So much happened today that I have no idea how it all transpired in just one day.
Jen and I woke up around 6am. I wanted to sleep more, especially considering that I didn’t get to bed until after 1am. Jen was persistent, however, and jumped up and down on me saying, ‘wake up! wake up! wake up!’
It was pretty tough for me to wake up. In fact it was very hard for me to wake up. I slowly got ready and took a shower, etc. We had to get up so early today so that we could attend Jim’s Air Force retirement ceremony. The ceremony is at 7:30am so we need to be there no later than 7:15am.
I printed off the directions on Jen’s printer and then realized that we needed to hurry. I was sure that we would be late and so was a bit flustered and stressed about that.
Things weren’t so bad, however. We arrived at Dobbins AFB just in time and were not late at all. We met Mom, Jim, and Mom-Mom in a reception room along with some other people. They had doughnuts, muffins, and coffee.
About fifteen minutes later we all filed into a briefing room. A lot of people were already seated - mostly all military people in either jumpsuits or blue dress uniforms.
The actual retirement ceremony for Jim was pretty interesting. Different people stood up to give a short speech bidding him farewell and most of them dispensed gifts. Jim’s boss, a brigadier general, gave him several official-looking documents which looked almost like diplomas.
I had my camera with me and used the 50mm lens to its fullest. I didn’t want to use a flash but the light was low since we were indoors. The first thing I did was photograph the back of the program to set a custom white point. I then bumped the ISO up to 800 and shot wide-open. This gave me enough speed to photograph at 1/90s and 1/180s. I was at just the right distance to get a nice composition with the 50mm lens. I’m glad it worked out so well.
With the ceremony concluded, we filed back into the reception room to have more snacks. This time they had a great-tasting sherbet punch along with cheese, crackers, veggies, and meats. We hung out there for about an hour.
Next we walked over to a large hanger for the changing of command ceremony. Jim’s boss, the brigadier general is going to Colorado, so they are bringing in a new general to replace him. The hanger was full of people. I think it was the entire 94th wing of the air force the general commands.
We sat down in the reserved guest section. Some Cobb country government officials as well as Lockheed Martin representatives and many other people were in attendance. The ceremony was to officially pass on command to the incoming commander. It was pretty cool and seemed very traditional.
When this concluded, we all left to go have lunch at ‘On the Border‘ off Barrett Parkway. Lunch was pretty good. We had chips and queso to start with and for lunch I had two cheese enchiladas along with rice and beans. It was a good lunch.
Jen and I were planning on departing after lunch because we still had a lot to do before the party. However, Mom convinced me to go back to the base with them because we’re going to take a tour of the C-130 cargo plane.
We drove back down to the base and were taken out onto the runway to a large C-130 plane. It was currently having work done to the radar but they paused their work to let us onto the plane to look around.
The C-130 is a large plane. It reminds me a lot of the gigantic C-5 galaxy cargo planes I saw in Texas. We went up into the cockpit where there are four crew seats. We sat in the seats and took some pictures. Then we went to the back cargo hold area to look around.
(Jen and I in the cockpit of the C-130)
Jim explained that the cargo area can easily be changed to accommodate multiple missions. It had the ability to drop paratroopers, carry cargo, carry stretchers (up to 79 at once), and pretty much anything else that will fit. It was cool to see the plane.
With that concluded Jen and I excused ourselves and left the base. We drove back up to Barrett Parkway to go look at Linens-n-Things. I was looking for a towel holder for the powder room, toilet paper stand for the master bathroom, and a few other things. I have a 20% off coupon that I’m itching to use. We didn’t find anything.
Afterwards, we went over to Joann’s but didn’t find anything there either. Time was ticking away so we went back to Jen’s house. On the way there we also stopped at Target. I was still feeling pretty tired. We woke up early, I didn’t get much sleep, and we have done a lot so far today. I think Jen was a bit tired too.
We went back to Jen’s place where she and I packed some things up to take to my place for the party. Jen and I decided to take two cars down to my place. Because of that I left her place first since I was going to stop at the grocery store for some more supplies. She had some things to do around her place so she planned on leaving a little while later.
As I drove the usual route down I-575, I encountered heavy traffic. In fact, it was so bad that some people were turning around on the median (some were doing it right in front of the sign that says, ‘Keep off Median’ which was pretty funny). I grew increasingly frustrated as the traffic moved very slowly. I was tired and stressed and now having to deal with gridlock traffic wasn’t making it any better.
I sat in this slow traffic for about thirty minutes.
I thought I would be clever and exit on highway 5 to take back roads. However, as I was exiting I got a better view of the highway and saw that the traffic cleared up just past the exit. I drove down a ways to find a way to turn around and got back on the highway. It took me about an hour total to get home due to the traffic.
On the way to my house I stopped at Publix to get some stuff for the party tonight. Jen made a list and I got everything on the list. I also stopped by the liquor store to pick up some vanilla vodka.
When I got back to my house, Jen was already there. She helped me bring the stuff in and started putting it all away while I went through the house and did some final cleanup. We only had about 1.5 hours before the party started so we cut it a bit close.
I was actually hoping to take a short nap since I was so tired but I ran out of time. I fixed Jen and me a drink while we put the finishing touches on everything.
She did such a stellar job. She bought all of the food & snacks, prepared all of it, and put it all out on the table in a very nice presentation. I’m so incredibly thankful for her help. I don’t know what I would have done without her.
The party was a huge success. James and his girlfriend were the first to arrive right around 7:30am. I showed them around the house and got them each a beer (we had Corona). About ten minutes later Veena and her husband arrived. They brought a bottle of wine. I also showed them around and got them each a drink.
Jennifer’s classmate and friend, Kristen, arrived next. She brought a bottle of red wine. After she came, Anil and his family showed up too. They brought along their 6-year old daughter, Rhea, as well as their 8-month old newborn baby. They brought a gift-box from Crate & Barrel. It had a cool-looking serving dish with four square serving bowls that all fit inside the main dish.
Mallick called to let me know that he would be a little late. Carole and her two kids (Curtis, 6, and Hannah, 12) showed up. Carole brought me a nice gift basket which had a flower with a vase, two dish towels, and three porcelain white serving bowls which perfectly match my existing dinnerware. It was really cool how they were the same style as my new dishes.
Scott E. and his wife (Chrissie) arrived while I was showing Carole and her kids around. Jen must have let them in. They brought a BBQ grill utensils kit as a gift. It was really cool and had everything I needed for the grill.
A little while later, James and his date left. They were planning on going out somewhere else tonight.
It was pretty hectic with so many people. I had a hard time keeping up with all of the conversations. Lisa and Alan showed up next. The brought a nice 1.75L bottle of Fris Vodka. I was drinking Red Bull & Vodkas. This helped wake me up too. I love that taste. It reminds me so much of St. Maarten.
I was worried that Kristen, Lisa, and Alan might feel a little out of place because so many of my co-workers were there. Sameer called to let me know that he would not be able to attend. Larry also called. We chatted for a bit and agreed to talk more tomorrow because he needs some help with his new ISP.
Kristen left and then Mallick and his wife Anita showed up. They brought a bottle of Port Noir wine. I showed them around the now very crowded house. The food looked great but I never got a chance to eat much of it because I was too busy entertaining. The salsa was a big hit and everyone also loved the nutella chocolate spread.
Initially I played music via the Xbox but I stopped the music when I showed it off to James and his girlfriend. They played one of my games but later someone wanted to play old-school Pacman so I fired up the MameoX emulator to play that game.
I planned on taking lots of photos, but only managed to take one. As it was, the light was too low so I had to fire my fisheye lens with the flash. The onboard flash doesn’t work so well with the fisheye lens, so I had to do some work in Photoshop to lighten the scene correctly.
(A view of the party)
Anil and his family left next. Their 8-month old daughter was getting pretty tired so they needed to get home. Next Veena and her husband left.
Jen’s brother Scott was the last to arrive. He got a little lost but I helped him find his way. I showed Scott around and he mixed in with the crowd.
Carole and her kids left next. I’m really glad she was able to make it. It’s great that I have such a nice boss that I actually want to invite her to my place. I imagine for others they don’t have such a nice arrangement.
Scott E. and his wife, Chrissie, wanted to use my computer to look up movie info because they planned on maybe seeing a movie. I let him use my laptop.
Next Veena and her husband as well as Scott E. and his wife left. The party was starting to wind down with so many people leaving.
I played a game of Samurai Shodown with Scott who only wanted to play one game. Alan and I played the next game. Alan then accepted challengers after he defeated me. Scott left next.
Jen informed me that Lynne would be coming over after all. That’s pretty cool. Lynne came a little later and it was just Lisa, Alan, Lynne, and Jen. Alan and I played on the Xbox while the girls sat out on the deck.
Alan turned out to be quite a natural with the Xbox and defeated me every time I tried to kill him. I went outside to talk to the girls. Later Alan came out too and we all sat outside with our drinks and talked. It was pretty casual and nice.
Around midnight Alan, Lisa, and Lynne left. We sent them hold with a lot of food. Jen and I cleaned up a little bit and reveled in the success of the party. We also talked about how happy we are together and went to bed.
It was a very long and eventful day and I loved every minute of it.
