Finals flop...

I found out something weird about myself today.

I used to be a HUGE NBA fan.  That interest has waned in the past few years, but today I found myself not even remembering that the NBA finals were on.  That might have been because we are on the east coast now and NBA games come on at 9:00 or 10:00 at night (which is down right ludicrous!), or it might have to do with the NBA season being too long, or the 2-3-2 format, or that I was somewhere other than my living room... I'm not really sure.

But what I found out when I came home from work today, was that I didn't even know who won last night.

The fourth game of the series, and I didn't know.

Here's the interesting part... I didn't care!

Usually I'm routing against the Lakers.  It's possibly the best thing you can do now-a-days.  I'm usually scheduling my evenings around my disastrous evening because the Lakers won!

But this year it's been different.  I don't yet know if this is permanent, but I might have grown up without my knowledge.  That would suck.

Sorry... long time

It's been such a long time I've posted.  With the move and all, I probably could have found some time to post at least a few lines, but I've been really slack.

Here is a VERY concise update:

- Finals were complete.  I asked for leniency on my Controls project, but got little to none and ended up with my only B-.  Otherwise I got all A's.  Overachiever?  No.  Hence the B-.

- Moved to Maryland.

- Bought a new couch, chair, and grill.  I got the grill at a 25% discount (that's $100 off!)

- Checked in to my new command.

- Did little to nothing at work until last week.

- Ran the Marine Corps Historic Half Marathon (see below).  Randomly saw Pete M. there.

- Graduation was FANTASTIC.  I hadn't realized that John McCain 4 was graduating this year.  That was very cool to see a third generation/legacy here at the academy.  Got to hear the Commander and Chief speak.

- Had my In-laws at the house for their first visit.

- Had all veterans in our thoughts and prayers today.

That's about as concise as it gets for more than a month of no posts.  My reading has suffered and so has my running and/or training.  I was up to 8 miles before the move and then during the next 7 weeks I only ran one long run of almost 8 miles.  THAT'S IT!

To add to that, Matt didn't train at all.  Nope, nothing longer than 3-4 miles.  And it was supposed to rain.

I thought I would do really crappy, but considering all of the above we did really well.  I promised Matt I'd run with him the entire way as long as he was running.  He ran the whole thing.  There was a point at which we both wanted to walk, but didn't.  Our watches both had around 2:22 so I'm going with it even though we stopped to pee and the official time is a bit longer.  I'm very happy with it.  It's not anything to brag about, but it isn't bad either.

School's done (kind of)

I should get two more "homework" assignments.  But that's it!  My other classes are finished and there are no final exams.

You probably think I'm in easy street, right?  Actually no.  I move in about two weeks.  Actually the girls are going to my parents house next week, Abs and I will clean the house and prep for the packers and movers, then I check out and we take off the week after next.  Hopefully we can leave sooner than later so I can get to my parents house as soon as possible.

That's it!  We just got or DLA today so we've effectively "paid" for the move.  Now it's all elbow grease and hassle.

Student Loans

So this year, we decided to use our tax money for good use.  I'll admit, that's our plan every year, but this year we actually did it.  Some times we pay down a bill (but not all the way), then we'd splurge and go buy a tv.  Not smart, but we do have a nice tv.

This year I noticed that Abbey's... strike that... OUR school loan (I'm trying to be a better husband at the same time... but that's a post for a different day) was about the same as my refund.

It didn't take us long to put the two together and pay it off in full.  Yeah, I had to pay a little from this pay period's funds, but it was too minimal to NOT just do it.

So it's done.  Finished.  We have now paid off all our college debt.  I've got to tell you, it feels GREAT!  Anyone ever done something like that?  A car?  An old credit card?  Any stories?

Trip to Tahoe

So... there's a Coast Guard station on Lake Tahoe.  Technically it's in Tahoe City, California.  It makes sense because it's a big lake and they are there for people in the water, boats that run out of gas and are stranded, etc.

What's cool is: they have 2 A-frame buildings that they rent out to active duty military for cheap.  Yeah, it's a cabin in the woods on the lake... so it's not a resort... but like I said, it's cheap.

We went there over Presidents day weekend with the Hoskins and while we were there, it was very fun.  That's all well and good right?  Not so fast... the transit there and back was THE most frustrating thing I've done in a LONG time.

I had chains for the car, but 30 was some of the fastest driving we did once we were in the mountains... ugh... if you've ever done that mountain drive, it's like 90 miles...

At first I thought... oh... 300 miles... that's an easy 4 or 5 hours.

Marine Corps Marathon (well... the half marathon anyway)

Matt and I signed up for the Marine Corps Historic Half today... it's going to be great.  It's May 17th.

I haven't been running long distances since December, but I'm going to start training after Presidents day weekend.  I think I can do a good 12 or 13 week program and still finish the race.  In fact, since I'm moving in the middle there... I may just train to finish anyway... at a minimum it should be better than the Silver Strand Half in November 2007.  That was the one I didn't train for.

TIP FOR BEGINNING RUNNERS: Don't skip the whole "training" part of the half-marathon.

Grrr....

Nope... turns out, I'm not really a bear but it's the same noise I make when frustrated.  There are a few things that January has taught me.

1. Moving sucks.

2. I have to have a goal.

The first is an obvious one.  I've blogged about this in the past, but I can't stress enough how much I hate it.  Abbey and I have our eyes on a few houses in Maryland and we've applied for military housing.  I can explain the benefits and drawbacks of each if anyone is actually interested.

We've decided we aren't ready to buy a house, although everyone is telling me, "... but it's the best time to buy in years!"  I know.  But we aren't ready to buy a house and be successful.  What happens when we have to move.  Those same people telling me to buy are stressed out about 4 times a year by being long distance landlords.  In short, we're renting.

Secondly, neither my training, nor school, nor debt reduction happens without a goal.  I ran two half marathons in late November and early December.  I ran well.  2:12 and 2:04 (second course was way flatter and w/o coastal wind).  I had a training schedule and had to plan my days and weeks out so EVERYTHING would get done.  I thought... "Boy... I wonder how much would get done if I didn't have to schedule 2 hours on Saturday for a long run!  I'll just run every day or every other day about 3-4 miles... then I'll run when the sun is up and then I'll have lots more time!"

The reality is... I don't.  I play more Xbox, I drink one more cup of coffee instead of water.  I don't blog, I check facebook two or three times a day, I don't do homework.  I just sit there and think about all the crap I have to do for school, for the move... Grrr!!!  (insert bear sound)  Do I really HAVE to have a goal?  Turns out the answer is yes.

So anyway, good luck to Sarah training for Boston (somehow she didn't have to qualify and is running for charity) and I am committing to this blog thing... I've had it for over a year now and I don't blog but maybe once a month.  Jeepers.

Oh yes... check out Marcy's blog.  Funny stuff on the "Engrish!"

He's a mover and a shaker...

I WILL NOT talk politics on this blog.  I didn't during the election, nor will I ever unless this blog lasts until I'm 50 and that's all I have to do.

If you know me, I'm pretty thoughtful on most all subjects and I am definitely willing to listen to all sides of a story before making a decision.

While I don't necessarily agree with everything President Obama has done or will do, he sure kept one promise.  That guy is a mover!  I have the feeling there is lots on his plate and he sure got down to business quickly!  I think I like it.

books...

My Mom would tell you that I'm a reader.  I doubt my kids would though...

Last year, my new years resolution was to read 3 classic novels.  I will tell you that it got me back in the habit.

This year I've been listening to books on tape while I run.  Since I'm not training for anything right now, it's easier to just go... zone out... and listen to the story.  Some of the books I've picked are garbage.  Some are good.  Some are so good that I listened to them while I drove to Oakland the other day.

Erin told me that it's the most boring thing she's ever done.  I disagree.  If I'm doing a half marathon I doubt I'll do it... so I'll keep the running mix on my iPod, but if I'm not training I think I'll be spending a good amount of money "reading" books.

Cutting out the extra...

For those of you that are Ramsey Acolytes, you know the steps for the "Debt-Snowball."  And you also probably know that you only stop to save up money for an emergency.  Well, I've listened to quite a lot of Dave Ramsey over the last few months (long runs only people!) and I've also uncovered another reason to stop the snowball.  Major life events.  Moving across the country is included in that.

I'll bet the followers are saying, "Didn't you JUST move?"  Yep.  We did.  But I got new orders and we'll be moving to Annapolis, MD.  Where I'll be teaching in the engineering department.

While that's really neat and stuff, I DREAD moving.  In fact I'll say that I HATE it.

To make this story short, I'll conclude with my new school schedule.  I'm taking a Military Strategy Course (fancy way to say History), a Controls course (think of an auto-pilot for a sailboat), and Naval Architecture.  Busy schedule, but I'll still have time for running!