Estimated Time of Departure: June-Aug 2006

Well, I recently found out from my squadron leadership that I won't be getting extended here (it's been kind of a hot topic lately... basically they were making people stay here longer to fill some vacancies), so that is VERY GOOD NEWS!

What does that mean? Well, for now, not much, except that we should be arriving at my next assignment location anywhere from June to August of next year. I've met with my squadron commander to discuss where we'd like to go next, and what I'd like to do there. We've been looking into Colorado Springs, because there are ALOT of space ops jobs there that I could do, and the general concensus is that colorado springs is a VERY NICE PLACE TO LIVE! (I'd be fine with skiing every weekend!) So, we've started looking into the housing market there (I guess there's something like a 2-yr waiting list for military housing, so that basically means, buying our own house) and thinking about the future.

Again, this does not mean we're going to colorado springs next, but it is a good possibility. There is also a base near Denver where apparently the job you do is VERY COOL, so maybe that's where we'll end up, but we're thinking C Springs is more likely, if only for the huge number of jobs. Frankly, anywhere is better than Minot. Yay! A place that actually has some culture, some things to do, and some job prospects for Silvia! (She can finish nursing school there, too; Univ. of Colorado - Colorado Springs has an accelerated nursing program for people (e.g., Silvia) who already have a bachelor's degree in something else and want to earn a BS in Nursing and become an RN.)

So, we'll keep you posted as we learn more about the future. It's just nice to be able to start dreaming again!

Yeah, yeah... been a loooong time....

Okay, okay, so I've been reeeeaaaalllly bad about updating.... anyway, yes, we're still alive up here in hell - I mean, Minot. Here's a run-down of what we've been up to lately:

- Went to Colombia Sep 28-Oct 15. It was awesome! We didn't want to come back, especially Silvia. We'll have pictures available soon.

- I got promoted to Captain in August. What does that mean? Basically, a few more salutes. My job, for now, is the same. By my estimation, we have 7-9 more months here. Which ain't bad. It ain't tomorrow, but it ain't bad.

- Found out that I'll be able to get leave for New Year's, so we're planning on going to Illinois and partying at my parent's house. I know that might sound kinda lame, but it's their new house, it has a bar in the basement, and my parents are actually pretty fun to party with. Livvy will sleep upstairs.

Going on leave and then coming back to Minot really, really made us realize how much we don't like living here, and how much we are looking forward to moving on. Right now we're shooting for an assignment somewhere in Colorado or maybe Florida (though we're growing less and less fond of the notion of running from hurricanes...) Until then, Silvia is trying to find a job to pass the time a little more quickly, as well as bring in a little extra dough. She was working at the hospital, but they kinda screwed her over. That story is for another day, however. It's kinda late (10:10pm, though in college, that was bar-going time...) Silvia is already in bed, and I have to get up early to - what else? - go on alert. Anyway, I will try to update more frequently. I just haven't really been in the mood lately. I guess 3 glasses of Chardonnay made the difference tonight.