One of those days

Ok, so Thursday was supposed to be a magical day.  Well, it was the first day since the launching incident that claimed our propeller.  I had half the day off headed straight into a 4 day weekend.  I called up some buddies and made plans to hit the River.  Everything was looking great as I got in the boat while Andy backed me in the water.  That's when it started...or it didn't.  That's right, the boat didn't start.  The key just turned and turned in the ignition, until the lock froze.  Threat Level Delta.  Luckily enough, a marine shop was just a short walk away.  On my second trip in and Mr. Personality sold me a new ignition switch, that while not exactly what I needed, would work.  

So I bought it and headed back.  After about 10 minutes, Robert and I had it installed.  Turning the ignition, I awaited a growl from the motor.  Click, click, click.  Threat Level Echo.  After a little while longer, we determined that my battery had died.  I then scoured the parking lot looking for a set of jumper cables along with an able bodied (or batteried) soul.  The first guy I asked was "late fer a fishin tourn-ment".  The next guy was nice enough to try.  He and his son slowly backed their boat to the back of mine.  As they got close, I reached out to steady his boat so as to not hit mine.  

Getting his boat steadied was an easy task...too easy.  Picture it, I have my back feet on my boat, my arms on their boat, my body bridged between the two.  That's when his boat succomed to the force I was exerting and started moving away.  My fate --- sealed.  I then announce to everyone, "I guess I'm going in."  And I did.  Flip flops, clothes, jumper cables, and pockets full of wrenches and my wallet.  Threat Level Midnight!

I then used the boat ladder for the first, and most unexpected time to board my boat again.  We then got connected and the boat started, idled briefly, then stalled.  The 2nd jump attempt led to a 20-second idle.  I then told the man and his son to have a good time as I bid them goodbye. 

I trekked back to the MDX and promptly took the battery out of it.  A jump with the battery, was quite succesful...a steady beautiful idle.  

So we're ready to go.  We untie from the dock, everyone takes their place, and we're --- well, we're not moving.  The prop is not engaging.  After ten minutes of stumptitude, I decided to call it a day.  Something's wrong that cannot be fixed on the water.  Threat Level Arrggghh.

So Andy went to get the trailer, while Robert towed me along the dock.  The one bright spot from the day was that we trailered the boat beautifully, although I had to get back in the water. 

The Boat Dr is coming to the house Tuesday to assess the damage.  Hopefully my wallet will have dried out by then so I can pay him.

Asia on my mind

Well, the clock has almost struck midnight for Cinderella. I can't believe this trip, though greatly anticipated, came so fast. I leave tomorrow for a 12 day romp through Korea and Okinawa. This will be my 3rd trip to Korea and 2nd to Okinawa and you know, they don't get any easier. It's not the 15 hour plane ride, or the smells, traffic, or horrible food that gets me down. Being away from home just totally bums me out. I will miss Ashleigh, the dogs and cat, my friends and family.
I have been so comforted by my friends with who(m) I trust my life. I love you all and can't wait to get back.

2008 - A year in review

Well, 2008 is almost over, and being as cliche as I can be, I will reflect over the year that was.

January: I made my first trip to South Korea; spending a week or so with some coworkers and hobnobbing with some green-suiters. This was just a tast of what was to come.

February: Pretty normal February celebrating a 4 yr-wedding anniversary and a 29th birthday (yikes, 45 days until I'm 30!).

March/April/May: Made my second 14 hour flight to South Korea in 3 months. I was in-country for 30 days before I was able to come home. Needless to say, this was a stressful time being away from Ashleigh for so long.

June-September: Pretty laid back Summer, with two trips to Destin and some much desevered R&R.

October-December: Much of this time was spent naseous from all the political ads and vomitous from the resulting election. On top of that, Auburn was horrible this year which put me over the edge. A remarkably busy Christmas time has been tempered with a lot of time off from work. The Walker family Christmas tree of 2008 has set a new standard for the perfect Christmas tree.

Notables:
1) Found an amazing small group who have been so loving and supportive. Ashleigh and I are blessed to be a part of our Lifegroup. The friends we have made at Mayfair are truly special to us and we love you all dearly.
2) The conversion from Myspace to Facebook: I used to update myspace with great regularity, now it's facebook 5 times a day.
3) New blog: Taking my geekdom to a new level with this little blog you're reading.

Thank you to all my friends and family who have made this past year great. I love you all!

Lifegroup Christmas Party

Last night was our inaugural Lifegroup Christmas Party, and it was a blast. We had a great turnout of about 20 people with food for 50. I really hope everyone had as good of a time as I did. The Kuepkers were the big winners on the night taking home the prizes for winning our games of Santa's Sack and Christmas Trivia. Kyle also stole the mug I really wanted in Dirty Santa, but that's another story for another blog. I guess I can get my revenge by putting his picture on here....