‘Star Wars – Omega Squad: Targets’ – Overview

Saturday and it was no day to rest for the weary.  I got up around nine o’clock this morning which is sleeping in for us!  We got up and I got a quick breakfast and then started working on some things.  I downloaded some songs for Heather’s MP3 Player and watched some episodes of “Avengers: Earth’s Mightiest Heroes” on TV while I worked.  After about an hour, David showed up to start the work that we were doing today.  My big project that started today?  My Tie Pilot costume.  I have a LOT to do to get the costume complete, but today was a HUGE step in getting things going.  I bought a kit online, but the kit needs some work, so I referred to my local “guru’s” on costuming and had a local 501st member come and help me out too.  So, David showed up and we looked at what we needed to do.  Then Ian Palmer showed up and we started to look at the kit and then Ian’s Tie pilot kit and started to compare.

Ian had to go to his home and get his helmet for us to use as a reference and it was immensely helpful as my helmet came unassembled.  So, the big thing we needed to do in order to just get the helmet together.  I can now understand why people order pre-made helmets, or just mod Don Post helmets.  It’s just easier!  Anyway, we got to work and started trimming and working and the three of us worked together well.  We got to a “waiting” point as we glued things together and decided to make a run to some local stores for supplies.  We went to “Lowes” for some supplies, “Weis Markets” (for Heather for some supplies), “Pizza Hut” for some food, and then “Advanced Auto Parts” for some other supplies, but they didn’t have them.  We then came back to my house.

It was a warm day to work, and even in the basement, it was warm and humid.  We worked hard and by mid-afternoon, we had most of the chest box put together and had a pretty good gameplan put together for the helmet.  By late afternoon, we got to another stopping point.  Ian left and went home and was gracious enough to let me borrow his costume for a little bit for reference.  David and I then made another run.  We found some things we were looking for at Wal Mart and then went to “Auto Zone” for some pinstriping and then went to David’s house and picked some things up.  We then worked till late tonight and had the helmet pretty much put together.  It still needs some work, but it’s really close to completion.  David left by eleven-thirty and Heather and I went to bed shortly thereafter.

Okay, let’s do an overview of “Star Wars – Omeag Squad: Targets” by Karen Traviss…….

‘Star Wars – Omega Squad: Targets’ – Part 7

Well, it was Friday and the end of the work week, but it was a HOT end of the work week!  We got up at five-fifteen and it was about seventy degrees even at five o’clock this morning.  What the heck!  I moved to New York to stay cool and have snow, not for heat and humidity!  This is ridiculous!  Heather and I started to get ready for work today.  We prepped our bags and coolers and I got some breakfast and then a shower while Heather and I reversed roles.  We then woke up the girls and then got on the road to work. We reported in to “West Side Laundry” and we had a long trip this morning down to a camp that was all the way down just outside of “Orange County” and we picked up the laundry at their camp.  I’ll admit that Heather and I took longer than we usually do, but it was for good reasons.  It was really hot and at one point I insisted we stop and break because I actually stopped sweating and I know that is a sign that heat exhaustion is setting in.  So, we stopped and took a rest and then I started to sweat again and started to feel better.  We worked hard and did our thing.  We loaded up the fifteen foot truck and drove back to Binghamton

We got back to work around one o’clock and punched out.  Heather and I then decided to head home and try to get some sleep. We took about a half hour nap and then worked on some quick things around the house.  We then got some showers and got the girls into the car and headed out to pick up Austin from boy Scout Camp.  We got to Camp Tuscarora around four-fifty and we had asked Austin to be at the camp at five o’clock and he was nowhere to be found.  His leaders claimed he was down by the water front.  So, I told Heather to stay at the camp and I would go and try and find my son.  I took Ruth and we headed to the waterfront.  Austin wasn’t there and they just closed down the waterfront.  We then heard from another boy in his troop that Austin was at the rifle range. No one told me it was about a click away from where we were at!  So, Ruth and I started to walk toward the rifle range (which was about a mile away).  We finally found Austin just outside of there and walked him back to the car.  We had Austin go back to camp and finish packing up and then got on the road.

We then got Austin home and had him take a shower and grab a sandwich.  We then headed over to “Regal Cinemas” on Front Street and had a chance to see “Captain America: First Avenger” in the theater.  The movie was awesome!  And if you haven’t seen it, I can’t say enough – GO SEE THIS MOVIE!!!!  It truly is one of the best masterpieces that I have yet to see in a long time.  I would actually say that this movie is “Star Wars” good!  Way to go Joe Johnston and way to bring out a wonderful movie.  Way to go cast and crew!  Way to go Captain America!  This movie is what America needs at THIS time in American history because I have a feeling that patriotism needs a boost around here all of a sudden.   We got done with the movie and I parted ways with David and Gary and went home with Austin.

We got home and Heather and I talked a little bit and then the kids and I watched “Lego Star Wars: Padawan Menace” and I have to say that it was really cool, funny, and cute!  If you have young kids, this may be a GREAT way to introduce them to Star Wars.  It’s entertaining for them as well as the adults.  A really good special.  We then went to bed late around eleven-thirty.

Okay, let’s talk about Part 7 of “Omega Squad: Targets” by Karen Traviss……

‘Star Wars – Omega Squad: Targets’ – Part 6

Well, it’s Thursday and it was a day to get back to work.  I could NOT believe how hot it really was today!  Heather and I got up this morning and it was already seventy-eight degrees!  And it was only six-thirty in the morning.  Heather and I got our showers and got things packed for our day and got ready.  We had plenty of water packed and made sure that we had some snacks packed because of how hot it is.  I also told Heather that we will move a little slower today, but that I would like to try to get the major lifting done by noon.  So, we got to work at “West Side Laundry” by seven-thirty and we clocked in and found out that we would be delivering to the camps that we picked up at on Tuesday, so we knew exactly what we would be doing and where we would be going, and we were going to spending most of our time in Pennsylvannia.  We then got on the road.

We got to the first camp and unloaded with no problems and they were actually nice and helped Heather and I out by coming by and picking up each individual bag and taking them to the bunks via golf cart.  The second camp, we unloaded the truck into a gazebo type porch area and I was able to organize everything which was nice because we had the ability to double check our numbers while we were unloading.  We got done with those two camps and headed right home and we were back at the laundry mat by twelve-thirty.  We got done with work and signed out and then headed over to the Gulf Station and we went to Front Street and got some things.  We stopped at “Creature Comforts” for some dog treats, then we went to “Wendy’s” and got a little bit of a late lunch.  We then went to “Weis” to get some food for dinner, including some melons and then we went to “Lowes” to grab some things for home and then went back home.

We got home around two-thirty or so and put some things away.  It was still WAY too hot, so the girls hit the pool and Heather and I retreated to the basement and tried to cool off.  The reality was that we both fell asleep for about a half an hour because it was cool enough down there to sleep and because we really didn’t sleep last night.  After our nap, we watched some episodes of “South Park” followed by “Gene Simmons Family Jewels” and then Heather and the girls went upstairs and made dinner.  We watched the news while we ate dinner in the basement and then we switched over to watching “Wheel of Fortune” and “Jeopardy” and then we watched “Big Bang Theory”, “Rules of Engagement”, and “Big Brother” before Heather and I tried to go to bed early.

Okay, let’s talk about Part 6 of “Omega Squad: Targets” by Karen Traviss…….

‘Star Wars – Omega Squad: Target’ – Part 5

Well, it’s Wednesday and it was a day off from work.  Heather and I woke up to some hot weather at about eight-thirty this morning and we headed right into the shower to try and cool off a little bit.  After we got out of the shower, we watched a little bit of “The Early Show” and found out that Roscoe, NY (a town that Heather and I have been driving through, throughout the last two summers) is now known as “Fishtown U.S.A.”.  It was actually kind of exciting to find that out.  I then watched “Dr. Phil” and about half way through the show, Heather took off and headed out to take care of some things around town.  She also headed over to Vestal to get the woofers to my KLH speaker finds.  I went into the basement and played some COD:BO till Heather got home.  I even figured out how to have my Playercard look like Captain America’s shield and I have to say, it looks pretty cool!

After Heather got home, I ate a very quick lunch and put my KLH speakers back together.  I then discovered that my one speaker was doing okay, but it was missing a good, working tweeter.  Who knew this would become the “hunt of the day”.  Tara decided to come along with me on my hunt.  I headed over to “Advanced Auto” to see if they had a car tweeter, but nothing that would fit.  We headed over to “Radio Shack” and they didn’t have anything either.  We then hit up “Guitar Center” and “Unicorn Electronics” and came up short at both places as well.  Someone suggested “Hyle Audio” and I headed over there and on a whim, the guy had one that I thought would work.  So, Tara and I bought it for twenty bucks, and then headed home.  We made a quick stop at “Lowes” to get some new connectors and came home.

We got home and I tested out the speaker and it worked out perfect.  Only one problem.  It didn’t quite fit the cabinet.  No problem, I used my dremmel and cut out the speaker to make it work.  I worked hard and had the speaker put back together and had everything put together.  It was about three-thirty by the time I got done and had the home theater room back together.  I played COD:BO for a little bit with the new sound system.  I then went on the “Jolly Rogers Squadron” boards to look for some answers for some parts for my Tie Pilot for my new costume.  I then watched a bunch of episodes of “South Park” and “Gene Simmons Family Jewels” till Heather and the kids joined me in the basement for dinner.  We ate tacos while we watched two episodes of “Mythbusters” before we cleaned up dinner.  After that, we watched “Big Brother” and two episodes of “Parking Wars”.  The kids went to bed and Heather and I watched the two new episodes of “Storage Wars” before going to bed.

Okay, let’s talk about Part 5 of “Star Wars – Omega Squad: Targets” by Karen Traviss……

‘Star Wars – Omega Squad: Targets’ – Part 4

Tuesday and it was obvious that the humidity went up today.  It went up quite a bit by the end of the day and I can say that it’s going to be a “scorcher” of a weekend before the end of the weekend.  Heather and I got up around six-thirty this morning and I got my shower while she was a little slow getting out of bed and then she cooked breakfast and got a shower and we both tried to eat a little something.  We then packed up our bags and were on our way to work.  We got to “West Side Laundry” and checked in.  We had two camps to pick up laundry from today and both were just over the border in Pennsylvannia.  We got to our first camp and took our time because it was a hot and humid day.  We then packed up the truck and headed over to the second camp.  They weren’t ready yet, so we got some breakfast/brunch and then went back to the camp and picked up that camp.  We then headed back to our workplace and were done by two o’clock by the time we got home.

We got home and Heather and I took a nap and then I went into the basement and started to watch some episodes of “South Park” on DVR and I played some COD:BO for about an hour.  Heather ordered some pizza for dinner and we watched “Wheel of Fortune” and “Jeopardy” on TV while we ate in the basement.  We then switched over to watching “Hell’s Kitchen” and then “Master Chef”.  The kids went to bed and Heather and I watched “Gene Simmon’s Family Jewels” and “Deadliest Catch” on DVR before heading to bed.

Okay, let’s talk about Part 4 of “Star Wars – Omega Squad: Targets” by Karen Traviss…….

‘Star Wars – Omega Squad: Targets’ – Part 3

Monday and Heather and I were separated for our job today which meant we were going in two separate directions.  So, Heather was up at five-thirty this morning and I was up at six o’clock this morning.  Heather was done and out of the house by the time I got up to get my shower.  She was nice enough to cook me some breakfast and leave it behind, but the good news was that the kids were here, so we didn’t have to walk the dog this morning.  I got my shower, ate my breakfast, packed up my things and headed off to work at “West Side Laundry”.  I got to work and checked in and I was working with another driver named Ron today.  We had one camp to drop off and another to pick up and they were both in Pennsylvannia.  I even got a chance to drive the twenty foot truck back here to Binghamton.  Overall, it was a good work day and I put in about six hours of work.

I got back home and checked in with Heather and then headed home.  I got home and immediately tried to eat some lunch and then got an hour nap or so.  I then headed into the basement and worked on my Tie Pilot comm while I watched some more episodes of “Storage Wars” on DVR.  After that, Heather called me to dinner.  We sat down and had some dinner and I went into the basement and played some COD:BO on my PS3.  After that, I continued to watch “Storage Wars” and then an episode of “South Park and I got completely caught up on my DVR watching.  Then Heather and I attempted to watch “Hell’s Kitchen” and “Master Chef” and then “Rizzoli and Isles” although we had problems watching them because our satellite reception went in and out because of some storms.  I REALLY wish DirecTV could fix the problems with our dish.  I have a feeling we will do our two year stint with them and will be going back to Time Warner Cable shortly after that.

Okay, let’s talk about Part 3 of “Star Wars – Omega Squad: Targets” by Karen Traviss…..

‘Star Wars – Omega Squad: Targets’ – Part 2

Well, it’s Saturday and it was a busy day and all for good reasons.  I’ll admit that by the end of the day today, I was exhausted, but it was worth all the work and worth all the effort.  Heather and I got up around nine o’clock this morning and started to clean some things up around the house.  I’ll admit that we have officially gotten to the point that we really do miss our kids.  They have been gone for only two weeks, but for some reason it feels like it’s been months!  We really do need them around here.  Not only for their energy, but for their hard work and all the things they do to help make this house work.  As Heather says, “It takes five people to live in this house, so it takes five people to run this house”.  We worked hard all of the morning and I had quite a few things cleaned up and ready.

My parents then arrived at eleven o’clock and the kids were excited to see us.  We unloaded the car and talked for a little bit.  Heather decided to pick a fight with me while my parents were around (which she seems to do a lot lately.  I swear it’s because she is trying to make me look bad in front of them!  We haven’t fought in a while!).  Then my parents took off.  Heather and I then helped the kids unpack their clothes put together what they got and sat down and talked with them for a little bit.  After that, the kids were charged with cleaning their rooms and I decided to play COD:BO for about an hour after eating some lunch.  After that, I started to get things together for tonight and I showed the kids that we made TheForce.Net.  It was cool that we got some coverage on their website.  It’s nice to get some coverage for what we do.  The kids then loaded up their tote and before I knew it, we were on our way.

We headed over to the Ross Park Zoo for our Star Wars Ice Cream event.  We had a lot of our group show up and we had all sorts of characters for the event.  We ended up having everyone from Darth Maul to a Tie Pilot to Mandalorians to Ahsoka Tano.  It was a great event and I think the Zoo did pretty well from it as well and it always makes me feel good to help out our local zoo.  The zoo estimated the attendance to be at about a thousand people!  That’s almost double last year!  When we finished up, we stopped at “Arby’s” on our way home and got some dinner.  We got home and ate some dinner and then unloaded the car.  I then started to work on the comm pad for my Tie Pilot costume that I hope to have done by next weekend (or at least close to it).  After that, we went to bed.

Okay, let’s talk about Part 2 of “Star Wars – Omega Squad: Target” by Karen Traviss……..

‘Star Wars – Omega Squad: Targets’ – Part 1

Well, it’s Friday and my long work week was over by the end of the day today.  It was a little rough working all five days this week without a break.  I know it’s my summer job and all, but I’m not used to this kind of physical labor all five days a week.  Heather and I got up a little early this morning and got ourselves going for the day.  We did our usual routine and got ourselves going and before long, we had the dog walked, we ate breakfast, we had showers, and were off to work at “West Side Laundry”.  We got to work and checked in.  We had a decent day today.  We dropped off to a camp that is deep in Pennsylvannia, dropped off to another camp just a little farther north and then picked up from a camp that was in Northern Pennsylvannia just outside of New Milford.  We made good time and were pretty happy with how efficient we were today.  We were back at the shop by twelve-thirty and were heading home.

We got home and both Heather and I took a nap.  After our nap, we decided to head out to get some dinner and then some things we needed to get for the weekend.  We headed over to “Texas Roadhouse” for dinner again because my wife wanted to eat there one more time before the kids came home and we really couldn’t afford it again for a while.  While we were there, Heather and I talked about possibly going to the “New York State Fair” this year since we really weren’t taking a vacation at all this year.   After we got dinner, we headed over to “A.C. Moore” and I got some paint for my comm pad for my Tie Pilot costume.  After that, we headed over to “Wal Mart” and picked up a  few things.  On our way home, I stopped off at our local liquor store and got some tequila and some mix for margaritas for home.  We had some tonight while we watched some of Season 1 of “Hot in Cleveland” on DVD before heading to bed.  My wife was excited because  our kids were coming home tomorrow.

Okay, let’s talk about the first part of “Omega Squad: Targets” by Karen Traviss…….

‘Star Wars – Republic Commandos: Triple Zero’ – Overview

Well, today was another day at work for my summer job.  I realize that I’m a teacher and many people complain that teachers have the “summer off”, but what people don’t realized is that teachers don’t get PAID in the summer either.  So, when the public complains about how much teachers get paid, remember that teachers don’t get paid for the summer and because we are under contract, we are not permitted to collect unemployment during that time either.  I hope that explains why I work in the summer to some people, as I had some questions (via email) as to why I was even working in the summer.  Besides, I have a family of five that I have to support and I choose to be a teacher as a profession.  I realized when I went into my profession that I would never be “rich”, but that I would be “okay” and that was alright with me.  That is what I signed up for when I became a teacher.  Okay, so now that this explanation is done.

I got up this morning around six o’clock and I headed into the shower and Heather got up shortly after me and started making breakfasts and putting together our coolers.  Shortly after I got dressed we switched spots.  After my breakfast, I walked the dog a little bit and then we packed things up and got on our way to “West Side Laundry”.  We checked in and got our assignment.  We were dropping off one camp, picking up another, and dropping off a third.  All three camps were in Pennsylvannia and two of them weren’t too far from Lake Wallenpaupack (yes, the infamous lake from the episode of “The Office”).  We got a lot done with some help from another member from the laundry service.  We got done with all our work and were back in Binghamton by one o’clock.

We then headed over to Austin’s doctors office and picked up the papers we dropped off yesterday.  After that, we headed over to the Johnson City Wal Mart and got some things together for dinner and picked up some filters and salt for the pool.  We then headed home.  When we got home, I ate a small lunch and watched a little bit of “The Talk” with Heather before retiring into the basement and watching an episode of “South Park” on DVR.  I’ll admit that I fell asleep for a good hour while I watched.  Shortly after, I watched the episode again along with another and Heather came downstairs and got me for dinner.  We had a dinner of meatball sandwiches and blueberries.  After dinner, I continued to work on repainting (or at lest touch up painting) my gauntlets on my Mando.  I also worked on fixing up my airsoft shotgun that I got at “Jim May’s” on Sunday for a dollar.  I hope to have it back together (and functioning) by the end of the weekend.

I continued to watch “South Park” until “Big Bang Theory” came on and then Heather and I went upstairs and she cut my hair while we watched the show.  I then watched another “South Park” on DVR and then switched over to “Big Brother”.  After that we watched another episode of “South Park” and then “Robot Chicken” before Heather and I went to bed.

Okay, let’s do an overview of the book of “Star Wars – Republic Commandos:  Triple Zero” by Karen Traviss…….

‘Star Wars – Republic Commandos: Triple Zero’ – Chapter 25 (Part 6)

Well, it’s Wednesday and I’m beginning to think that the middle of the week is just “not my thing”.  I never seem to do good on Wednesdays.  Other people either complain about their Mondays or Fridays, but I for one, will complain about Wednesdays and I think it’s because it’s really the day that makes Mondays look bad and the day that makes Fridays seem like they are so long.  Our Wednesday was long for the second week in a row and I’m beginning to just think they are cursed.   But, let me tell you about the rest of my day.

I got up at five-thirty this morning and dragged myself to the bathroom.  Heather didn’t even get up and was a little slower at getting out of bed.  I got my shower this morning as she put some breakfast together.  We then switched and I ate breakfast and walked the dog while she got her shower and got ready for her day.  We watched the news for a little bit, but there wasn’t too much to talk about other than Obama’s comments about the state of the economy.  I find it interesting that he is threatening that if they cannot come to an agreement about the budget by August 2nd, then they may not have money to pay out their Social Security Checks on August 3rd.  Hey, haven’t companies been going through that for the past TWO YEARS?  You know, not being able to afford bills and having to let their employees go?  Better yet, here’s one to think about – if we can’t pay out to Social Security, we also can’t pay out to medicare, medicaid, and dare I say it? – Welfare?  Maybe it’s time to put some perspective on where our economy is REALLY at!  I know, I know, it will be at the cost of the elderly in this country.  Don’t think I don’t like the elderly, my parents will be impacted.  However, we need to start figuring out how we are going to deal with this economy and continuing to make idle threats is no longer going to work!

Anyway, after getting our things together, Heather and I were off to work at “West Side Laundry”.  We got our assignment and checked over our twenty-foot truck and got on the road.  We had three camps to drop off to and one to pick up from.  All four camps were in New York State, so we didn’t need to cross over into Pennsylvannia today.  We traveled mainly on 17 East and went all the way down into Orange County.  We had a minor snafu today and had to travel back to one camp to make a correction.  We had to travel out to the foothills of the Catskills today as well.  It was a lot of time travelling, but we got the job done and were back in Binghamton by quarter till five.  We then headed over to Austin’s doctors office to drop off some paperwork that he apparently needs for Boy Scout camp and we just found out about it last night and we MUST get it by tomorrow before five o’clock.

After that, we went to “Taco Bell” on our way home to get some dinner.  We then headed home.  We put the dog out on the tether and ate some dinner and went through the mail.  We then watched a few episodes of “Gene Simmon’s Family Jewels” and then Heather did a quick trip over to “Weis” and I played COD:BO for about an hour.  After that, she came home and we watched “Big Brother” together followed by a few episodes of Season 2 of “The Big C” before going to bed.

Okay, let’s talk about Part 6 of Chapter 25 of “Star Wars – Republic Commandos:  Triple Zero” by Karen Traviss……..