Week 3 of 6

The chapter of our lives in Moscow & Pullman has closed. Tamy is now among friends and family in Spokane, and I have just completed week 3 of my Air Force Training. Tamy is attempting to sell our cars and preparing to travel to Oklahoma, where her brother awaits. I spent a week at "Blue Thunder," where we learned 4 important skills for deployment: Self Aid Buddy Care; procedures for chemical attacks and wearing the proper attire; protocols for security and ID checks; and small unit tactics, gun cleaning, and navigation skills. Most days are death by Powerpoint. We have done some fun obstacle/puzzle courses, where our flight has to solve a problem (like a puzzle) and complete the task. The nights are usually pretty social. We (as a flight), have been bowling, swimming, boating, gone to a baseball game, eating at Alabama restaurant, and sat at a few bars. We have a pretty good time in the evenings.

As most of you know, I have spent a few hours of my free time reconnecting and finding old friends, I must say I have been quite sucessful. Here is my one plug for Facebook (FB). I joined Facebook almost three weeks ago, I was one of those reluctant ones to do so. What forced my hand was dwelling on all of the friends I had lost contact with, starting a decade ago. I still haven't been able to find any Filipinos I knew, but I just got an address of one of my old Ward Mission Leaders. In 3 weeks I have reestablished contact with 5 of my former mission companions, reconnected with our first ward as a couple, met people from England (including Danny Williamson), made friends with people in Moscow/Pullman (so now we have their contact information), and found some old high school friends that I have been wondering about. What is nice about FB is that you don't have to talk to those people or write them, but they are there just a click away. People I havn't seen in the last decade, are now only a page away. Anytime you want to see what they are up to you just pop on to their FB page. If you want to call them or send some mail you just leave them a message requesting their info. It feels satisfying to know what my friends are doing and how they are. The main reason I am such an advocate is because addresses change, phone numbers change, papers get lost, but the FB page will always be there. It is a great way to stay in touch no matter where you may end up.

I also strongly believe that Blogs are an excellent way to stay in touch. To those who worry about spending too much time, or neglecting family history I say, oh contrar'. You spend as much time as you want and need to. I think Blogging/FB would make a great Sunday afternoon activity. If that is still too much, there is nothing wrong with once a month, that is still 12 times more the communication you would have, than if you didn't have them. True, nothing can replace the personal intimacy of a journal or hand written note, but how many notes do you hand write? With one blog/FB all of your friends can stay updated on the latest with you. Wouldn't you kill for a digital image of where your grandparents used to work, or what there house looked like, or their hobbies? I would argue that a Blog can be a wonderful addition to your family history. A digital archive for your posterity to see. And FB lets you catch up with friends and family too. For those worried about privacy and safety, these sites are full of security measures. If you don't want people or are worried about others poking around your life and pictures there are ways to shut them out. Don't let privacy be the issue keeping you from doing this. Don't let "time" be the reason either, you don't have to have pictures, it doesn't have to look pretty, it is just a page where people can communicate with you and see your thoughts and what you are doing. O.K. I am done with my plug, you make your own choice.

I think that is enough for now. I have 3 more weeks of ASBC (training) left, then I'll be done. I will post some pictures from here in Maxwell so you can so what it is like. Take Care.