Spirit of Christmas

So today I go into work as usual when my buddy called me over to his van. He hands me an unwrapped Japanese Toy Police Car that has light up lights and siren, and says Merry Christmas. I am touched by the gesture but at that time had nothing to gift back...So as I walk to my car, I think to myself, what can I buy in return for him for Christmas...I don't have a lot of money to spare for Xmas this year, but I still feel obligated to give him a gift in return, even if it is something small.

It seems like another boring day on the pier standing watch when around early afternoon I receive a call. My buddy calls me and wants to know if my crew and I could cover his watch on Monday after our three day weekend so he could go do a volunteer project, I think nothing of it and agree that we can take care of him. My biggest thing with my unit is, we never say no to a shipmate who asks for help.

After working out the details, he asks me for another favor. This month we are pulling duty on the 25th, 26th, and 27th. With the holiday stand down, all sections are at minimal manning and have just enough people to cover each post. His father is going to be in town and he wants to spend the holiday's with him. He asks if we can again cover for him, for at least half a day each of the three days. He then tells me that can be my Christmas gift to him. We work out the details, and I agree it will be done. What he doesn't know though, is that I am going to go one step further...He will have all of Christmas day off to spend with his father, his wife, and his daughter.

It is interesting to read everyone's Facebook Posts, and posts on other sites about how much they spent on Christmas, what they bought, and who they bought for, how much shopping they did, how crazy it was trying to shop, finding the perfect gift, etc, and all the usual talk that comes along with Christmas. People tend to forget, that you can give a non material gift to someone through a gesture of goodwill and lending a helping hand, and to that person (ie my buddy) that is worth more than any material gift.

Lets not forget what the spirit of Christmas is really about.

Passed but not advanced....Nothing to be mad or upset about either

Well the results for the MA1 exam just came out today. It turns out that due to quota's, only 13 MA2's were advanced to MA1 Navy Wide...Now here is a brief summary of how I did.

Your Final Multiple: 200.16

Minimum Multiple Req'd: 215.29

YOUR OVERALL PERCENTILE WAS 98. YOU SCORED HIGHER THAN 98 PERCENT OF THE CANDIDATES IN YOUR RATE WHO TOOK THIS EXAM

SUBJECT CANDIDATE PASSED THE EXAMINATION FOR MA1, BUT DUE TO QUOTA LIMITATIONS CANNOT BE ADVANCED TO THE NEXT HIGHER PAY GRADE

Normally people get upset when they don't make it to the next higher paygrade...Am I kicking myself? Maybe a little bit...And now I know where my weak areas are that I need to study. But there is an upside to this story:

Last exam results:

Your Final Multiple: 190.5

Minimum Multiple Req'd: 205.03

YOUR OVERALL PERCENTILE WAS 89. YOU SCORED HIGHER THAN 89 PERCENT OF THE CANDIDATES IN YOUR RATE WHO TOOK THIS EXAM

SUBJECT CANDIDATE PASSED THE EXAMINATION FOR MA1, BUT DUE TO QUOTA LIMITATIONS CANNOT BE ADVANCED TO THE NEXT HIGHER PAY GRADE

My score increased by 10 and my percentile increased 9%.

That is something to be proud of and I am going to pin my profile sheet in front of me on my desk and make it a point to study my weak areas and next time I will not only make MA1 off the spring exam but I will also do it and graduate college at the same time.

More of the M60 Machine gun

Since I have been going in nightly and cleaning this damn thing, I figured I would post more pics of my favorite gun :) The M60 Medium Machine Gun (source Wikipedia)

Eddie Manned

Harbor Boat Mounted

Humvee Mounted

Somewhat useful at night LOL

Mounted with Ammo ready to go (sort of)

I love you Grandma Weiler.

Well I was getting ready for work today when a message came through on the computer from my dad...It turns out that my Grandma Weiler was diagnosed with Congestive Heart Failure, and that it is terminal...Meaning she isn't going to be with us very much longer...The doctors are sending her home to hospice. I tried to hold it in but when I tried to tell Lori, all I could do was cry...As I sit here and write this, I am doing my best to hold back the tears.

Just last August we went home for Lori's 10 year Reunion and took an entire month to visit family. While we were in town we went and visited my grandmother at her house for dinner. On the way there we turned a two hour car trip into a four hour car by trusting a GPS. We had to keep constantly calling my grandma to find our way but we finally managed to get there.

I helped my aunt with a couple things while grandma got dinner started. Then we got back to the house and my aunt started helping with dinner while Lori and I hung around the kitchen. It was nice to just sit there and chat and make jokes. For my grandma's age she is sharp as a tack when it comes to witty humor and jokes.

Dinner was pretty much the same; chatting, and bantering. Afterwards, we all settled in the living room. Lori and Aunt Cathy carried on their own little conversation while grandma and I watched the news. Afterwards the Seahawks game was coming on, but the channel was changed to a cooking show. Guess grandma wasn't a football or Seahawks fan LOL. The cooking show turned out to be much more entertaining.

The sun started to set and Lori and I decided rather than get lost around Clear Lake and Yelm in the dark, it was time to head home while we could still find our way out. We bid farewell to my grandma and my aunt and made plans to visit again next time we were in town. As we were backing out of the driveway my grandma waved to us and then stood there. As we got the car straightened out on the road we waved one last time and then headed off.

I look back on this memory and all the other memories I have shared with my family, and have learned that life is very short. You never know or wonder, when you see someone that if thats the last time you will see them.

I close this entry with this: Make time to spend time with family, loved ones, and friends. Cherish each and every moment, because you just never know when or if you will see each other again.

Off Roading...

So today for whatever reason, I decide to come into work early and log some hours driving the humvee around base. The off going section supervisor is fully qualifed to take people out and drive along with them and sign off the hours logs.

After getting to base and hanging out for a bit, the off going sup. and one of his guys come rumbling up in the humvee. His guy and I switch out and we are on our way. One key thing about a humvee...NO AIR CONDITIONER!!! So I start driving off, and its just like a car only bigger and wider. We get going and I am told that he has areas on the base that make for some nice courses and push the humvee (and driver) to the limits (keeping safety in mind though)...We will see...I am also told to do exactly what he says when he says otherwise I could end up wrecking the humvee and injuring both of us....This should be fun....

I start driving and am told to head towards Army Hill. As we come up around a corner I am instructed to take it off the road and down a hill...Now at the top of the slope it doesn't look so bad...Then you start down and you think you are going to hit nose first at the bottom...it isn't until you are almost all the way down that your front wheels catch and you level out...Here comes the fun part...Getting back up...

I am told to straighten out as much as possible and crawl it back up the hill...Well I don't get it quite straight and my upward decent is stalled and I slide sideways back down...Ok straighten out a little more I am told and try again...As we start up, I go from looking at the hill to looking at the sky...I am thinking HOLY SHIT we are gonna FLIP this bitch over...But the humvee is designed to climb hills up to 60 degrees and traverse 40 degree inclines. The front wheels catch pavement, and we are now back on the road...

We head to the next obstacle which is pretty much identicle except now its the beach with more room, and less steeper slope, and now with POURING RAIN...This time I make it up with ease and a little more confidence and we press on...

After hauling ass up Army Road, we drive to the next test...The hill traverse...We take the humvee down a REALLY narrow dirt road and come to a nice incline/slope. I am told to put my humvee sideways on it and traverse it until told to straighten out. As I start my traverse, I ask my trainer "are we gonna roll?" the next few phrases are pretty much OMG OMG OMG until I straightend out and off the slope, the trainer laughing the whole time. Ok task accomplished...

We head down the hill and through the campgrounds...I am told next to drive over the curb and hit the beach...When I get on the beach I am told to throttle it and keep going (otherwise we'd get stuck) HELL YES!!! Time to haul ass across the beach. Now the tides and wash have created semi little berms which I just fly over like they are nothing...I am actually using the humvee for its intended purpose and LOVING every minute of it.

Next we head to a rock wall which with my renew'd confidence in the humvee and my adrenaline pumping, I make very short work of climbing, then its a quick hop over the curb (they don't stand a chance) and back to HQ to park the beast.

After a couple attempts I get it backed in and parked and when we get out, we notice all the sand stuck to the bottom front of the humvee and all up in the tires.

HA HA HA MISSION ACCOMPLISHED!!!!!