So Much Has Changed!

Hello again everyone! These last couple weeks have been really crazy for me, and I thought you all might be interested to know what has been going on.

About 5 weeks ago, I was called to be an Assistant Den Leader for our ward's Cub Scout pack. I was pretty apprehensive, since I was a terrible Boy Scout, and I don't think I know how to deal with kids very well. But I accepted anyway, because it seemed like something I should be doing. About 3 weeks later, on a Saturday, I finally got around to buying my scout uniform shirt, which cost over $60. For a shirt. The very next day, we had a stake meeting to discuss the moving of some of the ward boundaries. You guessed it; Carlene and I were moved from the Hillsboro Ward to the Brookwood Ward. We had only spent 6 months in our old ward, and then this. So Carlene called up the shirt shop on Monday to ask them not to sew the patches on yet, because I needed to return it. Luckily, they were very nice and understanding. If any of you need a scout shirt, I will happily recommend a place for you. Those were three of the big changes recently; first my calling, then our ward change, then me loosing my calling. What a ride.

The Boeing Machinist's Union is on strike, which has put a big dent in our production at work. A lot of jobs that we have in process have been put on hold, and work has slowed almost to a trickle. I am actually kind of glad for it, though, since I have been working overtime almost non-stop for about 6 months. It is really nice to be able to stay up past 8:30 and do some fun stuff with Carlene after work. Yea, it means less money, but right now that is okay.

I'm still getting over the sinus infection that kept me in bed last week. I lost two days of work which really stinks because I don't have much vacation time to spare, and that used up most of it. Carlene often has to pester, and sometimes bribe, me to stay in bed and get some rest when I'm sick. Not this time. I spent two solid days in bed because I didn't have the energy to do anything else. I'm still a little under the weather, but not feeling great yet.

Two weeks ago I got my Technician class Amateur Radio License. That's a Ham radio license, in case you were wondering. My call sign is KE7WGJ. I have a little 5 watt handheld radio, and tonight was my first time transmitting on it. Our stake has a Thursday night radio net (kind of an on-air meeting of radio operators), and I took my first baby steps into Ham radio. It was pretty exciting. So exciting that I almost forgot my call sign. Luckily, I had sort of anticipated that, and I had it written down in front of me to refer to. I really got a kick out of it, which is really strange if you know me. I'm not really a people person, and I really hate talking on the phone, so it surprises even me that I would enjoy talking to people on the radio. If you scan through the frequencies, you can find some pretty entertaining conversations. I heard some Multnomah County police officers talking about looking for a suspect in a park, and I've heard some random stations discussing the finer points of toilet design. Anyway, Ham radio is something I would like to get into a little more deeply, and I would like some practice. So if you also have a license and a radio, give me a call.

There was something else, too, but now I can't remember. Oh yea, I turned 30. That's it. When I was a kid, 30 was ancient, and I never thought I would be that old. Yet here I am, 30, mostly bald, graying, and all grown up. Wow. When kids are young, they want to be things. They want to be an astronaut, or a baseball player or a computational fluid dynamics engineer. I don't know if they realize that eventually they will have to do things. Go to work, fix the leaky toilet, mow the grass, go grocery shopping, go to work some more and try not to complain about it too much when they get home. Actually, it is probably a very good thing that kids don't think about that kind of thing. Most of them would probably run away to join the circus.

So I guess that is about it. There may have been more, but my aged mind is now too old and enfeebled to remember much else. Though things may have changed, I am glad that some things are just the way I like them; my terrific family, my nice house, and, above all, my beautiful wife, who gives me hugs when I get home from work and tucks me in bed when I'm sick. I can't name anything more important to me than that, and I hope it never changes.