Chris' Updates

Yesterday I woke up early and drove through the frozen, slushy, snowy weather to the drill hall to participate in another funeral detail. The drive in took almost two hours, as opposed to the 35 minutes I can manage in good weather and traffic. We all got dressed, loaded up in the minivans, and drove down to Ft. Logan, the sergeants joking and arguing and looking to each other for advice. It started to snow harder as we got down there. As we arrived, we learned a couple of interesting facts. First, the veteran was a private in Vietnam. Having been only a private, he didn't qualify for a 21-gun salute, so the rifles and blank ammunition we had unlocked and transported were unnecessary. Also, the VA had provided an honor guard for the veteran, so our presence was welcome, but likewise unnecessary. I think it was still a good thing we came. Mr. Blair had no known family and no personal friends, and so the only other guests in attendance were the VA hospital caregivers that had known h...

Last Wednesday I set off for a visit to my parent's house in New Mexico. It was a long drive, but this time I actually followed close to the posted speed limits (now that I know there are actually policemen on duty between Ft. Garland and Española!). I got down without a hitch, and greeted everyone. It was great to see everyone, it's always such a long time between visits. Thursday Mom and Dad were busy cooking the turkey and the fixings, and Aunt Rhonda and Aunt Teresa arrived late in the morning. At about one, we sat down, and Jeannie read a very touching story about a little Russian girl and the power of prayer. Everything was so good! After the meal, everyone sort of took turns watching football, eating dessert, and loafing around the house. Friday we got out to see the town. This was Rhonda and Teresa's first visit, so we took them around the town, and into a few neighborhoods that I hadn't seen before either. That afternoon we took family pictures, and I took some...

Break started on Thursday night for me. I got home after a long day at transportation, and started getting sick to my stomach. Not like heartburn or Taco Bell Syndrome, but more like infection sick. Lots of time spent in the bathroom, and a short bout of vomiting. Friday I stayed home from classes and called in to work. I started feeling substantially better that afternoon. Some people may think it was rather convenient timing, but I can tell you there was nothing convenient about the pain in my bowels. Ashley was also not feeling well, but still went in to work. In her own words, she felt like she had been kicked in the stomach by a horse. Saturday I tried to take it easy again, but I was mostly feeling better. Sunday Ashley and I were both free, so we decided to take a little date at the Denver Museum of Nature and Science. It had been at least 5 years since either of us had payed a visit there, and I think we've both got enough geek in us to enjoy that sort of date. We watched a...

One more physics midterm is done, and now I just have to survive the week to make it to the fall break and Thanksgiving. Its hard to believe that this time last year, I was still at AIT, still a month away from coming home. Graham's in Iraq now, along with who knows how many other people I remember. One thing's for sure, I'm thankful that I'm still home with friends and family. I'm really looking forward to getting down to New Mexico. And Ashley keeps mentioning that she's got her Christmas shopping pretty much done. I guess I should start my shopping soon. Or at least think about what I'm getting for people.

Guess what my peeps? I'm now coming to you from my recently wiped laptop, now installed with Fedora Core 6 and Windows XP side by side. At the moment, I'm using the linux side, and I'm even using my PCCard wireless card! That was a feat, let me tell you. It wasn't too bad once I figured out what the heck I was doing, but it still took way too much work. Now that it's working, however, I have a lot more control over the whole kit'n kaboodle. It's truly exciting for me! The week at school was a blur. Yesterday I did a bunch of driving for Transportation, down to Commerce City and back, twice! We needed to pick up busses that had been repaired down there, so I got to be the cheauffer for the drivers. Tonight I'm trying my hand at an extra little thing, being a Bus Buddy. Basically, I'm just a babysitter for the wound-up students going out to party, and taking that responsibility off of the driver. Should be, uh, interesting. Wish me luck! (Not exactly w...

Another drill weekend down. Friday I headed down to Fitzsimons with all of my gear for the field. I didn't read the schedule correctly and missed the first formation, but I was able to quickly catch up with everyone else in being issued the rest of my gear. SGT Lant was even later than me, and barely made the movement. We loaded the bus and drove down to Ft. Carson without a hitch. Once there, I met a bit of a surprise. The training schedule said that we would download our gear at Tent City and head directly to the zeroing ranges to calibrate our weapon sights. Instead we transferred our gear to an LMTV in a random parking lot and were told we could either attend "the function" or stay behind and train on the EST 2000 system. I had no idea what "the function" was, so I just went with the crowd and loaded on a bus for the event. About half way to Butts Army Airfield, I learned that Dick Cheney, the Vice President of the United States, would be speaking. Oh, goo...

What American accent do you have? Your Result: The West Your accent is the lowest common denominator of American speech. Unless you're a SoCal surfer, no one thinks you have an accent. And really, you may not even be from the West at all, you could easily be from Florida or one of those big Southern cities like Dallas or Atlanta. The Midland Boston North Central The Inland North Philadelphia The South The Northeast What American accent do you have? Take More Quizzes

Pretty normal week so far. Last night was Halloween, so when I got home I threw on my Rambo costume. Ashley arrived in a ravashing wench outfit she had worn to work. We carved up a pumpkin in a bit of a hurry, and we had a few trick-or-treaters pass by the house. Tonight I'm having fun reloading my linux box and my laptop with the latest version of Fedora Core. Drool... Only problem so far is getting my laptop to use my wireless PCMCIA card, but that will shortly be remedied! I love my linux binges.