Nothing special...

That pretty much sums up the past 2 weeks.  I've been given a little more responsibility at work, as far as learning new things, which is nice.  I also have been offered an opportunity to help another department, resulting in a few hours of OT each week.  After a month off of work, and a small decrease in pay with this job, every extra bit helps.  I may end up returning to school to work on my Master's Degree, probably enrolling in the MBA program.  My first thought is to apply at Bradley University, as they have a very good program and work closely with Caterpillar as far as job placement goes.

As far as poker is concerned, I played a session with lightning36 last Saturday.  I had an up and down session, and left after losing a couple of buy-ins.  While I always enjoy getting to the local casino to play with him, I'm not really sure I should have been out playing.  I didn't play all that poorly, most of it was missing flops or getting 2nd best hands, but I think I need to focus on more important things in the near future.  I know my current home game is in jeopardy as the person who holds the game is in the hospital with congestive heart failure, and is not in very good condition.

Yesterday I spent the day at my mom's house.  Her church had asked for volunteers to help her with some outdoor projects that my dad hadn't gotten to yet.  About 15 people were there, some family, some church members.  We managed to get quite a bit done, including moving a firewood pile, cutting down a tree that was a little too close to the power lines, helping with some landscaping, and digging up a couple of tree stumps.  We worked through some rain showers off and off in the morning, but the afternoon was nice, although a little warm.  She had a couple of piles of brush that she had wanted to burn, but with the rain that wasn't possible, so it's a task that I can manage one of these weekends.  She also wanted the pool taken down, but it took longer to drain it than expected with all of the rain water we have received recently, so they drained it and my uncle is coming out tomorrow to work on that project.

With my new job giving me little vacation time to use this year, and my finances becoming a little tighter due to the uncertainty of my mom's situation, it looks like the only vacation I will be taking this year is a trip to the Bahamas that my wife and I had already planned and paid for before my dad passed away.  It means I have no idea when the next trip to Las Vegas is going to happen.  While a weekend trip is a possibility, it's rather expensive to fly out and stay for what amounts to a day and a half.  I also end up tired and worn out for the first few days that I'm back, which isn't much fun.  It just takes longer to recuperate at this point than when I was younger.  My mom does work, but it's only part-time.  She did apply for insurance and was able to qualify for Medicare with no premium cost, but she's not sure of the deductibles or out-of-pocket costs.  She did say that her prescription meds were cheaper to refill than under my dad's insurance, which is nice.  She has to wait 2-3 months for the death certificate, which she needs in order to get the life insurance money.  He also had a 401K account, which will provide some assistance once she turns 59.5 years old.  The reason for the wait on the death certificate is due to requesting an autopsy, which takes a while for the toxicology report to get back.  Until they get that, they can't finalize the cause of death.  It also doesn't help that it happened out of state, which can prolong everything.  She may end up selling the house and land at some point and moving to a smaller house in the town she grew up in, she hasn't decided.  After a house fire in which they lost everything last summer, my parents had just moved into the new house in early March.  Mom says it doesn't feel like home, and she hasn't made any memories there yet.  There are a few obstacles to her moving, however.  There are a few finishing touches needed with the house, nothing major, but just some minor projects that were started that need finishing.  Also, my grandmother (dad's mom) lives next door, and mom provides most of her care, as far as helping her with dr. appointments and such.  Grandma is mostly independent still, but does need assistance at eye dr. appointments, which is where having mom next door comes in so handy.

I went fishing last Saturday at a local lake.  While I don't have a boat, I could get my dad's boat in working order and use his truck to pull it if I wanted.  I just don't have a lot of free time to do that.  I don't mind bank fishing, as it offers me enough opportunity at this lake.  My grandfather farmed the land down by the lake, and so I know the area pretty well.  I have to work on my filleting skills, which isn't easy with bluegill and crappie, but I know with time I will get better.  My great-uncle has a private pond with bigger fish in it, mainly bluegill, largemouth bass, and catfish, so I can head out there anytime I want also to get in some good fishing.  I plan to spend my weekends fishing and playing a little Frisbee golf, as I haven't done much of either in the last few years.  Knowing that life is short, I'd like to spend a little more time outside having fun.  I will be shooting with some friends again in a few weeks, and this time I may even get out the .357 Magnum that I haven't shot in quite some time....that's an impressive gun!

I hope all is well with everyone....good luck and run well!!