All,
In light of the recent dearth of blog entries and the subsequent (and well-deserved) call-out by Aunt Katie, here is what has been happening in my life. On May 17th I commissioned as a second lieutenant in the United States Air Force in a formal ceremony with all of the other cadets, as my parents, maternal grandmother, Father Beaver, and childhood friends looked on. The evening prior to that, I had a private commissioning performed by Father Beaver. We were both in our dress blues (he in army, I in air force). The ceremony consisted of Father saying a few words (attached in comments per Father's request), the administering of the Oath of Office, my parents pinning on my gold second lieutenant bars, me saying a few words, me receiving my first salute, and then lots of pictures with friends and family (full video available). On May 18th I graduated from Notre Dame with a Bachelor of Science degree in Civil Engineering. The ceremony was certainly full of pomp and grandeur and guests Cardinal McCarrick and Martin Sheen each spoke.
After moving out of my house, I departed South Bend with four of my friends from Walla Walla and we drove home, stopping to stay at Bart’s in Omaha, and in Boise at another friend’s house. Following that, I spent one night in Walla Walla before attending Chris Campbell’s wedding. The next day I left for Orlando to spend a week with several college friends for one last hurrah. I then came home for my sister’s high school graduation and two more nights in Walla Walla before beginning my next journey.
On June 2, I left Walla Walla and picked up Kevin Johnston in Portland and then headed down to San Francisco. We spent the night at Matt Baumel’s and the next day I headed up to Travis Air Force Base in Fairfield for my first day of work. I have been slowly getting acclimated to my job (official title – project programmer, which means securing funds from congress for construction projects 5+ years down the road (yawn?)) and more quickly getting acclimated to the fun of San Francisco as I have spent every weekend there with a couple of my college buddies.
I am spending the 4th of July in Laguna Beach with several other college friends. To continue on with my immediate future plans, I leave here at the end of July for 7 weeks of school in Montgomery, AL followed soon after by 7 more weeks of school in Dayton, OH which leads into Thanksgiving. If you are still reading, there is the rundown of my life for the last 2 months and the next 5. I cannot wait to get settled in down here and start having visitors. I look forward to seeing everyone for Thanksgiving (as I have missed the last 4 -so it better be a great one!).
Colin
All,
