Ames, Ia-

The job thing is starting to get more serious. I wouldn't say it is critical but it is getting there. I was absolutely sure I would have a job by now. Things with the TSA went from 0 to 5 without pausing. Now we are stuck on 5 with no end in sight. Apparently it can be a long process. I also have applied to MANY other places including UPS, USPS, Borders, a youth shelter, Mary Greeley and a bunch I can't remember. I haven't gotten ONE call back. It honestly blows my mind because I am a pretty well qualified person. I will keep on filling out the endless paperwork but it is getting old. I feel like I am working but not getting paid for it.

Meh

Ames, Ia-

I should have updated from Minneapolis but I forgot to take my netbook with me. How sad. This past Sunday I went up to watch the Bears play the Vikings. I had no expectations of the Bears actually winning the game but I was looking forward to spending time with my friends. I took my brother, my best friend from high school, and my best friend from Ames. I splurged a little bit on the seats but not as much as I could have. I think if the Bears had been more competitive this year I might have gotten even better seats.

So I picked up the high school friend- Leland- on Saturday night and he stayed over. My brother came up early Sunday morning and after kissing my wife goodbye we loaded up and hit the road. I was going to take our smaller car because it gets better gas mileage but the tires were looking not so great and since I have zero income I just couldn't risk having to replace them. I also couldn't risk missing the game.

Pierce was already up in Minneapolis because his mother in law lives there so he had taken his ticket with him. The trip to Minneapolis was great. Time really flies when you are catching up with old friends. Leland is a really great guy who I have been hanging out with for years. He is the only friend that I have who I can go for a long stretch of time without seeing and pick up like I just saw him yesterday. I am glad to be spending more time with him. It was also great to bring my brother. We haven't really spent loads of time together over the years. I found out later that it was his first NFL game so that was very cool.

We ended up parking at the hotel we were booked into and then we wandered to the stadium which was only six blocks away. It was pretty cold so when we discovered that we couldn't actually get inside for another 2 hours we went back to the car and changed into some warmer clothes. Then we were good to go. I wore my new Johnny Knox jersey and I was really pleased to see that there was only 2 other people that I saw wearing it amongst the many thousands of jerseys. I wanted my brother to wear my Urlacher one but he is too huge.

The seats turned out to be great, although Pierce had a real hard time with the legroom. Still we had a great time watching the Vikings manhandle the Bears. The view from my television is great but there is something about watching the game in person. I wished we lived a little bit closer to Chicago! I would probably plan one game a year if I did. Maybe two.

After the game we checked into the hotel and I called Kleric. He used to work right where we were staying so he suggested a place called Brit's Pub and we met there for dinner. The guy who gave us directions at the hotel front desk seemed to think we were going to have to wait for a table so when we showed up and got a nice spot right away I was pleasantly surprised. Had some wine and a great meal of fish and chips. Leland copied me.

So it was just an all around great day. I didn't have anything to worry about and my friends were in fine form. I hope we can do it many more times. Next year Pierce said he is going to pick up the tickets and I hope Maricel can go with. I know she doesn't really like football like I do but I think she would enjoy just going to a game. Plus Minneapolis is a very nice town.

Ames, Ia-

One of the things that bothers me is Christmas Creep. It isn't bad enough that the holiday has become so commercialized but that it also now is starting in September in some places. I don't want to even think about putting up our Christmas tree before it is December. I love Thanksgiving and wish it received more attention instead of being merely the holiday before all the great SALE deals. It is pathetic. And I hate the manipulation that goes on. Why should we shop at one particular time of year? I read an article on CNN today and one of the quotes mentioned a person who had "discovered" that using cash was the best way to pay for Christmas items because there was no hangover in January. DUH. -insert rant here- Maybe if more people had thought of this in the first place they wouldn't be in dire straits during the recession. And starting to advertise or put up Christmas trees in September should be illegal.

But now that it is the season I am happy it is here. Christmas at our house is a really great time. The best Christmas we have had is when Maricel's family all came to stay. It was great. But even when they aren't here it is a lot of fun to make cookies, give presents, and spend time with loved ones. I also like it when I catch Maricel humming Christmas songs.

Tomorrow I am heading up to watch the Bears get destroyed by the Vikings. I am going to have a good time no matter what because I am going with some of my favorite people. Report will follow when I get home on Monday.

Ames, Ia-

Today is Thanksgiving and I am happy to be here. Originally I was supposed to still be in Iraq working until December but the fates had a different plan for me and I am at home. I am very thankful for that. I honestly believe that Americans short change Thanksgiving for extra Christmas time. I suppose I could go into some long drawn out thoughts about what it says about our society that we are essentially skipping the holiday about giving thanks and stretching out the holiday that most only associate with getting and giving gifts anymore but I won't.

Thanksgiving is one of my favorite holidays because it is a time of year where I look back on the year and think about all of the great things that have happened. I am most thankful to just be here. Working in Iraq is inherently dangerous and part of me always was afraid that something would happen to me over there. So I am thankful just to be able to write this journal. I am thankful for my continued good health. I started working out in June and since then I have lost about 17 pounds. I am probably in the best physical condition of my life. I am thankful to my friend Eric for helping to get me started on the workout path.

I am intensely thankful for my wife. She makes everything possible and is the center of my universe. I am thankful for all her love, patience, sacrifice, kindness, wisdom, intelligence, creativity and her spirit. I am thankful for my children who bring my so much joy and fill me full of love.

I am very thankful to have such a great group of friends. They are like family to me and they shower me with good times and great memories. I am blessed.

And I am thankful for my family who I am sadly not able to see every day. I think about them often.

I encourage all of you to fight Christmas Creep and remember why this holiday is important. Have a happy, safe day.

Ames, Ia-

Friday Maricel went out and saw New Moon with a bunch of her friends. I read later that the movie made 140 million this weekend and the audience was 80% women. Hollywood keeps talking about the "coveted 18-35" male demographic when they should be concentrating on all of those women and their horded cash. Seriously. So while she was off enjoying herself I had friends over and we re-learned the rules for Necromunda. It is a fun miniatures game. I also spent an hour or so talking to Pierce about just everything.

Saturday we had a whole bunch of people over to the house all day. We played board games, there was a poker game, and a bunch of Rock Band. I think our last guests left at about midnight. I love Saturdays when people come over. The only downside is that I seem to end up in a different game than Maricel so I miss her.

Sunday I watched football most of the day and also had a great dinner with my family and my father in law and sister in law. I wish my father in law was planning to stay here longer. He is such a great person and the kids really love him. I guess we are just blessed to have him around while we do.

So this week should be pretty chock full of fun stuff too. Wednesday I am heading down to Carlisle to spend time with a bunch of friends I haven't seen in a while. Thursday is Thanksgiving and we are making a big meal and I am sure we will have a great time. Maricel also has tickets for us to go see New Moon together. And finally, I have tickets to the Bears-Vikings game in Minneapolis on Sunday. I am going with my brother, Pierce and Leland. Two Vikings fans and two Bears fans. Now that the Bears are 4-6 and their season is about over I guess I can relax and just enjoy the show. Should be good times.

And then December will be here and I have to buckle down and find a job. It can't be fun and games all the time!

Ames, IA-

Just found out that I have met the qualifications for the Manager Behavior Detection Officer at the San Francisco airport. I am a little surprised that I met the qualifications. I applied for this job on a whim so it would be very interesting if I get picked up for it. Sometimes my life takes a lot of random turns.

Ames, Ia-

Since I have been home it feels like someone has been sick in this house at all times. Saturday night Pharaoh, who was almost over her persistent cough, ran a fever and threw up. Oh and her cough came back. Sabella has had a cough for about three weeks and it keeps morphing into a new one. Dry cough. Wet cough. Barking cough. Ugh. And last night Maricel threw her arm over me and said she was cold and her arm was so hot it felt like it was molten lava. Ok, not quite that hot. But I jumped up and got the thermometer and some Tylenol. Sure enough she was running a 103 degree temperature. So this morning I am just dreading the future. I know that I am going to get this and I am worried that Noah might get it too. All I can do is wait and watch and try to help out. But it does make me wonder if there is something wrong with the house? I don't know if it is a winter thing or what but it is getting old fast.

Ames, Ia-

Well I just submitted my PNQs for the Foreign Service. I now have to wait until January to find out if they think I am keen or not. If they do then my reward is another exam, this one in person. If they don't think I am keen then I have to start all over and try to figure out what I did wrong in the PNQs. I think I had some good responses but it is hard to say when you only get 200 words per question. Still, I am glad it is done and I can kind of forget it. If I DO get lucky enough to be invited to the Oral Exam it will get interesting. I think I will send off for my results of the written test now.

Ames, Ia-

This year the Bears traded for a supposed "big time" QB. Instead we have gotten a guy who gets happy feet and then throws the ball to the other team. Tonight he threw 5 interceptions. I will even go so far as to say two of them were not his fault but that leaves 3 others. He is killing the Bears and since there is so much invested in him I don't see it changing. Rooting for a team year after year and then watching them suck when you thought they would be good is really hard. Sometimes I wonder if I should just give up rooting for any one team. -sigh-

Life at home is going well. The kids get to be a bit much from time to time but overall I can't complain. Sabella really is a total tornado. She is so much different from Pharaoh it is hard to deal with sometimes. She gets into stuff, climbs stuff, wails like a banshee... and is otherwise totally cute. She can be kind and loving too.

Ames, Ia-

Woke up this morning and went about the process of getting everything packed in Galena. It wasn't stressful at all and we managed to have a pretty good time. The drive back went quickly and we were home by 4:30. Anyone who has been away on a trip knows that coming home is really great. I love our house and I feel so comfortable here. Many thanks to my father in law for taking care of our neurotic pet, Cleo, while we were absent. He's a real gem of a guy.

Helped unpack some of our stuff but most of it I just left. There's no rush right now to do that because, well, we aren't going anywhere. Heh. I did go out and pick up the mail and it was some good mail. Finally got the paperwork for converting to the new GI Bill. That means I am all set for school in January and since we successfully refinanced the house our mortgage will be covered under the BAH portion. Thanks, US Army! With that huge expense out of the way it means that we really have a lot less to worry about. I also got a check from somewhere that we paid in Arizona. Unexpected money in the mail is always nice.

Still no word from either of the TSA jobs. Not really certain what is going on there. On the flip side I have to do my PNQs for the Foreign Service in the next couple of days. Hopefully it will go well and I can then move on to obsessing about the oral examinations next year.

Vacation was great. Nice to be home.