(no subject)
So here I am, and I never update this thing anymore, but I'm bored at work, and I've got alot running through my head...
The biggest thing on my mind right now is our housing situation. We're moving out of our apartment at the end of September. That's what I know for sure. That's ALL I know for sure. As for where we're going, we have three options.
Option 1: Dom and Crystal's guest house. We went and looked at it over the weekend, and it's a pretty cool place. Alot of positives there, the biggest of which would be living with friends who we love very much! Other big pluses include a fenced yard, utilities included, a swimming pool, privacy, and knowing our landlord is cool. On the downside, the commute is longer than we have now, at 37 miles. Our cars are both high-mileage already (103k and 78k), and gas prices just keep getting worse. The place is also a little small for us, which I'm sure we can get around with some remodeling, but will make it rough initially (ie no bathtub!). So yeah, there's that.
Option 2: Base Housing. It's in about the same condition as the place at D&C's (in fact the flooring is identical, which I thought was funny). It's got a bit more space, but less privacy as they are duplexes instead of single family units. Some backyards are fenced already and some are not, but can be. Depends on what is available at the time. On the plus side, you can't beat the commute, which would eliminate alot of gas expenditure, and also make our insurance rates go down, as our vehicles can be classified as "leisure only". The rent there still includes utilities, and is only 1120 a month, which is better than anything else around. On the down side, it's on base, surrounded by military people, most of whom we don't like. It's closer, but still kinda far from our friends. And it's on base (worth saying twice).
Option 3: A guy I work with's house (coincidentally his name is Dom!). This place is middle of the road on commute, at 12 miles. It's an older place, and needs more work than the other two. The plus side of that is he will let us have it for nearly nothing if we're willing to help remodel the place while we're there (and he'll pay for all the materials too). It's also the largest of the three places, with the biggest yard (though only partially fenced). It's also very convenient to I-70, which is great for the other activities we enjoy, kayaking, snowboarding, etc. The downsides here are that utilities are not included, and the place really does need alot of work.
So yeah, totally not sure what to do here.
We've also been meeting with a financial counselor recently. We're trying to work out a plan so we can be completely debt free, build up our credit, and have money saved to buy a house by the time we're out of the navy. Believe it or not, it's looking pretty good that we can accomplish all those goals! Of course, this is also influencing our housing decisions, because everything has to be taken into account when figuring out how to reach our goals.
Hmm, what else?
Problems with my knee continue, and I'm in physical therapy (again) twice a week for that. They're going to re-evaluate me at the beginning of next month for that, and make a decision about my career. They have three options. 1: They can let me stay in the navy through the end of my enlistment, and continue to wave me from running on the fitness tests. They don't like to do that, but it's an option for them. 2: They can say I'm fixed, in which case life returns to normal. At this point, that doesn't look promising. 3: They can medically discharge me from the Navy.
There's ups and downs here. If they let me stay in without taking the fitness tests, my career is over. They place such a high weight on that in the military that, unfortunately, the chances of me getting promoted by the selection boards is very very slim. On the other hand, it's a steady job and a guaranteed paycheck, with medical, dental, and 30 days paid vacation per year. If they process me out, then I have to find a job. However, odds are that I'd make alot more money on the outside than I do right now being in. As long as I don't have to wear a tie, I'm fine ;)
Moving on....
I become ever more involved in outdoor sports. I kayak two or three times a week now, and we try to hit the rock climbing gym at least once. I've also just been approached about joining a mountain bike racing team, which I think I might do. I need training bad, but they say we'll have six months at least before the first race. I can be ready in six months. I'm also looking forward to winter and snowboarding season already! We're buying season passes this year, and will be up there every weekend for sure. And in october, ice hockey season starts again! Guh, can't I just forget work and play all the time? Really, work just gets in the way...
And finally, current events...
I haven't gotten to talk about current news events in a while, so let's hit the high points!
1. Who is this woman protesting in TX? What makes her any different than anyone else who has lost a son to war? Why can't she honor his sacrifice like everyone else, rather than making a spectacle of herself? She just needs the backhand of justice (hopefully someone will get the reference!).
2. HOCKEY IS BACK! I can't wait. The year without the NHL sucked! And I really don't buy all the hype about losing fan base. Hockey fans are hockey fans. It's in their blood, and they will always be hockey fans...
3. Israel is leaving Gaza. I have mixed feelings about this. A part of me hopes that it will ease the tensions there and allow peace to take a foothold. At the same time, I feel for israel, and for the people being displaced, the victims of a political fiasco who are losing their homes and lives overnight. Where will they all go?
4. Yet another worm has hit the internet, crippling Windows 2000 servers. When will people learn? There's a sign on one of our office doors that sums it up perfectly: "I sense much NT in you. NT leads to Blue Screen. Blue Screen leads to downtime. Downtime leads to suffering..."
5. Read an interesting article debating whether it was "stealing" if you use your neighbors unsecured wireless internet connection. Thinking about this, I would say no. After all, the connection is in your house, and left without restrictions to access. Therefore it is, by definition, open to anyone within range. Securing the connection costs nothing, and requires only minimal modification to system settings, and therefore is readily available to those not wanting to share. Of course, I'm sure the neighbor's ISP would not agree with me ;)
6. And finally, Hillary Clinton just won't go away. It really looks like she might be making a bid for the Democratic Nomination in 2008, despite her claims that she hasn't thought of it yet (riiiiiiight). I have no problem with a female president. I am not, however, a fan of Mrs. Clinton. In fact, her opposition in the upcoming senate race seems far more suited to the job than she is. So do about a million other americans. The Clinton's have had their time, made their impact, and need to fade into history...
Ok, I'm tired of typing, and you're tired of reading.
I now return you to your regularly scheduled life....
*LoVe
The biggest thing on my mind right now is our housing situation. We're moving out of our apartment at the end of September. That's what I know for sure. That's ALL I know for sure. As for where we're going, we have three options.
Option 1: Dom and Crystal's guest house. We went and looked at it over the weekend, and it's a pretty cool place. Alot of positives there, the biggest of which would be living with friends who we love very much! Other big pluses include a fenced yard, utilities included, a swimming pool, privacy, and knowing our landlord is cool. On the downside, the commute is longer than we have now, at 37 miles. Our cars are both high-mileage already (103k and 78k), and gas prices just keep getting worse. The place is also a little small for us, which I'm sure we can get around with some remodeling, but will make it rough initially (ie no bathtub!). So yeah, there's that.
Option 2: Base Housing. It's in about the same condition as the place at D&C's (in fact the flooring is identical, which I thought was funny). It's got a bit more space, but less privacy as they are duplexes instead of single family units. Some backyards are fenced already and some are not, but can be. Depends on what is available at the time. On the plus side, you can't beat the commute, which would eliminate alot of gas expenditure, and also make our insurance rates go down, as our vehicles can be classified as "leisure only". The rent there still includes utilities, and is only 1120 a month, which is better than anything else around. On the down side, it's on base, surrounded by military people, most of whom we don't like. It's closer, but still kinda far from our friends. And it's on base (worth saying twice).
Option 3: A guy I work with's house (coincidentally his name is Dom!). This place is middle of the road on commute, at 12 miles. It's an older place, and needs more work than the other two. The plus side of that is he will let us have it for nearly nothing if we're willing to help remodel the place while we're there (and he'll pay for all the materials too). It's also the largest of the three places, with the biggest yard (though only partially fenced). It's also very convenient to I-70, which is great for the other activities we enjoy, kayaking, snowboarding, etc. The downsides here are that utilities are not included, and the place really does need alot of work.
So yeah, totally not sure what to do here.
We've also been meeting with a financial counselor recently. We're trying to work out a plan so we can be completely debt free, build up our credit, and have money saved to buy a house by the time we're out of the navy. Believe it or not, it's looking pretty good that we can accomplish all those goals! Of course, this is also influencing our housing decisions, because everything has to be taken into account when figuring out how to reach our goals.
Hmm, what else?
Problems with my knee continue, and I'm in physical therapy (again) twice a week for that. They're going to re-evaluate me at the beginning of next month for that, and make a decision about my career. They have three options. 1: They can let me stay in the navy through the end of my enlistment, and continue to wave me from running on the fitness tests. They don't like to do that, but it's an option for them. 2: They can say I'm fixed, in which case life returns to normal. At this point, that doesn't look promising. 3: They can medically discharge me from the Navy.
There's ups and downs here. If they let me stay in without taking the fitness tests, my career is over. They place such a high weight on that in the military that, unfortunately, the chances of me getting promoted by the selection boards is very very slim. On the other hand, it's a steady job and a guaranteed paycheck, with medical, dental, and 30 days paid vacation per year. If they process me out, then I have to find a job. However, odds are that I'd make alot more money on the outside than I do right now being in. As long as I don't have to wear a tie, I'm fine ;)
Moving on....
I become ever more involved in outdoor sports. I kayak two or three times a week now, and we try to hit the rock climbing gym at least once. I've also just been approached about joining a mountain bike racing team, which I think I might do. I need training bad, but they say we'll have six months at least before the first race. I can be ready in six months. I'm also looking forward to winter and snowboarding season already! We're buying season passes this year, and will be up there every weekend for sure. And in october, ice hockey season starts again! Guh, can't I just forget work and play all the time? Really, work just gets in the way...
And finally, current events...
I haven't gotten to talk about current news events in a while, so let's hit the high points!
1. Who is this woman protesting in TX? What makes her any different than anyone else who has lost a son to war? Why can't she honor his sacrifice like everyone else, rather than making a spectacle of herself? She just needs the backhand of justice (hopefully someone will get the reference!).
2. HOCKEY IS BACK! I can't wait. The year without the NHL sucked! And I really don't buy all the hype about losing fan base. Hockey fans are hockey fans. It's in their blood, and they will always be hockey fans...
3. Israel is leaving Gaza. I have mixed feelings about this. A part of me hopes that it will ease the tensions there and allow peace to take a foothold. At the same time, I feel for israel, and for the people being displaced, the victims of a political fiasco who are losing their homes and lives overnight. Where will they all go?
4. Yet another worm has hit the internet, crippling Windows 2000 servers. When will people learn? There's a sign on one of our office doors that sums it up perfectly: "I sense much NT in you. NT leads to Blue Screen. Blue Screen leads to downtime. Downtime leads to suffering..."
5. Read an interesting article debating whether it was "stealing" if you use your neighbors unsecured wireless internet connection. Thinking about this, I would say no. After all, the connection is in your house, and left without restrictions to access. Therefore it is, by definition, open to anyone within range. Securing the connection costs nothing, and requires only minimal modification to system settings, and therefore is readily available to those not wanting to share. Of course, I'm sure the neighbor's ISP would not agree with me ;)
6. And finally, Hillary Clinton just won't go away. It really looks like she might be making a bid for the Democratic Nomination in 2008, despite her claims that she hasn't thought of it yet (riiiiiiight). I have no problem with a female president. I am not, however, a fan of Mrs. Clinton. In fact, her opposition in the upcoming senate race seems far more suited to the job than she is. So do about a million other americans. The Clinton's have had their time, made their impact, and need to fade into history...
Ok, I'm tired of typing, and you're tired of reading.
I now return you to your regularly scheduled life....
*LoVe