A Big Thanks

Holidailies has come to a close for the year (actually I thought today was the last day - instead it finished up on Wednesday). I started a few days late and trailed off a little at the end, but for the most part, I updated fairly regularly. It gave me what I needed most though and thats to start writing again so that was the definite upside. Thanks to Jette and Chip for hosting. Thanks also to you who stopped by for a read and a special thank you to those you left me a note. Comments are always appreciated.

I miss the holidays already even though my Christmas lights outside are still burning bright and our tree is still up. Both will come down this weekend. I find that a most depressing job.

Things to look forward to over the next few weeks:

• My alma mater Auburn plays for the BCS Championship on Monday night
• a couple trips to the west coast for business
• holidays and three day weekends
• hopefully a snow storm or two - just don't go overboard like last year
• a nice bonus from work
• good friends and a wonderful family

Oh No - Work

Today was my first day back in the office in about 2 1/2 weeks. Which is not to say I haven't been working. I have, but from home or at least on the days I wasn't off due to the holidays. Today it was back to the normal grind. My 80 mile commute and the 1 1/2 hours in the Vanpool. Oddly it wasn't that hard getting up at 3:30 this morning to get ready. Maybe it was the anticipation of heading back to work. I was even able to easily fall back into my routine of sleeping most of the way to the base. It was a busy day and I'm definitely behind. I got a lot done today, unfortunately it wasn't on the things that really needed working on. Tomorrow and Thursday are reserved for that. I've been assigned an intern to help train and groom to replace me if I choose to retire this year. She seems eager enough so thats good. I also had my end of year review today. It went well. No pay raise this year though as the President has frozen cost of living adjustments for all Federal workers. I'd like to say I'm bitter about it, but I'm not really. There are millions that are literally a lot worse off then I am. My wife and I both have jobs we enjoy and while the pay isn't the same as our private sector counterparts, the jobs still pay well enough. A 2.0% pay raise or lack thereof isn't going to break us as a family one way or another. After a 2 hour and fifteen minute commute home, I can tell I'm feeling the effects of the long day. I'm exhausted and all I want to do is go to bed, which I plan to do right after I post this.

In case I missed saying it, a Happy New Year and I wish everyone the best for 2011 . May happiness be in all your hearts throughout the year. Good night.

New Years Day = Football

If it's one thing New Years Day has always meant to me is college football. All day long. In the old days, a good part of the day might have been spent recovering from the night before. So parking myself in front of the TV was more a necessity then anything else. These days I'm a lot smarter not to mention older. The thought of going out partying on New Years eve has long lost its appeal. My stomach and head are much better off as a result. I was hoping to plop down in front of a fire and enjoy the games, but it actually was too warm here today to even consider having a fire going in the fireplace. So I settled for chips and dip with a turkey sandwich.

The first round of games turned out to be pretty uninteresting for the most part. Blowouts for the most part. I started off watching Michigan State vs Alabama. I was hoping to watch Alabama go down, which is always a treat for me. No such luck. I finished up the first round watching the Florida vs Penn State. At least it was a game for the most part. I was looking forward to the Rose Bowl to see how TCU would do. They didn't disappoint beating Wisconsin. It was a good game, but TCU and by extension other nonBCS teams, showed that they can play with the big boys. So good for them. Oh and the Big 10 Conference - 0 for 5 today. Me thinks that's a conference a tad overrated this year

As entertaining as the bowl games are, the fact that Div 1 football is the only NCAA sport without a Championship is a travesty. I think we will eventually have one, it's just a question of when. This whole BCS thing is just a crock.