‘Star Wars:Republic Commando – Hard Contact’ – Overview

Well, one word could explain my work day today.  OWWW!!!!!  I have to say that I did not realize that I relied on my feet as much as I do until I had a wounded foot.  I got up this morning and looked at my foot that was sliced open and it was ugly.  I have to say that this morning is the first time that I have actually looked at it.  It looks a lot worse than I pictured.  I knew I sliced myself bad, but I couldn’t bring myself to look at the wound because I don’t do so well around blood.  The cut is deep and it goes pretty far into the padding of my foot.  Heather and I are doing everything we can to help the wound heal and everything we can to keep it from getting infected.  I am worried about my foot and I hope I can make it through the day today.  The pain is pretty bad and every once in a while I have a sharp pain in my foot.  At this point, I’m concerned about being able to troop in the parade next week Saturday for the Lilac Parade.  If my foot doesn’t heal well soon, I may have to bow out.

I managed to take a shower in severe pain this morning and hobbled my way to getting ready for school.  Heather did a great job wrapping up my foot this morning so that I can make it through the day today.  I hobbled all over school and for the first time in over a year, used the elevator.  My classes were well behaved and it seemed like my students notice my hobbling but no one had the guts to ask me what had happened.  It’s amazing, when it comes to a teachers mortality, students almost want to think that teachers are immortal and can’t be hurt and can’t be injured.  Man, I guess that would make me a Jedi in some way.  So I got through my day today and managed to be in as little pain as could be expected.

I came home tonight and Heather said she is concerned about me and my foot with her being at work tonight.  I told her I would be completely fine and that she needed not to worry.  Once I got home, I graded some papers and then headed downstairs and continued to work on my new gauntlet from my busted one.  I spent the entire night downstairs, other than coming upstairs for dinner, and worked and worked and brought that particular gauntlet almost back up to where the other one was.  I did run into a road block because Heather got me the wrong size hook up for my hoses, so I couldn’t “Bond-O” the edges of my gauntlet.  That’s okay, it got me to slow down a little for this evening.  As I worked, I watched my typical T.V. shows and especially American Idol.  I was totally blown away by Blake’s performance tonight.  I guess you could say that I’ve been a closet Blake fan and tonight, I think he turned the competition on it’s head.  That’s the Blake I know and the one that could totally win all the American Idol competition.  What a day.  I’m in pain and tired, so it’s time to go to bed.

Okay, it’s time to overview and rate this book.  Here’s what I have to say about “Star Wars:Republic Commando – Hard Contact” by Karen Traviss…..

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Overview:

 

This book was one of my favorite Star Wars books.  It did so many things for me as far as Star Wars characters and the Star Wars storyline.  This book was simple enough to understand the storyline yet had enough detail to keep me interested in the storyline.  I liked how Traviss used all of the characters to help support each other and the story arc.  Right up to the fact that a Mandalorian was forced to face clones that are clone from a Mandalorian.  I also liked how she humanized not only Etain, as a struggling Jedi Knight, but the Omega Squad as well.  By the time the book was done, I felt like I knew Fi, Darman, Niner, and Atin very well.  To the point that I could imagine them being like some of my friends and I could picture this unit existing today in modern military much less in fictional military.  I also like how Karen Traviss adressed the political issues in the Star Wars universe, again, without having to over explain what was going on in the universe.  Her descriptions of the battle scenes were to the point, but descriptive enough to explain what was happening so I could picture it in my mind.  On top of all of this, she created a believable situation with the creation of a virus that could supposedly wipe out clones.  That reminds me of America’s search for nuclear and weapons of mass destruction that are going on in the Middle East, even now.  There were many modern connections and many story points that were believable because Karen Traviss made connections to modern world problems, including discussions about IED’s (Improvised Explosive Devices).  Overall, a GREAT book and it is the first book to make my list as a MUST READ.  So with all of that, I give the book a:

 

Overall:  10

‘Star Wars:Republic Commando – Hard Contact’ – Chapter 20 (Part 6)

What a Monday.  It started off like any Monday and ended in personal tragedy and personal injury.  All in a day’s work.  I woke up this morning and did my usual thing and got ready for school.  I am a little excited because for the first time in a long time, I’ll actually have a full week with my students and I’ll be able to catch my classes up on their video projects because the library will be free to do so.  Yeah, research!! The teachers pet and the students envy.  Anyway, I got to school today and got ready for a normal day as always.  My classes went as well as expected and some of my classes are doing really well with their workbook work.  After school, there was still work that needed to be done.

My tech crew met me after school and I was really proud of them because they all showed up.  That made me really proud of this crew.  Not only did they do a great job during the performance, but when it came to volunteering to take the set down, they all show up.  It made me a proud man.  Then we got out on stage.  They helped out here and there, but my students were too interested in goofing around.  It was a little upsetting, but I understood where they were coming from.  They were excited as they felt that we pulled off an amazing performance and they should be allowed to release some steam.  We got the entire set down and most of the backdrops put away.  Exactly as we wanted and things went well.  All things should be ready for the concert in two weeks.

While I was tearing the set down, I got a text message from Heather.  She let me know that I got my lightsaber from Lind Lightsabers and that I could open it when I got home.

So, this was motivation to get home quickly.  As soon as the set was down, I headed home.  Not only to open the package with my new lightsaber in it, but I had to hurry and get ready for our Franklin Graham Festival class that Heather and I were going to go to between 7 and 8:30 tonight.  I took out the lightsaber and looked at it briefly.  I forgot that it would use AAA batteries, so I couldn’t test it just yet.  But it looked pretty impressive, that’s for sure!  I decided that since I couldn’t play with my lightsaber I would go downstairs and work on my Mando costume, in particular the gauntlets.  Well, when I got down there, I was working in my messy shop and I managed to step on a screw and slice my foot open.

At first I thought it was no big deal.  I thought I could just “walk it off” as I’ve done in the past.  Then I got upstairs and took my sneaker off and realized my sock was full of blood.  We decided to clean it an see what we could do.  It was bad.  It was deep and in the worst part of the foot.  Right in the fatty part of the tissue just under my big toe.  We decided to go to the walk in clinic.  The doctor said there wasn’t much he could do.  He suggested some aspirin and that I cover it well with gauze.  He said that if he did put a stitch in that part of my foot, it would simply rip out because it would be between the muscle of my big toe and foot and would do me no good.  Heather brought me home and then did me a favor and got some materials at Wal Mart.  You see, the tragedy behind all of this is that I dropped my gauntlet in the process of getting hurt and it shattered into about twenty pieces.  Crap!!

So, while Heather was out,  I “hobbled” my way downstairs and set up my T.V.  See, it was delivered today as well from Rent Way.  It happened this afternoon while I was working on striking the set at school.  I can just say that it’s nice to have my old T.V. back.  Heather got back from running out and I started to work on a second version of the same gauntlet again.  I’m in extreme pain from my foot and now I have to deal with the concept of starting over on a gauntlet that was very close to completion.  What a day, what a night!! I’m exhausted!!  I gotta get myself to bed and try to rest up for what could be a really long day on my feet tomorrow.

Okay, last part of this book.  Let’s start talking about Part 6 of Chapter 20 of “Star Wars:Republic Commando – Hard Contact” by Karen Traviss…..

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Chapter 20 (Part 6):  Zey even told Etain that she may take one squad member if she wished, that’s when Etain realized she was being tested.  As she sat and decided, the ARC trooper insisted the gunship needed to leave.   As they unloaded, he gave Niner and Etain time to talk.  Niner asked if she would be joining them on their next mission and she said she would be staying on Qiilura with Zey.  Fi was upset saying that this was typical military to get a good unit together and then break them up.  Niner saluted his commander out of respect.  They left Darman behind and Etain explained to him that she was not their type of commander.  Etain told him that he could leave his team and join her.  He refused and they told each other to take care.  As the gunship lifted off, tears ran down Etain’s face.  She realized that these clones helped to shape her into the Jedi she had become.  She didn’t know if she’d see Omega Squad again, but she did know that every clone would be a human life to her, now and forever.  She walked into the field and watched the gunship lift off into the sky.

‘Star Wars:Republic Commando – Hard Contact’ – Chapter 20 (Part 5)

I woke up a little early this morning to finish some last minute spray painting before I went to church.  My armor is so close to being done.  I have a feeling that by next weekend I will be able to put the entire costume together and should be able to take pictures of my full costume.  That’s my hope, anyway.  We all got ready for church, ate some breakfast together and loaded up the car with girl scout cookies and some things we needed to take to the church for their rummage sale.  We got to church a little late, but it was my fault as I’m not used to trying to get the kids ready for church by myself.  Lesson learned, my wife does a lot behind the scenes to get the kids ready for church, including doing the girls’ hair.

I got stuck doing the sound yet again.  I just can’t ever seem to get out of doing that.  I took the kids up to the balcony with me and they helped me a little, but tended to be a little disruptive in the pews in the balcony just because every move they made seemed to echo throughout the church.  A little more than three quarters of a way through the service, Heather text messaged me and let me know that she was almost home.  I text her back and let her know that I was heading to PA after church to get gas and then Lowe’s to return an item and then would meet her at home.  I did all of those items and met Heather at home.  She took a brief nap while I worked on some more of my costume.  She then joined me downstairs and decided to help with the costume building.  She put the Velcro on my vest and helped me get all the chest pieces on and placed.  We also worked on other aspects of the costume and came up with ideas.

We worked well into the evening getting portions of my costume done and together.  It truly is amazing how far the costume has come in one weekend.  My gauntlets are close to completion and the costume itself may be done by the end of the week.  I’m so excited I can hardly contain myself!!  A good weekend and things are looking up.  To make my upcoming week even better, my new lightsaber from Lind Lightsabers should arrive tomorrow as well.  Can’t wait to test that lightsaber out either.

Okay, almost done with this book.  I’ll have two more posts on it and then I’ll review the book and give it a rating out of 10.  Then we’ll move on to Timothy Zahn’s “Star Wars:  Outbound Flight”.  Okay, until then, let’s talk about Part 5 of Chapter 20 of “Star Wars:Republic Commando – Hard Contact” by Karen Traviss…..

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Chapter 20 (Part 5):  As they walked back to the gunship, Etain was bothered by several things.  She couldn’t believe how realistic Niner mimicked a dying clone and figured he had seen that at least once.  She also realized why attachment was forbidden to Jedi now.  Etain got to the ship and handed Zey, Fulier’s lightsaber and told him that Omega Squad and recovered it.  Zey told Etain that he knew what she was going through and attachment would be rough as you will look troops in war.  Etain said there was no way to turn off the fact that clones are still sentient beings.  Zey said this was all part of being a commander.  Etain asked if she could follow Omega Squad on their next mission.  Zey said The Republic would not abandon the Gurlanin on the surface of this planet and implied that Etain join their fight.  Etain asked when support would arrive and Zey said they would need to dissappear from the planet.  This made Etain wary about helping Qiilura.  Zey then told her she had the choice to stay or go with Omega Squad……

‘Star Wars:Republic Commando – Hard Contact’ – Chapter 20 (Part 4)

Heather didn’t get a chance to sleep in today and in some ways, I didn’t either.  Heather got up a little after seven and headed out to Enterprise to get the rental car to go to New Jersey.  On her way back, she stopped at the bank and got me and Austin some money to go through our day today.  She even had my day mapped out, in a way.  Once home, she finished packing and then took Austin over to the church to drop him off for a Boy Scout trip to a museum in Utica today.  After that, Heather left for New Jersey.  I went back to bed for a brief while.  I got back up and painted my armor some more and then started working on cleaning up the house with the girls.  We ate lunch together and then decided it was time for us to go shopping.  I started at Lowes and got some extra lacquer that I need for my armor and some tools that I need to finish my custom gauntlets.  I then headed to Radio Shack. 

I had a few plans.  First, I needed a fan for my helmet to get some air circulated in the helmet and to keep the lens from fogging up (hopefully).  The second plan was to find an antenna that would fit onto my custom gauntlet.  The computer fan I found rather quickly and I was able to find all the parts that would make that fan work.  Basically you have a fan hooked up to a nine volt battery and a battery holder in the helmet.  I put the fan on in intake hole and try to blow air into the helmet to help circulate the air inside the helmet.  I looked around for an antenna for my gauntlet and was coming up short.  I found plenty of larger antenna to end up putting on a custom backpack that I plan on making later, but I wasn’t interested in that size of an antenna for now.  Then it dawned on me.  I found a really good deal on a range extender for my home wireless router.  In order to put the bigger antenna in, I would need to remove the smaller antenna which is about the size I was looking for.  The good news is that I got the extender for $9.99 when it would normally cost $29.99.  I’ll take a $20 discount any day!  I came home and started to work.

After a while, I got a call from the Boy Scout unit and they said they were running late.  We got another phone call when they were getting closer to home and I went and picked up Austin.  We went out and ate dinner at McDonalds since Ruth had a coupon she had earned at school for a free meal.  We then went out to Wal Mart to get some more Unleashed figures for my collection and to search for some 30^th anniversary packaged figures.  I had no luck with Wal Mart, so we headed over to Target where I hit a jackpot.  Found Unleashed figures for less than five dollars and an R2 in 30^th anniversary packaging.  I also found some cheap Star Wars pencils, pens, and all sorts of stuff for a buck a piece.  We then came home and I got back to work again.  We all went to bed early as tomorrow I need to got to church with the kids by myself.  No other adult to help me at church.  It should be okay.

Let’s talk about Part 4 of Chapter 20 of “Star Wars:Republic Commando – Hard Contact” by Karen Traviss…..

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Chapter 20 (Part 4):  Niner told Darman that he cut that close and looked at Fi and asked him where he was.  Fi said he saw Darman and Etain approaching and figured he was okay. Fi then went over and took Master Fulier’s lightsaber and gave it to Etain.  Etain was still in shock at having killed the Mandalorian and Fi held off from making any remarks about it.  Instead he collected the helmet he had been promised.  Niner saluted her and said thank you and she replied saying that it was an honor.  Darman radioed General Zey as they trotted off toward the gunship…..

‘Star Wars:Republic Commando – Hard Contact’ – Chapter 20 (Part 3)

Friday.  End of the week, but my day was not going to be easy and I knew that from the minute I woke up this morning.  I woke up a little late because I was just so gosh darned tired from this past week.  I snoozed the alarm twice which I haven’t done since long before Christmas.  I got myself ready and headed to school.  I kept my lesson plans simple for today.  My eighth graders watched videos on the “History of Jazz” by Ken Burns.  My seventh graders did a lesson on music history and my sixth graders watched video of Season Six of “American Idol”.  This helped my school day go along smoothly.  One of the tech crew that has been helping me this year is a high school-er.  He’s a student I had in Marching Band and it’s been good to see him again.  Well, he showed up right after school and offered to set up the sound and light systems while I went home for a little bit.  I was glad for the help and thankful that he was willing to do this.

I came home and took a very brief nap, just to get through tonight.  I also worked on spray painting armor and then we all ate dinner together.  We got back to the school in plenty of time for the musical.

The students did another amazing performance tonight as well.  It was a great send-off to such a hard working cast and crew.  I was very proud of both performances and can’t believe that the performances are over.  Tonight, Ruth ended up being my camera person and I hope she did okay.  She really seemed to know what was going on.  She became really worried because she ran out of battery on the end of the last song.  I told her not to worry about it and that it was far beyond her control.  At the end of the musical tonight, we all got our “thank you” cards and Heather and I got one to AppleBees.  So, we figure we’ll go out on a date night while my parents have the kids in June and go to AppleBees and then a movie.  Haven’t even decided which movie yet, but it’s a good time away.

We got done packing up the essentials tonight after the performance.  For me, this took some serious amount of time.  I had a lot to take care of.  Dry ice, crock pot, mics borrowed from the church, radios, and much, much more.  While I did this, Heather took the kids home to a neighbor who was supposed to meet her at our house to babysit the kids.  Well, she was running late and I ended up locking the doors and turning out the lights to the auditorium as well.  I left a mess behind in my room, but figure I have Monday morning to take care of that mess.  Heather came back to the school and helped me get a bunch of the equipment into our car.  We then headed over to an “adult” party at Ruby Tuesday’s where we had some adult beverages and had some nice conversation.  It just felt good to wind down after such a long week and stressful month.  Heather even got invited to a day of “pampering” while I go to Rochester for the Lilac Parade in a few weeks.  This will help her not remember that I’m gone with the kids.

Okay, let’s talk about Part 3 of Chapter 20 of “Star Wars:Republic Commando – Hard Contact” by Karen Traviss…..

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Chapter 20 (Part 3):  Ghez Hokan had little ammunition left.  He had a vibroblade, lightsaber, and two Verpine rounds left.  He felt a pain in his arm and realized he was bleeding.  He wondered what kind of wound it was that would make his adversary scream like that.  He heard the soldier screaming for his sergeant, and equal to screaming for his mother Hokan thought.  Hokan couldn’t help but end his life because he couldn’t let a Mandalorian die in such a wimpy way, even if it was a clone.  Hokan got close to the clone and decided to pull out the vibroblade.  The lightsaber would be too earily like Jengo’s death on Geonosis.  As he raised his arm, Hokan heard the sound of a lightsaber.  It was too late!!…..

‘Star Wars:Republic Commando – Hard Contact’ – Chapter 20 (Part 2)

Thursday and it was play premiere day.  My day started like any other day would expect to be started.  I was still exhausted when I woke up this morning but got myself going, as late as it was.  I got to school and told myself that I would not go out on stage till later in the day.  I held my promise and checked the temperature for later tonight to see how cool that stage was.  It was plenty cool which is important for the dry-ice to work.  Once school was over, it was time for me to work on other aspects of the auditorium.

My crew showed up to my room right after school and we went out and did what needed to be done for tonight’s performance.  We set up the microphones and the light system and got things going.  We also taped down all the cords on the floor to be OSHA compliant.  That took some serious time as we were dealing with all the cords for the light and sound system.  The cords backstage as well as all the cords for the crock pots for the dry ice.  We prepped everything and then Heather showed up with more materials we needed.  Including a huge block of dry ice that we’ll use tonight and tomorrow night.  After we were done getting the auditorium ready for tonight’s performance, we all took some time to eat.  We had pizza, chips, soda, and cookies.  All the things a growing teenage boy needs!!  After a while, the cast and directors started showing up.  My crew got a little over excited, but that’s to be expected.

The performance tonight went amazing!!  The cast surprised even me.  Honestly, they put my heart and mind at ease.  I was really proud of both the cast and crew.  The tech crew did as well as I had expected of them.  It really was a well put together performance and all the audience gave us a standing ovation at the end of the performance.  I always tell myself that this is why I do this and volunteer on top of it all.  We got done with tonight’s performance and I was exhausted.  I came home and went downstairs with Heather and pretty much crashed for the rest of the night.  Tomorrow night is another performance and I  know I’ll be exhausted all day tomorrow.  But, tomorrow is another day.

Okay, even in my exhaustion, let’s talk about Part 2 of Chapter 20 of “Star Wars:Republic Commando – Hard Contact” by Karen Travis.  BUT, BEFORE WE DO, AND IMPORTANT ANNOUNCEMENT NEEDS TO BE MADE.  TO MAKE YOU ALL AWARE, THE NEXT BOOK WE WILL BE REVIEWING WILL BE “STAR WARS: OUTBOUND FLIGHT” BY TIMOTHY ZAHN.  THE CHANGE HAS COME BECAUSE THE BOOK WAS RECENTLY RELEASED IN SOFT COVER.  MY BLOG WILL REFLECT THIS SOON……

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Chapter 20 (Part 2):  Suddenly Darman realized he wasn’t getting a response, just like on Geonosis.  He told Etain that their helmets were offline.  Etain insisted they were alive, but Zey said they had to go.  He reminded her that the Trade Federation now knew of thier presence and Uthan needed to be treated.   Etain insisted that they can’t abandon these clones, she knew they are alive.  Zey looked upset and told her she was comprising the mission.  Etain said that these men are not expendable and Zey said they are all expendable.  Etain retorted saying that she is then expendable too.  Then Darman stepped in and offered to go and told Etain to stay with Atin.  Suddenly, Etain pulled out her lightsaber, ignited it and held it close to the power conduit.  She told Zey that either they all get off Qiilura or no one does.  The two Jedi argued further about the lives of soldiers, men, and clones.  Zey then backed down.  He told Darman to follow her and the others.  Etain said she knew this was gross disobedience and that this would probably mean she would not become a Jedi Knight.  As they left into the woods, Darman looked back at Zey who looked on with a proud grin……

‘Star Wars:Republic Commando – Hard Contact’ – Chapter 20 (Part 1)

Wednesday and things are starting to slow down a little.  I had a typical day in the morning.  I got up and got ready and headed off to work.  I had to change my schedule a little for school this week as I can’t get in the library Friday for research for students’ video and podcasting projects.  So, that means I’ll have to double up on research days next week and catch up in that regards.  My students took this change well considering it will alter how much time we have for the videos and podcasts.  Heck, it may even limit our time.  Hopefully we’ll be able to catch up next week.  Last night, amongst my painting I did for my armor, I also painted some of the props for the musical at our school.  I brought them in today for the director and took them up there to her this morning for her approval and she really liked how they came out.  The day went as expected and I had a little bit to do after school.

We got done with the school day and I joined our two directors to sit down and talk with the cast about tomorrow night’s performance.  We just talked and did not practice at all.  We decided to do this a few years ago as we’ve found that a practice the day before a performance is just not productive anyway and the adults leave frustrated at the situation.  So we talked them through the situation and then let the cast go.  I called Heather right away as I realized that I forgot to tell Heather about the meeting and let her know what was going on.  I got home and I took a brief nap with Heather.  We both needed it as we were both exhausted from the last month.  Once we got done, we all ate dinner together and did our “Girl Scout” scramble as I like to call it.  While Heather was out running girls around, I continued to tape and work on my Mando armor.  It’s starting to look pretty sweet.  I’m now onto the shoulder bells and I’m brainstorming what I need from Radio Shack this weekend. I want to add an antenna to my custom gauntlet and I also want to add a fan to the inside of my helmet.  All in good time, and since Heather will be at a wedding this weekend, I figure it wouldn’t be hard for me to run to Lowe’s and Radio Shack and start putting some extras on the costume as I’m going.

Once we were done with all of that, Heather and I actually went to the basement together and relaxed for the first time in a while and watched our usual Wednesday night T.V. shows (“Jericho”, “Criminal Minds”, and “C.S.I.:  NY”).

Okay, let’s continue this discussion on Star Wars.  Time to talk about Part 1 of Chapter 20 of “Star Wars:Republic Commando – Hard Contact” by Karen Traviss…..

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Chapter 20 (Part 1):  “I know that the true enemy is when you compromise your principles.  Your primary principle is to look out for each other.” – Kal Skirata – As Darman approached the gunship a medic met him and put Atin on a stretcher.  Darman explained the wounds and what he did.  The medic told him to get on the ship as another trooper took Uthan from Etain’s shoulders.  General Arligan Zey also came off of the gunship and nodded in the direction of Etain.  A Valaquil also came off the ship and commented that Atin was collecting more scars.  The Valaquil told Darman that it was anxious to meet with Jinart to discuss their adventures.  The Gurlanin left and disappeared into the woods.  Zey told Etain she has done very well without a Master to follow.  Etain asked where Niner and Fi were at.  Zay asked who and she explained that it was the other two clones.  Darman said they’d be here and radioed fo the others to get moving…..

‘Star Wars:Republic Commando – Hard Contact’ – Chapter 19 (Part 6)

Okay, it’s Tuesday and it’s the last chance.  It is the last chance for us to go over the play before performance time which will be Thursday night.  I’m nervous and excited all at once.  I got up for my day today and everything went as normally expected.  I got to school and the pressure was on to clean up from last night’s practice and get ready for my classes as well.  Needless to say, I’ve been running behind with getting things prepped.  My classes went as well as expected.  I’m actually enjoying this quarter so far as I don’t seem to have a class that is really getting on my case.  But, it is only the second week of the course and things have been messed up schedule wise since last week.  We got done with school and ran play rehearsal.

Things went amazingly smooth.  I am now excited about Thursday night because there were few to little problems with the rehearsal today.  The dry-ice seemed to work very well today which excites me.  The only problem we ran into is one of the church’s back-up mics has started to become staticy.  I thought I would let pastor know about it, as it has been this way since we got the mic from them.  We tried to do some repairs but couldn’t seem to find the problem with the mic.

I got done with rehearsal and the family and I went to Wendy’s to eat dinner.  We did that because that was the only fifteen minutes Heather and I got together all day.  We finished eating dinner, Heather went to work and the kids and I left and went home.  By this point in time I was totally exhausted.  I even went downstairs and simply crashed in the chair for a little bit.  Normally I would work on the Mando armor first, but tonight,  I just didn’t have the energy right away.  Once I took a little nap (fifteen minutes) I then got up and started working on my Mando Armor.  It’s quite possible that I’ll start putting a majority of the costume together by this weekend.  Hopefully, when Heather gets back from New Jersey on Sunday, we’ll be able to put all the armor onto the vest and start piecing this costume together.  I’ve decided that I’m not going to post any more pictures on here until I’m closer to putting the costume together.  As  soon as I have a “full costume” pic, I will be putting it on a post on this blog.

Okay, let’s talk about Part 6 of Chapter 19 of “Star Wars:Republic Commando – Hard Contact” by Karen Traviss…..

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Chapter 19 (Part 6):  Then they lost sight of Hokan.  Fi was regretting having ditched the E-Web.  As shots two shots were off target, Fi told Niner to go right of him while he keeps Hokan busy.  Niner crawled through the grass as the Verpine gun singed the grass tops.  Niner knew that once Uthan got to the EP, the gunship nor “The Majestic” would wait on them.  Niner then radioed Darman and found out they were ten minutes from EP.  He told them to wait for him and Fi to say goodbye to Ghez Hokan.  Darman offered to come and help, but Niner refused.  As Niner moved for cover he saw a flash of gunfire and then everything went black.  He thought he was hit, but realized his helmet’s HUD went dead.  He took off his helmet and found out that Fi had done the same, using his night vision scope.  He realized they got hit with an EMP grenade.  Niner crawled back to Fi and explained the sit. rep.  He told Fi that the Deeces still work at least.  Fi then found Hokan and asked Niner how far he could throw and I.E.D.  Fi decided to throw as Niner drew his fire.  Niner went to detonate the I.E.D., but nothing happened.  They continued to try to come up with ideas.  Finally, Niner told Fi he would draw Hokan out by acting as a severly wounded soldier.  Hokan couldn’t resist slitting his throat.  This would bring Hokan out for Fi to shoot.

‘Star Wars:Republic Commando – Hard Contact’ – Chapter 19 (Part 5)

Okay, it’s a Monday and it’s a half day so I figured my life would be a little slower today.  But, that just didn’t seem to work out.  I should figure on such things during play madness week.  Things could never be normal on this week!  Anyway, I got up this morning renewed quite a bit but a little tired because we stayed up lat to watch “Tudors” last night as well.  It’s tiring to watch the show until midnight, but I can’t help it because I’m totally addicted to the show now.  I got ready for school and had quite a few things to have to carry into the building, so I grabbed another bag to grab all the equipment I needed.  I got to school and you could see that all the kids just didn’t want to be at school.  It was spring-like weather outside and it was only a half day.  For kids, it was a win, win.  For the teachers, we lost all around as we were at school and couldn’t get a chance to get out and enjoy the weather.  I taught my two classes for the morning and got caught up on quite a few things, including this blog.  I should be completely caught up with it by tomorrow.

I watched “Building of an Empire” on DVD while doing some work this afternoon and continued to try to catch up on paperwork, grades, and other projects at school.  I even got a chance to get some things prepared for play rehearsal tonight and I was able to set everything up so I could attempt to work with the dry ice tonight.  Unfortunately, I lost most of the dry ice over the weekend because of the abnormally warm weather.  That’s okay because we had planned on having to buy more before the first night of performance.  Play rehearsal went okay tonight.  We had our share of technical difficulties, and mics not being on or cutting in and out and dropping on the floor (which always makes me cringe).  But, these are all things that can be fixed for tomorrow night and can especially be fixed before the first night of performance.  I think a lot of the mic problems will be solved with brand new batteries which we already have for the two performances.

We got done with play rehearsal and Heather and I headed home and scrambled to eat dinner on time.  We mowed our dinner down because we had to get to a Franklin Graham class this evening that started at seven o’clock.  We didn’t get home until 6:30 this evening, so we had about twenty minutes to eat and get out of the house.  We got to the Nazarene church and that’s when it hit me.  It hit me just how tired I was from the day today.  I stayed awake, but it was a struggle.  But, the message tonight was enjoyable and I’m looking forward to the next three classes that we have to take.  I now have homework for this class.  That’s right, I’m a teacher and I have homework to do before next week.  I guess it’s a good thing that Heather is going to New Jersey this weekend to a wedding so I can concentrate on my homework.

We came home and while we watched our usual Monday night T.V. shows, I continued to spray paint armor and my first gauntlet.  Man, if things work out the way I plan, I will be ready to put this whole costume together by next week.  It’s looking pretty good!!

Enough Mando talk, it’s time for some Clone talk.  Let’s talk about Part 5 of Chapter 19 of “Star Wars:Republic Commando – Hard Contact” by Karen Traviss…..

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Chapter 19 (Part 5):  Niner knew that Hokan was still out there.  He saw his armor come out of that facility.  Hokan seemed to be doing what Darman’s captain was not, tracking them by the gunship.  Fi said they had one more klick to go.  They both dreamed about their next assingments.  Niner wanted a Urban one while Fi wanted a jungle locale.  Fi wondered why they just didn’t blow the facility form space, in the first place.  Niner said there would have been no way to know if they destroyed the virus.  Niner told Fi that Atin was still alive thanks to Jedi healing.  Suddenly, Fi shouted, “down!” from  his point position.  He said he saw a speeder and may have a clear shot.  When Niner looked over, he saw a flare of energy as Fi shot the bike.  They waited a few seconds to make sure that Hokan was down and then advanced.  Hokan raised onto one knee and fired.  Fi asks if the could have Hokan’s armor if he kills him and Niner agrees.  Fi said that was great motivation……

‘Star Wars:Republic Commando – Hard Contact’ – Chapter 19 (Part 4)

This Sunday was quite busy yet again.  We had a lot to do as a family and I had a lot to do individually.  It was quite action packed and I know this is just beginning as this week is going to be nuts with the play performances this week Thursday and Friday.  We got up at our usual times this morning and started getting ready for church.  Before we took off for church I was able to peel the tape on some of my armor and I have to say that it came out looking better than even I thought it would look.  That’s really cool!!  I can’t wait to get pictures on here of all of it put together.  The end is SO close!!  Anyway, we left for church with a trunk full of Girl Scout Cookies.  We had a very nice church service and were surprised with a little gift from our church.  They gave those of us who are going to the Franklin Graham classes (which start tomorrow) a Bible, pen, notebook, bookmark, and a little bag to put all of our stuff in.  It’s pretty cool and I thought it was a nice gesture for those running the project for our church.

We got done with church today and raced out of church because Heather had a lot to do this afternoon and a time crunch under which to get it done.  We went to Aldi’s first and shopped getting some much needed food supplies for the house.  We raced through the store because we felt that we had to get home ASAP as Heather’s mom was set to call when they left their house so Heather could meet them in Norwich to exchange for Girl Scout Cookies.  We get home and expected to find a message, but alas, nothing.  So Heather called her mom thinking it would be safe to at least let her know that our church got out.  Heather’s sister answered the phone and told her that mom and dad had just dropped the turkey in the deep fryer that they plan on cooking for lunch.  That’s right, you read that correctly.  They were planning to deep fry a turkey for lunch!!!  Today!!!  When we’re supposed to meet them in Norwich .  Heather’s mothers reaction was that she didn’t think it was a big deal.  It was a HUGE deal.  We had plans on having dinner later in the day and I was going to do some of the cooking while Heather was gone.

So, change of plans.  I scrambled to get the food cooked.  In particular, to get potatoes ready for a potato salad that we had decided to do.  Austin was a trooper and peeled potatoes while I helped Heather by unloading the car and putting things away.  I then cooked up hot dogs and Heather got everything else ready.  And, as I had predicted, we no more than got to sit down to eat all the food than her mother called and said they were on their way.  Now I got pissed!!!  I told her and the two girls to sit down and that we were going to have a nice family Sunday afternoon dinner.  They ate for a little while and scrambled to get out the door to meet Heather’s family.

While they were gone, I literally finished my first custom gauntlet.  It took some ingenious custom ideas and a little bit of “Bond-O” to make it all work, but it’s done and it looks pretty sweet!  Heather decided to cheer me up on the way home, to get me some Taco Bell.  When she got home, she found me working and watching the first season of “Farscape” yet again.  I went to eat the Taco Bell and then pointed out to her that they messed up the order.  So, we called the Taco Bell in Johnson City and they were kind enough to agree to fix the order so we didn’t have to drive all the way back to Norwich .  We took the kids, left the house and headed over there.  While we were there, Heather got some dinner for herself.  On the way home, we decided to stop at “Suzie Q’s” and get some ice cream for later.  We all came home and ate dinner and had ice-cream.  By now, it was pretty late in the day.  We had the kids go to bed and then Heather and I sat down to watch our usual T.V. shows.  “Amazing Race”, “Sopranos”, and “The Apprentice”.  “The Apprentice” had a great finale tonight, but I had a feeling who the winner would be and I was right.  All in all, a busy but rewarding day.  Tomorrow starts the real madness of this week.  I keep telling myself that I only have one more week of play madness and then I may get my life back.  At least for a little while anyway.

Let’s talk about Part 4 of Chapter 19 of “Star Wars:Republic Commando – Hard Contact” by Karen Traviss…..

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Chapter 19 (Part 4):  Darman told Etain that it was one of Hokan’s captains and that he’s dead now.  Then both their attentions went to Atin.  As Darman lifted his body, there was a rather large gap in his armor below his right armpit with blood dripping out.  Darman took out a field dressing and dressed up the wound and taped it.  Atin told them to get Uthan and get out of here.  Darman refused.  He told Etain that this is what a Verpine projectile can do to their armor.  He pulled out two syringes and injected Atin in the thigh with both of them.  He then marked Atin’s inside helmet with P and Z.  He told Etain the the P was for Painkiller and Z for blood – loss control agent.  Darman then got Atin on his back and told Etain that she was now responsible for carrying Uthan.  As Etain went to pick up the doctor, she noticed a piece of Atin’s armor protruding from her and she was bleeding rather rapidly.  She told Darman to look, but noted that Uthan was still alive.  Darman insisted they get her to the Extraction Point and hope they have a medic on that gunship.  Etain felt that she had learned so much more from Darman in the last few days than she had learned from Master Fulier over a lifetime.  She knew they had a strange bond now, held together by the fear of fighting.  She grabbed Uthan and insisted they hurry…..