The Great Balancing Act

Smooch!

Happy Anniversary Curtis!!  Thirteen years and couting!  Wish you could be here instead of there.

Happy Birthday Curtis!

 

Curtis  installs a commercial internet satalite by the light of the moon. (I guess he really is doing something other than drinking coffee.)

Cool Coffee

 

Curtis tells me his living conditions are rather sparten, but I don't know . . . do we believe him?

Curtis Update

 

Curtis has arrived in Afghanistan.  The above picture of him and one of their contractors was taken while he was at Manas Air Base. He waited there of about a week before his final transportation became available.  He is currently settling in.  His birthday is coming up in the middle of next month, if you’d like to send him a card or e-mail, please e-mail me or comment and leave your e-mail asking for his contact info.

An Update From Curtis

Family, Friends and Brothers,

Hope you are all well. As many of you know I am currently Curtis of K????stan. Don’t ask me to spell it. Very, I hope, soon I will be Curtis of Afghanistan. Dad always promised the Army would allow me to travel. He never really pointed out that the places they take you are not in the traditional travel guides. I will get three new stamps from this one, Georgia (no where near the peach state), K?????stan and finally Afghanistan. K?stan looks like Yakima complete with mountains. Although, at one time part of the Soviet Union, most of the people look more Mongolian than European.

I will be part of a unit installing, improving and monitoring the build up of military communications within the borders of Afghanistan. I am fortunate that I have been in the unit two years and am deploying with a great team.

The family and I will head to school next summer, and I look forward to seeing as many of you as I can then. Jennifer and the kids are of course visiting the Grandparents and I know they are all excited. For the Grandparents…Remember Katie likes steak and if she doesn’t ask, take here to Outback for a Little Joey for me. Jennifer I am sure will be more than happy to head to Olive Garden for soup and salad. As for me it is taking all my will power not to start drinking soda again. I don’t think I will ever like the taste of water. I crave “Wasser mit Gass”, German for mineral water. I may have to start drinking Club Soda if I can find it.

We flew here on a Miami International Chartered flight. Great seats and nice people, just weird being on a “Miami” plane going to K?stan. We will fly military south into Afghanistan at some point. We are in a holding area at a place called Manas, you can look it up in Wiki, if you are bored.

I will say good-bye for now,

CofK

D-Day

 

Curtis headed off to his 12-month deployment to Afghanistan this morning.  We were out bright and early to send him off.  It was a long, hard day.

JINXed…….

Well, Jennifer is beside herself and the saying “It is what, It is” is not consoling her.  As with many jobs, the truth today is untrue tomorrow.  We will not head back to the U.S. this summer.  The Army has other plans for me.  I have been “stop lossed”, and my school slot has been given to someone else.  Jennifer and the Kids will head back to the U.S. for a visit this summer and then spend another school year here in Germany, but I will head east for a year.  We will go back summer 2010.

Worse things could happen.  Katie is anxious but excited to remain with her friends for one more year.  Holly is happy to terrorize her current stomping ground.  Although, I remain concerned for her safety, Momma only has so much patience.

I blame it on the Penguins wanting to spend another winter with the Nowaks.  Be nice to my wife and enjoy the children while they are stateside.

CofA

The Force is Strong with This One…….

For those who doubt my insanity or sphere of influence take a look at what the shop did for Halloween.  What started off as a conversation between one of the guys who works for me took on a life of its own.  I can’t believe many “MEN” have not thought of being a Strom Trooper, well you can be, for a few dollars.  Danny (he is pictured with all of the Leias) was going as a Storm Trooper for Halloween and since Katie was going as a Jedi, I decided to be a Clone Trooper.  I found a place here in Germany that makes screen authentic Storm/Biker Trooper, Vader, and Bobba Fett suits and that was when it exploded.  One of the guys bought a Biker outfit, and another bought both a Storm and Biker outfit (that meant I could wear his Biker for Halloween).  From there Ray, my 6 foot 8 inch officer, decided that since he always wanted a Chewbacca outfit he should get it now.  That snowball effect lead to the entire shop being divided up and being assigned characters.  No one choose anything simple, everyone improved their costumes with add-ons or upgrades.  It was truly remarkable.  Things had settled a little at work and I was able to do some art and crafts work on the weekend (Curtis’ Buemer Emporium).  Since having worn the Biker outfit I have decided I need my own.  Call me what you will, Dork, Dweeb or Geek, but I cannot count the number of pictures that were taken whenever we showed up wearing the stuff.  On the return from dropping Katie off at school the German Police saw me and called me over to take pictures.  Yes, I am that awesome.  For those Padawan Learners out there I can school you on the ways of the Dark Side.  Check out http://www.501stlegion.org/index.php and see all of the madness that Lucas has created.  There is an Alliance site as well, but who wants to be a good guy when you look so much cooler as a bad guy.  And now I must sign off, so…….Move Along, Move Along

You can see piles of pictures of our adventures in the Freak Fest 2008 photo album.

Curtis' Florida Vacation

Well, it remains HOT in Florida….  I attended a conference at Fort Gordon, Georgia so took a few days and visited the Family in Pensacola.  I am officially a “Boat Bum”, Jennifer says I love Florida because I don’t have to work and family takes care of everything.  That is probably true.  It was a great four days.  I was able to see almost everyone thanks to Don, Susan, and Davids' fish fry Sunday.  It's been 7 years since I had visited.  I ate seafood and drank beer every day.  It was a great break from work.  All of the cousins are old as or older than when I first visited in high school.  I think that means I am getting old, especially since Drew was younger than my youngest age when I first met him.  I need to thank him for taking his middle aged cousin to the movies.  I am sure he lost cool points from any of his friends.

Our intent is to visit Florida when we return next year.  I will be looking for a job in Florida after we return.  There are several job opportunities in Florida, Jennifer hates the humidity, but I think she can handle it for 2 years.  I know the kids will love the beach.

Thanks again to everyone for taking care of me while in Pensacola.  It was great to see Grandma Dee and crew.  For those seeking a European vacation, we have just 10 months left here in Germany.  After that we head back to the U.S. for a year of school and then on to our next assignment.  

Team

“Team” is how all my emails to my section start now.  Well, one of the largest exercises I have participated in has finally ended.  I know Jennifer and the family are happy.  Unfortunately, the next series has just begun.  Today is the first day in 6 weeks I will not have to put my “Monkey” suit on.  

Holly is learning the cell phone can reach daddy wherever he is at.  During a train up event I finally decided to sleep in my office, it was 4 AM and I had to be back at 0730.  I emailed Jennifer and passed out on my couch.  At 0530, my Sergeant Major came in and scolded me for not going home and at 0630 informed me of a urinalysis I was selected for.   At 0700 Jennifer called, she hadn’t read the email.  At 0715, Holly brought the phone to Jennifer and asked if it could talk with Daddy.  It did.

My job is awesome, just intense and time consuming.  Right now I have a great “team” both at home and at work.  The above picture is of us at Grafenwoehr in early April, the weather was terrific.