2010 in Closing

Hey there, remember me?  Probably not.  Don’t worry, I never liked me either.

If you’ve read my stuff for a bit, you’ll know that at the end of the year, I like to kind of review the past events and appraise where things stand.  That’s what this is about.

The year began like the one before it, with a trip back to the icy prison that is West Point.  At that point, I probably wouldn’t have guessed where I would be writing this now.  I did my thing, and then in late March, I left the Academy.  I won’t go into the details, mostly because I don’t want to, and anyone who really matters basically already knows the whole story.  If not, I apologize for not telling you.

After about a month at home, I came back on Active Duty with the Army, and a month later, I arrived in Fort Lewis (or rather, Joint Base Lewis-McChord), WA.  This is where I’ve been for the past 6 months or so, and I have to say, life is pretty darn good all things considered.  I’m back on active duty making real money, doing the job I originally enlisted for.  I’ve got some great people that I work with, and of course some idiots too, but it’s the Army, what can ya do?  I hang on to the good stuff and push through the BS, just like always.

I really enjoy the area up here, aside form the rain.  I went to several concerts throughout the latter half of the year, which is something I’ve never done before.  One of my friends describes it as me having become a real concert whore since I arrived, haha.  I’ve been really enjoying church as well.  There’s a singles ward that I go to in Tacoma that I joke is like a stocked pond during fishing season…at least from the men’s perspective.  The women’s prospects are a little more limited.  Out of that has come my girlfriend, Kathleen.  My closer friends know that I haven’t had too many of those, so I’m still learning, but she’s awesome, and I’m enjoying our time together more than I’ve enjoyed a lot of things.

Despite not having a kitchen in my room, I’ve been working on the cooking skills.  I bought a rice cooker, and Kathleen got me a crock pot for Christmas.  One step at a time I suppose.  I’m making chili tomorrow.  Hopefully no one dies.

I honestly don’t have much else to say.  It’s been a good year, despite the craziness in the middle.  I don’t think I would want things to be different though.  Here’s to another year of fun-filled adventures!

Michael