PERSONAL NEWS: Many Missed Holidays!

.Hi Everyone,

Wow, it's been several weeks since I last posted. I hadn't realized that I've been that busy. Lots has gone on since my last post. The above photo is of me getting caught on my birthday, this past Halloween, at my office cubicle. I was half asleep and didn't get a chance to crack much of a smile... let alone wake up when this photo got snapped.

Firstly, we had a Halloween party at work and I wanted to share a few photos from that party:

The winning entry from our pumpkin carving contest.

Look Mom, I work with Johnny Cash!

Our IT wizard... for real!

Some of the participants in the costume contest.

------

Secondly, Veteran's Day has come and gone and I wanted to wish a Happy Veteran's Day to all the veterans out there... including my father. Happy Veterans Day, Dad!

If it wasn't for veterans, we wouldn't have so many of the things that so many folks take for granted... intangible and invaluable things like freedom of speech, government stability, enough food and so many other things that too many folks elsewhere in the world aren't able to take for granted. May it not always be so.

I'm dedicating my much belated Veteran's Day post this year to Captain Jeffrey Toczylowski, 30 years old. Rest in peace, brother. He was recently killed in battle in Iraq.

He not only fought for what he beleived in, but made arrangements to throw a $100k party for his friends when his time came. A hat tip to Mr. AP. Read more about it here:

http://tinyurl.com/yggsbx

And here:

http://tinyurl.com/y9d89x

And his family and friends set up a tribute web site here:

http://www.jefftoz.com/

A quote from him:

“Don’t ever think that you are defending me by slamming the Global War on Terrorism or the U.S. goals in that war,” Jeffrey Toczylowski wrote. “As far as I am concerned, we can send guys like me to go after them or we can wait for them to come back to us again. I died doing something I believed in and have no regrets except that I couldn’t do more.”

God bless the folks willing to take action when diplomacy breaks down in the face of obstinacy.

------

I spent the weekend before last down in Southern California visiting my girlfriend, Svetlana. We went out to the movies, saw Sony Picture's Open Season, which was a fun little animated flick. We also spent alot of time on the beaches...

She has a great apartment literally on the beaches of Hermosa Beach, Southern California. We also visited several other spots including Venice Beach, Muscle Beach and the Santa Monica Pier. It was a good time and it will go at least a little ways towards explaining my absence from blogging for that weekend... LOL :)

------

And this past weekend, I spent doing chores... ironing, cleaning and that bane of all men...SHOPPING! After nearly two tough years, I had to bite the bullet and buy shoes again. It was dumb luck that Mervyns had a "Buy one, get one free" sale so I bought a pair of black leather business shoes for work and a pair of running shoes for the gym. I was pretty pleased and thanks to the sale, I got two pairs of good shoes for well under a C-spot. Grocery shopping also occupied me... don't domestic chores stink?

------

Have a great Tuesday!

Shalom,
Maksim-Smelchak.

Notes regarding photos / pictures: These are not all my images. I am using various images from around the web, mostly from public sources and/or private sources used with permission. I have tried to include only images under public domain, creative commons, or fair use. If I have inadvertently violated any copyrights, please inform me and I will remove your image/s (if it is indeed an infringement).