Updates...

I always feel guilty when I don't write something for awhile, so here's a quick update on whats up:

1. We're still down here in god-awful Georgia. I'm going through the Captain's Career Course at Fort Gordon. The course is a typical Army school with the usual blah blah about leadership and normal Army stuff. It also has a nice little section about how to operate Cisco routers and running Microsoft Exchange 2003.

2. The kids are all doing well in school. Carmen and Emily are going to a very nearby elementary school that is run like a prison. But, I guess most of the kids are being raised to act like criminals (ie, no discipline or respect), so its fitting. Amber is still being home-schooled and is learning about world history (Magellen and Cortez at the moment), is doing Geometery for math, is learning about the planets and solar system in science, and is learning about Spain for Geography. She has one week of classes and then tests on Fridays. Sometimes she tries hard and sometimes she doesn't - her grades reflect her effort if not her ability.

3. The elementary school - its in a poor-er part of town and has limited funding from the school district. The classrooms are poorly equipment for a school in the age we are in. The TVs don't have DVD players and computer access is extremely limited. The library is small and under-booked.
Sarahann has been doing some extreme volunteering at the school - initially just with Carmen's class, but is one of the very few (maybe 5) parent volunteers for the whole school. She has worked at the school book fair and her current project is decorating the halls outside some of the classrooms for Fall and Halloween. We are also trying to get donations of $25 so we can donate a DVD to each classroom. So far, we have received five donations.

4. No change on the original issue with the school-district and I've been too busy to stay on top of it. But, I havent given up yet.

5. Surprisingly, the mail boxes are still graffitti free. The "gang" is still in the area, and I think they were out casing the neighborhood the other night. One night last week we were sitting around the living room at about 11pm with the back sliding glass door open (to take advantage of the rare cool breeze) and we first saw a group of about 8-10 teenagers walk by - very slowly and they definately looked into our apartment. They immediately walked BACK by twice looking in. We took the appropriate precautions, but they never came back.

6. We haven't been able to go off-roading in awhile (except for a brief trapse through a small wooded area when we were on Fort Gordon looking for a good trick-or-treat spot). So, the Jeep is too clean and I can tell its getting fidgety - it seems to look for curbs or rocks to drive over. The majority of the off-road obstacles in the woods and forests around here are mud-related, and the Jeep isn't really set up for too deep of mud, but I think it'll do fine. The problem is that I don't have any way to get "unstuck" right now and no one to go off-roading with.

7. We have been able to go Geocaching and are up to 49 finds so far. The kids' travel bugs are moving around nicely. Amber's is in New Mexico, David's is in Wyoming, Emily's is in New Mexico, Illyana's is in Colorado and Carmen's is moving to Germany. I have a good route planned for next weekend that will take us to downtown Augusta and then out into some swamp-land.

8. Our next move should be up to the Portland, Oregon or Vancouever, Washington area and we will be there about 18 months while the Army pays me too much to get my Master's degree in Political Science. We should be leaving here in January and starting school in March. **Note the "SHOULD"s that are prevelant there - thats because with the Army, things are never 100% certain.

9. Current events:
a. Fires in California - Sad that so many people lost their homes. But, I think the more interesting thing is the fact that all of those people moved into the stadium (very reminscent of Katrina victims), but that they aren't all trying to kill each other and no one is dying. I think the reason for the dramatic differences is that the people in that part of California are more interested in being nice to others and making the best of the situation - taking control of their own lives, rather than letting the situation control them and only looking out for themselves. The victims in New Orleans had a "what is someone going to do for me" whereas the victims in California are being proactive to help each other. Yes, yes, bad me for not feeling sorry for Katrina victims two years after the fact. Two years is plenty to pick yourself up and move on.
b. Iraq - yup, still going on. Still sucks, but still needs to get taken care of.
c. Presidential race - If I were to make a wager, I'd put my money on Hillary, as much as I think she is the worst person for the job and will absolutely screw the country over. I don't know where my vote will go, but it definately will not be to her. Ever. Ever. Ever.
d. Bush - I think he's trying but is being misguided by his advisors. His administration has taken great strides in destroying the liberties of the people here and of absolutely disregarding the Constitution. For that, I hate this administration. But, I still think Hillary would be much much worse. The Patriot Act is complete and utter BS and I'm glad that at least some of it has been overturned by the courts. Wiretapping of US citizens is also BS, and so is torture and holding people as "enemy combatents" without trial or representation. The suspension of Habeous Corpus for any extended length of time, without a damn good reason is an affront to the Constitution and should be resisted at every opportunity.
e. The World Series - Go Rockies! I hope the Series is as exciting as the playoffs.
f. TV shows - waiting for Lost; watching Jeopardy!, Big Bang Theory, NCIS (occasionaly), Kid Nation (I dislike the "Beauty Queen" with a passion) and the one girl who danced for nickles in the first show is great. I'm glad Greg got the Gold Star so he can quit pouting about it every week.
g. The American dollar is worth less than the Canadian dollar and I think its hilarious that those Canadians are still having to pay the "Canadian" price on books! I'm sure there is a way to make some $$ on this little downturn of the American dollar, but I'm not sure what it is.

10. I have too many books that I need to read to even begin mentioning them.

11. I need to take the GRE soon. I hope I do alright...

12. The PS3 is better than the XBOX 360 and WII put together.

13. Isn't that enough already???