Jeff

Website updates

I'm retiring our old file/web server and putting everything on a Windows Home Server, which will significantly reduce the IT footprint (real estate, power, and noise) in our house. I updated the blog to Movable Type 4.32 from the ancient 2.661 and moved the database to MySQL. Nothing goes flawlessly, however, and I still have a couple bugs to work out. But I'm hopeful that this will result in some fun improvements and inspire us to post more.

Test

Happy New Year!

Proud To Be A Lazy Bum

I am a bum. It's been over two weeks since I got home and life has been good. Reuniting with Jenny and the boys was wonderful and we've been enjoying each other's company. The weather was unseasonably warm through Halloween and well into November, so we spent a lot of time outdoors.

Jenny and I attended a Halloween party at our friends, the Puringtons, where Jenny portrayed a great "Tina Fey as Sarah Palin". We've met other friends and family as time has permitted and last weekend attended the 451st Army Band's 60th reunion and formal concert.

During the week I'm Mr. Mom, getting the kids ready and off to school, then spending the day knocking out some improvements & repairs around the house, and researching some long-planned purchases, such as computer upgrades and our first HD TV.

I return to work at Pearson next week, and look forward to being a productive civilian citizen again. Pearson has been a great company to work for and very supportive of my service. Case in point: I'll only be working eight days between now and the end of the year, and get to use all my vacation and personal days accrued during my absence.

Things are finally starting to feel normal again.

Proud To Be A Veteran

Happy Veterans Day. Thank you to all who have served our great country. Also, welcome home to the Soldiers I served with in the companies under the 443rd CA Bn, who should be in the states by now, and home very soon.

I've been a veteran for nearly twenty years, but it has a lot more meaning this year. Having completed a combat tour I feel a real link to veterans of past wars. Reading stories of the living veterans, all now over 100 years old, commemorating the end of the Great War in Europe 90 years ago, I am amazed at the conditions they endured and the utter horror they must have experienced. So many millions dead, no armor, few advanced tactics to minimize exposure to enemy fire, no protection from mustard gas in the trenches, and primitive medical care for the wounded.

War today is nothing like that. Yet it certainly has its risks. And today's military is all volunteer. I am always impressed by a person who joins during a time of war, with full knowledge of what he or she may face. An active-duty Soldier or Marine knows they will go into harm's way soon after raising their right hand. Even more impressive is that, seven years into this long war, brave Americans continue to sign up. I am no hero, but I know real heroes exist. I have been privileged to serve alongside some of them. I say with all sincerity that the future safety of our country is in good hands.

Home

I arrived Friday morning, greeted at the airport by nearly my entire immediate family. It's hard to convey how it felt. Amazement and relief come to mind. Knowing Jenny wouldn't have to worry about me anymore was comforting.

Ian and Carter's boundless energy carried me through the reunion, before my old butt was able to get home, strip off the "tree suit" and take a nap.

Cellf Reliant

The past couple days I've been really appreciating the things I took for granted as a citizen of the U.S.: indoor plumbing with plenty of hot water, drinkable tap water, clear skies, indoor plumbing, live TV with commercials, a common language, and indoor plumbing.

Yesterday I re-activated my cell phone. It felt great to be able to make, and receive, calls for the first time since December.

It's only been about ten years since my first cell, but the mobile is such a key component of life today. You really notice the culture differences in a world with cell phones. Seeing someone standing outside, not smoking, with a hand against their ear would have looked weird most places in Iraq. A few of the key leaders had cells but they were so unreliable and the voice quality so poor, that we used them very sparingly, and usually drove out to deliver messages.

I'm starting to get used to it again. During the breaks from our outprocessing yesterday everybody's phones were out. I've never been a long conversationalist on a cell, and prefer to devote my attention to the people I'm physically with. That's just good manners, in my opinion.

I'm thinking of getting an iPhone as welcome home gift. It would finally allow me to dump my PDA and the web, mail and data features are appealing. But I hope it doesn't suck me in too far. The U.S. is a beautiful place and we need to turn off our electronic devices once in a while to appreciate it. Sometimes it takes some time away to get a new perspective.

ROCK In The USA

I'm writing this from my bunk in the barracks at Fort Dix, New Jersey, United States of America. That's the happiest sentence I've written yet over the past year. It will shortly be surpassed by the announcement that I've arrived at home, hopefully this Saturday.

The past two days have been a whirlwind of flying, waiting to fly, and humping 200 lbs. of gear through customs, tents, and several airports. I called Jenny from a layover in Maine to let her know I was in the country.

It's 3:00 am here and we'll be up in three hours to start our outprocessing. More to come.

Previous 10 entries...

Goodnight Iraq Oct 14, 2008
Played It Til My Fingers Bled Oct 14, 2008
October Project Oct 1, 2008
Reports From The Front 3 Sep 16, 2008
The Twins Will Win The World Series Sep 3, 2008
Olympic Fever and the Stars and Stripes Sep 3, 2008
Wake Me Up When September Ends Sep 1, 2008
Packages, Boxes and Tubes, Oh My Aug 18, 2008
Blazing a New Trail Aug 18, 2008
There and Back Again Chapter 5 Jul 27, 2008