I don’t know about the rest of you, but this year, at least for me, has started out with the proverbial “Bang!”. I’m not sure if it’s a good “bang” or a bad “bang” yet, or perhaps somewhere in between. Time will tell, undoubtedly.

For those of you keeping up-to-speed with everything, my sons are alive and well. Drifter will, I hope, never change, and is just as social as he’s always been, and is more than happy to purr at you, stuff all his closest whiskers in your ear, and of course, give you as much Tongue Burn (TM, pat pend) as possible. He will turn 11-y-o this coming March, and like all creatures of his age and species, is just starting to show that age. Macumba is on the constant improvement train. Now that he’s been at the new facility for just about a year (almost to the day) he’s finally starting to /act/ like a leopard again, completely with all the snarls, growls, grunts, and all-so-typical lunges at the wire to scare all those unwanted territory thieves away. I, of course, have to smile and feel so very and immeasurably uplifted to be his Chosen One, as with me, all the “rules” don’t apply. He’ll come up and let me rub and scritch, scratch under the chin, pull on the sacred tail, and all the while he’ll be letting out those “content leopard grumbles” which to most sound more akin to angry sounds than happy one. But, that’s just leopards for ya! He will be 7-y-o at the end of March.

I think this year will prove to be a busy one. It’s already started out that way. As things have turned out, I’m assigned to two, different strike groups, one of which I am the “Team Lead” for, which translates to “Admin Bitch”. There’s no magic to it, no added bonuses or increase in paycheck - don’t I wish! - as it’s all about getting the various paperwork and reports completed on time. I am still working with some wonderful and knowledgeable engineers, which is always a pleasure. One of the groups is an anphib, and I am very happy to be back onto a carrier for the other. Between the two groups, it will likely be a lot of “haze grey and underway!”. Somewhere in all that, will be the challenge of inserting a Real Life (TM, pat pend) into the picture somewhere.

Christmas and New Years was good, and I actually got home on time, which means I got to spend the Holidays with friends and family, which over now 15-years of Navy Life, has only happened about half of them (9, including this year, out of 15 Seasons). And in all that, has been about thirteen deployments, thirty different ships, and several hundred thousand miles of traveling about the Earth’s airways and oceans to make it all happen. Some days, there just aren’t enough hours in the day, and others, one has to stand up, and start thumping their forehead onto the closest bulkhead, just to make sure the universe is still real and hasn’t vaporized into a figment of your absurdly bored imagination. Of course, I guess all that’s just Life in such a job as this. The down-side is that for us, all we “afloat engineers”, the sailors and Marines are growing more and more dependent on our expertise, while at the same time, in the Govt’s infinite wisdom, cuts funding to more and more training vital to what they do, which means the sailors and Marines are no longer fully equipped to handle the tasks before them. I guess that means the up-side is that we engineer folk will have employment for the foreseeable future. Not exactly the ideal way to have job security! Par for the course, I guess. (Sigh).

Dreams and Goals for the New Year: Like last year, I still want to find a job a little closer to home. While I /like/ my job, being away from those I love the most is a burden. I am effectively a Geo-Bachelor, living in the Deep South, but stationed almost as far north as one can get without being a “yankee”. I’m sure like with so many things, The Spirits have something in mind. It is all the trials in life which cause you to grow and to mature, and to learn all of those lessons which you could never learn otherwise. I’m not sure what lessons The Spirits have in mind for me. Patience? Persistence? The grand fortitude to simply endure with some dignity and grace? I don’t know. That’s what faith is all about. It is not my place to /know/, but rather, to learn, whatever it might be They have chosen for me.

My family is well. My father turned 75 just a few days ago; he and his wife (also 75) still live in Central Valley California. I suspect they will forever. My mother finally retired this last year, turning 68 in December, and has taken up the calling of being a missionary, working with orphaned children around the world. She’s been a Pediatric Nurse Practitioner for more than three decades, which made her a perfect fit for the position, as she loves kids and she’s a skilled medical professional. So far, she’s been in Napal and India, and tells stories of sponge baths with luke-warm water, and even sometimes running water for the toilets. Sounds like a ship! (Sorry! Couldn’t resist!) She’ll be a part of that endeavor until October, and then decide if she wants to continue on with it for another two years. If so, she’ll come home, sell her house, and go back. My brother is still in the Sacramento CA area, but I must admit, I haven’t talked to him in years. Most of what I hear about him is through the proverbial Grapevine, or from the folks.

This phase of the Animal War is quickly winding down to a close. The last hurdle before us is to have the judge “set aside” the fraudulent Settlement Agreement, which never would have existed, had the Defendant been open and honest about maiming Macumba (not that I think it actually happened on the date they all have claimed anyway). But that entire subject will be for the next case, which if I can ever get the complaint written, will be filed within a short time after the agreement is set aside. The Defendants, of course, imagine this to be the proverbial “end”, as I have my animals, and short of harassment and such, they can do nothing more to me or my dear charges, and in their minds, imagine /I/ can do nothing more to them either. But they will soon find out, things are far, /far/ different than they perceive. Theft, trafficking in stolen property, extortion, destruction of property, conspiracy, and conspiracy to defraud are all very significant crimes (felonies, in fact), and in my opinion, the Defendants and their counsel have committed them all. So in their minds, this is the “end”. In mine, to quote the immortal words of John Paul Jones, “I have not yet /begun/ to fight!” (JPJ is from US Naval History, btw).

So, that’s the New Year at a glance. Like I said, it’s starting off with a “Bang!”, and I think you can see exactly what I mean! It will indeed be a /busy/ year!

I wish you and yours a belated Happy Holidays and a magnificent New Year. You are all in my thoughts and prayers, and I would humbly ask for you to keep me (and most especially my “little ones”) in yours.

May this next year be bright and enriching for you all!

With my Sincerest and Warmest Regards,
Shasta-Neon-Hyper-Spasti-Kitty