More stuff of newness

So, it's been an interesting couple of weeks. We here in Southern Virginia got snow of the type that only hits here once every few years. And we're likely to get more tonight/tomorrow. That's almost unheard of here.

There was some concern about my Master Sergeant stripe. After breaking my foot, I had a PT test. The waiver I got from the doctor (because of my foot and for the recovery) said I couldn't do any PT, but that means I get tested on my waist measurement alone - a guarantee of failure. After the failure, I am informed that 1) I can't sew on my stripe with a failed PT test, 2) my upcoming EPR will be a 4 (of 5) at best with a failed PT test, and 3) I can write a note saying that I want to ignore parts of my waiver if I don't do myself bodily harm.

So, I write my little memo, work hard to ensure that my push-ups and sit-ups are up and good. My promotion is supposed to be at 9 AM on Monday, Feb 1st. The very first day I am allowed to test is Friday, Jan 29th. My EPR is due Monday, Feb 15th. With a lot riding on it, I test on Friday morning and crush it. Not only did I easily max out my push-ups and sit-ups, but with the PT I was doing (screw the waiver), I lost an entire inch on my waist. So, I'm good to promote on time. (Whew!)

The very next day commences the freak snowfall I mentioned all the way back in paragraph 1. Though you may scoff in Denver, this snowfall shuts down everything for the entire weekend. Ryan's school didn't open until Thursday. So, Sunday night, I get a call from my boss saying to show up at 10 on Monday and in ABUs (cammies) instead of Blues (service uniform). Now, the week prior, knowing that Monday is blues day, I realized that I wouldn't need stripes on my ABUs until Tuesday, so I picked up my new blues on Friday and wasn't scheduled to pick up the ABUs until Monday evening. This new iteration from the snow is a double whammy for me. Not only does it mean that I'm showing for work an hour after my ceremony, but in a uniform without proper stripes!

We decide to play it by ear on the time (which then turned out to be "delay until tomorrow"), and I'd stop by alterations and beg them to do them a few hours early..."like right now?"

Everything worked all right, and I spent a lot of time at home with the kids (due to the aforementioned school closure), but it was a really wierd week.

Oh, and Tristan made me sad and proud the other night. I was cooking some chicken stroganov for dinner, and he wanted to help. I let him stand on a chair nearby and was gonna have him do some pouring and whatnot when the time came. Unfortunately, shortly after I moved the wok with oil on the bottom (for searing the chicken pieces), he decided to check the oil temp...with his finger. Too fast for me to react, he burned his finger nicely. We got it under running water, got a cup of ice water for him to rest it in, and Saundra tried to get him settled on the couch. He got very upset and insisted that he still wanted to help me cook. I had to fight off the proud-papa "he's gonna be a chef" syndrome, but continued to be proud of my brave boy.

I think that's it for this installment of Musty Piece Theater. Tune in next time for more...uh...frenzied recitation of a bizarrely normal life? (And don't forget to Save the Babies!)

The year is new, not me

Ah...the breath of a new year is upon us. There is an excitement for what the new year will bring - and a little cynical part of me admits that it will bring much what it has brought for the last few years. But just as every day brings something new, so does every year - times 365. I start this year in an office I wasn't in a year ago, at a level I wasn't in a year ago, looking towards a rank I didn't hold a year ago.

My boys will continue to grow; to find new ways to surprise and amuse me. As they get older, I see more and more of their personalities as distinct individuals. It's a lot of fun to get to know them a little more each day.

This year, I will again try to post more often. Again, I will do well sometimes and fail miserably other times. I will again make a promise to myself to be a better parent. Again, I will do better than most and feel like I'm failing miserably. I will again find activities to suck my time away. Again I will spend more time than I should doing them.

I will also again be leading a March for Babies team. I missed it last year (since I was in Korea), and this will be my triumphant return. I hope to raise a whole lot of money to help prevent birth defects like premature birth.

Cast Call

The last six weeks have been frustrating. There have been some upsides: everyone is very helpful, I've had Colonels and Chief Master Sergeants hold doors for me, I didn't have to drive to Baltimore. But, overall, it's just aggravating to wear a cast. The most mundane tasks become trials. Just walking upstairs is almost exhausting. Grabbing a Pepsi and taking it to the couch or my desk was a testimony to my ingenuity.

It's not over, but I'm in a new phase of recovery. No more cast (yay!), but still using crutches because my ankle is too weak (boo!). My foot has more freedom, but it has more pain (because of the ankle, not the break).

I learned a few things over the past week. If anyone gets a foot cast in the future, heed these warnings!

1. Always wear a sock or other protective garment on your other foot - at least with the fiberglass-bandage style cast. You will continually bump your good ankle with the cast. If you don't protect it, it will break the skin eventually.

2. Even though they'll suggest putting a bag over it when you shower, just take a bath with it propped up on the edge. The cast is abrasive enough to put little bitty holes in the bag while resting on the bottom of the shower. Then, you get a little water in the cast and it adheres to your foot for the next 4 weeks.

3. Wear clothes with big pockets whenever possible. You'd be surprised how much stuff you carry around without thinking about it...until you don't have the hands free to carry it (like the aforementioned Pepsi).

4. Wear a sock over the tip of your cast. It not only hides the toes (that may not be at their most photogenic) and mutes the funk, it also provides a little traction for that foot when you're standing on a non-carpeted surface.

5. Watch out for wet surfaces - like the kitchen and bathroom floors with a little bit of water. Crutches lose ALL traction on a wet kitchen floor. That leads to smacking your foot down to catch your balance. That tends to hurt a little.

I hope you never have need of these tips, but if you do, I hope you find them useful.

What a Day!

Today started with me staying up last night, as I am (was) supposed to eval on my position over mids tonight. So, at 3:30, I’m closing up the vents after mangling the filters I was trying to change. I step down from the ladder (not a rolling or folding chair, but an honest-to-goodness ladder) and manage to step wrongly. I feel pain and hear a familiar “pop.”

Dammit, I managed to roll my ankle…wait, that pain is from further down. How do you roll your foot? After sending my wife and son back to sleep, I retire downstairs for ice and elevation.

Later this morning, I throw on jeans and a t-shirt so I can go in with Saundra and visit the Urgent Care Center. After telling my story a few times and being x-rayed, I’m laying on a table listening to the doc say “Well, it’s broken.” I am told that I’ll be getting a cast and an appointment to see Ortho for a cast. Don’t put any weight on it, don’t get it wet, and don’t feed it after midnight. (I’m pretty sure that’s what he said.) So, I can’t drive to work for my eval tonight. (Not to mention it screwed up her sitting for currency today.)

So, we’re heading back home for me to get a “shower” and changed to go into work, since I won’t be working tonight. And there, on the side of the interstate, facing the wrong way, is a car in the guardrail – occupied, lights on, and alone. So we stop for Saundra to help out while we wait for the fire trucks to arrive.

And all of this by 9:30 AM the day after my birthday.

Welcome back...

Guess I should mention that I made it back from Beale. It's an interesting base, but the trip reinforced my decision to return to Langley after going to Korea so I could leave Langley. There are some beautiful vistas and gorgeous views, but you have to drive a long way to get anywhere and many of the roads out are narrow, winding things through hills and blind curves.

And I couldn't find a German restaurant.

Travel

Next week, I'm going to Beale AFB, CA. I fly in on Monday the 31st and fly back out on Friday the 4th. It ought to be interesting. If anyone is going to be nearby, let me know and we'll try to meet up.

It's all brand new

I've neglected my blog. It's been an eventful few weeks. I started my new job at the Wing (2 levels above the normal "Squadron level").

I am in an office that supervises other offices on 3 continents. And none of them seem to like to do what they're told. It's a very different office than I've ever worked in before. We have 3-5 impromptu meetings a day. Just "did you get that e-mail?" and we all spin around to discuss what the instruction says, what the ramifications are, what waivers are reasonable. It's really quite eye-opening to see things from this level.

Add to that the need to visit each of these subordinate units at least once a year, and it looks like I'll be racking up some frequent flyer miles this assignment.