58 days to go. Still planning and scheming, trying to figure out what I'll have to put in storage, that seems to be the biggie right now. I've actually got about four months to figure it out, I'll be in Houston till probably the end of January as far as I can tell.
Too much to do, too much to think about. Naps seem to creep in there and take up an inordinate amount of time as well. Necessary though they are, and enjoyable, they are eating into my "get something done time", lol.
Watching the political theater that is Washington, D. C. What a full blown circus we have for our enjoyment every day. Too bad that circus is the most expensive one in the world, and we're going to be paying for it our entire lives, and those of our children and grand children, and even our great grand children. I am simply amazed how those 500 some odd people who are supposed to be representing out best interests have so completely forgotten what they are there for. It's all about power now, nothing else.
We need to clean house and start over from scratch, unelect every one of them and get a fresh start with people who are NOT professional politicians. But, what are the chances of that, eh?
Slim and none doesn't even seem to approach it.
Mac
Wednesday, October 2, 2013
Tuesday, October 1, 2013
Well alright, day two of my retirement blog, we are now at 60 days and counting!
Not much to report today, got a few things done around the house, and worked my extra job, that's about it. I started eating better a month ago and I have now gone from 265 (the most I've ever weighed in my entire life, except maybe when I was wearing the bomb suit) to 252 so far. Not a huge drop, not even enough to really notice, but my waist is a little smaller as my gun belt is now pretty loose, might have to take it up a notch soon. So there's progress anyway.
Started placing items I KNOW I will be taking with me when I hit the road in one particular place in the master bedroom. Since I'll be putting a LOT of stuff into storage for a while, I need to gather important stuff and put it all in ONE place, lol. I am making lists like I'm planning the logistics for an Armor Brigade. It seems that all of a sudden I am extremely busy getting ready to NOT be busy????? Ah, the joys of retirement so far, lol. From what I hear, it gets better.
Trying to decide what to sell, what to keep, what to give away. How in the world have I accumulated so much junk since the flood in 1994 when I lost everything. What is it about stuff? It is time for a real cleaning of the junk! For real this time! No, I mean it this time..... LOL.
I'm slowly, but surely, getting all my camping gear together. I plan to do a bit of that in the future. I used to do a LOT of camping, but over the years of my military service, the "camping" was sufficient that I didn't do a lot of it on my own time anymore, now I miss it. So it's time to take it up a bit now. Don't get me wrong, there won't be any sleeping on the ground like in my youth, oh no. I have a great cot I found that makes all the army cots I've ever slept in feel like they are made of bricks. A nice tent that allows me a lot of room, and very, very comfortable sleeping bags with a REAL pillow. If I never sleep on a "camp" pillow again, it will be too soon. I even found an air mattress that fits in the back of the Jeep with the back seats folded down. Fits right in between the wheel wells perfectly. I got it out of the box and inflated it today in the living room to see if it is any kind of comfortable, and it is! So, I have options, lol.
I'm thinking of purchasing a trailer. I'm not sure what kind to go with, whether I just need a cargo trailer, or a camping / cargo trailer, or just a camping trailer, or what I want. So I'm still in the initial research and decision making process on that one. Seems like it might come in handy to have one, just not sure yet.
So many things to decide, so many things to think about, so many things to plan. I love it, lol.
Mac
Not much to report today, got a few things done around the house, and worked my extra job, that's about it. I started eating better a month ago and I have now gone from 265 (the most I've ever weighed in my entire life, except maybe when I was wearing the bomb suit) to 252 so far. Not a huge drop, not even enough to really notice, but my waist is a little smaller as my gun belt is now pretty loose, might have to take it up a notch soon. So there's progress anyway.
Started placing items I KNOW I will be taking with me when I hit the road in one particular place in the master bedroom. Since I'll be putting a LOT of stuff into storage for a while, I need to gather important stuff and put it all in ONE place, lol. I am making lists like I'm planning the logistics for an Armor Brigade. It seems that all of a sudden I am extremely busy getting ready to NOT be busy????? Ah, the joys of retirement so far, lol. From what I hear, it gets better.
Trying to decide what to sell, what to keep, what to give away. How in the world have I accumulated so much junk since the flood in 1994 when I lost everything. What is it about stuff? It is time for a real cleaning of the junk! For real this time! No, I mean it this time..... LOL.
I'm slowly, but surely, getting all my camping gear together. I plan to do a bit of that in the future. I used to do a LOT of camping, but over the years of my military service, the "camping" was sufficient that I didn't do a lot of it on my own time anymore, now I miss it. So it's time to take it up a bit now. Don't get me wrong, there won't be any sleeping on the ground like in my youth, oh no. I have a great cot I found that makes all the army cots I've ever slept in feel like they are made of bricks. A nice tent that allows me a lot of room, and very, very comfortable sleeping bags with a REAL pillow. If I never sleep on a "camp" pillow again, it will be too soon. I even found an air mattress that fits in the back of the Jeep with the back seats folded down. Fits right in between the wheel wells perfectly. I got it out of the box and inflated it today in the living room to see if it is any kind of comfortable, and it is! So, I have options, lol.
I'm thinking of purchasing a trailer. I'm not sure what kind to go with, whether I just need a cargo trailer, or a camping / cargo trailer, or just a camping trailer, or what I want. So I'm still in the initial research and decision making process on that one. Seems like it might come in handy to have one, just not sure yet.
So many things to decide, so many things to think about, so many things to plan. I love it, lol.
Mac
Monday, September 30, 2013
Time passes on, and on, until it doesn't. So why not enjoy the time we have, eh? Sage advice, if only we'd pay attention.
I have decided to retire from the Harris County Sheriff's Office at long last. It's actually a couple of years earlier than I'd intended, but events have taken place that just made me think, "Why? Why should I wait?" The answers I kept coming up with were a bit lame, and did not justify staying so I have set a date of November 30th, 2013 as my retirement date. In all honesty, the date may have to have some flexibility to it as things may not go as smoothly as I'd like, or other considerations may push it to after the first of the new year, but my intention is to be out by December 1st.
To that end, I'm going to try and make this a retirement diary of sorts. I've utterly failed to keep any kind of journal over the many years of my career, both in police work and the military, so I'll have to try and remember stories from my adventures and list them here as I document the day to day adventure of becoming a retired sheriff's deputy / peace officer.
I do not intend to pick up another career in law enforcement. Hopefully I will not need to wear a gun belt ever again, unless I am teaching firearms safety, marksmanship, etc. Not sure what I want to do but I intend to do something. The short term plan for now is to travel a bit, spend some time with old friends who've had to put up with my absence and neglect over the years, who deserve better. After that phase, I'm headed out to Las Vegas where I intend to stay with my brother Shawn and his lovely bride Julie for a while, the pair of them having had the poor judgment to offer me a place to stay, lol. So there is no telling what kind of trouble I will find myself getting into out west, but there is no telling where I'll wind up or what I'll wind up doing. Time will tell.
I shall try to post here daily, or at least to remember to come in once a week leading up to retirement to put my thoughts down, and try to update it daily once I am actually retired to reflect on the process and how I feel about it. Who knows, it might be worth the effort to be able to look back on it one day and see what kind of chills and thrills, ups and downs, and ins and outs I go through during this transition.
Then again, it might not be worth the electrons it takes to type it out....lol.
Stay tuned, it can only get better, or worse, or stay the same.
Mac
I have decided to retire from the Harris County Sheriff's Office at long last. It's actually a couple of years earlier than I'd intended, but events have taken place that just made me think, "Why? Why should I wait?" The answers I kept coming up with were a bit lame, and did not justify staying so I have set a date of November 30th, 2013 as my retirement date. In all honesty, the date may have to have some flexibility to it as things may not go as smoothly as I'd like, or other considerations may push it to after the first of the new year, but my intention is to be out by December 1st.
To that end, I'm going to try and make this a retirement diary of sorts. I've utterly failed to keep any kind of journal over the many years of my career, both in police work and the military, so I'll have to try and remember stories from my adventures and list them here as I document the day to day adventure of becoming a retired sheriff's deputy / peace officer.
I do not intend to pick up another career in law enforcement. Hopefully I will not need to wear a gun belt ever again, unless I am teaching firearms safety, marksmanship, etc. Not sure what I want to do but I intend to do something. The short term plan for now is to travel a bit, spend some time with old friends who've had to put up with my absence and neglect over the years, who deserve better. After that phase, I'm headed out to Las Vegas where I intend to stay with my brother Shawn and his lovely bride Julie for a while, the pair of them having had the poor judgment to offer me a place to stay, lol. So there is no telling what kind of trouble I will find myself getting into out west, but there is no telling where I'll wind up or what I'll wind up doing. Time will tell.
I shall try to post here daily, or at least to remember to come in once a week leading up to retirement to put my thoughts down, and try to update it daily once I am actually retired to reflect on the process and how I feel about it. Who knows, it might be worth the effort to be able to look back on it one day and see what kind of chills and thrills, ups and downs, and ins and outs I go through during this transition.
Then again, it might not be worth the electrons it takes to type it out....lol.
Stay tuned, it can only get better, or worse, or stay the same.
Mac
Sunday, February 17, 2013
Another day, another post to my blog. Perhaps one day I'll start taking it seriously and write in here a little more often. Or not.
Have been thinking a lot about the past lately, not something I do very often. I've always thought that feeling exceedingly guilty about our past mistakes was in itself, a mistake. Sure, I look back with regret to some of the decisions I've made, but I certainly cannot go back and change anything. So sitting alone in the dark crying about past spilt milk would seem to be a bit of overkill. So I don't do it, very often.
Along with that is the thinking back of what life might have been like if I'd made different decisions, not just for myself, but for those around me through the years. How might their lives be different if I'd been different. Once again, who knows. Perhaps I'd have done more harm than good if I'd stayed here, or left there, in some way different than I actually did. These are things we cannot know, and we probably don't want to know if we're honest with ourselves.
What we accomplish in this life really doesn't mean much once this life is over. What we leave behind as a common member of humanity is really lost in the cloud of cosmic dust once we're gone. If you're a Thomas Jefferson, or the King of England, you might get some more play, but how many of us get the opportunity to be one of those guys?
Me, sitting here typing while eating a Popsicle, is not an accomplishment worthy of the ages. Hell, it's not an accomplishment worthy of this week, lol.
Ah well, it is what it is. It was a grape Popsicle if that makes any difference.
Have been thinking a lot about the past lately, not something I do very often. I've always thought that feeling exceedingly guilty about our past mistakes was in itself, a mistake. Sure, I look back with regret to some of the decisions I've made, but I certainly cannot go back and change anything. So sitting alone in the dark crying about past spilt milk would seem to be a bit of overkill. So I don't do it, very often.
Along with that is the thinking back of what life might have been like if I'd made different decisions, not just for myself, but for those around me through the years. How might their lives be different if I'd been different. Once again, who knows. Perhaps I'd have done more harm than good if I'd stayed here, or left there, in some way different than I actually did. These are things we cannot know, and we probably don't want to know if we're honest with ourselves.
What we accomplish in this life really doesn't mean much once this life is over. What we leave behind as a common member of humanity is really lost in the cloud of cosmic dust once we're gone. If you're a Thomas Jefferson, or the King of England, you might get some more play, but how many of us get the opportunity to be one of those guys?
Me, sitting here typing while eating a Popsicle, is not an accomplishment worthy of the ages. Hell, it's not an accomplishment worthy of this week, lol.
Ah well, it is what it is. It was a grape Popsicle if that makes any difference.
Tuesday, November 6, 2012
Well, a little catching up to do, lol. Several things have happened since I last posted to my blog. I know, I'm a neglectful little fella.
I got the cat after all. Well, actually, I got two. Instead of one little blond kitty, I got two of them from the same litter, a couple of sisters. I could not come up with appropriate names so I posted to my Facebook account that I had the problem, and for my friends to suggest names. There were several very good suggestions, but the one that caught my fancy as an NCIS fan, was Abby and Ziva. Thus my kitties had names. They have turned out to be just as cute and quirky as the NCIS chicks they were named after! LOL. They are a lot of fun and very loving, so they'll do.
Next, my country has decided to commit economic suicide and reelected President Obama. How people think a socialist is going to know how to fix a capitalist economy I'll never know. I've known us to do some pretty silly crap over the years, but this has to take the cake. The only explanation I can come up with is that those who want free stuff from the government now outnumber those who are going to be called upon to pay for it. My disappointment cannot be measured on any current scale, it's that deep. Thomas Jefferson said; "The democracy will cease to exist when you take away from those who are willing to work and give to those who would not." Boy, have we ever taken that route to heart. We've allowed ourselves to become the serfs of those who will not take responsibility for themselves, and we are forced to help whether we want to or not.
Oh well, such is life. We will not recover from the rule of this President in my lifetime.
Mac
I got the cat after all. Well, actually, I got two. Instead of one little blond kitty, I got two of them from the same litter, a couple of sisters. I could not come up with appropriate names so I posted to my Facebook account that I had the problem, and for my friends to suggest names. There were several very good suggestions, but the one that caught my fancy as an NCIS fan, was Abby and Ziva. Thus my kitties had names. They have turned out to be just as cute and quirky as the NCIS chicks they were named after! LOL. They are a lot of fun and very loving, so they'll do.
Next, my country has decided to commit economic suicide and reelected President Obama. How people think a socialist is going to know how to fix a capitalist economy I'll never know. I've known us to do some pretty silly crap over the years, but this has to take the cake. The only explanation I can come up with is that those who want free stuff from the government now outnumber those who are going to be called upon to pay for it. My disappointment cannot be measured on any current scale, it's that deep. Thomas Jefferson said; "The democracy will cease to exist when you take away from those who are willing to work and give to those who would not." Boy, have we ever taken that route to heart. We've allowed ourselves to become the serfs of those who will not take responsibility for themselves, and we are forced to help whether we want to or not.
Oh well, such is life. We will not recover from the rule of this President in my lifetime.
Mac
Saturday, April 28, 2012
Thinking of getting a cat. I know, I know, why do I need a cat. Well, why does anyone need a pet at all? It's just good to have a pet to take care of I think. Especially when you live alone, just seems a friendlier way to live. But you say, why a cat? Well, I live in apartments most of the time, and I'm just not a big fan of having a dog in an apartment. It may be just fine, I just don't like doing it. If I ever wind up buying that house I will probably have a dog as well, but I just don't like cooping a dog up in an apartment, just doesn't seem right.
So, a cat it is. A kitten to be more exact. I have a friend who has some kittens that need homes, and I think I'm going to take one of them. They will be ready soon, weaned and all, so they'll need to be taken home before much longer. I've already got most of the stuff needed, just need to buy some fresh food, and get the litter box back out of the garage. I've had cats before, obviously. I made the mistake of letting my last one go wandering, and I'm sure one of the neighbors at the time decided they needed her more than I did, so she went missing. Went without a cat for some time now, or any other pet, so I guess it's time.
So, now it will be kitty naming time as well, lol. She's going to be a little blond kitten, from a litter of little blond kittens, so it should probably be something "blond" related, lol. We'll have to wait and see if any names suggest themselves, eh?
Mac
So, a cat it is. A kitten to be more exact. I have a friend who has some kittens that need homes, and I think I'm going to take one of them. They will be ready soon, weaned and all, so they'll need to be taken home before much longer. I've already got most of the stuff needed, just need to buy some fresh food, and get the litter box back out of the garage. I've had cats before, obviously. I made the mistake of letting my last one go wandering, and I'm sure one of the neighbors at the time decided they needed her more than I did, so she went missing. Went without a cat for some time now, or any other pet, so I guess it's time.
So, now it will be kitty naming time as well, lol. She's going to be a little blond kitten, from a litter of little blond kittens, so it should probably be something "blond" related, lol. We'll have to wait and see if any names suggest themselves, eh?
Mac
Wednesday, March 28, 2012
I think I want to buy a house.
Well, I think so, anyway. It has been a long time coming, that's for sure. But as the years go by and retirement seems to take up a lot of my thoughts about the future, I begin to feel like I need to find a spot and perch there.
Having grown up an Army Brat, we didn't really "own" property or homes. We stayed where we stayed till we didn't stay there anymore. Home was wherever WE were, not where a certain structure stood. But, it has started to grow in the back of my little pea brain that it would be nice to have my own place to live that is NOT an apartment. I thought I might lease a house for a while to see if I even wanted to mess with it, but it seems the interest rates are just too low, and the housing market just too enticing right now (a real buyers market), that all adds up to - it's time.
So I'm looking around at neighborhoods right now, to see if I want to live there, before I then start looking for the right house inside a particular neighborhood. Call me picky, but the best deal ever on a house would be a really bad deal if the neighborhood sucks, just the way I think. I'd rather have a mediocre deal in a great neighborhood.
Of course, getting the loan is a whole other deal, lol. Going for a VA loan since I have that as an option thanks to all the time I spent earning it, so why not use it? I am getting pre-approved before I even go look at houses so I'll know what I can afford. I would hate to find "THE HOUSE" and then find out I can't qualify for it, or something just as inane. So, patience is called for, and patience I shall exercise. Hopefully by the end of this upcoming summer I shall be the newest full fledged home owner in a neighborhood near you? LOL.
I'll try and keep everyone apprised of just how it's going.
Mac
Having grown up an Army Brat, we didn't really "own" property or homes. We stayed where we stayed till we didn't stay there anymore. Home was wherever WE were, not where a certain structure stood. But, it has started to grow in the back of my little pea brain that it would be nice to have my own place to live that is NOT an apartment. I thought I might lease a house for a while to see if I even wanted to mess with it, but it seems the interest rates are just too low, and the housing market just too enticing right now (a real buyers market), that all adds up to - it's time.
So I'm looking around at neighborhoods right now, to see if I want to live there, before I then start looking for the right house inside a particular neighborhood. Call me picky, but the best deal ever on a house would be a really bad deal if the neighborhood sucks, just the way I think. I'd rather have a mediocre deal in a great neighborhood.
Of course, getting the loan is a whole other deal, lol. Going for a VA loan since I have that as an option thanks to all the time I spent earning it, so why not use it? I am getting pre-approved before I even go look at houses so I'll know what I can afford. I would hate to find "THE HOUSE" and then find out I can't qualify for it, or something just as inane. So, patience is called for, and patience I shall exercise. Hopefully by the end of this upcoming summer I shall be the newest full fledged home owner in a neighborhood near you? LOL.
I'll try and keep everyone apprised of just how it's going.
Mac
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