Visitation

One more weekend with my family in NC is coming to a close. It has been a nice one. I saw some old friends from long ago. I went on a great date with someone I have wanted to date for the better part of 23 years, but never had the guts to ask (till now). I was able to see all of my primary family members for at least a little while. I got some overdue Christmas gifts. I got an early birthday cake. I wasn’t here for Christmas and I won’t be here for my birthday.

Anxiety, what an ass kicker. On my drive up here I experienced some pretty hightened levels of anxiety. I have a lot on my mind and quite frankly I am a little out of control right now. I am preparing to go back out of town to work for a month or so and I am hoping that the work will bring everything back to a low roar. At least until I can gain control over the most recent round of changes in my life. Spin control. if you will.

Home sweet home

Although I am exhausted, I did make it home this morning. I had lunch out with a friend. I’ve spent the afternoon cleaning up and preparing for tomorrow. I will go back to work to hopefully get some answers concerning my career and near future. I have so much to do around this house….

Remaining overnight

So, after a full afternoon sitting in the terminal, we finally got bumped 24 hours. Once again I find myself sitting in a ragady Air Force hotel with no amenities. We arrrive here so late that aywhere that would provide a decent meal is closed. So I have survived another 24 hours on one sandwich and some fritos. My patience is expiring.

So, a friend and co-worker of mine commented on me yesterday. I found it funny and entirely true, so I am going to share the experience with you. I deal with young people all day, usually un-informed young people. They find themselves in positions where decisions need to be made but really have no clue. Yesterday this young man was driving our bus to and from the aircraft and he was trying to tell me what was going to happen next. However he really didn’t know and I have been through this process 100’s of times. So I stared. I have mastered the condescending stare. I can glare at a young man and make him realize exactly how stupid he is. So, I did and everyone on the bus got the point and a giggle (especially my guys, “at least it wasn’t aimed at them.”)

I hate the United States Air Force….

In transit

The post below was written piece by piece as I travelled. As the opportunity presented itself I typed and now I post all of it for your reading.  I know its long, just bear with me!
I am currently somewhere in between 20 and 30 thousand feet in the air. We aren’t quite at cruising altitude; the seat belt sign is still illuminated. Today has been a quiet day. I had a nice little breakfast at the holiday Inn and spent a few hours walking around the PX this morning. Then went back for a couple of my guys and went to the mall. After a quick lap around the tiny mall, I watched “Eagle Eye” at the local crappy theater. This annoying squeaking sound came from the vents the entire movie, which was good by the way.
My flight has just begun and I have prepared a spot for myself to crash out for a few hours. Hopefully about 4 or 5 hours of chemistry induced sleep will come my way shortly…
During the short break in the Europe I found out some additional information concerning my promotion. My sequence number is 82. Now, here is what that means. A board made up of senior enlisted men decide you are worthy of promotion to a senior enlisted rank. Actually you and let’s say 100 others. Then they organize them by their date of rank and assign them a number from longest to shortest time served at their current rank, 1-100. Now I don’t how many men and women were selected total yet, but I know I am number 82. I am a young guy both by rank and age so I know that I am near the bottom of the list. Now the Army will promote a certain number a month to fill its needs. If I had to guess it will be 9-10 more months before I actually get paid at my new rank. That is based off past years watching the average promotion rates. Meanwhile I will be a SFC (P) officially on Thursday, October 2nd. The “P” means promotable. Hopefully I will be laterally appointed as a company First Sergeant. That is my dream. If I get that job, then I will likely be frocked to my new rank right then. However, I won’t get paid until my number is called.  The all powerful DIAMOND! The “top” enlisted man in a company. I would prefer a maintenance Company, but beggars can’t be choosers. I will take whatever unit I am given. I will keep everyone updated as my future is decided.
Well I am back airborne and once again somewhere high over the ground below. I didn’t get any real sleep on the first leg of my trip. I did however, get a about 2 hours on this portion. It will hold me over for a little while longer. Soon I will be landing at my destination and the boredom will begin. I have work to do, but it requires additional travel and will take some time for me to arrange…

YAY for me

Today has been a long day. I spent about 10 hours in a van with three other guys fighting our way through traffic. We spent about one hour and twenty minutes south  of Atlanta going 10 miles an hour. Then another twenty west of Chatanooga trying to get past a car wreck.

Today did however confirm that I have been selected for promotion to Master Sergeant. I am excited about the possbilities and the wonderful change that could finally come my way… I still have no idea where exactly I will end up or what job I may get, but I expect I will know by the middle of the month. 

We arrived here at the Holiday Inn Express at about 6pm, cleaned up a little and met another friend of mine at Outback for dinner. I had a nice prime rib with some steamed veggies and a salad. It was nice to catch up a little with my buddy. It has been a while since we had an opportunity to talk and chill out away from the office. Tomorrow I hope to see a good friend of mine before I depart. Her husband is currently over where I am heading. I will visit with her tomorrow and see her husband next week sometime. I miss them. They moved here about 18 months ago I guess.

I hope everyone has a wonderful night / day!! ~~K

Most recent

This is one of my favorite things to do. I love to travel. I just returned a little more then a week ago from the lovely country of Iraq. it was great, 110 degrees, sand blowing everywhere, absolutly spectacular. Actually I must admit that I love visiting other places, even places like Iraq. Seeing how other people live and where they live facinates me. I came home about 45 days ahead of schedule, mainly due to just plain boredum there and I longed to be next to my Nikki…. It’s the first time I have allowed a women to directly adjust my work schedule. Uncle Sam uses my dedication at his every opportunity and I normally can’t wait to get out on the road and do some traveling. This time my heart and soul were firmly planted elsewhere. The day I was traveling home was a eventful one. I had to fly to FT Campbell, KY, then drive from there to Sav’h. While enroute to Campbell a tree fell on my house, the power was cut off for hours and Nikki was ofcourse here alone. But interestingly enough Nikki was not really excited about my return. I was super happy to be back by her side though. She gunned my smile down by mid-day that same day… Six short hours after my 35 hour journey my heart began to break and it began to end… No more on this for now

I want to go on a cruise. I don’t want to go alone though. I need to find a friend to come along…