Returned from Brazil

Here I am back in casa de tronster. Making a time of getting ready for work. I have been off since Friday. Christmas has come and gone. It was a good Christmas, even though I didn't visit parents of Tronster, however, brother of Tronster did make the trip up from Florida. It was his first long drive, and he survived OK. I am certianly proud of his accomblishment.

I spent the morning and lunch with foxy nieghbor. Helping her shop for furniture. We have a good time hanging out and doing such things. More about her later, must ask permission to talk about her, you know.
Today a purchased a showdow box to display all my "pins" that I have collected over the years.
What do you think? Some are flags from recent road trips, and some are from the old navy days.
I will be starting a new picture series. Please stay tuned. The "MASK" will be traveling with me and I plan on taking pictures of him and his adventures.

I picked him up in Africa on my first trip.
Take care.
Tronster

Sao Paulo

Well sports Fans. I am now in Sao Paulo. The city with 23 million residents. Can you say really big city? Its funny, because it took just under an hour to get to the hotel from the airport, reminds me of Jacksonville FL. The airport there was located in the boondocks also. But the cab ride was nice enough. I never felt in danger the entire ride. ( from my understanding of Brazilian drivers, this is a first) Anyhow, the hotel room here is Awesome. Has a great desk for computer work and a king size bed, which I tested for an afternoon nap. I am getting ready to check the football scores for this morning and see how my teams are doing, just wanted to lay down a few lines.

Tronster

Brazil Life

What a trip. I made it alright. I am in Brasilia now. Enjoying the rainy weather. It has been raining since I have been here. There was an additional lay-over in Sao Paulo. It was frustrating, They couldn't just tell us we would be delayed for an hour. They just kept saying every 20 minutes, in 20 minutes we will board. They did give us a free sandwich and drink for the delay. Everyone at the airport was very friendly.

The TV here has several English sitcoms. So I have been able to watch a few shows. Even saw a CSI episode I hadn't seen before. The carry fox news live. So I get to see the afternoon shows in the evening and they are still live. Cool factor way up. They high speed internet at the hotel isn't high speed. It is juiced dial up. A smokin' 64kbs. I survive.

Turkey Day Greetings

It was a bitter-sweet weekend. Not the Thanksgiving celebration with my family, but for football. The Cowboys lost in overtime, but the Gators whipped the FSU Seminoles. I was on the road for both games. But thanks to Sirius radio, I was ables to listen to the Gator game on my way home. This past week I was able to spend some quality time with family of Tronster in the sticks of South Carolina. I also visited family in North Carolina. A fun time to be sure. The family is getting along pretty well. Father of Tronster and Tronster did some remodeling in grandma's house. She needed a bigger bathroom, as she gets older and requires handicap access to the crapper. Its always fun to tear stuff down. So we took out a wall and expanded the bathroom. Merry Christmas.

I have now returned to casa de Tronster. I have to prepare for my next adventure. Off to Brazil. Keep checking back.

Tronster

Technology is a wonderful thing

Hey readers

As most of you know, I love technology. I have an IPod, palm pilot, cellphone, laptop, and multiple computers. A gps and various other high tech toys, that I love to play with. I am fairly proficient on most of these devices. So when I moved to the DC metro area and signed up for cable, I got a deal on a DVR. This thing is cool man. Let me tell you what it can do. As I frequently must go to bed early, I record my favorite shows and watch them when I get home from work the next day. Well Monday night football featured America's Team, the Dallas Cowboys. Playing the Superbowl contenders, Eagles. I am a big fan, of the Cowboys. (mainly because of their cheerleaders, but I digress). Halftime, my eyes were heavy, and I knew I wasn't going to make it to the end. So I fired up this new gadget to record the end of the game. I programmed in the show, and let her rip. All day Tuesday I was able to avoid the other fans at work, mainly pesky Eagles fans. So when I got home, I started watching the game. Fast forwarding through all those dumb commercials and "TV Timeouts". Didn't take all that long to get towards the end. Now anybody who watched the game knows, the Cowboys were in trouble. They were unable to establish an effective run game, and the defense was bending, but not breaking. The Eagles controlled the hole game. Until the fourth quarter with five minutes left. The defense held the eagle to a fieldgoal, keeping them within 2 scores. Dallas mounts an effective drive down field and scores a touchdown. (Yeah team) The score is now 14 (Cowboys) and 20 (Eagles). There is just over four minutes left and the Cowboys kick off. With three timeouts remaining they believed the could get the ball back with time to score. Folks, this is a nail biter here, I am on the edge of my seat. The eagles get a less than stellar return, to somewhere around the 25 or 30 yard line. The first play from scrimmage is a short yardage run. THEN THE DARN DVR STOPS. STOPS I TELL YA. I look at the remote and the screen, and asks me if I want to watch from the beginning. THE BEGINNING. Heck, I just want to watch to the END. THE END. NOOOOOOOOO, it turns out that this modern marvel stops recording at its scheduled time, not its conclusion. I had to look online to find out that the very next play, the Cowboys intercepted the ball and ran it back for a touchdown. A WINNING TOUCHDOWN. 20 more sec and I would have seen it.

Any way, I have recovered from my disappointment, and from now on will record more time than required for a football game. Have a good night

Tronster

Pics

Hey readers.

First, thanks for stopping by, here are some pictures from Estonia.....



The above picture shows a church in the middle of old town.




Here is a long shot. The building on the right is my hotel, the other building lights up at night and served as a wonderful night light. Kept away all of the scary critters that can sneak into a room when you are sleeping.



They call this a smart car, or commonly reffered to as a death trap.

Hope you enjoy the pictures.

Tronster.

Estonia

I am now in Tallinn. The capital of Estonia. Yes that lovely former soviet republic. The people here are really nice. There is lots to see. Today, I only had to work for a couple of hours, then this afternoon I headed for old town. This town has buildings that have been here since the medieval times. The old tower has defended the cities for years. There was a museum for the old city and for its defenses. It was interesting. I took some pics, will have to post them later on. I am currently in the lobby, so I need to download them.

Thats all for now, need to get back to the game (Florida is currently on Top)

Tronster

Busy Week

WOW
It would appear that I have been a blogger slacker. Not that nothing exciting has happened, just it seems so hard to sit and write. I am getting ready for bed here in FINLAND. Its my last night here. I had a pretty good time. It is down right cold here. Then last night it snowed. Snowed I tell ya. It is now to cold to snow, and the ground is icing up. The Fins are nice enough, but generally they are reserved.

tomorrow I head for Estonia. I have a weekend there to hang out, but I won't be there very long. I look forward to the challenge.

Tronster

Back at home

Hey Everyone,

I am back in Casa de Tronster. It is always nice to be home. I slept in my own bed for the first time in 15 days. It was nice, but I have found that the beds in the Sheraton are better. Oh well. I visited the parents this past rainy weekend. It was nice to see the family. I really enjoyed the time spent with my parents. We had a good time and had a great fish fry. The hole party was great. We had about 20 people there, and the fellowship hall was full of love. Thanks for the great time.

Tronster

Live from Amman

Hey World

Communicating live from the Green Lounge in Amman Jordan. Things are going well. This is an interesting place. The Architecture here is wonderful, and since I paid for an entire week on Internet, I figured I would get my moneys worth and drop a few lines here. The hotel is very nice. My arrival at three in the morning was interesting, with my reservation and ride to the hotel being dropped, I managed just fine. I rode in a taxi (flew would be more accurate) from the airport, about 30Km away. We were going so fast the clock quit working in the cab. Space time quantum leap? I don't know, but the clock was working when we left the airport, and quit before we got to the hotel.
Last night I enjoyed the buffet dinner, tonight I am contemplating the room service, but who like to dine alone? At least I get to observe the locals at the buffet.
I want to send a congrats to the engagement of my friend, Sunshine will being getting hitched next May. You go girl.

Oh my, look at he battery meter, I must get going, watch for further updates.

McDonald's redemption

Those of you that know me, know I don't like McDs. Why, I don't know, maybe because the food is always greasy and I can't ever get any service when I visit. Well, here in the DC area the service is better, and they have made one GREAT breakfast sandwich. What is this creation called? Well its the McGriddle sausage egg and cheese. Wonderful wonderful breakfast food. They add just a touch of syrup to make it just right. Congrats on a great piece of breakfast culinary creation.

FOOTBALL FOOTBALL FOOTBALL

Two things, first a shout out to my Buddy, fishermanalan. Thanks for the help on my bro's computer, and HAPPY BIRTHDAY. I know having a birthday on SEP 11 won't be the same for you anymore, but congrats on another year. My you have many more.



Man am I glad football is here. This past Sunday, I went to Church, (I hope all of you did too), got me some HOT WINGS, and watched a little FOOTBALL. The best part of the game, was my Cowboys winning a tight one. They are tied for the lead in the NFC east. Ok, its only one game, but it was on TV and they won.

As a matter of fact, All my favorite teams won. The Gators racked up 42 points, the Jags won their outing, and did I mention, the Cowboys won. (on the road at that). Last season, I didn't get to watch one game of the Cowboys. By their record you would wonder if they played any games.

Anyway, next week, the boys will face the redskins on Monday night, I will have to watch, but turn in before its over, I have faith that they can pull it off.

See ya later.

Managua

Nicaragua is a beautiful country. I just spend nine days in a great hotel, close to a modern mall. I was able to enjoy the local foods and people without being in any danger. The stay in Managua was my favorite. I was able to attend services, in English and meet some wonderful people. One young lady in particular, was very kind to me and spent some of her precious time just talking. What a great way to learn about a culture.

The government is really courting folks to move to Nicaragua. At the airport, I received a flyer from a developer to buy land/home, walking distance from the Pacific Ocean. The price???? $90K. I sold a POJ house in Jacksonville, 15 miles from the coast for that much. What a deal. So if your looking for a retirement community, and you don't mind learning Spanish, check it out.

I what to thank everyone who sent me birthday greetings. It is humbling to know that people care so much, to take time out and think of me. Thanks a bunch.

Trinidad Part II

What a beautiful place. You can see mountains all around the Capital of Port of Spain. Sunrises and sunset are great. An interesting fact about Port of Spain, it has the largest right hand traffic circle in the world. Amazing I know, but true none the less. While in Trinidad I was housed in the Hilton. Great hotel. I didn't venture of the hotel grounds, because everything I needed was there. I was able to eat most meals at the hotel and I finished two books. One was supporting the fair tax act, and the other was the book of John, out of the Bible.

Port of Spain is the capital of Trinidad & Tobago. (two islands, one country) They just celebrated their 30 year anniversary of independence from England. Tobago is safer for tourist, than Trinidad. While I was only there for a short time, the Deputy Chief of Police had his car stolen from the police station. The local news made a big deal about it, and I thought it was funny myself. I'm laughing as a matter of fact. While there I acquired a new coffee cup, and a taste for strawberry Ice cream. The only other souvenir was a sun burn. Which tormented me for about a week.

That's about all from Trinidad.

Trinidad

A great country, where they call each other "Trini's". I just spend a week in the Caribbean island. It was a British colony until the 60s. This weekend they will be celebrating their independence day. Of coarse I was there last weekend. So I will miss it. I did pick up a sun burn. "Yeah". The hotel was real nice. Now I am in Nicaragua and the hotel here is better. Had a great time in Trinidad, and will have some stories to add in the next couple of days. Don't have much internet time tonight, so I will keep it short. I am still kickin and hope things are going well for all you fans out there. Gotta run.

Adventures in the Park

Yesterday, I had the opportunity to return the the Shenandoah national park. At the park I took a little hike through the woods to see the Overlook Falls. A 93' drop. I was very excited. I started my little journey at 5:25 am, heading out of casa de Tronster and for the mountains. Arrived around 7:15 or so, just after sun up. (Maybe during the winter I can make it there before sunrise to get some cool shots) I was at the trail head at 7:45. I secured my gear to my back and headed out. It was a cool morning. The trail immediately headed up hill. This hike is about 7 miles round trip. I was on my way. I already spotted two deer on the road trip into the park, was hoping to see some there, however, I didn't. The trail was in good shape and easy to follow. The spider webs only freaked my out a couple of times. I keep forgetting my Cutter Max 100 bug spray when I do these little adventures. But I made it to the falls right a 9:50. At the falls the scenery was very nice, however, there wasn't much water dropping 93'. Kind of a let down really. I ate lunch at the falls and took about a 45min break. Looked around at the trees and other animals I could spot, more stinking spiders. The weather was awesome, a warm 85 degrees or so on the trail.

Overall a good trip.

I am on assignment next week, will try to keep the posts coming.

Quality time

Time is a commodity that is, sometimes hard to manage. I am like everyone else, some days I have more time than other days, yet everyday has the same amount of time. I was able to use some time wisely, our church is remodeling it's Sunday School trailers and I was able to assist again. Juan and I sanded some compound on recently installed drywall. The projects are moving along fine. They, other members, will be redoing the outside to make them look new again. It has been fun. We will have access to another trailer in Sept, I hope I can spend more time then.

Moving Hints

I am sitting here watching my neighbors move out, heading to Kansas. I thought to myself, some people make moving more difficult than it has to be. I have moved a lot in my time, both being a Navy Brat and having an adventurous spirit. I thought I should share some advise. Some "Moving rules" You might say. Now these are more guidelines than rules, but things that help make moving less painful.

1. Never do a "pick up truck" move. The bed is to high and it makes for more work than required.
2. Use a U-Haul or something.
3. Put everything in a box. If its not in a box, it don't get moved
4. Label the afore mentioned boxes with what room they go in.
5. No, I mean NO, big boxes. People tend to stack encyclopedias in TV boxes and expect that they can move them.
6. Put the boxes in first. Stack them towards the cab. (labels out)
7. Put your box spring in to wedge the boxes
8. Place large framed art between the box spring and mattress.
9. Put furniture in next, using towels and blanket between the items.
10. Throw or give away things you haven't used in the last year. No need to move trash from one state to another.
11. When loading a dresser, remove the drawers, place dresser on truck and replace drawers. (no need to pack items inside dresser)
12. Put a trash can with bags on the end, that way you can throw trash out while unpacking.
13. Be generous to your help. ( buy them dinner or pizza or something)
14. Remember, "First thing in, is the Last thing out"
15. Have a plan.

I am a coffee drinker, so my coffee pot was in the front seat and that was the first thing we set up at the new place. We also planed to arrive at the destination, outside of the rush hour. If moving to an apartment complex. try to arrive in the middle of the day, it will allow you to get the best parking spot close to the door, and there won't be a lot of people around. (To get in the way or make a mental note on what kind of stuff you have in your house)

I hope this will help someone on their next great adventure.

Good Times

Just finished another week at work, preparing for my next trip. I am very excited. It looks like the trip will go well. I have laid the best plans and only have a few things to tie up. I just finished a book by Tom Clancy. Rainbow Six. It expands on the life of the character John Clark. It was pretty good, I found that it took only a 6 days to read the 800+ pages. I was surprised by the language, but it has been a while since I have read anything outside of bible study and news periodicals.

On another note, I set out tonight to help renovate one of the trailers at church, we use them for our sunday school classes. The work is coming along nicely. I met one of the ladies at our church, RW. Very nice, and she worked her butt off. But we only worked for about an hour. By the time I got there we were in the clean up stage. We whipped through that pretty quick. I will return tomorrow and spend the afternoon downtown, it is suppose to be pretty.

Thats all for now.

New Gadget

As you have seen from my previous post, Tronster has a new ride. The purchase of that ride came with a pretty cool gadget. My friend at Tapehiss has been raving about satellite radio for years. Well I get a one year subscription to Sirius radio. I am so siked. Every football game, no matter how bad the Cowboys play will be on the radio. I have played with it for a few minutes today, and so far, Tronster is happy. He can't wait for a road trip.

On another note, here is something for you all to check out, read this little Gem and tell me if you like the guy or not.

I want to send out a hardy congrats to Gaterhamm. It seems those guys down in Florida at my old job have lost their mind. They have promoted the Big Hamm to a really powerful supervisory position. Now they have a couple of great instigators running the show down there. I am really happy for him and I hope everything goes Gator's way.

Earth Killer's Fate

Well folks, the rumors are true. I have retired earth killer. My famous truck of the south has been passed on for others to enjoy. I traded it in on "Earth Killer Light". This new fine automobile, pictured below, is Tronster's new cruiser. Take a look. Fun to drive, and kinda utilitarian at the same time. This is not an actual photo of the jeep, it has rained everyday since I bought it, so this is a stock photo, but it looks exactly like mine.

God bless each of you.

Reminders of Florida

I have had conversations with friends in the past, not native Floridians, saying they can't stand the humidity. This past year, you all know that I changed jobs and up and moved to Virginia, DC metro area. Well, These past couple of days have been just like home, except no hurricanes. So guys, that is your cross to bear. But we had some thunder-boomers this weekend. They were pretty severe, and I was talking to a neighbor, and they mention the humidity. I laughed in their face. Said this is nothing. Memories of of back home. Breaking a sweat from the front door to the car. Why I never could cleaned the garage enough to park the car in it I'll never know. It was reaching 90° with a heat index of 99°. Whew, if they only knew about August in Jacksonville.

Keep it real folks, talk at you later.

Tronster

Dinner with MC

I just had a great evening of chow with a good ol buddy. There was stimulating conversation and great food. That Olive Garden place is pretty good still. It was in the bottom of an office building, and I almost didn't get the earth killer in the parking lot. I only cleared it by a couple of inches. In my travels, I did take the long way around. (About six or ten miles south of the preferred route) but I made it there and was only fashionably late. Ha Ha. MC is doing fine and getting ready for another long deployment. I hope he as as much fun on this one as he had on the last one. Keep it real MC. Talk all yaw later

Quick Note

I have a question for the masses. Why do clothing manufacturers use different sizes for shorts and Pants. I bought I pair of shorts the same size as pants a normally wear, and the are falling off my butt. (calm down ladies, I really don't have much of a butt anyway). But if I buy pants the same size as my shorts, I'm liable to hurt somebody when the button comes off. Anyway, just thought I would ask.

Random Thoughts

I saw a bumper sticker that made me think, I would like to share this with all of you.
"Don't be afraid to try something new, you see, Noah was an amateur and he built the ark, and the Titanic was built by a group of professionals"

Chew on that for a while, Have you been afraid to try something new, and God has been leading you? Go ahead on faith and maybe you can experience what God has in store for you.

Africa

As many of you avid Tronster.net readers know, I have been promising a picture from Africa. Well now you have it. This tree is located in the lobby of the Meridian in Dakar, Senegal. The Prince of Saudi Arabia paid to finish the convention center for a meeting of the African nations a few years back. I was told that this was the nicest hotel in all of Africa. I really thought the pillows were great. They were huge, 2' x 2'. The TV had it's limits, only showing French stations and a couple of the Local languages. There was an English version of the world news, but they play the same news in a cycle of about a 1/2 hour.

Road Trip

Today, I ventured out to Skyline Drive. A lovely part of the Shenandoah National Park. If you are ever in the area, I would suggest taking a day and checking it out. There are several little hikes you can take that will lead you to some of the most beautiful country you have ever seen. I took one hike up to Bearfence Rock. The sign said it was 300 yards from the road. The trail was a mountain goat trail. I had to climb rocks and go almost completely up hill. The view was spectacular. The walk was like running a stair-stepper. The down hill side was much easier. I didn't run into of the Appalachian trail hikers, but I did run into a few day hikers enjoying the weather as much as I was. It didn't break 70 degrees until after 1:00 p.m. It was a reat time, and I think next time I will go prepared for a hike to "The devils staircase" falls. Its a five mile hike from the drive and I wasn't prepared for that.

Life in the slow lane

I must say, I have a friend who believes, and I mean truly believes, his life is a slow train crash. I can't say that. Right now, I may not be in the fast lane, but its still a good life. Family of Tronster just experienced a lightning storm this last week, and no mater how many times Tronster says, "Protect your goods with good surge protectors, its always cheaper than a new computer." They lost another computer and the caller ID on the SAT TV system. I am just gratified to no end to know that I can help with this current situation.

Things are going well here, I hope things are finding you in good spirits. Thanks all for coming by, and once I remember the process for posting pic, I will send some from my last trip to Africa. There not really exciting, but really cool from the air.

Take care.

Its Over

I have finally sold the house. I have no more ties to the North Florida area. Except for great friends. I sold my house and now I have a few nickels in my pocket. The new job as "Super-spy" is kicking into gear. Our team is shrinking, several of the members are changing jobs, and it seems that some of the travel plans have changed. I have been bumped from the Africa trip, and will be forced to go to EUROPE. bummer. (slight use of sarcasm). You all stay safe, and will speak again later.

Here in VA

I guess you can now say I have officially relocated. I have paid my taxes to the state of VA. I now have (ough) VA Tags on my beautiful truck. I am registering to vote here also. Maybe I can change the tax structure so that I don't have to pay taxes every year I own my vehicle. We shall see.
I have been exploring my new environment every day. Today, is Fathers Day, and I took the time to call me dear ole Dad and thank him for everything he has done for me. Have you done the same? I encourage all of you to call your Dads and tell them how much they mean to you.
On a worship note. I found the church that was recommended to me before I left the great state of Florida. There was a challenge involved with this great discovery. Although the name of the pastor is relatively unique, the recommendation came by the following quote. "My old neighbor is a great pastor in the Alexandria area, I don't know where he is serving, but you should attend there." It turns out that this is a BIG place, and I was having trouble finding the particular church that she was referring to. Then a couple of days ago, I made a wrong turn on my way back to the office from running an errand and I saw his name on the sign. Praise God, there it was. Today I attended service at that church. I enjoyed the message greatly. I plan on attending there for a few more weeks and see where the Lord leads.
I also want to send out a warning to all of you with shop-oholic relatives. Don't visit old town Alexandria, you could go broke. (This warning is mainly for my uncles, to keep my aunts away) Ha ha. Not only is it full of little specialty shops, it is a really pretty place with all those trending eating joints.
I want to send a shout to all my friends that have been praying for me, thank you. To all of you who have not, what's the hold up? I have been praying for you. Anyway, that about all from here. My next trip is back to Africa, so I am staying on meds to keep the evil sicknesses away.
Come back and visit again.

The rainy season

Here in Africa, it turns out that they have a rainy season. It starts in June and lasts all summer. This is the beginning of hurricane season back home. How exciting. If any of the storms we have had here turns into the hurricanes for florida, you guys are in for it. Ha Ha. Anyway, it has been rainy pretty good here for the last three days. A couple of good storms have come through. Power is kinda optional in this part of the world. It goes out, it comes in, it goes out, it comes in. I have learned that bringing the laptop was a good idea. I didn't bring enough movies though. I did watch a DVD las night, It was fun. But the power kept flickering, so the battery had to last. Thanks to the superior design of the APPLE product, it lasted just fine, and when I woke up this morning my battery was completely charged. (mine and the Laptop) Today is our last day in Guinea. I will be heading for Dakar tonight. I am looking forward to the Meridian, It is a great hotel. The pillows are AWESOME. Here the pillows are BLAH!! at best. Anyway that is about all for now.

See you all later.

Guinea

Wew what a weekend of fun and exciting teles from Africa. OK Maybe not so exciting. I was able to attend a one man Bible study yesterday for sunday service in my hotel room. I listen to one of Herbs lessons. I was surely bless agian. I am also reading through a study in Galatians. I should have that finished before returning to the states. I am sure glad I grought my computer on this trip. Iw as able to use it like a DVD player yesterday, and the screen is bigger than the one I have in my room. Ha Ha. The temperatur isn't so bad here, it is kinda like July in Jacksonville. Hot and Humid. I didn't bring any play cloths on this business trip, A mistake that I will not make agian. I have some free time that I have to stay in my work clothes. Anyway, That is about all from this end, thank you all for your prayers, I will post some pictures from the trip when I return.

News From Africa

I am currently located in Senegal. Dakar to be exact. It is a very nice hotel. The best in all africa from what I understand. I am going to get some mail and then sign off. The internet is expensive here. $5.00 for 1/2 hour. I don't even know the speed at this point. I will check in a few minutes. There are probably a lot of people on right now. I sent a mass email a little while ago, but the keyboard was a little ruff at the last place I visited. That was Ouagadougou. Yes that is the correct spelling. HA Ha. I am alive and doing well. I have been taking my malaria pills on schedule. We leave tonight for Guinea. The flight isn't very long, we are going to try and avoid a trip back to Dakar by changing our tickets. We will see how that works out. I hope this not finds everyone in good spirits. I will talk to you all later.

Tronster

New apartment

Here are the pictures of the new apartment that I promised everyone.. You have to hit you back button to return here. Take a look, any suggestions are appreciated.

This week in my life

Friends, Let me tell you what. I have experienced a new delight in dining. There is such a thing as a burrito in a bowl. Awesome. They take all the ingredients in a burrito and place it in a bowl. Now friends, this is a great plan. You can eat your burrito with a fork and knife and you won’t get any on your tie. I was greatly pleased. I have also found a place to worship God. I met with the singles group today and they seemed to be good God fearing folks. My phone did go off in church tonight. (oops) I quickly turned it off, because I was embarrassed. I also observed that the church had a good crowd this morning, they filled up two services (glory to God) however, only about 75 or so showed up tonight for the service. The Sunday night service isn’t as popular as the Morning service. But on Wednesday night they have a meal. (For $6 dollars I get an all you can eat buffet of good home cooked meal) As you all know, I don’t shy away from food. I will be taking part in the fellowship as often as possible.

Moving is such a pain

So far, I like the new Job. I have been to orientation and a few other tasks. I have learned a bit about the job and about the trips that I will be taking. First one will be to western Africa. I am so excited.

Back to moving is a pain. Today, I have been working on getting all my addresses changed. I still have a few more things to work out, But I am sure it will work out. Living in Virginia, there are a few things that I am not used to. There is personal property tax and emission testing for for my vehicle. Although the Super cool truck is new, I am expecting to have to pay a large amount for taxes. Of coarse when I bought the truck, I had to pay taxes on the truck. Awesome. I am so happy to do my part to support our local government.

Another thing that is different is hills. There is no sweet tea. Just unsweet. I like unsweet tea, but sometimes I forget and ask which is unsweet. Hey look at me like I am from Florida or something.

New Location

Well everyone. I am here, what a wonderful place. I am moved into a new apartment, went from three bedroom and a two car garage to a one bedroom. Had a lot of stuff to "consolidate" or in my opinion, toss to the curve. I want to thank all of my friends in Florida. You guys are the greatest. I want you to all to know that the appreciate everything that you did for me the last week I was in town. I love you guys. Keep looking back, I will try to post some images of the new place tonight. I have a few things to take care of around town, and then on Friday, I will be taking my father back home. I got a first floor apartment that you had to travel up 14 steps to get into. It was funny. My father has bad knees and agreed to assist me if I lived on the first floor. I sure fooled him. He was a great help, but he has decided that I have to make a lot of friends here, because he isn't going to help me move out.

Just to recap

I was in NE Florida,
I moved to DC,
My old place had 3 bedrooms and a two car garage
My new place has 1 bedroom
One outlet in the kitchen (coffee maker)

Keep looking here and I will be posting some pictures soon for everyone to see.

Tronster

Friends

While not trying to sound to sappy, I want to take this time to thank all of you who I call friends. The outpouring of affection that I have witnessed these last few days has been a wonderful surprise to me. I count each one of you as a blessing from God. Over the last couple of years, and especially the last 8 months, I have grown so close to many of you, and I hope and pray that distance will not weaken the bond that we have made. The Sunday evening gathering at the Cook’s Crib was a wonderful way to say “see you later” A special thanks for the Cook’s in hosting our little party. Each of you has contributed to the wonderful experiences that I will always cherish from NJBC. So if ever in the DC area, please drop me a note, and we can get together.

Weekend Packing

Wow. Do I have a bunch of stuff. You see, a Few years ago I was in the Navy. Every couple of years you move when you are in the navy. This allows you to throw away anything you don't need. When I purchased my house in 2001, I started to collect a lot of stuff. This past week I have had to throw away so much stuff. It turns out that I have a great eye for yard sale stuff. On my street, I just stack it by the road and people come by and pick it up. It is a wonderful practice. The things I have kept include, A hardhat, three garden houses, coveralls for a short guy, safety cones 36" tall, and parts to an Ice maker. Someone also took three years of trucken magazine (90-93). I appreciate the help that my neighbors gave in my moving experience.

Preparing for an Adventure in Moving

It amazes me of how much crap I have put in my garage over the last couple of years. I think it should be a rule that we take all of our possessions and boxed them up, put them on a truck and drive around the block once or twice a year, just so we don’t generate so much stuff. In my defense, I did buy the house from my parents, and they left a lot of crap for me, that I never threw away. Well, now I am selling and I have to dispose of all that stuff by myself. I feel a trip to the landfill and a couple of runs to goodwill. I have a new address for relocation. I spoke to the realtor last night and we are off and running. More boxes and more crap to be packed. All so I can take it across country and unpack it. YEAH. Keep checking back for more and more updates.

Car Buying

Hold the phone. Is it possible that Tronster would want to depart with his beloved truck?? Well, with new adventures ahead, where traffic is a real problem, he contemplated that very decision. But, the truth will set you free. Tronster has decided that keeping the totally rad, super cool, F150 was the best coarse of action. This turn of events will no doubt ruin any good thoughts that MFA had of Tronster, but that is ok. All the friends of Tronster were right, that includes sunshine, Auburn Rules, zoro and black eyed pea. Speaking of friends. The movie crew just returned from the fabulous movie Robots. I would recommend for a good time, little slow at some points, with the return of the squirrel and the nut. Overall a good fun movie.

Extenuating circumstances

Well I guess I can share my circumstances. I have been working on getting a job that will allow my some international travel. However we had to wait for some paperwork. I have received the go ahead, and now I am preparing to move. So world get ready, I will be moving to the DC area in the next few weeks. I am very excited.

Now I have many things to do. I have to sell my home and find a place for my dogs. Wish me luck.

Long time issue resolved

Those of you that are tech-whinnies such as myself will appreciate this recent turn of events. I have a MAC (the only true useful personal computer) that had a frustrating problem. I have a great web browser that was not functioning properly. This morning I found the cure and now I am back in the saddle. Using the greatest web browser ever to be given away. What wonderful tube of joy am I referring too? Why its safari of coarse. When I upgraded my OS to Panther, the big cat, safari would crash. But the issue has been resolved, I thank the Apple support guys fro their diligence in resolving this matter.

I am currently working on fixing the little things. Like adding all my bookmarks and fixing my preferences back to the way I like.

Blogging through another week

What an exceptional week. Today I spoke to a long time friend and will get to enjoy lunch with him one day next week. There have been no further updates in my extenuating circumstances. I am still waiting to hear.

Friday we are celebrating a friend's birthday. I look forward to stimulating conversation with friends. I will miss a bible study, and Sunshine won't be there, limiting the fun factor. Tuesday, Sunshine and I went shopping for a movie for family Friday at the church. I think its going to be fun, Herbie goes to Monaco. I am sure she will do A fine job with the Kids.

I just finished watching The Princess Bride. What a great movie. A classic in my book.

Family Houseguest

Whew! What a great week. Here at the Tronster house, Sister of Tronster and Mother of Tronster with, what we will call little brothers visited for a whole week. The two young boys were 6 (known as Six from now on) and 13(Known as Cotton from now on) years old. A week of adventure at casa de Tronster. They were able to play PS2 for long hours and on the last day they were able to go swimming at a friend's house. They had a wonderful time at the pool. Six was scared at first, but he warned up quickly and swam like a fish, or poodle. Ha Ha!!!. Cotton was able to swim and had a great time. Belle (the local watch dog) would chase him around the pool yard. Great adventures are possible through the kindness of family and friends. I believe that we should be thankful for our friends and family. I am certainly grateful for mine.

Email and Spam

Everyone I know of that will read this post has email. They all receive one or two messages a day. (I receive around 20 a day) most are legitimate. However, every once and a while a good name will make it through the old filter. Here are four of my favorites, if you have more let me know.
1. Disabling T Talker
2. Potential H Churchgoers
3. Pronounce U. Zenus
4. Cathair Doty

Tronster

Easter Weekend

I have had a great time this weekend. First, I need to inform my readers that I took a mini vacation. 5 days away from home visiting the parents of Tronster. That’s right, the two people most responsible for my current disposition. Mom and Dad. We had a wonderful visit together. I had the privilege of troubleshooting all of my relative’s computer issues. It turns out when you live in the woods of South Carolina, that there aren’t a whole lot of computer gurus around. I assisted my uncle and my father with their laptops to improve the operational usefulness.

We also had a great time celebrating Easter. My father serves as pastor of a small church in S.C. and a sunrise service was held. We then had a breakfast fellowship and a family (husband and wife) was baptized. What a great weekend for the Lord.

On a personal note, I had to suffer through SLOW internet connection. Woe that stunk. But I am back at home in the Casa de Tronster, and wireless and DSL reins here.

I hope everyone had a great Easter and the rest of the week. Stay tuned, Tronster has houseguest, and the full report will be posted soon.

Hanging with sunshine

This past week has been super busy. I have been meeting new people and hanging with good friends. There are some other extenuating circumstances I can’t get into, but will tell all when the time is appropriate. Last night, Sunshine and I went to the movies and saw “The Pacifier”. The movie is aimed at younger children and you could tell by the acting and the stunts. I laughed a lot. That made it ok. It was a free movie for me, because of the Moviewatchers club.

Friday I official bought my house a second time. I only had to sign my name about 12000000000000000 (12 gazillion) times. But it is now mine. We will see what our next step is, as far as fixing the place up a little. (I am giddy with anticipation)

Easter is on the way. Remember this is the day we celebrate the raising of our lord and savior Jesus Christ. The sacrifice he gave to us is greater then any sacrifice he asks of us. Remember he died so we could have everlasting life and peace with him in heaven.

Some guys are so lucky

I was one of the lucky ones. I was invited to a friend’s house to enjoy a meal and stimulating conversation with, not one, but two lovely ladies. Now, these wonderful women fixed me a great dinner and provided me with an AWSOME desert from the famous Cheesecake Factory. I tried not to be a goober the whole time I was there, which wasn’t easy with a huge coffee stain on the front of my otherwise spotless white shirt. I learned many things about my friends this evening, and we had a great time (or I did anyway) I hope to enjoy more similar evenings in the future.

Embarrassing moments

Everyone has one or two in their lives. I have them weekly. This past week I was enjoying a meal with some friends, at Cracker-barrel. I am not sure what people did before this place. Anyway, I was having the awesome pecan crunch pancake breakfast. When I couldn’t open the syrup, so I graciously allowed Auburn Rules to open the bottle. Of coarse I had already broke the seal was about to pull the top off, when she wanted to finish for me, so I allowed. In retrospect, I should have just opened it without incident, but then were would I get stuff for the blog??

Next step

As I stated earlier, I have had a leaky roof. In an attempt to arrange financing for a roof replacement. I decided that I would refinance the house to pay for it. I call the Mortgage company that I already have should be easy enough. Well calling them was the easiest part. We set up for an appraisal of the property, and the guy came out and checked the house. He saw the evidence of the leak in the roof, yet could not see any damage from the outside of the building. So he submitted his report. He informs the bank about the leak evidence. The main reason for the refinance is roof repair and that there shouldn’t be a problem. They call me back and say we have a “snag” We can’t loan you the money until you fix the roof. I said the loan is for a roof. Classic catch 22. So now I have repaired the roof and the mortgage company can’t get a hold of the appraiser. I hope this process speeds up. We shall see.

Good Friends

This weekend Tronster and Friends celebrated Feb birthdays. We ate at Harry’s Seafood and it was all good. We had a great time, regardless of the really crappy weather we are having. (On a side note) the roof patch I installed is holding. After dinner we headed over to casa de DOCM and had a wonderful time of fellowship. A few us went to a late movie and watched “Sideways” Good story, but should have been rated NC17. Now I must go, keep checking back.

New beginnings

I was reading a good mag earlier and it helped me think about some things. One thought that made it into my brain was this, a small change in my life will have a drastic effect on my life given enough time. Similar to launching a rocket, if it is 2 degrees off at the time of the launch, the rocket will miss the moon by over 11,000 miles. (Makes you think huh) It is time that Tronster adjusted his life and attitudes that will have a positive effect over time. This includes spending more time in God's word and with God's people. Take this time and reflect on your life, and if there is anything that can be fixed, take the time to make little adjustment, over time the little adjustments will pay off.

Drive throughs

Boy is it tough to get good service these days. I had an extended day at work and was unable to get dinner before my evening engagement and had to eat late. So I stop at Krystals for a couple of stomach grenades. Well I order a combo meal and an extra sandwich, and I get a phone call from a friend and end up talking to her for a while. The rip me off at the drive trough. When I get home and start eating I read the side of the cup, I see the new slogan "You get more at Krystals" It turns out that you don't get more for your money. Well let this be a lesson, don't let a pretty voice distract you from dinner.

Another roofing experience

Today I have decided to try and reach another local roofer to fix my roof. The adventure begins. I have made a list of several roofers in the area. I will begin calling them this week. This, I hope will turn out better than my last list. Keep watching for the updates.

buying a house

I like where I live. So much so i am buying the house again. I am currently waiting on the appraiser. But with the bad weather the guy is behind schedule. He will be back in a couple of hours. Well I am going to go and get the oil changed in the truck, will write again soon.

Christmas and beyond

Today is a few days after Christmas. What a great year it has been. I was able to visit my family at Thanksgiving and at Christmas. I was also able to deliver my brother to my family for the holidays. We did have to return to Florida on Christmas day, so that Brother of tronster could make it to work the next day. That was fine with me. The day after Christmas I had to change out my water heater. What an experience, but now I have a new water heater and all is good in the house one again. Tomorrow I have many things to accomplish. My father has asked me to take care of a couple of things and it is friday. The day I do all my house work.
This is a new year and I have determined to live to the fullest. I will attempt to keep up with my web-log and other Items better than last year. Last year I finished school, my BS degree anyway. I am still working on a list of goals for this year. This weekend i will determine how I will spend the next year or so of my life. Keep checking back for upates.