It's Been Awhile

I've been so busy with moving around...It feels great to finally be settling down. After moving out of the house I shared with three others, I temporarily moved in with a friend for a little over a month. I finally found an apartment which I moved into at the beginning of September. It has taken most of September and part of October to get my things in order, but it's really starting to come together now. I will probably post pictures of the before and after at my apartment once I'm completely done. It's so great to come home and have a place to myself after living with people for over a year. Money is so tight, but I'd rather come home and not have to worry about other people.

I did quite a bit of volunteering with the climbing wall up at the Outdoor Rec Center on base throughout the summer months. I've really gotten into climbing now. I've gotta say that it's my new favorite sport. There were several folks that worked or volunteered at the wall that I've gotten to know; one in particular was a new hire for the ORC named Kristen. She and I have been hanging out and going climbing.

I've also gotten really involved with volunteering for the Boy Scouts. I had previously volunteered quite a bit with the Sea Cadets, which is an organization for youngsters who are interested in military life, and it is sponsored by the US Navy. Basically we taught these kids military discipline, marching, etc...Real boring stuff, if you ask me. One of the guys who helped out with us, Ryan, quit coming around. I ran into him at work, and we started talking about how we both disliked the Sea Cadets program. He began telling me about the volunteering he was doing now with the Boy Scouts. He actually got TAD orders to go to a Boy Scout camp to be a leader for a week. I expressed interest, and he informed me that they were definitely looking for some more leaders. So, one thing led to another, and now I'm helping out with Troop 98, where Ryan is now the Scoutmaster, and I've also gotten involved with a High Adventure group. Actually, I was active in an Explorer's Post in High School -- back then, the Explorer's were equivalent to the High Adventure groups of today. I'm looking forward to helping out with that group, especially. The kids are much more mature, and the activities that they participate in are things that I'm interested in, as well. It's great to volunteer and have a good time while doing so.

In that vein I went to Leavenworth a couple of weekends ago to help out with this group for the first time. We went out there for a climbing trip, and I drug Kristen with me. It was my first visit to this part of Washington...all I can say is that it was spectacular. I can't wait to go back. Actually, I wouldn't mind living there if given the chance. We'll see...