Arrival

The flight over was so long, but to be honest, it wasn’t all that bad. They had several movies for us. That’s good, because 22 hours on a plane and you can start to lose your mind if you have nothing to focus your thoughts on other than the back of the seat right in front of you. Mr and Mrs Smith, The Fantastic 4, Batman Begins, and some awful Herbie movie with Lindsay Lohan in it. I slept through a little bit of each move except Fantastic 4, and slept through all of Herbie. I’m certain I didn’t miss much.

When we got into New York, we had a 2 hour layover at JFK International, so we all hung out inside of the terminal, but we weren’t allowed to leave the gate we were at. It was sort of funny, we were like zoo animals behind one of those belted gates like you see at the movie theater. People would walk over and ask us who we were, where we are going, etc, most of which we can’t really answer other than vaguely. After that it was an 8 hour flight from New York to Frankfurt, Germany. We spent about an hour off the plane there, hanging out at the USO building. I didn’t really think about it at the time, but there I was in the land of my forefather’s. We were back on the plane then.

The food on the plane was pretty good. I’d say they were serving a meal about every 2 hours, at least, it seemed like that fast. I actually slept through the last 2 meal, which had me feeling pretty hungry, but thankfully they did bring out ice cream bars from time to time, good ones, those Haagan Daas or however that is spelled. It’s hard to believe I slept as much as I did, it was so uncomfortable, every seat had a bag or two underneath, some spilling into the hallways.

Over northern Africa we went, then east into Kuwait. I was surprised at just how busy and lit up Kuwait really is, it’s a truly modern country. Even at 10 at night, there were thousands of cars all over the streets. We went in a convoy for a little trip to the base we are at now, had a couple of briefings, a late night chow, then off to bed for some, others of us walked all over the place, just checking things out. Surprisingly, some of the facilities are open for 24 hours a day. That comes in pretty convenient. I went back to our tent after breakfast to catch a little sleep that morning.

There is one set of lights in the tent. Either the lights are on or they are off. At about one in the afternoon, one SSG decides he wants to turn on the damn lights, and he wouldn’t turn them off, that got everyone pretty irritated. Oh well, we are only going to be here for about 10 days, so this shouldn’t be a big issue. With the lights off, it’s pitch black, if you walk outside from inside the tent after sleeping, without sunglasses, it’s like staring right at the sun. My eyes were watering, even with my eyes shut it was blinding thru my eyelids. After about 5 minutes of having my hands shielding my eyes as tears ran down my face, I was finally able to open my eyes enough while standing in the shade to see where I was at. Needless to say, I went back into the tent to get my sunglasses after that.

If you walk inside from outside, and you don’t have a flashlight, you are going to be one blinded son of a bitch. You can’t see shit, even with a flashlight it’s tough for about the first 30 seconds, as you stumble around feeling your way to your bunk. We have no shelves or dressers or lockers to put our shit into right now, so we are living out of our bags, which really blows. It leaves your entire area a real mess.

Outside of the tents, when you walk around the base, there’s a constant smell of dusty air and diesel fumes. The dusty air is obviously because of the sandy environment, a lack of moisture means that any wind stirs up the fine, gritty sand into a cloud of dirty air. The smell of diesel fumes comes from the countless generators, that are located outside of every building, to run the electricity for the air conditioning, lights, personal electronics, etc.

So far I’ve seen a Pizza Hut, Burger King, Taco Bell, Baskin Robbins, some goofy coffee shop, a Chinese food place, among other places to eat. The PX is sort of a joke, but what do you expect when you are 12000 miles from CONUS? The line to get out of the PX was about 30 people long, seems like that’s a typical expectation when you are trying to do just about anything here, you are going to end up waiting for quite a while.

The uniforms here are about an even mix of the older desert BDU’s and the newer digital camouflage uniforms. I was pretty surprised about that, I figured there would be a lot fewer DCU’s than there were. I still wonder if we are going to end up wearing them at some point, as in, we all get them here, but I’m not too concerned about it, if anything I would rather stick with the old uniforms because I’m not too keen on having another thing to learn about while I’m here, there is plenty to worry about without having to deal with something as pointless as how to wear a new uniform.

Thus far, the weather is around 95 at it’s highest during the day, drops to about 65 at night. That 65 degrees actually feels quite cool, really too cool for me at night to wear PT gear around. So far we are authorized to wear either PT gear or our desert camouflage, civilian clothes are a big time no go. We were told that was the way it was for everyone, but I’ve seen quite a few soldiers wearing civilian clothes, so who knows what the story is. You follow what your chain of command wants and that’s that.

As far as the weather, I enjoy the heat, so it’s not a big issue to me. For me, if it’s below 70 degrees, that falls under the classification of ‘cold’. 100 degrees to me can be uncomfortable, but it’s certainly not painful. The cold to me is painful. If you give me a canteen and a shade tree on a 100 degree day, and I’m in my underwear, I’m going to do just fine, lay back, drink water, and enjoy myself. You give someone a canteen and a shade tree on a 30 degree day, and that person is in their underwear, they are going to DIE. So show me how the cold can be better than the heat? I don’t think so!!

A lot of the guys are buying things they feel they’ll need while they are here. I haven’t spent one penny on anything in the last 20 hours I’ve been here. Damn, 20 hours and it feels like it’s been two days. I suppose that’s what happens when you get this damn jet lag. This is the first time I’ve been out of the continental united states. It’s sort of surreal, this first day, walking around on the opposite side of the earth. When I try to sleep at night, it’s sort of like cat naps. When I try sleeping during the day, it’s very heavy REM sleep, where I have crazy dreams and wake up all groggy wondering where the fuck I’m at. I guess that means I’m not quite where I need to be in terms of my body adjusting to the time change. It hasn’t even been one full day since touching down here though, so that’s understandable. We have one more day before we begin actually doing something, so we all have to really try to get ourselves adjusted, or it’s going to be forced on us.

The Kuwaiti nationals that work here on the base are very polite, but also very reserved. Because of this they are very quiet. It’s difficult to see if that’s because they are just being polite, if they are afraid of us, or if they really dislike us. Or perhaps it’s a mixture of the three. Whenever I deal with them, I smile and give them a slow nod, but almost always they end up breaking eye contact and looking away.

I wouldn’t mind at all getting to know a lot more about the Arabic culture, but I don’t want to insult anyone here in any way. If the mere idea of conversing with me is insulting to them, then I will cut short any attempts to get to know more about them and the way they live. If it’s because they feel they are insulting me in some way, I’ll have to work harder to show that I will welcome any opportunity to converse with them. As you can see, trying to decide which is which could be pretty tough. I’m still going to attempt to do so though.

I haven’t yet purchased a converter for the electrical outlets here. My computer and my digital camera are compatible with either the 110 or European outlets, but I imagine I have a few things with me that are not, so I’ll be buying the converter. Right now I’m leeching off someone else’s converter, but that’s alright, he’s working out and I’m watching his and his buddy’s weapon for them.

The chow here is a lot better than it was at Ft. Riley. I guess that’s why I haven’t really felt the need to spend any money as of yet. I hope to continue that trend, we’ll need all the money we can save to maybe get a house when I get back. When I get back… one million days from now? Heh, that’s one hell of a countdown. Let’s just say I ignore that until we are about 90 days away, because, the thought of 300+ days to go is a little overwhelming. If I start doing a countdown with about three months to go, I can deal with that a lot better. Once I’m to “89 days and a wakeup” I’m really going to be chomping at the bit to come home, I can only imagine haha. Tonite, Drowning Pool will be here playing a little music, hence the current lyrical ramblings!!

Current Lyrical Ramblings

LET THE BODIES HIT THE FLOOR!!

Drowning Pool

Just To Address A Few Things, And ‘See You Later’

Tonite is the last night I’ll spend stateside for at least 8 months (if my leave falls when I’d like it to, July of next year). I don’t know if it’s completely hit me yet the magnitude of what is about to happen. Upon touching down, ‘boots in the sand’ sometime in the next couple of days, we will start in on 365 days, one whole year, serving our country in a hostile environment. This is following a two and a half month training period preparing for the task at hand, during which time we received accolades from our ASG unit that was preparing us and from full timers alike, as to our professionalism and motivation, that we were without a doubt the best National Guard or reserve unit they have seen, and that we perform right at the level of if not higher than regular army transportation units.

This is really no surprise to the NCO’s in our unit, the vast majority of us were trained as a primary MOS as 11B infantry at Ft. Benning, the premiere army training school, and spent many years training together doing combat tactics and related techniques. We beat up on regular army airborne units at NTC Ft. Irwin and regular infantry troops at JRTC in Arkansas.

So, anyone who has ever said “you wouldn’t understand” or “you are just national guard” can fuck yourselves. Here we go, right into the thick of it all, the second most dangerous job ONLY to infantry itself. We are your schoolteachers, your policemen, your farmers, your mechanics, etc. We all took time our of our real lives to serve our country, and we are God damn good at what we do. Also, you won’t see me coming back alienating my former friends, turning what I once found endearing about them into a flurry of insults in an attempt to lash out and hurt anyone.

I won’t use drugs or alcohol, not because of any fucking religious belief, but because it’s a pathetic crutch people use to get by, LOSERS, like some people who used to talk about how terrible drugs are and then use weed and justify it thru an ignorant pattern of self indulging denial. I pray that not one person in my unit is injured or killed, but in the unfortunate event that something like that happens, you won’t find me using that as a shield, an immature excuse to become a childish, pitiful jackass who judges everyone but myself, critical of others but failing to see my own inadequacies. No, that is NOT going to be me.

What I will do is be open to my friends, my family, about my experiences, I will remain the same caring person that I’ve always been, I won’t turn my back on those I care about, bash them, or treat them with a particularly vehement disrespect in order to make up for own low self esteem. Why do I say all this? Because I’ve seen it, and I don’t like it, it’s REALLY pathetic to project blame. Have I made mistakes, yes, I most certainly have, but I move past, I let go. Let’s just hope that everyone can learn to do the same. Even those who completely disrespected me, if I had ever cared about them, I still do, I’m not so shallow as to turncoat that way.

With that said, in one year, I’ll have the car I’ve wanted for a couple of years now, and hopefully, belly won’t be deployed when I get back, but that’s always a possibility, and if that happens, then so be it. We will deal with those changes should they arise. We signed up for this, it’s an obligation, there is no reason to bitch and whine about fulfilling something that I SIGNED my name to do. I plan to use this to better myself, to take this time to use my training and lead those troops below me, excellent troops, along with this unit that has been validated in 100% of every task that was put before us during our training, thru this mission. It will not be easy, that is for sure, but you can either be a pathetic crybaby about it, or you do your job and you come back in one piece and be a better person for it. That’s what we are going to do, for our loved ones, our state, our country, because I BELIEVE in what we stand for!!

So for now, I say goodbye to all that is familiar, and head into a place that, while having spent a lot of time learning about, will most certainly be a culture shock. But I’m excited, I love the heat, and I’ll have every opportunity to enjoy it there I’m sure. Oh, about the title, this isn’t so much a goodbye, but the See You Later, because I’ll be back!!

Current Lyrical Ramblings

I wanted to be like you, I wanted everything
So I tried to be like you, And I got swept away
I didn’t know that it was so cold
And you needed someone, To show you the way

All You Wanted – Michelle Branch

Time Is Drawing Close

Our unit is rapidly approaching our departure date, and interestingly enough, belly's graduation date looks to be very shortly following the date in which we hop on the big plane. This is unfortunate, for if things would have worked out, she was going to stop by here on her way from Omaha to Phoenix (to see her parents for a few days) then onwards to San Diego and Camp Pendleton.

It looks like we'll be under a two week 'communication blackout' once we leave Ft. Riley. As I understand it, this isn't even because of security measures (although that's a little part of it), but there just aren't phones or other ways to communicate with your loves ones from the first place we go to.

We've done a lot this past couple of months, so much training, gotten a lot of new gear that will help us complete our mission (or cause me to collapse from even trying to carry it on the airplane) and we've bonded together fairly well (there are still a few rough spots but they seem to be working out.

The last 3 or 4 days have been rough, with a series of nasty surprises, financial, housing, etc. I was able to work through all of them, stressed but plugging away non the less because time is short, but on this last one I think we are simply shit out of luck. The Marines aren't going to let belly have married housing, not just NO upper NCO housing that recognizes my rank, but NO married housing at all. Either she has to live in the barracks or she has to find an apartment. Long story, but basically the Marines have rules that state if the couple are both in the active military and one is not stationed at Pendleton, they can't allow the spouse to live in married housing. I'm not really sure I understood why this is, but it's something to do with my not being there, and oddly enough, if I were not in the military it would not be a problem at all *GRRRR*

I called out to Pendleton to see what the story is, and I'm still not completely sure I understand it. So now belly is stuck finding an apartment completely on her own. I don't like this, but there isn't anything I can do now. It's incredibly frustrating to be unable to help out more. I just don't want her to be stuck in some craphole of an apartment in a really bad area of town. I imagine when I get back we will move on post and get housing there to save money and also have more living space.

Today we have our final financial, medical, and legal checks, and the next couple of days before we leave are pretty much locked down, including the last day we are here, where we are completely locked down in the barracks. Internet service ends on Thursday night, after that it's going to be awfully damn boring around here. I'll still have the cell phone though, so that will be okay.

I know that belly will do fine without me, but I also know there are probably a few things I have forgotten to set up so they will be taken care of while I'm gone. She's going to be responsible for getting all of the little necessities set up in the apartment/condo (whichever it may be) once she gets to San Diego sometime in the middle of November.

She's been on her own before so I know she'll do just fine. I just hope she gets in with a good group of people to work with and gets a decent placement within her air wing, if that's what it's called? Not sure heh, but I have a lot of time to find out more about the Marines once I get back. Still doesn't help though that I'm not there now to experience it with her, it's like I'm missing out on 1 year of our life together because she was unable to be with me, and now I'm about to miss out on another year of our life because I am unable to be with her : (

This is the choice we made though, so we are dealing with it. I know in the long run that we will become stronger for it, and look back on these days as part of what made the foundation of our marriage even more fortified.

Current Lyrical Ramblings

There's battle lines being drawn
Nobody's right if everybody's wrong
Young people speaking their minds
Getting so much resistance from behind

For What It's Worth - Buffalo Springfield

Cherry Point, North Carolina

So I went to see belly this past weekend at Cherry Point, NC. I left out of Ft. Riley on a shuttle service that took me to Kansas City. This shuttle service was not all that great, to be honest, but it got me there. Flew out of KC International to Charlotte, and from Charlotte flew into a really tiny airport at Jacksonville, NC (notice, that’s NC not FL).

The Enterprise car rental place in Jacksonville sent a runner in with a van to pick me up from the airport. Now, for plausible deniability, let’s just not say who drove the rented vehicle, which, in this case, was a free upgrade to a Chevy Avalanche pickup truck, because another customer wanted the Nissan Altima so bad that Enterprise was willing to let me have a better vehicle.

The Chevy Avalanche 4 door pickup, an interesting engine, an inline 5 cylinder. White truck, very bland, they didn’t include the automatic lock keychain, and oddly enough there was NO outside keyhole on the passenger side. I’ve never seen that before. Normally I like to unlock belly’s side of the vehicle and let her in, guess I just like being the gentleman. Well, no possibility of doing that, especially without having the automatic keychain to unlock the door. I’m not going to complain much about that, considering the vehicle itself was pretty nice.

The room wasn’t too costly, 25 bucks a night. The rooms themselves were not all that great. The bathroom design was really ridiculous, but hey, for 25 bucks a night, who am I to complain? I find myself looking back at these times as the times I’ll always be fond of though, when we don’t have much money, and it’s mostly just she and I working our way thru the world (of course with our parents’ help), being really thrifty and in all reality enjoying one another’s company so much, doing things that don’t cost much money but are certainly a lot of fun.

I stood out on the balcony of my 3rd floor room and watched belly cross the parking lot after I got into the Marine base. I always find myself smiling like a goofy schoolboy with a crush when I get to see my baby again, which is just fine, because looking at her, she’s just the same way. After a big hug and a smooch just outside the doorway, she showered and we went for a drive around the base and she showed me around, then back and parked the vehicle and walked down to a bar and grill on base (Andy’s? I think? Can’t remember the name haha) where we had some beers and ate a little greasy food, then back to the room for some sleep.

Now, I don’t know if there is anything more wonderful than waking up all groggy, that first few moments of not knowing where you are at, and as everything comes back to you, you realize that one person you would rather be with than any other in the world is laying there right beside you. That’s when you take a deep breath and sink back into the bed, wrap your arms around that person and thank God for every moment you have together.

We went and had breakfast at the chow hall, 4 bucks for me haha. Then off we went to drive around the area. Now, Havelock is a real dump of a town, to be quite honest. The movie theater looked like something out of an early 1980’s era community. Worse yet, there are like 4 communities all within about an hour radius of one another, roughly the same size, and all have really crappy accommodations. We stopped at the Dodge dealership, looked at a few cars. Then off to the Military surplus store, where belly got dog tags. We drove all the way into New Bern, NC, then got in a silly argument because I got lost and I didn’t want to listen to her directions, and later it turned out that she was right, and I was wrong, but I didn’t admit it, I’m still not admitting it, for the record haha!!

We went to the mall, I bought belly some new clothes for her birthday. We ate at the Texas Steakhouse, and it was delicious. We drove by a fair of some sort, with a midway going on, and we had plans to go back but those fell through later on, as we got a few movies and hung out in the room and watched them and snuggled. We again went out to the bar on post, this time playing pool till about 11 or so. Then it was off to good ole’ Taco Bell, to ravage our digestive systems with some real delicious cheap crappy food. Then back to the room and watched another movie and went to sleep.

Sunday we got up late (is 9 all that late? Haha) and watched another movie, then we went off to a little Mexican restaurant and stuffed ourselves silly. Then we went and saw Flight Plan, with Jodie Foster. It was an okay movie, but there were too many inconsistencies in the movie, stuff that was left unexplained. After the movie, we drove down to visit the beach along the Atlantic Ocean, just to the east of Havelock. We went out on the beach for a few minutes, then took a bunch of photos. Afterwards we headed out for a drive up a long lazy highway for a spell, then on the way back I saw a little hole in the wall entry to the public beach, with a long wooden path thru a wooded area. That made for some excellent photos also.

Then we headed to Baskin Robbins for some ice cream, and then drove back to the base and rented a movie and watched it. Being Sunday night, we had to be in bed early, because we had to be up at 0500. It was pretty hard that night, knowing it will likely be more than 6 months before we see one another again. In the morning we headed over to eat breakfast but then never ate, rather just sat in the vehicle and enjoyed that last 45 minutes together. Then she was off to formation and I headed off to deliver the vehicle back to Enterprise and get a ride to the airport.

On the flight from Jacksonville to Charlotte, it got a little hairy. They couldn’t extend the flaps all the way out on one of the wings, so the pilot got on the intercom and had everyone be sure that their seatbelts were really tight, and that we were going to have to land at a little higher speed than normal. Well, yah, like more than twice the normal speed. Talk about your heart in your throat, all three sets of wheels seemed to touch down at the same time, a tiny bounce, then when the pilot hit the reverse thrust on the engines, woah, THAT was why he wanted the seatbelts tight, it was like hitting a wall.

The flight was about 15 minutes late getting in, so I had to truck on down to my connecting flight a good mile away in the terminal. I got there to find out that the flight had been delayed by about a half hour. So I didn’t have to run, but then you never know. So when I got back to Kansas City, it was 10 after 2, and the 2 o’clock shuttle had already left. That stunk, I had to wait till 4 to get a ride back to Riley. And the ride, woah, the guy drove like a complete maniac, tailgating everyone, then spending like 20 minutes at every stop gabbing with everyone. I was worried I wouldn’t make it back on time for the 2000 formation. Thankfully, I walked right in the door at 19:55 and was there to fall in with my platoon.

So basically that was my weekend, I would guess that I’ve dicked up the timeline somewhat, but you get the idea of what we did overall. It was really wonderful to see belly, I hope we get to see one another before I go but I don’t see that happening. But let’s look on the bright side, the sooner I get going, the sooner the clock starts ticking till when I get back.

Current Lyrical Ramblings

If I needed you so desperately
To come to me and talk to me
To take my heart and hand into your comfort zone
Where I'm not alone or lonely
Well would you take the time to be my friend
Cause in the end that's all there is
There's love the eternal bond between us

Would You Be There – Blessed Union Of Souls

More Hollywood Rubbish

This time disguised as a news article. I was catching up a little bit on the news and came across a movie project that Hollywood has decided to work on. It’s going to star Kirsten Dunst, as an American Citizen who went to work in Iraq to get aid to war victims. Now, let’s look beyond the obvious disturbing ignorance in making a film about a war that is STILL GOING ON, with our military members STILL FIGHTING, and visit some of the more idiotic parts of this editorial so thinly disguised as an article.

“The movie, to be made for Paramount Pictures, will tell the remarkable story of Ruzicka, 28, who ran a non-governmental organisation that lobbied for financial compensation for civilian casualties of war, Daily Variety said.”

Ohhh, ‘remarkable story’ now, is that how we describe non biased news these days, with adjectives implying good or bad? Interesting, now let us look at some other parts of this ‘article’ that are misinforming.

“Ruzicka, through her organisation Campaign for Innocent Victims in Conflict, worked extensively in Iraq and in Afghanistan to document the exact number of civilians killed or injured by US forces.” UH, WRONG!!! Way to doctor the facts. This campaign was not aimed at those ‘killed by US forces’ it was aimed to help ANY civilians harmed during this war, by either side. Why do you think she was targeted and killed by a suicide bomber? Well, there are those that believe her investigative work was working against the insurgents by putting exact numbers killed by both sides up from an impartial source. So certainly if it were just ‘civilians killed or injured by US forces’ , that would work FOR their cause. Way to get the facts WRONG. But hey, it’s being produced by MTV films, which should really say a lot. MTV can’t even put music on a stationed named after music, how can you expect them to put up factual information in a serious movie? Oh, and related to editing, something this article obviously didn’t receive, way to misspell organization.

The article goes on to talk about how the Hollywood is lining up films about the ‘three year old conflict in Iraq’, listing several titles, and stupidly includes "Jarhead," starring Jamie Foxx and Jake Gyllenhaal, which is set to open on November 11. Wow, way to do your research, considering Jarhead is about the FIRST Iraqi conflict, Desert Storm, more than 15 years ago.

Interestingly enough, the article is not attributed to any author, instead listed simply as LOS ANGELES (AFP). I wouldn’t want to put my name on this garbage either, considering the inconsistencies and one sided viewpoints that are inferred within. Just another attempt by the half witted non educated Hollywood types to try and sway political opinion concerning topics they know nothing about.

Current Lyrical Ramblings

Bend and shape me, I love the way you are
Slow and sweetly, Like never before
Calm and sleeping, We won't stir up the past
So discretely, We won't look back

Doesn’t Remind Me – Audioslave

Hey There Four Eyes!!!

Well, it’s official. I now wear glasses. For the first time in my life I have prescription eyewear. The military has provided me with BCGs (birth control glasses), one pair of clear and one pair of sunglass tinted. They also gave me a pair of regular stylish civilian glasses. The first time I tried them on, I proceeded to fall down the stairs in the barracks. Needless to say they take a little bit of getting used to. I guess it’s actually pretty amazing to where them around, especially that first couple of days, and you realize just what you’ve been missing.

Your normally lose your eyesight so gradually you don’t notice just how bad it’s gotten, then you put on a pair of glasses and it’s like “HOLY SHIT!!” and you suddenly notice how crisp and clear trees appear in the distance, how the leaves are no longer a mass of mushy green but are now a myriad of separate greens all interlaced together.

What I really purchased them for though, was to drive at night. I found myself squinting so hard sometimes to read street signs, exit signs on the interstate, etc. Oncoming traffic seemed like a giant hazy bright light, I was always wondering if people had their bright lights on or what the deal was. I still haven’t driven at night though, but tonite I am riding in a shuttle from Ft. Riley to Kansas City to the airport, and that’s a good 3 hour trek. I should get a pretty good idea how they work at night.

I’m really excited about seeing my belly baby, this last couple of months has been really strenuous, thankfully our unit is doing REALLY well, as evidence by the accolades that we keep getting from both the full time Ft. Riley staff and the reserve component training division that is here to mobilize troops. We are outdoing even the active duty components in a lot of our training areas, and that’s really what we aspire to do, being the best of the National Guard is not enough, Title 10 puts us on the same level as active duty soldiers so we have to perform accordingly.

So I get to see belly for the weekend, and we are going to spend as much time together as we can, because this is maybe the last time we will see one another at least for 6 months (if I can get some leave wrangled out of this whole deal to come back mid-tour). I can’t wait to see her!

Current Lyrical Ramblings

Everybody has a face that they hold inside
A face that awakes when I close my eyes
A face watches every time they lie
A face that laughs every time they fall

Papercut – Linkin Park

Happy Birthday To My Baby!!!

I was still in the field on my sweety's birthday, but I wanted to take a moment to say Happy Birthday to her now, even if it is a little belated!! In related news, I have a plane ticket and I will be visiting her this weekend, lovely way to take advantage of a 4 day pass : )

I'm pretty excited. Last week, we did field training for a week in which we simulated what life and conditions would be for us in a base in the middle east. We had guard towers, guarded gates, tents, all sorts of fun stuff. The week started out with temps in the 95 degree area but by the end of the week we had reached 35 degrees at night, nothing like a 60 degree shift to throw you out of wack. I HATE THE COLD!!

So now our unit has been basically certified to head overseas, and we will probably have a lot of boring days ahead. I expect that I'll also have more time to write here. As for now, I'm preparing to see my wonderful wife this weekend, and spend some time getting to know yet another marine base haha.

Current Lyrical Ramblings

Callin' out your name
I'm dreamin'
Reflections of a face
I'm seein'
It's her voice
That keeps on haunting me

Send Her My Love - Journey

Crawl, To Walk, To The Run Phase

We’re into our hardest two weeks of training here at Ft. Riley in Kansas. This first week consists of how we are to drive our trucks and react to the bombs that are being left on the roadsides and also to insurgent attacks. Because I have a wealth of 11B infantry background, I don’t have too much trouble doing any of this because it’s basically like applying a bit of polish to a slightly rusty area, it all comes back to me pretty quick.

The last couple of days we have been working on hand to hand combat, room clearing techniques, and individual movement techniques. This, again, is some of the bread and butter of the infantry, so I’m loving it. As a truck driving unit we really don’t get a chance to do too much of it, and as a squad leader I find myself frustrated when I’m trying to get my young guys to do these tasks because, while it may be second nature to me to execute a button hook maneuver and enter a doorway in an urban environment, with the weapon at ready, eyes on sights, it’s a pain in the ass to teach it to someone who has never done it before.

The nice thing about our unit, is that while we are technically a transportation unit, nearly every E-6 SSG and above has at least 5 years of infantry experience, and was trained at boot camp at Ft. Benning at the infantry school, so this wealth of experience is now being put to work to get our younger guys up to speed. The young soldiers really seem to be enjoying what we are doing and picking up on it really fast, even the instructors comment on this, how it’s hard to believe we are a truck driving unit when they see a private doing specific techniques that they shouldn’t really know how to do, except that the NCO’s are teaching them how during our rock drills and sand tables.

Next week we will spend the entire week in the field at a makeshift base camp, simulating one in Iraq. There we will take everything we have learned thus far and turn it into one fluid movement, so to speak, where everyone is working together like a well oiled machine. We expect a few ‘breakdowns’ so to speak, but here is the place you want to work on that, not over ‘in the sandbox’, because over here you can correct your deficiencies without loss of human life. That just isn’t the case over there.

One thing is for sure, I do NOT envy what the actual infantry and MP units are doing in the middle east, because it’s not exactly the jobs they are meant to do. You have a lot of the infantry doing police work along with their usual jobs and geesh the MP units are getting totally overloaded with the infantry tasks along with their usual police work. We heard some real horror stories about what one particular MP unit that was tasked to the Big Red 1 (1st Infantry Division) had happen to them, I felt really bad, like you wanted to be there, to do something for them (I do miss the 1st and 2nd 134th Infantry MECHANIZED of the 35th Infantry Division, both of which I was with during my 12 years of infantry).

Our job will still be dangerous enough on it’s own. These explosive devices they are planting on the roadways are absolutely treacherous, there isn’t any real way to completely avoid them, sometimes you just have to hope for the worst and really use the armor and gear that they give you and work hard to keep your armored up vehicle up to date with the best of equipment. I just don’t want the people who care about me to worry all the time, with good training and vigilance we can really eliminate a lot of the threats we might come across. We’ve never been the ‘typical’ guard unit, something we hear a lot from our trainers, something we’ve always been used to hearing. “Your unit is better by far than any regular army transportation units we’ve worked with”. Well, that’s because we still remember being infantry and we still hold ourselves to that same high standard.

Current Lyrical Ramblings

If I leave here tomorrow
Would you still remember me?
For I must be travelling on, now,
There's too many places I haven't seen

Freebird – Lynard Skynard

This Is Wolfpack 3, Repeat Last Transmission, Over

If you’ve:

Ever worn dark colored pants with a long sleeve button up dark colored shirt, on a 97 degree day…

Called your dark colored, long sleeved shirt a ‘blouse’…

Taken off your dark colored pants and shirt, so soaked with sweat and dirt and sand that they could stand up in the corner all by themselves…

Put that same clothing, dirty and stinky as hell, back on your body the next morning…

Divided the number of days you will be in the field by the number of clean socks, underwear, and shirts you have to come up with how many days in a row to wear each…

Slept in a sleeping bag, even though you had a mattress…

Eaten Chili-Mac out of a pouch…

Screamed with joy at finding the pinnacle of culinary delight in your lunch bag, the Lemon Pound Cake…

Yelled a progressive stream of 4 letter vulgarities at a 175 meter target that you have been shooting at all night that will NOT go down…

Uttered the phrase “18 days and a wakeup!!!”…

Eaten a meal with chicken in it for more than 14 days in a row…

Spent more than an hour digging sand out of your ears, hair, and ass crack…

Ever done 35 or more ‘side straddle hops’, 4 count, in a row…

Done a stretch called ‘the hamstring stretch standing’, with it’s horrible use of grammar…

Had to recite your social security number more than 40 times in one day…

Fallen asleep while riding in the back of a loud, 120 degree, bouncing, dirty, armored personnel carrier as it careens across the desert…

Gotten hit in the face with a Dragon anti-tank missile launching system that broke away from it’s mount, as you slept, inside of the armored personnel carrier careening across the desert…

Done pushups to get mail…

Hidden an apple in your ‘cargo pocket’…

Referred to baby powder as ‘my best friend’…

Considered baby wipes as ‘a shower in a box’…

Spent time in the ‘gas chamber’…

Seen the statement “SP from the AA at 22:00 and meet at the FOB for Co. PT and CTT to follow” and actually know what it means…

Gone to church to get away from other activities on a Sunday…

Then you are probably a current or former member of the military. I’m certain there are many other things that we military people have done that other military personnel would recognize, feel free to comment on it.

Current Lyrical Ramblings

Once we were standing still in time
Chasing the fantasies that filled our minds
You knew i loved you, but my spirit was free
Laughing at the question that you once ask me

Do You Know, Where You’re Going To – Diana Ross

Pleurisy Is The Diagnosis, For Now

Part of our preparation for deployment involves medical screenings, and with this immunizations. Last week, on Tuesday, we received the small pox vaccinations, which basically involves poking you in the arm several times with a needle that has been dipped in a culture of cow pox. This particular vaccination ends up leaving a large pimple looking spot on the arm, about half the size of a dime.

Most everyone has gotten this sore, it begins oozing and must be kept under gauze and tape to avoid infecting other areas of the body and to avoid contact with other soldiers. Some soldiers have exhibited other symptoms such as extremely sore armpits, red splotchy areas that follow the veins away from the vaccination site, flu like symptoms, and respiratory/sinus infections.

My culture actually took a little while longer to swell up and take on the look of a large zit, a couple days longer than the average I would guess. Yesterday however, I started having a lot of trouble breathing in the morning. I didn’t think too much of it so I let it go, but all afternoon it got worse and worse, until the point that I couldn’t breathe at all without stabbing pain in the left side of my chest as I came back from evening chow.

Now, something I need to point out here, I’ve had this pain in my chest for nearly 2 years, since October of 2003, following a PT test I took during really cold weather. I dealt with it for the longest time, but upon hearing the news that my unit was going to be deployed, I felt I needed to find out what was wrong before I got to Ft. Riley. We spent 3 months and a lot of time trying to get something diagnosed, and despite my objections, my doctor’s diagnosis was acid reflux. I just got done taking a 30 day supply of an acid inhibitor and that did nothing to stem this pain.

So last night, I sat around for a little bit in the barracks then, after discussing it some with belly, decided it would be best to go to the emergency room and figure out what the hell was going on. I got a ride with a fellow SSG up to the hospital and following some discussion with the doctor, about the tests and medication I’ve taken on the civilian side, he settled in on pleurisy , an inflammation and swelling of the membrane that surrounds the lungs. The doctor described what I was feeling as similiar to the feeling of a collapsed lung, that you cannot get your breath, and you try to force your breath but it hurts so bad that you can't, lots of pain. It was extra painful yesterday due to the small pox causing an attack on my immune system, which is normal, but the inflammation was greatly increased and caused massive pressure on my lung.

Upon reading the symptoms and conditions of this particular ailment, I’m a lot more comfortable than I was with that idiotic acid reflux diagnosis. Now I have a lot more to work with, to try and find out what is not allowing this to heal correctly (viral or bacterial infection that hasn’t ever cleared up, or if this is actually a symptom of a more serious condition, which I pray it isn’t.)

There is really no guarantee that it even ISpleurisy, but this gives me something else to work with, which is what I need. The bad thing about this diagnosis is that it’s called ‘diagnosis by exclusion’, meaning, if every other possible cause for the pain has been checked out, whatever is left over, must be what it is, and that’s where we are at right now. So currently I’m on an anti-inflammatory medication, hopefully we get somewhere with it.

If someone who is reading this knows more about this condition, or wants to comment, or has questions themselves about pleurisy, please feel free to comment or email me. I really want to find out as much as I can about it, especially if someone out there who had it long term like I seem to have had it, has actually gotten past it and cured it.

Current Lyrical Ramblings

I pray for you, baby blue
In the name of love I reach for you
In the darkness comes the evil of the night
Think about it

You Better Wait – Steve Perry

Staring At Lapels

It's interesting how, on an army post, you don't look people in the eye when you are walking down the sidewalk, you stare intently, as hard as you can, to try and see their rank, because you have a split second sometimes to see the rank, and to address the person coming towards you, such as "Hello there master sergeant" or worse, having to salute some stupid officer.

Anyways, today, I saluted a specialist. Yep, I looked up at the last minute and saw her as she passed, that damn desert camo uniform, all I saw was the orange round thing and so I saluted, much to the giggling joy of both females, probably around 22 years old or so. I turned and "You aren't an officer, are you" and she replied "No sergeant". I just laughed and kept going. Hey, even NCO's make mistakes sometimes.

In other news, we had the small pox vaccinations. It's actually 'cow pox' as they call it. So far, despite seemingly everyone else getting a scabby build up under the gauze that we have to wear for 3 weeks, I have no build up, nothing much at all. I am wondering if it has something to do with my being around every imaginable ailment a cow could possibly have over 20 years or so of milking them. Who knows?

If I do end up having a strange craving for milk, or suddenly feeling sexually attracted to cattle, I'll be sure to run in and get this checked out. I'm not really sure what the side effects are, we were just told we have to get it done. Oh, I declined the anthrax vaccinations, WITH AUTHORITY, because I have heard bad things about it.


Current Lyrical Ramblings

Hello my friend we meet again
It's been awhile where should we begin?
Feels like forever...
Within my heart of memories,
a perfect love that you gave to me
Oh I remember...

My Sacrifice - Creed

Saturated Yellow Journalism

I’m tired of 24 hour coverage of every unfortunate event on the planet. I think 9/11 was the overload point for me. I think I watched the news for like a week straight, because I, like 250 million other Americans and untold numbers of the rest of the world, wanted to know ‘who the hell did this’ and ‘why’. The news media overloaded us on coverage before 9/11 but for some reason, after that, it was beyond reasonable.

Yellow journalism means to sensationalize the news beyond it’s true meaning in order to increase the number of viewers, and I’d say that the media today goes above and beyond that, looking for every sick and disturbing angle of current events, anything that will take the shock value to another level and get John Q Public’s mouth gaping “Oh my God!” The media rarely ever focuses on anything good these days, instead working hard to insure we are daily saturated with the worst aspects of the human existence. Is it any wonder we have school shootings, children committing heinous crimes at such early ages, when they turn on the television and even the news is a barrage of violence?

Everyday now I get to spend 3 half hour sessions with CNN at the chow hall, and it sickens me. Do I feel bad for the people affected by hurricane Katrina? Yes, of course I do, but I do not need to be inundated, deluged, literally immersed into it day after day after day, in fact, I think at a point the human aspect of this tragedy is lost because we become immune to what we see at some point.

Then of course, to make this particular news event even more ‘yellow’, you have lame brain dipshits like Wolf Shitzer on CNN asking questions like “Do you believe the response to the hurricane would have been much faster had Katrina hit a city populated by predominantly ‘white’ people?” He posed this incredibly racist and ignorant question to a black congressman, and this congressman of course showed his racist side by jumping right on the question, stating that of course the response was slow because the majority of New Orleans is populated by low income African Americans.

If questions like that are acceptable, then how about THIS question? “Do you believe the looting, rapings, beatings, and shootings would not have happened had Katrina hit a city populated by predominantly ‘white’ people?” OH MY, fraNk, how could you say that? Wait, now hold up, BOTH questions are equally unacceptable, what amazes me is that anyone who would call themselves a ‘journalist’ would bring up either question. Race did NOT play a part in the hurricane response, it’s so lame brained an idea.

The ENTIRE infrastructure of New Orleans was GONE, the first responders are normally the city, then state. THEN the Federal kicks in. In this situation, city and state were basically powerless due to the destruction of the infrastructure, no roads, no hospitals, nothing left. So the lack of immediate response shouldn’t fall on the Federal government, it shouldn’t fall on anyone, it’s just the nature of this particular beast, this disaster was beyond what was expected.

But back to my previous topic, about the lootings and rapings, or the response being slow due to the people being ‘poor blacks’, why does race have nothing to do with it? Because let’s say the majority of people left in a city decimated in such a way had been low income whites, those in the trailer parks with the rusted pickups. They would have had the same lawlessness, the same types of crimes being committed. As far as the response being slow, well, I’ve addressed that, and anyone who is still stupid enough to believe there is a racist issue behind it, or even stupider, that the white house didn’t care because they were African Americans, go ahead and wallow in your disgustingly racist fantasy land, you aren’t fooling anyone but yourself.

Current Lyrical Ramblings

I built my life on a rigid frame.
So nothing bends it only breaks into pieces and pieces.
I waited for hope to arrive but it never came.
Leaving me with only pain inside.

The Deep End – Crossfade

“Trainin’ Trainin’ Trainin’”

Wow, it’s been awhile since I’ve posted here. We have been so busy though, getting our mobilization up, doing our WTT classes, qualifying on ranges. This past weekend people’s families were allowed to come down, from 1600 Saturday till 2000 Sunday (that’s 4 pm Saturday till 8 pm Sunday, for you civilians out there). Belly couldn’t come because she needed to give them a specific amount of time notice before she would be allowed to leave, and they didn’t let us know until too late. But truthfully, paying probably 600 dollars or so (plane ticket, car rental, hotel room) for one day probably wouldn’t have been all that good, so we are going to try for one of the longer visits later, maybe a three day? *crosses fingers*

So, how goes things? Well, so far so good I guess, things are really a clusterfuck sometimes, but we are making it work. All in all I believe we have a good group of people who are all gelling together very well. Today some of us were doing land navigation while the rest of the company went and fired at the M249 SAW and .50 Caliber range. I was with the land navigation group, I spent about the last 20 minutes cleaning branches, leaves, neddles, dirt, etc, out of my shirt, crotch, pants, and hair. Not to mention the scratches all over my legs from the tangle foot and thorny bushes down in that little marsh we had to navigate to get to one of our points. But honestly, I enjoy that sort of shit, because that makes me feel closer to my infantry roots. HOOAH!!

I am in a room with 2 other SSG’s, and we are packed in here like sardines when you add in 3 duffel bags, 2 foot lockers, a ruck sack, and a personal bag, EACH person has this much stuff. Soon we have to send our foot lockers and 2 of our duffel bags into shipping containers to be sent over to the middle east by boat, so now the tricky part is trying to decide what we can live without for 2 months and putting it in the foot lockers and 2 duffel bags (they send all that stuff early so we have it when we get there, but the problem is that we can’t have it obviously for the next 2 months).

We have a little bit of internet, but we won’t have our actual good connection until Friday. Right now we are ‘piggy-backing’ off someone else’s connection, and it’s not very reliable at all. Also sometimes there are probably 30 or so people on that one connection and it’s just overloaded. All wireless of course. I can’t wait till we get a GOOD internet connection.

I get time to message belly back and forth using Yahoo messenger each night, which has been nice. I don’t really know what I would do without her in my life. There are so many ways in which she enhances my life, I give thanks everyday that I was lucky enough to find someone like her, and even luckier that she was okay with marrying a dork like me : )

Well, probably need to get a couple of things done around here so I’m going to keep it short, we are perpetually busy these days, hoping it starts to slow down sometime. Hope to keep you a bit more posted as to what is going on around here.

Current Lyrical Rambings

Remember when you were young, you shone like the sun.
Shine on you crazy diamond.
Now there's a look in your eyes, like black holes in the sky.
Shine on you crazy diamond.

Shine On You Crazy Diamonds – Pink Floyd

10 X 20 Feet Of Everything We Own

DONE, finally. The apartment is empty. Let me tell you, I really don’t care much for moving. I must say this much, we will NEVER live on anything other than the first floor of any apartment building, ever. This became apparent on around my 500th trip

Up

Down

Up

Down

Up

Down

Up

Down

those three stinking flights of stairs. I got some help from my family on Tuesday. I thought I would be done moving out on Saturday night or Sunday morning. Interesting how that didn’t work out, we just have a lot more stuff than I thought we did. My sisters, mother, and a family friend stopped in on Tuesday, along with Andy (he helped me move the big stuff, thank God for him).

Everyone left around 11 Tuesday night and I think that’s when it really hit me, I was all alone. My sisters took the cats over to their place to watch them for the next three months. I looked around the apartment and thought about everything belly and I had experienced there. Our first night in the apartment in front of the fireplace on the inflatable bed. Watching movies sitting on that crazy old hide –a- bed. Tossing that old ouch off the balcony. Our first year together, arguing late into the night, always finding ourselves coming through on the other side, stronger than ever. Papa John’s pizza, late night Chinese food, jogging together around the lake. So many memories during our roughly 925 days in that apartment. It was so sad as I packed up a lot of the last items, all by myself. But I know we have so many experiences left with which to build our memories, together.

I went to my parents house at 3:30 in the morning finally on Wednesday, STILL not completely finished moving everything out. Then at 6 in the morning I was up and heading off to drop my grandmother off at the doctor’s office, then headed back over to our apartment. One more load of stuff over to the storage unit, and then back for one final walk through the apartment, to check and make sure nothing was left. Then I dropped the keys off at the apartment office and headed off to my parents. I left the truck there with the more important financial papers and got a ride to Lincoln from my mother. Stayed at my friend Andy’s place till about 8 p.m. and then Spc Wadas gave me a ride to Wayne.

I was incredibly tired, but also relieved the next morning, standing in formation. With everything leading up to that moment, I was just glad to finally be done with it all. Now we get ready to spend the next 15 months or so doing what we have trained for so long to do.

Well, more on that at a later date.

Current Lyrical Ramblings

Now you know they're gonna come for you.
and drag your silly name into the mud.
If the mother bears your children without tears
and without the usual costs of labor

Freaks - Live

Someone told me this earlier tonite:

"You know you both have the perfect relationship, you act like a dumb ass and she doesn't care if you do."

Hah, well, that pretty much sums it up.

Current Lyrical Ramblings

Where's the space I fill
Where's the sympathy I killed
I need to find a meaning
I'm useless, I'm useless
Trapped inside my own web

Waffle - Sevendust

Ultimate Cheapness!!!

This is a complete cheapskate. I just saw a car parked by the side of the road, broke down or not I do not know. What stood out and screamed ‘ultimate cheapness’ is the fact that the car had ONE tinted window, the driver’s side window, this on a four door sedan. I had to laugh when I saw that.

Current Lyrical Ramblings

Some say a comet will fall from the sky.
Followed by meteor showers and tidal waves.
Followed by faultlines that cannot sit still.
Followed by millions of dumbfounded dipshits.

Ænema- Tool

I'll Take The Whole Pie

I have never really gotten into the ‘downloading’ music phase on the internet. I guess for me the reasoning is more than just the idea that I’m stealing from someone, because quite frankly, I could give a damn less about artists who make millions of dollars a year bitching, because God knows I’ve spent 18 dollars a cd on probably 100 of my cds before the price finally went down.

No, my reasons are a little bit different. Take the cd I’m listening to right now, Default, The Fallout. There are two fantastic songs that were hits on this cd, but there are several other wonderful songs, such as Sick And Tired which I’ve highlighted below as the song currently playing. Another fabulous song is One Late Night, and these are songs that, had I just taken the two hits off the internet, I would have never known I liked.

There are so many examples of this. The newest cd I have purchased is Breaking Benjamin, We Are Not Alone. I love this cd, every song is fantastic, and in all honesty, in this case, I like the songs that are NOT hits more than any of the hit songs. The entire cd is lyrically well presented and sounds great.

This is the reason why I don’t like to get my music off the internet, plus I’m a bit of a purist, to answer those who would say “why don’t you just download the entire cd.” I like having the real thing so to speak. Anyways, this has been brought to you by “taking a break from packing” so it’s time to get back to busting my ass ahahaha.

Current Lyrical Ramblings

I feel this, this tension inside of me
Pressure is presently pushing down on me
The first time it starts with just you and I
Repeating myself but you don't hear me

Sick And Tired – Default

The Time Is Near

15 months is a long time. I mean, I say it, I know how long it will be, but it really hasn’t hit me yet. As I sit in this apartment, with boxes stacked all around me, paperwork strewn across the living room floor, a list of ‘to do’ close to 2 pages long, I don’t really have the time to really comprehend what I’m about to embark on in 5 short days.

As odd as this sounds, I think Wednesday is going to actually be a relief when it finally arrives. Everything leading up to that day has been so hectic, a lot of it very stressful. When I walk thru the doors on Wednesday and show up for first formation, it’s going to like breathing a big sigh, ‘finally’, because of all the work that has to be done to get ready, even now of course. A lot has been done but there is so much yet to do.

Basically everything we own is going into storage. Except the cats of course, which my mother will watch for the next 3 months. I have to get all of my mail sent to my parents until belly is situated, at which point we may FINALLY have a permanent address. Until then though things are still going to be a little hairy, because we have to coordinate bills and mail thru my family.

Wednesday starts a 4 day process of paperwork and packing at our home station in Wayne, from there we drive to Ft. Riley in Kansas on Sunday. At Ft. Riley we will spend roughly 3 months, gearing up and training up, doing all the things that need to be done to bring the unit up to speed and proficient for deployment to Iraq. We send the majority of our gear over to Kuwait in shipping containers by sea. Sometime in early November, roughly the 8th or so, the unit will fly over to Kuwait, and link up with our gear.

This is tricky, because we have been told that there are more than 100,000 shipping containers located in Kuwait, so they use GPS tracking locaters on the containers themselves, with tracking devices that we get to locate the containers within the mass of boxes on the ground there. You have to be absolutely sure to install new batteries however, in order to insure that your tracker doesn’t go dead, or you’ll spend up to 2 weeks checking each individual container’s numbers by hand so to speak.

Back to the present time though, to look around our apartment. This is where we first lived together, shared so many experiences, exciting highs, devastating lows, it’s going to be difficult the day I click the lock and walk away from the door, especially doing so alone, because I know belly wants to be here too, to help me get all of this done.

Exciting, frustrating, glum, enthusiastic, my feelings are running thru a gauntlet today, I hope to have the apartment completely empty by Sunday night, save for my gear going to Wayne and maybe the laptop and a chair. So much to do though, so much. I best get back to it.

Current Lyrical Ramblings

She packed my bags last night pre-flight
Zero hour nine a.m.
And I’m gonna be high as a kite by then
I miss the earth so much I miss my wife
It’s lonely out in space, on such a timeless flight

Rocket Man – Elton John

DISASTER AREA

Packing sucks. How far am I into it? Who knows? I have 9 huge boxes, along with another 5 crates, all packed up so far. I want to be done moving everything out by Sunday, with just maybe the television and phone left in the apartment, so that I’ll have a full three days to work on JUST getting ready for the deployment. Oh and everything I’m taking with me Wednesday to Wayne to report for duty will also be here I’m sure.

Here’s the basic plan. My mother doesn’t think she will have any problem watching the cats, which was a HUGE relief. Up till now, the plan had been to find an efficiency apartment to put all of our stuff into, but the last few days have shown that, the idea of having 3 cats in an apartment without people around, well, landlords are quite leery of that. So when talking to my mother, she has decided that she wouldn’t have a problem watching the cats, as long as we pay her for their care, which seems fair to me.

So all of our stuff can go into a storage unit, which will actually work out a lot better. I’ve probably been overloading the boxes, but oh well, just hope the movers are strong people, if that’s how it ends up getting moved to wherever belly is going to be stationed. That’s the difficult part in all of this, I have to pack everything up into boxes and store it, then she’s going to be the one unpacking everything later on, with ‘who knows who’ going to do the actual moving of our belongings.

I’m marking all of the boxes with numbers, then I have a master list of ‘what’s what’ in each of the boxes, that way there is nothing written on the boxes themselves to give any thiefy type person any ideas if they were to see see ‘dvd player/cds’ written on the side of a box. Then I’ll map out the storage unit so that belly will know exactly where everything is. I need to write down all phone numbers and addresses of credit card companies, banks, cell phone company, etc, so that she can handle any problems that may arise. I’ll also need to set up all of my accounts on auto pay while I’m gone, so that the money will be automatically taken out of my checking account to pay the bills.

HAHA, SO much to do!! I can’t allow myself to get too overwhelmed, that is for sure. Speaking of that, what the hell am I still doing here? I need to get going and check out two storage unit facilities!! MORE LATER!!

Current Lyrical Ramblings

I can transcend you and mentally bend you
But I can't handle the shit that I'm into
I have been blinded and always reminded
Of the things I've wanted but I never could find

Starless – Crossfade

The Pensacola Experience

Before the trip I had planned everything out, except one thing, my accommodations. Naval Air Station Pensacola has a really nice housing facility called Bachelor Officer Quarters available to military personnel, but it’s normally so booked up that the only available way to get a room without orders is on a ‘walk in’ basis the day of your visit. $17 dollars a night sure as hell beats trying to bid for any available room in the surrounding area for $100 or more (workers in town to clean up and rebuild after the recent hurricane had snapped up all the cheaper rooms). So I walked in to see if any rooms were available, and thankfully there was a wonderful lady working there who heard my story about visiting my wife, and how I was going to be deployed, and she let me have all 7 days I was going to be there.

That was AWESOME, because the BOQ was within easy walking distance of both belly’s classroom and her barracks, and the eating facilities on base. The mess hall was actually pretty good, and for $1.90 breakfasts and $2.50 lunches, even Taco Bell can’t touch it. I never did find out how much dinners were there, we always ate off base for dinner.

The temperatures in Nebraska have been insanely hot for pretty much the past month. This is good for one particular reason, because of what the weather is like constantly in Pensacola. Omaha doesn’t have nearly the humidity that Florida has, but the blasting heat in the afternoon is actually worse temperature wise in Omaha. However, it’s debatable as to whether or not that is worse than the humidity in Pensacola.

In Nebraska, you can expect a pretty decent break from the heat in the early morning hours, usually about 70 degrees or so. Not so in Florida though. Unless there is a storm or cold front, the temperature in the morning is going to be about 85 with drenching humidity. I ran most mornings I was there, and the humidity was unreal. One lap around the training area was 1.5 miles, and by the time I would get about one lap around, my shirt would be soaked with sweat. I alternated 2 laps and 3 laps daily, if for no other reason than to make up for the really bad eating habits I had while visiting NAS.

We visited the Pensacola Beach twice. The Gulf of Mexico is rather salty, I don’t know if that qualifies me for swimming in the Atlantic Ocean, but it is the first time I’ve ever swam in a body of water that big. At 2 years old my parents dipped me in the Pacific, but I certainly don’t remember that. We took a whole host of photos at the beach, of which belly has the majority of them.

They certainly have some interesting places to eat along the beach. Of course the resounding theme of the area is ‘seafood’ and here’s me, a rabid red meat lover. I feel kind of bad as I look back on it, but the only seafood I had the week I was there was the crab dip with chips at Crabs restaurant. The waitresses all had shirts that said “WE HAVE CRABS” on them, I found that to be really funny. I’ve had friends telling me now that I should have gotten them one of those shirts, well, sorry, too much was going on to think about that : ) . Oddly enough, we ate Mexican food more than anything else, they had a really great Mexican restaurant there, except for one thing. An all you can eat buffet is not ‘order all you want as we spend 30 minutes making each thing you order before it gets to you’, that was irritating, but other than that the place was delicious.

We also went to see Charlie and the Chocolate Factory. I had to ask myself this while we were watching the movie, well, had to ask myself TWO questions really. First, why in the hell is it colder than a meat locker in this movie theater, and second, why is Willy Wonka’s character modeled after Michael Jackson? Don’t believe me? Well, go see the movie, I can give you many reasons why this is true.

Both are incredibly reclusive and live in unrealistic surroundings, Willy in the chocolate factory, Michael at Neverland. Both have real difficulty relating to adults. Both have completely inept abilities when picking out clothing to wear. Both try to entice children into liking them. Both talk with a squeaky weird voice and make silly comments that make no sense or put them in a really bad light. If you haven’t seen it, don’t go to the theater, however, it’s worth renting I think. The musical stuff is pretty funny, but the movie overall is sort of lacking in terms of plot.

Belly and I got a lot done in a short period of time. Name change completed, went to her bank to get both of us on the account, helped her study for a really hard test. All in all it was a really wonderful week. She spent every night with me in the BOQ except for one. Technically I don’t think she was supposed to be spending the night with me, but I almost wondered if her leadership knew about it but also knew our situation (my being shipped out for 15 months) and let it slide, especially considering that she finished so high in her class performance wise.

So basically we had a mini honeymoon, with periods of classwork for belly. We had so much fun. Oh, and I got a laptop at the Best Buy, because I’m rather devoid of hardware knowledge and she knows a LOT about it. I hope my two weeks leave midtour will be this nice, I can’t wait to see her again.



Current Lyrical Ramblings


When I find out all the reasons
Maybe I'll find another way, find another day
With all the changing seasons of my life
Maybe I'll get it right next time

Estranged – Guns N’ Roses

Omaha to Pensacola

Thank God for the decision to wear blue jeans versus shorts, considering that these airports seem to be kept at roughly the same temperature as oh, I’d say a meat locker. When you do end up getting on the plane, there are certainly plenty of interesting things to make note of. “USE BOTTOM CUSHION FOR FLOTATION”. Yes, all those stories we hear of those amazing life saving seat cushions that help crash survivors keep themselves from drowning when the plane makes a pit stop in the ocean or river.

“We’d like to remind you that this is a ‘non-smoking flight’. As opposed to the smoking flights they have these days? “Oh, geesh, I think I’ll wait for the next ‘smoking flight’ if you don’t mind”. How ignorant is that? There are NO flights that allow smoking (thank God) so why not just say “No smoking on any flights, light up and you will immediately be killed.”

I rode in seat “E” from Omaha to Memphis. Oddly enough there was no seat “C”, I guess that seat fell off during an earlier flight at some time. I was fortunate enough, as cramped as the seating was, to be crammed in between two female passengers, both probably around 20 years old and both pretty cute. Yes, I know “HEY, you are married”. Actually being married is nice because it lets you off the hook as far as conversation, it is no longer a prelude to flirting or anything else, it’s just blabbing haha.

I wonder if they ever wash those blue blankets? Hmmm, I just won’t think about it I guess, considering I used a blanket on both flights from Omaha to Memphis and from Memphis to Pensacola.

Current Lyrical Ramblings

La la la la la la la la la

BYOB – System Of A Down

@&#@('ING SEARCH PAGES!!!

I was on the computer tonite, trying to research the proper location and wear of the Presidential Fitness Badge for my Army PT uniform. I have maxxed out the PT test for something like 12 years in a row now, that's the basic requirement for wear of the Presidential Fitness Badge, I just never got around to putting it on my uniform. But I figured that I should considering we are going to be on an active duty post for three months soon, and in Iraq for 12 months following that.

Anyways, so I go to Yahoo and enter "Army Presidential Fitness Badge" into the search string, and EVERY DAMN HIT on the first page led me to another f'ing search site that was of NO help at all. I can't believe how bad it's gotten with those things, they have to be automated or something, to see someone looking for something they need information on and make it look like "oh, there it is" so you click on it and instead you find some unrelated shit page with your search 'string' added in.

Talk about frustrating. I see this happening more and more. I suppose that what happens is that for each hit to that site, someone is paying someone else 1 penny or so, and that if they can trick a thousand people a day to go to that site, that's 10 bucks a day for some loser somewhere. It's still really irritating. Sometimes it would be nice to just punch in a key code to send out a nice electromagnetic pulse to fry the hard drives of people that make shit software like that, oh, and of course, spam emailers, can't forget about frying them too.

Well, I'm off to Pensacola to be with the Mrs. for a week starting Wednesday. So I suppose that's a valid excuse to not be posting here, right? For once a valid excuse haha.

Current Lyrical Ramblings

Only so many tears you can cry.
'Til the heartache is over,
And now you can say your love...
Will never die.

Who's Cryin' Now - Journey

Gram's The Movie Star

I put my last name into Yahoo tonite, just to see what all comes up, and interestingly enough, my grandmother is the most popular outcome of these searches.

In 1991, Sean Penn made a movie called "The Indian Runner" in my hometown, a dark drama starring some notable Hollywood heavyweights, such as Sean Penn, Charles Bronson, Dennis Hopper, Viggo Mortensen, Patricia Arquette, and yes, my grandmother.

They did a casting call to find people to be in the movie. My grandfather wanted to try out for a part so he and my grandmother drove into town late one night, about 9 p.m. and said some lines then headed home. The next day, my grandparents got a phone call, and they asked for my grandmother, even though she never did a reading. Her role in the film lasted for about 7 seconds, as the camera passed where she was sitting, scrolling from Arquette, past my grandmother, to the television. My grandma didn't even have any lines in the movie, just sat staring at the television. My grandfather said it was the best, because she wasn't talking haha.

Every December, Grandma receives a check from the Screen Actors Guild, of which she is a part, for her royalties from the movie. This last one was for 19 cents. My grandfather puts those up and tapes them to the safe in the office, and everyone has a good chuckle when they see those checks. My grandmother, the movie star, who'da thunk?

Current Lyrical Ramblings

Oh, I've seen fire and I've seen rain
I've seen sunny days that I thought would never end
I've seen lonely times when I could not find a friend
But I always thought that I'd see you again

Fire and Rain - James Taylor

Mr. & Mrs.

"So, what's it like, now that you aren't a free man anymore?" Hmm, well, upon hearing that from a coworker the day I got back following my wedding over 4th of July weekend, I wanted to tell this person that 'guess you married the wrong person retard.' I really don't think of marriage as a prison, the one word that most describes what I feel is content. It was a LOT of work to put everything together, and with some timely hints from my mother in law, I was able to pull it all off without any problems. Many thanks to HyVee grocery store and Valentino's Italian Buffet for their help with everything.

I would have said the same about Rock Creek Apartments of Vann Realty of Omaha , but, because of a 50 dollar deposit 'theft' by a lazy lying worthless facility manager, that is just not the case. Long story, not going into it here, suffice to say that Rock Creek Apartments of Vann Realty of Omaha, that's Rock Creek Apartments of Vann Realty of Omaha, and one more time, Rock Creek Apartments of Vann Realty of Omaha, is a deceitful and shady organization. Yes, I said it, Rock Creek Apartments of Vann Realty of Omaha. I hope that mentioning Rock Creek Apartments of Vann Realty of Omaha 6 times gets some hits from people searching the web. Ah what the hell, make it seven, Rock Creek Apartments of Vann Realty of Omaha sucks big giant hairy donkey balls!! Whew, enough of that.

I picked belly up at the airport at about 10:30 on July 2nd, and immediately dropped her off at Gloss Studio so she could get her hair done. Her parents met her there as I headed to the apartment to get ready. I met the judge at the apartment clubhouse and a little later belly arrived, looking so beautiful and radiant. The ceremony was short but very nice, and afterwards we enjoyed a little cake and champagne before heading off to Valentino's Italian Restaurant for a celebratory dinner. Then we came back to the clubhouse to open a few gifts and have more cake (yum!!).

Belly and I had planned to go camping that night, but we were both so tired so we ended up just staying in the apartment and watching a few movies together, it was so nice just to spend some time together, 7 days in 7 months is hardly enough, so we had to make the best of the time we had. Sunday, July 3rd, we went to see War of the Worlds (not very good), ate at the Chinese Buffet (very good) and rented a couple of movies and enjoyed another cozy night together. Well, cozy and noisy, considering that Omaha celebrates the 4th of July weekend like a bunch of firework crazy lunatics. It was like a freaking war zone outside. Thankfully around 11 that night it calmed down.

Monday, July 4th. We got to the airport to find out they had overbooked, so not only did belly get to stay for an extra 6 hours together, but they gave her a 300 dollar travel voucher for use on another flight. So off we went again, she got a haircut then we went out for steak. The time went way too fast, as it had all weekend, and just before 5 my wife was on a plane headed back to Pensacola.

So yah, married. What is married life like? Well, I'll let you know when we I get to spend some real time WITH my wife. That's coming up soon, I'm flying there July 27th to spend a week with her. Can't wait. Time to head to bed.


Current Lyrical Ramblings

I know that you've been damaged
Your soul has suffered such abuse
But I am not your savior
I am just as fucked as you

Save Yourself - Stabbing Westward

7 Days Till A Union

Some people may call marriage the end of life as they know it. I suppose for some that might be true. We are looking into this as enhancing what we have already achieved. This is my best friend, the person I would most want to be with when something great has happened, the person I most need to lean on when something is troubling me. I can't imagine where I would be right now had she and I not found one another.

7 days... we purchased the plane tickets, nothing like 600 dollars to bring her home. I received the marriage license back and the engagement ring, so I can take the ring in and get it ready with the band for the ceremony. We moved the meal after the ceremony to 3 in the afternoon because belly won't be in town till close to 11 a.m. on Saturday, and the ceremony was to be at noon, that's going to get pushed back a couple hours to give her time to get ready, and in case there is a delay with the flight.

Everything is moving fast, a week after the wedding my unit will be in Lincoln and Ashland for pre-deployment briefings and equipment/clothing issue, financial coverages, etc. Belly and I have a unique situation we have to deal with, well, several, come August there will be no permanent address for us, also, finding out how we can deal with BAH and other allowances when we are both in the military is troubling, my financial department was supposed to get back to me with some answer and they haven't yet, so I guess I'll have to do more studying to find out how it all affects my pay.

So, am I nervous?? Nah, not really, I'm excited. This is just continuing our life journey, she and I together, a natural progression of what was meant to be. Why be nervous when someone completes you as a person? No reason to be nervous if you ask me. I feel more content than anything else.

Current Lyrical Ramblings

We're sayin' our goodbyes
To the past and everything that ain't right
We won't waste another day
With all these silly things in our way

No Giving Up - Crossfade

Hook Em Hosers

I hate the Texas Longhorns. If the University of Texas were suddenly sucked into a monster fissure that opened up in the ground in Austin, I would shed not one tear, not one! Their fans are without a doubt the worst in all of college sports (I would say all of sports, but sorry Yankee fans, you are the most pathetic and worst, by a slight margin).

Why am I bringing this up? Well, I watched one of their players rounding the bases during the College World Series here in Omaha, doing that STUPID hook em sign, and a lot of bad memories came up. Certainly had Nebraska done what they should have done years ago, yes, in football, this wouldn't even come up, well, it might, doesn't change the fact that Texas fans blow goats, but at least had my beloved Huskers won some of the games they should have, the irritation wouldn't be so noticeable.

So is it the losses that make me feel this way? Not really, it's how their fans reacted, probably some of the sorriest winners I've ever seen in my life, yelling the most profane and insulting comments as they left Memorial Stadium in Lincoln, I shook my head in amazement, that a school like Texas, with all that tradition, could have such completely lame and pathetic fans. My best friends mother got jabbed in the eye by one of them doing their little sign. College campuses in Nebraska can't have alcohol, so you can't blame it on that, it's actual sober people being retarded.

As a lifelong Husker fan, I understand the idea of rabid loyalty to one's team, but we Nebraska fans, year after year considered the most knowledgeable in all of college football, have always treated opponents with the utmost of respect. Of course there are rare exceptions, but for the vast majority of the time, the experience for the visiting team, win or lose, is one that they never forget. The "Sea of Red" and the greeting for the opposing team as fans cheer them after the game as they walk under the stadium, and the atmosphere, are something many players of opposing teams have recalled years following playing there.

I guess we end up having the same expectations of visiting fans, to be respectful and cordial to others, but on two separate occasions I've had the displeasure of being present for games with Texas, and they were the exact opposite of polite. Like I said, open up a hole and suck that college down into the dark depths of hell!! Good riddance!!

Let's see, in other news, what's going on around here? Well, we've had a high of 92 degrees or above for 4 days now, and it's been rather sweltering. But I like the heat, so I've been out in it running and biking, and really pushing myself. Today I ran 6.5 miles in 96 degree heat. I lose anywhere from four to six pounds when I run that far in that kind of heat. Of course, the majority is water weight, but I still feel so much better when I'm working out. I'm sitting at just above 180 these days, and it's a healthy feeling compared to 210.

I guess when I'm scooting down the trail around the lake at a high rate of speed, be it running or biking, I keep in mind what it's going to be like over in Iraq, where the highs can be in the teens... PLUS 100 that is. I push myself here to move my threshold further, to increase my stamina, and lower the energy I use while resting in that blazing heat over there. I don't believe I'll be able to sit in the 115 degree heat and not sweat, but I want to be sure that I feel, well, relatively comfortable. I did at the National Training Center at Ft. Irwin, south of Death Valley in California, so I don't think I have too much to worry about.

Me with an 80 pound ruck, along with another 60 lbs of gear or so, yah, going to have no problem heh heh heh.

Current Lyrical Ramblings

Lights go out and I can’t be saved
Tides that I tried to swim against
Have bought me down upon my knees
Oh I beg, I beg and plead... Singing

Clocks - Coldplay

July 2nd Wedding

That's the plan. Belly has 72 hours of liberty, and she's trying to get authorized to leave the base to get married over 4th of July weekend, from late Friday until Monday night at midnight. I'm applying for the marriage license today, which included getting a bunch of information from her parents yesterday, and a little from my parents (I knew most of theirs already). Other things to get done: purchasing the wedding bands, picking a judge to do the wedding, and finding a good location to actually have the wedding at.

I've picked out a nice place to go eat afterwards, Valentino's Grand Italian Buffet in Omaha, we have the party room reserved, for roughly 35 people. They will provide white linens for the table and fall colors for the napkins and room itself. All in all, we are trying to keep this very laid back yet still meaningful, with the idea of having a regular ceremony when we get back. I've invited my groomsmen, my immediate family, Belly's parents and grandparents, and her brother. She and I are excited, but also about seeing each other again.

Everything is moving so fast now, it's tough to keep it all in perspective sometimes. In just over 4 months, I'll be in Iraq. I've picked up some extra responsibility while we are mobilizing and when get to Iraq, doing a bi-monthly newsletter to be sent home to the family, and with that I'm also going to start a website, Belly will help me with it stateside, doing the webmaster activities, more on that later.

Current Lyrical Ramblings

Life is like the coldest winter
People freeze the tears I cry
Words of hail their minds are into
I've got to crack this ice and fly

Hitch A Ride - Boston

This Week's Sign That Apocolypse Now Is Upon Us

On the interstate yesterday, I saw a giant "Harley Davidson" sticker across the back window of a Honda Pilot. Uhhhh... ooookay?? I wonder if this guy wears a Honda tshirt while he rides his harley then? Somehow I doubt it.

Current Lyrical Ramblings

When you were yourself it tasted sweet
But it sours into a routine deceit
Well this drama is a bore
And I don’t want to play no more

Losing A Whole Year - Third Eye Blind

Bitter Bipartisan Bickering Former FBI No. 2 Mark Felt finally admitted publicly on Tuesday that he was the source who leaked secrets about the Watergate investigation to two Washington Post reporters more than 30 years ago. Now, I don't remember much of this, obviously (I wasn't quite 2 years old when Dick resigned), but I do know that it was such an unbelievable event, and as the years went on, the fact that the informant, known only as "Deep Throat", was able to hold onto his secret identity for so long in a crappy shithole place like Washington D.C., where secrets are rarely kept, certainly not for this long. Of course you have these people who are applauding Felt as a 'national hero', for being a whistle blower, for having the guts and strength to stand up and fight against those in power involved in wrongdoing. How interesting is it though, that a bunch of these same people praising Felt, are also on record as having publicly ridiculed Linda Tripp, the whistle blower who went public about Bill Clinton and the infamous "stained dress". Lest I be accused of partisanship myself, it's just as amusing to see people on the other side of the fence blasting Felt for 'not following correct institutional protocol' by not reporting the wrong doing by Nixon through his chain of command. Many of these same people put Tripp up on their shoulders and paraded her around for doing "the right thing" when it came to Clinton's sexual philandering in the White House. I guess some things just never change. Both sides will claim what the other did was worse and come up with plenty of unsubstantiated bullshit to bolster their ignorant arguments, rather than just admit the behavior in question was WRONG and move on. Isn't it interesting that with both Clinton and Nixon, it wasn't even what they did that was worst part of the whole ordeal, but the coverups that followed thereafter? Certainly the best argument that anyone can make is to TELL THE TRUTH!!! I think Nixon would have saved his presidency and Clinton would not have gone down in history for being such a worthless skirt chasing liar had they not tried to cover up their respective scandals, and just dealt with them head on. Yah, well, good luck with that ever happening. Current Lyrical Ramblings She spends her days up in the north park, watching the people as they pass And all she wants is just a little piece of this dream, is that too much to ask With a safe home, and a warm bed, on a quiet little street All she wants is just that something to hold onto, that’s all she needs -Live Like That - 3 Doors Down

BIG GLEAMING SMILE

WOW, Crest Whitestrips REALLY do work. I should hope so after paying 33 dollars for them and fighting my way through the Walmart crowd to purchase them. After 2 of the 10 treatments thus far, I can really see a difference. What I don't get about them, is that they are the "Premium Plus" version. Uhm, isn't that a little redundant?? "Oh, these are the 'Premium' white strips over here, and the 'Plus' ones are here, but up here, oh yes, we have the Premium Plus!! You aren't anyone unless you have those!" So anyways, if you see me standing in front of a mirror smiling at myself while striking a pose, don't be alarmed, well, you might want to run, I am sort of insane and all.

Last Sunday was the 22nd, so don't think that it went unnoticed. I hope it was a good day. I was at Guard, sitting through a 6 hour pre-deployment briefing. How funny is it that they can't tell us '100% for sure' that we are being deployed, yet they are handing out mobilization packets and doing showdown inspections on everyone to be sure we have 100% accountability for gear haha. DUH, some secret it is that we are getting deployed.

So why am I talking about it now? Because as of today, it's a sure thing. The 17th of August we begin train up, Ft. Riley, Kansas. Then in November, it's in country, likely Iraq. I'm now allowed to give this information out, of course, I told NO ONE before this : ) (shhhh) Anyways, going to get to bed. And I'm taking my shiny happy teeth with me!!

Current Lyrical Ramblings

That I would be good even if I lost sanity
That I would be good, whether with or without you.

-That I would Be Good, Alanis Morissette

"Boots in the sand"

QUITE busy as of late, hence the lack of posting to my blog, for that I apologize, here's what has been going on, in order to keep you up to date.

My unit's impending deployment to Iraq appears to be starting around August 15th. This will be the start of about 3 months of training up/gearing up, then we should be "boots in the sand" (in Iraq) around the 10th of November. From the day we arrive in Iraq, it will be 365 days in country, then we will come home.

This was a little frustrating to say the least, because once again, the wedding is going to be postponed. We are getting married in a civil ceremony in front of a judge here in Omaha in July, but we had planned on a regular wedding ceremony in September of 2006, after I was to return from Iraq. Well, now it appears I will not be back from Iraq until November of 2006, so the regular ceremony will probably be late August or early September of 2007.

Belly should be done with Marine Combat Training around June 15th, then we are going to push very hard to get her home for at least a month on Recruiter's Assistance so we can get married, move to a cheaper apartment (for storing our stuff mostly), get all our finances in order, and just spend some time together, because we won't be able to for 15 months (at least... because if she gets deployed while I'm gone it will be for even longer).

We had a drill this past weekend, where we got the information as to when we will be in Iraq, along with our pre-deployment packets (yikes, a LOT of reading and studying on my own over the next three months, don't know if everyone is going to study up, but I want to be a step up, including knowing how to say a few key phrases in Arabic). We had our PT test, I scored a 300 (max). 76 pushups in 2 minutes, 100 situps in 2 minutes, and ran the 2 mile in 12:52, into a really strong head wind for the first mile, which turned into a stiff crosswind in the second mile. I'm disappointed though, I still have that pain in my chest and it's hindering my ability to improve on my run. I know I'm getting older but dammit I am also close to 30 lbs lighter than I was 3 years ago, when I was running 2 miles in 11:30. I'm going to get a full physical next week. If the general practitioner cannot find out what is causing the pain, I'm going to ask for a referral to a heart/lung/chest specialist.

Getting belly home might be tricky, if they don't offer her recruiter's assistance I'm going to make an appeal, based on our situation, to try and get at least a week of emergency leave for her. I would have to think that, given the circumstances, it would get approved. Bah, there is SO much to do though, getting the credit card put on hold with a very low interest rate, turning off a cell phone (actually that will get done when I'm done training at Ft. Riley, because I'll still be using my phone there), going to Performance Dodge in Lincoln and pricing my SRT-4 ACR and setting it up to order it.

Oh, yes, about the car. This car is normally about $21,600 but according to our battalion commander, the manufacturers are offering 3 to 5,000 off to troops overseas who order direct, and for no charge they ship the car direct to the dealer of your choice. Also, NO SALES TAX if you order while overseas, that is going to save me probably 1500 to 1800 also. With no destination fee for the car, that's a lot of money I'm saving, it will more than pay for getting the Mopar Stage 3 performance package added to the vehicle. Stock SRT-4 is 230 hp, 250 lb ft torque. With the Stage 3 upgrade, and on high octane fuel, that is raised to 355 hp and 375 lb ft of torque. Heh heh, needless to say, I should be waving bye to any unsuspecting Mustang or Camaro I meet. Ah, well, I'm still somewhat young aren't I? : ) Dooon't worry, I'll take it easy with this car, because I want it to last. I'll have a secondary car I'll build at the farm for work/winter driving, probably a Dodge Shadow or something like that.

Anyways, we have so much going on. When belly gets home, we are going to also go up to her parents and spend a weekend there. The worst case scenario would be if everything was denied and belly wasn't able to come home. If that happens, I'll get a marriage license in whatever state she is training in and we will go get married there, I'll travel there and spend a week in a hotel, she gets her nights off, so we can at least get that time together before I go. It really means a lot to her and I to get some 'we' time before I go over, because to be honest, you never know what might happen, so you have to live as much of your life in the time that you do have... you never know.

Current Lyrical Ramblings

Just fade away, please let me stay
Caught in your way, I can live forever here
How can I believe when this cloud hangs over me
You're a part of me that I don't wanna see

-Forget it, Breaking Benjamin