A Life Changing Experience

Naval Air Station Cubi Point was my first duty station after completing almost 2 years of electronics school. We were able to choose our orders based on class ranking. I am glad that I ranked high enough to get these "dream orders". I was fortunate enough to clean up the volcanic ash spewed from Mt. Pinatubo for just over six months and then I was able to work in electronics until we closed the base. Upon my departure from Cubi Pt., I was given this plaque during my farewell. It is one of the few things that I have to cherish from that tour.

As I reflect back on my 20 years of service, I would have to say that none of the assignments, that I had following the Philippines, would ever compare. I had many Commands, throughout my career, that were much better than the Command that I worked for in the Philippines but the experience of living in the Philippines made my career in the navy fulfilling. The time that I spent there changed my whole way of life and my way of looking at things in the world. Now I understand why MacArthur had such a strong love for the PI.

Have a great weekend everyone.

Hospital Tour

One requirement that I have to do in one of the subjects I am taking with the Nuclear Medicine course is to go to a hospital and look at their facility and observe. I went to the Weirton Medical Center and I I had a good time out there. The only thing that discouraged me are the things that some of the employees there told me about the field I am taking. They said that the job opportunity for this field is very scarce.

This made me think twice whether to continue or not with this course. My wife and I talked about it and she suggested for me to look for a course that is in demand in this area. I mean I like this field that I am taking but if I won't be able to get a job for it, then I have to shift.

So this summer, I have decided to shift my course into accounting rather than to continue with nuclear medicine course.

Oh man, it's hard when you have kids already because you have to take consideration of what is best for them before you make big decisions like this. But anyhow, I hope I do good on this next course that I will take.

Like Mother, Like Daughter

Just like her mother, our daughter is somehow addicted to using our computer too But hers is for her arts and games while my wife is for her blogging and online opportunities. Here is Rylie doing her usual drawing on the computer.

She's really good in navigating stuff in the computer.

DD214

I was happy to find my DD214 in my email tonight. I reviewed it again for the second time and was disappointed that once again there are certain awards that I received that were not included in the list. Oh well, I am so tired of this, so I will just sign it and mail it back.

Oh well, I hope that this technorati code PUHGQRN254CU will give me luck lol..

Gloomy

We have two gloomy days in a row and today it rained. This is a shot taken at my Dad's back porch, my son saw a bird on this tree ( can you see it?) so my wife took a picture of it. I hope that the sun will shine this weekend so the kids can enjoy the outdoors.

Have a good Friday everyone!

My Son's Scribbles

Here's is a pic of my son's scribbles. All of his drawings look like this but he can explain each drawing in detail. It's entertaining to watch him writing. he holds the pen very fancy and has a very light touch.

See how diligent he is?

Have a great weekend everyone.

Hopefully.. No More Snow

During the first day of warm weather, the kids can't wait to go out and play even if the snow was still deep. But I am glad that they did play in the snow because after that, the snow started melting and now its all gone. Hopefully, no more snow will come. Rylie built herself a little snowman without any help from us, she wanted to do it by hereself.

I have to chase my little man because he was just running around.

Here's the snowman she built. It wasn't perfect but she was very proud of it.

Got a Calendar from School

During the St. Patrick's day celebration, the school where I am attending to handed out some calendar for each student. I am glad because I don't have a big calendar at home, only a table calendar that was given by a friend. My daughter had so much fun browsing on it because each picture dhows the stuff that I am currently studying, the nuclear medicine.

I believe there are also pocket calendar at the admission or reception are that they give out. I remember when I tried recruiting, they provided me a box of calling cards and a bunch of pocket calendars so I could give them to the folks that I would recruit too. I did not last in that field though, I wasn't really good at it.

It's nice to have these kind of stuff because through handing out to people they become aware of the services, programs, or products that your company is offering.

Korean Friend

I was browsing our archives of photos and saw these two shots of photos with a korean friend when we were ready to leave the base. These were taken when he inspected the house that we we were living in. He works at the housing office and we became friends with him. Wish to see you again Mr. Ha.

Long Lost Friends

I was looking through some old photos and found this pic of me and my buddy Eric. I knew he was a big guy but didn't realize how big until I saw him in this pic. We worked together in the Navy, about 9 years ago, while stationed Naval Amphibious Base Coronado, California. I don't remember the occasion (probably a Christmas party for work). Check it out, I was sportin' a mustache and had 18" guns in those days.

Have a great weekend everyone.

Beautiful Day Outdoors

The weather has been really nice for the past few days. We took advantage of the sunshine and warm weather to get out and get some fresh air. We finally made it down to the Veteran's Memorial in town (we've been wanting to for a long time). You can find more photos that we took at my wife's Nostalgic Marveling blog.

This is a really nice touch added to the military display. For those in town with Veteran's in their family, alive or dead, a brick on the walkway can be purchased and inscribed with that Veteran's name and other info. Here are just a few of the bricks which display our pride and honor for our local veterans.

This tank is a "one of a kind" produced with a British and American parts. It was to be mass produced and delivered to war but these plans never made it past the prototype. We were fortunate enough to get the only one in existence.

Below are a few pics of the surrounding area. My son was really impressed with the trains and tracks. It was about 60 degrees F that day but the snow was still hanging around.

It's nice to see our Veteran's, new and old, being honored for their service to Our Great Nation. Good thing it was erected before the Obama administration took over, or we may have never seen it. Luckily, it's ours to enjoy, at least until the dems figure out a way to repossess the land, sell the equipment, and hand out the money to those who voted for them. Have A Wonderful Day everyone. GOD bless America, and the blue states too.

Have a great weekend everyone.

Car Collection

I would love to be able to say they are real cars but they are, in fact, Matchbox cars. My Mom kept my collection of Matchbox cars from when I was a kid and when we returned from Korea, my Dad gave them to EJ. It may sound silly but when we were playing with my old Matchbox cars the other day, I actually felt like a kid again...even just for a few minutes. I was holding my favorite car thinking, the last time I held this car, I was so innocent and my hands were soft and smooth and didn't tell the story of my life.

Here are some pics of EJ's new collection. Every time we go to store, he always wants to pick up a new car to add to his collection. He loves jets, helicopters, and heavy equipment (bulldozers, excavators,...etc). The pic below shows off his car carriers.

Have a great weekend everyone!

Lazy days

We are a bunch of couch potatoes on lazy days. When we lost our Internet and Phone connection, there is nothing much to do. Can't blog, can't search, can't do anything online. I am just so glad that we have Direct TV instead of Comcast cable or else we could have been so bored over here especially the kids. Here are some photos taken by my wife while me and the kids watches TV.

Even Champ bonded with us.

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