1. For the last year, my eldest son has been engrossed in a project. At the same time he kept up with the writing towards his PhD and teaching part-time. The project was so stressful that when it ended last week, he crashed. When you are so fixated on something so important and that is all of your free time, you tend to fall hard at the end. Which is what he did. J. was happy and relieved at the same time. He also started to doubt finishing his PhD. He is in the middle of it all. Too far from the start, yet at the same time....you feel as if you cannot see the end. As we spoke, he told me that he feels as if he isn't pulling his weight as a man because his Dad and I help him with his education and some finances. I assured him that if he wasn't doing dick and just wasted his days picking his nose as we help him financially, then he would he useless. I told him to just let his Dad and I be just that. His Dad and Mom. I felt proud of him for being who he is and what he is doing. I reassured him that an education of such magnitude is work and to carry on with his goal. No matter what he decides, I will respect it. Then we had family time together and watched GoT.

2. The father of my boys is making a decision about his heart and the news he was given. BR is 14 yrs older than I am and being older it comes with health problems. For the last 10 years he has had a great deal of issues and all of us have happily helped him with them. There is a history of heart disease in his family, so I am not surprised to hear the news. I just didn't want to believe it would happen to him. The Father of my sons is supposed to live forever. Well, that is what my sons and I want. He has chosen to just let life happen. That is how he feels right now. His own Dad (my sons gramps) just let it happen and he passed away with no one around. My sons and I will do our best to talk him out of it, but the man can be stubborn! I mean really stubborn when it comes to any advice on his choices. I have offered to move and take time off of work if he decides on the surgery.

Besides those two issues, it was also BR's birthday. Our youngest son gave him a spaceship and we had a blast flying it around trying to attack one another.
Time will tell on what these two men decide. I love them both so very much. They are my world. Yes, even as an ex, BR has been a positive part of my world since I was 18 years old.

It was a spur of the moment, hop in the car, get there quickly kind of trip. Two out of the three most important men in my life needed me.
1. My oldest son needed his Mom. 2. The Father of my sons was given some medical news and needed me for some support.
I had to go for them and for myself. Explanation and discussion to follow. The trip took its toll on all of us. Thank you so much for the concern.

Last Saturday I had to leave town for a family matter in Orange County.
No time for anything.
xoxo

The Lego Comparison continues! As a devout Military Supporter I was pleased to see that Mr. Lego Adventurer had a military picture.

Mr. Lego and his British Soldier. A very nice tribute.


Here is my military photo taken during a Memorial Day Ceremony.


Both Lego pics are fitting because of D-Day. Those men served during one of the most historical military moments of our time.
God Bless them.

No reports and no phone calls. Could it be? I'm a couch potato!
I have watched one movie and will be moving onto another one. All without any interruptions!
Someone pinch me!!!

Seriously, pinch me.
xoxo

But I won't. As requested...a framed gift for the guest speaker.
I was asked to arrange 3 photos of the surrounding area. Tonight I cut the mats and meticulously secured them.
There were two challenges in this project.
1. The photos had to be the same colored hues of sky and subject matter. The sky changes colors here all of the time so it was a lot of patience and waiting. How awful is it to see the sky around here....lol
2. Finding an extra large panoramic frame is sometimes easy, it's finding the right color for the photos.
I love a challenge....lol.
From left to right:
The cliffs and lagoon of Carmel, Lovers Point in Pacific Grove and the Monterey Mountains.


I guess that I am the official photographer now...lol.
My fee? $1. They pay me for the frame and to buy the mat, but that is it. It is just an honor to be asked. It is wrapped up and ready to go!

I left a meeting in order to get some documents. The Briefing Room is right outside of my office so it was supposed to be a quick grab -n-go. It was taking longer than I had anticipated and I guess the officers were getting a bit impatient. At first, I could hear the sound of one officer humming the tune from the movie 'Bridge over the River Kwai'. Then another joined in and another....lol. Then all of a sudden 10 men were loudly singing the song. I was cracking up to the point of tears. I usually hum the Jeopardy tune when I am waiting for something, but these were men, so I guess it had to be a manly song. I love spontaneous humor like that.

I opened the door to the room and the humming stopped. They pretended as if nothing happened. I smiled and giggled at all of them and they said "What?"
I love these people.

They are not a walk in the park. I have passed everyone of my background checks through the years.
After the first one, they get easier and quicker to fill out. It doesn't matter who you are, everyone has to fill them out and endure the scrutiny. Even the candidates who are transferring departments or doing lateral moves.
The packet that you retrieve can be up to 80 pages or more. Your packet has a space for you to list everyone in your immediate family, former spouses, up to 30 friends, sections for your neighbours and a space for previous co-workers, as well as medical and citation history. Okay, got that?
The investigator interviews all of the people on your list. Besides answering questions, everyone on the list are asked to provide more names of those who might or might not know you. Then it begins again. The investigator contacts all of the new names given to him/her.
You could give the investigator 40 names but by the time they are done checking you out, they might have retrieved up to 100 more names. This all depends on how many people you know and your age. A young person starting out won't have as many names to provide.
The length of time it takes to be investigated depends on the investigator.
Oh and they don't stop at those who like you, they also ask for names of those who do not like you. I usually put down angry people before they ask for them. You might as well get it out of the way. Still, I have never worried and have yet to be found not fit for hire because of something in my background.
Oh, and they frown on you warning people about being on your contact list. The investigator wants to catch everyone off guard....lol
It's overwhelming to the those who try to crack into a LEO spot. And along with the many pages you have to fill out, there is a time limit on the submission. If you do not have all of the information of your entire history or addresses, numbers, employment, birth dates for everyone and family history at hand, you have a great deal of homework to do.
When the department tells you that by the time they are done with their investigation, they will know what kind of diapers you wore as a child.....they aren't kidding! Way back, before things got politically correct, my first investigator told me that he would know if I was breast fed or not....*giggles*

The simple background check is just a drop in the bucket compared to the Secret or Top Secret Security Clearance for other positions. I have endured those as well. Like I mentioned, once you have all of your ducks in a row, it's a slice of pie. I keep duplicates of my information and just have to tweak addresses and numbers.
When I get asked about how to fill them out, I remember one simple rule when being investigated. It isn't what you put down, it's what you don't put down. Cause trust me, they will find out.
All of that and more is worth it for the rewards of moving on up in your career or just staring one. It is a competitive field and I may be passing all of the tests and checks, but that doesn't guarantee anything. There is so much more to applying or transferring.
That is for another blog...lol

You are truly under a microscope.

I thank you. The assistance was awesome.
I send kisses to everyone....yes....everyone.
Even to those who weren't involved.
Why? Because this place rocks with kindness!

A giggle or two to start your day or end your night.
xoxox

When you enjoy it, it supposed to sound tasty.


Aaaaaaah to tease or not to tease? That is never a question..lol


Ouch!


Rigor Mortis....the ultimate stiffy!