Let's go over what's pretty much the same from previous years. I'm still an Assistant Scoutmaster with "Hardcore 444" and a member of Elks Lodge 2065. I am also still an electrical engineer for the Army.
So now what's new?
The highlight this spring was Apple's top secret announcement that everyone knew was going to be a tablet. The event was eagerly anticipated. Then I had a birthday. The big Three-Oh. I remember when that was old age to me. Now that I'm here, I don't want to leave. I'm in great shape, have to be to keep up with these kids in the troop, and demons would have to drag me kicking and screaming into old age and decrepitude!
This summer was focused on two big events. I went back to the District for my nieces' first-and a-half birthday. It was great to see everyone again when it was warm and the stores weren't all in holiday mode. I got to spend a weekend just hanging out with family and even went to the Smithsonian Museum of Natural History. It had changed considerably from what I remembered; of course, it had been over a decade since I'd last been in there. The second major event was summer camp with the troop. We went to Camp Emerald Bay on Catalina Island, California. Sleeping in wall tents, eating at their beautiful dining hall, swimming in the bay. It was everything a summer vacation was supposed to be. Some of the scouts had never even seen the ocean and spent their week laying on the beach. I was sorely tempted to join them but there was so much else to do!
After we got back from summer camp, I joined the Elks ritual team and our first competition is in January. The rest of the summer, the rest of the year even, went by pretty uneventfully. Still coming down from having such a good time at summer camp I think.
I'm still with Network Enterprise Technology Command/ 9th Signal Command (Army) but there's been some big changes there! The Army stood up ARCYBERCOM and moved NETCOM under that, still overseeing all the Signal garrisons and theater signal commands worldwide. My role has been to maintain our Citrix servers for enterprise-wide application delivery. I also began studying for my CISSP exam, a management-level IT security certification. I am proud to support our global forces and our warfighters. Go Army!
Now on to fall/winter to close out the year. I ate turkey. Lots of turkey. We've had monthly camp-outs with the troop all year, many scouts even earning the historic merit badges, a set of four badges which had been discontinued but were brought back for the Centennial of Scouting 1910-2010. And I will be going back to Maryland for the holidays by train. It's a great way to see the country. Time to hang out, have fun, and see what next year brings!
