A Soldier returns to work

Jennifer has come and gone again, off to take on the final leg of her military career. She has decided that her tour of duty will end in November and she will begin to unravel the rest of her life from that point forward. She had considered the Air Force and a duty station in Hawaii, but the unit was on active status and could have been deployed at any time. She's been there and done that, as they say. She's not sure what her next steps are going to be, but she has time to mull the possibilities. She may move in with Sara when she gets back or she may live with Bill, her Stepdad, who is now estranged from Diane (See, it wasn't me). Jen had a great trip home and looks forward to bidding adieu to the Army. It has been a great experience for her, but enough is enough. She is actually in Atlanta right now visiting her friends from Fort Gordon in Augusta, Georgia and will return to Kuwait via Germany on Thursday. She is not looking forward to the 125 degree temperatures and will recall fondly our days on the water here in Norcal. We were able to get out three times on the lake with the jet ski and Jennifer was so enthralled with our new toy that she asked for a ski vest for her birthday. With our bruisers and Darla at 5'10", there wasn't a vest that fit Jennifer, so we ordered her an embossed neoprene vest size small ladies. She doesn't have much concern that we'll be using the vest while she is gone unless we invite some young children to join us on the ski.

David and Destiny have gone their separate ways. It was a tough breakup and David took it hard. Destiny (the actual spelling of her name is a phonetic nightmare so I'll stick with this) was pretty immature and left David with a bruised heart, but a stronger sense of the female animal. He will take what he learned and use it in his future relationships. I won't go into details, but suffice it to say that Destiny has some friends who are not in relationships for one reason (horseface) or another and weren't enthralled that Destiny was spending so much time with David. They conspired to make sure that Destiny was able to be available when they needed their moustaches waxed. Dave will survive, but it is hard for Darla and I to see him hurt.

David begins college in a few weeks and Daniel is already back in school. The Summer is fast reaching it's zenith and Fall will be here before we know it. I was in the office at 6:45 today and had to have my lights on right into the parking lot today. The days are growing shorter and the nights are cooler. It has been a hot Summer, so the cooling nights are a welcome respite.

I played golf at D'Andria golf course in Sparks, Nevada yesterday. I drove up early (missing church in the process) and was at the course by 10:30. Our group played D'Andria on both Saturday and Sunday and I signed up for just the Sunday tournament. The course is very difficult and built into the side of some rolling hills above Reno. The vistas are quite nice with views of downtown Sparks and Reno in the distance. I played 16 good holes, shooting 6 over par and two bad holes where I went another six over. It was the type of day when I should have shot 79 or 80, but had to settle for 84 and second place in the tournament. I played right to my handicap, but there were so many guys shooting net 80 or above that I easily took second place with my net 72. My next golf tournament is Saturday and it is the qualifier for the Diamond Oaks Rosecup team. I would be thrilled to be on the defending champion's team this year for two days of golf in October.

Darla and I are still trying to get a tile contractor to come out to our home and give us an estimate on doing our kitchen, entry, hallway, master bathroom, laundry room and the hallway into the kitchen from the garage. We have had two appointments that were missed by a contractor who was recommended by our neighbor. He is now off the list. He refers to himself as "your tile man", well not ours. We also plan to have a fireplace insert installed soon to prepare for the Winter months ahead. I'd like to use the fireplace to heat the home and cut back on the use of the furnace. I'm not looking to replace the furnace, simply supplement the heat with the fireplace.

That is about it for this week. Work continues to go well and we are building toward something good in this office. Pete is beginning to build his book and Anthony is also having a great month. I may have to take the office out to Benihanas this month, which I'd be thrilled to do. We have to hit $110,000 in net income to go to lunch. Our "nut" is about $95,000 to pay the bills and I've set $15,000 in profit to afford a celebration. Unfortunately with the changes and new people I haven't bought lunch in four months. Hopefully this month will put us over the top. Be well and keep striving for heaven and you'll be fine. Ciao.