State of the Union

i am really excited for the state of the union address. i will post my thoughts after the address.

Benevolent taxpayers...

just to answer your question MO...the benevolent taxpayers of this fine nation pay the salaries of myself and those in command over me. those in command over me enjoyed the many days off over the holiday season, and wanted to carry that on through the new year.
but dont worry, it was also those wise taxpayers that purcheased the software that compiles the training database and allows me to log in while i am at home. so, even when i am at the house, i am still doing work from the office that i was unable to finish while at work.
i was hoping, however, to get a shout out for the title of my last post.

Working For The Weekend
by Loverboy

i mean doesn't anyone else feel like this?

Everybody's working for the weekend...

i am really glad that the weekend is finally here. next day of work is 4 feb.

8 hours

eight hours. tomorrow i get eight, uninterupted, dedicated hours to work. i don't think that i have ever been this excited. what kind of a nerd am i. the biggest excitement in my life is getting to work.
as i recall, i said appearent. i did not call it suicide. but L i agree. in the end the result is the same. but the end doesnt justify the means. when in rome. (i guess i just dont really understand the saying.)

what a day...

i dont think that i had 5 minutes of down time at all today. four day weekends are just too much time away from work...maybe i shouldnt tell you taxpayers that.

it seems to me that my life wasnt the only one that was busy. dow jones, the fed, and hollywood were all really busy. Today was the worst opening for the Dow Jones industrial average in quite some time; the federal reserve bank announced an early, and unexpected interest rate drop-to stave off an impending recession; and Heath Ledger's, in an appearent suicide, was found dead of an appearent drug overdose. what a day what a day. if this was the beginning of my week i can only imagine what can be expected of the end of the week. i have a full agenda all week, and another long weekend ahead of me. then i am off to learn how to tie knots and certify loads for sling-load transport. i am really excited about that.

hope that everyone is well, and i look forward to more posts from all of you. Mo-you might try to get uncle gil to start blogging, i think that he would really enjoy the routine.

Robert F. Kennedy's Statement on Dr. King's Death - Montage

I have a dream...

here's to dreaming...

Dictionary.com Unabridged (v 1.1) - Cite This Source - Share This
dream /drim/ Pronunciation Key - Show Spelled Pronunciation[dreem] Pronunciation Key - Show IPA Pronunciation noun, verb, dreamed or dreamt, dream·ing, adjective
–noun
1.
a succession of images, thoughts, or emotions passing through the mind during sleep.
2.
the sleeping state in which this occurs.
3.
an object seen in a dream.
4.
an involuntary vision occurring to a person when awake.
5.
a vision voluntarily indulged in while awake; daydream; reverie.
6.
an aspiration; goal; aim: A trip to Europe is his dream.
7.
a wild or vain fancy.
8.
something of an unreal beauty, charm, or excellence. –verb (used without object)
9.
to have a dream.
10.
to indulge in daydreams or reveries: He dreamed about vacation plans when he should have been working.
11.
to think or conceive of something in a very remote way (usually fol. by of): I wouldn't dream of asking them. –verb (used with object)
12.
to see or imagine in sleep or in a vision.
13.
to imagine as if in a dream; fancy; suppose.
14.
to pass or spend (time) in dreaming (often fol. by away): to dream away the afternoon. –adjective
15.
most desirable; ideal: a dream vacation. —Verb phrase
16.
dream up, to form in the imagination; devise: They dreamed up the most impossible plan.
[Origin: 1200–50; ME dreem, OE dréam joy, mirth, gladness, c. OS drōm mirth, dream, ON draumr, OHG troum dream; modern sense first recorded in ME but presumably also current in OE, as in OS] —Related forms
dreamful, adjective
dream·ful·ly, adverb
dream·ful·ness, noun
dream·ing·ly, adverb
dreamlike, adjective
—Synonyms 1. Dream, nightmare, and vision refer to the kinds of mental images that form during sleep. Dream is the general term for any such succession of images. A nightmare is a dream that brings fear or anxiety: frightened by a nightmare. Vision refers to a series of images of unusual vividness, clarity, order, and significance, sometimes seen in a dream.
Dictionary.com Unabridged (v 1.1)Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2006.

i love lamp...

i think i am finished with a painting. it was inspired by an experience that i once had. the title of the painting is Al Hillah. it is oil on canvas. this week has been a tough one mentally, but the good news is that i am a government employee that is on a four day weekend. sometimes i get really tired of my job, and then others i cannot see me doing anything else. i ruined another painting experimenting with a technique. it was unsuccessful, so i will have to start over. oh well, there is no shortage of oil paint, and it will give me some more time to work on the entire series. i was rushing the painting a little bit.L-as per your request, i have included another pic of jack. he was a little tired, and wanted me to go to bed, but i had a post to put up. you can see my new painting on the wall behind jack. i dont think he understands the importance of his location. he is in the center of my studio/bedroom/gallery. he should feel really important.

i played the new video on your blog L, and jack perked up and looked sideways at the computer screen wondering how you were inside the little black box. i thought noah was adorable. i love you.

short work week ahead of me, and next week i will be in school all week. learning how to tie nots and certify loads for sling operations. ILY IMY SWAK

in·ex·tri·ca·ble
play_w("I0124300")
(n-kstr-k-bl, nk-strk-bl)
adj.
1.
a. So intricate or entangled as to make escape impossible: an inextricable maze; an inextricable web of deceit.
b. Difficult or impossible to disentangle or untie: an inextricable tangle of threads.
c. Too involved or complicated to solve: an inextricable problem.
2. Unavoidable; inescapable: bound together by an inextricable fate.

Logon...

i think it really aggravates me that i have to log on. i have one log on for my blog, one for my computer at work, one for my email, another for my work email, one for my yahoo, one for my xbox live, one for my credit card, one for my bank account, one for my other bank account, it seems like every place that i go they give me a new log on. don't they know that i have like fifty already.

I'm done logging on. this is crap.

OK so that is not really practical, but you get the point. when did our lives become so inextricably attached to technology, and why can't Microsoft, copyright, do some thing about this.

i think I'm getting carpel tunnel syndrome just from logging in to all of my accounts once a day.

Department of the army will be publishing the promotion point cutoff scores for the month of February this week, we are hoping for a drop to around 622, this is possible, and my points are higher than that. right now the points are at 798, and have been for the last 3 months. there are 725 soldiers in my job specialty that are eligible, and i want to be selected.

keep your fingers crossed, but no promises.

The struggles of the daily grind...

i cant remember the last time that i had time for a lunch break at work. it seems like everytime we catch up, our higher headquarters puts out another standard that sets us hopelessly behind. after talking with L, i have realized that this is the game of the army. the constant give and take, that being they give us more than we can take, is just the way that it rolls. COL McGee once spoke to me about the Law of Probable Dispersal, which states, "Whatever hits the fan, will not be evenly dispersed." i guess i just end up being at one of the major collection points, most of the time.

L & B's adoption progress is something of excitement for me. i am excited at the prospect of going to the horn of africa for the pickup day. little o has no idea what a wonderful family is waiting for her. i scream with joy-sometimes internally, sometimes externally-each time that i think about it.

P's ultrasound gives me the same amount of excitement. the little peanut that is soon going to be a walking, talking, reasoning child has no clue what is in store. the prospect is amazing.

i have started oil painting in full swing and that is why i have not been posting as much lately. however-i promised mimi and cobra that i would put at least one post a week, and i think i have kept up...dont sue me if i missed a couple.

little n is excited for mimi to visit chi-town. co-co, the name change will only be temporary, but i think little n's adaptation is still acceptable.

this is a picture of one of my current painting projects, but it is still in progress-so please be kind...

Christmas and New years

holidays were rough for me this year, i was the only person in my office that did not go on vacation, so i had to pick up the slack from everyone being gone. my work day was extended from 8 to working nearly 12 hours every day...but i have gained the knowledge that i need to really do my job well.
i was able to fly home to CO for the christmas weekend. the holiday was fun and was a nice escape from the daily grind. it is kind of nice to have a 9-5 job. much less stressful. while i was home i got to see my nephew cody. he is getting so big and is walking all by himself. look away for 3 seconds and he is nowhere to be seen.
when i got back to virginia, my sister leah called and dropped in for a suprise health and welfare inspection. she was impressed that i was living clean, i just told her not to open the closet. (just kidding)
Work starts in full days on the 2nd and i am happier than a pig in s---. everyone will be back from vacation and the highway of my responsibility goes from a 12 lane superhighway to a two lane country road.
more later
aj

Hey L...here are some photos of your first born so that you can enjoy them... i got jack a carhart jacket for his christmas present...ill put some video next time i get a chance.

i cannot wait for QTB to be over...

i have been working some long hours, and really havent accomplished much. change this one day, change it back the next...could we all get on the same page?

busy day...

my credit card was stolen...not happy, but glad that USAA caught it. i certainly had not yet. my finances are frozen right now, but it should be cleared up by the end of the week-i hope. good thing i have two banks and enough money to get through the freeze.
in class most of the week learning the new training database for the army. boring. at least this will get me out of fall cleanup. classroom beats rake anyday. ily imy -ticket and itinerary is on hold, ill let you know.

Looks like somebody has a case of the mondays!!!

our battalion commander was more than gracious on wednesday of last week when he let us go home at noon, but he elevated himself even further when he said that first formation on monday was not until 1200. i think that every monday should start at noon. it would make the work week so much more bearable.
busy week, i have group this afternoon, and, boy, do i have plenty to talk about. ill let you know how it went.
i almost cried yesterday because i went on a walk with jack and he would not poop. that is not normal.

back in the saddle, however uncomfortable that may be...

we are most definately back from iraq, and have already begun to prepare for major changes at Ft Lee. our unit was annexed by 101 airborne, and by the first of the year, we will have all the associated flair of the 101-including the screaming eagles patch, and the rapid deployment schedule.
since my return, i have taken up a desk job and started pushing papers. i like the new job, and i have found that the work is right up my alley. i work in training, and i am now responsible for the training management of the entire company. i get to work all day long, with very little down time, and that suits me just fine.
Jack moved to the south with me for the winter. it is very theraputic for me to have a dog right now. he is always willing to listen to my problems, no matter what time of day, he doesn't force his opinions on me, and gives me all the attention i need. in return, all he asks for is that i walk him 2 times a day, and keep his food and water bowls full. its just the right amount of responsibility.
living off post has proved to be the best thing for me right now. it has given me time away from the army, and i think that is what i need. we have a nice little 3 bedroom house with a huge back yard, and really nice owners. it is an oasis that is only ten minutes away from work.
i have resumed full time therapy and attend group sessions with other soldiers diagnosed with PTSD. i, like denny crane, have no problem telling people that i am crazy, and my straight forward attitude towards my mental illness has already helped 3 people who would not have gone to get help. so in a way, i am crazy to help crazy people get help.
all for now.
more to come.
andrew