hob's online journal
Home | Current | Archives | 2004: Feb | Jan | 2003: Dec | Nov | Oct  

February 2004

One more day, one more day

February 26, 2004: Yes, thank God it's Friday tomorrow. A full day of sleep is just a day away. Anyways, I've got my Survivor page up. Check it out. My usual wit is not present - I hope the sleep brings it back. I 'get' to go running tomorrow morning. Joy. Running isn't fun for me like some people (Jason Rubi) - I got a 79 on my physical test (which is passing), but Mr. Jason got a 100! BTW, that's a perfect score. What a schmuck. I mean, How wonderful for him!

Oh, anyways, Sgt Jenny passed on a website to me that is quite hilarious - www.chair-force.com. It's a freaking riot, and it just rags on the amazing thing that is the US Air Force. Some hilarious stories are to be found from Amn Joethefat.

Let me just get to the weekend

February 25, 2004: Why? Because I need to sleep in one morning till about 5pm. That way I'll have recovered some of the sleep I missed out on last weekend in Tahoe. Seriously. Once I get that sleep back, then I'll be good. But I have been dying these past couple of mornings. It's just been rough trying to wake up on time. Anyways, two more days to go, then it's time for Sleepfest 2004.

Here's what is planned for March, as far as I can tell as of now. Jason & Wendy will be up in Vegas TWICE next month. That should be fun. Guess who else may make a guest appearance in Vegas? Ryan Conk. Yes, Lt Conk (I'm sure he'll be Captain shortly) will be out here for some work-related reason, but I know I am getting a chance to hang out with him at least once and of course we'll get to the casino.... unless he's become ultra-religious or something, and then I guess we'll have a fun dinner. So March is looking like it'll be a cool time.

Well, I really don't have much else to talk about. I'm still sleepy, and I guess it's almost time for Angel to come on (which is in it's official last season - joy.) Check out the Survivor page for any updates I've made. Byron has sent me a few passages to add, and I have some more links on the links section.

Back from the Slopes

February 23, 2004: The Quiznos commercials are insane. I just had to say that. Again. Anyways, I've returned from my tre' awesome vacation to Lake Tahoe. The first 3.5 days of it were awesome. But getting back here to Vegas was a frickin' nightmare. Seriously. But I'll write about that in much more detail once I get some pictures up. But needless to say, my skiing got better and during the 2nd day I was pretty much always on the Blue Square routes. I rule. Anyways, I'm back home safe, I got my luggage back today (it took the slow flight to Vegas from Reno), and I'm now back at work. Joy. I need another vacation.
What's New? Well, I have put up my Survivor page, as I watched my DVR of it when I got home last night because I needed something to cheer me up. Pictures from Lake Tahoe are forthcoming, along with the full story.

Off to the Slopes

February 19, 2004: Yep, I'm gonna be gone for a few days up in Tahoe. So don't miss me too much. I'll be taking my camera with me so I'm sure I'll have some cool pictures. Since I won't be around my computer tonight, there won't be a Survivor page until Sunday!!! Thankfully, I've got DVR so I know that my shows will be waiting for me when I get home. Whew!! So, keep your fingers crossed that I don't seriously hurt myself on the ski slopes. I never go all that fast anyways, but still, those skis do have a way of trying to go different directions while you're on them, with your legs becoming a wishbone and suddenly your crotch is broken. That definitely sucks!
What's New? I'll be back Sunday with my take on Survivor - if not then, definitely Monday!

Where the hell did this weekend go?

February 16, 2004: Seriously. This was the fastest 3-day weekend ever, and I don't really have much to show for it. Saturday was successful in productivity terms, as I did manage to get some ski clothes for this upcoming weekend in Tahoe. I ended up getting ski pants, gloves and a hat for a great price, but then I saw a very nice ski jacket that had my name all over it. And I'm not being literal this time. But I did like it, and so that went with me to the cash register as well. And lucky me, I flashed my (hey, don't be dirty) ..... military ID and got a 10% discount, which was greatly appreciated. I can't wait to go to Lake Tahoe. Then that night was movie night at the Devoes. It was fun, but overall the reason for the get-together was sad, as Alex is heading back to Iraq. And he got back like a few months ago. Totally unfair, but because he is an outstanding Transportation officer, and there aren't many worth a damn, they feel compelled to send him again. I definitely feel privileged to have not been sent yet - I just can't imagine having to go twice within a year's time. Stay safe, Alex!

The rest of the weekend has been a blur. I didn't emerge from the cave yesterday as I just couldn't stop playing this damn Final Fantasy X-2. It's such a great video game. So bad for the social life though. (What social life?) Hey, who's writing this stuff in the parenthesis? Anyways, then I finally had to emerge to get some food today, and after bringing lunch back, I put in Independence Day. Wow - I had forgotten how much fun this movie really is. And how much freakin' carnage occurs in the movie. Not gory, but when you actually think about what happens in this movie, I would wager that at least a billion people die in the movie, Houston is nuked, and then at the end of the movie, you have these massive 15-mile wide structures crashing down into the ground, killing countless more people. And then to seal the deal, the mothership is exploding while in orbit over the Earth and the debris is plummeting to the ground at the end of the movie. Yet everyone is okay with this? Will Smith is all psyched about the 'fireworks' and all I can think is, Why the Fuck aren't you people running for shelter? Alright, so this movie was never the ultimate in realism. I do love it a lot though. I think the previews are amazing too - I still get psyched up seeing the Empire State Building being exploded out like it is in the movie. Yet with the movie being made pre-Sept 11, I guess the moviemakers assumed the World Trade Center buildings could withstand such an assault when in fact they couldn't even weather jets crashing into them. Scary.

And now I'm done with my video reviews. :-) So, on Friday (which was absolutely non-productive but still a lot of fun, even if we did have to do the new AF physical test; actually it was just a practice, but I'm stoked, as when I computed my score back at work, I passed!), Sgt Jenny and I went down to the Thunderbirds hangar for a private tour with a friend of Sgt Jenny's who works there. I had just intended to get some pictures with the jets in the background, but Sgt Jenny's friend gave us the whole damn tour. And then my boss Maj Wimmer called his pilot buddy at the Thunderbirds, and although we were hoping to get to sit in the jet, that didn't happen. But we did get to go out on the flight line, which is very cool. If you try to do that without an escort, you typically get an M-16 aimed at you while you get to experience the warmth of the concrete while lying on it. So needless to say, the pictures were a little bit better being closer than what I had originally hoped for. So those pictures are below, in the Jan/Feb pictures page.
What's New? Here's a link to my Jan/Feb pictures that now include Thunderbirds pictures.

TGIF

February 12, 2004: Alright not much is going on. But work went pretty well today for reasons I won't go into here. One day perhaps. Tomorrow should be cool - I get to go see the Thunderbirds up close and personal at the official museum. I plan to take some pictures, so expect those soon.
What's New? I have my newest Survivor page up. Enjoy! Check back for updates later this weekend.

Star Wars on DVD - hell yeah!

February 11, 2004: I am definitely looking forward to September 21, 2004 when Episodes IV, V, & VI come out on DVD. It's a lot of fun right now though to read a lot of the online forums and to just read the ranting that some of the fanboys are doing. Yes, it won't be the 'Original' un-altered trilogy - and many many people just can't deal with that. They claim that they won't be spending their money on these pieces of trash. Puhlease. You know they won't be able to resist. The ability to finally have these puppies on DVD is far too alluring to pass up. There was a great roundtable discussion on Aintitcoolnews.com that had a lot of conversation about Eps I & II, speculation/hopes for Ep III, and what the future may hold (intriguing possibilities to me are a mini-series or Sopranos-style handling of the time between Ep III & IV - the annihilation of the Jedi by Darth Vader could be very interesting, yet very dark; or even the possibility of Eps VII, VIII & IX). Here's the link, if you've got some time on your hand and your proxy server doesn't block AICN. I am such a geek.

Well, I realized today that I'll be at work for only TWO days next week. Can you say BOO-YAH!? Monday we have vacation, and then I'm off to Tahoe on Thursday and Friday. Next week is going to rock. If I actually get all pissy and moany like last week during those two days, I will admit I have some serious problems. How can you get mad or depressed during a two-day work week? You can't - and if you can, you're weird and need electro-shock therapy. Stat.

I may put some more Azores pictures up soon, but dammit, I'm so damn hungry waiting for the pizza delivery guy to bring my pizzas I may just fall on the floor in hunger. So, we'll see what happens. BTW, did you hear what is probably going to be happening on Survivor? Apparently someone is going home and it's not because of a vote! I totally predict that there will be two tribes after tomorrow, and the game will be back to 8 persons per team, and then they can do the intense Survivor challenges that we all know and love. It just won't be interesting to have possibly three people competing on a team if Saboga happens to lose Immunity AGAIN. We shall see though, right?

Give me my EW!

February 9, 2004: Well, the folks are safely back home in LA after their visit to Vegas(and Mom did pretty good according to what she told me - go MOM!), and I just finished reading my Entertainment Weekly, and two things made me laugh my ass off. First, a Survivor blurb: Apparently when telling her friends where she'd be for 39 days, Jerri said she was going to be in Rehab!!!! AWESOME! And I'm sure that her friends were probably like, "Oh, wow, I'm so supportive of that, that's like, totally self-aware and awesome and cool" (BTW, you have to read that last quoted line in a very LA, valley-girl accent). It just makes me wonder - what the hell would I say to people or to work to say that I need 39 days off? There's absolutely nothing I could say that would not set off a bullshit meter. Nothing, I tell you. NOTHING! But I wanted to be the first to let you all know that I'm going to be heading to a commune for the next month and a half so that I can do some soul-searching. Please don't try to write or call - I won't be available. Too busy searching for a soul or whatever.

So the second thing that made me laugh? Well, Entertainment Weekly every other week or so has at the end of their magazine a feature called "Stupid Questions with...." and this week it was with Scott Baio. It was absolutely hilarious. They always find some celebrity and ask the stupidest questions (hence the title), and the celebrities usually give great answers. I was thinking though - I seriously doubt the celebrities are as funny and self-deprecating as they seem in their responses. It just seems off. I'm positive the answers have to be made up by the reporter. But who knows? Anyways.... The last question asked was "I read on the Internet that you died in a car accident in 1997. True?" The answer: "Yes, You're talking to a ghost. Why do you think I haven't worked since then?" HAhahahahahahahahaha!

Well, that's that. I'm sure it's time to dotante or something. Perhaps I'll go to sleep now. Yeah, that sounds like a good idea!
What's New? I'm NOT drunk, so if you think that, you're way off. Being drunk is for Sgt Jenny, not me. Okay, that's a lie. I better move quick before that bolt of lightning melts my hands to the laptop. But I'm not lying about being drunk. I think I'm just at the polar opposite of what last week was. And let's all be thankful for THAT.

Cheered up for the time being

February 6, 2004: I knew that if I typed up all that stuff I would feel better and I did. Talking to Byron also helped, and then just having a good day at work definitely helped. And then getting to see the folks tonight definitely was nice. So thanks to you who provided a nice word or two or three and even more thanks to those who remembered I just LOVE sarcasm. My guestbook is such a wonderful thing to read sometimes. Yep, work was actually somewhat fun, if that's possible. Every body I came in contact with today just was in a good mood, which helped dramatically. So yay for good Fridays. Anyways, I just came back from visiting my Mom & Harv who are up here for their anniversary. They treated me to Paris buffet, which is super nice. I will be seeing them tomorrow night as well, when we go to the Paris Steakhouse. Now that's some eating, let me tell you. And the wine..... the steak...... YUM. And by the way, Sgt Jenny's all hungover today, if you go read her website, it's hilarious.
What's New? I updated my photos page to reflect the latest additions, including the Jan/Feb Vegas pics and Angel's Peak. Also, Survivor is updated for now, but I always update the links for the Episodes throughout the week if you're interested. PLUS, I just got nostalgic and put all my house pictures from my Baia da Salga palace in the Azores. That place was the bom-diggity.

Need to cheer the f*ck up

February 5, 2004: So, here I am all blech. That Eiffel Tower picture does not mean I want to jump off the Eiffel Tower. It was just a cool picture. So no worries about implications. But am I in a great happy Hobie mood? Not even close. I'm sick to death of work, I can't stand 90% of the people that I have to work with (not my coworkers mind you - Sgt Jenny and the others are still good), and the fact I'm a comm officer in a pilot squadron means I'm pretty much shit upon all day. I have no boss to speak of - I mean, yes, I have a supervisor, but does he give a shit about what's going on in my career, etc? No - he's a pilot and has got a lot more shit to worry about than a whiny comm officer. But I'm getting near the end of my patience with all the shit I have to take, and I really have no one to vent to. Yeah, my coworkers get to hear some of it, but it's not a good thing to vent your feelings like that (especially to subordinate type peeps) to the point that I Need to. Byron can readily understand what I'm talking about, as could Jason. That made all the difference in the world, and it allowed me to realize that things weren't that bad. But I don't have that support structure right now, and life is pretty much miserable out here. Gee, aren't you glad you came to my website today?

I didn't know if I wanted to write this here, but I realized maybe it'll help me get it out of my system. Even if it's just bits and bytes listening, that's cool. But the situation is getting old, and all I can think about is when the hell can I PCS the fuck outta here? I hate to sound like I'd want to leave behind the few cool people I do work with - I don't. But, well, it's hard to put into words really. I just wish I could reset and perhaps start over here at Nellis, maybe doing something different or whatnot. Yet even thinking that, it comes down to the unfortunate fact that I'm me, and I know I'd probably do everything the same. I just don't think people appreciate the term I've coined "Hobionisty". Try to sound out that word and see if it means anything to you. Ho-bee-hon-es-ty. There you go. I've been very free with my words and opinions the last 6 months, and if any of you have seen me do that before, well, I do it a LOT now. I don't think I've won any popularity contests here, but I'll be damned if they think they can walk all over me and expect me to take it. Puh-leaze. So I really don't have any officer friends, as I pretty much have made them think I'm an asshole. Oh wait, I AM an asshole. I guess I just covered it up better before. I don't have the patience I once did, apparently.

So, that's that. I don't know if I feel any better. I think I probably will - maybe get some rest, relax, watch some Survivor and chill the fuck out. That usually does help somehow.
What's New? I got some grief from Robbie for not plagiarizing from his site in a timely manner. He can now consider himself plagiarized! My Survivor page now has official Robbie thoughts. ALSO, the Episode 2 page is now up.

Busy? Yes. Ready for vacation? Uh, yeah.

February 3, 2004: So last week, and this week so far, have been busy at work. I'm tired of it. Okay, maybe not, as it does make the day go by, but seriously, I wouldn't mind being bored just a little.

You know, I was actually thinking of something to write here today, but as I type right now, my mind is a total blank. I guess I'm just in an 'eh' mood. I'm totally looking forward to going to Lake Tahoe later this month though. Ski trip with Wendy & Jason plus lots of others as well, including Clarissa and Ilyne. Should be entertaining. Well, I'll stop this boring passage because I'm nodding off typing it. One day I'll get the spark back. Maybe.
What's New? Survivor is always updated, even if I don't mention it. Did you see how Carol/snippet kicked some serious ass on the game? WOW! I also got some more DVDs and I saw Big Fish at the movies. I am officially and unabashadly a weepy bitch.

Oh, by the way, I sorta remembered what I was gonna talk about. It's in the movies section under Big Fish.

Survivor Sunday!

February 1, 2004: Sure, there's this football game going on before it, and that's what most of America is waiting for - but I know I'm not alone in that I'm only looking forward to Survivor and not the game. I'm sure I'll be back later today to put up the first 'real' page of my Survivor section.
What's New? Anticipation for the first episode of Survivor. (That's not really new, is it?)

UPDATE (6:38pm PST): WHEN WILL THIS SUPER BOWL END? AND THEN A POST SHOW? FOR THE LOVE OF GOD, MAKE IT STOP. WHERE'S MY SURVIVOR?

UPDATE (10:55pm PST): Okay, even though the game went on like forever, by the second half, I was actually watching the Super Bowl. Not that I had anything emotionally invested in either team, but I choose to root for the Carolina Panthers because they were behind. And when they made quite a comeback and took the lead for a little, well, I almost got into the game. But then they lost, and I just was waiting for Survivor again. Which ROCKED!!!!! Catch it on Tuesday night at 8pm if you missed it Sunday. Very good - and no time was wasted as is normal on Survivor trying to introduce contestants to us. We all know who these schmucks are, so let's get the drama going.
What's New? My Episode 1 page is up. Enjoy!!!!! BTW, if you want to have your thoughts put up on the page, just email them to me, along with who you are cheering/rooting for at the moment.

 

Shoot me an email if you want to. I may respond. (okay, you know I will - what else have I got to do?)