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!

Happy Christmas!

Merry Christmas to you and your family!

I've been meaning to write...

So this blog thing isn't so easy. It would be if I could find something funny all the time. But alas, I can't. I'll give you a few updates so far. The first is Guitar Hero World Tour.

Okay, so I know what you are thinking... Guitar Hero is just a popular thing that I should have been playing about a year ago. Well, I hadn't ever actually played the game other than at a family reunion and that was the game Rockband. For those of you like me, Rockband and Guitar Hero are competitors and have slightly different benefits and drawbacks, but my Mom bought me the Guitar Hero World Tour version which is the first in the series to have the original songs and not the covers.It also has a drum set as you've seen from the above.  The kids loved it.  The game has a "beginner" level that lets you just strum or hit the drum set anywhere and doesn't kick you out if you miss a lot of notes.  It's perfect for the kids.

Anyway, I really like the game and find it's hilarious to play with a group of adults.  That's even better.  The selection of music is unique too.  From Willie Nelson's "On the Road Again," to Michael Jackson's "Beat It," to "Everlong" by the Foo Fighters, to Beastie Boys, or Lincoln Park.  It's great.  Anyone else play this game?

St. Jude Memphis Marathon

I've been meaning to write for some time now. Last week I took a trip to my parents house and had an entry in the St. Jude Marathon. It's pretty exciting to run two half-marathons in 4 weeks. Let me explain...

Sorry no pictures, but I ran the half marathon on December 6th. The trip, which I took by myself, was a short one but a good one nonetheless. I left school early on Thursday after my Materials Science test and flew to San Francisco where my flight couldn't get to the gate for about 15 minutes. It's already only a 30 min flight there so you can see how many of us were anxious. I missed my plan to Denver by about 2 minutes, but took the next available one 30 mins later. In Denver I had no problems (that I knew of) but the plane I was supposed to board didn't take off from Idaho Falls until I landed in Denver so the flight out was about 2 hours late. All of this was sorted out, crazily, but nothing was really a problem. Then finally when I landed in Memphis Friday morning (the 5th) at 12:22 my luggage didn't come out on the belt.

That kind of sucks. STILL I wasn't worried because Denver flies in to Memphis all the time. After a day of waiting, I got my bag late Friday night and was ready for the race the next day.

If you've ever run this marathon or half, you know that it's the rare morning SATURDAY run. Gassia drove me to the race and I was pretty much on my own. I had some friends that I met there and ran with them for a few miles.

All in all I had a GREAT run. I trained for 2:10 and ran a 2:18 officially. WAIT! I forgot to tell you that I stopped at mile 4 to use the potty. When I say, "potty," I mean #2 people! I HATE that part about running... having to go in the middle! UGH! Anyway, after the line... I probably took 5-7 minutes total there!

Once I was back in the race I ended up running a 10 minute pace and finished REALLY strong. I'm happy about it.

After the race, it didn't really feel like I had run a half marathon, it felt like a long run and that's it.

The flight back was great and I have only run 3 time since! Talk about a break! yikes! I have to jump on the wagon again!

Thanksgiving

I LOVE THANKSGIVING! Mostly because I love to eat. One of the many reasons I run stems from that too. I hope everyone had a great holiday yesterday.

Xbox

I got an Xbox. Yep. Abbey said I could do it and I did. Am I an idiot? Yes, of course... but it's SO fun. I don't exactly play online, but I do sync it to the online content for the NBA game I have. It reorders rosters and stuff like that. Man, it's great. I used to spend HOURS going online and finding out the current trades and stuff like that. HOURS. This was before I had children, but that's not the point. I got two games with the Xbox and bought two others.

Here's a picture of Hannah singing the new Disney "Sing It" game. It's like Rock Band or whatever but only the vocals. If you get another mic, you can do duets, etc. It's all songs from the "tween" movies that Disney's produced lately and also includes Miley Cyrus songs (with and without the Hannah Montana outfit). For the record, Kung Fu Panda and Lego Indiana Jones are pretty darn fun too.

Appropriate Terms

I have this pet-peeve. It's called the appropriate term. For goodness sakes people! Everything has a name for a reason!

I know people hate these but I prefer them to touchpads... really.

New X-Box?

I have no idea if I spelled that correctly.  X-Box I mean.  Really, I love football.  And college basketball.  Heck, I like sports in general.  With that said, I'm sure I shouldn't be getting one.  To make a comparison, I had a Nintendo when I was in the fourth grade, and played it for years.  Then when I was a Sophomore in college, I was one of the first people to get a Nintendo-64.  When I was in grad school in 2002 I bought a PS2.  Then two years ago I bought both a Nintendo DS Lite and a PSP.  Do I really need ANOTHER console?

Gosh, history of Josh lessons never cease.  You all are lifelong learners huh?

Anyway, today in class most of my classmates learned that my thesis was complete and I really had "nothing to do except take classes!"

Yes, it's true.

Then one of them asked, "Did you buy your X-Box yet?"

So that's my question.  Do I really WANT an X-Box?  Let's do the math.

Fact: I love football and football season is in full swing.

Fact: College basketball JUST started and will end about the time the NBA season starts to get interesting.

Fact: I have a family now, unlike the last few times I bought video game consoles.

Fact: Abbey will get annoyed FAST if I play on the X-Box too much.

Fact: After buying one first person shooter game, I will buy one basketball game and one football game and play them for a year before they become "out of date" and I try to adjust the players attributes on my own.

Yeah... it doesn't look like I should be buying an X-Box.

Great(?) Run!

Don't get me wrong, I like my time.  Excuse the history of Josh lesson, but I ran 3 half marathons last year (St. Jude in Dec 2006, America's Finest City in Aug 2007, and the Silver Strand Half in Nov 2007).  Then I held off from running a few more since I was moving during the summer sometime of 2008.  I did run a 5K everyday from Thanksgiving to New Years and did a few small things to challenge myself.

So when we finally moved and I signed up for the Big Sur Half Marathon, I didn't "train" per se, but I did run all of my runs at about a 10 minute pace.  I did my last long run two Saturdays before the race at 12 miles and tapered down the next week running 8 miles the Saturday before and a 3 mile on Monday, 3 mile on Wednesday, and 2 miles on Thursday with Friday and Saturday completely off.

So... my EXPECTATION was to run 13.1 miles at a 10 min pace.  That wasn't the case.  I ran the first 7-8 miles at 9:04!  Holy FRICK!

You know the old saying, "If you go out too fast, you'll pay for it in the end."?  (sorry about the punctuation, I'm an engineer at heart)  Well I did.  To put it in perspective, I hit the final turn averaging a 10 min pace, and finished the race at 10:30 average pace.  Not too shabby you say?  Well, if I went a little more than half way at a 9 min pace and finshed at 10:30 then my last 4 miles were around 13 mins/mile... It's just disheartening.

Yes, I'm happy with a 2:18, no I didn't hurt myself, and yes, I finished strong.  I get it.  I did better than 50% of runners my age.  I should be happy.  I am happy.  I'm going to run another... it's just a matter of point of view I guess.

To add to this already long tale, on Saturday my Mom called and asked if I wanted to run the St. Jude half marathon (the Memphis Marathon is what some people call it).  She said since I ran in 2006 she thought I'd be interested.  Hi Mom, it's not like I forgot about it?!?  Anyway, she thought she would sweeten the pot and offered to cash in frequent flyer miles to buy me a ticket.  Hey cool, I thought.  But then I looked at registering for the half marathon.  It was not too late to register, but I had to pay the late-comer registration fee.  I did NOT want to pay $70.  Yes, call me cheap.  I won't deny it.

So I was kind of bummed I didn't get to run, but oh well.  Then as I was resting after the run yesterday, my Mom called again.  She had her neighbor Gassia over.  Gassia is a big runner.  Gassia works for a running-friendly company.  A company that has already purchased 10 entries.  Gassia only has 9 people ready to run.  So... to my Mom... it was a free entry.  And then she said she already purchased tickets to Memphis for me.

So, now I have another half marathon less than 4 weeks (yes, I know it's only 1 day less, but still) from the one I ran just yesterday.  And yes, I'm actually pretty psyched!

Big Sur Half Marathon

Wish me luck you guys!

Also, for the funny in us.  (Someone please tell me why I saw the OSTRICH option...)

My Avatar

There are a few things I've NEVER thought I'd go and do.  One of them is getting an Avatar.  If you don't know, an avatar is technically: a manifestation of a deity or released soul in bodily form on earth.  If you are like Matt, then you'll laugh at me and correct me, probably saying something to the effect of, "In modern terms it's basically (because he always says basically) a moveable icon representing a person in cyberspace or virtual reality graphics."

Since I don't have "Second Life" or anything like that on my computer, I was checking out the Nike+ website, and there's recently been an option for a "My Nike+ Mini".  So I clicked and sure enough... it's an avatar!

I designed my avatar in about 25 seconds (maybe less) and posted it for everyone to see.  Since the "My Last 5 Runs" isn't working regularly, but the "My longest Run" is... I thought people could see my last run and my avatar's reaction to the run.  In fact, if I don't run, the avatar will mock me to try to encourage more running.  I think I'll like that, if even for the humor in it.