Instead of going on TDY to China, my happy behind will be staying at home, going to work, and finally able to take the dog for a much-deserved bath! I have to say that I was slightly disappointed about not being able to go to China, but not too much. We were basically going to go into some academic conference without knowing much anyways.
As much as I like the people to which I work with, I'm not sure if they're the ideal folks to go and sightsee with. (As I am sure that they'd rather travel with their own sets of family and friends.) The thought of spending a lot of time in a Chinese military bookstore (because of my job) kind of makes me cringe a bit.
The Japan thing is still up in the air, I don't really want to leave the families so far behind, but why do I have to go so far in order to gain an experience like that?
I'm feeling under the weather right now. It started last night as I was walking my dog. During the walk, I got really short-breathed and my heart started beating really hard, and I hate that feeling that you can't catch your breath, even if I'm getting a good workout. There was no heating at work (long story), so I had been freezing during the day, and coming back to the apt., it's warmer. These two factors combine to make me vulnerable to colds.
The GF is really doing a great job at her work, not only will the income help, but I'm glad that she has found something that she's enjoying and is good at doing.
I still hope that one of these days, we won't have to worry about this income thing so much anymore, and we can just concentrate on screwing up the next generation! (I mean raising kids!)
Wednesday, March 29, 2006
Saturday, March 25, 2006
I turned 34 today
Looking forward to menopause, gray hair (which I already have), and brittle bones!
Woke up with the GF around mid-morning, showered and headed straight to Barry Road (the "hip" strip mall place in the North Kansas City area. Had a big breakfast, then window shopped all day at the bookstore, sporting goods store, funiiture store, and fianlly at best buy/circuit city. We almost got a set of iPod speakers but couldn't test the sound qualities of some of the speaker models at the store because, get this, they were broken!
Ended the day with dinner at this Japanese hibachi-styled steakhouse, and the dinner was good.
Now we are settled down back home, I walked the dog, at last, the day is over.
I'm really happy that this birthday passed quietly, and I'm even more glad not to have spent this birthday alone. My GF is the cake, the icing, and the cherry on top! Her birthday is coming up in two days, but we are going to go ahead and celebrate it tomorrow! Maybe we'll go and play some of her beloved poker game, or whatever she wanted. I'm just glad to spend time with them (GF and the pets).!
Woke up with the GF around mid-morning, showered and headed straight to Barry Road (the "hip" strip mall place in the North Kansas City area. Had a big breakfast, then window shopped all day at the bookstore, sporting goods store, funiiture store, and fianlly at best buy/circuit city. We almost got a set of iPod speakers but couldn't test the sound qualities of some of the speaker models at the store because, get this, they were broken!
Ended the day with dinner at this Japanese hibachi-styled steakhouse, and the dinner was good.
Now we are settled down back home, I walked the dog, at last, the day is over.
I'm really happy that this birthday passed quietly, and I'm even more glad not to have spent this birthday alone. My GF is the cake, the icing, and the cherry on top! Her birthday is coming up in two days, but we are going to go ahead and celebrate it tomorrow! Maybe we'll go and play some of her beloved poker game, or whatever she wanted. I'm just glad to spend time with them (GF and the pets).!
Thursday, March 23, 2006
What to do?
I think I'm going to end my current job around May or June timeframe, and one of my many job searches was with this military intelligence detachment in Japan. I just happened to have kept in touch with some of the people that I've met when I went over there for this present job.
Got a reply from one of the guys in charge of that military detachment place in Japan and he has expressed an interest in me working there on assignment for 6 months. Not only would I get to use my Chinese skills for something more practical (translation), but I'll also get a chance to pick up some Japanese! (Not chicks, the language.)
But....I can't stand to not be around my GF and the pets for that long of a time again. This is a great opportunity for a new cultural and job experience though.
The GF and I are still mulling over this....stay tuned!
Got a reply from one of the guys in charge of that military detachment place in Japan and he has expressed an interest in me working there on assignment for 6 months. Not only would I get to use my Chinese skills for something more practical (translation), but I'll also get a chance to pick up some Japanese! (Not chicks, the language.)
But....I can't stand to not be around my GF and the pets for that long of a time again. This is a great opportunity for a new cultural and job experience though.
The GF and I are still mulling over this....stay tuned!
Tuesday, March 21, 2006
And just when you think stuff like this don't happen anymore....
Comes a story like this....
Wad of Cash Found in New Orleans Home
March 21st, 2006 @ 7:48am
NEW ORLEANS (AP) - Trista Wright was spending her spring break cleaning out hurricane-damaged homes when she discovered some unusual papers among the moldy plaster board and debris.
"I started raking it out of the air conditioner vent. I thought it was garbage and I was going to shovel it up, but I bent down to pick it up, and it was a stack of $100 bills, and then more and more kept coming," the 19-year-old said Tuesday on CNN.
By an unofficial count, it was more than $30,000.
Wright and fellow students notified the organizers of their church mission, who told the St. Bernard Parish Sheriff's Office.
The woman who owned the house, who has asked that she not be identified, was as shocked as Wright.
"She was speechless," said Wright, an Armstrong Atlantic State University student was among 175 Georgia college students spending their week off volunteering in the city's Arabi area.
Deputy Gary Adams verified the identity of the woman who owned the home.
Adams said it's not uncommon to find weapons or medications behind the walls of homes, but this was the biggest sum of hidden money he had heard of. "It's good to see someone find something like that and turn it over to proper authorities and the rightful owner," he said.
The homeowner said she suspects the money belonged to her father, who was wary of banks. The home had been in the family for generations, she said.
"I had my suspicions about the money at first, but once I met the family and talked to the woman, I have no doubt she's telling the truth," said Aaron Arledge, one of the organizers of the mission. "She said her father grew up during the Depression and must not have told anyone in the family about it before he died."
The one-story house was flooded to the eaves by Katrina and, aside from the hidden money, none of its contents could be saved, church officials said.
"To see that woman's face when we told her about the money, that's the kind of positive story that makes all the hard work worthwhile," said the Rev. Warren Jones Jr. of New Salem Baptist Church in the Ninth Ward, which has served as a base for church missions. "She said it was a miracle. And when you think about it, it was."
Haley Barton, a fellow student who was in the house with Wright, said there was never a question of keeping the money.
"I think that it's expected of us as young people, or people of any age this day, to go in and take it and not be faithful or trustworthy in turning it in, but that wasn't even an option for us," she said.
Courtesy of ksl.com
Wad of Cash Found in New Orleans Home
March 21st, 2006 @ 7:48am
NEW ORLEANS (AP) - Trista Wright was spending her spring break cleaning out hurricane-damaged homes when she discovered some unusual papers among the moldy plaster board and debris.
"I started raking it out of the air conditioner vent. I thought it was garbage and I was going to shovel it up, but I bent down to pick it up, and it was a stack of $100 bills, and then more and more kept coming," the 19-year-old said Tuesday on CNN.
By an unofficial count, it was more than $30,000.
Wright and fellow students notified the organizers of their church mission, who told the St. Bernard Parish Sheriff's Office.
The woman who owned the house, who has asked that she not be identified, was as shocked as Wright.
"She was speechless," said Wright, an Armstrong Atlantic State University student was among 175 Georgia college students spending their week off volunteering in the city's Arabi area.
Deputy Gary Adams verified the identity of the woman who owned the home.
Adams said it's not uncommon to find weapons or medications behind the walls of homes, but this was the biggest sum of hidden money he had heard of. "It's good to see someone find something like that and turn it over to proper authorities and the rightful owner," he said.
The homeowner said she suspects the money belonged to her father, who was wary of banks. The home had been in the family for generations, she said.
"I had my suspicions about the money at first, but once I met the family and talked to the woman, I have no doubt she's telling the truth," said Aaron Arledge, one of the organizers of the mission. "She said her father grew up during the Depression and must not have told anyone in the family about it before he died."
The one-story house was flooded to the eaves by Katrina and, aside from the hidden money, none of its contents could be saved, church officials said.
"To see that woman's face when we told her about the money, that's the kind of positive story that makes all the hard work worthwhile," said the Rev. Warren Jones Jr. of New Salem Baptist Church in the Ninth Ward, which has served as a base for church missions. "She said it was a miracle. And when you think about it, it was."
Haley Barton, a fellow student who was in the house with Wright, said there was never a question of keeping the money.
"I think that it's expected of us as young people, or people of any age this day, to go in and take it and not be faithful or trustworthy in turning it in, but that wasn't even an option for us," she said.
Courtesy of ksl.com
Sunday, March 19, 2006
Random, Sunday post
My pillow makes me snore if I lay on the back of my head, the GF noticed. If I was really asleep, I would not really notice that I was snoring.
I was up for a while around 7 AM, with my mind so infused with how I'd hate to go back to work, the prospect of talking to my boss while holding my own positions. I was at a birthday party last night for a collegue of mine, and I could tell that my other supervisors have no clue of what has been going on in our little team. Oh heck, I just wanted to get this little part of my life over, done with and not look back!
Rest In Peace, Whisky the dog.
I've also got the greatest GF ever! 8 years and counting!
I was up for a while around 7 AM, with my mind so infused with how I'd hate to go back to work, the prospect of talking to my boss while holding my own positions. I was at a birthday party last night for a collegue of mine, and I could tell that my other supervisors have no clue of what has been going on in our little team. Oh heck, I just wanted to get this little part of my life over, done with and not look back!
Rest In Peace, Whisky the dog.
I've also got the greatest GF ever! 8 years and counting!
Saturday, March 18, 2006
What's happening
I recently took a four day visit to my folks in Houston and it was a good visit. My folks looked healthy, although they still do get tired a lot. My sister was there too, and there was a lot less tension between us this time, partly taken over with her PMS. You know how PMS is, when you have it, nothing would seem right.
We'd take the folks out to eat traditional Chinese breakfast, and some grocery shopping, then take them back home so they can nap, eat dinner, and ending their day with a 8 PM mahjong game. Grandpa is religious about his mahjong games.
I also took my seventeen year old cousin to the museum to see "Bodyworld 3". It was a exhibit of naked and dead people....really naked, as in skin stripped, then muscle, and some internal organs stripped. There was some controversies about the corpses purchased for the exhibition, and the allegation was that the exhibition sponsors used corpses of executed Chinese political prisoners, and purchased wholesale. To tell you the truth, I really couldn't tell whether or not the corpses were Asian, Caucasian,etc. I think once you get that stripped, it's really hard to tell the race. This German guy decided to take corpses, preserved them in some special way that the body will be "plasticized". He'd pose these bodies in different poses and display them to the public, supposedly to educate and inspire people about the wonders of the human body. I really suggest that everyone go and see the exhibit, should it come to your city.
I felt bad for the gf, who, while I was gone, was having a cold, her period, and all kinds of boredom all packed into 4 day. Yet she managed to make her work orientation and worked the rest of this week, and I highly commend her for that! Soon she'll have some $ for poker playing, and other fun things.
About work, let's just say that I'm now looking for something else. I think I've had about up to here. The folks that I work with are cool, for the most part, but it just feels harder for me to keep on staying there. My boss is becoming unclear in his intent and starting to become overbearing too. I have all the respect in the world for him, but I'm just not sure if continuing to work for him is a good idea. So wish me luck in finding my next gig!
I also am going to try to make this blog more exciting than it has been. It's a bad sign when I am thinking that way! My apologies to all and please stay tuned!
We'd take the folks out to eat traditional Chinese breakfast, and some grocery shopping, then take them back home so they can nap, eat dinner, and ending their day with a 8 PM mahjong game. Grandpa is religious about his mahjong games.
I also took my seventeen year old cousin to the museum to see "Bodyworld 3". It was a exhibit of naked and dead people....really naked, as in skin stripped, then muscle, and some internal organs stripped. There was some controversies about the corpses purchased for the exhibition, and the allegation was that the exhibition sponsors used corpses of executed Chinese political prisoners, and purchased wholesale. To tell you the truth, I really couldn't tell whether or not the corpses were Asian, Caucasian,etc. I think once you get that stripped, it's really hard to tell the race. This German guy decided to take corpses, preserved them in some special way that the body will be "plasticized". He'd pose these bodies in different poses and display them to the public, supposedly to educate and inspire people about the wonders of the human body. I really suggest that everyone go and see the exhibit, should it come to your city.
I felt bad for the gf, who, while I was gone, was having a cold, her period, and all kinds of boredom all packed into 4 day. Yet she managed to make her work orientation and worked the rest of this week, and I highly commend her for that! Soon she'll have some $ for poker playing, and other fun things.
About work, let's just say that I'm now looking for something else. I think I've had about up to here. The folks that I work with are cool, for the most part, but it just feels harder for me to keep on staying there. My boss is becoming unclear in his intent and starting to become overbearing too. I have all the respect in the world for him, but I'm just not sure if continuing to work for him is a good idea. So wish me luck in finding my next gig!
I also am going to try to make this blog more exciting than it has been. It's a bad sign when I am thinking that way! My apologies to all and please stay tuned!
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