Perspective

So I get up this morning, bang out a workout, shower up and get ready to head out the door for work.  Got the lunch that Carol packed for me, my khaki cover and my keys.  I'm all set for the trek down 385.  Just one thing missing - my wallet.

Where the heck is that thing?  I scour its usual resting place in my closet.  Nope.  Check the car.  Nope.  Kitchen counter, desk in the den, jacket pockets.  Nope, nope, nope.  I check the pants that I wore yesterday when I took CJ to see the movie, "I Am Number Four."  Still a big fat nope.  I'm feeling like Number Zero.

Taking stock of the sucky situation, I know that no wallet means no military ID card which means no getting on base.  Even if I could get on base, I can't do any work on my computer because it requires my ID card.  Ugh.  Not that I'm in a huge rush to hit those 400+ emails.  There's also my driver's license, credit card, cash, etc.  This Monday is not starting out well.

Maybe it wiggled out of my back pocket while watching the movie at the Malco Theater yesterday.  That's the last place I remember having it for sure.  I check online to see if there are any crazy credit card transactions.  Nope.  Just the movie tickets I purchased yesterday.  So now the plan is to wait until the movie theater opens and see if it's still there.  I call the theater just in case folks are there early.  No luck.

I picture Fred G. Sanford yelling at me with his patented, "You Big Dummy!"  My mind is already thinking about having to get a new military ID card, canceling the credit card, getting a new driver's license, etc.  Heavy sigh.  And of course, the Boss is out of the office today and so is the Deputy.  I'm in charge today and I've got a meeting with the Admiral.  And I can't even get on base.  Believe it or not, I was pretty calm about the whole thing.  No need to make things worse by throwing a fit.

And then with the help of Carol, it dawns on me.  When CJ and I came home from the theater yesterday, Jake immediately wanted to wrestle.  That boy always wants to wrestle now, especially after seeing Hulk Hogan deck Ryan Seacrest on American Idol the other night.  So I don't accidentally bonk Jake on on the head with my mongo ring while delivering a deadly clothesline across his neck, I take my ring off.  For you non-wrestling fans, the clothesline is a classic wrestling move, right up there with the figure 4.  I make a little pile on Jake's rug with my shoes, VMI class ring and wallet.  And there that pile remained until the next morning.

As soon as the light bulb came on in my head, I rushed to Jake's room to find my lost wallet and ring sitting inside my Doc Martens.

And then the rest of the day was really awesome.

Super Bowl Revisited

So here's Carol's to-do list in prep for this year's Super Bowl Party:

I'm thinking Jake was inspired by his big brother when he secretly penned the last item on the list.  Here's what I mean:

Nothing like making your own fortune.

It's in the federal Super Bowl Party regulations that every party must have a Super Bowl pool. You know, where you randomly pick squares and there's a winner every quarter based on what the score is.  Here's Carol and I ensuring that we have a long line of gamblers for America's future.  I'm thinking that Parent of the Year award is looking pretty good right now.

One last thing.  With talk of extending the NFL season from 16 to 18 games and having the Pro Bowl before the Super Bowl, here's an idea.  Have the Super Bowl on the Sunday before President's Day every year.  That way, the Monday after Super Bowl Sunday is an official day off.  Thousands of Americans will no longer have to break out their fake cough over the phone as they call in sick that Monday morning.  President's day this year was Feb 21.  Next year it's Feb 20.  I'm thinking this is a winner.  Write your Congressman now.

Disney!

I always seem to be a couple of steps (or months) behind on the blog.  For example, here are some pics from our Disney trip that happened back in October.  I know that everyone has Disney pictures but these are special.  These are ours.

This was while waiting for the tram after a long day at the Magic Kingdom.  What was truly magical was the guy on the left wearing the wife-beater t-shirt to Disney.  He's rocking that shirt.

That's me falling asleep during an exciting Nickelodeon live action show.  It was so exciting, Jake is facing opposite the stage.

And then there's this beauty of a picture that's suitable for framing.  I'm thinking a better location for the sunglasses for Carol was over her eyes instead of sitting on top of her head.  What's with the ripped up jeans?  A couple years from now, that boy's gonna be wearing a wife-beater t-shirt to Disney.

Only the best pictures for this blog.  Enjoy.

Spring in Busan, Korea

It's officially Spring.  In Busan, Korea, that means Thong Man is back out on Haeundae Beach:

Thong Man is the one with the hat on backwards.  Here he is with a church friend of ours.  I really do miss Korea.

Actually, Thong Man is out there during the middle of winter as well.  He doesn't give a poop.  Enjoy the nice weather.

Wooh! First Day of Spring!

Some pretty depressing stuff out there right now.  Japan gets the triple-tap with the earthquake, tsunami and now the nuclear issue.  More global unrest with Libya as missiles fly and anti-aircraft fire fills the sky.  Gas and food prices taking serious hikes.  Thousands of miles away, military families are preparing for evacuations.  If you think about it, there's not a whole lot to smile about.

And yet, the snow and freezing weather is behind us here in Memphis.  Or at least I think it is.  The sun was beaming, the sky was clear and blue and regardless of what's happening around us, the first day of Spring arrived with the sound of trumpets.  Today was a glorious day.  And this is the only picture that could do today justice:

For the one or two of you out there in internet land that don't recognize this megastar, that's Ric Flair, the Nature Boy of professional wrestling fame.  In short, he is the man.  His shoes cost more than your house.  He is so awesome, he doesn't even need a "k" at the end of his name.  Whenever the Cruz family celebrates special occasions, the jubilation is not complete until a Ric Flair-esque, "Wooooh!" is bellowed from the mouth of one of my siblings.  This beautiful first day of Spring was Wooooh-worthy.

I took this picture yesterday during our return trip from Virginia.  I have no doubt the North Carolina education system will benefit greatly from Mr. Flair's support of their endeavors.  Here's a city employee doing his part to support the local community.  Notice the sink right next to the lottery ticket station.  That's so you can wash your hands after handling all the filthy cash you're gonna win.

It really was a great day.  We started the day with church.  Pastor Gaines at Bellevue Baptist is simply amazing.  This is by far the biggest church we've attended.  We have friends that refer to it as "Six Flags over Jesus."  The message was phenomenal.  If you're local and haven't found a church home yet, you won't be disappointed with Bellevue.  

After church, we hit Panera for a leisurely lunch.  It was a little too leisurely for my taste because they ran out of bagels.  Hello?  How do you run out of bagels at a bagel place?  I didn't let that get my BVDs in a bunch though.  The day was too amazing to let small details get in the way.  It had been a while since we ate outside so we took advantage of the opportunity.  I made sure to wipe the bird poop off my chair first.

A couple of errands, testing out the new Bose Sounddock 10, a bowling birthday party for the boys, some fresh fruit from Costco, a nice sweaty run, an even nicer walk with Flannigan...yeah, that's how I roll.  So there's my standard Sunday - during the football offseason anyway.

And now, it's Miller time.  It just seems like the right thing to do now is crack open a cold one.  Hope you had some Woooh in your first day of Spring too.