Random Musings

Some random musings for my first blog post in a while…

1. Did you know that Melissa has never had rashes from poison ivy, oak or sumac? I discovered this because I picked up a small rash on my right wrist from my time out in the field last week. We were doing a land navigation course which had us plowing right up the side of a hill and right through a patch of “leaves of three, let them be.” We were land naving on Monday, and the rash didn’t appear till Friday, by which time I thought I was in the clear. Oh well. At any rate, I think it’s amazing that Melissa has never had the rash—she must not have played in creeks and woods like I did as a kid. That’s the problem with girls. They’re all so dainty, playing with their dollies and tea sets. We’ll see if Sarah Rose turns out to be a princess or a tom boy...

2. The Rockies did not lose their opening game today. Of course, they didn’t win either. They were down 5-1 in the third when heavy rains in Saint Louis postponed the game. So, the results from today don’t count. Yay! I have high hopes for all my teams this year, which include the following: Rockies and Reds in the NL, Indians and Tigers in the AL. Today at work I brought in my XM satellite radio so that I could listen to all the games. I sure do love the start of the baseball season! This afternoon after coming home from work I changed into my Colorado Rockies t-shirt and checked up on my fantasy baseball teams. Melissa says that she is once again a baseball widow. Little does she know that I intend to woo Sarah Rose onto my side...

3. We had a dress (choker) whites inspection today at work, in preparation for the battalion’s change-of-command on 11 April. The last change-of-command took place in July 2006. Usually they happen every two years, but ours is early this time around because our skipper is rolling to a high-profile job in the Pentagon, working for the Vice Chief of Naval Operations. In July of 2006, I had two medals and no ribbons to wear on my uniform. This go around I’ll be wearing three medals and two ribbons. By the time I leave, I’ll have five medals and two, maybe three ribbons. Now, ribbons and medals are silly pieces of fluff, but they are important. When you run into someone in the military you can figure out where they’ve been and what they’ve done in a general sense by “reading” what they’re wearing on their chest. I guess my time in FOUR means that I can say, “I’ve been there, done that” now (at least as it relates to deployments and wars)…

4. Today I finally straightened out what was holding up my appointment to go see the orthopedic doctors down at UCLA for my leg. It seems that TriWest (military insurer) faxes the referral documents to one central fax number at the hospital system (which includes complexes in several different LA-area cities). The people at UCLA are then supposed to forward it to the right department, which I guess didn’t happen with my paperwork. Also, TriWest gave me the wrong number to call to set up my appointment in the first place. Thankfully I found the correct number on the internet and was able to call down, which is how I discovered that UCLA needed my referral still. At any rate, I now have the paperwork in hand and will be personally faxing it to the right department tomorrow and then placing a phone call. I’m really tired of putting up with my left leg. Today it’s been really sore and achy—almost like it’s a bone, not a muscle problem. I guess I’m just falling apart as I grow old…

Well, that’s it from me for today. Have a blessed evening everyone—time for bed!