luckiest kid

Yesterday my wife called me all freaked out. After she calmed down she had told me what she was muttering. Bob Dylan and Willie Nelson will be coming to the area. I was excited to hear this news. These guys are legends! not to mention kids under 12 are FREE!

It will be Jake's second time seeing Dylan. Did I mention that Jake is only 3 1/2? Not to mention the countless other cool shows he's seen already. He is a pretty damn lucky kid. I hope that we can give him enough musical appreciation that he won't listen to rap/hip hop or whatever the kids are calling it these days. It's fine if he listens to some but I would cry if that was his main music to listen to.

I am guessing that as he gets older he will wanna bring us to edgier shows and we will have to go and then soon drop him off and pick him up. I think it's a good thing. I am just happy I didn'thave to fork over $60 for his ticket.

resume this

I am now attempting to put together a resume for my future endeavors. I am not really one for bragging about myself and not really sure how my military work can be described or shown in a good light for civilian employers.

Remember that for the first 5 years of my naval stint was as an aviation fuels guy. Then these past 3 1/2 have been working in an optometry clinic. Two very distinctive mini-careers within a career. Hmmm, I will have to see what I can do.

I went to a resume writing class yesterday and now have an idea as what to do. But to actually do it is really different for me. I consider myself a decent writer ( I know it's not showcased here) and should do ok as soon as I get some 1 one 1 guidance. I am going to set that guidance up for next week sometime. Iwill keep you informed.

It's starting to look like I may stay in this area for a while before I head back to Minnesota. I think it will be a better thing than going back home and settling for a job that would pay me about half of what I make now. I am sure that I could find something better back there but as of right now I just don't see it.

I will be sittig my ass down at the computer and trying to write a resume this weekend so I can go into this meeting and have something for them to work with. The more and more I look at this situation I can see a lot of positives.

the witch is dead

I am a pretty happy camper this evening. The tumultious realtionship I've had with my upstairs neighbors will be coming to an end in a day or less. We knew that they were being evicted but weren't too sure about what the hell they were doing about it. By "they" I mean the upstairs piecies of shit!

Today was like any other where they blasted some bass heavy hip hop shit and made as much noise as they deemed fit. I yelled for them to be quite. Then I hear the woman of the house motherfucking me this and that. That's was fine but then she started to jump up and down on the floor. This is a fat woman too. We didn't mind because we were leaving and we knew they only had a few days left here. On the way out to the car you can hear her m.f.'ing us again. The maturity level on this woman is insanly low. We eventually came back and saw that there was a moving truck out front. We were very happy!

We came inside and started to get some things together to BBQ in the courtyard of the apartment complex. One the way out she says, "fucking bitch", I am guessing in reference to my wife. Loser!

Long story short is that these people not even 6 months ago were in need of our help and we extended that hand for them. Now they look at us with smirks on their faces and have nothing to do with us. Not that we would keep their company anyway. Of course as a parting shot they are moving out tonight. It is 11:15 p.m. at night! Who the fuck does that? Assholes!

At least they are gone and I don't have to hear them argue and them yelling at their cute daughter. I feel really bad for the daughter!

final blog CD

I finally finished my blog CD a few weeks back. I can tell that people were really interested in the outcome. At any rate, I am done and here it is. Any suggestions for a new CD? All I ask for is artist and song title. I am sure my bud Buckley may be able to help with a euro edge to the next one. This CD will give you an idea as to what I am looking for but not is exclusive to this crap.

1. Afternoon Delight - Starland Vocal Band
2. Burn One Down - Ben Harper
3. Murder She Wrote - Shabba Ranks
4. Lake of Fire (Acoustic) - Nirvana
5. The Homo Rainbow - Ween
6. Just a Kid - Wilco
7. Bulldog Skin - Guided By Voices
8. Loser - Beck
9. Don't Fence Me In - David Byrne
10. Gone Daddy Gone - Violent Femmes
11. Surf Wax America - Weezer
12. C'mon C'mon - Von Bondies
13. Wicked Little Critta - They Might Be Giants
14. Carmina Berana - Faust
15. The Impression That I get - The Mighty Mighty Bosstones
16. Black Betty - Spiderbait
17. Diamonds and Guns - The Transplants
18. Somebody Told Me - The Killers
19. Jerk it Out - Caesars Palace
20. Salvation - The Cranberries
21. Vertigo - U2
22. Take me Out - Franz Ferdinand
23. I Hope You Die - Bloodhound Gang

weather

I am sort of pissed off tonight. I have been waiting for ALL of this rain. Ithasn't been all that bad here. It rained for about 20 minutes yesterday and I am guessing some last night. Then today it rained for about 30 minutes. If I cancelled my long awaited camping trip for an hours worth of rain I am going to be mad. It was supposed to get super chilly in Shenandoah NP tonight and talk of snopw was in the forecast which I think would have been cool. I am planning for another trip in 2 weeks. Despite all that is going on I think it will be a good thing.

Just to think that we could have been down there this weekend sucks. We had the gear to handle all weather conditions and would have been fine. It happens I guess. I will keep anybody thats interested up to date with the new trip.

words of wisdom

I would kist like to thank Kayten, Buckley and Lancelot for the encourging words. I must say that the the sites that Lancelot sent seem to be pretty inviting but also imtimidating as well. I will kick them around and probably send in an application to see what the hell comes of it. teh worst that will happen is they say NO! I can live with that more than I can with me not even trying.

I am sure that my wife will be pissed about this for a while but what does she think I am going I am going through here? I was the "bread winner" and now we may have nothing. That can take a lot out of a mans sails. I am confident enough to know that I will be ok with some hard work and dedication. I think it would be a lot better knowing that my wife had my back here. I wonder how she will feel when I do come out on top here and we possibly do better than we are now? Time will answer that.

When the doctors I work with found out they were pretty bummed out. They were a bit suprised to see me smile and laugh. What did they want me to do? I am not one to just sit and die. No woe is me pity party here. i just need to get up wipe myself off and make something happen. I am starting to get pissed about never finishing college about now though. But fuck, even then I wasn't gauranteed a job that would be great and you see people making 2-3 career chnages in a lifetime. This is my first career change! We'll see....

Again thanks!

a pattern

I have noticed in my blog browsing that people usually write when stressed out or something BAD is going on in their lives. I guess I am no different at this point. Who knows? Maybe it's the anonymity of this whole blog thing. Nobody that reads this knows who I am or what I am about...really. You see glimpses and read certain things that I want you to know. I think that I have been failry honest with my readers. If I wasn't why the fuck would I be here?

This whole thing is a huge kick to the balls. I have had a pretty good job and yes, I have been wanting to get out of the Navy for a while. Although, this may not be a 100% thing. I have to put in some paperwork on Monday and have all the right people sign off on it and then it will ultimately have to go to the CO and he will either say Yes or No. I am obvioulsy choosing for the prior but am expecting the latter.

My wife is pissed because I had let things slip and I agree but I just had no idea where I was with the whole PRT thing. Things are going to rough and I will probably have to take a pay cut here. That is what is concerning my wife a bit because we are paid decent and can afford some of the little bonuses in life. Not to mention that we have been entertaining the thought of buying a house soon. I just don't see that happening any time soon. I wouldn't buy a house here in MD because the cost is insane. But we have been looking for one somewhere any way. Not to mention my wife has started to do somethings that she really enjoys here in the area.

Not sure if we would move right away anyway. I think if in the worst case I am out of the Navy I will get a severance pay of about $20,000 so that will get us by for a bit but I don't want to count on that I would like to add that to our savings and use it for whatever my futuire endeavors hold for Team Cackmandu!

I am sure that we will be ok. Me and my wife had talked about doing the merchant marines. I would be a civilian mariner working with sailors in the navy. It pays about what I make now maybe a bit more. But I will have to be gone ALL the time. That is an option and I am not so high on that because I have been away from my family enough to know that I want to be home with them every day. I really have no other option than to do ok. Like i said, I am sure that I won't find a job that pays what I make now. Who's to say that the next job I take won't launch me into something better? Being in the Navy for 8 years and doing the things that I have done has to account for something?

fucking wonderful

Well looks like I am out of a job in 3 weeks. A bit harder to take since I should have known better and not under my terms. Wife is take it pretty well. I am sure she is pissed but she has hidden it well. I am sure it will surface in a dirty argument. I feel like shit! Now what the hell do I do?

Today during the run part I was so nervous I almost puked. My legs were jell-o. I missed my time by about 2 minutes. My foot was cramping big time and that hurt like a bitch. I am not one for excuses so I don't really have any. Maybe this is all happening for a reason. I am sure that I won't be able to find a job that paid as well as the navy so lifes little perks will have to take a backseat for a while.

Wondering what this will do to my life and marriage. I am sure the marriage will fall apart in a year or two and then I will be on my own. Mr. Positive here. I would imagine that I would move back to Minnesota where I have friends and family that can hook me up with something. The most important thing is I need a job with bennies. FUCK ME!!!

I will go and ponder my wonderful future. I made up my own mantra while hiking with the boy today. When placed in this high pressure situation, I have no choce but to succeed!

just great

Well, I was given a heavy blow to handle so early in the morning. I have a Physical Readiness Test (PRT) today. No surprise! But what is a surprise is that if I don't pass it I will be booted from the navy in 3 weeks. 3 WEEKS!!

We'll see!!!

here I sit...

Here I sit and wonder what the hell has gone on with this planet. I look out my window as I type in my boxers and wonder what the deal is with the people in my apartment complex. I see that there are these guys that have the same fucking car. One is red and the other is blue. They live together! Tools!

Here I sit seeing people walking around doing nothing at all. Why? I had spied the local bible thumper and cringed. This is the guy that saw a ganesh air freshener in my car. He had asked, "Is that real? You don't think that is a God do you?" I almost wigged out on this ass. I replied, "Yes, yes I do think that is a God. He is MY God!" He almost swallowed his tongue and went on to tell em about the good Lord above. Fuck off! I don't mind religion but just don't carp on me because I have an air freshener in my car.

Here I sit and see the Mexicans that have moved in. I see them being dropped off by the landscaping company they work for. They strike me as odd as me and my wife saw them going through the trash bins. Goofy!

Here I sit and see my upstairs neighbor being dropped off from work. Soon after I hear him, wife and daughter yelling. Daughter ends up in her room above me crying her ass off. Dirty fat bitch mom/wife is heard screaming, "You wanna fuck with me? You think your a big girl?" , and them some mumbles from shithead dad/husband. They will be leaving at the end of this month because they have been evicted. I also think their car has been repo'd too. I hate them! The daughter is about 4 years old. My heart goes out to her.

Here I sit waithing for my wife to get home. I have good news for her. I will be crabby when she comes home. She should have been home hours ago not to mention she has probably spent money on BS.

Here I sit noting that I am not sitting ergonomically. There seems to be a crease under my man boobs and it itches like hell.

Here I sit looking out the window for more fodder to add to this whimsical blog. But that itch is really bothering me. I must go and do nothing myself and wonder if people are wondering about me and my man boobs.

Looking California and feeling Minnesota

What makes you laugh? I would like to think of myself as pretty well rounded comically. I enjoy most comedians. I enjoy everything from Monty Python to Chris Rock.

Well, I had intended this blog to be much funnier than it really is. I apologize for that upfront. I think of and actually experience a shitload of funny stuff almost daily. Then it comes time to actually write about it and it turns to crap. I don't know what the deal is.

I do know that I see some funny shit that probably isn't funny to many others and for that I don't share. Not sure why that is. Maybe I don't want to offend. Not like me not to though. I laugh at misfortunes of others. I find the interactions with the retreads of every day encounters to be hilarious. Oh yes, I do have humility. I have to! I wouldn't allow myself to laugh at others if I couldn't laugh at myself. I am sprouting man-boobs--see I a can point things out about me and laugh....I will eventually cry myself to sleep tonight.

I am asking for patience and understanding as I try to find my own comical ability to put that down in words. So enjoy the fleeting moments of comedy that I do manage to get down. I will be working on this in the weeks to come so bare with me and see what my lame ass has to say next!

SHOULD I STAY OR SHOULD I GO?

I am basically going to whine about camping again here. I think that me and the boss have determined that going camping this weekend would be dumb. Yeah sure we could go and say we were hardcore and camped and hiked in the horrible rain. This was supposed to be an enjoyable trek. There seems nothing enjoyable about being wet and cold all day and all night (2 nights-3 days).

I think the plan will be to schedule the trip for 2 weeks from now and try it all over again. We are planning for a mid-week trip this time. We will probably wind up going to DC and check out the museums for a day or two.

I am not a happy camper!

great luck...

I am sitting here at work with nothing to do. I decided to check on the weather for about the 800th time in the last 24 hours. Looks like it's supposed to rain this weekend. Yep, the weekend that we had planned for the great trek into Shenandoah NP. It' supposed to be incredible this whole week and then on Thursday or so it's starts to rain.

Me and my wife had debated if we should even go. I say we should. It probably won't be as fun as it would have been had we went in the middle of the week. I am really kicking myself for opting for a weekend venture. We should have have made it a middle of the week thing. So as of right now there is a 60% chance of rain on Friday and Saturday. Great! The loopp we are going on at least has some different outs so if it sucks to bad we take a trail and cut back to the car.

I am kind of pissed here. We had spent quite a bit of money outfitting ourselves for this "wonderful" weekend in the woods. Now its going to be cold and rainy. The temprature is going to be in the 70's-80's all week and then just in time for the weekend it will be in the high 50's and lows in the mid 30's. Wonderful!

It has been so nice for the last four days and it will be for the next four days. I guess I have that Polish luck going for me. I will be sure to take pictures and report back as soon as I get back. We almost have to go now. It seems that all the moons and stars are lined up for us to make the trip. Wish us luck!

I should be fired...

Great day so far! I woke up late for opening up the building I work at. I am supposed to be here at 5a.m. and open up for people that take a shuttle bus to the major military hospitals up in DC. Well, needless to say I was about 30 minutes late.

I had fallen asleep and has set the cell phone that they give us to wake me up and 4:30 and the battery died. I woke up by pure chance today. I had hurry up and scurry around my place getting ready. Nothing like pure fear to coarse through your veins so damn early.

Now I just have to sit back and stand-by for the ass chewing I will get. Unfortunatly I am not in the mood for one. I am tired and not happy. I hope that this will be no indication as to how the rest of my day is going to go.

If all goes well, I will be getting out of work early and going to REI to get some gear for next week. I wanted to leave earlier but we forgot that we are going to get the cats balls cut off. We won't be able to pick him up until later in the day. Maybe now he won't feel obligated to piss on my shit. Nothing like a classic game of chicken to play with your cat. I am gonna cut your balls off if you piss one more time! The cat had probably been thinking I was a joke. I had been saying this for the last 3 weeks. Well rise and shine your day has come. I am no liar!

am i fired?

I am so bored right now! I am on duty again. This time of night I am just sitting here doing jack shit! I hate this. I have to stay here just for the fucking cleaning crew. Everybody else is gone (which is a first in a while) and I stuck here while these cleaning people milk the clock. What a joke! Tax dollars!

I shouldn't have said that. I have been reading about how people have been getting fired for blogging at work. I do that alot as well. Plus these people talk smack about the employer and that is grounds for firing I guess. I am almost certain that at some point this has been monitored and read in short or full. I really don't care though because I am stuck here and it is a matter of my moral and welfare. I don't talk terribly bad about the military or federal gov't for that matter. I just think that they could be getting their moneys worth if I wasn't here blogging.

I will probably have to really tee off some night about my job. I will do that from my computer at home. Big Brother is always watching! I actually like my job it's just the command that is a complete shithole. That is a whole other post that I am sure nobody is waiting for.

Good thing

It's a good thing that I am Johnny Anal and packed my bag last night. I found out with this new bag I need to get a compression thingy for my sleeping bag. It takes up way to much space in my bag. I am going to be packing light anyway but I will still barely have room for the essentials like food and water. Good thing I am going to REI tomorrow.

I am the worst when it comes to packing for a trip anyway. I am planning on bringing a all light clothes except I may bring my sweater because I will have to bring my lighter sleeping bag. I just don't wantto shiver my nuggets off all night. I suppose that will be the advantage of camping with my wife instead of the guys. I will be able to get in a nice spoon action whereas if I were with the guys I would get punched in the mouth.

Team Builder

I am Johnny Anal when it comes to these camping trips I guess. I am going to be homo and pack my bag tonight for a "dry run". I am no good at packing my gear so I am wanting to see where I am at with all of that. I will need to be fairly good since I am sure I will probably have to carry some of the things that my wife doesn't or cant carry. I have faith in her though, she is pretty hard core.

I am guessing that we will be close to about 20 miles roundtrip. It should be pretty fun. It's been a while since we have been ALONE and enjoyed each others company. Not even sure that we will know what to do with ourselves.

The plan as of right now is to leave here in the early to mid-afternoon (11-1) and get to Shenandoah NP 3 hours later. We will arrive at the entry point and hike in about 6 miles and try to stay near a cemetary. Then we will set off the next morning and head into bear country. We will eventually make our way to the Appalachian Trail (AT) and find a place to slumber. On the final day we will get up and hopefully only have a 5-8 miles to hike out. If we have time we will try to head down a trail and see a 93' waterfall. Then getting our sore butts home. We are trying to get out early enough to get some goodies for the boy and ourselves at the gift shop which is at the half way point of the park.

Here is a map of the area that we will be hiking. It has the loop that we are going to do.

If you look at the right side of the map you will see a trail called KEYSER RUN FIRE ROAD. We will take that for a bit and then jump onto another trail eventually leading us to DEVILS STAIRCASE. I had told myself that I would never attempt this trail again but my wife wants to see what I was whining about when I went before. We will hike up about a mile past that parking lot shown and stay at a cemetary that is about a mile above that. It is at the intersection of the HULL SCHOOL TRAIL and KEYSER RUN. We'll stay on the HULL SCHOOL TRAIL and branch off onto the THORNTON RIVER TRAIL. This is where it gets cool. It's a nice trail and they say it's the best place to catch a glimpse of a black bear. I had seen one there last year. Then we will cross the Skyline Drive and head out on the AT all the way back to our car.

Wish us luck. We will be going up to REI again on Friday to get a few odds and ends to make the trip a bit easier. I need some long underwear tops and some hiking socks. I am sure that I will find a few other odds and ends too. I also see that it's supposed to rain next Friday too. I hope that it's nothing major or an all weekend thing.

A REAL Costanza wallet!

Well, here is the lame post that I had tried to leave a while back. It looks like Smoov was able to drop a line on it before it went crazy. I have decided that I am not going to even attemt to re-create the "greatness" of the original three times I tried to post it.

In a nutshell, this is my bif fat wallet. I have no idea how many people out there are 'Sienfeld' watchers but this wallet is just like George's wallet. It has just about anything that I would want in it. Think of it as a swiss army wallet.


The Costanza wallet!

There she is in all of her beauty! There are staplpes there holding somethings in place for me.



Aerial view of Constanza wallet!

As you can see I have a ton of crap in my wallet. This is no gimmick. This is what I carry in my back pocket every day. It sucks! 99% of the shit in my wallet has no reason being there.



1 1/2" thick...maybe more!!

Yes, thats right, 1 1/2" thick. Maybe even close to 2". What a literal pain in the ass. No way can I keep that in place while I drive. Like a good lover though, it has taken care of me and has even shaped its form to match my chubby ass. Thats love!


Just a portion of the contents of Costanza wallet!

Here is the gear in my wallet. It ranges from Subway stamps to 8 month old ATM reciepts. There are a few sports cards and even a $2 bill in there.

So, this is just a quick overview of the boring stuff that I had written 2 weeks ago. I am sorry that it has come to this. It is now reduced to a pathetic post about a fat wallet and a reference to how the wallet has conformed to the shape of my chubby ass. I am sure you are now even more disenchanted with this blog now. Like i said, It would be a huge dissapointment when all was said and done.

P.S. I was supposed to switch wallets after writing this and still haven't. I fear change I guess.

Mother May I?

What is this woprld coming to? I am sitting on my fat ass here at work and checking out some "odd" pictures. Most of which aren't even close to amusing but I have nothing to do so what the hell.

I came across a picture of lady and 3 tiger cubs on her living room floor. I thought nothing of it. I figured these cute creatures were born in captivity in some third world country and it was a big deal to some one. I flip through some more pictures and come across the a picture of just the 3 cubs. I decided to read the caption and was amazed at what I had read. This lady that I had seen in the previous pictures had volunteered to BREASTFEED these tigers! I am all for breastfeeding and the good that comes of it but fucking tigers? I of course have no idea about any of this stuff but I can imagine that having a child sucking is a painful ordeal after some time. To have a wild animal nuzzling up to your bosom and attaching itself to your nipple is out of the question. That has to be against so many morals and laws throughout the world. I am sure that she loves animals and feels she is doing her part to help this species thrive but give me a break. What happened to the old bottle method?

I just thought that I would share this with you and hope that you are amused as much as I was by this story and picture. All I can think of now is me coming home and seeing my wife on the couch with a new puppy latched onto her boob.

damn it

Well, I am not sure if you click the "click here" thing on the post below will bring you to anything let alone what I want you to see. So, if you wanna see what I did write and will eventually try to get "mainstream" again you can go to the right, click on the the month of March archives and you will see the title "The Costanza wallet" go there and you may see what the hoopla is all about. I am done. I am sick of this crap and will deal with it tomorrow. Fuck!

sorry Buckley

I am sorry Buckley I have not found time to make this happen. Do stick around. Actually, I guess this blog that I have been yapping about can be found by clicking here. It posted but didn't post. Blogger is retarded. I am sorry for all the hype! I would like to thank my pal that helped me find it. Feel free to let me know what you think.

Again, I am sorry Buckley! I hope that you understand I am not good at blogging at all. I will be sure to make up for it with something mundane and boring in the next few days.

fingers are crossed

Tonight I will ATTEMPT to leave 2 decent posts with pics and links. My fingers are crossed and we'll see what happens. I am not sure what I will do if I can't make that happen. I will lose it I think. Just go with it and understand that I am trying to make this happen. It's not just for you people anymore.

sick of this

Well, again I was getting this great blog out there and now it's gone in cyber space some where. I hate this shit! I will try to get it out again tomorrow night when I have a chance. Man that sucks! I am really pissed. It was actually good stuff too.

YUCK

The weather is just gross out today. It was wonderful the other day and was even tolerable yesterday. Today is just yuck. It is raining and pretty humid out. At least it's warm and that makes it a bit easier to handle.

That only means that I will sit at home tonight and can finally get this amazing blog out to the masses. I will now have to work doube time to make it worth the read and wait. I am quite sure that I will be come up short as usual.

Wildboyz

Here is Jake with one of the many frogs we caught today. It was such a wonderful day that we had to go out and go "naturing" as he calls it. I think there was fun had by all.



Baby frog in Big Jakes hand.

not gonna happen

I am not going to get to this now infamous blog out tonight. I am a tired dude. Today seemed like a good day and then I went running and almost died. It just sucked. I came home and took the boy out looking for frogs and some spaz time at the park. Fun was had by all but I am wasted. I need to get in the tub and wash the boy and chill out myself. I promise one of these day's I will get this thing done. Sorry dudes!

HOLY JEEBUS

What a day! It's 78 degrees out right now. I am stuck here at work roasting my ass off in my uniform which is 25% wool and the rest polyester. Very breathable stuff. Am looking forward to taking a nice run this afternoon and enjoying myself.

I am also going to go for a walk in the woods with the boy and see what we can spy on this beautiful day. We have been checking in on these tadpole sacks in puddles on the trail we use. Last time we went we caught a few small frogs. The boy really enjoyed that. I will be sure to bring the camera so I can share that with all of you. He gets a kick out catching and holding these tiny frogs. We also sawa few deer and that really made him go wild.

all apologies

I have done it yet again. Over promised and under delivered. Tonight was a crazy night. It was so nice out that me and the boy had some very important man time. Needless to say, it was a long night and now I must get him ready for bed.

I am sorry for not posting this great blog. Now it will be recieved twice as bad. All apologies! I will get it out tomorrow for sure. I will work on it at work tomorrow so I will only have some at night to do. Just go with it....

coming to a blog near you

I am going to post this great blog finally tonight. I am sorry for the delay in the process here. I have been busy of late doing a little bit of this and that. I will get on it shortly after I get home.

That means that I will need to unwind from crappy work and then shower because I have just run X amount of miles and then I need to hang with the boy and see what he's up to. I am now going to be a proactive dad is his learning. I will go over numbers, letters and colors with him for 30 minutes and then he can watch some Scooby Doo. He seems to know more about birds and the natural world than the other things he should be leaning. Nonetheless, I will be drop a line.

Now there is TOO much hype to meet what it is all about!! Enjoy!!

CLUELESS

I have no idea as to what the heck happened yesterday. I wrote a decent blog and it never showed up. Actually, it did but then some how I found it in me to screw it up. So one way or the other it is saved in draft form. I will try to get out again tonight. Not promising anything because it's nice out today and it's time for a hike. Then college basketball is on. We are pulling for North Carolina so daddy can be in the money.

I will get the "great" post out to you as soon as I can. I am glad it didn't post because it actually wasn't all that great. I did warn you about that though. Just go with it and enjoy. I will try to get it out to the masses tonight.

I am just so clueless when it comes to the whole blogging thing. It doesn't help that I am so lame either. I again, will try t o correct a few things here and be up and running as soon as I get a few things to sqaure this place away.

time change and mind change

What the hell happened last night? I went to bed last as ever and then had to wake up soon after. Oh yeah, did I mention that I also LOST an hour in there? I had to get up and open work. It sucks because I am there for 10-15 minutes. I am not the type that can go back to bed either. I have been up since 7o' clock, and I hate it. It's Sunday for crying out loud.

In a few short hours I will be posting a blog that is near and dear to my heart. Lots of feelings and emotions are going to be in this. So, please be kind when you read what I share. This is going to be a big step in my life. It will go smooth if the handful of bloggers accept me for what I am going to share.

its on the way

Well, I am still stuck here with my thumb deeply imbedded in my ass. Tax payers dollars are being used well today.

At any rate its just as well. It's been raining all friggin day. I would have been stuck at home with an insane kid and a wife that isn't haven't the best time of month. I am lucky!!

I have been noticing over the past few days that the grass is getting greener and the little buds have been popping out of the trees and bushes. That can only mean that spring is on the way. This is a good time of year minus teh rain of course. Nice to see the color coming back into this backwoods town.

When I get home tonight I will be alone as my wife and son went shopping at the closest mall an hour away! So I will have some chill time and be able to get into my relaxing clothes and watch some TiVo. I can't get too comfy though because I have to return to take the flag down at sunset. Then I will go home and get into full veg state and watch college basketball. Wish me luck!

I am also probably going to find some time to post a decent blog. This one is going to be what I am thinking most blogs should be about. I do hope that you enjoy. I am sure that all 5 of you that read this are on the edge of your seats. You'll have to wait like the rest of America to see what I have up my sleeve.

boring

I have duty today and boy is it boring! I have been here since 7a.m. and it seems like it should be about later than 11 o' clock. I have to sit here all damn day doing nothing.

I brought along my books and maps to figure out what hikes me and my wife may wanna try in the next few weeks. I also found out that my buddy and co-founder of the hiking club we had formed was shipped out this week to Indonesia. So, I guess he won't be back for a while. Lucky Bastard!

boondocks

I was pretty excited this afternoon at lunch. I was getting the wife to look at some possible trails to hike this month in Shenandoah NP. She really wants to go on vigin trails with me. By that I mean, she wants to hike trails I haven't been on.

It seems that the first 3 miles or so of the trek we are looking at will be on a trail I have been on. No big deal! Once off that trail it will all be new to me and her. It looks like a monster loop we will be attempting. I am guessing this series of trails is about 18-20 miles total. The last 5 miles are so has us crossing a river 16 times. I wonder how that will be in the spring time? Deep? Cold for sure! Then we will wrap around and get onto the Appalachian Trail and wind up back at the start.

I am excited to be able to go out and do this with my wife. We haven't had a weekend in the woods by ourselves since the boy came along. I just want to enojoy the alone time and hopefully run into some wildlife i.e. bears, deer and whatever other critters we cross. I will be sure to document it for all to enjoy. I will bring my digital and regular old school camera. I am planning to make this happen April 22-24.

We just ordered our own backcountry stoves last night. I went against my judgement and went along with my wifes choice and got the Jetboil backpacking stove. (I can't put in the link for some reason but you can check it out at www.jetboil.com) It looks pretty cool and with some of the gear you can buy for it will wind up to be a great backpacker stove. It is ultra light weight with the fuel included and that is a bonus for me since I have no idea how to pack my bag yet.

I have also just realized that almost all of the gear that my wife and I have bought over the last few months is the same. Our Asolo hiking boots are the same. We have the same backpacks just a different shade of blue. We now have the same stoves. We are like the Barbie and Ken of hiking. I wonder what else we will buy that is the same? I know that we are both looking at sleeping bags....

jokes on me

Well today is usually a good day for me. I fancy myself a jokester and have nothing planned. I actually have one thing planned but can't share the scheme at this time. I am disappointed with myself because I have nothing planned for anybody. Maybe next year or some other day.