My Goals for WoW

I am Nihon, all-powerful Undead Warlock! Except no one wants me...

I worked up to level 70, PVP'd til my fingers bled, practiced until I fell asleep at the keyboard, and tried my darnedest to be a productive member of the instancing/raiding/arena community, but no one wants me. I'm not spec'd right, I'm not gem'd right, I don't have many enchantments on my gear, my stats aren't up to speed in regards to damage/hit rating/resilience/etc...

I think I'm going to take a break...

I am now Nihonga! Level 58 Blood Elf Priest! I am Holy, calling down prayers from the heavens, saving my team mates from certain death in times of crisis! They will fall to their knees, begging for me to join their group!

But not yet, I have a plan in work...

I am going to re-spec Shadow. I will return to the old world to level to 60 in Western/Eastern Plaguelands. I will tackle Hellfire Peninsula and complete all the quests. I will gather healing gear, saving it for level 63, and re-spec Holy. From then on I will be THE healing priest of all healing priests! I will level through instance runs all the way to 70, saving most quests for later. The experience I garner will make me a viable commodity for the future raiding I am going to do.

And when I reach 70, I'm going to finish up all those quests I didn't do before. I'll make 100g per hour just questing and reaping the gold reward instead of experience! I'll be rich! I'll buy epic flying mounts for me and Nihon! I'll buy epic flying mounts for all my friends!

Now all I have to do is get home before Wrath of the Lich King is released...

Healthy Lifestyle...

I like to consider myself somewhat of an athlete. Relatively healthy, 39 years old, 6 feet tall, 205lbs, I'm not doing too shabby for myself. Well, actually...

I am a slobby fat body. That's all there is to it. I've evaluated my current state of health and I don't like what I see. I eat horribly, I don't have a normal, daily routine, and I never exercise. It's not that I don't think about eating healthy, or hitting the rack at a reasonable time, or exercising, it's just that I don't do it.

I should start with my eating habits. I eat anything I like. If I have a choice between vegetables or potato chips, I take the potato chips. If there's oven-baked chicken and fried chicken on the menu, I pick the fried chicken. And don't even get me started on french fries. Truly food of the Gods! Not to mention that when I eat, I intend on filling my freakin' belly! I eat until I can't eat any more!

I'm never well-rested. I go to bed late, I wake up early. It's a crappy way to be. I never want to hit the rack cause there's always something else to do. I wake up early cause my job requires it. I average 6 hours of sleep a night which I don't think is enough for anyone. I know some people live on 4-6 hours of sleep every night of their lives. That's me, until I can't stand it anymore and finally crash. Then I get about 14 hours of sleep. I wake up feeling like crap and I'm groggy all through the day. Even getting my regular 6 hours, I never have any energy and I feel tired all the time.

And I don't think I've exercised in 2 months. I like to think that I'm in pretty good shape though. I mountain bike whenever I get the chance, which is about 3-4 days every month, all in one shot. Other than that I don't exercise at all. We have treadmills, stair climbers, elliptical trainers, and stationary bikes all through the ship but I never get the gumption to climb on one of those. All that work and I never get anywhere. And I can always find a nice, flat spot to pump out some push-ups or sit-ups. I just don't want to do it. Ever!

I hate to think that just 5 short years ago I was in the best shape of my life as a Rescue Swimmer Instructor. The job required me to maintain top-notch physical condition in order to train up-and-coming rescue swimmers. I would PT all morning, swim all afternoon, play some beach volleyball during lunch, or train on some additional exercises I may have been weak on. Now that I'm no longer in that job, I have reduced myself to nothingness.

I hope to change all that once I'm back on dry land for an extended period of time.

Peanut Butter and Jelly...

I'm up late, again, just like every night aboard ship. I wake up and go through my daily routine and always wind up hitting the rack around 2-3am. Alright, I don't wake up at the crack of dawn but that's only because my watch is late evening so I adjust my work day to accommodate. When I'm done with watch I still have lots of work to finish up before going to bed. But I always make time for myself...

I'll grab a book, maybe surf the net, or walk around and see who else is up late. Tonight was a little different though. I suddenly became hungry but the mess was closed. Kind of a bummer but I know they always leave a little something out...

Loaf of bread and jars of peanut butter and jelly. Believe you me, there is nothing like a couple of peanut butter and jelly sandwiches at one in the morning to truly hit the spot! Now if I can just get started on that work again...

God of War...

Ship life can, sometimes, get boring. A Sailor always looks for something to fill his time, whether it's work, hanging out with shipmates, or losing himself in a hobby. Hobbies can be practically anything; hitting the gym, reading a book, playing video games, etc...

Me, I like video games. Always have. It's probably due to being a member of the video game generation. I was 12 when PacMan first hit the scene and I've been hooked ever since. Atari was cool, at first, but the stand up games were the ones I loved.

Remember Joust? Asteroids? Centipede? Donkey Kong? Ms. PacMan? There were so many others I'm sure I couldn't name them all.

I started in computer games with a Commodore 64. I didn't own one but all my friends did. I couldn't get enough Ultima. But I was always looking for something better.

I didn't own my first computer until 1996, a hand me down 486 a buddy gave me when he upgraded to a PII 450. Upgraded that into a P75. later into a P133, later into a P233, and then my buddy gave me his PII 450 when he upgraded to his new PIV.

But as that went on I started getting into gaming consoles as well. My first was a Sega Genesis. Me and my brother-in-law spent too many hours playing Street Fighter II with that system.

One thing about success in life is that you can afford toys that you weren't able to have when you were younger. And I'm a toy type of guy. Now my house is full of computers and gaming systems and I always upgrade when the new toys hit the street. And having kids makes it real easy to keep spending all that money.

I can't even tell you how many hand-held gaming systems we have in the house but I can say we have every version made.

My current passion with my computer based video games is World of Warcraft. I just don't want to play anything else on the computer. Since it's an on-line game I am unable to play while deployed. No big deal though, I always find another game to play on the side. Except this time. I tried a few but they don't hold my attention. Being a video game junkie I don't know why I can't find a decent game to play. I'm sure it has everything to do with my POS laptop though. It's 3 years old and I don't have the inclination to upgrade at the moment.

So I thought about getting a hand held system. I had a PSP but my daughter commandeered it and I haven't seen it since. I talked to my very loving wife in passing about getting one and she told me to just buy a new one while I was in Hawaii. Bless her heart, I don't know what I did to deserve this woman.

I didn't know they made a God of War version of PSP. I haven't played the game before but I've seen it and thought about trying it out. Wow, am I glad I found this! Best game I've played in a long time!

Now all I have to figure out is which version to buy for my game system at home, the PS3 or XBOX 360!

Boots...

Stupid, right? A post about boots? But you just don't understand what a good pair of boots can mean to a man...

I started my Navy career as a helicopter aircrewman. A few weeks after my initial training I received a goody bag, compliments of US Navy, my flight kit bag...

Let's see what's in here: couple of flight boots, flight jacket, flight gloves, flight long johns, flight sunglasses... ooh! Nice flight boots! Full leather, steel toe, re-inforced sole, I'll just try these on right now. Yeah, these were made for me! Fits just right! I'll never wear another type of boot ever again!

20+ pairs of flight boots later and I'm no longer an aircrewman. Sure, I'm in a flying billet, but it doesn't involve flying. What do you mean I don't get issued flight gear anymore? What happens when my boots wear out? What do you mean I have to buy my own? Ah, crap, there goes my boots...

Let's see what they have at the Navy Exchange. Chuka boots... leather low tops... dress shoes... Bates work boots... alright, I'll try the Bates work boots... no full leather? Why wouldn't they have full leather? Alright, I'll try the web sided type then... these slip on easy... something's not right... is it supposed to fit like that? Better try another size... nope, that didn't do it... is there anything else? No? Crap... fine...I need boots, I'll just get a pair of these... I feel like I'm walking on the side of my foot... this is the best you got?

Lord, what did I do to deserve such treatment? Did I do something wrong? Did I kick a puppy with my flight boots? Did I step on too many bugs walking across the tarmac? Do you not like me anymore?

Oh, hey dude, what's going on? What? No, I don't like my boots. What do you mean I can still get flight boots? But they said I couldn't. You're saying I can? I'll believe it when I see it, I'm a size 11 btw...

Oh, hey again! What? You got my boots? Already? Really? Yeah, I'll come get them! Be there in 2 seconds!

Let's get these laced up... different than when I was flying... guess they got a new manufacturer... they look nice though... wow, these slip on REAL easy! Man, are these comfortable! When did they decide to put actual padding in these? These feel real good! I'm alive again! I feel like I'm walking on air! What did I ever do to deserve these? Thank you Lord for smiling down upon me once again!

Anyone need a slightly used pair of Bates work boots?

Maintaining A Proper Blog

Alright, let me tell you a little secret about maintaining a proper blog. It's all about posts. If you don't post frequently no one is going to look at your blog. Keeping fresh content available for readers keep them coming back for more. They never know what's coming next but at least they know there's always something new, whether they agree or disagree, like or dislike, what you post is up in the air but at least you're doing your part by keeping the posts coming in.

Actually, the real truth to maintaining a proper blog is about internet connection. Back home I can jump on here and post away, fast and furious. Click the "publish post" button and it's automatic and dang near instantaneous. Post is on the blog, I'm back reading or surfing other web pages, I'm done for the day. I started my blog when I wasn't home...

Being a Navy Man, I have spent a better part of the past four years underway. Let me tell you a little something about the internet connection on Navy boats; it's practically non-existent. It's all about the bandwidth and we don't have much for personal pursuits such as surfing the internet or maintaining blogs. It's all about information flow for the battle space. Almost all bandwidth is used to bring in information that will help with maintaining a proper battle picture and being able to fight the ship. Maintaining a proper battle picture to know where everything and everyone is, that's the key to making sure that when the day is done your still floating and putting weapons down range.

But every now and then, when it's quiet and things have slowed down a bit, I get to squeak a post in...

Hawaii...

So anyways, I walk off the ship for the first time in Hawaii, late mind you, due to not getting there til 3pm, and this is what I saw...

Certainly awe-inspiring but the picture does not do it justice. I never claim to be a photographer, although I have enough cameras to open my own portrait studio.

Now don't get me wrong, Hawaii is beautiful, but there was something about this visit that just didn't sit right for me. I've traveled the world over and have seen a lot of places and things but my heart wasn't in this one. I don't know what was wrong with me. Maybe it had something to do with not celebrating the 4th of July with my family.

I did go to Waikiki Beach. All the locals will say never to go there because it's a tourist trap. Luckily for me I was in tourist mode. Caught a few shopping areas, bought some tourist gifts for the kids and just took in the sights. I think I prefer a secluded beach with no hotels in sight to the standard tourist place, although the beach was nice.

On a brighter note I did go mountain biking. Dave, Hank, Tony and I went to Saint Louis Heights, a nice downhill run as long as you have some sort of shuttle service to the top. It would've been a killer to climb it. Luckily there's a city bus that runs every hour from the bottom to the top, but we didn't need it. That's what a rental car is for! Everyone took turns driving back down to the bottom and truthfully, after one run, you're worn out anyways. We did a total of 6 runs, I drove for 3, but only because of the bad spill I took on my 3rd run. Face plant FTL! I got a picture here somewhere of the after effects but I doubt I'll ever post it...

Being a Bad Son...

When was the last time you called your Mom? Me, I think it was during the holidays. It's a shame that I can't even remember exactly when...

Dad, I couldn't even guess...

Grandpa, nope, not a clue...

Aunt Bonnie/Connie, same...

Seems as though my crazy Navy adventures has taken me to all parts of the world. I may have went short periods of time of dropping out of sight but I could find the time now and then to make an unexpected phone call, drop an e-mail, write a letter, just generally staying in touch.

First half of my career was spent in Jacksonville. I met my wonderful wife there, we raised our kids during their formative years, some family members would come visit, mine from Ohio or Orlando, hers from down the road (my wife was born and raised in Jacksonville). I always stayed in touch. I wouldn't go visit out of state very often but phone calls were plenty.

Pensacola wasn't bad either. Family came to visit us there also but it wasn't as often as Jacksonville. Even though we didn't see each other much I always called or e-mailed.

Now we live in Japan and I have not kept in touch at all. Even through e-mail, I've fallen off the planet.

Nowadays the only way I stay in touch is through a yearly holiday "one letter fits all" greeting bringing everyone up to speed on family Prince. My deployment schedule keeps me away from home about 7 months of every year, 4 years running now with one more to go.

I don't know what's different about living overseas but there's something that keeps me from staying in touch. I think I figured out what it is though...

I'm a bad son/grandson/nephew/cousin/etc...