Saturday, January 16, 2010

Week In Review

The past week seems to have been a busy one, with work being what it is, and school getting close to crunch time. I have a new batch of students at work, and they are a lively bunch.

I got some great news from back home this week. I won't go into detail, but suffice it to say that I'm greatly relieved, and I'm sure the rest of my family is too.



A new combined enlisted and Staff Non-commissioned Officer club opened on Camp Foster here recently. My wife and I tried it out for lunch today, and they were serving what appeared to be their Sunday brunch buffet (it's Saturday here). The food was plentiful and pretty fresh. I was somewhat impressed, since most buffet food is barely warm and of questionable freshness. Since it was not Sunday, the price was much better than expected. They sure built a beautiful club, and I hope it gets plenty of use.

My dog knows what the word "cookie" means, and she can even recognize that word when we spell it. I think we've created a cookie monster, but she's not blue.

Windows 7 seems to be working out great for me. My computer seems faster with this OS, I get far fewer popup warning messages, and I'm having fun discovering all of the features that are packed into this version. I get a kick out of the people who tell me that, "Linux can do that!" Super. Enjoy yourself.

I was reminded of the phrase, "Excuses are like a$$holes; everyone has one, and they all stink." I stopped a young Marine in the PX today who was wearing sweat pants. PT gear, or what most folks would call athletic wear, is not authorized for wear on leave or liberty, except when conducting PT, sports, working out at the gym, etc. It's never been authorized for wear in the PX. When I asked the young man if he thought his attire would be considered PT gear, he responded with, "I just got here." I'm not real sure what that has to do with anything, but I guess he thought it was pertinent to the topic. I know I've offered up my own share of excuses in the past, and maybe I just notice it more now.



A buddy at work finally tried making bacon wrapped little smokies, and he quickly realized just what I was talking about after Thanksgiving. I have known for a while now that bacon is one of the greatest foods on the planet, but these little babies sealed the deal for me when my wife made them a few weeks back. They really do taste far better than you think they would. I wouldn't advise anyone to make these if they have an addictive personality. If we made these on a regular basis, I think my waist line would have its own zip code.



Some of you already know about my addiction to gadgets. I have a watch that has a built-in GPS receiver. I've had this little gem for about five months now. It's a Garmin Forerunner 205, and it gives me more information than I thought possible. It even hooks up to my computer, and the included software helps me manage my runs, monitor my performance, and set up future routes. It tells me distance, pace, elapsed time, elevation changes, and all kinds of other stuff. I can set the display up to show me whatever information I want it to, and keep track of my pace while on the go. With a half marathon in my future, this sucker is pretty useful. It also comes in handy when I lead my students on a PT run at work. I can set a steady pace, and work toward increasing that pace as the course progresses. The 205 is a bit on the bulky side, but the usefulness makes it worth it. I don't wear it as an every day time piece, but I've put a bunch of miles on it so far while running. I would recommend this product to others. There are newer versions out there that do other stuff (heart rate monitors, blue tooth updates to your computer, etc), but they cost a lot more money.

That's my week in a nutshell; how was yours?

6 comments:

Gary said...

As a side to your Smokies in bacon, try tater-tots wrapped in bacon. They offer a tremendous boost in both saturated and non-saturated fats, colesterol and other really cool vegetable bi-products known to cause cancer in laboratory animals. I'll email you about the job search.

Elaina M. Avalos said...

Sounds like you had a good week. So is that a pic of the new club? Nice! Good to hear MCCS isn't mucking up the food yet. Haha. Although, I never complained about the food I got at the club at Lejeune. And they have the best stuffed mushrooms on earth. LOL!

My week was alright. I'm settling in back here in NC. I move into "my" new digs on Sunday though. I'm looking forward to that. Now to find one of those job things. Haha.

Elaina M. Avalos said...

P.S. Since when is it okay for anyone (civilian or otherwise) on base to wear PT gear when not PT'ing? That "I just got here thing" makes no sense.

gary said...

Re wearing PT gear in the exchange:

Over at Kadena, I'm sure it's totally acceptable to walk around in your PT gear, PJs, or anything else that moves you. Perhaps the 'high-and-tight' was used to fitting in with the zoomies...

Just John said...

@Gary: Well, this was on Foster, and I asked the young man if he was a Marine. You're so right about Kadena though. I've seen some things over there that just make me scratch my head in wonder.

@Elaina: I hope the search goes well. Winter in NC sounds good, but after this tropical clime, I think it would seem like arctic conditions!

kris said...

love them smokies! At Christmas, we had turkey wrapped in bacon. NUM! :-D

Now I'm intrigued by your Garmin - as I need to be working off the calories!

I liked the "I just got here" excuse. It reminds me of the George Costanza, "was that wrong? was I not supposed to do that?".