Flying to Kuwait

This is a post that's primarily for Heather. There's a bit of voyeurism in all of us, so I know that you'll just continue reading all the same. Plus, it's on a blog, so what's not to be expected is usually expected. That being said... since you're gonna read anyway, let me give a bit of a background; Heather left on Sunday (20th) to check into Tampa (MARCENT) all of her peers left on Thursday and she was told to stay and get a little more "training" before she goes. She's going to be dealing with MARCENT on a frequent basis. So she is scheduled to fly out on Saturday (26th, day before Maisy's birthday. Maisy desperately wants to talk to her Mom today. She wants "...to be the last kid to talk to her before she leaves the United States" as she said so desperately last night. Cute. She will land in Kuwait at 1700 ish on Sunday Kuwait time. Incase you're looking for a quick formula.... It's 7 hours ahead of the east coast. If it's 1700 in Kuwait on Sunday.... It's 1000 at my house on Sunday. Make sense??? Alright, that being said.

Heather, I know you're gonna get a chance to read this soon enough, and we have been talking every day since you left, about 4 times a day at least... You're worried if that's too much for the kids or not enough, for their own minds and you leaving. It's been perfect. This has been one of the best transitions I've seen. The kids are sad, but they're happy that you're always happy on the phone. You cry and they cry. But in a good way. It makes you more "real" in their eyes for some reason. It's like they can relate to why you're so sad. Hayden finally broke last night. Took 5 days, but he broke last night, and I can relate. He's so much like his father. I'm not sure if that's good or bad. He was strong at the airport and was strong for 5 days. It finally caught up with him and he lost it. He misses you desperately. Mason is getting better, and Maisy is Maisy.

Myself.. I miss you. But, I'm doing okay. I know that you're looking here to see what's new and what's happening with us. I'm okay. You've asked me a few times and that's what I keep telling you. It's just the logistics of you being gone. Basically, I think that, as of today, I finally have it made. Ive developed the pattern that we were looking for. I'm now ready for you to be gone, but I'm ready for you to be home ASAP, only because I miss you. But, I told you at the airport that you don't need to worry about ANYTHING on this end. I've got it from here. You just need to look out for you, right now. You don't need to sweat or stress anything happening or not happening at home. You just stay smart, stay safe, and listen.

We talked about this before, and it's something that Chris said before. Look, listen, and digest. Stay smart, and you'll be just fine. Those of you wondering about what I mean when I say "smart." Don't worry, Heather knows what I mean. It's not about being "smart" to prove something. We get it, and she knows what I'm saying.

Remember, sight alignment, sight picture, breathing, center mass and .... whip it on!

I'll see you in 7 months. I love you and miss you. I look forward to your call from Kuwait.

I've got it on this end.


MB

Here's another picture for you, Heather.

Kids say Hi, and love you, and they miss you.


MB

The Rain.... Has Stopped.... For now??

Doesn't matter. It's not raining right now. I took Roscoe out for his 0425 PEE and I was dry as a bone when I walked in. Dry as a bone... Hmmm. I'm sure there's a reason that expression has is place in the american lexicon... but "dry" as a "bone." I have like over 200 bones in my body. Not one of them damn things is "dry." As a matter of fact, they're covered in muscle and all kinds of other fluid. Actually, I don't really know that, either. I DID take Anatomy back in college (Oregon City) but we're talking about something 16 years ago. Anyway... "dry."

But yeah... No Rain, however, our "weather guesser" says we have a 50% chance of rain today. Wow... really went out on a limb there, didn't he? 50% chance?? That mean's he's got a flip of a quarter of being right. God damn weather men... what a scam. I could be weather man. Mark's mobile weather service. About every hour I could just call in to the studio from my truck or motorcycle or whatever, look up at the sky.. "Yep... I'm gonna give it about a 50% chance of rain. Partly cloudy. Bout a 50% chance of the sun breaking through later this afternoon. Overall... gonna be an average day."

That was easy. Now pay me.

Scam.

MB

Did I actually see that???

Did I actually see a FORSBERG JERSEY on an Avalanche player last week??? When the FLIP did that happen????

I meant to bring it up earlier, but I just lost track of it. I thought about it again watching Stanley Cup playoffs tonight. Caps/Flyers.

But.... PETER FORSBERG??? ADAM FOOTE??? JOE SAKIC???? I mean it's like a flash back to 2001 again!! GOOD TO GO!!

Anyway, I know I've been out of the loop, but wow.... I wasn't ready for that.

MB

This is for you Heather

Okay... Let me explain. I've been telling Heather just how clean the house has been since 1635 on Sunday early evening. Just 3 hours after we dropped her off (you gotta find something to do to get your mind off of things.) Anyhow, we ALL here have been taking a concerted effort to keep it this way.

Kind of hard, but remarkably easy on the same hand.

Anyway honey... this was for you.

No pictures??

Nope. No pictures. Wanna know why? Cause I'm Lazy AND my camera is in the truck, and have I told you that we have had a hovering twisting circling storm over Camp Lejeune for 2 DAYS!!! It's still raining.

Man, well it's 0455, and I'm about to get the kids up and ready for Day Care and Youth Center. I told them since they were ready so quickly yesterday, that I would wake them up 15 min. later today. I'll hold up my end of the bargain, but they better get moving, or tomorrow it's 0455 again. I know it only takes about 10-15 minutes for the average human being to get up, get out of bed, drag a comb across your head (ooo a good beatles reference) but it literally takes 3 times as long for our 3 kids!! I don't know why... I don't really care, either, I just know that if I don't take some preemptive measures to counteract this phenom, I will be paying the price later.

Alright, You all enjoy today.

MB

Day One

Well, it's been 24 hours. 6 months from now, I'm gonna look back on this and feel silly for even bringing that up, but for now, I'll take it. Anyway, the kids are taking it pretty well. Not bad at all. Maisy's doing better. She's still sad, but only when she's quiet and has time to think about Mom being gone. They're staying pretty busy.

Mason is getting sick?? Who knows?? He's been coughing and hacking, but no fever, yet.

Anyhow, we've talked with Heather 4 times so far. She's going to be an Admin Chief over in Kuwait at the Reception Center where Marines will be coming and going. Pretty cush. Not bad. I'm happy about that. Moreover, she's happy about that. There's 3 friends you need in the Marines. Admin, supply and an armorer. If you have those 3, you're golden. Period.

Anyway, I'll keep you all updated as I hear more.



MB

I'm glad that's over

Wow.. That was probably the most painful thing I've gone through in a lot of years. Poor Heather. Poor Maisy. Maisy took it the worst. We were all quiet and sharing nervous laughter in the truck on the way to the airport. We all knew it was inevitable at some time. Well, checking in the baggage took about 15 minutes, and then it was off to the metal detector part of our voyage. Here we were. First person to say goodbye (or rather NOT want to say goodbye) was Maisy. She was already crying. That was it. It was over after that. Heather was losing it. Mason looked like he didn't know what to do, Hayden kept his sunglasses on, and I was slowly losing it myself. Poor Maisy. It was one of the hardest kisses to ever give or receive. I told her "I've got it on this end and not to worry." (She's been nesting for the past 7 days getting ready, making sure nothing was NOT done.) She said "I know, and I love you." That was about the gist of it all. I won't go into details. Those are ours to keep (Myself, Hayden, Maisy and Mason.) It was a long walk to the truck. Longest 400 feet I've ever walked in my entire life. As a matter of fact, it's 188 steps from the counter to the truck. We all said nothing except sniffle and wipe our eyes, all the way to the truck. In fact, it may have very well been the quietest we've ever all been before.

Maisy said the cutest thing on the way home. We stopped by BK and got some happy meals (the irony in that word is staggering at that moment) and on our way out of the drive thru, Maisy says, "Dad, every time I try to say Mom's name in my head or my mouth I start CRYING!!" Man, I'll tell you what, kids are amazing. I know that kids are the biggest liars at times, but sometimes the way they put the truth that is in their little hearts is enough to topple the biggest man, I don't care who you are.

"Well, you know what, every time I try and say her name, I get a bit emotional too" I told her. Well, like I said, I'm glad that's over. I don't want to do that again for a long time. I'm not sure how families do that over and over again. Especially like some of my neighbors on my street who are sometimes usually home for only 5 months before having to do it all over again. That's devastating. We're all bound to go through this again, I just hope it's not for atleast another year or so after she gets back.

Alright, more to come.

MB

Boots On The Ground

Today is the day. Man, I haven't been looking forward to this day AT ALL. But, regardless, it is here. Heather, if you get a chance to read this before you punch out on the bird, I miss you already. Be safe, be smart, and more importantly, try to have fun at the very minimum. The kids and I can hardly wait for you to come home. We're proud of you and I know how important this is to you. If you haven't ever worn the uniform or stood in the boots, you'll never get it, and I quite frankly don't expect you to. Anyone that ever has... Gets it.

So, that being said, I'm gonna have to start writing more on this blog. I think MySpace is a no go over there, but she may be able to pull this page up I think without it pulling a red flag on the filters. That being said, stay tuned.

We're off to take Heather to the Airport. I love you honey. See you soon.

Toppers

Man, it's days like today that I REALLY miss California.

I'm trying to get a Topper for the new truck, and I have like 2 places to choose from in about a 200 mile radius.

No Snug Top Dealers. Nearest one is Tennessee. Only thing around here is LEER, Century and A.R.E.

However, You're limited and stuck to the prices and people, due to the LACK of people in our populations. What I'm getting at here, is there must have been about 25 different topper places to choose from in 200 mile radius in S. California. Eastern Carolina?? Negative

Eyes are open.

American Idol

Okay, I need to start by saying that I think that American Idol is rigged, and if it never appeared on TV agin, I wouldn't ever care.

That being said, I saw this kid on there on last night's show. Adam Archuletta or something like that, and holy friggin' shit, that was probably the best version of John Lennon's Imagine I have ever heard. Possibly even better then John Lennon's version.

Anyway, that's all. I still think the show is a farce, and if this kid don't win, then it's true.. The show's rigged.

I'm done.

New Mac??

Yep.. Let me tell you what's been going on. We've been basically without a computer for a few weeks. Actually, we just got our new computer about a week ago, so, anyway, it's been a while, actually. Had to load all our shortcuts and pages we usually visit (Note: when you back up your computer on an external drive, it doesn't save your safari bookmarks and shortcuts. Lesson learned. Sorry, Leslie, that's why we haven't been visiting your page, lately.) Anyway

This all starts about 5 months ago, when on my ibook, it kept not allowing me to put a disc in the drive (i.e. a CD) so, I called Apple care and I shipped it to them, and had it back in 3 days. CD drive was working. Month later, CD drive goes tits up again. This time, I can't even get a CD in it!! Like something is in the way. WTFO? SO, I call Apple again, and I ship it to them, and have it back in 2 DAYS!! By the way, sidebar here.. Apple is AWESOME!! Their customer service is the shit!! I called at like 7 at night, and the next afternoon, they sent me a BOX to send my mac in, pre packed with foam and postage paid. All you do is call DHL and they pick it up. I get it back in 2-3 days sent overnight. On top of that, when you call Apple you get an american usually in either CA, or CO of all places. They are fast, efficient and kind.

Okay, on with my story. They sent it back in 2 days, and it was fixed. They replaced the Super Drive. Well, no shit.. a month later, the super drive shit's the bed, again!! At this point, I'm positive it's not the drive, it's the alignment on the computer. Something is stripped out or beyond repair. I called, Apple, and they reassured me that if this happens again, they're sending me a brand new computer. No if's and's or but's. I mean, new, not refurbished. Anyway, I send off the computer and get it back in 3 days, and first disc I put in comes right out and it shit's the bed, as well. SO, I call Apple that night, they tell me no problem, and they think it's the functionality of the computer, and constant replacements that has caused permenant misalignment of the superdrive. Your new computer is on it's way. All I had to do was send my broken computer to them, and as soon as FED EX picked it up and scanned it, they shipped my new one off. Literally, within 35 minutes of them picking up my computer, I got an email with a tracking number for my new laptop. No SHIT!! It was here 22 hours later. That's amazing. Shanghai to Camp Lejeune in 22 hours. Wow.

On top of all that, they sent me 4 of the identical computers. On accident obviously. The honest integrity filled Marine in me called Apple and told them I have 4 laptops, and Thank you for the belated Christmas. They were like, "what??" Oh my god!! They had and still have no way to fix it. They can't even see where or how I have 3 extras!! These are not on their billing label or in their system. They are now, now that I read them the serial numbers and when I did that... They couldn't "see" those numbers in their system. I know this sounds hard to believe but it's all true. So, they are STILL taking my word that I have 3 EXTRA laptops here. My shipping label should be here monday, and I'm sending them off.

Before anyone emails me asking if they can have one.. NO! I'm not taking the chance of having 5700 worth of laptops not show up and they fix their mistake and tag me for it.

Anyway, the point to all this, is that we now have a computer once again. Leopard and all. Brand spanking new. One gripe.. No Appleworks or ANY real Word Processing program on here. Anyone got a fix for that?? Maybe Microsoft office or anything?

Alright, we'll talk to you all later


Mark

WTFO??

What the Fuck, over??

When did I get to be some weak piece of shit?? Let me set the stage for you. I playing with the dog, the other morning, and as I was getting up, I had to "basically" do what looks like an actual Marine Corps pushup... And I damn near couldn't do it!! A push up!!
Holy shit! That's the end of that. So every morning, I've been doing 20-30 pushups first thing in the morning. It's great. Takes about 30 seconds to do this workout and then I just get gone. Take a shower and go to work. Anyway... Yeah, I mean, I turned 30 and what.?? I just turn into a slime??? Wow. I'm changing this.
Well, if it hadn't been for Roscoe.. Who knows how far this could have gone. I mean, I'm no Brad Pitt or some sort of Jack LaLane, but god damn man... A push up?? And, get this, when I realized that my push up might not happen, I was like, oh hell no.. I did like 10 more to prove to myself that i could still do it. Well.. I about popped a damn vessel in my eye straining so hard, and I thought I was going to dislocate my shoulder.

Anyway, let's just say I had my reality check the other day, and it hurt.
Alright, I gotta take a shower, and take the kids to day care and go to work. Walk about 7 laps around the motor pool and get some work done.


Later, skaters

Back to work

Well, Chris is back to work today, and it couldn't have come at a better time. Believe it or not, my job is WAY political at times. If there's one thing that I would change about my job, is the politicism surrounding it on what seems to be almost a daily basis. Other than that... I love it. Well, Chris has been out for roughly 6 weeks due to knee surgery.

Well, today he's back. Chris runs everything at our building and is in charge of our entire building. He's not really my boss, but I work rather in tandem with him and other shop leads through out the Eastern Carolina region. By the way.. What the hell is it that I do?? I'm a Environmental Inspector, Safety Inspector and a couple of different inspectors for all ventures regarding the Marine Corps and Lockheed Martin& Day Zimmerman aboard Camp Lejeune, New River, and Cherry Point. What does all of that mean?? It don't mean a damn thing. Anyway, Chris is really one of my better and great friends I've ever had. As I've said before, Retired Master Sergeant, Force Recon in the Marines, a bit of a crazy man.

Well, now that my gay moment is over, I gotta tell you that I'm happy he's back. Let him handle all the political bullshit, now that he's back, because I had my fair share of it while he was gone. Plus, maybe now something will get done. They're all a bit afraid of him, in truth of it all. That's the real funny part.

Anyway, I'm out.

LOST

Alright, I've just about HAD it with this WRITERS STRIKE. The only saving grace is that LOST starts on Monday, the 28th. I should preface this with, "I am a LOST dork. Heather and I watch it all the time. Yeah... That's right... We own all the seasons. And yes.. We are that couple that will continually re watch shows that we have bought as seasons on DVD.

Did I mention that we also have a PS3, and the big debate in all our DVD purchases is Blu Ray or HD DVD?? Well, anyway, I wish they'd also figure out the new DVD thing. Blu Ray or HD DVD.

Also, we are the proud owners of Guitar Hero III for Playstation 3?? Oh yeah!! Man, again, I don't know what it is, but I'm way hooked to this "retarded" game. I love it.

Anyway, just thought since I haven't contributed a damn thing to this blog in a while that I would go over some dork stuff happening around here.


What are we watching right now, tonight, during the writers strike???


The Office.. Season 2

Pirate Weekend

Over the Columbus Day Holiday, I went with Chris Hill and Ed McAvoy, two guys I work with to the Shakleford Banks, just south of Harker's Island. It's an island all by itself at the southern end of the OUTER BANKS. Holy cow. This is an amazing place.

History goes that this was one of Blackbeards many islands he frequented and used in his times as a pirate. On top of that, he had a few ships go aground near there. Which leads me to this point. There are actual WILD HORSES (Ponies) on that Island.

And have been for hundreds of years. Since the days of Blackbeard. Apparently one of his ships carrying a shit load of horses, went aground at the shackleford banks and they've been living there ever since. The state has them all tagged and is watching them all, but they are protected and there is actual fresh water on that island. It's a great place and I plan on going back soon. I had the time of my life. Fishing, relaxing and just plain KICKIN' it on the island, completely by myself. No sounds of cars, no other boats, really to speak of, no other people. You're on an uninhibited island, aside from the ponies and wildlife. It was great.

A must do, if you have access to a boat.

I took this picture at sunrise the next morning. It's amazing how sunrises look so much like an Oregon Sunset off Tillamook. Gave me goosebumps of the similarity.

Can't get enough of this show

Mars Rising. On Discovery Science Channel

Man, It's got William Shatner commetating it and I must admit a gay love for William Shatner. I don't know why, and I'm thoroughly prepared for the onslaught of abuse I'm about to recieve for admiting that, but if you actually knew me, you'd know that already. I've had Shatner Albums (music) for the last 15-16 years. Still have it and anyway, enough about that...

Either way, this is a friggin' GREAT SHOW

I'm hooked. Heather's got Survivor and Private Practice and Brothers and Sisters and all that other bullshit...

I have Mars Rising and...

wait for it.. wait for it..

Family Guy.

This is the best show ever made. Enough said about that.


http://www.discoverychannel.ca/shows/showdetails.aspx?sid=2627

Family Coming In...

Yep.

My Mom and her Husband, my step dad, Roger should be here Nov. 30th. Staying for about a week. Looking forward to it. I'm sure the kids will be super stoked. They usually enjoy these types of visits from family.

Now we just gotta find stuff to do around here in Late Nov, Early Dec. I'm seeing a trip to Blackbeard's museum or the Duplin Winery? Possilbly even a trip down to the USS N. Carolina.. or if we're lucky... Heading to Quantico, VA and spend a day or two there. We'll see.

After

The Jeep

Time to start posting pictures of the Jeep, I imagine. Now that the lift is done, and all that.


Here's a before picture...