I am sore today. Have I ever mentioned how much I dislike PT? If not, well, I really hate it. Especially doing it 5 days a week. Yesterday we did some little program that the PLT SGT found online. It consisted of 100 squats, 50 push-ups, 21 pull-ups and a half mile run. After the run, you do the exercises in the opposite order. And then today, he wanted to do a 4 mile run. I do not recommend doing 200 squats one day, and then running 4 miles the next. (Either that, or I’m just getting too old for this crap. Shut up Biz!) I just hope that tomorrow we go a little easier. I doubt it though, because this guy is addicted to working out.
Biz reminded me yesterday that I forgot to mention something that happened on Saturday night. Well, it was kind of raining when we went out, so I took my umbrella. (I hate being cold. I hate being wet. And I really can’t stand being both.) Well, when it was time to go, my umbrella was GONE! Someone took it. Who the hell takes an umbrella? I mean, come on! When it rains here, you can’t go 30 feet without someone selling umbrellas for around $8. (Well, mine did cost about twice that, but I got it at the PX. AAFES=Army and Air Force EXTORTION Service) Its not how much it cost, it’s the fact that they took it. And from Mama’s bar at that. I just hope that I find out who has it. I’d like to have a few words with them.
Anyway, me and Biz were getting in his car to go home last night when I noticed this god awful smell. It smelled like a cat had pissed in the car. Ha ha. I couldn’t help but laugh. Of course, he didn’t think it was all that funny. Oh well. It’ll teach him to leave the window all the way down. On second thought, he’ll leave them down on the off chance he can catch the cat in the act. Other than that, there’s not all that much to talk about. And nothing has really caught my attention to make comments on. (Other than the umbrella thing.) So I’m just about out of stuff to write today. Maybe tomorrow will be better, we’ll see.
I’ll see ya’ll later.
27 February 2006
ZzzzzzzzzZAP!
Great, its Monday, again. And to top it all off, the Platoon Sergeant is back, which means back to 5-day a week PT. But, I’ve only got about 3 months, or so, left. And about half of that will be away from him. So it won’t be too bad.
After the memorial on Friday, I didn’t feel as bad I thought I would. We had quite a few people at the ceremony. A lot of them were Air Force, (There were also a few AF casualties in the incidents that I mentioned on Friday.) they represented the AF units that work with us on a regular basis. And, while I was wrong about how I would feel, I was right about the warrior thing. Unfortunately.
Everyone was in their class ‘A’ uniforms for the occasion, all looking sharp as well. (Of course, I was the best looking one. At least as far as I was concerned.) And afterward, there was a flurry of picture taking. But, I managed to stay out of most of it. After the ceremony, I went home, showered and got ready for a Hail & Farewell. But, I fell asleep and missed it. (Oops!)
I woke up and headed over to Biz’s place to meet with him, NB, and Kiwi II. (She was supposed to be there.) I get there and find out that Kiwi II is too tired to head out with us, and promises to go out next Friday. Anyway, the three of us proceed to do a little bit of preemptive drinking. While we’re doing this NB enlists Biz to help in getting her hair ready. It was quite funny seeing this 6’4”, 260lb guy helping a little 90lb girl do her hair. I think that Biz has a picture that I took of it, but I doubt he’ll post it. It would ruin his “Manly (self-) Image.” (Update: After I gave him a hard time about it, he did some acupressure and put the picture up.)
So we head out around 9:30-10 and proceed to get trashed. After a little while there, NB and Biz decide to head out for the Bubble. And NB got a little upset at me for not going. (Just a little bit.) When everyone made plans during dinner earlier in the week, they decided that they were going to go dancing. I just kept my mouth shut, and they all assumed I had agreed. Too bad. Anyway, they go to the bubble, and I see them about 30 minutes later. I thought that they just hadn’t even left yet. I guess Biz was trashed, ‘cause he doesn’t even remember me being there at that time. While they were gone, a friend of mine came in, but the only way that I knew she was there was when she came up behind me and bit me on the neck. Needless to say, even though I knew who it was immediately, I was still a little surprised.
NB leaves to go home, girl just can’t handle staying out all night any more. Curfew is coming up pretty soon, so I let Biz know I’m taking off and I’ll be back later. So, me, Neck Biter, and about 10 others head out for the College area. The place we go to is pretty busy, and we stay there a little while. At this point, I’ve stopped drinking, because the Biter is there. (Her boyfriend is, I guess you could say, an acquaintance of mine. Not exactly a friend, but we do work together.) Then everyone wants to go check out this other place. It blew, there wasn’t anyone there except us and a couple old Korean dudes. After one drink, it was time to check out another place. Well, tonight was K’s night for bad luck, out of the 2 places he wanted to go to, one was empty. And the other was closed. By this time, I said to hell with this and told everyone I was heading back downtown. And left them there.
I get back to the Crew at around 3:15 AM, and Biz is still here. And there is this English girl (Yeah, I know, British.) there, and she’s surrounded like a bug light in summer. Its hilarious to watch. These guys are buying her drinks, and just getting burned one after the other. Well, I go over to Biz and ask who she is because I hadn’t seen her before. He tells me he didn’t know and says, “Watch this.” He walks over to a couch over by where she’s surrounded at and sits down on the arm. He looks over at her and just gives a slight nod, then goes back to watching a pool game. Not more than 2 minutes later, she leaves everyone else and walks over to Biz. Me and Aussie almost died from laughing so hard. All of those other guys looked like someone had just run over their dog.
Anyway, all of those guys ended up leaving when the realized she was more interested in Biz. And me and her get to talking a little as well. She was telling me how in England most women have what they call a gay friend. And that this guy she was talking to, and was buying most of her drinks that night, was her equivalent here. And she even told him that. I just looked at her and told that was cruel, funny, but cruel, and started laughing. Her and Biz head off to talk and a little later Aussie is introduced to a Korean girl. Well, Aussie is very happy with his current girl of 6 years (He better be, or she’d kill him. J/K.) and within 5 minutes passes her off to me.
We talk for a little while. She was only in town for about a day or so and heading out the next day. Too bad, could have been interesting. (See, I don’t know where Biz gets this Mac Daddy thing.) And, since its getting late, me and Biz decide its time to go home. One slight prob, though, the English girl doesn’t remember where she lives. Another friend kept trying to get her to head back with Biz because “he knows where he lives.” (Gotta love drunk logic.) Well, everything gets sorted out, and we all go our separate ways. I get home, and asleep, around 6:30 AM and I don’t wake up till 11:30. And guess what? The power was out, but at least it wasn’t for long.
Saturday night wasn’t too much different. NB decided she didn’t feel too good and wanted to stay home. And Kiwi II begged out because she was tired and had to do a graduation thing in the morning. So it was just me and Biz. We head out. (Biz was secretly hoping that the English girl would show, but wouldn’t outright admit it.) He kept asking me what that girl’s name was, what she looked like and stuff like that. But he would not believe me about her name. And all because it is the same as another friend of ours. Not to mention, to us, its not a very common name. I had only heard it once before, and that was a TV character. The night went the way they usually do. A little drinking, a little pool, BSing with friends. Then Biz decides he’s had enough and heads home. (WEAK) After a couple more hours, me, K and the Cuban go out to get some beef and leaf. (Got to tell you what though. Koreans have some of the best drunk food. And, its cheap to. The 3 of us got full off of around $15.)
As you can see, Friday night was a much better night. But I enjoyed myself on Saturday. And Sunday I gave my oldest daughter a call, it was her 16th birthday. Man, time flies when you don’t want it to. My kids are all growing up too fast, and yet not fast enough. (I have 2 daughters, 16 and 12, and a son, will be 14 in the middle of the year.) Wouldn’t you know it, Biz, and Mama Biz, just had to give me a hard time about it too. Some people’s children.
I think that I’ve rambled on long enough for to day, so….
I’ll see ya’ll later.
After the memorial on Friday, I didn’t feel as bad I thought I would. We had quite a few people at the ceremony. A lot of them were Air Force, (There were also a few AF casualties in the incidents that I mentioned on Friday.) they represented the AF units that work with us on a regular basis. And, while I was wrong about how I would feel, I was right about the warrior thing. Unfortunately.
Everyone was in their class ‘A’ uniforms for the occasion, all looking sharp as well. (Of course, I was the best looking one. At least as far as I was concerned.) And afterward, there was a flurry of picture taking. But, I managed to stay out of most of it. After the ceremony, I went home, showered and got ready for a Hail & Farewell. But, I fell asleep and missed it. (Oops!)
I woke up and headed over to Biz’s place to meet with him, NB, and Kiwi II. (She was supposed to be there.) I get there and find out that Kiwi II is too tired to head out with us, and promises to go out next Friday. Anyway, the three of us proceed to do a little bit of preemptive drinking. While we’re doing this NB enlists Biz to help in getting her hair ready. It was quite funny seeing this 6’4”, 260lb guy helping a little 90lb girl do her hair. I think that Biz has a picture that I took of it, but I doubt he’ll post it. It would ruin his “Manly (self-) Image.” (Update: After I gave him a hard time about it, he did some acupressure and put the picture up.)
So we head out around 9:30-10 and proceed to get trashed. After a little while there, NB and Biz decide to head out for the Bubble. And NB got a little upset at me for not going. (Just a little bit.) When everyone made plans during dinner earlier in the week, they decided that they were going to go dancing. I just kept my mouth shut, and they all assumed I had agreed. Too bad. Anyway, they go to the bubble, and I see them about 30 minutes later. I thought that they just hadn’t even left yet. I guess Biz was trashed, ‘cause he doesn’t even remember me being there at that time. While they were gone, a friend of mine came in, but the only way that I knew she was there was when she came up behind me and bit me on the neck. Needless to say, even though I knew who it was immediately, I was still a little surprised.
NB leaves to go home, girl just can’t handle staying out all night any more. Curfew is coming up pretty soon, so I let Biz know I’m taking off and I’ll be back later. So, me, Neck Biter, and about 10 others head out for the College area. The place we go to is pretty busy, and we stay there a little while. At this point, I’ve stopped drinking, because the Biter is there. (Her boyfriend is, I guess you could say, an acquaintance of mine. Not exactly a friend, but we do work together.) Then everyone wants to go check out this other place. It blew, there wasn’t anyone there except us and a couple old Korean dudes. After one drink, it was time to check out another place. Well, tonight was K’s night for bad luck, out of the 2 places he wanted to go to, one was empty. And the other was closed. By this time, I said to hell with this and told everyone I was heading back downtown. And left them there.
I get back to the Crew at around 3:15 AM, and Biz is still here. And there is this English girl (Yeah, I know, British.) there, and she’s surrounded like a bug light in summer. Its hilarious to watch. These guys are buying her drinks, and just getting burned one after the other. Well, I go over to Biz and ask who she is because I hadn’t seen her before. He tells me he didn’t know and says, “Watch this.” He walks over to a couch over by where she’s surrounded at and sits down on the arm. He looks over at her and just gives a slight nod, then goes back to watching a pool game. Not more than 2 minutes later, she leaves everyone else and walks over to Biz. Me and Aussie almost died from laughing so hard. All of those other guys looked like someone had just run over their dog.
Anyway, all of those guys ended up leaving when the realized she was more interested in Biz. And me and her get to talking a little as well. She was telling me how in England most women have what they call a gay friend. And that this guy she was talking to, and was buying most of her drinks that night, was her equivalent here. And she even told him that. I just looked at her and told that was cruel, funny, but cruel, and started laughing. Her and Biz head off to talk and a little later Aussie is introduced to a Korean girl. Well, Aussie is very happy with his current girl of 6 years (He better be, or she’d kill him. J/K.) and within 5 minutes passes her off to me.
We talk for a little while. She was only in town for about a day or so and heading out the next day. Too bad, could have been interesting. (See, I don’t know where Biz gets this Mac Daddy thing.) And, since its getting late, me and Biz decide its time to go home. One slight prob, though, the English girl doesn’t remember where she lives. Another friend kept trying to get her to head back with Biz because “he knows where he lives.” (Gotta love drunk logic.) Well, everything gets sorted out, and we all go our separate ways. I get home, and asleep, around 6:30 AM and I don’t wake up till 11:30. And guess what? The power was out, but at least it wasn’t for long.
Saturday night wasn’t too much different. NB decided she didn’t feel too good and wanted to stay home. And Kiwi II begged out because she was tired and had to do a graduation thing in the morning. So it was just me and Biz. We head out. (Biz was secretly hoping that the English girl would show, but wouldn’t outright admit it.) He kept asking me what that girl’s name was, what she looked like and stuff like that. But he would not believe me about her name. And all because it is the same as another friend of ours. Not to mention, to us, its not a very common name. I had only heard it once before, and that was a TV character. The night went the way they usually do. A little drinking, a little pool, BSing with friends. Then Biz decides he’s had enough and heads home. (WEAK) After a couple more hours, me, K and the Cuban go out to get some beef and leaf. (Got to tell you what though. Koreans have some of the best drunk food. And, its cheap to. The 3 of us got full off of around $15.)
As you can see, Friday night was a much better night. But I enjoyed myself on Saturday. And Sunday I gave my oldest daughter a call, it was her 16th birthday. Man, time flies when you don’t want it to. My kids are all growing up too fast, and yet not fast enough. (I have 2 daughters, 16 and 12, and a son, will be 14 in the middle of the year.) Wouldn’t you know it, Biz, and Mama Biz, just had to give me a hard time about it too. Some people’s children.
I think that I’ve rambled on long enough for to day, so….
I’ll see ya’ll later.
23 February 2006
The Fallen
Today, I feel, is going to be one of those days that will put me in a bad mood. Not an angry bad mood, just a, I don’t know, depressed one. Or rather, a depressing mood. We are going to have a memorial for some of our fallen this afternoon. Two separate incidents, that happened almost two weeks and thousands of miles apart. They weren’t the first time my unit had lost members, but they were the first for me to lose friends.
The first one happened on February 22, 2002, in the Philippine Sea. I knew just about everyone that was onboard that aircraft. There was no indication of enemy fire, it was a mechanical failure. We lost eight good soldiers that day, of which five were friends of mine. Yes, I do miss them, and they are never far from my thoughts. Nor are those that they left behind.
The second incident occurred on March 4, 2002, in Afghanistan’s Sha-e-kot Valley. (During Operation Anaconda.) That one hit more to home for me. While the loss was a relatively minor one, in the way that the Army counts these things. It was one that was more personal. That day I lost a very good friend. A very good friend. There’s not too much more that I can say right now without sounding critical. And that would dishonor his sacrifice, in my eyes.
I know that during the ceremony that they would be called warriors, and that is a shame. The military, as a whole, has gotten on this “Warrior” bandwagon. They call everyone in the military a warrior. We are not warriors, we are soldiers. (And by soldiers, I am including all of our military.) I don’t know if you know that there’s difference, or not, but I’ll try to explain.
Basically it is this. Warriors are individuals and soldiers are part of a team. To be a soldier takes more self discipline, more working together, to achieve a common goal. Warriors are more apt to accomplish individual goals. To give you an example, the terrorists in Iraq operate as warriors. This is why they are unable to work together above the squad level (8-10 people). And when they try to, they are severely beaten by fewer numbers of soldiers. Sure, our technology makes up somewhat for the difference, but it is our training as soldiers to operate as a team that is the biggest factor. (Of course the fact that they want to die helps, too.) Teams can accomplish goals that individuals could never hope to. I never want to be referred to as a “warrior”. I AM A SOLDIER! And I am proud of that fact.
My unit has a tradition. We place the names of our fallen on our memorial so that they will never be forgotten. Nor will their sacrifice be in vain. Everyone coming to us will visit this memorial and told our history. It is our link. Our guiding symbol. None of us strive for this honor, but it is still an honor, none the less.
I want to leave off today with a poem written for us. I don’t know who wrote it, so I can not give the proper acknowledgement that it deserves. Please, read.
The Same Hands
Anon
The first one happened on February 22, 2002, in the Philippine Sea. I knew just about everyone that was onboard that aircraft. There was no indication of enemy fire, it was a mechanical failure. We lost eight good soldiers that day, of which five were friends of mine. Yes, I do miss them, and they are never far from my thoughts. Nor are those that they left behind.
The second incident occurred on March 4, 2002, in Afghanistan’s Sha-e-kot Valley. (During Operation Anaconda.) That one hit more to home for me. While the loss was a relatively minor one, in the way that the Army counts these things. It was one that was more personal. That day I lost a very good friend. A very good friend. There’s not too much more that I can say right now without sounding critical. And that would dishonor his sacrifice, in my eyes.
I know that during the ceremony that they would be called warriors, and that is a shame. The military, as a whole, has gotten on this “Warrior” bandwagon. They call everyone in the military a warrior. We are not warriors, we are soldiers. (And by soldiers, I am including all of our military.) I don’t know if you know that there’s difference, or not, but I’ll try to explain.
Basically it is this. Warriors are individuals and soldiers are part of a team. To be a soldier takes more self discipline, more working together, to achieve a common goal. Warriors are more apt to accomplish individual goals. To give you an example, the terrorists in Iraq operate as warriors. This is why they are unable to work together above the squad level (8-10 people). And when they try to, they are severely beaten by fewer numbers of soldiers. Sure, our technology makes up somewhat for the difference, but it is our training as soldiers to operate as a team that is the biggest factor. (Of course the fact that they want to die helps, too.) Teams can accomplish goals that individuals could never hope to. I never want to be referred to as a “warrior”. I AM A SOLDIER! And I am proud of that fact.
My unit has a tradition. We place the names of our fallen on our memorial so that they will never be forgotten. Nor will their sacrifice be in vain. Everyone coming to us will visit this memorial and told our history. It is our link. Our guiding symbol. None of us strive for this honor, but it is still an honor, none the less.
I want to leave off today with a poem written for us. I don’t know who wrote it, so I can not give the proper acknowledgement that it deserves. Please, read.
The Same Hands
Anon
The same hands built and trained for war
Carried me to my final resting place
My name engraved on the memorial wall
I find myself looking back through this honored space
From this place all that I held so dear to me
All that I had worked so hard to keep running
The past present and future are clear to me now
I am very much alive in spirit
Through the Wall
I can see the next Commanding Officer
He makes the Memorial Wall his first visit
He reads off all of our names
The same hand that will send our brothers into harms way
Touches the wall with a gentle firm understanding
We touch back and know
Our brothers are going to be taken care of
Through the Wall
I see a new recruit led to the wall
He stands with an old timer
"Never forget the price we pay"
Says the old to the young
The same hands still green and unsure
Touches the wall with uncertainty and respect
Soon the young recruit will return
No longer green he will understand
Through the Wall
My brothers appear before a mission
Faces confident and ready for battle
Each looks at the wall and wonders
Will my name ever be etched in stone
The same hands that are trained for war
Now touch the wall with gentle respect
We touch back with confidence
We shall meet soon my friends
There is no rush
We will be with you on this dark night
Please keep us in your hearts, minds and prayers. Also, remember those that have been left behind by our losses. Not just those mentioned here, but all who have given their lives in service to our nation.
Thank you.
Blah
Sorry for the late entry, but, I wasn’t really around today. I had to go up north to return some equipment I got on loan from another unit. And, since it was a bigger post, which means a bigger PX, we also went to the PX. The flights up, and back, weren’t too bad. I slept most of the time anyway. But that was it for today.
Last night me, Biz, NB and Kiwi II, went out to eat at an Italian restaurant. It wasn’t too bad, actually it was pretty good. Although I was hoping for some lasagna, they didn’t have it. Its one of those places where you pick your type of noodles, sauce and extras. Like I said, it was pretty good. And Biz made sure we all knew when he opened a door that he was opening it for all of us. He was even keeping count, 4 times. Anyway, we had a good dinner, and some, well, I guess you could say, interesting, conversation. And made some plans for Friday night. Well, they made the plans; I just sort of went along with it. Not too sure about the dancing thing though. (It’ll take a bit more drinking than usual to get me to do that.)
I’ll talk to ya’ll later.
Last night me, Biz, NB and Kiwi II, went out to eat at an Italian restaurant. It wasn’t too bad, actually it was pretty good. Although I was hoping for some lasagna, they didn’t have it. Its one of those places where you pick your type of noodles, sauce and extras. Like I said, it was pretty good. And Biz made sure we all knew when he opened a door that he was opening it for all of us. He was even keeping count, 4 times. Anyway, we had a good dinner, and some, well, I guess you could say, interesting, conversation. And made some plans for Friday night. Well, they made the plans; I just sort of went along with it. Not too sure about the dancing thing though. (It’ll take a bit more drinking than usual to get me to do that.)
I’ll talk to ya’ll later.
21 February 2006
Guess what? I'm back.
I’m done with my “little vacation”, as Biz calls it. Vacation, yeah, right! Vacations are supposed to be fun, this was anything but. Extremely long days, (A couple were around 26 hours straight.) cold weather and sleeping on a cot, a vacation do not make. But, it wasn’t too bad of a time. And along the way, we stopped in a couple of warm spots allowing me to enjoy at least a little bit of nice weather until spring gets here.
Enough about that little adventure. Anyway, I got back early Saturday night, called Biz, and went over to his place to wait for NB to show up. She does and we’re downtown by 9:30. There were a few people that we know there already. One, G, had spent the day doing a Bataan Death March memorial 13 mile road march. He could barely walk because of his feet being chewed up. I felt that he needed some pain relievers, (drinks) and proceeded to get him a few. (Must have worked, ‘cause later, he was feeling good enough to go out dancing.) We were all having a pretty good time. (Apparently, I was having a really good time. Just a touch too much sauce. I’ve been told that I was being a little bit of an asshole. Which, just isn’t me, but more than one person has told me this. I apologize, I really do. Besides, I don’t remember the whole night too clearly.)
A little later in the night, Biz wants to head down to the Bubble. And, for some reason, I agree. (I really dislike the place. Its way too crowded, and they don’t play music that I like in the least. Although, there are some good looking women there.) We never made it there. A little bit down the street from the Bubble we run into 4 of the guys that we work with just ending a fight with about a dozen off-duty MPs. One of the MPs’ girlfriend is the ex of one of our guys. I guess they just didn’t get along too well. Anyway, to make a long story short, our guys completely kicked ass. (It was all in self-defense. Honest, it was.) They only got a few scratches. Where as the MPs took a real beating. The ex-girlfriend told the ex-boyfriend all about it the next day. One MP is in a neck brace, one has a broken jaw, 3 broken noses, several eyes swollen shut and lots of bumps and bruises. I feel sorry for that CO, his MPs are really in need of some self defense training.
So, after this, we head back to the Crew. A little bit more drinking ensues. (Duh) It gets to early morning and I’m standing over by the stairs when this guy falls down. Well, being the nice guy I am, I help him up. I turn around to get another drink, and this guy is standing in my way. So, I try to go around him, and he steps in my way. I think, “OK”, and say, “Excuse me, I need to get another drink.” He wags his finger at me and says “You’ve had enough. You need to leave.” This kind of shocked me, after all, EVERYBODY likes me. (And those that don’t just haven’t met me.) And I have never seen this guy before in my life.
So, I ask him what the problem is and he tells me that I offended some of his friends. Now, everyone that I talked to that night, I knew. And I also knew that if I offended any of them, they wouldn’t hesitate to let me know. So I had no idea what he was talking about. Anyway, I say, “Well, show me who they are so that I can apologize to them.” He tells me, “It’s too late for that. Time for you to leave.” I say that I’m not leaving, and we don’t need to have a problem and for him to tell his friends that I apologize to them. Around this time Biz sees what’s going on, (Either that, or I told him what a dick this guy was being. He was right by me.) and he comes over to lend support. Biz kept saying things, (I’m not too sure what, not too clear.) and I keep telling him that I’ve got it.
Again I tell the guy that there’s no need for all of this, unless he just wanted to fight. At this Biz says, “That’s alright, if he wants to fight, I’ll drag his ass downstairs and take care of that.” (I don’t know why this is the only thing that Biz said during this that I remember, but it is.) I tell him “No, we’re good here. There’s no need.” (You should have seen the look on this guy’s face. He got really scared. Biz is 6’ 4” and heavily built. This guy was just a little bit bigger than me, height wise, but fat, and I was the only one in the place smaller than him. This is why I think he wanted to fight me.) He immediately backs off saying, “I would never fight you. You look like you are a pretty good wrestler.” (Huh?) And that ended that. If he had hit me in there, before I could recover from it, he would have been a bloody pulp, never knowing what hit him. And about an hour after that I went to crash at a friend’s house. Oh, man, my head in the morning! But, all in all, it was a good time.
The rest of the weekend, I really didn’t o much but recover. (From both Saturday night, and the “vacation.”) I had Monday off, which was nice. And then it was back to work on Tuesday. But not too much happened, and I was at a low level of busy all day. Never really had too much time to write anything. The only thing that happened worth talking about was when the compressor case fell on my hand. No real damage, but Biz thought it was funny. He had just got done saying, “Wouldn’t it be funny if this fell on your head?” Of course I didn’t agree. I told him that that wouldn’t happen. And, wouldn’t you know, not more than 5 minutes after I got out from under it, with my hand still underneath, it falls. He starts to laugh, holding his ribs. And I jerk my hand out from under it and start to walk around the office. Luckily, there wasn’t any real damage. Only enough pain to get my attention and let me know not to do that again. Of course, I still had to finish up what I was under there for in the first place, so back I go. But, there were no more incidents.
I’m not one to usually talk about what’s going on in Biz’ life on here, but, I don’t think that the boy’ll ever learn. (You know what I’m talking about Biz.) Take the advice that I gave you and finish it. Get it over with, completely, and for good. And don’t look back. The only thing that you’re doing now is hurting yourself. Trust has to go both ways, otherwise, you’re just being an idiot because it’ll never work out. That’s it for now.
I’ll talk to ya’ll later.
Enough about that little adventure. Anyway, I got back early Saturday night, called Biz, and went over to his place to wait for NB to show up. She does and we’re downtown by 9:30. There were a few people that we know there already. One, G, had spent the day doing a Bataan Death March memorial 13 mile road march. He could barely walk because of his feet being chewed up. I felt that he needed some pain relievers, (drinks) and proceeded to get him a few. (Must have worked, ‘cause later, he was feeling good enough to go out dancing.) We were all having a pretty good time. (Apparently, I was having a really good time. Just a touch too much sauce. I’ve been told that I was being a little bit of an asshole. Which, just isn’t me, but more than one person has told me this. I apologize, I really do. Besides, I don’t remember the whole night too clearly.)
A little later in the night, Biz wants to head down to the Bubble. And, for some reason, I agree. (I really dislike the place. Its way too crowded, and they don’t play music that I like in the least. Although, there are some good looking women there.) We never made it there. A little bit down the street from the Bubble we run into 4 of the guys that we work with just ending a fight with about a dozen off-duty MPs. One of the MPs’ girlfriend is the ex of one of our guys. I guess they just didn’t get along too well. Anyway, to make a long story short, our guys completely kicked ass. (It was all in self-defense. Honest, it was.) They only got a few scratches. Where as the MPs took a real beating. The ex-girlfriend told the ex-boyfriend all about it the next day. One MP is in a neck brace, one has a broken jaw, 3 broken noses, several eyes swollen shut and lots of bumps and bruises. I feel sorry for that CO, his MPs are really in need of some self defense training.
So, after this, we head back to the Crew. A little bit more drinking ensues. (Duh) It gets to early morning and I’m standing over by the stairs when this guy falls down. Well, being the nice guy I am, I help him up. I turn around to get another drink, and this guy is standing in my way. So, I try to go around him, and he steps in my way. I think, “OK”, and say, “Excuse me, I need to get another drink.” He wags his finger at me and says “You’ve had enough. You need to leave.” This kind of shocked me, after all, EVERYBODY likes me. (And those that don’t just haven’t met me.) And I have never seen this guy before in my life.
So, I ask him what the problem is and he tells me that I offended some of his friends. Now, everyone that I talked to that night, I knew. And I also knew that if I offended any of them, they wouldn’t hesitate to let me know. So I had no idea what he was talking about. Anyway, I say, “Well, show me who they are so that I can apologize to them.” He tells me, “It’s too late for that. Time for you to leave.” I say that I’m not leaving, and we don’t need to have a problem and for him to tell his friends that I apologize to them. Around this time Biz sees what’s going on, (Either that, or I told him what a dick this guy was being. He was right by me.) and he comes over to lend support. Biz kept saying things, (I’m not too sure what, not too clear.) and I keep telling him that I’ve got it.
Again I tell the guy that there’s no need for all of this, unless he just wanted to fight. At this Biz says, “That’s alright, if he wants to fight, I’ll drag his ass downstairs and take care of that.” (I don’t know why this is the only thing that Biz said during this that I remember, but it is.) I tell him “No, we’re good here. There’s no need.” (You should have seen the look on this guy’s face. He got really scared. Biz is 6’ 4” and heavily built. This guy was just a little bit bigger than me, height wise, but fat, and I was the only one in the place smaller than him. This is why I think he wanted to fight me.) He immediately backs off saying, “I would never fight you. You look like you are a pretty good wrestler.” (Huh?) And that ended that. If he had hit me in there, before I could recover from it, he would have been a bloody pulp, never knowing what hit him. And about an hour after that I went to crash at a friend’s house. Oh, man, my head in the morning! But, all in all, it was a good time.
The rest of the weekend, I really didn’t o much but recover. (From both Saturday night, and the “vacation.”) I had Monday off, which was nice. And then it was back to work on Tuesday. But not too much happened, and I was at a low level of busy all day. Never really had too much time to write anything. The only thing that happened worth talking about was when the compressor case fell on my hand. No real damage, but Biz thought it was funny. He had just got done saying, “Wouldn’t it be funny if this fell on your head?” Of course I didn’t agree. I told him that that wouldn’t happen. And, wouldn’t you know, not more than 5 minutes after I got out from under it, with my hand still underneath, it falls. He starts to laugh, holding his ribs. And I jerk my hand out from under it and start to walk around the office. Luckily, there wasn’t any real damage. Only enough pain to get my attention and let me know not to do that again. Of course, I still had to finish up what I was under there for in the first place, so back I go. But, there were no more incidents.
I’m not one to usually talk about what’s going on in Biz’ life on here, but, I don’t think that the boy’ll ever learn. (You know what I’m talking about Biz.) Take the advice that I gave you and finish it. Get it over with, completely, and for good. And don’t look back. The only thing that you’re doing now is hurting yourself. Trust has to go both ways, otherwise, you’re just being an idiot because it’ll never work out. That’s it for now.
I’ll talk to ya’ll later.
06 February 2006
Weekend? What weekend!
The Super Bowl is over. And, as usual, the team I wanted to win, Seattle, lost. 21-10 Stealers. That’s alright though, my team wasn’t even in the playoffs. Hell, they were one of the lowest ranked teams this year. (Again. If you must know, I’m a Raiders fan.) The game itself was pretty good, especially the first quarter. The Seahawks came out and just totally dominated Pittsburg. Then, about halfway through the second quarter, they just seemed to come apart. They never got their momentum back. It’s a shame really. I would have liked to have seen the west coast team win. And to top it all off, “The Bus” will be stopping in Detroit for good. Jerome Bettis has finally made his announcement of retirement. I couldn’t think of a better time for him to do it. He helped take his team to the Super Bowl, and win it. That has to be a great feeling.
The past weekend wasn’t all that great. Saturday I had to come in to work. (So did Biz.) All in all, it turned out to be a 12 hour day. And, we still had to come in on Sunday to finish up a little bit of stuff. That was another 5 hours. I ended up only going out on Saturday night. The Crew wasn’t all that busy when I got there, but the pool tourney was already filled up. (Usually, they have to beg people to play just to get enough teams.) And I had wanted to play, too. Biz and NB showed up a little bit later, they went to a going away dinner for one of the teachers from England. (He’s from the same town as NB.) Then, about 10 PM, all of these people (I’m assuming they were teachers. Yes, Biz, I know about assuming.) started to show up. I only recognized 5-6 of them. Guess they got a new boat load of teachers in. I drank a few drinks, talked to Kiwi & Kiwi II (Mostly Kiwi II) and then went home before curfew. (I hate curfew, but its “for our protection”, and I had to be to work in the morning.)
Monday, I finally had a day off. I stayed at home and watched the Super Bowl. But, that was about the extent of my day. This week is also going to be a long working week for me. And, after to day, I’ll be a bit too busy to write anything for about a week and a half. But, I’m sure that Biz will not lack for drama to put up on his site. After all, there are some things, one in particular that we really disagree on, that he knows will be causing quite a bit of drama. But that is neither here, nor there. And, I will post an update as soon as I can. Hopefully, my laptop will be fixed by the time I actually get enough time to write again. (It better be, or a Korean computer repair man will need a doctor.)
There are a couple of sites that I would like to plug today. I have been reading the first one for a couple of weeks now. Its called The Officer’s Club. It’s a military blog, well , both of them are. And its writer’s are a little on the conservative side. I guess that since I enjoy reading their stuff, I lean towards conservative views myself. But none the less, they do provide an alternate view on news stories put out by the biased media.
The other one, Jeremy’s Army Adventure, I found through Officer’s Club. It’s a day to day diary of a new soldier’s career. He starts from day one of inprocessing, and who knows how long he will keep it going. But, its very interesting. (To me at least.) And brings back a lot of memories from Basic.
Well, that’s about it for me right now.
I’ll see ya’ll later. (I promise, I’ll post as soon as I get the time.)
The past weekend wasn’t all that great. Saturday I had to come in to work. (So did Biz.) All in all, it turned out to be a 12 hour day. And, we still had to come in on Sunday to finish up a little bit of stuff. That was another 5 hours. I ended up only going out on Saturday night. The Crew wasn’t all that busy when I got there, but the pool tourney was already filled up. (Usually, they have to beg people to play just to get enough teams.) And I had wanted to play, too. Biz and NB showed up a little bit later, they went to a going away dinner for one of the teachers from England. (He’s from the same town as NB.) Then, about 10 PM, all of these people (I’m assuming they were teachers. Yes, Biz, I know about assuming.) started to show up. I only recognized 5-6 of them. Guess they got a new boat load of teachers in. I drank a few drinks, talked to Kiwi & Kiwi II (Mostly Kiwi II) and then went home before curfew. (I hate curfew, but its “for our protection”, and I had to be to work in the morning.)
Monday, I finally had a day off. I stayed at home and watched the Super Bowl. But, that was about the extent of my day. This week is also going to be a long working week for me. And, after to day, I’ll be a bit too busy to write anything for about a week and a half. But, I’m sure that Biz will not lack for drama to put up on his site. After all, there are some things, one in particular that we really disagree on, that he knows will be causing quite a bit of drama. But that is neither here, nor there. And, I will post an update as soon as I can. Hopefully, my laptop will be fixed by the time I actually get enough time to write again. (It better be, or a Korean computer repair man will need a doctor.)
There are a couple of sites that I would like to plug today. I have been reading the first one for a couple of weeks now. Its called The Officer’s Club. It’s a military blog, well , both of them are. And its writer’s are a little on the conservative side. I guess that since I enjoy reading their stuff, I lean towards conservative views myself. But none the less, they do provide an alternate view on news stories put out by the biased media.
The other one, Jeremy’s Army Adventure, I found through Officer’s Club. It’s a day to day diary of a new soldier’s career. He starts from day one of inprocessing, and who knows how long he will keep it going. But, its very interesting. (To me at least.) And brings back a lot of memories from Basic.
Well, that’s about it for me right now.
I’ll see ya’ll later. (I promise, I’ll post as soon as I get the time.)
02 February 2006
State of the Union
Well, today I finally found a text version of Bush’s State of the Union address. I caught the last 20 minutes of it during lunch here on Wednesday. (It was live, remember the time difference thing.) And I saw the Democratic response. How is it that our two main political parties can want mostly the same things, yet disagree on them at the same time? (Not talking about Iraq, or Afghanistan, here.) And disagree so strongly. Is it just because of Bush’s more outspoken religious faith, (He does make several references to his beliefs during the speech.) or is it because he is unwilling to compromise on what he believes is the right course of action for the country? Anyway, I have a few comments on the State of the Union address that I’d like to put down. And, after that, I have a few comments on something that has totally pissed me off from the Washington Post.
Bush states that we (America) must not back out on our promises to nations that we have told we will help. The most obvious places he is talking about are Iraq and Afghanistan. Both of those nations are benefiting from our presence there. The both now have developing democracies, and their people are starting to enjoy the benefits of a free people. While there are people there that want to go back to the way things were before, they are in the minority. After all, who would want to go back to oppression, either religious, or dictatorial, when you can be free to choose your own representative government? I know I wouldn’t. We are winning against the terrorists in these countries, but it will take time, years in fact, to ensure the security of these budding free societies. And the terrorists (at least the rank and file, the one that do the dieing) are more motivated by hatred of the West, and the U.S. in particular, and a generally tolerant religion that has been perverted into one of hate by those seeking personal power. (And, go figure, these aren’t the ones doing the dieing.)
There are other nations that we are helping, some are already democracies, and some are not. (But are slowly turning that way.) Places like the Philippines, Saudi Arabia, Qatar and Thailand. We must maintain our pledges to help them as well. We can’t be like France and commit to helping out, and then decide that we really don’t want to, because, you know, we really didn’t mean it at the time. These people deserve our help, and by our example (and that of our strongest allies, Britain and Austrailia) show the world a better way.
We can not retreat into our own borders and shut out the world. The world will not leave us alone. Those who want us destroyed as a nation will come after us. I, for one, would rather visit death and destruction on the enemy’s (That’s whoever wants to hurt MY country.) doorstep, than find Americans killed here at home, because we didn’t have the will to act as a nation, not the fortitude to see it through to the end. (France anyone?) Retreat is not an option!
The President quoted a Marine Staff Sergeant, Don Clay, who was killed in action in Fallujah last month. Here is that quote, “I know what honor is. It has been an honor to protect and serve all of you. I faced death with the secure knowledge that you would not have to. Never falter! Don’t hesitate to honor and support those of us who have the honor of protecting that which is worth protecting.” I feel that I know he was talking about. In war, there is no true honor that is something we tell ourselves to make it more palatable. But, it is an honor to protect those you serve with, and those that cannot, or will not, defend themselves. We few are willing to make the sacrifice for the rest of the nation, regardless of how you view us. That is our job.
Another big section of the speech was America’s addiction to oil. (We are severely dependant on foreign oil. Some people believe that we should drill for more from what is actually in the U.S. I don’t think so, I think we should use everyone else’s, and then tap our own. But, I really should get back to the speech.) The initiatives the President proposed, may bare fruit in the future. I don’t know, but it appears to hold promise.
The main problem I see is in order to quickly reduce that dependency, Americans would have to give up their cars, and use more public transportation. I don’t think that will happen. As a result of our capitalistic society, we are a selfish people. When we want something, we want it now. Here in Korea, I’m not allowed to have a car. And I HATE it. I have to use public transportation, (which is very plentiful here) I hate having to rely on someone else to get somewhere. And I hate not being able to do it when I want, not when the bus schedule says I can. I can’t wait to get home so I can have my car back.
Ok, that’s enough about the State of the Union address.
On to my next subject, which is this:
The was in the January 29th edition of the Washington Post and drawn by cartoonist Tom Toles. Now, our freedom of speech allows us to express ourselves in anyway we wish. I am all for that. However, that freedom comes with responsibilities, and should be tempered with compassion and common sense. Mr. Toles should be forced to visit some our wounded service members and see what effect his irresponsible attempt at political humor had on them. And then try to justify his unthinking action. The Editors of the Post should do the same. All this shows is that most of the media in the U.S. only cares to exercise their 1st Amendment right, not for those who defend it. (Now, this is just my opinion based on what news I see here, which, I admit, is limited.) I do not see how someone can so belittle our service members who have sacrificed so much for this country. Not only for this country, but so that other nations can have freedom such as ours.
This tasteless piece of political “art” was unthinking enough to get the Joint Chiefs of Staff to do something nearly unheard of. They formally, and in writing, protested the use of such political slander. The military, by our very values, tries not to comment on the media, except in rare cases. And, as far as I know, there has never been a comment from America’s top military leaders on anything from the media, with the exception of question and answer sessions during news conferences. And I present to you the text of the JCS’s letter to the Managing Editor of the Washington Post, Mr. Philip Bennett:
“To the Editor of the Washington Post:
“We were extremely disappointed to see the editorial cartoon by Tom Toles on page B6 in the January 29th edition. Using the likeness of a service member who has lost his arms and legs in war as the central theme of a cartoon is beyond tasteless. Editorial cartoons are often designed to exaggerate issues - and your paper is obviously free to address any topic, including the state of readiness of today’s Armed Forces. However, we believe you and Mr. Toles have done a disservice to your readers and your paper’s reputation by using such a callous depiction of those who have volunteered to defend this nation, and as a result, have suffered traumatic and life altering wounds.
“Those who visit with wounded veterans in local hospitals have found lives profoundly changed by pain and loss. They have also found brave men and women with a sense of purpose and selfless commitment that causes a truly battle-hardened warriors to pause. Where do we get such men and women? From the cities, and farmlands of this great Nation – they serve to be a part of something bigger than themselves. While you or some of your readers may not agree with the war or its conduct, we believe you owe the men and women and their families who so selflessly serve our country the decency to not make light of their tremendous physical sacrifices.
"As the Joint Chiefs, it is rare that we all put our hand to one letter, but we cannot let this reprehensible cartoon go unanswered.
“Sincerely”
And it is signed by all 6 of the Joint Chiefs. At least they were able to put it more eloquently than I ever could. The printing of that one cartoon has gotten me so pissed off at the small minds of Mr. Tole and Mr. Bennett, that I need to take my own advice and take time to think about what I want to say (more than I already have) and not just spout off at the mouth.
I’ll see ya’ll later.
Happy, happy, joy, joy.
Nothing has really caught my interest today. Nor has anything happened to really write about. Last night I went out with a few friends, well 14 of them, to Bennigan’s for dinner. It was to celebrate the promotion of a couple of them. One to E-3, the other to E-7. We had a pretty good time and then everyone wanted to go out to a bar near the restaurant. Not the Crew, but a different one. Anyway to make a short story even shorter, I decided not to go and went home. But the ones that did go, they weren’t feeling all that chipper this morning. Except for the 2 instigators who didn’t have to work today. I had to come in to work early, just to find out that I wasn’t needed until my normal time. Great, since I’m already here, I might as well go ahead and get to work. Needless to say, today sucks. Tomorrow should be better though, I get my tax return back. (Yes, I already did my taxes. I always do them as soon as I get my W-2 so I can get my money back ASAP.) But, go figure, the money is already spoken for. Most for the house and improvements, and a little to fix my laptop. (Hopefully it’ll take only a little.) And I’m going to take it down to the repair shop today after work. And they better fix it right and not the way HP “fixed” it. Its more like they Mickey Moused it. I think that I’ll stop talking about HP before I break something.
Speaking of taxes, why does the military have to pay taxes? (Wasn’t the money already taxed once? Doesn’t that fall under some kind of double jeopardy for the money, or something?) Even if you’re overseas, you still have to pay them. (It’s the same for government employees too.) Civilian that work outside the US 11 months out of the year, make their money tax free. Why are we treated different? They already pay us as little as they can get away with. They say the difference is made up by our benefits. Yes our benefits are decent, but we pay some of our money for them as well. We now have to pay for medical and dental coverage for our dependants. (Yes, I know, if the Army had wanted me to have kids I would have been issued Privates.) And the promised (at least when I joined) free coverage for life, if you gave 20 years of yours to the service, has also become a pay for it service.
And every year Congress tries to take just a little bit more from us. And from those who have retired. Yet, if you look, I bet you would have a hard time finding a Session of Congress that didn’t vote themselves a pay raise and increased benefits. Well, its not really that bad, but since 1989, when Congress passed an amendment allowing them to vote for their own pay raises, the average salary has gone from $98,400 to $158,100. And that’s the starting pay! Hell, I only make $49,270 in a year, (Exactly half of what a starting out Congressman made 16 years ago.) and I’ve been doing this for 17 years. But, a Congressman has to serve for at least 5 years to qualify for a pension that they won’t get until age 60. What?!? I have to serve 20 years to get retirement pay, 19 ½ won’t cut it, (Uncle Sugar will say thanks for the time, now get the fuck out. Too bad.) but it does start right after getting out. (Hooray for something.)
Sure, I get benefits like money for college, not that I have ever had time to go, or when I did have time, did my commander let me go. But, the best military benefit there is, is a VA guaranteed home loan. With out that, I wouldn’t have been able to afford a down payment for my house. So, I guess that the military did give me something that was worthwhile.
I’ll see ya’ll later.
Oh, and one more thing...........
Speaking of taxes, why does the military have to pay taxes? (Wasn’t the money already taxed once? Doesn’t that fall under some kind of double jeopardy for the money, or something?) Even if you’re overseas, you still have to pay them. (It’s the same for government employees too.) Civilian that work outside the US 11 months out of the year, make their money tax free. Why are we treated different? They already pay us as little as they can get away with. They say the difference is made up by our benefits. Yes our benefits are decent, but we pay some of our money for them as well. We now have to pay for medical and dental coverage for our dependants. (Yes, I know, if the Army had wanted me to have kids I would have been issued Privates.) And the promised (at least when I joined) free coverage for life, if you gave 20 years of yours to the service, has also become a pay for it service.
And every year Congress tries to take just a little bit more from us. And from those who have retired. Yet, if you look, I bet you would have a hard time finding a Session of Congress that didn’t vote themselves a pay raise and increased benefits. Well, its not really that bad, but since 1989, when Congress passed an amendment allowing them to vote for their own pay raises, the average salary has gone from $98,400 to $158,100. And that’s the starting pay! Hell, I only make $49,270 in a year, (Exactly half of what a starting out Congressman made 16 years ago.) and I’ve been doing this for 17 years. But, a Congressman has to serve for at least 5 years to qualify for a pension that they won’t get until age 60. What?!? I have to serve 20 years to get retirement pay, 19 ½ won’t cut it, (Uncle Sugar will say thanks for the time, now get the fuck out. Too bad.) but it does start right after getting out. (Hooray for something.)
Sure, I get benefits like money for college, not that I have ever had time to go, or when I did have time, did my commander let me go. But, the best military benefit there is, is a VA guaranteed home loan. With out that, I wouldn’t have been able to afford a down payment for my house. So, I guess that the military did give me something that was worthwhile.
I’ll see ya’ll later.
Oh, and one more thing...........
God bless(ed) the USA
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