On Vacation!

Yesterday we packed up our gear and jumped on a plane back to the mainland for two weeks of Christmas vacation. Some time away from the job and the island will be nice.

First, I'll get to see my brand new grandson,Colton (Colt). He was born Tuesday and is now home with Jessica and John. I will also see Stacey's graduation, visit with mom & dad stay with Julia (meet her boyfriend Derek), and lastly, NOT work!

We aren't dressed for a winter journey to the mainland, but it's all we got (winter clothes continue in storage). It doesn't matter, I need a break from paradise!

There is a blessing in seasons that goes unappreciated for most. When the year is divided by seasons we anticipate changes and mark our time by them. The crisp winter air is blessed by spring just as the dog days of summer are quickened by the first frost of fall. When every day is the same, when the week is not distinguished from any other week, when the sun sets and rises as it always does, when every day is special - no day is special. I need a break from paradise even if it is just for a couple of weeks!

The past week in Hawaii has actually been a vacationer's nightmare. It has been cool, cloudy and even stormy! We had 14 inches of rain in 12 hours and a week of rain every day. I snapped a couple of pictures on the way to work and through the downpour you can see multiple waterfalls on the Ko'olau cliffs. Very unusual indeed! All this made it easier to get on the plane and leave the cold beaches behind.

Will I look forward to returning? Sure I will! I love my work and I love living in Hawaii! We don't know how much longer we'll be staying, but I plan to enjoy each day...

So I will try to sleep as we fly over the track less waters of the Pacific. Who knows, I might learn more about Facebook now that I will have time to play around!

Sweet dreams, Colt. I am anxious to see you!

On the road, writing with my Blackberry.

Quick November Summary

Well, a lot has been happening here since I got back from Dallas - not the least of which is Thanksgiving! Here is a brief summary...

TEACHING - I am once again teaching classes here. That's fine, but it takes me away from coaching and working with existing Green Belts and Black Belts. Quite a distraction and somewhat stressful since I'm the only guys working here now. Fortunately, Fred is handling Alaska and Japan. It looks like I will be flying to Japan in January to train a class there as well. We'll see how that turns out. If I go, DeAnna will likely go with me - that will be fun!

PROJECT CLOSE OUTS - Many projects are now completed and there is little new work being started because we're re-setting the entire deployment. That would be a lot easier if there were a staff of folks around to make it happen, but since it's just me, I'm running around all over the place doing several things at once. We teach that multitasking makes you stupid - I feel pretty unintelligent most of the time these days...

THANKSGIVING - We flew to Oklahoma for Thanksgiving week. It was great to see all the kids. Since it was so short, the visits were all too short and we had to cram Christmas in as well. Alyson, Stacey and Andy were able to converge at Gram's house. I spent some time with Jessica and John just before their baby was due. Their nursery is amazing. I managed to find Julia at her new job and surprise her! Then we spent an evening together seeing her apartment and getting caught up. There are several pictures below:








DIVING - I actually got back under water this past weekend. I went on one boat trip and three dives. The first dive was to Sea Cave. You dive down to about 60 feet and swim through an underground arch then surface in a cave. It was huge and very pretty. The second dive was a "drift Dive". You jump in the water, go down and let the current push you along as you watch the rocks, fish and scenery. The big thing here was that we jumped in right in front of Spitting Cave where we almost drowned in February! I looked for our rings but didn't find anything. The third dive was to a place called Kenau. It was about 70 feet down and mostly unremarkable except for the small things in crevices and rocks. It was here that my film camera case cracked and some water got into the camera. I pulled the film when I got back to the surface, but it was wet. We'll see if it can actually be developed later this week.

THINGS TO COME: more high-level meetings over the next two weeks. DeAnna goes back to the doctor next week just before we leave for Christmas Break. We're confident that the cast will come off and she'll be free to roam at will without crutches!

As of this writing, Jessica and John are still waiting for Colt to be born. No word yet. We're all pretty antsy... it's my first grand baby!