Today's Featured Biography
Eric Dean
SEPTEMBER 07:
It's been a while but as we all know, time flies when you're gettin' older! I've sher enjoyed looking at all the pictures of ya'll at yer Hootenanny! Wish I could have been there but country livin' has me enjoyin the porch swing and fryin' up gator tail ... hell, actually, I just couldn't swing it this time! Plannin' on JUL 2012!
Well, I never did get to Jumpmaster School this year. I bailed out (haha) on account my rental house is in foreclosure. Oh well, it'll take months for them to kick me out! COME AND GET ME YOU FASCIST BANKER!!! I'm trying to stay focused on building my house, though. We have the floor plan, now I need to go see some builders and do some cost comparisons. I'd like to build as an owner/builder.
My oldest daughter Michelle gave birth to her first child, Anastasia Lily Ruben, on May 24 and she is doing great!
I've been trying my hand at making sourdough, but the starter is kicking my butt. Recently, we had an extraordinary dinner at the Gibson Inn in Apalachicola, FL, and after the pastry chef served our micro-sized chocolate suffle (with a citrusy Mexican coffee drizzle), she let me read her book on bread making. And you thought you could only do that at Barnes & Noble! Now that I have a few ideas for the bread, I'll be able to get that damn stuff growing. Oh, did I mention that we got to dine with one of the Inn's original residents???
I've got a few pictures on a photo website, so check out the link.
APRIL UPDATE:
Like ROCKY, the adventure keeps going on and on.
I was finally paroled from the US/Iraqi Detention Facility on the Mar 31 enroute to the States. The Air Force stopped in Rota, Spain to refuel their C5 transport jet and as of today, the 4th of April, we are still here; the C5 is still here, too, but the Air Force crew is somewhere in the US ... hmmmm. With any luck, the crew will show up again and we will fly out tomorrow night. Please, say a prayer, light some incense, kill a chicken, or dance around a tree under the full-moon (whichever is appropriate for your preferred faith) to help us get home. Apparently the Air Force needs ALL the help it can get!
Anyhow, the sangria here is awesome, the coast is beautiful, and it smells like the better parts of Seattle after it rains. It is nice to sit out in public again watching people walk up and down the boardwalk along the beach, to walk the city streets at all hours of the night, and to sit in a coffee house drinking cafe con leche (with Bailey's) and practicing Spanish. I had an excellent steak at a local Argentine steak house with the afore mentioned sangria.
Like a low-budget, action-packed serial, tune in again soon as the adventure continues ...
MARCH UPDATE:
I have a new house to sleep in, finally! Only a rental, but I don't want to get too comfortable. The next chapter in this adventure story is to build my first house; woo hoo! My wife has survived her first Permanent Change of Station move (fond memories for those who are/were attached to the military) and has rewarded herself with the most expensive washer in Home Depot! Just kidding (it's the second most expensive... haha). I will have the pleasure of moving that thing at the end of the next chapter. My big girl and granddaughter (to-be) are doing well; the little one is apparently studying Tae Kwon Do in the womb. My little girl is looking forward to seeing the stars now that she is out of the city and my son is anxious to dig holes so he can "learn to be a construction worker." I'm hoping for contractor or engineer, but I guess I'll just have to wait and see. Maybe I should try one of those blog things ... nah; I doubt anyone is reading this thing anyway.
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FEB UPDATE:
My house in Ft Lauderdale FINALLY has a contract for sale, after only a year and a half! My wife has already found us a new residence just south of Jacksonville, FL which will be a mere 10 min from work, instead of 6 hours! I will finally get to go home after work (well, when I actually get BACK to work). Unfortunately I will miss out on Green Beer, so please knock down a few for me!
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For those who didn't know me back in school, I joined the National Guard after my Junior year and went to Basic Training that summer. After Graduation, I finished my training, to include Jump School. By the beginning of '89 I had enough of the cold, so in April I caught a National Guard C130 to Florida and have been stuck here ever since. Actually, I took an opportunity to move down to Florida for college (yes, me in college) and a career change.
In 1993, I got married to my wife Natalie, which brought with it my step daughter, Michelle. A few years later, in 1995, I completed my AA degree and my second daughter Elica was born! Later that same year, we moved to Ft Lauderdale and I took a full-time position with my Guard unit. At the end of 2000 we purchased our first home in Plantation, FL and a few months later my son Jesse was born.
In 2003, my unit was mobilized for the second time, but this time we actually deployed overseas (the first was Desert Storm). I spent my first tour driving around the rocky landscape of Afghanistan or Utah, I'm not sure which. In the summer of 2006, I began my second rotation, but this time to Iraq. I have spent the last 6 months as a "FOB-bit" protecting the chow hall, weight room, and my Internet connection. It's been tough duty, but . . .
Anyway, I'm looking forward to seeing my family and having a few pints of green beer. I hope I get the chance to return to the old stomping grounds for the reunion.
I almost forgot, I will be a grandfather this coming May! I can hardly wait!
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