There Comes a Time in Every Man's Life When Decisions Have to Be Made
It has been quite a while since I've written an update. I've received e-mails asking what is going on, why I don't update that "monkey site" any more, and whether or not I've fallen off the face of the earth. Basically my computer usage has just decreased, and I've been rather busy or too drained to really feel like updating. (REMOVED)
Since today's update seems like a bit of catch up for all the time I've forgotten to write, I figured I would break it into a few categories. A quick summation of what I've been up to, and how I'm doing. I guarantee it will be riveting. There will be ups and downs, laughs and cries, and maybe some nausea by the end.
I suppose I should start out with the biggest announcement, though really it happened a while ago and most of you already know, Maria and I are now engaged. Though there is no date set at this time, we are engaged, it will be a bit off in the future, more than likely when we return to the mainland so more people can attend, but she has already started planning everything out wedding wise. I didn't realize a color scheme was one of the first/most important things to be planned, and in effect needed to be discussed at length. Then again, I'd prefer she worry about all that anyway and just let me know when to show up and what to wear. I've planned events in for the Coast Guard, and if they are not Operational or related to Search and Rescue, they tend to be disasters(like 2 day old stale donuts for a donut eating contest...).
I suppose another item falling under the "Life" category would be that I also have a new car! Yes, that's right, I bought yet another car! But this one I want to drive until it dies or I do. I bought another Mini Cooper. I really loved my last Mini Cooper and said it would be the last car that I ever drove, but alas, it was totaled. I bought the Yaris as a bit of a stop-gap, and ended up getting quite a bit for it on trade-in(if I had waited any longer the trade-in value would have plummeted...or at least I'll keep telling myself that). But this time I got a Sport model. Once again, it was a bit of an impulse buy, but it seemed like the perfect circumstance for buying it. I had simply driven into the dealer to take a look at the new Clubman model(which I wasn't entirely fond of), and ended up leaving the lot with a brand new Mini Cooper-S 08 model. Once again it was exactly as I had customized it on the internet. So how could I have passed it up? I am definitely very happy with my Mini again, and really enjoy driving it. It's the funnest car I've ever driven. The sport model definitely adds to the fun factor as well.
Work has definitely had its ups and downs lately. Many more downs than ups. (REMOVED)
(REMOVED) I just finished taking my OSC(Chief Operations Specialist/E7) SWE(Service Wide Exam). This is not a pass or fail test, this is a competition against every other OS1 that is wanting to make Chief. This competition doesn't just factor in test scores either, it weighs time in service, award points, time at sea, time in rank, marks, but the heaviest factor is the test score. I feel like I did well, and I'm keeping my fingers crossed until the scores are released in the next 3 weeks. I'm lacking in the sea time and time in service, so even with a stellar score, I'll be surprised if I make the cut from this one. But I'd be silly not to try.
I've kept myself busy lately with a little side project at work completely re-doing the USCGC RUSH's internet website. I actually completed it a few weeks ago and am just awaiting command approval to release it. Hopefully once everything is said and done, I'll post a link on here so everyone can see the extra work I do for no extra pay.
In the past I've posted on here about my progress in the aspect of fitness, dieting, and supplements that I'm using. Well, ever since I was placed on light duty for 6 months, and quit smoking, my fitness has been pretty abysmal. Needless to say I gained a lot of weight. In the range of about 45 pounds. I was pretty upset with what had become of all that hard work, time, and money that I had spent on getting in shape. The real kicker was that I failed weight requirements at work. So I've been pretty stressed over that lately, as I may be placed on something we so quaintly call "The Fat Boy Program". But I just took it as a wake up call that I need to get back in shape. I love exercising, I love the boost in energy and the physical improvements that come with it. But I absolutely hate dieting. But for now, I know I need to do this in order to get within standards, and then I can work out the way I want to. And what I mean by that, is that my focus won't be on losing weight, as much as it will be on building muscle. Because I know once I get that muscle back on, dieting won't be a necessary factor(before I was intaking around 6000 calories a day and couldn't keep the weight on).
So for now, I'm on the Body For Life program, but focusing it on fat loss until I pass weight, and then going full bore into muscle/strength building. I'm eating the 6 small healthy meals a day, and running running running. That's the one interesting thing that has come out of all this, is that I have actually started to enjoy running. I've been running about 4 miles a day, and I'm loving it. I never thought that would have happened because I used to absolutely despise running. Go figure.
Well, that's all that has been going on with me as I can recollect it. As I've always promised before I'll try to post more often and keep in touch better than I have. I don't like having to write one big huge update about the last few months, but I must say I have enjoyed jotting all this down.