Progress on the house was discernable, but less than I would have thought. That's good, though. It should mean that the guys had a lot of actual revenue-producing work to do, rather than just working in my house because there wasn't anything better to do.
I'll get the lowdown on Monday.
Still no idea when the Sam's Club furniture will arrive. I am hoping it comes according to what they posted on their web-site: 5 weeks after I ordered it. That would put it at my house right around Labor Day weekend.
I still need a new washer and dryer. I'll hold on as long as I can on that one. Worst-case, I'll have to take laundry baskets to work and use the washer and dryers there. It's ridiculous. I own 2 sets of washers and dryers, but don't have a set in my own house. Sort of like how I own 8 different vehicles, but never drive 7 of them.
Not sure if this is a good sign or not, but Sam's Club took the item off their web-site shortly after I ordered it. I hope this won't mean some sort of delay or somesuch. I should just relax. This is a typical thing that I obsess about that I can't do anything about. In the vast majority of cases, things work out just fine.
In a few weeks, the new windows will arrive, which will be nice. The upstairs windows, for some reason, are in poor repair. The house is very, very well situated to take advantage of cross-ventilation and shade. So, I think I may be able to keep my A/C bills minimal this Summer.
All the more important since my A/C unit isn't working right now and probably won't be up and running until I contact an HVAC guy to figure out what I did to screw up my thermostat.
Although I may not be able to afford new flooring for the living room, and that means I'll be living on bare floors for a while, I will probably move in once the windows are in, the HVAC is fixed and the furniture arrives.
I have also figured out what I'm going to do with the flat-roof over the garage. Right now, it's a sort of patio-deck, but flat roofs are a nightmare and should be avoided at all costs. I've decided I'm going to put a sunroom over there when I have the time and money. The idea really appeals to me the more I think about it. It'd be a place where Logan could have sleepovers that were quasi campovers. It'd be a great way to enjoy the outdoors and the view during mildly inclement weather. (Which, during most parts of the year, is the best we can hope for.)
Business appears to be stabilizing. Things are still tough, but we seem to be navigating the rough waters. Not much more to say about that. I feel like I'm rebuilding the company from where it was 3 years ago. Not too tragic, really, but not ideal. We'll get through this.
Really, I'm looking forward to our admin returning to work from her maternity leave. I'm guessing that at this rate, she won't be back until the first part of June. It really sorta sucks for me since it ties me to the office most of the time. Of all the places for me to be working, that's probably the place that makes the least sense.
In baseball news, tomorrow is a scrimmage. The U9 Heavy team (Logan is on it) will scrimmage the U10 Light team. Near as I can figure, this will be a very, very close match. It's pretty much like the very best players at age 9 and letting them play the 2nd best players at age 10.
You'd think the age difference would be insurmountable, but the talent pool makes up for the age gap.
The season starts in earnest on Tuesday. These boys have worked really hard to get to this point, with practices starting last August and continuing to today. I just realized that these kids get only one month a year off from baseball. The season isn't that long: April thru July. Three months, basically. But 8 months of preparation for that season.
Other than that, I will be submitting my transfer request to get into that Fort Worth defense contracting unit, and out of the Defense Finance and Accounting Service unit in Cleveland. I'm really looking forward to getting back in touch with my Texas friends.
The Navy is putting on a huge push to get people through at least their first level of DAWIA certification. I suppose there are ways I could go totally gonzo and try to knock it out in a few months. However, I think I'm going to go slow and steady on this one. There's a one-month in-residence course I need to take to complete the certification and I'd rather take that sometime after Logan's baseball season is over.
That's also a guaranteed trip over these days. Apparently one of the few things more rare than Reserve Navy Supply Officers are ones with defense contracting certifications. Out of my graduating class, everybody with a certification had orders for Centcom (generally Iraq or Afghanistan).
Nobody else in the class had orders that I know of.
In other news, my long overdue and delayed promotion should come through either in April or May. It got held up due to a bureaucratic snafu. Because it'll be back-dated, then I should get a pretty big check to make up for the difference in pay grade for the time the promotion was delayed.
I just enrolled in the 3rd of 5 distance learning courses I need for my certification. After that, I need to take the residence course and that'll complete the training portion of the certification. My business education takes care of the education portion. The only remaining part is a year of contracting experience. Not sure how that one will go, but worst-case, I'll get the year in Centcom.
It is sort of funny to think that my career in the Navy is pretty much right what a person in their mid 20s, not their mid 40s would be doing right about now.
Also, interestingly, this is probably the only career-path in the reserves I can follow that has actual civilian employment potential.
If I were to go all the way to DAWIA Level III certification, that would qualify me for GS-14 positions. The pay is good, and it's a government paycheck.
Of course, unless something happens, I don't intend to move away from Sylvania. The closest jobs would probably be doing contracting for the Air Force in Dayton.
Still, that's one of the reasons I took this "swimlane" in the Supply Corps. It's got direct civilian employment potential should something go wrong with my business.
Among the many, many things I considered as potential career choices, being an officer in the military would pop up now and then. Obviously, my life took a different path, but I still wonder what things would have been like had I gone one way instead of the other.
That's the hardest part of life for me. So many awesome things to do, but you can only live one life.
Ultimately, my job as a father is paramount, and I'm giving that everything I can.
After that, running a business, trying to provide for the financial security of my family is probably my second highest priority.
Third, service to my country is something that is a big part of my life.
All in all, I can't complain. You can't do everything you want, but at least so far, I'm getting to hit the most important things.
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