So this morning I was on my way to teach class and as I was waiting for the elevator, I saw something that kind of blew my mind. There on the couch and sofa in front of the elevator was one of our janitors and some woman I had never seen before and she was going over a multi-page (like 7+ pages) document and discussing his performance. "What you're really stong at is..." was all I heard and frankly, I don't want to know more. I mean, what comes next? What you're really good at is emptying...

Last week I had to take the Defense Language Proficiency Test. This is an annual requirement for military linguists. We take the test to show that we have maintained our level of proficiency in our language. The results of this test are used in a variety of ways for or against the linguist. - We receive extra pay if our scores are high enough. In the Army, you can receive up to $300 extra every month if you can score high enough in three different languages. - We can...

I've been stationed on a number of bases during my Army career. Each of these bases has had a level (or lack of) security that varied from base to base. When I was a student at DLI, it was an open post. That meant that the gates were never closed and anyone could walk/drive/bike on and off post as they desired. At the same time, Ft Ord (just a few miles away) was a closed post. This was the home of the 7th Infantry Division and they had full time gate guards. I don't know who had that d...

So, I posted my very first blog earlier today and my score has risen to 35. Woohoo! I really have no idea what the score means or if it's going to go in my permanent record, but it's a thrill to see it skyrocket!!! I guess I could read the explanation on the JU homepage, but that will have to wait. I was talking with a buddy today about some of the shining beacons of leadership we've had the misfortune of crossing paths with in the past. I'm sure you've all had similar people to deal wi...

On Friday, July 2, I went to my first funeral since being selected for the duty. It was a small service at the cemetery and the family only requested Taps and a flag presentation, so it was only a two person job. On Thursday, I met with the Senior Airman that volunteered to work with me and we talked through our duties and then practiced a little. The SRA's only duty, really, was to "play" Taps and salute. The military realized years ago that it didn't have nearly enough real buglers ...

Just an update on my gate guard post from last week... My wife went to Army Community Service (ACS) a few days ago to check out the part time job listings. Apparently, the guy there tried to sell her on applying with the security company that is providing gate guards. He said they are starting people at $19/hour and that she could start immediately. Now the ACS guy might be misinformed. I hope that they are not hiring just anyone off the street and putting them on the gates right away....

I've decided that I will keep track of all the funerals that I go to during my time on the detail. Today, I had a service in Watsonville. It was another cemetery service, and like my first, was just a two person detail. I again arrived early, in order to see the layout of the area. I met with a very nice man and woman who were there as directors. They showed us to the plot and described the particular details. There was a Mass being held at the time in the church right next to the cem...

Easy for those with CLEAR and CLEAN minds. 1) What is a four-letter word that ends in k and means the same as intercourse? 2) What is it that a cow has four of and a woman has only two of? 3) What can you find in a man's pants that is about six inches long, has a head on it, and women love so much that they often blow it? 4) What word starts with f and ends with u-c-k? 5) What four-letter word begins with f and ends with k, and if you can't get one, you can use your hands? 6) What is ha...

I put the answers to the quizzes in the comments sections. Congrats to all!

OK, here's another quiz. 1) How long did the Hundred Years War last? 2) Which country makes Panama hats? 3) From which animal do we get cat gut? 4) In which month do Russians celebrate the October Revolution? 5) What is a camel's hair brush made of? 6) The Canary Islands in the Pacific are named after what animal? 7) What was King George VI's first name? 8) What color is a purple finch? 9) Where are Chinese gooseberries from? 10) What is the color of th...

I am the duty MLI this week. That doesn't really mean much. The main duty is to stay after work and lock up when everyone has gone home for the day. On MWF, quitting time is 1645 and lock up is at 1700 (4:45 PM and 5 PM for those not on military time). On Tuesday and Thursday we have study hall classes at night, so lock up is at 2030 (8:30 PM). A little before closing time, I have to go through the school house and check to make sure all doors and windows are closed and locked. I also h...

I was doing some random google'ing and I came across a link for JU that had Japanese written with the link. When I clicked on it, it took me to an excite.jp webpage that had everything in JU in english with Japanese written right below it. Now, I don't know Japanese at all, but I can recognize some Chinese characters (Korean and Japanese both use Chinese characters) and what I could recognize seemed to fit. For example, I saw the character for year in the title of article about the 15 year...

Today's funeral was a two person job. Yet again, the Sailor that's come with me on the last two funerals volunteered to do this one, too. It was at the same cemetery in Seaside where we did that last one. Weather was similar, cold and windy. During the drive over, my bugler said that he hoped Friday the 13th wouldn't bite us in the ass. I responded that it hit the team early this time as earlier this week, another two person team conducted a funeral where the electronic bugle died right ...

I'm experimenting with trying to insert pictures in my blog. I thought I was successful a few days ago, but it turns out I can only see the images from my home computer (the one I uploaded them with). I've changed my online photo hosting site and now I can see them from my work computer. Can someone please come to my main blog page Link and check my Dodgers Vs Phillies article Link and my road trip update article Link to see if the images load for you? Leave me a comment on this a...

We came down to LA last night. The drive wasn't too bad for the most part. It takes a little over 5 hours to get from Monterey to LA. We did get caught up in some really bad traffic on 101 South just after entering the city because of an accident. But overall the trip was nice. We checked into the Staybridge Suites in Torrance. The last time we drove across the country, we joined the Holiday Inn Priority Club and so now we try to stay in a hotel that will earn us points in the progra...