Bear

We took Ares and Bear swimming the other day.
He is part of the family now. Ares and he constantly play and drive us crazy. With Ares, sometimes we could sleep in til 8 on the weekends. This morning they woke me up at 530. Bear will sit on one side of us on the couch and Ares will sit on the other.

Things I Forget

I often forget many things, but a big thing that happened was my iPod got stolen. Right out of our garage!
4th of July, had a few drinks, went to bed. I got up about 130 Saturday afternoon (I know, remember that I was out in the hot sun all day on the 4th) and Ronnie had cleaned all the house except the floors. I went outside to get my iPod and it was gone! The case was still there. The iPod Dock was still there, but the iPod was gone! What a horrible thing. I did get a new one and waited a week to open it, the old one never turned up.
Yesterday I noticed that the weather had destroyed part of our garden. Today I went out side and tried to doctor it up a little bit. The Cheyenne peppers now have a tomato cage for support. The Tomatoes were all pulled up. Ronnie had pulled all of the mushrooms yesterday. I pulled the broken tomato plant roots out of the garden. I also noticed these little white bugs. They look like rollie-pollies on steroids. They are about 10 or so times the size of the little gray bug I played with as a child and I can not help but wonder if they were killing my garden.

4th

Hope everyone had a great 4th of July. I worked for 7 hours and Ronnie started the party at the house. It was kinda cool to come home to a house full of people, but once again, Ronnie had to do everything by him self and I know that sucks.

Monday the 7th, I geniously sliced my thumb and pointer finger open. Yeah.....it hurt.

Nothing else interesting else happening here except the 5 days of rain that pretty much destroyed the garden.

Saipan

Well, Ronnie ended up not going to Malaysia. Here are a few pics from Saipan. It was nice to get away, but the island is really small and 3 days and 2 nights would have been perfect for us.
This is the scooter we rode for 4 days:

Sunset out of our window:

Bird Island where the battery on our camera died:

One of Many

I tend to stay pretty active with things at work. I am however very picky about the things that I get involved with. I only do the things that really enjoy. I don't do them to make the Navy or myself look good.
There is a very large military retiree population here in the Marians Islands. One of the many things that Veterans can get is a military burial. 3 commands here take turns providing this very important service. This year happens to be the hospital.
It is a very strange feeling to render last military honors for someone and have the wife or husband, son or daughter standing behind you crying as you slowly and respectfully fold a flag. I am damn proud to do it!

Sometimes the midnight phone call is good.

Thursday night, out phone rang at 11 p.m. We did not move. I heard the message and refused to get up. At some time later in the night, the phone rang again and again. The second two calls were at 1 a.m. and about 2 or 3 a.m. I again did not move. Ronnie got out of bed and did what the 3 people who had called us advised us to do about 4 a.m.
He came back to bed and told me that he missed promotion by 6 points and that I needed to get up and go check. About 430 I did. Yes, I made HM1! by 6 points.

Mini Vacation

I am taking a few days off in May to finish up some school. I thought it would be kinda cool for me and Ronnie to go do something on this island one of those days becuase we would actually be able too. As it is now, he gets home about an hour before I do and is 'napping' or I am just not in the mood to do anything.
Well, he is going on a little mini working vacation the same week I took off. I is going somewhere in Malaysia for a few days or so. Now, I am going to be sitting at home looking up what I want him to go SHOPPING for!

When I Grow Up

I have always had a passion for the Medical field. There is NO better feeling to me than someone being sick and in a matter of minutes or hours you can get them feeling better and they look at you and say, "Thanks".
The best memory I have of this is when I was in Okinawa, Japan. A patient came into the clinic and and been throwing up. She was not able to hold down water or food. I ran the tests on her and determined that she was dehydrated and needed fluids (an IV) and medication to stop her from throwing up. I explained to her what I was going to do (give her an IV with the medication already added), how it was going to make her feel (right now-sleepy, and later in the day-groggy and incoherent), and what she needed to do to continue to get better. After I started her IV, I called for some one to come and get her and give her a ride back home. I soon covered her up with a blanket (IV fluids can make you very cold). After the IV was done, she slept for about an hour and was awoken once her ride arrived. I repeated her instructions to get better to her and her ride home. She looked at me as I was walking them to the door and told me that in her 8 years in the military no one had ever taken the time to explain things the way I did or to make sure she understood what was causing her to feel so badly. This is what I love.
I am currently working on my Associates Degree and am taking courses in Human Services. I have never had a desire for knowledge in the Mental Health aspect of the medical field and I am not really sure if I do now, but I am really enjoying the class. I don't think I want to go into counseling, but I think that I may really enjoy social work when I grow up.

No Suprise

Ronnie's birthday is on Easter. I decided last weekend to throw him a suprise pary on Saturday. The suprise was ruined. Everyone still came over. The birthday cake had to be the only cake Ronnie would eat.....yellow with chocolete frosting. One of the guys decided to make it an 'off road' cake. The plan was to use hot wheels. Great idea.....it turned out the be the best and worst cake I have ever seen!

Detour

Last weekend, we were invited to a wedding. I had duty and could not go but Ronnie and some friends went. As they were driving across the island on Cross Island Road, someone (who will not be named) decided it would be a good idea to check out a mud pit. So they did and got stuck! Here is a picture of the place about 7 months ago.

Here is what Ronnie's jeep looked like after last weekend.


They were obviously late for the wedding, but they did make it!

Damage is Done

Our desk top computer decided to stop working last week, kinda. We could log on to it and work for about 10 minutes. Then, our screen would go blank and the computer would shut off.....all by it's self.
We decided to get a new one. We spoke to several friends to get advice on what we should get and look for. I built a laptop on line and had a few people look over it see if it was a good system for the things that we were planning on using it for. A few minor adjustmets were made and it was discovered that this particular laptop would take about 6 weeks to get here (yet another company that does not ship to military addresses). So I meet Ronnie at the store and we looked. The only laptop they had that compared to the one I built was the same price. It had some features we did not need and was lacking quite a few that we did need. Needless to say, we had a disagreement in the store and left.
This last Saturday we decided to go back. A friend met us there and helped us compare what was available. The one Ronnie wanted was the only one that was a real option for us. I was stil upset about the missing programs. I decided to go ahead and get it. So, we have a new laptop (it is more like a portable CPU...it is big)!
Later Saturday afternoon, we found out what might be the problem with our CPU. The fan on the processor had stopped working. Yesterday Ronnie and I went to a local computer company and they had the part and were able to install it right away! We spend a signigicant amount on the laptop and the cost to fix the CPU that is now working fine.......$35!

Better Left Unsaid

Many times in life we are faced with tough obsticles. Some times we make the right choice and sometimes we make one that is not soo good. No matter what, when you explain these choices, somethings are better left unsaid, or do we really want to know the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth?
A popular military movie stated that, "You can't handle the truth". I have always been one to put all of the cards on the table and expected others to do the same. Sometimes this is hard to dish out and hard to swallow. It is said that you should not ask the question if you are not willing to accept the answer.
I struggle very frequently with my occupation. I often ask myself if I can really do this for another 10 years, 10 months and 24 days. Things are ofter not done in the way that I like or appove of and that makes it difficult at times.
This month our annual evaluations were perfomed. These evaluations are used for everything from promotions so further education opertunities, to duty station assignments. I have been in a leadership position for a long time so I understand very well how this process is suppose to work. Everyone provides imput on the last 12 months, this imput is put into a specified format, and everyone who is being evaluated gets 'compared' to each other and is ranked 1-whatever. This is where the problem comes it. I feel and interpret the manuals for this process to be: He who is the best IS THE BEST. Not everyone feels this way. Many people take other things in concideration that are really not relevent to job performance and the many other standards that military members are held to. One example is time in location. I don't care if someone has been in a job for 3 years or 1. Who is the best performer? Who gets the most done and gets it done correctly.
We also get an annual evaluation halfway through the year that tells us what we need to work on as an individual. This is not ranked and is just guidance. When we get our annual evaluation, questions often follow. When you are getting debriefed on your evaluation sometimes things are brought to light that are not located on your evaluation. Way to often I hear of people being told, "You are the number one at this command, but Joe Smo has been here longer. I lost hours of sleep over this choice and it was debated and revisited several times. Sorry". WHAT THE HELL.
I have seen this situation and many very close to it and it discusts me that we are expected to die for our country but can not get the credit we deserve for the hard work and dedication that we provide. I can not decide if I would rather hear the truth in this situation, of if it is something that truly is better left unsaid.

Other Side of the World

With all of the technology the world has today you would think that it is easy to keep up on EVERYTHING and for the most part. Log onto the Internet or turn on CNN. You will see things that are going on right now. You can log in to various messenger services, hook up a web cam and see people 5,000 miles away from you. You can use satellite programs and zoom in on your childhood home. Yet, it is not the same as seeing your newborn nephew or your sister graduate from high school.
I have been in the Navy for nine years and have spent 4 of them out side of the United States and I have missed many things. We planned to go home in October of this year (half way through our tour on a remote island in the Pacific) and participate in some important events. Ronnie's sister had a baby last October and is getting married this October. One of Ronnie's best friends just moved half way across the country. Ronnie has never been to New Orleans nor has he experienced the rich history of the South. We planned on spending 25 days catching up, celebrating, and traveling (something we love to do but really can't on an island that you can drive around in 3 hours).
After careful budget analysis and debates, it is just not feasible. Plane tickets are 2 grand a piece. A rental car and gas for 25 days is about 2 grand and 5 nights in hotels makes a grand total of 7 thousand dollars! This does not include food, shopping, visiting Plantations that line HWY 90 in South-east Louisiana or anything else we come across that we decide to do.
You would think that with the technology that we have, it would not cost this much, but we were both surprised when we realized what we were about to commit ourselves to. I hope that everyone back home anticipating our trip is not too disappointed and realizes that we are both bumbed about this painful decision, but we just can't do it. We will however, take advantage of the technology more. My goal is to make at least one entry a week (instead of 5 in one day once a month). We do plan on taking a much smaller (and affordable) vacation soon and will take lots of pictures for all to enjoy.
For those of you planning or wishing to come visit, our door is open and we would love to share our experiences of the island and culture with you on the other side of the world!

The Smell

Our home is a frequent for a few of Ronnie's co-workers. They come over, hang out, eat, drink, play video games, play with Ares, and pass out. I get up the next morning (usually about 7), and cook breakfast.
For the last few weeks, one of our friends from the ship has been staying with us because he moved here and had to wait until his house was ready to move in. A few weekends ago one of the guys stayed over and was sitting on the living room couch. Our house guest was upstairs. Ronnie and I were in the kitchen getting breakfast together. We hear this strange noise and some yelling. Ronnie practicaly runs me over getting out of the kitchen and into the hall way. There was this smell that hit me as he ran past. As I got to the hall way I saw I sight that I can not fully remember or describe. Our house guest was standing about 4 steps up from the bottom of the stairs, the couch guy was at the bottom of the stairs, and Ronnie was squatting while holding Ares in his hands.
Ares had apparently walked around our living room table, stepped on a plastic bag, got scared and ran straight. If you assumed that the stairs were straight in front of him, than you are correct! (Keep in mind that the lower level of our house is tile.) As Ares tried to stop on the tile floor he slid. Right in between the rails of our stairs!
Ares is fighting the stair case and Ronnie to get out with no luck. Ronnie gets him to calm down and as I approach them, this smell gets stronger. I tried to turn his head and get him out, but we could not. The two guys tried to but some stress on the rails to help get Ares out but that did not work either. While they tried to do a few more things, I noticed that there were a few deposits on the floor under Ronnie right about the time he put his foot down. His immediate verbal expression of frustration describded the deposits on the floor! I tried to clean this up while the guys continued to free Ares' head from the vicious stairwell. At this point I started looking for something to cut the railing. We have the bread knife, the electric knife, a machete. Nothing seemed like a good idea. Ronnie then told me to grab his Leatherman because it had a saw on it.
This worked and freed Ares. Now, we have burnt biscuts for breakfast and a pile of poop on the floor that Ronnie is trying not to spread. Ares wanted nothing to do with the stairs for about 2 hours. He also had a cut on each side of his face (minor) and a few scratches on his paws and legs from trying to get out.
The thing that amazes me most in all of this is not the wonder of how he fit his head through the bars and we could not get them back out, rather how I am 27 and still gag at the thought of cleaning up poop! It is amazing that I have been in health care for 12 years and it still gets to me. I do not know how people can change baby diapers and not gag. I can tell you that I have smelled two things that I will never forget. Burning flesh and Scared-out-of-you defication.

What happened to February

It came and it went. I don't even remember what all happened. It was here and it was gone. I am not sure where it went. Ronnie told me that we were not going to do anything except go out to eat. I come home and he has 2 card on the kitchen counter. The first one was from Ronnie that said some thing about giving me jewlrey and it had a button on the inside that said "Worlds Greatest Wife". The second was from Ares. It said, "I lick my feet, I lick your feet. I lick my leg, I lick your leg. I lick my arm, I lick your arm. I lick my butt, I lick your face"! It was really cute.

Drive

Have you ever been driving and had a thought that was totally shocking? I did 3 days ago. I thought to my self, "Screw this. I don't need this. I can get out in November and get a job where I don't have to worry if people pay thier bills or drink too much or any of this other crap. Civilian jobs don't give a shit if you don't get you flu shot. WHY THE HELL AM I DOING THIS?" Then I realized that other than the above mentioned and a few other ideosecraseas, I love my job. Everything has it's good and it's bad.

True Holiday Kick-off

Being duel-military like we are has its ups and downs. One of the ups and downs happened this weekend. Up-We get two command 'Holiday Celebrations' (formaly known as the Christmas Party). Down-Just so happened they were the same weekend this year. Down-And I had to work mine. Not serious work, but I had some things I had to do becase I was on the planning committee. Up for him, Down for me-I was the DD Friday night at Ronnie's Party. Up-His command is very small and they got a gift for everyone! Ronnie got a back massager for the car and I got an iPOD dock that I am going to take to work. Up-With his command being so small, they can "Tell it like it is", and to me it was a true Sailors party. Down-Saturday I was the first one there to get everything set up for the registration table and door prizes. Up-I had a 'SMOKIN' red dress on. Up-Ronnie won a $50 gift certificate.

I guess having 2 semi-formal Christmas Parties in one weekend is a true 'Holiday Kick-off'!

Holiday Season

We had Thanksgiving at out house for about 20 of our friends. It consisted of Rock Band, Rock Band, and more Rock Band. Ronnie cooked his first ever turkey and it was good. We had a friend fry a turkey and I really miss home!

Today we went and got our Christmas tree and that fun stuff. Not much else going on except that I sent a Christmas card to a total stranger!

Life in Guam

We have been busy working. And work. And work. That is why I have not put anything on the blog. By the time I get home from work I don't want to do anything. Ronnie got Guitar Hero III last weekend and we got the rest of the system in my truck! It is nice.

Ares is getting big and spoiled. He totally destroyed his first puppy dog! I have sewn it back together several times but he ate the body of this time. Ronnie refuses to throw it away.

Yesterday we went looking for Christmas decorations. We looked for an angel for the top of the tree and have not been able to find one. I did find a singing and dancing Christmas tree. It sings 'Rockin Around the Christmas Tree'. That is all for now.

Taga'chang Beach Park

We found this really cool beach/park a few months ago when we were invited to a party. I wanted to take Ares there to play so we have gone there 2 or 3 times now. It is absolutly beautiful. Here are some pictures of a wave crashing: