As much and as hard as I could try I could not get that darn wiffle ball to get there.

After class I went to the picnic, had some free food (burgers, hot dogs, macaroni salad), listened to some good music, and then got to play in a bouncy house. Every time we go somewhere there is bouncy houses for the kids but not adults. Well they had an obstacle course one, that pat and I and the student body president and a few others raced in. I got a little sweaty.

Well it was finally time for my last class. ALGEBRA. I got to class early so went in and sat down and was trying to figure out some of the problems in the book, when the teacher came in. So we chatted for a bit about this math program called My MathLab. Its pretty good but had a few bugs in it. Luckily I had played with it last night and I figured it all out, so I got to help the class with the problems they were having. Then she asked me if I was having any problems with the work, so I told her the problems I'm having. So instead of having a quiz today she figured out a better way to explain rational numbers, integers, etc... She still wont tell me what an "imaginary" number is. Cant imagine why that is. Then she told me that all our homework in the book has the answers in the back. She busted up laughing when I told her I didn't know that and had been fumbling with a problem. Well we finally got past that nightmare, and got into fractions. Now I'm remembering some of it from high school. Just need a calculator with the fraction/decimal button on it. Was going to buy one at school but its like 115 dollars, but it has a USB plug to plug into your computer. Might just go ahead and get a graphing calculator since I'm going to need it next semester.

Now I'm just finishing up my computer homework, and studied the countries of South America. I'm going to watch a little M*A*S*H, and then get to bed and ready for tomorrow. After my two classes tomorrow, I will be coming home to get packed for the trip to ricks house for the weekend.

until later....

College log...Day two

2008-08-26T19:19:00.000-07:00

Well this was day two of my college experience.

Well started of by dropping off bug at daycare (old one), and found out she is going to be closed on Friday. I'm not going to start ranting on how i feel about her.

Then i got to school. Went and got my vehicles registered on campus, had a great breakfast in the cafe, turned in my laptop to get cleared for the campus wireless, signed for a locker (which i probably wont use because you could only fit a tissue box into it).

Then i went to Finacial aid to check on a loan I got from the state of NY. its only 250 dollars but it will help with supplies for the semester plus, I have to get a calculator for my math class, as I'm going to need all the help I can get.

then i just sat in the lounge and chatted with the student president for a little bit. then i checked into a club for military spouses / dependents. more on that later.

My first class was World Geography. the teacher is pretty cool. he is an ex army officer. today we basically had a Google Earth tour of South America. that was the coolest class. Of course next Tuesday is the first quiz on the countries of South America. In case you wanted to know, there are 12.

Then i had 2 hours till my next class. So I went and got my laptop, went to the student commons and logged into the Internet for a bit. talked to Lani while i was there. She thought i at home. but I'm not about to drive back ad forth numerous times a day. I will just hang out on campus.

Then i had American History to 1865. That's when my world as i know it came crashing down. The prof started talking about doing crisis reports, and event texts, etc... he had me so confused before he got finished handing out the syllabus. Then we introduced ourselves, told what we wanted to do in 50 to 10 years, what was our first memory of a historic event, and lastly, what we would write about in 2028 if we were writing a history. I'm going to share mine with you.

Name
Museum Curator or work at the Smithsonian.
The space shuttle landing at White Sands Missile Range. I just don't remember what year that was. I think that was the only time it ever landed there.
i would write about the fossil fuel crisis that's going on right now.

We have two texts to read from. Each is on the opposite side the spectrum. so one day a week we will read from one and discuss/report on it, then the same for the other day with the other text. I'm going to have to talk to the teacher next class and see if he can help me.

Thing that bothers me is all the reports i have to do. i haven't done a report since the last book report in high school 20 years ago.

Also when some of the students were introducing themselves, i felt so old. some of them were too young to remember the first gulf war, much less before that. they were talking about stuff that happened in the last 15 years. i even asked if any of them remembered when we invaded Panama in 1989. even some of the active duty soldiers don't remember that. oh i felt so old.

Then the class was over and i ran for my life. so now i have to chapters to read for Thursday and have to come up with some kind of discussion point on EARLY American history for class Thursday.

well that's it for the day, more tomorrow.

College log ... day one

2008-08-25T17:05:00.000-07:00

Well today was my first day of classes. I started the day with a coffee social in the quad (which is actually not a quad but whatever its called with 6 sides). Then I went to finish the paperwork for daycare there on campus. Finally i got to sit down and try to relax for a few minutes before my class started. My first class is US and Vietnam History. Unfortunately the course covers EVERYTHING about Vietnam since like 900 BC. We went around the room and got to say why we were taking this class, and most were taking it because it was the only thing open when they registered. I was the only one who had an active interest in Vietnam War. The Prof said that it should be interesting dialog in class when we get to the American part of the war. Going to be a pretty easy class I think. Only one paper is due right before Thanksgiving. Other than that its just tests on the notes he gives in class and the reading we do in the books. Yes i said books there are 2 but one wont come in till we get to the actual war. really going to be interesting.

After an hour break in between classes. I walked around and checked out the rest of campus.

My next class is golf. Yeah i said golf. Basically all I have to do in this class is improve hitting my iron clubs across a football field. Oh and a 10 question quiz on the origins of golf. Even better is that i can skip class if I go to a hitting range and hit a bucket of balls or play 9 holes.

After that class, which we got out early, I had like a 2 hour break so I went to the commons and just chilled out there, with a cold drink and some nice conversation with other students.

My last class on this day is Basic Algebra. i got to the classroom early and was talking to the teacher, who is a military spouse, but so are a few other women in the class. They sure were surprised when I told them I was a military spouse. Then the class went way over the hill, and so WAY over my head, with integers, whole numbers, irrational numbers, etc... I was so lost. then i realized that they were just trying to get us ready for the <,>,=, and other symbols. the teacher saw my lost in the headlights look, and after class asked me if i understood what she was saying. I told her I was confused with all the names but i understood how to use the symbols. but we will see. This class is also what they call a hybrid class. Part of the assignments are written, and part is online, with something called "My Mathlab". That's MATHLAB, not methlab. More about that later once i get it on my computer.

Tomorrow morning, i have to get my vehicle registered on campus for parking, sign for a locker in case I need to use it, which I might during my gym class. and get my computer registered to use on the campus wireless web. And I need to look into getting a calculator for later on in my math class, IF I can get into the book store tomorrow.

So finally I went and got the bug from the babysitter, and we came home where I quickly read my one chapter on Vietnam history. Now I'm about to start my math homework. Its just 35 questions so it shouldn't take long, unless I get lost again.

Tomorrow I have the hard subjects on my list. World Geography and American History to 1865. Like need to know about History before 1865. If only I could just take a history class that started after WWI, i would be happy. but its not to be.

Well more tomorrow...if I survive

its time to learn...

2008-08-20T19:26:00.000-07:00

Well today was orientation and registration day for college. after i got a tour of the campus i sat down with my faculty adviser to discuss my major, and get my schedule started. Here is this semesters schedule:

Monday-Wednesday-Friday:

0905-1000 US and Vietnam History
1325-1420 Basic Algebra

Tuesday-Thursday

1100-1220 Intro to World Geography
1400-1520 American History to 1865

i also have a half credit class---Bowling, for my PE requirement but that might have to change since they only give me 10 minutes to get from the bowling alley in downtown Watertown, to my class at the campus. overlooked that somehow. will get it fixed tomorrow.

oh and you cant imagine how happy i was about the Vietnam History class. It was almost made for me. for some of you who don't know, I have a great interest in the Vietnam War and collect artifacts, and do living history reenactments of the war. its going to be a great course for me. the rest of the schedule fills out some of the requirements for my degree. My major is in Museum Studies. When i grow up i want to work in museums.

Don't worry mom and dad and rick, i will still be coming labor day weekend. just might have to leave after my last class. i should still be there by midnight, if everything goes as planned.

other than that, i will be posting more as classes start next week and i get into the swing of things.

Robbie might be changing day cares also. the campus has a day care center on campus for the students. it will be easier for me to drop him off and pick him up, and its going to be way cheaper. also it is a pre-k center so he will be ready for kindergarten next year.

i got a government loan, which surprised me, that covered all of my tuition except for 41 dollars. once my GI Bill kicks in and whatever else i get from VA everything will be good. OMG have you seen the price of books lately????? my books for 4 classes was $472. it was outrageous. but some of the books, like for my Vietnam class, i wont be getting rid of. I'm keeping those. i read the first few pages of one of the books and almost could not put it down.

I also got a student ID Card which you can put money on it and use it around campus, as the soda and snack machines have card readers on them. plus it can be used for other activities like plays and such.

till next week......

college man??????

2008-08-09T17:31:00.000-07:00

Well i took a placement test today to get into college. it covered reading comprehension, sentence structure, an mathematics. well to begin with, since i love to read, i aced the reading comprehension test. The mathematics was a little trickier with fractions an percents an such. my guess work must have been pretty good as i passed the test. guess my scribblings of formulas were the right ones. Now the rest of the English test. First off let me say that back in 1989 i dropped out of high school and joined the Army because of English. Almost my entire senior year would have been English. Now i take this test almost 20 years later and I did so well i skipped an English course and moved to English 102. that was very surprising. Now on Monday i have my final financial aid appointment, then hit admissions to complete that paperwork, the head to registration to set my classes for this semester. if that all goes well, on Tuesday i will meet my faculty advisor and my student advisor who will then show me around campus, where my classes will be held, where the bookstore is and such.

on another note, since VA changed my medicines i have to take for my head injury, i have been stressed out to the max, massive headaches, nausea, irritable, moody, and my head feels like its on a water bed, just floating back and forth. hopefully on Tuesday i will get it fixed. i was better off with my old medicines, just needed something for the headaches. we will see. i have lately been going to the VA hospital to get cat scans and such done. i have more appointments there in the near future.

finally Robbie an I went bowling on Thursday with some of the other families of the family readiness group. but im going to let him talk about that.

S T R E S S ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! !

2008-08-07T05:06:00.001-07:00

Well first off the VA changed my medicine, so now i have to go through all the figuring out what dosage is right for me stuff. i cant fall asleep, when i do i sleep really soundly, which in turn means i don't hear my alarm, so i sleep till sometimes 1 pm. I'm restless, and anxious, and stressed all the time.

I finally went to the VA hospital in Syracuse for the first time for a CAT Scan. well i left Carthage really early thinking that it would take time to get there, find the hospital, find my appointment place, get checked in, etc... Well i got there at about 9 am for an 11 am appointment. i found the parking garage, and the guard gave me directions for after i found a parking spot. Once i got in the hospital, the information desk directed me to each of the areas i needed to go to. First was to get an ID card and travel reimbursement. I get .285 cents per mile for traveling to and from the hospital to my home, minus a deduction. But that rate i believe is going up soon, so that is cool. I checked into my appointed place at about 9:45, and by 10 i was lying on the CAT Scan machine. I was out of there and done with everything by 1030. remember my appointment was scheduled for 11 am. talk about service.

Lately Robbie and I have been slowly cleaning the house as we have kinda let it get away from us. Its getting better.

Well now for the good news. HOPEFULLY by the first of September i will be a college freshman. i have applied to Jefferson Community College here in Watertown. I'm going to start off with an AA in humanities and social sciences, just to get started. Once we move to the next duty station i can start working on the subjects that i really want to study. I'm want to work in museums, so i need to study history and museum studies. more on that later. the bad part is getting financial aid. half the scholarships i have found are bogus ways to get to to go to "online colleges". once they find out that i want to go to a real school they say thanks but no thanks. If anyone has any Ideas of scholarships i can apply for please let me know. i need all the help i can get. i don't know what scares me more, trying to get into school, or going to school after 20 years (cant believe its been that long since i left high school to join the Army). This weekend i have to take a placement test to see where i stand on the subjects I'm going to take. Ummmm guess i need to start math and English from the beginning. the math just blows my mind, and i never have been good at school English.

Well its time to get the bug to school, and get on with my list of things to get done today. Hope you all have a wonderful day and talk to you again soon.

great weekend

2008-07-19T21:27:00.000-07:00

Well this week started the fair season here in our area. Wednesday we went to the Jefferson County Fair, and Thursday we went to the Lewis County Fair. Jefferson county fair was really bad. Way over priced and not enough rides or attractions, or exhibits. The Lewis County Fair was way better. there was a lot of different animals, from cows and horses, to pigs and chickens and ducks and dogs. we didn't too much that day. Robbie did ride a few rides but not as much as he wanted. Well Saturday thought we would go back and just see what happened. well i bought him a wrist band for unlimited rides till 6pm. He must have rode at least 30 times not counting the jungle gym they had. around 3 we went to investigate what was making so much noise and we walked into the demolition derby. at first he didn't understand why they were crashing into each other. well after 6pm I decided we would go see the demolition derby's main event. it was really cool and we both enjoyed it. even with the mud flying into the stands. they even had a mini-van division which was really cool. in total there were 7 different derby's we didn't leave the fair till 10 pm. talk about a really tired little boy. we had a great time together. we ate chili cheese fries, drank old fashioned root beer and fresh squeezed lemon ade. Lani, they even had elephant ears there, but we didn't get one. we want to wait till your here so we all can share on e together. other than that i have a lot to do this week as I'm trying to get everything together so i can go back to school. more on that follows later. I also have some VA appointments.

more later......

another weekend gone by

2008-07-14T19:10:00.000-07:00

Well this last weekend, there was fireworks here in our town. Most people around here say that its one of the best shows in the area. i would almost have to agree. the viewing area was about 1000 feet from the launch site, so the bangs and booms were really loud. there was a lot to see with an antique car display and other venders. Robbie and I had snowcones (i think they are robbies favorite) and hotdogs and popcorn. i bought Bug a cool Clifford balloon, and he found a girl to play with but his balloon came untied and floated away. talk about a sad little boy. well the parents of the little girl he was playing with, out of the kindness i havent seen in a LONG time, went and bought him a Nemo balloon, which made him very happy. needless to say that balloon made to home till it came in contact with a moving ceiling fan. he really liked the fireworks a lot, and i did also. nothing better than being right there when they are lit and going up. it was a pretty good display. Sunday we went to church. it was the pastors last day so it was pretty emotional.after that we came home for a little nap time. since it was raining pretty good outside i moved the van out of the garage and let robbie play in there. He loved it. after that we went to the local italian pizza place for dinner. then it was time for bed. other than that it was a pretty quiet weekend.

Play Ball!!!!!!!!!!!!

2008-07-02T19:15:00.000-07:00

Well we went to a Watertown Wizards baseball game. Robbie and I had a lot of fun, even though the Wizards lost 3-0. We met some people around us and had some good conversations, and I learned a lot about heckling the opposing team.

me wanting for the start of the game.

I see you!

ready for the game

littlest Wizard fan

one tired little slugger

Well at the end of the game Robbie was sad because he dint get a baseball. maybe next time. Im planning on going back on Saturday. they are going to have fireworks after the game.

air show weekend

2008-07-01T18:59:00.000-07:00

well this last weekend was the big air show at Fort Drum to celebrate the posts 100 year anniversary. Robbie and I spent all day there. we saw a lot of planes and stuff, but unfortunately most of the pictures didn't come out due to the bright sun. we had snow cones and hot dogs, saw lots of planes flying and Robbie got to go into some of the inflatable jump houses. this week is going to be a so-so week, as i cant find a babysitter for robbie so i have to again take time off work to be with him. the good thing is that we get to spend a lot of time together. we have been spening a lot of time outside at the park and here at home playing baseball and riding his bike. Wednesday night we are going to go to a Watertown Wizards baseball game. Friday we have many options for fireworks so we will be there friday. other than that not much going on.

Robbie standing at the top of the ramp of a C-130. believe it or not i used to jump out of these very planes.

Robbie sitting in one of the seats on a KC-135 refueler aircraft

Robbie and a crewmember aboard a KC-10A refueler

Robbie laying in the refueling pod of a KC-135 refueler

Robbie on the ramp of a CH-47 Chinook aircraft

robbie on inflatable slide at airshow

robbie again on the slide (one of numerous times). the smile says it all

another week, etc...

2008-06-24T19:00:00.000-07:00

well another few days have gone by and I'm as stressed as i ever remember i have been. it seems like all I'm constantly waiting for is for another shoe to drop. I have again done everything from laying tile on a counter top to repair some Sheetrock, to building forms for the concrete floor for a building my company is putting up. but Robbie and I have had some fun days. Last weekend we went to the first fair of the season int the area. the Catholic church about 2 blocks from our house has an annual fundraiser fair. on Saturday we went because they had a special for rides. $12.00 for 4 hours unlimited rides. Robbie had so much fun and we really got our moneys worth. he rode the 3 separate kids rides a total of 17 times. and he had a blast riding the cars and the merry-go-round, and the dragons.

Robbie on the dragons. got to love that smile

Robbie on the merry-go-round. having all kinds of fun

Robbie on his favorite ride. the motorcycle.

then on Sunday we went to the park for a few hours but i will let him tell about that in his blog.

finally, the greatest mystery in the house...

how did the snake get up there?...the explanation i got was he crawled up there.

oops almost forgot a couple more pics for you to enjoy.
first picture is of Robbie with the fish he won at one of the kiddie games. he threw a ping pong ball into a floating cup in a swimming pool. surprised me to all get out that he actually won it.
and finally always a summer favorite, enjoying a snowcone.

busy week, multi-tasking

2008-06-13T19:26:00.000-07:00

well this was a busy week. I'm finally doing maintenance work. i started the week finishing up some footer holes for an office addition. then on Tuesday i started putting in a door where there wasn't a place for a door. no big deal but by Wednesday i was finally finished with the door and painting it. 16 hours was long enough for one door. good thing about the 2 days is that i got to sample Serius satellite radio. oh man i so want to get that, they have everything i want to listen to.maybe some day. Thursday i did maintenance on a car wash but changing out some rusted hinges and replacing 2 doorknobs., then i had to replace a decktite on the roof of pizza hut., then i started in on the gutter. i first had to remove the old copper heating system, then clean out the gutter, then spray some kind of rubber spray onto the bottom (rusting out) of the gutter. finished that today among helping my boss with several projects around the shop and yard. i was the closest one to i was picked. glad the weekend is here.

i finally got my medicine situation under control again. seems that my pharmacy thought that it was a one time thing, instead of continuous. i pretty much have some strong words for that pharmacy tech. guess they need to read about the pills more. seems that one of my pills (paxil) is not intended to be stopped on a dime. you start with withdrawals, then all the other things come back like migraine headaches, severe moodiness, nausea, drowsiness, lack of sleep, etc. all the things I'm taking the pill to prevent to begin with. so now i should never be out of pills again. i went 10 day without a pill. don't want to do that again.

This weekend i have to get my truck looked at. the back brakes are locking up after it sits for a little while. the front end is making a grinding, vibrating sound above 45 MPH. clutch is starting to go out.

Sure wish i would win the lottery, could use a new truck right about now.

Robbie and I are going to go fishing sometime, plus we got to go to walmart or the PX, whichever we get to. need some stuff to mail to Lani plus i need to get to staples to get a shipping tube for one of her projects.

i will be taking a lot more pics. i know got to take some to take more, but i always forget the camera. so stayed tune and keeping for them

2008-06-10T18:39:00.001-07:00

been a few hectic weeks now. still trying to get into a rhythm with Lani gone. been spending some good time together though. Robbie and I went fishing for the first time last weekend. Bug really wanted to throw rocks in the water. he doesn't understand about scaring the fish off, but he still enjoyed it. i did catch a rock bass though. just a small mouth bass that feeds off the trash in the water. i would have took some pictures but i forgot the camera. need to start keeping the camera with me just to take pics, but never remember it till it too late. been really stressed lately, got a problem with my pills i need to take everyday. i been out for 2 weeks now, and now i know why I'm supposed to take it. i get really moody. been like that for a while now. of course with everything going on its not helping. i finally think i got the smoking habit kicked, been without for 10 days now, and it seems to be getting easier. been having some problems at work too but nothing that i can fix. hope things change soon. today we had a string of thunderstorms come through the area. the news is saying a minor tornado hit down about 30 miles from here. we had lots of high winds and lots of rain here in Carthage with power lines and trees down. lost power here at the house for a few hours as far as i can tell. this weekend i think Robbie and i are going to go fishing again, plus we are going to go look at air conditioner units. its been in the 90's here and our house gets hot. i figure out i can get one small unit per floor and that should keep us pretty cool. TV been bad lately with reruns. didn't even know the seasons ended so i guess i will just watch movies. Been able to chat with my love just about everyday, so that's been good. not able to talk as much as i would like but what can i do.cant wait till she comes home. i never understood how much she did and does around the house and in our family, and i sure miss her.

other than that i guess we are moving along as well as we can. Robbie is doing really well in school (daycare with school classes). i figure that at the rate he is going he will probably start school in about the 10th grade. LOL. He sure is a smart little guy. he is starting to make up stories on his own to pics he sees. now if i could just get him to start cleaning up his toys after he is done playing with them, would make my life a little easier. but he is only 3 so i guess that goes with the territory. I'm taking him to see the Doodlebops in a few weeks. its a kids show in Disney channel that he likes along with Thomas the train and Bob the Builder. he watches Bob so much he can sing the theme song and knows the names of every character. he watches a bob at least everyday.

More later this weekend after we go fishing again. he is getting pretty good at casting but don't want to do it with the bait on the hook. guess the worms scare him. cant wait till he catches his first fish. he going to be so excited.

have a great week and talk to you later

Living History Weekend

2008-05-21T17:39:00.000-07:00

Well last Tuesday i dropped off Robbie at a friends house who is going to watch him for me till Sunday. I then got on the road for the 14 hour drive to Columbia, South Carolina. I did really good till about 5 am then i had to stop to rest, so I took a 5 hour power nap, then continued on my way. i finally made to Fort Jackson at around noon on Wednesday. First stop was to the living quarters. It was a GP large tent with nice metal bunks with soft thick mattresses. at one end of the end we had our official bar. inside the bar was our "war souvenirs" consisting of my Viet Cong equipment and accoutrement's. also inside was the donated liquor for the event. Good thing i don't drink it anymore. There was quite a bit. On top of the bar is our Christmas tree for that homey feel. Wednesday was spent finishing up our Viet Nam base camp. The camp is pretty much like a regular base camp in Viet Nam, except we couldn't put the bunkers and such in the ground like they did during the war.

Thursday was spent getting my stuff set up the way i want it, and talking to parents and family during the family day for a unit of basic training soldiers. Then we finished bringing in our vehicles from the Curtis-Wright Hanger (which by the way, was where the Doolittle Raiders first came together as a unit). we also set up our new MKT (Mobile Kitchen Trailer). We actually cooked later on in the weekend.

Basically an MKT is a kitchen on wheels with stoves and everything BUT the sink. Friday night we Spaghetti and meatballs and Saturday morning we had eggs (scrambled of course) bacon, and pancakes. Oh and Thursday we had hamburgers and hot dogs courtesy of the the post G-3 shop( which handles the training of the units on the base).

Friday we had a graduation ceremony and then we test-fired what weapons that had blank adaptors. luckily i had my Hollywood adaptor and a military adaptor so we had 2 weapons that could fire. Oh i also was given a Viet Nam era smoke grenade which i used later while having a little fun. Friday night we had a "M*A*S*H" style party, with Hawaiian shirts allowed only. mine wasn't really Hawaiian but it was okay for this party. So i need to find a shirt that is really really LOUD!!!

Saturday we had a TON of people coming around to see our exhibits and such. we also had a few mock battles and then drove people around in our vehicles. It was a lot of fun. and even learned a few things.

Here are some more pictures. This one is of me in our guard tower. it comes complete with PA system, machine gun mount, and air raid alarm.

This is a M151A2 Jeep with trailer. I had a chance to buy this very vehicle for $10,000. would have been a great bargain but just don't have the funds for it. The biggest problem is that the prices of these vehicles are sky-rocketing due to the ever increasing popularity.

This vehicle is called a "Mule" but for the life of me i cant remember the proper nomenclature. it is used for everything from basic transport of supplies and equipment to being armed with a M60 Machine Gun or a 105mm recoil less rifle. would like to have one of these someday also.

finally this is a picture of our command TOC (Tactical Operations Center). You will notice the radios on the tables and the map of Viet Nam on the wall.

Needless to say, i had a great time and cant wait till next year. I enjoy being with my friends, some of whom i only hear from this one time a year.

One of the things i was contemplating was that in 2001 i started this event with 2 GP small tents and a cot and now 6 years later we have a complete fire base with howitzers and mortars, a complete motor pool, mess hall complete with mobile kitchen, and enlisted and officers quarters.

Bob i forgot to get a picture of an L16(???) Grasshopper that is being flown by an 86 Year Old retired Colonel. i might actually have a picture of it from last year's event so i will find it.

I would also like to thank Heather for watching Robbie during this time. Hope he wasn't too much of a fussy butt.

first days.....

2008-05-06T18:27:00.000-07:00

Well time sure drags when your not having fun. Yesterday i was tying rebar cages for some pillars that had to be poured for an addition to one of the local rescue squad buildings. Lani called me from Kuwait. Its was SO great to hear from her. I miss her so much. I never realized how much i depend on her to keep our family running. Today I installed a dishwasher, installed new baseboards in a house, installed transition pieces for the carpet i glued down last week, installed a vanity in a bathroom, and wired for new garbage disposal. Other than I'm just trying to stay sane, keep busy at my job and spending all my time taking care of my wonderful son. More later

the long wait begins

2008-05-04T13:08:00.000-07:00

Well last night was the start of a long separation of our family. Robbie and I took Lani to her work so she can go to Iraq. it was hard leaving her and hope she comes home soon as we all ready miss her. Robbie handled it well till we got home and he saw mommy's van in the garage and then broke down and cried the rest of the evening. We both miss her very much. We got an email this morning from her from Germany and by now she should be somewhere near Kuwait. cant wait to talk to her soon. well that's about it for now .

New Job

2008-04-24T18:12:00.000-07:00

Well I started on my new job this week. On Monday I had orientation and paperwork and didn't actually start working till Tuesday.

On Tuesday I first went to several places to pick up ordered materials. Then I removed the old clapboard siding from a remodel project we had going, then demolished a deck and replaced some hand rails. I then went to a rental property and fixed a cracked bath tub with some fiberglass repair kit and a LOT of sanding, and finally installed an outside water spigot.

On Wednesday, I started the day off by installing a base cabinet and counter top and fixing a leaking drain pipe. Then I went to a golf course to put in some 40 foot telephone poles for a net system they are putting up to catch golf balls.

Today i went to a Talc grinding plant to remove a dust collector. i thought it would be an easy job but someone failed to mention that it was 40 feet in the air. after a full morning and much finagling we finally got it unhooked and down and on a truck for transport to Ohio, i went and returned all of our equipment that we used to get it down.

As you can see my job is VERY wide spread and encompasses may areas. But that's my area of expertise. I'm really going to enjoy this job and like working with the people i work with.

As for my family, we have some very sad days ahead. Lani's deployment ceremony is tomorrow and she will be leaving for Iraq in about 2 weeks give or take a few days. We will miss her very much and will try to patiently wait for her return.

other than that, life is getting back into order and I'm starting to relax again.

more next time or next week.

long long ago when the world was square...

2008-04-14T20:01:00.000-07:00

Well its been a long time since i last wrote. since that time a LOT has happened in my life.

With Lani and her unit leaving soon for Iraq, the spouses of the unit have been getting together to get to know each other and set up a support chain within the group. I'm the only Male spouse in the unit so sometimes i feel left out of the loop, but u have a great key caller and the rest of the ladies at least know who i am. each of our meetings is designated as a certain type of pot-luck. the last one was a Luau theme. i baked my first caked all by myself. it was a Hawaiian cake with pineapples, and coconut, and pecans. and the icing was a cream cheese icing. it was very good, so maybe i will try baking some more.

i had a lesion removed from the side of my head, and the doctor called to say something wasn't right with it and that they didn't get it all and will have to go after the rest and get a few more tests done. I'm not worried about it.

they Friday before leave started i finally had a job interview. if you want to call it that. i pretty much had the job but had to talk to the boss anyway. i will be doing maintenance work for a construction company who specializes in industrial development and commercial work. i will have a company truck, cellphone, tools, and other perks that come with the job. its a job made for my experience level.

that Saturday, we left home to go to Michigan, to visit with Lani's family before she deploys. its always a great time, and get to see everyone. half way through the leave we went to Oshkosh, Wisconsin so Lani could run in a half marathon and Robbie could run in a kids race. the weather sucked the whole time we were there but they completed their individual runs. Robbie finished 12 out of 25 boys in his age group, but i think that was because he was having too much Fin looking around at the other kids and checking out all the excitement. while we waited for Lani to finish her run Robbie got to see a choo choo train really up close as we were on the sidewalk where the train crossed. he also got a close look at a fire rescue vehicle and got a card of the vehicle. it would have been a lot more fun if it wasn't cold, and didn't snow the whole time we were there. but they finished and we came back to Michigan.

while we were at Lani's parents i got to help out with the Vista Theater. the were putting on the play "high School Musical" so i helped Dale. who is the House Manager, with the ticket taking and got to see the play. the kids did a great job. in case you didn't know, while i was living with Dale and Sally, while Lani was in Korea, i was in a play called Anatomy of a Murder, and i also ran a spot light for Chicago. i loved it so much that i have been a member of the Peninsula Arts Appreciation Council since that time. they are going to restore the theater to the original condition when it was first built in 1928. its coming along pretty good. also while i was there i am helping put on door closures and other projects that dale needs help with.

its been fun so far and hope to continue to have fun.

till next time..

BTW i am not sure how many people read these, so if you do please leave me a comment

its been a whlie...

2008-03-16T13:58:00.001-07:00

its been a while since i last blogged. I have not had a job since the last time i wrote. i have been looking but its been a lost cause. i finally broke down and filed for unemployment. but even thats not a sure thing here in this state.

yesterday i "ran" a 2.2 mile race pushing Robbie in the stroller. i did pretty good, seeing as i havent ran and distance since 2000. is wasnt as long as i thought it would be. im hurting today because i didnt stretch enough. but it was fun and for a good cause.

been pretty stressful here as Lani gets ready to go to Iraq. we are not looking forward to it but nothing we can do about it. She has been busy at work packing things up and also at home getting her things together. its going to be a long 15 months.

i been all over the are looking for a job and hope that i find something soon.

Another week

2008-02-16T21:00:00.000-08:00

well the last week has had its ups and downs. again i didn't work Monday and Tuesday, worked Wednesday and most of Thursday, didn't work Friday or Saturday. i don't know what I'm going to do but if I'm not working on Monday i will be replacing windows at Lani's First Sergeant's house.

I am actually thinking about starting my own home improvement business. i need to consult my tax adviser and insurance and other things, but i may make out better in the long run. i may be able to write off all the tools and such that i need to work on my own.

this weekend NASCAR season starts again. WOOHOO. again this year i will be rooting for car #24, driven by Jeff Gordon, and his teammates at Hendrick Motor sports, #48 - Jimmy Johnson, #88 - Dale Earndhardt Jr., and #5 - Casey Mears.

tonight i was asked to accompany Jeff (who works with Lani) and went with the youth of the church we visited last week on an outing to Dry Hill Ski center, to do some tubing. it was a blast and Jeff and I are going to plan a trip so we can take our wives and Robbie. I think he will have a great time. it was really fun.

the last few weeks i have been to the dentist. I'm finally getting my teeth taken care of, since i haven't been in about 3 years. Monday i have an eye appointment to get a new prescription and new glasses. I'm trying to get all this taken care of before Lani leaves for Iraq.

in conclusion, my life is kinda at a standstill, but I'm surviving because of the love of my wife and my great son. cant ask for anything more than a beautiful and great family.

long week

2008-02-03T20:13:00.001-08:00

well its been a long week. i worked 55 and a half hours this week. got lots done and got more yet to do. we have finished up phase I of the health spa and will start phase II on tuesday. Tomorrow we will tighten up everything from phase I and get started on phase II. i placed an application with a bigger company and hopefully will get a better job and more money. working 6 days a week is starting to take a toll on me. i need to go see my doctor again and try and get some of my issues worked out

working finally

2008-01-27T06:53:00.001-08:00

well im working finally. started by working on another farm building trusses and putting a roof on a walk way for cows to get from the barn to milk house and back. hopefully it will prevent ice from building up and making it slippery. Thursday we started remodeling the chiropractic ccenter that Lani and I go to. its busy wrork and makes the days fly by.

idle and not working

2008-01-17T15:28:00.001-08:00

well for the last week i haven't been to work. you ask why? because my boss fails to schedule jobs so we can work. he has no work, so i don't work. well im looking for a new job, as it is hard to support a family when you cant get paid. had a job offer but wont know till next week if im going to get it. hope i will at the pay i requested. I haven't been in a very good mood for the last week as this is the reason.

holidays are over....

2008-01-03T19:29:00.000-08:00

Well the holidays are over and we finally made it home safely. We had a great time with the family and enjoyed it very much. it was a relaxing time and was great to spend time with the family. but like all good things it had to ocme to an end. we left Richards house and made it to the bridge in Port Huron right smack dab in the middle of a snow storm. once we made it through that it was easy sailing all the way home. we got home and i had to snow blow an area so i could park my truck. then we unloaded the van and started settling down. I turned on my PC and started smelling something burning. Well come to find out, My power supply was melting the curcuit board, and one of my case fans quit working. well now i have to order them and hope to get them soon. it turned out really cold here and right now(10:36 pm) it is a chilly 3 degrees with a high of 4 and a low of 2 degrees. now thats cold in my book. i have the rezst of the week off and start work again next monday. so i will clean up the house and get ready.

Christmas leave

2007-12-25T20:22:00.000-08:00

Well finally got some time off from work. been a while since i have had some real time off to spent with family. The family and I packed up and went to the Upper Peninsula to spend the holidays with my Wife's family. we drove about 16 hours total straight through to Michigan. once we got there we had one tired little boy on our hands but we got unpacked and got to bed. we did surprise Dale and Sally by showing up a day early though. we went to church Sunday morning the 23rd. then the 24Th we went to Dale's parents house for pizza and visiting. I love to talk to Bob especially when he starts to talk about some of his involvement in WWII. Bob and I have a lot in common as we both like hard work and we both have PTSD. I feel like i have a connection with him.after pizza wen went back to church for Christmas eve service and back to Bob and Ele's for presents from them. i got lots of useful stuff and had a great time. oh i should mention that at this time i was hit with a pretty bad sinus infection. that sucked. Christmas morning we got up and opened presents from Santa. then i went back to bed as i was feeling pretty bad still. about noon most of Sally's family came over for traditional Christmas dinner. this year was Sally's turn to host it. dinner was really great and there was plenty of it. after that great time we then settled down and cleaned up and relaxed for a bit before we opened the last of the presents and had sauna. after sauna its time for bed.

till next time

another week gone by

2007-12-16T18:21:00.000-08:00

Well another week has gone by. it was a busy one. I started the week by doing the plumbing in a "reconstructed" house. that house should have been torn down completely, but for some reason they just tore out the insides, except for the original floors. So the company i work for did all the plumbing and heat ducts. Wednesday and Thursday i was at the Hi-Lite Farm, building roofs over the feed pads, to try to keep the feed dry. Then Friday i was back at the house finishing the plumbing. i also went and installed a garage door opener at a house here in Carthage. it was an easy week as that the house we did the plumbing on was about a half mile from my house. didnt have to travel far.

Last night and today we got about a foot of snow, and i went through a tank of gas on my snow blower. I like using my snow blower and i usually go all way down the sidewalk on my block and back. i don't know what the plow guy is going to do tomorrow and he hasn't been here all weekend, so there is a LOT of snow in the parking lot.

Wednesday will be my last day at work as i will be traveling to my wifes family for the holidays. It will be a great time. Robbie has been really looking forward to seeing everyone and is excited to be going.

Till next time

week in review

2007-12-07T20:15:00.001-08:00

Well this week is finally over. to show the multitude of tasks i have to know in my lone of work, i will give a rundown of the jobs i did this week.

Monday - Remodeled a kitchen...take down all old cabinets, remove all fixtures off walls, repair walls as needed, locate studs in walls, hangs wall cabinets, and trim work, set base cabinets and trim work, hook up the plumbing for the sink and sprayer, dishwasher, ice maker, and garbage disposal.

Tuesday - Replace 7 upstairs windows... remove all window trim, remove all old window and hardware, remove any unneeded jamb material, remove storm window, insert new window, plum and level window in opening, screw window to jamb, insulate around entire window, replace moldings as needed, caulk as needed, get ladder from truck, working from ladder, insulate front of new window, add trim as needed, caulk as needed.

Wednesday - replace 9 downstairs windows...same as above but a little easier as ladder USUALLY isn't needed, especially by me.

Thursday - replace entire plumbing system for drains in entire remodeled house (3 bath, 4 bedroom, kitchen, laundry room, in three story house). finished almost all the drain lines, will finish tomorrow (Friday)

Friday - finish drain line plumbing and start supply lines for water, connected all gas lines for furnace, and water heater, got furnace running ( thank goodness for that, as it is COLD COLD COLD out right now)

Saturday - I will be replacing 3 windows at 2 different houses, install 2 storm doors, then go to my Boss's house to try to finish sanding his Sheetrock on his addition.

cant wait till vacation, 6 work days a week are long and tiring. need rest. speaking of which...I'm off to bed now. Have a great week and talk to you all again soon.

10 days in review

2007-11-28T18:50:00.000-08:00

Well once again i have forgotten to update this little history lesson of my life. trust me I'm really trying to keep it updated.

Been working really hard the last ten days. Ive remodeled a kitchen, bathroom, rebuilt a 2 story deck with steps, painted cedar siding to FINALLY finish a job that's been dragged out for a month now, installed a dishwasher, garbage disposal and water line for an ice maker, re roofed a barn, and am now building sliding doors for said barn. tomorrow, depending on the weather ( lots of snow likely), will be either remodeling a kitchen, or completely renovating a bathroom in a high end house.

a few more weeks and i will be ready for the upcoming holidays with my family. i really enjoy spending time with them even my Father-In-Law (figure that one out). All Robbie talks about is when it snows is going to see Grandma, grandpa, uncle Rick, two Amanda's, baby Hope, and ......whats that big guys name?????(Carl), and of course Bob and Eleanore (Wendy)

Well that is it for now.

another week another job.

2007-11-18T19:20:00.000-08:00

well another week has past us by with some cold wet weather. I'm still working for the same company but we have had a variety of jobs this week. I started the week by finishing up refurbishing a mobile home. piece of advice...if you own a trailer and want to redo it, its cheaper and easier to buy a new one. this one was a real piece of work.

then i did some plumbing work for another job did quit a few installs for Lowe's, and then finished up the week by getting the ceiling installed in by bosses addition and running the electrical lines for him.

i also had a small accident while replacing the deck boards for one job. i tried to take the fast hard way down without using the stairs but luckily b y leg got caught in between the joists and i stopped. good thing i had my utility knife in my cargo pocket or i may have broke my leg above the knee. but i didn't just some bruising and scrapes is all.

i now have to find something else to do on Sunday afternoons, as the NASCAR season has ended. My Driver (Jeff Gordon) ended up finishing 2ND best in the season, But Jimmie Johnson won the championship. Jeff actually owns half Jimmie's car, plus they are also teammates under Hendrick Motorsports. It was a great season and cant wait till February when the 50Th Daytona 500 is run. Guess i can get some stuff done around the house this winter.

well guess that's it for this week will update again really soon.

Last day in NYC and trip home

2007-11-06T17:19:00.000-08:00

Well we woke up on Monday and it was time to go. Lani was really sore and walking funny(who would not be) so we took our time packing. I took some pictures from the window of our room on the 41st floor.

in the picture on the left i thought was neat that they were doing construction way up the building. probably 35 floors up. the picture on the right was cool because of the patio on the roof of the building again 35 or so stories up.

these pictures were taken of the East River or the Hudson River. we have yet been able to figure out which one. the second picture is of a ferry, which was taken with max zoom on my camera. you can kind of see it on the first picture.

the picture on the left is taken looking across the city. the last picture was taken looking down at the street at the horendous traffic.

the drive home seemed to take forever. we stopped a few times to eat and stretch. stopped once outside the city and i paid 10 dollars for 2 corn dogs and fries. what was surprising is that the gas was cheaper in the city than here in watertown. finally got home only to hear that we are expecting snow this week. oh what joy. speak again soon

NYC day 2

2007-11-04T18:11:00.000-08:00

Just thought i would start off with a picture of a very tired little boy. he had a long day of traveling and then seeing all the sights in the big city.

Well here it is marathon dayt and Lani was gone before Robbie and I got up. we went to McDonalds for breakfast then came back to the room to watch the coverage on TV. we were waiting for the updates that i was supposed to get on my phone but all i got was the 30K and 40 K alerts. while Robbbie and i were out we saw some street dancers. they were dancing and jumping and such it was pretty fun and Robbie thought it was good.

we then started to walk to central park to try to see Lani running and boy what a mad house that was. the news estimated that there were over 2 million people there along the 26.2 mile route watching and cheering the runners on. so we took a casual stroll through central park where we saw the central park ice rink. it looks like a lake but it is really a ice rink with people skating on it.

We finally saw Lani about a half mile from the finish. she was really hurting but when she saw Robbie and I she really seemed to pick up and then we walked with her for a bit cheering her on then waited for her to finish as we could not get near the start finish line.

And finally on the way home i thought i would get a picture for all of you Late Show with David Letterman fans. the studio is right down from the hotel. BTW we are in the middle of the theatre district so i have see where they are showing "Chicago""the Color Purple""Mama Mia""Wise Guys" among others. wish we had the time and assests to see some of these. We have also seen the CNN Building, The Trump Plazas, the NBC Morning show studios, and lots others i cant think of at the moment. will be walking around more tomorrow and taking more pictures. will write again soon .

NEW YORK CITY

2007-11-03T17:36:00.000-07:00

OMG that's about all i can say about this place. I'm sure glad that I'm only here for a few days. this place is a big mess.we first went to the expo center and what a place that is. had to pay 20 dollars just to park for a few hours. then we had to drive in circles to get to our hotel. then used the valet parking at the hotel. finally got to our room (which BTW would have cost us $300 plus tax a night) and start getting settled and i check the Internet and it is costing us $15.00 a day to use the Internet. we finally left to get to dinner and the pasta dinner was great with free drinks (including my favorite beer, Coors Light), which BTW was in the southern part of central park at tavern on the green in the crystal room. then we took Robbie to a cool play area while we waited for the fire works. the playground was provided by Ester and Joseph Louder (makeup fame). it was really nice and Robbie had lots of fun. and got really tired. then we watched the fireworks and finally got back to the hotel to get some sleep. Lani has to get up early in the morning for the marathon so she going to crash soon. will post pictures later and will write another blog on our activities tomorrow

good news bad news

2007-10-04T20:05:00.000-07:00

well the good news is that im finally done at the farm as we have completed phase one of the remodeling. im also working 40 + hours a week. the bad news is that i fried my PC's hard drive and possibly the key board. i have a new hard drive but will have to go find a cheap keyboard till i can figure out why my keyboard wont work. thanks Rick for the help with the computer. without a keyboard its taking longer than i want to reload everything on it but now i have 160 Gb of space to use. so now my games should be a little faster. talk abain soon

another long weekend

2007-09-17T09:25:00.001-07:00

well had another long weekend, but then again i get long weekends almost every weekend. im off today because the the job we had lined up for today wont be ready for a few more days. so i will be pouring a concrete slab that will be 200 feet by 202 feet and 6 inches thick, IF they have the site work done. yesterday RObbie and I sat down and had dinner picnic style in the living room. Lani was gone on a gig so it was just the two of us. Robbie went upstairs and got a blanket and we sat on the living room floor and watched a TV show called Dirty Jobs, which i like, which was on bug breeding. it was a good show and robbie like it. will talk more later

another work week

2007-09-10T19:07:00.000-07:00

well this week started off with finishing repairs on the roofs of 2 old barns and clean up the barn we built to get ready for the cows to occupy it. this area is busy with corn harvest which is about 2 weeks early due to the lack of rain. Tomorrow i will be starting a remodeling job somewhere in Watertown. will let you know about that tomorrow. oh i forgot last week my boss gave me an air compressor that didn't work for him. said it was something wrong with the regulator or something. I'm going to get it looked at and see if i can get it fixed. so this is a possible new idea for birthday and Christmas gifts as air tools are pretty reasonable at most stores.

bye for now

got to catch up

2007-09-08T07:08:00.000-07:00

sorry i haven't posted this is difficult for me to remember to write stuff down. well since the last time i talked we went to the Great New York State Fair. what a mad house that was. too many people crammed into a small space and it was a long day. but they had some cool stuff to see and i got to talk to the lady who runs the dairy farm where i been doing some work at. she was there showing some Jersey Heifers. she ended up with a 3rd place and a 4th place. i also have a picture of a calf that was about 2 minutes old at the time of the pic. if you get squeamish then i suggest you don't look. it does have a little blood on it and some other things. but it is awesome seeing a calf being born.

and of course i forgot i had my camera at the fair till the afternoon but i did get some with my phone of Robbie and Lani in the morning then i remembered i had the camera.

this is a giraffe that was at the petting zoo at the fair. there were 2 there and you could feed them and such but Robbie got scared. geez they are some tall animals. next we have Robbie bunny and then mommy and Robbie sheep. there were a whole lot of different animals at the fair which was surprising to me. it was a great time and lots of fun

FINALLY we get to see a race

2007-08-21T13:50:00.000-07:00

Well mother nature finally let us see the race. it was a great race and Robbie got to see it too.

Here is Lani and Robbie getting ready for the race to start.

you can barely see it, but ESPN was doing live feeds from pit road before the race started.

Here is Jeff Gordon #24 (my favorite driver) leading the race. it took me about 15 trys to get this picture. he didn't win the race.:(

It was a great race and i will somehow post some videos i made from the race.

we will be going back home tomorrow so will probably talk to you all then.

another rainy day at the race

2007-08-20T19:10:00.000-07:00

Well the race was rained out again for yet another day, so we will try again tomorrow. so we went walking around again.

this is a picture of the tunnels that are used to enter the infield of the track.

this is a picture of Lani from the top of the stands. Can you find her?

this is a picture of the Official Pace Car of NASCAR. the Chevy Impalla SS.

this is a panoramic view of the track from the top of the grandstands.

hopefully i will have more for you tomorrow. the weather is supposed to be better .

Rainy day at NASCAR Race

2007-08-19T19:06:00.000-07:00

hey again all

Well went to the race track early this morning to sit around and get wet. the race was postponed till Monday at noon, so will be going back to hopefully see a race. still had a good time and got to see some things that i never got to see before like visiting pit road. that was really cool and pit road is where the teams will change 4 tires and add 18 gallons of fuel in under 14 seconds.

then i caught a picture of the official pace car for the race being driven by NASCAR president Mike Helton, while he was out checking the condition of the track from all the rain that was coming down

here are a couple of pictures of Lani and I standing at the finish line. usually at this point there would be sayings and such all over it but due to the rain our sharpies would not work.

and finally here is a picture of me and my wonderful friend and wife Lani with me at Victory lane where the winner is awarded the race trophy and such, plus gets to celebrate with his crew.

I will be getting more pictures tomorrow so stay tuned to this same blog channel, different blog time.

the start of a great weekend

2007-08-18T07:46:00.000-07:00

well I'm now in the lower peninsula of Michigan. Lani bought me tickets to the NASCAR race at Michigan International Speedway. So tomorrow we will be spending all day at the race track (pray for no rain). its about a 10 hour trip to get to Ricks house from ours in New York. MIS is one of the few race tracks that i haven't been too yet. its even better that my favorite driver (Jeff Gordon) won the pole for the race.

another day closer to a great weekend

2007-08-14T19:09:00.001-07:00

well i got a story to tell. a few days ago i was working in one of the dairy barns replacing a cow watering tub. i was ankle deep in cow poop and next thing i know a cow pooped on my foot, and another tried to pee on me. case you didn't know cows are literally dumb animals, but sure are curious. i was doing the plumbing work and two other guys were fending off the cows that were coming over to help me. seemed like they all wanted to get into it a little. especially the one cow that started licking the back of my arm and then grabbed my shirt and tried to pull me out of the way. i am including pics of the barn we finished building today and will be cleaning up tomorrow for cows arrival probably by Monday. this barn is going to be the "new" maternity barn and day care for calves. the calves will stay in this barn from the time they are weened till they are 2 years old and then can be bred and milked. they milk the cows for up to 300 days till the cows need to be bred again. these pictures are of the barn we built. actually have the pics backwards.the left pic belongs on the Right side and vice-versa. the little black truck you see in the left picture is my truck and I'm sitting on the pad that's used to feed the cows. there are 2 rows of 18 x18 inch tile to protect the cows tongues. to the left of the right pics is a feed corn field that covers about 500 acres. just one of many. they also grow their own hay, alfalfa, and a few acres of sweet corn for personal use. everything the grow (except the sweet corn) is to feed the cows. they have a patented feed formula that helps to let them get 3 milkings a day instead of the usual 2. don't ask me i don't know. this is my first time around a dairy setting. these cows never leave the barns unless they somehow sneak out. I'm used to free range cattle. well guess that was quite a day so talk to you again so.

start of a new era

2007-08-13T19:00:00.000-07:00

hi all. I decided to start posting my daily and weekly happenings.

First off, in case you don't know, i started a new job about 3 weeks ago. I'm back to working in the construction field. I'm working for a company does specializes in dairy farm construction work. the pictures are of a concrete "poop chute" that's used to push all the cow poop out of the barn into the poop lagoon, which is then used to fertilize the field of feed corn, hay, alfalfa, and sweet corn.

The first picture is looking out from the barn to the lagoon. and the second picture is a side view. the reason for the chute is that the barn has a special attachment to their skid-steer that pushes the poop to the lagoon. The poles you see spaced out will have a top rail attached in the near future to prevent the c ow from getting out if the somehow get into the chute. This is my first project with the company that i did mostly on my own. i will take pictures of the barn we built and show those next time. Everything is going great and i really like this job as its with a small company with just a few people. i only work 4 days a week but sometime i do work 5 if i want to. so i get to spend more time with my family and get to relax more. guess that's all for now. Till next time