Yet again, that's me in the front holding the unit flag.
Calling All Cooks
2 days ago
Thursday, December 10, 2009
My Unit
Many of you know that I work in an Army school. Recently we all got dressed up into our dress uniform and got our annual unit photos. Here's us.
Yet again, that's me in the front holding the unit flag.
Yet again, that's me in the front holding the unit flag.Something funny.
I was doing a whole lot of shredding today. By spending so much time around the shredder, I noticed the "danger" symbols.
Besides avoiding sticking your hands, hair or ties in the shredder, you've got to love the "do not shred babies" symbol there. Hilarious.
Besides avoiding sticking your hands, hair or ties in the shredder, you've got to love the "do not shred babies" symbol there. Hilarious.Tuesday, December 8, 2009
More Thanksgiving Week Photos
Camille sent me some photos from her phone that we took while on vacation in Washington the week of Thanksgiving.
These first couple are from our trip to Port Townsend on the Ferry.
This photo is of us eating at Ivar's on Wednesday.
Here's a couple shots from Thanksgiving.
Tayla really enjoyed visiting with family the whole week. She enjoys the company of younger kids. I think she really gets bored of hanging out with just Camille and I.
Here's a photo from Thanksgiving Day with all the cousins. The only cousins that weren't there are Ella and Alex that didn't come down from Utah.
On the day after Thanksgiving, we went to the Seattle Center.
We had a great trip.
These first couple are from our trip to Port Townsend on the Ferry.
This photo is of us eating at Ivar's on Wednesday.
Here's a couple shots from Thanksgiving.
Tayla really enjoyed visiting with family the whole week. She enjoys the company of younger kids. I think she really gets bored of hanging out with just Camille and I.
Here's a photo from Thanksgiving Day with all the cousins. The only cousins that weren't there are Ella and Alex that didn't come down from Utah.
On the day after Thanksgiving, we went to the Seattle Center.
We had a great trip.
Saturday, December 5, 2009
My Visit With Denise Crosby
If you head over to Subspace Communique, you might see a story I wrote about my visit with Denise Crosby on Friday. It was fun.
As I don’t live in LA or Vegas, I don’t have the opportunity of getting into the Star Trek scene. The number of times I’ve met respectable Star Trek personalities can be counted on one finger. Now I’m not a believer in destiny or fate, but sometimes coincidence is a little too much to ignore. Such was the case on Friday, December 4th, 2009.
I had an appointment that morning at 8:45 (or 0845 hrs military time) at Travis Air Force Base, about an hour drive from my home in Sacramento. After the short appointment, I stopped by the on-base mini-mall to pick up a couple items. As I was entering the clothing shop, I saw a sign featuring a photo of Denise Crosby in her Star Trek: The Next Generation uniform.
“Presented by CJ Collectibles: Denise Crosby, Star Trek’s Lt. Tasha Yar, December 4th 11:00-17:00 hrs”
‘That’s today!’ I said to myself. ‘How could I have been so lucky to be here on the very day that Denise Crosby will be here?’
I had a decision to make. I could either go back to work right away or I could slack off for a couple hours until I was able to meet Denise Crosby, get her autograph and go back to work. I carefully weighed the options for “zero point six eight seconds” and decided that I could explain being late to work, but I could never forgive myself for passing on this incredible opportunity.
I waited around and wasted time until 11 o’clock when I headed over to the booth where Denise would be signing autographs. When I arrived, she was arranging her table with photos and Star Trek trading cards featuring Tasha and Sela. I had her sign one of her photos for me and we talked briefly.
The guy running the event was offering to take photos and print them out on the spot for Denise to sign. I couldn’t pass on that offer. We had our photo taken and I waited for the print. To my extreme good fortune, the photo printer was having technical difficulties, so I was ‘forced’ to sit with Denise for about 45 minutes and wait until my photo was printed off.
During that time I was a party to many conversations with Denise and passing Star Trek fans. One person asked what she thought of the movie Star Trek that hit theaters this past summer. She said it was an exciting film and has successfully reinvigorated the franchise for a new generation who hasn’t had the opportunity to grow up with Star Trek like so many of us have. She surmised that younger people are used to newer technology and need much more visually exciting adventures than the Star Trek that we have been used to.
She also explained to one fan why she decided to leave Star Trek after one season. She explained that she had a lot of acting training that wasn’t being put to use on the TNG set. She would stand on the bridge set for hours on end only to say a line here or a line there.
We also spoke briefly about how quirky the first season of Star Trek: The Next Generation seems today. She particularly remembered the episode “Code of Honor” where Tasha had to fight another woman after the ruler of the people decided to make Tasha his “first one.” Such a racist depiction of black people would never fly in today’s society, but TNG was very under the radar at the time.
Denise Crosby is a very kind person. When a rather strange fellow came up and asked some very peculiar questions to her, she was much more patient and friendly that I would have been.
Finally, the photo was ready and I got it signed by Denise. I said goodbye and headed back to Sacramento. I was late coming back to work, but no one even asked me where I’d been. It’s like those hours that I spent waiting and visiting were meant just for me to meet the Star Trek icon.
Who knows? Maybe it was fate.
Tuesday, December 1, 2009
One Year Ago
Yesterday was November 30th. During the whole Thanksgiving holiday, I kept having the nagging in the back of my mind that the one year anniversary of my father's death was coming up. I didn't really want to acknowledge it to other people, at the risk of getting emotional, but Camille reminded me of it a few days ago anyway.
Last November 30th, Camille and I had just come home from a trip to Utah for Thanksgiving. We were planning to go up to Washington for Christmas, and I was expecting that to be the last time I'd see my dad. Unfortunately, not all plans turn out how you expect.
Camille and I were spending our Sunday evening at a concert rehearsal. We were going to be performing Handel's Messiah with a local group. While we were singing, my phone buzzed and I had received a text message from my brother, Anton that said "Call me immediately."
My stomach immediately felt like it had a lead weight in it. I didn't bother to excuse myself from the rehearsal, I just got up and walked out into the hall. I called Anton who answered right away and told me what had happened.
My dad, who had been unable to eat or drink much of anything for the past few days had been downstairs in his bedroom. Anton was over to the Island for the Thanksgiving weekend. He was upstairs for a little while and came downstairs to check on my dad who was unresponsive and had clammy skin.
When I hung up with my brother, I cried for several minutes. I don't like to be seen getting emotional, so I stayed in the hallway and just let my emotions take over for a few minutes so that I could then pull myself together for the rest of the night.
My dad was more than just a pretty good guy, he was the best example of selflessness that I've ever known. He was quirky and funny and loved making those around him feel good. He was a little too worried about everything, but also could never be accused of not caring enough. He couldn't understand why anyone would ever do anything bad. Though he never had any real success in his career, he was more than successful at being a great human being.
When I went back to work on December 1st, I told them what had happened and put in for emergency leave to go up to Washington for the funeral.
Though I don't think I'll ever do anything special on the anniversary of my father's death, I think the Thanksgiving holiday will always have that special overshadowing connotation.
Last November 30th, Camille and I had just come home from a trip to Utah for Thanksgiving. We were planning to go up to Washington for Christmas, and I was expecting that to be the last time I'd see my dad. Unfortunately, not all plans turn out how you expect.
Camille and I were spending our Sunday evening at a concert rehearsal. We were going to be performing Handel's Messiah with a local group. While we were singing, my phone buzzed and I had received a text message from my brother, Anton that said "Call me immediately."
My stomach immediately felt like it had a lead weight in it. I didn't bother to excuse myself from the rehearsal, I just got up and walked out into the hall. I called Anton who answered right away and told me what had happened.
My dad, who had been unable to eat or drink much of anything for the past few days had been downstairs in his bedroom. Anton was over to the Island for the Thanksgiving weekend. He was upstairs for a little while and came downstairs to check on my dad who was unresponsive and had clammy skin.
When I hung up with my brother, I cried for several minutes. I don't like to be seen getting emotional, so I stayed in the hallway and just let my emotions take over for a few minutes so that I could then pull myself together for the rest of the night.
My dad was more than just a pretty good guy, he was the best example of selflessness that I've ever known. He was quirky and funny and loved making those around him feel good. He was a little too worried about everything, but also could never be accused of not caring enough. He couldn't understand why anyone would ever do anything bad. Though he never had any real success in his career, he was more than successful at being a great human being.
When I went back to work on December 1st, I told them what had happened and put in for emergency leave to go up to Washington for the funeral.
Though I don't think I'll ever do anything special on the anniversary of my father's death, I think the Thanksgiving holiday will always have that special overshadowing connotation.
Home for the Holiday
In case you've been wondering why I haven't written a blog in over a week, it's because our family went up to Washington for Thanksgiving.
We drove up on Saturday, November 21st, arriving around 11 PM or thereabouts. Tayla hated being stuck in the car for 14 hours in a row.
Some of the highlights of the week are:
On Tuesday, we went from Whidbey Island over to Port Townsend to hang out. It was a short ferry ride over and we stopped by a couple shops and ate at a restaurant. The weather was pretty cold that day.
On Wednesday, we went and ate at Ivar's, a pretty tasty seafood restaurant located in Washington. I normally hate seafood, but I like Ivar's fish and chips and clam chowder.
On Thursday was Thanksgiving and we had a good time when my older brother, Kyle, and his family hung out. It was a good family get together.
On Friday, Camille and I headed down to Seattle. We didn't want to be part of the black Friday shopping nightmare. We both hate huge crowds, like you might find at the stores. We decided, rather, to go to the EMP (Experience Music Project) and Science Fiction Museum at the Seattle Center.
We have a harness for Tayla, so we strapped her on me. She was cold, so I had to put my coat over her as well. Some teenage girls we past made all sorts of "Awww! So Cute!" noises. It was embarrasing.
The EMP/SFM is at the Seattle Center right next to the Space Needle. I've been up there once a long time ago, but not this year.
While we were near downtown, I looked up the closest pizza place on my phone and we walked down for lunch.
We all ate together. Camille and I downed a pizza and Tayla downed a few ounces of formula.
On the ride back to Whidbey Island where my mom lives, we got stuck in a long ferry line. We were waiting there for three ferry loads, or an hour and a half. It was pretty boring, so we listened to the radio and let Tayla have a turn at driving.
On Saturday, November 28th, we drove back home to Sacramento. We caught the 8:30 AM ferry off the island.
It was still cold, just as it had been all week and Tayla didn't like the really cold wind in her face.
We drove straight through with only a few stops for gas and food and got home at around 10 PM or so.
We drove up on Saturday, November 21st, arriving around 11 PM or thereabouts. Tayla hated being stuck in the car for 14 hours in a row.
Some of the highlights of the week are:
On Tuesday, we went from Whidbey Island over to Port Townsend to hang out. It was a short ferry ride over and we stopped by a couple shops and ate at a restaurant. The weather was pretty cold that day.
On Wednesday, we went and ate at Ivar's, a pretty tasty seafood restaurant located in Washington. I normally hate seafood, but I like Ivar's fish and chips and clam chowder.On Thursday was Thanksgiving and we had a good time when my older brother, Kyle, and his family hung out. It was a good family get together.
On Friday, Camille and I headed down to Seattle. We didn't want to be part of the black Friday shopping nightmare. We both hate huge crowds, like you might find at the stores. We decided, rather, to go to the EMP (Experience Music Project) and Science Fiction Museum at the Seattle Center.
We have a harness for Tayla, so we strapped her on me. She was cold, so I had to put my coat over her as well. Some teenage girls we past made all sorts of "Awww! So Cute!" noises. It was embarrasing.
The EMP/SFM is at the Seattle Center right next to the Space Needle. I've been up there once a long time ago, but not this year.
While we were near downtown, I looked up the closest pizza place on my phone and we walked down for lunch.
We all ate together. Camille and I downed a pizza and Tayla downed a few ounces of formula.
On the ride back to Whidbey Island where my mom lives, we got stuck in a long ferry line. We were waiting there for three ferry loads, or an hour and a half. It was pretty boring, so we listened to the radio and let Tayla have a turn at driving.
On Saturday, November 28th, we drove back home to Sacramento. We caught the 8:30 AM ferry off the island.
It was still cold, just as it had been all week and Tayla didn't like the really cold wind in her face.
We drove straight through with only a few stops for gas and food and got home at around 10 PM or so.I had Sunday to recover before going back to work on Monday. One day of break after a vacation might not be enough, but it was better than zero days.
While in Washington, Tayla had two more teeth come in. She's had two bottom teeth for a couple months now, and her first top tooth came in a couple weeks ago, but in the past week, two more top teeth have broke through the skin. She has been acting very cranky and ornery and we think that the most likely reason is that she is teething, but who knows, maybe it's just that time of the month.
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