Wow. Has it really been a month since my last entry? I’ve been neglecting this blog too much lately. Part of the problem is that I’ve been working many hours with marching band this year. My kids voted to do evening practices twice a week so I spent 3 hours on Tuesday and Thursday nights with marching band rehearsals and 2 more hours on Wednesday nights with the drumline. This year, two percussionists from the Marine Corps Third MEF Band volunteered to help us out and it made a big difference. My band isn’t ready to win any major competitions, but they learned a lot and had a lot of fun. Perhaps we can actually do more than one song next year. My drillwriting was simpler for them to learn, but it wasn’t very visually appealing. I’ll do better next year.

The homecoming game was on Oct 3 and since then I’ve not been as busy, but still neglected the blog. This week Gina and I moved into a house from our apartment. We no longer living within spitting distance of the ocean, but it’s still in the same neighborhood and we can still see the ocean from our dining room window. The cool part is that it is a real HOUSE with a garage. The space feels huge to us after leaving a 1300 square foot apartment and moving into a 2200 square foot house. I no longer hit my elbows on the shower walls.

Triathlon training has been going well. I’m down to 161 pounds and the weight lifting routine is starting to pay off with faster swims at the pool. I don’t get fatigued as quickly and am able to maintain a much better pace through 1000 – 1500 meters. I have my favorite (and first) triathlon coming in a couple of weeks: the Torii Triathlon. This one is a 1000 meter swim, 30k bike, and 5k run. Those distances suit my strengths so I hope to do well. Gina’s roommate from college will be visiting us during that time so she’s going to enter it as well so she can be known as an international triathlete (I suppose a trip to Canada would be easier, but we don’t live there so it wouldn’t be as much fun!).

When she and her husband get here, we are all taking some time to be tourists. We are spending a couple of days in Kyoto which I’ve since found out is THE place in Japan to go for fall colors. I am excited to get the camera gear back out and take some photos. I recently updated my camera (to a Canon 7D) and my printer (to an Epson 3880) so I’m anxious to see what the prints look like from this trip.

First quarter of school ends next week. Even though I say this every year, it still amazes me: first quarter is already over? That went by way too fast. I feel like I’m just starting to get into a groove. It’ll be summer before I know it.

It’s late and I’m tired. I’m off for now, but I promise to get some more interesting stories about Okinawa and Triathlons posted soon. I have to share my experiences with my Garmin 310xt as a traithlon (here’s a hint: it’s good).

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