How I spent my summer vacation...

I guess I'm a putts, but I like stay home vacations...this one is over now... :-(

Actually, I just took a few days off. Things at work were getting on my nerves, and the next quarter is going to be very, VERY busy thanks to all the government regs I deal with. As it happens ALL my annual, semi-annual, and five year CE requirements are scheduled for NOW. In 20+ years at this, I have never had that happen. I actually like CE (Continuing Education). I enjoy learning, and am good at tests...but this will be a lot all at once.

OK, back to my vacation...What's a putts do with time off? Hmmm...
I slept in to 8:00-9:00 most days (perfect). Got some things done around the house. Had coffee with my pastor one morning (went to church that next Sunday). Met for beers with my neighbor one evening. Spent time with my kids (mostly, we went to eat...nothing fancy). And spent time with my true love, Sydney...we went to The Hard Rock and played slots one afternoon, (and got another T-shirt). We also went to see "Inception" (the new movie), which was really pretty good! (Max went with us.) And we went to The Philbrook to see the Egyptian exhibit from the Brooklyn Museum...which was great...(Google "To Live Forever" to see a summary of the exhibit).

Also, I have had my name on a waiting list for an Iphone 4....My name came up this week...so that was a treat...and I'm glad I was off since you have one day to show up at the store (the day you get the email notice) to pick up your phone, or they cancel the reservation, and you have to start again...(The new Iphone is amazing, and there is NO PROBLEM with reception, but I'll take a free case anyhow...they offered them to anyone getting the phone before the end of Sept.)

So there was all that, plus the usual work outs, walks with the dog, hanging out with kids, getting some sun, and drinking some wine...So, if you need some rest I recommend a stay home vacation...It's just an extended weekend, and it does wonders all the way around.

So, now it's back to work.
NP... ;-)

Afghanistan

I'm glad Gen. Petraeus is in command of the whole Middle East operation now. The change is a positive, timely one. However, I'll still be surprised if it ends well. And even if we do get out...(will we ever?) I'm not hopeful for a strong (independent?) Afghanistan...I'm just not. I'll skip the stats on wars in that country. Most everyone knows them, and no one will change their mind because of this stupid blog anyway. So why do I offer an opinion? I don't know...maybe I shouldn't...what do you think? However; remember, there are years of history to back up my position, in any event. The only thing "different" this time is things are worse. It's a complete disaster. We should pray for everyone over there, including my nephew.

My brothers came out last weekend. (One of them thinks we should be out of Middle East wars, the other does not.) We had a great time! We went to the Hard Rock Casino. (We gambled, and broke even, then bought shirts.) And we watched the soccer final. It was good to watch the game with people who know soccer. My bros did a good job explaining the strategy behind what we were watching. Mostly we just hung out, and discussed politics, sports, religion, family, and money....(not sex, since we're married the subject is off limits... :-)Which could be a subject for a future post...

Why do women discuss their married sex lives, and guys can't (or won't)? It's strange...not that men want to discuss married sex (as opposed to sex in general) that much anyhow...women seem to want to verbalize about things like that more than men (sexist, yes (sorry)...its an observation, that's all...do you agree? No?

Max got horribly sick recently. He had a fever of 104, and had terrible back pain...no joke. The doc suggested we take him off all meds for a day to see what happened. (What?) He was in agony w/in a few hours. We went to a different doc the next day. The second was aggressively working to diagnose him, but no luck. Some tests come back this week, so maybe we'll know after the fact. He is better now.

It's hot here...damn hot. It looks like a front might move through tonight, and the rain will cool us off temporarily...good!