"Here's the pitch, slow and straight
All I have to do is swing and I'm a hero,
But I'm a zero..." -Weezer

The past week has been pure craziness at work, so I thought I'd take a minute to write about the goings-on in my life, for any interested parties. I'll try and take it chronologically.

Last Sunday (Mother's Day) we spent in Milton with my parents. Sadly, our budget is stretched so tightly that we can see through it, so I was unable to do anything spectacular for my mom. We spent the day just relaxing and watching some tv, which my mom said she needed, as she has been running ragged at her work. It was nice to be able to spend time with the family.

Tuesday the 10th was my second wedding anniversary with Janel. It is hard to believe we've been married 2 years. Sometimes it seems like only yesterday, but other times it seems light-years away, as we have dealt with things the past two years that many people don't deal with in 10 years of marriage... it's been a learning experience, but one I would not trade for anything in the world. I cannot imagine not having her in my life. As cliched and tired as the phrase is, she does complete me.

At any rate, we were tired and under-funded, so we spent the evening quietly enjoying each other's company. Next year will be something fun and exciting.

Wednesday began my annual crazy-fest at work, also known as the Naval Aviation Symposium. Hundreds of retired Naval Aviators and members of the general public converge upon the museum to reminisce and relive the golden days. The symposium takes up the majority of my time and energy as my department is tasked with handling the reservations, setting up the atrium for the daily sessions, taking tickets for the lunch, reception and banquet, checking reservations, problem-solving, ego-soothing and any other tasks that present themselves during the three-day period. By Friday night, when I finally left work after 14 hours straight, I was exhausted.

I also decided that Friday would be the last day I smoked cigarettes. I smoked from 1995-2001 and quit when I started dating Janel, but picked it up again in February of this year when I went through a very rough time... I know its awful and horrible and terrible for me, but at the time, I was looking for any port in the storm, and I remembered the "stress relief" they used to bring me. At any rate, I never smoked that much and felt a bit like a male Bridget Jones (Today I limited myself to 4 cigarettes) during the past two months in my "plan" to ease off so that I wouldn't have serious withdrawals... So, today is day four, and the worst times for me are driving to work in the morning and driving home from work at night, because that's the only time I smoked.

At any rate, I am a smart guy, and will get through this again, as I did before... Thank God for chewing gum! :-)

Anyway, that's it for my weekly recap. We'll see what this one brings! Take care...