November update!

Wow, time is flying by! I hate to post only narrative without pictures, but it's been a while so I figured I'd bring yall up to date even without graphics!

I'm finally getting settled in at my new work place. Furniture arrived last week and it took me three days to build it all and put it where I wanted it. Maybe it's from moving around so much during my life, but I need to have things in their place and pictures hung on the walls before I feel like I'm settled. Since my last post, I've gone back to Colorado Spring for meetings. Didn't have any time to do much outside of work, so no stories or pictures to report. I spent Thanksgiving here in San Diego with Whit & Kathie and had a good time. We did a little cooking, a little drinking, and like the rest of American, a lot of eating!

You know what they say about house guests being like fish. . . after about a week they start to smell! You'd never know it at Whit & Kathie's house, not once have they held their nose! I've thoroughly enjoyed having someone to come home and share dinner with when I'm not working late. Even though living out of a suitcase is never easy, I feel so at ease and at home with them; it's pretty much like staying with family. As fun as it is however, I need to have my stuff out of storage and a place to park my bed. I signed a lease on a cute little apartment on Coronado and will move in on Dec. 18th. It's two blocks from the beach and I'm very excited! The few years I spent in the mountains was enough to make me crave the sound of the pounding serf and the smell of salt air. My soul seems to be made of water, so it's time I feed my soul by having a tide near by!

It's been over a month since I left Colorado Springs and reduced my worldly possessions to only one mode of transportation. You'd actually be quite surprised at how chilly it's been here in southern California. I have to chuckle to myself as I ride home from work in the evenings and there's dew in the air and the temperature is in the mid-fifties. Although chilly, it's certainly better than mid-thirties and snow!!! Having the Harley as my sole mode of travel has actually been quite fun. It's only rained twice since I've been here and both times it was on a weekend. Each time, Kathie insisted I take one of their vehicles, so I've not suffered much in the transportation department!

Every now and then, the universe allows a little piece of my Navy past to merge with my present USOC life. A couple of days ago, a Navy buddy that I used to fly with rolled into town for a conference. We met up for dinner and had a great time telling sea stories and talking about the good old days. I always feel like a young kid posing as an adult when I say we reminisced about the "good ole days", but as Sloper and I hung out telling stories, it occurred to me that the stories we were remembering were from over a decade ago! Once again, it was an enlightening experience for me to catch up with someone I haven't seen in a while and hear about the "good ole days" from a different perspective. I'm usually struck by how unique we all are, and how our shared experiences are viewed through the filters of our past. I have a lot of respect for the men I've served with and for the paths their lives have taken since our paths have parted, especially those who have continued to stay in the Navy. For some reason, I feel strangely obligated to staying in touch with these shipmates from my past. Not an unwanted obligation, but one which I welcome and continually learn from. These random meetings always leave me a better person than I went in.

Tomorrow I take a flight back to Colorado Springs for a week of meetings. I can't say I'm looking forward to being at altitude during winter, but I am excited about seeing friends and checking in on my house (which still hasn't rented yet). I'll try to take some pics and do a post to keep everyone up to date. Until then, have a great week and drink in the surroundings in which you find yourself, you'll never be in that exact moment in time again in your life1