Never Forget

I am an American Airman.
I am a warrior.
I have answered my nation's call.

I am an American Airman.
My mission is to fly, fight, and win.
I am faithful to a proud heritage,
A tradition of honor,
And a legacy of valor.

I am an American Airman.
Guardian of freedom and justice.
My nation's sword and shield,
Its sentry and avenger.
I defend my country with my life.

I am an American Airman.
Wingman.
Leader.
Warrior.
I will never leave an Airman behind.
I will never falter,
AND I WILL NOT FAIL!

This Week in Life...

-Tried jiu jitsu for the first time this past week. I'm ambivalent about it right now, although I can't participate in the sparring yet due to my ankle. The class is huge, though, and is made up of a lot of my guys from FIGHT. It's also always interesting to see Sir as a student.

-Took and passed my CDCs this week. Basically, this means I went up a level at work. It's not nearly as big of a deal as it sounds, although it is important. It's good that they aren't hanging over my head anymore.

-Was a DV escort and runner for the DO's promotion ceremony this weekend, and then was invited to a more intimate party after drill with his family, the 216th brass, and the people who helped out with the ceremony. It was fun, and a good reminder that I am lucky enough to be working with some really good people. Even if I did take some ribbing from some of them about my hockey fandom. Also got some encouraging tidbits on the job I applied for, so that was nice.

-Really not thrilled with the start of the Western Conference Finals. I don't like the Sharks, but I seriously loathe the Canucks. However, all hockey hatred aside, the NHL lost a fan favorite this week with the sudden death of NY Ranger/former Minnesota Wild player Derek Boogaard. Thoughts go to his family and friends. RIP Boogeyman.

-Had a lot of fun for my birthday this year. Probably the best birthday I've had in a long time. Still had to work, of course, but we had a cake on my actual birthday and also got to talk to my mom, got a beautiful present from my parents, and stayed up late talking to my brother, so that made it a good day all around. We went out to lunch at our favorite tri-tip spot on Friday, because meetings and schedules didn't work out until then, and a guy that I think might be flirting with me a little got "dragged" to it, as well, so that was fun.

-Worked all weekend, gonna work all week. I need to go dress-shopping for Vegas at some point next weekend...hmm....

My Next Thirty Years

I think I'll take a moment to celebrate my age,
The ending of an era, and the turning of a page.
Now it's time to focus in on where I go from here.
Lord, have mercy on my next thirty years!

In my next thirty years, I'm gonna have some fun,
Try to forget about all the crazy things I've done.
Maybe now I've conquered all my adolescent fears
And I'll do it better in my next thirty years!

My next thirty years, I'm gonna settle all the scores,
Cry a little less, and laugh a little more.
Find a world of happiness without the hate and fears,
Figure out just what I'm doing here in my next thirty years.

In my next thirty years, I'm gonna watch my weight,
Eat a few more salads and not stay up so late.
Drink a little lemonade and not so many beers -
Hey maybe I'll remember my next thirty years!

My next thirty years will be the best years of my life!
I'll raise a little family and hang out with my wife.
Spend precious moments with the ones that I hold dear,
Make up for lost time here in my next thirty years!

-My Next Thirty Years, Tim McGraw

Um, wow!

How did it get to be May already?? Yikes! I keep thinking "I'll post something when I actually have something done/going on" and then I never seem to have time!

For the knitterly types, I did finish the test knit, nicknamed The Beast due to its size and color, but properly called a Hip To Be Square Cape, and loved the result....pre-felting. It was a cape, a lovely warm drapey soft cape with a cute little collar. Then the washer ate it. Stupid cheap laundry-room washers! I'd been afraid of that result, so I'd tried to hand-felt it in the bathtub first, but it was way too big to do that.
Pre-felting:
Post-felting:
All that lovely soft Malabrigo! So stiff and short now! My heart cries! But the color is pretty...sigh. Anyway, since I'm in no danger of jinxing anything now (yes, I'm being a sore loser, but no one will ever be able to convince me that the Canucks were the better team in ANY sense in that series), I've also started a Blackhawks-themed Short-Row Striped Pullover, which I think will rock. I'm using black for the sleeves, hem and collar, and then the stripe pattern is predominantly black, red and white, with green and yellow highlights. I have one sleeve done so far - I almost always do the sleeves first on sweaters - and hoping to start the second one today! I've also started an Adamas Shawl in the Claudia's Handpainted Silk I got a couple years ago. I have no idea what I'm going to do with it, and have now remembered why I rarely do lace projects (they aren't hard, but are not good knitting for watching hockey, to say the least). It is starting off rather well, though. No good pics yet. During the first round, I also started a super simple *yo, k2tog* scarf out of the leftover Mal, which is turning out quite charming and I can imagine will be insanely warm.

In work news, things are going really well. I've kind of settled into the job, but of course, once I did, another job opened up at the 216th that I was STRONGLY encouraged to apply for. I hemmed and hawed about it until pretty much the last minute, but I did apply for it. Better pay, more in line with the actual mission of the 216th, and I might be good at it. We'll see. Other than that, love the job, love the people I work with (the girls all ganged up for dinner and a show this week, which was fun), and if it didn't start so early in the day, it would be almost perfect. One decision that I have never regretted. Ran into a bunch of old friends at the theater, and they all mentioned that I look happier, steadier, and more confident than I ever did before. I definitely feel it!

Also helping that - finally being back in martial arts! I don't think I mentioned that I tore my ankle up (again, same ankle) in March. I was running a trail on one of the COD commander's "death marches" (his usually around 5-mile, often very hilly, insanely-early-on-Thursday-morning, not-required-but-highly-encouraged runs) and just rolled it. It didn't seem that bad at the time, but when it was still "not right" after the weekend, I got it looked at. Doc said it was a combination of new mild sprain plus the severe sprain from last summer never actually healing properly (wonder how that happened), and he forbade pretty much any exercise that involves legs at all until the beginning of April, when I could see a physical therapist. She took a look a it and decided that it seemed like the tendons and ligaments had healed properly, but the muscles hadn't. So I've been in physical therapy for about six weeks now, mostly working with one of the assistants on strength, balance, and flexibility, and STILL haven't been completely cleared to run. I can do up to 15 minutes (on a good day), mixing running and walking, and no more than 1.5 miles on flat surfaces.

I DID, however, get cleared to go back to class, as long as I don't jump or spin on it. The not jumping is easy - I've never been much of a jumper - but the spinning is harder to remember, particularly in forms and sparring. It's SO good to be back in classes, though! I might make second degree yet! I've been to tkd and kickboxing so far, and am hoping to make it to FIGHT on Tuesday this week if the ankle holds up. It's been pretty good, although I am definitely out of shape and have lots of soreness, although I wasn't thinking at one point Wednesday and threw a spin hook kick during sparring, which wasn't appreciated.

I don't get to see Sir very much - Mrs. S teaches on M/W now, and he teaches on T/Th, which are PT days - but I ran into him the other day and he really wants me to check out the new jiu jitsu class on Thursday nights. Definitely not going to participate in anything new until the ankle is completely okay, but I promised I would come watch a few classes. I would like to be able to do both PT and classes on the same day, and I think I am not far off, although it helps that I can't DO a lot of the PT right now, since it mostly involves running. I do SERIOUSLY need to work on pushups, though. They just hurt - my ankle, my elbows, ugh! And I need to get back into running if I'm going to do this half in September! We'll see. I'll just keep working as best as the docs & the body will let me and hope I don't re-injure anything!

Hmm, what else? Going to Vegas in June as a birthday present to myself. I'm leaning toward totally indulging and getting a package that includes a ticket to the NHL Awards. (In which case, working out more is going to be a very good thing, cuz I'm vain enough to want to look amazing in Vegas just in case ;-) ) Also going to the Blackhawks Convention in Chicago in July and going to hang out with family & catch another Cubs game with my brother & cousins during that trip. Yay!

Think that's about it. It's Mother's Day, so I should probably get my sunburnt self (reading out in the sun yesterday - I swear I was only out there for maybe half an hour!) off the computer and call Mom...