Memorial Day...

First off, thanks to all the men and women who have or are currently serving in the United States armed forces. Here's a pic of the ship I served on in the late 1980's, the USS Marvin Shields. This pic was taken while we were in Hawaii (lovely place).


We grilled out today, a little cliche I know, but it was really good. Tough luck for Danica in the Indy 500, but at least it was a safe race.

School's going well. Having to run the mile for my PE class was tough but I did better than I expected. Jessica, Joy, and I ended up joining the YMCA last week so I'm sure I can improve my overall time before the end of the semester.

Have I finally bitten off more than I can chew?

Since I am not working this summer (so far I have emptied my savings account and have cashed in my tiny 401K) I am taking as many classes as possible to make sure I finish on time. I have English, Psychology, Sociology, Humanites, Health, and Physical Education this summer and classes started yesterday. It's certainly not an impossible feat, but like everything else I tend to do, I always try too hard and end up doing more work than I usually need to to get the job done.
I just can't settle for passing, I have to excell. Gotta go for now since I have homework. :-)

Old friends, new friends...

After finding out about my 25 year high school reunion, I filled out some info on classmates.com. I have since heard from a couple of old high school buddies and it's been very cool cathing up on what everyone is up to. Also, I've made a few new friends while going to college.

Languages...

I have a thing for learning new languages. I'm not sure why, but they draw me in. Because of this I have studied several over the years(Japanese, Chinese, German, French, and Russian) but I never get to use them.

Several years ago, my youngest daughter and I started studing Japanese. Once we felt we could communicate slightly better than a drunken tourist, we wanted to test it out. So we promptly visited the nearest "Japanese" resturant to mingle with the natives. Not a single person in the place spoke or even understood Japanese. The chef was from Mexico! At least at the Chinese buffett they understood 'thank you' (and even seemed pleased I actually made the effort).

But it is not like riding a bicycle, you will forget if ou don't practice. So today when I visited my wife's work and I ran into a co-worker of her's that is learning Japanese, I blanked...

Back to the books I guess (I still may need it someday :-))

Yikes...

I received a message today from a high-school classmate about our reunion coming up. Has it been that long? 25 years already? Wow. Where did the time go?

Anyway, I think it'd be great to meet some of the folks I went to high school with. Not sure what I'd say or talk about, but it'd still be fun!

Washington DC

We have been wanting to take a trip to Washington DC for a while now. I have been a couple of times in the past on business trips, but never on vacation.

We left about 6am Friday morning and arrived around noon. Very smooth trip, very light traffic, and the hotel was right off the interstate. Everything was within walking (or a short ride on the subway) distance.

Friday we went through Union Station on the way to the Zoo. The Zoo was really nice and the pandas came right up to the glass while we were there. Unfortunately the elephant exhibit was closed.

After leaving the Zoo we ended up eating dinner in Chinatown. That was THE BEST Chinese food I had ever eaten. I ordered to same thing I would have gotten at home, but it was 100 times better. I can only image how good the food would be in China.

Saturday we left the room early and walked to the Smithsonian and the National Mall. We got to the Air and Space Museum a little early, but went right in when the doors opened. Jessica ended up meeting several astronauts and got autographs and pictures. She was beside herself with excitement.

During the day we walked and walked and walked and saw tons of cool buildings, museums, etc., but in the evening when we decided to visit Union Station again (we rushed through the first time) to look around we took a cab. Union Station is huge; the pictures do not do it justice.

When we left Sunday morning, we drove by the Lincoln Memorial and Arlington Cemetery. The drive home on Sunday was just as smooth and traffic free and the drive up. I was surprised.

Here's the link to the pictures. http://www.flickr.com/photos/michaellandonhatfield

It's been a while...

Sorry it's been so long, but I'll catch everything up and try to start posting at least one a week.
First off, I'm not going to China after all. I still have family and responsibilities here that I can't leave; even for a few months.

One of these, and probably the one at the top of the list, is the fact that my youngest daughter, Jessica, was accepted into the early college program. This means that instead of being a freshman in high school this fall, she's going straight to the local community college instead. She'll graduate in 4 years with BOTH a high school diploma and an Associates degree. (And it's free.)

I am currently taking more classes in anticipation of transferring into East Carolina University's teaching curriculum next fall (2009). Two years after that (once I finish school) I'll be ready to become a full time middle school math teacher.