The adventures are back!!

First of all let me say Sorry!!! I know that i should have been filling in all the adventures since I last inputed- But I am working on that beast named PROCRASTINATION and his twin brother LAZINESS. That dynamic duo have detroyed the plans of many people- and they have been getting the best of yours truly. But Im trying to get back with the tried and true friends called EFFORT and his boy PERSISTENCE. Hey Im coming around. I see motivational speaking in my future I do.

Well first all Motoko is back in town as of Monday and to have a good time earlier I had reserved some tickets on the Tonight Show in Burbank, California. We needed to be there before 2:45 in the afternoon as the email said. Well me with my Major Smith mentality- (I resisted the first urge to get there at 5:30 in the morning as my grandaddy would have done) and we left Port Hueneme at 11:00 and was in the waiting area outside at 12:30. There was people already there holding their place in line. Nothing special-not to many people there ahead of us so its all good- but I did notice something odd- The first person in line looked just like Sarah Catherine- Yes Johnny's Sarah Catherine. Honest to goodness I was reaching for my cell phone and looking for Johnny Smith at the same time....Well any way it wasnt her but I knew what ever church she went to that she was on the choir. At the same time Motoko could not resist the urge to take pictures of the NBC building like she was paparazzi... Even when we went inside the holding area and they told us NOT to take any pictures she still kept asking me should she take pictures anyway. I asked her what plans did she have for the evening if we got kicked off the premises if she got caught. My case wasnt helped when we both saw this spanish guy right behind us pull out huge expensive camera and started taking pictures...So she took a couple. Any way we got in and the show was pretty good. The guest was zoo animals, some actress I didnt know too much about, and the rock band Def Leppard. Which sang I song remembered from the 80's. (Pour some sugar on me). Overall it was a good experience for Motoko because I have been to his show before...(Military appreciation day-still had ol Kevin Eubanks running the band). What I realized is that the band comes out about less than 5 minutes before the show actually starts! And that there is a black dude that is the official hypeman to get the show started and get the crowd in a cheering mood. Personnally I dont mind cheering but when somebody tells you to do it and keeps on egging you to cheer and laugh- It kind of takes the fun out of it some. - Brotherman helps his case some by throwing free stuff (T-shirts, rubber balls, rubber glasses cases, etc..) to people in the stands for cheering personnel who got his attention. What are we kids? I didnt want any of that crap. I just wanted to watch the show. Good thing it was free-because if I had to pay to get in I wouldnt have done anything...But it was good intertainment and the AC felt good in there. What makes it interesting to me was to see how many people it takes to do a one hour show...Also you learn what they do during commercials...which is.....Put makeup on Jays face/comb his hair/and the band plays and Brother hypeman does his thing with the toys...Thats it. Mystery solved. If Jay makes a mistake they will re-record a small part of the segment.

After all this excitement(We didnt eat anything all day)..We ended up going to a Carls Jr in Santa Monica for a couple of combo's. It was all I could do to drive back to Point Hueneme without falling asleep..

MLK Weekend- Rolex challege update!

In my quest to lose weight (and after all that exersizing) I am down only 4 pounds to 297. I seem to go up and down and up and down. I am exersizing (cardio/lifting weights) and my clothes are getting loose. But...The weight is not dropping as quickly as I would like. I know the problem - DIET!! I really have to make my diet simple - clean chicken, fish, and vegetables with a occasional serving of fruit. Once I get on board with this I should be fine.
I spent all day watching football-but I did clean the car today! Its nice and shiny now. When its clean and running good I dont want to get rid of it. But she may have to go.
I learned Billy blanks has a new workout DVD...I saw the commercial on TV and Im going to have to check it out. Probaly not going to buy it..Need to save some money...plus I have enough workout dvds..Im not trying to start a collection. I just want to get in shape.
Getting in shape is hard work!!!!! But Im going to win the ROLEX challenge..If i have to eat cabbage soup to make the goal..Im going to do it. Ill post a picture with my next post..Im out!!

2011 is here and Im back!!

Wow..Where can I start..lets start with the bad news..I lost my Iphone!!! This really upsets me because I had a lot contact and day to day info on it!!! I had to go and get a temp phone until I can get another one . So ill have to work on contacting everyone and using my notes and email to get everyone's contact information. Ok enough about my carelessness.
"Announcement!'" I have been challeged by motoko to lose 80 pounds by my retirement date of May 31 2011. The goal weight is 220. We named the challenge "The Rolex Challenge" because she has promised to award me one upon my victory. Notice I didn't say "if". I said when and upon. Key words when you know you are going to do it. I know I have a few naysayers.. But I can show you better than I can tell you. As a matter of fact I am going to document it on this blog. So every week you can check and see the progress. Right now im at 301.5. Yep thats right. check the pics to see what 300 pounds on me looks like.

First week 7 pounds lost..

Its not exactly biggest loser stats but i have only been at this for one week officially. My official starting weight is 305 and now im down to 297. My goal is to post once a week and record my weight loss. Im going to shoot for 3 pounds a week. If those jokers on the biggest loser can drop anywhere from 8 - 32 pounds a week, then surely i can handle 3 pounds weekly. Im eating cleaner than before but not perfect, but right now thats not my major concern. Im more concerned on being consistent with my trips to the gym. I can say im doing a decent job at that.
Im going to stick with it and see where it takes me, because I know exactly what happens when you do nothing...Ive traveled that road. Lets see where a decent daily effort gymwise will take me this year in regards to fitness.
im saving money right now to grant myself prizes at certain points. 25 pounds lost will earn me some new fancy gym shoes...50 pounds lost will earn me a nice chain I had my eye on at zales, and 75 pounds loss will earn me a weekend trip to see the lakers at staples or the warriors at golden state in which i will spare no expense reasonable. If i reach my goal weight of 210-stand by, I cant reveal what im going to do..but im going to treat myself big...real big.
So to all I say continue to persue those 2010 goals.

IM BACK- for 2010

Hey all im back from my 7 month hiatus off my entries. All i can say is that Im happy to see 2010 because so many people didnt get to see it. 2009 taught me alot about how expensive it can be not to properly plan for the things you want to do. I have learned my lesson and Ill take the knowledge along with the experience.

From my vacation trip to vegas-to my suprise trip to North Carolina - I learned that there are a couple of things id like to do in 2010.

1. Im going to reread the Bible again from front t back.

2. Im going to get into shape..( I have been saying this for years..stopped-started, stopped-started,. Its a easy pattern...its like this...oh its satuday, im going to start eating clean on monday..let me grab this cheesesteak sandwich right quick..then you eat it, feeling good because you are going start fresh on monday right??Well what happens...On monday (1) you forget to bring your lunch, or (2) Somebody brings doughnuts to the office, or three..on your way from work you pass good old KFC..and you think I would rob somebody right now for some chicken wings..then you get them because you say you can start the next day...then its something else..or you go good for two weeks..it starts raining outside or you get distracted and before you know it you have missed two workout days. then you say im good for now, ill start later as you order a large fries with that chicken sandwich.

Well ive already started..and I expect fully to have setbacks..but there is no quit this year. How can I be so sure you say...because I gave myself a incentive....Also im going to chart my progress with all who read this...

3. Im going to put a effort into keeping contact with folks...Im always thinking that people are busy because im busy sometimes so I procrastinate in calling..but this year..ill call them anyway.

Ive got a couple more but those are between me and the Lord....

Right now im a little bit sore because of all days i decided to lift weights and hit the stairmaster. The stairmaster aint no joke. but everyone knows that if you arent wore out after your workout then it wasnt a workout...

Now its time for random items and observations....

1. My new favorite subway sub is seafood/on wheat. I know the crabmeat is fake but its still good to me.

2. Im pretty much done with facebook. Vicki killed it for me..Ill now read posts from time to time but i know how to contact those i need to contact and those who need to contact me know how as well.

3. Im considering giving up pork...Ill keep you posted on this one..I need to control the B/P.(blood pressure)

4. I keep seeing the informercial with the same little boy and girl who needs help in africa..and its the same scene...and the same boy. Why hasnt the people filming this kickedin a few dollars for some potatoes and vegetables? Id be more inclined to give if they showed me different people everytime who needed the help. whenever i see the same sad face, im thinking someone else is spending that money and not little akebe.

Well gotta go...

Back from Sea

I just got back from my first underway period in about 13years. Being on a aircraft carrier is just like I remembered it. The ship is built like a maze, with lots of ladderwells and hatches that you need to go through to get were you need to go. What does mean to the layman who has never been to a ship, Lots of climbing narrow stairwells. Sleeping in a small coffin size rack (bed) stacked 3 high. 30-100 people showering and using the same bathroom, which only has 3 showers, 5 sinks and 4 toilets. 12-16 hour workdays. Sounds difficult? It is...But guess what, you get used to it. and it comes natural. The only thing that hurt me was the fact that I havent to long ago had knee surgery, so the old knee was acting up for the first three days. But after that, I was good.
My new job is taking me some time to get used to. Im learning on the fly, while ensuring that my 12 guys are being taken care of. Mind you that only 4 of my guys work in my office, the other 8 have different jobs and responsibilities when we go to the ship, but im their supervisor, and they have to see me for everything. Then If I cant solve the problem, then I go to my supervisor, who pretty much wants me to use my own judgement. Which you learn to do very quickly in the military. The more you supervisor is out of the office, the better. Taking care of the people is not so difficult for me, the difficult part during this sea period for me was traking correspondence, reading evaluations and correcting as neccessary, and reading and rewriting awards packages. Not to mention you see the Commanding Officer and Executive Officer every day and they all know me well, because Im the only one for my rate and rank in the squadron. I cannot just blend in and work. They all have to come through my office for something, because we take care of their paperwork before they sign it. I havent even began to talk about the different things they want me to take on while im here. As you know from reading my previous blogs, I have made a few mistakes while learning the ropes. But you cant let mistakes or missteps slow you down. To be honest, my only advantage is my experience in being passed taskings or jobs that take me WAYYYYYYY out of my comfort zone. With all this being said this two week underway period -seemed like two months. The days stretched out longer than any days I can remember. And when it was time to go and we got off the ship, It felt like we had broken out of Shawshank. (If you dont recognize that reference, check out the movie "The Shawshank Redemption). But on the positive side, the food wasnt to bad(they have a chicken line-(a line where you get only chicken, drummettes, fried, baked) a black mans dream. And im not being stereotypical either, if you would has saw us eating them wings and legs, you would know. The desserts were not that great though. But this was the biggest difference from my last ship, They let you serve yourself, like a buffett line. So you know when they served barbque ribs you seen us with plates stacked to the ceiling with ribs, walking trying to balance the stack to your table. You know I couldnt figure out why we had so many hefty people on the boat with all the stair climbing and walking around required on a daily basis. But when you see those heavy plates at breakfast, lunch, and dinner - then it all becomes crystal clear.
Overall the ship wasnt that bad. The ship is huge - its like the caddilac of the ocean. But my offices is right below the flight deck, so all you hear is jet engines taking off and landing during flight operations. Its pretty loud, but eventually you tune it out. Every morning every one cleans during "spirit" for one hour (7:30-8:30) and you have to clean for the whole hour, dirty or not. Dont be caught not cleaning during this time. Unless you are supervising the cleaning.
Internet connectivity isnt the greatest. And you cannot access your personal email while underway. You have to use your official email address to get mail.
I have to load some software so I can post my pictures I took before we pulled in. Ill update later.

Movie Observations

I havent blogged in a while i know. I cant say that i couldnt have because there are several events that I could have blogged about but sometimes that procrastination bug kicks in and you let something go for a minute which has turned into a good thing for unwinding, sharing and documenting experiences, as well as keeping all those interested well informed as of what is going on with me. Im going to breifly touch on some things that I saw in the past few days that made me think.
I went to the movies the weekend before last on a whim because I went to blockbuster to return the last three CD's of "The Wire" that I rented. (I can say i am addicted to watching that series and I intend to see every last episode until the last one) When i came out of blockbuster, I zipped by the theater and saw that Tyler Perry's new movie was out. So I checked my watch and lo and behold it was about to start and ( at 2:00 in the afternoon I knew it would be the cheapest time) I went ahead and decided to see it. I was thinking at that time I would probaly be the only one in the theater watching that movie, checking the time and looking at the people in line, I felt Id have the theater to myself! But after grabbing my bag of corn, and going inside I have to say that i was suprised to see it almost full of people, not only that only a handful of us were black, the rest were of asian and latino descent. All of mixed ages. Now I knew Tyler Perry was popular, but I didnt realize how broad his fanbase was. After I watched and enjoyed the movie, I saw that not only did they watch the movie, they all sat patiently while the credits rolled afterwards ( At the same time they were showing excepts of Madea talking with Dr. Phil).
In my mind, All I could think of if Tyler Perry could imagine all this success back in the days when he was struggling, and how wise it was of him to make plays and movies which showcase normal everyday struggles, the importance of family and friends, and the importance of prayer and faith in God. I can easily see why he is so blessed. I feel that its Gods way of saying and showing that when you put Him first, there is no limit to His blessings.
Any body who knows me, knows that I love cars, especially fast ones. Every now and then I see a sleek new Corvette, Porsche 911, or Ferarri and automatically I think to myself, Man It must be nice being them (drivers of said cars) then you look at your car and I feel I have a ways to go to being successful. But God will quickly point out to me how blessed I am, because not soon after Ill always see somebody on the side of the road in a rattletrap, or ill see people waiting in the hot sun or wind at a bus stop, knowing that the bus is probaly running late. These things remind me to stay in my lane, thankful for my blessings, and even though I am always striving to improve I cannot take what I have now for granted. Because I am smart enough to know that it can all be gone in a nanosecond, and I can be walking from point a to point b as cars pass me by.