Just needed to share

This is the sky out my window right now. Absolutely beautiful sunset, the picture doesn't quite do the colors justice.

Where's the Grease?

Yesterday was 8 years since I graduated from USNA. It was also Herndon day for the class of 2013. They did it 2 minutes, 5 seconds. Yup. You heard me. Blink, and you missed it.

CDR Salamander, a Navy blogger I've been reading for several years now, had this picture on his page this morning:

Glad to see they were at least a little bit upset about it.

As for the removal of the grease... LAME. Seriously, there are more injuries in FAR more events than Herndon every year. There's something to be said for the tradition of it all, stupid, not all-inclusive, a litany of other arguments against it notwithstanding. I would NOT want to be a part of the first class that doesn't climb Herndon, and I would NOT be happy to be a member of the class of 2013 that had to climb it ungreased. Just sayin.

More Colorado Pictures

I'm still just amazed at the nature I saw while I was in Colorado. Seriously, you don't see things like that in the DC area!! I also got a chance to visit the US Air Force Academy, the first time I've ever visited an Academy other than the one I attended. It was really different looking, but so much the same. The biggest difference: I can't get over how much space they have!! Their cadet area is pretty small, but the base itself is HUGE!! All the things we don't have space for in Annapolis, they have right there. It totally does look like something out of the Jetsons though!!

The Garden of the Gods is this amazing park full of red rock formations. My favorite one, the Kissing Camels:

If you look really closely you can see the camels just to the left of center.

Here are some more shots of the Garden of the Gods:

Absolutely beautiful.

And here are some of the Air Force Academy. SO different than Annapolis!!

Chapel:

Cadet area:

Dorm building:

I think the only thing I'm really kinda jealous of at USAFA is their view. Who wouldn't want to see this on a daily basis:

Colorado is Beautiful

I've been to Colorado twice before. The first time doesn't really count - I had a long layover in Denver when I flew out to Salt Lake City when my niece was born. The second time was a 36 hour visit for a 1 day meeting. This time, I'm here for 3 full days, and I'm staying a little closer to the mountains. I am absolutely floored by how beautiful it is here. I've never spent a lot of time in the mountains - that trip to SLC was the first time I'd seen the Rockies other than from an airplane on the way to California.

I've taken a couple of pictures out my hotel room window, but I think this afternoon I'm going to brave the cold with my coworker who's lived here several times over her Air Force career and go do a little sightseeing. For now, though, here's a view of Pike's Peak from the window:

You Can Call Me Grammar Nazi.

I've gotten two emails today from much older than me Government Employees that said "Your welcome." This irritates the living crap out of me. Did we all not have to take and pass basic English classes for the better part of 16 years, if not longer? I thought so.

Its not that difficult, folks. Figure it out!! That goes for the guys who like to use there, their, and they're interchangeably too.

Disclaimer: A Bit of a Political Rant

I find it extremely amusing that I seem to be the most liberal person in my office. Especially since, as those of you who know me already are aware, I am not liberal. I tend to be just to the right of center - I tend to be fiscally conservative, but socially not so much. I don't like mandatory health care, but having been without while I was unemployed and unable to afford COBRA and therefore unable to get my medication for a while, I agree that there needs to be reform. I agree with the concept of the Arizona anti-immigration law, but until the amendments were signed I had a problem with the way it was written.  I don't necessarily believe in abortion, but I don't believe its the government's place to make that decision for anyone. I absolutely could care less whether or not two gay people get legally married, but I don't see a problem with churches not allowing them to do so in their facilities if they're against it - I see a clear and distinct difference between Church marriage and legal marriage (you still have to get the legal paperwork to get married in a church) and I wish the religious right would leave the legal union out of the religious one.

However, there are folks in my office (who I love, by the way) that are straight up tea party types. I'm not a huge tea party fan. I agree with some of their ideas, but not their platform, as shown by the Founder of the Tea Party, Judson Phillips, in a Washington Post Live Chat yesterday. A commenter made the following statement:

Liberals are just as American as you are and you and your movement has no right to question people's patriotism or Americanness just because they disagree with you.

I think his response speaks for itself:

Yes we do. You folks in the left do far worse. Patriotism is not something that cannot be measured. It can be. And you folks on the left, as a general rule are not patriotic. You do not love this country. You are embarrassed by us.

I hate to tell you this, but those of us in fly over country are the real americans.

Does anyone else see the problem with this? The Tea Party movement tries to make people believe that the media is just being mean to them, then their founder posts a statement like this. I'm a proud Military Veteran that comes from a long line of proud Military Veterans, all the way back to and before the Revolutionary War. And you're going to tell me that because I disagree with you I'm not a "Real American"? I call BS. That's almost as good as an earlier response he made saying that moderates have no values. Awesome.

I'm sick to death of the polarization of politics in this country, and I would love nothing more than to see real live political debate make a comeback over the silly, substance-free back and forths. I think many Americans agree with me. With the two party system in our country consisting of two parties moving more and more to the extreme of either side, I'd love to see a viable 3rd party candidate. But until the time comes where that third party candidate can seriously run without just being a splinter from another party and splitting their votes, I just don't see that happening.
In happier news, I'm wearing a pair of pants today that I haven't been able to wear in months. Yay for master plans going my way!

My cats are nuts

I love my cats.

Really. I do.

I mean, honestly. How do you not love these faces???

(Yes, this is a bit of an old picture, but since my hard drive crashed its one of the only ones of both of them I have until I pay someone to get the rest off)

Here's a recent one of Mattie in her favorite place:

And a not so recent one of Charlie but one that I love anyways....

They're adorable, right? But they DRIVE ME CRAZY!!! Charlie has decided that he likes to play with the carpet. At 3 am. It wakes me up. He also likes to chase Mattie, especially when she doesn't want to be chased. Which would be OK, except she throws a hissie fit about it - growling, hissing, snarling.... they never actually hurt each other, and they DO love each other - they groom each other, they lay together on the bed with me... but holy crap they can make some noise.

I like to think that Charlie will grow out of it - Mattie has always been more mellow, plus she's 13 months older (she just turned 4 in February, he was 3 in March), and she's a girl. But so far he has not. Granted, he relaxes a little bit more than he used to (right now he's laid out on the floor in the middle of the guest room). 

But on the other side, he is the sweetest, most snuggly, loving, lovable little animal on the planet. Don't get me wrong, I love them both - if anything, Mattie is more my favorite (although I hate to say that) if only because I had her first, and Charlie is definitely Matt's favorite because while Mattie is running away from him, Charlie gets excited to see him every time he walks in a room. But Mattie runs away from everyone. Including me. Unless she really wants to cuddle. Which is usually as I'm trying to go to sleep or at 6 am, like it was this morning.

When I first got Charlie, I had a hard time with him. I'd had Mattie for 8 months at that point, and she was so quiet and reserved. I struggled with keeping him, but it was the sweet, loving, cuddly side of him that made me totally melt. I think he's just a typical little boy - he can be a real sh*t sometimes, but he's not destructive - he just wants to play. Now, while I still wonder sometimes if Mattie would have been better off as a single cat, I know that she would probably be as lost without her brother as I would be.