Resume

I wonder how much it is hurting my job search to have "Firearms Instructor" on my resume when looking at regular life type jobs....

Richie Rich Riches Ratings

After vacation and observing some things around me I think I've identified some pretty clear strata of what rich really is ranked by according to what you purchase. So from least rich to most rich, according to Rowdy, here are the levels.

-You eat more restaurant food than food prepared at home.
-You have a house cleaner or gardener, or both, on a regular basis.
-You have more vehicles than drivers in your home.
-You've owned an exotic car. Not just the base model in a premium brand line.
-You fly first class.
-You have a second home for vacation purposes only.
-You have an airplane or helicopter. Maybe a "share" in a private jet.
-You have a yacht.

What prompted this was seeing some amazing yachts around the Greek coast. If you have a yacht you probably have all the things in the list below it, but I doubt very many people skip the intermediate step and just go ahead to yacht.

Only practice makes a real Grand Master

All apologies to Run DMC for paraphrasing their lyric but you get the idea.

The top skill classification in USPSA is Grand Master (GM). To reach it you have to have shot 6 standardized shooting tests, what we call classifiers, within a 5% value of the very best shooters in the USA. Your six classifier scores have to average above the 95th percentile.

Needless to say only about 1% of the people who compete ever reach this goal. I'm currently around 90% and have been as high as 93%.
For me to reach GM this year I need to shoot 3 classifiers at 95% or better. These classifiers are most often included in local matches as they are smaller and easier to set up than other courses of fire. And normally everyone is trying to shoot them well to advance their classification.

Because of my major match travel schedule it looks like I'll only be shooting 4 of these classifiers the remainder of the year. I've got just 4 chances then if I want to make it happen this year...................... I just have to be perfect 3 out of 4 times this year.

Yikes.

Being a home owner

When we were kids our dad would get soo pissed at us if we broke a sprinkler head with the lawn mower. That'd make me mad today as well.

But.........

When we were kids we had to rake up every last leaf. Eh, now I just wait till they're thick and then drive over 'em with the riding lawn mower. Good enough for me.

When we were kids dad would get mad if we shot the fence with bb or pellet guns. He'd be mad if we threw knives or throwing stars into the fence. Now? I still do that stuff and don't bat an eye lash. Just don't split it wide open and I'll survive.

When we were kids we had to either rake the grass clippings up or use the bag attachment and dump it out all the time. My house I just consider the grass clippings more like yard decoration than nuisance.

False Fangs

So went to the dentist today to check out my broken crown prior to going to Greece for two weeks. Good and bad news.

First the bad news. I have at least two cavities, both on either side of the tooth with the crown. And they are not tiny either.
And my teeth have shifted considerably from when they were straight with invisalign. I kinda feel like I wasted two years and three thousand dollars.

Now the good news. I have a dentist here. I only broke of a large portion of the porcelain crown, the metal structure underneath is intact. So I can go to Greece with my "broken" crown on and just keep gluing it back on as needed. When I return it will be temp crown, new crown and getting fillings filled.

I hate my teeth and my mouth.

4th of July ten years ago....

4th of July, 2007. The day I got home to San Diego from Iraq.

I slept. I shaved my beard off. I drove a regular car in traffic with real traffic rules. I hiked to the top of Cowles Mnt. I was startled by fireworks noises for a while. I had amoebic dysentery and a week later would be hospitalized with a fever of unknown origin.

But I was home. In a free country, fresh from a war.

I loved 4th of July before, it's in my top three holidays. (Thanksgiving is #1, then my birthday and then Independence Day!)But now I feel it and love it even more. I've seen the ups and downs of the US, its people and its perception around the world.

I'll be eternally thankful for the sacrifices and strength to follow their convictions of those Revolutionaries.

Pic, me July 4th, within hours of arriving home.

Today was the type of day....

where I considered quitting shooting and taking up tennis. It is soo hard and sooo frustrating to get perfect technique for some things and then be able to do them perfectly, at full speed. It's both maddening and disheartening.

I've been googling country and racquet club memberships for the past hour.