Okay, here’s an update on the Reef!  I received the first 2 replacement bulbs and got them installed this afternoon.  Here’s a before:

Here’s an after shot:

 

And as a bonus, here’s a pic of my clown cozying up with a hairy mushroom:

Here’s hoping the new bulbs will aid in the corals’ recovery….

“Immediately After”

Okay, so I shamed myself into thoroughly cleaning not only the display tank, but also the protein skimmer assembly.  Take a look at the difference:

Before

Immediately After

Keep in mind, in the latest photo, the lights were just turned on, and the debris cloud hadn’t settled yet.  Even as drastic as this pic is, the water will bet clearer, and the corals will open up to soak up light they have been deprived of, and enjoy the infusion of fresh saltwater.  I can’t believe I let it get that bad!

Almost a Year Old

So…  my reef aquarium is just shy of a year old.  At its height of vitality, back in May, it looked like this:

 

Today, it looks like this:

 

You may be wondering why…  Well, I don’t really have a single good excuse.  It’s a culmination of a back injury and severe depression over the summer, a lack of money (which really killed my motivation and had me seriously considering tearing it down for now), and shortage of time.  With the weather turning colder, and a 4 day weekend to take stock, I am now prepared to tackle this mess and see what it will look like in a few hours.  Wish me luck!

Thanks Ryan

It is with mixed emotions that I reflect on today, May 8th, 2010.  In just a few hours I will finally attend my graduation ceremony at Miami University.  It’s been a long and hard, but well worth it, journey to this point, and I am proud to be here.

I also just learned that someone I went to (Madison) school with, Ryan Lozier, was killed in Afghanistan less than 24 hours ago.  While I was never “close” with Ryan, he was always someone for whom I had the utmost respect (even through Jr. High).  Over the years, as he has crossed my mind, I’ve always thought of him as a natural-born leader.  Those who have known him in recent years, and served with him will likely say the same and more.

Ryan isn’t the first classmate that the Madison High School class of 1998 has had to say goodbye to (note: Ryan ultimately graduated from Middletown, but went to Madison for most of his school career).  12 years ago, when we were all looking forward to getting our high school diplomas, none of us would have been able to believe that life would be so fleeting for some.  It’s a solemn reminder that we have no promise of tomorrow, and that our lives should be spent working toward what we know our purpose to be.  I believe that’s what Ryan was doing, and it’s with pride that I can say that I knew him, if only for a little while.

So tonight, as I pass from one era of my life to another, I will pause to remember a life well lived, and life given willingly for the sake of freedom, passing from one era to another.  Please join me in doing so.

It’s getting close!

Of all the times for me to decide to update my blog, now probably isn’t the best. I should be studying for an exam right now (I have been studying – just taking a break). I’ve been getting overwhelmed a bit over the past couple weeks, and perhaps now is as good a time as any to vent a bit.

Work has been a bit crazy. Starting the last week of March and continuing through the end of last week, I was working on a couple “Incidents,” as we refer to them, which put me about 3 weeks behind on my other projects. I am now attempting to catch up on those, but it will be awhile.

As far as college goes, I just met with my academic advisor, Diane, to finalize the last little bit of paperwork I had outstanding, so that now all I have to do is concentrate on finishing the next couple weeks, and finals.

Wrapping up an epic journey in pursuit of my Associate Degree, I am just now beginning to realize that 12 years have passed since I graduated high school, and I will turn 30 a week after my graduation.  I suppose it is a bit fitting that I reach two milestones simultaneously.  My 20′s weren’t exactly easy.  It seems that from 2004 on, I have been caught in a whirlwind.  And even as I started to figure some things out in 2007 and on, that only meant that I had steeper, more abundant hills to climb.  Since Connor was 2 years old, I have been in one form of major transition or another.  Much of my time spent in police academy or college.

So now that I am wrapping up a college milestone, and taking some time off to enjoy life a bit, I’m not really sure what I will do with myself.  I hope I don’t waste my free time, but life happens and even the best made plans are laid to waste.

I suppose that’s it for now.  Maybe I’ll have something more profound to write about in the coming days and weeks.  Until then, I better get back to the “books.”

Updates for my fans

It’s been a really long time since my last update. I’ve been really busy with this semester of school (I applied for graduation this past week!), work, finishing the basement, and establishing, maintaining, and tweaking the reef aquarium. I hope to be posting some new aquarium pics really soon, so keep an eye out on http://ghurlag.wordpress.com/reef.

I’m heading into midterms this week, so I’ve hit the halfway point of this semester before I realized it. I can’t wait to be done, so that I can say I am a college graduate (even though I have more school down the road). It will be nice to take a couple years off school so I can concentrate on work and family and fun.

Winter Blues

Well, it’s been a little while since my last entry, so I suppose I’ll update everyone on my antics.

School started back 2 weeks ago.  So far I think this, being my final semester for now, will be a very manageable 4 months.  I am taking an ASP.NET class and a project management class.  I am going in to week three not feeling overwhelmed yet, so I am already ahead of the game from the past 3 semesters.  In the next couple weeks, I have to apply for graduation (Associate Degree – CIT-Networking).  I’ll probably take a couple years off, then return to pursue a Bachelor’s degree online from someplace such as DeVry.  From what I understand they have quite a reputation in the IT sector.

I don’t know if I’ve really mentioned it on my blog, but we are expanding our living space by partially finishing the basement.  The carpet is down (but not finished completely), the first phase of electrical is done (overhead lighting to come later down the road), and Jessica and Connor are priming the walls as I type this.  I figure that worst case scenario, that project will be complete by the end of summer.  We will be moving my office down there from where it is in our bedroom, currently, and the TV will be moving from the living room.

My reef aquarium is coming along nicely.  The water parameters have remained stable and conducive to marine life.  I have a small frag of Eagle Eye Zoanthids that seem to be doing well.  I’ve only had them for a week, so no real growth yet, but no die off, either, so I’m gonna stay positive.  I will be installing a Reverse Osmosis/De-ionization unit that will supply ultra pure water for the aquariums, as well as ultra-pure drinking water for us.  According to experts, based on my test results of the tap water, Middletown is at the maximum EPA-allowed limit for nitrates.  I haven’t tested any other parameters, such as phosphates and total dissolved solids (TDS), but I doubt they would be anything to be proud of, either.

If you haven’t visited my reef page yet, I recommend you stop by and see the first batch of pics that I posted.  I’m waiting for some more significant changes before posting anything else, but stay tuned!  Thanks for reading!

Cramming It All In

Since Christmas, the realization that another semester of college is looming ahead has caused me to frantically enjoy my “freedom” and try to accomplish a number of tasks.  This has in turn fostered a daily promise to myself that” I will go to bed earlier tonight than I did last night.”  So far, I have broken that promise for 2 weeks straight.

The weekend after Christmas we were able to get carpet into the basement, to begin the transition to living space.

New Years weekend, I spent most of my time working on or staring at my reef tank, or on the WORC forums doing research and seeking advice.

Tonight, I set up the “make up” tank – a second aquarium with mixed saltwater for water changes.  Still remaining is a quarantine tank (QT) for new or ill inhabitants.  I am also loading my main Desktop with Windows 7 prior to the start of the new semester.  Once school starts, that computer won’t see any major changes for awhile.

This weekend, I will hopefully be installing electrical outlets and circuits in the basement.  I’m still not sure on the final confiuration for that.

For those of you who have witnessed my new obsession with my reef aquarium, I hope you enjoy being a part of the adventure with me rather than being completely annoyed.  My hope is that I’ll be able to share my little part of the ocean with you all.

I hate having to rush to enjoy the things that make life worth living, but this is my final semester for the near future.  At the end, I will have a degree, and will be able to look forward to enjoying the things in life I have been missing out on.

Reflecting on a Decade

I hadn’t really put any thought into it until recently, much less had anything to say about it, but here we are at the end of a decade, on the precipice of what some might try to call a new era (there’s always at least one).  From my perspective, humans just find it neat, orderly, and convenient to look at history in a base 10 numerical system – not that I disagree, of course – so here’s my view on the last 10 years.

On January 31st, 1999, I was with my girlfriend (now wife) Jessica at her parents’ house.  Y2K was a big deal, so we were waiting to see what would happen.  Of course, by the time midnight hit here in the Midwest, we would have already known something was up from the other side of the world, but back then I was a little “chronocentric”, I suppose.  It turns out that around midnight the lights did flicker, but it was due to someone with really good driving skills playing chicken with a telephone pole.

January, 2000 – we closed on our first house on Erie Avenue here in Middletown.  I moved in a week later and began making it home.  I miss the house, but not the gas bill.

On July 15th, 2000, Jessica and I exchanged vows and became husband and wife.  If we had know then what we know now…  : )

On April 12th, 2002, Connor and all his 10 lb, 4.4 oz glory came into this world – well, actually, the doctor had to go in after him.  We’re still waiting on number 2.

January, 2003, we began attending the Vineyard Community Church, and joined a small group – close friends we share our lives with today.

During the summer 2004, our lives began some rapid change and growth.  Jessica left CRST, a job she had held for about 5 years, and for which they offered her an additional $10,000 a year to stay at. It wasn’t worth it.  We put our house up for sale, and I enrolled in police Academy.  We moved in with Jessica’s parents (and the rest of the Carberry clan) in September, just as Academy started

From fall 2004 to Spring 2005 I worked 42 to 47 hours a week and attended Police Academy five nights a week.  Looking back, it was the only way we lasted as long as we did at Jessica’s family’s house.  I was never home.

In June of 2005, we bought our current house.  The idea was to get something “apartment-sized” and easy to maintain, with a yard.  We did okay, I guess, but now we’ve outgrown it.

February 2006 – I left Diver’s, where I had worked since 1998, for the Middletown Police Department.  This was the culmination of a hiring process that began the previous May, just after I had finished Police Academy.

March, 2006 – I resigned from the Police Department after developing Panic Disorder (I pushed myself to hard to try to understand too much, too quickly and burnt myself out.  I was told by Major Hoffman and a few others that I was a “damn good cop.”  I am still on medication to this day, but I’ve learned how to cope with it.

From Spring 2006 to Summer 2007, I held two additional jobs.  The first, I was laid off after 3 months due to a sudden slump in the new housing industry.  The second was Parts Express, where Jessica still works in the Accounting Department.  I worked as an Invoicer, packing orders as they came down the line to be shipped, in the warehouse.

In January 2007, after nearly a year of serious soul searching, I decided that it was time to return to college, and enrolled in 4 classes my first semester back, earning a 4.0 GPA upon completion and was a member of the President’s list.  I am still in school and will earn my Associate Degree in Applied Science, CIT – Networking Concentration, in May 2010.

In July, 2007, I started as a PC Support Technician with Reynolds and Reynolds.  By December I was promoted to a new department, System Operations.  I spent 11 months there until, in November 2008, I was promoted to Network and Server Administration as a Data Center Engineer.  I now know a lot more about “Big IT” than I ever thought possible.

For the most part, 2009 has been unremarkable, and I think Jessica and I are due that.  We have both worked hard, and sacrificed a lot, tried and failed, not tried, and failed some more, persisted and overcome.  We are stronger, wiser, more in love, and better prepared for the future.  I suppose we head into the new decade with the hope that we can add another member to our family, move in to a bigger home where we aren’t so cramped, and continue to advance in our careers.  We hope that we can be half the parents that Connor needs us to be.  He’s so gifted and has so much potential that it frightens us that we are charged with helping him to reach his full potential.  We hope to be able to slow down a bit and be able to spend more time together, and with family and friends, hiking, walking, dining, laughing, and crying – LIVING.

Somebody, put the F-U-N back in Christmas!

Okay, so for my inaugural rant, I must vent my feelings on Christmas, and how today’s society is taking the fun out of it.

Not so long ago I was a wee little boy, always excited by mid-October about the upcoming holiday season.  By the time I got through Halloween and Thanksgiving, I was in a euphoric state.  Christmastime had arrived!  Family, food, television specials, movies, cookies, and of course presents.  As a child, I was blissfully unaware of all the trials and tribulations that plagued adults – shopping, coordinating parties and family get togethers, only a day or two off for Christmas (two weeks was like a piece of Heaven for me!).  Perhaps it wasn’t as bad then as it is now; even so, I know I had a lot more fun with the season than my parents and aunts and uncles.

For the past few years, due to financial shortcomings and life’s stresses, I haven’t really been able to enjoy Christmas.  This year, finally, I’ve been able to slip back in to feeling like a kid.  I didn’t get any lights hung outside, but we had our tree up right after Thanksgiving, then watched “A Christmas Story.” and I’ve been pumping the Christmas jams on my iPod, Blackberry, car stereo and Pandora Radio (I recommend the “Swingin’ Christmas” channel).  While I’m not so googly-eyed over what presents I will be getting this year (I know at least 90% already), I have been able to take the time to stop and smell the Christmas tree – ours smells like plastic.

The buzz kill kicks in now as families have grown and, somewhere along the way, expectations have exponentially multiplied.  Controversies have arisen about where everyone is going, what time we are supposed to be there, who has to leave early so you better get there early to, so you don’t miss them, who is bringing what food, etc.  I can handle these.  That’s part of the “joy” of family.  What really bothers me is the emphasis on gift-giving.  Now, I LOVE presents, don’t get me wrong.  What I have a problem with is the strategic attempt to make sure that everyone has the same exact amount spent on them, the same exact number of presents – and some people don’t want to buy, or can’t afford to buy for anyone else, so they refuse to accept presents, making the whole thing an awkward fiasco I’d rather avoid – and it all seems to involve incurring debt that we will still be paying on next year when it’s time to start shopping for Christmas presents all over again.

No one would like my solution, because it might mean less that they receive, but it really is simple.  Adults, you are grown up now.  One of two scenarios applies: a) you already have everything you want and need, so gifts are just a nice way of knowing someone cares. b) you are like me and like really expensive gadgets that either you wouldn’t expect anyone else to buy for you, or if you do expect them to, you will be horribly disappointed.  Either way, keep it simple.  A small gift card or single meaningful gift.  That’s all.  One.  If you want lots of presents, make more friends!  Do the same for all your friends, as money allows.

Now, for the kids – if they are your own, or your grandkids – go nuts if you want.  I understand.  But for aunts, uncles, cousins, friends, etc., one small gift is plenty – again, want more presents – make more friends!

All I know is no matter how much I love the season, and the warm feeling that I get when it’s cold outside and houses are all warmly lit, and everyone is a little nicer (as long as you don’t cut them off, steal their parking space, or grab for the same scarf), I am relieved when it’s over.  That’s not the way it should be