Silly Pilots, Part II

In case you're wondering, the silly pilot in question this time would be my boss. Remember the previous post where I was talking about the wall of pictures that go up in headquarters? Yeah.... So they just put up the picture frames at my battalion's hq, but not everyone has had their official photos taken yet. So my boss thought it would be funny to find some other pictures to use as placeholders. The picture of "me" is in the top row, third from the left:

Its a stunning likeness, i think.

What Warrant Officers do when they're not Flying

I apologize for the pre-explanation, but otherwise this picture wouldn't make any sense to non-military types....

In the headquarters of just about every army unit, on the wall, there will be pictures of the chain of command. It starts off with whoever is charge of that unit, usually a Lieutenant Colonel. The next picture will be his boss, a colonel. Then the colonel's boss, a general. Then the general's boss, a general with more stars, and so on until you see a picture of the president.

Then, on the other wall, they'll have pictures of the commanders (usually captains) that work for the lieutenant colonel. Get the idea? So anyway, when we went down to Fort Campbell we moved into an empty hangar, where they had taken down their pictures, but left up the frames on the wall. The pilots thought it would be cute to make sure that the temporary chain of command was properly represented on the wall:

I thought it was pretty funny. Apparently my picture started off with just the red skirt, but they said my stick figure looked topless at that point, so they added the cool square blue shirt. And yes, we left the pictures behind after we were done.

Waverly friggin Ohio!

Not too long after I got back from California, I volunteered to be in a small group (six crews) that would go to Fort Campbell, KY for two weeks to do some training down there. I was really hoping to be able to check out our rental house while I was down there, but never made it out there, dang. I was able to visit some old friends that I used to work with though, so that definitly made the trip worthwhile. The weather was mostly great down there and all the crews got a lot of flying in - certainly more than we would back here.

The best part of the trip for me, though, was getting there. We "self-deployed" the helicopters to Fort Campbell by flying them through Pennsylvania and Ohio. My mother's house in Waverly just happened to be right along our route of flight so I took a couple of pictures - I wish we had more time to stop at the little airport there, but we working on a tight timeline.

Ma - sorry the picture isn't better, I forgot my good camera and had to use the disposable :(

Where I've been these past few months...

I took company command back in October, which is a blessing and a great job, and is the primary reason that I've been so busy lately. Because the weather up here is so crappy in the witner the unit will travel to warmer locations to conduct training. Nowhere exotic, just places with fewer clouds and blizzards. My first stop was to Fort Hood, Texas for two weeks back in December. The only picture I have is from one day when we "snuck away" to Dallas and landed on a rooftop downtown:

The crew chiefs are the two standing outside, I'm sitting in the front right seat.

NTC / Fort Irwin, CA

This is where I spent the entire month of January :

I would like to flatter myself and say this is a horrible picture of me, but no, I always look this silly. So it is an accurate representation, unfortunately. For those of you unfamiliar with NTC, its an Army post in the middle of nowhere (Mojave desert) in California where units will go to for a month-long training rotation. During that month you get to "rough it" and pretend you're somewhere like Iraq or Afghanistan. Except, generally speaking, the living conditions at NTC were far more miserable than Iraq. Exhibit A:

What is that, you ask? That's my sleeping tent, being blown away in a sand storm. That happened twice, good times. But enough complaining, I got to fly a good bit out there so it wasn't too bad.

.... and this is a picture of the flightline with one of the mountains in the background, hooray!

I'm back! (Happy Easter)

Hooray!

I know I've been busy lately, but I can't believe the last time I updated this thing was back in September.... unbelievable. Since then I've spent over two months away from home (in bits and pieces) and what seems like the remainder of my time at the office. But I really do enjoy my new job, and with Matt being away its not a bad thing to always have something to do.

I finally developed a roll of film from an old-school disposable camera that I took with me on my "adventures" so I will post some of those, along with the obligatory lame-ass picture of what winter looks like at my house, enjoy:

The Black River

Just a pretty picture, down the road from my house:

Is it Thanksgiving yet?

Frequent sightings of roving bands of 20+ turkeys are normal here in the "North Country" - Its not everyday I see them in my backyard though - I actually took this picture from inside my livingroom. Too bad I don't have a gun and a bigger freezer. Maybe next time!
And Sarah, before i get a smart-ass comment from you - No, there aren't 20+ turkeys in the picture, I couldn't fit them all in one frame. Still might be a misplaced modifier though, dang....

A better picture of the cat....

I still need a good name for her!

My Moment of Weakness

Emotional duress will lead most people to make decisions that they normally wouldn't make. In my case, that decision was to adopt a friend's cat. Everyone, meet "Pretty Kitty."
Just before Matt deployed I talked to him about how I wouldn't be as lonely if Goldie were still around. I would love to get another dog, but I just won't be home enough to take care of one. A cat would be much easier - that's the comment I made without thinking, next the woman who had just announced that she had to find a new home for her cat because she was moving. Damn, I'm a sucker. Oh yeah, and I'm allergic to cats (although giving them regular baths keeps me from sneezing). So here is my new cat, caught hiding underneath the stairs because she's pissed that I gave her a bath. Any good names for her?

Things That Suck

No, not Matt. But Matt deploying for 15 months, that sucks. Here is a picture of us yesterday acting like it wouldn't:

When we were deployed (at the same time) before, I never gave much consideration to what it must be like on the "other side" of a deployment, to be the stateside spouse. I can now easily say that I would much rather being hanging out in Iraq than to be attempting normalcy at home while I'm worried about Matt.... And that's as emotional as I'm going to get in this blog.

Of course my opinion might change slightly in a few days when I'm leisurely watching football in the recliner while Matt is melting in Kuwait's 140-degree heat. Yuck.

More on yesterday's suckiness: the whole process took waaaaaay too long. Talk about pulling the bandaid of slowly - The Soldiers all had to report at noon for accountability, then had a full six hours of saying goodbye again and again in between more formations and weapons-drawing, before finally getting on the buses that took them to the plane. Six friggin hours. Miserable. Not to sound old-school, but four years ago the same process took about half an hour from the time Matt dropped me off until we had to say our final goodbye, a nice ripping-off of the bandaid.

Here's a picture of his company waiting for the buses yesterday:

NYC and the Alma Mater

These pictures are from last weekend, Matt and I had a 3-day so we visited our old stomping ground for the first time in 6+ years.... Our first stop was Garrison train station, where we caught the view of WP from across the river while waiting for our train to the city. Matt said even the sight of the academic buildings made him sick to his stomach - so we thumbed our nose at all those poor cadets by throwing down Coronas.

That night we hit the city and did the typical dinner & show, and yes, it was glorious. Below is an excellent picture of the bike-taxi-guy's back. Is this a new thing by the way? I don't remember ever seeing the bike taxis in the city before but they're all over the place now...

I know you don't care, but....

Landscaping, Part II.

When I was little I used to wonder why neighbors & family would blather on incessantly about remodeling and/or landscaping projects they had done when we would come to visit. My parents would politely listen and perhaps even ask questions but I was sooooo bored. Who cares about someone else's grass, really? New toilet? Whooo-hooo...

So what I'm saying is, I know you don't care about my new flower beds. Me talking about it makes me seem like a 60-year-old trapped in a younger body. Incredibly domestic. But because of the staggering amount of time Matt and I slaved outside over the past 3 months of weekends, I will subject you to pictures from one of our projects:

The before:

And, the after. Was it worth it?

Not Ashamed to be a Chocoholic...

Yes, I know, I know.... I have been slacking on my blogging duties lately. Two little things I like to call "work" and "laziness." I am burdened with a lot of each lately. Alas, I will bless you with a goofy picture of me without too much backstory....

So there I was, Matt's ball wrapping up, me finishing the unusually delicous chocolotate cake - And I notice, to my amazement, that I was the only one at our table who didn't scarf down their cake. I'm not shy, so I asked Abby if I could have her piece. Apparently, this was incredibly funny to everyone, something about me being a "pig." Whatever, two pieces of cake is even more delightful that one piece of cake, I have no regrets.... Except that the other ladies thought it would be really cute if they took a picture of me gorging, shoving all the rest of the cake at the table into the picture that I didn't actually end up eating. Yeah, so there's your picture.

Chipmunks dude, Chipmunks!!

I just want everyone to know I like chipmunks. Here is a picture with one of the less camera-shy little fellers that likes to hang out in our backyard. That is, until Matt started throwing things at the cute little guys....

I Hate Crocs

I didn't even know what they're called, but I noticed a bunch of the neighborhood kids and some (gasp!) adults wearing them too. I'm all about comfort over fashion, but these things are just straight ridiculous. I'm glad someone else shares my thoughts....

http://www.ihatecrocs.com/

Matt's Big Challenge

And I thought I had funny dreams.... Some quick background here: Matt is prone to bouts of sleep-walking every great once-in-a-while, usually after he's been sleep-deprived for a while. He doesn't normally walk around, but usually sits up and starts talking, eyes wide open and all - so I don't always recognize immediately that he's not in reality. This of course makes it funnier.....

Anyway, we've been on opposite schedules lately, with me getting home very late and Matt waking up very early. So when I get home I try to be very quiet, and, being the stealthy ninja that I am, Matt usually continues to sleep soundly. One night last week I was laying down and heard a mumble. The "conversation" went something like this:

MATT: mmmmmblemble mummmble mfle MBLE! mfflllfe mbll mfbllle.... What time is it?
KACIE: (quietly) Late - sorry, didn't mean to wake you up...
MATT: You need to tell him to weigh in.
KACIE: Do what? Tell who?
MATT: The fat one! That rolly-polly 12-year-old over there...
KACIE: 12-year-old, what???
MATT: Everybody has weighed in but him, he needs to weigh in!!
KACIE: (attempting to muffle uncontrollable laughter in my pillow)
MATT: (after a long pause.... ) They think I'm not watching, but I notice these things!!

Yeah, so that's about it. My entertainment for the week. The best part is that Matt has absolutely no recollection of this or the dream it came from (nor does he ever). I imagine he must have been dreaming that he was a counselor at fat camp, which I also believe to be his secret dream-job.

Sorry Sarah!

I just can't do it. As ridiculous as it sounded to me initially, after doing a little research I would feel like too much of a cold, heartless, you know... if I poked fun at the idea.

A quick backstory here: A relative, eh, "Tim" called one day with the really bright idea to get a helper-monkey for an arthritic relative who requires daily assistance from a nurse/caregiver. At first I thought Tim was joking, the words "helper monkey" bringing images of chaotic zoo scenes and flashbacks of Zack as a toddler to mind. I felt bad though when I realized how serious Tim was about the idea, and I admit after consideration it would be pretty neat. Helper monkeys are pretty amazing actually and provide a great deal independence to the folks they help. However, our relative doesn't really fit the target profile for the particular non-for-profit group.

So my heart softened I stopped making fun of Tim. Surprisingly though, my saintly sister has been begging me to post a blog poking fun at "Tim." But I can't bring myself to do it, so here is a picture of one of the cute little fellers in action....

http://www.helpinghandsmonkeys.org/

Backyard Badassery

This is my friend Michelle. She cares about two things: crime fighting, and hearing conservation for the unborn. I think that's cool. I also think its really cool that she had a pistol readily available for this picture. Seriously though, the smaller of the two marksmen should be celebrating their first birthday today, so congratulations!!

(note: Michelle, thanks for humoring me with the shooting-range pose)

LOLcats

Hey Ma - this one's for you! Has anyone else heard of this "LOLcat" or "memecat" rage going on the 'ole internets? Its silly, that's fo shizzle. I read an MSN article, googled it, and came up with a ridiculous number of hits... give it a try yourself ... Its the same-old pictures of "cute" (aka EVIL) cats and kittens doing something "funny." Jay - remember www.stuffonmycat.com? Yes, in that genre, except these pictures are accompanied by gangsta-captions, see example below:

I can't explain it, but it really cracks me up. Maybe because deep down, all the evil cats of the world (Mom, ahem, EARL) really are nothing but little gangstas, and they just see us as their beeyotches. Yeah I just said that - its a gangsta post! So google it, tell me what you think. This site is a good one: http://www.dropline.net/cats/