A late happy blog birthday

I missed the birthday of my blog once again. I always remember that it's in January, but I can never seem to remember the exact date. Anyways happy 8th birthday to the blog. I guess I never thought I would still be updating this thing 8 years later. In a way I barely am. But let's keep this thing limping along for another few years.

So let's get into the things that have become more important to me than blogging.

1) My job. I started my current job 54 weeks ago, and I really couldn't be happier. I love what I do, and the people I work for. Unfortunately it looks like my boss might get new orders (he's active duty), and his boss who is also great might retire in the next year or two. But for right now, my job rocks. Especially because I've been getting to travel more which I really enjoy. I just got back last week from Japan which was cool. Next week I'll be in DC and then in a few more weeks I'll be in Twentynine Palms, CA. It looks like this might be the year I take a run at mad Delta status.

2) My wedding. I'm getting married in June to a girl I met on FarmersOnly.Com. Just kidding it's to Carly. Planning a wedding is a lot of work. For Carly. So I've been trying to help out - she lets me lick the envelopes after she addresses them all. I do have real responsibilities, but mostly I follow the instructions of Carly.

This is where I clean dirty jeep parts

3) My house. I've done a lot to the house in the last 8 months, but it seems like there are always more projects to do. I've gotten some of the most urgent ones out of the way. Right before I left for Japan I put in a utility sink in the garage. That was a fun project because I got to use my new PVC cutters instead of a hacksaw. My next big project is building a The Cooper Howell Memorial Chicken Coop. I'm still miffed that Ann Arbor's chicken ordinance was so restrictive. Luckily San Diego has a pretty lax ordinance. Also egg prices in CA are up 30% due to the state requiring 119 square inches of space per bird. My birds will have 1,584 square inches. I might not build the coop until after the honeymoon.

Looking good in the hood

4) The Jeep. The Jeep has been keeping me busy - in a good way. Last month I started changing out all the fluids including the differentials, transmission and transfer case. Yesterday I fixed the engine temperature gauge and started work on the tachometer installation. I'm still working in my head what I'm going to do for a sound system. I love working on the jeep, and on the weekends I almost exclusively drive the Jeep because it is awesome and I love it.

5) The Cats. While no Mungojerrie and Rumpleteazer, the two Siamese cats we have are really growing on me. I had one in my lap today while doing my annual blog-year-in-review. The one cat likes to sit on my keyboard while I type and then sit on my chest while I sleep. It likes the warm.

So to summarize, I have a full and happy life with no need to use a blog as an emotional crutch or fill the major stints of boredom. But I guess the same could be said about me in 2007 when I started blogging. The beer, roommates, and schoolwork was just replaced by something more real life. But I'll keep trying to blog, not because you want me to, but because I want to.