So, apparently, the Army wants us to be "in shape" and apparently if you are unable to eat without starting to sweat, they start doubting your fitness. In my defense, those 64 slices of American cheese were very heavy. So, the way that they test you is the Army Physical Fitness Test. It is as many pushups as you can do in two minutes, then two minutes of situps and a two mile run. Each event has a scale of 0-100 points, but like in high school, you have to get at least 60 points to pass. So, two of us took it the other day. I finished the first two events and then we moved on to the run.
As I have mentioned before, there are a lot of mines here, so they do demining all the time. When they do it near the perimeter road, they close it to all traffic including runners. When we went out there to start, they were not operating yet, so we asked if we had 20 minutes- plenty of time to run a mile out and come back. Sure, no problem, they say. The mile out goes well, but as we get about 1/2 mile from the end, we see caution tape stretched across the road. Jeff is a minute or two ahead of me at this point, and no silly piece of vinyl will deter him. He jumped the tape, despite the engineer's protests. And while they may not go chase him down, I present a second chance for this gentleman to complete his mission of closing the road.
"Stop right there! The road is closed!"
"But, he kept going!"
"Yes, but you will not."
Can't argue with that. So, noticing that I was almost exactly 1/2 mile from the end, I just ran 1/4 mile back the way I came and then came back to the caution tape. I was tempted to break through it, humming the Chariots of Fire theme, but it was down and the road was open by that point. The distance was inexact, and I kept my own time, so is it officially official? No, not really. But it is good enough for government work.
Sunday, May 20, 2007
Friday, May 11, 2007
The Vacation Countdown Has Begun!!!
So we are down to 1 Month!
31 Days!
5 Steak Nights, and that even includes tonight!
So, to help the time go a little faster, Laura has sent me a mystery package. One empty photo book and 30-some sealed manila envelopes.
All I know for now is that some of you (you know who you are) have come together to spell out a message with pictures involving one letter each. So far, it says "HIP" and has featured Nat eating some cardboard, "The Running Gluck" and Judy having her own Groundhog Day (Don't drive angry!)
This is great, and I cannot wait to see what the next 30 days hold. And, of course I will be bringing it home with me so that people can see the finished product! I will post which ones I have gotten in the comments, so keep looking to see if yours arrived!
Oh, and if you are participating in the photo message book, you also likely have played in one of the scavenger hunt, or are at least aware of the zombie theme of the second one and the Thriller "dance" number. Well, it hurts to say, but these cats are better dancers than Adam, Dennis and me combined.
So, I should be home from around the 13th or so until the 27th of June. See you then!
UPDATE- 13 June
So, you already know about
H-I-P
but the new additions to the puzzle are:
a- Chrissy, either doing a Fonzie thumbs-up with the "aaaaaaay" or since she is wearing a mortarboard and college polo shirt, possibly referencing her grades at Notre Dame. This also marks the first lowercase letter.
T- Angie using cardboard letters on a beach, which I am told is somewhere in Dundalk (Since when does the 'Dalk have a beach?) to make a nice pop culture reference. "Waaaaaaalt!"
G- Kathleen, drawing in the California beach sand (I assume.) This enigmatic message now stretches across the country!
HIPaTG. Hmmmm...
UPDATE- May 15
The latest additions both involve letters on peoples' chests, but unfortunately it was Tom playing Skins and Kara playing Shirts.
"E" Tom, your mom must be so proud that you made the papers.
"T" Kara, what is the story behind the "T" shirt? Is it that it is a t-shirt? Oh. It is. In honor of me explaining that joke, I will give you one of Stine's favorite jokes.
Knock knock
Who's there?
Control Freak... Now YOU say control freak who?
See, it is funny because...
UPDATE- May 24th
So, apparently I have been taking too long in posting this, and have fallen behind a word or two. But just know that opening these is the first thing I do in the morning, and it is a great way to start every day.
"R"- Cori apparently predicted that I would go for the pirate theme in the evite. Yum, yum, rum.
"E"- John looking nearly as pimpalicious as my faux-gold plated cell phone. No, really. I think it loves the 70's. "Wu-Tang! Diversify Your Bonds!"
"A"- Katie, wearing the greatest hardhat I have ever seen
"D"- Momma Mayes, dancing with the cast of Madagascar, although for a kids' movie, that lion really looks like it is about to decapitate that monkey. With its teeth.
"Y"- Mike- I am sure that if there was a letter "X" anywhere in this message, he and his 360 would have gotten it.
"I"- Heather, who I would think was getting ready to bring people an episode of Sesame Street, going so far as to actually dress as the letter, but I do not think that Grover would teach kids to win at the expense of the team. You must be thinking of Peyton Manning volunteering with the United Way.
"T"- Carrie's Tea Party, including the fancy hat. Fancy a spot o' tea, guvnah? No? Fake cockney accents are not funny anymore? But... the tea! OK. We have had T-shirt and T-party. What is next? T-time? Mr T? Curtis, I am looking your way!!!!
"S"- Rick is a master of Photoshop. Like, seriously good. Don't cross him, or he may paint your face into something really unpleasant. Such as the cast of Two and a Half Men. [shiver]
UPDATE- 31 MAY (12 days! Woo Hoo!)
"A"- Liz, your shameful attempt at winning best photo by putting my own dog front and center will not succeed. For shame! But awwwww.
"L"- Curtis, you're showing the two sports that, if played here, would be most likely to result in land mine interaction.
"M"- Laura- Looking mighty fine in a t-shirt with what can only be described as a duck with a grenade in his hand on it. Plus! The Yuengling! Oh yes, I am but a few days away from one of those too.
"O"- Bryan- Randy's donuts! That looks good enough to stop a monorail!
"S"- George- All he needs is three more people, and he can spell out SEXY. I call dibs on "Y". Unlike the "X", no one will see it as a target and punch me in the stomach.
"T"- Joshua, what are you trying to say? You want to take me out for cheesesteaks? OK, twist my arm. Wiz wit!
HI PAT, GET READY, IT'S ALMOST!!!!
JUNE 4th UPDATE
"J"- I always knew Jen thought of herself as a princess.
"U"- What a lovely picture of my mom. Even she has to be happy with this one. Plus? Topiary!
"N"- To Kristin, Liberty starts with N! Actually, she has followed the trend of people living in PA using real PA landmarks. Mmmm, bell.
"E"- Stine, in a pose that says he should be painted on the side of a WWII bomber.
JUNE 6! The time and the words are getting shorter!
"S"- Sarah- Somehow Pirates just keep reappearing within our circle of friends. Yar, indeed. And just remember, when life gives you scurvy, make lemonade! (Not green Starburst)
"E"- T White and Laura D. White E? Whatever could this riddle mean?
"E" Kristi and the foundations of flip cup. Table, cups, and beer. Such a simple design, is it any wonder we love the game so?
"Y" Jason- Y? Oh! WHYYYYYYYYY? Heh. Platoon rocked.
"O" LT, it cannot bode well for your marriage that you and Josh are fighting about which is the superior cheesesteak place. The Geno's vs Pat's debate has broken more than one home.
"U" Steve, is that another "Y"? Ohhhh.
"S"- Megan shows that spinoffs can go completely mad, from Superman to Supergirl to Retro-20's Supergirl. What you decided not to go the body paint route like George?
"O"- Lucy demonstrating her greatest talent
"O"- Yateses- The award for "furthest traveled" clearly goes to the Yateses (Yates? Is the plural the same, like deer?)
"N"- Laura- the creator, the organizer. My favorite destination at my final destination. Wonderful job.
Thank you to everyone that participated. This is simply great (I have overused the word "awesome") and I love it.
31 Days!
5 Steak Nights, and that even includes tonight!
So, to help the time go a little faster, Laura has sent me a mystery package. One empty photo book and 30-some sealed manila envelopes.
All I know for now is that some of you (you know who you are) have come together to spell out a message with pictures involving one letter each. So far, it says "HIP" and has featured Nat eating some cardboard, "The Running Gluck" and Judy having her own Groundhog Day (Don't drive angry!)This is great, and I cannot wait to see what the next 30 days hold. And, of course I will be bringing it home with me so that people can see the finished product! I will post which ones I have gotten in the comments, so keep looking to see if yours arrived!
Oh, and if you are participating in the photo message book, you also likely have played in one of the scavenger hunt, or are at least aware of the zombie theme of the second one and the Thriller "dance" number. Well, it hurts to say, but these cats are better dancers than Adam, Dennis and me combined.
So, I should be home from around the 13th or so until the 27th of June. See you then!UPDATE- 13 June
So, you already know about
H-I-P
but the new additions to the puzzle are:
a- Chrissy, either doing a Fonzie thumbs-up with the "aaaaaaay" or since she is wearing a mortarboard and college polo shirt, possibly referencing her grades at Notre Dame. This also marks the first lowercase letter.
T- Angie using cardboard letters on a beach, which I am told is somewhere in Dundalk (Since when does the 'Dalk have a beach?) to make a nice pop culture reference. "Waaaaaaalt!"
G- Kathleen, drawing in the California beach sand (I assume.) This enigmatic message now stretches across the country!
HIPaTG. Hmmmm...
UPDATE- May 15
The latest additions both involve letters on peoples' chests, but unfortunately it was Tom playing Skins and Kara playing Shirts.
"E" Tom, your mom must be so proud that you made the papers.
"T" Kara, what is the story behind the "T" shirt? Is it that it is a t-shirt? Oh. It is. In honor of me explaining that joke, I will give you one of Stine's favorite jokes.
Knock knock
Who's there?
Control Freak... Now YOU say control freak who?
See, it is funny because...
UPDATE- May 24th
So, apparently I have been taking too long in posting this, and have fallen behind a word or two. But just know that opening these is the first thing I do in the morning, and it is a great way to start every day.
"R"- Cori apparently predicted that I would go for the pirate theme in the evite. Yum, yum, rum.
"E"- John looking nearly as pimpalicious as my faux-gold plated cell phone. No, really. I think it loves the 70's. "Wu-Tang! Diversify Your Bonds!"
"A"- Katie, wearing the greatest hardhat I have ever seen
"D"- Momma Mayes, dancing with the cast of Madagascar, although for a kids' movie, that lion really looks like it is about to decapitate that monkey. With its teeth.
"Y"- Mike- I am sure that if there was a letter "X" anywhere in this message, he and his 360 would have gotten it.
"I"- Heather, who I would think was getting ready to bring people an episode of Sesame Street, going so far as to actually dress as the letter, but I do not think that Grover would teach kids to win at the expense of the team. You must be thinking of Peyton Manning volunteering with the United Way.
"T"- Carrie's Tea Party, including the fancy hat. Fancy a spot o' tea, guvnah? No? Fake cockney accents are not funny anymore? But... the tea! OK. We have had T-shirt and T-party. What is next? T-time? Mr T? Curtis, I am looking your way!!!!
"S"- Rick is a master of Photoshop. Like, seriously good. Don't cross him, or he may paint your face into something really unpleasant. Such as the cast of Two and a Half Men. [shiver]
UPDATE- 31 MAY (12 days! Woo Hoo!)
"A"- Liz, your shameful attempt at winning best photo by putting my own dog front and center will not succeed. For shame! But awwwww.
"L"- Curtis, you're showing the two sports that, if played here, would be most likely to result in land mine interaction.
"M"- Laura- Looking mighty fine in a t-shirt with what can only be described as a duck with a grenade in his hand on it. Plus! The Yuengling! Oh yes, I am but a few days away from one of those too.
"O"- Bryan- Randy's donuts! That looks good enough to stop a monorail!
"S"- George- All he needs is three more people, and he can spell out SEXY. I call dibs on "Y". Unlike the "X", no one will see it as a target and punch me in the stomach.
"T"- Joshua, what are you trying to say? You want to take me out for cheesesteaks? OK, twist my arm. Wiz wit!
HI PAT, GET READY, IT'S ALMOST!!!!
JUNE 4th UPDATE
"J"- I always knew Jen thought of herself as a princess.
"U"- What a lovely picture of my mom. Even she has to be happy with this one. Plus? Topiary!
"N"- To Kristin, Liberty starts with N! Actually, she has followed the trend of people living in PA using real PA landmarks. Mmmm, bell.
"E"- Stine, in a pose that says he should be painted on the side of a WWII bomber.
JUNE 6! The time and the words are getting shorter!
"S"- Sarah- Somehow Pirates just keep reappearing within our circle of friends. Yar, indeed. And just remember, when life gives you scurvy, make lemonade! (Not green Starburst)
"E"- T White and Laura D. White E? Whatever could this riddle mean?
"E" Kristi and the foundations of flip cup. Table, cups, and beer. Such a simple design, is it any wonder we love the game so?
"Y" Jason- Y? Oh! WHYYYYYYYYY? Heh. Platoon rocked.
"O" LT, it cannot bode well for your marriage that you and Josh are fighting about which is the superior cheesesteak place. The Geno's vs Pat's debate has broken more than one home.
"U" Steve, is that another "Y"? Ohhhh.
"S"- Megan shows that spinoffs can go completely mad, from Superman to Supergirl to Retro-20's Supergirl. What you decided not to go the body paint route like George?
"O"- Lucy demonstrating her greatest talent
"O"- Yateses- The award for "furthest traveled" clearly goes to the Yateses (Yates? Is the plural the same, like deer?)
"N"- Laura- the creator, the organizer. My favorite destination at my final destination. Wonderful job.
Thank you to everyone that participated. This is simply great (I have overused the word "awesome") and I love it.
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