The Adventures of Chris and Kaylynn

So it has been a long time

2011-10-29T21:04:00.002+04:00

I am not very good at this. I admit, I can't seem to find enough time, or I am just plain lazy. That is for you to decide. Since the last blog, there has been some things that have occurred in the Johnsen Family, but that won't be discussed here. If you want current events see my Facebook page. I instead would like to reflect on musings in my house, such as, when your 5 year old grand-daughter says, "Are you freakin' kidding me, why are you telling me I'm wrong?" OK, soak that in for a moment. Why was she wrong? What was she wrong about? It was a restless night in my house last night. I found myself on the couch, because I have had a cold and allergies that are causing me (beside my weight) to snore loud enough to penetrate my wife's ear defenses. Deep chamber sound vibrations slither through the micro-porous body of the earplugs and keep my wife awake. Kaylynn gets mad, and I removed myself from bed, so she can get more sleep. I did go away mad, but understand her need to more rest, plus the couch isn't that bad, but I digress. My oldest, grand-daughter came up from her basement bedroom around 0830 wanting me to get something that I knew nothing about or where it was. Since she was not satisfied with my inaction, she went downstairs to see if Mom will do what she wants. My oldest, Beth, has been living in my basement rooms for almost three years now, and I know she is itching for her own house again. Actually we are looking at a house a few blocks away from us and extended family that we have to figure out the financing, plus the house needs work. So having her daughter wake her up early, has become a routine thing. This particular morning unbeknownst to me, Emily was with Beth from 0630 until I saw Emily at 0830. Beth was not happy, because Emily was wanting Mom's attention and breakfast at O-dark-thirty by touching Beth's face and saying "but I love you" whenever Beth asked Emily to stop touching her face. The incensed Beth stomped upstairs without saying, "Good Morning" and got something of Emily. She had an exchange with Emily, and took a phone call and went out front of the house. Emily standing by the door was dumbfounded, and kept saying, "Sorry" This word, so often used around our house by all parties, is such a misused word. It has so many different connotations by the inflection and way it is used. In this particular moment, it was used as the don't-be-mad-at-me word. Beth wasn't having it, and Emily was confused. I told Emily, that the reason Mommy is mad is because she does not no what the meaning of 'No" is. When someone says "no" it means no. Emily yelled at me the phrase that started this blog, and did not talk to me for a few minutes.

Oh the days that go by, and the time that hunts you like a tiger, waiting in the dark to spring on you and chase you till the end. I remember a very strong willed child of mine who did not want to be at Church and got into a tear clothes, pull hair, scream and yell-fest with Kaylynn. Beth was five. Love the age. So what do you do when your grand-daughter follows the footsteps of the mother. Nothing, just laugh, because I am grandpa.

Merry Christmas to one and ALL!!

2009-12-16T07:44:00.011+04:00

Dear Friends and Family,

It was not a crazy year. How crazy is that? There were moments of panic, but just moments.

Chris is still the site manager for Lockheed’s Distribution Center for Global Supply Chain Services out in Freeport Center. (I know, what?) With Chris home, Beth and the girls living with us and Doug finishing his mission this Dec. (Yes, right now!) we decided to sell the house and buy a bigger home. So, with contractors running all over the places, bids and bills, receipts and chaos we fixed up the house and put it on the market. As you can tell by the return address we are still here. (I do have a great new granite countertop.) We pulled the house off the market right before school started. I didn’t think I could juggle all the different schedules and keep the house “show” ready. Now we are getting Matt’s room ready for a second body. Matt is excited to be Doug’s next companion. Tori is looking forward to Doug’s return the day before her birthday. She considers him the best present ever. Beth is excited to have Doug attending Weber State University with her. And I’m sure that Emily and Sarah will think that Doug is the best Uncle Doug in the world when they meet him again. We didn’t go anywhere for vacation this year (well... we did go swimming at Pineview Reservoir and enjoyed Kaysville’s Fourth of July Parade & Water Fight) but we did pour a patio. Although everyone thought I was crazy when I had Matt pull up those scraggly, old rosebushes it is, now, acknowledged as the best feature in the neighborhood. We plan to have fire-pit fires and roast marshmallows for s’mores. We plan to visit with neighbors, hang out and draw with chalk all year long. During Trick-or-Treating we were the favorite stop (okay, second favorite after the haunted yard across the street, seriously, he had a moving skeleton crawling across his yard) for warming up cold hands. Beth is back in school at Weber State University. She received a 4.0 last semester and was inducted into the Golden Key International Honour Society. She’s excited to apply for her major, Secondary Education: English Teaching. Beth’s divorce is final, however the stress is not. Being a single mom really is as hard as it looks on TV. She is the Sunday School Secretary in our ward. (She hopes being the bell-ringer doesn’t lead to bad posture.) Beth also attends the singles ward every other weekend. Beth just sang in the select chorus for the Tri-Stake Messiah and is also singing with Lex de Azevedo. She will be performing his Gloria. Emily (3) is doing great in her early intervention pre-school. She has made tremendous progress. Sarah (2) really, really wants to go too. Sarah is growing so fast she might pass Emily soon. And most of the time they love each other. In May Matt graduated from 4 years in the LDS seminary program. He is now working at the STAR Program on his High School Diploma. He also goes out in the community and learns job and life skills. Matt has mastered the city bus system and recently discovered that the TRAX system causes panic attacks. Matt won several awards at various local film festivals. He is still filming (and saving to buy a new video camera) and is applying for an Apprentice Program at Spyhop, a SLC Film School. Matt is enjoying the singles ward and institute. He even sang with the family at the funeral of his Great-Aunt, Kathleen Bonny. It is amazing what Katy McMillan, his girlfriend, can get him to do. Tori is driving people crazy, nuts and to the asylum. And staying busy behind the wheel: running errands, picking up and dropping off and sometimes saving the day.Tori is super busy this year, she loaded her schedule with AP and Honors classes and even a class from Weber State University. Tori is still playing the bass in the school orchestra and for our Tri-Stake performance of the Messiah. She is working hard on the Layton HS Musical of Wedding Singer. She enjoyed working this summer at Lagoon, our local amusement park, when she wasn’t stuck upside down in the stuffed animal bin and calling for help on her cell phone. Tori was just named MVP of the Multi-Family Turkey Bowl. Congratulations! After going where he was asked to go and saying what he was asked to say and being what he was asked to be Elder Douglas Johnsen is returning home with honor. After spending most of his mission rescuing trouble missionaries and saving mission districts on the verge of being closed, Elder Johnsen was relieved to be released from being a Zone Leader and elated to end his mission preaching the Good Word of God and crying Repentance unto every people. But, in his last transfer he was asked, again, to don the cape and tights and save yet another mission. In his latest email things had really turned around. One more success to add to his resume before he returns to the heart of his family. Elder Johnsen will be returning Dec. 17th. He will be speaking Dec. 20th. at 1:00 PM at 380 S. Fairfield Road, Layton, Utah. We will have an open house at 4:30 PM

2009-06-23T05:24:00.000+04:00

2009-06-23T05:22:00.000+04:00

Post-Father's Day stuff

2009-06-23T04:55:00.003+04:00

So I decided I am going to write in the blog once every other week. I think If I can do that, then people will stop harassing me...sigh. It has been a very eventful week, and to cap it all off I had a good Father's Day. I got some thing for my fire pit, and I went shooting with my youngest. I will post pictures. I do want to rant for a second. I know that isn't in my nature, but please indulge me this time. A historical thing is happening in the country of Iran. Iran has been an enemy of the US since 1979. When Islamic, Marxist and communist revolutionaries, stormed the US Embassy and seized it, as well as took US hostages, it started a chain of events that has come to a head this weekend. Since that fateful day those many decades ago, the country has been ruled by the religious authoritarian mullahs and their iron fist hold on the country, which used to be pro-western culture and European ideals. Since then the country has been a thorn in the US side. They sponsor terrorism around the world, and kill US troops in Iraq by proxy through training and distributing weapons to terrorists and criminal in that country. The face of Iran has been this slimy suave character, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad. He has taunted and pointed fingers at us, and been taken into the bossum of every US hating liberal in our country. Well Iran had an election between this man and his opposition. Ahmadinejad won the election, but the opposition declared voting fraud, and the country tumbled into chaos. There are riots in the streets and the people rising up to declare freedom from the oppression. They are standing for something and wanting to be democratic and free. The French President, Sarkozy, has said he stands behind them, and the German Chancellor, Merkel, says she sides with the freedom loving people, but our President Obama, wants to stay out of it. He is willing to deal with whoever winds up the President of Iran (a hollow job anyway, the real power is with the Ayatollahs) The message we are sending is so loud and clear to the middle east and the world. We will lay down with anyone as long as they play nice. North Korea, a couple of weeks ago, after a warning from the UN did another nuclear test and successful accomplished it. The also have been testing ICBM capabilities and have a missile ready to launch over 4000 miles. The UN issued and stronger resolution to have a ship search and seizure of North Korean vessels carrying weapons out of the country. The day it started, the NK merchant ship left for Myanmar, loaded with suspected weapons. Now it has been confirmed and our destroyer, USS John S. McCain watches from afar as the NK thumb their noses at us, and know we will not do anything because we fear the North Koreans. My country has become a paper tiger, and does not care for what is good and right in the world anymore. We used to believe in truth, justice and the American way. Now it is how much can we get away with things. God help us all.

I know this has not been cheery, but I don't feel cheery, I feel sad. It is hard serving for 20 years, to watch as your country continue to lose status and power, and not by anyone else, but by our own people. It is what happens when we do not pay attention to history.

Ok, Ok, I have heard you, now you will hear me.

2009-03-03T03:29:00.005+04:00

So, I have been pretty neglectful of this blog. I am sorry.

Well, since Christmas, we have been involved in re-modeling a 5th bedroom so that our grand-daughters can have a room of their own. It is a very nice room, and there are pictures from beginning to our current state. So check them out. Thanks to Grandpra Brown, and Beth, Tori, Kaylynn, and Grandma Brown for their support and help in the building of this room. Eventually we are going to add a bathroom, and so our house will finish out as a 5 bedroom 3.5 bathroom home. I really don't know what I am going to do when Doug comes home from his mission. I guess it really depends on the economy and what spacing we have in the house. Kaylynn and I have some thoughts about moving, but sometimes we think it would be better to just stay put.

The other big news in my life is I had my tonsils removed and biopsied. Talk about rough. The first day I woke up thinking, "What have I done.." Kaylynn stayed the night with me and I was very grateful for that. She fed me soup and jello. She has been very attentive at nursing me back to health. I was able to go on medical leave at work and that really helped me a lot. My throat still feels weird, but is getting better. I had a blessing by Grandpa Brown, and in the blessing he said that I would heal faster than others would normally, and that is what happend. The doctor even said that very same thing. I am grateful to the Lord for helping me recover.

I am here in Pennsylvania for training and leadership help. So now the blog is current. I will try to be better.

The Beginning of a New Year

2009-01-02T23:33:00.004+04:00

Happy New Year!! 2008 is gone and now we have 2009. We'll see how this one stacks up since the last one was very difficult for me. In review of the year. I finished out my time in Oman. I worked really hard to make a difference and to withstand the stupidity that I had to endure everyday from the Omani Air Force. No matter how hard I tried to convince them of the correct way to maintain their airplanes, (after all we did design and build them in addition to flying them safely for 40 years) they wanted to do things their way without actually doing any work, they were wasting money even having us there. So in the end when the new bidding came out my company lost and we wound up leaving. DynCorp International won, and came in without much excitement or fanfare. I had a few of my people cross over to their company. I won't miss the fear of camel spiders, the long drives to Salalah, the fine talcum powder dust, or the British refugees that seem to have their own agenda. Oman could be a very cool place and has some of the most beautiful beaches and water I have ever seen. Just wish the people would try to pull themselves into the 21st century.

Kaylynn came over to visit, as I had mentioned in my earlier blogs. I have posted new pictures of our time in Jerusalem, visiting the Mount of Olives, Garden of Gethsemane, and seeing the Garden tomb, which I am convinced is the burial place of Jesus Christ. So check out the pictures below. I have a whole paper on why I believe this is the place. After Israel, Kaylynn and I went to Egypt, and I caught a stomach bug and gave it to Kaylynn, so we were both sick there, but I did get to see some very cool things like the Pyramids of Giza, and the Temples of Luxor & Karnak. We went home on a wing and a prayer I miscalculated our return time and missed our flight out of Jordan, so I had to beg onto a First Class flight costing me a lot of money. We did get back to Oman and Kaylynn left and I followed two weeks later. The whole experience was that, an experience. I learned about a new culture and what the other side thinks. Very insightful.

I came home without a job. (The contracts I might have run have been postponed.) I did find a position in Utah, which was a blessing, because it was not something that usually comes up. The position was the same as in Oman except more people, and not on the operations side, but more the logistics side of things. I really feel like a fish out of water. I am still trying to get used to it as it is very challenging. The technical aspect is nothing new for these guys who have been doing it longer than me. I don't know a lot about supply, but I am learning. I am working on being more interactive, and trying to gain all the knowledge I can about what we do. I love working for Lockheed Martin.

So here we are in our house in Layton. Kaylynn and I have callings in our ward, and we are talking about renovating our home because of Beth and the girls, and Doug coming home this year from his mission. With them and Matt and Tori, our house is going to be FULL!! So we need a bigger home, and I am not sure how that will work out for us. I am enjoying my time off, and Monday, I am back to work and rolling up my sleeves and ready to learn.

Merry Christmas and End of a Year.

2008-12-28T04:08:00.004+04:00

First, the highlight of the whole day was getting call from Doug. He called from his mission around 0900, and we talked for several hours. It was awesome and we had fun hearing about his mission and the people there. Afterward we opened presents and I have the funniest video of Matt and his disappointment. Matt had been trying to guess, and stating he knew what all his presents were, so when he guessed, and assumed he was getting and XBox 360, Kaylynn pulled it from the box and rewrapped the box with a cement brick and wires to make it sound the same. We kept telling him we couldn't affoard a XBox 360 and to stop assuming. So when it came time to open the box, well you will see his reaction.

Traek Malan was over and gave Matt a year subscription to XBox Live. Matt nearly fainted. The rest of the day was spent cleaning up and playing with new stuff. Later that day we went to Grandma & Grandpa's house for a dinner, which was really good. Thanks Tanaya (sister-in-law)! It started snowing again and dumped another 5 inches of snow while we were at their house, and Kaylynn was in flip flops and she had to put plastic bags on her feet to go to the car. That's what she gets for wearing flip flops in December.

The day after Christmas we spent the whole day looking or "easter eggs" on the DVD of "Dr. Horrible's Sing-along Blog." It is a very good video. You should check it out.

The previous days were nothing but work and getting ready for Christmas. More to follow.

My wife mentioned that in blogtime and blogspace we were still in the Middle East and asked me to correct that. We have returned!

2008-12-23T04:51:00.007+04:00

Well, I have waited to update this for far too long. We returned to the US and I got a job with Lockheed in Utah, as the Site Manager for the Industrial Product-Support Vendor program. It is interesting and very challenging. A lot has happen since then. It is Christmas, and Kaylynn and I are doing well. I am teaching in Church and Kaylynn is working in the Library. Beth and her girls have moved in with us. More to follow on that, and maybe sometime I will be able to write what I think about it. Until then I am going to keep quiet. Doug has moved from his current area to the other side of his mission. He isn't too thrilled, but the Mission president has full confidence in Doug, that he will do a great job helping an area that was destined for closing. Matt is dating girls and just finished his Eagle Scout rank and his Duty To God. He is waiting till March to do his ceremony so that Jeremy Zaugg can return from Afghanistan to present it to him. Tori is involved in "Showboat" and she just turned 16 years old, so pull the kids off the sidewalk.
Beth and the girls, Sarah, and Emily have been a joy to have around the home. We are thinking about renovations to the house so that we can accommodate everyone. I really am enjoying being with my children. It is like learning the "dad" thing all over again. I hope Beth is enjoying staying with us too. As the days go on, she will eventually want to move away, but I am hoping that won't be for awhile. She is planning on going to Weber State University to become a High School teacher (crazy girl). Anyway. I will try to keep up with the blog, as my wife has been very disapproving and disappointed in me about it.

The Whirlwind Tour of the Middle East

2008-09-21T07:45:00.010+04:00

I am sorry to have to have waited so long. Let me catch you up. I have since moved from Oman, and have to change the name of my blog, but here are some of the things Kaylynn and I did while we were in the Middle East. We spent time seeing some of Oman, visiting the sunken city of Ubar, and the 3rd Century ruins of Sumharam. Khor Rori (Sumharam) is an Early Southern Arabian archaeological site near Salalah in the Dhofar region of modern Oman. The small fortified town was founded as an outpost for the kingdom of Hadramawt in modern Yemen around the turn of our era, but the site shows signs of Hadrami settlement back to the third century CE. The settlement was probably abandoned in the seventh century. After visiting there we flew to Amman, Jordan, where we went to the Roman ruins of Jerash. The picture to the left is us at the Collanade of Jerash. Jerash is known for the ruins of the Greco-Roman city of Gerasa, also referred to as Antioch on the Golden River. It is sometimes misleadingly referred to as the "Pompeii of the Middle East or Asia", referring to its size, extent of excavation and level of preservationn (though Jerash was never buried by a volcano).

Jerash is considered one of the most important and best preserved Roman cities in the Near East. It was a city of the Decapolis. In AD 90, Jerash was absorbed into the Roman province of Arabia, which included the city of Philadelphia (modern day Amman). The Romans ensured security and peace in this area, which enabled its people to devote their efforts and time to economic development and encouraged civic building activity.

In the second half of the first century AD, the city of Jerash achieved great prosperity. In AD 106, the Emperor Trajan constructed roads throughout the provinces and more trade came to Jerash. The Emperor Hadrian visited Jerash in AD 129-130. The triumphal arch (or Arch of Hadrian) was built to celebrate his visit. A remarkable Latin inscription records a religious dedication set up by members of the imperial mounted bodyguard "wintering" there. The picture above is that of that of a re-enactment of the 6th Legion that fought with Caeser against Pompeii. The picture to the left is Hadrian's Arch, which the Emperor came through on his visit to the city. There were so many thing to see. I wish I had more time to stay and study the ruins, but we were on our whirlwind tour. After visiting Jerash we went with our guide, Ghazi Alawneh, to a Crusade Era castle, claimed to have been built by Saladin's nephew, but looked very european. (I guess they borrowed a building technique or two.) We climbed around the castle, and you could see the countries of Syria, Israel, and Irasacked and taken by the Iq from the castle mounts. It was very cool to see and I have some really great pictures of the castle and the mounts. There was a mosaic on the floor that was covered up, and it didn't look like it was covered with very old dirt. If you look carefully at it you can see a figure with an outstretched arm. Interesting.

The Trip to Ubar: The Sunken Lost City

2008-08-12T09:16:00.003+04:00

Many centurys ago there was a city of trade specializing in Frankincense at the end of the Empty Quarter. This city had all roads leading to it. Traders from around the Persian Empire would come to trade goods and make money. Then it all was gone, sunken into the sand and buried by time. The Quaran says that the city was corrupt, and Allah swept his hand over the city and the sands washed it away. The story of Ubar was passed down from person to person to become a legend, then a myth. In 1985, the European Space Agency was taking pictures of Europe for global mapping and looking for oil reserves and noticed lines in the terrain. They sent teams to dig, and found nothing, but ancient Roman concrete. The roads made by Rome, were still seen from space. A researcher who was looking for the mythical city asked NASA to have some pictures taken of this one area in Oman, which he suspected was the location of Ubar. When the pictures came back they revealed the scars of trails and ancient roads leading to one spot. The researcher came to Oman in 1992, and started to dig. Ubar was found. We got to go there yesterday. Off the paved road and down a dirt road we arrived at the site. A friend Mark, and two other guys, Matt and Tony, came with us to check it out. It was very, very hot, 120 degrees. I took pictures and we went down to the bottom of the sink hole, but it goes even deeper than that. The real reason the city sank, was that it was built over a water well, which led into a thin aquifer chamber. Over time the chamber just collapsed and down came the city. The people explained it as the hand of God taking vengeance for corruption, but it was more like a natural disaster. Enjoy the pictures.

Kaylynn in Oman: The Adventure Begins

2008-08-10T09:21:00.006+04:00

Kaylynn arrived in Muscat the day before yesterday and it was very good to see her. I was talking to someone I knew from Thumrait when I saw her come through the outer terminal door I said, "That's my wife!!" and I ran off without saying goodbye to the guy I was talking to. It was rude, but hey my wife was here. We took a taxi to The Chedi Muscat, and were treated very well. We had dinner that night and the food was outstanding. I was very impressed. The weather was nice and even though Kaylynn was a little tired she was happy to be with me too. She did get to travel business half the trip and she got spoiled.

The next day we went to church at the LDS Branch in Muscat. It was a small group but they were very welcoming and adopted us into their branch quickly. Too bad I am now leaving. We went to a baptism of an Indian woman who is a teacher in Muscat. She and Kaylynn hit it off, and it was very cool to see a baptism done in the Persian Gulf waters. The Church is not recognized in Oman yet, but they are working on it.

After the baptism, Kaylynn and I went to the Elders Quorum President's house for the confirmation and some chili. The food was good and the company was too. The spirit was there as this woman received the Holy Ghost. The man accompanying the Indian woman was her brother, and Kaylynn assumed they were husband and wife and was making comments about them getting sealed in the temple next, until she was corrected about the family relation. It was funny and Kaylynn was a little red faced.

After the baptism and everything it was time for a nap and dinner in the room, where I had an awesome Rib Eye steak. Unfortunately the day was marred by the news of the invasion of the country of Georgia by Russia, and that became the 'must watch' thing for the night, besides the 2008 Olympic Opening Ceremony, which was kinda cool. Kaylynn is an Olympic junkie, and she was a little upset about being over here and possibly not being able to see it. Well Al Jazeera is showing it, so Kaylynn is happy now. The next day was pool time and getting ready to leave for Salalah.

That is just water in the glass. Kaylynn really enjoyed this pool. It is very close to the beach. There was no one there at first, but later on other families came. We lounged in the pool till it was time for lunch and check out. The food was excellent once again and we were full. We went to the airport and waited for our flight to Salalah. When we finally arrived in Salalah, I could tell Kaylynn was not impressed. I have been trying to make it more enjoyable, but she is seeing the conditions here, that I have been working under, first hand. After a few disappointing things we headed up the mountain to the air base to stay in my room. It was like taking her to a bachelor pad. When we got there she was really tired, and she went right off to bed, but the next day she CLEANED MY ROOM! I told her she didn't have to do that, and she said, "Yes I do." OK, well today we are going to go see some other things, and that I will save for the next blog.

2008-07-31T06:54:00.004+04:00

Well, I guess as the first song on my blog states, "I am coming home." At least it looks like it is going to happen. About a week ago, I got preliminary news that the 2 year contract that Lockheed Martin had submitted to continue maintaining the aircraft (pictured to the right), was awarded to a different company. That means I am leaving here, as of right now, that may change, not sure when, or if, but it might happening. It is very frustrating doing this contract work, but I love my job and my company. I have been wanting to work for Lockheed Martin for many years. My boss has given me some options and has shared my resume with some other parts of the company. I put in for a Field Representative position at Hill AFB, Utah, so I may go home. My boss submitted me for a Deputy Director job in UAE, and says that there is work for me to head up a bid for Inspection work in Portugal. Eventually I am being tapped for the Program Manager job for Romania when that comes around late 2009.

Anyway, it is freakin' hot here. I went down to Salalah to do some errands and stopped over to in Al Mughsail and saw the huge waves and blow holes in the rocks. Kaylynn will get to see that when she gets here next week. The sky is foggy and you think it is cool outside. Nope. You are wrong it is just as hot, but humid to the point you can taste the salt in the air. Kaylynn won't be happy about that, so good thing we are only here for 2 days before we head back up to Muscat. Our whirlwind tour starts in 6 days, and I can't wait.

Today is a rest day. I am going to watch movies, eat lunch and chill out today. I have some of my guys coming back from vacation and I have a couple heading out. We have a good-bye party set for the 6th of August. This whole thing is bittersweet because I do like the team I have, unfortunately I have to send them elsewhere in the company.

Sunday in Thumrait

2008-07-27T16:32:00.005+04:00

Another Sunday rolls by. Today I met the new F-16 Maintenance officer, who is supposed to be very much in tune with what we, as Lockheed, have been trying to do. It will be a breath of fresh air to have someone on the same page as us. I hope he will work out. I found out that the Omani dropped a screw in the cockpit, and I had DJ, ground the jet, till it was found. I hope that the Omani will really look for it. I doubt it, but I hope they do.

My first blog

2008-07-26T20:48:00.005+04:00

Well, since everyone is doing this I thought I would give it a try. I have been very off and on about keeping a journal and maybe this is a way to do it so my kids and grand kids can see what I did while I was in Oman. I have been in the Sultanate for 9 months. I work for the aerospace defense contractor Lockheed Martin as a Program Manager. I work with the Royal Air Force of Oman (RAFO) on the F-16 fighters that they bought three years ago. After 3 years of training it comes down to this, they require more training. I supervise a team of F-16 experts who train Omani to maintain the aircraft, so that the planes will fly safely. This is my charge and so far we have been diligent in making sure that they are flying safely. Through the next few weeks there will be several rants and raves and discussions about the goings on in the middle east. I will have some first hand knowledge by moving around the area in the next two weeks. My wife is coming over for a visit, and we will be touring Jordan, Isreal and Egypt. I hope you look forward to the pictures as much as I do.