What to do?

So,

I've had a lot of time to think lately and unfortulantly not enough time to talk to my wife or family. Thankfully I've been able to call them recently but due to the time difference and cost of the call, I never really feel like I've been able to talk to anyone. Sure, Stephie talks about Ryan and I listen intently and I laugh, cry, feel proud, etc. It's just not the same.

I was getting off track. So, what do I want to do in life? Do you remember elementary school? I remember in 5th grade, we were asked to write down what we wanted to do in life and what the world would be like in ten years. I remember thinking, "I want to marry Allyson Sawyer..." I had a huge crush on her in 5th and 6th grade. We went to different schools later and of course I was always too scared to even talk to her. Good thing, cuz I love my wife! Anyway...I wrote that cars would be flying and I would be old. Ha ha...

I sit here and remember when Mr. Vangelder would say that we could be the President of the United States, or an astronaut. I wish I could remember what I was thinking? I think President crossed my mind, but I was just a kid.

I have roughly 3.75 years left on my current contract with the Navy. I will have 11 years in the Navy at that point and only 9 left till I could retire. There are some nice benni's to retiring from the Military. I'll only be 40, lifetime Medical/Dental Insurance, lifetime Commissary and Exchange benefits, lifetime access to MWR Resorts around the world and Military Flights for free. Is that something I really want to hang in another 9 years for? I'd have 9 more years of having to pass a physical fitness test twice a year, I'd have to work people who I possibly just cant stand, be a professional babysitter, be a professional janitor, have to deploy several more times an possibly a year at a time, miss more of my families life.

So, do the benni's out weight the costs? I mean, I can understand the physical fitness test, I just hate running. Well, I'm a slow runner thanks to my knees and the fact I'm out of shape. When I get on the Elliptical I can run up to 4.75 miles now, but I wouldn't say I really enjoy doing it that much. Also, I'm pretty slow. I can't run a 1.5 mile in less then 13 minutes. Yeah, people think they can walk it that fast, I can't. Push-ups and sit-ups who cares? I always do well.

What about politics? Could I be the President some day? I don't know. I feel that I'm too independent on issues. This whole thing going on right now sometimes just angers me. I like some of the plans of the Democrats, and I like some of the Republican plans. I'm registered non-partisan before someone gets on my band wagon. The think I like about Republican's is I feel much safer at home. Democrats can save some money. Then everything is situational and not really one particular person's legacy or fault. I don't know. Maybe local? Could I do that? Then I remember how my parents being in a newspaper industry always told me never to draw attention to myself. It's better to be known as a quiet, cool, collected, well mannored, humbled person. If I entered into pollitics, the private life would be gone.

I've always wanted to work on boats! ALWAYS! I love boats! Sail, power, outboard, inboard, cruising, racing, you name it. I want my own sailboat and eventually power boat some day. I'd love to have a Melges 24 to start, and maybe someday move on to a J-Boat. Anyway, should I get my liscense and be a day captain or something? I could do that. I thought in Middle School that being a captain of a San Francisco Ferry might be fun.

What about the church? Service? I like to serve? I love God, I love worship, I love Jesus and the Bible. Is it really cut out for me? I'm a sinner just like anyone else in this world. Could I clean up my act and come around? I don't know. It has crossed my mind though. I don't know if I could really be a pastor, but staff or a leader might fit. I don't know.

What about teaching? I guess I can tell you more about that after I transfer to be an instructor. We'll see. What about continuing in the electronic field? Maybe as a business owner and part time tech vs. a worker bee. I don't know...I'll have to see. In High School I wanted to be a Sound & Lighting Production Company. Maybe...Hmmm

Well, I don't know where I was going to end this with. I had a plan, then I was distracted by software updates and google. I don't know, I just want to come home to my wife and talk to her about it. I've got plenty of time...

Life Church from Half A World Away

I'm glad I got to see these guys today!

Happy Day!!!!

This made my day so much better!

My Addictions - INTERNET

So,

Here I am in Bahrain again. I had duty on Tuesday, so I rushed off the ship as soon as I could to go to the exchange and get on the internet. Stephanie is up at my parents house and I wanted to get on either iChat or Yahoo Instant Messenger and SEE my family. Well, apparently Batelco who I guess is the primary and possibly only internet provider for at leasts Manama, which is where I am, was having internet problems. We walked everywhere! Finally around noon my time someone had come back from the mall, where I am now, saying they even went out here trying to get on. NOTHING...So I was very dissapointed that I didn't get to see my family yesterday.

Today I brought ye ole lappie along just in case it worked. We got here at the mall about 6:15'ish and I didn't want to get my hopes up. So I went and browsed for a moment. Took a pit stop at the Sony store, then walked over to Starbucks. Expecting to not get anything, I sat down and reluctantly pulled out my laptop. Sure enough, it works!! So now I'm waiting to see if Stephanie will wake up and talk to me. I don't have a ton of time, but I'll work with it.

Can you believe how important the internet is to me now? Wow...

New Family Pictures

So, this goes directly against Los' successful blogging secrets (or maybe it doesn't), but here are some pictures that we had taken on Wednesday:

Copies available upon request!

Good Times, Good People.

So, we had a few people over last night:

• Alex & Jen McLean
• Chuck Hudson
• Josh McConnel & Christi Harris
• James Van De Water
• Chris Clark
• Robert & Maria Libert
• And a couple of Josh's and Christi's friends.

We ordered pizza from Murrieta Pizza & Brewing Company which was pretty good! They do offer a Military Discount FYI. Anyway, it was a pretty low tech evening so we didn't get any pictures; however, it was just a good little get together of some of our closest friends before we left.

Thank you for coming over guys! James, Chris and Josh are deploying with me, but I look forward to seeing the rest of you soon!

Happy Birthday Mom!

I just wanted to say, that today was my mother's birthday! Happy Birthday Mom! Wish we were with you!

Wet Dogs

Ryans First "Solid" Food

Family Pics

The dogs were making sure I was changing Ryan's diaper correctly...

Ryan's first solid food. He liked it.

What bad dogs...They won't be doing that again.

What a handsome guy...

Need I say more?

Simply Adorable

I love my baby girl! How can you turn down a face like this?

Say a Prayer, please!

So, my brother-in-law and his family were robbed at gun point last night at their home. Everyone is doing just fine. Bob did the right thing and didn't try to be a hero which is hard since he's in the Army. The robber got away with $4, a wallet, a purse, and some bruised ego's. Why?

My Wife

I just wanted to tell the world...I LOVE MY WIFE. She is so amazing. There's no real reason for this post other then to say what I just did...

Yes, I wrote this, not her! Ha ha...

iChat Fun

Sorry Alex, had to steal these from your blog! Ha ha...








































Oh, I'm going to so miss the fruits of technology while I'm gone. I'll just have to stick to my Radar's and Radio's in order to get my fix... :-(

Ryan's Tummy Time

So this is like 5 or more minutes of my kid on his stomach. I just thought he was being cute...

My Parents New Digs

What do you mean you're back?

So yeah, I'M BACK! I apologize for the two weeks of nothing. I was embarked aboard USS Germantown (LSD-42) with no internet, telephone, or TV. Unfortunately, expect more of the same, at least no updates. Blogging is kind of a no no. I'm finding ways to work around it; however, it means that I have to make sure I don't disclose current operations and such.

Well, I'm at Tahoe right now with my parents. I'm going to head to bed, but wanted to update you all!

A night of worship!

So,

I got home after driving 200 miles today and wanted to take a nap before I went over to Worship Practice at Alex's house. My wife succored me into going to the pool with the neighbors. So I went, on one condition! We get to go to practice, together! It worked especially since I wasn't going to be there on Sunday. I have to work, yeah! :-( I think she was bored till Jen got home with the kids then she was sitting with Miles and having a good conversation with the 4 and half year old. Stephanie is such an awesome mother!

Anyway, I was sitting there and I thought maybe it would be cool to get the camera out. So I went and rumaged thru Alex's truck and got one and started taping practice. The funny thing was that Alex was doing all the funny cool stuff when I wasn't recording. Go figure. I did however catch some really good video of everyone and seeing how even though it's practice you can get caught up in the song and worship God. Even if Alex was flat, Chris loose his part, or Rich goofing around on the drums. There was a moment when Alex's daughter, Macy came up to him and was looking up at him while he was singing. It was especially powerful for me because it was a song about looking up to God and all of his glory. I think it was the Matt Redman song, I could be wrong.

One thing about me, I always forget the name of songs and who sings them. It takes me a few months to figure it out! It also takes me forever to remember the words and the part that goes with it. I can usually get one or the other and if I'm singing with someone else, I'll nail it; however, it takes me months to get a solo down. I'm still trying to figure out why Alex wants me to sing! Well, maybe I'll give it a shot. Stephanie may not come because she's heard me sing in the car and in the shower! :-)

Anyway, I'm going to go to bed "early" and try to get to work early tomorrow. I've been goofing off way to much this week and need to catch up!

Name Change??

So,

I'm thinking about changing my domain name because I just don't think it flows. Yes, I r twidget. Yes, I do love to sail sailboats. Yes I do "sail" (more like steam) in the Navy. Finally, yes, .blogspot.com is going to have to stay since I don't have my own server. I could, but I don't have a static IP and don't feel like paying for one. On top of that, I'd probably have to learn HTML again and have the time to design, and tweak things.

You may notice I use the screen name J29teamtahoe a lot. The story behind that is when I was a kid (not too long ago) my dad bought a sailboat named Team Tahoe. Team T was a well known boat on Lake Tahoe thanks to it's previous owner, Jimmy Gregory. She was fast, sleek, a winner, and a J! J/Boats designed by Rod Johnstone, are one of the hottest designs on the sailboat racing and racer/cruiser market. Team T was a J29 Masthead Outboard rig. Our results weren't as good as Jimmy's but we made a run at it for a few years. Team T was the first sailboat that I skippered for a race (NOOD regatta or JFest I think). I was so scared! San Francisco City Front right in front of St. Francis Yacht Club and Golden Gate Yacht Club just east of the Golden Gate is no punk! Sure I sailed our Catalina (Sails Call) several times at Lake Tahoe when we were just cruising, but this area in San Francisco Bay is way/totally/drastically/crucially different. Dad couldn't make it and we had to represent our class since a lot of other people bailed. Richard Leavey, another J29 owner was on board, but a "Stout" had to skipper. It wasn't till I joined the Navy that Dad sold the boat and became a stink potter. He had no crew so I don't blame him. I do miss those days though and have been known as j29teamtahoe ever since.

So...for those of you who know me, and for those of you who just met me, send me some ideas! I just don't think Sailingtwidget makes sense or fits that well.