Idzeeboo's Blog

I have not blogged in a while and I am feeling kind of bad about it. I'm not exactly sure how many people even read this blog but I feel better when I write about things that are happening in my life.

Well I am almost finished the academy!! I can't believe 10 months have passed already and I only have about five weeks left. I will graduate on 9/11 and I take the state certification exam on the 24th. Last week, I submitted my application to the Jacksonville Sheriff's Office and have started that long and grueling process. If all goes well, I might be employed full-time in law enforcement by the end of October! That will be exciting, stressful and a welcome change all rolled into one.

Adam still has not saved up enough to buy another vehicle yet and that causes Nanner and I a lot of stress. We are worried that his adult life has not gotten off to a good start and don't want him to be too comfortable at home for much longer. He wants to join the military but has to get off his ass and study for the ASVAB test so he can get in. He worries us a lot.

Zach and Josh are excited to be starting at the middle school this fall and have already started to get new stuff for the new school year. Luckily, Nanner and I only have two to buy school crap for this year, instead of three. I will take any help I can get!

Since my last blog, we have sold the second property we had and have been able to pay off an ass-load of debt. It is a really good feeling to finally get control over our finances. It has been a long time coming.

I guess thats about it for now. I will try to keep everyone posted a little more often.
Take care!

You may remember the excited post about 6 or so months ago when my oldest son Adam bought his very own, first vehicle - a 1991 Chevy S-10 pickup truck. Adam had an unfortunate accident earlier in the week and ended up flipping his truck into a ditch. The good news is that he escaped with only minor injuries. The bad news is that his truck was totaled and he has no more transportation (of his own).

Hopefully, he takes this as a very important life lesson and NEVER acts foolish behind the wheel again. We all know how lucky he was to escape this one with only minor injuries.

Adam got his first vehicle this weekend! It is a 1991 Chevy S10 pick-em-up truck. He is absolutely beside himself with glee. He spent pretty much all day yesterday in it; listening to tunes, washing the mirrors, sweeping out the truck bed, etc...

Here are a few snapshots of him. Click on either one to view the large version.

We are all very happy for him and I am proud to say that he did very well on his first lesson on how to drive a stick shift!

Wow. Almost a month since my last blog post. I knew that once I started the academy, what little free time I had would be gone. Good news! I had my first exam at the academy a few weeks ago and got a 100%! It was a legal exam which covered a months worth of material. Although I was a bit nervous and expected to pass with ease, I did not expect to ace it. It is hard to believe that over a month has passed since I started. Hopefully, September 11th (my projected graduation date) will be here before I know it.

Thanksgiving was OK this year. It was strange not having Paul there. In fact, it did not feel much like Thanksgiving at all. Were it not for the Macy's Parade and the traditional football games, I would have thought it was just another day. Maybe next year will be better.

We are looking around for a used car for my oldest son so that we can quit playing his chauffeur. His budget is for between $1000 and $1500 so it may take a while to find something that actually runs good. My neighbor offered his truck but at over $3.00 a gallon, that 38 gallon tank would take a months pay for him to fill it up!

Most of my family will be coming for Christmas this year and we can't wait. It will be only the second Christmas in my kids lives that they will get to spend with their Memere and Pepere and they are wicked excited about it. There probably won't be any more Christmases after this one with all my kids at home. Adam should be graduating in the spring and wants to go into the Coast Guard. There is no telling where he might be next year at X-mas time.

Gotta run but I will try to post at least once per week from now on. I'm really not sure how many of you actually read this blog but I will pretend there are a bunch of you!

One week at the academy down and about 46 more to go! The first week went pretty well - all things considered. The stupid uniform company did not have all of my stuff ready for the start of the academy so I have been wearing business attire. There are several other students who do not have uniforms either so at least I don't stick out like a sore thumb. The instructor who handles PT at the academy was out last week so we did not have to exercise on Tuesday as planned. Unfortunately, he is back and we will be PT'ing tomorrow. I am NOT looking forward to that! The curriculum so far has been all about law. Constitutional law, case studies and a bunch of legal mumbo-jumbo for starters. Boring but necessary.

I still think about my brother-in-law, Paul a lot. For some reason I seem to have slipped into a bit of a funk and will frequently 'see' things that had to do with his death (usually just before I fall asleep). It is very much in the front of my mind recently and I don't know why. I guess it is a normal part of the healing process. A part of me still does not want to accept the fact that he is gone although I know for sure he is. It just doesn't make sense. Perhaps I feel this way because there are still unanswered questions about the circumstances of his death. Additionally, I feel kind of spooked about the possibility of my immediate family being involved in some sort of fatal accident and it keeps me up at night.

On a brighter note; THE RED SOX WON THE WORLD SERIES!!! Go Bo-Sox! Now if the Bruins would take notes from the Sox and the Patriots, I would be a REALLY happy man! The Jaguars won a squeaker over the Buccaneers this weekend, improving their record to 5-2. Our starting QB is out with an injury so I did not expect the Jags to win but it's nice that we did. I'll take a close win over a blow-out any day because it makes for interesting watching.

I have almost NO time for studying which makes blogging even harder but I will do my best to keep you updated at least once a week.