Flees.net

25 May 2018

Moving is hard work

We moved to our new house six days ago and man, that was some super hard work. I was more exhausted than I've been in quite some time. The only times I can remember it being worse was after our half marathons and after my Spartan Race. I tried to workout two days later and could barely do any of the moves. It was just silly.

The house is coming together nicely, though. It is older, but we like its quirks, and the backyard is simply amazing. This house will force us to be more social which I think is a good thing. We were very secluded in our last house. I worry a little about how much the utilities will cost, but I don't think it could possibly be that bad.

We should be here for at least 17 months, quite possibly longer, and we're going to enjoy it while it lasts!
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31 Mar 2018

Not moving after all (sort of)!

Here I thought that we were going to move to a different city for sure as a result of my promotion, but not so fast! The Air Force made a surprise move and told us we'd be staying right where we are. However, in another surprise move, our landlords have told us to get out because they are selling the house we are renting. So we're not moving, but we are moving! We were thinking about it anyway, but this made that choice for us. There are pros and cons to all of this of course. We were in some ways looking forward to moving to a new area, but staying put has its advantages as well. We'll make the best of it at any rate. Moving is annoying, but we should end up with a better house out of it.
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4 Mar 2018

I'm being promoted!

After months of waiting, I found out a week ago that I am indeed being promoted to the rank of Senior Master Sergeant (SMSgt). This is a big deal in the Air Force because only 2% of the Enlisted force is allowed to be at that rank at any one time. It is probably the hardest rank to make. The promotion rate was only 11% across the Air Force, and only 10% in my career field. I am super stoked about this, even if it does mean we are probably going to move as a result, to either the Washington DC area or the Denver area. I promoted to Master Sergeant almost exactly 5 years ago and will actually put on the new rank in about 6 months. This means at least 3 more years in the military and perhaps as many as 5, and more if I make the final rank, Chief Master Sergeant. These are exciting times for sure!
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16 Feb 2018

Promotion news soon

We're probably around 11-12 days until I find out if I am getting promoted and having my life turned upside down again in a few short months. That is the big downside of Air Force promotions - you have to wait so long to find out about them. That long build up increases the emotional stakes and makes the joy that much more intense if you make it, but also the crushing disappointment is more acute when you don't.

Three days ago was my 21 year anniversary with the Air Force. If I don't get promoted, I only have 3 left at most. If I do get promoted, I have 5. I like the area, I like my unit, Kelley likes her job, so moving will be hard, but I am sure we could make the best of it. We're going on a cruise soon with my sister Lori and her husband James to celebrate Kelley's 40th birthday. We'll see if we're celebrating anything else as well.

On a side note, my pet project website, The Awesome Theory, is finally starting to get back off the ground, a development I am pretty excited about. Use the link at the top or bottom of every page here to go read more about that if you are interested.
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1 Jan 2018

New Year New Challenges

Another year has come and gone. 2017 was an interesting year - it alternated between frustrating and challenging and pretty sweet. It had some tough times and some great times. Overall, though, it was way better than 2016! 2016 was our toughest year ever. This was kind of a rebound year. It got us back on track. It should be viewed as the springboard that will help make 2018 be the best year yet! We are so blessed and we have some big events ahead of us this year.

I find out about my promotion in March, then we go on a cruise with Lori, James, Oliver, and Lucy, then if I did get promoted, we'll find out where we are moving to later in the year. Then later in the year we'll actually move. Perhaps around then we'll take a vacation to see friends in Hawaii. It is going to be a big year and I am ready for it!
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10 Nov 2017

Certain Uncertainty

It seems that lately the only we know about our future is that we don't know much about our future. Everything seems to hinge on whether I get promoted next year, which I will find out about in early March. Based on my last evaluation, the promotion seems like nearly a sure thing, but you never know. I take my test on Dec 1st, then I get to just wait 3 months to find out. If I make the promotion, it is almost certain that Kelley and I will move, and more than likely to the DC/Baltimore area. This works out for both of us because that is a hot bed for jobs in Kelley's field. It means that I stay in the military for at least 2 years after I put on the stripe and in reality I'd likely stay for at least 3 due to retirement details, putting me in the military at a minimum of 24 1/2 years.

If I don't get that promotion, things get a whole lot more uncertain. I doubt that I would try to get promoted again, and Kelley would start trying to find a new job nation-wide. We have no idea where she might find the best job, so we have no idea where in the country we would go. And we wouldn't know when either. This all makes us very anxious for that March date when we find out what fork in the road we're going. It is easier on me, because I am more of a take life as it comes kinda person, but this stresses Kelley out.

Other than that, things are going pretty well. Kelley got a 1% raise just as an "atta boy" in the middle of the year because she is awesome at her job. I start college in a little less than 3 weeks and am getting a little nervous about that. I got my Bachelor's degree over 10 years ago - I've been out of school so long! We'll see how it goes!
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18 Sep 2017

...And Crustice For All

My new pizza blog site, ...And Crustice For All, is now live! The link can be found at the top and bottom of every Flees.net page. This site is a part of my eventual resume package, to show that I am capable of designing and running multiple different types of sites. Next up is Derp Derp Code, a blog site that will be about programming and tech stuff. I am pretty excited to finally be making more progress on these sites. They have been on my to do list for years now. Please let me know what you think!

In other news, our future is as muddy as ever. I don't know when I am retiring, Kelley doesn't know if she is staying at her job long term, I don't know if I am getting a promotion that will make us move, etc. etc. Someday things will be settled, but that day is not today.
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2 Sep 2017

Job Searching

I talk about my current job situation a lot. It has not been a great experience. I have hope that there is something else out there that will be a better fit for me. It is scary to look at jobs nation-wide. I do not want to move for a job unless I know it is a match. I will continue at my current job and make the best of the situation as I continue to search.
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8 Jul 2017

No promotion

The Air Force saw fit to not promote me to Senior Master Sergeant this year (not a huge surprise, honestly - it is a hard rank to make). Thus, we get to stay at Langley Air Force Base for a while longer. The Air Force will not move us again unless I end up getting promoted next year or the year after. The decision now is whether to retire or not, but as long as Kelley is happy enough at her job here, I'll stay in.

There are still challenges, to be sure, but we'll face them and overcome them one at a time. I plan on starting my Master's Degree in November. That will be a big change and a big challenge. I want to be ready for what comes after the military, no matter when that happens to be.
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26 May 2017

Future still uncertain

I thought that once I hit 20 years in the Air Force, my future would get more certain and I would know what to expect. Turns out I was wrong. I'll find out in 10-12 days if I made Senior Master Sergeant, and if I do, that means we'll probably have to move to the DC area in 8 months or so. If I don't make it, we'll stay here in Virginia. Of course, I could turn down SMSgt and retire in 11 months also. We just don't know what will happen, but 2 weeks from now we should know a lot more.

Other than that, Kelley's job is going pretty well most days, and her paycheck has made things much more comfortable on the financial front. We'll just keep plugging away, doing the best we can, making the decisions we believe are right and trust that God will watch over us and help us prosper. We've been very blessed overall since I came back from Korea - things have fallen into place very well - Kelley got a great job, our belongings arrived here on time and mostly undamaged, my job is going to be much less on mids than I feared, among other things. The future is bright for us, no matter where we end up!
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16 Mar 2017

Back home again

In an unfortunate twist of events, I had to go to Goodfellow AFB in San Angelo, Texas for a 1 month training class, from which I just returned. I should have taken care of this training in Korea, but it never worked out, so instead I had to be away form Kelley for yet another month. That rather sucked, but thankfully it is over. As far as I can fathom, that should be our last separation of more than a week or two ever. That is good, because these prolonged separations are hard on both of us. We are truly settling in to life in Virginia well and Kelley should be starting her forever (potentially) job within the next week. We are very excited for what the future holds!
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29 Dec 2016

Getting settled in

We've been in Virginia for a little over 5 weeks now and things are finally starting to settle down a bit, thankfully. My job will get more normal next week and Kelley's job search will ramp up once the holidays are over. The house is basically in order, just a few things remain to be done/organized. Next up is finding a church and hopefully making a few local friends. Starting over somewhere is challenging, but this is the 4th time we've had to do it (Iceland, Nebraska, Georgia), so I know we are up to the challenge.
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6 Oct 2016

26 days!

Just 26 more days until I leave South Korea and head home to the best wife ever. It has been a very trying year for both of us, and the end of it cannot come soon enough. In about 2 weeks it will start getting very busy for me, with out processing, packing, moving out of my apartment, and getting some last minute traveling in. Most of the time the days seem like they are just crawling by. I can't explain how excited I am to get back to Kelley in the US and start our adventure in moving to Virginia! This is going to be fun!
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25 Aug 2016

DJ's return is set

We are so excited to share that DJ's ticket to return to the states is set. It now allows us to start really preparing for our move to Virginia. Kelley is trying to find a job. We will look for a house to rent. The hope is that we prepare as much as possible to make the transition the least stressful as possible. We are both super looking forward to a change. Things can be always be worse, but we're both ready to get out of our current living situation.
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11 Jun 2016

Back to Korea

Alas, my sojourn to the US has ended, but what a magnificent 30 days it was, thanks to my wonderful wife, Kelley. Being with her again after 6 months was sublime and I savored every moment of it. We had a great time and took a bunch of trips, including to Cincinnati (Newport Aquarium, King's Island, and Cincinnati Reds 10K), Columbus (RadioU 5K), Cleveland (Rock and Roll Hall of Fame), Cedar Point, and Bentonville, Arkansas (Walmart shareholder meeting with my sister). Best part? Being able to be with my wife each day for a month. I'd trade just about anything to be able to do that over the next 5 months.

Since that is not in the cards, I must strive to be productive over the next 5 months, and that will include some work here on the website. I hope to make this site a better part of my resume over the next 5 months. There is much to be done, but I have plenty of time. I can get it done!
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