Well, I picked a fine time to start a new project when I decided to start this blog. Shortly after my last post, my life was thrown into chaos. I previously wrote about my "awesome job." Well, my awesome job is about to get colder. My job is taking me to Alaska!! So, as you can imagine, my life has been in a constant state of confusion, learning, chaos, and (as the title suggests) waiting. Waiting?? Have I mentioned that I am in the military?? Well, I am and sometimes the military doesn't necessarily work on the same time line that its soldiers do. I have been waiting for my orders for the last 2 weeks now. So I am in limbo until they finally call on me to go up there. So in the meantime, we are preparing our house for sale, packing up what things we cherish (so as not to leave them in the hands of the military to move for us), and saying goodbyes to our families (because it will be more difficult for visits both ways). And to top it all off, I have been in a state of office/genealogy/computer cleaning and purging. Getting rid of redundant files and pictures and programs and whatever else. My friend (who is more computer literate than I) has been helping me save critical files and links and reformatting my computer, which all turned out to be a bigger project than I had originally anticipated. So with all the recent activity my blog has had to take a back burner as I prepare myself and my family for this new adventure into the last frontier. However, I am anticipating more spare time with this new position and I hope to continue with this blog with more regularity. I am also going to attempt to chronicle my family's trip to the frozen north. So stay tuned!!

Okay, so I showed my wife the opening post to my new blog. And she began to laugh. I said, "What's so funny?" She tells me that it is funny that I will not give my name. Especially, since the only people that will initially read it already know who I am. I'm not going to lie to you, but right now I am a little embarrassed at my short-sightedness. BUT I WANT A PEN NAME.....you can't take that from me!!!

So, as I've contemplated what cool pen name I would like to give myself, I have debated many options. I first looked at my family history database to see if there were any cool names that called out to me.......no. Then I searched my personal library, trying to determine if there were any cool character names that came to mind........no. I then thought "JACK BAUER"....... definitely cool, but........no. So then, sitting here at work, bored out of my mind, I did a google search for "cool names" and I went to COOL Baby Boy Names and searched their list. And I found one......TALON. For those of you that know who I am, you can probably guess the connection I have to this name. If you can't guess, or if you don't know me, well, that will make for a good story later.

For those of you that are here for the genealogy content.....I promise I will get to that. Just bear with me while I go thru the fun of setting this thing up before I get down to the nitty gritty of providing useful family history insights. But let me leave you with this......"Are you a hunter or a gatherer?" Take that in any context you wish and leave me a comment describing what you are and why!!

TALON

Yeah, so as it says, I am getting started. "Getting started with what?" you ask your monitor. Well, it is misleading on a number of fronts. But before I help your monitor answer the question that is at the front of your mind, let me expound on myself a little bit and the purpose for this blog.

I am not going to tell you my name.....yet. I have this overwhelming desire to give myself a pen name. I haven't thought of anything intriguing or cool yet. So the unveiling of the pen name will take place at a future time and believe me, you'll be the first to know. Hopefully, I can come up with it in the not-too-distant future. But until then, you can call me whatever you like. That being said, I am not really going to tell you all about me. That will leave things for me to talk about at later dates (when I can think of nothing better to talk about). I will tell you.....I have an awesome job. A job so awesome, that not telling you is killing me. In fact, it is stereotypical for those in my profession to talk about nothing else. So, be proud of me.

Besides having an awesome job, I have an awesome wife. And the most awesome thing about her.....she loves hearing me talk about myself and my job!! We have 4 awesome kids. They all range in age from 2 to 10 (except my wife, she's a bit older).

So, now about "Roots, Twigs, and Berries." I have a hobby. A hobby that isn't very popular with my age group. I was first introduced to it the first time I went to college. (Yes, I said first time) Oh, did I forget to mention, I am currently a full-time student working on a second bachelor's degree? So, I stay pretty busy.....too busy sometimes. Anyway, the first time I went to college I majored in History. I took a class on family history, or genealogy. Which, at the time, I just needed a class to fill my schedule and that's what I chose. I don't really know why, but it just seemed to call to me. Since then, I have been hooked.

"So, ______, why 'Roots, Twigs, and Berries'?" you ask your monitor. (You should stop talking to your monitor. People will think you are crazy.) The answer......."DearMYRTLE" was already taken (just kidding, Pat). Seriously, imagine a tree, if you will. We'll call it "family tree." Roots are the heart of family tree; roots give it life; roots are family tree's foundation. Twigs (and branches) are what give family tree breadth and substance. And the berries......okay, trees don't have berries, they have fruit. But "Roots, Twigs, and Fruit" just didn't have a ring to it. Either way, berries (or fruit) are the tiny morsels that make family tree interesting. And that's what I hope to give to you through this blog (foundation, substance, and interest), centered on the discovery of my life and the lives of my ancestors.

So, from here, I am just........."Getting Started."