Chief: Schaefer, what a huge office you have... You in here all by yourself?
Me: No Chief, GM2 Simmons sits right over there. Out of curiosity, why do you ask?
Chief: The Warrant was over scoping out my office this morning, he's moving in and I need to find a new space for myself and two YN's. You're office is really nice...
Me: It's really not that nice Chief, there's no way to lock the door, none of the filing cabinets lock either, you'd have no way to keep all your sensitive stuff secured.
Chief: (Laughing) I think I'm gonna like this office, it's really nice... and there's so much room.

This is the fourth office I've had since January. Every time I get into a new space and set everything up the way I like it, somebodies gotta come along and snatch the productivity right out from under me.

I guess it's not so bad, maybe my next office will have a door that locks. God help them if it does! I'd lock that sucker, put on the headphones and not come out till the day was over, the network was down, or I had to track down some unfortunate overling and apply the ikkyo grip of my virtuous will.

But I digress...

So things are kind of in the gray area again with whether or not I'll be going to another duty station or staying here. Ever since I got my orders and found that they had me at my next duty station two months longer than I would be on active duty, I've been trying to get someone to tell me how the two months were going to be adjusted for. Normally the sailor would have to route a request to extend for those two months or lose the orders.

I wouldn't have a problem with extending, except that I get out in early December, which means I get to be home for Christmas. If I do extend for those two months and get out in Feb. there is no way they'll let me go home for Christmas right before I leave the Navy for good.

To make a short story long, somebody finally emailed me back and wants to start looking into the situation, so it looks like I might know for sure in the next few days where it is that I'll actually spend my last 18 months in the Navy.

I braved the local souk (market) the other day, dancing through the homicidal taxi traffick and deftly avoiding the knock-off vendors, to chill near the fountain till the shops opened up at 1600.

So this is the light at the end of the tunnel!!!
Oh, no wait, it's just more desert...

This week has been a good week.
I still have a bit of those videos to watch, I'm almost done with my Criminal Justice final, and after that it's goodbye to homework for a whole week!!!

So what will I do with all this new-found free time you ask.
To be honest I'm kinda curious about that one.
Believe it or not I think I might write a poem or two.


Oh, Yeah.
Asa! Asa! Asa! came from Alexi and Abbe's little girl, Mable, when she first began to talk. I used to hang out with Alexi when Abbe was at work. Before Mable could talk, I would repeat my name to her in the hopes that when she did start talking she would know my name. The way Alexi tells it, a couple of days after she started talking he was driving over to see me and when he rounded the block and my townhouse was in view Mable recognized it and started saying Asa! Asa! Asa! because she thought it was one long word instead of a short word repeated again and again and again.

So anyway, that's my story and I'm stickin to it.

So I just got this package from home with some family videos of last Christmas!!!

EURIKA!!!!

There were also some cookies,
some old DVD's (including a Sherlock Holmes one that I've never ever even heard of!)
and a cool puzzle from My brother who's blog is never-ever updated.

The Christmas videos were the best though. and long tooo. I' haven't even cracked the surface. There are litterally hours of stuff!!!

anyway, gotta go and have Christmas, catch you fools later.

Asa! Asa! Asa!

I bald-facedly ripped off Holly's blog for this.

Four jobs you have had:
1. Fiber Optic Cable Splicer/Prepper
2. Computer Support Technician
3. Landscaper (glorified ditch digger/sod layer)
4. Navy Cop

Four movies you could watch over and over:
1. The princess bride
2. Second Hand Lions
3. Groundhog's Day
4. Dirty Rotten Scoundrels

Four places you've lived:
1. Bemidji MinnysOta
2. Yokosuka Japan
3. Brainerd Minnesota
4. Manama Bahrain

Four TV shows you love to watch:
1. Serenity (again and again and again)
2. Scrubs
3. Mythbusters (did you see the one where they welded rockets to the top of the '67 Impala!?!)
4. Frasier

Four places you've been on vacation:
1. Bemidji
2. Seattle
3. Some city in Canada (I was kind of young)
4. Tehachapi California

Four of your favorite foods:
1. Bananas
2. Shrimps (you can't have just one)
3. General Tzo's Chicken
4. Steamed Broccoli

Four places you'd rather be right now:
1. The U.S.
2. England
3. Germany
4. Spain

Four sites I visit daily: (only 4?!?)
1. My Brother's Blog http://www.mattinthesand.blogspot.com/
2. Google
3. My brother from another mother's blog http://www.madchatthew.blogspot.com/
4. My other brother from another mother's blog http://www.canopenner.blogspot.com/

Four Bloggers you are tagging:
1. Christy (the hubristic minx)
2. Holly (the icebound bobby-soxer at heart)
3. Holly (the loquacious canary)
4. Robert (the pleonastic puck)

"The analysts write about war as if it's a ballet . . . like it's choreographed ahead of time, and when the orchestra strikes up and starts playing, everyone goes out there and plays a set piece.

"What I always say to those folks is, 'Yes, it's choreographed, and what happens is the orchestra starts playing and some !@#$%! climbs out of the orchestra pit with a bayonet and starts chasing you around the stage.' And the choreography goes right out the window."

-Norman Schwarzkopf

Giving sad news to a troop
The Captain called the Sergeant in. "Sarge, I just got a telegram that Private Jones' mother died yesterday. Better go tell him and send him in to see me."

So the Sergeant calls for his morning formation and lines up all the troops. "Listen up, men," says the Sergeant. "Johnson, report to the mess hall for KP. Smith, report to Personnel to sign some papers. The rest of you men report to the Motor Pool for maintenance. Oh by the way, Jones, your mother died, report to the commander."

Later that day the Captain called the Sergeant into his office. "Hey, Sarge, that was a pretty cold way to inform Jones his mother died. Couldn't you be a bit more tactful, next time?"

"Yes, sir," answered the Sarge.

A few months later, the Captain called the Sergeant in again with, "Sarge, I just got a telegram that Private McGrath's mother died. You'd better go tell him and send him in to see me. This time be more tactful."

So the Sergeant calls for his morning formation. "Ok, men, fall in and listen up." "Everybody with a mother, take two steps forward." "Not so fast, McGrath!"

All things considered,
today was a pretty good day.

Ok, so I was bored tonight and instead of doing my homework I decided to go through some old pictures. There were so many that I couldn't put them all on the site, so I settled for a making a collage.
Click here for a printable version.

P.S. Chad and Rob, "I'm Pinching You!"

!!!!SuDoKu!!!!

* Each column contains the numbers 1-9.
* Each row contains the numbers 1-9 .
* Each 3x3 square contains the numbers 1-9.

So this is my old department's logo. It is going to be posted on the door to my office, but first I want to put a motto on the bottom of it. Here are some of the one's I came up with, what do you think? Feel free to comment and suggest other mottos as well.

Ad augusta per angusta - To high places by narrow roads
Amat victoria curam - Victory favors those who take pains
Animis opibusque parati - Prepared in minds and resources (ready for anything)
Aut viam inveniam aut faciam - I will either find a way or make one
vina Sancta! - Holy cow!
Braccae tuae aperiuntur - Your fly is open
Caesar si viveret, ad remum dareris - If Caesar were alive, you'd be chained to an oar
Credo elvem etiam vivere - I believe Elvis lives
Caro putridas es! - You're dead meat
Cursum perficio - My journey is over, or I finish my journey
Duc, sequere, aut de via decede - Lead, follow, or get out of the way
Dulce bellum inexpertis - War is sweet for those who haven't experienced it. (Pindaros)
Dum spiramus tuebimur - While we breathe, we shall defend
Dura lex, sed lex - The law is harsh, but it is the law
Estne volumen in toga, an solum tibi libet me videre? - Is that a scroll in your toga, or are you just happy to see me?
primordium potissimus - the first, the best
Virtute et armis - By courage and by arms
Vescere bracis meis - Eat my shorts
Non illigitamus carborundum - "don't let the bastards grind you down"

Bat The Penguine!!!

best score 320

Well,
Don't know what to say.
My division went the way of the Dodo this morning and I am one of the few left to sweep up the pieces and facilitate the transition of personnel.
I was kicked out of my office,
My favorite LPO is gone,
The world is a very different place right now than it was when I woke up this morning and it's going to take a bit of getting used to.

Canopenner says:
Did you goto my blog today?
Ocean Ace says:
and then you spoiled season two for me
Ocean Ace says:
did you go to my blog in the lsat three days?
Ocean Ace says:
and comment?
Canopenner says:
I did?
Canopenner says:
maybe
Canopenner says:
lemme go now
Ocean Ace says:
I'm checking
Ocean Ace says:
...

I will now do my little tapity-tapity dance, kick symbolic dust on your shoes and yell it like you did something wrong...
"CHALLANGE!"

You Passed 8th Grade Science

Congratulations, you got 7/8 correct!

Could You Pass 8th Grade Science?

OK, OK, You know me too well, I was just happy to pass.

And now for my movie...
The Spinney Gig.

The Spinney Gig.

It is my firm belief that once every six months or so you should take your computer apart down to it's nubbins, walk away for a day and then return and put it all back together again, just to remind it who's really in charge.

I have owned my current computer, a desknote a929, for a little over two years now and have never done this to it. A chief told me yesterday that desknotes had removable video card, and even though I knew it had an integrated one, since he used to sell them I took his word for it and began to plan my assault. Feeling the sudden wild urge to tinker with stuff at about 0143 last night I did just that. I took it apart then fell asleep, then got up and went to work then came home and finished dismantling it then saw the Chief was in error and put it back together.

You have no idea how many screws there are involved in taking apart a desktop replacement to it's chassis. I stopped short of unseating the motherboard, but did just about everything else. To be honest, after it was all back together I was kinda holding my breath during the bootup process expecting to hear a pop, or see a puff of smoke or even worse, have nothing at all happen. Instead it worked like a champ. Guess I showed it who's boss.

I wanted to take pictures, but my camera ate all the batteries up while I was shooting video of this windup toy I got for Christmas. (shutup, it's a fun toy and my friends all like it too.)

Anyway... So there it is, a real post.

It's been a long time since I posted, but to tell you the truth I've kinda run out of things to say.

I'm listening to this new CD Miles to Miles, it's a tribute to Miles Davis by this guy Jason Miles and it's ok I guess, but it's not really anything special. In fact, I think I'm going to delete the first few tracks from my MP3 player cause they give me a headache.

:D Asa